Apparatus for cutting sheet or web material

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TRANSVERSELY CUTTING FABRIC FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF LONGINUDINALLY EXTENING STRANDED WIRES UNITED IN TRANSVERSELY SPACED RELATIONSHIP OF UNCURED RUBBER, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: (A) CONVEYING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND INTERMITTENTLY MOVING THE FABRIC IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LENGTH, (B) A FRAMEWORK EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FABRIC ADJACENT THE DELIVERY END OF THE CONVEYING MEANS, (C) MEANS SUPPORTING SAID FRAMEWORK FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLES TOT HE PLANE OF THE CONVEYING MEANS TO DESPOSE SAID FRAMEWORK AT A SELECTED ANGLE TO THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FABRIC, (D) A PAIR OF ELONGATED MEMABERS SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAMEWORK SO AS TO ENTEND TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FABRIC ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF WITH ONE OF SAID MEMBERS MOVABLE TOWARD AND FROM THE OTHER MEMBER FOR CLAMPING OF THE FABRIC BETWEEN SAID MEMBERS, (E) MEANS SELECTIVELY OPERABLE FOR MOVING SAID ONE MEMBER TO AND FROM FABRIC CLAMPING COOPERATION WITH THE OTHER OF THE MEMBERS, (F) A CARRIAGE MOVABLE ON SAID FRAMEWORK TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FABRIC, (G) A PAIR OF COOPERATING GENERALLY DISK-SHAPE CUTTERS EACH HAVING A SMOOTH CYLINDRICAL PERIPHERY AND PLANAR SIDE SURFACES ADJACENT ITS PERIPHERY, (H) MEANS ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID CUTTERS ON SAID CARRIAGE WITH THEIR AXES PARALLEL AND IN A COMMON VERTICAL PLANE AND WITH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEIR CENTERS LESS THAN THE SUM OF THEIR RADII, THE SAID CUTTERS BEING POSITIONED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FABRIC ADJACENT THE ELONGATED MEMBERS, AND (I) MEANS INCLUDING A MOTOR AND INTERCONNECTED GEARING ON SAID CARRIAGE TO MOVE THE LATTER AND ROTATE SAID CUTTERS IN TIMED RELATION TO MOVEMENT OF THE CARRIAGE AND AT A PERIPHERAL SURFACE SPEED OF THE CUTTERS GREATER THAN THE SPEED OF THE CARRIAGE, THE UPPER OF THE SAID CUTTERS BEING POSITIONED INTERMEDIATE THE SAID ELONGATED MEMBERS AND THE LOWER OF SAID CUTTERS AND THE GEARING FOR SAID CUTTERS HAVING RATIOS SUCH THAT THE SURFACE SPEED OF SAID UPPER CUTTER IS GREATER THAN THAT OF THE SAID LOWER CUTTER, WHEREBY THE FABRIC IS TRANSVERSELY CUT DURING TRAVERSE OF THE CARRIAGE WHILE THE FABRIC IS CLAMPED.