Apparatus for folding material

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR FORMING A HEM ON A FOLDABLE PIECE OF MATERIAL, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: A DRIVEN CONVEYOR BELT ADAPTED FOR LONGITUDINALLY ADVANCING A PIECE OF MATERIAL SUPPORTED THEREON, A STATIONARY FOLDING DEVICE SUPPORTED ADJACENT SAID BELT AND IN THE PATH OF THE MATERIAL, SAID FOLDING DEVICE COMPRISING A FLAT PLATE ON WHICH A PORTION OF THE MATERIAL IS ADAPTED TO REST AS SAID MATERIAL IS BEING ADVANCED, A SECOND FLAT PLATE LOCATED ABOVE THE CONVEYOR BELT AND SPACED FROM THE FIRST FLAT PLATE TO DEFINE A GAP OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM WIDTH EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF ADVANCEMENT OF THE BELT, A BAR ON SAID FIRST PLATE EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM TOWARDS SAID SECOND PLATE AND IN THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE MATERIAL TO PASS OVER SAID GAP FOR GRADUALLY AND GUIDABLY FOLDING THE MATERIAL LATERALLY EXTENDING BEYOND THE GAP UPWARDLY ABOUT AN AXIS COINCIDENT WITH THE GAP, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING FOLDER SUPPORTED ON SAID SECOND PLATE, SAID FOLDER HAVING A CURVED SHAPE AND EXTENDING FROM SAID SECOND PLATE OVER SAID FIRST PLATE, SAID FOLDER INCLUDING A PORTION ADJACENT SAID BAR AT A LEVEL SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN SAID SECOND FLAT PLATE FOR RECEIVING THE THUS FOLDED MATERIAL FROM SAID BAR, THE CURVATURE OF SAID FOLDER BEING SUCH THAT IT GRADUALLY FOLDS THE MATERIAL DOWNWARDLY AS THE MATERIAL IS ADVANCED BY SAID BELT, AND A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING GUIDE SUPPORTED ON SAID FIRST PLATE AND EXTENDING OVER SAID GAP TO OVERLIE SAID SECOND PLATE AND BE POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID FOLDER TO DEFINE A SECOND LONGITUDINAL GAP OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM WIDTH THROUGH WHICH THE MATERIAL IS CAUSED TO PASS AS SAID MATERIAL IS FOLDED DOWNWARDLY BY THE FOLDER.