Yardage apparatus

Claim 2

A yardage handling apparatus comprising: a. A receptacle means for supporting a source roll of material, said receptacle means having drive means for causing the source roll to unwind, drive means for causing said receptacle to move laterally and drive means causing said receptacle to pivot about one of its ends; b. a feed table adjacent said receptacle means and having means for causing said unwound material to be driven, aligned, measured and severed from said source roll; said feed table having first photoelectric means for detecting the presence of material on said feed table and second photoelectric means actuated by said first photoelectric means and coupled to a control circuit for causing said receptacle means to move laterally with respect to said feed table as required to keep the material on the feed table aligned thereby compensating for any side edge uNevenness present in the source roll; and c. means for pivoting said receptacle means about one of its ends, thereby compensating for any skewness in the placement of the source roll on the receptacle and providing ease in the alignment of said material on said feed table.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 in which said second photoelectric means comprises two photocells positioned in such a manner that when the material side edge closest to said photocells is properly aligned said photocells are in a balanced condition and the receptacle means remain laterally stationary and when the edge is not aligned the receptacle means will be driven laterally until said material side edge causes the photocells to achieve a balanced condition.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 1 in which said receptacle means comprises at least two parallelly spaced rollers and a plurality of endless belts positioned around said rollers, drive means coupled to one of said rollers for causing it to move vertically with respect to said other roller to form an inclined slope in said belts whereby the source roll can be caused to be dropped from said receptacle and said vertically driven roller may then be raised to accept another source roll.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2 in which said second photoelectric means and said control circuit actuate clutch means coupled to said lateral drive means whereby said clutch means causes said receptacle means to be driven laterally in the direction required to restore balance in said control circuit.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 2 in which a lever means is secured to said feed table and contacts said side edge of material, said lever means being pivoted at one end and free to move with said side edge so as to traverse said second photoelectric means in such a manner that the control circuit responds to the position of said lever means.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 4 in which said lateral drive means comprise brake means to prevent coasting when the receptacle means have been driven to a position causing the control circuit to be balanced.

Claim 8

A yardage handling apparatus comprising: a. a receptacle means for supporting a source roll of material, said receptacle means having drive means for causing the source roll to unwind, drive means for causing said receptacle to move laterally and drive means causing said receptacle to pivot about one of its ends; b. a feed table adjacent said receptacle means and having means for causing said unwound material to be driven, aligned, measured and severed from said source roll; said feed table having first photoelectric means for detecting the presence of material on said feed table and second photoelectric means actuated by said first photoelectric means and coupled to a control circuit for causing said receptacle means to move laterally with respect to said feed table as required to keep the material on the feed table aligned thereby compensating for any side edge unevenness present in the source roll; c. means for pivoting said receptacle means about one of its ends, thereby compensating for any skewness in the placement of the source roll on the receptacle and providing ease in the alignment of said material on said feed table; and d. reroll means adjacent said feed table for causing the material to be rewound into a roll having the desired length of material and even edges.

Claim 9

A yardage handling apparatus comprising: a. a receptacle means for supporting a source roll of material, said receptacle means having drive means for causing the source roll to unwind, drive means for causing said receptacle to move laterally and drive means causing said receptacle to pivot about one of its ends; b. a feed table adjacent said receptacle means and having means for causing said unwound material to be driven, aligned, measured and severed from said source roll; said feed table having first photoelectric means for detecting the presence of material on said feed table and second photoelectric means actuated by said first photoelectric means and coupled to a control circuit for causing said receptacle means to move laterally with respect to said feed table as required to keep the material on the feed table aligned thereby compensating for any side edge unevenness present in the source roll; c. means for pivoting said receptacle means about one of its ends, thereby compensating for any skewness in the placement of the source roll on the receptacle and providing ease in the alignment of said material on said feed table; and d. reroll means adjacent said feed table for causing the material to be rewound into a roll having the desired length of material and even edges.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 7 in which said feed table is comprised of two sections with a means for severing the unwound material from said source roll positioned between said two sections and independently controlled reversible drive means on each of said sections for allowing the material on one side of said severing means to be rolled back onto the source roll and allowing the material on the other side of said severing means to be rolled by the reroll means into a roll of desired length.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 7 in which said second photoelectric means comprises two photocells positioned in such a manner that when the material side edge closest to said photocells is properly aligned said photocells are in a balanced condition and the receptacle means remain laterally stationary and when the edge is not aligned the receptacle means will be driven laterally until said material side edge causes the photocells to achieve a balanced condition.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 7 in which said receptacle means comprises at least two parallelly spaced rollers and a plurality of endless belts positioned around said rollers, drive means coupled to one of said rollers for causing it to move vertically with respect to said other roller to form an inclined slope in said belts whereby the source roll can be caused to be dropped from said receptacle and said vertically driven roller may then be raised to accept another source roll.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 9 in which said second photoelectric means and said control circuit actuate clutch means coupled to said lateral drive means whereby said clutch means causes said receptacle means to be driven laterally in the direction required to restore balance in said control circuit.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 9 in which a lever means is secured to said feed table and contacts said side edge of material, said lever means being pivoted at one end and free to move with said side edge so as to traverse said second photoelectric means in such a manner that the control circuit responds to the position of said lever means.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 11 in which said lateral drive means comprise brake means to prevent coasting when the receptacle means have been driven to a position causing the control circuit to be balanced.