Bow making machine

Claim 2

In a machine for making a decorative bow including a plurality of upstanding loops of ribbon on a backing strip and comprising feeding and forming means operable to feed backing strips and ribbon material along a feed path and relative to a looping station of the machine and to form loops of ribbon, cooperable securing means on opposite sides of said feed path for securing the loops to one surface of the backing strip at spaced locations therealong, said securing means being disposed at a fixed location along said feed path, and means for intermittently driving at least one of said cooperable securing means toward the other for the securing means to cooperate to secure said ribbon to said one surface of said backing strip, and cut-off means to cut the backing strip and ribbon, the improvement which comprises: said cut-off means including cooperable cutting means on said opposite sides of said feed path at said fixed location.

Claim 3

The improvement according to claim 1, wherein said cooperable cutting means includes blade means on one of said opposite sides of said feed path cooperable with the securing means on the other side of said path.

Claim 4

The improvement according to claim 2, wherein said securing means on the other side of said feed path is a blade component reciprocable generally perpendicular to said feed path and said blade means is movable into and out of cooperating cutting alignment with said blade component.

Claim 5

The improvement according to claim 2, wherein said blade means and said securing means on the other side of said feed path are relatively reciprocable in cooperating cutting alignment and said blade means is movable into and out of cutting alignment with said securing means on said other side of said feed path.

Claim 6

The improvement according to claim 2, wherein the securing means on the one side of said feed path is anvil means, said securing means on the other side of said feed path is reciprocable along a second path generally perpendicular to said feed path, and said blade means and anvil means are selectively movable respectively into alignment with said second path.

Claim 7

The improvement according to claim 5, wherein said reciprocable securing means includes a blade component having surface means cooperable with said anvil means and a slot cooperable with said blade means.

Claim 8

The improvement according to claim 5, wherein said anvil means and blade means are supported for alternate movement into alignment with said second path.

Claim 9

In a machine for making a decorative bow including a plurality of upstanding loops of ribbon on a backing strip and comprising feeding and forming means operable to feed backing strips and ribbon material along a feed path and relative to a looping station of the machine and to form loops of ribbon, cooperable securing means on opPosite sides of said feed path for securing the loops to one surface of the backing strip at spaced locations therealong, said securing means being disposed at a fixed location along said feed path, and means for intermittently driving at least one of said cooperable securing means toward the other for the securing means to cooperate to secure said ribbon to said one surface of said backing strip at said fixed location, and cutoff means to cut the backing strip and ribbon, the improvement which comprises: said cut-off means including cooperable cutting means on said opposite sides of said feed path at said fixed location, said cooperable cutting means including blade means on one of said opposite sides of said feed path cooperable with the securing means on the other side of said path, said securing means on the one side of said feed path being anvil means, said securing means on the other side of said feed path being reciprocable along a second path generally perpendicular to said feed path, said blade means and anvil means being selectively movable respectively into alignment with said second path, and said anvil means and blade means being supported for pivotal movement into and out of alignment with said second path.

Claim 10

In a machine for making a decorative bow including a plurality of upstanding loops of ribbon on a backing strip and comprising feeding and forming means operable to feed backing strips and ribbon material along a feed path and relative to a looping station of the machine and to form loops of ribbon, cooperable securing means on opPosite sides of said feed path for securing the loops to one surface of the backing strip at spaced locations therealong, said securing means being disposed at a fixed location along said feed path, and means for intermittently driving at least one of said cooperable securing means toward the other for the securing means to cooperate to secure said ribbon to said one surface of said backing strip at said fixed location, and cutoff means to cut the backing strip and ribbon, the improvement which comprises: said cut-off means including cooperable cutting means on said opposite sides of said feed path at said fixed location, said cooperable cutting means including blade means on one of said opposite sides of said feed path cooperable with the securing means on the other side of said path, said securing means on the one side of said feed path being anvil means, said securing means on the other side of said feed path being reciprocable along a second path generally perpendicular to said feed path, said blade means and anvil means being selectively movable respectively into alignment with said second path, and said anvil means and blade means being supported for pivotal movement into and out of alignment with said second path.

Claim 11

The improvement according to claim 8, wherein said pivotal movement is about a common pivot axis.

Claim 12

The improvement according to claim 9, wherein said anvil means and blade means are pivotal together and in opposite directions about said axis for alternate movement thereof into and out of alignment with said second path.

Claim 13

The improvement according to claim 9, wherein said reciprocable securing means includes a blade component having surface means cooperable with said anvil means and a slot co-operable with said blade means.

Claim 14

The improvement according to claim 1, and the further improvement comprising said feeding and forming means including means to continuously feed the backing strip toward said looping station at a first average speed and means to feed the ribbon toward said looping station at a greater average speed than said first average speed whereby loops of said ribbon are formed between said spaced locations along said strip, said ribbon feed means including means for interrupting ribbon feed during operation of said cooperable securing means to attach said loops to the backing strip.

Claim 15

The improvement according to claim 5, and the further improvement comprising said feeding and forming means including means to continuously feed the backing strip toward said looping station at a first average speed and means to feed the ribbon toward said looping station at a greater average speed than said first average speed whereby loops of said ribbon are formed between said spaced locations along said strip, said ribbon feed means including means for interrupting ribbon feed during operation of said cooperable securing means to attach said loops to the backing strip.

Claim 16

In a machine for making a decorative bow including a plurality of upstanding loops of ribbon on a backing strip and comprising feeding and forming means operable to feed backing strips and ribbon material along a feed path and relative to a looping station of the machine and to form loops of ribbon, cooperable securing means on opposite sides of said feed path for securing the loops to one surface of the backing strip at spaced locations therealong, and means for intermittently driving at least one of said cooperable securing means toward the other for the securing means to cooperate to secure said ribbon to said one surface of said backing strip, and means to cut the backing strip and ribbon, the improvement which comprises: said feeding and forming means including means to continuously feed the backing strip toward said looping station at a first average speed and means to feed the ribbon toward said looping station at a greater average speed than said first average speed whereby loops of said ribbon are formed between said spaced locations along said strip, said ribboN feed means including means for interrupting ribbon feed during operation of said cooperable securing means to secure said loops to the backing strip.

Claim 17

In a machine for making a decorative bow including a plurality of upstanding loops of ribbon on a backing strip and comprising feeding and forming means operable to feed backing strips and ribbon material along a feed path and relative to a looping station of the machine and to form loops of ribbon, cooperable securing means on opposite sides of said feed path for securing the loops to one surface of the backing strip at spaced locations therealong, and means for intermittently driving at least one of said cooperable securing means toward the other for the securing means to cooperate to secure said ribbon to said one surface of said backing strip, and means to cut the backing strip and ribbon, the improvement which comprises: said feeding and forming means including means to continuously feed the backing strip toward said looping station at a first average speed and means to feed the ribbon toward said looping station at a greater average speed than said first average speed whereby loops of said ribbon are formed between said spaced locations along said strip, said ribboN feed means including means for interrupting ribbon feed during operation of said cooperable securing means to secure said loops to the backing strip.

Claim 20

The method according to claim 15, wherein said looping station includes cutting means cooperable with said blade, and cutting the ribbon and backing at said looping station to provide said bow.

Claim 21

The method according to claim 16, and actuating said blade prior to cutting the ribbon and backing to secure an area of the ribbon adjacent the cut to the backing strip of the bow.

Claim 22

The method according to claim 17, and actuating said blade following cutting of the ribbon and backing to secure an area of the ribbon adjacent the cut to the end of the backing strip from which the bow is cut.