Fabric measuring and cost computing apparatus

Claim 2

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out, said marking means comprising a fixed shear blade positioned in the throat in the vertical plane of the axis of the meAsuring roller, and a movable shear blade carried by the supporting means for movement generally in a vertical plane through the axis of the measuring roller, said movable blade being cooperable with said fixed shear blade for notching the margin of the cloth; means for effecting lowering of the pressure roller from its raised retracted position to grip the leading end of the cloth between the pressure roller and the measuring roller including a trigger positioned relative to the fixed shear blade and the rollers for engagement by the user''s thumb as the user, grasping a corner of the cloth at its leading end between thumb and forefinger, inserts the cloth between the rollers and moves it in rearward direction relative to the direction in which the cloth moves through the apparatus when being measured with the trigger being operable to effect the lowering of the pressure roller when the user''s thumb moves rearward of said vertical plane through the axis of the measuring roller to grip the leading end of the cloth in the nip of the rollers substantially in said vertical plane; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; and means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means.

Claim 3

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said supporting means has upper and lower portions defining said throat, the lower portion carrying said measuring roller and the upper portion carrying said pressure roller, said fixed blade being positioned within said throat inwardly of said measuring roller with the upper edge of said fixed blade, constituting its cutting edge, substantially level with the upper surface of said lower portion, said fixed blade and said movable blade being removably mounted on said supporting means for ready removal thereof and replacement with sharp blades.

Claim 4

Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said movable blade is pivotally mounted outwardly of the fixed blade on a shaft carried by said supporting means, said blade being movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said throat for passage of cloth and a lowered cutting position in which it cooperates shearwise with said fixed blade for notching the cloth, and having means biasing said movable blade toward its raised retracted position, and means biasing said movable blade axially inwardly on said shaft into face-to-face engagement with said fixed blade.

Claim 5

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 further comprising throat guard means movable upwardly in said throat from a lowered retracted position in which the upper surface of the guard means is generally tangent to the top of said measuring roller, to a raised blocking position in which said guard means blocks the throat, and means for holding said guard means in its blocking position when said pressure roller is in its lower contacting position for preventing a second piece of cloth from being entered between said rollers until said pressure roller has been lifted to its raised retracted position, said guard means comprising a flap pivotally carried by said supporting means for swinging movement on an axis generally parallel to the axis of the measuring roller and in a plane rearward of the vertical plane of the axis of the measuring roller in respect to the direction in which the cloth moves through the apparatus when being measured, said flap being swingable on its said axis between its lowered retracted position and its raised blocking position, said flap being resiliently biased to swing to its blocking position.

Claim 6

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said guard means further comprises a pawl carried by said supporting means, said pawl being movable between a latching position engageable with said flap for holding the flap in its raised blocking position and an unlatching position in which said flap may be moved to its lowered retracted position, said pawl beIng movable to its latching position in response to movement of said pressure roller to its lowered contacting position and being movable to its unlatching position in response to movement of said pressure roller to its raised retracted position.

Claim 7

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 having means for preventing overrun and reverse rotation of said measuring roller when the trailing edge of a piece of cloth being measured exits from between the rollers, and permitting said measuring roller freely to rotate when said cloth is gripped between said rollers for being measured, said preventing means comprising a ratchet on the outer end of said measuring roller, and a pawl engageable with the ratchet to restrain the measuring roller from rotation in response to movement of the flap to its throat-blocking position.

Claim 8

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said price computation means comprises: roller chart means; means for removably mounting said chart means in said supporting means for removal of the chart means from the support means as a unit; means for driving said roller chart means from said measuring roller including a quick-disengageable drive connection to said chart means whereby said chart means may be readily removed from said supporting means and readily replaced by another; said roller chart means comprising a frame carrying a storage roll and a take-up roll for a chart, said rolls being disposed in side-by-side relation, said frame with said chart rolls thereon constituting a unitary roller chart assembly which may be readily removed from or installed in said supporting means.

Claim 9

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out, said marking means comprising a fixed shear blade positioned in the throat in the vertical plane of the axis of the measuring roller, and a movable shear blade carried by the supporting means cooperable with said fixed shear blade for notching the margin of the cloth; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means; latching means for permitting operation of said marking means to mark the cloth being measured only at predetermined intervals of length comprising a lever pivoted for movement between a latching position in which it is engageable by said movable shear blade to prevent movement of the latter for notching said cloth and a retracted position permitting movement of said movable blade for notching said cloth, said lever being biased to assume its retracted position; and a peripherally notched wheel rotatable in response to rotation of said measuring roller, said lever having a catch adapted to engage against the periphery of said wheeL to hold said lever in its latching position and to be received in a notch in the wheel as said wheel rotates relative to said catch permitting said lever to pivot to its retracted position, one of said notches being in position to receive said catch each time one of said predetermined intervals of cloth passes between said rollers.

Claim 10

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out, said marking means comprising a fixed shear blade positioned in the throat in the vertical plane of the axis of the measuring roller, and a movable shear blade carried by the supporting means cooperable with said fixed shear blade for notching the margin of the cloth; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means; latching means for permitting operation of said marking means to mark the cloth being measured only at predetermined intervals of length comprising a lever pivoted for movement between a latching position in which it is engageable by said movable shear blade to prevent movement of the latter for notching said cloth and a retracted position permitting movement of said movable blade for notching said cloth, said lever being biased to assume its retracted position; and a peripherally notched wheel rotatable in response to rotation of said measuring roller, said lever having a catch adapted to engage against the periphery of said wheeL to hold said lever in its latching position and to be received in a notch in the wheel as said wheel rotates relative to said catch permitting said lever to pivot to its retracted position, one of said notches being in position to receive said catch each time one of said predetermined intervals of cloth passes between said rollers.

Claim 11

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat, said measuring roller having a plurality of annular grooves in its outer surface spaced at intervals along its length for receiving loose threads at the trailing end of cloth being measured; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; and means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means.

Claim 12

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat, said measuring roller having a plurality of annular grooves in its outer surface spaced at intervals along its length for receiving loose threads at the trailing end of cloth being measured; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; and means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means.

Claim 13

Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein the outer surface of said measuring roller between said grooves is knurled to facilitate gripping of the cloth between the measuring roller and the pressure roller when the latter is in its lowered retracted position.

Claim 14

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means; and throat guard means movable upwardly in said throat from a lowered retracted position in which the upper surface of the guard means is generally tangent to the top of said measuring roller, to a raised blocking position in which said guard means blocks the throat, and Means for holding said guard means in its blocking position when said pressure roller is in its lowered contacting position for preventing a second piece of cloth from being entered between said rollers until said pressure roller has been lifted to its raised retracted position, said guard means comprising a flap pivotally carried by said supporting means for swinging movement on an axis generally parallel to the axis of the measuring roller and in a plane rearward of the vertical plane of the axis of the measuring roller in respect to the direction in which the cloth moves through the machine when being measured, said flap being swingable on its said axis between its lowered retracted position and its raised blocking position, said flap being resiliently biased to swing to its blocking position.

Claim 15

Apparatus for measuring out lengths of cloth or the like comprising: supporting means having a horizontal throat for passage therethrough of a margin of the cloth or the like to be measured out; a measuring roller carried by said supporting means for rotation on a horizontal axis below the throat; a pressure roller carried by said supporting means above said measuring roller and movable between a raised retracted position in which it is clear of said measuring roller for insertion and removal of cloth and a lowered contacting position in which it is resiliently held against said measuring roller for gripping the cloth to be measured therebetween, whereby said rollers are caused to rotate without slippage as said cloth passes between the rollers; means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for indicating the length of cloth passing between said rollers; price computation means operable in response to rotation of said measuring roller for registering the price of the length of cloth which has passed between said rollers; means operable for marking said cloth after a desired length thereof has passed between said rollers to indicate the length of cloth measured out; means operable in response to actuation of said marking means for raising said pressure roller from its lowered contacting position to its raised retracted position; means operable to reset said indicating means and said computation means; and throat guard means movable upwardly in said throat from a lowered retracted position in which the upper surface of the guard means is generally tangent to the top of said measuring roller, to a raised blocking position in which said guard means blocks the throat, and Means for holding said guard means in its blocking position when said pressure roller is in its lowered contacting position for preventing a second piece of cloth from being entered between said rollers until said pressure roller has been lifted to its raised retracted position, said guard means comprising a flap pivotally carried by said supporting means for swinging movement on an axis generally parallel to the axis of the measuring roller and in a plane rearward of the vertical plane of the axis of the measuring roller in respect to the direction in which the cloth moves through the machine when being measured, said flap being swingable on its said axis between its lowered retracted position and its raised blocking position, said flap being resiliently biased to swing to its blocking position.