Machine for cutting brittle materials

Claim 2

An improved machine for cutting brittle materials comprising: a. continuous wire supply means; b. take-up means for used wire; c. a plurality of wire guides defining a continuous wire path between said wire supply means and said take-up means and further defining a cutting area; d. material mounting means for rigidly affixing adjacent said cutting area pieces of material to be cut; e. said material mounting means and the wire within said cutting area being further mounted for relative converging and diverging movements; and f. switching means for producing relative reciprocating movements between wire in said cutting area and the piece of material to be cut, said switching means including a reversible motor and pulley means driven thereby, a carriage having pulley means thereon for cooperating with some of said wire guides to define a predetermined length of wire path within said continuous wire path operating to allow reversal of the wire in said cutting area with reversal of said motor, said carriage being mounted for reciprocating travel along a linear path between two of said wire guides positioned in spaced apart relationship, and switch means mounted for operation upon said carriage reaching each end of said path.

Claim 3

An improved machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said continuous wire supply means includes a drive motor and spool driven by the shaft thereof and said take-up means includes a drive motor and spool driven by the shaft thereof, said drive motors being energized continuously during operation of said machine to continuously move new wire along said continuous path.

Claim 4

An improved machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein the switch means includes a switch mounted at each end of the path of said carriage and an abuttment on said carriage for activating one of said switches at each end of the path.

Claim 5

An improved machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pulley means on the carriage include two elongated pulleys, rotatably mounted generally parallel and the some of said wire guides include two elongated pulleys, rotatably mounted in spaced apart, fixed positions to define the predetermined path of the carriage therebetween.

Claim 6

An improved machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said plurality of wire guides further include a plurality of parallel elongated pulley means fixedly positioned in spaced apart relationship for receiving a plurality of turns of wire therearound to define a web one side of which defines the cutting area.

Claim 7

An improved machine for cutting brittle materials comprising: a. continuous wire supply means; b. take-up means for used wire; c. a plurality of wire guides defining a continuous wire path between said wire supply means and said take-up means and Further defining a cutting area; d. material mounting means for rigidly affixing adjacent said cutting area pieces of material to be cut; e. said material mounting means and the wire within said cutting area being further mounted for relative converging and diverging movements; and f. switching means for producing relative reciprocating movements between wire in said cutting area and the piece of material to be cut, said switching means including a reversible motor connected to rotatably drive one of said plurality of wire guides, a carriage having pulley means thereon for cooperating with some of said wire guides to define a storage means for wire within said continuous wire path operating to allow reversal of the wire in said cutting area with reversal of said motor, said carriage being mounted for reciprocating travel along a linear path between two of said wire guides positioned in spaced apart relationship, and switch means mounted for operation upon said carriage reaching each end of said linear path and connected to said reversible motor for reversing said reversible motor each time said switch means is operated.

Claim 8

An improved machine for cutting brittle materials comprising: a. continuous wire supply means; b. take-up means for used wire; c. a plurality of wire guides defining a continuous wire path between said wire supply means and said take-up means and Further defining a cutting area; d. material mounting means for rigidly affixing adjacent said cutting area pieces of material to be cut; e. said material mounting means and the wire within said cutting area being further mounted for relative converging and diverging movements; and f. switching means for producing relative reciprocating movements between wire in said cutting area and the piece of material to be cut, said switching means including a reversible motor connected to rotatably drive one of said plurality of wire guides, a carriage having pulley means thereon for cooperating with some of said wire guides to define a storage means for wire within said continuous wire path operating to allow reversal of the wire in said cutting area with reversal of said motor, said carriage being mounted for reciprocating travel along a linear path between two of said wire guides positioned in spaced apart relationship, and switch means mounted for operation upon said carriage reaching each end of said linear path and connected to said reversible motor for reversing said reversible motor each time said switch means is operated.

Claim 9

An improved machine for cutting brittle materials comprising: a. continuous wire supply means; b. take-up means for used wire; c. a plurality of wire guides defining a continuous wire path between said wire supply means and said take-up means and further defining a cutting area; d. material mounting means for rigidly affixing adjacent said cutting area pieces of material to be cut; e. said material mounting means and the wire within said cutting area being further mounted for relative converging and diverging movements; and f. linear wire storage means positioned in said continuous wire path with at least a portion thereof being mounted for reciprocating travel along a linear path to provide reversible linear movement of the wire within said storage means for producing relative reciprocating movements between wire in said cutting area and the piece of material to be cut.

Claim 10

An improved machine for cutting brittle materials comprising: a. continuous wire supply means; b. take-up means for used wire; c. a plurality of wire guides defining a continuous wire path between said wire supply means and said take-up means and further defining a cutting area; d. material mounting means for rigidly affixing adjacent said cutting area pieces of material to be cut; e. said material mounting means and the wire within said cutting area being further mounted for relative converging and diverging movements; and f. linear wire storage means positioned in said continuous wire path with at least a portion thereof being mounted for reciprocating travel along a linear path to provide reversible linear movement of the wire within said storage means for producing relative reciprocating movements between wire in said cutting area and the piece of material to be cut.