Drive for rotatable cutter mechanisms

Abstract

A pair of rotatable cutter mechanisms are positioned on opposite sides of a moving web and are arranged upon rotation of the cutter shafts to cut notches in the side edges of the moving web. The cutter shafts are rotatably driven by a drive mechanism that includes a pair of endless timing belts connected to the cutter shafts. One of the timing belts is reeved about a drive pulley that is non-rotatably connected to a helical gear. The main drive shaft has a helical gear that meshes with the helical gear connected to the pulley. The pair of timing belts are drivingly connected to each other by means of a pair of meshing helical gears connected to separate pulleys associated with the respective timing belts. Phase adjustment of both of the cutter mechanisms is accomplished by axially moving the helical gears connected to the pulley and main drive shaft while the helical gears remain in meshing relation with each other. The phase adjustment between the two cutter mechanisms is accomplished by moving the second pair of meshing helical gears axially relative to each other while remaining in meshing relation to rotatably displace one helical gear relative to the other and thus adjust the phase relation between the pairs of rotating cutter mechanisms.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.