Apparatus for cutting strips of material

In an apparatus for cutting segments from a strip of material including feed means to feed the material, said feed means including means movable from a first position to feed the material;

• first inactivating means to inactivate said feed means to stop feeding of the material in response to a selected length of the material being fed by said feed means past a cutting position;
• cutting means to cut the fed material at the cutting position;
• first responsive means responsive to said feed means to activate said cutting means to cut the fed material substantially simultaneously with stopping of said feed means;
• second responsive means responsive to said cutting means completing cutting of the fed material to cause return of said cutting means to its inactive position;
• sensing means to sense when the thickness of the material being fed by said feed means exceeds a predetermined thickness and when the thickness of the material being fed by said feed means ceases to exceed the predetermined thickness after having exceeded the predetermined thickness or when the thickness of the material being fed by said feed means is less than a predetermined thickness and when the thickness of the material being fed by said feed means ceases to be less than the predetermined thickness after having been less than the predetermined thickness;
• second inactivating means to cause inactivation of said feed means after said sensing means has sensed that the thickness of the material has ceased to exceed the predetermined thickness after having exceeded the predetermined thickness or has sensed that the thickness of the material has ceased to be less than the predetermined thickness after having been less than the predetermined thickness irrespective of whether said feed means has fed the selected length of material, said second inactivating means causing activation of said cutting means substantially simultaneously with inactivation of said feed means;
• the improvement comprising:
• first control means connected to a source of fluid pressure;
• second control means connected to said first control means to receive fluid pressure from the source of fluid pressure;
• said first control means having first and second control positions;
• said second control means having first and second control positions;
• means to dispose said first control means in its first control position only when said movable means of said feed means is in its first position;
• means to supply fluid pressure to act on said movable means of said feed means only when said first control means is in its first control position and said second control means is in its second control position;
• said first responsive means including means to dispose said second control means in its first control position to activate said cutting means to cut the fed material at the cutting position and to remove fluid pressure from acting on said movable means of said feed means to move said movable means from its first position;
• and
• said second responsive means including means to dispose said first control means in its second control position to allow fluid pressure to be supplied from said first control means through said second control means when said second control means is in its second control position to remove fluid pressure from acting on said cutting means to move said cutting means to its cutting position and to apply fluid pressure to said cutting means to return said cutting means to its inactive position.