Apparatus for and method of making carpeting strip having integral seam-forming portion

In an apparatus for continuously making a carpeting strip having integral joining means;

• said apparatus comprising means for feeding a wear layer having a bottom surface and opposed side edges;
• means for continuously moving and guiding said wear layer in a rectilinear path;
• photoelectric means for sensing opposite side edges of said wear layer to enable adjustment of a part of said moving means and thereby provide adjustment of the position of said wear layer;
• a pair of devices for fixing a pair of release tapes against said bottom surface with each of said devices fixing its release tape adjacent an associated side edge portion of said wear layer;
• each release tape defining a free part of said wear layer disposed thereagainst;
• and means forming a compressible backing material against said bottom surface and against said tapes so that each of said tapes isolates a portion of said backing material from said wear layer and is sandwiched therebetween;
• the improvement comprising;
• a tenter assembly defined as a part of said moving means with said tenter assembly having means for stretching and holding said wear layer at a precise width to enable fixing each of said release tapes at a precise location thereagainst;
• adjustment means for each of said devices to enable adjustment thereof relative to said wear layer and fixing of an associated tape at said precise location adjacent an associated side edge portion;
• a trimming apparatus having a pair of cutting means for cutting through said wear layer, tapes, and backing material;
• and means for positioning each cutting means to define the width of said carpeting strip and assure a predetermined required width of release tape remains on each side edge portion of said carpeting strip after cutting by said cutting means while providing each of said side edge portions with a precision planar cut side edge defined by an edge of said wear layer, release tape, and backing material disposed in coplanar relation;
• said positioning means being adapted to be operated independently of said tenter assembly;
• a pair of photoelectric devices each disposed along a side edge portion of said carpeting strip;
• each of said devices detecting associated release tape in its sandwiched position to assure presence of a required width thereof during continuous making of said carpeting strip and after cutting by said cutting means;
• and a carpeting strip marking mechanism operatively connected to each of said photoelectric devices;
• said marking mechanism being actuated by either of said photoelectric devices and providing a continuous marking of said carpeting strip in response to detection of the required width of release tape by each photoelectric device;
• said marking mechanism ceasing its marking once a photoelectric device detects that said required width is no longer present;
• said carpeting strip being particularly adapted to have a cut side edge thereof disposed in abutting relation against a substantially identical carpeting strip having a substantially identical cut side edge by removing said tape from said carpeting strip and a similar tape from said identical carpeting strip and bonding said free parts of said wear layers together against support means briding an isolated portion of backing material of said carpeting strip and a similar isolated portion of backing material of said identical carpeting strip.