Device for infeeding a strip of flexible material for use in machines for binding thin articles and, in particular, machines for edging parts for boots and shoes

An infeed device for infeeding a strip of flexible material, said infeed device capable of being used in a machine for binding thin articles and, in particular, a machine for edging parts for boots and shoes, said machine comprising, means for placing adhesive between said strip and the articles to be edged, cutting mechanism actuated by control means provided wih a reciprocating motion, for cutting said strip, mechanism for folding the strip partly above and partly below the outline of the said articles, and pressure-applying and transportation mechanism for intermittently pressing the strip against the articles and for causing the articles to be moved forward as they are edged, said infeed device comprising a quadrant mounted ahead of said cutting mechanism oscillatable around an axis perpendicular to the direction in which said strip moves forward, a gripper unit mounted on said quadrant to take firm hold of the strip and to move it forward towards said cutting mechanism while the said quadrant travels forward, and operating means with which to cause the said quadrant to undergo a pendulum motion and said gripper unit to close and to open during the forward and return travel, respectively, of said quadrant, said operating means being connected to the cutting mechanism control unit so as to bring about the forward movement of the said strip, immediately after it has been cut, until the said strip, immediately after it has been cut, until the free end thereof has been carried to a point corresponding to where said folding mechanism and said pressure-applying and transportation mechanism are positioned.