Pile fabric sculpturing apparatus

An apparatus for trimming the pile of a fabric having areas of fibers stiffened by an adhesive and areas of unstiffened fibers comprising:

• a frame, blade cutter means comprising an endless flexible band pivotally mounted on said frame, means to supply pile fabric to be trimmed into cutting relationship to said cutting means and a second means mounted adjacent to said cutting means to maintain the fabric into contact with said cutting means, said second means including a substantially cylindrical elongated support member having a body portion with gripping means thereon to counteract the drag of the blade of said cutting means on the pile fabric being trimmed, and means for matching the curvature of said support member to the curvature of said endless flexible band, said means including a plurality of means for supporting and twisting said support member, each said means for supporting and twisting said support member including:
• a pillow block;
• at least two rollers rotatably mounted on said pillow block, at least one of said rollers having a length which is more than about three times the diameter of said support member, said rollers being rotatable about parallel axes of rotation;
• and means for extending and withdrawing said pillow block relative to said blade means;
• for elevating and lowering said pillow block relative to said blade means;
• and for aligning the axis of rotation of said rollers with the curvature of said blade whereby when said pile fabric is tensioned, the curvature of said support member is matched to the curvature of said blade, said means including a plurality of set screws operably associated with each pillow block on opposite sides thereof.