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US 4,375,175 AGranted
Towel cutting machine
AssigneeNemo Industries, Inc.
InventorsNorman E. Elsas, James B. Middleton
Life of this patent
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AssigneeNemo Industries, Inc.
InventorsNorman E. Elsas, James B. Middleton
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for automatically severing individual towels from a length of material comprising a plurality of terry towels. The method includes the steps of measuring slightly less than the supposed length of a towel, then activating a sensor that detects the edge of a cutting space by the change in thickness of the material. The sensor causes feeding of the material to stop with a cut-line at a cutting blade. The first edge of the material is held while a second sensor located the same edge at the opposite side of the material, and the cutting blade is moved with the sensor. The material is stretched to straighten the cut-line, and the cutting blade is caused to cut the material. The apparatus includes feed rolls to move the material, and an encoder measures the length. A roller at one edge of the material detects the change in thickness at one edge, and similar rollers detect the change in thickness at the opposite edge. The sensors are mounted on a single bracket that is pivoted at one sensor; and, the cutting blade is mounted to pivot and remain parallel to a line through the two sensors.
A method for automatically cutting terry towels from a length of material including a plurality of terry towels, said length of material defining a cutting space of non-terry material between contiguous towels and defining a cut-line in the center of said cutting space, said method including the steps of aligning a first edge of said material with a cutting means so that said cut-line at said first edge is positioned to be cut by said cutting means, holding said first edge of said material adjacent to said cutting means while pivoting said cutting means at said first edge to align the opposite end of said cutting means with said cut-line at a second edge of said material, pulling said material taut to straighten said cut-line and cutting said material with said cutting means.
Automatic towel cutting apparatus, for severing individual terry towels from a length of material including a plurality of terry towels, said length of material having a first edge and a second edge and defining a cutting space of non-terry material between contiguous towels and a cut-line in the center of said cutting space, said apparatus including cutting means positioned generally transversely of a path for said length of material, means for aligning a cut-line at said first edge of said material with one end of said cutting means, holding means for holding said first edge with respect to said cutting means, means for moving the opposite end of said cutting means to be aligned with said cut-line at said second edge of said length of material, and means for stretching said material along said cut-line to straighten said cut-line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.