Apparatus and related method for cutting and dedusting sheet material
AssigneeGerber Scientific, Inc.
InventorHeinz J. Gerber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic cutting and dedusting apparatus for piled or fleecy worksheets comprises an automatic cutting apparatus, a means for applying an electric field to the worksheets to statically charge them, and a dedusting machine including means for agitating and moving air adjacent cut pattern pieces to remove pile fiber portions which were previously cut and thereby disconnected from said worksheets.
Claims25
An automatic cutting and dedusting apparatus for cuting a pattern piece from a worksheet and thereafter removing free cut fibers, said apparatus comprising:
- means for cutting a worksheet at a cutting station to produce a pattern piece,
- means for statically charging said pattern piece at said cutting station so that when said pattern piece is thereafter removed from said cutting station free cut fibers will tend to adhere to said pattern piece as a result of its static charge, and
- dedusting means remote from said cutting station including means creating a flow of air past said pattern pieces for separating the free cut fibers from said pattern piece.
A method for cutting a pattern piece from a worksheet and dedusting said pattern piece, said method comprising the steps of:
- cutting said pattern piece from said worksheet at one site,
- electrically charging said pattern piece at said one site,
- transporting said pattern piece to a second site while said pattern piece remains at least partially charged,
- moving air adjacent said pattern piece at said second site to separate free cut fiber portions from it.
An automatic cutting and dedusting apparatus for cutting a pattern piece from a worksheet and thereafter removing free cut fibers, said apparatus comprising:
- means for cutting a worksheet at a cutting station to produce a pattern piece,
- means for statically charging said pattern piece at said cutting station so that when said pattern piece is thereafter removed from said cutting station free cut fibers will tend to adhere to said pattern piece as a result of its static charge, and
- dedusting means for separating said free cut fibers from said pattern piece and from the work environment.
An automatic cutting and dedusting apparatus for cutting pattern pieces from a layup of worksheets and removing fiber portions which are cut and thereby disconnected from said worksheets said apparatus comprising:
- a cutting surface for supporting said layup,
- an overlay for said layup,
- a cutting instrument for cutting said pattern pieces and an overlaying portion of said overlay,
- means for moving said cutting instrument into cutting engagement with said overlay and said layup,
- means for statically charging said cut portion of said overlay so that when said pattern pieces and overlay portion are transported from said cutting surface the charge on said overlay portion traps disconnected fiber portions and prevents them from escaping as dust, and
- means for agitating said pattern pieces and for trapping disconnected fiber portions which are agitated free of said pattern pieces to keep many of said disconnected fiber portions out of the work environment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.