Rotary sheeter

Apparatus for cutting a continuously moving web of sheet material to provide severed sheet increments of selectable lengths, said apparatus comprising:

• a pair of elongated, generally cylindrical rotatable roll assemblies having fixed axes,
• frame means for supporting said roll assemblies lineally coextensively with said fixed axes thereof parallel to each other,
• said roll assemblies being spaced from each other to define limited passageway means therebetween for accommodating a web of sheet material moving freely therethrough, each of said roll assemblies including a center axle, and a sprocket wheel carried by each said axle,
• drive means for rotatably driving said roll assemblies in unison and at the same rotational velocity and each about a respective one of said fixed axes, but in opposite angular rotational modes, said drive means including motor means and drive chain means coupling said motor means to said sprocket wheel for rotation thereof and of said roll assemblies in opposite annular modes,
• cutter rolls and slot rolls, and means mounting said cutter rolls and said slot rolls on said roll assemblies for orbital rotation about respective axes of said roll assemblies as said roll assemblies rotate,
• means coupling each said center axle of each of said roll assemblies to respective said cutter rolls and slot rolls mounted thereon for effecting simultaneous and synchronous rotation of said rolls and orbital revolution of said rolls about said center axle upon application of rotational torque to said sprocket wheel of each said roll assemblies,
• said cutter rolls and said slot rolls comprising an array of equally spaced rolls disposed in an alternating cutter roll and slot roll sequence around each respective said roll assemblies within an encircling bounding marginal zone of each of said roll assemblies and at equal radial distances from respective said axes thereof,
• each of said rolls including an axis spaced from and paralleling said axes of said roll assemblies, for pivotally supporting respective said cutter rolls and said slot rolls,
• and means coupled to said cutter rolls and to said slot rolls for maintaining said cutter rolls and said slot rolls in planetary, ferris-wheel-like revolution about said fixed axes of said roll assemblies while maintaining fixed orientation of said cutter rolls and said slot rolls with respect to each respective axis thereof,
• said cutter rolls and said slot rolls carried by a first of said pair of roll assemblies being disposed in an out-of-phase sequence with respect to cooperating cutter rolls and slot rolls carried by an opposed second of said pair of said roll assemblies with a given cutter roll of one of said roll assemblies located so as to approach proximate to and directly to oppose a cooperating slot roll of the other of said roll assemblies during ganged synchronous rotation of said roll assemblies in opposite directions about respective axes thereof,
• knife blade means carried by each of said cutter rolls to extend longitudinally therealong, and means supporting said knife blade means to project in a plane paralleling said axis of respective each of said cutter rolls and radially beyond a periphery of said cutter rolls during presentation of an outwardly extending cutting edge of said knife blade means to engage a web traveling through said passageway means to convert said web into cut sheets of selectable lengths,
• each of said slot rolls being formed with a slot extending longitudinally therealong and radially inwardly from a peripheral bounding circumference of said slot rolls for receiving a projecting free cutting edge of said knife blade means upon cutting engagement of said knife blade means with the web being severed.

Apparatus for cutting a continuously moving web of sheet material to provide severed sheet increments of selectable lengths, said apparatus comprising:

• a pair of elongated, generally cylindrical rotatable roll assemblies having fixed axes,
• frame means for supporting said roll assemblies lineally coextensively with said fixed axes thereof parallel to each other,
• said roll assemblies being spaced from each other to define limited passageway means therebetween for accommodating a web of sheet material moving freely therethrough,
• drive means for rotatably driving said roll assemblies in unison and at the same rotational velocity and each about a respective one of said fixed axes, but in opposite angular rotational modes,
• cutter rolls and slot rolls, and means mounting said cutter rolls and said slot rolls on said roll assemblies for orbital rotation about respective axes of said roll assemblies as said roll assemblies rotate,
• said cutter rolls and said slot rolls comprising an array of equally spaced rolls disposed in an alternating cutter roll and slot roll sequence around each respective said roll assemblies within an encircling bounding marginal zone of each of said roll assemblies and at equal radial distances from respective said axes thereof,
• each of said rolls including an axis spaced from and paralleling said axes of said roll assemblies, for pivotally supporting respective said cutter rolls and said slot rolls,
• and means coupled to said cutter rolls and to said slot rolls for maintaining said cutter rolls and said slot rolls in planetary, ferris-wheel-like revolution about said fixed axes of said roll assemblies while maintaining fixed orientation of said cutter rolls and said slot rolls with respect to each respective axis thereof,
• said cutter rolls and said slot rolls carried by a first of said pair of roll assemblies being disposed in an out-of-phase sequence with respect to cooperating cutter rolls and slot rolls carried by an opposed second of said pair of said roll assemblies with a given cutter roll of one of said roll assemblies located so as to approach proximate to and directly to oppose a cooperating slot roll of the other of said roll assemblies during ganged synchronous rotation of said roll assemblies in opposite directions about respective axes thereof,
• knife blade means carried by each of said cutter rolls to extend longitudinally therealong, and means supporting said knife blade means to project in a plane paralleling said axis of respective each of said cutter rolls and radially beyond a periphery of said cutter rolls during presentation of an outwardly extending cutting edge of said knife blade means to engage a web travelling through said passageway means to convert said web into cut sheets of selectable lengths,
• each of said slot rolls being formed with a slot extending longitudinally therealong and radially inwardly from a peripheral bounding circumference of said slot rolls for receiving a projecting free cutting edge of said knife blade means upon cutting engagement of said knife blade means with the web being severed.

In apparatus for cutting a continuously moving web of sheet material to provide severed sheet increments of selectable lengths, said apparatus including

• a pair of elongate, generally cylindrical rotatable roll assemblies, each of said roll assemblies including a center axle, and a sprocket wheel carried by each said axle,
• frame means for supporting said roll assemblies lineally coextensively with said fixed axes thereof parallel to each other,
• said roll assemblies being spaced from each other to define a limited passagway therebetween for accommodating a web of sheet material moving freely therethrough,
• drive means, including motor means and drive chain means coupling said motor means to said sprocket wheel for rotatably driving said roll assemblies in unison and at the same rotational velocity and each about a respective one of said fixed axes, but in opposite annular rotational directions,
• cutter rolls and slot rolls, and means mounting said cutter rolls and said slot rolls on said roll assemblies,
• means coupling each said center axle of each of said roll assemblies to respective said cutter rolls and slot rolls mounted thereon for effecting simultaneous and synchronous rotation of said rolls and orbital revolution of said rolls about said center axle upon application of rotational torque to said sprocket wheel of each said roll assemblies,
• and means for supporting said cutter rolls and said slot rolls for planetary revolution in a ferris-wheel fashion about said center axle of respective each said roll assemblies, and including means for establishing and maintaining, during rotation of said roll assemblies, a fixed annular orientation of said cutter rolls and said slot rolls with respect to their own axes,
• displacement means for effecting incremental annular shifting of said cutter rolls and said slot rolls about respective axes thereof,
• said displacement means being operable to establish selectively a stand-by mode and an operative mode of said cutter rolls and said slot rolls during movement of a web of sheet material through said passageway.