Stock material strip feed controller

An apparatus for measuring and controlling lengths of movement of a continuous stock material strip which is intermittently fed by feed rollers along a predetermined path of travel to a machine which is provided with a crankshaft for reciprocally operating a carriage having operation means for acting upon said strip, said apparatus comprising:

• crankshaft position indicator means operatively connected to said crankshaft for generating start of feed and end of feed signals;
• strip measuring means for engaging with and sensing movement of said strip and generating a strip movement signal representative of the movement of said strip;
• controller means for receiving said strip movement signal from said strip measuring means and said start of feed and end of feed signals from said crankshaft position indicator means and generating therefrom a first signal indicative of a length of movement of said strip occurring between start of feed and end of feed signals, and comparing said first signal to a second signal representative of a predetermined desired length of movement of said strip, said controller means generating a shut-down signal to said machine if the difference between said first and second signals exceeds a predetermined shut-down limit range and generating an error signal if the difference between said first and second signals does not exceed said shut-down limit range but exceeds a predetermined error limit range;
• and
• strip adjustment means connected to said controller means and responsive to said error signal for adjusting the next successive length of movement of said strip based upon said error signal, said strip adjustment means comprising:
• a bridge positioned below said path of travel of said strip and being movable toward and away from said strip;
• lifting means associated with said bridge for reciprocally moving said bridge between a lowered position and an elevated position, said bridge raising said strip as it moves from its lowered position to its elevated position;
• and
• height adjustment means positioned adjacent to said bridge and lifting means for adjusting the height of said bridge and said lifting means in response to said error signal, thereby changing the distance said strip must travel from said feed rollers to said machine.

An apparatus for measuring and controlling lengths of movement of a continuous stock material strip which is intermittently fed by feed rollers along a predetermined path of travel to a machine which is provided with a crankshaft for reciprocally operating a carriage having operation means for acting upon said strip, said apparatus comprising:

• crankshaft position indicator means operatively connected to said crankshaft for generating start of feed and end of feed signals;
• strip measuring means for sensing movement of said strip and generating a strip movement signal representative of the movement of said strip;
• controller means for receiving said strip movement signal from said strip measuring means and said start of feed and end of feed signals from said crankshaft position indicator means and generating therefrom a first signal indicative of a length of movement of said strip occurring between start of feed and end of feed signals, and comparing said first signal to a second signal representative of a predetermined desired length of movement of said strip, said controller means generating a shut-down signal to said machine if the difference between said first and second signals exceeds a predetermined shut-down limit range, thereby shutting down said machine and preventing damage from occurring to said operation means before said operation means acts upon said strip, said controller means further including display means for displaying a length error equal to the difference between said first and second signals;
• and
• strip adjustment means for correcting successive lengths of movement of said strip, said strip adjustment means being manually adjustable in response to the displayed length error, said strip adjustment means comprising:
• a bridge positioned below said path of travel of said strip and being movable toward and away from said strip;
• lifting means associated with said bridge for reciprocally moving said bridge between a lowered position and an elevated position, said bridge raising said strip as said bridge moves from its lowered position to its elevated position;
• and
• height adjustment means associated with said bridge and said lifting means for adjusting the height of said bridge and said lifting means, said height adjustment means being manually adjustable in response to the displayed length error, thereby changing the distance said strip must travel from said feed rollers to said machine.

An apparatus for measuring and controlling lengths of movement of a continuous stock material strip which is intermittently fed by feed rollers along a predetermined path of travel to a machine which is provided with a crankshaft for reciprocally operating a carriage having operation means for acting upon said strip, said apparatus comprising:

• crankshaft position indicator means operatively connected to said crankshaft for generating start of feed and end of feed signals;
• strip measuring means for sensing movement of said strip and generating a strip movement signal representative of the movement of said strip;
• controller means for receiving said strip movement signal from said strip measuring means and said start of feed and end of feed signals from said crankshaft position indicator means and generating therefrom a first signal indicative of a length of movement of said strip occurring between start of feed and end of feed signals, and comparing said first signal to a second signal representative of a predetermined desired length of movement of said strip, said controller means generating a shut-down signal to said machine if the difference between said first and second signals exceeds a predetermined shut-down limit range, thereby shutting down said machine and preventing damage from occurring to said operation means before said operation means acts upon said strip, said controller means further generating an error signal if the difference between said first and second signals does not exceed said shut-down limit range but exceeds a predetermined error limit range;
• and
• strip adjustment means for correcting the next successive length of movement of said strip based upon said error signal, said strip adjustment means comprising:
• a bridge positioned below said path of travel of said strip and being movable toward and away from said strip;
• lifting means associated with said bridge for reciprocating said bridge between a down position and an elevated position, said bridge raising said strip as said bridge moves from its down position to its elevated position;
• and
• height adjustment means associated with said bridge and lifting means for adjusting the height of said bridge and said lifting means in response to said error signal, thereby changing the distance said strip must travel from said feed rollers to said machine.