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US 5,361,453 AGranted
Bristle bed cleaner for sheet material cutting machine
AssigneeGerber Garment Technology, Inc.
InventorHeinz J. Gerber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeGerber Garment Technology, Inc.
InventorHeinz J. Gerber
Estimating the term…
A cleaner for cleaning debris from the bristles of a bristle bed which provides the work material support surface for a sheet material cutting machine performs its cleaning operation while the bristle bed or the bristle units making up the bristle bed remain in place on the cutting machine. A plurality of blades which may be either rotary or non-rotary are fixed to and spaced relative to one another along a given line. During a cleaning operation the blades enter the bristle bed and are moved in a direction perpendicular to the given line and parallel to the support surface to dislodge debris from the bristles. A vacuum device may be included in the cleaner to collect the dislodged debris and the cleaner may also include a vibrator for vibrating either the blades or the bed in the vicinity of the blades to assist in freeing the debris from the bristles.
A sheet material cutting machine having a bristle bed with vertically extending bristles having free ends defining a support surface for supporting sheet material to be cut, and a cleaner means associated with said bristle bed for removing debris therefrom, said cleaner means having a plurality of blades fixed relative to and spaced from one another along a given line, support means for supporting said cleaner means on said cutting machine adjacent said bristle bed;
A cleaner having means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed of a sheet material cutting machine having a bristle bed defined by a plurality of generally vertically extending bristles with free ends defining a support surface having two coordinate direction for supporting the sheet material to be cut, said cutting machine including a frame, a main carriage extending over said support surface in one coordinate direction of said support surface and a cutter head carriage movable on said main carriage in the other coordinate direction of said support surface, said means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed of a sheet material cutting machine comprising a plurality of blades fixed relative to and spaced from one another along a given line, and attaching means forming part of said cleaner for attaching said cleaner to one of said carriages of said cutting machine so that said blades move through the bristle bed of said cutting machine as said one carriage is moved in one of said coordinate directions relative to said supporting surface, each of said blades being located essentially in an associated plane perpendicular to said support surface and to said given line and having a free outer end each of said blades in said plane having a length dimension extending from said given line to said free outer end and at each point along said length dimension having an associated width dimension generally perpendicular to said length dimension, and each of said blades further having a thickness measured parallel to said given line which along most of said length dimension of said blade is a number of times smaller than said associated width dimension so that at said outer end it is relatively easily deflectable laterally out of said plane and is relatively non-detectable in said plane.
A cleaner having means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed of a sheet material cutting machine having a bristle bed defined by a plurality of generally vertically extending bristles with ends defining a support surface having two coordinate directions for supporting the sheet material to be cut, said cutting machine including a frame, a main carriage extending over said support surface in one coordinate direction of said support surface and a cutter head carriage movable on said main carriage in the other coordinate direction of said support surface, said means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed comprising a plurality of blades fixed relative to and spaced from one another along a given line, a cleaner carriage, and connecting means for connecting said cleaner carriage to said cutting machine separately from said main carriage so as to extend across said support surface along said one coordinate direction of said support surface and to be movable relative to said support surface in the other coordinate direction of said support surface, said means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed being carried by said cleaner carriage so that each of its blades moves through said bristle bed in a plane perpendicular to said line as the cleaner carriage is moved in said other coordinate direction relative to the bed, each of said blades having a free outer end and a length dimension extending from said given line to said free outer end, and each of said blades further having a thickness measured parallel to said given line which along most of its length is a number of times smaller than its width so that at said outer end it is relatively easily deflectable laterally out of said plane and is relatively non-deflectable in said plane.
A cleaner having means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed of a conveyor bed cutting machine wherein the bristle bed is in the form of an endless member having upper and lower runs with the upper run having generally vertically extending bristles the upper ends of which are free and define a support surface having two coordinate directions for supporting the work material to be cut, said cutting machine having a stationary frame relative to which said endless member moves in one of said coordinate directions, said means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed comprising a plurality of blades fixed relative to and spaced from one another along a given line, and mounting means for mounting said means for cleaning the work supporting bristle bed to said frame of the cutting machine with said line extending parallel to the other of said coordinate directions so that each of said blades moves through said bristle bed in a plane perpendicular to said line as said endless member is moved relative to said frame in said one coordinate direction, each of said blades having a free outer end and a length dimension extending from said given line to said free outer end, and each of said blades further having a thickness measured parallel to said given line which along most of its length is a number of times smaller than its width so that at said outer end it is relatively easily deflectable laterally out of said plane and is relatively non-deflectable in said plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.