Method and apparatus for manufacture of swatch bearing sheets

An apparatus for manufacturing swatch bearing sheets each bearing rows of rectangular-shaped swatches adhered to the sheet at predetermined locations thereon, said apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of swatch forming and applying stations aligned along a travel path for the swatch bearing sheets;
• means for continuously feeding a succession of base sheets having a long axis dimension greater than eighteen inches in length where that long axis is normal to the direction of sheet travel through a plurality of swatch forming stations;
• means for transferring the base sheets to an adhesive applying station;
• means for transferring the base sheets to an between the plurality of swatch forming and applying stations;
• a predetermined number of ribbon supply means at each of swatch forming station for supplying a number of ribbons greater than the number of swatch forming stations;
• means for simultaneously severing swatches of equal length in each row at each of the swatch forming stations from the continuous color ribbons supplied from the ribbon supply means and aligned across the severing means, with the number of severed swatches in the row greater than the total number of swatch forming stations;
• and
• the means for simultaneously severing rectangularly-shaped swatches in each row comprising
• a rotating cutting cylinder rotatable about a rotational axis;
• a cutting blade having a straight cutting edge parallel to the rotational axis of the cutting cylinder to engage all of the ribbons simultaneously;
• a flexible mounting on the cylinder mounting the straight cutting edge to allow the straight cutting edge to partially retract as it severs the rectangularly-shaped swatches from all of the ribbons at the swatch forming station,
• means at each of the swatch forming stations for transferring the severed swatches to rows of adhesive locations across the long axis of the base sheet.

An apparatus for manufacturing swatch bearing sheets each bearing rows of swatches adhered to the sheet at predetermined locations thereon said apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of swatch forming and applying stations aligned along a travel path for the swatch bearing sheets;
• means for continuously feeding a succession of base sheets having a long axis dimension greater than eighteen inches in length where that lone axis is normal to the direction of sheet travel through a plurality of swatch forming stations;
• means for transferring the base sheets to an adhesive applying station;
• means for applying adhesive to each base sheet in predetermined locations across the lone axis of the base sheet;
• means for transferring the base sheets to and between the plurality of swatch forming and applying stations;
• a predetermined number of ribbon supply means at each of swatch forming station for susplying a number of ribbons greater than the number of swatch forming stations;
• means for simultaneously severing swatches of equal length in each row at each of the swatch forming stations from the continuous color ribbons supplied from the ribbon supply means and aligned across the severing means, with the number of severed swatches in the row greater than the total number of swatch forming stations;
• means at each of the swatch forming stations for transferring the severed swatches to rows of adhesive locations across the long axis of the base sheet,
• the severing means comprising a rotating cylinder and a cutting blade which is flexibly mounted on the rotating cylinder, and means mounting the cutting blade to allow it to partially retract as it contacts all the ribbons across the cylinder simultaneously to cleanly sever swatches from all the ribbons, and
• there being two cutting blades mounted 180.degree. apart on the severing means cylinder such that swatches can be severed every one-half rotation of the cylinder when base sheets are fed end-to-end thereby doubling the output of the severing means, wherein
• the swatch transferring means includes a vacuum means on the severing means cylinder for holding the swatches onto the severing means cylinder for turning therewith, and a vacuum saving device which can be activated when the severing means is operating in single-knife mode, such that the vacuum is conserved during that portion of the rotation of the swatch transferring means where there are no severed swatches to transfer to the base sheet.