Pilot device for a suspended knife of a cutting machine for cutting sheet material

A cutting device having a cutting head and a cutting knife for use in an automatically controlled cutting machine for cutting fabric sheet material spread out on a cutting table in multiple layers, said cutting device being controlled according to a three-dimensional coordinate system by means for moving the cutting head along an X- and Y-axis over the cutting table and pivoting about a Z-axis of said cutting head for moving the knife tangently along a predetermined cutting path during cutting of the material, said cutting device comprising:

• said cutting head;
• said cutting knife mounted movably in said cutting head so as to be reciprocally movable along and rotatable about a first vertical axis;
• supporting means for laterally supporting the cutting knife;
• and
• a pressure foot rigidly connected to the cutting head,
• said supporting means including a support and a socket, said socket being rigidly connected to the cutting head, said support being freely and rotatably mounted in said socket about a second vertical axis, said second vertical axis being adjacent to a cutting edge of said cutting knife and spaced a predetermined distance from said first vertical axis;
• said support having a slot surrounding flanks of the knife;
• said slot being eccentrically positioned in said support relative to said second vertical axis and extending to a trailing edge of the knife;
• and
• said socket further including sensor means for detecting at least one of an instantaneous rotation angle and a direction of the support relative to the socket and providing correcting signals for controlling the movement of the knife about the first vertical axis to regulate the cutting of the material by the knife along the predetermined cutting path in response to at least one of the detected rotation angle and direction.