Apparatus for continuously cutting away pieces from a continuously moving endless material

An apparatus for continuously cutting away successive pieces or sections from a continuously moving endless material by flying cutting, said continuously moving endless material moving at a predetermined feed speed and said flying cutting being performed by means of a traveling cutting device accelerated to said predetermined feed speed and synchronized with each of said pieces or sections to be cut away from the endless material, said apparatus (1) comprising

• an elongated carriage (4a, 4b) mounted so as to travel in a motion direction of the continuously moving endless material;
• drive means (9) for moving said elongated carriage (4a, 4b) in said motion direction of the continuously moving endless material;
• a transversely traveling carriage (5′) mounted on said elongated carriage so as to be movable transverse to said motion direction of the continuously moving endless material;
• a cutting tool (6) mounted on said traveling carriage (5′) for cutting away said pieces or sections, said traveling cutting device comprising said cutting tool (6);
• drive means (16) for operating said traveling cutting device to cut away said pieces or sections from said endless material with said cutting tool (6) when a travel speed of said traveling carriage (5′) with said cutting tool (6) mounted thereon is synchronized with said predetermined feed speed of the continuously moving endless material;
• a camera device (7) mounted in a fixed relationship with said cutting tool (6) and arranged at a predetermined distance from said cutting tool (6), said predetermined distance being substantially equal to a predetermined length of each of said pieces or sections to be cut away, said camera device (7) comprising means for generating image signals of an image of a front out edge of said continuously moving endless material during said flying cutting;
• and
• a controller (10) for controlling said drive means (9) for moving said elongated carriage (4a, 4b) according to said image signals from said camera device (7);
• wherein said controller (10) includes
• means for electronically generating a pre-control speed value signal for bringing said travel speed of said traveling carriage within a synchronization range in order to synchronize said travel speed with said predetermined feed speed of said continuously moving endless material;
• means for electronically controlling the travel speed of the traveling carriage carrying said cutting tool (6), when said travel speed is within said synchronization range, according to an automatic electronic control signal so that each of said pieces or sections is cut to said predetermined length;
• and
• means for activating said drive means (16) for operating said traveling cutting device to cut away said pieces or sections from said endless material with said cutting tool (6) when said travel speed is synchronized with said predetermined feed speed of the continuously moving endless material and when said predetermined length corresponds to said predetermined distance.