GB1311650A - Fabric laying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

1311650 Laying fabrics G STUMPF 27 July 1971 [14 June 1971] 35144/71 Heading D1S A fabric laying machine of the type comprising a laying carriage 4 mounted to reciprocate along a laying table 1, a support 8 for a roll 9 of fabric carried by holding means 7 mounted on the carriage 4, two motor-driven fabric-pull-off rollers 14a, 14b and a cutting device 15, is characterized in that the support 8 is adjustable relatively to the carriage 4 in a direction parallel to the direction of reciprocation of the latter. The holding means 7 is mounted so as to be transversely adjustable on cross-struts 30 of the carriage 4 by rollers 31, 33. The fabric roll support comprises a pair of parallel rods 8 each having a portion of its length telescopically guided in a rectangular-section guide 35 and formed as a rack 39 to engage a pinion 40 drivable by a geared motor 41 located in the holding means 7. The free ends of the rods 8 are provided with pillows 37 to receive the shaft 38 carrying the roll 9. The motors 41 are controlled by a photocell 10 and a light source 12 which scans the edge of the fabric 11 and pulses are emitted when there is a change in the distance between the photocell and the vertically hanging fabric 11. As the radius of the roll 9 becomes smaller, the motors 41 rotate the pinions 40 slowly to advance the rods 8 to ensure that the fabric 11 always extends in a constant vertical plane. The photocell 10 and the light source 12 are mounted on a rod 42 which, for different fabric widths, is adjustable in a bush 43. Alternatively, the maintainance of the fabric 11 vertical may be effected by a handwheel (not shown). Each end of the shaft of the roller 14b is independently adjustable to effect inclined positioning thereof relative to the roller 14a by one of a pair of eccentric levers 22 which are manually operated and mounted on opposite sides of the carriage 4, the levers 22 being connected to rods 48 carrying bearings 47 for the shaft ends of the roller 14b. If a longitudinally folded fabric is being laid the roller 14b is adjusted so as to prevent an undesirable ironing effect on the fold (13), Figs. 3b and 3c (both not shown). The rollers 14a, 14b are driven through chains and sprockets (not shown) synchronously with the drive of the carriage 4 and may be covered with a foamed plastics material 46 to prevent fabric slippage. The device 15 comprises a rotary cutter 18 which is mounted so that, in use, its cutting edge travels along a longitudinal slot 19a in a cutter guard 19 having a deflector plate 20 mounted thereon to prevent wrinkling of the fabric. The device 15 is vertically adjustable by a handwheel 17. As the fabric is initially unwound from the roll 19 it interrupts a light beam of a photosensitive device 21 located on the device 15 and after a predetermined over-run the cutter 18 is operated to perform a trial cut. A slipping clutch 24 comes into operation when the carriage 4 is started to give constant acceleration from the state of rest up to maximum laying speed.