US2620183A - Festooning device - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 2, 1952 J. H. KYLE ET AL FESTOONING DEVICE Filed Jun 28, 1950 4 SheetsSheet l m w m JOSEPH H. KYLE JOHN Q. ADAMS [21.5w (LBRUNNER M W ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1952 J. H. KYLE ETAL 2,620,183

FESTOONING DEVICE Filed June 28, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOSEPH H. KYLE JOHN Q.ADAM$ WILBUR C. BRUNNER 11m AL-M ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1952 J. H. KYLE ET AL FESTOONING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 28, 1950 INVENTOR JOSEPH H. KYLE R E N N U R B c. w win JOHN Q. ADAMS on 0600' 0000 00000000000 onooo a a a an 0000 a: a u an ocean Y E N R O n A Dec. 2, 1952 J. H. KYLE ET AL FESTOONING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 28, 1950 INVENTOR JOSEPH H. KYLE JOHN Q, ADAMS WILBUR (LBRUNNEH Mammal? ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FESTOONING DEVICE of Pennsylvania Application June 28, 1950, Serial No. 170,862

18 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a festooning device and is particularly useful in the handling of uncured webs of linoleum and the like where the upper surface of the web is readily susceptible to damage or marring if engaged by conventional bight-making or bight-holding devices.

In the manufacture of linoleum it is frequently necessary to accumulate the web during fabrication operations as, for instance, between the sheeting or facing calender and a curing stove or oven into which the material is delivered from the calender. When one stove is filled, it is necessary to shift transfer equipment from the filled stove to another stove to be filled; and during this time interval it is desirable to keep the calender in operation producing material. Thus it is customary to provide an arrangement for accumulating the calendered goods for subsequent delivery to the stoves. Such accumulators generally receive the calendered material in continuous web form; and, since the festoons which are hung in the accumulator are of less length than the festoons hung in the stoves, it is undesirable to engage the surface of the material at the accumulator battens, as is customary in bight making and bight holding, because the portions thus damaged will not coincide with the batten positions when the material is hung in the stoves.

It has been proposed to engage the material adjacent the selvage edge in the accumulator operation, but this is impracticable because of inadequate selvage width; and with heavy products like linoleum, the concentration of forces at the edges results in tears which sometimes extend across the full width of the goods and the web falls from the accumulator.

In the bight holding or festoon holdin end of the accumulator where the web is delivered from the accumulator, the festoon draped over an oncoming batten must be held against slipping or sliding as the web in the festoon bein withdrawn is depleted, and also the grip on the material at the oncoming batten must be released at the instant the festoon being withdrawn is fully depleted to avoid tearing of the web due to the tension applied by the pull roll which withdraws the web from the accumulator. Mechanical bight holders which engage the surface are objectionable for the same reasons as the corresponding bight makers. The problem of accurately timing the release of the bight holder is also acute.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a festooning device for bight making or bight holding including means for automatically holding the web stationary on the batten 2 throughout a substantial portion at least of the full width of the web as the festoon is formed or an adjacent festoon withdrawn.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement which will eifect festoon making and holding without engagement with the surface of the web and which will perform its functions automatically.

A further object of the invention is to provide a festoon holder which will permit the withdrawal of material from the battens without the necessity for any timing arrangement for releasing the hold of the material onto the batten.

Other objects of the invention will be clear from a consideration of the following description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings which accompanying this application,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of an accumulator including the arrangement of the present invention in bight-making position;

Figure 2 is a view partially in section showing the device of the present invention as a bight maker;

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a detailed view partially in section of the device of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a front elevation of a hollow, perforated batten forming parts of the present invention; and

Figure 6 is a view partially broken away illustrating the festooning device in festoon-holding r or bight-holding position.

Referring to Figure l which illustrates diagrammatically the general arrangement of a web accumulator for a calendering operation such as in plain linoleum manufacture, a web of backin material 2 such as burlap or waterproofed felt is fed between rolls 3 and l of a calender 5, and a body of linoleum mix 8 is calendered onto the face of the backing web. A second or finishing calender is sometimes provided in tandem with the calender 5. The backing web with its applied layer of linoleum composition is transferred as a web W to a heated curing oven or stove where the material is hung in festoons and cured. In order to operate the calender 5 continuously, regardless of interruptions which may occur in the delivery of the goods to the curing stove such as when the transfer carriage which is used to deliver the goods into the stove is moved from one stove upon the completion of filling thereof to the next stove, an accumulator I is provided where the goods may be hung in festoons while awaiting delivery into the curing stoves.

In handling materials such as linoleum in an accumulator, the festooning must be accomplished without contact with the face of the goods; for in its uncured state, linoleum is rather soft and readily susceptible to marring and other damage. It is desirable, therefore, to provide an arrangement which will form the web of material into festoons without contact with the upper surface of the linoleum. A selvage edge is always provided for trimming the web to the desired dimensions, but with heavy webs such as plain linoleum, engagement at such edges is inadequate to hold the heavy web during festoon formation. In addition, the marginal selvage portion is relatively narrow to avoid expensive scrap loss, and this militates against so-called edge bight making in festoon formation because of the problem of guiding the web accurately as it is fed to the accumulator.

The web accumulator I is shown in the righthand portion of Figure 1. It comprises a pair of chain conveyors 8, one disposed upon each side of the accumulator. (Only one is shown in the drawings.) The chains 8 carry a plurality of battens 9 and are mounted upon sprockets I0, the chains being driven in synchronism with the calender to present a batten 9 at the desired location for the formation of a new festoon II upon delivery of sufficient web material to the accumulator to complete the formation of a previous festoon, the festoon I2 for example. The Web is fed over a smooth-faced idling guide roll I3 and is delivered to the accumulator I by a driven pull roll I4 which is covered with carding or some frictional material which will insure proper traction between the web W and the roll I4. Also, suction may be applied to the roll I4, particularly where heavy webs are encountered. A guide plate P is provided over which the web travels in its movement into the accumulator.

In the formation of festoons, the web is delivered by the pull roll I4 and slides over the guide plate P and over the curved surface of the oncoming batten 9a, falling by gravity into a festoon. During this festoon formation, the chains 8 are moving slowly and conveying the batten 9a toward the right as shown in Figure 1. When the web has been formed into a festoon of the desired length, the batten So will have moved to approximately the position of batten 9b. It is necessary to arrest the sliding movement of the web over the batten 9b as the festoon II is initially being formed; and as soon as the sliding movement is arrested, new festoon II automatically forms. This arresting of the movement of the web relative to the batten is known as bight making. It is necessary to hold the web stationary in the completed festoon I2 until the newly forming festoon II has sufficient weight when combined with the frictional drag of the web on the batten 9b to prevent any slippage of the web over the batten 9b due to the greater weight of the web in the completed festoon I 2 than in the forming festoon I I. This usually requires that the forming festoon II be about one third completed before the holding force on the web over batten 9b is released. This timing will depend, of course, upon the weight of the web, the frictional characteristics of the back surface of the web and the batten, and other variable factors.

The device of the present invention may be used in bight making and will perform such operation completely automatically.

A problem similar to bight making occurs at the exit end of an accumulator or looper, for as the web is withdrawn from the travelling battens, it is necessary to hold the web against slippage on an oncoming batten as the material is removed from a preceding festoon, especially during the period of withdrawal when the weight of the remaining portion of the festoon coupled with the frictional drag of the web over the batten is inadequate to prevent slippage between the batten and the web in the oncoming festoon. The device of the present invention will perform the function of properly holding the web fully automatically and will obviate the requirement for accurately timed mechanical movements for releasing the grip between the web and the batten as the removal of a festoon is completed.

A preferred form of the device is shown in Figures 2 to 5 disposed as an automatic bight maker and in Figure 6 as a festoon or bight holder. Considering first the device as a bight maker, it comprises essentially a suction head I5 which is mounted for sliding movement along the path of travel of the battens 9 so as to hold the completed festoon until the forming festoon has been adequately made to prevent displacement of the completed festoon. The suction head I5 is pivoted for rotary movement so that it may ride up and over the battens upon completion of each bight to return to a position in the path of movement of the oncoming batten upon which the next bight is to be made.

A frame 16 made of channels I! and I8 and angle end plates I9 and 20 is supported on the framework 2! of the accumulator and carries the suction head and its associated mechanism, including a pair of bearing guides or ways 22 and 23 which are secured to end members I9a and 29a attached to the angle end plates I9 and 2D. A cam plate 24 is bolted to the bearing guide 22, and spacers 25 are provided for positioning the members in properly spaced relationship. A lower space plate 26 is secured to the lower bearing guide 23 and abuts the surface of the cam plate 24. A slide bearing 21 is mounted for longitudinal movement in the bearing guides 22 and 23. A shaft 28 for the suction head passes through the center of the bearing 2! and has pinned thereon, on one end thereof, a suction head mounting arm 29, and fixed on the other end thereof a cam follower arm 30. An antifriction cam follower roller 3| is journalled on shaft 32 secured to arm 30 and is positioned to follow a cam surface 33 cut into the cam plate 24. The cam surface 33 is so contoured that desired movements are imparted to the suction head mounting arm in timed relationship with the traversing of the battens sequentially along a portion of their path of travel.

The suction head arm 29 has a boss 34 (Figure 4) projecting therefrom through which is received a pipe 35 to which is connected a flexible hose 36 leading to a vacuum pump 31 shown in Figure 1. The other end of the pipe 35 carries a rubber suction cup 38 having a central opening therein coaxial with the pipe 35. An antifriction lifting and positioning roller 39 (Figures 2 and 4) is mounted in the bifurcated lower end of the suction head arm 29. This roller 39 engages the battens 9 above the center thereof when in its normal at rest position and serves first to position the suction cup 38 on the batten with a downward sliding movement over the batten and also serves to elevate the suction head over the battens upon completion of each bight, as will be more fully described.

A counterweight arrangement is provided for returning the suction head to its bight-making position upon completion of the making of a bight on one batten and preparatory to making a bight on the next oncoming batten. As shown in Figure 2, this includes a cable 46, one end of which is secured to the slide bearing 21, a sheave 4H secured to angle end plate 20 of the frame IS, a sheave 52 secured to the upper vertical framework 2 la of the accumulator, and a weight 43 attached to the other end of the cable Mi. A rubber limiting stop S is secured in the guideway of bearing way 722 to limit movement of the slide bearing 2'5.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the battens 9 are hollow and are provided with a plurality of perforations 44 which extend from the outer surface of the batten to the hollow interior. These openings are provided in that portion of the surface over which the web material slides during festoon formation. Thus the openings are normally closed by engagement of the web with the batten. The openings are preferably quite small in size in order not to excessively deform the surface of the linoleum. Holes about in diameter will be satisfactory. A larger opening 35 is provided adjacent one edge of the batten which, as shown in Figure l, lies beyond the edge 56 of the web W to be festooned. The battens are provided with mounting brackets ii by which they are secured to the chains 8 which carry them.

Preferably the suction head it is connected to the vacuum pump 37 through a control valve as (Figure 2) connected by a pipe line as to the vacuum pump 3'! (Figure 1). A manual control valve 50 is provided in the line 49, and a vacuum gauge 5! is also inserted in the line 49. Operation of the valve 48 may be controlled by an actuating arm 52 which is pivoted at 53 and bears against the plunger 54 which controls the opening and closing of the valve it. The valve s8 is mounted on the accumulator frame structure 2! and is so positioned that the operating arm 52 lies in the path of travel of the battens 9. Thus when the batten @c (Figure 2) is in the position shown it will have depressed the control arm 52, opening the valve 48 through the plunger 54, and the suction head It which is in operating position on batten 9b will have been connected to the vacuum pump 3'! through the line t9, the flexible tube 36, and the suction cup 38. This arrangement is so adjusted that the application of suction to the head is effected immediately after engagement of the suction cup 38, with the batten 9 surrounding the opening d5 therein. The length of the actuating arm 52 is such that when the festoon il being made has been developed to an adequate extent to prevent slippage of the completed festoon [2 over the batten 9b, the application of suction to the batten 9a will be discontinued.

In the operation of the device as a bight maker, the web W is fed by the pull roll M over the guide plate P and into a festoon. It will be assumed that the counterweight 43 will have moved the suction head to the extreme left, as viewed in Figure 2, and the cam follower 3! will have positioned the arm 29 in a location where the suction cup 38 will lie in the path of movement of the oncoming batten 9b to engage the same, the suction cuppreferably being disposed slightly above its final seated position on the batten by reason of the positioning of the cam follower in an upwardly inclined portion 33a of the cam plate 24. The positioning and lifting roller 39 will be engaged by the oncoming batten, and this will cause the suction cup 38 to he slid downwardly into its final seated position into engagement with the oncoming batten 9b. At the same time, the batten Will have actuated the arm 52 and the valve 48 will have been opened, connecting the suction cup 33 with the vacuum pump 3?, and suction will be applied to batten 9b causing atmospheric pressure to force the web W into firm engagement with the batten 9?) at the openings Q4 therein, preventing any slippage of the web W relative to the batten 912. As the delivery of the web W by the pull roll Ill continues, the festoon II will be formed, the material descending by gravity in a loop as indicated. As this operation proceeds, the chains 8 will continue their motion, carrying all of the battens 9 alon their path of travel. As the battens move, the suction head it which lies in engagement with the batten 91) will be traversed to the right as seen in Figure 2, being guided by the slide bearing 2'! moving in the guiding ways 22 and 23. The cam surface 33 is flat as indicated at 3%, and thus the cam follower s! will maintain the suction head in a position where it is in proper engagement with the batten 9b to continue the application of suction as the batten 9b moves alon and as festoon I I is formed. Engagement of the batten 90 with the arm 52 of suction control valve 48 continues, insuring that the Web W will be held against slippage relative to the batten 9'0. After an adequate festoon H has been formed, the cam follower 3! will be urged up the inclined portion 330 of the cam; and at the same time or immediately preceding such time, the valve at will be closed by reason of th batten 90 having passed beyond the end of the actuating arm 52 of suction control valve d8, thus discontinuing the application of suction to the head and making it possible for the suction cup 38 to be removed readily from the batten 92), by the cam follower 3i riding up the inclined portion 330 of the cam, rotating shaft 28, and pivoting the suction head arm 29. Roller 39 which lies in engagement With the surface of the batten 9b above the center thereof aids in directing the lifting of the suction head over the batten with a rolling and pivoting motion as the batten 9b is moved therebelow. As soon as the roller 39 reaches the uppermost portion of the batten 9b, the counterweight 43 will return the suction head to its at rest position where the cam follower 3! will have positioned the arm 29 so that the suction cup 38 will lie in the path of travel of the next oncoming batten, slightly above the desired final position on the batten, so as to be brought into engagement with the batten and slid downwardly in engagement with an area surrounding the opening 45 therein. Thereupon, suction will be applied through automatic control of the valve M3 by the batten 9b, which will have moved to the position occupied by batten 9c in the drawing, and the operation will be repeated.

While it is preferred to have the chains 6 carry the battens continuously and make the bight while the battens are in motion, it is possible, of course, to move the battens intermittently in a stepwise manner. For instance, the motion of chains 8 could be such that batten 9a would be traversed from its position shown in Figure 2 upon completion of festoon H to the position of batten 9b; and during such intermittent motion the suction head l would be elevated over batten 9b, returned to its at rest position by the counerweight 43, and engaged by the oncoming batten 9a. Thereupon, the motion of the chains 8 would be arrested until a new festoon were formed, suction being applied during such festoon formation, at least until such portion thereof were formed as necessary to hold the previously formed festoon against displacement.

In Figure 6 the device is shown attached to an accumulator carriage where it serves as a bight holder or festoon holder. The carriage structure 53 has mounted thereon a pull roll 54 which may be friction-surfaced or provided with a suction arrangement. It serves to withdraw the Web material from the accumulator. As shown, the pull roll is withdrawing from a festoon 55, and the suction head 58 of the festoon holder is moving with batten 9d which carries the oncoming festoon 51 and prevents the web from sliding over the surface of batten 9d, assuming that the weight of the festoon 55 plus the normal frictional drag of the web on the batten 9d are inadequate to prevent such slipping. The openings M in the roll 9d continue to hold the web in festoon 5! as festoon 55 is depleted. The web then is in effect peeled 01f batten 90! over the openings 44 by pull roll 55. This avoids any need for timing of mechanical motions and insures that the Web will remain under substantial tension as it is pulled by pull roll 54, for when the web is peeled from batten 9d the weight of festoon 51 Will hold the portion of the Web extending from the pull roll 54 to the bottom of the dip of the festoon 51 under tenson.

It will be noted that the suction head and associated mechanism is substantially the same as in the bight-maker arrangement of Figures 2 to 5. However, since the bight holder is mounted on the carriage 53 which is movable over the battens 9, it is necessary to provide for the suction head mechanism 56 to be freely elevated when the carriage is moved to the left in Figure 6. This may be accomplished by having the suction head mounting arm 58 slotted as indicated at 59 with a cap screw 80 passing through the slot into the shaft 6| which carries the arm 58 and the cam follower arm 62. Thus when the carriage is moved to the left, positioning and elevating roller 63 on the suction head arm 58 will be engaged by the batten 9e, and the arm 58 will be pivoted about the shaft 8!, with the cap screw 80 serving to limit downward movement of the shaft after the roller 53 passes over the top of batten Se and any other batten which may be overridden by the suction head 56. In normal operation when a web is being pulled from the accumulator, the carriage 53 will not be traversed to the left; but, as the accumulator is being filled, it may be necessary to traverse the carriage 53 to the left in order to accumulate an adequate number of festoons of material, depending upon the length of time the stoving operation is shut down and the goods must be accumulated.

The control valve arrangement 54 is similar to the control valve arrangement 48 on the bight maker end of the machine, except that it is spaced a greater distance from the batten 9d upon which the suction head operates. ihe arrangement is such, however, that suction is applied to the batten 9d as it moves along its path of travel and prior to the time when the weight of the festoon 55 is inadequate to overcome any slippage in festoon 51. The arrangement is also such that after the web has been stripped from the batten 9d, the application of suction to that batten is discontinued in order to conserve the supply of vacuum pressure provided by the vacuum pump 31. Suction may be applied continuously, however, since no timing of the gripping action is necessary in the bight-holding or festoon-holding operation, as mentioned above.

We claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over Which the festooned web will lie, a reciprocable suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, and means for guiding said suction head to move in a reciprocatory path with said engaged batten along a portion of the path of movement thereof during the application of suction thereto and return to a position for engagement with the next oncoming batten.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a reciprocable suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentally therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means for guiding said suction head to move in a reciprocatory path with said engaged batten along a portion of the path of movement thereof during the application of suction thereto and return to a position for engagement with the next oncoming batten, and means for disengaging said suction head from said batten with which it is in engagement as the batten moves along said path.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a reciprocable suction. head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means for mounting said suction head for limited movement along the path of said battens for coincidental movement of said head while in engagement with one of said moving battens, means for controlling the application of suction to said suction head to apply suction thereto during movement thereof, and means for returning said suction head to a position for engagement with the next oncoming batten.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being, movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a reciprocable suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means for mounting said suction head for limited sliding movement in the direction of travel of said battens upon engagement of said head by a mov- 9 ing batten to apply suction to said batten during movement thereof with said suction head and to return to a position for engagement with the next oncoming batten, and means for disengaging said suction head from said batten as the batten moves along said path.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a reciprocable suction head, means for mounting said suction head along the path of travel of said battens for sequential engagement of said suction head by said battens as they move along their path of travel for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means fixed with respect to said movable battens for disengaging said suction head sequentially from said battens after movement of said suction head therewith through a predetermined portion of the path travelled by said battens, and means for returning said suction head to a position for engagement with the next oncoming batten.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means for mounting said suction head for limited movement along the path of saic battens for coincidental movement of said head while sequentially in engagement with one of said moving battens, and means controlled by movement of said battens for automatically applying suction to said suction head.

'7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in f estoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, an arm which carries said suction head, a fixed cam mounted along the path of said battens, and a cam follower attached to said suction head arm for imparting a pivotal move ment to said suction head arm upon movement of said follower along said fixed cam to disengage said suction head from the batten with which it is in engagement as the batten moves along said path.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festcons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a reciprocable suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means for guiding said suction head to move with said battens along a portion of the path of movement of said battens during the application of suction thereto, means for disengaging said suction head from a batten with which it is in engagement, means for elevat- 10 and means for moving said suction head in a direction opposed to the direction of movement of said battens to position said head for engage ment with an oncoming batten.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie; a suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway; and means for mounting said suction head for limited longitudinal and pivotal movement including a slide bearing mounted-in ways, a shaft carrying said suction head journalled in said slide bearing, and a cam fixed with respect to said suction head controlling the pivotal movement of said suction head through said shaft during sliding movement of said slide bear ing.

, 10. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie; a suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway; and means for mounting said suction head for limited longitudinal and pivotal movement including a slide bearing mounted in ways, a shaft journalled in said bearing, a suction head arm mounted on said shaft for pivotal movement therewith, a cam follower arm also mounted on said shaft for applying rotative movement thereto, and a cam fixed with respect to said slide bearing and shaft which said cam follower engages, said cam being contoured to hold said suction head in the path of travel of an oncoming batten to hold said suction head in engagement with said batten after engagement of the suction head therewith and to part said suction head and batten by pivotal movement of said suction head arm after a predetermined period of movement of said suction head and batten in unison.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination of a suction head, a batten movable along a path intersecting said suction head, a suction cup on said head, said suction cup being engageable with said batten, said batten havin an opening therein for alignment with an opening in said suction cup, means for positioning said suction cup with its opening out of axial alignment with said opening in said batten, and means controlled by movement of said batten relative to said suction cup to slide said suction cup over the surface of said batten to bring said openings into substantially axial alignment.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination of: a plurality of battens movable along a predetermined path, a suction head for sequential engagement with said battens, said suction head being mounted upon a suction head arm which is capable of limited pivotal movement, and a roller carried by said suction head arm and sequentially engageable with the surface of said battens for lifting said suction head sequentially over said battens upon relative movement between said suction head and said batten with which said roller is in engagement.

13. In a device of the class described, the com- 11 bination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable. along a predetermined path and. each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will lie, a suction head positioned in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto through said passageway, means for guiding said suction head to move sequentially with said battens along a portion of the path of movement thereof during the application of suction thereto; means controlled by movement of said battens for effecting the discontinuance of suction, and means for disengaging said suction head from a batten with which it is in engagement timed with respect to the application of suction to. effect disengagement after the suction has been discontinued.

14. In an automatic. bight maker, the combination of: a plurality of battens. spaced for supporting a web in festoons, each of said battens being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof, means for delivering web material to be festooned; with the web as. delivered sliding over the passageway in they batten and closing the passageway at the surface of said batten, and means controlled by movement of said. battens for applying suction to said passageway as said web material is sliding thereover to automatically arrest said sliding movement and form a in said' Web over said batten.

15. In an automatic bight maker, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which the festooned web will. lie, means for delivering web material: to be festooned over said battens sequentially with the web as delivered sliding over the passageway in the batten which will support the web in a festoon, a suction head, means controlled by movement of said battens for automatically applying suction to said passageway of the batten cova ered by said web to arrest movement between said web and batten when said batten has assumed a predetermined position along its path of travel, and means for moving said suction headand batten in unison to hold said web against relative movement with respect to said batten during festoonformation.

16. In an automatic festoon holder, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting a web in festoons, said battens being movablealong a predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surf-acethereof over which the festooned web will lie, a carriage movable with respect to said battens along a. portion of the path of travel thereof, av suction head positioned onsaid carriage in the path of travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto to hold said web against displacement on said batten, and a pull roll mountedon said carriage for withdrawing web material sequentially from said battens against the atmospheric pressure thereon in the area above said passageway.

17. In an automatic; festoon holder, the combination of: a plurality of battens spaced for supporting, a web in festoons, said battens being movable along a. predetermined path and each batten being provided with a passageway at the surface thereof over which; the festooned web will. lie, a carriage movable with respect tov said battens along a portion of the path of travel thereof, a suction head mounted on said carriage. and normally lying in. the path of. travel of said battens and engageable sequentially therewith for applying suction thereto, and means carried by said suction head for moving the same over said battens as said carriage is moved with respect to said battens.

18. In a device of the class described, the combination of a suction head, means supporting said suction head for reciprocatory motion in ways along a substantially horizontal path, means engageable with said suction head to move said supporting means in one direction of reciprocation, a fixed cam positioned along said horizontal path of motion of said suction head, a cam follower engageable with said cam, se-

. cured to said suction head, and effective for im- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 677,062 Combs June 25, 1901 2,030,744 Clark Feb. 11, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 466,210 Germany Oct. 4, 1928

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