US2787848A - Towel unwinding and folding machine - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Paul W. Jespersen April 9, 1957 P. w. JESPERSEN TOWEL UNWINDING AND FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1955 April 9, 1957 P. w. JESPERSEN TOWEL UNWINDING AND FOLDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1953 INVENTOR.- Paul W Jespersen A,

April 1957 P. w. JESPERSEN 2,787,848

TOWEL UNWINDING AND FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG 4 INVENTOR. Paul W Jespersen Aff s.

United States Patent TOWEL UNWINDING AND FOLDING MACHINE" Paul W. Jespersen, Wilmette, 111., assignor to American Linen Supply Co., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Nevada Application September 25, 1953, Serial No. 382,261

9 Claims. (Cl. 38-7) improvement over the towel unwinding and folding'machine disclosed in my Patent No. 2,574,642, granted November 13, 1951.

The machines of the type noted above are utilized'by large commercial laundries and linen supply companies inorder to prepare soiled toweling of the continuous roll type for a laundering operation by unwinding the-soiled toweling from the roll and then folding it into zigzag layers of convenient lengths; Thereafter, the folded layers of toweling are gathered together transversely'to the length thereof and loosely tied together at one or more points, in order to form a relatively loose bundle which may be deposited into a washing machine for laundering.

In the unwinding and folding machine disclosed in the above-mentioned. application, a soiled towelingroll, containing approximately fifty yards of toweling is placed into a V-shaped open top supporting-trough or container, and the outer web of the toweling is unwound from the roll and fed into the machine in such a manner that the outer web, as it is drawn from the roll, passes over several smoothing rolls and then directly across the open top of the V-shaped trough. With this arrangement, the web of the toweling, as it is drawn across the open top of the trough, functions as a cover therefor and thereby prevents the roll from being inadvertently yanked, pulled or bounced out of the trough during the relatively high speed unwinding operation. Furthermore, the moving web which functions as acover for the trough, tends to unwind the roll in'the event that it is pulled upwardly in its V-shaped trough sufiiciently to engage the-underside of the moving web forming the cover for the trough.

While this method of supporting andunwinding a continuous. roll of toweling is quite satisfactory for the average soiled roll of toweling, it has been found that in extremely soiled rolls of toweling, such as those returned from packing houses, garages, manufacturing plants,,etc., the adjacent layers of the toweling frequently adhere as the foreign matter, such as grease, fat, blood, oil'and the like, drys and, consequently, such rolls are diflicult to unwind properly as the web is withdrawn from the roll.

In order to overcome this difliculty, a driven. belt arrangement of the type disclosed in my Patent. No. 2,574,642 maybe provided to rotate the-roll of toweling inthe unwinding direction to pull apart adjacent layers of the Web that are stuck together. With the latter arrangement, the roll is lifted into-engagement with the surfaces of the driven belt whenever-the: outer web: of

the toweling adheres to the adjacent layer. Since the belt is moving-in a direction to unwind the roll, the adjacent layers of the web of toweling are pulled apart to permit the unwinding-operation to continue.

in the machines of the type described above, certain operating difiiculties are encountered. In the first ma chine considerable time is sometimes consumed in threadingthe'web of toweling around the various smoothing rolls. This difficulty is overcome to a considerable degree' in the second machine. However, it is also found in both types of machines, that as the web of soiled toweling-is unwoundifrom the roll and the roll becomes reduced in diameter, it may sometimes violently jump around in :itssupportingctrough and on occassions, it may wedge itself in the trough. at. an angle with respect to the-directionzof movement'ofthe web of toweling. This may either-tearthe toweling or cause the roll to be pulled out of the trough: In'thei latter event, certain parts of the machine may be" either broken or so badly distorted that it maybe necessaryto' replace the parts. It is also sometimes found. thatmany ofthe soiled rolls of toweling thatare placed in thermachines are wound in such a manner that adouble layer of:toweling forms the central portion of the .roll. More'specifically, in starting the roll so that the toweling will wind around the roll as it was used, a substantial length of. toweling is often folded back over itself and'then' rolled'from the folded edge to.:create. a double layer of toweling the full length of the folded portion,.the' remainder of the roll being wound inthe usual-manner as a single web. During the unwinding in prior machines of soiled toweling rolled in this manner, the freeend of thefolded over portion of thedouble'layer. section-ofthe' roll may often fly around and become tangled'w-ith the'machine parts.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide inaroll towel unwinding and foldingmachine, an, improved rolltowel. container that will substantially eliminate theobjectionsand difliculties noted above.

Itis stillanother object of the invention to provide in arolltowelunwinding and folding machine, animproved container for supportinga roll of soiled toweling as it is unwound and to provide a cover therefor that will retain the: roll in place in the container during the unwinding, operation It is stillv another object of the invention to provide in a machineof the type noted, a novel arrangement for opening and closing the cover for the roll towel container to permit the operator of the machine to place each soiled roll therein for unwinding the same.

It is still another object of the invention to provide in a machine of thetypenoted an improved cover for the roll towel container which is arranged so that it will strip the outer layer of'the, towel web from the roll as the toweling is unwound therefrom.

It' is still another object of. the invention to provide in a machine of, the type. noted a. novel foot operated mechanism for controlling the opening and closing of the coverfor the roll towei'container which is arranged so that the cover may be forced opena predetermined distance'to permit theescape of the end of the roll that has been folded over during ,the initial winding of the roll, provided the size of the roll, duringthe unwinding operation, has. been reduced sufiiciently to. permit it to pass through the machine without damaging the same.

Further objects and features, of the present invention pertain to' the particular structural. arrangement in a towel unwinding and folding machine, of the improved roll towel supporting container and the control, mechanism therefor whereby; the above outlined objects and additionaloperating features are attained.

The presentinvention; both as to the organization and method of operation, together withfurther objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the roll towel unwinding and folding machine and illustrates the manner in which the improved roll towel supporting container is supported on the machine and shows the control mechanism for the cover of the container;

Fig. 2 is a right-hand end view of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly in cross-section, of a portion of the towel supporting container and illustrates the upper end of the cover control mechanism for the container; and

Fig. 4 is a right-hand view of the cover control mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3.

The supporting frame structure for the towel unwinding and folding machine comprises a pair of upstanding, spaced-apart channel members 210 and 21b and a channel brace 22 therebetween. Each of the channel members 21a and 21!) extend downwardly and outwardly below the brace 22 in order to provide two spaced-apart supporting legs for the machine which are secured in any desired manner to base channels, such as the base channel 23b, which may be anchored to the floor if desired. Further details of the supporting structure. noted above, and the details of the unwinding and folding mechanism 24, supported between the channel members 21a and 21b, are disclosed and described in the above noted applicatron. However, in order to understand fullv the im roved towel supporting mechanism, a brief description will first be g1ven of the unwinding and folding mechanism 24 to which the improved towel supporting container and control mechanism is secured.

The mechanism 24 includes two spaced-apart front and back plates 25a, one of which is shown in Fig. 1,' that are secured to two spaced-apart side plates 26a and 26b which are respectively secured in turn to the channel members 21a and 21b. Except for the bottom portion of the folding mechanism 24 and the sloping right-hand upper portion thereof shown in Fig. 1, the mechanism rs entirelv enclosed. Within the mechanism 24, a driven roller 27 is rotatably supported between the front and back plates 25a. At one end the shaft for the driven roller 27 extends through the back plate, as is best shown in Fig. 2, and supports a large belt pulley 28. The shaft of the driven roller 27 also supports a somewhat smaller oscillator belt pulley 29. These pulleys are rigidly secured to the shaft of the roller 27. A pressure roller 30 is rotatably mounted between the front and back plates on oppositely disposed spring tensioned pivoted brackets, not shown, which are arranged so that the pressure roller 30 is normally pressed against the driven roller 27. During the operation of the mechanism, the outer web of the toweling, which is being unwound from a soiled roll 31, is clamped between the adjacent surfaces of the driven roller 27 and the pressure roller 30. With this arrangement the driven roller 27 functions to pull the outer web of toweling from the roll 31 to unwind the same.

The unwinding and folding mechanism 24 also includes an oscillating mechanism for simultaneously oscillating spreader plates 32a and 32b back and forth, as is best illustrated in Fig. l. The spreader plates are independently mounted at their upper ends for simultaneous pivotal movement under the control of a pair of links, mounted at opposite ends of the spreader plates 32a and 32b. One link 33a is shown and it should be understood that a similar link is provided at the opposite end of the spreader plates 32a and 32b. A yoke member 34 is secured to the two links and connected to a crank shaft 38 by means of a crank 39. The crank shaft 38 supports a gear 37 which meshes with a gear 36 secured to a shaft supporting a belt driven pulley 35.

A motor 40 is secured to the top portion of the mechanism 24 for driving the various parts of the unwinding and folding mechanism 24. Thus, the motor 4! is provided with a belt pulley 41, which is coupled to the previously noted large belt pulley 28 secured to the shaft of the driven roller 27, by means of a V-shaped drive belt 42. A V-shaped belt 43, is also provided for coupling a small oscillator belt pulley 29, which is also secured to the shaft of the driven roller 27, and the driven pulley 35. A switch 40a is mounted on the mechanism to permit the operator of the machine to start and stop the motor 40.

In view of the above description, it will be understood that the motor 40 will rotate the driven roller 27 by means of the belt 42, and it will also rotate the pulley 35 by means of the belts 42 and 43. The small gear 36 secured to the shaft for the pulley 35, rotates the larger gear 37. At this point it should be noted that the cooperating gear 37 is secured to the crank shaft 38 and that the crank 33 is secured, in turn, to the crank shaft 38 so that rotation of the gear 37 causes the crank 39 to rotate about the axis of the the crank shaft 38. Since the common yoke 34 is rotatably secured to the free end of the crank 39, it will oscillate back and forth with a piston-like movement in order to produce oscillatory movement of the spreader plates 32a and 32b. The opposite lateral ends of the yoke 34 are pivotally secured to the midpoints of each of the links 33a and the outer ends of each of the links are respectively pivotally connected to the spreader plates 32a and 32b. Therefore, as the crank 39 revolves under control of the crank shaft 38, the yoke 34 causes the spreader plates 32a and 32b to oscillate on their pivoted upper mountings between two oppositely disposed predetermined positions. As the driven roller 27 rotates, it pulls the outer web of the toweling from the roll 31 and feeds it downwardly between the spreader plates 32:! and 3%. Due to the oscillatory movement of the spreader plates, the web of toweling is directed so that it automatically falls in folded layers approximately three feet in length upon a suitable work surface or, forexample, on a pair of spaced-apart parallel rods 46 secured to and extending forwardly from a bracket 47 fastened to the brace 22.

The detailed construction and arrangement of the foregoing unwinding and folding mechanism 24 is fully described in the previously noted application, Serial No. 148,777 and in the previously noted Patent No. 2,574,- 642.

A description will now be given of the structural de tails of my improved continuous roll towel supporting container, which is secured to the right side of the unwinding and folding mechanism 24 as seen in Fig. l, and also the foot operated mechanism for opening and closing the cover for the container. The roll supporting container includes a pair of side panels 5% and Sill; that may be of one piece construction with strengthening ribs formed in the outer face of each of the panels, as best illustrated in Fig. 1. These panels are secured to the side plate 26b of the mechanism 24 in any desired manner. A roll supporting bottom cover 52 extends between the side panels 50a and 59b and is secured to the panels by means of screws 53. The bottom cover 52 is formed so that it is curved along a radius that substantially con forms to the radius of a roll of about fifty yards of towcling as is best illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. It should he understood that rolls having less than fifty yards of toweling may also be placed in the bottom cover. At the lower portion of the curve the bottom cover is reduced slightly in width so that it may extend upwardly between the spaced-apart side panels 50a and 50b and then over supports 54 provided on the inner faces of the side panels to form an inclined bottom portion 520. Flat head screws, not shown, secure the inclined bottom portion 52a of the roll supporting bottom cover 52 to the supports 54 to provide a relatively smooth upper surface upon which a roll of toweling 31 may be placed by the operator so that it will roll down the inclined surface into the position illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The roll supporting bottom cover 52 is provided with a top cover 55 which extends between the side panels 50a and 50b. A pair of oppositely disposed shafts 56a and 56b are rigidly fixed to the top cover 55 by means of tapered pins 57, or the like, and the shafts 56a and 56b extend through appropriate bearings in the spaced-apart side panels 50a and 50b. At the right-hand end of the shaft 56b for the top cover 55, as shown in Fig. 2, a spring lever 53 is rigidly secured to the shaft 56b by means of a set screw, or a tapered pin (not shown) or the like. A cover return spring 59 is hooked at its upper end to the free end of the spring lever 58 and, at its lower end, the spring 59 is hooked to the lower edge of the side panel 50b, as is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. At the left-hand end of the shaft 56a for the top cover 55, as shown in Fig. 3, a cover control lever 60 is rigidly secured to the shaft 56a by means of a tapered pin 61 (or the like). The left end of the cover control lever 6b, as viewed in Fig. 3, is provided with a stop 60a that engages the surface of an adjustable stop 62, which may be rotated in an opening provided in the side panel 50:; to vary the stop position of cover control lever 6i and, consequently, the cover 55. As best illustrated in Fig. 3, the adjustable stop 62 may be locked in its adjusted position by means of the lock nut 63. The upper right-hand end of the cover control lever 60 is slotted to form two spaced-apart fork members 60b as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 which are coupled to a foot'pedal control mechanism in the mannor to be described hereinafter. As best illustrated in Fig.1, the top cover 55 is curved to the left from the shaft 56a on an are that is somewhat larger than the radius of the towel roll $1 and at its extreme left end, the top cover 55 tapers down to a somewhat pointed, but slightly rounded towel stripping edge 55a that extends across the full width of the cover. With the cover 55, in its closed position, the entire length of the towel stripping edge 55a is in contact with a stripper spring 54 which is secured to the inclined bottom portion 52a of the bottom cover 52 at spaced intervals by means of the bolts 65. It should be noted that a substantially vertical upstanding leg portion 64a of the stripper spring 54 is provided to retain the towel roll 31 in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the folded over upper edge 64b of the stripper spring 64 is spaced apart slightly from the upper surface of the inclined bottom portion 52a on the bottom cover 52. The stripper spring 64 is designed so that it will retain the web of a towel pressed against the towel stripping edge 55a on the cover $5. Consequently, the stripping edge $50: will strip the outer web of toweling from the roll 31 as it is withdrawn or unwound therefrom even though adjacent layers are tightly stuck together.

The foot pedal control mechanism for the cover 55 is best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A foot pedal bracket 66 is secured to the base channel 23b by means of the bolts 66a and a foot pedal 67 is pivoted at the front edge of the bracket 66 by means of a hinge 68. In the central portion of the foot pedal 67 there is provided a foot pedal latch 65 which is pivoted between a pair of lugs 70 secured to the underside of the foot pedal 67 and is biased by means of the spring 71 so that the latch 69 is normally tensioned to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2. The bottom portion of the foot pedal latch 69 is provided with a short horizontal bar 6% forming an inverted T-shaped member at the bottom of the latch 69, which normally engages a foot pedal latch stop 72 secured to the foot pedal bracket 66. At the upper end of the foot pedal 67, there is provided a lug 73 to which a connecting rod 74, threaded at both ends, is secured by means of an adjustable clevis 75, a lock nut 76, and a clevis pin 77. The clevis pin 77 may be held in place by means of a cotter pin or the like.

A U-shaped bracket 78 is secured to the upper end of the connecting rod 74, as'is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, by means of the nuts 79. Elongated slots 80 at the upper end of the U-shaped bracket 78- are pivotally secured to the two spaced-apartfork members 60b on the cover control lever 60 by means of the pin 81 which is held in place by a cotter pin 82. Also pivotally mounted on the pin 81 between the spaced-apart fork members 6012, there is provided a spring pivot $3 having a spring shoulder 84 and a spring seat 85. Surrounding the spring seat 85 and abutting the spring shoulder 84 there is provided a cover release spring 86. The lower end of the cover release spring 86 rests on a Washer 87 provided above the upper nut 79. Preferably, the cover release spring 86 is formed from one-eighth inch square wire spring steel and it should have a carrying capacity of approximately one-hundred ninety-five pounds per inch. It should be noted that the upper threaded end of the connecting rod 74 extends some distance upward into the center of the cover release spring 36 and that the lower end of the spring seat 85 extends some distance downward into the center of the cover release spring 86. However, the upper end of the connecting rod 74 and the lower end of the spring seat 35 are spaced-apart some distance, preferably about an inch, so that with the connecting rod stationary the cover control lever 65 may rotate in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 3, a predetermined distance against the tension of the spring 86 before the ends of the connecting rod '74 and the spring seat 85 engage. It'should be understood, however, that the slots 80 in the upper end of the U-shaped bracket '78 will limit the maximum movement to approximately one inch even if the connecting rod 74 and the spring seat 85 are spaced-apart a greater distance. By means of the nuts 79, the U-shaped bracket 73 may be raised or-iowered on the connecting rod '74 to adjust the spacing between the upper end of the connecting rod '74 and the lower end of the spring seat 85 to a desired distance.

The side panel 59a is supported from the base channel 23b by means of a supporting angle 38 secured to the base channel 23b by the bolts 39 and secured to the side panel 50a by one of the screws 53.

When an operator is attending the machine described above and actuates the switch dda to start the motor 46 the driven roller 27 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 1) under control of the belt 42 as previously described. Since the pressure roller St is pressed against the driven roller 27, it rotates in a clockwise direction. Also, the belt 43 attached to the roller 27 causes the pulley 35 and the gears Sid-and 37 to rotate and control the oscillatory movement of the towel spreader plates 32a and 32b as previously described.

In order to deposit the soiledtoweling roll 31 into the roll supporting container, the operator must first open the top cover 55. This is accomplished by depressing the foot pedal latch 69 so that it rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, to unlatch the foot pedal 67 from its locked position and by then depressing the foot pedal 67 to the position illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The foot pedal 67, upon being depressed, causes the cover control lever 6%) to rotate in a clockwise direction against the resistance of the cover return spring 59 as viewed in Fig. 1, to open the cover 55 to the open dotted position. The operator of the machine may then drop the soiled towel roll 31 upon the inclined bottom 52a, with the outer web of the roll positioned so that the roll 31 will unwind by rotating in a clockwise direction as the web is withdrawn therefrom. The roll 31 will roll down the inclined bottom 52a and over the stripper spring 64 to the dotted position (Fig.1) on the supporting bottom cover 52. in dropping the soiled roll 31 into the container described above, the operator retains possession of thefree end of the web or" the roll so that it may subsequently be fed into the unwinding mechanism 24 between the rotating driven roller 27 and pressure roller 30. The operator then releases the foot pedal 67 so that the cover return spring 59 will return the cover 55 to its closed position with the towel stripping edge 55a in engagement with the upper surface of the towel web and pressing the same against the stripper spring 64. As the top cover moves to its closed position, the cover control lever 60, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, rotates in a counter-clockwise direction until the stop 60:: thereon engages the adjustable stop 62. As previously noted, the position of the adjustable strop 62 may be altered to determine the closed position of the top cover 55 and, therefore, the pressure of the stripping edge 55a against the stripper spring 64. As a further result of the counter-clockwise rotation of the cover control lever 60, the connecting rod 74 is lifted and the foot pedal 67 is raised to the position illustrated by the full lines in Fig. 2. As the foot pedal 67 raises upwardly about the pivot formed by the hinge 68, the spring 71 acts on the foot pedal latch 69 to rotate it in a counter-clockwise direction until the bar 6% at the lower end thereof engages the latch stop 72 and locks the foot pedal 67 in upper position to prevent accidental opening of the top cover 55 as the toweling is unwound from the roll 31.

A bafile plate 90 is secured Within the mechanism 24 above the pressure roll 30 so that it will direct the end of the toweling between the rotating drivcn roller 27 and the pressure roller 30. As soon as the top cover 55 of the towel supporting container has been closed as described above, the operator gently tosses the free end of the toweling against the bafile 90 so that it drops between the rotating rollers 27 and 30. As soon as the outer web of the toweling is pulled between the rolls it is fed between the oscillatory spreader plates 32a and 32b and deposited in folded layers on the spaced apart rods 46. It should be noted that the driven roller 27 may unwind the toweling from the roll 31 at approximately six hundred fifty feet per minute. After the roll 31 is unwound, the operator of the machine repeats the operations described above to unwind another roll of soiled toweling.

During the unwinding operation, the web of toweling withdrawn from the roll 31 passes between the stripping edge 5511 on the top cover 55 and stripper spring 64 which function to smooth out wrinkles in the toweling before it passes between the driven roll 27 and the pressure roll 30. Also, the upstanding substantially vertical leg portion 64a on the stripper spring 64 normally retains the roll 31 in the position illustrated in Fig. 1. However, if the adjacent layers of the toweling are stuck together by dried grease, dirt, blood, etc., the pull of the driven roller 27 on the outer web of the toweling may cause the roll 31 to be pulled up over the vertical leg portion 640 on the stripper spring 64 against the inner surface of the top cover 55. When this occurs, the stripping edge 55a on the top cover 55 will function to cause the outer web of the roll 31 to be pulled away from the next layer thereof in order to break apart the layers that are stuck together, whereupon the roll 31 will again return to its normal position upon the bottom cover 52 as shown in Fig. 1. If the adjacent layers are stuck together hard enough to overcome the tension of the cover return spring 59, the cover may tend to open but in the latter event, the cover release spring 86 will become effective to re sist opening of the top cover 55. In other words, if the cover starts to open the cover control lever (Fig. 3) will rotate in a clockwise direction and the outer end thereof will move down in the slots 80 formed at the upper end of the U-shaped bracket 78. When this occurs the spring pivot 83 and its shoulder 84 also moves downwardly against the resistance of the cover release spring 86, the lower end thereof being held against downward movement by the connecting rod :74 secured to the latched pedal 67. The spring 86 is strong enough to resist such downward movement and, consequently, resist opening of the top cover by the stuck together adjacent layers of the towelin g on the roll 31, whereby the pulling action of the driven roller 27 and the action of the towel stripping edge 55a on the top cover 55 breaks the stuck layers apart so that the unwinding operation continues.

As previously noted herein, the winding of the toweling web to form the roll 31 is sometimes started by folding over a substantial length of toweling upon itself and forming the center of the roll by winding the same from the fold. Thus, two oppositely directed layers of toweling form the center of the roll. When a folded over section of toweling is encountered by the stripping edge 55:! on the top cover 55, one layer of the toweling will be pulled out by the driven roller 27 in the normal manner but the other or folded over layer will unwind itself under the cover 55. When the actual fold in the toweling reaches the stripping edge 55a, the toweling may be torn or severed at that point unless some provision is made, as in the present case, to release the cover 55 to permit the rest of the roll of toweling to escape. This is accomplished in the present machine by the action of the cover release spring 36. Since the toweling is being unwound at the rate of approximately 650 feet per minute, the force applied to the stripping edge 55a, when the fold in the toweling is encountered, is sufiicient to rotate the cover 55 upward against the tension of both the cover return spring 59 and the cover release spring 86. In other words, the cover control level 60 rotates in a clockwise direction and causes the cover release spring 86 to be compressed until the lower end of spring seat 85 engages the upper end of the connecting rod 74 or the pin 31 moves to the bottom of the slots 30. The top cover 55 thereupon will have been opened sufficiently to permit the rest of the toweling on the roll 31 to escape from the roll support. The amount of toweling that escapes from the roll support must never be greater in diameter than the distance between the spreader plates 32a and 32b, which distance is substantially equal to the distance that the pressure roll 3%) is permitted to move away from the driven roll 27, otherwise the elements named may be seriously damaged. It is for this, reason that the spacing between the lower end of the spring seat 85 and the upper end of the connecting rod 74 may be adjusted by the nuts 79 securing the connecting rod to the Ushaped bracket 78. However, the length of the slots 80 formed at the upper ends of the U-shaped bracket 78 predetermines the maximum distance that the cover control lever 69 may be yieldingly moved to open the top cover 55 and thereby limits the diameter of the roll 31 that may escape from the roll support when the toweling cannot be unwound. If the toweling is jammed in the manner noted above or for any other reason, and the roll of toweling remaining in the roll support is too large to escape between the stripping edge 55:: on the partially open top cover 55 and the stripper spring 6 the web of the toweling being pulled by driven roller 27 will tear and sever itself from the jammed roll 31. The torn roll of toweling may be discarded unless sufficient usable material remains to form, for example, a standard sixteen yard or twenty-five yard roll. The foregoing arrangement, however, prevents a roll of toweling from being pulled from the roll supporting container if it is too large to pass between the driven roller 27 and the pressure roller 30, or between the spreader plates 32a and 321). A roll that is small enough to pass between the above noted elements in the unwinding and folding mechanism 24 is permitted to escape from roll supporting container, in the event it becomes jammed and causes the top cover 55 to open against the tension of the springs 59 and 86, as previously described.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein which are within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for unwinding a roll of textile material, a roll support for loosely supporting therein a roll of textile material, a driven roller, means including said enemas driven roller for unwinding said material from said roll by pulling upon the outer web thereof, a stripper spring positioned in the path over which the outer web of said material is pulled from said roll, a cover for said roll support for retaining said roll in said support as the outer web of said material is unwound from said roll, a stripping edge on said cover normally pressing said web against said stripper spring as the Web of said material is pulled thereover, said stripping edge stripping the outer web of said material from said roll each time the outer web adheres to an adjacent layer of material on said roll, and a cover release spring normally tensioned to retain said stripping edge on said cover pressed against said stripper spring.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cover release spring permits said cover to be opened a predetermined distance to permit said roll to be pulled out of said roll support between said stripper spring and said stripping edge on said cover in response to the failure of said stripping edge to strip the outer web of said material from an adjacent layer as the outer web is pulled from said roll.

3. In a machine for unwinding a roll of textile material, a roll support for loosely supporting therein a roll of textile material, an inclined surface extending from the bottom of said roll support, a stripper spring supported on said inclined surface, a driven roller, means including said driven roller for unwinding said material from said roll by pulling the outer web of said roll up said inclined surface and over said stripper spring, a pivoted cover for said roll support for retaining said roll in said support as said material is unwound, a stripping edge formed on said cover along an edge parallel to said pivot for said cover normally cooperating with said stripper spring to smooth out said material as it is pulled over said stripper spring, and an adjustable stop for said cover for determining the spacing between said stripper spring and said stripping edge on said cover.

4. In a machine for unwinding a roll of textile material, a roll support for loosely supporting therein a roil of textile material, a pivoted cover for said roll support movable between open and closed positions, a foot pedal operated to move said cover from said closed position to said open position so that said roll of textile material. may be placed in said roll support, means efiective re sponsive to the release of said foot pedal for moving said cover from said open position to said closed position, latch means operated responsive to said movement of said cover to said closed position for locking said foot pedal to prevent operation thereof, a driven roller, means including said driven roller for unwinding said material from said roll by pulling the outer web of said material from said roll between an edge of said cover and said roll support in order to smooth out said web, and a cover release mechanism actuated to permit said cover to move to a partially open position intermediate said closed and said open positions in response to the failure of the outer web of said material to unwind from said roll as it is pulled by said driven roller.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 4, including means for adjusting said cover release mechanism to predetermine the extent of said partially open position of said cover in order to permit a roll having a diameter less than the distance between said closed position of said cover and said partially open position to be pulled out of said roll support.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 4, including means for adjusting said cover release mechanism to predetermine the extent of said partially open position of said cover in order to prevent a roll having a diameter greater than the distance between said closed position of said cover and said partially open position from being pulled out of said roll support.

7. In a machine for unwinding a roll of textile material, a roll support for loosely supporting therein a roll of textile material, a cover pivoted on said roll support movable between a closed and an open position, a cover control arm secured to said cover, control means operable between first and second positions, means interconnecting said control means and said cover control arm, a latch mechanism normally locking said control means in said first position to prevent accidental operation of said control means, said latch mechanism being operable to unlock said control means to permit operation thereof from said first position to said second position for moving said cover from said closed position to said open position so that said roll of textile material may be placed in said roll support, means secured to said cover for moving said cover from said open position to said closed position and said control means from said second position to said first position responsive to the release of said control means, and means cooperating with said latch mechanism effective responsive to said movement of said control means back to said first position for locking said control means in said first position.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 7, wherein said interconnecting means includes a coupling device to permit said cover to be moved from said closed position to a partially open position during the time said control means is locked in first position.

9. A machine as set forth in claim 8, wherein said coupling device comprises a slotted bracket to permit limited movement of said cover control arm during the time said control means is locked in said first position, and a spring normally resisting said limited movement of said cover control arm unless the roll in said roll support is jammed to prevent unwinding thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,076,073 Stanbon Oct. 21, 1913 1,099,695 Fargo June 9, 1914 2,253,744 Witt Aug. 26, 1941 2,447,519 Marinsky Aug. 24, 1948 2,484,673 Becker Oct. 11, 1949 2,527,449 Poole et al. Oct. 24, 1950 2,574,642 Jespersen Nov. 13, 1951 2,678,777 Donkin May 18, 1954 2,698,143 Pottle Dec. 28, 1954

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