Paper cutting apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus primarily intended for cutting a substantially planar sheet of flexible material such as paper into segments, said apparatus including:
- means for feeding said sheet of paper substantially vertically downward substantially along a planar path, andmeans for making a substantially horizontal cut across said downwardly fed sheet to cut said sheet into segments, said cut making means including;
a first blade member with a sawtoothed, cutting portion,a second blade member with a sawtoothed, cutting portion,means for mounting said first blade member for rotation about a first axis with the cutting portion thereof spaced from said first axis,means for mounting said second blade member for rotation about a second axis with the cutting portion thereof spaced from said second axis, said second axis being spaced from said first axis and said feeding means feeding said sheet downwardly along said planar path between said first and second axes at a first velocity,means for rotating said first blade member about said first axis with the cutting portion thereof moving downwardly about said first axis along an arcuate path substantially passing through said planar sheet feeding path at a location substantially between said first and second axes, andmeans for rotating said second blade member about said second axis with the cutting portion thereof moving downwardly about said second axis along an arcuate path overlapping the arcuate path of the cutting portion of the first blade member at a location substantially between said first and second axes at substantially the same time said cutting portion of said first blade member passes through said planar sheet feeding path wherein said cutting portions contact and horizontally cut said sheet of paper into segments, said respective rotating means for said first and second blade members rotate the respective cutting portions of said first and second blade members about the respective first and second axes at respective tangential velocities greater than the first velocity said feeding means feeds said sheet downwardly along said sheet feeding path, said sawtoothed cutting portions of said first and second blade members having teeth wherein the teeth of the cutting portion of the first blade member and the teeth of the cutting portion of the second blade member mesh when the arcuate paths of the cutting portions of said first and second blade members overlap.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The cutting apparatus and method of the present invention involve feeding a newsprint wrapper or any other sheet of paper downwardly along a planar path between two rotating cutters. Each of the cutters includes a planar blade member with an outer, sawtoothed cutting portion. In operation, the blade members are rotated about respective axes to move their cutting portions downwardly along arcuate paths that preferably pass through the path of the downwardly fed sheet. The arcuate paths of the cutting portions overlap and one of the cutting portions of the blade members is spaced farther from its rotational axis than the other. It is also moved tangentially faster about its axis than the cutting portion of the other blade member. In this manner, a cutting action is produced which first punctures and then subsequently tears or shreds a horizontal cut across the downwardly fed sheet to cut it into smaller pieces or segments.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus primarily intended for cutting a substantially planar sheet of flexible material such as paper into segments, said apparatus including:
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means for feeding said sheet of paper substantially vertically downward substantially along a planar path, and means for making a substantially horizontal cut across said downwardly fed sheet to cut said sheet into segments, said cut making means including; a first blade member with a sawtoothed, cutting portion, a second blade member with a sawtoothed, cutting portion, means for mounting said first blade member for rotation about a first axis with the cutting portion thereof spaced from said first axis, means for mounting said second blade member for rotation about a second axis with the cutting portion thereof spaced from said second axis, said second axis being spaced from said first axis and said feeding means feeding said sheet downwardly along said planar path between said first and second axes at a first velocity, means for rotating said first blade member about said first axis with the cutting portion thereof moving downwardly about said first axis along an arcuate path substantially passing through said planar sheet feeding path at a location substantially between said first and second axes, and means for rotating said second blade member about said second axis with the cutting portion thereof moving downwardly about said second axis along an arcuate path overlapping the arcuate path of the cutting portion of the first blade member at a location substantially between said first and second axes at substantially the same time said cutting portion of said first blade member passes through said planar sheet feeding path wherein said cutting portions contact and horizontally cut said sheet of paper into segments, said respective rotating means for said first and second blade members rotate the respective cutting portions of said first and second blade members about the respective first and second axes at respective tangential velocities greater than the first velocity said feeding means feeds said sheet downwardly along said sheet feeding path, said sawtoothed cutting portions of said first and second blade members having teeth wherein the teeth of the cutting portion of the first blade member and the teeth of the cutting portion of the second blade member mesh when the arcuate paths of the cutting portions of said first and second blade members overlap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method primarily intended for cutting a substantially planar sheet of flexible material such as paper into segments, said method including the steps of:
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(a) providing a first blade member with a sawtoothed, cutting portion having a plurality of pointed teeth, (b) providing a second blade member with a sawtoothed, cutting portion having a plurality of pointed teeth, (c) feeding said sheet of paper substantially vertically downwardly substantially along a planar path, (d) moving the cutting portion of said first blade member downwardly about a first axis along an arcuate path substantially passing through said planar sheet feeding path to contact and deflect a first path of said sheet away from said planar sheet feeding path in a first direction substantially away from said first axis, (e) moving the cutting portion of said second blade member downwardly about a second axis along an arcuate path overlapping the arcuate path of the cutting portion of said first blade member to contact and deflect a second part of said sheet in a direction substantially opposite to said first direction and substantially away from said second axis, said first and second parts of said sheet being attached to and vertically adjacent one another, (f) puncturing said respective first and second sheet parts with the respective, pointed teeth of the cutting portions of the first and second blade members, said cutting portions being moved downwardly faster than said downwardly fed sheet wherein said cutting portions accelerate said sheet as said respective pointed teeth of said cutting portions puncture said respective first and second sheet parts, and (g) continuing to move said cutting portions of said first and second blade members among the respective arcuate paths about the respective first and second axes to a substantially overlapping position substantially between said first and second axes to cut said sheet into segments substantially between said first and second sheet parts. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification