Method and apparatus for automatically cutting long rolls of microfoam material and the like into shorter sub-rolls

摘要

Large diameter long rolls of soft, spongy resilient material, for example, such as "microfoam" padding and packaging material which are to be cut into narrower sub-rolls are positioned in a support frame having means for restricting the rotational movement of the roll in one direction in the frame. A long knife blade and its reciprocating drive are positioned on the frame and with the knife blade being initially tangentially disposed with respect to the periphery of the roll. The reciprocating drive is positioned for reciprocally driving and incrementally advancing the knife blade inward with the knife blade rotating the roll on the push stroke of the blade while cutting and advancing inward along an arc on the pull stroke of the reciprocating drive. Cutting is stopped when the edge of the blade is at a predetermined distance from the mandrel on which the core of the roll is mounted in order to protect the knife blade, and the core is then cut with a hand blade so that the sub-roll can be removed from the remainder of the roll. Neatly cut square ends are produced on the cut rolls. A convenient and effective means for restricting rotational movement of the roll in one direction is a strap anchored at one end to the frame and partially wrapped around the periphery of the roll with a weight suspended from the other end, thereby acting like a one-way clutch.