The present invention relates to a strip support and alignment device, particularly for strips to be cut in a cutting machine.

In the field of the cutting of hides and synthetic materials used in many fields of the manufacturing industry, a profound revolution has been ongoing for years in the technologies used, in order to reduce the times, costs and wastes of material related to the cutting procedures, which are fundamentally important in the economics of the entire production cycle. These needs therefore lead to the requirement to provide cutting machines and associated components that are capable of adapting in a flexible way to the most complex and diversified processing needs and of being controlled or programmed by electronic systems.

One highly critical aspect of the processing of hides and synthetic materials relates to the steps of feeding, centering and aligning the strips of material to be cut.

Currently, devices of the known type used to feed strips of material unwound from rolls or reels to a machine for cutting them include so-called cross-lappers, which are however very complex, bulky and extremely expensive devices. They in fact comprise usually a fixed table that can be up to 12 meters long, by way of which it is possible to prepare automatically layer sets composed of multiple segments, or cuts, of strips of material that are mutually superimposed, have a programmable length and are then transferred onto the conveyor belt of the cutting machine to be processed thereat, maintaining the same alignment provided by the cross-lapper.

Cheaper versions of such cross-lapper are also known which are in any case similar in terms of bulk, in a manual or semiautomatic version. Such versions have no control on the angular alignment and on the centering of the strip of material with respect to the cutting machine. In such versions, the so-called layer set composed of multiple superimposed strips of material must be transferred manually from the cross-lapping table to the cutting machine.

As an alternative to cross-lappers, passive unwinding machines of the rack type are also known on which several rolls of strip of material to be fed to the cutting machine are mounted. Such passive unwinding machines, however, have no possibility for accurate angular alignment and centering of the strip of material with respect to the conveyor belt of the cutting machine. In particular, in such passive unwinding machines of the known type uniform unwinding of the strips of material is not ensured, and this can lead, especially in the case of particularly wide strips, to an unwinding that is asymmetrical with respect to the two sides of the strip, i.e., with significant angular deviations that then lead to an inefficient processing of the layer set, causing important wastes of material.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a strip support and alignment device, particularly for strips to be cut in a cutting machine, that solves the technical problems described above, obviates the drawbacks and overcomes the limitations of the background art, allowing to feed a strip of material to a processing machine accurately, precisely and efficiently.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a strip support and alignment device that allows precise centering and angular alignment of the strip.

Another object of the invention is to provide a strip support and alignment device that is simple and straightforward to use and has a small bulk, especially when it is not being used.

A further object of the invention is to provide a strip support and alignment device that is capable of giving the greatest assurances of reliability and safety in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a strip support and alignment device that is easy to manufacture and economically competitive if compared with the background art. This aim, these objects and others that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a strip support and alignment device, particularly for strips to be cut in a cutting machine, characterized in that it comprises:

- a sheet that is stretched between a station for feeding at least one strip and a station for processing said at least one strip, which defines a support and alignment surface for said at least one strip,

- first means for fixing said sheet to said feeding station,

- second means for fixing said sheet to said processing station, - means for winding and unwinding said sheet, which are adapted to wind or unwind said sheet in order to vary its length depending on the distance between said feeding station and said processing station.

Further characteristics and advantages will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a strip support and alignment device, particularly for strips to be cut in a cutting machine, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a strip support and alignment device according to the invention, applied between a feeding station and a processing station for strips;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of what is shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of what is shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a side view of what is shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the strip support and alignment device alone, according to the invention;

Figure 6 is a view of a detail of the means for fixing the device of Figure 5 to the processing station;

Figure 7 is a view of a detail of the means for fixing the device of Figure 5 to the feeding station;

Figure 8 is a view of a detail of the device of Figure 5. With reference to the figures, the strip support and alignment device, particularly for strips to be cut in a cutting machine, is generally designated by the reference numeral 1.

According to the invention, the strip support and alignment device 1 comprises:

- a sheet 3 that is stretched between a station 5 for feeding at least one strip (not shown) and a station 7 for processing the strip, which defines a support and alignment surface 17 for said strip,

- first means 9 for fixing the sheet 3 to the feeding station 5,

- second means 11 for fixing the sheet 3 to the processing station 7,

- means 13 for winding and unwinding the sheet 3, which are adapted to wind or unwind the sheet 3 in order to vary its length depending on the distance between the feeding station 5 and the processing station 7.

The feeding station 7 can comprise an unwinding device 50 of the rack type, either a single one or a multiple one such as the one shown in Figures 1 to 4, capable of feeding one or more strips of material in order to provide, for example, a layer set composed of multiple strips of material that are superimposed.

The processing station 7 can comprise a cutting machine 70 capable of cutting and processing the strip of material or the layer set composed of multiple superimposed strips of material. Conveyance of the strip, or strips, of material within the cutting machine 70 is achieved by means of a conveyor belt 71 with which the cutting machine 70 is provided.

Furthermore, the support and alignment device 1 can comprise means 15 for tensioning the sheet 3. The tensioning means 15 can comprise elastic elements provided with springs, adapted to keep the sheet 3 stretched, or can comprise rigid elements that are kept pressed against the sheet 3 in order to keep it stretched.

Advantageously, the sheet 3 comprises, on the surface 17 for the resting and alignment of the strip of material, a plurality of longitudinal marking lines 19 which are parallel to the unwinding direction of the sheet 3, are equidistant with respect to the center of the surface 17 and are mutually equidistant, for the centering and alignment of the strip of material with respect to the processing station 7.

In particular, the marking lines 19 can be graduated numerically, as shown in particular in Figure 8. Moreover, said marking lines 19 can also be colored, so that the pairs of marking lines 19 that are symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal straight line that passes through the center of said surface 17 are of the same color. The presence of said marking lines 19, which are optionally graduated numerically and optionally colored conveniently, allows to align and center the strip of material in an easy and straightforward manner, starting from an obvious visual reference.

The strip support and alignment device 1 furthermore comprises advantageously means 21 for cutting the strip.

The cutting means 21 can comprise a movable cutter of the type provided with a disk, a blade, or any other technical cutting means, such as a laser or a hot wire.

The cutting means 21 allow to cut the strip of material of the desired length, depending on the type of processing to be performed in the processing station 7.

The means 13 for winding and unwinding the sheet 3 comprise advantageously a knob 23 for manual winding and unwinding.

As an alternative, the winding and unwinding means 13 can comprise motor means for the motorized winding and unwinding of the sheet 3.

The sheet 3, moreover, can be wound completely onto the winding and unwinding means 13, so that, when the strip support and alignment device 1 is not used, it does not occupy space. The sheet 3 can in fact be wound completely onto the winding and unwinding means 13, so as to place the feeding station 5, optionally provided with wheels 5, adjacent to the processing station 7. Advantageously, furthermore, the strip of material is a strip of leather or hide and the processing station 7 comprises a machine for cutting leather or hide. Moreover, the support and alignment device 1 allows to feed and align a plurality of superimposed strips to provide even layer sets of material.

The first means 9 for fixing the sheet 3 to the feeding station 5 can be integral with the winding and unwinding means 13.

The second means 11 for fixing the sheet 3 to the processing station 7 can comprise a fixing anchor 1 10, which supports a longitudinal end of the sheet 3 and is provided with holes for the insertion of screws 1 11 for fixing to the frame of the cutting machine 70 of the processing station 7.

Operation of the strip support and alignment device is clear and evident from what has been described.

The device 1 is fixed initially to the feeding station 5 by way of the first fixing means 9. The sheet 3, initially wound on the winding and unwinding means 11 , is then unwound for a selected length, so as to cover the distance between the feeding station 5 and the processing station 7. In particular, such distance depends on the length of the segments of strip of material that are processed in the processing station 7.

The unwinding end of the sheet 3 is then engaged, by way of the second fixing means 11 , with the cutting machine of the processing station 7, for example proximate to the conveyor belt 71.

If the feeding station 5 is provided with wheels 51, it is also possible to fix the sheet 3 respectively to the feeding station 5 and to the processing station 7, and at a later time to move the feeding station 5 to the desired distance from the processing station 7, at the same time unwinding the sheet 3 from the winding and unwinding means 13.

When the support and alignment device 1 is in position, it is possible to unwind the strips of material from the feeding station 5 on the sheet 3, centering them and aligning them thanks to the marking lines 19, so that the operator can introduce them, manually or with the aid of automatic devices, in the processing station 7, keeping them centered and aligned with respect to said station 7.

In practice it has been found that the support and alignment device 1 , according to the present invention, achieves the intended aim and objects since it allows to support, center and align the strips of material practically, efficiently, precisely and inexpensively.

In particular, an advantage of the support and alignment device according to the invention, resides in that the variable length of the sheet, which is a function of the length of the segments of material needed to provide the desired layer sets, allows to adapt the dimensions of the processing system according to the type of process and to reduce significantly the bulk of the entire processing system. Moreover, the removability of the roll-up sheet, when its use ends, allows to leave the workplace of the operator completely free and accessible.

A further advantage of the support and alignment device, according to the invention, resides in that it prevents the incorrect alignment and centering of the strips, especially in the case of multilayer strips that arrive from multiple rolls of material. The sheet in fact defines a so-called buffer zone, for the support and alignment of the layers of material, which allows to distribute in an appropriate length, minimizing them, any creases caused by the misalignment produced by operator error.

Another advantage of the support and alignment device, according to the invention, resides in that the presence of marking lines for the correct alignment of the strips of material of a layer set allows to avoid any drifting of the layer set during cutting, thus avoiding wastes of material, and to avoid the presence of excessive creases, which force the operator to stop the machine in order to realign the material, with a consequent reduction of the efficiency of the entire production process.

A further advantage of the support and alignment device according to the invention, resides in that it can be used universally to place manually or automatically several models for cutting the hides.

The support and alignment device thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2013A001175 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.