Abstract: A belt cradle cloth roll support apparatus for a cloth spreading machine including a pair of first and second endless belt members defining a V-shaped trough and trained about a plurality of rollers, including an adjustment mechanism for moving one of the belt members toward and away from the other belt member in order to decrease the angle of the V-shaped trough in order to better contain and control smaller diameter cloth rolls which have diminished in size as they are unwound while supported on the V-shaped belt cradle.

Abstract: A cloth feed apparatus particularly adapted for feeding a heavy cloth roll mounted on a cloth spreading machine. The cloth feed apparatus includes a pair of freely rotatable transverse support rollers in a cloth support frame for supporting substantially the entire weight of a heavy cloth roll transversely of the spreading machine. A cloth feed roller element, in tangential engagement with the outer surface of the cloth roll without supporting any substantial part of the weight of the cloth roll, is driven to feed cloth from the roll. The feed roller element may include a plurality of transversely cleated gripping members and a plurality of transversely spaced belt members entrained about the feed roller element.The cloth feed apparatus also preferably includes a front dancer roller for controlling the speed of the cloth feed roller element and a rear retainer roller movable betweeen a lower loading position and an upper retaining position, to facilitate loading the cloth roll on the support rollers.

Abstract: A cloth feed apparatus for a cloth spreading machine adapted to travel reciprocably and longitudinally over a cloth spreading table in order to spread successive layers of cloth, from a cloth supply roll mounted transversely of the machine. The cloth feed apparatus includes a first belt feeder device swingably mounted below the cloth supply roll and biased into constant engagement with the cloth roll for feeding a web of cloth from the roll. A second belt feeder device is mounted beneath the first belt feeder device for receiving a web of cloth from the first belt feeder device and for feeding the web to a discharge station at one end of the spreading machine for deposit upon the spreading table as the machine moves longitudinally of the table. The cloth feed apparatus made in accordance with this invention provides substantially tensionless feeding of the cloth web from the machine to the spreading table, and without the necessity of manually threading the cloth web on the machine.

Abstract: A variable speed control device operatively connected between the wheel of the longitudinally movable frame of a cloth spreading machine and a cloth feed roll on the frame, including a pair of variable pitch pulleys linked by an endless belt, and a manually operable control member for simultaneously varying inversely the diameters of the pulleys in order to change the relative speed of the cloth feed roll and the linear speed of the machine frame.The variable speed control device also includes a clutch control device for selectively engaging and disengaging the drive between the frame wheel and the cloth feed roll.

Abstract: A portable clamp device for releasable mounting upon the track of a cutting table supporting a longitudinally reciprocal cloth spreading machine having a position-control switch and switch actuator, the clamp device being longitudinally aligned with the switch actuator for cooperation therewith. The clamp device includes a body member having a switch actuator element for engagement by the switch actuator, and a fixed jaw and a lever-actuated movable cleat opposing the jaw, adapted to straddle the track for releasable clamping of the track in any desired operative position along the cutting table.

Abstract: A motor-driven cloth spreading machine having a rotary and longitudinally shiftable elongated control shaft for controlling the speed, direction, and braking of the motor driving the cloth spreading machine. The rotary movement of the control shaft is adapted to vary the speed and control the braking means for the motor, while the longitudinal shiftable movement of the control shaft actuates directional switches for controlling the direction of the machine movement.

Abstract: A cloth spreading machine for accurately spreading layers of cloth upon a cloth supporting surface without a catcher mechanism, including a longitudinally reciprocably movable spreader frame having a vertically movable spreader element, a motor for elevating the spreader element and a sensor adapted to detect an increase in the height of the cloth layers and coupled to the elevator motor for continually maintaining a substantially uniform height between the spreader element and the top layer of cloth within close tolerances. A cutter mechanism mounted on the spreader element is operative to cut the cloth when the spreader frame is in a stationary position spaced longitudinally a short distance from the end of the traverse of the spreader frame so that when the cloth is cut, it will fall free upon the next lower layer so that its cut end will lie substantially in a vertical plane containing all of the cut ends of the spread layers.

Abstract: A motor-driven cloth spreading machine having a speed control apparatus manually operated by a rotary elongated control shaft having radial handle means for rotating the control shaft.The speed control apparatus may also include a trip lever operatively connected to the control shaft and adapted to counter-rotate the control shaft to reduce the speed of the machine when the trip lever engages a tripping device at a predetermined station in the path of the spreading machine.