APPARATUS FOR REFURBISHING BELTS

Abstract: The present invention concerns an apparatus (20) for refurbishing a belt (22) having a width, a length and a degraded surface (38). The apparatus (20) comprises a frame (24), a cutting member (26) rotatably supported by the frame (24) for selectively removing a determined amount of the degraded surface (38) simultaneously and uniformly along the width and the length of the belt (22), and a positioning member (28) supported by the frame (24) for keeping the belt (22) in position during removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface (38). The positioning member (28) has a first portion (46) holding the belt (22) against the cutting member (26) and a second portion (54) adjacent on each side to the cutting member (26) and pushing the belt (22) away from the latter (26). The apparatus (20), when not used as a kit onto an existing belt conveying machine (130), also includes a driving member (30) secured to the frame (24) for displacing the belt (22) relative to the cutting member (26) along the length of the belt (22).

Description: TITLE OF THE INVENTION Apparatus for refurbishing belts. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for refurbishing belts, more specifically to an apparatus for refurbishing belts having a degraded surface and made out of any material such as a woven or needled fabric with multiple fibers or the like, the apparatus may be installed_as a kit on existing corrugator belt machines or the like. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Corrugator belts are commonly used in corrugated cardboard or papermaker manufacturing machines. They are mainly used as a conveying tool that ensures a uniform pressure on the external sheets of cardboard that are glued or bonded to a central corrugated core to properly and uniformly pull them without relative sliding movement. During this bonding process, relatively high temperatures are encountered and the humidity contained therein needs to escape through the whole surface being bonded and through the belt itself. Such a machine needs to process relatively wide sheets of cardboard to be efficient, as wide as 300 centimeters (118 inches). To that effect, the corrugator belt has to be so manufactured that it would allow humidity to go through over its entire surface. These types of expensive belts are typically made out of a flat-woven or needled multilayer structure fabric embedding a multitude of fibers. After many weeks and months of continuous use, the surface of the belt in contact with the cardboard starts getting dirty and lose efficiency. Also, when smaller width cardboard is processed as opposed to the one covering the full width, the unused edges of the belt are more affected by the overflow of glue or the like that causes non-uniform tearing of the unused surfaces. This non-uniform tearing of the belt at the edges drastically prevent any further use of that belt with the manufacturing of wider cardboard since the uniform pressure required over the whole surface could not be provided anymore due to edge locally degraded belt surface, without high risks of having to scrap the entire batch of cardboard that would be manufactured in these conditions. When such a belt becomes so damaged, the cardboard manufacturer needs to discard the used belt and replace it by an expensive new one. To date, nobody has ever come out with a process or an apparatus that would enable a refurbishment or recycling of these discarded used belts by resurfacing the damaged surface so as to provide them with a pristine-like nice and flat surface proper for re-use. . US Patents 5,626,447 and 5,882,157 granted to Buysman et al. on May 6, 1997 and March 16, 1999 respectively disclose a belt refurbishing apparatus particularly suited for modular belting formed from universally shaped injection-molded plastic modules, essentially rigid materials, which have generally smooth and impervious surfaces generally used in conveyor systems used for transporting products, especially food products. In such applications of belts, there is no concern about the general flatness of the "working" surface of the belt as opposed for the belts generally used in paper industry. Also, any cutting device used by Buysman et al. would not be suitable to prevent any fiber tear off damage of the belt during refurbishing of the latter. Also, Buysman et al. do not disclose any means that ensures a proper holding of the belt against the cutting device as required for a non-rigid material belt as well as a push down action of the latter around the cutting device and away from the same. Finally, Buysman et al. do not need to refurbish relatively wide belting since his wide belts typically are formed by modules mounted adjacent to each other, and dismounted whenever required such as for refurbishing, thereby not requiring an accurate uniform thickness removal over the entire belt surface. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for refurbishing belts of the character described which obviates the above noted disadvantages. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for refurbishing belts that is especially suitable for relatively long and wide belts, such as commonly known corrugator belts, that are generally expensive to discard and replace. A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for refurbishing belts that can be assembled as a kit onto an existing belt conveying machine such that the belt can be regularly recycled on-site without removal for optimum overall cost and performance of the machine. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for refurbishing belts that can remove a determined amount of a degraded surface of the belt independently of the direction of displacement of the latter relative to the cutting member. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, within appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for refurbishing a belt having a width, a length and a degraded surface, the apparatus comprises: - a frame; - a cutting member rotatably supported by the frame for selectively removing a determined amount of the degraded surface simultaneously and uniformly along the width and the length of the belt; - a driving member secured to the frame for displacing the belt relative to the cutting member along the length of the belt; and - a positioning member supported by the frame for keeping the belt in position during removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface of the belt, said positioning member having a first portion for holding the belt against said cutting member and a second portion adjacent on each side to the cutting member for pushing the belt away therefrom. Preferably, the apparatus comprises an adjusting member vertically adjusting the position of the cutting member relative to the belt, thereby enabling variation of the determined amount being removed by the cutting member. Preferably, the apparatus comprises a vacuum cleaning device adjacent to the cutting member and the belt to move particles of the degraded surface removed by the cutting member away therefrom, and a trimming device for selectively cutting away damaged lateral edges of the belt along its length during relative displacement of the . belt to the trimming device by the driving member. Preferably, the cutting member includes a first roller member having a generally cylindrical surface carrying a cutting device secured thereto and being rotatably mounted on its axis parallel to the width of the belt, and a first motor device variably actuating rotation of the first roller member of the cutting member, said first roller member being of a length at least equal to the width of the belt. Preferably, the first portion of the positioning member includes a lower roller member being of a length at least equal to the width of the belt and for supporting a section of the belt laid thereon, the lower roller member is aligned to and underneath said first roller member with the belt being tightly driven in between, the second portion of the positioning member includes two upper roller members closely adjacent to and slightly lower than the first roller member on each side thereof, said upper roller members being heavy and vertically slidably mounted on the frame for pushing the belt down away from said first roller member and against the lower roller member, all said first, lower and upper roller members being rotatably mounted on their respective axis parallel to each other. Preferably, the driving member includes a second motor rotatably actuating the lower roller member. Preferably, the positioning member further includes a plurality of driving roller members rotatably mounted on said frame, each driving roller member is actuated by said second motor, said driving roller members having their respective axis parallel to the lower roller member, the latter being coplanar with all driving roller members, a belt bed located inbetween any two adjacent of said lower and driving roller members and slightly below an upper apex region of all lower and driving roller members for allowing said belt to move up when passing over each of said lower and driving roller members. Preferably, the apparatus comprises lateral guide members slidably mounted on said bed of said frame in the direction of the width of said belt for guiding lateral edges of said belt during its relative displacement thereto. Preferably, the cutting device is sand paper helically bonded onto the cylindrical surface of the first roller member. Preferably, the apparatus includes an additional lower and an additional upper roller members rotatably mounted on the frame transverse to the length of the belt for having the latter being displaced therebetween, said trimming device including one annular-shape cutter axially slidably mounted on a respective end of said additional upper roller member, and a third motor device variably actuating rotation of the additional upper roller member around its axis. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit apparatus for cleaning a degraded surface of a belt having a width and a length and installed onto a belt conveyor machine, the apparatus comprises: - a frame secured to said belt conveyor machine; - a cutting member rotatably supported by the frame for selectively removing a determined amount of the degraded surface simultaneously and uniformly along the width and the length of the belt; and - a positioning member supported by the frame for keeping the belt in position during removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface of the belt, said positioning member having a first portion for holding the belt against said cutting member and a second portion adjacent on each side to the cutting member for pushing the belt away therefrom, said belt conveyor machine displacing the belt relative to the cutting member along the length of the belt. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the annexed drawings, like reference characters indicate like elements throughout. Figure 1 is a front perspective view of an embodiment according to an apparatus for refurbishing belts of the present invention; Figure 2 is an elevation view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 ; Figure 3 is an enlarged partially broken elevation view taken along line 3 of Fig. 2 showing the arrangement of the different drums around the cutting member; Figure 4 is an enlarged section view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 ; Figure 5 is an enlarged section view taken along line 5 of Fig. 3; Figure 6 is an elevation view of another embodiment of the present invention installed as a kit onto an existing belt conveyor machine; and Figure 7 is an enlarged section view taken along line 7 of Fig. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the annexed drawings the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be herein described for indicative purpose and by no means as of limitation. Referring to Fig. 1 and 2, there is shown an embodiment 20 of an apparatus for refurbishing belts 22 in accordance to the present invention. The apparatus 20 mainly includes a frame 24 supporting a cutting member 26, a positioning member 28 and a driving member 30. Preferably, the belt 22 to be refurbished is a belt 22 made out of a flat-woven or needled multilayer structure fabric embedding a multitude of transverse fibers used as a conveying tool of the cardboard sheets for the manufacturing of corrugated cardboard in corrugator machines in the paper industry. Any other types of belting of different sizes could, also be similarly refurbished by the apparatus 20 of the present invention. The cutting member 26, preferably a main roller 32 having a generally cylindrical surface 34 carrying a cutting device, preferably a sand paper 36, is used to selectively removing a determined amount of a degraded surface 38 of the belt 22. The sand paper 36 is preferably helically bonded onto the cylindrical surface 34 in order to have a plurality of alternate non-cutting and cutting areas to ensure a smooth progressive cutting operation and to provide some room for the removed particles 66 to temporarily move to. The roller 32 is rotatably mounted on its axis that essentially lies in the direction of the width of the belt 22 and, is of a length at least equal to or longer than the width of the belt 22. The main roller 32 is preferably substantially heavy and includes an internal anti-vibration system in order to remain straight during the removal operation. The removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface 38 is simultaneously and uniformly performed along the width and the length of the belt 22. The rotation of the main roller 32 is induced by a first motor 40 preferably electrical with variable speed, via a chain 42 and a sprocket gear 44 coaxially mounted to the main roller 32. In order to ensure that the belt 22 is firmly held during the removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface 38, the positioning member 28 includes a first portion, preferably a lower central roller 46 of a same length as the main roller 32, being aligned to and just underneath the main roller 32 to hold the belt 22 tight against the main rollers 32. The belt 22 is displaced relative to the main roller 32 in the direction of its length by the driving member 30, preferably a second motor 48 actuating a second chain 50 mounted onto a second sprocket gear 52 coaxially secured to the central roller 46. The second motor 48 is preferably a reversible electrical motor with variable speed. To ensure a proper displacement of the belt 22 as well as to provide a substantial tension into the belt 22 at the vicinity of the main roller 32, the positioning member 28 further includes a second portion, preferably two upper rollers 54 closely adjacent to on each side of the main roller 32. The two upper rollers 54 are freely rotatably mounted onto their respective axis vertically slidably mounted onto the frame 24. Under their respective weight, the upper rollers 54 substantially push the belt 22 down against the lower central roller 46 and a belt bed 56 onto which the belt 22 slides, and away from the main roller 32. The belt bed 56, preferably made-out of UHM (Ultra-High Modulus) thermoplastic plates 58, or any other easy gliding material having substantially high resistance to abrasion, is essentially horizontal and vertically positioned slightly lower than the upper apex region of the lower roller 46 in order to force the belt 22 of being displaced from underneath one of the upper rollers 54 up to the upper apex region of the lower roller 46 and back down underneath the second upper roller 54, as shown in Fig. 3. For proper removal of a determined amount of material of the degraded surface 38 of the belt 22, the tangential speed of the cutting device 36 relative to the displacement of the belt 22 is preferably at least an order of magnitude (10x) higher. In order to better drive the belt 22, the positioning member 28 preferably further includes a plurality of additional driving rollers 60 with their respective coaxially mounted sprocket gear 62 driven by the second motor 48 and the second chain 50. These additional rollers 60 are parallel to each other and spaced apart on each side, upstream and downstream, of the upper rollers 54 to define a plane essentially parallel to the belt 22 being linearly displaced over its essentially flat bed 56 formed by the plates 58 located between adjacent lower and driving rollers 46, 60. Only the top apex region of all driving rollers 60 are slightly protruding above the bed 56. Preferably, the lower central roller 46 and the driving rollers 60 have their respective cylindrical surface made out of a rubber-type material for a sufficient friction to avoid sliding of the belt 22 being displaced and tracked thereover. Additionally, the apparatus 20 may include a vacuum cleaning device 64 properly located along and close to the belt 22 and the cutting area of the main roller 32 to collect all particles and chips 66 being removed from the degraded surface 38 of the belt 22 by the cutting device 36, to leave the cutting area clean. Due to the typical large width of the belt 22 that may be as wide as 300 cm (118 inches), the vacuum device 64 is preferably divided into two sections 68 along the main roller 32 and preferably removably supported by the frame 24. Each section 68 has an inlet opening 70 the particles are sucked into and an outlet opening 72 through which they are collected and discarded preferably via a standard commercial vacuum system (not shown). As shown in Fig. 4, the apparatus 20 preferably includes an adjusting member 74 to vertically adjust the position of the main roller 32, or some other roller 94 as specifically depicted on Fig. 4, relative to the lower central roller 46 to accurately selectively determine the amount of material of the degraded surface 38 of the belt 22 to be removed. Referring to Fig. 4, the vertical adjustment is preferably similarly performed at each extremity of the roller 94 via a vertical screw 76 axially secured to a bracket 78 itself secured to the extremity of the axis of the roller 94 and slidably moving along a vertical slot opening guide 80 of a roller support 82, and screwably engaging a threaded hole 84 into that support 82. Once the adjustment is completed, the screw 76 is locked in place by the two lower and upper nuts 86, 88 respectively, and the axis of the main roller 32 is locked by the screw head 90 underneath the bracket 78 and a nut 92 above the. same. Associated with the cutting member 26, this adjusting member 74 allows to successively accurately remove different amounts of material of a same degraded surface 38 when the overall amount to be removed is too large for a single pass without possibly damaging the belt 22. Obviously, the adjusting member 74 could also include hydraulic actuators, or the like mechanism, simultaneously operating at both extremities of the roller 32 or 94. In order to avoid the belt 22 from flapping over the outermost driving roller 60 and improve the belt driving, respective additional upper rollers 94 rotatably mounted on their axis, preferably with a respective adjusting member 74, are located and aligned just above their respective outermost driving roller 60. As shown in Fig. 1 and more specifically in Fig. 4, one of these additional upper roller 94 may include a trimming device 96 for selectively trimming away damaged lateral edges 98 of the belt 22 along its length during relative displacement of the latter to the trimming device 96. Preferably, the trimming device 96 includes one annular-shape cutter 100 axially slidably mounted at each extremity of the additional upper roller 94. Each annular-shape cutter 100 is partially released from the upper roller 94 by loosening screw 102, properly axially positioned and secured in place by tightening back the screw 102. Finally the upper roller 94 is vertically adjusted via its adjusting member 74 to have the outer perimeter of the cutter 100 touching its respective lower driving roller 60. Preferably, the trimming device 96 also includes a third motor, preferably a variable electrical motor 104, actuating a third chain 106 and a sprocket gear 108 axially mounted to the upper roller 94. As shown in Figs. 1 , 3 and 5, the apparatus 20 preferably includes a guiding member, preferably slidably adjustable lateral guides 110 to properly guide the edges 98 of the belt 22 during its displacement relative to its bed 56. These lateral guides 110 essentially laying over the bed 56 and touching the same are slidably mounted on rods 112 supported by the frame 24 and transverse to the belt 22, and are secured to the rods 112 using clamps 114 when adjusted in place properly abutting the respective edge 98 of the belt 22. The apparatus 20 also preferably includes one tensioning roller 116 rotatably mounted on its axis and located at each extremity, upstream and downstream, of its respective outermost driving roller 60 and vertically lower relative to the latter. The belt 22 passes underneath both of these tensioning rollers 116 to ensure proper tension of the belt 22 being tracked by the outermost driving rollers 60. The frame 24 of the apparatus 20 is also adapted, on one side at least, to releasably receive a shaft 118 supporting a belt 22 wrapped therearound that needs to be refurbished or recycled. At the other side of the apparatus 20, a shaft 118' adapted to be wrapped by the belt 22 could be mounted on a different small and preferably rolling frame 120, or winding trolley, to be positioned next to its respective tensioning roller 116 by abutting against abutment plates 122 located of the frame 24. Optionally, when the rolling frame 120 is receiving the belt 22 instead of feeding the same, the shaft 118' of the latter is preferably driven by a variable speed motor (not shown) that would be mounted on the same. The speed of the variable motor being preferably manually adjusted from time to time to adapt the tangential speed of the belt 22 being rolled therearound to essentially the same of its displacement speed on the frame 24. Since the second motor 48 is preferably reversible, the belt 22 may be independently displaced in both directions relative to the entire apparatus 20 and its main roller 32, without affecting the cutting operation due to the relatively high speed of the cutting device 36 relative to the displaced belt 22. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, a second embodiment 20a of the apparatus for refurbishing belts 22a can alternatively be a kit 20a directly installed on an existing paper conveying machine 130 onto which the degraded surface 38a of the belt 22a could be refurbished from time to time without having to dismantle it from the machine 130. The kit 20a would at least include a small frame 24a supporting a cutting member 26a with its main roller 32a, a cutting device 36a on its surface 34a and its motor 40a, chain 42a and sprocket gear 44a, a positioning member 28a with its first portion, the lower roller 46a. Preferably, the kit 20a would also include and adjusting member 74a for the main roller 32a and a vacuum cleaning device 64a. Optionally, if required depending of the tension of the belt 22a around the main roller 32a and the direction of the belt 22a upstream and downstream of the main roller 32a, one or two upper rollers 54a of the second portion of the positioning member 28a may be required close to the main roller 32a, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. No driving member would be required since the belt 22a is directly driven and tensioned by the conveying machine 130. As it would be obvious to a person skilled in the art, all rollers have their axis substantially perpendicular to a same plane and any of them could be made out of a plurality of coaxially spaced apart small cylinders as a possible alternate option. Also, other cutting devices 36 could be used as long as they do not further damage the degraded surface 38 during its removal. Although an apparatus for refurbishing belts has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the disclosure has been made by way of example only and that the present invention is not limited to the features of the embodiments described and illustrated herein, but includes all variations and modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims: CLAIMS I claim: 1. An apparatus (20) for refurbishing a belt (22) having a width, a length and a degraded surface (38), the apparatus (20) comprising: - a frame (24); - a cutting member (26) rotatably supported by the frame (24) for selectively removing a determined amount of the degraded surface (38) simultaneously and uniformly along the width and the length of the belt (22); - a driving member (30) secured to the frame (24) for displacing the belt (22) relative to the cutting member (26) along the length of the belt (22); and - a positioning member (28) supported by the frame (24) for keeping the belt (22) in proper position during removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface (38) of the belt (22), said positioning member (28) having a first portion (46) for holding the belt (22) against said cutting member (26) and a second portion (54) adjacent on each side to the cutting member (26) for pushing the belt (22) away therefrom. 2. An apparatus 20() as defined in claim 1 , comprising an adjusting member (74) vertically adjusting the position of the cutting member (26) relative to the belt (22), thereby enabling variation of the determined amount being removed by the cutting member (26). 3. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 1 , comprising a vacuum cleaning device (64) adjacent to the cutting member (26) and the belt (22) to move particles (66) of the degraded surface (38) removed by the cutting member (26) away therefrom. 4. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 1 , comprising a trimming device (96) for selectively cutting away damaged lateral edges (98) of the belt (22) along its length during relative displacement of the belt (22) to the trimming device (96) by the driving member (30). 5. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 1 , wherein the cutting member (26) includes a first roller member (32) having a generally cylindrical surface (34) carrying a cutting device (36) secured thereto and being rotatably mounted on its axis parallel to the width of the belt (22), and a first motor device (40) variably actuating rotation of the first roller member (32) of the cutting member (26), said first roller member (32) being of a length at least equal to the width of the belt (22). 6. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 5, wherein the first portion of the positioning member (28) includes a lower roller member (46) being of a length at least equal to the width of the belt (22) and for supporting a section of the belt (22) laid thereon, the lower roller member (46) is aligned to and underneath said first roller member (32) with the belt (22) being tightly driven in between, the second portion of the positioning member (28) includes two upper roller members (54) closely adjacent to and slightly lower than the first roller member (32) on each side thereof, said upper roller members (54) being heavy and vertically slidably mounted on the frame (24) for pushing the belt (22) down away from said first roller member (32) and against the lower roller member (46), all said first (32), lower (46) and upper (54) roller members being rotatably mounted on their respective axis parallel to each other. 7. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 6, wherein driving member (30) includes a second motor (48) rotatably actuating the lower roller member (46). 8. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 7, wherein said positioning member (28) further includes a plurality of driving roller members (60) rotatably mounted on said frame (24), each driving roller member (60) is actuated by said second motor (48), said driving roller members (60) having their respective axis parallel to the lower roller member (46), the latter (46) being coplanar with all driving roller members (60), a belt bed (56) located inbetween any two adjacent of said lower (46) and driving (60) roller members and slightly below an upper apex region of all lower (46) and driving (60) roller members for allowing for said belt (22) to move up when passing over each of said lower (46) and driving (60) roller members. 9. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 8, comprising lateral guide members (110) slidably mounted on said bed (56) of said frame (24) in the direction of the width of said belt (22) for guiding lateral edges (98) of said belt (22) during its relative displacement thereto. 10. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 5, wherein said cutting device is sand paper (36) helically bonded onto the cylindrical surface (34) of the first roller member (32). 11. An apparatus (20) as defined in claim 4, including an additional lower (60) and an additional upper (94) roller members rotatably mounted on the frame (24) transverse to the length of the belt (22) for having the latter (22) being displaced therebetween, said trimming device (96) including one annular-shape cutter (100) axially slidably mounted on a respective end of said additional upper roller member (94), and a third motor device (104) variably actuating rotation of the additional upper roller member (94) around its axis. 12. An kit apparatus (20a) for cleaning a degraded surface (38a) of a belt (22a) having a width and a length and installed onto a belt conveyor machine (130), the apparatus (20a) comprising: - a frame (24a) secured to said belt conveyor machine (130); - a cutting member (26a) rotatably supported by the frame (24a) for selectively removing a determined amount of the degraded surface (38a) simultaneously and uniformly along the width and the length of the belt (22a); and - a positioning member (28a) supported by the frame (24a) for keeping the belt (22a) in position during removal of the determined amount of the degraded surface (38a) of the belt (22a), said positioning member (28a) having a first portion (46a) for holding the belt (22a) against said cutting member (26a) and a second portion (54a) adjacent on each side to the cutting member (26a) for pushing the belt (22a) away therefrom, said belt conveyor machine (130) displacing the belt (22a) relative to the cutting member (26a) along the length of the belt (22a). 13. An apparatus (20a) as defined in claim 12, comprising an adjusting member (74a) vertically adjusting the position of the cutting member (26a) relative to the belt (22a), thereby enabling variation of the determined amount being removed by the cutting member (26a). 14. An apparatus (20a) as defined in claim 12, comprising a vacuum cleaning device (64a) adjacent to the cutting member (26a) and the belt (22a) to move particles (66) of the degraded surface (38a) removed by the cutting member (26a) away therefrom. 15. An apparatus (20a) as defined in claim 12, wherein the cutting member (26a) includes a first roller member (32a) having a generally cylindrical surface (34a) carrying a cutting device (36a) secured thereto and being rotatably mounted on its axis parallel to the width of the belt (22a), and a first motor device (40a) variably actuating rotation of the first roller member (32a) of the cutting member (26a), said first roller member (32a) being of a length at least equal to the width of the belt (22a). 16. An apparatus (20a) as defined in claim 15, wherein the first portion of the positioning member (28a) includes a lower roller member (46a) being of a length at least equal to the width of the belt (22a) and for supporting a section of the belt (22a) laid thereon, the lower roller member (46a) is aligned to and underneath said first roller member (32a) with the belt (22a) being tightly driven in between, the second portion of the positioning member (28a) includes two upper roller members (54a) closely adjacent to and slightly lower than the first roller member (32a) on each side thereof, said upper roller members (54a) being heavy and vertically slidably mounted on the frame (24a) for pushing the belt (22a) down away from said first roller member (32a) and against the lower roller member (46a), all said first (32a), lower (46a) and upper (54a) roller members being rotatably mounted on their respective axis parallel to each other. 17. An apparatus (20a) as defined in claim 15, wherein said cutting device is sand paper (36a) helically bonded onto the cylindrical surface (34a) of the first roller member (32a).

Inventors: MICHAUD GERARD, MICHAUD, GERARD
Applicants: MICHAUD GERARD, MICHAUD, GERARD
Application year: 2001
Main classification: B29C73
IPC codes: B29C73, B65G45