Patent ID: 8245611

Claim:
A device for transporting flexible products, comprising: a conveyor device with a plurality of spaced-apart grippers deployed to travel along a conveyor path, in which a portion of a single edge of individual ones of the flexible products are grasped and conveyed in a freely hanging manner by corresponding ones of said grippers exerting a compression force on the portion of the single edge of corresponding ones of the flexible products in which the single edge is not to be cut in at least regions on the conveyor path, the portion of the single edge of the flexible products being in a center of the single edge of the flexible products and being less than one half of an entire length of the single edge of the flexible products; and a cutting station arranged in the conveyor path of the conveyor device having a device disposed to cut the product, the grippers holding the freely hanging flexible product such that, with the active connection of the cutting device with the product, at least one edge of the flexible product is cut; the freely hanging flexible products being suspended by the grippers in a manner in which three of four edges of the flexible product and an area between the three of the four edges of the product including a space of the flexible product between three of the four edges of the flexible product are not being held or constrained by any device, mechanism or element, except where grasped by the grippers, and the cutting device cuts the at least one edge of the flexible product while the flexible product is being conveyed by the conveyor device, the space including an entire center region of the flexible product and an entire area between two of the four edges of the flexible product; corresponding ones of the grippers releasing individual ones of the freely hanging flexible products being held by the grippers to move due to a force of gravity upon release of the compression force; and the grippers maintaining the compression force on the flexible products during the cutting of the flexible products.