Patent ID: 7413136

Claim:
A chopper for separating long lengths of one or more unwound items selected from the group consisting of fibers, fiber strands, string, yarn, wire, tape and ribbon into short pieces comprising a frame having a front plate on an outboard, operating side of the chopper, a rotatable backup roll outboard of the front plate, the backup roll having an elastomeric peripheral working surface, a rotatable blade or cutter roll outboard of the front plate, a rotatable idler roll mounted outboard of the front plate for pressing the one or more items against said working surface of the backup roll and an idler roll mount for holding the idler roll and applying a force to press the idler roll against the one or more items to be chopped and the working layer on the backup roll as the latter rotates, the improvement comprising an idler roll assembly comprising an idler roll, an axle, a hub and pin for pivotally attaching to the axle and at least one bearing between the idler roll and the hub to permit the idler roll to rotate around the hub while the hub is free to pivot to keep the idler roll in contact with the one or more items on the working surface.