Importance

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Abstract

A strip of material is advanced a first selected distance along a feed path past a cutter. Then, the free end of the strip of material is gripped by a gripper and pulled a second selected distance so that the strip of material is disposed across a path of a reciprocating frame. The frame is advanced so that a retainer holds the portion of the strip of material to be cut at the time that it is cut by the cutter. The ends of the cut segment, which is held by the retainer, are folded by two pairs of folding pins supported by the frame to form a folded loop. The folded loop is advanced to a sewing machine, when a sewing machine operator activates a switch, to position the folded loop on a sewing plate with the frame being retracted after the folded loop is clamped to the sewing plate and prior to sewing. The movements of the frame and the gripper are controlled from a single driven cam shaft having three cams thereon with one having a plurality of cam profiles. If the strip of material exceeds a predetermined thickness, the frame is prevented from being advanced to the position in which the retainer holds the portion of the strip of material to be cut prior to cutting so that the cut segment is not used as a folded loop.

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First Claim