Appeal No. 2002-1053 Page 8
Application No. 09/702,981
material from the forming assembly 14. A shaft 138 extends between the side panels
106 and 108. A pair of brackets 144 and 146 are mounted to the shaft 138. The
brackets 144 and 146 support a respective one of the pressure rollers 134 and 136,
respectively, for free rotation about an axis that is parallel to the shaft 116 and the
power rollers. The pressure rollers 134 and 136 are located in opposition to the power
rollers 118 and 120, and on the opposite side of the sheet material 20. The brackets
144 and 146 are proportioned so that when the shaft 138 rotates in a counterclockwise
direction (as viewed in Figure 2), the pressure rollers 134 and 136 press the sheet
material 20 against the power rollers 118 and 120.
The brackets 144 and 146 also each support a dancer arm 148 and 150,
respectively. The two dancer arms 148 and 150 are similar and only the dancer arm
150 will be described in detail. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, the dancer arm 150
extends downward from the bracket 146 toward the loop 126. The dancer arm 150 is
preferably formed of sheet metal (or other suitable material), and its lower end is curved
at 152 to make a smooth glide surface for the sheet material 20 to bear against. The
dancer arm 150 moves between the positions illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 in response
to movement of the sheet material loop 126. When the gears 80 and 82 begin to
advance sheet material through the forming assembly, the loop 126 may sag slightly
between the rollers 124 and 128, and the sheet material desirably is free of driving
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