Patent Application
20220225710
The present invention relates to systems and methods for automated fabrication of garments and similar articles.
Despite technological advances and introduction of automation in many types of manufacturing, garment manufacturing remains very labor intensive. Sewing machines were invented in the early nineteenth century and were made possible based on the development of the lock stitch sewing technique. Today, some hundred fifty years later, this same technology remains the foundation of garment manufacturing. The modern process of producing large quantities of ready-to-wear apparels relies heavily on manual labor and relative to other industrial manufacturing it remains inefficient. Garment manufacturing includes multiple steps including sizing, folding, fitting, cutting, sewing, material handling. The type of tasks needed dictates the level of skilled labor that is required to perform the work. The unique and varied properties of fabric such as weight, thickness, strength, stretchiness and draping as well as the complicated nature of tasks required in apparel manufacturing complicates material handling and automated garment manufacturing.
The garment manufacturing process starts with cutting one or more layers of fabric based on patterns and dimensions matching the desired garment. Then, the cut fabric patterns are transferred from workstation to workstation, where at each workstation, one, two or more pieces of fabrics are manually folded, overlapped along the seams and fed into a sewing or serger (overlocker) machine. Given the variety of fabrics, threads, seam types and stitch types found in a finished garment, a larger number of workstations with specialized tools and skilled operators is required for assembling a garment. This means the fabrics or unfinished garments spend a lot of time in transit between workstations. Unlike many manufacturing industries benefiting from twenty-first century innovations and advances in material handling, in most small and large apparel manufacturing factories, most of the material handling and apparel manufacturing operations are conducted in a manual or semi-manual manner.
Currently, despite advances in technology, machines still struggle with performing certain tasks that are easily handled by a trained worker with average hand-eye coordination skills. This is one reason the garment manufacturing industry is in a constant search for cheaper human labor rather than investing in advanced automated manufacturing systems. So, in many cases, the difference between small and large garment manufacturing operations is the number of workers it engages. To increase production, a factory may add additional production lines in parallel. However, in general, increasing production in this manner does little to improve efficiency. Even in large factories, most work is performed in piecemeal fashion, with limited coordination between various stations/steps, and movement of material between each station requires a great deal of manual product handling. Therefore, the entire garment manufacturing process remains labor intensive and inefficient, where work is performed in a discontinuous batch processing fashion, causing apparel manufacturers to move from country to country in a continuous search for lower labor costs for manual and semi-skilled labor.
Most of the innovations in the garment manufacturing industry have been directed to improving individual tools. For example, new features may be added to a sewing machine to convert it from manual to a semi-automatic or automatic tool. However, all material handling needs would still require manual manipulation, including loading, unloading piecemeal work in and off the tool.
Few garment manufacturing innovations attempt to address the inefficiencies of the apparel manufacturing process at the system level. Continuous methods and systems have been proposed but all include limitations that have prohibited mass implementation of the system. US reissue patent Re. 30,520 describes a “Method of Manufacturing Jackets and Like Garments” in an assembly line fashion, using at least two webs of fabric, one used to form the jacket and one used to form the sleeves. Although this patent proposes a continuous manufacturing process, garment formation restrictions force sleeve holes that extend to the neck hole, resulting in a garment with an undesirable shape and design, which may be at least one reason this manufacturing system does not appear to have been implemented in any production facility.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,681,785 entitled “Garment Production with Automatic Sleeve Placement” describes a continuous garment manufacturing system where left and right pre-formed sleeves are placed and secured to the back panel of a jacket or shirt that is patterned on a continuously moving web. The system proposed in this patent requires the accurate registration and synchronization of the movement of the garment body web to match the movement and placement of each individual sleeve accurately with respect to a moving web under very tight manufacturing tolerances. This synchronization is further complicated by the proposed handling of each sleeve, lacking stiffness and yet required to be flipped 180 degrees from their resting position onto its destined location on the garment body on the web. The material handling requirements of the 785 patent are impractical and due to the pliable nature of any garment fabric and the required accurate placement of the sleeves on the garment body on the web.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,445 entitled “Garment Making Method,” and U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,116 entitled “Method for Manufacturing Sleeved Garments” propose manufacturing methods for forming garments in an automated process. As in the previous disclosures, both '445 and '116 propose forming sleeves in a separate operation and attaching the sleeves in a synchronized fashion to the garment body, requiring timely and complicated cutting, placing and attaching operations that render the implementation of the proposed methods impractical.
Another constraint in today's garment manufacturing is the inability to efficiently produce in small batches or mass produce customized garments tailored to every consumer's body shape and measurements. Manufactures rely on economies of scale and require minimum order quantity which may be out of reach for small brands and designers. Given the heavily manual and piecemeal processes in the current manufacturing operations, small batches or mass customized production that requires constantly shifting product designs, material selections and sizing and sewing techniques result in production difficulties and resulting manufacturing errors and resulting lower yields. To satisfy the growing need in fulfilling small batch or mass customized orders, garment manufacturing systems that are highly automated, programmable, and reconfigurable to accommodate an increasing mix of design, material selection, sizing and joining techniques are desired.
Systems and methods are described that provide for automated manufacturing of garments using cutting, folding tools and adhesive dispensers operating on continuous webs of fabric webs to manufacture garments in an efficient manner while improving quality and overcoming material handling issues resulting from the properties of fabrics.
In one example a joined fabric assembly is disclosed that includes a first portion of fabric material, a second portion of fabric material, a first plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material aligned in a first bondline, and a second plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material aligned in a second bondline that follows the first bondline. The first plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material secures the first portion of fabric material to the second portion of fabric material to form a seam. The second plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material forming part of the seam. At least one or more of the second plurality of discrete masses has at least one or more characteristics selected from the group consisting of size, color, pitch, grouping, shape and orientation that is different from at least one or more of the first plurality of discrete masses.
In another example, joined fabric assembly includes a first portion of fabric material, a second portion of fabric material, and a first plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material aligned in a first bondline. The first plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material secures the first portion of fabric material to the second portion of fabric material to form a seam. At least one or more of the first plurality of discrete masses has an elongated shape.
In yet another example, joined fabric assembly includes first portion of fabric material, a second portion of fabric material, a first plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material aligned in a first bondline, and a second plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material aligned in a second bondline that follows the first bondline. The first plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material secures the first portion of fabric material to the second portion of fabric material to form a seam. The second plurality of discrete masses of adhesive material forming part of the seam. At least one or more of the first plurality of discrete masses has an elongated shape.
In some examples at one or more of the first plurality of discrete masses as a size, shape or color different one or more of the second discrete mass of adhesive material.
In still other examples, methods are provided for joining fabric using seams as described herein. Such seams include, but are not limited to seams having differences within a single bondline, seams having differences across two bondlines, and seams having variations in elongated adhesive masses used on one or more bondlines.
Additionally, fabric joining machines that produce garments and garment components having seams as described herein are also disclosed.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of this invention, as well as the preferred mode of use, reference should be made to the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not presented to scale unless specified otherwise on an individual basis. So that the manner in which the above recited aspects are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of embodiments described herein, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate typical embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting; other equally effective embodiments are contemplated.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments.
The following description includes the best embodiments presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of this invention and is not meant to limit the inventive concepts claimed herein in any way.
Some embodiments based on the present disclosure provide for systems and methods for transferring and manipulating fabrics and joining garment components during garment manufacturing in a way that is more suitable to automation. Some embodiments provide for garment manufacturing systems and methods that are reconfigurable to enable both mass production of customized garments and small batch processing with reduced human intervention.
As previously mentioned, traditional methods of making a garment require converting various measurements of body parts into two dimensional layouts (panels) corresponding to the various garment pieces or sections, cutting garment pieces out of webs of fabric, and using a variety of manual or semi-manual operations requiring a great deal of hand-eye coordination and manipulation to assemble together the various pieces of fabric to make a garment. This heavy reliance on manual processes is inefficient when compared to most modern manufacturing systems and processes. Additionally, reliance on manual labor, especially labor with specialized skills is expensive, and inherently more prone to errors depending on the required skill, resulting in products lower yields due to higher defects, resulting in more rejections and increase costs. Simply put, the current garment manufacturing process remains heavily reliant on antiquated systems and processes carried over from the industrial revolution from the beginning of the 19th century. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to create systems and processes for garment manufacturing that lend themselves to significantly reduced reliance on manual product manipulation and handling, promote continuous garment manufacturing methods over piecemeal processing, and offer flexible systems that can mass produce items while allowing for customized production.
Embodiments based on the present disclosure cover processes that combine an adhesive to effect the permanent bonding of a variety of types of fabric, with a series of integrated mechanical processes to eliminate or greatly reduce material handling issues and the human intervention traditionally required in the garment manufacturing process. This will increase the speed and efficiency of the processes, improve the overall quality of the finished garments and provides for flexible systems that can mass produce items while allowing for customized production, whereby production items can be adjusted to individual size and style. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide for seam formation, joinder and cutting tools that are adaptable and programmable such as to allow automated and customizable garment manufacturing systems and processes.
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the manufacture of T-shirts. However, it would be understood that these described exemplary embodiments may be easily adapted to produce other types of garments including long sleeve shirts, dress shirts, jackets, pants, gloves, or non-garment products such as bedsheets, pillow cases, table cloth, rugs or handbags, etc. It is also understood that these described exemplary embodiments may be easily adapted to join various parts of garments, such as pant legs, bandings, bindings, casings, facings, liners, collars, collar stands, button stands, shirt fronts, yokes, shirt backs, sleeves, plackets, and cuffs, among others. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.
Also disclosed herein are various configuration for seams which may be utilized for fabricating garments, particularly in automatic garment manufacturing systems, such as described herein among others. The seams of a garment do more than just joining portions of a garment. The physical properties of the seams greatly affect the quality, appearance, strength, comfort, fitness, stretch and drape of the garment. Thus, selection of the proper seam type for the location, fabric and performance of the garment has a significant effect on the desirability of the garment. Some non-limiting examples of seams that may be selected to yield a desired physical, aesthetic and/or functional garment characteristic are provided by way of example in
Turning now to the drawings,
In some embodiments, one or more web may comprise a continuous flat layer of fabric laid out in two dimensions. In some embodiments, one or more of the webs may include shapes other than a flat sheet, including any three-dimensional shape such as a tube or other shapes. In some embodiments, the web may not include a continuous sheet of fabric. In some embodiments, the web may act as a scaffolding (not shown in the drawing) or carrier for fabric components that are secured to the web by some means and are acted on as the web travels through path. In some embodiments one or more webs may include perforations along one or more borders. In some embodiments, one or more webs may be coupled to a scaffolding (not shown in the drawing) that includes perforations along one or more borders. In some embodiments, one or more fabric webs (e.g. webs 102 and 104) may include perforated borders made of the same material as the web and integral to the web or made of the same or different material than the web and is attached to the one or more fabric web. In some embodiments, the border perforations of the web or the scaffolding may be used to pull the web along a given path pulled along by a system of one or more gears, providing control of the movement of the web, synchronize the movement of the web to other moving components of the exemplary manufacturing system. In exemplary embodiments, the sheet of fabric (i.e., web 102) is dispensed from the fabric role 118 that is operable to rotate about its axis and dispense the web 102 along the X-axis. Similarly, web 104 is dispensed from the fabric role 120 that is capable of rotating about its axis and dispensing the web 104 along the X-axis. In some embodiments, role 118 and/or role 120 are coupled to one or more actuators, gears, motors (continuous or step) that rotate at a selected speed pulling or pushing the web along the X-axis. In some embodiments, roles 118 and 120 are free to move but are not mounted on motorized shafts. In these exemplary embodiments, the webs 102 and 104 may be pulled by one or more actuators or motors located at suitable locations other than role 118 or 120 rods. In some embodiments, actuators or motors are located at rollers 113 and 115, rollers 122 and 123, rotary die roller 112, and/or other suitable locations, providing pull or push forces acting on the webs 102 and 104. In some embodiments, one or more rollers include actuating means that are operable to being actuated independently, and activated in a way to distribute the application of the pull or push forces along the webs 102 and 104 to reduce the chances of damaging the fabric by overly stressing, straining or even tearing fabric web at one or more locations. In alternative embodiments, the webs 102 and 104 may have borders made of the same or different material, that may be perforated or include a greater friction coefficient, and where the border material is reinforced or inherently has greater tensile strength and provides for an area that may support and tolerate greater stress or strain forces than the fabric web materials can tolerate without affecting the quality of the fabric webs.
In some embodiments, the front half contour 105 and/or back half contour 103 of the T-shirt 114 include markings to further define the borders of T-shirt 114 on the corresponding webs 102 and 104. In exemplary embodiments, the front half and back half contours 105 and 103 of the T-shirt 114 may be temporarily marked by visible, invisible, or washable ink. In other embodiments, no demarcation may be used to identify the contours of front half 105 or back half 103 of T-shirt 114. In some embodiments, the outer face of the back half 103 and front half 105 of the T-shirt 114 may be facing out as shown in
In exemplary embodiments, adhesive dispensers 106 and 108 dispense adhesive along the contours of the back half 103 and/or front half 105 of the T-shirt 114, except may be in the neckline region, sleeve opening and bottom opening of the T-shirt 114. The regions with no adhesive may remain open and form the neck, arms and body holes after the final cutting and finishing steps further described below.
In exemplary embodiments, after the deposition of the adhesive, web 102 and the web 104 continue to travel along the X axis toward a joinder point where webs 102 and web 104 are pressed together using one or more rollers (e.g. rollers 110, 122 and 123). In some embodiments, beyond the joinder point, the web 102 and web 104 are pressed together using a predetermined force, heat, radiation or moisture to activate any adhesive applied to the back half 103 and front half 105 of T-shirt 114, and attach the back half 103 and front half 105 of T-shirt 114 to form an integral complete garment. In some embodiments, in addition to pressure, heat, radiation or moisture are applied to web 102 and web 104. In some embodiments, the rollers 110, 122 and 123 supply pressure, heat, radiation, or moisture uniformly to the web 102 and web 104. In some embodiments, pressure, heat, radiation, or moisture may be applied only to certain regions of the back half 103 and front half 105 contours that have applied adhesive. In some embodiments, the pressure, heat, radiation, or moisture may not be applied through the rollers. In some embodiments, some or all the pressure, heat, radiation, or moisture may originate from sources other than the rollers 110, 122 and 123. In some embodiments, heat and radiation may be applied by conduction, radiation, or convection. In some embodiments, energy sources such as lasers, heat guns, or hot plates may supply the energy.
It should be apparent that synchronization of the movements of web 102 and web 104 are important. In some embodiments, mechanical means such as belts, chains gears and sprockets are used to actuate the movement of web 102 and 104 in sync. In some embodiments, electronic controls along with variable speed motors and/or step motor may be used to control the movement and speed of webs 102 and 104 in order to maintain in synch movement of the web 102 and web 104, and provide for the accurate registration and alignment of the back half 103 to the front half 105 of T-shirt 114. In some embodiments one or more webs may include perforations along one or more borders to be operable similar to a chain and sprocket conveyance mechanism operating on one or more webs 102 and 104, or any other webs (not shown in
With reference to
In some embodiments, T-shirts 114 remain fully or partially attached to the web 102-104 to continue to travel as part of the web 102-104 for easier material handling during additional processing. In some embodiments, additional processing may include customization operation of garment 114 including embroidery, DTG (direct-to-garment) printing, screen printing, etc. In some embodiments, after all processing is completed, T-shirts 114 are cutout of the web 102-104 and processed for final packaging.
In some embodiments, folding tools or mechanisms 232 may be used to fold cut or uncut edges of one or more web 202 and web 204, before or after the deposition of adhesive on the article edges prior to folding and forming a seam. Folding tools and the formation of various types of seams will be further discussed in
In some embodiments, the adhesion of back half 103 to the front half 105, or the adhesion of any other garment parts to another may be achieved using a laser. In some embodiments, a laser beam may be used to provide heat energy to activate one or more layers of adhesive acting to bind garment components. In some embodiments, garment parts made of synthetic fibers may be fused together directly using heat in any form such as a laser to melt the synthetic fibers of the garment parts.
In some embodiments, adhesives may be dispensed in a single layer. In some embodiments, adhesives may be dispensed in one or more layers. In some embodiments, a single formulation or type of adhesive may be used for all layers. In alternative embodiments, different types of adhesives with different properties may be used for different layers. In the illustrative example of
In some embodiments, the adhesive is applied using one or more patterns, each pattern designed to achieve different properties. In some embodiments, the adhesive may be applied in a non-linear pattern such as serpentine, zig zag or curvilinear 416 manner within a defined band or border, along the perimeter of the back half 103 or front half 105 of garment 114. In some embodiments, certain adhesive patterns may provide a greater degree of movement or stretchability at the joint in a particular direction while still retaining sufficient seam strength. In some embodiments, the adhesive may be applied in discrete non-contagious masses 418, such as spherical domes, non-contagious stripes or ellipsoids 420, and positioned at one or more angles with respect to the borders of the garment. In some embodiments, the application of a pattern of non-continuous adhesive may impart the necessary bonding strength while reducing the amount of adhesive consumed as compared to a pattern requiring the continuous application of adhesive to the same area. The volume of adhesive forming each discrete adhesive mass 418 may be individually controlled, as well as the speed and direction of motion of the dispensing head and/or underlying fabric to control the shape and/or orientation of the each adhesive mass 418.
In some embodiments, cut/fold head 510 includes a folding tool 512 (also referred to as the folding head or folding mechanism) and a cutting tool 514. As shown in
It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that the above bonded seam types are illustrative examples only. A variety of bonded seams may be formed using the cutting, folding, inserting processes described in this disclosure. It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that one or more types of bonded seams may be required by the design or manufacturing specifications of a particular garment, in addition to limitations and requirements imposed by the nature of the fabrics and adhesives, aesthetic, endurance, sealing or permeability requirements of individual seams.
In operation 704, the three-dimensional garment design data are converted into the dimensions of individual components of the garment to be manufactured. The garment dimensions may include length and width of the body, the sleeves, the neckline, etc. of the garment. Based on the type of the fabric selected, the garment component dimensions may be adjusted to account for fabric properties such as stretch.
In operation 706, the 3D geometries of the garment components are converted to a 2-D representation. In operation 708, the two-dimensional representations of the garment are mapped or laid out onto one or more fabric webs. In some embodiments, the pattern of mapping garment components on one or more fabric web is laid out in panels in such a way to simplify fabrication, minimize material waste, or both.
In operation 710, based on the dimensions of the laid-out garment, the type of fabric or the aesthetic design of the garment, the bonding edges, shapes and the free edges of the garment are identified. The layout of the garment on the fabric web may include the steps of selecting which garment component panels are to be laid-out on which web, (e.g. right, left, upper or lower web). Additionally, considerations for the layout of the garment panels may include laying out the garment pieces inside-out or outside-in, headfirst or bottom first, etc.
In operation 712, the garment layout dimensions may be adjusted to accommodate the appropriate bonding border requirements including adhesive line width, adhesive dispensing pattern, cutting path and dimensional quality assurance specification for the finished garment.
In a parallel process flow path, in operation 714, based on the received 3D garment design data, the automated garment manufacturing system 100 may select the corresponding fabric web and load each fabric web in preparation for the start of manufacturing. In some embodiments, the selection and loading and preparation of the fabric web may be performed manually, semi-manually or automatically. In some embodiments, some or most of the material handling operations required at this step may be done automatically, for example using robots and cobots.
In operation 716, based on the garment design data, a joinder recipe is selected which determines the adhesive type to be used, the adhesive patterns (straight, zigzag, serpentine) and the adhesive curing parameters.
Finally, in operation 718 the cutting recipe is determined based on garment design data. For example, a particular cutting recipe may be used to minimize material waste or achieve a certain aesthetic design requirement.
In operation 720, adhesive is applied to one or more moving fabric webs per the manufacturing recipe created in operation 716. In operation 722, one or more webs are joined at least along areas where adhesive has been applied. Heat, pressure, moisture, radiation and/or catalysts may be applied for a given period of time (as per the manufacturing recipe) to the joined areas to activate and cure the bond between the joined web regions. Each of the parameters used to create a joint may be individually tuned and adjusted to achieve the optimum bonded joint based on the garment type, the joint type, dimensions, type of adhesive, whether the joint must be waterproof or not, and the aesthetics of the joint.
In operation 724, the joined regions that are formed by bonding one or more web areas together are cut on the outside perimeter of the joint, along the edge of the joint or at some distance within the joint. In some embodiments, the cutting along the joints may be complete along the entire garment perimeter, in which case the garment is thereafter fully detached from the webs. In some embodiments, the cutting operation may be limited to specific boundaries of the garment that may include bonded edges and free edges where no adhesive has been applied. In some embodiments the cutting operation may achieve both a functional and an aesthetic function. In some embodiments, the cutting operation may be limited to certain areas of the garment perimeter and the garment remains attached to the fabric webs until further processing. In some embodiments, the cutting is performed using needles to perforate the web but not to completely detach the garment from the web. In some embodiments, the final detachment of the garment from the web may be performed at a later stage in the garment manufacturing.
In some embodiments, in operation 726, based on the garment design data and the corresponding manufacturing requirements, the system determines whether each layer of a garment part with unbonded free edges (e.g. sleeve holes, neck hole) must align to each other or not. For example, for increased comfort wear, some T-shirt designs may require the layer of fabric forming the back of the neck section to be longer (taller as measured from the T-shirt hemline) than the front layer of fabric comprising the neck hole.
In some embodiments, in operation 728, if the garment design data requires the open edges of the garment in some area to be aligned between the two webs, then a single cutting operation may be performed on both layers of the garment. For example, both the lower and upper layers of fabric forming the sleeve hole may be cut in a single cut operation.
In some embodiments, in operation 730, if the garment design data requires the opening fabric edges not to align (e.g., the fabric layer of the back of neck hole must be longer than the fabric layer at the front of the neck hole), for each cutting operation, one fabric layer may be cut while the other fabric layers may be protected by an insert between the cutter and the other layers of fabric. For example, in the case of some T-shirt necklines, the edge of the back layer of fabric for the neck hole must be higher than the edge of the front layer of fabric for the neck hole. In such cases, the cutting operation may be performed in separate steps, using one or more cutters to cut a given fabric layer while protecting other fabric layers using a protective insert.
In operation 732, a quality inspection of the finished garment may be performed. In some embodiments, the quality inspection may be performed by human operators through a visual inspection. In some embodiments, a quality inspection may be performed using cameras using artificial intelligence. In some embodiments, the quality inspection may be performed while the finished garment is still attached to the web to simplify any material handling issues.
In some embodiments, the illustrative control system 800 includes a manufacturing control module 801 coupled to various components including one or more ordering system 818, one or more design systems 820, one or more production planning systems 822, one or more user interface devices 814, and one or more manufacturing system and control signal processor. In some embodiments, the manufacturing control module 801 may include one or more processors 802 coupled to memory modules 804 and one or more communication interfaces 806 to provide means for communicating with various automated garment manufacturing system inputs including one or more optical sensors and/or cameras 808, motion sensors 810 and temperature and pressure sensors 812. In various embodiments, various other types of sensors, not shown here, may provide relevant manufacturing parameters such as the level of moisture present in the factory air, viscosity of adhesive liquid, etc. Additionally, the manufacturing control module may include one or more power sub-systems and power backup systems not shown here.
The manufacturing control module 801 may be implemented at least partially in one or more computers, embedded systems, terminals, control stations, handheld devices, modules, any other suitable interface devices, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the components of manufacturing control system 801 may be communicatively coupled via one or more communications buses not shown here.
Processing equipment 802 may include a processor (e.g., a central processing unit), cache, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), any other suitable components, or any combination thereof that may process information regarding the automated garment manufacturing system 100. Memory 804 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory that may include, for example, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard disk, any other suitable memory, or any combination thereof. Information stored in memory 804 may be accessible by processing equipment 802 via communications bus not shown. For example, computer readable program instructions (e.g., for implementing the techniques disclosed herein) stored in memory 804 may be accessed and executed by processing equipment 802. In some embodiments, memory 804 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium for storing computer executable instructions that cause processing equipment 802 (e.g., processing equipment of a suitable computing system), to carry out a method for controlling the automated garment manufacturing systems and processes. For example, memory 804 may include computer executable instructions for implementing any of the control techniques described herein.
In some embodiments, communications interface 806 includes a wired connection (e.g., using IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, or universal serial bus interface protocols), wireless coupling (e.g., using IEEE 802.11 “Wi-Fi,” Bluetooth, or via cellular network), optical coupling, inductive coupling, any other suitable coupling, or any combination thereof, for communicating with one or more systems external to manufacturing control module 801. For example, communications interface 806 may include a USB port configured to accept a flash memory drive. In a further example, communications interface 806 may include an Ethernet port configured to allow communication with one or more devices, networks, or both. In a further example, communications interface 806 may include a transceiver configured to communicate using 4G standards over a cellular network.
In some embodiments, user interface 814 includes a wired connection (e.g., using IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, or universal serial bus interface, tip-ring-seal RCA type connection), wireless coupling (e.g., using IEEE 802.11 “Wi-Fi,” Infrared, Bluetooth, or via cellular network), optical coupling, inductive coupling, any other suitable coupling, or any combination thereof, for communicating with one or more of user interface devices 814. User interface devices 814 may include a display, keyboard, mouse, audio device, any other suitable user interface devices, or any combination thereof. For example, a display may include a display screen such as, for example, a cathode ray tube screen, a liquid crystal display screen, a light emitting diode display screen, a plasma display screen, any other suitable display screen that may provide graphics, text, images or other visuals to a user, or any combination of screens thereof. Further, a display may include a touchscreen, which may provide tactile interaction with a user by, for example, offering one or more soft commands on a display screen. In a further example, user interface devices 814 may include a keyboard such as a QWERTY keyboard, a numeric keypad, any other suitable collection of hard command buttons, or any combination thereof. In a further example, user interface devices 814 may include a mouse or any other suitable pointing device that may control a cursor or icon on a graphical user interface displayed on a display screen. In a further example, user interface devices 814 may include an audio device such as a microphone, a speaker, headphones, any other suitable device for providing and/or receiving audio signals, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, user interface 814, need not be included (e.g., control module 801 need not receive user input nor provide output to a user).
In some embodiments, a sensor interface (not shown) may be used to supply power to various sensors, a signal conditioner (not shown), a signal pre-processor (not shown) or any other suitable components, or any combination thereof. For example, a sensor interface may include one or more filters (e.g., analog and/or digital), an amplifier, a sampler, and an analog to digital converter for conditioning and pre-processing signals from sensor(s) 808, 810 and 812. In some embodiments, the sensor interface communicates with sensor(s) via communicative coupling which may be a wired connection (e.g., using IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, or universal serial bus interface), wireless coupling (e.g., using IEEE 802.11 “Wi-Fi,” or Bluetooth), optical coupling, inductive coupling, any other suitable coupling, or any combination thereof.
Sensor(s) 808, 810 and 812 may include any suitable type of sensor, which may be configured to sense any suitable property or aspect of automated garment manufacturing systems 100 and processes, any other system, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, sensor(s) 808, 810 and 812 include linear encoders, rotary encoders, or both, configured to sense relative positions, speed, temperature, pressure, etc. In some embodiments, sensor(s) includes various types of optical sensors 808 including cameras configured to capture images (e.g., time-lapse imaging) of various aspects of the operation of the automated garment manufacturing systems and processes. In some embodiments, temperature and pressure sensor(s) 812 include one or more temperature sensors such as, for example, a thermocouple, a thermistor, a resistance temperature detector (RTD), any other suitable sensor for detecting temperature, or any combination thereof. For example, sensor(s) 812 may include a thermocouple arranged to measure the temperature and/or viscosity of liquid adhesive to be applied to the webs.
As discussed above, the seam 900 may be utilized with the automated garment manufacturing systems described above, with other automated garment manufacturing systems, and other semi-automated or non-automated garment manufacturing systems. The first fabric portion 902 may be the back half 103 of a garment 114 (a T-shirt in the example above) while the second fabric portion 904 may be the front half 105 of the T-shirt 114. In other examples, the seams may pair the front side to the back side of a fabric portion, the front side to the front side of a fabric portion, or the back side to the back side of a fabric portion, among others. Alternatively, the first and fabric portions 902, 904 may be other portions of a T-shirt or other type of garment. The first and fabric portions 902, 904 may also be portions of larger patterned sections of a garment, for example as opposite sides of a dart or hem. As illustrated in the sectional view of the seam 900 depicted in
As illustrated in the schematic top view of
The plurality of adhesive masses 418 of the first group 1002 has a first pitch 1006. The plurality of adhesive masses 418 of the second group 1004 has a second pitch 1008. A separating pitch 1010 is defined between the adhesive mass 418 of the first group 1002 that is closest to the adhesive mass 418 of the second group 1004. The first pitch 1006 may be the same or different than the second pitch 1008. The separating pitch 1010 is different from at least one of the first and second pitches 1006, 1008. By having the separating pitch 1010 is different from at least one of the first and second pitch 1006, 1008, the strength, stretch and aesthetic look of the seam 1000 can be varied along different portions of the finished garment. For example in a seam 1000 securing a sleeve to a trunk (e.g., body) of a shirt, the first pitch 1006 of adhesive mass 418 of the first group 1002 positioned in the front side of the shirt may be greater than the second pitch 1008 of adhesive mass 418 of the second group 1004 positioned in the back side of the shirt such that the front side of the shirt has a more aesthetically appealing look while the back side of the shirt that experiences more stress has a stronger and more durable seam 1000 due to the additional amount of adhesive in that portion of the seam.
Although the example depicted in
The plurality of adhesive masses 418 comprising at least a portion of the seam 1100 has a varying pitch. For example, a first pitch 1102 between two adjacent adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1100 is different from a second pitch 1104 between two adjacent adhesive masses 418 also comprising the seam 1100. The pitch between adjacent adhesive masses 418 may increase, decrease, cycle between increasing and decreasing, or vary in another manner. In the example depicted in
Varying the second pitch along the seam 1100 allows the strength, stretch and aesthetic look of the seam 1100 to be controlled along different portions of the finished garment. For example when the seam 1100 is an inseam of a pair of pants, the pitch between adhesive masses 418 near the cuff of the pants may be less than the pitch between adhesive masses 418 near the crotch of the pants because of the increased seam strength needed at the crotch as compared to the strength needed as the cuff. Similarly, the pitch may be varied to control stretch and/or aesthetics along the seam 1100.
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1100 may also vary. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1100 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of color, size, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seam 1100.
In
The size and shape of wave form 1202 and loops 1302 allow the strength, stretch and aesthetic look of the seams 1200, 1300 to be selected by the design to meet performance and aesthetic requirements. For example, as the width of the seams 1200, 1300 is much greater than a single linear row of adhesive masses 418, the seams 1200, 1300 may provide a distinctive stretch characteristics as compared to a single linear row of adhesive masses 418. The seam 1200 having a wave form 1202 changes the directionally of the fabrics stretch characteristics along different portions of the wave form 1202. This change in fabric stretch directionally along a single seam 1200 can be highly desirable in activewear. The seam 1300 may be utilized were high strength and/or a decorative bondline are desired.
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising either of the seams 1200, 1300 may also vary. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seams 1200, 1300 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of density, color, size, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seams 1200, 1300.
At least a first adhesive mass 1402 and a second adhesive mass 1404 of the plurality of adhesive masses 418 comprising at least a portion of the seam 1400 have different colors. For example, the first adhesive mass 1402 may have a color that is different from a color of the second adhesive mass 1404. Although the seam 1400 is depicted as having two colors, any number of colors may be utilized. Additionally, although the seam 1400 is depicted as changing color every other adhesive mass 418, the color of each adhesive mass 418 may change in any order or sequence. By changing the color of the adhesive masses 418, the aesthetic appearance of the seam 1400 may be set as desired.
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1400 may also vary. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1400 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of density, size, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seam 1400.
At least a first adhesive mass 1502 and a second adhesive mass 1504 of the plurality of adhesive masses 418 comprising at least a portion of the seam 1500 have different masses (e.g., size). For example, the first adhesive mass 1502 may have a size that is different from a size of the second adhesive mass 1504. Although the seam 1500 is depicted as comprising adhesive masses 418 having two different sizes, any number of different size adhesive masses 418 may be utilized. Additionally, although the seam 1500 is depicted as changing size every other adhesive mass 418, the size of each adhesive mass 418 may change in any order or sequence. For example, the size of the adhesive mass 418 may increase or decrease along the seam 1500. By changing the size of the adhesive masses 418, the strength, stretch and/or aesthetic appearance of the seam 1500 may be set as desired.
For example, the intermixing larger adhesive masses 418 with smaller adhesive masses 418 in a common bondline will generally increase the strength of the seam with less adhesive used and with less aesthetic impact than if the bondline comprising the seam was made of uniformly larger adhesive mass.
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1500 may also vary. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1500 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of density, color, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seam 1500.
At least a first adhesive mass 1602 and a second adhesive mass 1604 of the plurality of adhesive masses 418 comprising at least a portion of the seam 1600 have different shapes. The shapes of adhesive masses 1602, 1604 may be any suitable geometric shape. For example, the first adhesive mass 1602 may have a first shape that is different from a second shape of the second adhesive mass 1604. In the example depicted in
For example, the intermixing larger adhesive masses 418 with smaller adhesive masses 418 in a common bondline will generally increase the strength of the seam with less adhesive used and with less aesthetic impact than if the bondline comprising the seam was made of uniformly larger adhesive mass.
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1600 may also vary. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1600 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of density, color, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seam 1600.
The plurality of adhesive masses 418 comprising at least a portion of the seam 1700 are arranged in discrete groups. The discrete groups form pattern, such as a non-repetitive, semi-repetitive, or repetitive pattern. The pattern may be text, a logo, an image or other decorative arrangement. In one example, the plurality of adhesive masses 418 are arranged in a first adhesive group 1702 and a second adhesive group 1704. In the example of
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1700 may also vary. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 1700 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of density, color, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seam 1700.
The adhesive masses 418 forming the seam 1800 may have a constant pitch, two or more pitches, or a varied pitch. The adhesive masses 418 forming the seam 1800 may have the same or different sizes and/or colors.
At least a first adhesive mass 1802 and a second adhesive mass 1804 of the plurality of adhesive masses 418 comprising at least a portion of the seam 1800 have the same non-spherical dome shape. The shapes of other adhesive masses 418 forming the seam 1800 may be any suitable geometric shape, including the same or different shape of the masses 1802, 1804. For example, the first and second adhesive masses 1802, 1804 may have a non-spherical dome shape such as an ellipsoid. The first and second adhesive masses 1802, 1804 have an ellipsoid shape that has an orientation that co-linearly aligns the major axis of ellipsoid shape with the direction defined by the bondline 910. Having the bondline 910 of ellipsoid adhesive masses 1802, 1804 aligned with the direction of the seam 1800 provides a very strong and durable seams, but also limits stretching of the fabric in a direction parallel to the bondline 910 and direction of the seam 1800. Such a seam is desirable in the crotch region of pants, among other regions.
The orientation of the ellipsoid adhesive masses 1802, 1804 forming the bondline 910 may alternatively be selected to be non-aligned with the direction of the seam 1800. For example in the illustration of
Similarly, in the example of
In seams and bondlines 2202, 2204 depicted in
An imaginary reference line 2208 (shown in phantom) may be drawn through one of the adhesive masses 418 of one of the bondlines 2202, 2204, for example, bondline 2208. For a seam 2200 having linear bondlines 2202, 2204 such as shown in
For a seam 2200 having curved bondlines 2202, 2204 such as shown in
Each bondline 2202, 2204 is comprised of a plurality of discrete adhesive masses 418. In
In one example, at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2202 may be the same or different size than at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2204. In another example, at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2202 may be the same or different shape than at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2204. In another example, at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2202 may be the same or different color than at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2204. In another example, at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2202 may be the same or different orientation than at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2204. In another example, at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2202 may have the same or different pitch than at least some or all of the adhesive masses 418 of the bondline 2204.
In the example depicted in
In the example depicted in
Additional seams are described below with reference to
Each bondline 2202, 2204 is comprised of a plurality of discrete adhesive masses 418. In
In the example depicted in
It is also contemplated that one or more of the adhesive characteristics of two or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 2800 may also varied. For example, any or more of the adhesive masses 418 comprising the seam 2800 may have one or more characteristics selected from the group of density, color, shape and orientation that are different from at least one other adhesive mass 418 comprising the seam 2800.
The bondline 2810 may be disposed on either side of the bondline 910. In the example where more than one bondline 910 is present, the bondline 2810 may be disposed on either side of the outer bondlines 910. In another example where more than one bondline 910 is present, the bondline 2810 may be disposed between two of the bondlines 910, such as shown in
At least one of the adhesive masses 418 forming the first bondline 3002 have a color 3010 that is different from a color 3020 of at least one adhesive mass 418 of the second bondline 3004. In
At least one of the adhesive masses 418 forming the first bondline 3102 have a size 3110 that is different from a size 3120 of at least one adhesive mass 418 of the second bondline 3104. In
At least one of the adhesive masses 418 forming the first bondline 3202 have a shape 3210 that is different from a shape 3220 of at least one adhesive mass 418 of the second bondline 3204. In
In
In the current disclosure, reference is made to various embodiments. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to specific described embodiments. Instead, any combination of the following features and elements, whether related to different embodiments or not, is contemplated to implement and practice the teachings provided herein. Additionally, when elements of the embodiments are described in the form of “at least one of A and B,” it will be understood that embodiments including element A exclusively, including element B exclusively, and including element A and B are each contemplated. Furthermore, although some embodiments may achieve advantages over other possible solutions or over the prior art, whether or not a particular advantage is achieved by a given embodiment is not limiting of the present disclosure. Thus, the aspects, features, embodiments and advantages disclosed herein are merely illustrative and are not considered elements or limitations of the appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s). Likewise, reference to “the invention” shall not be construed as a generalization of any inventive subject matter disclosed herein and shall not be considered to be an element or limitation of the appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s).
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments described herein may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, embodiments described herein may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.
Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
Computer program code for carrying out operations for embodiments of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block(s) of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the block(s) of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams.
The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the block(s) of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams.
The flowchart illustrations and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order or out of order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. And while various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not limitation. Other embodiments falling within the scope of the invention may also become apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the breadth and scope of the invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/535,464, filed Nov. 24, 2021, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/117,942 filed Nov. 24, 2020, which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63117942 | Nov 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17535464 | Nov 2021 | US |
| Child | 17710843 | US |
