Claims
- 1. Apparatus for use in mattress sewing and handling operations comprising:
- a mattress support having a first edge and a second edge, said mattress support including a stationary support portion and a pivotal support position;
- a sewing machine mounted adjacent the first edge of said mattress support;
- an inclining mechanism operatively connected to said mattress support for selectively raising and lowering the second edge of said mattress support from a generally horizontal orientation into an inclined orientation with respect to said first edge so that an entire mattress disposed on said mattress support may be placed into said inclined orientation, and wherein the sewing machine is mounted to allow sewing an upper peripheral edge of said mattress in both said generally horizontal orientation and said inclined orientation; and
- said inclining mechanism including a powered lift mechanism connected to said pivotal support portion to raise and lower said pivotal support portion between the inclined and generally horizontal orientations.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a mattress flipping mechanism operatively connected to said mattress support.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said mattress support includes upstream and downstream conveyors and said sewing machine is mounted along one side and generally between said upstream and downstream conveyors.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein at least one conveyor is a split conveyor and said mattress flipping mechanism is a movable support member mounted in a space between separate conveying elements of said split conveyor, said movable support member being operatively coupled to a drive for lifting said movable support member from said space.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising at least one mattress elevating unit mounted between said upstream and downstream conveyors and spaced a predetermined distance from said sewing machine for raising an edge of said mattress relative to said conveyors and opposite to an edge being sewn, said elevating unit thereby creating slack in a top panel of said mattress to enable grasping thereof by an operator during said sewing operation.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a plurality of mattress elevating units spaced predetermined distances from said sewing machine, wherein said predetermined distances correspond to different mattress length and width dimensions.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said mattress elevating unit further comprises a driven member mounted for vertical and rotational movement between said upstream and downstream conveyors.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a conveyor section connected for rotation relative to a stationary section of said mattress support and further connected to a powered mattress flipping mechanism for rotating said conveyor section to flip over a mattress supported thereon.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a mattress pivoting arm extending generally parallel to the first edge of said mattress support in one position and pivotal to a second position generally perpendicular to the first edge to pivot said mattress about a corner thereof during an edge sewing operation.
- 10. A method of sewing peripheral edges of a mattress, the method comprising the steps of:
- moving said mattress onto a first mattress support portion adjacent a sewing machine and in a generally horizontal orientation;
- raising said first mattress support portion into an inclined orientation to gravity feed said mattress into said sewing machine;
- conveying said mattress past said sewing machine while sewing the upper peripheral edge thereof;
- lowering said first mattress support portion back into said generally horizontal orientation;
- placing said mattress on a powered mattress flipping mechanism following the step of lowering the first mattress support portion; and
- activating said mattress flipping mechanism to flip said mattress onto its other side.
- 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:
- raising said first mattress support portion into an inclined orientation after flipping the mattress onto its other side; and,
- conveying said mattress past said sewing machine while sewing a second peripheral edge thereof.
- 12. A method of sewing peripheral edges of a mattress, the method comprising the steps of:
- moving said mattress onto a first mattress support portion adjacent a sewing machine and in a generally horizontal orientation such that the sewing machine is operable to sew an upper peripheral edge of said mattress;
- raising said first mattress support portion into a inclined orientation to gravity feed said mattress into said sewing machine;
- conveying said mattress past said sewing machine while sewing the upper peripheral edge thereof;
- lowering said first mattress support portion back into said generally horizontal orientation; and
- activating a movable compressing member into an upper surface of said mattress during at least a portion of the sewing operation.
- 13. The method of claim 12 wherein a pivoting arm is connected along one side of said first mattress support portion and the method further comprises the step of activating the pivoting arm to pivot the mattress about a corner thereof during the sewing operation.
- 14. Mattress sewing and handling apparatus comprising:
- a sewing machine;
- a mattress support comprising an upstream portion and a downstream portion, and said sewing machine being mounted along one side of said support and substantially between said upstream and downstream portions of said support;
- said mattress support including means for transporting a mattress lying on a first major face thereof past said sewing machine while a sewing operation is performed by said sewing machine on one edge of a second major face of said mattress; and
- a mattress flipping mechanism operatively connected to said mattress support for flipping said mattress from said first major face to said second major face thereof after completion of said sewing operation on said second major face.
- 15. The mattress sewing and handling apparatus of claim 14 which includes means for causing said sewing machine and a mattress lying on said support to be moved apart into a disengaged position flowing said mattress to be flipped over without interference between said mattress and said sewing machine.
- 16. The mattress sewing and handling apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a mattress pivoting and extending parallel to the direction of movement of said conveyor in one position and pivotal to a second position perpendicular to the direction of movement of said conveyor to pivot said mattress about a corner thereof during an edge sewing operation.
- 17. A method of sewing peripheral edges of a mattress, the method comprising the steps of:
- placing said mattress on a mattress support having upstream and downstream portions;
- moving said mattress past a sewing machine mounted along one side and substantially between said upstream and downstream portions of said support while sewing a first peripheral edge thereof;
- moving said mattress onto a powered mattress flipping mechanism;
- activating said mattress flipping mechanism to flip said mattress onto its other side; and
- moving said mattress past said sewing machine while sewing a second peripheral edge thereof.
- 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of moving said sewing machine relative to said mattress before activating said mattress flipping mechanism so as to provide clearance between said mattress and said sewing machine when said mattress is flipped onto its other side.
- 19. The method of claim 17 which further includes the step, while sewing said first peripheral edge of said mattress, of pivoting said mattress through 90.degree. of rotation on said support after each side edge of said mattress is sewn until four side edges of said peripheral edge have been sewn.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/209,221 filed on Mar. 11, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,796.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
108853 |
Jul 1964 |
NLX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
209221 |
Mar 1994 |
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