Claims
- 1. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a microprocessor for setting sleeves into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from the aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve arm hole;
- a frame, said sewing machine and said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said frame;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including edge guider mechanisms that function to individually control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve arm hole such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advance toward said stitch forming instruments;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including a seam detector mechanism that detects the beginning of the seam as it returns to said edge guider mechanisms and sends a seam detect signal to said microprocessor;
- said microprocessor, in response to said seam detect signal, causes said edge guider mechanisms to be withdrawn from the sew area;
- said microprocessor, in response to said seam detect signal, actuating components of the sewing machine and work piece control and advancing mechanism at predetermined times measured from the seam detect signal to automatically complete the sew cycle and eject the sewn garment from the stitch forming instruments.
- 2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said work piece control and advancing mechanism includes ejector mechanism that eject the sewn work piece from the stitch forming instruments during the automatic sew cycle.
- 3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said work piece control and advancing mechanism includes a set of rollers for supporting the work pieces during the loading and sewing cycles, one roll of said set being located forward of and the other being located rearward of said stitch forming instruments.
- 4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein said roll that is located forward of said stitch forming instruments can be moved to a loading location at which its free end is closer to the other roll and facilitates loading the work pieces.
- 5. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein said roll that is located forward of said stitch forming instruments is automatically shifted to the right during the automatic sew cycle to compensate for the work pieces drifting to the left on said roll.
- 6. The invention as set forth in claim 3 wherein said work piece control and advancing mechanism includes
- a side feed puller having a track type puller that engages the top surface of the work piece pressing it into contact with the surface of said roll that is located rearward of the stitch forming instruments and functioning to pull the work piece past the stitch forming instruments.
- 7. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stitch forming instruments stop when said edge guider is withdrawn from the sew area.
- 8. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said edge guider is returned to the sew area after a predetermined time period and the operation of said stitch forming instruments is resumed.
- 9. The invention as set forth in claim 8, wherein when said edge guider is returned to the sew area both edges are under the control of one edge guider.
- 10. The invention as set forth in claim 8, wherein said one edge guider is caused by said microprocessor to eject the sewn product at a predetermined time measured from said seam detect.
- 11. The invention as set forth in claim 8, wherein supplemental ejector mechanism are activated at said predetermined time to insure that the work piece does not return to the sew area.
- 12. The invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein said work piece control and advancing mechanism includes a blower that direct a stream of air at the edges of the work pieces at a point forward of said stitch forming and functions to uncurl the edges.
- 13. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said microprocessor can be programmed for the particular size and style of the work pieces.
- 14. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a microprocessor for setting sleeves into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from the aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve arm hole;
- a frame, said sewing machine and said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said frame;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including edge guider mechanisms that function to individually control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve arm hole such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advance toward said stitch forming instruments;
- an edge sensor for each of said edge guider mechanisms, said edge sensor sends a signal to said microprocessor whenever it changes from sensing an edge to not sensing an edge or from not sensing an edge to sensing an edge, and said microprocessor sends a signal to the corresponding edge guider mechanism to reverse its direction of feed in response to the signal from the sensor;
- said microprocessor monitors signals from said edge guider mechanisms and if there are no signal transitions within a certain time period a function being performed will be stopped.
- 15. The invention as set forth in claim 14, wherein said sewing machine includes an encoder that transmits a series of pulses to the said microprocessor for each stitch produced by the sewing machine and said microprocessor uses this pulse count to synchronize the speed of said edge guiders mechanisms with the speed of the sewing machine.
- 16. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a microprocessor for setting sleeves into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve arm hole;
- a frame, said sewing machine and said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said frame;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including edge guider mechanisms that function to individually control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve arm hole such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advance toward said stitch forming instruments;
- said sewing machine includes an encoder that transmits a series of pulses to the said microprocessor for each stitch produced by the sewing machine and said microprocessor uses this series of pulses to synchronize the speed of said edge guiders mechanisms with the speed of the sewing machine.
- 17. The invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the combination further includes an edge sensor for each of said edge guider mechanisms, said edge sensors send a signal to said microprocessor whenever it changes from sensing an edge to not sensing an edge or from not sensing an edge to sensing an edge, and said microprocessor sends a signal to the corresponding edge guider mechanism to reverse its direction of feed in response to the signal from the sensor.
- 18. The invention as set forth in claim 17, wherein said microprocessor monitors the signals from said edge guider mechanisms and if there are no signal transitions within a certain time period the function being performed will be stopped.
- 19. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a microprocessor for setting sleeves into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve arm hole;
- a frame, said sewing machine and said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said frame;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including edge guider mechanisms that function to individually control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve arm hole such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advance toward said stitch forming instruments;
- a shirt support plate including a shirt revolving mechanism that imparts rotary movement to the shirt body in the direction of feed during sewing and prevents the shirt body from twisting and creating a tug on the edge guider mechanisms.
- 20. The invention as set forth in claim 19, wherein said shirt support plate has a flat top surface that merges into a semi-cylindrical surface, a series of air blower on said flat top surface that discharge pressurized air streams along the flat top surface toward said semi-cylindrical surface.
- 21. The invention as set forth in claim 19, wherein an edge sensor is provided for each of said edge guider mechanisms, said edge sensors send a signal to said microprocessor whenever it changes from sensing an edge to not sensing an edge or from not sensing an edge to sensing an edge, and said microprocessor sends a signal to the corresponding edge guider mechanism to reverse its direction of feed in response to the signal from the sensor.
- 22. The invention as set forth in claim 21, wherein said microprocessor monitors the signals from said edge guider mechanisms and if there are no signal transitions within a certain time period the function being performed will be stopped.
- 23. The invention as set forth in claim 19, wherein said work piece control and advancing mechanism including a seam detector mechanism that detects the beginning of the seam as it returns to said edge guider mechanisms and sends a seam detect signal to said microprocessor;
- said microprocessor, in response to said seam detect signal, causes said edge guider mechanisms to be withdrawn from the sew area;
- said microprocessor, in response to said seam detect signal, actuating components of the sewing machine and work piece control and advancing mechanism at predetermined times measured from the seam detect signal to automatically complete the sew cycle and eject the sewn garment from the stitch forming instruments.
- 24. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a microprocessor for setting sleeves, that taper down along their longitudinal axis from their arm hole end and have arm hole ends that are generally elliptically shaped and tilted relative to the longitudinal axis, into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from the aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve arm hole;
- a frame, said sewing machine and said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said frame;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including edge guider mechanisms that function to individually control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve arm hole such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advance toward said stitch forming instruments;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism includes a set of rollers upon which the work pieces are loaded during a loading cycle, said set of rollers support the work pieces during the loading and sewing cycles, said set of rollers being supported on said frame to the right of said stitch line and having converging free ends, one roll of said set being located forward of and the other being located rearward of said stitch forming instruments and wherein said roll that is located rearwardly of said stitch forming instruments is automatically shifted to the right during the automatic sew cycle to compensate for the inherent work piece drift to the left on said roll and the tilted elliptical arm hole end.
- 25. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said roll that is located forward of said stitch forming instruments can be moved in a direction substantially parallel to the stitch line to a loading location at which its free end is closer to the other roll and facilitates loading the work pieces.
- 26. A sewing machine in combination with work piece control and advancing mechanisms and a controller for setting a sleeve into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve arm hole;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said sewing machine;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including an edge guider mechanism that function to control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve arm hole such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advances toward said stitch forming instruments;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism being programmed as to the number of stitches required to complete the seam and including a stitch counter mechanism such that when the beginning of the seam approaches said edge guider mechanisms a beginning of the seam signal is sent to said controller;
- said controller, in response to said beginning of the seam signal, causes said edge guider mechanisms to be withdrawn from the sew area and to automatically complete the sew cycle.
- 27. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a controller for setting a sleeve into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from the aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said sewing machine;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including an edge guider mechanisms that functions to control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advances toward said stitch forming instruments; and
- a shirt support plate including a shirt revolving mechanism that imparts rotary movement to the shirt body in the direction of feed during sewing and prevents the shirt body from twisting and creating a tug on the edge guider mechanisms.
- 28. A sewing machine in combination with a work piece control and advancing mechanism and a controller for setting a sleeve into a shirt body in which the sew cycle of the sleeve setting procedure is performed automatically;
- said sewing machine including stitch forming instruments for forming a seam having a stitch line a predetermined distance from the aligned circular edges of a shirt body arm hole and a sleeve;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism mounted on said sewing machine;
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism including edge guider mechanisms that functions to control the circular edges of the shirt body arm hole and the sleeve such that their marginal edges are maintained aligned and a predetermined distance from said stitch line as the circular edges of the work pieces advance toward said stitch forming instruments; and
- said work piece control and advancing mechanism includes a set of rollers for supporting the work piece during the loading and sewing cycles, said set of rollers being supported on said sewing machine to the right of said stitch line and having converging free ends, one roll of said set being located forward of and the other being located rearward of said stitch forming instruments and wherein said roll that is located rearwardly of said stitch forming instruments is automatically shifted to the right during the automatic sew cycle to compensate for the inherent work piece drift to the left on said roll and the tilted elliptical arm hole end.
Parent Case Info
This application is a Division of application Ser. No. 08/311,330 filed Sep. 23, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,078 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEWING SLEEVES ON SHIRT BODIES".
US Referenced Citations (26)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
62-94195 |
Apr 1987 |
JPX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
311330 |
Sep 1994 |
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