Claims
- 1. A method of tucking a pair of opposing side panels onto a body portion of a pant-like garment, comprising the steps of:
positioning the body portion of the pant-like garment on a conveyor having a vacuum zone; holding the body portion on the conveyor using vacuum force from the vacuum zone; and pushing the opposing side panels onto the body portion a distance toward one another, creating longitudinal folds in the garment along outer longitudinal edges of the vacuum zone.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vacuum zone comprises an outer area adjacent each of the outer longitudinal edges, the outer areas each having a first vacuum, and an inner area between the outer areas, the inner area having a second vacuum lower than the first vacuum.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vacuum zone comprises an outer area adjacent each of the outer longitudinal edges, the outer areas each having a first vacuum, and an inner area between the outer areas, the inner area having a second vacuum higher than the first vacuum.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the vacuum zone comprises a uniform vacuum across a transverse width of the vacuum zone.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the vacuum zone has a transverse width about equal to a desired folded transverse width of the body portion of the garment.
- 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using a pair of fluid streams to push the opposing side panels onto the body portion toward one another.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using a mechanical tucking device to push the opposing side panels onto the body portion toward one another.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal folds are created in the body portion of the pant-like garment.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal folds are created along seams joining the side panels to the body portion.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of at least two of the opposing side panels is held onto the vacuum zone, and a longitudinal fold is created in each of the at least two opposing side panels.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the pant-like garment comprises a training pant.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the pant-like garment comprises a swimpant.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the pant-like garment has unbonded side panels.
- 14. Apparatus for tucking a pair of opposing side panels onto a body portion of a pant-like garment, the apparatus comprising:
at least one conveyor having at least one vacuum zone, the at least one vacuum zone providing sufficient vacuum to hold the body portion in place along outer longitudinal edges of the at least one vacuum zone; and a device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one vacuum zone comprises an outer area adjacent each of the outer longitudinal edges, the outer areas each having a first vacuum, and an inner area between the outer areas, the inner area having a second vacuum lower than the first vacuum.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one vacuum zone comprises an outer area adjacent each of the outer longitudinal edges, the outer areas each having a first vacuum, and an inner area between the outer areas, the inner area having a second vacuum higher than the first vacuum.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one vacuum zone comprises a uniform vacuum across a transverse width of the at least one vacuum zone.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one vacuum zone has a transverse width about equal to a desired folded transverse width of the garment.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 14, comprising an upper conveyor having an upper vacuum zone and a lower conveyor having a lower vacuum zone.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the upper conveyor and the lower conveyor diverge from one another and then converge toward one another along a machine direction path of the conveyors.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises at least one fluid stream.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises a pair of opposing air blasts.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises a vacuum.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises two opposing assemblies, each assembly including at least one tucking blade on a rotary paddle.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises two opposing assemblies, each assembly including at least one tucking blade on a track that guides the at least one tucking blade a distance alongside the at least one conveyor.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the track of each of the assemblies maintains the at least one tucking blade essentially parallel to the pant-like garment.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the track of each of the assemblies travels essentially parallel to the at least one conveyor and above the at least one conveyor.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the track of each of the assemblies travels essentially parallel to the at least one conveyor and below the at least one conveyor.
- 29. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a driven stacker assembly having at least two stacker finger units.
- 30. Apparatus for tucking a pair of opposing side panels into a body portion of a pant-like garment, the apparatus comprising:
an upper conveyor having an upper vacuum zone, the upper vacuum zone providing sufficient vacuum to hold the body portion in place along outer longitudinal edges of the upper vacuum zone; a lower conveyor having a lower vacuum zone, the lower vacuum zone providing sufficient vacuum to hold the body portion in place along outer longitudinal edges of the lower vacuum zone; and a device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion.
- 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein at least one of the upper and lower vacuum zones comprises an outer area adjacent each of the outer longitudinal edges, the outer areas each having a first vacuum, and an inner area between the outer areas, the inner area having a second vacuum lower than the first vacuum.
- 32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein at least one of the upper and lower vacuum zones comprises an outer area adjacent each of the outer longitudinal edges, the outer areas each having a first vacuum, and an inner area between the outer areas, the inner area having a second vacuum higher than the first vacuum.
- 33. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein at least one of the upper and lower vacuum zones comprises a uniform vacuum across a transverse width of the vacuum zone.
- 34. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein at least one of the upper and lower vacuum zones has a transverse width about equal to a desired folded transverse width of the garment.
- 35. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the upper conveyor and the lower conveyor diverge from one another and then converge toward one another along a machine direction path of the conveyors.
- 36. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises at least one fluid stream.
- 37. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises a pair of opposing air blasts.
- 38. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises a vacuum.
- 39. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises two opposing assemblies, each assembly including at least one tucking blade on a rotary paddle.
- 40. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the device for pushing the side panels onto the body portion comprises two opposing assemblies, each assembly including at least one tucking blade on a track that guides the at least one tucking blade a distance alongside the at least one conveyor.
- 41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the track of each of the assemblies maintains the at least one tucking blade essentially parallel to the pant-like garment.
- 42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the track of each of the assemblies travels essentially parallel to at least one of the upper and lower conveyors and above at least one of the upper and lower conveyors.
- 43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the track of each of the assemblies travels essentially parallel to at least one of the upper and lower conveyors and below at least one of the upper and lower conveyors.
- 44. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising a driven stacker assembly having at least two stacker finger units.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending patent application Ser. No. 09/967,024, filed on 28 Sep. 2001.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09967024 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Child |
10813517 |
Mar 2004 |
US |