Claims
- 1. Apparatus for transferring a limp fabric piece from a first station to a second station comprising in combination:
- (a) a transfer member (7) having a flat low friction upper surface portion with a terminal edge to support thereon in a flat state a limp fabric piece (6),
- (b) means supporting said transfer member (7) for movement in a direction normal or inclined to said terminal edge in each direction between said first and second stations,
- (c) a receiving member (8) having a flat low friction upper surface portion located to underlie the transfer member (7) when the transfer member (7) is at said second station, and
- (d) means (9) at said second station operable to frictionally engage the exposed surface of said limp fabric piece (6) supported on the low friction surface of said receiving member (8) when the transfer member (7) is at the second station so that the limp fabric piece (6) can subsequently be moved over said low friction upper surface portion of receiving member (8) to another work station, said frictional engaging means (9) being arranged to engage the fabric (6) along at least one marginal portion of the fabric piece (6) so that said marginal portions of said fabric piece (6) protrude beyond said frictional engaging means (9), and being selectively movable relative to the upper surface portion of the receiving member (8) to engage the fabric piece (6) when the transfer member (7) is at said second station, said frictional engaging means (9) and said low friction surface of the transfer member (7) being adapted so that when the fabric piece (6) is frictionally engaged and as the transfer member (7) moves from the second station back to the first station, the fabric piece (6) is withdrawn from the transfer member (7) over the terminal edge to be supported in a flat state on the upper surface portion of the receiving member (8).
- 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frictional engaging means (9) is selectively movable relative to the upper surface portion of the receiving member (8) to engage the fabric piece (6) when the transfer member (7) is at said second station.
- 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the frictional engaging means (9) is arranged to engage the fabric piece (6) at a plurality of spaced locations selected so the fabric piece (6) will remain in a flat state as/or after the transfer member (7) has been withdrawn.
- 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the frictional engaging means (9) is arranged to engage the fabric along one marginal portion of the fabric piece.
- 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frictional engaging means (9) comprises a plate having a configuration substantially identical to, but smaller than, said fabric piece (6), said plate having along the periphery of the surface engaging said fabric piece, a strip of high friction material.
- 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said transfer member (7) comprises a carriage mounted on wheels pneumatically actuated for reciprocal movement and a thin polished metal plate mounted on said carriage.
Priority Claims (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| PG9867 |
Mar 1985 |
AUX |
|
Parent Case Info
This invention relates to the transporting of limp fabric in a manufacturing process involving the fabrication of garments from said fabric.
The fabrication of garments from fabric is currently a labour intensive process principally because of the lack of mechanical means for transporting and feeding fabric to and through various machines such as sewing machines, which perform operations on the fabric.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus to effectively transport pieces of limp fabric to and/or through one or more work stations wherein operations may be carried out on the fabric piece.
There is thus provided by the present invention a method of transferring a limp fabric piece comprising:
supporting the fabric piece in a flat state on a flat low friction surface at one location, moving the surface with the fabric piece thereon to position the fabric piece in a selected location above a further flat surface, frictionally engaging the exposed surface of the fabric piece to hold it in said flat state at said selected location, and removing the low friction surface from between the fabric piece and the further surface so the fabric piece is deposited in the flat state on the further surface.
Conveniently the fabric piece is frictionally engaged at a plurality of spaced locations on the exposed surface, the locations being selected so the fabric piece will remain in a flat state as and/or after the low friction surface has been withdrawn. The locations may be spaced along a marginal portion of the fabric piece that lies across the direction of withdrawal of the low friction surface, and opposite from the edge from which it is withdrawn.
Alternatively the fabric piece may be frictionally engaged along, or at spaced locations along, or along a major portion of one or two marginal portions of the fabric piece. Preferably the frictional engagement is along two opposite marginal portions of the fabric piece, such as opposite marginal portions extending in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the low friction surface.
Conveniently two limp fabric pieces may be arranged in a superimposed relation, and at least the lower of the two is frictionally engaged as the low friction surface is withdrawn. One of the fabric pieces may be the body portion of a pair of briefs, pants or underpants and superimposed thereon is a gusset fabric piece.
The method according to the present invention may include the further steps of moving the fabric piece or pieces while maintained in said flat state along said further flat surface, and by said movement passing the or at least one fabric piece through a sewing machine head to perform a sewing operation on the fabric piece or pieces.
Conveniently the two fabric pieces are arranged in superimposed relation and the sewing operation sews the pieces together. The fabric piece or pieces may be passed through two sewing heads in succession or simultaneously, and when two fabric pieces are in superimposed relation, the two sewing operations may sew the pieces together along two opposite marginal portions of the upper fabric piece.
The fabric pieces may pass through the sewing head in a linear or non-linear movement. This movement may be performed in accordance with the method and/or by the apparatus disclosed in our co-pending patent application No. PCT/AU85/00175.
There is also provided by the present invention apparatus for transferring a limp fabric piece comprising:
a transfer member having a flat low friction upper surface portion with a terminal edge to support thereon in a flat state a limp fabric piece, means supporting said transfer member for movement in a direction normal or inclined to said terminal edge in each direction between first and second stations, a receiving member having a flat upper surface portion located to underlie the low friction surface portion when the transfer member is at said second station, means at said second station operable to frictionally engage the exposed surface of a limp fabric piece supported on the low friction surface when the transfer member is at the second station, said frictional engaging means and said low friction surface been adapted so that when the fabric piece is frictionally engaged and as the transfer member moves from the second station towards the first station the fabric piece is withdrawn from the transfer member over the terminal edge to be supported in a flat state on the upper surface portion of the receiving member.
Conveniently the frictional engaging means is selectively movable relative to the upper surface portion of the recieving member to engage the fabric piece when the transfer member is at said second station. The frictional engaging means may be arranged to engage the fabric piece at a plurality of spaced locations selected so the fabric piece will remain in a flat state as and/or after the transfer member has been withdrawn. The location may be arranged along one or more, preferably two opposite, marginal portions of the fabric piece.
The frictional engaging means may comprise a plate having a configuration substantially identical to, but smaller than, said fabric piece, said plate having along the periphery of the surface engaging said fabric piece, a strip of high friction material.
The flat low friction portion of the upper surface of the transfer member may be a polished metal surface. The part of the transfer member which provides said low friction portion is preferably only a few millimeters thick, such as about 2 to 3 mm, so the fabric piece is only lowered a small distance onto the receiving member as the transfer member is withdrawn. The frictional engaging means are arranged to provide a degree of resilience and/or flexibility so the engagement with the fabric piece is maintained as the support of the fabric piece transfers from the transfer member to the receiving member.
The transfer member may conveniently comprise a carriage mounted on wheels pneumatically actuated for reciprocal movement and a thin polished metal blade mounted on said carriage.
PCT Information
| Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
102e Date |
371c Date |
| PCT/AU86/00073 |
3/21/1986 |
|
|
11/14/1986 |
11/14/1986 |
| Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
| WO86/05466 |
9/25/1986 |
|
|
US Referenced Citations (3)
Patent Grant
4781369
