U.S. patent number 3,780,682 [Application Number 05/243,753] was granted by the patent office on 1973-12-25 for method of making a shirt front assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Oxford Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Wade W. Frost.
United States Patent |
3,780,682 |
Frost |
December 25, 1973 |
METHOD OF MAKING A SHIRT FRONT ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A shirt front assembly, method and apparatus wherein a connected
series of center plait pattern parts and a series of shirt front
pattern parts are fed simultaneously to a sewing machine and sewn
together to form a connected series of shirt front assemblies. The
connected series of shirt front assemblies are conveyed away from
the sewing station to a cutting station where the center plait
pattern parts are cut apart and trimmed so as to have their ends
coextensive with the edges of the shift front pattern parts, and
the cut-apart series of shirt front assemblies are stacked.
Inventors: |
Frost; Wade W. (Vidalia,
GA) |
Assignee: |
Oxford Industries, Inc.
(Atlanta, GA)
|
Family
ID: |
27491443 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/243,753 |
Filed: |
April 13, 1972 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
79031 |
Oct 8, 1970 |
3675604 |
Jul 11, 1972 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
112/475.07;
112/130; 112/475.08; 112/475.09 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D05B
33/02 (20130101); A41H 43/0207 (20130101); D05B
35/062 (20130101); A41H 42/00 (20130101); D05B
41/00 (20130101); D05D 2303/20 (20130101); Y10T
83/543 (20150401); D05D 2207/02 (20130101); D05B
33/006 (20130101); D05D 2207/04 (20130101); D05D
2305/12 (20130101); Y10T 83/7863 (20150401); D05D
2305/04 (20130101); D05D 2303/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A41H
43/00 (20060101); A41H 42/00 (20060101); A41H
43/02 (20060101); D05B 35/06 (20060101); D05B
33/00 (20060101); D05B 33/02 (20060101); D05B
41/00 (20060101); D05b 001/00 (); D05b
023/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;112/121.29,121.27,121.26,121.15,121.12,121.11,262,130
;2/243,115 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Boler; James R.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.
79,031, filed Oct. 8, 1970, entitled "GARMENT CUTTING AND STACKING
METHOD," now U. S. Pat. No. 3,675,604, issued July 11, 1972.
Claims
I claim:
1. A method of attaching center plate pattern parts or the like to
shirt front pattern parts or the like comprising:
forming a connected series of center plate pattern parts in end to
end relationship with each other;
simultaneously passing in timed relationship the connected series
of center plate pattern parts and a series of shirt front pattern
parts toward a sewing station with the leading and trailing ends of
the center plate pattern parts in overlying relationship with
respect to the leading and trailing ends of the shirt front pattern
parts;
sewing together the connected series of center plate pattern parts
and the series of shirt front pattern parts to form a connected
series of shirt front assemblies;
passing the connected series of shirt front assemblies to a cutting
station; and
cutting apart the connected series of shirt front assemblies.
2. A method of attaching center plate pattern parts or the like to
shirt front pattern parts or the like comprising:
forming a connected series of center plate pattern parts in end to
end relationship with each other;
simultaneously passing in timed relationship the connected series
of center plate pattern parts and a series of shirt front pattern
parts toward sewing stations;
sewing together the connected series of center plate pattern parts
and the series of shirt front pattern parts to form a connected
series of shirt front assemblies;
passing the connected series of shirt front assemblies to a cutting
station; and
cutting apart the connected series of shirt front assemblies,
including trimming portions of the leading and trailing ends of the
shirt front assemblies.
3. A method of attaching center plate pattern parts or the like to
shirt front pattern parts or the like comprising:
forming a connected series of center plate pattern parts in end to
end relationship with each other;
simultaneously passing in timed relationship the connected series
of center plate pattern parts and a series of shirt front pattern
parts toward a sewing station;
sewing together the connected series of center plate pattern parts
and the series of shirt front pattern parts to form a connected
series of shirt front assemblies;
passing the connected series of shirt front assemblies to a cutting
station; and
cutting apart the connected series of shirt front assemblies,
including trimming a portion of one end of each shirt front
panel.
4. A method of attaching center plate pattern parts or the like to
shirt front pattern parts or the like comprising:
forming a connected series of center plate pattern parts in end to
end relationship with each other;
simultaneously passing in timed relationship the connected series
of center plate pattern parts and a series of shirt front pattern
parts toward a sewing station;
sewing together the connected series of center plate pattern parts
and the series of shirt front pattern parts to form a connected
series of shirt front assemblies;
accumulating a first predetermined length of connected series of
shirt front assemblies, feeding the connected series of shirt front
assemblies toward a cutting station until the accumulated length of
the connected series of shirt front assemblies has been reduced to
a second predetermined length and terminating the feeding of the
connected series of shirt front assemblies to the cutting station
until the first predetermined length of the connected series of
shirt front assemblies has been accumulated again; and
cutting apart the connected series of shirt front assemblies.
5. The method of claim 4 and wherein the step of feeding the
connected series of shirt front assemblies toward the cutting
station comprises continually feeding the shirt front assemblies to
the cutting station in intermittent feeding movements.
6. A method of fabricating garments or the like comprising moving a
length of lining material through at least one sewing station,
continually connecting a series of duplicate pattern parts in
series to the lining material at the sewing station, passing the
lining material and the pattern parts connected thereto to a second
garment processing station, treating the lining material and
pattern parts at the second garment processing station,
accumulating the lining material with the pattern parts connected
thereto between the sewing station and the second garment
processing station, terminating the connecting of the pattern parts
to the lining material at the sewing station in response to the
accumulation of a first predetermined length of lining material
with the pattern parts connected thereto between the sewing station
and the second garment processing station, and reactivating the
step of continually connecting the series of duplicate pattern
parts in series to the lining material at the sewing station in
response to the depletion of the length of lining material with the
pattern parts connected thereto between the sewing station and the
second garment processing station to a length less than the first
predetermined length of lining material with the pattern parts
connected thereto.
7. The method of claim 6 and further including the step of
terminating the step of passing the lining material with the series
of duplicate pattern parts connected thereto to the second garment
processing station in response to the depletion of the accumulated
length of lining material with the pattern parts connected thereto
to a second predetermined length, and reactivating the step of
passing the lining material with the pattern parts connected
thereto to the second garment processing station in response to the
accumulation of a length of lining material with the pattern parts
connected thereto greater than the second predetermined length of
lining material with the pattern parts connected thereto.
8. The method of claim 6 and wherein the step of accumulating the
lining material with the pattern parts connected thereto includes
maintaining the lining material under tension between the sewing
station and the second garment processing station.
9. A method of attaching center plate pattern parts to shirt front
pattern parts comprising:
attaching a series of center pattern parts in spaced end to end
relationship to a length of lining material;
simultaneously passing in timed relationship the length of lining
material with its connected series of center plate pattern parts
and a series of shirt front pattern parts toward a sewing
station;
sewing together each of the center plate pattern parts carried by
the lining material and a shirt front pattern part from the series
of shirt front pattern parts to form a series of shirt front
assemblies carried by the length of lining material;
passing the length of lining material with its series of shirt
front assemblies to a cutting station with the shirt front pattern
parts hanging freely from the length of the lining material;
and
cutting the lining material between the series of shirt front
assemblies.
10. The method of claim 9 and wherein the step of passing the
length of lining material with its series of shirt front assemblies
to a cutting station includes maintaining the lining material under
tension after the shirt front pattern parts have been connected to
the lining material and before the step of cutting the lining
material.
11. The method of claim 9 and wherein the step of cutting the
lining material between the series of shirt front assemblies
includes trimming portions of the leading and trailing ends of the
center plate pattern parts.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
When the center plait or buttonhole strip of a garment, such as a
man's shirt or a woman's dress, is connected to the shirt front
pattern part, the center plait pattern part is usually folded under
along its side edges and its ends are placed in overlying
relationship with respect to the shirt front pattern part. When the
center plait is sewn to the shirt front pattern part to form the
shirt front assembly, the ends of the center plait extend beyond
the top and bottom edges of the shirt front pattern part. In the
past, after the center plait had been attached to the shirt front
pattern part to form the shirt front assembly, a bundle of shirt
front assemblies was allowed to collect at the sewing station and
another worker transferred the bundle to another station where the
ends of the center plait of each assembly were trimmed by a third
worker so that the cut ends of each center plait were approximately
even or coextensive with the edges of the shirt front pattern part.
The upper end of the center plait, usually the leading end as the
pieces are processed through the sewing machine, were cut with a
curved cut or an angled cut to match the neck opening of the
garment, while the lower or trailing end of the center plait was
cut with a straight cut that matched the lower edge or tail of the
garment.
In order to fabricate the shirt front assemblies it was necessary
to first attach the center plait to the shirt front panel, stack
the shirt front assemblies in a bundle at the sewing station,
transfer the bundles to a cutting station, cut the ends of each
center plait, restack the shirt front assemblies, and transfer the
cut bundle to a subsequent work station where subsequent stitching
and other garment fabricating functions were performed. The manual
steps of sewing, stacking, transferring, cutting and restacking the
garment parts in the process of applying the center plaits to the
garment panels is onerous, expensive, and there is some likelihood
of misplacing bundles of garment parts or individual garment parts
in the manufacturing process. Moreover, the more times the shirt
fronts are manually handled in the separate sewing and cutting
operations, the more likely is the tendency toward non-uniformity
in the finished products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly described, the present invention comprises a shirt front
assembly, method and apparatus wherein shirt front assemblies are
formed in a connected series by attaching a series of center plait
pattern parts to a series of shirt front pattern parts. The
resulting connected series of shirt front assemblies is conveyed
away from the sewing station by conveying the connected series of
center plait pattern parts with the shirt front pattern parts
hanging from the center plait pattern parts. The connected series
of shirt front assemblies is conveyed to a cutting station where
the connected series is intermittently fed to a cutter where the
connected series of shirt front assemblies is cut apart, and the
individual shirt front assemblies are stacked. A conveyor assembly
is located between the sewing station and the cutting station and
functions as a buffer between the sewing station and the cutting
station so that the speed of operation at the sewing station is
independent of the speed of operation at the cutting station, and
the cutting function at the cutting station is terminated when the
supply of connected series of shirt front assemblies is low. The
shirt front pattern parts are automatically fed from a stack of
pattern parts to the sewing station and folded as they approach the
needle. In a similar manner, the series of center plait pattern
parts is guided from a supply toward the sewing station and folded
as they approach the needles, and the movements of the center plait
pattern parts and shirt front pattern parts toward the sewing
station are regulated so they are sewn together in the proper
relationship.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the process of forming shirt
front assemblies.
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the method of forming a
connected series of center plait pattern parts.
FIG. 3 is a detail illustration of the pattern parts and the manner
in which they are sewn together.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus for forming shirt
front assemblies.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now in more detail to the drawing, in which like numerals
indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a
process 10 in which shirt front assemblies 11 are manufactured. A
stack of shirt front panels or pattern parts 12 is formed, usually
from a bunch of pattern parts received from a cutting area, and the
top ply or pattern part 13 is lifted from the stack 12 and moved in
the direction indicated by arrow 14 over to a path where the
pattern parts are to be conveyed and passed through a sewing
station. Each pattern part 13 is moved in the direction indicated
by arrow 15 toward a sewing station 16. Sewing station 16 includes
a fabric connecting means which functions to connect together
layers of fabric, and can include various fusing, sewing, or other
conventional fabric connecting means. By way of example, sewing
machine needles 26 and 27 are illustrated. As each shirt front
pattern part 13 moves in the direction indicated by arrow 15, the
straight or shirt front edge 17 of the pattern part is folded over
as indicated at 18. As the shirt front pattern part approaches the
sewing station 16, a connected series of center plaits 19 is fed
from a supply 20 to the same sewing station.
As is indicated in FIG. 2, the connected series of center plaits 19
are formed by fusing, sewing or otherwise connecting together a
continuous length of center plait lining material 21 and center
plait pattern parts 22. The center plait pattern parts 22 are
placed in end-to-end relationship along the length of the lining
material 21, and after the supply of center plait pattern parts
have been connected to the lining material and accumulated in a
reel or supply 20, the reel 20 is transferred to the process
illustrated in FIG. 1. The center plait pattern parts 22 are
usually placed in spaced end-to-end relationship along the length
of the lining material; however, the pattern parts 22 can be in
abutting relationship, or even in overlapping relationship with
respect to the lining material, if desired.
As the connected series of center plait pattern parts 19 approaches
sewing station 16, the ends of each center plait pattern part will
be moved into overlying relationship with respect to the ends of
each shirt front pattern part 13 so that the center plait pattern
parts protrude beyond the shirt front pattern parts. In addition,
the edges of both the lining material and center plait pattern
parts are folded inwardly toward each other as indicated in FIG. 3
to form folds 18, 24 and 25. The needles 26 and 27 form the
stitching 28 and 29 along the folded edges of the connected series
of center plait pattern parts and through the folds of the mated
plys of material so that the shirt front pattern parts become
connected to the connected series of center plait pattern parts,
thus forming a connected series of shirt front assemblies 30.
After the connected series of shirt front assemblies has been
formed at sewing station 16, they are handled by conveying means 31
and passed toward cutting means 32. The connected series of center
plaits 19 is handled by the conveying means 31 by orienting the
shirt front center plaits in an upwardly extending attitude with
the shirt front pattern parts hanging in a downward direction and
trailing freely from the center plait pattern parts. The connected
series of shirt front assemblies 30 are cut apart by cutting means
32, and each shirt front assembly 34 is stacked in stacks 35.
As is illustrated in FIG. 4, the apparatus 11 for forming the shirt
front assemblies includes a fabric feeder which is schematically
illustrated at 38. Fabric feeder 38 is of conventional construction
and the details of its construction form no material part of this
invention. Fabric feeders of the type suitable for use with the
apparatus disclosed herein include Fabri-feed series 10
manufactured by U.S.M. Industrial Machinery, a division of United
Shoe Machinery of Boston, Massachusetts. Fabric feeder 38 is
arranged to transfer shirt front pattern parts 13 from the stack 12
onto conveyor 36. The fabric feeder applies a suction through the
suction heads 39 to the top ply of material in the stack 12, the
suction heads lift the top ply away from the stack, moves the top
ply laterially over to conveyor 36, and then deposits the fabric on
the conveyor. Conveyor 36 includes a pair of belts 40 which are
arranged to move across the top surface of a work table 41 toward
sewing station 16. A photoelectric cell 42 is positioned beneath
the table surface in registration with an elongated slot 44 and is
arranged to be repositioned along the slot, as necessary. A source
of light (not shown) is located above the table surface 41 and
arranged to emit light to the photoelectric cell 42. Photoelectric
cell 42 is arranged to control the operation of conveyor 36, as
will be explained later.
Feeder assembly 45 is located above the surfaces of work tables 41
and 43 at sewing station 16 and comprises single acting pneumatic
ram 46 which is spring-urged to its retracted position. Arm 47 of
ram 46 includes a gripping head 48 that communicates through
conduit 49 with a source of low pressure air. The operation of
feeder assembly 45 is controlled by photoelectric cell 42, which
causes the distension and retraction of arm 47 and the suction and
release of gripping head 48. Feeder assembly 45 functions to grasp
a shirt front pattern part 13 and urge the pattern part into the
folder 50 and toward the needles at sewing station 16. The feeder
assembly 45 is adjustably connected to work table 41 and is angled
so as to move the shirt front pattern part in the proper direction
for forming the desired fold and to meet the needles 26 and 27 at
the sewing station. The relationship between conveyor 36 and feeder
assembly 45 is such that the pattern parts 13 first moving with
conveyor 36 are subsequently engaged by feeder assembly 45 and the
feeder assembly 45 continues to carry the pattern parts from work
table 41 onto work table 43 after the conveyor belt 40 of conveyor
38 begins to move back beneath the work table 41.
The reel 20 of connected series of center plait pattern parts is
mounted on a bracket 52 from work table 43, and the portion of the
supply of connected series of center plait pattern parts feeding
away from the reel is directed beneath U-shaped guide 54 toward
angle guide 55 and through folder 56 toward sewing station 16.
Photoelectric cell 58 is located beneath work table 46 and is in
registration with slot 59 between U-shaped guide 54 and angle guide
55. A source of light (not shown) is located above work table 46
and arranged to emit light toward photoelectric cell 58. The
photoelectric cell 58 is arranged to control the operation of
sewing machine 60 at sewing station 16
Photoelectric cells 42 and 58 can be positioned at the needles of
sewing machine 60, or a time delay circuit (not shown) can be used
with the photoelectric cells and the photoelectric cells can be
positioned back along the paths of the pattern parts, as indicated
in FIG. 4. Fabric feeder 38 is adjusted to feed the shirt front
pattern parts onto conveyor 36 at closely spaced intervals,
preferably with the shoulder portion of the pattern part
overlapping the tail portion of the preceding pattern part as the
pattern parts move along the path 15 of the conveyor toward the
sewing station. The photoelectric cell 42 at conveyor 36 is
arranged to detect the leading and trailing edges of each shirt
front pattern part as the shirt front pattern moves toward the
sewing station. In a similar manner, the photoelectric cell 58 is
arranged to detect the leading and trailing ends of the center
plait pattern parts through the lining material 21 as the connected
series of center plait pattern parts progress toward the sewing
station. When both photoelectric cells 42 and 58 detect darkness,
which indicates that both a shirt front and a center plait are
ready at the sewing station, both conveyor 38 and sewing machine 60
operate at normal operating speeds and both pattern parts will be
processed through the sewing station and sewn together as
illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. When the pattern parts have been
attached to each other and the photoelectric cells 42 and 58 both
detect light, which indicates the absence of the pattern parts at
the sewing station, both conveyor 36 and sewing machine 60 will
continue to operate at normal operating speeds. Because of the
longer length of the center plait pattern parts than the shirt
front pattern parts and the spacing of both pattern parts as they
approach the sewing station, the photoelectric cell 58 usually will
detect darkness or the presence of a center plait pattern part
before photoelectric cell 42 detects darkness or the approach of a
shirt front pattern part. Sewing machine 60 will begin to stop its
sewing function and the feeding of the connected series of center
plait pattern parts, thus sewing only onto the leading edge of the
next-to-be sewn center plait pattern part and waiting for the
approach of a shirt front pattern part. When photoelectric cell 42
detects the presence of the oncoming shirt front pattern part,
sewing machine 60 will resume its normal operation to sew together
the two pattern parts.
While the preceding operation is considered to be the normal
operation of the assembly, there are instances when the spacing
between the series of center plait pattern parts is greater than
the spacing between the oncoming series of shirt front pattern
parts. In this situation photoelectric cell 42 will cause conveyor
36 to begin to stop as sewing machine 60 continues to operate and
the oncoming leading edge of the next-to-be sewn center plait
pattern part will thus reach the needles of the sewing machine
ahead of the oncoming shirt front pattern part. When photoelectric
cell 58 detects the leading end of the next-to-be sewn center plait
pattern part, the operation of conveyor 36 will resume.
The now-connected series of shirt front assemblies 30 is guided
from sewing station 26 by conveying means 31 toward cutting means
32 at cutting station 61. Conveying means 31 includes oscillating
arm 62 which is urged by spring means 64 in a counterclockwise
direction. A truncated cone 65 is rotatable on the downwardly
extending leg 66 of oscillating arm 62, and the connected series of
shirt front assemblies 30 is guided about cone 65. The connected
series of center plait pattern parts 19 engages cone 65 while the
shirt front pattern parts 13 droop in a downward direction. A
second truncated cone 68 rotates on stationary support 69, and
cylinder 70 rotates on stationary support 71. Second cone 68 and
cylinder 70 are arranged to guide the connected series of shirt
front assemblies from the oscillating cone 65 toward cutting
station 61. Since cutting means 32 operates intermittently and at a
different rate of speed than sewing machine 60, oscillating cone 65
functions as a buffering means and accumulates and dissipates the
connected series of shirt front assemblies between the sewing
station and the cutting station. Switches 72 and 73 which are
actuated by cams 74 and 75 mounted on the downwardly extending leg
76 of oscillating arm 62 function to indicate the length of the
connected series of shirt front assemblies accumulated between
sewing station 16 and cutting station 61 and control the operation
of the elements at cutting station 61.
Cutting station 61 includes a work table 78, and feed rollers 79
driven by motor 80 engage the connected series of center plait
pattern parts 19 and feed the connected series of shirt front
assemblies across the work table toward cutting means 32. Cutting
means 32 is aligned with rollers 79 and includes a pair of cutting
blades 81 and 82 which are operated by a single double-acting ram
84. Cutting blade 81 is curved at a radius which corresponds to the
desired cut at the curved neck of the shirt front assembly, while
cutting blade 82 is straight and disposed at an angle corresponding
to the angle of the tail or trailing edge of the shirt front
pattern part. Photoelectric cell 85 is positioned beneath work
table 78 and a source of light (not shown) is arranged to emit
light to the photoelectric cell. The photoelectric cell is
displaced to the side of the path of the connected series of center
plait pattern parts but is in the path of the shirt front pattern
parts as they move with the connected series of shirt front
assemblies across work table 78. Cutting station conveyor 86 is
located above work table 78 and is movable in a downward direction
under the influence of doubleacting ram 88 so as to be biased
toward contact with the top surface of the work table. Cutting
station conveyor 86 comprises one or more continuous bands 89
extending about rollers 90 and 91, and the rollers 90 and 91 are
supported by framework 92. A motor (not shown) drives roller 91
through gears 94.
One edge 95 of work table 78 includes a pair of spaced-apart slots
96 and 97 which are in alignment with the normal path of travel of
the center plait pattern parts from cutting means 92. Stacker 99
includes an oscillating stacking arm 100 driven by double-acting
ram 101 back and forth from work table 78 of cutting station 61 and
stacker conveyor 102. The upper end of stacking arm 100 extends
laterally across stacker conveyor 102 at a height approximately
level with work table 78 of cutting station 61, and jaws 104 and
105 protrude from stacking arm 100. Jaws 104 and 105 open and close
in response to ram 106 which is spring-loaded so that jaws 105
normally remain open. When ram 106 is pressurized, jaws 104 and 105
close. Jaws 104 and 105 are arranged so as to register with slots
96 and 97 of work table 78 when oscillating stacking arm 100 is
moved by its ram 101 toward work table 78. When oscillating arm 100
is moved to its other position over stacker conveyor 102, jaws 104
and 105 will be disposed on the opposite sides and above the
stacker conveyor.
When photoelectric cell detects the leading edge of a shirt front
pattern part 13, the operation of motor 80 is temporarily
terminated for a time interval determined by a time delay device
(not shown) and the movement of the shirt front assembly is
stopped, and ram 84 of cutting means 32 is actuated. Cutting blade
81 thus functions to cut the leading end of the center plait
pattern part and cut across the continuous lining material with a
curved cut corresponding to the curvature of the neck opening of
the shirt front pattern part. It is desirable to form the curvature
of cutting blade 81 in accordance with the desired curvature of the
neck opening and time the movement of the connected series of shirt
front assemblies so that the blade 81 also cuts across a portion of
the shirt front pattern part as well as the center plait pattern
part, and thus actually form the curvature of the neck opening.
When the time delay lapses after the detection by photoelectric
cell 85 of the presence of the leading edge of a shirt front
pattern part, motor 80 will resume its operation, causing roller 79
to feed the connected series of shirt front assemblies across work
table 78. The detection by photoelectric cell 85 of the presence of
the leading edge of the shirt front pattern part also causes
cutting station conveyor 86 to move in a downward direction under
the influence of its ram 88 into engagement with the work table 78,
and the continuous operation of its motor causes the conveyor to
move the material received under it across the work table.
When photoelectric cell 85 detects the trailing edge of a shirt
front pattern part, by detecting the presence of light, the
operation of motor 80 will be terminated for a time interval
determined by the time delay device, ram 84 will operate again to
reciprocate its cutting blades 81 and 82, and ram 88 will function
to lift conveyor 86 away from work table 78. Straight cutting blade
82 cuts across the connected series of center plait pattern parts,
thus cutting across the trailing end of the center plait and
cutting away the leading one of the series of shirt front
assemblies. Simultaneously with the cutting action of cutting means
32 and the upward movement of cutting station conveyor 86, the jaws
104 and 105 of stacking arm 100 are closed under the influence of
ram 106 and reach through slots 96 and 97 to grasp the cut away
shirt front assembly 11, and oscillating stacking arm 100 begins to
swing away from work table 78 toward stacker conveyor 102 under the
influence of its ram 101. When oscillating stacking arm 100 reaches
the outward limit of its movement, cam 109 at the axle of stacking
arm 100 depresses bleeder valve 110 which shifts the air flow to
rams 101 and 106, causing gripper jaws 104 and 105 to open and to
drop the shirt front assembly onto stacker conveyor 102 and begin
the return movement of stacking arm 100 toward work table 78.
Cutting means 32 and the remaining elements at cutting station 61
and stacker 99 function in response to the signal provided by
photoelectric cell 85, and the functions taking place at cutting
station 61 are thus independent of those taking place at sewing
station 16. The speed at which the shirt front assemblies are
processed at cutting station 61 is at least as fast as and usually
faster than the maximum speed at which the shirt front assemblies
are processed at sewing station 16 and the connected series of
shirt front assemblies can be cut and stacked at a rate equal to or
faster than the rate at which they can be formed at sewing station
16. Conveying means 31 is therefore arranged to accumulate
predetermined lengths of the connected series of shirt front
assemblies by the outward movement of oscillating arm 62 before the
operation at cutting station 61 is allowed to begin. When switches
72 and 73 at the upright portion of oscillating arm 62 are both
closed by oscillating arm 62 moving out a predetermined distance
and accumulating a predetermined length of the connected series of
shirt front assemblies between sewing station 16 and cutting
station 61, the elements at cutting station 61 are actuated. After
the operation of the elements at cutting station 61 is initiated,
the system will continue to operate until the lenghts of connected
series of shirt front assemblies at conveying means 31 is depleted
to the point where oscillating arm 62 is drawn in to a position
where both switches 72 and 73 are opened. When switch 72 opens, the
operation at cutting station 61 is terminated until a supply of the
connected series of shirt front assemblies from the sewing station
is provided to conveying means 31, whereupon both switches 73 and
72 are again closed to cause the operation of the elements at
cutting station 61 to resume.
Stacker conveyor 102 comprises a pair of spaced-apart continuous
conveyor belts 112 and 113 which are arranged about the pairs of
sheaves 115, 116 and 117 suported by a framework (not shown) and
motor 118 is arranged to drive the pair of sheaves 115. Motor 18 is
driven intermittently, usually upon the closing of a switch by an
operator who detects the accumulation of a bundle 35 of shirt front
assemblies on the stacker conveyor. An operator usually will be in
the vicinity of one or more of adjacent ones of the apparatus 36
for forming the shirt front assemblies so as to monitor the
operation of the apparatus, supply the needed stacks 12 of shirt
front pattern parts and reels 20 of connected series of center
plait pattern parts, and occasionally retrieve one or more stacks
35 of shirt front assemblies which have been fabricated by the
apparatus.
While the invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood
tht variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit
and scope of the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined
in the appended claims.
* * * * *