MEASURING DEVICE FOR PRODUCING CUSTOM MANUFACTURED ITEMS

Abstract: Automated made-to-measure garment manufacturing method and apparatus. A subject's measurements are taken with a hand held measuring device and transmitted to a com­ puter. The computer checks to see if the customer's style pre­ ference and physique are compatible and if they are, an order is generated. The customer measurements are then transmit­ ted to a remote location for manufacture. At this location a computer has a set of co-ordinates defined for the customer's style in one size. These co-ordinates are modified based upon the actual customer measurements to produce a modified set of co-ordinates which in turn define the garment pieces for that customer. A control tape for a laser cutter is generated and the garment pieces are cut and sewn together. During the post cutting fabrication process, routing sheets for the gar­ ment indicate precision assembly steps to insure a quality finished garment is produced. Finally, the custom tailored suit is sent back to the retail outlet and delivered to the sub­ ject. Two embodiments of a measuring device used in the custom manufacturing process are disclosed. One takes only length measurements and a second takes both length and angle measurements. Each includes a frequency modulated transmitter for sending signals corresponding to the meas­ urements to a separate receiver and storage unit where the measurements are stored for later use in the tailoring pro­ cess. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the storage unit comprises a personal computer with a visual display that can prompt a user into taking the measurements in a pred­ etermined sequence.

Description: The present invention relates to apparatus for producing custom manufactured items and has particular utility for producing individually tailored suits. The garment industry has been slow in taking advantage of advances in technology to modernize its manufacturing operations. The techniques utilized in fitting a suit, for example, vary in only minor aspects from the techniques used 50 years ago. A person familiar with the suit making business in 1900 would not be unfamiliar with the techniques and machinery for producing suits in the 1980's. The reluctance to change by the suit manufacturing industry has placed those manufacturers operating where labor costs are high at a distinct competitive disadvantage in relation to manufacturers who have less expensive sources of labor available. Traditional steps in tailoring a suit to a customer's specification have been inefficient for a number of reasons. The most widely practiced suit tailoring technique is familiar to anyone who has purchased a suit at a clothing store. The customer enters the store, approaches the rack where his or her size is located and looks over the suits available in that size. If the customer finds an appropriate suit, either a clerk or a tailor determines what alterations are needed to make the suit fit. Once the needed alterations have been determined by the tailor and/or clerk, and approved by the customer, the tailor can begin the task of altering the suit. This off-the-rack method of suit tailoring causes inefficiencies which add to the cost of the suit. One inefficiency is the requirement that a large number of suits be stocked by the retail men's clothing store. To increase the odds that each customer entering the clothing store will find an appropriate suit, a wide variety of styles, patterns, and sizes must be on the rack so the customer may browse until he or she finds the right combination. The store must carry multiple versions of the same suit for the more popular styles. The result is a high overhead in inventory for the clothing store. A second inefficiency caused by the off-the-rack method of suit selection is a waste in cloth. A man's suit will typically be made with a pair of pants which include enough material for a reasonably long legged individual and, in addition, will include enough material so that an individual can have cuffs added to the pants if he so desires. The waste in cloth for satisfying the added length requirement when multiplied over the millions of suits produced in accordance with the off-the-rack retailing technique is tremendous. European patent No. 0 137 612 describes and claims an apparatus for the manufacture of an item of apparel having a shape and size defined by a relative positioning between pattern points that outline one or more pieces of the item, the apparatus including a cutting machine movable along a path determined by the pattern points to cut one or more pieces of the item from a source of material. The apparatus is characterised by means for storing pattern points defining a standard size, means operable to determine a standard size and the corresponding set of standard pattern points on the basis of the subject's measurements, means for comparing the standard pattern points of the determined pattern size with the subject's measurements to determine the alteration of the standard pattern points required to define a custom fitting item of apparel and means for altering the standard pattern points accordingly. Custom manufacturing of an item of apparel is accomplished by first measuring a customer's body size and shape. GB-A-1 463 804 discloses an apparatus for measuring a person. The apparatus there disclosed comprises a vertically adjustable reference structure adjacent which a person may be located. A reference part is mounted at a fixed height on the reference structure for engagement with a pre-selected point on the body of the person, e.g., the neck, irrespective of the height of the person to be measured. The reference point defines a datum point on the reference structure above floor level. Means is provided for measuring the spatial relationship between further selected points on the body of the person and the datum together with means for indicating and/or recording the measurements obtained. Extensible cables connected to rotary potentiometers provide the measurements required. The invention provides a measuring device which includes both a mechanism for taking a length measurement and also a mechanism for computing an angle of the device with respect to a reference orientation. According to the present invention there is provided a measuring device comprising a ruler and a set of two caliper arms with one of said arms fixed with respect to said ruler and a second of said arms slidably mounted to said ruler for movement along a length of said ruler, means for sensing a separation between said arms, and means for sensing an orientation of said device as the separation is sensed. The measuring mechanism conveniently is a set of calipers with one leg of the calipers coupled to a slide potentiometer that generates an analog output proportional to a length separation between the legs of the caliper. A plump bob pointer mounted to the device may be coupled to a rotatable potentiometer so that as the pointer rotates the potentiometer yields an indication of the tilt of the device with respect to the vertical. Means for storing the measurements preferably includes a video display for prompting the user as to a sequence in which the measurements are to be taken. A measurement request is displayed on the screen, so that the person taking the measurements can position the measuring device in relation to a subject to take this measurement. When the user is satisfied that the hand held unit is properly positioned, he actuates a button which causes the length and in the second embodiment the angle measurement to be transmitted to the storage unit. A detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a view of a subject being measured with a hand held measuring device that communicates with a unit for storing and interpreting the subject's measurements, Figure 2 is a side elevation view of one embodiment of an electronic measuring device, Figure 3 is an end elevation view of the Figure 2 device, Figure 4 is a plan view of the Figure 2 device, Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the hand held measuring device showing a detachable cross piece coupled to a caliper arm of the device, Figure 6 is an enlarged elevation view of a movable arm forming one of two caliper arms on the Figure 2 measuring device, Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 14-14 in Figure 13, and Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of circuitry used with the measuring devices of Figures 2 and 7. Figure 1 illustrates a retail setting 10 where an individual is being measured for a garment by a store assistant using a hand held measuring device 12. Supported on a table 14 is a storage unit 16 for storing measurements taken by the measuring device 12. The hand held measuring device 12 is particularly adapted to aid one in taking measurements for use in tailoring an article of clothing or the like. The particular device 12 shown in Figure 1 has a mechanism for taking both a length and an angle measurement. In operation, a user positions the measuring device 12 so that two caliper arms 18,20 are positioned to measure a desired length separation on a subject and then actuates a pushbutton switch 22 on the unit. In response to this actuation, circuitry mounted inside the device 12 generates an electrical output corresponding to this length and also determines an angle the device 12 makes with the vertical and generates an electrical output corresponding to this angle. These outputs are converted into signals suitable for transmission to the storage unit 16 and sequentially transmitted to that unit. The storage unit 16 preferably comprises a personal computer having a keyboard input 24, a visual display monitor 26 and a printer 28. The storage unit 16 also includes a central processing unit mounted to a motherboard as well as interface boards for coupling various inputs to the motherboard. One interface board provides a coupling between the central processing unit on the motherboard and a floppy disk drive 30 which comprises one suitable mechanism for storing data from the hand held measuring device 12. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the storage unit 16 comprises an IBM (registered trademark) personal computer with a hard disk drive 32 that allows rapid data storage as well as a more permanent means of storing that data. The computer prompts the user as to the proper procedures to take in performing the various measurements the device 12 is capable of taking. Thus, the operating system of the computer sequentially prompts via the display 26 the user as to which measurement is to be taken. The user then reorients the measuring device 12 to take the particular measurement and actuates the pushbutton 22 so that a length and angle measurement are automatically transmitted to the computer 16. The storage unit 16 includes a single receiver responsive to transmissions from the hand held unit 12. Further details of the measuring device shown in Figure 1 are available by reference to Figures 2-7. These Figures show how two caliper arms 18, 20 take a length measurement. A first of the two caliper arms 18 is fixed in relation to the measuring device 12 and extends at approximately right angles away from a ruler 42 which extends the length of the measuring device 12. A second of the caliper arms 20 is slidably mounted to the ruler 42 and its position can be adjusted so that the two arms 18, 20 are separated by a particular length L of interest. Thus, in the Figure 1 illustration of the measuring device 12, the two arms 18, 20 have been manually positioned so that the separation between the neck and chest is measured. To take the measurement, the user positions the device 12, adjusts the arm separation, and actuates the pushbutton 22. A manual measurement may also be taken by noting the separation distance between the arms. At an end of the ruler 42 opposite the position of fixed caliper arm 18, is a contoured end piece 44 similar in shape to the arm support on a crutch. When an insleeve measurement is to be taken, the end piece 44 is positioned under the subject's arm and the movable or adjustable caliper arm 20 is moved along the ruler 42 until it is positioned next to the subject's hand where a coat sleeve would end. The user then actuates the button 22 and this measurement is automatically transmitted to the storage unit 16. At the same end of the ruler 42 as the fixed arm 18 is a neck piece 46 that couples the ruler 42 to a handle 48 which the user grasps while positioning the measuring device 12. At the bottom of the handle 48 is located a protractor 51 including visible angle markings and a pivotally mounted pointer 53 for obtaining an angle measurement. As the measuring device 12 is oriented in relation to the subject, the pointer 53 is free to pivot thereby providing an indication of the device's orientation with respect to the vertical. These angles can be helpful in determining the posture of the subject. In Figure 1 when determining the length between the neck and chest position the pointer 53 pivots away from its position shown in Figure 2 to yield an indication of the angle between the vertical and the orientation of the device 12. This angle measurement is also transmitted when the user actuates the pushbutton 22. The user can also take a manual reading in the event the transmitter malfunctions by observing the pointer position with respect to the angle markings on the protractor. As seen most clearly in Figure 2, the protractor 51 and ruler 42 are separated by a gap 55 to allow the slidable caliper arm 20 to move continuously from a position next to the stationary arm 18 to the extreme opposite end of the ruler 42 next to the end piece 44. Each of the caliper arms 18, 20 serves as a mount for one of two cross pieces 57, 59. During each of the measurements taken with the device 12 the cross pieces can either be positioned to aid in the length measurement or can be removed so that only the arms 18, 20 extend away from the ruler 42. In the Figure 1 measurement, the two cross pieces are shown in place but, for example, if the sleeve length were being measured, the cross pieces would be removed and only the caliper arms 18, 20 would be relied upon in positioning the device 12. Details of the manner in which the cross pieces are mounted to the arms are illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. Each cross piece 57, 59 defines an elongated member having two notches 61 separated by a finger 63. The notches and finger are bound on either side by triangular shaped guide pieces 65 which are flush along the base of the the cross piece and which extend outwardly away from the cross piece to bound the finger 63 on either side. Each of the caliper arms 18, 20 defines a notch 67 into which the finger 63 on the cross piece fits when the cross piece is placed in position for measurement. Thus, the notch 67 and finger 63 in combination position the cross piece along one degree of linear movement and the two triangular guides 65 define the position of the cross piece in a perpendicular or orthogonal direction. The mating between cross piece and caliper arm is maintained by an interference fit between the two. Figures 6 and 7 show details of the coaction between the movable caliper arm 20 and the ruler 42. The caliper arm 20 defines a through passage for the ruler 42 and includes a ridge or tongue 71 which mates with a groove defined by the caliper arm 20. Coupled to the caliper arm 20 are a pair of electrical contacts 73, 75 which ride against the ridge 71 extending along the length of the ruler 42. These electrical contacts 73, 75 provide an indication of the position of the movable caliper arm 20 in relation to the ruler 42. The ridge 71 comprises two metallic elements separated by an insulator. One metallic element has a very low resistance and provides a ground for one of the contacts 75. A second metallic element has a uniform resistance per unit length and serves as a strip potentiometer. The second contact 73 rides on this strip and provides an indication of the resistance between the caliper arm 20 and the end of the ruler 42 near the neck portion 46. In this way the resistance separation between the two arms 18 and 20 is known and this resistance is converted into a voltage output via a simple voltage divider circuit where one leg of the voltage divider is the metallic strip. When measurements are taken between the end piece 44 and the movable arm 20, the resistance is again used in calculating the distance between the two arms 18, 20 and this distance is subtracted (by the computer) from the distance between the stationary arm 18 and the end piece 44. Turning now to the Figure 8 schematic, the circuitry for converting outputs from the hand held measuring device 12 into communications signals is illustrated. As noted previously, each of the measuring devices, i.e., the caliper arms 18, 20 and the protractor 50 is coupled to its own potentiometer. These potentiometers have been designated with reference characters 83, 85 in Figure 8. To illustrate the transmittal of this information to the storage unit 16, consider the example in which the hand held measuring device 12 is positioned next to the subject and the user wishes to store the relevant length and angle measurements indicated by the measuring device. The button 22 is actuated and a control unit 111 sequentially switches the analog output from the two potentiometers 83, 85 through an analog switch 113 to an analog-to-digital converter 115. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the control unit 111 directs the analog output from the second potentiometer (coupled 85 to the protractor) to the analog to digital converter 114 before the length measurement from the caliper arms. At the analog-to-digital converter 115, the analog outputs from the potentiometers 83, 85 are converted into a 10 bit digital signal which is then transmitted to a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) 117. The UART converts the data from parallel to serial format and transmits this data to an encoder 119 which generates a sequence of frequency modulated signals where the frequency of the signals indicates either a "one" or "zero" state. Thus, the encoder 119 converts the 10 bit signal sequence of ones and zeros from the UART into a frequency modulated sequence of signals. The encoder output is transmitted to a frequency modulated (FM) transmitter 121. The preferred transmitter is a commercially available FM transmitter from the Maxon Electronic Co. Ltd., 10727 Ambassador Dr., Kansas City, MO 64153. Other suitable transmitters are available and could be substituted for this transmitter. The transmitter 121 comes in a self contained package separate from a module (Figure 15) in which the A/D converter 115, UART 117, and Encoder 119 are packaged. A Maxon receiver 123 coupled to the storage device 16 receives the frequency modulated output from the transmitter 121 and transmits this output to a waveform generator 125. The waveform generator converts the sinusoidal signal from the transmitter into a square wave signal which is transmitted to a filter unit 127. The filter 127 divides the square wave output from the waveform generator 125 depending upon the frequency of that output. The filter separates into two distinct paths, the "on" and "off" signals from the FM transmitter 121. These signals are routed to two inputs on a comparator 129 which only transmits the "on" or high outputs. These are in turn coupled to an optocoupler 131 which via a standard light emitting diode/transistor pair, transmits signals to a RS232 input 133 on the storage device 16. In this way, the analog output from the potentiometers is converted into a digital input at a standard RS232 interface for a personal computer. Computer software in the computer operating system monitors this input and converts the serial data into a representation of the analog output and stores this data in memory.

Claims: 1. A measuring device comprising: a ruler (42) and a set of two caliper arms (18, 20) with one of said arms (18) fixed with respect to said ruler (42) and a second of said arms (20) slidably mounted to said ruler (42) for movement along a length of said ruler (42), means (71, 73, 75) for sensing a separation between said arms, and means (51, 53) for sensing an orientation of said device as the separation is sensed. 2. The measuring device of claim 1 wherein the means for sensing a separation comprises an elongated metal strip (71) mounted to said ruler (42) and contacts (73, 75) mounted to said second arm (20), said strip and contacts forming a potentiometer for measuring the resistance of a portion of said strip between said two caliper arms. 3. The measuring device of claim 1 wherein said means for sensing an orientation comprises a pointer (53) pivotally mounted to said device and a rotatable potentiometer (85) coupled to said pointer (53) to sense changes in orientation of said pointer and produce an electrical output related to said orientation. 4. The measuring device of claim 1 additionally comprising means (115) for digitizing the sensed separation between said arms (18, 20) and the sensed orientation of said device to produce digitized first and second signals, encoding said digitized signals into a frequency modulated sequence of pulses and transmitting said frequency modulated sequence to a receiver (123) for storage of said angle and length measurement.

Inventors: ADAM, TIMOTHY S., AHLIN, FRANK J., BUDZIAK, FRANK W., BURTON, JAMES O., NEKOLOFF, MICHAEL W.
Applicants: THE RICHMAN BROTHERS COMPANY
Application year: 1984
Main classification: A41H1
IPC codes: A41H3, A41H1, A41H42