A DEVICE FOR USE IN AUTOMATIC HANDLING OF PIECES OF CLOTH

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for use in automatic handling of a piece of cloth, for picking up, transporting and positioning a piece of cloth (1). To enable the piece of cloth to be picked up and positioned easily, the device of the invention comprises an elongated member (3) attached to the piece of cloth at least at one precisely defined point (2) of the piece of cloth.

Description: A device for use in automatic handling of pieces of cloth The invention relates to a device for use in automatic handling of a piece of cloth, for picking up, transporting and positioning the piece of cloth. In the automatization of garment production, the insertion of cut pieces of cloth into an automatic sewing machine, for instance, has proved very problematic. In an attempt to overcome the problem, it is customary to use various gripping paws which press the piece of cloth on one side against an underlying surface. However, it is difficult if not impossible to position such gripping means precisely at a desired point on the piece of cloth. In addition, there is a risk of the piece of cloth sliding with respect to the gripping means operated by pressing. In an attempt to control the gripping, optical means have been used which first register the shape of the piece of cloth so as to be able to grip it at a desired point later on. Such systems are extremely expensive and complicated. Moreover, their capability of gripping pieces of cloths of different kinds is rather limited, especially if the shape of the piece of cloth changes as a result of folding or creasing, for instance. The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem and to enable the picking up, transporting and guiding of a piece of cloth to be carried out by means of one and the same device which is considerably simpler than previously. This device is characterized in that it comprises an elongated member attached to the piece of cloth at least at one precisely defined point of the piece of cloth. In the preferred and most usual embodiment, the elongated member is thread-like, comprising an expansion at least at its one end. This expansion is positioned on the opposite side of the piece of cloth with respect to the rest of the member. The device of the invention may be, for instance, a short thread, such as conventional flex¬ ible (limp) sewing thread, or the thread can be of a relatively stiff material, such as plastic. As the device is attached to the piece of cloth at a pre¬ cisely predetermined point, the piece of cloth can be transferred by gripping the device, in addition to which it enables a precisely defined point to be localized in the piece of cloth by means of which it can be aligned very accurately at the different stages of the automatic handling process. If the device is flexible, it can be lifted by a slight suction effect, for instance, into an up¬ right position so that it projects from the piece of cloth, whereafter its end portion can be first gripped and then passed into gripping jaws which are pressed against the point of attachment between the device and the piece of cloth. In this way, the point at which the device penetrates the piece of cloth, that is, the desired precisely defined point in the piece of cloth, can be positioned precisely on the bottom of the notch of the gripping jaws. If the device is a relatively stiff thread, such as nylon thread, and has an expansion at its both ends, it can be gripped simply by the jaw-like means without the ' use of suction. After the upper end of the member has been gripped by the jaw-like means, one gripping jaw can be pressed against the point of attachment be¬ tween the device and the piece of cloth similarly as above in the case of a flexible thread-like device. A preferred, more advanced embodiment of the thread-like device of the invention, particularly when using relatively stiff thread material, com¬ prises an expansion at its both ends, the expansions being both positioned on one side of the piece of cloth while the rest of the device forms one or more loops on the other side of the piece of cloth. These loops can be very simply gripped e.g. by means of a suitable hook, whereafter the point of attachment between the device and the piece of cloth is passed into the gripping jaws described above so as to localize a precisely defined point in the piece of cloth. Similarly, it is possible to use a hook-like means for picking up the device, when the device com¬ prises several projecting end portions each having an expansion to be positioned on the opposite side of the piece of cloth with respect to those portions of the device which remain between said end portions, thus forming loops on the other side of the piece of cloth. When using the devices of the invention, the piece of cloth can be picked up by means of a relat¬ ively inaccurate instrument, as all the above- described embodiments enable the device to be found within a relatively large area. After the device has been found and gripped, it is very simple to find the precisely defined point in the piece of cloth so that the piece of cloth can be aligned for insertion into an automatic sewing machine, for instance. In the following, the device of the invention and its different embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to the attached draw¬ ing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a piece of cloth provided with a device of the invention; Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of the device of the invention; Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the device of the invention; and Figure 4 shows the device of the first embodi¬ ment of the invention when used in a different way than in Figure 1, and a third embodiment of the device of the invention. Figure 1 shows a device 3 of the invention when attached to a piece of cloth 1 for picking up, trans¬ porting and positioning said piece of cloth, particu¬ larly for use in automatic handling of pieces of cloth in the production of garments, for instance. The device 3 of the invention comprises an elongated member attached to the piece of cloth 1 at a precise¬ ly defined point 2 of the piece of cloth. This member 3 is substantially thread-like, and it may be relat¬ ively stiff, as shown in Figure 2, or flexible as shown in Figure 3. The device 3 shown attached to the piece of cloth 1 in Figure 1 is shown more closely in Figure 2. This device 3 comprises an elongated relat¬ ively stiff thread-like middle portion 5 having ex¬ pansions 4 at its ends. In the case of Figure 2, the expansions 4 have already been attached to the thread-like middle portion 5, and they are formed by substantially cylindrical bodies positioned trans¬ versely in the longitudinal direction of the thread 5. Such devices are used fairly widely e.g. for attaching price tags to finished garments. An apparatus for attaching such devices to garments is disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Patent 3,734,375 as well as in DE Patent 24 29 604. They comprise a hollow needle into which the transverse portion 4 at the end of the thread is inserted and then passed by means of the hollow needle through the cloth, so that the thread 5 is fixed to the cloth. Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the device of the invention. This device is formed by a short thread 5 having an expansion at one end, such as a knot 4. This short thread can be passed through the cloth from its reverse side with a knot at its end, or it can be passed through from the upper side of the cloth and the knot is made thereafter. It is to be noted that the expansion can be used according to the invention even though it is a separate part which is clamped to the thread, or it may be, e.g., a spot of glue which prevents the thread from running through the cloth. With plastic thread, the expansion can be formed by pressing down the end of the thread, e.g., by pressing it against a hot metal surface, whereby the expansion can be partially attached to the cloth itself, too. Alternatively, the device of the invention could be formed by gluing a short thread to the cloth, which, however, is not a par¬ ticular reliable technique, especially if the thread is not passed through the cloth. As the thread should be detachable after the handling process, the pro¬ vision of a knot or other similar separate expansion seems to be preferable in this respect, too. It should also be mentioned that the device of the in¬ vention can be formed from the end of a line of stitches already present in the garment or made for the purpose of creating the device of the invention. After the device of Figure 2 has been attached to the precisely defined point 2 of the cloth 1 (Figure 1), the piece of cloth can be picked up, and the precisely defined point can be localized and positioned at a desired place in an automatic sewing machine, for instance. At simplest, the device shown in Figure 2 can be picked up by means of a kind of fork or picking jaws, by means of which the expansion 4 at the free end of the member is gripped. The shape of this expansion may, of course, differ from that shown in the figures, and the expansions at both ends of the thread need not be identical even though certain advantages associated particularly with the use according to Figure 4 can be achieved with identical expansions. After the expansion has been gripped, the device 3 can be tightened straight and its thread-like portion 5 is passed into suitable aligning jaws so that its basal point, that is, the point of attachment between the thread 5 and the cloth 1 can be passed precisely on the bottom of the jaw notch. In this way the piece of cloth is brought precisely to a desired position with respect to the pick-up means. It is to be understood that several such devices as shown in Figure 1 can be attached to the piece of cloth, whereby it can be positioned extremely precisely and folds possibly formed in it can be straightened. With the flexible thread-like device shown in Figure 3, the pick-up means have to comprise a source of suction by means of which the thread is first lifted into an upright position, so that it can be gripped with suitable jaw means. Thereafter the basal point of the thread, that is, the point of attachment between the thread 5 and the piece of cloth 1 can be passed into suitable aligning jaws as described above. In this way, the piece of cloth is passed pre¬ cisely into a desired position with respect to the pick-up means. Figure 4 shows another way of using the device of the invention. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the device 3 corresponds in essential parts to that shown in Figure 2. In Figure 4, however, both ends of the device 3 are passed through the cloth 1, so that the thread-like portion 5 forms a loop on the opposite side of the cloth with respect to the expansions 4. If desired, the thread-like portion 5 can be passed several times through the cloth to form several loops, as is also shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 further shows a third embodiment of the device of the invention, in which the thread-like member 3 com- prises several projecting end portions 6 each provided with an expansion 4 to be positioned on one side of the cloth 1 while those portions of the thread-like member which remain between said end portions form loops on the other side. This kind of structure can be achieved also when the thread-like member is a continuous flexible or relatively stiff thread which is attached to the cloth by means of parts corresponding to said separate end portions 6 and each having a loop at the upper end for insertion of a thread. The use of the loops shown in Figure 4 enables the member to be gripped with very simple means, such as a hook, whereafter one of the points of penetra¬ tion of the thread is passed into the aligning jaws similarly as described above so as to precisely posi¬ tion the piece of cloth. An advantage of attaching the member to the cloth at two or more points is that the piece of cloth can thus be picked up extremely simply and reliably; on the other hand, the attachment itself thereby becomes a little more complicated as compared with the attachment at a single point. It is to be noted that both of the points of attachment of the device 3 need not be precisely positioned but it is sufficient that one of them is precisely at the desired point. On the other hand, it may be advantageous that at least two points of attachment of the device are at precisely defined points, whereby they can both be passed into suitable aligning jaws, so that the position of the piece of cloth is defined precisely by means of these two points. Even though the device forming the loops is relatively stiff in Figure 4, a flexible thread can be used as well, in which case the picking step in¬ cludes the use of suction. In other respects, the device formed by a flexible thread corresponds to that shown in Figure 4 in operation and use. In addition to the principal uses of the device of the invention, that is, the picking up and posi¬ tioning of a piece of cloth, certain other procedures associated with the automatic handling of pieces of cloth can be carried out with it. Such procedures include the turning of a piece of cloth or its parts and even various finished or semi-finished garment parts, such as the turning of various pocket struσ- tures from the upper side of the fabric to its re¬ verse side. In this case, the device of the invention is used as a precisely positioned gripping point which enables the transfer of the piece of cloth or semi-finished garment parts with respect to each other in a desired manner. In this case too it is essential that the device is attached to the piece of cloth or to the semi-finished garment part at a precisely defined point, and that this attachment is sufficiently firm to enable the cloth to be trans- ferred by means of the device. The device of the invention has been described above merely by means of a few exemplifying embodi¬ ments and it is to be understood that it can be modified without, however, deviating from the scope of protection defined in the attached claims. Accor- dingly, the device shown in Figure 2, for instance, could be provided with an expansion at one end only, and the expansion could be attached to it only after it has been passed through the cloth. It is essential in the device of the invention that it can be attached easily and rapidly to the piece of cloth and can also be detached from it; further, it comprises a thin projection which enables it to be picked up even with a relatively inaccurate instrument, but does not, however, hamper the production process of the garment, such as the ironing step. It is also essential that the member is so advantageous in costs that it can be made disposable, whereby it can be detached from the piece of cloth e.g. by cutting it off.

Claims: Claims : 1. A device for use in automatic handling of a piece of cloth, for picking up, transporting and positioning the piece of cloth (1), c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that it comprises an elongated member (3) attached to the piece of cloth at least at one precisely defined point (2) of the piece of cloth. 2. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the member (3) is thread-like, comprising an expansion (4) at least at its one end, said expansion being positioned on the opposite side of the piece of cloth (1) with respect to the rest (5) of the member. 3. A device according to claim 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the thread-like member (3) is flexible. 4. A device according to claim 2, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d in that the thread-like member (3) is relatively stiff. 5. A device according to claim 3 or 4, c h a r¬ a c t e r i z e d in that the thread-like member (3) comprises an expansion (4) at its both ends, the expansions (4) being both positioned on one side of the piece of cloth (1) while the rest (5) of the member (3) forms one or more loops on the other side of the piece of cloth (1). 6. A device according to claim 3 or 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the thread-like member (3) comprises several projecting end portions (6) each having an expansion (4) to be positioned on one side of the piece of cloth (1) while those por¬ tions of the thread-like member which remain between said end portions form loops on the other side of the piece of cloth (1).

Inventors: AIRAKSINEN PENTTI, AIRAKSINEN, PENTTI
Applicants: AIRAKSINEN PENTTI, AIRAKSINEN, PENTTI
Application year: 1991
Main classification: D06H1
IPC codes: A41H43, D06H1