Patent DE-19757934-A1 (DE)
Title: Skirt hem trimming apparatus
Inventor: LIN YUN-KUNG
IPC: B26D7/26
Filed: 1997-12-27
Abstract: The apparatus (100) to trim a skirt hem has a cutting unit (10) with a circular cutter rotated by a drive for cutting at the skirt hem. The movement system for the cutter has a hand wheel (14), linked to the cutter by a spindle, to move the cutter in relation to the skirt. A hem support has a support roller, moved by a pneumatic mechanism, and presented to the cutter so that the skirt is held firmly between the support roller and cutter when the cutter is moved on the support roller and pressed against it. A skirt holding system (30) has a vertical rod (352) supporting a cone (353) at the top, to support the skirt while the hem hangs down between the cutter and the support roller. A spreader, with a circular section, is coaxial to the rod (352), to be spread out according to the skirt width. The spreader has a full rotation of 360 deg  through a drive motor (36) so that the skirt hem is cut. The hand wheel (14) for the cutting mechanism (10) is at a side of the housing, and has a spindle held in the housing by a bearing pedestal. The far end of the spindle engages the plate to move the cutter. The pneumatic system for the hem support has a pneumatic cylinder. The second hand wheel (33), for the skirt holder system (30), has a spindle (331) passing through a supporting bearing pedestal (332) and into the inner threading section (312) of the lower part (31) of the system, so that the lower part (31) moves along guide rails (32) on rotation of the hand wheel (33). The rod (352) of the skirt holder (30) has teeth (354) along the rod surface to form a rack. The height setting system (300) has a gearing to engage the teeth (354), operated by a third hand wheel to move the rod (352) in relation to a tubular section (351). The second drive (36), for the skirt holder system (30), has a spindle with a pinion (362) to engage a reduction gearing (363) at the tubular section (351), so that the drive (36) rotates the tubular section (351) and rod (352). The spreader has a center section (370) with a hub pushed over the tubular section (351) coaxial and rotating with it. The upper and lower side of the center section (370)  each have two spaced guide channels with their open sides towards each other and aligned in different directions at the upper and lower sides and at right angles to each other. The teeth of the racks (374) are at the guide channels and engage in a pinion aligned coaxially to the holder system rod (352), and can be rotated to move the racks (374) in relation to the guide channels. The circular section of the spreader has four curved sections (373) to define the circumference, each as one-quarter of the circle, attached to a rack (374) within the guide channels. The racks (374) extend in the direction of the radius of the circular section so that, on rotation of the pinion, the racks (374) are given a radial movement in relation to the center section (370) to increase or reduce the diameter of the unit through the shifts of the four segments. Each of the curved segments (373) has two opposing curved ends with a slit over part of the peripheral length, to hold an end of an elastic bridge overlapping adjacent segments to bond them together at one end, and their other ends can be released from each other when the racks (374) give the segments (373) a radial movement. The hand wheel (38) to set the diameter and circumference has a hub which is pushed coaxially over the tubular section (351), and has the pinion to engage the racks (374) of the spreader (37). The pinion is rotated to give the racks (374) a radial movement in relation to the center section (370) of the spreader (37).