The present invention is an improvement on the method and apparatus for post-hemming sleeve handling as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,830 ("'830"), "Hemmer Seamer Assembly", assigned to Union Special Corporation, whose disclosure is incorporated by reference herein. The invention taught by the '830 patent will produce a finished sleeve with a hem configuration which leaves the post-hemmed sleeve blank in an inside-out orientation, e.g., the hemmed overlap lies directly on top of the sleeve blank. One such type of hem is the so-called 503 EFc-1 type hem.
As is discussed in the '830 patent, a cloth pickup having opposed jaws 72, 74 is employed to grip a wrong-side up hemmed sleeve blank B so as to transport the sleeve blank from a first conveyor 22 (the sleeve blank having been previously subjected to a hemming machine 40 producing, for example, the 503 EFc-1 type hem) to a second conveyor 24 so as to transport the sleeve blank to a seaming machine for sewing a seam, thereby finishing the sleeve. The cloth pickup device employed by the device in the '830 patent is similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,381, ("'381"), "Cloth Pickup Device," assigned to Union Special Corporation, whose disclosure is incorporated by reference herein.
In the '830 patent, an actuating member 100, having a plurality of upwardly directed blades 104(a-e), projects through an opening plate 102 in the conveyor 22 to engage the wrong sideup, hemmed sleeve blank B, thereby projecting it between the open jaws 72, 74 of the cloth pickup device 42. This action also serves to fold the previously flat sleeve blank B about the blades 104 (a-e). The blades of the actuating member 100 also engage a plate 90 pivotally mounted on the jaw 74 so as to move the jaws 72, 74 to a closed configuration, thereby securely gripping the sleeve blank B.
As the gripped sleeve blank B proceeds towards the second conveyor 24, a lower hem guide 150 is raised, thereby urging the hem guide 150 between the plies of folded hemmed sleeve blank B. Blowers 144 and 180 blow against the top and bottom plies, respectively, of sleeve blank B so that the sleeve blank registers against a guide plate 156, thereby maintaining the post-hemming registration of the sleeve blank.
After the trailing edge of the hemmed sleeve blank has passed over the end of conveyor 22, a clamping mechanism 130 associated with an upper hem guide clamps the trailing edge of sleeve blank B so as to ascertain that the sleeve blank B will be properly positioned on conveyor 24. The lower hem guide 150 is then lowered. The pickup device 42 then returns to its home position so as to prepare for the pickup of another sleeve blank B.
As evident from the '830 patent, the folded sleeve blank B that is placed on conveyor 24 has a central fold F. The sleeve blank proceeds to a seaming station, where it is sewn into the configuration of a sleeve.
The prior configuration as taught in '830 was adapted to process sleeve blanks which were hemmed with the 503 EFc-1 or similarly oriented hem. As the sleeve blank emerges from that hemming machine, the hemmed sleeve blank emerges wrong side-up. Thus, only a single operation--folding the hemmed sleeve blank--must be thereafter performed in order to properly orient the sleeve blank prior to the seaming operation.
However, garment manufacturers, in the interest of aesthetics and fashion, have increasingly come to desire sleeves formed with another type of hem in which a hem leaves the post-hemmed sleeve blank in a right-side up orientation, e.g., the hemmed overlap lies below the sleeve blank. One type of this hem is the 406 EFa-1 type-hem. In hemming machines designed to produce the 406 EFa-1 type hem, the sleeve blank typically emerges from the hemming machine in a right-side up orientation. A mechanism must therefore be provided to recognize and position such workpieces prior to further stitching operations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for conveniently re-orienting a pre-stitched workpiece such as a pre-hemmed sleeve blank.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for flipping over and folding a pre-hemmed sleeve blank during a hemming and seaming operation.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for flipping and folding a pre-hemmed sleeve blank, which emerges from the hemming machine right side-up, that maintains registration of the sleeve blank and insures proper alignment of the folded sleeve.
The foregoing specific objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those which can be achieved by the present invention and are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention resides in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.