EP0329867A1

EP0329867A1 - Improvements in and relating to garment manufacture

Info

Publication number: EP0329867A1
Application number: EP88301462A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Stefanos Koudis; Paul Michael Taylor
Original assignee: University of Hull; Corah Ltd
Current assignee: University of Hull; Corah Ltd
Priority date: 1986-09-04
Filing date: 1988-02-22
Publication date: 1989-08-30
Also published as: GB2194724A; GB8720806D0; GB8621366D0

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for use in the manufacture of women's briefs having a concealed gusset. The apparatus comprises first and second support means for supporting respectively a front panel and a back panel of the briefs, the back panel (14) having a first marginal portion (18) and front panel (16) having a second marginal portion (12) for seaming to the gusset (23, 23), third support means for supporting a first ply (22) of the gusset, said first ply (22) having first and second marginal portions for seaming to said back and front panels respectively, means for moving said back and front panels to position said first and second marginal portions of said back and front panels (14, 12) respectively in register with said first and second marginal portions of said first gusset ply (22), means to place a second gusset ply so that first and second marginal portions thereof overlie said above-mentioned first and second marginal portions respectively and in register therewith, and means (46) for seaming said two first marginal portions together and said two second marginal portions together; there are further provided means in the form of pivotable rollers (34, 36) whereby to evert the seamed gusset so formed so as to conceal the seams thereof. The panels are then unrolled and the garment made up in any convenient manner.

Description

The present invention relates to the manufacture of textile garments and in particular to the manufacture of briefs having a concealed gusset.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for use in the manufacture of briefs having a concealed gusset, the apparatus comprising first and second support means for supporting respectively a front panel and a back panel for said briefs, said back panel having a first marginal portion and said front panel having a second marginal portion for seaming to said gusset; third support means for supporting a first ply of said gusset, said first ply having first and second marginal portions for seaming to said back and front panels respectively; means for moving said back and front panels to position said first and second marginal portions of said back and front panels respectively in register with said first and second marginal portions of said first gusset ply; means to place a second gusset ply so that first and second marginal portions thereof overlie said above-mentioned first and second marginal portions respectively and in register therewith, and means for seaming said two first marginal portions together and said two second marginal portions together, there being provided means whereby to evert the seamed gusset so formed so as to conceal the seams thereof.
Advantageously, the means for moving the first and second marginal portions of the back and front panels into register with the first and second marginal portions of the first gusset ply may comprise a pair of rollers each of which is adapted to engage waist marginal portions of one of said panels and to rotate so as to fold or roll the appropriate panel until the first marginal portion is in register with the first marginal portion of the first gusset ply and the second marginal portion is in register with the second marginal portion of the first gusset ply.
In examples of apparatus according to the invention, the means to evert the seamed gusset comprises turning means adapted to move the two rollers from a first position in which they lie side by side in a substantially parallel manner in a plane passing through both rollers to a second position in which they have turned in that plane by an obtuse angle at least approaching 180°.
Conveniently, the third support means mentioned above and adapted to support the first ply of the gusset may comprise an adjustable plate having means to deflect the gusset ply from a flat condition to reduce the distance between the edges of first and second marginal portions thereof to that at which the first edges and second edges of plies and panels are respectively in register for seaming together the marginal portions thereof.
The present invention is further described hereinafter, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of an apparatus according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of a support means of Figure 1 for supporting front and back plies of a pair of briefs;
Figure 3 is a sectional view through the seamed gusset of said briefs before evension;
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic sketch of the movement of rollers of the apparatus; and
Figure 5 is a detail of a support means of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a preferred form of apparatus according to the present invention for seaming a double concealed gusset to front and back panels of a pair of womens briefs during manufacture of the briefs.
The apparatus has a first support table 10 on which the back panel 12 and front panel 14 of the briefs are positioned. These panels are positioned with the waist portions adjacent and parallel to one another and respective first and second marginal portions 16, 18 to which the gusset is to be seamed, facing opposite end edges of the table.
A second support table 20 is positioned adjacent the first support table 10 for supporting a first ply 22 of the gusset. The upper surface of the second table 20 is provided with a lay-up device indicated at 24 extending the length of the table and two through- slots 28, 30 extending the major portion of the table parallel with the lay-up device 24, which comprises a bar which is adjustable in height with respect to the table 20 so as to deflect the ply 22 from a flat condition for reasons to be explained below.
The apparatus also has support means 32 for the front and back plies, this being shown in Figure 2.
The support means 32 comprises two parallel, rotatable rollers 34, 36 each of which is hollow and has a number of suction holes 37, 39 in its surface, the holes being spaced along the length of the roller. The rollers are positioned in a horizontal attitude over the support table 10 and as well as being rotatable, can also be pivotted about a substantially vertical axis which passes through the rotational axis of the roller at a point outside the roller and away from the table 10. The rollers can also be moved towards and away from one another by suitable means 38. Although the rollers illustrated are rigid, it may be arranged that the rollers are comprised of segments pivotally hinged to one another to assist in the everting step described later in this specification.
Each roller has a parallel support rod 40, 42 supporting a respective sensor (not shown in the drawings). Each support rod is positioned on the side of the roller remote from its opposing roller so that the rollers lie between the support rods.
In sue, the back and front panels 12, 14 and the first ply 22 of the gusset are positioned as mentioned above and as shown in Figure 1. Each roller is then positioned approximately 2mm above the support table 10 over and adjacent the waistband marginal portion of a respective one of the back and front panels. Roller 34 is positioned over the back panel while roller 36 is positioned over the front panel. Since the fabric is approximately 1 mm thick, he positioning of the rollers gives approximately 1mm clearance.
Suction is then applied through the rollers and the suction holes 37, 39 to lift the fabric edge to the roller. The roller is then rotated for approximately two seconds to ensure that sufficient material is wound onto the roller before the latter is raised. The back panel roller 34 is rotated anti-clockwise and the front panel roller 36 is rotated clockwise as seen in Figure 2. Each roller rotates at about 60 r.p.m. and thus during the aforementioned two seconds each roller rotates approximately two revolutions. The rollers can then be raised without risk of the weight of the material breaking the suction holding the material to the rollers. Rotation continues until the sensor on the associated parallel support rod detects the trailing edge (16 or 18) of the panel whereupon rotation is stopped. Each sensor can conveniently be a photo-electric sensor. During commencement of rotation and during the major portion of rotation the sensor on each support rod is not obscured. However, when the material has been fully wound onto each roller the trailing edge of the fabric will be carried around the roller and drop onto the sensor on the support rod under the action of gravity. This obscures the sensor resulting in a signal causing rotation to be stopped.
The rollers are maintained parallel and are then moved to the second support table 20 which is a sewing table and are positioned on the table one on each side of the lay-up device 24.
Prior to locating the rollers in this position, the first ply 22 of the gusset has been positioned on the table 20 with its two marginal portions which are to be stitched to the marginal portions 16 and 18 of the back and front panels respectively being positioned parallel with the device 24. The width of the device is such that when the rollers are located the marginal portions 16, 18 of the back and front panels overlie the two opposing free edges of the marginal portions of the first ply 22.
A secondary ply 23, Figure 3, of the same size and shape as the middle ply 22 is then laid over the rollers with its free end marginal portions overlying the corresponding portions 16, 18 of the back and front panels and the corresponding marginal portions of the first ply 22.
The slots 28, 30 in the support table 20 are located such that the adjacent edges of the back and front panels and the two plies overlie these slots. It will be observed that the second ply 23 is deflected out of a flat condition by being placed over the rods, 34, 36 and the rolled panels 12, 14. This has the effect of reducing the distance between the first and second edges of the second ply and it is this reduced distance which is related to the distance between the slots 28 and 30 through which the sewing heads 46 operate. It is therefore necessary to reduce the overall distance of the first ply 22 accordingly, the two plies being originally cut to an identical size. This is achieved by the adjustment of the movable bar 36 in the lay-up device 24 to deflect the ply 22 by the same amount as the ply 23. The respective marginal portions are then seamed together at S by a sewing machine 44, with one or preferably two, sewing heads 46. Since the garment panels 12 and 14 are still rolled about the rollers 34, 36 and trapped within the two gusseet plies, the rollers are once again raised and then pivoted towards one another through an obtuse angle in a plane passing through their longitudinal axes about their respective vertical pivot axes (see Figure 4). This turns the gusset portion inside out so that the panels 12 and 14 are released and may be unrolled for the next stage in the manufacture of the briefs.
In order to ensure that there is an even degree of suction along the length of each roller 34, 36 the number of suction holes, or alternatively the size of the holes, is increased towards the free end of each roller.

Claims

1. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of briefs having a concealed gusset, the apparatus comprising first and second support means for supporting respectively a front panel and a back panel for said briefs, said back panel having a first marginal portion and said front panel having a second marginal portion for seaming to said gusset; third support means for supporting a first ply of said gusset, said first ply having first and second marginal portions for seaming to said back and front panels respectively; means for moving said back and front panels to position said first and second marginal portions of said back and front panels respectively in register with said first and second marginal portions of said first gusset ply; means to place a second gusset ply so that first and second marginal portions thereof overlie said above-mentioned first and second marginal portions respectively and in register therewith, and means for seaming said two first marginal portions together and said two second marginal portions together, there being provided means whereby to evert the seamed gusset so formed so as to conceal the seams thereof.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for moving the first and second marginal portions of the back and front panels into register with the first and second marginal portion of the first gusset ply comprises a pair of rollers each of which is adapted to engage waist marginal portions of one of said panels and to rotate so as to fold or roll the appropriate panel until the first marginal portion is in register with the first marginal portion of the first gusset ply and the second marginal portion is in register with the second marginal portion of the first gusset ply.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means to evert the seamed gusset comprises turning means adapted to move the two rollers from a first position in which they lie side by side in a substantially parallel manner in a plane passing through both rollers to a second position in which they have turned in that plane by an obtuse angle at least approaching 180°.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said third support means to support the first ply of the gusset comprises an adjustable plate having means to deflect the gusseet ply from a flat condition to reduce the distance between the edges of first and second marginal portions thereof to that at which the first edges and second edges of plies and panels are respectively in register for seaming together the marginal portions thereof.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the first and second support means comprise a work table and the adjustable plate of the third support means comprises a lay-up device in the form of a bar which adjustable heightwise with respect to the plate to deflect a ply laid the reasons from a flat condition.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rollers are hollow and provided with suction holes appropriately spaced therealong.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rollers are mounted for pivotal movement about a perpendicular axis with respect to the axis of rotation of the rollers.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the perpendicular pivotal axis passes through the axis of rotation at a region spaced from the panel support means.

9. Apparatus as claimed in either one of claims 7 & 8, wherein the rollers are rigid.

10. Apparatus as claimed in either one of claims 7 & 8, wherein the rollers are segmented so as to provide for a hinging action between segments thereof.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 2 and 6-10,wherein each roller is provided with a sensoradaptedto sense the presence of a panel in a desired position thereupon.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein each sensoris mounted upon a separate support rod parallel to its associated roller.