The present invention relates to a device for
positioning an item to be sewn, for sewing machines,
particularly for sewing labels onto hosiery items in
automatic labeling machines.
Conventional automatic labeling machines are capable
of sewing a label so that it straddles the top region of a
pair of superimposed hosiery items.
A machine of this kind is disclosed, for example, in
EPA 95119751.6 and is substantially constituted by a
conveyor belt which can be actuated so that it performs a
translatory motion along an advancement path which runs
from a station for loading the hosiery items onto the
conveyor belt to a station for unloading the labeled
hosiery items. A station for positioning each time a label
so that it straddles the top of a pair of mutually
superimposed hosiery items and a station for sewing the
label to the pair of hosiery items are provided
sequentially along the path followed by the conveyor belt.
In the sewing station of this machine a sewing machine
is mounted on a supporting plate which can move both
longitudinally, in order to follow the advancement of the
conveyor belt during sewing, and transversely to the travel
path of the conveyor belt, so that its sewing head lies
above the label which straddles the tops of the pair of
hosiery items, which protrude laterally from the conveyor
belt at the sewing station.
This sewing machine is constituted by a machine of the
type usually used to apply buttons or to form buttonholes
in an item of clothing and has, below the sewing head, a
plate which, by using the capability of the sewing machine
to move transversely to the travel path of the conveyor
belt, is moved below the region of the hosiery items that
is covered by the label. Above said plate a presser shoe is
provided which rests on the region of the hosiery item that
is covered by the label and must be affected by the
stitches. Both the shoe and the plate can be actuated, by
means of a kinematic coupling to actuation elements of the
sewing machine, on a plane which lies at right angles to
the axis of the needle in order to produce, before sewing,
a movement of the pair of hosiery items transversely to the
travel path of the conveyor belt. Since this movement is
produced by using kinematic connections which belong to the
sewing machine, the extent of this movement is very modest
and in many cases is unable to fully meet the positioning
requirements of the stitches with respect to the label and
to the pair of hosiery items.
Moreover, if the hosiery items are thick, or if the
label has to be applied to the top so that the tip of the
hosiery items is overlapped, it is rather difficult to
achieve correct positioning of the top of the hosiery items
with the label between the plate and the presser shoe.
The aim of the present invention is to solve the above
problems by providing a device for positioning the item to
be sewn for sewing machines, particularly for sewing labels
onto hosiery items in automatic labeling machines, which is
capable of ensuring correct positioning of the item to be
sewn with respect to the needle that performs sewing
regardless of whether the item to be sewn can perform a
translatory motion through the action of the elements with
which sewing machines are usually equipped.
Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present
invention is to provide a device which allows to variably
position the item to be sewn according to requirements with
respect to the axis of the needle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a positioning device which, according to requirements, can
be installed in a fixed manner directly on a sewing machine
or can be applied to existing sewing machines.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a positioning device which is highly reliable in operation
and allows to sew without problems also items having a
considerable thickness.
This aim, these objects and others which will become
apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for
positioning the item to be sewn for sewing machines,
particularly for sewing labels onto hosiery items, in
automatic labeling machines, characterized in that it
comprises a slider which can slide along a first actuation
path on a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the
working axis of the needle of the sewing machine, said
slider being rigidly coupled to a flap which can be placed
in the needle work area below the item to be sewn, said
slider further supporting, above said flap, a complementary
flap which can move on command towards or away from said
flap in order to produce, in cooperation with said flap,
the engagement or release of the item to be sewn, first
actuation means being provided which act on command on said
slider to move it in one direction or in the opposite
direction along said first actuation path.
Further characteristics and advantages of the device
according to the present invention will become apparent
from the following detailed description of a preferred but
not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way
of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the device
according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the base
plate of the device according to the invention.
With reference to the above figures, the device
according to the invention, generally designated by the
reference numeral 1, comprises a slider 2 which is
supported, so that it can slide along a first actuation
path 3, on a plane which is substantially perpendicular to
a working axis 4 of the needle of the sewing machine.
The slider 2 is rigidly coupled to a flap 5 which, as
a consequence of the actuation of the slider 2 along the
path 3, can be positioned in the needle work area of the
machine below the item to be sewn, which is constituted, in
the drawings, by a pair of hosiery items 6a and 6b on which
a label 7 to be sewn is superimposed in the top region. The
slider 2 further supports, above the flap 5, a
complementary flap 9 which can move on command towards or
away from the flap 5 to engage or release, in cooperation
with said flap 5, the item to be sewn.
The device comprises first actuation means, generally
designated by the reference numeral 10, which act on
command on the slider 2 to produce its translatory motion
in one direction or the other along the first actuation
path 3.
More particularly, the slider 2 is supported by a base
plate 11 which lies on a substantially horizontal plane,
i.e., at right angles to the axis 4 of the needle. Two
pairs of flat strips 12 are applied to the base plate 11
and form a dovetail guide for two portions 13 of the slider
2.
The complementary flap 9 is mounted at the end of an
arm 14 which is pivoted, at its other end and about an axis
15 which is substantially perpendicular to the first
actuation path 3, to a block 16 which is rigidly coupled to
the slider 2.
The arm 14 is pivoted to the block 16 by means of a
removable pivot 17; it is possible to provide, on the block
16, a plurality of pivoting holes for the insertion of the
pivot 17 which are mutually spaced parallel to the first
actuation path 3 so as to allow to adjust the position of
the arm 14 and therefore of the complementary flap 9
parallel to the path 3.
The complementary flap 9 can further be fitted on the
arm 14 by means of a pair of screws 17 which engage in a
slot 18 formed in the arm 14 and elongated in a direction
which is parallel to the path 3, so as to allow further
adjustability of the position of the complementary flap 9,
parallel to the path 3, with respect to the arm 14.
The movement of the complementary flap 9 towards or
away from the flap 5 is achieved through second actuation
means 19.
The first actuation means 10 can be constituted by an
electric motor, preferably a step motor 20, which is
connected by means of its body to an L-shaped element 21
which is fixed to the base plate 11 and has an output shaft
in which a female thread is formed coaxially; said female
thread is coupled to a threaded shaft 22 which is connected
to an L-shaped element 23 which is fixed to the slider 2.
The threaded shaft 22 is parallel to the path 3, so that
the actuation of the step motor 20 produces the translatory
motion of the slider 2 along the path 3 in one direction or
in the opposite one.
As an alternative, the first actuation means can be
constituted by a pneumatic cylinder which is connected, by
means of its body, to the L-shaped element 21 and acts, by
means of the stem of its piston, on the L-shaped element
23.
The second actuation means 19 can also be constituted
by an electric motor, preferably a step motor 24, which is
connected, by means of its body, to a post 25 which rises
from the slider 2, passing through a suitable opening 26
formed in the arm 14. The step motor 24 has, like the step
motor 20, an output shaft inside which a female thread is
provided which is coupled to a threaded shaft 27 associated
with the arm 14. In practice, the actuation of the step
motor 24 causes the oscillation of the arm 14 and therefore
of the complementary flap 9 about the axis 15 towards or
away from the flap 5.
As an alternative, the step motor 24 too may be
replaced with a pneumatic cylinder which is associated with
the post 25 by means of its body and acts on the arm 14 by
means of the stem of its piston.
Both the flap 5 and the complementary flap 9 have, at
the needle work area, a recess 30, 31 to safely prevent any
possibility of interference of the needle with the flap 5
and the complementary flap 9.
The complementary flap 9 can have different shapes
according to the type of item to be sewn. In particular,
the complementary flap 9 can have a smaller extension,
assuming the configuration of a simple presser shoe if the
item to be sewn is constituted by a pair of hosiery items
having normal or reduced dimensions and thickness.
In addition, the recess 31 of the complementary flap 9
can be as large as to allow mounting, on the sewing
machine, of a pressure foot adapted to press the fabric
when the item to be sewn has a considerable thickness.
In an extreme condition, the end portion of the
complementary flap 9, which in Figure 1 is taken up by the
recess 31, can be completely lacking, just to create space
for the pressure foot mounted on the sewing machine.
Advantageously, the flap 5 can move on command not
only along the first actuation path 3 but also along a
second actuation path 40, at right angles to the first
actuation path 3, on a plane which is perpendicular to the
working axis 4 of the needle of the sewing machine.
More particularly, as shown in Figure 2, in which the
device has been shown only partially for the sake of
simplicity, the base plate 11, on which the slider 2 is
mounted, is fixed to a carriage 41 which can slide along a
pair of guides 42a and 42b which are fixed to a supporting
structure 43 and are parallel to the second actuation path
40. The carriage 41 can move on command along the guides
42a and 42b by virtue of third actuation means, which can
be constituted by a fluid-actuated cylinder or, as shown,
by an electric motor 44, for example a step motor, which is
supported by the supporting structure 43 and is connected
by means of its output shaft 45 to a threaded shaft 46
which engages a female thread formed in a block which is
rigidly coupled to the carriage 41.
It should be observed that the device according to the
invention has been conceived in particular to be used in a
machine for sewing labels onto hosiery items, for example
of the type disclosed in EPA 95119751.6. In this
application, the device is installed laterally to the
conveyor belt 50 on which the hosiery items to be labelled,
designated by the reference numerals 6a and 6b, are
arranged so that the first actuation path 3 and the second
actuation path 40 lie on a plane which is parallel to the
plane of arrangement of the conveyor belt 50. More
particularly, the first actuation path 3 is perpendicular
to the travel path 51 of the conveyor belt 50, while the
second actuation path 40 is parallel to the travel path 51
of the conveyor belt 50.
The sewing machine that sews the labels is arranged
laterally to the conveyor belt 50. Owing to the fact that
the flap 7, through of the movement of the base plate 11,
can also be moved along the second path 40, the sewing
machine can be fixed.
Operation of the positioning device according to the
invention is as follows.
While the complementary flap 9 is spaced upward from
the flap 5, the step motor 20 is actuated, causing the
advancement of the slider 2 and therefore of the flap 5
along the path 3, so that it is arranged below the item to
be sewn. Then the step motor 24 is actuated, moving the
complementary flap 9 towards the flap 5 and thus clamping
the item to be sewn. Clamping the item to be sewn also
reduces its thickness, facilitating its passage below the
needle. By actuating the step motor 20 again in reverse
with respect to the previous actuation, the item to be sewn
is moved with respect to the axis of the needle 4 by the
chosen extent.
It should be noted that since the translatory motion
of the slider 2 is independent of the actuation of the
sewing machine, its extent can be changed according to the
requirements linked to the position of the stitches to be
produced.
After producing the stitches, the complementary flap
9, through the actuation of the step motor 24, is moved
away from the flap 5 again and therefore the sewn item can
be removed from the needle work area to allow to position a
new item to be sewn.
By taking advantage of the possibility to move the
flap 5 along the path 40, i.e., parallel to the travel path
51 of the conveyor belt 50, if the device is installed in
an automatic labeling machine of the above-described type
it is possible to remove the item to be sewn from the
conveyor belt 50 upstream of the sewing machine and move
it, possibly faster than the speed with which said conveyor
belt 50 advances, under the sewing head of the sewing
machine and then deposit it again on the conveyor belt 50
once the label has been applied. In this manner, the need
is avoided to move the sewing machine to follow the item
arranged on the conveyor belt 50 during sewing.
In practice it has been observed that the device
according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim
and objects, since it allows to fully meet the most
disparate requirements for positioning the item to be sewn
with respect to the needle of the sewing machine.
Moreover, thanks to the combined action of the flap
and of the complementary flap, positioning the item to be
sewn is not a problem also if said item is considerably
thick.
The device thus conceived is susceptible of numerous
modifications and variations, all of which are within the
scope of the inventive concept; all the details may also
be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In practice, the materials employed, as well as the
dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the
state of the art.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are
followed by reference signs, those reference signs have
been included for the sole purpose of increasing the
intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such
reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the
interpretation of each element identified by way of example
by such reference signs.