GB2220680A - Seam pressing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A garment (2), having a seam to be pressed is loaded onto a form (10) and an arm (22) carrying a plurality of pivotally connected fingers (30) at intervals along its length is moved towards the seam so that the fingers (30) pass thereacross in contact with the edges to be flattened. The fingers are each provided with gripper means (36), e.g. hooked, spiked, roughened or adhesive regions, whereby the seam is laid flat in one direction and, if required, opened up when the fingers are drawn back across the seam by reverse movement of the arm. A pressing head (40) fig. 4 then presses the opened or flattened seam against the form (10). <IMAGE>

Description

SEAM PRESSING APPARATUS This invention relates to seam pressing apparatus.

In the garment industry, garments such as trousers, jackets, sleeves etc. are constructed by sewing two or more pieces of fabric together. The end result is a sewn seam which is then usually pressed with a hand iron to either open it and leave it pressed flat, or to lay the seam one way and then press it flat. In any event the operation comprises loading the sewn area onto a solid surface, holding it in position by applying suction (vacuum) through the surface, which is permeable, and then ironing the seam with a hand iron. This operation is called underpressing as the finished seams are inside the garment and not visible when the garment is completed.

As trouser seams are probably the longest type of seams constructed in the garment industry, the description from now on will, for simplicity, refer only to trouser seams. It should be noted, however, that many other garment seams could be opened with the apparatus of the invention.

In trouser pressing, a newly sewn garment A is underpressed by loading one leg at a time over a long narrow form B, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The form B is usually heated (to avoid steam from the iron "wetting" the form B) and connected to a vacuum unit and/or fan system, to allow suction to be exerted through perforations in the pressing surface for holding and later cooling the pressed area of the garment A. The long narrow form B often has a contour D at one end to correspond with the hip shape of the outside seam of the trouser leg. Also, as shown, it is supported above a base E by an upright F, which carries a laterally extending tray G to hold the rest of the garment A off the floor.

Fig. 2a illustrates, in diagrammatic cross-section, a newly sewn leg with two sewn seams H prior to loading over the form B.

The conventional method of working is that one leg is drawn over the form B so that the seam H is supported along its full length, as shown in Fig. 2b, also in diagrammatic cross-section.

The seam H is lined up to ensure it is straight and then suction is applied, as explained above, to hold it in position. A hand iron I is then used to open and set the seam flat, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2c, by first opening the seam with the nose of the iron, and then steaming the seam after which it is~cooled by vacuum. The leg is then rotated on the form B to enable the same operation to be carried out on the inside leg seam. It will be appreciated that by using this method only one seam can be pressed at a time on a single form as the operator is at all times fully occupied.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus which can be used to open such seams automatically, thus eliminating the need to use a hand iron. A further, subsidiary object is to construct such apparatus in such a manner that it could be used to open a number of seams simultaneously thus saving even more time on the usually labour intensive operation.

In accordance with the invention, seam pressing apparatus comprises a form onto which an article, e.g. a garment, having a seam to be pressed is to be loaded, a movable arm assembly consisting of a plurality of fingers spaced at intervals along an arm and pivotally connected thereto, the fingers each being provided with gripper means, whereby the seam may be opened or laid flat in one direction when the fingers are positioned upon the seam and drawn thereacross by movement of the assembly, and a pressing head capable of pressing the opened or flattened seam against the form.

Preferably, the fingers are tapered at their respective end regions or tips, remote form their pivoted connection to the arm.

This facilitates movement of the fingers onto and across the fabric layers of the seam under the influence of the arm, as well as withdrawal of the fingers as the pressing head is brought towards the form.

The gripper means may, for instance, consist of a strip of material carrying a plurality of hooks, spikes, projections or roughened regions, or else adhesive patches. Preferably, also, the gripper means are spaced from the extreme ends of the fingers.

Advantageously the arm assembly includes stop means to limit downward pivoting of the fingers and hold them in a substantially horizontal rest position. It is thus possible with correct relative positioning of the form and the arm assembly for the fingers simply to be moved in the direction of their tips to contact, ride over, and flatten the fabric of the seam without the need to provide additional mechanisms to pivot the fingers to a raised position for placement on or near the seams.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a conventional form used for underpressing trouser seams, as already described; Figs. 2a, 2b and 2c are diagrammatic cross-sections illustrating the conventional method of seam pressing, also already referred to; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-section illustrating an arm assembly and form of apparatus in accordance with the invention, a trouser leg being already positioned on the form; Figs. 3a, 3b and 3c are similar views illustrating how that apparatus is used to open out and press the trouser leg seam; and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an entire exemplary embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, slightly modified compared to Fig. 3 and shown in use pressing a trouser side seam.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, a preferred practical embodiment of the inventive apparatus includes one or more shaped forms 10 of conventional type, only one is which is shown. A garment is loaded onto the form 10 as previously and held in position with vacuum. The form is supported in conventional manner above a base 24 by a support column 12 which has a lateral tray 14 for holding the garment Z off the floor (see Fig. 4).

An arm assembly 20 complete with series of fingers 30 is disposed adjacent to the form 10. The arm assembly 20 comprises an elongate arm 22 which extends along side the form 10 and is supported above the base 24 by a support frame 26. The latter is pivotally mounted on the base 24, at 27, and a pneumatic cylinder 28 is provided to swing the frame 26 from an upright position towards the form 10 and back again, and hence move the arm 22 and fingers 30 towards and away from the form 10.

The fingers 30 are attached to the arm 22 by a pivot arrangement 32 and are held in the horizontal position by means of respective support stops 34 which are threadedly mounted so that they can be adjusted up or down. Upward pivoting movement of the fingers 30 is in no way restricted and the fingers 30 rely on their own weight to hold themselves against the stops 34, and later against the fabric.

The fingers 30 themselves are tapered at their end regions remote from the pivot arrangement 32 and fitted on their underside, inwardly of the tapered end region, with a short length of gripper material 36. This may be a strip of material carrying hooks, spikes, projections or roughened regions, or adhesive patches.

The method of operation is as follows: The arm 22 complete with fingers 30 is swung forward into position adjacent to the loaded seam. The bottom edge of the fingers 30 are lined up slightly above the sewn seam. The arm 22 is then swung further so that the fingers 30 are moved in a straight line towards the seam where they push both layers of fabric over and away from them. The fingers 30 are free to pivot upwards and rely on their own weight to apply sufficient pressure to hold the fabric down. The fingers 30 continue to move forward until the gripper material 36 located on the underside of the fingers 30 is covering the top layer of fabric but has not gone too far forward to have moved right over the edge of the fabric (see Fig. 3a).

With the fingers 30 thus positioned the arm 22 is then withdrawn slowly such that the gripper material 36 rolls the top layer of fabric back (see Fig. 3b) and forms an open seam. The fingers 30 keep withdrawing until only their tapered end regions are holding the seam open and at this point the arm 22 with the fingers 30 attached is stopped.

A flat pressing head 40 is then brought down to a position slightly above the still inserted fingers 30 and this holds the seam open whilst the fingers 30 can be completely withdrawn (see Fig. 3c). The pressing head 40 is then moved down onto the opened seam and pressure applied. Steam is then introduced from the head 40 to soften and press the seam and vacuum applied from the form 10 to cool the seam and set it.

It should be noted that the procedure relies on the operator in the first instance loading the seam in a straight line and in the required position on the pressing form 10. To assist the operator, spot lights producing a line beam can be used along the length of the form 10 to act as a guide. Alternativley a knife edge blade could be moved up from inside the' form 10 and the seam lined up over the blade which would then withdraw prior to the holding vacuum being applied and the seam opened.

The above description is for a seam that requires opening, i.e. the two pieces of fabric separating and pressing flat. Some seams just require laying flat and pressing and the same apparatus can achieve this by either moving the fingers 30 further over the seam to draw both layers of fabric back towards the arm 22 and then apply pressure from the head 40 or, alternatively, by restricting the forward movement of the fingers 30 so that the seam is simply pushed forward by the tapered ends of the fingers 30 prior to bringing the head 40 down to press it.

It should also be noted that a series of forms 10 in a line serviced by a corresponding series of arms 22 with fingers 30 could be loaded by one operator so that a number of seams could be opened simultaneously. Obviously the pressing head 40 would also have to be larger, or a number of heads 40 used, to cover all the forms 10.

It will be noted that the construction is slightly different in Figs. 3 and 4 in that the arm assembly support frame 26 pivots in a different direction relative to the base 24. Naturally the arrangement of the form 10 relative to the arm assembly 20 and the exact particulars may vary in this and many other ways within the scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. Seam pressing apparatus comprising a form onto which an article having a seam to be pressed is to be loaded, a movable arm assembly consisting of a plurality of fingers spaced at intervals along an arm and pivotally connected thereto, the fingers each being provided with gripper means, whereby the seam may be opened or laid flat in one direction when the fingers are positioned upon the seam and drawn thereacross by movement of the assembly, and a pressing head capable of pressing the opened or flattened seam against the form.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fingers are tapered at their respective end regions or tips, remote from their pivoted connection to the arm.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the gripper means consist of a strip of material carrying a plurality of hooks, spikes, projections or roughened regions or else adhesive patches.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the gripper means are spaced from the extreme ends of the fingers.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the arm assembly includes stop means to limit downward pivoting of the fingers and hold them in a substantially horizontal rest position.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the arm assembly is itself pivotally mounted and is swingable towards and away from the form by a pneumatic cylinder arrangement.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the form is provided with spot lights arranged in a straight line to indicate the required position of the seam prior to operation of the arm assembly.

8. Seam pressing apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 3, 3a, b, c and 4 of the accompanying drawings.