JPH037576B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to gripping fabric, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for tensioning a fabric by applying tension between gripping portions of the fabric.

Until now, when fabrics were to be sewn, for example, when a laminated fabric was fed one by one from the top to a buttonhole, button attachment, or other processing position, a short needle or pad was used to feed the fabric at the top of the laminate. It was picked up, lifted vertically upwards, and then transported to a predetermined processing position. However, with this method, in the case of long fabrics, the eighth
As shown in the figure, the fabric 3 sag between the needles or patches 1 and 2, making it impossible to determine the fabric supply position relative to the processing position, which has been a major problem in fully automatic sewing operations. In order to solve this problem of sagging, we tried arranging the needle so that it was directed diagonally outward, but due to the cutting shape, fabric material, and other factors, the looseness of the fabric was inconsistent, making it difficult to completely absorb this sagging. I couldn't do it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for applying tension to the gripped fabric so as to eliminate the slack in the fabric during conveyance and to always feed the fabric to a constant processing position.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the device 10 of the present invention. The central main arm 12 is made by Hitachi, Ltd., for example.
It is attached to the A4020P robot and supports the device 10 so that it can move up and down and rotate. Main arm 1
One end of left and right curved arms 14, 16 is provided at both ends of the arm 2. The left arm 14 is attached to the left end of the main arm 12 through a long hole or the like so that its attachment position can be adjusted. On the other hand, the right arm 16 is attached to the right end of the main arm 12 so that it can rotate around one axis 18. Both arms 14, 16
The other end is bent forward, and fabric wicking devices 20 and 22 are attached to the ends so as to extend in the vertical direction of the device 10 (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1) (see FIG. 3). . Both fabric suction devices 20 and 22 have the same structure, with a conical rubber pad 24 at the lower end, a block 26 with a suction joint at the upper end, and a suction pipe 27 that connects the block 26 to the suction pipe 27.
A thrust collar 28 is provided in the central portion connected to. The pad 24 is connected to a vacuum source 58 via a block 26 and to the collar 28 is secured the distal end of the side arm 14 or 16, respectively. Thrust collars 28 and 24 are constantly biased in opposite directions by springs 30. This spring 30
is protected by a cover 32.

The side arms 14 and 16 are provided with swing cylinders 34 and 34, respectively.
The rear end of 36 is rotatably mounted by known means. The front ends 35, 37 of the cylinder are preferably ball and socket joints. Its front end is pivoted to an L-shaped swing lever 42, 44 which is pivoted at one end to the side arms 14, 16 by pins 38, 40.
At the other end of the levers 42, 44 there is a vertical cylinder 46,
48 is attached, and stepped fingers 50, 52 are fixed to the lower end of the cylinder.

Further, an opening cylinder 54 is fixed to the right end of the main arm 12 via a fixture 53. cylinder 54
A link 56 extends pivotally through a length-adjustable joint 51, and the other end of the link 56 is pivotally attached to the right arm 16 through a fitting 55.

In FIG. 1, 58 is a vacuum pump, 6
0 and 62 are pump outlets connected to the fabric suction devices 20 and 22, respectively, 64 is a pump air port, 66 is a solenoid valve, 68, 70, 72, and 74 are sensor amplifiers,
46 and 48 are main arm attachment ports, 80 and 82 are sensors that detect the presence or absence of cloth, 84 is a height detection sensor, and 86
is the cylinder air port.

In the present invention, the gripping device 10 is guided onto the laminated fabric 88 (FIG. 3) by a known robot (not shown). Fabric wicking device 20, 2
2 is connected to the device 20, 2 by the height detection sensor 84.
The second part 24 descends against the elastic force of the spring 30 to a position where it presses the upper surface of the cloth to some extent. A vacuum is then created within pad 24 by force from vacuum pump 58 to attract the top fabric. Suction device 2
0,22 rises, the pad 24 separates the top fabric from the fabric immediately below it and lifts it upward. Next, the vertical cylinder 4 of the swing levers 42 and 44
6, 48 are extended and the fingers 50, 52 are lowered to a position below the fabric suctioned to the pad 24, as shown in FIG. Next, the swing cylinder 3
4 and 36 operate in the extension direction, and the swing levers 42 and 4
4 around the pins 38, 40 and the fingers 50,
52 to a position below the pad 24 as shown in FIG. After that, the vertical cylinders 46 and 48 are operated to contract, and the fabric 88 is moved between the part 24 and the fingers 50 and 52.
Hold it in place. After the vacuum supply to the patch is stopped,
The cloth 88 is now held completely by the pair of pat fingers. If the cloth is carried to the processing position in this state, the cloth will sag as shown in Figure 8. Then, in the gripping device 10 of the present invention, the opening cylinder 54 is activated. The expansion of the cylinder 54 causes the right arm 16 to rotate clockwise around the shaft 18. This causes the right part finger to separate from the left part finger. As a result, a predetermined tensile force is applied to the cloth 88. However, this tensile force varies depending on the material of the fabric, the shape of the cut, etc., but experiments have shown that the optimal effect can be obtained when the tensile force is applied to a strength that allows the fabric to slide between the pad and fingers. The results are clear.

According to this device, sagging of the fabric during conveyance can be completely prevented by simply setting the operating distance of the opening cylinder 54 to a predetermined value that is greater than the amount of sagging of the fabric and that allows the pad and fingers to slide on the fabric surface. This is due to the fact that a certain amount of optimal tension is imparted to the fabric.

When the fingers 50, 52 are removed from the surface of the fabric after the fabric is carried to the processing position under such tension, the fabric is no longer under vacuum, so
Easily fall to the highest surface without hesitation. In this case, if necessary, another gripping device can be provided at the processing position to forcibly transfer the cloth. After separating the fabric, the apparatus 10 returns to the position of FIG. 3 and repeats the cycle.

According to the present invention, there is no slack in the fabric during conveyance, and therefore the supply position of the fabric can be easily controlled. Therefore, the present invention is particularly useful in cases where it is necessary to feed laminated fabric one by one to a predetermined position without causing any slack, such as when feeding to a working unit for sewing buttons or forming buttonholes. It is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the - arrow in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A is a view taken in the direction of the - arrow in FIG. Figure, 7th
The figure shows the state of the conveyed cloth by the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a diagram similar to FIG. 7 in the known apparatus. Explanation of symbols, 10: device of the present invention, 12: main arm,
14: Left arm, 16: Right arm, 18: Axis, 20,
22: Fabric wicking device, 24: Rubber pad, 2
6: Block, 27: Suction pipe, 28: Collar,
30: Spring, 32: Cover, 34, 36: Swing cylinder, 35, 37: Front end, 38, 40: Pin,
42, 44: Swing lever, 46, 48: Vertical cylinder, 50: Stepped finger, 51: Joint, 50, 5
2: Stepped finger, 53, 55: Mounting tool, 56:
Link, 58: Vacuum pump, 60, 62: Pump outlet, 64: Pump air port, 66: Solenoid valve, 6
8, 70, 72, 74: Sensor amplifier, 76, 7
8: Main arm attachment port, 80, 82: Cloth detection sensor, 8
4: Height detection sensor, 86: Cylinder air port, 8
8: Cloth.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for transporting fabric without causing sagging, which includes: pressing a pair of vacuum parts onto the upper surface of the fabric; sucking both ends of the fabric with the vacuum parts; and lifting the part together with the fabric. guiding the pair of fingers to the bottom of the fabric adsorbed by the pair of pats, holding the upper and lower surfaces of the fabric between the pats and the fingers, and placing one pat and finger against the other pat and finger. further separating one part and finger from the other part and finger until the cloth held between the part and fingers slips between them; A fabric tension conveying method comprising conveying a fabric to a predetermined position. 2. A pair of vertically movable fabric suction devices having a part connected to a vacuum source at the lower end, a finger that supports the fabric vacuum-adsorbed to the part from below while facing the part, and the finger. a device that moves the cloth above and below the patch and to a position below the patch and away from there; left and right side arms to which the fabric suction device and finger moving device are attached, respectively; The main arm attached to the end and attached to the conveying means, the separating device that allows one side arm to be separated from the other side arm, and the parts and fingers that hold the cloth slide on the cloth surface. A fabric tensioning and conveying device comprising: the separating device for separating one side arm from the other side arm until .