US1140388A - Fabric-folding machine. - Google Patents

Description

W. S. MILLS.

FABRIC FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1913. LMQSS. Patented May 25, 1915.

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W. S. MILLS.

FABRIC FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, I9I3.

Patented May 25, 1915.

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W. S. MILLS.

FABRIC FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. s, 1913.

Patented May 25, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THE NORRIS PETERS C0., PHOTO-LITHD., WASHINGTDN. DA C.

WILLIAM S. MILLS, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

FABRIC-FOLDING MACHINE.

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Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application led September 6, 1913. Serial No. 788,479.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, l/VILLIAM S. MILLS, citizen of the United States, and resident of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fabric- Folding Machines, of which the following 1s a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in fabric folding machines and refers particularly to a machine for folding and laying a continuous strip of woven or knitted fabrics into layers of predetermined lengths as thesame comes from a loom, drier or other form of fabric making or finishing machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical form of machine which will automatically receive and fold a continuous strip of material into yard or other specified lengths and to stack such layers one above the other to any desired height and in a way which will permit of the removal from the machine of the pile of material without disturbing the folds and layers thereof.

Heretofore it has been customary to roll some forms of continuous strips of knitted material as it comes from the drier, into rolls or bolts and later to roll it 0H and cut it into lengths preparatory to making the same into undershirts and the like, but I find that this form of rolling the material is more or less objectionable as it tends to stretch the same in some places more than others, and is also more liable to become soiled and wasted. Therefore, my novel machine has been especially designed for folding and piling this form of knitted material preparatory to cutting it into lengths or parts for garments, yet it will be obvious that it is equally as well adapted for folding and piling other forms of fabrics for like purposes as for instance Silks, linens and prints of various kinds.

Upon the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification similar char acters of reference will be found to designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures of which,

Figure 1, shows a side elevation of my improved fabric folding machine as it appears in operation. Fig. 2, is a sectional plan View of the machine, taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8, is a detached perspective view of the fabric carriage, forming a part of the machine and upon which the fabric is laid. Fig. t, is a front end view of the machine as seen from the right of Fig. 1, Fig. 5, shows an enlarged sectional plan view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and showing the feed rolls and adjustable guides, and, Fig. 6, shows an enlarged detail view of one end of fabric pile and weight therefor.

Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawings it will be seen that the machine includes a light form of frame-work comprising four corner legs or supports 10 and 10a, two parallel longitudinal members 11 and end cross pieces l2 that connect the longitudinal members to form a bench or table that is mounted upon the before mentioned legs. The legs 10a extend up above the longitudinal members 11 and together with the two posts 13 secured to the intermediate portion of the table serve to support a rectangular shaped frame 14 that forms the uppermost part of the frame structure. The fabric to be folded is first received through this upper frame and then guided down through other parts of the machine and laid upon a reciprocating carriage 15 which is designed to be moved forward and back ward beneath the fabric as the same is fed to the machine. The inner top edge portion of the parallel longitudinal members 11 of the table serve as a track or runway for the beforementioned carriage and suitable means are provided for moving the carriage backward and forward upon the said runway, as will also later be more fully eX- plained.

Power is imparted to the machine through a counter shaft 16 which in this case is shown mounted in brackets secured to the floor. A belt 17 serves to connect the driving pulley upon this countershaft 16 with a pulley 18 upon the driven shaft 19. The shaft 19 is journaled in bearings 2O that are secured to a cross bracket 21 fastened to the legs 10 under the forward end of the machine. rllhis shaft 19 is further provided with a wheel 22 that isconnected by a belt 23 with a second belt wheel 24 mounted upon a shaft 25 journaled in suitable brackets 26 attached to the before mentioned posts 13. A feed roll 27 is mounted upon the said feed shaft 25 and it together with a second and idler feed roll 28 serves to feed the fabric down upon the table. The said idler roll 28 is mounted upon a shaft that is journaled in supporting member 29 pivotally connected to brackets 30 secured to the top of the horizontal members 11,0f the frame. A sprocket 31 is mounted upon the inner end of the shaft 19 and is connected by means of a sprocket chain 32 with a second sprocket 33 mounted upon a shaft which is journaled in an upright 34 that is adjustably mounted in a longitudinally disposed bracket 35 secured to a cross member 36 which connects the two lower ends of the before mentioned posts 13. One end of va connecting rod 37 is pivotally connected to a link of the said sprocket chain 32 and the other end is similarly connected to a depending bracket 38 secured to the under side of the bed of the carriage 15. The said carriage 15 is provided with four flanged supporting wheels 39 which engagey and operate upon the before mentioned top edge portion of the horizontal members 11 of the table and serve to allow the said table to be freely reciprocated backward and forward through the medium of the rod and chain connections heretofore mentioned. The carriage, as will be noted, see Fig. 3, includes two longitudinal side members 40 the outer ends of which are bowed upward and connected together by rods 41. The body portion of the carriage is floored over to form a smooth flat surfaceupon which the folds of the fabric 42 are stacked. To the said rods 41 in each end portion of the carriage is pivoted a frame 43 which includes a rod 45 and upon these rods is hung a weight 44. These weights are in the form of plates and are hung a little off vthis center so that their outer edge will first engage the fabric and so that as the weights de scend and Hatten out on the fabric, they will draw the fabric outward in a manner to stretch out the folds in the cloth and willy then lay flat upon the cloth in this position until again raised. Guide rolls 46 are mounted upon spindles 47 secured to the inner ends of the longitudinal members of the frames 43 and as willbe noted are located outside of the line of travel of the support` ing wheels 39 of the carriage and are so arranged as to engage the upwardly disposed inclined guide strips 48 of which there are two pairs. The lower ends of these strips are secured to the top side of the members 11 of the table while the upper ends are secured to the opposite sides of the posts 13.

One pair of these strips being arranged forward of the said posts and the other pair aft and in line of travel of the before mentioned rolls 46 mounted upon the inner ends of the frames 43 pivoted to the ends of the carriage. In practice the rolls of one of these frames is in engagement with one to provide for the possible difference in the travel of the fabric from the drier and upon the carriage of the folder, which compensator is obviously necessary since the feeding device of the drier and the carriage are in no way connected and could not be timed to operate at exactly the same rate of speed.. In practice I aim to operate these two machines at approximately the same speed giving the preference, if there be any, to the feed of the drier so as to insure ample material from which' the folding machine may draw during it operation. This compensator device is of a simple construction, and will perhaps be best understood byV reference to Figs. 1 and 4. It is in the form of a pocket that is formed of a sheet metal plate 49 one end of which is attached to a cross member 50 of the frame, and the other end against the end 51 of the rectangular frame. The upper extremity of this strip of metal 49 is disposed outward to form an inclined curved surface against which the fabric is fed and in a way to cause it to fold back and forth as it is fed in the said compensator. f From this compensator the fabric, which I have indicated as 42 is carried up over a suitable roll 52 and then passed forward through an adjustable guide 53 to the upper forward end portion of the frame work, and is then passed over another guide roll 54 and led down through a pair of guide rods 55 and an adjustablev guide 56 and then carried between the before mentioned feed rolls 27 and 28.

The adjustable guides 53 and 56 are sub- Y stantiallyl alike in construction and vas will be seen from Fig. 5 are arranged to provide for material-of different widths and to insure the saine being guided down centrally upon the carriage so as to insure the several layers of material being arranged in alinement one upon the other'. These adjustable guides include brackets 57 that are secured to the frame and the inner ends of these brackets are connected by a cross rod 58 and in the other end is ourn'aled a screw 59 that is provided upon its opposite end portions with a right and left hand thread. A pair, of guide blocks 60 are mounted upon the opposite end portions of this screw 59 and -rod 58 in a way to be moved backward and turning of the said screw 59 which is done by operating the outer end or handle portion 61 thereof.

The length of the layers of the fabric are obviously determined by the length of movement of the carriage which in turn is determined by the length of the sprocket chain and the distance which the two sprockets are arranged from each other. I have therefore provided a screw 62 for adjusting the sprocket 33 toward and from the first mentioned sprocket 31 and then by removing one or more links of the'chain the carriage may be made to travel a shorter distance from that shown in the drawing, if desired, although as before stated provision is made for folding and laying the material into three foot lengths which is usually the length required.

By the foregoing construction it will doubtlessly be seen that the fabric is fed to the machine from above and may come direct from a loom knitting machine, drier or other form of machine and received in the compensator. It is drawn from the compensator or pocket by the action of the feed rolls 27 and 28, the feed roll 27 being operated from the main shaft 19. This shaft 19 also simultaneously-operates the sprocket connection which in turn reciprocates the carriage. As the carriage is drawn forward, see Fig. 1, the material is laid down forward and backward flat upon the pile. As the carriage moves forward the weight and frame projected upward, as shown in Fig. 1, against the pair of inclined strips 48 is gradually lowered until it rests upon the forward end of the pile of fabric in the manner indicated by the weight and frame arranged at the rear end of the carriage in said figure. The rolls of the frame now shown at the rear end of the carriage engage the inclined strips 48 as the carriage is moved forward and raise the weight up out of the way so that the fabric may be laid flat thereon.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a fabric folding machine of the class described, the combination with a table having centrally arranged uprights of a carriage mounted upon the table to travel between said uprights, means for feeding a continuous strip of fabric to and piling it upon the said carriage, means for reciprocating the carriage backward and forward upon the table while the said fabric is being fed thereto, inclined strips secured to the table and uprights, weights carried by the carriage for retaining the layers of fabric in position and adapted to engage the inclined strips in a manner to be raised from the fabric.

2. In a fabric folding machine of the class described, the combination with a table, of a carriage mounted thereon, means for feeding a continuous strip of fabric to and piling it upon the said carriage, means for reciprocating the carriage backward and forward upon the table while the said fabric is being fed thereto, weights carried by the carriage to engage the fabric and hold it upon the carriage, means fixed to the table to raise and lower the weights at each end of the movement of the carriage and adjustable guides through which the fabric is fed to the said carriage.

3. In a fabric folding machine, the combination with a suitable table, of a carriage mounted to travel thereon, means for reciprocating the carriage, frames pivoted upon each end of the carriage, weights pivotally hung upon the frames and adapted to be carried with the carriage and to normally rest upon the carriage or layers of fabric piled upon the carriage to hold the same in position, stationary means in the line of travel of the frames and weights to alternately engage and raise the frames and weights from the fabric to permit the same to be folded at each end of the movement of the carriage.

4. In a fabric folding machine, the combination with a table, a carriage mounted thereon, means for moving the carriage backward and forward, means for feeding a continuous strip of fabric to and piling it upon said carriage in layers one upon the other, eccentrically hung weights carried 100 by the carriage and adapted to engage the top layers of fabric to stretch them out and hold them in position. and fixed means mounted on the table to be alternately engaged to raise and lower the weights from 105 the pile of fabric as the carriage is fed backward and forward.

5. In a fabric folding machine of the class described, the combination with a table, of-

a carriage mounted thereon and adapted to 110 receive the fabric, means for reciprocating said carriage upon the table, a frame pivoted to each end of the carriage and each frame having a free end also adapted to rest upon the carriage, guide rolls mounted upon the frames, weights hung from the said frames and adapted to normally rest upon the pile of fabric when contained upon the carriage, guide strips secured to the table and engaged by the rolls on the frames to alternately raise the weights from the fabric at proper intervals to allow the incoming fabric to be spread upon the pile.

6. In a fabric folding machine of the class described, the combination with a table, a movable carriage mounted thereon, means for reciprocating said carriage upon the table, means for feeding a strip of fabric to the carriage, means to guide the fabric central upon the carriage, frames one end of each of which is lpivoted to one end of the carriage, guide rolls mounted upon the frames, weights hung from the free ends of the said frames and adapted to normally rest upon the pile of fabric, upwardly disposed curved guide stripsV secured to the table for engagement by the rolls of the frames to alternately raise the Weights from the fabric at proper intervals and to allow thi), incoming fabric to be spread upon the p1 e.

7 A fabric folding machine including a table, a reciprocating carriage mounted thereon, means for feeding a continuous f Y strip of fabric in layers upon the carriage, means mounted on and carried by the carriage for engaging the end portions of the respective layers of material and moving outward thereon to smooth and draw the fabric outward upon the carriage and holding such layers in said drawn position.

Signed at Bridgeport in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut this 3rd day of September A. D., 1913.

WILLIAM S. MILLS. Witnesses:

C. M. NEWMAN, V- RUTH M. WORDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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