| 摘要 |
<p>The invention provides means for both driving and constraining the trajectory of a flexible member, such as the brassiere strap, such that it will manoeuvre into the required geometric shape and at the same time, where required, thread through, or wind around, various hardware components or other flexible members, preferably in one continuous and smooth motion from start to finish of the said operation. A preferred embodiment of the invention is an apparatus which is designed for the winding and assembly of the brassiere shoulder strap assembly, in which a length of strap material is threaded through the apertures of normally two hardware articles - the slide and the ring, wherein a fully or semi-confining guide track is shaped to receive a strap from a delivery means and thread the strap firstly, through one aperture of the slide, then back through the second aperture of the slide (as in the action of threading a belt through a common belt buckle), and then secondly through the ring, and lastly again through the first aperture of the slide and back through the second aperture of the slide in the same manner as in the first threading through the slide, but on the inside of the first threading. The strap driving means are drive spindles driving againts spring loaded reaction blocks, positioned at salient points as follows; firstly to drive the strap along the receiving part of the guide track into the first aperture of the slide, secondly to pickup the nose of the strap upon emergence from this said first aperture, perform a 'U' turn and return it through the slide's second aperture and along the guide track to the ring, thirdly to pickup the nose of the strap upon emergence through the ring, and fourthly (optionally for longer guide tracks) to augment the drive on the strap prior to its re-threading through the slide, inside of the first threading. The termination of the drive of the strap through the guide track is controlled by the sensing of the double thickness of strap as it emerges from the second threading of the slide, and wherein the completed assembly is extracted from the guide track by the extension of the drive spindles out of the plane of the guide track.</p> |
