Automatic feed of fabric to sewing machine - with fabric positioner at gap between pieces having two needles on carrier

摘要

Process for automatically sewing a series of pieces of fabric along an edge involves coupling the end of one piece with the start of the following piece by means of a mobile carrier and then feeding the two pieces sequentially under a sewing head. The carrier is detached after passage through the sewing position. The sewing machine has a station for holding the couplings, a mechanism for detaching them and an endless track to return them to the magazine for holding them. The couplings are fed along a rail and, after the sewing position, are picked up by a conveyor which elevates them to a certain height, after which they run downhill round a circular track to the loading point. The couplings consist of double clamps having a pair of needles which project into the fabric. In the laoding posn., a section of rail can be dropped down to insert the coupling in the fabric and then move it through the sewing posn. Process is used with continuously operating sewing machines permitting continuous feeding of fabric through the machine. Permits operative to make this coupling between bits of fabric in a stationary mode and quite independent of the sewing speed of the machine. This requires less skill than existing devices.