METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING, POSITIONING AND ASSEMBLING FABRIC PLIES

摘要

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING,POSITIONING AND ASSEMBLING FABRIC PLIESAbstract of the DisclosureThe disclosure relates to new methods and means for re-moving fabric plies one at a time from a stack, transporting theindividual plies to a secondary location, precisely orienting andaligning tie plies for a subsequent operation and, in some casesassembling one ply with another in preparation for a sewing oper-ation. In one of its advantageous forms, the equipment specifi-cally illustrated herein is especially useful for picking indi-vidual shirt cuff and liner plies from separate supply stacks,transporting them to a load station, and assembling the plies oneon top of the other, in proper alignment and orientation forsewing. In a secondary mode, the equipment of the invention Daybe used to transport individual fabric plies, such as entire shortsleeve shirt sections, to a sewing or other processing station.Incorporated in the comprehensive apparatus specificallydisclosed are a plurality of inventive features in the form ofsignificant sub-combinations capable of utilization in conjunctionwith other equipment and other processes.