Clinton Industries, Inc.

Arthur C Wokeck

Theodore Opuszenski

An apparatus in combination with a sewing machine having a stitch-former that utilizes thread, alternately engageable and disengageable with a garment having portions of different thickness material, and a feeder for feeding the garment through the stitch-former when the stitch-former is disengaged from the garment, comprises a puller roller, a feed rocker shaft, first and second presser feet and first and second pneumatic cylinders. The puller roller is positioned downstream of the feeder for uniformly pulling the garment when the stitch-former is disengaged from the garment. The feed rocker shaft is clampingly-attached to the feeder for driving the puller roller in synchronization with the stitch-former. The feed rocker shaft intermittently engages the puller roller when the stitch-former is disengaged from the garment and intermittently disengages the puller roller when the stitch-former is engaged with the garment. The first and second presser feet are positioned adjacent the puller roller for urging the garment against the puller roller. The first and second pneumatic cylinders are operatively connected to the first and second presser feet, respectively, for selectively and independently moving the first and second presser feet into and out of engagement with the portions of different thickness material of the garment.

Puller apparatus

A puller device of a sewing machine having a stitch-forming mechanism alternately engageable and disengageable with a garment for stitching the garment and a feed mechanism for feeding the garment through the stitch-forming mechanism. The puller device comprises a puller roller downstream of the feed mechanism for uniformly pulling the garment when the stitch-forming mechanism is disengaged from the garment. The puller device also comprises a feed rocker shaft, clampingly-attached to the feed mechanism, for driving the puller roller in synchronization with the stitch-forming mechanism, intermittently engaging the puller roller when the stitch-forming mechanism is disengaged from the garment and intermittently disengaging the puller roller when the stitch-forming mechanism is engaged with the garment. The puller device includes first and second presser feet positioned adjacent the puller roller for urging the garment against the puller roller. First and second pneumatic cylinders are operatively connected to the first and second presser feet, respectively, for selectively and independently moving the first and second presser feet into and out of engagement with different thicknesses of the garment.

A garment stacker, having a plurality of conveyor belt assemblies, is attached to a worktable. Each assembly has two conveyor belts with one end of each sharing a common axis. All of the conveyor belts are provided with a plurality of flexible cleats for engaging the garment. One of the belts in each assembly is movable between a position away from the worktable, and a position near the worktable, where the cleats will engage a garment deposited on the worktable and pull it toward the other belt. The other belt in each assembly is nearly vertical and is positioned adjacent to a parallel slide. The garment is fed by the first belt into the space between the slide and the cleats on the vertical belt, which engage the garment and move it up the slide. The garment is then discharged over the top of the slide and onto a door. When the door is opened, the garment is dropped onto other garments, while maintaining its orientation so as to form a stack of oriented garments.

Garment stacker apparatus

A thread cutter for a sewing machine uses a circular rotary cutter mounted to the sewing machine. The thread cutter includes a body having an air motor disposed therein. A circular blade is supported on a shaft extending from the air motor. The cutter body is reciprocally supported on a rod fixed at one end to a mounting plate. The rod is disposed in a cylinder within the body and has a piston end, air supplied to one side or the other of the piston driving the cutter body reciprocally into and out of engagement with any threads trailing from a sewn article.

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Mauldin, SC, United States of America

Arthur C Wokeck