Hanes Corporation

J Frank King

Donald A Sloan

Willie M Lathery

Howard L Beamon

Automated machine for the continuous bias cutting of an elongated tube of material, such as tubular knitted fabric, into a plurality of individual strips, and winding the strips into a plurality of rolls. The tubular material is advanced axially at a uniform rate from a supply to a cutting and rolling section by a plurality of skewable rotatable cylinders acting as a positive feeding means. As the tubular material is withdrawn from the supply, it passes over a spreader which opens and tensions it. The skewed cylinders cause the tube to rotate about its axis as it advances. Control means are utilized to adjust automatically the skew angles of the cylinders, to increase or decrease the rate of advance of the tube, to compensate for variations inherent in the material which affect its rate of feed. Control means also are utilized to adjust automatically the tension exerted by the spreader, to correlate such tension with the rate of advance as determined by the skew angles of the cylinders. A doffing mechanism is provided, to permit automatic removal of the cut rolls of material after reaching a selected size. The machine maintains the tube substantially untwisted, relative to its axis, and under substantially uniform tension, while advancing it wrinkle-free to the cutting and rolling section of the machine at a uniformly maintained rate of feed.

Machine for continuous bias cutting of tubular fabric

A system for folding and packaging articles such as towels or T-shirts wherein, the article is partially folded over a cardboard insert and conveyed along a path at a selected speed through various folding locations until the article is completely folded, flattened, pressed, rotated if necessary and inserted into a bag which is subsequently sealed. The apparatus for performing such functions includes a reciprocating entry section for receiving one or more articles and folding the articles transversely over a cardboard insert. Blades for completely folding the articles longitudinally are readily adjustable relative to the machine frame and to each other vertically and horizontally to accommodate articles of various sizes and styles and to accommodate a single article or a plurality of articles.

Article folding and packaging system

Automated machine for the continuous bias cutting of an elongated tube of material, such a tubular knitted fabric, into a plurality of individual strips, and winding the strips into a plurality of rolls of fabric. The machine comprises a supply section, a spreading and tensioning section and a cutting and rolling section. The tubular material or fabric is stored in the supply section in a rotatable receptacle in the form of a stack of untensioned superimposed flattened folds. The tube is advanced axially from the supply to the cutting and rolling section of the machine by a plurality of skewed rotatable cylinders. As the flattened tube is withdrawn from the supply, it passes over a spreader which opens and tensions it. The rotatable skewed cylinders cause the advancing tube to rotate about its axis as it advances to be cut into strips. Selectively operable control means are utilized for rotating the supply receptacle, to correlate its speed of rotation with the speed of rotation of the tube of material, to maintain the tube substantially untwisted, relative to its axis, and under substantially uniform tension, as it advances to the cutting and rolling section of the machine.

Automated machine and method for closing the toe ends of an otherwise completed panty hose type garment, by seams which are inside the toes when the finished garment is right side out. The machine consists basically of a garment input section, toe closing section and discharge section. The input section includes means for mounting the garment and then advancing the toe ends of its leg portions to the toe closing section, preparatory to closing the toes. The toe closing section includes a seaming device forming identical seams in the toe ends of the garment by a chain of stitches, an automatic trimmer for cutting the chain of stitches close to the toe fabrics and toe fabric clamping assemblies to deliver the toe ends to the seaming device. The discharge section includes means for receiving the garment, following the toe closing operation, and for the removal of the finished garment, right side out, from the machine in completed condition ready for packaging. The method of the invention is carried out in timed sequence at high speed to produce a finished panty hose type garment in which the toe ends of both legs have been closed by precisely controlled toe closing operations to produce identical toe closing results in the garment.

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Winston-Salem, NC, United States of America

J Frank King