Gerber Garment Technology, Inc.

Gerber Coburn Optical, Inc.

Gerber Systems Corporation

Lawrence S Wolfson

David R Pearl

Jeffrey J Murray

Jonathan M Dooley

Douglas J Roberts

Harold L Osthus

Michael J Goulet

Joseph J Conlan

Philip W Cenedella

David Vickers

John F De Raismes

Heinz J Gerber

Alan W Menard

Robert M Vaida

Kevin A Pearl

Roald P Nymark

Paul R Estabrooks

Richard P Ray

Russell M Moskwa

A retainer for retaining an abrasive pad on a lens making machine and an abrasive pad adapted to such retention comprises a retainer nestable with a lap of a lens making machine wherein when such retainer is nested, a pad placed upon said lap before nesting will be trapped in the desired position. The pad of the invention includes radially outwardly extending members beyond the working area of the pad whose purpose is to be trapped by the retainer. The invention enables automatic loading and unloading of pads on the lens making machine.

Device for retaining abrasive pad on lap in eyeglass lens making apparatus

A retainer for retaining an abrasive pad on a lens making machine and an abrasive pad adapted to such retention comprises a retainer nestable with a lap of a lens making machine wherein when such retainer is nested, a pad placed upon the lap before nesting will be trapped in the desired position. The pad of the invention includes radially outwardly extending members beyond the working area of the pad whose purpose is to be trapped by the retainer. The invention enables automatic loading and unloading of pads on the lens making machine.

A quick change lap retaining device uses radially displaceable blades to engage a groove in the underside of a lap and thereby hold the lap in position. The device fails in the engaged position to prevent inadvertent movement of the lap. Removal of the lap occasioned by disengagement of the blades is preferentially by pneumatic drive but can also be manual.

Retaining mechanism for lapping device

In an apparatus for performing work operations on a surface of one or more lenses, a frame and a mounting bracket adapted to releasably support at least one lens blank are provided. At least three pairs of articulated supports are also included with a first end of each of the supports being bendably coupled at a first end to a mounting bracket adjacent to the other articulated support in the pair. The articulated supports are each coupled at a second end to a point on the frame with the supports in each of the pairs diverging away from each other between the mounting block and the frame. A drive is associated with each of the articulated supports and moves each support, and thereby the mounting, individually between a raised and a lowered position in response to commands issued from a controller having data corresponding to a particular lens prescription stored therein. A machining surface is also provided and during operation, as the mounting bracket moves in response to the action of the articulated supports, the lens is engaged with and moves over the machining surface thereby performing a work operation on the lens.

Method and apparatus for performing work operations on a surface of one

A system for light-tight handling of a supply of media between a supply station, a workstation and a collecting station, comprises a media handling apparatus defined by a frame and a housing enclosing an internal confine. Within this confine are a supply station and a collecting station disposed at opposite ends of the frame. A positioning drive is suspended above the supply and collecting stations to move media between the supply, collecting and work stations. A lifting shoe is provided as part of the positioning drive and includes a flexible material handling sheet which assumes a first and a second given radius when respectively energized and reverse energized to engage the media supported in curved form. Also, supply and collecting cassettes are provided with a tambour coverings for respectively automatically uncovering and covering the supported media while still maintained in the light-tight confines of the housing.

Collecting cassette for use with a media sheet handling system

A media handling unit is a selfcontained device which is capable of being moved to existing photoplotting structures to transport media sheets from a supply cassette housed within the unit and advanced into the plotter for conducting a plotting operation. The unit also retreives the scanned media from the photoplotter returning it the unit in a light tight environment where the scanned film is deposited onto a collecting tray. The supply of film is provided in a cassette having a semi-cyldrical support surface causing the film to take on a preformed configuration which is generally coincident with the shape of the support surface on the plotter.

System for handling curved form media and cassette therefor

In a conveyor apparatus for supporting and advancing sheet material, such as fabric to be cut by a cutter head, the conveying element is an endless belt made of elongated supporting members having their length dimensions extending transversely of the path of belt movement. The supporting members include coengagable parts, such as tongues and grooves extending along the length of the members, which coengage one another when the supporting members are in the upper run of the conveyor to prevent vertical movement of the supporting members relative to one another and to thereby maintain the supporting surface defined by the upper run in a smooth and flat condition.

Conveyor for supporting and advancing sheet material and cutting machine

A machine for cutting cloth or similar sheet material for a take-off table permanently connected to it for supporting sheet material after its having been cut by the cutting machine. The table is movable relative to the machine between a deployed and a stowed position, and in the stowed position of the table the combined apparatus has an overall length much shorter than it has with its table deployed, thereby allowing the apparatus to be more easily moved from one spot to another or the cutting room floor.

Combined cutting machine and take-off table

In an apparatus for spreading and cutting layups of sheet material pin mechanisms are distributed over the supporting surface of the table and include pins moveable between raised and lowered positions to enable selected portions of the supporting surface to be adapted, or not, to a spreading procedure involving the pinning of each layer as it is spread. The supporting surface is divided into sections and the pin mechanisms of each section are operated in unison by a control element located on the side wall of the table with each control element being aligned with its associated section of the table so as to be quickly and easily operable by an operator without the operator having to give great thought or attention to which pin mechanisms are operated by which switch. The pins passing through a layup being cut by the cutter are automatically lowered upon the cutter approaching the pins to avoid collision between the pins and the cutter. This latter function can be defeated, if desired, to allow the cutter to be passed over a layup in a noncutting mode without pins being withdrawn from the layup.

Apparatus with moveable pins for spreading and cutting layups of sheet

In a cutting machine having a reciprocating blade driven by a crank mechanism which includes an angularly balanced crank, the blade, the connecting rod which drives the blade and the connecting member which connects the blade to the connecting rod are dynamically counterblanced by a passive load, pair of connecting rods which drive the passive load in a direction opposite the direction of blade movement, and a pivoted link which cooperates with the pair of connecting rods to maintain the passiive load for movement in a predetermined path.

Cutting machine having balanced reciprocating cutter drive mechanism

A conveyorized transport apparatus has an overhead rail system for transporting articles on a suspended trolley from one location to another. A moveable rail section in the system has a pivotal connection with an adjacent rail section to pivot the moveable section from a conveying position and a diverted position in which articles are delivered closer to a work station disposed laterally of the rail system.

Control scheme for apparatus with moveable rail section

Conveyorized apparatus with moveable rail section

A conveyorized vacuum table comprises a conveyor for feeding and supporting limp sheet material and a vacuum system which applies vacuum to the sheet material while it is being fed and/or worked upon. The conveyor comprises a penetrable support bed and a plurality of vacuum chambers which move with the support bed and communicate with it. Means are also provided to apply vacuum to the vacuum chambers to cause the conveyor to hold the sheet material for cutting or other work operations.

Growing community of inventors

West Hartford, CT, United States of America

Lawrence S Wolfson