North Carolina State University

Ark Limited

Fruit of the Loom, Inc.

Albani Bayeux, Inc.

Timothy G Clapp

Jon P Rust

Carlos Farrington

Dale Thomas Bowen

Kimberly J Titus

William R Cole, Jr

Roger N Saunders

Robert J Beasock

Hadi M Hamid

George R Barrett

Shahram Peykamian

Frank Warren Taylor, Ii

Adam B Davis

Douglas Martin Pendergraph, Jr

Matthew Myers Thomas

Robert N Cox

An automated drafting system particularly suitable for drafting textile strands of sliver is provided. The automated drafting system includes a synchronous drive sliver drafting roller system utilizing toothed gears in the preferred embodiment operatively connecting a pair of drafting rollers with one of the rollers being directly driven by a motor to thereby cause identical rotation of both rollers. The automated drafting system also includes a system for securing and pressuring together upper and lower sliver drafting rollers wherein the lower roller of a pair of drafting rollers is preferably maintained in a fixed but rotational position while the upper roller of the pair is pressured towards the lower roller and controllably restricted as to both horizontal and vertical movement during the drafting process. A sliver autoleveling system using tongue and groove drafting rollers to sense sliver uniformity is also included in the automated drafting system utilizing linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs) to monitor vertical displacement of the upper roller of a roller pair relative to the lower roller. The automated drafting system further provides a feed-forward and feed-back autoleveling system for control of sliver drafting rollers utilizing an input sliver sensor and an output sliver sensor communicating with a computer to facilitate sliver uniformity. A draftless sliver coiler packaging system is still further provided by the automated drafting system and utilizes a sliver level sensor to controllably and automatically adjust the speed at which sliver is packaged subsequent to emergence from a variable speed sliver delivery system.

Synchronous drive system for automated textile drafting system

Draftless sliver coiler packaging system for automated textile drafting

Feed-forward and feed-back autoleveling system for automated textile

A method and apparatus for correctively guiding an item on a desired path along a material is provided wherein a guide path matching a desired path for an item to be guided along a material and a plurality of templates containing images of the material are inputted into a computer. The item is guided along the material in a path following the inputted guide path, and a need for correction of the actual path of the item along the material is checked and, where necessary, correction is made at predetermined, inputted intervals. Self-correction of the path the item follows along material is accomplished by visual recognition of templates containing images of the material matching previously inputted templates.

Method and apparatus for correctively guiding a cutting device on a

Tongue and groove drafting roller autoleveling system for automated

Securing and pressuring system for drafting rollers for automated

Stitch quality monitoring system for use in combination with a sewing machine having one or more stitch threads and comprising sensor means for at least one of said one or more stitch threads for detecting thread motion during each sewing stitch cycle. Encoder means is operatively associated with the sewing machine for creating a predetermined constant number of sensor means sampling signals for each stitch cycle of the sewing machine, and circuit means is electrically connected to the sensor means and encoder means for detecting stitch defects during the formation of potentially defective stitches.

Stitch quality monitoring system for sewing machines

A sewn seam monitoring system for evaluating selected characteristics of seam formed from a plurality of fabric plies is disclosed comprising a vertically displaceable wheel for compressing and monitoring the thickness of a seam being sewn as the seam passes therebeneath and a transducer operatively connected to the wheel to measure vertical movement and generate a signal corresponding to the vertical displacement of the wheel. Computer means is electrically connected to the transducer for analyzing the seam being sewn to detect any defects therein sensed by the wheel when in compressing contact with the seam passing therebeneath.

Apparatus and method for monitoring predetermined seam characteristics

A sewing machine having a presser bar with a force transducer mounted thereon for detecting forces applied to the presser bar during high speed sewing and an electromagnetic actuator operatively connected to the presser bar. Circuit means is electrically connected to the force transducer and to the electromagnetic actuator and is adapted to control current to the electromagnetic actuator so as to maintain a constant contact force between the presser foot and a fabric being sewn.

Sewing machine having presser bar system for maintaining constant

There is disclosed an improved fabric picking device having a circumferentially toothed picking wheel carried at one end by an elongated inner frame, a shoe adjacent thereto carried by an outer frame, the inner and outer frames being hingedly connected for limited relative movement at their ends opposite the wheel and shoe, of the wheel being responsive independently to controlled spring pressure such that the gap for receiving and pinching fabric between wheel and shoe is rendered self-adjusting for an infinitely variable range of fabric thickness.

Self-adjusting fabric ply picking device

Apparatus for handling workpieces of limp sheet material including an endless conveyor having a forward-traveling upper reach for conveying workpieces in a forward direction, each workpiece having a leading edge and a trailing edge. An airfoil extends transversely across the upper reach of the conveyor and a manifold rearward of the airfoil may deliver a jet of air in a generally forward direction between the conveyor and the airfoil as the workpiece travels forwardly under the airfoil such that the leading edge portion of the workpiece raises up from the conveyor toward the airfoil. A clamping mechanism forward of the airfoil receives the leading edge portion of the workpiece. A sensor detects the presence of the leading edge portion between the clamping members and sends a signal in response to which the clamping mechanism is activated to clamp the leading edge portion.

Apparatus for handling workpieces of limp sheet material

Growing community of inventors

New Hill, NC, United States of America

Timothy G Clapp