Workpiece-clamping assembly at sewing station

Abstract

An assembly disposable at a sewing-machine station for assisting an operator in the positioning and fixing of a pair of workpieces relative to one another prior to stitching at the sewing station comprises a multiplicity of clamping modules each having six lower fingers projecting from a module housing for clamping a first workpiece to a base plate and six upper fingers for clamping a second workpiece over the first. The lower fingers and the upper fingers are rigid with respective levers pivotable by the plungers of respective pneumatic cylinders, these cylinders being energizable in a predetermined sequence by an operator-controlled push valve to effect a piecewise positioning of the first workpiece and then of the second workpiece. Preferably, the modules are hingedly interconnected for assuming a curvilinear arrangement matching the contour of a workpiece; a flexible guide web is linked to the modules and to spring-loaded shape-restoring rods and profiles corresponding to the contours of workpieces are separately engageable with the web for forcing the same to conform to the contour of a selected workpiece. A support plate orientable above the first workpiece upon the positioning thereof facilitates the positioning of the second workpiece. The modules are shiftably mounted on a frame for moving together with the clamped workpieces toward the sewing station.