Fabric turner

• Main Authors: HARRINGTON, RICHARD L, WAFFORD, LAWRENCE, BLESSING, HUBERT
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 10.10.1990
• Subjects: APPLIANCES OR METHODS FOR MAKING CLOTHES, e.g. FORDRESS-MAKING, FOR TAILORING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CONVEYING; EMBROIDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS,CABLES; HUMAN NECESSITIES; LAUNDERING; PACKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS; SEWING; SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS; STORING; TEXTILES; TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING ORTIPPING; TRANSPORTING; TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS BY LIQUIDS, GASES OR VAPOURS; TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; TUFTING; WEARING APPAREL

For flipping over flexible and limp planar workpieces such as garment fabric, an apparatus includes a primary workpiece propeller (20) formed by a rotating cylindrical brush (24) for contacting the fabric workpiece (48). A slot (30) of sufficient size to receive the fabric workpiece (48) is positioned vertically beneath the primary propeller (20). The slot (30) has a flared upper end in contact or near contact with the propeller (20). The fabric workpiece (48) is drawn into the slot (30) off an input tray (26) by the rotation of the propeller (20) and follows the contour of the flared open end of the slot (30). A pinch roller or cylindrical brush (42) on a piston rod (44) is advanced into the slot (30) to hold the body of the fabric workpiece (48) momentarily fixed against the opposite wall of slot (30) in response to a control signal (A) generated by a control (36) actuated by a photosensor (32) sensing the trailing edge of the fabric workpiece (48). The fabric workpiece (48) enters into the slot (30) until the trailing edge of the fabric (48) is in contact with the primary propeller (20). The trailing edge of the fabric workpiece (48) is retained by the propeller (20) and thereby drawn to the opposite side of the flared opening of the slot (30) and is subsequently pulled out of the slot (30). The fabric workpiece (48) has thereby been inverted so that its top side is now in contact with the output tray (28).