Method and apparatus for the production of fabric or leather articles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing fabric or leather articles, particularly those that require padding, face challenges in precision during sewing and cutting, leading to difficulties in identifying and cataloging semi-finished products, and often necessitate continuous manual intervention, which can slow down production lines.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that involves feeding superimposed cloths through an embroidery machine for automatic sewing with additional markings, followed by optical capture and interpolation to determine displacement, allowing for precise cutting along actual sewing lines, adapting to cloth relaxations and wrinkles, and enabling easy identification of semi-finished products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automatic sewing is performed along sewing lines according to a stored template, then sewing automation and productivity are improved, but precision in maintaining the cutting line spacing from the sewing line deteriorates due to cloth relaxations and wrinkles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by marking the cloth during the sewing process itself. The marking device deposits visual indicators (such as colored threads or marks) along the sewing lines as the sewing head moves. This allows the cutting system to later reference these marks and automatically adjust for any deviations caused by cloth relaxation or wrinkling, thereby maintaining cutting precision despite the automated sewing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using the marked sewing lines as reference information for the cutting system. After sewing, the marked lines provide visual feedback about the actual position of seams, allowing the cutting device to detect deviations and automatically adjust its cutting path. This closed-loop approach ensures that cutting precision is maintained even when cloth deformation occurs during automated sewing.
2Productivity
If continuous production is maintained without manual intervention, then productivity is improved, but the ability to identify and catalog semi-finished products deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by using marking materials with distinct visual characteristics (such as colored threads, fluorescent marks, or contrasting color indicators) that are deposited on the cloth during sewing. These color-coded marks serve as identification features that allow semi-finished products to be easily distinguished and cataloged by automated detection systems, maintaining product identification capability throughout continuous production without requiring manual intervention.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different templates are used for sewing, then adaptability and versatility are improved, but the complexity of managing and switching between templates increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by using a digital storage system to store multiple template patterns. Instead of physically managing multiple template sets, the system creates and stores digital copies of different sewing patterns and marking arrangements. The control system can selectively retrieve and activate different stored templates as needed, allowing versatile production with multiple product types while simplifying management through digital storage and recall rather than physical template handling.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures precise sewing and cutting of fabric or leather articles, allowing for easy identification and quick processing, reducing manual intervention and production line slowdowns, while being reliable and cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
optically capturing said sewn portion and determining any displacement of said markings applied to said superimposed cloths
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus for the production of fabric or leather articles, particularly articles to be padded, comprising the steps of:automatic sewing, at an embroidery machine (3), of superimposed cloths (20d) according to a stored template that contains a pattern of reference sewing lines (S1-S5);applying a plurality of markings in the form of respective additional seams, according to a corresponding arrangement of reference markings (M1-M4) provided in the stored template;optically capturing (5) a sewn portion of the cloths and determining any displacement of the markings applied with respect to the arrangement of the reference markings (M1-M4);on the basis of the displacement and of the mutual arrangement of the reference markings (M1-M4) and of the pattern of the sewing lines (S1-S5) that are stored, determining by interpolation the actual pattern of the sewing lines that is present on the sewn cloths (20d);automatically cutting (53) along the sewing lines on the basis of the actual pattern obtained with the interpolation.