Using a frame to assemble a fabric article
AssigneeCreateMe Technologies LLC
InventorsNicholas Chope, Vance A. Prather
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods facilitate automated manufacture of fabric articles. In an example operation, a first fabric portion is mounted in a first frame, and a second fabric portion is mounted in a second frame. The first and second frames with the corresponding fabric portions are transported to a sequence of stations at which one or more operations are performed on the first and/or second fabric portion. The operations include applying an adhesive to one of the fabric portions, and then joining the first and second fabric portions by bringing the first and second frames together. The operations include cutting the joined first and second fabric portions to create corresponding joined first and second components of a fabric article.
Claims10
A method of manufacturing a fabric article, comprising:
- unwinding a web of fabric, thereby creating an unwound fabric;
- mounting a portion of the unwound fabric in a first frame, wherein the first frame is larger than the fabric article being manufactured, wherein the first frame includes one or more reference points indicative of one or more manufacturing operations for manufacturing the fabric article;
- determining, based on the one or more reference points, one or more adhesive deposition locations on the unwound fabric;
- applying, based on the one or more adhesive deposition locations, adhesive to the portion of the unwound fabric using an adhesive applicator;
- mounting a fabric item in a second frame, wherein the second frame is larger than the fabric item;
- determining, based on the one or more reference points, one or more locations to position the fabric item onto the portion of the unwound fabric;
- positioning the second frame in reference to the first frame such that the fabric item is positioned onto the portion of the unwound fabric at the one or more locations, thereby adhering the fabric item to the portion of the unwound fabric,
- determining, based on the one or more reference points, one or more cutting locations for cutting the portion of the unwound fabric;
- and
- cutting, based on the one or more cutting locations, through the portion of the unwound fabric, thereby creating combined first and second components of the fabric article adhered.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.