Automated system for assembling framed articles

An automated system for assembling a framed article comprising:

• a bed having a flat working surface;
• canvases arranged in a stack;
• a movable carriage configured to pick up a top canvas from the stack of canvases and move the top canvas to an assembly station that includes a recessed portion formed in the flat working surface of the bed, wherein the movable carriage positions the top canvas over the recessed portion;
• a plurality of assembled frames to be combined with the plurality of canvases to form the framed articles, each assembled frame being formed of one rear panel and one respective frame member that are detachably attached to one another with one canvas being stretched across a front face of the one frame member;
• and
• an axially movable presser head located above the recessed portion at the assembly station and being configured to:
• 1) press one assembled frame into the recessed portion, whereby the top canvas is pressed also into the recessed portion below the assembled frame;
• 2) separate the one rear panel from the one frame member that is pressed into the recessed portion to allow the top canvas to be folded over edges of the one frame member;
• and 3) reattach the one rear panel to the one frame member once the top canvas is folded over the one frame member resulting in the top canvas being captured between the one rear panel and the one frame member.

An automated system for assembling a framed article comprising:

• a bed having a flat top surface and a recessed portion formed in the flat top surface;
• a plurality of canvases;
• a plurality of assembled frames to be combined with the plurality of canvases to form the framed articles, each assembled frame being formed of one rear panel and one frame member that are detachably attached to one another with one canvas being stretched across a front face of the one frame member and captured between the one rear panel and the one frame member;
• and
• an assembly station for combining the one canvas with the one assembled frame, the assembly station including an axially movable presser head that is configured to position one assembled frame on top of one canvas that is positioned at the assembly station;
• and
• a corner tucking mechanism that is configured to tuck in and invert pleated corners of the canvas, the corner tucking mechanism comprising four corner tucking devices that are located in four linear slots that are at corners of the recessed portion of the bed, each of the four corner tucking devices being operable to tuck in and invert one of the pleated corners of the canvas to allow the one pleated corner to be tucked into a corner slot of the assembled frame.