Pocket setter unit and automatic sewing machine including same

A sewing machine including:

• a main frame;
• a sewing head mounted thereon;
• a carriage displaceable with respect to said sewing head a loading table laterally of said sewing head;
• a pocket setter attached to said carriage to be displaced thereby with respect to the sewing head;
• said pocket setter including a holder for holding the pocket over the garment to which the pocket is to be fixed;
• said holder including means defining a free space around the portion of the pocket to be stitched to the garment, and a plurality of folding blades disposed around said free space, each of said folding blades including an actuator for moving the respective blade from a retracted position along one side of said free space, to an extended position in said free space so as to fold under the respective edge of the pocket and to enable the sewing head to apply stitching through the folded edges in said free space for sewing the pocket to the garment;
• a transfer device for transferring the unstitched pocket and the underlying garment laterally from said loading table to said pocket setter;
• said transfer device including a templet for receiving the pocket over the garment and for conveying both the pocket and the garment to said pocket setter unit;
• and a program controller controlling said carriage drive, said transfer device, said actuators for the folding blades of the pocket setter and said sewing head, all according to a selected stored program.