US 6,164,178 AGranted

Method and apparatus for cutting and removing patterns from a fabric ply mat

AssigneeOmnitex S.r.l.

InventorsVitaliano Iattoni, Fausto Mazza

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Abstract

A method for cutting a mat of plies of fabric in order to facilitate the removal of stacks of cut pattern pieces, which consists of the fact that in addition to perimetrically cutting the contours of the various pattern pieces, additional cuts are formed in the mat which connect the various contours to each other and to the edges of the mat, the cuts reducing the residues of the mat to small and mutually separate portions. The machine for automatically removing the stacks from a cutting table has a supporting framework which is provided with elements for fixing to the table; a conveyor belt for removing the pieces, which is arranged at the base of the framework directly to the side of the table; grippers for gripping and releasing the stacks which are associated with movement elements for producing lifting and lowering and translatory motion along a direction which is parallel to the belt, the movement elements being controlled by a central control and actuation unit which can be programmed according to the shape and arrangement of the stacks in the mat.

In combination, a cutting machine for cutting a mat of piles of fabric, and a machine for automatically removing stacks of pattern pieces cut from said mat of piles of fabric supported on a cutting table of said cutting machine having an outlet edge at which the cut mat is fed, said cutting machine being adapted to perimetrically cut contours of various pattern pieces on the mat of piles of fabric supported on said cutting table to form mutually separate stacks of cut pattern pieces which are mutually separate from each other and which are also separate from a residual portion of the mat, and said cutting machine being further adapted to form additional cuts in the mat which extend in the residual portion of the mat between the contours of said mutually separate stacks of cut pattern pieces to connect the mutually separate stacks of cut pattern pieces to each other by means of said additional cuts and to edges of the mat such that said additional cuts reduce said residual portion of the mat to small and mutually separate residual portions for facilitating removal of said stacks of cut pattern pieces from the mat, and the cutting machine being adapted to move the mat in an advancement direction towards said outlet edge of said cutting table such that said stacks of cut pattern pieces exit from said cutting table at said outlet edge of said cutting table, the machine for automatically removing the stacks of pattern pieces comprising:

a supporting framework arranged adjacent the outlet edge of said cutting table;
a conveyor belt arranged at a base of said framework for removing the cut pieces;
gripping means for gripping the cut stacks which have been fed at said outlet edge of said cutting table simultaneously at top and bottom surfaces of said cut stacks and for removing the cut stacks from the mat of piles of fabric and for releasing the removed cut stacks on said conveyor belt, said gripping means being supported by said framework such that said gripping means is movable up and down in a vertical direction and back and forth in a horizontal direction extending parallel to the extension of said outlet edge of said cutting table.

Abstract

Claims12