US2715440A - Method and apparatus for forming openings in woven fabrics - Google Patents

Description

Allg- 1955 R. v. HAVICZAN ETAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING OPENINGS IN WOVEN FABRICS Filed Aug. 7, 1951 \NVENTOR S Roryrnon d VI Howie an y Jacob P! Treciokcts ATTORNEY United rates Patent l /iETlilflll) AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING UPENTNGS 1N WOVEN FABRICS Raymond V. Havican, Waterbury, and Jacob P. Treciokas, Uairvilie, :Conn assignors to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, tjonn, a corporation of Connecticut Application August '7, 1951, Serial No. 240,643

3 Claims. (Cl. 164-86) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming openings in woven fabrics for the purpose of later assembling a rivet and burr member into such openings.

In the past considerable difficulty has been experienced in providing suitable openings in woven fabric material, particularly work clothing such as denim, for the purpose of setting rivets and burrs for reenforcing the seams and corner constructions of heavy work or play garments. It has been customary to pierce holes in fabric material which has cut the strands of the fabric surrounding the hole with the consequent weakening of the fabric in the area of the rivet setting. Other attempts have been made to pierce the cloth with a sharply pointed instrument, but this method has distorted the cloth about the pierced hole, and also the hole would usually close up after the tool was removed making it diflicult for the operator to find the opening for the purpose of later assembling a rivet and burr therein.

One of the objects of this invention is to pierce or stab an opening into multiple plies of fabric material in such a manner that the fabric about the piercing tool will first be distorted and stretched in the act of piercing and then compressing the distorted fabric about the piercing tool into a compact annulus to maintain the opening in the fabric material after the tool has been removed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mechanism capable of piercing or stabbing openings through several plies of heavy fabric without cutting or mutilating the threads, and which openings will be retained in the fabric material after the material has been removed from the piercing mechanism to facilitate the assembly of the rivet and burr in the fabric opening in a different machine.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which forms a part thereof.

in the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a device embodying the invention showing the tools separated and ready to receive the fabric to be pierced.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the tools in an intermediate position in the act of piercing a hole in a piece of fabric.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the tools at the end of their work operating stroke, and

Fig. 4 is a section through a piece of fabric in the plane of the pierced hole showing the results of the method employed by the above illustrated tools and showing a burr and rivet associated therewith in position for assembly.

Referring now to the drawings, the letter A designates generally a punch unit and the letter B designates a die unit. The punch unit A is attached to the end of a plunger it) by means of a set screw 11, the plunger being guided in the head portion 12 of any conventional fastener setting machine.

The punch unit A consists of a punch holder 13 supporting a piercing punch or stabbing tool 14 similar to an awl and which is held in place by a set screw 15.

The stabbing tool or punch is of cylindrical shape for substantially its entire length and terminates in a conically pointed end 16. Surrounding the punch holder 13 is a movable punch sleeve 17 held in place upon the punch holder 13 by means of a cross pin 18 having its opposite ends slidably engaged in opposed longitudinal slots 19 provided in the side walls of the sleeve 17. The lower end of the sleeve has a restricted opening 20 through which the stabbing punch is projected, and the tip end of the pointed end 16 of the punch normally extends about beyond the lower face 21 of the punch sleeve 17. Both the punch holder and punch sleeve are provided with intermediate circumferential flanges 22 and 23, respectively, between which is compressed a relatively light coiled spring 24 that holds the punch sleeve in normal extended position upon the end of the punch holder 13.

The die unit B consists essentially of a stationary die member 25 that is permanently held in a bed plate 26 forming a part of the fastener setting machine as by means of a cap screw 27. The die member 25 is provided with an intermediate cylindrical portion 28 upon which is slidably fitted a movable die sleeve .29 and held to a restricted axial slidable movement on portion 28 as by means of opposed guide pins 31) projecting into opposite longitudinal slots 31 provided in intermediate cylindrical die portion 28.

The die member 25 is also provided with another intermediate cylindrical portion 32 of smaller diameter than portion 28 and terminating in a reduced section 33 providing for an intermediate shoulder 34 therebetween. The reduced section 33 is slidably fitted in a restricted opening 3d provided in the upper closed end 36 of the die sleeve 29. The closed end 36 of the die sleeve 29 is formed with an annular projection 37 surrounding the opening 35 and providing a work engaging face 38 at its upper end.

As shown in Fig. 1 the die sleeve 29 is normally disposed in its uppermost position relative to the die member as by means of a relatively heavy coiled spring 39 compressed between the closed end 36 of the sleeve and shoulder 4d formed between sections 23 and 32 of the die member in the normal extended position of the sleeve 29 there will be provided a recess 41 in the closed .end 36 of said sleeve as defined by the opening 35 above the upper end of the reduced section 33. The reduced section 33 is provided with a bore 42- of a size comparable to the diameter of the stabbing punch 14 in the punch unit A.

Operation In the operation of this machine a piece of fabric 43 (usually of several plies) that is to be pierced will first be placed on the upper face 38 of the die sleeve 29 in the position where a hole is to be provided. When the machine is set in operation the plunger shaft ill) will carry the plunger unit A downwardly whereupon the extended pointed end in of the piercing punch will first slightly penetrate the fabric to the position where the work face 21 of the punch sleeve 1'"? will engage the fabric and clamp it against the die sleeve face As the punch holder further descends the pointed end 16 of the piercing punch 14 will pierce or penetrate its way into the fabric while the punch sleeve 17 is receding upwardly relative to the piercing punch and at the same time the leading conical end of the punch will carry some amount of the fabric material down into the recess 4-1 of the die unit. As the punch 14- further descends it will pass into the bore 42 of the reduced section 33 to a position where the cylindrical portion of the punch will project through the mate rial that has been carried down into the die unit recess 41 in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

Before the punch holder 13 reaches the end of its descending stroke the punch sleeve 17 will have reached its upper stroke on the punch holder 13 as determined by the fact that the upper end of said sleeve 17 will abut against a stepped shoulder 44 positioned adjacent the flange 22 on punch holder 13, whereupon the face 21 of the punch sleeve 17 will firmly compress the interposed fabric 43 against the upper face 38 of the die sleeve 29. Continued downward movement of the punch sleeve 17 will cause the die sleeve 29 to be forced downwardly relative to the lower die 25 against the influence of the heavy coiled spring 39. During this downward movement of the die sleeve 29 that portion of the fabric material 43a crowded in the socket 41 will be forced upwardly out of the socket 41 by reason of the sleeve projection 37 moving downwardly relative to the stationary upper end of the reduced section 33 to a position where the work engaging face 38 will be flush with the upper end of said reduced section 33. in this state the sleeve 29 will remain at rest and continued movement of the punch sleeve 17 will tightly compress the previously stretched fabric material about the cylindrical portion of the piercing punch 14 such as indicated at 43b. This is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

It is to be understood that the punch 14, as it stabs its way through the fabric, will not cut or mutilate the fabric threads, but rather will separate the threads in the woven structure of the fabric. During this piercing operation the fabric will be distorted downwardly into the recess 41 and somewhat stretched during the intermediate stage of the piercing operation after which this distorted portion of the fabric will be compressed upwardly about the punch in a very firm state which upon the removal of the tool will leave an opening 45 in the fabric that will not close up but will hold its shape over a period of time and if anything strengthening the material surrounding the opening 45 for the subsequent receiving of a rivet and burr member in that part of the fabric.

In the operation of this tool, experience has shown that some amount of lint will result from the piercing operation and accumulate in the die unit B. To exhaust the tool of this lint, which might otherwise damage the mechanism, the cap screw 27 that serves to hold the die unit B to the bed plate 26, is provided with a through aperture 48 terminating at its upper end with an outwardly flared portion 49. This aperture 48 and flared portion 49 lines up with the bore 42 in the die member 25 so that any lint or other foreign matter that may collect in recess 41 may clear itself from the tool by dropping out through the bore 42 and aperture 48.

This compressed annulus of fabric 43b about the open ing 45 will serve to maintain the opening in the fabric for a long period of time as for instance after the garment is removed from the stabbing machine, stored and then transported to another machine for the purpose of assembling a burr and rivet. A typical burr 46 and rivet 47 is shown in Fig. 4 in a position ready to be assembled. It will be readily understood that a hole of the character provided in fabric material such as shown in Fig. 4 will greatly facilitate the later assembly of any burr and rivet at the point of garment construction.

One form of the invention is presented herein for the purpose of exeinplification, but it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The method of providing a pierced hole in a woven fabric which consists in supporting one side of the fabric in radially spaced relationship to a piercing punch or stabbing needle operated from the opposite side of said fabric and having a pointed portion and a cylindrical portion, clamping said fabric against said support in spaced relationship to the cylindrical portion of said needle, forcing said needle through said fabric centrally of the compressed portion of the fabric and causing the adjacent portion of fabric to be distorted downwardly within said supported area and around the cylindrical portion of said needle and finally forcing said distorted portion of the fabric upwardly to the common plane of said fabric and compressing the distorted portion and the surrounding clamped portion to a state less than the normal thickness of said fabric about the cylindrical portion of said needle.

2. In a machine for piercing a hole in woven fabric which comprises a reciprocating piercing punch having a pointed end and a stationary die having a bore for receiving said punch, a movabie sleeve surrounding said die, said sleeve having a flat work support face normally disposed ahove said die in radially spaced relationship to said punch, means permitting said movable sleeve to retract to a position where its support face is flush with the upper surface of said stationary die, a sleeve surrounding said punch having a flat work engaging face, means permitting slidable movement of said latter sleeve on said punch to a predetermined limit against the influence of a light spring, said punch during the act of piercing said fabric distorting a portion of it below said work support face, and said punch sleeve at the end of its retracted stroke relative to said punch traveling with said punch to compress the fabric against said work support face and said die and forcing the distorted portion of said fabric back to a common plane with said compressed fabric about said punch.

3. In a machine for piercing a hole in woven fabric which comprises a reciprocating piercing punch having a pointed end and a stationary die having a bore for receiving said punch, a movable sleeve surrounding said die, said sleeve having a flat work support face normally disposed above said die in radially spaced relationship to said punch, a strong spring means normally maintaining said sleeve support face above said die, a sleeve surrounding said punch having a fiat work engaging face, means permitting limited slidable movement of said latter sleeve on said punch against the influence of a light spring, said punch during the act of piercing said fabric distorting a portion of it below said work support face, and said punch sleeve coincident with the fabric piercing operation first compressing the fabric against the work support face and toward the end of the punch stroke moving with the punch and compressing said fabric against both the work support face and said die to restore the distorted portion of the fabric back to a common plane with the compressed fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,157,754 Benjamin Oct. 26, 1915 1,717,130 Weaver et al June 11, 1929 1,954,671 Inman et al. Apr. 10, 1934- 2,069,231 Findlay Feb. 2, 1937 2,394,346 Wiedrnan Feb. 5, 1946 OTHER REFERENCES Ser. No. 41,883, Meyer et al. (A. P. (3.), published May 4, 1943.

Images