Patents Assigned to Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
  • Patent number: 6123042
    Abstract: An automatic sewing machine comprises a folding device and a guiding and feeding device for a folded workpiece and a main workpiece on which to sew the folded workpiece. The folding device comprises an outer frame with creasing modules which have folding bars. The creasing modules are mounted on the outer frame in a manner adjustable in their direction of extraction and approximately crosswise thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: William Robert Visi
  • Patent number: 6095072
    Abstract: A sewing installation for the production of a lined pocket opening on a workpiece comprises a stand on which a working plate is supported. A cutting device for the production of corner cuts in the workpiece is disposed underneath the working plate. This cutting device is held on a support which lodges in the stand pivotally about an axis so that the cutting device can be moved into a position in which it is free from the working plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Tobias Kaufhold
  • Patent number: 5974990
    Abstract: An apparatus for the transfer of a piping strip from a preparation station on to a workpiece comprises a preparation table and a gripping mechanism to be lowered thereon. In the preparation table, provision is made for a cutting device with a knife carrier having several knives which, by a single knife-driving mechanism, can be elevated from a position lowered underneath the supporting surface of the preparation table and while making cuts, can be guided through the piping strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1999
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Heinz Goldbeck, Torsten Bochert
  • Patent number: 5931106
    Abstract: A sewing machine, in particular a buttonhole sewing machine, is equipped with needle-thread-clamping scissors which have a lower half provided with a cutting edge at its tip portion. They further have an upper half pivotal relative to the lower half and having a cutting edge at its tip portion. Further, they have a clamping jaw to be pressed elastically on the tip portion of the upper half for clamping and holding a tail piece of a needle thread. The upper half can be pivoted in such a way that a receiving opening for the needle thread is formed in an opened position of the scissors, whereas, in a closed position, the needle thread is cut and the tail piece of the needle thread is clamped and retained between the upper half and the clamping jaw. The upper half can further take a third position in which the tip portion of the upper half is free from the clamping jaw and the tail piece of the needle thread is released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1999
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Gerd Papajewski, Christian Mollenkamp, Bernd Pofalla
  • Patent number: 5924375
    Abstract: An automatic sewing apparatus comprises a workpiece holder which is designed for manipulation of a pocket flap. It comprises a flap clamp and a transfer clamp and a clamp. During the sewing of a first flap seam, the flap is held by the flap clamp and the clamp. In this case, the transfer clamp is positioned under the flap. Then the flap clamp is released and the clamp is disengaged and simultaneously the transfer clamp is displaced such that on the one hand the flap is folded down over the first flap seam and is simultaneously held in vicinity to the second flap seam to be produced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Tobias Kaufhold
  • Patent number: 5887537
    Abstract: A sewing machine comprises a holding device, by means of which the front end of the needle thread can be clamped and held. Further, a cutter is available, by means of which the front end of the needle thread can be cut off directly over the workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Rainer Panhorst, Peter Cygon, Manfred Klopper
  • Patent number: 5697311
    Abstract: An automatic sewing machine comprises a stand, on which a workpiece guide and feed device is mounted. This device substantially comprises an x carriage, a y carriage displaceable thereon and a lever with a workpiece holder for the displacement of workpieces on a workpiece receiving plate. The y carriage is drivable by a drive stationary on the stand by way of a shaft which is likewise stationary on the stand and passes though the x carriage. A drive for the y carriage is supported on the shaft by means of a torque/linear bearing. Driving the shaft takes place in proximity to the sewing head and at a distance from an auxiliary station so that inaccuracies of guidance occasioned by torsion of the shaft are minimized during the sewing operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 16, 1997
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Egon Upmeier
  • Patent number: 5611468
    Abstract: Above a workpiece-receiving plate for an lower workpiece, a folding device for an automatic sewing machine comprises two swords, namely a lower sword and an upper sword for receiving an intermediate workpiece and an upper workpiece, respectively. For the folding of the intermediate workpiece about the outer edges of the lower sword, folding modules are mounted on the underside of an outer frame. For the folding of the upper workpiece about the outer edges of the upper sword, folding modules are provided on the upper side of the outer frame. The swords are mounted on a common carriage and movable in height relative to each other. The carriage iself is likewise displaceable in height.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1997
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wolfram Schulze, John Couch, Wolfgang Grosser, Herbert Zielinski
  • Patent number: 5558005
    Abstract: Actuator (1) adapted to be actuated by pressurized fluid as shown for example in FIG. 3, having a plurality of piston-cylinder units (A, B, C, D, E, F) arranged one behind the other and displaceable in the direction of a longitudinal axis (9), in which adjacent parts such as a piston of one unit and a cylinder of the adjacent unit are combined to form a connecting part. The individual piston-cylinder units (A, B, C, D, E, F) are so dimensioned in their lengths that the piston-cylinder units can be provided with different respective stroke lengths (ha, hb, hc, hd, he, hf). The stroke lengths can be varied by devices such as screws with hexagonal sockets (26, 110, 111, 113), and adjusted by a screw-turning tool (34). The actuator (1) has a small number of inexpensive individual parts and is easy to manufacture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 24, 1996
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Christoph Heckner
  • Patent number: 5513585
    Abstract: A device for cutting and turning a piped opening in a cloth workpiece which includes a main piece of cloth and a cloth strip sewed to it. The workpiece has a slit, and corner cuts are formed at the slit ends by corner knives with the workpiece lying on a support plate. Turning tools are introduced into the slit at positions located spaced from the corner cuts. The turning tools are then moved apart toward positions located closer to the corner cuts and thereupon lowered, so as to turn the piped opening. Inserting devices may be provided for initially pushing at least part of the workpiece into the slit before being engaged by the turning tools. An orienting device furthermore may orient the workpiece at an acute angle or perpendicular to the support plate for being engaged by the turning tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1996
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Herbert Diekmann, Herbert Struck, Heinz Goldbeck, Dietrich Kahler
  • Patent number: 5507240
    Abstract: A folding stamp for folding sewing parts which are to be attached to a main sewing part, in a sewing system for making pockets in articles of clothing. The additional sewing parts, such as flaps or pocket-bag blanks, can be fed manually. This folding stamp has a fastening unit arranged on an upwardly and rearwardly extending extension formed on a vertical web. The fastening unit thereby extends above a resting surface on top of the web and in the direction toward the rear end of the folding stamp. The folding stamp is thereby arcuate or C-shaped in longitudinal cross-section, which gives it a compact construction and gives the operator an unimpeded view of the region in which he must feed the additional sewing parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 16, 1996
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Heinz Goldbeck, Werner Meyer, Herbert Struck
  • Patent number: 5485791
    Abstract: A device for removing conveyor carriages from a conveyor-path region of an overhead conveyor in the event of an alarm, particularly in the region of a fire door. The overhead conveyor has a plurality of conveyor carriages received on a travel rail, a drivable pull line driven by a main drive for the conveyor carriages, and a plurality of drivers connected to the pull line, on each of which displaceable stop pawls are arranged. Within the conveyor-path region that is to remain clear, there is arranged in a fixed position a rail which acts upon the drivers as they pass the rail and in each case swings the stop pawl not in contact with the conveyor carriage into a non-driving position, so that upon the triggering of an alarm, although the overhead conveyor is stopped, a conveyor carriage present in the conveyor-path region can be moved out of conveyor-path region by an auxiliary drive which is also located in the conveyor-path region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 23, 1996
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Udo Lubbecke, Ralf Schneuing, Gerhard Schilling
  • Patent number: 5480020
    Abstract: A hanging device for use in a hanging conveyor for receiving the hook of a clothes hanger is adapted to open for the release and/or ejection of the clothes hanger. It has a frame-shaped body and a flap pivotally fastened therein, the frame-shaped body having, in its rear region, a slot which permits the ejection of the hook. With such a hanging device it is possible to load clothes hangers from both sides, even while the conveyor is moving at a high speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Ralf Schneuing, Paul Janzen
  • Patent number: 5456346
    Abstract: A continuous conveyor for transporting individual clothes hangers, the conveyor being inclined by an angle with respect to a horizontal axis which is perpendicular to the transport direction, and having a driven circulating chain. The chain has triangular pushers projecting from the chain and serving to transport the hanger hooks. The chain is guided in a bipartite frame which engages and defines the entire run of the chain. Such a design makes possible a limited structural height so that even hangers that have only a short hook can be conveyed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1995
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Gerhard Schilling, Ralf Schneuing, Paul Janzen
  • Patent number: 5437231
    Abstract: An overhead conveyor system with rolling conveyor carriages guided on rails. The pushers provided for moving the conveyor carriages out of the main track and onto a secondary track are provided with a claw which can be swung in a direction opposite to the direction of transport (T) into an upward-swung third position. In this position, a conveyor carriage which is blocked in the region of a switch and cannot be moved out of the track can be passed by the pusher without damage to the conveyor carriages or the overhead conveyor system. When the claw is swung upward, a flap is at the same time moved out laterally, which can serve as a signal for immediately stopping the conveyor system. The outwardly swung flap may assist maintenance personnel in finding the switch at which a conveyor carriage cannot be properly moved out of the line. The pusher includes a recess which is covered by a spring-loaded plate. The claw is fastened asymmetrically in the pusher so that it swings upward into the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 1, 1995
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Paul Janzen, Winfried Suhling, Gerhard Schilling
  • Patent number: 5429055
    Abstract: A drive element for rail-guided load carriers of an overhead conveyor system in which the driver, which is mounted on the drive element via a hole, has a horizontal groove which extends outward from the hole. Too high a horizontal force acting on the driver causes the drive to be pulled off of the pin. Thus, the drive element which is continuously driven via a drive chain can travel past a conveyor carriage which is blocked in the direction of conveyance without the drive element or the conveyor carriage being destroyed. In order to prevent a driver that has been pulled off of the pin from doing any damage, it is secured via a wire bow which is inserted into a continuous hole provided on the driver. If the overhead conveyor system is developed with branches and a pusher is arranged on the conveyor chain behind each conveyor carriage for pushing the conveyor carriage onto a branch, the pusher claw can be developed in the same way as the driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1995
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Ralf Schneuing, Klaus Niesen, Gerhard Schilling
  • Patent number: 5400731
    Abstract: A method and sewing apparatus including a twin-needle sewing machine (3) for making a pocket insert having a flap. The workpiece (47) is placed in a preparation station (50) and gripped by clamping plates (41, 42), then transported into a sewing position (51), and thereafter into a cutting position (52). Before the seams are made, measurement variables which provide information with respect to the angles formed by the flap-limiting edges are fed to a control (23). As a function of the measurement variables, a control (23) automatically sets the angles of the corner knives (69, 70) provided at the cutting position (51).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1995
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Heinz Goldbeck, Dietrich Kahler, Thorsten Vogt
  • Patent number: 5363786
    Abstract: A thread tensioning device comprising a stationary electromagnet mounted on a sewing machine arm and a tensioning wheel having a relatively low mass. The tensioning wheel is rotatable concentric to a longitudinal axis of the electromagnet and is mounted on the electromagnet so as to be moveable only slightly in the direction of the longitudinal axis. A friction disk is positioned at one end of the electromagnet so as to be between the electromagnet and the tensioning wheel. A current flows through an excitation winding in the electromagnet and its value is varied within given limits by a suitable current control device, thereby causing the electromagnet to pull a flat side of the tensioning wheel with corresponding force against an application side of the friction disk, whereby a corresponding variable thread tensioning force is applied to a sewing thread passing through the tensioning wheel to the sewing machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1994
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Klaus Hampel, Gunter Pries, Wilfried Goldbecker
  • Patent number: 5353726
    Abstract: Fastened to the bobbin for reception of the supply of looper thread which is inserted in the looper of a sewing machine, there is a data carrier (22) in which there is stored data which describe the supply of looper thread present on the bobbin with respect to the amount thereon and possibly also the nature of the sewing thread wound thereon. The data carrier is scanned by a sensor which preferably includes a first read/write head (27) and a second read/write head. After the winding of an empty bobbin, the data defining the supply of looper thread is recorded by said second read/write head in the data carrier of the said bobbin. After the sewing has been effected, the data defining the existing supply of looper thread is entered/read with the first read/write head in/from the data carrier of the corresponding bobbin. Thus, the bobbin provides information at any time as to the supply of looper thread present on it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 11, 1994
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wolfgang Bruder, Horst Bohl, Reinhard Backmann
  • Patent number: 5345887
    Abstract: A thread-pulling device is fastened on the arm of a sewing machine. The thread-pulling device has a thread clamp that can be opened and closed on the thread, and can be moved toward and away from the sewing machine arm. In operation, the needle thread, which has been pulled off the spool and extends to the sewing needle, is conducted through the thread clamp. After an initial seam has been completed, the thread clamp is closed on the thread and moved to an extended position which is remote from the arm. In this way, a given length of the needle thread is pulled off the spool, thus providing the proper length of needle thread for dependable formation of the first stitch of the following seam. Then, shortly after the start of the following sewing process, the thread clamp is moved back over an intermediate distance toward the sewing machine arm so as to pull back the initial piece of the needle thread that is now hanging down from the back of the material at the start of the seam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Durkopp Adler Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Gunter Droste