Cutting – Processes
Patent
1994-03-31
1998-08-11
Dexter, Clark F.
Cutting
Processes
83 56, 83368, 83910, 83940, 36447409, D06H 716, B23Q 35128, B26D 500
Patent
active
057912157
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to apparatus and methods of cutting patterned fabrics, particularly but not exclusively patterned fabrics of the type known as lace.
The authoritative reference book "Textile Terms and Descriptions" by the Textile Institute of Manchester, U.K, defines "lace" on page 134 of its eighth edition (1986) as follows:
"lace:
A fine openwork fabric with a ground of mesh or net on which patterns may be worked at the same time as the ground is formed or applied later, and which is made of yarn by looping, twisting, or knitting, either by hand with a needle or bobbin, or by machinery; also a similar fabric made by crocheting, tatting, darning, embroidering, weaving, or knitting."
Whether formed by weaving, knitting or otherwise, lace and similar fabrics are commonly formed as a parallel-sided strip of a length usually very much greater than its width. The lace pattern may be formed as one or more pattern strips running along the length of the fabric, one or both sides of the pattern strip being scalloped or otherwise non-straight along the edge of the pattern strip. Particularly where the lace pattern strip is in the form of a relatively narrow trim, a plurality of such lace pattern strips may be formed side-by-side across the width of the as-woven (or as-knitted, etc) strip of fabric. Alternatively, the lace pattern may be formed on the fabric As a piece or discrete area having a closed boundary (as distinct from a strip of indefinite length). Again, a plurality of such discrete pattern pieces may be formed across the width of the as-woven (or as-knitted, etc) strip of fabric, and a plurality of such discrete pattern pieces will commonly be formed along the length of the fabric strip, however many pattern pieces may be formed across the width of the strip.
Pattern strips and pattern pieces may also be formed on the base fabric by techniques including but not restricted to selective dyeing, printing, embroidering, pile trimming or other localised modifications of the base fabric and while not necessarily being "lace" as defined above, such other patterned fabrics have in common with lace (for the purposes of the present invention) the feature of pattern strips or pattern areas on the base fabric, each pattern strip or pattern area having a discrete boundary.
The common problem with lace and other such patterned fabrics is the requirement that each such pattern strip or pattern area (however formed) is required to be cut from the base fabric strip in a manner which closely follows the pattern boundary, ideally without cutting into the pattern strip or pattern area and without leaving attached portions of the base fabric outside of the pattern strip or pattern area.
Therefore the problem requires an effective and efficient means of cutting the base fabric strip along the boundary or boundaries of the pattern strips or pattern areas. It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus and methods of cutting lace and similar patterned fabrics which enable the cutting out of pattern strips and pattern areas along the boundary or boundaries of its pattern strips or pattern areas.
Hand cutting of lace strips and pieces is known, but requires the continuous and vigilant attention of a skilled person with considerable manual dexterity, and is necessarily limited in the speed of cutting and the rate of output of cut material.
Manually controlled cutting of embroidered fabric pieces with the assistance of a power-driven cutting tool is described in US4546546, but in this case, the path of the cut is under the sole control of the operator and therefore has all the limitations of manual pattern following.
A machine for automatically cutting embroidered strips having thickened scalloped edges is described in US3505917. However, this machine is limited to the cutting of strips and depends absolutely on the patterned strips having thickened edges for control of the cutting path. Maloperation of this machine can be expected if the edges of the pattern are not substantially thickened, and/or if other po
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Mitchell Alexander
Morrison Kenneth
Dexter Clark F.
Morrison Technology Limited
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