Blanket wire insertion machine
First Claim
1. An apparatus for inserting a heating element into a fabric shell of an electric blanket, the shell including two spaced fabric layers which are secured together to form open-ended parallel passageways across the entire shell, comprising a plurality of elongated tubes supported at one end in a common plane and spaced for insertion into said passageways in said shell, said tubes being formed with slots which extend throughout the length of each tube, said slots in adjacent pairs of tubes being in spaced facing relationship, a leader having a leading end and a trailing end and having means to secure its trailing end to a length of a heating wire, drive means positioned at both ends of said tubes to tubes, said drive means engaging said leader and driving said leader through each of said tubes successively to draw said length of heating wire through the passageways of said shell whereby said heating wire extends continuously through said passageway.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Method and apparatus for inserting the heating cable into the shell of an electric blanket, including a plurality of slotted tubes which are inserted to guide a flexible leader which draws the cable successively through each of the adjacent channels in the shell.
35 Citations
23 Claims
- 1. An apparatus for inserting a heating element into a fabric shell of an electric blanket, the shell including two spaced fabric layers which are secured together to form open-ended parallel passageways across the entire shell, comprising a plurality of elongated tubes supported at one end in a common plane and spaced for insertion into said passageways in said shell, said tubes being formed with slots which extend throughout the length of each tube, said slots in adjacent pairs of tubes being in spaced facing relationship, a leader having a leading end and a trailing end and having means to secure its trailing end to a length of a heating wire, drive means positioned at both ends of said tubes to tubes, said drive means engaging said leader and driving said leader through each of said tubes successively to draw said length of heating wire through the passageways of said shell whereby said heating wire extends continuously through said passageway.
- 11. Apparatus for inserting a heating wire into an electric blanket shell of the type having two layers of fabric secured together to form a plurality of open ended passageways within which a heating wire is to be disposed comprising a frame for supporting a blanket shell and drive means for inserting said wire into said shell, a leader for pulling said heating wire through said passageways in said shell, means for attaching a length of heating wire to said leader, a plurality of parallel tubes mounted for insertion into said open ended passageways in said shell, a set of drive means at each end of said tubes, said drive means being positioned to force said leader through each one of said tubes in successive order to draw said heating wire into said tubes and the passageways in said shell, said drive means and said tubes being displaceable relative to each other so that said drive means may be disengaged from said heating wire after it has been inserted into said passageways in said shell.
- 20. A method of assembling a blanket heating wire to a fabric shell of the type having a number of open ended parallel passageways formed between the layers of fabric comprising the steps of inserting removable guide means into the open ended passageways in said blanket shell so that said guide means extend beyond the ends of said passageways, attaching one end of a length of heating wire to an elongated and flexible threading means, driving said threading means through said guide means sequentially through each adjacent guide means so as to insert said heating wire in a continuous pattern extending back and forth through adjacent passageways to extend through all of the passageways in said shell, disengaging said guide means from said shell and said heating wire and disengaging said threading means from said wire.
Specification