Background and Field of the Invention The invention relates to a production apparatus, more particularly but not exclusively, for producing garments or textiles.

In garment production, a trend is to move to an automated production line with an aim to increase productivity and lower production costs. Typically, such a production line involves a motorized conveyor system for conveying the unfinished garment to various work stations for processing such as sewing and cutting etc. This assumes that work rate of the workers in the production line to be roughly the same since the speed of the conveyor system is constant. However, in reality, the efficiency of each worker differs and it is difficult to control the conveyor system to suit to the work rate of each worker. As a result, the overall efficiency and productivity of such automated production line which requires workers to produce garments are relatively low. Also, such an automated production line aiso requires a large number of machines and fittings which require high maintenance costs and overhead to run, and the downtime needed to maintain the machines would affect the productivity too. it is an object of this invention to provide a production apparatus which addresses at least one of the prior art disadvantages and/or to provide the public with a useful choice.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a production apparatus comprising: a plurality of work stations arranged to form a production line for articles to be manufactured: and a guide rail mechanism for supporting article carriers for conveying the articles between the work stations; wherein the guide rail mechanism includes a free-moving section which is inclined to enable the article carriers to move under gravity between the work stations. The term "article" is used in a broad sense to mean any item which may be manufactured such as toys, shoes, garments, textiles etc, By using the free-moving section, this enables the article carriers to move from work station to work station without a need for expensive machinery and equipment.

Advantageously, the guide rail mechanism may have a half cylinder section defining engagement openings, and the apparatus may further include coupling members arranged to couple to corresponding engagement openings to support the guide rail mechanism.

Each of the coupling members may include an attachment member having a head portion, an engagement cap arranged over the head portion to form an intermediate attachment assembly to be received inside the guide rail mechanism via one of the engagement openings, and a tightening screw configured to be inserted through the attachment member to enlarge the engagement cap to enable the attachment member to be securely attached to the guide rail mechanism. The head portion may include a number of tapered surfaces for engaging respective engagement fingers of the engagement cap.

Preferably the engagement cap is arranged to be threadedty coupled to the tightening screw, the tapered surfaces of the head portion being configured to cause the engagement fingers of the engagement cap to spread further apart to enable the attachment member to be securely attached to the guide rail mechanism. Each of the coupling members may include an arm attached to a support member, and the apparatus may further include a support frame for supporting the support member.

Preferably, the support frame includes at least one elongate channel having a longitudinal axis parallel to the support frame's length, and the elongate channel is arranged to enable the support member to be coupled to the support frame at any iocation along the elongate channel. The at least one elongate channel may be threaded for cooperating with a threaded screw for coupling the support member to the support frame, The guide rat! mechanism may include a main guide rail and a plurality of bypass guide rails arranged adjacent to the main guide rail for the article carriers to selectively bypass at least one of the workstations. The plurality of work stations may include first, second and third work stations and wherein the plurality of bypass guide rails may include a first bypass guide rail of the first work station, and the apparatus may further include a first switch coupled to the first bypass guide rail, the first switch including a pivotably movable first switch traversing bridge for allowing the article carriers to travel from the first bypass guide rail to the main guide rail, bypass the second work station, and to the third work station, and wherein when the articie carriers are travelling along the main guide rail of the second work station, the article carriers are arranged to cause the first switch traversing bridge to deflect laterally to allow the articie carriers to continue travelling along the main guide rail to the third work station.

The plurality of work stations may include a fourth work station, the plurality of bypass guide rails may include a second bypass guide rail of the first work station, and wherein the apparatus may further include a second switch coupled to the second bypass guide rail, the second switch including a pivotably movable second switch traversing bridge for allowing the article carriers to travel from the second bypass guide rail to the first bypass guide rail, bypass the second work station and the third work station, and to a fourth work station; wherein when the article carriers are travelling along a first bypass guide rail of the second work station, the article carriers are arranged to cause the second switch traversing bridge to deflect laterally to allow the article carriers to continue travelling along the first bypass guide rail of the second work station to bypass the third work station and arrive at the fourth work station.

The plurality of work stations may include a fifth work station, the piuraiity of bypass guide rails may include a third bypass guide rail of the first work station. and wherein the apparatus may include a third switch coupled to the third bypass guide rail, the third switch including a pivotabiy movable third switch traversing bridge for allowing the article carriers to travel from the third bypass guide rail to the second bypass guide rail, bypass the second work station, the third and Fourth work stations, and to a fifth work station; wherein when the article carriers are travelling along a second bypass guide rail of the second work station, the article carriers are arranged to cause the third switch traversing bridge to deflect laterally to allow the article carriers to continue travelling along the second bypass guide rail of the second work station to bypass the third and fourth work stations and arrive at the fifth work station.

Each of the article carriers may include an extendable member for adjusting the carriers' effective length. The extendable member may include a first section and a second section relative movable with respect to the first section, Preferabiy _s the first section may include a push button movable in the second section, and the second section includes a plurality of engagement slots arranged to hold the push button positively at any one of the plurality of engagement slots, Preferably, each of the article carriers may include a plurality of hook arms for engaging with the articles to be carried.

As an alternative to what has been proposed above, the guide rail mechanism may include a main guide rail and a plurality of bypass arranged adjacent to the main guide rail for the article carriers to selectively bypass at least one of the workstations, and wherein the apparatus may further include a main guide rail coupling member arranged to support the main guide rail. In a specific embodiment, the main guide rail coupling member may be a support plate. in a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a production apparatus comprising: a plurality of work stations arranged to form a production line for articles to be manufactured; a guide rail mechanism for supporting article carriers for conveying the articles between the work stations; the guide rail mechanism having a half cylinder section defining an engagement opening, and coupling members arranged to couple to corresponding engagement openings to support the guide rail mechanism. Each of the coupling members may include an attachment member having a head portion, an engagement cap arranged over the head portion to form an intermediate attachment assembly to be received inside the main or a corresponding bypass guide rati via the engagement opening, and a tightening screw configured to be inserted through the attachment member to enlarge the engagement cap to enable the attachment member to be securely attached to the guide rail mechanism. The head portion may include a number of tapered surfaces for engaging respective engagement fingers of the engagement cap.

St should be appreciated that the production apparatus may be used for producing a variety of articles and in particular, the production apparatus may be used to produce articles such as garments or textiles. in a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an article carrier for a production apparatus, the article carrier comprising an extendable member for adjusting the carriers' effective length. In a specific example, the extendable member may include a first section and a second section relative movable with respect to the first section. Preferably, the first section may include a push button movable in the second section, and the second section may include a plurality of engagement slots arranged to hold the push button positively at any one of the plurality of engagement slots. Each of the article carriers may include a plurality of hook arms for engaging with the articles to be carried.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a single piece conveying system characterized in that the conveying system comprises support rods and guide rails, wherein In order from upstream to downstream work stations, each station is provided with a support rod; a guide rail is arranged between every two adjacent support rods, one end of the guide rail is connected with the support rod located at the upstream station and the other end of the guide rail is connected with the support rod located at the downstream station; and wherein the height of one end of the guide rail which is located at the upstream station is higher than thai of the other end of the guide rail which is located at the downstream station.

It should be appreciated that features relevant to one aspect may also be relevant to the other aspects. Brief Description of the Drawings

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a garment production apparatus comprising a plurality of work stations according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a close up rear view of three of the work stations of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of portion BB of Figure 2 to show a first work station more closely to show a main guide rail and a number of bypass guide rails, and also illustrating a hanger for a garment:

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a first bypass guide rail of Figure 3 to show how the first bypass guide rail is attached to a support frame;

Figure 5 is an enlarged rear view of the second work station of Figure 2 shown in a similar way as Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a first switch at the second work station of Figure 5 and which is also used in other work stations:

Figure 7 is an exploded view of the switch of Figure 8 to show the various components;

Figure 8 is a ciosed-up side view of the first switch of Figure 6 together with the main guide rail of Figure 3 to illustrate how a hanger crosses from the first bypass guide rail to the main guide rail;

Figure 9 is a top view of the arrangement of Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a ciosed-up view of the hanger of Figure 3; Figure 11 is a ciosed-up simplified top view of the hanger of Figure 3, when travelling along the main guide rail of Figure 3 to bias the first switch of Figure 6;

Figure 12 is a variation of a first station support frame of the first station of Figure 2; and

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the first station support frame of Figure 12 in the direction NN.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiment

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a production apparatus 1000 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention and inciudes a piurality of work stations 1002 arranged as a production line for making garments (not shown). Each of the work station 1002 includes a support frame 1004 bolted to the ground and upstanding to provide support for other parts of the production apparatus 1000. Equipment (not shown) for a worker to carry out specific tasks is located next to each of the support frames 1004 and the equipment may include a desk, chair and sewing machine etc. The workers may be grouped into groups with the workers in the same group performing the same task before passing the garment to the next group for further work, and in this embodiment, the flow of the production line is shown by arrows AA. in this embodiment, the production apparatus 1000 is arranged as a generally U-shaped production line with five work stations 1002 arranged generally in a straight line in a first production section 1006, and another five work stations 1002 arranged generally also in a straight line in a second production section 1008 with a conveyor system 1010 for conveying the garments from the first production section 1006 to the second production section 1008. The garment production apparatus 1000 includes a guide rail mechanism having respective portions which are inclined for transferring article carriers between stations by gravity. Sn this embodiment, the guide rail mechanism includes a main guide rail 1012 for transferring garments between the work stations 1002 and to explain this in further detail, Figure 2 is a slightly enlarged view of three of the work stations 1002 of the first production section 1006 of Figure 1. It should be mentioned that the second production section 1008 are configured in a similar manner as the first production section 1006 and the explanation below on the first production section 1006 also applies to the second production section 1008.

For ease of explanation, these three work stations 1002. would use the names first, second and third work stations 100, 200 and 300 and the support frames 1004 will also be renumbered as 104, 204 and 304, and referenced as "first station support frame", "second station support frame" and "third station support frame" respectively, and needless to say, it can be appreciated from Figure 1 that there may be many more work stations 1002 and support frames 1004 depending on factory requirements.

The first, second and third work stations 100,200,300 are generally similar in structure and the first work station 100 will be used to explain parts of the work stations 100,200,300. The first work station 100 includes a support structure 102 mounted to the first support frame 104 at a suitable height from the ground for the convenience of the worker at the first work station 100. The support structure 102 includes a Li- shaped frame 106 and two vertical support members 108,110 extending from the U-shaped frame 106 to support the guide rail mechanism including the main guide rail 1012 and a number of bypass guide rails and in this embodiment, the bypass guide rails of the first work station 100 includes first, second and third bypass guide rails 112, 114, 116, which are shown more clearly in Figure 3.

To support the main guide rail 1012 and the bypass guide rails 112.1 14,1 16. the first work station 100 further includes a number of coupling members for coupling to and supporting the guide rail mechanism which includes the main guide rail 1012 and the bypass guide rails 112,114,116. In this embodiment, the coupling members are in the form of a guide rail coupling member 118, first bypass guide rail coupling member 120, second bypass guide rail coupling member 122 and a third bypass guide rail coupling member 124.

The guide rail coupling member 118 has a support plate (not shown) for the main guide rail 1012 to rest or attach thereto. The bypass guide rail coupling members 120,122,124 are structurally similar and the first bypass guide rail coupling member 120 will be used to further explain a preferred structure of the coupling members, and their connections to the respective main guide rail 1012 and the bypass guide rails 112,114,116. It should be appreciated that the guide rail coupling member 118 may be adapted to be the same as the bypass guide rail coupling members 120,122,124 to reduce the profile of the guide rail 1012 as will be apparent later.

Figure 4 is an enlarged exploded view of the first bypass guide raii coupling member 120 and part of the first bypass guide rail 112. As illustrated in Figure 4, the first bypass guide rail 112 is cylindrical and has a generally smooth outer surface and is hollow. In this embodiment, a portion of the first bypass guide rail 112 is cut to create a half cylinder section 112a (which may extend further than what is illustrated in Figure 4), and an engagement opening 112b to receive a part of the first bypass guide rail coupling member 120.

The first bypass guide rail coupling member 120 includes an arm 120a extending horizontally from the first vertical support member 108 and an attachment member 120b mounted to an end of the arm 120a. The attachment member 120b has a generally cylindrical attachment body 120c, a head portion 120d and an end portion 120e _s and the attachment member s overall profile is smaller than the diameter of the opening 112b of the first bypass guide raii 112 in order for at least part of the attachment member 120b to be received inside the first bypass guide rail 112.

The head portion 120d of the attachment member 120b has four-tapered engagement surfaces 120f separated by ridges 120g and the attachment member 120b is hollow with a channel 120h running along a longitudinal axis of the attachment member 120b, and the channel 120h is accessible via the end portion 120e.

The first bypass guide rait coupling member 120 further includes a threaded engagement cap 120Ϊ and in this embodiment, the engagement cap 120i is made of zinc alloy having a number of engagement fingers 120j. As shown in Figure 4, there are four engagement fingers 120j which are slightly arcuate, spaced apart (with the spaces aligned with the ridges 120f) and arranged in a ring to form a generally cylindrical shape. Each of the engagement fingers 120J is adapted to engage with corresponding engagement surfaces 120f of the attachment member 120b so that the engagement cap 120i sits over and on the head portion 120d. This arrangement or an intermediate attachment assembly of the engagement cap 120i to the attachment member 120b is shown in an insert CC of Figure 4. in this arrangement, the intermediate attachment assembly is inserted into the opening 112b of the first bypass guide rail 112 so that the attachment member 120b fits snugly in the first bypass guide rail 112 with the half cylinder section 112a extending over and past the attachment member 120b. A threaded tightening screw 120k is next inserted into the channel 120h via the end portion 120e and threaded through the threaded engagement cap 120i. As the tightening screw 120k makes its way further into the threaded engagement cap 120i. the rotation of the tightening screw 120k draws the threaded engagement cap 1201 further inwards towards the attachment member 120b and causes the engagement surfaces 120f to spread the respective engagement fingers 120] of the engagement cap 1201 further apart to enlarge or increase the diameter of the engagement fingers 120i slightly to engage the first bypass guide rail's internal surface 112c. In this way, the first bypass guide rail is fixedly (and removably) and securely attached to the first vertical support member 108 and also to the first support frame 104.

The main guide rail 1012, second bypass guide rail 114, the third bypass guide rati 116 are similarly connected to the respective guide rail coupling members 118,122,124 in a similar manner as the first bypass guide raii 112 is engaged to the first guide rail coupling member 120.

The apparatus 1000 also includes hangers for transferring garments between work stations 100,200,300 and in particular, from upstream work stations to downstream work stations and an example of such a hanger 2000 Is shown in Figure 3 which has a roller 2002 to roil along the first bypass guide rail 112. It can be appreciated that the half cylinder section 112a of the first bypass guide raii 112 runs past the support frame 104 while allowing the first bypass guide rail 112 to be attached to the first guide raii coupling member 120 as explained above, and in this way, this enables the hanger 2000 to roll smoothly and continuously along the first bypass rail 112 along the half cylinder section 112a and to its destination since no joints are needed. It should be appreciated that the first bypass guide rail 112 has a generally full cylindrical shape after the half cylinder section 112a and in particular when the bypass guide rail 112a travels to the next work station 200. Further, the first bypass guide rail 112 similarly includes a first bypass free-movement section 112d which is inclined to allow the hanger 2000 to move or roil by gravity to its destination. As the name implies, the first bypass guide raii 112 is intended to bypass the main guide rail 1012 which is used mainly by the workers if no line rebalancing is needed. The main guide rail 1012 includes a first step section 1012a to form a first holding section 1012b immediately before the first step section 1012a which is located in close proximity to where the worker sits in order for the worker to easily retrieve any hangers 2000 from the first holding section 1012a. The first holding section 1012b basically holds the garments (carried by the hangers 2000) until the worker could work on the garments.

The apparatus 1000 further includes a first counter 1012c for counting the number of hangers 2000 which is moved by hand past the first counter 1012c, up the first step section 1012a and along the main guide rail 1012. To enable the hangers 2000 to move smoothly to the next work station (immediately downstream), the main guide raii 1012 includes a first free-moving section 1012d which is inclined at an angle to enable the hangers 2000 to move by gravity to the next work station, and all it takes is for the worker to give the hanger 2000 a little push once the hanger 2000 is along the first free-moving section 1012d. In other words, the first free-moving section 1012d of the main guide rail 1012 is higher at an upstream work station than at a downstream station. For example, in the example of Figures 2 and 3, in view of the work flow (see arrow AA), the first work station 100 is considered an upstream station to the second work station 200, and the second work station 200 is considered an upstream station to the third work station 300 and so on and so forth.

The main guide rail 1012 runs and gradually reduces in gradient from the first work station 100 to the second work stations 200 and Figure 5 illustrates the second work station 200. it can be appreciated that the main guide rail 1012 continues and forms a second step section 1012e at the second work station 200. Similar parts of the second work station 200 use similar reference numerals as the first work station 100 except that the numerals start with "2" to be consistent with the reference numeral for the second work station 200.

Similarly, the second step section 1012e forms a second holding section 1012f and likewise, there is also a second counter 1012g for the second work station 200. In this way, any hanger 2000 that is movably attached and moved along the main guide rail 1012 from the first work station 100 would roll by gravity to reach the second holding section 1012f of the second work station 200 for further work on the garment by the worker at the second work station 200.

It should also be appreciated that the first bypass guide rail 112 runs adjacent to the main guide rail 1012 and extends past the second holding section 1012f and the first bypass guide rail 112 includes a second station first switch 500 at its terminating end (i.e. at the second work station 200) which sits just above the main guide rail 1012's second free-moving section 1012h of the second work station 200. Further, it should be apparent that the first bypass guide rail 112 is attached to a second vertical member 210 of a second work station 200 support structure 202 in a similar manner as the first bypass guide rail 112 is attached to the first vertical member 108 of the first work station illustrated in Figures 3 and 4,

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the second station first switch 500 and Figure 7 is an exploded view of the second station first switch 500 to show the various parts. The second station first switch 500 includes a connector 502, a pivoting mechanism 504 coupled to the connector 502 and a traversing bridge 508 coupled to the pivoting mechanism 504.

The connector 502 has a generally cylindrical body 502a with a first end 502b arranged to connect to an end of the first bypass guide rail 112. In this embodiment, the connector's diameter is slightly smalier than the diameter of the first bypass guide rail 112 to enable the connector 502 to be received and fit fnctionaiiy in the first bypass guide raii 112. A second end 502c of the connector 502 is joined to the pivoting mechanism 504 which includes a pivoting base 504a carrying a pivoting member 504b. The pivoting mechanism 504 includes a spacer ring 504c and a bearing 504d. The pivoting mechanism 504 further includes a pivoting arm 504e with a channel 504f to receive a pivoting pin 504g which is inserted into the channel 504f, through the spacer ring 504c and the bearing 504d and secured to the pivoting member 504b to enable the pivoting arm 504e to pivot about the pivoting member 504b horizontally or laterally. Further, there is a cover 504h to close the channel 504f to create a flushed and relatively smooth surface for the pivoting mechanism 504 to allow the hanger 2000 to travel thereon, in this respect, it should be appreciated that the pivoting mechanism 504 is slightly bigger than the connector 502 so that when the connector 502 is inserted into the first bypass guide rail 112, the diameter and profile of the first bypass guide raii 112 is substantially flushed with the diameter and profile of the pivoting mechanism 504.

The pivoting arm 504e includes an attachment portion 504i for connecting to the traversing bridge 506. The traversing bridge 506 has a bridge connector 506a for connecting to the attachment portion 5041 of the pivoting arm 504e and a half cylinder bridge section 506b to reduce the profile of the traversing bridge 508 to enable the hanger 2000 along the first bypass guide rail 112 to cross smoothly to the main guide rail 1012. As it can be seen from Figure 6, the pivoting arm 504e also includes a tapered section 504j to allow a gradual transition to the traversing bridge 506.

When assembled, as shown In Figure 6, the switch 500 pivots and traverses laterally between a first position shown in Figure 6 (i.e. the biasing spring is always biased to maintain the traversing bridge 506 at this position in which the traversing bridge 506 is aligned to a longitudinal axis AB of the switch 500} and a second position when the traversing bridge 506 is deflected and not aligned to the longitudinal axis AB (see deflection angle CD illustrated in Figure 6). In other words, a force is needed to deflect the traversing bridge 506 to an "open" position and when the force is removed, the bearing 504d allows the switch 500 (i.e. the traversing bridge 506) to drop back to the first position under gravity. This is achieved by tilting or rotating the switch 500 axially slightly so that the traversing bridge 506 is arranged to drop back from the second position to the first position under gravity. In the alternative, the switch 500 may inciude a biasing spring (not shown) which biases the traversing bridge 506 from the second position to the first position.

Referring to Figures 3 and 5, if the hanger 2000 is placed on the first bypass guide rail 112 of the first work station 100 of Figure 3 and pushed to travel along the first bypass free-movement section 112d, the hanger 2000 would travel along the first bypass guide rail 112 to the second work station 200 of Figure 5. However, the hanger 2000 would not arrive at the second holding section 1012f of the second work station 200 and instead, the hanger 2000 bypasses this in view of the arrangement of the first bypass guide rail 112 and travels to the second station first switch 500 and rolls along the traversing bridge 506 and drops onto the main guide rail 1012 and travels along the second free-moving section 1012h of the second work station 200 to arrive at a third holding section (not shown but similar to the second holding section 1012f of the second station 200) of the third work station 300. In this way, the hanger 2000 bypasses the second work station 200 to arrive at the third work station 300 which may be used to balance the production line.

The movement of the hanger ^' 2000 from the first bypass guide raii 1 12 to the main guide raii 1012 is shown more clearly from Figures 8 and 9 which illustrate a first position DD of the hanger 2000 when the hanger 2000 is roiling along the traversing bridge 506b and a second position EE when the hanger 2000 has "dropped" (see step arrow FF of Figure 8) onto the main guide rail 1012. it should be appreciated that the second bypass guide rail 114 and the third bypass guide rail 116 of the first work station 100 works in a similar manner and from Figure 5, it can be appreciated that the second bypass guide rail 114 includes a second station second switch 600 at its end, and the third bypass guide rail 116 includes a second station third switch 700 at its end. The second station second and third switches 600,700 are similar in construction and structure as the second station first switch 500. if the worker at the first work station 100 places the hanger 2000 at the second bypass guide raii 114, the hanger 2000 would travel along the second bypass guide rail 114 and onto the second station second switch 600 before crossing over to the first bypass guide rail 212 at the second work station 200. This would mean that the hanger 2000 would bypass the third work station 300 and cross over from the first bypass guide rail 212 of the second work station 200 to the main guide rail 1012 at the third work station to reach a fourth holding section (not shown but similar to the second hoiding section 1012f of the second work station) of the fourth work station for the garment attached to the hanger 2000 to be worked on by a worker at the fourth station,

By the same token, the hanger 2000 if placed at the third bypass guide rail 116 at the first work station would bypass three work stations and arrive at a fifth work station along the production line. Likewise, a worker at the second work station may similarly bypass downstream work stations 200,300... by placing hangers 2000 at the first, second or third bypass guide rails 212,214,216 at the second work station 200. It should be noted thai for the hanger 2000 to cross over relatively smoothly from one guide rail to another (for example from the first bypass guide rail 112 to the main guide rail 1012 or from the second bypass guide rail 114 to the first bypass guide rail 112), the separation distance between the guide rails and the traversing bridge 506b needs to be relatively small of about a few millimeters, and preferably up to 1cm. This explains why it Is preferred for the traversing bridge 506 to have the half cylinder bridge section 506b to reduce the profile of the traversing bridge 506 to faciiitate a much smoother crossing of the hanger 2000. This also means that the apparatus 1000 needs to allow hangers 2000 to travel smoothly when the hangers 2000 are not travelling on the traversing bridge 506b for example.

Using the example of Figure 5 to explain, in addition to the hanger 2000 travelling along the first bypass guide rail 112 to bypass the second work station 200 to reach the third work station 300, the worker at the second work station 200 would normally move the hanger 2000 placed at the second holding section 1012f up the second step section 1012e for the hanger 2000 to travel along the main guide rail 1012 to the third work station 300 (without a need to bypass the third work station 300).

In this way, the hanger 2000 needs to push open the second station first switch 500 as the hanger 2000 travels along the second free-movement section 1012h of the main guide rail 1012 to the third work station 300.

Figure 10 is a ciosed-up view of the hanger 2000 of Figure 3, without showing other parts of the apparatus 1000. The hanger 2000 has an extendable member 2004 coupled to a fastening device 2006 for holding a number of garments (not shown). In this embodiment, the fastening device 2006 includes a number of hook arms 2008 which cooperate with respective engagement surfaces 2010 (formed by the adjacent hook arms 2008, except for a first one in the row) to hold onto the garments as the hanger 2000 makes its way from work station to work station 100,200,300 etc. It should be apparent that the hook arms 2008 may be flexed to allow garments to be hooked thereto and in engagement with the engagement surfaces 2010. in this embodiment, the extendable member 2004 includes two hanger sections 2012,2014 movable relative to each other, lengthwise, to adjust the extendable member's effective length. Specifically, the first hanger section 2012 telescopes inside the second hanger section 2014. The first hanger section 2012 is an elongate rod having a first end 2012a coupled to a side of the roller 2002 and it should be noted that the elongate rod 2012 extends outwardly to form a curved abutment portion 2012b near the first end 2012a and next almost vertically downwards to a second end 2012c.

The second end 2012c includes a push button 2012d which is arranged to engage with one of a plurality of engagement slots 2014a of the second hanger section 2014 to hold the push button 2012d positively in one of the engagement slots 2014a. The second hanger section 2014 is generally elongate and made of aluminum to form the circular engagement slots 2014a which are arranged in a straight line. The second hanger section 2014 also includes an elongate channel 2014b which joins the engagement slots 2014a and this allows the push button 2012c to move under force to the next engagement slot 2014a via the channel 2014b in order to adjust the effective length of the extendable member 2004. For example, position GG shows the push button 2012c in a topmost position which means that the effective length of the extendable member 2004 is the longest and position HH shows the push button 2012c in a lowermost position which means that the effective length of the extendable member 2004 is the shortest. The adjustability of the effective length of the hanger 2000 is particularly useful as it allows the hangers 2000 to be used to hold different types of garments - some longer than others etc so that there is still sufficient clearance between the floor and the garments. Further, this may also allow the worker to work on the garments while attached to the hanger 2000. When the hanger 2000 travels along the main guide rail 1012 from the second work station 200 to the third work station 300, as the hanger 2000 approaches the second station first switch 500, the abutment portion 2012b of the hanger 2000 engages the traversing bridge 506b of the first switch 500 to bias or cause the traversing bridge 506b to "open" to allow a smooth passage of the hanger 2000 along the main guide rail 1012 to the third station 300. This arrangement may be viewed better by referring to Figure 11 which shows the hanger 2000 (showing only the roller 2002 and the abutment portion 2012b) travelling in a direction JJ from the second work station 200 to the third work station 300, As it travels along the main guide rail 2012, in position KK, the abutment portion 2012b comes into contact with the second station first switch 500, specifically the pivoting arm 504e and as the hanger 2000 rolls along (by gravity) the main guide rail 1012, the abutment portion 2012b further biases the traversing bridge 506 to "open" and when the hanger 2000 traveis past the traversing bridge 506, as in position MM, the traversing bridge 506 biases back (under gravity) to the first position in which the second station first switch 500 is "closed" i.e. aligned to the longitudinal axis AB of the first switch 500. in this way, the first switch 500 functions to allow smooth passage of hangers 2000 along the main guide rail 1012 and also, allows crossing between guide rails when the hangers 2000 travels along one of the bypass guide rails 112,114,118 etc.

With the described embodiment, a much simpler and yet efficient production apparatus 1000 is achieved which allows sorting and line balancing without having to spend huge amounts of money on machines and equipment to create a fu!ly automated production iine. Indeed, by using gravity to convey the hangers 2000, this enables the production apparatus 1000 to adapt to the efficiency of the workers and surprisingly, this may lead to greater productivity and throughput. The described embodiments should not be construed as limitative. For example, the production apparatus 1000 may be used to produce other articles, not just garments and textiles. Also, the production 1000 may be arranged in different shapes and sizes, not just a U-shape as shown in Figure 1. it should be appreciated that the coupling members 120 may take different forms and in particular, using the first bypass coupling member 120 as an example, the attachment member 120b may be modified depending on the structure of the first bypass guide rail 112. Similarly, the head portion 120d and the engagement cap 120i may also be modified according to applications. The first switch 500 (and likewise for the other switches) may be adapted to be in different shapes and sizes depending on applications and uses.

In the described embodiment, the support frames 1004 of the apparatus 1000 are bolted to the production floor, but it is possible that this may not be so. For example, each of the support frames 1004 may be mounted to a movable support plate (for example with rollers and a locking mechanism) to facilitate easier reconfiguration of the apparatus 1000. Indeed, it is also possible to use a much iarger support plate so that a number of support frames 1004 (in the same row) are mounted to a common movable support plate, in this way, a "section" of support frames 1004 (and work stations 1002) may be moved or reconfigured simultaneously.

Further, the support frames 1004 may include certain features to make it easier to support the other parts of the apparatus 1000, and the first station support frame 104 is used as an example in which Figure 12 shows a variation of the first station support frame 104 referred to as a variant support frame 800. The variant support frame 800 has a generally rectangular or square cross-section as shown in Figure 13. Unlike the first station support frame 104, the variant support, frame 800 includes at least one elongate threaded channel 802 having a longitudinal axis running along the variant support frame's length. Specifically, in the variant shown in Figure 12, there are three elongate threaded channels 802,804,806, one on each of the three side walls 808,810,812 of the variant support frame 800. It should be appreciated that the threaded channels 802,804,806 run along the entire length (or at least a majority) of the variant support frame 800. In this way, it is very convenient for the support structure 102 to be mounted to the variant support frame 800 since the support structure 102 may be mounted to the support frame 800 at almost any height or location along the threaded channels 802,804,808 by using threaded screws to couple the support structure 102 to the variant support frame 800 via the respective threaded channels 802,804,806. Further, the user can more accurately mount the support structure 102 at a specific location/height to the variant support frame 800.

It should be appreciated thai the variant support frame 800 may be used for other purposes, e.g. constructing of structure, shelves and tables etc.

Also, the apparatus 1000 may be adapted to convey only a single piece garment at a time and in this respect, there is provided a single piece conveying system characterized in that the conveying system comprises support rods and guide rails, wherein in order from upstream to downstream work stations, each station is provided with a support rod: a guide rail I arranged between every two adjacent support rods, one end of the guide rail is connected with the support rod located at the upstream station and the other end of the guide rail is connected with the support rod located at the downstream station; and wherein the height of one end of the guide rail which is located at the upstream station is higher than that of the other end of the guide rail which is located at the downstream station.

Having now fully described the invention, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications can be made hereto without departing from the scope as claimed.