CN115516152A

CN115516152A - Manikin, manikin and transport carriage assembly, machine and system for laser marking pants

Info

Publication number: CN115516152A
Application number: CN202080100142.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: C·马蒂科默玛
Original assignee: Motocono Ag
Current assignee: Motocono Ag
Priority date: 2019-04-26
Filing date: 2020-04-24
Publication date: 2022-12-23
Also published as: WO2020216980A1; US20230142032A1; EP3730686A1; EP4141157A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a manikin (1) for supporting trousers on which laser marking is performed, comprising two leg structures (2) to be placed inside the legs of the trousers. Each structure has a respective longitudinal axis (20), an upper region (21) and a lower region (22), a front plane (23) and a rear plane (24), an inner portion (25) and an outer portion (26). The spacing between the inner and outer sections is varied by a stretching mechanism (3) to move from an inoperative release position (a) to a maximum limit stretching position (B) for marking. Each leg structure is coupled to a respective main rotation axis (5), each leg structure (2) is rotatable about the respective main rotation axis (5) by a respective hinge portion (51), the manikin (1) is provided with a respective hinge portion (5) for each leg structure (2). The main axis of rotation (5) is parallel or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimensions of the trousers. When the front planes (23) are rotated about their respective main axes of rotation (5), they may form at least two angles greater and/or less than 180 °.

Description

Manikin, manikin and transport carriage assembly, machine and system for laser marking pants

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a manikin as a support structure for pants, wherein a laser marking operation is performed on the pants to give the article a worn appearance in a localized area.

The invention also relates to an assembly of said manikin and a transport carriage and to a machine for loading and exposing trousers to the action of a marking laser. The machine comprises at least two assemblies of manikins and carriages, and in which a loading zone for the articles on the manikin placed in said area and a marking zone in which the surface of the trousers loaded on the other manikin is exposed in an oriented manner towards the device emitting the laser beam in order to be marked are distinguished.

Finally, the invention also envisages a system consisting of said machine for loading and exposing trousers to the action of a marking laser.

Background

Jeans (also called overalls) having a worn appearance have been commonly included in the clothing of most wardrobes. This worn appearance is given by the contrast of certain discoloured markings provided in specific areas of the surface of the trousers. The marking of said areas is carried out by laser treatment, wherein a device emitting at least one laser beam reproduces the wear pattern on the surface of the trousers (front, rear, crotch area, etc. of the trousers). The laser beam directed to the surface to be treated is transformed into locally heated spots, which cause the dye of the fabric in the focused area to evaporate, and subsequently the laser spot starts to follow the design of the wear pattern.

During the laser marking operation, the pant surface must be held in tension or tautness without wrinkles to ensure satisfactory results.

First, marking machines are used, which consist of a table with a flat horizontal support surface on which the trousers are laid flat manually, provided with an arm that projects the laser beam downwards on the upwardly oriented area of the trousers. In particular, in order to minimize wrinkles in the area to be treated, one leg is placed on the table, the crotch area of the trousers is placed on the edge of the table, from which the other leg depends. Then, for the other half of the trousers, the trousers are removed and the other leg is placed on the table. In order to mark the exposed area on the other side of the pants, it must be turned over on a flat support surface and the two legs are handled in the same way. In order to mark other areas, such as the crotch of trousers, the trousers can be laid flat and folded along the stops, with the two legs placed on top of each other on the table. However, in this type of machine, the fabric of the region of the trousers to be marked is not sufficiently tightened, wrinkles causing marking deviations, thus causing the trousers to appear flawed, without mentioning the difficulty of marking in the crotch region (in particular where the two legs are joined) due to the presence of wrinkles in the crotch region and the impossibility of tightening said region. Patent document WO03/029545 describes in figure 1 a marking machine of this type provided with a horizontal table on which trousers are placed, highlighting in particular the poor results obtained when marking the crotch region of trousers, as shown in figure 2.

To solve these drawbacks, a mannequin with open legs has been developed, on which trousers are mounted and which is exposed to the influence of a laser beam, moves the mannequin from side to side and can be turned over to mark the front and rear surfaces. These mannequins constitute current laser marking machines, in which the loading area of the trousers on the mannequin is different from the laser marking area, which is generally opposite to the loading area, in which the trousers placed on the mannequin are exposed in different areas thereof to the effect of the laser beam emitted by the laser emitting device oriented towards the exposure area.

There are machines for laser marking trousers, in which the loading station and the marking station are each equipped with a manikin, which is arranged on a common rotating arm, each manikin occupying the opposite end, so that when the rotating arm rotates, the manikin, which has been loaded with trousers to be marked, rotates and moves from the loading station to the marking station, and travels to the loading station, wearing the manikin, which has been marked with trousers at the marking station, where the operator will take the trousers off the manikin, which operator will quickly mark a new piece of trousers. The patent document WO03/029545 shows a machine similar to the one described in figure 3.

A drawback of this machine is that once a pair of trousers on the manikin of the marking station has been marked with a laser, this already loaded manikin cannot travel to the loading station to unload it and load another pair of trousers until the loading of another pair of trousers onto the other manikin has been completed, i.e. when the rotating arm is to rotate and the two manikins are to be exchanged for position. This represents a downtime in the loading cycle and the marking cycle, where the marking time is quite short (e.g., when the marking pattern for this model of pants is simpler than others).

The manikin used to support a pair of trousers, commonly known in the art as a trousers rack, reproduces in position the geometry of the legs from the ankle to the waist, with the legs open. Each mannequin comprises two leg structures firmly connected to each other, adapted to be placed inside the legs of the trousers to be marked, wherein each leg structure is defined by a respective imaginary longitudinal axis along which the respective leg extends, wherein each leg structure comprises an upper portion (the portion closest to the waist of the trousers lying below), a lower portion corresponding to the ankle region of the trousers (through which the trousers are introduced onto the mannequin), a front portion on which the front portion of the legs is arranged, a rear portion on which the rear portion of the legs is arranged, an outer side edge starting from the connection of the legs with the lower end of the respective leg, on which the inner side edge is arranged, and an outer side portion, opposite to the inner side portion, starting from the waist on which the inner side edge is arranged to the lower end of the leg. Each mannequin is attached to a stretching mechanism by which the surface of the pants covering it is changed from a relaxed state to a maximum stretched state in which the surface of the pants is stretched out and free of wrinkles in readiness to receive laser marking.

Some of these mannequins include inflatable sections for stretching portions of the trousers to be marked, as described in patent application publication WO03/029545 (which relates to a method of laser tracking a spot on a garment surface and a system to perform the method) and patent publication ES 2640831-B2.

Patent document WO03/029545 describes a machine equipped with two inflatable mannequins and with the aforementioned common rotating arm. Each mannequin comprises a frame or guide equipped with gripping means and adjustment means for placing the item in the state it assumes when in use. The clamping device comprises a pair of L-shaped hangers opposite each other, which are moved away from each other in order to clamp the waist of the trousers. As regards the adjustment means, these means comprise a pair of air chambers connected to compressed air supply means suitable for inflating the pair of air chambers, and a pair of levers, one on each side of the manikin, which are rotated with respect to the respective cradles, which are articulated to the respective cradles by the action of operating actuators.

The air chambers are connected by respective sleeves to a compressed air supply device which is connected to the compressed air distribution network of the plant. Each air chamber is placed respectively outside the tubular support element and inside a modular tubular structure featuring a plurality of tubular sleeves coaxial with each other, arranged one after the other. These tubular sleeves can be moved according to the two longitudinal axes along which each tubular element extends, so as to define an area in which the air chambers are free, so that, when properly inflated, they can expand freely, forming an inflated area, so that the fabric placed thereon is stretched and stretched without wrinkles. By inflating said chambers, the side bars are inclined with their lower ends on the outside, so that the trousers are just tightened. Although the crotch region of the pants is stretched as the chamber is expanded, it is difficult to position the connection area between the legs in front because the inflation of the legs occludes a portion of this area and the laser does not work on certain points no matter how much the manikin is rotated.

In document ES2640831-B2, the manikin comprises two leg structures symmetrical to each other, extending according to respective longitudinal axes, wherein each leg structure has a front portion corresponding to the front portion of the trousers, a rear portion and an inflatable balloon arranged in the rear portion of the trousers. Each inflatable balloon, in turn, includes an upper edge, a lower edge, a medial portion having a medial edge proximate to the other leg structure, and a lateral portion having a lateral edge opposite the medial portion, wherein the inflatable balloon has a longitudinal axis passing through a geometric center of the inflatable balloon and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the respective leg structure.

In addition to the inflatable balloon, each leg structure comprises a flat front surface and a flat rear surface and a hollow space therebetween in which an outer rod and an inner rod are accommodated, the lower ends of the outer and inner rods being connected to a deployment mechanism for deploying the rods. For each leg structure, the deployment mechanism comprises: a movable guide movable along the leg structure; two deployment arms, each having one end hingedly connected to the movable guide and the other end being a free end; and a support disposed below the movable guide. The movable guide is adapted to move between an extended position, in which it is closer to the support, and a folded position, in which it is further away from the support. Furthermore, the deployment mechanism comprises two links, each link being hingedly connected at one end to an intermediate point of a respective deployment arm and at the other end to the support, wherein the free end of each deployment arm, whether in the folded position or in the deployed position, is located below the end connected to the movable guide, so that when they are deployed, the two deployment arms assume an inverted V-shape. Thus, when the arms are unfolded, the surface of the trousers on which marking is to be performed is tightened by the inflatable balloon and the free end of the connecting rod.

With regard to marking the crotch region of the trousers, said document ES2640831-B2 envisages providing in the manikin an adjustment system for the crotch portion of the trousers, comprising: a height adjustment bar extending from top to bottom between the spaces present between the two leg structures; and a transverse guide disposed on a lower end of the adjustment bar, the transverse guide having two longitudinal through-holes, each of the longitudinal through-holes receiving an inner rod of one of the leg structures.

In the manikins used so far, it is still difficult to properly expose the crotch region of the trousers, which is oriented towards the laser beam, in order to mark it, since the connection areas between the trouser legs, in particular, are partially obstructed by the considerable volume presented by the trouser legs when the balloon or air chamber provided therein is inflated.

Another drawback that arises with marking on such manikins is that each time the operator places trousers on the manikin, he has to bend over to let the manikin pass through the space in the waist, then two trouser legs pass through the lower ends of the two leg structures of the manikin and manually slide the trousers upwards, the operator standing up to fix it on the holding means provided in the upper part of the manikin. Once the trousers are gripped from the top, tightening is started and the operator modifies the front and back surfaces of the trousers legs, stretching the trousers by hand until there are no more wrinkles in the area to be marked. Also, once the trousers have been marked in the planned area according to the design pattern, they can be released and the operator must pull them down by hand and then bend down again in order to remove it from the two-leg structure. In addition to requiring a considerable amount of time due to manual operations, these operations also require body positions that are not suitable for the operator, which over time may cause joint pain and back pain.

It would be desirable to provide a manikin and a machine for loading and exposing the manikin to a laser beam that would overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, so as to ensure that the pattern of wear marks is reproduced accurately on any area of the trousers, which includes the connecting area of the two legs, from which the crotch portion of the trousers is defined as the distance between said area and the waist, and loading the trousers onto the manikin means less physical effort by the operator, so that the time required for loading can be shortened. Also, it is desirable to reduce downtime between the time of loading pants onto a mannequin, the time of marking, and the time of unloading. Another object is to be able to better flatten existing trousers of different sizes and designs, which vary from one model to another, because in addition to the size there are trousers with different shapes at the sides or seams, trousers with larger or smaller angles formed between the legs, high-crotch or low-crotch trousers, etc.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to provide a solution to said drawbacks, a manikin for supporting trousers on which laser marking is performed is disclosed, which is known in the art as trousers hanger. The manikin comprises two leg structures adapted to be placed inside the legs of the trousers to be marked.

Each leg structure is defined by: a respective imaginary longitudinal axis along which the respective leg extends; an upper region; a lower region; a front plane on which the front portions of the legs are disposed; a rear plane opposite the front plane, rear portions of the legs being disposed on the rear plane; the inner side parts of the trouser legs, which extend from the connecting parts of the trouser legs to the inner side edges of the lower ends of the corresponding trouser legs, are arranged on the inner side parts; and an outer portion opposite the inner portion, the outer edges of the legs extending from the waist to the lower ends of the legs being disposed on the outer portion.

The separation distance between the medial portion and the lateral portion of each leg structure is variable by a stretching mechanism, and each leg structure can assume an inoperative release position and a maximum limit stretch position and transition from the inoperative release position to the maximum limit stretch position by increasing the separation distance between the medial portion and the lateral portion. In this maximum limit stretch position, the front and rear portions of the legs disposed on the leg structure are minimally extended with little or no wrinkles to facilitate laser marking of any portion to be marked.

The manikin object of the invention is essentially characterized in that each of the two leg structures is coupled to a respective main rotation axis, the leg structures being rotatable about the respective main rotation axis by a respective hinge part for each leg structure included in the manikin, the main rotation axis of each leg structure being defined as an axis parallel to or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimension of the trousers. According to the articulated coupling, a plurality of angles, at least two angles greater and/or less than 180 °, and obviously also 180 °, may be formed between the front planes of the two leg structures. It is worth mentioning that since the front planes are opposite to the rear planes, when the two front planes of the leg structure are rotated around the main rotation axis, the respective rear planes will form an angle which is subtracted from 360 ° by the angle formed by the front planes when they are rotated around their respective main rotation axis in order to assume the position in which they form an angle between them.

According to a preferred embodiment, the main axis of rotation of each leg structure is an axis parallel to the direction of the crotch dimension of the trousers. According to a further non-preferred alternative embodiment, the main axis of rotation of each leg structure may be a common axis, which is parallel or collinear with said direction of the crotch dimension of the trousers. In a preferred embodiment, a larger rotational position from 0 ° to 360 ° may be present.

By moving from the inactive release position to the maximum extreme stretching position, the distance between the inner portion and the outer portion of each leg structure has increased until it reaches a value almost corresponding to the dimension of the width of the leg in each portion, which width is understood to originate from the measurement of one leg from the inner edge to the outer edge in case the trousers are flattened and stretched.

The rotation or turning of the leg structure may be performed independently of the rotation of the other leg structures, although preferred configurations are possible in which they are turned simultaneously in a separate manner.

It should be reminded that the crotch size of a pair of trousers is understood as the distance from the connection of the legs of the trousers to the waist.

The ability of the manikin to assume different positions with the front planes of its leg structures forming larger and smaller angles than 180 ° contributes to being able to load the trousers to be marked in a manner comfortable for the operator, introducing trousers folded along the crotch line of the trousers when the angle between the front planes is acute. In addition to the foregoing, presenting positions with different angles may enable better exposure of the fabric of the parts of the trousers to be marked to the laser, since the surface to be marked may be oriented perpendicular to the laser beam, without the presence of occluded areas, in addition to the maximum stretch at the maximum limit stretch position.

According to another feature of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each leg structure comprises in its upper region a support in which the medial and lateral portions are supported and by which the leg structure is coupled to a respective main axis of rotation about which the leg mechanism is rotatable by a respective hinge.

According to another feature of the preferred embodiment, each support is connected to a respective first transmission by which each leg structure is made to rotate about a respective main axis of rotation, so that each front plane of the two leg structures can rotate (individually or independently) about the respective main axis of rotation and assume different positions in which the two front planes form between each other a plurality of angles comprised between 0 ° and 360 °.

Another feature of the manikin according to the invention and starting from an embodiment in which it is envisaged that each leg structure comprises the aforementioned support in which is supported an inner part and an outer part, the leg structures being hingedly coupled to the main axis of rotation by means of the support, the inner part comprising a straight inner bar extending in a direction parallel to the imaginary longitudinal axis, the outer part comprising a straight outer bar parallel to the inner bar, and for each leg structure there is provided an intermediate bar parallel to and between the respective inner and outer bars. The stretching mechanism comprises drive means for moving the outer lever and the intermediate lever relative to the inner lever so as to increase the separation distance between them when moving from the inoperative release position (a) to the maximum extreme stretching position (B) and to decrease the separation distance between them when moving from the maximum extreme stretching position (B) to the inoperative release position (a). Furthermore, each support comprises on its inner side a guide for moving the outer bars of the outer section according to a path perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in which the outer bars extend.

According to another feature of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the intermediate bar is connected to the inner bars of the inner and outer side portions of the same leg structure of the manikin by at least two links hinged on both ends thereof (preferably, two links parallel to each other between the inner and intermediate bars and two links parallel to each other between the outer and intermediate bars). The outer section and the middle bar of each leg structure are arranged such that when moved from the inoperative release position to the maximum limit stretch position, they are movable relative to the inner bar of the inner section to move away from the inner section or toward the inner section, and vice versa.

According to another feature of the invention, applied to an embodiment wherein each leg structure comprises in its upper region a support in which an inner portion and an outer portion are supported, and by means of which the leg structures are connected in an articulated manner to the main axis of rotation, it is envisaged that the inner portion comprises an inner contour plate defining an outline simulating the shape that an inner edge of a trouser leg extending from the connection of the trouser leg to the lower end of the respective trouser leg assumes when the trouser leg is pulled flat (wherein the front and rear portions of the trouser leg are overlapped with each other), and/or that the outer portion of each leg structure comprises an outer contour plate defining an outline simulating the shape that an outer edge of a trouser leg extending from the waist to the lower end of the respective trouser leg assumes when the trouser leg is pulled flat (wherein the front and rear portions of the trouser leg are overlapped with each other). On the manikin, the inner and outer contour plates, or a majority thereof, are included in planes parallel to the front and rear planes of their respective leg structures, the outer contour plate of each leg structure being intended to be in contact with at least a portion of the outer edge of the trouser leg of the trousers when the leg structure is in the maximum extreme stretching position (B).

According to another characteristic of the manikin object according to the invention, the inner and outer contour plates have a thickness, measured in a direction perpendicular to the front plane of the leg structure, of between 0.5mm and 6mm, which thickness can vary in different regions of the plate, which thickness is smaller in the section of the plate near the end that can be in contact with the edge of the trouser leg. The inner contour panel has a width that varies along the inner portion, the width being wider at the location of attachment of the legs and narrower at the upper and lower ends in an area that mimics the contour presented by the inner side edges of the legs.

Furthermore, in an advantageous manner, preferably on the inner contour plate, on the edge defining the outer shape, a crotch attachment is provided, which is provided with an apex at its free end (the end opposite the inner contour plate), which attachment is oriented according to an attachment plane that may be parallel, perpendicular or form an oblique angle with the inner contour plate of the respective leg structure. The crotch attachment may be firmly attached to the inner contour plate, for example by welding, or be configured as a fold of the inner contour plate, or according to another embodiment it may be arranged on the plate in a detachable manner, i.e. it is detachable, attached by bolts or any other detachable attachment means, to assemble it according to the trousers design and detach it from the plate.

According to another feature of the manikin object according to the invention, in each leg structure, the inner portion comprises a straight inner bar extending in a direction parallel to the imaginary longitudinal axis, the outer portion comprises a straight outer bar parallel to the inner bar, and the inner contour plate is detachably connected to the inner bar, the outer contour plate is detachably connected to the outer bar, the inner and outer contour plates being detachable from the respective inner and outer bars and replaceable by other inner or other outer contour plates according to another pant design. According to another embodiment, the inner or outer contour plates may be detachably connected to their respective levers by a single pivotable point, such that they may pivot relative to the levers and exert more pressure on the sides of the legs on one side than the other. The pivotable joint is also a detachable joint, so that the contour plates can be detached and replaced with other plates according to the design of the trousers.

The previously described arrangement, in which the outer and inner portions comprise respective outer and inner rods and inner and outer contoured plates detachably connected to these rods, can be applied to any manikin arrangement for supporting pants to be marked thereon, comprising two leg structures adapted to be placed inside the legs of the pants to be marked, wherein each leg structure is defined by: a respective imaginary longitudinal axis along which the respective leg can extend; an upper region; a lower region; a front plane on which the front portions of the legs are disposed; a back plane opposite the front plane, the back portion of the leg being disposed on the back plane; inner portions on which inner side edges of the legs extending from a connection of the legs to a lower end of the respective leg can be disposed; and an outer portion opposite the inner portion on which an outer side edge of the leg extending from the waist to a lower end of the leg can be disposed, wherein a separation distance between the inner portion and the outer portion of each leg structure can be varied by a corresponding stretching mechanism, wherein each leg structure can assume an inactive release position (a) and a maximum limit stretch position (B), and wherein the front portion and the rear portion of the leg disposed on the leg structure remain maximally stretched for laser marking on any portion by increasing the separation distance between the inner portion and the outer portion from the inactive release position (a) to the maximum limit stretch position (B). Thus, for said configuration of the outer and inner portions (comprising the outer and inner contour plates), it is not necessary or necessary to connect each leg structure in an articulated manner to the respective main axis of rotation about which it can rotate by means of the respective hinge, the main axis of rotation of each leg structure being an axis parallel to or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimension of the trousers, the two leg structures being able to form at least two angles between each other which are larger and/or smaller than 180 ° when the front planes of them are rotated about their respective main axes of rotation. This is further advantageous if the manikin comprises two hinged leg structures which are rotatable around their respective main rotation axes, since there will be no problem when loading trousers onto the manikin, since if the manikin is folded such that the rotated leg structures almost overlap each other, or form an acute angle between its front planes, it will not interfere with the inner contour plates. If the manikin does not have the ability to rotate its leg structures, the inner portion will be configured to help temporarily block the inner contour plate, in whole or in part, toward the inside of the inner rod without the inner contour plate protruding excessively so that there is a space between the inner contour plates of the two leg structures through which the pants can pass.

According to still further features in accordance with preferred embodiments of the manikin object according to the invention, the support member of each leg structure on which the medial side portion and the lateral side portion are supported comprises: a first half support on which the medial and lateral portions are supported; and a second half-support by which the leg structure is hingedly connected to a respective hinge portion by which the leg structure can be rotated about a respective main axis of rotation. The first half-support and the second half-support are connected to each other in an articulated manner, the first half-support being rotatable relative to the second half-support between the trouser legs about an angular adjustment connection which is rotatable about an angular adjustment axis which is an axis perpendicular to the front plane or to a plane in which the inner and outer parts of the leg structure are included. The first and second half-support members are configured to be articulated to each other by means of the angle-adjustment connection such that when the first half-support member is rotated relative to the second half-support member, the inner portion of the leg structure changes its angle with a direction in which the main axis of rotation extends, which direction is parallel to or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimension of the trousers, the manikin being able to change the angle formed by the inner portions of the two leg structures in accordance with the trousers design.

According to another additional feature of this preferred embodiment of the manikin according to the invention, in each leg structure the first half support supports the inner bar of the inner part and the outer bar of the outer part, respectively, the first half support and the second half support being configured to be articulated to each other such that when the first half support is rotated relative to the second half support, the inner bar of the leg structure changes its angle with the direction in which the main rotation axis extends, which direction is parallel to or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimension of the trousers, the manikin being able to change the angle formed by the inner bars of the two leg structures between each other.

According to another feature of this preferred embodiment of the manikin according to the invention, the first half support and the second half support of each leg structure are constituted by respective bodies, each body being provided with a front plate and a rear plate, parallel to the front plane and to the rear plane of the leg structure, respectively, said front plate and said rear plate being provided with holes, pivots and slots to enable rotation of the first half support with respect to the second half support, each leg structure comprising: an angle adjustment mechanism to change an angle formed by the inner portions of the two leg structures relative to each other or an angle formed by the inner bars of the inner portions of the two leg structures relative to each other; and a locking device for the angle. In this way, the manikin can be adapted to the model of the trousers to be marked and thereby adjusted to the angle it has between the legs of the trousers.

Preferably, the angle adjustment mechanism comprises a spindle which is coupled in a fixed manner in the second half-support, which spindle is moved relative to the second half-support in the direction of the first half-support and is provided with a head which can be rotated manually to advance the spindle, wherein the end of the spindle is introduced into the first half-support. The angular adjustment mechanism further comprises a nut traversed by the spindle, said nut being provided with a pivot and in turn being arranged in a direction parallel to the angular adjustment axis and in turn being arranged in at least one slotted hole formed in the front plate or in the rear plate of the first half-support. All this is arranged so that when the spindle is rotated, the nut moves with respect to the second half-support, the pivot of the nut exerting a thrust in the slot of the first half-support, so as to rotate the slot and the plate in which it is arranged with respect to the second half-support about the angular adjustment axis.

Preferably, the locking means for the angle between the first half-support and the second half-support comprise an angle locking bolt parallel to the direction of the angle adjustment axis, provided with a head at one end and a fastening nut or wing nut at the other end, the angle locking bolt constituting part of the second half-support and being provided with a slot in the shape of a circular arc in a plate integrally connected with the first half-support. An angle locking bolt passes through the slot, the head is located on one side of the slot, and a fastening nut or wing nut is located on the other side of the slot and protrudes from the front or rear plate of the second half support. When the fastening nut or wing nut is tightened, it is tightened against the plate, the head of the angle locking bolt is tightened against the slot and the rotation between the first half support and the second half support is fixed.

According to another preferred feature, for any of the preceding embodiments, the manikin object of the invention comprises, above the upper region of the leg structures, a cylindrical or prismatic apical axial body extending in a direction parallel to the direction of the main rotation axis of the leg structures, the apical axial body being arranged equidistant from both leg structures and being integrally connected to the body supporting the hinge parts, each leg structure being rotatable about its respective main rotation axis by means of these hinge parts, all of which are configured such that they move relative to the apical axial body when the leg structures are rotated about their respective main rotation axis.

According to a second aspect of the invention it is disclosed an assembly of a manikin and a transport carriage, characterized in that the manikin is a manikin similar to the one described in the previous paragraph (a manikin comprising a cylindrical or prismatic apical axial body), wherein the transport carriage is provided with movement motor means for autonomous movement of the transport carriage along the guiding path. The transport carriage may be coupled to the manikin for joint movement of the two along the guide path, wherein said coupling with the manikin is configured to enable access to the tip axial body from outside the transport carriage and to enable rotation of the manikin independently of the transport carriage about a vertical rotation axis of the manikin, which vertical rotation axis coincides with an imaginary axial axis of the tip axial body of the manikin when the tip axial body is arranged in the vertical position.

According to a particular embodiment of the assembly object according to the invention, the assembly object is constituted by a manikin and a transport carriage connected in an articulated manner to the manikin by a loading rotation axis that is horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of the imaginary axial axis of the top axial body of the manikin, the manikin being rotatable about said loading rotation axis and being able to assume a specific loading position (C) of the trousers. In this particular loading position (C), onto which the trousers folded on themselves along a line defining the crotch portion of the trousers can be loaded, the front or rear planes of the two leg structures of the manikin are arranged to form an acute angle or to overlap each other and are comprised in a non-vertical plane, and the imaginary axial axis of the top axial body of the manikin forms an acute angle with the vertical direction. In fact, the same specific loading position (C) can also be used for unloading the trousers from the manikin. Although the trousers can be loaded onto the manikin only by: placing the manikin in a position where its front plane is at an acute angle, rotating the leg structures around their respective main axes of rotation parallel to the crotch axis, loading the trousers folded around the crotch without having to assume said specific loading position (C), the function achieved with the specific loading position (C) providing greater comfort, since the lower end of the manikin is raised with respect to the floor and the manikin is rotated with respect to the vertical plane, and therefore the operator can place the trousers on the manikin without having to bend excessively.

This configuration, by which the manikin can assume a particular loading position (C), is very comfortable for the operator, since the trousers, folded around their crotch portion, can be loaded onto the manikin with the legs almost or almost overlapping each other (as we do when folding the trousers longitudinally around their symmetry axis), it is possible to arrange the front planes of the two leg structures of the manikin by forming an acute angle (or an obtuse angle, depending on whether the trousers are folded such that the front legs are on the inner or outer part), depending on the ability of the manikin to rotate around the main rotation axis. Furthermore, by enabling the manikin to rotate about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the main axis of rotation, and by being held such that its main axis of rotation forms an acute angle (preferably about 45 ° or less), the manikin can be arranged such that the front and rear planes of its leg structures are in an inclined plane instead of a vertical plane (vertical plane is understood to be the plane perpendicular to the support base of the marking machine, respectively), and the lower end of the leg structures (from which the manikin wears pants) is higher and more forward than the rest of the manikin, so the operator does not have to bend over to introduce the pants when loading the manikin.

In summary, the operator does not need to put the trousers in their normal position, with the waist extended (the front plane forming 180 °) and stooped down in order to pass under the trousers, instead, the manikin can be set such that the front plane forms an acute angle (preferably about 20 ° or the planes completely overlap each other), and in a more comfortable way one or more manikins of the loading zone can assume a specific loading position (C), with said front plane inclined at an acute angle with respect to the vertical plane, so that when the operator stands, the folded trousers can be loaded longitudinally from a comfortable height in order to place the lower part of the manikin at the height of his hands.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a machine for loading trousers and exposing them to laser for marking thereof is disclosed, comprising: a loading zone in which trousers are loaded onto at least one mannequin; and a marking area in which the trousers loaded on the manikin from the loading area are exposed to an external action of the laser to mark the trousers. In the machine object of the invention, the one or more manikins form or are part of a manikin and a transport carriage assembly according to the above-described assembly. Furthermore, in the machine of the invention, the transport carriage is movable by means of a movement motor arrangement along at least one guide path for transporting the manikin from the loading zone to the marking zone and from the marking zone to the loading zone.

According to a preferred embodiment of the machine according to the invention, the machine comprises more than one loading zone separated from each other and respective transport guide paths converging in the same marking zone, wherein the machine comprises at least one mannequin and a transport carriage assembly for each loading zone.

According to another feature of a preferred embodiment of the machine object of the invention, the transport guide path is a path arranged radially with respect to the marking area and on one or both sides of the marking area, the marking area facing the laser device. Each loading area can have an operator to load the trousers to increase productivity.

According to another feature of a preferred embodiment of the machine object of the invention, the loading zone comprises an electric rotary positioning device which is rotatable about a vertical positioning axis located after but spaced from a transport guide path by which the transport carriage guides the manikin from the loading zone to the end of the transport guide path. The positioning device comprises a positioning track having a linear path which, when rotated with respect to a vertical positioning axis, can be aligned with any one of the transport guide paths for receiving the manikin guided by the transport carriage in the marking zone, and a connecting device which can be connected to a top axial body of the manikin received in the positioning track and which, when said imaginary axial axis is parallel to the vertical, rotates the manikin around an imaginary axial axis of the top axial body of the manikin.

According to another additional characteristic of the machine object of the invention, the machine comprises control means for detecting the presence of a person in any of the one or more loading zones, the control means being configured to send a warning signal to the movement motor means of the transport carriage, by means of which control means the advancing speed of the transport carriage in the transport guide path is controlled and varied, the control means being even able to detect the advancing of the transport carriage in any direction from the loading zone to the marking zone and vice versa.

Although this would not be so advantageous, it is worth mentioning that the arrangement of the elements constituting the only marking and loading zones of the machine can be run using any mannequin that does not need to be able to rotate its leg structure about its respective main axis of rotation, since marking is mainly performed with the front plane of the leg structure set at 180 °. It is sufficient for the manikin to have a vertical cylindrical or prismatic apical axial body above the upper region of the leg structures, which apical axial body is located at the upper end of the manikin and centers it between the two leg structures.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, a system for laser marking trousers is disclosed, comprising at least one machine according to the invention similar to the one described in the preceding paragraph, and at least one auxiliary device for automatically loading and/or unloading trousers to be loaded and/or unloaded onto a manikin located in one or more loading zones of the machine.

The auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading comprises: a support base to be fixed on a surface such as a floor; a plurality of back-up supports, each back-up support comprising a pair of oblong back-up profiles, wherein the back-up profiles of the same pair are parallel to each other and spaced apart by a distance, and they have a length such that they can receive the insertion of the two legs of the trousers in a folded position around the crotch line of the trousers. The back-up support is arranged in an inclined and cantilevered manner so that its upper end is free, while its lower end is connected to a moving device by means of which the back-up support can be moved in a guided manner in relation to the support base in a path. The auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading further comprises a lead-in arm, constituted by an inclined guide, fixed with respect to the support base and arranged above and facing one of the alternate supports of the plurality of supports. The length of the guide rail is such that it projects above said back-up support, the upper end of the guide rail being located at the same height or at a higher height than the upper region of the leg structure of the manikin arranged in the loading zone of the machine. The intake arm is provided with projecting pushing means slidable along the guide rail and projecting with respect to the guide rail towards the back-up support, so that the distance faced by the projecting pushing means and the back-up support is such as to enable the projecting pushing means to push the trousers arranged in a folded manner on the back-up support and to move them along the guide rail to their upper ends in order to load the trousers onto the manikin. On the other hand, if the auxiliary device is used to remove the marked trousers, the projecting pushing device pushes the marked and folded trousers on the manikin and slides them downwards, removing them from the manikin and then inserting them along the spare support (without trousers).

Preferably, the auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading is a robot, wherein each backup support can be arranged in a position of the path followed when the backup support is moved under the lead-in arm, in which position the inclined portion of said backup support is parallel to the inclined portion of the lead-in arm, and the projecting pusher of the lead-in arm projects from the guide rail into the spacing space between two backup profiles of the backup support located under the guide rail.

The projecting pushing means, which are slidable along the guide rail, project with respect to the guide rail a distance towards the standby support that it faces, so that the projecting pushing means can push the trousers folded on the standby support and move it along the guide rail to the upper end of the standby support. The projecting pushers can slide upwards from the bottom until they reach the connection areas of the legs of the trousers folded on the standby support facing it. When they slide towards the upper end of the intake arm, the projecting pushing means drag the trousers upwards, since it is pushed upwards by the connecting areas of the legs, and they will always lift the trousers upwards.

In order to use the auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading as an automatic loader, a standby support in which trousers are supported is first provided, and the standby support faces the introducing arm. The manikin without trousers must also be placed in the specific loading position (C), that is to say the front plane of the leg structure forms an acute angle (preferably about 20 °), in order to receive the folded trousers and to initiate a method suitable for placing the manikin in the specific loading position (C) so that said front plane is in a non-vertical plane and in particular has the same inclination as the intake arm. The two lower regions of the leg structure of the manikin will be arranged behind and aligned with the respective spare profiles constituting the spare support. The protruding pushing means will start its lifting and will push the folded trousers carried upwards through the connecting areas of the legs. When the trousers are pulled upwards, it will start to leave the back-up support and will enter the leg structure of the manikin until the manikin is put on the clothes.

Alternatively or additionally, the projecting pushing means can be provided with gripping elements (e.g. clips or hooking means) for gripping or hooking the waist of the trousers or a part thereof (e.g. a belt loop) and introducing them onto the manikin by carrying them in a sliding manner along the introduction arms, and releasing them from gripping, holding or hooking once it is loaded, i.e. the waist of the trousers is placed around the upper part of the outer part.

Drawings

In addition to the description provided herein, and in order to help make the characteristics of the invention easier to understand, this patent specification is accompanied by a set of views representing, by way of illustration and not of limitation, a first and a second preferred embodiment of a mannequin and transport carriage assembly according to the invention, an embodiment of a machine for loading and exposing pants to laser marking according to the invention and an embodiment of a system comprising said machine and an auxiliary for loading and/or unloading according to the invention, wherein:

fig. 1 is a front view of an manikin object of the invention in a maximum extreme stretching position (B) according to a preferred embodiment, wherein the front plane of the leg structure forms 180 °;

FIG. 2 is a view of the mannequin of FIG. 1 in a maximum extreme extended position (B) in which the front plane of the leg structure forms 180, but the first half support is rotated relative to the second half support about the axis of rotation of the hinge for angular adjustment to improve its adaptability to the angle between the legs to be loaded and marked on the mannequin;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the angle adjustment mechanism of the manikin of FIG. 1, but in an intermediate stretched position;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the angular adjustment mechanism of the manikin shown in FIG. 3 in the position of FIG. 2, wherein the first half support is rotated relative to the second half support;

FIG. 5 is an expanded view of a particular embodiment of a flat crotch attachment that is an alternative to the flat crotch attachment found in the mannequin of FIG. 1;

figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of the manikin of figure 1 in an inactive release position, but wherein the leg structures have been rotated about their respective main axes of rotation, with their front planes forming an oblique angle, so that in figure 6a plane containing the front and rear planes of the leg structures is schematically shown;

figures 8 to 10 are different views of the manikin of figure 6, wherein the leg structures have been rotated about their respective main rotation axes until they are on top of their front plane, presenting a folded position facilitating loading of trousers onto the manikin by introducing a strip of trousers folded around its crotch from the bottom;

figure 11 is a detailed view of the locking device at an angle between the first half support and the second half support of the manikin;

figure 12 is a schematic view of a manikin and a transport carriage assembly, wherein the manikin is one of the second embodiments of the manikin object of the present invention, and the manikin is in a particular loading position (C) after having been rotated about a loading rotation axis through which the manikin is hinged to the transport carriage;

FIG. 13 is a view of an embodiment of a machine for loading pants and exposing them to laser light to mark them according to the present invention, with the mannequin of the loading area in the position shown in FIG. 12;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are two preferred embodiments for loading pants and exposing them to laser for marking them according to the present invention;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are two detailed views of the converging end for the transport guide path and machine positioning device of FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view, partly in cross-section, showing a positioning device of the machine of FIG. 15;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a converging end for the transport guide path and machine positioning device of FIG. 15;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the machine positioning device of FIG. 14;

figure 21 is a perspective view of a system for laser marking trousers according to the present invention, comprising an auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading trousers and a machine for loading trousers and exposing them to laser for marking them according to an embodiment of the invention different from the previous one, also represented, for better understanding, by an emitter device of at least one laser beam oriented towards the marking area of the machine, when automatic loading is performed on a manikin according to the invention in the loading area of the machine; and

fig. 22 is a perspective view of the auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading shown in fig. 21 and a portion of the machine loading station shown in fig. 21.

Detailed Description

Figures 1, 2 and 6 to 10 show a manikin 1 for supporting trousers (not shown) on which laser marking is performed to provide markings for certain areas of the trousers, thereby giving the trousers a worn appearance.

The manikin 1 comprises two leg structures 2 adapted to be placed on the inner sides of the legs of the trousers to be marked, which is commonly known as a half-rack. Each leg structure 2 is defined by: a respective imaginary longitudinal axis 20 (see fig. 1 and 6), along which the respective legs of the trousers to be fitted on the manikin extend; an upper region 21 (which is near and above the waist of the pants); a lower region 22; a front plane 23, on which front portions of the legs are arranged; a rear plane 24, on which rear portions of the legs are arranged; an inner portion 25 on which an inner side edge of the trousers extending from the connection of the legs to the lower end of the corresponding leg is disposed; and an outer portion 26 opposite to the inner portion 25, an outer edge of the pants extending from the waist to a lower end of the legs being provided on the outer portion 26.

Each inner portion 25 comprises a straight inner bar 25a extending in a direction parallel to the direction of the imaginary longitudinal axis 20, and furthermore each outer portion 26 comprises a straight outer bar 26a parallel to the inner bar 25 a. Furthermore, each leg structure 2 has an intermediate bar 34, which intermediate bar 34 is arranged parallel to the respective inner bar 25a and outer bar 26a between the inner bar 25a and outer bar 26a. The inner rod 25a and the outer rod 26a are formed by rods or profiles having a front and a back. The front faces of the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 of the leg structure 2 are the front faces considered for defining the front plane 23 of said leg structure 2, and the rear face opposite to the front face is the rear face defining the rear plane 24. The distance between the front plane 23 and the rear plane 24 translates into the thickness of the section bars or rods that constitute the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26.

The manikin 1 comprises a stretching mechanism 3, the separation distance between the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 of each leg structure 2 being changeable by means of the stretching mechanism 3, so that each leg structure 2 can assume an inactive release position a shown in fig. 6 to 10 and a maximum limit stretch position B shown in fig. 1 and 2 and be moved from the inactive release position a to the maximum limit stretch position B in which the separation distance between the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 of each leg structure 2 increases until it reaches a value corresponding to the size of the total width of the trouser legs, the front and rear portions of the trouser legs provided on the leg structures 2 remaining maximally extended for laser marking on either portion thereof. The stretching means 3 do not comprise any chambers or inflatable balloons, instead, the trousers on the manikin 1 in the maximum extreme stretching position take on the same way as it would if it were flattened and stretched.

According to the embodiment of the manikin 1 shown in fig. 1, 2 and 6-10, the inner portion 25 comprises an inner contour plate 25b, which inner contour plate 25b defines an outline simulating the shape assumed by the inner side edges of the legs extending from the connection of the legs to the lower end of the respective leg when the legs are flattened (wherein the front portions of the legs and the rear portions of the legs overlap each other). In addition, the outer portion 26 includes an outer contour plate 26b that defines an outline that mimics the shape assumed by the outer edges of the legs extending from the waist to the lower end of the respective leg when the legs are flattened (wherein the front portions of the legs and the rear portions of the legs overlap one another). The inner contour plate 25b and the outer contour plate 26b, or a large part thereof, are included in planes parallel to the front plane 23 and the rear plane 24 of their respective leg structure 2, respectively. The outer contour plate 26B of each leg structure 2 is intended to be in contact with at least a portion of the outer edge of the trouser leg (or with the entire outer edge) when the leg structure 2 is in the maximum extreme stretch position B shown in fig. 1 and 2.

The thickness of the inner and outer

contoured plates

25b, 26b, measured in a direction perpendicular to the front plane 23 of the leg structure 2, is 0.5mm to 6mm (about 1.5mm in many plates). However, in one contour plate, the thickness is not constant, but may vary in different regions of the plate, the thickness being smaller in the portions of the plate near the ends that can come into contact with the edges of the legs. Preferably, they are made of metal, and more preferably of aluminum. It can be seen that the variation in the width of the inner contoured plate 25b along the inner portion 25 is wider at the junction of the legs and narrower at the upper and lower ends in the contoured area having a shape that mimics that exhibited by the inner edges of the legs.

As can be clearly seen in fig. 1 and 2, on the edges of the inner contour plate 25b defining the outer shape, a crotch attachment 9 is provided, which indicates the crotch area of the stretched pants and does not leave wrinkles, so that this area can be marked well with a laser. The crotch attachment 9 has an apex at its free end (the end opposite to the end where it is connected or joined to the inner contour plate 25 b). The crotch attachment 9 can be oriented according to the design or model of the trousers to be marked, according to an attachment plane parallel, perpendicular or forming an oblique angle with the inner contour plate 25b of the corresponding leg structure 2, according to the model of the trousers to be loaded and marked. In fig. 1 and 2, the crotch attachment 9 forms an oblique angle, although it approaches 90 °. Fig. 5 partially shows the leg structure 2 with a further embodiment of the inner contour plate 25b and the outer contour plate 26b, so that the arrangement of the crotch attachment 9 with respect to a plane comprising most of the inner contour plate 25b can be shown in detail.

The inner contoured plates 25b are detachably connected (e.g., by a joint threaded at one or more locations, by a joint pivotable at one point) to the respective inner bars 25a, and the outer contoured plates 26b are, as is the case with the outer contoured plates 26b, detachably connected to the outer bars 26a, so that the inner and outer

contoured plates

25b, 26b can be detached from the respective inner and

outer bars

25a, 26a and replaced with other inner and outer

contoured plates

25b, 26b designed for another pant that differs in the shape of the side edges of the pant leg. Thus, the inner contour plate 25b and the outer contour plate 26b can be changed according to the model and size of the trousers to be marked, for example, by screwing the inner contour plate 25b and the outer contour plate 26b onto the inner rod 25a and the outer rod 26a and unscrewing them from the inner rod 25a and the outer rod 26a.

Fig. 11 also shows that each outer portion 26 is provided, in a region close to its upper end, with a stopper 30 in the form of an inverted L, in which stopper 30 the waist of the trousers is placed. In the maximum extreme stretching position B, the trousers will be completely tightened. It also shows that the outer contoured plate 26b is located just behind the lower end of the stop 30 because it generally starts at a waist-down position to make room for the buttocks when the width of the pants is increased. Each model and size of pant will vary its hip circumference and leg width along its length, and thus the outer contour plate 26b will touch the outermost edge region of the pant.

The manikin 1 is distinguished in that the two leg structures 2 are connected in a hinged manner to a respective main rotation axis 5, each leg structure 2 being rotatable around this main rotation axis 5 by means of a respective hinge 51 consisting of the manikin 1, the main rotation axis 5 being an axis parallel to the direction of the crotch dimension. It is noted that the crotch portion of the trousers is understood as the distance from the connecting portions of the legs of the trousers (points located below the position corresponding to the front crotch opening, if present) to the waist portion. Each leg structure 2 is individually rotatable with respect to the other leg structure 2, which means that rotation of one leg structure 2 does not affect the magnitude of rotation of the other leg structure 2, although in the preferred embodiment shown both leg structures 2 are rotated in the same rotational direction by the same magnitude of rotation.

Figures 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 to 10 show the manikin 1 in different positions, wherein the two leg structures 2 have been rotated about their respective main rotation axes 5 (vertical axes in the shown position) such that the front planes 23 form an angle between each other larger and/or smaller than 180 °, for example an angle between 10 ° and 350 °, and thus the two back planes 24 opposite the front planes 23 form a different angle between 350 ° and 10 ° (the difference of the angle formed by the front planes 23 is subtracted from 360 °). When the two leg structures 2 almost overlap each other, angles of almost 0 ° and 360 ° may even be formed (fig. 8 to 10).

The ability to rotate each leg structure 2 relative to its main axis of rotation 5 enables the manikin 1 to assume a plurality of positions, wherein almost any area of the trousers is properly exposed to the laser without there being parts of the manikin 1 that are hidden or obstruct the laser beam from reaching the desired area, although in most cases laser marking is performed at an angle of 180 °. This ability to rotate is also particularly advantageous for assuming the position shown in figures 8 to 10, since it is this position that makes it possible to fit the trousers on the manikin by folding them in half (along this axis, which marks the crotch of the trousers), and therefore the operator no longer needs to unfold the trousers by hand. Once the trousers have been introduced from the bottom, the operator will bring the manikin 1, manually or by the action of one or two motors, into a position forming an angle of 180 ° between the front planes 23, and will then be able to initiate stretching of the trousers legs by means of the stretching mechanism 3, whereby the separation distance between the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 is increased in order to move from the inactive release position a to the maximum limit stretching position B in fig. 1.

In order to rotate each leg structure 2 about its respective main axis of rotation 5, each leg structure 2 comprises a support 27 in its upper region 21, which support 27 is attached to a transmission 29, by means of which transmission 29 the leg structure 2 is rotated. The transmission means may in turn be coupled to motor means by which individual rotation of each leg structure 2 may be achieved. Each support 27 comprises two opposite main planes, which are parallel to the front plane 23 and the rear plane 24, respectively, defined in each leg structure.

If the motor means of each leg structure are not manual, they can be formed by servomotors for fine adjustment of the desired angle between the two front planes 23 (and therefore the angle between the two rear planes 24) and better control of the applied torque. The transmission means can be formed by belts and/or gears and are therefore responsible for transmitting the torque generated by the servo motor to the support 27 so that they are set to form an optimal angle between each other for optimal exposure of a portion of the legs of the trousers to be marked to the laser, without the other legs causing interference or forming hidden areas that hinder the intended marking.

However, according to a preferred embodiment, both leg structures 2 are rotated simultaneously by the same angle and can be rotated manually without the need for motor means. The transmission of figure 4 causes the two supports 27 to rotate simultaneously and in a symmetrical manner about the apical axial body 50 located in the upper end of the manikin 1 when a user applies a force to one of the two supports 27. The illustration of the manikin 1 shows the arrangement of a cylindrical apical axial body 50 (which may also be prismatic) above the upper region 21 of the leg structure 2, which apical axial body 50 extends in a direction parallel to the main axis of rotation 5 of the leg structure 2. The top axial body 50 is arranged equidistant from the two leg structures 2 and is integrally connected with the body supporting a hinge 51 by which each leg structure 2 can rotate about its respective main axis of rotation 5. All this is configured such that when the leg structures 2 are rotated about their respective main axes of rotation 5 they move relative to the tip axial body 50.

Returning to the stretching mechanism 3 by means of which the manikin 1 is moved from position a to position B, said stretching mechanism 3 comprises a drive device shown in the partial cross-sections of fig. 3, 4 and 11, which drive device is constituted by: a lever-type handle 40, which the operator moves downward to start stretching; a link 41, the link 41 rotating about an axis 46 when the lever 40 is depressed; an element 42 in the form of an inverted L provided with teeth on its lower arched end, which element 42 meshes with a pinion integral with the wheel 43, which element 42, when it rotates clockwise, causes the wheel 43 to rotate anticlockwise; and a guide 44, which guide 44 moves outwards, dragging the outer portion 26 and, at the same time, the intermediate lever 34 connected by a connecting element 45. Thus, these drives move the outer bar 26a and the intermediate bar 34 relative to the inner bar 25a to increase the separation distance between them when moving from the inoperative release position a to the maximum ultimate stretched position B, and to decrease the separation distance when moving from the maximum ultimate stretched position B to the inoperative release position a when the bar 40 is pushed upwards. Each support 27 supporting the inner, outer and

intermediate bars

25a, 26a, 34 of each leg structure 2 preferably comprises a guide on its inner side for moving the respective outer bar 26a of the outer section 26 according to a path perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in which the outer bar 26a extends.

For each leg structure 2, the stretching mechanism 3 further comprises an intermediate lever 34, which intermediate lever 34 is arranged parallel between and almost coplanar with the respective inner and

outer side portions

25, 26 and increases the separation distance between the inner and

outer side portions

25, 26 when moving from the inactive release position a to the maximum stretching position B and decreases the separation distance when moving from the maximum stretching position B to the inactive release position a. In fact, preferably and as shown in fig. 1, the intermediate lever 34 is slightly thinner than the inner and

outer levers

25a and 26a. Advantageously, the inner bar 25a and the outer bar 26a may have respective inner spaces in which the intermediate bar 34 may be located when the leg structure 2 is in the inoperative release position a.

Fig. 1 and 2 show how each intermediate lever 34 is connected to the inner portion 25 and to the outer portion 26 respectively by two links 35 hinged at both ends and parallel to each other and by two links 36 hinged at both ends and parallel to each other. The outer part 26 and the intermediate lever 34 of each leg structure 2 are arranged such that, when moving from the inoperative release position a to the maximum limit stretch position B, they can move relative to the inner part 25, moving away from the inner part or moving towards the inner part 25 and vice versa.

Fig. 1 to 4 show that the support 27 of each leg structure 2 on which the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 are supported comprises: a first half supporting member 81 on which the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 are supported; and a second half-support 82, by means of which second half-support 82 the leg structure 2 is hingedly connected to a respective hinge portion 51, by means of which hinge portion 51 the leg mechanism 2 can be rotated about the respective main axis of rotation 5. The first half-support 81 and the second half-support 82 are connected to each other in a hinged manner, the first half-support 81 being able to rotate between the legs about the angle adjustment connection 80 with respect to the second half-support (there are legs forming a more open or closed angle between each other depending on the model and size of the trousers) and being able to rotate about the angle adjustment axis. The angle adjustment axis is an axis perpendicular to the front plane 23 or to the plane in which the inner portion 25 and the outer portion 26 of the leg structure 2 are included. The first half-support 81 and the second half-support 82 are configured to be hinged to each other by the angle adjustment connection 80, such that when the first half-support is rotated relative to the second half-support, the direction in which the inner portion 25 of the leg structure 2 extends relative to the main axis of rotation 5 changes the angle it forms, the main axis of rotation 5 being parallel to the direction of the crotch dimension or collinear with said direction. Thus, as shown in figures 1 and 2, the manikin 1 can change the angle formed by the inner parts 25 of the two leg structures 2 in order to adjust the manikin 1 according to the model of the trousers.

The first half-support 81 and the second half-support 82 of each leg structure 2 are formed by respective bodies each provided with a front plate and a rear plate respectively parallel to the front plane 23 and to the rear plane 24 of the leg structure 2, said front and rear plates being provided with holes, pivots and slotted holes to enable rotation of the first half-support 81 with respect to the second half-support 82. Each leg structure 2 comprises: an angle adjusting mechanism to change an angle formed between the inside parts 25 of the two leg structures 2 or an angle formed between the inner bars 25a of the inside parts 25 of the two leg structures 2; and a locking device 88 for locking the angle between the first half support 81 and the second half support 82.

The angle adjustment mechanism comprises a spindle 84, which spindle 84 is coupled in a fixed manner in the second half-support 82, which spindle 84 is moved relative to the second half-support 82 in a direction towards the first half-support 81, and the spindle 84 is provided with a head 83, which head 83 can be rotated manually to advance or retract the spindle 84, wherein one end of the spindle 84 is introduced into the first half-support 81. The angle adjustment mechanism further comprises a nut 85 through which the main shaft 84 passes, said nut 85 being provided with a pivot 86, which pivot 86 is arranged in a direction parallel to the angle adjustment axis. The pivot 86 is in turn disposed within at least one slot 87 in the front or rear plate of the first half support 81. All this is arranged so that when the spindle 84 is rotated in the thrust direction, the nut 85 moves with respect to the second half-support 82 and its pivot 86 exerts a thrust inside the slot 87 of the first half-support 81, so as to rotate the slot 87 and the plate in which the slot 87 is arranged with respect to the second half-support 82 about the angular adjustment axis.

The locking means 88 for locking the angle between the first half support 81 and the second half support 82 (see fig. 11) comprises an angle locking bolt 89b parallel to the direction of the angle adjustment axis, the angle locking bolt 89b being provided with a head at one end and a fastening nut or wing nut at the other end, the angle locking bolt 89b constituting a part of the second half support 82, and a slot hole in the shape of a circular arc being provided in a plate 89a integrally connected with the first half support 81. The slot is penetrated by an angle locking bolt 89b, the head is located on one side of the slot, and a fastening nut or wing nut is located on the other side of the slot and protrudes from the front or rear plate of the second half support 82. When the tightening nut or wing nut is tightened, it is tightened against the plate 89a, the head of the angle locking bolt 89a is tightened against the slotted hole, and the rotation between the first half support 81 and the second half support 82 is fixed.

Figures 12 and 13 show an assembly formed by a manikin 1 (another embodiment of these figures, although it may be the embodiment of figure 1) and a transport carriage 71 (see also carriage 71 of figures 18 and 20). The transport carriage 71 is equipped with a movement motor device 74 (preferably, the carriage 71 is actuated by an electric actuator) for autonomously moving the transport carriage 71 along the guide path. The transport carriage 71 may be coupled to the manikin 1 for joint movement of the two along the guide path, wherein the coupling with the manikin 1 is configured to enable access to the tip axial body 50 from outside the transport carriage 71 and to enable rotation of the manikin 1 independently of the carriage 71 about a vertical rotation axis 105 of the manikin which coincides with an imaginary axial axis of the tip axial body 50 of the manikin 1 when the tip axial body 50 is arranged in the vertical position.

According to the embodiment of the assembly shown in fig. 12 and 13, the transport carriage 71 is connected to the manikin 1 in an articulated manner by means of a loading rotation axis 72, which loading rotation axis 72 is horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of the imaginary axial axis of the top axial body 50 of the manikin 1, about which loading rotation axis 72 the manikin 1 can be rotated, and a specific loading position C for the trousers can be assumed. In this particular loading position C, in which the trousers folded in half along the line defining the crotch portion thereof can be loaded onto the manikin 1, the front plane 23 or the rear plane 24 of the two leg structures 2 of the manikin 1 are arranged to form an acute angle or to overlap each other, included in a non-vertical plane, and the imaginary axial axis of the top axial body 50 of the manikin 1 forms an acute angle with the vertical direction.

Fig. 14 and 15 show a machine 10 for loading and exposing pants to laser light for marking thereof, the machine 10 comprising: more than one loading area 11, in which loading area 11 trousers are loaded onto manikin 1; and a marking area 12 in which trousers loaded on the manikin 1 from the loading area 11 are exposed to an external action of the laser to mark them, in the marking area 12. The view also schematically shows an emitter device 100 of at least one laser beam directed towards the marking zone 12 of the machine. The manikin 1 of the loading zone 11 and the marking zone 12 is a manikin 1 forming part of the assembly of the previously described manikin 1 and the transport carriage 71, in other words the manikin 1 as shown in fig. 1, wherein the transport carriage 71 is movable along at least one guide path by means of a movement motor device 74 for transporting the manikin 1 from the loading zone 11 to the marking zone 12 and from the marking zone 12 to the loading zone 11. In these embodiments of the machine, the manikin 1 need not be able to rotate relative to the carriage 71 about the loading rotation axis 72 as shown in fig. 12 and 13, since the folded trousers can be loaded by arranging the manikin in the folded position of fig. 8 to 10.

Thus, fig. 14 and 15 show that the machine 10 for loading trousers and exposing them to laser for marking it comprises more than one loading zone 11 (two loading zones 11 in fig. 14 and four loading zones 11 in fig. 15) separated from each other and respective transport guide paths 110 converging in the same marking zone 12, wherein the machine 10 comprises at least one assembly of manikin 1 and carriage 71 for each loading zone 11. The transport guide path 110 is a path that is radially disposed with respect to the marking region 12 and is disposed on one side (fig. 14) or both sides (fig. 15) of the marking region 12, the marking region 12 facing the laser emitter device 100.

Thus, in the machine 10 of fig. 14, there are two loading zones 11 and two transport guide paths 110, the two transport guide paths 110 converging towards a single marking zone 12, two operators can work in the two transport guide paths 110 to increase productivity, and in the machine 10 of fig. 15, there are four loading zones 11 in which four operators can work.

According to other embodiments, not shown, in the machine 10 of fig. 14 and 15, another emitter device 100 of at least one laser beam can be arranged in a reverse manner to the other device on the other side of the marking zone 12, so as to mark simultaneously the other side of the trousers being marked by the first emitter device 100.

Fig. 16 to 20 show that the marking zone 12 comprises an electrically powered (see motor 121) rotary positioning device 120, which device 120 is rotatable about a vertical positioning axis 123, which vertical positioning axis 23 is positioned behind but spaced apart from the transport guide path 110, through which transport guide path 110 the transport carriage 71 guides the manikin 1 from the loading zone 11 to the end of the transport guide path 110. The positioning device 120 comprises a positioning track 122 having a linear path which, when rotated with respect to a vertical positioning axis 123, can be aligned with the transport guide path 110 for receiving the manikin 1 guided by the transport carriage 71 in the marking zone 12. The positioning means 120 comprise connecting means 124 (see fig. 18 and 20), which connecting means 124 are able to connect to the top axial body 50 of the manikin 1 received in the positioning track 122 and rotate the manikin 1 around an imaginary axial axis of the top axial body 50 of the manikin 1 when this imaginary axial axis is parallel to the vertical.

Although not shown in the figures, the machine 10 comprises control means for detecting the presence of a person in any one of the loading zone(s) 11, configured to send a warning signal to the movement motor means 74 of the transport carriage 71, by means of which control means the advancing speed of the transport carriage 71 in the transport guide path 110 is controlled and varied, the control means being even able to detect the advancing of the transport carriage 71 in any direction from the loading zone(s) 11 to the marking zone 12 and vice versa.

Thus, if the operator approaches the loading zone 11 or its respective transport guide path 110, the loaded manikin 1 will be slowly transported by the transport carriage 71 to the marking zone 12, or, in case trousers loaded onto the manikin 1 have been marked and transported from the marking zone 12 to one of the loading zones 11 and the presence of the operator is detected, the manikin 1 will also be slowly transported. Otherwise, when the presence of a person is not detected in the vicinity of the loading areas 11 or their transport guide path 110, the manikin 1 loaded with trousers will be transported quickly to the marking area 12, and the same happens when trousers have been marked and need to be transported to one of the loading areas 11 in order to unload them.

In machine 10, the trousers loaded on manikin 1 remain perfectly flat and can be marked as on a table, except that in this case the trousers are in a vertical plane. The transport guide path 110 is aligned with the path within the loading area defined by the positioning track 122 having a straight path only when the loaded mannequin has to go to the marking area 12 or has to leave the marking area 12 in order to unload the trousers; for the rest of the marking period, they remain misaligned. Further, as shown, the positioning device 120 is independent of the loading zone 11 and the transportation guide path 110 to prevent vibration propagation. The results performed by the machine 10 (shown in figures 14 and 15) have shown that these machines are capable of achieving transfer of the manikin 1 from the loading zone 11 to the marking zone 12 in 1.3 seconds, compared to 3.5 seconds for other conventional machines.

Fig. 21 shows a system consisting of a machine 10 for loading and exposing trousers to laser for marking thereof and an auxiliary device 90 (further shown in fig. 22) for automatic loading and/or unloading of trousers. The view also shows the emitter device 100 of at least one laser beam directed towards the marking region 12 of the machine 10. In the embodiment of machine 10 shown in fig. 21 and 14, there are essentially two zones: a loading zone 11 in which trousers are loaded on the manikin 1; and a marking zone 12 located on the opposite side of the loading zone 11. In the marking zone 12, the manikin 1, which has been in the maximum extreme stretching position B, obtained in the loading zone 11 once the trousers have been placed, assumes a different position to expose certain areas of the trousers that must be marked with laser. As previously mentioned, the manikin 1 can not only rotate about itself, e.g. about the main rotation axis 5, but also each leg structure 2 can (although it is not a preferred embodiment) rotate about its main rotation axis 5 independently of the other leg structures 2 and thus assume a plurality of positions in which, for example, a trouser leg covering the front plane 23 of one of the leg structures 2 is facing the laser light to receive the laser treatment, while the other trouser leg covering the front plane 23 of the other leg structure 2 is located behind it, forming an angle, out of the laser range. If the rear part of the trouser legs has to be marked at a certain moment, the manikin 1 will have its two leg structures 2 rotated such that the rear plane 24 covering said rear part is oriented towards the emitter device 100, exposing it to the projected laser beam. In order to save time, the machine 10 shown in fig. 21 does not have a single manikin 1 moving from the loading zone 11 to the marking zone 12, but comprises at least two manikins 1, one in each zone, because when trousers are loaded onto the manikin 1, another previously loaded manikin 1 can be in the marking zone 12, so as to laser treat the trousers it carries. Once the laser treatment of the trousers has ended, the manikin 1 of the marking zone 12 will be returned to the loading zone 11, in which loading zone 11 the trousers already having the expected worn appearance will be removed and subsequently a new pair of trousers will be loaded.

In the machine 10 of fig. 21, the manikin 1 is fitted in respective electric transport carriages 71 (see also the motor arrangement 74 consisting of motor, reducer and pinion in fig. 13), which transport carriages 71 are movable along a rack 70 and a guide or rail for transporting the manikin 1 from the loading zone 11 to the marking zone 12 and vice versa. The manikin 1 shown in fig. 13 is mounted in an articulated manner on the transport carriage 71 according to a horizontal loading rotation axis 72, which horizontal loading rotation axis 72 is perpendicular to the main rotation axis 5 (in this case common to both leg structures 2), about which horizontal loading rotation axis 72 the manikin 1 can be rotated or tilted. Thus, the manikin 1 can assume a particular loading position C in which trousers can be loaded onto the manikin 1, the front planes 23 of the two leg structures 2 of the manikin 1 being arranged to form an acute angle of, for example, about 20 °, and said front planes 23 being included in a non-vertical plane relative to the supporting base of the machine 1 (which means that the machine 1 is located on the level of the floor or road surface on which it is located). The fact that the manikin 1 can assume said specific loading position C can be achieved, for example, by a cam (not shown in the figures) with a specific profile connected to a specific part of the guide rails of the loading zone 11, which cam, when it moves, forces the manikin 1 to move through a protruding bearing constituting a part of the manikin 1 positioned below it close to the transport carriage 71, to follow said cam profile, which is designed to rotate the main rotation axis 5 around the loading rotation axis 72, forming an acute angle of between 35 ° and 55 °, preferably 45 °, with the vertical direction v, and to maintain the composition in this part.

Due to this arrangement, which is rotatable about the loading rotation axis 72, the manikin 1 can assume a particular loading position C, which is very comfortable for the operator, in which trousers folded around the crotch portion of the trousers can be loaded onto the manikin 1 with the trouser legs almost or almost overlapping each other (as we do when folding the trousers longitudinally around the symmetry axes of the trouser legs), since the front planes 23 of the two leg structures 2 of the manikin can be arranged to form a small acute angle of about 20 ° depending on their ability to rotate about the main rotation axis 5. Furthermore, since the manikin 1 is tiltable around a loading rotation axis 72 which is horizontal and perpendicular to the main rotation axis 5 of the manikin 1, the manikin 1 can be arranged with the front plane 23 and the rear plane 24 of its leg structures 2 in tilted planes, instead of in vertical planes, the lower end of the leg structures 2 of the manikin 1 wearing trousers being higher and more forward than the rest of the manikin 1, so that the operator carrying the manikin 1 does not have to bend over to introduce the trousers.

In this way, the operator does not need to load the trousers in their normal state, stretching and bending the waist in order to pass under the trousers, but can instead place the manikin 1 in its specific loading position C, in which the front plane 23 forms an acute angle and is in a position in which said plane is inclined with respect to the vertical plane v, so that the longitudinally folded trousers can be loaded from a comfortable height when the operator is standing, in order to place the lower part of the manikin 1 at the height of the operator's hands.

It is also envisaged to provide downstream forced ventilation (not shown in the figures) in the marking zone 12 to extract, through the lower part of the machine 10, the gas generated from the laser that heats the trousers dye during marking.

Fig. 21 and 22 show that the loading area 11 facing the machine 10 is provided with an auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading, which auxiliary device 90 is able to automatically load longitudinally folded trousers onto the manikin 1 arranged in a specific loading position C.

The auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading comprises a plurality of spare supports 9, 9' consisting of pairs of oblong spare profiles 9a and 9b, these spare profiles 9a and 9b being radially arranged and inclined towards the centre in a descending direction, as if they were petals. The spare profiles 9a and 9b of the same pair are parallel to each other, spaced apart by a short distance and have a length such that they receive the insertion of the two legs of the trousers in a folded position around the crotch line of the trousers. As an example, the spare support 9 or 9' can be configured as a U-shaped fork, the arms of which are spare profiles 9a and 9b. Precisely, the short distance separating the preliminary profiles 9a and 9b makes there a space for the two inner surfaces of the trousers that face each other when the trousers are folded, to place the legs.

The auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading further comprises a lead-in arm 91, the lead-in arm 91 being constituted by an inclined guide rail facing one of the spare supports 9' of the plurality of supports 9. The lead-in arm 91 is arranged above said back-up support 9', the length of the guide rail being such that it projects above said back-up support 9', the upper end of the lead-in arm 91 being located at the same height as or at a higher height than the height at which the upper region 21 of the leg structure 2 of the manikin 1 is located in the loading zone 11. The introduction arm 91 is provided with a projecting pushing device 92, which projecting pushing device 92 is slidable along the guide rail and projects with respect to the guide rail a distance towards the standby support 9' so that the projecting pushing device 92 is able to push the trousers folded on the standby support 9' and move it along the guide rail to the upper end of the standby support 9'.

Fig. 21 and 22 also show that the shown auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading trousers comprises a rotation device by means of which the plurality of spare supports 9, 9' can rotate with respect to a vertical central axis 94, which vertical central axis 94 is aligned with the centre of its radial arrangement and is coaxial with the cylindrical shell 93 to which the introducing arm 91 is connected. The projecting push means 92 of the lead-in arm 91 project from the guide rail into the separation space between the two spare profiles of the spare support 9' that it faces.

In order to automatically load trousers onto the manikin 1 using the auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading trousers, a spare support 9 'on which the folded trousers are supported is first provided, and this spare support 9' faces the introduction arm 91. It is also necessary to place the manikin 1 without trousers in the loading position C in order to receive the folded trousers by actuating suitable means so as to arrange the front plane 23 of the leg structure 2 in a non-vertical plane, in particular, with the same inclination as the introduction arm 91. The two lower regions 22 of the leg structure 2 of the manikin 1 will be arranged behind and aligned with the respective back-up profiles 9a and 9b constituting the back-up support 9'. The protruding pushing means 92 will start its lifting and will push the folded trousers and thus lift them up through the connecting areas of the legs. As the trousers are dragged upwards, they will start to leave the back-up support 9' and will enter the leg structure 2 of the manikin 1 until the manikin 1, which is the loading area 11, is worn. Then, when the transportation of the manikin 1 and its transport carriage 71 is started and moved along the cam profile in the area of the track, the lower area 22 of the leg structure 2 will be lowered little by little and the manikin 1 will be arranged with the front plane 23 in the vertical plane and will be transported to the marking zone 12.

Alternatively or additionally, the projecting push means 92 can be provided with gripping elements (for example clips) which grip the two parts of the waist of the trousers and thus when sliding along the introduction arms they will bring the trousers to the upper region 21 of the leg structure, once released the trousers reach the maximum extreme stretching position B.

It is also envisaged that the marked trousers can be unloaded into the empty standby support 9 in the same auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading. The operator can monitor this automatic loading and also help to unload the trousers on the standby support 9. In this way, the auxiliary devices 90 for loading and/or unloading are utilized to the maximum extent, the productivity of the operators who operate the automatic loading is optimized so that they are also responsible for the unloading, and the plant area is also optimized by using a single auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading also as an unloader. Another option is to unload marked trousers in a second auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading, dedicated to receiving marked trousers.

As an alternative to the flower configuration of the auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading in the attached figures, according to other embodiments, the back-up support 9 may present a ring-island configuration or a more fanciful shape, but it is equally possible to establish different stages or workstations: manually loading trousers into the auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading 90, automatically loading trousers from the auxiliary device for loading and/or unloading 90 into the manikin 1 and vice versa, and manually or automatically unloading marked trousers from the auxiliary device for automatic loading and/or unloading 90. The spare supports 9 and 9 'are therefore arranged in an inclined and cantilevered manner, their upper ends being free and their lower ends being coupled to movement means by which the spare supports 9, 9' can be moved with respect to the support and guided, as it passes under the introduction arm 91, according to a path which can have any shape. As it moves along the path, a moment will come in which each spare support 9 passes under the introduction arm 91, becoming a spare support 9' once that position of the path is reached. In this position the inclined part of the backup support 9 'will be arranged parallel to the inclined part of the lead-in arm 91 and the projecting pushers 92 will project from the guide rail into the separation space between the two backup profiles of the backup support 9' located therebelow.

Finally, in addition to the profiles shown in fig. 21 and 22, two automatic aids for unloading and/or unloading the trousers arranged in the factory, two machines 10 arranged side by side for loading the trousers and exposing them to the laser for marking them, and a single laser emitter device 100 for marking the trousers are also envisaged. In this way the laser transmitter device 100 works more efficiently, since it is the most expensive of the three elements, and it is therefore recommended to stop in as short a time as possible.

It is therefore clear that the aid 90 for loading and/or unloading can be used not only for loading trousers but also for unloading. The machine 10 may be connected to the following devices: auxiliary means 90 for loading and/or unloading, which load the folded trousers on the standby support 9, loading the manikin 1 of the loading area 11 from the standby support 9; and another empty auxiliary device 90 for loading and/or unloading, in an unloading zone (not shown in the figures) with manikin 1 in a specific loading position C, which is the same position assumed by the manikin in the unloading position, again in the vicinity of the projecting pushing device 92, which projecting pushing device 92 hooks or grips the marked trousers and starts to place them in the back-up support 9.

Claims

1. Manikin (1) for supporting trousers on which laser marking can be performed, comprising two leg structures (2) adapted to be placed inside the legs of the trousers to be marked, wherein each leg structure (2) is defined by: a respective imaginary longitudinal axis (20), along which the respective leg can extend; an upper region (21); a lower region (22); a front plane (23) on which the front portions of the legs can be disposed; a rear plane (24) opposite to said front plane (23), on which rear portions of said legs can be disposed; inner portions (25) on which inner side edges of the legs extending from their connection to the lower end of the respective leg can be disposed; and an outer portion (26) opposite the inner portion (25) on which the outer edge of the leg extending from the waist to the lower end of the leg can be disposed, wherein the separation distance between the inner portion (25) and the outer portion (26) of each leg structure (2) can be varied by a respective stretching mechanism (3), each leg structure (2) being capable of assuming an inactive release position (a) and a maximum limit stretch position (B) and transitioning from the inactive release position (a) to the maximum limit stretch position (B) by increasing the separation distance between the inner portion (25) and the outer portion (26) such that when disposed on the leg structure (2) the front and rear portions of the leg remain maximally stretched to enable laser marking on either of the front and rear portions,

characterized in that each of said leg structures (2) is coupled to a respective main rotation axis (5), said leg structures (2) being rotatable around said main rotation axis (5) by a respective hinge (51) for each leg structure (2) comprised in said manikin (1), said main rotation axis (5) of each leg structure (2) being an axis parallel to or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimension of said trousers, said hinge enabling the front planes (23) of said two leg structures (2) to form at least two angles between each other larger and/or smaller than 180 ° upon rotation of said leg structures (2) around the respective main rotation axis (5).

2. Manikin (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that each leg structure (2) comprises in its upper region (21) a support (27) in which the inner portion (25) and the outer portion (26) are supported, the leg structure (2) being connected to the respective main rotation axis (5) by means of the support, the leg structure (2) being rotatable about the main rotation axis (5) by means of the respective hinge (51).

3. Manikin (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that each support (27) is connected to a respective first transmission (29) by which each leg structure (2) is rotated about the respective main rotation axis (5) so that the front planes (23) of the two leg structures (2) can rotate about the main rotation axis (5) and assume different positions in which the two front planes (22) form between 0 ° and 360 ° angles between each other.

4. Manikin (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each leg structure (2) comprises in said upper region (21) thereof a support (27) in which said medial portion (25) and said lateral portion (26) are supported and by means of which said leg structures (2) are coupled in a manner hinged to said main axis of rotation (5), said medial portion (25) comprising a straight inner bar (25 a) extending in a direction parallel to said imaginary longitudinal axis (20), said lateral portion (26) comprising a straight outer bar (26) parallel to said inner bar (25), and each leg structure (2) comprising an intermediate bar (34) arranged between the respective inner and outer bars parallel to the respective inner bar (25 a) and said intermediate bar, and said stretching mechanism (3) comprising drive means (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) to cause said outer bar (26 a) and said intermediate bar (34) to move relative to said inner bar (25 a) so as to release said spacing distance between said maximum stretching release positions (a) and to move from said maximum separating positions (a) when they are moved from said maximum separating positions (a) to said maximum stretching positions (B) and said maximum separating positions (B) are not moved from said release positions (B), and each support (27) comprises, on the inner side of the support, a guide for moving the outer bar (26 a) of the respective outer portion (26) according to a path perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in which the outer bar (26) extends.

5. Manikin (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that said middle lever (34) is connected to said inner lever (25 a) of said inner part (25) and said outer lever (26 a) of said outer part (26) by at least two links (35, 36) hinged on both ends of said middle lever (34), wherein said outer lever (26 a) and said middle lever (34) of said outer part (26) of each leg structure (2) are arranged such that they can move with respect to said inner lever (25 a) of said inner part (25) such that they can move from said inner part (25) or towards said inner part (25) and vice versa when said leg structures are moved from said inactive release position (A) to said maximum limit stretch position (B).

6. Manikin (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each leg structure (2) comprises in the upper region (21) of the leg structure (2) a support (27) in which the inner portion (25) and the outer portion (26) are supported and by means of which the leg structure (2) is coupled in a hinged manner to the main axis of rotation (5), the inner portion (25) comprising an inner contour plate (25 b) defining a contour simulating a shape assumed by the inner side edges of the legs extending from the connection of the legs to the respective lower ends of the legs when the legs are flattened, i.e. the front portion of the legs and the rear portion of the legs overlap each other, and/or the outer portion (26) comprising an outer contour plate (26 b) defining a contour simulating a shape assumed by the inner side edges of the legs extending from the connection of the legs to the respective lower ends of the legs when the legs are flattened, i.e. the front portion of the legs and the rear portion of the legs overlap each other, the outer contour plate (26 b) defining a plane simulating the shape assumed by the outer contour plate (26 b) of the legs extending from the respective legs when the outer side edges of the legs are flattened, i.e. the front portion of the legs and the outer contour plate (24 b) are parallel to each other, the outer contour plates (26B) of each leg structure (2) are intended to be in contact with at least a portion of the outer side edges of the legs of the trousers when the leg structures (2) are in the maximum extreme stretch position (B).

7. Manikin (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the plate with said inner contour (25 b) and/or the plate with said outer contour (26 b) has a thickness, measured in a direction perpendicular to said front plane (23) of said leg structure (2), of between 0.5mm and 6mm, which thickness can be different in different areas of the plate with said inner contour and the plate with said outer contour, said thickness being smaller in the portion of the plate close to the end that can be in contact with the edge of the trouser leg.

8. Manikin (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said inner contour plate (25 b) has a width varying along said inner portion (25), said width being wider at the location of the connection of the legs and narrower at said upper and lower ends in an area of the contour simulating the shape assumed by said inner side edges of the legs.

9. Manikin (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that on the edge of the inner contour plate (25 b) defining the contour a crotch attachment (9) is provided, which is provided with an apex at its free end, which crotch attachment is oriented according to an attachment plane parallel, perpendicular or forming an oblique angle with the inner contour plate (25 b) of the respective leg structure (2).

10. Manikin (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that in each leg structure (2) said inner portion (25) comprises a straight inner bar (25 a) extending in a direction parallel to said imaginary longitudinal axis (20) and said outer portion (26) comprises a straight outer bar (26 a) parallel to said inner bar (25), and said inner contour plate (25 b) is detachably connected to said inner bar (25 a) and said outer contour plate (26 b) is detachably connected to said outer bar (26 a), said inner contour plate (25 b) and said outer contour plate (26 b) being detachable from the respective inner bar (25 a) and outer bar (26 a) and replaceable by other inner contour plates (25 b) and other outer contour plates (26 b) designed according to another pair of trousers, respectively.

11. Manikin (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support (27) of each leg structure (2) supporting the medial portion (25) and the lateral portion (26) comprises a first half-support (81) and a second half-support (82), the medial portion (25) and the lateral portion (26) being supported on the first half-support (81), the leg structures (2) being connected in a hinged manner by the second half-support (82) to the respective hinge (51), the leg structures (2) being rotatable about the respective main rotation axis (5) by the hinge (51), the first half-support (81) and the second half-support (82) being connected to each other in a hinged manner such that the first half-support and the second half-support are rotatable relative to each other about an angle adjustment connection (80) between the trouser legs, the angle adjustment connection (80) being rotatable about an angle adjustment axis, the angle adjustment axis being perpendicular to the front plane (23) or perpendicular to the medial portion (25) comprising the leg structures (2), the second half-support (81) being configured to each other by the second half-support (82) and the hinge (80), such that when said first and second half-support are rotated with respect to each other, said inner portions (25) of said leg structures (2) change the angle it forms with the direction in which said main rotation axis (5) extends, said direction being parallel to or collinear with the direction of the crotch dimension of said trousers, said manikin (1) being capable of changing the angle formed by said inner portions (25) of said two leg structures (2) according to the trousers design.

12. Manikin (1) according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that in each leg structure (2) said first half support (81) supports said inner bar (25 a) of said inner part (25) and said outer bar (26 a) of said outer part (26) respectively, said first half support (81) and said second half support (82) are configured to be hinged to each other such that when said first half support and said second half support are rotated with respect to each other, said inner bar (25 a) of said leg structure (2) changes its angle with the direction in which said main rotation axis (5) extends, said direction being parallel to the direction of the crotch dimension of said trousers or collinear with the direction of said crotch dimension, said manikin (1) being capable of changing the angle formed between said inner bars (25 a) of said two leg structures (1).

13. Manikin (1) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that said first half support member (81) and said second half support member (82) of each single leg structure (2) are constituted by respective bodies, each body being provided with a front plate and a rear plate, parallel to said front plane (23) and to said rear plane (24) of said leg structure, respectively, said front plate and said rear plate being provided with holes, pivots and slotted holes to enable rotation of said first half support member (81) with respect to said second half support member (82), wherein each leg structure (2) comprises: an angle adjustment mechanism to change an angle formed by the inner side portions (25) of the two leg structures or an angle formed by the inner bars (25 a) of the inner side portions (25) of the two leg structures with respect to each other; and locking means (88) for locking the angle between the first half-support (81) and the second half-support (82).

14. Manikin (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that said angle adjustment mechanism comprises: -a main shaft (84) arranged to be coupled in a fixed manner in the second half-support (82), the main shaft (84) being movable with respect to the second half-support (82) in a direction towards the first half-support (81), the main shaft (84) being provided with a head (83) that can be manually rotated in order to advance the main shaft, wherein one end of the main shaft (84) is introduced into the first half-support (81); a nut (85) through which the spindle (84) passes, the nut (85) being provided with a pivot (86), the pivot (86) being arranged along a direction parallel to the angular adjustment axis, the pivot (86) being further arranged within at least one slot (87) formed in a front or rear plate of the first half-support (81), such that, upon rotating the spindle (84), the nut (85) moves relative to the second half-support (82), the pivot (86) of the nut (85) exerting a thrust within the slot (87) of the first half-support (82), so as to rotate the slot (87) and the plate in which the slot (87) is located about the angular adjustment axis.

15. Manikin (1) according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that said locking means (88) for locking the angle between said first half-support (81) and said second half-support (82) comprise an angle locking bolt (89 b) parallel to the direction of said angle adjustment axis, provided at one end with a head and at the other end with a fastening nut or wing nut, said angle locking bolt (89 b) constituting a part of said second half-support (82), and in a plate (89 a) integrally connected with said first half-support (81) with a slot of circular arc shape crossed by said angle locking bolt (89), said head being located on one side of said slot, said fastening nut or wing nut being located on the other side of said slot and protruding from said front or rear plate of said second half-support (82), so that when said fastening nut or wing nut is tightened, it is tightened against said plate, the head of said angle locking bolt (89 b) is tightened against said plate, and the head of said angle locking bolt (89 b) is tightened against said support and fixed between said second half-support (81) and said second half-support (82) rotated.

16. Manikin (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, above the upper region (21) of the leg structures (2), a cylindrical or prismatic apical axial body (50) extending in a direction parallel to the direction of the main rotation axis (5) of the leg structures (2), said apical axial body (50) being arranged equidistant from the two leg structures (2) and being integrally connected with a body supporting said hinge (51), each leg structure (2) being rotatable about its respective main rotation axis (5) by means of said hinge (51), these components being configured such that they move with respect to said apical axial body (50) when the leg structures (2) are rotated about their respective main rotation axis (5).

17. Assembly of a manikin (1) and a transport carriage (71), characterized in that the manikin (2) is a manikin according to claim 16, the transport carriage (7) being provided with movement motor means (74) for autonomously moving the transport carriage (71) along a guide path, and the transport carriage (71) being coupleable to the manikin (1) for joint movement of the two along the guide path, wherein the coupling with the manikin (1) is configured to be accessible from outside the transport carriage (71) to the tip axial body (50) and to allow rotation of the manikin (1) independently of the transport carriage (71) about a vertical rotation axis (105) of the manikin, which coincides with an imaginary axial axis of the tip axial body (50) of the manikin (1) when the tip axial body (50) is in a vertical position.

18. Assembly of a manikin (1) and a transport carriage (71) according to claim 17, characterized in that said transport carriage (72) is connected to said manikin (1) in an articulated manner by means of a loading rotation axis (72), said loading rotation axis (72) being horizontal and perpendicular to an imaginary axial axis of said top axial body (50) of said manikin (1), said manikin (1) being rotatable around said loading rotation axis (72) and being able to assume a specific loading position (C) of trousers in which front planes (23) or rear planes (24) of said two leg structures (2) of said manikin are arranged to form an acute angle or to overlap each other and are comprised in a non-vertical plane and in which imaginary axial axes of said top axial body (50) of said manikin (1) form an acute angle with said vertical direction, said trousers folded in half in the crotch direction of said trousers being able to be loaded onto said manikin (2) in said specific loading position (C).

19. A machine (10) for loading and exposing trousers to laser for marking thereof, comprising a loading zone (11) and a marking zone (12), in which loading zone (11) trousers are loaded onto a manikin, in which marking zone (12) the trousers loaded onto the manikin from the loading zone (11) are exposed to the external action of the laser for marking the trousers, characterized in that the manikin of the loading zone (11) and the marking zone (12) is a manikin made up of an assembly of a manikin (1) and a transport carriage (71) according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the transport carriage (71) is movable along the guide path by means of the movement motor means (74) for transporting the manikin (1) from the loading zone (11) to the marking zone (12) and from the marking zone (12) to the loading zone (11).

20. Machine (10) for loading and exposing trousers to laser for marking thereof according to claim 19, characterized in that it comprises more than one loading zone (11) separated from each other and respective transport guide paths (110) converging in the same marking zone (12), wherein said machine (10) comprises at least one assembly of manikin (1) and transport carriage (71) for each loading zone.

21. The machine (10) for loading and exposing trousers to laser for marking thereof according to claim 20, characterized in that said transport guide path (110) is a path set radially with respect to said marking area (12) and on one or both sides of said marking area (12), said marking area (12) facing the laser device.

22. Machine (10) for loading trousers and exposing it to laser for marking it according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that the marking zone (12) comprises an electric rotary positioning device (120), said positioning device being rotatable about a vertical positioning axis (123) located behind and spaced from said transport guide path (110), -the transport carriage (71) guides the manikin from the loading zone (11) to the end of the transport guide path (110) through the transport guide path (110), wherein the positioning device (120) comprises a positioning track (122) having a linear path, the linear path being alignable with any one of the transport guide paths (110) when rotated relative to the vertical positioning axis (123), for receiving the manikin (1) guided by the transport carriage (71) in the marking zone (12), and the positioning device (120) comprises a connecting device (124), the connecting means (124) being connectable to the apical axial body (50) of the manikin (1) received in the positioning track (122), and rotating the manikin (1) around an imaginary axial axis of the top axial body (50) of the manikin (1) when the imaginary axial axis is parallel to the vertical direction.

23. The machine (10) for loading and exposing trousers to laser for marking thereof according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that it comprises control means for detecting the presence or absence of a person in any one of said loading zone(s) (11), said control means being configured to send a warning signal to the movement motor means (74) of said transport carriage (71), by means of which the advancing speed of said transport carriage (70) in said transport guide path (110) is controlled and varied, said control means being able to detect even the advancing of said transport carriage in any direction from said loading zone (11) to said marking zone (12) and vice versa.

24. A system for laser marking trousers, comprising at least one machine (10) for loading trousers according to any one of claims 19 to 23 and exposing them to laser for marking them and at least one auxiliary device (90) for loading and/or unloading trousers onto a manikin arranged in each of the loading zone or loading zones of the machine (10), wherein the auxiliary device (90) for loading and/or unloading comprises: a support base to be fixed to a surface such as a floor; -a plurality of supports (9, 9 '), each of which in turn comprises a pair of oblong spare profiles (9 a, 9 b), wherein the spare profiles (9 a, 9 b) of the same pair are parallel to and spaced apart from each other by a distance, they have a length such that they can receive the insertion of the two legs of the trousers in a folded position around the crotch line of the trousers, the spare supports (9, 9 ') being arranged in an inclined and cantilevered manner such that the upper ends of the spare supports are free and the lower ends of the spare supports are coupled to movement means by which the spare supports (9, 9 ') can be moved in a guided manner according to a path with respect to the supporting seat; and a lead-in arm (91) constituted by an inclined guide, fixed with respect to said support seat and arranged above and facing one (9 ') of said plurality of supports (9), said guide having a length such that it protrudes above said spare support (9'), the upper end of said lead-in arm being at the same height or a higher height than the height at which the upper region (21) of said leg structure (2) of said manikin arranged in said loading zone (11) of said machine (10) is located, wherein said lead-in arm (91) is provided with protruding pushing means (92) slidable along said guide and protruding towards said spare support (9 ') with respect to said guide, said protruding pushing means (92) facing said spare support (9') at such a distance that said protruding pushing means (92) can push trousers folded and move said trousers along said guide.

25. System for laser marking trousers according to claim 24, wherein said auxiliary means (90) for loading and/or unloading trousers are automatic means, each backup support (9) being arrangeable in a position of said path followed when said backup support (9) moves under said introduction arm (91), in said position of said path the inclined portion of said backup support (9 ') is parallel to the inclined portion of said introduction arm (91), and said projecting pushing means (92) of said introduction arm (91) project from said guide into the spacing space between the two backup profiles (9 a, 9 b) of said backup support (9') located under said guide.

26. Manikin (1) for supporting trousers on which laser marking can be performed, comprising: -two leg structures (2) adapted to be placed inside the legs of a pair of trousers to be marked, wherein each leg structure is defined by: a respective imaginary longitudinal axis (20) along which the respective leg is extendable; an upper region (21); a lower region (22); a front plane (23) on which the front portions of the legs can be disposed; a rear plane (24) opposite to the front plane (23) on which a rear portion of the leg can be disposed; an inner portion (25) on which inner side edges of the legs extending from the connection of the legs to the lower end of the respective leg can be disposed; and an outer portion (26) opposite the inner portion (25) on which the outer side edge of the leg extending from the waist to the lower end of the leg can be disposed, wherein the separation distance between the inner portion (25) and the outer portion (26) of each leg structure (2) can be varied by a respective stretching mechanism (3), each leg structure (2) can assume an inactive release position (a) and a maximum limit stretch position (B) and be moved from the inactive release position (a) to the maximum limit stretch position (B) by increasing the separation distance between the inner portion (25) and the outer portion (26) such that when disposed on the leg structure (2) the front and rear portions of the leg are maximally extended to enable laser marking of either of the front and rear portions,

characterized in that, in each leg structure (2), the inner portion (25) comprises: a straight inner rod (25 a) extending in a direction parallel to the imaginary longitudinal axis (20); and an inner contour plate (25 b) defining an outline simulating the shape of the inner side edges of the legs extending from their connection to the respective lower ends of the legs when the legs are flattened, i.e. the front portions of the legs and the rear portions of the legs overlap each other, the outer portion (26) comprising: a straight outer bar (26 a) parallel to the inner bar (25 a); and an outer contoured plate (26B) defining a profile simulating the shape assumed by the outer edges of the legs extending from the waist to the lower ends of the respective legs when the legs are flattened, i.e. the front portions of the legs and the rear portions of the legs overlap each other, the inner contoured plate (25B) and the outer contoured plate (26B) or a majority of both being included in a plane parallel to the front plane (23) and the rear plane (24) of the respective leg structure (2) of the manikin, the outer contoured plate (26B) of each leg structure (2) being intended to contact at least a portion of the outer edges of the legs of the pants when the leg structure (2) is in the maximum limit stretched position (B), and the inner contoured plate (25B) being detachably connected to the inner bar (25 a), the outer contoured plate (26B) being connected to the outer bar (26 a), the inner contoured plate (25B) and the outer contoured plate (26B) being detachably connectable to the inner bar (25 a) and the outer contoured plate (26B) being replaceable from the inner bar (26 a) and the other outer contoured plate (26B) being detachable from the inner bar (26 a) and the outer bar (26B) and the other outer contoured plate (26B) being replaceable according to the design.

27. Manikin (1) according to claim 26, characterized in that the inner contour plate (25 b) and/or the outer contour plate (26 b) has a thickness measured in a direction perpendicular to the front plane (23) of the leg structure (2) of between 0.5mm and 6mm, which thickness can be different in different areas of the plate, which thickness is smaller in the part of the plate near the end which can be in contact with the edges of the trouser legs.

28. Manikin (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that said inner contour plate (25 b) has a width varying along said inner portion (25), said thickness being wider at the connection of the legs and narrower at said upper and lower ends in a contour area simulating the shape assumed by said inner side edges of the legs.

29. Manikin (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the inner contour inverse (25 b) is provided with a crotch attachment (9) on the edges defining the outline, which crotch attachment is provided with an apex at its free end, the crotch attachment (9) being oriented according to an attachment plane that can be parallel, perpendicular or form an oblique angle with the inner contour plate (25 b) of the respective leg structure (2).