EP0636735A1 - Treating installation, especially for steaming and drying of clothing articles such as jackets and coats hung on clothing hangers - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an installation for the treatment, especially for the steaming and drying, of articles of clothing 8, especially jackets and overcoats, hanging on clothes-hangers, characterised by at least one turntable 6 rotatable about an essentially vertical axis of rotation X-X and having at least one diametral line, on which a bust Bu1; Bu2 is located on each of the two sides of the axis of rotation X-X, by a loading station B, in which an article of clothing 8, together with the hanger 12, is to be lowered onto a bust Bu1; Bu2 as a result of the lowering of the hanger 12, and by an unloading station E, in which, after the rotation of the turntable 6 through essentially 180 DEG , the article of clothing 8, together with the hanger 12, is to be lifted off from the bust Bu1; Bu2. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a system for treatment, in particular for steaming and drying clothes hanging on hangers, in particular jackets and coats.

The object of the invention is to provide a system of this type which operates reliably and cleanly, essentially fully automatically, with an extremely short throughput time and thus also saves operating personnel.

To achieve this object, the system is basically characterized by at least one turntable which can be rotated about an essentially vertical axis of rotation and has at least one diametral on which there is a bust on each side of the axis of rotation, by a loading station in which a piece of clothing including a hanger by lowering the hanger is to be lowered onto a bust, and by means of an unloading station in which, after rotating the turntable by essentially 180 °, the item of clothing including the hanger is to be lifted off the bust.

For receiving a garment in the loading station and for delivering a garment from the unloading station, it is preferably provided that in the loading station and in the unloading station there is a support arm of a hook pickup on a carriage that can be moved up and down on a column, which is between a hook a bracket under the position and a position releasing the hook is movable.

In order to align a piece of clothing with respect to a bust in the loading station, it is preferably provided that one on the support arm in the loading station Rear of a garment to and from it movable alignment member for aligning the garment with respect to the corresponding side of a bust.

In order to align and hold the hanger, on which a piece of clothing hangs, on a bust, it is preferably provided that, on the support arm in the loading station on the left and right of the hook pickup, a pair of pruning scissors, which is somewhat open in the idle state, for gripping the shoulders of a piece of clothing against the Force of a spring for the purpose of aligning the bracket on a receptacle in the top of a bust and triggering a clamp holding the bracket in the receptacle.

In order to be able to open a garment hanging on a bust at the bottom, so that steam or dry air can be introduced into the garment from below, it is preferably provided that a second on the column in the loading station below the carriage on which the support arm is located Carriage can be moved up and down relative to the first carriage, on which there is a carrier of two suction arms, which with respect to the front and the back of a garment for sucking the front and the back of the garment towards each other and for opening the underside of a garment are movable away from each other for the purpose of loading a bust. So that the lower end region of the garment comes into a suitable position for steam outlet and / or dry outlet nozzles, it is preferably provided that a first light barrier arrangement is provided on the suction arms for detecting the lower end region of a garment. In addition, needle grippers are preferred on the carrier for non-suction or, advantageously, through Needle gripper attached to other parts of a garment to be gripped.

In order to be able to spread a garment hanging on a bust laterally in the lower area, so that steam and / or dry air can penetrate the garment over a large cross-sectional area, it is preferably provided that a support rail is located on the second carriage, on which the Spreading the sides of a garment by engaging in the garment from below to load a bust two up and down, and spreading members movable towards and away from each other are arranged.

In order to also be able to widen the chest space of a garment hanging on a bust, in particular in adaptation to its shoulder widths, it is preferably provided that each bust has an upper part with up and down, and spreading members which can be moved towards and away from one another for laterally spreading the upper part of a garment , in particular that the travel of the movement away from one another of the expansion members can be adjusted to adapt to different shoulder widths.

In order that a garment hanging on a bust does not flutter in the lower region when steam and / or dry air is introduced, it is preferably provided that clamping members are provided around a lower region of each bust for gripping around and holding the lower end of a garment, which are provided by the lower end region of a garment to be broken through light barrier arrangement are controlled.

It is particularly important that steam and / or dry air that enters a garment hanging on a bust from below does not come out again or not immediately from sleeves of the garment. To avoid this is preferably provided that a carriage can be moved up and down in the region of the unloading station, that on each side of the column at the same distance from the column an intermediate support is pivotably pivoted about a vertical axis and that on each intermediate support about a horizontal one A rail is pivotally articulated, along which the jaws that can be opened and closed can be moved to close the end of each sleeve. This measure is independent of the plant in other plants, as well as the following measures, independent meaning.

Particularly short distances for the rails and thus a short response time are preferably obtained by the horizontal axes intersecting the vertical axes assigned to them.

So that the carriage assumes such a position relative to a position hanging on the bust, it is preferably provided that the position of the carriage along the column is controlled by a light barrier arrangement which detects the upper edge region of a bust.

In order to correctly position the rails over the sleeves of a piece of clothing, which, depending on the conditions, can hang slightly forwards or backwards, it is preferably provided that the positions of the rails around the vertical axes are controlled by light barrier arrangements to be interrupted by the sleeves.

So that the rails can then be adjusted essentially parallel to the sleeves, it is preferably provided that the positions of the rails around the horizontal axes are controlled by light barrier arrangements to be interrupted by the sleeves and located between the jaws and the horizontal axes.

So that the jaws can finally close the sleeves at their ends, it is preferably provided that the positions of the jaws along the rails are controlled by light barrier arrangements to be interrupted by the ends of the sleeves.

Systems of the type according to the invention can work in parallel with a suitable control and can therefore be loaded and unloaded essentially in parallel. In order to achieve this, it is preferably provided that the system has a plurality of turntables, which are designed to be loaded and unloaded by means of a loading station and an unloading station, with assigned columns, and that all loading stations have a common circular feed conveyor and all unloading stations have a common one District laxative conveyor is assigned.

The invention is described in the following using an exemplary embodiment, servo motors, such as pneumatic piston-cylinder units, for the sake of clarity, since they are known per se and a suitable arrangement is not difficult for the person skilled in the art, some are only hinted at, some are omitted.

Fig. 1 shows a turntable with busts on it, including loading station and unloading station in supervision.

Fig. 2 shows a loading station in side view, partly in perspective, for the sake of clarity on different scales.

Fig. 3 shows a hook pickup in a loading station in side view and a hook pickup in an unloading station in side view and a bust in a loading station and a bust in an unloading station in side view and a hook pickup in an unloading station in side view and a bust in one Loading station and a bust in an unloading station in side view.

FIG. 4 shows the unloading station according to FIG. 3 (without bust) from the viewing direction IV in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows the unloading station according to FIG. 4 from the viewing direction V from above.

Fig. 6 shows a design of the jaws for closing the ends of the sleeves.

7 shows in two views, each offset by 90 °, the alignment and holding of a hanger in a bust and the automatic adaptation of the upper part of the bust to the respective shoulder width of a garment.

8 schematically shows a plant from above, by means of which 10 loading stations are loaded essentially in parallel and the unloading stations assigned to them are to be unloaded.

The same reference numbers indicate the same or essentially the same components.

The loading and unloading unit 2 according to the exemplary embodiment has a turntable 6, which can be rotated about a substantially vertical axis of rotation XX on a base 4, and has a diametral on which a bust Bu1, Bu2 is located on both sides of the axis of rotation XX. 1, the bust Bu1 is in a loading station B and the bust Bu2 is in an unloading station E. By rotating the turntable 6 back and forth by 180 ° (double arrow P1), the bust Bu1 can be in the unloading station E and Bust Bu2 can be moved to loading station B. This happens alternately during the operation of the system.

In the loading station B, a piece of clothing 8 together with a hanger 12 provided with a hook 10 is suspended by lowering the hanger 12 in the present case onto the bust Bu1 and in the unloading station E after rotating the turntable 6 by essentially 180 ° including the hanger 12 from the Bust Bu1 lifted off.

In the loading station B there is a column 14 on the floor next to the turntable 6, on which a carriage 16 can be moved up and down by means of a piston-cylinder unit, not shown. A support arm 18 of a hook receiver 20 is fastened to the slide 16 and has a finger 24 which can be pushed in and pushed out by means of a piston-cylinder unit 22 and directed obliquely upwards. Via this finger 24, the loading station B is fed a piece of clothing 8, which hangs on a bracket 12 provided with a hook 10, from a feed conveyor. Accordingly, the finger 24 is movable between a position under the hook 10 of the bracket 12 and a position releasing the hook 10.

Correspondingly, in the unloading station E there is a carriage 28 which can be moved up and down on a column 26 and on which a support arm 30 of a hook receiver 32 is fastened. Like the hook pickup 20, this hook pickup 32 has a finger 36 which can be pushed out and pushed in by means of a piston-cylinder unit 34 and which can be moved obliquely upwards and which can be moved between a position under the hook 10 of the bracket 12 and a position releasing the hook 10 is.

In the loading station B there is a piston-cylinder unit 38 with a piston 40 on the underside of the support arm 18, on the free end of which there is an alignment bar 42 for aligning the rear of the garment 8 with respect to the corresponding side of the bust Bu1.

On the left and right side of the hook pickup 20 in the loading station B there are on the support arm 18 a pair of scissors 44, 46 which are somewhat open in the idle state for gripping the shoulders of the garment 8 against the force of a spring 48, 50 for the purpose of aligning the bracket 12 on one Receiving shaft 52 in the top of the bust Bu1 and triggering a clamp 54 holding the strap 12 by means of shoulders 56. a. also achieved that the receiving shaft 52 can accommodate brackets 12 of different widths and shapes, so you are not bound to a certain bracket shape.

In the loading station B there is a second slide 58 on the column 14 below the slide 16, to which the support arm 18 is fastened, which is connected to the first slide 16 by a spindle drive 60 and is thus relative to the first slide 16. and can be moved. On the second carriage there is a cross member 62 of two suction arms 64, 66 which, with respect to the front and the back of the garment 8, for sucking the front and the back of the garment 8 towards one another and for opening the underside of the garment 8 for loading the Bust Bu1 are movable away from each other. A first light barrier arrangement LS1 extends between the suction arms 64, 66 for detecting the lower end region of the garment 8.

In addition, on the second carriage 58 there is a support rail 68, on which, to spread the lateral lower end regions of the garment 8 by engaging in the garment 8 from below to load the bust Bu1, two spreading brackets 70 which can be moved up and down and towards and away from one another, 72 are arranged. Each bust Bu1, Bu2 has an upper part 74, on which are located shoulder mold plates 76, 78 facing the inner sides of the garment 8 for shaping the shoulder part of the garment 8. The shoulder form plates 76.78 are hinged to spreading scissors 80, 82. The upper inner ends of the spreading scissors 80, 82 are articulated to a component 84 which is fixed to the device and which sits on an upwardly directed shaft 86. This shaft 86 is enclosed by a sleeve that can be moved up and down, on the upper end of which the inner lower ends of the spreading scissors 80, 82 are articulated. In order to adapt to different shoulder widths of the garment 8, the travel path of the movement of the shoulder form plates 76, 78 away from one another is adjustable. For this purpose, four piston-cylinder units 90 are arranged horizontally next to one another on the sleeve 88, which also carries the receiving shaft 52, from which piston ends 92 serving as limit stops can be pushed out. Different steps 94 are arranged on the piston ends 92 on a step plate 96, which is arranged beneath the piston-cylinder units 90 in a device-fixed manner. So that the piston ends 92 cannot move upwards when they are pushed out, they are supported by an elongated hole 98 in a plate 100 fastened to the sleeve 88 and angled by the latter. Details can be found in FIG. 7. 7 also shows a switch 102, which the clamp 54 actuates in the clamped state, and a piston-cylinder unit 104 for pivoting the clamp 54 into the clamped position, as well as a clamp plate 106 hanging at the free end of the clamp 54 and a piston-cylinder Unit 108 between the sleeve 88 and the outer upper articulation point of a pair of scissors, such as the spreading scissors 82, and thus for moving the shoulder molding plate 78. (The same naturally applies to the spreading scissors 80 and the shoulder molding plate 76.)

Around a lower area of each bust Bu1, Bu2 there are four pairs of clamping plates 110, controlled by a light barrier arrangement LS2 to be broken through from the lower end area of a piece of clothing, for grasping and holding the lower end of a piece of clothing.

In the area of the unloading station E, a further carriage 116 can be moved up and down on a third column 112, which stands on a base 114, by means of a piston-cylinder unit 118. On the slide 116 there is a crosspiece 120 in a U-shape open to the axis of rotation XX, at the free ends of which an intermediate support 122 is pivoted about the vertical axis V1 ', V1 or V2', V2 at the same distance from the column 112 , which has an open U-shape with a shorter lower leg. At the free ends of the shorter legs, a rail 124 is articulated about a horizontal axis H1 ', H1 or H2', H2, between which and the free end of the upper longer leg of the intermediate carrier 122 a piston-cylinder unit 126 is articulated. Strip-shaped jaws 128, 130 that can be opened and closed can be moved along each rail to close the end of one sleeve each. Details are shown in Fig. 4. The jaws 128, 130 are provided on their mutually facing sides with cushion strips 132, 134. The lower jaw 28 is fixed on the inside of a lower leg 136 of a U-piece 138 which can be displaced along the rail 124. At the free end of the upper leg 140 of the U-piece 138 and at the free end of the lower leg 136 of the U- Piece 138, a light barrier arrangement LS6 is attached, which is to be broken when the U-piece 138 approaches the end of a sleeve. Once this has been done, the upper jaw 130, which is guided along the transverse leg 142 of the U-piece, can be pressed by means of a piston-cylinder unit 144, which is attached to the upper leg 140 of the U-piece 138, to compress the free one Be lowered at the end of the sleeve.

The horizontal axes H1 ', H1 and H2', H2 intersect the axes V1 ', V1, V2', V2 assigned to them.

The position of the carriage 116 along the column 112 is controlled by a light barrier arrangement LS3 which detects the upper edge region of a bust Bu1, Bu2.

The positions of the rails 124 about the vertical axes V1 ', V1, V2', V2 are controlled by the sleeves to interrupt light barrier arrangements LS4. The positions of the rails 124 about the horizontal axes H1 ', H1, H2', H2 are controlled by light barrier arrangements LS5, which are interrupted by the sleeves and are located between the jaws 128, 130 and the horizontal axes H1 ', H1, H2', H2.

The functional sequence for steaming and drying a garment on the busts Bu1 and Bu2 is essentially as follows:

I. Loading

• 1. Basic position
  The support arm 18 and with it through the spindle drive 60 the crossmember 62 and the support rail 68 are in an upper position above the bust Bu1 and Bu2. The brackets 70, 72 lie against each other, the suction arms 64, 66 in their outer end positions.
• 2. A light barrier (not shown) on a feed conveyor detects that a piece of clothing 8 has been fed to the loading station B.
• 3. The garment 8 is released from the feed conveyor and picked up by the extended finger 24.
• 4. The alignment bar 42 is pushed out onto the back of the garment 8 and aligns the garment 8 with respect to the bust Bu1 or Bu2.
• 5. The carriage 58 moves downward or upward relative to the carriage 16 by actuating the spindle drive 60 until the light barrier arrangement LS1 detects the lower end of the item of clothing 8.
• 6. The suction arms 64, 66 move towards the article of clothing 8 and are switched on after a short time delay, so that they - and possibly the needle grippers mentioned at the beginning - suck in the lower end region of the article of clothing 8 at the front and rear or grasp parts of the article of clothing 8. Once this has been done, the suction arms 64, 66 and possibly the needle grippers move apart to open the garment 8 at the bottom.
• 7. The brackets 70, 72 are raised into the lower end of the garment 8 and separated from each other until they have the garment 8 spread laterally at the bottom.
• 8. The suction arms 64, 66 are switched off and moved apart.
• 9. The garment 8 is lowered by lowering the slides 16 and 58 onto the bust Bu1 and Bu2, until the light barrier arrangement LS2 is interrupted by the lower end of the garment 8. The pairs of clamping plates 110 then clamp the lower end region of the garment 8.
• 10. The upper part 74 of the bust Bu1 or Bu2 is raised until the hanger 12, on which the garment 8 hangs, is in the receiving shaft 52. This is recognized by the probe scissors 44, 46 in cooperation with their switches 56. The bracket 12 is then clamped in the receiving shaft 52 by means of the clamp 54.
• 11. The brackets 70, 72 are lowered and move apart. In addition, the finger 24 is drawn in and releases the hook 10 on the bracket 12.
• 12. The shoulder mold plates 76, 78 are moved apart to the set size of the garment 8.
• 13. The slides 16 and 58 move up to their starting position.
• 14. The turntable 6 is rotated through 180 °.
• 15. The bust Bu1 or Bu2, which is in the loading station B after this rotation, can now be loaded in the manner described.

II. Tensioning the sleeves and vapors as well as drying in the area of the unloading station E

• 1. Air is blown into the garment 8 from below in a manner not shown.
• 2. The carriage 116 is raised until the light barrier arrangement LS3 detects the upper part 74 of the bust Bu1 or Bu2.
• 3. The intermediate supports 122 are pivoted about the vertical axes V1 ', V1, V2', V2 until the light barrier arrangement LS4 is interrupted by the sleeves.
• 4. The rails 124 are pivoted about the horizontal axes V1 ', V1, V2', V2 until they break through the light barrier arrangement LS5.
• 5. The jaws 128, 130 on the U-piece 138 move towards the free ends of the sleeves until theirs Light barrier arrangements LS6 are broken, whereupon the jaws 128, 130 are moved towards each other to close the sleeve ends.
• 6. Steam is blown into the garment 8 from below in a manner not known, since it is known per se, according to a predetermined program.
• 7. The bust Bu1 or Bu2 is shifted upwards in the longitudinal direction for retensioning the garment 8 and its sleeves. (The sleeves can also be stretched by moving the U-piece 138 with its jaws 128, 130 on the rail 124 a small way outwards.)
• 8. After switching off the steam, hot air is introduced into the garment 8 from below in a manner which is not shown, since it is known per se. The carriage 28 is lowered until it reaches a position in which the finger 36 can reach under the hook 10 on the bracket 12 by extending it.
• 9. The clamping plate pairs 110, the jaws 128, 130 and the shoulder form plates 76, 78 are released.
• 10. The carriage 28 moves upwards in order to pull the garment 8 off the bust Bu1 or Bu2 and to transfer it to a discharge conveyor.
• 11. The carriage 116 and all elements located on it are brought back into their starting position. The rails 124 are directed horizontally away from the axis of rotation X-X, the jaws 128, 130 are open and moved outwards along the rails 124 and the slide 116 is in a lower position.

Fig. 8 shows five duo devices (turntable 6 with busts Bu1, Bu2) in two parallel rows spaced apart and a linear feed conveyor 150 that feeds a feed circuit conveyor 152 between the two rows. The loading stations B thus face this feed circuit conveyor 152. A discharge circle conveyor 154 runs around both rows, to which the unloading stations E therefore face. The discharge circuit conveyor 154 feeds a linear discharge conveyor 156.

The timing of the loading in the individual loading stations B and the steaming and drying in the unloading stations E and the unloading in the unloading stations E is such that the times in which a bust Bu1 or Bu2 in the loading station B and in the unloading station E stands, are as equal as possible, so that no waiting time is lost.

Claims (17)

Installation for the treatment, in particular for steaming and drying, of clothes (8) hanging on hangers, in particular jackets and coats,
marked by
at least one turntable (6) which can be rotated about an essentially vertical axis of rotation (XX) and has at least one diametral, on which there is a bust (Bu1; Bu2) on both sides of the axis of rotation (Bu1; Bu2), through a loading station (B) in which a piece of clothing (8) together with the hanger (12) by lowering the hanger (12) onto a bust (Bu1; Bu2) and through an unloading station (E) in which after rotating the turntable (6) by 180 ° the garment ( 8) together with the bow (12) is to be lifted off the bust (Bu1; Bu2). System according to claim 1, characterized in that in the loading station (B) and in the unloading station (E) there is a support arm (18; 30) of a hook receiver (20; 32) on each column (14; 26), which is between a position engaging a hook (10) of a bracket (12) and a position releasing the hook (10) is movable. Installation according to claim 2, characterized in that on the support arm (18) in the loading station (B) there is an aligning member (42) which can be moved towards and away from the back of an item of clothing (8) for aligning the item of clothing (8) on the corresponding side of a bust (Bu1; Bu2). System according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that on the support arm (18) in the loading station (B) on the left and right of the hook pick-up (20) there are each a slightly open probe shears (44, 46) for gripping over the shoulders of a piece of clothing (8) against the force of a spring (48, 50) for the purpose of aligning the bracket (12) on a receptacle (52) in the top of a bust (Bu1; Bu2) and triggering a bracket (12) in the receptacle (52) holding clamp (106). System according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that in the loading station (B) below the carriage (16) on which the support arm (18) is located, a second carriage (58) on the column (14) relative to the first carriage (16) can be moved up and down, on which there is a carrier (62) of two suction arms (64, 66), which, in relation to the front and the back of a piece of clothing (8), for sucking in the front and the back the garment (8) towards one another and for opening the underside of a garment (8) for the purpose of loading a bust (Bu1; Bu2) can be moved away from one another. System according to claim 5, characterized in that a first light barrier arrangement (LS1) is provided on the suction arms (64, 66) for detecting the lower end area of a piece of clothing (8). System according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that on the second slide (58) there is a support rail (68) on which, for spreading the sides of a piece of clothing (8), by engaging in the article of clothing (8) from below for loading one Bust (Bu1; Bu2) two up and down, as well as expanding members (70, 72) movable towards and away from one another are arranged. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each bust (Bu1; Bu2) has an upper part (74) with up and down, and shoulder mold members (76, 78) which can be moved towards and away from one another for shaping the shoulders (74) of a garment (8). System according to Claim 8, characterized in that the adjustment path of the movement of the shoulder shaped members (76, 78) away from one another can be adjusted to adapt to different shoulder widths. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that clamping members (110) are provided around a lower region of each bust (Bu1; Bu2) for gripping and holding the lower end of a piece of clothing (8) through one of the lower end region of a garment (8) to be broken through light barrier arrangement (LS2) are controlled. System, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a carriage (116) can be moved up and down on a column (112) in the region of the unloading station (E), that on the carriage (112) on both sides of the column (112) at the same distance from the column (112), an intermediate support (122) is pivotably pivoted about a vertical axis (V1-V1; V2-V2) and that on each intermediate support (122) about a horizontal axis (H1-H1, H2- H2) a pivotable rail (124) is articulated along which the jaws (128, 130) to be opened and closed can be displaced to close the ends of one sleeve each. System according to claim 11, characterized in that the horizontal axes (H1-H1, H2-H2) intersect the vertical axes (V1-V1, V2-V2) assigned to them. System according to Claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the position of the slide (116) along the column (112) is controlled by a light barrier arrangement (LS3) which detects the upper edge region of a bust (Bu1; Bu2). System according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the positions of the rails (124) about the vertical axes (V1-V1, V2-V2) are controlled by light barrier arrangements (LS4) to be interrupted by the sleeves. Installation according to one of Claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the positions of the rails (124) about the horizontal axes (H1-H1, H2-H2) are interrupted by the sleeves, between the jaws (128, 130) and the horizontal axes (H1-H1, H2-H2) lying light barrier arrangements (LS5) are controlled. Installation according to one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the positions of the jaws (128, 130) along the rails (124) are controlled by light barrier arrangements (LS6) to be interrupted by the ends of the sleeves. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of turntables (6), each designed to be loaded and unloaded by means of a loading station (B) and an unloading station (E), with associated columns (14; 26; 112) and that all loading stations (B) have a common circular feed conveyor (152) and all unloading stations (F) a common circular discharge conveyor (154).

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