The invention relates to an apparatus, to be
associated with pressing machines in general, for
finishing the end edge of the article in an automatic
manner, practically without any manual intervention.
These and other objects and advantages will
become clear from the text which follows.
According to the invention, a pressing machine
for garments of any type, for woollen knitwear garments
or the like - comprising a conveyor belt for
transferring the article from one or more stations, as
far as the unloading point - has at least one
downstream station for beating the end edge - or
similar portions - for finishing of the article, with
beating members and associated actuators, with a
counter-surface and with means for preliminary
processing of the portions to be processed.
Advantageously said beating station is located
immediately upstream of the unloading point.
Said beating members in practice are arranged
transversely or also parallel with respect to the
direction of forward movement of the belt conveying the
articles.
Said beating members may comprise at least one
rigid element with superficial padding.
The apparatus in question comprises a counter-surface
which may be a cross-beam with a shaped
receiving cross-section, located underneath or above
the conveyor belt or a structure parallel to the
movement of the conveyor belt. Said counter-surface
accommodates air and/or steam pipes, with delivery
nozzles; said beating members are active opposite and
along said counter-surface.
Two or two series of beating members operating
with phase-displacement, in a same stoppage position or
also in successive stoppage positions of the article
may also be provided.
At least two successive stoppage positions may
also be provided, in at least one of which the air
and/or steam delivery means and in the following one at
least the beating members are located.
The position of said beating station may be
adjusted so as to adapt it to the dimensions of the
article of clothing to be processed.
The beating members may be actuated by at least
one cylinder/piston actuator, or by a mechanical
actuator, for example of the link block type or the
like, or electro-mechanical type.
The invention also relates to an additional
apparatus to be applied to existing pressing machines,
in order to complete them as defined above.
The invention will be better understood with
reference to the description and the accompanying
drawing which shows a practical non-limiting example of
the invention itself. In the drawing:
Fig. 1 shows a very schematic view of a
conventional pressing machine equipped with the
apparatus in question; Fig. 2 shows a view substantially from the line
II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows in sequence successive stages of
operation of the apparatus in question; Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view; Fig. 5 shows a solution modified with respect
to the previous solution.
According to the diagram of Figs. 1 to 4, 1
denotes a station for the arrangement and/or steam-treatment
of the article which is to be pressed. From
the station 1, by means of a conveyor belt system
schematically shown at 3, the article prepared for
pressing is positioned underneath a pressing station,
in which a pressing apparatus 5 performs pressing
thereof, i.e. flattening and stabilization, in a manner
known per se. The conveyor belt 3, after travelling a
further distance, reaches an unloading station 7 with
an unloading device 9 which receives the articles and
stores them or consigns them to other handling
equipment.
According to the invention, between the
pressing station and the unloading point in the end
station 7, at least one additional station 10 is
provided for finishing and flattening the so-called
bottom end edge B - which usually consists of seamed
meshwork - of the garment I to be processed. Normally
this edge B is processed by the operator manually with
an operation which is long and costly and also
particularly difficult, such that specialised labour is
needed. The apparatus in question, which completes the
pressing machine, may perform this operation of
finishing the edge B, avoiding manual intervention.
Substantially in the additional station 10
indicated above there is located a counter-surface -
such as a cross-beam 12 according to the drawing - the
position of which may also be adjusted both
transversely and, in the case of a cross-beam, in the
direction of forward movement of the conveyor belt 3,
so that the station 10 and hence the counter-surface
may be adapted in relation to the dimensions of the
article to be processed in each case. The counter-surface
12, and in particular the cross-beam, is shaped
with a receiving surface so that the garment I, during
transfer onto the conveyor mat 3, is able to overcome
the counter-surface or the cross-beam 12, unless said
conveyor belt 3, made suitably permeable, is also made
to travel over it. Said counter-surface 12 may have
extending inside it air pipes for example, and in
particular hot air pipes and/or pipes for steam which
is usually saturated steam, with suitable nozzles for
emitting these fluids so that they are able to strike
the layers of the article which are momentarily stopped
- or in some cases travelling - over the cross-beam or
other counter-surface 12. Suitable control means may be
provided for prompt delivery of one and/or other of the
fluids which thus envelop the article. The article I is
stopped so that the edge B is located opposite the
upper shaped surface of the cross-beam or other
counter-surface 12, so as to be exposed both to the
outflow of the abovementioned fluids from the nozzles
and so as to be processed with a beating action by
means of a beater system which may be single or
multiple so as to act simultaneously or in phase-displacement
by means of suitably synchronised
actuators. In the diagram illustrated, a single beater
14 extends in the form of rigid beam 14A for example
made of wood which is suitably reinforced and ribbed
and suitably equipped with padding 14A; the beam is
actuated upwards and downwards by means of a
cylinder/piston actuator 16 which is usually of the
pneumatic double-acting type or the like, so as to
obtain a successive series of raising and lowering
movements in the direction of the double arrow f16 with
suitable beating pressure against the fabric of the
edge B which is located above the counter-surface 12 in
the condition for processing of the article. The
actuator 16 is supported by an arm 18 for example from
the structure of the pressing unit 5, and the position
of said actuator with its beam 14 may be adjusted as
indicated by the double arrow f18 in the same direction
of translatory movement of the article on the conveyor
mat 3, so that the position of this beating station may
be adapted in relation to the longitudinal dimensions
of the article to be processed in each case.
With this arrangement it is possible to process
the edge B of the article when this edge is located
opposite the counter-surface 12, performing heating and
moistening with the steam and manoeuvring with the air
jets which strike the edge and allow movement thereof
corresponding to that manually performed by the
operator during the manual processing operations
carried out hitherto. Beating with the padded beam 14
may be performed with variable frequency and also with
variable beating pressures depending on the
characteristics of the garment to be processed and the
results to be obtained on the edge to be flattened, and
suitable means for setting the abovementioned
adjustments, via the actuator, will therefore be
provided.
The article then follows the normal cycle as
far as the unloading station on the unloading and
receiving group 9.
It is not excluded that the beating function
may also be performed in two different stations both
for repetition of the processing operation and for
duplication of processing with the vaporising and/or
heating fluid and beating.
Fig. 5 shows a possible variation of embodiment
in which the beating member 114, instead of being
movable vertically, is mounted on an articulated
structure with hinges 115 and 116 and with an actuator
118 which causes the angular movements of the beater
114 substantially about the articulation point 116,
with a function which is practically equivalent to that
of the preceding solution.
A beater member may be made to extend over the
entire length of the counter-surface 12 (extending in
the same manner as a cross-beam) for simultaneous
processing of two articles arranged alongside one
another, and said beater, depending on its extension
widthwise, may also be equipped with support and
operating structures such as 16 or such as 115, 116,
118, which are suitably duplicated to avoid stresses
and deformations as a result of the considerable
extension lengthwise of the beater active along a whole
leading edge.
The delivery of the fluids from the nozzles of
the counter-surface 12 may be suitably split up so as
to obtain successive delivery periods and also obtain a
slightly irregular moving effect of the edge to be
processed, so as to obtain the desired finishing effect
for the edge.
It is understood that the drawing shows only an
example provided by way of a practical demonstration of
the invention, it being possible to vary the forms and
arrangements of the invention without thereby departing
from the scope of the idea underlying the invention
itself.