EP2310565B1

EP2310565B1 - Trousers pressing machine

Info

Publication number: EP2310565B1
Application number: EP09797600.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Corinna Mapelli
Original assignee: Trevil Srl
Current assignee: Trevil Srl
Priority date: 2008-07-17
Filing date: 2009-07-17
Publication date: 2016-06-29
Anticipated expiration: 2029-07-17
Also published as: ITMI20081303A1; WO2010007517A1; EP2310565A1; IT1392790B1

Description

The present invention relates to a trouser pressing machine, particularly for permanently pleated trousers, i.e. having a longitudinal pleat vertically extending in a substantially central position at both the front and the back of the legs of certain types of trousers after pressing, according to the preamble of claim 1. Such machines are known e.g. from DE-2746563 or from DE7636527U .
Heretofore, permanently pleated trouser pressing has involved two different steps, separated by a manual action.
During the trouser waist pressing step, the trousers must have a geometrically convex configuration, with the waistband extending as if the trousers were worn, for the waist to be properly pressed with no undesired creases, whereas the pleated leg pressing step requires a concave configuration, with the waist flattened and the central portion, corresponding to the fly, retracted into the side portions directly adjacent thereto.
Prior art machines for these steps could perform one of the above steps only: since the flexibility of prior art waist pressing machine simply consisted in the ability to fit certain sizes, a configuration change like the one required for pleated leg pressing has always required some manual intervention.
Alternatively, machines are known in the art that can press the waist and the legs without requiring any intermediate manual step, but they perform trouser waist pressing with the trousers in a folded configuration, and hence with unsatisfactory results.
Automation of the trouser pressing steps, especially those required for pleat pressing, would be obviously desirable, to achieve high-quality pressing results in a short time and/or without requiring any manual action by qualified staff.
In view of the prior art as described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a machine that at least partially obviates at least some of the above mentioned drawbacks.
According to the present invention, this object is fulfilled by a trouser pressing machine as defined in claim 1. The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description of one practical embodiment, which is illustrated without limitation in the annexed drawings, in which:

Figures 1A and 1B are a diagrammatic cross-sectional top view of the waist clamping unit and a diagrammatic front view of the trouser pressing machine respectively according to an embodiment of the invention, in a concave configuration and without trousers on them;
Figures 2A and 2B are views corresponding to Figures 1A and 1B respectively with trousers on them;
Figures 3A and 3B are views corresponding to Figures 2A and 2B respectively with trousers on them;
Figures 4A-4D show four successive steps of waist handling unit motion as the trouser configuration is being changed;
Figure 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the assembly comprising the rear element and the waist handling unit of a trouser pressing machine of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of part of the waist clamping unit of a trouser pressing machine of the present invention;
Figures 7A and 7B are front views of the pressing unit of a trouser pressing machine of the present invention, in open and closed configurations respectively;
Figure 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the front waist pressing bucks and the fly pressing buck of a trouser pressing machine of the present invention;
Figure 9 is a diagrammatic front perspective view of the front waist pressing unit mounted to the framework of a machine of the present invention;
Figure 10 is a schematic perspective front view of a machine of the present invention;
Figure 11 is a schematic perspective view of the trouser clamping unit of a machine of the present invention.

The trouser pressing machine that is shown in the figures, generally designated by numeral 1, comprises an outer frame 2 which houses a waist clamping unit 3, a waist handling unit 4, a waist unit 5, a trouser clamping unit 6, a pressing unit 7, a front waist pressing unit 100 and/or a rear waist pressing unit 110.
Conventionally, there is a front side F, corresponding to the side from which the operator lays the trousers 8, and a rear side, opposite to the former; likewise, there is a vertical direction (from top to bottom), a lateral direction (from right to left) and a front direction (from front to back), relative to an observer standing in front of the machine 1.
There is also a horizontal plane α (as designated in Figure 3B), which defines the maximum height at which the various types of trousers may be fixed, and a central vertical plane β, with the trousers 8 being placed symmetrically with respect to it. Therefore, the plane α is always above the trousers 8, regardless of the type of trousers 8.
All the components are mounted to the frame 2; the latter defines a working zone , i.e. a volume in which the trousers 8 may be fixed by an operator of the machine 1 and in which the trousers 8 undergo the pleat pressing steps.
The waist clamping unit 3 comprises means 31 for supporting the waist of the trousers 8 below the plane α during the pressing steps; these means 31 may be movable for easily turning the waist of the trousers 8 from a convex configuration, in which the trouser waist is held during pressing, to the concave configuration, in which the trouser waist is held during leg pressing, in which the pleat is formed.
In the convex configuration, which is defined as such because the fly is retracted for the later steps, the trouser legs 8 are substantially completely flattened, for easy pressing thereof by pleat-forming press means. In this configuration, the trouser waist is substantially flattened, although not completely, because it shall no longer undergo subsequent pressing steps.
The movable means 31 include a rear unit 32 and a front unit 33: the rear unit 32 has the purpose of retaining the rear portion of the waist, and imparting part of the convex configuration thereto and comprises a curved plate 321, advantageously divided into at least two elements 322 and 323, which may be pivotally movable, e.g. about a common pivot 324 relative to the frame 2 from an open configuration, as shown in Figure 2 and in which the two elements 322, 323 are disposed in mutually extending relation, to a closed configuration, as shown in Figure 3. Such rotation, advantageously covering an angle of 45° to 90° for each element, may assist proper positioning of the trousers 8 during the leg pressing step.
The rear unit 32 may include control and monitoring means 325 for driving the two elements 322 and 323.
A device is provided behind the curved plate 321 to hold the trousers 8 against the plate 321. This device comprises a pusher, e.g. having a disk shape, and being advantageously servoactuated, which is pressed against the curved plate for the waistband of the trousers 8 to be clamped between the center of the curved plate 321 and the pusher.
The front unit 33 comprises two gripper elements 331, 332 which are adapted to clamp the waistband of the trousers 8 substantially at symmetrical points with respect to the center of the waist
The two gripper elements 331, 332 preferably comprise two jaws 333, 334 each and are free to move, advantageously on bearings, along a preferably rectilinear guide 335.
One of the two jaws 334 has to be placed on the trousers 8 by the operator the other 333 can move towards the former 334 to secure the trousers 8 with respect to the gripper elements 331, 332.
The motion of the two jaws 333, 334 towards each other may be of rotary type (like in pliers), or of translational type (as shown in Figure 6), advantageously in a plane parallel to the plane β.
The gripper elements 331, 332 advantageously comprise means 336 that temporarily secure them relative to the guide 335, such as pneumatic actuators.
The waist handling unit 4, as shown in Figures 4A-4D and 5, comprises means 41 for turning the waist from a convex configuration to a concave configuration.
These means substantially include a finger 411 pivoting about a horizontal axis 412 between a moving configuration (as shown in Figures 4A, 4B and 5) and a working configuration (as shown in Figures 4C and 4D), and advantageously servoactuated by an actuator.
The finger 411 is an element other than the fly pressing buck as described below. Particularly, it differs therefrom for its smaller cross section and/or the shape of the section in contact with the trousers.
In the trouser contact area, the cross sections (perpendicular to the maximum length direction) of the finger 411 may have a maximum size smaller than 3 cm, advantageously smaller than 2 mm, e.g. of a few mm.
Alternatively or in addition, the finger 411 may have a non-flat trouser contact section, e.g. circular or terminating with an acute angle facing towards the trousers.
The pivoting finger 411 is placed on a structure 414 that is held on the rear side and comprises a track 415, for instance having a rectilinear extension, on which the carriage 416 may move towards the location of the trousers 8, in operation, and back. The track 415 is advantageously contained in the plane β.
Conveniently, the carriage 416 is placed at such a height that, during the front motion, when the finger 411 is in the moving configuration, it will not interfere with the trousers 8 and when the finger 411 is in the working configuration, it will interfere with the trousers 8.
Advantageously, the finger 411 is hinged at the front end of the carriage 416 along a substantially horizontal axis, perpendicular to the orientation of the track 415.
Figures 4A-4D show the sequence of movements whereby the carriage 416 and the finger 411 change the configuration of the trousers 8. Figure 4A shows the carriage 416 in a retracted position, with the finger 411 extended, i.e. with the trousers 8 in the convex configuration; Figure 4B shows the carriage 416 in a forward position; here the finger 411 is past the waist of the trousers 8.
As the finger 411 rotates, as shown in Figure 4C, it forms a tooth in front of the trousers 8, in a central position.
As the carriage 416 retracts from the configuration of Figure 4C to that of Figure 4D, it carries along the finger 411 which in turn drags along a part of the trousers 8 from the concave configuration to the convex configuration.
As the finger 416 retracts, the two gripper elements 331, 332 are free to move along the guide 335; advantageously, they are held secured during the waist and/or leg pressing steps.
Also, as the finger 416 retracts, the two elements 322 and 323 of the curved plate 321 change their configuration by pivoting about their pin into the configuration as shown in Figure 3.
The curved plate 321 may be stationary or motorized, to be retracted during the change of configuration, and always hold the waist of the trousers 8 properly stretched.
In a preferred embodiment, the curved plate is disposed at the rear of the machine 1 and is thus mechanically connected to the waist handling unit 4.
The waist unit 5 comprises two bucks 51, 52 for maintaining the shape of the waist during pressing, which are advantageously movable in a vertical direction and possibly in a horizontal direction.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the bucks 51, 52 are advantageously symmetrical with respect to the plane β.
Their outer shape is known in the art in its various forms, and is designed to fit various types of trousers. As common features, the bucks 51, 52 are appropriately convex to fit the shape of the textile product to be pressed and have chamfered edges to prevent their contour from leaving a mark on the fabric.
Referring to Figure 9, the bucks 51, 52 are advantageously integral with a carriage 53 that can move them in a vertical direction, so that they may be removed from the trousers 8 after waist pressing and before waist configuration change (i.e. between Figures 2 and 3).
As shown by the comparison of Figures 1 and 2, the bucks 51, 52 may also move sideways relative to the waist, in their open configuration, to fit the various sizes and shapes of the trousers.
Thus, once the operator has fixed the trousers 8 to the gripper elements 331, 332 and the curved plate 321, the carriage 53 is moved down into its work position whereupon the position of the bucks 51, 52 is suitably adapted to the waist shape.
A trouser clamping unit 6 (as shown in Figure 11) comprises retention means 61, advantageously at least one for each leg and for instance comprising a pair of expanders 611, 612, i.e. two elements capable of moving away from each other, that are inserted in the leg of the trousers 8 and may thus impart a flattened configuration thereto.
As shown in Figure 6, the expanders 611, 612 can move along a track 613 and have an elongate cross section in the direction of the track 613, i.e. in the front direction.
Once the legs of the trousers 8 have been fitted around the retention means 61, such retention means 61 may be actuated to move the expanders 611, 612 away from each other, and cause each leg to assume a "flat" shape, which is an optimal configuration for pleat pressing, and to hold each leg in a slightly stretched configuration during the whole pressing process.
The operator shall obviously make sure that the ends of the expanders are aligned with the position in which the pleat is to be formed, but this may also occur as the trousers 8 are first laid on the machine.
Advantageously, the retention means 61 may be free to rotate about respective advantageously vertical axes of rotation.
The retention means 61 may also be motorized, for the legs to be in their proper position during the next pressing step, without interfering with the motion of the other elements during configuration change. Particularly, the retention means 61 may be mounted to carriages that can displace them in a vertical direction, for easier application and better fit to the different lengths of the various trousers and/or sideways, so that the leg hems may be displaced between a more open position, consistent with the convex configuration of the waist and a closed position adhering with suction board.
Friction may be utilized to prevent disengagement of the legs of the trousers 8 during vertical motion of the retention means 61: the retention means are mounted to an arm, which is arranged to swing about its own motorized carriage. When the retention means are about to slip off, the friction between the latter and the trousers 8 (which can be possibly increased using a neoprene cover), allows the arm to trigger a microswitch that locks its vertical motion.
The pressing unit 7 comprises pressing means 71 for pressing the legs of the trousers 8, while forming a pleat therein. The pressing means include a vertical central suction board 72, which is advantageously movable relative to the outer framework 2 and adapted to be interposed between the legs of the trousers 8 and at least two lateral pressing elements 73 that can perform pleat pressing of the legs of the trousers 8, in combination with the suction board 72.
The suction board 72 is advantageously movable in the vertical direction and has photocells at its top end (the latter advantageously having a V shape), for detecting the crotch and stopping motion at the proper height (possibly after a suitable time-controlled extra-stroke).
The operator may fit the trousers 8 astride the board 72.
The pressing elements 73 may be, for instance, ordinary plates 74, 75 movable between an open configuration (as shown in figure 7A) and a closed or pressing configuration (as shown in Figure 7B).
Also, the pressing elements 73 have a well-known operation and will not be further detailed.
The front waist pressing unit 100 (as shown in Figure 9) comprises at least one buck 101 for the left front waist and a buck 102 for the right front waist.
The bucks 101 and 102 are movable from a first remote configuration, in which they are far from the working zone and allow the trousers 8 to be fitted onto fixation means 31, 61 to a second pressing configuration, in which they are set against the waist bucks 51, 52. In this configuration, the bucks 51, 52, 101, 102 allow proper pressing of the front portion of the waist, and possibly the darts of the trousers 8 (or any other garment having a waist, such as a skirt).
Therefore, the bucks 51, 52 are also used to counteract the bucks 101 and 102, which close during dart pressing.
The bucks 101 and 102 are advantageously mounted to respective movable arms, which pivot relative to the framework 2, e.g. to cover an angle of more than 90° . The rotation planes may be at 90° from each other, disposed symmetrically with respect to the plane β.
The rear waist pressing unit 110, like the one described above, comprises two rear bucks 111 and 112 (only the buck 112 being visible in Figure 10) for pressing the back pockets of the trousers 8.
These rear bucks 111 and 112, like the front bucks 101 and 102, are movable between a first remote configuration and a second pressing configuration.
The rear bucks 111 and 112 can be also mounbted to respective movable arms, which pivot relative to the framework 2, e.g. to cover an angle of more than 90° . The rotation planes may be at 90° from each other, disposed symmetrically with respect to the plane β.
Therefore, the invention discloses a method for pressing the waist and legs of trousers, which comprises the steps of:

a) fitting the waist of the trousers 8 onto the pressing machine by an operator, for the waist to assume a convex configuration;
b) pressing the waist of the trousers, when the waist is in the convex configuration;
c) automatically turning the waist from the convex configuration to the concave configuration, by configuration change means provided on the machine;
d) pressing at least one leg of the trousers, when the waist is in the concave configuration.

It will be appreciated that one of the advantages of the present invention is that configurations may be changed without requiring any manual action.
A pressing process will be now described, with reference to the pressing machine 1 as shown herein.
An operator first fits the trousers 8 onto the machine 1, and fixes them to the movable means 31, namely the curved plate 321 and the gripper elements 331, 332 and to the retention means 61.
Then, the operator introduces the trouser clamping means 61 into each hem of the trousers 8.
The carriage with the waist bucks 51, 52 mounted thereto falls below the plane α and the bucks 51, 52 fit into the waist. At the end of their downward motion, the bucks 51, 52 open apart sideways and the rear unit 32 (the one with the curved plate) retracts until the trousers 8 are sufficiently stretched, whereupon it stops.
The trouser clamping means 61 translate vertically downwards until the two legs of the trousers 8 are stretched.
The trouser pressing machine may advantageously include tension and/or shape control means which are applied by the rear and front units 32, 33 to the waist and by the trouser clamping means 61 to the legs.
The operator may operate such control means to adjust the respective positions of the bucks 51, 52 and the unit 32.
The front and rear waist pressing units 100, 110 move into their respective work configurations, in which the waist pressing step is carried out.
At the end of the waist pressing step, the pressing units 100, 110 move back to their respective remote positions and the bucks 51, 52 are moved back into the initial position.
Then, the carriage 416 pushes the finger 411 beyond the waist of the trousers 8, when the hinged end of the finger 411 has moved past the trousers 8, the finger is pivoted downwards by 90° and then retracted, and at the same time the curved plate 321 moves into the closed position and the rear unit 32 retracts until the waistband of the trousers 8 is stretched, to obtain the configuration change as described above.
Now, the suction board 72 is lifted to the proper position between the legs of the trousers 8, the board 72 is operated to create a vacuum and "suck" the fabric against the board, and at the same time the retention means 61 translate downwards for the fabric of both legs to adhere against the board without forming any undesired crease.
Finally, the pressing means 71 complete the leg pleat pressing steps.
All the movements of the above elements, possibly with the only exception of the movements required for first laying the trousers into the machine 1, may be obtained by appropriate servomechanisms possibly actuated in suitable sequences by special control and monitoring means, such as a PLC, which stores the instructions required for proper performance of the pressing steps.
Likewise, the machine 1 may be equipped with suitable sensors, such as drag force or pressure sensors, to terminate the movements that stretch the fabric of the trousers 8 before causing damages thereto.
The fly buck 9, i.e. the element designed for pressing the zipper of the trousers is generally known in the art and rotates or translates horizontally relative to the trouser pressing machine; however, the fly buck 9 of the trouser pressing machine 1 of the present invention has an additional degree of freedom as compared with prior art fly bucks: since the finger 411 is required to engage the waistband of the trousers 8 at the fly location, this buck 9 has to be moved to clear the path of the finger 411 and be also capable of vertical motion, advantageously with the bucks 51, 52 of the waist unit 5.
The fly buck 9 moves from a work position, in which it can assist pressing of the waist of the trousers 8, to a rest position, in which it cannot assist pressing of the trousers 8.
The movement between these two positions will not cross the ideal line joining the two gripper elements 331, 332 that clamp the waistband of the trousers 8, namely the ideal line joining the two jaws 334 that, as the trousers 8 are being pressed, are disposed inside the waist of the trousers 8. In other words, the fly buck 9 does not assist the configuration change of the waist of the trousers 8.
The present invention has been described with particular reference to trousers 8; nevertheless, it shall be understood that, while the pleat forming arrangements specially concern trouser pressing, waist pressing arrangements may be also used in machines for pressing other garments, such as skirts.
Those skilled in the art will obviously appreciate that a number of changes and variants may be made to the arrangements as described hereinbefore to meet incidental and specific needs, without departure from the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.

Claims

Trouser pressing machine (1) for pleat pressing of trousers (8), said machine (1) comprising:
- a framework (2) defining a working zone;

- fastener means (31, 61) for securing trousers (8) in said working zone so that, in operation, they are symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane (β), said vertical plane (β) being substantially a plane of symmetry for said machine (1);
characterized in that
said machine (1) has:
- a plurality of elements (321, 331, 332, 51, 52) which are adapted, in operation, to hold the waistband of said trousers (8) in a convex configuration, with the waistband extending as if the trousers were worn; wherein the elements are movable for easily turning the waist of the trousers from a convex configuration to the concave configuration, with the waist flattened and the central portion, corresponding to the fly, retracted into the side portions directly adjacent thereto, and

- means (4, 41, 411, 413, 414) for changing, in operation, the configuration of said trousers (8) from a convex configuration to a concave configuration.
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in the preceding claim, wherein said means (4, 41, 411, 413, 414) for changing the configuration of said trousers (8) include a finger (411) pivoting about a substantially horizontal axis.
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said means (4, 41, 411, 413, 414) for changing the configuration of said trousers (8) include a finger (411) movable substantially in said vertical plane (β).
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said fastener means (31, 61) define a fixed horizontal plane α whereby, when the trousers (8) are secured to said machine (1), they are entirely located below said fixed horizontal plane α; said means (4,41,411,413,414) for changing the configuration of said trousers (8) being movable between a first moving configuration, in which they are located above said plane α and a second working configuration, in which they are at least partially located below said plane α.
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said gripper means (31, 61) have a curved plate (321) for holding the rear portion of the waistband, said curved plate (321) being divided into at least two elements (322, 323) pivotally movable relative to the framework (2).
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said gripper means (31, 61) have a front unit (33) for holding the front waist portion, said front unit (32) comprising two gripper elements (331, 332) for clamping, in operation, the waistband of said trousers (8) in two positions substantially corresponding to the points of intersection of an ideal extension of the leg creases with said waistband.
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein some of said elements are front bucks (51, 52) movable in the lateral direction and/or vertical direction.
A trouser pressing machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein said front bucks (51, 52) are symmetrical with respect to a vertical plane (β), through which the center of said trousers (8) passes, in operation.
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said fastener means (31, 61) include retention means (61) for retaining, in operation, the lower ends of said trousers (8), said retention means (61) including two expanders (611, 612) movable relative to each other in a longitudinal direction, said expanders (611, 612) having an elongate cross section in said longitudinal direction.
A trouser pressing machine (1) as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising two lateral pressing elements (73) and a central suction board (72) vertically movable relative to the framework (2), which are intended for mutual cooperation to press the legs of said trousers (8).