FR2459759A1 - APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CLASPING LAUNDRY CLIPS, OF THE TYPE CLAMPS WITH SPRINGS - Google Patents

Abstract

THE SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION IS AN APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INSERTING LAUNDRY CLAMPS, OF THE SPRING CLAMP TYPE. IT INCLUDES A MACHINE WITH A VERTICAL BARREL AUTHORIZING THE ASSEMBLY AND DISTRIBUTION OF CLAMPS AT THE INSERT PLACE; THE FREE END OF A BAND OF RIGID MATERIAL, WOUND ON A DRUM, IS GUIDED AND ROUTED TO THE INSERT PLACE; THE CLAMPS ARE TAKEN ONE BY ONE FROM THE BARREL MACHINE AND ARE ARRANGED AUTOMATICALLY AND SUCCESSIVELY ON THE BAND OF RIGID MATERIAL ADVANCING STEP BY STEP. WHEN THE NUMBER OF CLAMPS AVAILABLE ON THIS BAND IS REACHED, A CUTTING DEVICE IS ACTIVATED AND ALLOWS THE TRIPPING OF THE PLIERS CARD AND ITS EVACUATION TO OTHER PLACES OF TREATMENT.

Description

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  The subject of the invention is an apparatus for automatic embedding

  the clothes pegs, such as spring clips.

  The invention relates to the technical sector of machines

  to insert including clothespins.

  To fully understand the interest of the invention, we have

  illustrated schematically in Figure 1, the different phases of

  known method of inserting clothespins.

  These clamps 1 are brought by means of two treadmills

  2 or other suitable conveyors, arranged symmetrically opposite

  The clamps, which have been manufactured after positioning the hinge and return spring, are positioned with respect to the inserting station E. i of the two branches 1, are arranged flat on said conveyor belts. To encircle the clamps, it is facing the unwinding end of the transfer mats, a block

  support 4 on which are positioned after sampling and return-

  on edge, said clothes pegs. An equal number of pliers

  taken from each of the transfer mats, to correspond to

  to lay the total number of pliers to insert. Faced with this support block is located in a plane perpendicular to the arrival of the conveyors,

  card loader 6. The dimensions of these cards are

  established and allow the positioning of 6, 12 or 24 clamps for example. The overturning of the clamps by known suitable means is performed in such a way that the end beads 13 of the latter are opposite the thickness of the upper card 61 disposed in the magazine. The number of clamps positioned on the support block 4 being obtained, simultaneously, a device 7 is actuated to move and come to bear on the end of the gripping arms of the batch of clamps positioned

  on block 4, in order to allow against the articulation spring

  3, the opening of said beads. The top card 61

  is then removed from the shipper by any appropriate means and then

  placed and inserted between the clamping beads of the batch of

  pliers. The support device 7 then releases its effort and re-

  comes in initial position. The final insertion of a batch of pliers is thus obtained, which is then conveyed to another place

  for another conditioning phase.

  This known technique has several notorious disadvantages. Several machines and devices are used: a machine for making and mounting the clamps, that is to say to allow the positioning of the spring with respect to the branches of

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  the clamp; means for transferring the clamps to the place of encar-

  floor; means for taking and turning the tongs to put them in a suitable position, for inserting; a standard card magazine with card picking device and feeding to the inserting station; means acting in

  support on the gripping arms of the forceps; means introduced

  drawing the card between the pliers' beads. We understand the number of relatively large and complex manipulations

  existing situation, thus necessitating constant monitoring of the differences

  phases. There is indeed very often, a bad position-

  claws on the treadmills, which come to

  against each other, making it difficult to grip them.

  There was also a lack of synchronism in the func-

  different machines. It is also necessary

  to have lots of standard cards, adapted for each

  6, 12 or other number of pliers. Often in practice we use a different charger for each type of

  standard card. As a result of all this, an important hand -

  work is necessary for the control of the different phases of the process of insertion, which strike in a notable way the cost price which is no longer in relation with the cost of manufacture.

clothes pegs.

  This invention overcomes these drawbacks and has the advantage of allowing the insertion on the machine to mount it.

  same, without transferring the clip out of the latter.

  According to a first characteristic of the invention, the apparatus to be encircled is remarkable in that it comprises a

  machine for mounting the vertical barrel pliers, and dispensing

  bution said tongs at the inserting place, said barrel pre-

  sensing a polygonal peripheral contour allowing, on each pan, the positioning and the holding of a single plier to encarter; a tape dispenser of rigid material such as cardboard, being arranged facing the vertical barrel, the free end of the cardboard strip being suitably guided by means integral with the vertical barrel and engaging between guiding and clamping members superimposed on moving moving paper cutter; said cutter further supporting a cutter of the cardboard strip, acting when the number of clothes pegs inset one by one on the cardboard strip is reached; the positioning and insertion of the clamps on the cardboard band

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  being obtained by a pusher member disposed in a plane perpendicular to

  to the cutter on the opposite side of the vertical barrel

  tical; said pusher causing the development of one of its organs, the output of the clamp out of the vertical barrel, and inserting step by step. According to another feature, the clothespins are mounted on a vertical drum machine, and successively arranged one by one on each of the polygonal periphery of the panels

  peripheral of the barrel; said barrel being controlled by moving

  cyclic rotation by a suitable means, a corresponding step

  in advance of one step; a roll of cardboard type material is unwound and advanced stepwise in synchronism with the rotation of the barrel, the free end of said cardboard strip being guided and engaged in a slot established between two clamping blocks mounted appropriately on a mobile paper cutter; the action of a pusher being controlled synchronously with the movement of the cardboard strip and the rotation of the barrel; while

  the stopping time of the belt and barrel, as a result of the development

  the rod of the pusher, the latter is supported on the

  spring of articulation of the clamp, and as a result of the effort exerted

  held, causes the movement of the clamp from its position on the vertical cylinder until its engagement and its holding on the cardboard tape; when the number of inserts reaches the number established after the positioning of the last clamp, a command

  the movement of the paper cutter forward,

  in turn, the blocking of the integral clamping members of said cutter, and the action of the cutting device to separate

  the package of inset pliers, cardboard tape.

  These and other features will appear well

in the following description.

  To fix the object of the invention, without however limiting it, to the figures of the attached drawings o:

  FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view

  trant the current process of inserting;

  FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view

  tring the apparatus according to the invention; Figure 3 is a side view along the arrow A of Figure 1; Figures 4 to 9 illustrate the different phases of the

  embedding process carried out according to the apparatus object of the invention.

  Figure 4 is a front view of the apparatus, prior to positioning a new clamp on the cardboard strip; FIG. 5 is a profile view of the apparatus in the phase illustrated in FIG. 4; - Figure 6 is a front view of the apparatus after positioning the last clamp on the inserting strip, before the cutting operation thereof, the cutter supporting all the elements, having moved; FIG. 7 is a profile view of the apparatus according to the phase illustrated in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a front view of the apparatus after the cutting operation of the cardboard strip with its set of clips; FIG. 9 is a side view of the apparatus according to

the illustrated phase figure 8.

  In order to make the subject of the invention more concrete, it is now described in a nonlimiting manner with reference to the

  exemplary embodiments illustrated by the figures of the drawings.

  The originality of this device comes from the fact that it allows the insertion on the machine to mount itself, without transfer of

  the clip out of the latter, for inserting. The device

  especially takes a machine to mount the clamps, barrel type

  vertical, as shown in the figures of the drawings.

  Reference has been made by the clamp mounting cylinder.

  This barrel as illustrated, has a polygonal peripheral contour 101; a spacing of three faces for example, is established to correspond respectively to the mounting phase (a), the embedding phase (b), the intermediate section (c) corresponding for example to the control position of the clamps, both in terms of quality only for positioning, or whatever. The positioning of the other faces may correspond to other functions. On each pan are appropriately positioned, removable or not, retaining means 11 of a single clothespin 12. These means may for example be squared plates whose vertical wings bear against the branches of the clamps . This support can be obtained by elastic deformation of the vertical parts, to ensure pinching of the retained product. The barrel is mounted on a rotational drive shaft 13, and rotates in a cyclic angular advance corresponding to a pan. According to this first arrangement, the reversal of the clamp from its mounting position to its inserting position is obtained automatically and directly without the intervention of external means, by simple operation.

  advancement in rotation of the barrel. Clothespins are completed

  mined one by one at the inserting location.

  According to another essential characteristic of the invention,

  the cards 14 on which the clips are arranged, are obtained

  bare from a continuous strip of rigid cardboard 15, or similar

  1, wound on a large capacity dispensing roller, not shown, arranged behind the inserting location. As explained later, a device for cutting the material at the

  length, is activated when the number of clamps

  one by one and successively on the free end of the cardboard strip, is reached. This continuous unwinding arrangement of the cardboard strip is particularly advantageous with respect to the use of a standard card magazine, because of the increased capacity and the ability to vary at all times the number of clips on each package. tongs, variations that can be programmed on control cabinets

  well known. As a result, the handling of

  at the level of the card supply unit, the standard batch of cards in a magazine, being always limited to a capacity, thus causing frequent

staff interventions.

  Advantageously, the unrolled cardboard strip 15 bears before inserting, and is guided on a profiled boss

  16 formed on the body of the barrel o, at the axis of rotation

  of the latter, as shown in the following

  drawings. This boss 16 has on its upper part, a sloping profile 161 according to the scroll plane of the strip of

  cardboard to the inserting area. A block 18 whose lower profile

  181 is complementary to the sloping profile 161 of the boss, bears against the latter, to ensure braking or retention in position of the strip, and to prevent its possible return to the dispensing roller. This support obtained also makes it possible to put in tension, the end of the cardboard strip disposed downstream, in order to facilitate the action of the cutting device during the formation of the final card. The aforementioned block 18 is controlled in height displacement, by any appropriate means, preferably elastic. The displacement is realized in synchronism with

  the action of advancement in rotation of the barrel, for the position-

  - 6 - successively the clothes pegs one by one. '' '-'

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the

  Positive insertion is located, as illustrated in Figure 2, near the vertical cylinder 10 distribution pliers, and opposite its transverse drive axis 13, this for reasons

  which will appear well in the following description. This provision

  It comprises a vertical support arm or cutter 19 on which are mounted superimposed, in any appropriate manner, respectively from the bottom up, the cutting device 20 and two blocks Bu, 1o pressurizing the cardboard tape 15. These define between them a slot 23 allowing engagement and guidance of

  the free end 151 of the cardboard strip. These two blocks can

  can be moved relative to each other, moving slightly

  to allow the forward movement in a determined step, the cardboard belt, before the positioning of a new clamp, and coming into contact against each other in firm support on the cardboard, to tension the end of the cardboard tape, before the cutting operation. The cutting device 20 which may be without limitation a blade 21 or the like, is mounted on a support block 22 slidably or non-slidably fixed on the arm

  vertical support 19 of the inserter. According to a variant of

  this support block 22 can be fixed on the paper cutter 19, the

  movement of the cutting blade being obtained by an intermediate means

  diaire such as cylinder 24 which is mounted on one end 211 of the blade 21, as is apparent in particular in Figure 2 of the drawings. According to another variant, not shown, the blade is fixed on a free mounted support in a limited movement on the cutter 19 of the stitcher. This movement is controlled by

any appropriate means.

  According to a non-limiting embodiment, the cutter is secured to its lower portion 1 of at least one connecting rod 25 passing through a fixed block 26. The latter comprises a base 261 fixed at any appropriate place, on which is

  fixedly disposed a block 262 having at least one longitudinal cavity

  tudinal 263 allowing the engagement and guiding of the or said connecting rods 25. In addition, on the upper part of the block 262 is fixedly placed a shank 27 whose cylinder rod 28 is secured to its other end 281 d ' a connecting element

  29, the latter being also coupled to the connecting rods 25.

  According to these dispositions and as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8, 9hM07mo

2459759

  it is understood that by controlling the movement in one direction or in

  the other of the cylinder rod, the movement of the cylinder is

  vertical control 19 through the connecting rods 25. The control of the displacement of the cylinder rod 28 is performed by programming and thus allows the movement of the trimmer step by step, while the blocks 21 and 211 occupy the clamping position of the band for his move. As a result of this movement of the cutter, an appropriate control actuates the cutting device when the predetermined number of clamps positioned is

  achieved. The jack 24 positioned on the support block 22 of the arrangement

  Cutting device, moves in height, thereby causing the cutting blade 21 which penetrates into the cardboard band, thus detaching the package of clothes pegs. When cutting, the support blocks

  21, 211 are still under pressure against each other, for ease of

  cut the bed by tensioning the cardboard. It goes without saying that the embodiment of the cutting device is in no way

  limiting and is given only as an example.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, as it

  Figures 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 show the positioning and commitment

  clothespins on the rigid cardboard band, are ob-

  held by means of a push member 30 arranged by

  relative to the transversal plane of the barrel, on the opposite side to the mass

  cot 19. According to one embodiment, this pusher member is constituted by a cylinder i with a cylinder rod 3 movable and controlled in any appropriate manner. The positioning of the pusher relative to the barrel is such that the development of the cylinder rod 302 is directly engaged between the gripping arms of the clothes peel disposed and maintained on the corresponding pan of the barrel; said rod bearing against the articulation spring of the clamp. The bearing force of the jack rod is large enough to disengage the clothespin from its retaining means, and to bring the clamping beads of said clamp against the longitudinal edge of the cardboard strip. The thrust force of the cylinder rod acting on the spring is sufficient to allow the spacing of the opposite beads, and allow the engagement of the clamp on the cardboard tape. After final positioning of the clamp, the cylinder rod returns to its initial position and a new cycle begins; the barrel is moved a new angular step,

  while the cardboard belt is advanced to allow the position

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  a new clamp. According to these charac- teristic arrangements, the insertion is closely combined with the machine to be mounted, without there being any intermediate phases of transfer and displacement.

clothes pegs.

  According to a non-limiting embodiment, it can be conceived, as illustrated in FIG. 2, that the protruding end of the cardboard strip, with respect to the aforementioned clamping blocks 21, 211, is at a distance close to the cylinder, and in particular at a distance

  less than the length of a clothespin. In this way,

  that the pusher 30 by the development of its actuator rod, acts in support on the hinge spring of the pliers to insert, this

  the last is always maintained and guided by the means of

  on each side of the cylinder during the corresponding phase.

  laying at the beginning of engagement of the pliers of the pliers on the cardboard tape. Then, when the cylinder rod has moved to its maximum position, the clip is correctly engaged on the cardboard strip, the ends of its branches becoming free with respect to the aforementioned holding means, avoiding any unexpected fall. It is clear, however, that this achievement is not

  not limited to, guiding means such as chutes and similar

  which can be reported to ensure the correct transfer

  from the barrel clamp to the cardboard band.

  The various means mentioned above, namely the anti-block

  back 18 of the cardboard belt, the scrolling of the cardboard strip of the dispensing roller, the use of the plunger 30 for feeding and positioning the pliers on the cardboard strip, the control in rotating rotation of the barrel and the intervention and the displacement of the cutter on which the cutting device is arranged, are closely controlled in synchronism according to a programming

  the various phases of the embedding process, program-

  within the reach of those skilled in the art.

  The benefits are apparent from the description, and

  In particular, the complete automation obtained is emphasized, without there being any transfer of the clothespin of the machine to be mounted itself.

  The simplification process is greatly simplified.

  floor. The invention is in no way limited to that of these modes of application, nor to those of the embodiments of its various parts which have been especially indicated; she

  on the contrary, embraces all variants.

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__ E V E N D I C AT I N S 2459759

  -1 Apparatus for automatically inserting clothes pegs, of the type clamps with hinge spring of their branches together, characterized in that it comprises a machine for mounting the vertical cylinder clamps, and distribution of said

  tongs at the insertion point, said barrel having a

  polygonal circumferential tower allowing on each pan, the position-

  ment and holding a single pliers; a roll

  tape of rigid material, such as cardboard, being

  placed facing the vertical barrel, the free end of the cardboard strip being suitably guided by means integral with the vertical barrel and engaging between guiding members and

  clamping devices superimposed on a moving paper cutter

  placement; said cutter further supporting a cutting device of the cardboard strip, acting when the number of clothespins inserted one by one on the cardboard strip, is reached the positioning and inserting of the clamps on the cardboard tape

  being obtained by a pusher member disposed in a plane perpendicular to

  to the cutter, on the opposite side from the vertical barrel, said pusher, by the development of one of its

  organs, causing the clamp to come out of the vertical barrel

  cal, and its insertion step by step; -2- Method for automatically inserting the clothes pegs, of the type clamps with hinge spring, characterized in that the clothes pegs are mounted on a machine to mount at

  vertical barrel, and successively arranged one by one on each

  each of the peripheral polygonal periphery of the barrel; said barrel being controlled in cyclic rotary motion by a suitable means, a step corresponding to the advance of a step a roll of cardboard-type material, is unrolled and advanced step by step in synchronism, with the rotation of the barrel, the free end of said cardboard web being guided and engaged in a slot established between two clamping blocks suitably mounted on a moving paper cutter; the action of a pusher being controlled synchronously with the movement of the cardboard strip and the rotation of the barrel; during the stoppage time of the band and the barrel, as a result of the development of the rod of the pusher, the latter bears on the articulation spring

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  the clamp, and as a result of the maintained effort, causes the displacement

  the clamp from its position on the vertical cylinder,

  as to his engagement and his holding on the cardboard band; when the

  the number of inserted clips reaches the number established after the

  the last clamp, an appropriate control causes the movement of the cutter forward, controlling in turn the blocking of the integral clamping members of said cutter, and the action of the cutting device to separate the pack of inserts from the cardboard tape; -3- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that each side of the vertical barrel, are arranged tabs mounted face to face, allowing the engagement and resistance by elastic deformation of the clothes peg; Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

  the unrolled cardboard tape is supported before the

  cartage, and is guided on a contoured boss formed on the body

  the cylinder, at the axis of rotation; said boss

  sensing on its upper part, an inclined plane corresponding to the plane of travel of the band; an upper block whose lower profile is complementary to the profile of the boss, bearing against the latter, to ensure the braking position of the strip and prevent its eventual return to the distributor roller; Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

  that the cutting device comprises a blade integral with the end

  of the rod of a jack connected to a solidarity support of the mass

  cot -6- Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the cutter is secured to its lower part, at least one connecting rod passing through a fixed support on which is arranged a cylinder; the rod of the cylinder at its end, being secured to a coupling plate with the rods of

aforementioned link.