GB2159488A - Apparatus for the automatic positioning of tissue and/or card over a shirt to be folded - Google Patents

Abstract

In an apparatus for automatically positioning a sheet of tissue paper and/or a shaped piece of cardboard onto a shirt for assisting in the correct folding of the shirt for packaging, the tissue paper (6) is supplied from a roll (6') and is cut into sheets by a cutter device (7,9,10) positioned above a conveyor belt (5) which conveys the tissue paper (6) from the roll towards its position over the shirt. The pieces of cardboard, are supplied by a slidable sucker unit (15,16) which releases the individual cards adjacent the end of the conveyor belt (5), possibly above a sheet of tissue paper (6) which has previously been positioned. The so positioned sheet of tissue paper (6) and/or the piece of card are gripped by a movable gripper unit (18) which transfers them to a position over the shirt to be folded, which is fitted on one of a pair of horizontal forms (1) carried together on a rotatable platform. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for the automatic positioning of tissue and/or card over a shirt to be folded The present invention relates to apparatus for the automatic positioning of tissue and/or card for a shirt to be folded and in particular the invention re lates to apparatus for stretching out a sheet of tissue over a shirt to assist with the correct folding thereof during packaging.

Tissue paper and/or card are used in the operation of folding shirts upon packaging to improve the presentation thereof for sale. However, apparatus currently in commercial use for performing the positioning operation only operates well with the card. Sheets of tissue, on the other hand present very considerable difficulties as far as separation of individual sheets from a stack is concerned, as well as the subsequent transfer into position on a shirt.

Even those devices which can operate with tissue paper are constrained to work with stacks of sheets of tissue, of various sizes in dependence on the various sizes of shirt to be folded and packaged.

The present invention seeks therefore to elimi nate the above mentioned disadvantages and to provide apparatus which is provided with means capable of correctly extending sheets of tissue pa per onto a shirt. The present invention also seeks to provide apparatus for laying out a sheet of tissue paper and/or a piece of cardboard onto a shirt, which can operate directly on tissue wound on a roll, by cutting this into sheets of desired size.

According to the present invention, there is pro vided apparatus for positioning a sheet of tissue paper and/or a piece of cardboard onto a shirt, for use in folding the shirt, comprising two rotatable adjacent forms provided with means for retaining the collar of a shirt, a conveyor belt operable to draw a continuous sheet of tissue paper from a roll on which it is wound, a carriage movable above the belt, the carriage carrying a cutter slidable lon gitudinally with respect thereto, a card supply unit located to one side of the conveyor belt which is capable of transferring and releasing the individual sheets adjacent the end of the belt itself, and a movable pincer unit operable to grip the sheet, cut to the desired size by the above-mentioned cutter, and/or the card delivered by the card supply unit, and to draw it or them into position over a shirt which has been preliminarily stretched and fixed onto one of the said adjacent forms.

One advantage of the embodiments of the pres ent invention is that they may be provided with means for laying out a sheet of tissue paper and/or a piece of cardboard onto a shirt, which is provided with automatically interchangeable members for holding the shirt in the region of the shirt col lar.

Another advantage of embodiments of the pres ent invention is that apparatus for laying out a sheet of tissue paper and/or a piece of cardboard onto a shirt can thereby be made both structurally simple and of great reliability.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of apparatus formed as an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view from above of the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the continuous belt for drawing tissue paper from the roll, showing the carriage carrying the cutter, for cutting the tissue; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cardboard supply unit; Figure 6 is a perspective view in schematic form of the pincer unit; Figures 7 and 8 are perspective views of the shirt collar retaining unit with which the rotating form is provided, in two different working positions;; Figure 9 is a perspective view seen from the opposite side of Figures 7 and 8, of the shirt collar retaining unit, with parts of the cover removed for clarity; Figure 10 is a schematic side view of a detail of the pincer unit; and Figure 17 is a schematic view of the cutter.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus comprises two adjacent forms 1 and 2, mounted on a horizontal platform 3 capable of successive rotations of 180 about its vertical axis between two positions in which the forms are successively located in a working position. To one side of the platform 3 there is positioned a structure 4 carrying a continuous belt 5 movable in the direction of the length of the forms and operable to draw a sheet of tissue paper 6 from a wound roll 6'.

Above the said structure there is a carriage 7 secured to two lateral guides 8, which can move on the structure itself in the direction of the belt 5.

This carriage incorporates a cutter, constituted by a disc blade 9 capable of sliding longitudinally of the carriage itself, in contact with the edge of a flat fixed blade 10.

Alongside the said structure 4 there is positioned a card supply unit, generally indicated 11, which essentially comprises a platform 12 carrying a stack of suitably shaped boards 13, and slidable upwardly and downwardly by the action of a double acting cylinder 14. Above this unit there is positioned a carriage 15 carrying suckers 16 which are capable of sliding along a horizontal guide 17 situated orthogonally of the forms 1 and 2. At the end of the structure 4 adjacent the form 1, moreover, there is positioned a plate-like body 18 slidable along a horizontal guide 19 arranged above the forms 1 and 2 in an intermediate position and parallel with respect thereto.This plate-like body carries a pincer unit 20 constituted substantially by two pincer jaws 21 and 22 one of which (the jaw 21) is fixed and the other of which (22) is capable of rotating between a position alongside the fixed jaw to a spaced position illustrated in broken outline in Figure 10. A pin 23 presses on the jaw 21 from above.

The forms 1 and 2 are provided with units for holding the collar of a shirt, comprising a fixed shaped block 24 with which cooperates a suitably curved element 25 capable of pressing on the block itself by the action of a first double acting cylinder 26, and a pin 27 which can be spaced, by the action of a second double-acting cylinder 28, from the block itself. Advantageously, it is arranged that there are three locking units, radially mounted and symmetrically arranged 120 apart on a rotatable spindle 29 turnable by means of a toothed wheel and a chain 30 moved by a third cylinder 31 having three stable positions.

A sheet presser 32 cooperates with the fixed blade 10 of the latter, the sheet presser 32 being mounted on a bar 33 which is engaged by a perimetral projection 34, formed on the disc blade 9, to press against the fixed blade itself holding the sheet of tissue paper during the cutting of this latter.

The roller 6' is mounted on a carriage in such a way as to facilitate its arrangement in a suitable housing formed in the structure 4 beneath the continuous belt 5.

In operation, the operator fits a shirt onto the form 1, arranging the collar, buttoned, onto the fixed block 24, which will be chosen, from among the three available, in dependence on the size of the collar itself. Following this, by actuating a pedal, the curved element 25 clamps the shirt collar against the block 24 whilst the pin 27, becoming spaced from this latter, suitably stretches the shirt collar itself. Simultaneously, the sheet of tissue paper 6 and/or card is arranged in front of the pincer unit 20 as required.When only the tissue paper is used, this is stretched out on the conveyor 5, which causes it to unroll from the roll 6'; the pincer close, when the edge of the tissue paper itself, arriving below the pincer unit, causes the intervention of a photocell or the like; it is appropriate, by the way, to state that by varying the distance of the carriage 7 incorporating the cutter, from the pincer unit 20, it is possible to cut the sheet of tissue paper into any required length.

When the sheet of tissue paper must also be associated with a piece of card 13, this latter is withdrawn from the platform 12 by means of the suckers 16 and, by means of known conveyors (not shown) transported from the carriage 15 and released onto the sheet of tissue paper itself. This operation, obviously, also takes place when it is required to lay out, onto the shirt to be folded only the card 13, in this case leaving the conveyor belt which carries the tissue paper stationary.

After this, by means of a further pedal movement, the pincer unit is caused to operate, which clamps one edge of the tissue paper and/or the card, transporting it or them into proximity with the shirt collar and then releasing it.

Subsequently, the operator, in front of the form 2, by actuating another pedal, causes the platform 3 to rotate so as to be able to work on the prepared shirt on the form 1 whilst, on the form 2 the same operations are performed to prepare the next shirt.

Claims (9)

1. Apparatus for positioning a sheet of tissue paper and/or a piece of card onto a shirt, for use in folding the shirt, comprising two rotatable adjacent forms provided with means for retaining the collar of a shirt, a conveyor belt operable to draw a continuous sheet of tissue paper from a roll on which it is wound, a carriage movable above the conveyor belt and carrying a cutter slidable longitudinally with respect thereto, a card supply unit located to one side of the conveyor belt, which is capable of transferring and releasing the individual sheets of card adjacent the end of the belt itself and a movable pincer unit operable to grip the sheet, cut to the desired size by the above mentioned cutter, and/or the card delivered by the card supply unit, and to draw it or them into position over a shirt which has been preliminarily stretched and fixed onto one of the said adjacent forms.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, in which the said two adjacent forms are mounted on a horizontal platform capable of successive rotations of 180 about its vertical axis; at one end of such adjacent forms there being positioned a structure supporting the said conveyor belt, the direction of conveying movement of which is parallel to the length of the said forms.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the said cutter is carried on a movable carriage fixed to two guides mounted laterally of the said conveyor belt; the said cutter, being constituted by a disc blade slidable longitudinally of the carriage in contact with the edge of a flat fixed blade; a sheet presser cooperating with the fixed blade, the sheet presser being mounted on a bar which is engaged by a perimetral projection formed on the disc blade to cause it to press against the sheet presser itself to hold the sheet of tissue paper firmly during the cutting.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said card supply unit comprises a platform, carrying a stack of suitably shaped cards, movable in a vertical direction under the action of a double acting cylinder; above this platform there being positioned a carriage carrying suckers and capable of sliding along a horizontal guide extending orthogonally of the conveying direction of the said conveyor belt.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding Claim in which at one end of the said structure, adjacent one of the said forms, there is positioned a vertical plate-like body slidable along a horizontal guide parallel to and above the forms themselves, in an intermediate position with respect to these latter; this plate-like body carrying the said pincer unit which is constituted substantially by two cranked arms one of which is fixed and the other is turnable such as to move between a release position spaced from the fixed arm and a closed position in which it approaches the fixed jaw from below.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said forms are provided with shirt collar clamping units each comprising a fixed shaped block with which cooperates a movable curved element which can press against the block under the action of a first double acting cylinder, and a pin which is movable by the effect of a second double acting cylinder between a proximal position and a spaced position with respect to the fixed shaped block.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, in which there are three such collar clamping units symmetrically mounted on a rotatable spindle and separated by angles of 120 from one another.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said roll of tissue paper is mounted on a carriage housed within a housing formed in the said structure below the conveyor belt.

9. Apparatus for positioning tissue paper and/or card over a shirt to be folded, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.