GB2292515A

GB2292515A - Apparatus for making mops

Info

Publication number: GB2292515A
Application number: GB9416426A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harry Paintin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-08-15
Filing date: 1994-08-15
Publication date: 1996-02-28
Also published as: GB9416426D0

Abstract

Apparatus for making mops comprises a number of different processing points 4 - 7 all arranged in line with one another, along a conveyor system eg a continuous belt 8. The apparatus is arranged, so that yarn 2 may be drawn from a ball warp 1, or similar, and fed into clipping apparatus, prior to cutting of the yarn. A clip 10 is inserted into one of the sockets at the first point 4, and at second point 5 a second clip 12 is fed from a hopper 11 to lie over the first clip. At the third point 6 the upper clip 12 is pressed into engagement with the lower clip to retain the yarn therebetween, and at the fourth point 7 the yarn is severed. <IMAGE>

Description

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MOPS Floor mops are traditionally made from ball warps. The yarns on each ball being spun and doubled. A quantity of the doubled yarn is then unwound from the ball, inserted into a clip-like arrangement, and then cut so as to form a mop head. The procedure of making mops in this fashion is extremely labour intensive and even the most experienced of workers is unable to produce any more than around 350 mops per hour.

According to a first aspect of the invention, mop manufacturing apparatus is provided comprising a conveyor system having a plurality of processing points associated therewith, the apparatus being arranged to sequentially and repetitively perform the steps of automatically receiving yarn or a similar material, associating the material with a clip, and cutting the material to form a completed mop head.

Preferably, the conveyor system comprises a continuous belt.

Preferably, the conveyor has a number of clip receiving sockets associated therewith and provided at regularly spaced intervals.

Preferably, means are provided for placing first clip members into said sockets, said means may form a first of said processing points.

Preferably at a second processing point the material may be associated with said first clip member.

Preferably, at a second of said processing points, a second clip member is associated with the first clip member to at least partially surround said material. Said second clip member may be automatically dispensed at said second processing point. Said second clip may be automatically dispensed by means of a vibrating hopper.

Said second clip member may be fixably joined to said first clip member at said second processing point. Alternatively, said second clip member may be fixably joined to said first clip member at a third processing point.

Fixably joining the first and second clip members together at either said second or third processing point provides automatic feeding of the material.

The material may be drawn from a ball, or from a reel. The ball may be a ball warp and the reel may form part of a creel.

Preferably, the material is cut at a further processing point. The material may be cut by means of an automatic cutting device.

Preferably, all processing points are in line with one another.

Preferably, material is drawn from a first end of the line and completed mop heads are deposited for collection at a second end of the line.

Preferably, the apparatus is arranged so as to index from one processing point to another.

The apparatus may be arranged to be pneumatically controlled or alternatively may be electrically or hydraulically controlled.

By way of example, an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompany Figure.

Referring to the Figure, in the embodiment shown, a roll of yarn 1 is shown which feeds yarn via the guide 3 to a system comprising a plurality of processing points 4, 5, 6, 7 associated with a continuous conveyor 8. The conveyor 8 has a plurality of sockets 9 associated therewith and distributed at regular intervals.

At the first processing point 4, a lower clip member 10 is inserted into one of the sockets 9. At a second processing point 5, a hopper 11 full of upper clip members 12 vibrates to position an upper clip member 12 over the lower clip member 10 and to surround transversely the yarn 2. At the third processing point 6, upper clip member 12 is pushed downwardly to resiliently engage with lower clip member 11 and to compress the yarn 2 therebetween so as to hold it in position. At a fourth processing point 7, a rotating blade 13 is moved downwardly onto the yarn 2 so as to cut it. A finished mop head 14 is thereby produced, the heads 14 falling under gravity into collection bin 15 at an end point of the conveyor 8.

The operation of the apparatus described above will now be briefly explained. Movement of the conveyor 8 is arranged to be controlled by some form of control means, which may be in a preferred embodiment a pneumatic control means to index from first point to third point and to pause at each point for a sufficient time to enable the particular operation being carried out at that point to take place. At the first point 4, as was explained earlier, a bottom clip is inserted into one of the sockets 9 associated with the conveyor 8, at the second point 5, a top clip is associated loosely with the bottom clip with the yarn 2 being enclosed by top and bottom clips, at the third point 6 top clip 12 is brought into resilient engagement with bottom clip 10 to trap the yarn therebetween.With the yarn 2 trapped between top and bottom clips 12, 10, it is evident that movement of the conveyor 8 will cause yarn to unwind from reel 1. Therefore, in an initial setting up operation, it is required in the embodiment shown to index through the first three steps so as to properly engage the yarn with the conveyor belt, and thereafter yarn may be fed automatically.

The fourth processing point 7 is arranged so as to be positioned intermediate indexed locations, this is so that an even length of the yarn 2, on either side of clip 10, 12 is cut to form a symmetric mop head 14.

Although yarn is shown as being fed from a reel 1, having a horizontal rotational axis, it may of course also be arranged to be fed from reels having a vertical axis or from a ball warp. Automatic feeding arrangements by which, following the exhaustion of a supply of yarn from a reel 1 a new supply of yarn can be directly attached are also envisaged and lie within the scope of the present invention.

The invention includes semi-automatic arrangements by which, for instance, the bottom clip 10 and/or top clip 12 may be inserted into sockets 9 by an operator. Although it is of course preferable that all steps are carried out automatically, great savings in staffing levels and improvements in efficiency can still be achieved with the semi-automatic arrangements.

Typically, with a semi-automatic arrangement, a through-put of 920 mop heads per hour is attainable. In a fully automatic arrangement, as many as 1,800 mop heads per hour may be produced.

Other variations to the apparatus may be envisaged, for instance, the guide 3 may be omitted or the length of the conveyor 8 varied.

The positioning of the sockets 9 on the conveyor 8 may be varied and, if this is carried out with a consequential variation in the control apparatus, mop heads having differing amounts of yarn associated with them may be produced.

Wherever yarn is mentioned in this application, it should of course be understood that reference could equally be made to other suitable manmade or natural materials.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1. Mop manufacturing apparatus comprising a conveyor system having a plurality of processing points associated therewith, the apparatus being arranged to sequentially and repetitively perform the steps of automatically receiving yarn or a similar material, associating the material with a clip, and cutting the material to form a completed mop head.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the conveyor system comprises a continuous belt.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the conveyor system has a number of clip receiving sockets associated therewith and provided at regularly spaced intervals.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein means are provided for placing first clip members into said sockets.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein said means for placing first clip members into said sockets forms a first of said processing points.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 4 or 5, wherein at a second processing point the material is associated with said first clip member.

7. Apparatus according to any of Claims 4 to 6, wherein at a second of said processing points a second clip member is associated with the first clip member at least partially surround said material.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, wherein said second clip member is automatically dispensed.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 7 or 8, wherein said second clip is automatically dispensed by means of a vibrating hopper.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein said second clip member is fixably joined to said first clip member at said second processing point.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein said second clip member is fixably joined to said first clip member at a third processing station.

12. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the material is drawn from a ball.

13. Apparatus according to Claim 12, wherein the ball is a ball warp.

14. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 11, wherein the material is drawn from a reel.

15. Apparatus according to Claim 14, wherein the reel forms part of a creel.

16. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the material is cut at a further processing point.

17. Apparatus according to Claim 16, wherein the material is cut by means of an automatic cutting device.

18. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein all processing points are in line with one another.

19. Apparatus according to Claim 18, wherein the material is drawn from a first end of the line and completed mop heads are deposited for collection at a second end of the line.

20. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the apparatus is arranged so as to index from one processing point to another.

21. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the apparatus is pneumatically, electrically, or hydraulically controlled.