ITMO20080302A1 - MACHINE FOR THE POSITIONING OF BRILLIANTS ON A SUPPORT, PARTICULARLY FOR MANUFACTURED ARTICLES FOR MANUFACTURE OF GARMENTS AND CLOTHING ACCESSORIES, UPHOLSTERY OR THE LIKE. - Google Patents

Description

Patent Description for Industrial Invention entitled: "MACHINE FOR THE POSITIONING OF GLITTERS ON A SUPPORT, PARTICULARLY FOR PRODUCTS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GARMENTS AND ACCESSORIES OF CLOTHING, UPHOLSTERY OR SIMILAR".

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a machine for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories for clothing, upholstery or the like. It is known that in the field of manufacture and outfit of fabrics, leathers and fabrics used in the field of clothing and / or upholstery, and therefore also of the manufacture of clothes, bags, shoes, curtains, wall coverings, upholstered parts of furniture and automobiles, and other similar products, there is a constant search for innovative products that give a competitive advantage on the market.

For this purpose, the technique of applying a series of rhinestones arranged according to a predetermined pattern to the fabrics has already been used for some time.

In this regard, it is emphasized that in this discussion the term glitter means a wide range of rigid elements that can be applied to the fabrics, such as rhinestones, beads or other types of differently shaped stones.

For application on fabrics, these glitter are previously distributed on a support (for example a sheet of paper, plastic or other material) following a predetermined design, to be then brought back onto the fabric by means of hot ironing techniques suitable for transferring the glitter from the backing to the fabric.

Various systems and techniques are known for positioning the glitter on the supports.

A first technique, for example, is performed manually with the aid of a shaped template which is provided with openings and / or grooves suitable for housing the glitter and distributed according to the predetermined design to be reproduced.

To place the glitter on the holder, therefore, simply sprinkle them randomly on the mask until all the openings / grooves have been filled, and then apply them on the holder.

This system, however, has some drawbacks including the fact that it requires the use of a large number of manpower with a non-negligible cost.

To overcome this drawback, a second system is known which consists in the use of automatic machines suitable for positioning the glitter directly on the support.

These machines consist of a processing station equipped with a series of magazines, each of which contains glitter of a different color, shape and / or size from those contained in the other magazines.

The magazines are mounted on a mobile structure able to bring them alternately near an applicator unit provided with an operating head which is designed to grasp one diamond at a time and apply it to the support.

The support lies on a flat and horizontal support surface, arranged below the applicator unit.

The support surface is equipped with cross mobility, that is, it can slide along the two main directions of the Cartesian plane defined by the plane of lying of the support surface itself.

The applicator group, on the other hand, is also equipped, among others, with a vertical motion component that allows the glitter to be brought up to the support surface to leave them on the support.

The motion of the support surface and of the applicator group is coordinated by an electronic control unit which, according to the type of pre-established design that must be reproduced on the support, makes the support surface slide until the support is placed in the desired position below the operating head. and, at the same time, activates the applicator unit to place the glitter on it.

However, this system too is plagued by various drawbacks, including the fact that traditional machines have severe limits in terms of productivity and efficiency of use.

In this regard, it should be emphasized that when it is necessary to create pre-established designs with glitter of different colors, shapes and sizes, the applicator group must first apply the necessary glitter by taking them from the various magazines.

Once the application of a type of glitter has been completed, therefore, the mobile structure that supports the warehouses must move to bring the warehouse required for subsequent processing close to the applicator group.

All this inconveniently involves the loss of a large amount of time in which the applicator unit remains inactive, consequently limiting the total number of glitter that can be applied and, therefore, the number of completed supports.

Furthermore, it is emphasized that traditional machines usually have not negligible dimensions, due to the inconvenience of the need to leave a sufficient excursion to the supporting surface in both directions of the Cartesian plane in order to allow the perimeter parts of the support to be reached as well.

Moreover, we must not forget that the applicator group of traditional machines is not always efficient in transferring the glitter from the magazines to the support.

Sometimes, in fact, it happens that the rapid and abrupt motion of the operating head determines the loss of the diamond by the head itself, with the consequent risk of completing the processing without placing some glitter.

The result, of course, is to compromise the quality of the supports obtained as they are missing one or more glitter.

The main task of the present invention is to devise a machine for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories for clothing, upholstery or the like, which is of practical, easy and functional use, of high and reliable productivity, with particularly small overall dimensions, and such as to quickly guarantee products of remarkable quality.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a machine for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories for clothing, upholstery or the like, which allows to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the known art in the field of a simple, rational, easy and effective to use and low cost solution.

The above objects are achieved by the present machine for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories of clothing, upholstery or the like, comprising at least one base frame, at least one processing station associated with said base frame and provided with at least one store for containing glitter and with a glitter applicator unit, and at least one support surface which is able to support at least one support for the application of said glitter, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said processing stations and that said support surface is associated with handling means for moving said support surface between said processing stations.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a machine for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories for clothing, upholstery or similar, illustrated by way of indication, but not of limitation, in the accompanying tables of drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic and partial plan view of the machine according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the machine according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a side view, on an enlarged scale, of a working station of the machine according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a partial plan view on an enlarged scale of a working station of the machine according to the invention;

figure 5 is a sectional view along the plane of line V - V of figure 4; Figures 6 to 10 illustrate, in a succession of side views, the operation of a machining station of the machine according to the invention.

With particular reference to these figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a machine for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories for clothing, upholstery or the like.

The machine 1 comprises a base frame 2 which supports a plurality of processing stations 3 each provided with a magazine 4 for containing glitter B and with an applicator unit 5, 6 for applying the glitter B on a support 7 .

The support 7, for example, consists of a sheet of paper, plastic or other material, intended to receive the glitter B according to a predetermined design and, therefore, to be applied, for example, to a garment or an accessory of clothing, upholstery. or similar, for the application of the glitter B on it.

To support the support 7, the machine 1 is equipped with a plurality of support surfaces 8, of the type of horizontal planes, each of which is designed to support a support 7.

The supporting surfaces 8 are mounted on handling means 9 adapted to move them between the processing stations 3.

Conveniently, the handling means 9 comprise a substantially circular carousel, which supports the supporting surfaces 8 and which, by means of a gearmotor 10, is mounted on the base frame 2 in a rotatable manner around a vertical rotation axis.

The processing stations 3 are distributed around the carousel 9 with a substantially constant pitch, as are the supporting surfaces 8 which are distributed over the carousel 9 with a pitch substantially equal to that of the processing stations 3.

This, in practice, allows the carousel 9 to rotate to move all the support surfaces 8 from one processing station 3 to the other and allow all the processing stations 3 to be always engaged by a support surface 8.

Advantageously, the machine 1 is equipped with a protective cabin 11 which covers the processing stations 3 and the various moving parts of the machine 1 to prevent the operator U from coming into contact with them when the machine 1 is in operation.

For the execution of normal maintenance operations, the protection cabin 11 is equipped with access doors 12, arranged near the processing stations 3.

The protection cabin 11 is shaped to define a recessed compartment 13 which extends above the carousel 9 and which defines a loading and unloading station for the supports 7.

The loading and unloading station 13 is associated with the base frame 2 and is adapted to allow the loading of the supporting surfaces 8 with the supports 7 to be filled with the glitter B and, at the same time, the unloading of the supporting surfaces 8 of the supports 7 worked.

The recessed compartment 13 is arranged between two processing stations 3 and the distance between the loading and unloading station 13 and these processing stations 3 is substantially equal to the pitch that divides two consecutive processing stations 3.

In this way, at each rotation of the carousel 9 the loading and unloading station 13 is engaged by a different supporting surface 8 while the processing stations 3 are engaged by the remaining supporting surfaces 8.

The recessed compartment 13 is equipped with safety means 14 designed to ensure safe access to the loading and unloading station 13 by the operator U.

The safety means 14, for example, consist of an invisible wall, meaning by invisible wall a virtual surface defined by one or more sensors which are distributed on the walls of the protection cabin 11 and which detect the presence of the operator U inside of the recessed compartment 13. Whenever the operator U is operating inside the recessed compartment 13 to load or unload the supports 7, his presence is detected by the sensors 14.

This detection affects the controls of the machine 1 to prevent the operator U from accidentally coming into contact with the moving parts of the machine 1 and, in particular, inhibits the rotation of the carousel 9 as long as the operator remains inside the compartment. re-entrant 13. The processing stations 3 are substantially identical to each other, differing only in the fact that each of them is predisposed to the manipulation of glitter B different (in color, shape and / or size) from those of the other processing stations 3.

Unless otherwise indicated, therefore, in the rest of the description a single processing station 3 will be illustrated by way of example (Figures 3 to 10), for the other processing stations 3 analogous considerations may apply.

The applicator assembly 5, 6 of each processing station 3 is associated with the base frame 2 in a sliding way along a guide profile 15, which protrudes over the carousel 9 and defines a horizontal sliding direction parallel to the plane position of the supporting surfaces 8.

The support surfaces 8, on the other hand, are mounted on the carousel 9 in a rotatable way around a support shaft 16, which defines a vertical and orthogonal working axis to the support surfaces themselves.

Conveniently, the positioning of the glitter B on the supports 7 is carried out by interpolation of the sliding motion of the applicator assembly 5, 6 along the guide profile 15 and of the rotation motion of each supporting surface 8 around its own support shaft 16.

For the rotation of the supporting surfaces 8, each processing station 3 is equipped with rotating drive means 17 consisting, for example, of a rotary motor which, by means of a releasable connection joint 18, can be connected / disconnected to the support shafts 16 which support the bearing surfaces 8.

The rotary motor 17, in particular, is mounted on the base frame 2 with the interposition of a first linear actuator 19, pneumatically operated, which allows the rotary motor 17 to be raised and lowered. When the rotary motors 17 of all processing stations 3 are lowered, the carousel 9 can rotate around its own axis of rotation until the support shafts 16 are positioned in correspondence with the rotary motors 17, where the lifting by the first linear actuators 19 brings the connection joints 18 into the coupling position with the support shafts 16 to transmit the rotary motion.

It is also emphasized that the support surfaces 8 are mounted on the carousel 9 in a sliding manner along the vertical direction defined by the support shaft 16 between a raised configuration and a lowered configuration.

The lowered configuration of the bearing surfaces 8 corresponds to the lowered position of the first linear actuators 19, in which the connecting joints 18 are disengaged from the support shafts 16.

In this configuration, the supporting surfaces 8 rest on the carousel 9 and, to prevent them from moving, provisional attachment means 20, 21 are provided to join the supporting surfaces 8 to the carousel 9. For each supporting surface 8, the provisional attachment means 20, 21 consist, for example, of a vertical pin 20, which extends upwards from the carousel 9, and of a corresponding housing seat 21 obtained on the lower face of the supporting surface 8.

In the lowered configuration, the housing seat 21 and the vertical pin 20 couple perfectly once they are aligned with each other.

The raised configuration of the supporting surfaces 8, on the other hand, corresponds to the raised position of the first linear actuators 19, in which the connecting joints 18 of the various processing stations 3 engage the lower ends of the support shafts 16 and push the support surfaces 8 until the housing seats 21 disengage from the vertical pins 20 and allow the rotation of the support surfaces 8 by the rotary motors 17.

To allow the applicator assemblies 5, 6 to slide along the guide profiles 15, the processing stations 3 are equipped with suitable sliding actuation means 22.

For each processing station 3, the sliding actuation means 22 consist, for example, of a worm screw system, mounted on the guide profile 15.

The worm screw system 22 comprises an actuator motor 23 suitable for turning a screw 24 which is parallel to the guide profile 15 and on which a threaded nut 25 is engaged.

The threaded nut 25 is associated with a plate 26, which is substantially vertical and parallel to the guide profile 15 and which supports the relative magazine 4 and the relative applicator group 5, 6.

The plate 26 is in turn associated with slides 27 sliding along two longitudinal guides 28 mounted along the guide profile 15.

From the plate 26 of each processing station 3 extend a first substantially horizontal bracket 29, which supports the magazine 4, and a second substantially vertical bracket 30, which at least partially supports the applicator assembly 5, 6.

The magazine 4 consists of a vibrating cup feeder, which in addition to containing the glitter B allows them to be singled out, ie to arrange them in an ordered succession on the oblique walls of the cup 4 to allow them to be removed one by one; however, alternative embodiments of the machine in which the magazine 4 is of a different type are not excluded.

The applicator assembly 5, 6 comprises pick-up means 5 suitable for withdrawing the glitter B from the magazine 4 and application means 6 suitable for applying the glitter B previously taken from the magazine 4 to the supports 7.

The pick-up means 5 comprise a first operating head 31 which, by means of a pneumatic suction system, not shown in the figures, is adapted to take one diamond B at a time from the magazine 4.

The first operating head 3 1 is movable between a diamond gripping configuration B and a diamond release configuration B.

To set the first operating head 31 in motion, a plate 32 is provided which is pivoted on the plate 26 and can be rotated around an axis orthogonal to the plate itself.

The rotating actuation of the plate 32 is obtained by the effect of an actuator cylinder 33, of the pneumatic type, which is interposed between the plate 26 and the plate 32.

A second linear actuator 34 is mounted on the plate 32 which allows a support element 31 a which supports the first operating head 31 a to slide back and forth.

The excursion of the actuator cylinder 33 is set so as to alternatively place the first operating head 3 1 in the gripping configuration and in the release configuration.

For this purpose, the actuation of the actuator cylinder 33 is enslaved to the operation of a first and a second limit switch element 35, 36, which are mounted on the plate 26 and which, respectively, identify the correct positioning of the first operating head 3. 1 in the grip configuration and release configuration.

The first end-of-stroke element 35, for example, consists of a first feeler which comes into contact with a side of the second linear actuator 34 when the first operating head 31 is placed in the gripping configuration.

Similarly, the second end-of-stroke element 36 is for example constituted by a second feeler which comes into contact with a side of the second linear actuator 34 when the first operating head 31 is placed in the release configuration.

It should be noted that in the gripping configuration, the sliding direction of the second linear actuator 34 is substantially orthogonal to the oblique internal wall of the magazine 4, so that the back and forth actuation of the first operating head 31 by the second linear actuator 34 allow you to move it closer and further away from the glitter B to pick them up correctly.

Similarly, it should be noted that in the release configuration the sliding direction of the second linear actuator 34 is substantially vertical, so as to facilitate the passage of the glitter B from the withdrawal means 5 to the application means 6.

In passing from the gripping configuration to the release configuration, therefore, the first operating head 31 changes inclination.

In this regard, it should be emphasized that in the gripping configuration the first operating head 31 and the fulcrum 37 for hinging the plate 32 to the plate 26 (figures 6 and 7) are arranged on opposite sides with respect to the wall of the magazine 4 from which the rhinestones are taken. B.

This means that, in passing from the gripping configuration to the release configuration, the glitter B are subjected to a centrifugal force which pushes them against the first operating head 31, increasing its grip and consequently limiting the risk that the glitter B may be accidentally lost.

For greater clarity of representation, the first operating head 31, the plate 32, the second linear actuator 34 and the limit switch elements 35, 36 have not been illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.

The application means 6 comprise two second operating heads 38 which, by means of a pneumatic suction system, not shown in the figures, are each suitable for gripping and handling one diamond B at a time.

The second operating heads 38, in detail, are movable between a first working configuration, for gripping the diamond B directly from the first operating head 31, and a second working configuration, for releasing the diamond B onto the support 7.

In particular, the two second operating heads 38 are mounted on diametrically opposite parts of a cylindrical body 39, which is mounted on the second bracket 30 so that it can be operated in rotation around a horizontal axis A, parallel to the supporting surfaces 8.

By turning the cylindrical body 39, therefore, it is possible to move the second operating heads 38 between the first and the second working configuration, the positioning of one of the second operating heads 38 in the first working configuration corresponding to the positioning of the other second operating head 38 in the second working configuration.

On the cylindrical body 39, moreover, the second operating heads 38 are movable along a direction of mutual approach and departure orthogonal to the horizontal axis A.

In the first working configuration, this mobility allows the second operating heads 38 to approach and move away from the first operating head 31 to grasp the diamond B carried thereon.

In the second working configuration, however, this mobility allows the second operating heads 38 to approach and move away from the underlying supporting surfaces 8 to place the diamond B on the supports 7.

The operation of the machine 1 is as follows.

Before starting the machine 1, the operator U sets the various processing stations 3, loading the magazines 4 with the glitter B of different colors, shapes and sizes depending on the case, and programming the processing stations 3 in operation of the pre-established design that must be reproduced on the media 7.

When starting the machine 1, the support surfaces 8 are arranged in the lowered configuration and the operator U loads them with the supports 7 as they are placed in the loading and unloading station 13.

When the first support 7 loaded on the supporting surfaces 8 reaches the first processing station 3, the same station begins to operate autonomously to arrange the glitter B on the support 7 according to the predetermined pattern to be reproduced.

For this purpose, the machine 1 provides:

- lifting the rotary motor 17 of the processing station 3 by means of the actuation of the first linear actuator 19, bringing the supporting surface 8 into the raised configuration;

- placing the first operating head 31 in the gripping configuration to grab a diamond from the magazine 4 (figures 6 and 7);

- move the first operating head 31 to the release configuration by activating the actuator cylinder 33 (Figure 8);

- move away and bring the second operating heads 38 together with respect to each other. This allows one of the second operating heads 38 to be brought closer to the first operating head 31, to allow the passage of the diamond B from the first operating head 31 to the second operating head 38 which is found in the first operating configuration. At the same time, moreover, the other second operating head 38, if already equipped with a diamond B, can approach the underlying support surface 8 to place the diamond B on the support (Figures 9 and 10);

- return the first operating head 3 1 to the gripping configuration and, at the same time, start the rotation of the cylindrical body 39 around the horizontal axis A to reverse the position of the second operating heads 38;

- repeat the procedure of gripping and applying the glitter B, changing the position of the applicator assembly 5, 6 along the guide profile 15 and / or the angular position of the support surface 8 around the support shaft 16 from time to time, up to the positioning of all the glitter B in the positions provided according to the predetermined design to be reproduced.

Once the positioning of the glitter B corresponding to the first processing station 3 has been completed, the first linear actuator 19 is made to descend so as to uncouple the connection joints 18 from the support shaft 16 and place the supporting surface 8 in a lowered configuration, taking care to align the vertical pin 20 with the housing seat 21 to allow it to be coupled.

The machine 1 then rotates the carousel 9 to place a new support 7 to be processed on the processing station 3 and take the newly processed support 7 to the subsequent processing station 3, where other glitter B can be applied on it following the methods previously described and illustrated.

Once the processing by all the necessary processing stations 3 has been completed, the supporting surfaces 8 return to the loading and unloading station 13, where they are freed from the processed supports 7 and loaded with new supports 7 to be processed.

In practice it has been found that the described invention achieves the proposed purposes.

In this regard, it is emphasized that the particular expedient of providing means for moving the supports between a plurality of stations allows to obtain a machine with high productivity and capable of processing large quantities of supports in a very short time. At the same time, it is highlighted that the particular expedient of providing a series of stations in which the glitter are positioned by interpolation of the sliding motion of the applicator group and the rotation motion of the support surfaces allows to significantly reduce the overall dimensions of each station. compared to commonly used traditional machines.

Claims (15)

CLAIMS 1) Machine (1) for positioning glitter on a support, particularly for articles intended for the manufacture of garments and accessories for clothing, upholstery or the like, comprising at least one base frame (2), at least one processing station (3) associated with said base frame (2) and provided with at least one store (4) for containing glitter (B) and a glitter applicator unit (5, 6) (B), and at least one support surface (8) which is adapted to support at least one support (7) for the application of said glitter (B), characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said processing stations (3) and that said support surface (8) is associated with means of movement (9) for the movement of said support surface (8) between said processing stations (3). 2) Machine (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said handling means (9) comprise at least one carousel which is adapted to support said support surface (8) and which is mounted on said base frame (2 ) so that it can rotate around an axis of rotation, said processing stations (3) being distributed around said carousel (9). 3) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one loading and unloading station (13), which is associated with said base frame (2) and is adapted to allow loading and unloading unloading of said supports (7) on and from said support surface (8). 4) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said applicator assembly (5, 6) is associated with said base frame (2) in a sliding manner along a sliding direction substantially parallel to said surface of support (8) and said support surface (8) is mounted on said movement means (9) in a rotatable way around a work axis substantially orthogonal to the support surface (8) itself. 5) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said processing stations (3) comprise sliding actuation means (22) of said applicator assembly (5, 6) along said sliding direction and means for rotating actuation (17) of said support surface (8) around said work axis. 6) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sliding actuation means (22) comprise at least one worm screw system. 7) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said support surface (8) is mounted on said handling means (9) in a sliding manner along a substantially vertical direction between a raised configuration and a configuration lowered. 8) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises provisional attachment means (20, 21) adapted to join said support surface (8) to said movement means (9) in said lowered configuration . 9) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said rotational drive means (17) comprise at least one rotary motor which can be associated with said support surface (8) in said raised configuration. 10) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said applicator assembly (5, 6) comprises means (5) for withdrawing said glitter (B) from said magazine (4) and application means ( 6) of said glitter (B) on said support (7). 11) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said pick-up means (5) comprise at least a first operating head (31) suitable for gripping at least one of said glitter (B) and movable between a gripping configuration of said at least one diamond (B) and a release configuration of said at least one diamond (B). 12) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said application means (6) comprise at least a second operating head (38) suitable for gripping at least one of said glitter (B) and movable between a first working configuration, for gripping said at least one diamond (B) from said picking up means (5), and a second working configuration, for releasing said at least one diamond (B) on said support (7). 13) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said application means (6) comprise at least two of said second operating heads (38), the positioning of one of said second operating heads (38) in said first working configuration corresponding to the positioning of the other of said second operating heads (38) in said second working configuration. 14) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said magazine (4) comprises at least one vibrating cup feeder. 15) Machine (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said supporting surfaces (8) distributed on said carousel (9) with a pitch substantially equal to the pitch of said processing stations (3) .