Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
  • B65B25/20—Packaging garments, e.g. socks, stockings, shirts
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B5/00—Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
  • B65B5/04—Packaging single articles
  • B65B5/045—Packaging single articles in bags

Definitions

• This invention relates to a device for packing up articles of the clothing industry which have a small size and a reduced weight, and it relates in particular to a device for the automatic packing of neck-ties, handkerchiefs, socks, foulards or the like.
• the main object of the present invention is to reduce the time required for packing up neck-ties by about 2/3 with respect to that required at present.
• Another object of the present invention is to realize the packing in two different ways, as will be described in what follows, according to the particular way the neck-tie must be presented to the customer.
• Still another object of the present invention is to realize the packing of more than one neck-tie in a single envelope, starting from a plurality of neck ⁇ ties placed one upon the other on the belt conveyor, the number of said superimposed neck-ties being preferably not more than six.
• the device of the present invention comprises two interacting parts, I and II, part I comprising a belt conveyor located on a bench, beneath which a packing rod or lance is provided. Part I of the device is spaced from part II by means of an air space. Part II of the machine comprises the packing plane of the neck-ties, which is substantially at the same level above the ground as the upper surface of the bench of part I, on which the belt conveyor will move.
• the neck-ties are laid on the belt conveyor so as to be parallel to each other, and when one of them will reach a position in which it is aligned to a packing seat, which is located on the packing plane of part II of the device, the packing lance or rod, which makes up the interacting member between parts I and II, pushes the neck-tie from the belt conveyor to the packing seat, so that the neck-tie will slip into an envelope of polyvinyl chloride which was previously put on the packing seat.
• Part II of the machine or device of the present invention comprises also a moving frame or carriage having a shape similar to a parallelepiped, which is arranged on the packing plane of part II, and capable of performing a vertical and a horizontal translation.
• the moving frame comprises suction cups which allow the lifting of a PVC envelope from a storing seat containing a pile of about 800 envelopes, followed by a horizontal translation of the envelope and a downward vertical translation of the same until it is laid on the packing seat.
• a plurality of suction cups are arranged beneath the packing seat, at the end of the latter which faces the conveyor belt, and they co ⁇ operate with the suction cups of the moving frame when the latter puts the PVC envelope on the packing seat.
• the combined effect of the moving frame's suction cups and of the lower packing seat's suction cupes opens one end of the PVC envelope which is near the conveyor belt, and this allows the packing rod or lance to enter into the envelope, pushing at the same time the neck-tie inside it.
• the packing rod or lance returns to its original position without dragging the neck ⁇ tie, due to the presence of means capable of keeping the neck-tie inside the envelope, which will be described with reference to the drawing.
• expeller means push the envelope outside the packing plane towards a container.
• the moving frame returns then to the position in which it will lift the next PVC envelope after performing two vertical translation movements and one horizontal translation movement, and the cycle is repeated.
• Fig. 1 is a top view of the device of the present invention
• Fig. 2 is a front view of the device
• Fig. 3 is a side view of the device
• Figs. 4a,b show the member for keeping the neck-tie inside the envelope
• Fig. 5 shows the plurality of suction cups for the lifting of the envelopes, which are connected to the moving frame;
• Fig. 6 shows a cross section of a suction cup
• Fig. 7 shows an element of a suction cup
• Fig. 8 shows the packing lance or rod when it pushes the neck-tie
• Fig. 9 shows the packing lance or rod of Fig. 8, immediately after the neck-tie has been introduced into the envelope, when it is on the point of returning towards the belt conveyor.
• the device comprises two distinct parts I and II, which are denoted in the drawing by numerals 100 and 200 respectively.
• Part I comprises the belt conveyor 1 on which the neck-ties 2 are laid by the operator, so as to be parallel to each other while they are displaced in the direction of the arrow when the belt conveyor is moving.
• the packing rod 3 is below the conveyor belt 1 and it is fixed to a carriage 4 which moves together with the packing "lance" parallely with respect to the belt conveyor 1, and transversally with respect to the moving direction of the conveyor belt 1 indicated by the arrow.
• the bench which supports the belt conveyor is provided with two small rolls 5, 5' on the side of the belt conveyor which faces part II of the device, and an endless flexible rubber string 6 is mounted around them and serves to extend the plane of the conveyor belt beyond its edge, facilitating the seizing and the transport of the neck-tie by means of the packing lance or rod 3.
• the neck-ties are laid on the conveyor belt in such a way that half of their length, leaning on the flexible rubber string 6, will hang down along the air space 7 separating the two interacting parts.I and II of the device.
• Part II i.e. 200 in the figure, comprises, as already mentioned, a carriage or moving frame 8 which supports a plurality of suction cups 9.
• the packing plane 14 comprises the packing seat 15 and the storing seat 16 for the envelops. Laterally with respect to the packing plane the container 17 of the packed neck-ties is provided, which are pushed by the expeller means 12, 12' in said container 17.
• the carriage 8 is provided with components 18, 19 actuated by compressed air, for the horizontal and vertical translation thereof, respectively.
• the component 18 for the horizontal translation of the carriage 8 is made up by two different pneumatic cylinders, one of which displaces the carriage 8 between the two different positions corresponding to that in which the PVC envelope is taken from the storing seat 16 and the other corresponding to the horizontal position in which the PVC envelope is put on the packing seat 15; the second pneumatic cylinder, allows a further backward motion, of the carriage 8, beyond the horizontal position in which the envelope is lifted from the storing seat 15.
• the second pneumatic cylinder is actuated by the operator by means of a control board, when the envelopes on the storing seat 15 have all been used.
• Part II also comprises the blocking member 20 of the neck-ties, which co-operates with the lance 13. It is located at the end of the packing plane 14 opposite to the belt conveyor 1 near the packing seat 15 and aligned with it.
• the packing rod or "lance” 3 will now be described, going into details, together with the blocking member 20.
• the "lance” 3 comprises a flat body 21 of rectangular section, and a movable part 22 (which can be replaced) on its end, said movable part being pivotally connected by means of the articulated joint 23.
• a needle 24 is provided, said needle having a very short length.
• the movable part 22, during the translation of the neck-tie, will be positioned as shown in Fig. 8, defining a space 25.
• a small piston 26 will position itself in this space 25 (see Figs. 4a,b), at the time it contacts the upper surface of the envelope (that is, after its downward movement) , and this small piston 26 allows the return movement of the packing rod 3 towards the belt conveyor 1, leaving the neck-tie inside the envelope, while at the same time, the movable part 22 slides along the lateral surface of the small piston 26 (i.e. around it) and reaches the position of Fig. 9.
• the needle 24 prevents a lateral displacement of the neck ⁇ tie during the translation of the "lance" 3 till the packing seat 15.
• the "lance" 3 is actuated by means of compressed air, i.e. by means of a pneumatic cylinder 27 inside which a rod 28 will slide, the latter being fixed to the carriage 4 which serves to displace the "lance” 3.
• the pneumatic cylinder 27 is arranged below the packing plane 14 and parallel to it.
• the blocking member 20 of the neck-tie inside the envelope is actuated by means of compressed air, and it moves around a pin 29. Its upward movement or, more precisely, the upward movement of the small piston 26, is done by means, of a spring, in the present embodiment. Obviously, also the upper movement of the blocking member 20 could be realized by means of compressed air.
• an elastic friction member (not shown) will intervene, which, by contacting the movable part 22 and applying friction to it, will bring it to its initial position, prior to the packing of the next neck-tie. Said elastic friction member is located below the belt conveyor 1.
• the movement of the carriage 8 supporting the suction cups is controlled by an electropneumatic valve which reclives an electric pulse by means of a microswitch actuated by a cam mounted on a camshaft which is driven by an electric motor reducer.
• a variant is also possible in which the electric control obtained by means of the assembly microswitch- cam-motor reducer is realized by means of a sequencer.
• the blocking member 20 of the neck-tie and the packing rod are both actuated by electro-pneumatic valves.
• magnetic sensors are provided, which detect the passage of the rod sliding inside the pneumatic cylinder which serves for lifting the carriage 8.
• the belt conveyor 1 stops when the photoelectric sensor 11 detects the neck-tie, when the latter is aligned with the packing seat 15.
• the neck-tie hanging down along the air space 7 by half of its length, is translated along a desired predetermined path length by the "lance" or packing rod 3 inside the PVC envelope, which is on the packing seat 15.
• the small piston 26 of the blocking member 20 will intervene and it will position itself in the space 25, moving downwards and contacting the upper surface of the envelope (Figs. 4a,b).
• the movable part 22 allows by sliding around the small piston 26, the return movement of the rod or "lance"
• the small piston 26 will move upwards by the action of a spring (not shown) and the movable part 22 returns to its initial position due to the effect of an elastic friction member (not shown) when the "lance" 3 has almost reached its initial position below the belt conveyor.
• the carriage 8 returns to the position in which it can lift the next envelope, and a new cycle begins.
• the present invention allows also to pack neck-ties which have been folded, with one end of the neck-tie inserted below the label of the production firm.
• the neck-ties are put on the belt conveyor 1 in such a way as to form a loop which projects beyond the edge of the belt conveyor 1, and the movable part 22 will enter in this loop.
• the rubber string 6 will not be used.
• the packing procedure is identical to that described above.
• the rubber string 6 is again used, and it is mounted around the rolls 5, 5', while the neck-ties are put on the belt conveyor 1 in the above described manner (this time one above the other) with one half of them hanging down along the air space 7.
• the needle 24 prevents the longitudinal and lateral displacement of the neck-tie to be packed.
• the needle 24 doesn't damage the neck-ties, due to its reduced dimensions (diameter and length).
• the photoelectric sensor 11 of the figures will not be arranged as shown in the figure (in this position the photoelectric sensor 11 can detect only a neck-tie having half of it hanging down the air space 7), instead, said photoelectric sensor will be arranged immediately below the belt conveyor 1 and near its edge which extends parallely with respect to the air space 7.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Supplying Of Containers To The Packaging Station (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11400652

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Citations (2)

• 1992
  • 1992-02-04 IT ITRM920077A patent/IT1254296B/it active
  • 1992-08-06 AU AU24063/92A patent/AU2406392A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1992-08-06 WO PCT/IT1992/000095 patent/WO1993014978A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (2)

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