WO1999040249A1

WO1999040249A1 - Device for turning inside out objects comprising two pouches such as pocket pillow-cases

Info

Publication number: WO1999040249A1
Application number: PCT/SE1999/000116
Authority: WO
Inventors: Per-Olof Axelsson; Conny Petersson
Original assignee: Borås Wäfveri Kungsfors Ab
Priority date: 1998-02-05
Filing date: 1999-01-28
Publication date: 1999-08-12
Also published as: SE9800322D0; AU2647699A; SE511481C2; SE9800322L

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement for turning articles comprising two pouches, one in a turned inside-out state inside the other, such as a pocket pillow-case, inside out. The invention is characterized by a feed path (1) for the articles with the opening of the intended inner pouch facing forwards in the feed direction, a securing arrangement (2, 3) for the front part of the article in the transport direction at the end of the feed path (1), an arrangement (7, 8) for turning the intended inner pouch inside out at the end of the feed path (1), two cross-sectionally U-shaped elongate profiles (9) for insertion into the opening facing them of the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the outer pouch and spreading the latter out, and a reciprocating stirrup (10) intended to be introduced into and between the elongate profiles (9), thus taking with it and turning inside out the intended outer pouch.

Description

Device for turning inside out objects comprising two pouches such as pocket pillow-cases

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an arrangement for turning articles comprising two pouches, one in a turned inside-out state inside the other, such as a pocket pillowcase, inside out. Such articles have the seams on the outside after manufacture and therefore have to be turned inside out before they are sold and used. The articles are made of fabric which is suitable for sheets and pillow-cases.

STATE OF THE .ART

The manufacture of such pouch-shaped articles intended to be turned inside out using the arrangement according to the invention, for example pocket pillow-cases, is carried out by series production in a virtually automatic manner, a great number of ready-sewn articles being manufactured over a given period of time. However, the articles, for example pocket pillow cases, are not completely finished until they have been turned inside out and the pocket or the smaller pouch has been brought inside the outer pouch. This stage of production, that is to say the turning inside out of the articles, does not take place automatically, however, but manually.

THE TECHNICAL PROBLEM

Turning a pocket pillow-case inside out manually does not pose any great problems for a trained person. However, it is relatively heavy work and, because it is performed manually, it can take time and constitute a bottleneck in production. Consequently, it has for a long time been desirable to be able to automate this operating stage, that is to say the turning inside out, which then makes it possible to achieve a higher production rate and a lower cost for the stage of turning inside out.

THE SOLUTION

According to the present invention, an arrangement has therefore been produced for turning articles comprising two pouches, one in a turned inside-out state inside the 2

other, such as a pocket pillow-case, inside out, which arrangement is characterized by a feed path for the articles with the opening of the intended inner pouch facing foi"wards in the feed direction, a securing arrangement for the front part of the article in the transport direction at the end of the feed path, an arrangement for turning the intended inner pouch inside out at the end of the feed path, two cross-sectionally U- shaped elongate profiles for insertion into the opening facing them of the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the outer pouch and spreading the latter out, and a reciprocating stirrup intended to be introduced into and between the elongate profiles, thus taking with it and turning inside out the intended outer pouch.

According to the invention, the feed path suitably consists of one or more endless belts.

The securing arrangement according to the invention suitably consists of a roller which is opposite the deflection roller of the feed path, can be moved forwards and backwards in the direction of advance of the feed path and, during securing action, is intended to bear against the feed path at the deflection roller when the latter is stationary and in this way clamp the article firmly.

According to the present invention, the arrangement for turning the intended inner pouch inside out consists of a pair of horizontal forks and stirrups which are horizontally pivotable at a distance from one another and can be displaced forwards and backwards in pairs, the forks being intended to be introduced into the opening of the pouch which, after turning inside out, will be the inner pouch, the stirrups being intended to be advanced together with the forks on the side of and outside the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the inner pouch, and both pairs of forks and stirrups being intended to be pivoted towards one another simultaneously by 180° so as to bring about turning inside out.

According to the invention, it is suitable for the stirrups to be elongate and arranged with their wide sides in a vertical plane 3

According to the invention, a blowing arrangement is included in the arrangement for turning inside out the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the inner pouch, which blowing arrangement is intended to blow air into the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the inner pouch and lift the latter up before the pairs of forks and stirrups are advanced.

According to the invention, it is suitable for the U-shaped elongate profiles to be pivotably mounted in the vertical plane at their one end and mounted displaceably in relation to one another in the horizontal plane. According to the invention, the U-shape of the profiles is open inwardly towards the opposite profile and the lower leg of the U-shape is slightly shorter than the upper with the exception of the region of the insertion end.

According to the invention, the reciprocating stirrup has a straight front end corresponding to the width of the article and comprises blowing openings for air.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention is described in greater detail below with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an arrangement according to the invention seen from the side,

Fig. 2 shows in perspective one fork/stirrup pair together with the end of the U- shaped elongate profiles, and

Fig. 3 shows the reciprocating stirrup which is intended to be introduced into the U- shaped profiles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a feed path 1 for the articles, which path 1 consists of one or more endless belts. On this path, a sewn-together pocket pillow-case which is to be turned inside out is fed with the closed sewn-together end in front in the direction of the path, which means that the pocket lies on the outside of the large pouch constituting 4

the main part of the pillow-case with its open end facing foiv ards The main part of the pillow-case, the large pouch, has its opening facing backwards

When the pillow-case has reached a given position at the deflection roller of the belt 1, this is detected by a photocell which at the same time stops the movement of the belt 1 and causes a parallel and preferably similar roller 3 located in front of the deflection roller to pivot towards the deflection roller and to come to bear against the latter With this, the pillow-case is secured and at the same time a powerful air flow is started from the blowing nozzle 4 towards the opening of the pocket and inflates the latter

When the pocket is inflated, which is detected by a photocell, the carriage 5, in which the pairs of forks and stirrups are attached, starts to move towards the inflated pocket opening The carriage 5 is mounted displaceably on a rail 6 located in front of and above the feed path 1 The carnage 5 bears the forward-facing pivotable pairs of stirrups 7 and forks 8 The stirrups 7 are elongate and are positioned with their width in the vertical direction, while the forks 8 suitably consist of plane tongue-like elements These elements will be shown in greater detail in Figure 2

When the carriage 5 has been advanced sufficiently that the forks 8 have entered reasonably fully into the pocket and the stirrups 7 have come as far on the outside of the pocket, both pairs of forks 8 and stirrups 7 are then rotated towards one another by 180° and thus turn the pocket inside out

After turning inside out, when the stirrups 7 are located inside the pocket and the forks 8 are located on the outside and the opening of the large pouch is located at the very front, that is to say on the left in the figure, the carriage 5 starts its travel towards the left and slips the large pouch onto the two U-shaped profiles 9 Before the carriage 5 starts its travel towards the left, the securing of the pillow-case is first released by the roller 3 being pivoted out again After the pillow-case has been slipped onto the U-shaped profiles 9, the forks 8 and the stirrups 7 are reversed and pivoted back in the opposite direction and out of engagement with the pouch pocket, 5

after which the U-shaped profiles 9 are displaced away from one another and tighten the pillow-case and are then pivoted slightly downwards

In this pivoted-down position, the profiles 9 are parallel to and in line with the reciprocating stirrup 10 which is positioned at a fixed angle in relation to the horizontal under the feed path 1 The next stage of the operation is that the stirrup 10 is then advanced and inserted into the two U-shaped profiles which have their openings facing one another and pushes the pocket pillow-case into the profiles 9 because there is no opening in the pillow-case on the side facing the stirrup 10. As a result of this advance of the stirrup 10, the pillow-case is consequently turned inside out and comes to be located on the stirrup 10 inside the two profiles 9. A prerequisite for this being possible is that the ends of the profiles 9 facing the stirrup 10 are well- rounded and smooth so that the fabric can slide over the opening and into the profiles 9.

The leg located on the lower side of the profiles 9 is preferably shorter than the upper leg, which means that, when the stirrup 10 is drawn back, the pillow-case drops down more easily.

In order that a more orderly delivery can take place, the arrangement is provided with a take-off device 1 1 which can move foi vards and has a pinching device 12 which pinches the pillow-case before the stirrup 10 is drawn back, all the pillow-cases then being stacked reasonably evenly one on another. Below the U-shaped profiles 9, a transport path can be arranged, which takes away the pillow-cases that have been turned inside out.

The various operating stages are controlled by a computer which is acted on by inductive transducers or photocells so that the computer always knows where the pillow-case is and which operating stage is to be performed next The feed path 1 is driven electrically while the other operating stages are performed by means of pneumatic arrangements These systems are generally known and are not included in the invention In the arrangement described above, the elements 7 and 8 have been called stirrups and forks, and the frame 10 that is inserted into the profiles 9 is also called a stirrup. It is of course not necessary for the stirrups 7 to consist simply of stirrups; they can be compact or have a different construction, and the forks 8 do not have to have the design indicated. The stirrup 10 does not have to be a true stirrup either but can have any construction with a front edge that is suitable for insertion of the pillow-case into the profiles 9, but a stirrup-shaped construction like that indicated is to be preferred. This will be described in greater detail with reference to Figure 3.

Figure 2 shows one fork/stirrup pair and also the U-shaped profiles seen at an angle from above. Below the carriage 5, the stirrup 7 and the fork 8 are mounted on a vertical axis. When the carriage 5 is advanced towards the opening in the pocket, the fabric lies between the fork 8 which is inserted into the pocket and the stirrup 7 which is outside it. On turning inside out, the stirrup 7 is first pivoted in towards the left in the figure and takes the fabric with it in over the fork 8 which then follows in the pivoting movement and, after a rotation of 180°, lies on the outside of the pocket that has been turned inside out, while the stirrup 7 is inside it. To the left, outside the figure, there is a corresponding stirrup 7/fork 8 pair which is pivoted inwards in the opposite direction towards the pair shown, so that the whole pocket is turned inside out.

The figure also shows the elongate U-shaped profiles 9 which face towards one another with their U-shaped openings. As can be seen, the ends of these profiles 9 are rounded so that they will not constitute any resistance to the fabric when the latter is pushed into these profiles in the final operating stage. As can be seen from the left profile 9, the lower leg of the U is shorter than the upper leg from a little way back from the end and all the way along to the attachment point

Figure 3 shows the stirrup 10 which is suitably a light tubular construction At its rear end, it is connected to a holder 1 1 which in turn slides forwards and backwards on a rail 12. The tubular construction 10 is connected to an air pressure source (not shown) and has blowing openings 13 at suitable points, preferably at the front corners. Air is blown out through these openings 13 when the stirrup 10 is advanced into the U-shaped profiles 9 in order that the corners in the pillow-case are certain to be turned out. It may also be suitable to provide further blowing holes. The stirrup 10 has been made with smooth transitions so that the fabric will not catch. The embodiment of the stirrup 10 shown has also been made bearing in mind the fact that it is to be capable of being pulled out of the fabric without resistance on the part of the latter during drawing back.

By means of the present invention, it has therefore been possible to produce an arrangement for turning articles, for example pocket pillow-cases, inside out, which can be operated by just one person and which rapidly and reliably performs the two necessary turning inside-out actions and arranges the finished product in a neat stack.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown but may be modified in various ways within the scope of the patent claims.

Claims

8PATENT CLAIMS

1. Arrangement for turning articles comprising two pouches, one in a turned inside-out state inside the other, such as a pocket pillow-case, inside out, characterized by a feed path ( 1 ) for the articles with the opening of the intended inner pouch facing foi^vards in the feed direction, a securing arrangement (2, 3) for the front part of the article in the transport direction at the end of the feed path ( 1), an arrangement (7, 8) for turning the intended inner pouch inside out at the end of the feed path (1), two cross-sectionally U-shaped elongate profiles (9) for insertion into the opening facing them of the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the outer pouch and spreading the latter out, and a reciprocating stirrup (10) intended to be introduced into and between the elongate profiles (9), thus taking with it and turning inside out the intended outer pouch.

2. Arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the feed path (1) consists of one or more endless belts.

3. .Arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the securing arrangement consists of a roller (3) which is opposite the deflection roller of the feed path, can be moved foi vards and backwards in the direction of advance of the feed path and, during securing action, is intended to bear against the feed path (1) at the deflection roller when the latter is stationary and in this way clamp the article firmly.

4. ./\rrange.ment according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the arrangement (7, 8) for turning the intended inner pouch inside out consists of a pair of horizontal forks (8) and stirrups (7) which are horizontally pivotable at a distance from one another and can be displaced forwards and backwards in pairs, the forks (8) being intended to be introduced into the opening of the pouch which, after turning inside out, will be the inner pouch, the stirrups (7) being intended to be advanced together with the forks (8) on the side of and outside the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the inner pouch, 9

and both pairs of forks (8) and stirrups (7) being intended to be pivoted towards one another simultaneously by 180┬░ so as to bring about turning inside out.

5. .Arrangement according to Claim 4, characterized in that the stirrups (7) are elongate and arranged with their wide sides in a vertical plane.

6. Arrangement according to either Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a blowing arrangement (4) is included in the arrangement for turning inside out the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the inner pouch, which blowing arrangement is intended to blow air into the pouch which, in the turned inside-out state, will be the inner pouch and lift the latter up before the pairs of forks (8) and stirrups (7) are advanced.

7. ./arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-6, characterized in that the U-shaped elongate profiles (9) are pivotably mounted in the vertical plane at their one end and mounted displaceably in relation to one another in the horizontal plane.

8. ^Arrangement according to either Claim 1 or 6, characterized in that the U-shape of the profiles is open inwardly towards the opposite profile (9) and in that the lower leg of the U-shape is shorter than the upper with the exception of the region of the insertion end.

9. .Arrangement according to any one of Claims 1-8, characterized in that the reciprocating stirrup (10) has a straight front end corresponding to the width of the article and comprises blowing openings (13) for air.