WO1988003580A1 - Folding machine for textile articles - Google Patents

Abstract

The article to be folded is gripped between an endless belt (9) and a slide (8) between its entry into and its exit from the machine, guides (10, 11) folding the edges of the article towards the centre, the article being moved away from the slide (8) in such a way that its front part falls onto a foldable flap (13), which effects a horizontal fold before the article is transferred to an exit slide (14).

Description

 FOLDING MACHINE FOR TEXTILE ARTICLES

The present invention relates to a machine for folding textile articles for packaging.

It is known that after the manufacture of textile articles, in particular hosiery, it is necessary to fold them with a view to their introduction into packaging. Currently, this plia is carried out by hand, which is long and consequently expensive and moreover is of no interest. The object of the present invention is to automate the folding work e seen in particular of insertion or loading in a packaging box.

It is already known from patent FR-A-2 188 973 to automatically produce a fold intended to constitute a hem on the edge of a garment. For this purpose, the edge of the fabric is bent at 90 °, then folded to the side by a helical movement inside a special guide. The fabric is driven by the tension of an elastic band introduced in the hem and by the claws of the sewing machine.

In the case of articles of the brief type, folding for packaging consists in folding down the two sides or two or three vertical lines, the article being seen in a vertical position, then in folding the lower part, below the upper part, around a substantially horizontal line. The folded article must be inscribed in a parallelepiped with the minimum loss of space.

A guide of the type described in the above patent can only work on small widths of tissue. It is not necessary that there is resistance to advancement without it the garment deforms, especially in the case of knitted pe rigid. Under these conditions, a device described in the aforementioned patent is inoperative since the article would be subjected to differential tensions leading to series of folds not desired and unacceptable by friction of large widths on the walls of the guide.

Various folding machines forming lateral folds and a "French fold" are known, in particular from US-A-3,131,838, US-A-4,093,205, US-A-4,548,595, US-A 3,774,903, US-A-4,106,260 and EP -A-0 004 379.

All these machines use fixed guides on which part of the article slides to fall back onto the central part. On the other hand, as regards the fold or folds perpendicular to the article, various complicated devices are necessary which require a break in the entrainment of the article.

The subject of the present invention is a folding machine making it possible to automatically fold the articles with a view to their packaging at a rate which is of the order of one article per second whatever the stiffness of the fabric or knitting, by a single drive, the different parts are placed quite naturally while the rear panel always remains in contact with the single drive member.

According to the present invention, the folding machine, in particular for textile articles, comprising a conveyor belt for driving the articles and at least one guide capable of forming a fold in a determined position, is characterized in that fixed slides are arranged at the - below the conveyor belt and at a distance at most equal to the thickness of an article, at least one fixed guide, one edge of which extends from a region remote from the slide to the middle of the slide with a movement from bottom to top, being arranged below the slide, so as to form a lateral fold, means for receiving the article outside of the folds formed, allowing the front part of the article, a pivoting flap folding the front part against the rear part and an evacuation slide. Thus, the rear central part of the article always remains in contact with, and is driven by the conveyor belt in a continuous manner. It is thus possible to constitute a simple and fast machine working "online". L side parts are folded under the central part da first time then the assembly is folded around a horizontal lig. The folding thus uses gravity which, at the start, causes the edges to be folded to hang down on the slide whose spacing is less than the width of the article. P driving the central part of the article, the hanging edges come into contact with the guides and are naturally folded up around the slides. The folding according to the vertical lines is thus carried out naturally.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the machine comprises a cell detecting the front part of the article and the rear part thereof, the front part causing the flap to tilt down and the rear part l returning the flap in horizontal position.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the description which follows of a particular embodiment, given only by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the drawings which represent:

- Figures la to le, an example of folding in the case of a slip,

- Figures 2a to 2b, diagrams showing the evolution of the article during folding;

- Figures 3 to 8, a perspective view from below of the part of the machine according to the invention, showing the progress of the folding process.

In figure la, the article must be folded along the vertical lines 5, 6 and horizontal 7. It is therefore possible to distinguish four zones or panels 1, 2, 3, 4. The operations will consist in folding the panel 3 around the line 5, then the panel 4 around the line 6 on the panel 3 (Figure 1b), then folding the assembly around the horizontal line 7 (Figure le).

It is understood that the machine, with the necessary adjustments, can be used for folding any type of textile piece.

The folding process shown in Figures 2a to 2b is as follows:

In 2a, the article is introduced on the slides 8. The sides 3 and 4 hang under their own weight. The panels 1 and 2 are horizontal and in contact by their upper part with the band 9 of the conveyor belt animated in a continuous movement, from the entry of the conveyor towards its exit. In 2b, a first guide 10 causes the folding of the side 3. While the folding of the side 3 continues, the flange 4 is folded over on the side 3 by a guide 11 (Figure 2c). Of course, the guides 10 and 11 are offset in space, the guide 10 ending while the guide 11 is extended. The guides 10 and 11 cause the panels 3 and 4 to perform an elevation and rotation movement by their geometry and by the movement resulting from 1 ^! strip entrainment of the article 9.

At the end of the guide 11, the configuration shown in 2d is obtained. That is to say the edges 2 and 3 are folded l ^r on each other, or optionally side by side, but about the runners 8.

In order to fold along the horizontal line 7, the article must be released from the slides 8 while continuing to drive the article through its upper surface 1 in contact with the strip 9. For this purpose, the slides 8 are interrupted sensiblemen in the middle of the machine and the article folded along the vertical lines is taken up, by the face 2, on a slide or shoe 12 which is slightly inclined. At the end of the shoe 12 is disposed a flap 13 movable between two positions: an inclined position and a substantially horizontal position.

As shown in FIG. 2e, the flap 13 being in the inclined position, the panel 2 falls by gravity onto the flap 13 and naturally folds back by sliding thereon, since only part 1 of the article is driven. When the level of the fold line 7 is reached, the flap 13 rises upwards and the side 4 is folded over the edges 2 and 3 folded below the panel 1.

On leaving the shutter 1, the folded article is conveyed on a second slide 14, still driven by the contact of the panel 1 on the conveyor belt 9. Of course, the height of the slide 14 below the belt 9 is greater than that of the slide 8. In fact, in the first case, it is necessary to involve a thickness of two layers of fabric and in the second case, at least eight layers of fabric or knitted fabric. The slide 14 conveys the folded article on the outlet of the machine where an automatic casing or any packaging can be carried out.

This is the operating principle of the machine.

Figures 3 to 8 show in perspective from below, a machine according to the invention, intended for folding articles of the brief type. It is obvious, however, that such a machine can be adapted and adjusted to fold other articles. In these figures, only the elements essential for understanding the operation of the machine have been represented. In Figure 3 and the following figures, there are elements schematically shown above, and in particular the conveyor belt 9 which is an endless belt driven at a suitable speed by a geared motor (not shown). The kinematics of the machine is as follows: below the strip 9, there is a first slide 8 located at a distance from the strip equal to or slightly less than the thickness of two layers of fabric corresponding to the rear part and at the front of the garment, ie 2e, if e is the thickness of a sheet of fabric. In the example shown, the slide consists of two parallel rails whose distance is less than the width of the garment.

The guide 10 is arranged and has a configuration such that one of the vertical edges 3 of the part comes, during the progression of the article in the machine by its edge, in contact with the inner edge of the guide 10, so that this contact causes the tilting of the panels towards the center of the article, first of the front part of the panel 3, then gradually as the whole panel which is thus folded around the slide 8. The folding is maintained by the guide 10 until the opposite panel 4 possibly comes to block the first fold. If the panels 3 and 4 are folded edge to edge, the guide 10 extends to the slide 12. The guide 11 slightly recessed relative to the guide 10 performs the same function with respect to the panel 4. A again, the guides 10 and 11 can be formed either by cylindrical tubes or rods, or by left surfaces, for example made of plastic, fixedly adjustable on the frame of the machine.

If necessary, it is possible to mount on the machine frame a third or fourth "vertical" folding guide, for large textile pieces. The number of guides only depends on the number of vertical folds you want. The slide 8 is substantially interrupted in the middle of the conveyor belt. Immediately below the zo for interrupting the slide 8, extends parallel to the direction of progression of the strip 9 a second slightly inclined slide 12 which can be formed by a pad or by two parallel rails. The slide 12 e fixed at a level corresponding to four or six layers of textile tablecloth constituting the panels, either eight or twelve. Its purpose is to receive the textile piece folded along lines 5 and 6 and to release it from the slide 8. end of the slide 12 is a pivoting flap 1 whose purpose will be explained later, which pivots between an inclined position (for reasons of clarity, the flap has been shown in a vertical position in the drawings), and a horizontal position .

Behind the flap 13 is a third slide 1 also constituted in the example shown of two parallel rails and disposed at a distance of eight to twelve thicknesses of plies, ie sixteen to twenty four e. Of course, the shape of the slides which has been shown is in no way limiting and it is, in the machine, to have surfaces with low coefficient of friction stepped down from the inlet to the outlet of the machine. Preferably, the heights of the slides are adjustable to take account of the thickness of the sheets of fabric to be folded.

The actual folding results from the presence of fixed but adjustable guides such as guides 10 and 11, for lateral folding, the left geometry of the guides making it possible, in conjunction with the width of the slide, to determine the width of a fold . The horizontal folding results from the movement of the shutter 13, the possible delaying of the movement of the shutter depending on the speed of progression of the article allowing the width of the panel 2 or more generally of the horizontal pl to be adjusted. Horizontal folding, following vertical folding, poses another problem. Indeed, it is not possible to use a guide given the evolution of the article in a direction perpendicular to this fold line. According to the invention, this problem is solved in the following way, still using gravity: when passing from slide 8 to slide 12, the article, folded along the "vertical" lines which surrounded the slide 8 , is released from this slide and rests on the slide 12, the folds being automatically maintained by contact of their lower surfaces with the slide. When the front part of the panel 2 reaches the end of the slide 12, it falls on the flap 13, in the inclined position and gradually folds around the axis formed by the rear part of the slide. The fold is definitively formed when the flap pivots upwards. After which, the entrained article passes from the flap 13 to the slide 14 in the distance below the strip equal to thirty two or forty eight e, and the flap returns to its lower position. The flap 13 is controlled by a cell 15. Its movement is provided by a pneumatic cylinder or by any other known device.

The operation of the machine is as follows in the case of folding underpants for packaging:

With the machine under tension, the endless belt 9 is driven at constant speed so that its lower edge moves from right to left in FIGS. 3 to 8. Article 1, 2, 3, 4 is introduced into the machine, preferably automatically. The panels 3 and 4 hang on either side of the slide 8 under their own weight (Figure 3). The front 2 of the article is immediately gripped and pinched between the strip 9 and the slide 8. The entire article is thus entrained. During this progression, as appears in FIG. 4, the front of the panel 3 comes to bear on the guide 10 and is gradually folded back. Before the folding of the panel 3 is finished, the front part of the panel comes into contact with the guide 11 and the panel 4 is at its folded top (FIG. 5).

In the case shown, the edge 4 covers the edge 3, my this characteristic only depends on the width of the slide 8 relative to the width of the panels 3 or 4. At the exit of the guides 10 and 11 the article, the panels 3 and 4 was folded, is directed on the slide 12 as it appears on figure 5. The panels 3 and 4 escape from the conta with the guides 10 and 11, but the folding is preserved by sliding of the article on the surfaces of panels 3 and 4.

The progression continues and the front panel of the folded garment falls, since it has no more support. Nevertheless, the progression of the article to the left (FIG. 6) continues as a result of the contact of the rear part 1 of the article with the strip 9. When the cell 15 detects passage from the rear of the article or the passage from the front of the article but with a definite time delay corresponding to the passage time of the whole article, the flap 13 which is in the inclined position folds almost instantly in horizontal position.

This operating state is represented in FIG. 7. The article folded definitively is then driven on the slide 14 (FIG. 8) from which it is extracted, preferably automatically at the exit of the machine.

Of course, in the case of a large garment it is possible to provide several horizontal folds, each of the folds corresponding to. the presence of a flap in the machine.

Claims

1. Folding machine, in particular for textile articles, comprising a conveyor belt (9) for driving the articles on a series of slides, and at least one fixed guide (10, 11), one edge of which extends from a remote area ₅ from the slide (8) to the opposite edge of the slide (8) with a drop from bottom to top, being arranged below the slide, so as to form a fold in the longitudinal direction, characterized in that '' at least one fixed slide (8) is arranged below the • J_ _Q conveyor belt (9) and at a distance at most equal to the thickness of an article (2e), a second slide (12) being arranged at the rear end of the slide (8), the distance between the conveyor belt and the upper surface of the slide (14) being at most equal to ₁₅ two or four times the thickness (2e) of an article, a pivoting flap (13) at the rear end of the slide can pivot between an inclined position and a substantially horizontal position, the rear part of the article permanently in contact with the conveyor belt (9). 2. Folding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that a third slide (14) is arranged behind the slide (12), the distance between the conveyor belt and the 25 upper surface of the slide (14) being equal to four to eight times the thickness (2e) of the article. 3. Folding machine according to claim 2, characterized in that at least the flap (13) pivoting between a position _3Q inclined downwards and a horizontal position is arranged between the two slides (12, 14). 4. Folding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the flap (13) is controlled by a cell (15) of 35 detection of passage of an article.