Abstract:
A method and a device for drawing off a clothing strip from a card-flat bar are presented. A clothing strip held on the card-flat bar by fastening means in the form of clips or clamps is released form the card-flat bar with the aid of a device resulting in at least partial opening of the fastening means. The device has a bearing face and a retainer for bearing on the card-flat bar or on the clip and has a spike for the at least partial opening of the clip.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a device and a method for drawing off a clothing strip from a card-flat bar. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various types of construction of card-flat bars and various methods for fastening clothing strips to these card-flat bars are known from the prior art. The card-flat bars used currently on cards as revolving card flats are preferably equipped with flexible clothings. These clothings have a base or foundation built up from a plurality of fabric layers. The base holds small wire hooks which form the actual clothing elements. The clothings are manufactured in the form of strips. The strips correspond in length and width to the card-flat bars. These clothing strips are usually fastened to both longitudinal sides of the card-flat bar by fastening means in the form of clips or clamps. The clothing strip in this case lies on the underside of the card-flat foot. This bearing face of the card-flat foot has to satisfy high quality requirements in terms of its shape and dimensions. So that the required dimensional and positional tolerances for the bearing face can be fulfilled, the bearing face is normally covered with a compensating layer before the clothing strip is attached, or alternatively a mechanical machining of the bearing face may also take place. 
     SU 659 651 discloses a device for detaching a clothing strip from a card-flat bar (card flats clothing stripper). In this case, a knife is introduced between the clothing strip and the bearing face on the card-flat foot. The knife is drawn along the length of the card-flat bar and cuts or tears out the clothing strip between the lateral clips. 
     The operation is comparable to a peeling operation. Since the necessary forces for peeling out the clothing strip are high, when knives of this type are used manually, there is a high probability of the card-flat bar being damaged, whether by the card-flat bar being twisted or by the bearing face on the card-flat foot being impaired. 
     Similar designs of knives are also employed on card-flat detaching machines. The card-flat bars are tension-mounted in the machines, with the result that a twisting of the card-flat bar as a result of the detaching operation can be largely prevented. The disadvantage remains, however, that the bearing face on the card-flat foot is damaged by the knife. That part of the card-flat foot to which the clips are fastened may also be affected by the action of the force. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
     An object of the invention is to avoid disadvantages of the prior art and to make it possible to draw off the clothing strips of card-flat bars with as little effort as possible without a loss of quality to the card-flat bars. 
     In a particular embodiment, the device has, for bearing on a card-flat bar and/or on a clip, a bearing face and a retainer, as well as a spike or a batten for the partial opening of a clip (or other type of retaining means). 
     An embodiment of a device according to the invention is laid onto the card-flat bar or a clip. The card-flat bar in this case does not have to be tension-mounted, but may be held by hand or, for example, in a simple vice. The device is laid with its bearing face on the card-flat bar itself or on one of the two clips, depending on the type of construction of the card-flat bar. The device, when it is laid onto the card-flat bar or the clip, surrounds the card-flat bar at least partially and is hooked on the card-flat bar by means of a retainer. The retainer is adapted in its type of construction, shape and nature to the card-flat bar. Whether it is necessary for the retainer to engage around on the clothing side of the card-flat bar, with the exception of the side lying opposite the clip to be opened, depends on the type of construction of the card-flat bar. For hooking up the retainer, a projection present on the card-flat bar is used, which, depending on the type of construction of the card-flat bar, is at a greater or lesser distance from the bearing face of the device. The result of this is that the retainer is arranged so as to engage at least partially around the card-flat bar. By means of the retainer, the necessary retention force occurring during the opening of the clip can be introduced into the card-flat bar, without deforming or otherwise damaging the latter. After the device has been laid in place, a spike or a batten is applied via a lever to the clip to be opened. The spike has a shape which is coordinated with the clip to be opened. Preferably, the spike is designed as an elongate tapering batten. The spike is connected to the lever. By the lever being actuated, the spike is moved and consequently the clip is deformed. Owing to this deformation, the clip is opened or is stripped from the card-flat bar. 
     The device is built with a shorter lateral extent than the clip or card-flat bar, the length of a segment preferably amounting to less than half the length of the clip or card-flat bar. The clip is in this case opened segmentally. Opening takes place only in the segment which is covered by the device or its spike. After the opening of the clip in the segment which is covered by the spike, the lever is returned to its initial position. The device can then be displaced on the card-flat bar by the amount of a segment length. In this case, the device does not have to be removed from the card-flat bar. The device does not have to be laid in place anew for each segment, but, instead, is arranged displaceably on the card-flat bar owing to the combination of the bearing face and retainer. 
     Various types of construction of clips for fastening clothing strips on card-flat bars are known from the prior art. A card-flat bar is mostly designed in such a way that it consists of a card-flat foot and of a web integrally formed on the latter. A clothing strip is laid in place on that side of the card-flat foot lying opposite the web and is held on the card-flat bar by means of the clips. A very popular type of construction of clips is one in which the clips are bent around over the card-flat foot and integrally formed onto the latter. In this case, the clips are led around the card-flat foot in such a way as to give rise to a bracketing of the card-flat foot. The bracketing is in this case closed to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the design of the card-flat foot. That surface of the card-flat foot which lies opposite the clothing strip has a mostly inclined design. If this surface is inclined towards the web, a highly bent bracketing is obtained, which is also designated as crimping. If the surface is inclined away from the web, a less bent bracketing is obtained, which is more open. Types of construction are also known in which ribs are integrally formed onto the web on the card-flat bar above the card-flat foot. The clips used for fastening the clothing strip to the card-flat bar in this case do not bracket the card-flat foot, but, instead, these integrally formed ribs. In this case, too, a highly bent bracketing (crimping) or a less bent bracketing of the rib is possible, depending on the type of inclination of the surface of the rib. If a clip is led from the clothing strip over the card-flat foot as far as a rib lying above the card-flat foot, the result of this is that a depression located between the card-flat foot and the rib is spanned by the clip. 
     In the event that the clip to be opened spans a depression on the card-flat bar, the spike of the device according to the invention is oriented such that a portion of the clip which spans the depression is pressed into the depression by the spike as a result of the movement of the lever. As a result of this deformation of the clip, the spanning of the clip causes the bracketing of the card-flat bar to open. The device is consequently pushed further on by the amount of a segment length and the opening operation is repeated. The clip is thus opened over its entire length, a segment length corresponding to the length which can be opened in one operation by the spike used. The segment length, that is to say the width of the spike to be used, is to be selected such that it is possible for the device to be operated by hand. Operating the device by hand makes a particularly careful procedure possible. The spike is held at a centre of rotation and is moved via a lever. On account of the lever force and by virtue of a corresponding design of the lever lengths and the choice of the segmented length, sufficiently high forces can be applied in order to open the clip, even in manual operation. 
     If the clip is fastened to the card-flat foot in such a way that it does not span any depression, with the device according to the invention being designed correspondingly it is then possible to open the clip in that the portion of the clip. The clip, which is integrally formed on the card-flat bar, on the surface lying opposite the clothing strip, is stripped off from the card-flat bar. The spike is oriented such that is engages the end of the clip on the narrow side of the latter. The end of the clip is moved outwards by the spike as a result of the movement of the lever over that surface of the card-flat foot on which the clip lies. By virtue of this movement, the clip is opened. As a result, the device is displaced on the card-flat bar by the amount of a segment length, and the operation is repeated. 
     If, even if a clip not spanning a depression is used, a rib is nevertheless arranged on the card-flat bar or the web and projects from the card-flat bar over the entire length of the latter, this rib may be utilized for hooking up the retainer. In this type of construction, that part of the card-flat bar around which the retainer engages, corresponds to the rib projecting from the web. In this type of construction, it is not necessary to engage around the card-flat bar over and beyond the clothing strip onto that side of the card-flat bar which lies opposite the clip to be opened. 
     When a clip is opened over its entire length, the device can be lifted off from the card-flat bar and the clothing strip removed from the card-flat foot. Depending on the type of construction of the card-flat bar and of the clip used, it may be sufficient to open the clip located on one side of the card-flat bar. If a plurality of clips are used on one side of the clothing strip, before the clothing strip is removed all the clips on this one side must be opened. After the opening of the clips, the clothing strip can be removed, together with the clips fastened to it, from the card-flat foot, without damage to the bearing face, provided for the clothing strip, of the card-flat foot. 
     In a further development of the device according to the invention, the lever for moving the spike is replaced by a drive. A refinement also involves a drive for displacing the device on the card-flat bar. Possible drives are, for example, electric motors or hydraulic drives. The movements may also be intensified by means of energy accumulator elements, for example by springs or gas-pressure elements. 
     If the device is provided in its type of construction as a machine which makes it possible to draw off clothing strips from card-flat bars automatically or by manual operation, without a displacement of individual segments on the card-flat bar being necessary, inserting the card-flat bar into the device is equivalent to laying the device in place on the card-flat bar. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is explained below by means of exemplary embodiments and by means of drawings in which: 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  show a diagrammatic illustrations of various forms of construction of a card-flat bar. 
         FIG. 3  shows a diagrammatic illustration of a cross section of a first device according to the invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a three-dimensional illustration of the first device according to the invention. 
         FIG. 5  shows a diagrammatic illustration of a cross section of a second device according to the invention. 
         FIG. 6  shows a diagrammatic illustration of a cross section of a third device according to the invention. 
         FIG. 7  shows a three-dimensional illustration of the third device according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are shown in the drawings. Each embodiment is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not as a limitation of the invention. For example features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be combined with another embodiment to yield still another embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include these and other modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show diagrammatic illustrations of cross sections of various forms of construction of card-flat bars and are to serve for explaining possible types of construction and fastenings of clothing strips on card-flat bars. 
       FIG. 1  shows a card-flat bar  1  which has been manufactured as a hollow profile. The card-flat bar  1  comprises a card-flat foot  3  and a web  2 . A rib  8  is integrally formed on the web  2  on both sides of the latter. The rib  8  runs over the entire length of the card-flat bar  1  and with the adjacent card-flat foot  3  forms a depression  18 . A clothing strip  6  is attached that side of the card-flat foot  3  which les opposite the web  2 . The clothing strip  6  consists of a foundation  5  and of clothing elements held in the latter, such as, for example, the small wire hooks  4  illustrated. The clothing strip  6  is fastened on its longitudinal sides to the card-flat foot  3  by means of clips  7 . The clips  7  are held in the foundation  5  of the clothing strip  6  and extend beyond the card-flat bar  3  to over the rib  8 . In this case, the clip  7  spans the depression  18 . The clothing strip  6  is thereby retained on the card-flat bar  1  in a clamp-like manner. 
       FIG. 2  shows, in the right-hand half, designated by R, of its illustration, a card-flat bar  41  which is similar to that in  FIG. 1 . The card-flat bar  21  likewise has a card-flat foot  43 , a web  42  and a rib  48  integrally formed onto the web  42 . The clothing strip  6  is also of the same type of construction as the clothing strip  6  shown in  FIG. 1 . This consists of flexible multi-layer fabrics  5  which are normally used in revolving card flats and are equipped with small wire hooks  4 . The clothing strip  6  is likewise held on each side of the card-flat foot  43  by means of clips  47 . In contrast to  FIG. 1 , however, the clip  47  does not span the depression  58 . The clip  47  fits snugly against the card-flat foot  43  and does not extend beyond the card-flat foot  43 , as is the case when the depression  58  is spanned. 
     A further type of construction of card flats  21  is illustrated in  FIG. 2  in the left-hand half, designated by L, of the illustration. The card-flat bar  21  has a card-flat foot  23  and a web  22 , but is not shaped as a hollow profile. The card-flat bar  21  is illustrated as a solid profile, and also the web  22  has not integrally formed rib similar to the rib  48 . The fastening of the clothing strip  6  to the card-flat foot  23  is designed in a similar way to the illustration in the right-hand half of  FIG. 2 . The inclination of that surface  20  of the card-flat foot  23  onto which the clip  27  is integrally formed is selected randomly in  FIG. 2 . It is also conceivable that the surface  20  is inclined downwards, that is to say in the direction of the clothing strip  6 , with respect to the web  22 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a diagrammatic illustration, in cross section, of a first device embodiment according to the invention for drawing off a clothing strip  6  from a card-flat bar  1 . The card-flat bar  1  shown, together with the clothing strip  6  fastened to it, corresponds to the card-flat bar  1  according to  FIG. 1 . The device has a bearing face  19  and a retainer  14 . The bearing face  19  is firmly connected to the retainer  14  and forms a first unit. Attached to this first unit via a centre of rotation  12  is a spike  10  which with a lever  11  forms a second unit. The device is hooked on the card-flat bar  1  by means of the retainer  14  on the side lying opposite the lip  7  to be opened and is laid with its bearing face  19  against the clip  7  to be opened. When the device is applied, the retainer  14  and the bearing face  19  gives rise to a lever action, and therefore no further fastening of the device to the card-flat bar is necessary. The retainer  14  in this case engages around the clothing strip  6  over the rib  8  running longitudinally along the card-flat bar  1 . As a result of a movement of the lever  11  in the direction  13  towards the card-flat bar  1 , an application of the spike  10  to the clip  7  to be opened is achieved. As a result of a continued movement of the lever  11  in the direction of the arrow  13 , that part of the clip  7  which is located above the depression  18  is pressed by the spike  10  into this depression  18 . The result of this is that that part of the clip  7  which is bent around the rib  8  is opened. The clip  7 , at its end lying above the rib  8 , is bent open beyond the rib  8  as a reaction to the pressing-in of the portion of the clip  7  via the depression  18  by means of the spike  10 . The opened part of the clip  7  above the rib  8  is illustrated by the dashed line  9  in  FIG. 3 . The opening of the clip  7  in this case takes place only over the length of the spike  10  which is illustrated by way of example as an elongate tapering batten. When the clip is opened over its entire length, the clothing strip  6 , together with the clips  7  fastened to it, can be removed from the card-flat bar  1 , without the need for the clothing strip  6  to be peeled out from the clips  7 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the same first device according to the invention as  FIG. 3 , but in a diagrammatic three-dimensional view. The device has a segment length S which is smaller than half the length of the clip  7  to be opened. The segment length S is to be selected in such a way that a manual operation of the lever  11  makes it possible to have a deformation of the clip  7 . After the retainer  14  is hooked on and the bearing face  19  bears against the clip  7 , the clip  7  is pressed into the depression  18  by the spike  10  as a result of the movement of the lever  11  in the direction of the arrow  13  to an extent such that the clip  7  opens. However, this opening takes place only within the segment length S. When the clip  7  is opened over the length of the segment S, the lever  11  is brought into the initial position, and the device is raised, so that the bearing face  19  is released from the clip  7 . The device is then freely to be displaced further on along the card-flat bar  1  by the amount of a segment length S (direction of the arrow  15 ) and is to repeat the operation in a second segment. In the illustration of  FIG. 4 , the bearing face  19  and also the retainer  14  are shown by way of example as leading over the entire length S of the segment. For a functioning of the device, it is not necessary that the bearing face  19  bears against the clip  7  over the entire length S or that the retainer is hooked on the card-flat bar over the entire length S. It is sufficient if the length of the bearing face  19  and of the retainer  14  amounts to part of the segment length S. The length and the size of the bearing face  19  and retainer  14  are to be selected such that no damage to the card-flat bar  1  or to its surfaces occurs as a result of the introduction of the retention force into the card-flat bar during the pressing operation. Furthermore, it is also conceivable to execute the movement  13  of the lever  11  by means of a drive. 
       FIG. 5  shows a diagrammatic illustration, in cross section, of a second device embodiment for drawing off a clothing strip  6  from a card-flat bar  21 . The card-flat bar  21  shown, with the clothing strip  6  fastened to it, corresponds to the card-flat bar  21  according to  FIG. 2  in the left-hand half L of the illustration. The device likewise has a bearing face  39  and a retainer  34 . The bearing face  39  and retainer  34  are firmly connected to one another and are joined together via a centre of rotation  32  by means of a spike  30  and an associated lever  31  to form the device. The retainer  34  and the bearing face  39  form a unit which is preferably manufactured from two metal sheets as two side plates  36 . The side plates  36  are connected, spaced apart from one another, to a shaft  17 . The shaft  17  is mounted rotatably and serves as a receptacle for the spike  30  and for the lever  31  connected to the spike. The device is hooked on the card-flat bar by means of the retainer  34  on the side lying opposite clip  27  to be opened and is laid with its bearing face  39  on the card-flat bar  21 . The retainer  34  in this case engages around the clothing strip  6  over the card-flat foot  23 . As a result of a movement  33  of the lever  31 , the clip  27  is gripped on its narrow side and is stripped off from the card-flat bar  21 . By virtue of this stripping-off movement, the clip  27  is bent open. The opened clip  27  is illustrated in  FIG. 5  as a dashed line  29 . When the clip is opened over its entire length, the clothing strip  6 , together with the clips  27  fastened to it, can be removed from the card-flat bar  21 , without the need for the clothing strip  6  to be peeled out from the clips  27 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a diagrammatic illustration, in cross section, of a third device embodiment according to the invention for drawing off a clothing strip  6  from a card-flat bar  41 , which is similar to the device according to  FIG. 5 . In contrast to the device according to  FIG. 5 , in the device according to  FIG. 6 , the retainer  54  is not led around the clothing strip  6 . The retainer  54  is hooked in via the rib  48  integrally formed on the web  42  of the card-flat bar  41 , that rib  48  being utilized which is arranged on the same side of the card-flat bar  41  as that on which the bearing face  59  is laid in place and the clip  47  to be opened is located. The other elements and the use of the device according to  FIG. 6  are identical to the statements made with regard to  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  shows the same third device according to the invention as  FIG. 6 , but in a diagrammatic three-dimensional view. The device has a segment length S which is smaller than half the length of the clip  47  to be opened. The segment length S is to be selected in such a way that manual operation of the lever  51  makes it possible to have a deformation of the clip  47 . After the retainer  54  is hooked on the rib  48  and the bearing face  59  bears on the card-flat bar  41 , the clip  47  is stripped off from the card-flat bar by the spike  50  as a result of the movement of the lever  51  in the direction of the arrow  53 , the clip  47  is opened. However, this opening takes place only within the segment length S. When the clip  47  is opened over the length of a segment S, the lever  51  is brought into the initial position, and the device is displaced on the card-flat bar  41  in the direction of the arrow  15  by the amount of a segment length S. The operation is to be repeated in a further segment. 
     Furthermore, it is also conceivable to execute the movement  13  of the lever  11 ,  31 ,  51  by means of a drive in the devices of  FIGS. 3 to 7 . A further version of the invention may also have a driven movement  15  ( FIG. 7 ) of the device. Drives used may be electric or hydraulic drives. In the case of a drive of the movement  13 ,  33 ,  53  of the lever  11 ,  31 ,  51 , in accordance with the higher force of the drive, correspondingly longer segments S may be used, in contrast to a manual operation. 
     If the length of a segment S is greater, according to the weight of the device, the device must not be laid against the card-flat bar  1 ,  21 ,  41 , but, instead, the card-flat bar  1 ,  21 ,  41  must be introduced into the device. 
     Modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments illustrated or described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.