Patent Publication Number: US-11639277-B2

Title: Loading mechanism for shirts

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Phase of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IL2018/051408 having International filing date of Dec. 30, 2018, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/719,783 filed on Aug. 20, 2018. The contents of the above applications are all incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein in their entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a loading mechanism and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a loading mechanism for loading shirts, tee shirts, other garments and textiles in general, for onward processing by printing machines or sewing machines or the like. 
     Loading paper for printing is well understood and technologies such as vacuum are able to grab and load sheets of paper onto high speed printers and other devices that use paper. However, textiles and clothing are more difficult. 
     First of all, the textile is not a solid surface so that vacuum is less able to grip, and indeed with some textile materials is not able to maintain a grip that is strong enough to overcome the weight of the textile. 
     Textile can be gripped by mechanical grippers, in which fingers or pincers grab upper and lower surfaces of a layer. However, textiles for printing often come in the form of ready-formed garments. In such a case the garment is to be fitted around a form-pallet, so that the upper side of the garment is over the pallet and the lower part of the garment is below the pallet. Mechanical grippers are likely however to grab upper and lower sides of the garment together, rather than upper and lower faces of one side, and thus fail to fit the garment correctly over the form pallet. 
     Another solution is to use static electricity. Static electricity generally lifts only one side of the garment. However static electricity requires a grabbing surface formed by a pad that is larger than the garment to be lifted, otherwise the garment peels off, and the results can vary depending on environmental factors such as humidity levels. 
     Thus to date there is no reliable solution that can take a garment from the top of a stack or pile of garments and automatically fit the garment over a form pallet, and thus an operator has to manually fit the garment. For a high-speed printer the operator may have to fit a new garment onto the pallet several times a minute, a task that involves bending over and after a while can lead to back problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present embodiments grab the top outer front of a garment only, by causing adhesion at selected points, and pull the garment onto a pallet so that the front is over the pallet and the back slides under the pallet. 
     Such adhesion is intended to be achieved without harming the garment, a problem with the prior art methods, such as mechanical methods that may strain or tear the garment, or methods that use wax and like materials that may stain the garment by leaving residues, which residues may not be removed by the usual printing and curing flow. 
     According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided apparatus for picking a garment having a first side and a second side and fitting the garment on a pallet having a front and a back such that the first side and the second side of the garment are on the front and the back sides respectively of the pallet, the apparatus comprising: 
     a picking arm configured to approach the garment and then withdraw towards the pallet; 
     at least one adherence location on the picking arm, the adherence location being smaller than the first side, the adherence location for contacting the garment at a contact location on an outer facing surface of the first side of the garment and causing adherence of the garment, at the contact location, to the adherence location using sticky material, thereby causing the picking arm to pull the first side over the pallet, wherein the uncontacted second side slides under the first side onto the back side of the pallet. 
     Embodiments may use two or three or more attachment points. 
     The garment may be a top garment in a stack of garments. 
     In an embodiment, the contact location comprises an adhesive sticker attached to the garment. 
     In an embodiment, the adherence location is configured to attach to the adhesive sticker using adhesive. 
     In an embodiment, the adherence location comprises a suction point connected to a vacuum source. 
     In an embodiment, the adhesive sticker is metallic or comprises ferromagnetic particles, and the adherence location comprises a magnet for attaching to the adhesive sticker. 
     Embodiments may use a printer, an RFID writer, or a magnetic write head to add data to the adhesive sticker or to adhesive tape, and indeed, in an embodiment, the contact location comprises an adhesive tape. 
     In an embodiment, the picking arm is configured to adhere the adhesive tape to the contact location, and to provide a new tape at predetermined intervals. 
     In an embodiment, the adhering location is configured with a dispenser for hot glue and with a heater for heating the hot glue. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for picking a garment having a first side and a second side and fitting the garment on a pallet having a front and a back such that the first side and the second side of the garment are on the front and the back sides respectively of the pallet, the apparatus comprising: 
     a picking arm configured to approach the garment and then withdraw towards the pallet; 
     at least one adherence location on the picking arm, the adherence location for contacting the garment at a contact location on an outer facing surface of the first side of the garment and causing adherence of the garment, at the contact location, to the adherence location, thereby causing the picking arm to pull the first side over the pallet, wherein the uncontacted second side slides under the first side onto the back side of the pallet, the adherence location comprising glue, or a sticker or sticky tape. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG.  1    is a photograph of a simplified apparatus for taking a garment from a pile and placing around a pallet according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a photograph showing a view from below of a picking arm of the embodiment of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a view from the front of the picking arm of  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  4    is a view of the apparatus of  FIG.  1    from the opposite direction; and 
         FIG.  5    is a view of the apparatus of  FIG.  1    from the side. 
         FIG.  6    is a simplified diagram illustrating a picking arm according to the present embodiments with adhesive tape or a sticker, and an integral printer or RFID writer or magnetic write head for adding information to the tape; 
         FIG.  7    is a simplified diagram illustrating a picking arm according to the present embodiments having a suction point and a vacuum source; and 
         FIG.  8    is a simplified diagram illustrating a picking arm according to the present embodiments including a heater for melting glue and a dispenser for dispensing the melted glue. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     As explained above, the present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a loading mechanism and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a loading mechanism for loading shirts, tee shirts, other garments and textiles in general, for onward processing by printing machines or sewing machines, or textile gluing machines or the like. 
     The present embodiments relate to an apparatus for picking a garment having a front and a back and placing the garment over a pallet such that the front and the back of the garment are on the front and the back sides respectively of the pallet. The apparatus comprises a picking arm, or robotic arm, to approach the garment and then withdraw towards the pallet; and one or more adherence locations on the picking arm, the adherence location being smaller than the first side, the adherence location for contacting the garment and causing adherence of the garment at the contact location using sticky material, such as a layer of adhesive on a sticker or tape, or glue, including hot glue, thereby causing the picking arm to pull the front of the garment over the front of the pallet, the back of the garment sliding under the first side onto the back of the pallet, thereby placing or loading the garment onto the pallet for onward processing. 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components and/or methods set forth in the following description and/or illustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIGS.  1 ,  4  and  5   , illustrate from three different angles apparatus  10  whose task is to pick up a garment having a first side and a second side, that is a front and a back, for example a shirt or a tee-shirt—here illustrated by blanks  12 . The garment may be taken from a pile of garments  14 . The garment is grabbed from above at the front of the waste by picking arm  16  and pulled back onto a pallet, which likewise has a front and a back. The picking arm may comprise a robot arm. The issue is that the garment is to fit over the pallet, that is the garment is to fit in such a way that the front of the garment is over the front of the pallet and the back of the garment is over the back of the pallet. As mentioned, this may be achieved by grabbing the garment from the front at the waist and pulling the garment over the pallet. The back of the garment then follows the front and slides under the pallet as the front of the garment slides over the top of the pallet. The present embodiments relate to improved ways of grabbing the garment from the front. 
     Picking arm  16  may travel along rails  18  and  20  to approach the garment and then withdraw towards the pallet. 
     The picking arm is provided with power, suction and any other services, as will be discussed in greater detail below, via flexible duct  22 . 
     Reference is now made to  FIG.  2    which is a view from below of an embodiment of the picking arm  16 .  FIG.  3    shows the same arm from the front. The picking arm  16  moves forwards to the shirts and then backwards to the pallet. At the rearmost position the arm comes into contact with base  24 . 
     The picking arm has one or more adherence locations  26 . Here three are shown by way of example, and the shirt is contacted at the adherence locations, to which the shirt adheres by one of several mechanisms as will be explained. 
     It is noted that the adherence location is smaller than the front of the shirt, in contrast with electrostatic based systems where the entire front of the shirt is contacted. Several adherence locations  26  may thus fit across the front of the waist, as necessary. The shirt is contacted by the adherence location at a contact location on the outer facing surface of the front of the garment and the contact location on the shirt adheres to the adherence location on the picking arm. The picking arm  16  is then able to pull the front of the shirt over the pallet, while at the same time the uncontacted back of the shirt slides under the front onto the back of the pallet. 
     In an embodiment not claimed herein, the adherence location  26  is a chill point, which is kept below freezing. When contacting the garment, the chill point causes the liquid dispensed on the garment at the contact location to freeze and thus to adhere to the adherence location  26 . 
     The picking arm  16  may ensure that liquid is present at the contact location. Tube  30  provides a liquid outlet for dispensing liquid onto the contact location prior to contact with the adherence location to provide the contact location with liquid for freezing by the chill point. 
     The liquid outlet may comprise a hollow needle dripper  32  for accurately dispensing or pouring the liquid onto the contact location. 
     In embodiments, the liquid is simply water, in which case the water may drip when needed by opening a valve. In other embodiments, the liquid may have one or more added ingredients to increase viscosity and change the surface tension, for example, the added ingredients may comprise small percentages of polyethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, which may form a gel. In this case, a small pump may be needed since gels do not drip. Such changes in the properties of the liquid may ensure that there is adhesion of the liquid to the top layer and prevent the liquid from penetrating through the first layer. 
     Returning to  FIG.  1    and a chiller  34  may be located on the side of the apparatus  10  for cooling the chill point or points  32 . 
     As shown, the chiller  34  is mounted separately from the picking arm  16 , so that the chiller does not necessarily move when the arm moves. The chiller  34  may be connected to the chill points via a flexible pipe that runs from the chiller through the flexible duct  22 . The technical problem of a stationary chiller cooling mobile chill points is addressed by providing coolant in liquid form to travel down the pipe and allowing the fluid to evaporate in the vicinity of the chill points. Allowing the chiller to be stationary may reduce the load of the moving parts, thus allowing smaller, less heavy and/or cheaper designs. 
     The chill points may be kept below the freezing point of the liquid being used, thus below zero Celsius for pure water. To ensure more rapid freezing the chill points should be kept below minus six degrees Celsius, and it was found that a temperature at or below minus fifteen degrees Celsius may provide improved adhesion including making the adhesion more brittle so that it can be broken more easily afterwards. Temperatures at or below minus 20 degrees Celsius may also be advantageous. 
     As shown, three chill points are used to adhere the shirt at three locations, however more or fewer points may be used depending, for example, on the weight of the fabric, or the size or shape of the garment. Each chill point may be associated with a separate liquid outlet. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , a knife  36  may be located on the base opposite each attachment location for splitting the shirt from the attachment location when on the pallet, so that the pallet may move on with the shirt loaded thereon to the printing or sewing area as required, and the picking arm may prepare to pick the next shirt and load the shirt onto the next pallet. As a variation, a single continuous knife may extend opposite all the attachment points. The knife may allow for smooth detaching of the garment without leaving wrinkles that may adversely affect later processing, and without damaging the fabric. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the shirt is provided with an adhesive sticker which is placed on the contact location. The sticker may be placed by the same picking arm or by other features within the apparatus or may be placed manually or otherwise in advance, so that the stack includes garments already carrying the sticker. The removable sticker may provide a substrate that is easier to handle than the textile itself, it has no fibers, is not porous, and is not absorbent, at least in comparison to the textile. The adhesive sticker may have adhesive on the back as well so that the adherence location simply sticks to the sticker and thus draws back the garment. Alternatively, the adherence location may carry adhesive to attach to the sticker. A multiuse adhesive may be used so that the sticker may be reused. A mechanical pusher may release the sticker from the picker. The adhesion of the sticker to the garment may be higher than the adhesion of the picker to the sticker so that the sticker remains attached to the garment when removed from the picker. 
     In a further embodiment of the present invention, the adherence location comprises a suction point connected to a vacuum source and the picker sucks up the adhesive sticker at the adhesion location. Unlike the woven fabric, the adhesive sticker does not have holes so vacuum is more effective. 
     In a yet further embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive sticker includes a ferrous metal and the adherence location includes a magnet or electromagnet for attaching to the adhesive sticker. The lifting and releasing process involving the sticker, and thus the upper layer of the garment, may be achieved simply using the magnets including electro-magnets. Ferromagnetic particles or a ferromagnetic layer may be incorporated into the sticker. 
     Thus, a sticker may thus provide an intermediary to lift only the first layer of the garment that is the front of the shirt. 
     In embodiments, the sticker may be left on the garment and released only by the end user. Alternatively, the sticker may be removed using a mechanical remover similar to knife  36 , which may be within the apparatus. Other options include a second arm to push the garment and detach the sticker, and a vacuum that sucks off the sticker while the garment is being mechanically held. 
     In embodiments, the sticker may contain a printed bar code and/or logo/images/size and/or an RFID, to allow the garment to be identified. In an embodiment, the picker arm may include an integrated printer for printing the logo/bar code or may include an RFID writer, and may include a device to place the sticker on the garment in the required position. The sticker may thus be used to identify the garment throughout the printing or sewing process, and is particularly useful for customized or one-off orders. Thus individually customized shirts may be printed or sewn according to orders provided in real time online. 
     In an embodiment, the sticker or tape may include a magnetic strip, which may be written on using a magnetic write head. Data written onto the magnetic strip, may, as with the RFID, be used to identify the garment throughout the printing or sewing process, and is particularly useful for customized or one-off orders. Thus individually customized shirts may be printed or sewn according to orders provided in real time online 
     It is noted that a sticker may be used for identifying the garment even if it is not used for adhering the garment. Thus, a picker arm having chill points as described above may also include a printer or RFID writer. 
     In embodiments a single sticker may be used to provide a single adherence location. In such a case, the garment may not be fully opened in the picking process for placing or loading onto the pallet and one or more mechanical openers may be needed to fully open the garment for sliding over the pallet. 
     As a variation on the sticker, an embodiment uses adhesive tape. A strip of adhesive tape is pressed onto the exposed fabric layer at the top of the stack and then the layer is moved by the picking arm as before. 
     In embodiments, the adhesive tape is used only once, and changed for each garment. In a variation, the same tape is used several times, until the gluing power is reduced by the fibers detaching from the fabric or the glue being removed. 
     The adhesive tape is selected so that the glue remains on the tape and does not stain the fabric. 
     Another embodiment involves using hot glue. Instead of chill points, heat points melt the glue for attachment. Afterwards, for release, the same heat points melt the glue again. 
     It is noted that the various embodiments described herein may be combined. Thus freezing may be used in combination with a sticker. Freezing may further be used in combination with an electrostatic plate, for example, so that peeling away, a common problem with electrostatics is prevented by a chill point and the electrostatic plate no longer has to be larger than the garment. Freezing using chill points may be combined with using wax. Freezing, or the sticker, or the adhesive tape, or the hot glue, may be combined with a mechanical spatula surface, so that the freezing etc., lifts up the layer from the stack and then the spatula is inserted under the raised layer. 
     Although the embodiments have been described with reference to garments and shirts in particular, they may apply to any textiles and to closed shapes of other materials that may need to be fitted around a pallet. 
     Although the embodiments are described with respect to garments having separate fronts and backs, the invention may be used in respect of garments or lengths of textile having just one side. In such a case the invention is useful in picking such garments or lengths of textile from a pile or stack without accidentally picking up the next item. In the case of the one-side garment the items are placed on the pallet. In the case of the two-sided garment the items are fitted onto the pallet from top and bottom. The term ‘load’ is used as a generic, term to cover both placing the one-sided garment and fitting the two-sided garment. 
     For clarity, the various methods of adhering mentioned herein, including freezing, using a sticker with vacuum, magnetism or glue, or adhesive tape, or hot glue, are applicable with the one-sided case as well. 
     The various methods of adhering mentioned herein may be used to separate the top layer from the stack and then a mechanical insert may be inserted below the layer. 
     The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having” and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”. 
     The term “consisting of” means “including and limited to”. 
     The term “consisting essentially of” means that the composition, method or structure may include additional ingredients, steps and/or parts, but only if the additional ingredients, steps and/or parts do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition, method or structure. 
     As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
     Temperature is herein recited in terms of a numerical range, and it is meant to include any cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range. 
     It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment, and the text is to be construed as if such a single embodiment is explicitly written out in detail. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the invention, and the text is to be construed as if such separate embodiments or subcombinations are explicitly set forth herein in detail. 
     Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not to be considered essential features of those embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without those elements. 
     Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. 
     All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent that section headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarily limiting.