LAYERING ARTICLES

Background of the Invention Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a machine capable for stripping an article from a casting mould on a continuously moving conveyor, and more particularly to a machine for glove stripping and stretching the glove so as the fingers of the gloves are properly shaped, and stacking the gloves for subsequent glove packaging.

Description of Related Arts

There is an increasing need for preventing infection among workers in the food processing industry, as well as protecting medical staff and patients in hospitals or clinics from infectious bacteria. One effective and inexpensive way to control such contamination is the use of gloves. However, hygiene is an issue in the glove production system that involves manual labour.

Research has shown that if someone has Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on their hands, the bacteria would be left on the next four surfaces touched by that person. In a stripping station for glove production, there is a need for at least two to four workers per line for manually disengaging the gloves from the hand moulds. This manual operation of the glove production process may contaminate the gloves. The issue highlights the hygienic control required at the production system and the increase of the total cost of production with the use of manual labour.

Nowadays, several machines automatically disengage gloves from the hand moulds to reduce the risk of contamination of the gloves with worker's hand. US Patent No. 3,570,053 discloses a folding mechanism to fold the wrist portion of a glove to form a cuff. The folding mechanism is associated with a stripping unit which strips the molded gloves from casting moulds. The moulds are disposed upon and travel with a conveyor chain in I-beam form whereas the stripping units are mounted upon and travel with a second conveyor. Each stripping unit is provided with stripping arms mounted in quadrature about an opening to strip a glove from a mould. The folding mechanism is mounted upon and travel with a third conveyor whereby the folding mechanism and the stripping unit travel in a timed relation with each other to receive and to fold the gloves. However, the stripping glove is being gripped at four space locations by a brush and spade of the stripping arm, thereby presents a widely opened wrist at the bead. This could encounter the risk of damaging the cuff end of the glove.

On the other hand, the glove aligning and stacking process prior to packaging of gloves are also the matters of concern during glove production process. The glove stretching process may ensure the fingers of glove are properly shaped. CN 201472679 U discloses an automatic glove packing machine. The machi ne comprises a demoulding assembly for grabbing gloves from moulds on a production line, characterised by a glove positioning and acquiring device is arranged on a machine frame arranged at the back part of the demoulding assembly, a conveying device of the gloves is arranged at one side under the positioning and acquiring device, and one end of the conveying device is provided with a position changing device capable of placing a product subpackage box. However, there is a drawback found in this cited art is that the rolling down of the gloves from the conveying device into the box do not reflect a proper stacking order of the gloves in the box. The machine needs to rearrange the random displacement of glove into the proper stacking order, which is time consuming and required manual labour.

US 3,655,317 discloses an automatic mould stripping machine. The machine comprises a moving conveyor having moulds attached on it; a movable array (160) of at least one arm pairs, each arm pair having a pair of fingers for clamping onto moulded product; automatic moving means; and control means for sequentially moving the array of arm pairs, clamping the finger pairs of each arm onto the moulded products, spreading the arm pairs to clear any projections of the moulds, raising the array to strip the products from the moulds and releasing the stripped products; and means for receiving the released products. However, the glove stretching and glove stacking could not be done via this machine as disclosed in the cited art. Separate equipment is required to be incorporated into the machine for glove aligning, stretching and glove stacking process.

Accordingly, it can be seen in the prior arts that there exists a need to provide a machine for glove stripping, aligning and stretching the glove, and stacking the gloves for subsequent glove packaging.

Summary of Invention

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a machine for glove stripping, stretching the glove so as the fingers of the gloves are properly shaped, and stacking the gloves for subsequent glove packaging.

It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a stripping unit for removing the glove from the mould with minimal or no damage occurring to the glove. Accordingly, these objectives may be achieved by following the teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to an apparatus for stripping an article from a mould, stretching the article and layering said article, characterised by: a first conveyor having a stripping unit for stripping the article from the mould and conveying the article; a track having a surface that creates friction with the article held by the stripping unit; a second conveyor positioned beneath the first conveyor to receive the article from the stripping unit; a plurality of rollers associated with the second conveyor for pressing the article conveyed by the second conveyor; a movable receiver coupled to the second conveyor, for collecting the article from the second conveyor, and stacking the article ; wherein the movable receiver is vertically transposable to stack the article. Brief Description of the Drawings

The features of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a drawing showing an article packing machine;

Fig. 2 is a drawing showing an exploded view of the article packing machine; Fig. 3a is a drawing showing a movable array associates with the apparatus for stripping the article from a mould at the movable array;

Fig. 3b is a drawing showing B point where the article is stripped from a mould by a gripping unit;

Fig. 4a is a drawing showing a pair of grippers of the stripping unit clamping the article, and more particularly a glove, at certain allowed distance from the beaded cuff; Fig. 4b is an isometric view showing a stripping unit in which a pair of grippers is in a closed position;

Fig. 4c is a front view showing the stripping unit in which the pair of grippers is in the closed position;

Fig. 4d is an isometric view showing a stripping unit in which a pair of grippers is in an open position;

Fig. 4e is a front view showing the stripping unit in which the pair of grippers is in the open position;

Fig. 4f is a side view showing the stripping unit; Fig. 4g is a front view showing the opening and closing of the pair of grippers; Fig. 4h is an isometric view of the clamp plate (126);

Fig. 5 is a drawing showing one embodiment of a first conveyor having a conveyor belt and a rail line;

Fig. 6a is a perspective view showing a plurality of stripping units affixed to a first conveyor and the plurality of stripping unit is rotatable for alignment;

Fig. 6b is a perspective view showing the plurality of stripping units affixed to the first conveyor and the plurality of stripping unit is not rotatable for alignment; Fig. 7a is a drawing showing a side view of the article packing machine;

Fig. 7b is a perspective view of the apparatus showing blowers arranged along the perimeter of a track; Fig. 8a is a drawing showing a dropping point (A) where the article is being released from a plurality of stripping units and drop into a second conveyor;

Fig. 8b is an enlarged drawing of the dropping point (A) in accordance to Fig. 8a; Fig. 9a-9e are showing the operation of the movable receiver for collecting and stacking the articles; and

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the article packing machine. Detailed Description of the Invention

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but merely as a basis for claims. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to. Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one" and the word "plurality" means one or more, unless otherwise mentioned. Where the abbreviations or technical terms are used, these indicate the commonly accepted meanings as known in the technical field. For ease of reference, common reference numerals will be used throughout the figures when referring to the same or similar features common to the figures. The present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 -10.

The present invention relates to an apparatus (100) for stripping an article from a mould, stretching the article and layering said article, characterised by:

a first conveyor (1 10) having a stripping unit (120) for stripping the article from the mould and conveying the article;

a track (130) having a surface that creates friction with the article held by the stripping unit (120);

a second conveyor (170) positioned beneath the first conveyor (1 10) to receive the article from the stripping unit (120);

a plurality of rollers associated with the second conveyor (170) for pressing the article conveyed by the second conveyor (170); a movable receiver (150) coupled to the second conveyor (170), for collecting the article from the second conveyor (170), and stacking the article;

wherein the movable receiver (150) is vertically transposable to stack the article.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said article is a glove.

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the stripping unit (120) comprises:

a pair of grippers (121 ) for clamping the article, wherein each gripper (121 ) is provided with a shaft (127) interconnected by a spring (128);

a clamp plate (126) provided with a horizontal slot (126a), wherein the shaft (127) of each gripper (121 ) is received through the horizontal slot (126a) to connect the pair of grippers (121 ) to the clamp plate (126);

a base (122) for engaging with the first conveyor (1 10); and a rod (124) extending through the base (122) for actuating the opening and closing of the pair of grippers (121 ). In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the clamp plate (126) is connected to the rod (124).

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the rod (124) is connected to a track roller (123).

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), a stand (129) is mounted on the base (122) and each gripper (121 ) is pivotally secured to the stand (129).

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the base (122) is provided with a protrusion (16a) to enable rotation of the stripping unit (120), when said protrusion (16a) encounters an alignment device (1 6b) located on the first conveyor (1 10). In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the base (122) is provided with a bearing (125) to allow rotation of the stripping unit (120). In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the second conveyor (170) is a retractable conveyor.

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100), the track (130) is provided with a sensor (131 ) to detect the presence of the article to be transferred to the second conveyor (170).

The present invention also provides a method for stripping, stretching, and packing article using apparatus (100), characterised by the steps of:

engaging the article at the mould with the stripping unit (120) at the first conveyor (1 10);

stripping the article from the mould using the stripping unit (120); laying a portion of the article on the surface of the track (130) while said article is held by the stripping unit (120), thereby pulling and stretching out the article;

releasing the article from the stripping unit (120) onto the second conveyor (170) to be conveyed;

pressing the article using the plurality of rollers; and

collecting and stacking the article using the movable receiver (150). In a preferred embodiment of the method for stripping, stretching, and packing article using apparatus (100), the stripping unit (120) is rotated to align the article to a specified orientation, prior to laying the portion of the article on the surface of the track (130). Below is an example of the apparatus (100) and a method for stripping, aligning, and stretching article using the apparatus (100) from which the advantages of the present invention may be more readily understood. It is to be understood that the following example is for illustrative purpose only and should not be construed to limit the present invention in any way.

Examples

Figures 1 and 2 show a preferred embodiment of the apparatus (100) of the present invention. A movable array (160) having a plurality of moulds is preferably associated with the apparatus (100), as shown in Figure 3a. The movable array (160) is preferably positioned above the apparatus (100). One mould of the plurality of moulds at the movable array (160) carries a portion of the article at an outer edge of said mould.

A first conveyor (1 10) of the apparatus (100) is positioned beneath the movable array (160), having a stripping unit (120) affixed to said first conveyor (1 10) for conveying the article received from the mould. As shown in Figure 3b, the movable array (160) preferably travels in a right-to-left direction while the first conveyor (1 10) revolves in an anti-clockwise direction, or vice versa. The travel speed for both the movable array (160) and the first conveyor (1 10) is synchronised. Referring to detail B of Figure 3b, by the end of the first conveyor (1 10), the stripping unit (120) gripping the article will move down while the mould still holding the article is travelling in a horizontal direction. The non-parallel movements of the movable array (160) and first conveyor (1 10) will cause a slight tension in the article between the mould and the plurality of stripping unit (120), which causes the article to be stripped from the mould when the stripping unit (120) moves down. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus (1 00) is provided with a plurality of the stripping units (120) to enable the stripping of multiple articles.

The stripping unit (120), illustrated in Figures 4a-4f, is provided to clamp on the article and strip the article from the mould. While the present invention may be applied to various types of articles, the present invention is particularly useful for stripping, counting and layering gloves. Where the article is a glove, the glove would typically have a beaded cuff. Referring to Figure 4a, the pair of grippers (121 ) is preferably adapted to have a gap between the pair of grippers (121 ) to clamp the article at the beaded cuff. In a preferred embodiment, said gap has a distance that is sufficiently small to block the beaded cuff from falling through the pair of grippers (121 ). In a preferred embodiment, the pair of grippers (121 ) clamps the article, and more particularly the glove, at a predetermined distance from the beaded cuff as shown in Figure 4a. This will ensure that all the articles are gripped at a standard position to be stretched on a track (130) later.

The pair of grippers (121 ) is preferably in the form of a pair of jaws or plates, for clamping the article. Each gripper (121 ) of the pair of grippers (121 ) is provided with a shaft (127) for connecting to a clamp plate (126) shown in Figure 4h. The clamp plate (126) includes a horizontal slot (126a), which may take the form of a single opening or a pair of openings. The shafts (127) for each pair of grippers

(121 ) are received through the horizontal slot (126a) of the clamp plate (126) and interconnected by a spring (128) (Figures 4b-4e).

The stripping unit (120) also includes a base (122) for engaging with the first conveyor (1 10). In a preferred embodiment, a stand (129) is mounted on the base

(122) , as shown in Figures 4a-4f. Preferably, each gripper (121 ) is pivotally secured to the stand (129). This allows each gripper (121 ) to pivot for opening and closing said pair of grippers (121 ).

The base (122) preferably includes an opening through which a rod (124) extends. The rod (124) is preferably connected to the clamp plate (126). When the rod (124) is pushed or pulled through the opening of the base (122) , the movement of the clamp plate (126) follows that of the rod (124).

Referring to Figures 4b-4c and 4f-4g, when the pair of grippers (121 ) is in a closed position, the clamp plate (126) is pushed out away from the base (122). The spring (128) connecting the shafts (127) of the pair of grippers (121 ) helps to hold the pair of grippers (121 ) in the closed position. Referring to Figures 4d-4e and 4g, when the rod (124) is pulled or pushed down through the base (122), the clamp plate (126) is drawn towards the base (122). As the clamp plate (126) moves towards the base (122), the pair of grippers (121 ) is forced to swing apart. The shaft (127) on each gripper (121 ) slides outwards in opposing directions, along the horizontal slot (126a) of the clamp plate (126), to allow for the outward rotation of each gripper (121 ). As the pair of grippers (121 ) is opening, and the shafts (127) slide apart within the horizontal slot (126a), the spring (128) will stretch. As the pair of grippers (121 ) reaches towards a fully open position, the shafts (127) will slide back inwards, aided by the contraction of the spring (128) pulling the shafts (127) together again. The spring (128) therefore also helps to hold the pair of grippers (121 ) in the open position.

To close the pair of grippers (121 ), the rod (124) is pulled or pushed up through the base (122), which pushes the clamp plate (126) away from the base (122) (Figures 4b-4c and 4f-4g). The movement of the clamp plate (126) away from the base (122) forces each of the grippers (121 ) to pivot inwards. The shafts (127) on the pair of grippers (121 ) slide apart within the horizontal slot (126a) and the spring (128) is stretched. As the pair of grippers (121 ) approaches a fully closed position, the shafts (127) slide back inwards and the spring (128) contracts, causing the pair of grippers (121 ) snap shut. The opening and shutting of the pair of grippers (121 ) are preferably controlled by a sensor (131 ).

In a preferred embodiment, the rod (124) is connected to a track roller (123). According to Figure 5, the first conveyor (1 10) preferably comprises a conveyor belt (1 12) and a rail line (1 13), wherein the rail line (1 13) is located within the periphery of the conveyor belt (1 12). The base (122) of the stripping unit (120) is engaged with the conveyor belt (1 12), while the track roller (123) is engaged with the rail line (1 13). In this way, the stripping unit (120) is conveyed around the first conveyor (1 10).

The opening and shutting of the pair of grippers (121 ) may be controlled by the structure of the rail line (1 13). When the track roller (123) reaches point C at the rail line (1 13), in which the rail line (1 13) is configured to slightly higher than its original pathway, the rod (124) is pulled through the base (122) and draws the clamp plate (126) towards the base (122). This causes the pair of grippers (121 ) to swing apart, therefore releasing the clamped article. The pair of grippers (121 ) will remain in the open position until it is brought back to the original pathway of rail line (1 13).

In a preferred embodiment, the stripping unit (120) is rotatable for aligning the article to a specified orientation, as controlled by an alignment device (1 1 1 ) shown in Figure 6a. The stripping unit (120) may also be affixed to the first conveyor (1 10) without changing the orientation of the article clamped as illustrated in Figure 6b. Referring to Figures 4b-4e, the base (122) of the stripping unit (120) is preferably provided with a protrusion (1 1 1 a). In Figure 6a, it can be seen that as the stripping unit (120) conveyed by the first conveyor (1 10) approaches the alignment device (1 1 1 ), the protrusion (1 1 1 a) is brought into contact with the alignment device (1 1 1 ), which resists the forward motion of the stripping unit (120). This causes the stripping unit (120) to rotate, preferably by 90°. The stripping unit (120) is preferably provided with a bearing (125) in the base (122) to allow the rotation of said stripping unit (120). The stripping unit (120) is rotated to align the article to the specified orientation while transferring the article towards the track (130). As shown in Figure 2, the track (130) is positioned beneath the first conveyor (1 10). The track (130) has a surface to receive the article clamped by the stripping unit (120). When a portion of the article is dragged along the surface of the track (130) as the first conveyor (1 10) revolves, friction is created between the article and the surface of the track (130), thereby pulling and stretching out the article to a desired shape. Where the article is a glove, it will be pulled along the surface so that the fingers of the glove will be dragged out through the gap between the pair of grippers (121 ) until the beaded cuff of the glove touches the pair of the grippers (121 ). In this way, the glove is stretched out fully and the pair of grippers (121 ) grips the glove at the beaded cuff. The track (130) is also preferably provided with a blower (140) for blowing the glove into the desired shape. In a preferred embodiment, the blowers (140) are arranged along the perimeter of the track (130) as shown in Figures 7a and 7b.

As shown in Figure 3a, a second conveyor (170) is positioned beneath the first conveyor (1 10) to receive the article from the stripping unit (120). It is further preferred that the second conveyor (170) is located below the track (130). In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of rollers located between the second conveyor (170) and the track (130). The plurality of rollers may be positioned along the bottom of the track (130), for pressing the article conveyed by the second conveyor (170). Preferably, the plurality of rollers rotates at a high surface speed to press against the entire article, thereby forcing air out from the article and flattening the article.

In a preferred embodiment, a sensor (131 ) is mounted to one end of the track

(130) , preferably proximate to the dropping point of the article from the track (130) to the second conveyor (170). Said dropping point is shown in Figures 8a and 8b.

The sensor (131 ) is preferably a photo sensor (131 ) that controls the opening and shutting of the pair of grippers (121 ) of the stripping unit (120) and also detects the number of articles dropped onto the second conveyor (170). When the sensor

(131 ) detects that the clamped article has reached the dropping point, the pair of grippers (121 ) of the stripping unit (120) will swing apart to release the article to drop onto the second conveyor (170).

Referring to Figures 2-3a, the movable receiver (150) is coupled to the second conveyor (170), for collecting the article from the second conveyor (170). In a preferred embodiment, the second conveyor (170) is a retractable conveyor driven by a motor, e.g. a servo motor. The second conveyor (170) retracts, preferably every 0.3 seconds, while conveying the article. The second conveyor (170) will retract at one end, proximate to the movable receiver (150). The retraction of the second conveyor (170) causes the article to drop onto the movable receiver (150). The retracting action of the second conveyor (170) is preferably controlled by the sensor (131 ), which detects every article received by the second conveyor (170). Figures 9a-9e is showing the operation of the movable receiver (150) for collecting and stacking the articles received from the second conveyor (170). In a preferred embodiment, the movable receiver (150) is driven by an independent servo motor (153) coupled with a pneumatic system (154) as shown in Figure 10. The movable receiver (150) may have at least two buffer plates (151 , 152) for collecting and stacking the article. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a first buffer (151 ) and a second buffer (152) move up and down, controlled by the independent servo motor (153), for collecting and stacking the article received from the second conveyor (170). The pneumatic system (154) controls the lifting and lowering of the buffer plates. The first buffer (151 ) will first collect and stack the article, lowering slightly each time the article is received, until a predetermined number of articles has been received, as per a setting in the servo motor (153) controller. The first buffer (151 ) will lower until it reaches an output conveyor, whereupon the first buffer (151 ) is retracted to drop the stack of articles onto the output conveyor. The second buffer (152) is lifted, preferably at the same time, for another round of stacking. While, the articles are stacked onto the second buffer (152), the first buffer (151 ) will lift up and return to its initial position for a repetition of the stacking cycle. Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, also shown in the appended figures, it will be apparent for those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications can be done within the scope of the invention as described in the specification and defined in the following claims.

Description of the reference numerals used in the accompanying drawings according to the present invention:

Reference

Description

Numerals

100 Apparatus

1 10 First conveyor

1 1 1 Alignment device

1 1 1 a Protrusion

1 12 Conveyor belt

1 13 Rail line

120 Stripping unit

121 Gripper

122 Base

123 Track roller

124 Rod

125 Bearing

126 Clamp plate

126a Horizontal slot

127 Shaft

128 Spring

129 Stand

130 Track

131 Sensor

140 Blower

150 Movable receiver

151 First buffer

152 Second buffer

153 Independent servo motor

154 Pneumatic system

160 Movable array

170 Second conveyor