(19)
(11) EP 3 498 909 A1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(43) Date of publication:
19.06.2019 Bulletin 2019/25

(21) Application number: 18206140.8

(22) Date of filing: 14.11.2018
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC): 
D06H 7/24(2006.01)
D06H 7/00(2006.01)
 B26D 7/22(2006.01)
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR
Designated Extension States:
BA ME
Designated Validation States:
KH MA MD TN

(30) Priority: 16.11.2017 IT 201700131102

(71) Applicant: Kent Due Srl
66020 Torino di Sangro (CH) (IT)

(72) Inventor:
  • GAETA, Domenico
    66020 Torino di Sangro (CH) (IT)

(74) Representative: Fiammenghi, Eva et al
Fiammenghi - Fiammenghi Via delle Quattro Fontane, 31
00184 Roma
00184 Roma (IT)

   


(54) CUTTING DEVICE FOR T-SHIRTS


(57) Cutting device for T-shirts, consisting of a case (10) with a front opening (11) and an openable side (11.a), the cutting occurring through the steps of:
(A) positioning a fabric portion (18) on a preparation plane (15);
(B) blocking, in which a pair of grippers (17-17') is lowered onto the preparation plane (15) holding the fabric stationary;
(C) sliding, in which the preparation plane (15) slides horizontally on tracks (19-19'), displaced by a horizontal piston (20) actuated by a control device (14);
(D) cutting, in which a blade (23) is displaced downwards by a vertical piston (21) until it reaches the preparation plane (15) for cutting the fabric (18);
(E) removing, in which the blade (23) slides upwards and the preparation plane (15) slides horizontally until it can be reached by the operator;
(F) lifting, in which the operator lifts the grippers (17-17') freeing the fabric;
said case (10) having a safety barrier (24) made of plexiglass which delimits the space in which the blade (23) acts; said case (10) having optical sensors (13-13') suitable to block the cutting in case of detection of a foreign object inside the case (10).




Description

Field of the art



[0001] The present invention operates in the field of the industrial mechanics in the textile industry. More in detail, a new and innovative industrial machine for the precision cutting of necks and sleeves of T-shirts is provided for in the present patent application.

Prior art



[0002] Over the years, the textile industry has been one of the most developed industrial sectors in Italy. Not only the large amount but also the tailoring quality of the products manufactured at industrial level in Italy made this industry grow enormously and contributed towards the growth of the prestige of "Made in Italy" products at global level.

[0003] Albeit the considerable economic growth of this industry in the last century, some processing techniques are still of the manual type and the quality of the final clothing substantially depends on the ability of the personnel deployed in the manufacturing companies.

[0004] When manufacturing T-shirts, the finishing of the neck and sleeves, are subjected to a cutting step carried out by the operator manually, by means of a vertical band saw.

[0005] The risks that the operator is exposed to when cutting are clear. Though it is compulsory to wear injury prevention gloves, many operators refuse to wear them due to their size which hinders precision when cutting. Thus, the cutting of the considerably small pieces of fabric such as sleeves and necks of T-shirts is currently carried out using bare hands with the operator's fingers touching the blade of the band saw.

[0006] Besides the risk for the safety of the operator, the other problem related to this processing lies in the cutting precision, which is not always the same as would be expected of an actual industrial process.

[0007] Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and innovative industrial machine that automatically cuts the T-shirt necks and the sleeves thus resolving all the aforementioned problems.

Description of the invention



[0008] According to the present invention, a cutting device specifically conceived for the precision finishing of the necks and sleeves of any T-shirt.

[0009] Advantageously, cutting occurs entirely automatically. The operator is only required to position the pre-shaped fabric portion on a special preparation plane. The latter is provided with a shape with projecting profile at which one of the edges of the fabric portion is arranged. The operation is so easy that the personnel designated for these operations does not require any specialisation or training.

[0010] In an embodiment, a plurality of micro-holes connected to an air suction system can be advantageously arranged on the plane so as to hold the fabric stationary on the preparation plane. In any case, the preparation plane will always be provided with at least one pair of grippers suitable to be reversibly lowered on said plane at the position of said fabric portion to hold it stationary.

[0011] The displacement of the grippers, same case applying to the management and control of all operations, is advantageously carried out by a common control device, called PLC. It is provided with a plurality of buttons including a block button which, indeed, acts on said grippers to lower them.

[0012] By pressing the start button, the operator causes the sliding of said preparation plane in a horizontal direction, moving away from the operator. Advantageously, said cutting device is provided with a safety barrier, preferably made of plexiglass, which separates the area that can be reached by the operator from the area exclusively designated for cutting. When the preparation plane slides horizontally, it advantageously exceeds said safety barrier to reach a cutting area inaccessible for the operator.

[0013] The displacement of the preparation plane occurs by means of a horizontal piston and due to at least one pair of tracks arranged beneath said preparation plane.

[0014] Upon reaching the cutting area, besides said safety barrier, a vertical piston is suitable to move a blade holder to which a cutting blade had been previously connected downwards. The latter was advantageously selected from among a plurality of available blades, each one of which is suitable to carry out a different cut.

[0015] The pressure by means of which the piston pushes the cutting blade on the preparation plane, at the position of the fabric portion is advantageously comprised between 3 atm and 7 atm, preferably 5 atm.

[0016] Advantageously, a cutting method that determines the lowering and lifting of the blade on the fabric portion twice for each cutting cycle can be set so as to ensure the perfection and continuity of the cut.

[0017] Other further advantageous embodiments provide for arranging a plurality of blade holders each one of which is connected to a different blade. A cutting program capable of automatically selecting the blade to be used can be set by means of said PLC. In order to facilitate this operation, said control device (PLC) can be provided with a common display, preferably of the touch screen type, suitable to communicate, with said operator, possible error or failure messages and suitable to allow setting the cutting program.

[0018] Said blade holders can be displaced alternatingly with respect to each other, by the same vertical piston or a plurality of vertical pistons each one of which dedicated to one blade holder only.

[0019] Once through with the cutting, the vertical piston moves the blade upwards once again, and the horizontal piston once again displaces the preparation plane beyond the safety barrier so as to be reached by the operator.

[0020] At this point, by pressing the release button on said PLC, the operator causes the lifting of the grippers to pick up the neck or sleeve already cut by now.

[0021] All components of the cutting device are included in a case, made of any transparent material, preferably plexiglass, with dimensions comprised between 40 cm X 60 cm X 60 cm in height and 120 cm X 200 cm X 150 cm in height, preferably 60 cm X 80 cm X 100 cm in height.

[0022] Said case can advantageously be provided with a support structure, made of any metal or metal alloy, preferably made of steel, suitable to support said case at a predetermined distance from the ground.

[0023] Advantageously, one of the sides of said case is open so as to allow the operator to arrange the fabric portion on the preparation plane and then pick it up subsequently. Another side can be opened, by means of a common hinge, so as to allow the disconnection of one or more blades from the blade holder for replacement with a differently shaped blade.

[0024] Advantageously, lateral shoulders in which the optical sensors are installed are present at the front opening of said case. During the cutting, should said optical sensors detect the presence of a foreign object in the volume of the case, for example the arm of the operator, the system is suitable to block the cutting immediately and automatically.

[0025] Still for safety reasons, said PLC is also provided with an emergency button, which causes the immediate blocking of the device upon being pressed.

[0026] The advantages provided by the present invention will be clear in light of the description outlined up to now. Furthermore, they will be more apparent due to the attached figures and relative detailed description.

Description of the figures



[0027] The invention will be described hereinafter in at least one preferred embodiment, provided by way of non-limiting illustration, with reference to the attached figures, wherein:
  • FIGURE 1 shows the device of the present invention showing the case 10, with the front opening 11 and the openable side 11.a. The optical sensors 13-13' are arranged at the sides of the front opening 11, at the lateral shoulders 12-12'. At the top, the control device 14 with the relative control buttons 14'-14"-14'" and the emergency button 14iv. Besides the safety barrier 24, the vertical piston 21 with the blade holder 22 and a blade 23 is shown. Shown at the bottom is the horizontal piston 20, the tracks 19-19', the preparation plane 15, the shape 16, the fabric portion 18 and the two grippers 17-17' that withhold it.
  • FIGURE 2 illustrates a lateral view of the case 10, from the openable side 11.a. Besides all components mentioned and illustrated above in the preceding FIG. 1, indicated are a first arrow 200 representing the sliding direction of the preparation plane 15 by a horizontal piston 20, and a second arrow 150 indicating the sliding direction of the blade 23 by the vertical piston 21.
  • FIGURE 3 is the detail corresponding to the dashed arrow present in the preceding FIG. 2. This figure is useful for understanding the proper positioning of the fabric portion 18 at the projecting profile 16' of the shape 16 arranged on the preparation plane 15.

Detailed description of the invention



[0028] Now, the present invention will be illustrated purely by way of non-limiting or non-binding example, with reference to the figures illustrating some embodiments regarding the present inventive concept.

[0029] With reference to FIG. 1, an overall view of the device subject of the present invention is shown. The transparent case 10 which encloses all components is shown. This is preferably made of plexiglass and it consists of a parallelepiped with dimensions comprised between 40 cm X 60 cm X 60 cm in height and 120 cm X 200 cm X 150 cm in height, preferably 60 cm X 80 cm X 100 cm in height. A support structure, which can be made of any metal or metal alloy, preferably made of steel, is omitted in the drawings.

[0030] The case 10 is characterised by a front opening 11 and by an openable side 11.a and all the components thereof are managed and monitored by a common control device 14, commonly called PLC.

[0031] The operations to carry out a cut of a neck or a sleeve of a T-shirt, starting from a fabric portion 18, are as follows:
  1. (A) a first positioning step, in which said fabric portion 18 is positioned by an operator at a preparation plane 15. The latter slides downwards in the case 10, in a horizontal direction 200 thanks to a pair of tracks 19-19' displaced by a horizontal piston 20 and it consists of a horizontal table provided with a replaceable shape 16 and provided with a raised profile 16'. Said shape 16 is useful to the operator for the proper positioning of said fabric portion 18 at the abutment point of said projecting profile 16';
  2. (B) a second blocking step in which, by pressing a special blocking button 14' on said PLC, the operator causes the reversible lowering of at least one pair of grippers 17-17' on said preparation plane 15 at the position of said fabric portion 18 in order to maintain the position thereof unaltered until the cutting is completed;
  3. (C) a third sliding step, in which, by pressing the start button 14" on said PLC, the operator causes the reversible sliding of said preparation plane 15 in said horizontal direction 200 moving away from said front opening 11;
  4. (D) a fourth cutting step, in which the blade 23 previously mounted at a blade holder 22, is displaced downwards in a vertical direction 150 by a common vertical piston 21. Said blade 23 descends until it comes into contact with said preparation plane 15 by imparting a pressure comprised between 3 atmospheres and 7 atmospheres, preferably 5 atmospheres thereon to cut said fabric portion 18. A cutting shape corresponds to each blade 23. Thanks to the openable side 11.a of the case 10, said blade 23 can be replaced by the corresponding blade holder 22;
  5. (E) a fifth removal step, in which said blade 23, sliding vertically, lifts from the preparation plane 15 and the latter, sliding horizontally, moves to the proximity of said front opening 11 once again so that it can be reached by said operator;
  6. (F) a sixth lifting step in which, by pressing a special release button 14'" of said PLC, the operator causes the lifting of said grippers 17-17' from said preparation plane 15, freeing said fabric portion 18 which has been cut by now, so as it can be picked up by said operator. The device is made entirely safe for the operator thanks to various solutions. Firstly, arranged in the case 10 is a safety barrier 24, consisting of a transparent vertical plane, preferably made of plexiglass, suitable to delimit the internal space of said case 10 in which said blade 23 acts so as to prevent the inadvertent introduction of foreign objects between said preparation plane 15 and said blade 23 during said fourth cutting step (D); furthermore, installed at the lateral shoulders 12-12' of the front opening 11 of the case 10 are optical sensors 13-13' suitable to immediately and automatically block the cutting operations should a foreign object be detected in said case 10.


[0032] Another safety device is the emergency button 14iv arranged on said control device 14, suitable to be pressed by said operator to immediately block the cutting operations, whenever required.

[0033] Preferably, said control device 14 is provided with a display, preferably of the touch screen type, suitable to communicate, with said operator, possible error or failure messages and suitable to allow setting a cutting program.

[0034] Said cutting program is particularly useful for quickening the cutting of the necks and sleeves of T-shirts further. Should the device be provided with several blade holders 22 with relative blades 23, displaced by one of more vertical pistons 21, by means of said PLC a cutting program suitable to automatically select which blade 23 is to be used to obtain the desired neck or sleeve can be set.

[0035] Other improvements for a perfect cutting of the fabric portion 18 can be:
  • repeating the cutting D by means of said blade 23 twice consecutively on the same fabric portion 18;
  • providing a plurality of micro-holes on said preparation plane 15 connected to an air suction system so as to make the fabric portion 18 adhere to the preparation plane 15 perfectly.


[0036] Lastly, it is clear that the invention described up to now may be subjected to modifications, additions or variants obvious to a man skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of protection outlined by the attached claims.


Claims

1. Cutting device for T-shirts, suitable to carry out a precision cutting of a common pre-shaped fabric portion (18) for making the neck and the sleeves of a common T-shirt, characterised in that it consists of a case (10) made of any one solid and transparent material, preferably made of plexiglass, provided with a front opening (11) and with a side (11.a) that can be opened through a common hinge arranged on one of the edges of said case (10); said cutting occurring through the following steps:

A) a first positioning step; in said first positioning step (A), said fabric portion (18) is positioned by an operator at a preparation plane (15), consisting of a horizontal table provided with a substitutable and projecting shape (16), provided with a raised profile (16') suitable to indicate the abutment point in order to obtain the correct positioning of said fabric portion (18), by making an edge of said fabric portion (18) come into contact with the raised profile (16') of said shape (16);

B) a second blocking step; in said second blocking step (B), by means of pressing a suitable blocking button (14') arranged at a common control device (14), consisting of a common PLC which monitors and manages all the processing steps, the operator causes the reversible lowering of at least one pair of grippers (17-17') on said preparation plane (15) at the position of said fabric portion (18) in order to maintain the position thereof unaltered until the cutting is completed;

C) a third sliding step; in said third sliding step (C), the operator, by pressing a start button (14"), on said common control device (14) determines the reversible sliding of said preparation plane (15) in a horizontal direction (200), moving away from said front opening (11) of said case (10); said sliding occurring on a pair of tracks (19-19') arranged below said preparation plane (15); said preparation plane (15) being moved by at least one suitable horizontal piston (20) actuated by said control device (14);

D) a fourth cutting step; in said fourth cutting step (D) a blade (23) previously mounted at a blade holder (22), being moved downward in a vertical direction (150) by a common vertical piston (21) suitable to move said blade (23) up to reaching said preparation plane (15); upon reaching said preparation plane (15), said vertical piston (21) being adapted to impart a pressure comprised between 3 atmospheres and 7 atmospheres, preferably 5 atmospheres for cutting said fabric portion (18) by means of said blade (23); said blade (23) being selected from among a plurality of available blades (23), each of which adapted to impart a cut with shape different from said fabric portion (18) in accordance with the model of neck or sleeves to be cut; said openable side (11.a) being adapted to allow an operator to open said case (10) in order to reach said blade holder (22) and substitute said blade (23);

E) a fifth extraction step; in said fifth extraction step (D), said blade (23) being suitable to slide upward in said vertical direction (200) and said preparation plane (15) being adapted to slide towards said front opening (11) in said horizontal direction (150) until it is reachable by said operator;

F) a sixth lifting step; in said sixth lifting step (F), by pressing a suitable release button (14"') the operator determines the lifting of said grippers (17-17') from said preparation surface (15), freeing said fabric portion (18) by now cut in order to be picked up by said operator;

said case (10) being provided with at least one safety barrier (24), constituted by a vertical surface made of any one transparent material, preferably made of plexiglass, suitable to delimit the internal space of said case (10) in which said blade (23) acts in order to prevent the accidental introduction of foreign objects between said preparation plane (15) and said blade (23) during said fourth cutting step (D); said case (10) also being provided with a plurality of optical sensors (13-13') placed at lateral shoulders (12-12') present on the vertical sides of said front opening (11); said optical sensors (13-13') being suitable to immediately and automatically block the cutting operations if the presence of a foreign object is detected inside said case (10); said common control device (14) also being provided with at least one emergency button (14iv) suitable to be pressed by said operator in order to immediately block the cutting operations.
 
2. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to the preceding claim 1, characterised in that it is provided with a plurality of blade holders (22), each of which suitable to be engaged, in a stable and reversible manner, with at least one blade (23); said blade holders (22) being moved, in an alternating manner with respect to each other, by the vertical piston (21).
 
3. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to the preceding claim 1, characterised in that it is provided with a plurality of blade holders (22), each of which suitable to be engaged, in a stable and reversible manner, with at least one blade (23); each of said blade holders (22) being moved, in an alternating manner with respect to each other, by a dedicated vertical piston (21).
 
4. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to any one of the preceding claims 2 or 3, characterised in that, by means of said control device (14), it is possible to set a cutting program suitable for automatically selecting which blade (23) to use for making the desired neck or sleeve.
 
5. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, during said fourth cutting step (D) said vertical piston (21) is suitable to move said blade (23) downward and upward twice, in order ensure the perfection of the cutting.
 
6. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said preparation plane (15) is provided with a plurality of micro-holes connected to an air suction system suitable to make said fabric portion (18) perfectly adhere on said preparation plane (15).
 
7. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said control device (14) is provided with a common display, preferably of touch screen type, suitable to communicate with said operator possible error or failure messages and suitable to allow setting a cutting program.
 
8. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is provided with a support structure, made of any one metal or metal alloy, preferably made of steel, suitable to support said case (10) at a predetermined distance from the ground.
 
9. Cutting device for T-shirts, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said case (10) consists of a parallelepiped with size comprised between 40 cm X 60 cm X 60 cm in height and 120 cm X 200 cm X 150 cm in height, preferably 60 cm X 80 cm X 100 cm in height.
 




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