Pinch grip hanger loading mechanism
AssigneeSpotless Plastics Pty. Ltd.
InventorsJeffrey R. Sollanek, Stanley F. Gouldson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pinch grip hanger mechanism dispenses pinch grip hangers, one at a time, and then opens the pinch grips for insertion of a garment. The insertion of a garment triggers the closing of the pinch grips, and reciprocation of a hanger feed push plate to dispense another hanger. The device may also automatically attach size indicia to the hanger as the hanger is dispensed. The closing of the pinch grips is initiated by safety triggers, which are triggered by insertion of a garment. This provides a safety feature for the device, since the operator needs to use both hands to hold the garment taut for insertion. Thus, both hands are away from the device at the time the pinch grips are opened and closed.
Claims20
A pinch grip hanger mechanism for automatically dispensing pinch grip hangers and opening pinch grips to enable insertion of a garment by an operator, the mechanism comprising:
- a magazine for holding a plurality of pinch grip hangers, each hanger having a support bar and first and second pinch grips;
- a push plate which engages a single hanger as it is dispensed from the magazine, said push plate reciprocating from a hanger feed position to a hanger stop position in a first direction;
- first and second pinch grip cylinders for projecting first and second rams onto the first and second pinch grips of the hanger and opening said hanger pinch grips, the first and second pinch grip cylinders being actuated at the hanger stop position;
- and
- a triggering means for automatically retracting the first and second pinch grip cylinders following insertion of a garment by the operator.
A pinch grip hanger mechanism for automatically dispensing pinch grip hangers and opening pinch grips to enable insertion of a garment by an operator, the mechanism comprising:
- a magazine for holding a plurality of pinch grip hangers, each hanger having a support bar and first and second pinch grips;
- a push plate which engages a single hanger as it is dispensed from the magazine, said push plate reciprocating from a hanger feed position to a hanger stop position in a first direction, and from said hanger stop position to a hanger feed position in a second direction;
- first and second pinch grip cylinders for projecting first and second rams onto the first and second pinch grips of the hanger and opening said hanger pinch grips, the first and second pinch grip cylinders being actuated by a pneumatic control switch, said control switch engaged by a stop mounted on said push plate when the push plate reaches the hanger stop position;
- and
- a triggering means for automatically retracting the first and second pinch grip cylinders and reciprocating said push plate to the hanger feed position following insertion of a garment by the operator to enable automatic hanger feed to an operator following removal of the garment and hanger from the mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.