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.
Claims15
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 at least one pinch grip;
- a push plate which engages a single hanger from the magazine, said push plate reciprocating from a hanger feed position to a hanger stop position in a first direction;
- at least one ram positioned to project onto the at least one pinch grip of the hanger and opening said hanger pinch grip at the hanger stop position;
- and
- a trigger for automatically retracting the at least one ram following insertion of a garment by the operator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.