Title of Invention

AUTOMATIC LOADING APPARATUS FOR NESTABLE PINCH-GRIP HANGERS

Abstract An apparatus (400) for loading garments on individual pinch-grip hangers (100, 200) from a nest (300-400) of pinch-grip hangers. The apparatus includes, a hopper (406) for holding the nests of pinch-grip hangers, each of the individual pinch-grip hangers nesting in a stack of similar hangers such that each of the individual pinch-grip hangers interlocks in the stack of similar hangers; a singulation mechanism (416a, 416b) for singulating an individual pinch-grip hanger from the nest of pinch-grip hangers; and a locking mechanism (410) for loading a garment on the singulated individual pinch-grip hanger.
Full Text CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation in part of co-pending U.S Application Serial Nos.
10/176, 789 filed February 15, 2002. 10/076, 790 filed February 15, 2002 and
10/292, 128 filed November 12, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated
herein by their reference. This application is related to U.S Application Serial No.
10, .......... Filed on the same day hereinwith (attorney Docket 14785YZ), the
entire contents of which is also incorporated herein the its reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and method for loading nestable pinch-
grip hangers. The pinch grip hangers are used for hanging pants and skirts for
shipment to retailers and display of the same in a retail environment. The
improved pinch-grip hangers are nestable in stacks and as such, are less costly to
ship with or without garments attached thereto and easier to feed into automated
production machinery for insertion of garments thereon.
Prior art
Consumer taste and fashion have dictated a desired for mass-produced, but well-
fitted garments, which are distributed and sold throughout the United States.
Large nation retailers of clothing generally
contract with a plurality of clothing manufacturers to
produce uniform standardised clothing, which is
essentially identical from batch to batch, even though
manufactured by different entities. These manufacturers
in turn produce the clothing at their own plants, or in
many cases, subcontract the production of the garments
to manufacturers based in the Far East, for instance, in
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea.
In the retail clothing industry clothing is
typically suspended from hangers at the point of
purchase. Such hangers are often inexpensive ship-on
types and under prevailing garment-on-hanger programs,
the garment is shipped from the manufacturer to the
retailer while suspended from a hanger. Traditional
garment-on-hanger pant and skirt hangers used spring
clips that were manually pushed into a locking position
to secure the pants or skirts to the hanger. In these
hangers, a steel-retaining clip was manually clamped
over a clamshell garment grip to secure the garment.
Use of the hangers in this device required a manual
operation to slide the steel clip over the clamshell to
close the retention clip on the garment.
However, these hangers were not popular as the
physical force needed to close a hanger on a thick waist
band could result in increased time and labor costs to
load the hanger and complaints of inadvertently broken
finger nails were common. For these reasons, pinch grip
hangers have become popular in recent years. However,
pinch grip hangers generally have greater depth than
clip hangers, resulting in fewer garments per rod or per
loop when shipping the garments, and a tendency to
inadvertently drop the garments when subjected to
unexpected shipping loads, as adjacent hangers impact
one another and open one or more of the pinch grips.
The pinch-grip hangers of the prior art are typically
recycled after purchase of the garment thereon. The
hangers are generally shipped in quantity in shipping
containers. The cost of shipping the hangers is a
function of the weight and cube (volume) of the
container. Because of the size and shape of the pinch-
grip hangers of the prior art, the volume of the
container is not used effectively to hold the hangers.
This leads to increased shipping costs.
Inadvertent opening of the pinch grips can
also occur in a retail store environment, as customers
push the garments to one side to better view a garment
of interest. Various guards have been proposed in the
prior art to prevent the inadvertent opening of the
pinch grips, but these guards further contribute to
increased depth for the product.
The pinch grip hangers of the prior art are
loaded manually, since both pinch grips are normally
biased to a closed position by a spring and both must be
opened to load a garment into the grips. At the present
time this requires an operator to perform four steps.
Using one hand the operator must open the first pinch
grip and then using the other hand to suspend the
garment, one side of the garment is placed in the grip.
This process is then repeated for the other pinch grip.
With the second pinch grip the operator must also
simultaneously tension the garment between the clips,
and since both hands are already occupied, the
tensioning step may require additional manual movements.
At a minimum, four manual steps or movements are
required for each garment that is loaded, resulting in
relatively high labor costs for loading the garments.
These prior art hangers are difficult to
automate as they are not designed to stack load in a
magazine, and they frequently have a single pair of
projecting high points that cause the hangers to not
stack evenly in a magazine. Further, the high points
can result in the hanger snagging on the next to be fed
hanger in an automated feed mechanism.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore it is an object of the present
invention to provide a nestable pinch-grip hanger
capable of nesting in a stack of pinch-grip hangers
which can be accommodated in a magazine of an automated
production machine for feeding the pinch-grip hangers
from the stack into the production machine for further
processing therein.
Accordingly, an apparatus for loading garments
on individual pinch-grip hangers from a nest of pinch-
grip hangers is provided. The apparatus comprising: a
hopper for holding the nests of pinch-grip hangers, each
of the individual pinch-grip hangers in the nest of
pinch-grip hangers having a body, two pinch grips
disposed on the body for retaining a garment therein,
and nesting means for nesting the individual pinch-grip
hanger in a stack of similar hangers such that the
individual pinch-grip hanger interlocks with the stack
of similar hangers; singulation means for singulating an
individual pinch-grip hanger from the nest of pinch-grip
hangers; and loading means for loading a garment on the
singulated individual pinch-grip hanger.
Also provided is a method for loading a
garment on an individual pinch-grip hanger from a nest
of pinch-grip hangers, the method comprising: (a)
loading the nest of pinch-grip hangers, each of the
individual pinch-grip hangers in the nest of pinch-grip
hangers having a body, two pinch grips disposed on the
body for retaining a garment therein, and nesting means
for nesting the individual pinch-grip hanger in a stack
of similar hangers such that the individual pinch-grip
hanger interlocks with the stack of similar hangers; (b)
singulating an individual pinch-grip hanger from the
nest of pinch-grip hangers; and (c) loading a garment on
the singulated individual pinch-grip hanger.
Preferably, the singulating comprises
releasing a first individual hanger from the nest of
hangers while retaining the remaining individual hangers
from the nest of hangers, the released first individual
hanger being the singulated individual hanger. In which
case, the loading of a garment on the singulate'd
individual pinch-grip hanger preferably comprises moving
the singulated individual hanger to a loading portion
for loading of the garment on the singulated individual
pinch-grip hanger. The method preferably further
comprises repeating steps (b) and (c) for the remaining
individual pinch-grip hangers in the nest of pinch-grip
hangers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and
advantages of the apparatus and methods of the present
invention will become better understood with regard to
the following description, appended claims, and
accompanying drawings where:
Figure 1A illustrates a front view of a
preferred implementation of a nestable pinch-grip hanger
having an integrally molded hook member.
Figure IB illustrates a top view of the
nestable pinch-grip hanger of Figure 1A.
Figure 1C illustrates a partial isometric view
of the nestable pinch-grip hanger of Figure 1A.
Figure 2A illustrates a front view of a
preferred implementation of a nestable pinch-grip hanger
having a metal wire hook member rotatably disposed in
the body of the hanger.
Figure 2B illustrates a top view of the
nestable pinch-grip hanger of Figure 2A.
Figure 2C illustrates a partial isometric view
of the nestable pinch-grip hanger of Figure 2A.
Figure 3 illustrates a partial isometric view
of one of the pinch-grips of the hanger of Figure 1A.
Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view of the
pinch grip of Figure 3 as taken along line 4-4 in Figure
3.
Figure 5A illustrates a front viev; of a stack
of the nestable hangers as shown in Figure 1A.
Figure 5B illustrates a front view of a stack
of the nestable hangers as shown in Figure 2A.
Figure 6 illustrates a side view of the stack
of nestable hangers of Figure 5A.
Figure 7A illustrates a sectional viev/ of the
stack of nestable hangers of Figure 5A as taken along
line 7A-7A in Figure 5A.
Figure 7B illustrates a partial isometric view
of the stack of nestable hangers of Figure 5A.
Figure 8 illustrates a top view of a shipping
container having a plurality of the stacks of nestable
hangers of Figure 5A.
Figure 9 illustrates an isometric view of the
shipping container of Figure 8 having a cut-away portion
showing the stacks of nestable hangers therein.
Figures 10A and 10C illustrate an end view of
a first and second version, respectively, of a first
embodiment of a size indicator of the present invention
for engaging the first web of the hanger illustrated in
Figure. 1A.
Figure 10B illustrates a top view of the size
indicators of Figures 10A and 10C.
Figure 11A illustrates an enlarged view of the
first web of Figure 1A.
Figure 11B illustrates the enlarged view of
the web of Figure 11A with a size indicator secured
thereon.
Figure 12A illustrates a partial sectional
view of the web of Figure 11A as taken along line 12A-
12A thereof and additionally having the second version
of the size indicator secured thereon.
Figure 12B illustrates the first web and the
size indicator of Figure 12A. wherein the pivoting latch
is being pivoted to release the size indicator
therefrom.
Figure 13 illustrates a side view of a
preferred implementation of an automated apparatus for
loading garments onto the pinch grip hangers of the
present invention.
Figure 14 illustrates a top view of the
apparatus of Figure 13 with brackets and pneumatic
cylinders removed for clarity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Preferred implementations of the improved
pinch grip hanger of the present invention are
illustrated in Figures 1A-1C and 2A-2C and referred to
generally by reference numerals 100 and 2 00,
respectively. The improved pinch grip hanger 100, 200
is molded of plastic with a support means 102, 202 for
supportably hanging the hanger on a display. The hanger
further has a body 104, 204 supported by the support
means 102, 202. The body 104, 204 has two pinch grips
106, 2 06 disposed thereon for retaining a garment. As
will be described below, the hanger 100, 200 includes
nesting means for nesting the hanger in a stack of
similar hangers such that the hanger interlocks with the
stack of similar hangers. For purposes of this
disclosure, "interlocks" means that the relative motion
between hangers in the stack is restricted by some
degree. Although, the degree of restriction may require
an applied force to separate the hangers from one
another, such an applied force is not necessary. For
example, in the preferred implementation discussed
below, the nestable hangers in the stack can be
separated easily from one another, however, each hanger
is shaped and/or configured to "fit" or nest with at
least one other hanger in the stack analogous to the
nesting of outdoor resin chairs. Furthermore, the
nestable hanger preferably nests in a plane
substantially parallel with a plane of the stack of
similar hangers and more preferably in substantially a
same plane as the stack of similar hangers. For the
purpose of this disclosure, nesting of a hanger in a
plane substantially parallel with a plane of the stack
of similar hangers where the planes are not the same
nesting of a hanger in a plane substantially parallel
with a plane of the stack of similar hangers where the
planes are the same plane will be referred to as
horizontal nesting. Although, the nestable hanger is
described and shown herein in a horizontal nesting
configuration, such is done by way of example only and
not to limit the spirit or scope of the present
invention.
In the hanger of Figures 1A-1C, the support
means is an upwardly extended hook member 108 formed of
plastic and integrally molded with the body 104. As
illustrated in Figures 2A-2C, an alternative hanger 200
is shown therein in which the hanger is fitted with a
wire metal hook 208 that is swivel mounted in the body
204 in a manner well known in the art. The hook member
108 can include an upstanding flange member (not shown)
that is adapted to receive a size indicia (not shown)
for a characteristic of the garment suspended in the
hanger, such as a size indicator permanently affixed to
the hook member 10 8 as taught by U.S. Patent No.
5,604,975 or the size indicator releasably secured to
the hook member 10 8 as taught by U.S. Patent No.
5,794,363. Both of these patents are assigned to the
assignee of the present invention, and the disclosures
of both patents are incorporated herein by reference
thereto.
As discussed more fully below and illustrated
in Figures 1A-1C, the present invention may also be
fitted with a pivoting flange to receive a side sizer in
the matter taught in U.S. Patent No. 6,260,745, also
assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The
disclosure of this patent is also incorporated herein by
reference thereto. Preferably, such a side sizer is
disposed on a transition portion between the hook member
108 and the body 104 of the hanger 100.
As illustrated in Figures 1A-1C and 2A-2C, the
body 104, 204 of the pinch grip hanger is a horizontally
extending support bar 110, 210. The support bar 110,
210 includes the pinch grips 106 positioned on either
end 110a, 110b, 210a, 210b of the support bar 110, 210.
Although many different shape cross-sections are
possible, the central support bar 110, 210 is preferably
formed of a square M-shaped cross-section that provides
exceptional strength along the vertical axis of the
hanger. Each of the pinch grips 106, 206 include first
and second pinch grip jaws 106a, 106b, 206a, 206b with
the first jaw members 106a, 206a being integrally molded
with the support bar 104, 204. The second jaw members
106b, 206b are pivotally secured to the first jaw
members 106a, 206a at a pivot mounting 112, 212, by a
spring member 114, 214, as will be hereinafter discussed
in detail. Each of the pinch grip jaws 106a, 106b,
206a, 206b define garment-engaging areas 116, 216. Each
of the moveable first and second jaw members 106a 106b,
206a 206b also have an actuation end 118a, 118b, 218a,
218b used to open the pinch grip 106, 206 and pinch ends
119a, 119b, 219a, 219b. Each of the first and second
jaw members 106a, 106b, 206a, 206b are molded with teeth
120, 220 where the teeth 120, 220 are preferably
staggered so that they do not directly oppose each
other. Alternatively, each of the first and second jaw
members 106a, 106b, 206a, 206b are fitted with a molded
non-slip pad (not shown). Thus, the pinch ends 119a,
119b, 219a, 219b are biased together by the spring
member 114, 214 and are actuated apart by an actuation
force applied at the actuation ends 118a, 118b, 218a,
218b.
Referring now to Figures 5A and 5B, there is
shown stacks of hangers 100, 200, generally referred to
by reference numerals 300, 400, respectively. As
discussed above, although the hangers 100, 200 can be
nested in either a horizontal or vertical nesting
configuration, the horizontal configuration is shown by
way of example only and not to limit the spirit or scope
of the present invention. Furthermore, although the
nests 300, 400 of hangers 100, 200 are shown with three
individual hangers 100, 200 in the nest 300, 400, those
skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of
individual hangers 100, 200 greater than two can be
nested without departing from the spirit or scope of the
present invention. Still further, the nesting of
hangers 100, 200 will be described and shown in Figures
6 and 7A with more specificity with regard to hangers
100. Unless otherwise noted, the nesting of hangers 200
is similarly configured to that shown and described with
regard to hangers 100.
Referring now to Figures 6 and 7A, the nesting
means can comprise the actuatable ends 118a, 118b, 218a,
218b defining a pocket 124 having a shape and size
larger than a size and shape of the pinch ends 119a,
119b, 219a, 219b such that the pinch ends 119a, 119b,
219a, 219b are accommodated into a corresponding pocket
124 of the individual hangers 10 0, 20 0 in the stack of
hangers 300, 400. The pocket 124 preferably
accommodates enough of the pinch ends 119a, 119b, 219a,
219b to provide a stable stack of nesting hangers 300,
400. * However, those skilled in the art will appreciate
that the pinch ends 119a, 119b, 219a, 219b need not
positively lock into the pocket 124, such as by a press
fit or interference with a protrusion in the pocket 124,
it is sufficient that the pinch ends 119a, 119b, 219a,
219b be loosely secured in the pocket 124.
Referring nov; to Figures 1B and 2B, the
nesting means can also comprise alone or in addition to
that described above, the pinch grips 106, 206 being
equidistant from the hook 108, 208 on opposite ends of
the body 104, 204 in a first direction (indicated by
arrow A) and the pinch grips 106, 206 further being
offset in a second direction (indicated by arrow B)
orthogonal to the first direction by an amount equal to
a thickness of at least a portion of a corresponding
hook member 104, 204 in the stack of individual similar
hangers 300, 400. Preferably the amount of offset in
the direction of arrow B is substantially equal to the
thickness of the corresponding hook member 104, 204. As
shown in Figures 5A and 5B the offset facilitates
nesting of the hangers 100, 200 in the horizontal
stacking configuration.
Referring nov; to Figures 1C, 5A and 7B where
the support means comprises the integrally formed hook
member 108 the nesting means can also include alone or
in combination with that described above, the body 104,
204 having a cut-out portion 122 corresponding to at
least a portion of the hook member 104 on the stack of
similar hangers 300, 400 to accommodate the hook member
104 in the stack of similar hangers 300, 400 while
nested together in the stack.
Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, the hangers
100, 2 00 further comprise means for preventing
inadvertent actuation of the pinch ends 119a, 119b,
219a, 219b while a garment is inserted between the pinch
ends 119a, 119b, 219a, 219b. The means for preventing
inadvertent actuation of the pinch ends 119a, 119b,
219a, 219b can comprise at least one guard member 126
disposed on the actuation end 118a, 218a, of the first
jaw 106a, 206a. The at least one guard member 124
projects outwardly from the first jaw 106a, 206a towards
the actuation end 118b, 218b of the second jaw 106b,
206b such that an inadvertent actuation force F is at
least partially blocked from being applied to the
actuation end 118b, 218b of the second jaw 106b, 206b.
The means for preventing inadvertent actuation of the
pinch ends 119a, 119b, 219a, 219b can also comprise,
alone or in combination with that described above, at
least one of the first and second jaws 106a, 206a, 106b,
206b having a shape such that a widest portion W of the
pinch grip 106, 206 in a direction orthogonal to the
axis of rotation R is below the axis of rotation R.
Figure 4 illustrates the widest portion W of the pinch
grip 106, 206 being due to a convexly curved portion 126
formed on the second jaw 106b, 206b. Thus, any object
which is pressed against the second jaw 106b, 206b will
likely be applied against the convexly curved portion
12 6 and will tend to keep the first and second jaws
106a, 206a, 106b, 206b closed rather than tend to open
the jaws.
Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, therein is
illustrated a container of hangers, the container being
generally referred to by reference numeral 500.
Although, the container is shown having hangers 10 0
disposed therein, those skilled in the art will
appreciate that hangers 200 can also be disposed therein
without departing from the scope or spirit of the
present invention. Generally, the container 500 is a
shipping container and has walls 502 (including a
bottom) defining an interior 504. The container can
have a top 5 06 or be open at the top. Furthermore, the
container 500 can be fabricated from numerous materials
known in the art for shipping containers, such as
cardboard, or plastic. A plurality of stacks of hangers
300 are disposed in the interior 504 where each of the
individual stacks of hangers 300 comprise a plurality of
nestable hangers 100 as described above. Although, the
stacks of hangers 300 are shown having 12 individual
hangers 100 in a horizontal nesting configuration, those
skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of
individual hangers greater than one in either a
horizontal or vertical nesting configuration may be
disposed in the container 5 00 without departing from the
scope or spirit of the present invention. Furthermore,
although the container 500 is shown having several
stacks of hangers 300 disposed therein, those skilled in
the art will appreciate that any number of stacks of
hangers 3 00 greater than one can be disposed in the
container 50 0 without departing from the scope or spirit
of the present invention.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that
the novel nesting hangers 100, 200 and nesting stacks
thereof 3 00, 400 provide for greater shipping density
than would be possible with pinch-grip hangers of the
prior art which are loosely packaged in containers.
Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the
nesting means, particularly due to the offset and cut-
out discussed above, also provide for greater display
density when garments are disposed thereon and the
hangers are hung from a display. Furthermore, the means
for preventing inadvertent actuation discussed above,
provides means for inadvertent actuation of the pinch
grips 106, 206 when a garment is retained by the pinch
grips 106, 206 when the hangers 100, 200 are both hung
from a display and while being transported with, the
garments retained thereon.
Referring now to Figure 11a, the hanger 10 0
preferably has a web 128 having a fixed latch 140 and a
pivoting latch 142. The pivoting latch 142 is
preferably located at a central portion of the web 123
and the fixed latch 140 is located on at least one end
of the pivoting latch 142. Preferably, the fixed latch
14 0, as shown in Figure 11a, comprises two abutments
140a, 140b located on each end of the pivoting latch
142. As illustrated in Figures 12a and 12b, it is also
preferable that the pivoting latch 142 projects from a
first side 144 of the web 128 and the fixed latch 140
projects from an opposite side 146 of the web 12 8.
Referring back to Figure 11a, the pivoting
latch 142 is preferably defined by a slot 148 cut
through the web 128. The slot preferably has a shape
defined by at least two sides 148a, 148b. The pivoting
latch 142 is further defined by a living hinge, shown by
dotted line 130 closing the shape of the slot 148. As
shown in Figure 11a, the slot 148 is preferably
substantially two sided 148a, 148b and the living hinge
130 closes the shape of the slot 148 thereby forming a
triangular shaped pivoting latch 142.
Referring now to Figures 11a, 11b, and 11a in
combination, the pivoting latch 142 preferably has an
engagement means for facilitating movement of the
pivoting latch about arrow A shown in Figures 11b. The
engagement means preferably comprises a cantilevered end
122 of the pivoting latch 142 which when a releasing
force (FR) is applied thereto provides a mechanical
advantage for movement of the pivoting latch 142 out of
engagement with the size indicator. Simultaneously, the
opposite side of the pivoting latch 142 displaces the
size indicator such that it no longer engages the fixed
latch 140.
Referring now to Figures 10a, 10b, and 10a in
combination, two versions of the size indicator are
illustrated as 150 and 150a, with size indicator 150
generally having a face 160 and two sides 162, 164
depending therefrom to form a generally C-shaped channel
166. Each of the sides 162, 164 terminate in a foremost
edge 131, 132. The foremost edges 131, 132 are
preferably configured such that the cantilevered end 168
of the pivoting latch 142 is exposed when a size
indicator 150 is secured on the web 128.
The size indicator 150 includes finger means
134 for engaging the fixed and pivoting latches 140,
142, respectively, such that the size indicator is
secured on the web during normal use. However, the size
indicator is releasably secured on the web 128 such that
it may be released from the web 12 8 when the pivoting
latch 142 is pivoted out of engagement with the finger
means 134 of the size indicator when the release force
(Fa) is applied. The finger means 134 preferably
comprises an inwardly facing ridge 134a, 134b disposed
at each of the foremost edges 131, 132 and projecting
inwards towards the channel 166 of the size indicator
150 .
In an alternative version, a second size
indicator 150a of the first embodiment is illustrated in
Figure 10c in which like reference numerals refer to
similar features, the second size indicator being
referred to generally by reference numeral 150a. The
second size indicator 150a has engagement abutments 162a
and 164a which protrude from the inside of the sides
162, 164, respectively, to touch the side walls of the
fixed and pivoting latches 140, 142 when secured to the
web 128. As will be discussed below, the size indicator
150a further has a pair of spaced projections 160a, 160b
projecting from an inner surface of the face 160.
Referring back to Figures 11a and 11a in
combination, the web 128 preferably also has a guard 136
extending across the web 128 and below the size
indicator 150a. In a preferred implementation, the
guard 136 has a down-turned portion 138, which follows
the contours of the cantilevered end 168 to thereby
enable access to the edges of the size indicator, and
the engagement means prevents inadvertent actuation of
the pivoting latch 142. The cantilevered end 168 and
engagement means are preferably configured to engage a
tool (not shown) used for application of the releasing
force (FR). The engagement means is preferably a dimple
141 formed on a side of the cantilevered end 168. The
tool having a tip substantially conforming to the shape
of the dimple 141 and having a width such that it is not
prevented from engaging the dimple 141 by the guard 136.
The web preferably also has an outermost edge
128d having an outermost portion 128e of a predetermined
cross-section. The first version of the size indicator
150 has a trough 170c {Figure 10a) with a mating cross-
section substantially configured to receive the
outermost portion 128e therein for preventing a lateral
movement of the size indicator along direction E-E
(Figure 12a) when the size indicator 150 is secured on
the web 128. The preferable predetermined cross-section
of both the outermost portion 128e and the trough 170 is
substantially rectangular. The second version of the
size indicator 15 0a having first and second spaced
projections 160a and 160b, respectively, which project
from the inner surface of the face 160. The first and
second projections 160a, 160b are spaced such that the
outermost portion 128e is accepted therein when the size
indicator 150a is secured on the web 128 to prevent
lateral movement of the size indicator 150a along
The engagement abutments 162a, 164a cooperate
with the trough 170 or the first and second spaced
projections 160a, 160b to prevent side-to-side movement
of the size indicator on the web and contribute to a
secure and solid attachment of the size indicator to the
hanger.
Referring to Figure 11b, the web 128 further
comprises locating means for locating the size
indicators 150, 150a in a predetermined position on the
web 12 8. The locating means preferably comprises first
and second guides 146a, 146b disposed adjacent each side
edge 148a, 148b of the size indicator 150, 150a and
spaced apart to align the size indicators therebetween
and to center the size indicators during application
thereof on the web 128. Preferably, the first and
second guides 146a, 146b do not extend the full length
of the side edges 148a, 148b of the size indicator but
define elongate openings 150a, 150b which expose the
side edges 148a, 148b of the size indicator.
Referring now to Figures 12a and 12a, the
operation of the garment hanger 100 of the present
invention will be explained with regard to size
indicator 150a. Size indicator 150a is mounted on the
web 128 by sliding it over web 128 in the direction of
arrow C. While being mounted in the direction of arrow
C, the pivoting latch 142 pivots in the direction of
arrow G until the inwardly facing ridges 134a, 134b of
finger means 134 pass over the fixed and pivoting ridges
14 0, 14 2. After which, the inwardly facing fingers
134a, 134b snap into place in an area defined by the
guide 136 and a bottom edge of the fixed and pivoting
ridges 140, 142. As such, the size indicator 150a is
releasably secured on the web 12B.
To release the size indicators 150, 150a from
the web 128, a releasing force (FR) is applied to the
cantilevered end 168 of the pivoting latch 142,
preferably by engaging the dimple 141 thereon with a
release tool (not shown). The release force (FR) results
in the pivoting latch 142 to pivot about the living
hinge 130 in the direction of arrow G. As can be seen
in Figures 12a and 12b, planar side wall of the pivoting
latch 142 causes the inner ridge 134a of the finger
means 134 of size indicators 150, 150a to extend past
the furthest extending portion of the fixed latch 140.
At this point, the size indicator 150, 150a may be
manually removed from the web 128.
Referring now to Figures 13 and 14, there is
illustrated an automated apparatus for loading
(alternatively referred to as inserting) garments into
the pinch grip hangers 100 of the present invention, the
apparatus being generally referred to by reference
numeral 400. Although, hanger 100 is shown being loaded
in apparatus 400, those skilled in the art will
appreciate that hanger 200 may also be used without
departing from the scope or spirit of the present
invention. Furthermore, although the apparatus 400 is
shown with regard to a horizontal nest 300 of hangers,
those skilled in the art will appreciate that a vertical
nest can also be used with the apparatus modified
accordingly to accommodate and feed the vertical nest.
The apparatus 400 has legs 402 for supporting
a platform 404. The platform 404 has a rectangular tray
portion 406 for holding at least one nest 300 of hangers
having the movable jaw member 106b facing upwards away
from the platform 404. The tray portion 406 may have a
tapered lead-in portion 408 facilitating the loading of
the nest 300 into the tray 406. The platform 404 further
has a loading portion 410 where each of the individual
hangers 100 in the nest 3 00 are loaded with a garment
between the first and second jaw members 106a, 106b of
the pinch grips 106. Although not shown, the legs 402
are provided with braces to add stability to the
apparatus 400. Preferably, as described below, the tray
portion 406 has a lower surface 412 upon which the nest
of hangers 3 00 lies and which is inclined such that the
hangers 100 are at least partially fed from the tray
portion 406 to the loading portion 410 by gravity. A
transition portion 412a of the lower surface 412 between
the tray portion 406 and loading portion 410 is
preferably curved, such curve is preferably very
gradual, i.e., has a large radius. The platform further
has two channels 414 in the lower surface 412 such that
pushing and locating pins (discussed below) can
communicate with the hangers 100 from below the lower
surface 412.
Each of the individual hangers 10 0 in the nest
of hangers 3 00 is preferably singulated from the nest
300 and fed to the loading portion 410. Therefore, the
nest of hangers 300 are held in the tray portion 406 by
front and rear pairs of locating pins 416a, 416b. Each
of the locating pins 416a, 416b are preferably connected
to or integral with a shaft 418 of a first and second
pairs of pneumatic cylinders 420a, 420b, respectively.
Of course, both of the locating pins for each pair can
be connected to a single pneumatic cylinder. The first
and second pairs of pneumatic cylinders 420a, 420b are
held in place under the lower surface 412 of the
platform 404 by a bracket 422 such that the pins 416a,
416b communicate with the channels 414. The first and
second pneumatic cylinders 420a, 420b, are actuated
between retracted and extended positions to retract the
pins 416a, 416b below the lower surface 412 or extend
above the lower surface 412 to engage the hangers 100,
respectively.
Each of the first locating pins 416a engage a
lower edge 110c of the support bar 110 of a first hanger
100 in the nest, while each of the second locating pins
416b engage a lower edge 110c of the support bar 110 of
a second hanger 100 in the nest 300. The pair of first
locating pins 416a are retracted to free the first
hanger 100 in the nest from the nest 3 00 due to the
effect of gravity from the inclined surface of the tray
portion 406 while the pair of second locating pins 416b
are extended to restrict the movement of the second and
remaining hangers 100 in the nest 300. After the first
hanger 100 in the nest 300 is free from the nest 300,
the pair of first locating pins 416a are again extended
and the pair of second locating pins 416b are retracted
to allow the remaining hangers 100 in the nest to engage
the first pair of locating pins 416a due to the effect
of gravity. Although not necessary, a sensor may be
used to detect the singulation of the first hanger 100
in the nest 300 from the nest before the first pair of
locating pins 416a are extended. A means for vibrating
the lower surface 412 may also be used with or without
the sensor to ensure the singulation of the first hanger
100 from the nest 300. Such means are well known in the
art, such as an eccentric motor operatively engaged with
the lower surface 412.
Once the first hanger 100 in the nest 300 has
been singulated from the nest 300, a pair of pushing
pins 424 move though the channels 414 to push the
singulated hanger 110 through the curved transition
portion 412a to the loading portion 410. Preferably,
the singulated hanger 100 is located at a proper
position in,the loading portion, such as by pushing the
singulated hanger 100 against a pair of shallow stops
426 corresponding to each of a forward edge of the fixed
jaw member 106a. At this point, the pushing pins 424
stop moving, which can be determined by exceeding a
predetermined torque in pushing motors (described below)
or positioning a sensor in the stops 426 or on an .
appropriate position on the lower surface 412 of the
platform 404 in the vicinity of the loading portion 410.
The means for supporting and moving the
pushing pins 424 is preferably as shown in Figure 13.
Such means includes a pushing motor 428a and main pulley
4 2 8b supported under the lower surface 412 in the
vicinity of the channels 414 by brackets (not shown).
The pushing motor 428a and main pulley 428b are
interconnected by a belt 430. The pushing pins 424 are
carried on the belt 430 and run in the same longitudinal
direction as the channels 412. An idler pulley 432 may
be necessary to conform the shape of the belt to the
corresponding shape of the lower portion 412 of the
platform 404. Once the singulated hanger 100 is free
from the nest, the pushing motor 428a is activated to
rotate the belt 430 counterclockwise causing rearward
pushing pins 424a to emerge from the lower surface 412
and engage with the singulated hanger 100. The rearward
pushing pins 4 24a continue to travel towards the loading
portion 410 to push the singulated hanger therewith to
the loading portion 410 until the singulated hanger 100
is appropriately positioned at the loading portion 410,
as discussed above. While the rearward pushing pins
424a push the singulated hanger 100 towards the loading
portion 410, frontward pushing pins 424b are free to
move towards a rearward position (since, as described
below, the previous singulated hanger has been mated
with a garment and removed, therefore no longer being an
impediment to the continued travel of the forward
pushing pins 424b). Of course, the pushing pins 424 can
also be moved linearly, such as by a linear motor, ball
screw, and the like.
The apparatus 400 further has first and second
pinch grip actuators 434 (shown in phantom in Figure
14). The first and second pinch grip actuators 434 are
preferably pneumatic cylinders and have an actuation rod
436 corresponding with the actuation ends 118b of the
movable jaw members 106b for each of the pinch grips 106
of the singulated hanger 100. Once the singulated
hanger 100 has been located at the loading portion 410
such that the actuation rods 436 correspond with the
actuation end 118b of the movable jaw members 106b, the
actuation rods 436 are extended, as shown in Figure 13,
to open the movable jaw member 106b relative to the
fixed jaw member 106a. Since the movable jaw member
106b rotates while the actuation rod 436 translates, a
roller 43 8 is provided the end of each actuation rod to
facilitate the relative movement between the end of the
actuation rod 436 and the actuation end 118b of the
movable jaw members 106b.
Once the pinch grips 106 are open, an operator
manually inserts a garment in the direction of arrow A
into the open pinch grips 106. Upon the insertion of
the garment, the garment engages a lever sensor 44 0
which retracts the actuator rods 436 to close the pinch-
grips 106 on the garment, thereby securing the garment
on the hanger 100. The operator then manually removes
the garment and attached hanger 100 from the loading
portion 410 by pulling on the garment thereby releasing
engagement of the garment on the lever sensor 440. Upon
the release of engagement of the garment with the lever
sensor 440 the first pair of locating pins 416a are
retracted to singulate the next hanger 100 in the nest
of hangers 300. The sequence described above then
repeats for all of the hangers in the nest 3 00.
Additional nests 300 can be loaded into the tray portion
406 before all of the hangers 100 from the previous nest
have been processed because the nev; nest 300 will nest
In this way, the garment loading process does not have
to be stopped for loading of the hangers 100.
Furthermore, several nests of hangers 3 00 can be stacked
above each other, each on their own tray portion, and
the nests or the trays themselves can be fed into the
position shown in Figure 13 after a previous nest has
been processed.
Although, the powering and sequencing of the
above components of the apparatus 4 00 can be done
manually, they are preferably under the control of a
central programmable processor (not shown) that controls
and sequences the components in an automated fashion.
Thus, the only manual intervention necessary is for the
loading of the nests of hangers 300 into the tray
portion 4 06, the insertion of a garment between the open
jaw members 106a, 106b of the pinch grips 106, and the
removal of the garment and attached hanger from the
platform after the jaw members 106a, 106b have been
closed on the garment.
While there has been shown and described what
is considered to be preferred embodiments of the
invention, it will, of course, be understood that
various modifications and changes in form or detail
could readily be made without departing from the spirit
of the invention. It is therefore intended that the
invention be not limited to the exact forms described
and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all
modifications that may fall within the scope of the
appended claims.
WE CLAIM
1. An apparatus for loading garments on individual pinch-grip hangers from a
nest of pinch-grip hangers, the apparatus comprising:
a hopper for holding the nests of pinch-grip hangers, each of the individual
pinch-grip hangers in the nest of pinch-grip hangers having a body, two
pinch grips disposed on the body for retaining a garments therein, and
nesting means for nesting the individual pinch-grip hanger in a stack of
similar hangers such that the individual pinch-grip hanger interlocks with
the stack of similar hangers;
singulation means for singulating an individual pinch-grip hanger from the
nest of pinch-grip hangers; and
loading means for loading a garment on the singulated individual pinch-grip
hanger.
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hopper is a platform
having a tray portion for holding the nest of pinch-grip hangers on a lower
surface thereof.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tray portion has a tapered
lead-in portion for facilitating loading of the nest of pinch-grip hangers
therein.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the platform has a loading
portion at which the garment is loaded onto the singulated pinch grip
hanger.
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the platform has a transition
portion between the tray portion and loading portion.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lower surface is inclined
towards the loading portion.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the singulation means
comprises releasing means for releasing a first pinch-grip hanger to be
singulated from the nest of pinch-grip hangers while remaining hangers in
the nest of pinch-grip hangers are retained.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the releasing means
comprises first and second pairs of locating pins selectively actuated
between extended and retracted positions, the first pair of location pins
engaging a first pinch-grip hanger to be singulated in the nest of pinch-grip
hangers when in the extended position and releasing the first pinch-grip
hanger when in the retracted position, the second pair of location pins
engaging the remaining pinch-grip hangers in the nest of pinch-grip hangers
when in the extended position for retaining the remaining pinch-grip
hangers.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the loading means comprises
moving means for moving the singulated pinch-grip hanger form the tray
portion, though the transition portion, and into the loading portion.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, comprising locating means for
locating the singulated pinch-grip hanger at a predetermined loading
position at the loading portion.
11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the locating means
comprises a shallow stop corresponding to each of the two pinch grips of
the singulated hanger wherein the singulated hanger is pushed against
the shallow stops.
12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the moving means
comprises a pair of loading pins selectively engagable with the singulated
pinch-grip hanger and movable from the tray portion to the loading
portion, wherein the pair of loading pins are extended into the tray portion
to engage the singulated pinch-grip hanger and push the singulated
pinch-grip hanger to the loading portion.
13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the loading means comprises
means for opening the two pinch grips of the singulated pinch-grip hanger
while at the loading portion such that the garment can be inserted therein.
14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the means for opening the
two pinch grips comprises an actuatable cylinder corresponding to each of
the two pinch grips of the singulated pinch-grip hanger for engaging a
movable jaw member of each of the two pinch grips for moving the
movable jaw members to thereby open each of the two pinch grips.
15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, comprising sensor means for
detecting the loading of the garment on the singulated pinch-grip hanger
for closing the pinch grips to fix the garment therein.
16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the sensor means detects
the removal of the loaded singulated pinch-grip hanger and initiating the
singulation of a subsequent remaining pinch grip hanger in the nest of
pinch-grip hangers.
1.7. A method for loading a garment on an individual pinch-grip hanger from a
nest of pinch-grip hangers, the method comprising:
a) loading the nest of pinch-grip hangers, each of the individual pinch-grip
hangers in the nest of pinch-grip hangers having a body, two pinch grips
disposed on the body for retaining a garment therein, and nesting means
for nesting the individual pinch-grip hanger in a stack of similar hangers
such that the individual pinch -grip hanger interlocks with the stack of
similar hangers;
b) singulating an individual pinch-grip hanger form the nest of pinch-grip
hangers; and
c) loading a garment on the singulated individual pinch-grip hanger.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the singulating comprises
releasing a first individual hanger from the nest of hangers while retaining
the remaining individual hangers form the nest of hangers, the released
first individual hanger being the singulated individual hanger.
19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the loading of a garment on
the singulated individual pinch-grip hanger comprises moving the
singulated individual hanger to a loading portion for loading of the
garment on the singulated individual pinch-grip hanger.
20. The method as claimed in claim 19, comprising repeating steps (b) and (c)
for the remaining individual pinch-grip hangers in the nest of pinch-grip
hangers.


An apparatus (400) for loading garments on individual pinch-grip hangers (100,
200) from a nest (300-400) of pinch-grip hangers. The apparatus includes, a
hopper (406) for holding the nests of pinch-grip hangers, each of the individual
pinch-grip hangers nesting in a stack of similar hangers such that each of the
individual pinch-grip hangers interlocks in the stack of similar hangers; a
singulation mechanism (416a, 416b) for singulating an individual pinch-grip
hanger from the nest of pinch-grip hangers; and a locking mechanism (410) for
loading a garment on the singulated individual pinch-grip hanger.

Documents:

1180-KOLNP-2004-ABSTRACT.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-CANCELLED PAGES.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-CLAIMS.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-CORRESPONDENCE 1.1.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-correspondence1.2.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-DESCRIPTION (COMPLEATE).pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-examination report.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-FORM 1.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-form 18.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-FORM 2.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-form 26.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-FORM 27.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-form 3.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-form 5.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-granted-abstract.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-granted-claims.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-granted-description (complete).pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-granted-drawings.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-granted-form 2.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-granted-specification.pdf

1180-KOLNP-2004-PA.pdf

1180-kolnp-2004-reply to examination report.pdf


Patent Number 242862
Indian Patent Application Number 1180/KOLNP/2004
PG Journal Number 38/2010
Publication Date 17-Sep-2010
Grant Date 16-Sep-2010
Date of Filing 16-Aug-2004
Name of Patentee GOULDSON STANLEY F
Applicant Address 10 HARBOUR POINT DRIVE, NORTHPORT, NY
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 GOULDSON STANLEY F 10 HARBOUR POINT DRIVE, NORTHPORT, NY 11788
2 OLK OLAF HOFFMAN LANE, HAUPPAUGE, NY 11788
3 SOLLANEK JEFFREY R 6 PROVIDENCE ROAD, ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA 28806
PCT International Classification Number B23P 21/00
PCT International Application Number PCT/US2003/04563
PCT International Filing date 2003-02-14
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 10/292,128 2002-11-12 U.S.A.
2 10/076,789 2002-02-15 U.S.A.
3 10/076,790 2002-02-15 U.S.A.