Garment feeder and method for feeding garments

Abstract

A garment feeder for advancing a garment for printing, comprising a loading position for a tray and a robotic gripper, the robotic gripper being movable over a loading position to grip a garment from a first side of the loading position and pull the garment along a garment pulling direction to a second side to load the garment onto the tray at the loading position. The garment being loaded slides across the loading position on the first side of the tray perpendicular to the garment pulling direction and is being pulled onto the tray by the gripper, and one or more sensors detect the lateral edges of the garment. The position of the edges can be used to determine whether the garment is symmetrically pulled onto the tray. If not, the garment is adjusted to achieve correct printing positioning.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Israeli Application No. 273846, filed Apr. 6, 2020, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 006,192, filed Apr. 7, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] Technical Field and Background Art

[0004] In some embodiments of the present invention, the present invention relates to a garment feeder, and more particularly but not exclusively, to a feeder for feeding garments into a textile printer.

[0005] A garment printer has a pallet or tray on which the garment passes through the printer. In the past, feeding required an operator to place the garment to be printed on the pallet. However, the operator usually did not have much time to flatten the garment on the pallet. Typically, the time budget for the entire time of placing the garment in place was nine seconds. In the state of the art, a gripper has been provided that picks up the garment from the rear of the pallet and pulls the garment across the pallet. The operator's task is simpler, which is to place the garment on or in front of the gripper, and more sophisticated equipment does not require the operator at all, but can pick up the garment from the top of a stack of garments without manual intervention.

[0006] The garment gripper is an industrial robot that, like a human operator, has little time to place the garment on the tray. The robot usually feeds the garment from the side of a stack of garments or from a human operator. If the gripper clamps the garment in a symmetric position, the garment will be evenly picked up onto the tray. If the garment is not placed symmetrically on the tray, then the printing will be skewed. In a typical case, once the gripper places the garment on the tray, the operator has about two seconds to make any adjustments. Detecting asymmetry is something that the human eye is good at, so if a small change in the area distribution causes asymmetry, the human eye can easily detect it, but machine vision has difficulty detecting it. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In the present embodiment, the tray is associated with sensing to detect the garment above or in front of the tray. The sensor can be a photosensitive or touch-sensitive detector above or in front of the tray itself, or a camera that can take an image of the garment from above. The sensing reveals any asymmetry between the tray and the garment. In response to the asymmetry detection, embodiments can adjust the gripper to restore symmetry, or call a human operator.

[0008] An advantage of the present embodiment is that by introducing a sensor associated with the tray to measure the symmetry and placement of the garment, the machine imaging problem of judging symmetry is reduced.

[0009] According to one aspect of some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a garment feeder for feeding garments for printing, comprising:

[0010] a loading position for a tray;

[0011] a clamping unit configured to clamp a garment and pull the garment onto the tray; and

[0012] at least one sensor associated with the tray for detecting a lateral edge of the garment pulled onto the tray by the clamping unit.

[0013] Embodiments may include a rod extending perpendicular to the loading direction on a garment loading side of the loading position, the rod being in a plane of the tray loaded in the loading position. The garment slides onto the tray on the rod, and the sensor is located on the rod or measures the edge of the garment against the rod.

[0014] Embodiments may include an alarm device configured to issue an alarm state when at least one sensor detects that the pulled garment is not pulled laterally symmetrically on the tray.

[0015] In one embodiment, the clamping unit includes two arms and at least two clamping ends, the clamping ends being movable across the loading position to clamp the garment from a first side of the loading position and pull the garment in a pulling direction to a second side of the loading position to load the garment onto the tray located in the loading position.

[0016] Embodiments may include a clamping regulator configured to adjust at least two clamps to move the garment to a symmetric position, or configured to adjust the distance between the clamps to clamp the garment at an adjusted width.

[0017] In one embodiment, the clamping regulator includes a motion controller configured to operate an actuator to move at least one clamp.

[0018] In one embodiment, the sensor includes at least one touch sensor or proximity sensor along the length of the rod or the tray to distinguish a position on the rod or the tray contacted by the garment from a position on the rod or the tray not contacted by the garment.

[0019] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor includes at least one light sensor along the length of the rod to distinguish a position on the rod or the tray obscured by the garment from a position on the rod or the tray not obscured by the garment.

[0020] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor includes at least one camera above the rod or the tray to distinguish positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is in contact from positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is not in contact.

[0021] In one embodiment, the rod includes markings visible to the camera.

[0022] The embodiment is operable to determine the width of the clothing based on the output of at least one sensor. Based on the width, the size of the clothing can be determined, and if the determined width is different from the expected width, the feeder can output an alarm.

[0023] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for feeding clothing for advancement for printing, including:

[0024] Positioning a tray at a loading position;

[0025] Mechanically clamping the clothing from a first side of the loading position and pulling the clothing along a clothing pulling direction to a second side of the loading position to load the clothing onto the tray; and

[0026] Detecting to locate the lateral edges of the clothing pulled onto the tray.

[0027] The method may include using the position of the lateral edges to determine whether the clothing is symmetrically pulled onto the tray.

[0028] The method may include using a horizontal rod located in front of a first side of the tray and perpendicular to the clothing pulling direction to detect the lateral edges.

[0029] The method may include issuing an alarm status when at least one sensor detects that the pulled clothing is not symmetrically located on at least one of the rod and the tray.

[0030] The method may include: using at least two grippers extending across the loading position to grip the clothing; adjusting the at least two grippers to move the clothing to a symmetric position, such as by operating an actuator to move at least one gripper.

[0031] The method may include sensing contact with the clothing along the length of the rod to distinguish positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is in contact from positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is not in contact with the tray.

[0032] Alternatively or additionally, the method may include sensing light along the length of the rod or the tray to distinguish positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is blocking the light from positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is not blocking the light.

[0033] Alternatively or additionally, the method may include taking an image above the rod or the tray to distinguish positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is in contact from positions along the rod or the tray where the clothing is not in contact.

[0034] The method may include determining the width of the clothing based on sensing, whereby the clothing size can be determined. If the determined width or size is different from the expected width or size, the method may issue an alarm.

[0035] The method may include detecting the color of the clothing and issuing an alarm if the color is different from the expected color.

[0036] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and / or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present invention, exemplary methods and / or materials are also described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein by way of example only with reference to the drawings. Referring now in detail to the drawings, it is to be emphasized that the details shown are exemplary and are for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, for those skilled in the art, the description in conjunction with the drawings makes it apparent how to implement the embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] In the drawings:

[0039] Figure 1 is a simplified schematic view of a clothing feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a simplified view of a side view of an embodiment.

[0041] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a simplified view of a side view of an embodiment, where the gripper is in a different position;

[0042] Figure 4 is shown from below Figure 1 the feeder;

[0043] Figure 5 is shown from behind Figure 1 the embodiment and shows the relative widths of the rod and the tray;

[0044] Figure 6 isFigure 1 A simplified diagram of a feeder, where a camera takes an image from above; and

[0045] Figure 7 is a simplified diagram showing the process of loading a garment feeder for printing according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description

[0046] In some embodiments of the present invention, the present invention relates to a garment feeder, and more specifically but not exclusively, to a garment feeder for feeding a garment into a printer.

[0047] In many printers, especially digital printers, the textile to be printed is placed on a tray, which carries the textile through the printer and provides support for the textile during printing.

[0048] In some cases, ready-to-wear garment printing differs from textile printing in that the garment is fitted around the tray with the side to be printed on top of the tray and the other side of the garment under the tray. Typically, trays for ready-to-wear garments have a formed collar to make it easier for the operator to mount the garment around the tray.

[0049] In some machines, the operator places the end of the garment on the collar, and then a robotic gripper grabs the end of the garment and pulls the garment onto the tray. The operator must take care to place the garment symmetrically on the tray, otherwise the printing may be crooked or misaligned. However, the operator has only about two seconds to set up the garment, so there is little time to focus on correct positioning. If the garment is misaligned after being pulled by the robotic gripper, the operator must manually adjust the gripper or adjust the garment on the tray.

[0050] This embodiment detects the width of the garment and can check the alignment of the garment relative to the tray. The sensor can be on or above the tray. One embodiment can provide a horizontal bar spanning in front of the tray collar. The sensor can measure the position where the bar is blocked by the garment, thereby determining the size of the garment or whether the garment is symmetrically placed. In the case where the bar is asymmetrical, one or the other gripper can be adjusted until the garment is symmetrically positioned on the bar. Additionally or alternatively, a warning or alarm can be issued to the operator for manual adjustment. The adjustment can be to the garment itself or to the gripper holding the garment.

[0051] More specifically, the present embodiment can provide a garment feeder for feeding garments for printing. The garment feeder includes: a loading position for a tray; and a robotic gripper that is movable through the loading position to grip a garment from a first side of the loading position and pull the garment along a garment pulling direction to a second side of the loading position to load the garment onto the tray at the loading position. The garment being loaded slides over the rod at the loading position on the first side of the tray perpendicular to the garment pulling direction, and the rod is associated with one or more sensors to detect whether the garment is being pulled by the gripper over the rod, symmetrically covering the rod. If not, the garment is adjusted to achieve correct printing positioning.

[0052] Before explaining in detail at least one embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the construction details and arrangements of the components and / or methods set forth in the following description and / or illustrated in the drawings and / or embodiments. The present invention is capable of having other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

[0053] Now referring to the drawings, Figure 1 There is shown a feeder 10 for a garment printer. The feeder 10 includes a mechanical garment gripping device having two garment grippers 12 on a robotic arm 11. The feeder also includes a tray 14 having a flange 16. The tray is shown in a garment loading or a parked position, and a horizontal rod 18 is placed on the garment feeding side of the tray 14, spanning the front of the tray, for measuring the lateral position of the garment. The grippers grip the ends of the garment 20 at two positions to pull the garment 20 over the rod 18, over the flange 16 and onto the tray 14, such that the tray fits inside the garment and the side of the garment to be printed is on the upper side of the tray. In an alternative embodiment, no crossbar is added and the garment is loaded directly onto the tray and measured directly in the view of the tray, without a crossbar in between. A print button 22 can be used to operate the feeder to convey the garment for printing.

[0054] In use, when the garment is placed over the flange 16, the garment grippers cross over the tray 14 with the robotic arm 11 and grip the ends of the garment provided by the operator. In an alternative embodiment, the operator is not involved and the gripper grabs the top garment from a stack of garments and pulls the garment over the rod (if any) and then onto the tray. There are typically two robotic arms 11, with grippers 12 at each arm end at two positions for gripping the ends of the garment. Then the grippers pull the garment over the length of the tray 14 such that the garment encloses the tray. The side of the garment to be printed is placed face up on the tray and longitudinally along the tray for printing.

[0055] The clothing feeder includes a loading position for the tray, Figure 1 showing the tray 14 in the loading position.

[0056] The rod 18 extends horizontally through the front of the loading position, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tray, and may be slightly below the flange to allow the clothing loaded onto the tray to pass over the rod. The rod is associated with a sensor for sensing whether the clothing is symmetrically placed. That is, one or more sensors detect which part of the rod is blocked by the clothing currently being loaded. The detection gives two pieces of information. First, it provides information on whether the clothing is symmetrically placed on the rod, and second, it detects the width of the clothing, which will be discussed in more detail below. As described above, the tray can be used directly for detection without the rod. The tray is the end aligned with the clothing such that the clothing is symmetrically arranged on the tray. Thus, in one embodiment, the detection of the clothing is carried out directly against the tray without the mediation of the rod.

[0057] However, using the rod is advantageous because it simplifies the system and provides an intermediate part for the operator to more easily see the clothing and align the clothing with the tray.

[0058] An alarm device (such as an optional screen 24) or an audible alarm device can give an alarm status to tell the operator that the clothing is not symmetrically located on the rod. In this case, the operator can manually adjust the placement of the clothing, for example, by adjusting one of the grippers. In this case, one or both grippers can be manually adjusted. The adjustment can be made by the naked eye, or the measurement can continue on the rod so that the operator adjusts the clothing until the alarm disappears, or the adjustment can be made using some combination of the naked eye and the machine.

[0059] Alternatively or additionally, a gripper regulator 26 (which can be part of the robot controller of a robotic arm) can electronically adjust one or both grippers to move the clothing to a symmetric position. The gripper regulator can be a motion controller and can operate the actuators in one or both robotic arms to move one or both grippers. The movement of the grippers can be coordinated with the continuous measurement of the symmetry of the clothing on the rod so that the clothing reaches a symmetric position.

[0060] Sensing can be performed in any suitable way to determine which part of the rod is blocked by the clothing. In one embodiment, touch or proximity sensors can extend along the rod to distinguish the position along the rod where the clothing touches or blocks, thereby determining whether the clothing is symmetrically positioned. The sensors on the rod can be individually addressable so that the signal position can be immediately converted to the clothing position.

[0061] In another embodiment, the light source may be located above the rod and above the horizontal plane on which the garment is placed, and a series of light sensors (which can typically be individually addressed) or an elongate light sensor having addressable segments is positioned along the rod. The light sensors determine which parts of the rod are obscured by the garment. In one variant, light sources such as small LEDs are placed along the rod, and a camera detects which light sources are blocked. As a further alternative, the rod may simply have markings, such as a scale, and a camera from above can use the markings and image processing to determine the width and position of the garment. It should be noted that the image processing does not have to judge symmetry, but only represents the positions along the rod of the two lateral outer edges of the garment.

[0062] In addition to indicating whether the garment is symmetrically located on the rod, one embodiment can compare the detected width of the garment with an expected width and provide an alert when the measured width is different from the expected width. Thus, if the wrong-sized garment is inadvertently loaded, printing may be stopped. For example, the expected size can be obtained numerically from the source defining the order, or it can be obtained from a barcode used to set up the machine for a particular order. In one embodiment, in the case of detection using an optical sensor such as a camera, the camera can also detect the color of the garment, and an alert can be provided if the color of the loaded garment is different from the expected color.

[0063] Figure 2 A side view of the tray and the clamping arm in front of the rod 18 is shown. Figure 3 Clamping arms in different positions are shown.

[0064] Figure 4 The rod is shown from below and the sensor 28 located on the rod is drawn. As shown, the sensor is mounted in a hole in the rod and protrudes upward to sense the occlusion caused by the garment 20. Since the garment itself is likely to be wet or carry various pre-printed chemicals, such an embodiment allows the sensor to be powered in a manner isolated from the garment itself.

[0065] Figure 5 A view seen from behind the rod 18 and the tray 14 is shown. As Figure 5As shown in the embodiment, the rod is slightly lower than the height of the tray in the loading position, such that the garment naturally slides onto the rod when placed on the tray. Additionally, the rod can be wider than the tray, so that the entire width of the garment lies flat on the rod. In contrast, on the tray, the garment conforms to the three dimensions around the tray and thus occupies less width. The gripper moves between two settings, approximately 500 millimeters and approximately 590 millimeters, as shown by the experiments listed in Table 1 below.

[0066] Referring now to Table 1, the test results for four different sizes of garments are shown, where the distance between the grippers is set to 500 millimeters and 590 millimeters, as Figure 5 shown. The first column identifies the specific garment being tested and uses two different garments. The results show that for M, L, and XL sizes, a setting of 500 millimeters between the grippers allows for a 10 - millimeter placement error to be corrected within 2 seconds. For the 3XL size, only 11 out of 20 tests were successful. For a larger gripper spacing (i.e., 590 millimeters), all 20 tests were also successful for the 3XL size.

[0067]

[0068] Figure 6 A perspective view as seen from above the rod 18, the flange 16, and the tray 14 is shown. The camera 30 located above the rod uses the markings on the rod and image processing to calculate the position of the garment on the rod. Such an embodiment has the advantage of not requiring circuitry on the rod.

[0069] Referring now to Figure 7 , Figure 7 is a simplified schematic flowchart illustrating the process of operating the garment feeder according to this embodiment. The tray arrives at the loading position in the feeder opposite the rod of the tray 14 (block 40). Then, the garment is either clamped onto the rod or directly onto the tray (block 42). This may involve the operator providing the unfolded garment above the rod to the gripper, which grasps the upper side of the garment. Alternatively, the operator may not be involved, and the gripper may pick up the garment from a stack of garments and pull it onto the rod or directly onto the tray.

[0070] Then, the rod and associated sensors determine whether the garment is symmetrically placed (block 44). If not, the gripper is adjusted (block 46), and the garment is pulled to the end of the tray (block 48). Finally, in block 50, the symmetrically loaded tray is sent to the printer and the garment is printed.

[0071] It is expected that during the term of the patent for this application, many related sensor and robotics technologies will be developed; and the scope of the corresponding terms as well as all other terms in this document are intended to include all such new technologies that are deductive (priori).

[0072] The terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", "including", "having" and their inflections mean "including but not limited to".

[0073] The term "consisting of" means "including but not limited to".

[0074] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0075] It will be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment in the present invention may also be provided separately, or in any suitable sub-combination, or in any other described embodiment applicable to the present invention. The specific features described in the context of the various embodiments are not to be regarded as essential features of those embodiments unless the embodiment would not function without those elements.

[0076] Although the invention has been described in connection with its specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be obvious. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0077] All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into this specification. To the extent that each individual publication, patent, or patent application is specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference herein. Additionally, any reference cited or identified should not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. The title section in this application is used herein to make the specification easy to understand and should not be construed as a necessary limitation. Additionally, any priority document of this application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into this document.

Claims

1. A clothing feeder for advancing clothing for printing, characterized in that: The garment feeder comprises: a loading position for a pallet; a clamping unit configured to clamp the garment and pull the garment onto the tray; at least one sensor associated with the tray for detecting the position of a lateral edge of a garment pulled onto the tray by the gripping unit; and a rod extending perpendicular to the loading direction on a garment loading side of the loading position, the rod being located in a plane of the pallet loaded at the loading position, the garment feeder being configured to use the detected position relative to the rod to determine whether the garment is symmetrically pulled laterally onto the pallet based on the position of the lateral edge relative to the rod, and to provide an indication based on the determination.

2. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The garment feeder further includes an alarm device configured to generate an alarm state when the at least one sensor detects that the pulled garment is not pulled laterally symmetrically on the tray.

3. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping unit includes two arms and at least two clamping ends, which are movable across the loading position to clamp the garment from a first side of the loading position and pull the garment to a second side of the loading position along a pulling direction to load the garment onto the tray located at the loading position.

4. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The garment feeder further includes a clamping adjuster configured to adjust at least two clamps to move the garment to a symmetrical position, or configured to adjust a distance between the at least two clamps to clamp the garment at an adjusted width.

5. The clothing feeder according to claim 4, wherein: The gripper adjuster includes a motion controller configured to operate an actuator to move at least one of the at least two grippers.

6. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one sensor includes at least one touch sensor or proximity sensor along the length of the rod or the tray to distinguish between locations along the rod or the tray that are contacted by the garment and locations along the rod or the tray that are not contacted by the garment.

7. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one sensor includes at least one light sensor along the length of the rod to distinguish between locations along the rod or the tray that are obscured by the garment and locations along the rod or the tray that are not obscured by the garment.

8. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one sensor includes at least one camera above the rod or the tray to distinguish between locations along the rod or the tray that are contacted by the garment and locations along the rod or the tray that are not contacted by the garment.

9. The clothing feeder according to claim 8, characterized in that: The pole includes markings visible to the at least one camera.

10. The clothing feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The garment feeder is further configured to determine a width of the garment based on the output of the at least one sensor.

11. The clothing feeder according to claim 10, characterized in that: The garment feeder is further configured to output an alarm when the determined width is different from an expected width.

12. A method for feeding clothing, used to advance the clothing for printing, characterized in that: The method comprises: positioning a pallet in a loading position; Mechanically clamping the garment from a first side of the loading position and pulling the garment to a second side of the loading position along a garment pulling direction to load the garment onto the tray; and Detect to determine the respective outer positions of the first and second lateral edges of the garment pulled onto the tray, the detection using a horizontal bar located in front of the first side of the tray and perpendicular to the pulling direction of the garment, the horizontal bar having markings for positioning the lateral edges; Compare one outer position of the detected lateral edge with another outer position to determine whether the garment is symmetrically pulled onto the tray; and Give an indication when it is determined that the garment is not symmetrically pulled onto the tray.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The method includes using the positions of the lateral edges to determine whether the garment is symmetrically pulled onto the tray.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The method includes using a horizontal bar located in front of the first side of the tray and perpendicular to the pulling direction of the garment to detect the lateral edges.

15. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, wherein: The method further includes: giving an alarm status when at least one sensor detects that the pulled garment is asymmetrically located on at least one of the horizontal bar and the tray.

16. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, wherein: The method includes: Using at least two grippers extending across the loading position to grip the garment; and Adjusting the at least two grippers to move the garment to a symmetric position.

17. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 16, wherein: The method includes operating an actuator to move at least one of the at least two grippers.

18. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, wherein: The method includes sensing contact with the garment along the length of the horizontal bar to distinguish the positions along the horizontal bar or the tray where the garment makes contact from the positions along the horizontal bar or the tray where the garment does not make contact.

19. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that: The method includes sensing light along the length of the horizontal bar or the tray to distinguish the positions along the horizontal bar or the tray where the garment blocks the light from the positions along the horizontal bar or the tray where the garment does not block the light.

20. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, wherein: The method includes taking an image from above the horizontal bar or the tray to distinguish the positions along the horizontal bar or the tray where the garment makes contact from the positions along the horizontal bar or the tray where the garment does not make contact.

21. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that: The method includes determining the width of the garment based on the sensing.

22. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 21, wherein: The method includes giving an alarm when the determined width is different from an expected width.

23. The method for feeding clothing as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that: The method includes detecting the color of the garment and giving an alarm if the color is different from an expected color.

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