Softness meter for planar elements

Abstract

A softness meter (1) comprising a body (9) which comprises a first and a second locking surface (2, 3) which face each other and which are configured so that one of the two surfaces is mobile and can move closer and further away from the other to pass from a closed configuration in which the surfaces (2, 3) are in contact with each other to an open one in which they are spaced apart; it being provided that the mobile locking surface (3) has a hole for the passage of a rod (5) equipped with a tip which is subject to the action of a weight (6) capable of normally pushing said tip towards the further locking surface (2); it being provided a sensor (14) capable of measuring the softness of a leather sample capable of being retained by the locking surfaces (2, 3); it being provided a leverage system pivoted at a pin (10) on the body (9) and comprising a control lever (8), suitable for being controlled by a user, rigidly fixed to a second lever (7) suitable for acting on the weight (6) to lift it following the movement of the control lever (8) when operated by a user; said control lever (8) acting only for a limited portion of its rotation around the pin (10), by means of hooking means (11), also on a third lever (4) always suitable for rotating around the pin (10), and which controls the movement of approaching and moving away the mobile locking surface (3) from the second locking surface (2); said coupling means (11) being configured so that, when the locking surfaces (2, 3) are in contact with each other, the third lever (4) and the control lever (8) are disengaged from each other to allow the weight (6) to continue its downward movement; it being provided that, when the locking surfaces (2, 3) come into mutual contact the tip of the rod (5) is still raised with respect to them and is capable of descending towards them under the effect of the weight (6).

Description

SOFTNESS METER FOR PLANAR ELEMENTS

[0001] The present invention concerns a softness meter for planar elements according to claim 1.

[0002] Said softness meter is suitable for measuring the softness of samples of materials such as leather, fabrics, non-woven fabrics, plastic materials and the like with a substantially planar shape. In this description, the term “sample” means any easily deformable material with a planar shape that has a reduced thickness and that, following a measuring operation according to the invention, is able to elastically return substantially to the original conditions, tolerating even slight variations.

[0003] The measurement of the softness of a sample is often used for production controls, in order to ensure uniformity of softness in each batch of products that include the material of which the sample is composed of and, for example for leather, allows to determine the optimal duration of dry milling or the degree of staking.

[0004] Currently, the measurement of the softness of a sample is carried out using known devices that use a punch that is pushed against the sample with a predefined force and the penetration of the punch into the sample is measured. The measurement methods are illustrated in the ISO 17235 standard.

[0005] The systems known in the art are very bulky and mechanically complex and are slow to perform the measurement.

[0006] The most important document of the state of the art is the patent document US 2 258 424 A, which describes (the references in brackets refer to this document) a softness meter preferably dedicated to the measurement of the hardness of the internal walls of a hollow or tubular element in which the measurement occurs by placing the element to be measured on a "V-block" (57) that is suitable for supporting tube-shaped elements and lifting said block (57) until the element to be measured comes into contact with a penetrator (25) that has a pointed tip and that slightly penetrates the element to be measured. A complex system of levers operated by a user then acts on the penetrator (25) in order to make it penetrate further into the element to be measured to obtain the softness measurement.

[0007] The fact that the element to be measured immediately comes into contact with the penetrator (25), which will then carry out the measurement, is not optimal since this does not provide sufficient stability to the element to be measured which can move slightly during the measurement as it is held in place only by a single point of contact.

[0008] Furthermore, the device is dedicated to tubular elements, hence the need to have a "V-block" to keep them in position. It is not particularly suitable for measuring the softness of planar elements.

[0009] Another relevant state of the art document is US patent document 2021 / 325286 A1 which describes (the references in brackets refer to this document) a softness meter comprising a body comprising a first and a second locking surface (150a, 150b) facing each other and configured so that one of the two surfaces is movable and can move towards and away from each other to switch from a closed configuration in which the surfaces are in contact with each other to an open configuration in which they are spaced apart. The movable locking surface is subject to the action of a weight (140) capable of normally pushing said movable locking surface towards the other locking surface.

[0010] The softness measurement is carried out by the two surfaces (150a, 150b). This does not allow for an optimal measurement since there is no system that holds the element to be measured in position before the measurement. If, for example, the element to be measured were a piece of leather, it could move or not be well stretched when the two surfaces come into contact and this would return inconsistent measurements between one measurement and another.

[0011] Another relevant state-of-the-art document is patent document GB 127 412 A which describes (the references in brackets refer to this document) a softness meter that performs the measurement using a striking sphere (26) that impacts the element to be tested.

[0012] Also in this case there is no system that holds the element to be measured in position before the measurement and the same problems described above arise.

[0013] The purpose of this invention is to provide a softness meter that has a simple, easy and quick to use mechanics and that allows to obtain correct and consistent softness measurements during different measurements.

[0014] This is achieved by means of a device that has the characteristics described in claim 1.

[0015] Further advantages and characteristics of the invention will become more evident from the description of a possible embodiment provided for non-limiting purposes only, with the aid of the attached drawings where:

[0016] figs. 1 to 3 represent a softness meter according to the invention in three phases of its operation, respectively from an open configuration () to a closed one ().

[0017] The softness meter 1 illustrated in the attached figures comprises a body 9 which, in turn, comprises a first and a second locking surface 2, 3 which face each other and which are configured so that one of the two surfaces is mobile and can move closer and further away from the other to pass from a closed configuration, in which the surfaces 2, 3 are in contact with each other, to an open one in which they are spaced apart.

[0018] In the embodiment, the mobile surface is identified with the reference 3, while the surface 2 is fixed.

[0019] The locking surfaces 2, 3 allow the user to insert, for example, the skin 20, whose softness needs to be measured, between them when they are in the open configuration. They can subsequently close to retain said skin 20 during the measurement.

[0020] The surface 2 may have a concavity facing the other surface 3 so to not be perfectly flat, in order to allow the skin to deform better during the softness measurement.

[0021] This improves the quality of the measurement because the skin is not in contact with a surface and so the measurement is based on its actual stretch and softness properties.

[0022] The mobile locking surface 3 has a hole for the passage of a rod 5 equipped with a tip that is subject to the action of a weight 6 capable of normally pushing said tip towards the locking surface 2.

[0023] To carry out the softness measurement, a sensor 14 is provided which, advantageously, has a display to show the result of the analysis, advantageously in mm. Advantageously, the sensor allows to measure the penetration distance of the rod 5 subjected to the action of the weight 6 once it comes into contact with the skin 20.

[0024] The process of lifting and lowering the locking surfaces 2, 3, of the rod 5 and of the weight 6 is allowed by a leverage system pivoted at a pin 10 on the body 9 and comprising a control lever 8, suitable for being controlled by a user, rigidly fixed to a second lever 7 suitable for acting on the weight 6 to lift it following the movement of the control lever 8 when operated by the user. Said control lever 8 acts only for a limited portion of its rotation around the pin 10, by means of hooking means 11, also on a third lever 4, suitable for rotating around the pin 10, and which controls the movement of the movable locking surface 3 towards and away from the locking surface 2.

[0025] Said coupling means 11 are configured so that, when the locking surfaces 2, 3 are in contact with each other, the third lever 4 and the control lever 8 are disengaged from each other to allow the weight 6 (and therefore the second lever 7) to continue its downward movement.

[0026] It is provided that, when the locking surfaces 2, 3 come into mutual contact, the tip of the rod 5 is still raised with respect to them and is capable of descending towards them under the effect of the weight 6.

[0027] It is further provided that, the weight 6 does not in any way influence the contact force between the locking surfaces 2, 3.

[0028] With this particular leverage, it is obtained a system that is easy to make and use and allows softness measurements to be obtained in a few seconds in a consistent way.

[0029] In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the coupling means 11 include an arm 11' that protrudes transversally from the third lever 4 and is located below the control lever 8 to come in contact with it when it is pushed downwards by a user, according to the illustrated configuration.

[0030] With the configuration illustrated in the figures, the user simply presses on the control lever 8 () to lift the weight 6 by means of the second lever 7 and, by means of the hooking means 11, lifts the third lever 4 and consequently the mobile locking surface 3.

[0031] Once the locking surfaces 2, 3 are separated, the user can insert the skin 20 between them and slightly release the lever 8 until said surfaces 2, 3 sandwich the skin 20 (). After this, the hooking means 11 disengage and the movement of the lever 8 and the second lever 7 becomes independent from that of the third lever 4. This allows the weight 6 to descend downwards while the locking surfaces 2, 3 always sandwich the skin 20 between them, holding it firmly.

[0032] Preferably, an elastic element 12 may be provided, such as a spiral spring, which acts to normally push the third lever 4 to keep the surfaces 2, 3 in mutual contact. With this configuration, the force with which said surfaces 2, 3 hold the skin to be measured is increased.

[0033] In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the elastic element 12 consists of a spiral spring placed around the pin 10 with one of its arms 12' resting on a projection 13 of the body 9 and with the other arm pushing on the third lever 4.

[0034] Advantageously, the body 9 may have a "U" shape with the locking surfaces 2, 3 placed at the ends of the linear sections of the "U".

[0035] Advantageously, the weight 6 gives a weight of 500g.

[0036] Advantageously the control lever 8 has a support surface 8’ ergonomically shaped for a user’s finger to facilitate the operation of the device.

[0037] From the above it is evident that a softness meter of the invention is a mechanically simple, low-cost solution that allows for fast and reliable measurements.

[0038] While the inventive concept has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are not limiting, but illustrative. The invention is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1.Softness meter (1) comprising a body (9) comprising a first and a second locking surface (2, 3) which face each other and which are configured so that one of the two surfaces is mobile and can move closer and further away from the other to pass from a closed configuration in which the surfaces (2, 3) are in contact with each other to an open one in which they are spaced apart;it being provided that the mobile locking surface (3) has a hole for the passage of a rod (5) equipped with a tip which is subject to the action of a weight (6) capable of normally pushing said tip towards the other locking surface (2);it being provided a sensor (14) capable of measuring the softness of a sample capable of being retained by the locking surfaces (2, 3);it being provided a lever system pivoted at a pin (10) on the body (9) and comprising a control lever (8), suitable for being controlled by a user, rigidly fixed to a second lever (7) suitable for acting on the weight (6) to lift it following the movement of the control lever (8) when operated by a user; said control lever (8) acting only for a limited portion of its rotation around the pin (10), by means of hooking means (11), also on a third lever (4), suitable for rotating around the pin (10), and which controls the movement of approaching and moving away the mobile locking surface (3) from the second locking surface (2);said coupling means (11) being configured so that, when the locking surfaces (2, 3) are in contact with each other, the third lever (4) and the control lever (8) are disengaged from each other to allow the weight (6) to continue its downward movement;it being provided that, when the locking surfaces (2, 3) come into mutual contact, the tip of the rod (5) is still raised with respect to them and is capable of descending towards them under the effect of the weight (6);it being further provided that, the weight (6) does not in any way influence the contact force between the locking surfaces (2, 3).2.Softness meter (1) according to claim 1, in which the second locking surface (2) has a concavity facing the first locking surface (3).3.Softness meter (1) according to any of the previous claims, wherein an elastic element (12) is included which acts to normally push the third lever (4) to keep the surfaces (2, 3) in mutual contact.4.Softness meter (1) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the elastic element (12) is a spiral spring placed around the pin (10) with one of its arms (12’) resting on a projection (13) of the body (9) and with the other arm pushing on the third lever (4).5.Softness meter (1) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the control lever (8) has an ergonomic support surface (8’) for a user’s finger.6.Softness meter (1) according to any of the previous claims wherein the body (9) has a “U” shape with the locking surfaces (2, 3) positioned at the ends of the linear sections of the “U”.7.Softness meter (1) according to any of the previous claims wherein the coupling means (11) comprise an arm (11’) which protrudes transversally from the third lever (4) and is located below the control lever (8).

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