Textile Boarding Machine Layout With Independent Shape Carriers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current textile article boarding and semi-boarding machines are inflexible, complex, and occupy significant space, limiting their ability to handle diverse textile products and posing ergonomic challenges for operators due to their rigid circular structure and simultaneous movement of shapes during loading.
Innovation Solution
A method and machine design where textile articles are fed onto independently moving supporting shapes along a polygonal pathway, allowing for flexible positioning and treatment phases, with towing means operating in phase relation to optimize space usage and ergonomics, enabling single or multiple step movements along linear stretches to accommodate various products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a turntable with rigidly positioned boarding shapes is used, then the machine structure is simple, but the machine lacks flexibility for different textile articles and occupies considerable space
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is divided into multiple independent modules: a loading station, multiple processing stations (steaming, pressing, drying), and independent shape carriers that can be positioned at different stations. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently and enables flexible configuration for different textile products without requiring a complex rotational turntable structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The boarding shapes are mounted on movable carriers that can be dynamically positioned at different processing stations according to the specific treatment requirements of different textile articles. This dynamic positioning capability provides versatility for handling various products while maintaining a relatively simple linear machine structure compared to a rotational turntable.
2Productivity
If a turntable with multiple shapes moving simultaneously is used, then the boarding treatment can be accomplished, but the machine occupies considerable space and limits the number of shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The machine transitions from a rotational two-dimensional turntable layout to a linear one-dimensional arrangement with multiple processing stations positioned along a pathway. This dimensional change allows for more efficient space utilization and enables a greater number of shapes to be processed within a compact footprint by arranging stations in sequence rather than around a circle.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple processing functions (steaming, pressing, drying) are nested within a compact linear framework, with each processing station containing its specific equipment. This nesting approach maximizes the utilization of available space and allows for a high density of processing capabilities within a limited area.
3Productivity
If the turntable moves in single or multiple steps with all shapes moving simultaneously, then the boarding treatment is achieved, but the loading operation becomes ergonomically challenging for operators
Solution Approach 1:
The loading operation is segmented into independent loading zones at each processing station, allowing operators to load shapes sequentially at different locations along the linear pathway. This segmentation eliminates the need for operators to handle multiple shapes simultaneously at a single loading point, significantly improving ergonomics while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Independent movable carriers serve as intermediaries between the loading station and processing stations. These carriers can be loaded individually at the loading station and then transported to different processing stations, allowing operators to work at a comfortable, fixed loading position without the ergonomic challenges of handling multiple shapes simultaneously on a rotating turntable.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a rotational turntable structure is used, then the boarding shapes can be positioned, but the complex structure increases manufacturing cost and maintenance requirements
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of rotating the boarding shapes on a turntable to achieve positioning, the invention inverts the approach by moving the processing stations along a linear pathway to reach the shapes. This inversion simplifies the overall machine structure, reducing manufacturing complexity and maintenance requirements while maintaining the capability to position and treat boarding shapes effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
Textile articles to be treated are fed on to shapes fitted to supporting members. Gliding independently each other on a platform of the boarding or semi-boarding machine, and positioned in mutual contact at respective sides along a polygonal pathway defined by a guiding device. The supporting members are transported in step along the polygonal pathway, by the engagement with a towing device acting independently at each linear stretch of the polygonal pathway, so that in each step at least one position at the concurrence of two linear stretches of the polygonal pathway is maintained unoccupied. At least one of the supporting members, on which the textile articles to be treated are fed, is arranged in a halt position upstream from a semi-boarding station and then is moved to take the shapes into the semi-boarding station. After the semi-boarding treatment, this supporting member is transferred to a station where the textile articles, treated, are extracted from the shapes.