Assembly for handling clothes on hangers

Claim 2

Assembly for programmed controlled handling and transport­ing objects, garments, clothes or the like, comprising a leading and guidance (80) system for driverless vehicles, a manipulator (43) connected with said vehicle (1) for automatical taking and/or release of said objects (62) from or to a transfer, working, storage or the like station (81, 82), said manipulator (43) has gripping means (57, 58) moveable from an open to a closed position and vice versa, said gripping means (57, 58) are shiftable within four degrees of freedom, storage (21) means related to said gripping means and situated on said vehicle (2) in working connection with said gripping means, on-bord computer for controlling said manipulator and said storage means and a control station with a host computer (86) for controlling the handling and transporting of said object by the assembly within a factory, warehouse or the like.

Claim 3

Assembly for handling and transporting garments hanging on hangers according to claim 1, comprising: -A system of vertical teleskobic tubes with two external fixed tubes (31), another tube (32) intermediate between them, movable and guided longitudinally upon them, and another inner tube (37) to the intermediate tube, movable and guided longitudinally upon it, a motor (35) which can be controlled in position and which activates a system of transmission of movement such that moves at the same time the inner tube with respect to the intermediate and the intermediate with respect to the two external tubes, and an horizontal tube (43) fixed to the inner vertical tube (37), another horizontal tube (44), movable and longitudinally guided along the fixed horizontal tube and a movable clamp (6) which is guided longitudinally over the movable horizontal tube, the system of movement being formed by a motor (50) which can be controlled in position and which activates a system of transmission of movement such that moves at the same time the clamp with respect to the movable horizontal tube and this one with respect to the horizontal fixed tube until a certain distance established in both directions from an intermediate position (Figure 7A), being then the clamp standing still with respect to the horizontal movable tube while this is moving with respect to the tube yonder than the established distance.

Claim 4

A manipulator apparatus according to claim 2, in which the means of transmission of movement to the clamp include a piece (68) which slides longitudinally guided along the horizontal movable tube (44) while it is attached to the fixed horizontal tube (43) in a proper lodging and which slides (45, 46) guided longitudinally along the fixed horizontal tube in one of the two proper lodgings which the tube has, being automatically done the change of position of that piece from one tube to another when the lodging on the fixed horizontal tube gets front to front to one of the two lodging in the movable horizontal tube, and being that sliding piece rigidly joined to the clamp to traction and flexible means (67) surrounding the horizontal movable tube by its two extremes.

Claim 5

A manipulator apparatus according to claim 2 in which the clamp includes two horizontal faced arms (57), being placed in parallel to the horizontal tube (43), and which have in their extremes fastening means (58) made out by stiff and plain clamp pieces (58) from which emerge another stiff to bending and shear and very elastic to compression means such as pins (60) that are supported by a very elastic medium, like foams (61), guided over the thickness of the rigid and plain pieces, and in which the horizontal arms (57) joined by their central part to the clamp mechanism in such a way that the action of clamping could be done indistinctly by the two extremes of the horizontal bars.

Claim 6

A manipulator apparatus according to claim 4 in which the clamp includes: - Two opposite bars (54) hinged by an extreme to a threaded piece (53) that moves longitudinally along a threaded shaft (52) when this rotates and by the other extreme to each of two levers (55) which fasten in their lower end the horizontal arms (57), the levers (55) being supported in fixed axis (56) around they can tilt when the threaded shaft (53) rotates, and being related the torque stiffness of the Levers sections between the support and the lower end and the bending stiffness of the horizontal bars in order to obtain a minimum clamping pressure for a given variation of the hanger (62) width and for a determined course of the threaded piece. - A motor (51) that rotates the forementioned threaded shaft (52) in one or the opposite direction, depending that the threaded piece is in one extreme or the other of its stroke, until the threaded piece (53) reaches the other extreme of the stroke, and being detected the presence of the threaded piece in such extremes by adequate means like micro switches.

Claim 7

A manipulator apparatus according to claim 2 in which the clamp (6) has got two tracers (74) placed on both sides of the frame (106) of the clamp and parallel to the horizontal tubes (43, 44) with means for detecting in a going down movement actual vertical position of a horizontal bar, and afterwards in horizontal movement, the actual horizontal position of that bar, being such bar positions previously known with certain tolerances.

Claim 8

A manipulator apparatus according to claim 2 which includes a dynamic support (21) of garments (62) hanging on hangers able to collect one by one those which are left by the clamps (6) and able to provide the stored garments one by one in a sequential or random order, in a way that could be picked by the clamp.

Claim 9

Assembly according to claim 2 comprising an automatically controlled manipulator apparatus (25, 26), which can pick the hangers(62), from which hang the garments, from bars placed in a variable and known position with a certain degree of security by a common area (81) to all the hangers placed at some distance from the hook, and unhang them from the bar and to load a dynamic support of hangers included in the manipulator; or pick them from that dynamic support and hang them on bars placed in variable position known with a certain degree of security.

Claim 10

Assembly according to claim 8 comprising toothed longitudinal pieces (83) clamped upon the hanging bar for inhibiting spinning of the hangers (62) hanging with respect to a vertical axis of the apparatus.

Claim 11

Assembly according to one ore more of the proceeding claims, comprising a security system to detect external or internal incidences by sensors (20) and/or switches (79) activated by moving parts of the dynamic support for shortening the motor circuits.