GB2516649A

GB2516649A - Lifting and placement of gloves

Info

Publication number: GB2516649A
Application number: GB1313457.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan William Stollery; Kim Marie Stollery
Original assignee: Altevo Ltd
Current assignee: Altevo Ltd
Priority date: 2013-07-29
Filing date: 2013-07-29
Publication date: 2015-02-04
Anticipated expiration: 2033-07-29
Also published as: GB201313457D0; GB2516649B

Abstract

A glove lifting and placement apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system. The glove lifting system comprises a lifting head 20 and first and second pneumatic pressure sources 31, 32. The lifting head 20 comprises a downwardly directed nozzle 23 and a grille 26. A first lifting suction 21 is applied through the nozzle 23 from the first pneumatic pressure source 31 to a first portion of the glove. A second lifting suction 22 is applied through the grille 26 from the second pneumatic pressure source 32 to a second portion of the glove. The control system then causes the lifting head 20 to lift and move the glove from one location to another. The grille 26 may be forwards of the nozzle 23 relative to the direction of motion from one location to another. The first lifting suction 21 may be applied prior to the second lifting suction 22. The nozzle 23 may span a first area of a glove and the grille 26 may span a second area, the first area may be between 2% and 10% of the second area. The grille 26 may consist of a series of elongate slots 25 in the lifting head 20. The slots 25 may be in a direction transverse to cuff edge of glove and they may extend from the nozzle 23 in a forwards direction relative to direction of movement. The lifting head 20 may have an expansion conduit which may have a rectangular cross section. The lifting system may apply a positive pneumatic pressure and/or a negative pneumatic pressure.

Description

Lifting and Placement of Gloves

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for lifting gloves one at a time from a stack of gloves and depositing each of said lifted gloves on a surface, and particularly to the use of such an apparatus or method in a system or method of preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing of the stack into a container for dispensing from a glove dispenser.

b. Related Art There is an increasing need to control infection of patients in hospitals, clinics, and doctors' surgeries from infectious bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, in particular methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Research has also shown that if someone has MRSA on their hands, the bacteria would be left on the next four surfaces touched by that person. Once MRSA is on an item it will remain there for up to 80 days unless that item is cleaned. C. difficile will remain active on surfaces much longer than that. One effective and inexpensive way to control such contamination is the use of disposable inspection gloves.

In order to maximise the number of gloves than can be packed in a box, it is important that gloves are stacked as uniformly as possible, and also that as much air as possible is expelled from within the stack. If gloves are stacked sufficiently flat and compressed after stacking to remove excess air, then it is possible to pack up to 500 disposable interfolded nitrile gloves of a relatively thin thickness (rated at 6 Newtons tear strength) into a card material box having external dimensions of about 130 mm wide by 120 mm deep by 230 mm high. This height of box is standard for several types of known glove box holder. This is double the number of gloves that would normally be provided in a dispensing box having these dimensions. Providing this many gloves inside a single box is a great convenience in a clinical or medical work place.

Examples of manual and automatic production systems for packing such gloves into a box or dispenser are disclosed in patent documents WO 2010/020782 and WO 2011/048414. Automatic production systems work most effectively when gloves are presented to a packing station in a predictable or regular manner by a conveyor, for example a belt conveyor. At the packing station, the gloves are first stacked, either flat or folded over, for cuff-first dispensing from a glove dispenser.

Gloves may then either be packed directly in a glove dispenser or may be enclosed in a packet, for example a card material sleeve or a plastic bag prior to packing or loading into a glove dispenser, for example a glove dispensing box. It is preferable if the gloves are interfolded with the finger portion of each glove wrapping behind the cuff portion of the next glove so that each cuff is pulled partially out of the dispensing opening by the finger portion of the glove being dispensed.

Disposable inspection gloves are increasingly made from nitrile, owing to its relatively low cost, good flexibility and elasticity and non-allergenic properties.

Such gloves are flexible, relatively thin and have a relatively high coefficient of friction. The gloves are produced on a mould or tool, often referred to as a "former", having the shape of a downward hanging wrist and hand. The former is dipped into a liquid bath and then raised out of the bath and heated, dried or cured in order to remove solvent from the liquid clinging to the former or to cross-link polymer chains, and so leave a solid film on the former. The glove is then stripped from the tormer, either manually or with the aid of automation machinery, and then stacked in a pile with other gloves, with the cuffs of each glove on one side of the stack of gloves.

Gloves may then be manually placed on a conveyor. It has been found in a production environment that the maximum manual speed of placing gloves on a conveyor is about one glove per second. It is however, very difficult for a worker to maintain this speed for any length of time, particularly if each glove is to be placed on the conveyor with all parts of the glove as flat as possible. If parts of the glove are not flat, for example, being bent or folded over other parts of the glove, then the imperfections in orientation may find their way into the prepared stack of gloves prior to packing into a glove container. This will result in an increase in the amount of the wasted space in the prepared stack, and a consequent reduction in the maximum number of gloves which may be incorporated in a glove stack having particular outer dimensions.

Manual placement of gloves on a conveyor can also be a significant cost in terms of the cost of labour.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for lifting and placement of gloves on a surface, for example a conveying surface, which addresses these issues in a glove production system, particularly a glove packing system for preparing and packing an efficient stack of gloves into a glove dispensing container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a glove lifting and placement apparatus for lifting gloves one at a time from a stack of gloves and depositing each of said lifted gloves on a surface, the apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system for controlling the operation of the pneumatic glove lifting system and actuator, wherein: -said glove lifting system comprises a lifting head, a first pneumatic pressure source and a second pneumatic pressure source; -said glove lifting system further comprises in said lifting head at least one substantially downwardly directed nozzle and a grille, the grille having a first side, the first side being substantially downwardly directed; -the first pneumatic pressure source is configured to apply through said substantially downwardly directed nozzle a first lifting suction to a first portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system; -the second pneumatic pressure source is configured to apply through the first side of the grille a second lifting suction to a second portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system; -the control system is configured to control the movement of the actuator, such that, in use, the actuator moves the lifting head along a direction of movement from a first location from which said gloves are to be lifted and a second location at which said gloves are to be deposited.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for lifting and placing gloves on a conveying surface, the system comprising a glove lifting and placement apparatus in combination with a plurality of gloves and a surface on which said gloves are to be deposited, wherein: -the glove lifting and placement apparatus is according to the first aspect of the invention; -each glove has a cuff end, a cuff portion nearest to the cuff end and a finger portion farthest from the cuff end, and said gloves being stacked flat with the cuff end of each glove all being on the same side of said stack, the first portion of each glove to be lifted encompassing the cuff end of said glove and the second portion of each glove to be lifted being closer than the first portion of said glove to the finger portion of said glove.

The first portion of the glove is preferably a central portion of said glove to be lifted. The central portion may be the portion of the glove for covering the wearer's palm or the back of the hand.

The first portion of the glove to be lifted is preferably directly adjacent the second portion of the glove.

The grille can be any type of grille which allows pneumatic suction to be applied over an area, as opposed to a discrete point. For example, the grille may comprise a series of parallel slots, an array of apertures or a mesh.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of lifting and depositing gloves using a glove lifting and placement apparatus, the apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system configured to control the operation of the pneumatic glove lifting system and actuator, the glove lifting system comprises a lifting head having at least one substantially downwardly directed nozzle and a grille, the grille having a first side, and the first side being substantially downwardly directed, wherein the method comprises the steps of: -using the control system to move the actuator to position the lifting head over a glove to be lifted; -using the control system to apply through said substantially downwardly directed nozzle a first lifting suction to a central portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system, whereby said central portion of said glove is pulled to said substantially downwardly directed nozzle; -using the control system to apply through the first side of the grille a second lifting suction to a cuff portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system, whereby said cuff portion of said glove is pulled to the first side of the grille; -with said central and cuff portions pulled respectively to said substantially downwardly directed nozzle and the grille, using the control system to control the movement of the actuator to move the lifting head along a direction of movement from a first location from which said glove is lifted to a second location at which said glove is to be deposited; and -ceasing to apply said first lifting suction and said second lifting suction to deposit said lifted glove at said second location.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of lifting and depositing gloves using a glove lifting and placement apparatus, the apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system configured to control the operation of the pneumatic glove lifting system and actuator, the glove lifting system comprising a lifting head having two separately controllable glove lifting portions, a first glove litting portion providing a first lifting vacuum, and a second glove lifting portion providing a second lifting vacuum, wherein the method comprises the steps of: -moving the actuator to position the lifting head over a glove to be lifted; -using the first glove lifting portion to apply said first lifting vacuum to a central portion of said glove to be lifted; -lifting said central portion of said glove relative to said cuff portion in order to partially separate said glove to be lifted from another glove beneath said glove tobelifted;and -using the first glove lifting portion to apply said second lifting vacuum to a cuff portion of said glove to be lifted, whereby said glove to be lifted is pulled to the lifting head in two stages; and -depositing said lifted gloves at a desired location.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing of said stack into a container for dispensing from a glove dispenser, the method comprising the steps of: -using a glove lifting and placement apparatus to lift gloves one at a time from a first stack and to deposit each of said lifted gloves on a conveying surface, the glove lifting and placement apparatus being according to the first aspect of the invention; -using the conveying surface to move each of said deposited gloves to a glove packing station, said station comprising an automated glove manipulator and a packing receptacle; -using the automated glove manipulator to lift said transported gloves one at a time from and conveying surface and to deposit said lifted gloves at said receptacle to form a second stack within the receptacle; and -when said second stack is complete, transferring said second stack into a container for subsequent dispensing from a glove dispenser.

The gloves may be ambidextrous gloves, for example, medical or hygienic inspection gloves, for use in the medical, dental, veterinary or food industries.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the gloves are deposited on a glove conveying surface, which is part of a production system for preparing and packing an efficient stack of gloves into a glove dispensing container.

The control system may be configured to control the application of the first lifting suction and the second lifting suction to lift a glove at the first location and to deposit said glove at the second location.

The first side of the grille may be forwards of the downwardly directed nozzle relative to said direction of movement from the first location to the second location.

The control system is preferably configured to activate the application of the first lifting suction prior to the application of the second lifting suction such that, in use, the first portion of a glove is pulled or lifted to the downwardly directed nozzle before the second portion of a glove is lifted to the first side of the grille.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the orientation of the substantially downwardly directed nozzle or nozzles and the grille define a lifting plane for a glove to be lifted.

In general, the downwardly directed nozzle or nozzles will span a first area in a plane of a glove to be lifted and the grille will span a second area in this plane.

Preferably, this first area is no more than 25% of this second area, and most preferably the first area is between 2% and 10% of the second area.

The grille may consist of a series of elongate slots in a lower surface of the lifting head. The second lifting suction is then applied through these slots to the glove to be lifted.

The slots may be elongated in a direction transverse to a cuff edge of a glove to be lifted. This transverse direction may be substantially perpendicular to a cuff edge of a glove to be lifted.

It is particularly advantageous if the slots extend from said substantially downwardly directed nozzle in a forwards direction relative to said direction of movement of the lifting head. The second lifting vacuum will naturally be strongest where the slots are most constricted, which will in general be where the gloves are nearest the slots.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cuff portion of the gloves will therefore be pulled to the grille first in areas nearest the end of the slots closest to the central portion of the gloves. The cuff portion of the gloves is therefore progressively pulled upwards to the grille and the lifting head, starting near the central portion and ending at the cuff end of the glove. This tends to straighten out any kinks or folds in the cuff portion of the glove that were present in the original stack of gloves from which the glove is lifted.

The grille may have a second side, this second side being an opposite side to the first side of the grille.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second pneumatic pressure source may be provided by at least one freely expanding jet of air or other gas, this jet being directed across the second side of the grille to create the second lifting suction.

The jet may be configured to entrain air on the second side of the grille and to sweep this entrained air away from the grille in order to create the second lifting suction.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lifting head comprises an expansion conduit into which the jet of air is directed, this conduit having an outlet to exhaust the jet.

The grille may therefore provide apertures in the conduit into which air can pass as air is entrained by the freely expanding jet.

The conduit may have a substantially rectangular cross-section in a direction transverse to the direction of the jet, a long axis of this cross-section being substantially parallel with the grille.

The conduit may be bounded by a plurality of sides, one of said sides encompassing the second side of the grille.

The sides are preferably substantially sealed, apart from the grille. Most of the air entrained by the jet is therefore air that has been pulled through the grille, rather than through any other apertures in the conduit. This enhances the sweeping action of the jet and the generation of the second lifting vacuum.

The grille may be substantially planar.

The jet may be an air blade that is substantially parallel with a plane of the grille.

The glove lifting system may further comprises an elongate nozzle and a source of positive pneumatic pressure, this elongate nozzle being connected to the source of positive pneumatic pressure and the control system being configured to control the application of the positive pressure to the elongate nozzle in order to create the jet of freely expanding gas or air.

The, or each, substantially downwardly directed nozzle may be connected to a source of pneumatic pressure through a conduit, the, or each, nozzle extending transversely away from the plane of the grille and across a portion of the freely expanding jet.

The apparatus may further comprise a source of negative pneumatic pressure, the, or each, substantially downwardly directed nozzle being connected to this source of negative pneumatic pressure and the control system being configured to control the application of the source of negative pneumatic pressure to the substantially downwardly directed nozzle in order to create the first lifting suction.

In this method, the first lifting suction is preferably applied prior to the second lifting suction. Then, following the application of the first lifting suction but before the application of the second lifting suction, the lifting head may be moved upwards in order to pull a central portion of the glove to be lifted upwards and away from one or more gloves beneath the glove to be lifted, whereby the second lifting suction when applied is distanced from one or more gloves beneath the glove being lifted.

This reduces or eliminates any tendency of the second lifting vacuum (which can extend beyond the bounds of the cuff portion of the glove to be lifted in order to fully pull the cuff portion to the grille) to pull any such lower gloves to the grille at the same time as the glove being lifted.

The cuff portion of the lifted glove is preferably forwards of the central portion of the lifted glove relative to the direction of movement from the first location to the second location.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the glove to be lifted is a top-most glove in a stack of gloves. This stack may be roughly stacked, i.e. with gloves not being perfectly aligned, as long as the positioning of the first glove lifting vacuum or suction is sufficiently localised relative to lateral variations in glove positioning throughout the initial stack of gloves, such that for all glove in the stack, this lifting vacuum is only applied to one glove at a time, and does not overlap, for example, the glove being lifted and another glove beneath this.

In general, each glove will have a finger portion (which will include the thumb).

Preferably, no lifting suction is applied by the lifting head to the finger portion. The finger portion can therefore hang downwards from the lifting head.

The method may comprise allowing the finger portion of the lifted glove to trail on a surface behind the lifted first and cuff portions prior to depositing of said glove.

This is particularly advantageous, as the dragging force on the glove fingers will naturally straighten out the fingers, to smooth out creases and crinkles, and make the fingers more nearly parallel and separate from each other. The deposited glove can, therefore, be made flatter and lie more uniformly than the gloves in the initial stack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a system for lifting and placing gloves on a conveying surface according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system comprising a glove lifting and placement apparatus in combination with a plurality of gloves and a conveying surface on which the gloves are deposited, one at a time from an initial stack of gloves; Figure 2 is view similar to that of Figure 1, showing how the apparatus has an actuator that moves four lifting heads which lift four gloves in parallel and move the lifted gloves ready for depositing on the glove conveying surface; Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 2, immediately after depositing of the four lifted gloves on the conveying surface; Figures 4 to 6 are different perspective views of the glove lifting and depositing head of the apparatus, showing how this has two downwardly directed nozzles and forwards of these a grille across which a blade-like jet of air is made to expand in an essentially free manner; Figure 7 is a schematic side view of the glove lifting and depositing head as this is initially is lowered to make contact with an initial stack of gloves; Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, showing how, after a suction is applied at downwardly directed nozzles in a central portion of the top-most glove in the stack, the lifting head tilts forwards so that the downwardly directed nozzles rise in order to detach the adhered central portion of the glove from the next glove in the stack, and also how the jet entrains air to create a suction through the grille to lift and adhere a cuff portion of the glove; Figures 9 to 11 show how the cuff and central portions of the glove are lifted, with the glove finger portion trailing behind and dragging on the conveying surface prior to depositing of the lifted glove on the conveying surface; and Figure 12 is a schematic view from above showing how the direction of movement of the lifting heads from a first location at which the gloves are picked up to a second location at which the gloves are deposited tracks the movement of the glove conveying surface so that the gloves lie with the length of the gloves perpendicular to the direction of motion of the conveying surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a system 1 for lifting and placing gloves 4 on a glove conveying surface 2, which is here a belt conveyor. The system comprises a glove lifting and placement apparatus 10 in combination with a plurality of gloves, here four stacks of gloves 14, and the conveying surface 2 on which the gloves are to be deposited one at a time.

The glove lifting and placement apparatus 10 comprises a pneumatic glove lifting system 8, which will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 4 to 11, an actuator 12, which is here a four axis robot arm actuator, and a control system 16 which is based around personal computer. Not shown for the sake of clarity are electrical connections between the control system 16, the actuator 12 and glove lifting and placement apparatus 10. Certain other details concerning conventional types of control equipment, well-known to those skilled in the art, such as the operation of solenoid valves for the control of pneumatic pressure or compressors, will also not be described for the sake of conciseness. The control system 16 is therefore shown schematically only, and will also comprise software and hardware configured to control the operation of the pneumatic glove lifting system and actuator.

With reference now also to Figures 4 to 6, the glove lifting system 8 comprises a lifting head 20 to which are connected a number of pneumatic lines 18 that are connected to conventional sources of air or gas pressure (not shown).

With reference now also to Figures 7 and 8 The lifting head has a downwardly facing lifting face or side 17 with two separately controllable glove lifting portions 31, 32, a first glove lifting portion 31 providing a first lifting vacuum or suction 21, and a second glove lifting portion 32 providing a second lifting vacuum or suction 22, as shown in Figures 8 to 11.

The first lifting vacuum or suction 21 is provided by a first pneumatic pressure source which in this example is a downwardly directed nozzle 23 which is supplied with negative pressure by a connecting pipe and hose, part of which 24 is visible in Figures 4 to 11.

The second lifting vacuum or suction 22 is provided by a second pneumatic pressure source, which in which in this example is provided by slots 25 in a grille 26 and a freely expanding jet 27 which crosses over an upwardly facing face or side 19 of the grille, which is opposite the downwardly facing side 17. The jet can be any gas, but is most conveniently just air. The jet is produced by a source of high pressure that expands through to a narrow slot 28 into a volume of air inside a channel 34 that is sufficiently large that the expansion is essentially a free expansion, although there may be some restriction to this expansion near towards the end of the expansion where the jet exits the lifting head at an outlet 35.

In jet expanding freely in air, the static air pressure is constant and same as in the surrounding atmosphere. The static pressure is the pressure which is exerted on a plane parallel to the flow. The Bernoulli effect and the related Venturi effect are not applicable to understanding or explaining the behaviour of a free air stream because friction between air molecules plays an important role. This situation can be compared to the laminar flow of a liquid with viscosity inside a tube, where the static pressure is the same throughout the whole cross-section and the different velocities of the stream layers is caused by viscosity. A free air stream in the atmosphere is exclusively decelerated by friction.

The effect of viscosity in the air is important. In a gas like air, viscosity is caused almost entirely by collisions between the air molecules. The decelerating jet will tend to sweep away air from the adjacent still air, giving rise to the region of reduced pressure wherever air is not completely free to move in to replace the air being swept away. Friction is said to entrain the adjacent air, in a process known as entrainment. The channel 34 has side walls which are sealed apart from the grille 26 which provides part of a lower surface of the channel. This tends to draw air in through the slots 25 from the lower side 17 to the upper side 19 of the grille 26, thereby creating a region of negative pressure beneath the grille.

With these points in mind, the operation of the lifting head can now be described.

As shown in Figure 7, the glove lifting and depositing head 20 is initially lowered to make contact with an initial stack of gloves 14. The stack is supported by a spring biased floor or base 36 within an outer sleeve 37 that has two parallel and opposite side walls 33 and a base plate 41, and which is therefore open at two opposite ends. The lifting head has a lowermost contact plate 38 that extends the full length of the lifting head, where this makes contact with the stack 14. It should be noted that the upwardly sprung floor 36 enables the glove lifting head 20 to push down onto (and into) the glove stack 14 in order that the top glove is properly adhered to the downwardly directed nozzles, without the glove lifting head hitting the fixed or an immovable floor 41 beneath the glove stack. The upward spring biasing of the floor 36 acts as cushion and does not affect the height of the top glove in the stack, as the spring biasing is far too powerful to be affected by the weight of even a full glove stack.

A forward portion of the contact plate includes the grille 26. A rear portion of the contact plate has slots 39 to allow air to escape when contact is made with the contact plate. The slots 25 in the grille 26 also let any intervening air escape. The contact plate has a middle region 41 with no such slots but with a pair of apertures 42 for the nozzles 23 to pass through the contact plate.

The gloves are stacked with cuff ends 50 all on one side of the stack. Each glove has a cuff portion 52 nearest the cuff end, a finger portion farthest from the cuff end and which has glove fingers, and a central portion 51 which is between these two other portions. In Figures 7 to 11, the cuff ends 50 are indicated schematically with open circles.

The stack 14 is only roughly stacked, and so the gloves 4 will have creases, over-folds of fingers, et cetera and not be perfectly aligned one on top of another. The lateral edges of the gloves therefore do not in general align. For this reason, the downwardly directed nozzles span a first area having a width x and a length y which is in a central portion 51 of the glove 4, and which will always be away from glove edges, taking into account an expected variability in glove positioning, as determined by the size of the gloves and the sleeve lateral dimensions. The first area xy is therefore relatively small as compared with the glove dimensions.

Each nozzle has a flexible rubber cup end 43 which extends just below the plate 38 and which helps to ensure a good suction seal between the nozzle and the glove central portion 51.

To ensure that only the correct uppermost glove is pulled upwards, the lifting suction is therefore first applied by the two nozzles 23 which are configured to contact only the uppermost glove in the stack. Then, as shown in Figure 8, the actuator 12 tilts and moves the lifting head 20 so that a forwards edge 45 of the contact plate 38 remains close to or in contact with the glove stack 14 while a rearwards edge 46 lifts away from the glove stack. This causes the adhered central glove portion 51 to separate from the next glove down in the stack 14. At the same time, a glove finger portion 53 pulls forwards, which helps to overcome any contact friction which might otherwise cause the lower glove to remain stuck to the topmost glove.

The forwards edge 45 of the contact plate 38 bends upwards into a ramp 47 which is angled at less than 45° to the contact plate so as to present low aerodynamic resistance to the free expansion of the jet 27, while at the same time deflecting the jet beyond the channel opening 35 in a direction that is sufficiently upwards that the jet does not disturb any other gloves already on the conveying surface and moving past the lifting heads while the lifting heads are over the initial glove stacks 14 on one side of the conveying surface 2.

The jet 27 is then applied, causing a suction pressure through the grille slots 25.

The slots 25 are aligned with the length of the gloves. This suction pressure will be greatest where the slots are nearest the jet nozzle 28, partly because this is where the jet is strongest, but also because the glove is initially closest to the slot at this point (being adhered to the nearby downwardly directed nozzles 23) which tends to restrict flow of entrained air through the slot in this vicinity and increase the suction pressure. The glove cuff portion 52 is therefore progressively lifted up against the upper side 17 of the grille 26 starting at the pad of the slot nearest the downwardly directed nozzle. This tends to smooth out wrinkles in the cuff portion.

It should be noted that although the suction force provided by the jet through the slots is relatively lower per unit area, this suction is provided over an area having a width X and length Y that is substantially larger than the area spanned by the downwardly directed nozzles. This area is large enough to cover substantially all of the cuff portion 52 and cuff end 50 of the lifted glove, and although there may be some overlap of this suction so that although the next glove down may experience some of the suction in this region, this is not strong enough to lift the next glove down on its own.

In this example, the area xy spanned by the nozzles is about 6% of the area XY spanned by the grille slots.

Then, as shown in Figures 9 to 10, the actuator moves the lifting head fully upwards, dragging the non-adhered finger portion behind as the actuator moves over the conveying surface 2. This finger portion drags on the glove conveying surface in a direction substantially parallel with the length of the glove fingers, which tends to straighten out the fingers.

Once the glove is fully over the belt 2, the pneumatic supply to the downwardly directed nozzles and the jet is cut, and the glove drops on to the conveyor. This is done in such a way that the forward momentum of the glove cuff portion 52 tends to carry this forwards as the finger portion 53 is braked by continuing contact with the conveying surface, and this also tends to ensure that the glove falls flat on the surface, with no folds or ridges extending in a transverse direction across the glove.

As shown in Figure 12, the actuator 12 moves each lifting head 20 so that the motion 70 of the gloves is perpendicular to the length of the conveyor in the frame of reference of the movement 72 of the conveying surface.

The use of four parallel lifting and depositing heads 20 means that gloves on the conveying surface 2 advance by four glove spacings in between deposits of four gloves at a time. This apparatus lifts and deposits four gloves every 3 seconds, meaning the conveyor is moving 1 glove every 0.75 s.

The right hand side of Figure 1 shows a machine vision system 60 over the conveyor 2 to ensure that each glove is correctly oriented and flat. Although not shown, in the drawings, to the right of the machine vision system 60, the conveyor 2 continues to two glove packing stations of the type described in WO 2011/048414, the full contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

If a glove is not correctly oriented, it is not used by a packing station. Each glove packing station picks from every second glove on the conveyor, meaning that each packs 1 glove every 1.5 s, assuming all gloves lie correctly on the conveyor.

As described in WO 2011/048414 each packing station comprises an automated glove manipulator and a packing receptacle. The glove manipulator lifts gloves from the conveyor one at a time and deposits these one at a time at the receptacle to form a second stack within the receptacle. The receptacle may be bordered by a pair of flaps for folding gloves deposited partly over the receptacle and partly over one of the flaps. In this way, a stack of interfolded gloves for cuff-first dispensing may be formed, as described in the prior art. When this second stack is complete, the stack is transferred to a container, for example a plastic bag or card material container, for subsequent cuff-first dispensing from a glove dispenser.

The invention therefore provides a convenient apparatus and method for lifting and placing of gloves on a surface, for example a conveying surface, and which is particularly useful in glove production system, particularly a glove packing system for preparing and packing an efficient stack of gloves into a glove dispensing container.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A glove lifting and placement apparatus for lifting gloves one at a time from a stack of gloves and depositing each of said lifted gloves on a surface, the apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system for controlling the operation of the pneumatic glove lifting system and actuator, wherein: -said glove lifting system comprises a lifting head, a first pneumatic pressure source and a second pneumatic pressure source; -said glove lifting system further comprises in said lifting head at least one substantially downwardly directed nozzle and a grille, the grille having a first side, the first side being substantially downwardly directed; -the first pneumatic pressure source is configured to apply through said substantially downwardly directed nozzle a first lifting suction to a first portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system; -the second pneumatic pressure source is configured to apply through the first side of the grille a second lifting suction to a second portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system; -the control system is configured to control the movement of the actuator, such that, in use, the actuator moves the lifting head along a direction of movement from a first location from which said gloves are to be lifted and a second location at which said gloves are to be deposited.
2. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, in which the first side of the grille is forwards of said downwardly directed nozzle relative to said direction of movement from the first location to the second location.
3. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the control system is configured to activate the application of the first lifting suction prior to the application of the second lifting suction such that, in use, the first portion of a glove is pulled to said downwardly directed nozzle before the second portion of a glove is pulled to the first side of the grille.

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4. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said at least one substantially downwardly directed nozzle spans a first area in a plane of a glove to be lifted and the grille spans a second area in said plane, the first area being no more than 25% of the second area.
5. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, in which the first area is between 2% and 10% of the second area.
6. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the grille consists of a series of elongate slots in a lower surface of the lifting head, said second lifting suction being applied through said slots to said glove to be lifted.
7. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, in which the slots are elongated in a direction transverse to a cuff edge of a glove to be lifted.
8. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 7, in which said transverse direction is substantially perpendicular to a cuff edge of a glove to be lifted.
9. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 8, in which said slots extend from said substantially downwardly directed nozzle in a forwards direction relative to said direction of movement of the lifting head.
10. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the grille has a second side, said second side being an opposite side to the first side of the grille, and the second pneumatic pressure source is provided by at least one freely expanding jet of air or other gas, said jet being directed across the second side of the grille to create said second lifting suction.
11. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 10, in which -21 -said jet is configured to entrain air on the second side of the grille and to sweep said entrained air away from the grille in order to create said second lifting suction.
12. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 11, in which the lifting head comprises an expansion conduit into which said jet of air is directed, said conduit having an outlet to exhaust said jet.
13. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, in which said conduit has a substantially rectangular cross-section in a direction transverse to said direction of said jet, a long axis of said cross-section being substantially parallel with the grille.
14. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13, in which said conduit is bounded by a plurality of sides, one of said sides encompassing the second side of the grille.
15. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 14, in which said sides are substantially sealed apart from the grille.
16. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 10 to 15, in which the grille is substantially planar and said jet is an air blade that is substantially parallel with the plane of the grille.
17. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 16, in which said glove lifting system further comprises an elongate nozzle and a source of positive pneumatic pressure, said elongate nozzle being connected to said source of positive pneumatic pressure and the control system being configured to control the application of said source of positive pneumatic pressure to said elongate nozzle in order to create said jet.
18. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in Claim 17, in which the or each substantially downwardly directed nozzle is connected to a source of -22 -pneumatic pressure through a conduit, the or each nozzle extending transversely away from the plane of the grille and across a portion of said freely expanding jet.
19. A glove lifting and placement apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said glove lifting system further comprises a source of negative pneumatic pressure, said substantially downwardly directed nozzle being connected to said source of negative pneumatic pressure and the control system being configured to control the application of said source of negative pneumatic pressure to said substantially downwardly directed nozzle in order to create said first lifting suction.
20. A system for lifting and placing gloves on a conveying surface, the system comprising a glove lifting and placement apparatus in combination with a plurality of gloves and a surface on which said gloves are to be deposited, wherein: -the glove lifting and placement apparatus is as claimed in any preceding claim; -each glove has a cuff end, a cuff portion nearest to the cuff end and a finger portion farthest from the cuff end, and said gloves being stacked flat with the cuff end of each glove all being on the same side of said stack, the first portion of each glove to be lifted encompassing the cuff end of said glove and the second portion of each glove to be lifted being closer than the first portion of said glove to the finger portion of said glove.
21. A system as claimed in Claim 20, in which said first portion is a central portion of said glove to be lifted.
22. A system as claimed in Claim 21, in which the first portion of said glove to be lifted is directly adjacent the second portion of said glove.
23. A method of lifting and depositing gloves using a glove lifting and placement apparatus, the apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system configured to control the operation of the pneumatic glove -23 -lifting system and actuator, the glove lifting system comprises a lifting head having at least one substantially downwardly directed nozzle and a grille, the grille having a first side, and the first side being substantially downwardly directed, wherein the method comprises the steps of: -using the control system to move the actuator to position the lifting head over a glove to be lifted; -using the control system to apply through said substantially downwardly directed nozzle a first lifting suction to a central portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system, whereby said central portion of said glove is pulled to said substantially downwardly directed nozzle; -using the control system to apply through the first side of the grille a second lifting suction to a cuff portion of a glove to be lifted by the lifting head under the control of the controlling system, whereby said cuff portion of said glove is pulled to the first side of the grille; -with said central and cuff portions pulled respectively to said substantially downwardly directed nozzle and the grille, using the control system to control the movement of the actuator to move the lifting head along a direction of movement from a first location from which said glove is lifted to a second location at which said glove is to be deposited; and -ceasing to apply said first lifting suction and said second lifting suction to deposit said lifted glove at said second location.
24. A method as claimed in Claim 23, in which said first lifting suction is applied prior to said second lifting suction.
25. A method as claimed in Claim 24, in which, following the application of the first lifting suction but before the application of the second lifting suction, the lifting head is moved upwards in order to pull a central portion of said glove to be lifted upwards away from one or more gloves beneath said glove to be lifted, whereby said second lifting suction when applied is distanced from said one or more gloves beneath said glove to be lifted.

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26. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 25, in which the cuff portion of said lifted glove is forwards of the central portion of said lifted glove relative to the direction of movement from the first location to the second location.
27. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 26, in which said glove to be lifted is a top-most glove in a stack of gloves.
28. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 27, in which the glove has a finger portion, and no lifting suction being applied by the lifting head to said finger portion.
29. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 28, in which in which the glove has a finger portion, and the method comprises allowing the finger portion of said lifted glove to trail on a surface behind said lifted first and cuff portions prior to depositing of said glove.
30. A method of lifting and depositing gloves using a glove lifting and placement apparatus, the apparatus comprising a pneumatic glove lifting system, an actuator and a control system configured to control the operation of the pneumatic glove lifting system and actuator, the glove lifting system comprising a lifting head having two separately controllable glove lifting portions, a first glove lifting portion providing a first lifting vacuum, and a second glove lifting portion providing a second lifting vacuum, wherein the method comprises the steps of: -moving the actuator to position the lifting head over a glove to be lifted; -using the first glove lifting portion to apply said first lifting vacuum to a central portion of said glove to be lifted; -lifting said central portion of said glove relative to said cuff portion in order to partially separate said glove to be lifted from another glove beneath said glove tobelifted;and -using the first glove lifting portion to apply said second lifting vacuum to a cuff portion of said glove to be lifted, whereby said glove to be lifted is pulled to the -25 -lifting head in two stages; and -depositing said lifted gloves at a desired location.
31. A method of preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing of said stack into a container for dispensing from a glove dispenser, the method comprising the steps of: -lifting and depositing gloves on a conveying surface using a glove lifting and placement apparatus according to the method of any of Claims 23 to 30; -using the conveying surface to move each of said deposited gloves to a glove packing station, said station comprising an automated glove manipulator and a packing receptacle; -using the automated glove manipulator to lift said transported gloves one at a time from and conveying surface and to deposit said lifted gloves at said receptacle to form a second stack within the receptacle; and -when said second stack is complete, transferring said second stack into a container for subsequent dispensing from a glove dispenser.
32. A method of preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing of said stack into a container for dispensing from a glove dispenser, the method comprising the steps of: -using a glove lifting and placement apparatus to lift gloves one at a time from a first stack and to deposit each of said lifted gloves on a conveying surface, the glove lifting and placement apparatus being as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 19; -using the conveying surface to move each of said deposited gloves to a glove packing station, said station comprising an automated glove manipulator and a packing receptacle; -using the automated glove manipulator to lift said transported gloves one at a time from and conveying surface and to deposit said lifted gloves at said receptacle to form a second stack within the receptacle; and -when said second stack is complete, transferring said second stack into a container for subsequent dispensing from a glove dispenser.

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33. A glove lifting and placement apparatus for lifting gloves one at a time from a stack of gloves and depositing each of said lifted gloves on a surface, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
34. A system for lifting and placing gloves on a conveying surface, the system comprising a glove lifting and placement apparatus in combination with a plurality of gloves and a surface on which said gloves are to be deposited, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
35. A method of lifting and depositing gloves using a glove lifting and placement apparatus, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
36. A method of preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing of said stack into a container for dispensing from a glove dispenser, using a glove lifting and placement apparatus to lift gloves one at a time from a first stack and to deposit each of said lifted gloves on a conveying surface, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.