AUXILIARY SEIZING AND HOLDING DEVICE FOR THE TOE OF STOCKINGS, ESPECIALLY FOR AUTOMATIC STOCKING INVERTING MACHINES

DISPOSITIF AUXILIAIRE DE PRISE ET DE RETENUE DE POINTES DE BAS, SPECIFIQUEMENT POUR MACHINES A RETOURNER LES BAS

English Abstract

Auxiliary seizing and holding device for the toe of a stocking, especially for
automatic stocking inverting machines, comprising a blade onto which the
stocking to be inverted is threaded, the blade being constituted of an
internally hollow, tubular rod, having an upper opening placed in connection
with suitable known suction means for creating, inside said blade, a vacuum,
and having at least one opening at the lower and of said blade, by means of
which said vacuum produces a suction action adapted for pulling and holding
the toe of the stocking against the end of the blade for a predetermined cycle
time.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. An auxiliary stocking toe seizing and holding device for use in an
automatic stocking
inverting machines, said device including a blade onto which the stocking to
be
inverted is threaded, said blade comprising a tubular rod therefore having a
hollow
interior and an upper opening to permit fluid flow to and from said interior,
said blade
having at least one lower opening at a lower end of said blade by means of
which a
pressure differential created in said interior may be applied to a toe of said
stocking at
said lower end for a predetermined cycle time.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said lower opening is disposed at a
tip of said
blade in the direction of its width.
3. A device according to claim 1 wherein said lower opening in said blade is
disposed
adjacent to a tip of said blade.
4. A device according to claim 1 wherein said pressure differential is created
by
application of a vacuum to said interior to hold said toe on said lower end.
5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said pressure differential is
created by
application of pressurized air to said interior of the blade, for the purpose
of
obtaining, upon removal of the said stocking, a high speed air flow and
thereby
facilitate the unthreading of the stocking from the blade.
6. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein fluid flow through
said upper
opening is provided by a pump and operation of said pump is synchronised with
insertion of said blade into said stocking.
7. A device according to anyone of claims 1 to 6, wherein said lower opening
is shaped
as a venturi tube.

Description

CA 02050759 2002-10-03
Auxiliary seizing and holding device for the toe of stocking-s, especially for
automatic
stocking inverting machines
The subject of the present invention is an improved blade device for seizing
and holding
stockings, especially for automatic stockings, especially for automatic
stocking inverting
machines.
It is known that stockings may be produced by a cycle which provides the
production of a
tube which is then sewn in correspondence with the toe, with the stocking
inside out, that
is to say from the side which will remain inside during the use of said
stocking,
Also known in the art are machines adapted for automatically performing the
inverting
(turning inside out) of the stocking after said sewing has been effected, for
the purpose of
despatching the stocking to confectioning, already turned the right side out.
Such
machines are known, for example, from Italian Patents nos. 1 160 526 and 1 175
756 in
the name of the present Applicant, in which there is provided a moveable blade
element,
which is moved vertically downwards between pairs of rollers until it engages
with the
toe or "cap" of the stocking, which is then threaded and inverted on said
blade element by
said rollers, appropriately driven in rotation, arid is then unthreaded off
the blade by the
action of other rollers, also driven in rotation, and is then despatched,
already inverted, to
the final confectioning.

, CA 02050759 2002-12-23
During this cycle, which provides for the feed of the stocking by means of a
pulling tongs
unit from the stitcher and the subsequent closure of the rollers with
simultaneous descent
of the blade, it is, however, necessary to make the engagement of the tip of
the blade with
the toe of the stocking as certain and continuous as possible for the whale
period of time
necessary for the first pair of rollers to collect the stocking on the blade
and commence
inversion, bearing in mind that failure to invert even a single stocking of
the batch will
require the subsequent manual performance both of the inversion and of the
insertion of
same into the group of which it is a member.
The technical problem therefore arises of creating an improved device which
shall make
is possible to achieve, at the instant of commencement of the inversion, a
reliable and
continuous coupling with the toe of the stocking to be inverted (turned inside
out), which
shall be easy and economical to construct and be suitable for incorporation
into machines
already in use, without a need for substantial modification of said machines.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the
above
problems.
According to the present invention there is provided an auxiliary stocking toe
seizing and
holding device for use in an automatic stocking inverting machines. The device
including a blade onto which the stacking to be inverted is threaded. The
blade
comprises a tubular rod having a hollow interior and an upper opening to
permit fluid
flow to and from the interior. The blade has at least one lower opening at a
lower end of
said blade by means of which a pressure differential created in the interior
may be
applied to a toe of the stocking at the lower end for a predetermined cycle
time.
Further details will be obtained from the fallowing description, with
reference to the
attached drawings, in which there are shown:
In Figure 1: the blade element viewed in the direction of arrow A of Fig 2,
with the end
partially in section;
2

- 3 -
in Figure 2: the blade el~nt in section on the plane II-II of Fig. 1, and
in Figure 3: a simplified schematic view of a r~chine for inverting stockings,
with the device fitted.
As will be seen from the Figures, the device of the present invention,
referenced generally 1, comprises a completely tubular blade having an upper
part 2, close at the top, and continued by a blade part 3, the lower end 3a of
which has rounded corners 4 and an opening 5 disposed at the tip of the blade
l0 in t_he direction of the width of same.
Aproximately in the junction zone between the tubular part 2 and the blade
part 3 there is fitted a portion of pipe 6, adapted to be connected to
alternate suction devices, th~elves known and indicated in the Figure simply
L5 by an arrow B.
In this way, as will be seen more easily seen fr~n Figure 3, when said
suction means are set in operation, the entire blade el~ent is brought under
sub-pressure with respect to the external envirornr~nt, thus creating a true
20 suction action at the opening 5 of the end 3a of the blade 3, which suction
action draws the toe 8a of the stocking 8 towards the tip of the blade.
Said suction is synchronized With the instant at which the toe of the stocking
is take between the feed rollers 9 and 10 and the blade has been lowered
25 until it coir~.s into contact with, or very near to, said toe of the
stocking.
The duration of suction is regulated according to the length of the stocking,
or, essentially, for the time required for reliably starting the threading of
the stocking to be inverted onto the end of the blade, holding it until the
30 instant at which the counter-rotation of the rollers has performed the
initial
acctat~ulation of the stocking on the blade for the purpose of inverting it.
At this instant a sensor detects this accumulation and shuts of the suction,
allowing the stocking to complete the inverting and discharge cycle.

- 4 -
The device according to this invention ~y also be used in the same machine,
or in similar machines, for prcattoting the discharge of the stocking, when
already inverted and still threaded on the blade. In such a case it is
possible to fe=d pressurized air into the tubular blade, so that this air,
issuing~at high speed frcan the opening 5, which may also be shaped to give a
venturi effect, creates a blowing action adapted for revving the toe of the
stocking fran the blade and promoting engag~ent of the stocking between the
rollers 9 and 10 for removal, or said stocking, already inverted, may be
unthreaded off the blade and despatched for collection dir=ctly by the blowing
to of pressurized air without the intervention of the rollers.
It will be understood that many variants are possible of the shape of the
hollow, tubular blade for exerting a suction and/or compression action on the
toe of the stocking, and also that the means and duration of such actions may
be varied, without thereby departing frcan the scope of the present invention.

Representative Drawing