Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SOCK TURNING DEVICE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention:
The present invention relates to a sock turning device.
2. Brief description of the prior art:
In conventional factories, socks from knitting machines
are manually turned for further processing. Workers are employed
specifically for that purpose. This is expensive and, therefore, raises the
manufacturing costs.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide
a device for automatically turning socks from a knitting machine. Workers
specifically employed for that purpose are no longer required.
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The objects, advantages and other features of the
present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the
following non restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof,
given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the appended drawings:
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred
embodiment of the sock turning device according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a sock guiding rod of
the sock turning device of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the sock guiding rod of
Figure 2 guiding a sock;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device showing a sock guided toward a set of jaws by means of
the sock guiding rod;
Figure 5 is a top plan view of the set of jaws in
respective, central position;
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Figure 6 is a top plan view of the set of jaws in
respective, spaced apart positions;
Figure 7 is a side elevational view of a portion of the
sock turning device of Figure 1 showing a lower open end of a sock held
in position by means of the set of jaws;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing operation of a vertical sleeve to turn
a sock;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing further operation of the vertical sleeve
to turn a sock;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a bushing with an
inner rubber annulus;
Figure 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing operation of the bushing of Figure 10;
Figure 12 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing operation of the bushing of Figure 10
to turn a sock;
Figure 13 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing further operation of the bushing of
Figure 10 to turn a sock;
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Figure 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing an axially movable arm for releasing
a sock after it has been turned;
Figure 15 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing operation of the axially movable arm
of Figure 14 to release a turned sock;
Figure 16 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing aspiration of a turned sock through a
vacuum tube;
Figure 17 is a perspective view of a portion of the sock
turning device of Figure 1 showing the frusto-conical shape of the bottom
of a vertical cylindrical tube through which the turned socks are aspirated;
and
Figure 18 is a rear elevational view of the preferred
embodiment of the sock turning device according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The sock turning device first comprises a vertical sleeve
1 (Figure 1 ) and a vertical rod 2 (Figure 2) located inside of and coaxial
with the sleeve 1.
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When a sock such as 3 (Figure 3) leaves the knitting
machine (not shown), it is positioned and received on the upper end (not
shown) of the vertical rod 2. The sock 3 then slides downwardly on the
rod 2 inside the vertical sleeve 1.
5 The lower end of the vertical rod 2 is formed with a bell-
shaped bulge 4 (Figures 2 and 3) to guide the open, lower end of the
sock 3 around a set of three jaws 5-7, i.e. in the position shown in Figure
4.
When the open, lower end of the sock 3 is in the position
of Figure 4, the set of three jaws 5-7 are spread apart from their
respective central positions as shown in Figure 5 to their respective,
spread-apart positions of Figure 6.
When the jaws 5-7 are in their respective, spread-apart
positions of Figure 6, the open, lower end of the sock 3 is squeezed
between the jaws 5-7 and the inner wall of a plastic vertical housing tube
8, as illustrated in Figure 7. The vertical sleeve 1 is then moved
downwardly through air cylinders such as 9. Since one end of the sock
3 is squeezed between the jaws 5-7 and the inner wall of tube 8,
downward movement of the vertical sleeve 1 causes turning of the sock
3 on the outer face of the sleeve 1 (see Figure 8).
When vertical sleeve 1 reaches the lower end of its
course as shown in Figure 9, the sock 3 is partially turned on that sleeve
1. To complete turning of the sock 3, a bushing 10 is used. As illustrated
in Figure 10, the bushing 10 is coaxial with sleeve 1, has a larger
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diameter than sleeve 1, and is provided with an inner rubber annulus 11
located in a plane perpendicular to the geometrical axis of the bushing 10.
As illustrated in Figure 11, bushing 10 can be moved upwardly by means
of air cylinders 12 and 13. The inner diameter of the rubber annulus 11
is dimensioned with respect to the outer diameter of the vertical sleeve 1
to enable the rubber annulus 11 to grasps the sock 3 and pull it upwardly
on the vertical sleeve 1 (Figure 12) and thereby complete turning of the
sock 3.
After the bushing 10 has reached the upper end of its
course, the vertical sleeve 1 is moved upwardly from the lower end of its
course back to the upper end of its course while the bushing 10 is moved
downwardly from the upper end of its course back to the lower end of its
course, in view of releasing the sock 3.
To ensure complete release of the sock 3, an arm 14
with a forked end 15 is moved axially to push the turned sock 3. As can
be seen, the arm 14 is installed at an angle about the geometrical axis of
the sleeve 1 and bushing 10. In operation, the arm 14 is moved from a
retracted position (Figure 11) to an extended position (Figure 14) by an
air cylinder 16 (Figure 14) to push the turned sock. Figure 15 shows how
the arm 14 pushes the turned sock 3 to withdraw this sock 3 from the
jaws 5-7. Following this operation, the arm 14 is returned to its retracted
position (Figure 11), and the jaws 5-7 are moved from their respective,
spaced-apart positions of Figure 6 back to their respective, central
positions of Figure 5.
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As can be seen, the lower portion of the sock turning
device is housed into a vertical cylindrical tube 18, and the bottom of this
vertical cylindrical tube 18 is connected to a vacuum tube 180 to aspirate
the sock 3. Figure 16 shows the released sock 3 which is aspirated
through the vacuum tube 180 at the bottom of the tube 18. The bottom
17 of vertical tube 18 around the opening of the vacuum tube 180 is
frusto-conical as shown in Figure 17 to facilitate penetration of the sock
3 in that vacuum tube 180.
Finally, Figure 18 illustrates the preferred embodiment
of the sock turning device including the pressurized air connections such
as 20 and valves such as 21. Although this is not shown in the drawings,
electronic controls and sensors (optical sensors or others) are provided
to control the operation of the different air cylinders and parts of the sock
turning device according to the present invention.
Although the present invention has been described
hereinabove by way of a preferred embodiment thereof, this embodiment
can be modified at will, within the scope of the appended claims, without
departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention.
