Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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`. ~PPARATUS FOlR PULLING UP ELOI~GATED TEXTILES
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The invention relates to` apparatus -for the pulling of elongated textile goods, such
.` as ladies stockings, socks and the like onto the forms of tubular textile forming and
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checking machines such as semi-form machines.
, In the past, semi-form machine operating personnel had to stand on a ramp and
.~ 5 pull the elongated textile onto the pairs of formers of the semi-form machine in a stretched
i stands. This is very uncom-fortable and stressful for the operating personnel and limits the
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. maximuln operating speed of the whole pulling up process.
- It is now an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which
-~ substantially automates the pulling up procedure.
It is another ob~ject of the invention to provide an apparatus which is ]ess stressful
to operate.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the apparatus provides for a smoother, more
cyclical operation of the pulling up procedure than was previously possible with the
:: conventional manual operation.
`:~ 15 The pulling up apparatus of the invention is preferably separate from the forming
`. machine, which is preferably a semi-form machine for the checking and smoothing of
" stockings, socks etc. prior to packing. The apparatus for pulling up elongated textile
` goods provides a major relief to the operating personnel in that the operators only have to
attach the stockings or textiles onto textile engaging hooks of a transfer station of the
.` 20 apparatus. This can be done with the operator sitting down, which is more comfortable
for the operator.
`. Accordingly, the invention provides an apparatus -for pulling elongated, tubular
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: textiles onto a form of a tubular textile checking and smoothing machine, including a
~: pulling up station for pulling the elongated textiles onto the ~orm, and a transfer station for
- 25 feeding individual elongated textiles to the pulling up station, the transfer station including
- handling means for receiving an elongated textile and feeding the textile to the pulling up
` station and the pulling up station having holding means for receiving the individual
elongated textiles from the handling means of the transfer station and pulling the
-. individual elongated textiles onto the -form, the holding means having a disengaging means
for releasing the textile from the handling means when the textile is completely pulled
over the -form.
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The invention will now be further described in more detail by way of example only
~i and with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
Figure 1 is a schematic top view of a preferred embodiment of an apparatus in
. accordance with the invention;
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:i 5 Figure 2 is a schematic front elevation of the embodiment shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a cross-section taken through the embodiment shown in Figure 2 along
~i~, line III-III;
:`. Figure 4 is a section taken along line IV-IV through the embodiment shown in
Figure 2;
Figure 5 is a front elevation of the top portion of the pulling up station;
.` Figure 6 is a horizontal section through the embodiment shown in Figure 1 taken at
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the height where the textiles are transferred from the transfer hooks to the pulling up
hooks;
Figure 6a is the same section as Figure 6, but taken through a modi-fied
~, 15 embodiment capable of handling pairs of individual socks or stockings;
Figure 7 is a vertical section taken along line VII-VII through the embodiment
. shown in Figure 5;
- Figure 8 is a vertical section through the embodiment of Figure I illustrating the
.~ point of transfer of the textiles; and
-,;` 20 Figures 9 to }2 illustrate the disengagement mechanism integrated into the pulling
.;, up hooks in dif`ferent operational states.
A preferred embodiment of a pulling up apparatus 1 in accordance with the
~ ;nvention as shown in Figures 1 to 3 includes a pulling up station 7 for the pulling of
i~t elongated, tubular textiles onto a form 21 of a semi-form machine and a transfer station 3
2~ for the transfer of an elongated, tubular textile 2 to the pulling up station 7. The transfer
station 3 has a pair of spaced apart parallel transfer hooks 4 for the holding of the textile
i 2, which are rotatable by way of a motor 12 around a circular guide 16 which includes a
pair of roller guides 17 in which rollers of the respective transfer hooks are guided. The
roller tracks 17 are curved in such a way that when the transfer hooks 4 are rotated toward
~. 30 the pulling up station 7, they are simultaneously moved apart thereby stretching the
.~ elongated textile supported thereon. This arrangement is suited for the handling of
stockings or pantyhoses. If socks are to be pulled up, a pair of auxiliary transfer hooks 4a
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~' respectively associatecl with and parallel to one of the transfer hooks 4 are provided (see
Figure 6a). The pulling up station 7 includes two pairs of pulling up hooks 9 -for the
.~ pulling of an elongated, tubular textile onto the form 21 which are mounted on a pair of
: parallel, circulating chains 8. The chains 8 are mounted on a drive shaft of and operated
~` 5 by a pulling up motor 6. An additional pair of auxiliary pulling up hooks 9a is associated
with each pair of pullir.g up hooks 9 for the handling of socks. The trans-fer hooks 4 or,
. in the case of socks, the transfer hooks 4 and the auxiliary hooks 4a are rotatable through
.` about 180 between their first position wherein an elongated textile 2 can be placed
thereon by the operator and their second position wherein the textile is transferred to the
~: 10 pulling up hooks 9. The transfer hooks 4 are moved apart by the roller guides 17 so that
there is sufficient space for the pulling up hooks 9 and 9a to ft between the transfer
hooks, pick up the elongated textile 2 and transport it initially in an upwards vertical
~ direction (see Figure 8).
.~ A f}rst contact 13 mounted to the drive axle of motor 12 activates a switch 14
when the traulsfer hooks 4, 4a are in their second position. Switch 14 reverses the rotation
~` of motor 12 so that the transfer hooks 4, 4a are returned to their ~Irst, initial position (see
Figure 6). A second contact 15 also mounted to the drive shaft of motor 12 activates a
. switch 16 which shuts down the motor when the first position is reached by the transfer
"~i hooks 4, 4a.
. 20 A photo sensor 5 is provided on the transfer station 3 which determines when a
-`~ textile 2 has been positioned on the transfer hooks 4 and starts the pulling up motor 6.
The transfer procedure for the elongated textile 2 from the transfer station 3 to the pulling .
up station 7 is performed ;n consecutive stages (see Figure 8). The photoelectric switch
starts the pulling up motor 6 of the pulling up section 7 of the apparatus I and, thus, starts
`. 25 the movement of the pulling up hooks 9 which are respectively rigidly connected to the
chains 8. During the circulation of the chains 8, a contact 10 is triggered by lug 11
`: mounted to one of the chains. This starts transfer motor 12 of the transfer station 3 and
movement of the transfer hooks 4, 4a. At the point at which both the transfer hooks 4 and
.' the pulling up hooks 9 meet, the textile 2 is transferred (see Figure 8). A lug 18
. 30 connected horizontally to the other one of chains 8, triggers a contact 19 which stops the
. pulling up hooks 9 at a certain position. Another sensor 20 checks whether the pulling up
station 7 is in its initial position and, thus, allows a subsequent cycle to be started (see
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Figure 4). The motors 12, 6 for the transfer and pulling up stations 3, 7 respectively are
controlled by frequency converters 38.
;"` In the position of the pulling up station 7 illustrated in Figure 7, the elongated
textile is at the highest point of the circulating chains 8. From this position, the transfer of
- 5 the textile 2 to the -form 21 takes place. This is assisted by a pair of roller arrangements
. 24 which are respectively positioned on opposite sides of the fo:rm 21 (see Figures 3 and
7) and are hingedly mounted as at 25 for movement from a rest position, wherein they do
not come into contact with the form 21 or a textile thereon to a pulling up position
wherein they engage the form or the textile (see Figures 7). The movement of the roller
arrangements 24 to and from the form 21 is achieved by way of pneumatic cylinders 28
`;~ (see Figure 7) and is controlled by way of a light barrier 22 which detects the presence of
a textile 2 on the form 21 and a sensor 23 (see Figure 6) which senses the position of the
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p~llling Ip hooks 9. Roller drive motors 27 are mounted on the respective roller
arrangements 24 or the mounting plates 26 thereof which rotate the pulling up rollers of
the arrangements. The sensor 23 and the light barrier 22 act on both the drive motors 27
and the pneumatic cylinders 28. The movement of the roller arrangements 24 is
.. syncllronous on both sides of the form 21. The drawing up rollers of the arrangements 24
~: are rotated by the motors 27 controlled by the light barrier 22 and sensor 23 so that the
elongated textile 2 on the form 21 is drawn along the form 21 mainly by the force of the
~:, 20 rollers. This relieves the pulling up hooks 9 on the pulling up station 7. Without these
rollers, the elongated textile 2 would tear prematurely as a result of the excessive tensile
:~; force generated by the pulling up hooks 9. The time during which the rollers are rotated
:. is controlled by a time generator 38 and is variable depending on the length of the textile
. 2. At the highest point of the pulling up station 7 (see Figure 7) there is provided a
.~ 25 specially shaped guide flap 29 which is designed to stop the free ends of the elongated
textile 2 from slipping and falling uncontrollably onto the form 21 or onto parts of the
.. machine 1, which would result in destruction of the textile. The guide flap 29 is vertically
` reciprocatible at the end adjacent the form 21 by way of a pneumatic cylinder 30. The
. light barrier 22 which, as mentioned above, recognizes when the textile is in position,
. 30 activates cylinder 30 which in turn causes the flap 29 to rise. The -flap 29 is returned to
.. its initial position when the pulling up motor 6 for the pulling up station 7 is shut down as
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`~ described above.
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A disengaging mechanism 31 is integrated into the pulling up hooks 9 which
releases the textile 2 onto the form 21 in the appropriate position wherein the textile is
fully on the -form (see Figures 9 to 11). Approximately in the middle of the pulling up
.~. station 7 there is provided a horizontally mounted shaft 32 (see Figure 8) to which two
`.- S sprocket wheels 33 are rigidly attached. These sprocket wheels are connected by two
circulating chains 34 which in turn are mounted axially. On these two chains 34, there are
:~ curved plastic guides 35 (see Figures 3 and 8) which start disengagement function of a
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`.~ disengaging mechanism in the pulling up hooks 9. The two disengaging levers 31 are
.i each fiffed with a cam rubber 36 in their angled section which hold the textile 2 in place
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as mentioned above. These two rubbers are mounted on a lever mechanism 31 which,using a tension spring 37 together with a curved plastic guides 35 mounted on the
circulating chain 34 effects the disengagement and, thus, the release of the textile on the
form 21 in the position described above. The entire procedure, the plllling up machine I
.' in accordance with the invention and the interconnecthlg parts is controlled by a freely
lS programmable controller 38.
. The textile 2 is then completely drawn over the form 21 of the semi-formed
. machine which in itself constitutes a part independent of the machine of the invention. In
its next cycle, the semi-form machine places the next form 21 in front of the pulling up
:; machine 1 and the described process of placing the textile onto the transfer station 3 and,
using the transfer hooks 4, 4a, fading it to the pulling up hooks 9 of the pulling up station
i~ 7 is repeated.
.```3 During operation, the operator stands in front of the transfer station 3 and slides the
`~3 elongated textile 2, for example a stocking, onto the transfer hooks 4 with the waist rubber
~`:3 towards the machine 1 (see Figure 1). The photoelectric switch S recognizes that a
stocking is ready and starts the pulling up section 7. When the pulling up hooks 9 or, in
.` case of socks, the pulling up hooks 9 and the auxiliary hooks 9a have reached a certain
i position, the transfer station 3 is started and the transfer and pulling up stations 3, 7 are
operated as described above.
Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried
out without departing from the scope of the invention which is intended to be limited only
by the scope of the appended claims.
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