EA045407B1 - REMOVING DEVICE DESIGNED FOR REMOVING TUBULAR KNITTING PRODUCTS FROM A CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE FOR HOSIERY PRODUCTS - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a doffing device for removing a tubular knitted product from a circular knitting machine for hosiery or the like.

In the field of manufacturing tubular knitted products by circular knitting machines for hosiery or the like, in some cases it is necessary to carry out transfer of the product from the machine used to manufacture the product to another piece of processing equipment to perform additional processing on the product that cannot be performed on the product. the specified machine or the execution of which on the specified machine is not economically feasible.

Particularly in the field of hosiery manufacturing, technical solutions have been developed in recent years for performing automatic sealing of the toe of hosiery products by seaming or stitching. Some of these technical solutions are based on removing the product from the machine used to make it and transferring it to a post-processing station, separate from the making machine, to seal the toe of the hosiery at this post-processing station, in the time when the machine is used to make another hosiery product. These technical solutions have an advantage over other technical solutions that are based on sealing the toe of the hosiery directly on the machine used for its production, and this advantage lies in the absence of an excessive reduction in the productivity of the machine.

The transfer of a hosiery product or - more generally - a tubular product from the machine used for its production to a station in which the end of the product, which is defined in the axial direction, is to be completed, or - more generally - further processing of the product, as a rule, it is carried out by means of a take-off device, which, by means of take-off elements, individually grabs the loops of the knitted fabric of the product from the needles of the machine and holds them during the transfer of the product.

In some solutions for toe sealing of hosiery products, the stripper device is also used to hold the product while additional processing is performed, while in other solutions the stripper device is used only for transferring the product, since after it reaches the station, which further processing is to be carried out, it transfers the loops of knitted fabric previously removed from the needles, usually still individually, to another device designed to hold the product while additional processing is carried out, for example such as a handling device. Said handling device ensures that the loops belonging to one half of the row of knitted fabric loops received by the removal device are located opposite the loops belonging to the other half of the same row of knitted fabric loops, and holds these two halves of the row of knitted fabric loops in the position where they are opposite each other during the action of the stitching or loop-forming head, which connects facing loops from pairs of facing loops of the knitted fabric.

In known types of take-off devices used simply for transferring a product from the machine in which it was made to a handling device, the connection between the take-off elements and the needles for effecting the transfer of the loops of knitted fabric from the needles to the take-off elements is usually made by inserting the head of the needle into the socket formed at the end of the removing element. For this reason, the stripping device typically has a circular annular stripping body which is configured to be positioned to face coaxially toward that end of the needle cylinder from which the needle heads protrude and which holds a plurality of stripping elements oriented parallel to the axis of the stripping body.

A removal device of this type is described, for example, in European patent EP0942086 B1.

An object of the present invention is to provide a doffing device for removing tubular knitted fabric from a circular hosiery knitting machine or the like, which has an increased degree of reliability against accidental detachment of loops of the knitted fabric from the doffing elements.

Within the framework of this object, the object of the invention is to provide a device which in any case has a high degree of simplicity of design and provides excellent precision in connecting the stripping elements to the needles of the machine used to manufacture the product.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stripping device which can have a particularly small radial dimension.

Another object of the invention is to provide a removal device which can also eliminate errors in the radial position of the needles of the machine used to manufacture the product.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device that provides high reliability in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a removal device

- 1 045407 intended for removing a tubular knitted product from a circular knitting machine for hosiery or the like, which provides the possibility of improving the solutions of the prior art in relation to one or more of the above-mentioned aspects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a doffing device for removing a tubular knitted product from a circular hosiery knitting machine or the like, which is highly reliable and which can be constructed relatively easily and at a competitive cost.

This goal and these and other objects that will become more obvious in the future are achieved/solved by means of a removing device designed for removing a tubular knitted product from a circular knitting machine for hosiery or the like, according to claim 1 of the claims, if necessary provided with one or more of the distinguishing features of the dependent claims.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of certain preferred, but not the only, embodiments of a doffing device for removing a tubular knitted garment from a circular hosiery knitting machine or the like, according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which :

fig. 1 is a diametrical section through the stripping device when it is not in contact with the needle cylinder;

fig. 2 is a diametrical cross-section of the removal device at the stage of entering into contact interaction with the needles of the needle cylinder;

fig. 3-5 represent diametrical sections of the removing device at the stage of transferring loops of knitted fabric to the removing device;

fig. 6 is a diametrical cross-section of the removal device with the loops of the knitted fabric completely transferred;

fig. 7 is a diametrical section through the stripping device with the two annular portions in the stitching position;

fig. 8 is a diametrical cross-section of the stripping device with the two annular portions in the stitching position during the stitching step;

fig. 9 and 10 are diametrical cross-sections of the stripping device with the two annular portions in the stripping position at the end of the stitching step;

fig. 11-13 are perspective views of various elements that form the stripping element;

fig. 14 is an enlarged view of the sequence of bringing the release element into contact with the corresponding needle for removing a loop of knitted fabric;

fig. 15 is an enlarged view of the loop transfer sequence of a knitted fabric;

fig. 16 is an enlarged view of the sequence of release of the release element from contact with the corresponding needle when a loop of knitted fabric has been removed.

As shown in the figures, the removal device according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, is configured to remove a tubular knitted product from a circular hosiery knitting machine or the like.

The stripping device 1 contains an annular stripping body 2, which holds a plurality of stripping elements 3 located around the axis 2a of the stripping body 2.

The take-off body 2 is configured to be arranged coaxially around a needle cylinder 42 of a circular knitting machine for hosiery or the like, each of the take-off members 3 being arranged to correspond to a corresponding needle 44 of the machine.

The stripping elements 3 are held by the first and second annular parts (2b, 2c).

The first and second annular parts (2b, 2c) can be moved by rotating them relative to each other about a swing axis (100), which is substantially perpendicular to the axis (2a) of the removal device, to transition between a removal position in which they are located so that that they form a circle which is coaxial with respect to the axis (2a) of the stripping device, and a stitching position in which the annular parts (2b, 2c) are arranged so that they face each other.

The first and second annular portions 2b, 2c hold a plurality of stripping members 3.

The stripping elements 3 form a corresponding stripping head 20, which can be moved on command along a stripping path having a component part that is parallel to the axis 2a of the stripping body 2 and a component part that is radial with respect to said axis 2a.

In particular, the removal path has at least one radial component,

- 2 045407 extending away from the specified axis 2a.

In addition, the stripping head 20 includes a wider portion 21 designed to penetrate the corresponding loop of the knitted fabric.

In addition, the removal heads 20 are designed to move below the release plane due to their penetration into the corresponding loops of the knitted fabric.

In addition, it is possible to ensure that each ring portion 2b, 2c will cooperate with at least one loop pressing device 14, which is movable relative to the stripping heads 20 to place the stripped loops of the knitted fabric next to each other during the stitching step. .

The stripping body 2 can preferably be rotated on command about the axis 2a at the same angular velocity as the needle cylinder 42 during the contact steps of each stripping element 3 with the corresponding needle 44.

The stripping elements 3 preferably include a locking tab 15 that can be moved on command between a position distant from the stripping head 20 and a position closer to the stripping head 20.

Specifically, the locking tab 15 is configured to hold the loop of knitted fabric removed by the release member 3 in a stable fixation state when the locking tongue 15 is in a position closer to the release head.

The stripping element 3 suitably extends along the main longitudinal direction.

Said main direction of longitudinal extension is located substantially parallel to the axis 2a when the stripping member 3 is removed from contact with the needle cylinder 42.

The locking tab 15 is preferably movable relative to the stripping head 20 along a direction that is substantially parallel to the main direction of extension of the corresponding stripping element 3.

According to a preferred embodiment, the stripping heads 20 include the first stripping heads 20a shown in FIG. 11, and the second stripping heads 20b shown in FIG. 12.

The first stripping heads 20a and the second stripping heads 20b are configured to be positioned with a corresponding fit when the stripping member is moved to the stitching position.

The first stripping heads 20a include a male end portion 22a, while the second stripping heads 20b include a female end portion 22b.

When the first stripping heads 20a are adjacent to the corresponding second stripping heads 20b, the male end portion 22a of the first stripping heads 20a fits inside the corresponding female end portion 22b of the corresponding second stripping head 20b.

According to one practical embodiment, the first annular portion 2b holds stripping elements 3 provided with the first stripping heads 20a, while the second annular portion 2c holds stripping elements 3 configured with the second stripping heads 20b.

The use of the first stripping heads 20a with a male end portion 22a corresponding to the stripping elements 3 of the first annular part 2b, and the use of the second stripping heads 20b with a female end portion 22b corresponding to the stripping elements 3 of the second annular part 2c makes it possible to move the loop initially connected to the female end portion 22b onto the corresponding male end portion 22a without any intervention/impact during this transfer.

It is advantageous if, during the step of approaching the removal heads 20 to the corresponding needle 44, a section of the trajectory is provided on the removal path extending away from the axis 2a for moving the removal head 20 outward relative to the needle cylinder 42, and after that a section approaching the axis 2a for moving removal head 20 to the corresponding needle 44.

It is advisable if the removal head 20 contains a longitudinal recess 23.

In addition, the removal device 1 contains selective actuation means designed to ensure movement of the removal elements 3.

Said selective actuation means may comprise, for example, cam devices configured to provide movement of the stripping elements 3 and the various components that form them, such as the stripping head 20 and the locking tab 15.

The operation of the removal device 1 according to the invention is carried out as follows.

The removal body 2 (FIG. 1) is placed opposite the needle cylinder 42 and coaxially with respect to the needle cylinder 42, with the annular parts (2b, 2c) in the removal position.

-

Claims (2)

The stripping body 2 is rotated about its own axis 2a at the same rotation speed as the needle cylinder 42. Once the formation of the tubular product 50 by means of the needle cylinder 42 is completed, the adapted cam devices will ensure the selective lowering of the stripping elements 3 towards the corresponding needle 44. The respective stripping heads 20 (FIG. 3), by lowering them, are also moved towards the outside of the needle cylinder 42 to move behind the corresponding needle 44. As they continue to be lowered (FIG. 4), the stripping heads are placed next to the needle 44 and move closer to it. until the wider part 21 of the stripping head 20 penetrates inside the loop of the knitted fabric. During this movement, the removal heads 20 move below the release plane due to penetration into the corresponding loop of the knitted fabric. If necessary, the locking tab 15 is moved closer to the take-off head 20 to stabilize the loop of knitted fabric transferred to the take-off element 3. At this point (Fig. 4), the take-off element 3 is raised (or the needle 44 is lowered) to move away from the needle cylinder 42, and the tubular product is turned inside out. It is possible to rotate the annular parts (2a, 2c) relative to each other around the swing axis 100 to move from the removal position to the stitching position. After this, the stitching device ensures stitching of the loops of the knitted fabric. In practice, it has been found that the invention achieves its intended purpose and solves the problems due to the fact that a removal device has been created that is extremely practical and effective. The invention thus conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive spirit; in addition, all parts can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements. The materials used in practice and the possible shapes and sizes may be any consistent with the requirements and state of the art, provided they are compatible with the particular application. The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102019000023577, from which this application claims priority, are incorporated herein by reference. In the event that technical elements set forth in any claim are accompanied by reference numerals, those reference numerals have been included for the sole purpose of making the claims clearer and, accordingly, such reference numerals do not have the effect of limiting the interpretation of each element. , identified by way of example by such reference numbers. CLAIM 1. A doffing device (1) designed for removing a tubular knitted product (50) from a circular knitting machine for hosiery, containing an annular doffing body (2) that holds a plurality of doffing elements (3) located around the axis (2a) of said doffing body (2), wherein said doffing body (2) is configured to be placed coaxially around a needle cylinder (42) of a circular knitting machine for hosiery or the like, and wherein each of said doffing elements (3) is positioned so that it corresponded to the corresponding needle (44) of a given machine, and the specified removal body (2) is configured to rotate on command about an axis (2a) with the same angular velocity as the specified needle cylinder (42), during the stages of contact interaction of each removal element (3) with a corresponding needle (44), characterized in that said removal elements (3) are held by first and second annular parts (2b, 2c), which are rotatable relative to each other around a swing axis (100), which substantially perpendicular to the axis (2a) of the release body (2), for the transition between the removal position, in which they are arranged so that they form a circle coaxial with respect to the axis (2a) of the release device, and the stitching position, in which the specified the annular parts (2b, 2c) are arranged so that they face each other, and each of said removal elements (3) contains a corresponding removal head (20), which is configured to move on command along the removal path having a component part, which is parallel to the axis (2a) of the stripping body (2), and at least one radial component part extending away from the axis (2a) of the stripping body (2), wherein said stripping head (20) contains a wider part (21), designed to penetrate inside the corresponding loop of the knitted fabric, and said removal heads (20) are configured to move below the dropping plane due to penetration into the corresponding loop of the knitted fabric. 2. Removal device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said removal element (3) is -