US3429618A

US3429618A - Apparatus for the flat laying of stockings

Info

Publication number: US3429618A
Application number: US698640A
Authority: US
Inventors: Viggo H Sparso; Anders Nielsen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-01-17
Filing date: 1968-01-17
Publication date: 1969-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 1986-02-25
Also published as: NL6800648A; GB1168956A; DE1610729A1; FR1551525A

Description

Feb. 25, 1969 v. H. sPARs ET APPARATUS FOR THE FLAT mains OF swocxmss Sheet Filed Jan. 17, 1968 ATTORNEYS Feb. 25, 1969 v. H. SPAR5 ET 3,429,618

APPARATUS FOR THE FLAT LAYING 0F s'rocxmes Filed Jan. 17, 1968 Sheet 3 of 2 Fig. 3 I

INVENTORS, M660 #a/pa 5 4m! Anew Ma 55% 32% M Ml/(L w ATTORNEY S United States Patent US. Cl. 3022 Int. Cl. B65g 51/00; A41h 43/00 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for the flat laying of stockings comprises a holder for holding one end of a stocking while a flow of air is produced for straightening out the stocking while so held at one end thereof.

Background of the invention This invention relates to an apparatus for the flat laying of stockings.

Such apparatus are useful at many stations in a stocking manufacturing or processing factory where it is desirable that the stockings after having been subjected to a certain manufacturing or checking operation, or have been conveyed from one station to another, should be deposited in a relatively straightened out state in regular and uniform bundles, e.g. in a collecting tray or basket.

A stocking flat laying apparatus is known comprising a holding member which is adapted to receive and hold the leading end of a stocking conveyed thereto by a pneumatic stocking supplying system and thereafter to move in a rectilinear path, dragging along the end of the stocking held thereby, while leaving the remainder of the stocking behind to be gradually straightened out as the movement of the holding member proceeds, and finally to let go of the stocking end and permitting the stocking to drop into a collecting tray or basket.

This mechanical flat laying of stockings is relatively complicated and expensive, and besides the apparatus takes up considerable space.

It is an object of the present invention to devise a stocking fiat laying apparatus which is relatively simple and inexpensive and can be constructed so as to occupy a minimum of space.

Summary of the invention According to the invention, an apparatus for the flat laying of stockings comprises a holding member adapted to receive and temporarily hold the leading end of a stocking conveyed thereto by a pneumatic stocking supplying system, and means for producing a flow of air from said holding member along a flat laying path.

In this manner the necessity of mechanical driving and guiding means for moving the holding member forth and back along the flat laying path is avoided, the straightening out being performed by means of a flow of air, while the holding member is being kept stationary so that a compressed air nozzle or a few such nozzles take over the whole function of the said relatively complicated driving and guiding means that were formerly used. This is a very great simplification and also the space requirements are limited to a minimum.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the flat laying path is provided at the side of the holding member facing away from its stocking receiving side, means being provided for moving said holding member out of the way to a position to enable a stocking held thereby to be caught by said fiow of air so as to be extended along said flat 3,429,618 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 laying path. It will be realized that in this embodiment the flow of air serving to straighten out the stockings will be directed in the same direction as the flow of air by means of which the stocking was first supplied to the holding member.

A still greater simplification is obtained by another embodiment of the invention, in which said holding member is provided at the remote end of a pneumatic conveying tube conectable to a pneumatic stocking supplying system, said air flow producing means being constructed to produce a flow of air along said pneumatic conveying tube in a direction opposite to that of the stocking supplying flow of air, the apparatus further comprising means for opening up the bottom of said pneumatic conveying tube to permit a stocking present therein to drop out of same.

For holding the stocking end in the holding member a suction, e.g. produced by ejector effect, may be used in a manner known per se. A more reliable and economical way of holding the stocking end may, however, be obtained by constructing the holding member with mechanical stocking holding means, e.g. in the form of a reciprocatable needle. Holding means of this nature are less dependent on any fluctuations of the air pressure, and, if pneumatically operated, their consumption of compressed air will be considerably lower than that of a suction device operated by means of an ejector.

Brie description of the drawings FIGURE 1 diagrammatically shows an apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention in side view and partly in section,

FIGURE 2 a similar view of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention, and

FIGURE 3 is a mechanism associated with the apparatus of FIGURE 2 as seen from one end with a section through a tube defining a flat laying path of the apparatus.

Description of the preferred embodiments In FIG. 1, 1 is a tube, through which stockings or stocking blanks are supplied pneumatically in a manner known per se, e.g., from one or more knitting machines, from a checking station or from a processing station, such as a seaming station or some other station in a factory.

At some distance in front of the exit opening of the tube 1 a holding member 2 is provided, which has a conical bore 3 for receiving the front end of the stocking. This will in most cases be the stocking toe, but in connection with some uses of the apparatus the stocking may alternatively arrive with the Welt first, in which case the holding member will be constructed for receiving that end of the stocking. The holding member 2 is mounted on a compressed air cylinder 4, which by means of a head 5 is pivoted on a horizontal pin 6. The head 5 is constructed with a compressed air pipe stub 7, to which a flexible compressed air hose 8 is connected and from which a passage within the head leads to the compressed) air cylinder 4. In the compressed air cylinder 4 there is provided a piston 9 carrying a needle 10, which by means of the piston 9 can be moved into and out of the wall of the conical bore 3. The advance movement is caused by supplying compressed air through the hose 8, while the retraction is effected by a restoring spring 11. The head 5 is connected through a connecting rod 12 to a piston rod 13, which is reciprocatable by means of a piston in a compressed air cylinder 14. The piston rod 13 is normally kept in the position shown in the drawing by means of a restoring spring. When a stocking has been supplied to the holding member 2, the piston rod 13 is retracted by means of compressed air so that the holding member 2 is swung upwards to the position 2' indicated in dotted lines. Before this swinging of the holding member the needle 10 has first been advanced by supplying compressed air to the cylinder 4 so as to hold the stocking end.

In the tube 1 there is provided a flap 15, which is opened when a stocking passes and is again closed after the stocking has been caught by the holding member 2.

After the holding member has been swung upwards, the stocking depends therefrom. A flow of air is now supplied through one or more, e.g., two, compressed air nozles 16 so as to impinge on the depending stocking and drag it along in the same direction as that of the conveying flow of air by means of which the stocking was sup plied to the holding member. The stocking is thereby laid flat on a tray 17 forming the bottom of a housing. When the stocking has been laid fiat, the supply of compressed air to the cylinder 4 is interrupted, whereby the stocking end is released. Immediately afterwards the tray 17 is tilted so that the straightened out stocking drops into a container provided below the tray. The compressed air supply to the cylinder 14 is interrupted so that the holding member 2 swings back to the position shown in the drawing. The apparatus is now ready to receive a new stocking.

If the conveying air flow in the tube 1 continues after the flap 15 has been closed, the air may either penetrate through holes in the tube or may be diverted to a special exit for special purposes.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, there is likewise provided a pneumatic supply tube 1 having a flap 15 therein. Instead of the swingable holding member 2 of FIG. 1 immediately before the front end of the tube 1, a stationary holding member 18 is provided in FIG. 2, which is located at a considerable distance from the exit opening of the tube 1. Between this exit opening and the holding member there is provided a pneumatic con veying tube 19, which both forms an extension of the pneumatic supply tube 1 and defines a flat laying path. The tube 19 is constructed with an openable bottom as will be described later. The holding member 18 is constructed with a conical bore 20 for receiving the stocking end, and the holding member is provided with a pneumatic cylinder 21 with a needle 22 similarly to the arrangement of FIG. 1. From the conical bore 20 an axial outlet passage 23 and two radial outlet passages 24 lead to the surrounding atmosphere. Moreover, one or more, e.g., two, compressed air passages 25 receiving compressed air from a tube 26 extend through the holding member.

In the embodiment illustrated, the tube 19 is of square cross section, consisting of an upper V-shaped member 27, to which two bottom side members 29 are pivoted by means of hinges 28. The bottom side members 29 are provided with arms 30 pivoted to a couple of clasping arms 31, which are again pivoted to a piston 32 of a pneumatic cylinder 33. The mechanism consisting of the parts 3033 is not shown in FIG. 2. It may be arranged at any place along the length of the tube 19, preferably adjacent one of the ends of same where it may be built together with other equipment. If desired, a plurality of such mechanisms may be provided.

When a stocking is supplied through the tube 1, the flap 15 is opened and the stocking is conveyed further by the conlveying air flow through the closed tube 19, which thus forms a continuation of the pneumatic conveying path. When the front end of the stocking arrives at the end of the tube 19, it is received in the conical bore 20 of the holding member 18. The

passages

23 and 24 serve to discharge the conveying air. Now the needle 22 is advanced to catch the stocking end and the flap 15 is closed. Compressed air is then supplied through the passages 25, whereby a flow of air is produced in the tube 19 in the opposite direction as that of the conveying air flow. The stocking is thereby laid fiat 0n the bottom of the tube 19, and when this has taken place the needle 22 is retracted and compressed air is supplied to the cylinder 33, whereby the piston 32 is retracted and swings the bottom side members 29 outwards to vertical positions, as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 3. The stocking may now drop in a straightened out state into a container provided under the tube 19.

The opening and closing of the flap 15, the advancing and retraction of the needle 22, the supply of compressed air to the passages 25, and the opening up of the bottom side members 29 of the tube may like the corresponding functions of the embodiment first described be controlled in the required time sequence by means of a suitable control device of well known kind, e.g., of mechanical, pneumatic or electronic nature.

For holding the stocking ends in the holding member other forms of mechanical holding means, such as a pair of tongs or a claw, may he used instead of a needle.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for the fiat laying of stockings, comprising a holding member adapted to receive and temporarily hold the leading end of a stocking conveyed thereto by a pneumatic stocking supplying system, and means for producing a flow of air from said holding member along a flat laying path.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which said fiat laying path is provided at the side of the holding member facing away from its stocking receiving side, means being provided for moving said holding member out of the way to a position to enable a stocking held thereby to be caught by said flow of air so as to be extended along said flat laying path.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, in which said holding member is provided at the remote end of a pneumatic conveying tube connectable to a pnuematic stocking supplying system, said air flow producing means being constructed to produce a flow of air along said pneumatic conveying tube in a direction opposite to that of the stocking supplying flow of air, the apparatus further comprising means for opening up the bottom of said pneumatic conveying tube to permit a stocking present therein to drop out of same.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3, in which said holding member is constructed with mechanical stocking holding means.

5. An apparatus as in claim 4, in which said mechanical stocking holding means is in the form of a reciprocatable needle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,964,221 12/1960 Fuqua 223- 3 3,319,851 5/1967 Horberg 223-112 3,355,074 11/1967 Brewin et al 223-1 12 3,374,903 3/1968 Glover 214-6 ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.