US3730405A

US3730405A - Hosiery inspection apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3730405A
Application number: US00155578A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Ezell; T Talley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-06-22
Filing date: 1971-06-22
Publication date: 1973-05-01
Anticipated expiration: 1990-05-01

Abstract

Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection which includes pairs of garment-holding elements having downturned ends which are inserted into the garments, the outer holding elements of each pair being pivotally mounted upon a support for horizontal movement, and pneumatic means for moving the pivoted elements about their pivots to a diverging relation to spread and hold the garments and to a substantially parallel relation to release the garments. A garment packaging receptacle is held below the garment being inspected, and a burst of air through the pivoted holding elements into the garment positively ejects the garment from the holders. The air release is under control of the means for moving the holding elements toward one another.

Description

1, M m 1 es mi 11 1 1111 fifi3fifi Ezelll et al. May 1, 1973 1541 HOSHEPY INSPECTION APPARATUS 1,046,561 12/1912 Powell et al ..223 43 1 1 11, R d, [76] Inventors Me vm P1 Eze 813 omany Roa Primary Exammer G V- Larkm Charlotte, NC. 28203, Troy B. Tal- A" Th B v p 1 et a] ley, Route 4, Concord, NC. 28025 Omey" Omas e [22] Filed: June 22, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 155,578 Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection which includes pairs of garment-holding elements having downturned ends which are inserted into the [52] US. Cl ..223/72 garments, the Outer holding elements of each pair being p ny mounted p a pp for horizontal [58] Field of Search ..223/6l, 63, 72-74, movement, and pneumatic means for moving the 223/751 pivoted elements about their pivots to a diverging relation to spread and hold the garments and to a substan- [56] References and tially parallel relation to release the garments. A garment packaging receptacle is held below the garment UNITED STATES PATENTS being inspected, and a burst of air through the pivoted 775,975 1 1/1904 Iverson ..223/43 holding elements into the garment positively ejects the 3,567,083 3/1971 Piilola 1. garment from the holders. The air release is under 3,207,391 9/1965 Richterkessing 223/73 control of the means for moving the holding elements 3,495,747 2/1970 Saltiel ..223/72 toward one another 3,471,068 10/1969 Foreman ..223/74 X 3,357,609 12/1967 Oberrecht ..223/39 17 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENT-EU rarcr 1 ms SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTORS Taov B.TALLEY 5 m 5 CLLhJZu-Q ATTORNEYS BY was BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for use in holding an article for inspection and releasing the article into a packaging container after inspection, and more particularly to such apparatus for use in inspecting garments, such as ladies hose, panti-hose, and the like.

It is customary to inspect garments after manufacture to determine if they contain imperfections. With knit garments of generally tubular form, inspection has usually been made while the garment is on a form, or board, or while in place over an inspection tube. In either case, the garment must be drawn over the inspection device to spread it, and, after inspection, pulled from the inspection form. Sometimes, when a tube is used, suction will be applied to the tube interior to draw the garment from the form while simultaneously everting it.

With the advent of panti-hose, inspection became more complex due to the bifurcated nature of the garment. The former types of inspection forms were no longer suitable, and new means requiring more handling of the garments were used. As each manual handling of the garment increases the likelihood of damage, simplified procedures were desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for use in inspecting panti-hose and similar garments which will reduce the number of manual handling operations of the garment, and so reduce the chances of damage.

A more specific object is to provide means to spread, and hold, a garment for inspection, and automatically release the garment into a packaging receptacle after inspection.

A further object is to provide a device of this kind which will positively eject the garment from the holder after inspection.

Another object is the provision of such a device having means to spread the garment after the garment is in place, so that it is not necessary to spread it as it is being put upon the inspection holder.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment inspection holder which will release its garment-spreading action before ejecting the garment, so that there will be no friction between the garment and holder during release of the garment.

Another object is to provide a device of this nature which will spread the parity portion ofa bifurcated garment of the panti-hose type and simultaneously spread each leg, so that the wholegarment will be spread for inspection.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of the improved garment holder with a garment in place but before spreading, the spread position being shownin dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the. holder and its operating mechanism, the supporting standjbeing broken away;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of mechanism shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical and fluid controls of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in detail, the improved inspection and packaging device 1 is shown as mounted upon a support stand 2. The mechanism for holding a garment for inspection and positively removing the garment after inspection is indicated generally at 3 at the top of the stand. A package, or bag, holding means is shown at 4, mounted on the stand below the garment holder.

The garment holding mechanism 3 is mounted at the top of the support stand 2 upon a horizontal platform 5. It includes pairs of garment-spreader arms 6, and operating means 7 for spreading and retracting the arms. Each pair of arms 6 consists of a fixed arm 8 and a movable arm 9. Arms 9 are pivotally mounted at spaced points upon a transverse plate 10 secured to the end of platform 5 and extending transversely to opposite sides of the platform. The arm pivots 11 are located equidistant on opposite sides of the platform. A tie plate 12 is positioned over the arms 9 and receives the upper ends of the pivots. Each arm 9 carries a forwardly projecting tube 13 which has a downturned end 14, that serves as a garment supporting member and a blow-down tube, as will be described. The spreader arms have air passages 15 communicating with the tubes 13 and connected to air hoses 16.

Fixed arms 8 are similar to the tubular portions 13 of the movable arms 9, and are substantially coextensive with those portions. Each arm 8 has a horizontal section 17 and a downturned end 18. The ends of the horizontal sections 17 are fixed to a mounting bracket 19 carried at the outer edge of the transverse mounting plate 10, between the movable arms 9. A connector 20 is fitted on the horizontal sections of arms 8 adjacent the downturned ends to hold the arms 8 in fixed, parallel relation. When the arms 9 are in retracted, inoperative position, they lie closely adjacent the fixed arms, on either side of those arms, and substantially parallel to them. While it is not essential that the arms of the pairs occupy a parallel relationship when inoperative, this arrangement provides compactness and practicability.

In order to provide for movement of the spreader arms 9, the rear ends are bifurcated to receive the ends of spreader links 21. The links are pivotally connected to the spreader arms, as at 22, and have their opposite ends pivotally interconnected and attached to a fork 23 by a pivot 24. The fork is mounted on the end of a piston rod 25 of an air cylinder 26, fixed to the platform 5 above the support stand 2. Movement of the piston in the cylinder causes the fork 23 to move longitudinally of the platform and the links 21 to rock the spreader arms 9 about their pivots to separate and draw together the tubes 13, to engage and hold a garment for inspection and release it for removal, as will be described in detail.

In order to determine a garment-release position for the spreader arms 9 and tubes 13, an adjustable stop 27 is provided. The stop includes a bracket 28, mounted upon platform 5, and a stop screw 29 threaded through the bracket. The end of the stop screw is in the path of movement of fork 23, and contact of the fork with the screw stops forward movement of the fork and garment-release movement of the spreader arms 9. Normally, the stop screw will be adjusted so that the fork will be stopped when the spreader arms 9 and tubes 13 are in approximate parallelism with each other and the fixed arms 8.

Fork 23 also carries a switch-operating finger 30 on one side to strike, and operate, the trigger 31 ofa micro switch 32 seated upon the platform 5. Trigger 31 is operated only on the forward stroke of the fork, and pivots out of the path of the trigger on the return stroke. The switch is positioned so as to be operated just prior to contact of the fork with the stop screw 29 to release air to the blow-down tubes just before the spreader arms reach their fully retracted, or release, position.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that a hose 33 leads from a source of air under pressure to the airoperated parts of the unit. A solenoid operated valve 34 in a hose line 35, coupled to supply line 33, controls operation of the air cylinder 26.

Hose lines

36 and 37 lead from the solenoid valve to opposite ends of cylinder 26. Another hose line 38 extends from the supply line 33 to the spreader arm hoses 16. A solenoid operated valve 39 is in the line 38 to control flow of air to the spreader arms 9 and blow-down tubes 13.

The

valves

34 and 39 operate by suitable electric control circuits. Solenoid 40 of valve 34 is connected by wire 41 to power line 42, and by wire 43 to return line 44. A manually operated switch 45, preferably a foot-operated switch, is in wire 41 and opens and closes the circuit to the solenoid. Switch 45 is a normally open switch. Wire 46 connects solenoid 47 of valve 39 to power line 42, and wire 48 connects it to the return line 44. The normally-open micro switch 32 is in the line 46 and controls flow of current to solenoid 47.

When the device is to be used, the air supply will be on and electricity will be available in the electrical supply lines. At this time, the various controls will be in the positions shown in FIG. 4.

Switches

32 and 45 will be open, air valve 39 will be closed, and valve 34 will be at its at-rest position with air in line 36 and the back end of cylinder 26. This will hold fork 23 forward against stop screw 29, and the movable spreader arms 9 and tubes 13 in their approximately parallel, garmentrelease position, closely adjacent the fixed arms 8. A bag 49, to receive the inspected garment, will be placed upon bag holder 4, and a garment to be inspected will be drawn upward over the down-turned ends 14 of the tubes 13. If the garment is a bifurcated one, such as panti hose, the panty portion will be drawn over the tubes 13, and one tube 13 and one fixed arm 8 will enter each leg. The operator will press his foot upon switch 45, closing the circuit through solenoid 40. This will shift valve 34 to break communication between air line 36 and the supply line and open line 37 to the air supply. The piston in cylinder 26 will immediately draw back, moving fork 23 rearwardly. This movement causes links 21 to pull in, swinging the spreader arms 9 about their pivots 11 and moving the tubular garment holders divergently to engage the garment sides and stretch the garment for inspecting. The garment body portion will be stretched between the tubes 13 of the movable arms, and the legs will be stretched indepen dently between a movable arm and its adjacent fixed arm. When inspection is finished, switch 45 is released to deenergize solenoid 40 and permit valve 34 to return to its biased, inoperative position. This discontinues air to hose 37 and reestablishes communication with hose 36. The piston in cylinder 26 moves forward, advancing fork 23 and causing the garment-holding tubes to move toward one another, and the tubes of the fixed arms to relieve the tension in the inspected garment. As fork 27 nears contact with stop screw 29, finger 30 will strike trigger 31 of micro switch 32 and close the switch. Solenoid 47 will be activated to open valve 39 and allow air to flow through spreader arms 9 and tubes 13. The downward force of air emerging from the lower ends of the downturned portions 14 will strike the inner surfaces of the inspected garment and positively pull it from the holders and force it into the underhanging bag 49. Actuation of valve 39 is only momentary, as fork 23 continues its movement until contact with the stop screw 29 is made. At this time, valve 39 is closed and the garment-holding tubes 13 are in their retracted position adjacent fixed arms 8. Air in the hose 36 will hold the parts in this position until foot switch 45 is closed again.

This device is very effective in its operation, and greatly reduces the manual handling of garments to be inspected. It is necessary only to lift the garment upward over the holding tubes, and subsequent handling is done automatically. The machine spreads the garment with a gentle force, releases the tension and blows the garment into a bag held below the inspection point. The operator need only hold the garment in place and close the foot switch, the inspection device completes the operation and returns to its position of rest, ready to repeat the cycle when the foot switch is again closed.

Although the disclosure of the invention has included pairs of arms, with one arm of each pair being fixed and the other movable to provide for spreading the separate leg portions as well as the body portion of panti hose type garments, cylindrical garments can be spread for inspection by utilizing only the movable arms of each pair. By having the movable arms spaced sufficiently close to one another, the device can be used to hold hosiery for inspection, in which case the fixed arms will serve no function. Of course, the fixed arms can be dispensed with for tubular garment inspection only.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that the specific details of construction shown and described are merely by way of illustration, and the invention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection comprising, a support, a pair of garment-holding arms pivotally mounted upon the support and having downturned ends remote from the pivotal mountings to receive garments to be inspected, means on the support to move the arms to diverging relation to spread the downturned ends and hold a garment and to move the arms toward one another to release the garment, means to release a burst of air through the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to eject a garment from the garment-holding arms, and means operable during movement of the garment-holding arms toward one another to control the air release means.

2. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection comprising, a support, a pair of garmenbholding arms pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon the support with each arm having a downturned end, the downturned ends adapted to receive garments to be inspected, linkage interconnecting the arm ends remote from the downturned ends, a pneumatic cylinder assembly mounted on the support and connected to the linkage to move the linkage to pivot the arms and spread the retract the downturned garmentholding ends of the arms to hold a garment upon the downturned ends and release them therefrom, means to release a burst of air through the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to eject a garment from the downturned arm ends, and means operable during arm retraction operation of the cylinder assembly to control the air release means.

3. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 2 wherein, there is a valve to control operation of the cylinder assembly, and an electric circuit including a switch for operating the valve.

4. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the means to release a burst of air is a second valve, and a second switch in the electric circuit controlling the second valve.

5. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 4 wherein, the second switch is a micro switch, and the means to control the micro switch is a striker arm carried by the cylinder assembly and operable only on garment release movement of the cylinder assembly.

6. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 4 wherein, the first mentioned switch is a foot-operated switch.

7. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 6 wherein, there are means on the support below the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to hold a packaging receptacle for the garment into which the garment will be blown by a burst of air from the downturned ends of the garmentholding arms.

8. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection comprising, a support, a pair of garment-holding arms pivotally mounted upon the support and having downturned ends remote from the pivotal mountings to receive garments to be inspected, means on the support to move the arms to diverging relation to spread the downturned ends and hold a garment and to move the arms toward one another to release the ment-holding arms, and means operable during movement of the garment-holding arms toward one another to control the air release means.

10. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 9 wherein, the pivotal mounting of the garment-holding arms is intermediate the garment-holding arm ends and the means for spreading the garment-holding arms includes linkage interconnecting the garment-holding arm ends remote from the downturned ends.

11. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 10 wherein, there is a pneumatic cylinder assembly mounted on the support and connected to the linkage to move the linkage to spread and retract the garment-holding arms.

12. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 11 wherein, there are means to release a burst of air through the garmentholding arms downturned ends to eject a garment from the garment-holding arms, and means operable during garment release operation of the cylinder assembly to control the air release means.

13. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 12 wherein, there is a valve to control operation of the cylinder assembly, and an electric circuit including a switch for operating the valve.

14. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 13 wherein, the means to release a burst of air is a second valve, and a second switch in the electric circuit controlling the second valve.

15. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 14 wherein, the second switch is a micro switch, and the means to control the micro switch is a striker arm carried by the cylinder assembly and operable only on garment release movement of the cylinder assembly.

16. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 15 wherein, the first mentioned switch is a foot-operated switch.

17. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 10 wherein, there are means on the support below the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to hold a packaging receptacle for the garment into which the garment will be blown by a burst ofair from the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms.

Claims

2. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection comprising, a support, a pair of garment-holding arms pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon the support with each arm having a downturned end, the downturned ends adapted to receive garments to be inspected, linkage interconnecting the arm ends remote from the downturned ends, a pneumatic cylinder assembly mounted on the support and connected to the linkage to move the linkage to pivot the arms and spread the retract the downturned garment-holding ends of the arms to hold a garment upon the downturned ends and release them therefrom, means to release a burst of air through the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to eject a garment from the downturned arm ends, and means operable during arm retraction operation of the cylinder assembly to control the air release means.

7. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 6 wherein, there are means on the support below the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to hold a packaging receptacle for the garment into which the garment will be blown by a burst of air from the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms.

8. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection comprising, a support, a pair of garment-holding arms pivotally mounted upon the support and having downturned ends remote from the pivotal mountings to receive garments to be inspected, means on the support to move the arms to diverging relation to spread the downturned ends and hold a garment and to move the arms toward one another to release the garment, and a pair of fixed arms carried by the support intermediate the garment-holding arms and having downturned ends adjacent the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms.

9. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 8 wherein, there are means to release a burst of air through the garment-holding arms downturned ends to eject a garment from the garment-holding arms, and means operable during movement of the garment-holding arms toward one another to control the air release means.

12. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 11 wherein, there are means to release a burst of air through the garment-holding arms downturned ends to eject a garment from the garment-holding arms, and means operable during garment release operation of the cylinder assembly to control the air release means.

17. Apparatus for holding tubular garments during inspection as claimed in claim 10 wherein, there are means on the support below the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms to hold a packaging receptacle for the garment into which the garment will be blown by a burst of air from the downturned ends of the garment-holding arms.