US3790047A

US3790047A - Apparatus for treating and transferring articles of hosiery,or other articles of apparel,from boarding forms onto a collecting surface

Info

Publication number: US3790047A
Application number: US00186997A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Laxson
Original assignee: Burlington Industries Inc
Current assignee: Kayser-Roth Corp
Priority date: 1971-10-06
Filing date: 1971-10-06
Publication date: 1974-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 1991-02-05
Also published as: GB1344631A; GB1344633A

Abstract

Apparatus for treating and transferring articles of apparel includes a rotating support means which carries a plurality of boarding forms that are vertically disposed for carrying such articles into and out of a treating chamber. After treatment, the articles are removed from the boarding forms and received onto a foraminous surface of a transferring means for being subsequently stacked or collected on a flat surface. The transfer means operates on an air pressure differential principle, and mechanisms are provided for coordinating the treating, removing, and transferring of each article. During transfer of the article, there is an automatic cooling of the article by a flow of air created by the transferring means.

Description

United States Patent [191 Lakso'n 1451 Feb. 5, 1974 APPARATUS FOR TREATING AND 3,477,558 11/1969 Fleischauern .f. 271 74 TRANSFERRING ARTICLES or HOSIERY,-

, 3 9 or ert, r. OR OTHER ARTICLES 0F APPAREL 3,333,748 8/ 1967 Herbert, Jr. 223/76 FROM BOARMNG FORMS ONTO A 3,054,542 7/1962 Glaze, Jr. et 61.... 223/112 I COLLECTING SURFACE- 3,353,726 11/1967 Kronsbein 223 112 Inventor: J- T. Paducah y 3,613,883 10/1967 Starbuck 271/74 [73] Assignee: Burlington Industries, Inc., Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Greensboro, NC. I Assistant Examiner-Peter Nerbun [22] File Oct 6 1971 Attorney, Agent, 'or FirmCushman, Darby &

. Cushman [21] Appl. No.: 186,997

' Related US. Application Data [57] ABSTRACT [63] C0minuafion in part of Ser 90 001 Nov 1 6 Apparatus for treating and transferring articles of ap- 1970 abandoned parel includes a rotating support means which carries a plurality of boarding forms that are vertically'dis- [52 US. Cl. 223/112 PSed carrying articles into and Of a 51 Int. Cl. A47j 51/06 ing chamber- After treatment the articles are 5 Field of Search..." 223/112 75 7 77 57 0 moved from the boarding forms and received 01110 a 223/43; 34/103, 105; 2 14/1 Bv, 8; 271774; foraminous surface of a transferring means for being 'i g subsequently stacked or collected on a flat surface.

' The transfer means operates on an air pressure differ- [56] References Cited ential principle, and mechanisms are provided for coordinating the treating, removing, and transferring of UNITED STATES PATENTS each article. During transfer of the article, there is an 5 gs; ih l g2 automatic cooling of the article by a flow of air cre- 3 494 482 2/1970 11: 1:22. 1:11.... 214/1 13v ated'by the transferringmeans' 9/1965 Kronsbein 209/75 6 Claims, 11' Drawing Figures PAIENIEDFEB 51914 3.790.047

SHEEI 1 0f 9 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PATENT) FEB 5 4 sum 2 OF 9 ((Illlll INVENTOR PAIENIED FEB 51974 SHEEI 3 0F 9 ATTORNEYS PAIENIEU W 3. 780.047

SHEEI h 0? 9 o H II 76 I l 7z I I INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PATENTED E 3, 790.047

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PATENTED B 3, 790.047

' sums 0r 9 1N VE NTOR ATTORNEYS PATENTED FEB 5 74 snmvnrg l a 835333555: Kill v INVENTOR. I (I ZQQXSO/V ATTORNEYS PAIENIEMEB 5:914 34.790 047 sum 8 0r 9 INVENTOR ATTORNEYfi' PAIENTED 3. 7 90.047

' sum 9 or 9 INVENTOR ATmRNEYg RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 90,001, filed Nov. 16, l970,'now abandoned and is related to subject matter disclosed in U. S. Pat. No, 3,431,656.

BACKGROUND ANDBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION This invention relates to improved apparatus and ,method for treating and handling articles of apparel,

and the invention is especially concerned with apparatus of a type which treats hosiery and which provides .for a removal and transfer of treated hosiery from' boarding forms to a collection surface.

It is known in this art to provide for a heating or drying treatment of hosiery with apparatus which includes a number of vertically oriented boarding forms over which the hosiery is placed during such treatment. Typically, the apparatus provides for an advancement of the boarding forms into and out of a treating chamber, and after the treatment, means are provided for removing the hosiery from the boarding forms so that the hosiery may be further handled or collected. Certain forms of prior art apparatus require a manual handling of hosiery after it is removed from the boarding forms. Other forms of prior art apparatus provide for mechanical means or devices for collecting or stacking hosiery after it is moved from the boarding forms.

The present invention is concerned with'an improved type of apparatus for treating and handling articles of hosiery, or other articles of apparel. In accordance with the invention, apparatus is provided with a horizontally disposed support means for carrying a number of vertically oriented boarding forms, or other article holding means, about a circular path so that hosiery which is fitted over the boarding forms can be advanced into and out of a treating zone. The horizontally disposed supportmeans is rotated about a vertical axis in incremental steps of movements bya Geneva gear mechanism associated with its driving mechanism. An article removing means is operatively associated with the sup port means so as to strip articles fromthe boarding forms after they have been treatedfTypically, the article removing means includes a pair of gripping members which can be pivoted into gripping engagement with an upper portion of an article carried on a boarding form so as to lift the article away from the boarding form upon application of a lifting movement to the gripping members. A specific improvement of the pres ent invention comprises a transferring means which is operatively associated with the remainder of the apparatus to receive articles after they have been removed from their respective boarding forms and to transfer such articles onto astack or other horizontally disposed collection surface. The collection surface may be in the form of a conveyor which functions to move the collected articles away from the apparatus. The transferring means utilizes an air pressure differential across a foraminous surface thereon to draw one article at a time onto the transferring means after the article is removed from its respective boarding form. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the transferring means comprises a hollow arm structure which carries the foraminous surface for receiving and holding articles while they are being transferred, and the arm structure is pivotable from a generally vertically disposed position, at which it receives an article, to generally horizontally disposed position, at which it releases an article for collection. The transferring means eliminates any requirement for manual handling or stacking of individual articles after they are treated, and yet, a very safe and gentle means is provided for automatically transferring the articles from the apparatus to a collection surface. The arrangement is relatively simple, easily maintained, and reliable in its operation, thereby overcoming many-of the problems associated with devices of this type in prior art apparatus.

In the context of this specification and its claims, reference will be made to hosiery articles for convenience of discussion. However, it is to be understood that the use of the term hosiery is intended to describe socks and half hose, although the apparatus is also suitable for ladies hosiery and other forms of wearing apparel,

such as sweaters, which are fitted over forms or frames ticle stripping mechanism associated with the apparafor treatment. Also, the specification and claims will refer to boarding forms as typically used for carrying hose on a machine of the type contemplated, but it should be understood that other types of forms and frames may be substituted forthe boarding forms which will be described and illustrated. Reference will be made toheating or drying treatments for hosiery, and these treatments are well understood by those skilled in this art. In some cases, previously fabricated articles of hosiery are dried in a drying zone, while in other cases, the treatment involves an application of heat to the hosiery article to set the material from which it is knitted and to fix its shape in accordance with the configuration of a form upon which it is carried. Other forms of treatment may be substituted for the drying and heating treatments which will be discussed.

Cooling of an article is providedby the novel transferring means of this invention so that a previously heated article is cooled to a preferred temperature prior to stacking or collection.

' These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the more de-' tailed discussion which follows. In the detailed discussion reference will be made to accompanying drawings,

as briefly described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the general organization of structures associated with the apparatus of the pres. ent invention; I

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the type of apparatus shown in FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale from what is shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2, shown on a scale approximately the same as used in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 3 as it would appear when viewed generally from the left-hand side of FIG. 3',

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged perspective view of an artus of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, in enlarged scale, of an article transferring mechanism associated with the apparatus of this invention; 7

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view ofa portion of an actuating mechanism for the transferring mechanism of FIG. 6, as seen generally from line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, showing the back side of the transferring mechanism illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a partially sectional view of a base portion of the transferring mechanism shown in FIGS. 6 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic showing of relationships of driving systems associated with the apparatus of this invention; and

FIG. 11 is a detailed representation of the Geneva gear portion of the systems shown in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION General Relationships and Operation FIGS. 1 3 illustrate general relationships of structures associated with a type of apparatus which carries half-hose on boarding forms for treatment and subsequent removal and stacking. This type of apparatus will be discussed in detail as an example of working embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the basic apparatus includes a horizontally disposed support means 10, in the form of a table-like frame, for carrying a number of vertically oriented boarding forms 12 of known construction. In the illustrated embodiment, twelve boarding forms 12 are mounted in equally spaced positions about a circular circumference of the support means 10. Any suitable fastening or securing arrangement may be utilized for securing a lower end of each boarding form to the support means 10. The boarding forms-12 which are illustrated are of the type upon which half-hose can be placed in inverted positions for being treated in a treating section 14 of the apparatus. The half-hose are placed over the shaped forms and advanced into the treating chamber'l4 by a rotation of the support means 10 about a vertical axis at its center point 16. The treating chamber 14 may comprise a heating chamber in which steam or other hot fluid is circulated, or it may comprise a drying chamber for drying previously treated hose. As generally indicated in'FIGS. l and 3, a driving means is provided for rotating the support means 10 and for actuating associated mechanisms of the overall apparatus. This driving means will be discussed in greater detail with reference to other drawlngs. 4

With the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 3, an operator standing adjacent an open side of the apparatus can place half-hose over the boarding forms 12 as they I advance past the operators position which is labelled in FIG. 1. The untreated hose may be carried in a trough area 17 located at the front of the machine, and the operator simply picks out a single article at a time and places it over a boarding form 12 as the boarding form advances past him and towards the treating chamber 14. With the hose in place, the boarding form is rotated into the chamber 14 and continues around within the circumference of the chamber until it exits through an opening 18 of the treating chamber. At this point, the treated half-hose is stripped from its boarding form byan article removing means in the form of a stripping mechanism generally indicated at 20. After stripping, the hose is received by a transferring means 22 for being transferred onto a receiving surface 24. The receiving surface 24 may be in the form of a table or conveyor, and the treated hose may be stacked on the receiving surface or placed one at a time on a moving conveyor surface. FIG. 1 illustrates a rotating table type of conveyor 24 for receiving the hose which have been treated and removed from their boarding forms, but other types of receiving surfaces or conveyors may be utilized for this purpose.

The entry and exit openings of the chamber 14 may be provided with flexible gate seals or other closure means if desired. In addition, photoelectric cells 25, or other detectors, may be positioned as shown in FIG. 1 to detect the removal of a hose from a boarding form for actuating a control circuit (not shown) which is associated with'a known indexing mechanism for the type of receiving surface 24 shown in FIG. 1.

ARTICLE REMOVING MEANS The article removing means 20 which functions to strip articles from the boarding forms after they have been treated is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 3 5. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the article removing means includes a fixed-position track or guide arm 26 which is secured to a portion of the housing associated with the treating chamber 14 of the apparatus. A carriage 28 embraces the inclined guide arm 26 and is provided with rollers 30 on its top, bottom and sides so that the carriage 28 can be reciprocated in rolling contact back and forth along the guide arm 26 with an actuating mechanism which includes a rod 32. The carriage 28 carries a pair of gripping members 34 for engaging and removing hose from the boarding forms 12 as they advance beneath the article removing means 20. As

each boarding form leaves the treating chamber 14, it advances to a position directly beneath the lowermost position for the carriage means 28 and its associated gripping members 34 relative to the guide arm 26. This lowermost position of the carriage is shown in FIG. 3. Then, as the boarding form advances between the open gripping members 34, the gripping members are actuate d towards one another to engage the foot portion of the hose 36 so that the hose can be lifted clear of the boarding form by an upward movement of the carriage 20 along the inclined guide arm 26. Means for effecting engagement of the gripping members 34 and reciprocating movements of the carriage 28 will be discussed in greater detail later.

FIG. 3 also illustrates an upper limit position for the carriage 28 and its associated gripping members 34 (as shown by the phantom lines). In the upper limit position, a removed hose whichis still gripped by the gripping members 34 is moved adjacent a vertically oriented transferring means 22. Thevertically oriented transferring means 22 includes a forarriinous surface 38 for receiving a hose from the gripping members 34, and a pneumatic system 40 is provided for establishing a pressure differential across the surface of the foraminous surface 38. This causes a hose to be drawn against the flat surface 38 so as to be retained thereon as the gripping members 34 are disengaged from their'gripping contact with the foot of the hose. The transferring means is arranged so that the foraminous surface 38, which receives a hose, can be pivoted about an axis 42 to a generally horizontally disposed position for transferring the hose article onto a receiving surface, such as the conveyor surface 24 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the transferring means 22 includes a hollow arm portion which is pivotal between vertical and horizontal positions, and the hollow arm is provided with a foraminous surface which is generally of the outline shape of the hose to be received thereon. The entire hollow arm is reciprocated back and forth between its two limit positions by a mechanism which will be discussed in greater detail later.

GRIPPING MECHANISM OF ARTICLE REMOVING MEANS FIG. 5 illustrates details of construction of a gripping mechanism associated with the article removing means 20. The gripping mechanism functions to strip hose from boarding forms as the boarding forms are advanced around the circumference of the apparatus of this invention.

As previously discussed, a pair of gripping members '34 are carried by a carriage 28 which can be guided back and forth along the length of an inclined guide arm member 26. Thegripping members 34 comprise a pair of elongate metal structures which are shaped to embrace opposite sides of theupper foot portion of a hose carried on a boarding form 12. The gripping members 34 are preferably covered and padded with a fabric or other soft material so that there is a gentle gripping contact of the gripping members with the hose. As shown, each of the ends of the gripping members 34 are carried by a pair of support brackets 44, and the support brackets 44 of each pair are arranged to be pivioted towards and away from each other about an axis taken through the center of a mounting hub 45. Thus,

a single pair of mounting brackets 44 can be pivoted in scissors-like fashion to bring together or spread apart an associated pair of gripping members 34. Actuation of the mounting brackets is accomplished by air cylinder means 46 associated with each pair of pivoting brackets, and air is supplied to the air cylinders 46 by way of conduits 48 from a suitable source of compressed air. The air cylinder means 46 are of a known construction which provides for positive displacement of a piston back and forth within a cylinder to effect movement of a connectingfrod secured to one end of g the piston. Air for actuation of the air cylinders may be tapped from an air or blowersystem associated with the treating chamber 14, if desired. Each of the mounting hubs is mounted on a support Shaft 50 which extends transversely outwardly from the carriage 28. The mounting hubs 45 are of'a known design for permitting relative pivotal movement of one mounting-bracket 44 relative to the other mounting bracket of a given pair. Either or both of the mounting brackets 44 of a given pair may be moved relative to the other.

The carriage 28 may be of any suitable design and constructionvfor rolling along the inclined guide arm 26. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 5, the sides of the carriage are formed by a pair of flat plates assembled in parallel spaced relationship to one another with a number of rollers 30 mounted therebetween for rolling along the top and bottom surfaces of the guide arm 26. In'addition, top and bottom plate members 54 may be secured to the assembly for supporting side rollers 30 which maintain a rolling engagement with the side surfaces of the guide arm 26. As the carriage 28 is moved up and down the guide arm 26, its associated gripping members 34 are carried along therewith along one side of the guide arm 26. Referring back to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the gripping members 34 are positioned to receive a boarding form and hose therebetween as the'boardingform leaves the exit 18 of the treating chamber. Actuation of the air cylinder 46 moves the gripping members 34 into gripping engagement with opposite sides of the foot portion of a hose, and subsequent movement of thetentire article removing means 20 upwardly along the guide arm 26 causes a removal and separation of the hose from the boarding form. A gripping engagement is maintained on the hose, even after it is removed from the boarding member upon which it is originally carried. Gripping engagement is continued until the entire article removing means has been advanced to a point immediately adjacent to the foraminous screen 38 of the transferring means 22. Then, the air cylinders 46 are positively actuated to open the gripping members 34 and to release the hose onto the foraminous surface 38 of the transferring means 22.

ARTICLE TRANSFERRING MEANS FIGS. 6 through 9 illustrate details-of construction and operation of the transferring means 22 which has been mentioned briefly above.

The transferring means.22 functions to receive a hose, or other article, which has beenreleased from the stripping mechanism previously discussed and to transfer the hose onto a flat horizontal surface. This operation eliminates costly manual assistance that is otherwise required for receiving and collecting individual hose which have been removed from the boarding forms after being treated. Also, the specific transferring means of the present invention provides for a safe and gentle mechanism for placing hose onto a flat collection surface from where the hose can be further treated, inspected or packaged. The type of transferring means described herein serves to move hose from a vertical orientation at which it is released from the stripping mechanism of the apparatus to a completely horizontal orientation which allows for a stacking or one-by-one placement of individual hose onto a conveyor or other receiving surface. The transferring means may also function to cool a previously heated article while it is being transferred from a hot boarding form to. a receiving surface. I I

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7,- the transferring means includes a hollow arm structure which is pivoted at.

its base for movement between a vertical orientation (as shown in FIG. 6) to a horizontal orientation (as shown in FIG. 8). The hollow arm 60 is mounted on a base plate 61 which, in turn, is carried by a support post 63 secured to a fixed part of the apparatus. The hollow arm 60 is of an outline shape which generally corresponds to the shape of. the article to be received and transferred, and in the illustrated embodiment, the shape is that of a half-hose with its foot portion directed upwardly. The hollow arm 60 is provided with a foraminous screen surface 38 for contacting and holding a single hose article at a time. The hollow arm is closed in on all sides except the side upon which the foraminous surface 38 is positioned, and a hollow chamber area is in the lower portion of the hollow arm. This area of control is important because it permits a given hollow arm structure to be adjusted for use with a range of hose lengths. As shown, the baffle plate 62 is provided with openings 64 so that a vacuum may be drawn through the baffle plate and on the foraminous surface 38 by a pneumatic system which communicates with the base portion of the hollow arm structure. The openings 64 are provided with closures 66 which can be moved to partially, or totally, open or close their asso ciated openings 64. By adjusting the closures 66, the degree of suction can be varied along the lower length of the foraminous surface 38. For example, if a short hose length is being handled the lower opening 64 may be closed off completely and the upper opening adjusted to a desired degree of suction, as illustrated. Although only two openings 64 are illustrated as being provided with closure structures, any additional number of such openings and closures may be provided, as desired. 4

In addition to the baffle plate 62,. a separate baffle 'strip 68 may be provided along a marginal portion of the hollow arm 60 for directing air flow from desired surface areas of the foraminous surface 38. Alternatively, baffle members may be eliminated entirely if no adjustment of air flow is required in a given operation.

The foraminous surface 38 may comprise a metal screen, such as aluminum screen, which is grounded to a part of the apparatus to remove static electricity that may develop on it. Alternatively, the screen can be coated with an anti-static composition or can be formed from a material which reduces or eliminates static charge.

The pneumatic system which provides for a suction on the foraminous surface 38 includes a conventional blower unit, as illustrated at 40 in FIG. 2. The conduit 70 interconnects the negative pressure side of the blower with the transferring means 22, and communication is made with the transferring means through a cylindrical base portion, as shown in FIG. 9. A solenoid 72 of known structure and function operates to open and close a flapper valve 74 hinged to an upper terminal open end of the conduit 70. By closing the flapper valve 74 over the upper'end of the conduit 70, air is drawn through the foraminous surface38 of the transferring means and downwardly into a cylindrical base portion 76 and into the conduit 70. When the valve 74 is opened, suction is substantially reduced, or even eliminated, on the foraminous surface 38 because a major portion of the air supply to the blower is drawn through the upper open end 78 of the conduit 70. Thus, by controlling the solenoid 72, the degree of air pres sure differential on the. foraminous surface 38 can be controlled.

In fact, it has been found that the air pressure differential which is established on the foraminous surface 38 can be controlled to provide a rush of air through a previously heated article being transferred so as to cool the article prior to stacking. In a typical hosiery treating operation, individual articles are heated while boarded, and the boarding forms do not cool appreciably prior to stripping of the article therefrom. If a hosiery article is stacked in a hot condition there is a risk of objectionable shrinkage during its ultimate cooling in the stack. On the other hand, if the article is cooled prior to stacking, objectionable shrinkage is prevented. The transferring means of the invention provides for automatic cooling by its creation of an air flow through the article during the transferring of the article to a stack or other receiving surface.

In actual operation, the blower unit of the pneumatic system can be operated continuously, and the flapper valve 74 is actuated between closed and opened positions to provide for a pick-up or release ofa hose on the foraminous surface 38. When a hose is to be received from the gripping members of the article removing means 20, the flapper valve 74 is closed, and an air pressure differential is established across the foraminous surface 38. When the hose is to be released, the flapper valve is moved to an open position, and the air pressure differential is thereby reduced by a sufficient amount to release the hose from the foraminous surface 38.

Since air is drawn into the open end of the conduit when the flapper. valve is open, a shield 75 is positioned between the end of the conduit and the hollow arm 60 to prevent an unwanted drawing of a hose into the open end of the conduit. The shield '75 is illustrated as being an upright sheet structure, but other forms of shielding devices could be used.

At the same time that the pneumatic system is being controlled to pick up and release a hose from the foraminous surface 38 of the transferring means, the hollow arm 60 is moved from its vertical orientation of FIG. 6 to its horizontal orientation of FIG. 8. The hollow arm 60 receives a hose while in its vertical orientation and maintains the hose in position on its foraminous surface until the arrn has been pivoted to the horizontal position of FIG. 8. At that point, the pressure differential on theforaminous surface is reduced or released so that the hose can be released by its own weightonto a receiving surface 24.-

Any suitable arrangement may be provided for pivoting the hollow arm structure 60 between its vertical and horizontal orientations and for timing such movements means the release of a 'hose from the article removing meahs 20. However, FIGS. 6 through 9 show a working embodiment of a mechanism for pivoting the hollow arm structure. As shown in FIG. 9, the cylindrical base portion 76 of the hollow arm 60 comprises a cylindrical sleeve which is mounted for rotation within a pair of annular bearing members 80. The annular bearing members 80 are affixed to the base plate 61 of the transferring means. Ball or roller bearings may be provided where desired to permit a free movement of the hollow arm 60 about a horizontal axis 42 taken through the center of its base sleeve 76. The sleeve 76 may be provided with a larger diameter end sleeve 82 for forminga sealed relationship with a non-rotating circular duct 84 communicating with the main conduit 70. With this arrangement the hollow arm structure 60 can be pivoted about its base without interrupting the flow of ari through its foraminous screen and into the conduit 70 communicating with the blower unit of the overall pneumatic system.

The hollow arm 60 is moved by a lever arm means 86 fixed to a closed end portion 88 of the cylindrical base portion 76. The lever arm 86 is actuated by a push rod means 90 which is controlled by devices which will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. Referring to FIG. 7, it can be seen that an upward movement of the push rod means 90 will cause the lever arm 86 to move the hollow arm structure 60 in a counterclockwise direction. This movement causes the hollow arm 9 60 to move from its vertical limit position towards its horizontal limit position. The hollow arm structure is returned to its vertical limit position by a tension spring 92 secured to a free end of the lever arm 86. A lower end of the spring means 92 is secured to a fixed portion I of the apparatus or to the mounting post 63 so as to maintain a sufficient tension on the spring to cause the hollow arm structure 60 to be lifted into a vertical position when no upward force is applied to the push rod 90. FIG. 8 shows a swivel block assemby 94 as an intermediate structure in a linkage which actuates the push rod 90 with a separate push rod means 96.

DRIVING AND TIMING MECHANISMS post 130.

As shown in FIG. 10,-the other end of the drive shaft 106 enters a gear reduction box 132 which has an output shaft 134- going into a second gear reduction box' 136. An output shaft 138 from the second gear reduction box actuates a series of cams and levers associated with the operation of both the article removing means 20 and the transferring means 22. A first cam 140 is secured to the output shaft 138 for rotation therewith for actuating a micro switch 142 which operates a valve that controls the flow of air to air cylinders 46 of the article removing means 20. An actuation of the micro switch 142 dictates an air flow which determines whether the gripping members 34 are in opened or closed positions relative to a hose. Thus, the cam 140 times the opening and closing of the gripping members shaft 106. The drive shaft 106 has'a power take off at one end for rotating the support means in incremental steps of movement about a vertical axis, together with a separate power take off at its opposite end for driving the article removing means and the transferring means 22 in timed relationship.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the drive shaft 106 enters a gear reduction box and transmission 108 for translating the rotational movement of the drive shaft means 106 from a horizontal axis to a vertical axis so that a large cam .110 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow appearing thereon. Rotation of the large cam 110 carries with it a rotation of a drive lever 112 which is fixed to the cam 110. The drive lever 112 carries a roller or other bearing means 114 at its free end for periodically engaging successive drive slots 116 provided in a'Geneva gear mechanism of known construction and operation, Thus, as the cam 110 and its associated drive arm 112 continue to rotate, the drive arm periodically engages one of the slots 1.16 of the Geneva gear to rotate the same in the direction indicated by-the"arrow. This rotates an upright shaft 118 upon which the support means 10 is secured. Thus, the support-means 10 is rotated for an incremental distance which corresponds to the period of time in which the drive arm 112 is in engagement with a slot 116. As the drive arm 112 continues to rotate, it is removed from driving contact with the Geneva gear, and the support means 10 stands still until the drive arm 112 makes a complete revolution and re-engages a successive slot 116 of the Geneva gear. 1

.The large cam 110 functions to actuate a locking means 120 which periodically engages and locks the Geneva gear from further rotation during the period in which the drive arm 112 is out of driving engagement with a slot 116. This is to prevent any unwanted or accidental rotation of the'support means 10 during the time when it is not being positively rotated. The locking means 120 comprises an arm member 122 which carries a projecting element 124 for being received into smaller slots 126 formed between the larger slots 116 of the Geneva gear mechanism (see FIG. 11). The arm 120 is spring urged in a locking direction towards the circumference of the Geneva gear and is taken out of engagement by the profile of the large cam 110 acting 34 as a hose isengaged and removed from a boarding form for being received by the transferring means 22. A second cam 144 operates a second micro switch 146 for operating the solenoid 72 of the flapper-valve 74 associated with the pneumatic system of the transferring means 22. Thus, the cam 144 and its micro switch 146 dictate a cycle of suction applied to the foraminous surface 38 of the transferring means 22, and this cycle is set in timed relationship to the time at which a hose will be delivered in close proximity to the 'transferring' means 22 by the article removing means 20. A third cam 148 is affixed to the output shaft 138 fordictating rocking movements to a lever arm l50 through a follower 152. The lever arm 150 rocks about a pivot at 154, and this moves the push rod 96 and the push rod through assembly 94. I

A last cam 156 controls rocking movements of a lever arm 158 about its fixed pivot 160. A rod element 162 is carried around with the cam 156 and slides back and forth along a slot 164 formed in the lever arm 158 This rocking movement moves the rod 32 back and forth to cause the article removing means 20 to move between its upper and lower limit positions along the guide arm 26. A spring means 166 may be provided for maintaining a tension on the lever 158.

It can be seen that the driving mechanisms just dis- 7 cussed'provide for a, timed relationship, and adjustment .Of such relationship, of all major components of the entire apparatus. This assures that a hose will be gripped, lifted, released onto the foraminous surface of a transferring means, and delivered into a flat horizontal position on a receiving surface without any manual assistance and without any damage to the hose. Vacuum is applied to the transferring means at precisely the right time for drawing a hose onto the foraminous surface 38 just as the hose is being released by the gripping members 34, and the vacuum is released when the transferring means has been moved down to its horizontal limit position for delivering the hose onto a conveyor or other receiving surface. a t

Thus, there is provided a very useful arrangement with novel means for handlinga hose after it has been treated and. removed from a boarding form.

In accordance with the method of this invention, an

article is placed on a boarding form, treated (including.

a step of heat treatment in certain operations), automatically stripped from the form, and automatically transferred to a stack or collectingsurface by a pneu- 1 l matic transferring means. The pneumatic transferring means further provides for a cooling of the article during the time interval it is being transferred from the boarding form to the stack or collecting surface. Cooling is effected by a flow of air pulled through the article by the pneumatic means associated with the transferring means.

What is claimed is: 1. Apparatus for treating and transferring articles of hosiery, or other articles of apparel, comprising a horizontally disposed support means mounted for rotation about a vertical axis for carrying a number of vertically oriented boarding forms, or other frame means, upon which said articles can be placed for being treated, driving means for rotating said support means so as to advance said boarding forms around a generally circular path, said driving means being ofa type for advancing said boarding forms in incremental steps of movement, means along said path for treating said articles including the application of heat thereto, article removing means operatively associated with said support means for gripping and removing articles from said boarding forms after they have been treated and for carrying the articles to a higher relative position, transferring means adjacent to said removing means when said removing means has reached said higher relative position and operatively associated with said removing means for transferring the removed articles to a stack or collecting surface, said transferring means including a flat foraminous articleholding surface substantially coextensive with the flattened article and a pneumatic system which is controlled (a) to establish a pressure differential across said foraminous surface so as to receive and hold an article on said surface after the article is removed from a boarding form and to cool the article by passage ofa gas therethrough, and (b) to reduce said pressure differential sufficiently to release the article from said transferring means onto a stack or collecting surface means pivotally mounting said transferring means for moving between an upright position in which it receives an article being transferred and a generally horizontally disposed position in which it releases an article onto a stack or other collecting surface, and

means correlating the operation of said driving means, article removing means and transferring means for automatically successively advancing articles on said forms past said treating and heating means, stripping the heated articles from said boarding forms, transferring the stripped heated articles to the collecting surface, and cooling the heated articles during transfer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said driving means includes a Geneva gear system for effecting incremental rotation of said support means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said article removing means includes a pair of gripping members which can be pivoted into gripping engagement with an article while the article is on a boarding form, and including means for lifting the pair of gripping members,

and an article gripped therebetween, away from the boarding form so as to remove the article from the boarding form.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said transferring means is positioned so as to immediately receive'an article after it has been lifted clear of a boarding form and before it has been released from said pair of gripping members.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said transferring means includes a hollow arm member connected to the pneumatic system and carrying the foraminous surface, said foraminous surface being in communication with the hollow interior of said arm member.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said arm member is positioned in its upright position so as to immediately receive an article which has been lifted clear of a boarding form by gripping means associated with said article removing means.

Claims

1. Apparatus for treating and transferring articles of hosiery, or other articles of apparel, comprising a horizontally disposed support means mounted for rotation about a vertical axis for carrying a number of vertically oriented boarding forms, or other frame means, upon which said articles can be placed for being treated, driving means for rotating said support means so as to advance said boarding forms around a generally circular path, said driving means being of a type for advancing said boarding forms in incremental steps of movement, means along said path for treating said articles including the application of heat thereto, article removing means operatively associated with said support means for gripping and removing articles from said boarding forms after they have been treated and for carrying the articles to a higher relative position, transferring means adjacent to said removing means when said removing means has reached said higher relative position and operatively associated with said removing means for transferring the removed articles to a stack or collecting surface, said transferring means including a flat foraminous article-holding surface substantially coextensive with the flattened article and a pneumatic system which is controlled (a) to establish a pressure differential across said foraminous surface so as to receive and hold an article on said surface after the article is removed from a boarding form and to cool the article by passage of a gas therethrough, and (b) to reduce said pressure differential sufficiently to release the article from said transferring means onto a stack or collecting surface means pivotally mounting said transferring means for moving between an upright position in which it receives an article being transferred and a generally horizontally disposed position in which it releases an article onto a stack or other collecting surface, and means correlating the operation of said driving means, article removing means and transferring means for automatically successively advancing articles on said forms past said treating and heating means, stripping the heated articles from said boarding forms, transferring the stripped heated articles to the collecting surface, and cooling the heated articles during transfer.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said article removing means includes a pair of gripping members which can be pivoted into gripping engagement with an article while the article is on a boarding form, and including means for lifting the pair of gripping members, and an article gripped therebetween, away from the boarding form so as to remove the article from the boarding form.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said transferring means is positioned so as to immediately receive an article after it has been lifted clear of a boarding form and before it has been released from said pair of gripping members.