Apparel apparatus – Putting on or removing garments – Stockings from forms
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-26
2001-08-21
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3765)
Apparel apparatus
Putting on or removing garments
Stockings from forms
C223S001000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276577
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to a method and apparatus for handling textile articles, especially for loading articles on hosiery machines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the problems of great concern in the processing of textile articles is the holding or gripping of these same articles during steps or stages which provide for the transfer of the articles between a plurality of work stations or within a same station.
For example, in the stocking-manufacturing sector, this problem relates, particularly, to the operations for turning the stockings inside-out on toe-seaming machines, so-called “toe-closers” and, more generally, to the automatic loading of stockings support members in assembly-line machines for the formation of pantyhose articles.
The devices known at present for the loading of hoses in toe-closer machines, provide for picking up the stockings held in correspondence of their elastic hem and transferring them thus held, onto the hoses wherein the toe of the articles is introduced to allow them to be turned inside-out afterwards. Following this operation, the article results most of the time with the portion of their elastic hem being folded up and this may result that, after the seaming of the toe, the article is inaccurately removed from the toe-closer's hoses and incorrectly positioned onto the shapes of machines, such as the line-closers, which occurs during the successive assembly steps for the manufacturing of pantyhose articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,924, EP 521206 and EP 508014 documents disclose devices for the automatic loading of articles on toe-closers and on assembling machines for pantyhose formation.
The devices disclosed in the above documents exhibit basically a plurality of article gripping members in correspondence of the elastic hem. The members are mounted on a support movable between a station for gripping the articles unloaded from a device which set them in a predetermined orientation, and a release station in correspondence of the machine receiving these articles.
These documents do not teach how to overcome the above mentioned drawback.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to propose an apparatus for optimizing the processes in the textile industry for handling articles to be displaced between a plurality of stations or between machines or devices of a same station.
This result has been achieved, according to the invention, by providing an apparatus including a transport body holding the article in a folded state about a fold axis. The carriage is movable between first and second stations. An engagement element arranged on the transport body engages a portion of the article at the first station. The transport means moves the article to a second station where a rotation device mounted on the transport body rotates the portion of the article about the fold axis. The method used by the present invention includes gripping the elastic hem of the article at the first station and then moving the article with the gripped elastic hem away from the first station and to a second station. At the second station, the elastic hem is ungripped or disengaged. The rotation device then engages and moves the elastic hem at said second station to rotate any folded portion of the hem about the fold axis of the folded portion. Further characteristics being set forth in the dependent claims.
The present invention makes it possible to always ensure the most correct grip and handling of articles, such as stockings for example, which require to be suitably moved during the operations for their manufacturing.
The apparatus according to the invention is easy to make, cost-effective, reliable even after a prolonged service life, easily installable on existing stocking-feeding lines and able to operate in a fully automatic fashion.
These and other advantages and characteristics of the invention will be best understood by anyone skilled in the art from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the attached drawings given as a practical exemplification of the invention, but not to be considered in a limitative sense.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4539924 (1985-09-01), Bell, Jr. et al.
patent: 4881477 (1989-11-01), Gazzarini
patent: 0 306 460 (1989-03-01), None
patent: 0 508 014 A2 (1992-10-01), None
patent: 0 508 014 B1 (1992-10-01), None
patent: 0 521 206 A1 (1993-01-01), None
patent: 2 103 257 (1983-02-01), None
Matec S.p.A.
McGlew and Tuttle , P.C.
Mohanty Bibhu
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