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(11) | EP 0 679 750 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | A hosiery line closing apparatus |
| (57) A hosiery line closer includes a number of upper and lower loading arms(52, 54) on
which can be loaded hose blanks (80, 82). The upper loading arm (52) can be moved
between a lowered position and a raised position. The movement to the raised position
allows visual inspection of the inner portions of the hose blanks (80, 82) to allow
rotational alignment of the hose blanks about the longitudinal axis of the loading
arms (50, 52). |
[0001] This invention relates to hosiery line closers. More particularly, the invention relates to a line closer having a plurality of carriers on which hose blanks can be loaded for processing by the line closer.
[0002] Hosiery liner closer machines are well known and their operation will not be described in detail in this application. In general terms, however, a pair of hose blanks is loaded onto a carrier at a loading station after which the rotation of a carousel circulates the carrier round hose processing and hose joining stations, the processed article being removed from the carrier at a demounting station. The carrier is able to accept a new pair of hose blanks when it has circulated once again to the loading station. An example of such apparatus is the line closer model DLC-6000 and 6000L of the Applicant, Detexomat Machinery Limited, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP12 3TB, England.
[0003] Referring to Figure 1, a prior art carrier 20 comprises an upper loading arm 22 and a lower loading arm 24 which are vertically spaced apart from each other and extend radially and generally horizontally outwards from the centre of the liner closer 25 on which it is mounted. The arms 22 and 24 have loading ends 23 at the circumference of the line closer 25.
[0004] The carriers 20 are usually loaded by a human operator who holds the open welt ends of a pair of hose blanks between his or her fingers and pushes them onto the loading arms 22 and 24 of the carrier 20.
[0005] Figure 2 shows the carrier of Figure 1 loaded with a pair of hose blanks 26 and 28 on the upper and lower loading arms 22 and 24, respectively. The operator may have to adjust the position of the hose blanks on the loading arms to ensure that waistband tops 30 and 32 and body/leg lines 34 and 36 of the two hose are aligned longitudinally on the loading arms. The accurate longitudinal positioning of the hose blanks can be achieved by matching the texture changes visible on the external surfaces of the two hose blanks.
[0006] There are, however, certain styles of hose that need to be aligned rotationally about the longitudinal axis of the loading arms prior to processing by the line closer, for example to match features on the hose blanks that need to be facing each other during processing. This can be achieved by pre-aligning the blank hose prior to loading on a carrier but this is a slow and awkward manipulation for an operator to carry out.
[0007] The present invention provides, in a first aspect, a hosiery line closer including a plurality of carriers, each having an upper and lower loading arm with a loading end, mounted on a carousel and movable to a loading station, in which the upper loading arm is pivotable between a lowered position and a raised position where it is substantially parallel and angled to the lower loading arm, respectively.
[0008] When the upper loading arm is in the raised position the operator is able to visually inspect the portions of the hose blanks that will face each other during processing. This allows the operator to adjust either one or both the hose blanks rotationally about the longitudinal axis of the respective loading arm to align the hose blanks after loading on the carrier.
[0009] The precise degree of pivoting of the upper loading arm relative to the lower loading arm is not critical but one in which the loading arms are substantially perpendicular when the upper loading arm is in the raised position has been found to be convenient.
[0010] The line closer may include a single common drive means mounted on the line closer which is engageable with each of the upper loading arms to move each upper loading arm between the lowered and raised positions. Any convenient driving means may be employed with the present invention, for example it may be a gear mechanism engageable with a cooperating gear mechanism attached to each of the upper loading arms. The drive means may be engageable with the upper loading arm via a magnetic clutch or via a camming means, such as a barrel cam arrangement. Other drive means may also be employed with the present invention.
[0011] The line closer of the present invention is preferably arranged to move the upper loading arm to the raised position after a pair of hose blanks has been loaded onto the upper and lower loading arm. This allows loading of two hose blanks simultaneously in known fashion after which the hose blanks can be rotationally adjusted by the operator.
[0012] In a modification, the line closer can be arranged to raise the upper loading arm before the hose blanks are loaded on the carrier. This will entail the operator adapting his or her loading technique, of course. Instead of both hose blanks being disposed simultaniously on the carrier, they will be loaded sequentially. This loading technique may be preferred in some mills.
[0013] The carrier may stop at the loading station during loading or move continuously through the loading station. In either case once the carrier has moved past the loading station (after a period of time to allow for rotational adjustment of the hose blanks) the upper loading arm is pivoted to the lowered position ready for processing of the hose blanks in known manner.
[0014] The present invention in a second aspect comprises a method of using a hosiery line closer according to the first aspect of the present invention in which either one or both the hose blanks is rotationally adjusted about the longitudinal axis of one or both of the upper and lower loading arms while the upper loading arm is in the raised position.
[0015] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a carrier of a prior art hosiery line closer;
Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the carrier of Figure 1 loaded with a pair of hose blanks;
Figures 3a and 3b are schematic views of exemplary panty hose styles usefully processed by the line closer of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a carrier of a hosiery line closer according to the present invention with the upper loading arm in the raised position;
Figure 5 is a schematic view of the carrier of Figures 4 loaded with hose blanks used in the manufacture of the panty hose of Figure 3a;
Figure 6 is a schematic, part cut-away, plan view of a hosiery line closer according to the present invention having carriers as shown in Figures 4 and 5, and showing a drive means.
[0016] Figures 3a and 3b show two examples of styles of panty hose which have features 10 and 12, respectively, on the two portions of the hose blanks which face each other during processing (in this case shaped gusset panels) which must be aligned before processing by the line closer starts. They are "T-band" style and "Bikini" style hose, respectively.
[0017] Figure 4 shows a carrier 50 of an embodiment of a hosiery line closer according to the present invention having an upper loading arm 52 and lower loading arm 54. The lower loading arm 54 is the same as the lower loading arm 24 of the prior art carrier of Figure 1. The upper loading arm 52 is as the upper loading arm 22 of the carrier of Figure 2 except that it is pivotable about a horizontal axis A between a horizontal lowered position parallel to the lower loading arm 54 and a raised position where it is perpendicular to the lower loading arm 54, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, respectively.
[0018] The upper loading arm 52 is shown in more detail in Figure 6. The loading arm 52 has a pair of rigid, elongate, generally planar sections 52A and 52B joined at hose loading end of the arm 52 by a flexible wire 52C. The wire 52C allows the sections 52A and 52B to be rotated from the illustrated closed position to an open position during processing of the hose blanks by the line closer in known manner. The present invention is not restricted to this form of loading arm and other designs of loading arm may be used.
[0019] The end of each of the sections 52A and 52B distant from the wire 52C is formed as a cylindrical stub 53 extending outwards from, and perpendicular to, the elongate sections 52A and 52B.
[0020] Shafts 54 and 55 fixed to the stubs 53 extend outwardly into respective housings 56 and 57 mounted on the carousel 59 of the line closer. The shafts 54 and 55 are journalled in the housings 56 and 57 in alignment with axis A. The housings 55 and 57 abut the stubs 53 thereby locating the loading arm 52 in position on the carousel 59.
[0021] A right angled conical bevel gear 58 is fixed coaxially to shaft 54 with its apex pointing to the left as shown in Figure 6. The bevel gear 58 is meshed with a similar bevel gear 59 fixed to a shaft 60 journalled in the housing 56 for rotation about an axis perpendicular to that of bevel gear 58.
[0023] A similar gear arrangement is associated with the housing 57. A right angle bevel gear 62 is fixed to shaft 55, again with its apex pointing to left. The bevel gear 62 is meshed with a bevel gear 63 fixed to a shaft 64 journalled in the housing 57 for rotation about an axis perpendicular to that of the bevel gear 62. A gear wheel 65 is fixed coaxially to the shaft 64 outside the housing 57.
[0024] The shaft 64 is longer than the shaft 61 so the gear wheels 65 and 61 are longitudinally staggered in the direction of the axes of the shafts 64 and 61.
[0025] Fixed with respect to the loading position of the line closer are a pair of like gear tracks 74 and 76 positioned to engage gear cogs 61 and 65, respectively, on their lower sides simultaneously as the carrier 50 rotates through the loading position in the direction of arrow B of Figure 7. The gear tracks 74 and 76 are staggered in the radial direction of the line closer to match the stagger of the gears 61 and 65 caused by the difference in length of the shafts 60 and 64. The degree of stagger is such that gear cog 61 will not engage the gear track 76 as the carrier 50 passes through the loading position. Similarly, gear cog 65 will not engage gear track 74 as it passes by.
[0026] When the gears 61 and 65 engage the gear tracks 74 and 76, respectively, the bevel gears 58 are rotated to pivot the loading end of loading arms 52 upwards to the raised position shown in Figure 5. Once the carrier 50 has rotated so the gears 61 and 65 no longer engage the gear tracks 74 and 76, as shown in Figure 6, the upper loading arm 52 falls back to the horizontal position under gravity.
[0027] In this particular embodiment the gear tracks 74 and 76 are positioned on the line closer 25 so that the loading arm 52 is raised after two hose blanks have been loaded onto the upper and lower loading arms 52 and 54 in a single loading operation.
[0028] Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown the carrier 50 of Figure 5 which has been loaded with a pair of hose blanks 80 and 82 which are to be processed by the line closer to form the "T-line" panty hose shown in Figure 3(a).
[0029] With the upper loading arm 52 pivoted to its raised position, gusset feature 84 can be aligned by the operator by rotating the hose blanks 80,82 about the loading arms 52 and 54 as indicated by arrowed lines 86 as required. This is possible because the raised upper loading arm 52 allows the operator to view the usually facing hose blank portions once the dangling end of the hose blank has been moved to the side. The longitudinal positioning of the hose blanks can also be adjusted while in this position, if desired.
1. A hosiery line closer (25) including a plurality of carriers (50), each having an
upper (52) and lower loading arm (54) with a loading end, mounted on a carousel and
movable to a loading station, characterised in that the upper loading arm (52) is
pivotable between a lowered position and a raised position where it is substantially
parallel and angled to the lower loading arm (54), respectively.
2. A hosiery line closer as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper and lower loading arms
(52, 54) are substantially perpendicular when the upper loading arm (52) is in the
raised position.
3. A hosiery line closer as claimed in either one of claims 1 and 2 which includes a
single common drive means (M) which is engageable in turn with the upper loading arm
of each carrier (50) to move the upper loading arm (52) between the lowered and raised
positions.
4. A hosiery line closer as claimed in claim 3 in which the drive means comprises a gear
means (74, 76) engageable with a cooperating gear mechanism (58, 59, 61; 62, 63, 65)
attached to the upper loading arms (52).
5. A hosiery line closer as claimed in claim 3 in which the drive means (M) is engageable
with the upper loading arm (52) via a magnetic clutch.
6. A hosiery line closer as claimed in any preceding claim which is arranged to move
the upper loading arm (52) to the raised position after a pair of hose blanks (80,
82) has been loaded onto the upper and lower loading arms (52, 54).
7. A method of using a hosiery line closer as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in
which either one or both the hose blanks (80, 82) is adjusted about the longitudinal
axis of the respective loading arm (52, 54) while the upper loading arm (52) is in
the raised position.