U.S. patent application number 09/777945 was filed with the patent office on 2001-12-20 for method and apparatus for manufacturing tubular items, particularly hosiery items, closed at an axial end.
Invention is credited to Ando', Jan.
Application Number | 20010052248 09/777945 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11444224 |
Filed Date | 2001-12-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010052248 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ando', Jan |
December 20, 2001 |
Method and apparatus for manufacturing tubular items, particularly
hosiery items, closed at an axial end
Abstract
A method and an apparatus for manufacturing tubular items,
particularly hosiery items, closed at an axial end. The method
consists in forming the tubular item on a circular knitting machine
by way of the needles of the needle cylinder, starting from the
opposite axial end of the item with respect to the axial end to be
closed and retaining on the needles of the needle cylinder the last
formed row of knitting. The loops of the last row of knitting are
then transferred individually from the needles of the needle
cylinder to an auxiliary element provided with elements for
individually supporting the loops. The supporting elements of at
least one half-row of the last row are suitable to receive two
loops and to form knitting. The item is reversed before or after
transferring it and the loops of one half-row are transferred from
the corresponding supporting elements to the supporting elements
engaged with the loops of the other half-row. The supporting
elements that support the two half-rows form at least one
additional row of knitting, closing the axial end of the item,
which is then unloaded from the supporting elements.
Inventors: |
Ando', Jan; (Scandicci,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Gerald T. Shekleton, Esq.
Welsh & Katz, Ltd.
120 S. Riverside Plaza
22nd Floor
Chicago
IL
60606-3913
US
|
Family ID: |
11444224 |
Appl. No.: |
09/777945 |
Filed: |
February 6, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
66/148 ;
66/49 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D04B 15/02 20130101;
D04B 15/92 20130101; D04B 9/40 20130101; D04B 9/56 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
66/148 ;
66/49 |
International
Class: |
D04B 009/40; D04B
009/18; D04B 035/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 28, 2000 |
IT |
MI2000A000373 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for manufacturing tubular knitted items closed at an
axial end, comprising the steps of: forming a tubular item on a
circular knitting machine by way of needles of a needle cylinder
thereof, starting from an axial end of the item which is opposite
with respect to the axial end to be closed; retaining on the
needles of the needle cylinder a last formed row of knitting;
individually transferring loops of the last formed row of knitting
from the needles of the needle cylinder to an auxiliary element
provided with supporting means for individually supporting the
loops, the supporting means of at least one half-row of said last
row being adapted to receive two loops and to form knitting;
reversing the item; transferring the loops of a first half-row from
corresponding ones of said supporting means to the supporting means
of the loops of a second half-row; forming with the supporting
means supporting said half-rows at least one additional row of
knitting to close the axial end of the item; and unloading the item
from said supporting means.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the reversing step the item is
reversed before transferring the loops of the last row of knitting
formed on the needle cylinder to the auxiliary element.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein in the reversing step the item is
reversed after transferring the loops of the last row of knitting
formed on the needle cylinder to the auxiliary element.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein in the reversing step the item is
reversed during the removal of the item from the auxiliary needle
cylinder.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein, before forming said additional
row of knitting, the loops of knitting of said first half-row
transferred by the corresponding supporting means to the supporting
means that support said second half-row are knitted in with the
loops of said second half-row that are already present on said
supporting means.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one further row of
knitting is formed after said additional row of knitting.
7. An apparatus for manufacturing tubular knitted items, closed at
an axial end, for a circular knitting machine having at least one
needle cylinder rotatable about an axis thereof and provided with
needles, the apparatus comprising a circular auxiliary element
which is arrangeable coaxially to and facing an end of the needle
cylinder that corresponds to a needle work area of the circular
knitting machine, said auxiliary element being provided with
supporting means for individually receiving loops of a row of
knitting that are formed and retained by the needles of the needle
cylinder, the supporting means of at least one half-row of said row
of knitting being actuatable in order to form knitting.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said auxiliary element
comprises an auxiliary needle cylinder which is arrangeable above
and coaxially with respect to the needle cylinder of the circular
knitting machine, said auxiliary needle cylinder being provided
with needles having each a tip which is directed downward, said
needles being actuatable in a direction which is parallel to the
axis of the needle cylinder in order to form knitting, receive, and
transfer loops of knitting, said auxiliary needle cylinder
comprising two halves which are mutually mated at a diametrical
plane of the auxiliary needle cylinder, a first one of said two
halves being rotatable with respect to the second half, about a
diametrical axis, which is perpendicular to the axis of the needle
cylinder, to make the tip of the needles of said first half face
the needles of the other half of the auxiliary needle cylinder.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising reversing means for
reversing the item.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said reversing means comprise
a first item suction duct which is arranged inside said auxiliary
needle cylinder and is connectable to suction means, said first
suction duct having an inlet which is directed downward.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said reversing means
comprise a second suction duct, which is arranged inside said first
suction duct, is connectable to suction means, and has an inlet
directed downwards in order to gradually draw thereinside an item
stretched out between said first suction duct and said second
suction duct starting from the closed axial end of the item in
order to reverse said item.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus
for manufacturing tubular items, particularly hosiery items, closed
at an axial end.
[0002] It is known that hosiery items are generally manufactured on
circular hosiery knitting machines and that in the conventional
manufacturing method they are unloaded from the machine while their
toe is still open and must be subjected to subsequent sewing or
looping in order to form the finished product.
[0003] Since the sewing or looping operation requires a manual
intervention of an operator to load the hosiery item on the looping
or sewing machine, this operation has a significant effect on the
overall manufacturing costs of hosiery items.
[0004] For this reason, methods and devices have been devised in
recent years which are adapted to obtain hosiery items having a
closed toe directly on the machine that manufactures them or are
adapted to mechanize the transfer of the hosiery items from the
machine that produces them to the looping or sewing machine in
order to fully eliminate, or at least substantially reduce, manual
interventions for performing this operation.
[0005] In some of these methods, for example in the method
disclosed in Italian Patent No. 1,277,396 in the name of the same
Assignee, the hosiery item is started from the opposite end with
respect to the toe, i.e., from the top of the leg, and is completed
at the toe, retaining the last row of knitting on the needles of
the machine. Such last row is then transferred, loop by loop, from
the needles of the circular machine to the hooks supported by an
annular element which is arranged around the upper end of the
needle cylinder. The annular element is divided into two halves
which can overlap one another so as to overlap the loops of one
half-row, carried by the hooks arranged in one half of the annular
element, on the loops of the other half-row, which are supported by
the hooks of the other half of the annular element. In a subsequent
step, the pairs of loops thus arranged side by side are sewn in
order to join them thereby closing the toe of the hosiery item,
which is then unloaded from the annular element.
[0006] The closure of the toe, performed with methods and devices
of this kind, has the drawback that it is not fully satisfactory
from an aesthetic point of view.
[0007] The joining of mutually adjacent pairs of loops by sewing in
fact does not achieve a tight coupling of the loops that can be
compared with the one obtainable by conventional sewing or
looping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The aim of the present invention is to solve the above
problem by devising a method and an apparatus for manufacturing
tubular items, particularly hosiery items, which are closed at an
axial end and in which the closure of said axial end is fully
satisfactory.
[0009] Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a
method which allows to obtain a closure of an axial end of a
tubular item which can be compared with the closure that can be
obtained by means of conventional sewing or looping.
[0010] Another object of the invention is to provide a method which
allows to manufacture tubular items, particularly hosiery items,
which are closed at an axial end in a fully automated manner and
therefore without requiring the manual intervention of an
operator.
[0011] Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus
which allows to obtain tubular items, particularly hosiery items,
which are closed at an axial end and can be installed easily on
currently commercially available circular hosiery knitting
machines.
[0012] This aim and these and other objects which will become
better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a method for
manufacturing tubular items, particularly hosiery items, closed at
an axial end, comprising a step for forming the tubular item on a
circular hosiery knitting machine by way of the needles of the
needle cylinder, starting from the opposite axial end of the item
with respect to the axial end to be closed and retaining on the
needles of the needle cylinder the last formed row of knitting,
characterized in that it comprises the following additional
steps:
[0013] individually transferring the loops of the last formed row
of knitting from the needles of the needle cylinder to an auxiliary
element provided with supporting means for individually supporting
the loops, the supporting means of at least one half-row of said
last row being adapted to receive two loops and to form
knitting;
[0014] reversing the item;
[0015] transferring the loops of one half-row from the
corresponding supporting means to the supporting means engaged with
the loops of the other half-row;
[0016] forming at least one additional row of knitting, closing the
axial end of the item, with the supporting means that carry said
half-rows;
[0017] unloading the item from said supporting means.
[0018] The method according to the invention is preferably
performed by way of an apparatus for manufacturing tubular items,
particular hosiery items, closed at an axial end, characterized in
that it comprises a circular auxiliary element which can coaxially
face the end of the needle cylinder that corresponds to the needle
work area of a circular hosiery knitting machine, said auxiliary
element being provided with supporting means which are adapted to
individually receive the loops of a row of knitting formed and
retained by the needles of the needle cylinder, the supporting
elements of at least one half-row of said row of knitting being
actuatable in order to form knitting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will
become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not
exclusive embodiment of the method according to the invention and
of the apparatus for performing it, illustrated only by way of
non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0020] FIGS. 1 to 13 show schematically the sequence of operating
steps of the method according to the invention, performed on a
circular hosiery knitting machine and with an apparatus according
to the invention, both of which are shown schematically in axial
sectional views;
[0021] FIGS. 14 and 15 show schematically the closure of the item
at one of its axial ends, which corresponds to the step of the
method illustrated in FIG. 11.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] With reference to the figures, the method according to the
invention is preferably performed by means of an apparatus,
generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprising a
circular auxiliary element which can coaxially face the end of the
needle cylinder 3 that corresponds to the needle work area of a
circular hosiery knitting machine. Said auxiliary element is
provided with supporting means which are suitable to individually
receive the loops of a row of knitting formed and retained by the
needles 25 of the needle cylinder 3, and the supporting elements of
at least one half-row of said row of knitting can be actuated in
order to form knitting.
[0023] The auxiliary element is preferably constituted by an
auxiliary needle cylinder 2 which can be arranged above and
coaxially with respect to the needle cylinder 3 of a circular
hosiery knitting machine.
[0024] The auxiliary needle cylinder 2 has, like the needle
cylinders of hosiery knitting machines, a plurality of axial slots
4 on its side wall; each one of said slots accommodates a needle 5
whose tip Sa is directed downward.
[0025] In practice, the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 corresponds to
an inverted needle cylinder whose structure is simplified with
respect to the needle cylinder of conventional hosiery knitting
machines.
[0026] The auxiliary needle cylinder 2 is further provided, at its
lower end, with a sinker ring 6 accommodating in a per se known
manner a plurality of sinkers 7 which can be actuated in order to
cooperate with the needles 5 in forming knitting.
[0027] The sinkers 7 can be actuated with a translatory motion
toward or away from the axis 2a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2
by way of appropriately provided cams, not shown for the sake of
simplicity, which face in a downward region the sinker ring 6 and
form paths for a heel 7a of the sinkers.
[0028] The needles 5 constitute the supporting means for supporting
the loops of knitting and are each provided with at least one heel
5b which protrudes radially from the slots 4 of the auxiliary
needle cylinder 2 and can engage cams which are arranged around the
side wall of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 and define paths for
the heels 5b of the needles 5.
[0029] The auxiliary needle cylinder 2 can be actuated with a
rotary motion about its own axis 2a with respect to the cams that
define the paths for the heels 5b of the needles 5 and with respect
to the cams that define the paths for the heels 7a of the sinkers
7, so that the rotation of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 about
the axis 2a moves the needles 5 along the axial slots 4 of the
auxiliary needle cylinder 2 in order to form knitting and for other
operations described in detail hereinafter, and actuates the
sinkers 7 towards or away from the axis 2a of the auxiliary needle
cylinder 2 in order to cooperate with the needles 5 in the
formation of knitting.
[0030] Differently from conventional needle cylinders, the
auxiliary needle cylinder 2 is provided in two halves 12a and 12b
which are coupled one another on a diametrical plane which passes
through the axis 2a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2.
[0031] A first half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2,
together with the corresponding needle and sinker actuation cams,
is pivoted to a supporting structure, not shown for the sake of
simplicity, about an axis 13 which is parallel to a diametrical
axis at right angles to the axis 2a of the auxiliary needle
cylinder 2, so that it can be rotated on command about said axis 13
in order to move the needles 5 that belong to the first half 12a so
that their tip 5a faces from below the tip 5a of the needles 5
supported by the second half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder
2.
[0032] The needle cylinder 3 is constituted by a conventional
needle cylinder having, on its side wall, multiple axial slots 24,
each whereof internally slidingly accommodates a needle 25 which
can be actuated in a per se known manner in order to form
knitting.
[0033] The needle cylinder 3 is further provided with a sinker ring
26 having a plurality of radial slots which accommodate, in a per
se known manner, sinkers 27 which can be actuated in order to
cooperate with the needles 25 in forming knitting.
[0034] The needle cylinder 3 can be actuated with a rotary motion
about its own axis 3a in a per se known manner with respect to cams
which face the side wall of the needle cylinder 3 and define paths
which can be engaged by the heels 25b of the needles 25 and with
respect to cams which face the sinker ring 26 in an upward region,
are not shown for the sake of simplicity and define paths for the
heels 27a of the sinkers 27, so as to achieve the actuation, in a
per se known manner, of the needles 25 and of the sinkers 27 in
order to form knitting.
[0035] A substantially cylindrical suction duct 28 is accommodated
inside the needle cylinder 3 and coaxially thereto and can be
connected to suction means in order to tension the item 30 during
its manufacture.
[0036] The apparatus for performing the method according to the
invention also comprises means for reversing the item 30.
[0037] Said reversing means comprise a first substantially
cylindrical suction duct 40 being arranged internally and coaxially
with respect to the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 and has an inlet
40a which is directed downward.
[0038] The means for reversing the item 30 also comprise a second
substantially cylindrical suction duct 41 which has a smaller
diameter than the first suction duct 40. Said second suction duct
41 is arranged internally and coaxially with respect to the first
suction duct 40. The inlet of the second suction duct 41 also is
directed downward, preferably at a higher level than the inlet of
the first suction duct 40.
[0039] An interspace 42 is defined between the first suction duct
40 and the second suction duct 41 and is capable of receiving the
item 30. During the operation of the apparatus it is possible to
connect the interspace 42 or the second suction duct 41 to suction
means in order to reverse the item 30, as will become apparent
hereinafter.
[0040] The operation of the apparatus 1 in the execution of the
method according to the invention is as follows.
[0041] First of all, an item 30 is manufactured on a circular
hosiery knitting machine starting from the opposite axial end of
the item with respect to the axial end to be closed, and the last
formed row of knitting, constituted by loops 30a and 30b, is
retained on the needles 25 of the needle cylinder 3.
[0042] Then the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 is arranged above the
needle cylinder 3 and coaxially thereto; in said auxiliary needle
cylinder, the needles 5 are angularly spaced around the axis 2a so
as to match the angular spacing of the needles 25 around the axis
3a. Substantially, for each needle 25 of the needle cylinder 3
there is a needle 5 in the auxiliary needle cylinder 2. Preferably,
the needles 5 are arranged along a cylindrical surface whose
diameter is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical surface
along which the needles 25 are arranged in the needle cylinder 3,
as shown in FIG. 1.
[0043] In this step, the tip 25a of the needles 25 of the needle
cylinder 3 is arranged above the sinkers 27, and the loops 30a and
30b of the last formed row of knitting are in the beak or tip of
the needles 25. The item 30 is supported by the suction duct 28, so
that the loops 30a and 30b of the last formed row of knitting are
retained in the beaks of the needles 25 without descending along
the stem of said needles, and said suction duct 28 is connected to
suction means in order to keep the item 30 tensioned.
[0044] The needles 5 of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 are then
moved downward by way of the cams that actuate them so as to enter,
with their tip 5a, the loops carried by the needles 25 of the
needle cylinder 3, as shown in FIG. 2.
[0045] In a subsequent step, the needles 25 are raised so that
their tongue 25c moves beyond the last formed loop of knitting 30a
and 30b and are then lowered so as to achieve the closure of the
tongue 25c on the part of said loop and thus abandon said loop 30a
and 30b, which remains engaged on the tip 5a of the needles 5 of
the auxiliary needle cylinder 2, as shown in FIG. 3.
[0046] At this point the needles 5 are raised so that their tip 5a
rises above the beak of the sinkers 7 and the first suction duct 40
is connected to suction means which draw into the first suction
duct 40, and more specifically into the interspace 42, the item 30,
which is thus subjected to a first reversing. In this condition,
the item 30 is inside out, i.e., its normally outward side is
directed toward the axis 2a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2, as
shown in FIG. 4.
[0047] It should be noted that the item 30 might be reversed, by
suction inside the suction duct 40, even before it is transferred
from the needles 25 to the needles 5.
[0048] The auxiliary needle cylinder 2 is then moved away from the
needle cylinder 3, as shown in FIG. 5.
[0049] In a subsequent step, the first half 12a of the auxiliary
needle cylinder 2 is turned over about the axis 13, so as to move
the needles 5, which belong to the first half 12a, so that their
tip 5a faces the tip 5a of the needles 5 that belong to the other
half 12b of the needle cylinder 2, as shown in FIG. 6.
[0050] At this point, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the needles 5 that
belong to the first half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 and
the needles 5 that belong to the second half 12b of the auxiliary
needle cylinder 2 are actuated toward each other so that the loops
of knitting 30a of one half-row carried by the needles 5 of the
first half 12a are transferred to the needles 5 of the second half
12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 which carry the loops 30b of
the other half-row.
[0051] It should be noted that the needles 5 that belong to the
second half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 engage the loops
30a released by the needles 5 that belong to the first half 12a of
the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 preferably after the loops of
knitting 30b previously received from the needles 25 of the needle
cylinder 3 have passed, as a consequence of the downward movement
of the corresponding needles 5, above the tongue 5c of said
needles.
[0052] In practice, with this operation the loops 30a that belong
to the half-row of knitting carried by the needles 5 that belong to
the first half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 are passed to
the needles 5 that belong to the second half 12b of the auxiliary
needle cylinder 2.
[0053] In a further step, shown in FIG. 9, the needles that belong
to the first half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 are raised
until their tongue moves beyond the corresponding loop of knitting
30a and are then lowered so as to release said loop 30a of
knitting, as shown in FIG. 9.
[0054] The first half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 is
then returned to the position in which it laterally faces the
second half 12b, as shown in FIG. 10.
[0055] In the subsequent step, the needles 5 carried by the second
half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 are actuated so as to
form at least one additional row of knitting 50, thereby closing
the axial end of the item 30.
[0056] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 11, the needles 5 of the second
half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 are actuated so as to
transfer the loops of knitting 30a received from the needles that
belong to the first half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2
inside the loops 30b that were already present on the needles 5
that belong to the second half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder
2 and had been transferred to them from the needles 25 of the
needle cylinder 3. In this manner, the loops 30a of the half-row of
knitting carried previously by the needles that belong to the first
half 12a of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 pass through the loops
30b of the other half-row which are arranged on the needles 5 of
the first half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder, as shown in
FIG. 14.
[0057] The needles of the second half 12b of the auxiliary needle
cylinder 2 then form at least one additional row of knitting 50
which stabilizes the coupling of the loops 30a and 30b of the two
half-rows, as shown in FIG. 15.
[0058] According to requirements, the needles of the second half
12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 can form even more than one
additional row.
[0059] During this step, the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 can be
actuated with a rotary motion about its own axis 2a continuously or
alternately, causing the needles 5 that belong to the second half
12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 to pass in front of a feed
at which the thread for forming the additional row or rows 50 is
supplied.
[0060] It should be noted that due to the passage of the loops 30a
that belong to one half-row inside the loops 30b that belong to the
other half-row, one obtains a closure of the item at one of its
axial ends which is comparable, in terms of compactness, with the
closure that can be obtained by means of a conventional looping or
sewing operation. Substantially, since the loops of the two
half-rows are not simply joined together but are knitted in with
each other, the resulting closure of the axial end of the item is
tighter and fully satisfactory from an aesthetic point of view.
[0061] Moreover, due to the passage of the loops 30a of one
half-row inside the loops 30b of the other half-row and by virtue
of the formation of at least one additional row 50, any tensioning
of the two flaps mutually joined at the closed axial end during use
of the item does not apply stress directly to the additional row or
rows of knitting 50 but tightens the first one of said additional
rows by way of the loops 30a and 30b of the two half-rows which are
knitted in together.
[0062] In a subsequent step, the loops of the additional row or
rows 50 are released by the needles of the second half 12b of the
auxiliary needle cylinder 2 and the item, as shown in FIG. 12, is
drawn into the interspace 42, arranging itself with its closed
axial end at the inlet of the second suction duct 41.
[0063] At this point suction inside the interspace 42 is
interrupted and suction inside the second suction duct 41 is
activated. In this manner, the item 30 is gradually drawn into the
second suction duct 41 starting from its closed axial end and is
thus reversed again and moved away from the auxiliary needle
cylinder 2, as shown in FIG. 13.
[0064] In this manner, the item 30 is closed at one of its axial
ends and is unloaded from the machine the "right way out".
[0065] It should be noted that according to requirements, instead
of transferring a half-row of knitting from the needles 5 that
belong to the first half 12a to the needles 5 that belong to the
second half 12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 it is possible
to perform the opposite transfer, i.e., to transfer the loops 30b
from the needles that belong to the second half 12b of the
auxiliary needle cylinder 2 to the needles 5 that belong to the
first half 12a of the needle cylinder 2. In this case, the item is
closed by the needles that belong to the first half 12a of the
auxiliary needle cylinder 2, which is kept below the second half
12b of the auxiliary needle cylinder 2 until the closure of the
axial end of the item 30 is completed.
[0066] In practice it has been found that the method according to
the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, since it
allows to manufacture tubular items, particularly hosiery items,
which are closed at one of their axial ends with a closure which is
fully satisfactory as regards strength and as well as aesthetic
appearance.
[0067] The method and the apparatus for performing it thus
conceived are susceptible of numerous modifications and variations,
all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the
details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent
elements.
[0068] In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions,
may be any according to requirements and to the state of the
art.
[0069] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No.
MI2000A000373 from which this application claims priority are
incorporated herein by reference.
* * * * *