The invention relates to equipment for the inspection and steam pressing of knitted products such as pantyhose, bodies and similar. Generally, known equipment of this type, such as that described in Patent Application No. F196A 56 filed on Mar. 19, 1996 (=WO 97/35059) in the name of the present applicant for treating pantyhose, comprises a carousel on the periphery of which are mounted a plurality of forms capable of holding the products to be tested and/or set; the carousel rotates with an intermittent motion to bring each of the forms in succession to stations for loading and inspecting the product, for setting in a chamber, for drying and for discharge, these operations normally being carried out with the forms fitted on the carousel. For ease of insertion and inspection of the products, the forms are mounted in a corresponding plane tangential to the carrying movement of the carousel. This arrangement, however, limits the number of forms which can be mounted on the carousel, according to the overall dimensions of the machine and the treatment time required for the product, to an extent which increases with the width of the form.
The object of the present invention is to overcome this limitation, particularly for knitted undergarments such as singlets, bodies, underpants and similar, which, being formed from yarns of natural fibers having a suitable count, require treatment times, particularly for setting and drying, which are considerably longer than those allowed for women""s lightweight pantyhose made from synthetic fibers.
The equipment according to the present invention comprises, on the carousel, a plurality of units positioned close to each other, each forming guide means for the radial sliding of a support on which the corresponding form lies in a plane which is approximately radial with respect to the carousel. Work stations with apparatus for loading and inspection, for setting and for discharge are provided outside the carousel. At each of these stations, a radial extraction servo mechanism extracts one form radially from the carousel and reinserts it into the carousel after the operation specific to the station has been carried out. With this radial arrangement of the forms, the carousel can carry within given overall dimensions a number of forms which is markedly higher than that found in the known equipment.
Said units positioned close to each other for supporting the forms are distributed uniformly on the periphery of the carousel and said work stations are spaced angularly from each other by a multiple of the angular interval of said units.
Moreover, because of the radial arrangement of the forms, an oven, which is superimposed on the carousel and forms part of the equipment, and through which the forms pass with the products which have been previously steam-treated in a setting station, is able to contain a considerably larger number of forms than that found in the known equipment. Since the carousel advances by one step in the time required for the product to be loaded onto the form and inspected, the product treatment time in the oven is thus increased for the same overall dimensions, a circumstance which is particularly useful in the case of said knitted undergarments.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the equipment comprises a setting apparatus, extending in the form of two half-shells (to form the setting chamber) capable of housing the form, which is orientated and moves in a radial plane with respect to the axis of the carousel.
To facilitate inspection, the form can be manoeuvered manually or by a motor in the loading and inspection station so that it is orientated about its axis by the operator in specified and/or preferred angular positions.
At the station for discharging the treated garments, the form can be positioned angularly to present the product to a discharge apparatus. The discharge station is preferably located close to the loading station, to enable said operator to check that it is operating correctly.
Preferably, the form and/or at least one of the half-shells of the setting chamber is movable at the setting station in a direction orthogonal to the radial plane of movement of the form, to achieve the joining the two half-shells together to form the setting chamber surrounding the form, and for opening the chamber. One of the half-shells comprises a projection capable of moving the form in said orthogonal direction, to enclose it in the setting chamber by securing its base against the edge of the other half-shell, by overcoming the force of an opposing spring.
In a different embodiment of the invention, said guide means for the radial movement of each form comprise an articulated quadrilateral extending in a radial plane with respect to the carousel. Two opposite sides of the quadrilateral, namely the lower and upper side, are fitted respectively to the carousel and to said support of the form, in such a way that the support and the form can be moved and if necessary rotated in the plane of the form, for example in order to extract them radially from the carousel to present them between the half-shells of a setting chamber. For the movement of the quadrilateral, one of its sides, or an extension thereof, is coupled mechanically to said servo mechanisms for the radical movement of the forms. The articulated quadrilateral may also be a parallelogram, for moving the form radially without angularly changing its configuration in the corresponding radial plane in which it lies.
The equipment for the inspection and setting of knitted garments such as bodies, undershirts or similar, may comprise forms having lateral extensions on which the shoulder straps of the garment can be hooked, and, at a discharge station, a device for automatically removing the garments from the forms. This device comprises, in this case, a first moving element which carries two mechanical fingers operated by an actuator and capable of moving apart the shoulder straps of each body to detach them from said lateral hooking extensions of the form. This device also comprises a second moving element with lateral pressers for the garment on the sides of the form, which can be operated by means of a corresponding actuator, and an upper clamp capable of disengaging the part of the knitted garment opposite the shoulder straps from the form. Said first and second moving elements are integral with a carriage which runs on a vertical guide in synchronization with the movement of said upper clamp, to facilitate the disengagement of the body from the form.
In another embodiment of the invention, each of said forms comprises two elements extending in corresponding planes parallel to a radial plane of the carousel and close to it, these planes being juxtaposed with a certain distance between them so that they can receive respective legs of a pantyhose. This pair of elements is fixed to a support for the radial movement of the forms. A device for the automatic loading of the pantyhose onto said forms may be provided in proximity to the carousel. Additionally, blocks which reduce the internal volume of the chamber may be fixed within the setting chamber to enable this volume to be adapted to the dimensions of the forms in such a way as to limit the volume of steam supplied for each knitted garment.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the equipment comprises, at least at one station for transferring the forms and their support, a system capable of receiving and supporting a predetermined number of forms, to provide a holding area for them and to permit the execution of any necessary supplementary operations on the knitted garments fitted on the forms, including the loading of the garments onto the forms and their discharge from them. Said system may comprise, near to said first carousel, a second carousel rotating in steps and capable of receiving from the first carousel, by the use of transfer means, the moving supports complete with the corresponding forms and the treated garments. The second carousel may feed a station for discharging said garments from the forms and a subsequent station for transferring from the second carousel to the first, by further transfer means, the supports and the forms freed from the garments. The second carousel therefore acts as a buffer and a support for the forms for the execution of any necessary further operations on said garments. Said means of transferring the supports with the forms from one carousel to the other may comprise at least one orientating device capable of rotating the supports by means of an actuator through an appropriate angle about a vertical axis, to align the slidable support of the forms radially with respect to the carousel from which it is taken or to which it is to be transferred, and to allow said support with the corresponding form to be removed from the carousel or inserted into the carousel. This actuator may be disengageable to allow the free angular orientation of the form for manual loading and inspection of the knitted garment on the form. Additionally, on the second carousel, the forms may be rotatable about their own axes and spaced angularly to allow an angular rotation of 360xc2x0, thus enabling the knitted garments to be loaded on the forms, discharged from them, or inspected on them. It is also possible to provide a loading or discharge device interacting with a corresponding station of a carousel into which a support with the corresponding form is temporarily transferred by means of one of said servo mechanisms for the radial movement of the forms, to allow the knitted garment to be loaded onto the form or discharged from it. Said system may also comprise at least one belt conveyor capable of transferring to a carousel, or of receiving from a carousel, at a transfer station, the supports with the corresponding forms, to allow the garments to be loaded or discharged simultaneously by more than one operator.