Sock boarding apparatus

An apparatus for automatically boarding socks comprising:

• a skeletal frame formed from a plurality of subframes and defining a path of movement for one or more socks being boarded by said apparatus;
• an assembly for boarding one or more socks including a boarding subframe forming a portion of said skeletal frame, said boarding subframe including a plurality of vertically extending support members and a plurality of horizontally extending support members attached thereto with at least a portion of said support members defining a support surface, at least one sock form movably mounted to said boarding subframe, an assembly for moving said at least one sock form to a position along said path of movement for movement of said at least one sock form into one or more socks including at least one slider mounted to said at least one sock form for controlled sliding movement of said at least one sock form along said support surface, and further including a first piston and cylinder arrangement mounted to a horizontally extending support member and having a selectively moveable rod emitting from said cylinder and attached to said at least one slider for controlled horizontal movement of said at least one slider for horizontally moving said at least one sock form and a second piston and cylinder arrangement mounted to a vertically extending support member and having a selectively moveable rod emitting from said cylinder and attached to said at least one sock form for controlled vertical movement of said at least one sock form and into the one or more socks, thereby boarding said one or more socks;
• an assembly for positioning one or more socks for engagement by said at least one sock form, including a positioning subframe forming a portion of said skeletal frame, an assembly for supporting and moving one or more socks into a position for engagement by said at least one sock form mounted to said positioning subframe and including a sock carrier formed as two parallelly extending rectangular support members, each being formed with at least one air passage therethrough, said sock carrier being movably mounted to said positioning subframe for movement between a first position for receiving one or more socks and a second position for engagement of the one or more socks by said at least one sock form;
• an assembly for opening one or more socks mounted to said positioning subframe including an opening unit slidably mounted to said positioning subframe and having four outwardly projecting arms for disposal of one or more socks thereon, said arms being movable between a first position wherein said arms are closely adjacent one another and a second position wherein said arms are mutually displaced by a predetermined distance, thereby opening any sock or socks disposed thereon, said opening unit being movable between a first position for receiving one or more socks onto said arms and a second position for deposit of the one or more socks onto said an assembly for positioning one or more socks for engagement by said at least one sock form for disposition of the one or more socks on said assembly for supporting and moving one or more socks into a position for engagement by said at least one sock form;
• an assembly for maintaining the one or more socks in an opened condition including an assembly for injecting air into said passages for inflation of one or more socks supported by said carrier to enhance the ability of the one or more socks to accept said at least one sock form, said assembly for injecting air being mounted to said positioning subframe;
• a pair of driven rolls movably mounted to said positioning subframe for movement between a first position wherein said rolls are separated from said sock carrier and a second position wherein said rolls are in contact with any sock or socks disposed on said carrier for rotational movement of the one or more socks disposed on said carrier responsive to rotational movement of said rolls, each of said rolls including a textured contact surface for engagement with the one or more socks to enhance the ability of the rolls to impart motion to the one or more socks disposed on the carrier for enhanced movement of said at least one sock form into one or more socks, thereby boarding said sock;
• an arrangement for sensing a position of one or more socks along said path of movement including a plurality of photocells for production of a signal indicative of the presence of one or more socks along said path of movement, said photocells being mounted to said skeletal frame at predetermined locations along said path of movement and operatively connected to said microcomputer for processing of signals produced by said photocells thereby indicating the position of one or more socks disposed along said path of movement thereby causing a one or more socks introduced into said assembly for positioning one or more socks for engagement by said at least one sock form to be automatically boarded by said assembly for boarding one or more socks;
• and a microcomputer operatively associated with said apparatus for automatically controlling operation of said apparatus for controlling the operation of said assembly for supporting and moving one or more socks into a position for engagement by said at least one sock form, said assembly for opening the sock, said assembly for maintaining the sock in an opened condition and said assembly for supporting and moving said at least one sock form responsive to input from said arrangement for sensing a position of one or more socks along said path of movement for automatically boarding one or more socks.