Disc type multi-task automatic socking device and socking method

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of hosiery production equipment, in particular to a disc type multi-task automatic hosiery equipment and a hosiery method, which comprises a rotating disc mechanism and a rotating driving mechanism, the rotating disc mechanism comprises an upper rotating disc and a lower rotating disc, the double-layer rotating disc is uniformly driven by the rotating driving mechanism, intermittent indexing rotation is realized, the double-layer disc surfaces are uniformly divided into at least three work stations, and independent material taking mechanisms which do not interfere with each other are matched and assembled. The application adopts a long-short path differentiated flow structure, the lower rotating disc has a short path, the upper rotating disc has a long path, and multi-station multi-task parallel operation can be realized. The double-layer rotating disc is intermittently started and stopped, the work station is locked and stable, a static operation reference is provided for processes such as hosiery cuff opening, hosiery heel clamping and plate shaping, dynamic deviation is eliminated, processing precision and product consistency are improved, the double-layer work stations are coordinated and do not interfere with each other, the traditional production capacity bottleneck is broken, the production rhythm is speeded up, and the application is suitable for large-batch standardized mass production of hosiery.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of sock production equipment technology, specifically to a disc-type multi-task automatic sock-wearing device and method. Background Technology

[0002] After the socks are knitted, sock boards are typically inserted into the sock opening. These boards are then moved to designated positions by mechanical units and strung together to form a set. A conveyor mechanism then transports this set of boards to various workstations for processing. In traditional production, this repetitive task of inserting sock boards is usually done manually, resulting in high labor intensity and low production efficiency, making it difficult to meet the demands of large-scale mass production. Furthermore, manual operation is greatly affected by human factors such as skill level and work conditions, leading to frequent problems like incorrect board positioning and uneven tension. This results in unstable sock shaping quality, low standardization, and safety hazards such as bumps and pinches from frequent manual work.

[0003] At present, with the development of society, the cost of manual labor and raw materials are increasing year by year, and the production cost of socks is also increasing. However, the market price fluctuates relatively slowly. In order to adapt to the changes of the times, promote the transformation of traditional sock industry to intelligent sock industry, thereby reducing production costs, improving production efficiency, and increasing the profit margin of enterprises, it is particularly important to replace manual labor with industrial robots to realize the automation and high efficiency of sock production.

[0004] In view of this, this case involves in-depth research into the aforementioned issues, which led to the formation of this case. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a disc-type multi-task automatic sock-wearing device to solve the problem that sock production in the prior art relies too much on manual labor, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device includes a worktable, a turntable mechanism disposed on the worktable, and a rotary drive mechanism for driving the turntable mechanism to rotate. The turntable mechanism includes an upper turntable and a lower turntable coaxially arranged. The upper and lower turntables are driven by the rotary drive mechanism to achieve synchronous and intermittent indexing rotation. Each of the upper and lower turntables includes at least three evenly divided workstations and is equipped with a material-picking mechanism that does not interfere with each other's movements. The lower turntable adopts a short-path flow structure, and the upper turntable adopts a long-path flow structure. Through the differentiated flow of the upper and lower turntables with long and short paths, multi-station multi-task synchronous operation is achieved.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the short-path flow structure of the lower turntable allows the material to flow from station 1 to station 2 of the lower turntable to complete the discharge operation, and the matching material picking mechanism is set at station 2 of the lower turntable. The long-path flow structure of the upper turntable allows the material to flow from station 1 to station 3 to complete the discharge operation. The matching material handling mechanism is located at station 3 of the upper turntable.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the upper turntable and the lower turntable include at least a loading station and a sock-wearing station. The loading station of the upper turntable and the loading station of the lower turntable are both set at station 1. The upper turntable and the lower turntable achieve precise alignment and calibration of their respective station 1 by using a positioning reference distinguished by color.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a four-way sock opening mechanism is provided on the sock-wearing station. The four-way sock opening mechanism includes an upper and lower positioning component and a left and right sock opening component. The upper and lower positioning component is used to position the upper and lower edges of the sock opening, and the left and right sock opening component is used to synchronously and symmetrically widen the sock opening in the left and right directions. The four-way stable opening of the sock opening is achieved through the cooperation of the upper and lower and left and right directions.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper and lower positioning assembly adopts a multi-cylinder step-by-step linkage positioning structure, including an upper and lower positioning bracket, an upper and lower positioning first cylinder, an upper and lower positioning second cylinder, an upper and lower positioning third cylinder, an upper and lower positioning fourth cylinder, and an upper and lower positioning fifth cylinder; the telescopic rod end of the upper and lower positioning third cylinder is equipped with an upper and lower positioning pressure block with a planar needle array shallow thorn structure at the bottom; the telescopic rod end of the upper and lower positioning fourth cylinder is connected to an upper and lower positioning plate; and the telescopic rod end of the upper and lower positioning fifth cylinder is equipped with an upper and lower positioning pressure plate that forms an upper and lower pressing fit with the upper and lower positioning plates.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the left and right opening sock cuff assembly adopts a staggered double-layer crossbeam with a multi-cylinder distributed linkage structure, including left and right first crossbeams, left and right second crossbeams, left and right opening first cylinder, left and right opening second cylinder, left and right opening third cylinder, left and right opening fourth cylinder, left and right opening fifth cylinder, and left and right opening sixth cylinder; the telescopic ends of the left and right opening first cylinder and the left and right opening second cylinder are equipped with left and right opening pressure blocks, the telescopic ends of the left and right opening third cylinder and the left and right opening fourth cylinder are equipped with left and right opening pressure plates that form an inner and outer clamping cooperation with the left and right opening pressure blocks, the telescopic end of the left and right opening fifth cylinder is fixedly installed with a left and right opening insert plate, and the telescopic end of the left and right opening sixth cylinder is connected to a left and right opening support plate.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism is provided on the sock-wearing station. The precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism includes a flip-up sock positioning component and a T-shaped staggered needle gripper component. The flip-up sock positioning component is evenly distributed on each flow station of the upper and lower turntables to realize the pre-positioning and flipping of the heel. The T-shaped staggered needle gripper component is used to realize the non-destructive clamping and precise transfer of the heel.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the T-shaped staggered needle gripper assembly adopts a modular sliding assembly structure, including a flipping crossbeam, a flipping first mounting base, a flipping first cylinder, a flipping second cylinder, a flipping second mounting base, a T-shaped staggered pressure block, a flipping third cylinder, and a flipping gripper; the T-shaped staggered pressure block adopts an asymmetrical T-shaped staggered needle point layout structure.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the process of the sock heel precision clamping and transfer mechanism is as follows: the sock heel precision clamping and transfer mechanism is also equipped with an elastic rebound compensation control component. The elastic rebound compensation control component achieves active error compensation through multi-cylinder controllable displacement, and sequentially completes multi-level compensation actions such as side pulling and fixing at the end of the plate, forward push compensation after clamping and releasing, and resetting reference alignment.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the material handling mechanism includes a robotic arm and a hanging plate guiding mechanism; the hanging plate guiding mechanism includes a Y-groove guiding and guiding component, a hanging plate limiting and positioning component, a 30-point hanging plate detection system, and an error compensation and correction component. The four types of components work together to achieve the full-process functions of guiding and centering, motion limiting, status detection, and error correction.

[0016] Another objective of this invention is to provide a disc-type multi-task automatic sock-wearing device and method to solve the problem that sock production in the prior art relies too heavily on manual labor, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

[0017] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A method for putting on socks using a disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device includes the following steps: S1. The workers lay the socks to be processed on the double-layer rotary table station of the indexing system and place the heels on the flip-up positioning parts to complete the pre-limiting position. S2. The turntable rotates in increments to transfer the socks to the opening support station and locks them in place; S3. The four-way sock opening stretching mechanism simultaneously expands and shapes the sock opening from top to bottom and left to right, smoothing out sock opening wrinkles. S4. The transplanting mechanism precisely transfers the sock board to the center of the sock opening for coaxial alignment. S5. Flip the positioning piece to fully expose the heel of the sock, and use staggered needle-pressing claws to avoid the thickened area of ​​the heel and clamp the heel without damage. S6. The clamping mechanism carries the socks smoothly and moves them smoothly, inserting the sock board into the sock body at a uniform speed to complete the initial boarding; S7. High-frequency micro-amplitude vibration is used to eliminate fabric jamming and assembly misalignment between the sock body and the sock board; S8. Pull the sock board to the standard forming position, and compensate for the elastic shrinkage of the sock material by the displacement of the controllable cylinder to align the cuff posture; S9. The anti-shake robotic arm grabs and shapes the socks and transfers them to the multi-dimensional guide hanging plate mechanism. After automatically correcting the posture of the sock plate, it is hung vertically. S10, the multi-point detection system detects the working condition of the mounting plate across the entire area and feeds back signals to form a closed-loop control; S11. After passing the inspection, the turntable rotates again, the finished product is turned out and the new socks are turned into the workstation. The above steps are repeated continuously to complete the automated sock forming process.

[0018] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the specific process of elastic shrinkage compensation in step S8 is as follows: first, the tension of the sock body is fixed by pulling and limiting the side, then the sock heel clamping structure is slowly released, the mechanism is pushed forward slightly to compensate for the shrinkage of the sock material, and finally the mechanism is reset to align the height of the sock cuff and the left and right posture.

[0019] By adopting the aforementioned design scheme, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention employs a synchronous linkage structure of upper and lower double-layer coaxial turntables, combined with an intermittent indexing precise start-stop operation mode, completely changing the drawbacks of continuous dynamic operation in traditional equipment. Precise turntable positioning and stable station locking provide a static operating benchmark for delicate processes such as sock cuff stretching, sock heel clamping, pattern making and hanging board guidance, effectively avoiding offset and swaying errors caused by dynamic operation, significantly improving the processing accuracy of sock pattern making and shaping, and ensuring the consistency and yield rate of sock forming in mass production. Through the differentiated flow design of long and short paths on the upper and lower turntables, a multi-task parallel operation mode with independent layers and different paths is achieved. The lower layer's short path quickly outputs materials, while the upper layer's long path completes the entire set of complex shaping processes. The two layers of workstations work collaboratively without interference, breaking through the technical bottlenecks of traditional equipment's single flow path, single process, and limited capacity. This greatly improves the utilization rate of equipment workstations and the overall production cycle, effectively improving automated production efficiency and adapting to the needs of large-scale, standardized sock mass production. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the entire equipment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of the entire equipment of the present invention from another angle; Figure 3 This is a top view of the entire equipment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention, the robotic arm, and the material handling mechanism; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention from another angle; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the turntable mechanism and the four-way sock opening mechanism in this invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the turntable mechanism and the four-way sock opening mechanism in this invention from another angle; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the turntable mechanism in this invention; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the turntable mechanism in this invention from another angle; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the upper and lower positioning components in this invention; Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the upper and lower positioning components from another angle in this invention; Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the left and right opening sock cuff assembly in this invention; Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the flip-up sock positioning component in this invention; Figure 15 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the flip-up sock positioning component in this invention; Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the material handling mechanism in this invention; Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the robotic arm in this invention; In the diagram: 1. Turntable mechanism; 11. Upper turntable; 12. Lower turntable; 2. Rotation drive mechanism; 3. Four-way sock opening mechanism; 4. Upper and lower positioning assembly; 31. Upper and lower positioning bracket; 311. Upper and lower positioning horizontal bracket; 3111. Upper and lower positioning vertical bracket; 3112. Upper and lower positioning first cylinder; 3121. Upper and lower positioning first connecting seat; 3131. Upper and lower positioning second cylinder; 314. Upper and lower positioning third connecting seat; 3141. Upper and lower positioning second mounting seat; 315. Upper and lower positioning pressure block; 316. Upper and lower positioning fourth cylinder; 3161. Upper and lower positioning fourth connecting seat; 317. Upper and lower positioning plate; 318. Upper and lower positioning pressure plate; 319. Left and right sock opening assembly; 321. Left and right first crossbeams; 322. Left and right second crossbeams; 323. Left and right opening first cylinder; 323. Left and right opening pressure block. 1. Left and right opening first mounting base 3232. Left and right opening second cylinder 324. Left and right opening second mounting base 3241. Left and right opening third cylinder 325. Left and right opening pressure plate 3251. Left and right opening fourth cylinder 326. Left and right opening fifth cylinder 327. Left and right opening insert plate 3271. Left and right opening sixth cylinder 328. Left and right opening support plate 3281. Rotatable swing sock positioning component 33. Rotating plate 331. Rotating cylinder 332. T-shaped staggered needle gripper component 34. Rotating crossbeam 341. Rotating first mounting base 342. Rotating first cylinder 343. Rotating second cylinder 344. Rotating second mounting base 345. T-shaped staggered pressure block 346. Rotating third cylinder 347. Rotating gripper 348. Anti-shake cylinder 391. Anti-shake guide wheel 392. Robot arm 4. Hanging plate guide mechanism 5. Sock plate 6. Worktable 9. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "horizontal", "vertical", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0023] Please see Figures 1 to 17A disc-type multi-task automatic sock-wearing device includes a worktable 9, on which a turntable mechanism 1 is mounted, and a rotary drive mechanism 2 is provided to drive the turntable mechanism 1 to complete the rotation action.

[0024] The turntable mechanism 1 adopts a double-layer coaxial integrated structure design, specifically including an upper turntable 11 and a lower turntable 12 that are corresponding and coaxially arranged. The upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 are centrally driven by the rotary drive mechanism 2. During operation, the upper and lower turntables can rotate synchronously and in conjunction with the equipment control system to complete intermittent indexing movements, thus achieving a precise indexing and fixed-point stopping operation mode. The turntable mechanism 1 has a precise and controllable angle for each indexing rotation and remains stationary after the indexing is completed. This provides a stable working environment for the delicate processes such as material picking, spreading, clamping, plate threading, and material discharge at each station, effectively avoiding positioning deviations caused by the rotation process and significantly improving the operating accuracy of the equipment.

[0025] Both the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 include at least three evenly divided workstations. In this embodiment, both the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 are provided with four independent workstations, namely workstation 1, workstation 2, workstation 3, and workstation 4. Both the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 are equipped with two sets of material handling mechanisms. The upper and lower material handling mechanisms are arranged in separate zones with independent action logic, and their operation does not interfere with each other. They can simultaneously complete the picking, placing, and transferring of materials between the upper and lower layers, greatly improving the overall operating efficiency of the equipment.

[0026] Furthermore, this equipment adopts a dual-layer differentiated work station flow design, relying on long and short path division of labor and collaborative operation. In a preferred embodiment, the lower turntable 12 adopts a short-path flow structure, with materials flowing from station 1 to station 2 to complete the discharge operation. A corresponding material-collecting mechanism is installed between stations 2 and 3 of the lower turntable. The upper turntable 11 adopts a long-path flow structure, with materials flowing from station 1 to station 3 to complete the discharge operation. A corresponding material-collecting mechanism is installed between stations 3 and 4 of the upper turntable. Both the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 sequentially complete multiple complex processes such as sock alignment, stretching, board insertion, and material collection. The upper and lower turntables, through the structural coordination of differentiated flow of long and short paths and staggered material discharge, achieve complementary operation rhythm and parallel processing of multiple tasks. This overcomes the shortcomings of traditional single-station, single-path equipment with simple operation process and insufficient capacity, improves the continuity and production efficiency of sock-wearing process, and is suitable for mass standardized production.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, both the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 are provided with at least a loading station and a sock-putting station, and the loading station of both turntables is uniformly set at station 1 to realize synchronous loading operations between the upper and lower layers, thereby reducing the need for manual station setup. The sock-putting station is set at station 3 of the upper turntable 11 and station 2 of the lower turntable 12.

[0028] In addition, the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 are respectively configured with positioning references of different colors. For example, the upper turntable 11 is set with a green positioning reference and the lower turntable 12 is set with a red positioning reference. By distinguishing each other and calibrating independently with different colored positioning references, the precise alignment correction of the upper and lower turntables can be achieved, effectively eliminating the alignment deviation generated during the synchronous rotation of the two turntables, and ensuring the positioning accuracy and assembly consistency of the synchronous operation of the two layers.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a four-way sock opening mechanism 3 is provided at the sock-wearing station. The four-way sock opening mechanism 3 adopts a non-destructive positioning and opening structure design, including an upper and lower positioning component 31 and a left and right sock opening component 32.

[0030] The upper and lower positioning components 31 employ a planar needle array shallow piercing layout, relying on multi-point uniform shallow piercing to position the upper and lower edges of the sock cuff in a planar manner. The needle points only adhere to the sock surface and do not penetrate the sock fabric, effectively preventing scratches and punctures to the sock body while ensuring reliable positioning. The left and right sock cuff opening components 32 are equipped with symmetrically arranged left and right opening pressure blocks 3231 (described in detail below). Each left and right opening pressure block 3231 is driven by an independent horizontal cylinder, enabling synchronous outward and inward movements on both sides, ensuring high symmetry and uniform force distribution, and adapting to the opening requirements of different sock cuff sizes. The upper and lower positioning components 31, through the two-way cooperation of upper and lower pressing positioning and symmetrical left and right opening, form a four-way force structure, which can constrain and open the sock cuff in all directions, ensuring a stable and regular opening state without wrinkles or deviation, providing a good working foundation for subsequent pattern making and shaping operations.

[0031] Reference Figure 11 and Figure 12 As shown, the upper and lower positioning assembly 31 adopts a multi-cylinder step-by-step linkage positioning structure, which can accurately complete the non-destructive planar positioning operation of the sock opening. The upper and lower positioning assembly 31 includes an upper and lower positioning bracket 311, an upper and lower positioning first cylinder 312, an upper and lower positioning second cylinder 313, an upper and lower positioning third cylinder 314, an upper and lower positioning fourth cylinder 316, and an upper and lower positioning fifth cylinder 317.

[0032] The upper and lower positioning brackets 311 serve as the overall fixed base for the upper and lower positioning components 31, securely mounted on the equipment station frame. They provide rigid support for the entire positioning execution structure, preventing shaking caused by high-frequency reciprocating operation and effectively preventing positioning deviations. The upper and lower positioning brackets 311 include an upper and lower positioning horizontal bracket 3111 and an upper and lower positioning vertical bracket 3112. The first upper and lower positioning cylinder 312 is vertically mounted on the upper and lower positioning horizontal bracket 3111, and the second upper and lower positioning cylinder 313 is vertically mounted on the upper and lower positioning vertical bracket 3112. Notably, each cylinder is equipped with a sliding block structure. Through the guide of the sliding block and the cylinder's extension and retraction, smooth vertical drive operation and accurate positioning are ensured, offsetting the gap error generated by reciprocating motion and achieving high-precision linear displacement output.

[0033] The telescopic rod end of the first vertical positioning cylinder 312 is equipped with a first vertical positioning connecting seat 3121, and the bottom of the first vertical positioning connecting seat 3121 is horizontally mounted with a third vertical positioning cylinder 314. The telescopic rod end of the third vertical positioning cylinder 314 is equipped with an L-shaped second vertical positioning mounting seat 3141, and the bottom surface of the second vertical positioning mounting seat 3141 is fixed with an inverted T-shaped vertical positioning pressure block 315.

[0034] The bottom of the upper and lower positioning blocks 315 is evenly arranged with several positioning needle arrays. The design employs a planar multi-point shallow-needle structure, allowing for uniform positioning against the sock cuff surface without penetrating the fabric, thus achieving a non-destructive fixation of the sock cuff. The upper and lower positioning blocks 315 can move vertically following the first upper and lower positioning cylinder 312, and horizontally following the third upper and lower positioning cylinder 314, enabling adaptive adjustment of the sock cuff's planar position.

[0035] The telescopic rod end of the second vertical positioning cylinder 313 is fixedly connected to the third vertical positioning connecting seat 3131, and the fourth vertical positioning cylinder 316 is horizontally mounted on the third vertical positioning connecting seat 3131. It is worth noting that the fourth vertical positioning cylinder 316 is also equipped with a slider guide structure, which achieves high-precision horizontal position fine adjustment through the horizontal slider. It can adapt to sock openings of different widths and effectively avoids malfunctions such as offset and jamming during the operation of the mechanism.

[0036] The telescopic rod end of the fourth positioning cylinder 316 is connected to the fourth positioning connecting seat 3161. The bottom of the fourth positioning connecting seat 3161 is horizontally fitted with upper and lower positioning plates 318 to support and limit the sock opening area. A fifth positioning cylinder 317 is also vertically mounted on the fourth positioning connecting seat 3161. The fifth positioning cylinder 317 is equipped with a sliding block, which guides the vertical telescopic movement to ensure stability and reliability. The telescopic rod end of the fifth positioning cylinder 317 is fitted with upper and lower positioning pressure plates 319, which are positioned directly above the upper and lower positioning plates 318, forming an upper and lower pressing fit structure. The precise guidance and coordination between each cylinder and its matching slider ensures smooth and stable extension and retraction movements. The upper and lower positioning plates 318 and the upper and lower positioning pressure plates 319 work together to perform secondary regularization and compression positioning of the sock cuff edge. At the same time, combined with the needle array multi-point shallow puncture positioning structure at the bottom of the upper and lower positioning pressure blocks 315, a dual positioning constraint mechanism is formed, which can effectively prevent sock cuff wrinkling, slippage and displacement problems, and significantly improve the flatness and overall regularity of the sock cuff after stretching.

[0037] When the upper and lower positioning components 31 are in operation, they rely on the cylinders and slider guide structure to achieve precise step-by-step positioning. The overall action sequence is precise and the coordination is orderly. The specific workflow is as follows: The first step is to move the first positioning cylinder 312 downward first, which drives the bottom positioning pressure block 315 with needle array structure to move down synchronously. The needle array shallowly punctures the upper edge of the sock opening, slightly pulls it open and initially fixes the sock opening, and pre-shapes and limits the sock opening, effectively preventing the sock opening from curling up and deforming. The second step involves the lower positioning cylinder 313 moving downwards, which in turn drives the upper positioning third connecting seat 3131, the upper positioning fourth cylinder 316, the upper positioning fourth connecting seat 3161, and the upper positioning plate 318 to move downwards as a whole, so that the upper positioning plate 318 can be smoothly stopped at the side of the sock opening, completing the pre-positioning preparation of the mechanism. The third step involves the fourth cylinder 316 of the upper and lower positioning system extending and retracting laterally towards the sock opening, which drives the upper and lower positioning plates 318 to precisely shift and abut against the lower edge of the sock opening, completing the bottom support positioning of the sock opening and forming a preliminary upper and lower clamping alignment structure with the upper and lower positioning pressure block 315 above. The fourth step involves activating the fifth positioning cylinder 317, which drives the upper and lower positioning pressure plates 319 downwards. This ensures precise engagement between the upper and lower positioning pressure plates 319 and the lower positioning plates 318 below, thereby pressing and positioning the upper and lower edges of the sock cuff as a whole. Combined with the pre-tensioning and limiting structure of the needle array, this achieves a smooth and fixed sock cuff from all directions, completely eliminating wrinkles and shifting issues, and providing a high-precision and stable working benchmark for subsequent sock cuff widening and pattern-making operations. Fifth, after the operation is completed, each cylinder is reset in reverse order to release the positioning constraints step by step, effectively preventing the sock from shifting or deforming due to instantaneous loosening, and ensuring the overall forming quality of the sock opening.

[0038] Reference Figure 13 As shown, the left and right sock opening assembly 32 is the core execution structure for sock opening flaring and shaping. Working in conjunction with the upper and lower positioning assembly 31, it completes the four-way stable opening of the sock opening, achieving symmetrical, uniform, and wrinkle-free flaring, adapting to the flaring and shaping needs of socks of different sizes and elasticities. The left and right sock opening assembly 32 adopts a double-layer crossbeam staggered arrangement and a multi-cylinder distributed linkage structure, with a compact layout and orderly layered movements. It is worth noting that all cylinders are equipped with a slider guide structure. Relying on the precise limiting and guiding of the sliders, it ensures smooth and stable extension and contraction movements in all directions, without jamming or deviation, effectively improving the positioning accuracy and overall structural stability of the equipment during long-term reciprocating operation.

[0039] The left and right sock opening assembly 32 is equipped with left and right first crossbeams 321 as the overall load-bearing base. This structure is highly rigid and securely installed, stably supporting the various functional cylinders and auxiliary structures, and withstanding the load of multi-cylinder coordinated operation. A chain-driven reciprocating motion mechanism is mounted on the left and right first crossbeams 321. Left and right second crossbeams 322 are slidably mounted above the left and right first crossbeams 321 and fixedly connected to the chain drive mechanism. Driven by the chain, they can perform precise reciprocating translational movement along the left and right first crossbeams 321, achieving forward and backward alignment adjustment of the overall opening structure. The left and right second crossbeams 322 serve as the core functional execution beams, with left and right opening first cylinders 323 and left and right opening second cylinders 324 symmetrically arranged on them. This symmetrical layout ensures uniform force and synchronized movement during the opening operation. The telescopic ends of both left and right opening first cylinders 323 and left and right opening second cylinders 324 are equipped with left and right opening pressure blocks 3231, used for lateral pressure and opening operations from the left and right outer sides of the sock opening.

[0040] The first left-right opening cylinder 323 is integrated with a first left-right opening mounting base 3232, and a third left-right opening cylinder 325 is mounted on the first left-right opening mounting base 3232. A corresponding second left-right opening mounting base 3241 is integrated with the second left-right opening cylinder 324, and a fourth left-right opening cylinder 326 is mounted on the second left-right opening mounting base 3241. Both sets of auxiliary cylinders can move synchronously with their corresponding main cylinders and are equipped with independent slider guide structures, ensuring smooth and precise operation.

[0041] The telescopic ends of the third cylinder 325 and the fourth cylinder 326 for left and right expansion are both equipped with left and right expansion pressure plates 3251 that match the outer left and right expansion pressure blocks 3231. The left and right expansion pressure plates 3251 and the left and right expansion pressure blocks 3231 form a clamping structure that corresponds to each other inside and out. This structure can clamp and limit the side area of ​​the sock opening and flexibly expand it, avoiding the twisting and skewing of the sock opening caused by pushing from the outside alone, and ensuring the symmetry of the opening on both sides. The ends of the left and right expansion pressure plates 3251 and the left and right expansion pressure blocks 3231 are both designed with arc-shaped structures to fit the side of the sock opening, so as to conform to the curved surface of the sock and achieve flexible fitting.

[0042] The left and right second crossbeams 322 are vertically mounted with the left and right expansion fifth cylinders 327 at their middle positions. The left and right expansion fifth cylinders 327 are equipped with a slider guide structure, and the telescopic ends of the cylinders are fixedly installed with the left and right expansion inserts 3271. The left and right expansion inserts 3271 can be precisely inserted into the inner area of ​​the sock opening to be expanded, providing support and limiting to the inside of the sock opening, supporting the basic outline of the sock opening, and preventing the middle of the sock opening from collapsing or shrinking.

[0043] The left and right first crossbeams 321 are equipped with left and right expansion sixth cylinders 328, which are also equipped with slider guide structures to achieve precise vertical displacement. Their telescopic ends are connected to left and right expansion support plates 3281, which are arranged below left and right expansion insert plates 3271. They can cooperate with the left and right expansion insert plates 3271 to support and press from the bottom of the sock opening, so as to achieve stable limiting and fixing of the bottom of the sock opening.

[0044] The left and right opening sock cuff assembly 32 forms a multi-dimensional cooperation through the inner and outer arc-shaped clamping structure of the left and right opening pressure plate 3251 and the left and right opening pressure block 3231, the middle inner support structure of the left and right opening insert plate 3271, and the bottom support and limiting structure of the left and right opening support plate 3281. This constructs a three-dimensional opening system with internal and external constraints and upper and lower fit, effectively solving the defects such as offset, wrinkles, and uneven force that are prone to occur in the traditional unidirectional opening method. It ensures that the opening of the sock cuff is flat, symmetrical, and uniform, providing a stable and high-precision working foundation for the subsequent pattern shaping process.

[0045] After the equipment completes the pre-positioning of the sock cuff, the left and right sock cuff components 32 are opened to initiate the linkage widening operation. The overall action is layered and progressive, with precise timing. Each cylinder works in conjunction with the slider guide to operate smoothly. The specific workflow is as follows: The first step is that the chain transmission mechanism on the left and right first crossbeams 321 drives the left and right second crossbeams 322 to move and feed as a whole, accurately moving the left and right second crossbeams 322 and all the spreading functional structures to the sock opening work station to complete the overall alignment and positioning; The second step involves the fifth cylinder 327, which opens to the left and right, to drive the left and right opening insert plate 3271 to move downward and insert into the center of the inside of the sock opening. This provides support and shaping to the inside of the sock opening, raising the basic opening of the sock opening and preventing the middle of the sock opening from shrinking and collapsing, thus completing the internal pre-support. The third step involves the sixth cylinder 328 driving the left and right expansion support plate 3281 upwards, so that the left and right expansion support plate 3281 fits against the bottom surface of the lower layer of the sock opening, forming an upper and lower clamping structure with the inner left and right expansion insert plate 3271, locking the lower layer of the sock opening, preventing the sock from slipping and loosening during the expansion process, and establishing a stable working benchmark.

[0046] In the fourth step, the first cylinders 323 and the second cylinders 324 on both sides of the second crossbeam 322 move inward synchronously, driving the arc-shaped left and right opening blocks 3231 on both sides to fit against the left and right outer walls of the sock opening, completing the precise pre-alignment and contact of the outer side. Fifth step, the third cylinder 325 and the fourth cylinder 326 extend synchronously to drive the left and right opening pressure plate 3251 to fit inward to the inner side of the sock opening, so that the inner left and right opening pressure plate 3251 and the outer left and right opening pressure block 3231 form an arc-shaped fitting and clamping state, and flexibly wrap and limit the left and right sides of the sock opening. The sixth step involves the first cylinder 323 and the second cylinder 324 expanding outwards synchronously and symmetrically, relying on the inner and outer arc-shaped clamping structure to evenly stretch both sides of the sock opening, achieving symmetrical expansion of the sock opening. The force is even and gentle throughout the process, without local pulling, twisting, or wrinkling. Step 7: After expanding the sock opening to the preset degree, maintain a stable posture and cooperate with the equipment to complete the plate-fitting operation; Step 8: After the plate-making process is completed, each cylinder is reset in reverse sequence. First, the clamping and flaring state on both sides is released, and then the left and right spreading insert plate 3271 and the left and right spreading support plate 3281 are withdrawn. The limit constraint is released slowly step by step to prevent instantaneous rebound from causing deformation and misalignment of the sock body. In the ninth step, the chain drive mechanism drives the left and right second crossbeams 322 to reset as a whole, completing the entire process of opening the sock cuff once, effectively ensuring the forming accuracy and appearance flatness of the socks.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism is configured on the sock-wearing station. This mechanism mainly comprises a flip-up sock positioning component 33 and a T-shaped staggered needle-type gripper component 34. These two components work together to sequentially complete the entire process of heel pre-positioning, flipping and exposing, non-destructive clamping, precise transfer, and elastic compensation during the sock-wearing process. This meets the high-precision, non-destructive, and highly adaptable requirements of the six-step automated sock-wearing process, effectively solving technical problems such as heel obstruction, clamping misalignment, fabric damage, misalignment during sock-wearing, and poor molding consistency in traditional equipment.

[0048] See Figure 9 and Figure 10 The flip-up sock positioning component 33 is a sock heel front positioning and posture correction structure, evenly distributed on each flow station of the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12. The flip-up sock positioning component 33 mainly includes a flip plate 331 and a flip cylinder 332. The flip plate 331 is installed at the outer edge of each station on the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12. When the socks are transported synchronously with the double turntables, the main body of the socks is stably placed on the surface of the upper turntable 11 or the lower turntable 12, and the sock heel area is placed separately on the surface of the flip plate 331. The flip plate 331 completes the pre-positioning of the sock heel station, and straightens the overall posture of the socks, providing a precise and stable basic positioning reference for subsequent clamping operations.

[0049] The flip cylinder 332 is the power actuator for adjusting the posture of the flip plate 331. The output end of the flip cylinder 332 forms a reliable transmission connection with the flip plate 331, constituting a controllable flip adjustment structure that can precisely control the flip angle and timing of the flip plate 331. When the turntable carrying the socks moves to the sock plate 6 workstation, the flip cylinder 332 is precisely activated, driving the flip plate 331 to flip downwards as a whole, adjusting the sock placement posture in real time. This completely exposes the heel area, which was originally attached to the turntable and covered by the sock fabric, thus eliminating the interference of the sock fabric, folds, and other structures on the gripping action. This flip structure provides ample working space for the subsequent T-shaped staggered needle gripper assembly 34, ensuring that the gripper can accurately align with the center position of the sock heel, achieving high-precision, unobstructed, and stable gripping of the sock heel, effectively improving the accuracy and stability of subsequent gripping operations.

[0050] See Figure 14 and Figure 15 The T-shaped staggered needle gripper assembly 34 is the core actuator for gripping and transferring the sock heel. It adopts a modular sliding assembly structure, offering flexible adjustment, high positioning accuracy, and good operational stability. The T-shaped staggered needle gripper assembly 34 includes a flipping crossbeam 341, a flipping first mounting base 342, a flipping first cylinder 343, a flipping second cylinder 344, a flipping second mounting base 345, a T-shaped staggered pressure block 346, a flipping third cylinder 347, and a flipping gripper 348.

[0051] The flipping beam 341 serves as the fixed support base for the entire gripper assembly, exhibiting high structural rigidity and resistance to deformation, ensuring consistent accuracy during long-term reciprocating operation. The first flipping mounting base 342 is movably mounted on the flipping beam 341, allowing for lateral sliding adjustment along the beam. This enables flexible fine-tuning of the gripping position based on different sock types and sizes, enhancing the equipment's versatility. The first flipping cylinder 343 is fixedly mounted on the first flipping mounting base 342, while the second flipping cylinder 344 is slidably mounted on the outside of the first flipping cylinder 343. The two sets of cylinders work together to form a multi-stage telescopic adjustment structure, achieving precise adaptation between the working height and the working stroke.

[0052] The end of the telescopic rod of the second flipping cylinder 344 is fixedly installed with a second flipping mounting base 345, and a T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 is assembled at the bottom of the second flipping mounting base 345. The T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 adopts an asymmetrical T-shaped staggered needle point layout structure, and the needle point placement is specifically designed to avoid hard areas of the fabric such as the thickened area of ​​the heel and the seam edges of the sock body. During operation, the needle points of the T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 only slightly adhere to and press the surface of the sock, without piercing or penetrating the sock fabric. While achieving fixed-point auxiliary positioning of the heel and preventing slippage and displacement during clamping, it effectively avoids the problems of scratching or puncturing the sock body, achieving non-destructive positioning operation.

[0053] A third tilting cylinder 347 is synchronously integrated on the first tilting cylinder 343. The end of the telescopic rod of the third tilting cylinder 347 is fixedly connected to a tilting gripper 348. The tilting gripper 348 is positioned on the lower outer side of the T-shaped staggered pressure block 346, forming a coordinated working structure with the pre-pressing structure that is aligned vertically and presses before clamping. The tilting gripper 348 adopts a split-type elastic gripper structure with a built-in symmetrical hinged opening and closing linkage mechanism. The gripper body is divided into two sets of symmetrical gripping arms on the left and right sides. The two sets of gripping arms form a clamping port that can be elastically opened and closed through the central hinge fulcrum, naturally possessing the adaptive deformation capability of opening and closing. The third cylinder 347, acting as a dedicated power source, uses the vertical extension and retraction of the telescopic rod, combined with a connecting rod hinge structure, to precisely drive the flipping gripper 348 to complete stable and controllable opening and closing actions. When the telescopic rod of the third cylinder 347 extends, it presses the tails of the two gripping arms through a push-drive structure, causing the gripper's front clamping opening to close inward, thus locking the heel of the sock. When the telescopic rod of the third cylinder 347 retracts, it releases the push-limit on the gripping arms, and the gripper automatically and smoothly opens based on its own elastic structure and the connecting rod's reset torque, completing the material release and reset. This opening and closing drive method features precise stroke, smooth action, and no rigid impact. It can adaptively adjust the clamping opening and closing range according to different heel thicknesses and sizes, always maintaining a close and flexible clamping state, avoiding hard compression that could damage the socks.

[0054] After the flip-up sock positioning component 33 completes the flip-up exposure of the sock heel, the T-shaped staggered needle-type gripper component 34 is fully aligned. First, the flip-up second cylinder 344 drives the T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 downward to precisely assist in positioning and compacting the sock heel. Then, the flip-up third cylinder 347 is activated in conjunction, driving the flip-up gripper 348 to complete a controllable and stable opening and closing gripping action. The flexible gripping structure on the inner side of the gripper wraps around the exposed sock heel, achieving flexible clamping and fixation without compression or slippage, completing high-precision and non-destructive gripping of the sock heel. The entire structure, through the dual cooperation of pre-pressure positioning and adaptive gripping, completely solves the defects of traditional grippers that are prone to deviation, damage, and unstable gripping, providing a stable and high-precision gripping foundation for subsequent precise transfer of socks and automated sock board shaping processes.

[0055] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism integrates an elastic rebound compensation function. Since socks are mostly made of highly elastic and flexible fabrics, after the pattern-setting and stretching processes are completed, the fabric is prone to shrinkage and rebound due to its own elastic properties. This can lead to molding defects such as misalignment of the pattern-setting position, uneven cuffs, sock body skewing, and pattern distortion, ultimately resulting in a higher defect rate. Addressing this industry pain point, this precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism utilizes its multi-stage cylinder linkage structure, precise slider guidance characteristics, and the elastic adaptive clamping characteristics of the 348 flipping gripper to construct a mechanical elastic rebound compensation control mechanism. This mechanism can dynamically offset the positional errors caused by the elastic shrinkage of the fabric throughout the entire process of sock stretching, shaping, and pattern-setting operations. It locks the sock body's posture and relative position throughout the process, ensuring the alignment accuracy of the sock pattern 6 and the pattern-setting process, as well as batch production consistency, significantly improving the regularity of sock molding and the yield rate.

[0056] This precision heel clamping and transfer mechanism optimizes the overall structural design for the flexible and elastic characteristics of socks. It employs a bidirectional adaptive clamping process with pre-compression positioning, flexible clamping, and dynamic displacement compensation, replacing the traditional single-gauge fixed-fitting plate structure. This effectively solves the problems of traditional processes that only fix the sock cuff and use a one-time rigid plate, which is unsuitable for high-elasticity fabrics and long socks, easily leading to defects such as incomplete plate placement, incomplete toe insertion, loose shaping, and misaligned pattern. This equipment achieves uniform, stable, and non-rebounding shaping of the socks through a step-by-step relay-style shaping process that combines vertical positioning of the sock cuff, horizontal spreading and regularization, with precise heel clamping and elastic compensation.

[0057] In terms of overall system coordination, the precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism works in conjunction with the upper and lower positioning components 31 and the left and right opening components 32 to form a four-point three-dimensional fixing system that includes upper and lower constraints, left and right opening, and heel locking. The upper and lower positioning components 31 lock the upper and lower reference points of the sock opening using a shallow, non-destructive needle-point positioning method, preventing operational wobbling. The left and right opening components 32 achieve flexible and symmetrical opening of the sock cuff, eliminating wrinkles and skewing. The precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism performs flexible clamping, tension control, and rebound compensation from the end of the heel, ensuring the sock remains stable and evenly stressed throughout the entire process of stretching and threading, providing a reliable pre-positioning foundation for the elastic compensation process.

[0058] Based on the deformation law of elastic fabrics, the precise clamping and transfer mechanism at the heel abandons the traditional one-time rigid pattern-setting method. Relying on the precise control of multi-cylinder micro-stroke and the adaptive characteristics of flexible clamping, it realizes multi-level elastic rebound compensation, accurately offsetting the elastic deformation error of the fabric. The specific compensation process principle is as follows: First, the flexible clamping at the end of the heel replaces the traditional single-point fixing method of the sock opening, changing the force fulcrum of the sock body and avoiding local stress concentration and excessive stretching deformation at the sock opening; Second, after the pattern is in place, the mechanism uses preset micro-displacement push compensation to offset the subsequent natural shrinkage of the fabric in advance, eliminating rebound deviation from the mechanical stroke level; Finally, the sock opening shape is re-aligned and calibrated to achieve a uniform and regular pattern.

[0059] When the heel precision clamping and transfer mechanism operates, it relies on multi-cylinder step-by-step linkage and slider precision guidance to complete the non-destructive positioning, precise clamping, elastic compensation, and stable transfer of the heel. The overall action is layered, sequential, and precisely coordinated, enabling high-precision, non-destructive, and highly consistent automated shaping of various specifications of elastic stockings. After the equipment completes the four-way regularization and fixing of the sock opening by the upper and lower positioning components 31 and the left and right sock opening opening components 32, the heel precision clamping and transfer mechanism starts the linkage clamping, transfer, and elastic compensation plate-feeding process. The specific full-process operation steps are as follows: The first step is workstation pre-positioning. The upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 carry the socks to be processed and transport them synchronously. The main body of the socks is stably placed on the turntable surface, and the heel area is accurately placed and fitted on the surface of the flip plate 331 of the corresponding workstation. The flip plate 331 completes the pre-positioning of the socks in the workstation, and straightens the initial placement posture of the socks, providing a stable front reference for subsequent heel flipping and clamping operations. The second step is the flipping and exposure operation. When the turntable carrying the socks moves to the sock plate 6 operation station, the flipping cylinder 332 starts working, driving the flipping plate 331 to flip and tilt as a whole, changing the socks' placement posture in real time, and completely exposing the sock heel area that was originally attached to the turntable and hidden by the sock fabric. This completely eliminates the obstruction and interference of the sock fabric and folds on the gripping action, forming an open and unobstructed gripping operation area, ensuring that the subsequent grippers are accurately aligned and grasped. The third step is precise alignment and adjustment of the grippers. The T-shaped staggered needle gripper assembly 34 initiates the pre-alignment action, flips the first mounting base 342 to make precise lateral sliding and fine adjustment along the flipping beam 341, and adaptively matches the gripping center point according to the current sock size and elasticity specifications, corrects the gripping position deviation of the mechanism, and achieves precise alignment between the gripper structure and the center of the sock heel, adapting to the gripping operation requirements of different sock types and improving the equipment's versatility and adaptability. The fourth step is the non-destructive pre-compression positioning of the heel. After alignment, the second cylinder 344 extends precisely, driving the second mounting base 345 and the bottom T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 downwards as a whole. Utilizing the asymmetrical T-shaped staggered needle point structure, it gently adheres to and lightly presses against the surface of the heel. The needle point layout specifically avoids the thickened area of ​​the heel, the seam edges, and the hard areas of the logo, achieving fixed-point anti-slip positioning of the heel without puncturing or damaging the sock fabric. This effectively prevents the heel from slipping or shifting during subsequent clamping, completing the non-destructive pre-positioning. The fifth step is stable and damage-free gripping of the sock heel. Based on the fixed-point pre-compression limit of the T-shaped staggered pressure block 346, the third cylinder 347 is activated simultaneously, driving the flipping gripper 348 to precisely close and clamp, stabilizing the exposed sock heel area with a flexible gripping method, locking the spatial posture and relative position of the sock heel, and completing the high-precision and damage-free gripping and fixing of the sock heel, providing a reliable gripping foundation for subsequent transfer and board-wearing operations; Step 6: Plate feeding and lateral tension fixing. The flip-over gripper 348 maintains a stable clamping state, and the entire machine mechanism drives the heel to synchronously complete the precise plate feeding action, smoothly inserting the sock plate 6 into the preset position on the sock body. At the end of the plate feeding operation, the elastic rebound compensation control component activates the lateral tension limiting action, applying appropriate lateral tension to fix the sock body, constraining its free deformation, initially offsetting the elastic stretching deformation generated during the plate feeding process, preventing the sock body from being overstretched, and improving the initial plate feeding accuracy. Step 7: Active elastic recoil compensation by cylinders. The equipment maintains a stable current board-fitting posture. The third cylinder 347 drives the flipping gripper 348 to slightly open, releasing the rigid clamping constraint on the heel and preventing fabric stretching fatigue deformation caused by rigid locking. Subsequently, each linked transfer cylinder, in conjunction with the slider guide, precisely outputs a preset forward compensation stroke, slightly pushing the entire sock forward. This preemptively offsets the subsequent elastic recoil of the sock fabric, precisely compensating for positional errors caused by elastic deformation from a mechanical displacement perspective, preventing defects such as board slippage, positional shift, sock shortening, and cuff deformation caused by rebound. Step 8: Baseline Reset and Posture Alignment. After the elastic compensation action is completed, each functional cylinder retracts smoothly according to the preset timing, driving the entire mechanism back to the standard operating baseline position. At the same time, the equipment automatically fine-tunes the left-right spacing and vertical height posture of the sock body, and performs secondary regularization and alignment calibration of the sock cuff to ensure uniform height, left-right symmetry, and flat shape of the sock cuff, completely solving the problem of poor consistency in elastic fabric forming. This completes the single-cycle sock heel clamping and transfer and sock plate 6 operation. The mechanism then stands by, waiting for the next workstation to cycle through.

[0060] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the equipment is also equipped with a material handling mechanism, which includes a robotic arm 4 and a hanging plate guiding mechanism 5. The material handling mechanism is arranged on the rear side of the sock plate forming station of the sock plate 6, and is used to undertake the sock plate forming process, realize the automated and precise transfer, posture correction and stable hanging plate operation of the formed socks, complete the closed-loop connection of the entire sock shaping and processing process, effectively replace manual material handling and hanging plate operation, and improve the automation level and production efficiency of the equipment.

[0061] Among them, the robotic arm 4 is the core execution component of the equipment's material handling and transfer process. It adopts a multi-degree-of-freedom servo adjustment structure and has three core operating characteristics: multi-dimensional spatial attitude fine adjustment, precise alignment, and smooth start and stop. Its comprehensive operating advantages are outstanding: high positioning accuracy, flexible and controllable movement, and wide material adaptability.

[0062] During the operation of the machine, the robotic arm 4 can be linked with the signals of each workstation of the entire equipment in real time to accurately identify and align the socks after they have been set and shaped by the sock board 6. Relying on the high-precision posture adjustment function and flexible material picking action, it can automatically complete the entire process of picking up shaped socks, holding them stably, and transferring them across workstations.

[0063] Throughout the entire process, it can effectively avoid problems such as sock pulling, positional deviation, and fabric deformation. It can smoothly and accurately transport the shaped socks to the 5th working area of ​​the hanging plate guide mechanism, providing a stable and reliable material feeding guarantee for the subsequent precise hanging and secondary shaping processes.

[0064] Preferably, refer to Figure 11 and Figure 12The upper and lower positioning components 31 are equipped with an anti-shake function module, which includes an anti-shake cylinder 391 and an anti-shake guide wheel 392. This module is specifically optimized for anti-shake operation when the robot arm moves the empty sock board 6 at high speed to the loading station. This anti-shake structure acts precisely on the key process of the robot arm 4 gripping and moving the sock board 6: during the high-speed movement of the robot arm 4 gripping the empty sock board 6 through the sock frame and moving it toward the loading station, the sock board 6 is prone to swaying and shaking due to inertia and start-stop impacts, which can lead to problems such as alignment deviation and molding defects. During operation, the equipment linkage station signal precisely triggers the anti-shake structure to move. The anti-shake cylinder 391 drives the anti-shake guide wheel 392 to fit and press against the surface of the empty sock board 6 from top to bottom in real time. Through the limiting guidance of the anti-shake guide wheel 392 and the constant force pressing constraint of the anti-shake cylinder 391, the swinging, shaking and displacement deviation generated during the transfer of the sock board 6 are offset in both directions, completely eliminating the shaking defects of the sock board 6 during the high-speed transfer stage, and ensuring the stability and accurate positioning of the sock board 6 during transfer.

[0065] The material handling mechanism operates with a coherent logic and precise timing. The specific operation process is as follows: Before the equipment completes the sock pattern shaping process, the robotic arm 4 receives the station linkage signal and picks up the shaped socks without damage using a flexible clamping method, smoothly completing the cross-station transfer; during the process of clamping the sock pattern 6 and conveying it to the material handling station, the anti-vibration cylinder 391 drives the anti-vibration guide wheel 392 to press down and limit the sock pattern 6 in real time, eliminating the shaking and swaying problem of the sock pattern 6 throughout the process.

[0066] The hanging plate guide mechanism 5 is an auxiliary positioning structure for the precise hanging and orderly positioning of finished socks, working in conjunction with the robotic arm 4. The hanging plate guide mechanism 5 has guiding, limiting, and posture correction functions, enabling adaptive guidance, alignment, and hanging limit of the molded socks transferred by the robotic arm 4. It effectively corrects minor posture deviations during transport, ensuring that each sock is hung in a uniform position, with even spacing and a regular posture, preventing skewed or misaligned finished products and guaranteeing a consistent final appearance.

[0067] The hanging plate guiding mechanism 5 includes a Y-groove guiding and guiding component, a hanging plate limiting and positioning component, a 30-point hanging plate detection system, and an error compensation and correction component. These four components work together to achieve full-process functions including guiding and centering, movement limiting, status detection, and error correction. This completely solves problems such as offset, bouncing, misalignment, delayed arrival detection, and accumulated deviations in processing tolerances that are common in traditional hanging plate operations, significantly improving the accuracy, stability, and consistency of hanging the sock plates 6.

[0068] The Y-groove guide component serves as the pre-positioning guide structure for the sock plate 6, primarily used for automatic centering and guiding of the sock plate 6 hooks, while limiting lateral deviation throughout the process. This component features a flared guide structure at the inlet, with a larger inlet diameter to accommodate minor alignment deviations, facilitating the rapid entry of the sock plate 6, transported by the robotic arm, into the guide area. The guide structure gradually narrows internally, forming a symmetrical left-right limiting structure, which automatically corrects and centers the sock plate 6 hooks, guiding them smoothly into position along a preset trajectory, effectively avoiding initial skewness and misalignment issues.

[0069] The hanging plate limiting and positioning component serves as a constraint and limiting structure for the placement of the sock plate 6, precisely regulating its movement posture and trajectory. This component provides all-around rigid constraint on the hook area of ​​the sock plate 6, retaining only the vertical downward freedom of movement. It completely restricts unnecessary movements such as horizontal offset, lateral swing, and rotational deviation, forcing the sock plate 6 to fall precisely and vertically into the groove of the sock bar. Simultaneously, this component effectively suppresses bouncing and swaying caused by gravitational impact during the placement of the sock plate 6, eliminating defects such as misalignment, incomplete placement, and insecure hanging, ensuring consistent posture and precise positioning for each placement.

[0070] The 30-point hanging plate detection system is an intelligent detection unit for closed-loop control of the equipment. Thirty high-precision detection points are evenly distributed along the circumference of the hanging plate frame, covering the entire hanging plate operation area. This detection system can identify the hanging plate number, the position status of the hanging plate, and the occupancy of the workstation in real time and continuously. It can accurately capture various working condition signals such as hanging plate positioning, offset, failure to place in the slot, empty workstation, and repeated hanging, achieving closed-loop monitoring of the entire hanging plate operation process. Based on the detection feedback signals, the equipment can automatically coordinate the operation rhythm of each workstation, linking the robotic arm and the transplanting mechanism to adjust the action sequence, ensuring orderly connection and precise synchronization of the assembly line operation.

[0071] Error compensation and alignment components are used to eliminate hanging plate deviations caused by machining and assembly. Due to factors such as equipment machining accuracy, assembly clearances, and component wear, sock bars are prone to minor dimensional tolerances and positional deviations. Over long-term operation, these errors can accumulate, leading to problems such as hanging plate misalignment, jamming, and improper placement. This component can collect hanging plate alignment deviation data in real time and dynamically fine-tune and align it using preset system benchmark parameters. It accurately compensates for positional deviations caused by machining tolerances and assembly clearances, ensuring precise alignment between the sock plate 6 and the sock bar. This significantly improves the hanging plate accuracy and operational stability of the equipment during long-term operation, reducing the defect rate.

[0072] This equipment adopts a rotary circulating workstation operation mode, with continuous processes, precise timing, and high mechanical coordination. It can realize the fully closed-loop automated processing of socks from manual feeding to automatic forming hanging plate. The specific process flow is as follows: S1. Standardized heel stockings: The operator lays the socks to be processed flat on the corresponding workstation (feeding station) of the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12, completing the standardized sock placement operation. During placement, the heel is neatly placed on the surface of the flip plate 331 of the flip-up sock positioning component 33, and the sock body is flat and fits snugly against the corresponding turntable surface to complete the pre-limited placement. Throughout the operation, the socks are guaranteed to be wrinkle-free, twisted, and without deviation, and the heel posture is neat and uniform, providing a standard initial posture for subsequent four-way opening, clamping and positioning, and precise pattern threading operations, thus avoiding subsequent processing defects caused by initial placement deviations from the source. S2. Turntable mechanism 1 rotates to position: After the manual sock placement is completed and the posture is confirmed to be correct, the turntable drive system of the equipment starts, driving the upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 to rotate synchronously with high precision and intermittent indexing, accurately transferring the placed socks to the four-way stretching workstation. The turntable adopts a high-precision indexing control mode, and the rotation starts and stops smoothly without shaking or slipping. This effectively ensures that the socks are fixed in position, have a regular posture, and do not tilt or shift during the workstation flow, accurately connecting to the next workstation and realizing the orderly flow and precise connection of the cycle between each process. S3. Four-way coordinated support and shaping at the cuff: After the socks are transferred to the sock-wearing station by the turntable mechanism 1 and locked in place, the robotic arm 4 receives the station linkage signal and picks up the shaped socks without damage in a flexible gripping manner, smoothly completing the cross-station transfer. The anti-shake cylinder 391 drives the anti-shake guide wheel 392 to press down the limit sock plate 6 in real time, eliminating the shaking and swinging problem of the sock plate 6 throughout the process.

[0073] Subsequently, the upper and lower positioning components 31 and the left and right sock opening components 32 work together to initiate a four-way sock opening shaping operation. Specifically, this includes: S31. Sock cuff positioning and pre-shaping: Through the multi-cylinder linkage of the upper and lower positioning components 31 and the slider guide structure, and relying on the shallow needle array layout at the bottom, the upper and lower edges of the sock cuff are pre-positioned and pre-shaped without damage, stabilizing the vertical position of the sock cuff and effectively preventing the sock cuff from curling, piling up, and deforming. Specifically, it includes: S311. The first positioning cylinder 312 moves downward first, driving the bottom positioning pressure block 315 with needle array structure to move downward synchronously. Through the needle array shallow punctures, it fits the upper edge of the sock opening, slightly pulls open and initially fixes the sock opening, and performs pre-shaping and limiting of the sock opening, effectively avoiding the sock opening from curling up and deforming. S312. The second upper and lower positioning cylinder 313 moves downward, driving the third upper and lower positioning connecting seat 3131, the fourth upper and lower positioning cylinder 316, the fourth upper and lower positioning connecting seat 3161, and the upper and lower positioning plate 318 to move downward as a whole, so that the upper and lower positioning plate 318 can be smoothly stopped at the side of the sock opening, completing the pre-positioning preparation of the mechanism. S313. The fourth cylinder 316 for upper and lower positioning extends and retracts laterally toward the sock opening, driving the upper and lower positioning plates 318 to precisely shift and abut against the lower edge of the sock opening, completing the bottom support positioning of the sock opening, and forming an initial upper and lower clamping alignment structure with the upper and lower positioning pressure block 315 above. S314. The fifth cylinder 317 of the upper and lower positioning system is activated, driving the upper and lower positioning pressure plates 319 downwards. This allows the upper and lower positioning pressure plates 319 to precisely engage with the lower and upper positioning plates 318 below, providing overall compression and positioning of the upper and lower edges of the sock cuff. Combined with the pre-tensioning and limiting structure of the needle array, this achieves a smooth and fixed sock cuff from all directions, completely eliminating sock cuff wrinkles and shifting issues, and providing a high-precision and stable working benchmark for subsequent sock cuff widening and pattern-making operations. S315. After the operation is completed, each cylinder is reset in reverse order, releasing the positioning constraint step by step, effectively preventing the sock body from shifting or deforming due to instantaneous loosening, and ensuring the overall forming quality of the sock cuff.

[0074] S32. Subsequently, the left and right sock opening assembly 32 initiates a multi-stage linkage operation. Through a double-layer crossbeam transmission structure and multi-cylinder distributed linkage, utilizing a multi-dimensional coordination system of inner and outer arc-shaped clamping structures, a central insert plate inner support structure, and a bottom support and limiting structure, the left and right sides of the sock opening are symmetrically and evenly flexiblely expanded, completely smoothing out the original wrinkles of the sock opening. This ensures that the sock opening is flat, regular in shape, and evenly stressed, providing a standard sock opening shape benchmark for subsequent pattern removal and precise pattern fitting operations. Specifically, this includes: S321. The chain drive mechanism on the left and right first crossbeams 321 drives the left and right second crossbeams 322 to move and feed as a whole, accurately transferring the left and right second crossbeams 322 and all the spreading functional structures to the sock opening work station, completing the overall alignment and positioning; S322. The fifth cylinder 327, which extends left and right, acts first, driving the left and right extending insert plate 3271 to descend and insert into the center position inside the sock opening. This provides support and shaping to the inside of the sock opening, maintaining its basic opening and preventing the center of the sock opening from collapsing, thus completing the internal pre-support. S323. The sixth cylinder 328, which extends left and right, drives the left and right extension support plate 3281 to move upward, so that the left and right extension support plate 3281 fits against the bottom surface of the lower layer of the sock opening, forming an upper and lower clamping structure with the inner left and right extension insert plate 3271, locking the lower layer of the sock opening, preventing the sock from slipping and loosening during the opening process, and establishing a stable working benchmark; S324. The first cylinders 323 and the second cylinders 324 on both sides of the second crossbeam 322 move inward synchronously, driving the arc-shaped left and right opening pressure blocks 3231 on both sides to fit against the left and right outer walls of the sock opening, completing the precise pre-alignment and abutment of the outer side; S325. The third cylinder 325 and the fourth cylinder 326 extend synchronously, driving the left and right opening pressure plate 3251 to fit inward against the inner side of the sock opening, so that the inner left and right opening pressure plate 3251 and the outer left and right opening pressure block 3231 form an arc-shaped fitting and clamping state, and flexibly wrap and limit the left and right sides of the sock opening; S326. The first cylinder 323 and the second cylinder 324 expand outwards synchronously and symmetrically, relying on the inner and outer arc-shaped clamping structure to evenly stretch both sides of the sock opening, achieving symmetrical expansion of the sock opening. The force is even and gentle throughout the process, without local pulling, twisting, or wrinkling. S327. After the sock cuff expands to the preset opening, it maintains a stable posture and works in conjunction with the equipment to complete the plate-setting operation; S328. After the plate-making process is completed, each cylinder is reset in reverse sequence. First, the clamping and flaring state on both sides is released, and then the left and right spreading insert plate 3271 and the left and right spreading support plate 3281 are withdrawn. The limit constraints are released slowly in steps to prevent instantaneous rebound from causing deformation or misalignment of the sock body. S329. Finally, the chain drive mechanism drives the left and right second crossbeams 322 to reset as a whole, completing the entire process of opening the sock cuff once, effectively ensuring the forming accuracy and appearance flatness of the socks.

[0075] S4. Precise plate alignment: After the sock cuff is stretched and shaped in four directions and its posture is stable and regular, the equipment's board-picking mechanism accurately responds to the workstation signal and aligns with the sock board 6 structure at the sock-wearing station. Through a high-precision transfer structure, the sock board 6 is automatically and accurately picked up, and smoothly transferred to the preset work reference position, precisely aligned with the center axis of the sock cuff. This ensures that the sock board 6 and the sock cuff are accurately aligned, coaxial, and without eccentricity, laying a reliable alignment foundation for subsequent sock heel clamping, positioning, and precise insertion and shaping operations.

[0076] S5. Precise and damage-free clamping at the heel: After the sock plate 6 is aligned and its posture is locked, the precise heel clamping and transfer mechanism starts its clamping operation. First, the flip-up sock positioning component 33 drives the flip plate 331 downwards via the flip cylinder 332, changing the sock's orientation and fully exposing the heel, which was previously hidden by the sock body. This completely eliminates the obstruction and interference of the sock fabric and pleats on the clamping action. Then, the T-shaped staggered needle-type gripper component 34 self-aligns laterally, using the asymmetrical T-shaped needle point layout of the T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 to lightly press the heel surface, specifically avoiding the thickened area of ​​the heel and the hard area of ​​the logo, achieving non-destructive anti-slip pre-positioning. Finally, the flipping third cylinder 347 drives the flipping gripper 348 to precisely open and close, flexibly clamping the heel area, achieving stable, damage-free, and slip-free precise clamping of the heel, preventing clamping deviation and sock scratches. Specifically, this includes: S51. Pre-positioning of workstations. The upper turntable 11 and the lower turntable 12 synchronously transport the socks to be processed. The main body of the socks is stably placed on the turntable surface, and the heel area is precisely positioned and adhered to the surface of the flip plate 331 of the corresponding workstation. The flip plate 331 completes the pre-positioning of the socks in the workstation, and straightens the initial placement posture of the socks, providing a stable pre-positioning reference for subsequent heel flipping and clamping operations. S52. Flipping and Exposing Operation. When the turntable carrying the socks moves to the sock plate 6 workstation, the flipping cylinder 332 starts working, driving the flipping plate 331 to flip and tilt as a whole, changing the socks' placement posture in real time. This completely exposes the sock heel area, which was originally attached to the turntable and hidden by the sock fabric, thus eliminating the obstruction and interference of the sock fabric and folds on the gripping action. This creates a wide and unobstructed gripping area, ensuring accurate positioning and gripping by the subsequent grippers. S53. Precise alignment adjustment of the gripper. The T-shaped staggered needle-type gripper assembly 34 initiates a pre-alignment action, flipping the first mounting base 342 to perform precise lateral sliding fine-tuning along the flipping beam 341. Based on the current sock size and elasticity specifications, it adaptively matches the gripping center point, corrects the gripping position deviation of the mechanism, and achieves precise alignment between the gripper structure and the center of the sock heel. This adapts to the gripping needs of different sock types, improving the equipment's versatility and adaptability. S54. Non-destructive pre-compression positioning of the heel. After alignment, the second cylinder 344 extends precisely, driving the second mounting base 345 and the bottom T-shaped staggered pressure block 346 downwards as a whole. Utilizing the asymmetrical T-shaped staggered needle point structure, it gently adheres to and lightly presses against the surface of the heel. The needle point layout specifically avoids the thickened area of ​​the heel, the seam edges, and the hard area of ​​the logo, achieving fixed-point anti-slip positioning of the heel without puncturing or damaging the sock fabric. This effectively prevents the heel from slipping or shifting during subsequent clamping, completing the non-destructive pre-positioning. S55. Stable and damage-free gripping of the sock heel. Based on the fixed-point pre-compression limit of the T-shaped staggered pressure block 346, the third cylinder 347 is simultaneously activated, driving the flipping gripper 348 to precisely close and clamp, stabilizing the exposed sock heel area with a flexible gripping method, locking the spatial posture and relative position of the sock heel, and completing the high-precision, damage-free gripping and fixing of the sock heel, providing a reliable gripping foundation for subsequent transfer and board-threading operations; S56. Plate-feeding and lateral tension fixing. The flip-over gripper 348 maintains a stable clamping state, and the entire mechanism drives the sock heel to synchronously complete the precise plate-feeding action, smoothly inserting the sock plate 6 into the preset position on the sock body. At the end of the plate-feeding operation, the elastic rebound compensation control component activates the lateral tension limiting action, applying appropriate lateral tension to fix the sock body, restraining the free deformation of the sock body, initially offsetting the elastic stretching deformation generated during the plate-feeding stretching process, preventing the sock body from being overstretched, and improving the initial plate-feeding accuracy; S57. Active Cylinder Elastic Rebound Compensation. The equipment maintains a stable current board-fitting posture. The third cylinder 347 drives the flipping gripper 348 to slightly open, releasing the rigid clamping constraint on the heel and preventing fabric stretching fatigue deformation caused by rigid locking. Subsequently, each linked transfer cylinder, in conjunction with the slider guide, precisely outputs a preset forward compensation stroke, slightly pushing the sock body forward to preemptively offset the subsequent elastic rebound of the sock fabric. This precisely compensates for positional errors caused by elastic deformation from a mechanical displacement perspective, preventing defects such as board-fitting backward movement, positional shift, sock shortening, and cuff deformation caused by rebound. S58. Baseline Reset and Posture Alignment. After the elastic compensation action is completed, each functional cylinder retracts smoothly according to the preset timing, driving the entire mechanism back to the standard operating baseline position. At the same time, the equipment automatically fine-tunes the left-right spacing and vertical height posture of the sock body, performs secondary regularization and alignment calibration of the sock cuff, ensuring uniform height, left-right symmetry, and flat shape of the sock cuff, completely solving the problem of poor consistency in elastic fabric forming. This completes the single-cycle sock heel clamping and transfer and sock plate 6 operation, and the mechanism stands by waiting for the next workstation cycle.

[0077] S6. Smooth transfer and precise insertion: After the heel clamp is secured and the posture is locked, the heel precision clamping and transfer mechanism carries the sock as a whole precisely and smoothly, maintaining a stable posture with the sock opening open in four directions throughout the process. This drives the regular sock opening to precisely align with the sock board 6, completing the board insertion operation at a uniform speed and smoothly. The transfer and insertion process is smooth, the speed is controllable, and the force is even, effectively avoiding defects that are prone to occur during board insertion, such as sock opening skew, local pulling, twisting and wrinkling, misalignment and deformation. This allows the sock board 6 to be smoothly, accurately, and smoothly inserted into the sock body, completing the initial board shaping.

[0078] S7. High-frequency micro-amplitude vibration correction: After the sock plate 6 is initially inserted into place, the equipment initiates a high-frequency micro-amplitude vibration correction process. Through controllable micro-vibration modes, the sock body and sock plate 6 undergo slight adaptive relative adjustments, effectively eliminating localized stress accumulation, fabric jamming, and minor misalignment deviations generated during the insertion process. This ensures that the sock plate 6 fits perfectly against the inner wall of the sock body, is smoothly positioned, further standardizes the overall shape of the sock body, corrects initial insertion errors, and guarantees that the sock plate 6 is inserted in a uniform and symmetrical manner with a regular and consistent shape.

[0079] S8. Elastic tear and rebound compensation: After vibration correction and posture alignment, the equipment performs a precise pulling and threading operation, completely pulling the sock board 6 to the preset standard working position, completing the full insertion and shaping of the sock board 6. Simultaneously, the elastic rebound compensation control component activates the precise compensation logic, relying on the controllable displacement of multiple cylinders to achieve active error compensation: first, the sock body is laterally pulled and fixed at the end of the threading plate to shape the tension form of the sock body; then, the heel clamping structure is slowly released to release the rigid clamping constraint; next, the mechanism makes a small forward push to precisely compensate for the elastic shrinkage of the sock fabric, actively offsetting the rebound displacement deviation caused by the deformation of the flexible fabric; finally, the reference position is reset to complete the alignment of the sock cuff height and left and right posture, completely solving quality defects such as incomplete threading, crooked cuff, and uneven shaping caused by the rebound of elastic sock material.

[0080] S9. Multi-dimensional mounting plate guidance and alignment: After the pulling and elastic compensation processes are completed and the sock pattern is shaped, the robotic arm 4 of the material handling mechanism responds precisely to the signal, flexibly picking up the shaped socks and smoothly transferring them across the work area to the hanging guide mechanism 5 to complete the automated hanging operation. During the operation, the hanging guide mechanism 5 uses multiple structures to work together for alignment: the Y-groove guide component, relying on its widening and narrowing structure, enables the sock pattern 6 to automatically center and smoothly guide the hook, accommodating minor alignment errors; the hanging restriction and positioning component constrains the sock pattern 6's excessive swing and rotational degrees of freedom, retaining only the vertical downward movement degree of freedom, forcing the sock pattern 6 to fall precisely and vertically into the sock bar groove, while effectively suppressing the bounce and shaking caused by the impact of the falling position; the error compensation and alignment component dynamically corrects the alignment deviation caused by the sock bar processing tolerance and assembly gap in real time, ensuring that the sock pattern 6 is hung accurately, with a regular posture and uniform position in all aspects.

[0081] S10. Global Closed-Loop Detection and Positioning: After a single set of sock hanging operations is completed, the 30-point hanging detection system initiates a full-area closed-loop detection operation. The system utilizes thirty high-precision detection points evenly distributed around the circumference of the hanging rack to fully monitor the hanging operation area, identifying the hanging plate number, the position status of sock plate 6, and the occupancy of the workstation in real time. It can accurately determine various working conditions such as sock plate 6 being fully seated, slightly offset, not seated, empty workstation, and repeated hanging. Based on the detection feedback signals, the equipment forms an automated closed-loop control, automatically verifying the hanging operation accuracy and synchronously coordinating the overall machine operation rhythm, effectively preventing undesirable working conditions such as empty hanging, off-center hanging, incomplete hanging, and missed hanging, ensuring operational stability and yield.

[0082] S11. Workstation transfer, proceeding to the next cycle: Once the 30-point hanging plate detection system verifies that the hanging plate posture is qualified, the groove is in place, and the positioning is accurate, all work processes at the current workstation are completed, and the equipment automatically unlocks the workstation transfer signal. The double-layer turntable performs precise indexing rotation again, transferring the finished socks to the next process workstation, while simultaneously transferring brand-new socks to be processed to the core workstation. The equipment then enters the next round of automated processing cycle, ensuring continuous, efficient, stable, and high-precision operation of the entire production line.

[0083] Compared to traditional single-station, single-path hosiery processing equipment, this invention has significant technical advantages and beneficial effects in practical applications, as detailed below: First, this invention adopts a synchronous linkage structure of upper and lower double-layer coaxial turntables, combined with an intermittent indexing precise start-stop operation mode, completely changing the drawbacks of continuous dynamic operation in traditional equipment. The turntable's precise positioning and stable station locking provide a static operating benchmark for delicate processes such as sock cuff stretching, sock heel clamping, pattern making and shaping, and hanging board guidance. This effectively avoids offset and swaying errors caused by dynamic operation, significantly improving the processing accuracy of sock pattern making and shaping, and ensuring the consistency and yield rate of sock forming in mass production.

[0084] Secondly, by differentiating the flow paths of the upper and lower turntables with varying lengths, a multi-task parallel operation mode with independent layers and different paths is achieved. The lower layer with a short path quickly outputs materials, while the upper layer with a long path completes the entire set of complex shaping processes. The two workstations work collaboratively without interfering with each other, breaking through the technical bottlenecks of traditional equipment with a single flow path, single process, and limited capacity. This greatly improves the utilization rate of equipment workstations and the overall production cycle, effectively enhancing the efficiency of automated production and adapting to the needs of mass production of standardized socks.

[0085] Third, the double-layer turntable is equipped with two independent and non-interfering material handling mechanisms. Material handling, transfer, and hanging operations on the upper and lower layers can be carried out simultaneously. The action logic is independent and the zoned operation is clear. While ensuring the accuracy of each process, it maximizes the production capacity of the equipment and avoids the problems of waiting and idle cycle caused by a single material handling structure, further optimizing the continuity of automated operation of the equipment.

[0086] Fourth, the equipment integrates a multi-functional structure including four-way non-destructive cuff stretching, precise clamping with heel flipping, elastic rebound compensation, multi-dimensional hanging plate guidance, and multi-point detection closed-loop control. Combined with a stable workstation flow system with a double-layer turntable, it can realize fully automated closed-loop operation of socks from manual feeding, workstation flow, cuff shaping, non-destructive pattern making, elastic compensation, precise hanging plate to detection and discharge. The entire process achieves high-quality processing without wrinkles, damage, or rebound deviation, effectively solving many quality defects of traditional equipment such as uneven cuff stretching, easy clamping damage, pattern making deviation, hanging plate misalignment, and fabric rebound deformation.

[0087] Fifth, the equipment has a reasonable workstation layout and a compact modular structure. The double-layer integrated design significantly reduces the equipment's footprint. At the same time, the different color reference alignment and calibration structure can effectively eliminate the alignment deviation of the synchronous rotation of the double-layer turntable, ensuring the positioning accuracy and assembly consistency of the double-layer synchronous operation. The equipment has stronger operational stability, versatility and adaptability, and can meet the automated processing needs of different sizes and elastic socks, with a wider range of applications.

[0088] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device, characterized in that: The device includes a worktable, a turntable mechanism mounted on the worktable, and a rotary drive mechanism for driving the turntable mechanism to rotate. The turntable mechanism includes an upper turntable and a lower turntable arranged coaxially. The upper and lower turntables are driven by the rotary drive mechanism to achieve synchronous and intermittent indexing rotation. Both the upper and lower turntables are evenly divided into at least three workstations and are equipped with corresponding material handling mechanisms. The lower turntable adopts a short-path flow structure, while the upper turntable adopts a long-path flow structure, with the upper and lower turntables cooperating through differentiated flow of long and short paths.

2. The disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The short-path flow structure of the lower turntable allows the material to flow from station 1 to station 2 of the lower turntable to complete the discharge operation, and the matching material picking mechanism is set at station 2 of the lower turntable. The long-path flow structure of the upper turntable allows the material to flow from station 1 to station 3 to complete the discharge operation, and the matching material picking mechanism is set at station 3 of the upper turntable.

3. The disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both the upper turntable and the lower turntable include at least a loading station and a sock-wearing station. The loading station of the upper turntable and the loading station of the lower turntable are both set at station 1. The upper turntable and the lower turntable achieve precise alignment and calibration of their respective station 1 by using a color-coded positioning reference.

4. The disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The sock-wearing station is equipped with a four-way sock opening mechanism, which includes an upper and lower positioning component and a left and right opening component. The upper and lower positioning component is used to position the upper and lower edges of the sock opening, and the left and right opening component is used to synchronously and symmetrically widen the sock opening in the left and right directions. Through the cooperation of the upper and lower and left and right directions, the sock opening is stably opened in four directions.

5. The disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The upper and lower positioning components adopt a multi-cylinder step-by-step linkage positioning structure, including an upper and lower positioning bracket, an upper and lower positioning first cylinder, an upper and lower positioning second cylinder, an upper and lower positioning third cylinder, an upper and lower positioning fourth cylinder, and an upper and lower positioning fifth cylinder; the telescopic rod end of the upper and lower positioning third cylinder is equipped with an upper and lower positioning pressure block with a planar needle array shallow thorn structure at the bottom; the telescopic rod end of the upper and lower positioning fourth cylinder is connected to an upper and lower positioning plate; and the telescopic rod end of the upper and lower positioning fifth cylinder is equipped with an upper and lower positioning pressure plate that forms an upper and lower pressing fit with the upper and lower positioning plates.

6. The disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The left and right opening sock cuff assembly adopts a staggered double-layer crossbeam with a multi-cylinder distributed linkage structure, including left and right first crossbeams, left and right second crossbeams, left and right opening first cylinder, left and right opening second cylinder, left and right opening third cylinder, left and right opening fourth cylinder, left and right opening fifth cylinder, and left and right opening sixth cylinder; the telescopic ends of the left and right opening first cylinder and the left and right opening second cylinder are equipped with left and right opening pressure blocks, the telescopic ends of the left and right opening third cylinder and the left and right opening fourth cylinder are equipped with left and right opening pressure plates that form an inner and outer clamping cooperation with the left and right opening pressure blocks, the telescopic end of the left and right opening fifth cylinder is fixedly installed with a left and right opening insert plate, and the telescopic end of the left and right opening sixth cylinder is connected to a left and right opening support plate.

7. The disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The sock-wearing station is equipped with a precise sock heel clamping and transfer mechanism, which includes a flip-up sock positioning component and a T-shaped staggered needle gripper component. The flip-up sock positioning component is evenly distributed on each flow station of the upper and lower turntables to achieve pre-positioning and flipping of the sock heel. The T-shaped staggered needle gripper component is used to achieve non-destructive clamping and precise transfer of the sock heel.

8. A disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The T-shaped staggered pin gripper assembly adopts a modular sliding assembly structure, including a flip beam, a flip first mounting base, a flip first cylinder, a flip second cylinder, a flip second mounting base, a T-shaped staggered pressure block, a flip third cylinder, and flip grippers; the T-shaped staggered pressure block adopts an asymmetrical T-shaped staggered pin point layout structure.

9. A method for putting on socks using a disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. The workers lay the socks to be processed on the double-layer rotary table station of the indexing system and place the heels on the flip-up positioning parts to complete the pre-limiting position. S2. The turntable rotates in increments to transfer the socks to the opening support station and locks them in place; S3. The four-way sock opening stretching mechanism simultaneously expands and shapes the sock opening from top to bottom and left to right, smoothing out sock opening wrinkles. S4. The transplanting mechanism precisely transfers the sock board to the center of the sock opening for coaxial alignment. S5. Flip the positioning piece to fully expose the heel of the sock, and use staggered needle-pressing claws to avoid the thickened area of ​​the heel and clamp the heel without damage. S6. The clamping mechanism carries the socks smoothly and moves them smoothly, inserting the sock board into the sock body at a uniform speed to complete the initial boarding; S7. High-frequency micro-amplitude vibration is used to eliminate fabric jamming and assembly misalignment between the sock body and the sock board; S8. Pull the sock board to the standard forming position, and compensate for the elastic shrinkage of the sock material by the displacement of the controllable cylinder to align the cuff posture; S9. The anti-shake robotic arm grabs and shapes the socks and transfers them to the multi-dimensional guide hanging plate mechanism. After automatically correcting the sock plate posture, the socks are hung vertically. S10, the multi-point detection system detects the working condition of the mounting plate across the entire area and feeds back signals to form a closed-loop control; S11. After passing the inspection, the turntable rotates again, the finished product is turned out and the new socks are turned into the workstation. The above steps are repeated continuously to complete the automated sock forming process.

10. The method for putting on socks using the disc-type multi-task automatic sock-putting device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The specific process for elastic shrinkage compensation in step S8 is as follows: First, the tension is fixed by pulling and limiting the side of the sock body, then the sock heel clamping structure is slowly released, and the shrinkage of the sock material is compensated by pushing the mechanism forward slightly. Finally, the mechanism is reset to align the height of the sock cuff and the left and right posture.

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