Patent ID: 6986316

Claim:
A device for precise placement of a toe of a hosiery item during automated insertion thereof in a conveyor of a sewing machine for closing by sewing an opening of the toe formed between two flaps thereof, the conveyor being composed of two laminas arranged side by side on a substantially horizontal plane so as to form therebetween a passage for a portion of the hosiery item to be inserted that is proximate to the toe to be closed by sewing, the device comprising tensioning means, which are arranged proximate to an inlet of said passage, below said pair of laminas so as to engage a portion of the hosiery item that hangs at the opening of the toe to be closed by sewing so that the two flaps of the opening face each other, said tensioning means being actuatable in order to exert a tension force on the hosiery item, during insertion thereof in said passage, that is directed downwardly, said tensioning means comprising a pair of contrarotating rollers directed along respective axes which are substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of said passage, said rollers comprising a first roller having a substantially cylindrical main lateral surface and at least one tooth that protrudes radially from said lateral surface, and a second roller which is arranged at such a distance from said first roller that said first roller, during rotation about the axis thereof, prevents the main lateral surface thereof from hindering the advancement of the hosiery item toward said passage and affects, with said at least one tooth, the hosiery item by pressing it against the second roller.