CN111041691A

CN111041691A - Yarn feeding device

Info

Publication number: CN111041691A
Application number: CN201910965561.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 宫本昌纪
Original assignee: Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Current assignee: Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-12
Filing date: 2019-10-12
Publication date: 2020-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2039-10-12
Also published as: EP3636814A2; JP7296707B2; KR102291018B1; CN111041691B; JP2020059957A; EP3636814B1; KR20200041792A; EP3636814A3

Abstract

A yarn feeding device relates to a traveling member such as a yarn feeder, which can reduce the man-hour required in the processes such as specification change and mixing of a carrying type and a self-traveling type. Two moving belts (4a, 4b) are disposed between the adjacent track rails (2a, 2b) in a vertically spaced manner. Upper and lower moving belts (4a, 4b) move yarn feeders (3a, 3b) attached to crawler belts (2aF, 2bB) of the track rails (2a, 2b), respectively. Since the track rails (2a, 2b) are attached to the end portions of the movement driving portions for driving the movement belts (4a, 4b), the movement belts (4a, 4b) and the movement driving portions do not need to be supported by the track rails (2a, 2 b). Since the lane rails (2a, 2b) can be shared between the belt-running type and the self-running type, even if the lane rails (2a, 2b) are not detached, steps such as changing the specification from the belt-running type to the self-running type, and mixing the belt-running type and the self-running type can be performed, and thus, man-hours can be reduced.

Description

Yarn feeding device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a yarn feeding device including a running member that is capable of running on its own in the longitudinal direction of a needle bed of a flat knitting machine above the needle bed, and that becomes a part of a path for feeding a knitting yarn for knitting a knitted fabric to knitting needles of the needle bed.

Background

Conventionally, a flat knitting machine includes needle beds in which knitting needles are arranged side by side in a longitudinal direction, and a track rail which is erected above the needle beds and extends in the longitudinal direction of the needle beds. The knitted fabric is knitted with knitting yarns supplied to knitting needles through a yarn feeder which is attached to a track provided on a track and runs in the longitudinal direction. In recent years, flat knitting machines of a type including a carriage capable of reciprocating in a longitudinal direction of a needle bed and driving knitting needles for knitting a knitted fabric by cams mounted on the carriage are often used. In the flat knitting machine including the carriage, although a take-away type configuration in which the yarn feeder is carried away by the carriage is often used for the yarn feeder, a self-propelled yarn feeder which can travel without being carried away by the carriage may be used.

In the case of using a tape feeder of a tape-off type, a tape-off member such as a tape-off pin that selectively engages with the tape feeder and switches whether or not to perform tape-off is provided on the carriage. However, if a take-away wire feeder is used, there are cases where: a yarn feeder or the like that switches to travel in the middle of knitting a course of a knitted fabric requires stopping and reversing movement of the carriage, and the knitting efficiency of the knitted fabric is lowered. In such a case, if a self-propelled feeder is used, knitting efficiency can be prevented from being lowered. However, when a self-propelled feeder is used, a moving member such as a belt for moving the feeder along a track rail and a mechanism for driving the moving member are required. Therefore, the flat knitting machine using only the self-propelled yarn feeder has a complicated structure compared to the flat knitting machine using only the carry-away yarn feeder, and the manufacturing cost is increased.

The present applicant has disclosed a yarn feeding device for a flatbed knitting machine that can also self-propel a take-away yarn feeder (see, for example, patent document 1). In the yarn feeding device, a moving member is provided in the longitudinal direction of the yarn path, and the thread feeder of the take-away type is engaged with the moving member, so that the engaged thread feeder can self-travel. There is also disclosed a flat knitting machine having a structure in which a carry-away feeder and a self-propelled feeder are mounted on track rails having different structures and used together (see, for example, patent document 2). Fig. 3c and 3d of patent document 2 show an example of a lane rail (60') in which a carrying-type wire feeder (40) and a self-propelled wire feeder (50) are mixed on one side surface and an example of a lane rail (60") arranged vertically separately.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 2903152

Patent document 2: european patent publication No. 3115491

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The moving member for moving the self-propelled feeder is disposed inside the track rail or the like and is attached to the inner side of the feeder on the crawler. The self-propelled track rail in which the moving member is disposed may be used to move the tape feeder without disposing the moving member. Only the carry-away yarn feeder is used in advance on the self-propelled track, and the carry-away yarn feeder and the self-propelled yarn feeder may be replaced or mixed by changing the specification after the manufacture of the flat knitting machine. In such a case, a moving member and a driving unit need to be added. However, the work of adding a moving member to the crawler belt facing each other between the installed track rails is difficult because the space between the rails is narrow. Such work is easily performed by removing the track rail. Further, in the case of using only the carry-away thread feeder, since the cost is increased if the self-propelled track is used, it is conceivable to use the track in which only the carry-away thread feeder is used in advance, and to detach and replace the track with a unit including the self-propelled track and the driving unit in accordance with a need for specification change or the like. However, the work of erecting the removed track rail and the replaced track rail requires adjustment of the level, the parallel, the mutual spacing, and the like, and therefore, is difficult and time-consuming.

The invention aims to provide a yarn feeding device, which relates to a traveling member such as a yarn feeder and is easy to perform operations required in the processes of changing specification, mixing and the like of a take-away type and a self-propelled type by utilizing the space between track rails.

Means for solving the problems

The invention is a yarn feeding device, comprising a self-propelled traveling member, which is attached to a track as a part of a path for feeding a knitting yarn to knitting needles in a flat knitting machine and can travel in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, the flat knitting machine comprising at least two needle beds, a carriage, and a track rail, the needle beds being opposed to each other in the front-back direction with a needle bed gap therebetween, and the knitting needles being arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction; a carriage which is movable in a reciprocating manner in a longitudinal direction of a needle bed and carries knitting cams for sequentially selecting knitting needles and driving the knitting needles to knit a knitted fabric; the yarn feeding device is characterized by comprising a moving part extending in the longitudinal direction, the moving part comprising a moving member, a connecting member and a moving driving part, the moving member being disposed outside the crawler track so as to be spaced in the front-rear direction and be capable of being parallel to the crawler track with a gap therebetween, the walking member being attached to the crawler track, the connecting member connecting the walking member to the moving part, and the moving driving part being provided at an end part side in the longitudinal direction and being driven to walk the walking member via the moving member and the connecting member.

In the present invention, the moving member includes two moving portions that are parallel to each other with a different distance in the front-rear direction of the crawler, the two moving portions are connected to each other at both ends in the longitudinal direction so as to move in opposite directions, and the connecting member connects the moving portion with a narrower distance from the crawler to the self-propelled traveling member.

In the present invention, the track rail has the crawler belts on both sides in the front-rear direction, and a plurality of the crawler belts are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction, the self-propelled traveling members are attached to one and the other of the crawler belts facing each other at least in two adjacent track rails, respectively, the moving member is disposed separately above and below between the at least two adjacent track rails, and the traveling members attached to the one crawler belt and the other crawler belt are moved, respectively.

In the present invention, the carriage includes a carrying member engageable with a carrying-type traveling member attached to a crawler belt of the track, and the carrying member is carried and caused to travel if the carrying member is engaged with the crawler belt, and the self-propelled traveling member is attached to the same crawler belt as the carrying-type traveling member, and includes a carrying-off releasing portion that functions to release the carrying-off of the carrying-type traveling member by the carriage by disengaging the carrying-off type traveling member from the carrying member if the carrying-off type traveling member approaches a predetermined distance in the same crawler belt.

In the above-described coupling member, the coupling member is attached to the moving member and is attachable to and detachable from the self-propelled traveling member in the vertical direction.

[ Effect of the invention ]

According to the present invention, the traveling member, which is a part of the path for supplying the knitting yarn to the knitting needles and is attached to the track rail, is driven to move by the movement driving unit via the moving member and the coupling member, and therefore can operate as a self-propelled type. The moving members are arranged in parallel at intervals outside the crawler of the track, and the moving drive unit drives the moving members at the end in the longitudinal direction of the track. By using the lane tracks between the end portions in the longitudinal direction as a space for arranging the moving member, it is possible to easily perform operations required in the steps of changing specifications of the carry-away type and the self-propelled type, mixing, and the like. The man-hours required in the process of changing the specification from the carry-away type to the self-propelled type, the carry-away type and the self-propelled type, and the like can be reduced. Since the track rail to which the self-propelled traveling member is attached can be a track rail that is erected for attaching the belt-type traveling member, readjustment associated with replacement of the track rail is not required.

Further, according to the present invention, the two moving portions of the moving member are coupled at both ends in the longitudinal direction and move in opposite directions to each other. The moving driving unit may drive the moving member at one end of the track.

Further, according to the present invention, the upper and lower moving members disposed between the adjacent track rails are separated from each other, and the self-propelled traveling members respectively attached to one and the other of the crawler belts facing each other between the adjacent track rails are caused to travel. Even if the gap between the track rails is narrow, the two moving members can be arranged vertically and efficiently accommodated.

Further, according to the present invention, in the case where the carrying-away traveling member and the self-propelled traveling member are mixed on the same crawler track of the track rail, if the carrying-away traveling member is carried away by the carriage and approaches the self-propelled traveling member by a predetermined distance, the carrying-away releasing portion releases the carrying away. Even if the carriage continues to travel, the carrying-away type traveling member releases the carrying-away, so that the collision can be avoided or the impact can be alleviated even if the collision occurs. The control is simplified without requiring the control of changing the position of the self-propelled traveling member in accordance with the position of the carriage in order to prevent a collision accident.

Further, according to the present invention, after the self-propelled traveling member is attached to the crawler belt of the track rail, the moving member is disposed outside the traveling member with respect to the crawler belt. This arrangement operation can be performed by inserting the movable member into a narrow space such as a gap between the track rails from above, and in this case, the operation of coupling the movable member and the traveling member by the coupling member can be easily performed. The connection between the moving member and the self-propelled traveling member is released so that the connecting member can be separated upward together with the moving member. The work of changing the specification of the traveling member from the carry-away type to the self-traveling type or adding the self-traveling type and the carry-away type together becomes further easy.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a left side view showing a schematic configuration of a yarn feeding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the flatbed knitting machine 10 including the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view and a front view of the yarn feeder 3 included in the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1 as a traveling member.

Fig. 4 is a plan view and a front view of the connecting member 5a included in the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a simplified plan view and front view showing a state in which the coupling member 5a of fig. 4 is attached to the wire feeder.

Fig. 6 is a plan view, a front view, and a right side view of the movement driving section 12b included in the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a plan view, a front view, and a left side view of the movement driving section 12a included in the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a simplified plan view and front view showing the operation of the tape feeder 60 for tape ejection by the tape ejection release portion 6a of the tape feeder 3a of fig. 3.

Detailed Description

In order to implement the mode of the invention

Next, a schematic configuration of a yarn feeding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 8. For the sake of convenience of explanation, reference numerals described in other drawings may be added to parts not described in the explanation target drawings. The reference numerals are substantially the same as those of "a", "b", "c", and "d", and may be collectively referred to by reference numerals not attached thereto.

[ examples ]

Fig. 1 shows a schematic side structure of a yarn feeding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The yarn feeding device 1 of the present embodiment includes the track rails 2a and 2b, the yarn feeders 3a and 3b, the moving belts 4a and 4b, and the connecting members 5a and 5b, and is used for feeding the knitting yarn for knitting the knitted fabric to the knitting needles in the flatbed knitting machine. Such a flatbed knitting machine includes a needle bed on which knitting needles are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction and which is movable back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, and a carriage on which a knitting cam for sequentially selecting the knitting needles to drive knitting for knitting a knitted fabric is mounted. Two needle beds, a front needle bed and a back needle bed, are provided in the needle beds so as to face at least in the front-back direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The lane rails 2a, 2b are arranged above the needle bed gap, and extend in the longitudinal direction of the needle beds.

The track rails 2a and 2b have crawler belts 2aB, 2aF, 2bB, and 2bF for mounting wire feeders 3a and 3b on the left and right sides of the figure. The left and right directions of the figure are rear B and front F directions, and the rear B and front F directions are provided as a weft knitting machine with a rear needle bed and a front needle bed, respectively. The wire feeders 3a and 3b of the present embodiment are respectively attached to the crawler 2aF on the right side of the lane rail 2a and the crawler 2bB on the left side of the lane rail 2 b. The yarn feeders 3a and 3b attached to the crawler belts 2aF and 2bB are self-propelled traveling members that can travel in the longitudinal direction, and are part of a path for supplying knitting yarns for knitting a knitted fabric to knitting needles driven by knitting cams. The movement belts 4a and 4b are moving members extending in the longitudinal direction of the track rails 2a and 2b, and are disposed in spaces outside the thread feeders 3a and 3b attached to the crawler belts 2aF and 2bB of the track rails 2a and 2b, with the thread feeders 3a and 3b being sandwiched between the crawler belts 2aF and 2 bB. This space is originally required to be left free in advance so as not to cause an obstacle to the traveling of the wire feeders 3a, 3 b. If the transfer belts 4a and 4b are coupled to the yarn feeders 3a and 3b by the coupling members 5a and 5b, respectively, the yarn feeders 3a and 3b become self-propelled traveling members movable in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed by the movement of the transfer belts 4a and 4 b.

At least two moving belts 4a, 4b are disposed between the adjacent track rails 2a, 2b so as to be vertically spaced apart. The upper and lower moving belts 4a, 4b move the thread feeders 3a, 3b respectively attached to the crawler belts 2aF, 2bB facing each other between the track rails 2a, 2b by a moving portion close to one of two belt-like moving portions arranged in parallel. The connecting members 5a and 5b included in the yarn feeding device 1 connect the yarn feeders 3a and 3b to the moving portion close to the moving belts 4a and 4b, i.e., the moving portion having a narrow interval with the crawler belts 2aF and 2bB, respectively. The wire feeders 3a, 3b have a tape-off releasing portions 6a, 6b, bases 7a, 7b, wire feeding rods 8a, 8b, and stepped screws 9a, 9 b. Sliding portions 31a and 31b that engage with the upper portions of the crawler belts of the track rails 2a and 2b are provided on the upper portions of the bases 7a and 7b, respectively. Sliders 32a and 32b that engage with the lower portion of the crawler belt can be attached to the lower portions of the bases 7a and 7b after being attached to the crawler belt.

Fig. 2 shows a partial plan view of the flatbed knitting machine 10 including the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1. On one end side in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, a support member 11 is provided that supports one end of the track rails 2a, 2b, 2c, 2 d. The moving belts 4a and 4b have two belt-shaped moving portions that run in parallel so that the intervals in the front-rear direction of the crawler belts 2aF and 2bB are different, and c connect the two moving portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction, respectively. The moving belts 4a and 4b are disposed only between the opposing crawler belts 2aF and 2bB between the track rails 2a and 2b, but may be disposed inside the track rails 2b and 2c, the track rails 2c and 2d, and the like, and outside the crawler belt 2aB of the track rail 2 a. A thread feeder of a take-away type carried by a carriage can be attached to a track on which the thread feeders 3a and 3b serving as self-propelled traveling members are not mounted.

The movement driving unit 12b is attached by the support member 11. The movement driving unit 12b may be directly supported by one end of the track rails 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d in the longitudinal direction or indirectly supported by an outer member at one end. The movement driving section 12b drives the wire feeder 3b to travel through the movement belt 4b and the connecting member 5 b. The moving belt 4a is driven by a moving drive section 12a provided on the other end side of the track rails 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, similarly to the moving drive section 12b on one end side. By providing the moving drive units 12a and 12b at or outside the ends of the one and the other ends in the longitudinal direction in this way, the moving belts 4a and 4b can be arranged in the space between the lane rails 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d between the ends in the longitudinal direction. The yarn feeding device 1 includes moving driving units 12a and 12b, and can move the yarn feeders 3a and 3b as self-propelled moving members in accordance with the movement of the carriage to feed the yarn or independently of the carriage to prepare for the yarn feeding.

The movement driving unit 12b includes a movement motor 13b serving as a driving source, bevel gears 14b and 15b, a driving pulley 16b, and an idler roller 17 b. The movement motor 13b is mounted so that the output shaft is oriented in the horizontal direction, for example, using a servo motor, and the bevel gears 14b and 15b convert the rotational direction into the vertical direction to rotationally drive the drive pulley 16 b. An end of the moving belt 4b is wound around the drive pulley 16 b. The idler rollers 17b are provided to make the distance between the moving belts 4b between the track rails 2a and 2b smaller than the diameter of the drive pulley 16 b. The movement driving portion 12b is also provided with a driven pulley 18a for winding the end of the movement belt 4a and an idler pulley 19a for making the interval between the movement belt 4a smaller than the diameter of the driven pulley 18 a. The cover 20b covers each part of the movement driving unit 12 b. The transmission of the rotational driving force via the bevel gears 14b and 15b can be replaced by direct driving of the driving pulley 16b, transmission driving by a combination of flat gears, and transmission driving by a pulley and a belt, if the output shaft of the movement motor 13b is set to the vertical direction.

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of the yarn feeder 3 of the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1 as indicated by (a) and a front view as indicated by (b). The thread feeder 3 includes a base body 7, a thread feeding lever 8, a stepped screw 9, a slider 32, a thread feeding portion 33, and a thread feeding port 34 as components. The yarn feeder 34 is attached to the lower end of the yarn feeding rod 8 via a yarn feeding portion 33, and feeds the knitting yarn to the knitting needle while guiding the knitting yarn. The stepped screw 9 is used for fixing the wire feeding rod 8 when it is mounted on the base body 7 with its height adjusted.

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the connecting member 5a of the yarn feeding device 1 of fig. 1 as (a) and a front view as (b). The connecting member 5a includes a substrate 50 and a mounting plate 51. The moving belt 4a is a toothed belt, and the attachment plate 51 is provided with projections and recesses adapted to the teeth of the moving belt 4 a. Two belt grooves 52 for accommodating the moving belt 4 are provided in two stages in the upper and lower direction on the base plate 50, and a U-groove 53 is provided from the lower side toward the upper side. The coupling member 5a fixes the moving belt 4a and the base plate 50 by screwing the mounting plate 51 in a state where the upper moving belt 4a is accommodated in the upper belt groove 52. Similarly, the coupling member 5b of fig. 1 is fixed by a mounting plate 51 and screws with the lower belt 4b being accommodated in the lower belt groove 52. The moving belts 4a and 4b may be arranged not in two layers, but in three or more layers, as shown in fig. 1, in which case the number of the belt grooves 52 may be increased correspondingly.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a state where the coupling member 5a is attached to the wire feeder 3a as (a), and a front view as (b). When the wire feeder 3a is attached to the crawler 2aF shown in fig. 1, the lower slider 32a shown in fig. 1 is removed so that the slider 31a is hooked on the upper portion of the crawler 2aF from above. The lower slider 32a may be attached from the tooth mouth side. Even if the wire feeder 3 is attached to the crawler belts 2B and 2F of the other track rails 2 which run in parallel, there is no obstacle in the attachment work as long as the position is shifted in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, even in a narrow space, the work can be performed with a minimum number of steps, and the removal and replacement of the raceway rail 2 are not required. The coupling member 5a to which the moving belt 4a is attached from above to the wire feeder 3a attached to the crawler 2 aF. The attachment is performed in such a manner that the stepped screw 9a is inserted into the U-groove 53. The coupling member 5a can be easily detached from the wire feeder 3a even if the wire is pulled upward from the attached state. The moving belt 4 may be directly attached to the wire feeder 3a attached to the crawler 2aF by screws, but it is necessary to perform a fixing operation by screws in a narrow space such as between the track rails 2. As in the present embodiment, if the coupling member 5a to which the moving belt 4a is attached is used so as to be vertically detachable from the wire feeder 3a, the attaching and detaching operation becomes easy.

Fig. 6 shows the structure of the movement driving unit 12b of fig. 2 with the cover 20b removed, and shows a plan view (a), a front view (b), and a right side view (c). In the front view, a section along the section line B-B shown in (a) is shown. (a) The illustrated idler roller 19a is present on the near side of the cross section, and therefore is not illustrated in (b).

Fig. 7 shows (a) a plan view, a left side view and (c) a front view of the moving drive section 12a provided on the other end side in the longitudinal direction with respect to the track rails 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d in the flatbed knitting machine 10 of fig. 2. In the front view, a section along the section line C-C shown in (a) is shown. The movement driving unit 12a includes a movement motor 13a, bevel gears 14a, 15a, a driving pulley 16a, an idler roller 17a, a driven pulley 18b, and an idler roller 19 b. The movement motor 13a, the bevel gears 14a, 15a, the drive pulley 16a, and the idler roller 17a are provided to drive the movement belt 4a, and are basically the same as those used to drive the movement belt 4 b. The moving belt 4b is hung on the driven pulley 18b and the idler roller 19 b.

The moving belt 4 as a moving member has two parallel moving portions connected to each other at both ends in the longitudinal direction. When the wire feeder 3 as the traveling member travels, since the two moving portions circulate so as to move in opposite directions, the moving driving portion 12 for driving the movement of the moving member may be provided on one end side of the track rail 2 and the driven portion for supporting may be provided on the other end side. In the present embodiment, since the reciprocating movement belt 4 is arranged in the lateral direction, the arrangement of the driving pulley, the gear, the motor, and the like in the movement driving section 12 can be made compact. Since the two belt-like moving portions can be used in the vertical direction, the moving belt 4 is less likely to sag. The moving drive portions 12a and 12b of the moving belts 4a and 4b disposed vertically are provided separately on both longitudinal end portions of the track rail 2. The movement driving portions 12a and 12b can be attached to the support member 11 and the like by using the space outside the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the track rail 2, and the man-hours required for attachment can be reduced. As the moving member, a circulating endless chain, a wire, or the like may be used. If the two moving portions that reciprocate are arranged in the lateral direction like the moving belt 4, the traveling member can be easily coupled to the one side near the track rail 2, but the traveling member can be coupled to the other side far from the track rail 2. Of course, two reciprocating moving parts may be arranged in the longitudinal direction, and the connection from the two moving parts to the traveling member may be performed equally. Further, instead of the annular member, the traveling member may be moved while a flexible linear wire or the like is wound and unwound at one end and unwound and wound at the other end. The movable member may be a rigid rack or the like, and may be driven to move back and forth on one end side and supported on the other end side.

Fig. 8 shows the operation of the tape feeder 60 for tape ejection by the tape ejection release portion 6a of the tape feeder 3 a. (a) And (b) a state in which the carry-away wire feeder 60 is attached to the same crawler as the self-propelled wire feeder 3a and is close to each other is shown in a plan view and a front view. The wire feeder 60 is carried by the carriage in an engaged state and travels, with a wall surface of a recess which engages with a carrying pin 61 as a carrying member provided in the carriage being an engagement portion 62. The wire feeder 60 also has the same configuration as the wire feeder 3 a. The portion of the wire feeder 3a where the removal releasing portion 6a is formed and the portion of the wire feeder 60 where the engaging portion 62 is formed protrude upward, but the positions thereof are shifted to the left and right as shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 8(c) shows a state in which the wire feeder 60 is close to the wire feeder 3a and the leading end of the tape ejection release portion 6a is below the tape ejection pin 61. The carrying pin 61 is pulled upward when the carriage is released from carrying, and is spring-loaded to be lowered when carrying. The lower end of the lowered tow pin 61 has a gap with the bottom surface of the recess of the wire feeder 60, and the tip of the tow release portion 6a can be inserted into the gap. When the wire feeder 60 further approaches the wire feeder 3a, the tape removing pin 61 is pushed up by the slope of the tape removing portion 6a, and the lower end of the tape removing pin 61 rises above the engaging portion 62 as shown in (d). In this way, if the distance approaches the predetermined distance, the tape-removing section 6a functions to disengage the wire feeder 60 and the tape-removing pin 61, and removes the tape. Such a removal operation is performed in the same manner as in the case where the thread feeder 60 is brought into contact with a removal stopper provided at an end of the crawler.

Further, if the wire feeder 60 of the same crawler carried by the carriage is close to the self-propelled wire feeder 3, the collision can be avoided by controlling the wire feeder 3 so as to avoid it. Even if the carry-away thread feeder 60 collides with the self-propelled thread feeder 3, the carry-away of the thread feeder 60 is released by the carry-away releasing section 6, so that the impact is alleviated. Therefore, if the carry-away releasing section 6 is provided, it is not necessary to perform control for changing the position of the self-propelled wire feeder 3 in accordance with the position of the carriage in order to prevent a collision accident, and the control can be simplified. In addition, even in a case where the self-propelled feeder 3 is stopped at the end of the crawler, the carry-away feeder 60 can be brought into contact with the self-propelled feeder 3, and the carry-away can be released as in a case where the carry-away releasing stopper is brought into contact.

In the present embodiment, the yarn feeder 3 is a traveling member, but a member such as a movable yarn guide disclosed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 58-126351, which is provided on a path for supplying the knitting yarn, and through which the knitting yarn is transferred, may be used as the traveling member. Even if the traveling member for transferring the knitting yarn is attached to the same track as the self-propelled yarn feeder 3 or the carry-away yarn feeder 60, the traveling member may be controlled so as to intermittently perform traveling so as to avoid collision with the

yarn feeders

3 and 60.

Since the moving member such as the moving belt 4 is disposed in parallel with the track rail 2 at a space and the moving drive unit 12 is attached to the support member 11 that supports the track rail 2 at the end in the longitudinal direction, a structure for supporting the moving member and the moving drive unit 12 on the track rail 2 is not necessary. Since the track rail 2 on which the self-propelled traveling member is mounted can be also used as the track rail 2 on which the traveling member such as the carry-away wire feeder 60 is mounted, the specification change from the carry-away type to the self-propelled type, the mix of the carry-away type and the self-propelled type, and the like can be easily performed without removing and replacing the track rail 2. In fig. 1, since the track rails 2a and 2b are erected at the same height, the yarn feeding levers 8a and 8b are bent downward so that the yarn feeding from the yarn feeding port 34 can be performed near the same position of the needle bed gap. For example, as shown in fig. 1 of japanese patent application laid-open publication No. 2011-106059, the lane rails may be arranged in a fan shape, and at least the central yarn feeding rod may be formed in a linear shape. Further, the yarn feeding lever may be vertically movable, and only the yarn feeding lever for supplying the yarn may be lowered, and the unused yarn feeding lever may be kept on standby at the upper side.

Description of the symbols

1: yarn feeding device

2. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2 d: line track

2B, 2F, 2aB, 2aF, 2bB, 2 bF: caterpillar band

3. 3a, 3b, 60: wire feeder

4. 4a, 4 b: belt for moving

5. 5a, 5 b: connecting member

6. 6a, 6 b: carry-away releasing part

7. 7a, 7 b: base body

8. 8a, 8 b: wire feeding rod

9. 9a, 9 b: screw with ladder

10: flat knitting machine

11: supporting member

12. 12a, 12 b: moving drive unit

53: u groove

61: the pin is taken away.

Claims

1. A yarn feeding device includes a self-propelled traveling member which is attached to a track as a part of a path for feeding a knitting yarn to knitting needles in a flat knitting machine and is capable of traveling in a longitudinal direction of the needle beds, the flat knitting machine including at least two needle beds which face each other in front and rear directions with a needle bed gap therebetween and in which the knitting needles are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction; a carriage which is movable in a reciprocating manner in a longitudinal direction of a needle bed and carries knitting cams for sequentially selecting knitting needles and driving the knitting needles to knit a knitted fabric; the track rail is arranged above the needle bed gap and has the crawler track extending in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed,

has a moving part extending in the longitudinal direction, the moving part including a moving member, a coupling member, and a moving drive part,

the moving member is disposed in parallel to the outside of the crawler belt with a gap in the longitudinal direction between the moving member and the crawler belt, the gap being capable of sandwiching the traveling member attached to the crawler belt,

the connecting member connects the traveling member and the moving portion,

the moving driving unit is provided at an end portion side in the longitudinal direction and is capable of driving the traveling member to travel through the moving member and the coupling member.

2. The yarn feeding device according to claim 1,

the moving member has two moving portions parallel to each other at different intervals in the front-rear direction of the crawler, and the two moving portions are connected to each other at both ends in the longitudinal direction so as to move in opposite directions,

the connecting member connects the moving portion with a narrow gap from the crawler belt to the self-propelled traveling member.

3. The yarn feeding device according to claim 1 or 2,

the track rail has the crawler belts on both sides in the front-rear direction, and a plurality of the track rails are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction,

the self-propelled traveling members are respectively mounted on one and the other of the opposing crawler belts on at least two adjacent track rails,

the moving member is disposed separately above and below at least two adjacent track rails, and moves the traveling members attached to the one crawler belt and the other crawler belt, respectively.

4. The yarn feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the carriage includes a carrying member which is engageable with a carrying type traveling member attached to a crawler belt of the track rail and which is configured to travel while carrying the carrying type traveling member when engaged,

the self-propelled traveling member may be attached to the same crawler belt as the carrying-away traveling member and may have a carrying-away releasing portion,

the carrying-away releasing unit functions to release the carrying-away of the carrying-away running member by the carriage by releasing the engagement between the carrying-away running member and the carrying-away member if the carrying-away running member approaches a predetermined distance in the same crawler.

5. The yarn feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the coupling member is attached to the moving member and is attachable to and detachable from the self-propelled traveling member in the vertical direction.