CN111793886B

CN111793886B - Gripping mechanism for a device for introducing an insert into a knitted fabric

Info

Publication number: CN111793886B
Application number: CN202010270482.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 尤尔根·莫尔; 克里斯·希勒; 弗里德·兰德克; 马丁·多尔克
Original assignee: H Stoll GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Carlmeyerstol R & D Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-08
Filing date: 2020-04-08
Publication date: 2022-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-08
Also published as: CN111793886A; EP3722473B1; EP3722473A1; EP3722473B8

Abstract

A gripping mechanism for a device for introducing inserts into a knitted fabric for introducing the inserts into the knitted fabric produced on a flat knitting machine, with which the knitted inserts can be received from a storage tank and can be moved to a comb gap between the needle beds of the flat knitting machine and can be introduced into the knitted fabric produced on the flat knitting machine, wherein the gripping mechanism (50) has a gripper (51) and a reject mechanism (53).

Description

Gripping mechanism for a device for introducing an insert into a knitted fabric

Technical Field

The invention relates to a gripping device with a device for introducing an insert into a knitted fabric.

Background

Nowadays, increasingly high demands are made on knitted fabrics produced on flat knitting machines (flachtstickmaschene). In particular, increasingly complex designs and designs are required. Furthermore, the number of subsequent processes required after the knitting process is reduced. This is of great importance in particular for so-called intelligent textiles, which perform additional functions by integrating elements such as sensors, chips, batteries or LEDs. These inserts are currently introduced into the knitted goods mostly manually during or after the production of the knitted goods.

However, in the case of the introduction during the production of the knitted goods, the production loom must be permanently monitored by a person, since the loom pauses when the additional element is inserted, i.e. the production of the knitted fabric is interrupted. The result is increased human input.

To avoid this, proposals have been made for automatically embedding such elements.

US 7,246,508B 1 describes a device for embedding elements for stabilizing the shape of the neck opening in knitted fabrics made on flat knitting machines, such as jackets. In this case, the stacking motor of the collar insert element is moved along with the slider along the flat knitting machine above the needle bed until the insertion position in the knitted fabric is reached, and one of the collar insert elements can be inserted into the knitted fabric by means of the slider.

DE 4308251C 2 discloses a functional element which works autonomously and can be used in particular to insert additional elements into a knitted fabric. The functional element is fixed to the thread guide rail, thus reducing the number of possible thread guides involved in the knitting process. Furthermore, the functional element interferes with the movement of the thread guide, since it always stays in the same area as the thread guide.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is therefore to improve the gripping mechanism of a device for introducing inserts in a flat knitting machine, so that the disadvantages described in the prior art are avoided and a reliable introduction of the insert into the knitted fabric is ensured.

According to the invention, a gripper device for a device on a flat knitting machine for introducing inserts into a knitted fabric produced on the flat knitting machine is proposed, with which the inserts can be received from a tank and can be moved to a comb gap between the needle beds of the flat knitting machine and can be introduced into the knitted fabric produced on the flat knitting machine, wherein the gripper device has a gripper with at least one movable gripper jaw, which gripper has a removal device for removing and/or positioning the inserts into the knitted fabric. This object is achieved by a gripping mechanism for a device on a flat knitting machine for introducing an insert into a knitted fabric produced on the flat knitting machine having the above-mentioned features.

The gripping mechanism may be arranged on the carriage of the flat knitting machine or have a separate drive for movement along the machine. The function of the yarn guides and indeed the knitting process is not hampered by the gripping mechanism if it is not required. The tank can be a mechanism arranged in the vicinity of the weaving machine, independently of the weaving machine, or it can be arranged on the weaving machine, wherein it is possible whether it is arranged stationary or movable along the machine. The gripping mechanism is independent of the design of the storage tank. Through changing the control to snatching the mechanism, can realize being adapted to different storage tanks.

The gripper mechanism has a gripper with at least one movable gripper jaw. The gripper can thus reliably receive inserts of different shapes and sizes and deliver them to the receiving area of the knitted fabric produced on the flat knitting machine.

The gripper may have a structured surface and/or be made of a material with good holding power. This ensures that the insert is held reliably by the gripper even in the event of rapid movements. As material for the gripping jaw or at least for its surface, non-magnetic material is considered for the magnetic insert, or also material with good holding power, such as plastic or rubber. Different inserts, such as batteries, LEDs, sensors, etc., can thus be reliably received from the magazine and introduced into the knitted fabric.

The gripper can be moved motor-driven at least between a rest position, which does not interfere with the knitting process, and an insertion position. If the magazine is arranged stationary on the machine and/or there is no delivery mechanism on the gripper and/or it is a separate mechanism, a third position for the gripper is required in which the gripper can remove the insert from the magazine.

Further advantages result if the insert can be moved by means of the gripper below the cross of the knitting needles of the flat knitting machine. The pocket or other knitted fabric receiving portion for the insert is formed before the insert is introduced. The opening of the receptacle is therefore also located below the needle cross. If the gripper can press the insert under the needle cross, the insert can be reliably and completely introduced into the receiving portion of the knitted fabric.

The gripper can also have a removal device for removing and/or positioning the insert into the knitted fabric. This ejection mechanism supports the ejection of the insert after the gripping jaws have opened.

For this purpose, the ejection mechanism may preferably have a retractable and extendable ejection plunger (auskurfstempel), with which the insert held by the gripper jaw can be moved into the receiving region of the knitted fabric after the gripper jaw is opened. The receiving region can be, for example, a pocket woven into the knitted fabric. However, the pocket opening below the comb gap of the machine is rather narrow, so that it is advantageous to apply a positive force for introducing the insert with the ejector plunger.

Further advantages arise if the ejector plunger can be extended by different distances so that inserts of different sizes can be moved by means of it below the needle cross of the flat knitting machine. The gripping mechanism can thus be adjusted for different inserts by a corresponding programming of the drive of the ejection plunger.

It can also be provided that the gripper in its insertion position and with the protruding ejector plunger can be moved by the carriage past the insert in order to introduce the insert into the receiving region of the knitted fabric. This measure is advantageous in particular when long inserts are introduced into the knitted fabric. The ejection plunger acts on the entire upper edge of the insert and thereby reliably presses the insert into the receiving region of the knitted fabric.

Furthermore, the gripper mechanism can have a monitoring mechanism, with which the presence and position of the insert in the gripper and the comb gap can be monitored. Optical or capacitive sensors can be used for this purpose. If there is no insert between the gripping jaws, a new insert has to be taken out of the tank. The comb gap must be fully open, that is, all the needles and sinkers (platinens) are retracted. Otherwise, attempts to introduce the insert by means of the catching mechanism would result in damage to the needles or the sinkers. If the comb gap is not completely free, the introduction of the insert is therefore stopped and a fault report is output.

In order to activate the different functions of the gripper mechanism, it may be advantageous to have a first motor for moving the gripper and a second motor for moving the gripper jaw and the ejector mechanism.

Drawings

An embodiment of a device for introducing an insert for a flat knitting machine with a gripping mechanism according to the invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial view of a flat knitting machine with a device for introducing an insert;

fig. 2a is a detailed perspective view of a gripping mechanism of the device for introducing inserts of fig. 1, with the gripper in a rest position;

FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view of the flat knitting machine in the area of a gripping mechanism with the gripper in the position of FIG. 2 a;

fig. 3a is a detail perspective view of a gripping mechanism of the device for introducing inserts of fig. 1 with a gripper in a receiving position of the inserts;

FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view of the flat knitting machine in the area of a gripper mechanism with the gripper in the position of FIG. 3 a;

fig. 4a is a detail perspective view of a gripper mechanism of the device for introducing inserts of fig. 1, with a gripper with an insert received;

FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of the flat knitting machine in the area of a gripper mechanism with the gripper in the position of FIG. 4 a;

FIG. 5a is a detailed perspective view of a grasping mechanism of the apparatus for introducing inserts of FIG. 1 with a grasper in a delivery position of the insert;

FIG. 5b is a cross-sectional view of the flat knitting machine in the area of a gripper mechanism with the gripper in the position of FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6a is a detailed perspective view of a gripping mechanism of the device for introducing inserts of FIG. 1 with a gripper after the inserts have been introduced into the knitted fabric;

FIG. 6b is a cross-sectional view of the flat knitting machine in the area of a gripper mechanism with the gripper in the position of FIG. 6 a;

fig. 7 is a perspective, partially cut-away detail view of the grasping mechanism.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a partial region of a flat knitting machine 100 known per se with front and rear needle beds not shown here. Along the needle beds, front and rear carriages 20, 20 'are moved, on which knitting cams (strickschlosers) 30, 30' are fixed.

The flat knitting machine 100 has a device 10 for inserting an insert 70 (fig. 4b) into a knitted fabric produced on the flat knitting machine, which device is composed of a magazine 40 for the insert 70, which magazine is arranged rigidly beside the left side of the needle bed, not shown here, and a gripping mechanism 50 for the insert 70.

The tank 40 is designed for storing and dispensing inserts 70, which can be stored for this purpose in the tank container 41 and dispensed when required by means of a delivery mechanism not shown in detail here. The conveying device can thereby reach a predetermined delivery position of the insert 70. The predetermined output position can be adjusted according to the different possible sizes of the insert 70 to be inserted. Sensors are also provided which monitor the presence of the insert 70, the position of the insert in the tank container 41 and the position of the delivery mechanism.

The transport device may have, for example, slide elements which bring the respective insert 70 into a predetermined position for receiving by means of a gripper of the device for inserting the insert 70. The movement can be introduced into the slide in a motor-driven manner by means of a gear box, a toothed rack, a belt drive or the like.

Furthermore, the NFC writer 47 is mounted on the magazine 40, thereby making it possible to transmit data to the microchip integrated in the insert 70.

The gripper mechanism 50 is fastened laterally to the carriage 20 and is therefore carried along by the carriage. The gripping mechanism 50 takes the inserts 70, which are brought by the magazine 40 to a defined delivery position, from the magazine 40 and guides these inserts into a predefined receiving area inside a piece of knitting fabric, not shown here, which has just been produced on the flat knitting machine 100.

The following fig. 2a to 6b show in each case, by means of a perspective view (a) and a sectional view (b) of the flat knitting machine 100, a schematic illustration of a process for inserting the insert 70 with the gripper 50, which begins in the rest position of the gripper 51 of the gripper 50.

Fig. 2a, 2b show a gripper mechanism 50 with a gripper 51, wherein the gripper 51 is in a rest position. The gripper is pivoted for this purpose into a rear end position. In this position, the gripper 51 does not collide with parts such as the yarn guides 60, when the carriages 20, 20' are moved along the bed in order to load the parts necessary for knitting, such as needles or sinkers.

If the insert 70 is to be inserted into the knitted fabric, the carriage 20, 20' is moved into the position shown in fig. 3a, 3b before the magazine 40, which is not shown here for the sake of clarity. The gripper 51 of the gripper mechanism 50 is moved from its rear end position or rest position, driven by the first motor 58, into a vertical position in which it can reliably grip the insert 70. At the same time, the gripper jaws 52, 52' of the gripper 51 are moved away from one another by the drive of the second motor 59, thus freeing up space for receiving the insert 70. In the example shown, only one of the gripper jaws 52, 52' is moved for this purpose. The opposing gripping jaws 52 are of rigid design. However, it is also conceivable to move the two gripping jaws 52, 52'.

Fig. 4a, 4b show a view in which the insert 70 is moved by the advancing mechanism of the tank 40, not shown here, between the gripping jaws 52, 52 'into the defined receiving position, and the gripping jaws 52, 52' are moved toward one another by means of the second motor 59, so that the insert 70 remains clamped between them.

Fig. 5a, 5b show the gripper mechanism 50 after the carriages 20, 20 'have been moved through the knitting area of the flat knitting machine 100 into a position in which the insert 70 held between the gripper jaws 52, 52' of the gripper 51 is to be inserted into the formed knitted fabric. For this purpose, pockets can be formed in the previous knitting process, for example in the knitted fabric, as receiving regions for the inserts 70.

Next, the gripper 51 moves toward the comb gap 80 of the flat knitting machine 100. In the example shown, the motion is a pivoting motion, which is induced by the first motor 58. Alternatively, the movement can also be performed linearly, or in any combination of rotational and linear movements.

By the movement of the gripper 51 towards the comb gap 80, the insert 70 is inserted into the pocket formed in the previous knitting process.

Fig. 6a, 6b show views of the gripper mechanism 50 after the gripper jaws 52, 52' have been opened by the second motor 59 and the ejection mechanism 53 on the gripper 51 has been moved from the upper rest position into the ejection position, likewise by the second motor 59, toward the comb gap 80. By this movement of the ejector 53, the insert 70 is moved out of the region between the gripper jaws 52, 52' and into the receiving region of the knitted fabric.

Subsequently, the carriages 20, 20' move towards the magazine 40, counter to their current knitting direction. In this case, the gripper 51 and the ejection mechanism 53 remain in their positions shown in fig. 6a, 6 b. This reliably inserts the insert 70 into the knitted fabric.

After the gripper 51 and the reject mechanism 53 have been moved back into their rest position by means of the first and

second motors

58, 59, the knitting process for the knitted fabric can be performed again. In this case, for example, the pocket (into which the insert 70 has been introduced) can be partially or completely closed.

Fig. 7 shows the structure of the gripping mechanism 50 in a separate view, with the housing part being partly omitted or cut away. It can be seen that the gripping mechanism 50 is movably arranged on the guide 25 for the carriages 20, 20' (not shown here).

A pivoting movement of the gripper 51 in the direction of the double arrow 54 is caused by a motor 58. The lower movable clamping jaw 52' is pressed against the stationary gripping jaw 52 by a spring 55. The opening movement of the gripper jaw 52' is brought about by a second motor 59. The motor 59 also moves the eject mechanism 53 back and forth via the lever mechanism 56. The force transmission between the motor 59 and the lever mechanism 56 takes place via the toothed belt 57. The ejection mechanism 53 has an ejection plunger 53 'which projects between the gripper jaws 52, 52' and can be moved back and forth.

Claims

1. Gripping mechanism for a device (10) on a flat knitting machine for introducing inserts (70) into a knitted fabric produced on said flat knitting machine, with which inserts (70) can be received from a tank (40) and can be moved to a comb gap (80) between the needle beds of said flat knitting machine and can be introduced into a knitted fabric produced on said flat knitting machine (100), characterized in that the gripping mechanism has a gripper (51) with at least one movable gripping jaw (52, 52'), said gripper (51) having a reject mechanism (53) for outputting and/or positioning said inserts (70) into said knitted fabric.

2. The gripping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripping jaws (52, 52') have a structured surface and/or are made of a material with good holding power.

3. Gripping mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the gripping jaws (52, 52') are made of one or more non-magnetic materials.

4. Gripping mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gripper (51) is motor-drivable at least between a rest position, which does not hinder the knitting process, and an insertion position.

5. Gripping mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the knitting insert (70) can be moved with the gripper (51) below the intersection of the needles of the flat knitting machine, which is the intersection formed by the opposite needles of the front and back needle beds when the needles are being withdrawn.

6. The gripper mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the ejector mechanism (53) has a retractable and extendable ejector plunger (53 '), with which an insert (70) held by the gripper jaws (52, 52 ') can be moved into the receiving region of the knitted fabric after the gripper jaws (52, 52 ') have been opened.

7. The catching mechanism as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the ejector plunger (53') can be extended by different distances, so that inserts (70) of different sizes can be moved by means of it below the intersection of the needles of the flat knitting machine (100), which are formed by the opposing needles in the front needle bed and the back needle bed when the needles are being ejected.

8. The gripper mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that the gripper (51) in its insertion position and with the protruding ejector plunger (53 ') can be moved by the carriage (20, 20') past the insert (70) in order to place it into the receiving region of the knitted fabric.

9. Gripping mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has monitoring means with which the presence and position of an insert (70) in the gripper (51) and the comb gap (80) can be monitored.

10. Gripper mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a first motor (58) for moving the gripper (51) and a second motor (59) for moving the gripper jaws (52, 52') and the ejector mechanism (53).