EP0678127B1 - Flatbed knitting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A flatbed knitting machine has at least one thread carrier box (1) with a thread guide which may be moved out of its working position in the longitudinal direction of the flatbed knitting machine and which is provided with a thread guiding arm (5) and a projecting part (6). In order to allow safe and reliable intarsia knitting even at high knitting speeds, the thread guiding arm (5) may be moved by at least one radial cam (8, 8a, 8b) with respect to the body (2) of the thread carrier box.

Description

The invention relates to a flat knitting machine with at least one thread guide box, which has a thread guide movable in the longitudinal direction of the flat knitting machine from its working position with a thread guide arm and a nut.

Flat knitting machines of this type are known, for example, from DE-A-25 55 750, DE-C-27 30 306 or DE-C-33 10 723 and are used in various embodiments. All of these arrangements have in common that the thread guide arm is rotatably mounted on the thread guide box via a bolt or a shaft, the rotation of the thread guide arm being controlled with the part of the thread guide arm which is located on the other side of the shaft. Such a swivel control of the thread guide, however, limits the swivel path due to the limited size of the thread guide box. The thread guide can therefore not be pivoted sufficiently to ensure, for example, in the case of inlaid knitting that no unwanted thread is caught and knitted by the knitting needle in the border area between two inlaid surfaces.

In addition, when grasping the thread guide box and when pivoting the thread guide due to the sudden attack of a driver bolt, very high acceleration forces of the order of 500 g occur and thus high loads on the thread guide box, which have the effect that the thread guide box functions properly in modern, fast-running knitting machines is not always guaranteed. This also contributes to the fact that the mechanical parts that have to be moved when pivoting the thread guide have to be very compact and heavy due to the heavy loads, which means that greater forces are required for the pivoting because of the greater mass.

A disadvantage of a pivoting process is that the thread guide nut and the thread guide arm do not remain in one plane during the pivoting process, but also experience a movement in the direction perpendicular to the running direction of the thread guide box and for upward and downward movement. As a result, there is a risk that the thread guide arms and / or the nut block each other, which in extreme cases can lead to breaks. This is the case because the thread guide arms are usually not bent straight, but rather inwards transversely to the direction of slide travel.

In the unpublished DE-OS 42 22 934 a flat knitting machine with a thread guide box is described, in which movable elements are articulated in parallelogram fashion, the pivoting being effected by changing the parallelogram angle. Although this arrangement has advantages in that a large-angle pivotability with a simple structure is possible. Nevertheless, there remain restrictions regarding the lifting height and the swiveling process.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a flat knitting machine with thread guide boxes which enables reliable and safe inlaid knitting even at high knitting speeds, the thread guide box and the mechanism for leading the nut out of the respective knitting or inlaid area area being intended to be simple.

The object is achieved in that the thread guide arm is displaceable with at least one control cam with respect to the thread guide body.

Contrary to the conventional flat knitting machines, the thread guide arm is not pivoted according to the invention, but shifted by means of a control curve with respect to the thread guide box body. This allows greater variability and variety of movements when removing and inserting the nut from or into the knitted or inlaid area. Since the thread guide arm is not pivoted in the knitting machine according to the invention, it is also ensured that when the thread guide arm or the nut changes position, it is not displaced transversely to the direction of slide travel, so that the risk of mutual interference or interference of the nut is eliminated.

The thread guide arm is shifted with respect to the thread guide box in its running or opposite direction. This means that the thread guide arm is not swiveled out of the respective inlaid area, but brought into the knitting area by moving it in the running or opposite direction of the thread guide box, or removed from it.

The thread guide arm is preferably displaced with a thread guide pin which is provided in a controllable manner on the lock slide or on the slide bracket.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the control cam moves the thread guide arm additionally in the vertical direction when it is moved in the running or opposite direction of the thread guide box. This results in a superimposed, combined movement of the thread guide arm and thus the nut in a plane defined by the thread guide box, which is spanned by a vertical direction and in the longitudinal direction of the knitting machine. In this embodiment of the invention, the thread guide arm is not only moved in the direction of the thread guide box, but also in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the thread guide box. That is, the thread guide arm is additionally moved up and removed from the knitting area or, if it is to be returned in the knitting area, moved down.

An advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the control cam has a shape such that the thread guide arm with a nut is in its lower knitting position when the thread guide box is selected for knitting. If, on the other hand, the thread guide box is not selected for knitting, that is to say switched off, the thread guide arm or the nut is preferably in its upper inactive position due to the shape of the control curve. The control curve is preferably in the form of a V.

The object is also achieved in that the thread guide arm is in a lower position than the knitting position before taking its knitting position.

In the conventional knitting of inlaid fabric, the thread that was to be knitted in one inlaid area had to be repeatedly inserted into a needle during knitting in adjacent inlaid areas, so that the thread in the inlaid area in which this thread is then to be knitted was small The angle to the nut runs so that it is ensured that the first needle in the inlaid area to be knitted can seize the thread again safely. However, this has the disadvantage that this thread inserted in the stitches of the previous inlaid area must be pulled out again, which is time-consuming and cannot be carried out completely, because there are still remaining threads in the respective inlaid areas in which this thread is not knitted .

To securely grasp the thread after a longer area without knitting, it has also already been proposed to press the thread downward with air pressure emerging from a nozzle. However, the effort for this is considerable, both in terms of technical effort, as well as maintenance and operating costs, and yet is not certain. Another proposal to improve the detection of the thread after an area in which the thread has not been knitted is to provide a brush which, together with the carriage, is guided over the flat knitting machine and pushes the thread down for this purpose. However, this method is also not reliable and safe and has the disadvantage in particular that malfunctions result from the fact that threads can get caught in the brush.

With the measure according to the invention, to bring the thread guide into a lower position than the knitting position before the knitting process is started, the difficulties of the conventional arrangements can be avoided, since the angle to the nut also with a large distance between the last knitted needle and the new one The nut position is kept so small that the first needle in the inlaid area to be knitted can seize the thread again safely. The short immersion shortly before the new knitting process of an inlaid area brings the thread into the immediate vicinity of the first needle, so that the needle can take hold of the thread without the thread being inserted into needles within the previous inlaid area must become. As a result, the previously described disadvantages of known devices, namely the time-consuming and possibly also incomplete removal of the remaining threads, can be avoided.

The thread guide arm preferably remains in the immersion position until the first needle of an inlaid area is fully expelled.

The described immersion of the thread guide arm or the thread guide before taking its knitting position into a deeper position than the knitting position can be carried out particularly easily with the measures and features specified above. The control curve preferably has the shape of an inverted W for this.

The shape of the control curve or the heights of the divisions of the W can be designed according to the existing conditions so that this results in an optimal knitting position and / or immersion depth for the nut.

The force transmission between the thread guide pin and the thread guide arm can take place in different ways. One possibility is that a lever mechanism is provided for this. However, the power transmission can also take place with a cable pulling device.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the thread guide box according to the invention, the thread guide arm is rigidly attached to an element which is displaceable with respect to the thread guide box, for example by means of a lever mechanism or a cable pulling device. The displaceable element is preferably a plate into which the control cam is milled. The slidable element then slides on the plate, with the guide through one Pen takes place, which is attached to the thread guide box and protrudes into the control curve of the sliding element.

As an alternative to the previous embodiment, it is also possible for the control cam to be formed in the thread guide box and for the displaceable element to have the pin projecting into the control cam.

• Figur 1 eine schematisch dargestellt Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Fadenführerkastens in Strickstellung,
• Figur 2 die in Figur 1 dargestellte Ausführungsform in abgestellter Stellung,
• Figur 3 die in den Figuren 1 und 2 dargestellte Ausführungsform des Fadenführerkasten beim Übergang aus der abgestellten Stellung in die Strickstellung,
• Figur 4 eine weitere, schematisch dargestellte Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Fadenführerkasten in Strickstellung,
• Figur 5 die in Figur 4 dargestellte Ausführungsform in Eintauchstellung,
• Figur 6 die in Figuren 4 und 5 dargestellte Ausführungsformen in abgestellter Stellung,
• Figur 7 eine dritte schematisch dargestellte Ausführungsform der Erfindung in Strickstellung,
• Figur 8 die in Figur 7 dargestellte Ausführungsform in abgestellter Stellung, und
• Figur 9 die in den Figuren 7 und 8 dargestellte Ausführungsform in Eintanchstellung.

The invention is explained below using exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures. Show it:

• FIG. 1 shows a schematically illustrated embodiment of the thread guide box according to the invention in the knitting position,
• FIG. 2 shows the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the parked position,
• 3 shows the embodiment of the thread guide box shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 during the transition from the parked position to the knitting position,
• FIG. 4 shows a further, schematically illustrated embodiment of the thread guide box according to the invention in the knitting position,
• FIG. 5 shows the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in the immersion position,
• 6 shows the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in the parked position,
• FIG. 7 shows a third schematically illustrated embodiment of the invention in the knitting position,
• Figure 8 shows the embodiment shown in Figure 7 in the parked position, and
• Figure 9 shows the embodiment shown in Figures 7 and 8 in one-tank position.

In the embodiment of the thread guide box (1) according to the invention shown in FIG. 1, the thread guide box body (2) has an element (3) which can be displaced in the direction of movement or counter-movement direction and which has a vertical groove (4) in this groove (4). displaceable thread guide arm (5) with a nut (6). The thread guide arm (5) has a pin (7) directed towards the thread guide box body (2), which protrudes into a control curve (8) which, in the exemplary embodiment shown, is V-shaped. On both sides of the displaceable element (3) there is a lever (9a) which is articulated via a shaft (10a, 10b) on the thread guide box body (2), and its downwardly projecting lever arm (lla, llb) with the displaceable element (3) is connected.

In the knitting position shown in FIG. 1, the pin (7) and thus the thread guide arm (5) with the nut (6) is in the lower knitting position, in which a needle (not shown) in a needle bed (12) is from the nut (6). offered thread can take. In the knitting position shown in Figure 1, the distance between the nut (6) and the needle bed (12) is denoted by a.

When the thread guide box (1) moves from left to right in the direction indicated by the arrow 13, a driver pin (14) engages with an edge (15) of the thread guide box (1) and guides it with it so that the nut (6) is always in the appropriate knitting position.

If the thread guide box (1) is switched off, the driver pin (14) is raised and brought into its inactive position, the thread guide box (1) remains. However, the driver pin (14) is lowered again after releasing the edge (15) and grips the upper lever arm (16a) of the lever (9a), so that the displaceable element (3) connected to it with respect to the thread guide box body (2) is shifted in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the driving pin (4), as can be seen from FIG. Due to the control cam (8) into which the pin (7) connected to the thread guide arm (5) projects, the thread guide arm (5) and thus the nut (6) not only shifts in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the driving pin (14) , but also upwards due to the oblique direction of the control curve, so that the nut (6) is not only moved out of the finished knitted inlaid area, but is also raised by a distance b, whereby the distance between the nut (6) and the needle bed (12 ) is now a + b = c.

After the driving pin (14) has run over the upper lever arm (16a) of the lever (9a), the lever 9a is again turned counterclockwise by its own weight or by an additional spring, so that the upper end of the upper lever arm (9a) is in again the area of engagement of the driving pin (14) comes when the carriage movement reverses.

During a next stroke in the opposite direction of movement of the slide, the upper lever arm 16a of the lever (9a) is gripped from the other side of the driving pin (14) (cf. FIG. 3), so that the displaceable Element (3) with respect to the thread guide box (2) is now moved in the opposite direction. As can also be seen from FIG. 3, the thread guide arm (5) and thus the nut (6) return to the knitting position, ie they are brought into the central position of the thread guide box (2) and simultaneously lowered.

An embodiment is shown schematically in FIGS. 4 to 6, in which a displacement of the displaceable element (3) relative to the thread guide box body (2) by means of a toothed wheel (23), as well as an upper toothed rack (24) and a lower toothed rack (25 ) he follows. Components and elements in FIGS. 4 to 6 which correspond to those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are provided with the same reference symbols and are not explained again.

Compared to the V-shaped control curve (8) of the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 3, a control curve (26) in the form of a W is provided in the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 4 to 6, the function of which will be explained below with reference to FIG. 5.

When the carriage is displaced in the direction indicated by arrow 13, the driving pin (15) in its active position engages a lever (27a) of a pair of lever arms (27a, 27b). The levers (27a, 27b) are connected to the upper rack (24) so that the upper rack (24) is moved in the direction of the arrow (13) during this movement. As a result, the gearwheel (23) is turned clockwise and shifts the lower rack (25) in the direction opposite to the arrow 13 (cf. FIG. 5). After the lever (27a) has been rotated accordingly, it is released from the driving pin (14), so that it engages a stop (28) in the upper rack (4) and further in the direction of the arrow (13) moves so that the thread guide box is in the parked position. The displaceable element (3) according to FIG. (6) is then displaced via the gearwheel (23) and the lower toothed rack (25) such that the pin (7) is located at the upper left end of the W-shaped control cam (8), in which the nut (6) is lifted out of the knitted inlaid area and raised opposite the needle bed (12). The position of the thread guide arm (5) with the nut (6) of FIG. 4 corresponds to the position of FIG. 3.

When the stroke is reversed, the upper rack (24) is pushed over its stop (28) by the driving pin (14) in the opposite direction to the arrow (13), so that the pin (7) to the lowest position of the W, corresponding to the position shown in FIG 5, but only reached the other side. Thus, immediately before the knitting process begins, the nut (6) is brought into an immersion depth which is deeper than the knitting position. This enables the first needle of the inlaid area now to be knitted to grasp the thread safely. The driver pin (14) then releases the upper rack (24) and grips the left lever (27b) of the pair of levers (27a, 27b) because, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 with reference to the other lever (27b), the lever (27a) can be folded in the direction shown without acting on the upper rack (24), so that the driving pin (14) grips the edge (29b) and brings the displaceable element (3) into the knitting position in which the pin (7) is in the central location of the W-shaped control curve (8) is located. In this position, the nut (6) is slightly raised again due to the shape of the control cam (8) compared to the immersion depth, so that it is now in the optimal knitting position.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the thread guide box according to the invention is shown in FIGS 9 shown. As FIG. 7 shows, an element (3) which is displaceable with respect to the thread guide box body (2) is also provided in this exemplary embodiment. In contrast to the exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, two control cams (8a, 8b) are provided in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, which are not in the thread guide box body (2) but in the displaceable element (3) symmetrically with the rigid thread guide arm (5) connected to the displaceable element (3). At the upper end of the thread guide arm (5) a rope running over two rollers (31, 32) is rigidly attached, which is firmly attached to a bar on the other side of the roller.

Two pins (7a, 7b) are provided on the thread guide box (2) and protrude into the control cam (8a and 8b).

The bar (34) is attached to the thread guide box body (2) so that it can be moved in the direction of movement or counter-movement of the same.

Figure 7 shows the thread guide arm (5) and thus the nut (6), not shown, in the knitting position. The driver bolt (14), which is attached to both the edge (35a) of the stop (36a) provided on the thread guide box (2) and the stop (37a) in alignment with the edge (35a) of the stop (36a) of the stopper ( 34) provided stop (38a) rests displaces the thread guide box (1) in the direction of arrow (13) without the displaceable element (3) leaving its knitting position.

If the thread guide box (1) is parked, the driver pin (14) is released from the edges (35a) and (37a), engages with a second stop (39a) and moves the bar (34) with respect to the thread guide box body (3) in its direction of movement, so that the displaceable element (3) on the circumferential rope (33) in the opposite Direction to the direction of movement of the driving pin (14) is shifted (see FIG. 8). The thread guide arm (5) and thus its nut (6) are thus in the position led out of the inlaid area just knitted and additionally in a raised position.

During the carriage stroke in the opposite direction, the activated driver pin (14) slides over the slope (40a) - as shown in FIG. 8 - over the stop (39a) of the bolt (34) and engages on the right edge of the stop (38a) of the bar (34) so that it is shifted to the left relative to the thread guide box body (2) until the driving pin 14 slides over a slope (41a) of the stop (36a) of the thread guide box body (2). In this position, the displaceable element (2) has been brought into a position at which the thread guide arm (5) and the nut (6), not shown, are located at the lowest point, i.e. in the immersion depth. In this position, the first needle of the inlaid area now to be knitted can securely pick up the thread. When the driver bolt (14) moves further against the direction of movement indicated by the arrow 13, it engages the right edge of the stop (39a) of the bar (34) and moves the bar (34) with respect to the thread guide box body (2) until the right edge of the stop (39) (a) is aligned with the right edge of the stop (36b) of the thread guide box body (2). The displaceable element is brought from the immersion position of the thread guide arm (5) into the knitting position, in which the thread guide arm then remains when the entire thread guide box (1) continues to move, as has already been explained with reference to FIG. (7).

Claims (20)

1. Flatbed knitting machine including at least one yarn feeder box which comprises a yarn feeder incorporating a yarn feeder arm and a feeder means that is moveable away from its working position in the longitudinal direction of the flatbed knitting machine, characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) is displaceable relative to the body (2) of the yarn feeder box by means of at least one cam path (8, 8a, 8b).
2. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 1, characterised in that, the displacement of the yarn feeder arm (5) is effected by means of a driving pin (14) which is itself moved by means of a cam carriage.
3. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) is displaced relative to the yarn feeder box body (2) in the running or counter-running direction thereof.
4. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, characterised in that, the cam path (8, 8, 8b) additionally displaces the yarn feeder arm (5) in a perpendicular direction during its displacement in the running or counter-running direction of the yarn feeder box body (2).
5. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, characterised in that, the cam path (8, 8, 8b) is shaped such that the yarn feeder arm (5) including a feeder means (6) is located in its lower knitting position when the yarn feeder box (1) is selected for the knitting process.
6. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) including a feeder means (6) is located in its upper knitting position when the yarn feeder box (1) is not selected for the knitting process.
7. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, characterised in that, the cam path (8) is shaped in the form of a V.
8. Flatbed knitting machine including a yarn feeder box which comprises a yarn feeder incorporating a yarn feeder arm and a feeder means that is moveable away from its working position in the longitudinal direction of the flatbed knitting machine, characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) is located in a lower position than the knitting position before it adopts its knitting position.
9. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 8,
   characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) is located in the lower position at least until the first needle for the intarsial area that is to be knitted has been completely driven out.
10. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 8 or 9, characterised in that, the cam path (8a, 8b) is shaped in the form of a V.
11. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the Claims 2 to 10, characterised in that, the transmission of power between the driving pin (14) and the yarn feeder arm (5) is effected by means of a system of levers (91, 9b; 10a, 10b; 16a, 16b).
12. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the Claims 2 to 10, characterised in that, the transmission of power between the driving pin (14) and the yarn feeder arm (5) is effected by means of a toothed rack arrangement (23, 24, 25).
13. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the Claims 2 to 10, characterised in that, the transmission of power between the driving pin (14) and the yarn feeder arm (5) is effected by means of a cable assembly (31, 32, 33).
14. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) is rigidly attached to an element (3) that is displaceable relative to the body (2) of the yarn feeder box.
15. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 14,
    characterised in that, the displaceable element (3) incorporates the cam path (8, 8a, 8b).
16. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 14 or 15, characterised in that, the displaceable element (3) is a plate into which the cam path (8a, 8b) is milled.
17. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the Claims 14 to 16, characterised in that, the body (2) of the yarn feeder box incorporates at least one pin (7a, 7b) which projects into the cam path (8a, 8b) and guides the displaceable element (3).
18. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, characterised in that, the cam path (8) is provided in or on the body (2) of the yarn feeder box.
19. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 18,
    characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) is mounted in or on an element (3) that is displaceable relative to the body (2) of the yarn feeder box and is moveable in a perpendicular direction.
20. Flatbed knitting machine in accordance with Claim 19,
    characterised in that, the yarn feeder arm (5) incorporates at least one pin (7; 7a, 7b) which projects into the cam path (3) and guides the displaceable element (3) during its displacement.

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