EP0881315B1 - Sliding-tongue needles for knitting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The needle (1) has a hooked end (3) and a slider (2) with a heel (4), a beak (5) and a shoulder to support the stitch. The slider moves relative to the needle to open and close the hook with its beak and move each stitch with its beak and shoulder. The slider has a U-shaped cross-section and a stepped end forming the beak for carrying a stitch. For part of its length from the beak the slider recess is wide enough to permit the passage of a needle with a stitch on it.

Description

The present invention relates to a needle slide for knitting machine, comprising a needle with a beak and a slide with a heel, beak and mesh support shoulder, this slide being movable relative to the needle to close and open the needle beak by its beak and to train a mesh by its beak and his shoulder to carry out a transfer of mesh.

Sliding or piston needles are known since a long time.

The first sliding needle for industrial use, created by J.F. WILCOMB in 1924, presents a needle moving inside a slide. This construction only allowed the closure of the spout the needle, but not the transfer of stitch by the slides.

US patents 4,043,153 and 5,186,026 and applications of patents DE 31 51 150, 32 20 049 and 4 231 015, we knows about sliding needles including the needle itself is in the form of a slide in which moves a piston closing the nozzle of the needle. Using a plunger to close the needle beak removes the valve traditional needles, which provides a sturdier needle and reduce the stroke of the needle during the formation of the stitch. The piston also allows carrying out a mesh transfer of a needle from a needle bed to a needle from the needle bed opposite. This piston and needle construction in backstage has been adopted by others manufacturers. The needle is always be the piston, except in construction according to US patent 4,434,627, in which the piston, U-shaped, is under the needle, or surrounds the needle.

For carrying out the needle transfer slide is sometimes fitted with a fixed insert on the side of the needle (DE 36 24 038).

We also know spring-loaded coumpound needles side, as well as double sliding needles.

Generally, with plunger needles according to the prior art, the reception of the mesh deferred is always carried out by and in the spout of the needle. Therefore, if a mesh is already present in the beak of this needle it is impossible to differentiate next action, postponement or knitting, for each of these stitches.

On the other hand, to laterally transfer a set of a number of needles to neighboring needles, commonly known as an operation "punching", it is necessary to use a auxiliary needle bed in which needles or punches seize the stitches on the needles to transfer them to the other needles.

The object of the invention is to produce a needle slide according to claim 1 offering new possibilities of knitting, in particular the possibility of punching without needle and auxiliary punches.

The sliding needle according to the invention is characterized in that the slide has a profile in a U by which it straddles the needle, and that it is split in its terminal region, including the beak, to pass a needle or a slide opposite for the execution of a mesh transfer or a punching.

In a straight knitting machine with two needle beds longitudinally movable, the sliding needle according to the invention therefore not only ensures the known mesh transfer function, but also the punching function for the hands of the opposite bed, by simply moving a bed. It is thus possible to do without needle auxiliary and its punches.

The slide overlaps the needle, it can remove backstage with one or more stitches, while another mesh can remain on the backstage held in the high position. The meshes present on backstage can then be transferred to backstage or in the needle noses of the same needle bed or opposite needle bed. With the same needle, it is thus possible to separate stitches and work with them in different ways.

In order not to injure the mesh or the meshes which thus find inside the slide, this last present, over part of its length at from its beak, an interior width appreciably greater than the thickness of the needle so that allow the passage of the mesh or meshes located in the needle beak.

Travel required for different operations of the sliding needle according to the invention are very low amplitude. This reduces the length of the cam holder, reduce the carriage stroke and to increase knitting production.

a) de réceptionner une maille sur une coulisse tout en ayant une ou plusieurs mailles dans le bec de l'aiguille correspondant à la coulisse qui réceptionne;

b) de réceptionner une maille dans le bec de l'aiguille;

c) de reporter cette maille ou une autre maille, tout en conservant une ou des mailles dans le bec de l'aiguille correspondant à la coulisse qui effectue se report, la maille ou les mailles présentes dans le bec de l'aiguille pouvant être ensuite reportées ou tricotées;

d) d'utiliser la coulisse comme élément de relais pour déplacer une ou un ensemble de mailles de la même fonture par poinçonnage.

In summary, the sliding needle according to the invention allows:

a) to receive a stitch on a slide while having one or more stitches in the needle beak corresponding to the slide that receives;

b) to receive a stitch in the needle beak;

c) to transfer this stitch or another stitch, while retaining one or more stitches in the needle beak corresponding to the slide which carries over, the stitch or stitches present in the beak of the needle can then be postponed or knitted;

d) to use the slide as a relay element to move one or a set of stitches of the same needle bed by punching.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, a mode of the sliding needle according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a side view, in position training.

Figure 2 is a side view of the slide alone.

Figure 3 is a top view of the slide, in the direction of the arrow, figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view along IV-IV of the figure 2.

FIG. 5 represents the sliding needle in mesh transfer preparation position.

Figure 6 shows the sliding needle in mesh transfer position.

FIG. 7 represents the sliding needle in punching position by the sliding of a needle from the opposite bed.

The sliding needle shown consists of a needle 1 and a slide 2 inside which slides the needle 1.

The needle 1 is provided with a spout 3 at its end. In the execution shown, needle 1 has no heel because it is supposed to be driven by a key. However, it could be fitted with one or more heels for its training by the cams of the cam holder.

Slide 2 has a U-shaped profile (Figure 4) by which it overlaps the needle 1. At the back, the runner 2 is provided with a heel 4 for its training and at the front it has a spout 5, the part of which upper is located below the level of the back of the slides so as to form a shoulder 6. On the spout 5 the sides of the slide close in a joint line 15 so as to form a surface rounding slip for the meshes. The edges of these sides are further rounded between the end of the spout 5 and the lower edges 8 of the slide. In back of shoulder 6 the U-profile is interrupted over a certain length so as to form a passage 7 at the back of the slide. On part of the length of the slide, from its beak 5, the average width of the U-profile of the slide is significantly greater than the thickness of needle 1. Figures 1, 5, 6 and 7 show schematically the profile of two opposite needle beds 9 and 10 of a straight knitting machine with two needle beds.

In FIG. 1, the beak 3 of the needle 1 is closed by the beak 6 of the slide, so that the wire 11 is trapped in the needle beak.

FIG. 5 represents the sliding needle in mesh transfer preparation position. The needle 1 is in the high position. By sliding on the needle the wire 12 is raised above the spout 5 of the slide.

In Figure 6, the needle 1 is shown in position shot. The runner 2 is high and the mesh 12 comes lean against the shoulder 6 of the slide. A needle 1 'of the opposite needle bed 10, can engage in slide 2 and cross it with its passage 7 to come and grab a mesh carried by the slide 2 for its carryover. In this position, we sees that the beak 3 of the needle 1 is in the part in U from the backstage. The clearance between needle 1 and runner 2 allows the mesh or meshes to finding in needle beak 3 to engage in backstage without being injured.

Figure 7 shows the sliding needle in the same position as figure 6, but instead of an opposite needle 1 'which engages in the slide 2, it is the corresponding slide 2 'which engages in slide 2. When slide 2 is down, the mesh which was on the spout of the runner 2 is on the slide 2 '. The function of the slide 2 'is thus here that of a punch. The bed 10 can be moved left or right by view of the transfer of the mesh carried by the slides 2 'on needles 1 of needle bed 9 or on backstage 2 of the needle bed 9 at the end of a transfer to needles of needle bed 10. Thus, all possibilities are open.

It should be noted that the plugged hole technique remains possible and that a transfer on comb, such as described in patent EP 0 362 126 is also possible with the slide.

Claims (3)

1. Slider type needle for a knitting machine, comprising a needle (1) equipped with a beard (3) and a slider (2) equipped with a butt (4), with a nose (5) and with a stitch bearing shoulder (6), this slider being displaceable relative to the needle in order to close and open the beard of the needle by means of the nose of said slider and having a profile by means of which it straddles the needle, characterized in that the slider has a U-shaped profile, by means of which it straddles the needle, and, in order that it should be able to drive a stitch by means of its nose (5) and its shoulder (6) so as to execute a stitch transfer, that it is split (7, 15) in its end region comprising the nose, in order to allow an opposite needle or slider to pass through in order to carry out a stitch transfer or punching.
2. Slider type needle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the slider (2) has, over part of its length, starting from its nose, an average inner width which is substantially greater than the thickness of the needle, so as to make it possible for a stitch located on the needle to pass through.
3. Needle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the back of the slider (2) has a cutout (7) at the rear of the shoulder (6).

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