EP0997563B1 - Circular weft knitting machine for making jacquard type plush and/or terry knitwear - Google Patents

Abstract

In the circular knitter, for knitting with tucked loop stitches, each sinker (4) is composed of three basic sinkers (7-9), side by side. The center sinker (7) is a conventional knock over sinker. It is flanked by looping sinkers (8,9), each with a projection (10,11) at different levels. In the circular knitter, for knitting with tucked loop stitches, each sinker (4) is composed of three basic sinkers (7-9), side by side. The center sinker (7) is a conventional knock over sinker. It is flanked by looping sinkers (8,9), each with a projection (10,11) at different levels. The sinkers (7-9) are operated independently of each other, according to the pre selected knitting pattern program, to be moved in and out of action. In the working position, they take the colored yarn to form loops of different heights. The ground yarn and the colored patterning yarns are distributed among the needles in a number of successive systems. Each row of knitted stitches is either of a ground jersey or structured yarn or is of a number of colored yarns.

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement made to the trades circular knitted stitches for loop type knitwear Jacquard.

Such articles have been known for a very long time and can be used either such as, either in order to achieve a velvet obtained by shaving the loops formed when knitting.

In addition to plain terry knitwear, it has long been proposed to make Jacquard knitwear of this type on multi-fall circular looms comprising a cylinder fitted with pallet needles and a plate provided with plates, displaceable between the needles of the cylinder and making it possible to form the loops, loops which can be of different heights as shown in particular from US patents 1,790,832, 3,477,255 and 3,394,564.

In general, to make such articles, we use for distribute the thread to the needles, which themselves are selected so conventional depending on the drawing to be made, plates, also selectable according to the drawing to be made, movable between the needles carried by the cylinder and which cause the formation of loops having two heights different.

Generally, these plates have, arranged in the same vertical plane, three areas arranged at different levels from the plane horizontal knitting, and set back from each other at the front of each deck.

The extreme zone constitutes the zone of knitting of the meshes after formation, the knitting yarn constituting the jersey base of the knitted fabric being distributed at this level. Set back of this zone, each plate has a “nose” with two levels arranged in withdrawal from each other.

Depending on the loop height and the drawings you want to make, the plates are moved by means of a selection block which penetrates two predetermined values between the needles so that the wire which forms the loop, wire which in the following description will be designated by the expression "colored thread", either deposited around one or the other of the two overlapping areas of the nose.

We thus obtain Jacquard knitwear presenting, according to a predetermined pattern, a combination of knitted areas without loops and areas comprising two different loop heights, loops which can later receive a finishing treatment to give the item looks like velvet.

Such articles therefore comprise, in each knitting row, on the one hand a ground wire and, on the other hand, a colored wire forming loops of heights different.

The density in hairs or curls of such Jacquard knitwear which therefore does not in each row only one color being relatively weak, it has been proposed, as is apparent from British Patent 2,111,540, to make knitwear velvet with a very high density of pile which is characterized basically by the fact that the different colors are knitted on one and same row of stitches and not in successive rows.

The Applicant has proposed in the European patent 629,727 to carry out on the knitting looms implementing the teachings of this British patent, Jacquard knitwear also with loops of different heights which, after finishing treatment and in particular shaving, allows to obtain a new type article that has a raised appearance with unshaven and shaved curls and multicolored.

To make the basic knitting, we also use movable plates between the needles carried by the cylinder, plates which make it possible to form loops of different heights, the control of the movement of said plates of loop formation being carried out by means of a system of selection which makes them enter two predetermined values between the needles, so that the colored thread loops around either of the two areas superimposed on the nose of the plates, according to the drawings to achieve.

However, it has been found that such a way of making loops different heights was difficult to implement, especially with regard to the presentation of the wires on the different zones that each plate comprises and that there were variations in tension detrimental to the quality of the knitting.

Now we have found, and this is what is the subject of the present invention, a solution that overcomes these disadvantages, solution that not only can be used on Jacquard knitting looms in which each knitting row has a background thread and a colored thread, but also on those in which the different colors are knitted on one and the same row of stitches and not in successive rows.

In general, the invention therefore relates to a new type of circular knitting loom, picked type, of a cylinder type equipped with pallet needles and a tray provided with plates movable between the needles of the cylinder, allowing a knitting in which each row includes, in addition to a jersey or structured bottom thread, one or more colored threads distributed successively to the needles of the loom according to the selection of a drawing to be made, the distribution of the colored thread (s) being carried out by through the turntables also associated with a selection system allowing the formation, also according to a predetermined pattern, of loops having two different lengths.

The loom according to the invention (see claim 1) is characterized in that each plate is consisting of three elementary plates, arranged side by side, the central plate being a conventional felling plate on either side of which are arranged two loops forming plates each having a nose, the two noses being arranged at two different levels, said elementary plates being actuable independently of one another, according to a selection predetermined function of the drawing between a position out of work and a position in work of taking the colored thread thus making it possible to produce, according to a drawing, loops having two different heights.

Thanks to such a structure, the colored wires are distributed to the plates always in the same vertical plane, which eliminates all risks of variation of tension during knitting likely to cause defects in the finished product.

To ensure the individual control of the turntables, the profession is therefore adapted and has three cam tracks, to ensure the movement of the plates elementary during the knitting cycle.

A conventional selection block ensures the order, in depending on the design to be produced, i.e. the plate allowing the formation of a loop high, that is the plate allowing the formation of a low loop.

In addition, if the basic knitting can be a jersey knitting, it can possibly be considered to ensure the order of the plates of the background knitting via a second selector thus obtaining a background structure.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique, en élévation, montrant la structure des principaux organes d'un métier réalisé conformément à l'invention ;
• la figure 2 illustre la formation d'une boucle haute sur un tel métier, la figure 3 la formation d'une boucle basse et la figure 4 la phase de relâchement des boucles après formation de la maille ;
• la figure 5 est quant à elle une vue de dessus montrant le positionnement des trois platines élémentaires constituant la platine proprement dite de formation de mailles.

The invention and the advantages which it provides will however be better understood thanks to the embodiment which follows and which is illustrated by the appended diagrams in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic view, in elevation, showing the structure of the main organs of a loom made according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 illustrates the formation of a high loop on such a loom, FIG. 3 the formation of a low loop and FIG. 4 the phase of loosening of the loops after formation of the mesh;
• FIG. 5 is a top view showing the positioning of the three elementary plates constituting the plate proper for forming meshes.

Referring to the appended figures and more particularly to Figure 1, the loom in accordance with the invention therefore conventionally comprises a cylinder (1) equipped with pallet needles (2) and a so-called "ring" plate (3) equipped plates, designated by the general reference (4) movable between the needles of the cylinder.

The control and selection of needles is carried out in such a way, in accordance with the teachings of EP-A-629 727, in order to knit in which each row comprises, in addition to a jersey or structured bottom thread, one or several colored threads (6) distributed successively to the needles (2) of the loom depending on the selection of a drawing to be made.

According to the invention, to obtain a knitted fabric (5) comprising loops having two different lengths, each plate (4) consists of three elementary plates (7,8,9), arranged side by side and actuable independently of each other instead of a single plate with a zone slaughter and two overlapping noses to obtain two heights of loops different.

These elementary plates are made of all appropriate materials, steel for example and are in the form of a thin plate in general of the order of 0.2 mm.

The plate (7) called "bottom plate" is a conventional plate. Departure and on the other side of this central plate (7), are arranged two plates (8, 9) of forming loops, each of these plates (8,9) having a nose (10,11) arranged at two different levels above the bottom plate (7).

The plates (7,8,9) can be actuated independently of each other, the ring or plate (3) of the loom therefore comprising three cam paths, one (20) ensuring the movement of the bottom plates, the other two (21,22) allowing, for their part, to ensure the movements of the plates (8) and (9) forming high or low curls.

The movement of the plates is controlled so that conventional by means of pushers (23) actuated by means of a selection block (24) shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 and the means of holding on the plate fitted with plates is not shown.

The distribution of the background thread and the colored threads is carried out conventional by means of a thrower (13) at a rate of one thread per drop, each knitting row therefore comprising, in addition to a Jersey or structured bottom thread, a or more colored threads.

Figures 2,3 and 4 illustrate how loops are made on a such a trade.

In FIG. 2, the two plates (8, 9) are brought into position for gripping the wire (6) which therefore surrounds the nose (11) of the plate (8), thus allowing the formation of high loops.

When you want to create areas with low loops (see Figure 3), the plate (8) is brought into the out of work position and the wire (6) is distributed around the nose (11) of the plate (9), thus allowing the formation of a loop low.

During the felling phase of the meshes formed, the two plates (8, 9) are brought into the out-of-work position (Figure 4).

Thanks to such a design of plates, a distribution of the colored threads (6) to the needles in the same vertical plane thus eliminating all risks of tension variation in knitting.

Of course, the invention as said previously can be used not only to make Jacquard knits in which each row has a ground wire and several colored wires in accordance with the teachings of EP-A-629 721, but it could be envisaged to equip Jacquard looms conventional for making articles with loops different heights, such as those described in US Patents 1,790,832, 3,477,255 or 3,394,564 mentioned in the preamble to the description, the pile being obtained by shaving said loops.

Claims (2)

1. Circular weft knitting machine for producing Jacquard-type velour and/or plush knits, of the type comprising a cylinder (1) equipped with latched needles and a plate (3) provided with sinkers (4) that are controlled by a selection system for forming, according to a predetermined design, plush loops having two different lengths, characterized in that each sinker (4) consists of three elementary sinkers (7, 8, 9) placed side by side, the central sinker (7) being a conventional knock-over sinker on either side of which are placed two loop-forming sinkers (8, 9) each having a nose (10, 11), the two noses being placed at two different levels, the said elementary sinkers (7, 8, 9) being able to be actuated independently of one another, according to a predetermined selection that depends on the design, between a non-working position and a working position in which the thread called colour thread, which forms the loop, is taken, thus making it possible to produce, according to a design, loops having two different heights.
2. Circular weft knitting machine according to Claim 1, characterized in that the ground thread and the colour threads are distributed to the needles over several successive feeders, each row of knitting comprising, apart from a jersey or structured ground thread, one or more colour threads.

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