EP4600414A1 - Flat knitting machine equipped with movable sinker, and movable sinker - Google Patents

Flat knitting machine equipped with movable sinker, and movable sinker

Info

Publication number
EP4600414A1
EP4600414A1 EP23874579.8A EP23874579A EP4600414A1 EP 4600414 A1 EP4600414 A1 EP 4600414A1 EP 23874579 A EP23874579 A EP 23874579A EP 4600414 A1 EP4600414 A1 EP 4600414A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
needle bed
path
movable sinker
operative
bed gap
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP23874579.8A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Yoshinori Shimasaki
Shoichi Yokonuki
Masanori Goto
Mitsuhiro Azuma
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Original Assignee
Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd filed Critical Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Publication of EP4600414A1 publication Critical patent/EP4600414A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
    • D04B—KNITTING
    • D04B15/00—Details of, or auxiliary devices incorporated in, weft knitting machines, restricted to machines of this kind
    • D04B15/06—Sinkers
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
    • D04B—KNITTING
    • D04B15/00—Details of, or auxiliary devices incorporated in, weft knitting machines, restricted to machines of this kind
    • D04B15/88—Take-up or draw-off devices for knitting products
    • D04B15/90—Take-up or draw-off devices for knitting products for flat-bed knitting machines

Definitions

  • the movable sinker suspends the portion pressing the stitch from the stitch to stop the operation of pressing the stitch (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
  • the movable sinker is used together with a fixed sinker for sinker loop formation (see Patent Literature 2, for example).
  • the movable sinker to be used in combination with the fixed sinker is provided with a claw at the leading end to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap, and is capable of fulfilling the function of depressing fabric by hooking the claw on the fabric from one of needle beds on both sides across the needle bed gap.
  • the function of depressing the fabric can also be fulfilled by a movable sinker not to be used in combination with a fixed sinker.
  • the knitting needle 15 slides in the needle groove to cause a hook 15a at a leading end thereof to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap 11.
  • a stitch 20 illustrated in Figs. 4 , 5 , and 6 is formed using knitting yarn fed from above the needle bed gap 11 and knitted fabric 21 is suspended to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11.
  • the knitting needle 15 is a latch needle, and opens and closes the hook 15a using a latch 15b.
  • the needle plate 14 between the knitting needles 15 has a leading end adjacent to the needle bed gap 11 where a fixed sinker 16 is mounted.
  • a carriage 18 having a cam surface facing a surface of the needle bed 12 with an interval therebetween travels back and forth in the longitudinal direction over each needle bed 12.
  • the cam surface is provided with a knitting cam for driving the knitting needle 15 and a sinker cam 19 for driving the movable sinker 1.
  • the sinker cam 19 drives the movable sinker 1 in such a manner as to cause the operative region 4 to retreat from the needle bed gap 11 by pressing the passive arm 2a of the movable sinker 1.
  • Driving for causing the operative region 4 to advance into the needle bed gap 11 is done through biasing from the wire spring 1a.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 while the movable sinker 1 is in a position and a state indicated by the solid lines in Fig. 3 .
  • the knitting needle 15 draws knitting yarn fed in the needle bed gap 11 toward the needle bed 12 using the hook 15a to form the stitch 20
  • the moving arm 5 of the movable sinker 1 retreats from the needle bed gap 11 in order to disable the operation of pressing the stitch 20 at the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a.
  • the hook 15a advances into the needle bed gap 11 in order to receive knitting yarn to be fed for forming a new stitch 20
  • an old stitch moves relatively from the hook 15a toward a needle shank and is cleared.
  • Fig. 5 illustrates the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 subsequent to Fig. 4 .
  • This motion corresponds to a situation where the movable sinker 1 is in a position and a state indicated by the dashed lines in Figs. 1 and 3 .
  • the spring portion 8 is elastically deformed.
  • the operative portion 6 advances into the needle bed gap 11 and can capture the fabric 21 therein.
  • the moving arm 5 as a portion except for the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8, and the regulating portion 9 rocks from Fig. 4 to Fig.
  • the operative region 4 also rocks entirely along arc-like paths having radii corresponding to distances from the respective constituting portions to the rocking fulcrum 3a. These paths will collectively be called a first path.
  • the operative portion 6 to pass under the needle bed gap wire 17 to become the lower claw is shifted from the first path to a second path different from the first path by pressing force from the pressing wire 16a as the pressing means on the pressure-receiving portion 7.
  • the second path passes through a position closer to the needle bed gap 11 than the first path, allowing depression of the fabric 21 to be started earlier than in a case of following the first path continuously.
  • Trying to start the depression at such a position only through rocking motion along the first path requires a shape of a greater distance from the rocking fulcrum 3a, so that large space is necessary for the rocking motion.
  • the operative portion 6 can get closer to the needle bed gap 11 in limited space. Thus, even if the fabric 21 is thin, the operative portion 6 is still allowed to reach the fabric 21 in such a manner as to be hooked on the fabric 21.
  • a rocking radius can be greater along the second path than along the first path, it is possible for a path of the depression after hooking on the fabric 21 to become a nearly vertical path.
  • the pressure-receiving portion 7 or the pressing means it is possible to determine the second path in such a manner as to pass through a position different from the position along the first path such as a position over or under the needle bed gap 11 in addition to the position closer to the needle bed gap 11.
  • Fig. 6 illustrates the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 subsequent to Fig. 5 .
  • the operative portion 6 depresses the fabric 21 to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11 and the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a presses the stitch 20 simultaneously.
  • the position and state of the movable sinker 1 follow the first path.
  • the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8, and the regulating portion 9 having been shifted to the second path are released from the elastic deformation of the spring portion 8.
  • the operative portion 6 depresses the fabric 21 to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11.
  • the fabric 21 may be depressed only in returning from the second path to the first path. Furthermore, by changing the shape of the pressure-receiving portion 7 or the arrangement of the pressing wire 16a, for example, the pressure-receiving portion 7 may be kept pressed continuously to the end without being released from the pressing force.
  • the stitch 20 or the fabric 21 to act on the operative portion 6 of the movable sinker 1 in the needle bed gap 11 may exert tension of moving the operative portion 6 closer to the needle bed 12 facing the operative portion 6.
  • the regulating portion 9 is provided at an interval of moving farther from the needle bed gap 11 relative to the pressure-receiving portion 7.
  • the pressing wire 16a placed inside this interval in Fig. 6 regulates movement of the regulating portion 9 to cause the operative portion 6 to stay within a range covering the first path.
  • the pressing wire 16a and the regulating portion 9 function as regulating means that prevents deviation of the operative portion 6 by prohibiting the operative portion 6 from crossing the needle bed gap center plane 11a and getting into the needle bed 12 facing the operative portion 6 across the needle bed gap 11.
  • Prohibiting the operative portion 6 from getting into the facing needle bed 12 fulfills the effects of preventing interference with the front and back needle beds 12 by the movable sinker 1 during racking and preventing plastic deformation of the spring portion 8.
  • the regulating portion 9 has a role as a stopper if the operative portion 6 is pulled by the stitch 20 in a zone where the pressing wire 16a is between the regulating portion 9 and the pressure-receiving portion 7, which is a zone including an operative zone where the operative portion 6 performs the operation of depressing the fabric 21.
  • the jutting portion 5c of the moving arm 5 also functions as a stopper to regulate the displacement.
  • the jutting portion 5c further functions as a stopper if the operative portion 6 is pulled toward the facing needle bed 12. By doing so, the jutting portion 5c causes the operative portion 6 to stay within a range covering the second path.
  • the regulating portion 9 and the pressing wire 16a, and the jutting portion 5c function as the regulating means that causes the operative portion 6 to stay within the range covering the first path and within the range covering the second path respectively and prohibits the operative portion 6 from getting into the facing needle bed 12.
  • Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 illustrate the shape of a movable sinker 31 according to an example 2 of the present invention and the configuration of a flatbed knitting machine 30 including the movable sinker 31.
  • the movable sinker 31 includes a moving arm 35, an operative portion 36, a pressure-receiving portion 37, a spring portion 38, and a regulating portion 39 in an operative region 34, and has a configuration similar to that of the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 except for the moving arm 35.
  • the moving arm 35 of the example 2 exists only between the wire spring receiver 2b and the spring portion 38.
  • the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, and the regulating portion 39 are connected to the moving arm 35 through the elastically deformable spring portion 38.
  • the flatbed knitting machine 30 has a configuration similar to that of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2 .
  • the pressure-receiving portion 37 illustrated in Fig. 8 receives pressing force from the needle bed gap wire 17 to be placed in positions and states indicated by solid lines, dashed lines, alternate long and short dashed lines, and alternate long and two short dashed lines.
  • the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 move along a first path in the state indicated by the solid lines, in the state indicated by the dashed lines, and in the state indicated by the alternate long and two short dashed lines, and move along a second path in a state before and in a state after the state indicated by the alternate long and short dashed lines.
  • the needle bed gap wire 17 further performs operation on the regulating portion 39. Specifically, the needle bed gap wire 17 further have functions as pressing means and regulating means.
  • the operative portion 36 has a function as the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a of the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 .
  • Figs. 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 illustrate the motions of the flatbed knitting machine 30 corresponding to the solid lines, the dashed lines, the alternate long and short dashed lines, and the alternate long and two short dashed lines in Fig. 8 respectively.
  • the pressure-receiving portion 37 is separated from the needle bed gap wire 17 so does not receive pressing force.
  • the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 move along the first path.
  • the pressure-receiving portion 37 contacts the needle bed gap wire 17 to start application of pressing force, thereby causing the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 to start to shift to the second path.
  • the operative portion 36 is pushed to a maximum by the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 37 from the needle bed gap wire 17.
  • Fig. 11 further illustrates a state where, in response to a situation where pressing force from the needle bed gap wire 17 is applied suddenly to the pressure-receiving portion 37 so the operative portion 36 is about to displace largely toward the needle bed gap 11, the regulating portion 39 functions as a stopper to regulate the displacement.
  • the needle bed gap wire 17 does not press the pressure-receiving portion 37 so the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 return to the first path.
  • the needle bed gap wire 17 performs operation on the regulating portion 39 so the operative portion 36 is regulated so as not to be deviated toward the needle bed gap 11 by the tension of the fabric 21.
  • the operative portion 36 depresses the fabric 21 to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11.
  • the operative portion 36 as an upper claw can prevent the old stitch 22 from being lifted when the old stitch 22 tries to move toward an upper side of the needle bed gap 11 in conjunction with the advancing motion of the knitting needle 15 into the needle bed gap 11.
  • Fig. 13 illustrates the shape of a movable sinker 41 according to an example 3 of the present invention.
  • the movable sinker 41 includes a moving arm 45, an operative portion 46, a pressure-receiving portion 47, a spring portion 48, and a regulating portion 49 in an operative region 44.
  • the moving arm 45 has a configuration similar to that of the moving arm 5 in Fig. 1 except for the absence of a portion corresponding to the jutting portion 5c.
  • Fig. 14 illustrates the configuration and motion of a flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 in Fig. 13 .
  • Figs. 15 , 16 , and 17 illustrate the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 40. This motion is basically the same as the motion of the movable sinker 1 illustrated in Figs. 4 , 5 , and 6 .
  • the needle bed gap wire 17 and the regulating portion 49 function as regulating means that regulates the operative portion 46 of the movable sinker 41 so as to cause the operative portion 46 to stay within a range including a range covering a first path and within a range covering a second path and to prohibit the operative portion 46 from getting into the needle bed 12 facing the operative portion 46 across the needle bed gap 11.
  • the flatbed knitting machine 10, 30, 40 includes the thin part at the needle plate 14 as a supporting mechanism that supports the movable sinker 1, 31, 41.
  • the thin part supports the movable sinker 1, 31, 41 in such a manner as to cause the moving arm 5, 35, 45 of the operative region 4, 34, 44 of the movable sinker 1, 31, 41 to move in a direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap 11 along the first path.
  • the moving arm 5, 35, 45 is a portion defined by excluding at least the operative portion 6, 36, 46, the pressure-receiving portion 7, 37, 47, an elastic piece (spring portion 8, 38, 48), and the regulating portion 9, 39, 49 from the operative region 4, 34, 44.
  • the flatbed knitting machine 10, 30, 40 has the sinker cam 19 as a driving mechanism that drives the passive region 2 to move the moving arm 5, 35, 45 along the first path. Portions including the operative portion 6, 36, 46 also move partway along the first path.
  • the pressing wire 16a is provided in the example 1 and the example 3 and the needle bed gap wire 17 is provided in the example 2, each functioning as the pressing means that is provided at least midway along the first path and presses the pressure-receiving portion 7, 37, 47 of the movable sinker 1, 31, 41 to shift the operative portion 6, 36, 46 from the first path to the second path different from the first path.
  • the pressing wire 16a or the needle bed gap wire 17 as the pressing means is supported by the fixed sinker 16 in such a manner as to pass through in an area where the pressure-receiving portion 7, 37, 47 moves along the first path.
  • the present invention is further applicable to a case using only a movable sinker without using the fixed sinker 16.
  • the movable sinker may be provided with an edge for forming a sinker loop and a wire passing through in the longitudinal direction may be supported by providing a supporting member. Instead of providing the supporting member for each knitting needle 15, the supporting members may be provided at intervals between members.
  • a groove cam or a projection projecting in the longitudinal direction from a fixed sinker can function in the same way as the wire as the pressing means.
  • a movable sinker not to make rocking motion but to make linear motion is also applicable.
  • the linear-motion movable sinker may be housed in a sinker groove having a flat bottom placed on a sinker floor and may slide in the sinker groove.
  • This sinker groove functions as a supporting mechanism for the linear-motion movable sinker.
  • a portion supported in the sinker groove and to slide therein corresponds to a supporting region, a moving arm is supported in the supporting region adjacent to a needle bed gap, and a portion corresponding to an operative portion, a pressure-receiving portion, or a regulating portion is connected to the moving arm through an elastic piece.
  • the moving arm and the other portions move along linear patterns as the collective first path, and a portion such as the operative portion shifts to the second path in response to pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion.
  • a portion such as the operative portion shifts to the second path in response to pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Knitting Machines (AREA)

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a flatbed knitting machine including a movable sinker capable of avoiding limitation on a portion to perform operation on a stitch or fabric even if limitation is imposed on a moving stroke along a path for movement in a direction of advancing into and retreating from a needle bed gap, and to provide the movable sinker.[Means to Solution] In a movable sinker 1 indicated by solid lines, an operative region 4 has retreated from a needle bed gap 11 in response to pressing force on a passive arm 2a from a sinker cam 19. By reducing the pressing force on the passive arm 2a from the sinker cam 19, an operative region 4 of the movable sinker 1 is moved to a position indicated by dashed lines through biasing from a wire spring 1a. In the course of the movement, a pressing wire 16a presses a pressure-receiving portion 7 of the movable sinker 1 to change the positions and shapes of an operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, a spring portion 8, and a regulating portion 9 into those indicated by dashed lines. Thus, even if a path of a moving arm 5 is limited, it is still possible to avoid limitation on a path of the operative portion 6 to perform operation on a stitch or fabric.

Description

    [Technical Field]
  • The present invention relates to a flatbed knitting machine including a movable sinker that advances into and retreats from a needle bed gap together with a knitting needle to perform operation relating to fabric knitting, and relates to the movable sinker.
    • [Background Art]
  • Fabric knitting using a flatbed knitting machine has conventionally been done by causing a hook at a leading end of a knitting needle to advance into and retreat from a needle bed gap. After advancing into the needle bed gap, the hook is fed with knitting yarn. By causing the hook to retreat into a needle bed, a needle loop is formed by the hook and a sinker loop is formed by a sinker arranged between knitting needles. A movable sinker has a leading end portion provided below a part thereof to form the sinker loop and provided with a portion to press a stitch to a lower side of the needle bed gap, and presses the stitch by causing this portion to advance into the needle bed gap. To form a new stitch, the movable sinker suspends the portion pressing the stitch from the stitch to stop the operation of pressing the stitch (see Patent Literature 1, for example). In some cases, the movable sinker is used together with a fixed sinker for sinker loop formation (see Patent Literature 2, for example). The movable sinker to be used in combination with the fixed sinker is provided with a claw at the leading end to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap, and is capable of fulfilling the function of depressing fabric by hooking the claw on the fabric from one of needle beds on both sides across the needle bed gap. The function of depressing the fabric can also be fulfilled by a movable sinker not to be used in combination with a fixed sinker.
  • In the movable sinker such as that described in Patent Literature 1 or Patent Literature 2, during movement of the leading end portion in a direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap in response to rocking motion, the leading end portion moves along an arc-like path responsive to a diameter from a rocking fulcrum. In the movable sinker to make rocking motion, the rocking fulcrum is defined in a position spaced from the needle bed gap, and a moving stroke of the leading end portion can be increased further as a radius of rocking motion from the rocking fulcrum to the leading end portion is increased further relative to a distance between a driving part for the rocking motion and the rocking fulcrum. There is also a sinker used as a movable sinker that advances into and retreats from a needle bed gap through linear motion, not through rocking motion. The linear-motion movable sinker is housed in a sinker groove provided at a sinker floor and having a flat bottom, and slides inside the sinker groove.
    • [Citation List] [Patent Literature]
    • [Patent Literature 1] JP1993-83657B
    • [Patent Literature 2] JP2017-89033A
    [Summary of Invention] [Technical Problem]
  • If the movable sinker advances into the needle bed gap to depress fabric, for example, a moving stroke is desirably large in a zone where the movable sinker is hooked on the fabric and depresses the fabric. To increase the moving stroke, it is necessary to increase the size of the movable sinker or define a mounting position allowing a large moving stroke. Meanwhile, a path determined on the basis of the size and mounting position of the movable sinker is limited in order to avoid interference with another part. For example, if a stitch pressor to press the fabric is used and the movable sinker is to rock in an arc-like pattern, a radius of rocking motion is required to be reduced at the leading end portion in order to avoid interference. Limitation on the size or mounting position of the movable sinker results in limitation on the moving stroke. This also causes influence such as that on a position where the fabric is depressed, for example by the claw at the leading end portion.
  • The present invention is intended to provide a flatbed knitting machine including a movable sinker capable of avoiding limitation on the size of a moving stroke of a portion to perform operation on a stitch or fabric even if limitation is imposed on a path of the movable sinker to move in a direction of advancing into and retreating from a needle bed gap, and to provide the movable sinker.
    • [Technical Solution]
  • The present invention is a flatbed knitting machine that knits fabric with knitting yarn fed from above a needle bed gap and suspends the knitted fabric to a lower side of the needle bed gap by causing a leading end of each of knitting needles juxtaposed to each other in a longitudinal direction of a needle bed to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap,
    • the flatbed knitting machine comprising a movable sinker having a passive region capable of receiving driving relating to the fabric knitting and an operative region that moves in a direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap in response to the driving of the passive region, characterized in that
    • the operative region of the movable sinker includes at least a moving arm, a pressure-receiving portion, an operative portion, and an elastic piece,
    • the pressure-receiving portion is capable of receiving pressing force,
    • the operative portion is capable of performing at least part of operation relating to the fabric knitting by advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap,
    • the elastic piece connects the pressure-receiving portion and the operative portion to the moving arm, and is elastically deformed by the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion, and
    • the flatbed knitting machine further comprises:
      • a supporting mechanism that supports the moving arm of the movable sinker in such a manner as to make the moving arm movable in the direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap;
      • a driving mechanism that drives the passive region of the movable sinker to move the moving arm along a first path; and
      • pressing means that is provided at least midway along the first path and presses the pressure-receiving portion of the movable sinker to shift the operative portion from the first path to a second path different from the first path.
  • In the present invention,
    said pressing means is a wire that passes through in said longitudinal direction in an area where said pressure-receiving portion of said movable sinker moves along said first path.
  • In the present invention,
    • said operative portion of said movable sinker is a claw to be hooked on a stitch or fabric, and
    • said second path passes through a position closer to the needle bed gap than said first path.
  • In the present invention,
    • said claw of said movable sinker captures the fabric suspended to a lower side of said needle bed gap along said second path shifted from said first path by the pressing force on said pressure-receiving portion from said pressing means, and
    • by removing the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion from the pressing means, said claw of said movable sinker depresses the fabric to a lower side of the needle bed gap in returning from the second path to the first path.
  • In the present invention,
    • said movable sinker rocks to define said first path in an arc-like pattern,
    • said wire is a needle bed gap wire provided at a leading end of said needle bed adjacent to said needle bed gap, and
    • said claw is an upper claw to pass over the needle bed gap wire along the arc-like first path.
  • In the present invention,
    regulating means that regulates said operative portion of said movable sinker so as to cause the operative portion to stay within a range including a range covering said first path and within a range covering said second path and to prohibit the operative portion from getting into the needle bed facing the operative portion across the needle bed gap.
  • The present invention is a movable sinker installed on a flatbed knitting machine, and having a passive region capable of receiving driving relating to fabric knitting and an operative region that moves in a direction of advancing into and retreating from a needle bed gap in response to the driving of the passive region, characterized in that
    • the operative region includes at least a moving arm, a pressure-receiving portion, an operative portion, and an elastic piece,
    • the pressure-receiving portion is capable of receiving pressing force,
    • the operative portion is capable of performing at least part of operation relating to the fabric knitting by advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap of the flatbed knitting machine, and
    • the elastic piece connects the pressure-receiving portion and the operative portion to the moving arm, and is elastically deformed by the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion.
    [Advantageous Effects of Invention]
  • According to the present invention, in a movable sinker installed on a flatbed knitting machine, even if an operative portion as a portion to perform operation on a stitch or fabric is subjected to limitation in moving along a first path in a direction of advancing into and retreating from a needle bed gap due to interference with another member, for example, it is still possible to shift the operative portion to a second path different from the first path. This shift is realized by causing pressing means of the flatbed knitting machine to press a pressure-receiving portion in an operative region. Thus, even if a path of the movable sinker to move in the direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap is limited, it is still possible to avoid limitation on the size of a moving stroke of the portion to perform operation on a stitch or fabric.
  • According to the present invention, in an area where the pressure-receiving portion of the movable sinker moves along the first path, a wire passes through in a longitudinal direction. The movable sinkers are juxtaposed to each other in the longitudinal direction of a needle bed. Thus, using the wire as the pressing means for shifting the operative portion of each of the movable sinkers to the second path achieves a simplified configuration.
  • According to the present invention, even if advancing of a claw as the operative portion toward the needle bed gap is limited along the first path, it is still possible for the claw to advance toward the needle bed gap along the second path. In a zone where the claw is not required to advance toward the needle bed gap, interference with another member, etc. can be avoided along the first path.
  • According to the present invention, it is possible for the claw to capture fabric along the second path of advancing toward the needle bed gap and to depress the captured fabric to a lower side of the needle bed gap in returning to the first path.
  • According to the present invention, by using a needle bed gap wire as the pressing means and using the second path shifted from the arc-like first path, it becomes possible for an upper claw to perform operation on knitting yarn or fabric in the needle bed gap.
  • According to the present invention, even if a stitch or fabric to act on the operative portion of the movable sinker in the needle bed gap exerts tension of moving the operative portion closer to the needle bed facing the operative portion, it is still possible to prevent the operative portion from getting into the facing needle bed using regulating means.
  • According to the present invention, when the movable sinker is installed on the flatbed knitting machine, a moving arm defined by excluding at least the operative portion, the pressure-receiving portion, and an elastic piece from the operative region can be moved along the first path and the operative portion can be shifted to the second path different from the first path. Even if the first path is limited for reason such as interference with another member, by shifting the operative portion to the second path in an area where a moving stroke is required for the operative portion to perform operation on a stitch or fabric, it becomes possible to avoid limitation on a path of the operative portion and to increase the moving stroke.
    • [Brief Description of Drawing]
    • Fig. 1 is a front view as a movable sinker illustrating the shape of a movable sinker 1 according to an example 1 of the present invention;
    • Fig. 2 is a right side sectional view illustrating the configuration of a flatbed knitting machine 10 including the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1;
    • Fig. 3 is a right side sectional view illustrating a configuration around a needle bed gap 11 of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2;
    • Fig. 4 is a right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2;
    • Fig. 5 is a right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2 subsequent to Fig. 4;
    • Fig. 6 is a right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2 subsequent to Fig. 5;
    • Fig. 7 is a front view as a movable sinker illustrating the shape of a movable sinker 31 according to an example 2 of the present invention;
    • Fig. 8 is a simplified right side sectional view illustrating the configuration of a flatbed knitting machine 30 including the movable sinker 31 in Fig. 7;
    • Fig. 9 is a right side sectional view illustrating the configuration and motion of the flatbed knitting machine 30 in Fig. 8;
    • Fig. 10 is a right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 30 in Fig. 8 subsequent to Fig. 9;
    • Fig. 11 is a right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 30 in Fig. 8 subsequent to Fig. 10;
    • Fig. 12 is a right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 30 in Fig. 8 subsequent to Fig. 11;
    • Fig. 13 is a front view as a movable sinker illustrating the shape of a movable sinker 41 according to an example 3 of the present invention;
    • Fig. 14 is a simplified right side sectional view illustrating the configuration and motion of a flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 in Fig. 13;
    • Fig. 15 is a simplified right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 in Fig. 13;
    • Fig. 16 is a simplified right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 in Fig. 13 subsequent to Fig. 15; and
    • Fig. 17 is a simplified right side sectional view illustrating the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 in Fig. 13 subsequent to Fig. 16.
    [Description of Embodiments]
  • Figs. 1 to 6 illustrate the configuration and motion of a movable sinker 1 and those of a flatbed knitting machine 10 including the movable sinker 1 according to an example 1 of the present invention. Figs. 7 to 12 illustrate the configuration and motion of a movable sinker 31 and those of a flatbed knitting machine 30 including the movable sinker 31 according to an example 2 of the present invention. Figs. 13 to 17 illustrate the configuration and motion of a movable sinker 41 and those of a flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 according to an example 3 of the present invention. Corresponding parts in the drawings are indicated by the same reference sign and description overlapping between such parts may be omitted. For the convenience of description, a part not illustrated in a drawing referred to in the description may be described by being given a reference sign in a different drawing.
    • [Example 1]
  • Fig. 1 illustrates the shape of the movable sinker 1 according to the example 1 of the present invention. The movable sinker 1 is formed using a metallic plate as a material, and has a passive region 2, a supporting region 3, and an operative region 4. The passive region 2 includes a passive arm 2a and a wire spring receiver 2b. When installed on the flatbed knitting machine 10, the passive region 2 receives driving relating to fabric knitting. The supporting region 3 supports the movable sinker 1 at an arc-like supporting portion 3b in such a manner as to cause the driven movable sinker 1 to rock about a rocking fulcrum 3a. The operative region 4 includes a moving arm 5 and an operative portion 6 capable of performing operation relating to fabric knitting in response to the rocking motion generated by the driving of the passive region 2. The moving arm 5 of the example 1 in Fig. 1 is a portion to the right of the supporting region 3 and also includes a portion expressed as the leading end portion in the description of the background art. The operative region 4 further includes a pressure-receiving portion 7, a spring portion 8, and a regulating portion 9. The pressure-receiving portion 7 can receive pressing force. The operative portion 6 can fulfill at least part of operation relating to fabric knitting. The spring portion 8 connects the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, and the regulating portion 9 to the moving arm 5, and is elastically deformed by pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 7. The moving arm 5 has a knitting yarn receiving portion 5a and a projecting portion 5b. The wire spring receiver 2b of the movable sinker 1 receives one end of a wire spring 1a. While the wire spring 1a is a separate member from the movable sinker 1, it may also be formed integrally with the movable sinker 1. The movable sinker 1 may be configured to be driven in a direction of advancing into a needle bed gap 11 through a cam or a sinker jack, not through biasing from a spring. In another case, driving in the direction of advancing into the needle bed gap 11 may be done by biasing from a spring as in the example 1 and driving in a direction of retreating from the needle bed gap 11 may be done using a sinker jack.
  • When the movable sinker 1 is installed on the flatbed knitting machine 10 and receives pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8 is elastically deformed to move the operative portion 6 and the pressure-receiving portion 7 as indicated by dashed lines. These deformation and movement are made by the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, and the spring portion 8 relative to each other in the operative region 4 and are not made by the moving arm 5. The knitting yarn receiving portion 5a and the projecting portion 5b of the moving arm 5 correspond to portions with the same names and indicated by a sign 5B and a sign 5C respectively in Patent Literature 2. Meanwhile, the moving arm 5 of the example 1 has a jutting portion 5c. While the regulating portion 9 and the jutting portion 5c are preferably provided, they are omissible. The shape of the spring portion 8 may have a shape different from that illustrated in the drawings. As long as the spring portion 8 is elastically deformed by pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 7, it may be a spring separate from the movable sinker 1 such as a wire spring or a plate spring.
  • Fig. 2 illustrates the configuration of the flatbed knitting machine 10 including the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1. The flatbed knitting machine 10 has needle beds 12 in a pair facing each other at a front corresponding to the left side in the drawing and at a back corresponding to the right side in the drawing across the needle bed gap 11. Each of the needle beds 12 has a briefly rectangular shape, and includes a base board 13 having a long side extending in a longitudinal direction vertical to the plane of the drawing, and needle plates 14 aligned at a constant interval in the longitudinal direction of the base board 13. A needle groove is formed between the needle plates 14 and a knitting needle 15 is housed in the needle groove. The knitting needle 15 slides in the needle groove to cause a hook 15a at a leading end thereof to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap 11. By doing so, a stitch 20 illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 is formed using knitting yarn fed from above the needle bed gap 11 and knitted fabric 21 is suspended to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11. The knitting needle 15 is a latch needle, and opens and closes the hook 15a using a latch 15b. The needle plate 14 between the knitting needles 15 has a leading end adjacent to the needle bed gap 11 where a fixed sinker 16 is mounted. The fixed sinker 16 has an edge adjacent to the needle bed gap 11 on which a sinker loop is to be hooked during formation of the stitch 20, and further has a through hole where a needle bed gap wire 17 provided at a leading end of the fixed sinker 16 adjacent to the needle bed gap 11 is passed and supported. The needle bed gap wire 17 has the function of facilitating knock-over of an old stitch locked on the hook 15a when the hook 15a fed with yarn retreats from the needle bed gap 11 to form a new stitch 20. The knitting yarn receiving portion 5a and the operative portion 6 function as an upper claw and a lower claw that pass over and under the needle bed gap wire 17 respectively along arc-like paths. During advancing motion of the knitting needle 15 into the needle bed gap 11 for feeding the hook 15a with yarn, the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a as the upper claw presses an old stitch in order to prevent the old stitch to be cleared from the hook 15a from being lifted in conjunction with the knitting needle 15. As illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, the operative portion 6 as the lower claw depresses the suspended fabric 21.
  • A carriage 18 having a cam surface facing a surface of the needle bed 12 with an interval therebetween travels back and forth in the longitudinal direction over each needle bed 12. The cam surface is provided with a knitting cam for driving the knitting needle 15 and a sinker cam 19 for driving the movable sinker 1. The sinker cam 19 drives the movable sinker 1 in such a manner as to cause the operative region 4 to retreat from the needle bed gap 11 by pressing the passive arm 2a of the movable sinker 1. Driving for causing the operative region 4 to advance into the needle bed gap 11 is done through biasing from the wire spring 1a. While the carriage 18 is provided with a brush for opening the latch 15b of the knitting needle 15, a stitch pressor for pressing the fabric 21 in the needle bed gap 11, etc., illustrations of these members in the drawings are omitted. The movable sinker 1 is provided on one side between the fixed sinker 16 and the knitting needle 15, and is housed while the supporting portion 3b is supported at a thin part provided to the needle plate 14. Layouts of the respective parts at the front and back needle beds 12 are basically plane symmetrical with respect to a needle bed gap center plane 11a. Meanwhile, the movable sinker 1 provided on one side of the fixed sinker 16 is on a near side relative to the needle plate 14 and the fixed sinker 16 at the front needle bed 12, and is on a far side relative to the needle plate 14 and the fixed sinker 16 at the back needle bed 12.
  • Fig. 3 illustrates a configuration around the needle bed gap 11 of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2. The fixed sinker 16 further supports a pressing wire 16a as a wire passing through in the longitudinal direction and functioning as pressing means together with the needle bed gap wire 17. The fixed sinker 16 is mounted on the needle bed 12 in a groove formed at the base board 13 in such a manner as to extend continuously from a leading end adjacent to the needle bed gap 11 to a bottom thereof, and is fixed with a fixing wire 13a and a bottom wire 13b provided at the bottom of the base board 13. The movable sinker 1 indicated by solid lines is in a state where the operative region 4 including the moving arm 5, the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8, and the regulating portion 9 has retreated from the needle bed gap 11 in response to pressing force on the passive arm 2a from the sinker cam 19. By reducing the pressing force on the passive arm 2a from the sinker cam 19, the operative region 4 of the movable sinker 1 is moved to a position indicated by dashed lines through biasing from the wire spring 1a. In the course of the movement, the pressing wire 16a presses the pressure-receiving portion 7 of the movable sinker 1 to change the positions and shapes of the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, and the spring portion 8 to those indicated by the dashed lines. Thus, even if a path of the moving arm 5 is limited, it is still possible to avoid limitation on a path of the operative portion 6. In an area where a moving stroke is required for the operative portion 6 to perform operation on the stitch 20 or the fabric 21, the moving stroke can be increased. Unless the sinker cam 19 presses the passive arm 2a, the operative region 4 including the moving arm 5, the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8, and the regulating portion 9 is in a position and has a shape indicated by alternate long and short dashed lines.
  • Fig. 4 illustrates the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 while the movable sinker 1 is in a position and a state indicated by the solid lines in Fig. 3. When the knitting needle 15 draws knitting yarn fed in the needle bed gap 11 toward the needle bed 12 using the hook 15a to form the stitch 20, the moving arm 5 of the movable sinker 1 retreats from the needle bed gap 11 in order to disable the operation of pressing the stitch 20 at the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a. When the hook 15a advances into the needle bed gap 11 in order to receive knitting yarn to be fed for forming a new stitch 20, an old stitch moves relatively from the hook 15a toward a needle shank and is cleared. In drawing the hook 15a for forming the new stitch 20, the old stitch is knocked over across the latch 15b closing the hook 15a and joins the fabric 21 suspended to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11. In this position, the pressure-receiving portion 7 is in a state immediately before abutting on the pressing wire 16a.
  • Fig. 5 illustrates the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 subsequent to Fig. 4. This motion corresponds to a situation where the movable sinker 1 is in a position and a state indicated by the dashed lines in Figs. 1 and 3. In response to pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 7 from the pressing wire 16a, the spring portion 8 is elastically deformed. Then, the operative portion 6 advances into the needle bed gap 11 and can capture the fabric 21 therein. In the operative region 4, the moving arm 5 as a portion except for the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8, and the regulating portion 9 rocks from Fig. 4 to Fig. 5 along an arc-like path of driving while housing the supporting region 3 in the thin part of the needle plate 14. When the pressure-receiving portion 7 is not pressed, the operative region 4 also rocks entirely along arc-like paths having radii corresponding to distances from the respective constituting portions to the rocking fulcrum 3a. These paths will collectively be called a first path. In the example 1, the operative portion 6 to pass under the needle bed gap wire 17 to become the lower claw is shifted from the first path to a second path different from the first path by pressing force from the pressing wire 16a as the pressing means on the pressure-receiving portion 7. The second path passes through a position closer to the needle bed gap 11 than the first path, allowing depression of the fabric 21 to be started earlier than in a case of following the first path continuously. Trying to start the depression at such a position only through rocking motion along the first path requires a shape of a greater distance from the rocking fulcrum 3a, so that large space is necessary for the rocking motion. In the example 1, the operative portion 6 can get closer to the needle bed gap 11 in limited space. Thus, even if the fabric 21 is thin, the operative portion 6 is still allowed to reach the fabric 21 in such a manner as to be hooked on the fabric 21. Furthermore, as a rocking radius can be greater along the second path than along the first path, it is possible for a path of the depression after hooking on the fabric 21 to become a nearly vertical path. By changing the pressure-receiving portion 7 or the pressing means, it is possible to determine the second path in such a manner as to pass through a position different from the position along the first path such as a position over or under the needle bed gap 11 in addition to the position closer to the needle bed gap 11.
  • Fig. 6 illustrates the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 10 subsequent to Fig. 5. The operative portion 6 depresses the fabric 21 to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11 and the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a presses the stitch 20 simultaneously. The position and state of the movable sinker 1 follow the first path. As the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 7 is removed, the operative portion 6, the pressure-receiving portion 7, the spring portion 8, and the regulating portion 9 having been shifted to the second path are released from the elastic deformation of the spring portion 8. In returning from the second path to the first path and after returning to the first path, the operative portion 6 depresses the fabric 21 to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11. However, the fabric 21 may be depressed only in returning from the second path to the first path. Furthermore, by changing the shape of the pressure-receiving portion 7 or the arrangement of the pressing wire 16a, for example, the pressure-receiving portion 7 may be kept pressed continuously to the end without being released from the pressing force.
  • The stitch 20 or the fabric 21 to act on the operative portion 6 of the movable sinker 1 in the needle bed gap 11 may exert tension of moving the operative portion 6 closer to the needle bed 12 facing the operative portion 6. In the example 1, the regulating portion 9 is provided at an interval of moving farther from the needle bed gap 11 relative to the pressure-receiving portion 7. The pressing wire 16a placed inside this interval in Fig. 6 regulates movement of the regulating portion 9 to cause the operative portion 6 to stay within a range covering the first path. The pressing wire 16a and the regulating portion 9 function as regulating means that prevents deviation of the operative portion 6 by prohibiting the operative portion 6 from crossing the needle bed gap center plane 11a and getting into the needle bed 12 facing the operative portion 6 across the needle bed gap 11. Prohibiting the operative portion 6 from getting into the facing needle bed 12 fulfills the effects of preventing interference with the front and back needle beds 12 by the movable sinker 1 during racking and preventing plastic deformation of the spring portion 8. The regulating portion 9 has a role as a stopper if the operative portion 6 is pulled by the stitch 20 in a zone where the pressing wire 16a is between the regulating portion 9 and the pressure-receiving portion 7, which is a zone including an operative zone where the operative portion 6 performs the operation of depressing the fabric 21. If pressing force from the pressing wire 16a is applied suddenly to the pressure-receiving portion 7 so the operative portion 6 is about to displace largely toward the needle bed gap 11, the jutting portion 5c of the moving arm 5 also functions as a stopper to regulate the displacement. The jutting portion 5c further functions as a stopper if the operative portion 6 is pulled toward the facing needle bed 12. By doing so, the jutting portion 5c causes the operative portion 6 to stay within a range covering the second path. As described above, the regulating portion 9 and the pressing wire 16a, and the jutting portion 5c function as the regulating means that causes the operative portion 6 to stay within the range covering the first path and within the range covering the second path respectively and prohibits the operative portion 6 from getting into the facing needle bed 12.
    • [Example 2]
  • Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 illustrate the shape of a movable sinker 31 according to an example 2 of the present invention and the configuration of a flatbed knitting machine 30 including the movable sinker 31. The movable sinker 31 includes a moving arm 35, an operative portion 36, a pressure-receiving portion 37, a spring portion 38, and a regulating portion 39 in an operative region 34, and has a configuration similar to that of the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 except for the moving arm 35. The moving arm 35 of the example 2 exists only between the wire spring receiver 2b and the spring portion 38. The operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, and the regulating portion 39 are connected to the moving arm 35 through the elastically deformable spring portion 38. Except for the provision of the movable sinker 31, the flatbed knitting machine 30 has a configuration similar to that of the flatbed knitting machine 10 in Fig. 2. When the movable sinker 31 is driven, the pressure-receiving portion 37 illustrated in Fig. 8 receives pressing force from the needle bed gap wire 17 to be placed in positions and states indicated by solid lines, dashed lines, alternate long and short dashed lines, and alternate long and two short dashed lines. The operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 move along a first path in the state indicated by the solid lines, in the state indicated by the dashed lines, and in the state indicated by the alternate long and two short dashed lines, and move along a second path in a state before and in a state after the state indicated by the alternate long and short dashed lines. The needle bed gap wire 17 further performs operation on the regulating portion 39. Specifically, the needle bed gap wire 17 further have functions as pressing means and regulating means. The operative portion 36 has a function as the knitting yarn receiving portion 5a of the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1.
  • Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12 illustrate the motions of the flatbed knitting machine 30 corresponding to the solid lines, the dashed lines, the alternate long and short dashed lines, and the alternate long and two short dashed lines in Fig. 8 respectively. In the state illustrated in Fig. 9, the pressure-receiving portion 37 is separated from the needle bed gap wire 17 so does not receive pressing force. Thus, the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 move along the first path. In the subsequent state illustrated in Fig. 10, the pressure-receiving portion 37 contacts the needle bed gap wire 17 to start application of pressing force, thereby causing the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 to start to shift to the second path. In the subsequent state illustrated in Fig. 11, the operative portion 36 is pushed to a maximum by the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion 37 from the needle bed gap wire 17. Fig. 11 further illustrates a state where, in response to a situation where pressing force from the needle bed gap wire 17 is applied suddenly to the pressure-receiving portion 37 so the operative portion 36 is about to displace largely toward the needle bed gap 11, the regulating portion 39 functions as a stopper to regulate the displacement. In the subsequent state illustrated in Fig. 12, the needle bed gap wire 17 does not press the pressure-receiving portion 37 so the operative portion 36, the pressure-receiving portion 37, the spring portion 38, and the regulating portion 39 return to the first path. The needle bed gap wire 17 performs operation on the regulating portion 39 so the operative portion 36 is regulated so as not to be deviated toward the needle bed gap 11 by the tension of the fabric 21. The operative portion 36 depresses the fabric 21 to a lower side of the needle bed gap 11. When the hook 15a advances into the needle bed gap 11 in order for the knitting needle 15 to be fed with knitting yarn for forming a next stitch 20, the stitch 20 locked on the hook 15a in Figs. 9 to 11 is cleared from the hook 15a and relatively moves toward a needle shank to become an old stitch 22. The operative portion 36 as an upper claw can prevent the old stitch 22 from being lifted when the old stitch 22 tries to move toward an upper side of the needle bed gap 11 in conjunction with the advancing motion of the knitting needle 15 into the needle bed gap 11.
    • [Example 3]
  • Fig. 13 illustrates the shape of a movable sinker 41 according to an example 3 of the present invention. The movable sinker 41 includes a moving arm 45, an operative portion 46, a pressure-receiving portion 47, a spring portion 48, and a regulating portion 49 in an operative region 44. The moving arm 45 has a configuration similar to that of the moving arm 5 in Fig. 1 except for the absence of a portion corresponding to the jutting portion 5c.
  • Fig. 14 illustrates the configuration and motion of a flatbed knitting machine 40 including the movable sinker 41 in Fig. 13. Figs. 15, 16, and 17 illustrate the motion of the flatbed knitting machine 40. This motion is basically the same as the motion of the movable sinker 1 illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. Meanwhile, the needle bed gap wire 17 and the regulating portion 49 function as regulating means that regulates the operative portion 46 of the movable sinker 41 so as to cause the operative portion 46 to stay within a range including a range covering a first path and within a range covering a second path and to prohibit the operative portion 46 from getting into the needle bed 12 facing the operative portion 46 across the needle bed gap 11.
  • According to the example 1 and the example 2 in combination with the example 3, the flatbed knitting machine 10, 30, 40 includes the thin part at the needle plate 14 as a supporting mechanism that supports the movable sinker 1, 31, 41. The thin part supports the movable sinker 1, 31, 41 in such a manner as to cause the moving arm 5, 35, 45 of the operative region 4, 34, 44 of the movable sinker 1, 31, 41 to move in a direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap 11 along the first path. The moving arm 5, 35, 45 is a portion defined by excluding at least the operative portion 6, 36, 46, the pressure-receiving portion 7, 37, 47, an elastic piece (spring portion 8, 38, 48), and the regulating portion 9, 39, 49 from the operative region 4, 34, 44. The flatbed knitting machine 10, 30, 40 has the sinker cam 19 as a driving mechanism that drives the passive region 2 to move the moving arm 5, 35, 45 along the first path. Portions including the operative portion 6, 36, 46 also move partway along the first path. The pressing wire 16a is provided in the example 1 and the example 3 and the needle bed gap wire 17 is provided in the example 2, each functioning as the pressing means that is provided at least midway along the first path and presses the pressure-receiving portion 7, 37, 47 of the movable sinker 1, 31, 41 to shift the operative portion 6, 36, 46 from the first path to the second path different from the first path.
  • The pressing wire 16a or the needle bed gap wire 17 as the pressing means is supported by the fixed sinker 16 in such a manner as to pass through in an area where the pressure-receiving portion 7, 37, 47 moves along the first path. The present invention is further applicable to a case using only a movable sinker without using the fixed sinker 16. The movable sinker may be provided with an edge for forming a sinker loop and a wire passing through in the longitudinal direction may be supported by providing a supporting member. Instead of providing the supporting member for each knitting needle 15, the supporting members may be provided at intervals between members. A groove cam or a projection projecting in the longitudinal direction from a fixed sinker can function in the same way as the wire as the pressing means. A movable sinker not to make rocking motion but to make linear motion is also applicable. The linear-motion movable sinker may be housed in a sinker groove having a flat bottom placed on a sinker floor and may slide in the sinker groove. This sinker groove functions as a supporting mechanism for the linear-motion movable sinker. In the linear-motion movable sinker, a portion supported in the sinker groove and to slide therein corresponds to a supporting region, a moving arm is supported in the supporting region adjacent to a needle bed gap, and a portion corresponding to an operative portion, a pressure-receiving portion, or a regulating portion is connected to the moving arm through an elastic piece. Even in the linear-motion movable sinker, the moving arm and the other portions move along linear patterns as the collective first path, and a portion such as the operative portion shifts to the second path in response to pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion. By forming the bottom of the sinker groove not into a flat shape but into a cam surface having smooth irregularities, it becomes possible to add a component in a different direction to the linear motion of the movable sinker during movement of the movable sinker. As the knitting needle 15, a compound needle that opens and closes a hook using a slider is applicable in addition to the latch needle that opens and closes the hook 15a using the latch 15b.
    • [Reference Signs List]
    • 1, 31, 41 Movable sinker
    • 1a Wire spring
    • 2 Passive region
    • 3 Supporting region
    • 4, 34, 44 Operative region
    • 5, 35, 45 Moving arm
    • 5a, 45a Knitting yarn receiving portion
    • 5c Jutting portion
    • 6, 36, 46 Operative portion
    • 7, 37, 47 Pressure receiving portion
    • 8, 38, 48 Spring portion
    • 9, 39, 49 Regulating portion
    • 10, 30, 40 Flatbed knitting machine
    • 11 Needle bed gap
    • 11a Needle bed gap center plane
    • 12 Needle bed
    • 14 Needle plate
    • 15 Knitting needle
    • 15a Hook
    • 16 Fixed sinker
    • 16a Pressing wire
    • 17 Needle bed gap wire
    • 19 Sinker cam

Claims (7)

  1. A flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) that knits fabric (21) with knitting yarn fed from above a needle bed gap (11) and suspends the knitted fabric (21) to a lower side of the needle bed gap (11) by causing a leading end of each of knitting needles (15) juxtaposed to each other in a longitudinal direction of a needle bed (12) to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap (11),
    the flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) comprising a movable sinker (1, 31, 41) having a passive region (2) capable of receiving driving relating to the fabric knitting and an operative region (4, 34, 44) that moves in a direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap (11) in response to the driving of the passive region (2), characterized in that
    the operative region (4, 34, 44) of the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) includes at least a moving arm (5, 35, 45), a pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47), an operative portion (6, 36, 46), and an elastic piece,
    the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47) is capable of receiving pressing force,
    the operative portion (6, 36, 46) is capable of performing at least part of operation relating to the fabric knitting by advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap (11),
    the elastic piece connects the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47) and the operative portion (6, 36, 46) to the moving arm (5, 35, 45), and is elastically deformed by the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47), and
    the flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) further comprises:
    a supporting mechanism that supports the moving arm (5, 35, 45) of the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) in such a manner as to make the moving arm (5, 35, 45) movable in the direction of advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap (11);
    a driving mechanism that drives the passive region (2) of the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) to move the moving arm (5, 35, 45) along a first path; and
    pressing means that is provided at least midway along the first path and presses the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47) of the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) to shift the operative portion (6, 36, 46) from the first path to a second path different from the first path.
  2. The flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) comprising the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) according to claim 1, characterized in that
    said pressing means is a wire that passes through in said longitudinal direction in an area where said pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47) of said movable sinker (1, 31, 41) moves along said first path.
  3. The flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) comprising the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that
    said operative portion (6, 36, 46) of said movable sinker (1, 31, 41) is a claw to be hooked on a stitch (20) or fabric (21), and
    said second path passes through a position closer to the needle bed gap (11) than said first path.
  4. The flatbed knitting machine (10, 40) comprising the movable sinker (1, 41) according to claim 3, characterized in that
    said claw of said movable sinker (1, 41) captures the fabric (21) suspended to a lower side of said needle bed gap (11) along said second path shifted from said first path by the pressing force on said pressure-receiving portion (7, 47) from said pressing means, and
    by removing the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion (7, 47) from the pressing means, said claw of said movable sinker (1, 41) depresses the fabric (21) to a lower side of the needle bed gap (11) in returning from the second path to the first path.
  5. The flatbed knitting machine (30) comprising the movable sinker (31) according to claim 3, characterized in that
    said movable sinker (31) rocks to define said first path in an arc-like pattern,
    said wire is a needle bed gap wire (17) provided at a leading end of said needle bed (12) adjacent to said needle bed gap (11), and
    said claw is an upper claw to pass over the needle bed gap wire (17) along the arc-like first path.
  6. The flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) comprising the movable sinker (1, 31, 41) according to claim 1, characterized in that the flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40) further comprises:
    regulating means that regulates said operative portion (6, 36, 46) of said movable sinker (1, 31, 41) so as to cause the operative portion (6, 36, 46) to stay within a range including a range covering said first path and a range covering said second path and to prohibit the operative portion (6, 36, 46) from getting into the needle bed (12) facing the operative portion (6, 36, 46) across the needle bed gap (11).
  7. A movable sinker (1, 31, 41) installed on a flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40), and having a passive region (2) capable of receiving driving relating to fabric knitting and an operative region (4, 34, 44) that moves in a direction of advancing into and retreating from a needle bed gap (11) in response to the driving of the passive region (2), characterized in that
    the operative region (4, 34, 44) includes at least a moving arm (5, 35, 45), a pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47), an operative portion (6, 36, 46), and an elastic piece,
    the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47) is capable of receiving pressing force,
    the operative portion (6, 36, 46) is capable of performing at least part of operation relating to the fabric knitting by advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap (11) of the flatbed knitting machine (10, 30, 40), and
    the elastic piece connects the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47) and the operative portion (6, 36, 46) to the moving arm (5, 35, 45), and is elastically deformed by the pressing force on the pressure-receiving portion (7, 37, 47).
EP23874579.8A 2022-10-05 2023-08-31 Flat knitting machine equipped with movable sinker, and movable sinker Pending EP4600414A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2022161283 2022-10-05
PCT/JP2023/031929 WO2024075449A1 (en) 2022-10-05 2023-08-31 Flat knitting machine equipped with movable sinker, and movable sinker

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EP4600414A1 true EP4600414A1 (en) 2025-08-13

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EP (1) EP4600414A1 (en)
JP (1) JP7796895B2 (en)
KR (1) KR20250073488A (en)
CN (1) CN119998513B (en)
WO (1) WO2024075449A1 (en)

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JP2011094266A (en) * 2009-10-30 2011-05-12 Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd Movable sinker and weft knitting machine
JP6091165B2 (en) * 2012-11-08 2017-03-08 株式会社島精機製作所 Flat knitting machine with movable sinker
JP6234244B2 (en) 2013-03-08 2017-11-22 株式会社島精機製作所 Flat knitting machine with movable sinker
JP6161375B2 (en) 2013-04-08 2017-07-12 株式会社島精機製作所 Flat knitting machine with movable sinker
JP6275101B2 (en) 2015-11-06 2018-02-07 株式会社島精機製作所 Flat knitting machine
CN214882107U (en) * 2021-05-14 2021-11-26 宁波梦之星针织机械科技有限公司 Sinker for flat knitting machine

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JP7796895B2 (en) 2026-01-09
WO2024075449A1 (en) 2024-04-11
CN119998513A (en) 2025-05-13
JPWO2024075449A1 (en) 2024-04-11
KR20250073488A (en) 2025-05-27

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