JP5079298B2 - Flat knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flat knitting machine that selects a knitting needle when knitting a knitted fabric by driving a knitting needle with a cam mechanism mounted on a carriage.

Conventionally, in a flat knitting machine, a large number of knitting needles are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, the carriage is reciprocated in the longitudinal direction, the knitting needles are driven by a cam mechanism mounted on the carriage, and the knitted fabric is knitted. Yes. The knitting operation of the knitting needle driven by the cam mechanism includes three basic operations: knit, tack and miss. When the knitting needles are knitted, the front and back needle beds are made to face each other, and transfer between the knitting needles of the front and back needle beds and racking, which is the relative swing of the front and back needle beds, are possible. Knitting organization can be knitted. A needle selection mechanism is also mounted on the carriage in order to drive the knitting needles according to knitting data inputted in advance while the carriage travels with respect to the needle bed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The needle selection mechanism is provided with a needle selection actuator, and needle selection of the knitting needle is performed based on the position of the carriage with respect to the needle bed. However, the traveling position of the carriage is not detected directly with respect to the needle bed, but from a needle selection gauge separately provided in parallel to the needle bed on the flat knitting machine frame as shown in FIG. It is detected by a sensor. The needle selection gauge is a magnetic sensor in which irregularities equivalent to the pitch of the knitting needles are engraved on a metal plate, and is a magnetic sensor that moves relative to the needle selection gauge, and can detect a change in signal according to the movement. If the position of the carriage is known, the position of the needle selection actuator mounted on the carriage can be determined, and each needle selection actuator can be selectively driven according to the position of the knitting needle to perform needle selection. . However, even if racking is performed while the carriage is stopped and the needle bed is shaken, the position during travel cannot be detected by the sensor, and therefore cannot be reflected in needle selection. Therefore, needle selection and racking are performed separately so that needle selection is performed while the carriage is running and racking is performed while the carriage is stopped.

There is also disclosed a flat knitting machine having a data processing device that can limit the carriage travel stroke to the minimum travel required for formation of stitches by optimizing the movement of the carriage (for example, Patent Documents). 2). In Patent Document 2, while referring to the carriage position, the carriage movement direction, and the position of the yarn feeding device that supplies the knitting yarn, reference is made to data on the knitted fabric width, needle bed swing, the stitch row to be made now, and the next stitch row. To do. The microprocessor included in the optimization circuit supplies the carriage drive motor with an output signal that causes the minimum carriage travel to the knitted fabric width while the knitting needle selector activates all the knitting needles required for the stitch row. To do. However, nothing is described about how the needle bed swing is reflected in the minimum carriage movement stroke. When racking is performed, it is considered necessary to move the carriage outside the swing range.
No. 2003-091490 Japanese Patent No. 2627522

  In flat knitting machines such as Patent Documents 1 and 2, needle selection is performed based on the position of the carriage detected with respect to the flat knitting machine. In such a needle selection device, the racking is performed while the carriage is stopped so that the influence of the racking is not exerted on the needle selection. If the needle selection and the racking are performed separately, additional processing corresponding to the influence of the racking is required while the carriage performing the needle selection is traveling. As a result, the travel stroke of the carriage becomes large, resulting in a decrease in knitting efficiency.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a flat knitting machine capable of improving knitting efficiency by performing needle selection on a rackable flat knitting machine during racking.

The present invention is a flat knitting machine capable of driving a knitting needle with a cam mechanism mounted on a carriage that reciprocally travels in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed along the tooth opening and racking to swing the needle bed in the longitudinal direction,
Carriage position detecting means for detecting the position of the carriage with respect to the flat knitting machine by a needle selection gauge fixed to the frame of the flat knitting machine in parallel with the needle bed ;
Racking control means for controlling racking;
Needle bed position detecting means for detecting the position of the needle bed relative to the flat knitting machine;
A position index for determining the position of the carriage relative to the needle bed based on the position of the needle bed relative to the flat knitting machine detected by the needle bed position detecting means and the position of the carriage relative to the flat knitting machine detected by the carriage position detecting means. Means,
Needle selection control means for controlling the selection of the knitting needle during movement of the needle bed by racking based on the position of the carriage relative to the needle bed indexed by the position indexing means;
It is a flat knitting machine characterized by including.

In the present invention, the racking control means controls the racking to be performed after the carriage has stopped after passing through the knitting end in the knitting course before the racking.

In the present invention, the racking control means controls the racking to be performed while the carriage is running.

According to the present invention, the position of the carriage and the needle bed with respect to the flat knitting machine is detected, and the position of the carriage with respect to the needle bed is determined. Based on the position of the carriage relative to the indexed needle bed, the knitting needle is selected during the movement of the needle bed by racking. Therefore, the needle selection is performed efficiently based on the relative movement between the needle bed and the carriage during racking. The knitting efficiency can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, needle selection can be performed at the time of racking performed by stopping the carriage. The carriage stop position need not be separated from the knitting width of the knitted fabric by more than the swinging width of the racking, and the traveling stroke of the carriage can be reduced to increase the knitting efficiency.

Further, according to the present invention, even if racking is performed while the carriage is moving, needle selection based on position information including the influence of racking can be performed. Since the racking can be performed in the knitting operation while the carriage is running, the knitting efficiency can be improved.

  FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematic configuration of a flat knitting machine 11 as an embodiment of the present invention. In the flat knitting machine 11, the carriage 13 reciprocates along the longitudinal direction of the needle bed 12, and the knitted fabric 14 can be knitted. One or a plurality of sets of cam mechanisms 15 are mounted on the carriage 13, and needle selection actuators 16 are respectively arranged before and after the cam mechanism 15 in the traveling direction. The carriage 13 is also provided with a return cam 17 that returns each knitting needle to an initial state before needle selection is performed by the needle selection actuator 16. The position of the carriage 13 is obtained by processing a signal detected by a position sensor 18 serving as a carriage position detecting unit mounted on the carriage 13 and an unevenness of a needle selection gauge 11 a provided in the flat knitting machine 11 in parallel with the needle bed 12. Calculated. Such a configuration of position detection by the needle selection gauge 11a and the position sensor 18 is disclosed in FIG. The needle bed 12 can be moved to the left and right of the figure by the racking mechanism 19 as indicated by arrows. The controller 20 controls the carriage 13 and the racking mechanism 19 of the flat knitting machine 11.

FIG. 1 shows a state where the carriage 13 is temporarily stopped when the traveling direction is reversed. The carriage 13 is stopped at a position on the right side of the knitting width of the knitted fabric 14. It is not necessary to leave an interval corresponding to the swing width by racking between the right knitting end of the knitted fabric 14 and the left edge of the carriage 13. When performing racking in which the needle bed 12 is swung to the right while the carriage 13 is stopped, the carriage 13 moves to the left relative to the needle bed 12, so the carriage 13 reverses the traveling direction and moves to the left The needle selection performed when starting is performed in advance.

  In order to perform needle selection, it is necessary to detect the position of the carriage 13 with respect to the needle bed 12 even during racking. When the carriage 13 is stopped and racking is performed, the position detected by the position sensor 18 does not change. However, the controller 20 can detect the position of the needle bed 12 that changes due to racking when the racking mechanism 19 is controlled. By combining the position of the carriage 13 with respect to the flat knitting machine 11 detected by the position sensor 18 and the position of the needle bed 12 that changes with respect to the flat knitting machine 11 during racking, the position of the needle bed 12 with respect to the carriage 13 due to racking. The change can be obtained and the needle selection actuator 16 can be controlled to perform needle selection.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the knitting operation of the flat knitting machine 11 including the needle selection operation at the time of racking. Knitting is started from step a0, and normal knitting is performed in step a1. Since normal knitting does not include racking, needle selection is performed based on a change in the position of the carriage 13 during traveling detected by the position sensor 18. In step a2, the carriage 13 is stopped at the end of the knitted fabric 14 for knitting. In step a3, it is determined whether or not the knitting is finished. If it is determined that the knitting is not completed, it is determined in step a4 whether or not there is racking. If racking there of, perform racking in step a 5. If needle selection is possible during racking, racking and needle selection are performed. When the racking and needle selection at step a5 are completed or when it is determined at step a4 that there is no racking, the carriage 13 starts reverse running at step a6, and the process returns to step a1. When it is determined in step a3 that the knitting is finished, a termination process is performed in step a7 and the knitting operation is finished.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the knitting operation of the flat knitting machine 11 that performs racking while the carriage 13 is traveling. Knitting is started from step b0, and normal knitting is performed in step b1. In step b2, it is determined whether or not there is racking during normal knitting. If there is racking, racking is performed in step b3. If needle selection is possible during racking, needle selection is performed. As shown in FIG. 1, the position sensor 18 detects the position of the carriage 13 relative to the flat knitting machine 11. If the position of the needle bed 12 relative to the flat knitting machine 11 during racking by the racking mechanism 19 is detected and combined with the position of the carriage 13, even if the racking direction is the same as the traveling direction of the carriage 13, the opposite direction Even so, the position of the carriage 13 with respect to the needle bed 12 can be similarly determined. When the racking and needle selection at step b3 are completed or when it is determined at step b2 that there is no racking, at step b4, the carriage 13 is stopped at the end of the knitted fabric 14. In step b 5, it is determined whether knitting ends. If it is determined that the knitting is not finished, the carriage 13 starts reverse running in step b6, and the process returns to step b1. When it is determined in step b5 that the knitting is finished, a termination process is performed in step b7 and the knitting operation is finished.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic system configuration of the controller 20 that controls the flat knitting machine 11 of FIG. In the flat knitting machine 11, the carriage 13 is provided for each of the front and back needle beds 12, and therefore, the front carriage control unit 21 and the rear carriage control unit 22 control each. The position of each needle bed relative to the frame of the flat knitting machine 11 of the carriage 13 is detected magnetically or optically, such as unevenness or light and dark stripes provided on the needle selection gauge 11a shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to the pitch of the knitting needles. Based on the output of the position sensor 18, the carriage position two-phase signal detector 23 detects it. The swing in racking of the front and back needle beds 12 is detected by the front racking encoder 24 and the rear racking encoder 25 as needle bed position detecting means as the position of the needle bed 12 with respect to the frame of the flat knitting machine 11. When the racking mechanism in FIG. 1 is driven by a stepping motor, the swing of the needle bed 12 due to racking is not directly detected by the encoder, but corresponds to the swing from the number of pulses of the output signal for driving the racking. A signal can also be input. The front actuator ON / OFF output unit 26 and the rear actuator ON / OFF output unit 27 are driven by the needle selection actuator 16 of the carriage 13 of the front and rear needle beds 12.

Since the insides of the front carriage control unit 21 and the rear carriage control unit 22 have basically the same configuration, only the front carriage control unit 21 will be described, and the rear carriage control unit 22 will be omitted. The front carriage control unit 21 includes a unit conversion unit 31, a carriage speed calculation unit 32, a speed correction unit 33, and a needle selection data storage unit 34 as the software processing unit 30. The hardware processing unit 40 includes a carriage position counter 41, an adder 42, an output position determination unit 43, and an actuator ON / OFF setting unit 44.

The needle selection data stored in the needle selection data storage unit 34 is for the entire needle bed 12. The needle selection data is output from the CPU 50 that controls the knitting operation of the flat knitting machine 11 as a whole. The CPU 50 inputs the data previously stored in the knitted fabric data storage unit 51 and the knitting machine parameter storage unit 52 as knitting data 53, and outputs needle selection data for each knitting course. In the knitted fabric data storage unit 51, data relating to the shape and pattern of the knitted fabric to be knitted, the knitting yarn to be used, and the like is created and stored in advance. The knitting parameter storage unit 52 stores parameters necessary for knitting with the flat knitting machine 11. Based on the data for each course output by the CPU 50, the carriage drive unit 54 controls the direction, speed, and travel range in which the carriage 13 is driven. The position of the carriage 13 that is changed by driving is detected by a position sensor 18. The racking swing of the front and rear needle beds 12 is performed by the racking driving unit 55 driving the front and rear racking mechanisms 19 based on data output from the CPU 50. The result of this drive is detected by the front racking encoder 24 and the rear racking encoder 25 as the positions of the front and rear needle beds 12.

The position of the carriage 13 with respect to the front and back needle beds 12 is input to the CPU 50 as an output of the adder 42. The unit conversion unit 31, the carriage speed calculation unit 32, the speed correction unit 33, the carriage position counter 41, and the adder 42 function as a position indexing unit that calculates the position of the carriage 13 with respect to the needle bed 12. Based on the position of the carriage 13 with respect to the needle bed 12, the CPU 50 functions as a needle selection control unit that performs control so as to select a knitting needle while the needle bed 12 is moved by racking.

It is a block diagram which simplifies and shows the schematic structure of the flat knitting machine 11 as one Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a flowchart showing a needle selection method when racking is performed after the carriage is stopped at the knitting end of the knitted fabric in the flat knitting machine 11 of FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart showing a needle selection method when racking is performed while the carriage is running in the flat knitting machine 11 of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic system configuration | structure of the controller 20 which controls the flat knitting machine 11 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

11 Flat knitting machine 11a Needle selection gauge 12 Needle bed 13, 13a, 13b Carriage 14 Knitted fabric 16, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d Needle selection actuator 18 Position sensor 19 Racking mechanism 20 Controller 23 Carriage position two-phase signal detector 24 Front Racking encoder 25 Rear racking encoder 26 Front actuator ON / OFF output unit 27 Rear actuator ON / OFF output unit 34 Needle selection data storage unit 50 CPU
51 Knitting fabric data storage unit 53 Knitting data

Claims (3)

A flat knitting machine capable of driving a knitting needle with a cam mechanism mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed along the tooth opening and racking to swing the needle bed in the longitudinal direction,
Carriage position detecting means for detecting the position of the carriage with respect to the flat knitting machine by a needle selection gauge fixed to the frame of the flat knitting machine in parallel with the needle bed ;
Racking control means for controlling racking;
Needle bed position detecting means for detecting the position of the needle bed relative to the flat knitting machine;
A position index for determining the position of the carriage relative to the needle bed based on the position of the needle bed relative to the flat knitting machine detected by the needle bed position detecting means and the position of the carriage relative to the flat knitting machine detected by the carriage position detecting means. Means,
Needle selection control means for controlling the selection of the knitting needle during movement of the needle bed by racking based on the position of the carriage relative to the needle bed indexed by the position indexing means;
A flat knitting machine characterized by including. 2. The flat knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the racking control unit controls the racking to be performed after the carriage passes through the knitting end and stops in a knitting course before the racking.   The flat knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the racking control means controls the racking to be performed while the carriage is running.

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