JP5604509B2 - Compound needle and flat knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a compound needle having a configuration in which a hook provided at the tip of a needle body is opened and closed with a slider, and a flat knitting machine including the compound needle.

  The flat knitting machine drives the knitting needles arranged in a large number of needle grooves arranged in parallel to the needle bed by a cam system provided in a carriage that reciprocates along the longitudinal direction of the needle bed (direction perpendicular to the needle grooves). That is a machine for knitting a knitted fabric. As a knitting needle used in this flat knitting machine, a compound needle that opens and closes a hook of a needle body with a slider is known (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the needle body 101, slider 102, and needle jack 103 among the members constituting the composite needle. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the composite needle 200 in which the members 101, 102, and 103 are combined. (A) is the state which made the slider 102 the most retracted with respect to the needle main body 101, (B) is a figure which shows the state which made the slider 102 advance most with respect to the needle main body 101.

  The needle main body 101 is provided at the front end thereof, and includes a hook 111 that locks the knitting yarn, and a needle-like engagement member (hereinafter referred to as NJ engagement portion) 112 provided on the rear end side thereof. It is. A tip engagement portion 132 of a needle jack (hereinafter referred to as NJ) 103 is engaged with the NJ engagement portion 112. Therefore, when the cam system acts on the butt 139 of the NJ 103, the needle body 101 moves forward and backward along the needle groove together with the NJ 103.

  On the other hand, the slider 102 is a long material that advances and retreats along the needle groove by the cam system acting on the bat 129 provided therein, and the hook 111 is opened and closed by two slider plates 121 provided on the tip side. It is a member to do. When the slider 102 and the needle main body 101 slide relative to each other, the slider arm 123 of the slider 102 and the arm sliding surface 113 of the needle main body 101 are in sliding contact with each other, so that both members 101 and 102 are moved up and down. It is designed not to blur. The arm sliding surface 113 is formed between a protrusion 111P that protrudes from the upper surface of the needle body 101 and a protrusion 112A that forms the NJ engagement portion 112.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-66941 Japanese Patent No. 2946323

  In recent years, there has been a demand for miniaturization and weight reduction in flat knitting machines having a composite needle having the above-described configuration. In order to meet this demand and reduce the size and weight of the flat knitting machine, it is considered effective to shorten the overall length of the compound needle. This is because the total length of the compound needle is a factor that determines the length of the needle groove. Therefore, if the compound needle can be shortened, the needle bed can be reduced in size, and as a result, the flat knitting machine can also be reduced in size and weight.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its purposes is to provide a compound needle having a short overall length and a flat knitting machine including the compound needle.

  As a result of examining the factors that increase the total length of the compound needle 200, the present inventors have determined that the engagement position of the NJ 103 with respect to the needle body 101 is far from the hook 111 in order to ensure the slide length of the slider 102. Focused on that. The reason why the engagement position is far from the hook 111 is that the arm sliding contact surface 113 is provided with a protrusion or the like that inhibits relative sliding between the arm sliding contact surface 113 and the slider arm 123. This is because the NJ engagement portion 112 must be provided on the rear end side of the needle body 101 with respect to the arm sliding contact surface 113. Then, the present inventors conceived that the arm sliding surface and the needle jack engagement portion in the needle main body are arranged in parallel in the thickness direction of the needle groove, by changing the way of thinking, And we came to complete the flat knitting machine.

The compound needle of the present invention is a compound needle disposed in a needle groove formed in a needle bed of a flat knitting machine, and has a needle body having a hook for locking a knitting yarn, and slides with respect to the needle body. freely configured, a slider for opening and closing the hook, a needle jack for advancing and retracting engaged with the needle body in a direction along the needle body to the needle groove, provided with and said needle body and the slider When the slider slides relatively, the slider arm portion of the slider and the arm sliding surface of the needle body are in sliding contact with each other, and the needle body and the slider are combined needles configured so as not to shake up and down. is there. In each member included in the composite needle, when the direction corresponding to the extending direction and the width direction of the needle groove is the longitudinal direction and the thickness direction, the slider, the needle body, and the needle jack have the following configurations. . The slider is provided in the slider base, the slider base provided on the slider base, and opens and closes the hook, and is provided in an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the slider base, and is formed thin with respect to the thickness of the slider base. And a slider arm. The needle body has a needle jack engaging portion formed locally thin in the thickness direction of the needle body, and is parallel to the needle jack engaging portion in the thickness direction of the needle body, and the slider arm portion is slidable. An arm sliding surface that is in sliding contact. The needle jack includes a tip engagement portion that is formed in a tip region formed to have a thickness equal to or less than the thickness of the needle jack engagement portion and engages with the needle jack engagement portion.

  As an embodiment of the compound needle of the present invention, the slider includes a sliding resistance generating portion formed on the tip side of the slider arm portion of the slider base and on the same side as the needle jack engaging portion of the needle body. It is preferable that The sliding resistance generating unit is a member that applies a sliding resistance between the needle groove and the slider when the slider is slid along the needle groove.

  On the other hand, the flat knitting machine of the present invention is a flat knitting machine in which at least a pair of needle beds having a plurality of needle grooves are provided to face each other, and the flat needle knitting machine includes the above-described composite needles in the needle groove. It is a knitting machine.

  In the compound needle according to the present invention, the arm sliding surface of the needle body and the needle jack engaging portion are provided so as to be parallel to the width direction of the needle groove. In addition to being closer to the hook, the overall length of the needle body can be shortened. Therefore, the compound needle of the present invention is shorter and lighter than the conventional compound needle. As a result, the needle groove in which the compound needle is provided can be shortened, so that the needle bed can be made smaller and lighter, and the space saving and weight reduction of the flat knitting machine, and the cost reduction associated with the reduction of materials, etc. There is.

  Further, by forming the sliding resistance generating portion on the slider, it is possible to generate a sliding resistance between the slider and the side wall of the needle groove, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of the stop position of the slider. In addition, the sliding resistance generating portion is not provided on the slider arm portion, and the slider arm portion is pressed against the needle groove on the side opposite to the side where the needle jack is disposed, so that the slider arm portion is the tip end portion of the needle jack. And is not strongly pressed against the needle jack engaging portion of the needle body. As a result, the advance / retreat operation of the slider and the advance / retreat operation of the needle jack / needle body can be made smooth.

  The flat knitting machine including the composite needle of the present invention is smaller and lighter than the conventional one. This is because the length along the needle groove of the needle bed is shortened in accordance with the shortened compound needle, and the carriage for operating the compound needle is also compact.

It is the schematic of the needle body with which the compound needle concerning an embodiment is provided, a slider, and a needle jack. The drawings shown in the vicinity of each member are a partial top view of the needle body, a partial bottom view of the slider, and a partial top view of the needle jack. It is the schematic which shows the state which assembled each member of FIG. 1 to the compound needle | hook, (A) is the state which retracted the slider most with respect to the needle body, (B) is the slider most advanced to the needle body. It is a figure which shows the state made to do. Moreover, (C) is the elements on larger scale of the compound needle in the state of (A), and the AA cross-sectional arrow view of the elements on larger scale. It is the schematic of the needle body with which the conventional compound needle is equipped, a slider, and a needle jack. 4A and 4B are schematic views showing a state in which each member of FIG. 3 is assembled into a compound needle, in which FIG. 3A is a state in which the slider is most retracted with respect to the needle body, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state made to do.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the compound needle of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Compared to the conventional compound needle 200 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the compound needle 100 of the present invention is different in the configuration of the needle body 1, the slider 2, and the needle jack (hereinafter referred to as NJ) 3 provided in the compound needle 100. Due to the difference in configuration, the total length of the composite needle 100 is significantly shorter than that of the conventional composite needle 200 even though the slide length of the slider 2 in the composite needle 100 is the same as that of the conventional composite needle 200. Become. Hereinafter, only these members 1, 2, and 3 in the compound needle 100 will be described.

  The needle body 1 is provided at the tip thereof as in the prior art, and a hook 11 for locking the knitting yarn, a needle jack engagement portion (hereinafter referred to as NJ engagement portion) 12 provided at the rear end portion, and a slider 2 described later. It is a linear elongate material provided with the arm part sliding contact surface 13 with which the slider arm part 23 of this is slidably contacted. The difference between the needle body 1 and the needle body 101 of the conventional compound needle 200 is that the arm sliding surface 13 and the NJ engagement portion 12 are provided in parallel in the thickness direction of the needle body 1. It is in.

  The arm sliding surface 13 and the NJ engaging portion 12 can be provided in parallel in the thickness direction of the needle body 1 in the region 1R from the protrusion 11P of the needle body 1 to the rear end of the needle body 1. This is because the thickness of the needle body 1 is divided into two regions, and the NJ engagement portion 12 is provided in one region (see the needle body top view in FIG. 1). That is, the NJ engaging portion 12 is formed by the protruding portions 12A and 12B protruding above the needle body 1, but the protruding portions 12A and 12B are biased toward one side wall of the needle groove, It is thinner than the width. On the other hand, the arm portion sliding contact surface 13 is formed by the upper surface of the needle main body 1 in the other region where the NJ engagement portion 12 is not provided among the two regions that further divide the region 1R in the thickness direction of the needle main body 1. Is done.

  As described above, the thickness of the needle body 1 in the region 1R (approximately the same thickness as the width of the needle groove) is divided by the width of the arm sliding surface 13 and the thickness of the protrusions 12A and 12B of the NJ engagement portion 12. Thus, the arm portion sliding contact surface 13 and the NJ engagement portion 12 can be juxtaposed in the thickness direction of the needle body 1. As a result, the position of the rear end of the needle body 1 can be brought closer to the hook 11 side, and the length of the needle body 1 can be shortened by nearly 40% compared to the conventional case.

  The slider 2 includes a slider base 20, two slider plates 21 attached to the slider base 20, a generally L-shaped slider arm 23 provided in the middle part of the slider base 20, and a cam provided in the carriage, as in the past. And a bat 29 on which the system acts. The two slider plates 21 are arranged in the slider grooves 11G and 11G of the needle body 1 so as to sandwich the hook 11 therebetween.

  The difference between the slider 2 of the present embodiment and the conventional slider is that the slider arm portion 23 that is slidably contacted on the arm portion slidable contact portion 13 is formed thin with the design change of the needle body 1. is there. As shown in the bottom view of the slider in FIG. 1, the slider arm portion 23 is thinner than the thickness of the slider base 20 (approximately the same thickness as the width of the needle groove), and the slider 2 and the needle body 1 are combined. Further, the needle body 1 is provided so as to be biased toward the arm sliding contact surface 13 side (see also FIG. 2C). Therefore, the slider arm part 23 is slidably contacted on the arm part sliding contact part 13 above the arm part sliding contact part 13 disposed on the bottom side in the depth direction of the needle groove.

  The slide length of the slider 2 with respect to the needle body 1 is defined as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), when the slider 2 is retracted with respect to the needle body 1, the butt 29 on the left side of the slider 2 shown in FIG. To the rod-shaped protrusion extending in the longitudinal direction of NJ3) to prevent the slider 2 from excessively retracting. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the slider 2 advances relative to the needle body 1, the slider arm portion 23 of the slider 2 and the protrusion 11P of the needle body 1 come into contact with each other. Stop excessive advancement.

  Further, the slider 2 is a leaf spring-like sliding resistance on the side surface on the tip side of the slider arm portion 23 in the slider base 20 and on the side surface opposite to the slider arm portion 23 in the thickness direction of the slider base body 20. A generation unit 25 is provided. When the slider 2 is placed in the needle groove, the sliding resistance generating unit 25 contacts one side wall of the needle groove and presses the slider base 20 against the other side wall of the needle groove so that the slider 2 and the needle groove The sliding resistance is generated between the slider 2 and the accuracy of the stop position of the slider 2 in the needle groove.

  The basic shape of the NJ3 is almost the same as that of the conventional product. Like the conventional NJ3, the tip engaging portion 32 that engages with the NJ engaging portion 12 of the needle body 1 and the bat 39 that the cam system provided in the carriage acts on. Have However, with the design change of the needle body 1 and the slider 2, the tip region 3 </ b> R having a predetermined length including the tip engaging portion 32 is thin. The thin portion is biased toward the NJ engagement portion 12 side of the needle body 1 when the NJ 3 and the needle body 1 are combined.

  When the needle body 1, slider 2 and NJ3 are combined, the slider arm 23 and the tip region 3R of the NJ3 are arranged in the thickness direction of the needle groove as shown in FIG. Paralleled. Therefore, the position where the NJ 3 engages with the needle body 1 is closer to the hook 11 than before, so the total length of the compound needle 100 is significantly shorter than before. Of course, when the needle body 1 and the slider 2 are slid relative to each other, the slider arm 23 does not interfere with the tip region 3R of the NJ 3 or the NJ engagement portion 12 of the needle body 1, so that the needle body 1 The relative slide length between the slider 2 and the slider 2 is the same as that of the conventional compound needle 200 and does not become shorter than the compound needle 200.

  As described above, when the total length of the compound needle 100 is shortened, the length of the needle groove can be shortened accordingly. As a result, the needle bed can be reduced in size and weight, the carriage running on the needle groove can also be reduced in size and weight, and the flat knitting machine can be greatly reduced in space and weight. Furthermore, with the reduction in weight of the carriage, it can be expected that the speed of the carriage is increased and the acceleration / deceleration performance is improved.

  Moreover, in the structure of this embodiment, since the full length of the needle main body 1 is shortened with the NJ engaging part 12 approaching the hook 11 side in the needle main body 1, the weight reduction of the compound needle 100 can also be achieved. Since the compound needle 100 may be provided on the flat knitting machine in thousands, if the compound needle 100 can be reduced in weight, the entire flat knitting machine can be significantly reduced in weight. If the weight of the compound needle 100 can be reduced, the load for moving the compound needle 100 back and forth in the needle groove can be reduced. Therefore, the output of the motor that runs the carriage can be replaced with a low-power motor, and power consumption can be reduced. it can.

  Furthermore, in the configuration of the present embodiment, since the sliding resistance generating unit 25 that generates sliding resistance between the slider 2 and the needle groove is provided on the same side as the NJ3 in the thickness direction of the needle groove, the slider 2 is pressed away from NJ3. Therefore, an excessive frictional force does not act between the slider 2 and the NJ 3, and the advance / retreat operation along the needle groove of the slider 2 and the advance / retreat operation along the needle groove of the NJ 3 and the needle body 1 are smooth. be able to.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, a composite needle having a single slider plate attached to the slider may be used, or a composite needle in which the slider base and the slider plate are completely integrated.

100,200 Compound needle 1,101 Needle body 1R region 11, 111 hook 11G slider groove 11P, 111P protrusion 12, 112 Needle jack engagement portion (NJ engagement portion)
12A, 12B, 112A Protrusion 13, 113 Arm sliding surface 2, 102 Slider 20 Slider base 21, 121 Slider plate 23, 123 Slider arm 25 Sliding resistance generation 29, 129 Butt 3, 103 Needle jack 3R Tip Region 32,132 Tip engaging portion 39,139 Butt 39Q Stopping projection

Claims (3)

A compound needle disposed in a needle groove formed in a needle bed of a flat knitting machine, a needle body having a hook for locking a knitting yarn, and configured to be slidable with respect to the needle body, A slider that opens and closes a hook; and a needle jack that engages with the needle main body and advances and retracts the needle main body in a direction along the needle groove; and when the slider and the needle main body slide relative to each other Is a composite needle configured such that the slider arm portion of the slider and the arm sliding surface of the needle body are in sliding contact with each other, and the needle body and the slider do not move up and down,
When the direction corresponding to the extending direction of the needle groove and the width direction in each member provided in the composite needle is the longitudinal direction and the thickness direction, respectively.
The slider is
A slider base;
A slider plate provided on the slider base for opening and closing the hook;
With
The slider arm portion is provided at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the slider base, and is formed thin with respect to the thickness of the slider base,
The needle body is
A needle jack engagement portion formed locally thin in a state of being biased to one side in the thickness direction of the needle body,
The arm portion sliding contact surface is parallel to the needle jack engaging portion in a state of being biased to the other side in the thickness direction of the needle body,
The needle jack is
A tip engagement portion that is formed in a tip region formed to a thickness equal to or less than the thickness of the needle jack engagement portion, and engages with the needle jack engagement portion ;
When the slider is retracted relative to the needle body, the slider arm portion does not interfere with the needle jack engaging portion of the needle body and the tip region of the needle jack, and the needle jack engagement compound needle characterized that you have been configured to be retracted to a position beyond the engagement portion. The slider includes a sliding resistance generating part formed on the tip side of the slider arm part in the slider base and on the same side as the needle jack engaging part of the needle body,
The sliding resistance generating section is configured to cause a sliding resistance to act between the needle groove and the slider when the slider is slid along the needle groove. The compound needle described. A flat knitting machine in which at least a pair of needle beds having a plurality of needle grooves are provided facing each other,
A flat knitting machine comprising the compound needle according to claim 1 or 2 in a needle groove.

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