JP7477422B2 - Flat knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flat knitting machine equipped with a needle selection mechanism that is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed and that selects the knitting needles that will perform the knitting operation.

Conventionally, a carriage that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed is equipped with a cam system that drives the knitting needles to perform knitting operations, as well as a needle selection mechanism for selecting the knitting needle to be driven. At least a pair of needle beds are provided, one in front and one in back, facing each other across the needle gap. The knitting needles are accommodated in a plurality of needle grooves arranged at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, and are driven to slide in the needle grooves and move forward and backward relative to the needle gap. The selection of the knitting needle is reflected in the protruding state of the butt provided on the knitting needle from the needle groove. The basic knitting operations of the knitting needles are knit, tuck, and miss, and the needle selection mechanism is based on distinguishing between these three types and selecting the target knitting needle on the entry side of the cam system (see, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

The knitting needle has a hook for forming stitches at the tip on the needle mouth side, and a selector and a select jack for receiving selection by the needle selection mechanism at the tail side away from the needle mouth. The selector drives the select jack to guide it to three positions, for example, B position, H position, and A position, after receiving two selections. In Patent Document 1, the selector is selected by whether or not to press the selection butt provided on the selector. In Patent Documents 2 and 3, the selector is selected by whether or not to release the selector from its magnetically attracted state. In Patent Documents 1 and 2, the selected selector guides the select jack to B position in the first non-selection, H position in the first and second non-selection, and A position in both selections. In Patent Document 3, the select jack is guided to A position in the first stage selection, H position in the first non-selection and second stage selection, and B position in both stages. The guided select jack receives pressure from the presser arranged in each track at the butt. Basically, the pressers are arranged in the orbits of the butt corresponding to positions A, H and B, respectively, for knit, tuck and miss. By providing a new drive path for guiding the knitting needles to the cam system, making some or all of the pressers movable, or limiting the action on the butt to an intermediate stage, it is possible to drive the knitting needles to perform an action different from the basic knitting action.

International Publication No. 2007-074944 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-241952 JP 2013-64207 A

By simply selecting three positions for the knitting needles using a conventional needle selection mechanism, there is a numerical limit to the knitting operations that can be mixed. For example, if a height difference is provided on the retraction cam surface of the stitch cam, which retracts the knitting needle to retract it from the needle gap using a cam system, and the amount of protrusion of the butt provided on the knitting needle is switched according to the height difference, it is possible to perform operations with different degrees of freedom to switch the size of the stitch to be formed by switching the amount of retraction to the knitting needle that has received yarn at the needle gap and the hook. In addition, a split operation in which the old loop is transferred to the hook of the knitting needle on the opposing needle bed instead of being knocked over when forming a stitch can also be performed by partially modifying the cam system or presser. However, it is impossible to mix any of these operations with the three basic operations due to a lack of selectable positions.

If the needle selection mechanism allows four or more positions to be selected, other operations can be mixed with the three basic operations. However, such a needle selection mechanism becomes larger in the left-right direction, which is the running direction of the carriage, and in the front-rear direction, which is the direction in which the knitting needle advances and retreats. If the needle selection mechanism becomes larger, the carriage mounted thereon also becomes larger, and the running stroke in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed also becomes larger. If the running stroke of the carriage becomes larger, it takes longer to run at the same running speed, and knitting efficiency decreases. Even if many types of operations can be selected by switching the cam system or presser without increasing the number of selections in the needle selection mechanism, it is necessary to stop the carriage running once before and after switching, run it in the opposite direction without doing anything, and then kick it back to reverse. The kicking back of the carriage also reduces knitting efficiency.

The object of the present invention is to provide a flat knitting machine that can increase the number of selectable knitting operations and improve knitting efficiency when knitting operations are mixed.

The present invention includes at least a pair of needle beds, one in front and one in back, that are provided so as to face each other across a needle gap.
a plurality of knitting needles respectively accommodated in a plurality of needle grooves arranged in parallel at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction of the needle bed;
A carriage that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed;
A cam system is mounted on the carriage and drives the knitting needle in a direction to move the knitting needle toward and away from the needle gap to perform a knitting operation, and a needle selection mechanism is mounted on the carriage and selects the knitting needle to be used for the knitting operation,
Knitting needles are
a select jack having a selection butt that is acted upon by a cam system and is guided to different positions including a base position B, an intermediate position H that is set in a direction that advances further into the needle gap than position B, and an advanced position A, and the selection butt is capable of changing the knitting operation that the cam system causes the knitting needle to perform depending on the difference in pressure from the cam system that the selection butt receives at each position;
a selector which is driven to pass through either a base path when the knitting needle is not selected, an intermediate path when the knitting needle is selected, or an advance path in response to a selected state of the knitting needle in the needle selecting mechanism, and which engages with a select jack when passing through either the intermediate path or the advance path, thereby guiding the select jack to an H position or an A position,
The needle selection mechanism includes a selector drive cam that drives the selector to move along a preset path and guide the select jack through engagement.
In a flat knitting machine,
An entry needle selection mechanism that selects a knitting needle for a first half of a knitting operation in which the knitting needle advances to a needle gap on the entry side of the cam system;
An intermediate needle selecting mechanism that selects a knitting needle for a latter half of the knitting operation in which the knitting needle exits the needle gap in the middle of the cam system;
and a pressing cam capable of pressing the select jack or the selector in a direction to sink the select jack or the selector into the needle groove,
The engagement between the selector and the select jack is switched between a first stage in which the selector jack at the B position engages with the selector, and a second stage in which the selector jack at the H position or the A position engages with the selector, by the pressure of a pressure cam;
This flat knitting machine is characterized in that the intermediate needle selecting mechanism is provided with a forward position in a direction advancing further into the needle gap than position A, as a position where the select jack is guided in the second stage engagement.

In the present invention, the pressing cam is provided in the entry side needle selecting mechanism and presses the selection butt of the select jack,
The select jack has a protruding portion protruding toward the rear end at a base portion of the rear end in a direction that exits from the tooth gap of the selection butt,
The selector has a tip end in a direction advancing into the needle gap that engages with a rear end of a selection butt of a select jack that sinks into the needle groove by being pressed by a pressing cam in the first stage, and engages with a rear end of a protruding portion in the second stage.
The arc portion approaches the gap wire at a distance smaller than a diameter of the gap wire.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the pressing cam is provided in the intermediate needle selecting mechanism and presses a rear end of the selector in a direction in which the selector retracts from the needle gap,
The select jack has a protrusion at a rear end thereof that protrudes in a direction that makes the needle groove shallower,
The selector has a protrusion at its rear end in the direction of retracting from the tooth gap, which protrudes in a direction deeper into the needle groove, and its front end in the direction of advancing into the tooth gap engages with the rear end of the selection butt of the select jack in the first stage, and in the second stage, the protrusion that sinks into the needle groove by the pressure of the pressure cam engages with the protrusion of the select jack.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the inlet needle selection mechanism and the intermediate needle selection mechanism each include an attraction actuator that can release the state of attracting the selector by magnetic force at a plurality of positions in response to the selection,
The selector drive cam drives the selector so as to guide the selector to a different path depending on a position where suction by the suction actuator is released.
It is characterized by:

The present invention is also characterized in that the latter half of the knitting operation includes a staggered stitch knitting operation in which the amount of retraction by a stitch cam provided in the cam system is made different in order to retract the knitting needle from the needle gap.

According to the present invention, needle selection is performed using a selector and a select jack, so that a basic combination that has a proven track record can be used. For the knitting needles that are selected by the entry needle selection mechanism and driven by the cam system, the intermediate needle selection mechanism provided in the middle of the cam system switches the engagement point between the selector and the select jack from the first stage in the entry needle selection mechanism to the second stage, allowing additional knitting operation selection. The entry needle selection mechanism and intermediate needle selection mechanism increase the number of knitting operations that can be selected in one carriage run, and can improve knitting efficiency when basic knitting operations are mixed with other knitting operations.

In addition, according to the present invention, the engagement between the selector and the select jack can be switched in two stages by pressing the select jack with the pressing cam. The tip of the selector engages with the rear end of the selection butt of the select jack in the first stage, and engages with the rear end of the protruding portion in the second stage, so the engagement portion of the selector can be shared.

In addition, according to the present invention, the engagement between the selector and the select jack can be switched between two stages by pressing the selector with the pressing cam. The combination of the engagement points between the selector and the select jack can be switched between the first stage and the second stage.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the inlet needle selection mechanism and the intermediate needle selection mechanism can be prevented from becoming large in the left-right direction.

In addition, according to the present invention, the intermediate needle selection mechanism allows the retraction of the knitting needles by the stitch cam to be mixed with the knitting operation with different stitches.

FIG. 1 is a simplified cam arrangement diagram showing a schematic configuration of a flatbed knitting machine 1 equipped with a cam system 2 and a needle selecting mechanism 10 as a first embodiment of the present invention, and a partial side view of a knitting needle 3 to be controlled. FIG. 2 is a partial cam arrangement diagram of the cam system 2 including the configuration of the inlet needle selecting mechanism 11 and the intermediate needle selecting mechanism 12 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial side view showing an engagement portion for moving the select jack 6 by the selector 7, which is switched by the pressing cam 15 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial side view showing the positional relationship between the selector 7 and the select jack 6 in the entry-side needle selecting mechanism 11. FIG. 5 is a partial side view showing the positional relationship between the selector 7 and the select jack 6 in the intermediate needle selecting mechanism 12. FIG. 6 is a partial side view showing an engagement portion for moving a select jack 46 by a selector 47, which is switched in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partial side view showing the positional relationship between the selector 47 and the select jack 46, including the two-stage switching of the engagement point.

The following Figures 1 to 5 relate to the configuration of the needle selection mechanism 10 of a flat knitting machine 1, which is a first embodiment of the present invention. In Figures 1 and 2, a surface shown with crossed diagonals indicates an inclined surface. Figures 6 and 7 show a schematic diagram of the guiding operation of a selector jack 6 by a selector 7 in a second embodiment of the present invention. Corresponding parts in each figure are indicated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations may be omitted. Also, for the sake of convenience, parts not shown in the figure being explained may be referred to by reference numerals shown in other figures.

Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration of a flat knitting machine 1 equipped with a cam system 2 and a needle selection mechanism 10 as a first embodiment of the present invention. The following description also refers to those omitted from the illustration for simplification. The cam system 2 is mounted on a carriage that travels back and forth along the longitudinal direction of the needle bed of the flat knitting machine. At least one pair of needle beds is provided so as to face each other across the needle gap. Each needle bed has a needle groove extending in the front-rear direction that advances and retreats to the needle gap. The needle grooves are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the needle bed. The knitting needles 3 are accommodated in each needle groove in a state in which they can slide in the front-rear direction, and include a needle jack 4, a slider 5, a select jack 6, and a selector 7. This knitting needle 3 is a compound needle, and at the front end side of the needle jack 4, which is omitted from the illustration, it is connected to a needle body having a hook at its tip. The slider 5 also has a blade at the front end side, which is omitted from the illustration, that opens and closes the hook and can be divided into two pieces to advance beyond the hook into the needle gap. The needle jack 4, slider 5, and select jack 6 each have butts 4b, 5b, and selection butts 6b for mechanical control. The selector 7 has an armature 7a for magnetic control, and engages with the select jack 6 at its tip 7b. The selector 7 also has a drive butt 7c and a lowering butt 7d, as described below.

The needle selection mechanism 10 and the cam system 2 are bidirectional so that the same operation can be performed symmetrically even when the carriage travels back and forth to the left and right. The following explanation will be given assuming that the carriage moves to the left of the figure relative to the needle bed. The needle selection mechanism 10 has an entry needle selection mechanism 11, an intermediate needle selection mechanism 12, and an exit needle selection mechanism 13 relative to the cam system 2. If the carriage travels to the right, the exit needle selection mechanism 13 becomes the entry side, and the entry needle selection mechanism 11 becomes the exit side. The entry needle selection mechanism 11 acts on the selector 7 of the knitting needle 3 to select one of the paths 7A, 7H, and 7B. When the paths 7A and 7H are selected, a movement stroke toward the needle mouth side occurs in the selector 7. The select jack 6 receives a movement stroke from the selector 7 at the engagement point and moves to a position on the needle mouth side. The knitting needle 3 that is the target of the action of the cam system 2 from the entry side is guided so that the selection butt 6b of the select jack 6 is in the A position 6bA or the H position 6bH in the selector 7 selected for the path 7A or the path 7H. However, the entry needle selection mechanism 11 has a pressing cam 15. The pressing cam 15 presses the selection butt 6b to sink the select jack 6 about halfway into the needle groove, so that the tip 7b of the selector 7 engages with the rear end of the selection butt 6b of the select jack 6 that is about halfway sunken. The intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 acts on the selector 7 of the knitting needle 3 to select one of the paths 7A, 7H, and 7B, similar to the entry needle selection mechanism 11. However, the pressing cam 15 is not provided, and the select jack 6 rises when the trailing A presser 31b and the trailing H presser 32b are not provided or are inactive, and the engagement point of the select jack 6 with the tip 7b of the selector 7 is switched to the rear end of the protruding portion 6c. By switching the engagement point, the select jack 6 of the knitting needle 3 under the action of the cam system 2 can be guided to a position closer to the needle mouth side than the guide by the entry needle selection mechanism 11, and can also be guided to a new F position 6bF provided as an advance position closer to the needle mouth side than the A position. The exit needle selection mechanism 13 does not perform a needle selection operation to be acted upon by the cam system 2. The vertical lines with the symbols a, b and c, d for the entry needle selection mechanism 11 and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 respectively indicate the phases corresponding to the positional relationships described in Figures 4 and 5. The needle selection mechanism 10 also has a return section 16 that returns the select jack 6 to the B position, and a return cam 17 that returns the selector 7 to the path 7B.

The cam system 2 includes a needle raising cam 20, a stitch cam 21, and a top cam 22. Between the needle raising cam 20 and the top cam 22, a path 4bA is provided that corresponds to the knitting operation of the butt 4b of the needle jack 4. The cam system 2 also has a slider cam that acts on the butt 5b of the slider 5 on the needle mouth side of the top cam 22, but is not shown. The paths 4bH and 4bB that cross a position lower than the top of the needle raising cam 20 correspond to the knitting operation of a tuck or miss, respectively. The stitch cam 21 has a stitch setting cam surface 21b with a small retraction amount when the cam height is high, and a stitch setting cam surface 21a with a large retraction amount when the cam height is low, in the rear half of the retraction cam surface, and by making the protrusion amount of the butt 4b different, it is possible to perform stitch setting operations. The intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can switch between a path 4ba for knitting with relatively fine stitches and a path 4bA for knitting with coarse stitches for the butt 4b by selecting whether the select jack 6 continues in the A position or shifts from the A position to the F position. Such switching of knitting paths is performed by a presser group 30 acting on the selection butt 6b of the select jack 6. The entry needle selection mechanism 11 can select whether the select jack 6 continues in the B position or shifts to the H or A position, so the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can also select the B, H or A position for the select jack 6 in the B position. When the entry needle selection mechanism 11 selects the H position, the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can select the H, A or F position. When the entry needle selection mechanism 11 selects the A position, the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can select the A or F position. However, at the B position, a fixed B presser 33 is provided, which acts to press the selection butt 6b so that the select jack 6 sinks deeper into the needle groove, as described below. It is not preferable to change the position while the B presser 33 is pressing, but it is sufficient to reduce the amount of protrusion.

Figure 2 shows a partial configuration of the cam system 2 including the configuration of the entry needle selection mechanism 11 and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 in Figure 1. The entry needle selection mechanism 11 and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 in Figure 1 include suction actuators 11a, 12a and selector drive cams 11b, 12b, respectively. The suction actuators 11a, 12a can switch between a state in which the armature 7a of the selector 7 is attracted by magnetic force and a state in which the suction is released upon selection, as in Patent Document 2. The selector drive cam 11b of the entry needle selection mechanism 11 moves the drive butt 7c of the selector 7 in a state in which the suction by the suction actuator 11a is released along the preset paths 7A, 7H, and 7B, as in Patent Document 3, and moves the select jack 6 to one of three positions via the engagement point. The path 7B corresponds to the base position, and the paths 7H and 7A correspond to the selection position. The selector drive cam 12b of the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 also moves the drive butt 7c along the paths 7A, 7H, and 7B when the suction by the suction actuator 12a is released, but the movement of the select jack 6 can be added to the movement in the entry needle selection mechanism 11 by switching the engagement point. Therefore, the select jack 6 can be provided with the F position mentioned above. The return cam 17 has a cam surface 17a that acts on the lowering butt 7d of the selector 7 on the exit side of each selector drive cam 11b and 12b to return it to path 7B.

The presser group 30 acts on the selection butt 6b of the select jack 6, pressing the selection butt 6b and controlling whether or not to sink the butt 4b of the needle jack 4 and the butt 5b of the slider 5 so that they do not protrude from the needle groove. No presser is provided in the F position. The A position and the H position are provided with a leading A presser 31a and a leading H presser 32a, and a trailing A presser 31b and a trailing H presser 32b, respectively, with a gap in between. These pressers can be individually switched between active and inactive. The B position is the base state, and the B presser 33 is provided in the B position, which is fixed in an active state where it presses the selection butt 6b.

Figure 3 shows the engagement point for moving the select jack 6 by the selector 7, which is provided in the entry needle selection mechanism 11 in Figure 1 and can be switched between two stages depending on whether or not it is pressed by the pressing cam 15. The pressing cam 15 presses the selection butt 6b of the select jack 6, and acts to sink the select jack 6 about halfway into the needle groove, as shown in Figure 3 (a). When the entry needle selection mechanism 11 selects the selector 7 to the path 7A or 7H, the tip 7b of the selector 7 pushes the rear end of the selection butt 6b forward in the first stage, and the select jack 6 can be moved to the A position or the H position. The select jack 6 in the A or H position is pushed up in the second stage by the selector 7 in the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 without pressing the selection butt 6b, as shown in Figure 3 (b). Since the select jack 6 floats in the needle groove, the engagement point for pushing up with the tip 7b of the selector can be switched from the rear end of the selection butt 6b to the rear end of the overhanging portion 6c. Such switching can be achieved by making the rear end of the overhanging portion 6c rearward of the tip end 7b in the first stage of engagement, and when the selector 7 is returned to the path 7B in the base state on the entry side of the selector drive cam 12b of the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12, the tip end 7b is rearward of the rear end of the overhanging portion 6c. If the select jack 6 is selected to position B in the entry needle selection mechanism 11, even if the selector 7 is returned to the path 7B in the base state, the tip end 7b remains forward of the overhanging portion 6c, and the tip end 7b continues to engage with the rear end of the selection butt 6b. This engagement state is the same as that of the entry needle selection mechanism 11, and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can also select the three positions A, H, and B in the first stage of engagement state. The two-stage switching of the engagement point between the selector and the select jack involves shifting the engagement point with respect to the tip of the selector from the rear end of the selection butt to the rear end of the protruding portion, as disclosed by the applicant in his earlier patent application No. 2019-073176. This earlier application also discloses other examples of shifting the engagement point, and such examples can also be applied to the invention of this application.

Figure 4 shows the positional relationship between the selector 7 and the select jack 6 in phases a and b shown in Figure 1, respectively, in Figures 4(a-A), 4(b-H), and 4(b-A), with respect to the entry needle selection mechanism 11. In phase a, the select jack 6 is pressed against the selection butt 6b by the pressure cam 15, so that it is about halfway down into the needle groove 8a of the needle bed 8, and the selector 7 is in a state where it can push up the select jack 6 in the first stage at the engagement point shown in Figure 3(a). The selector 7 shown in Figure 4(a-A) is in the base position, but the select jack 6 is selected to be set to position A at the release position α shown in Figure 2, and the suction from the suction actuator 11a to the armature 7a is released. When the select jack 6 is released at the release position β corresponding to the selection of setting the select jack 6 to the H position, or when the select jack 6 is not released at both release positions α and β corresponding to the non-selection of keeping the select jack 6 at the B position, the armature 7a is attracted to the suction actuator 11a in phase a. In the B position, the B presser 33 presses the selection butt 6b from phase b onward, following the pressing cam 15 in phase a. Figures 4(b-H) and 4(b-A) show the positional relationship in phase b after the selection of H and A at the release positions β and α, respectively. At the H and A positions of the selection butt 6b, a leading H presser 32a and a leading A presser 31a are provided, respectively, on the rear side of phase b. In Figure 4(b-H), for reference, the leading H presser 32a is a retractable presser, and the broken line indicates the inoperative state, and the solid line indicates the operative state. The leading A presser 31a is also a swing type presser, and the active state is shown by the solid line and the inactive state by the dashed line. The height of the pressers provided in the A and B positions, including the leading A presser 31a and leading H presser 32a, and the aforementioned pressing cam 15, in the active state is set lower than the height of the B presser 33 so that the selection butt 6b of the select jack 6 protrudes about halfway from the needle groove.

Figure 5 shows a part of the positional relationship between the selector 7 and the select jack 6 in phases c and d shown in Figure 1 with respect to the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 in Figure 5 (c-H → F), Figure 5 (d-A), and Figure 5 (d-F), respectively. In phase c, there is no pressure from the pressing cam 15 against the selection butt 6b, and there is no pressure from the presser in the H and A positions, so the select jack 6 does not sink into the needle groove 8a of the needle bed 8, and the selector 7 can push up the select jack 6 at the second stage engagement point as shown in Figure 3 (b). The selector 7 shown in Figure 5 (c-H → F) is in the base state, and the select jack 6 is in the H position. The selector 7 is selected at the release position α preceding phase c, and the armature 7a is released from the suction actuator 12a. This selection can guide the select jack 6 from the H position to the F position. The selection of the selector 7 at the release position α can also guide the select jack 6 in the A position to the F position. Figures 5(d-A) and 5(d-F) show the state in which the select jack 6 is guided to positions A and F at phase d. The second stage of pushing up moves it from the H position to the A position, and from the H position or A position to the F position, respectively.

The presser group 30 can select the following knitting operation by setting the leading A presser 31a to inactive, the trailing A presser 31b to active, the leading H presser 32a to active, and the trailing H presser 32b to inactive. The selection of the H position or A position in the entry needle selection mechanism 11 corresponds to the selection of the type of knitting operation of tuck or knit in the first half, respectively. When such an H position is selected, the butt 4b of the needle jack 4 is guided to the tuck path 4bH shown in FIG. 1. When the entry needle selection mechanism 11 selects the H position corresponding to a tuck, the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can select the H position or A position, and the stitches of the tuck to be formed can be selected to be relatively coarse or fine, respectively. When the entry needle selection mechanism 11 selects the A position corresponding to a knit, the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 can select the A position or F position, and the stitches of the knit to be formed can be selected to be relatively fine or coarse, respectively. The applicant has disclosed basic stitch-stitching operations in, for example, JP 08-60499 A. In this embodiment, stitch-stitching is possible for knitting and tucking, so five types of knitting operations can be selected, including a miss in the B position.

In this embodiment 1, a compound needle that opens and closes a hook with a blade on the tip side of the slider 5 is used as the knitting needle 3, so it is possible to mix the knitting operation of the split stitch with the tuck degree difference and knitting, as disclosed by the applicant in Patent No. 5330249. A guide path is provided on the slider cam that acts on the butt 5b of the slider 5 in the cam system 2, which keeps the blade in a state of advancing to the needle gap when forming a stitch. The slider cam is provided with a knit presser that presses the auxiliary butt provided in front of the butt 5b of the slider 5 in the F position. When the knit presser is operated in the F position, when the needle jack 4 is retracted by the stitch cam 21, the slider holds the old loop that is knocked over and keeps the state of advancing to the needle gap. Such a split stitch operation is possible by selecting the H position or A position with the entry needle selection mechanism 11 and selecting the F position with the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12.

Figure 6 shows the engagement points for moving the select jack 46 by the selector 47, which are switched by the entry needle selection mechanism 41 and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 42, which correspond to the entry needle selection mechanism 11 and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12 in Figure 1, respectively, in the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the entry needle selection mechanism 41 is not provided with a pressing cam 15, and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 42 is provided with a pressing cam 45. The select jack 46 and the selector 47 are similar to the select jack 6 and the selector 7 in the first embodiment, except for the difference in the switching of the engagement points by the pressing cam 45, and the cam system 2 is also used in the same way as in the first embodiment. The selector 47 has a protrusion 47e at the rear end in the direction of exiting from the needle mouth, which protrudes in the direction of deepening in the needle groove. The selector 47 has a drive butt 47c and a lowering butt 47d similar to the drive butt 7c and lowering butt 7d of the selector 7, and also has a protrusion 47e and a tail 47f. In the second embodiment, the first stage of engagement is performed between the rear end of the selection butt 46b of the selector jack 46 and the tip 47b of the selector 47, as shown in FIG. 6(a). The second stage of engagement is performed between the protrusion 47e provided near the armature 47a at the rear end of the selector 47 and the protrusion 46c of the select jack 46, as shown in FIG. 6(b). This switching is performed by pressing the tail 47f of the selector 47 so that it sinks slightly into the needle groove in FIG. 6(b). The switching of the engagement point is performed such that the protrusion 46c is behind the protrusion 47e in the first stage of engagement, and when the selector 47 is returned to the path 7B in the base state on the exit side of the selector drive cam 41b of the entry needle selection mechanism 41, the protrusion 47e is behind the protrusion 46c.

Figure 7 shows the positional relationship between the selector 47 and the select jack 46, including the two-stage switching of the engagement point. Phases a, b, c, and d correspond to Figure 1. Figure 7 (a-A) shows the positional relationship in phase a, where the selector 47 is in the base state and the select jack 46 is selected to the A position. Figure 7 (b-A) shows the positional relationship in phase b, where the inlet needle selection mechanism 41 moves the select jack 46 to the A position. This state corresponds to Figure 4 (b-A). The select jack 46 can also be advanced to the H position, corresponding to Figure 4 (b-H). Figure 7 (c-A→F) shows the state in which the F needle is selected in phase c, following Figure 7 (b-A). Figure 7 (d-F) shows the state in which the select jack 46 is in the middle of moving from the A position to the F position in phase d.

In the first and second embodiments, the magnetically-driven suction actuators 11a, 12a; 41a, 42a are used for the entry needle selection mechanism 11, 41 and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12, 42, but a needle selection mechanism such as that described in Patent Document 1 can be used. By using the suction actuators 11a, 12a; 41a, 42a, it is possible to avoid enlarging the size in the left-right direction, and the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12, 42 can be provided in the middle of the existing cam system 2. Although a compound needle is used as the knitting needle 3, a latch needle can also be used. The applicant of the present application has disclosed an increase using a latch needle in, for example, Patent Publication No. 5913427, so such an operation can be added so that it can be selected by the intermediate needle selection mechanism 12. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a combination other than the selector 7, 47 and the select jack 6, 46 as the target of needle selection.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Flat knitting machine 2 Cam system 3 Knitting needle 4 Needle jack 4b, 5b Butt 5 Slider 6, 46 Select jack 6b, 46b Selection butt 6c Extension 7, 47 Selector 7a, 47a Armature 7b, 47b Tip 8 Needle bed 8a Needle groove 10 Needle selection mechanism 11 Entry needle selection mechanism 11a, 12a Suction actuator 11b, 12b Selector drive cam 15, 45 Pressing cam 21 Stitch cam 31 Knit presser 31a Leading A presser
31b Trailing A presser 32a Leading H presser 32b Trailing H presser 33 B presser 46c, 47e Protrusion 47f Tail

Claims (5)

At least a pair of needle beds are provided in front and behind the needle bed so as to face each other across the needle gap;
a plurality of knitting needles respectively accommodated in a plurality of needle grooves arranged in parallel at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction of the needle bed;
A carriage that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed;
A cam system is mounted on the carriage and drives the knitting needle in a direction to move the knitting needle toward and away from the needle gap to perform a knitting operation, and a needle selection mechanism is mounted on the carriage and selects the knitting needle to be used for the knitting operation,
Knitting needles are
a selector jack having a selection butt that is acted upon by a cam system and is guided to different positions including a base position B, an intermediate position H that is set in a direction that advances further into the needle gap than position B, and an advanced position A, and the selection butt is capable of changing the knitting operation that the cam system causes the knitting needle to perform depending on the difference in pressure from the cam system that the selection butt receives at each position;
a selector which is driven to pass through either a base path when the knitting needle is not selected, an intermediate path when the knitting needle is selected, or an advance path in response to a selected state of the knitting needle in the needle selecting mechanism, and which engages with a select jack when passing through either the intermediate path or the advance path, thereby guiding the select jack to an H position or an A position,
The needle selection mechanism includes a selector drive cam that drives the selector to move along a preset path and guide the select jack through engagement.
In a flat knitting machine,
An entry needle selection mechanism that selects a knitting needle for a first half of a knitting operation in which the knitting needle advances to a needle gap on the entry side of the cam system;
An intermediate needle selecting mechanism that selects a knitting needle for a latter half of the knitting operation in which the knitting needle exits the needle gap in the middle of the cam system;
and a pressing cam capable of pressing the select jack or the selector in a direction to sink the select jack or the selector into the needle groove,
The engagement between the selector and the select jack is switched between a first stage in which the selector jack at the B position engages with the selector, and a second stage in which the selector jack at the H position or the A position engages with the selector, by the pressure of a pressure cam;
A flat knitting machine, characterized in that the intermediate needle selecting mechanism is provided with a forward position in a direction advancing further into the needle gap than position A as a position where the select jack is guided in the second stage engagement. The pressing cam is provided in the entry needle selection mechanism and presses the selection butt of the select jack,
The select jack has a protruding portion protruding toward the rear end at a base portion of the rear end in a direction that exits from the tooth gap of the selection butt,
The selector has a tip end in a direction advancing into the needle gap that engages with a rear end of a selection butt of a select jack that sinks into the needle groove by being pressed by a pressing cam in the first stage, and engages with a rear end of a protruding portion in the second stage.
2. The flat knitting machine according to claim 1 . The pressing cam is provided in the intermediate needle selecting mechanism and presses a tail portion that is in a direction to retract from the needle gap by the selector,
The select jack has a protrusion at a rear end thereof that protrudes in a direction that makes the needle groove shallower,
The selector has a protrusion at its rear end in the direction of retracting from the tooth gap, which protrudes in a direction deeper into the needle groove, and its front end in the direction of advancing into the tooth gap engages with the rear end of the selection butt of the select jack in the first stage, and in the second stage, the protrusion that sinks into the needle groove by the pressure of the pressure cam engages with the protrusion of the select jack.
2. The flat knitting machine according to claim 1 . The inlet needle selection mechanism and the intermediate needle selection mechanism each include an attraction actuator that can release the state of magnetically attracting the selector at a plurality of positions in response to the selection,
The selector drive cam drives the selector so as to guide the selector to a different path depending on a position where suction by the suction actuator is released.
4. The flat knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the first and second knitting members are arranged in a first direction. The flat knitting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the latter half of the knitting operation includes a staggered knitting operation in which a retraction amount by a stitch cam provided in the cam system is varied in order to withdraw the knitting needle from the needle gap.

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