KR100700225B1 - A method and apparatus for stretching and collecting a knitted fabric produced by circular knitting machines - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for stretching and collecting a knit fabric produced by circular knitting machines comprising the phase of progressively cutting a flattened tubular piece along a longitudinal generatrix, spreading the piece according to diverging lines inclined downwards until reaching inferiorly a position laterally offset relative to the vertical central axis of the knitting machine and of collecting the stretched piece. Also provided is an apparatus for stretching and collecting a knit fabric in tubular piece comprising piece-presser rollers (10) for flattening the tubular piece coming from the circular machine, a rotating blade (18) positioned downstream from said piece-presser rollers (10), at least two spreading rollers (13) positioned according to diverging lines inclined downwards, at least a roller (14) for transmitting the stretched piece positioned in a first edge area (2a) of the frame of the apparatus, and a set (22) for collecting the stretched piece positioned in a second edge area of the support frame.

Description

A method and apparatus for stretching and collecting a knitted fabric produced by circular knitting machines}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for stretching and collecting knitted fabric produced in a circular knitting machine, the method comprising the steps of: flattening a tubular piece exiting the knitting machine, cutting a flattened tubular piece along a longitudinal busbar Spreading the piece and the side edges of the piece obtained in the cut, stretching the spread piece with a single layer of fabric, and collecting the stretched piece in the form of a roll.

The device comprises a support frame located inside the circular knitting machine while rotating with the cylinder, means for flattening the tubular piece exiting the circular knitting machine, a cut capable of longitudinally cutting the tubular piece downstream of the flattening means along the busbar. Means, means for stretching the cut piece into a single layer of fabric, and an assembly for collecting the single layer stretched piece.

Conventional methods and apparatuses for stretching and collecting knitted fabrics produced in a knitting machine in the form of rolls or laminations are planarized by pulling downward until the tubular piece is a double layered flat layer.

In this prior art, in the case of elastic yarns and / or fine yarns and in the presence of weak parts, two permanent lateral folds are formed which are difficult or impossible to remove, which adversely affects the knitting processing.

To overcome this disadvantage, in the case of very large circular knitting machines up to 60 inches in diameter, two separate fabric layers of the same width as the width of the flattened tubular piece by straightening the tubular knitted fabric in two longitudinally opposite sides The technique for obtaining is known (see European Patent 534,917).

In the case of a circular knitting machine having a diameter of 30 inches, if the tubular piece is cut out in two places using the prior art, a fabric that is too narrow and difficult to use is obtained.

Therefore, it is necessary to straighten the tubular pieces cut longitudinally in one place and stretch them into a one-ply fabric of width corresponding to the circumference.

Prior art for such a process is disclosed in European Patent 456,576 and U.S. Patent 4,445,448, which use an apparatus having a support frame which is located inside a circular knitting machine and which can rotate with a cylinder.

The support frame is provided with means for flattening the tubular piece exiting the knitting machine, means for cutting the tubular piece longitudinally along the busbar, and means for stretching the cut piece into a single knit fabric. In particular, this straightening stretching means consists of a roller mounted idlely to the support frame of the knitting machine.

Also related to the support frame are one or more drive rollers for controlling the advancement of the piece in the passages according to the above-described flattening, cutting and weft / stretching means, and for collecting the rolled piece or layer of the stretched piece in a single knit fabric. There is a set.

Finally, helical grooved rollers are arranged to stretch the side edges of the piece before the piece is collected. The above mentioned major disadvantages of this prior art are briefly described.

First, because the drive rollers, the collection set, and the weft / stretching means of the knitted fabric are aligned below the vertical center axis of the cylinder of the knitting machine, the overall height of the conventional device is considerably higher on the ground, making it difficult for the operator to handle the knitting machine. There is a difficult problem.

In order to overcome this disadvantage, the above-mentioned US patent has proposed a method of installing a walking board around a knitting machine or inserting a knitting machine in a pit formed at the factory floor to stretch and collect the knitted fabric. In the former case, it is not possible to directly access the knitting machine because it has to climb on a walking board, and in the latter case, there is an additional cost in that the piece collected in the form of a roll must be removed and the knitting machine and the pit are maintained. have.

The rolled or layered pieces are finally placed in the center of the knitting machine, not to mention the difficulty of extracting the pieces with an appropriate loading / transporting truck, as well as being expensive.

In particular, in European Patent 456,576, the piece moves along the horizontal path too much in the advancement step before entering the drive roller set, which makes it difficult to control the drive operation during the advancement, so that a knit is formed and the piece itself is There is a problem of spreading and stretching.

Another problem with the prior art is that the idler spreader rollers cannot actively participate in the opening of the side edges, which are driven by the movement of the knit and are twisted in nature.

Another technical and functional problem is that the helical grooved rollers have little influence on the stretching of the side edges, under the control of the kinematic mechanisms installed in other parts of the knitting machine. In fact, these rollers rotate at an extremely low speed compared to the speed needed to satisfactorily stretch the side edges of the piece.

The prior art described in the above patents provides one solution to the stretching and collection of tubular pieces, but the structure of the device to accommodate this change in function as the tubular pieces are wound in a double layer in a conventional manner without cutting and spitting. There is a problem that must be changed seriously and at high cost.

In view of this problem, the technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for stretching and collecting a knitted fabric produced in a circular knitting machine that can overcome the above-mentioned problems.

Under these technical considerations, a main object of the present invention is a method and apparatus for collecting a knitted fabric produced in a tubular piece in one layer with little modification of the conventional apparatus for positioning a circular knitting machine in the height direction and collecting the knitted fabric in double layers. To devise

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus capable of stretching a knitted fabric produced from a tubular piece in a better and more precise manner.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for easier loading and transporting trucks for removing knitted fabrics collected in the form of rolls or layers.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which can easily convert the function of stretching the tubular piece in the widthwise direction into a conventional function of pulling the tubular piece itself without cutting or expanding it.

The technical problems and objects described above can be achieved by an apparatus and method for stretching and collecting a knitted piece of tubular piece produced in a circular knitting machine, characterized by the technical solutions set out in the claims.

1 is a side exploded view of a device according to the invention;

2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

3 is a partial perspective view of the main parts of the device according to the invention;

4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 showing a continuous operation of the tubular fabric;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following describes an apparatus 1 according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The device 1 comprises a support frame 2 arranged inside an existing circular knitting machine 3 for producing a knitted fabric of tubular piece 5 in cooperation with the cylinder 4.

The support frame can rotate with the cylinder (4) about the vertical center axis (6), and is located inside the fixed structure (7) supporting the frame (2) itself and the knitting machine (3) at the same time. Near the top of the frame 2 a means 8 for flattening the piece 5 exiting the cylinder 4 is arranged. The flattening means 8 comprises a piece spreader frame 9, which is known per se, which is capable of progressively radially unfolding the tubular piece, and a pair of parallel piece compression rollers arranged at the end of the piece and suitably spaced from each other. 10).

Directly below the parallel compression rollers 10, there are cutting means 11 for cutting the tubular piece 5 along the busbar, and means 12 for stretching and extending the cut piece into a single layer 5a. Is placed.

The jaw / stretching means 12 comprise two rollers 13 for spreading the side edges 5b obtained by the cutting of the pieces 5 and a roller 14 for conveying the stretched pieces.

Basically, the spreading rollers 13 are arranged along downwardly inclined branch lines starting from the upper ends 13a proximate to each other at the piece opposite the cutting edge. The upper ends 13a are positioned opposite to the same height as the cutting means, and the lower ends 13b are located at the first side edges 2a of the support frame 2 laterally displaced with respect to the central vertical axis of the knitting machine. .

In this side edge part 2a, the roller 14 for conveying the stretched piece 5a is arrange | positioned. The spreading rollers 13 are hinged to the first distal end 15a of the support 15 integral to the support frame 2 with the upper ends 13a approached to each other, the lower ends 13b also being framed. It is fastened so that the space | interval between lower end parts can be adjusted to the arched base 16 integrated in (2).

In this way, the spreading of the piece 5 and its side edge can be adjusted as needed.

The spreading rollers 13 may be mounted in the support frame 2 in an idle state, but each motor 13c is preferably provided to easily stretch the piece into a single layer.

The rotational direction of the spreading roller by the motor is preferably opposite to the advancing direction of the piece in order to improve the stretching effect of the piece.

The first distal end 15a of the support 15 extends outwards with the rotor 17 in a curved form so as to guide the piece directly under the parallel roller 10, in an important part where the tensile force opposite the cutting edge is large. Make sure the piece slides smoothly.

The rotary body 17 may consist of a wheel or a ball, or may be formed of a vibrating arm having a curved end tensioned by a spring.

A cutting means 11 is located at the second end portion 15b of the support 15, which is a cutting blade 11, a rotating blade 18, a rotary blade guide 19, and a motor 20 for supporting and controlling the cutting blade. The motor 20 can change its distance between the central axis 6 and the rotary blade 18 according to the operating conditions by adjusting its position on the support 15. In addition, the position of the rotating body 17 can also be adjusted, since the rotating body is mounted on a bar 17a that can be screwed to the support 15.

At the center of the support frame 2 at about the same height as the feed roller 14, the flattening means 8, the cutting means 11 and the webbing / stretching means 12 are located along the downstream of the cylinder 4. A pair of drive rollers 21 for engaging the forward movement are engaged. This drive roller 21 set is composed of a tension roller 21a at the center and two rollers 21b at both sides thereof.

The set of drive rollers 21 is preferably controlled by a motor 21c separate from the means for operating other rollers or means for performing other functions of the apparatus.

On the downstream side of the drive roller 21, that is, laterally away from the central axis 6 and corresponding to the second side edge portion 2b of the support frame 2, a piece of stretched piece is collected by a roller. Set 22 is located.

On the other hand, it is also possible to arrange the existing device suitable for collecting these pieces in layers. Between the feed roller 14 and the drive roller 21, two grooves are formed spirally in opposite directions to each other so that the piece itself close to the side edge portion 5b can be prevented from twisting in the longitudinal direction. The first roller 23 for tensioning is arranged.

In the vicinity of the transverse tension roller 23, a piece compression roller 23a is provided which increases the winding angle of the piece with respect to this roller, thereby increasing the influence of the helical groove on the piece side edge.

Between the drive roller 21 and the collection set 22 is provided a second roller 24 which works together with the piece compression roller 24a to tension the piece laterally.

The piece compression rollers 23a and 24a can both adjust the horizontal spacing with each of the transverse tension rollers 23 and can determine the amount of winding of the piece around the transverse tension roller 23.                 

The transverse tension rollers 23 and 24 are equipped with motors 23b and 24b that are independent of the other functions of the knitting machine to improve speed than before, thereby stretching the edge of the piece which tends to twist.

In the support frame 2 of FIG. 1, hole sheets 25 and 26 are formed on the outside of the upper and lower ends 13a and 13b of the spreading roller 13 to insert both ends of the motor roller and both ends of the feed roller, respectively. Thus, it is possible to support and advance the belt which drives and supports the central part of the piece between the spreading rollers 13.

Finally, the support frame 2 has a pair of horizontal horizontal members 27 orthogonal to the drive rollers 21, and the horizontal members 27 have seats 28 supporting both ends of the piece compression roller 10. ) Is formed (see FIG. 2).

These sheets 28 allow the piece compression roller 10 itself to be simply and quickly repositioned at 90 degrees when the tubular fabric is to be cut and deployed in the width direction or stretched and collected in two layers.

Also shown schematically is a proximity sensor 29 or a contact oscillator for stopping the device when the operator is too close to the knitting machine or contacts the rotating support frame. Proximity sensor 29 is preferably located on the side of the rotating support frame.

The operation of the apparatus described above is as follows. The tubular piece 5 exiting the cylinder 4 is gradually flattened by the piece spreader frame 9 via parallel piece compression rollers 10 and a rotary blade guide 19.

As a result, the flattened tubular piece which is tensioned in the longitudinal direction by the drive roller 21 is cut by the cutting means 11 along one of the busbars and cooperates with the opposite busbar to prevent deformation and wrinkle formation. It slips on the rotor 17. The cut pieces are gradually unfolded and stretched by the spreading roller 13 to be completely unfolded at the feed roller 14.

The single-ply fabric is the opposite second side edge 2b on which the set 22 for collecting the fabric in double or roll form is collected from the first side edge 2a of the support frame 2 on which the feed roller 14 is located. Continue to move horizontally up to).

During this horizontal movement, the knit fabric is flattened by the transverse tension rollers 23 and 24 to prevent twisting at both edges.

The invention also implements a method associated with such a device.

The device is operated to flatten the tubular piece coming out of the circular knitting machine. The cut is then cut along the busbar of the flattened piece, while the portion of the piece opposite the cutting busbar is maintained in a curved shape to prevent the formation and deformation of the wrinkles.

On the downstream side of the cutout, both side edges and the whole piece resulting from this cut are spread and stretched.

This spreading operation is made gradually along a downwardly inclined line from the height of the cut to the interior of the first position laterally deviated to the central vertical axis of the knitting machine. In the first position, the stretching of the piece spread into the single layer of fabric is completed.

Downstream of the first position, the piece continues to move horizontally and reaches a second position that is laterally off with respect to the central axis opposite the first position itself. In the second position, the stretched piece is collected in roll form or in layers.

In the horizontal section of the movement path of the piece between the first position and the second position, the piece is advanced in the pulled state through the entire operating state of the downstream side of the knitting machine.

In this horizontal section, the stretched piece is subjected to two tensioning motions in the transverse direction to prevent the edge itself from twisting.

The present invention has the following advantages.

First, according to the apparatus and method according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the path of the stretched piece as well as the path for cutting and unfolding the piece by fully utilizing the horizontal space under the cylinder of the knitting machine.

Thus, the vertical size of the device of the present invention is limited, and thus the height and accessibility of the knitting machine placed thereon does not actually vary as compared with the prior art without the widthwise opening.

The drive rollers, collection rollers and transverse tension rollers are coplanar with the bottom of the knitting machine for easy access to the cylinder operating surface. Due to this roller arrangement, the space up to the upper end of the knitting machine can be provided so that the spreader rollers can be inclined, thereby reducing the labor of the operator when the worker tries to approach the operating portion of the circular knitting machine.

Also, in order to facilitate the worker's access to the knitting machine, the diameter of the ring 30 supporting the thread feeder 31 was increased to be equal to the diameter of the base. This causes the feeder to fall off the knitting machine's axis and get closer to the operator.

Due to the above construction of the knitting machine, the set for collecting the stretched fabric in the form of a roll or a layer can be positioned laterally to easily position a truck for drawing and transporting the wound piece.

In addition, due to the length of the extended section of the piece obtained from the original arrangement of the spreader rollers and the cutting due to the rotary blade, the piece itself can be unfolded smoothly and accurately, and the path that moves toward the set collecting the piece in the form of a roll as well as during the forming operation The piece can be kept in tension.

Finally, the device according to the invention is very flexible in its operation since it can be easily and quickly changed to a conventional device which pulls and collects in the form of a roll without cutting and expanding the pieces as necessary.

Claims (19)

Planarizing the tubular piece exiting the circular knitting machine; Gradually cutting the flattened tubular piece along the longitudinal busbar; Spreading the piece and the side edge obtained by the cutting; A method of stretching and collecting a knitted fabric made with the circular knitting machine comprising: stretching the spread piece into a single layer of fabric and collecting the stretched piece; The spreading step for the piece and its side edges is made progressively along downwardly diverging branch lines from the height of the cutout down to a first position laterally deviated from the vertical center axis of the knitting machine. And the stretching step is completed and the collecting step of the stretched piece is performed at a second position laterally off on the opposite side with respect to the central axis at the same height as the first position. The method of claim 1 wherein the piece is controlled towing forward during operation. 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the traction advancement of the piece is in a piece movement path between the first position where the stretching operation is completed and a second position where the piece itself is collected. 4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the step of transversely stretching in the forward direction to prevent the edge of the piece from twisting itself before the piece of stretched piece is collected. How to feature. 4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portion of the piece opposite the busbar is bent while cutting the flattened tubular piece along the busbar to prevent creases and warpage. A support frame (2) located below the circular knitting machine (3) and capable of rotating with the cylinder (4); Means (8) for flattening the tubular piece 5 exiting the circular knitting machine; Cutting means (11) located downstream of the flattening means (8) and capable of cutting the tubular piece longitudinally along the busbar; Means (12) for stretching the cut piece into a single layer of fabric; And An apparatus for stretching and collecting a knit fabric in a tubular piece produced in a knitting machine comprising: a set 22 for collecting a piece of stretched piece in one piece: The means 12 for stretching and stretching the cut piece, The first side edge 2a of the support frame 2 located at the same height as the cutting means 11 and deviating laterally with respect to the vertical central axis 6 of the knitting machine 3, starting from the piece portion opposite the cutting bus. Two or more rollers 13 positioned along the downwardly inclined branch lines up to below) and for spreading the piece 5 and the piece side edges 5b obtained by cutting; And And at least one roller (14) for conveying the stretched piece located at the first side edge (2a), The set for collecting the stretched piece in the form of a roll or a layer is located at the second side edge of the support frame 2 laterally deviated opposite to the central axis at the same height as the feed roller 14. Characterized in that the device. 7. A set of drive rollers (21) according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one set of drive rollers (21) for controlling the advancement of the piece along the path through the flattening means (8), the cutting means (11) and the weep / stretching means (12) Apparatus comprising a. 8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the drive rollers (21) are located between the feed roller (14) and the collection set (22). 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising one or more rollers (23, 24) positioned between the feed roller (14) and the collection set (22) to tension the stretched piece laterally. ) Is characterized in that two helical grooves are formed in opposite directions to prevent the band around the side edge portion (5b) of the piece itself from twisting in the longitudinal direction. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising at least one piece compression roller (23a) positioned near the tension roller (23) to increase the winding angle of the piece wound on the transverse tension roller (23). Device. The method according to claim 6, wherein the pieces 5 are guided in a curved form while being positioned corresponding to the upper ends 13a of the spreading rollers 13 which are adjacent to each other, and the pieces 5 are opposite to the cutting bus. The apparatus further comprises at least one rotating body (17) to enable. 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the guide rotating body (17) is made of wheels. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said guide rotating body (17) consists of balls. The method according to claim 6, wherein the pieces 5 are guided in a curved form while being positioned corresponding to the upper ends 13a of the spreading rollers 13 which are adjacent to each other, and the pieces 5 are opposite to the cutting bus. And at least one vibrating arm which is tensioned by a spring. The upper end portions 13a of the spreading rollers 13 are hinged to approach the support 15 integral with the support frame 2, and the lower end portions 13b of the spreading rollers. Is fastened to adjust the mutual spacing relative to the base (16) integral with the support frame (2) to change the spreading of the piece and its side edges. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the spreading roller (13) is equipped with a motor (13c) independent of the other actuating parts of the knitting machine. 17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the motor (13c) attached to the spreading roller (13) rotates in a direction opposite to the advancing direction of the piece. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the cutting means (11) comprises a rotary blade (18) controlled by a motor (20) which can be operated at a variable distance from the vertical central axis (6). . The flattening means (8) for flattening the tubular piece (5) comprises a pair of piece compression parallel rollers (10), the support frame (2) perpendicular to the drive roller (21). A pair of horizontal transverse members 27 positioned therein, either through the ends of the piece compression roller 10 or repositioning these rollers 10 by 90 degrees to stretch and collect the uncut tubular piece in two layers. Device (28) formed in said horizontal member.

Images