KR102554089B1 - A flat knitting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(Configuration) The flat knitting machine of the present invention is provided with an article insertion device having a support portion capable of moving a yarn feeder rail and capable of inserting an article into a knitted fabric by holding and releasing the holding of the article. The support part is movable to avoid interference with other yarn feeders moving on the yarn feeding rail. In addition, the article is supplied from the article supply device to the article inserting device.
(Effects) According to the present invention, an article inserting device capable of inserting an article at a desired position in a knitted fabric is provided, and interference between the article inserting device and other yarn feeders can be avoided. can supply

Description

Flat knitting machine {A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a flat knitting machine having a device for inserting an article into a knitted fabric.

It is convenient if RFID thread, belt-shaped interling, compressed cushion material, etc. can be inserted into the knitted fabric using a flat knitting machine. As an article inserting device into a knitted fabric, there is one described in Patent Document 1 (US 7,246,508 B1). The article inserting device of Patent Literature 1 inserts collar stays (stays for collars), takes out collar stays one by one from a cartridge, and inserts them into a knitted fabric by extruding the collar stays. However, since the article inserting device of Patent Document 1 is not movable, the collar stay can be inserted only at a fixed position.

: US 7,246,508 B1

In order to make the article inserting device of Patent Document 1 movable so that the article can be inserted at a desired position, for example, it can be considered to move along a feeding rail. However, since the article inserting device of Patent Document 1 is large and bulky, it cannot be placed on a yarn feeding rail, and a dedicated rail is required. Also, in Patent Literature 1, since the collar stay is taken out from the cartridge, it is necessary to stop the flat knitting machine for replenishment. For these reasons, flat knitting machines become large and knitting becomes inefficient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flat knitting machine capable of supplying articles to the article inserting device while providing an article inserting device capable of inserting articles into a desired position in a knitted fabric.

In the present invention, in a flat knitting machine that knits a knitted fabric by supplying knitting yarn to needles of a needle bed from a yarn feeder running on a yarn feeder rail,

Article insertion including a carrier capable of moving the yarn feeding rail or a rail parallel to the yarn feeding rail, and a support portion installed below the carrier and capable of inserting the article into the knitted fabric by holding and releasing the gripping of the article. device and

An article supplying device capable of supplying articles to a position where the article insertion device can hold, and

The article inserting device is characterized in that it is configured to move to the position in order to grip the article.

In the present invention, since the article inserting device is moved along the yarn feeding rail of the flat knitting machine, and a support portion for freely gripping and releasing the article is provided at the bottom of the article inserting device, the article can be inserted into a desired position in the knitted fabric. there is.

There are cases in which articles inserted into the knitted fabric float and cannot be stably inserted into a desired position. Therefore, it is preferable to provide an article inserting device with a press-fitting means for downwardly pushing an article inserted into the knitted fabric, and press-inserting the inserted article downward into the knitted fabric to stabilize the position. The press-in unit serves as a press-in unit, for example, by providing a mechanism for lowering the support unit from the support position of the article.

If the longitudinal direction of the article is parallel to the yarn feeding rail or the like, there is little interference with other yarn feeders, and the article can be accurately inserted into the knitted fabric. So preferably, the support part supports the article so that the longitudinal direction of the article is parallel to the yarn feeding rail.

Preferably, the article inserting device has an elevating member installed on the carrier, the support portion is closed by the elevating member to lower to hold the article, and the lifting member releases the grip to insert the article into the knitted fabric. . By lifting the lifting member, it is possible to grip and release the article.

More preferably, the support portion includes a pair of grip pieces having an article holding position at a lower portion and a pair of pins protruding from a position above the article holding position of each grip piece, and the carrier comprises: 1 It guides the pair of pins and is provided with a pair of opposing cam grooves, the gap between the pair of opposing cam grooves is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and the gap between the grip pieces is narrowed by descending to grip the article, and by ascending The gripping is canceled by widening the gap between the grip pieces. In this way, it is possible to simply and reliably hold and release the article by raising and lowering the grip piece.

Most of the articles to be inserted are thread-shaped or strip-shaped, such as RFID-equipped threads and cushion materials. It is preferable to supply yarn-shaped or strip-shaped articles from cones, bobbins, reels, or the like. Therefore, preferably, the product supply device includes a base that moves horizontally below the needle bed, a lifting part that is supported by the base and moves up and down, a gripping part and a cutter that are supported by the lifting part and can be opened and closed, Equipped with a supply section for articles. In this way, the elevating part is raised, the gripping part grips the article, and the article is drawn out to a required length by horizontal movement. Then, after holding the article in the article inserting device, the article is cut with a cutter. As a result of these, it is possible to feed the thread-like or strip-like article to the article inserting device without cutting it into a desired length in advance.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a flat knitting machine in an embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a front view of an article inserting device used in the embodiment.
Fig. 3 is an exploded view in the vertical direction of the article inserting device used in the embodiment.
Fig. 4 is a side view of a main part of an article inserting device of a modified example.
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a product supply device used in the embodiment.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a jig for inserting a chip-like article.

Best examples for carrying out the invention are shown below.

(Example)

1 to 6, a flat knitting machine 2 of an embodiment and its modifications are shown. In the following, descriptions of the parts provided in a normal flat knitting machine will be simplified, focusing on the article insertion device 10 and article supply device 12. do. The controller 3 controls the flat knitting machine 2 and, in particular, controls the article insertion device 10 through the carriage 6 and also controls the article supply device 12. The flat knitting machine 2 has, for example, a pair of front and rear needle beds 4, 4, and knits a fabric in a knitting area 5, which is an area in which knitting needles are arranged. (編成布) (7) is organized. A knitted fabric 7 is knitted by both of the front and back pair of needle beds 4, 4, and an article is inserted into the knitted fabric 7.

An article feeding device 12 is provided at one end of the needle beds 4, 4 in the longitudinal direction and between the needle beds 4, 4 to supply articles to the article inserting device 10. Along the upper yarn feed rail 8 of the needle bed 4 or a dedicated rail parallel thereto, the article inserting device 10 and a yarn feeder not shown in the drawings For example, it moves while interlocking with the carriage 6. Also, the article inserting device 10 and the yarn feeder may be operated independently. There is an upper plate 9 at the top of the flat knitting machine 2, and a cone of knitting yarn (not shown) is arranged and the yarn is fed to the yarn feeder. In addition, an article 16 such as an RFID thread or a band-shaped cushioning material in which RFID is set at a predetermined pitch is supplied from the cone 14, and is supplied from the conveying device 15 to the article supplying device 12. In the embodiment, the article 16 is a filamentous body, and elements such as RFID 17 are provided at a predetermined pitch. The element may be a part where the thickness of the filament is changed, a part where the color is changed, or the like. The article 16 is gripped so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the needle bed 4 and, consequently, to the knitted fabric 7, so that the article 16 is reliably inserted into the knitted fabric 7. Also, the article 16 is prevented from interfering with other yarn feeders. When the article 16 is coin-shaped or the like, its radial direction is made parallel to the needle bed 4.

2 and 3 show the article inserting device 10. The lower end 27 of the article inserting device 10 is located in the gap between the pair of needle beds 4 and 4, and the gripping position A holding the article 16 is indicated by a solid line and rises. A release position (B) in which the article 16 is released and a press-in position (C) in which the article 16 in the knitted fabric is lowered and pressed downward is indicated by a chain line. In addition, in the release position (B), the lower end portion 27 rises from the needle bed 4, and interference with other yarn feeders can be avoided.

20 is a carrier and moves along the yarn feeding rail 8 by rollers 21. The carrier 20 has an elevating rod 22, and the follower 23 at the upper end is pushed down by the cam 30 of the carriage to lower the lower end 27 into a gripping position. Descend to (A). The carriage is equipped with a solenoid 31, for example, and can further lower the cam 30 to the lowering position 32 indicated by the dashed line. In doing so, the lower end portion 27 descends to the press-in position C. In the embodiment, the interlocking of the article insertion device 10, the lowering of the lower end 27 to the gripping position A, and the lowering to the pushing position C are controlled by the cam 32, but controlled by the respective cams. You can do it. A pressing member 25 for pressing the lifting rod 22 upward in the vertical direction is provided, and when the cam 30 is not operated, the follower 23 rises to the lifting position 24 indicated by the dashed line. do.

Support parts 26 and 26 having a pair of grip pieces 26a and 26a are attached to the shaft 36 of the lower end of the elevating rod 22 so as to swing there is. Further, in the lower part of the grip piece 26a, a pair of left and right pins 28 are provided at a position above the lower end 27. In addition, a groove 34 is formed, for example, in the upper portion of the lower end of the grip piece 26a to support the article 16 . The article 16 may be held by the contact surfaces between the grip pieces 26a and 26a without forming the grooves 34 . Also, in this specification, left and right are directions parallel to the longitudinal direction of the needle bed 4 .

A pair of left and right cams 29 and 29 are installed on the lower part of the carrier 20, and each cam 29 has a pair of front and rear cam grooves 35 and 35, and the cam grooves 35 and 35 ) is wide at the top of the vertical direction and narrow at the bottom. Also, in this specification, front and rear are directions connecting the front and back surfaces of the flat knitting machine 2. 3 shows the grip pieces 26a and 26a at the gripping position A, the lifting rod 22 is pushed down by the cam 30 of the carriage and the pin 28 moves down the lower part of the cam groove 35. It is in the narrow part of the gap. As a result, the grip pieces 26a and 26a come into contact with each other to hold the article 16 in the groove 34 .

When the elevating rod 22 rises from the state shown in Fig. 3, the pin 28 is guided to the cam groove 35, and the grip pieces 26a and 26a swing so as to widen the gap between them, at the release position B. It is released to release the article 16. The released article 16 falls into the knitted fabric.

The lower end 27 of the grip piece 26a can be lowered from the state shown in FIG. 3 to the press-in position C by means of the solenoid 31 or the like shown in FIG. 2 . At this time, since the gap between the cam grooves 35 and 35 remains narrow, the grip pieces 26a and 26a do not open. Then, by the lower end portion 27 that has descended, the article 16 in the knitted fabric is press-fitted downward to stabilize the position.

When the grip pieces 26a, 26a are raised to the release position B, the lower end 27 of the grip piece 26a can be evacuated from the uppermost part of the gap between the needle beds 4, 4 (needle bed gap). . In this way, the grip piece 26a does not interfere with another yarn feeder (not shown) feeding the knitting yarn and the needles of the needle bed 4 advancing and retreating to manipulate the knitting yarn. Also, when the grip pieces 26a do not evacuate from the needle bed gap, it is necessary to evacuate the article inserting device 10 from the knitting area by the carriage. On the other hand, in the embodiment, when the carriage releases the linkage of the article inserting device 10, the elevating rod 22 rises and the grip piece 26a is evacuated.

The article insertion device 10 may be operated frequently without interlocking with the carriage 6. In addition, the article insertion device 10 may be operated autonomously by providing a power source and a controller to the article insertion device 10, instead of being operated by the carriage 6. Alternatively, a compressed air pipe may be provided for press-fitting of the article 16, and press-fitting may be performed by air flow. In addition, a mechanical mechanism for press fitting may be provided separately from the grip piece 26a. The grip piece 26a is not limited to evacuating by rising, and may evacuate by swinging back and forth, for example.

Fig. 4 shows a support portion 38 used in the article inserting device of the modified example. The fixing member 39 is fixed to the carrier of the article inserting device (similar to Figs. 2 and 3), and has a projection 40 at its lower end to place the article 16 therein. The upper surface of the protrusion 40 is inclined so that the article 16 falls down. The elevating member 41 is coupled to the lower end of the elevating rod 22 in FIGS. 2 and 3, has a closing portion 42 at the lower end, and is protruded by the descent of the elevating rod 22 ( The fall of the article 16 from 40 is prohibited, and the fall of the article 16 is allowed by the elevation of the lifting rod 22. In addition, it is preferable to allow the fixing member 39 to swing back and forth in the weft knitting machine in a state in which the closing portion 42 is raised so that the article 16 can be placed on the inclined surface of the upper surface of the projection 40.

5 shows the product supply device 12. In the embodiment, the conveying device 15 is composed of a pair of drive rollers, but the article 16 may be conveyed from a side tension device or the like. An article supply device 12 is installed at a position away from the knitting area 5 below one end of the needle bed 4. 44 is a motor, 45 is a feed screw, and 46 is a bearing, by which the base 48 is moved horizontally. The base 48 supports the elevation part 50, and the elevation part 50 moves up and down by the same screw mechanism or the like.

In the lifting part 50, a gripping part 51 is provided on the conveying device 15 side, and a cutter 52 is installed on the knitting area 5 side. At the position where the elevation part 50 is raised, the article insertion device 10 can hold the article 16 held by the gripping part 51, and at the position where the elevation part 50 descends, the article insertion device (10) does not interfere with the gripping portion 51 and the cutter 52. Both the gripping portion 51 and the cutter 52 are composed of a pair of members that open and close in the forward and backward directions in this specification, and the gripping portion 51 closes the pair of members to hold the article 16, The cutter 52 cuts the article 16 when closing the pair of members. The sensor 54 detects the RFID 17 or the like set in the article 16, and determines the type of the sensor 54 according to the type of element to be detected.

The operation of the product supply device 12 will be described. Initially, it is assumed that the gripping portion 51 grips one end of the article 16, and the lifting portion 50 is in an elevated position. The base 48 moves to the side to take out the article 16, and after the sensor 54 detects the RFID 17, the article 16 is further taken out by a predetermined length (step 1). In the embodiment, the gripper 51 supports the drawing of the article 16 by the conveying device 15 in the meantime.

Subsequently, the article inserting device 10 moves to a predetermined position and holds the article 16 at the predetermined position based on the RFID 17 (step 2). In order to prevent interference between the article inserting device 10, the gripping portion 51, and the cutter 52, when they cross, the grip piece of the article inserting device 10 is raised or the lifting portion 52 is lowered. Further, when the article inserting device 10 grips the article 16, the gripping portion 51 is opened to release the article 16.

Next, the base 48 moves toward the conveying device 15 by a predetermined distance based on the RFID 17 of the article 16 held by the article insertion device 10, and the lifting unit 50 It rises and grips the article 16 with the gripping portion 51 . Next, the article 16 is cut by the cutter 52 (step 3). Accordingly, the article 16 corresponding to the inserted length is supported by the article insertion device.

When the pitch of the RFID 17 on the article 16 is longer than the length of the article 16 inserted by the article inserting device 10, the article inserting device returns after inserting the article 16 into the knitted fabric. By holding the tip of the article 16 in (10), the article 16 is continuously drawn out. When the sensor 54 detects the RFID 17, the product supply device 12 is moved to a predetermined position, such as near the tip of the antenna of the RFID 17, and the product 16 is grasped and cut. . After that, the gripping by the article inserting device 10 is released, and the unnecessary portion is sucked and discarded by a suction device provided at the end of the needle bed in the longitudinal direction or the like. Continue to execute steps 1 to 3.

If it is a thread-shaped or belt-shaped article, it can be pulled out from the cone 14 by the article supply device 12 in the above manner and held by the article inserting device 10. In the case of an article 61 that has a certain shape such as a chip and is difficult to deform, the article 61 is supplied to the article inserting device 10 by a jig 60 or the like of FIG. 6 . The mechanism of Fig. 6 is also an example of an article supply device.

Articles 61 are set at intervals on the jig 60, and the jig 60 can advance and retreat in the direction of the arrow in the drawing (at right angles in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed and in the horizontal plane). The grip pieces 26a, 26a of the article inserting device descend to grip the article 61. Subsequent operations are the same as in the case of the article 16, the article insertion device is moved to a predetermined position, the grip pieces 26a and 26a are opened to insert the article 61, and the grip pieces 26a and 26a are inserted. It is closed and lowered further to press the article 61 into the knitted fabric. As an example other than the jig 60, a box accommodating a large number of articles 61 is provided at one end of the needle bed in the longitudinal direction, and in the direction of the short side of the needle bed (front and rear direction of the flat knitting machine). It is good also as an article feeding device which installs a conveyor which advances and retreats and automatically supplies articles to the conveyor at a predetermined pitch.

2: flat knitting machine
3 : Controller
4: needle bed
5: organization area
6 : Carriage
7: knitted fabric
8 : Feed Rail
9 : top plate
10: article insertion device
12: article supply device
14 : Cone
15: transfer device
16: Goods
17: RFID
20: carrier
21: roller
22: lifting rod
23: followers
25: pressing member
26: support
26a: grip piece
27: lower part
28: pin
29 : Cam
30: cam
31: solenoid
32: Home
34: axis
35: cam home
38: support
39: fixing member
40: protrusion
41: lifting member
42: closing part
44: motor
45: feed screw
46: bearing
48: base
50: lifting part
51: gripping part
52: cutter
54: sensor
60: jig
61: Item

Claims (7)

In a flat knitting machine that knits a knitted fabric by supplying knitting yarn to needles of a needle bed from a yarn feeder running on a yarn feeder rail,
A carrier capable of moving the yarn-feeding rail or a rail parallel to the yarn-feeding rail, and a support part installed under the carrier and capable of inserting the article into the knitted fabric by holding and releasing the gripping of the article. An article insertion device having a
An article supply device capable of supplying articles to a position where the article insertion device can grip
have, and also
The article inserting device is configured to move to the position to grip the article.
Flat knitting machine characterized by.
According to claim 1,
The flat knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the article inserting device includes a press-fitting means for downwardly pressing the article inserted into the knitted fabric.
According to claim 1 ,
The flat knitting machine, characterized in that the support portion supports the article so that the longitudinal direction of the article is parallel to the yarn feeding rail.
According to claim 2 ,
The flat knitting machine, characterized in that the support portion supports the article so that the longitudinal direction of the article is parallel to the yarn feeding rail.
According to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The article inserting device includes an elevating member installed on the carrier, and the support portion is closed by the elevating member to lower to hold the article, and to release the grip by the elevation to insert the article into the knitted fabric. Flat knitting machine, characterized in that configured to.
According to claim 5 ,
The support part includes a pair of grip pieces having an article holding position at a lower portion and a pair of pins protruding from a position above the article holding position of each grip piece,
The carrier includes a pair of cam grooves that guide and oppose a pair of pins;
The gap between the pair of opposing cam grooves is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and gripping the item by narrowing the gap between the grip pieces by descending and releasing gripping by widening the gap between the grip pieces by rising
Flat knitting machine characterized by.
According to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The article is in the form of a thread or a strip,
The product supply device includes a base that horizontally moves downward of the needle bed, a lifting part that is supported by the base and moves up and down, a gripping part that is supported by the lifting part and can be opened and closed, and a cutter. to provide,
that the supplying part of the article to the gripping part is further installed
Flat knitting machine characterized by.

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