US2201092A - Yarn holding device for knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

14, 1940- R. HUG 2,201,092

YARN HOLDING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 27, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. jfudogph Ha May 14, 1940. HUG

YARN HOLDING DEVICE FUR KNITTING MACHINBS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. '27, 1938 INVENTOR: in hflu mg A TTO 1-3."!EY.

R. HUG

May 14, 1940.

. YQRN HOLDING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES 7 Filed Jar 1. 2?. 1938 INVENTOR. 21in? ATTOR Y Y.

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YARN HOLDING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 27, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F1. :5- E- a M IN V EN TOR.

TTORNEK Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES YARN HOLDING DEVICE FOR KNITTmG MACHINES Rudolph Hug, West Reading, Pa., assignmto Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa a corporation of Pennsylvania I Application January 27, 1938, Serial No. 187,170

8 Claims.

My invention relates to an arrangement including yarn holding means and more particularly to a device of this character for facilitating the feeding of yarn to the loop forming elements of a full fashioned knitting machine.

In preparing the knitting machine for producing a stocking fabric, it has been customary to draw a short section of yarn from the yarn guide finger, prior to its introduction into the fabric, and to suspend the free end of the yarn from the yarn guide finger or to pass it through an eyelet provided for this purpose, without securing the yarn thereto. However, with these methods for preparing the machine for operation, feeding of the yarn to the full width of fabric or area being produced has been uncertain, and in many instances, the free end of the yarn has been partially carried across the knitting field before being caught by the sinkers around the needles of the machine.

Another diificulty has occurred in the use of high twist yarn, in that the free end, if not secured, has a tendency to curl or twist to such an extent that in some instances the yarn has twisted above the throats of the sinkers. Consequently, no yarn has been fed to-the first few sinkers.

Other objections to leaving the free end of the yarn suspended from the yarn guide finger have been, where no tension was applied to the yarn, the first loops formed in the course were of a much looser construction, usually greatly enlarged relative to the remaining loops of the course, or the free end of the yarn became untwisted. At other times the free end of the yarn suspended from the yarn guide finger has become entangled with the free ends of yarns hanging from idle yarn guide fingers, carrying these idle yarns into the fabric to be interknitted therewith.

This is particularly apt to happen in knitting with several body yarns according to the ringless or alternating carrier principle. All the above actions of the yarn cause noticeable line effects and other blemishes in the fabric, which are especially objectionable in view of the trend toward sheerness and beauty in stocking fabrics.

However, securing the free end of the yarn to the machine also has certain disadvantages in that the secured end of yarn, if not released or severed at the selvage edge of the fabric shortly after the start of the knitting operation will cause a tightening and bunching of the loops at the selvage resulting in a defective fabric.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a device of simple construction, which will be cheap to manufacture and eflicient in operation and which will overcome the above objections.

It has been found further that unless the yarn leading from the point at which it is held to the lower end of the yarn guide finger is entirely below the lower end of the finger, the yarn will not enter the throats of all the sinkers and the first course will be one or more loops short. This is especially serious in footers, as the resulting defect falls at the instep of the stocking.

Another object of my invention is to provide an arrangement by means of which the yarn will be held below the tops of the sinkers so that the yarn in being moved across the knitting field for a first course will readily enter the throat of the first sinker and will be fed to the throats of all of the remaining sinkers across the full width of the fabric being knitted.

In addition to difiiculty which has developed in the portion of the yarn extending freely from the yarn guide finger, high twist yarns have caused difliculty by forming a snarl between the yarn guide and the snapper which has been carried into the fabric causing a double strand in certain loops thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby twisting and snarling of the yarn between the yarn guides and the snappers may be prevented, but which will hold the yarn lightly enough to permit it to pull loose without causing damage or other difficulty in the knitting.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the drawings, my invention resides in the novel elements, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a thread holding device of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation as viewed from the left of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation as viewed from the right of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of certain of the loop forming elements of a full fashioned knitting machine and showing the thread holding device in operative position relative thereto;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the mechanism of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a partial cross sectional view through a-full fashioned knitting machine. having the thread holding device applied thereto;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the line 9-9 of Fig. '7 and enlarged relative thereto; and I Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, butshowing a modified arrangement.

In the drawings and description, only those parts necessary to a complete understanding of the invention have been set forth; further information as to the construction and operation of other elements not herein specifically pointed out, but which are usual and well known, being available in the pamphlet entitled Full Fashioned Knitting Machines, copyright 1920, and in the "Reading Full Fashioned Knitting Machine Catalogues, copyright 1929 and 1935, published by the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Penna, and a pamphlet entitled Knitting Machine Lectures, published in 1935 by the Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. I

The arrangement within my invention comprises a knitting machine and a device permitting yarn to be readily inserted therein andv adapted to hold the yarn with a certain rather light tension, and positioned on the machine substantially transversely thereto, but somewhat outside a knitting field having a bed of vertical needles, so that a yarn stretched between the device and the lower end of the yarn guide finger runs below the upper corner and above the nose or lower tip of the end sinker of the group associated with said bed at the point the yarn intersects the plane of the needle, so that the end sinker is sure to catch the yarn at the formation of the first course. The yarn holding means or device within the invention applies friction to the yarn to hold it, but preferably without any spring action and without any rotative movement between the opposed yarn contacting surfaces, experience showing that both spring action and rotation of the surfaces often cause uneven tension in the thread or yarn in use. It is important further that the yarn holder have a flared portion to facilitate introduction of the yarn between the holding surfaces.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 8, there is shown in this figure the upper portion of a full fashioned knitting machine of known type comprising a center frame l0 which supports in transverse relation thereto a center bed I! and a front bed l2. A sinker head [5, secured to the center bed I I, has horizontal sinkers l6 and dividers I! which cooperate with a bank of vertical needles 2|, carried by a needle bar or bed 22, the sinkers, dividers and needles cooperating with other well known implements to form a knitting field. A yarn 23 is fed to the sinker head I5 and the needles 2| from a supply bobbin 26 in a yarn box 21, through an eyelet 3|, over rods 32 and 33 into a moistening trough 36 suspended from a bracket 31 fixed to the center frame ill in well known manner.

From the moistening trough 36 the yarn 23 passes through a ring tension device 38 of usual type, carried by the bracket 31 by well known means including a stud 4|. After passing through the ring tension device 38, the yarn passes through a usual snapper 42, which is fixed to and operated by a rod 43 to alternately open to release the yarn 23 during the feeding thereof to the needles 2|, and to close to maintain the yarn taut between the snapper and the needles.

The yarn, after passing through the snapper 52 passes through one of the yarn guides 46, each of which has a finger 49 at its lower end and is fixed to one of a usual series of carrier rods 41.

The carrier rods 41 are slidably mounted in a bracket 48, secured to the center bed I l and are reciprocated in the customary manner by friction boxes (not shown) to feed the yarn 23 to the needles 2 to form loops in a knitted fabric.

"Prior to feeding yarn 23 to the needles 2| for forming a first course of loops, 9; short length of the yarn is drawn through the yarn guide finger 49 andplaced around the first effective needle. In accordance with the present invention, the short length drawn through the finger prior to the forming of the first course is placed in a yarn holding or clamping device 5|, which holds the free end of the yarn sufficiently tight to ensure that the loops of the first course shall be of uniform length, but which permits the yarn to draw through it under the draw-off tension without damage to the fabric and without drawing the selvage loops of the initial courses too tight.

.The yarn holding device 5|, Figs. 1 to 9, inclusive, comprises a lower plate 52 having one end secured by a screw 53 to a bracket 56 which is fixed to the front bed l2 by means of a screw 51. The brackets 56 carry a shaft 58 to which are secured brackets 68 arranged to align a transfer bar (not shown) with the needles 2|, said transfer bar being of usual construction and used in well known manner in transferring the leg blank of a stocking fabric from a legger ma chine to a footer machine. Cooperating with the lower plate 52, to hold the yarn 23, is an upper plate 58 having a portion 6| slightly raised at the center to provide a space between it and plate 52 tapering toward the ends, plate 58 forming only line contacts along transverse lines at 62 and 63 with the lower plate. A plate 58 of polished mild steelhaving a weight of about three fourths ounces has been used successfully in a large number of installations, although lighter plates have also been used successfully. By providing line contacts between the upper plate and the lower one, varying tension may be obtained in the yarn by moving the yarn toward either of the lines of contact or several yarns may be placed between the plates without affecting the holding action on the yarns. The upper plate 58 is also provided with an upturned end forming a flaring mouth 64 with plate 52, so that the yarn 23 may readily be passed between and positioned between the plates 52 and 58. Further, the flaring space between end 65 and plate 52 opens toward the front of the machine so that it is'readily accessible to the operative standing in front of bed l2.

The upper plate 58 is secured to the lower plate 52 by means of headed pins 66 which are fixed in the lower plate but are loose in the upper plate to permit a slight hinge-like movement between the plates. The use of two pins 66 prevents any rotation between the plates 52 and 58 and so also prevents any rolling action on the yarn, an action causing it to twist and to thereby change the tension required to pull it out from between the plates. Further, the rearward contraction of the space between the plates with the looseness of plate 58 on pins 66 causes the rearward pull on yarn 23 from the sinkers and yarn guide to wedge the yarn tighter if needed between the plates. With the hinge-like movement between the plates, and the upturned end of the plate 58, the yarn may readily be positioned between the plates by simply passing a strand rearwardly between the plates until it becomes wedged at the rear of the widest spacing therebetween, as shown in Fig. 9.

The plate 58, although normally clamping the yarn against the lower plate 52 during feeding thereof to the needles, is light enough to permit the yarn to be withdrawn from between the plates, when the drag on the yarn exceeds the clamping action of the plates, without distorting the fabric.

In the illustrations of Figs. 6 and 8, the free ends of the yarns used at the start of the foot knitting are shown being held by the respective devices 5|, thereby effecting positive feeding of the yarns to the needles during the production of the first course of loops. The leg blank has been purposely omitted fromthis illustration in order to more clearly show the position occupied by the yarns as effected by the holding devices. Thus, by means of this arrangement, the free ends of the individual yarns are separately anchored thereby preventing the production of defective fabric, as for instance would be occasioned if the yarn would not be in position to be caught by certain of the sinkers during the loop forming operation thereof, which action might possibly be occasioned if the ends of the yarns were free.

The holder 5| according to the invention is shown in Figs. 8 and 9 as mounted to be horizontal, but it often occurs that better results can be obtained by inclining the holder downwardly from front to rear as shown in Fig. 10. For this purpose a holder 5la including brackets 56a, bolts 51a and plate 52a are all modified slightly so that plate 52a can incline downwardly from brackets 56a passing close above the heads of bolts 51a.

As will be immediately apparent to those familiar with such machines, the knitting machine illustrated in part herein is essentially a standard Reading" footer machine. In legger machines, which have no shaft 59, plate 52 or 52a is modified so that it may be attached readily directly to the front bed I2. The modification necessary for this purpose being obvious to those skilled in the mechanical arts, it is not illustrated herein.

The plates 52 and 58 are arranged on the front bed l2 so that the line of the yarn 23, extending from the clamping device 5| to the yarn guide it, will be below the tops of the sinkers l6, but above their lower tips or noses at the line of the needles ensuring that the first sinker will catch the yarn and providing yarn for all of the needles for producing a first course the full required width of fabric. To ensure this action of the parts, holder 5| is placed as shown in Fig. 7 somewhat outside the vertical transverse planes extending through the ends of the knitting field, whereas the yarn is held below the lower end of the finger 49 of its respective yarn guide 46, at the point of leaving the holder.

In using my invention, prior to starting the stocking fabric, or prior to starting a portion of the fabric where a different yarn is required, a

short length of the yarn 23 is drawn from the yarn guide 46 and the free end of the yarn placed between the plates 52 and 5B of the clamping device 5|, thus eliminating untwisting and kinking of the yarn as well as the accidental entering of an idle yarn into the fabric, causing defective fabric. Furthermore, the clamp device 5! will function to prevent the first loops of the initial course from becoming loose and will thereby be gradual withdrawal of the free end of the yarn, if for any reason the operator fails to release or sever the yarn, thus preventing a tightening of the selvage loops of the fabric.

Of course, the improvements specifically shown and described by which I obtain the above results, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a straight knitting machine, loop forming means including a bank of needles, a yarn guide finger for feeding yarn to the needles, sinkers for pressing the yarn around the needles, means for yieldably holding the yarn below the tops of the sinkers including a lower stationary member and an upper member hinged to the lower member, one of said members being bowed to provide substantially line contact between said members.

2, A thread holder for knitting machines having an upper plate resting on a lower one along spaced lines, retaining means near one of said lines having loose engagement with said upper plate for holding it on the lower one but arranged to prevent substantial relative horizontal turning movement between the plates, said plates spaced apart between said lines but arranged so that the space between them tapers from the point of widest spacing toward said retaining means.

3. A thread holder for knitting machines having an upper plate resting on a lower one along spaced lines, retaining means near one of said lines having loose engagement with said upper plate for holding it on the lower one but arranged to prevent substantial relative horizontal turning movement between the plates, and said plates spaced apart between said lines but arranged so that the space between them tapers from the point of widest spacing toward said retaining means, the holder having a flaring mouth to receive thread to be passed beneath the upper plate.

4. The combination with a full fashioned knitting machine having a bank of needles and sinkers for kinking yarn about said needles, of a thread holder arranged to maintain the free end of a yarn being laid along the needles at a level below the tops of said sinkers, and including a pair of plates extending generally between planes at right angles to the plane of the needle bank, one of said plates resting on the other, retaining means near the ends of said plates closer to the needles permitting the upper plate to lift from the lower with angular movement between the two in the vertical plane but substantially preventing relative angular movement of the plates in the horizontal plane, the holder having a flaring mouth at the end farther from the needles to receive thread.

5. The combinationas set forth in claim 4 and Y in which the plates are arranged to provide space between the plates for a portion of their length but so that the space between them tapers from the point of widest spacing toward the retaining means.

6. In a straight knitting machine, loop forming facilitate the introduction of thread therebetween at a point relatively removed from the hinge between the members and to rest one on the other at points adjacent said hinge and said point and to provide space between them tapering toward the hinge whereby thread introduced between the members is wedged between the members by the action of the yarn guide finger, said hinge, however, permitting the movable member to lift enough so that thread which has wedged between the members may draw between them in response to a movement of said needle bank.

'7. In' a knitting machine, means for yieldably holding the free end of the yarn to be knitted including a lower stationary member and an upper member hinged to the stationary member at a point relatively near said bank, said memhas being formed to facilitate the introduction of thread therebetween at a point relatively removed from the hinge between the members and, to rest one on the other at points adjacent said hinge and said point and to provide space between them tapering toward the hinge whereby thread introduced between the members is wedged between the members by the action of the yarn guide finger, said hinge, however, permitting the movable member to lift enough so that thread which has wedged between the members may draw between them.

8. In a straight knitting machine, loop forming means including a bank of needles, means for yieldably holding the free end of the yarn to be knitted including a lower stationary member and an upper member hinged to the stationary member at a point relatively near said bank, said members being formed to facilitate the introduc tion of thread therebetween at a point relatively removed from the hinge between the members and to rest one on the other at points adjacent said hinge and said point for introduction of the thread but to provide space between them tapering toward the hinge whereby thread introduced between the members is wedged between the members by the action of the yarn guide finger, said hinge, however, permitting the movable member to lift enough so that thread which has wedged between the members may draw between them in response to a movement of said needle bank.

RUDOLPH HUG. 25

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