US2329971A - Stop motion for knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

- Sept. 21, 1943.

5. J. ZIOCK STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19; 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet l m M 5 V. w

Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. z|o cK 2,329,971

STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Fil e d Dec. 19, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 III/M" INVENTOR E. J. ZIOCK STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Sept. 21, 1943.

Filed Dec. is, ess 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. zlocK 2,329,971

STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 [,NVENTOR Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. ZIOCK ,9 7

' S'1 OP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES I Filed Dec. 19, 1958 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVEN TOR Sept 21, 1943. E. J; ZIOCK ,32

STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 19, 1958 v 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR Sept. 21, 1943. E. J. ZIOCK STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACBINES 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Dec. 19, 1938 E; J. ZIOCK 2,329,971 5Tb? mombn' FOR KNITTING mcnmEs Filed Dec. 19, 1938. 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Patented Sept. 21, 1943 2,329,971 STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES Edward J. Ziock, Oakland, Calif. Application December 19, 1938, Serial No. 246,574

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in stop motions for knitting machines and is herein disclosed as embodied in a circular spring needle knitting machine generally known as the sinker burr wheel machine.

The primary object of the invention is to produce a novel and improved yarn and fabric stop motion which will be sensitive and certain in operation without at the same time imposing any appreciable burden on the yarn or fabric.

Another object of the invention is to provide a yarn stop motion particularly adapted for use in a machine of this type, which will act rapidly and efiiciently when thrown into operation to render the knitting elements inoperative and thereafter to stop the machine,

With these objects in view, the several features of the invention consist in the devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and together with the ad elevation taken from the rear of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 13; Fig. 15 is a detailed plan view of the delayed switch utilized to supply current during the operation of the machine; Fig. 16 is a view in side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. '15; Fig. 17 is a detail view of the mercury dash pot utilized in giving a delayed movement to the switch; Fig. 18 is a plan view taken on the .line l8l8 of Fig. 1'7; Fig. 19 is a'view in elevation of the yarn feeler and drop wire mechanism;

Fig. 20 is a view in elevation taken from the side of the part shown in Fig. 19; and Fig. 21

is a sectional view, in side elevation taken on the line 2l--2l of Fig. 13.

The sinker burr wheel knitting machine which forms the preferred embodiment of the present invention, comprises a large circular spring needle machine provided with a number of yarn vantages to be obtained thereby, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Only somuch of the machine is disclosed in the drawings as is necessary to show the connection of the present invention therewith.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a sinker burr wheel machine illustrating particularly one yarn feed with cooperating knitting elements; Fig. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 showing particularly the sinker wheel and the device for severing the feeding yarn; Fig. 3 is a view in elevation taken from the rear of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail view in elevation taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the pressure mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an elevation taken from the rear of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 5; Fig. '7 is a plan view-on an enlarged scale of a portion of the stop mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a view in elevation taken from the rear of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 7; Fig. 9

is a view in elevation taken from the side of the feeds which are distributed at different points on the knitting ring. Loop wheels are utilized to direct the feeding yarn under the beards of the needles and then up into the needle hooks, after which landing wheels operate to raise the old cloth toward the tip of the needle beards. At the same time, the beards are closed by the action, of the presser so that the continued rotation of the landing wheel causes the old loops to be cast off over the ends of the needles. The new loops are then finished by one or a number of finishing wheels. in the usual way.

Due to the high speed of operation attained with these machines and also the comparatively great weight of the moving parts, much difliculty has been experienced in providing a yarn stop by means'of an electrically actuated stop mechanism whichacts to sever the defective yarn and parts shown in Fig, '7; Fig. 10 is a detailed plan view illustrating particularly a portion of the timing mechanism in operation; Fig. 11 is a similar view to Fig. 10 with the parts shown in position at the end of the movement; Fig. 12 is a sectional view in side elevation taken on the line l2--l2 of Fig.1; Fig. 13 is aplan view on an enlarged scale of the whole detector mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 14 is a view in then to move the presser out of contact with the needle beards to prevent the fabric from.

being cut oif of the needles from the point where the feeding yarn has beendiscont'inued. These parts are actuated in timed relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder so that a short yarn end of fairly constant length i certain to be produced which will not interfere with the following feeds or otherwise cause injury to the machine.

Owing to the fact that it is undesirable to permit the landing andsinker wheels to run into the needles for any length of time when no fabric is being produced, mechanism is also provided which is thrown into operation by the yarn stop I motion to. throw the machine starting and stopping switch into neutral position so that the Referring more specifically to the drawings, a

portion of a grooved ring is indicated at 22 rigidly secured to a horizontal plate 23 of the machine frame, and forms a mounting for the knitting and feeding elements cooperating with the spring beard needles 24. The presser lever is indicated at 28, a sinker wheel of ordinary construction at 28, and the yarn eye through which the yarn is fed to the needles, at 30. The feeding yarn 32 passes from the supply through a knot-catching device 33 (see Figs. 1, 19, and vertically upward over a trip lever 34 to an eyelet 36, over the anvil plate 38 forthe yarn severing hammer 40 and thence to the yarn eye 30.

The feeler mechanism for throwing the yarn stop motion into operation (see Figs. 19 and 20) comprises a yarn contact lever 42 which is mounted on a fixed pivot 44 and is normally held in a substantially vertical position by the feeding yarn at a point between the trip lever 34 and the knot-catching device 33 which may be conveniently located adjacent to the yarn supply; as indicated, the knot catcher 33 comprises a gauging hole in a plate. In order to insure that no appreciable burden is imposed on the yarn, the yarn contact lever 42 is provided with a number of contact fingers 46 which cooperate with a series of fingers 48 formed on a bracket rigidly mounted on the machine frame so that the yarn during the normal operation of the machine is fed between the two groups of fingers. At its lower ,end the lever 42 is provided with a short arm from which is suspended the contact wire 50 of a mercury switch 52, which for the vertical position of the lever 42 is out of contact with the mercury. But when the contact lever 42 is released and permitted to fall forward, the contact wire 50 is depressed to close the switch. The trip lever 34 is normally held in the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 19 by contact with the tip of a bell crank lever 54 which is pivotally' mounted at 58 on a bracket 58. The bell crank lever 54 is held in position to support the trip lever 34 by means of a small tension spring 60 which is stretched between the free arm of the bell crank lever and a short lever arm 62 which is held ad- Justably in position on a fixed pivot 64. The movement of the bell crank lever 54 under the influenceof the spring 60 is limited by a stop 08 adjustably secured by a pin and slot connection 68 to the machine frame. When the tension on the feeding yarn is unduly increased by the catching of a defective yarn in the knot catcher 33, the bell crank lever 54 will yield against the pressure of the spring 60, thus releasing the trip lever 34 and allowing the yarn to slip out from between the two sets of contact fingers 48 and 48 to release the yarn contact lever 42 and so close the switch 52 to energize a circuit for causing a cessation of the machine activities in a manner hereinafter described.

With this construction, a sufficient amount of slack is provided in the-feeding yarn to insure the operation of the yarn severing device before any injury to the machine can result from the catching of the feeding yarn.

Where there is a break in the feeding yarn, the release of the yarn contact lever 42 acts equally to throw the yarn stop motion into operation and causes the presser to be thrown out of operation before the fabric is cast off from the needles.

The mechanism for actuating the hammer to sever the yarn and for throwing the presser out of active engagement with the needle beards is actuated in timed relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder and comprises a disk 10 pivotally mounted at I2 'on a bracket I4 which is mounted to swing on a vertical stud I6 0n the machine frame. A tension spring I8 stretched between a point on the bracket I4 and an arm rigidly secured to the stud I6 holds the disk yieldingly in engagement with the needles, so that the disk 10 is given a continuous rotary movement in timed relation to the movement of the needle cylinder. A cam disk 82 is loosely mounted on the pivot I2 and may be operatively connected to move with the disk I0 by the engagement of a pawl lever 84 pivotally mounted on the lower disk 82 with ratchet teeth 86 rigidly secured to the disk 10. During the normal operation of the machine, the cam disk 82 remains in a stationary position, the pawl lever 84 being held out of contact with the ratchet teeth against the pressure of a tension spring 88 by the engagement of the hooked end of a locking lever 90 mounted on the fixed pivot 92 with corresponding projection formed on the pawl lever 84. The lever 90 is normally held in looking position with its free end out of contact with an electromagnet 94 by means of a tension spring 86 stretched between a point on the lever and a point 98 rigid with the machine frame. When the electric circuit-including the magnet is closed by the action of the feeler mechanism upon discovery of a flaw in the yarn, the end of the locking lever 90 is drawn towards the magnet, thus unlocking the pawl lever 84 and permitting it to swing under the infiuence of its spring 88 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 86 to cause the disk 82 to rotate with the continuously rotating disk.10. The disk 82 is provided with two cam surfaces comprising a pin I00 and a cam I02 which are adapted respectively to throw into operation the mechanism for severing the yarn and for moving the presser lever out of engagement with the needle beards.

When the disk 82 is rotated, the pin I00 comes into contact with and acts through the lever I04 mounted on the fixed pivot I06 and the intervening connections to trip the hammer 40 illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 to sever the thread. The lever I04 is connected at its lower end through a link IIO to the lower end of the latch lever H2 which is loosely mounted to turn on a pivot H4. The upper end of the latch lever H2 is provided with a notch II6 which is normally held in engagement with a pin II8 on the hammer 40 by the action of a spring I20 coiled about the pivot H4. The hammer is pivoted at I22 on a fixed bracket I24 and is forced yieldingly in a direction to engage with the anvll 38 by means of a springl20 coiled about the pivot I22. The movement of the lever I04 and the link 0 causes the latch lever II2 to swing about its pivot to disengage the pin II8 from the notch H6 and permits the hammer to fall and sever the yarn.

In Order to prevent the yarn from jumping ahead when the tension is released by the severing operation and so interfering with the proper cylinder, brings the the operation are at the positions illustrated in operation of the sinker burr wheel 28 in feeding the yarn to the needles, 9. yarn take-up has been provided in the form of a drop wire member I21 hinged on a fixed portion of the machine and adapted to engage the feeding yarn against a plate I28 at a point adjacent to the yarn eye. As shown in Figure 2, the plate I28 is provided on an element I29 mounted on the anvil plate 88,:

and has its upper face in alignment with the tensed yarn adjacent the eye 38. The member I21 is intermediately hinged to the element I28 Fig. 11. Before setting up the machine, the operator must again return the disk 82 manually to its original position illustrated in Fig. ,7.

Mechanism is also provided which is thrown into operation by the closing of the switch 52 in the operation of the yarn stop motion as above described and acts to return the starting and stopping lever, or hand-shipper I58 of the ma-' chine to neutral position to stop the machine. This mechanism (Figures 1 and 13 and 14) comprises a magnet I68 which is rendered active by the arm of the loop I3l for adjusting the gravity pull of the member I21 transversely against the yarn and the resulting degree of friction. The other end of the member I21 is arrangedto en'- gage the under side of the plate 38 as a stop means to so limit the lowering of the loop when the yarn is broken or cut as to provide .a U bend in the yarn to frictionally restore the original tension of the yarn for its continued feeding to the knitting mechanism. v

The continued rotation of the disk 82 set in motion by the mechanism for detecting flaws in the yarn now causes the presser lever 26 to be thrown out of operation in timed relation to the rotation of the needle cylinder to prevent the fabric from being cast oi! of'the needles after the short end of the severed yarn has been used up. The cam .I82 carried on the-disk 82 engages, with one arm of a bell crank lever I38 mounted on the fixed pivot I86, which acts through the connecting link I82 secured to the free end of the bell crank I38 to release the latch lever I34 loosely mounted on the fixed pivot I38. The presser lever is mounted to turn on a fixed pivot I38 and is held in engagement with the needle beards by means of a hand lever on the pivot I43 justable screw I44 and carries at one end an adadapted to bear against the presser lever 26. The latch lever I34 is adapted swings about'its pivot I48 and permits the spring pressed lever I58 to rotate about the pivot I43 a quarter turn into engagement with the hand lever I42, causing it to turn on its pivot and permitting the presser 26 to positioniliustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

The continued rotation of the disk 82 for caus ing the yarn to be severed and the presser to be withdrawn from contact with the needle beards in timed relation to the rotation of the needle pawl= lever 86 into contact with a stationary cam I56 to disconnect the pawl lever from the ratchet teeth 86 and stops the rotation of the disk 52. The parts'at this point inv be withdrawn into the to a gradual stop as friction overcomes the inertia of its moving parts.

I42 which is mounted to turn (ill the closing of the switch 52 to release a latch lever I82 which is loosely mounted on a fixed pivot I64 and is held normally in open position during the operation of the machine. The latch lever I62 is adapted to vhold a locking lever I66 pivotally mounted at I18 in position to lock the lever I12 against movement about its pivot I14 under the' pressure of a pring I18. when the latch lever I62 is actuated by the closing of the electric switch 52, the locking lever' I66 is permitted. to

swing back to release the spring pressed lever I12 which swings about its pivot I14 and strikes".

the lever I18which is loosely mounted on the pivot I14 and actsthrough the connecting rod, I88 to release the latch I82, thus permitting the return of the hand-shipper member I56 to its neutral position which is indicated in dash lines in Figures 1 and 16. The machine will'now come Inorder to prevent injury to the magnets from the heavy current used in operating the yarn stop mechanism, mechanism is provided for breaking the circuit upon stopping the machine. A delayed-switch is provided for this purpose which is thrown into operation in returning the shipper lever I58 to a neutral position but which does not operate to break the circuit until after the machine has finally come to a stop, so that current is at all times available to operate the yarn stop motions on the remaining active feeding yarns if necessary while the machine is slowing down. This mechanism comprises aswitch bar I84 pivotally mounted at I88 and having secured at one end the contact wire I88 of the mercury switch I38 and at its other end a weight I82, said switch being connected in series with the circuit of .the switch 58-52 and the electro magnets 94 and I68. During the operation of the machine, the switch bar I84 is held in position with the mercury switch I68 closed and the weight I82 .in raised position by the contact of the starting and stoppinglever I58 with a bent portion of the switch bar I84. when the starting and stopping lever I58 is returned to neutral position, the switch bar- I84 is permitted to-move about its pivot I86 under the influence of the weight I82 to throw out the switch I86. A delayed movement is given to the switch bar I84 by means of a mercury dash pot I84 which comprises a plunger I88 secured at one end to the switch bar I84 and provided at its other end with a piston head I88 which is loosely fitted within the dash-pot cylinder I94. A series of holes are punched in the'piston head to permit the piston to be raised comparatively rapidly when the starting and stopping lever I58 is throwninto operating position. During the downward movea plates 202.

provision of a novel and improved fabric hole stop motion which will act upon detecting holes or imperfections in the cloth to prevent further rotation or knitting of the machine. As usually constructed, fabric stop motions are provided with a single feeler which has been found subject to certain disadvantages. When the feeler is cperated at a pressure which will insure the detection of flaws in the fabric, itwill often enter enlarged knitted loops as well as the holes caused by imperfect yarns and dropped stitchesfor which it was intended the machine should stop. Furthermore, the concentration of the pressure at; one point tends to roughen and otherwise injure the fabric. In order to provide a hole detecting mechanism which will be sufflciently sensitive to detect imperfections and holes and will at the same time operate with a minimum of strain on the fabric without roughening or abrading the surface, the feeler arm is provided with a number of feeler fingers to bear against the fabric and so to distribute the pressure necessary for the proper operation of the device.

The fabric hole stopmotion as illustrated in Figs. 1, 13, 14 and 21, consists of a, fabric contact lever 200 to which are secured the small feeler Two plates only are shown in the illustrated machine but it is evident that the number and size of the plates may be varied in accordance with the gage and type of knitting being produced. The fabric contact lever 200 is pivotally mounted at 204 on a lever arm 206 which is adjustably secured by means of pin and slot connections 208 to a swivel plate 2| 0, so that the system of levers 20D and'206 can be moved towards or away from the fabric. The swivel plate 2H1 is rotatably mounted on a pivot 212 about which is coiled a spring 2l4 which tends to swing the swivel plate 2|0 and the lever 206 into operative position. The small feeler plates 2020f the fabric contact lever 200 are held yieldingly in contact with the fabric by means of a small tension spring 2 l5 connected at one end to a rearwardly extending portion of the yarn contact lever 200 and at its other end to an arm 2l8 rigidly secured on the lever 206. When a defect is encountered in the fabric, the feeler plates 202 will move forward and be caught in the hole causing the lever 208 and the swivel plate 2l0 to rotate about the pivot 2| 2 into the dotted position illustrated in Fig. 13, when the feeler plates 202 will again disengage themselves from the fabric. This movement of the swivel plate 2 l 0 causes a light spring finger 220 mounted on a projecting arm 222 to move into contact with and disengage the latch lever I62 to throw the machine stop motion as above described.

Mechanism is also provided which operates to disengage the latch lever I62 and stop the machine in case the fabric becomes too slack through the failure of the fabric take-up commonly supplied in machines of this type, to function properly. This mechanism comprises a shoe 226 which is secured to the end of a shaft 228 mounted for endwise movement on the bracket 230 and is pressed yieldingly into engagement with fabric by means of a compression spring 232 coiled about the shaft 228 between a collar 234 and a fixed bracket 236. The shaft 228 is provided at its rear end with a hook portion 238 which is adapted to engage a projection on the latch lever I62. When the fabric becomes too loose, the shoe 226 and the shaft 228 will be permitted to move forward under the influence of the spring 232 causing the hook portion 238 to release the latch lever I62, thus throwing into operation the mechanism for returning the starting and stopping lever I58 to neutral position to stop the machine.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is: a

1. In a knitting machine the combination of knitting elements and a yarn stop motion comprising a yarn contact lever normally supported by the feed yarn, means rendered operative by the fall cf the lever to sever the yarn, and a friction means thereafter automatically operative upon the severed yarn portion between the yarn severing means and. the knitting elements to provide and maintain a normal feeding tension on said yarn portion. I

2. In a knitting machine the combination with knitting elements of a yarn stop motion comprising a yarn contact lever normally supported by the feeding yarn, means rendered operative by the fall of the lever to sever the yarn, means operative upon the yarn between the knitting elements and the yarn severing means for feeding yarn to the knitting elements, and a friction means operative against the yarn between the yarn feeding means and the yarn severing means to maintain a normal feeding tension on the yarn end afterthe yarn is severed.

EDWARD J. ZIOCK.

Images