US2477495A - Feeder mechanism for circular knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

y 6, 1949. R. PEBERDY Q 2,477,495

FEEDER MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed. June 11, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 El"? ii III 4 "'1 0 l2 July 26,1949. R. P EBERDY' 7 2,477,495

FEEDER MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Juhe 11, 1947 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Patented July 26, 1949 FEEDER MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KN ITTI NG MACHINES .Roland Peberdy, Leicester, England, assignor to The Bentley Engineering Company Limited,

Leicester, England Application June 11, 1947, Serial No. 753,981 In Great Britain June 20, 1946 Claims. (01. se -131),

l This invention concerns feeder mechanism for circular knitting machines, especially circular knitting machines of the opposed needle cylinder type wherein needles are capable of transfer from one needle cylinder to the other. Of such machines the superimposed needle cylinder machine is the sole embodiment at present in commercial use. In such machines it is generally necessary to locate the thread feeders outside the needle circle, and this involves difficulties when it is desired so to arrange matters that a thread feeder may be moved into and out of operatlon or thread feeders may be interchanged. These difiiculties are pronounced in the case of the Splicing feeder of a machine of the aforesaid type which is constructed and arrangedfor the manufacture of seamless hose and the like, said splicing feeder remaining in feeding position for a portion only of each course. I

It will be understood that when in feeding position the splicing feeder eye should be located as close as practicable to the needles, in the somewhat restricted space between the feeder for the main or ground yarn and the location at which the needle latches close. The path of movement of the feeder eye into and out of feeding position must be suchthat it misses the closing latches, and its outward path must carry the running yarn into a trapper and cutter which should be located as close as possible to the needle circle so that it cuts the splicing thread as close as possible to thelast needle that has knitted it so as to avoid the formation of free ends of undue length at one edge of the spliced area.

It is further desirable that the two alternative positions of the feeder eye, in relation to the trapper and cutter and to the knitting point; shall be such that When the length of yarn extending from the introduced feeder eye to the trapper and cutter is taken bythe needles and is released by the trapper, substantially the whol of said length shall be knitted up. I

These requirements are diflicult to meet,

In seamless hose and half hose machines of thetype specified, two constructions of splicing feeder mechanism have been employed. In one, the feeder arm swings about an axis parallel to that of the needle cylinders. Difficulties are experienced in designing satisfactory mechanism of this construction. On the one hand, if matters are so arranged that the length of splicin thread extending from the withdrawn feeder eye to the trapper and cutter is not to be greater than that extending between the two said parts when the eye reaches the feeding position, the path of travel of aneye to clear the closing latches results in a feeding position which is comparatively widely spaced to the outside of the needle circle. On the other hand, if the axis of movement of the feeder is so disposed that the arcuate path of movementof the eye to clear the closing latches brings the eye close to the needle circle the dimculty arises that when the eye reaches feeding position it is then more close to the trapper than it is when in its non-feeding position so that, at the moment of introduction, the length of thread that extends from the eye to the trapper is not taut but is slack and bowed and is therefore not introduced to the needles with certainty at a predetermined needle but in a haphazard manner which results in a ragged edge to the spliced area. In another construction the feeder is substantially L-shaped and lies in a plane normal to the cylinder axis, one arm of the L. being tangential to a circle concentric with said axis and the other arm protruding therefrom inwards towards the needle circle. In this second construction, to introduce the feeder the latter is moved lengthwise of the first mentionedarm and then vention is not restricted in its utility to machines of the opposed needle cylinders type.

With this and other objects in view the present invention provides. in or for a circular knitting machine, feeder mechanism comprising a feeder arm having a feeder eye at its extremity, and

means mounting said arm for movement about a plurality of axes all substantially parallel with the axis of the needle circle and for movement of the feeder eyein a thread-withdrawing path, the first portion of which is substantially radially away from the needle circle and the subsequent portion of which is substantially circumferential- 1y of the circle. I

r The construction specified in the preceeding paragraph has the advantage that the path of the feeder eye may be'such that it clears the closing latches in movement into and out of a feeding position which is close to the needle circle and which is close also to the ground feeder and to the location at which the latches close,

The foregoing and other features of the in Vention set out in the appended claims, '=are incorporated in the construction which will now be described, as an example-offithe application thereof to the splicing feederdfa seamless "hose or half-hose machine of the superimposed needle cylinder type, with reierence to the ,accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the relevant parts of the knitting machine ahddf the splicing feeder mechanism, and

Figure'2'is aplanthereof.

InFigure l, the latch needles are *shown at- I, whilein Figure 2 the needle circle is indicated at and the position at which-the latches close is indicated by the line L. C. The splicing feeder arm! is ofe'longatedrod form and,'in its'operative position shown in Fig. 2 in full lines, oc- "cupies a Substantially radial attitude. Its outer 'end 'is slidably received in a guide block 3 which is itself pivotally mounted on a bracket 4 for movement about a vertical axis (i. e. an "axis which is parallel to the-axis of the needle cylinder). slightlyinwards of this pivot the arm 2 is fixed to a pivot block'5, also having a vertical axis, on a-horizontal swinging arm 6 whichis itself movable about a vertical axis at 15, and which when the feeder is in the feeding position,

"extends substantially at right angles thereto.

Therefore, assuming the feeder-eye"! to -be in the feeding position, in pivotal movement of the swinging arm 6 away from the needle cylinders the feeder 2 is first caused to slide through the "guide block -3' (accompanied by but little pivotal movement of' 'the latter) so thatt'he-eye =1" moves substantially radially awayirom the needlle circle I with little movement circumferentially'of said *circle (thus permitting the eye to travel outlwa-rds until it is located at a radius greater than that of the closing latches), then, as the swinging movement of the arm 6 progresses-and the angle included betw'een the arm and the outer end of the feeder increases the sliding movement of the feeder in theguide block?! is reduced and its pivotal movement increases, with the result that the feeder eye 1 moves circumferentially of the needle circle. This movementtakes the eye I along-the ath indicated bythe dotted line F. P. 'inFigure 2, past the closing latches to a position (also shown in dotted lines in Figure 2) adjacent to a trapperand cutter 8 which itself located close to'the-nee'dle circle I.

The swinging arm '6 is movable between adjust- "a-ble stops '9, movement in one direction (preferablythat which carries the feeder into operative position) being imparted to it 'throug'h a "push rod Iii and movement in the other direc- 'tion being imparted to it by a'tension-spring fl.

This push rod is engaged with- 9in adjustable tappet 12 at the .upper end of an operating lever il3towhich the spring ll'is'also connec 'ted. -This never "I3 is of bell crank form, its second arm ibeing bifurcated so that the two fork arms 311,

45317 engage respectively with each of twofcains 15,1 1 :of arotary timing device M *whe'reioy positive movement ofthe feeder into an but bf 4 operation is secured and the feeder is always under positive control. In order to avoid fitti operations on the cams each cam consists of two parts or discs 16a, Nib, or Ila, I'lb that are adjustable circumferentially. These parts cons'ist difiaf nose on one 'disc f wlii'ch serves to shift the associated fork armand a filling rip cam, on another disc, which is intended to maintain engagement with said fork arm until that phase in the camrotation at which the nose of the v ether-cam operates to shift the fork arm. Additionally, thetwo fork arms l3a, ltb are fric- "tio'na-lly*connectedto one another and to the -"operatiifgilever, the required pressure being app'liedby'compression spring [8 and adjusting nut ;'t9--actinga-gainst a thrust collar 2!] on the lever spin'dleifl.

Any suitable mechanism is provided for impart" i'ng "continuous rotation to these cams I6, ll through spindle 22. v

It will be understood that as the feeder 'eye 'l is with'd'ramvn, the thread T extends from it in a direction tangentially of the needle circles and this movement, to'gther 'with the anti-clockwise rotation of th'e h'eedl'e cylinder o'r cylinders, eventually carries "that length "of thread, that eartends drom the eye to the iast needle --to kii-it it, into -t'h'e trapper and cutter 8. In the reverse movement into feeding position, the eyemoves in atlthe leading side e f-the closing latches i. e. :at az ositicn in advance is the li'neL; 0.) so that the thead '1 extending ir om the eye to the "trap i and cutter -i's enclosed withinthe *needle hooks by the "latches. It will further be appreciated from Fig. 2 that the trapper outte'r' may be located very close to the needle-"circle in 'a position wherein thedistancebetween, aiidthe lehgth or threadrextending between the' eyeandthe trapper and cutter at the moment of introduction-is not less than' the distance between, andi the length of thread extending between the eye and the trapper and cutter at the "moment of trapiping; 'The ground feeder (not 'shown') may be located closely in advance of the operative :pOSi- "'tion of the splicing :fee'der.

Having now particularly described and iascertained the 'nature of my said invention aifdwin what manner the same is to he :perform'ed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a' circular knitting machirie, feeder mechanism coniprisingafeied-er armhaving its feeding *en'd disposed adjacent to the 'needle "circle, a pivotal mounting-on which the :arm is' inovable about an aXis-substan-tiailyparallel to the axis'of needle circle, a lever on which thewmountirrg' is itself carried and-which is lpivotall-y movable about -'-an 'axis substantially parallel- :with the two previo-usly-rnentioned arms, 'aguide on which the arm is slidable at a location more {emote from the needle-circle than is the pivotal mounting, *whichguide is also movable about an eunstanti-a-lly l-parallel with the three axes'aforesaid,

and means for roekin'gthe-lever to and f-ro.

2. -In'or rena-circular -knitting machine, feeder -mechan-ism comprising a feed-er arm having a feeding eye at its extremity, and means moun ing said arm for movement about-a plurality of axes all substantially parallel with the axis of the needle circle 'and' 'formovementof the iee'der eye in a =thread-withd-raw-ing path, the first portion of which is substantially radially away from the needlecii'cl'e and the subsequent portion of which is substantially circlimferentially of the circle.

' 3. Feeder mechanismeccordingto-claim- 2, for

*aimacliine having ed-rotary needle'cyl-ihden'wherein the feeding end of the feeder moves in the direction of rotation into its non-feeding position. in

4. In a circular knitting machine, feeder mechanism comprising a feeder arm, having a feeding eye at its end for feeding a yarn to the needles, a pivotal guide on which the arm is slidable in the direction of its length towards and away from the needle circle and is pivotally movable about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the needle circle, a pivotal mounting for the arm at a location spaced from the axis of the needle circle and from the pivotal guide; and mechanism for shifting i said pivotal mounting, about an axis which is substantially parallel to the axis of the needle circle and to the axis of the pivotal guide, and for simultaneously sliding the arm on the pivotal guide in movement of the feeding eye between feeding and non-feeding positions.

5. A machine according to claim 2, having a trapper and cutter for receiving and cutting the REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,838,651 Bentley et a1 Dec. 29, 1931 2,388,750 Lawson et al Nov. 13, 1945 2,399,729 Fregeolle May '7, 1946

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