US2763145A

US2763145A - Fabric tensioning mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2763145A
Application number: US407837A
Authority: US
Inventors: Pierre Eugene St
Original assignee: Hemphill Co
Current assignee: Hemphill Co
Priority date: 1954-02-03
Filing date: 1954-02-03
Publication date: 1956-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 1973-09-18

Description

Sept. 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' Filed Feb. 5. 1954 m m n K Q1 u M I J.

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P 1956 E. s'r. PIERRE 2,763,145

FABRIC TENSIONING MECHANISDM Filed Feb. 3. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent (3 FABRIC TENSIONINGMECHANISM.

Eugene St. Pierre, Pawtucket, R: L, 'assignor to' Hemphill Company, 'Pawtucket, R; 1., a-corporation of- Massa chusetts.

Application Februaryfi, 1954, Serial. N0., 407,'8371 6 Claims... ('Cl'. 66-150) necessary to -exert tension onthefabric ofihmtoeppcket;

of the dash knit stocking,while .the.,rib top.-of..itssuccessor is knit in. order to compensate for. the... unequal ,pull. of: thefabric tak'eup which pulls v.on. the. instep half of thet stocking directly from the. needles but. is prevented frome. applyingthe same. tension to the. other half of. the fabric.

becauseof the. loose. toepocketlyingbetween it and. the...

needles... This. tension. is als,o..necessary ..to ;aid -the. rib-.: needles, either dial or upper cylinder, in casting off their stitches, and. to prevent the; ribloops innthe wales above the loose toe packet from catchingin. needle hooks or latches. It has been common practice in the knitting art to. use some formof toe-pocket :pushemto provide this required tensionp I The .object' of.-thepresent'inventiomis to provide-a fabric tensioningndevice ortoe-pocket pusher which will be more dependable in operation than those of the prior art. This is accomplished by providing the toe pocket pusher with fabric engaging elements and inserting a fabric guiding member within the needle cylinder which is slotted to accommodate the fabric engaging elements. A safety lock is included to prevent damage to the mechanism if withdrawal is attempted when the pusher is extended down inside the needle cylinder.

A preferred embodiment of the invention as applied to a circular, independent needle, knitting machine of the dial and cylinder type will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the mechanism;

Figure 2 is an interior view of part of the fabric guiding cylinder;

Figure 3 is a top view of a partial section along the lines 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top view of the pusher rod guide.

Figure 5 is a perspective of part of the pusher rod operating mechanism;

Figure 6 is a perspective of a continuation of the same mechanism; and

Figure 7 is a side view of the safety lock mechanism.

The mechanism of Fig. 1 represents the invention as employed in a conventional dial rib machine of the Banner type. A needle bearing cylinder 1 is bolted to a rotatable ring gear 2 in the circular base (not shown) of the machine and has a dial 3 rotatable with a shaft 4 which turns in a bearing (not shown) on the dial cam plate 5.

The shaft 4 is hollow to accommodate a pusher rod 6. This permits the rod 6 to move a toe pocket pusher 7 which is fixed to the bottom end of the rod up and down within the needle cylinder in a manner, and by a mechanism, later to be described.

The pusher 7 has a number of fabric engaging elements 8 secured to it. In the embodiment shown, these elements consist of needle-like .membersswhich are. ad-

justably securedto .the main body of thespusher byasetscrews. 9. These-elements 8.engage the loose fabric of the toe pocket. and, due v to the weight of the pusher, exert aidirecttension on the loops as-they are formed on-gtheneedles.

To ensure that the members Swill engage thefabric, a

fabric guiding member 10:is provided. In the present instance, thisfabric guide consists of a cylindrical sleeve which is mounted-concentricallywithin; the .needle bear ing, cylinder 1.

the ring gear. 2 by screws 12..

The fabric guiding; sleeve 10 isprovided .with a num-- ber. of. slots. 14 .(Fig. 2), one. for each of the fabric engaging elements 8. The purposeofithese slots is,-to assurethat the points of theelements 8 will not be bentordamaged by impact against the sleeve, 10 and consequently become less effective or damage the fabric.

Theslots.;-15,(Fig 3) 111112116 underlip '13 -of the fabric guiding sleevea10, through: which-it -is fastenedto theconnectingring, 11, are elongated-to permit a certain;

amount .of. adjustment-of the sleeve 10. to align the slots- 14 with thefabric-engaging elements 8,

Thev pusher rod 6. is flat and passes througha rectangu-,

lanopening; 16in: the rod guiding member 17 WhiChglS is rotating, with the. needle cylinder.

not somev other part of the stocking.-

As referred to above, if the fabric pusher 7 is allowed? to -.fall.;freely .atthe. proper .time, .its needle-like elements 8 williengagethe fabric .of the. toepocket andtheweight. of .the pusher Twill take. up. the. slack.-..i1i...the .pocket .and exert a steady uniform tension on the corresponding cyl-a inder and dial loops as they are formed 'on' the knitting needles. As more and more courses of rib fabric are knit, the pusher element 7 falls deeper into the needle cylinder. After the rib top is completed or the fabric has become long enough so that the toe pocket reaches the regular takeup (not shown), the tensioning action of the fabric pusher is no longer required and it is returned to its initial position at the top of the cylinder, immediately below the dial, as shown in dotted lines in Figure l.

The mechanism for raising the pusher 7 to this position is shown in Figures 5 and 6. It includes a cam 18 on a drum 19, a rocker 20 which is operated by the cam 18, and a series of associated rods and levers.

The top of the pusher rod 6 is held by a bracket 21 which is carried by a lever 22 and its extensions 23. The lever 22 is supported on the carrier ring 24 by a combination of

brackets

25 and 26. It is pivoted on bracket 26 at 27 by the action of a rod 28. Rod 28, in turn, is reciprocated longitudinally by a centrally pivoted lever 29 which is operated by the rocker 20 through -a connecting rod 30. When the nose of rocker 20 rides up onto a cam 18 on the drum 19, its tail exerts a downward thrust on the rod 30. This pivots the lever 29 so as to exert an upward thrust on the rod 28, thereby pivoting the lever 22 at 27 so as to raise its extensions 23 and thus raise the rod 6 and pull pusher 7 to the top of the needle cylinder.

The carrier ring 24 is hinged at 31 so that the dial and its associated mechanism can be swung back from the top of the cylinder to permit access thereto or independent knitting thereon. However, if the dial were swung back while the rod 6 is extended down inside the cylinder 1, the pusher element 7 would not clear the fabric guiding element 10 within the cylinder and a bent Ratented Sept. 1 8,1 956.

A- connecting ring ll-fastened to the; fabric guide 10 issecured to the. needle. cylinder 1 and;

rod 6, along with damage to the fabric pusher 7, or the fabric guide 10, would result. To protect against this, the safety lock shown in Figures and 7 is provided.

This safety lock comprises a stud 32 in the tail of the carrier ring 24 behind the hinge 31. A latch 33 pivoted on a bracket 34 which is secured to the frame of the machine is held by a spring 35 so as to be normally in engagement with the stud 32 and thereby prevent the carrier ring 24 from being swung backwards from the top of the cylinder 1. When, however, the nose of rocker 20 is riding on a cam 18 and rod 30 is consequently pulled downwards to raise the rod 6 and pusher element 7 as described above, a pin 36 at the junction of rod 30 and lever 29 bears against the latch 33 and disengages it from the stud 32. This permits the carrier ring 24 to be rocked backward away from the cylinder 1 when, and only when, the rod 6 is clear of the needle cylinder 1 and the pusher element 7 is raised up close to the dial 3.

The invention has been described with reference to rib knitting on a dial and cylinder machine, but it is equally applicable to two-cylinder machines and other fabric takeup and tensioning problems.

I claim:

1. In or for a circular, independent needle, knitting machine a needle bearing cylinder, a needle bearing dial having a passage therethrough, a dial supporting member capable of being moved between a position where said dial is proximate said cylinder and a position where it is more remote from said cylinder, a fabric guiding member, a fabric pushing member movable in relation to said fabric guiding member, said fabric pushing member being mounted on a pusher rod which passes through said passage in said dial so as to permit movement of said pushing element between a high and a low position within said cylinder, and a locking device acting upon said dial supporting member to prevent it from being moved to said remote position when said pushing element is in said low position.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and wherein means comprising a series of levers and a cam operated fabric pushing element.

3. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said locking device comprises a latch and stud, and said latch is operated by one of said pusher rod operating levers.

4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said fabric pushing member has fabric engaging elements, and said fabric guiding member comprises a cylindrical sleeve concentric with said needle bearing cylinder and having depressions to accommodate said fabric engaging elements.

5. In or for a circular, independent needle, knitting machine a rotatable needle bearing c'ylinder, a fabric guiding member rotatable with said cylinder, a rotatable fabric pushing member, a plurality of openings in and extending longitudinally of said fabric guiding member, a plurality of fabric engaging elements carried by said pushing member, means for aligning said elements with said openings, means for moving said pushing member longitudinally of said guiding member while both of said members are rotating, and means for preventing relative motion between said guiding member and said pushing member.

6. In a circular, independent needle, knitting machine, a rotatable needle bearing cylinder, a hollow shaft rotatable with said cylinder, a dial fixed to the lower end of said shaft, a closure for the upper end of said shaft having a non-circular opening communicating with the interior of said shaft, a rod having a longitudinally sliding fit within said opening and extending through said shaft, a fabric pushing member secured to said rod, fabric engaging elements carried by said pushing member, a fabric guiding member within and rotatable with said cylinder and having longitudinal openings, and means for aligning said fabric engaging elements with said openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 920,671 Scott et al May 4, 1909 2,345,698 Bromley et a1 Apr. 4, 1944 2,408,807 Norman Oct. 8, 1946 2,610,495 Diem Sept. 16, 1952