US2881605A

US2881605A - Hand knitting apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2881605A
Application number: US686539A
Authority: US
Inventors: Luchsinger Ernst Gustav Ludwig
Original assignee: PALIZ HOLDING AG
Current assignee: PALIZ HOLDING AG
Priority date: 1956-09-26
Filing date: 1957-09-26
Publication date: 1959-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 1976-04-14
Also published as: FR1186338A; GB828113A; BE561101A

Description

April 14-, 1959 as. L. LUCHSINGER 2,881,605 HAND KNITTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 26. 1957 //v VE/VTOf? ERNST [.UCHS/NGEE.

ATTOENEK E. cs. Ll LUCHSINGER 2,881,605

' HAND KNITTING APPARATUS A ril 14, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 26, 1957 m r N E v w v IV all/Ill] ERA/57' L L/CHS/NGEE'.

ATm/PA/Ex April 14, 1959 E. s. L. LUCHISINGER 2,881,605

'HAND KNITTING APPARATUS- S Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 26, 1957 v y mi I as I I l I l I I I I l I I l I I I I I I I I l I I I lNVE/VTOI? ERNST LUCHS/NGER.

ATTORNEI.

United States Patent HAND KNITTING APPARATUS Gustav Ludwig Luehsinger, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Palm-Holding A.G., Zug, Switzerland, a

eorporation of Switzerland Application September 26, 1957, Serial No. 686,539

Claims priority, application Switzerland September 26, 1956 15 Claims. (Cl. 66-.-60)

The present invention relates to a hand knitting apparatus which may have one or two needle beds, and more pgrtieularly to a device for pulling the finished knitting from the knitting machine immediately after it is propers are used for removing the knitting. Stripping rolls are'used, cooperating with rails or with a second roll and extending over the whole width of the knitting for engaging and pulling down the whole width of the knitting. These stripping rolls are spaced from and below the plane in which the needles move, requiring additional means to engage the newly formed knitting in the space between the needles and the stripping roll and particularly for securing the knitting at the beginning of the knitting operation until it is sufliciently long to be engaged by the stripping roll or rolls. Plow-like stitch holding tongues are used, for example, for this purpose. In other machines one or more freely rotatable rubber discs are used, individually having shafts which are positioned normal to the plane in which the lock moves and which are supported by the knitting retaining rail. These rubber discs rest on the knitting or on the needle bed, rolling thereon when the lock is displaced and pulling down the knitting onthe striking comb. The rubber discs are also unsatisfactory, because they, too, cannot be arranged sufficieutly high to engage the first row of the stitches when the knitting operation is starte The knitting apparatus according to the invention in- Gludes a knitting retaining device which is capable of engaging the stitches immediately after they are formed and of engaging the first formed stitches when knitting is started. A stripping roller is provided which is positively driven by the movement of the lock and has a rotating which is parallel to the direction of movement of the lock. The rotating roller engages the knitting as soon as it is formed and pulls it down. The roller is preferably located beneath the needle which is pushed from its rearrnost position to the advanced position so that the uppermost stitch of the knitting is pulled by the roller into the head of the advancing needle.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the apded claims.

p p The invention itself, however, and addial. o iscts n a g s no 1 thereof will best be underfrom the following description of embodiments In industrial knitting machines various types of stripthereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a part sectional bottom view of the portion of a lock on which the stripping rollers according to the invention are mounted.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the portion of the lock shown in Fig. 1, the section being made along line Il-'II in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the portion of the lock shown in Fig. 1, the section being made along line III--III in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View of the roll driving mechanism according to the invention, the section being made along line IV-IV in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of parts of a lock provided with a modified stripping roller mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a section through the drive means of the stripping roller mechanism shown in Fig. 5, the section being made along line VI-VI in Fig. 5.

Like parts are designated by like numerals in all figures of the drawing.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawing, numeral 1 designates a needle bed on which rests a plurality of parallel, longitudinally movable needles 2. A sliding lock includes carriers or brackets 3 and 4 which are interconnected by means of a support bar 5 having a substantially U-shaped cross sectional configuration. A knitting support or retaining rail 6 and a roller carrier 7 are movably connected with the upper leg of the bar 5 for movement in a direction normal to the bar 5. This is effected by providing slots 8 and 9 in the rail 6 and in the carrier 7 through which slots pins 10 extend which are riveted to the upper leg of the bar 5. The rail 6 and the carrier 7 are secured to the pins 10 by means of washers 11 and split rings 12 which are individually inserted in an annular recess in the pins 19. The rail 6 is pressed by two springs 13, engaging the outer ends of the rail, against rods 14 extending from a transverse bar 15 and forming a striking comb. The roller carrier 7 is provided with two flaps 16 which serve as bearings for

coaxial shafts

17 and 18.

Bevel gears

19 and 20 are mounted on the opposed ends of the

shafts

17 and 18, respectively, the teeth of the

bevel gears

19 and 20 meshing with a bevel gear 21 whose rotation axis is normal to that of the

shafts

17 and 18 and of the

gears

19 and 20;. The gear 21 is made fast on one end of a drive shaft 22 which is placed substantially normal to the plane in w ich the lock moves, i.e., normal to the legs of the bar 5. A driving toothed wheel 23 is mounted on the opposite end of the shaft 22. The teeth of the wheel 23 are so constructed as to mesh with the rods 14 for rotating the wheel upon movement of the lock. The ends of the shafts 1'7 and 18 as well as the end of the shaft 22 which ends are adjacent to the bevel gears 19, 2t), and 21 are borne in bores of a U-shaped bracket 24 which is mounted on a support 25 extending from the carrier 7. The drive wheel 23 is placed between the rail 6 and the support 25.

Each

shaft

17 and 18 carries a

roller

27, 28, respectively, the rollers being axially movable and rotatable relatively to the shafts. The far ends of the

rollers

27 and 28 are provided with saw teeth adapted to mesh with corresponding saw teeth provided on

annular members

29 and 30, respectively, made fast on the far ends of the

shafts

17 and 18, respectively. The mating saw teeth of the

rollers

27 and 28 and of the

members

29 and 30 constitute free wheeling clutches. The carrier 7 with the

rollers

27, 28 is pressed against the rods 14 by two springs 26 so that the rollers engage the rods and the teeth of the drive wheel 23 extend between the The

rollers

27, 28 are provided with conical or taper-ed end portions. The surfaces of the cylindrical center portions of the rollers, which cylindrical portions are their largest diameter parts, are provided with recesses or grooves which may be in the form of flutes. A guard rod 33 connected to the flaps 16 and the bracket 24 extends parallel to the rotation axis of the rollers and closely to the finished knitting. The center portion of this guard rod is not shown in Fig. 1.

The device operates as follows:

When knitting, the lock is moved, for example, in the direction of the arrow 31 (Fig. 1). Due to friction between the surfaces of the

rollers

27 and 28 and the rods 14 and the knitting, the rollers are axially displaced on the

shafts

17 and 18 so that the saw teeth of the roller 28 are disengaged from those of the member 30, whereas the roller 27 is clutched to the member 29 and to the shaft 17 so that the roller 27 is rotated in clockwise direction in Fig. 2, pulling the knitting downwards. As seen in Fig. 2 the rotating roller engages the most recently formed stitch. The roller is so mounted on the lock that the roller is located beneath the needle which is being advanced so that the uppermost stitch 32 is pulled into the head of the advancing needle 2. The guard rod 33 prevents winding of a hanging thread on the rotating roller or entangling of a thread in a clutch.

In'the illustrated apparatus the rotated roller is the one trailing the non-rotated roller when the lock is moved. If the apparatus is used in connection with knitting machines in which the trailing roller must not be rotated and the forward roller must be rotated, the clutches must be located at the ends of the rollers which face each other and the rotation direction of the rollers must be reversed by mounting the bevel gear 21 at the end of the drive shaft 22 which is adjacent to the support 25.

Without departing from the scope of the invention a single roller may be provided insteadof two rollers, which single roller is so long or can be axially moved so far that it is always below the advancing needle during the knitting operation. The illustrated free wheeling clutches may be replaced by any other type of conventional free wheeling clutches. Instead of the illustrated arrangement in which the drive wheel 23 engages the rods 14 a separate rack may be provided which is engaged by the drive wheel or the latter may be designed as a friction wheel rolling on the front of the needle bed.

Instead of the axial grooves on the rollers as illustrated, the grooves may be arranged helically, or protuberances or brushes may be provided instead of grooves.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the springs 26 yieldingly press the rollers against the rods 14 and/or the knitting. If the

rollers

27, 28 are made of a yielding material the springs 26 may be omitted and the carrier 7 may be rigidly connected with the bar 5. The tension of the springs 26 may be made adjustable, for example, by placing a wedge-like member between the springs 26 and the bar 5.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which roller carriers 7' are rigidly connected with the knitting retaining rail 6 and rollers 27' and 28 are rigidly connected with their shafts 17' and 18', respectively. Bevel gears 19' and 20 are mounted at the opposed ends of the shafts 17', 18, respectively, and are spaced so far apart that only one of them may engage a driving bevel gear 21'. The latter is mounted on a drive shaft 22' which is laterally displaceably supported so that the gear 21' can be made to engage either one or the other of the gears 19', 20'. For this purpose a bracket 24', 25' supporting the shaft 22' is pivoted at 34 to the rail 6 and is additionally supported on the rail 6 by a pin 35 which is rivetted to the rail 6 and extends through a relatively large hole in the upper plate 25 of the bracket 24', 25' supporting the latter by means of a washer 36. It is obvious that upon moving the lock in the direction of the arrow 107 the bevel gear 21' will moveto engage the bevel gear 20' so that the roller 4 M a 28' is rotated upon continued movement of the lock in the direction of the arrow 107. The rotation is caused by the rolling of a driving gear 23' on the rods 14, the gear 23' being made fast on the shaft 22.

Fig. 5 shows the parts of the lock which effect the reciprocating movement of the needles required for knitting. These parts of the lock correspond to the respective parts of the lock shown in the application for Letters Patent of Walter Bram, Serial No. 656,388, filed May 1, 1957. The heavy dash-dot line 108 indicates the posi tion of the feet 112 of the knitting needles. The light dash-dot line 109 represents a knitting needle which is about to be advanced, i.e., moved to the left as seen in Fig. 5, from the idle or neutral position 108 by a guide element 102 due to movement of the lock in the direction of the arrow 107. The needle 109 which is about to be advanced extends towards the leading part of the large diameter portion of the roller 28', which is important for the proper functioning of the knitting removal apparatus according to the invention.

After reaching the fully advanced position 113 the needles are moved backward by a guide element to the position 114. The back of a guide 101 swingable on a fulcrum 110 and swung by the feet of the needles in counterclockwise direction when the lock moves in the direction of the arrow 107 returns the needles towards the neutral or idle position which movement is completed by a guide 103. The guide 102 is swingable on a pin 111 so that it can be swung similarly to the guide 101 by the needles when the lock moves in a direction which is opposite to the arrow 107, Swinging of the guide 101 in counterclockwise direction and of the guide 102 in clockwise direction is limited by abutment of the outermost points 101' and 102' of the

guides

101 and 102, respectively, against the guide 103. A weak spring, not shown, urges the guide 101 in clockwise direction untilits point 101 abuts against a rail 115. Likewise, a weak spring, not shown, urges the guide 102 in counterclockwise direction until its points 102 abut against a rail 115.

All embodiments according to the invention include an element removing the finished knitting from the knitting machine, the element exerting a pull on the knitting only in the direction away from the machine, -i.e., downwards, and exactly at the point where this action is needed. Conventional plow-like tongues for holding down the stitches exert a component force on the knitting in the direction of the movement of the lock which force is greater the smaller the spacing of the knitting needles, because the angle of incidence of the tongues must be greater the closer the needles are spaced so that at least three juxtapositioned stitches are engaged by the tongues. 7

What is claimed is: 1

1. A hand knitting apparatus, comprising a needle bed, knitting needles placed in spaced parallel relation-and being individually longitudinally reciprocatingly movable on said bed, lock means slidable on said bed transversely to said needles and including guide means engaging said needles for reciprocatingly moving said needles between a rearmost position and an advanced position, a stripper roller rotatably mounted on said lock means to rotate on an axis which is below the advanced needles and parallel to the sliding movement of said lock means and'to engage the most recently produced stitch of the knitting, rotatable means supported by said lock means, means connected with said needle bed and engaged by said rotatable means to rotate the latter upon sliding movement of said lock means, and rotation transmitting means operatively interposed between said rotatable means and said roller for rotating the latter.

2. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said guide means are so placed relatively to said roller that the most recently advanced needle is adjacent to said roller for pulling the most recently formed 1 5 stitch of the knitting onto the most recently advanced needle.

3. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the end portions of said roller are tapered, the ends of the roller having the smallest diameter.

4. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the surface of said roller is provided with recesses.

5. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the surface of said roller is provided with grooves.

6. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the surface of said roller is provided with axial grooves.

7. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said roller is elastic in radial direction.

8. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said roller is yieldingly mounted on said lock means.

9. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which a knitting retaining rail is yieldingly connected with said lock means and said roller is mounted on said rail.

10. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which a knitting retaining rail is yieldingly connected with said lock means and said roller is yieldingly mounted on said lock means.

11. A hand knitting apparatus, comprising a needle bed, knitting needles placed in spaced parallel relation and being individually longitudinally reciprocatingly slidable on said bed between a rearmost position and an advanced position, a striking comb mounted on said bed transversely to said needles and having teeth extending between said needles when the latter are in advanced position, lock means slidable on said bed transversely to said needles and including guide means engaging said needles for reciprocatingly moving said needles, a stripper roller rotatably mounted on said lock means to rotate on an axis which is parallel to the sliding movement of said lock means, rotatable means supported by said lock means and engaging said striking comb to be rotated upon sliding movement of said lock means, and rotation transmitting means operatively interposed between said rotatable means and said roller for rotating the latter.

12. A hand knitting apparatus, comprising a needle bed, spaced parallel knitting needles individually longitudinally reciprocatingly movably supported by said bed,

lock means slidable on said bed transversely to said needles and including guide means engaging said needles for reciprocatingly moving said needles between a rearmost position and an advanced position, two stripper rollers coaxially individually rotatably mounted on said lock means to individually rotate on an axis which is below the advanced needles and parallel to the sliding movement of said lock means and to engage the most recently produced stitch of the knitting, rotatable means supported by said lock means, means connected with said needle bed and engaged by said rotatable means to rotate the latter upon sliding movement of said lock means, rotation transmitting means individually operatively connected with said rollers, and drive means connected with said rotatable means to be rotated by said rotatable means, said drive means being alternately engageable by said rotation transmitting means for rotating either one or the other of said rollers.

13. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 12 in which said drive means includes a drive shaft rigidly connected with said rotatable means and extending substantially normal to the plane in which said lock means are moved, said drive shaft being movably supported by said lock means for movement relative to said lock means and for lateral movement in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of said drive shaft and substantially parallel to the direction of the sliding movement of said lock means.

14. A hand knitting apparatus as defined in claim 12, said rotation transmitting means including two independent coaxial shafts individually rotatably supported by said lock means and individually rotatably and axially movably supporting said rollers, said drive means being operatively connected with both shafts for rotating both shafts, a free wheeling clutch being interposed between each shaft and the roller supported thereby to be engaged upon movement of the respective roller on its shaft in one direction and to be disengaged when the roller moves in the opposite direction.

15. A hand knitting apparatus according to claim 14 including a bevel gear mounted on said drive shaft, and a bevel gear made fast on each of said independent shafts, said last mentioned bevel gears being permanently englagzd by said bevel gear which is mounted on said drive s a t.

No references cited.