US3164195A

US3164195A - Apparatus for straightening knitting machine needles and the like

Info

Publication number: US3164195A
Application number: US262409A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred P Placzek
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-03-04
Filing date: 1963-03-04
Publication date: 1965-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 1982-01-05

Description

Jan. 5, 1965 F. P. PLACZEK 3,164,195

APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES AND THE LIKE Filed March 4, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

3 80 BY FRED P PLACZEK Jan. 5, 1965 F. P. PLACZEK 3,164,195

APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES AND THE LIKE Flled March 4 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN 1 OR.

BY FRED F? PLACZEK Jan. 5, 1965 F. P. PLACZEK APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets$heet Filed March 4, 1963 INVENTOR.

BY FRED F? PLACZEK 3,164,195 APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENENG KNIT'HNG MACHINE NEEDLES AND TI-E LHQE Fred 1?. Plaezeir, 256 Hoiyoke Road, Westiield, Mass. Fits-d Mar. 4, H63, Ser. No. 262,499 7 Claims. (Cl. 15332) This invention relates to an apparatus for straightening latch type knitting needles wherein a plurality of such knitting needles are all concurrently straightened by exerting a compressive force on a stack thereof and are thereby rendered both rectilinear and of uniform shape.

In the process of making a knitting needle, the metal is shaped, cut, pressed, milled, trimmed and bent all from hook wire, and the resulting product is intricately shaped and of thin cross section. The resulting product tends to be somewhat misshapen, and the product therefore lacks uniformity in shape and general configuration. These discrepancies of shape are cumulative, and it is, of course, desirable to produce a product which is of uniform shape as well as size. Particularly in the case of knitting needles, the products should be straight and as nearly identical from one to the next to provide for interchangeability within the knitting apparatus.

It is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of simultaneously straightening a plurality of knitting needles of latch type which have been produced from hook wire by a series of intricate manufacturing operations including pressing, clipping, milling, shaping, trimming and profiling which have necessarily produced some misshaping or" the article because of its intricate shape and relatively thin cross section.

It is a further object of the present invention to produce an apparatus for simultaneously straightening a substantial quantity of knitting needles While they are disposed in a stack, in order to produce a number of knitting needles which are of uniform quality and are interchangeable in a knitting apparatus, in spite of their intricate shape and previous processing history.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a straightening process for a plurality of intricately shaped knitting needles, which will effect a uniform straightening action on each of the needles but without deforming the needles or altering any of their essential shape or con figuration in any respect which is necessary for its functional operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a self-adjusting apparatus which is adapted to straighten a number of knitting needles and is adapted to conform with various manufacturing tolerances which accumulate in a stack of such knitting needles, i.e., in spite of cumulative manfacturing tolerances the apparatus is nevertheless adapted to produce its straightening action on said knitting needles.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a straightening apparatus for knitting needles which is capable of quickly and economically accomplishing its straightening action as part of a tempering operation in which the knitting needles are clamped with uniform pressure in a plurality of directions which will confine the needles in a straightened condition while they are heat treated to produce a permanent set of the needles in a straightened condition but without altering any of the other intricate convolutions which are a part of the functional requirements for the knitting needle.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

United States Patent FIGURE 1 is a top view of the apparatus while it is in clamping relation with a stack of knitting needles of the latch type;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are views looking in the direction of the arrows 22 and 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 and FIGURE 5 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 4-4 and 55 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an isometric detailed view of the pusher means which develops compressive force on the stack of needles in a horizontal direction;

FIGURE 7 illustrates the apparatus shown in FIG- URE 1 with the cover removed and the left-hand side of the apparatus including a stack of knitting needles therein prepared for straightening operation; and,

FIGURE 8 is a side view of the apparatus in FIGURE 1 looking in the direction of the arrows 88.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus designated generally by reference numeral 10 includes a base 12 having a support surface 14 which receives a stack 16 of the knitting needles, the stack 16 comprising a plurality of side-by-side knitting needles, the end 18 of the stack bearing against an abutment block 20 which is received within a notch 22 of the base'lfi.

The abutment Ztl is held against the base 12 by a pair of machine screws 24 and 26 (FIGURE 7), the sockets for the screws being recessed so that the headset the screws do not extend above the level of the abutment block it). The stack 16 of knitting needles is located on edge with one edge resting on the support surface 14, and the other edge is engaged by a cover 28 having a face 36 which is profiled to follow generally the profile of the adjacent edges of the stack 16 of knitting needles.

The cover 28 is clamped over the stack 16 of knitting needles by a number of bolts 32 which are spaced along the length of the apparatus and are mounted perpendicularly in the base 12, passing through openings 34 of the cover 28 (FIGURE 2) so that the threaded ends 36 project about the cover and receive nuts 38 which are then turned down to communicate a uniform clamping effort on the cover 28 whereby the stack of needles is held against buckling while the stack 16 is thrust endwise against the abutment 20 (to the right in FIGURE 7).

Compressive endwise thrust on the stack 16 of knitting needles is developed by a pusher 40 having a forward face 42 which conforms with the adjacent face of the end knitting needle. The pusher 4% is proportioned to fit between the base 12 and cover 28, the nuts 38 being sufiiciently loosened at the start of clamping operation so that the stack 16 of knitting needles are first com pressed against abutment 2t), completely turned down.

The pusher at} has a key 60 (FIGURE 3) which fits within a keyway of the cover 28 to guide movement of the clamping means in a compressing direction. The pusher is also guided by means of

elongated tracks

64, 66 and 68 (FIGURE 7) which receive, respectively, a threaded bolt 76 which threads into an opening in the base 12, bolt 32 and pin 72 which, is mounted perpendicularly in the base. These three guide means permit movement of the pusher means in directions providing endwise clamping and unclamping of the needle stack against abutment 20, but limit lateral movement of the pusher means relatively to the base. Also the slots and guides are constructed so that the pusher 40 can move angularly thereby assuming an angular position which permit-s it to conform to the variations in the stack of knitting needles, i.e., in the event that the stack of knitting needles has a cumulative thickness which is uneven end to end, the pusher means can assume slightly different angular dispositions while still maintaining a uniform compressive action urging the before the nuts 38 are resses stack against the abutment 26. The pusher 4-6 is biased against the stack 1% by means of a threaded pin as (FlG- URE 2) which is pivotally mounted through an eyelet 32 whereby the pin St} can move angularly in both directions indicated by the arrows 83 in FEGURE 1. The pin 8 is threaded so that the clamping nut 34 can be turned down, urging the pusher means towards the right in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. The described angular movement of the pusher all is permitted by virtue of the spherical bearing 86 which is received Within a companion socket $3 (Pi(3- URE 6) of the pusher means. The socket includes a Slot 90 (FIGURE 6) so that the flange 92 extends over the end of the base, and the socket 88 is in thrust receiving relation with bearing 86 of the compression nut 84.

The compression nut has a knurled surface 94 so it can be conveniently gripped manually and turned down to provide the desired endwise clamping force on the stack 16 of knitting needles.

In operation, a stack of the knitting needles are placed on edge on surface 14, the cover 28 having been previously removed, either one side or both sides of the apparatus can receive a stack of knitting needles. The pushers 49 at the opposite ends of the apparatus are constructed to be right-hand and left-hand in profiles of their faces to match with the stacks of needles at the right-hand and left-hand ends of the apparatus. The pusher in FIG- URE 6 is located at the right-hand end of the apparatus (FIGURE 2) and an alternate pusher is located at the other end of the apparatus.

Each pusher 4 b is located so that its face 42 bears lightly against the endrnost one of the stack 16 of knitting needles and clamping nut 84 is turned down sufficiently so that convex surface 86 is in thrust engagement with the seat 88. The cover 28 is then fitted in place by slipping the bolts 32 through openings 34 and nuts 38 are then turned down to engage the upper edges of the knitting needles stack with the profiled edge of the cover. The clamping nuts 8 are then turned down to urge the pushers do with greater force towards the right, firmly clamping the stacks of knitting needles between abutment 2t} and faces 42 of the pushers it), this compressive force being suiiicient to bring all of the knitting needles into fiat faceto-face engagement and effecting thereby a rectilinear disposition of each of the needles. In case the cumulative thickness of the knittingneedles is uneven from end to end, each pusher can tilt angularly to accommodate for such unevenness, this being permitted by the oversize relation of

tracks

64, 66 and 68 relatively to the screws 73*, bolt 32 and pin 72, and also by virtue of the angularly movable stem 88, and ball socket as, 83. After the desired compressive action is eifected horizontally in FIGURE 1, the nuts 35 are turned down to firmly clamp the knitting needles in a transverse direction, and the knitting needles are then tempered to obtain a permanent set of the needles in their rectilinear condition.

It should be noted from FIGURE 2 that the abutment 2b is reinforced by the cover so that it will not fracture by virtue of the compressive force. The apparatus can be loaded from both ends so that knitting needles in the magnitude of several hundred at a time can be straightened.

While a particular embodiment of this invention is shown above, it Will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be limited thereto, since many modifications may be made, and it is contemplated therefore, by the appended claims, to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for straightening knitting machine needles, comprising:

(a) a base having a support surface for receiving knitting needles thereon,

(b) means forming an abutment against which a stack of aligned needles are adapted to be thrust when disposed on said support surface,

(c) pusher means for hearing against one end of a stack of said aligned needles which are held at the opposed stack end by said abutment,

(r!) biasing means coacting with said pusher means and including a connection therebctween which rovidcs for limited angular movement of said pusher means and thereby providing edge-to-edge conformable engagement between said pusher means and the stack end of said needles; and,

(c) a cover including clamping members whereby cornplenientary surfaces of the cover member are brought into clamping relation with opposed surfaces of said knitting machine needles which are thereby confined during compression by said pusher means to effect a straightening action thereon.

2. Apparatus for straightening knitting needles and the like, comprising:

(a) a base providing a support surface for receiving thereon a stack of such knitting machine needles,

(5) abutment means against which stack of needles are thrust during straightening operation,

(c) pusher means, acting as a slide on said base and having a surface thereof bearing against said stack of knitting machine needles to efiect compressive straightening action thereon,

((1) means forming a track for defining the compression-producing sliding action of said pusher means but limiting lateral movement thereof relatively to said base during straightening operation, said track being dimensioned to provide limited angular movement between said base and pusher means whereby said pusher means can conform with the stack of needles being straightened; and,

(e) biasing means for eiiecting compression-producing movement of said pusher and concurrently providing said angular movement.

3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said biasing means includes a pivoted stem having a threaded connection and a force-transmitting thrust connection between said threaded connection and said pusher means which provides angular movement at the surface of engagement between said pusher means and thrust connection means.

4. Apparatus for straightening knitting machine needles and the like, comprising:

(a) a base having a support surface for receiving a stack of knitting machine needles for straightening operation,

(b) means forming an abutment against which the stack of knitting machine needles are thrust during straightening operation,

(:3) pusher means for effecting compressive force against one end of the stack of knitting machine needles which are held at their opposite end by said abutment means and are thereby compressed and straightened, and

((2) cover means for eliecting a transverse compressive action on said stack of knitting machine needles and which is directed transversely of the compressive force effected by said pusher means, thereby to confine the stack of compressed knitting machine needles during the straightening operation.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 including a plurality of spaced threaded connections adapted to produce a substantially uniform biasing effort on said cover means whereby compressive force is distributed across the face of the stack of knitting machine needles as they are compressed between said abutment means and said pusher means.

6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including complementary recess means in said cover for receiving said abutment to provide reinforcement thereto during compression of the stack of knitting machine needles thereagainst.

7. The apparatus in accordarce with claim 4 wherein 5 6 said pusher means includes oversized elongated tracks References Cited by the Examiner which provide for movement of said pusher means in a UNITED STATES PATENTS stack-compressing dlrection, and means pro ectlng from said base and within said tracks to provide compression- 2871448 10/83 Logan 153 32 producing movement and limited pivotal movement but 5 2,822,854 2/58 Berg 153-48 resisting lateral mmement CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES, COMPRISING: (A) A BASE HAVING A SUPPORT SURFACE FOR RECEIVING KNITTING NEEDLES THEREON, (B) MEANS FORMING AN ABUTMENT AGAINST WHICH A STACK OF ALIGNED NEEDLES ARE ADAPTED TO BE THRUST WHEN DISPOSED ON SAID SUPPORT SURFACE, (C) PUSHER MEANS FOR BEARING AGAINST ONE END OF A STACK OF SAID ALIGNED NEEDLES WHICH ARE HELD AT THE OPPOSED STACK END BY SAID ABUTMENT, (D) BIASING MEANS COACTING WITH SAID PUSHER MEANS AND INCLUDING A CONNECTION THEREBETWEEN WHICH PROVIDES FOR LIMITED ANGULAR MOVEMENT OF SAID PUSHER MEANS AND THEREBY PROVIDING EDGE-TO-EDGE CONFORMABLE ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID PUSHER MEANS AND THE STACK END OF SAID NEEDLES; AND, (E) A COVER INCLUDING CLAMPING MEMBERS WHEREBY COMPLEMENTARY SURFACES OF THE COVER MEMBER ARE BROUGHT INTO CLAMPING RELATION WITH OPPOSED SURFACES OF SAID KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES WHICH ARE THEREBY CONFINED DURING COMPRESSION BY SAID PUSHER MEANS TO EFFECT A STRAIGHTENING ACTION THEREON.