US3413826A

US3413826A - Yarn stacking device for knitting machines

Info

Publication number: US3413826A
Application number: US540173A
Authority: US
Inventors: Abowitz Alexander
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-04-04
Filing date: 1966-04-04
Publication date: 1968-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1985-12-03

Description

Dec. 3, 1968 A. ABOWITZ 3,413,$26

YARN STACKING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed April 4, 1966 P 36 HG. 2 E

INVENTOR. ALEXANDER ABOJITZ ATTORNEY Unite States Patent 0 3,413,826 YARN STACKENG DEVICE FOR KNITTTNG l /IACHINES Alexander Abowitz, 3386 E. Olympic, Los Angeles, Calif. 90023 Filed Apr. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 548,173 7 Claims. (Cl. 66-8) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention permits any number of cones of yarn to be stacked one on top of the other on the rotating stand of a complex knitting or sewing machine so that by tying or pig tailing the ends of one cone to the beginning of the cone below, the yarn capacity of the knitting or sewing machine can be increased. This invention comprises assemblies including extension rods and steadying surface members adjustably mounted on the extension rods. These surface members engage and grip the inner surfaces of the stacked cones of yarn. In this way any number of cones of yarn can be stacked one on top of the other while the adjustably mounted steadying surface members in each assembly engage the inner surface of each cone of yarn and holds the cones steady during the rotation of the stand on which the stacked cones of yarn are mounted.

This invention relates generally to knitting machines and, more particularly, to a yarn stacking device for knitting machines having a rotating yarn support platform or a platform subject to vibration.

Knitting machines are complex mechanisms which are provided with numerous knitting needles and platforms for carrying many (often in excess of sixty) windings of yarn. Yarn used with knitting machines is generally wound on a tubular support and the support is frequently, although not always, conical in shape. Consequently, the windings of yarn wound on a conical tubular support are often referred to as cones of yarn.

These cones of yarn are each mounted on fixed pins or rods supported on a base member, and the base members in some machines are all connected together and rotate around the axis of the knitting machine. In addition, the rate of use of these various cones of yarn differs widely, so that for each run of work, some cones of yarn are used up much faster than other cones.

The yarn from all the cones are connected to separate knitting needles in the knitting machine so that in use, the knitting needles are all maintained in tension. If one of the cones of yarn should give out during the operation of the machine, the pattern of the fabric would be affected and the tension on the knitting needles relaxed. When the tension on the knitting needles is relaxed, continued operation of the knitting machine causes great damage to the knitting machine, resulting in extensive and expensive shut-down time while the machine is being repaired.

Some knitting machines are provided with electrical or mechanical stop-motion devices for turning the knitting machine ofl? when any cone of yarn runs out. However, it is not desirable to rely too much on these devices because the stop-motion devices sometimes become inoperative due to fleece or other foreign matter which hold or interfere with the contacting points used in stopping the machine. In addition, such machines are quite expensive because of the large number of cones of yarn which must be controlled. Furthermore, even when the knitting machine shut-down device has shut down a knitting machine when a cone of yarn runs out, considercan 3,4133% Patented Dec. 3, 1%68 able unproductive time must be spent in rethreading the machine. To prevent this from happening during a run, it is necessary to have employees stand around to keep a close watch on the knitting machine. This, however, is expensive because it ties up labor in unproductive Work.

To reduce the necessity of having persons keep a close Watch on the knitting machine, particularly during long runs, devices have been made for stacking cones of yarn, one on top of the other. The stacking devices heretofore made were unsatisfactory because they were either too expensive to make or they did not hold the stacked cones securely and because they had a limited yarn stacking capacity. Furthermore, vibration and the centrifugal forces caused by the rotation of the circular stands around the axis of the knitting machine created problems of stability. The windings or cones of yarn on a rotating stand of a circular knitting machine, or on a machine subject to vibration must be firmly mounted to prevent them from rotating on the pin or rods on which the cones of yarn are placed. If the windings of yarn are not held firmly enough, they could rotate on the pins causing the yarn to twist around the pins so that the yarn would be torn and the machine would have to be rethreaded. It is apparent, therefore, that it would be desirable to provide a yarn stacking device for stacking and firmly holding windings of yarn, one on top of the other on the stand of a circular knitting machine or on the stand of knitting machines subject to substantial vibration.

Another problem associated with knitting machines is caused by the fact that the cones of yarn are not used up at the same rate. Consequently, it would be desirable to be able to load the knitting machine so that the cones of yarn which are used up the fastest are much thicker than other cones. However, the space between the yarn supporting pins on the knittting machines may not be large enough to accommodate the thicker cones in side by side relationship. For these reasons, it is apparent that to provide the extra space necessary to accommodate these thicker cones, some knitting machines were designed with very large horizontally extending yarn support stands. However, this consumed valuable plant floor space. In addition, by resorting to a larger yarn stand, the centrifugal forces acting on the yarn support rods in rotating the knitting machines were substantially increased. To prevent these forces from throwing the cones of yarn off the yarn support rods, the yarn support rods had to be inclined inwardly. However, this created problems because the inclination of the cones of yarn created angle problems with the yarn which introduced the likelihood of yarn tear.

It is apparent that these difficulties with the larger knitting machines could be overcome by stacking the larger cones of yarn in vertically staggered relationship. In this way, the cones of yarn could be mounted vertically, thus eliminating the problems caused by centrifugal force and the horizontal dimensions of the knitting machine could be reduced, thus saving valuable floor space in the plant.

What is needed, therefore, and comprises an important object of this invention is to provide a combined yarn stacking and yarn positioning device whereby the cones of yarn can be stacked, one on top of the other, or positioned so that adjacent windings of yarn may be mounted in vertically staggered relationship with respect to each other.

This, and other objects of this invention, will become more apparent when better understood in the light of the accompanying specification and drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 shows a plurality of cones of yarn stacked and firmly held, one on top of the other.

FIGURE 2 shows the structure of the extendible yarn supports.

FIGURE 3 shows an elevated sectional view of a sleeve provided with integrally attached arms.

FIGURE 4 shows the use of the extendi'ble yarn supports for holding windings of yarn in vertically staggered relationship.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, a yarn support rod is shown integrally mounted on a yarn support platform 12 on a circular rotating type knitting machine (not shown). The rod 10 is provided with a connector which, in the embodiment shown, comprises a sleeve 14 mounted on its upper end. The sleeve 14 may be removably secured to the upper end 16 of rod 10 by means of a set screw 18, as shown in FIGURE 2, or else the sleeve may be pinned permanently in that position, as desired. The sleeve 14 is provided with a centrally disposed bore 20, which, in the embodiment shown, is provided with internal threads 22 extending at least part-way therethrough, see FIGURE 2.

An extension rod 24 is provided. This extension rod preferably has a pointed and threaded lower end 26 which is sized to penetrate and rotate into threaded engagement with the threads 22 in sleeve 14 to form a rigid extension of rod 10, see FIGURE 2. The upper end 28 of extension rod 24 is fitted into a bore 30 in a connector which, in the embodiment shown, is a sleeve 32. The sleeve 32 is preferably permanently secured to the upper end 28 of rod 24 by a pin 34. The bore 30 in sleeve 32 is provided with internal threads 36 extending part-way therethrough for receiving the pointed and threaded lower end of still another extension rod 24 (not shown). In this way, the length of the rod 10 may be extended as desired.

A steadying yarn support engaging and positioning member indicated generally by the reference numeral 38 is provided, see FIGURE 3. Member 38, in the embodiment shown, comprises a sleeve 40 with a centrally disposed bore 42. A transverse threaded bore 44 holding a set screw 46 communicates with bore 42, see FIGURES 1 and 4. The bore 42 is sized to receive rod 10 or extension rods 24. With this arrangement, member 38 can be moved along the length of the rods, for reasons to be described below. Member 38 is provided with oppositely extending

arms

49 and 50 which, in the embodiment shown, are integrally secured to sleeve 44, although this is not essential. The extreme ends of the arms are curved as shown for reasons to become apparent below.

Yarn used with knitting machines is often wound around a conical tubular support 48 so that the windings of yarn are often described as cones of yarn 51. However, yarn can be wound on other kinds of supports, such as a cylindrical support and, although the invention has been illustrated in connection with cones of yarn, it is understood that the invention may be applied to windings of yarn having other configurations.

Heretofore, cones of yarn 51 were simply fitted over the rods 19 on the knitting machine. However, as explained above, knitting machines carry numerous cones of yarn and the yarn on these cones are used up at different rates. Furthermore, as explained above, substantial damage and expense can occur if a cone of yarn is permitted to be completely used up while the machine continues to run.

With the structure described above, any number of cones of yarn (which may be differently shaped) can be stacked, one on top of the other, by simply increasing the length of rod 10 by means of the extension rods 24 and

connectors

14 or 32 to accommodate the desired nuhmber of windings of yarn to be stacked on top of each ot er.

An important feature of this invention is the ease with which the cones of yarn can be stacked and firmly held, one on top of the other. This is because the conical supports 48 around which the yarn is wound, is usually made of cardboard or some soft, plastic and is closed at the apex. If a single cone of yarn 51 is mounted on rod 10 and it appears that it will be used up before the run is completed, the knitting machine can be stopped momentarily and the partially used cone of yarn can be removed and replaced by a full cone of yarn. Then, the pointed, lower end 26 of an extension rod 24 can be forced through the apex of the conical support 48 and down into bore 20 of sleeve 14 and the extension rod 24 can then be rotated into threaded engagement with threads 22 in sleeve 14 to form a rigidly attached extension of rod 10 extending above the apex of the full cone of yarn now on the rod 10 on the knitting machine. Then, the partially used cone of yarn 51 can be mounted on the extension 24 of rod 10 over the full lower cone of yarn and the stacked cones of yarn can then be tied together. Furthermore, with this arrangement, any number of cones of yarn can be conveniently stacked and firmly held on top of each other by simply forcing the pointed, threaded, lower end of an extension rod 24 through the apex of the cone support 48 and rotating it into threaded engagement with the sleeve 32 on the lower extension rod and then placing a cone of yarn over the extension rod.

In addition to stacking the cones of yarn, one on top of the other, it is also important that the stacked cones of yarn be firmly held, particularly when the cones of yarn are mounted on a circular knitting machine where the cones rotate around the axis of the machine. This is because the centrifugal forces to which the cones are subjected could throw the cones of yarn entirely off the machine. It is also important to keep the cones of yarn from rotating on the rod 10, which could happen when the cones of yarn are subjected to vibration whether the cones of yarn rotate around the axis of the machine or not. To more firmly and securely hold these cones of yarn on top of each other, steadying and positioning members 38 may be inserted on rod 10 or over the extension rods 24, see FIGURE 1.

Members 38 are particularly useful when the knitting machines employ cones of yarn 50 because members 38 can be moved up rod 10 or extension rod 24 until the extreme ends 52 and 54 of

arms

49 and 50 engage the inner surface of conical support 48, see FIGURE 3. With this arrangement, the cones of yarn are firmly held at their point of engagement with

arms

49 and 50 and will not be able to move down the extension rod 24 onto rod 10. Of course, if the yarn is wound on a cylindrical, tubular support, for example, the

arms

49 and 50 could be made extendible or they could be formed from a resilient, spring-like material so that they frictionally grip the inner surface of the cylindrical, tubular support at any point along the length of the extension rod.

Similarly, members 38 permit the cones of yarn to be mounted in vertically staggered relationship, see FIG- URE 4. This is useful when it is desired to stack extra thick cones of yarn on the machine and the space between adjacent rods 10 is insufficient to accommodate the cones or other windings of yarn in side by side relationship. Consequently, the structure shown in FIGURE 2, comprising extension rod 24, member 38 and connector 32 has a plural function in that it may be used as shown in FIG- URE l to securely stack any number of cones of yarn. one on top of the other, or it may be used as shown in FIGURE 4, to mount the cones or windings of yarn in vertically staggered relationship.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a knitting machine having a plurality of yarn support platforms with yarn support rods mounted on each platform, a stand rotatable about the axis of the knitting machine, the yarn support platforms being mounted on the rotatable stand, extension means for extending the length of said yarn support rods to any desired length. whereby any number of windings of yarn can be stacked one on top of the other, steadying and positioning means adjustably connected to said extension means for engaging each of the windings of yarn whereby the windings of yarn stacked one on top of the other may be vertically positioned and are firmly held and prevented from wobbling or falling off the knitting machine or rotating on said yarn support rods.

2. The knitting machine described in claim 1 wherein said extension means comprise extension rods, connectors connected to said extension rods whereby the length of said yarn support rods can be extended as desired.

3. The knitting machine described in claim 2 wherein said connectors comprise sleeves, means for mounting said sleeves on said yarn support rods, said sleeves having means for removably holding said extension rods whereby the length of said yarn support rods can be extended as desired.

4. The knitting machine described in claim 3 wherein said steadying and positioning means comprise oppositely extending arms, the extreme ends of said arms shaped to engage the windings of yarn and means associated with said oppositely extending arms for adjustably positioning said oppositely extending arms on said yarn support rod so that differently shaped windings of yarn can be firmly held on said yarn support rod.

5. The knitting machine described in claim 4 wherein said steadying and positioning means comprises a sleeve member having said oppositely extending arms integrally secured thereto and said windings of yarn comprise yarn wound on a conical tubular support, said sleeve member having locking means for releasably locking said sleeve member along the length of said yarn support rod whereby the oppositely extending arms of the steadying and positioning means can engage the inner surface of said conical tubular support regardless of their shape to firmly hold the yarn wound on the conical tubular support on the yarn support rod.

6. In a circular knitting machine having a plurality of platforms mounted for rotation around the axis of the knitting machine with yarn support rods mounted on each platform, extension means for extending the length of said yarn support rods to any desired length, means on said extension means for holding windings of yarn in vertically staggered relationship to accommodate different sized windings of yarn or for stacking and firmly holding any number of said windings of yarn on said yarn support rods.

7. In a circular knitting machine having a plurality of platforms with yarn support rods mounted on each platform, a stand rotatable about the axis of the knitting machine and having the platforms mounted thereon, combined means for mounting adjacent cones of yarn in vertically staggered relationship to accommodate different sizes of cones of yarn or for stacking and firmly holding any number of said cones of yarn on said yarn support rods, said combined means comprising extension rods for extending the length of said yarn support rods and cone engaging steadying means, said cone engaging steadying means comprising oppositely extending steadying surface members having releasable locking means for adjustably locking said oppositely extending steadying surface members anywhere along the length of said cone support rods whereby said oppositely extending steadying surface members can be moved into engagement with the inner surface of a conical tubular support on which yarn is wound to firmly hold the cone of yarn on said yarn support rod.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,805,495 5/ 1931 McKean 242 XR 2,283,373 5/1942 Krafit 242130.1 XR 2,460,753 2/ 1949 Kardos 242-130 2,483,490 10/1949 Dix 242167 3,225,570 12/1965 Mishcon 66146 XR 3,347,064 10/ 1967 Forca 66125 FOREIGN PATENTS 634,514 11/1927 France. 1,133,509 6/1955 France.

807,424 6/ 1951 Germany.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.