US3575018A - Yarn-feeding means for knitting machines - Google Patents

Abstract

A yarn-feeding system for drawing off yarn from a plurality of cones thereof and for feeding the same to a multifeed knitting machine wherein a plurality of rotating yarn-feeding rollers each have a pulley atop thereof and wherein an endless garter spring drive band encircles each of the pulleys. In one form of the invention an endless tape is driven by the machine to drive the rollers, the pulleys and the endless spring drive band while in a second form the endless spring drive band is driven by the machine to drive the pulleys and the rollers. The yarns are encircled about the rollers a plural number of times in spaced relation by wrapping the yarns about the rollers and between the successive spread-apart coils of a spring, the yarns thereafter being fed from the end of the spring.

Description

United States Patent [72] lnventors Nathan Levin 722 Edgewood Ave., Trenton, NJ. 08618; Thomas Anderson Oliver, Jr., 319 Summit Ave., Jenkintown, Pa. 19046 [21] Appl. No. 802,181 [22] Filed Feb. 25, 1969 [45] Patented Apr. 13, 1971 [54] YARN-FEEDING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 66/132 [51] Int. Cl D04b 15/48 [50] Field of Search 66/132, 132

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,361,317 l/l968 Levin 66/132(T)(X) FOREIGN PATENTS 1,241,501 8/1960 France 66/132 1,385,662 12/1964 France 66/132 909,071 10/ 1962 Great Britain 66/132 1,050,510 12/ 1966 Great Britain 66/132(T) Primary Examiner-Robert R. Mackey Att0rneyNathan Levin ABSTRACT: A yam-feeding system for drawing off yarn from a plurality of cones thereof and for feeding the same to a multifeed knitting machine wherein a plurality of rotating yam-feeding rollers each have a pulley atop thereof and wherein an endless garter spring drive band encircles each of the pulleys. In one form of the-invention an endless tape is driven by the machine to drive the rollers, the pulleys and the endless spring drive band while in a second form the endless spring drive band is driven by the machine to drive the pulleys and the rollers. The yarns are encircled about the rollers a plural number of times in spaced relation by wrapping the yarns about the rollers and between the successive spread-' apart coils of a spring, the yarns thereafter being fed from the end of the spring.

Patented April 13, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patentd April 13, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4.

lllllllllllllllllllll' YARN-FEEDING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES The present invention relates generally to the art of knitting and more particularly to improvements in the tape and roller yam-feeding system and in the roller yam-feeding system used on multifeed knitting machines for drawing yarns from the cones thereof and for feeding the same to the machines.

The conventional tape and roller yarn-feeding system presently used in the knitting art for the drawing off of yarns from the cones thereof and for feeding the same to the needles at the several feeds of multiple feed knitting machines, as disclosed in the US. Fat. to Rosen, No. 3,090,215, issued May 21, 1963, is generally satisfactory so long as there is no undue amount of excess tension in the yarns between their cones and the tape and rollers. When there is a sufficient amount of excess tension in the yarn, then, particularly when nylon yarn or the like, which is relatively strong, is being fed, the yarn, instead of being fed normally by the tape and roller system will (not considering, at this time, the effect of the stop motion) pull through or will slip relative to the tape and roller (even when the tape is tightly tensioned) with the result that continued taking of the excessively tensioned yarn by the needles will cause the yarn to break, usually at the needle line, and the fabric will be pressed off, at least in part, from the machine. Obviously, press offs are undesirable. An undue amount of excess tension in the yarn occurs, from time to time, as resistance develops, from time to time, to the unwinding of the yarn from its cone, such resistance to unwinding usually being caused by the manner in which the yarn cone was wound or is being unwound. The amount of resistance to unwinding may vary from cone to cone and may also vary from place to place in the same cone.

The operation of the conventional stop motions used in conjunction with the tape and roller yarn-feeding system and through which the yarns pass as they are drawn off of their cones for feeding to the needles of the machine, is also generally satisfactory so long as there is no undue amount of excess tension, of the type above set forth, in the yarns passing therethrough. Such conventional stop motions are of the type which will stop the machine in the event that either one of two conditions should occur, one, should the yarn run out with the end thereof passing through the stop motion fingers and, two, should there be tension in the yarn passing through the stop motion which is in excess of a preset minimum amount thereof as may be predetermined by suitable adjustment of the stop motion and in which event the yarn will be pulled off the stop motion.

It is the custom to adjust the stop motions so as to be effective to stop the machine when the amount of excess tension developing in the yarn passing therethrough is less, and often much less for the sake of safety, than that amount of excess tension in the yarn which would cause it to pull through the tape and roller. While this permits the machine to be run without the dangers of fabric press offs, it does cause the machine, when faulty cones are being used, to be subject to frequent stoppage, the frequency of which is determined by the frequency with which such excessive amounts of tension develop in the yarn. Should it be a particularly bad cone of yarn, the stopping may be so frequent as to make it desirable to discard the same. If, to overcome such undesired stopping of the machine, the stop motions are so adjusted as not to be operable by excessively tensioned yarns, then such tensioned yarns may pull through the tape and roller, break at the needle line and cause the machine to press off. This, too, is obviously undesirable.

it is, accordingly, the principal object of the present invention to provide means for yarn feeding and a method of operating the same which will overcome the above pointed out objectionable features of the tape and roller yarn feeding system as well as those of the stop motion operation.

it is an important object of the invention to provide means to feed the yarns in such manner that should a yarn break as the result of an undue amount of excess tension therein, such breakage of the yarn will occur between its cone and the yamfeeding means.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means in a tape and roller yarn-feeding system to prevent slippage between the tape and the rollers.

It is a further object of the invention to operate a tape and roller yarn-feeding system in such manner as to prevent excessively tensioned yarns from slipping relative to the tape and rollers.

it is a still further object of the invention to provide yarnfeeding means which will permit the lowering of the level at which the stop motions of a machine may be positioned and which will permit modifications of the stop motions.

With the above and other objects in view, such as less down time for the machine with less of the operators time needed per machine, less wastage of improperly wound cones,.better fabric, constant yam-feeding tension and improvement in output per machine, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention resides in the novel elements of construction, combination of parts and method of operation of the yarn-feeding means illustrated and as hereinafter particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a front elevational view of part of a multiple feed revolving-type of circular knitting machine showing a conventional tape and roller yarn-feeding system and also showing the garter spring drive band of the present invention operatively related to and driven by the rollers;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, partly broken away, showing in plan the machine and associated parts shown in FIG. 1 as taken on line 2-2 thereof with the tape driven from a machine-driven pulley;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, showing the yarn-feeding arrangement at each feed of the machine including tape, roller, a pulley atop the roller, the garter spring drive band encircling the pulley, a vertically positioned spring yarn guide and a plural number of turns of the yarn under the tape and about the roller and the spring;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, partly broken away, of the yarn feed roller and associate parts shown in FIG. 3 as taken on line M thereof;

FIG. 5 is a detail view showing the manner in which the spring acts to space the turns of the yarn on the roller and then to guide it to the machine;

H6. 6 is a detail view of a modified form of the invention showing the garter spring drive band around and driven directly by the machine driven pulley and in which the tape is eliminated; and

FIG. 7 is a view generally similar td FIG. 3 but showing the modified form of the invention wherein the garter spring drive band is driven as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the tape is eliminated and wherein the yarn encircles a friction-surfaced roller a plural number of times to be driven thereby for drawing the same from its cone and for feeding it to the machine.

A first form of the yarnfeeding means of the present invention is shown in FIGS. ll through 5 wherein it is applied to a multiple feed revolving cylinder-type of circular knitting machine, although it should be understood that the invention is not so limited and may also be used with any of the usual types of knitting machinery.

As shown in FIG. l, a driven bevel gear 10 engages with and drives a large bevel gear ring 11 to rotate the needle cylinder of the machine within its cam ring 12. Bevel gears l3, 13, one rotating with bevel gear 10 and the other fixed on the lower end of a suitably joumaled upright shaft 14, acts to drive the latter and a chain sprocket l5 fixed on its upper end. By means of an endless chain 16 trained about sprocket l5 and around a chain sprocket l7 fixed to the lower end of a suitably joumaled upright shaft 18, the chain drives the shaft 1b and an adjustable diameter pulley l9 fixed to the upper end of shaft Id. The pulley 19 which may be of the type disclosed in the US. Pat. to Rosen, No. 3,243,09l, issued Mar. 29, 1966, is used to drive an endless tape 20 at desirably regulated speeds,

the tape being trained about the pulley 19 and over a plurality of rollers 21 equally spaced about the circumference of the machine, FIG. 2, to drive the same, the arrangement comprising the conventional tape and roller yam-feeding system disclosed in the said Rosen patents. Another example of roller yarn-feeding to multifeed machines is disclosed in the US. Pat. to Levin, one of the present applicants, No. 3,361,317 issued Jan. 2, 1968. Each of the rollers 21 has a vertically disposed yarn guide spacing spring 22, FIGS. 3 and 5, associated therewith. Also associated with each of the rollers 21 is an annularly shaped single-flange pulley 23 suitably affixed atop and made a part thereof. An endless garter spring drive band 24 completely encircles each of the pulleys 23 and, as may be seen in F103. 3 and 4, it overlies a portion of itself in such encircling arrangement, the band being disposed so as to move between and to be guided by the single flange 23a of each pulley 23 and the upper side 21a of its associated roller 21 which functions as a second opposing flange for the pulley. The normal tendency of an encircling drive band, such as the garter spring 24, is to move along the axis of a pulley driven thereby, however, in this case, such movement of the band 2 is restrained by the flanges 21a and 23a and its tendency to climb upon itself is overcome by its smooth circularly shaped surface which causes the band to be axially displaced as it passes over the pulleys 23. lt may be seen in H0. 2 that while the band 24 encircles each of the pulleys 23 at a level above that of the tape 20, it does not, in this modification, extend around the tape driving pulley 19. Thus the spring band 24, which is self-tensioned, is driven by all of the rollers 21 and since it encircles the pulleys 23 without appreciable slippage therebetween, the band 24 serves to keep the rollers 21 in fixed rotary relation to each other and prevents slippage of the rollers 21 relative to the band 24 and to the tape 20. It may be pointed out that the tape has a greater amount of driving contact with pair of the rollers 21b, 21b than it does with the remainder of the rollers and that the driving of these rollers 21b, 21b contributes to the driving of the band 24 encircling them. The band 24, which is formed of closely wound coils of spring wire and which is sufficiently resistant to elongation, is generally satisfactory, however, it will be understood that other types of drive bands, belts or chains may be used in conjunction with appropriately shaped pulleys, for the same purpose. While the band 24 is shown as encircling the pulleys 23, it is within the scope of the present invention to eliminate the pulleys and to encircle the rollers 21 directly with the band 2A at a level spaced from the yarns thereon. While the pulleys 23 have been shown as being secured atop the rollers 21 and made a part thereof by a diametrically spaced pair of screws 25, 25 extending upwardly through suitably formed apertures in the rollers 21, into threaded engagement with the pulleys 23, the latter may be made integral with the rollers 21. It may be pointed out that the conventional rollers 21 have their mantle or tape engaging periphery made of metal, presently in the form of a series of adjacent vertically disposed hardened pins set in the upper and lower sides thereof and that presently the tape 20 is made of plastic material.

The machine is provided with four equally spaced uprights 26 set in its base to support a yoke 27 at their upper ends. This yoke, in turn, supports a central upright rod 28 to which is secured an intermediate level yarn guide ring 29 and an upper level ring 30 having a series of amis 31 radiating therefrom and upon the ends of which are secured a like series of conventional stop motions 32. These stop motions are of the type which may be actuated to stop the machine in the event that a yarn end runs out through the same or in the event that an undue amount of excess tension develops in the yarn passing therethrough and which causes the yarn to be pulled from the stop motion, the stop motions being adjustable to preset the same for the amount of excess yarn tension which will cause them to be actuated. Below the yoke 27 there is a horizontally disposed annularly shaped ring 33 which surrounds and is suitably supported by the uprights 26. A series of circumferentially spaced radiating arms 34, fastened at their inner ends to the upper face of ring 33, provide support at their outer ends for a like series of yarn cones 35. A similarly disposed series of arms 36, fastened at their inner ends to the lower face of ring 33, provides support at their outer ends for the rollers 21, the pulleys 23 and the yarn guides. A plate 37, secured to one pair of the uprights 26, P10. 2, provides a base upon which the shaft 18 is journaled while an extension 38 of the plate 37 provides a bearing support for the upper end of the shaft 14. Also disposed upon the plate 37 is a pivotally mounted lever 39 having an idler roller 40 at one end thereof which yieldingly engages the tape 20 to tension the same, the roller 40 being urged toward the tape 20 by a spring 41 suitably attached to the other end ofthe lever 39 and to the plate 37.

The yarn, indicated at Y, from each cone 35 thereof extends upwardly to pass through stop motion 32, then downwardly through guide ring 29, then through a suitable orifice in a yarn guide 42, HO. 3, then forms a plural number of spaced turns about the roller 21 (under tape 20) and the spring yam spacing guide 22 and finally passes through the lower terminal coil of the spring guide to the needles of the knitting machine. The guide 42 is a downward extension of arm 42a and the spring 22 depends from the end portion of an arm 22a to which it is secured by means of a screw 22!; extending through a suitably formed aperture in the arm 22a into threaded engagement with coils of the upper portion of the spring 22. The successive turns of the moving yarn Y are maintained in spaced relation upon the mantle of roller 21 by being wrapped between suitable ones of successive spaced coils of the spring 22, FIG. 5, between the successive turns of the yarn Y on the roller 21, the yarn moving in the direction of the arrows thereon in H0. 5 during its feeding movement. The yarn Y is caused to feed through the lowermost coil of the spring 22 either by drawing it lengthwise through the spring from the point of its last contact with a coil thereof or by simply wrapping the yarn between the remaining spring coils whereupon it will emerge from the terminal coil. The roller 21 with pulley 23 atop thereof, the arms 42a and 220, which may be adjusted angularly with respect to the vertical axis of the roller 21, F108. 3 and 4, are affixed to the arm 36 by means of a suitable shouldered screw 43 extending upwardly through suitable apertures in the roller 21, the arm 22a, the arm 42a and the arm 36 into threaded engagement with a holding nut 43a, the roller 21 being free to rotate upon the shouldered screw while the two arms 22a and 42a are fixedly held in suitably adjusted positions.

By virtue of the plurality of spaced turns of the yarn about the roller 21 and the spring 22, by the like plurality ofincrease in the amount of yarn in contact with the tape 20 over that shown in the Rosen patents, and by the lack of slippage between tape 20 and roller 21, the feeding of the yarn Y is positive with constant tension and rate of travel in the portion of the yarn between tape and roller and the needles of the machine, such tension remaining unaffected by any changes in tension in the portion of the yarn between tape and roller and the yarn cones. It will be noted that since excess tensions which may develop in the portion of the yarn between yarn cone and tape and roller cannot be transmitted to the portion of the yarn between tape and roller and the needles, it follows that there can be no fabric press offs due to excessively tensioned yarn reaching the needles of the machine.

The stop motions, in the practice of the present invention, are preferably set so that a substantially greater than the usual amount of excess tension in the portions of the yarns between their cones and the tape and rollers is required for the stop motions to be actuated. Such greater amount of tension may, if desired, be an amount just short of the amount which would break the yarns. With such setting of the stop motions, the yarns in which lesser amounts of excess tension occurs from time to time will continue to be drawn off their cones without stopping the machine even though such lesser amounts of excess tension are greater than the normal amount of tension in the yarns and would ordinarily stop the machine with the usual setting of the stop motions. Thus the machine will continue to run safely even though there is such resistance to the unwinding of the yarn as would ordinarily be effective to stop the machine. However, should the unusually great amount of excess tension develop in the yarns for which the stop motions were set, the machine would stop and yarn breakage would be avoided, but even if the yarns did break, such break would be between the yarn cones and tape and roller where it would be hannless to the machine.

The plural number of turns of the yarn Y about the roller 21 and spring 22 performs two functions. One, there is an increase, in direct proportion to the number of turns, in the amount of yarn in contact with the tape and this accordingly increases the resistance to slippage of the yarn between roller 21 and the tape 20. Second, the length of yarn making up the plural number of turns (approximately 7 inches per turn about a 2-inch diameter roller 21 and the spring 22) provides a reserve supply and increases the length thereof between the cones and the needles of the machine. Accordingly, the level of the stop motions 32 may, if desired, be safely lowered a distance equal to one-half the length of the said reserve supply of yarn without reducing the length of yarn normally present between the yarn cones and the needles of the machine. While the number of turns of the yarn Y about the roller 21 and spring 22 may be more or less, it has been found that excellent results are obtained with from three to six turns thereof.

A'modified form of the invention is shown in the FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein the advantages of the garter spring band drive and of the plural number of turns of the yarn about the rollers and springs are included. in the modification, the tape 20 is eliminated and the spring band 24 is trained about and is driven directly by the machine band 24 still encircling all of the pulleys 23 including the pair associated with the rollers 21b, 21b, to directly drive all of the rollers 21. The spring band 24 is driven, in this modification, directly by the pulley 19, whereas in the earlier set forth modification, it is driven indirectly by the pulley 19 via the tape 20 and rollers 21. In addition to the band 24 being selftensioning and requiring no idler roller pressing thereon, it is also self-adjusting when changes are made in the diameter of the pulley 19 for corresponding changes in the linear speed of the band 24. There is a change in the construction of the rollers 21 in that they are friction-surfaced, as shown by the friction material 21c, FIG. 7, so that the yarns do not slip on driven pulley l9, FIG. 6, the

the surface 21c as they rotate with the rollers during the yarn feeding. In all other respects the modification shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is similar to the modification shown in FIGS.- 1 through 5 and like characters are used to designate like parts in both modifications. While the members 21 have been herein referred to as rollers, they may also be referred to as yarn feed wheels and may be of any desired conformation.

While the screw 22b may be right-hand or left-hand threaded, with corresponding right-hand or left-hand coils in the spring 22, it is preferred that the screw be left-hand threaded and that the spring be left-hand coiled in order that the yarn Y may be arranged as shown by wrapping it about the roller 21 and spring 22 and then about the spring 22 in like one-way circular movements in the same direction.

We claim:

1. In a yam-feeding device for a multifeed circular knitting machine to draw a plurality of yarns from a plurality of cones thereof and to feed the same to the needles of said machine at the feeds thereof, a plurality of circumferentially spaced yamfeeding rollers, an endless yarn-feeding tape driven by said machine in timed relation therewith and trained over said rollers to drive the same, means to guide said yarns from their cones to and between said tape and rollers and to guide said yarns away therefrom thereby to draw said yarns from their cones and to feed the same to the needles of said machine at the feeds thereof, said yarns being in direct engagement with the proximate surfaces of said tape and of said rollers, the com matron therewith of a pulley operatlvely related to each of said rollers to rotate therewith and an endless garter spring band trained over and movable with said pulleys.

2. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said yarn guiding means includes spaced coil springs individually associated with said rollers, each of said springs extending freely from a support for one end portion thereof and permitting individual ones of said yarns to be wrapped about a roller and between the coils of its associated spring a plural number of times and then to extend lengthwise through the free end thereof.

3. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said springs are left-hand-wound springs.

4. in a yam-feeding device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pulleys are of single-flange construction, wherein said pulleys are secured atop said rollers and wherein said single flanges of said pulleys are spaced from said rollers.

5. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring band is driven by said rollers.

Claims (5)

1. In a yarn-feeding device for a multifeed circular knitting machine to draw a plurality of yarns from a plurality of cones thereof and to feed the same to the needles of said machine at the feeds thereof, a plurality of circumferentially spaced yarnfeeding rollers, an endless yarn-feeding tape driven by said machine in timed relation therewith and trained over said rollers to drive the same, means to guide said yarns from their cones to and between said tape and rollers and to guide said yarns away therefrom thereby to draw said yarns from their cones and to feed the same to the needles of said machine at the feeds thereof, said yarns being in direct engagement with the proximate surfaces of said tape and of said rollers, the combination therewith of a pulley operatively related to each of said rollers to rotate therewith and an endless garter spring band trained over and movable with said pulleys.

2. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said yarn guiding means includes spaced coil springs individually associated with said rollers, each of said springs extending freely from a support for one end portion thereof and permitting individual ones of said yarns to be wrapped about a roller and between the coils of its associated spring a plural number of times and then to extend lengthwise through the free end thereof.

3. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said springs are left-hand-wound springs.

4. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pulleys are of single-flange construction, wherein said pulleys are secured atop said rollers and wherein said single flanges of said pulleys are spaced from said rollers.

5. In a yarn-feeding device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring Band is driven by said rollers.

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