US3584478A

US3584478A - Pivotable yarn guide bracket for circular knitting machines

Info

Publication number: US3584478A
Application number: US880081A
Authority: US
Inventors: Morris Philip
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Philip Morris USA Inc
Priority date: 1969-11-26
Filing date: 1969-11-26
Publication date: 1971-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-15

Abstract

A yarn guide bracket comprising a rear mounting member mountable on the cam carrier of a knitting machine, and a forward yarn guide supporting member pivotably secured to the mounting member for vertical angular movement between a horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position, the pivotable member being kept in position by means of a leaf spring.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Morris Philip 2519 Grand Ave., Bronx, NY. 10468 {21] Appl. No. 880,081 [22] Filed Nov. 26, 1969 [45] Patented June 15, 1971 [54] PIVOTABLE YARN GUIDE BRACKET FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 66/19, 66/ 141 [51] Int. Cl D04b 15/54 [50] Field ofSearch 66/19, 125, 131, 141

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 374,196 12/1887 Marshall 66/141 X l 13,5s4,47s

Brinton et al. 66/141 Sedmihradsky 66/141 X Hipwell 66/141 X Jones 66/125 Killian 66/125 B Primary Examiner Robert R. Mackey Attorney-Tashof and Osheroff ABSTRACT: A yarn guide bracket comprising a rear mounting member mountable on the cam carrier of a knitting machine, and a forward yarn guide supporting member pivotably secured to the mounting member for vertical angu- Iar movement between a horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position, the pivotable member being kept in position by means of a leaf spring.

PIVOTAELE YARN GUIDE BRACKET FOIR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHHNES The present invention relates to a pivotable yarn guide bracket and more specifically to a yarn guide bracket so constructed that the portion of the bracket carrying the yarn guide can be pivoted between a position wherein the yarn guide is in the operative position and a position wherein the yarn guide is in an inoperative position.

Generally, in circular knitting machines, the bracket holding the yarn guide is a rigid bracket mounted on the dial cam carrier. The mounting means for both the bracket and the yarn guide within the bracket are adjustable so that the guide can be properly positioned to feed the yarn to the needles. Frequently during adjustments of the machine, inspection of the needles, etc., it is necessary to remove the yarn guide from the operative position wherein the yarn is fed to the needles. This involves either removing the guide from the bracket or removing the bracket from the machine, necessitating careful adjustments when the yarn guide is to be returned to the operative position.

To overcome these shortcomings it has been proposed to so construct the bracket as to be pivotable between an operative position to an inoperative position, thereby permitting access to the needles when desirable. However, the various attempts to make such a pivotable bracket have resulted in complicated constructions or constructions which do not firmly maintain the guide in the operative position during operation of the machine.

The present invention has avoided these shortcomings of the prior art by providing a bracket which is simple to manufacture, simple in construction, small in size, but yet which is pivotable, so that the yarn guide can be shifted in and out of the operative position with ease and without requiring time consuming adjustments when the guide is returned to the operative position. At the same time, the present invention results in a bracket which, when in the operative position, maintains the yarn guide rigidly in position.

In essence, the present invention is directed to a yarn guide bracket comprising a rear mounting member which is mountable on the dial cam carrier, said mounting member having a channel at its forward end. Pivotably mounted in this channel is the actual yarn guide supporting member and a leaf spring is provided for resiliently holding the yarn guide supporting member in both the operative and inoperative positions.

Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a yarn guide bracket comprising a rear mounting member mountable on the dial cam carrier of a knitting machine, and a forward yarn guide supporting member pivotably secured to said mounting member for verti cal angular movement between a substantially horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position; said mounting member having a substantially horizontal base including a rear portion and a forward portion, the latter having a pair of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending, upstanding opposed sidewalls, said opposed sidewalls defining between them a longitudinally extending channel whose bottom is the upper surface of said forward base portion, said rear portion having a vertical slot therethrough for receiving therein a bolt for fastening said mounting member on said dial cam carrier; said supporting member having a rear section, an intermediate section and a forward section, said rear section being positioned in said channel, a horizontal pintle extending laterally through said sidewalls and said rear section whereby said supporting member is vertically pivotable between said operative horizontal position and said inoperative upright position, said forward section of said supporting member including means for mounting thereon a yarn guide; a leaf spring having one end thereof secured to the underside of the intermediate section of said supporting member, with the other end of said leaf spring being free and extending beneath said forward base portion of said mounting member when said supporting member is in the operative position, so that when said supporting member is in said operative position, said leaf spring is resiliently pressed against at least part of the underside of said forward base portion to constantly urge said sup porting member downwardly, and so that when said supporting member is in an upright inoperativeposition, said leaf spring is resiliently pressing against a forward extremity of said forward base portion to bias said supporting member away from said operative position.

This and other aspects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the yarn guide bracket in the operative position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the yarn. guide bracket of FIG. I in the operative position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the yarn guide bracket of FIG. 2 showing the yarn guide in the inoperative position; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the bracket of FIG. I.

The yarn guide bracket of the present invention is usable on circular knitting machines having a knitting dial. The machines can be dial knitting machines only, or can be dial and cylinder machines. Furthermore, the machines can be of the type wherein the needle beds are stationary and the cams rotate, or the type where the cams are stationary and the needle beds rotate.

In the following description there will be used the relative positional words rear and forward." Rear" will refer to the direction toward the fastening of the bracket onto the cam carrier, that is, the direction to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2, while forward" will refer to the direction toward the free end of the bracket, that is, the direction to the right in FIGS. I and 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is provided a rear mounting member 10 and a forward yarn guide supporting member 12. Mounting member 10 is constituted by a base 14 which is substantially horizontal. The forward portion of said base is provided with a pair of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending, opposed sidewalls I6 and IE upstanding from said ase.

The opposed sidewalls l6 and i8 define a channel, the bottom of the channel being the upper surface 20 of the forward portion of base M. Through the rear portion of base 14 there is a vertical slot 22 for receiving therethrough a bolt 24 which provides the means for fastening mounting member I0, and therefore the yarn guide bracket itself, onto the top of the dial cam carrier 26, shown in phantom. A washer 28, wider that the width of the slot, is also provided to assist the bolt 24 in rigidly securing the bracket to the dial cam carrier. In the illustrated embodiment the slot 22 is longitudinally elongated to permit longitudinal adjustment of the bracket on the cam carrier. As is known in the art, dial cam carrier 26 overlays the dial 30 in whose slots are mounted, for horizontal reciprocation, dial needles 32, the dial 3t and needles 32 being shown in phantom.

It will be noted that the sidewalls l6 and 18 extend rearwardly onto the rear base portion and that at the rear these sidewalls are bevelled downwardly. it is not necessary that the sidewalls I6 and 18 extend rearwardly into the rear portion, but such extension serves to strengthen the construction.

Yarn guide supporting member 12 is constituted by a rear section, intermediate section and forward section and in the illustrated embodiment the rear section is constituted by a tongue 34 whose width is substantially that of the lateral space between sidewalls l6 and 18, so that the tongue 36 can be received in the channel defined by said sidewalls with a minimum of lateral play between mounting member 10 and supporting member 12. A horizontal pintle 36 passes through horizontal bores in the sidewalls I6 and I8 and the tongue thereby permitting supporting member 12 to pivot vertically about said pintle. The location of the pintle 36 and the dimensions of the base M and tongue 34 are such that when the supporting member 12 is in the operative position, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottom of the tongue is as close as possible to the bottom of the channel, the bottom of the channel being the upper surface 20 of the forward portion of the base. In fact, in this position at least a portion of the undersurface of tongue 3 abuts the bottom of the channel, such abutment defining stop means serving to prevent downward angular movement of the supporting member below the operative position. Because of the close tolerance between parts, a bevel 38 is provided at the lower end of the rear of tongue 34 to provide the clearance necessary to permit swinging or pivoting supporting member 12 about pintle 36.

In order to resiliently but firmly maintain the supporting member in the operative position, there is provided a flat or leaf spring 40 having one end secured to the underside of the intermediate section of the supporting member 12, said spring being secured by means of plate 82 and bolts 44 passing through said plate, said spring, and into threaded engagement with the intermediate section. The free end of said spring 40 extends beneath the forward base portion of the mounting member when the supporting member is in the operative position. The spring resiliently contacts at least part of the underside of said forward base portion, the portion being contacted in the illustrated embodiment being the lower forward corner 46 of the base 14. Optionally, the lower corner 46 may have a slight bevel, as shown in H0. 2. It will be appreciated that when the parts are in the position shown in FlG. 2, the resilient force of the spring constantly urges supporting member 12 downwardly while the abutting surfaces of the undersurface of tongue 34 and the bottom of the channel prevent further downward movement. This coaction between the abutment of the surfaces and the resilient force of spring 40 firmly maintain the supporting member in the operative position.

As shown in F IG. 2, the bottom or undersurface of the base 14 is stepped, or at two elevations, with the undersurface of the forward base portion being positioned higher or above the undersurface of the rear base section to provide a cutout or notch 41. Cutout or notch 41 provides a space for receiving the free end of spring 40. in the illustrated embodiment, in order to obtain the benefit of the resilient force of spring 40, the undersurfaces of the intermediate and rear sections of the supporting member 12 are disposed higher or above at least the forwardmost extremity or corner 46 of the forward base portion of the mounting member. In this way, when the supporting member is in the operative position, the abutment of spring 40 against corner 46 bends the spring to provide the resilient force urging the supporting member downwardly.

The forward section of the supporting member is substantially similar to that of prior art yarn guide brackets and includes a vertical bore 48 for receiving therein the shaft 50 of the yarn guide proper, the lower end 52 of the shaft 50 being the portion which directs the yarn to the needles. The yarn guide proper, that is, shaft St) and lower end 52, is of conventional construction and forms no part of the present invention. Through the lower end 52 are

bores

54 and 36. When the yarn guide is threaded with the yarn Y, the yarn is fed through the appropriate one of

bores

54 or 56, depending upon whether the yarn is to be fed to the dial needles 32 in dial 311 or to the cylinder needles 35 in cylinder 33. A longitudinal set screw 58, in threaded engagement with the forward section, abuts the shaft 50 of the yarn guide to maintain the yarn guide in the proper position.

The forward section of the supporting member 12 has another vertical bore 60 therethrough, located forwardly of bore 48. In bore 60 is fitted a grommet 62 through which the yarn Y is fed or guided from a supply of yarn into the appropriate one of

bores

54 and 56.

It will be appreciated that the supporting member 12 is divided into three sections, the forward section being that part which has mounted therein the yarn guide, the rear section being that part which is fitted within the channel of the mounting member 10, and with the intermediate section being that portion between the forward section and the rear section, the intermediate section being the one to which the spring 40 is secured.

Reference has been made to the operative position of the supporting member 12. As is known in the art, the yarn guide is in the operative position when it is in position to feed the yarn to the needles and in this position the yarn guide is substantially vertical and the supporting member 12 is substantially horizontal. When it is desired to move the yarn guide out of position to inspect the needles, or for other purposes, the supporting member 12 is swung upwardly in the direction shown by arrow 64 of FIG. 3. In the position shown in FIG. 3, the yarn guide is in an inoperative position. ln the illustrated embodiment, as shown in H6. 3, it will be noted that the yarn guide is not quite horizontal and that the supporting member, although upright, is not exactly vertical. The exact positioning of the parts in the inoperative position is not critical, it being merely necessary that the yarn guide be moved out of the way sufficiently to permit the work on the needles.

As the supporting member is swung upwardly in the direction of arrow 64 from the operative position shown in FIG. 2, the spring 40 still presses against corner 46 and the bending of the spring is increased. when the supporting member 12 has been moved upwardly about 45, the spring is at its maximum bending. As the supporting member is swung upwardly past this point, the bending of the spring decreases and the resilient force of the spring urges the supporting member still further upwardly, and in fact snaps the supporting member to the position shown in H6. 3, at which time the spring; abuts the forward edges of the

sidewalls

16 and 18. If desired, the supporting member 12 can be swung further in the direction of arrow 64 past the point shown in FIG. 3. Although the force of the spring resiliently holds the supporting member in the position shown in FIG. 3, the parts are not held as firmly in this position as they were when in the operative position shown in FIG. 2. However, it is not necessary nor critical that the parts be very firmly maintained in an inoperative position because when in this position yarn is not being fed to the needles. When the yarn guide is to be returned to the operative position it is merely swung downwardly in the direction opposite to that of arrow 64 until the supporting member passes the point where the spring is at the maximum bending and then the spring snaps the supporting member into the position shown in H6. 2. Attention is directed to the fact that the entire bracket, as shown in FIG. 1, is substantially of uniform width, no wider that the forward section of the supporting member 12. The tongue 34, however, is of reduced width so it can fit between the

upstanding sidewalls

16 and 18. The spring 40 is as wide as possible in order to provide the maximum resiliency and therefore it is as wide as the intermediate section of the supporting member. The only part of the construction which, in the illustrated embodiment, is wider than the remaining construction is the width of the pintle, since in this embodiment the pintle 36 is in the form of a rivet, with the flattened heads projecting slightly. It is therefore apparent that the present invention provides a bracket which occupies a minimum of space, thereby permitting the manufacture of a machine with many yarn feeds. The construction of the present invention results in a pivotable bracket permitting the yarn guide to be swung in and out of operative position, the yarn guide being firmly held in the operative position, and yet, at the same time, the bracket takes up no more space than the conventional nonpivotable bracket.

1 claim:

11. A yarn guide bracket comprising a rear mounting member mountable on the dial cam carrier of a knitting machine, and a forward yam guide supporting member pivotably secured to said mounting member for vertical angular movement between a substantially horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position; said mounting member having a substantially horizontal base including a rear portion and a forward portion, the latter having a pair of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending, upstanding opposed sidewalls, said opposed sidewalls defining between them a longitudinally extending channel whose bottom is the upper surface of said forward base portion, said rear portion having a vertical slot therethrough for receiving therein a bolt for fastening said mounting member on said dial cam carrier; said supporting member having a rear section, an intermediate section and a forward section, said rear section being positioned in said channel, a horizontal pintle extending laterally through said sidewalls and said rear section whereby said sup porting member is vertically pivotable between said operative horizontal position and said inoperative upright position, said forward section of said supporting member including means for mounting thereon a yarn guide; a leaf spring having one end thereof secured to the underside of the intermediate section of said supporting member, with the other end of said leaf spring being free and extending beneath said forward base portion of said mounting member when said supporting member is in the operative position, so that when said supporting member is in said operative position, said leaf spring is resiliently pressed against at least part of the underside of said forward base portion to constantly urge said supporting member downwardly, and so that when said supporting member is in an upright inoperative position, said leaf spring is resiliently pressing against a forward extremity of said forward base portion to bias said supporting member away from said operative position.

2. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 1, wherein said forward section of said supporting member has a vertical bore therethrough for receiving and securing therein the shaft of a yarn guide.

3. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 2, wherein the undersurfaces of said intermediate and rear sections of said supporting member are disposed above the undersurface of at least the forwardmost extremity of said forward base portion of said rear mounting member.

4. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 3, wherein stop means are provided to limit downward angular movement of said supporting member past the operative position so that the combination of said stop means and the resiliency of said spring firmly maintain said supporting member in the operative position.

5. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 4, wherein said stop means is comprised by the abutment of at least a portion of the undersurface of said rear section of said supporting member with the bottom of said longitudinally extending channel.

6. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 5, wherein the undersurface of said base of said mounting member is stepped, the undersurface of the forward base portion being disposed above the undersurface of the rear base section to provide a cutout for receiving the free end ofsaid spring.

7. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 1, having a yarn guide mounted on the forward section of said supporting member.

Claims

1. A yarn guide bracket comprising a rear mounting member mountable on the dial cam carrier of a knitting machine, and a forward yarn guide supporting member pivotably secured to said mounting member for vertical angular movement between a substantially horizontal operative position and an upright inoperative position; said mounting member having a substantially horizontal base including a rear portion and a forward portion, the latter having a pair of laterally spaced apart, longitudinally extending, upstanding opposed sidewalls, said opposed sidewalls defining between them a longitudinally extending channel whose bottom is the upper surface of said forward base portion, said rear portion having a vertical slot therethrough for receiving therein a bolt for fastening said mounting member on said dial cam carrier; said supporting member having a rear section, an intermediate section and a forward section, said rear section being positioned in said channel, a horizontal pintle extending laterally through said sidewalls and said rear section whereby said supporting member is vertically pivotable between said operative horizontal position and said inoperative upright position, said forward section of said supporting member including means for mounting thereon a yarn guide; a leaf spring having one end thereof secured to the underside of the intermediate section of said supporting member, with the other end of said leaf spring being free and extending beneath said forward base portion of said mounting member when said supporting member is in the operative position, so that when said supporting member is in said operative position, said leaf spring is resiliently pressed against at least part of the underside of said forward base portion to constantly urge said supporting member downwardly, and so that when said supporting member downwardly, and so that when said supporting member is in an upright inoperative position, said leaf spring is resiliently pressing against a forward extremity of said forward base portion to bias said supporting member away from said operative position.

6. A yarn guide bracket according to claim 5, wherein the undersurface of said base of said mounting member is stepped, the undersurface of the forward base portion being disposed above the undersurface of the rear base section to provide a cutout for receiving the free end of said spring.