EP1616982A1 - System for stitch forming and an element therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The knitting system (1), at a knitter, has compound needles (2) each with a hook (7) at one end of the needle shaft (6) and a sliding tongue latch (8) to open and close the hook. The needles can be moved along one direction, and along a second direction at right angles to the first. A sinker (14) moves within the needle channel (15), with a narrow side (19) against the back (17) of the needle, to shift it on the second direction.

Description

The invention relates to a stitch forming system to be used, for example, as a knitting system, which contains at least one but preferably a multiplicity of slide needles. Furthermore, the invention relates to at least one circuit board for integration into such a knitting system.

There are basically different stitching systems with needles of stitch forming systems with latch needles. Both are made in appropriate knitting machines used for the production of so-called goods (knitwear) and in each case have their specific advantages and disadvantages. Sliding needles basically have an externally controlled slide, which is used to open and close the hook. The slider is operated by the lock of the knitting system, so that in this respect fully controlled work is expected. Tongue needles, however, use a pivotally mounted tongue for opening and closing the hook. The tongue movement is usually not externally controlled, ie not directly controlled by the lock of the knitting machine. Rather, the movement generally results from an interaction of the forces acting on the tongue, which result from the acceleration of the needle, possibly provided by the needle actuation brushes and the mesh running through the needle.

Tongue pins have been established especially for the production of so-called plated goods. When clad goods, the fabric of two threads, such as an elastic monofilament and a Plattierfaden, such as a woolen thread or the like, generated, these two threads are entangled together. It is important to avoid plating errors. Plating errors arise, for example, when the main thread and the plating thread, which are received together by the hook of a knitting needle, swap their place or their position during the knitting process. To avoid these plating errors, the threads used for plating as long as possible, ie until shortly before the hook, fed separately. Here are latch needles in the advantage. The closing of the hook is done by a pivoting movement of the tongue, wherein the trapped in the hook Threads (ground thread and plating thread) already come into contact with the swiveling tongue and are therefore supported and held.

With needle needles, this process is more critical. Here, the slider does not support the insertion of the thread as is the case by the rotational movement of the tongue in a latch needle. For this reason, the threads to be plated, with a slider needle, can not be optimally supplied, whereby a safe plating is no longer guaranteed.

Because of the per se completely controlled movement of the needle especially in the opening and closing of the hook, the needle has inherent advantages. However, due to the drawbacks of thread trapping described above using the example of plating, specific considerations have to be taken.

On this basis, it is an object of the invention to show a way to expand the applications of needles and possibly also latch needles. The extension of applications may be directed to increasing the knitting speed, stabilizing the knitting operation, broadening the range of application, reducing knitting errors, reducing the dependence of proper knitting operation on external parameters, and the like.

This object is achieved with the stitch formation system according to claim 1 and in particular with the board according to claim 9.

The stitch formation system according to the invention contains at least one but preferably a multiplicity of slide needles or else latch needles which are movable both in the needle longitudinal direction and in an additional direction. The hook of such a bi-directional movable needle, unlike a previous stitch formation system, can be moved not only on a linear path but on a variety of other paths. For example, in the simplest case, it can be moved back and forth in a curved or section-wise arcuate path. Furthermore, it is possible to place the hook on a loop-shaped, i. to lead on a trajectory enclosing an area. The hook can thus perform regular thread-catching movements, which can lead to increase the knitting speed, to improve the plating security in two-ply knitted fabrics, to reduce the required hook size and other benefits.

Also in the application of the second movement component according to the invention with latch needles, advantages can be obtained e.g. in terms of safety of catching and assigning (maintaining the order) of threads.

In the simplest case, the needle of the novel stitch formation system has two components of movement, namely a linear movement in a first direction and a movement achieved by a pivoting movement of at least the hook of the needle in a second direction. In simple words, the needle can be moved both longitudinally and pivoted. The needle can be stored in a needle channel of a needle bed of a knitting machine Knitting machine be stored, wherein the pivot axis in the needle bed is preferably defined stationary. It extends, for example, across all needle channels. The pivotal movement may be limited to a few degrees, for example 5 ° or less. Due to the normally existing relatively large length of a needle, the swing stroke can cause movements of the hook, which are of the order of its own dimensions. It can be seen that even a relatively small pivoting movement can have a significant influence on the stitch formation process.

The additional movement of the needle in its second direction as a pivotal or linear movement is preferably oriented perpendicular to the needle back of the needle. The improvement of the trapping of the thread then results, for example, in that the hook moves toward the thread during the capture of the thread. The improvement of the stitch-forming stitching system with respect to the safer trapping of the thread eliminates many disadvantages previously associated with the slider needle. For example, it is possible, depending on the application, to increase the operating speed of the needle, to produce clad goods with greater certainty and otherwise to tap into applications in which the capture of threads was difficult. Safer trapping of filaments now combined with the controlled movement of the slide needle slider, and thus the controlled opening and closing of the hook, can also result in difficult-to-operate and thus highly productive loop-forming systems.

The first direction movement of the slider needles (needle longitudinal direction) is preferably effected in a conventional manner by a foot of the slider needle and a lock engaged with the foot. The movement of the needle in the second direction, for example in the form of a pivoting movement, is preferably effected by a board on which the slider needle rests, for example, with its needle back. The board is then placed in the needle channel of a needle bed. It assigns the slider needle a narrow sliding surface against which the slider needle can rest with its needle back. The sliding surface thus determines the longitudinal orientation of the needle. A displacement or pivoting of the board in the needle channel thus also leads to a displacement or pivoting of the needle.

Preferably, the board is pivotally mounted and provided with a pivot bearing or connected. The pivotal positioning of the board can be done by control means on the board, such as a control foot, and in conjunction with control means on the embroidery machine, such as a lock. It is also possible to make the positioning of the board by separate slider, which in turn are controlled by a control means of the knitting machine. The pivotal movement of the needle is preferably only a few degrees. Similarly, perform the feet of the needle and its slider a small pivoting movement. This can usually be absorbed by the game within the needle lock. If necessary, these can be formed slightly spherical. Furthermore, it is also possible for the corresponding cam surfaces of the lock to correspond in each case to one of the pivoting positions of the needle Tilt to provide. This is possible because there is a clear and defined relationship between the ejection position and the tilt position of the needle.

The board as well as the needle may be associated with a biasing device, which is formed for example by suitable springs. These may bias the slider needle and / or the board in a preselected direction to facilitate positioning of the slider needle and the board.

Further details of advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the drawings, the description or claims.

Figur 1

mehrere Schiebernadeln eines Maschenbildungssystems beim Strickvorgang mit zwei zugeführten Fäden und einem an den Schiebernadeln hängenden Gestrick in schematischer Darstellung,

Figur 2

eine Schiebernadel des Maschenbildungssystems nach Figur 1 in schematischer und ausschnittsweiser Seitenansicht mit symbolischer Darstellung seiner Bewegungskurve,

Figur 3

ein Maschenbildungssystem in schematisierter, ausschnittsweiser, vertikal geschnittener Darstellung,

Figur 4

ein Maschenbildungssystem mit federnd vorgespannter Platine unter Weglassung der Darstellung der Schiebernadel in schematisierter, ausschnittsweiser Vertikalschnittdarstellung,

Figur 5

eine abgewandelte Ausführungsform eines Maschenbildungssystems unter Weglassung der Schiebernadel mit Steuerschieber zur Betätigung der Schwenkbewegung der Platine in schematisierter, ausschnittsweiser Vertikalschnittdarstellung,

Figur 6

das Nadelbett, die Schwenkplatine und das Schloss eines Stricksystems in schematisierter Vertikalschnittdarstellung,

Figur 7

eine abgewandelte Ausführungsform des Stricksystems mit Keilplatine in schematisierter Vertikalschnittdarstellung,

Figur 8

ein Stricksystem mit Strickzylinder und Rippscheibe und schwenkbar gelagerten Schiebernadeln in schematisierter Vertikalschnittdarstellung und

Figur 9

ein Stricksystem mit in zwei Richtungen beweglicher Schiebernadel ohne Steuerplatine und Führungskontur im Nadelbett in ausschnittsweiser, schematisierter Vertikalschnittdarstellung.

In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated. Show it:

FIG. 1

several needles of a stitch formation system during the knitting process with two supplied threads and a hanging on the needle needles fabric in a schematic representation,

FIG. 2

a slider needle of the stitch formation system of Figure 1 in a schematic and partial side view with symbolic representation of its movement curve,

FIG. 3

a stitch formation system in schematic, cut-out, vertically cut representation,

FIG. 4

a stitch formation system with spring-biased board omitting the representation of the needle in a schematic, fragmentary vertical sectional view,

FIG. 5

a modified embodiment of a stitch formation system omitting the needle with spool for actuating the pivotal movement of the board in a schematic, fragmentary vertical sectional view,

FIG. 6

the needle bed, the swing plate and the lock of a knitting system in a schematic vertical section,

FIG. 7

a modified embodiment of the knitting system with wedge board in a schematic vertical sectional view,

FIG. 8

a knitting system with knitting cylinder and dial and pivotally mounted needles in a schematic vertical section and

FIG. 9

a knitting system with two-way movable needle without control board and guide contour in the needle bed in a fragmentary, schematic vertical sectional view.

In Figure 1, a stitch formation system 1 is schematically illustrated and fragmentary, which serves for the production of knitted fabric and thus can also be referred to as a knitting system. The stitch formation system 1 has a plurality of needle needles 2, 3, 4 and other not illustrated slide needles, which are formed substantially the same. The slider needle 2, as well as all other needles, a needle body 5 (see Figure 3) with a shaft formed thereon 6, which terminates in a hook 7 end. In addition, the slider needle 2 has a slide 8, which serves as a closing member for a hook 7 enclosed by the hook inner space 9, as most apparent from Figure 2 can be seen. The slider 8 is movable relative to the shaft 6 in the longitudinal direction defined by the shaft 6. It can be stored in or on the shaft 6. For example, the shaft 6 may be provided with a slide slot.

The slider 8 is provided or connected with a slider foot 11, which engages with the not further illustrated lock a knitting machine. Similarly, the needle body 5 is provided with a butt 12, which is also engaged with the lock of the knitting machine. Due to the movement of the slider foot 11 and the butt 12, the slider needle 2 can be moved in a first direction L, which is marked in Figure 2 by an arrow and which coincides with the needle longitudinal direction.

To the stitch formation system 1 further includes a circuit board 14, which is arranged together with the needle 2 in a needle channel 15 of a needle bed 16. The needle channel 15 has two parallel to each other, not further illustrated flanks and forms a narrow groove. Between the two edges of the needle 2 and the circuit board 14 are held. The board 14 is arranged between the needle back 17 and the bottom 18 of the needle channel 15. It has a the needle back 17 facing narrow sliding surface 19 which is strip-like and above, in particular straight in the needle longitudinal direction is formed and on the needle back 17 abuts. The sliding surface 19 thus forms a positioning and bearing surface for the slider needle 2. It can be formed continuously or interrupted one or more times.

The board 14 forms a rocker, which is pivotally mounted in the needle channel 15. Serves a pivot bearing 21, which may be formed for example by a transversely extending through the needle channel 15 spring 22. The spring 22 may be formed, for example, as a resilient ring, resilient tube or as a coil spring. It can be inserted individually into each needle channel 15, as well as sit in a hole all the needle channels 15 passing through or groove with rounded bottom. The circuit board 14 has an arcuate recessed recess 23, with which it sits with little play on the spring 22. From the recess 23 away narrow sides 24, 25 of the board 14 extend, which together include an obtuse, little different from 180 ° angle. Otherwise, the board 14 is formed as a flat sheet metal part. Preferably, at the bottom in FIG. 3, which is remote from the hook 7, the board 14 is provided with a sinker foot 26, which serves to adjust the pivoting position of the board 14. By pivoting the board 14 and the needle 2 and in particular their hooks 7 in a second, here as the pivoting direction S designated, direction moves. This is marked in Figure 2 by an arrow. It is parallel to the flat sides of the needle needle 2. In Figure 3, an arrow P for the movement of the sinker 26 is entered accordingly.

To the stitch formation system 1 may further include a spring 27, which serves to hold the slider needle 2 on the board 14 in abutment. If the needle bed 16 is formed as a needle cylinder, the spring 27 is also referred to as a cylinder spring. It can extend around the entire cylinder and grasp all needles or only with one or more needle needles in contact.

• Wie in Figur 1 veranschaulicht, werden die Schiebernadeln 2, 3, 4 nacheinander ausgetrieben und wieder eingezogen, um ein oder mehrere Fäden 28, 29 zu erfassen, die von Fadenführern 31, 32 in Fangposition gehalten werden. Figur 1 veranschaulicht die Zuführung zweier Fäden 28, 29 wobei der Maschenbildungsprozess entsprechend auch lediglich mit einem einzigen Faden oder auch mit mehreren Fäden durchgeführt werden kann. Die Schiebernadeln werden, wie Figur 2 veranschaulicht, zunächst in Längsrichtung L ausgetrieben und dann durch entsprechende Betätigung der Platine 14 etwas geschwenkt. Sie führen dabei eine Bewegung in Schwenkrichtung S aus, bei der der Hakeninnenraum 9 auf den Faden 28, 29 hin bewegt wird. Der Haken 7 wird dabei in Figur 2 in der Zeichenebene, d.h. in der Ebene bewegt, in der er insgesamt liegt. Durch die Schwenkbewegung des Hakeninnenraums 9 auf die Fäden 28, 29 zu werden diese sicher in den Hakeninnenraum 9 eingeführt. Der Schieber 8 kann nun den Hakeninnenraum schließen, indem er mit seinem Ende auf die Spitze des Hakens 7 zu bewegt wird. Außerdem kann der Rückhub der Schiebernadel 2 beginnen, der auch von einer Rückschwenkbewegung begleitet sein kann. Die Überlagerung der Bewegungen der Schiebernadel 2 sowohl in Längsrichtung L als auch in Schwenkrichtung S ergibt für jeden beliebigen Punkt des Hakens 7 einen Weg W, der in Figur 2 als gestrichelte Linie veranschaulicht ist. Wie ersichtlich, ist dieser Weg W schleifenartig ausgebildet, d.h. er schließt eine Fläche A ein. Eine Besonderheit des Maschenbildungssystems 1 liegt somit darin, dass die Haken 7 auf einem Weg bewegt werden, der wenigstens einen schleifenförmigen Abschnitt enthält. Unter Berücksichtigung der Drehbewegung eines Nadelträgers, z.B. eines Nadelzylinders, beschreibt der Haken 7 einen dreidimensionalen Fangbereich.

The stitching system 1 described so far operates as follows:

• As illustrated in FIG. 1, the slider needles 2, 3, 4 are successively driven out and retracted to catch one or more threads 28, 29 which are held in catching position by thread guides 31, 32. Figure 1 illustrates the feeding of two threads 28, 29 wherein the stitch-forming process can be carried out according to only a single thread or with multiple threads. The slide needles are, as Figure 2 illustrates, initially expelled in the longitudinal direction L and then slightly pivoted by appropriate actuation of the board 14. They thereby execute a movement in the pivoting direction S, in which the hook interior 9 is moved towards the thread 28, 29. The hook 7 is moved in Figure 2 in the plane, ie in the plane in which he overall. By the pivoting movement of the hook interior 9 on the threads 28, 29 to be sure this introduced into the hook interior 9. The slider 8 can now close the hook interior by being moved with its end towards the tip of the hook 7. In addition, the return stroke of the needle 2 may begin, which may also be accompanied by a return pivoting movement. The superimposition of the movements of the needle 2 in both the longitudinal direction L and in the pivoting direction S results for any point of the hook 7 a path W, which is illustrated in Figure 2 as a dashed line. As can be seen, this path W is loop-shaped, ie it includes an area A. A peculiarity of the stitch formation system 1 is thus that the hooks 7 are moved on a path containing at least one loop-shaped section. Taking into account the rotational movement of a needle carrier, for example a needle cylinder, the hook 7 describes a three-dimensional capture region.

Figure 4 illustrates a development of the stitch formation system 1 based on the needle bed 16 and the board 14. With the exception of the following explanations, the above statements apply accordingly. A peculiarity of the illustrated embodiment is the resilient support of the board 14 by a board spring 33. This acts between the above as a rocker designed board 14 and the needle bed 16. It is located in the vicinity of the board base 26 and formed as a leaf spring. It can be formed on the board 14 or integrally connected thereto. It is also possible to attach a separate leaf spring by means of a welded connection to the circuit board 14. Furthermore, she can work in be clamped a slot of the board 14. It is also possible to form the plate spring 33 as a separate part or to connect with the needle bed 16.

The plate spring 33 can, as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, also act on the part of the circuit board 14 lying above the pivot bearing 21. The plate spring 33 may in turn be part of the board 14 or formed as a separate part and connected to the board 14 or the needle bed 16. The sinker base 26 may be biased in a further modification of the embodiment by an annular spring 34 or other suitable spring means which spring-loaded the special sinker 26 or all sinker feet 26 in one direction. Thus, the board 14 in the embodiment of Figure 5, both in consequence of the effect of the board spring 33 and in consequence of the action of the cow feather 34 tends to pivot in the clockwise direction. The actual pivot position can then be adjusted by means of a wedge slide 35, which is connected by means of a not further illustrated slide foot with the lock of the knitting machine. An axial displacement of the wedge slide 35 is thus converted into a pivoting movement of the board 14. This also makes it possible to use the function explained above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, ie. reach the pivoting movement of the needle 2.

Figure 6 illustrates the interaction between an embodiment of the board 14 and a lock 36 having a first control cam 37 for moving the needle 2 in its first direction, a control cam 38 for the slider and a further cam 39 for moving the Board 14 has. The sinker base 26 is designed here bent, so that the control cam 39, the pivotal movement of the board 14 can completely control. It has for this purpose two opposing control surfaces 41, 42, between which the control foot 26 is held with little play and which are oriented in or against the pivoting direction S. The board 14 comes without spring bias. However, to support a board spring 33 may be provided according to one of the examples discussed above.

Figure 8 illustrates the stitch formation system 1 applied both to a dial and to a needle cylinder. Instead of needles, latch needles are provided. The needle bed 16 illustrated in FIG. 8 above forms the dial 43, while the needle bed 16 illustrated on the right forms the needle cylinder 44. The dial 43 and the needle cylinder 44 are part of a circular knitting machine. They each have their own lock 36, which is formed, for example, according to the embodiment of Figure 6. The stitch forming process essentially proceeds as in a conventional circular knitting machine, the swaging movement in the second direction S being superimposed on the expulsion and pull-in movements of the latch needles 2, so that the slide needles 2 travel through a path W, for example according to FIG.

FIG. 7 illustrates a further modification of the loop formation system 1 illustrated so far. The modification consists in that the slide needle 2 is not swiveled but linearly displaced to carry out its movement in the second direction. For this purpose, a circuit board 45 is disposed between the needle back 17 and the bottom 18 be that acts as a wedge. Their sliding surface 19 and the bottom 18 facing side 46 close to each other at an acute angle. In addition, the bottom 18 is inclined at a corresponding acute angle against the longitudinal direction of the needle 2. A corresponding, controlled by a not further illustrated Blaupunkt movement in the direction of the arrow 47 in Figure 7 thus causes a shift of the needle 2 in the second direction S, regardless of their longitudinal position. Not further illustrated spring means can push the needle 2 against the board 45.

Finally, another embodiment of the stitch formation system 1 is illustrated in FIG. 9, which manages without a printed circuit board and nevertheless allows movement of the needle 2 in both its longitudinal direction L and in its second direction S. For this purpose, the bottom 18 of the needle bed 16 is provided with a control profile 48, for example in the form of a ramp. A complementary profile 49, for example also in the form of a ramp, is formed on the needle back 17. If the slider needle 2 is now moved linearly, it first performs a linear longitudinal movement in the direction of the longitudinal direction L (first direction). As soon as its profile 49 comes into contact with the control profile 48, however, the profile 49 runs up the ramp formed by the control profile 48, as a result of which the slider needle 2 performs an additional movement in the second direction S. This additional movement can be used as a thread-picking movement. The peculiarity of this embodiment lies in its simplicity. The above-explained board 14 or 45 can be omitted, whereby the lock is correspondingly easier. However, this is bought with that the path W of the hook 7 encloses no area and thus forms no loop. For many applications, however, a compared to the pure linear movement of a needle significantly improved thread catching ability is achieved.

An improved stitch formation system 1, in particular for needle needles 2, assumes that the needle is moved in a non-linear way during the knitting process. Depending on the embodiment, this path can be a loop, contain a loop or be formed without a loop. This is achieved by superimposing a transverse movement on the reciprocating needle movement, which can be controlled, for example, by a pivotally mounted board, which is arranged in the needle channel and determines the pivot alignment of the slider needle 2.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

Stitch-forming system

2, 3, 4

Knitting tools / sliding needles

5

needle body

6

shaft

7

hook

8th

pusher

9

Hook interior

11

slider

12

butt

14

circuit board

15

needle channel

16

needle bed

17

needle back

18

ground

19

Sliding surface (narrow side)

21

pivot bearing

22

feather

23

recess

24, 25

narrow sides

26

sinker

27

feather

28, 29

threads

31, 32

thread guides

33

PCB spring (pretensioning device)

34

Ringfeder

35

wedge slide

36

lock

37, 38, 39

cam

41, 42

control surfaces

43

dial

44

needle cylinder

45

circuit board

46

page

47

arrow

48

control profile

49

profile

A

surface

L

Longitudinal / first direction

S

Swing direction / second direction

W

path

Claims (12)

A stitch forming system (1) comprising at least one knitting tool (2) having a shaft (6) carrying a hook (7) at its end and a closing member (8) which is movable to open and close the hook (7) the slider needle (2) is movable in the stitch formation system (1) both in a first direction (L) coinciding with the longitudinal direction of the knitting tool (2) and in a second direction (S) oriented transversely to the first direction (L) is. Mesh formation system according to claim 1, characterized in that the knitting tool (2) is a pusher needle whose closing member is designed as a slide (8) which is movable in the longitudinal direction of the shaft (L). A stitch formation system according to claim 1, characterized in that the knitting tool (2) is a latch needle whose closing member is formed as a tongue which is pivotally mounted about an axis oriented transversely to the shaft longitudinal direction (L). A stitch formation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the slider needle (2) is pivotally mounted to allow movement in the second direction (S). The stitch formation system according to claim 1, characterized in that the second direction (S) coincides with a hook opening direction. A stitch formation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the stitch formation system (1) includes a needle bed (16) having a needle channel (15) designed as a narrow groove for each slide needle (2), the slide needle (2) being displaceable between its parallel flanks is guided, wherein both the movement of the needle bar (2) in the first direction (L) and the movement of the needle bar (2) in the second direction (S) is set parallel to the flanks. A stitch formation system according to claim 6, characterized in that in the needle channel (15) a board (14, 45) is movably arranged, which has a narrow side (19) against which a needle back (17) formed on the slider needle (2) abuts, to move the slider needle (2) in the second direction (S). A stitch formation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the stitch formation system (1) includes a needle bed (16) having for each pusher needle (2) a narrow groove needle channel (15) having parallel flanks and a bottom (18) is provided with a control profile (48) for moving the needle bar (2) in the second direction (S). Circuit board for a stitch formation system according to claim 1, characterized in that the board (14) has a narrow sliding surface (19) for supporting the longitudinally movable needle (2) and that the stitch formation system (1) comprises a controlled device (36) Movement of the sliding surface (19) of the board (14). Board according to claim 9, characterized in that it is adapted for connection to a pivot bearing (21) of a stitch formation system (1). Board according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises at least one sinker base (26). Board according to claim 9, characterized in that it is associated with a biasing means (33).

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