Device and method for producing knitted fabric

A device for producing knitted fabric, comprising:

• a knitting machine;
• a roving drawing and strengthening unit having a roving supply unit with at least one roving, a stretching unit coupled with said roving supply unit, a spinning nozzle device disposed downstream from said stretching unit in a roving conveying direction of the device forming a fiber strengthening segment by applying compressed air, and an end thread gripping roller pair rotatable in opposite directions and disposed downstream from said spinning nozzle device in the roving conveying direction and delimiting said fiber strengthening segment;
• at least one blow-off device for blowing off said spinning nozzle device and/or said stretching unit;
• at least one suction device for suctioning off loose fibers from said spinning nozzle device and/or said stretching unit;
• a blow-off and suction system, said suction device and said blow-off device are interconnected in said blow-off and suction system;
• at least one air channel running along over said end thread gripping roller pair;
• said suction device having a suction air cleaning device with at least one ventilation device, said suction air cleaning device having at least one exhaust air outlet connected to said at least one air channel;
• and
• said at least one air channel having at least one channel opening aligned on or along said spinning nozzle device and/or on or along said stretching unit.

A method for producing a knitted fabric, which comprises the steps of:

• supplying at least one roving to a stretching unit by a roving supply unit;
• applying compressed air to a drawn roving exiting the stretching unit by a spinning nozzle device in a fiber strengthening segment, being thus strengthened, wherein the fiber strengthening segment is delimited by an end thread gripping roller pair rotating in opposite directions through which a drawn, strengthened roving is led in clamped fashion and an end thread exiting the end thread gripping roller pair is supplied to a knitting machine;
• blowing off the spinning nozzle device and/or the stretching unit via at least one blow-off device;
• suctioning off exhaust air by means of at least one suction device on the spinning nozzle device and/or the stretching unit;
• leading suction air to a suction air cleaning device, in the suction air cleaning device an underpressure is generated by means of at least one ventilation device, through the suction air cleaning device loose fibers are led out of the suction air;
• and
• putting cleaned exhaust air gained from the exhaust air under excess pressure, the cleaned exhaust air being under excess pressure is led, starting from the suction air cleaning device, in at least one air channel running along over the end thread gripping roller pair and through at least one channel opening of the air channel by forming at least one air curtain aligned to or along the spinning nozzle device and/or on or along the stretching unit.