US 3,945,223 A · Apparatus and method of knitting and elements thereof

Abstract

A needle bed is provided with laterally spaced apart longitudinally extending needle grooves in which there is slidably positioned a needle, a jack and a multiplier rocker between the jack and the needle, the rocker pivoting forwardly-rearwardly about a pintle inwardly of the bed. The jack has a contact at its forward end which contacts the rocker between the pintle and the outer rocker end and the rocker has a contact near its outer end for contacting the rear of the needle whereby forward movement of the jack pivots the rocker to cause the rocker to move the needle forwardly a greater distance than did the jack. Each jack is provided with a control butt and at least one pattern butt, each jack having plural sites at which a pattern butt can be located. The cam portion for actuating the jacks and needles has a multiple patterning raceway having longitudinally spaced apart pattern camming segments individually movable between an operative and an inoperative position. A pattern camming segment at an operative position will coact with a pattern butt at a corresponding site to move the jack forwardly sufficiently to move the corresponding needle from the welt position to the tuck position. The cam portion also has a needle butt raceway including camming for optionally moving needles forwardly from the tuck position to the clearing position and for moving each needle from its forward position rearwardly to the cast off position. The cam portion also has a jack butt raceway including camming for cooperating with the control butt on the jack for moving the jack from its rearward position sufficiently forwardly to move its corresponding needle from the cast off position to the welt position. The camming of the jack butt raceway also returns each jack from its forward position to its rearward position no later than the needle corresponding thereto is returned to the cast off position.

Claims54

Dependent claims

In a multifeed knitting machine, a needle bed having a plurality of laterally spaced apart longitudinally extending needle grooves, each of at least some of said grooves having positioned therein an arrangement comprising a jack, a knitting needle corresponding thereto, and a movement multiplier rocker between said jack and needle for transmitting the movement of said jack to said needle while multiplying the length thereof,

a. said jack being slidably mounted in said groove for forward-rearward reciprocation and having adjacent its forward end inwardly extending means defining a forwardly facing jack contact for abutting said rocker to transmit the movement of said jack to said rocker,
b. said needle being slidably mounted in said groove forwardly of said jack for forward-rearward reciprocation and having outwardly extending butt means thereon,
c. rearwardly facing needle contact means for abutment by said rocker to receive the movement of said rocker and to transmit said rocker movement to said needle,
d. said rocker having an inner portion, an outer portion and an intermediate portion therebetween,
e. said intermediate portion of said rocker having at the rear thereof a rearwardly facing first rocker contact for abutment by said jack contact to receive the movement of said jack,
f. said outer portion of said rocker having a forwardly facing second rocker contact for abutting said needle contact means to transmit movement of said forward portion of said rocker to said needle,
g. means pivotally mounting said inner portion in said needle bed about a pivot axis inwardly of said first rocker contact so that said first and second rocker contacts can oscillate forwardly-rearwardly about said pivot axis,
h. whereby when said jack is moved forwardly said jack contact abuts said first rocker contact to pivot said rocker forwardly to cause said second rocker contact to abut said needle contact means and urge said needle forwardly a greater distance than said jack was moved forwardly.

5 more elements

In a method of knitting with a multifeed knitting machine comprising a needle bed including laterally spaced apart longitudinally reciprocable jacks and longitudinally reciprocable needles corresponding to said jacks, the improvement comprising the steps of moving each of at least some of said jacks forwardly at least a respective predetermined distance, mechanically converting said forward jack movement of each moved jack while it is moving said respective predetermined distance into a respective second forwardly directed movement whose length depends on and is longer than the respective predetermined distance the jack moved, and mechanically applying said respective second movement resulting from each moved jack to its corresponding needle to move said corresponding needle forwardly a greater distance than said respective predetermined distance its jack was moved to move said needle forwardly at least a portion of the forward movement of its movement cycle.

In a multifeed knitting machine,

a. a needle bed having a plurality of laterally spaced apart longitudinally extending grooves, an active jack and a needle corresponding thereto slidably positioned in each of at least some of said grooves for forward-rearward reciprocation, each needle having outwardly extending butt means, and each active jack having at least one outwardly extending control butt, at least some of said active jacks being pattern jacks having at least one outwardly extending pattern butt longitudinally spaced apart from said control butt,
b. a cam assembly,
c. means for causing relative lateral movement between said needle bed and said cam assembly to operate said active jacks and their corresponding needles;
d. said cam assembly comprising a plurality of operative particular cam portions, each of said cam portions defining one yarn feed and including sufficient needle cam means, jack control cam means and pattern cam means for moving at least some of said pattern jacks and their corresponding needles through one cycle of their movement for knitting one course and for moving each of said active jacks through its movement cycle, each cycle beginning at the welt position;
e. said pattern cam means of each said cam portion including at least one pattern cam segment for cooperating with said pattern butts on at least some of said pattern jacks for moving said jacks forwardly a sufficient distance to move their corresponding needles forwardly from the welt position to the tuck position;
f. said needle cam means of at least some of said cam portions including at least one clearing cam segment for cooperating with said needle butt means on at least some of said needles brought to the tuck position by said moved jacks for moving said needles forwardly from the tuck position to the clearing position;
g. said needle cam means of each said cam portion including at least one stitch cam segment for cooperating with said needle butt means on each needle corresponding to an active jack for moving said needle rearwardly to the cast off position from its respective forward position;
h. and said control means of each cam portion including at least one welt cam segment for cooperating with said jack control butts on said active jacks for moving said active jacks forwardly a sufficient distance to move their corresponding needles from the cast off position to the welt position.

5 more elements

A knitting cam construction comprising at least one cam portion defining one yarn feed and having sufficient cam means for cooperating with needle and jack butt means for moving needles corresponding thereto longitudinally forwardly and rearwardly through one movement cycle for knitting one course, said cam portion comprising,

a. a cam support having an inner face and an outer face,
b. said cam support having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart passageways extending transversely therethrough from said inner face to said outer face, each passageway defining a pattern cam site for slidably receiving a pattern cam segment therein for sliding movement between an operative position and an inoperative position,
c. a plurality of pattern cam segments, each segment having an inner end and an outer end,
d. each pattern cam segment having adjacent its inner end a camming surface oblique to the longitudinal direction,
e. said pattern cam segment being in said operative position in a pattern cam site when said inner end and said camming surface project from said inner face of said cam support sufficiently for said camming surface to cooperate with said butt means,
f. said pattern cam segment being in said inoperative position in a pattern cam site when said inner end and said camming surface have been moved toward the outer face of said cam support sufficiently to prevent said camming surface from cooperating with said butt means,
g. each camming segment at a pattern cam site being movable between said operative and inoperative positions, independently of camming segments at other sites,
h. cooperating means on said pattern cam segments and said cam support for maintaining each cam segment in its respective operative or inoperative positions,
i. each camming surface in the operative position cooperating with butt means on at least selected jacks for moving them forwardly sufficiently to move the needles corresponding thereto forwardly from at least the welt position to the tuck position, said cam sites and cam segments therein defining a multiple patterning raceway,
j. needle cam means longitudinally spaced apart from said multiple patterning raceway, said needle cam means including (A) at least one clearing cam segment for cooperating with butt means on at least some of the needles brought to the tuck position by a pattern cam segment for moving said needles from the tuck position to the clearing position, and (B) at least one stitch cam segment for cooperating with butt means on needles for moving them rearwardly to the cast off position form their respective forward positions.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method of knitting and elements thereof

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method of knitting and elements thereof

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims54