US 4,385,507 AGranted

Yarn feeding and changing apparatus for circular knitting machines

AssigneePrecision Fukuhara Works, Ltd.

InventorMasatoshi Sawazaki

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Abstract

Yarn feeding and changing apparatus for multi-feed sinker top circular knitting machines having a single circle of needles, wherein a yarn striper box is placed within the needle circle at each feed of the machine to provide a circle of boxes, and wherein a remotely programmed yarn selector is provided within the circle of boxes, the yarn selector and the circle of needles rotating in unison relative to the circle of yarn boxes. Each striper box is provided with a plurality of yarn feeding fingers and with a rocker, a control jack, and a clamp and cutter individual to each finger, the jacks controlling the rockers to move the fingers between feeding and idle positions. The yarn selector acts on the jacks to provide a yarn selection individual to each of the boxes. Each clamp and cutter is partially opened by its related rocker when its related yarn finger is moved to idle position and is thereafter fully opened and closed by the yarn selector. The clamp and cutter of a related yarn being moved to feeding position is retained in closed position by its related rocker during the yarn change. A yarn guide member causes each incoming one of the plurality of yarns to be fed to the needles at the same place in the needle circle.

Claims10

Dependent claims

Yarn feeding and changing apparatus for multi-feed circular knitting machines having a circle of needles, the apparatus having a series of yarn striper boxes positioned within the circle of needles in individual relation to the feeds of the machine with the boxes forming a circle thereof, and a remotely programmed yarn selector positioned within the circle of boxes, the circle of needles and the selector rotating in unison relative to the circle of boxes, the selector providing programs individual to individual ones of the boxes during the movement therebetween, individual ones of the boxes having therein a plurality of individual yarn fingers individually threaded with a like plurality of yarns and also having therein a like plurality of clamps and cutters individually related to the yarn fingers and to their yarns, the yarn fingers being movable between active and inactive positions wherein their yarns are placed into and out of feeding positions to the needles and wherein the clamps and cutters are operated upon to cut and to clamp the yarns, the selector having means to provide a selection individual to the yarn fingers in individual ones of the boxes to move selected ones of the yarn fingers between their active and inactive positions and to operate the individual clamps and cutters related to the selected yarn fingers to cut and to clamp the corresponding yarns.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.