US 4,916,925 AGranted

Needle latch cushioning member for circular knitting machines

AssigneeMonarch Knitting Machinery Corporation

InventorBruce M. Pernick

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Abstract

The needle latch cushioning member is formed of resilient material and includes an elongate body portion with a free end portion. The elongate body portion is supported in a groove on a yarn feed finger so that the free end portion is positioned to be engaged by and interrupt the swinging movement of the latches of the needles to the closed position as the needles are lowered to stitch loop forming position. The engagement of the latches of the needles with the free end portion of the resilient cushioning member serves to reduce the impact force of the latches against the hooks of the needles and thereby increases the wear life of the needles, without interfering with the feeding of the yarn into the hooks of the needles. When properly positioned, the free end of the resilient cushioning member can be used to guide the yarn into the hooks of the needles.

Claims12

Dependent claims

In a circular knitting machine including a circle of latch needles supported for vertical movement in a rotatable needle cylinder, a yarn feed finger adjacent said rotatable needle cylinder and including a yarn feeding passageway for feeding yarn into the hooks of successive needles as the needles are raised and move past the yarn feed finger and then lowered to form stitch loops of the yarn fed into the hooks thereof, and wherein the latches swing to an open position as the needles are raised and then swing to a closed position as the needles are lowered, the combination therewith of latch cushioning means for momentarily interrupting the swinging movement of the latches during the final portion of the swinging movement and to thereby increase the wear life of the needles, said latch cushioning means comprising

(a) a resilient member including an elongate body portion and a free end portion, and
(b) means supporting said elongate body portion of said resilient member on said yarn feed finger with said free end portion maintained in a fixed position to be successively engaged by the latches of the needles during the final portion of the swinging movement to resiliently interrupt the movement of the latches and to thereby reduce the impact force of the latches against the needles.

In a circular knitting machine including a circle of latch needles supported for vertical movement in a rotatable needle cylinder, a yarn feed finger adjacent said rotatable needle cylinder and including a yarn feeding passageway for feeding yarn into the hooks of successive needles as the needles are raised and move past the yarn feed finger and then lowered to form stitch loops of the yarn fed into the hooks thereof, and wherein the latches swing to an open position as the needles are raised and then swing to a closed position as the needles are lowered, the combination therewith of latch cushioning means for interrupting the swinging movement of the latches to the closed position as the needles are lowered and to thereby increase the wear life of the needles, said latch cushioning means comprising

(a) a resilient member including an elongate body portion and a free end portion, and
(b) means supporting said elongate body portion of said resilient member on said yarn feed finger with said free end portion maintained in a fixed position to be successively engaged by the latches of the needles as the latches swing toward the closed position to resiliently interrupt the movement of the latches to the closed position and to thereby reduce the impact of the latches against the hooks of the needles.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.