Knitting machine with thread exchange device

A thread exchange device for a circular knitting machine with a rotary needle cylinder having a needle pitch and at least one thread processing station for producing a fabric with a plurality of threads according to a pattern, comprising a thread knot unit for knotting sections of said threads to form a continuous thread;

• a control device coupled to said knot unit for selecting threads lengths from said plurality of threads and for controlling said knot unit for knotting the threads to said continuous thread by means of zero pulses and timing pulses in such a way that knots always occur at predetermined same vertical regions of said fabric, said control device having means for producing independently of said needle pitch said zero pulses at the end of every revolution of said needle cylinder and a fixed plurality of said timing pulses during every revolution of said needle cylinder;
• and a thread storage device located between said knot unit and said thread processing station for feeding said continuous thread to said thread processing station, a length of said continuous thread stored in said thread storage device being kept at a same and constant value whereby an overall length of said continuous thread between said knot unit and said thread processing station is being kept constant to thereby insure positioning of knots at predetermined same region of a fabric during knitting, said constant value of said length of said continuous thread stored in said thread storage device being storable in said control device.