US 7,392,670 B2Granted

End yarn treatment apparatus and method of weft knitting machine

AssigneeShima Seiki Manufacturing, Ltd.

InventorHiroshi Maeda

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Abstract

First and second grippers are moveable in the longitudinal direction along needle beds of the weft knitting machine and in a direction that is closer to and away from a needle bed gap of the needle beds, switchable between a state of not holding a yarn and a state of holding the yarn, and moveable independently of each other. A cutter for cutting the yarn is provided on the first gripper. A control section controls the movements and the switching of the states of the first and second grippers, and the cutter so that in a state where the yarn is held by the first gripper and the second gripper, the held yarn is cut with the cutter. The end yarns generated by cutting the yarn with the cutter are not left in cut state, but treated by the first gripper and the second gripper independently of each other.

Claims8

Dependent claims

An end yarn treatment apparatus of a weft knitting machine, for cutting a knitting yarn and for treating end yarns generated by cutting when front and rear needle beds face each other in the weft knitting machine and a fabric is knitted by letting knitting needles move back and forth, comprising:

a first gripper that can move in a direction along needle beds of a weft knitting machine and in a direction in which the first gripper moves closer to and away from a needle bed gap of the needle beds, and that can switch between a state in which a knitting yarn is not and a state in which a knitting yarn is gripped;
a second gripper that can move independently of the first gripper in a direction along the needle beds of the weft knitting machine and in a direction in which the second gripper moves closer to and away from the needle beds, and that can switch between a state in which a knitting yarn is not gripped and a state in which a knitting yarn is gripped;
a cutter that can move along the needle beds of the weft knitting machine, and that can switch between a state in which a knitting yarn is cut and a state in which a knitting yarn is not cut;
and
control means for controlling movement and switching of the states of the first gripper, and the second gripper and the cutter, and for performing a control such that in a state where a knitting yarn is gripped with the first gripper and the second gripper, the knitting yarn between gripped points is cut with the cutter.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.