A double-cylinder circular hosiery knitting machine capable of preparing a tubular manufacture for automated pick-up at an end of its formation on a double-cylinder circular machine with at least one feed or drop, comprising at least the following steps:
- a first step of transferring or retaining all the needles in a lower needle cylinder with loops of a last formed row of knitting of the manufacture engaged in an upper head of the needles, tensioning the manufacture downward inside a lower needle cylinder;
- a second step, of moving all the needles to the tuck-stitch position so that the loops are at an upper tab of each needle;
- a third stepof pushing upward the portion of the manufacture engaged with the needles;
- a fourth step of disengaging sinkers from the manufacture so that said manufacture, due to an upward thrust, moves so that the loops of the last formed row of knitting are in the upper head of the needles;
- a fifth step of lifting the needles into a dropped-stitch position, keeping the manufacture pushed upward in order to keep the loops of the last formed row of knitting in the upper head of the needles, the knitting machine comprising a double-cylinder circular hosiery knitting machine comprising a supporting structure which rotatably supports a lower needle cylinder to rotate about an axis, which is oriented vertically, and an upper needle cylinder positionable above and coaxially to the lower needle cylinder;
- a plurality of axial slots being defined on a lateral surface of said lower needle cylinder and on a lateral surface of said upper needle cylinder;
- each one of the axial slots of the lower needle cylinder, when said upper needle cylinder is arranged coaxially to said lower needle cylinder, being aligned with an axial slot of the upper needle cylinder and accommodating a needle that can perform a translational motion on command from said lower needle cylinder to said upper needle cylinder or vice versa;
- each one of the axial slots of said lower needle cylinder accommodating elements for actuating the corresponding needle when it is arranged in said lower needle cylinder, and each one of the axial slots of said upper needle cylinder accommodating elements for actuating a corresponding needle when it is arranged in said upper needle cylinder;
- around said lower needle cylinder and around said upper needle cylinder cams being provided for the actuation of needles which can engage said actuation elements of the needles arranged in the axial slots of said lower needle cylinder and of said upper needle cylinder;
- sinkers, each with a beak, being accommodated inside said lower needle cylinder so that each beak lies between two contiguous axial slots and so that they can move with the beak toward and away from the axis of the lower needle cylinder;
- cams being provided for the actuation of the sinkers which define at least one path that can be followed by a heel of the sinkers as a consequence of rotation of the lower needle cylinder with respect to said cams of the sinkers and is contoured to provide the movement of the sinkers with their beak toward or away from the axis of the lower needle cylinder;
- wherein said cams of the sinkers are supported so that they can rotate by said supporting structure about the axis of said lower needle cylinder, means being provided for the actuation of said cams for actuating the sinkers and being actuatable to provide a rotation, through an angle of preset breadth, of said cams of the sinkers about the axis of said lower needle cylinder with respect to said lower needle cylinder and said supporting structure.