US 9,562,307 B2Granted

Method and machine for knitting tubular knitted articles

AssigneeStäUbli Italia S.P.A.

InventorsGianni Conti, Massimo Venni

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Abstract

The method provides for arranging a pick-up member for the tubular knitted article (M) coaxially with the needle cylinder, when knitting has been completed. The pick-up member (23) is provided with a plurality of pick-up hooks (25A, 25B) arranged according to a circular ring subdivided into two circular half-rings that can be overturned over each other. The tubular article is engaged by the pick-up hooks while the stitches of the last course of the knitted article are still held by the needles (5) of the knitting machine. The stitches of the last curse are then removed from the needles and the tubular article is removed from the needle cylinder (3) by means of the pick-up member (23). The two half-rings of pick-up hooks are overturned one onto the other, putting one of two opposite edges of the toe of the tubular article onto the other. The two edges are then sewn or linked.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A method for producing a knitted tubular article on a circular knitting machine comprising a needle cylinder with a circular needle bed for knitting the tubular article, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a pick-up member, for picking-up the tubular article, the pick-up member comprising a plurality of pick-up hooks arranged according to a circular ring, each pick-up hook being provided with a respective active end, each pick-up hook being pivotally connected at a respective pivoting axis to a respective one of two semi-circular supports, which are hinged to one another around an axis and forming a first half-ring and a second half ring of pick-up hooks;
knitting a tubular article on the circular needle bed, starting from an elastic edge and ending with an open toe;
arranging the pick-up member coaxially with the needle cylinder, with the active ends of the pick-up hooks arranged around the needles of the needle cylinder and outside thereof;
while stitches of a last course of the knitted article are still held by said needles, engaging loops of the tubular article with the plurality of pick-up hooks by pivoting the pick-up hooks around respective pivoting axes of the pick-up hooks towards the circular needle bed and between pairs of consecutive needles of the needle cylinder, whereby one of the first half-ring and the second half-ring engages a first edge portion of an edge of the open toe and another of said first half-ring and the second half-ring engages a second edge portion of said edge of the open toe;
once the tubular article has been engaged by the pick-up hooks, unloading the stitches of the last course from the needles and removing the tubular article from the needle cylinder by means of the pick-up member;
overturning one of the first half-ring and the second half-ring onto the other of said first half-ring and said second half-ring, placing the first edge portion and the second edge portion onto one another;
while the tubular article is engaged by the pick-up member, joining the first edge portion and the second edge portion together to form a closed toe;
after closing the toe, unloading the tubular article from the pick-up member.

5 more elements

A system comprising:

a circular knitting machine comprising a needle cylinder with a plurality of needles forming a circular needle bed;
a pick-up member for engaging and removing a knitted tubular article from the circular needle bed, said pick-up member comprising a circular ring of pickup hooks, subdivided into first and second half-rings, each pick-up hook of one of said first and second half-rings being pivoted to a first semi-circular support and each pick-up hook of another of said first and second half-rings being pivoted to a second semi-circular support, the first semi-circular support and the second semi-circular support being hinged to one another such that the first and second half-rings can be arranged coplanar and can be overturned over one another;
a closing device, configured and arranged for co-acting with the pick-up member for closing a toe of the knitted article while the knitting article is retained on the pick-up member, wherein the knitting machine and the pick-up member are configured and controlled so that the pick-up member engages a final edge surrounding the open toe of a tubular article knitted by said knitting machine, by means of the pick-up hooks, when stitches of a last course of the tubular article are still engaged by the needles of the circular needle bed, wherein the pick-up hooks are configured for insertion between adjacent needles of the needle bed, the closing device and the pick-up member being configured and controlled so that the closing device joins opposed edge portions of the final edge of the knitted article retained by the pick-up hooks, with the first and second half-rings overturned one over the other.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/773,870Filed 10 Apr 2014
Priority: IT FI2013A008112 Apr 2013
Published: US 2016/0024695 A128 Jan 2016
Granted: 7 Feb 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

D04B 9/40
Circular knitting machines with independently-movable needles: with provision for transfer of knitted goods from one machine to another
D04B 1/108
With stitch pattern: gussets, e.g. pouches or heel or toe portions
D04B 9/44
Specially adapted for producing goods of particular configuration: elongated tubular articles of small diameter, e.g. coverings for cables
D04B 15/02
Details of, or auxiliary devices incorporated in, weft knitting machines, restricted to machines of this kind: loop-transfer points