latch needle

Abstract

A latch needle capable of reducing the mass of the needle latch, reducing the impact energy when the needle latch is opened, and sufficiently ensuring the contact area between the needle latch and the seat support portion. The needle latch (20) has a needle latch stem portion (21) inserted into a slit (13) and a spoon portion (30) formed at the tip of the needle latch stem portion (21) to be wider than the needle latch stem portion (21). The needle latch (20) is rotatable between a closed state in which the front face (31) of the spoon portion (30) abuts against a needle hook (12) and an open state in which the back face (32) of the spoon portion (30) abuts against a seat support portion (14). The length (W1) of the spoon portion (30) as viewed from the back face (32) is set to be longer than the length (W2) of the spoon portion (30) as viewed from the front face (31).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a tongue needle with a hook and a tab at the tip. Background Technology

[0002] This latch needle has a needle body with a hook-shaped tip and a latch that can contact and separate from the hook. The latch is rotatably mounted to the needle body and is configured to interact and open / close with the hook and a support member in order to form a loop. The latch needle is mounted on a knitting machine and reciprocates along its length. With this reciprocating movement, the latch is pushed by the yarn to open and close, thereby automatically forming a loop and knitting the yarn.

[0003] In this type of knitting machine, to improve the productivity of knitted fabrics, it is necessary to increase the opening and closing speed and the number of times the latch needle switches (for example, assuming the latch switches at a speed of 1 million times / day or more, exceeding 1.0 m / s). When the latch needle switches at high speed as described above, the impact load when the latch contacts the needle body accumulates, leading to fatigue failure (latch defects) at the tip of the latch. In particular, stress concentrates at the edge of the scoop, making latch defects more likely.

[0004] When a needle latch defect occurs, the knitting yarn may sometimes break, causing the knitting machine to stop. Furthermore, if knitting continues without a broken yarn, the torn surface of the needle latch may come into contact with the yarn, potentially leading to pilling or other issues. As mentioned above, needle latch defects are a cause of reduced productivity and quality in knitted fabrics.

[0005] Regarding this type of problem, there are ideas to reduce the impact energy during the opening and closing of the needle tongue by reducing its mass, thereby preventing needle tongue damage. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure that reduces mass by forming an opening in the needle tongue. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a structure that reduces the mass of the needle tongue by forming a recess on the outer side of the needle tongue.

[0006] Existing technical documents

[0007] Patent documents

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 60-71750.

[0009] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-299071. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The problem the invention aims to solve

[0011] However, as described in the aforementioned patent document 1, because the tongue needle has an opening in its formation, cotton fibers may enter the hole during the fabric weaving process, potentially causing problems such as poor opening and closing of the tongue or damage to the tongue.

[0012] Furthermore, the tongue needle described in Patent Document 2 has a recessed area on its outer side. Therefore, when the thread moves along the closed outer side of the tongue, the contact area between the thread and the tongue decreases. The tension of the thread is greatest when it moves along the closed outer side of the tongue, so repeated friction with the thread can easily cause uneven wear on the outer side of the tongue, which may lead to fuzzing or thread breakage.

[0013] Furthermore, reducing the size of the spoon portion of the needle tongue can decrease its mass, thereby reducing the impact energy during opening and closing. However, reducing the size of the spoon portion also reduces the area of ​​its back surface. The back surface of the spoon portion is the part that contacts the seat support of the needle body when the needle tongue is in the open state. If the area of ​​the back surface of the spoon portion is reduced, the contact area between the seat support and the spoon portion will also be reduced, which may result in insufficient impact dispersion and damage to the needle tongue.

[0014] Therefore, the objective of this invention is to provide a tongue needle that can reduce the mass of the tongue and the impact energy during the opening and closing of the tongue, and can sufficiently ensure the contact area between the tongue and the seat support.

[0015] Solution for solving the problem

[0016] To address the aforementioned issues, the present invention provides a latch needle comprising: a needle body having a hook-shaped needle hook at its tip; and a latch needle rotatably mounted to the needle body and capable of contacting and separating from the needle hook. A slit is formed in the needle body for insertion of the latch needle, and a seat support portion wider than the slit is formed at the opening edge of the slit. The latch needle includes a latch needle body inserted into the slit and a spoon portion formed at the tip of the latch needle body that is wider than the latch needle body. The latch needle is rotatable between a closed state where the front of the spoon portion abuts against the needle hook and an open state where the back of the spoon portion abuts against the seat support portion. The length of the spoon portion when viewed from the back is set to be longer than the length of the spoon portion when viewed from the front.

[0017] Invention Effects

[0018] As described above, in this invention, the length of the spoon portion when viewed from the back is set to be longer than the length of the spoon portion when viewed from the front. Therefore, it can be ensured that the back side of the spoon portion abutting the seat support is larger than the front side of the spoon portion abutting the needle hook. With this structure, even when the spoon portion is reduced and the needle tongue mass is decreased, a large contact area with the seat support can be ensured. Therefore, the needle tongue mass can be reduced, the impact energy during needle tongue switching can be reduced, and the contact area between the needle tongue and the seat support can be sufficiently ensured. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a magnified view of a section near the tip of the tongue needle. Figure 1 (a) shows the diagram in the closed state. Figure 1 The diagram in (b) shows the open state.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a magnified view of a portion of the cheek groove area near the tongue needle. Figure 2 (a) is a top view. Figure 2 (b) is a side view. Figure 2 (c) is a bottom view.

[0021] Figure 3 The following are the top view, front view, side view, rear view, and bottom view of the needle tongue.

[0022] Figure 4 It is a 3D diagram of the needle tongue.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the area near the cheek groove of the tongue needle in the open state. Figure 5 Image (a) is a magnified 3D view of a portion of the image. Figure 5 (b) is a magnified stereoscopic view of a part from another angle.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a magnified view of a portion near the cheek groove of the tongue needle in its open state. Figure 6 (a) is a top view. Figure 6 (b) is a side view. Figure 6 (c) is a side view shown in dashed lines.

[0025] Figure 7 This is a magnified view of a portion near the cheek groove of a conventional tongue needle. Figure 7 (a) is the side view of Example 1 from the previous example. Figure 7 (b) is the side view of the previous example 2. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the figures.

[0027] The latch needle 10 in this embodiment is used as a knitting needle mounted on a circular knitting machine or a flat knitting machine. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the latch needle 10 includes: a needle body 11 with a hook-shaped hook 12 at its tip; and a latch needle 20, which is rotatably mounted on the needle body 11 and can contact and separate from the hook 12. This latch needle 10 weaves fabric through a process of feeding yarn and forming a loop by opening and closing the latch needle 20. The latch needle 20 is capable of... Figure 1 The closed state shown in (a) is the same as Figure 1 Rotate between the open states shown in (b).

[0028] The latch needle 10 can be used in existing knitting machines. Although not specifically shown in the figure, multiple slots for mounting the latch needle 10 are formed in parallel in existing knitting machines. The latch needle 10 is slidably received in each slot. When the knitting machine is running, the latch needle 10 moves along its length ( Figure 1 The tongue needle 10 moves back and forth in the sliding direction D1, as shown, and the yarn mounted on the knitting machine is woven, thereby creating a fabric.

[0029] As the latch needle 10 moves back and forth, the latch 20 is pushed by the thread to open and close, thereby automatically forming a loop and weaving the yarn. Specifically, firstly, when the latch needle 10 moves towards the tip P1, the loop of the weaving yarn held by the hook 12 disengages from the hook 12 and moves towards the needle body 11 (unlooping state). At this time, the latch 20 opens towards the needle body 11, opposite to the hook 12, due to the tension of the weaving yarn. Then, the latch needle 10 moves in the opposite direction of the tip P1. At this time, the thread is hooked onto the hook 12 to create a new loop. Then, when the latch needle 10 moves further in the opposite direction of the tip P1, the loop hooked onto the needle body 11 pushes the latch 20, causing it to rotate towards the hook 12 and close, and the hook 12 disengages from the loop (unlooping state). By repeating this series of actions, the eye of the needle is formed.

[0030] The needle body 11 of this embodiment includes a shaft (not shown) that is housed in a groove of a knitting machine, a cheek groove 16 located on the side closer to the top of the shaft, and a needle hook 12 located on the side closer to the top of the cheek groove 16. The cheek groove 16 and needle hook 12 shown are integrally formed from a single component with the shaft and are inseparable from it. The cheek groove 16 is a portion that supports the needle tongue 20 and is configured to clamp and hold the needle tongue 20. As described above, the needle hook 12 is used to grip the yarn during knitting and is a portion that is bent into a generally J-shaped hook.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown, a slit 13 is formed in the cheek groove 16 for inserting the needle tongue 20. This slit 13 is... Figure 2 A slot with a fixed width in the D2 direction, as shown in (a). The base end (the end opposite to the top) of the needle tongue 20 is inserted into the slot 13.

[0032] In addition, such as Figure 2 As shown in (b), the cheek groove 16 is provided with a rotation shaft 23. This rotation shaft 23 is the rotation shaft of the needle tongue 20 about the D2 direction. In this embodiment, the rotation shaft 23 is formed by riveting the front of the cheek groove 16 to the inside. The rotation shaft 23 is not limited to riveting; for example, it can be formed using a pin.

[0033] Furthermore, a seat support portion 14 is formed at the opening edge 13a of the slit 13. The seat support portion 14... Figure 2The width in the D2 direction shown in (a) is wider than that of the slit 13. The support portion 14 is a recess for the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30 (described later) to rest against. The position of the support portion 14 where the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30 abuts corresponds to the shape of the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30. The support portion 14 in... Figure 2 As shown in the top view in (a), the opening is roughly oval.

[0034] like Figure 3 As shown, the tongue 20 has a tongue body 21 and a spoon portion 30.

[0035] The tab 21 is the portion inserted into the slit 13. This tab 21 is formed as a thin plate with a fixed thickness (width as viewed from the direction D2 of the rotation axis 23 of the tab 20). By making the thickness of the tab 21 narrower than the slit 13, the tab 21 can be inserted into the slit 13. A shaft hole 22 for inserting the rotation axis 23 is formed through the tab 21 near its base end. The rotation axis 23 is inserted into the shaft hole 22, thereby allowing the tab 20 to be oscillatingly mounted on the needle body 11 around the rotation axis 23.

[0036] The spoon portion 30 is a spoon-shaped part formed at the tip of the needle tongue stem 21, and is wider than the needle tongue stem 21. Specifically, as... Figure 3 As shown in (a), when viewed from the direction D2 along the rotation axis 23 of the tongue 20, the spoon portion 30 is wider than the tongue body 21. In other words, the spoon portion 30 is shaped to bulge outward from both sides of the tongue body 21. Since the spoon portion 30 is wider than the slit 13 and extends laterally, it will not enter the slit 13.

[0037] The spoon portion 30 has a recess 31a on its front side 31 that engages with the hook 12. Furthermore, the back side 32 (opposite to the front side 31) of the spoon portion 30 is formed as a generally spherical curved surface. In the closed state, as... Figure 1 As shown in (a), the front surface 31 of the spoon portion 30 abuts against the hook 12. At this time, the tip of the hook 12 remains in the recess 31a of the spoon portion 30. Furthermore, in the open state, as... Figure 1 (b) and Figure 5 As shown, the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30 abuts against the seat support portion 14. As described above, the needle tongue 20 is rotatable between the closed state and the open state.

[0038] also, Figure 3 In the accompanying drawing (c), reference numeral 35 indicates the boundary line 35 between the tongue stem 21 and the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the side 33 (the plane orthogonal to the rotation axis 23) of the tongue 20. In other words, this boundary line 35 indicates the position where the spoon portion 30 begins to bulge from the side 33 of the tongue stem 21. Figure 3As shown in (c), the boundary line 35, when viewed from the side 33, moves from the back 32 towards the front 31 (in... Figure 3 In (c), the spoon portion 30 is formed at an angle towards the tip P2 of the needle tongue 20 along the boundary line 35 from top to bottom. In other words, the length W1 of the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the back 32 (that is, the length W1 from the tip of the spoon portion 30 in the back 32 to the boundary line 35) is set to be longer than the length W2 of the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the front 31 (that is, the length W2 from the tip of the spoon portion 30 in the front 31 to the boundary line 35).

[0039] It should be noted that, as Figure 3 As shown in (c), the length of the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the front 31 is the length of the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the front 31 in a direction orthogonal to the front 31. Similarly, the length of the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the back 32 is the length of the spoon portion 30 when viewed from the back 32 in a direction orthogonal to the back 32.

[0040] By forming the boundary line 35 as described above, making the front 31 side of the spoon portion 30 smaller and the back 32 side of the spoon portion 30 larger, a larger contact area between the spoon portion 30 and the seat support portion 14 can be ensured even when the volume of the spoon portion 30 is reduced. Furthermore, the boundary line 35 can be a straight line or a curve.

[0041] When it is on, such as Figure 6 As shown in (c), the needle tongue 20 does not contact the bottom surface 13b of the slit 13. Therefore, the seat support 14 bears all the load of the needle tongue 20. According to this embodiment, the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30 can be increased, thus distributing and bearing the load over a larger area.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in Figure 6 In the open state shown in (c), the boundary line 35 between the needle tongue stem 21 and the spoon portion 30 tends to move from the front 31 to the back 32 (in) Figure 6 The middle (c) is formed at an angle relative to the sliding direction D1 of the tongue needle 10, in a manner that moves towards the tip P1 of the tongue needle 10 along the boundary line 35 from top to bottom.

[0043] In other words, in Figure 6 In the open state shown in (c), with the end of the boundary line 35 on the back side 32 as the first end 35a and the end of the boundary line 35 on the front side 31 as the second end 35b, the first end 35a is formed to be located at a position P1 closer to the tip of the tongue needle 10 than the second end 35b.

[0044] Therefore, the boundary line 35 will travel along the direction of increasing contact area between the seat support portion 14 and the spoon portion 30, and can distribute and bear the load over a larger area.

[0045] The existing tongue needles are almost all like Figure 7 The length of the spoon portion 30 as viewed from the rear 32 is equal to the length of the spoon portion 30 as viewed from the front 31. Furthermore, the boundary line 35 between the needle tongue stem 21 and the spoon portion 30 is inclined towards the rear end of the needle tongue 10 as it moves from the front 31 towards the rear 32 in the open state. In this existing structure, to increase the contact area between the seat support portion 14 and the spoon portion 30, such as... Figure 7 As shown in (a), the spoon portion 30 needs to be enlarged. However, if the spoon portion 30 is enlarged, the impact load caused by acceleration will increase, potentially leading to damage to the needle tongue. Furthermore, if the spoon portion 30 is reduced in size to miniaturize the needle tongue 20, then... Figure 7 As shown in (b), the contact area between the seat support 14 and the spoon 30 will become smaller, which may fail to disperse the impact load and cause the needle tongue to be damaged.

[0046] Regarding this point, in the case of the tongue needle 10 of this embodiment, it can be ensured that the back side 32 of the spoon portion 30 that abuts against the seat support portion 14 is larger than the front side 31 that abuts against the spoon portion 30 of the needle hook 12. Therefore, even when the spoon portion 30 is reduced and the mass of the needle tongue 20 is reduced, a larger contact area between the spoon portion 30 and the seat support portion 14 can be ensured. In other words, the mass of the needle tongue 20 can be reduced and the impact energy when the needle tongue 20 is opened and closed can be reduced, and the contact area between the needle tongue 20 and the seat support portion 14 can be sufficiently ensured, thereby dispersing the impact during retraction.

[0047] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the seat support portion 14 is formed to match the shape of the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30 in a manner that maximizes the contact area with the spoon portion 30. For example... Figure 2 As shown in (b), the seat support portion 14 has a seat surface 14c that contacts the spoon portion 30. Preferably, the seat surface 14c is in contact with the spoon portion 30 entirely. For this purpose, it is preferable that the seat surface 14c is formed along the shape of the back surface 32 of the spoon portion 30.

[0048] For example, Figure 2In Figure (b), reference numeral 14a indicates the position closest to the tip of the latch 10 in the opening of the seat support portion 14 (opening tip 14a). Furthermore, reference numeral 14b indicates the position opposite to the tip of the latch 10 in the opening of the seat support portion 14 (opening rear end 14b). Furthermore, reference numeral 14d indicates the position closest to the tip of the latch 10 in the seat surface 14c (seat surface tip 14d). At this time, the seat surface tip 14d is located in the direction P1 closer to the tip of the latch 10 than the opening tip 14a, and therefore the seat surface 14c is formed in a manner that extends deeper into the interior than the opening. As described above, the seat surface 14c can also be formed by cutting into the opening of the seat support portion 14 in the direction P1 closer to the tip of the latch 10.

[0049] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0050] 10... Tongue needle

[0051] 11...needle body

[0052] 12...Hook

[0053] 13...slit

[0054] 13a... Opening edge

[0055] 13b... Bottom surface

[0056] 14...Seat support part

[0057] 14a... Opening tip

[0058] 14b...Opening rear end

[0059] 14c...Seating surface

[0060] 14d...Top of seat

[0061] 16... cheek groove

[0062] 20...needle tongue

[0063] 21...needle-tongue cadre

[0064] 22... shaft hole

[0065] 23... Rotation axis

[0066] 30...spoon section

[0067] 31... Front

[0068] 31a...concave

[0069] 32...back side

[0070] 33...side view

[0071] 35...boundary line

[0072] 35a...First end

[0073] 35b...Second end

[0074] D1...Sliding direction of the tongue needle

[0075] D2...Direction of the rotation axis of the needle tongue

[0076] P1...the direction of the tip of the tongue needle

[0077] P2...the direction of the tip of the needle tongue

[0078] W1... Length of the spoon when viewed from the back

[0079] W2... The length of the spoon when viewed from the front.

Claims

1. A latch needle comprising: a needle body having a hook-shaped hook at its tip; and a latch needle rotatably mounted to the needle body and capable of contacting and separating from the hook, wherein, A slit is formed in the needle body for insertion of the needle tongue, and a seat support portion wider than the slit is formed at the opening edge of the slit. The needle tongue has a needle tongue body that is inserted into the slit and a spoon portion that is wider than the needle tongue body at the top of the needle tongue body. The needle tongue can rotate between a closed state where the front of the spoon abuts against the needle hook and an open state where the back of the spoon abuts against the seat support. The length of the spoon portion when viewed from the back is set to be longer than the length of the spoon portion when viewed from the front.

2. The tongue needle according to claim 1, wherein, The boundary line between the needle tongue and the spoon portion is formed at an angle toward the tip of the needle tongue as viewed from the side, moving from the back to the front.

3. The tongue needle according to claim 1, wherein, The boundary line between the needle tip and the spoon is inclined relative to the sliding direction of the needle in the open state, such that it moves towards the tip of the needle as it moves from the front to the back.

4. The tongue needle according to claim 1, wherein, When the boundary line between the needle tongue and the spoon portion is defined by the end of the boundary line on the back side as the first end and the end of the boundary line on the front side as the second end, In the open state, the first end is positioned at a position closer to the tip of the tongue needle than the second end.

Images