Hosiery machine suitable for starting needles

Abstract

The present invention discloses a hosiery machine suitable for starting needles, comprising a needle cylinder, a sinker is arranged between two adjacent knitting needles, and a ring-shaped sinker track is also arranged in the needle cylinder. The sinker track is stationary relative to the frame, so the needle cylinder rotates around the sinker track; the heel of the sinker is placed in the sinker track, and when the needle cylinder rotates, the sinker rotates with the needle cylinder, and its heel moves along the sinker track; there are at least two sections of tracks in the sinker track that are higher than other parts, and at least one section is used for starting needles; the higher sinker track for starting needles, and the needle cylinder corresponding to the same phase is arranged with a component for making the knitting needles move upward. In the present invention, the knitting needles can move upward faster to complete the starting needles.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of knitting machinery, and in particular relates to a hosiery knitting machine suitable for starting needles. Background Art

[0002] At present, a large number of sock machines are intelligent sock machines that can knit and sew in one; that is, after knitting is completed, the socks are sewn directly on the same machine, that is, the toes of the socks are sewn to close the socks. Its basic action is to transport the socks intact to the sewing part for the next step after the sock knitting machine, or the sock knitting part of the sock machine, has completed knitting; the action of transporting the socks from the sock knitting part to the sock sewing part is generally referred to as transfer in the industry. There are currently a variety of technical solutions for transferring socks, such as the prior art recorded in Chinese patent CN101970739A, the prior art recorded in Chinese patent CN103015028A, etc. Regardless of the transfer method, before grabbing the socks from the sock knitting machine, the knitting needles of the sock knitting machine need to be higher than the knitting plane so that there is space for other parts to cooperate with the knitting needles; and when knitting is completed, the knitting needles are lower than the knitting plane, so the knitting needles must first be raised before the transfer step can be performed. This step of raising the knitting needles is called starting.

[0003] The prior art closest to the present invention is CN103946432A, which relates to a method for preparing a tubular product such as a sock or the like for automatic pickup when the product is formed, the method comprising five steps, the first step comprising delivering or retaining all needles into a lower needle cylinder, the last row of loops knitted of the product being fitted into the upper heads of the needles, and the product being tensioned downward in the lower needle cylinder; the second step comprising moving all needles to a tuck position; the third step comprising pushing upward a portion of the product that fits with the needles; the fourth step comprising disengaging the sinker from the product so that the product moves due to the upward propulsion force so that the last row of loops knitted are in the upper heads of the needles; the fifth step comprising lifting the needles to a dropped needle position, keeping the product pushed upward so as to keep the last row of loops knitted in the upper heads of the needles. The prior art further discloses that the order of the above steps can be changed, including the scheme that the first step, the second step, the third step and the fourth step are implemented successively, the scheme that the second step, the third step and the fourth step are implemented substantially simultaneously, and the scheme that the third step is implemented before the second step and the fourth step, and the second step and the fourth step are implemented substantially simultaneously. It should be pointed out that although the prior art is limited to a double-cylinder circular loom, in fact, a single-cylinder hosiery machine can also operate in the same manner.

[0004] It is not difficult to see that in the above-mentioned prior art, no matter how the order of implementation changes, the path of the knitting needle is unchanged. That is, the knitting needle is in the lower needle cylinder in the first step, the knitting needle is in the tuck position in the second step, and the knitting needle is in the drop position in the fifth step; roughly speaking, the three positions of the knitting needle can be summarized as low position, middle position and high position, that is, the knitting needle is from the low position to the middle position and finally to the high position in the whole process of starting the needle.

[0005] It is particularly worth pointing out that, whether in the description of the reference document or in the actual machine, the above-mentioned low position, middle position and high position require all the knitting needles to be gathered together; that is, after all the knitting needles have reached a certain position, they will then sequentially enter the next position. Therefore, for the needle cylinder, it is necessary to rotate at least 360° in each of the three positions in a cycle to ensure that all the knitting needles reach the low position, the middle position, and finally the high position to complete the entire needle raising action.

[0006] One of the important reasons why the prior art needs such a design is the step of "disengaging the sinker from the product". The structure of the sinker in the prior art is as follows: a sinker support mechanism is provided in the syringe to support the sinker. Since the sinker support mechanism rotates synchronously with the syringe and the two remain relatively stationary, the sinker support mechanism can also be considered as a part of the syringe; the arrangement of the sinker is that a sinker is provided between two adjacent knitting needles, and the sinker includes a head and a heel, and the head extends in a direction away from the axis of the syringe, and has a hook at its end that is bent and faces the axis of the syringe, so that the hook can press the fabric between the two knitting needles inward. There is also an annular sinker track in the syringe, and the sinker track is stationary relative to the frame, so the syringe rotates around the sinker track; the heel of the sinker is placed in the sinker track, and when the syringe rotates, the sinker rotates with the syringe, and its heel moves along the sinker track. There is a section of the sinker track that is higher than other parts, commonly known as the "gap". When the sinker moves to this point with the needle cylinder, its heel is raised, and accordingly its head and hook swing in the direction away from the axis of the needle cylinder. This action is called the opening of the sinker, and its hook will leave the fabric between the two knitting needles; when the sinker continues to run, leaving the gap and returning to the track at the original height, it will swing in the opposite direction, that is, close the sinker and press the fabric. In the normal weaving process, the sinker needs to be opened or closed to cooperate with weaving; in the process of starting needles, the sinker also needs to be opened to push the fabric upwards. In the prior art, because there is only one gap on the sinker track to open the sinker, that is, the sinker has only one chance to be opened in a 360° cycle, each step needs to complete a full 360° cycle, resulting in the needle cylinder needing to run several 360° cycles to complete the process of starting needles. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a hosiery machine suitable for needle casting, which can complete needle casting more efficiently.

[0008] The present invention adopts such a technical scheme: a hosiery machine suitable for starting needles comprises a needle cylinder, a longitudinal needle groove is provided on the needle cylinder, and a knitting needle is provided in the needle groove; there is also a sinker support mechanism for supporting the sinker, the sinker support mechanism rotates synchronously with the needle cylinder, and the two remain relatively stationary; a sinker is provided between two adjacent knitting needles, the sinker comprises a head and a heel, the head extends in a direction away from the axis of the needle cylinder, and has a hook portion at its end which is bent and faces the axis of the needle cylinder, so that the hook portion can press the fabric between the two knitting needles inwardly; an annular sinker track is also provided in the needle cylinder, the sinker track is stationary relative to the frame, so that the needle cylinder rotates around the sinker track; the heel of the sinker is placed in the sinker track, when the needle cylinder rotates, the sinker rotates with the needle cylinder, and its heel moves along the sinker track; it is characterized in that: there are at least two sections of tracks in the sinker track that are higher than other parts, and at least one section is used for the needle starting action; the higher sinker track used for the needle starting action, the needle cylinder corresponding to the same phase is arranged with a component for making the knitting needle go up.

[0009] The hosiery knitting machine is a double-cylinder hosiery knitting machine, the needle cylinder is a lower needle cylinder, and the knitting needle is a double-head latch needle.

[0010] The component that enables the knitting needles to move upward is a knife gate or an electromagnetic needle selector.

[0011] Since the present invention provides multiple higher sections on the 360° sinker track, the sinker has multiple opportunities to be opened in one cycle. Whenever the sinker is opened, a window appears for the knitting needle to move upward. Therefore, the knitting needle can move upward faster and complete the needle raising action faster. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 , Figure 2 It is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of this embodiment.

[0013] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a sinker.

[0014] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the sinker track and part of the sinker.

[0015] Figures 5 to 7 It is a schematic diagram of the needle cylinder and knitting needles at different stages of needle casting.

[0016] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the expansion of the needle cylinder and the knitting needles in this embodiment.

[0017] Figures 9 to 16 It is a schematic diagram of different needle movement methods. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 This embodiment relates to a double-cylinder hosiery machine. Since the present invention only relates to the lower needle cylinder, the upper needle cylinder is not shown in the figure. Figure 1 The complete condition of the needle groove is not reflected. Figure 2 The syringe is not shown, so the two pictures need to be combined to express it.

[0019] This embodiment includes a lower needle cylinder 1, on the circumferential surface of which there is a longitudinal needle groove, in which a knitting needle 2, a needle guide 4, a control plate 5, a needle selector 6, and an electromagnetic needle selector 7 are arranged from top to bottom, wherein the knitting needle 2 is a double-headed knitting needle; the needle guide 4 can be combined with or disengaged from the knitting needle 2, and the needle guide 4 and the control plate 5 are connected by the geometric shape of the end, and the needle selector 6 can move upward under the selection of the electromagnetic needle selector 7 and push the control plate 5. A gate knife 8 is also arranged on the periphery of the needle cylinder, acting on the needle guide 4 or the control plate 5 to make it move upward or downward. In this embodiment, a total of four electromagnetic needle selectors 7 are arranged, marked as 71-74; a total of 7 gate knives are arranged on the lower needle cylinder, marked as 81-87, which will be further introduced below.

[0020] A coaxial top sock tube 9 is also provided in the syringe, which can perform axial lifting and lowering motion relative to the syringe. The figure shows the top sock tube 9 raised to the highest position.

[0021] The above is the prior art, and reference may be made to the literature in the background technology section, or to other patents of the applicant related to double-needle hosiery machines, which will be described in more detail below.

[0022] See also Figure 3 , Figure 4. A sinker support mechanism is provided inside the needle cylinder to support the sinker 3. Since the sinker support mechanism rotates synchronously with the needle cylinder and the two remain relatively stationary, the sinker support mechanism can also be considered as a part of the needle cylinder; the arrangement of the sinker is that a sinker 3 is provided between two adjacent knitting needles 2, and the head 31 of the sinker 3 extends away from the axis of the needle cylinder, and has a hook 311 at its end facing the axis of the needle cylinder, so that the hook 311 can press the fabric between the two knitting needles inward. There is also an annular sinker track 13 inside the needle cylinder. The sinker track 13 is stationary relative to the frame, so the needle cylinder rotates around the sinker track 13; the heel 32 of the sinker is placed in the sinker track 13. When the needle cylinder rotates, the sinker 3 rotates with the needle cylinder, and its heel moves along the sinker track 13. There is a section of track 1c in the sinker track 13 that is higher than other parts, commonly known as the "gap". When the sinker moves to this section with the needle cylinder, its heel 32 is raised, and accordingly its head 31 and hook 311 swing away from the axis of the needle cylinder. This action is called the opening of the sinker, and its hook will leave the fabric between the two knitting needles; when the sinker continues to run and leaves the gap and returns to the track at its original height, it will swing in the opposite direction, that is, close the sinker and press the fabric.

[0023] The above description is also prior art. The innovation of this embodiment is that in addition to 1c, there are two more notches 1a\1b on the sinker track, which will be described below in conjunction with other drawings.

[0024] Figures 5 to 7 The different stages of needlework are shown, Figure 5 It is the starting state when starting the needle. Figure 6 It is the middle state of starting the needle. Figure 7 This is the state after the needle is raised. For the sake of clarity, the top sock tube is omitted in the figure. Figures 5 to 7 The parts structure is exactly the same and the angles are also the same, so the same elements are not marked repeatedly in the three figures. The three figures can be read together.

[0025] The rotation direction of the lower needle cylinder 1 is counterclockwise. It can be seen that in the initial state of starting the needle, all the knitting needles 1 are lower than the tube mouth, or lower than the sinker. At the three positions 1a\1b\1c, the sinker track each has an upward higher section track, that is, when the sinker runs along the sinker track to these three positions, it will be pushed by the track to swing away from the axis of the needle cylinder, so that the head of the sinker moves upward away from the fabric, that is, the sinker is "opened". The notch at 1c is originally designed to allow the sinker to cooperate with the knitting action, and the notch at 1a\1b is a unique design of the present invention.

[0026] When starting to start, the sinker at 1a begins to open, and the knitting needle 21 at this time begins to move upward, and the top sock tube 9 rises to the middle height; after running a distance of about 6 knitting needles, the first knitting needle 21 moves up to the middle height, and then continues to move at the middle height, and the second to fifth knitting needles also move in the same way. When the sixth knitting needle 26 also reaches 1a, it first moves up to the middle height, runs about 2 knitting needles at the middle height, and then moves up again to the drop needle height, and continues to move at the drop needle height, and the subsequent knitting needles also move in the same way. In this process, the top sock tube is also lifted from the middle height to the highest position. Figure 6 It can be seen that the knitting needle 26 and the subsequent knitting needles are raised from the initial state to the dropped needle height within the distance range of X. Figure 6 The displayed status is that the first five knitting needles are already running at the middle height, and the subsequent knitting needles are being lifted one after another and are running after being lifted to the missed needle height.

[0027] When the rotation distance of the needle cylinder exceeds 360°, the knitting needle 21 comes to the right end of X again, at this time, all the knitting needles except the first five knitting needles have risen to the drop needle height, and then the first five knitting needles also rise to the drop needle height in turn, that is, Figure 7 The status shown. The stitching is completed.

[0028] It should be noted that the sinker track gap at 1b does not work in this embodiment, but it will still be opened when the sinker runs to this point. In fact, the gaps at 1a\1b are optional, and you can choose to start the needle at 1a or 1b as needed.

[0029] See also Figure 8 . Since the present invention only involves the lower needle cylinder, the upper needle cylinder part is not marked. The needle groove of the lower needle cylinder is provided with a double-headed latch needle 2, a needle guide piece 4, a control piece 5, and a needle selection piece 6 from top to bottom, wherein the needle guide piece 4 has a needle clock 41, and the control piece 5 has a needle clock 51; seven gate knives are provided on the periphery of the lower needle cylinder, respectively marked as 81-87, and the first gate knife 81, the fourth gate knife 84 and the seventh gate knife 87 are used in this embodiment; four electromagnetic needle selectors are also provided on the periphery of the lower needle cylinder, marked as 71-74, and the first electromagnetic needle selector 71, the second electromagnetic needle selector 72 and the fourth electromagnetic needle selector 74 are used in this embodiment, which will be described in detail below.

[0030] Figures 9 to 16 Several ways of implementing the present invention are shown. In these figures, the knitting needles move from right to left; the needles are started from behind the dotted line, and the right side of the dotted line in most cases indicates the knitting needles that have reached the missing needle position; the figure cannot show all the knitting needles, so only a few knitting needles are shown, rather than the specific first, second, etc. knitting needles.

[0031] Fig. 9In the illustrated embodiment, the first gate knife 81 and the fourth gate knife 84 act successively on the needle clock 51 of the control plate, thereby pushing the knitting needle upward.

[0032] Fig.10 In the illustrated scheme, the fourth electromagnetic needle selector 74 and the fourth knife gate 84 act on the needle selector and the needle clock 51 of the control plate successively, thereby pushing the knitting needles upward.

[0033] Fig.11 In the illustrated scheme, the first knife gate 81 and the first electromagnetic needle selector 71 act on the needle clock 51 of the control plate and the needle selector plate successively, thereby pushing the knitting needles upward.

[0034] Fig.12 In the illustrated scheme, the fourth electromagnetic needle selector 74 and the first electromagnetic needle selector 71 act on the needle selector piece successively, thereby pushing the knitting needle upward.

[0035] Fig.13 In the scheme shown, the fourth electromagnetic needle selector 74 and the second electromagnetic needle selector 72 act on the needle selector successively, thereby pushing the knitting needle upward. In this scheme, the sinker tracks only have 1a and 1c but not 1b.

[0036] Fig.14 In the scheme shown, the fourth gate knife 84 and the second electromagnetic needle selector 72 act on the needle clock 51 of the control plate and the needle selector plate successively, thereby pushing the knitting needles upward. In this scheme, the sinker tracks only have 1a and 1c but not 1b.

[0037] Fig.15 In the illustrated scheme, the first gate knife 81 and the seventh gate knife 87 act on the needle clock 51 of the control plate successively, thereby pushing the knitting needle upward.

[0038] Fig.16 In the illustrated scheme, the seventh knife gate 87 and the fourth electromagnetic needle selector 74 act on the needle clock 51 of the control plate and the needle selector plate successively, thereby pushing the knitting needles upward.

Claims

1. A hosiery machine suitable for starting needles, comprising a needle cylinder, a longitudinal needle groove is provided on the needle cylinder, and a knitting needle is provided in the needle groove; there is also a sinker support mechanism for supporting the sinker, the sinker support mechanism rotates synchronously with the needle cylinder, and the two remain relatively stationary; a sinker is provided between two adjacent knitting needles, the sinker comprises a head and a heel, the head extends in a direction away from the axis of the needle cylinder, and has a hook portion at its end that is bent and faces the axis of the needle cylinder, so that the hook portion can press the fabric between the two knitting needles inwardly; an annular sinker track is also provided in the needle cylinder, the sinker track is stationary relative to the frame, so that the needle cylinder rotates around the sinker track; the heel of the sinker is placed in the sinker track, when the needle cylinder rotates, the sinker rotates with the needle cylinder, and its heel moves along the sinker track; it is characterized in that: There are at least two sections of the sinker track that are higher than other parts, two of which are used for needle raising; when the sinker moves to that place with the needle cylinder, its heel is raised, and accordingly its head and hook swing in the direction away from the axis of the needle cylinder. This action is called sinker opening, and its hook will leave the fabric between the two knitting needles; the higher sinker track used for needle raising, a component for making the knitting needle move upward is arranged outside the needle cylinder corresponding to the same phase; multiple higher sections are set on the 360° sinker track, so that the sinker has multiple opportunities to be opened in one cycle, and every time the sinker is opened, a window for the knitting needle to move upward appears, so that the knitting needle can move upward faster and complete the needle raising action faster.

2. The hosiery knitting machine suitable for starting needles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hosiery knitting machine is a double-cylinder hosiery knitting machine, the needle cylinder is a lower needle cylinder, and the knitting needle is a double-head latch needle.

3. The hosiery machine suitable for starting needles according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The component that enables the knitting needles to move upward is a knife gate or an electromagnetic needle selector.

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