Cloth expanding device for circular knitting machine

Abstract

The invention discloses a cloth expanding device for a circular knitting machine, which comprises a cloth expanding frame body and a wind-up roller connected to the cloth expanding frame through a pivot, a plurality of tension rollers distributed in a staggered manner are horizontally mounted in the upper space of the cloth expanding frame body, and an adjustable lifting module is arranged on the outer side of the tension roller adjacent to the wind-up roller. An elastic flattening assembly is integrated on the module, the flattening assembly makes contact with fabric and completes fabric flattening operation through the adjustable lifting module, the adjustable lifting module comprises a supporting frame, a duplex synchronous sliding seat and an axial driving unit, the supporting frame is rigidly connected with the fabric expanding frame body, and the duplex synchronous sliding seat is arranged on the supporting frame. The duplex synchronous sliding seat is linearly and horizontally assembled on one side of the tension roller of the supporting frame in a sliding mode, the axial driving unit is arranged on the side, close to the tension roller assembly, of the duplex synchronous sliding seat, the fabric processing quality is improved, meanwhile, the equipment energy consumption and the manual intervention frequency are greatly reduced, and remarkable industrial application value is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of a cloth expanding device for a circular knitting machine, and in particular to a cloth expanding device for a circular knitting machine. Background Art

[0002] As a core piece of equipment in the textile industry, circular knitting machines rely heavily on the synergy of their various components for production efficiency and fabric quality. The fabric spreading device, a key component of these machines, is primarily responsible for evenly spreading the fabric, adjusting its tension, and smoothing wrinkles before winding it, ensuring its flatness and dimensional stability during subsequent processing. However, conventional fabric spreading devices still face numerous technical bottlenecks in practical application.

[0003] In the existing technology, the fabric expansion device mostly uses a fixed tension roller group and a rigid expansion structure, which makes the fabric prone to wrinkles or deformation due to uneven tension distribution during the expansion process. Especially when processing elastic or thin fabrics, the fixed tension roller is difficult to adapt to the dynamic contraction characteristics of the fabric, which can easily cause local excessive stretching or relaxation, affecting the quality of the finished product. In addition, the adjustment range of the traditional expansion mechanism is limited, and the expansion wing plate and the fabric are mostly in sliding friction contact. Long-term operation can easily cause fabric surface wear and even hooking, making it difficult to meet the processing requirements of high-precision fabrics. In the winding process, the traditional winding roller lacks an adaptive limiting function, and the fabric is prone to offset or loosening when winding, requiring frequent manual intervention, which seriously affects production efficiency.

[0004] While some improvements have attempted to optimize tension control by adding adjustable tension rollers or introducing elastic pressure rollers to address these issues, these designs often lack systematic dynamic adjustment capabilities, making it difficult to simultaneously achieve uniform flattening and minimal damage to the fabric. Especially in high-speed production scenarios, the mechanical structure of existing devices lacks responsiveness and cannot adapt to dynamic changes in the fabric in real time, resulting in unsatisfactory flattening results. Furthermore, the expansion mechanism's drive system often relies on a single rigid transmission, lacking adjustment precision and flexibility, making it difficult to adapt to the processing requirements of varying widths or materials.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a fabric expanding device that can take into account dynamic tension adjustment, efficient wrinkle flattening, low-friction expansion and stable winding, so as to improve the processing quality of knitted fabrics and the overall performance of the equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cloth spreading device for a circular knitting machine, which can roll up and spread multiple fabrics.

[0007] The above technical objectives of the present invention are achieved through the following technical solutions: A cloth spreading device for a circular knitting machine, comprising: a cloth spreading frame body, a needle disc rotatably connected to the cloth spreading frame body, and a winding roller connected to the cloth spreading frame via a pivot;

[0008] Several staggered tension rollers are installed horizontally in the upper space of the fabric spreading frame body. An adjustable lifting module is configured on the outer side of the tension roller adjacent to the winding roller. The module is integrated with an elastic smoothing component. The adjustable lifting module enables the smoothing component to contact the fabric and complete the fabric flattening operation.

[0009] The adjustable lifting module comprises: a support frame, a double synchronous slide and an axial drive unit;

[0010] The support frame is rigidly connected to the fabric expansion frame body, and the double synchronous slide is linearly and horizontally slidably assembled on one side of the tension roller of the support frame;

[0011] The axial drive unit is arranged on the side of the double synchronous slide adjacent to the tension roller assembly, and reciprocates along the axial direction of the tension roller to drive the elastic smoothing component fixed to the axial drive unit to contact the fabric and realize the fabric flattening operation.

[0012] Preferably, a cloth guide base is fixed to the bottom of the needle disc in the upper space of the tension roller, and expansion wings are arranged on both sides of the base so as to be driven to swing.

[0013] Preferably, a first friction roller that rotates circumferentially around its own axis is provided at the radial end of the expanding wing plate, and the first friction roller is configured to reduce the sliding friction resistance between the end of the expanding wing plate and the knitted fabric.

[0014] Preferably, a plurality of second friction rollers are further provided on the outer circumferential surface of the expanded wing plate along its unfolding direction, each second friction roller has an independent rotation axis and is arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the array-arranged second friction rollers together constitute a dynamic friction reduction interface.

[0015] Preferably, motor 1 is fixed to the cloth guide base, and its output shaft is key-connected to the center position of the gear that rotates circumferentially in the cloth guide base, forming a gear rotation motion, and driving the rack engaged with the gear to slide linearly in opposite directions on the cloth guide base, so that when the rack and the inner side wall of the expansion wing plate are in contact with each other, the expansion wing plate is pushed to open outward.

[0016] Preferably, two sets of limit plates with relative displacement are provided on the surface of the winding roller rod, and the limit plates are elastically slidably connected to the limit rods. A number of limit holes are evenly distributed on the axial side walls of the winding roller, and the ends of the limit rods are selectively plug-fitted with the limit holes to achieve axial positioning of the limit plates.

[0017] Preferably, the elastic smoothing component includes a fixed seat, a lifting seat and a clearing ball; the fixed seat is fixedly connected to the output end of the axial drive unit, the lifting seat is reset and slidably cooperated with the fixed seat through an elastic mechanism, and the clearing ball is rotatably installed on the extended end of the lifting seat toward the tension roller, and through the compression and rebound action of the elastic guide mechanism, the clearing ball and the tension roller cooperate to form dynamic adhesion and smooth out the wrinkles of the material.

[0018] Preferably, a lead screw is rotatably mounted on the fixed block, and the lead screw and the limit block are engaged with each other through a matching thread pair to form a transmission mechanism; the limit block forms a dynamic abutment fit with the contact surface of the lifting seat, and through the axial displacement of the transmission mechanism, the limit block and the lifting seat are mechanically locked to achieve axial constraint of the lifting mechanism.

[0019] Preferably, the output end of the rack is rotatably connected to a guide ball, and the guide ball forms a rolling contact fit with the inner guide surface of the expansion wing plate. Through the rotation of the guide ball and the coordinated action of the guide surface of the expansion wing plate, a low-friction guide mechanism is formed.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] 1. A multi-dimensional tension adjustment system is formed by the linkage of staggered tension rollers and adjustable lifting modules. The elastic smoothing component achieves dynamic fit with the fabric under the control of the axial drive unit. Combined with the elastic compensation effect of the dredging ball, it can eliminate the longitudinal wrinkles and transverse stress concentration generated by different fabrics during the flattening process in real time, significantly improving the fabric flatness.

[0022] 2. The expansion wing combines the first friction roller and the array-type second friction roller to convert traditional sliding friction into multi-point rolling contact. Under the coordinated action of the gear rack drive mechanism and the low-friction guide balls, the expansion angle of the expansion wing can be precisely adjusted. At the same time, the dynamic friction reduction interface effectively avoids damage to the surface fibers of the fabric. It is especially suitable for the low-tension expansion needs of high-count, elastic or ultra-thin fabrics.

[0023] 3. The winding roller realizes dynamic locking of the winding width through the plug-in cooperation of the elastic limit rod and the limit disk. The combined design of the double synchronous slide and the axial drive unit enables the smoothing component to automatically adjust the contact pressure as the fabric width changes. Combined with the mechanical locking function of the screw drive mechanism, it ensures that the fabric edge is always in a controlled state during the winding process to prevent the winding from deflecting or loosening.

[0024] 4. From the rolling anti-friction design in the expansion stage, to the elastic contact compensation in the leveling link, to the adaptive limit in the winding process, each link adopts a low-stress contact mechanism. The rolling coordination between the guide ball and the guide surface of the expansion wing plate further reduces mechanical wear, so that the device can still maintain stable low-friction characteristics under high-speed operation conditions, significantly extending the service life of the fabric and the equipment maintenance cycle. Through modular structural innovation, the device has successfully solved the technical bottlenecks of traditional expansion devices such as tension control lag, expansion damage to fabrics, and poor winding stability. While improving the fabric processing quality, it greatly reduces equipment energy consumption and the frequency of manual intervention, and has significant industrial application value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the position of the winding roller in the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the position of the lead screw in the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the position of the rack in the present invention.

[0029] Figure markings: 1. Cloth expansion frame body; 2. Winding roller; 3. Tension roller; 4. Adjustable lifting module; 5. Elastic smoothing component; 6. Support frame; 7. Double synchronous slide; 8. Axial drive unit; 9. Cloth guide base; 10. Expansion wing plate; 11. First friction roller; 12. Second friction roller; 13. Motor 1; 14. Gear; 15. Rack; 16. Limiting plate; 17. Limiting rod; 18. Limiting hole; 19. Fixed seat; 20. Lifting seat; 21. Clearing ball; 22. Screw; 23. Limiting block; 24. Guide ball; 25. Needle plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of protection is not limited to this embodiment. All technical solutions under the concept of the present invention should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. At the same time, it should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] It should be noted that in this article, relational terms such as first and second, such as "connector board one, connector board two", etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0032] The directional words mentioned in this embodiment, such as "up, down, left, right", etc., are only used in conjunction with the drawings to enable technicians in this technical field to understand the relationship between various features or parts.

[0033] In this embodiment, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connection", "fixed", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "fixed" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. Unless otherwise clearly defined, ordinary technicians in this field can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention according to specific circumstances.

[0034] like Figures 1 to 4 , Example 1:

[0035] A fabric spreading device for a circular knitting machine, comprising: a fabric spreading frame body 1, a needle disc 25 rotatably connected to the fabric spreading frame body 1, and a winding roller 2 pivotally connected to the fabric spreading frame. The winding roller 2 is driven by a second motor fixed to the fabric spreading frame body 1, and the output shaft of the second motor is key-connected to the winding roller 2, so that the winding roller 2 rotates in a circular motion to wind up the fabric.

[0036] Several staggered tension rollers 3 are horizontally installed in the upper space of the fabric expansion frame body 1, which are used to stretch the fabric. An adjustable lifting module 4 is arranged on the outside of the tension roller 3 adjacent to the winding roller 2. The module is integrated with an elastic smoothing component 5. The smoothing component is brought into contact with the fabric and the fabric flattening operation is completed through the adjustable lifting module, so as to achieve the flattening of the fabric and reduce the wrinkles of the fabric when it is wound.

[0037] The adjustable lifting module 4 includes: a support frame 6, a double synchronous slide 7 and an axial drive unit 8. The support frame 6 is welded to the expansion frame body 1. The double synchronous slide 7 is linearly and horizontally slidably assembled on one side of the tension roller 3 of the support frame 6. The double synchronous slide 7 is mainly driven by a threaded rod 1 and a motor 3 to complete the sliding. The motor 3 is fixed on the support frame 6. Its output shaft is connected to the threaded rod with one key to complete the circumferential rotation of the threaded rod 1 in the support frame 6, so that the double synchronous slide 7 threadedly connected to the threaded rod 1 can perform synchronous displacement movement. When the double synchronous slide 7 is in the synchronous position During the movement, since the axial drive unit 8 is arranged on the side of the double synchronous slide 7 adjacent to the tension roller 3 assembly, the axial drive unit 8 will move with the linear movement of the double synchronous slide 7, so that the axial drive unit 8 can drive the elastic smoothing component 5 to flatten the fabric, and the axial drive unit 8 is mainly used to drive the elastic smoothing component 5 to contact the fabric. The axial drive unit includes a moving seat and a cylinder 1. The cylinder 1 is fixed on the double synchronous slide 7 by screws, and the telescopic rod of the cylinder 1 is fixedly connected to the moving seat, which is used to enable the moving seat to drive the elastic smoothing component 5 to contact the fabric.

[0038] Specifically, the elastic smoothing component 5 includes a fixed seat 19, a lifting seat 20 and a clearing ball 21; the fixed seat 19 is fixedly connected to the output end of the axial drive unit 8, and the lifting seat 20 is reset and slidably matched with the fixed seat 19 through an elastic mechanism. The clearing ball 21 is rotatably installed on the extended end of the lifting seat 20 toward the tension roller 3. Through the compression and rebound action of the elastic guide mechanism, the clearing ball 21 and the tension roller 3 cooperate to form dynamic adhesion and smooth out the wrinkles of the material.

[0039] Example 2:

[0040] According to the above-mentioned embodiment 1, a cloth guide base 9 is fixed at the bottom of the needle disk 25 in the upper space of the top tension roller 3, and expansion wings 10 are configured on both sides of the base to be driven to swing. The expansion wings 10 swing synchronously so that the fabric can be expanded, and the expansion wings 10 are driven mainly by motor 13. Motor 13 is fixed to the cloth guide base 9, and its output shaft is keyed to the center position of the gear 14 that rotates circumferentially in the cloth guide base 9, forming a rotational motion of the gear 14, and driving the rack 15 meshing with the gear 14 to slide linearly in opposite directions on the cloth guide base 9, so that when the rack 15 and the inner side wall of the expansion wing 10 are in contact, the expansion wing 10 is pushed to open outward, thereby achieving the expansion of the fabric.

[0041] Specifically, the output end of the rack 15 is rotatably connected to a guide ball 24, and the guide ball 24 forms a rolling contact fit with the inner guide surface of the expansion wing plate 10. Through the rotation of the guide ball 24 and the coordinated action of the guide surface of the expansion wing plate 10, a low-friction guide mechanism is formed to reduce the friction between the rack 15 and the expansion wing plate 10.

[0042] Example 3:

[0043] According to the expansion wing plate 10 in the second embodiment, a first friction roller 11 and a second friction roller 12 are additionally provided, specifically as follows: a first friction roller 11 that rotates circumferentially around its own axis is provided at the radial end of the expansion wing plate 10, and the first friction roller 11 is configured to reduce the sliding friction resistance between the end of the expansion wing plate 10 and the knitted fabric, and is used to reduce the friction between the side wall and end of the expansion wing plate 10 and the fabric.

[0044] Example 4:

[0045] Based on the winding roller 2 of embodiment 1, a positioning mechanism for winding the fabric on the winding roller 2 is added, and the positioning mechanism is specifically as follows: two groups of limit plates 16 with relative displacement are provided on the rod surface of the winding roller 2, and a limit rod 17 is elastically and slidably connected to the limit plate 16. A number of limit holes 18 are evenly distributed on the axial side wall of the winding roller 2, and the end of the limit rod 17 forms a selective plug-in fit with the limit hole 18 to achieve axial positioning of the limit plate 16. The limit rod 17 is mainly elastically connected to the limit plate 16 through a spring, one end of the spring is fixed in the limit plate 16, and its output end is fixedly connected to the limit rod 17 to complete the resetting of the limit rod 17, so that when the limit rod 17 enters the limit hole 18, the limit plate 16 is fixed.

[0046] Specifically, a lead screw 22 is rotatably mounted on the fixed block, and the lead screw 22 and the limit block 23 are engaged with each other through a matching thread pair to form a transmission mechanism; the limit block 23 forms a dynamic abutment fit with the contact surface of the lifting seat 20, and through the axial displacement of the transmission mechanism, the limit block 23 and the lifting seat 20 are mechanically locked to achieve axial constraint of the lifting mechanism.

[0047] The above embodiments are intended to illustrate the present invention, not to limit the present invention. Any solution that is a simple transformation of the present invention falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fabric spreading device for a circular knitting machine, comprising: A fabric expansion frame body (1), a needle disc (25) rotatably connected to the fabric expansion frame body (1), and a winding roller (2) connected to the fabric expansion frame via a pivot; It is characterized by: A plurality of tension rollers (3) arranged in a staggered manner are horizontally installed in the upper space of the fabric expansion frame body (1); an adjustable lifting module (4) is arranged on the outer side of the tension roller (3) adjacent to the winding roller (2); an elastic smoothing component (5) is integrated on the module; the smoothing component is brought into contact with the fabric and the fabric flattening operation is completed through the adjustable lifting module; The adjustable lifting module (4) comprises: a support frame (6), a double synchronous slide (7) and an axial drive unit (8); The support frame (6) is rigidly connected to the fabric expansion frame body (1), and the double synchronous slide (7) is linearly and horizontally slidably assembled on one side of the tension roller (3) of the support frame (6); the axial drive unit (8) is arranged on the side of the double synchronous slide (7) adjacent to the tension roller (3) assembly, and reciprocates along the axial direction of the tension roller (3) to drive the elastic smoothing component (5) fixed to the axial drive unit (8) to contact the fabric and realize the fabric flattening operation.

2. A cloth spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cloth guide base (9) is fixed at the bottom of the needle disc (25) in the upper space of the tension roller (3), and both sides of the base are driven to swing and are equipped with expansion wing plates (10).

3. The fabric spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: A first friction roller (11) that rotates circumferentially around its own axis is provided at the radial end of the widening wing plate (10), and the first friction roller (11) is configured to reduce the sliding friction resistance between the end of the widening wing plate (10) and the knitted fabric.

4. The fabric spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The outer circumferential surface of the expanded wing plate (10) is further provided with a plurality of second friction rollers (12) along its expansion direction, each second friction roller (12) has an independent rotation axis and is arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the array-arranged second friction rollers (12) together constitute a dynamic friction reduction interface.

5. A fabric spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The motor 1 (13) is fixed to the cloth guide base (9), and its output shaft is key-connected with the center position of the gear (14) which rotates circumferentially in the cloth guide base (9), so that the gear (14) rotates and drives the rack (15) which is meshed with the gear (14) to slide linearly on the cloth guide base (9) in opposite synchronous manner, so that when the rack (15) and the inner side wall of the expansion wing plate (10) are in contact with each other, the expansion wing plate (10) is pushed to open outward.

6. A cloth spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rod surface of the winding roller (2) is provided with two sets of relatively displaced limit plates (16), the limit plates (16) are elastically slidably connected to the limit rods (17), the axial side walls of the winding roller (2) are evenly distributed with a plurality of limit holes (18), the ends of the limit rods (17) and the limit holes (18) form a selective plug-in fit to achieve axial positioning of the limit plates (16).

7. The fabric expanding device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic smoothing component (5) includes a fixed seat (19), a lifting seat (20) and a clearing ball (21); the fixed seat (19) is fixedly connected to the output end of the axial drive unit (8), the lifting seat (20) is reset and slidably matched with the fixed seat (19) through an elastic mechanism, and the clearing ball (21) is rotatably mounted on the extending end of the lifting seat (20) toward the tension roller (3), and through the compression and rebound effect of the elastic guide mechanism, the clearing ball (21) and the tension roller cooperate to form a dynamic fit and smooth the wrinkles of the material.

8. A cloth spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 7, characterized in that: A lead screw (22) is rotatably mounted on the fixed block, and the lead screw (22) and the limit block (23) are engaged with each other through a matching thread pair to form a transmission mechanism; the limit block (23) and the contact surface of the lifting seat (20) form a dynamic abutment fit, and the limit block (23) and the lifting seat (20) are mechanically locked by the axial displacement of the transmission mechanism, thereby realizing the axial constraint of the lifting mechanism.

9. A cloth spreading device for a circular knitting machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The output end of the rack (15) is rotatably connected to a guide ball (24), and the guide ball (24) forms a rolling contact fit with the inner guide surface of the expansion wing plate (10). The rotation of the guide ball (24) and the guide surface of the expansion wing plate (10) cooperate to form a low-friction guide mechanism.

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