Movable sinker and flat knitting machine

Abstract

The present invention provides a movable sinker and a flat knitting machine that can reduce the stress acting on the torque spring. [Solution] The movable sinker 21 is formed with a sinker portion 22 and a torque spring portion 23 as an integral part. A bent portion 23d is connected between the bypass portion 23b and the free end portion 23c of the torque spring portion 23, which bends an even number of times at the bent points 23e and 23f. By providing the bent portion 23d in the torque spring portion 23, the spring extension length can be increased and the stress acting on the torque spring portion 23 can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a movable sinker and a flat knitting machine that are used for forming sinker loops of stitches knitted by a flat knitting machine and can also hold the knitted fabric by spring biasing.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a movable sinker is used to knit a knitted fabric together with knitting needles on the tip side where the tip of the needle bed of a flat knitting machine faces a notch, forms a sinker loop of a stitch, and also has a function of advancing and retreating the tip to the notch to hold the knitted fabric by spring biasing. Although a spring for spring-biasing the movable sinker can be combined with a separate wire spring or the like for the sinker portion, the sinker portion and the spring portion can also be integrated (see, for example, Patent Document).

[0003] Figure 5 shows the configuration of the movable sinker 11 disclosed in Patent Document 1, and Figures 6 and 7 show a partial configuration of the flat knitting machine 1 equipped with the movable sinker 11. The needle plates 2 are erected at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, and the spaces between the needle plates 2 form needle grooves for housing knitting needles. The movable sinker 11 is housed in a state that allows for swinging displacement in a notch 2a formed by reducing the wall thickness of the needle plate 2 near the tip on the tooth opening 3 side of the needle plate 2 of the flat knitting machine 1. A sinker support recess 2b is formed at the bottom of the notch 2a. The sinker support recess 2b is arc-shaped with a certain radius from an upper virtual center 2c. A non-thinned pressing portion 2d is formed at the top of the thinned notch 2a, and a metal band 4 prevents the movable sinker 11 from protruding upward. The movable sinker 11 is made of a metal plate material such as a steel plate, and the sinker portion 12 and the torque spring portion 13 are formed integrally. The sinker portion 12 has an intermediate support portion 12a, and arm portions 12b and drive portions 12c provided on one and the other sides of the intermediate portion, respectively. The support portion 12a has an arc-shaped outer circumference with a constant radius from a virtual center 11a. The torque spring portion 13 has an extension portion 13a that branches off from the arm portion 12b side and extends toward the support portion 12a side, a bypass portion 13b connected to the extension portion 13a and bypassing the periphery of the center 11a, and a free end portion 13c that extends parallel to the extension portion 13a and away from the support portion 12a, and a projection portion 13d that protrudes away from the extension portion 13a is provided between the bypass portion 13b and the free end portion 13c. The movable sinker 11 has its center 11a overlapping the center 2c of the sinker support recess 2b, with its support portion 12a fitted into the sinker support recess 2b, and is capable of swinging displacement by being driven toward the drive unit 12c. With swinging displacement, the arm portion 12b moves forward and backward toward the tooth opening 3, forming a sinker loop with its leading edge portion 12d, and pressing down on the knitted fabric with the knitted fabric pressing portion 12e. Figure 7 shows the state in which the arm portion 12b swings toward the tooth opening 3 against the spring bias, either due to a reaction force from the knitted fabric or due to being driven toward the drive unit 12c. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. WO2008 / 018185A1 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] As shown in Figure 7, when the knitted fabric is subjected to a reaction force from the knitted fabric on the fabric pressing section 12e, or when the drive section 12c is driven by a cam or the like (not shown), the spring reaction force acting on the torque spring section 13 increases. In the torque spring section 13 of the movable sinker 11 as shown in Figure 5, even if one tries to set a large allowable spring reaction force, if the applied stress becomes large, there is a risk of reaching the fatigue durability limit, making it difficult to increase the spring reaction force.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a movable sinker and a flat knitting machine that can reduce the stress acting on the torque spring portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In this invention, the torque spring portion is integrally formed with the sinker portion. The sinker section is provided with a support section and an arm section. The support portion has an arc-shaped outer circumference with a certain radius from a virtual center, and is supported by a sinker support recess having an arc-shaped inner surface provided near the tooth opening of the needle bed, allowing for oscillating displacement around the center. The arm moves forward and backward in accordance with the oscillation displacement of the support part, The torque spring section is, An extension that branches off from the arm side and extends towards the support side, A bypass section is connected to the extension and bypasses the circumference of the center on the support side, The extension is parallel to the support portion and the free end portion extends in a direction away from the center of the circle. In a movable sinker, A bent section that folds an even number of times is connected between the bypass section and the free end of the torque spring. This is a movable sinker characterized by the following features.

[0008] Furthermore, in the present invention, the bent portion is characterized in that it has at least one bent point between the extended portion and the free end, in a direction away from the support portion and the center of the circle.

[0009] Furthermore, in the present invention, the bent portion is, The portion approaching the extended portion until it bends The part that separates from the extended part after bending It is characterized by containing.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that at the bent portion, the bending width is wider than the spring width at the bent portion excluding the bent portion.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention is a flat knitting machine characterized by being equipped with any of the above-mentioned movable sinkers. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, by providing a bent portion in the torque spring, the spring's extended length can be increased, and the stress acting on the spring can be reduced.

[0013] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the spring extension length can be increased by utilizing the space created on the central side of the bypass portion.

[0014] Furthermore, according to the present invention, bending at curved points can be achieved in a simple manner.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the bending width at the bending point is made wider than the spring width, excessive stress can be prevented from concentrating at the bending point.

[0016] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the fatigue resistance of the movable sinker of a flat knitting machine can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of a movable sinker 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a simplified side cross-sectional view showing the mounting state of the movable sinker 21 in a flat knitting machine 30 provided with the movable sinker 21. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a simplified side cross-sectional view showing the retracted state of the movable sinker 21 in a flat knitting machine 30 provided with the movable sinker 21. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a comparison of the shapes of the movable sinker 21 of the embodiment and the movable sinker 11 of Patent Document 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a side view showing the configuration of the movable sinker 11 of Patent Document 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a simplified side cross-sectional view showing the mounting state of the movable sinker 11 in a flat knitting machine 1 provided with the movable sinker 11. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a simplified side cross-sectional view showing the retracted state of the movable sinker 11 in a flat knitting machine 10.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, FIGS. 1 to 4 show the configuration and operation of a movable sinker 21 and a flat knitting machine 30 provided with the movable sinker 21, which are an embodiment of the present invention. In each figure including FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions may be omitted. Also, for convenience of explanation, there are parts where illustration is omitted. Further, although the needle bed of the flat knitting machine is inclined so that the side of the tooth opening 3 is higher, it is shown in a horizontal state in the illustration.

EXAMPLE

[0019] Figure 1 shows the configuration of a movable sinker 21, which is one embodiment of the present invention. The movable sinker 21 is formed integrally with a sinker portion 22 and a torque spring portion 23. The sinker portion 22 has an intermediate support portion 22a and arm portions 22b and drive portions 22c provided on one and the other sides of the intermediate portion, respectively. The support portion 22a has an arc-shaped outer circumference having a constant radius from a virtual center of a circle 21a. The torque spring portion 23 has an extension portion 23a that branches off from the arm portion 22b side and extends toward the support portion 22a side, a bypass portion 23b connected to the extension portion 23a and bypassing the circumference of the center of a circle 21a, and a free end portion 23c that extends parallel to the extension portion 23a and away from the support portion 22a. The movable sinker 21 is configured such that its center 21a aligns with the center 2c of the sinker support recess 2b, and its support portion 22a fits into the sinker support recess 2b, allowing it to swing and displace by being driven toward the drive portion 22c. The torque spring portion 23 has a bent portion 23d between the bypass portion 23b and the free end portion 23c, which has a spring width Ws as shown in Figure 4, and bent portions 23e and 23f that bend an even number of times with a bending width Wb. It is preferable that the torque spring portion 23 has a uniform plate thickness. The plate thickness may be varied in the arm portion 22b of the sinker portion 22 and the drive portion 22c, for example, by creating steps.

[0020] In this embodiment, the bent portion 23d has at least one bent section 23e between the extended portion 23a and the free end portion 23c, which are parallel to each other in the direction away from the support portion 22a. This allows the spring unfolded length to be increased by utilizing the space created on the side of the circular center 21a of the bypass portion 23b. The connection between the bent portion 23d and the free end portion 23c is also made via another bent section 23f. At the bent section 23e, the portion 23g that approaches the extended portion 23a and the portion that separates from the extended portion 23a after bending are folded back, so the bending can be realized in a simple form. The bending width Wb at the bent section 23e shown in Figure 4 is made thicker than the spring width Ws. The same applies to the bend at point 23f; by making the bending width Wb at points 23e and 23f wider than the spring width Ws, the cross-sectional area at points 23e and 23f can be increased, preventing excessive stress concentration.

[0021] Figures 2 and 3 show a flat knitting machine 30 equipped with a movable sinker 21, illustrating the configuration of the part including the movable sinker 21. Figure 2 shows the state when the movable sinker 21 is installed, and Figure 3 shows the retracted state under maximum load. The movable sinker 21 oscillates around its center 21a, causing the arm portion 22b to move forward and backward toward the tooth opening 3, forming a sinker loop with its leading edge portion 22d, and pressing down on the knitted fabric with its fabric pressing portion 22e. Figure 3 shows the state in which the arm portion 22b oscillates in the direction of retraction from the tooth opening 3, receiving a reaction force from the knitted fabric and resisting the spring bias. The same retracted state is achieved even if a cam or the like (not shown) is applied to the drive unit 22c.

[0022] Figure 4 shows the shapes of the movable sinker 21 of this embodiment and the movable sinker 11 of Patent Document 1, respectively, illustrated with solid lines and dashed lines for comparison. The movable sinker 21 and the movable sinker 11 can be manufactured similarly from metal sheet material such as steel plate by fine blanking or wire cutting. As mentioned above, the portion of the bent section 23d, excluding the bent sections 23e and 23f, has the same spring width Ws, while the bend width Wb at the bent sections 23e and 23f is wider than the spring width Ws. In the movable sinker 21 of this embodiment, by providing the bent section 23d in the torque spring section 23, the spring development length can be increased and the stress acting on the spring can be reduced. In particular, the bent section 23e contributes to increasing the spring development length by utilizing the space created on the side of the center 21a of the bypass section 23b. To further increase the spring development length, an even number of bent sections can be added to the bent section 23d. Note that the configuration of the drive unit 22c for driving the movable sinker 21 is not limited to that shown in this embodiment. In a flat knitting machine 30 equipped with a movable sinker 21, the stress can be reduced by increasing the spring extension length, thereby improving the fatigue strength of the movable sinker 21. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0023] 2 Needle Plates 2a Notch 2b Recess for sinker support 2c,21a Enshin 3. Tooth opening 21 Movable Sinker 22 Sinker section 22a Support part 22b Arm 22d Front edge 22e Fabric pressing section 23 Torque spring section 23a Extension 23b Detour section 23c Free end 23d bent part Sections 23e and 23f 23g portion approaching the extended portion 23a 23h Part separated from the extension 23a 30 Flat knitting machine Ws spring width Wb Curve width

Claims

1. The torque spring section is integrally formed with the sinker section. The sinker section is provided with a support section and an arm section. The support portion has an arc-shaped outer circumference with a certain radius from a virtual center, and is supported by a sinker support recess having an arc-shaped inner surface provided near the tooth opening of the needle bed, allowing for oscillating displacement around the center. The arm moves forward and backward in accordance with the oscillation displacement of the support part, The torque spring section is, An extension that branches off from the arm side and extends towards the support side, A bypass section is connected to the extension and bypasses the circumference of the center on the support side, It has a support portion and a free end portion that extends in a direction away from the center of the circle, parallel to the extended portion. In a movable sinker, A bent section that folds an even number of times is connected between the bypass section and the free end of the torque spring. A movable sinker characterized by the following features.

2. The bent portion has at least one bent point in the direction away from the support portion and the center of the circle, between the extended portion and the free end portion which are parallel. The movable sinker according to feature 1.

3. In the aforementioned bent portion, the curved portion is, The portion approaching the extended portion until it bends, The part that separates from the extended part after bending The movable sinker according to claim 2, characterized by including

4. At the aforementioned bend, the spring bends with a width wider than the spring width at the bend portion excluding the bend. A movable sinker according to feature 2 or 3.

5. A flat knitting machine comprising a movable sinker according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images