Flat Knitting Machine Yarn Feeder Tension Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flat knitting machines struggle to quickly and accurately measure knitting yarn tension near the needle bed gap, leading to delayed adjustments and suboptimal fabric quality due to external factors like humidity, temperature, and knitting conditions.
Innovation Solution
A flat knitting machine equipped with a yarn feeder that includes a tension sensor and adjustment apparatus, allowing for real-time tension measurement and adjustment near the needle bed gap, featuring a guide shaft portion that displaces to measure tension and a tension adjustment apparatus acting orthogonally to the yarn feeder's thickness direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If tension measurement is performed at a position upstream and separated from the needle bed gap, then the measurement can be done with simpler structure, but the response speed to tension changes is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The tension sensor is integrated into the yarn feeder assembly, moving the measurement location from a separate upstream position to a position directly at the needle bed gap. This spatial reconfiguration in the yarn path dimension enables real-time tension detection without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tension sensor is combined with the yarn feeder assembly, merging the tension measurement function into the existing yarn feeding structure. This integration eliminates the need for separate tension measurement equipment and allows direct measurement at the needle bed gap, reducing response time.
2Manufacturing precision
If tension adjustment is delayed due to separated measurement position, then simpler structure can be maintained, but fabric quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tension sensor provides real-time feedback on yarn tension directly at the needle bed gap, enabling the control system to immediately adjust tension parameters. This feedback mechanism ensures optimal fabric quality by continuously monitoring and adjusting tension during the knitting process.
Solution Approach 2:
The tension sensor detects tension changes before they affect the knitting process, allowing preventive adjustment to be made. By measuring tension at the needle bed gap in advance, the system can correct tension issues before they lead to fabric defects.
3Measurement precision
If tension sensor is placed near the needle bed gap, then measurement accuracy improves, but the risk of interference with other yarn feeders increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tension sensor is positioned to measure tension locally at the needle bed gap without interfering with other yarn feeders. The sensor is integrated into the yarn feeder assembly in a way that allows it to detect tension changes at the critical measurement point while maintaining clear separation from adjacent yarn feeders.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables swift and accurate tension measurement and adjustment, maintaining optimal yarn tension and improving fabric quality by responding promptly to changes in yarn tension, preventing twisting, and optimizing the arrangement of tension adjustment apparatus to avoid interference with other yarn feeders.
Implementation Method 1
a guide shaft portion (40) that extends in a thickness direction of the yarn feeder and is configured to be displaceable in a direction intersecting the thickness direction of the yarn feeder, the knitting yarn being guided on a circumferential surface of the guide shaft portion
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
A flat knitting machine that can speedily and accurately measure knitting yarn tension during knitting is provided. The flat knitting machine 1 includes: a needle bed 1B that has multiple knitting needles; a yarn feeder 2A that is attached to a rail 1R that is parallel to the length direction of the needle beds 1B, the yarn feeder 2A travelling along the rail 1R and feeding yarn (9) to a needle bed gap of the needle beds 1B; a knitting condition adjustment apparatus 5 that adjusts a knitting condition related to yarn feeding; and a knitting condition control unit that controls the knitting condition adjustment apparatus 5 based on the tension of the knitting yarn 9. The yarn feeder 2A includes a tension sensor 4 that acquires information related to the tension of the knitting yarn 9 and outputs the information to the knitting condition control unit.