Patent ID: 9562307
Date: 2017-02-07
CPC Classifications: D04B

Claim:
1. A method for producing a knitted tubular article on a circular knitting machine comprising a needle cylinder with a circular needle bed for knitting the tubular article, the method comprising the following steps: providing a pick-up member, for picking-up the tubular article, the pick-up member comprising a plurality of pick-up hooks arranged according to a circular ring, each pick-up hook being provided with a respective active end, each pick-up hook being pivotally connected at a respective pivoting axis to a respective one of two semi-circular supports, which are hinged to one another around an axis and forming a first half-ring and a second half ring of pick-up hooks; knitting a tubular article on the circular needle bed, starting from an elastic edge and ending with an open toe; arranging the pick-up member coaxially with the needle cylinder, with the active ends of the pick-up hooks arranged around the needles of the needle cylinder and outside thereof; while stitches of a last course of the knitted article are still held by said needles, engaging loops of the tubular article with the plurality of pick-up hooks by pivoting the pick-up hooks around respective pivoting axes of the pick-up hooks towards the circular needle bed and between pairs of consecutive needles of the needle cylinder, whereby one of the first half-ring and the second half-ring engages a first edge portion of an edge of the open toe and another of said first half-ring and the second half-ring engages a second edge portion of said edge of the open toe; once the tubular article has been engaged by the pick-up hooks, unloading the stitches of the last course from the needles and removing the tubular article from the needle cylinder by means of the pick-up member; overturning one of the first half-ring and the second half-ring onto the other of said first half-ring and said second half-ring, placing the first edge portion and the second edge portion onto one another; while the tubular article is engaged by the pick-up member, joining the first edge portion and the second edge portion together to form a closed toe; after closing the toe, unloading the tubular article from the pick-up member.