Needle selector device for multi-system knitting machine

A needle selector device for a multi yarn feed knitting machine comprises a stack of angularly movable sliders mounted about a common axis, the sliders being selectively movable between three positions, namely the knitting, tucking and floating positions. The sliders define cams which depending on the selected position of the slider can engage steering butts on a pivotable pattern bar connected through a swivel bar to a knitting needle.

This invention relates to a needle-selector device for use in a multi yarn 
feeding station knitting machine operating by the three-way method, with 
vertically stacked sliders, with pattern bars comprising steering butts 
and with swivel bars supported on the pattern bars and in their turn 
articulately connected to the knitting needles, the sliders co-acting with 
the steering butts of the pattern bars and thereby selectively steering 
the knitting needles into their floating, tucking or knitting position. 
In known selector devices of this kind there are provided for each station 
in the machine, two rows of vertically stacked sliders, or even double 
sliders, which are expensive to construct and which also require a large 
amount of space. Owing to the considerable amount of space required the 
known devices either cannot be accommodated in machines with numerous 
stations, in which the individual stations are comparatively narrow, or 
else the number of stations in a machine of predetermined dimensions 
cannot be increased if a selector device of the kind described is used. 
It is the aim of the present invention to propose a device of the kind 
specified which is simple and uncomplicated and therefore can be produced 
at an economical cost whilst functioning in a reliable and secure manner, 
which takes up very little space on a knitting machine so that it can be 
applied particularly to knitting machines with large numbers of stations. 
The aim of the invention is realised due to the fact that for each station 
of the knitting machine one single row of superposed sliders is provided 
which are rotatable about a common axis and adapted to be selectively 
adjusted into operative positions corresponding to the floating, tucking 
or knitting positions respectively and to be locked in such position.

With reference to FIG. 1 there is shown a pattern bar 3 of conventional 
design having a forked head 4. The bar 3 is pivotally supported at 2 in 
the revolving needle cylinder 1 of a multi station circular knitting 
machine. A swivel bar 5 with a butt 6 is supported in the head 4. The butt 
6 is guided in conventional manner in a groove or trick formed by a lock 
parts 7a and 7b fixed to the structure of the machine. The upper end of 
the swivel bar 5 is connected through an articulated joint 8 to a knitting 
needle 9 the butt 11 of which is also guided in conventional manner by a 
groove or track of each of the lock parts 7a and 7b. Swivel bar 5, needle 
9 and pattern bar 3, are mounted and guided in the needle cylinder 1. The 
lower lock part 7b which co-acts with butt 6 of swivel bar 5 serves in 
known manner to push the needle 9 outwardly or upwardly while the upper 
lock part 7a co-acts with the butt 11 of the needle 9 to retract or lower 
the needle 9. 
The invention is hereinafter described in application to a plain circular 
knitting machine with several feed stations which operates by the 
three-way technique. However, the invention is equally suitable for 
application in flat--as well as in flat-circular knitting machines, and 
these machines may also be double-knit machines, for example--in the case 
of a circular knitting machine, they may have an additional rib plate. The 
circular knitting machines may be small or large machines. 
In operation of a circular knitting machine which in its needle cylinder 
has numerous assemblies of the kind shown in FIG. 1, the knitting needles 
9 are moved up and down in conventional manner by the lockguideways, or 
tricks defined by the stationary lock parts 7a and 7b while the needle 
cylinder 1 rotates, and the needles 9 produce a tubular knitted fabric or 
hose. If a patterned fabric is required the needles must be appropriately 
selected while the needle cylinder rotates, that is to say during rotation 
specific needles must be selected and steered in such a way that they will 
execute no, or only a partial outward movement. This kind of movement of 
the knitting needles 9 is obtained with the aid of the selector device 13 
which is mounted on a fixed part 12 of the machine and schematically 
illustrated in FIG. 1. Each yarn feed station of the machine has its own 
selector device 13. The needle selection occurs with the aid of steering 
butts 14 one of which is provided on each pattern bar 13. The steering 
butt 14 shown in the top position in FIG. 1 belongs to the illustrated 
pattern bar 3. The steering butts 14a therebeneath belong to other pattern 
bars arranged behind bar 3, not visible in FIG. 1, which are also 
pivotally supported in the cylinder 1. The extreme ends 15 of adjustable 
adjusting members project outwards from the selector device 13. These 
adjusting members are selectively adjustable in such a way that when the 
needle cylinder rotates their outer ends 15 come into the trajectory of 
the respectively associated steering butt 14, or 14a of a specific pattern 
bar 3. These extreme ends 15 are designed in the manner of cams as will be 
more particularly described below, with cam-faces for engagement with the 
steering butts 14a so that when the butts 14a engage with the cams, the 
pattern bars 3 will be pivoted about the axis of joint 2 in the clockwise 
direction as shown in FIG. 1 provided that the associated adjusting 
member, or its extreme end 15, has been correctly adjusted. This also 
causes pivotal movement of swivel bar 5 the lower end of which is engaged 
in head 4 of pattern bar 3, about joint 8 so that the butt 6 is pushed out 
of the effective range of lock part 7b. Lock part 7 is thus inoperative 
and the particular needle 9 which is associated with the swivel bar 5 is 
no longer moved outwardly. On the other hand, if the extreme end 15 of an 
adjusting member is, as shown in FIG. 1, retracted so that it does not 
extend into the trajectory of a steering butt 14a the associated pattern 
bar 3 will remain in the position shown in FIG. 1 and the needle 9 will be 
driven out by the lock part 7a which co-acts with the butt 6 of the 
associated swivel bar 5. In this manner the device 13 affords the facility 
of selecting the knitting needles for appropriate movement in accordance 
with a pattern. 
The selector devices according to this invention are used in knitting 
machines which operate by the three position method. This means that the 
knitting needles 9 are adapted to be displaced into three different 
positions, namely into a so-called floating or non-knitting position, a 
tucking position and a knitting position with a tuck loop being formed in 
known manner in the tucking position and a knitting stitch in the knitting 
position. FIG. 2 schematically shows a lock groove or track 16 which is 
formed in the lower lock part 7b which steers the butt 6 of the swivel bar 
5. The direction of rotation of the needle cylinder 1 is indicated by 
arrow D. The lock groove 16 viewed in the direction of arrow D from bottom 
to top comprises three levels R.F.S. corresponding to the floating tucking 
and knitting positions of needle 9. In FIG. 2 the butt 6 is on level S so 
that the needle 9 is raised fully and is therefore in the knitting 
position thereof. 
If in region A the butt 6 is pushed away from lock part 7 in the manner 
described so that the swivel bar 5 and the knitting needle 9 associated 
therewith cannot be raised further by lock part 7, the needle 9 will 
remain in its float position R. If butt 6 is pushed off the associated 
lock part 7b in region B the needle 9 will remain in the tucking position 
F. If butt 6 is not pushed away from lock part 7b the latter will steer 
the needle 9 into its knitting position S. This is shown in FIG. 2. In 
this case, therefore, no pivotal movement of pattern bar 3 has been 
triggered by the selector device 13 whereby, as hereinbefore described, 
the butt 6 of swivel bar 5 would be disengaged from lock part 7b. 
Accordingly the needle 9 is fully raised and comes into the operative 
knitting position S. 
FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of an adjusting member of the selector 
device 13. The adjusting member is here constructed as an angularly 
movable slider or selector lever 17. A plurality of such selector levers 
17 is arranged in a preferably vertical row one above the other for 
angular movement about a common axis 18 and their ends which are shaped as 
cams 19, 20 protrude from the device 13 (see reference 15 in FIG. 1). The 
selector lever 17 is a two-armed lever. The first lever arm 21 carries the 
cams 19 and 20 and co-acts with a steering butt 14 of a pattern bar 3. The 
second lever arm 22 is adapted by means of a common locking block 23 
engaging with all of the vertically superposed selector levers 17, to be 
selectively held against end stop 24 or 25, the said end stops 24, 25 
being associated with different working positions of the selector lever 
17. The locking block 23 can be slid to and fro in a corresponding 
guideway in the direction of the double-headed arrow P and can be fixed in 
its terminal position in any convenient manner for example by screwing, 
pegging, pinning or clamping. The block has operative engagement faces 26, 
27 respectively engaging in the locking positions with lever arm 22 and 
applying the same firmly to the respective end stop 24 or 25. In the 
center position of the selector lever 17 the arm 22 thereof is received in 
reces 28 of the locking block 23. If the locking block 23 is pulled out 
(downwards as shown in FIG. 3) from the position represented in FIG. 3 in 
the direction of arrow P, the selector lever 17 can be moved to a 
different working position in which it can be locked once again by 
relocating the block 23. 
FIG. 3 also shows the butts 6 of the swivel bars 5 which are mounted in the 
needle cylinder 1. The needle cylinder itself is merely indicated by an 
arc. 
When the selector lever 17 occupies the working position shown in FIG. 3 
its cam 19 engages the steering butt 14 of a pattern bar 3 in region A of 
the lock trick 16 (FIG. 2). Accordingly the pattern bar is pivotally 
displaced in the time interval corresponding to the lock region A thereby 
causing the butt 6 of the associated swivel bar 5 to be disengaged 
relative to lock part 7b. The swivel bar 5 and associated needle 9 are 
therefore no longer driven by lock part 7b and the needle remains in the 
floating position R. 
FIG. 4 shows the other extreme position of selector lever 17 in which cam 
20 is applied to steering butt 14 of the associated pattern bar 3. Because 
of the spatial separation of cams 19 and 20 this corresponds to region B 
of the lock trick 16 (FIG. 2). In this region B needle movement has 
already taken place over a certain distance. If now in region B the butt 6 
of swivel bar 5 is disengaged from lock part 7b the swivel bar 5 and its 
needle 9 will remain in the prevailing position, which is the tucking 
position F. 
FIG. 5 lastly shows the selector lever 17 in a medial position in which 
neither cam 19 or cam 20 extend into the trajectory of the steering butts 
14a. In this case there is no displacement of pattern bar 3 and the 
associated swivel bar 5 and the butt 6 of swivel bar 5 remains on lock 
part 7b and the needle is fully driven out to its knitting position S. 
Correspondingly FIG. 5 shows the butts 6 of all the swivel bars 5 outside 
the arc representing the needle cylinder 1 while FIGS. 3 and 4 show the 
respectively "selected" butts 6 which are then on the inner side of the 
arc. 
The selector levers as described can be built relatively small and since 
there is only one row of such levers stacked vertically and rotatable 
about a common axis, the whole assembly takes up very little space so that 
such selector devices 13 may be used with knitting machines which have 
very many yarn feed stations. 
In order to enable a selector lever 17 to be locked in the medial position 
corresponding to the knitting position as shown in FIG. 5, the locking 
block as shown in FIG. 3 has a central recess 28 which engages and locks 
the second arm 22 of the selector lever 17 in this operative position. 
FIGS. 6-8 illustrate further examples of rotating selector elements which 
work in principle in the same manner as lever 17, and which also have 
different cam faces on one and the same adjusting member in order to 
displace the needles 9 into the desired working position. 
FIG. 6 shows a rotary selector member 31 which is essentially constructed 
as a generally square plate with cam faces 32, 33 provided on each of two 
opposite sides thereof. This selector member 31 is rotatable about a rigid 
axis 34. Again several such rotary selector members 31 are stacked 
vertically on and for rotation about the common axis 34 in the device 13. 
A locking block 35 which is slidable in the direction of the double-headed 
arrow P presses all the selector members 31 when adjusted to their correct 
working positions, against a fixed end stop 36. In the adjusted position 
according to FIG. 6, cam 32 will co-act with butt 14 of pattern bar 3 in 
region B of the lock trick shown in FIG. 2, so that the needle can be 
displaced into the tucking position by means of cam 32. If the rotatable 
selector member 31 is turned anticlockwise through 90.degree., as shown in 
FIG. 6, the associated steering butt 14 of a pattern bar 3 will remain 
uninfluenced and the knitting needle will move into the knitting position. 
With the rotary selector member 31 turned anticlockwise through 
180.degree., cam 33 will engage with a steering butt 14 in region A of the 
lock trick shown in FIG. 2, with the result that the knitting needle will 
remain in the floating position. 
FIG. 7 shows an angularly movable selector member or slider 41 having an 
elongated hole 42 whereby it is angularly movable and slidable. Further 
members are stacked vertically about a common axis 43. A frontal lever arm 
44 of the selector member 41 is provided with a single cam face 45 which 
can be adjusted between two working positions by corresponding angular 
movement of the member 41. The position shown on the left in FIG. 7 
corresponds to the tucking position while the position shown on the right 
corresponds to the floating position of the knitting needles. If the 
member 41 is retracted as allowed by the elongated hole 42 which embraces 
axis 43, there is no operative engagement between the cam face 45 and a 
pattern-bar butt 14 so that the needles are driven fully out to the 
operative knitting position. 
Each selector member 41 has a second lever arm 46 in which three bores or 
holes 47, 48, 49 are arranged in such a manner that in each and all 
positions of the selector members one of the bores or holes of each member 
is in line with a bore or hole of the other selector members. A locking 
pin 50 is then inserted into these mutually aligned holes thereby fixing 
the members 41 in the respectively selected working position. 
FIG. 8 shows an angularly movable member 51 similar to member 41 in FIG. 7. 
The selector member 51 has an elongated hole 52 in which is a pin 53 
whereby it is pivotable jointly with further selector members of this type 
about the pin. Whereas the selector member 41 shown in FIG. 7 only has a 
single cam with cam face 45, two cams 54, 55 are provided on the selector 
member 51. In the position represented in FIG. 8 cam 55 occupies the 
operative or effective position. This position corresponds to the tucking 
position of the knitting needles. If cam 54 is displaced into the other 
effective position (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 8) the knitting needle 
remains in the floating position. In order to allow the needle to move 
into the operative knitting position the selector member 51 must be pulled 
back or retracted relative to axis 53. In the two positions shown in FIG. 
8 the rotary selector member 51 is locked or arrested in each case by one 
of two counter stops 56. The selector member 51 is further provided with 
holes 57, 58 and 59 arranged in the same manner as the bores 47, 48, 49 in 
selector member 41 and working in the same sense. By means of a locking 
pin 60 the selector member 51 can again be locked in its various working 
positions. 
FIGS. 9-11 show another example of a rotary selector member 61. Each member 
is in the form of a disc which is rotatable through 360.degree. and is 
provided on its periphery with cams 62, 63 adapted to co-act with the 
steering butts 14 of the pattern bars 3. The selector discs 61 are 
rotatable about a single common axis 64. The selector disc 61 is initially 
manufactured as shown in FIG. 9. In this form the selector disc 61 in the 
position represented in FIGS. 9-11 results in the floating position of the 
knitting needles. If cam 63 is removed (FIG. 10) the needles move into the 
tucking position. If, according to FIG. 11 both cams 62 and 63 are taken 
off the selector disc 61 the needles are fully driven out and achieve the 
operative knitting position. 
The cam formations shown in FIGS. 9-11 may be repeated several times about 
the peripheral edge of the disc 61. The selector discs 61 are stacked 
vertically for rotation about a common axis to make up a selector drum 
unit which can be cyclically rotated during operation of the knitting 
machine thereby influencing the knitting needles in accordance with the 
desired three-way technique. 
FIGS. 12-14 relate to a modified embodiment of the invention. Corresponding 
parts in FIG. 12 carry the same references as in FIG. 1. The adjusting 
members in the selector device 13 may be rotary selectors of the above 
described type. Their protruding cam parts which co-act with the steering 
butts 14, 14a of the pattern bars 3a are generally indicated at 15 in FIG. 
12. As shown, the pattern bars 3, each of which is provided with two 
further vertically spaced steering butts 71, 72, co-act with a pattern 
wheel or dial 73, which is known per se, and which is mounted on the fixed 
part 12 for rotation with the selector device 13. For fine machine 
calibration the pattern wheel 73 preferably consists of two superposed 
rotationally rigid pattern discs 74, 75 of which the upper disc 74 co-acts 
with steering butts 71 and the lower disc 75 with steering butts 72 in the 
sense that the pattern bar 3 can be influenced by the pattern wheel 73 to 
be selectively pivoted about the pivot 2 in the clockwise direction. To 
this end discs 75, 74 comprise relatively offset or staggered teeth which 
work as cams and which come into the trajectories of the steering butts 
71, 72 and thereby cause pivotal movement of pattern bar 3, in a similar 
fashion to the action of the cam faces 15 at the ends of the selector 
members in the device 13. 
The restoring of the pattern bars 3 which have been moved outwardly by 
pattern wheel 73 or by selector device 13 is performed in conventional 
manner by means of a lock part (not shown), which engages with a U-shaped 
sinker extension 76 of the head 4. This equally applies to the arrangement 
of FIG. 1. 
In the embodiment of the invention which includes the pattern selector 
wheel 73, the track 77 in lock part 77b has the special configuration as 
shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. Starting from a point X the track is divided 
into two laterally adjacent steps 78, 79, which save space and on which 
the butts 6 of swivel bar 5 slide up selectively thereby bringing the 
needles selectively into the knitting or tucking position. The selection 
is made by means of the pattern wheel 73. Depending on whether or not the 
pattern bar 3 and with it the associated swivel bar 5 has been subjected 
to an additional swivel movement by one of the teeth or cams of pattern 
selector wheel 73, the butt 6 of swivel bar 5 will arrive either on step 
79 or on step 78 of the lock track, that is to say either in the tucking 
or in the knitting position. If in the absence of actuation by pattern 
selector wheel 73 the butt 6 is not subjected to any swivel movement it 
will follow the upper trajectory shown in FIG. 14; when pivoted by swivel 
bar 5, following actuation of the latter by pattern wheel 73, butt 6 will 
follow the lower trajectory shown in FIG. 14. 
In an arrangement of the kind shown in FIGS. 12-14 the sliders of the 
selector device 13 need occupy only two operative or effective positions, 
one of which is initiated on expulsion of the knitting needle 9 whilst in 
the other effective position the needle remains in the floating position. 
If while the knitting needle 9 is expelled or driven outwards, the pattern 
bar 3 and with it the swivel bar 5 are further displaced due to engagement 
of a cam on pattern selector wheel 73 with one of the butts 71, 72, butt 6 
of swivel bar 5 arrives on step 79 of the lock trick 77 so that the 
knitting needle is stopped in the tucking position. In other words, in an 
arrangement according to FIGS. 12-14 the actual selection of the tucking 
and the knitting position is made by the pattern selector wheel 73 whereas 
the selector device 13 simply decides between needle movement or no 
movement. The sliders in the selector device 13 of FIG. 12 may therefore 
be correspondingly more simply designed than the rotating cam element 
shown in FIGS. 3-11 because they are required only to be capable of 
occupying two effective positions. The selector device 13 may also be 
constructed as a conventional pattern drum, pattern roll or as a stacked 
pattern-disc assembly. 
FIG. 13 further shows the butt 11 on the knitting needle 9 as well as the 
upper lock part 77a co-acting therewith which imparts the retraction 
movement to needle 9. 
FIG. 15 shows a further example of the invention with sliders which however 
in this case are not rotary sliders but simple sliders arranged 
selectively in a single row in vertically stacked formation for each yarn 
feed station of the knitting machine. There are three selectively 
applicable sliders 81, 82, 83 which are mounted in the selector device 13 
in a manner known per se. Slider 81 has a terminal cam face 84 which at 
the correct point in time engages the butt 14 of a pattern bar 3 thereby 
holding the knitting needle fast in the floating position. Another cam 
face 85 arranged at a different point of the slider 82 takes care of 
transferring the knitting needle into the tucking position. Lastly, slider 
83 has no cam face and therefore allows unimpeded needle movement into the 
knitting position. The parts 81, 82 and 83, hereinbefore called the 
"sliders" are in fact non-slidable parts which are selectively inserted in 
the selector device 13 and there immovably fixed. A notch 80 on the 
backside of sliders 81, 82, identifies their respective function. 
FIG. 16 lastly shows another kind of rotary slider or shifting member 86 
with cam faces 87 and 88. The rotation axis is indicated by the 
dot-and-dash line Z. Depending on whether the knitting needles are to be 
displaced into the floating, tucking or knitting position, the member 86 
is inserted and immobilised in selector device 13 in such a manner that 
either cam face 87 or cam face 88 can engage with the steering butt 14 of 
a pattern bar 3. Prior to a transfer from one to the other of these 
positions the member 86 must be taken out of device 13 and turned about 
the rotation axis Z. If the knitting needle is to move into the knitting 
position a simple cam-free spacer piece will be fitted in selector device 
13 instead of member 86 for the affected pattern bar 3. 
The rotary shifting member 86 has two holes 89 in which 
selectively--depending on the selected arrangement--a locking pin similar 
to pins 50 and 60 in FIGS. 7 and 8 is inserted to prevent movement of the 
member 86.