Double V bed knitting machine

Abstract: A lower needle bed (1) of a double V bed knitting machine has a plurality of needle plate grooves (5) provided in a lower needle bed base (4). Lower needle plates (3A) are inserted into the needle plate grooves (5), and lower needle grooves (22) are formed between the lower needle plates. A part of at least some of the lower needle plates (3A) is extended upwardly, the extended portions (12) serving as an upper needle bed supporting member. A fixing member (13) for stopping an upper needle bed base (19) is provided on the upper needle bed supporting member, and the upper needle bed base (19) is supported in position above the lower needle bed (1) by the upper needle bed supporting member.

Description: Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a double V bed knitting machine in which a first pair of needle beds which converge at one end are opposed to a second pair of needle beds which converge at the adjacent ends. Prior Art A V bed knitting machine is known in which a needle bed having heads opposed at an angle is provided above a pair of needle beds having heads opposed at an angle. In this V bed knitting machine, an upper bed is supported on a lower bed symmetrically to left and right, and the lower bed is mounted and supported at both left and right ends on a frame so as not to impede a reciprocating movement of a carriage which supports a lock for operating a needle of the lower bed. Therefore, it can be expected that the needle bed will flex downwards in the central portion thereof, a tail of the needle bed will lower and an advancing direction of the needle is upwardly displaced. To cope with this, it is contemplated that a supporting member for the upper needle bed is provided on the carriage so that as the carriage moves the needle bed is always maintained at a predetermined position by a roller provided on the supporting member. However, in the aforementioned apparatus, a flexure of the upper needle bed is borne by the carriage, and the apparatus is not constructed so that no flexure occurs in the needle bed itself. The construction of the carriage is also complicated. Furthermore, there is no proposal for an arrangement in which the upper needle bed itself is free from flexure nor a proposal for accurately maintaining an angle formed between the upper and lower needle beds. GB-A-2 000 202 describes a needle bed for a flat bed knitting machine which is assembled from two sets of plate-like webs of different heights arranged alternately to form arcuate needle tracks therebetween. The arcuate tracks receive curved needles with the bases of the needle beds being horizontal. FR-A-1098776 describes a knitting machine which again utilises plates of different heights to guide and separate the needles. The plates can here be easily removed for replacement or repair. FR-A-2620137 describes a knitting machine having four needle beds. The two facing lower beds are supported on a chassis, with their upper ends set at 90° to each other. The two facing upper beds are supported above the lower beds by means of two arms so that the beds lie at an angle of 5-10° to the horizontal. FR-A-1073501 describes another knitting machine in which a pair of auxiliary needle beds are positioned above a first pair of needle beds, here with the first pair set at 90° to each other and with the auxiliary pair set horizontally. Summary of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a double V bed knitting machine in which, with one needle bed placed above the other, the upper needle bed can be supported without flexure. It is another object of the present invention to provide a double V bed knitting machine which is free from flexure in the upper needle bed and which can always maintain an angle formed between the upper and lower needle beds. According to the present invention there is provided a double V bed knitting machine comprising: a lower needle bed having a plurality of needle plate grooves in a lower needle bed base; and a plurality of lower needle plates set in said needle plate grooves thereby to define needle grooves therebetween; characterised in that said lower needle plates provide upward extensions which serve as a supporting means for an upper needle bed. In one embodiment, with the lower needle plates fitted in the needle plate grooves of the lower needle bed base, the needle grooves of the lower needle bed are formed between the lower needle plates. The lower needle plates constitute side walls of the needle grooves and extend upwards, the extended portions serving as the supporting means for the upper needle bed. The base of the upper needle bed is supported by the supporting means and is supported and fixed by a fixing means. More specifically, the fixing means may comprise a wedge-like head and a wedge-like notch provided on the lower surface of the upper needle bed base, and preferably held by a notch provided in an upper edge of the lower needle plate and a wedge-like end of a stop member provided on the upper edge end of the lower needle plate. The stop member is tightened by a tightening bolt whereby the lower needle plate and the upper needle bed base are integrally fixed. By this fixing, the upper needle bed base is supported by the lower needle plates from below at predetermined intervals widthwise of the knitting. In another embodiment at least some of said lower needle plates extend upwards to form upper needle groove walls, needle plate spacers are held between said upper needle groove walls, and the upper needle bed is constituted by the upper needle groove walls and the needle plate spacers. With the invention portions of the needle plates fitted in the needle plate grooves provided in the lower needle bed base integrate the needle plates of the upper needle bed with the needle plates of the lower needle bed. With needle plate spacers inserted between the needle plates of the upper bed, the spacing between the needle plates which are adjacent to each other is constant, and the upper surfaces of the needle plate spacers constitute the bottoms of the needle grooves to receive needles. Accordingly, the upper and lower needle beds are constructed to be integral and the angle formed therebetween is always constant. In order that the invention may be fully understood, two presently preferred embodiments of knitting machine will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of the whole structure of a first embodiment of knitting machine of the present invention, showing only one side of a centre line. Figs. 2a and 2b show a lower needle bed base, Fig. 2a being a longitudinal side view and Fig. 2b being an enlarged plan view of a head. Figs. 3a, 3b and 3c show a side view and a sectional view of a lower needle plate, Fig. 3a showing an example having an upper needle bed base supporting member, Fig. 3b showing an example having no upper needle bed base supporting member, and Fig. 3c being a sectional view taken on line C-C of Fig. 3a. Figs. 4a and 4b show an upper needle bed base, Fig. 4a being a longitudinal side view, and Fig. 4b being an enlarged plan view of a head. Fig. 5a is a side view of an upper needle plate, and Fig. 5b is a front view of the same. Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 9. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 9. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 6. Figs. 10a and 10b show a sinker jack, Fig. 10a being a side view, and Fig. 10b being a bottom view. Fig. 11 is a side view of a sinker jack. Fig. 12 is a side view of a sinker space. Figs. 13a, 13b and 13c show a knockover bit, Fig. 13a being a plan view, Fig. 13b being a side view, and Fig. 13c being a rear view. Fig. 14 is a schematic side view of the whole structure of another embodiment of knitting machine in accordance with the invention, showing only one side of a centre line. Fig. 15a is a side view of a needle plate, and Fig. 15b is a sectional view taken on line B-B of Fig. 15a. Fig. 16 is a side view of a needle plate spacer. Fig. 17 is a plan view of a continuous ] -shaped comb. Fig. 18 is a front view of a beam fixing portion. Fig. 19 is a sectional view taken on line XIX-XIX of Fig. 20. Fig. 20 is a sectional view taken on line XX-XX of Fig. 19. Figs. 21a and 21b show a sinker jack, Fig. 21a being a side view, and Fig. 21b being a bottom view. Fig. 22 is a side view of a sinker jack. Fig. 23 is a side view of a sinker spacer. The knitting machine according to the present invention is a knitting machine based upon a 4-bed system in which an upper needle bed 2 is supported above a lower needle bed 1 with the tops of the beds set at an angle with respect to each other. The machine is symmetrical to left and right about a centre line X-X which passes through a tooth portion towards which the tops of the needle beds 1 and 2 converge (see Fig. 1). The upper needle bed 2 is supported by a lower needle plate 3A of the lower needle bed 1. A lower needle bed base 4 is provided with a plurality of needle plate grooves 5 similar to the conventional needle bed. Needle plates 3A and 3B are fitted in the lower portion of the grooves 5, both of which plates are fixed, for example by passing a wire 9 through notches 7 and 8 provided in the needle bed base 4 and the lower needle plates 3A and 3B respectively. The lower needle plate 3A is a plate-like member composed of a lower needle guide portion 10 extending from the head to the tail of the lower needle bed 1, an upper needle-supporting member 11 of an extended portion which extends above the head and an upper needle bed base supporting member 12 positioned on the upper edge of a rear needle plate, as shown in Fig. 3a. The supporting member 12 has a fixed beam insert hole 15 for insertion of a fixed beam 14 of an upper needle bed fixing member (to be described later), a sinker support hole 16, a needle blade guide groove 17, and wire insert holes 18A, 18B and 18C, etc. A supporting surface 20 for supporting an upper needle bed base 19 is obliquely provided on the upper needle bed base supporting member 12, and a wedge-like notch 21 is provided in an extension of the supporting surface 20. The lower needle plate 3B shown in Fig. 3b has a construction in which the upper needle bed base supporting member 12 of the extension portion which extends above the head in the lower needle plate 3A is absent. The lower needle plates 3A and 3B are inserted into the needle plate grooves 5 of the lower needle bed base 4 either alternately or else in the ratio of one plate 3A followed by a number of plates 3B, and so on. The lower needle bed base 4 and the needle plates 3A and 3B are fixed as previously mentioned, and a needle groove 22 is formed between the lower needle plates 3A and 3B. A lower needle 23 is slidably inserted into the needle groove 22. The upper needle bed 2 is secured to the lower needle bed 1 by a fixing member 13 by the procedure mentioned below. The fixing member 13 comprises an engaging means comprising a wedge-like head 24 and a wedge-like notch 25 for engagement between the upper needle bed base 19 and the upper needle bed base supporting member 12 of the lower needle plate 3A, and stop and fixing means including a stop member 26. The upper needle bed base 19 is placed on the supporting surface 20 of the upper needle bed supporting member 12 of the lower needle plate 3A, and the wedge-like head 24 at the extreme end of the upper needle bed base 19 is placed in contact with the wedge-like notch 21 of the lower needle plate 3A. The notch 25 is provided at a position of the upper needle bed base 19 opposed to the end of the upper needle bed base supporting member 12. A wedge-like end 27 at one end of a web-like stop member 26 extending widthwise of the knitting of the knitting machine is brought into engagement with the notch 25, and the other end thereof is placed in contact with the upper needle bed base supporting member 12 of the lower needle plate 3A. A bolt 29 is threadedly engaged between the fixed beam 14 extending widthwise of the knitting inserted into the fixed beam insert hole 15 of the lower needle plate 3A and the stop member 26, and the bolt 29 is then tightened, whereby a dove-tail portion 30 between the wedge-like head 24 and the notch 25 of the upper needle bed base 19 is clamped by the wedge-like notch 21 of the lower needle plate 3A and the wedge-like end 27 of the stop member 26 to secure the upper needle bed base 19 onto the lower needle plate 3A. The upper needle bed base 19 and the upper needle plate 31 are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, respectively. Needle plate grooves 32 are provided in the upper needle bed base 19 with the same pitch and the same phase as those in the lower needle bed base 4, and upper needle plates 33 are inserted therein. The upper needle plates are fixed, for example, by passing a wire 36 between a notch 34 provided in an upper portion of the head of the upper needle bed base 19 and a notch 35 provided in a lower portion of the head of the upper needle plate 33. An upper needle groove 37 is formed between the upper needle plates 33 adjacent to each other, and an upper needle 38 is slidably inserted therein. The upper needle supporting member 11 of the lower needle plates 3A and 3B has exactly the same shape. A sinker spacer 41, a sinker 42, a sinker jack 43, a knockover bit 44, etc. are provided on the upper needle supporting member 11. The details thereof will now be described with reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 6 to 13. The sinker spacer 41 is located at a shoulder 45 provided on the upper needle supporting member of the lower needle plates 3A and 3B. The sinker spacer 41 (Fig.2) has an inverted U-shaped wire insert notch 46 at a lower portion of the tail, an engaging recess 48 for inserting a strap 47 for fixing a needle plate spacer 67 at the upper edge, and a hooked element 49 for keeping a lower needle 23 at the end edge extending downwardly of the head. The sinker spacer 41 has a wire insert notch 46 at the tail located at an enlarged shoulder 50 (Figs. 3 and 6) of the upper needle supporting member 11 so that the notch 46 is brought into engagement with a wire 1 inserted into a wire insert hole 18B and bridging the lower needle plates 3A and 3B. A depressed portion 52 at the lower part of the head is brought into engagement with a wire 52 similar to the former and secured to the upper needle supporting member 11. By securement of the sinker spacer 41 to the upper needle supporting member 11, a clearance is formed between the sinker spacer 41 and the top of the upper supporting member 11 by a top shoulder 54 (Fig. 3c) of the upper needle supporting member 11, and a sinker jack 43 is inserted therein (Fig.7). The shoulder 54 is provided so as to extend to the extreme end of the head of the lower needle plates 3A and 3B, and the sinker 42 is fitted in the extreme end portion of the head. The sinker jack 43 is in the form of an elongate plate as shown in Fig. 10, in which a thin portion in the vicinity of the tail is bent into a < shape, whereby when the sinker jack 43 is inserted into the clearance formed by the shoulder 54, it will not be inadvertently moved as a result of the occurrence of sliding resistance. A butt 55 is formed at its head with a downward concave recess 56. The concave recess 56 is brought into engagement with a convex protuberance 57 provided on the upper edge of the sinker 42. Similar to the sinker jack 43, the sinker 42 is also inserted into the same clearance formed by the shoulder 54 at the extreme end of the head of the lower needle plates 3A and 3B, and a rocking shaft 58 provided on the tail is fitted in a sinker supporting hole 16 provided in the head of the lower needle plates 3A and 3B and in contact with a shoulder at the extreme end of the head continuous with the top shoulder 54 so that the sinker 42 is rockably supported. The sinker 42 has angular portions 59, 60 and 61 in contact with a sinker loop vertically of the head. On the side of the upper needle supporting member 11 opposite to the shoulder 15 is provided a guide recess 64 in which a loop transfer blade 63 of the upper needle 38 is mounted and slidably moved, and a knockover bit 44 is slidably provided on the side of the guide recess 64 while being placed on the wires 51 and 53. The knockover bit 44 is provided with a butt 66 at the tail of a flat-plate like shank 65 on which the upper needle 38 is placed and a square loop keeper 67 at the head. A hook 68 of the upper needle 38 is located above the loop keeper 67. A cam of a carriage (not shown) is placed in contact with the butt 66 of the knockover bit 44 so that it may be moved forwards and backwards along the upper needle 38. The butt 66 of the knockover bit 44 and the butt 55 of the sinker jack 43 are fitted into the clearance of the upper needle supporting member 11 with comb-like needle plate spacers 67 juxtaposed so that the positions thereof can be held accurately to maintain the spacing accurately. In the knitting operation of the knitting machine according to the present invention, the needles of the beds 1 and 2 are operated by cams (not shown) on the carriages corresponding to the lower needle bed 1 and the upper needle bed 2 respectively, and in the upper needle bed 2 the knockover bit 44 is moved forwards and backwards together with the upper needle 38 according to the operation of the lower needle to prevent the lower needle 22 from being impeded in its forward and backward movement. According to this embodiment of the present invention, the needle plates are inserted into a plurality of needle plate grooves provided in the lower needle head base, and the needle grooves are formed between the needle plates to form the needle bed. A part of each lower needle plate is extended upwardly, said extended portions serving as the upper needle bed supporting means. The fixing member for stopping the upper needle bed base is provided on the upper needle bed supporting member and the upper needle bed base is supported above the lower needle bed by the upper needle bed supporting member. With this arrangement, the upper needle bed is to be supported on the needle bed base by the needle plates of the lower needle bed. Since the needle plates of the lower needle bed are provided with pitches having a clearance enough to keep bolt insert spacings of the fixing means with respect to the widthwise knitting of the knitting machine, the upper needle plate base is supported from below with an extremely high density of support areas to prevent any occurrence of the situation in which the central portion droops down due to the weight of the needle bed which itself becomes curved. Another embodiment of the present invention which can always maintain an angle formed between the upper and lower needle beds will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 14 shows an example in which a lower needle bed 101 and an upper needle bed 102 arranged thereabove are divided by a notional centre line X-X from a corresponding pair of needle beds on the other side of the centre line. Thus, the drawing shows the left-hand half of the machine. In the lower needle bed 101, needle plates 105 are inserted and fitted in a plurality of needle plate grooves 104 provided in a needle bed base 103 to form needle grooves 106 between the needle plates 105, both of which are fixed, for example by passing a wire 109 through notches 107 and 108 provided in the needle bed groove base 103 and the needle plates 105 respectively. Each needle plate 105 is a plate-like member composed of a lower needle groove wall 110 extending from the head to the tail of the lower needle bed 101, an extension portion 111 extending above the head, and an upper needle groove wall 112 reaching an upper level of the lower needle groove wall 110 extending rearwards, as shown in Fig. 15. A dove-tail 113 and a hook 114 to serve as a fixing member when the needle plates 105 are juxtaposed project downwardly at the lower portion of the upper needle groove wall portion 112. Each needle plate 105 is provided with wire insert holes 116, 117 and 118 for stopping a needle plate spacer 115 and with wire insert holes 119 for stopping upper and lower needles, a jack, etc. A plurality of the needle plates 105 are inserted into the needle plate grooves 104 of the lower needle bed base 103 to fix the lower needle bed base 103 and the needle plates 105 as mentioned above to form the needle grooves 106 between the needle plates 105. A lower needle 120 is slidably inserted into each needle groove 106. The upper needle bed 102 is provided above the lower needle bed 101 in the following procedure. As described above, the needle plates 105 are fitted in the needle plate grooves 104 provided in a row in the needle bed base 103 of the lower needle bed 101, fixed by the wire 109 and caulked at the end together with the needle bed base 103. A needle plate spacer 115 is provided within a clearance between the upper needle groove walls 112 adjacent to each of the juxtaposed needle plates 105. Each needle plate spacer 115 has a hook 121 at the extreme end of the head 121 which is stopped at a wire 122 inserted into a wire insert hole 116 of the needle plate 105. A hook 123 provided at the tail end is stopped at a wire 124 inserted into a wire insert hole 118 of the needle plate 105, and the needle plate spacer 115 is held between the needle plates 105 in the state where the central portion is placed on a wire 125 inserted into a wire insert hole 117. A continuous ]-shaped comb 126 is fitted in the hook 114 at the tail end of the needle plates 105 (see Fig. 17). A pawl 129 of a beam 128 having an L-shape in section is stopped at one inclined surface 127 of the dove-tail 113 projecting at the lower portion of the upper needle groove wall 112. The needle plates 105 are fitted in comb-like clearances 130 provided in a riser portion of the beam 128. A wire 132 is interposed between the inclined surface 131 of the dove-tail 113 and the riser portion, and the wire 132 is threadedly mounted at suitable intervals and tightened by a screw 133 whereby a spacing between the needle plates 105 is maintained accurately to constitute the upper needle bed 102. Needle grooves 134 of the upper needle bed 102 are formed between the needle plates 105, and upper needles 135 are inserted therein. Each needle plate 105 is provided with a sinker supporting hole 136 for rockably supporting a sinker 142 which will be described later. In the upper needle bed 102, the needle spacer 115 is not extended to the neighbourhood of the head of the needle plate 105. A sinker spacer 141, a sinker 142, a sinker jack 143, a knockover bit 144 etc. are provided from the extreme end of the needle spacer 115 to a position opposed to the head of the lower needle bed 101. The details therefor will now be described with reference to Figs. 14 and 18 to 23. The sinker spacer 141 is positioned at a shoulder 145 (see Fig. 15b) provided on the head of the upper needle groove wall 112 of the needle plate 105. The sinker spacer 141 (Fig.23) has an inverted U-shaped wire insert notch 146 at the lower portion of the tail, a recess 148 into which is inserted a strap 147 at the upper edge, and a hooked element 149 for holding the lower needle 120 at the end edge extending downwardly of the head. The sinker spacer 141 is positioned at an enlarged shoulder 150 (see Fig. 14) in which the wire insert notch 146 of the tail is provided in the upper needle groove wall 112 and engages with a wire 151 inserted into a wire insert hole 116 to bridge the needle plates 105. A depressed portion 152 at the lower portion of the head is engaged with a wire 153 similar to the wire 151b and is secured to the upper needle groove wall 112. By securement of the sinker spacer 141 to the upper needle groove wall 112, a clearance is forced between the sinker spacer 141 and the top of the upper needle groove wall 112 by a top shoulder 154 (Fig. 15b) of the upper needle groove wall 112, and the sinker jack 143 is inserted therein (Fig. 19). The shoulder 154 extends to the extreme end of the head of the needle plate 105, and the sinker 142 described later is fitted in said extreme end of the head. The sinker jack 149 is in the form of an elongate plate as shown in Fig. 21, in which a thin portion in the vicinity of the tail is bent into a < -shape so as not to be moved inadvertently as a result of a sliding resistance produced when the sinker jack 143 is inserted into the clearance formed by the shoulder 154. A butt 155 and a downward concave recess 156 are forced in the upper portion and the head, respectively. The concave recess 156 is engaged by a convex protuberance 157 provided on the upper edge of the sinker 142. Similar to the sinker jack 143, the sinker 142 is also inserted into the same clearance formed by the shoulder 154 at the extreme end of the head of the needle plate 105, and a rockable shaft 158 provided on the tail is fitted in a sinker supporting hole 136 provided in the head of the needle plate 105 and in contact with a shoulder at the extreme end of the head continuously with the top shoulder 154 so as to support the sinker 142 rockably. The sinker 142 has angular portions 159, 160 and 161 having a sinker loop in a vertical direction of the head. A guide recess 164 into which a loop transfer blade 163 of the upper needle 135 is moved and is slidable is provided in the side of the upper needle groove wall 112 of the needle plate 105 opposite to the shoulder 145, and the knockover bit 144 is slidably provided on the guide recess 164 side (Fig. 15b and Fig. 21) in the state where the wires 151 and 153 are placed thereon as shown in Fig. 20. The knockover bit 144 has a butt 166 at the tail of a flat plate-like shank 165 with the upper needle 135 placed thereon, and a square loop keeper 167 at the head. A hook 168 of the upper needle 135 is positioned above the loop keeper 167. A cam of a carriage (not shown) comes into contact with the butt 166 of the knockover bit 144 to enable forward and backward movement along the upper needle 135. The butt 166 of the knockover bit 144 and the butt 155 of the sinker jack 143 are fitted into the clearance of the upper needle groove wall 112 with comb-like needle plate spacers 169 juxtaposed so as to hold their position accurately and thus to maintain the spacing therebetween accurately. In the knitting operation of the knitting machine according to this embodiment of the present invention, the needles of both the beds 101 and 102 are operated by cams (not shown) of carriages corresponding to the lower needle bed 101 and the upper needle bed 102. In the upper needle bed 102, the knockover bit 144 together with the upper needle 135 are moved forwards and backwards according to the operation of the lower needle 120 to prevent the lower needle 120 from being impeded in its forward and backward movement. Thus, the needle plates fitted in the needle plate grooves provided in a row in the lower needle bed base are extended upwardly to form the upper needle groove wall, the needle plate spacers are held between the needle plates of the upper needle groove wall, and the upper needle bed is constituted by the upper groove wall and the needle plate spacers. With this arrangement, the upper needle bed and the lower needle bed become integral with the needle plates to support the upper needle bed. Therefore, the angle formed between the upper and lower needle beds is constant when they are assembled. The angle need not be adjusted and indeed the angle is not varied during use. Since the upper needle bed is integral with the lower needle bed over the whole width of the knitting machine, this prevents any flexure occurring in the upper needle bed by its being pressed by the carriage, or any occurrence of the situation where the central portion droops due to the weight of the needle bed, the needle bed itself curving.

Claims: A double V bed knitting machine comprising: a lower needle bed (1;101) having a plurality of needle plate grooves (5;104) in a lower needle bed base (4;103); and a plurality of lower needle plates (3A,3B;105) set in said needle plate grooves (5;104) thereby to define needle grooves (22;106) therebetween; characterised in that said lower needle plates provide upward extensions (11,12;111,112) which serve as a supporting means for an upper needle bed (2;102). A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a fixing means (13) for holding the base (19) of the upper needle bed (2) is associated with the upward extensions (12). A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said fixing means comprises engaging means comprising a wedge-like head (24) and a wedge-like notch (25) formed on the upper needle bed base (19) for engagement with said supporting means, and retaining means (29) including a stop member (26). A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterised in that at least some of said lower needle plates (3A) comprise a plate-like member having a lower needle guide portion (10) extending from the head to the tail of the lower needle bed (1), an upper needle supporting portion (11) which extends above the head, and an upper needle bed base supporting surface (20) positioned obliquely on the upper edge of the needle plate (3A), with a wedge-like notch (21) being provided in an extension of said supporting surface (20). A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that first lower needle plates (3A) having said upward extension (11,12) are interleaved with second lower needle plates (3B) which do not provide the upper needle bed supporting means. A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the first and second lower needle plates (3A, 3B) alternate. A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that at least some of said lower needle plates (105) extend upwards to form upper needle groove walls (112), needle plate spacers (115) are held between said upper needle groove walls (112), and the upper needle bed is constituted by the upper needle groove walls (112) and the needle plate spacers (115). A double V bed knitting machine as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that each upwardly extending lower needle plate (105) comprises a plate-like member having a lower needle groove wall (110) extending from the head to the tail of the lower needle bed (101), an extension portion (111) extending above the head, and an upper needle groove wall (112) extending rearwards and upwards above the lower needle groove wall (110), and a dove-tail (113) and a hook (114) which serve as a fixing means when the needle plates (105) are juxtaposed project downwards from the lower portion of said upper needle groove wall (112).

Inventors: NAKAMORI TOSHINORI, SHIMA MASAHIRO, SONOMURA MINORU, YABUTA MASAHIRO, NAKAMORI, TOSHINORI, SHIMA, MASAHIRO, SONOMURA, MINORU, YABUTA, MASAHIRO
Applicants: SHIMA SEIKI MFG, SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: D04B15
IPC codes: D04B15