Abstract:
In a hand-operated knitting machine having a machine body, a needle bed, a carriage slideably mounted on said needle bed, and electrical means on said machine body and on said carriage, means for providing electrical connection between said electrical means without mechanically or otherwise interfering with machine operation. Interference is avoided by the use of a coiled electrical cord suspended from a lever pivotally mounted on a rod mounted on the machine body, the lever being positioned above the carriage and needle bed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a hand-operated knitting machine, and more particularly to an electrical connection apparatus for establishing an electrical connection for power or control signals between electrical devices on the knitting machine body and on the movable carriage on the machine body. 
     Knitting machines have been proposed using electromechanical actuators, including electromagnets on the movable carriage, for selecting knitting needles in the needle bed. Often, other electric or electronic elements such as photoelectric pulse generators including light sources and photoelectric transducers are used. In such machines the power source for driving or controlling such elements on the carriage is conventionally provided on the machine body or the needle bed, and an electrical connection must, therefore, be established between the carriage and the machine body or needle bed. 
     A connecting cable or cord including a plurality of separate wires or conductors usually provides an inexpensive, simple, and relatively reliable means for effecting such a connection. However, such a conventional cable or cord means is not without problems and disadvantages. It can, for example, become entangled with the moving elements in the machine, thereby disturbing smooth operation or jamming the carriage or other machine elements. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide, in a knitting machine, an electrical connection device using a connecting cable or cord means for electrically connecting the machine body or needle bed to the carriage in a manner which minimizes the likelihood of the cable or cord becoming entangled during machine operation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be described below in detail, referring to the drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view generally illustrating a hand-operated knitting machine. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating mating connection of plugs with jacks. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of a lever employed in the device according to the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the lever taken along line I--I of FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the lever taken along line II--II of FIG. 4. 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged top plan view generally illustrating a lever control device according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded view illustrating the interrelationship between a rod and lever. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, a knitting machine body X has a carriage Y mounted and adapted to be moved slideably on a needle bed X 1  of the machine body X. 
     A take-up device Z provides tension to a knitting yarn 1 to be delivered to knitting needles in the needle bed through a yarn feeder on the carriage Y. The take-up device Z includes an assembly 4 removably mounted on the top end of a support rod 2 which extends uprightly and is removably mounted on the machine body X, and a pair of take-up springs 3 carried on said assembly 4. 
     The support rod 2 is removably mounted on a stand 5 on a control board X 2  on the machine body X by inserting the lower end of the rod 2 in a socket 6 provided at the top of the stand 5, as shown in detail in FIG. 2. 
     A flexible connection cable or cord 7 having therein a plurality of separate electric conductors or wires is provided with plugs 8x and 8y at its respective ends. The plugs 8x and 8y are matingly connectable, respectively, to a jack 9x fixed to the stand 5 and to a jack 9y provided on an upper cover 10 of the carriage Y. When thus connected, cable 7 electrically connects electric circuit means (not shown) such as a power source or a drive or controller circuit means on the machine body X with other electric circuit means (not shown) such as an electromagnet of an electro-mechanical needle selection means on the carriage Y. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, portions of the cord 7 are carried along the support rod 2 which is employed as a suspending means, and are hung down loosely from the suspending rod 2 and from a lever &#34;a&#34; mounted on the rod 2. The cord 7 is directly gripped by the lever &#34;a&#34;, as further illustrated and described in FIGS. 3 through 5. 
     The lever &#34;a&#34; includes a molded upper body member a 1  and a molded bottom cover a 2 , both made of a suitable synthetic resin. The upper member a 1  is bifurcated at one end thereof to form two fingers 28 and 29 to cooperatively define therebetween a narrow vertical slit 11. The first finger 28 is made thinner than the second finger 29. The finger 28 has an appropriate thickness and flexibility to make deflectable movement towards and from the finger 29. The finger 28 is also formed to define in cooperation with the finger 29 at a point intermediate of the slit 11 a vertical rounded slot 12 for receiving the support rod 2 and for allowing pivotal motion of the lever &#34;a&#34; about the rod 2. The fingers 28 and 29 have at the outer ends camming surfaces 30 and 31, respectively, disposed in a V-configuration. 
     As a result of the foregoing arrangement, when the V-configuration portion of lever &#34;a&#34; is forced against the support rod 2 to mount the lever &#34;a&#34; on the rod 2, the rod 2 is permitted to be received in the slot 12 of the lever &#34;a&#34; because the thinner finger 28 is flexibly deflected from the finger 29 as a result of the forces developed on the wedge-like camming surfaces 30 and 31. The lever &#34;a&#34; is then mounted and supported at a predetermined vertical position on the support rod 2 by a conventional suitable means, such as a pair of radial lugs 26 (FIG. 7) formed on said rod 2 by press work or a snap ring 25 mounted in a circumferential groove 27 or the like. 
     The upper member a 1 , includes means 16 partly defining a space or room 13. The cord 7 passes along a major length of the lever &#34;a&#34;, through the space 13 and next to cover mounting grooves 15 formed in the inside of side walls 14 and adapted to receive a lower cover a 2 . The lower cover a 2  is formed in a plate-like configuration having a length less than that of the concave space 13 and is provided with projections 17 to be inserted in the foregoing cover mounting grooves 15. 
     By mounting the lower cover a 2  on the body member a 1  with a portion of the cord 7 inserted in the space 13 defined by the body a 1  and the cover a 2  (the projections 17 being forced in the cover mounting grooves 15), the cord 7 is fixedly gripped by the lever &#34;a&#34; so that it extends in the room 13 between an opening defined by the front end of the lower cover a 2  and the front end of the body member a 1 , and another opening defined by the rear end of the lower cover a 2  and the rear end of the upper member a 1 . The cord 7 is thereby held and prevented from moving longitudinally by frictional engagement with the lugs 16. 
     The cord 7 has, intermediately between the lever &#34;a&#34; and plug 8y, a plurality of helical or coiled windings providing sufficient elasticity to take up slackening. As a result, the connecting cable 7 is prevented from entangling with the machine or otherwise causing trouble during machine operation. 
     In operation of the knitting machine, the cable 7 attempts to make rocking movement in response to the running of the carriage Y and the &#34;a&#34; is pivoted appropriately in accordance with the carriage movement. As a result, the operator can work at the machine without suffering difficulty due to the cable 7 entangling with or catching on parts of the machine. 
     The jack 9x on the machine body X is preferably provided in the vicinity of the socket 6 on the stand 5 to minimize the likelihood of interference with machine operation from the portion of the cable 7 between the jack 9x and the lever &#34;a&#34;. 
     In an alternative embodiment (FIGS. 6 and 7), a modified lever &#34;a&#34; is attached to the support rod 2 by means of a lever control device 18 which is adapted to prevent an excessive pivotal movement of the lever &#34;a&#34;. The lever control device 18 is formed by molding a synthetic resin or similar material as in the first embodiment. A hole 19 is provided in the center of the lever control device 18, and two pairs of axial grooves 20 and 21 for receiving radial lugs 26 are provided in equally spaced circumferential positions around the hole 19. The first pair of grooves 20 pass through the full length of the control device 18 along the axis of the hole 19, while the second pair of grooves 21 have one end closed as shown in FIG. 7. 
     The lever control device 18 is attached to the support rod 2 in an appropriate position so that the radial lugs 26 of the rod 2 are received in the blind grooves 21 so that control device 18 is prevented from being pivoted on and relative to the axis of the support rod 2. The lever control device 18 is also prevented from being axially moved on and relative to the support rod 2 by means of the lugs 26 and a snap ring 25 mounted in the circumferential groove 27 formed on the rod 2. 
     The lever control device 18 is further provided with a pair of sectoral depressions, each being defined by a contact surface 22 and a pair of abutment or stop surfaces 23 perpendicular to said contact surface 22. 
     The modified lever &#34;a&#34; shown in FIG. 7 is additionally provided with a projection or counterstop 24 which extends downwardly from the bottom of the lever &#34;a&#34; and rests, when mounted in position, on the contact surface 22 of the lever control device 18 for slideable contact with the contact surface 22 and also for abutment against the abutment surfaces 23. As a result, the pivotal movement of the lever &#34;a&#34; is limitedly blocked at the positions shown in one-point and two-point dotted lines by the contact of the projection 24 with the abutment surfaces 23. The lever &#34;a&#34; in FIGS. 6 and 7 is thereby prevented from excessive pivotal movement beyond a predetermined angular distance during operation of the knitting machine.