Patent ID: 7032414

Claim:
A thread gripping device in a circular knitting machine with a structure and a needle cylinder with needles, comprising: a supporting element fixable to the structure of the machine that supports thread guides proximate to a drop or feed of the machine, above the needle cylinder and proximate to a needle work area, said supporting element being provided with and bearing at least one elastic lamina element that is arranged on a plane that lies substantially radially with respect to the needle cylinder, and being furthermore provided with and supporting a thread locking lever pivoted thereto with a portion thereof said supporting element having a pivoting axis that is orientated substantially at right angles to a plane of arrangement of said elastic lamina element, said locking lever being laterally adjacent to said elastic lamina element and having a grip portion for engaging the thread dispensed by at least one thread guide at the corresponding feed or drop of the machine; actuation means for actuating said locking lever for scissor-like rotation thereof with respect to said elastic lamina element about said pivoting axis and for passage of said locking lever from an inactive position, in which said thread grip portion is spaced from said elastic lamina element in an opposite direction with respect to an axis of the needle cylinder, to an active position, in which said thread grip portion is closer to said elastic lamina element and laterally superimposed thereon, in order to grip thread between said elastic lamina element and said locking lever, and vice versa; and wherein a region of said locking lever that is in contact with thread during gripping is made of a material that has a higher friction coefficient, in relation to the thread to be gripped, than a remaining part of said locking lever.