Patent ID: 7493188

Claim:
A yarn feeder of a weft knitting machine which feeds a knitting yarn through either of ends in a longitudinal direction of a needle bed through a yarn feeding member to a knitting needle which carries out knitting motion based on knitting data while reciprocating the yarn feeding member in the longitudinal direction of the needle bed, comprising: a buffer mechanism provided in a knitting yarn feeding path, capable of storing or pulling out the knitting yarn in a range of a predetermined length, to relieve a sudden demand change of the knitting yarn based on the knitting motion of the knitting needle; a knitting yarn feeding mechanism provided upstream of the buffer mechanism in a yarn feeding direction of the knitting yarn feeding path to feed out the knitting yarn to the buffer mechanism; and a controller for controlling knitting yarn feeding operation in the knitting yarn feeding mechanism, in which the controller, in order to relieve a sudden motion change in the buffer mechanism, in a knitting-in zone of a yarn pull knitting, feeds out to the buffer mechanism the knitting yarn having a length pulled out by movement of the yarn feeding member until the knitting yarn is consumed for knitting from a knitting end, from just before the knitting yarn stored in the buffer mechanism is pulled out, in accordance with a movement speed of the yarn feeding member, carries out acceleration and deceleration control of an amount of the knitting yarn which is consumed in the knitting-in zone, from just before the knitting yarn is consumed in following knitting, in accordance with a knitting speed, and thereby feeds out the knitting yarn in the knitting yarn feeding mechanism.