Patent ID: 8245544

Claim:
A single cylinder circular knitting machine for making men's socks comprising: a cylinder having a rotation axis, rotating in a controllable manner around said axis, and having a number of axial grooves on an outer surface; a plurality of cylinder needles, lodged so as to slide along said axial grooves of the cylinder; movement devices of the cylinder needles, suitable to impose on the cylinder needles a translation in alternate directions between a lower limit position and an upper limit position, axially higher than the lower limit position; an outer fixed crown, which surrounds the cylinder, coaxial to it, fitted with a number of crown grooves; a number of sinkers, lodged so as to slide along said crown grooves; movement devices of the sinkers, able to impose a translation on the sinkers in alternate directions between a rearward limit position and a forward limit position, radially inside the rearward limit position; a dial, positioned so as to surmount the cylinder, coaxial to it, and which can be made to rotate around the rotation axis of the cylinder, fitted with a number of radial grooves, which extend radially inside the outer surface of the cylinder; a dial shaft, connected to the dial to drag it in rotation; a plurality of dial needles, lodged so as to slide along said radial grooves of the dial, said dial needles being equal in number to the cylinder needles; a mechanism for moving the dial needles, which can engage with said dial needles and able to impose a translation of the dial needles in alternate directions, between a rearward limit position and a forward limit position, radially external to the rearward limit position; at least one yarn-finger able to feed at least one yarn for the production of the sock; wherein the cylinder needles, the dial needles and the sinkers work together to interweave the yarn and form the stitches which constitute the sock; dial needle selector mechanisms able to selectively move the dial needles to translate them from a disengaged position to an engaged position, in which they can be engaged by said mechanisms for moving the dial needles, involving the selected needles in the formation of the stitches and excluding the needles not selected, wherein the dial needle selector mechanisms comprise a number of selector rods oscillating upon command, which can engage with the dial needles so as to select at least some of them, said rods being limited in both directions radially to the respective dial needles.