Circular knitting machine with an engaging and disengaging mechanism of the hook plate of the dial group

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10240266-B2
Application number	US-201415028339-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2014
Priority date	Oct 24, 2013
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

A circular knitting machine ( 1 ) for knitwear or hosiery, comprising a bearing structure, needle cylinder (C), a plurality of needles, and a dial group. The dial group comprises a support ring ( 4 ), a hook plate ( 5 ), and a thread feeding and cutting organ. The knitting machine comprises rotation transmission means ( 10 ) comprising: a drive pulley ( 11 ), a hook plate shaft ( 12 ), a flange ( 13 ) and an engaging mechanism ( 20 ) which operates between an engaged configuration, in which it constrains the pulley and the flange to one another, and a disengaged configuration, in which the flange is free from constraints. The engaging mechanism comprises an engaging organ ( 21 ) and actuating means ( 30 ) which enable the passage from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in any angular position assumed by the flange or the pulley, and the passage from the disengaged configuration to the engaged configuration with the engaging organ positioned at a predetermined number of angular engaging and disengaging positions ( 40 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A circular knitting machine ( 1 ) for knitwear or hosiery, comprising:
a bearing structure ( 2 );
at least a needle-bearing organ or needle cylinder (C) rotatably mounted in the bearing structure and rotatable selectively, by rotation means of the cylinder ( 7 ), about a rotation axis (X) of the needle-bearing cylinder, wherein the rotation means of the cylinder comprise an electric motor and a transmission;
a plurality of needles supported by the needle cylinder and mobile parallel to a rotation axis (X) of the needle cylinder so as to produce a knitted fabric;
a dial group ( 3 ) arranged above the needle cylinder and comprising:
a support ring ( 4 ) solidly constrained to the bearing structure and coaxial to the needle cylinder;
a hook support organ, or hook plate ( 5 ), bearing a plurality of hooks, the hook plate being rotatably mounted to the support plate ( 4 ) in such a way as to rotate about a respective rotation axis coinciding with the rotation axis (X) of the needle cylinder;
a thread transport and cutting organ, or cutter ( 6 ), mounted externally of the support plate ( 4 ) and solidly constrained to the hook plate ( 5 ), in such a way as to rotate together with the plate; the knitting machine further comprising rotation transmission means ( 10 ), housed in the bearing structure and operatively interposed between the needle cylinder (C) and the dial group ( 3 ), configured for transmitting a rotation, generated by said rotation means of the cylinder, synchronously to the hook plate ( 5 ), such that a determined rotation of the hook plate corresponds to a same rotation of the needle cylinder, the rotation transmission means ( 10 ) comprising:
a drive pulley ( 11 ) receiving a rotary motion from the rotation means of the cylinder ( 7 ) and rotating, synchronously with respect to the needle cylinder (C), about a first rotation axis (A);
a hook plate shaft ( 12 ), coaxially mounted to the hook plate ( 5 ) and configured so as to transmit a rotation to the hook plate;
a flange ( 13 ), configured so as to transmit a rotary motion to the shaft ( 12 ) of the hook plate, operatively interposed between the pulley ( 11 ) and the hook shaft and positioned at the pulley, the flange ( 13 ) being able to rotate about the first rotation axis (A);
an engaging mechanism ( 20 ) operatively interposed between the pulley ( 11 ) and the flange ( 13 ) and configured for selectively operating at least between an engaged configuration, in which it constrains the pulley and the flange to one another, determining a synchronous transmission of the rotary drive of the pulley to the flange and from the flange to the hook plate shaft, and a disengaged configuration, in which the flange is free from constraints with respect to the pulley and the rotary motion of the pulley is not transmitted to the flange, wherein the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) comprises at least an engaging organ ( 21 ) movable, between the pulley ( 11 ) and the flange ( 13 ), in a direction which is parallel to, or transversally or perpendicularly intersecting, the first rotation axis (A) of the pulley and the flange, between at least an engaged position and a disengaged position so as to determine passage of the engaged mechanism ( 20 ) respectively between the engaged position and the disengaged position, and wherein the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) comprises actuating members ( 30 ) operatively active on the engaging organ ( 21 ) and configured for enabling the passage of the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) from the engaged configuration to the disengaged configuration in any angular position assumed by the flange ( 13 ) or the pulley ( 11 ), and for determining the passage of the engaging mechanism from the disengaged configuration to the engaged configuration exclusively with the engaging organ ( 21 ) positioned at a predetermined and limited number of angular engaging and disengaging positions ( 40 ) defined on the flange ( 13 ) or the pulley ( 11 ).

2. The circular knitting machine ( 1 ) of claim 1 , wherein the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) comprises the engaging organ ( 21 ), positioned on the pulley ( 11 ) or on the flange ( 13 ), and at least an engaging/disengaging seating ( 25 ) defining the angular engaging and disengaging position ( 40 ) and positioned, respectively, on the flange ( 13 ) or on the pulley ( 11 ), the engaging/disengaging seating ( 25 ) being configured so as to stably house the engaging organ ( 21 ) when in the engaged position, enabling a synchronous transmission of the drive between the pulley ( 11 ) and the flange ( 13 ), and consequently between the needle cylinder (C) and the hook plate ( 5 ).

3. The circular knitting machine ( 1 ) of claim 1 , wherein the pulley ( 11 ) rotates about a rotation axis coinciding with the rotation axis (X) of the needle cylinder, and wherein the shaft ( 12 ) of the hook plate extends from an upper end ( 12 a ) to a lower end ( 12 b ), the hook plate ( 5 ) being mounted at the lower end ( 12 b ) of the shaft ( 12 ) of the hook plate, and wherein the flange ( 13 ) is mounted coaxially to the upper end ( 12 a ) of the hook plate shaft, and wherein the first rotation axis (A) coincides with the rotation axis (X) of the needle cylinder (C) and the hook plate ( 5 ).

4. The circular knitting machine ( 1 ) of claim 1 , comprising raising members ( 50 ) of the dial group ( 3 ), configured for vertically translating the whole dial group ( 3 ) with respect to the needle cylinder (C) along the rotation axis (X) of the needle cylinder, so as to position the hook plate ( 5 ) at least between a lower position, in which it is neared to the needle plate, and an upper position, in which it is vertically distanced from the needle cylinder with respect to the lower position, the raising members ( 50 ) comprising an actuator ( 51 ) active on the flange ( 13 ) and on the shaft ( 12 ) of the hook plate ( 5 ), and wherein a passage of the hook plate ( 5 ), by the raising members ( 50 ) of the dial group, from the lower position to the upper position, automatically determines the passage of the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) into the disengaged position, deconstraining the flange ( 13 ) with respect to the pulley ( 11 ), determining the halting of the hook plate ( 5 ) and maintaining the pulley ( 11 ) in rotation, and wherein a passage of the hook plate ( 5 ) by the raising members ( 50 ) of the dial group from the upper position to the lower position and a relative rotation, without transmission of drive, between the pulley ( 11 ) and the flange ( 13 ) up to reaching, by the engaging organ ( 21 ), of the angular engaging and disengaging position ( 40 ), determine an automatic passage of the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) into the engaged position, constraining the flange ( 13 ) with respect to the pulley ( 11 ) and determining the synchronous rotation of the hook plate ( 5 ) with respect to the needle cylinder (C), and wherein the relative rotation between the pulley ( 11 ) and the flange ( 13 ), without transmission of drive, during the passage of the engaging mechanism ( 20 ) from the disengaged position to the engaged position, has an angular dimension defining a resynchronising angle, the resynchronising angle being strictly smaller than 360°.

5. The circular knitting machine ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the engaging organ ( 21 ) comprises a wheel ( 22 ) rotatably mounted on a pin ( 23 ), the wheel ( 22 ) being free to rotate about the pin ( 23 ) and being orientated on a plane comprising the first rotation axis (A) of the pulley and the flange, the pin ( 23 ) being perpendicular to the wheel and being able to translate in a radial direction with respect to the first rotation axis (A), such as to near or distance the wheel with respect to the first rotation axis (A), and wherein the translation of the pin ( 23 ) d

Assignees

• Santoni & C Spa

Inventors

• Lonati Tiberio
• Lonati Ettore
• Lonati Fausto

Classifications

• D04B15/94 Primary

  Driving-gear not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• D04B9/06 Primary

  with needle cylinder and dial for ribbed goods · CPC title