Flatbed knitting machine equipped with sinker device

Abstract

 [Problem to be solved] To provide a flatbed knitting machine equipped with sinker devices capable of ensuring an appropriate arrangement space without increasing a height even when a movable sinker biased by a spring is arranged with a fixed sinker in a space between knitting needles.
[Solution] A movable sinker 10 and a fixed sinker 12 are arranged between knitting needles. A spring 13 biases the movable sinker 10 and a side surface thereof is supported by a leading end part 11d of a sinker jack 11. The movable sinker 10 is driven by the sinker jack 11 from a lateral side and a lower portion of a thin thickness part 7a provided on needle plate 7 is positioned at a vicinity of a bottom part of a needle groove for accommodating the knitting needle, thereby preventing the need of increasing the height of the sinker device. The sinker jack 11 is also used for pressing the movable sinker 10 from the side surface at the side of the needle groove so as to ensure an appropriate arrangement space.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a flatbed knitting machine equipped with sinker devices, each of which has a movable sinker and a fixed sinker for knitting a fabric in cooperation with a knitting needle.

[Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, a flatbed knitting machine, which is provided with a pair of front and back needle beds faced to each other across a needle bed gap interposed therebetween, is equipped with sinkers on leading ends of the needle beds at the side of the needle bed gap. Each sinker has a basic function of a stitch decision to decide a stitch dimension by forming a sinker loop with a needle loop formed by a hook of a knitting needle, when the knitting needle retreats to the needle bed after the hook advances and receives a knitting yarn in the needle bed gap. For the flatbed knitting machine, immovable fixed sinkers (for example, see Patent Citation 1) that are fixed to the leading ends of the needle beds at the side of the needle bed gap, or movable sinkers (for example, see Patent Citations 2 and 3) capable of rocking for the leading end parts to advance and retreat in the needle bed gap are used. Such a movable sinker has a function of switching between a close state and an open state, in addition to the function of the stitch determination, in the close state the movable sinker is biased by a spring so that the leading end part thereof is made to rock in the direction to advance into the needle bed gap in order to press down the formed stitch, and in the open state the leading end part of the movable sinker is made to rock in the direction to retreat in the needle bed gap by cancelling to press down the formed stitch.

[0003] In the flatbed knitting machine, the movable sinkers and the fixed sinkers can be used in combination (for example, see Patent Citation 4). Each movable sinker disclosed in the Patent Citation 4 is used for pressing down a stitch and each fixed sinker performs the stitch decision. Each fixed sinker as disclosed in the Patent Citations 1 or 4 can support a wire rod as a top tooth on a hole provided in a vicinity of the leading end thereof at the side of the needle bed gap. The top tooth performs an important function when knocking over a stitch retained on a hook when a new stitch is formed by drawing back the hook.

[Citation List]

[Patent literature]

[0004] 

Patent Citation 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-85664

Patent Citation 2: International Patent Publication No. 05/012613

Patent Citation 3: Japanese Patent No. 3542348

Patent Citation 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2013-139644

[Summary of Invention]

[Technical Problem]

[0005] In the close state of the movable sinker as disclosed in Patent Citations 2 or 3, the knitted stitch is pressed down to the lower side of the needle bed gap while causing appropriate press-down force to act on a yarn receive part provided on the leading end part that rocks in the needle bed gap. When the knitting needle is drawn to the needle bed to form a stitch, a stitch decision is performed using a portion different from the yarn receive part. However, when the movable sinker rocks by receiving reaction force on the yarn receive part in the stitch decision, the position for the stitch decision changes, in particular, evenness of a fabric is influenced in some cases like as the tight stitch or the plating knit.

[0006] In the sinker device as disclosed in Patent Citation 4, the fixed sinker in which the positions of the stitch deciding part or the top tooth are stable can be used. By usage of the fixed sinker it is possible that the stitch decision or the knock-over are performed with high accuracy when a stitch is formed, so that a good-looking fabric can be obtained by the tight stitch in the rib knit, the plating knit, or the like. If only the fixed sinker as disclosed in Patent Citation 1 is used, when the hook retaining a stitch is made to advance to the needle bed gap in order to form a new stitch, a lift-up of the stitch might occur by attaching to the knitting needle so as to cause the stitch advance to the needle bed gap together with the hook in some cases. The movable sinker can also have a function of advancing to the center side of the needle bed gap and suppressing the lifting up of the stitch with a knitting needle that advances to the needle bed gap from an opposing needle bed in the close state, and further can switch to the open state so as to cause the movable sinker to retreat from the center side of the needle bed gap when a knitting yarn is fed to the hook of the knitting needle, and so on.

[0007] The movable sinker as disclosed in Patent Citation 4 does not have the function of pressing down a knitted stitch to the lower side of the needle bed gap by being biased with the spring, so that, if the function is necessary, it is considered that the movable sinker is replaced by the movable sinker as disclosed in Patent Citations 2 or 3. The one side surface of the movable sinker as disclosed in Patent Citations 2 or 3 is accommodated in a thin thickness part provided on a needle plate and the other side surface thereof is pressed by a spacer provided above the knitting needle in the needle groove so as to prevent the movable sinker and the spring from dropping out. When the movable sinker is driven to be rocked by a sinker jack, it is necessary that the sinker jack is required to act on the movable sinker accommodated in the thin thickness part from the upper side as disclosed in Patent Citation 2 or from the lower side as disclosed in Patent Citation 3 in order to avoid the spacer. If the sinker jack might be made to act from the upper side, the sinker jack should be required to have a portion higher than the movable sinker. If the sinker jack might be made to act from the lower side, a space for causing the sinker jack to act should be needed at the lower side of the movable sinker. Accordingly, if the sinker jack might be made to act from the upper side or the lower side of the movable sinker, a height of the sinker device should be increased.

[0008] In case the movable sinkers and the fixed sinkers are used in combination, the fixed sinker is required to be arranged between the knitting needles at the center in the width direction of the knitting needles, which is the lengthwise direction of the needle bed. The movable sinker is arranged in one of spaces formed both sides of the fixed sinker between the knitting needles positioned both sides thereof and, for example, the knitting needle, the fixed sinker, the movable sinker, and the knitting needle are arranged in this order. In Patent Citation 3, the knitting needles are accommodated in spaces, which are formed as the needle grooves between the needle plates sticking up from a large number of grooves made on a base board, and thin thickness parts are provided on leading head portions of the needle plates at the needle bed gap side. The movable sinkers and the sinker jacks driving the movable sinkers are accommodated in the thin thickness parts. If such arrangement that the fixed sinkers and the movable sinkers are provided between the knitting needles, and the movable sinkers and the sinker jacks are accommodated in the thin thickness parts of the needle plates is applied to a fine gauge flatbed knitting machine, the thicknesses of the needle plates might be reduced, so that the arrangement should be difficult in space.

[0009] It is an object of the present invention is to provide a flatbed knitting machine equipped with sinker devices capable of ensuring an appropriate arrangement space without increasing a height even when a movable sinker biased by springs is arranged with a fixed sinker in a space between knitting needles.

[Solution to Problem]

[0010] The present invention is a flatbed knitting machine equipped with sinker devices, the flatbed knitting machine accommodates knitting needles in needle grooves formed between needle plates arranged in line on needle beds, and has sinker devices which are arranged between the knitting needles adjacent at a side of a leading end of the needle bed, each of which has a movable sinker and a fixed sinker, arranged in line, the movable sinker operating in cooperation with the knitting needle when a hook of the knitting needle makes a fabric which is knitted by advancing the hook to a needle bed gap and by retreating the hook from there, and the fixed sinker supports a stitch deciding part on which a sinker loop is suspended, and a wire rod which functions as a top tooth, when a stitch is knitted, characterized in that
the movable sinker,
being accommodated in a thin thickness part which is provided on the needle plate and capable of rocking, and being driven by a sinker jack capable of advancing to and retreating from in a direction towards the needle bed gap, and provided with:

a rocking support receive part is supported by a rocking support part which is formed on the thin thickness part;

a function arm extends from the rocking support receive part in a direction to advance in the needle bed gap and has a yarn receive part at a leading end;

a drive arm extends from the rocking support receive part in a direction to be apart from the needle bed gap and has a drive receive part at a leading end; and

a spring biases the function arm in a rocking direction to advance in the needle bed gap so that the yarn receive part is capable of pressing a stitch, and

the sinker jack being provided with:

a base part is accommodated in the needle groove, has a width capable of advancing and retreating, and is disposed above the knitting needle;

a wide width part is provided above the base part, and has a width widening to a side in which the movable sinker is accommodated;

a drive part is provided in a vicinity of a leading end of the wide width part, which is close to the needle bed gap, and drives the drive receive part of the drive arm of the movable sinker by one of advance and retreat in the direction toward the needle bed gap, and causes the function arm to rock in a direction of retreating in the needle bed gap against pressure biased by the spring; and

a leading end part is provided on the wide width part at a leading end side, has a width capable of advancing and retreating when accommodated in the needle grooves, and is arranged above the knitting needle; and

at least a part of side surface of the movable sinker is supported by the leading end part of the sinker jack at a side of the needle groove.

[0011] Moreover in the present invention,
said rocking support part formed on said thin thickness part of said needle plate is formed in a height range aligned with said knitting needle in a vicinity of a bottom part of said needle groove in which the knitting needle is accommodated, and
a side surface of said rocking support receive part of said movable sinker is supported by the knitting needle at the needle groove side.

[0012] . Moreover in the present invention,
said leading end part of said sinker jack supports a side surface of said spring.

[0013] Moreover in the present invention,
said base part of said sinker jack
is provided on said wide width part at a base end side apart from said needle bed gap, and
has a butt for being driven to advance and retreat, which projects to outside of said needle groove, on an end part extending to a position apart farther from the needle bed gap relative to the base end of the wide width part.

[0014] Moreover in the present invention,
said thin thickness part of said needle plate has a press plate penetrating through above said rocking support receive part in an arrangement direction of said needle plates, and
said spring of said movable sinker extends from said function arm, passes through between said rocking support receive part and a downside of the press plate, is folded back in a vicinity of said drive receive part, and has a leading end part passing through above the press plate and extending above said function arm to contact with an upper part of the thin thickness part.

[Advantageous Effects of Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, a movable sinker biased, by a spring, is accommodated in a thin thickness part provided on a needle plate and at least a part of a side surface thereof at a side of a needle groove is supported by a leading end part of a sinker jack. It is not necessary to accommodate a spacer above a knitting needle in a needle groove for pressing the side surfaces of the movable sinker at the side of the needle groove. A portion above the knitting needle in the needle groove can be used as a space for accommodating the leading end part of the sinker jack. The sinker jack includes a wide width part, which has a width spreading to the side at which the movable sinker is accommodated above a base part and is accommodated above the knitting needle in the needle groove. To drive the movable sinker by one of advancement and retreat of the sinker jack in a direction toward a needle bed gap can be performed by a drive part provided on the vicinity of the leading end of the wide width part. The drive part drives the movable sinker at a position close to leading end part thereof which supports the movable sinker by the side surface at the side of the needle groove, so that the drive part can drive the movable sinker not from the upper side or not from the lower side but from the lateral side, thereby preventing the sinker device from increasing in height. The leading edge part of the sinker jack supports the movable sinker by the side surface thereof at the side of the needle groove, so that it could be possible to ensure a space appropriately for arranging the movable sinker biased by the spring and the fixed sinker between the knitting needles.

[0016] According to the present invention, the movable sinker can be supported reliably by the knitting needle which presses it from the lateral side of rocking support receive part. A rocking support part of the needle plate, to support the rocking support receive part, is formed within a height range aligned with the knitting needle in a vicinity of a bottom part of the needle groove in which the knitting needle is accommodated, so that the sinker device could be prevented from increasing in height.

[0017] According to the present invention, the leading end part of the sinker jack, which extend from the wide width part in the direction toward the needle bed gap, can press and support the spring of the movable sinker reliably.

[0018] Further, according to the present invention, the base part of the sinker jack is accommodated in the needle groove so that a butt projecting from the needle groove at a position farther from the needle bed gap relative to the base end of the wide width part can be driven by cams mounted on a carriage in a similar way as the knitting needle.

[0019] Moreover, according to the present invention, the spring of the movable sinker can be accommodated in a thin thickness part using spaces formed on both of a lower side and an upper side of a press plate, which penetrates through the needle plates.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

[0020] 

[Fig. 1] Figs. 1 are front cross-sectional views showing a schematic structure of a flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with sinker devices 1 as an example of the present invention in a simplified manner.

[Fig. 2] Figs. 2 are an enlarged partial plan view and a front cross-sectional view showing the structure of the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with the sinker device 1 of Figs. 1 in a vicinity of a needle bed gap 3 formed between needle beds 4, 5 opposing front and back with the needle bed gap 3.

[Fig. 3] Figs. 3 are a front cross-sectional view and a partial right side view showing the structure of the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with the sinker devices 1 of Figs. 1 in the vicinity of the needle bed gap 3.

[Fig. 4] Figs. 4 are plan views and front views of a sinker jack, a movable sinker, a needle plate, and a fixed sinker forming the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with the sinker device 1 of Figs. 1 as well as a right side view of the needle plate.

[Fig. 5] Figs. 5 are a cam arrangement view showing an example of a cam which is mounted on a carriage for driving the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with the sinker devices 1 of Figs. 1 in a simplified manner and a partial front view showing a part of the sinker jack and the knitting needle which are driven by the cams.

[Description of Embodiments]

[0021] In the following, a structure and a function as one embodiment of the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with sinker devices 1 according to the present invention will be described with Figs. 1 to Figs. 5. In description of the respective drawings, explanations are made using reference numerals present in other drawings while the reference numerals are not present in the corresponding drawing in some cases.

[Example]

[0022] Figs. 1 show a primary portion of the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with sinker devices 1, as an example of the present invention, with cross sections in vicinities of leading ends of needle beds 4 facing needle bed gaps 3 in an open state of a movable sinker 10 by Fig. 1(a) and in a close state of the movable sinker 10 by Fig. 1(b) respectively. The needle bed 4 is inclined so as to be higher at the side of the needle bed gap 3 and be lower at the side apart from the needle bed gap 3. It should be noted that in Figs. 1, needle- bed- gap center planes 3a are shown in inclined states whereas the needle beds 4 are shown in horizontal states for convenience of description. As will be described later, needle beds 5 are arranged at plane-symmetric positions with respect to the needle-bed-gap center planes 3a, the needle beds 5 opposing to the needle beds 4 so as to be interposed by the needle bed gaps 3.

[0023] The needle bed 4 has a base board 6. Grooves into which needle plates 7 are inserted are formed on the base board 6. The needle plates 7 are arranged on the base board 6 in parallel at a constant interval in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface on which the figure is drawn, and spaces between the needle plates 7 serve as needle grooves 20 which accommodate the knitting needles 21 as described later. When the needle plates 7 are inserted into the base board 6, wires 8, 9 penetrating the needle plates 7 in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface are inserted through the needle plates 7 and fix them.

[0024] The sinker device 1 includes the movable sinker 10, a sinker jack 11, and a fixed sinker 12. The movable sinker 10 is accommodated in a thin thickness part 7a provided on the needle plate 7 so as to be capable of rocking, and is driven by the sinker jack 11 which is accommodated in a space formed above the knitting needle 21 in the needle groove 20 and is capable of advancing and retreating in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3. As will be described later, the movable sinker 10 includes a rocking support receive part 10a which is supported by a rocking support part 7b formed in a lower portion of the thin thickness part 7a. The movable sinker 10 further has a function arm 10b, a drive arm 10c, and a spring 13. The function arm 10b extends from the rocking support receive part 10a in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap 3 and has a knitting yarn receive part 10d and a lift-up prevent part 10e on a leading end part thereof. The driving arm 10c extends from the rocking support receive part 10a in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 3 and has a drive receive part 10f on the leading end thereof. The spring 13 biases the function arm 10b such that the knitting yarn receive part 10d thereof heads in the rocking direction to advance downside of the needle bed gap 3. Although the spring 13 is formed integrally in the movable sinker 10 in the present example, another wire spring might be combined.

[0025] The sinker jack 11 includes a wide width part 11a, a butt 11b, a drive part 11c, a leading end part 11d, and a base part 11e. The base part 11e has a width capable of advancing and retreating in a state of being accommodated in the needle groove 20 like the knitting needle 21, and is arranged above the knitting needle 21. The wide width part 11a is provided above the base part 11e and has a width spreading to the side at which the movable sinker 10 is accommodated beyond the width of the base part 11e. The drive part 11c is provided in the vicinity of the leading end of the wide width part 11a in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3. The drive part 11c drives the movable sinker 10 at a position close to the leading end part 11d supported by the side surface thereof at the side of the needle groove 20, so that the movable sinker 10 can be driven from not the upper side nor the lower side but the lateral side, thereby preventing the sinker device 1 from increasing in height. The base part 11e is located at the side of the base end apart from the needle bed gap 3 relative to the wide width part 11a and extends to a position apart from the needle bed gap 3 relative to the base end of the wide width part 11a. The butt 11b for driving to advance and retreat is provided on an end part of the base part 11e. In the vicinity of the base end of the base part 11a, the wide width part 11a is not present at the upper side, so that it is possible for the butt 11b to project outside of the needle groove 20 even from a position lower than the wide width part 11a.

[0026] The advancement of the sinker jack 11 in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3 as shown in Fig. 1(a) drives the movable sinker 10 so as to press downward the drive receive part 10f of the drive arm 10c of the movable sinker 10. The drive causes the knitting yarn receive part 10d of the function arm 10b to rock to head upward in the needle bed gap 3 against the bias by the spring 13 so as to make the movable sinker 10 to be in the open state. When the sinker jack 11 is made to retreat as shown in Fig. 1(b), the drive receive part 10f is not pressed by the drive part 11c. In this case, the bias by the spring 13 makes the movable sinker 10 to be in the close state. When the movable sinker 10 changes to be in the close state from the open state, the yarn receive part 10d provided at the leading end side of the function arm 10b rocks to head downward in the needle bed gap 3. The yarn receive part 10d presses a stitch that has been knitted and retained on the knitting needle 21 by press-down of a sinker loop. The lift-up prevent part 10e provided above the knitting yarn receive part 10d moves closer to the needle-bed-gap center plane 3a. The lift-up prevent part 10e that has moved closer to the needle-bed-gap center plane 3a could act on a stitch lifted up from the confronting needle bed 5 as shown in Figs. 2, which might not be pressed by a knitting yarn receive part 30d of a movable sinker 30 provided on the needle bed 5 and might lift up to attach with a knitting needle 31 advancing to the needle bed gap 3, so as to prevent the lift-up.

[0027] In the present example, when the sinker jack 11 advances in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3, the movable sinker 10 is made into the close state, and when the sinker jack 11 retreats in the direction apart from the needle bed gap 3, the movable sinker 10 is made into the open state. Alternatively, the shapes of the drive part 11c and the like might be changed so as to open and close the movable sinkers 10, when the sinker jack 11 is made to retreat in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3. That is to say, it might be sufficient that the movable sinker 10 is made into the open state by one of the advance or the retreat of the sinker jack 11 in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3 whereas the movable sinker 10 is made into the close state by the other of them. The butt 11b that causes the sinker jack 11 to advance and retreat is provided in the vicinity of a rear end in the direction apart from the needle bed gap 3 and projects upward from the needle groove 20. For the thin thickness part 7a of the needle plate 7, a press plate 14 is provided to penetrate through an upper portion of the rocking support part 7b in the parallel arrangement direction of the needle plates 7. The press plate 14 presses the movable sinker 10 through the spring 13 such that the rocking support receive part 10a of the movable sinker 10 is fitted with the rock support part 7b of the needle plate 7.

[0028] The fixed sinker 12 supports a wire rod 15, which functions as a top tooth, at a position close to the needle-bed-gap center plane 3a. The fixed sinker 12 is provided in a range from the leading end of the needle bed 4 facing the needle bed gap 3 to the lower side of the base board 6 and is fixed to the needle bed 4 by wires 16, 17 penetrating therethrough in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface. The wide width part 11a of the sinker jack 11 faces a press plate 18 and a wire 19 penetrating through the needle plate 7 in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface. The press plate 18 presses the sinker jack 11 from the upper side so as to prevent it from dropping out from the needle groove 20.

[0029] Fig. 2(a) shows an enlarged structure of the vicinity of the needle bed gap 3 seen from upside and Fig. 2(b) shows a structure of the vicinity of the needle bed gap 3 as the flatbed knitting machine 2. As will be described later, Fig. 2(a) shows a state where a loop presser 24 is advancing to the needle bed gap 3 and Fig. 2(b) shows a state where the loop presser 24 is retreating from the needle bed gap 3. In the flatbed knitting machine 2, the needle bed 4 and the needle bed 5 are arranged so as to oppose each other over the needle bed gap 3 interposed therebetween. The needle grooves 20 are formed on the needle bed 4 between the needle plates 7 arranged in parallel. The knitting needles 21 are accommodated in the needle grooves 20 so as to advance to and retreat from the needle bed gap 3. In the present example, compound needles each of which formed by combining needle body 22 and slider 23 are used as the knitting needles 21. As the knitting needles 21, latch needles each of which has a latch to open and to close a hook could be also used.

[0030] A hook 22a is formed on the leading end of each needle body 22 at the side of the needle bed gap 3. Each slider 23 in the present example has two blades 23a, 23b and a base body 23c. The separated two blades 23a, 23b advance to and retreat from the needle bed gap 3 with advancement and retreat of the base body 23c. The leading end portions of the two blades 23a, 23b are accommodated in a slider groove 22b formed on the needle body 22 so as to move relatively to the hook 22a of the needle body 22. The leading ends of the blades 23a, 23b open and close a claw opening of the hook 22a with the advancement and retreat relative to the hook 22a, respectively, and advance into the needle bed gap 3 over the hook 22a in a state of retaining a stitch so as to transfer the stitch to a knitting needle of the opposing needle bed. Accordingly, when the needle bed gap 3 is interposed between the needle beds 4, 5, the hooks 22a of the knitting needles 21 are made to oppose each other.

[0031] On each of the needle beds 4, 5, stitch deciding parts 12a of the fixed sinkers 12 are arranged at intermediate positions between the hooks 22a of the knitting needles 21 neighboring in the up and down direction in Fig. 2(a) and in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface in Fig. 2(b). The leading end of the function arm 10b of the movable sinker 10 is arranged between one side surface of the stitch deciding part 12a and the hook 22a.

[0032] In Fig. 2(a), the movable sinkers 10, 30 oppose each other with the needle bed gap 3 interposed therebetween so as to be arranged symmetrically together with the knitting needles 21 and the fixed sinkers 12. Such symmetric arrangement is realized by using, on the needle bed 5, needle plates 27, the movable sinkers 30, and the sinker jacks 31 having shapes symmetric to the needle plates 7, the movable sinkers 10, and the sinker jacks 11 on the needle bed 4, respectively. In the symmetric arrangement, there are generated portions on which the movable singers 10, 30 are not arranged but spaces oppose each other are generated between the opposing needle beds 4, 5. The opposing portions of the spaces can be used as spaces on which yarn guiding members such as the loop pressers 24 are made to operate.

[0033] As the loop pressers 24, a loop presser capable of causing the leading end part thereof to advance to and retreat from the needle bed gap 3 from a sub bed which is supported on the rear needle bed 5 could be used. It should be noted that illustration of the sub bed is omitted. The loop presser 24 is disclosed in International Patent Publication No. 03/018892 and the leading end part thereof has a function of pressing stitches which are knitted on both the needle beds 4, 5 and a function of guiding a knitting yarn into the hook 22a.

[0034] The same movable sinkers 10 could be also used commonly on the front and rear needle beds 4 and 5. In this case, the same needle plates 7 are used commonly on the front and the rear needle beds 4, 5. In this case, the movable sinkers 10 on the front and the rear needle beds 4, 5 are not arranged symmetrically to oppose each other over the needle bed gap 3, but are arranged alternately.

[0035] Figs. 3 show the structure of the flatbed knitting machine 2 in Figs. 2, in Fig. 3(a) the structure of the side of the needle bed 4 in the vicinity of the needle bed gap 3 in an enlarged manner, and in Fig. 3 (b) the structure n from the right side surface in a simplified manner. The fixed sinker 12 supports the wire rod 15 as the top tooth in the vicinity of the leading end facing the needle bed gap 3. When the thin wire rod 15 which is capable of inserting through an insertion hole having small diameter, which is provided at the side of the needle-bed-gap center plane 3a in the figure, might be used, the position of the top tooth could be made closer to the needle-bed-gap center plane 3a.

[0036] The rocking support part 7b formed on the thin thickness part 7a of the needle plate 7 is formed in a height range aligned with the knitting needle 21 in the vicinity of the bottom part of the needle groove 20 in which the knitting needle 21 is accommodated. This makes the side surface of the rocking support receive part 10a of the movable sinker 10 to be supported at the side of the needle groove 20 by the knitting needles 21. The sinker jack 11 has the leading end part 11d extending from the wide width part 11a in the direction toward the needle bed gap 3. The leading end part 11d is formed to have such width as to be accommodated in the needle groove 20 and to be capable of advancing and retreating, is arranged in the needle groove 20 above the knitting needle 21, and supports the side surface of the spring 13 at the side of the needle groove 20.

[0037] Even when the movable sinker as disclosed in Patent Citations 2, 3 is used, by applying the concept of the present example, the side surface of the movable sinker at the side of the needle groove 20 could be pressed by the sinker jack and the knitting needle 21 while changing the sinker jack, so that the spacer could be omitted. To omit the spacer, portions in the needle groove 20 above the knitting needle 21, which had been occupied by the spacer, could be used as a space for accommodating the sinker jack in the needle groove 20. In the present example, the thin thickness part 7a provided on the needle plate 7 is able to be formed on lower portion where the knitting needle 21 supports the movable sinker 10, thereby preventing the height from increasing. Thus, the sinker jack 11 and the knitting needle 21 are also used for pressing the movable sinker 10 from the side surface at the side of the needle groove 20, thereby ensuring arrangement space appropriately.

[0038] The spring 13 of the movable sinker 10 extends from the function arm 10b, passes through a portion under the press plate 14 between the rocking support receive part 10a and the press plate 14, and is folded back in the vicinity of the drive receive part 10f, and the leading end part 13c thereof passing through a portion above the press plate 14 and extending to a portion above the function arm 10b contacts against an upper part 7c of the thin thickness part 7a. The spring 13 has an contacting part 13a which expands toward the lower surface of the press plate 14 and the upper end of which contacts against the lower surface of the press plate 14, and a fold back part 13b. The contacting part 13a contacts against the lower surface of the press plate 14 so that an upward movement of the movable sinker 10 is restricted and the movable sinker 10 is supported at the time of rocking. In this manner, the spring 13 of the movable sinker 10 could be accommodated in the thin thickness part 7a using a space formed under and above the press plate 14 penetrating through the needle plate 7.

[0039] Figs. 4 are plan views and front views showing the sinker jack 11 in Fig. 4(a), the movable sinker 10 in Fig. 4(b), the needle plate 7 in Fig. 4(c), and the fixed sinker 12 in Fig. 4(d) that form the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with the sinker devices 1 in Figs. 1. Fig. 4(c) also shows a right side view of the needle plate 7. The needle plate 7 and the fixed sinker 12 have equivalent thicknesses. The thin thickness part 7a is provided on the needle plate 7 and the movable sinker 10 is accommodated therein. The thin thickness part 7a of the needle plate also accommodates a portion of the wide width part 11a of the sinker jack 11, which runs out to the lateral side from the needle groove 20. For the sinker jack 11, the leading end part 11d at the front end side, and the butt 11b and the base part 11e at the rear end side are accommodated in the needle groove 20 as in the knitting needle 21, and are stacked and arranged just above the knitting needle 21 in the needle groove 20. For the fixed sinker 12, the thickness is reduced from both the sides at the side of the leading end including the stitch deciding part 12a.

[0040] Figs. 5 show an example of a cam 40 which is mounted on a carriage for driving the flatbed knitting machine 2 equipped with the sinker devices 1 of Figs. 1 in a simplified manner by Fig. 5(a) and a part of the sinker jack 11 and the knitting needle 21 that are driven by the cam 40 by Fig. 5(b). The cam 40 includes a bridge cam 41, a needle raising cam 42, and stitch cams 43, 44 as knitting cams for driving a needle jack 25 which is coupled to the rear end of the needle body 22 of the knitting needle 21 through a coupling part 25a and has a butt 25b for receiving drive. The cam 40 is also provided with a slider cam for driving butts 23d, 23e of the base body 23c of the slider 23 but illustration of the slider cam is omitted. Further, the cam 40 is provided with a sinker cam 45 for driving the butt 11b of the sinker jack 11. The sinker cam 45 includes fixed guide parts 45a, 45b which are arranged at the right and the left sides, and a moving guide part 45c which is arranged at the center and is capable of moving leftward and rightward. When the moving guide part 45c is pressed by the butt 11b, it moves between a left end 45e and a right end 45f of a moving range 45d provided at the center of the sinker cam 45.

[0041] It might be assumed that the carriage on which the cam 40 is mounted moves leftward in the figure and the butt 25b is guided along a knit route 25x. When the carriage moves rightward then reverses to move leftward, the moving guide part 45c stands by while making close to the side of the left end 45e. The cam 40 causes the sinker jack 11 to retreat such that the movable sinker 10 is made into the close state of pressing down the stitch by the yarn receive part 10d at the end of the rightward movement of the carriage. When the carriage moves leftward, the butt 11b of the sinker jack 11 is guided along a route 11x by the sinker cam 45. When the sinker jack 11 has retreated, the butt 11b is guided along the route 11x so as to keep a retreat position. When the butt 11b has advanced relative to the route 11x, first, it causes the sinker jack 11 to retreat on reception of an action of the fixed guide part 45a at the left side in a phase A-A. At the retreat position, the movable sinker 10 is made into the close state as shown in Fig. 1(b) and the yarn receive part 10d presses the stitch. In a phase B-B to a phase C-C, the butt 25b is guided by an ascent cam surface of the needle raising cam 42 so as to cause the hook 22a to advance in the needle bed gap 3 to a position at which a yarn can be fed. The leading end of the claw opening of the hook 22a is apart from the leading ends of the blades 23a, 23b and advances to the side of the needle bed gap 3, so that the claw opening of the hook 22a opens. The stitch retained in the hook 22a moves to the side of the leading ends of the blades 23a, 23b from the claw opening of the hook 22a, and the stitch is cleared without lifting up.

[0042] When the moving guide part 45c stands by while making close to the side of the left end 45e, the butt 11b makes the moving guide part 45c to move rightward to the right end 45f. The moving guide part 45c which has moved to the right end 45f stops and the butt 11b receives an action by the ascent cam surface so as to cause the sinker jack 11 to advance, so that the movable sinker 10 is made into the open state as shown in Fig. 1(a) before reaching a phase D-D. The open state continues to a phase F-F. The knitting needle 21 retreats after passing through a center position 40a at which the hook 22a advances to the needle bed gap 3 at the most by being guided by the needle jack 25 along the knit route 25x. In the phase D-D to the phase E-E, the knitting needle 21 forms a new stitch in such a manner that a knitting yarn is fed to the hook 22a and the butt 25b is guided by descent cam surfaces of the bridge cam 41 and the stitch cam 44. The movable sinker 10 is not involved in the stitch decision when the stitch is formed and only the stitch deciding part 12a of the fixed sinker 12 is used therefor. The usage of the fixed sinker 12 enables the stitch decision and the knock-over to be performed with high accuracy when the stitch is formed.

[0043] When the knitting needle 21 retreats, the claw opening of the hook 22a is caused to close by the leading ends of the blades 23a, 23b, and the stitch which has moved to the side of the leading ends of the blades 23a, 23b is knocked over into the needle bed gap 3 over the hook 22a. After the phase F-F, when the hook 22a is returned to the needle bed by drawing, the movable sinker 10 is also returned to be in the close state so as to press the new stitch. Even when the carriage passes through and the butt 11b is not driven by the sinker cam 45, the movable sinker 10 is biased by the spring 13 so as to be kept in the close state.

Reference Signs List

[0044] 

1

Sinker device

2

Flatbed knitting machine

3

Needle bed gap

4, 5

Needle bed

7, 27

Needle plate

7a

Thin thickness part

7b

Rocking support part

7c

Upper part

10, 30

Movable sinker

10a

Rocking support receive part

10b

Function arm

10c

Drive arm

10d

Yarn receive part

10e

Lift-up prevent part

10f

Drive receive part

11, 31

Sinker jack

11a

Wide width part

11b

Butt

11c

Drive part

11d

Leading end part

11e

Base part

12

Fixed sinker

12a

Stitch deciding part

13

Spring

13c

Leading end part

14, 18

Press plate

15

Wire rod

20

Needle groove

21

Knitting needle

22

Needle body

22a

Hook

23

Slider

40

Cam

45

Sinker cam

Claims

1. A flatbed knitting machine (2) equipped with sinker devices (1), the flatbed knitting machine (2) accommodates knitting needles (21) in needle grooves (20) formed between needle plates (7, 27) arranged in line on needle beds (4, 5), and has sinker devices (1) which are arranged between the knitting needles (21) adjacent at a side of a leading end of the needle bed (4, 5), each of which has a movable sinker (10, 30) and a fixed sinker (12), arranged in line, the movable sinker (10, 30) operating in cooperation with the knitting needle (21) when a hook (22a) of the knitting needle (21) makes a fabric which is knitted by advancing the hook (22a) to a needle bed gap and by retreating the hook (22a) from there, and the fixed sinker (12) supports a stitch deciding part (12a) on which a sinker loop is suspended, and a wire rod (15) which functions as a top tooth, when a stitch is knitted,
characterized in that
the movable sinker (10, 30),
being accommodated in a thin thickness part (7a) which is provided on the needle plate (7) and capable of rocking, and being driven by a sinker jack (11) capable of advancing to and retreating from in a direction towards the needle bed gap (3), and provided with:

a rocking support receive part (10a) is supported by a rocking support part (7b) which is formed on the thin thickness part (7a);

a function arm (10b) extends from the rocking support receive part (10a) in a direction to advance in the needle bed gap (3) and has a yarn receive part (10d) at a leading end;

a drive arm (10c) extends from the rocking support receive part (10a) in a direction to be apart from the needle bed gap (3) and has a drive receive part (10f) at a leading end; and

a spring (13) biases the function arm (10b) in a rocking direction to advance in the needle bed gap (3) so that the yarn receive part (10d) is capable of pressing a stitch, and

the sinker jack (11) being provided with:

a base part (11e) is accommodated in the needle groove (20), has a width capable of advancing and retreating, and is disposed above the knitting needle (21);

a wide width part (11a) is provided above the base part (11e), and has a width widening to a side in which the movable sinker (10, 30) is accommodated;

a drive part (11c) is provided in a vicinity of a leading end of the wide width part (11a), which is close to the needle bed gap (3), and drives the drive receive part (10f) of the drive arm (10c) of the movable sinker (10, 30) by one of advance and retreat in the direction toward the needle bed gap (3), and causes the function arm (10b) to rock in a direction of retreating in the needle bed gap (3) against pressure biased by the spring (13); and

a leading end part (11d) is provided on the wide width part (11a) at a leading end side, has a width capable of advancing and retreating when accommodated in the needle grooves (20), and is arranged above the knitting needle (21); and

at least a part of side surface of the movable sinker (10, 30) is supported by the leading end part (11d) of the sinker jack (11) at a side of the needle groove (20).

2. The flatbed knitting machine (2) equipped with the sinker devices (1) according to Claim 1, wherein
said rocking support part (7b) formed on said thin thickness part (7a) of said needle plate (7, 27) is formed in a height range aligned with said knitting needle (21) in a vicinity of a bottom part of said needle groove (20) in which the knitting needle (21) is accommodated, and
a side surface of said rocking support receive part (10a) of said movable sinker (10, 30) is supported by the knitting needle (21) at the needle groove side.

3. The flatbed knitting machine (2) equipped with the sinker devices (1) according to Claims 1 or 2, wherein
said leading end part (11d) of said sinker jack (11) supports a side surface of said spring (13).

4. The flatbed knitting machine (2) equipped with the sinker devices (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein
said base part (11e) of said sinker jack (11)
is provided on said wide width part (11a) at a base end side apart from said needle bed gap (3), and
has a butt (11b) for being driven to advance and retreat, which projects to outside of said needle groove (3), on an end part extending to a position apart farther from the needle bed gap (3) relative to the base end of the wide width part (11a).

5. The flatbed knitting machine (2) equipped with the thinker devices (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein
said thin thickness part (7a) of said needle plate (7, 27) has a press plate (14) penetrating through above said rocking support receive part (10a) in an arrangement direction of said needle plates (7, 27), and
said spring (13) of said movable sinker (10, 30) extends from said function arm (10b), passes through between said rocking support receive part (10a) and a downside of the press plate (14), is folded back in a vicinity of said drive receive part (10f), and has a leading end part passing through above the press plate (14) and extending above said function arm (10b) to contact with an upper part (7c) of the thin thickness part (7a).

Drawing