MOVABLE SINKER FOR WEFT KNITTING MACHINES

Abstract

 To provide a movable sinker of a flatbed knitting machine capable of depressing fabric around a needle bed gap to a lower side and preventing snagging of fabric during racking.
A leading end part of a function arm 3 of a movable sinker 1 has a fabric depressing part 3c. In response to rocking motion of the movable sinker 1 about a fulcrum 2a of a rocking support receiving part 2, the fabric depressing part 3c goes into and out of a needle bed gap from below a needle bed gap wire provided near a leading end adjacent to the needle bed gap of a needle bed of a flatbed knitting machine. When the movable sinker 1 rocks in a clockwise direction, the fabric depressing part 3c can depress fabric to a lower side around the needle bed gap knitted at each of front and rear needle beds and suspended after getting across the needle bed gap wire. When the fabric depressing part 3c rocks in an anticlockwise direction to be located at an open position, the fabric depressing part 3c moves away from the fabric to prevent snagging of the fabric during racking.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a movable sinker used for forming stitches by working cooperation with a knitting needle during fabric knitting at a flatbed knitting machine.

[Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, a flatbed knitting machine provided with fixed sinkers and movable sinkers, knitting yarn to become needle loops is drawn by hooks of knitting needles and knitting yarn to become sinker loops is hung on side edges of the fixed sinkers adjacent to a needle bed gap, thereby forming new stitches. The formed stitches are pressed below the needle bed gap by the movable sinkers. The fixed sinkers further have a function to support a needle bed gap wire as a top tooth. During formation of new stitches, old stitches formed previously are knocked over with respect to the position of the needle bed gap wire, so that it might be expected to provide fabric with stable texture (see Patent Literature 1, for example). For forming stitches stably, it is also required to pull down already knitted fabric including old stitches below the needle bed gap. The fabric is pulled down using a fabric pulldown unit installed under the needle bed gap, meanwhile, it is also suggested to use of the movable sinkers for pulling down the fabric suspended from the needle bed gap (see Patent Literature 2, for example).

[Citation List]

[Patent Literature]

[0003] 

Patent Literature 1: JP2015-132026A

Patent Literature 2: JP2005-290573A

[Summary of Invention]

[Technical Problem]

[0004] In some cases, it is difficult for fabric knitted by a flatbed knitting machine like pin tucking or partial knitting to be pulled down below a needle bed gap due to floating or staying of the fabric in the needle bed gap. It is difficult to knit such fabric of a hard-to-knit structure stably by only using movable sinkers and fixed sinkers in combination as described in Patent Literature 1, because the movable sinkers can press new stitches only to an extent before a needle bed gap wire. If a fabric pulldown function such as that described in Patent Literature 2 can be added to the movable sinkers of Patent Literature 1, fabric of a hard-to-knit structure is expected to be knitted easily. However, the movable sinkers of Patent Literature 2 are required to pull down fabric while interposing the fabric between front and back movable sinkers at the center of the needle bed gap where front and back needle beds face each other. In this system, the fabric is interposed between the needle beds from both sides, so that it is difficult to respond to change such as change in thickness of the fabric. Furthermore, front fabric and back fabric such as those of cylindrical fabric are interposed together and stay in the needle bed gap even when the movable sinkers are open, so that this causes a risk of entangling the fabric during racking of moving the needle beds in a longitudinal direction to shift their positions facing each other from the front and the back.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a movable sinker for a flatbed knitting machine capable of depressing fabric around a needle bed gap to a lower side and preventing to entangle the fabric during racking.

[Technical Solution]

[0006] The present invention is a movable sinker for a flatbed knitting machine, which provided with at least a pair of front and back needle beds arranged across a needle bed gap, wherein knitting needles, housed in each of needle grooves juxtaposed to each other in a longitudinal direction of each of the needle beds, advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap to knit fabric, and a needle bed gap wire contributing to knock-over of an old loop and supported adjacent to the needle bed gap in such a manner as to penetrate each of the needle beds in the longitudinal direction,

the movable sinker being set up between knitting needles on a leading end side of each of the needle beds facing the needle bed gap,

the movable sinker making rocking motion while being supported and received at a rocking support receiving part provided at a side wall of the needle groove at a position spaced from a leading end side in a direction of retreating from the leading end side, thereby becoming capable of advancing and retreating between an open position in a direction in which a function arm extending toward the needle bed gap retreats from the needle bed gap and a close position in a direction in which the function arm advances into the needle bed gap,

the movable sinker having a loop pressing part formed at a leading end part where the function arm extends, located at a position at a distance from a fulcrum of the rocking motion greater than a distance from the fulcrum to the position of the needle bed gap wire, and used for pressing a new loop by advancing into the needle bed gap,

and the movable sinker having a drive receiving part to receive driving for the rocking motion at a leading end of a drive arm extending from the rocking support receiving part in a different direction from the function arm,

characterized in that:

the function arm has a fabric depressing part provided at a leading end in the direction of advancing into the needle bed gap, and going into and out of the needle bed gap from below the needle bed gap wire,

and the fabric depressing part in a side view,

at the open position, is sunk into and hidden by the needle bed, and

at the close position, projects to depress the fabric suspended from the needle bed.

[0007] In the present invention,
said fabric depressing part has a flat shape.

[0008] In the present invention,

said function arm has an arc-like part continuous from said fabric depressing part bent at a leading end adjacent to said needle bed gap toward said open position, and

the arc-like part faces the needle bed gap at a constant distance from said fulcrum less than a distance from the fulcrum to said needle bed gap wire.

[0009] In the present invention,

the flatbed knitting machine is a four needle-bed machine which provided with two stages of upper and lower in each of said front and back needle beds,

said arc-like part is continuous with a recess part at a distance from said fulcrum that is reduced at an end portion thereof at said open position, and

at the open position, the recess part defines a position for passage to a hook of the knitting needle in the needle bed of the upper stage.

[0010] In the present invention,
the movable sinker has a loop depressing part provided above said loop pressing part at said close position and having a shape bulging to a lower side of said needle bed gap across a needle bottom line at the close position along which said knitting needle advances and retreats.

[0011] In the present invention,
said arc-like part is close to said needle bed gap wire at an interval from the needle bed gap wire less than the diameter of the needle bed gap wire except in an area around said recess part.

[Advantageous Effects of Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, a movable sinker rocks while supported and received at a rocking support receiving part provided at a side wall of a needle groove to become capable of advancing and retreating between an open position and a close position, as for the open position to which a function arm extending from the rocking support receiving part toward a needle bed gap retreats from the needle bed gap, and as for the close position to which the function arm advances into the needle bed gap. A fabric depressing part of the function arm provided at a leading end in an extending direction of the function arm, by projecting from the open position to the close position, becomes capable of depressing fabric suspended from a needle bed, thereby allowing the fabric around the needle bed gap to be depressed to a lower side. At the open position, the fabric depressing part moves away from the fabric and is hidden by the needle bed, so that it possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem such as entangling of the fabric during racking.

[0013] According to the present invention, the fabric depressing part has a flat shape, so that it is prevented to stick or entangle the fabric when the fabric depressing part rocks from the open position to the close position for depressing the fabric, and it can further allow the fabric to be released smoothly when the fabric depressing part rocks from the close position to the open position.

[0014] According to the present invention, a leading end of the fabric depressing part adjacent to the needle bed gap is bent toward the open position to be continuous with an arc-like part that faces the needle bed gap at a constant distance from a fulcrum of rocking motion, so that the function arm can be opened and closed smoothly without entangling fabric on the arc-like part.

[0015] According to the present invention, a recess part is provided at a position for passage of a hook of a knitting needle in an upper stage of a four-bed machine at the open position, so that it makes possible to prevent a problem when the hook draws knitting yarn to form a loop.

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to press a stitch so as not to float the stitch in the needle bed gap using a loop depressing part at the close position.

[0017] According to the present invention, fabric can be pulled down effectively by causing the fabric depressing part to go into and out of a position directly below the needle bed gap wire.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

[0018] 

[Fig.1] Fig. 1 is a front view of a movable sinker 1 according to an example 1 of the present invention.

[Fig.2] Fig. 2 is a right-side sectional view showing a configuration of a flatbed knitting machine 10, which including the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1, around a needle bed gap 13 between front and back needle beds 11, 11.

[Fig.3] Fig. 3 is a right-side sectional view around the needle bed 11 while the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 is at a close position.

[Fig.4] Fig. 4 is a schematic right-side sectional view around the needle bed 11 showing a state where the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 pulls down fabric 24.

[Fig.5] Fig. 5 is a front view of a movable sinker 31 according to an example 2 of the present invention.

[Fig.6] Fig. 6 is a right-side sectional view showing a configuration around a needle bed gap 13 including the movable sinker 31 in Fig. 5 replacing the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 3.

[Description of Embodiments]

[0019] Figs. 1 to Figs.4 referred to below relate to the configuration and operation of a movable sinker 1 for a flatbed knitting machine 10 according to an example 1 of the present invention. Each of Figs. 2 to Figs.4 shows a partial configuration of the flatbed knitting machine 10 including the movable sinker 1 in a side view. Each of Fig. 5 and Fig.6 shows a configuration according to an example 2 of the present invention where the movable sinker 1 of the flatbed knitting machine 10 is replaced by a movable sinker 31. Corresponding parts in these drawings are indicated with the same reference sign and overlapping description between such parts may be omitted. For the convenience of description, a part not shown in a drawing referred to in the description may be described by being given a reference sign in a different drawing.

[Example 1]

[0020] Fig. 1 shows a front configuration of the movable sinker 1 as a component according to an example 1 of the present invention. The movable sinker 1 is made of metal plate such as steel plate and is basically like the movable sinker of Patent Literature 1 except a leading end side of a function arm. The movable sinker 1, in which a function arm 3 and a drive arm 4 extend in different directions from a rocking support receiving part 2 and a spring 5 is further integrated, rocks about the center of a circumference of the rocking support receiving part 2 as a fulcrum 2a. The function arm 3 has a loop pressing part 3a, a lift-up preventing part 3b, a fabric depressing part 3c, an arc-like part 3d, and a recess part 3e formed at a leading end part thereof. The drive arm 4 has a drive receiving part 4a formed at a leading end thereof. The loop pressing part 3a corresponds to a knitting yarn receiving part of Patent Literature 1. At the movable sinker 1, a distance from the fulcrum 2a to the leading end part of the function arm 3 is greater than a distance from the fulcrum 2a to the drive receiving part 4a of the drive arm 4 as a radius, so that a stroke in causing the function arm 3 to rock can be greater than a stroke in driving the drive arm 4. The fabric depressing part 3c is a straight line or a curved plane with a large radius of curvature and has a flat shape. A portion in the fabric depressing part 3c where a distance from the fulcrum 2a is maximum has a shape bent toward the loop pressing part 3a to be continuous with the arc-like part 3d at a constant distance from the fulcrum 2a. The fabric depressing part 3c and arc-like part 3d are shown to form an angle of about 70 degrees. This angle is within a range set in advance such as from 45 to 135 degrees, for example, and is set so as not to be an excessively small degree.

[0021] Fig. 2 shows a configuration where front and back needle beds 11, 11 of the flatbed knitting machine 10 including the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 face each other across a needle bed gap 13. The front and back needle beds 11, 11 are symmetrical to each other with respect to a needle bed gap center 13a with the left needle bed 11 at the front and the right needle bed 11 at the back, for example. The flatbed knitting machine 10 of the present example is a four-bed machine provided with two stages of upper and lower in each of the front and back needle beds 11, 11, which makes a difference from the flatbed knitting machine of Patent Literature 1 that is a two-bed machine with front and back needle beds in one stage. At the same time, a configuration and operation relating to rocking motion of the movable sinker 1 are equal to those of Patent Literature 1. Each of the front and back needle beds 11 includes a base board 12 while only the base board 12 of the lower stage is shown, fixed sinkers 14, and needle plates omitted to show, etc. The needle plates are provided in standing positions while spaced at a constant interval therebetween in a longitudinal direction corresponding to a depth direction of the drawing. A needle groove is formed between the needle plates. The movable sinker 1, so as the function arm 3 extends toward the needle bed gap, is supported and received at a position spaced from a leading end side of the needle bed 11 in a direction of getting away from this leading end side by the needle plate where the rocking support receiving part 2 is formed on a side wall of the needle groove. The function arm 3 of the movable sinker 1 rocks in such a manner as to cause the leading end thereof to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap 13. While the shown function arm 3 of the movable sinker 1 is at an open position in a direction in which the function arm 3 retreats from the needle bed gap 13, the movable sinker 1 can also rock to a close position in a direction in which the function arm 3 advances into the needle bed gap 13. The rocking support receiving part 2 supported and received on the side wall of the needle groove can be provided at a position where the fulcrum 2a as the center of rocking motion is floating from a bottom portion of the needle groove. The drive receiving part 4a at a leading end of the drive arm 4 receives driving from a sinker jack in the needle groove.

[0022] On a leading end side of the needle plate facing the needle bed gap 13, the fixed sinker 14 is mounted. The fixed sinker 14 has a stitch density deciding part 14a provided at a side edge facing the needle bed gap 13 in the mounted state. The stitch density deciding part 14a is a part on which a sinker loop is hung during stitch formation. The fixed sinker 14 further has a support part 14b provided below the stitch density deciding part 14a. The support part 14b has a hole for supporting a needle bed gap wire 15. The needle bed gap wire 15 penetrating this hole in a longitudinal direction of the needle bed 11 contributes to knock-over for stitches of old loops during stitch formation. Mounting the fixed sinker 14 on the base board 12 uses a mounting wire 14c and a mounting wire at a bottom beyond showing range. The arc-like part 3d of the movable sinker 1 faces the needle bed gap 13 at a constant distance from the fulcrum 2a less than a distance from the fulcrum 2a to the needle bed gap wire 15 and is close to the needle bed gap wire 15 at an interval from the needle bed gap wire 15 less than the diameter of the needle bed gap wire 15.

[0023] In the needle grooves formed in the upper and lower two stages of the corresponding needle beds 11, compound needles 16 are housed as knitting needles. A needle body of the compound needle 16 having a hook 16a at a leading end thereof adjacent to the needle bed gap 13 slides in the needle groove to advance into and retreat from the needle bed gap 13. The hook 16a of the compound needle 16 is opened and closed by a slider 16b. The slider 16b is housed in a slider groove provided at the needle body and slides relative to the needle body to open and close the hook 16a with a leading end thereof adjacent to the needle bed gap 13. During formation of a new stitch, the hook 16a moves away from the slider 16b, advances into the needle bed gap 13, catches knitting yarn fed in the needle bed gap 13, and retreats from the needle bed gap 13. At the leading end part of the function arm 3 of the movable sinker 1, the recess part 3e is provided at a corner between the loop pressing part 3a and the arc-like part 3d. While the movable sinker 1 is at the open position as shown, the recess part 3e is at a position corresponding to a path for the hook 16a of the compound needle 16 in the upper stage, so that the recess part 3e functions as a relief in order to prevent interference with the knitting yarn extending from the hook 16a to the stitch density deciding part 14a of the fixed sinker 14 when the hook 16a draws knitting yarn. A corner portion where the fabric depressing part 3c and the arc-like part 3d are bent is the leading end of the function arm 3 adjacent to the needle bed gap 13. This corner portion at the open position shown in Fig. 2 does not project into the needle bed gap 13 but is sunk into and hidden by the needle bed 11. As the leading end of the function arm 3 of the movable sinker 1 is hidden by the needle bed 11 in a side view in this way, a problem such as entangling of a stitch does not occur even on the occurrence of racking between the front and back needle beds 11, 11.

[0024] Fig. 3 shows the configuration of the needle bed 11 around the needle bed gap 13, in the flatbed knitting machine 10, while the movable sinker 1 is at the close position. As the configuration is similar between the front and back needle beds 11, 11, only the front needle bed 11 is shown and description overlapping therebetween will be omitted. At the close position, the loop pressing part 3a is close to the needle bed gap wire 15. The loop pressing part 3a is at a distance from the fulcrum 2a of rocking motion greater than a distance from the fulcrum 2a to the position of the needle bed gap wire 15 and is provided at a position facing the needle bed gap. A corner portion where the fabric depressing part 3c and the arc-like part 3d are bent projects from below the needle bed gap wire 15 toward the needle bed gap 13. The loop pressing part 3a has a function of pressing a newly formed sinker loop into a place around the needle bed gap wire 15 together with a needle loop formed by drawing knitting yarn with the hook 16a. The arc-like part 3d is separated downward from the needle bed gap wire 15 and is at a distance from the fulcrum 2a that is reduced at an end portion thereof at the open position to be continuous with the recess part 3e. The lift-up preventing part 3b becomes functional while the movable sinker 1 is at the close position. It is expected that a stitch lifted together with the hook 16a of the compound needle 16 advancing into the needle bed gap 13 from the facing needle bed 11 will be pressed using a stitch pressor, in some cases, however, a stitch cannot be pressed sufficiently to be lifted or swelled in the needle bed gap 13. The lift-up preventing part 3b functions as a wall of pressing such a stitch around a needle bottom line 16c along which the compound needle 16 in the lower stage advances into and retreats from the needle bed gap 13.

[0025] Fig. 4 schematically shows a state where the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 pulls down fabric 24. Only the compound needle 16 in the lower stage is shown while the compound needle 16 in the upper stage is omitted to show. The movable sinker 1 is shown on a midstream of rocking course from the open position to the close position. The hook 16a of the compound needle 16 once advances into the needle bed gap 13 to catch and draw knitting yarn being fed, thereby forming a new loop 20. The new loop 20 is composed of a sinker loop 21 hung on the stitch density deciding part 14a of the fixed sinker 14 and a needle loop 22 formed by being drawn to the hook 16a. If stitches are formed continuously, in response to forward movement of the hook 16a of advancing into the needle bed gap 13, the needle loop 22 formed at the hook 16a moves away from the hook 16a to retreat to a needle shank of the needle body and is then cleared to become an old loop 23. In response to the forward movement of the needle body, the slider 16b moves back relatively to be sunk into the slider groove while opening the hook 16a, thereby allowing the old loop 23 to be cleared. When the hook 16a fed with yarn in the needle bed gap 13 after advancing into the needle bed gap 13 is drawn, the slider 16b moves forward relatively to close the hook 16a. The old loop 23 is knocked over across the slider 16b closing the hook 16a. The knocked-over old loop 23 moves to a position close to the needle bed 11 across the needle bed gap wire 15 to be continuous with the fabric 24 suspended to a lower side from the needle bed gap 13.

[0026] When the movable sinker 1 rocks in a clockwise direction from the open position to the close position, the fabric depressing part 3c below the needle bed gap wire 15 and projecting toward the needle bed gap 13 can depress the fabric 24 to a lower side at a position close to the needle bed, not at the center of the needle bed gap 13. Rocking motion from the close position to the open position is in an anticlockwise direction, so that the fabric depressing part 3c moves away from the fabric 24 smoothly to remove the depressing, thereby allowing the fabric 24 to be released. The fabric depressing part 3c, the arc-like part 3d, and the corner portion therebetween are flat without projections such as hook-like portions or irregularities, thereby preventing entangling on the fabric 24. As the fabric depressing part 3c does not have a portion to be entangled on the fabric 24, it is given a range sufficient for catching and holding the fabric 24 reliably.

[0027] As described above, providing the movable sinker 1 with the fabric depressing part 3c allows effective depressing of fabric to be knitted separately using the front and back needle beds 11, 11 and to be connected to each other into a cylindrical shape. In particular, the fabric depressing can improve to facilitate knitting in the case of a hard-to-knit structure to be subjected to pin tucking or partial knitting, for example. Knitting of a pocket is also facilitated to allow expansion of a range of deigns or shapes of cylindrical fabric.

[0028] While the flatbed knitting machine 10 of the present example is a four-bed machine, the present invention is further applicable in the same way to a two-bed machine similar to that of Patent Literature 1. While the spring 5 is integrated with the movable sinker 1, a spring as a separate member may be used or biasing from a spring may be omitted. Like in Patent Literature 1, rocking motion of the movable sinker 1 is generated while bulk increase of the movable sinker 1 as a sinker unit is prevented by driving the drive receiving part 4a of the drive arm 4 using the sinker jack in the needle groove., although a butt for driving may be provided in such a manner as to project to the outside of the needle groove and the drive receiving part 4a may be driven directly with a cam. While the compound needle 16 is used as a knitting needle, a latch needle may also be used.

[Example 2]

[0029] Fig. 5 shows a front configuration of a movable sinker 31 as a part according to an example 2 of the present invention. The movable sinker 31 is basically like the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 1 except a leading end side of a function arm 33. Specifically, the movable sinker 31 includes a rocking support receiving part 32, a function arm 33, a drive arm 34, a spring 35, a fulcrum 32a, a loop pressing part 33a, a fabric depressing part 33c, an arc-like part 33d, a recess part 33e, and a drive receiving part 34a, and those members are comparable to the corresponding members of the movable sinker 1. Meanwhile, in comparison to the lift-up preventing part 3b of the movable sinker 1, a loop depressing part 33b is provided. In comparison to a case with the lift-up preventing part 3b, the loop depressing part 33b has a shape bulging downward across the needle bottom line 16c while the movable sinker 31 is at a close position. The loop depressing part 33b further functions as a lift-up preventing wall.

[0030] Fig. 6 shows a configuration around the needle bed gap 13 including the movable sinker 31 in Fig. 5 replacing the movable sinker 1 in Fig. 3. In the shown state where the movable sinker 31 is at the close position, a leading end of the bulge of the loop depressing part 33b advances into the needle bed gap 13 across the needle bottom line 16c to a position below it. In the case of knitting of fabric having a hard-to-knit structure through pin tucking or partial knitting, for example, the loop depressing part 33b advancing into the needle bed gap 13 can be used for depressing a part of the fabric that cannot be depressed sufficiently even by the operation of the loop pressing part 33a or the fabric depressing part 33b. The leading end of the bulge of the loop depressing part 33b is controlled to reach the needle bed gap center 13a at the farthest at the close position. Meanwhile, a stitch pressor for pressing fabric may be used in the needle bed gap 13. In such case, the leading end of the bulge of the loop depressing part 33b is controlled as far as to a position closer to the needle bed 11 avoiding the needle bed gap center 13a where the stitch pressor is to pass.

[Explanation of Reference]

[0031] 

1, 31

Movable sinker

2, 32

Rocking support receiving part

2a, 32a

Fulcrum

3, 33

Function arm

3a, 33a

Loop pressing part

3c, 33c

Fabric depressing part

3d, 33d

Arc-like part

3e, 33e

Recess part

4, 34

Drive arm

4a, 34a

Drive receiving part

10

Flatbed knitting machine

11

Needle bed

12

Base board

13

Needle bed gap

13a

Needle bed gap center

14

Fixed sinker

14a

Stitch density deciding part

14b

Support part

15

Needle bed gap wire

16

Compound needle

16a

Hook

16b

Slider

16c

Needle bottom line

20

New loop

23

Old loop

24

Fabric

33b

Loop depressing part

Claims

1. A movable sinker (1,31) for a flatbed knitting machine (10), which provided with at least a pair of front and back needle beds (11) arranged across a needle bed gap (13), wherein knitting needles (16), housed in each of needle grooves juxtaposed to each other in a longitudinal direction of each of the needle beds (11), advancing into and retreating from the needle bed gap (13) to knit fabric, and a needle bed gap wire (15) contributing to knock-over of old loops (23) and supported adjacent to the needle bed gap (13) in such a manner as to penetrate each of the needle beds (11) in the longitudinal direction,

the movable sinker (1,31) being set up between knitting needles (16) on a leading end side of each of the needle beds (11) facing the needle bed gap (13),

the movable sinker (1,31) making rocking motion while being supported and received at a rocking support receiving part (2,32) provided at a side wall of the needle groove at a position spaced from a leading end side in a direction of retreating from the leading end side, thereby becoming capable of advancing and retreating between an open position in a direction in which a function arm (3,33) extending toward the needle bed gap (13) retreats from the needle bed gap (13) and a close position in a direction in which the function arm (3,33) advances into the needle bed gap (13),

the movable sinker (1,31) having a loop pressing part (3a,33a) formed at a leading end part where the function arm (3,33) extends, located at a position at a distance from a fulcrum (2a,32a) of the rocking motion greater than a distance from the fulcrum (2a,32a) to the position of the needle bed gap wire (15), and used for pressing a new loop (20) by advancing into the needle bed gap (13),

and the movable sinker (1,31) having a drive receiving part (4a,34a) to receive driving for the rocking motion at a leading end of a drive arm (4,34) extending from the rocking support receiving part (3,32) in a different direction from the function arm (3,33),

characterized in that:

the function arm (3,33) has a fabric depressing part (3c,33c) provided at a leading end in the direction of advancing into the needle bed gap (13), and going into and out of the needle bed gap (13) from below the needle bed gap wire (15), and

the fabric depressing part (3c,33c) in a side view,

at the open position, is sunk into and hidden by the needle bed (11), and

at the close position, projects to depress a fabric (25) suspended from the needle bed (11).

2. The movable sinker (1,31) for the flatbed knitting machine (10) according to claim 1,
wherein said fabric depressing part (3c,33c) has a flat shape.

3. The movable sinker (1,31) for the flatbed knitting machine (10) according to claim 1,
wherein said function arm (3,33) has an arc-like part (3d,33d) continuous from said fabric depressing part (3c, 33c) bent at a leading end adjacent to said needle bed gap (13) toward said open position, and
the arc-like part (3d,33d) faces the needle bed gap (13) at a constant distance from said fulcrum (2a,32a) less than a distance from the fulcrum (2a,32a) to said needle bed gap wire (15).

4. The movable sinker (1,31) for the flatbed knitting machine (10) according to claim 3,
wherein the flatbed knitting machine (10) is a four needle-bed machine which provided with two stages of upper and lower in each of said front and back needle beds (11),

said arc-like part (3d,33d) is continuous with a recess part (3e,33e) at a distance from said fulcrum (2a,32a) that is reduced at an end portion thereof at said open position, and

at the open position, the recess part (3e,33e) defines a position for passage to a hook (16a) of the knitting needle (16) in the needle bed (11) of the upper stage.

5. The movable sinker (31) for the flatbed knitting machine (10) according to claim 1,
wherein the movable sinker (31) has a loop depressing part (33b) provided above said loop pressing part (33a) at said close position and having a shape bulging to a lower side of said needle bed gap (13) across a needle bottom line (16c) at the close position along which said knitting needle (16) advances and retreats.

6. The movable sinker (1,31) for the flatbed knitting machine (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
wherein said arc-like part (3d,33d) is close to said needle bed gap wire (15) at an interval from the needle bed gap wire (15) less than the diameter of the needle bed gap wire (15) except in an area around said recess part (3e,33e).

Drawing