GB2143256A - Knit-weaving machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A knit-weaving machine consists in that the lapping elements (16) which are movable between an upper position (VIII) and a lower position (X), co-operate with the knitting needles (17) mounted, on the one hand, for rotation in the needle bed (36) in a plane parallel to the beat-up edge of fabric (10) and, on the other hand, for reciprocation in spacings of a guide comb (31) arranged parallel to the beat-up edge of fabric (10), the means for controlling the motion of the needle bed (36) being associated with means for producing a reciprocatory side motion of always one of members of the pair of needle bed (36) guide comb (31) in order to control a multiphase motion of the knitting needles (17) in sheds following one after the other, during which motion, in the odd- numbered shed, the paths of the hooks (20) of the knitting needles (17) are oriented from the front position (A) into the lefthand lapping position (B) and back again into the front position (A), and in the even-numbered shed, from the front position (A) into the righthand lapping position and back again into the front position (A), said paths of the hooks (20) of the knitting needles (17) being oriented symmetrically to the longitudinal axes of the knitting needles (17) while being in their front position (A). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Knit-weaving machine This invention relates to a knit-weaving machine, comprising a slay together with a reed, means for reciprocating the slay between front and rear positions, a loom harness for warp threads, means for controlling the harness motion, and a knitting mechanism for forming a warpknit binding, said mechanism comprising a system of lapping elements to be threaded-in with weft threads withdrawn from a supply disposed outside the shed, means for controlling the motion of said lapping elements, a system of knitting needles having closable hooks and arranged in a needle bed, and means for controlling the motion of said needle bed between a front position in which the knitting needle hooks are disposed in front of the beat-up position and parallel to the warp threads, and a rear position in the shedding area, said motion of the needle bed being synchronized with the lapping element motion.

The above described machine forms the subject matter of the U.S. patent No.

3,746,051.

The lapping elements mounted for swinging in a transverse neddle bed disposed in front of the weaving harness, consist each of a stem which is provided in the middle with tonguelike lapping arm terminating in a guide eye threaded in with a weft thread. The stem terminates in a tooth meshing in a rack bar caused to reciprocate by means of a cam mechanism.

In their intermediate initial positions, the arms of the lapping elements are oriented in parallel to warp threads, lie in the closed shed position between them, and can swing in the open shed position. During the slay movement, the lapping arms pass through reed spacings.

In each open shed, the lapping elements are synchronously moved from their initial intermediate position into one of extreme positions and back again and lap weft threads into open hooks of the knitting needles which are in their operative front position. Due to such a reciprocatory movement of the lapping elements, there are formed sectional double wefts in the form of a loop outstanding from the beat-up edge of fabric. The head portion of this loops is engaged by the knitting needle. During a shed exchange, such sectional wefts return to their initial position adjacent the beat-up edge of fabric onto which they are beaten up by the reed.

It is an object of the present invention to simplify the structure of this progressive producing machine, to raise the operation reliability of the knitting mechanism, the machine output and the quality of knit-woven fabrics produced, while simultaneously to reduce the stress of weft material so as to enable spun yarns as weft to be processed.

The above conditions are substantially complied with according to the invention in that the lapping elements which are movable between an upper position and a lower position, co-operate with the knitting needles mounted, on the one hand, for rotation in the needle bed in a plane parallel to the beat-up position, and, on the other hand, for reciprocation in spacings of a guide comb arranged parallel to the beat-up position, the means for controlling the motion of the needle bed being associated with means for producing a reciprocatory side motion of always one of members of the pair of needle bed and the guide comb in order to control a multiphase motion of the knitting needles in sheds following one after the other, during which motion, in the odd-numbered shed, the paths of the hooks of the knitting needles are oriented from the front position into the lefthand lapping position and back again into the front position, and in the evennumbered shed, from the front position into the righthand lapping position and back again into the front position, said paths of the hooks of the knitting needles being oriented symmetrically to the longitudinal axes of the knitting needles while being in their front position.

The multiphase motion of the knitting needles may comprise, in the odd-numbered shed and in the first phase, a motion of the hooks of the knitting needles along a curvilinear path from the front position in which the knitting needle lie in parallel to warp threads, into the lefthand lapping position in which they lie askew under lefthand weft threads disposed to the left from warp thread groups, in the second phase, the backward motion of the hooks of the knitting needles with entrapped lefthand weft threads along a shorter curvilinear path into an aligning position in which the knitting needles lie again in parallel to the warp threads, in the third phase, the straight motion of the hooks of the knitting needles into the knock-over front position while the shed is exchanged, in the fourth phase and the even-numbered shed, the motion of the hooks of the knitting needles along a curvilinear path from the front position into the righthand lapping position in which the knitting needles lie askew under the righthand weft threads disposed to the right of the warp thread groups, in the fifth phase, the backward motion into the aligning postion, and in the sixth phase, the straight motion into the knock-over front position, the lapping elements arranged between the harness and the reed making a controlled motion from the initial position above the warp threads in closed shed into the upper position during the opening shed, into a securing position before the end of the second phase, into the lower position, and into the initial position while the shed is being closed.

The motions of the needle bed and the slay maybe synchronized to provide a constant spacing between the reed and the hooks of the knitting needles during their operative movement. The lapping elements are preferably constituted by eyes of an auxiliary heald frame coupled through a leverage with a cam secured on a crankshaft.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the apparatus for controlling the multiphase knitting needle motion cycle, the guide comb is stationary and the needle bed is provided at either side in axial direction with a pivot which is made reciprocatory in a bed of a rotatable support arm and which abuts a rotatable arm a follower of which is led in the groove of a rotatable axial cam integral with a gear wheel meshing, in a gear ratio of 2:1, in another gear wheel secured on the crankshaft, the support arms being coupled via tierods to the slay.

According to another preferred ambodiment, the guide comb is fixedly attached to a support arm mounted for reciprocation between radial cams provided on rotatable vertical shafts which are coupled through helical gears, in a gear ratio of 2:1, to the crankshaft of the machine, the needle bed being provided at either side in axial direction with a pivot rotatable in a bed of the rotatable support arms which are coupled through the tierods to the slay.

If compared to the orthodox weaving technique, the machine of the invention enables the distance between the beat-up positionand the harness to be substantially reduced whereby the shed geometry is positively influenced.

With gripper looms, or pneumatic jet weaving machines, the distance between the beatup position and the harness is considerably longer since it is given by the arrangement of the beat-up reed and the weft guiding means which have to be disposed on the slay so as not to enage into the shed in the beat-up position of the reed.

In contradistinction, this distance in the machine of the invention is not defined but by the dimensions of knitting needles designed for engaging weft threads in the open shed whereby it is made possible to shorten the distance between the beat-up edge and the harness to less than a half in comparison with the conventional weaving technique.

Such a reduction of the distance between the beat-up edge of fabric and the harness in the machine according to the invention allows, unlike the orthodox weaving technique, a reduction of heald frame stroke and consequently of the warp thread stress during the machine operation.

Another advantage of the machine according to the present invention consists, in comparison with the hitherto known knit-weaving machines, in that the sectional wefts are lapped onto breasts of the knitting needles by means of the auxilliary heald frame the eyes of which allow the passage of all weft types such as filament yarns, spun yarns, fancy yarns, or knotted yarns. By installing a set of two or more auxilliary heald frames for lapping weft threads onto the breasts of knitting needles, and by a programmed control thereof it is made possible to produce knit-woven fabrics having various both colour and fancy weave patterns.

Another merit of the invention is in that the beat-up reed corresponds to conventional weaving reeds so that the harness can be threaded-in the way usual with the orthodox weaving technique, which means outside the loom.

The principle of swinging the knitting needles in the beat-up plane, and of lapping the wefts onto the breast of said needles by means of the auxilliary heald frame, causes the sectional wefts, unlike the heretofore known knit-weaving techniques, to be more reliably seized by the knitting needle hooks, and consequently raises the quality of the knit-woven fabrics produced.

The production speed of the machine does not depend upon the width of fabric to be manufactured as it is with orthodox weaving looms, it being possible to make one or several fabrics adjacent one another without any additional selvedge forming device. The machine is particularly suitable to be used for manufacturing ribbons of usual widths, with the optimum machine width utilization.

In order that the invention be better understood and carried into practice, some preferred embodiments thereof will be hereinafter described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of the knit-weaving machine without side walls; Fig. 2 is a partial side view of the machine shown in Fig. 1, including the side walls; Fig. 3 is a partial top view of the machine shown in Fig. 2, wherein the fabric is omitted; Figs. 4 and 5 are top views showing the knitting mechanism in individual phases of knitting needle motion; Fig. 6 is a partial side view of the knitting mechanism in some phases of knitting needle motion; Fig. 7 is a top view of a knit-woven fabric; Fig. 8 is a partial side view of an alternative or a multiphase knitting needle motion mechanism; and Fig. 9 is a partial top view of the machine shown in Fig. 8, wherein the fabric is omitted.

The knit-weaving machine (Figures 1,2 and 3) comprises a warp beam 1 with warp threads 2, a weft beam 3 with weft threads 4, a back rail 5, a loom harness 6 with heald frames 6a,6b, a slay 7 journalled about a stationary slay pin 8, and a knitting mecha nism 9. A fabric 10 as being produced is wound in a take-up device 11. The slay 7 carrying a reed 1 2 is coupled through a connecting rod 1 3 with the crank 14 of a crankshaft 1 5 so as to make a swing motion between its front position 1, as partially shown by dash-line contour, and its rear position II.

The motion of the loom harness 6 is controlled by not shown means, such as, for instance, by a lever mechanism actuated by a system of shedding cams provided on a camshaft which is driven via a gear set from the crankshaft 1 5.

The knitting mechanism 9 comprises a system of lapping elements 1 6 and a system of the same number of knitting needles with closable hooks such as, for example, hook needles, latch needles, or compound needles.

In an exemplary embodiment of the machine there are used conventional knitting latch needles (hereinafter knitting needles 1 7 only) which have each a stem 18, a breast 19, a hook 20 and a latch 21.

The lapping elements 1 6 as shown in Figures 1 and 2 are constituted by heald eyes 22 of an auxilliary heald frame 23 which is coupled through a tie rod 24 with a treadle 25 suspended on a spring reverse motion 26 and journalled about a crossbar 27 fixed in side walls 28, 28' of the machine. A follower 29 provided on the treadle 25 is engaged by a cam disc 30 keyed onto the crankshaft 1 5.

The heald frames 6a, 6b and the auxilliary heald frame 23 are mounted for reciprocation in lateral guideways provided in the machine frame (not shown).

The knitting needles of the knit-woven machine disclosed in U.S. patent No. 3,746,051 are movable in parallel to warp threads from their front position in which their hooks are disposed in front of the beat-up edge of the fabric, to their lapping position in open shed, and back again.

In contradistinction, the knitting needles 1 7 in the machine of the invention are caused to swing, in weaving sheds following one after the other, alternately to a righthand and a lefthand lapping position, their hooks making a multiphase movement generated by an interaction of means for knitting needle motion from the front position to the rear one, and means for sideward motion thereof in sheds following one after the other.

By their stems 18, the knitting needles 1 7 are mounted to reciprocate in spacings of a guide comb 31 arranged immediately in front of a support bar 32 which is fixedly attached to the machine side walls 28, 28', and the edge 33 of which defines on the fabric 10 the beat-up edge. The guide comb 31 is secured by not shown means to a stationary guide bar 34 on which the fabric 10 as being built, is withdrawn, forming an angle on the edge 33 of said support bar 32.

The stem 1 8 of the knitting needle 1 7 terminates at the end opposite the hook 20, in a pin 35; all the pins 35 are pivoted to swing in respective holes provided in a series in a needle bed 36 which is mounted on pivots 37, 37' to swing and to reciprocate in beds 38, 38' of support arms 39, 39' jour nalled by their opposite ends about a support rod 40 (Fig. 3). The pivots 37, 37' are in engagement with arms 41, 41' which are journalled about vertical pivots 42, 42' to swing in horizontal plane. The pivots 42, 42' are fixed in the machine side walls 28, 28' (Fig. 3). A branch 43, 43' outstanding from the 41, 41' carries a follower 44, 44' to engage the groove of an axial motion cam 45, 45' rotatable about a pivot 46 fixed from outside in the machine side walls 28, 28' (Fig. 2).The pivot of the axial motion cam 45' is not shown. The axial motion cam 45, 45' is integral with a gear wheel 47, 47' meshing, in a gear ratio of 2:1, in a gear wheel 48, 48' secured, outside the side walls 28, 28', at the end of the crankshaft 1 5. The support arms 39, 39' are coupled through tie rods 49, 49' to the slay 7 so as to follow the swing motion thereof (Fig . 1,3).

Axial motion cams 45, 45', arms 41, 41', needle bed 36, support arms 39, 39' and tie rods 49, 49' constitute means for a controlled six-phase motion of the knitting needles 1 7 in two sheds following one after the other, or, in other words, within a single revolution of the axial motion cams 45, 45' and two revolutions of the crankshaft 1 5.

The needle bed 36 (Fig. 1) makes, on the one hand, a movement from its front position Ill (dash-line contour) in the direction of arrow 50 to its rear position IV, and a backward movement (arrow 51) derived from the movement on the slay 7, and, on the other hand, a side movement (Fig. 3 arrow 52) to its righthand extreme position V, and in direction of arrow 53 to its not shown extreme position VI derived from the axial motion cams 45, 45'.

The axial motion cams 45, 45' (Figures 2 and 3) has two opposite sections 54, 55 and 54', 55'; during the rotation thereof in the direction of arrow 56 (Fig. 2) the section 55, 55' causes the needie bed 36 to move in the direction of arrow 52, and the section 54, 54' causes it to move in the direction of arrow 53.

slay pin 8, crankshaft 15, support bar 32, guide bar 34 and support rod 40 are secured by conventional not shown means in the side walls 28, 28' (Fig. 1, 2).

The take-up device 11 (Fig. 1) consists of a usual take-off surface roller 57, a pressure roller 58 and take-up roller 59 which all constitute parts of a conventional not shown cloth take-up motion.

Warp threads 2 threaded in the heald frame 6a, 6b, and weft threads 4 threaded in eyes 22 of the auxilliary heald frame 23 pass through the reed in plain draft.

Within one revolution of the crankshaft 15, the slay 7 is moved from the front position I to the rear position ll and back again, and together with it also the support arm 39, 39' (Fig. 3). It is an object of the cam disc 30 to reliably secure the lapping of weft threads 4 into hooks 20 of the knitting needles 1 7 by means of the heald eyes 22 which assume, during the afore-mentioned six-phase knitting needle motion cycle particular positions as hereinafter explained in more detail.

Figures 4 and 5 show, in top views, main position a, b, c, a', d, e, f, d' and intermediate positions a1, b,, d1, e1 of the knitting needle 1 7 in the course of the six-phase motion cycle, and Fig. 6 shows the knitting needle in the corresponding main positions a,b,c,a' and the intermediate positions a1, b1.

Figures 4 and 5 show the positions of the needle bed 36, knitting needle 17, guide comb 31 and reed 12, and Fig. 6 shows the position of the needle bed 36, knitting needle 17, guide comb 31, reed 12, eye 22 of the auxilliary heald frame 23 and heald frames 6a, 6b. Each knitting needle 1 7 co-operates with two weft threads 4 lying to the left and to the right from said needle in the front position thereof. For the sake of clarity, the lefthand weft thread is indicated as 4a and the righthand one as 4b, while the warp thread group lying between said weft threads 4a, 4b is indicated as 2a (Figures 4 and 5).

In the six-phase motion cycle the knitting needles operate as follows: Phase 1 The hook 20 of the knitting needle 1 7 follows a curvilinear path from the front position A (Figs. 4, 6 main position a) to the lefthand lapping position B (Figs. 4, 6-main position b). In the front position A the knitting needle 1 7 is oriented in parallel to the warp threads 2 (Fig. 4) and its hook 20 slightly overlaps the guide comb 31; the heald frames 6a, 6b are in closed shed positions, the heald eye 22 with threaded-in weft 4a is in the initial position VII above the warp threads 2 while the shed is closed, the reed 1 2 is in the front position 1, and the needle bed 36 is in the front position Ill.During the phase 1 (Figs. 4, 6-intermediate position a1) a warp thread shed is being built, due to the lift of the heald frame 6a (arrow 61) and the reverse motion of the heald frame 6b (arrow 60), the reed 12 is moved to its rear position 11, and the knitting needle 1 7 swings in the guide comb 31 to the position corresponding to the movement of the needle bed 36 in the direction of arrows 50, 52. Simultaneously with the movement of the heald frames 6a, 6b, the heald eye 22 rises to the upper position VIII in the direction of arrow 62. This movement of the heald eye 22 causes the hook 20 of the knitting needle 1 7 to enter the opening shed under the weft section 4a defined by said eye 22 and the beat-up edge of fabric.

At the end of the phase 1 (Figs. 4,6-main position b), the reed 1 2 is in the rear position II, the needle bed 36 in the righthand extreme position V and the rear position IV while the shed is fully open, and the hook 20 of the knitting needle 1 7 is in the lefthand lapping position B in which a normal projection of the weft thread 4a crosses the breast 1 9 of the knitting needle 1 7. Before the knitting needle 1 7 has reached the lefthand lapping position B, the eye 22 drops from the--, upper position VIII (arrow 63) to a securing position IX IX (Fig. 6-main position b) in which the weft thread 4a is caused to bear upon the breast 1 9 of the knitting needle 1 7.

Phase 2 The hook 20 of the knitting needle 1 7 returns along the curvilinear path from the lefthand lapping position B into an aligning position C (Figs. 4,6-main position c) in which the knitting needle is oriented again in parallel to warp threads 2.

Fig. 6 shows the intermediate position b, in which the heald frame 6a is lowered in direction of arrow 60, and the heald frame 6b is lifted (arrow 61) up to the closed shed position, further the backward movement of the needle bed 36 (arrows 51, 53), and simuitaneously the movement of the eye 22 in direction of arrow 63 in its lower position X (Fig.

6-intermediate position b1) whereby the weft thread 4a is caused to reliably slide down from the breast 1 9 into the open hook 20 of the returning knitting needle 1 7. In its lower position X, the eye 22 lies in the proximity of the lower shed plane of warp threads 2. The position of the needle bed 36 at the end of phase 2 (Figs. 4, 6-main position c) corresponds to its intermediate position a1 in Figures 4 and 6.

Phase 3 The phase comprises the backward straight movement of the hook 20 of the knitting needle 1 7 to the front position A, said movement being derived from the movement of the needle bed 36 in direction of arrow 51 its front position Ill; in this time, the heald frame 6a, 6b terminate their movements up to the closed shed positions, the eye 22 returns to the initial position VII, and the reed 12, in its front position I, beats-up a connecting loop 64 formed of the weft thread 4a along the beat-up edge, onto the fabric (Figs. 4, 6-main position a').

During the return of the knitting needle 1 7 to the front position A, the weft thread 4a is trapped in the open hook 20 while the old stitch formed in the previous knitting phase and drawn over the stem 1 8 tilts down the latch 21 to close the hook 20 (Figures 4, 6-main position a'), said old stitch being drawn over the new one entrapped in the hook 20. During the next movement of the knitting needle 1 7 from the front position A into one of the lapping positions, the new stitch tilts up the latch 21 so that the knitting needle 1 7 enters the opening shed with the open hook 20.

To prevent the hook 20 from being spontaneously closed by the latch 21 as the knitting needle 1 7 enters the opening shed, it is necessary that the needle may follow, from the very beginning, the curvilinear path since the warp threads 2 of the upper shed plane which lie askew to the longitudinal needle axis, do not allow the latch 21 to close the hook 20.

The phase 3 is followed by phases 4 through 6 (Fig. 5-main positions d through f, d') wherein the hook 20 of the knitting needle 1 7 is moved, after the shed exchange, to the front position A to the opposite righthand lapping position D (Fig. 5-main position e) in which into the open hook 20 there is laid, in the above-described way, due to the movement of the eye 22, the righthand weft thread 4b disposed at the opposite side of the warp thread group 2a whereupon the knitting needle returns to the front position A.

During the phases 4 through 6 (Fig.

5-main position d through f, d') the paths of the reed 1 2 and the eye 22 correspond to each other as in the phases 1 through 3. Only the needle bed 36 is moved from the front position Ill (arrows 50, 53) to the lefthand extreme position V and the rear position IV, and back again in directions of arrows 51, 52 to the front position Ill.

In operation, the knitting needles 1 7 (Fig.

4) are moved from the initial position A over the warp thread group 2a in to the lefthand lapping position B and engage the lefthand weft threads 4a lying to the left from said group 2a, and during their backward movement into the initial position, they form new stitches from said weft threads, the connecting stitch loops 64 being beaten-up to the fabric 10 by the reed 12. After the beat-up, the knitting needles 1 7 enter the new opening shed while the old stitches are simultaneously drawn over the new ones and moved into the righthand lapping position D (Fig. 5) in which they engage the righthand weft threads 4b disposed to the right from the warp thread group 2a.In this way there is formed a warpknit binding (Fig. 7) comprising wales 65 of stitches built alternately from stitches of the weft threads 4a, 4b, the connecting loops 64 being interlaced with the warp thread groups 2a in a weave. The warpknit binding shown in Figure 7 forms the subject matter of the U.S.

patent No. 3, 880, 202.

In the exemplary embodiment of the knitweaving machine, the lapping elements are constituted by heald eyes of the auxiliary heald frame controlled by a cam which, due to its characteristic, secures the operative motions of the weft threads during the six-phase knitting needle motion cycle. The auxiliary heald frame 23 may be, optionally, controlled independently by a dobby as it is usual in the heald frame control.

The lapping elements can be, optionally, constituted by other means than the eyes of the auxiliary heald frame, provided such means are capable to ensure the programmed lift and drop of weft threads during the knitweaving cycle.

The time periods of the individual phases of knitting needle motions can be adjusted by appropriately shaping the groove of the radial cam in order to optimalize the co-operation of the knitting mechanism, the shedding means and the slay motion in the endeavour to produce a knit-woven fabric of the desired type and quality.

The mechanism for producing the operative knitting needle motion in the individual phases of the knit-weaving cycle can be even based upon another principle than that hereinabove described and shown. For the sake of simplicity, it may be, for example, preferable to kinematically invert the functions of the needle bed 36 and the guide comb 31. In this case the guide comb 31 makes the lateral reciprocatory movement and the needle bed 36 is moved from the front into rear position and back only (Figs. 8, 9).

An alternative embodiment is shown, by way of example, in Figures 8 and 9. The needle bed 36 is provided at either side in axial direction with relatively short pivots 37a, 37a' rotatable in beds 38, 38' of the support arms 39, 39' which are in turn mounted for rotation in the support rod 40 and connected through tierods 49, 49' with the slay 7. In this embodiment, the mechanism for the reciprocatory side movement (Fig. 3) is omitted.

The guide bar 34 supporting the guide comb 31 is fixedly attached by connecting means to the support bar 32a the lower part of which is mounted for axial reciprocation in axial bearings 66, 66' provided on the side walls 28, 28'. The sides of said support bars 32a engage radial cams 67, 67' on vertical shafts 68, 68' outside the side walls 28, 28', said shafts being supported in bearings 69 on the side walls 28, 28'. To the vertical shafts 68, 68' there are fixed helical gears 70, 70' which mesh, in a gear ratio of 2:1, in helical gears 71, 71' secured on the crankshaft 15.

During the rotation of the crankshaft 1 5 there are driven via helical gears 71, 71' the radial cams 67, 67' by which the guide comb 31, as the shed is being built, is moved from its initial position (not shown) in the direction of arrow 72 into the lefthand extreme position XI (Fig. 9), and, in the direction of arrow 73, back into the initial position, and during the next shed, again from its initial position in the direction of arrow 73 into the righthand extreme position (not shown) and back again in the direction of arrow 72 into the initial position.

In operation of the machine, there is produced, by the interaction of the motion of the needle bed 36 in the directions of arrows 50, 51 and the motion of the guide comb 31 in the directions of arrows 72,73, the operative motion of the knitting needles 1 7 comprising the above described phase I through VI as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6.

Claims (8)

1. A knit-weaving machine, comprising a slay together with a reed, means for reciprocating the slay between front and rear positions, a loom harness for warp threads, means for controlling the harness motion, and a knitting mechanism for forming a warpknit binding, said mechanism comprising a system of lapping elements to be threaded-in with weft threads withdrawn from a supply disposed outside the shed, means for controlling the motion of said lapping elements, a system of knitting needles having closable hooks and arranged in a needle bed, and means for controlling the motion of said needle bed between a front position in which the knitting needle hooks are disposed in front of the beatup position and parallel to the warp threads, and a rear position in the shedding area, said motion of the needle bed being synchronized with the lapping element motion, wherein the lapping elements which are movable between an upper position and a lower position (X), cooperate with the knitting needles mounted, on the one hand, for rotation in the needle bed in a plane parallel to the beat-up position and, on the other hand, for reciprocation in spacings of a guide comb arranged parallel to the beat-up position, the means for controlling the motion of the needle bed being associated with means for producing a reciprocatory side motion of always one of members of the pair of needle bed and the guide comb in order to control a multiphase motion of the knitting needles in sheds following one after the other, during which motion, in the odd-numbered shed, the paths of the hooks of the knitting needles are oriented from the front position into the lefthand lapping position and back again into the front position and in the evennumbered shed, from the front position into the righthand lapping position and back again into the front position said paths of the hooks of the knitting needles being oriented symmetrically to the longitudinal axes of the knitting needles while being in their front position.

2. A knit-weaving machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the multiphase motion of the knitting needles comprises, in the odd-numbered shed and in the first phase, a motion of the hooks of the knitting needles along a curvilinear path from the front position in which the knitting needles lie parallel to warp threads, into the lefthand lapping position in which they lie askew under lefthand weft threads disposed to the left from warp thread groups, in the second phase, the backward motion of the hooks of the knitting needles with entrapped lefthand weft threads along a shorter curvilinear path into an aligning position in which the knitting needles lie again in parallel to the warp threads, in the third phase, the straight motion of the hooks of the knitting needles into the knock-over front position while the shed is exchanged, in the fourth phase and the even-numbered shed, the motion of the hooks of the knitting needles along a curvilinear path from the front position into the righthand lapping position in which the knitting needles lie askew under the righthand weft threads disposed to the right of the warp thread groups, in the fifth phase, the backward motion into the aligning position, and in the sixth phase, the straight motion into the knock-over front position, the lapping elements arranged between the harness and the reed making a controlled motion from the initial position above the warp threads in closed shed into the upper position during the opening shed, into a securing position before the end of the second phase, into the lower position and into the initial position while the shed is being closed.

3. A knit-weaving machine as claimed in claim 2. wherein the motions of the needle bed and the slay are synchronized to provide a constant spacing between the reed and the hooks of the knitting needles during their operative movement.

4. A knit-weaving machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lapping elements are constituted by eyes of an auxiliary heald frame coupled through a leverage with a cam secured on a crankshaft.

5. A knit-weaving machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide comb is stationary and that the needle bed is provided at either side in axial direction with a pivot which is made reciprocatory in a bed of a rotatable support arm and which abuts a rotatable arm a follower of which is led in the groove of a rotatable axial cam integral with a gear wheel meshing, in a gear ratio of 2:1, in another gear wheel secured on the crankshaft, the support arms being coupled via tierods to the slay.

6. A knit-weaving machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide comb is fixedly attached to a support arm mounted for reciprocation between radial cams provided on rotatable vertical shaft which are coupled through helical gears, in a gear ratio of 2:1, to the crankshaft of the machine, the needle bed being provided at either side in axial direction with a pivot rotatable in a bed of the rotatable support arms which are coupled through the tierods to the slay.

7. A knit-weaving machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs.

1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A knit-weaving machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs.

8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.