GB2146358A - Yarn guide for a circular knitting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a yarn guide for a multi-feed circular knitting machine the guide comprising a yarn guide member (6) incorporating a yarn feed aperture (8) and a guard plate (7) which prevents entry of needles into the aperture. Threading the aperture (8), access to which is hampered by the presence of the plate (7), is facilitated by forming a threading slot (9) connecting with the aperture. A clip (12) is provided adjacent to and overlapping the slot to prevent inadvertent discharge of the yarn from the aperture (8) along the slot (9) in the event that the yarn becomes slack. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Yarn carrier for a circular knitting machine The present invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to a yarn carrierto feed yarn to the circle of latch needles of multi-feed circular knitting machines, the yarn carrier being ofthe two-piece type.

Two-pieceyarn carriers, as shown in United Kingdom Patent Application No. 8206619 are provided with a yarn guide having a yarn feeding aperture extending therethrough and with a guard plate disposed between the needle facing side of the yarn guide andthe peripheral face ofthe circle of needles as the carrier rotates relative to the needle circle. The guard plate serves to prevent random accidental entry of needle hooks and latches into the yarn feeding aperture as the yarn is being fed therethrough to the needles, such as could otherwise happen in the absence of the guard plate.

While a specific location of the guard plate in relation to the yarn guide is needed for cooperation with the yarn feeding aperture, such location interferes with threading the yard guide as a result of which threading the two-piece carrier is an awkward and time consuming taskforthe machine operators.

It is an object ofthe present invention to provide an improved two-piece yarn carrierwhich is relatively easy to thread.

The invention provides a yarn carrier having a yarn feed aperturethrough which yarn is fed to a circle of needles of a circular knitting machine, said carrier comprising a yarn guide member incorporating said aperture, and a guard plate to prevent entry of needles into the aperture as yarn is in use fed to the needles, in which a treading slot is provided which provides communication between the aperture in the yarn guide member and an edge of said yarn member, wherebytheaperture may be threaded by passing yarn through said slot and into the aperture, said guard plate further acting to prevent entry of needles into the slot as the yarn is in use fed to the needles.

Preferably, a safety clip for the yarn is provided adjacentthe slotto prevent accidental discharge therefrom of yarn in slackened condition, as may otherwise happen in the absence ofthe clip.

Ordinarily, an open yarn threading slot extending into the yarn feeding aperture of a conventional yarn guide on a circular latch needle machine is not practical because of entry of needle hooks and latches into the slot, and also because of discharge of yarn in slackened condition from the slot. However, it has been discovered that a threading slot can be added to the yarn feeding aperture oftheyarn guide in the two-piece carrierwithout danger of entry of hooks and latches into the slot because the guard plate ofthe two-piece carrier will act to prevent entry of hooks and latches into the slot in addition to preventing their entry into the aperture itself. As to the possible risk of yarn in slackened condition being discharged from the slot, the yarn clip acts to retain the slackened yarn in the slot until normal yarn tension is restored.

There will now be described in detail of an example of a yarn carrier according to the invention. It will be understood that the description, which is to be read with reference to the drawings, is given by way of example only and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing: Figure lisa front elevational view of the two-piece yarn carrier of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the carrier shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded view in perspective showing the several parts of the carrier; Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of Figure 1, and Figure 5 is a viewsimilarto Figure 4with a yarn clip broken away to showthe location of a yarn threading slot relative to a yarn feeding aperture.

In the drawings, sinkers (not shown) of a latch needle multi-feed circular knitting machine have stitch drawing surfaces, the level of which is indicated at 1, over which latch needles, indicated at 2, draw loops of a yarn 3 as the needles follow a knitting pathway 4 at a feed ofthe machine.

The yarn is fed to the needless by a two-piece yarn carrier 5which includes a yarn guide member 6 and guard plate 7 secured tothe side of the yarn guide memberwhich faces the needles 2. The yarn guide member is provided at one end thereofwith an aperture 8which is fed yarn 3, and with a yarn threading slot 9 extending from the aperture 8 to provide communication with an edge 10 ofthe yarn guide.

Secured to the opposite side, i.e. remote from the needle,oftheyarn guideatitsfeed end isa generally oblong split spring clip 11 of which a closed end 12 extends around the perimeter of the aperture 8 in over-lapping relation to the slot 9, at and in yielding contactwith said opposite side oftheyarn guide member, see Figures 4,5. An L-shaped bracket 13 is secured to and projects horizontally away from said opposite side of the yarn guide to feed the yarn through a yarn eye 14 in the end ofthe bracket, thereby to provide the required feeding angle forthe yarn from the eye 14toward the end 12 ofthe clip 11 and the aperture 8.The arrangement is such that in the side view of Figure 2 the yarn is at an angle of about 45 degrees to the bracket 13 while in the front view of Figure 1 the yarn extends at an angle of about 60 degrees to the horizontal bracket.

As shown in Figure 3the guard plate 7 is secured to the needle facing side ofthe yarn guide by a screw 15 extending through aligned openings in a U-shaped cover 16 and in the guard plate into threaded engagement at 17 with the yarn guide. Clip 11 and bracket 13 are secured to the non-needle facing side of theyarnguide member bya screw 18extending through aligned openings in U-shaped cover 19, which depends from one end of the bracket 13, and through a U-shaped split end 20 of the clip into threaded engagement at 21 with the yarn guide member. Thus the end 20 of the clip is anchored between the cover 19 and the yarn guide member, and with an extension 1 2a ofthe end 12 positioned at an angle extending away from said opposite side ofthe yarn guide member, see Figure 2.

In operation, normally tensioned yarn is supplied from its source, passes through the eyelet 15, through the end 12 of the clip 1 1,throughtheaperture8from said opposite side of the carrier and between the needle facing side ofthe carrier and the confronting side ofthe guard plate, to the needles. The slot9 is positioned in that portion ofthe circumference of the aperture 8 which is generally diametrically opposite to the area of contact between the running yarn and the lip ofthe aperture. Threading may be accomplished, by hand or by hand and yarn tweezers, by manipulating theyarn through slot 9 into aperture 8 and then manipulating the yarn to extend between the guard plate and the yarn guide member.It will be noted that the threading may be entirely by hand and requires no passage through any complete apertures except the eye 14. Should the yarn be in slackened condition, as appears in dotted line 3a, Figure 4the end 12 ofthe clip will supporttheyarn and keep itfrom being dis chargedthroughthe slot 9 and from the yarn guide member.When normal tension is applied to the yarn, it will pass through the slot if necessary, into normal running position in the aperture.

The size, location and formation ofthe slot 9 and of the clip 11 is not restricted to that shown in the drawings. It had been particularly difficu It to thread aperture 8 (without slot 9) because ofthe presence of the guard plate which hampered access to the needle side ofthe aperture. The difficulty was compounded by the extremely short circumferential extent allocated to each feed of modern multi-feed circular machines. Itwill be notedthatthe guard plateofthe carrier provides the double function of preventing entry of needles into the yarn feeding aperture as well as into its threading slot, as well as permitting the use of a threading slot.

Claims (4)

1. Ayarn carrier having a yarn feed aperture through which yarn is fed to a circle of needles of a circularknitting machine, said carrier comprising a yarn guide member incorporating said aperture, and a guard plate to prevent entry of needles into the aperture as yarn is in use fed to the needles, in which a threading slot is provided which provides communication betweenthe aperture in theyarn guide member and an edge of said yarn guide member, whereby the aperture may be threaded by passing yarnthrough said slotand intothe aperture, said guard plate further acting to prevent entry of needles intothe slot astheyarn is in use fed to the needles.

2. Ayarncarrierasclaimedinclaim 1,wherein shaped clip is provided adjacent to and overlapping the slot in the vicinity ofthe aperture to prevent yarn passing through the aperture from being discharged along the slot in the eventthatthe yarn is in a slack condition due to a reduction in yarn tension.

3. Ayarn carrieras claimed in claim 2,whereinthe clip is arranged on a side of the yarn guide member which is remote from the needles.

4. Ayarn carrier constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference and as shown in the drawings.