JP7580433B2 - Flat knitting machine for pile knitting and pile knitting method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pile knitting flat knitting machine that knits pile fabric using ground yarn and pile yarn, and a pile knitting method.

Conventionally, in a flat knitting machine for pile knitting, the ground yarn is fed first and the pile yarn is fed from above to the needle gap where one long side of a roughly rectangular needle bed faces, to the knitting needles for pile knitting arranged in a longitudinal direction parallel to the long side . The needle bed accommodates the knitting needles in needle grooves arranged in a longitudinal direction, and is inclined so that the needle gap side is high and the needle gap is low as it moves away from the needle gap. The knitting needle for pile knitting is a latch needle that opens and closes the hook at the tip that is on the needle gap side when accommodated in the needle groove, and further has a hook for knitting yarn locking provided on the inner edge side facing the hook with the latch. In pile knitting, the knitting needle for pile knitting is raised and advanced to the maximum extent into the needle gap, and then lowered and withdrawn to lock the ground yarn to the hook for knitting yarn locking. The tip of a sinker for pile knitting is advanced and retreated between the knitting needles for pile knitting. The tip of the pile knitting sinker is provided with a pile yarn hook on the upper side capable of holding the pile yarn, and a ground yarn hook on the lower side capable of holding the ground yarn. The sinker that enters between the pile knitting knitting needles forms a pile fabric while sorting the ground yarn and the pile yarn at the tip. A pile knitting flat knitting machine that executes such a pile knitting method can form a pile loop by forming a sinker loop made of pile yarn longer than the sinker loop made of ground yarn (for example, see Patent Document 1).

The pile knit gloves disclosed in Patent Document 1 are entirely made of pile knit from the fingertips to the wrist, with rubber yarn tucked into the wrist and the gloves knitted with the pile loops facing inward. Such gloves can be given waterproof or cold protection properties by coating the outside with latex or the like, or can be made cut-resistant or heat-resistant by using aramid fiber or the like for the pile yarn and placing the pile on the outside. The pile knit can also be formed into socks, and for example, the pile loops can be placed on the inside to give them cold protection properties.

Special Publication No. 61-20668

The pile knitting method described in Patent Document 1 requires a pile knitting needle with a knitting yarn retaining hook on the inner edge of the hook, and a pile knitting sinker that can separate the ground yarn from the pile yarn at the tip that moves back and forth between the knitting needles. Although providing the knitting yarn retaining hook on the hook increases the manufacturing cost of the knitting needle, it is not necessary for plain stitch knitting or rib knitting, which are often used on flat knitting machines.

The object of the present invention is to provide a flat knitting machine for pile knitting and a method for pile knitting that are capable of performing pile knitting even when using knitting needles that do not have hooks for retaining knitting yarn.

The present invention relates to a needle bed having a generally rectangular shape with short and long sides , needle grooves parallel to the short sides being arranged in a longitudinal direction parallel to the long sides , one of the long sides facing the needle gap, the needle grooves being inclined so that the needle gap side is higher and the needle gap is lower as it moves away from the needle gap,
a knitting needle having a hook at a tip, the hook being accommodated in each needle groove so that the hook is on the needle gap side, and knitting a stitch with a knitting yarn fed from above the needle gap by moving the hook forward and backward into the needle gap;
a yarn feeder that feeds ground yarn and pile yarn as knitting yarns to knitting needles at intervals so that the ground yarn comes first and the pile yarn comes second;
a sinker having a tip with a ground yarn hook at the bottom and a pile yarn hook at the top, which moves back and forth between the knitting needles and can form a ground yarn sinker loop by hooking the ground yarn, which is pulled in by the hook of the knitting needle when forming a stitch, on the ground yarn hook and can form a pile yarn sinker loop by hooking the pile yarn on the pile yarn hook;
a sinker advance/retract mechanism for driving each sinker so that the tip of the sinker advances/retracts between the knitting needles, and the sinker advances/retracts between the knitting needles to sort the ground yarn to the ground yarn hook side and the pile yarn to the pile yarn hook side,
The sinker advancement/retraction mechanism includes a capturing up/down means for driving the sinker to raise the tip of the sinker at the needle opening prior to sorting the ground yarn and the pile yarn, and to capture the ground yarn fed from the yarn feeder between the ground yarn hook and the pile yarn hook and pull it down below the needle opening.
The pile knitting flat knitting machine is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In the present invention, the vertical catching means can be switched so as to drive the sinker within a range including the knitting width and not outside the range.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the capture lifting means switches the drive of the sinker for each group of the sinkers adjacent in the longitudinal direction.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the capturing up/down means includes a lifting cam for lifting the sinker above the nozzle.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the lifting cam is provided on a movement path along which the sinker advances and retreats between the knitting needles.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the capturing up/down means includes a select jack that is provided between the sinker and the moving path and can select a position along the moving path between a position where the tip of the sinker is raised at the tooth gap via the lifting cam and a position where the tip of the sinker is not raised at the tooth gap without the lifting cam.
It is characterized by:

In addition, the present invention allows switching between pile knitting and plain knitting using the ground yarn and the pile yarn as knitting yarns by switching between either leaving the gap between the yarn feeder for the ground yarn and the yarn feeder for the pile yarn so that the ground yarn comes first and the pile yarn comes second, or narrowing the gap between the yarn feeders and hooking the ground yarn and the pile yarn on the ground yarn hook claws of the sinker.
It is characterized by:

In the present invention, the tip of the sinker has a push-in portion capable of pushing the knitting yarn into the needle gap at a position below the ground yarn hook when the tip of the sinker enters between the knitting needles,
The sinker advance/retract mechanism drives the sinker to retract from the needle gap and then re-enter the needle gap after the hook of the knitting needle, which has received the knitting yarn, retracts from the needle gap to perform stitch density determination when forming the stitch.
It is characterized by:

Further, the present invention relates to a needle bed having a needle groove that is generally rectangular with short and long sides , with needle grooves parallel to the short sides arranged in a longitudinal direction parallel to the long sides , with one of the long sides facing the needle gap, and the needle grooves being inclined so that the needle gap side is higher and the needle gap is lower as it moves away from the needle gap,
The knitting needles each having a hook at its tip are accommodated so that the tip is on the needle mouth side,
The hook is advanced and retreated into the needle gap, and the ground yarn and pile yarn are fed as knitting yarns from above the needle gap with a gap therebetween, the ground yarn first and the pile yarn second.
A pile knitting method in which a sinker having a tip with a ground yarn hook at the bottom and a pile yarn hook at the top is advanced and retreated between knitting needles to separate fed ground yarn and pile yarn, and when forming stitches, the ground yarn pulled in by the hook of the knitting needle is hooked on the ground yarn hook to form a sinker loop for the ground yarn, and the pile yarn is hooked on the pile yarn hook to form a sinker loop for the pile yarn,
Prior to sorting the ground yarn and the pile yarn, the tip of the sinker is raised at the needle opening, and the ground yarn fed from the yarn feeder is captured between the ground yarn hook and the pile yarn hook and pulled down below the needle opening.
The pile knitting method is characterized by the above.

According to the present invention, the sinker advance/retract mechanism includes a capturing up/down means that, prior to separating the ground yarn from the pile yarn, raises the tip of the sinker at the needle opening, and captures the ground yarn fed from the yarn feeder between the ground yarn hook and the pile yarn hook and pulls it down below the needle opening. Because the ground yarn can be captured and pulled down by the sinker before being separated from the pile yarn, it is possible to perform pile knitting even when using knitting needles that do not have a knitting yarn retaining hook.

In addition, according to the present invention, if the vertical capture means drives all the sinkers, knitting of one course is completed outside the range of the knitting width, and when the positions of the ground yarn feeder and the pile yarn feeder are switched, there is a risk of interference between the sinker, which stops with its tip raised at the needle mouth, and the yarn feeder. If the position of the yarn feeder is raised to avoid interference, the conditions for feeding yarn to the knitting needles will deteriorate. It is possible to avoid interference by stopping the drive for knitting one course after all the sinkers have descended, but this will reduce knitting efficiency. Such a decrease in knitting efficiency can be prevented by switching so that the vertical capture means does not drive the sinkers outside the range including the knitting width.

In addition, according to the present invention, the drive of the sinkers by the up and down capture means is switched for each group of sinkers adjacent in the longitudinal direction, simplifying the selection mechanism that would be required to switch between individual sinkers.

In addition, according to the present invention, the sinker can be raised above the tines by the raising cam, and then lowered, allowing the ground thread to be captured at the tip of the sinker.

In addition, according to the present invention, the tip of the sinker is raised by a raising cam that is provided on the path along which the sinker moves back and forth between the knitting needles, so it can be raised in conjunction with the movement of the sinker.

In addition, according to the present invention, the action of raising the tip of the sinker by the rising cam can be mediated by a select jack that mediates from the rising cam to the sinker. The select jack is provided between the sinker and the moving path, and its position along the moving path can be selected between a position that mediates the rising cam and a position that does not mediate, so that by selecting the select jack, it is possible to switch whether or not the sinker is driven by the capturing up/down mechanism.

In addition, according to the present invention, pile knitting and plain knitting can be switched so that they are mixed in the wale direction on a course-by-course basis. Even in the middle of a course, knitting can be stopped temporarily, the spacing between the yarn feeders can be changed, and knitting can be resumed to switch between pile knitting and plain knitting.

In addition, according to the present invention, even if an old loop that has been knocked over becomes lodged near the tooth gap, the tip of the sinker can be moved out of the tooth gap once and then re-entered, allowing the pushing portion at the tip of the sinker to push the old loop below the tooth gap.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, before the tip of the sinker separates the ground yarn and the pile yarn, the tip of the sinker is raised at the needle opening, and the ground yarn fed from the yarn feeder is captured between the ground yarn hook and the pile yarn hook and pulled down below the needle opening. Even if a knitting needle without a hook for retaining the knitting yarn is used, the ground yarn can be captured and pulled down by the sinker to perform pile knitting.

FIG. 1 is a right side cross-sectional view showing, in a simplified manner, the configuration of upper and lower catching means 10 of a pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention and the catching operation of a ground yarn. FIG. 2 is a right side cross-sectional view showing in simplified form the state where the select jack 14 is not selected by the capturing up/down means 10 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a right side cross-sectional view showing in simplified form the state in which the select jack 14 is selected by the capturing up/down means 10 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a simplified plan view showing the trajectory of the sinker 4 and the cam arrangement during pile knitting in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a simplified plan view showing the trajectories of the knitting needles 3 and the cam arrangement during pile knitting in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a simplified plan view showing the locus of the select jack 14 and the cam arrangement during pile knitting in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of FIG. 7A to 7C show the shape of the sinker 4 in FIG. 1, and are a front view, a plan view, and a right side view of the sinker 4. FIG. FIG. 8 shows the shape of the select jack 14 in FIG. 1, and is a front view and a plan view of the select jack 14. FIG. 9 is a right side cross-sectional view showing in a simplified manner the operation of capturing the ground yarn 8a by the sinker 4 in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of FIG. FIG. 10 is a right side cross-sectional view showing in a simplified manner the operation of sorting the ground yarns 8a and the pile yarns 8b by the sinker 4 in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of FIG. FIG. 11 is a right side cross-sectional view showing, in a simplified form, the configuration of the upper and lower catching means 30 in a pile knitting flat knitting machine 21 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Below, Figures 1 to 10 show the configuration and operation of a flat knitting machine 1 for pile knitting, which is embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 11 shows the configuration of the upper and lower capturing means 30 of a flat knitting machine 21 for pile knitting, which is embodiment 2 of the present invention. Corresponding parts in each figure are shown with the same reference numbers, and duplicated explanations may be omitted. Also, for convenience of explanation, parts that are not shown in the figure being explained may be referred to with reference numbers shown in other figures.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified configuration of the main parts of a pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 has needle beds 2 as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, which are omitted in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the needle beds 2 face each other at the front and rear of the needle gap 1a, and are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the needle gap center plane 1b shown in FIG. 1. The part sandwiched between the front and rear needle beds 2 at the needle gap 1a is a rectangle elongated in the depth direction of the figure when viewed from above. This depth direction is hereinafter referred to as the longitudinal direction. Each needle bed 2 is roughly a rectangle with short and long sides , and needle grooves 2a parallel to the short sides are arranged in the longitudinal direction parallel to the long sides , with one of the long sides facing the needle gap 1a. The knitting needles 3 shown in FIG. 1 are accommodated in each needle groove 2a. A hook 3a is provided at the tip of the knitting needle 3. The knitting needle 3 accommodated in each needle groove 2a can slide so that the hook 3a advances and retreats to the needle gap 1a. The needle groove 2a is inclined so that it is higher on the needle gap 1a side and lower away from the needle gap 1a, but Fig. 1 shows the needle groove 2a inclined at an angle such that the sliding direction of the knitting needle 3 is vertical. The knitting needle 3 is a latch needle that opens and closes the hook 3a with a latch 3b, but the latch 3b is not provided with a hook for retaining a knitting yarn as in Patent Document 1.

The pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 is equipped with a movable sinker 4. The sinker 4 has a ground yarn hook 4a, a pile yarn hook 4b, and a push-in section 4c at the tip that advances and retreats between the knitting needles 3. The sinker 4 also has a spring 4d, an intermediate drive section 4e, and a tail end drive section 4f that are integrally formed. The spring 4d may be combined with a separate wire spring. The sinkers 4 are housed in sinker grooves 5a that are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction on a sinker bed 5 provided above the needle bed 2. A carriage 6 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction relative to the needle bed 2 and the sinker bed 5. The carriage 6 is equipped with a sinker advance and retreat mechanism 7. The sinker advance and retreat mechanism 7 includes an advance and retreat cam 7a. The advance and retreat cam 7a drives each sinker 4 so that the tip advances and retreats between the knitting needles 3. As shown in FIG. 4, ground yarn 8a and pile yarn 8b are fed as knitting yarns from leading yarn feeder 9a and trailing yarn feeder 9b, respectively, into the needle gap 1a where the hook 3a of the knitting needle 3 and the tip of the sinker 4 move forward and backward.

The sinker advance/retract mechanism 7 of this embodiment 1 further includes a capturing up/down means 10. The capturing up/down means 10 drives the sinker 4 to raise the tip of the sinker 4 at the tooth gap 1a prior to sorting the ground yarn and the pile yarn, and capture the ground yarn 8a fed from the yarn feeder 9a between the ground yarn hook 4a and the pile yarn hook 4b, and pull it down below the tooth gap 1a. The solid lines in FIG. 1 show the state in which the sinker 4 is driven to capture the ground yarn, and the state of the corresponding knitting needle 3 in the same phase. The dashed lines show the state before the tip of the sinker 4 enters between the knitting needles 3. The two-dot chain lines show the state in which the push-in part 4c of the sinker 4 is pushing the old loop, together with the state of the corresponding knitting needle 3. This state of the knitting needle 3 also corresponds to the broken line sinker 4. The pushing action is performed after sorting the ground yarn 8a and pile yarn 8b, and after the stitch formation by retracting the hook 3a and setting the stitch density. After setting the stitch density, the tip of the sinker 4 is temporarily withdrawn from between the knitting needles 3 and then re-entered, so that the old loops remaining near the needle gap 1a can be pushed below the needle gap 1a by the pushing part 4c. This pushing by re-entering is performed by inserting the tip of the sinker 4 closer to the needle gap 1a side than the bottom surface of the knitting needle 3. As will be described later, the sinker 4 is used to capture and pull down the ground yarn 8a, and then the sinker advance/retract mechanism 7 can separate it from the pile yarn 8b, so that even if a knitting needle 3 without a hook for retaining the knitting yarn is used, pile knitting can be performed. A compound needle without a latch 3b can also be used as the knitting needle 3.

The capturing up/down means 10 of this embodiment 1 includes a lifting cam 11 that lifts the sinker 4 above the tooth gap 1a against the downward bias of the spring 4d. This embodiment 1 also includes a lifting presser cam 12 to regulate the lifting cam 11 so as not to lift it more than necessary and ensure lifting and lowering, but this can be omitted. However, if the sinker 4 does not have a spring 4d, it is necessary to provide a cam that lowers the sinker 4. The lifting cam 11 of this embodiment 1 is provided in the moving path that guides the advancement and retreat of the sinker 4 between the knitting needles 3, that is, in the sinker groove 5a of the sinker bed 5, and lifts the tip of the sinker 4 at the tooth gap 1a. The ground yarn 8a can be captured at the tip of the sinker 4 in relation to the advancement and retreat of the sinker 4. The lifting presser cam 12 presses the intermediate drive part 4e of the sinker 4 that is raised by the lifting cam 11 from above. The position where the rising presser cam 12 presses is farther away from the tooth gap 1a than the position where the rising cam 11 raises the sinker 4, so the tip of the sinker 4 rises while swinging. The spring 4d biases the tip of the sinker 4 in the downward direction, so when the upward movement by the rising cam 11 is released, the tip descends.

The drive of the sinker 4 by the vertical capture means 10 can be selected for each sinker 4 by providing a selection mechanism similar to the needle selection mechanism when the knitting needles 3 are selected individually. For example, the vertical capture means 10 switches so that the drive of the sinker 4 is performed within a range including the knitting width and not outside that range. If the vertical capture means 10 drives all the sinkers 4, there is a risk that the sinker 4, which stops with its tip raised at the tooth gap 1a, and the yarn feeders 9a and 9b will interfere with each other when one course of knitting is completed outside the range of the knitting width and the positions of the yarn feeder 9a of the ground yarn 8a and the yarn feeder 9b of the pile yarn 8b are swapped. In order to avoid interference, it is necessary to stop the drive for knitting one course after all the sinkers 4 have descended, which reduces the knitting efficiency. Such a decrease in knitting efficiency can be prevented by switching so that the drive of the sinker 4 by the vertical capture means 10 is not performed outside the range including the knitting width. It should be noted that interference between the sinker 4 and the yarn feeders 9a, 9b can be avoided by raising the position of the yarn feeder 9a, 9b that moves to switch positions, but this would result in poor yarn feeding conditions. Interference can also be avoided by providing a height-switching mechanism to the yarn feeders 9a, 9b, but this would complicate the mechanism of the yarn feeders 9a, 9b.

The capture up/down means 10 of this embodiment 1 includes a push-down cam 13 and a select jack 14. The select jack 14 is provided between the sinker 4 and the bottom of the sinker groove 5a, and can select a position along the moving path between a position where the tip of the sinker 4 is raised at the tooth gap 1a via the lift cam 11, and a position where the tip of the sinker 4 is not raised at the tooth gap 1a without the lift cam 11. The select jack 14 has a selection portion 14a on the tail end side, and a push-up portion 14b and a pressure receiving portion 14c above and below the tip side. The selection portion 14a is subjected to the selection action by the switching cam 15. The push-down cam 13 pushes down the selection portion 14a to ensure the selection action by the switching cam 15, but can also be omitted. The solid lines in the figure show the state in which the selected select jack 14 receives the rising pressure of the rising cam 11 at the pressure receiving portion 14c, and the push-up portion 14b pushes up the sinker 4 as shown by the solid lines. The dashed lines in the figure show the state in which the select jack 14 is not selected.

The selection of the select jack 14 is performed by setting the switching cam 15 to the state shown by the solid line. The switching cam 15 is swung by the actuator 16, and the select jack 14 is set to a non-selected state in the state shown by the dashed line. In this embodiment 1, the switching cam 15 is used in two stages, and the select jacks 14A and 14B shown in FIG. 8 are used to select the sinkers 4 into two groups. The upper and lower switching cams 15 select the select jacks 14A and 14B, which have the selection parts 14a provided above and below, respectively. The groups are formed by dividing a plurality of sinkers adjacent in the longitudinal direction, and the number of groups may be three or more, and the select jacks 14 and switching cams 15 may be prepared according to the number of groups. The sinkers 4 adjacent in the longitudinal direction can also be selected individually. For example, it is possible to select the sinkers 4 individually using a mechanism similar to a needle selection mechanism including a needle selection actuator that individually selects the knitting needles 3. If the select jacks 14 are divided into groups and selected, it is possible to simplify the selection mechanism that is required when switching between them individually. When knitting gloves with pile knitting as in Patent Document 1, knitting is performed for each finger pocket, so if the gloves are divided into two groups and adjacent finger pockets are not in the same group, the select jacks 14 outside the knitting width of each finger pocket can be deselected.

Figure 2 shows the state in which the select jack 14 is not selected by the vertical capture means 10 in Figure 1. Figure 3 shows the state in which the select jack 14 is selected by the vertical capture means 10 in Figure 1. When the select jack 14 is not selected, it does not move from its base position, but the sinker 4 moves forward and backward. When the select jack 14 is selected, the select jack 14 is moved from its base position by the switching cam 15 to a position where the pressure receiving portion 14c is subjected to the pushing action of the rising cam 11. When pushed up by the rising cam 11, the select jack 14 mediates so that the pushing up portion 14b pushes up the sinker 4. When the sinker 4 is pushed up while entering the tooth gap 1a, its tip rises above the tooth gap 1a, and the ground yarn 8a fed from the yarn feeder 9a can be captured between the ground yarn hook 4a and the pile yarn hook 4b. As in this embodiment 1, whether a select jack 14 is used or a mechanism is provided to directly select the sinker 4, the sinker 4 that is not selected does not raise its tip at the tooth gap 1a to capture the ground yarn 8a, but instead moves its tip forward and backward in the tooth gap 1a.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing the trajectory and cam arrangement of the sinker 4 during pile knitting in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of Figure 1. Figure 5 shows the trajectory and cam arrangement of the knitting needle 3 during pile knitting in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of Figure 1. Figure 6 shows the trajectory and cam arrangement of the select jack 14 during pile knitting in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 of Figure 1. In each figure, it is assumed that the carriage 6 runs to the left of the figure, and the trajectory moves to the right. The carriage 6 is equipped with an advance/retract cam 7a and auxiliary movable cams 7b, 7c, and 7d for driving the sinker 4. The sinker 4 enters the tooth gap 1a side by the pressure of the cam surface shown on the upper side of the advance/retract cam 7a in Figure 4 and by the pressure of the movable cams 7b and 7d. The pressure by the advance/retract cam 7a is received by the part continuing to the right of the intermediate drive unit 4e in the side view shown on the right side of Figure 4. The pressure from the movable cams 7b and 7d is received by the lower side of the tail end drive part 4f in the right side view of Fig. 4. The upper side of the tail end drive part 4f is pressed by the cam surface shown on the lower side of the advance/retract cam 7a in Fig. 4, and causes the sinker 4 to retract from the needle gap 1a. The sinker 4 moves its tip up and down by the pressure from the lifting cam 11 and the self-return caused by the bias of the spring 4d. The carriage 6 is also equipped with a knitting cam 18 for driving the knitting needle 3. The knitting needle 3 is formed by combining a main body 3c having a hook 3a and a latch 3b with a needle jack 3d connected to the tail of the main body 3c. The knitting cam 18 includes a needle raising cam 18a, a middle cam 18b, a knitting start-up cam 18c, a stitch cam 18d, a guide cam 18e, and a rubber cam 18f, and acts on the butt 3e of the needle jack 3d. The set-up cam 18c protrudes during set-up and drives the knitting needle 3 when the carriage 6 moves to the right. The rubber cam 18f is used to tuck the elastic yarn fed from the yarn feeder 9c. The rise cam 11 is also provided with return cam surfaces 11b and 11c for returning the select jack 14, which has moved to the needle gap 1a side by the action of the switching cam 15, to the base position corresponding to the position shown in Figure 2. The rise presser cam 12 presses the intermediate drive part 4e of the sinker 4. The arrows A-A and B-B shown at the top of Figure 6 indicate cross sections A and B, respectively, related to the rise cam surface 11a.

4 and 5 also show the main phases α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η and θ related to the drive of the sinker 4 by the vertical capture means 10. The dashed line in FIG. 1 corresponds to the phase α, the solid line to the phase γ, and the two-dot chain line to the phase θ. The phase γ also corresponds to the dashed line in FIG. 3, and the solid line in FIG. 3 corresponds to the phase δ. When knitting gloves such as those in Patent Document 1, opposing needle beds 2 are used alternately to knit a basically bag-shaped knitted fabric. When the carriage 6 travels to the right, opposing needle beds 2 are used, but the basic cam arrangement is the same. By leaving a gap between the yarn feeder 9a and the yarn feeder 9b, the sinker 4 can capture the ground yarn 8a, and pile knitting can be performed, but if the yarn feeder 9b is brought close to the yarn feeder 9a so that both the ground yarn 8a and the pile yarn 8b can be captured by the rising sinker 4, plain knitting can also be performed. Plain knitting, which captures both the ground yarn 8a and the pile yarn 8b, is possible even if the positions of the yarn feeders 9a and 9b are interchanged. The phase η is immediately before the stitch setting after stitch formation is completed by retracting the stitch cam 18c, and after the stitch setting, the tip of the sinker 4 is temporarily withdrawn from between the knitting needles 3, and at the phase θ, the tip of the sinker 4 is re-entered between the knitting needles 3. After stitch formation in pile knitting or plain knitting, there is a possibility that the old loop knocked over may remain near the needle gap 1a. When the sinker 4 re-enters, the push-in portion 4c provided at the tip of the sinker 4 pushes the old loop below the needle gap, so stable knitting can be performed. The yarn feeders 9a and 9b may be of an accompanying type in which they are accompanied when the carriage 6 travels, but it is preferable that they can travel independently of the carriage 6. When reversing the running direction or switching between pile knitting and plain knitting, the yarn feeders 9a and 9b, which can run independently, can handle the situation more efficiently. Pile knitting and plain knitting can also be switched in the wale direction on a course-by-course basis so that they are mixed. Even in the middle of a course, knitting can be stopped temporarily, the spacing between the yarn feeders 9a and 9b is changed, and knitting can be resumed to switch between pile knitting and plain knitting.

7 and 8 show the shapes of the sinker 4 and the select jack 14 in FIG. 1, respectively. The sinker 4 is basically the same as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 in that it separates the ground yarn 8a and the pile yarn 8b at the tip. It is preferable that the push-in part 4c is hook-shaped so that the old loop can be pushed in reliably, but it is also possible to push it into a flat wall or a smoothly curved surface. The select jack 14 corresponds to the group by the shape of the selection part 14a. The select jack 14A with the selection part 14a provided on the upper side and the select jack 14B with the selection part 14a provided on the lower side are selected as one of two groups by the upper and lower two-stage switching cam 15 shown in FIG. 1. Since gloves such as those in Patent Document 1 are knitted in succession in multiple finger pockets, it is sufficient to divide them into two groups. However, if the finger pockets are to be overlapped between the crotch parts, if the selection part 14a of the select jack 14C is made like that, it is possible to select either of the upper and lower two-stage switching cams 15.

9 and 10 show the operation of the sinker 4 in the pile knitting flat knitting machine 1 in FIG. 1, with respect to the capture of the ground yarn 8a in phases β, γ, and δ, and the sorting in phases ε, ζ, and η, respectively. It is assumed that the ground yarn 8a and pile yarn 8b are switched in running direction so that the yarn feeders 9a and 9b run to the front side of the paper for the rear needle bed 2 shown on the right side of the figure, feed the yarn to the hook 3a of the knitting needle 3 at the end of the knitting width, and then run to the back side of the paper, and pile knitting is performed on the front needle bed 2 shown on the left side of the figure. Each knitting needle 3 is accommodated in the needle groove 2a of the front and rear needle beds 2. In phase β, the tip of the sinker 4 rises. The yarn feeder 9a passes to the back side of the paper, and the ground yarn 8a passes from the hook 3a of the knitting needle 3 of the rear needle bed 2 to the yarn feeder 9a. In phase γ, the tip of the sinker 4 is advanced into the needle gap 1a, and the ground yarn 8a is caught between the ground yarn hook 4a and the pile yarn hook 4b. In phase δ, the tip of the sinker 4 is lowered, and the pulling down of the ground yarn 8a is started, and the catching is completed. In phase ε, the yarn feeder 9b passes, and the pile yarn 8b passes from the hook 3a of the rear knitting needle 3 to the yarn feeder 9b above the pile yarn hook 4b, and is separated from the ground yarn 8a caught below the pile yarn hook 4b. In phase ζ, the hook 3a of the knitting needle 3 starts to pull in the yarn. In phase η, the knitting needle 3 continues to pull in, and the old loop is knocked over by closing the latch 3b, and the yarn feeder 9b is ready to finish the yarn density setting.

FIG. 11 shows a simplified configuration of the vertical capture means 30 in the second embodiment of the present invention. The vertical capture means 30 of the pile knitting flat knitting machine 21 in the second embodiment of the present invention is provided with a lifting cam 31 on the advancing and retracting cam 7a. Since no mechanism for selecting the sinker 4 is provided, all the sinkers 4 operate to rise uniformly to capture the ground yarn 8a. When all the sinkers 4 are made to capture the ground yarn 8a, the configuration can be simplified. The drive for capturing the ground yarn 8a for the sinker 4 can be performed by making the bottom surface of the sinker groove 5a a curved surface similar to the lifting cam. Also, the drive for capturing can be performed by providing a guide groove on the side surface of the sinker groove 5a and guiding a pin protruding laterally from the sinker 4. In the first and second embodiments, the sinker 4 moves forward and backward in a linear manner, and is elevated and swung to capture the ground yarn 8a during the linear movement, but the sinker 4 may be swung and capture the ground yarn 8a during the swinging motion.

[0033] 1, 21 Flat knitting machine for pile knitting 1a Needle gap 2 Needle bed 2a Needle groove 3 Knitting needle 3a Hook 4 Sinker 4a Ground yarn hook 4b Pile yarn hook 4c Push-in section 5 Sinker bed 5a Sinker groove 6 Carriage 7 Sinker advance/retract mechanism 7a Advance/retract cam 8a Ground yarn 8b Pile yarn 9a, 9b, 9c Yarn feeder 10, 30 Capturing up/down means 11, 31 Lifting cam 14 Select jack 14a Selection section 15 Switching cam 16 Actuator 18 Knitting cam

Claims (9)

a needle bed having a generally rectangular shape with short and long sides , needle grooves parallel to the short sides being arranged in a longitudinal direction parallel to the long sides , one of the long sides facing the needle gap, the needle grooves being inclined so that the needle gap side is higher and the needle gap is lower as it moves away from the needle gap;
a knitting needle having a hook at a tip, the hook being accommodated in each needle groove so that the hook is on the needle gap side, and knitting a stitch with a knitting yarn fed from above the needle gap by moving the hook forward and backward into the needle gap;
a yarn feeder that feeds ground yarn and pile yarn as knitting yarns to knitting needles at intervals so that the ground yarn comes first and the pile yarn comes second;
a sinker having a tip with a ground yarn hook at the bottom and a pile yarn hook at the top, which moves back and forth between the knitting needles and can form a ground yarn sinker loop by hooking the ground yarn, which is pulled in by the hook of the knitting needle when forming a stitch, on the ground yarn hook and can form a pile yarn sinker loop by hooking the pile yarn on the pile yarn hook;
a sinker advance/retract mechanism for driving each sinker so that the tip of the sinker advances/retracts between the knitting needles, and the sinker advances/retracts between the knitting needles to sort the ground yarn to the ground yarn hook side and the pile yarn to the pile yarn hook side,
The sinker advancement/retraction mechanism includes a capturing up/down means for driving the sinker to raise the tip of the sinker at the needle opening prior to sorting the ground yarn and the pile yarn, and to capture the ground yarn fed from the yarn feeder between the ground yarn hook and the pile yarn hook and pull it down below the needle opening.
The pile knitting flat knitting machine is characterized by the above-mentioned. The vertical capture means is switchable so as to drive the sinker within a range including the knitting width and not outside the range.
2. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 1. The capture up/down means switches the drive of the sinker for each group of sinkers adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction.
3. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 2. The capturing up/down means includes a lifting cam that lifts the sinker above the nozzle.
4. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 1, wherein the pile knitting flat knitting machine is a flat knitting machine. The lifting cam is provided on a movement path along which the sinker advances and retreats between the knitting needles.
5. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 4. The capturing up/down means includes a select jack that is provided between the sinker and the moving path and can select a position along the moving path between a position where the tip of the sinker is raised at the tooth gap via the lifting cam and a position where the tip of the sinker is not raised at the tooth gap without the lifting cam.
6. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 5. By switching between the spacing between the yarn feeder for the ground yarn and the yarn feeder for the pile yarn so that the ground yarn comes first and the pile yarn comes second, or by narrowing the spacing between the yarn feeders and hanging the ground yarn and the pile yarn on the ground yarn hook of the sinker, it is possible to switch between pile knitting and plain knitting using the ground yarn and the pile yarn as knitting yarns.
2. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 1. The tip of the sinker has a push-in portion that is located below the ground yarn hook when the tip of the sinker enters between the knitting needles and is capable of pushing the knitting yarn into the needle gap,
The sinker advance/retract mechanism drives the sinker to retract from the needle gap and then re-enter the needle gap after the hook of the knitting needle, which has received the knitting yarn, retracts from the needle gap to perform stitch density determination when forming the stitch.
2. The pile knitting flat knitting machine according to claim 1. The needle bed is roughly rectangular with short and long sides , with needle grooves parallel to the short sides arranged in the longitudinal direction parallel to the long sides , with one of the long sides facing the needle gap, and the needle grooves are inclined so that the needle gap side is higher and the needle gap is lower as it moves away from the needle gap.
The knitting needles each having a hook at its tip are accommodated so that the tip is on the needle mouth side,
The hook is advanced and retreated into the needle gap, and the ground yarn and pile yarn are fed as knitting yarns from above the needle gap with a gap therebetween, the ground yarn first and the pile yarn second.
A pile knitting method in which a sinker having a tip with a ground yarn hook at the bottom and a pile yarn hook at the top is advanced and retreated between knitting needles to separate fed ground yarn and pile yarn, and when forming stitches, the ground yarn pulled in by the hook of the knitting needle is hooked on the ground yarn hook to form a sinker loop for the ground yarn, and the pile yarn is hooked on the pile yarn hook to form a sinker loop for the pile yarn,
Prior to sorting the ground yarn and the pile yarn, the tip of the sinker is raised at the needle opening, and the ground yarn fed from the yarn feeder is caught between the ground yarn hook and the pile yarn hook and pulled down below the needle opening.
A pile knitting method comprising the steps of:

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