JP7659892B2 - Winding device for circular knitting machine and method for controlling drive roller in the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a winding device for a circular knitting machine, which is arranged under a circular knitting machine that produces tubular knitted fabric, winds the knitted fabric around a winding roller, and sends it out and stores it with a drive roller attached, and to a control method for the drive roller in the winding device.

It is known that in circular knitting machines, the tubular fabric produced in the knitting section located at the top of the machine is wound and stored by a winding device located at the bottom of the machine. In general, in this winding device, the tubular fabric is sent downward by a tension roller, and is collected in a roll by winding it around a winding roller. There are several types of winding devices, one of which is a winding device that uses transmission such as friction from a drive roller. This is a winding device that uses an arm that holds a drive roller on one side and has a rotation center axis on the opposite side and is swingably attached to the winding device, and attaches the drive roller to the fabric wound around the winding roller by the weight of the drive roller.

This winding device is a transmission type winding device in which a drive roller is placed against the knitted fabric wound around the winding roller, and the drive roller is driven to rotate, and the knitted fabric is sent out by the rotation, rotating the winding roller, and a roll of knitted fabric is created and collected. It is also called a friction type winding device because the winding roller is rotated by the friction of the drive roller. Unlike other types, this type of winding device does not require a large change in the torque of the drive roller depending on the weight and size of the roll of knitted fabric. A constant amount of rotation of the drive roller can send out a constant amount of knitted fabric without being greatly affected by the weight and size of the roll, allowing for stable winding. This reduces the unevenness of the roll ends, making it easy to manufacture rolls in good condition. Examples of such transmission type winding devices include those in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

In these transmission type winding devices, the drive roller abuts against the winding roller due to its own weight. Therefore, when removing the winding roller to lower the roll of knitted fabric from the winding device, the drive roller must be manually lifted and secured with a stopper, otherwise the roll cannot be lowered. When the winding roller is removed, the drive roller will fall due to gravity and may hit an operator or collide with other parts, causing damage. Also, when reattaching the winding roller to the winding device after lowering the roll, the drive roller must be moved manually, which is somewhat time-consuming, because the drive roller is designed to lean against the winding roller due to its own weight.

In addition, even in the case of a so-called auto-doffer winding device, in which the knitted fabric is automatically cut by an automatic cutting device after a set amount of knitted fabric has been knitted, and the roll of knitted fabric is automatically lowered from the winding device and discharged outside the knitting machine, there is a risk of damage due to the weight of the drive roller. In addition, when reattaching the winding roller, it is necessary to raise the drive roller, which gets in the way.

In this regard, the winding device of Patent Document 3 enables auto-doffering by fastening the drive roller with a retention protrusion. However, in Patent Document 3, the drive roller cannot be fastened unless the roll diameter of the knitted fabric is larger than the position of the retention protrusion. In addition, when the roll of knitted fabric is lowered, the drive roller falls naturally under its own weight and collides with the retention protrusion with force. In addition, when the retention protrusion is released, it collides with the winding roller with force. This can cause damage or deterioration of the components, resulting in a deterioration in the quality of the wound knitted fabric.

JP 2011-11878 A JP 2007-8599 A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 63-309655

The present invention aims to provide a winding device for a circular knitting machine that eliminates the need to manually operate the drive roller in a transmission-type winding device, makes it easy to lower the knitted fabric, and realizes a transmission-type winding device with no restrictions on roll diameter and a low risk of damage to parts, as well as a method for controlling the drive roller in the same device.

The winding device for a circular knitting machine according to the present invention is a winding device for a circular knitting machine that collects a knitted fabric knitted by a knitting section of a circular knitting machine, and comprises a base provided at the bottom of the winding device, side members provided at both ends of the base, a winding roller rotatably provided between these two side members, two arm rotation shafts rotatably connected to the opposing surfaces of the two side members, two arms rotatably provided in parallel to each other around these two arm rotation shafts, a drive roller rotatably provided between these two arms, and a drive roller that is rotatably driven by the drive roller. In a winding device having a roller drive device that drives the arm, the arm drive device is connected to the arm rotation shaft, and the arm drive device drives the arm rotation shaft and can rotate the arm in either a forward or reverse direction with a constant torque, where the forward direction is the direction in which the drive roller approaches the winding roller, and the reverse direction is the direction in which it moves away from the winding roller. The device further has a stopper that is provided on the rotation path of the arm and the drive roller and comes into contact with the arm or the drive roller to stop the rotation of the arm and the drive roller.

According to this configuration, by rotating the arm and the drive roller in the forward direction by the arm drive device, the drive roller can be brought into contact with the winding roller or the fabric wound around the winding roller without manual operation, and by rotating them in the reverse direction, the drive roller can be released from the winding roller or the fabric wound around the winding roller without manual operation, eliminating the need to manually operate the drive roller. As a result, there is no need to bring the drive roller to the front side, and the drive roller does not get in the way when lowering the fabric. In addition, the arm and drive roller can be freely rotated to the position of the arm and the drive roller by the arm drive device. As a result, when the drive roller is to be removed from the roll of knitted fabric, the arm is rotated in the reverse direction with a constant torque, and when it has rotated a certain amount, the stopper comes into contact with the arm or the drive roller, stopping the reverse rotation of the arm. At this time, the rotation is at a constant torque and is a movement in the opposite direction to gravity, so the stopper and the arm or the drive roller come into contact without momentum, and the impact on the parts is very small. As a result, an auto doffer of a winding device with a transmission type that has no restrictions on roll diameter and is less likely to damage parts can be used.

Preferably, the arm drive device can change the set value of the constant torque that rotates the arm rotation shaft.

According to this configuration, the setting of the arm drive device can be changed, and the magnitude of the torque applied to the arm rotation shaft can be freely changed. This makes it possible to easily change the magnitude of the pressure of the drive roller on the knitted fabric without using parts such as weights. The transmission type winding device is structured so that the drive roller is pressed against the winding roller or the knitted fabric by its own weight. For this reason, when the knitting machine is operated at high speed, the winding device also rotates at high speed, and the drive roller jumps up due to centrifugal force and separates from the knitted fabric, which may cause the knitted fabric to be unable to be sent out and stored. However, if the pressure is too high, it becomes difficult to manually jump up. In addition, since the tubular knitted fabric is folded in half, the creases at both ends of the knitted fabric become stronger. In addition, a part that acts as a weight is required to increase the pressure of the drive roller on the knitted fabric, which requires the cost of the part and the work of attaching and detaching it. This makes it possible to reduce the time, labor, and cost required to adjust the pressure of the drive roller on the knitted fabric. The setting can be changed using a setting change device, such as a knob or an operation panel, directly or indirectly connected to the arm drive device.

More preferably, the stopper is a rubber member provided on the rotational track of the arm, and at least one is attached to either of the opposing surfaces of the side member.

With this configuration, the rubber member comes into contact with the arm, so there is no significant impact on the arm and there is no risk of damaging the drive roller. In addition, because rotation stops upon physical contact with the member, there is no risk of the drive roller accidentally rotating any further and coming into contact with other parts or damaging the knitted fabric.

More preferably, the arm drive device is a servo motor provided on the side member, the servo motor and the arm rotation shaft are connected via a gear, and by switching the rotation direction of the servo motor, the forward and reverse directions of the arm rotation can be switched accordingly.

With this configuration, the servo motor rotates the arm by rotating the arm rotation shaft through a gear linkage, so the arm's rotation direction, torque magnitude, etc. can be changed by issuing a command to the servo motor.

Also, preferably, when viewed from the winding device, the side where the drive roller is located is opposite the side where the knitted fabric is lowered.

If the side where the drive roller is located and the side where the knitted fabric is lowered are the same, the worker must lower the knitted fabric with the drive roller right in front of them, which gets in the way. However, if the drive roller is located on the opposite side to the side where the knitted fabric is lowered, the drive roller is not right in front of the worker, making the work easier. Also, the presence of the drive roller does not narrow the space through which the knitted fabric passes when it is lowered. This not only improves ease of work, but is also effective when using an auto-doffer that requires space to be secured for lowering the knitted fabric using a device. Because there is no need to manually operate the drive roller, the direction in which the knitted fabric wound around the take-up roller is lowered can be reversed to the direction of the drive roller. This makes it possible to secure a wide space for lowering the knitted fabric.

The method of controlling the drive roller in the winding device for a circular knitting machine of the present invention uses the winding device, and at the start of knitting, automatically drives the arm drive device to rotate the arm in the forward direction to press the drive roller against the winding roller or the knitted fabric wound around the winding roller, and after knitting is completed, automatically drives the arm drive device to rotate the arm in the reverse direction to separate the drive roller from the knitted fabric.

This configuration eliminates the need to manually operate the drive arm, eliminating the hassle. Also, because there is no need to manually operate the drive roller, the drive arm can be stopped in the opposite direction to the direction in which the knitted fabric is lowered, so the drive roller does not get in the way and it is easy to lower the roll of knitted fabric from the winding device. Note that the roll of knitted fabric is not limited to one without the winding roller, but also includes the knitted fabric that is still wound around the winding roller. This method can also be used when an auto doffer is used.

Also preferably, a predetermined knitting operation is started, the knitted fabric is automatically wound around the winding roller, the arm is rotated in the forward direction to press the drive roller against the knitted fabric, and after the predetermined knitting operation is completed, the knitting machine automatically stops, the arm is rotated in the reverse direction to separate the drive roller from the knitted fabric, the knitted fabric is automatically removed from the winding device, and the knitted fabric is automatically discharged outside the circular knitting machine.

With this configuration, after knitting has started according to a preset program, the knitted fabric is automatically wound around the winding roller without the need to manually wind it around the winding roller using elements such as friction tape or claws, air pressure, or clamping the knitted fabric between a divided winding roller or holes in the winding roller. The drive roller is automatically pressed against the knitted fabric, and the drive roller feeds the knitted fabric. After knitting is complete, the machine stops, the drive roller separates from the knitted fabric, the knitted fabric is removed from the winding roller and lowered or the entire winding roller is lowered from the winding device and discharged outside the circular knitting machine, and the next knitting begins. This makes it possible to execute an auto-doffer that automatically performs almost all of the steps.

In the present invention, in a transmission type winding device, the arm drive device rotates the arm with a set constant torque, so that the drive roller can be pressed automatically, without manual operation, against the winding roller or the knitted fabric wound around the winding roller with a constant force, and the drive roller can be automatically separated from the winding roller or the knitted fabric wound around the winding roller without manual operation, eliminating the need to manually operate the drive roller and making it easier to lower the knitted fabric. In addition, the arm drive device allows the arm to be moved regardless of the roll diameter of the knitted fabric. Furthermore, the constant torque from the arm drive device causes the drive roller to move at a constant speed, so the drive roller can come into contact with the parts it comes into contact with without causing a large impact, reducing the possibility of damaging the parts.

1 is a front view of an entire circular knitting machine in which a winding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is installed. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, illustrating the position of a drive roller when an arm is rotated in the forward direction in the winding device of FIG. 1. Hatching of the cross-sectional portion is omitted. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the winding device taken along line AA in FIG. 1, illustrating the position of the drive roller when the arm is rotated in the reverse direction in the winding device taken in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a side view of a side member to which the arm drive device of FIG. 1 is attached.

The embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire circular knitting machine equipped with a winding device according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the knitted fabric knitted in the knitting section 2 at the top of the circular knitting machine 1 is pulled by a tension roller 31 provided at the top of the winding device 3, and wound around the winding roller 32 for collection. When the knitted fabric is not wound around the winding roller 32, the drive roller 33 abuts against the winding roller 32. When the knitted fabric is wound around the winding roller 32, the drive roller 33 abuts against the knitted fabric. The drive roller 33 is driven by a roller drive device 34 to rotate, and receives the friction caused by the rotation to feed a certain amount of the knitted fabric on the winding roller 32, rotates the winding roller 32 together with the knitted fabric, winds the knitted fabric around the winding roller 32, and creates a roll 36 of knitted fabric to collect the knitted fabric. The tension roller 31 and the drive roller 33 are driven by the roller drive device 34 to rotate the rollers. This roller drive unit 34 is a servo motor separate from the arm drive unit 35.

In this embodiment, knitting is performed in the knitting section as with a typical single circular knitting machine. That is, the knitting section is provided with a cylinder housing multiple needles, and when the cylinder is rotated by the drive of power, the butt of the needle is guided into the groove of a cam attached to a cam holder fixed to the outer periphery of the cylinder so as to face the cylinder, and the needle moves up and down. When the needle descends, the yarn is caught by the hook of the needle, and the needle descends as it is to form stitches, and this is repeated to produce a tubular knitted fabric.

The tubular knitted fabric thus produced by the knitting section is guided in a double plane by a general width setting device or the like, and collected by the winding device. The winding device has a base 301 at its bottom, and side members 302, 303 are provided at both ends of the base 301. A winding roller 32 is rotatably provided between the two side members 302, 303. An arm rotation shaft 331 is rotatably provided on each of the opposing surfaces of the two side members 302, 303.

An arm 332 is connected to each arm rotation shaft 331. The arm rotation shaft 331 is connected to one side of the arm 332 in the longitudinal direction, and a drive roller 33 is provided on the opposite side so that it can be rotated. The two arms 332 can rotate parallel to each other around the arm rotation shaft 331. The drive roller 33 is connected to a roller drive device 34, which allows the drive roller 33 to be rotated.

The tension roller 31, winding roller 32, and drive roller 33 are arranged parallel and horizontal in the longitudinal direction. One arm rotation shaft 331 is connected to the arm drive device 35 via a gear 38, and the arm rotation shaft 331 can be rotated by driving the arm drive device 35, so that the arm 332 connected to the arm rotation shaft 331 and the drive roller 33 connected to the arm 332 can also be rotated up and down around the arm rotation shaft 331.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1, showing the position of the drive roller when the arm is rotated in the forward direction in the winding device of Figure 1. The direction in which the drive roller 33 approaches the winding roller 32 is defined as the forward direction.

In FIG. 2, the arm rotation shaft 331 rotates clockwise, and accordingly, the arm 332 and the drive roller 33 also rotate clockwise around the arm rotation shaft 331. Since the arm 332 rotates with a constant torque by the arm drive device 35, the drive roller 33 is also pressed against the knitted fabric roll 36 at a constant speed. The pressed drive roller 33 cannot move any further and remains in that position. At this time, the torque transmitted from the arm drive device 35 is still applied to the drive roller 33 in the knitted fabric direction, and the knitted fabric is firmly held down. By changing the setting value of the arm drive device 35, it is possible to increase the torque to increase the pressure on the knitted fabric roll 36, or conversely, to decrease the torque to decrease the pressure. Adjustments can be easily made, such as increasing the pressure so that the drive roller 33 does not float up due to centrifugal force when high-speed rotation is required, or decreasing the pressure to weaken the folds at both ends of the knitted fabric folded from a circular shape into a double plane shape. In this embodiment, this adjustment can be set on an operation panel electrically connected to the arm drive device 35. In addition to this method, there are various other methods that can be considered, such as installing a knob on the outside of the knitting machine and turning it to adjust the torque.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the winding device taken along line A-A in Figure 1, showing the position of the drive roller when the arm 332 in the winding device of Figure 1 is rotated in the reverse direction. This is the direction in which the drive roller 33 moves away from the winding roller 32, and this direction is called the "reverse direction." In Figure 3, the arm rotation shaft 331 rotates counterclockwise, and both the arm 332 and the drive roller 33 rotate counterclockwise around the arm rotation shaft 331.

In this embodiment, a stopper 37 made of hard rubber is provided to stop the rotation of the arm 332. The stopper 37 is provided so as to abut the side of the arm 332 in the longitudinal direction, in the direction opposite to the drive roller 33, as viewed from the arm rotation shaft 331. The stopper 37 is provided on the surface of one side member 303 facing the other side member 302, at a position lower than the arm rotation shaft 331, and in a position opposite to the direction of the drive roller 33 as viewed from the arm rotation shaft 331. When the arm 332 rotates in the opposite direction and abuts against the stopper 37, it cannot rotate any further and remains in that position. Since the arm 332 moves at a constant speed and contacts the stopper 37, the impact on the stopper 37 is smaller than when it contacts the stopper 37 with acceleration and momentum. This results in a long service life for the stopper 37.

Figure 4 is a side view of the side member to which the arm drive device of Figure 1 is attached. In this embodiment, the arm drive device 35 is a servo motor separate from the roller drive device 34, and is attached not to the side member 302 on the side to which the roller drive device 34 is attached, but to the side member 303 on the opposite side. It is located below the arm rotation shaft 331 and is connected to the arm rotation shaft 331 via several gears 38. It is also electrically connected to the operation panel, and the setting values of the servo motor, such as torque, can be changed on the operation panel. Also, when the preset rotation speed according to the knitting requirements is input and the knitting machine is started, the arm drive device 35 automatically drives the arm rotation shaft 331 to rotate in the forward direction, and the arm 332 also rotates in the forward direction, pressing the drive roller 33 against the knitting fabric.

After that, when the preset number of rotations is completed, the knitting machine stops, and the arm 332 automatically rotates in the reverse direction by the drive of the arm drive device 35, and the drive roller 33 moves away from the knitted fabric. In this way, there is no need to manually operate the drive roller 33. For this reason, the side where the drive roller 33 is located and the side where the knitted fabric is lowered are reversed when viewed from the winding device 3. Conventionally, since there is no space inside the circular knitting machine for the operator to move to the opposite side of the winding device, it is necessary to be able to complete operations on the winding device on one side, so the side where the drive roller 33 is located and the side where the knitted fabric is lowered must be the same, and as a result, the presence of the drive roller 33 gets in the way of the work when lowering the knitted fabric. By reversing the side where the knitted fabric is lowered and the side where the drive roller 33 is located, the drive roller 33 does not get in the way.

The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and may be used, for example, in a winding device of an auto-doffer that automatically takes the knitted fabric off the winding roller and discharges it outside the circular knitting machine. The winding roller automatically separates at a midpoint in the longitudinal direction, the winding rollers are pulled out of the knitted fabric from both sides, the knitted fabric is discharged outside the circular knitting machine by a discharge device, the winding roller is set again, the knitting machine rotates, and the knitted fabric is automatically wound around the winding roller without having to be manually wound around the winding roller by using members such as friction tape or claws, air pressure, or pinching between the divided winding rollers or holes provided in the winding roller. Once the knitted fabric has been wound to a certain extent, the drive roller automatically presses it against the knitted fabric, the drive roller sends out and stores the knitted fabric, the machine stops after knitting is completed, the drive roller automatically releases the knitted fabric, and the winding roller separates at a midpoint, making it possible to perform fully automatic knitting work without human intervention in almost all processes such as production, winding, and discharge.

Other possibilities include positioning the arm rotation axis below the winding roller, or having the drive roller come into contact with the knitted fabric but not with the winding roller. Also, it is possible to change to something with a similar function, such as replacing the servo motor with a different type of motor or replacing the hard rubber of the stopper with a sensor. It goes without saying that the present invention can be used even if the side with the drive roller and the side where the knitted fabric is lowered are the same.

1: Circular knitting machine 2: Knitting section 3: Winding device 301: Base 302, 303: Side member 31: Tension roller 32: Winding roller 33: Drive roller 331: Arm rotation shaft 332: Arm 331: Arm rotation shaft 34: Roller drive device 35: Arm drive device 36: Roll of knitted fabric 37: Stopper 38: Gear

Claims (7)

A winding device (3) for a circular knitting machine that collects a knitted fabric knitted in a knitting section (2) of a circular knitting machine (1), comprising:
The winding device (3) has a base (301) provided at the bottom of the winding device (3), side members (302, 303) provided at both ends of the base (301), a winding roller (32) rotatably provided between the two side members (302, 303), two arm rotation shafts (331) rotatably connected to the opposing surfaces of the two side members (302, 303), two arms (332) rotatably provided in parallel to each other about the two arm rotation shafts (331), a drive roller (33) rotatably provided between the two arms (332), and a roller drive device (34) for driving the drive roller (33) to rotate,
The winding roller (32) includes an arm driving device (35) connected to the arm rotating shaft (331), and the arm driving device (35) drives the arm rotating shaft (331) and can rotate the arm (332) in a switchable manner in either a forward direction or a reverse direction with a constant torque, where the forward direction is the direction in which the drive roller (33) approaches the winding roller (32) and the reverse direction is the direction in which the drive roller moves away from the winding roller (32);
The winding device for a circular knitting machine ( 3 ) further comprises a stopper (37) provided on the rotation orbits of the arm ( 332 ) and the drive roller (33), the stopper (37) coming into contact with the arm ( 332 ) or the drive roller (33) to stop the rotation of the arm (332) and the drive roller (33). The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the arm drive device (35) is capable of changing the set value of the constant torque that rotates the arm rotation shaft (331). The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the stopper (37) is a rubber member provided on the rotational track of the arm (332), and at least one is attached to either one of the opposing surfaces of the side members (302, 303). The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the arm driving device (35) is a servo motor provided on the side member (302, 303), the servo motor and the arm rotation shaft (331) are connected via a gear (38), and by switching the rotation direction of the servo motor, the forward and reverse directions of the rotation of the arm (332) can be switched accordingly. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, as viewed from the winding device (3), the side on which the drive roller (33) is located is opposite the side on which the knitted fabric is lowered. A method for controlling the drive roller (32) in a winding device for a circular knitting machine, using the winding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at the start of knitting, the arm drive device (35) is automatically driven to rotate the arm (332) in the forward direction to press the drive roller (33) against the winding roller (32) or the knitted fabric wound around the winding roller (32), and after knitting is completed, the arm drive device (35) is automatically driven to rotate the arm (332) in the reverse direction to separate the drive roller (32) from the knitted fabric. The control method according to claim 6, characterized in that a predetermined knitting operation is started, the knitted fabric is automatically wound around the winding roller (32), the arm (332) is rotated in the forward direction to press the drive roller (33) against the knitted fabric, and after the predetermined knitting operation is completed, the knitting machine automatically stops, the arm (332) is rotated in the reverse direction to separate the drive roller (33) from the knitted fabric, the knitted fabric is automatically lowered from the winding device (3), and the knitted fabric is automatically discharged outside the circular knitting machine (1).

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