JPS5812379B2 - How to select needles for knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention stores the pattern to be knitted as an electrical signal in a storage device, reads out the stored electrical signal in relation to the movement of the carriage, and selects needles according to the content. Regarding horizontal knitting machines.

In this type of knitting machine, the electrical signal stored in the memory address of the above-mentioned memory device is always read out as a signal for selecting the knitting needle at the corresponding position on the needle bed, even if the running direction of the carriage is reversed. It must be possible to do so.

According to the present invention, the reading of the knitting needles on the needle bed is performed regardless of fluctuations in the traveling speed of the carriage, and the memory address of the storage device and the knitting needles on the needle bed are read out for each operation of the carriage. Each time, the corresponding relationship is updated as if it were the previous one, so that there is no error in the corresponding relationship, and correct reading and needle selection are always performed. be.

In the following, the present invention will be explained by manually moving the carriage X from side to side on the needle bed of the knitting machine main body Y, as shown in the figure, and by manually moving the carriage X from side to side on the needle bed of the knitting machine main body Y. 1b, the one on the front side in the direction of carriage movement will be described in detail in an example applied to a hand knitting machine of a type in which knitting needles 3 are sorted forward and backward by a batt 2 that crosses as it is and a batt 2 that moves forward (or backwards) along it. explain.

First, let's explain the overall outline based on Figure 1.
A recording medium, for example, a card 5
It is now possible to keep it loaded.

On the white surface of this card 5, a desired picture consisting of, for example, a combination of black colors is drawn in advance using an appropriate writing instrument as a pattern signal to be knitted.

Further, when this card 5 is loaded onto the card feed roller 4, its center line is located on the center extension line of the needle bed.

The pattern signal recorded on this card 5 is
A photoelectric detection device a (consisting of a light source and a photoelectric conversion element that receives the reflected light), which is an example of the reading means, is operated to scan in a horizontal straight line while moving in a predetermined section within the permissible movement range. is read optically by
For example, it is detected as a rectangular wave electrical signal as shown in FIG. 5I.

The rectangular wave electric signal detected in this way is generated by a certain number of sampling pulses as shown in FIG. As a result, the signal is converted into a digital electrical signal consisting of the same number of bits as the number of sampling pulses, as shown in (2) in the figure.

This digital electrical signal is then stored in a storage device such as a shift register (described later).

The sampling pulse generator b includes a rotary plate 6 in which a predetermined number of grooves are provided at a constant pitch on the periphery, and a photoelectric detection device consisting of a light source 7 and a photoelectric conversion element 8.
The above-described predetermined number of sampling pulses are obtained from the photoelectric conversion element 8 by the rotation of the photoelectric conversion element 8.

On the other hand, a photoelectric detection device (a light source and a photoelectric conversion device that receives the reflected light from the light source and a photoelectric conversion device that receives the reflected light from the light source) is attached to the mounting plates 9a and 9b provided on the left and right ends of the back side of the carriage A repulse can be obtained from the photoelectric detection device C depending on the presence or absence of the needle groove 10 as the carriage X moves.

Therefore, by moving the carriage X, the photoelectric detection device C outputs the same number of pulses as the number of needle grooves (knitting needles) corresponding to the movement range.

The pulses are added by a counter (described later) when the carriage X moves to the right from the center of the needle bed, and are subtracted when the carriage X moves to the left.

Therefore, the count value of the counter and the moving position of the carriage X always correspond to each other.

Further, on the back side of the carriage X, a carriage reversal detection means d is provided which outputs a rectangular wave electric signal that is inverted when the carriage X is reversed, no matter which position the carriage X is reversed.

Further, below the needle bed of the knitting machine main body Y, there are four handle plates e1 to e4, which are examples of needle selection members, and four pairs of electromagnets f1 to f4 that move these plates left and right separately. It is equipped with a needle selection control device B.

As is well known, each of the handle plates e1 to e4 has a projection e′.
... are arranged at a distance of four pitches of the knitting needles 3, and the protrusions e' of the handle plates are set apart from each other by one pitch of the knitting needles 3.

Further, the electromagnets f1 to f4 of each pair are in such a relationship that when one electromagnet is energized, the other is deenergized, so that by moving the common plunger 11 to the left or right, the lever 12 can be moved to the left or right. By rotating the lever 12, any one of the handle plates e1 to e4 related to the lever 12 is moved laterally to an active position or a non-active position in which it engages or does not engage with the knitting needles 3.

Therefore, by moving the handle plates e1 to e4 having the corresponding protrusions e' to the left or right by the electromagnets f1 to f4, each knitting needle 3 can be attached to the corresponding protrusions e'.
The knitting needle selecting members 1a, 1 are restrained from bending downward by
It is possible to create either a state in which it is subjected to the forward (or backward) action of b or a state in which the downward deflection is allowed and it is not subjected to the forward (or backward) action.

Then, from the time of reversal of the carriage An electrical configuration in which the bit signal energizes or deenergizes the electromagnets f1 to f4 corresponding to the knitting needle 3 to be selected according to the count value of the counter as the carriage X moves after reversal ( (Details will be described later with reference to FIG. 4).

Therefore, each knitting needle 3 corresponds to a corresponding pit of the digital electric signal regardless of the inverted position of the carriage The members 1a and 1b receive and do not receive the pushing action, thereby creating a repeating pattern in which the picture displayed on the card 5 becomes a set of patterns (the bits of the digital electric signal described above are the minimum unit of the stitch). It can be organized.

The outline of the main knitting machine as a whole has been described above, and the details thereof will be further described next.

The carriage reversal detection means d is installed in the center of the slide pipe 13 attached to the back side of the carriage 14 to the left and right mounting pieces 15a,
15b, and the slide pipe 1 is mounted on the rod 14.
A switch ring 17 is fitted so as to be slidable from side to side, and comes in contact with a guide bar 16 installed horizontally on the upper surface of the needle bed through a window hole 13' provided in 3. When the carriage X moves rightward on the needle bed, When the switch ring 17 assumes the position shown in solid line in FIG.
7 is in the chain line position where it contacts the non-conductive part lb,
Thereby, this carriage reversal detection means d outputs a rectangular wave electric signal that is reversed when the carriage X is reversed.Furthermore, on the back side of the carriage
, 1b, mounting plates 9a, 9b, carriage reversal detection means b, light sources 18a, 18b are provided on the forward extension line of the sorting point of each knitting needle sorting member 1a, 1b, and in the center of the needle bed, the above-mentioned A photoelectric conversion element g (FIG. 1) is provided to detect light from light sources 18a and 18b.

The light source 18a18b is the carriage reversal detection means d.
When the carriage X is reversed, the mutual blinking relationship is switched under the control of , that is, the one corresponding to the knitting needle selection member 1a or 1b that is to perform the selection action by the carriage operation is turned on, and the other one is turned off.

Therefore, when the knitting needle selection member 1a or 1b that performs the selection action comes to the center of the needle bed, a pulse is obtained from the photoelectric conversion element g, and the photoelectric conversion element g and the light sources 18a and 18b are This means that the latter functions as a carriage specific position arrival detection member that detects when the carriage has come to a specific position on the needle bed, and the latter functions as an operating member that operates the former.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, necessary cams other than those shown in the figure are provided on the back side of the carriage X, as in the conventional case.

Next, the pattern signal reading device N installed at the rear central portion of the knitting machine main body Y will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

As is known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-36904, the card feed roller 4 is rotated by one pitch as the passive piece 20 is rotated by a starting piece (not shown) provided on the carriage X side as the carriage X moves. The card 5 loaded therein is fed by one pitch of the perforation.

The photoelectric detection device a for reading the pattern signal drawn on the card 5 is attached to the frame 21 so as to be slidable left and right.
The inverted L-shaped mounting portion 2 of the horizontally long plate-shaped moving body 22 mounted on the
21, and scans the card 5 horizontally in a straight line as the moving body 22 moves.

The moving body 22 has a lower end edge thereof, and the mounting portion 22
1, a flat U-shaped notch 222
A linking part 223 having a horizontal axis is bent and protrudes forward horizontally, and the activation piece 23 provided on the carriage X side enters into the notch 222 of this linking part 223 as shown in FIG. By engaging the side edge, the movable body 22 moves in conjunction with the movement of the carriage X, and the activation piece 23
By escaping from the notch 222, the movement is stopped.

That is, a horizontal movement range determining plate 24 having planar trapezoidal projections 24a>24b formed at both left and right ends is attached to the frame 21, and the activation piece 23 is provided with a spring lever in the direction (rearward) of the moving body 22. This activation piece 23 is provided with the carriage
24b, the upper sides thereof are engaged with the notches 222, respectively.

1 and 3, when the carriage X approaches the moving body 22 from the left side and further moves to the right, the activation piece 23 is moved to the left side of the left protrusion 24a of the movement range determining plate 24. It moves forward while being guided by the edge (outer edge), and finally enters the notch 222 of the connecting part 223 and moves backward to the original position, causing the movable body 22 to move to the right in conjunction with the carriage X,
When it reaches the right side protrusion 24b, it is guided by the left side edge (inside edge) and moves forward again and escapes from the notch 222, where the rightward movement of the movable body 22 is stopped, and this right side In the stopped state, when the carriage The movable body 22 is caused to move to the left in conjunction with this, and is guided by the left protrusion 24a and escapes from the notch 222, where the leftward movement of the movable body 22 is stopped.

Therefore, even if the carriage X moves by more than the length between the left and right protrusions 24a and 24b of the movement range determining plate 24, the movable body 22 always moves only by the above length, and as a result, the photoelectric detection device a The card 5 is always scanned by a constant width.

The sampling pulse generator b, which generates sampling pulses as the photoelectric detection device a scans, connects a pinion 25 coaxially connected to the rotary plate 6 to the movable body 2.
The rotary plate 6 is engaged with a lock 224 formed on the rear surface of the rotary plate 6, and when the movable body 22 moves within a certain range as described above, the rotary plate 6 rotates exactly twice.

In this embodiment, the rotary plate 6 receives six grooves, and each time the card 5 is scanned, 6×2=12 sampling pulses are obtained from the photoelectric conversion element 8 as shown in FIG. It's like this.

In this way, the sampling pulse generator b
Since sampling pulses are generated in relation to the movement of the carriage It is sampled a certain number of times (12 times).

Furthermore, the rotary plate 6 is attached to its rotating shaft by a retaining screw 26 and can be replaced, and by preparing a plurality of plates with different numbers of grooves, the number of sampling pulses and thus the number of cards can be adjusted. The number of knitting needles 3 to be involved in knitting per row of pattern signals recorded on the card 5, and thus the width of the pattern to be knitted can be arbitrarily changed without changing the card 5.

In this case, a shift register (described later) for storing the sampled digital electrical signal is prepared in advance with a large storage bit capacity.

Further, the movable body 22 has a protrusion 2 at a predetermined position on its upper edge.
25 is formed.

This protrusion 225 turns on the limit switch h attached to the frame 21 when the photoelectric detection device a attached to the movable body 22 comes to the center line of the card 5 (on the central extension line of the needle bed). As a result, one pulse shown in FIG. 5 is obtained from the limit switch h.

Therefore, it can be said that the protrusion 225 and the limit switch h constitute means for detecting the center of the pattern signal recorded on the card 5.

Next, the photoelectric detection device a reads the pattern signal recorded on the card 5, the sampling pulse generator b generates a sampling pulse in connection with the reading of the photoelectric detection device a, and the needle groove 10 in connection with the movement of the carriage X. A photoelectric detection device C that generates the same number of pulses as . 4 pairs of electromagnets f1 to f4, a knitting needle sorting member I that performs the sorting action
Electrical related configuration of a photoelectric conversion element g that outputs a pulse when a, 1b comes to the center of the needle bed, and a limit switch h that performs the above reading and outputs a pulse when the photoelectric detection device a comes to the center line of the card 5. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

The above-mentioned pulses from the photoelectric detection device C, which generates the same number of pulses as the number of needle grooves, are input to an up-down counter CTo via an OR circuit OR1 and are counted.

This up-down counter CTo inputs a rectangular wave electric signal from the carriage reversal detection means d, and when the carriage X moves to the right, it adds the pulses input through the OR circuit OR1, and when the carriage When doing so, subtract.

In addition, this counter CTo is operated by a knitting needle selecting member 1a that performs the selecting action in response to pulses from the photoelectric conversion element g.
Alternatively, it is configured to be reset when 1b comes to the center of the needle bed, and the count control circuit CC
The counting operation is controlled by , and in the case of addition, after 1 to 6 pulses result in a value from 1 to 6, the next 7 to 12 pulses jump over and reach 195.
The value is from 1 to 200, then from 1 to 6, and then from 195 to 200, repeating addition every six pulses, and in the case of subtraction, from 6 to 1, contrary to the above.
It is set to repeat subtraction from 200 to 195 every six pulses.

Further, a pulse generating circuit PG1 generates the same number of pulses as the number of needle grooves (knitting needles) corresponding to the distance between the left and right knitting needle selecting members 1a and 1b when the rectangular wave electric signal of the carriage reversal detecting means d is reversed. The pulses therefrom are sent to the up-down counter CT through the OR circuit OR1.
o, and left and right knitting needle selection member 1
Needle groove 10 (knitting needle 3) due to alternation of sorting action of a and 1b
This compensates for the discrepancy between the number from the center of the needle bed and the count number of the counter CTo.

As shown in FIG. 200...
It can be regarded as being numbered alternately.

Therefore, the photoelectric detection device C detects the knitting needles 3 of the needle bed.
The up-down counter CTo and the count control circuit CC function as a pulse generator that generates pulses in relation to the movement of the carriage A readout device is configured to obtain a digital electric signal representing the position of the knitting needle selection member 1a or 1b relative to the needle bed, and thereby read out the electric signal stored in the registers SRa and SRb. , when the traveling direction of the carriage X is reversed, the carriage reversal detection means d
A pair of knitting needle selecting members 1a, 1
Knitting needles 3 included within the length of the needle bed equal to the distance between b.
It functions as a count value compensating means for compensating the count value of the up-down counter CTo by a number corresponding to the number of .

Now, the rectangular wave electric signal shown in FIG. 5I obtained by card scanning by the photoelectric detection device a is sampled by 12 sampling pulses from the sampling pulse generator b, and as shown in FIG. each bit is 1
It is converted into a 12-bit digital electrical signal corresponding to the knitting needles 3 of the book, and is temporarily stored in the dynamic shift registers SRb and SRa separately for the right row scanning and the left row scanning of the card 5, and then the knitting is performed. Sumeku Carriage X
By reversing and moving in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned scanning, the objects are taken out one by one.

That is, when the carriage X is moved to the right and the card 5 is scanned from the left side to the right side, the gates G2b and G3b are opened by the "H" output from the carriage reversal detection means d.
The output shown in FIG.
The pulse shown in (■) in the same figure from the sampling pulse generator b is input to the flip-flop of the second stage, and is input as a shift pulse to the shift register SRb, so that the rectangular wave electric signal shown in I above is input to the shift register as shown in (■). It is converted into a digital electrical signal by SRb and stored therein.

Further, when the carriage X is moved to the left and the card 5 is scanned from the right side to the left side, the output of the photoelectric detection device a is
A and the pulses from the sampling pulse generator b are input to the dynamic shift register SRa through the gate G3a, and this shift register SRa converts them into digital electrical signals and stores them in the same way as above. However, this shift register SRa performs a shift in the opposite direction to that of the shift register SRb in response to the "L" output from the carriage reversal detection means d, since the scanning is opposite to that in the above case. It looks like this.

On the other hand, when the carriage X is in the right row, the pulses from the sampling pulse generator b are further counted by the counter CTb, and when the carriage X is in the left row, the pulses are counted by the counter CTa.

These counters CTb and CTa are activated by the photoelectric detection device a by the pulse shown in FIG.
is the center line of card 5 (an extension of the needle bed center line 0-0')
It is set to be reset every time.

Therefore, the counter CTb counts six pulses by moving the carriage X to the right and scanning the card 5 one step, and the counter CTa counts six pulses by moving the carriage X to the left and scanning the card 5 one step.
By scanning in stages, six pulses are counted.

Further, these counters CTb and CTa are set to repeat a value of 1 to 200 every time 200 pulses are counted, and counter CTb is set to repeat a value of 1 to 200 every time 200 pulses are counted.
When the needle moves to the left, the timing pulse from the timing pulse generation circuit PG2 outputs a predetermined number of pulses at a predetermined time, for example, 200 timing pulses while moving the carriage X by one pitch of the knitting needles 3 at the maximum speed. When the carriage X moves to the right, the counter CTa outputs the timing pulse to the gate G5.
It is designed to be input via b.

Furthermore, the shift register SRb has the counter C
When Tb is inputting the timing pulse, the timing pulse is input as a shift pulse, and when counter CTa is inputting the timing pulse, the master shift register SRa is inputted as a shift pulse. It has become.

After moving the carriage X to the right and reading the pattern signal recorded on the card 5, if the carriage X is reversely moved to the left to perform knitting, the timing pulse from the timing pulse generation circuit PG2 will be Via G5a, it is input to a counter CTb that counts 6 sampling pulses (from sampling pulse generator b) and a dynamic shift register SRb that stores digital electrical signals by reading them in the upper right row. is,
The counter CTb counts the timing pulse in addition to the six sampling pulses, and the shift register SRb transfers the digital electric signal to the gate G6a,
Cyclic shifting is performed via the OR circuit OR2 and the gate G1a.

Therefore, the count value of the counter CTb, as shown in FIG. This corresponds to the bits of the upper digital electrical signal that are sequentially output from OR2.

Then, the count value of the counter CTb and the
As shown in FIG.
and when they match, the comparison circuit OP
The signal representing the sign from a is sent to gate G7a, OR circuit O
The signal is input to the gate G0 via R3 and is opened.

Therefore, each time the carriage X moves to the left by one pitch of the knitting needles 3, the digital electrical signal stored in the shift register SRb changes to the number represented by the knitting needle 3 at the position receiving the sorting action (Fig. 5 ■). Matching bits are sequentially sent to gate G regardless of the moving speed of carriage X.

will pass through.

In addition, when the carriage X is moved to the left to read the pattern signal recorded on the card 5 and then reversely moved to the right to perform knitting, the shift register SRa is The digital electric signal stored in the gate G8b, the OR circuit OR2, and the gate G
1b, each bit of which corresponds to the count value of the up-down counter CT9 and the counter CT
The count value of a is compared and signed by the comparator circuit CPb, and a signal representing the sign is inputted to the gate Go via the gate G7b and the OR circuit OR3 and opened, thereby sequentially checking the gates in the same manner as above. G.

It is supposed to pass through.

Gate G in this way.

Each bit of the digital electric signal that passes sequentially energizes or deenergizes one of the four pairs of electromagnets f1 to f4 that corresponds to the count value of the up-down counter CTo.

That is, the output of the first stage output terminal (one of 8, 4, 2, 1) of the deep down counter CTo is output from the gate G81 corresponding to each of the four handle plates e1 to e4.
~G34 is input to gates G81 and G88 after being negated by NOT circuit NOT1, and gate G8
2 and G84 are directly input, while the output of the second stage output terminal (2 of the above) is
The signal is input to gates G81 and G82 after being negated by a NOT circuit NOT2, and is directly input to gates G88 and G84.

Therefore, the outputs from the first and second stage output terminals of the counter CTo are "0,0", "1,0", "0,1",
There are four combinations of "1, 1", so gate G81
.about.G84, those corresponding to the above combinations will produce an output.

This is because there are four handle plates e1 to e4, and the protrusions e' of each are spaced apart by four pitches of the knitting needles 3, so that the handle plates e1 to e4 correspond to their protrusions e'. The number of the knitting needles 3, that is, the count value of the counter CTo (
This is to make the numbers 1 to 6 and 195 to 200 correspond to each other as shown in FIG.

However, as carriage X moves, gates G81~
Outputs are sequentially obtained from G84, which open corresponding gates G91 to G94, and gate G as described above.

Each bit signal of the digital electric signal from the shift register SRb or SRa, which is sent sequentially, is inputted to the set terminal and reset terminal of the corresponding flip-flop FF1 to FF4.

Flip-flops FF1 to FF4 pass their Q and Q terminal outputs through corresponding amplifiers AM, to AM4.
The input signal is input to the electromagnet of the corresponding pair of electromagnets f1 to f4 that moves the handle plates e1 to e4 connected thereto to the needle selection action position or to the electromagnet that moves the handle plates e1 to e4 to the non-action position.

Thus, as the carriage X moves, the four pairs of electromagnets f1 to f4 are energized and deenergized as shown in FIG. The digital electric signals shown in ■ in the same figure are repeatedly sorted, and the pattern signals displayed on the card 5 (
It is possible to compose a repeating pattern with a set of patterns (black and white pictures).

Therefore, if the number of sampling pulses shown in FIG.
This means that the width of the knitting pattern can be doubled without changing the picture.

Furthermore, if the total number of knitting needles of the knitting machine is 200, and the sampling pulse is 200, even if the picture drawn on the card 5 is extremely small compared to the needle bed,
It is possible to knit a pattern similar to the picture above using 200 full knitting needles.

In the above embodiment, the card 5 was used as a recording medium for recording pattern signals, and a picture consisting of a combination of black and white was drawn on it as the pattern signal, and this was read optically. For example, it may be a film or the like, and any method of recording and reading may be used as long as the recorded pattern signal can be detected as an electrical signal as it is read, such as magnetically, electrically, or by perforation. It is something.

Furthermore, in order to control the selection of the knitting needles 3, in addition to using the handle plates e1 to e4 and the knitting needle selection members 1a and 1b as described above, pieces are arranged radially around the drum. It is also possible to use a conventionally known device and move the piece using an electromagnet.

As is clear from the above, the flat knitting machine of the present invention has a storage device such as a register that stores electrical signals representing knitting patterns, and pulses are generated in relation to movement of a carriage relative to knitting needles on a needle bed. A pulse generator (photoelectric detection device C in the embodiment) and the pulses output from this pulse generator are counted, and based on the counted value, the pulses are sent from the above storage device to the knitting needle selection member provided on the carriage. A readout device including a counter for reading out electrical signals corresponding to knitting needles (up-down counter CTo in the embodiment)
and count number control circuit CC), a carriage specific position arrival detection member (photoelectric conversion element g in the embodiment) installed at a specific position on the knitting machine main body side, and a detection member (photoelectric conversion element g in the embodiment) installed on the carriage side and detected as the carriage moves. an operating member (light sources 18a, 18b in the embodiment) that activates the carriage specific position arrival detection member and outputs a predetermined electric signal when corresponding to the carriage specific position arrival detection member; are electrically related so that the latter is set to a specific count value such as 0 by the predetermined electrical signal from the former, and the electrical signal is read out from the storage device by the reading device. This machine selects needles according to the content of the knitting pattern stored in the memory device, and reads out the electrical signals representing the knitting pattern stored in the memory device, regardless of fluctuations in the traveling speed of the carriage. This can be done for each knitting needle one by one, and the memory addresses in the storage device and the knitting needles in the needle bed are made to correspond each time the carriage is operated, as if updating the previous correspondence each time. Therefore, there is no possibility that the correspondence between them will be disturbed, and correct reading and needle selection can be performed at all times.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of a knitting machine to which the present invention is applied. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts, Fig. 2 is a simplified back view of the carriage, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the pattern signal reading device. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in the form of a time chart showing the correlation between necessary items in the block diagram. SRa, SRb...Shift register as storage device, X...Carriage, 3...Knitting needle, C
......Photoelectric detection device as a pulse generator, 1a,
1b...Knitting needle selection member, CTo, CC...
...up-down counter and count number control circuit constituting the reading device, g...photoelectric conversion elements, 18a, 18b, which are carriage specific position arrival detection members.
...A light source that is an operating member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage device such as a register that stores electrical signals representing the knitting pattern, a pulse generator that generates pulses in relation to the movement of the carriage relative to the knitting needles on the needle bed, and a pulse generator that counts the pulses output from this pulse generator. and a readout device including a counter for reading out electrical signals corresponding to the knitting needles facing the knitting needle selection member provided on the carriage from the storage device based on the counted value, and a specific position on the knitting machine main body side. a carriage specific position arrival detection member installed on the carriage side; and an actuation member provided on the carriage side that activates the carriage specific position arrival detection member to output a predetermined electric signal when the carriage travels and corresponds to the carriage specific position arrival detection member. furthermore, the carriage specific position arrival detection member and the counter are electrically related so that the latter is set to a specific count value such as 0 by the predetermined electrical signal from the former, A horizontal knitting machine characterized in that needles are selected in accordance with the content of an electric signal read out from the storage device by the continuous output device.