Textiles: knitting – Fabric manipulation – Transferring fabric
Patent
1998-11-09
2000-07-18
Worrell, Danny
Textiles: knitting
Fabric manipulation
Transferring fabric
66147, D04B 940
Patent
active
060890495
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application is an application filed under the National Phase of and claims priority to PCT application entitled "Knitting Machine" assigned Serial No. GB97/00502 and filed Feb. 24, 1997, which PCT application claims priority to a patent application filed in Great Britain entitled "Knitting Machine", assigned Serial No. 96-03940.9 and filed Feb. 24, 1996, each of which describe inventions made by the present inventor and assigned to the present assignee.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a knitting machine for producing fully fashioned garments, in particular but not exclusively, fully fashioned garments including knitted rib welts.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional fully fashioned knitting machine, for example the Cotton Patented knitting machine, usually includes a pair of narrowing combs associated with each knitting head to enable widening
arrowing operations to be performed during knitting.
Conventionally the narrowing combs of each pair are fixedly mounted on an associated carried bar which is longitudinally displaced in a controlled manner to accurately position each comb for the widening
arrowing operation. Conventionally the drive force for moving each carrier bar longitudinally is achieved by mechanical means such as cams and levers.
Such mechanical means are relatively slow in operation, require constant maintenance and are noisy in operation.
One aim of the present invention is to overcome or substantially reduce the disadvantages associated with mechanical drive means for the narrowing combs.
In the production of fully fashioned garments, it is common practice to knit rib welts on a rib knitting machine, such as a V-bed knitting machine and then to transfer the knitted welt to a fully fashioned knitting machine for knitting of the remainder of the garment. Transfer of the knitted welt is achieved by transferring the knitted rib on to a transfer bar which comprises a rigid elongate body having a comb of transfer needles or points spaced along its length. The loaded transfer bar is then transferred to a fully fashioned knitting machine whereat the knitted rib welt is transferred onto the knitting needles of the fully fashioned knitting machine. The rib knitting machine can produce finished knitted rib welts at a faster rate than the fully fashioned knitting machine requires and so it is common practice to locate the rib knitting machines and fully fashioned knitting machines at different sites and store the knitted rib welts on the transfer bars in readiness for loading onto the fully fashioned knitting machine.
It is a general aim of the present invention to provide a knitting machine which renders more efficient the production of fully fashioned garments comprising knitted rib welts and knitted body fabric which are knitted on different machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a knitting machine including a first knitting station for knitting a welt, a second knitting station comprising a fully fashioned knitting head, and a transfer system including a welt transfer bar and a transfer bar transport system, the transfer bar being movable by the transport system from a loading station, whereat a welt knitted at the first knitting station can be loaded onto the transfer bar, to an unloading station whereat the knitted welt loaded on the transfer bar can be transferred to the knitting head at the second knitting station.
Preferably the transport system includes a carrier for the transfer bar. The carrier may driven between the first and second knitting stations by a linear motor which may either be a stepper linear motor or a continuously operable motor controlled by an encoder.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a fully fashioned knitting machine having at least one knitting head and at least one pair of narrowing combs associated with said one knitting head, each comb of said pai
The RHD Company Limited
Worrell Danny
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