Monarch Knitting Machinery Corporation

Monatex S.a.

Paul W York

Alan Gutschmit

Bruce M Pernick

An apparatus for detecting broken hooks of needles in a knitting machine having first and second cam faces defining a cam for slidably receiving needle butts. The cam includes a raising cam portion, a stitch cam portion, and a welt cam portion in which tension forces between yarn loops and hooks bias the butts of intact needles against the first cam face. The detector has a detector butt raising segment wherein the second cam face in the welt cam portion is inclined away from the second cam face at the stitch position for urging butts toward the first cam face. A detector butt lowering segment follows the detector butt raising segment, in which the first cam face urges the butts toward the second cam face. A recess segment follows the butt lowering segment. The recess is formed so that the second cam face is sufficiently spaced from the first cam face so that butts of needles having broken hooks are urged into the recess segment by the detector butt lowering segment, but butts of intact needles that are biased against the first cam face do not enter the detector recess segment. A sensor identifies terminating ends of needles whose butts are in the detector recess segment. The apparatus may further include means for stopping operation of the knitting machine when the sensor is activated. A method for detecting broken hooks is also provided, as are needles that are for use with the apparatus.

Apparatus and method for detecting broken hooks of needles in a knitting machine, and needles for use with same

A process and apparatus for producing knitted cut-pile fabric on a conventional circular knitting machine having a cylinder containing conventional latch needles and a dial containing dial elements each having a hook, a yarn cutting edge spaced from the hook and a yarn supporting surface extending therebetween, each dial element being radially movable between adjacent cylinder needles. Body yarn is progressively fed to the cylinder needles and pile yarn is progressively fed to the needles and the dial elements, the needles and dial elements being manipulated to form stitches of body yarn on the needles, to associate the pile yarn in the stitches and form pile loops on the dial elements, and to cast-off the needles the associated stitches and pile yarn to anchor the pile yarn in the stitches. The pile loops are retained and distended on the dial elements with their hooks and, subsequent to the casting off of the associated stitches and pile yarn, the dial elements are manipulated to advance their cutting edges against the retained pile loops, thereby cutting the pile loops to form cut-pile ends. A presser bar is provided for clamping the retained pile loops against the outer circumferential surface of the dial during the cutting thereof by the dial elements. A guide wire is also provided to guide the cut pile ends progressively radially inwardly of the cylinder after the cutting thereof. A fabric may be produced having alternate courses formed in loops in alternate wales and float stitches across intermediate wales, and intermediate courses formed in loops in intermediate wales and float stitches across alternate wales with cut ends of the pile loop forming yarn projecting from the fabric face from each side of each alternate and intermediate course loop.

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Asheboro, NC, United States of America

Paul W York