In order to produce an inlay-type pattern on a flat-bed knitting machine, a plurality of thread guides carrying differently colored threads are mounted on respective slides which are movably supported, in pairs, on horizontal guide bars above a needle bed. Each slide coacts with a pair of adjustable stops limiting its reciprocation along the guide bar, another slide taking over the thread feed at the point where a previously active slide is arrested. In order to prevent the thread of the first slide from being engaged by the needles simultaneously with the thread of the second slide, the thread guide of the first slide is swung back from a leading to a trailing position upon reaching the end of its run in one or the other direction; this repositioning of the thread guide is accomplished by a pair of feelers contacting the associated stops. The position of each stop can be changed with the aid of a rack, slidable along the corresponding guide bar, which can be displaced after each machine cycle by a limited number of needle positions according to the pattern to be knitted.
The yarn feeder slide proposed for intarsia knitting on a flat knitting machine and provided with a braking device has brake shoes (22,23) projecting sideways on pivoted levers (16,31) and which extend into a special longitudinal slot of the associated yarn feeder rail and can be jammed therein. Two control regions (19,38) for the braking device or for a moveable yarn feeder arm are provided and are spaced from one another in the direction of displacement of the yarn feeder slide (10) so that the yarn feeder driving member located on the cam carriage of the flat knitting machine can be selectively lowered into both control regions (19,38) of the yarn feeder slide.
The machine comprises a knitting head (2), a camholder carriage (3) and several striping bars (7), on which thread guides (6, 6a) are mounted between two movable stop blocks (9, 9a) and are equipped with a thread catcher (21, 21a) and driven by fingers (25, 25a). Auxiliary drive means (11) for the stop blocks and a mechanism for attaching the thread guides automatically to the stop blocks, detachable by means of the drive finger (25), make it possible at any moment to shift the thread guides together with one of these stop blocks independently of the movement of the carriage, thus making it possible to move away the thread catcher when it stops knitting, in the production of INTARSIA knitted fabrics.
A knitting machine includes a knitting carriage, guide bars for thread guides having plunging yarn hook/feeders and a thread guide control device. A control device is integral with the knitting carriage. The control device cooperates with at least one thread guide formed of a cam having faces defining at least three different plunging levels and actuating the plunging yarn hook/feeders located on its pathway, independently of the direction of motion of the knitting carriage.
A flat knitting machine for the production of knitted pieces with intarsia comprises a yarn guide with a yarn guide sheave mounted to be vertically displaceable on a yarn guide box, and a slider on the yarn guide box and which is displaceable horizontally and is arranged to displace the yarn guide vertically. In order to be able to lay the yarns on the one hand correctly at the first needle around and in the needle hook and on the other hand to be able to lay the yarns on the last needle of a pattern field in a correct platting position, the yarn guide comprises an entraining pin engaging in an elongate curved slot in the slider, and the elongate curved slot is formed in such a way that with a movement of the slider relative to the yarn guide box from one lateral end position to the other lateral end position the yarn guide sheave is lowered from its uppermost rest position to a lowermost loop position, is raised to a yarn-laying position, is lowered into a platting position and is raised to the rest position.
In a method for the production of intarsia knitted pieces on a flat-bed knitting machine, at least some of the yarn guides associated with each one of the intarsia areas and the respective needle bed are moved in a direction relative to each other when one of the needle beds is traversed in both lift directions by a carriage provided with one or a plurality of cams in the border area between two areas of intarsia, and the yarn guides are being coupled with the movement of the carriage in each intarsia area. At the end of a movement segment which extends at most across a number of intarsia areas corresponding to the number of cams, the carriage is reversed in its lift direction and returned, together with the yarn guide last used as well as with the yarn guide to be used for the following intarsia area, to the intarsia area last produced, without making a needle selection. In a further movement segment, a further number of intarsia areas corresponding at most to the number of cams is produced in the original lift direction. Becanuse of this a larger number of intarsia areas or colors can be knitted than corresponds to the number of cams in the carriage used without requiring steps which would reduce the production capacity and increase the costs.
