Transmission mechanism for weft bars of knitting machine

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6321577
  • Patent Number
    6,321,577
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 26, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 27, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Worrell; Danny
    Agents
    • Rabin & Berdo, P.C.
Abstract
A transmission mechanism for weft bars of knitting machine comprises pairs of connecting rods each pair having one end coupled to the weft bar; connection members having one ends coupled to the other ends of the connecting rods; universal rods having one ends pivotably coupled to the other ends of the connection members; upper engagement blocks having upper sides pivotably coupled to the other ends of the universal rods; lower engagement blocks having top teeth on either end; belts each having parallel teeth on the inner surface, each belt being movable between the upper and the lower engagement blocks with the teeth thereof meshed with the top teeth of the lower engagement block; two transverse rods inserted through the lower engagement block for connecting the lower engagement block and the knitting machine together; sensors each secured on the upper engagement block for controlling the motions of the upper and the lower engagement blocks; pairs of idler gears each pair provided on two sides of the belt; pairs of shafts each for supporting the idler gear; motors each having a gear wheel meshed with the teeth on the bottom of the belt; and two plates each having seats of different length for supporting the motors.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to knitting machines and more particularly to an improved transmission mechanism for weft bars of knitting machine.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Conventionally, weft bars are activated by cams through connecting rods thereof. Such operation is disadvantageous for component wearing, malfunctioning and noise. Further, the replacement of component is tedious and time consuming. Furthermore, the requirement for the correction of newly installed component is very high, thus causing inconvenience to operator. Therefore, improvement exists.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is an object of the present invention to provide a transmission mechanism for a plurality of weft bars of a knitting machine comprising a plurality of pairs of connecting rods each pair having one end coupled to the weft bar; a plurality of connection members having one ends coupled to the other ends of the connecting rods; a plurality of universal rods having one ends pivotably coupled to the other ends of the connection members; a plurality of upper engagement blocks having upper sides pivotably coupled to the other ends of the universal rods; a plurality of lower engagement blocks having top teeth on either end; a plurality of belts each having a plurality of parallel teeth on the inner surface, each belt being movable between the upper engagement block and the lower engagement block with the teeth thereof meshed with the top teeth of the lower engagement block; two transverse rods inserted through the lower engagement block for connecting the lower engagement block and the knitting machine together; a plurality of sensors each secured on the upper engagement block for sensing and controlling the motions of the upper engagement block and the lower engagement block; a plurality of pairs of idler gears each pair provided on two sides of the belt; a plurality of pairs of shafts each for supporting the idler gear; a plurality of motors each having a gear wheel meshed with the teeth on the bottom of the belt; and two plates each having a plurality of seats for supporting the motors wherein one of the seats has a length different from the other.




The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a transmission mechanism for weft bars of knitting machine according to the invention;





FIG. 2

is an enlarged view of the

FIG. 1

transmission mechanism;





FIG. 2A

is an exploded view of the

FIG. 1

transmission mechanism;





FIG. 2B

is a perspective view showing assembled upper engagement block and lower engagement block of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 2C

is an exploded perspective view showing the arrangement of motors of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3A

is a schematic side view of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 3B

is a schematic top view of

FIG. 3A

; and





FIG. 3C

is another schematic side view in part section of FIG.


2


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to

FIGS. 1

to


2


C, there is shown a transmission mechanism for weft bars


11


of knitting machine


1


constructed in accordance with the invention. Two connecting rods


12


are coupled between weft bar


11


and one of connection members


13


. A universal rod


14


is pivotably coupled between connection member


13


and upper engagement block


2


. A belt


4


has a plurality of parallel teeth


41


on the inner surface. Belt


4


is movable between upper engagement block


2


and lower engagement block


3


with teeth


41


meshed with either mating teeth


31


of lower engagement block


3


. Two transverse rods


3


A are inserted through lower engagement block


3


so as to connect lower engagement block


3


and knitting machine


1


together. A sensor


2


A is secured on upper engagement block


2


for sensing and controlling the motions of upper engagement block


2


and lower engagement block


3


. Two idler gears


5


are provided on two sides of belt


4


. Each idler gear


5


is supported by a shaft


5


A. Any one of a plurality of motors


6


has a gear wheel


61


meshed with teeth


41


on the bottom of belt


4


. A plate


7


has a plurality of seats


71


for supporting motors


6


wherein any seat


71


has a length different from the other.




Referring to

FIGS. 3A

to


3


C, the operation of the transmission mechanism for weft bars


11


of knitting machine


1


will now be described below when the transmission mechanism is assembled. In operation, belts


4


are rotated in a high speed when motors


6


are activated. Also, the reciprocating motions of upper engagement block


2


and lower engagement block


3


are reliably smooth by the provision of transverse rods


3


A. As a result, the operating speed of weft bars


11


is reliably fast. Most importantly, weft bars


11


are well cooperated with transmission mechanism.




While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.



Claims
  • 1. A transmission mechanism for a plurality of weft bars of a knitting machine comprising:a plurality of pairs of connecting rods each pair having one end coupled to said weft bar; a plurality of connection members having one ends coupled to said other ends of said connecting rods; a plurality of universal rods having one ends pivotably coupled to said other ends of said connection members; a plurality of upper engagement blocks having upper sides pivotably coupled to said other ends of said universal rods; a plurality of lower engagement blocks having top teeth on either end; a plurality of belts each having a plurality of parallel teeth on said inner surface, each belt being movable between said upper engagement block and said lower engagement block with said teeth thereof meshed with said top teeth of said lower engagement block; two transverse rods inserted through said lower engagement block for connecting said lower engagement block and said knitting machine together; a plurality of sensors each secured on said upper engagement block for sensing and controlling said motions of said upper engagement block and said lower engagement block; a plurality of pairs of idler gears each pair provided on two sides of said belt; a plurality of pairs of shafts each for supporting said idler gear; a plurality of motors each having a gear wheel meshed with said teeth on said bottom of said belt; and two plates each having a plurality of seats for supporting said motors wherein one of said seats has a length different from the other.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
4414826 Mista et al. Nov 1983
4611475 Bergmann Sep 1986
5307648 Forkert et al. May 1994
5311751 Winter et al. May 1994
5327750 Speich Jul 1994
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
3213663 Oct 1983 DE