EP0854949A1

EP0854949A1 - Knitting machine, especially warp knitting machine

Info

Publication number: EP0854949A1
Application number: EP96931717A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Dorn; Silvan Borer
Original assignee: Textilma AG
Current assignee: Textilma AG
Priority date: 1995-10-11
Filing date: 1996-10-04
Publication date: 1998-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 2016-10-04
Also published as: US5956978A; TW376910U; DE59602901D1; KR100397181B1; WO1997013908A1; EP0854949B1; ES2135919T3; JPH11513446A; KR19990064174A

Abstract

The knitting machine has a main drive (16) for at least one needle bar of a row of needles and a central control unit (120) with an input device (122) to establish the characteristics of the knitwear to be produced. In order to improve the control, each drive (16, 28, 33, 35, 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d) of individual components (15, 22, 32, 34, 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d) has an individual intelligent control unit (163, 283, 333, 353, 63a3, 63b3, 63c3, 63d3) to assume and process the relevant program module of the control device (120). The drives are interconnected and synchronised via a shared reference value beat generator line (130), in which one drive (16) is the main drive and an appropriate beat generator (164) is the reference value beat generator.

Description

Wi-rkmaschine, in particular Kettenwirlαπaschine

Technical field

The invention relates to a knitting machine, in particular a warp knitting machine according to the preamble of claim 1.

State of the art

A knitting machine of the type mentioned is known from DE-A-42 38 600. This knitting machine contains a central control unit and individual intelligent control units for the individual units. The individual control units are each equipped with a clock. The connection between the central control unit and the individual control units takes place via an external BUS. The program modules required for the respective unit for the knitted fabric to be produced are processed on the individual control units. It is disadvantageous that the coordination of the individual individual control units takes place via the central control unit, to which the signals of the individual clock generators are forwarded, processed and returned as control signals to the individual control units. For this purpose, the central control unit contains an additional bus driver. With this design, the control is not only relatively complicated, but in particular also limited in the speed of data exchange and the control of the units. Presentation of the invention

The object of the invention is to improve a knitting machine of the type mentioned.

The object is achieved according to the invention by the characterizing features of claim 1. Because each drive has an individual intelligent control unit for taking over and processing an associated program module of the control program of the central control device, and the drive of a unit as the main drive with an associated one The clock is designed as a setpoint clock, the drives of all units being connected to one another via a setpoint clock line, which results in a significant simplification, greater flexibility and adaptability of the drives, in particular the auxiliary drives. This makes it possible to load the individual control units with the associated program module each time the knitting machine is switched on, so that all drives can be controlled autonomously, that is to say without communication with the central control unit, and therefore more quickly than before, and thus more easily, react faster and more precisely to changes in the speed of the main drive. As a result, the central control device is also no longer required and is free for the input of new control programs. The speed and performance of the control of the knitting machine is significantly improved. Each program module can thus be individually set to the function to be accomplished, so that complicated transition curves, compensation curves and the like are not necessary. This results in a significant improvement in the control of the knitting machine.

Advantageous configurations of the knitting machine are described in claims 2 to 9. There are various options for designing the setpoint clock. According to claim 2, it is advantageous to provide a signal transmitter which responds to the angular position of a main drive shaft as the setpoint clock generator.

It is advantageous to design the knitting machine according to claim 3, according to which each auxiliary drive is provided with a synchronous motor. Such a synchronous motor is advantageously connected via a reduction gear to the unit to be driven, which is, for example, a laying rail. This allows high offset forces, e.g. B. achieve two kilopond per thread with an average offset of 108 mm or large displacement paths with small thread forces, as is necessary, for example, for full weft over the entire length of the knitting machine.

According to claim 4, the main drive is preferably equipped with an asynchronous motor.

According to claim 5, the knitting machine is preferably equipped with at least two laying rails, which can be arranged in a very flexible and space-saving manner, in particular due to their own auxiliary drive. So it is possible to provide the drive at the right end for one laying rail and the drive at the left end for the other laying rail, which results in a space-saving arrangement, which is moreover only limited to the ends of the laying rail, so that the remaining space for other components and / or the accessibility of the knitting machine can be used.

The same advantages also result for the arrangement of a full shooting device according to claim 6 and / or a partial shooting device according to claim 7. An embodiment according to claim 8 is particularly advantageous since the circulation organ can be used individually for partial shots as well as for full shots, the size of the offset being able to be changed without mechanical intervention by means of the individual control unit.

A further development according to claim 9 is also particularly advantageous, which results in a very effective and optimally adjustable take-off device, which in turn is very space-saving, whereby either space is available for other components and / or improves the accessibility of the knitting machine is.

The auxiliary drives for the individual aggregates or aggregate groups enable individual, flexible control of the individual aggregates or aggregate groups, in particular the laying rails, as well as the adjustment of the thread placement to the knitting needle movement. As a result, the type of weave, the mesh size and the course of forces can be optimized without the knitting machine having to be converted. For warp knitting machines with large pitches and thus large displacement movements, the auxiliary drives for the individual unit groups result in significant advantages, since e.g. with a mechanical control of the laying rails would have to be carried out with a great deal of effort.

The control system according to the invention is particularly well suited for coarse knitting machines, ie for knitting machines for coarse knitted fabrics, since such machines are generally slow-running (100 revolutions / minute) and work with large needle pitches of, for example, one needle per two centimeters which long offset and swing movements have to be carried out. In the case of knitting machines customary hitherto, the divisions are much finer, for example six needles per centimeter, and the offset strokes are correspondingly smaller, at higher speeds of, for example, 500 to 2000 revolutions / minute.

The concept according to the invention is of great advantage in particular in the case of double-knitting machines, which is very important for practical use. Previous double-knit machines offered on the market have either attached the drive or drive elements for the swing and / or the laying rails in the middle of the knitting machine, which means that the goods take-off has to be laboriously guided around the drive elements and, moreover, the knitted fabric is difficult to access in the area of the take-off . This is a hindrance on the one hand when the knitted fabric is pulled in, but also during the inspection and during production as well as when removing the knitted fabric.

The auxiliary drives according to the invention for the laying rails, on the other hand, can be mounted on both sides of the knitting machine on the basis of the concept of the individual drives, so that no drives or drive elements protrude into the withdrawal area of the knitted fabric. The knitted fabric is thus easily accessible for the retraction of the knitting machine, which increases the operational safety of the knitting machine and facilitates inspection and removal of the knitted fabric. In particular, the simplification of the goods take-off is particularly important since the take-off rollers can thereby be brought very close to the point of action, which increases operational reliability, that is to say the precise stitch formation and thus the stitch quality.

Exemplary embodiments of the knitting machine according to the invention are described in more detail below with the aid of schematic drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a warp knitting machine in a view of the long side; FIG. 2 shows the knitting area of the warp knitting machine of FIG. 1 in section II-II of FIG. 1 and on a larger scale;

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the control of the warp knitting machine; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart for the interaction of the aggregates in the manufacture of a knitted fabric.

Ways of Carrying Out the Invention

As a preferred embodiment of a knitting machine according to the invention, a double-contour Raschel machine is shown in FIGS. a warp knitting machine with two rows of knitting needles 2, 4, each of which is arranged in a known manner by means of needle bars on oscillating levers 6, 8 mounted in the machine frame 5, and can be driven and driven. For example, these rocking levers 6, 8 are driven, for example, via coupling rods 10, which interact with rocking levers 12, which cooperate at their free ends with cams 14 on a main shaft 15, which is driven by a main drive 16. The knitting needle rows 2, 4 are arranged on both sides of knock-over rails 18, between which the knitted fabric 20 is pulled off by means of a pull-off device 22. The latter consists of two take-off rollers 24, 26, which are driven by an auxiliary drive 28, and a pressure roller 30.

A partial weft device 32 with an auxiliary drive 33 or a full weft device 34 with an auxiliary drive 35 is assigned to each knitting needle row 2, 4. The partial weft device 32 (omitted for clarity in FIG. 1) points a laying rail 36 and thread guide 38, which only move over a section of the knitting needle rows 4. The full weft device 34 contains a circulating member 40, which is driven to and fro by means of the auxiliary drive 35 over the entire row of knitting needles 2 and is designed as a toothed belt and to which a thread guide 42 is fastened for executing the full weft.

Four further laying rails 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d with thread guides 48 for feeding warp threads 46 via upper guide members 47 are arranged above the knitting needle rows 2, 4. The laying rails 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d contain on both sides two parallel support rods 50, by means of which they are mounted in rockers 52 so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction, which in turn are fastened to a pivotable shaft 54 which is mounted in the machine frame 5. The shaft 54 is provided in a manner known per se with a drive lever 56 on which a coupling rod is articulated, which is connected to a further lever 60 which can be pivoted in the machine frame and which has a cam 62 on the main shaft 15 driven by the main drive 16 cooperates. The laying rails 36, 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d are at least essentially identical, but auxiliary drives 35, 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d serving for displacement in the longitudinal direction on any side, for example alternating from laying rail to laying rail, once on the right and once can be arranged at the left end. The laying rails can be designed differently, but they are preferably basically the same, whereby individual or all laying rails can be equipped with at least one auxiliary laying rail.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram for the control of the warp knitting machine described above with its units. The warp knitting machine contains a central control unit 120 with an input device 122, on which, for example the characteristic data of the desired pattern for the knitted fabric to be produced can be entered by means of a keyboard, a floppy disk drive or the like. A connected central control unit 124 processes the data and routes it via a communication line 126 to the individual drives connected in parallel, ie to the main drive 16, the auxiliary drives 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d for the laying rails 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d, the auxiliary drive 33 for the partial shot device 32, the auxiliary drive 35 for the full shot device 34 and the auxiliary drive 28 for the trigger device 22. All drives are connected to a feed line 128 for the energy supply. All drives are built autonomously and identically, so that the indices for the respective reference numerals designate the same parts:

Index 1: engine

Index 2: management

Index 3: individual control unit with

Computer index 4: clock

Index 5: clock line.

The following structure thus results for the main drive 16. A motor 16 ^ is connected via a line I62 to an individual control unit I63 containing a computer, which autonomously processes a program module supplied by the central control unit 120 via the communication line 126. For this purpose, a clock generator I64 is connected to the motor 16, which responds to the angular positions of the main drive shaft 15 of the main drive 16 and is connected to the individual control unit I63 via a clock transmission line I65. In the present example, the clock generator 16 _{4 of} the main drive serves as a setpoint for the auxiliary drives, so that the clock generator line I65 of the main drive is connected in parallel with all the auxiliary drives 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d, 33, 35, 28 via a setpoint clock line 130 is connected and the processing of the program modules on the auxiliary drives is based on the setpoint value specified by the clock generator 16 _{4 of} the main drive 16. The auxiliary clock generators 63a ₄ , 63b ₄ , 63c ₄ , 63d ₄ , 33 ₄ , 35 ₄ , 28 _{4 of} the various auxiliary drives are connected via corresponding clock generator lines 63a ₅ , 63b ₅ , 63c ₅ , 63d ₅ , 33 ₅ , 355, 28r _j connected to the respective individual control units 63a3,63b3,63C3,63d3, 333,353,283 and serve to record the actual state of each auxiliary drive, which is then compared by the respective individual control unit of the auxiliary drive with the target value of the main drive and adapted accordingly becomes. The individual program modules are switched from the central control unit 120 to the individual control unit 163 of the main drive 16 and the individual control units 63a3, 63b3,63C3,63d3,333,353,283 of the individual auxiliary drives 63a, when the warp knitting machine is switched on or when the program run is started. 63b, 63c, 63d, 33, 35, 28 loaded and processed there independently. This means that each drive can be controlled autonomously and thus faster. There is no need for communication between the central control unit and the other individual control units of the other drives. The central control unit 120 is also free after the program modules have been unloaded in order to enter the characteristic data for the production of another knitted fabric.

While the auxiliary drives 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d, 33, 35 of the laying rails 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d, the partial firing device 32 and the full firing device 34 operate absolutely synchronously, the auxiliary drive 28 of the trigger device 22 can be operated with a positive or negatively deviating drive speed can be operated in order to be able to adapt the take-off device to the properties of the knitted fabric being produced. A warp knitting machine of the present type has the following data, for example: Operating speed 10 to 120 rpm

Creep speed 0.1 to 5 rpm

Deduction mesh size 4 to 50 mm / rev.

Reduction deduction 0 to 100%

Needle pitch 14, 18, 22 mm

Production length 1 to 00 m

For each knitted fabric to be produced and for the entire pattern repeat, a specific instruction list (computer program), for example, is stored in the central control unit 120, which is not shown in more detail here. When the knitting machine is started, such a list of instructions is loaded as a program module in the individual control units of the individual auxiliary drives and processed there, the coordination of the individual auxiliary drives with the main drive 16 being ensured by the setpoint cycle via the setpoint cycle line 130 is. FIG. 4 shows in a flowchart the interaction of the rear needle bar with the rear row of needles 2, the front needle bar with the front row of needles 4, the pivoting movement 132, that is to say the swing of the laying rails 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d and the offset of the Laying rails 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d as a function of the rotary movement of the main shaft 15 for two revolutions thereof. The offset of the laying rails is specified in partial strokes of plus / minus units, where 1 unit corresponds to one needle pitch.

The warp knitting machine shown is very well suited for the production of coarse knitted fabrics with coarse threads up to 4800 tex, for example. For example, the warp knitting machine can be used to produce nets and mats for a wide variety of purposes, such as nets for climbing walls in play gardens, safety nets of the most varied types, mats and the like, each for a wide variety of uses. BBZDGSZEICHEHI.ISTE

2 rows of knitting needles

4 row of knitting needles

5 machine frame

6 rocker arms 8 rocker arms 10 coupling rod 12 rocker arms

14 cam

15 main shaft

16 main drive

18 tee rails

20 knitted fabrics

22 trigger device

24 take-off roller

26 take-off roller

28 auxiliary drive

30 pressure roller

32 partial shooting device

33 auxiliary drive

34 full firing device

35 auxiliary drive

36 laying rail 38 thread guide 40 circulation element 42 thread guide 44a laying rail 44b laying rail 44c laying rail 44d laying rail

46 warp thread

47 management body

48 thread guides Supporting rod swing arm shaft drive lever coupling rod lever cam a auxiliary drive b auxiliary drive c auxiliary drive d auxiliary drive 0 central control unit 2 input device 4 central control unit 6 communication line 8 feed line 0 clock generator line 2 swivel movement (swing)

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

Knitting machine, in particular warp knitting machine with a central control unit (120) containing a computer, with an input device (122) for determining the characteristic data of the knitted fabric (20) to be produced and with a central control unit (124), which is connected via a line (126) with individual drives ( 16,28,33,35,63a, 63b, 63c, 63d) for units (15,22,32,34,44a, 44b, 44c, 44d) of the knitting machine, each drive (16,28, 33, 35, 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d) an individual, intelligent control unit (163,283, 333,353,63a3,63b3,63C3,63d3) for taking over and processing an associated program module from the central control unit (120) as well as a clock generator (16th ₄ , 28 ₄ , 33 ₄ 35 ₄ , 63a ₄ , 63b ₄ , 63c ₄ 63d ₄ ) for determining the working position of the assembly, characterized in that the drive (16) of an assembly (15) as the main drive and the associated clock generator ( 16 ₄ ) are designed as setpoint clocks, the latter via a sol Oil value clock line (130) is directly connected to the individual control units (163, 283, 333, 353, 63a3, 63b3, 63C3, 63d3) of all units, the other clocks as auxiliary clocks (28 ₄ , 33 ₄ , 35 ₄ , 63a ₄ , 63b ₄ , 63c ₄ , 63d ₄ ) are each connected to the associated drive designed as an auxiliary drive (28, 33, 35, 63a, 63b, 63c, 63d), all in such a way that a sample program entered at the central control unit (120) is displayed the individual control units (163,283,333353, 63a3,63b3,63c3,63d3) can be processed independently of the central control unit (124) of the central control unit (120).

2. knitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the setpoint clock (16 ₄ ) is designed as an on the Winkel¬ position of a main shaft (15) of the main drive (16) responsive signal generator.

3. knitting machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that the motor (28 ^, 33- ^, 35 ^, 63a ^, 63b ^ - 630 ^, 63d ^) of each auxiliary drive (28,33, 35,63a , 63b, 63c, 63d) is designed as a synchronous motor.

4. Knitting machine according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the motor (16 ^) of the main drive (16) is designed as an asynchronous motor.

5. knitting machine according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has at least two laying rails (32, 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d), each with its own auxiliary drive (33,35,63a, 63b, 63c, 63d), the auxiliary drives of the guide rails are preferably arranged alternately left or right.

6. Knitting machine according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it has at least one full weft device (34) running over the entire length of the knitting needle row (2, 4) with its own auxiliary drive (35).

7. knitting machine according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it has at least one with the knitting row (2,4) cooperating partial weft device (32) with its own auxiliary drive (33).

8. The knitting machine according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the weft device (32, 34) has a rotating member (40), preferably a driven toothed belt, that runs over the entire working width and is driven by the auxiliary drive (33, 35). on which a thread guide (42) is arranged.

9. knitting machine according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it has a draw-off device (22) with its own auxiliary drive (28), the draw-off speed of which is preferably adjustable independently of the main drive (16).