U.S. patent application number 09/801684 was filed with the patent office on 2001-09-20 for circular knitting machine with device for producing tubular items closed at an axial end, and method for producing tubular items.
This patent application is currently assigned to MATEC S.p.A.. Invention is credited to Gabbrielli, Stefano, Truffelli, Gianfranco.
Application Number | 20010022095 09/801684 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11444548 |
Filed Date | 2001-09-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010022095 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Truffelli, Gianfranco ; et
al. |
September 20, 2001 |
Circular knitting machine with device for producing tubular items
closed at an axial end, and method for producing tubular items
Abstract
A circular knitting machine for hosiery, with a device for
producing tubular items closed at an axial end, and relative
method. The machine has a diverter accommodated inside the needle
cylinder disengaged from the rotation of the needle cylinder about
its own axis with respect to the needle actuation cams and to the
lowering sinker actuation cams. The diverter has a profile which
protrudes from an internal region of the needle cylinder gradually
toward the wall of the needle cylinder. The profile is engaged by
an end portion of the item lying inside the needle cylinder between
two needles mutually angularly spaced around the axis of the needle
cylinder in order to achieve sliding of the item portion along the
profile following rotation of the needle cylinder with respect to
the diverter. The machine has sinkers for retaining the item
portion against the profile during its sliding.
Inventors: |
Truffelli, Gianfranco;
(Pontassieve, IT) ; Gabbrielli, Stefano; (Firenze,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MODIANO & ASSOCIATI
Via Meravigli, 16
MILANO
20123
IT
|
Assignee: |
MATEC S.p.A.
|
Family ID: |
11444548 |
Appl. No.: |
09/801684 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
66/8 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D04B 9/56 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
66/8 |
International
Class: |
D04B 009/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 20, 2000 |
IT |
M12000A000581 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A circular knitting machine with a device for producing tubular
items closed at an axial end, comprising: a needle cylinder which
has a vertical axis and has, on a cylindrical wall thereof, a
plurality of axial slots, each of which accommodates a needle which
is actuatable, by way of actuation cams arranged around the
cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder, in order to form knitting;
lowering sinkers; a sinker ring being arranged proximate to an
upper end of the needle cylinder, being rigidly coupled to the
needle cylinder and having a plurality of radial slots, each of
which accommodates a lowering sinker; sinker actuation cams, which
are engageable by said lowering sinkers which face said sinker ring
for actuation thereof, said needle cylinder being actuatable with a
rotary motion about said vertical axis with respect to said needle
actuation cams and to said sinker actuation cams; a diverter, which
is accommodated inside the needle cylinder and is disengaged from
the rotary motion of the needle cylinder about the vertical axis
with respect to said needle and sinker actuation cams; said
diverter having a peripheral profile which protrudes from an
internal region of the needle cylinder gradually toward the
cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder, said profile being
engageable by an end border portion of the tubular item which lies
inside the needle cylinder between two needles which are mutually
angularly spaced around the vertical axis of the needle cylinder
for actuating sliding of said end portion of the item along said
profile as a consequence of the rotation of the needle cylinder
about said vertical axis with respect to said diverter; and
retention means for retaining said end portion of the tubular item
against said profile during sliding thereof along said profile.
2. The machine of claim 1, further comprising: auxiliary means for
actuating the sinkers in order to move at least part of the sinkers
so that a first portion thereof lies against said peripheral
profile in order to contact said end border portion of the item and
keep said border portion against said profile during sliding
thereof along said profile, said retention means being constituted
by at least part of said sinkers.
3. The machine of claim 1, wherein said peripheral profile of the
diverter reaches an outside part of the cylindrical surface along
which the needles are arranged in order to gradually move said end
border portion above the needles.
4. The machine of claim 3, wherein said profile of the diverter is
formed by a plate arranged on a plane, which is substantially
perpendicular to the vertical axis of the needle cylinder, said
plate having a peripheral rim which is directed toward the outside
of the needle cylinder and is engageable by the end border portion
of the item that rests against the upper face of said plate.
5. The machine of claim 4, wherein said plate has, on a lower face
thereof, a protruding rim which protrudes downward and is spaced
from said peripheral rim of the plate said protruding rim being
shaped so as to match said peripheral rim; said sinkers actuated by
said auxiliary actuation means retaining said end border portion of
the item in a region between said peripheral border and said
protruding rim.
6. The machine of claim 5, wherein the sinkers actuated by said
auxiliary actuation means have a beak region which is adapted to
contact said end border portion of the item that is engaged with
said profile of the diverter.
7. The machine of claim 6, wherein said auxiliary means for the
actuation of the sinkers comprise a sinker actuation cam which
faces said sinker ring in a region faced by said diverter, said
sinker actuation cam forming a path which is engageable by said
sinkers; said path being shaped in order to move the sinkers that
engage the path toward said diverter and in order to keep the beak
of said sinkers adjacent to a region between said peripheral rim
and said protruding rim substantially along the entire extension of
said peripheral profile of the diverter that is engageable by the
item.
8. The machine of claim 7, wherein said diverter is controllably
movable, on command, along a direction which is parallel to the
axis of the needle cylinder, in order to pass from an active
position, in which it is located proximate to the upper end of the
needle cylinder, in order to engage said end portion of the item
with said peripheral profile, to an inactive position, in which it
is lowered inside the needle cylinder with respect to said active
position, in order to avoid interfering with the item, and vice
versa.
9. The machine of claim 8, wherein said diverter is controllably
rotatable, on command, about an axis thereof, which is
substantially parallel to the axis of the needle cylinder, and
proximate to an end of said peripheral profile that is engaged
first by said end portion of the item, for movement of said
peripheral profile toward or away from the cylindrical wall of the
needle cylinder.
10. The machine of claim 9, wherein said diverter has a portion
which is directed toward the cylindrical wall of the needle
cylinder and forms a substantially horizontal supporting surface,
said supporting surface being adapted to support in a downward
region an end of the sinkers pushed by said auxiliary actuation
means toward said diverter.
11. A method for manufacturing tubular items closed at an axial end
with a circular hosiery knitting machine or the like, comprising: a
first step for forming a pocket by using the needles of the needle
cylinder that belong substantially to one half of the needle
cylinder, leaving the initial border of the pocket free inside the
needle cylinder, while the final border of the pocket is retained
on the needles that formed it; a second step, in which the initial
border of the pocket is transferred to the needles that belong
substantially to the other half of the needle cylinder; a third
step, in which the item is completed as a continuation of said
pocket; wherein transfer of the initial border of said pocket is
performed by engaging said initial border of the pocket with a
diverter which is arranged inside the needle cylinder and has a
profile which protrudes from an internal region of the needle
cylinder gradually toward the cylindrical wall of the needle
cylinder and by retaining, by way of mechanical means, said initial
border of the pocket on said profile during its transit along said
profile produced by the rotation of the needle cylinder about its
own axis with respect to said diverter.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said transfer is completed by
moving said initial border of the pocket outside the cylindrical
surface along which the needles that belong to said other half of
the needle cylinder are arranged.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said initial border of the item
is moved outside the cylindrical surface along which the needles
that belong to said other half of the needle cylinder are arranged
by way of said profile of the diverter.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein said initial border of the item
is moved outside the cylindrical surface along which the needles
that belong to said other half of the needle cylinder are arranged
through engagement thereof and lifting on the part of the lowering
sinkers arranged in said other half of the needle cylinder.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the retention of the initial
border of the pocket on said profile of the diverter is performed
by way of the lowering sinkers arranged in said other half of the
needle cylinder.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a circular knitting machine
for knitting hosiery or the like, with a device for producing
tubular items closed at an axial end and to a method for producing
tubular items.
[0002] It is known that hosiery items, according to the
conventional method of production with circular hosiery knitting
machines, are unloaded from the machine that produces them with
their toe open and must then be subjected to stitching or looping
on appropriate machines in order to obtain the finished
product.
[0003] In view of the fact that the toe stitching or looping
operation significantly affects the overall production costs of
hosiery items, methods and machines which allow to obtain
closed-toe hosiery items directly on the machine that produces them
have been studied and improved in recent years.
[0004] One of these methods is disclosed in Italian Patent no.
1,286,604 and substantially consists in forming the hosiery item on
a single-cylinder circular machine by starting from the toe and
formation initially a pocket by using the needles that belong
substantially to one half of the needle cylinder. The initial
border of the pocket, at the end of its formation, remains free
inside the needle cylinder, while the final border of the pocket is
retained on the needles of the half of the needle cylinder that
formed it. The initial free border of the pocket is subjected to
suction in a region located inside the needle cylinder.
Substantially, a region of concentrated air suction is provided
inside the needle cylinder and gradually affects the initial free
border of the pocket as a consequence of the rotation of the needle
cylinder about its own axis with respect to said concentrated air
suction region. In this manner, the initial free border of the
pocket is captured and gradually engaged by appropriately provided
elements being constituted by particular lowering sinkers which
have a point at the upper end of their nose. By the action of these
lowering sinkers, the initial border of the pocket is gradually
transferred above the needles of the half of the needle cylinder
that did not form the pocket, so that through subsequent lifting of
the needles said initial border of the pocket is crossed by the
needles that did not take part in the formation of the pocket. At
the end of this operation of transferring the initial border of the
pocket onto the needles of the half of the needle cylinder that
lies opposite the half used to form the pocket, the entire border
that delimits the pocket is engaged with the needles of the needle
cylinder, which are actuated so as to continue formation of the
item in the conventional manner, thereby forming a hosiery item
which is closed at its toe.
[0005] The concentrated air suction region, in known types of
machines that perform this method, is generally constituted by a
suction port, the intake whereof is located proximate to the upper
end of the needle cylinder and has a profile which, according to
the rotation of the needle cylinder about its own axis with respect
to the suction port, gradually approaches the cylindrical wall of
the needle cylinder, so that the initial border of the pocket, by
engaging said profile, is gradually moved toward the needles
designed to receive said initial border of the pocket, in order to
allow the lowering sinkers, provided with said point, to engage
said initial border in order to transfer it above said needles.
[0006] For the successful transfer of the initial border of the
pocket to the needles designed to receive it, such initial border
must remain constantly engaged with the profile of the suction
port. If the initial border, as a consequence of the knitting
process and of the yarns used for its production, is not
sufficiently resilient, said initial border can disengage from the
profile of the suction port, and therefore the initial border of
the pocket, instead of moving gradually toward the needles that
must engage it, escapes toward the axis of the needle cylinder,
making it impossible for the lowering sinkers to engage it and thus
making it impossible to transfer one or more parts of the initial
border onto the needles that are designed to receive it.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The aim of the present invention is to provide a
single-cylinder circular knitting machine for hosiery which can
produce tubular items being closed at an axial end and which solves
this problem effectively.
[0008] Within the scope of this aim, an object of the invention is
to provide a machine which can effectively transfer the initial
border of a pocket, formed by using the needles that belong
substantially to one half of the needle cylinder, to the needles
that belong to the other half of the needle cylinder, even without
having to use a region of concentrated suction inside the needle
cylinder.
[0009] Another object of the invention is to devise a method which
allows to produce, on a single-cylinder circular knitting machine
for hosiery, tubular items which are closed at an axial end with
fully satisfactory results both from a functional and from an
aesthetic point of view.
[0010] This aim and these and other objects which will become
better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a circular knitting
machine for hosiery or the like with a device for producing tubular
items closed at an axial end, comprising a needle cylinder which
has a vertical axis and has, on its cylindrical wall, a plurality
of axial slots, each of which accommodates a needle which can be
actuated, by way of actuation cams arranged around the cylindrical
wall of the needle cylinder, in order to form knitting; a sinker
ring being arranged proximate to the upper end of the needle
cylinder, being rigidly coupled to the needle cylinder and having a
plurality of radial slots, each of which accommodates a lowering
sinker; cams being provided for actuating the lowering sinkers
which face said sinker ring and can be engaged by said sinkers,
said needle cylinder being actuatable with a rotary motion about
its own axis with respect to said needle actuation cams and to said
sinker actuation cams; characterized in that it comprises a
diverter which is accommodated inside the needle cylinder and is
disengaged from the rotation of the needle cylinder about its own
axis with respect to said actuation cams; said diverter having a
profile which protrudes from an internal region of the needle
cylinder gradually toward the cylindrical wall of the needle
cylinder, said profile being engageable by an end portion of the
item which lies inside the needle cylinder between two needles
which are mutually angularly spaced around the axis of the needle
cylinder for the sliding of said portion of the item along said
profile as a consequence of the rotation of the needle cylinder
about its own axis with respect to said diverter; means being
provided for retaining said portion of the item against said
profile during its sliding along said profile.
[0011] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will
become apparent from the description of a preferred but not
exclusive embodiment of the machine according to the invention,
illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of a portion of the
machine according to the invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic axial sectional view of the upper
portion of the needle cylinder of the machine according to the
invention;
[0014] FIG. 3 is an enlarged-scale view of a detail of FIG. 2
before the engagement of the retention means with the item;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a view of the same detail as FIG. 3, with the
retention means engaged with the item.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] With reference to the figures, the machine according to the
invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1,
comprises in a per se known manner a needle cylinder 2 which has a
vertical axis 2a and has, on its cylindrical wall, a plurality of
axial slots 3, each of which accommodates a needle 4.
[0017] Cams for actuating the needles 4 are arranged around the
cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder 2 and form paths which can
be engaged, as a consequence of the rotation of the needle cylinder
2 about its own axis 2a with respect to said actuation cams, by the
heel 4a of the needles 4, so as to obtain, in a per se known
manner, an actuation of the needles 4 along the corresponding axial
slots 3 of the needle cylinder 2 in order to form knitting.
[0018] Proximate to the upper end of the needle cylinder 2 there is
a sinker ring 5 having a plurality of radial slots 6, each of which
internally accommodates a lowering cam 7, 7a. The radial slots 6 of
the sinker ring 5 are appropriately staggered with respect to the
axial slots 3 of the needle cylinder 2 about the axis 2a, so that
each sinker 7, 7a lies between two contiguous needles.
[0019] The sinker ring 5 is rigidly coupled to the needle cylinder
2 in rotating about the axis 2a, and sinker actuation cams 8 face
from above the sinker ring 5 and form paths which can be engaged by
a heel 9 of the sinkers 7, 7a as a consequence of the rotation of
the needle cylinder 2, and therefore of the sinker ring 5, about
the axis 2a with respect to the actuation cams 8. Such paths are
shaped, in a per se known manner, so as to actuate the sinkers 7,
7a along the corresponding radial slots 6 toward or away from the
axis 2a, so that the sinkers 7, 7a cooperate with the needles 4 in
forming knitting, as in conventional-type single-cylinder circular
machines.
[0020] The machine according to the invention comprises a diverter
10 which is accommodated inside the needle cylinder 2 and is
disengaged from it in its rotation about the axis 2a with respect
to the actuation cams of the needles 4 and to the actuation cams 8
of the sinkers 7, 7a.
[0021] The diverter 10 has a profile 11 which, depending on the
rotation of the needle cylinder 2 with respect to said diverter 10,
gradually approaches the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder 2.
Such profile 11 can be engaged by an end portion of the item 30
which is produced by the machine, as will become apparent
hereinafter, and lies inside the needle cylinder between two
needles which are mutually angularly spaced around the axis 2a of
the needle cylinder 2 in order to achieve the sliding of said
portion of the item 30 along the profile 11 as a consequence of the
rotation of the needle cylinder 2 about its own axis 2a with
respect to the diverter 10.
[0022] The machine according to the invention further comprises
means for retaining said portion of the item 30 against the profile
11 during its sliding along said profile 11.
[0023] More particularly, the profile 11 of the diverter 10 is
preferably formed by a plate 12 being arranged on a plane which is
substantially perpendicular to the axis 2a of the needle cylinder
2. Said plate 12 has a peripheral rim which is directed toward the
outside of the needle cylinder 2 and can be engaged by an end
border 31 of the portion of the item 30 that rests on the upper
face of the plate 12.
[0024] The plate 12 has, on its lower face, a rim 13 which
protrudes downwardly. Said rim 13 is spaced from the peripheral rim
of the plate 12 that forms the profile 11 and is shaped so as to
match said peripheral rim.
[0025] The retention means are preferably constituted by sinkers 7a
with which substantially one half of the needle cylinder 2 is
equipped.
[0026] The machine according to the invention further comprises the
auxiliary means for the actuation of said sinkers 7a in order to
move said sinkers 7a with one of their portions against the profile
11, so as to make contact with the border 31 of the item 30 and
keep it against said profile 11 during its sliding along said
profile 11.
[0027] Said auxiliary actuation means are conveniently constituted
by an actuation cam 14 which faces the sinker ring 5 in the region
affected by the diverter 10. The actuation cam 14 has a profile
which can be engaged by the end of the sinkers 7a that is directed
away from the axis 2a of the needle cylinder 2. Said profile of the
actuation cam 14 has a first portion 14a, which is shaped so as to
produce a gradual approach of the sinkers 7a to the axis 2a of the
needle cylinder 2, and a second portion 14b, which is shaped so as
to match the profile 11 of the diverter 10 so as to keep the
sinkers 7a, which engage the cam 14, with their beak 15 adjacent to
the region of the plate 12, which is located between the peripheral
border that forms the profile 11 and the rim 13, substantially over
the entire extension of the profile 11 of the diverter 10 that can
be engaged by the border 31 of the item 30.
[0028] The cam 14 is movable on command by way of actuators of a
known type which can be constituted, for example, by a pneumatic
cylinder, by an electromagnetically-driven actuator or by an
actuator of the mechanical type, from an active position, in which
it engages the end of the sinkers 7a that is directed away from the
axis 2a, to an inactive position, in which it is spaced with
respect to the active position relative to the axis 2a of the
needle cylinder 2 so as to not engage the sinkers 7a, and vice
versa.
[0029] The diverter 10 is fixed to a supporting shaft 20 which is
orientated so that its axis is parallel to the axis 2a and is
movable on command along its own axis in order to move the diverter
10 to an active position, in which it is arranged proximate to the
upper end of the needle cylinder 2 so as to engage, by means of its
profile 11, the border 31 of the item 30, to an inactive position,
in which it is lowered inside the needle cylinder 2 with respect to
the active position in order to avoid interfering with the item 30,
and vice versa.
[0030] The shaft 20 is fixed to the diverter 10 proximate to the
end of the profile 11 that is engaged first by the portion of the
item 30 and can be rotated, about its own axis 20a, so as to cause
a rotation of the entire diverter 10 about the axis 20a in order to
move the profile 11 toward or away from the cylindrical wall of the
needle cylinder 2.
[0031] Conveniently, the diverter 10 has a portion 27 which is
directed toward the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder 2 and
forms a substantially horizontal supporting surface which is
adapted to support, in a downward region, the end of the sinkers 7a
when they are pushed by the cam 14 toward the diverter 10.
[0032] The sinkers 7a preferably have, proximate to the upper end
of their nose, a point 25 and can be made to oscillate on a radial
plane, with respect to the needle cylinder 2, inside the
corresponding radial slot 6 of the sinker ring 5. More
particularly, the lower side of the sinkers 7a, arranged proximate
to the end of the sinkers 7a that is directed away from the axis 2a
of the needle cylinder 2, is shaped like an inclined plane 26 and
the actuation cams of the sinkers 8 have a profile which, in the
region directly after the diverter 10 along the rotation of the
needle cylinder 2 about its own axis 2a with respect to the
diverter 10, engages the upper side of said end of the sinkers 7a,
so as to push said end toward the bottom of the corresponding
radial slot 6, thus producing the oscillation of the sinkers 7a
which makes the point 25 rise.
[0033] The machine according to the invention is equipped with
sinkers 7 of the conventional type, as regards one half of the
needle cylinder, and with sinkers 7a as regards the other half of
the needle cylinder.
[0034] The operation of the machine according to the invention in
the manufacture of a tubular item closed at one of its axial end is
as follows.
[0035] Manufacture of the item 30 begins from the end that is to be
closed by forming a pocket, as disclosed in Italian Patent no.
1,286,604, using the needles that belong to the half of the needle
cylinder 2 that is equipped with the conventional-type sinkers
7.
[0036] The initial step of formation of the pocket can optionally
be preceded by a step in which some rows of knitting are formed by
using all the needles of the needle cylinder 2.
[0037] The pocket can be formed by actuating the needle cylinder 2
with an alternating motion about its own axis 2a, as in the
execution of the knitting of the heel of hosiery items, of a known
type, or by way of a continuous rotation of the needle cylinder 2
about its own axis 2a, cutting the threads at the ends of the
pocket. At the end of the formation of the pocket, the initial or
end border 31 of the pocket is free inside the needle cylinder 2 of
the machine, while the final border is retained on the needles 4
that belong to the half of the needle cylinder 2 that was used to
knit the pocket.
[0038] At this point in time the needle cylinder 2 is turned
through one full turn about its own axis 2a, so that the initial
border 31 of the pocket engages against the profile 11 of the
diverter 10 moved into the active position. By way of the rotation
of the needle cylinder 2 about its own axis 2a, the sinkers 7a that
belong to the half of the needle cylinder that was not involved in
the formation of the pocket, by engaging the cam 14, are made to
engage, with the end of their beak 15, the border 31 of the pocket,
retaining it firmly against the profile 11 over its entire
extension. In this manner, the initial border 31 is firmly clamped
between the border of the plate 12 that forms the profile 11 and
the border 13 and is in any case free to slide along the profile 11
in order to gradually approach the cylindrical wall of the needle
cylinder 2. The sinkers 7a, besides retaining the border 31 against
the profile 11, also facilitate its sliding along the profile 11.
Directly downstream of the profile 11, the sinkers 7a are raised so
that their point 25 engages the portion of the initial border 31
that lies between the profile 11 and the last needle with which
said border 31 is engaged. The sinkers 7a, actuated as disclosed in
Italian Patent no. 1,286,604, gradually move the initial border 31
above the needles of the half of the needle cylinder 2 that was not
involved in the formation of the pocket; said needles are then
raised as to cross said initial border 31 until the entire initial
border 31 is completely transferred onto the needles of the half of
the needle cylinder 2 that was not involved in the formation of the
pocket. At the end of the transfer, the previously formed pocket is
engaged with all the needles of the needle cylinder. At this point
in time, the diverter 10 is lowered inside the needle cylinder so
that it no longer interferes with the item 30 and knitting
continues in a per se known manner until the item is completed; the
item is then unloaded from the machine according to the invention,
with a closed axial end.
[0039] It should be observed that the passage of the initial border
31 above the needles 4 of the half of the needle cylinder 2 that is
not used to form the pocket can also be achieved without engaging
and lifting the border 31 by means of the point 25 of the sinkers
7a. The profile 11 of the diverter 10 may in fact be provided so
that it reaches the outside of the cylindrical surface along which
the needles 4 are arranged, so that the border 31 is arranged above
the needles designed to receive it simply by sliding along the
profile 11. In this case also, the sinkers 7a retain the border 31
against the profile 11 substantially along its entire extension. In
this case, the sinkers 7a can be provided like the sinkers 7, i.e.,
without the point 25.
[0040] With this different embodiment, besides not requiring the
use of special sinkers with the point 25, the assembly of the cams
that actuate the sinkers is simplified, since it is no longer
necessary to oscillate the sinkers in order to raise the border
31.
[0041] In this constructive variation, the sinkers, by keeping the
border 31 against the profile 11 in the immediate vicinity of the
needles that are raised to pass through said border 31, also
prevent the item from rising, thus making it easier for the needles
to pass through it.
[0042] In practice it has been observed that the machine according
to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since by having
means for retaining the initial border of the pocket against the
profile of the diverter it assuredly prevents such initial border
from disengaging from the diverter and thus assuredly transfers the
initial border of the pocket to the needles that belong to the half
of the needle cylinder that was not involved in the formation of
the pocket, and thus ensures perfectly successful production of
tubular items closed at an axial end.
[0043] Although the machine according to the invention has been
conceived particularly for the production of closed-toe hosiery
items, it can in any case be used more generally for the production
of tubular items which are closed at an axial end.
[0044] The machine thus conceived is susceptible of numerous
modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of
the appended claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced
with other technically equivalent elements.
[0045] In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions,
may be any according to requirements and to the state of the
art.
[0046] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No.
MI2000A000581 from which this application claims priority are
incorporated herein by reference.
* * * * *