Control device for a textile machine

Claim 1

In a knitting machine, apparatus for operating a machine element such as a needle or jack having a control butt, said apparatus comprising a bracket mounted adjacent to said machine element and a plurality of pneumatic actuators serially arranged within said bracket and axially of said machine element, each of said actuators comprising a hollow body, a flexible diaphragm secured within and dividing said body into a front and rear chamber, and a movable member extending outwardly of said chamber, means for effecting movement of said extending member over a predetermined distance on application of a pneumatic pulse thereto, means retaining the outermost actuator from movement away from said machine element, a cam mounted on the extending member adjacent said machine element adapted to be moved into and out of operative engagement with the butt of said element, said cam mounting member having a rear end bearing on said diaphragm, and resilient means for maintaining said cam normally out of engagement with the butt of said machine element, and means for selectively feeding pneumatic pulses to one or simultaneously more of said actuators to cause one or more of said diaphragms to flex and move said extending movable member against said resilient means, into engagement with said machine element, the number of pulses fed to said actuators determining the distance of movement of said extending movable member.