Knitting machine with weft insertion

Claim 1

In a knitting machine having knitting needles and movable thread guide means for laying-in weft threads between first means provided at each end of a needle bed, said first means being vertically displaceable and determine the required length of a weft thread and second means for effecting a movement of said thread guide means which extends over at least two loop forming cycles, such that a presented weft thread, on completion of said movement of said thread guide means, is laid by a thread presenter behind the knitting needles, the improvement comprising: support means defining substantially horizontally extending butts for supporting said presented weft threads and drive means therefor for raising and lowering said butts, said raising motion being above said thread presenter so that during said movement of said thread guide means, said thread presenter will simultaneously move beneath said presented thread supported on said horizontal butts of said support means and at least one loop formed while said weft thread is supported on said support means will not have a weft thread therein but during one or more subsequent cycles of operation forming a desired numbeR of additional loops, said drive means for said support means will thereafter effect a lowering of said butts on said support means to position said weft thread supported thereon in the path of movement of said thread presenter to locate a weft thread in a desired one of said loops.