Textile machines

Claim 2

The combination comprising a textile producing machine including at least one actuator means for determining the production of the material and also means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, buffer storage means for receiving information supplied by the computer, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, first means to count said signals from said machine and settable to select a said signal, the computer acting in response to a said selected signal as instructed by the control program to supply information to said buffer storage means for use by the machine.

Claim 3

The combination as in claim 1 wherein the computer includes a logic unit means and said first counter means is disposed intermediate the machine and the logic unit means, said first counter means receiving said signals from the machine, determining which of said signals is to be selected and passing said selected signals to said logic unit means, said logic unit means initiating the supply of information to said buffer storage means.

Claim 4

The combination as in claim 2 wherein the first counter means only passes said selected signals to said logic unit means when it has received a predetermined number of said signals from the machine as determined by the setting of the first counter means.

Claim 5

The combination as in claim 3 further comprising means to allow the logic unit means as instructed by the stored program of computer instructions to set said first counter means to said predetermined number.

Claim 6

The combination as in claim 4 wherein said first counter means includes A plurality of stages.

Claim 7

The combination as in claim 1 wherein said computer includes logic unit means which receive said signals from the machine and said first counter means includes a first portion of said control program which is executed in response to said signals received from the machine, said first portion of said control program acting to initiate the supply of information by said logic unit means to said buffer storage means.

Claim 8

The combination as in claim 6 wherein said logic unit means counts said signals received from said machine as instructed by said first portion of said control program and initiates the supply of information as instructed by said first portion of said control program upon counting a predetermined number of said signals.

Claim 9

The combination according to claim 6 wherein the first counter means includes a first word comprising an individually addressable portion of the random access store, said first word storing the current value of the first counter means.

Claim 10

The combination according to claim 7 wherein the first counter means includes a first word comprising an individually addressable portion of the random access store, said first word storing the current value of the first counter means.

Claim 11

The combination according to claim 8 in which the first counter means includes a second word of the random access store which stores the value to which said first word may be reset by the logic unit means as instructed by said first portion of the control program.

Claim 12

The combination according to claim 9 in which the first counter means includes a second word of the random access store which stores the value to which said first word may be reset by the logic unit means as instructed by said first portion of the control program.

Claim 13

The combination according to claim 10 in which the values of said first and second words including the current value of the first counter means and its reset value respectively are negative.

Claim 14

The combination according to claim 11 in which the values of said first and second words including the current value of the first counter means and its reset value respectively are negative.

Claim 15

The combination according to claim 12 wherein the said logic unit means as instructed by said first portion of said control program on receipt of each said signal first increments said first word holding the current value of the first counter means and then tests for a zero result to determine whether a supply of information to the said buffer storage means should be initiated.

Claim 16

The combination according to claim 13 wherein the said logic unit means as instructed by said first portion of said control program on receipt of each said signal first increments said first word holding the current value of the first counter means and then tests for a zero result to determine whether a supply of information to the said buffer storage means should be initiated.

Claim 17

The combination according to claim 10 in which said first and second words each respectively store a control program instruction.

Claim 18

The combination according to claim 11 in which said first and second words each respectively store a control program instruction.

Claim 19

The combination according to claim 8 in which said first word stores a control program instruction.

Claim 20

The combination according to claim 9 in which said first word stores a control program instruction.

Claim 21

The combination according to claim 13 further comprising second counter means including a second portion of said control program having an individually addressable third word of the random access store, said second counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said third word as instructed by said second portion of said control program, said second counter means controlling the logic unit means to determine the type of information to be supplied to said buffer storage means.

Claim 22

The combination accordinG to claim 15 further comprising second counter means including a second portion of said control program having an individually addressable third word of the random access store, said second counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said third word as instructed by the second portion of said control program, said second counter means controlling the logic unit means to determine the type of information to be supplied to said buffer storage means.

Claim 23

The combination according to claim 17 further comprising second counter means including a second portion of said control program having an individually addressable third word of the random access store, said second counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said third word as instructed by the second portion of said control program, said second counter means controlling the logic unit means to determine the type of information to be supplied to said buffer storage means.

Claim 24

The combination according to claim 19 further comprising second counter means including a second portion of said control program having an individually addressable third word of the random access store, said second counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said third word as instructed by the second portion of said control program, said second counter means controlling the logic unit means to determine the type of information to be supplied to said buffer storage means.

Claim 25

The combination according to claim 20 in which the machine includes further means for producing a further signal indicating a predetermined step in the cycle of operation of the machine, the logic unit means as instructed by the control program checking the receipt of said further signal against the value of said third word and changing said value if necessary to the value expected on receipt of said further signal to keep the computer in step with the machine.

Claim 26

The combination according to claim 21 in which the machine includes further means for producing a further signal indicating a predetermined step in the cycle of operation of the machine, the logic unit means as instructed by the control program checking the receipt of said further signal against the value of said third word and changing said value if necessary to the value expected on receipt of said further signal to keep the computer in step with the machine.

Claim 27

The combination according to claim 22 in which the machine includes further means for producing a further signal indicating a predetermined step in the cycle of operation of the machine, the logic unit means as instructed by the control program checking the receipt of said further signal against the value of said third word and changing said value if necessary to the value expected on receipt of said further signal to keep the computer in step with the machine.

Claim 28

The combination according to claim 23 in which the machine includes further means for producing a further signal indicating a predetermined step in the cycle of operation of the machine, the logic unit means as instructed by the control program checking the receipt of said further signal against the value of said third word and changing said value if necessary to the value expected on receipt of said further signal to keep the computer in step with the machine.

Claim 29

The combination according to claim 24 in which said logic unit means is responsive to said signals from said machine to interrupt the normal operation of the logic unit means, and pass control of the computer to an interrupt handling subroutine means, the said further signal from said machine being present for examination during the operation of the interrupt handling subroutine means.

Claim 30

The combination according to claim 25 in which said logic unit means is responsive to said signals from said machine to iNterrupt the normal operation of the logic unit means, and pass control of the computer to an interrupt handling subroutine means, the said further signal from said machine being present for examination during the operation of the interrupt handling subroutine means.

Claim 31

The combination according to claim 26 in which said logic unit means is responsive to said signals from said machine to interrupt the normal operation of the logic unit means, and pass control of the computer to an interrupt handling subroutine means, the said further signal from said machine being present for examination during the operation of the interrupt handling subroutine means.

Claim 32

The combination according to claim 27 in which said logic unit means is responsive to said signals from said machine to interrupt the normal operation of the logic unit means, and pass control of the computer to an interrupt handling subroutine means, the said further signal from said machine being present for examination during the operation of the interrupt handling subroutine means.

Claim 33

The combination according to claim 28 in which the logic unit means as instructed by the interrupt handling subroutine means only examines the presence of said further signal when said third word attains a predetermined value.

Claim 34

The combination according to claim 29 in which the logic unit means as instructed by the interrupt handling subroutine means only examines the presence of said further signal when said third word attains a predetermined value.

Claim 35

The combination according to claim 30 in which the logic unit means as instructed by the interrupt handling subroutine means only examines the presence of said further signal when said third word attains a predetermined value.

Claim 36

The combination according to claim 31 in which the logic unit means as instructed by the interrupt handling subroutine means only examines the presence of said further signal when said third word attains a predetermined value.

Claim 37

The combination comprising a textile producing machine including at least one actuator means for determining the production of the textile material and also means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, said computer also including a logic unit means which receives said signals from the machine, first counter means including a first portion of said control program having an individually addressable first word of the random access store, said first counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said first word as instructed by the first portion of said control program, second counter means including a second portion of said control program having an individually addressable third word of the random access store, said second counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said third word as instructed by the second portion of said control program, buffer storage means for receiving information from the logic unit means, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, said first counter means controlling the logic unit means to supply information to said buffer storage means when said first counter means has reached a predetermined value and said second counter means controlling the logic unit means to determine the type of information to be supplied to said buffer storage means.

Claim 38

The combination comprising a textile producing machine including at least one actuator means for determining the production of the textile material and also means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, said computer also including a logic unit means which receives said signals from the machine, first counter means including a first portion of said control program having an individually addressable first word of the random access store, said first counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said first word as instructed by the first portion of said control program, second counter means including a second portion of said control program having an individually addressable third word of the random access store, said second counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said third word as instructed by the second portion of said control program, buffer storage means for receiving information from the logic unit means, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, said first counter means controlling the logic unit means to supply information to said buffer storage means when said first counter means has reached a predetermined value and said second counter means controlling the logic unit means to determine the type of information to be supplied to said buffer storage means.

Claim 39

The combination as in claim 36 further comprising means for resetting the values of each of said first and third words.

Claim 40

The combination as in claim 37 wherein said resetting means includes the logic unit means as instructed by a portion of the control program.

Claim 41

The combination as in claim 37 wherein said means for reseTting said values of said first and third words include a respective other word in the random access store.

Claim 42

The combination according to claim 36 in which the machine includes further means for producing a further signal indicating a predetermined step in the cycle of operation of the machine, the logic unit as instructed by the control program checking the receipt of said further signal against the value of said third word and changing said value if necessary to the value expected on receipt of said further signal to keep the computer in step with the machine.

Claim 43

The combination according to claim 40 in which said logic unit means is responsive to said signals from said machine to interrupt the normal operation of the logic unit means, and pass control of the computer to an interrupt handling subroutine means, the said further signal from said machine being present for examination during the operation of the interrupt handling subroutine means.

Claim 44

The combination according to claim 41 in which the logic unit means as instructed by the interrupt handling subroutine means only examines the presence of said further signal when said third word attains a predetermined value.

Claim 45

The combination according to claim 1 in which there are a plurality of machines, with respective signal producing means, buffer storage means and counter means operating with the same computer.

Claim 46

The combination comprising a circular knitting machine including a plurality of needles, at least one actuator means for controlling the operation of the needles to produce textile material comprising groups of stitch formation, each group comprising a predetermined number, n, of identical stitch formations arranged in a course, said number, n, being divisible into the number of needles in the machine without remainder, said machine also having means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, said computer also including a logic unit means which receives said signals from the machine, first counter means including a first portion of said control program having an individually addressable first word of the random access store, said first counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said first word as instructed by the first portion of said control program, buffer storage means for receiving information from the logic unit means, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, said first counter means controlling the logic unit means to supply information to said buffer storage means and also reset said value in said first word with a further value in a second word, which value relates to said number, n, only when said first word has reached a predetermined value.

Claim 47

The combination comprising a circular knitting machine including a plurality of needles, at least one actuator means for controlling the operation of the needles to produce textile material comprising groups of stitch formation, each group comprising a predetermined number, n, of identical stitch formations arranged in a course, said number, n, being divisible into the number of needles in the machine without remainder, said machine also having means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, said computer also including a logic unit means which receives said signals from the machine, first counter means including a first portion of said control program having an individually addressable first word of the random access store, said first counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said first word as instructed by the first portion of said control program, buffer storage means for receiving information from the logic unit means, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, said first counter means controlling the logic unit means to supply information to said buffer storage means and also reset said value in said first word with a further value in a second word, which value relates to said number, n, only when said first word has reached a predetermined value.

Claim 48

The combination comprising a circular knitting machine including a plurality of needles, at least one actuator means for controlling the operation of the needles to produce a textile material comprising groups of stitch formations, each group comprising a predetermined number, n, of identical stitch formations arranged in a course, said number, n, being divisible into the number of needles of the machine without remainder, said machine also having means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, said computer also including a logic unit means which receives said signals from the machine, first counter means including a first portion of said control program having an individually addressable first word of the random access storE, said first counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said first word as instructed by the first portion of said control program, buffer storage means for receiving information from the logic unit means, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, said first counter means controlling the logic unit means either not to supply information or to supply fresh information to a certain portion of said buffer storage means when said first word has reached a respective predetermined value, said counter means further controlling the logic unit means to reset said value in said first word with a further value in a second word which value relates to said number, n.

Claim 49

The combination comprising a circular knitting machine including a plurality of needles, at least one actuator means for controlling the operation of the needles to produce a textile material comprising groups of stitch formations, each group comprising a predetermined number, n, of identical stitch formations arranged in a course, said number, n, being divisible into the number of needles of the machine without remainder, said machine also having means for producing signals indicating the state of the machine, a stored program digital computer including random access storage means in which is stored information relating to the control of the actuator means to determine the material to be produced by the machine and also a control program, said computer also including a logic unit means which receives said signals from the machine, first counter means including a first portion of said control program having an individually addressable first word of the random access storE, said first counter means being responsive to said signals received from the machine, the logic unit means counting the value of said first word as instructed by the first portion of said control program, buffer storage means for receiving information from the logic unit means, storing the information and supplying it to said actuator means, said first counter means controlling the logic unit means either not to supply information or to supply fresh information to a certain portion of said buffer storage means when said first word has reached a respective predetermined value, said counter means further controlling the logic unit means to reset said value in said first word with a further value in a second word which value relates to said number, n.

Claim 50

The combination according to claim 44 wherein there are a plurality of actuator means in fixed relation to each other such that each of the actuator means is adjacent one of the needles numbered 1, n + 1, 2n + 1, 3n + 1, etc., at the same point in time.

Claim 51

The combination according to claim 45 wherein there are a plurality of actuator means in fixed relation to each other such that at least one of the actuator means is adjacent one of the needles numbered 1, n + 1, 2n + 1, 3n + 1, etc., and at least one of the actuator means is not so adjacent at the same point in time.

Claim 52

The combination according to claim 47 in which the logic unit means receives n successive said signals and in response initiates m outputs to the buffer storage means, each output being of different information from its respective immediately preceding output, there being at least m masks in the computer each for masking out a part of a said preceding output.

Claim 53

The combination according to claim 44 in which the actuator means are disposed in stacks, there being one such stack at each thread feed of said circular knitting machine.

Claim 54

The combination according to claim 45 in which the actuator means are disposed in stacks, there being one such stack at each thread feed of said circular knitting machine.

Claim 55

The combination according to claim 46 in which the actuator means are disposed in stacks, there being one such stack at each thread feed of said circular knitting machine.

Claim 56

The combination according to claim 47 in which the actuator means are disposed in stacks, there being one such stack at each thread feed of said circular knitting machine.

Claim 57

The combination according to claim 48 in which the actuator means are disposed in stacks, there being one such stack at each thread feed of said circular knitting machine.

Claim 58

The combination according to claim 49 in which each of the actuator means in a stack lies vertically above and/or below the remaining actuator means in the stack.

Claim 59

The combination according to claim 50 in which each of the actuator means in a stack lies vertically above and/or below the remaining actuator means in the stack.

Claim 60

The combination according to claim 51 in which each of the actuator means in a stack lies vertically above and/or below the remaining actuator means in the stack.

Claim 61

The combination according to claim 52 in which each of the actuator means in a stack lies vertically above and/or below the remaining actuator means in the stack.

Claim 62

The combination according to claim 53 in which each of the actuator means in a stack lies vertically above and/or below the remaining actuator means in the stack.

Claim 63

The combination according to claim 54 in which there are i actuator means in each stack and the ith actuator means in a certain stack controls needles numbered j, i + j, 2i + j, etc.

Claim 64

The combination according to claim 55 in which there are i actuator means in each stack and the ith actuator means in a certain stack controls needles numbered j, i + j, 2i + j, etc.

Claim 65

The combination according to claim 56 in Which there are i actuator means in each stack and the ith actuator means in a certain stack controls needles numbered j, i + j, 2i + j, etc.

Claim 66

The combination according to claim 57 in which there are i actuator means in each stack and the ith actuator means in a certain stack controls needles numbered j, i + j, 2i + j, etc.

Claim 67

The combination according to claim 58 in which there are i actuator means in each stack and the ith actuator means in a certain stack controls needles numbered j, i + j, 2i + j, etc.

Claim 68

The combination according to claim 59 in which there are a plurality of said buffer storage means.

Claim 69

The combination according to claim 60 in which there are a plurality of said buffer storage means.

Claim 70

The combination according to claim 61 in which there are a plurality of said buffer storage means.

Claim 71

The combination according to claim 62 in which there are a plurality of said buffer storage means.

Claim 72

The combination according to claim 63 in which there are a plurality of said buffer storage means.

Claim 73

The combination according to claim 64 in which all those actuator means which require data at the same point in time receive said data from the same buffer storage means.

Claim 74

The combination according to claim 65 in which all those actuator means which require data at the same point in time receive said data from the same buffer storage means.

Claim 75

The combination according to claim 66 in which all those actuator means which require data at the same point in time receive said data from the same buffer storage means.

Claim 76

The combination according to claim 67 in which all those actuator means which require data at the same point in time receive said data from the same buffer storage means.

Claim 77

The combination according to claim 68 in which all those actuator means which require data at the same point in time receive said data from the same buffer storage means.

Claim 78

The combination according to claim 69 in which the random access storage means includes software buffer storage means in which data to be supplied to the buffer storage means associated with said actuator means is stored.

Claim 79

The combination according to claim 70 in which the random access storage means includes software buffer storage means in which data to be supplied to the buffer storage means associated with said actuator means is stored.

Claim 80

The combination according to claim 71 in which the random access storage means includes software buffer storage means in which data to be supplied to the buffer storage means associated with said actuator means is stored.

Claim 81

The combination according to claim 72 in which the random access storage means includes software buffer storage means in which data to be supplied to the buffer storage means associated with said actuator means is stored.

Claim 82

The combination according to claim 73 in which the random access storage means includes software buffer storage means in which data to be supplied to the buffer storage means associated with said actuator means is stored.

Claim 83

The combination according to claim 74 in which each software buffer storage means is uniquely associated with one buffer storage means associated with said actuator means.

Claim 84

The combination according to claim 75 in which each software buffer storage means is uniquely associated with one buffer storage means associated with said actuator means.

Claim 85

The combination according to claim 76 in which each software buffer storage means is uniquely associated with one buffer storage means associated with said actuator means.

Claim 86

The combination according to claim 77 in which each software buffer storage means is uniquely associated with one buffer storage means associated with said actuator means.

Claim 87

The combination according to claim 78 in which each software buffer storage means is uniquely associated with one buffer storage means associateD with said actuator means.