Knitting machine, and in particular flat knitting machine

Claim 1

In a flat knitting machine having needle controlling butts which are movable transversely in a tricked needle bed and can thereby be moved out of the needle tricks relative to controlling lock parts, and jacks which are displaceable into a latching position in which they hold the needle controlling butts in a depressed position relative to said lock parts, the jacks, which are arranged to be retracted from the latching position by other lock parts, having control butts, the improvement wherein the control butt of each jack constitutes itself a magnetic armature, the control butt of each jack is provided on a slide mounted for longitudinal displacement in the jack, the maximum range of this displacement being smaller than the maximum corresponding extent of the control lock passageway into which the said control butt projects, such that the control butt of each jack is mounted for limited longitudinal displacement relative to the jack, and projects into a control lock passageway which is defined in terms of travel by magnetic poles of at least one controllable magnet, said control lock passageway having a plurality of selection zones, controlled by magnetic poles and associated with particular phases of a knitting program for the needles, which selection zones are followed in the direction of travel of the jack control butts by deflector elements, and there being arranged at the end of the said control lock passageway an advancing cam which brings about displacement of all the jacks into their latching positions.