Sliding latch needle

Claim 1

A loop-controlled slide needle for the forming of loops in loop forming textile machines, comprising a shaft, a hook integral with one end of the shaft, the hook having a rearwardly tapered free end, the shaft forwardly tapering in the plane of the hook at the juncture of the shaft and the hook and providing a rearwardly and upwardly extending surface from below said tapered free end, a longitudinal groove formed in the shaft, and a slide bar slidably mounted in the groove for movement between one position in which the slide bar closes the hook and another position in which the slide bar leaves the hook open, said slide bar having an end extending from the bottom of the groove when positioned therein to above said tapered free end of said hook and which faces the rearwardly tapering free end of the hook and which has a hook receiving recess at the upper portion of its forwardly facing end for receiving the rearwardly tapered end of the hook when the hook is closed by the slide bar, said slide bar having at least one longitudinal slot therein, a pin fixed to the shaft and received in the slot for limiting the sliding of the slide bar in the groove, at least part of the length of the slide bar protruding above the groove, said slide bar, at a location remote from the end of the slide bar facing the tapered end of the hook, providing a loop receiving recess extending along its upper surface for receiving the last formed loop when the slide bar is retracted and the hook is therefore open, thereby to prevent premature closing of the hook by the slide bar, said slide bar comprising at least two flat-sided longitudinal members connected together with a flat side of each juxtaposed to a flat side of each other the respective forwardly facing ends of the members at the upper portions thereof nearer the hook being formed to diverge forwardly from each other thereby to define the recess in the slide bar and means are provided in the shaft above the slide bar for guiding the slide.