Apparatus for selective positive feeding of a plurality of yarns to a striping knitting machine

Claim 1

Apparatus for selective positive feeding of a plurality of yarns (Fa; Fb; Fc; Fd) to a horizontal striping knitting machine, said knitting machine comprising a number of knitting stations, each having a striper box mechanism including a set of movable yarn guides (e.g. 30) controllable for selectively taking yarn after yarn into resp. out of the knitting position relative to the knitting needles (e.g. 31), a number of positive yarn feeding units corresponding to the number of knitting stations being provided, each having a set of positive yarn feeding devices corresponding to the number of yarn guides in each set, with which the yarns are selectively engageable in a first position to be fed positively to the corresponding yarn guide or disengageable in a second position by means of yarn control elements (7'a, 7"a, 8a; 7'b, 7"b, 8b; 7'c, 8c; 7'd, 8d), and electromagnetically controlled yarn control means being associated with said yarn feeding control elements to move said yarns from their first to their second positions prior to their being taken out of the knitting position by the yarn guides, characterized in that a single electromagnet (9) is associated with each set of yarn feeding devices (6a, 7a; 6b, 7b; 6c, 7c; 6d, 7d), which, when energized, moves any of said yarn control elements being in its first position to its second position via a uni-directional coupling means (10a, 7"a; 10b, 7"b, etc.) not permitting of moving of each yarn control element to its first position by the de-energization of the electromagnet (9), and that each yarn (Fa; Fb; Fc; Fd) together with its associated yarn control element is movable, in a manner known per se, from its second position to its first position by an increase in its tension due to its being brought into knitting position by its associated yarn guide.