ES2552660T3 - A process to adjust the size of knitted items that are being produced in circular knitting machines for knitwear or hosiery - Google Patents

Abstract

A process to regulate the size of knitted articles that are being produced in circular knitting machines for knitwear or hosiery, comprising the steps of: - predisposing at least one circular knitting machine (1) for textile knitting of knit or hosiery, comprising at least: a support structure (2); a cylinder (3) of needles (4) that is mounted so that it can rotate in the support structure (2); a plurality of needles (4) that are supported by the cylinder (3) and that can move in parallel with respect to an axis of rotation of the cylinder (3) to produce a knitted textile; a plurality of forming cams (7) operatively active on said needles (4) and which can be moved selectively and individually to vary, each, the size of the stitches produced by the needles (4) themselves in correspondence with a respective thread feed position (10) of a thread (9), each forming cam (7) independently of another, a first plurality of passive fixed wire feeder (8) feeders (9), each of which is operatively active to feed the thread (9), unwinding from the fixed drum, to said needles (4) in correspondence with a respective feeding position (10) and a respective forming cam (7) of said cams of training (7); a control device (11) for the operation of the knitting machine (1); and electrical and electronic means (12) that are connected to the control device (11) and operatively active to control operation of a plurality of parts of the knitting machine (1) and to detect a plurality of operational parameters of operation of the knitting machine (1); - defining a knitted item (6) to be produced in the knitting machine (1), said knitting item (6) being subdivided by defining at least two knitting zones (6a, 6b) of said knitting item ( 6) or a plurality of consecutive knitting zones (6a, 6b) of said knitting article (6), each corresponding to a respective portion of knitted textile material; - activating a production program of said knitted article (6) and of said knitted areas (6a, 6b) in said control device (11) of said knitted machine (1); - producing the knitted areas (6a, 6b) of said knitted article (6) in a sequence, maintaining a tension or a weight of the thread (9) that is fed to the needles (4) substantially constant, by means of a braking device and / or a thread tension regulation device (9); - detecting a plurality of data in relation to the consumption of wire (9) per point zone (6a, 6b) by detecting, between respective start and end signals of the point zone (6a, 6b), of an overall amount of thread (9) that is used to make each point zone (6a, 6b) in correspondence with each thread feed position (10) of the machine and / or the relative passive fixed drum wire feeder (8) or for a whole of the passive wire feeders (8) of said first plurality in operation for production; - compare the plurality of data for the thread consumption (9) per point area (6a, 6b) with a respective plurality of reference values for the thread consumption (9) per point area (6a, 6b), with in order to obtain a respective plurality of comparison results; - determining, by means of a first algorithm, a plurality of corrective values of the position of the formation cams (7) on the basis of the respective plurality of comparison results, if such comparison results are greater than tolerance thresholds previously determined respectively; - automatically move, before producing a successive zone (6a, 6b) of the item of point (6), and / or immediately before producing a corresponding item of successive point (6) and / or before producing each zone of corresponding point (6a, 6b) of a successive corresponding point item (6) after having temporarily memorized the corrective values corresponding to each point zone (6a, 6b), the formation cams (7) according with said plurality of corrective values, such as to reduce the difference between said plurality of data in relation to the thread consumption (9) per point area (6a, 6b) and said plurality of reference values for thread consumption ( 9) by point zone (6a, 6b).

Description

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

DESCRIPTION

A process to adjust the size of knitted articles that are being produced in circular knitting machines for knitted or knitted textile goods

The present invention relates to a process for regulating the size of knitted articles that are being produced in circular knitting machines for knitwear or knitting. The invention further relates to a software program that is configured to perform the method.

The invention further relates to a circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitwear that is configured to drive the method. Modern circular knitting machines for textile knitwear or socks show a high level of automation and operate together with specific knitting programs, enabling the automatic production of numerous types of knitted items, among which sock products, gender production knitted textile of the seamless type, etc. As is known, the manufacture of these products is influenced by numerous factors, such as the configuration of the knitting machine, the type of components that are mounted on the knitting machine, the type of thread used, the condition of wear of the various components, environmental conditions, and even more. Therefore, it is important to control the quality of the textile material of the textile knitwear products, by detecting the appropriate parameters, avoiding the formation of defects in the articles themselves that could lead to a loss in quality and discards of production. Therefore, the supervision of certain essential parameters during the production of knitted articles is known, among which usually the tension, or weight, of the thread that is supplied to the needles by special thread feeders, as! as the amount of thread that is consumed during production, in each position of thread feed to the needles, by means of a control of the amount of thread that is supplied by each thread feeder. For example, the prior art teaches the detection of the thread tension values and the speed or thread consumption values, through the use of special sensors, and consequently manually regulating some operating parameters of the machine, such such as the wire feeding speed, the thread tension or the position of the forming cams, that is, cams, which are also known as forming cams or forming triangles, which act on the needles of the needle cylinder with the in order to determine the size of the stitches that occur.

Some additional solutions in the prior art, which include the control and regulation of some point parameters in circular knitting machines, in order to prevent product defects, are illustrated, for example, in the patent documents indicated herein. successive: EP2186932 in the name of LGL, US5.174.133 and US5.511.392 in the name of Fukuhara, US6.832.496 in the name of Memminger-Iro, EP0452800 and EP0950742 in the name of BTSR. The known patent solution indicated above shows, however, some drawbacks. First, some known solutions show a certain degree of inaccuracy in the detection of some operating parameters of the machine, for example in the detection of the quantities of thread consumed, which are often estimated based on the number of rotations of a rotating organ, such as a spool or a rotating wheel, in which the thread is wound once or more (in one or two winding turns) in a thread feeder, with possible inaccuracies due to the sliding between the thread and the coil or rotating organ.

These rotary bobbin thread feeders are suitable only for working some limited types of yarn, such as for example elastic yarn (such as Spandex or elastane) or uncoated yarn (bare spandex or bare elastane). Rotary bobbin devices are suitable for feeding these types of yarn, but they do not allow a reliable detection of the yarn that is consumed by the various wire feeding positions of the machine precisely because they are subject to sliding during the stage. of change of speed due to the diverse operations of point of internal form of the same manufactured product. Rotary coil devices are not suitable for feeding non-elastic threads, such as natural fibers, artificial fibers and synthetic threads without texture, precisely due to sliding due to the very rapid acceleration phases necessary to maintain the programmed feeding tension Of thread. In these cases, if the thread is wound around the coil with a single winding, a significant slip is obtained, while if there is more than one winding in order to reduce the slip, there will be an increase in the probability of thread breakage and the sliding of the same from the needles of the machine. In any case the detection of the amount of thread that is absorbed is not accurate and is quite unreliable, therefore the resulting regulations will be inaccurate and, potentially, harmful.

An additional drawback of known solutions is that they often include contextual regulation of various parameters connected reciprocally, with a system that is complex and sometimes not reliable enough in the results thereof. An additional drawback of the known solutions is that these enable the regulation of the stitches of the textile that occurs only partially automatically, as supervision and intervention by the specialized operators are often necessary for this. It is additionally known from the GB2193230 patent a circular knitting machine for the production of socks and similar goods in which the density is controlled by formation cams that can be moved axially which are controlled, by means of kinematic transmission, by an electric motor and by a machine control microcomputer; Density control is sensitive to wire speed, which is supplied to the

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

power supply, by means of a speed sensor that is connected to the microcomputer control, delicate regulation operations of the operating parameters. An additional drawback of the known solutions is that they require the periodic carrying out of preliminary machine regulation operations, when carrying out special specific regulation and balancing operations in which a sample point article is made that has a uniform stitch structure, and they do not allow effective control and regulation of the operation of the machine during the production of the articles and, therefore, do not allow an efficient detection of variations in production due to environmental or other conditions Parameters In addition, the known technical solutions are often complex and expensive, since they require the assembly of numerous additional components in the machine to enable the control and regulation procedures to be carried out. It is also important to highlight that the known solutions do not allow efficient production management in a plurality of knitting machines that are present in a production center, and that therefore each machine has to be established manually by the operators and be regulated in a substantially autonomous way. In addition, with the known solutions in general it is not possible to guarantee automatically, and with sufficient precision, the uniformity of the stitches of the knitted articles made during production.

The objective of the invention is to obviate one or more of the drawbacks mentioned above. An objective of the invention is to provide a process that enables the production of high quality knitted articles and substantially without imperfections, and / or that makes it possible to reduce production waste. An additional objective of the invention is to facilitate a process that offers control and regulation that are effective and efficient during the production of knitted articles. An additional objective of the invention is to provide a process that enables the regulation of the knitting material textile material as automatically as possible, reducing operator interventions to a minimum. An objective of the invention is to provide a process that makes it possible to obtain a very dimensionally uniform production between the various items that are produced, at different times in time or under different operating conditions in the same machine and / or in a plurality of machines. A further objective of the invention is to provide a process that makes it possible to guarantee precise and reliable control and regulation of the sizes of knitted articles that are produced in one or even a plurality of knitted machines at the same time. An additional objective of the invention is to provide a process that enables the production of knitted articles in a plurality of circular knitting machines, which also have different technical characteristics, simply and quickly and as automatically as possible. An additional objective of the invention is to facilitate a process that is easy to use, thus facilitating the work of the operators who are controlling the production by point, especially in a case where there is a plurality of machines that carry out the production. An additional objective of the invention is to facilitate a process that makes it possible to reduce the number of people required to control production, especially in facilities where numerous knitting machines are required, thus enabling a reduced number of operators to control Even a large number of knitting machines. An additional objective of the invention is to provide a process and a knitting machine that are configured to perform the process and that are simple, robust and relatively inexpensive to perform. An additional objective of the invention is the disclosure of a process that guarantees high levels of safety during operation. These and even other objectives, which will arise more fully during the course of the following description, are substantially achieved by a process and a circular knitting machine according to the appended claims, in any combination between these and / or in accordance with one or more More of the following aspects. In a further aspect thereof, in combination with any one of the claims or aspects indicated hereinafter, the invention relates to a process for regulating and balancing the production of a circular knitting machine for gender. knitted or knitted textile, comprising the step of predisposing at least one circular knitting machine for knitting or knitting textile comprising at least: a support structure; a needle cylinder that is mounted so that it can rotate in the support structure; a plurality of needles that are supported by the cylinder and that can move in parallel with respect to a rotation axis of the cylinder to produce a knitted textile; a plurality of formation cams operatively active on the needles and which can be moved selectively and individually such as each to vary a size of the stitches produced by the needles in a respective stock position of a thread, each cam with independent of another, a first plurality of passive thread feeders, or passive fixed drum wire feeders, each of which is operatively active to feed the thread, unwinding from the fixed drum, to the needles in a feed position of respective thread and a respective cam of the formation cams; a device for controlling the operation of the knitting machine; and electrical and electronic means that are connected to the control device and operatively active to order the operation of a plurality of components of the knitting machine and to detect a plurality of operating parameters of the operation of the knitting machine; define a portion of the sample of textile material of equilibrium point to be produced in the knitting machine, the portion of textile material of equilibrium point having a substantially uniform structure suitable for determining the same thread consumption in each thread feeding position or broth of each device of the first plurality of passive wire feeds of fixed drum in operation for production; produce the portion of textile material of equilibrium point with a previously determined number of complete rotations of the needle cylinder, maintaining substantially constant a tension of the thread that is supplied to the needles through the use of a braking and / or regulating device thread tension and / or maintenance of the programmed weight of the thread tension automatically; detect, between respective start and end signals of equilibrium point portions,

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

a plurality of thread consumption data of the thread that is used to perform the balancing point portion, detecting a respective thread consumption data in each thread feed position of the machine and / or the relative passive thread feeder of the first plurality; compare each thread consumption data, in relation to a respective thread feeding position of the machine and / or with a respective thread feeder, or an average of each of the thread consumption data in a single complete revolution of the needle cylinder, with a single reference value of common thread consumption, such as to obtain a respective comparable result; determine, with a second algorithm, a corrective value of the position of each formation cam on the basis of the respective comparable result of the corresponding wire feeder, if the comparable result exceeds a previously determined tolerance threshold or if it is beyond a tolerance interval previously determined; and move each formation cam individually according to the relative correction value, such as to reduce the difference between the respective thread consumption data of the corresponding thread feeder and the thread consumption reference value. In a further aspect, in combination with any one of the claims or aspects described in the following, the invention further relates to a process in which the steps of producing a portion of knitted textile genre, detecting a plurality of data of thread consumption, compare each thread consumption data, determine a correct value of the position of each formation cam and individually move each formation cam are carried out in a cyclic manner a plurality of times, preferably consecutively , even when the result of the comparison is less than the tolerance threshold previously determined for all of the passive fixed drum wire feeders in operation. In a further aspect, in combination with any one of the claims or aspects described in the following, the invention further relates to a process comprising a step of issuing an alarm signal and / or stopping the knitting machine in a case in which it is not possible to obtain a balance of the textile material that is produced or a consecution of a correct size of the item of knitting with a previously determined number of operating cycles. In a further aspect, in combination with any one of the claims or aspects described in the following, the invention further relates to a process that additionally comprises a step of memorizing the corrective values corresponding to each point zone, and use the corrected memorized values to automatically move the formation cams before producing each corresponding point zone of a corresponding corresponding point item in the same point machine or in an additional point machine. In a further aspect, in combination with any one of the claims or aspects indicated hereinafter, the invention further relates to a process in which the knitting machine further comprises a needle plate, in cooperation operative with the needle cylinder, for the production of knitting material and / or the knitting article, and additional relative training cams operatively active on the additional needles of the needle plate, the process further comprising the step of moving the position of the additional formation cams, similarly and contextually with what is carried out on the formation cams of the needle cylinder, to maintain the relationship between the stitches produced by the cylinder and the stitches produced by the plate. Additional features and advantage will emerge more fully from the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the invention, in accordance with the attached figures of the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitwear in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a plurality of point machines of the type of Figure 1, operatively connected to each other and with an external processor for data transfer by means of a wired network and / or a wireless network;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of some parts of the knitting machine of Figure 1, and in particular

shows a detail in relation to a spool of thread, a thread feeder and a feeding position of

corresponding thread in which thread is supplied to the moving needles of the knitting machine cylinder;

Figure 4 is a detail in relation to a position of yarn feeding of the knitting machine, with the

mobile needles, which can move vertically, in the cylinder according to the movements that are

determined by relative cams, or triangles, of relative formation;

Figure 5 is a portion of knitted textile material having a regular structure;

Figure 6 is an example of a point item that is subdivided into two consecutive point zones;

Figure 7 schematically illustrates some stages of a process to regulate the size of textile articles

that are being produced in a circular knitting machine according to an embodiment of the present

invention;

Figure 8 is a variant of the process of Figure 7; Figure 9 is an additional variant of the process of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is an embodiment of a preliminary stage of regulation and balancing of the production of the circular knitting machine.

With reference to the figures of the drawings, 1 indicates in its entirety a circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitting, comprising at least one support structure 2, a needle cylinder 3 that is mounted so that it can rotate in the support structure 2 and a plurality of needles 4 which are supported by the needle cylinder 3 and which can move in parallel with respect to a rotation axis of the needle cylinder 3 to produce a knitted textile and / or a item 6.

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

In the present text, the expression "circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitwear" is used for a circular knitting machine suitable for the production of knitted textile goods, seamless articles and / or socks, which has a plurality of positions of feeding of thread and cams of formation, or triangles of formation, relative, that can regulate of automatic and individual form, that is to say, each cam independently of another in each zone of previously determined point of a product or item of point, and can also be adjusted contextually, that is, all the cams at the same time and in the same way. These knitting machines can be, for example, of a single or double font type (that is, with a needle plate or a double cylinder). In the definition of circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitwear in accordance with the objectives of the present invention, circular knitting machines are not included that are dedicated to the production of textile in footage, that is, for continuous production. of textiles. Continuous or footage machines do not allow automatic independent regulation of the training cams, which are manually regulated by an initial configuration of the machine for production, and are then adjustable only contextually and not independently of one another. . Continuous knitting machines are also provided with wire feeders of the active (or positive) type, all of which supplies the same amount of wire in each wire feed position of the machine. These wire feeders are generally activated to move directly through the rotation of the knitting machine cylinder with special movement means and supply the entire thread at the same speed, in correlation with the rotation speed of the cylinder. In addition, these continuous point machines are generally of large diameter, that is, they show a cylinder diameter of more than 30 inches (76.2 cm). The circular knitting machine 1 additionally comprises a plurality of forming cams 7 operatively active on the needles 4, and in particular on relative heels 4a of the needles 4, and which can be moved selectively such as to vary the movement of the needles 4 and therefore the size of the stitches 5a that are produced by the needles 4. In more detail, the cams 7 are height adjustable in a known way, in the direction indicated by arrow 14 in Figure 4 The circular knitting machine 1 comprises a first plurality of passive (or negative or stationary) fixed drum wire feeders 8, each of which is operatively active to feed a thread 9, unwinding from the fixed drum, to the needles 4, in a respective feeding position 10 and at least one cam of respective formation 7. Each thread feeder 8 receives the thread 9 from a respective spool 13 and supplies this to the needles 4 in a wire feed position 10. The passive wire feeder 8 and the fixed drum can be for example of the type illustrated in patent documents EP0707102 and EP1335054 in the name of LGL, the content of which at least in relation to the structure of the wire feeder 8, the braking device for maintaining the tension of the thread 9, and the ways of measuring the amount of thread used is incorporated by reference herein. The term "passive" must be taken to mean that the thread feeder operates in a manner known as a parade in the sector, that is, in which the thread is unwound from the thread feeder following the request for thread by the knitting machine. The expression “fixed drum” must be taken with the meaning that the drum in which the thread is wound is immobile during the unwinding of the thread to supply the knitting machine (while the drum itself can be activated in rotation to take the thread of a respective spool). The passive fixed-drum device makes it possible to carry out the process of the invention optimally and without the sliding that takes place with an innumerable number of types of threads, for example natural threads, artificial threads, textured and parallel synthetic threads and threads coated elastics, while this is not suitable for feeding uncoated elastic threads (bare spandex, bare elastane). The circular knitting machine 1 may additionally comprise a second plurality of passive thread feeders with a rotary bobbin (not illustrated as of known type) or other types, particularly suitable for feeding an elastomeric or coated elastic wire, which is You can feed the knitting machine together with the thread 9 to make a knitting article that has both thread 9 and elastomeric or bare yarn. The circular knitting machine 1 further comprises a control device 11 of the operation of the knitting means 1 and the electrical and electronic means 12 that are connected to the control device 11 and operatively active such as to order the operation of a plurality of parts of the knitting machine 1 and for detecting a plurality of operating parameters of the operation of the knitting machine 1. The knitting machine 1 may additionally comprise a needle plate (which is not illustrated in the figures as of known type), in operative cooperation with the needle cylinder 3, for the production of the knitted textile and / or the item of knitting 6, and a relative additional training cams operatively active on the additional needles of the needle plate.

The components mentioned above, and the additional conventional components of the point 1 machine are not described in greater detail herein because they are of known type. In accordance with the present invention, a process for regulating the size of knitted articles that are being produced in a circular knitting machine 1 for knitting or knitting textile comprises at least some defining steps (step A in the figure 7) a point item to be produced in the point 1 machine, subdivide (B) the item 6 to be produced, thereby defining a plurality of spot areas 6a, 6b each corresponding to a respective portion of point material, and activating (C) a production program of the item of point 6 and therefore of the point areas in the control device 11 of the point machine 1. Figure 6 illustrates, for example, two point zones 6a, 6b, but it is possible to define any number of point zones such as to enable a progressively more precise control of the size of the point article in its various parts. As can be seen in Figure 6, each point zone 6a, 6b can be associated with a respective desired measurement, which is expressed in a given measurement unit, for example centimeters or inches. Following the above, a measurement of the knitted items that are produced, relative to

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

each point zone or point item. The effective value of this measurement can be associated with the value of yarn consumption that is detected to make the corresponding knitting or knitting area, also such as to define a correspondence relationship between the measurement and the consumption of yarn. In this way, the user can establish or modify the size of the point item, or specific point areas thereof, directly by inserting the desired measurements in the selected measurement units. The process for maintaining the size of the present invention also makes it possible to maintain the measurement of the item of point 6 and / or each area of point 6a, 6b substantially uniform at the first set value. The process further comprises the step of producing (D) the point areas of the item of item 6 in sequence, keeping substantially constant, by means of a braking device and / or a thread tension regulation device (not illustrated) as of known type), a thread tension that is fed to the needles 4. The braking and / or thread tension regulation device is suitable to enable an automatic maintenance of the weight of the thread tension programmed during production. The process further comprises the step of detecting (E) a plurality of thread consumption data 9 per point zone 6a, 6b, detecting, between respective starting point areas 6a, 6b and end point areas 6a, 6b, a total amount of thread 9 that is used to make each point zone 6a, 6b at each thread feed position 10 of the machine and the relative fixed drum passive thread feeder 8 or for the entire thread feeder Fixed drum passive 8 in operation during production. The process further comprises the step of comparing (F) the plurality of thread consumption data 9 per point zone 6a, 6b with a respective plurality of thread consumption reference values 9 per point zone 6a, 6b, such as to obtain a respective plurality of comparable results. The process further comprises the step of determining (G) by means of a first algorithm a plurality of corrective values of the position of the formation cams 7 on the basis of the respective plurality of comparable results, if those comparable results exceed thresholds of respective pre-determined tolerance or are outside respective respective pre-determined tolerance ranges. The first algorithm may, for example, comprise a calculation of a percentage offset value, or other appropriate calculation formula. For example, the corrective values can be calculated by means of a definition of individual unit displacements of the cams 7 such as to enable a progressive reduction of the differences between the plurality of thread consumption data 9 per point zone 6a, 6b and a respective plurality of reference values of thread consumption 9 per point zone 6a, 6b, by means of a cyclical repetition of the comparisons and corrections until progressively reaching an objective condition in which all comparable results fall within of the tolerance intervals previously determined. Alternatively, the corrective values can be calculated by defining a plurality of unit displacements of the cams 7 in order to reach the objective condition in a single comparison cycle or a small number of cycles. In other terms, in the case of controls carried out periodically and frequently, several consecutive controls can be carried out until all the compared results fall within the tolerance intervals. In addition, both in the case of several consecutive controls and in the case of a periodic control, in which the objective condition is not reached within a previously determined number of corrective cycles (regulation of the formation cams 7) an alarm signal it can be emitted, or the point 1 machine can be stopped. The process further comprises the step of automatically moving (H) the formation cams 7 according to the plurality of corrective values, such as to reduce the difference between the plurality of thread consumption data 9 per point zone 6a, 6b and the plurality of reference values of thread consumption 9 per point zone 6a, 6b, with the consequent maintenance of also the measurement assigned in each zone, in centimeters or inches. In a variant, which is illustrated in Figure 7, the step of automatically moving (H) the thread adjustment cams 7 can be carried out before producing a next area of the same item of item 6, such as for regulate stitches that occur in successive areas based on what is detected in the immediately preceding area. In a further variant, which is illustrated in Figure 8, the step of automatically moving (H) the formation cams 7 can be performed before producing each corresponding point zone 6a, 6b of a successive corresponding point article, such as to precisely regulate the production of each zone of a successive item on the basis of what is detected in the corresponding area of an item of item 6 above. In the present variant, differently from the previous one, the displacement of the cams 7 is carried out before each zone of point 6a, 6b based on the corrective values that are detected with reference to the same area, or a corresponding one, in a previous point zone 6a, 6b of the same item of point 6. In the present variant, the process may additionally comprise a step of memorizing (I) the corrective values corresponding to each point zone 6a, 6b, and comprising the use of memorized corrective values to automatically displace the formation cams 7 before producing each corresponding point zone 6a, 6b of a successive corresponding point article. In a further variant, which is illustrated in Figure 9, the step of automatically moving (H) the formation cams 7 can be performed immediately before producing a successive corresponding point item, such as to perform a global correction that begins from the following item of point, for example on the basis of an average of the corrections that are detected in the different areas of the previous article. In a process according to the invention, it is additionally possible to detect global consumption data of the thread 9 for each zone of point 6a, 6b that corresponds to the amount of thread 9 that is used, to make each zone of point 6a, 6b corresponding in conjunction with the consumption of thread 9 of all passive fixed-wire feeders 8 in operation during production. In this case, the overall consumption data of the thread 9 is compared with respective global yarn consumption reference values per point zone 6a, 6b such as to obtain a respective plurality of comparable results and define a common corrective value for each zone. of point 6a, 6b. In addition, in this case the stage of moving the formation cams 7 is carried out by means of the

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

displacement, in a contemporary way, of all the training cams 7 active during production according to the same common corrective value and / or simultaneously. The process may further comprise a stage of regulation and preliminary balancing (L) of the production of the circular knitting machine 1, which is illustrated in detail in Figure 10. According to an aspect of the invention, this stage of regulation and preliminary balancing of the production of the circular knitting machine 1 can also be carried out on a circular knitting machine 1 of the type described above regardless of the process for regulating the size of knitting items that they are being produced as described above, defining in this way a process to regulate and balance the textile material that is produced by a circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitting. The regulation and preliminary balancing step can be carried out before the production of the knitted articles, in order to balance the position of the training cams 7 in order to avoid defects or insufficient uniformity in the products of point that are manufactured, and is carried out before the process steps to regulate the size of point items that are being produced as described as above. In this way, the process to regulate the size of knitted articles can also make it possible to maintain the balance of the textile material that has been previously obtained. The stage of regulation and preliminary balancing comprises the steps of defining (M) a sample portion of textile material of equilibrium point 5 to be produced in the machine of point 1, the portion of textile material of equilibration point 5 having a structure substantially uniform suitable for determining the same thread consumption 9 in each device of the first plurality of passive fixed-wire feeders 8 in operation for production. A detail of the portion of textile material of equilibrium point 5 is illustrated for example in Figure 5, with numbers placed horizontally from 1 to 5 indicating the various rows or columns (or sequences of vertical stitches, each produced by a respective needle) and numbers placed vertically from 1 to 5 indicating the rows of successive stitches of the textile (each produced by a thread feed 10 at a given rotation of the cylinder 3). The stage of regulation and preliminary balancing further comprises the steps of producing (N) the portion of textile material of equilibrium point 5 by means of a previously determined number of complete rotations of the needle cylinder 3, keeping a thread tension substantially constant 9 which is fed to the needles 4 by the use of a braking and / or regulating device 9 and the detection, between starting point portion 5 signals and respective end point balancing point signals , of a plurality of thread consumption data 9 that is used to make the balancing point portion 5, detect (O) a respective thread consumption data 10 in each thread feeding position 10 of the machine and the feeder of relative fixed drum passive wire 8. The regulation and preliminary balancing stage further comprises the steps of comparing (P) each thread consumption data 9 in relation to a respective thread feeder 8, or an average of each thread consumption data 9 in a single complete revolution of the needle cylinder 3, with a single common thread consumption reference value, in order to obtain a respective comparable result, and determine (Q), by means of a second algorithm, a corrective value of the position of each training cam 7 on the basis of the respective comparison result of the corresponding wire feeder 8 if the comparison result exceeds a tolerance threshold previously determined or is outside a previously determined tolerance range. The second algorithm can comprise, for example, a calculation of a percentage displacement value, or another suitable calculation formula, for example the corrective value can correspond to a single stage (minimum displacement value of the formation cams 7) with a realization of several successive regulation cycles until reaching the desired balance in a single cycle (and therefore until when the comparable results are within the tolerance threshold). Alternatively, the corrective value may correspond to a plurality of steps to achieve the desired balance in a single cycle or in a smaller number of cycles. In a case where the correction value is above a previously determined maximum correction value, or in a case where an equilibrium cannot be obtained within a previously determined number of cycles, an alarm signal can be activated. , or there may be an automatic shutdown of the point 1 machine. The regulation and preliminary balancing stage additionally includes the step of individually displacing (R) each formation cam 7 in accordance with the relative corrective value, such as for reduce the difference between the respective thread consumption data of the corresponding thread feeder 8 and the thread consumption reference value 9. In all of the embodiments and variants described above, the corrective value of the position of each formation cam 7 or each corrective value of the position of each formation cam 7 can correspond to a certain number of minimum unit displacements of the cam of formation 7 proportional to the respective value of the comparative result, or it can correspond, for each comparative result, with a minimum unit displacement of the formation cam 7. In addition, at least the stage of individually displacing each formation cam 7 a plurality of times can be performed cyclically until when the or each comparison result is below the previously determined tolerance threshold for the entire fixed drum wire feeder 8 in operation. As illustrated in Figure 10, the step of displacing (R) the cams 7 can be carried out in a cyclical manner by moving the formation cam 7 progressively with successive minimum unit displacements, or it can be carried out at carry out a first movement and then carry out a cycle that includes the stages from the production of the point portion to the displacement of the cams (from stage N to stage R). Once all the detected values have been taken within the tolerance range, a detention (S) stage of the preliminary regulation and balancing stage is performed and the steps of producing the knitted articles can proceed. The process of the invention may further comprise the step of issuing (T) an alarm or stop signal in a case in which within a previously determined number of cycles it is not possible to carry the or each comparative result by

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

below the previously determined tolerance threshold for all of the fixed drum wire feeders 8 in operation. The process may further comprise the step of determining, in the machine of point 1 or a second machine of point 1 ', the reference value of thread consumption, the reference value of thread consumption by zone of point 6a, 6b or the plurality of reference values of thread consumption per zone of

point 6a, 6b by means of a processing of the plurality of thread consumption data 9 or consumption data of

thread 9 per point zone using a third algorithm. The third algorithm may comprise, for example, averaging, or a maximum value, or a minimum value, of the thread consumption data or the thread consumption data by zone, or by selecting the consumption data in relationship with a portion 5 of balancing point textile material or an approved balancing point article 6. The process may further comprise the step of receiving, in the machine of point 1, the reference value of thread consumption, the value of reference of consumption of thread by zone of point 6a, 6b or the plurality of reference values of consumption of thread by zone of point 6a, 6b, from a second machine of point 1 'in which the value has been detected or calculated. The process may further comprise the step of transmitting the thread consumption reference value, the thread consumption reference value per point zone 6a, 6b or the plurality of thread consumption reference values per zone of

point 6a, 6b that is calculated or detected, of the textile machine 1 to at least a second machine of point 1 'or a

a plurality of 1 ', 1 "knitting machines. According to the invention, as illustrated in Figure 2, the steps of receiving or transmitting the reference value can be carried out automatically by means of a network 15 that can be wired and / or wireless and that It can be local or connected to the Internet, or by transferring a memorizing device that is connected at successive times to the various point 1, 1 ', 1 ”machines to transfer the values in question. In a variant, the process may further comprise the step of automatically modifying the size of the item of item 6 to enable the production of a corresponding item item 6 having a different size in a second circular knitting machine 1 'different from the circular knitting machine mentioned above.

In a further variant, the process may further comprise the step of automatically modifying the size of the item of item 6 such as to enable the production of a corresponding item of item 6 having the same size in a second circular knitting machine 1 'different from the circular knitting machine mentioned above. In both variants, the step of automatically modifying the size can be carried out by modifying the thread consumption reference value 9 per point zone 6a, 6b or the plurality of thread consumption reference values per zone of point 6a, 6b, which is detected or determined in the point machine according to a fourth algorithm that also operates on a plurality of operative parameters of the machine of point 1 and the second machine of point 1 'established in a relationship reciprocates

The operating parameters may comprise at least one or more of the following parameters: the number of needles 4 in the cylinder 3, the gauge of the needles of the cylinder, the diameter of the cylinder, the speed of rotation of the cylinder, the number of feeds 10 or the boiler positions of the thread 9 or the number of thread feeders, the types of thread used, etc. For example, the fourth algorithm may comprise a conversion of the reference values of thread consumption per point zone 6a, 6b in order to adapt to the second point machine 1 ', by applying a conversion formula that adapts the values proportional to the difference, or the ratio in percentage (or other) between the diameters of the two knitting machines, or between the number of needles of the two knitting machines, etc. The process may further comprise the steps of displacing the positions of the additional forming cams, operatively active on the additional needles 4 of the needle plate, in a similar and contextual manner with what is carried out on the cylinder forming cams of needles 3. The invention further relates to a process for producing knitted articles in at least one circular knitting machine for knitting or knitting, which comprises a process for regulating a size of knitting articles in accordance with which has been described above, which is carried out continuously during the production of knitted articles or periodically, at regular intervals, previously determined or established by a user during the production of the items. The process for regulating the size can be carried out additionally when at least one operating condition selected from the following is obtained: during a period of transient heating of the knitting machine after the start of production; after at least one maintenance intervention on the knitting machine; after a replacement of at least one component of the knitting machine; in a variation, above a previously determined threshold, of at least one environmental condition that has an influence on the operation of the knitting machine, for example humidity or ambient temperature. The invention further relates to a software support program for circular knitting machines for knitwear or knitwear that is configured such as to perform one or more stages of a process in accordance with what has been described above. The process steps mentioned above can be carried out by more than one software program, for example, some stages can be carried out by a first operational software that is installed in the control device 11 of the software. point machine, and other stages can be carried out by a second program or a design software program that is installed in an external processor 16 that can be operatively connected to the point 1 machine via the Internet 15 or a device of portable memorization. The invention further relates to a point 1 machine of the type described above, control device 11 that is configured to perform at least some stages of the process of the type described above and / or has the first software program mentioned above installed. The invention as it is conceived is

susceptible of numerous modifications and variants, all of them falling within the scope of the inventive concept, and the mentioned components can be replaced with other technically equivalent elements. The invention achieves important advantages. In the first place, the invention makes it possible to obviate some of the drawbacks in the prior art. The invention further enables the production of high quality knitted articles that are substantially free of inconveniences, as well! how to reduce production waste. The

The invention also makes it possible to control and regulate the production of the articles of

point automatically, reducing operator interventions to a minimum. The invention further enables the production of productions of a high dimensional uniformity, both at different time points and at different operating conditions in the same machine, and also with respect to productions 10 that are carried out in a plurality of machines. The invention additionally makes it possible to control and regulate in a manner

precise and reliable sizes of knitted articles that occur in one or even a plurality of

knitting machines contemporaneously. The invention also makes it possible to reduce the amount of personnel required to control production, especially in installations where numerous knitting machines are required. The invention is also simple, robust and economical to perform, and guarantees high levels of repeatability and safety.

Claims (10)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty 55 60 65 1. A process to regulate the size of knitted articles that are being produced in circular knitting machines for knitwear or knitwear, comprising the steps of: - predispose at least one circular knitting machine (1) for knitwear or knitwear, comprising at least: a support structure (2); a cylinder (3) of needles (4) that is mounted so that it can rotate in the support structure (2); a plurality of needles (4) that are supported by the cylinder (3) and that can move in parallel with respect to a rotation axis of the cylinder (3) to produce a knitted textile; a plurality of formation cams (7) operatively active on said needles (4) and which can be moved selectively and individually to vary, each, the size of the stitches produced by the needles (4) themselves in correspondence with a respective thread feed position (10) of a thread (9), each forming cam (7) independently of another, a first plurality of passive fixed-wire feeder (8), each of which is operatively active to feed the thread (9), unwinding from the fixed drum, to said needles (4) in correspondence with a feeding position (10) respective and of a formation cam (7) of said formation cams (7); a control device (11) for the operation of the knitting machine (1); and electric and electronic means (12) that are connected to the control device (11) and operatively active to control operation of a plurality of parts of the knitting machine (1) and to detect a plurality of operational parameters of operation of the knitting machine (1); - defining a point article (6) to be produced in the point machine (1), said point article (6) being subdivided by defining at least two point zones (6a, 6b) of said point article ( 6) or a plurality of consecutive knitting areas (6a, 6b) of said knitting article (6), each corresponding to a respective portion of knitted textile material; - activating a production program of said point item (6) and of said point areas (6a, 6b) in said control device (11) of said point machine (1); - producing the knitted areas (6a, 6b) of said knitted article (6) in a sequence, maintaining a tension or a weight of the thread (9) that is fed to the needles (4) substantially constant, by means of a braking device and / or a thread tension regulation device (9); - detecting a plurality of data in relation to the consumption of wire (9) per point zone (6a, 6b) by detecting, between respective start and end signals of the point zone (6a, 6b), of an overall amount of thread (9) that is used to make each point zone (6a, 6b) in correspondence with each thread feeding position (10) of the machine and / or the relative passive fixed drum thread feeder (8) or for a whole of the passive wire feeders (8) of said first plurality in operation for production; - compare the plurality of data for the thread consumption (9) per point area (6a, 6b) with a respective plurality of reference values for the thread consumption (9) per point area (6a, 6b), with in order to obtain a respective plurality of comparison results; - determine, by means of a first algorithm, a plurality of corrective values of the position of the training cams (7) on the basis of the respective plurality of comparison results, if such comparison results are greater than tolerance thresholds previously determined respectively; - move automatically, before producing a successive zone (6a, 6b) of the item of point (6), and / or immediately before producing a corresponding item of successive point (6) and / or before producing each area of corresponding point (6a, 6b) of a successive corresponding point item (6) after having temporarily stored the corrective values corresponding to each point zone (6a, 6b), the formation cams (7) according with said plurality of corrective values, such as to reduce the difference between said plurality of data in relation to thread consumption (9) per point area (6a, 6b) and said plurality of reference values for thread consumption ( 9) by point zone (6a, 6b). 2. The process of the previous revindication, in which global thread consumption data (9) is detected for each point zone (6a, 6b), which correspond to the quantities of thread (9) used, to make each point zone (6a, 6b), corresponding in total to the thread consumptions (9) of all the wire feeding positions (10) of the machine and / or of the wire feeders (8) of the first plurality of thread feeders in operation for production, and wherein said overall thread consumption data (9) per point zone (6a, 6b) is compared with respective reference values for thread consumption (9) global per point zone (6a, 6b) in order to obtain a respective plurality of global comparison results and to define a common corrective value for each point zone (6a, 6b), and wherein said step of Shifting the formation cams (7) is done by displacing all of the shape cams cion (7), active for production, jointly according to the same common corrective value and / or simultaneously. 3. The process of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a preliminary step of regulating and balancing the knitted textile material that produces the circular knitting machine (1), 5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty 55 60 65 regulation and preliminary balancing stage that is carried out before the aforementioned process steps and includes the additional steps of: - defining a portion of balancing point textile material (5) to be produced in the knitting machine (1), said portion of balancing point textile material (5) having a substantially uniform structure suitable for determining the same thread consumption (9) in correspondence with each thread feed position (10) of the knitting machine (1) and / or each thread feeder of the first plurality of passive fixed drum wire feeders (8) in operation for the production; - producing said portion of textile material of equilibrium point (5), by means of a previously determined number of complete rotations of the cylinder (3) of the needles (4), maintaining a tension of the thread (9) that is fed to the needles (4) substantially constant by means of a braking device and / or a thread tension regulation device (9); - detecting, between respective start and end portion signals of balancing point textile material (5), a plurality of thread consumption data (9) of the thread (9) that is used to make the portion of Balancing point textile material (5), detecting a respective thread consumption data (9) in correspondence with each thread feeding position (10) of the machine and / or the relative passive thread feeder (8) of said first plurality; - compare each thread consumption data (9), in relation to a respective thread feed position (10) of the machine and / or with a respective thread feeder (8), or an average of each consumption data of thread (9) in a single complete revolution of the cylinder (3) of the needles (4), with a single common reference value for the consumption of thread (9), such as to obtain a respective comparison result; - determine, by means of a second algorithm, a corrective value of the position of each formation cam (7) on the basis of the respective comparison result of the corresponding wire feeder (8), if the comparison result exceeds a threshold of previously determined tolerance or if this is outside a previously determined tolerance range; - individually move each formation cam (7) according to the relative correction value, such as to reduce the difference between the respective thread consumption data (9) of the corresponding thread feeder (8) and the reference value for the consumption of thread (9), in order to balance the textile material that is being produced. 4. The process of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the, or each, corrective value of the position of each formation cam (7) corresponds to a number of minimum unit displacements of the formation cam (7) proportional to the respective value of the comparison result, or in which the, or each, corrective value of the position of each formation cam (7) corresponds, for any comparison result, with a minimum unit displacement value of the cam of formation (7) and / or in which at least said stage of moving the formation cams (7) and / or said stage of individually moving each formation cam (7) is carried out in a cyclic manner plurality of times until when, or each, comparison result is below the previously determined tolerance threshold for all of the wire feeders (8) of the first plurality of thread feeders (8) in operation and / or that buy of additionally a step of issuing an alarm or detention signal in the case in which within a previously determined number of cycles the, or each, comparison result cannot be carried below the previously determined tolerance threshold or within the interval of previously determined tolerance for all the wire feeders (8) of the first plurality of thread feeders (8) in operation. 5. The process of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a step of determining, in said point machine (1) or in a second point machine (1 '), the reference value for (9) consumption of thread (9), the reference value for the thread consumption (9) per point zone (6a, 6b) or the plurality of reference values for the thread consumption (9) per point zone (6a, 6b ), by means of a processing of said plurality of thread consumption data (9) or thread consumption data (9) per point zone, by means of a third algorithm, for example performing a mean, or a value maximum or minimum value of said yarn consumption data (9) or yarn consumption data (9) by zone, or by selecting said consumption data in relation to a portion of equilibrium textile material (5) or with an approved balancing point item. 6. The process of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of receiving, in said knitting machine (1), the thread consumption reference value (9) or the thread consumption reference value ( 9) by point zone (6a, 6b) or the plurality of thread consumption reference values (9) per point zone (6a, 6b), from a second knitting machine (1 ') in which it has been detected or calculated and / or additionally comprising a step of transmitting the reference value of thread consumption (9) or the reference value of thread consumption (9) by point area (6a, 6b), or the plurality of thread consumption reference values (9) per point zone (6a, 6b), which is calculated or detected by said knitting machine (1), at least a second knitting machine (1 ') , said steps being carried out of receiving or transmitting said reference value automatically by means of a wired network (15) and / or of a wireless type and / or of a Local type or connected to the Internet or by transferring a memorization device. 5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five 7. The process of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of automatically modifying the size of said item of point (6) in order to enable the production of a corresponding item of point (6) of a different size, or the production of a corresponding point item (6) having the same size, in a second circular knitting machine (1 ') different from said circular knitting machine (1), said step being carried out to modify in a way automates the size by modifying said yarn consumption reference value (9) per point zone (6a, 6b), or said plurality of yarn consumption reference values (9) per point zone (6a, 6b ), which is detected or determined in the point machine (1), according to a fourth algorithm that also operates on a plurality of operational parameters, placed in a reciprocal relationship, of the point machine (1) and of the second knitting machine (1 '), said operating parameters comprising at least one or more of the following parameters: the number of needles (4) of the cylinder (3), the gauge of the needles (4) of the cylinder, the diameter of the cylinder, the rotation speed of the cylinder, the number of thread feed positions (10) or the number of thread feeders (8) or the type of thread (9) used. 8. A process for producing knitted articles in at least one circular knitting machine (1) for knitted or knitted textile, characterized in that it comprises a process for regulating the size of knitted articles, according to any one of The preceding claims, a process that is carried out continuously during the production of a plurality of identical knitted articles that are different from each other, either periodically, at regular intervals, previously determined or established by a user, during the production of the articles and / or with the verification of at least one operating state that is selected from the following: during a transitory period of heating of the point machine (1) after a start in production; after at least one maintenance intervention on the knitting machine; after a replacement of at least one component of the knitting machine; in a variation, above a previously determined threshold, of at least one environmental condition that, potentially, has an influence on the operation of the knitting machine, for example the temperature or the level of ambient humidity. 9. A software program for circular knitting machines for knitwear or knitwear, which is configured to carry out a process according to any one of the preceding claims. 10. A circular knitting machine for knitwear or knitwear comprising at least: a support structure (2); a cylinder (3) of the needles (4) that is mounted so that it can rotate in the support structure (2); a plurality of needles (4) that are supported by the cylinder (3) and that can be moved in parallel with respect to a rotation axis of the cylinder (3) in order to produce a knitted textile material; a plurality of formation cams (7) operatively active on the needles (4) and that can be moved selectively and individually such as each to vary a size of the stitches (5a) produced by the needles (4) in correspondence with a respective thread feed position (10), a cam (7) independently of another, a first plurality of passive fixed drum wire feeders (8), each of which is operatively active as for supplying the thread (9) by unwinding from the fixed drum to the needles (4) in correspondence with a respective wire feeding position (10) and a respective cam (7) of said forming cams (7); a control device (11) for the operation of the knitting machine (1); and electrical and electronic means (11) that are connected to the control device (11) and operatively active such as to order the operation of a plurality of components of the knitting machine (1) and such as to detect a plurality of parameters operating the operation of the point machine (1), the control device (11) being configured such as to carry out a process according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and / or being provided with a software program according to the claim 9.