In the method for making a knitting stitch in a knitting machine where for forming the knitting stitch a needle and a sinker cooperate, the created knitting stitch is moved by a movement of the sinker to a rest position of the knitting stitch.

A circular knitting machine for knitted or hosiery items includes a supporting structure; a needle-holding cylinder selectively turnable around an axis of rotation of the knitting machine and provided with a plurality of cylinder needles; and a dial assembly arranged above the needle-holding cylinder. The dial assembly includes a supporting ring integral with the supporting structure; a needle-holding plate turnably mounted to the supporting ring and turnable around the axis of rotation; a plurality of plate needles; and a plurality of cams controlling the plate needles, which interact with the plate needles so as to transmit to them a radial movement inside the respective sliding seat based on a given law of motion, wherein the control cams globally form a cam profile defining the law of motion. The dial assembly further includes a stitch cam placed movably on the supporting ring and configured for interacting with the plate needles in a given angular sector during the rotation of the needle-holding plate, so as to transmit to the plate needles a motion of return for executing stitch formation. The stitch cam is selectively movable with respect to the cam profile.

A needle-holding element for circular knitting machines, having a structure as a hollow solid of rotation developing around a central axis and configured for rotating and for supporting a plurality of needles moving so as to produce a knitted fabric; the needle-holding element has at least one working surface shaped as a surface of rotation obtained through the rotation of a portion of generating straight line around the central axis; on the working surface a plurality of needle seats is defined, placed one beside the other and arranged circumferentially or radially around the central axis, wherein each needle seat movably houses at least a portion of at least one respective needle. At least one needle seat has at least a first length has a longitudinal development, on the working surface, inclined with respect to the generating straight line.

A support and control device, intended to be mounted in a circular knitting machine provided with a supporting structure, a rotating component-holding unit, and a plurality of stitch formation components, includes a support body provided with a mounting portion, which allows the device to be mounted to the supporting structure, with a front side and a rear side. The front side faces the component-holding unit and is provided with at least one cam for controlling the plurality of stitch formation components, which defines a guiding path which interacts with respective butts for controlling each of the stitch formation components; the rear side is opposite to the front side and faces the outside of the knitting machine. The device includes at least one through opening between the front side and the rear side, open on the guiding path, which defines an empty space placing at least a portion of the guiding path of the cam in direct communication with the outside of the device, so that the respective butts of the stitch formation components interacting with the cam are facing, and in direct communication with, the empty space.

A circular knitting machine includes a needle-holding cylinder having plurality of longitudinal grooves arranged around central axis, and plurality of needles, each being housed in longitudinal groove. Drive chain for each needle is inserted into each groove and operatively placed between needle and actuating cams. Drive chain includes sub-needle slidingly arranged in groove and having a butt. Butt is radially movable between operating position, extracted to engage with respective first paths and cause activation of needle and stitch formation, and non-operating position, retracted so as not to engage with first paths. A selector is arranged under sub-needle, and punch is arranged between sub-needle and selector. An activating element is slidingly arranged in groove between sub-needle and selector, can be longitudinally moved with respect to punch and sub-needle, and can be operatively engaged with sub-needle to switch butt of sub-needle into and retain it in operating position.

In the method for making a knitting stitch in a knitting machine where for forming the knitting stitch a needle and a sinker cooperate, the created knitting stitch is moved by a movement of the sinker to a rest position of the knitting stitch.

A circular knitting machine includes a needle-holding cylinder having plurality of longitudinal grooves arranged around central axis, and plurality of needles, each being housed in longitudinal groove. Drive chain for each needle is inserted into each groove and operatively placed between needle and actuating cams. Drive chain includes sub-needle slidingly arranged in groove and having a butt. Butt is radially movable between operating position, extracted to engage with respective first paths and cause activation of needle and stitch formation, and non-operating position, retracted so as not to engage with first paths. A selector is arranged under sub-needle, and punch is arranged between sub-needle and selector. An activating element is slidingly arranged in groove between sub-needle and selector, can be longitudinally moved with respect to punch and sub-needle, and can be operatively engaged with sub-needle to switch butt of sub-needle into and retain it in operating position.

The machine for making an upper for a shoe comprises a reel holder rack, a dial and a sinker crown, a needle cylinder with a vertical axis and forward and backward movement having a plurality of grooves, inside of which the (needles) are slidable, controlled by selection means thereof, a cup element, at least four feeders assembled along the circumference of the machine, guide means, first braking means, first recovery means for recovering each of the threads to be fed to said needles for forming the upper and a suction bell for unloading said upper, below said first braking means at least second braking means being present for braking or locking each thread for the formation of said upper during at least the first part of the return movement of said needle holder cylinder and second recovery means for recovering said thread from said cylinder, preventing its recovery by a reel of said reels, said second braking means being activated and deactivated by said second recovery means.

The field of the present invention relates, in general, to apparatus and methods of knitting a material into a tubular form, where the length of such tubular form is not dictated by conventional distances between the knitting areas and the catch basins of integrated machines. In short, this invention increases the distal relationship between the needle-equipped element, which performs the knitting function, and the basin that catches the resulting tubular form of the material. The basin rotates synchronized with the rotation of the resulting tubular form. The separation facilitates the continuous production of a length of the resulting tubular form of the material. The tubular form thus can be longer than such length where, as taught in the prior art, the catch basin is fixedas part of integrated machinesin close proximity with the element that performs the knitting. As an inventive method, the steps include (A) feeding such material into the proximity of a needle-equipped element; (B) knitting such material with such needle-equipped element to produce such resulting tubular form; (C) catching such resulting tubular form in a basin that is physically disconnected from the needle-equipped element and distanced therefrom to produce a desirably longer length of the resulting tubular form; and (D) electronically controlling such feeding step, such knitting step, and such catching step (synchronizing the catching with the rotation of resulting tubular form), whereby the rates of the feeding, knitting and catching produce such resulting tubular form that is unbuckled.

A needle-holding element for circular knitting machines, having a structure as a hollow solid of rotation developing around a central axis and configured for rotating and for supporting a plurality of needles moving so as to produce a knitted fabric; the needle-holding element has at least one working surface shaped as a surface of rotation obtained through the rotation of a portion of generating straight line around the central axis; on the working surface a plurality of needle seats is defined, placed one beside the other and arranged circumferentially or radially around the central axis, wherein each needle seat movably houses at least a portion of at least one respective needle. At least one needle seat has at least a first length has a longitudinal development, on the working surface, inclined with respect to the generating straight line.