Abstract: A circular knitting machine for knitting hosiery has a program drum which can be advanced through short or longer-pitch movements in dependence on an arrangement of removable pins located in seats around the drum. The presence, absence, and length of the pins is sensed mechanically by a control device associated with an incremental advance mechanism for the drum. The speed of the needle cylinder is also controlled in dependence on the arrangement of pins. By changing the arrangement, articles of different size can be produced on the machine.

Abstract: In a circular knitting machine having needle and/or jack butts at different levels, control cams for the butts are selectively movable radially of the needle cylinder, and angularly. Radial movement of the control cams causes the cams to act selectively on all of the butts, on only the upper butts, or on none of the butts, and angular movement of the control cams causes the control cams to effect, selectively, raising of the butts, partial raising of the butts, or raising of none of the butts.

Abstract: A circular knitting machine has a needle selection system which can be set up to provide selection under electronic control, or to provide for manual selection. The selection system has a plurality of slidable selection cams which are controlled by an electro-magnetic system to act on rocking selector jacks, the electro-magnetic system being operated by an electronic control program. For manual selection, the electro-magnetic system serves to hold all of the selection cams in an excluded position and selection is obtained by manually insertable cams which act on the selector jacks.

Abstract: A circular knitting machine has rocking selector jacks, selected ones of which are raised in a raising zone by means of a raising cam. A cam is provided in correspondence of the raising zone with a lower profile extending parallel to the intended trajectory of the other, non-selected, jacks to engage butts of these jacks whereby to prevent them from being raised unintentionally.

Abstract: A knitting machine has a lowering cam which acts on the butts of the needles to lower the needles in an active stroke. A stop cam associated with the lowering cam acts on the butts to decelerate the needles at the end of the stroke. The relative positions of the lowering cam and the stop cam can be adjusted in two mutually transverse directions to ensure smooth engagement of the butts with the stop cam.

Abstract: A plurality of machines, such as circular hosiery machines, are controlled at preselected times during a knitting cycle by a central control unit. Each machine includes, in addition to the needle cylinder, a revolutions counter and angular position detector cooperatively connected to the cylinder, as well as actuators which change or vary the operations performed on the article by the cylinder. If desired a size-change unit may be provided for each machine to vary the sizes of the body, leg, and foot of articles produced. A cyclical switching generator successively and individually feeds information from the angular detector and revolutions counter into a central control unit from each machine as well as feeding information from the central control unit to the actuators of each machine, so that, for any position and after a prescribed number of revolutions of each machine, prescribed knitting functions may be directed.

Abstract: A selection device for oscillating jacks in a circular knitting machine comprising selection levers pivotal between an active position in which the jacks are radially thrust by a thrust profile of the levers, and an inactive position. The levers are moved into one of these positions by engagement of a control profile of the levers by the butts and are held in this position by a permanent magnet. The flux of the magnet can be neutralized temporarily by program-controlled windings to permit release of a selected lever whereby the lever is moved into its other position by means of a bias.

Abstract: In the production of tights on a circular knitting machine, the needle cylinder is operated with continuous motion to form a first tubular leg portion. The needles along a first arc are then excluded, and a trapezoidal fabric flap is knitted along a second arc, explementary to the first arc, using oscillating motion of the needle cylinder, needles being progressively excluded along third and fourth arcs, at each end of the second arc whereby to form inclined sides of the flap. Knitting of the flap is completed along a fifth arc defined between the ends of the third and fourth arcs. A second trapezoidal fabric flap is knitted along the fifth arc, needles being progressively included along the third and fourth arcs. The second flap is connected to the first flap during knitting and the two flaps form the pants portion of the tights. After completion of the second flap, a second tubular leg portion is formed using continuous motion of the needle cylinder.