Patent GB-191312722-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
Inventor: SCOTT ROBERT WALTER
IPC: D04B9/46
Filed: 1913-05-31
Granted: 1914-05-28
Abstract: 12,722. Scott, R. W. May 31. Circular machines.-Relates primarily to the provision of a hosiery knitting machine capable of knitting half-hose upon transferred rib-tops, single complete stockings without rib tops, and with a drop-stitch ladder stop or preventative structure, sectional splicings and leg fashionings, or a string-work of such stockings. It is possible on this machine to knit, and eject after knitting, a series of separate stockings &c. without stopping and commencing each time by setting up a selvedge structure upon the bare needles. It is also possible to knit stockings &c. characterised by out-turned welts or hems, having an integrally formed line of uniting-stitches and a section of selvedged fabric at the neighbourhood thereof as described in Specifications 12,726/13 and 12,727/13, and the welt may be followed by fabric containing lines of dropped stitches. The welt may also be knit with a greater number of wales than the stitches in the course uniting them to the body fabric. A fabric take-up is employed when it is intended to knit a continuous string of fabric and is removed when the machine is adjusted to knit and eject complete articles. The cylinder is driven by a bevelwheel 31 on a shaft 32, on which is splined a clutch 33. When the clutch is moved to the right to engage a clutch face 37 on a sleeve 39, rotary motion is imparted, either directly from a fast pulley 42 or at a higher speed from a loose pulley 47 through gearing 49, 65, 60, 38. When the clutch is in the position shown, reciprocatory motion is imparted from the wheel 60 through a crank-pin 61, a connecting-rod 70, an oscillating toothed segment 75, a loose wheel 35, and the clutch 33. The clutch is moved by a slide 92 mounted on a shaft 93 and carrying a roller running in a grooved drum 90 on a cam shaft 80, Fig. 7. The shaft 93 also carries belt-shifting gear for stopping the machine on completion of a stocking etc.; the gear is controlled by a cam on the right-hand end of the shaft 80. This shaft is given one rotation in each cycle of movements by means of a ratchetwheel 81 fed forward by a pawl 82 moving with the segment 75. Another pawl feeds continuously a ratchet-wheel 84, which is loose on the shaft 80 and carries a pattern chain 85. The throw of the pawl 82 is determined by an attachment 83<c> journaled on the rod 93, a forward lug of which is operated by the lugs of the pattern chain. The loose portion of the chain is stored in a holder which is so shaped as to facilitate the formation of the chain into folds. A series of vertically slidable thrust-bars such as 460<b>. Fig. 12, act directly upon the devices situated at the knitting-head. The thrust-bars are supported radiatingly in upper and lower combs and are operated by the action of cams on a pattern drum 120, Fig. 7, which is geared to the shaft 80. The needle cylinder 260, Fig. 12, is vertically slidable on a sleeve 251 integral with the bevel-gear 30, and rests on pins 256 which are supported by a ring 257, which is adjusted by the vertical movement of a tubular column 280. The lower end of the column 280 rests freely in a ring bearing on the underside of the machine table, and is supported by a cam lug having a recess with a sloping face resting on a fixed adjustable plunger. By the use of a hand-lever the column 280 may be rotated to raise the needle cylinder, for example for use in transferring a rib top. A lug on the column is also supported by one arm 286, Fig. 46, of a bell-crank 281, the lower end 282 of which bears against the pattern drum. The head 282 carries four plungers 283, which are operated by four rows of studs on the drums. The knitting-cams include centre cams 8, 9, Fig. 26, which are mounted on a standard 355. and a pair of stitch cams 6, 7 carried on a half-cylinder 370, Fig. 12, which is capable of radial movement by hand towards or away from the cam cylinder. The advancing surfaces 5, 6<a>, 7<a> of the cams are materially flatter than the depressing surfaces 6, 7, the effect of which is the secure holding of the needle-cylinder upon its supports. The knitting - needles comprise needles with long butts n<1>, short butts n<2>, and medium butts n<3>. The medium butts n<3> are long enough to be operated by a switch cam 415 and are comparatively few in number, being for the purpose of allowing a radially movable cam 382 to effect an entrance in the circle of butts. Alternate needle tricks all round the cylinder carry short jacks 380 in addition to the needles. These jacks are operated by a cam-way 365 which divides the needles into two intercalated sets without effecting the normal working of the machine when the cam 382 is out of action. When, however, the cam 382 is pressed in, the needles without jacks, starting with the group of medium butts, pass below the cams 7 and 9, while retaining their loops without knitting. These needles knit at a subsequent but not the succeeding course and form a " draw-stitch " structure which is effective in stopping the formation of a line of drop stitches. A beginning selvedge occupying two courses may be formed on bare needles by putting in the cam 382, the yarn being then fed to the needles with jacks and passing to the backs of the needles without jacks. The webholders are operated so as to hold this setting- up course taut. If this procedure is repeated for a determined number of courses before the cam 382 is taken out and all needles take yarn, an out - turned welted structure is obtained. The above-described effects can also be obtained by the use of a cam 2, Fig. 16, and the use of medium-butt needles n<3> is thereby dispensed with. This cam, when thrust in during the passage of the low-butt needles, causes the highbutt needles (shown in solid black) without jacks to rise above the cam 382, which may thus be withdrawn after all the low-butt needles have passed it, without operating the high - butt needles again. By this means, the cam 382 operates a complete circle of needles and no more. Knitting on all needles then proceeds for one or more courses. If a welt is required, the cam 2 is thrust inwards by a further amount, whereupon the needles without jacks are depressed by the incline 2<a> and so put out of action until the welt is finished. By providing half the needles with long jacks 380, Fig. 34, and a portion of the remainder with shorter jacks 381, an elastic welt having a greater number of wales than the uniting-course can be produced. The operation of producing the selvedge &c. up to the commencement of the welt is the same as above described. When the cam 2, Fig. 34, is thrust in the full amount, the needles with short jacks 381 and the needles without jacks are depressed by the slope 2<a>, but the subsequent rise of the jacks on the slope 369 allows the needles controlled by the short jacks to be taken by the cam 7<a>; thus all the needles provided with jacks, or more than half. pass through the knitting cams during the knitting of the welt. On the withdrawal of the cam 2, the needles without jacks commence to knit and complete the welt. The long and short jacks 380, 381 may be grouped in other ways. The fabric succeeding the welt may be ornamented by drop-stitch effects produced on the needles without jacks by placing the cam 2 in the position shown in Fig. 34, prior to the commencement of the selvedge-forming operations and leaving it in action so long as the drop-stitch effects are required. A relief cam may be provided to elevate slightly the needles passing below the cam 8. This allows the loops on these needles to be tightened by the drawing action of the needles following. Inasmuch as the operation of the drum 120 from the shaft 80 as above described necessitates beginning and ending the operation of the cam 382 near the beginning and end of the stroke of the pawl 82, which is undesirable, the drum is rendered at times independent of the pawl 82 by the provision of auxiliary pawling devices which, for accuracy in the control of the entrance and exit of the cams 382, and 2, may be directly actuated from the main shaft 32 by a cam 430, acting on a pawl 432. The independent actuation of the drum 120 occurs when teeth 434 provided at intervals on the drum come within range of the pawl 432, It is preferred to use needles of the form shown in Fig. 40, having the hook n<9> displaced forwardly as compared with the ordinary type of needles. The improved needle counteracts the tendency of the ordinary needle to elongate the withheld loops.