Patent GB-844454-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to knitting machines
IPC: D04B9/46
Filed: 1957-04-29
Abstract: 844,454. Knitting. SCOTT & WILLIAMS Inc. April 29, 1957 [Oct. 2, 1956], No. 13616/57. Class 74 (2). During float patterning in the leg and foot of a stocking, the needles in one (e.g. the upper) cylinder take yarn and knit at both the main feed 57 and the auxiliary feed 61; but, of the needles in the other cylinder, some knit at the main feed and miss at the auxiliary feed and others do the opposite, the needle selection being effected by pattern devices acting through pattern jacks 26 in the first-mentioned cylinder. The rib stitches being relatively inconspicuous, there may thus be produced fabric which, in the relaxed condition, appears to embody extended areas of a single colour, though the floats are relatively short. Yarn change mechanism is associated with each feed. In the case of a lower cylinder needle which is to knit at the main feed, the associated slider rises over a cam 88 and then passes under a cam 118 having a tail 120 on to which slider butt 20 is lowered by the action of a cam 95 on the butt 22. A corresponding upper slider 6 is, meanwhile, moved downwardly at D by the action of one of a bank of cams 114 on a butt 32 on its jack 26. This lowering is continued at F by a cam 100 and the upper slider concerned engages the upper hook of the lower cylinder needle and forces it downwardly so that the butt 20 of its operating (lower cylinder) slider is made to take a path G under. centre cam 52 and stitch cam 48, the lower cylinder slider then being raised by cam 54 to tuck height and lowered by cam 59 prematurely to miss the auxiliary yarn. Proper engagement of the ledge 126 of the upper slider with the hook of the needle is ensured by a cam 122, which engages its butt 10, and the usual spring band 7; and, following its selecting action, the upper slider is disengaged from the needle by a cam 92 and is retracted by a cam 102. If there is no action by an upper cylinder slider, a lower cylinder slider, after rising over cam 88, will move horizontally, at virtually constant level, so that its needle is too high to take the main yarn, which is placed below its latch. It will then be lowered by cam 69, and by cams 58 and 60 to knit at the auxiliary feed 61. In the knitting of plain soles, a cam 116 may be moved in to engage long and medium butts 22, but to miss short butts, so that sole needles will knit at both feeds, there being produced courses alternating in colour. Alternatively, the cam 116 may be moved inwardly sufficiently only to engage the long butts 22 of the alternate sole sliders, thus permitting the intervening medium butt sliders to remain at a low level, so that the needles associated with the long butt sliders knit at both feeds, while those associated with the medium butt sliders knit only at the main feed. The cams 114 are controlled from a pattern drum which may have pins arranged at levels double in number those at which the cams are arranged and be vertically-movable. Figs. 4 and 6 depict fabrics used in the leg and instep of a sock. Fig. 4 shows a 5 X 2 rib fabric in which the rib wales 130 are knitted two-feed and the plain wales 132 are patterned by relative knitting and floating. Fig. 6 depicts a 1 X 1 rib having the rib wales knitted two feed and the plain wales float-patterned and, in addition, an overplaid, provided by diagonal lines of stitches X, to produce an Argyle design. Specification 12519/1915 is referred to.