IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINERY
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Barratt of the Town and County of the Town of
Nottingham Overlooker, in the Employment of the Nottingham Manufacturing
Company Limited of the Town of Nottingham aforesaid for an invention of
(Void by reason of the Patentee having neglected to file a Specification in
pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Barratt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th April 1882.
HENRY BARRATT of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham
Overlooker, in the employment of the Nottingham Manufacturing Company
Limited of the Town of Nottingham aforesaid "IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR
KNITTING MACHINERY."
The object of the invention is to facilitate the production of fashioned fabric by
circular knitting machinery.
For this purpose the apparatus is arranged to produce at pleasure circular knitted
fabric and then as desired, to effect a fashioning of such fabric.
In carrying out my improvements the circular head of the apparatus carrying
the needles and the jacks or jack levers, in place of having rotary motion given to
them are stationary whilst operating parts revolve around that head I employ.
jacks or jack levers to operate the needles and these levers have elongated ends or
are otherwise formed to be operated by suitable surfaces to bring the needles into
working position in the order desired.
For this purpose a plate with an inclined surface to it is used to act upon these
jack levers. This plate is brought into position by a cam or pattern surface actuated
for a step by step motion by ratchet and pawl operated by a segment adjustable to
the position desired.
The needles raised during working are taken down again by pieces in position
for the purpose.

page_text: These fashioning movements are selected to come into operation by a jacquard or
pattern surface and when the desired fashioning has been obtained to the extend
required the jacquard throws the fashioning tackle out of operation so that the
machine may go on producing ordinary plain fabric until fashioning is again
required.
When "fashioning" the movement of the apparatus is changed for the time from
continuously rotatory to an oscillatory or vibratory one.
The desired change is effected by the jacquard or pattern surface acting to change
the continuous rotary to the vibratory and vice. versa. And the jacks or jack
levers are formed to be operated for fashioning at opposite parts by separate but,
(if desired) corresponding cam action.
I employ extra stationary hooked instruments with other lever instruments to
act together on the needles to aid the formation of correct work.
These lever instruments are operated by cam or such like motion. Guards may
also be used if desired.
I employ spring tension means to ensure proper tension on the thread or threads
and an adjustable feeder on thread carrier adapted to lay the thread being fed on
either side of the needle as required so as to effect correct lapping of such thread
on the leading or outside needle.
This movement is effected by lever operation from the jack or jack lever.
Whilst the work is being produced for fashioning during the formation of the
parts of a heel for instance, the other of the needles are not for the time in use.
When this fashioning has been obtained say from the widest to the narrowest
part of it then the fashioning proceeds in the opposite way to produce work on the
fashioning last produced but beginning by by the narrowest to the broadest of that
part and until that part is complete when the fashioning arrangements are thrown
out of gear and the circular work is proceeded with.
Two opposite parts of the toe are produced at the same time.
In like manner the parts of the foot may be simultaneously formed and fashioned,
if desired, and then these parts united as required and the heels produced by the
working described.
When fashioning the movement of the apparatus is changed for the time being
from continuously rotatory to an oscillatory or vibratory one, which change is
effected by the jacquard or pattern surface acting to change from the plain fabric
to the fashioning of it.
During the fashioning the oscillatory or vibratory movement always moves one
certain distance, at the same time the stop by step motion is brought into action
and the incline is lowered step by step so that the given number of needles only
are brought up for the fashioning desired.
The incline is lowered step by step until the fashioning of the narrowest part is
completed, it then comes up step by step until it has reached the widest part and
then the jacquard changes the apparatus back again to the rotatory motion at the
same time throwing out the segment arrangement (which is acted upon by the
ratchet and pawl which work the step by step motion) until required to fashion
again: