IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, WILLIAM TERTIUS ROWLETT, of 34 Newarke Street, Leicester, in the county
of Leicester, Yarn Agent, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES, to be as follows:-
My improvements are applicable to all kinds of circular hosiery machines,
employing either bearded needles or latch needles. One form of machine consists
of a bed plate forming bearings for bevelled toothed gearing actuated by either
hand or power, the gearing drives a circular head containing the needles, the head
is supported by a vertical axle, and is provided with a plate revolving with it,
having radiating slots, commencing at the circumference, and terminating at the
ring of needles, in these slots are slides having projections on their edges, which
take into a groove in a fixed cam, the cam groove is of such a shape as to push
the slides inwards so as to project across a circular groove in which the needle
plates stand, each needle is secured in and carried by a vertical plate, which is kept
the proper distance apart by the slides before named, while the fabric is being
made; at that portion of the circle of needles where the fabric is not being made,
the cam groove withdraws the slides clear of the needle plates to enable the other
needle plates and needles to take their place. The object of this is to allow a
varying number of needles to work in a circle of fixed diameter and yet retain the
same guage. At that portion of the circle where the fabric is being made, the
machine is provided with a feeding or loop wheel, and landing, pressing and
knocking over wheels of the usual construction.
And at that portion of the circle, where the slides are withdrawn, there are twice
as many needle plates as in the same space, where the slides project across the
circle. When any needle plates are withdrawn from the circle, an adjustable
incline in or on the fixed cam is moved so as to come into action later on, and thus
leave the slides between the needle plates a longer time, to fill up the spaces
previously occupied by the needle plates.
When the fabric is required to be narrowed, a narrowing machine carrying
points and apparatus to transfer the stitches from certain needles to the next
adjacent needles, and also nipping or equivalent apparatus, which takes hold of
the needle bits containing the needles from which the stitches have been removed,
and draws them clear of the circle of needles. The narrowing machine and trans-

page_text: ferring apparatus is actuated by being carried with the head a portion of the
revolution when narrowings are required to be made, the movements being
communicated by fixed inclines, when the whole apparatus has finished its work,
it is brought back to its original position.
Where fixed latch needles are employed, the presser wheel is dispensed with, and 5
where latch needles with an independent sliding motion are employed either to
make plain or ribbed fabric, the whole of the wheels may be dispensed with. The
narrowing, transferring and needle plate removing apparatus are in principle the
same.
My improvements are also applicable to circular knitting machines in which the 10
feeding apparatus revolves instead of the needlès.

page_text: to illustrato my invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same having one half of a cover plate cut away to
show the relative positions of the needle plates and slides I employ.
Figure 3 shows a plan of a cam plate hereafter referred to and Figures 4 and 4ª
show respectively plan and side views of one needle plate and needle and one slide.
The corresponding parts in each figure are indicated by the same letters where
necessary.
Reference being made to the above Figures A is a bed plate forming bearings
for bevelled toothed gearing B which drives a circular head C partly resting upon
a cam plate E and supported by a vertical axle C¹ secured in the bed plate, the
head is provided with radiating slots in which slides D are moved to and fro by
the cam E the groove in which is of such a shape as to push the slides inwards so
as to project across a circular groove, with and in which needle platos F revolve,
each plate carrying a bearded needle of the usual construction, In the first two
figures a slide is shown so projected at the right of the figures and a slide is shown
withdrawn clear of the needle plates at the left of the figures, When the slides are
between the needle plates the needles are at their proper guage to form work upon
them by the employment of a push back plate, feeding or loop wheel, and landing,
pressing, and knocking over wheels, each being of the usual construction are
carried by brackets secured to the bed plate but are not shown in the drawings.
As soon as a slido is withdrawn from between the needle plates by the projecting
portion E¹ of an adjustable incline on the inner ring of the cam shown at Figure 3
a space the width of the thickness of a slido is left which is immediately filled up
by a needle plate of the same thickness, Then as the slides arrive at the inclino E
they are again projected between the needle plates so as to divide them the proper
distance apart for making the work on, This action of the slide coming forward
to divide the needle plates, results in pushing back all the needlo plates contained
in that part of the needle groove from which the slides are withdrawn thus filling
up the vacancy caused by the recoding of the last slide, As the circle of needles
revolve it presents this peculiar appearance, that those needles which are the proper
distance apart move at the same speed as the head whilst those which are close
together only move at half the speed, When any needle plates are withdrawn
from the circle, the adjustable incline E' is moved towards E so as to retain the
slides between the needle plates a longer portion of the revolution and thus fills up

page_text: the spaces caused by the removal of the needle plates, when it is required to
re-insert any of the needle plates the adjustable cam is moved back a corresponding
distance towards its original position.
It will thus be seen that with a varying number of needles in a circle of a fixed
diameter the needles at the working portion of the circlo are always at the proper
guage apart so as to admit of fashioned seamless knitted fabrics being produced.
This process is applicable to all kinds of circular..knitting machines whether
with parellel or radiating needles and whether bearded or latch, either with or
without loop and presser wheels But I do not limit myself to the actual method
before, described, as the same result may be obtained in different ways whilst still
following out the process of assembling the needles together at one point of the
circle and opening them out at another.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I, declare-that what
I claim is
The assembling.in circular knitting machines of needle. bits and. needles close
together at any part of the circle where they are not producing work, and opening
them out to the proper gunge at that portion of the circle where work is produced
so that a varying number of needles may work in a circle of unvarying diameter
and always produce the same.guage and quality of work.
D1.