Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Supports, and in Mechanism Used therefor, partly applicable in the Manufacture of other Knitted Articles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Aug., 1894-Accepted, 20th Oct., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Supports, and in
Mechanism Used therefor, partly applicable in the Manufacture
of other Knitted Articles.
I, ARTHUR FREDERICK LONGDON, a Director of the Firm of F. Longdon
& Co. Ld. of the Town and County of Derby, Surgical Bandage Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In order to form a knitted bag like support with an elastic band around the
mouth of the bag upon a flat bar knitting machine having bearded needles and
adapted for producing elastic knitted work 1 employ pressing mechanism
constructed in the following manner. The acting blade of the presser bar I
make in sections, two middle sections I make capable of being moved endwise to
bring them one behind the other, and two end sections I make capable of being
raised or lowered to bring them into or raise them out of acting position.
On commencing to form the bag the sections of the presser are all set in a line
to form one continuous pressing edge to act upon all the needles. Four or other
number of courses are then made with elastic thread inserted into the work to
produce an elastic band afterwards four or other number of plain courses without
any insertion of elastic.
The traverse of the thread is then shortened, the end sections of the presser
are raised and middle sections moved one behind the other-courses of work are
then made upon the central needles gradually longer and longer by increasing the
travel of the thread layer and moving the two middle sections of the presser step
by step away from one another until all or nearly all the needles they are capable
of acting on have again come into work-the end sections of the presser are
then moved into acting position and one or more courses of work are produced on
the whole row of needles-then short courses are again made on the central
needles only and the courses are gradually lengthened and this is continued until
a knitted bag or pocket of the desired size has been produced by what is known.
as radial knitting a few courses of work are then again made on all the needles
and another elastic band produced which is afterwards finished off to make a
complete selvage.
In order to move the two middle sections of the presser step by step towards
or away from one another I control the position of each by causing a pin or truck
at its end to rest against a snail shaped cam formed in steps and to which a step
by step rotating movement is given-one step after each course of work. To
give this rotating movement to the cam the cam has upon its axis a ratchet wheel
and a pawl against which one or other of the teeth of the wheel strikes at each
upward movement of the presser bar. As the snail cam is rotated the pin or
truck on one section of the presser bar which was resting say on the step nearest
to the axis of the cam is moved step by step until it rests on the step furthest from
the cam axis and then on the next movement of the cam passes back to rest on the
first step nearest to the axis and so on.
Each end section of the presser which can be raised or lowered to put it in or
out of action I form of a thin plate which if the central sections are carried at the
front of the presser bar may be held by a spring against the back of the presser
bar. The plate may be raised or lowered by a sinall lever mounted on the top of
the presser bar-the rear end of the lever passing through a slot in the plate and
the front of the lever formed into a thumb piece by which the workman can
depress or raise it.

page_text: To lock the plate either in its raised or lowered position I form a lug or
projection upon it to come above or below another projection on the presser bar
the plate having to spring back to allow the projection upon it to pass from one
position to the other.
In some cases portions of the presser may be made with the acting blade in a
number of sections side by side any of which can be raised or lowered in the
above manner and they may be held either against the back or the front of the
presser bar with such pressers a bag or pocket of elastic work may be produced
by radial knitting in the way above described in the middle of a piece of elastic
knitted work.
Pressers formed in sections some of which can be moved horizontally to and fro
and others raised and lowered as above described to put them in or out of action
can be used for producing other articles of knitted work.
Dated this Third day of November 1893.
ARTHUR FREDERICK LONGDON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Supports, and in
Mechanism Used therefor, partly applicable in the Manufacture
of other Knitted Articles.
I, ARTHUR FREDERICK LONGDON, a Director of the Firm of F. Longdon
& Co. Ld. of the Town and County of Derby, Surgical Bandage Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly. described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :--
In order to form a knitted bag like support with an elastic band around the
mouth of the bag upon a flat bar knitting machine having bearded needles and
adapted for producing elastic knitted work I employ pressing mechanism
constructed in the following manner. The acting blade of the presser bar I make
in sections, two middle sections I make capable of being moved endwise to bring
them one behind the other, and two end sections I make capable of being raised
or lowered to bring them into or raise them out of acting position.
On commencing to form the bag the sections of the presser are all set in a line
to form one continuous pressing edge to act upon all the needles. A number of
courses are then made with elastic thread inserted into the work to produce an
elastic band afterwards four or other number of plain courses without any insertion
of elastic.
The traverse of the thread is then shortened, the end sections of the presser are
raised and middle sections moved one behind the other-courses of work are then
made upon the central needles gradually longer and longer by increasing the
travel of the thread layer and moving the two middle sections of the presser step
by step away from one another until all or nearly all the needles they are capable
of acting on have again come into work-the end sections of the presser are
then moved into acting position and one or more courses of work are produced
on the whole row of needles-then short courses are again made on the central
needles only and the courses are gradually lengthened and this is continued until
a knitted bag or pocket of the desired size has been produced by what is known as
radial knitting a few courses of work are then again made on all the needles
and another elastic band produced which is afterwards finished off to make a
complete selvage.
Or this process may be reversed and the bag formed in the manner shewn by
the diagram Figure 1 that is by first forming an, clastic band A upon a row of
needles extending from a to a' then a few courses upon the same needles without
any insertion of elastic-then putting out of action the pressers which act on the

page_text: needles between a and b and between b¹ a¹ and producing courses of work upon
the needles between band b' gradually shortening these courses until work is produced
only upon the needles between c* and *. Afterwards when this point has been
arrived at again bringing the end pressers into action and producing say two
courses of work upon the whole row of needles from a to a¹ and then gradually
shortening courses upon the needles between band 6' and so on until a bag or
pocket has been formed of the depth required. The few courses of plain work
are then produced upon the whole row of needles from a to a¹ and the second
elastic band to complete the formation of the bag. Similarly if a bag or pocket
of elastic fabric is to be formed in the middle of a piece of work it can be
produced in similar ways by the same construction of presser.
Knitted supports can be formed in the above way for use in all cases where
support by compression may be required to any part of the body-for surgical
clastic knee caps-for cases of varicose veins and for belts of all descriptions.
In order to move the two middle sections of the presser step by step towards or
away from one another I control the position of each by causing a pin or truck at
its end to rest against a snail shaped cam formed in steps and to which a step by
step rotating movement is given-one step after each course of work. To give
this rotating movement to the cam the cam has upon its axis a ratchet wheel and a
pawl against which one or other of the teeth of the wheel strikes at cach upward
movement of the presser bar. As the snail cam is rotated the pin or truck on one
section of the presser bar which was resting say on the step nearest to the axis of
the cam is moved step by step until it rests on the step furthest from the cam axis
and then on the next movement of the cam passes back to rest on the first step
nearest to the axis and so on.
Each end section of the presser which can be raised or lowered to put it in or
out of action I form of a thin plate which if the central sections are carried at the
front of the presser bar may be held by a spring against the back of the presser
bar. The plate may be raised or lowered by a small lever mounted on the top of
the presser bar--the rear end of the lever passing through a slot in the plate and
the front of the lever formed into a thumb piece by which the workman can depress
or raise it.
To lock the plate either in its raised or lowered position I form a lug or projection
upon it to come above or below another projection on the presser bar the plate
having to spring back to allow the projection upon it to pass from one position to
the other.
Figure 2 is a face view of one end of a presser bar constructed in this manner, a
sufficient length of the bar is shewn for producing one bag. The knitting machine
may be of a width to produce any desired number of bags at the same time.
Figure 3 is a cross section taken through one of the end sections of the presser.
B B are the two blades whose lower edges form the two middle sections of the
acting edge of the presser and CC are the two end sections. These blades are all
carried by the presser bar D-the two blades B. B' are held against the front of
the bar and the blades C C¹ against the back of the bar and the bar is made wedge
shaped in cross section as shewn at Figure 3 so that the lower edges of the blades
at the back and front may be brought approximately into a line with one another.
Each end of the bar D has mounted upon it a snail shaped cam E on an axis E¹
on which is also fixed a ratchet wheel E-to which a step by step rotating motion
is imparted at the times required in the manner above described.
A pin or truck B*on one of the blades B B' is held up to the snail cam at one
end of the bar D and a similar pin or truck on the other blade is held up to the
snail cam at the other end of the bar.
In Figure 2 the two blades B B' are shewn one behind the other and ready to
be moved apart step by step by the action of the snail wheel cam.
The blade C is shewn in its lower or acting position and the blade C¹ in its
raised or idle position.
These blades are spring blades and have upon them at their upper end two

page_text: projections C* C*. The blades can be raised or lowered by levers F mounted on
pins F secured to the top of the bar D-the levers pass through slots in the blades
as shewn and come above and below the two projections. When the forward
ends of the levers F are depressed their rear ends lift the blades into their idle
position. As they are raised into this position the lower projections Cx upon
them spring past the end of plates G which are fixed to the top of the bar D
and the blades are so upheld in this position. When the forward ends of the
levers F are raised their rear ends depress the blades and the lower pro-
jections Care brought below the end of the plates G and are so shifted to
and retained in their acting position.
In some cases more especially for making gusset work portions of the presser
may be made with the acting blade in a number of sections side by side any of
which can be raised or lowered in the above manner and they may be held either
against the back or the front of the presser bar.
Figure 4 is a face view and Figure 5 a cross section of part of a presser bar
fitted with movable sections capable of being raised and put out of action in the
above manner the blades are shewn as being carried on the front face of the
presser bar but they might be at the back as above stated. The parts are marked
with the same letters of reference as in Figures 2 and 3.
Pressers formed in sections some of which can be moved horizontally to and fro
and others raised and lowered as above described to put them in or out of action
can be used for producing other articles of knitted work. Pressers constructed as
herein before described are applicable both to rotary and hand frames.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
A knitted support formed of two knitted clastic bands having elastic thread
inserted into the work and between them a knitted bag or pocket without elastic
thread inserted into the work substantially as herein before described.
2. The manufacture of knitted bag-like supports substantially as herein before
described.
3. The construction of the presser bar of knitting machinery (either adapted for
the production of elastic or of other knitted fabrics) with its acting edge in sections
one or more of which can be moved to and fro horizontally and another or
others raised and lowered to put them in and out of action substantially as
herein before described.
4. The construction of the presser bar of knitting machinery with its acting edge
in sections one or more mounted on one face and capable of being moved to and
fro lengthwise of the bar and another or others mounted on the reverse face and
capable of being moved to and fro at right angles to the bar to put them in
and out of action substantially as herein before described.
5. The construction of the presser bar of knitting machinery with its acting edge
in sections which can be slidden to and fro at right angles to the length of the
bar to put them in and out of action substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 27th day of July 1894.
ARTHUR FREDERICK LONGDON.