Improvements in and Appertaining to Knitting Machines.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Mar., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 10th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 9th Mar., 1889
Improvements in and Appertaining to Knitting Machines.
I JAMES HIGHAM of No. 1 Marsden Street Oldham Road Newton Heath Manchester
in the County of Lancaster Knitting Machine Salesman do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention consists of improvements to and means for driving
Knitting Machines for a portion of or all the knitting by power and the remaining
or any portion such as the heel & toe of a stocking by hand at the will of the
operator.
I preferably fix bearings or brackets underneath or on the underside of the bench
or table to or on which the machine is secured through these bearings or brackets a
shaft revolves on this shaft a toothed wheel revolves and which gears into the driving
wheel of machine this toothed wheel may be formed with a projection to form the he
or she portion of a friction cono on another portion of the shaft I fix a speed pulley
for revolving the said shaft this speed pulley may be formed with the she or he
portion of a cone to fit tho he or she cone on the toothed wheel and may be secured
upon the shaft by means of a screw feather or key either as a fixture or slide upon the
shaft, if secured as a fixture to the shaft I prefer to move the shaft by means of a
lever or cam slide until the connection is formed with the friction cone on the
toothed wheel and so revolve it and the machine if however the speed pulley is not a
fixture but slides then I prefer to move the speed pulley instead of the shaft or in
some cases I may prefer to use a she or he cone independantly of the speed pulley.
By using a simple appliance connected with and operated upon by the counter or
register of the number of rounds knitted by the machine, the machine may be so
regulated as to stop at any given number of rounds so knitted this appliance may
consist of a tumbler, catch and trigger or other similar means with lever, connected
from the counter or register to the lever or cam slide for moving the shaft, speed
pulley or she or he cone in and out of contact with the he or she cone on toothed
wheel.
The second part of my invention consists in fixing rails or slides over the needlo
beds and either directly over the Gibs or needle bars or otherwise and having the

page_text: carriages or cam plates and yarn guide. to slide upon the said rails instead of as
heretofore upon rails or slides fixed at the foot or bottom of needle beds. The
carriages or cam plates on each side of the Machine are connected by a bow. When
I require to use a limited yarn guide or limited yarn guides I fix another rail, or two
if necessary, under the bow but above the carriages or cam plates, these rails may
he secured to the ends of machine supporting the needle beds or to the baso
or body of the machine or to any convenient portion of the machine. Upon this rail
the yarn guides slide and are operated by a spring plunger of the usual type connected
to or through the how or by a bearing fixed or cast upon the carriages or cam
plates, this rail I preferably fix on the side of the machine away from the operator by
these means I dispense with the long carriage now in use in existing machines such
as the "Lamb" besides having many other advantages over those machines which
have the rails or slides fixed at the foot or bottom of the needle beds.
To slide the carriages or cam plates upon the rails I may use the ordinary crank
method or motion now in use or I may fix a cam or eccentric motion with the required
distance of throw upon tho driving shaft. When I use the cam or eccentric motion,
the driving or connecting rod, one end of which is secured to the Carriages or cam
plates and the other end sliding in a bearing is connected to or with the cam or
eccentric motion by means of a bowl or stud running in a groove formed in the face
or end of the cam or eccentric motion, thus keeping the driving or connecting rod
in a horizontal position instead of in a varying inclined position as given by a
crank.
By fixing the rails close to the needle beds I may dispense with the Gibs or needle
bars in such cases I form the needles with a bend to comme level with the top of the
needle grooves.
Dated this Eighth day of March 1888.

page_text: JAMES HIGHAM 1 Marsden Street Oldham Road Newton Heath Manchestor in tho
County of Lancaster Knitting Machine Salesman 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 :-
The first part of my invention consists of improvements to and means for driving
Knitting Machines for a portion of or all the knitting by power and for the remaining or
any portion such as the heel and toe of a stocking by hand at the will of the
operator.
1 preferably fix bearers or brackets underneath or on the underside of the bench or
table to or on which the machino is secured, through these bearers or brackets a shaft
revolves on this shaft a toothed wheel revolves and which gears into the driving
wheel of machine, this toothed wheel may be formed with a projection to form the bo
or she portion of a friction cone, on another portion of the shaft I fix a speed pulley
for rovolving tho said shaft this speed pulley may be formed with the he or she portion
of a cono to fit the he or she cone on the toothed wheel and may be secured upon the
said shaft by means of a screw, feather or key either as a fixture or slide upon tho said
shaft, if secured as a fixture to the said shaft I prefer to move the shaft by means
of a lever or cam slide until the connection is formed with the friction cone on the
toothed wheel and so revolve it and the machine, if however the said speed pulley is
not a fixture but slides then I prefer to move the speed pulley instead of the shaft, or,
in some cases I may prefer to use a he or she cono independent of the speed pulloy.
I use a simple appliance connected with and operated upon by the counter or register
of the number of rounds knitted by the machine the machine may be so regulated as
to stop at any given number of rounds so knitted this appliance consists of a tumbler
catch and trigger or other similar means connected from the counter or register to the
lever or cam slide for moving the shaft speed pulley or he or she cone in and out of
contact with the he or she cone on toothed wheel.
I will now describe the drawings on Sheet 3 in which I show a she cono for
revolving the toothed wheel. a is the bearers or brackets, ba shaft, c a toothed wheel,
d a speed pulloy grooved for cord belt, e a she cone, fa slide or connection from cam
slide to the she cone e, g a cam slide with handle, ha catch or plungor i a trigger,
jmachine driving wheel counter or register, a handle or thumb piece on catch or
plunger h m collars, n springs.
The shaft is revolved by the speed pulley d, the toothed wheel c being loose upon
the shaft band geared into driving wheel of machine, the she cone e slides upon the
shaft but revolves with the shaft b by means of a key secured to shaft b and a
corresponding key way or groove in the bearing of the she cone e, the key secured
to shalt forming a collar to keep the toothed wheel c in position on the shaft b between
it and the bearer or bracket a, the slide or connection has a forked arm extending

page_text: downwards attached to which are bowls and studs to run freely in the grooved she
cone e, at the other end the slide or connection f has a bowl and stud which extends
or projects upwards into the cam slido g, the cam slide g being held back by the spring
keeps the she cone e from contact with the he cone on toothed wheel c, the catch or
plunger being fixed in bearings has a spiral spring to force the end of the catch
or plunger against the cam slide g so that when the cam slide g is drawn outward
the catch or plunger will slide into the hole or notch in the cam slido 9, at the other
end the trigger i is attached and pivotted in a bearing. as shown about the centre
of trigger i, the upper part of this trigger i is shaped to form an incline against
which the pins that may be placed in the holes and extending below the counter or
register come in contact and force the trigger i to the right, the counter or register k
is provided with as many holes as may be necessary to register each revolution of
the machine or otherwise these holes are provided for pins to be inserted at any given
number of revolutions such pins acting on the trigger i.
h
Assuming now that the shaft is being revolved by the speed pulley d it will
be seen that on drawing the cam slide 9 outward by the handle that it moves the
slide or connection which in turn moves the she cone e, which revolves with the
shaft b, into connection with the he cone on toothed wheel c and so revolve it and
the machine the catch or plunger / sliding into a notch or hole in the cam slide 7 and so
holds it from being drawn back by the spring until the trigger i is moved on its
pivot or bearing by one or other of the pins in the counter or register and so
withdrawing the catch or plunger from the hole or notch in cam slide which is
then immediately drawn back by spring and so sliding the she cone e on the shaft b
out of contact with the he cone on toothed wheel c the other end of this trigger i
being connected to the catch or plunger h with a pin or screw through a slot in the
trigger i and secured to catch or plunger h.
When necessary to stop the machine other than by the pins in counter or register k
moving the trigger il fix on the catch or plunger a handle which on being pressed
or moved to left according to position as shewn on drawing relieves the can slide g
which is immediately drawn back by the spring n and withdraws the sho cone e from
contact with the he cone on toothed wheel c as previously explained.
It will at once be apparent that the power arrangement does not interfere with the
construction of knitting machines of my own invention and which are in extensive
use but if one machine should become deranged or need repair another machine can
be immediately put in its place. Also the heels, toes or other portion of a stocking or
other garment may be made by hand as heretofore as the toothed wheel c is loose
upon the shaft band will revolve either way on turning the machine by the crank
or handle as usual.
The above drawings and description describe and show my means for driving
knitting machines by power attached to a circular machine but by having the wheel c
oither as a bevil wheel or as a spur wheel it is equally as convenient for applying to
a straight or flat machine.
The second part of my invention consists in fixing rails or slides over the needle beds
and either directly over the gibs or needle bars or otherwise and having the carriages
or cam plates and yarn guide to slide upon the said rails instead of as heretofore upon
rails or slides fixed at the foot or bottom of needle beds. The carriages or cam plates
on each side of machine are connected by a bow. When I require to use a limited
yarn guide or limited yarn guides 1 fix another rail (or two if necessary) under the
bow but above the carriages or cam plates, these rails may be secured to the ends of
machine supporting the needle beds or to the base or body of machine or to any
convenient portion of the machine. Upon this rail the yarn guides slide and are
operated by a spring plunger of the usual type connected to or through the bow or
by a bearing fixed or cast upon the carriages or cam plates, this rail I preferably fix
on the side of the machine away from the operator, by this means I dispense with the
long carriage now in use in existing machines such as the "Lamb" besides having
many other advantages over those machines which have the rails or slides fixed at the
foot or bottom of the needle beds.

page_text: To slide the carriages upon the rails I may use the ordinary crank method of
motion now in use or I may fix a cam or eccentric motion with the required distance
of throw upon the driving shaft. When I use the cam or eccentric motion tho
driving or connecting rod, ono end of which is secured to the carriage and the other
end sliding in a bearing, is connected to or with the cam or eccentric motion by
means of a bowl or stud running in a groove formed in the face or end of the cam or
eccentric motion, thus keeping the driving or connecting rod in a horizontal position
instead of in a varying inclined position as given by a crank..
By fixing the rails close to the needle beds I may dispense with the gibs or needle
bars, in such cases I form the needles with a bond to come level with the top of tho
needle grooves.
Figure 1 Sheet 1 is a veiw of a small machine with some of my improvements
attached.
Figure 2 sheet 2 is a section of same showing the yarn guide for small machines on
the same rail as the back carriage or cam plate slides.
Figure 3 sheet 2 is a section showing enlarged bow and extra rail for limited yurn
carriers or guides.
a and a are rails b carriages or cam plates c & c¹ yarn guide and yarn guide blocks
d and d¹ bows formed with extended bearings on the carriages or cam plates, e lugs
cast to rails a to secure same to end of machine, fgibs or needle bars, y driving rod.
The like letters on Sheet 1 and 2 refer to like or corresponding parts of
machine.
the
Figure 1 sheet 1 shows the rails a secured at the end of machine by, the lugs
gib figure 2 being directly under the rails a necessitate these lugs for small
machines, at the same time it is not necessary to be exactly as shewn. For larger
machines the rails a would for strength of necessity be wider, the rails then could be
secured by a bracket from the underside or be screwed down from the top directly
through the rail and below the gibf as the gib fwould not require to be
any wider.
The carriages or cam plates 6 Figure 1 and Figure 2 are shown to fit in grooves on
the top edges of the rails a and are connected together by the bow d which extends
the whole length of carriages or cam plates b and is secured to same by means of
screws at each end or corner thus connecting the carriages or cam plates b rigidly and
firmly together, the bearing for driving rod 7 also forms part of the bow d so that
the bow a really takes the strain from the driving rod 9 and the carriages or cam
plates 6 do not take any strain except that of the knitting only. The back carriage
or cam plate is slotted or cut away. over the back rail a to allow of yarn guide
block c taking its bearing on the back rail a figure 2 and as the carriages or cam
plates b slide on the rails a the back carriage or cam plate forces the yarn guide block o
along with it in either direction.
When I require to use a limited yarn guide or limited yarn guides I fix a rail a¹ as
shown in Figure 3 sheet 2, the yarn guide or yarn guides are then moved in either
direction by means of a spring plunger r of the usual type and which I preferably
fix to the bow d¹ connecting the carriages or cam plates to each other. Spring
plungers for moving yarn guides are common and necessary on knitting machines
requiring limited yarn guides but heretofore they have been fixed or attached to the
carriages or cam plates whereas 1 preferably fix same to the bow d' connecting the
carriages or cam plates.
I do not confine myself to the exact details description and drawings as slight
modifications or arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the
principle construction.
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

page_text: 2. A catch or trigger operated upon by pegs or pins from a counter or register
for the purpose specified and described.
3. A toothed wheel or its equivalent substantially as shown and described geared
to a circular knitting machine.
4. The principle of driving a circular knitting machine without interfering with the
* construction of the machine.
5. A cam slide arrangement for moving the cones in and out of gear substantially
as shown and described.
6. The general principle and arrangement in Figures 4 and 5 sheet 3 as shown
and described and for the purpose specified.
7. The rails fixed over the beds of a straight knitting machine substantially as
shown and described.
8. The yarn carrier sliding on either of these rails.
9. The formation of the rails with grooves on the upper odge substantially as
shewn and described.
10. The elevated rail or rails fixed under the bow for limited yarn guidos substantially
as shown and described.
11. The combination with a straight knitting machine forming the subject of the
present invention the bow having bearings extending along carriages or cam plates
and in connection therewith substantially as shown and described.
12. Fixing of a plunger to the bow of a knitting machine whether on the bow
part or the part extending along the carriages or cam plates for the purpose shown
and described.
13. The combination with a straight knitting machine forming the subject of the
present invention the connecting of the driving rod with the bow for sliding carriages
or cam plates substantially as shown and described.
14. The general arrangement of my improvements substantially as shown in
Figs. 1. 2 & 3 or described.
Date : 01 Janamba 1000