Improvements in Striping Mechanism for Knitting Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 11th Apr., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Striping Mechanism for Knitting Machines.
I, JOHN BRADLEY, of North Chelmsford, in the County of Middlesex, and
State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STRIPING MECHANISM
FOR KNITTING MACHINES," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to knitting machines designed to knit plush-faced fabrics-
that is, fabrics having a body knitted in any suitable way and a so-called "plush"
yarn locked or knitted into the body fabric at suitable intervals, but yet so as to
float on one surface of the body fabric and form a lofty face thereon.
of the kind mentioned are used, the plush face becomes the right side.
As fabrics
The plush thread or yarn is usually introduced by means of a "filling-wheel,"
so-called, which lays the yarn to form the plush or fleece behind certain needles
and in front of others, which position permits of their being locked or looped with
the body fabric formed from the yarn introduced by the ordinary loop or stitch
wheel.
The filling wheel is arranged at an angle with respect to the needles contrary to
that at which the stitch wheel is arranged, and is consequently revolved in a
contrary direction carrying the yarn controlled by it down upon the needles, while
the stitch wheel carries its yarn upward on the stems of the needles.
It is frequently desirable that the plush or fleece face should be formed in varying
colours or designs, and it is to meet this end that my present improvement has been
contrived, which improvement consists in combining a "striping mechanism "-that
is, a mechanism employing yarn guides which may be thrown into and out of
action in any predetermined order with a filling wheel.
The invention will first be described in connection with the accompanying
drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon, forming a part of this
Specification, and then be pointed out in the claims appended to the general
description.
Of the said drawing,
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a circular knitting machine equipped with my
improvement.
Figure 2 is a detail in perspective, showing a portion of the yarn guides, the
filling wheel and co-operative parts.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both of the figures.
In the drawings a designates a needle cylinder; b, the needles; c, the ordinary
yarn guide; d, the stitch wheel; e, the presser wheel; and f, the push-back; all of
which may be of common construction and which, with the landing and knocking
over wheels, may be employed to produce an ordinary knitted web.
"
g designates the filling wheel, so-called, which is "plugged "between its leaves
or wings, as at h, in order that it may press back the needles at its "plugged
point and lay the yarn fed by the wheels in front of the needles so pressed back,
while the nibs on the wings will carry the yarn over and down behind the needles
with which they co-operate. Instead of feeding but a single yarn to the filling
wheel, as heretofore, I employ a striping mechanism to automatically feed various
coloured yarns at predetermined intervals to the filling wheel, as hereinbefore stated.
The said striping mechanism may be of any suitable form or organization; as
herein shown it consists of reciprocating yarn guides 1, controlled in their operation
by a pattern plate k which is actuated by a lever l carrying a pawl n, the said
lever being moved by a cam on the knitting head a, as is common in such devices.
When it is desired to bring a particular yarn into position to be fed to the

page_text: needles by the filling wheel, the end of the yarn guide carrying such yarn is lowered
so as that the wings i of the filling wheel may catch the yarn and introduce it to
the needles, as before described; and when the yarn is to be changed the yarn
guide lowered into operative position will be raised so as that the stitch wheel will not
catch the thread being carried by it, and another yarn guide will be lowered into
position occupied by the first named guide. When a yarn is thrown out of action by
the raising of the forward end of a yarn guide, such yarn will be caught between
two wings of the filling wheel and be carried over and down upon the face of the
wheel under a spring finger m on the wheel and between the fingers oo of a yarn
holder and breaker p. The yarn holder and breaker is arranged so as to extend
in close proximity to the needles, so that the yarn will be brought into frictional
contact with the needles at a point between the latter and the yarn holder P, and so
effect the breaking of the yarn at that point.
It is obvious that I may employ a filling wheel of different construction from
that herein shown, as well as a striping mechanism of different form and arrange-
ment, without departing from the nature or spirit of my invention.
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:
-
The combination with a needle cylinder and needles, of a filling wheel adapted
to lay a yarn behind certain needles and in front of others, of a plurality of yarn
guides and means for throwing said yarn guides into and out of action with relation
to the filling wheel and needles, as set forth.
J
1001
JOHN BRADLEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.