Year: 1885

page_text: Fabric.
We, JOHN HARRIS COOPER, Manufacturer, of Evington Hall, and WILLIAM
JAMES FORD, Manager, of Humberstone, both near Leicester, in the County of
Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of an attachment for the purpose of running in threads,
elastic or non elastic, during the making of the fabric.
The attachment consists of a tension wheel or disc, a pattern wheel and
mechanism for operating it, and a guide.
The tension wheel is of a simple form the thread only passing over a portion of
its periphery and unlike most tension wheels it is not revolved by the head but by
the thread.
The pattern wheel is of the usual construction worked by a pawl or clawker
(the length of whose stroke can be regulated by a screw device) such as are
described in Messrs Blunt & Richards Spec³ N° 3555 of 1885 and ratchet wheel
with one or more teeth omitted. Motion is communicated to the "clawker" by a
cam device which moves with the head as it revolves.
As by inserting an elastic thread between every course the strength of the elastic
portion is sometimes too great as for instance in the top of a stocking we therefore
prefer to attach to the head two or more feeders so that one or more courses may
be missed.
The guide is a curved piece of metal and serves to direct the thread as it
approaches the needles.

page_text: Fabrics.
We JOHN HARRIS COOPER Manufacturer of Evington Hall, and WILLIAM
JAMES FORD Manager of Humberstone, both near Leicester, in the County of
Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of our invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention consists of an attachment for the purpose of running in threads
elastic or non elastic during the making of the fabric.
The attachment consists of a tension wheel or disc, a pattern wheel and
mechanism for operating it, and a guide.
The tension wheel is of a simple form the thread only passing over a portion of
its periphery and unlike most tension wheels it is not revolved by the head but by
the thread.
The pattern wheel is of the usual construction worked by a pawl or clawker (the
length of whose stroke can be regulated by a screw device) and ratchet wheel with
one or more teeth omitted-Motion is communicated to the "clawker" by a can
device which moves with the head as it revolves.
As by inserting an elastic thread between every course the strength of the elastic
portion is sometimes too great as for instance in the top of a stocking we therefore
prefer to attach to the head two or more feeders so that one or more courses may
be missed.
The guide is a curved piece of metal and serves to direct the thread as it
approaches the needles.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of the operating portion
of the attachment or mechanism.
Figure 2 is a like view of the same but in a different position. Figure 3 is a
side view and Figure 4 an edge view of the tension wheel or drum and Figure 5
is an elevation showing the adjustable indicating racking mechanistu. The "head"
itself is not shown in any of these views as it is not required to explain the
working of this attachment. A portion of the head is however shown in Figure 5.
Figures 6 and 7 show two methods of introducing the threads.
The pattern wheel and mechanism for rotating it, and the snap which breaks the
elastic thread are similar in their construction and working to those described in
Messrs Blunt & Richards' specification N° 3,555 of 1885 and need therefore only be
briefly described here.
A is the pattern wheel which regulates the length of time during which the
elastic or other thread is run into the fabric; B is the ratchet wheel which turns
it; C is the pawl or clawker which drives B and D the plunger which carries C
and thereby imparts motion to B and A. Motion may be imparted to the plunger D
by a cam upon the head in the manner specified in the before mentioned specification
No 3555 of 1885.
The thread E whilst being run into the fabric passes under the snap F whose
tail F¹ rests upon the pattern wheel A and dropping into the peripheral recess

page_text: allows the snap F to close and grip the thread which then breaks off as fully
explained in the said specification N° 3555 of 1885.
The plunger D is pressed downwards by a suitable spring such as H and the
amount of its descent may be regulated by an adjusting screw as described in
specification N° 3555 of 1885 or by means of slotted distance pieces I, Figures 1,
1 and 2, held and fixed by the screw I' and recessed at the end I to fit the
plunger D. When one or more of these pieces I is placed under the head D¹ of
the plunger D it prevents the further descent of the plunger and as D is only raised
the same height in any case limiting its descent reduces the amount of its travel
and consequently the number of teeth taken by the pawl C at each stroke of the
plunger. These distance pieces I have also this advantage over the screw that by
making them of a particular thickness (say equal to the pitch of the teeth in the
ratchet wheel B) the operator knows at once by how much he has increased or
diminished the stroke of the plunger by merely noting the number of pieces I
which he has removed or applied; whereas the screw required careful adjustinent
each time.
In the said specification N° 3555 of 1885 the motion of the pattern wheel was
stopped by the omission of certain teeth in the ratchet wheel; this method can
also be adopted in the present instance but we prefer to use an automatic stop,
which catches the plunger at the top of its stroke and holds it up so that until
started again by the operator the whole mechanism is at rest.
The automatic stop or detent K which we prefer to employ is shown out of
action in Figure 1 and in action in Figure 2. The stop consists of a curved
lever K pivotted at K and having a nose K2 which rests upon the snap F in such
manner that when F is raised and the mechanism at work K occupies the position
shown in Figure 1 the head K³ being held clear of the plunger head D¹ whose
motion is thus not interfered with. When however the snap F falls and stops the
thread E the nose K³ also is free to fall which it does as soon as the plunger head D'
rises in the course of its travel sufficiently high to allow the stop head K³ to slip
in beneath it which it immediately does under the influence of a spring preferably
such as shown at K Figures 1 and 2. When the pattern wheel is racked round
by the simple lever and pawl L, Figures 1 and 2, or by the special lever and pawl
shown in Figures 5 and the tail F¹ is raised on to the periphery of A the F.
is raised lifting the nose K' and withdrawing K³ from beneath D¹ and plunger D
recommences to work.
.
snap
The mechanism for putting the tension on to the tension wheel or drum M
Figures 3 and 4 is exceedingly simple and consists of the brush or equivalent
friction head N carried by the spring N' which is fastened in any convenient
manner to the framing O which carries the tension wheel M; the brush N is
preferably made of good bristles and presses upon the side of the wheel M with a
steady and practically unvarying pressure so that a fixed amount of tension may
be maintained. To regulate the amount of retarding force exerted upon M the
brush N may be moved nearer to or further from the axial centre of M thus
decreasing or increasing the leverage as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. Means
for regulating the pressure of the spring (a screw for instance) may also be used
but in practice the method above described is found to be sufficient.
It will be seen that the number of teeth compassed by the pawl when lever L,
Figures 1 and 2, is worked is only determined either by the full stroke obtainable
(which usually amounts to about 8 teeth) or by the operator counting the teeth as
the pawl clicks over them; the former method is only useful when the full number
of teeth are wanted; the latter is slow and uncertain. It will be understood that
the number of teeth intervening between the tail F and the peripheral recess in
the pattern wheel A determines the number of courses of the thread or elastic
which will be run in before the mechanism stops; consequently the operator in
setting it must know the number of teeth. In Figures 1 and 2 this he must do
by counting with the apparatus shown in Figure 5 he can set it to take the
exact number of teeth he wants.

page_text: The mechanism consists of a slotted quadrant P graduated according to the
number of teeth which the travel of the lever L will compass; in this slot is a
screw L' which screws into L and by which the position of L upon the quadrant
can be altered and fixed. An index finger L' is carried by L so as to facilitate the
proper adjusting and setting of L. The quadrant P is carried by a radial arm P
concentric with the pattern wheel A and with L and the quadrant moves with L
as the latter is moved in racking the ratchet wheel B. As shown in Figure 5 the
lever L is at the extreme end of the quadrant and has just as much travel as if the
quadrant were not there; but if moved down to the centre of the quadrant L
would only have half that amount of travel which would be still further reduced
as it approached the other end. A stop is of course provided at each end such as Q
to limit the travel of L and P in each direction. The dotted lines indicate the
position of the quadrant P when at the end of its stroke.
The apparatus above described may be applied to machines upon the "circular
rib" principle one or more of the feeders to which the thread from this mechanism
is supplied may be used but with power machines we prefer to employ at least two
feeders.
By fixing two feeders one working at the back of the rib or frame needles
preferably behind the rib needle as shown in Figure 6 where the action of the
needles is simultaneous-and the other feeding between the loops of the rib and
frame needles as shown in Figure 7 when elastic thread is used a very strong elastic
fabric can be made. By putting one of the apparatus out of operation a single
elastic thread can be run in the courses being at suitable distance apart and a
fabric produced which is most useful for such articles as garters, stocking bands or
anklets. Where the single thread is used we prefer to run it in between the loops
of the rib and frame needles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:—
1. The combination with a circular head of two or more feeders for the purpose
of regulating the elasticity of the fabric substantially as specified.
2. In an apparatus such as described the method of revolving the tension wheel
by means of the thread itself.