IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY, AND IN THE MODE OF OPERATING THE SAME
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY, AND IN THE
MODE OF OPERATING THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by the
McNary Knitting Machine Company, of the City of New York.
Sealed the 5th March 1861, and dated the 6th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION, left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th October 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY,
AND IN THE MODE OF OPERATING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to that class of knitting machines employing a cir-
cular or endless series of needles without flexible or closing beards, and which
have no longitudinal movement, for the purpose of throwing off or delivering
the completed stitches, but have the latter taken from them by what are
known as stitch hooks.
The said Invention is for the most part more especially applicable to
machines of that class which have the rotary or lateral motion of their needles
controlled for the purpose of giving the desired form to stockings or other

page_text: articles by means of a rotary studded cylinder or drum, as described in the
Specification of the Patent, No. 452, granted to the present applicant, and
dated February 18th, 1860.
The Invention consists in certain improved modes of applying and operating
the studded cylinder or drum, and certain improvements in the means through
whose agency the cylinder or drum is made to operate upon the switch wheel
by which the needle ring is driven, whereby the necessity of running back the
cylinder by hand after the completion of or at some other stage of the knitting
of every stocking is obviated, and the knitting of any number of properly
formed stockings in a continuous piece may be performed without stopping
the machine, except in case of its being desired to knit them without any
seam at the toe, when it is only necessary to stop while the loops of one half
the circumference of the upper margin of the leg of the stocking have to be
changed on the needles for those of one half the circumference of the foot of
another one, or vice versa. The studded cylinder is hollow and mounted
loosely on the shaft which carries it. This cylinder is open at one end for
the reception within it of a cylindrical cam, which is keyed firmly to the said
shaft. The cam has a groove in its periphery for the reception of a stud,
which is secured to and arranged within the cylinder. Both the cylinder and
cam have each securely attached to them a spur wheel of equal proportions.
Into these wheels gear two pinions, which are fast upon a shaft arranged
parallel with the shaft that carries the cylinder and cam. The pinion which
drives the cam has one tooth more than the other pinion.
is driven slowly by gearing from the main shaft of the
motion is transmitted by the pinions to the cylinder and cam, but the latter,
owing to the greater number of teeth in the pinion that drives it, is caused to
make one more revolution than the cylinder during the number of revolutions
of the main shaft that is necessary to knit a stocking, and in making one more
revolution the cam by the action of its groove on the stud projecting into it
from the cylinder is caused to move the cylinder once back and forth in a
longitudinal direction upon its shaft during the operation of knitting the stock-
ing. The forked lever through which the studs of the cylinder act upon the
switch of the wheel that drives the needle ring for the purpose of changing the
direction of the motion of that needle ring, and which, for the sake of distinc-
tion, may be termed the "switch lever," is made of two pieces, one of which
turns on a fulcrum pin, and is made with a fork to embrace the switch and
shift its position, as required. Jointed to the forked piece in rear of the ful-
crum pin by a hinge is a piece that is intended to be operated upon by the
studs of the cylinder. It is capable of a vertical movement, but is pressed
The pinion shaft
machine, and this

page_text: down by a spring. When forced upwards by an elongated stud on the cylinder
coming in contact therewith it is retained in that position by means of a
lateral spring carried by the switch lever; when thus raised the studs pass
under the switch lever without touching it, by when they act they rock the
lever and cause it to change the position of the switch and reverse the rotation
of the needle ring.
The Invention also consists in the arrangement of the switch wheel to gear
directly with the needle ring, and in an improved arrangement of the mecha-
nism by which the stitch hooks are operated, which permits of the switch
wheel being brought directly into gear with the needle ring. In order to
enable the main shaft which carries the switch wheel to be brought to a
proper position relatively to the needle ring to allow of that wheel being driven
directly from the switch wheel, the cranks which operate the stitch hooks are
carried, not by the main shaft, but by two short shafts arranged in line with
each other parallel with the main shaft in bearings in two short standards
secured on the top of the main framing. These shafts are each driven by spur
gearing from the main shaft. The stitch hook cranks are surrounded by face
cams for the purpose of giving the necessary longitudinal movement to the
stitch hook lever.
a pair of bent arms from a
An
another rock shaft.
pin which enters a groove
The Invention also consists in an improved mode of applying and operating
the pressers, whereby the knitting at the same time on immediately adjacent
needles is enabled to be performed, and a much greater number of needles
and yarns can be used at once than has been practicable with machines which
use the same kind of needles with other arrangements of the pressers.
The pressers are attached to a bar carried by
rock shaft, which is carried by a pair of arms from
arm from the first-mentioned rock shaft carries a
in the side of a cam on the main shaft, and one of the arms which carries
that rock shaft is provided with a pin which enters a groove in another cam
on the main shaft. These cam grooves by their combined action on the arms
carrying the pins, cause the pressers to receive the following movement, to
wit, they first descend to press the work down on the needles, then rise far
enough to ease the work up while the stitches are being thrown over the
hooks of the needles, then descend again to bring the whole of the work
down, and are afterward withdrawn by a movement in a nearly horizontal
direction preparatory to or during their ascent to bring them to a position to
commence the next movement to press the work down again as at first-men-
tioned. By this method of applying and operating the pressers the knitting
on immediately adjacent needles is permitted, as the pressers are so kept out

page_text: of the way of the stitch hooks and of the yarn conductors, that all are permitted
to be operated between or upon immediately adjacent needles.
The Invention also consists in the employment of loopers operating in combi-
nation with the yarn conductors, needles, and stitch hooks for the purpose of
regulating and varying the quantity of yarn employed in making each stitch,
thereby regulating the size and tightness of the stitches, and causing all to be
made of uniform size. The loopers which operate in combination with the
yarn
conductors, needles, and stitch hooks, for the purpose of regulating and varying
the quantity of yarn employed in making each stitch, and so regulating the
size and tightness of the stitches, correspond in number with the yarn con-
ductors and stitch hooks, and consist of pins or teeth attached by laterally
elastic stems or arms to a slide which is fitted to work vertically or parallel
with the axis of the needle ring in a fixed guide provided for it in a standard
that is secured firmly to the main framing of the machine. These loopers
are so arranged, and the slide has such a motion imparted to it, that as the
yarn conductors are making the movement to place the yarns in position to be
caught by the needles, the loopers move downwards behind the needles to such
positions as to catch the yarns, and retain the portions thereof which are
between the yarn guides and the needles in the form of loops, which they hold
until the conductors begin to move back again, and the stitch hooks begin the
operation of taking the old stitches off the needles, when they (the loopers)
rise above the needles, and in so doing move out of and liberate the loops.
These loopers are not necessary for the closer and more compact, but only for
the more open and looser kinds of work. The movement of the slide is pro-
duced by a rock lever operated by a cam on the main shaft.
The Invention also consists in a novel construction of and mode of securing
the needles in the needle ring, whereby great facility is afforded for their
insertion, and for their removal when necessary.
The needles are made each of a strip of sheet metal, having its hooks
formed into the requisite shape, and having its stem swaged either into an
angular, double angular, or arc form when viewed in cross section. The
needles thus formed have their stems fitted into recesses of corresponding
form in the exterior periphery or face of the needle ring, and are secured in
place by a ring which fits tightly over the needle ring and needles; or, instead
of the recesses for the reception of the needles being in the exterior of the
ring they may be.in the interior thereof, and be secured in place by a ring
fitted to the interior thereof. This construction of needle is applicable to
other kinds of knitting machinery than that above referred to.
And the Invention further consists in a certain system of operation whereby

page_text: in a circular knitting machine any desired amount of fullness can be produced
in the calf of a stocking.
The system of operation constituting part of this Invention by which a full-
ness is given to the calf of the stocking, consists in causing the needle ring,
or circular or endless series of needles instead of having a continuous rotary
motion in one direction during the knitting the whole of the leg of the stocking,
to have at the proper stage or stages of the knitting of the leg a movement
greater than a complete revolution in one direction, and then a movement
greater than a complete revolution in the opposite direction, or instead of this
an occasional movement back and forth to the extent of less than a revolution
while knitting that part of the back of the leg where the fullness is required,
causing it to have a continuous rotary motion in knitting all the rest of the leg.
By this mode of operation, though the number of loops or stitches in the
circumference of the leg is nowhere increased, a fullness is produced by the
back part of the leg having a greater number of stitches in its length than
the front part, and this fullness is made to develope it in the width or circum-
ference of the leg of the stocking when completed.
In order to dispense with any movement of the studded cylinder in a longi-
tudinal direction or parallel with its axis, and to effect the control of the
operation of the needle ring by the rotary motion of the said cylinder, it is
proposed to make the cylinder for this mode of operation shorter than that
before described, and to secure it firmly to its shaft. The switch lever used
in connection with the cylinder is to be composed of four pieces, viz., the
forked piece, as before mentioned, and three hinged pieces, each constructed
and applied like the hinged piece of the switch lever first described. These
hinged pieces are arranged side by side, and operate each in connection
with a double row of studs arranged round the cylinder in planes perpendicular
to its axis. Projecting from the periphery of the cylinder are three long studs
for throwing the hinged pieces out of action. These pieces have applied to
them lateral springs, which are operated by means of three adjustable wipers
attached to a toothed wheel in gear with a thread on the needle ring. These
wipers operate each upon one of the lateral springs through the agency of
elbow levers working on the same fulcrum, and coupled with the springs by
rods. The said wipers are so constructed to work at different distances from
the centre of the wheel which carries them, and the levers are so constructed
to suit the position. of the wipers, that each wiper in its revolution can come
in contact with one lever only, and so only act upon one of the springs.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her beirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY, AND IN THE MODE OF
OPERATING THE SAME," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:-
This Invention, as communicated to me from abroad, relates to that class of
knitting machines employing a circular or endless series of needles without
flexible or closing beards, and which have no longitudinal movement for the
purpose of throwing off or delivering the completed stitches, but have the
latter taken from them by what are known as stitch hooks.
The said Invention is for the most part more especially applicable to
machines of that class which have the rotary or lateral motion of their needles
controlled, for the purpose of giving the desired form to stockings or other

page_text: articles by means of a rotary studded cylinder or drum, as described in the
Specification of the Patent (No. 452) granted to me, and dated February
Eighteenth One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
The Invention consists in certain improved modes of applying and operating
the studded cylinder or drum, and certain improvements in the means through
whose agency the cylinder or drum is made to operate upon the switch
wheel by which the needle ring is driven, whereby the necessity of running
back the cylinder by hand after the completion of or at some other stage of
the knitting of every stocking is obviated, and the knitting of any number
of stockings in a continuous piece may be performed without stopping
the machine, except in case of its being desired to knit them without any
seam at the toe, when it is only necessary to stop while the loops of one half
the circumference of the upper margin of the leg of one stocking have to be
changed on the needles for those of one half the circumference of the foot of
another one, or vice versa.
The Invention also consists in the arrangement of the switch wheel to gear
directly with the needle ring, and in an improved arrangement of the
mechanism by which the stitch hooks are operated, which permits of the
switch wheel being brought directly into gear with the needle ring. It also
consists in an improved mode of applying and operating the pressers, whereby
the knitting at the same time on immediately adjacent needles is enabled to
be performed, and a much greater number of needles and yarns can be used
at once than has been practicable with machines which use the same kind of
needles with other arrangements of the pressers.
The Invention also consists in the employment of loopers operating in
combination with the yarn conductors, needles, and stitch hooks, for the
purpose of regulating and varying the quantity of yarn employed in making
each stitch, thereby regulating the size and tightness of the stitches, and
causing all to be made of uniform size.
The Invention also consists in a novel construction of and mode of securing
the needles in the needle ring, whereby great facility is afforded for their
insertion and for their removal when necessary.
In the accompanying Drawing, which forms part of this Specification,
Fig. 1 is a plan of a machine in which most of the above-mentioned improve-
ments are applied; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same taken transversely
to the main and other rotating shafts through the centre of the needle ring;
Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken parallel with and just behind the main shaft,
and showing the said shaft and its appendages and the parts of the machine in
front of it; Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, are views of some of the parts of the

page_text: machine which will be herein-after explained. Similar letters and numbers
of reference indicate corresponding parts where they are used upon the
different Figures.
I will first describe those improvements which are illustrated by the
machine represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3. A is the main framing of the
machine, consisting of a horizontal or nearly horizontal plate supported on
standards; B is the needle ring in which the needles a, a, are secured. This
ring is fitted to rotate in a circular opening in the front part of the framing A,
and is held in its place by an externally toothed ring B¹ that is bolted or
secured firmly to its bottom part, as shewn in Fig. 2.
The needles a, a,
with the exception of the construction of the lower parts of their stems, which
will be presently explained, are of the kind described in the Specification
of the Letters Patent, No. 452, herein-before referred to; C is the main
shaft arranged behind and very near the needle ring in suitable bearings
A¹, A; and D is a threaded wheel fitted with a moveable switch D¹, and
constructed and otherwise furnished in all respects like the threaded wheel
upon the main shaft described in the Specification of the Letters Patent,
No. 452, herein-before mentioned. This wheel, which with its appendages
may be called the "switch wheel" for the sake of distinction, is fast upon the
main shaft C, and its threads gear directly with the toothed ring B', which is
secured to the needle ring B, and by this direct gearing the said wheel is
made to drive the needle ring without the intermediate gearing described in
the Specification of the former Letters Patent above mentioned.
E (Figures 1 and 2) is the studded cylinder by which the switch D' of the
switch wheel D is operated upon; to control the direction and changes of
direction of the revolution of the needle ring, the said cylinder being fitted to
turn freely and move longitudinally upon a shaft F, which is arranged parallel
with the main shaft. The cylinder is hollow and open at one end for the
reception within it of a cylindrical cam G, which is keyed firmly to the
shaft F. The cam G has a groove c in its periphery for the reception of a
stud b, which is secured to and arranged within the cylinder E. The cylinder
E has securely attached to it a spur gear or ring of spur teeth E¹, and the
cam G has firmly secured to it a spur gear or ring of spur gearing G¹ of the
same size and having the same number of teeth as the ring E¹, and these two
rings of spur gearing are geared with two pinions E2 and G2, which are fast
upon a shaft H mounted parallel with the shafts C and F, in bearings A2, A2;
the pinion G2 having one tooth more than the pinion E. The shaft H is also
furnished with a bevil wheel EI, which gears with a bevil wheel I' on a shaft I
arranged in bearings at one side of the machine, and the latter shaft carries

page_text: a worm wheel 12, which gears with an endless screw J* on the main shaft C.
Thus through the shaft I and its gearing, the shaft H derives a very slow
rotary motion from the main shaft. The pinions E and G2, transmit motion
through the gears E', G', to the cylinder E and the cam G, but the latter,
owing to the greater number of teeth in the pinion G2, is caused to make one
more revolution than the cylinder during the number of revolutions of the main
shaft that is necessary to knit a stocking, and in making one more revolution
the cam by the action of its groove c on the stud b of the cylinder is caused to
move the cylinder once back and forth in a longitudinal direction upon its shaft
during the operation of knitting the stocking. To accommodate this longitudinal
niovement of the cylinder E, the pinion E² is suitably elongated in a direction
parallel with its axis, as shown in Fig. 1. During the operation of knitting
the toe, foot, and heel, the cylinder moves longitudinally in the direction of the
arrow 18, shown upon it in Fig. 1, and during the operation of knitting the leg
it moves in an opposite direction. The revolution of the cylinder E and cam
G are in the direction of the arrows 17, shewn in Fig. 2.
J, J', (Figures 1, 2, and 3,) is the forked lever through which the studs d, d,
of the cylinder E act upon the switch D' of the wheel D, for the purpose of
changing the direction of the motion of the needle ring B. This lever, which
for the sake of distinction may be termed the "switch lever," is made of two
pieces J, J', jointed together, and turns on a fulcrum pin e to shift the switch.
The inner end J is forked to embrace the switch D. The joint f allows the
end J' to move upward without interfering with the rigidity of the lever in a
horizontal direction. The said joint f is, however, so constructed that the said
piece J¹ is not quite permitted to touch the body of the cylinder, but that
a triangular downward projection i on its rear part is allowed to come so
near to the body of the cylinder as to be subject to be acted upon by the
studs d, d, to produce the horizontal movement of the lever. A spring g
secured to the piece J of the lever presses upon the piece J' in such a manner
as to tend always to hold down the latter so far as the construction of the
joint permits, but this spring does not prevent the end J' from being raised
up high enough for the studs d, d, to pass without touching its projection i,
whenever a wedge-like portion h of the lever is operated upon by a larger
stud that projects from the periphery of the cylinder. There is attached
to one side of the piece J of the lever a spring K, which is so constructed
and formed with a projection k on one side that when the piece J', is raised
up by the stud above-mentioned, the projection will pass under the piece J¹
and hold it up. This spring is represented in Fig. 1, and also in Fig. 4,
which represents an end view of the switch lever and shows part of the cylin-

page_text: der E. The under side of the projection k is bevilled as shown at 15 in
Fig. 4, and the adjacent side of the piece J¹ is bevilled in a corresponding
manner, as shewn at 16, in the same Figure, and in Fig. 1, to permit the
piece J¹ to push aside the spring when the piece is raised by the long stud j
passing under the wedge-like portion h of its under side. The side of the
spring K which is toward the piece J¹, has a rounded surface 1, shown in
Figures 1 and 4, to enable it to be acted upon by a stud m of a length
greater than those d, d, and about equal to the stud j, for the purpose of pushing
it aside and removing the projection & from under the piece J¹ of the lever, during
the longitudinal movement of the cylinder E in the direction of the arrow 18,
(Fig. 1); when the toe, foot, and heel of the stocking are being knitted the
piece Jis down in the position shown in black outline in Fig. 2, and the
studs d, d, which are suitably arranged on the periphery of the cylinder act
first on one side and then on the other of the projection i of the lever
J, J, and move it in one direction or the other to cause it to shift the
switch D', as often as the work requires the direction of the revolution of
the needle ring to be changed, and when those parts of the stocking
have been knitted the long stud j comes into operation on the part h
of the lever, and raises the piece J¹ of the lever as shown in red outline
in Fig. 2, and the said piece J¹ is instantly locked in that position by the
spring K slipping under it, and caused to remain so locked while the longi-
tudinal movement of the cylinder in the opposite direction takes place. In
this position of the piece J¹ the projection i is too high to be acted upon by
the studs d, d, and the switch lever remaining stationary, and the switch D'
remaining undisturbed, the needle ring is caused to rotate continuously in one
direction while the leg of the stocking is knitted, but just as the longitudinal
movement of the cylinder is about to be reversed to knit the toe, foot, and
heel of another stocking, the long pin m comes into action upon the rounded
surface of the spring K, and pushes it aside far enough for the piece J¹ to
pass its projection k, and the spring g presses down the piece J¹ to the position
shown in black outline in Fig. 2. R is a spring, secured to the framing for
holding the lever J in whichever of the two positions it is left by the studs d, d.
I would here remark that the grooves c in the periphery of the cam G may
be so shaped as to impart the requisite longitudinal motion to the studded
cylinder while the toe and heel pins are operating upon the switch lever, and
to retain it in an unchanging position while the knitting of the regular parts
is proceeding. This will avoid the necessity of having a long studded cylinder,
and render it also unnecessary to use a jointed or yielding switch lever for the
purpose of clearing the studs during the return motion of the cylinder.

page_text: It has been already explained how the switch wheel gears directly with-the
teeth upon the needle ring, and so drives it without intermediate gearing. In
order to enable the main shaft C to be brought to a proper position relatively
to the needle ring to effect this result, the cranks n, n, which operate the stitch
hooks are carried not by the main shaft C, but by two short shafts L, L, (see
Figures 1, 2, and 3) arranged in line with each other parallel with the main
shaft in bearings in two short standards A3, A3, secured on the top of the
main framing A. These shafts L, L, are each furnished with a spur wheel L',
which gears with one of two spur wheels C of similar size carried by the main
shaft. This gearing is best shown in Fig. 5, which is a sectional view of the
stitch hook operating apparatus. This apparatus does not differ essentially in
its construction and operation from that described in the Specification of the
Letters Patent herein-before referred to, but has the driving cranks n, n,
carried by the two separate shafts L, L, geared with the crank shaft, and hence
does not bere need any particular description further than is necessary to
prevent confusion of the parts in the Drawing. p, p, are the stitch hooks, and
M the bar termed the "stitch hook bar," to which they are attached, the said
bar being constructed or furnished at its ends with arms M', M', containing
journal boxes or bearings to receive the cranks n, n, and each arm being
slotted, as shown at q in Figures 2 and 5, to work upon one of the square
blocks r¹, which is fitted to one of the two fixed pins 7, which are held by the
two rigid arms M², M², that are firmly secured to the two standards A³, A³.
s, s, are the face cams, with which the cranks n, n, are surrounded for the
purpose of giving the necessary longitudinal movement to the stitch hook bar;
t, t, are the pressers attached to a bar N, carried by the two bent arms O¹, O¹,
of a rock shaft O, which is arranged between centre screws t¹, t', carried by the
arms P, P, of another rock shaft P, which is arranged between centre
screws t, t, (Fig. 3) inserted through two rigid hangers A', A', dependent
from the bed plate of the machine. The rock shaft O has an arm 02 carrying
pin u, which enters a groove u' in the side of a cam 03 on the main shaft,
and one of the arms P1, P1, of the rock shaft P carries a pin v, which enters a
groove v¹ in a cam P³ on the main shaft. The form and relation of these cam
grooves u¹ and v¹ is shown best in Fig. 6, but the parts of the presser operating
mechanism are shown with more or less distinctness in Figures 1, 2, and 3.
The said cam grooves, by their combined action on the arms 02 and P', cause
the pressers to receive the following movement, to wit, they first descend to
press the work down on the needles, then rise far enough to ease the work
up while the stitches are being thrown over the hooks of the needles, then
descend again to bring the whole of the work down, and are afterward with-
a

page_text: drawn by a movement in a nearly horizontal direction preparatory to or during
their ascent to bring them to a position to commence the next movement to
press the work down again, as at first mentioned. By this method of applying
and operating the pressers the knitting on immediately adjacent needles is
permitted, as the pressers are so kept out of the way of the stitch hooks and of
the yarn conductors w, w, that all are permitted to be operated between or
upon immediately adjacent needles. Fig. 1, to prevent confusion of the parts,
shows the pressers, stitch hooks, and yarn guides, arranged to operate in con-
nection with alternate needles only, but Fig. 7 exhibits a plan on a larger
scale of a portion of the needle ring, with the stitch hooks, pressers, and yarn
guides applied to operate between and in connection with immediately adjacent
needles.
The yarn conductors w, w, are attached to a bar Q, which is carried by the
two arms R, R', of a rock shaft R, which is fitted to rock and also to slide
longitudinally in bearings in the hangers A', A', before mentioned. This rock
shaft R has another arm R² carrying a pin a, which enters a groove x' in the
cam O³, and the said cam groove by its operation on the pin produces the
necessary movement of the yarn conductors to place the yarn in a position to
be received within the hooks of the needles. The lateral movement which the
yarn conductors require to have every time the direction of the movement of
the needle ring is changed may be produced by the operation of the switch D',
in a fork formed upon or attached to the rock shaft R, the said switch thus
giving the said rock shaft a longitudinal movement in one direction or the
other every time the switch itself is shifted by the lever J, J¹.
y, y, are the loopers, which operate in combination with the yarn conductors,
needles, and stitch hooks for the purpose of regulating and varying the quantity
of yarn employed in making each stitch, and so regulating the size and
tightness of the stitches. These loops y, y, which correspond in number with
the yarn conductors and stitch hooks consist of pins or teeth attached by
laterally elastic stems or arms y¹, y, to a slide S', which is fitted to work
vertically or parallel with the axis of the needle ring in a fixed guide provided
for it in a standard T, secured firmly to the main framing of the machine.
These loopers are so arranged and the slide S has such a motion imparted to
it that as the yarn conductors are making the movement to place the yarns in
position to be caught by the needles, the loopers move downwards behind the
needles to such positions as to catch the yarns and retain the portions thereof,
which are between the yarn guides and the needles in the form of loops, which
they hold until the conductors begin to move back again and the stitch hooks
begin the operation of taking the old stitches off the needles, when they (the

page_text: loopers) rise above the needles, and in so doing move out of and liberate the
loops. By adjusting these loopers y, y, to work further from the backs of
the needles they are made to produce larger loops, and by adjusting them to
work nearer to the needles they are made to produce smaller loops. These
loopers are not necessary for the closer and more compact, but only for the
more open and loose kinds of work. They, however, operate in all cases with
very great certainty to hold the yarn deposited by the conductors close under
the hooks of the needles while the stitch hooks commence taking up the
loops to make the stitches by throwing them over the tops of the needles.
The movement of the slide is produced by a lever U and cam U', the lever
working on a fixed fulcrum secured in the standard T, and being operated
upon by a groove in the eam, which is fast upon the main shaft C.
The improved construction of and mode of securing the needles a, a, is
illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, Fig. 8, exhibiting a plan of portions of a
needle ring with transverse sections of the needles, and Fig. 9 being a perspec-
tive view of one of the needles. The needles are made each of a strip of sheet
metal having its hooks formed into the requisite shape and having its stem
swaged, as shewn in Fig. 8, either into the angular form shewn at a¹, the
double angular form shewn at a³, or the arc form shewn at a³ in its transverse
section. The needles thus formed have their stems fitted into recesses of
corresponding form in the exterior periphery or face of the needle ring B,
and are secured in place by the ring B, which fits tightly over the ring B
and the needles. Or instead of the recesses for the reception of the needles
being in the exterior of the ring B they may be in the interior thereof,
and be secured in place by a ring fitted to the interior thereof. The
needles have their stems forced in between the two rings, and are kept firmly
in place by the elasticity due to the angular or arc form of the recesses though
they can be drawn out easily when under any circumstances it becomes neces-
sary to remove them. The same construction of needles may be employed in
straight knitting machines, recesses being provided for them in the face of the
needle bar, and being covered by a straight plate in the same manner as the
recesses in the needle ring are covered by the ring B, the said plate being
bolted to the needle bar.
The knitting of a stocking in the within described machine proceeds in
substantially the same manner as in the machine described in Letters Patent
Number 452 herein-before mentioned.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
Knitting Machinery, and in the Mode of Operating the same," and explained

page_text: the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that
under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, giving the studded cylinder or drum E, which controls the direction
of the rotary motion of the needle or endless series of needles an automatic,
continuous, longitudinal, reciprocating, and rotating movement, substantially as
berein described.
Secondly, so constructing and applying the switch lever that it may be
thrown out of and caused to return into a position to be acted upon
by the studded cylinder (by whose action on the said lever the shifting of
the switch is effected) substantially, as herein described with reference to
Figures 1 and 2.
Thirdly, arranging and operating the pressers in any manner substantially
as herein described whereby the knitting on immediately adjacent needles is
permitted.
Fourthly, gearing the switch wheel directly with the needle ring, substantially
as herein described, and the means for effecting that object.
Fifthly, the employment in a knitting machine of loopers y, y, operating in
the way and for the purpose set forth.
And, lastly, the construction of and modes of securing the needles illustrated
in Figures 8 and 9, and herein fully described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fifth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)