A Needle for Knitting Machines, its Manufacture and Application, and a New Method of Building Knitted Loops.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 29th July, 1895-Accepted, 31st Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Needle for Knitting Machines, its Manufacture and Application,
and a New Method of Building Knitted Loops.
GEORGE FREDERICK STURGESS, of Overdale Mere Road Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, Hosiers Engineer, do bereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
Its object is to quicken the building of the loop shorten the action of the
knitting needle, conduct away the web and to maintain the guage of fabric after
the needles have been removed for conical fashioning and narrowing purposes.
It consists of a web needle which is applicable to any sliding needle, circular or
flat knitter, the methods and means of manufacturing and applying the same and the
method of knitting with a web needle and an ordinary knitting needle combined.
Instead of having the fixed spring hook, shown in Patent No. 13706-1890,
grauted to Geo. F. Sturgess, I construct a moveable instrument in the form of a
needle. This web needle is constructed by suitable dies and "wire working'
machines and has a wire stem, a cam foot, a tail, a web bow and a loop hook; this
hook is made by punching, wrapping the wire back over its self or by riviting to
the stem.
This web needle is mounted end wise or thereabouts with the knitting needles,
either from the inside or the outside of the needle bed and its upper end extends
above the tricks of the needle bed behind the knitting needles and helps, by its
end wise movement to form the amount of loop needfull. When used from the
outside of the needle bed it rides, in the manner of other needles, in the ordinary
needle trick at the back of the knitting needle, a groove and adjustable lift and
draw cams being provided in the plate or box underneath the knitting cams for the
web needle foot to run in. This web needle is lifted to form & grip the newly
made loop just as the knitting needle desends to form its loop, the web needle
is then drawn down to its average level and the knitted loop is secured. In
order to empart a combined end wise and lateral movement to the web needle hook,
I pivot the foot end to the hook end, which is provided in this case with an inner
tail. When the cam draws down the web needle the inner tail impinges on the
edge of the needle bed and gives the hook end the desired combined endwise and
lateral movement.
When mounted on the inside of the bed I make a fulcrum in place of the cam
foot this fulcrum is held up to the inside face of the needle bed and a rocking or
lateral movement is imparted to the web needle. To maintain the guage of fabric
after knitting needles have been removed from the bed I form the extremity of the
web needle into a horse shoe shape (over which the loops are drawn). The
end wise movement of the knitting needles is curtailed by this method of building
loops, for instance a half inch motion of the web needles and of the knitting
needles is equall to one inch motion of the knitting needles working under the old
method of building loops.
Dated this 31st day of October 1894.
GEORGE F. STURGESS,
Inventor.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Needle for Knitting Machines, its Manufacture and Application,
and a New Method of Building Knitted Loops.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK STURGESS of "Overdale" Mere Road, Leicester in the
County of Leicester Hosier's Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
The object of this invention is to make an instrument for knitting machines that
will measure off the yarn before the old loop is cast, and secure the new loop to
prevent the fabric rising with the knitting needles, in a manner as to quicken the
action of forming a loop, and pass irregularities in the yarn with less mending.
It consists of a wire instrument resembling in some respects the ordinary knitting
needle, with which it works.
Its features which are common to the knitting needle, are the material used,
method of making, the stem, foot, tail, and the sliding movement when in action,
I therefore call it a web needle, in contradistinction to the ordinary knitting
needle.
The nature and scope of my invention will be fully understood from the following
descriptions and drawings.
Fig. 1, is a view in section, full size, showing the position of the web needle in
relation to the knitting needle B, and bed; the web needle A, being in the down
position with the loop of the last course knitted secured in the hooks.
Fig. 2, is a similar view showing the web needle A, in the elevated position
ready to descend again to secure the newly formed loop.
Fig. 3, is a similar view showing the extra action gained by the oscillation on
the pivot 8, and projection 9, riding over the swell 11. The dotted line represents
the position in measuring off the thread.
Fig. 4, is a perspective view of the web needle.
Fig. 5, a front elevation of same.
Fig. 6, is a cross section of the stem enlarged.
Fig. 7, shows the web needle, simplified for measuring off the thread only, in its
lower position with the last course of knitted loops hanging on the prongs.
Fig. 8, is a similar view to Fig. 7, with the web needle elevated having just
measured off the thread preparatory to the knitting needle knocking over and
forming a new loop.
Fig. 9, a front elevation of the web needle for measuring off purposes showing
the old loop casted and forming the measured new thread into a new loop.
Fig. 10, a perspective view showing the web needle in alternate slots only, with
a knitting needle withdrawn for conical fashioning purposes, the neighbouring
needle on either side drawing a smaller proportion of loop at the back of the web
needle, in order to maintain a uniform guage of fabric.
This web needle comprises the tail 1, foot 2, stem 3, spring bend 4, curve 5
right and left prongs 6, and hook 7.
The method of building loops by the combination of my web needle and a
knitting needle is as follows.-
First, the web needle slides in the knitting needle slot at the back of the
ordinary needle. The hook of the ordinary needle passes up & down through
the prongs of the web needle, an auxiliary set of cams being requisitioned to act on
the foot 2, to impart the sliding movement to the web needle.
In order that the web needle can be worked in a needle slot of regulation depth,
it is made out of wire much finer than the guage of the slot, it is then battered out
to fit across the bottom of the needle slot, being thus battered, see Fig. 6, it only
makes the needle slot slightly shallower than before.

page_text: As the thread is drawn down by the knitting needle the web needle rises, and, in
meeting the draw of the needle measures off the thread, which draws across the.
forked prongs 6, and, as the knitting needle is casting off its old loop the
curve 5, impinges on the under side of the conically tricked bed 10, see Fig. 2,
springing the upper end outward and allows the measured thread to slide down the
slanting prongs 6, and form a new loop in the hooks 7. A new loop having been
thus formed the web needle is then drawn down to its lower position and the hooks
retain the last row of loops knitted by a spring pressure, see Fig. 1.
To get a sharper action, as is required in coarse machines working heavy yarns,
I allow a little oscillation on the pivot 8, which is regulated by the projection 9,
which slides over the small swell 11, in the conically tricked bed 10. As the web
needle rises to measure off the thread the spring bend 4, yields and allows the
projection 9, to pass the swell 11, and keeps the prongs riding vertically or there-
abouts to measure off the thread, see dotted line Fig. 3, when the spring pressure
is suddenly released throwing the prongs and hooks outwards, see full line Fig. 3,
allowing the measured thread to slip down the slanting prongs into the hook 7, the
distance of the outthrow of the hooks being regulated to slip the measured thread
by the projection 9, striking on the top of the swell 11, the pressure of the hooks
on the fabric being regulated by the projection striking up against the underneath
side of the swell.
When the web needle is to be applied to machines for measuring off the thread
only, I make it in the simplified form seen at Figs. 7, 8, and 9, where it will be
noticed the pivot and spring bend are dispensed with, the straight stem yielding
sufficiently in this case.
When the machine is of too fine a gauge to admit the double prongs I use a
single prong only as seen at Fig. 2, by placing the double pronged web needle in
every other groove only. The gauge of the fabric is maintained after a knitting
needle has been withdrawn from a web needle groove for conical fashioning
purposes, because the neighbouring needles, which have no web needles at their
back, draw a much shorter loop on the top of the cylinder, as seen at Fig. 10. By
this method of forming loops irregularities of the yarn, such as knots and fine
fibres, are passed with less mending because the prongs yield to the tension of the
yarn fibres; and a better face is produced on the fabric, by reason of the measuring,
forming, and casting of a complete loop from one needle before the neighbouring
needle commences.
I have shown one way of making and using my invention without attempting to
show the many ways of applying it to the various types of machines in use."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature, objects and
methods, of my said invention and the manner and means by which the same is to
be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A flexible wire instrument capable of sliding with the knitting needle in the
needle slot of a knitting machine to assist in the building, directing and controlling
of knitted loops and knitting needles, substantially and for the purposes set forth.
2. A flexible wire web needle having a tail 1, foot 2, stem 3, and slanting
prongs 6, the stem battered thin in cross section as shown in Fig. 6, substantially
and for the purposes set forth.
3. A flexible wire web needle having a tail I, foot 2, stem 3, prongs 6, and
hooks 7, substantially and for the purposes set forth.
4. A flexible wire web needle having a tail 1, foot 2, stem 3, prongs 6, hooks 7,
and spring bend 4, substantially and for the purposes set forth.
5. A flexible wire web needle having a tail 1, foot 2, stem 3, prongs 6, hooks 7,
spring bend 4, and curved portion 5, substantially and for the purposes set forth.
6. A flexible wire web needle having a tail 1, foot 2, stem 3, prongs 6, hooks 7,
spring bend 4, curved portion 5, and pivot 8, substantially and for the purposes
set forth.
7. A flexible wire web needle having a tail 1, foot 2, stem 3, prongs 6, hooks 7,

page_text: spring bend 4, curved portion 5, pivot 8, and projection 9, substantially and for the
purposes set forth.
8. In combination a knitting machine needle B, and spring web needle A, to be
worked in conjunction for the manufacturing of knitted loop web, substantially and
for the purposes set forth.
9. The method of building, directing, and controlling knitted loops by the unison
of a spring web needle A, and knitting needle B, consisting of first, measuring
off the thread on the web needle A, by meeting the draw of the knitting needle B,
with the spring prongs 6, second, casting off the old loops from the knitting needle B,
and sliding the measured thread down the prongs 6, thus forming a new loop
which is secured in the hooks 7, substantially, and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 17th October 1895.
GEO. F. STURGESS,
Inventor.