IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND SUCH LIKE ÅRTICLES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Luke Woodward, of the Firm of Messrs. Moses
Mellor and Sons, of Awkwright Street, Nottingham, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
STOCKINGS AND SUCH LIKE ÅRTICLES."
Sealed the 13th February 1872, and dated the 23rd December 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Luke Woodward at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd December 1871.
I, LUKE WOODWARD, of the Firm of Messrs. Moses Mellor & Sons, of
Awkwright Street, Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
STOCKINGS AND SUCH LIKE ÅRTICLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has mainly for its object to construct apparatus for the
manufacture of stockings in such a manner that the leg piece, with a
cleared and selvaged heel and a spliced ankle, may be produced without
removing the work from the needles on which the leg is formed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Luke Woodward in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st June 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, LUKE WOOD-
WARD, of the Firm of Messrs. Moses Mellor and Sons, of Awkwright
Street, Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Luke Woodward, Her special
license that I, the said Luke Woodward, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Luke Woodward, 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 APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND SUCH
LIKE ARTICLES,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Luke Woodward, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Luke Woodward, 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 thereof, that is to say:
1
This Invention has mainly for its object to construct apparatus for the
manufacture of stockings in such a manner that the leg piece, with a
cleared and selvaged heel and a spliced ankle and heel, may be pro-
duced without removing the work from the needles on which the leg is

page_text: For this purpose I employ three sets of thread carriers carried on three
thread carrier bars in place of two sets of thread carriers as heretofore
employed in rotary flat frames for making the legs and heels of
stockings. The main carrier bar, with a thread eye for each stocking
and having a variable throw, forms the leg and one side of the heel.
The second carrier bar, which moves with the main bar, also has an eye
for each stocking, and the eyes are so arranged on the bar as to work
one side of each heel whilst the main bar is working the other side. At
other times the carriers on this bar are out of use. The third carrier bar
with which the machine is also provided has also two eyes for each
stocking, and when in use they lay in what are called splicing threads
for a part only of the distance over which the main thread carrier bar
traverses, and so they thicken the work produced by the main thread
carrier immediately above the heel on either side of the leg piece. The
main carrier bar and the second carrier bar are connected to each other
so that the one bar travels with the other throughout. The third carrier
bar is driven by the main bar by a catch which drops in as the main bar
commences its motion, and is lifted out by an incline as soon as the third
carrier bar has been taken the distance required.
This arrangement of apparatus for giving motion from the main
thread carrier bar to another carrier bar for laying in thickening or
splicing threads is also applicable to machinery for the production of
other articles of hosiery in which thickening threads have to be intro-
duced at places.
Also when three thread carrier bars are used as above described, the
third thread carrier bar may be driven from the main bar by a frictional
clip, and its motion be limited by stops; or all the bars may be connected
by frictional clips with a driver having a motion equal to or exceeding
that of the main bar, and the throw of each bar may be limited by stops
to the amount required.
In order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I have in the Drawings hereunto annexed shewn an
arrangement of thread carrier bars such as is above described, and I
have described it as applied to a flat or rotary stocking frame with a
stationary needle bar; but I would remark that a similar arrangement
of thread carrier bars may also be applied to other flat or rotary frames,
whether with fixed or moveable needle bars or sliding needles.

page_text: Figure 1 is a front view of the thread carrier bars taken at the left
hand end of the machine; Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same;
and Figure 3 shews separately the thread carrier bar for laying in the
splicing threads, and the mechanism in connection therewith.
In these Figures a is the ordinary bar or rail which passes from one
end of the machine to the other, and carries the herein-before mentioned
first and second thread carrier bars b and c in a similar manner to what
has heretofore in some cases been adopted; d is the third-mentioned
thread carrier bar for laying in the splicing threads. In Figure 2 of the
Drawings this carrier bar is shewn to be raised and held out of action,
the threads which are passed through its thread eyes or layers being then
turned up so as to be out of the way of the needles.
In the arrangement shewn in the Drawing the bars b and c have motion
given to them in a similar manner to what has heretofore in some cases
been adopted, and which is as follows:-When the needle bar is fixed the
rail a turns on pins or axes at its upper edge, and is caused to rock on
these pins by a cam at one end of the machine at the times required to
cause the thread eyes of the carrier bars to dip down between the needles,
The bar at its two ends is formed to pass over and embrace the rail a,
and at these points carries friction rollers b', which run upon the top of
the rail (as seen in Figure 1). The bar 6 has also forked brackets b
standing out from it at the front, into which forks the bar c is received.
This bar has bolted to it spring clip pieces c³, which embrace one limb of
the forks (as shewn at Figures 1 and 2), and form friction clips to cause
the bar c to be moved to and fro together with the bar b, whilst at the
same time they allow of the bar c being raised and kept out of work
whenever the thread carriers carried by it are not required to lay their
threads on to the needles, and they also allow of the movement of the
bar c being controlled when narrowing without interfering with the
movement of the bar b. The first carrier bar 6 receives motion from a
sliding bar e, which is supported in forked bracket pieces b³ standing out
from the back of the bar b, and which has a to-and-fro sliding motion
imparted to it by cams on the driving shaft at one end of the machine.
In Figure 1 the bar e is shewn in the position just as it commences to
move from the right towards the left-hand end of the machine. After a
short movement the notch e' in the bar e comes against the fork piece b³,
and carries forward with it the bar b until the incline e' at the end of
The end of
this bar comes against one or other of the rollers for f¹.

page_text: the bar e is then lifted until the notch e' is clear of the bottom of the
fork b³, and the bar e is set free to move forward without carrying with
it the bar b. At the same time that the forward end of the bar e is
lifted by the roller for f¹, the latch g, which is pivoted to the bar b, is
lifted by coming against the pin h or h¹; and just as the bar e is set free
from the bar b, the notch g¹ of the latch comes over the pin, and the
latch being pressed down by its spring g² hooks over this pin and
prevents any backward movement of the bar, at the same time that any
further forward movement is arrested by the end of the bar then coming
against the end either of the stop m or the stop k, by which the
rollers f, f, and pins h, h³, are carried. Whilst the leg pieces of the
stockings are being made the thread carrier bar c is raised up in the
forked bracket pieces which carry it, so that its thread eyes or carriers
shall be out of the way of the needles; the bar then rests on the top of
catch pieces c³, and is thus retained in its raised position. The moveable
stop k, carrying the roller f¹ and pin h¹, is also turned back on its pin
joint ¹ so as to be out of the way and allow the stop m, carrying the
roller and pin h, to come into action; the bar b then traverses a
distance equal to the width of the leg piece of a stocking.
When the two sides of the heel piece of each stocking are to be made, a
the stop k is turned down into the position shewn in Figure 1, so
bringing into action the roller f¹ and pin h³, and thereby giving a shorter
throw to the thread carrier bar b, so that the thread eyes carried by it
are only moved to and fro a sufficient distance for forming one side of
the heel piece of each stocking. At the same time the thread carrier
bar c is lowered into the position shewn at Figures 1 and 2 so as to bring
the thread eyes carried by it into action for forming the other side of the
heel piece, and the thread carrier bar c being held to the thread carrier
bar b by the friction clips c¹ moves to and fro with it. In order to arrest
the motion of the thread carrier bar c at the end of its traverse at the
same time that the traverse of the bar b is arrested, the thread carrier
bar c carries a latch 1, which passes under and hooks on to a stop h³ at
the same time that the latch g passes over and hooks on to the pin h³,
whilst at the same time the end of the lump c', which carries the latch
and which is fixed to the bar c, comes against the end of the sliding a
stop m, and is by it prevented from moving further forward.
When the narrowings are to be made at the end of the heel pieces the
sliding piece m, which is connected to the ordinary narrowing mechanism

page_text: at the end of the machine, is caused to move inwards, and thereby the
movement of the bar c is arrested before the bar 6 has completed its
movement, the latch carried by the bar c being free to move without
interfering with the action of the latch carried by the bar b. At the
opposite or right-hand end of the machine is a similar sliding piece h
acted on by narrowing mechanism, and the bars b and c are at this end
similarly provided with latches 9 and 1. As the bars b and c move
towards the right-hand end of the machine the bar c comes up to a fixed
stop, whilst the bar 6 comes against a moveable stop similar to m and
connected with the narrowing mechanism.
In order that when the bar e commences its movement from either
end of the machine that the latches 9 and 1 at that end may be tripped
to set the bars b and c free to move with the bar e, one or other of the
projections upon this bar comes against a stop g³ upon the latch g, and
thereby lifts this latch and releases the bar b. The latch 7 being coupled
with the latch g is also simultaneously freed, so that the bar c is ready
to move back with the bar b, the notch e¹ at that end then carries back
with it the bar b.
I will now describe the arrangement of mechanism shewn in the
Drawing for imparting motion to the third thread carrier bar d, which is
for putting in the splicing threads just above the heel pieces, and which
carries two thread layers or eyes for each stocking. This carrier bar is
for convenience carried in forked brackets from the lead sinker bar, and
receives motion as before stated. from the carrier bar b, but has given to
it only a sufficient traverse for laying in the splicing threads above the
two heel pieces. To effect this the bar d has fixed upon it a plate d³, in
which are two notches & for a catch n to drop into. The catch n is
jointed to the bar 6, and can be held up by a spring catch n¹ whenever
the bar d is not required to be in action. When the catch is thus held
up the bar remains at rest, and it can be raised up away from the needles
and retained in its raised position by a spring catch a³.
When the splicing threads are to be laid in the catch ď³ is released and
the bar dis lowered; the catch n is also allowed to drop down on to the
plate ď. As the bar 6 commences to move from one side of the machine
the catch n is in one of the notches d², and so carries forward with it the
bar d. When the bar d has been traversed the required distance the
catch n comes against an incline o fixed to the rail a, by which it is
lifted out of the notch d³, and the bar b will continue its movement

page_text: without carrying along with it the bar d. The bar d will then be held
stationary by a pin d' upon it being caught by a latch p; this prevents
any backward movement of the bar, whilst any further forward move-
ment of the bar is arrested by a stop. As the bar 6 continues its
movement, and just before it arrives at the end of its course, an incline 6*
carried by it comes under the projection p¹ on the latch
and so
lifts
this latch in order that on the return movement of the bar 6 the bar d
may be free to move back with it. As the bar b completes its traverse
the catch n drops into the other notch d³, so that the bar 6 is again
connected with the bar d.
P,
In the diagram views A, B, and C of the Drawings I have illustrated
the action of the thread carriers when making a stocking. Diagrams A
illustrate the position of the thread carriers whilst making the leg pieces,
the thread eyes 6* on the bar 6 being alone in action, and having a
traverse given to them equal to the width of the leg piece. Diagrams B
illustrate the laying in of the splicing threads. The thread eyes 6* of
the bar 6 still continue in action and to traverse from side to side of each
stocking. The thread eyes d* of the bar d are also brought into action,
there being two thread eyes or thread layers for each stocking, and a
shorter traverse being given to them than to the bar b. Diagrams C
represent the forming of the heel pieces. The bar d is raised so that its
thread eyes d* are out of action, and the bar c is lowered so that its
thread eyes c* come into action; at the same time a shorter throw is
given to the bar b, so that its thread eyes b* form one side of the heel
pieces of the several stockings whilst the thread eyes c* are laying in the
threads for forming the opposite side of the heel pieces. A splicing
thread is also attached to the thread passing through the eyes 6*. The
eyes c* have always threaded through them a splicing thread and a
thread of the same thickness as the thread of which the leg piece is
formed, or in some cases one single thick thread is threaded through
these eyes.
In this case the thread passed through the eyes b*,
which formed the leg piece, would be changed for a thicker thread,
corresponding to the thread carried by the thread eyes c* before com-
mencing to make the heel pieces.
and
The arrangement of mechanism herein-before described, and shewn at
Figure 3 of the Drawings, for giving motion from the thread carrier
bar to the carrier bar d may, as before stated, be employed when
making other articles of hosiery in which it is required to introduce
thickening threads at places for giving motion from one thread carrier

page_text: bar to another, at the same time that it gives to it a traverse shorter
than its own; also, as before stated, when three thread carriers acting in
the manner herein-before described are employed for forming a stocking,
the third thread carrier bar d may be driven from the bar 6 by a friction
clip, and its motion limited by stops, as for example the latch n carried
by the bar b might be arranged to drop into a notch in a friction clip
embracing the bar d, and when the bar d was not required to be in
action this latch might be turned up out of the notch; also, as before
stated, the bar 6 might be driven by a friction clip from the bar e, and
its motion limited as herein-before described by the stops h and k, so
that all of the bars would then receive motion from the bar e by friction
clips.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim as my
improvements in apparatus for the manufacture of stockings and such
like articles,
1. The combined arrangement of mechanism substantially as herein
described and shewn in the Drawings annexed.
2. The employment in machinery for the manufacture of stockings of
three thread carrier bars, acting substantially in the manner herein
described, two bars to form the leg and heel pieces and a third bar to lay
in the splicing threads, whereby the leg piece of a stocking, with a
cleared and selvaged heel and spliced ankle and heel, is produced
without removing the work from the needles on which the leg is
formed.
3. The combined arrangement of mechanism substantially as herein
described, and shewn at Figure 3 of the Drawings annexed, for giving
motion from one thread carrier bar to another thread carrier bar so as to
give to it a traverse shorter than its own traverse.
In witness whereof, I, the said Luke Woodward, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our
Load One thousand eight hundred and seventy two