IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Edwards, of the firm of Edwards and Co.
Patent Agents and Engineers, of 35 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane
in the County of Middlesex for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
KNITTING MACHINES" a communication to him from abroad by Louis Bosi,
of Terricciola, in the Kingdom of Italy
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Edwards at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th November 1883.
EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co Patent Agents and Engineers,
of 35 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex
"IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES" [a communication to him from abroad
by Louis Bosi, of Terricciola, in the Kingdom of Italy]
In Knitting machines as ordinarily made and used the needle holder consists of
a single piece, of steel or other suitable metal, to which all the needles are fastened.
The first part of the present invention has for its object a novel method of making
the needle holder in several small separate parts of any suitable metal instead of
one piece.
For this purpose each separate holder is made of a metal plate provided with an
internal groove forming a guide in which the needle is fitted. And instead of the
spring ordinarily used in the needle-holders in order to afford the necessary
resistance to the movement of the needle, a small plug of wool, india rubber,
leather or other sufficiently soft material is used, so that the needle rubs gently
against it, the desired resistance being thus afforded to its free movement.
The advantages of making the needle holders separate as described instead of in
one piece, are the following: First, A single machine can be used for many kinds
of work, as the needles can be very casily changed and can be readily used as
required of any size that may be desired. Second, the number of needles used can

page_text: be varied as desired. Third, should a needle holder break, another can be
substituted for it at once and at little cost, instead of its being necessary as is
ordinarily the case in the event of breakage or injury to change the entire holder,
at considerable cost of time and money and interruption of work.
moveable needle-holders described these objections are overcome.
By the
When in an ordinary knitting machine a stitch drops it is very difficult to take
it up, as the two rows of needles are only separated by a very short space, and there
is little room to take up the stitch. Another part of the present invention
consists of a method of construction by which this difficulty is overcome.
It consists in arranging the two parallel bars which carry the needle holders so
that they are connected at their ends by cross bars jointed to them, the centres of
the cross bars being pivotted to the rod by which the apparatus is actuated.
The four bars described therefore can be adjusted either in a lozenge shape so
that the longitudinal bars approach one another to the required distance, or in a
rectangle when the longitudinal bars become separated leaving a space between
them through which the dropped stitch can be readily taken up.
Another part of the invention consists of an improved form of regulator by
It consists of a
which the movement of the needles is properly regulated.
rectangular plate provided on its surface with two grooves crossing each other
diagonally from the opposite corners, and with two other parallel grooves connecting
the diagonal grooves along two of the opposite sides of the plate. The bottom of
each groove is inclined from one end to the other, and at the higher end of each is
a sudden step by which it is connected to the lower end of the next groove.
The pivot or pin which operates the plate described which in turn operates the
needle-holders enters the lower end of one of the inclined grooves and rises to its
higher end where it drops into the lower end of the next groove, and so on until
it has traversed all the grooves, rising slowly and falling suddenly as it passes along.
The fall of the pivot or pin is ensured by a spring which keeps it always in
contact with the bottom of the grooves, and its end is made T headed so as to
prevent the possibility of its leaving its proper groove where the two diagonal ones
cross each other.
Machines as ordinarily used can only be employed for work of a single width,
as at each turn of the handle the thread-carrier can only make a single stroke and
if the work is of any less width it is still necessary to make the same number of
turns of the handle as for the greatest width of which the machine is capable.
Another part of the present invention consists in a novel method of arrangement
by which, when work of less width than usual is to be made, two or more thread
carriers instead of one can be used, so that as many pieces of the work can be
made simultaneously as there are thread carriers used provided that the total
length of such work does not exceed the width of the machine.
For this purpose the mechanism is arranged so that the different thread carriers
stop each at the point where the width of each particular piece of work ends and
then return when the next succeeding thread carrier has made its stroke. Upon
the guide bars on which the thread carriers travel backward and forward are
screwed adjustable stops provided with curved cams, so that the space between two
of these cams represent the width of the particular piece which is to be worked.
Upon the sliding support of the thread carrier is pivotted a tumbling lever
carrying two projecting pieces at right angles arranged so that the lower one is
directed to the right and left alternately as the tumbling lever operates, the
movement being limited and defined by a notch in a disc turning upon the same
centre and fitting upon a fixed pin. When the needle carrier has brought the
thread carrier to the end of its stroke the end of the tumbling lever comes in
contact with one of the curved cams and is gently turned over until its reaches its
opposite position and the thread carrier stops.
The corresponding piece of work accordingly remains as it is, whilst the needle
carrier continues its stroke beyond the stop and meeting another thread carrier the

page_text: tumbling lever of which is in the first position carries it forward and the last piece
of work commences, till the thread carrier reaches another stop, and so on in
succession.
In returning back the needle carrier again neets one of the thread carriers until
it reaches one of the opposite cams by which the tumbling lever is thrown back
and the thread carrier accordingly stops, the needle holder continuing its course and
operating the next thread carrier and so on successively.
In this way, by a single turn of the handle of the machine two or more pieces
of work of the same kind may be knitted, provided they are not wider than the
width of the machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Edmund Edwards in the Patent Office on the 30th May 1884.
EDMUND EDWARDS of the firm of Edwards and Co:-, Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 35 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES (a communication to me
"
from abroad by Louis Bosi of Terricciola in the Kingdom of Italy)
The improvements which form the subject of the present invention are illustrated
in the accompanying drawing in which figure 1 shews a front view of a machine,
figure 2 a plan with one row of needles only, in order to show more clearly the
parts which are below the needles, figure 3 a transverse section of the machine
open with one row of needles only, figure 4 a transverse section of the machine
closed without needles, figure 5 a front view full size of several separate needle
carriers arranged side by side, figure 6 a side view of one of the needle carriers,
figure 7 a view full size of the tumbling lever connected with the thread carrier,
figure 8 a front view or rather a view from above of the carriage which slides over
the needles in order to give them their proper movement, figure 9 a view from
behind or below of the same, figure 10 a section through A A¹ of the same,
figure 11 a plan of the regulator or displacer of the same, figure 12 a front view of
the regulator, figure 13 a back view of the regulator, figure 14 a side view of the
same, figure 15 a diagonal section of the regulator, figure 16 the spring pin working
in the regulator. The same letters indicate the same parts in the several figures.
The handle B which is turned by hand sets in motion backward and forward by
means of the different cranks and levers shewn in figure 1 two small carriages C, C₁,
the attachment of which to the lever works in the space D, D', from one end of the
machine to the other, and the principal face of which slides over the two rows of
* needles. There is an apparatus of the kind described to each row of needles but
the two are arranged exactly opposite to each other. In figure 1 one only is shewn
which is shewn on a larger scale in figures 8, 9, and 10. The heels F, F, of the
needles are introduced into the groove E, E¹ and the said groove being doubly
inclined the needles are raised and lowered alternately in the way required to
produce the work. The groove may be made wider or narrower by altering the
two pieces G, G¹, by means of the screws H, H', which carry points indicating upon
a scale on the plate the exact point at which they should be fixed according to
different qualities of work.
As the mechanism slides and is supported upon the row of needles the work goes
on continually but if it is desired to knit circular work or work having double the
width of the machine or double work' the two parts of which are united on one
side and open on the other, or indeed if it is required to use the machine for any
other variety of work it is necessary to prevent when desired the mechanism G, G¹,
from moving the needles. This is effected by raising the plate which carries the
groove which being raised no longer rests upon the needles but leaves them free.
The required raising is obtained when required in the following manner :-On the
ends of the bar I, I', two pins L, L¹, are fixed. When the mechanism in its stroke
approaches these pins the piece M is pushed backward or forward by them and this
piece M carries a special regulator N, N₁, shewn full size in figures 11, 12, 13, 14,
and 15 and consisting of a plate provided with two diagonal grooves O; O¹, and
011, 0111, and two side grooves OI, O, and OVI, OVI
The bottoms of these four grooves form inclined planes and each when it
reaches its highest point drops suddenly to the lowest end of the next succeeding
groove. The spring pin P, the object of which will be described later on, enters

page_text: this regulator for instance at the end O of the groove O¹, rises gradually along this
groove to O¹ where it drops suddenly into O, then rises gradually along the
groove O OIV where it drops into Ou, and from 0₁ rises gradually along the
groove 0 0 to 0111 where it drops again suddenly into O, then rises gradually
along the groove (VII OVI where it drops again suddenly into O, and so on
continuously. The sudden fall of the pin as described is effected by means of a
spring (figure 16), which keeps it always pressed into the guides or grooves.. In
order that the pin may be able to follow the grooves in every direction it can turn
on its own axis and to prevent it from changing its direction at the point VIII,
where the two diagonal grooves cross each other its end is made in the form of a T
so that it cannot pass out of its proper groove. This regulator or displacer therefore
in changing its position every time that it meets any of the pins alters the position
of the pivot P which thus causes to slide towards the upper or lower part of the
mechanism the piece Q, Q, which by means of two rollers which run with their
pivots R, R', in the groove R2 raises or lowers the plate S S¹, which carries the
grooves by which the movement of the needles is effected.
By putting a pin at T the regulator is stopped before the end of its stroke at one
side only, and consequently the displacement takes place a double number of times
and the plate is raised or lowered every time that the piece M is so displaced.
In knitting machines as hitherto made and used the needle carrier is formed in a
single piece of steel or other metal in which all the needles are fitted. In the
present improved machine instead of a needle carrier in one piece a series U, U¹,
are used arranged one beside the other and having the form shewn in figures
and 6 or other suitable form, each carrier consisting of a flat piece of metal having
an inner groove in which the needles V V' move as in a guide.
In order to offer to the movement of the needle a slight resistance, in the needle
carriers used up to the present time a spring has been used fitted to the needle; In
the improved machine a small plug X of wool, india rubber, leather, or other
suitable material is substituted for the spring.
The needle presses gently against the plug its movements being free but with
the desired resistance.
The two rows or sets U, U¹, of needle carriers on each side of the machine are
supported on the two inclined plates Z, Z¹, and Z", Z, to which they are locked
by the hook a and the projection Y. In order that the needle carriers may be
solidly united together to form the complete set, the plates Z, Z, and Z", Z
terminate on each side in the two pieces b, b¹, the former fixed and the latter
moveable; a bar c c¹ being fixed in b and ending at the other end in a cylindrical
screw which is introduced into a hollow cylinder d fixed upon the moveable
piece b¹; in the interior of this latter cylinder d is recessed the nut upon the screw
on the bar c, c¹, so that by turning the handle e, e', fixed upon the bar c c¹ the
hollow cylinder d and the piece 6¹ separate from or approach to the piece b and the
needle carriers remain either loose, or very solidly connected together and to the
machine, as may be desired.
The same device is applied both to the plate Z, Z', and to the other one Z¹¹, Z¹!
The needle carriers being made separate as described afford the following
advantages. First, a single machine is capable of serving for different kinds of
work, as the needle carriers can be changed with great facility, as well as tho
needles, which accordingly may be used of any desired size with great advantage.
Second: The number of the needles may be varied as desired. Third:-If one
of the needle carriers is broken, a fresh one can be quickly substituted for it at
trifling cost, whilst in ordinary knitting machines if the needle carrier is broken
or injured, it has to be entirely renewed at considerable cost, loss of time, and
interruption of work. Fourth-Needle carriers as hitherto made being in a single
piece have had to be made by cutting them out; whilst by the improved method
they can be cast at insignificant cost.
Ordinary knitting machines are only capable of knitting a single piece of work
at a time; and whether it has a width equal to or less than the length of the

page_text: machine, it is necessary to make a complete turn of the handle for each row of
stitches, since at each such turn the only thread carrier which can be used makes a
(single stroke only, so that if the work is of narrow width the same number of
⚫turns of the handle has to be made as for the greatest width of work that the
machine is capable of executing. With the improved machine, on the other hand,
several pieces of work may be executed simultaneously so long as their total
combined width does not exceed the total length of the machine or of the series
of needles U, U'
When it is desired to knit narrow pieces of work, two or more thread
carriers h, h', instead of one only, are fitted on the machine in such manner that as
many pieces of work may be simultaneously knitted as there are such separate
thread-carriers employed, provided that the total combined width of all the work
(does not exceed the width of the machine. This is effected in the following way.
Upon the bar f, f, upon which the thread carriers slide, are fixed two stops 9, 9',
for each of the pieces of work which it is desired to knit, one stop being turned
to the right and the other to the left so that their two bends are turned toward
each other as shown in the drawing.
i
The distance between these two stops corresponds with the width of the piece
to be knitted. For two such pieces four stops will be required, and so on.
The
. carriage C, C¹, which, when the bandle B, is turned slides over the series of needle
carriers and serves, as already described, to raise and lower the needles for the
purpose of executing the knitting, starts from the end of the machine and when it
has passed the first stop g drives one of the thread carriers along the bar f, ¹, the
stitches being formed as it travels. When it reaches the second stop g' the thread
carrier stops. This setting in motion and stopping are effected in the following
way. Upon the support of each thread carrier is pivotted at ja tumbling lever
i, l, m, which is supported in either its right or left hand position by the hands of
The
a notch o, o, in a disc upon the same axis which strikes against a pin n.
tumbling lever is shewn on a larger scalo at figure 7. The carriage C, C¹, in its
stroke presses upon the roller q fitted upon one of the arms of the tumbling lever
and so carries forward the latter together with the thread carrier. When this first
thread carrier reaches the end of its stroke or when it reaches the stop which fixes
the limit in width of the first piece of knitting, the end of the tumbling lever
strikes the bend of the stop g' and by the action of the roller q which is still
pressed forward, the lever turns over and falls into the position i¹, l, m, the
roller q becoming disengaged from the moving carriage and the thread carrier
instantly stopping, and the first breadth of knitted work consequently remaining
suspended. The carriage C, C³, continues its stroke and in the same way as soon
as it has passed the stop g" it carries on the second thread carrier the tumbling
lever of which is in the position i, l, m. When the thread carrier reaches the
stop g the same operation takes place, the second thread carrier stopping and the
second breadth of knitted work being suspended.
111
If there are still more thread carriers and stops similar operations are effected
for each.
When the carriage C, C has completed its forward stroke it makes its return
stroke still sliding on the bar or guide f, f', and as soon as it has passed the last
stop git meets the tumbling lever of the thread carrier in the position i¹, l, m,
so that it catches it and drives back the thread carrier to the stop g, the bend of
which being turned to the right throws over the tumbling lever and the thread
carrier stops, whilst the carriage continuing its stroke passes the two stops g", g',
and as
soon as it has passed the stop meets the tumbling lever of the first
thread carrier turned into the position i, l, m³, and carries it on, and so on
continuously.
By this means, therefore, with one turn of the handle two or more widths of
knitting, of course of the same kind, can be executed, so long as they have a width
less than that of the machine.
When, in the machines ordinarily hitherto used, a stitch drops it is extremely

page_text: difficult to take it up, the two rows of needles being capable of separating from
each other but a very short distance. In the improved machine this difficulty is
obviated by the method of separating the two rows of needles shewn in Figure 2,
in which the entire machine is shewn divided into two parts in the direction of its
length, each part carrying one of the rows of needles.
These two parts of the machine are arranged between two cross bars r, rl, which
carry a horizontal plate in which turns the handle S operating a lever t, t¹ one end
of which this pivotted to one of the parts of the machine whilst the other end slides
in a bar u, u, fixed to the other part. When the lever t, t, is in a position
perpendicular to the two rows of needles the latter are separated, whilst by moving
it into an inclined position the rows of needles are brought together and the
machine is closed.
Having now described the invention and the manner in which it is to be
performed, I claim :-The method of making the needle carriers in separate pieces
instead of in one piece; also, the method of separating and bringing together
the rows of needles; also, the method of constructing and operating the regulator
or displacer; also, the method of arranging and operating two or more thread
carriers upon the same machine; all substantially as and for the purposes described
and shewn in the drawing.
In witness whereof, I the said Edmund Edwards, have hereunto set my hand
and seal this 30th day of May in the year of our Lord 1884.