IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COMBINATION OF STOP MECHANISM WITH CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William James Ford at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th March 1881.
WILLIAM JAMES FORD, of Humberston, in the County of Leicester, and Friars'
Causeway, Leicester. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE COMBINATION OF STOP MECHANISM
WITH CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES."
Hitherto various ways have been adopted for stopping the movement of a
circular knitting machine after a certain number of courses of work have been
made on it. The object of my Invention is to provide a better and more simple
means for effecting this object than those heretofore employed.
For this purpose I affix to the side of the revolving cylinder or head of a circular
knitting machine a projecting stud or cam. Along side of the cylinder I mount
a lever upon a fixed pin. At each revolution of the cylinder the stud or cam upon
it strikes against one arm of the lever which is held towards it by a spring, and
causes the lever to make a partial turn. The other arm of the lever carries a pawl,
which by a spring is held up to the teeth of a ratchet wheel, so that each time the
lever is rocked on its axis the ratchet wheel is caused to turn a distance. To one
face of the ratchet wheel I affix pins or studs. One or other of these studs after
a certain number of step by step movements has been given to the ratchet wheel
I cause to strike against and turn a catch lever, which previously served to retain
throwing out gear from coming into action; but whenever one or other of the studs
strikes against the catch lever it turns this lever and sets the throwing out gear
free, and allows it to disconnect the cylinder from the driving mechanism. So
long as the catch lever is serving to retain the throwing out gear from coming into
action, it is held in position for doing so by a very light spring, in order that a
very slight pressure of one of the studs on the ratchet wheel may be sufficient to
turn it and set the throwing out gear free to act. Thus the cam on the revolving
cylinder or head can readily turn the ratchet wheel, and the cylinder may
consequently still be driven in the manner now usually adopted through friction
gear, so that there shall be no breakage of needles in case of a too great thickness
of thread or other impediment getting in between the needles and stopping the
cylinder or head from turning.

page_text: In order also that the stopping mechanism may be put out of action whenever
a long course of plain work has to be made, I provide a ready means for allowing
the pawl which drives the ratchet wheel above mentioned to be turned back and
retained away from the ratchet wheel, so that whenever desired it shall not turn it.
This I do by employing a curved spring for holding the pawl up to the ratchet wheel.
One end of the spring I affix to the pawl, at the other end of the spring I form
a slight hollow, so that it may abut and remain resting against a pin on the lever
which carries the pawl; when, however, the pawl is to be thrown out of action,
the pawl can be pressed back away from the ratchet wheel, the end of the spring
will then slip off from the pin on the lever, and the side of the spring will bear
against the pin, and will hold the pawl away from the ratchet wheel.