IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN KNITTING MACHINERY."-A communication from abroad by Edward
Elisha Kilbourn, residing at New York, in the United States of
America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration on the 6th January 1864, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT
KNOWN that I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY," (communicated to
me from abroad by Edward Elisha Kilbourn, a person resident at New York,
in the United States of America,) 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 :-
The object of this Invention is to knit stockings with facility and rapidity,
but the Invention is applicable to the knitting of other articles which require
a similar mode of proceeding.

page_text: The Invention is made up of parts, all of which conduce to the object in
view, but some of which are also applicable to the knitting of plain goods, and
goods other than stockings, which vary in breadth.
The first seven parts of the Invention have reference mainly to the con-
struction of the mechanism for operating a travelling needle or needles for
forming the stitches in connection with a series of regular needles, more or
less of which are used at any one time according to the width of the fabric,
and the first part of the Invention consists of the combination of the carriage
of a travelling needle of a knitting machine with the mechanism for moving it
in such manner that it can be readily disengaged from said mechanism to
permit its movement by hand, and can be readily re-engaged therewith.
The second part of the Invention consists of the combination of the sliding
rack or its equivalent, through whose agency the pattern barrel or its equi-
valent operates upon the travelling needle (or upon the instrumentalities for
withdrawing or replacing the regular needles) with the carriage that carries
that needle (or such instrumentalities) in such manner that the said rack is
moved to and fro along the series of regular needles by the same instrument
which moves said travelling needle (or instrumentalities).
The third part of the Invention consists in the arrangement of the moveable
ram plates of a knitting machine (that are controlled by a pattern barrel or its
equivalent) above the devices which they operate upon.
The fourth part of the Invention consists in the arrangement of the pattern
barrel or its equivalent in a knitting machine above the needle carriage.
The fifth part of the Invention consists of the combination of a pattern
barrel of a knitting machine with mechanism for changing its relationship to
the arm or other device upon which its pins operate, so that two rows of
pattern pins may be brought into action alternately.
The sixth part of the Invention consists of the arrangement of the pins on
a pattern barrel in two helical lines, commencing at opposite ends of the
barrel, so that the pattern may be duplicated without moving the barrel
back to enable the first pin of the row which operated last to re-commence.
The seventh part of the Invention consists in the combination of a cam
plate for restoring the withdrawn peedles with a carriage, by which it is
moved along the withdrawn needles so that the latter are restored to
their positions for working by the movement of the carriage that carries
the cam.
The special object of the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh parts of the
Invention is, to permit a portion of the needles at work in a knitting machine
to be thrown out of gear with the mechanism for operating them without

page_text: removing them from the last row of stitches formed by them, and while the
residue of the needles continue to work, and to permit the said portion of the
needles to be again thrown into gear with the mechanism for operating them
when required.
To this end the eighth part of the Invention consists in the partition of the
needle bed into divisions, each containing a portion of the needles, which
divisions are so combined with the part of the machine which carries them
that one of the divisions may be displaced from its normal position to move
the needles carried by it out of the range of the mechanism for operating
them, and may be replaced to move said needles again into range with said
mechanism.
The ninth part of the Invention consists of the combination of a removeable
division of the needle bed with springs or their equivalents for counterbalancing
its weight in part, so that the fabric is not strained by the dragging of said
weight upon it.
The tenth part of the Invention consists of the combination of a removeable
division of the needle bed with a holder for holding the needles in their places
in the said division.
The eleventh part of the Invention consists of the combination of the
removeable division of the needle bed with the part of the machine which
supports it by devices, which permit it to move transversely to the length of
the needle bed, so that the needles in said division when not operating may.
accommodate themselves to the position of the fabric while knitting is pro-
ceeding upon others of the needles.
The special object of the twelfth and thirteenth parts of the Invention is, to
perinit the same series of needles to be employed in knitting a single strip of
work, or two detached strips of work.
To this end the twelfth part of the Invention consists of the combination of
a series of reciprocating needles with two thread guides, one of which is
moveable out of gear with the mechanism for operating it when a single strip
of work is being knit.
The special object of the thirteenth part of the Invention is, to permit the
movement of the needle carriage past the instrumentalities for changing the
positions of the travelling needles when knitting narrow work, without inter-
fering with the operation of the thread guide, and consists of the combination
of the thread guide carriage with catches that connect and disconnect it with
the devices for imparting motion to it.
The fourteenth part of the Invention consists of the combination. of the
needle carriage with two sets of bumpers for operating two thread guides in

page_text: such manner that one of these sets may be thrown out of work when a single
thread guide is required.
The special object of the fifteenth part of the Invention is to permit the
thread guide to operate at the inner side of a division of the needle bed which
remains in place when an adjacent division has been displaced without inter-
ference with the adjacent sinkers of the machine, and consists of the combi-
nation of the said sinkers with a lifter for withdrawing them from the series of
sinkers at work.
The special object of the sixteenth part of the Invention is to permit the
yarn to be depressed upon the last needle in the series, which is fed without
depressing the thread guide for that purpose, and consists in depressing the
yarn by a sinker (or its equivalent for this purpose) intervening between the
thread guide and the last needle fed with yarn while the other intervening
sinkers are raised.
The special object of the seventeenth part of the Invention is to gripe the
yarn when necessary without depressing the thread guide, and consists of the
combination of the thread guide carriage with griping devices that are
independent of the thread guide.
The special object of the eighteenth part of the Invention is to prevent the
straining of the yarn at the selvage formed at the inner side of a division of
the needle bed, which remains in place when an adjacent division is displaced,
and consists of the combination of the needle cam bar with a moveable cam
block operating to withdraw one of the said needles to a less extent than the
remainder.
The special object of the nineteenth part of the Invention is to permit the s
under supports, which move the heads of the needles to close their barbs, to
be adjusted laterally, and consists of the combination of their stocks with the
part of the machine which holds them by adjustable devices in such manner
that the under supports can be moved laterally, and secured in any desired
positions.
The special object of the twentieth part of the Invention is to permit the
under supports to be readily withdrawn from their positions and replaced
without disconnecting them from the machine, and consists of the combi-
nation of their stocks with a rock shaft or its equivalent.
The machine represented in the accompanying Drawings embodies all parts
of the Invention, and is an illustration of one form of a machine by which the
Invention may be carried into effect.
Figure 1 represents an elevation of the front side of the machine.
Figure 2 represents a plan of the machine.

page_text: Figure 8 represents a plan of the machine with certain parts thereof
removed.
Figure 4 represents an elevation of the hinder side of the machine.
Figure 5 represents an elevation of one end of the machine.
Figure 6 represents a partial cross section of the machine, showing an
end view of the needle carriage.
Figure 7 represents a partial cross section through the centre of the
machine when the needle carriage is in its central position, and the central
division of the needle bed is lowered.
Figure 8 represents a partial cross section of the needle carriage when the
central division of the needle bed is raised.
Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent views of detached parts of the
machine referred to by letters in the following description.
All of the above Figures (1 to 14 inclusive), are drawn upon a scale of 6
English inches to one English foot.
Figure 15 represents a front elevation of parts of one half of the upper
longitudinal bar of the main frame, the front of which forms the cam bar for
lifting certain sinkers out of the way of the thread guide; and Figure 16, a
cross section of the same; Figure 17 represents a plan of a portion of the
same upper longitudinal bar of the frame which carries the moveable cam
plates and stationary grades for operating the narrowing mechanism, the
grades being at the under side of the bar, as shown in dotted lines.
Figure 18 represents a rear elevation of parts of the sinker cam bar; and
Figure 19 represents a cross section of the same.
Figure 20 represents a plan of parts of the needle cam bar; Figure 21, a
cross section through the centre of the same; and Figure 22, a horizontal
section of a part of the same at the line X, X, of Figure 21.
In the foregoing views of the cam bars the line x, x, is the centre of the
machine.
Figure 23 represents a plan of one of the carriages of the travelling
needles; Figure 24, a front elevation of the same; and Figures 25, 26,
and 27, cross sections thereof and of the parts adjacent thereto.
Figures 28, 28, 29, 29ª, represent side views and edgo views of the sinkers
used in the machine.
Figures 30, 30, and 30 represent side views and an edge view of the
intermediate needles; and Figure 31, a side view of a travelling needle.
The Figures 15 to 31, inclusive, are of the working dimensions.
Figures 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 represent views upon a small scale of the
fabric produced by the machine as will be herein-after described.

page_text: This machine is adapted to the knitting of stockings, or more properly of
sheets of knit fabric, of such form that they can be made into stockings by
sewing the edges of each sheet properly together, and as the form of the
fabric produced and the general mode of procedure will enable the description
of the machine to be understood with greater facility it is deemed proper to
describe these before proceeding with the description of the machine.
The form of one side of the complete stocking, when flattened sidewise, is
shewn at Figure 32, and the appearance of the fabric at certain successive
periods of the knitting is shown at Figures 33, 34, 35, and 36. The knitting
commences at the top of the leg or at a, a; the fabric is knit of uniform width
to the line b, b, thence it is progressively narrowed by the operation of the
machine to the line c, c, which corresponds to the ankle of the stocking, the
narrowing being effected by withdrawing some of the needles from the work
and transferring their stitches to adjacent needles. From the last-mentioned
line (c, c,) the fabric is knit of uniform width to the line d, d, at which the heel.
strips E, E, separate from the upper piece F¹, which (when doubled) corre-
sponds with the upper part F, Figure 32, of the foot of the finished stocking.
From this line the machine knits the two heel strips E, E, simultaneously
while the knitting of the central part F1 (which is to form the upper piece F)
is suspended, this operation being effected by dividing the needles at work
into three gangs, the side. two of which continue in gear and knit the heel
strips, while the central gang is thrown out of gear with the mechanism for
operating the needles, but with the last line of stitches at the line d, d,
remaining on them. In knitting the heel strips they are narrowed at their
outer corners e, e, by the successive withdrawal of needles. After the heel
strips are finished and thrown off the needles, the work upon the central part
of the fabric (F) is resumed by throwing the central gang of needles that hold
the last line of stitches again into gear, and the fabric is widened by adding
the selvage needles that formed the outside selvages of the heel strips to the
central gang of workers. The work proceeds on this central strip at first
without change of breadth, but as the needles approach the toe the work is
progressively narrowed until it is completed. The sheet of fabric thus formed
when flattened out has the form represented at Figure 34, the edges of the
central strip F¹, overlapping the inner edges of the heel strips E, E, by an
amount equal to the work wrought at each side by the selvage needles (four
at each selvage in the present machine). In order to form the sole piece G
of the stocking the sheet, Figure 34, is thrown off the needles, and is set up
anew on the needles by placing the two heel strips together, as at Figure 35,
and setting the stitches at their edges f, f, upon the needles, the remainder of

page_text: the sheet hanging freely downwards. The work then proceeds towards the toc
of the stocking, the fabric being narrowed when required as the work pro-
gresses until the sole piece is completed, as shown at G, Figure 36; this
completes the knit work; then the edges a, e, a, e, are sewed together by
hand, and the edges 9, 9, are sewed to the edges h, h, thereby making the
complete stocking.
The knitting of the yarn into the fabric above described is effected by
means of series of needles and sinkers, which are supported by a carriage, and
are caused to traverse to and fro in front at times of oue thread guide which
delivers thread or yarn, and at times of two thread guides, the latter when
the two heel strips are being knit simultaneously. The movements of the
needles and sinkers in knitting are effected by means of stationary longitudinal
cam grooves, which the members of the machine carried by the carriago
traverse in their movement to and fro.
The various operating parts of the machine are secured to a strong
rectangular frame A, which is supported by legs, and holds the needles at a
sufficient distance from the floor to permit the operator to tend the machino
while standing. In the upper side of this frame are two longitudinal V-shaped
grooves a, a, Figures 2, 3, and 6, which extend from end to end of the frame,
and form ways to support and guide the carriage D that carries the needles
and sinkers. The carriage is of rectangular form, and is constructed to move
to and fro on the franie, its lower side being fitted with V-shaped runners,
which slide in the V-shaped grooves in the top of the main frame. This
needle carriage carries the needles and sinkers, which are arranged
in series whose numbers alternate, so that there is a needle for each
space between two adjacent sinkers. The length of the needle carriage
between its end plates must be sufficient to receive the requisite number of
needles and sinkers to knit the widest work required, together with the
mechanism for moving them to effect the narrowing of the fabric (and its
widening if widening is to be effected). This needle carriage is caused
to move alternately to and fro by means which are similar to those
employed in a planing machine for planing metals. To this end the under
side of the carriage is fitted with a rack F', whose teeth engage with
those of a cog wheel E', which is turned alternately in opposite directions
by means of two pulleys P1, P2; one of these pulleys is secured to a shaft B',
which is connected directly with the shaft B' of the cog wheel E¹, by
means of a pair of cog wheels E, E (Figures 7 and 1), the other pulley is
secured to a canon shaft B, which is connected with the shaft B' of the cog-
wheel E through the intervention of a counter shaft B³ (dotted in Figure 1),

page_text: and an additional pair of cog wheels E, partly shown in red lines in Figure 1,
so that although both pulleys P1, P2, are caused to revolve in the same direc-
tion, the one causes the carriage to move from right to left, and the other from
left to right. Both pulleys are driven by the same belt D', which transmits
motion from the pulley P³ on the driving shaft B, and the belt is shifted from
one of the pulleys P¹ to the other P³, and vice versa, when the movement of
the carriage is to be reverved. The two pulleys P¹, P³, are separated by a
loose pulley P, in order to shift the belt it is passed between the prongs of an
oscillating belt shipper h, which projects from an upright rock shaft B at the
back of the main fram A. This rock shaft is fitted with two arms H¹³, H³,
which project from it in opposite directions in positions to have their ends
acted upon by two inclined block f¹, f, which are carried by a horizontal
slide bar C, and this slide bar has two ears T¹, T, fitted with adjustable
screws f, f, whose heads are struck alternately by a bumper M* carried by
the needle carriage, so that as the needle carriage approaches cach end of its
range of motion, the slide bar C is put in motion by the contact of the
bumper of the carriage with one of the ear screws, and the proper inclined
block is caused to act upon the arm to rock the rock shaft B³, and oscillate
the belt shipper, thereby transferring the belt D' from one pulley to the other.
The bumper projects from a hub, which is secured to a rock shaft Be, that is
carried by the needle carriage, and as it is desirable (in order to save time),
that the needle carriage should traverse as small a distance as possible, this
rock shaft is fitted with two pairs of additional bumpers M³, M°, projecting
at different angles from the shaft, and arranged to operate the slide bar C,
and transfer the belt at shorter intervals, so that when the fabric is narrowed,
one or other pair of these additional bumpers may be brought into operation
by turning the rock shaft Be a part of a revolution. The movement of the
rock shaft in the present machine is effected when necessary by applying the
hand to the pin hub O, and it is prevented from moving accidentally by a
spring click Q³, whose nose engages in one of the notches in a collar that is
secured to the rock shaft Bº. The driving shaft B is caused to turn
continuously in the same direction by means of a belt applied to a fast
pulley P secured to it, this belt passes between the prongs of a sliding belt
shipper C, which has a spring P applied to it that tends to transfer the belt
to a loose pulley P³, so that whenever the belt shipper is left free, the belt is
immediately transferred, whereupon the machine stops. The belt shipper is
held in place when the machine is working by a catch having the form of
a lever L³ with a notch f, in which a tooth on the sliding shipper engages
when the machine is at work, this catch is disengaged automatically from the

page_text: shipper when a change is to be made in the operation of the machine, as will
herein-after be described, and may be disengaged at any time by applying the
hand to the handle C of the catch. The needles used in this machine (as
shown of the full size at Figures 30, 30, 30%, and 31), have the ordinary
hook-formed head, the barb of the needle being received when depressed in
a corresponding groove (a¹) in the shank or stem, so that the loop of yarn on
the needle stem can then slip freely over the head of the needle. These
needles are arranged in three series, two of which are used in knitting the
selvages at the sides of the fabric, and are composed of travelling needles,
these two series are caused to approach each other when the fabric is to be
narrowed, the distance between them being always just sufficient to permit the
operation of as many other needles as there are to be stitches between the two
selvages of the fabric. All the needles of the machine which are not travelling
selvage needles constitute the third series, more or less of which are brought
into operation between the two series of selvage needles according to the
width of the space between them as determined by the width of the fabric
being knit, while those needles of the third series which are not between the
selvage needles are thrown out of gear with the mechanism for operating them.
In commencing the leg of the stocking as many needles are employed as are
required to form the required numbered of stitches, and this number of
needles is made up of the two series of selvage needles, and of as many inter-
mediate needles as are required to complete the number, the whole working
as one gang. When the fabric is to be narrowed at either side, the needle
next within the selvage needles at that side is withdrawn from the fabric, and
the selvage needles are moved inwards, so that the innermost selvage needle
takes the position of the needle withdrawn, the stitch which was upon that
needle being transferred automatically to the next needle. The needles which
work between the selvage needles (whether at work or not), will herein-after
be designated as intermediate needles. The stem of each intermediate needle
bas a second groove (a³, Figure 30b) to receive the point of the transferring.
prong herein-after described, and each needle stem is secured to a needle
slide E (shown at Figure 30 of the full size). These needle slides are
arranged to slide transversely to the direction in which the carriage is moved
in a series of grooves formed in a bed d which extends from one end of the
carriage to the other. Each of these needle slides has a snug or nib b³ at
its rear end. Each needle slide has also a snug or nib b at a point inter-
mediate between its ends, by means of which it is moved to and fro in the
operation of knitting. The central snugs 6 when the needles are operating
are received in and operated by a cam groove formed in the lower side of the

page_text: needle cam bar G, which extends from one end of the machine to the other,
and is supported by the end plates thereof. The form of this groove is
shown of full size in red lines in Figure 20. The groove after extending a
certain distance from the centre x, x, of the machine divides into two branches e
and e, having a moveable switch at their intersection, which can be turned to
cause the snugs of the needle slides to traverse in either branch. When tho
machine is knitting, they traverse in the hinder branch e', but the forward
branch is useful to cause the needles to be projected forwards for inspection
and repair. The two branches of the needle cam groove are crossed by a
cross groove e³, which permits the removal of bent or broken needles, and
their replacement by perfect needles. The needles project forward from the
bed in which their slides lay, and pass through a corresponding series of grooves
in a barf which extends along the front side of the carriage, and forms a
nosing or series of orifices into which the needles are withdrawn to cast
off the loops of yarn. The grooves of this nosing have at bottom a
V-form, so that when the needles are depressed they are caused to place
themselves at equal distances apart. The travelling selvage needles of each
series are each secured to a slide F* (Figures 25 and 31), which is carried by
a separate carriage, that is mounted between the end plates of the needle
carriage, and moves with it without changing its position thereon so long
as the work produced remains of the same width, but whenever the width
of the fabric is to be narrowed at one edge the selvage needle carriage apper-
taining to that side is moved upon the needle carriage so as to change the
positions of the selvage needles carried by it. As the fabric to be made in the
present machine must be narrowed at both edges, two selvage needle carriages
B, B, are provided, and each carriage holds four selvage needles, whose stems
are bent downwards, so that the heads of the selvage needles and the parts of
their stems immediately back of their heads project in the same plane, and to
the same extent as the corresponding parts of the intermediate needles. Each
selvage needle slide has a snug b* formed upon it, which is received in a
groove e', formed in the upper side of the needle cam bar G, and shown of
full size at Figure 20, so that as the selvage needle carriages are carried along
with the needle carriage the selvage needles are caused by the oblique portions
of the cam grooves to move while knitting transversely to the length of the
needle carriage in the same manner as the intermediate needles. A second
block of metal g (Figures 2 and 7) is supported at the front side of the needle
carriage by a bar secured to the end plates thereof, this block has a series of
grooves formed in it, similar to those of the needle bed to receive and guide
the shanks or slides of the sinkers, which are represented of the full size at.

page_text: Figures 28 and 29. Below this sinker bed there is a bar e (Figures 1 and 7)
which extends from one end plate of the needle carriage to the other, overlaps
the nosing from which the needles protrude and forms the bar, against the
lower side of which the barbs of the needles are pressed by the action of
supports F, F, beneath to close them, so that when the needles are drawn
into the orifices of the nosing, they may pass through and cast off the loops
already formed. Each sinker slide has a snug c upon it which is received in
a cam groove formed in the inner face of the sinker cam bar H. This cam
bar like the needle cam bar extends from one end of the machine to the other,
and is supported by the end plates thereof, the form of its groove is shown of
the full size at Figure 18.
The movement of the selvage needle carriage in narrowing the removal of
the intermediate needles from the series at work, and the automatic trans-
ference of the stitches in the present machine are all effected substantially in
the same manner as is described in the Patent granted to Lucius P. Porter,
dated April 20th, 1859, (No. 997), L, L, being the two narrowing screws; V,
the transferring prong; S, the rock shaft of the transferring prong; and Y, the
lover which rocks this shaft. The mechanism for imparting the motions to the
members has, however, been simplified; moreover, as the knitting commences
with the present machine at the top of the leg of the stocking, and as the
width of the fabric is always changed by narrowing, it is unnecessary in this
machine to provide any means for widening the fabric automatically. In the
present machine, as in the machine described in the Patent above referred to,
each narrowing screw L is turned a quarter of a revolution to move the selvage
needle carriage the space of an intermediate needle, the pitch of these screws
being four times the distance between the centres of two adjacent needles.
In order to turn each screw a quarter of a revolution, the end of each which
passes through the end plate of the needle carriage has a ratchet wheel Rª
with four teeth secured to it, and a vibrating pawl S³ is provided to act upon
these ratchet teeth. This pawl is pivotted to an arm L', secured to a segment
of a cog wheel, which oscillates upon the shank of the screw as an arbor, and
whose teeth engage with those of a corresponding cog wheel secured to the
end of a shaft L, that is parallel with the narrowing screw; this shaft (L³)
has a longitudinal groove formed in it, and it is fitted with a sliding pinion m³
which is placed between the cheeks of a slide block J', which slides to and fro
upon the traverse bars H3 and H4, the former of which is secured to the front
edges of the end plates of the needle carriage, and the latter to the hinder
edges thereof. The sliding pinion m³ is fitted with a feather, which slides in
the groove of the shaft L, so that the shaft is caused to turn with the pinion,

page_text: whatever be the position of the latter. The slide block J¹ is perforated to
permit the narrowing screw L to pass through it, and it has a lug C depending
from it, which is fitted with an adjusting screw that is received between two
lugs projecting upwards from the selvage needle carriage B, so that when the
slide block is moved to and fro, the selvage needle carriage is moved corres-
pondingly. The selvage needle carriage is adjusted to its proper position by
turning the adjusting screw. In order that the slide block J' and the selvage
needle carriage connected with it may be moved by turning the screw L, a
segmental nut m is enclosed between the side pieces of the slide block J¹;
this nut is connected with a rock shaft s, which passes through the slide
block, and is fitted at one side thereof with a lever Y¹ controlled by a turn
catch X. By moving this lever forwards the segmental nut m may be dis-
engaged from the screw L to disengage the slide block and the carriage of the
travelling selvage needles from the mechanism for moving them, so that they
may be moved by hand along the needle carriage to any desired position, after
which the lever may be moved back to re-engage the nut with the screw,
thereby re-engaging the carriage of the selvage needles with the mechanism
for moving it, the machine therefore embodies the first part of the Invention.
The slide block J¹ carries a sliding rack T', whose teeth engage with those of
the sliding pinion m³, so that the movement of this rack transversely to the
needle carriage turns the grooved shaft L³, and through it the screw L, thereby
shifting the position of the selvage needle carriage, and operating the trans-
ferring prong, and as the slide block is connected directly (as above described)
with the carriage of the travelling selvage needles, so that the same screw
operates both, the machine embodies the second part of the Invention.
The mechanism for moving the sliding rack automatically operates upon the
same principle as the corresponding mechanism described in the aforesaid
Patent issued to Lucius P. Porter; but in order to embody the third part of
the present Invention, the moveable cam plates are arranged above the sliding
racks, which they operate upon and are depressed to operate upon the sliding
racks, instead of being raised for that purpose. There are two of these
moveable cam plates M°, M°, one for each selvage needle carriage, and each
is connected by a binged link m³ with a stationary cam bar N³, which holds
the stationary jaws no, by which the racks T are returned to their normal
positions after being moved by the moveable cam plates. Each rack is fitted
with a pin f', which projects upwards within the range of the moveable cam
plate above it when the latter is dopressed, and in order that each cam plate
may not act upon the pin of the wrong rack, one moveable cam plate is placed
nearer the front of the stationary bar N³, and the other nearer its rear edge, the

page_text: pins f, f, (Figures 3 and 6) of the two racks being placed correspondingly.
These cam plates are controlled by a pattern barrel J", which is arranged accord-
ing to the fourth part of the Invention above the needle carriage D; this pattern
barrel is secured to a shaft B, B", which is supported by two standards N³, N",
secured to the main frame, one part (B) of the shaft is formed into a screw,
which turns in a nut No, that is supported by the standard N'. This nut is
held from turning in the direction of the arrow y' (Figures 1 and 2) by a pair
of pins (Figures 1 and 2) against which a bar z', secured to the nut abuts,
so that when the pattern barrel and its shaft are turned in that 'direction, the
screw will move through the nut and carry the pattern barrel longitudinally.
In order to embody the fifth part of the Invention the nut N is permitted
to turn in the opposite direction to the arrow y'a half revolution, when its
further turning is prevented by a second pair of pins a³, x³, (Figures 2 and 4)
against which the bar Z of the nut then abuts. The effect of this turning is
to shift the pattern barrel lengthwise a distance equal to half the pitch of the
screw B, without turning it. The pattern barrel is perforated with two
helical lines of pin holes V; V, each of the same pitch as the screw B¹º, to
which patterns pins can be applied, and these holes are arranged in rows
longitudinally with the barrel at equal distances apart. The other part B° of
the shaft of the pattern barrel has a longitudinal groove formed in it, and
passes through a sleeve, which turns in the standard N³, and is fitted with a
feather which engages in the groove, so that when the sleeve is turned, the
shaft is also turned in whatever position endwise it may be. The sleeve is
fitted with a ratchet wheel R, having the same number of teeth as there are
longitudinal rows of pin holes in the pattern barrel J'; these ratchet teeth are
acted upon by a pawl S, that is pivotted to and vibrates with an elbow lever L'
which vibrates upon the sleeve as an arbor. The longer arm of the elbow
lever is connected by a rod 1s with the end of a plate L', which is pivotted to
the main frame, and has a cam groove in its inner face (shown in dotted lines
in Figure 4) in a proper position to be entered by a pin (also shown in dotted
lines) secured to the needle carriage, so that the needle carriage in moving
causes the cam plate L' to vibrate, and the latter by its connection with the
elbow lever L' moves the ratchet S³ to and fro, and turns the shaft B°, B¹º,
and pattern barrel an angular distance equal to the tooth of the ratchet wheel R³
for each double vibration of the needle carriage. The pawl S' is double-
headed (as shown at Figure 9) so that it can be turned over on its pivot by
the hand of the attendant to cause the ratchet wheel and pattern barrel with
its screw shaft to turn in the opposite direction to the arrow y', thereby also
reversing the longitudinal movenient of the pattern barrel.

page_text: In order that the pattern barrel may let down the cam plates into position
to act upon the pins of the racks T' and may raise them out of these positions,
each moveable cam plate is connected by a rod with an arm I' secured to a
rock shaft A', which is supported parallel with the axis of the pattern barrel
by standards secured to the frame of the machine. This rock shaft is fitted
with a third arm I', which projects over the pattern barrel with its end in
position to be raised by pins placed in the helical line V³ of pin holes when
the pattern barrel is turning in the direction of the arrow y'. So long as
holes containing pattern pins in them pass under the arm I³ the rock shaft A
does not rock to lower the moveable cam plates, and consequently they are
then prevented from acting upon their racks, and the selvage carriages are
not moved to narrow the work. When a hole without pin in it passes under
the arm I³ it is permitted to turn down, and the shaft A rocks, thereby
lowering the moveable cam plates M, so that they act upon the rack
pins, and the selvage needle carriages are moved inwards to narrow the
fabric. As the pattern barrel is moved by its ratchet once for each double
reciprocation of the needle carriage, and as each single reciprocation produces
a row of stitches, half as many pin holes are made in the helical line V³, as
there are to be rows of stitches in the fabric, and pins are placed in those
holes, commencing at the end a³ (Figure 2) of the pattern barrel, which
correspond with the rows where the width of the fabric is to remain unchanged,
the pins being left out of those holes which correspond with the rows of
stitches at which narrowing is to take place. The arrangement of the pins in
the second line of pin holes V' commences at the opposite end a (Figure 2)
of the pattern barrel, in accordance with the sixth part of the Invention, and
when one sheet of fabric is completed the machine is stopped, the pawl S* is
turned over to reverse the movement of the pattern barrel, the nut No is also
turned half round to change the relationship of the pattern barrel to the arm I³,
and bring the second line of pin holes under that arm when knitting the next
sheet of fabric. The employment of two lines of pin holes with the arrange-
ment for bringing each alternately into action therefore dispenses with the
necessity of turning the pattern barrel backwards by hand to the position
which it occupied when the knitting of the fabric was commenced. The
pattern barrel is also employed to stop the machine at any desired time.
The mode in which this is effected is as follows:-The rock shaft A³ is
fitted with a fourth arm L" which is connected by a rod 1° with a lug L"
projecting from the catch L³ of the belt shipper; this lug is perforated with a
slot y10 (Figures 1 and 4), in which the hooked end of the connecting rod 1°
engages so that the latter may be raised or lowered as far as pattern pins of

page_text: the regular length will move it without affecting the catch L, but when the
rod is raised by rocking the shaft A' about twice as high as its usual movement
by the ordinary pattern pins the catch L³ will be raised to release the shipper
C³ and permit the spring Pa to shift the belt to the loose pulley Ps, thereby
stopping the machine. The raising of the rod 1º, for this purpose, is
effected by the use of pattern pins of double the usual length, one of
which is inserted in each pin hole of the pattern barrel, which corresponds
with the line of stitches at which it is desired that the machine should
stop. The withdrawal of the intermediate needles next the selvage needles
when they are moved inwards on the needle carriage to narrow the fabric is
effected in the same manner as it is in the machine described in the aforesaid
Patent granted to Lucius P. Porter; P' being the sliding bar carried by the
selvage needle carriage (Figures 4, 23, 24, 26, 27,) with its block and its
narrowing driver t¹ (shown in dotted section lines in Figure 23). Each sliding
bar is fitted with a pin t which projects downwards through a transverse slot
in the selvage needle carriage into a cam groove G³ formed in the upper surface
of the needle cam bar, so that as the selvage needle carriage is carried to and
fro along with the needle carriage, the sliding bar with its driver t¹ is caused
to move transversely to the carriage, and withdraw each intermediate needle
that it is placed in position to act upon by the operation of the pattern barrel
Js and the narrowing screw L. After each sheet of fabric is completed the
selvage needles must be moved outwards to the positions they occupy when
commencing the knitting at the top of the leg of the stocking, and the inter-
mediate needles that have been withdrawn in the process of narrowing the
work must be restored to their positions in the gang of workers; the selvage
needle carriages are readily moved out by hand as herein-before described
when the machine is stopped, and in order that the withdrawn intermediate
needles may be restored to their positions by the same movement a wedge-
shaped cam plate t³ is secured to each selvage needle carriage in a position to
bear against the butts of the withdrawn intermediate needle slides which it
passes when the selvage needle carriages are moved outwards on the needle
carriage, thus shoving them forward among the workers. The withdrawn
needles are therefore restored to their positions for working by the movement
of the carriage which carries the cam plate to, which carriage is in this machine
the selvage needle carriage, and thus the machine embodies the seventh part of
the Invention. As this cam plate is inclined the last slides which remain
in contact with it when the selvage needle carriage reaches its outward
position are not pushed by it to their foremost positions; in order to push them
forward a widening driver is secured to the block of the slide bar P³,

page_text: which is caused to push these needle slides forward by a single reciprocation of
the needle carriage made after the selvage needle carriages have been moved
to their outermost places.
In order that the machine may operate when the parts are constructed as
has been described, the narrowing screw should make three movements when
narrowing is being effected, two of these taking place while the end of the
needle carriage is passing from the centre of the machine toward the adjacent
end thereof, and one while it is returning from that end of the machine, the
three movements together comprising a quarter of a revolution of the screw L..
During the first of these movements the screw is turned sufficiently to cause
the transferring prong V to enter the stitch on the needle whence it is to be
transferred, and this of course must take place before the needle is withdrawn
by the narrowing driver. The second movement is sufficient to move the
selvage needle carriage laterally the space of a needle, or in other words the
width of a stitch, so that the innermost selvage needle is caused to travel
inwards to the next needle, this movement of the screw also permits the toe
of the spring catch w (Figures 5 and 6), to rock back the heel of the prong
into the groove of the nosing (as described in said Patent granted to Lucius
P. Porter.) The third movement of the screw is sufficient to rock the prong
out of the stitch, this last movement must of course be effected after the needle
has been protruded through the stitch and the groove in the nosing by the
action of the incline in the cam groove which effects this movement. The first
párt of these movements is effected while the pin of the rack T' is passing
along the grade n³ (Figure 17) of the moveable cam plate in the direction of
the arrow applied thereto, the second while it is passing along the grade n',
and the third while it is passing in the direction of the arrow along the
stationary grade na secured to the bar N.
Although the transferring prong and the selvage needle carriage are both
operated by the turning of the screw L the selvage needle carriage must not
be moved inwards until the transferring prong has entered into the stitch to
be transferred from the intermediate needle which is to be withdrawn from the
series of workers, there must therefore be a pause in the movement of the
selvage needle carriage until the transferring prong bas secured the stitch, this
pause is produced by cam collars secured to the narrowing screw L whose
snugs operate upon inclined planes formed upon the adjacent faces of the bearing
of the screw in the end plate of the needle carriage as described in the afore-
said Patent granted to Lucius P. Porter, April 20th, 1859.
In order that the knitting may cease upon the central strip of the sheet of
fabric while the heel strips are being knit, such of the intermediate needles

page_text: In
as operate upon the central strip are thrown out of gear with the mechanism
for operating them without withdrawing their heads from the fabric.
order to effect this, in accordance with the eighth part of the Invention, the
needle bed is divided transversely into three divisions X, X, X. The two
side divisions (X, X',) being fixed to the needle carriage, and the central
division (X) being moveable thereon. The central division is fitted at its
hinder side with a pair of ears which are traversed by a shaft B, that is
supported in slotted bearings No, No, secured to the needle carriage, so that
the binder side of the central division of the needle bed may be permitted to
drop by the transverse movement of the shaft, in its slotted bearings to drop
the sungs of all the needles appertaining to it simultaneously out of the cam
groove which imparts movement to them, and at the same time that the front side
of the central division of the needle bed may turn downwards on the shaft B¹º
as a hinge pin to permit the beads of the needles to descend with the fabric
as the knitting upon the heel strips progresses. During the knitting of the
leg of the stocking down to the line d, d, Figures 33 and 34, this central
division remains in its highest position, as shown at Figures 1, 4, and 8, with
it's surface at the same level with those of the side divisions, it is held there
by means of the arm 1, which projects forward from the rock shaft B", and
is pushed up by an arm I, which projects backwards from a second rock
shaft B. The two rock shafts B", B, pass through bearings in the transverse
plates T of the needle carriage, and the latter B is fitted at one end (on the
outer side of the adjacent transverse plate T,) with a second arm I, which is
connected with the bottom plate of the needle carriage by a strong spring S³.
This second arm 1 is secured to its rock shaft B at such an angle with the
arm I', that when the latter is holding up the central division of the needle
bed, the end of the second arm is in front of a vertical line passing through
the axis of the rock shaft, so that this shaft cannot be turned to release the
central division of the needle bed without extending the spring, which is strong
enough to prevent accidental turning. When on the other hand the rock
shaft B is turned by hand to release the central division of the bed, as shown
at Figure 7, the end of the second arm I is behind the same vertical line, and
the rock shaft is therefore held in its new position by the same spring.
'
In order that the weight of the front part of the central division of the
needle bed and its needles may not drag the work downwards, it is counter-
balanced by springs, according to the ninth part of the Invention, in the
following manner :-The ends of the rock shaft Bu of the arm 1' pass through
the transverse plates T, T, and are fitted with second arms 17; 1', each of
which is on the outer side of the adjacent transverse plate T, each of these
B

page_text: second arms is connected by a spring So with the front of the needle carriage,
so that the springs acting through the rock shaft B" and its arms 1', 1', tend
to bear up the central division of the needle bed and counterbalance its weight
in part. In order to compensate the increased tension of the springs as they
are extended, the second arms I', I', are set at such an angle with the central
arm I, as shown in the Drawing, that the leverage is greatest when the
central division of the bed is in its highest position, and decreases pro-
gressively as the springs are progressively extended. Whenever the central
division of the needle bed is thrown out of gear its needles should be compelled
to descend with it and should also be prevented from sliding forward in their
grooves. As the heads of the needles are in the last row of stitches they
descend as the work upon the heel strips progresses, and bear down the front
side of the central division of the bed with them.
In order to compel the hinder ends of the needle slides to remain in their
grooves and also to prevent them from sliding forwards, the rock shaft B¹º is
provided, according to the tenth part of the Invention, with a broad hook-
formed holder H, whose edge is of the same breadth as the central division of
the needle bed, so that when the rock shaft B" is turned forward this hook
holder overlaps the hinder snugs of all the needle slides and holds them in their
places, as shown at Figure 7. When the hook holder is not operating it is
turned back as shown at Figures 6 and 8, and is held in that position by
means of a rod 75 (drawn in dotted lines in Figure 6), whose hinder end is
connected with an arm I³, secured to one end of the rock shaft B, and whose
forward end is formed into a hook which is then engaged in an eye secured
to the needle carriage. The rock shaft B10 is turned forward to cause the
hook holder to operate by means of a spring St, connected with an arm
projecting from the shaft, and it is permitted to turn when required by
disengaging the hooked rod r from its eye by hand.
.
The fabric formed by the needles passes downwards and is connected by a
sheet of cloth secured to a bar D', and by a link rod with a tension plate D³,
which is loaded with one or more removeable weights D' to apply the proper
amount of tension to the work according to its width; this tension plate
descends as the fabric is formed, and is guided by a pair of slides D' upon
which the ends of the tension plate are fitted to traverse. The fabric as it
descends must be held back out of the way of certain parts of the machine,
this is effected by a removeable rod which is held in place by two
hook-ended spring catches y³, one at each end of the rod, whose hooked ends
are engaged in notches formed in the end plates of the needle carriage. As
the fabric is upon the central needles and hangs behind the rod r at the time

page_text: the central division of the needle bed is lowered that division must be
arranged to move transversely to permit the stitches held by these needles
to remain in the same plane with the remainder of the fabric; this is effected
by the form of the slots of the bearings Ns of the shaft B10 as shown in
dotted lines in Figures 6 and 8. It will be perceived that the slots extend a
little forward of the shaft when it is raised and some distance behind it; when
therefore the shaft is dropped with the central division of the needle bed it is
free to move transversely backwards or forwards as may be required. The
machine thus embodies the eleventh part of the Invention. In order that the
row of stitches upon the needles of the central division shall remain in the same
plane with the remainder of the work the front side of the central division of
the needle bed is guided in descending by guide slots s* formed in the trans-
verse plates of the needle carriage, which slots are traversed by the rounded
ends of a bar secured to the under side of the said division. When the
knitting of the heel strips is being effected the selvages at their outer edges
are knit by the two series of travelling selvage needles which are moved
inwards (as directed by the pattern barrel) to narrow the heel strips at their
lower outer corners e, e. The inner selvages of the heel strips are knit by the
innermost intermediate needles of each side division of the needle bed
which remains in gear after the dropping of the central division. After
the heel strips are completed the machine is stopped, the central division
of the needle bed is restored to its position, and the selvage needle carriages
are moved inwards so that the needles which recommence work upon the
central strip are made up of the two sets of selvage needles and the noedles of
the central division of the needle bed, four of the stitches along the inner edge
of each heel strip being set up on the selvage needles before recommencing
work. As the knitting of this part of the fabric proceeds it is narrowed, as
required, by the operation of the pattern barrel transferring hook selvage
needles and their appurtenances as before. While the leg of the stocking is
being knit down to the line d, d, the needles are fed with yarn or thread by.
means of a single tubular thread guide while the heel strips are being knit a
second or supplementary thread guide is brought into action so that the, gang
of needles knitting each heel strip is fed by a separate thread guide. After
the heel strips are completed, and the work is recommenced upon the central
strip, the supplementary thread guide is thrown out of gear in accordance
with the twelfth part of the Invention, and the gang of needles at work on
the central strip is fed by the primary thread guide of the machine. Each
thread guide has the form of a short flattened tube, the longer axis of its
elliptic cross section being horizontal, the shank of the primary thread guide J

page_text: is secured to a carriage R which slides longitudinally on ways secured to
the front side of the sinker cam bar H. The thread guide carriage is
moved to and fro by bumpers carried by the needle carriage and acting
alternately upon the opposite sides of a snug o (Figures 6 and 7) secured to
the top of the thread guide carriage and as the thread guide to act properly must
always occupy a certain position relative to the outmost selvage needle the
bumpers which operate upon the primary thread guide carriage, when the
supplementary throad guide carriage is not in use, are controlled by the
selvage needle carriages so as to move with the travelling selvage needles
and maintain the thread guide in its proper position relatively to the outmost
selvage needles. To this end one of the bumpers M is made fast to one
of the slide blocks J₁ which is connected with one of the selvage needle
carriages, the other bumper N is secured to a hub which is mounted upon a rock
shaft B supported by brackets on the needle carriage, and this hub is received
between a pair of cheeks secured to the other slide block J which is connected
with the other selvage needle carriage, so that when the latter is moved the
bumper is caused to move with it and slide along the rock shaft. The hub
of this bumper is fitted with a feather which slides in a groove of the rock shaft
B's, so that when the latter is turned, the bumber is turned out of range of
the snug of the supplementary thread guide carriage to permit this carriage to be
moved out of the range of the bumpers and be thereby thrown out of gear. In
operating this machine the needle carriage must always be moved far enough
when narrowing is to be done to enable the moveable cam plates M' to put
in motion the narrowing mechanism, when the fabric is narrow the amount
of movement necessary for this purpose would carry the thread guide beyond
the position it should occupy when yarn is taken from it by the needles; in
order to compensate for this excess of movement of the thread guide, pro-
vision is made in this machine for returning it to its proper position in
accordance with the thirteenth part of the Invention, to this end the thread
guide carriage is provided with two spring catches y', y', which engage
alternately with the two bumpers M, N, as the needle carriage carries the
thread guide carriage beyond its proper position for feeding yarn, and retain
their hold until the thread guide carriage is returned to that proper position,
after which the spring catch is disengaged to permit the thread guide to
remain at rest until the needles have all passed it. In order to disengage
the catches at the proper times two pins (Figures 1, 2, and 6) are fitted
to slide transversely in the selvage needle carriage one behind each catch, and
a fixed cam block G³, with inclined ends is secured to the top of the sinker
cam bar H, with its ends in the proper positions to act on the pins aº, and

page_text: force them outwards against the catches at the adjacent ends of the thread
guide carriage when they are to be detached. The supplementary thread
guide J³, is also fittel to a carriage R¹, of the same construction as that of
the primary thread guide, and fitted like it with spring catches y³, yo,
to connect it with the bumpers that drive it to and fro. When not in use
it is moved by the hand of the attendant to the end of the machine, as shown
at Figures 1 and 2, where it remains at rest until it is wanted, when it is
moved towards the centre of the machine, the rock shaft B being first
partially turned to move the bumper N, and permit the snug of the supple-
mentary thread guide carriage to pass it. When both thread guides are in
operation each acts in connection with one of the gangs of needles that knits
one of the heel strips. As the outer selvage of each heel strip is formed by
the travelling selvage needles the bumpers carried by them are in proper
positions to place the thread guides for the outer edges of the heel strips.
In order to place the thread guides for the inner edges thereof, and to embody
the fourteenth part of the Invention; a supplementary bumper M' is secured
to the rock shaft B, and as the two gangs of needles which knit the heel
strips are separated by but a short space and both thread guide carriages must
therefore at times be simultaneously engaged with this bumper, it is forked as
shown at Figures 7 and 11, so that the inner catch y of the primary
thread guide may engage with the one fork, and the inner catch ys of the
supplementary thread guide with the other fork, and that the two catches
may not interfere with each other. As all the bumpers are connected either
directly with the selvage needle carriages, or indirectly with them by the rock
shaft Bs, and as the selvage needle carriages are connected with and caused
to traverse by the main needle carriage, the bumpers are combined with the
main needle carriage, and the forked bumper M', may be thrown in or out of
work as required by turning the rock shaft B. Thus when the primary
thread guide alone is operating the supplementary forked bumper is turned
upwards out of range of the thread guide carriages by turning the rock shaft
B¹s to which it is secured, when both thread guides are operating the supple
mentary bumper is turned down by turning the rock shaft B¹³. And
as the turning of this rock shaft to turn down the supplementary
bumper also turns one of the bumpers N of the selvage needle carriages
out of its position so that it cannot operate, its hub is provided with
another bumper N¹, which is turned into position to operate the thread
guide carriage when the first is turned out. The turning of the bumper
rock shaft B is effected in the present machine by the hand of the
attendant when the central division of the needle bed is raised or dropped,

page_text: and the rock shaft is held in either position in which it is placed by a spring
catch c', whose end engages in one or other of two notches formed in a
collar C, secured to the rock shaft.
In order that a tight selvage may be formed by the machine at the outer
sevages, and that the sinkers on the outer sides of the travelling selvage
needles may not interfere with the thread guides, a part of the sinkers at each
selvage are lifted substantially in the same manner as is described in the
aforesaid Patent granted to Lucius P. Porter, April 20th, 1859. Two lifters
k, k, are employed for this purpose (one for each set of travelling selvage
needles) and they are moved by the action of the cam groove c³ formed in the
face of the cam bar N³, which cam groove acts upon pins secured to the
slides of the lifters. The snugs of those sinkers which are lifted pass
through the gates s¹ (Figure 18) in the sinker cam grooves into the upper
middle branch of the sinker cam groove.
· In order to form tight selvages at the inner edges of the heel strips the
sinkers thereat are lifted in accordance with the fifteenth part of the Inven-
tion, when the supplementary thread guide is brought into operation. As,
however, narrowing does not take place at the inner selvages of the heel
strips, it is unnecessary to make provision for changing the sinkers which are
raised thereat, but advantage is taken of the position of the bumper rock
shaft B to lift all these sinkers simultaneously by the same operation which
changes the bumpers. For this purpose those sinkers S, (Figures 1, 2, 4, 6,
7, 28, 29) which are to be thus raised are made longer than the others, and
their upper ends are fitted with secondary snugs, which project forwards
towards the rock shaft B. The latter is provided with two lifting hubs k², k³,
one for each of the sets of sinkers to be lifted, and each lifting hub has a
lifting tooth projecting from it, so that when the rock shaft B is rocked to
place the central bumpers in position to act on the thread guides, the two sets
of sinkers S, S, at the inner selvages of the heel strips are simultaneously lifted
out of the gang, and become inoperative until they are again lowered. The
adjustment of the machine for knitting the heel strips and its re-adjust-
ment for resuming work on the central strip is effected while the needle
carriage is at one end of its track, a wide gate
made in the part of the sinker cam groove which is
that are to be raised, so that their snugs may pass up out of the cam groove.
It is important that the yarn extending from the last needle that is fed with
yarn to the thread guide should be depressed upon the stem of the needle, so
that it may be seized with certainty by that needle, and that the barb thereof
may not catch upon and split the yarn.
(Figure 18) is therefore
then opposite the sinkers

page_text: In preceding machines this depression of the yarn has been effected by
depressing the thread guide after the needles have passed by it. In the
present machine it is effected in accordance with the sixteenth part of
the Invention, by depressing an instrument which is not connected with the
thread guide, and is, in this instance, one of the sinkers between the thread
guide and the outermost selvage needle, while the thread guide is retained
at its usual level, and the other sinkers between the thread guide and the
selvage needle are lifted together, with a sufficient number in addition to
avoid conflict with the thread guide. To this end the lifters k, k, for lifting the
sinkers at the selvages are each made broad enough to lift the sinker between
the outer two selvage needles and nine sinkers outside thereof, and each has a
kerf q (Figures 13, 18",) of sufficient width and in the proper position to
permit the snug of the fourth sinker outside of the outmost selvage needle to
pass through it, so that this sinker is free to be depressed by its cam groove
on to the yarn extending to the thread guide, thereby depressing the yarn
upon the stem of the outmost selvage needle. An equivalent arrangement is
made for the sinkers which are at the inner selvages of the heel strips, by
using an ordinary sinker in place of one of the elongated siukers S at the
proper distance from the needle at the inside selvage of each heel strip; this
ordinary sinker being without a secondary snug, is not raised by the lifting
tooth which raises the elongated sinkers at each side of it, hence it is
depressed by the sinker groove upon the yarn extending to the thread guide
from the selvage needle at the inside edge of the heel strip.
In order that the selvage may be tight the delivery of the yarn is checked
in the present machine, while the outmost needles are receding until their
receding heads pass within the range of travel of the inner end of the thread
guide. In a preceding machine this check in the delivery is effected by
griping the yarn between jaws, one of which is formed by a pad operated by
the descent of the thread guide. In the present machine the thread guide
does not descend, hence special devices are used for griping the yarn in
accordance with the seventeenth part of the Invention. The pad j¹, which
forms one of the griping devices, is therefore secured to the lower end of an
arm, which projects downwards from a rock shaft 6 that is carried by the
thread guide carriage; this rock shaft is fitted with a spring arm s, which
tends to bear the pad away from the adjacent surface of a perforated plate j,
which is secured to the thread guide carriage, and through which the yarn is
passed, so that the pad can press against it. The pad rock shaft 6 is also pro-
vided with a second arm s", which projects upwards from it, and bears against
a slide a that passes through and slides transversely in an aperture in the

page_text: range of two cam blocks
These cam blocks are in
thread guide carriage, with its inner end within the
C, C, that are secured to the sinker cam bar H.
such positions that when the thread guide carriage is moved along in each
direction with the needle carriage, after feeding yarn to the last needles, the
slide is acted upon by the cam block then adjacent to it, and being moved
thereby rocks the pad shaft and canses the pad to press upon and gripe the
yarn, and the cam blocks are of such length that they permit the release of
the yarn as the thread guide carriage moves along, when the loops are pro-
perly formed by the needles.
The supplementary thread guide carriage R' is fitted with griping devices like
those of the primary carriage R, and one (C) of the cam blocks is in a proper
position for working them when the supplementary thread guide is at one end
of the gang of needles, which is fed, when knitting the heel strip, in order to
operate the griping devices; when the supplementary thread guide is at the other
end of the gang of needles, a third cam block C is secured to the sinker cam
bar H in a proper position for that purpose. As before stated the inner
selvages of the heel strips are knit by the innermost needles of the two side
divisions of the needle bed, and as these needles are operated by the inter-
mediate needle cam groove they will operate (if no change be made) in the
same manner while knitting the heel strips as they do while knitting the
interior of the sheet of fabric. Experience has shown that if they operate in
this manner there is a tendency to strain the yarn; in order to obviate this
tendency the machine is constructed according to the eighteenth part of the
Invention, so that the second needle at the inner selvage of each heel strip is
not drawn in to the same extent as the others. In order to effect this the
snug 6 of this needle (Figure 30*) is notched, and a sliding cam block Ve
b
(Figures 21 and 22) is inserted in the needle cam bar G. The thickness of
this cam block is equal to half the depth of the needle cam groove, and it is
controlled by a screw q³, so that it can be drawn forward (as shown at
Figures 21 and 22,) or set backward until its rear is as far back as the most
protruberant part of the needle cam groove. The sides of the grades e³, e,
are also grooved, so that they form two grades of different slope, the one
being the regular slope, and the other sloping less rapidly so as to project no
further than the sliding cam block when it is drawn forward. From this
construction of the snug of the needle (Figure 30") and of the sliding cam block,
and of the cam groove, it follows that when the cam block V⚫ is set forward
(by turning the adjusting screw q¹) the projecting part of the snug 6 passes
along the less sloping grade and along the rear of the cam block V, while the
snugs of the other intermediate needles pass along the regular grade e, hence
b

page_text: the needles (Figure 30°) which are the second needles at the inside selvages
of the heel strips, are not then drawn into their nosings as far as the
remainder of the intermediate needles. When on the other hand the sliding
cam block is set back by turning the adjusting screw q', as its rear is then in
line with the most protuberant part of the ordinary needle cam groove,
the needles (Figure 80") operated by it are drawn back to the same extent
as the other intermediate needles. The cam block V is therefore moved
forward by turning its screw, when the central division of the needle bed
is let down to adjust the machine for knitting the beel strips; and when the
central division of the needle bed is raised the cam block Ve is moved back
to its place.
In order that the barbs of the needles may be closed as they draw into the
nosing in which they lay, so as to pass through the stitches upon the needle
stems, and that these stitches may be cast off as the new stitches are drawn in
by the needles, the needles are pressed up against the bar e by supports F, F,
beneath, as they are carried over the upper edges of these supports by the
reciprocation of the needle carriage D. Each of these under supports is
constructed in two parts, one (1) of which is inside of the sinkers and effects
the raising of the needles, while the other part 5 is in front of the sinkers and
supports the needles during the feeding of yarn and the descent of the
sinkers to form the loops. In previous machines such supports have been
made adjustable vertically, but no means has been employed to render them
adjustable laterally, hence these supports.have been fitted to their exact posi-
tions by filing away the material. In the present machine they are made
adjustable laterally as well as vertically. The capacity to adjust vertically is
provided for by passing the clamp screws that secure the supports to their
stocks through vertical slots h, in which they may be moved. The lateral
adjustment is provided for, in accordance with the nineteenth part of the
Invention, by securing the stocks to a longitudinal shaft Z, along which they
may be slid, and to which they are made fast when in place by set screws 2³.
The under supports when in the proper positions for operating are much in
the way when the needles and sinkers are being adjusted, in order to enable
them to be put out of the way and replaced with facility, in accordance with
the twentieth part of the Invention; the shaft Z, to which they are secured,
is arranged to rock in its bearings b', so that the under supports can be turned
forward (as shewn in red lines in Figure 6), or turned down horizontally so
as to be out of the way, and can be turned back again to the exact places
which they should occupy during knitting. In order that they may be held
in-their places the support shaft.(Z) is fitted with an arm 2, whose inside

page_text: '
face bears against the face of one of the longitudinal bars of the main frame
of the machine; when the supports are in place for knitting, and this arm has
a slot in it, which passes over a projection from the frame of the machine to
which a turning button 9" is affixed, so that when the button is turned cross-
wise to the slot the shaft Z' is prevented from turning and the supports are
held in place. When they are to be turned forward the button is turned so
that the slot in the arm will pass over it. In knitting on this machine it is
convenient to make use of a sheet of coarse cloth to connect the knit fabric
with the tension plate D. This sheet of cloth is cut in such manner that its
selvage is horizontal and uppermost, and is equal in length with the breadth
of the sheet of fabric to be knit, or longer than that; its lower edge is sewed
upon the bar D', which is connected by links with the tension plate Dr. A
portion, say, six of the horizontal threads are drawn from the cloth a little
below the selvage, leaving a few horizontal threads at the selvage, and a
space below it formed by vertical threads alone. In commencing to knit this
piece of cloth is thrust upon the needles whose heads pass through between
the vertical threads at this space, and the needle carriage is traversed once to
cause the needles to draw the selvage of the cloth into their barbs. Then the
needle carriage is traversed a second time, during which a thread of sewing
silk is fed by hand to the needles, after which the yarn from the thread guide
is applied to the first needle in the series, and the machine set to work. The
effect of this proceeding is that the knit fabric is connected with the sheet of
cloth by the silk thread, and is readily disconnected from it by pulling out the
silk thread by hand.
In the knitting of stockings coarser yarn is generally used to knit the heels
than for the remainder of the stocking, hence in using the machine three cops
of yarn are employed, two of coarser yarn while knitting the heel strips, and
one of finer yarn while knitting the remainder of the sheet of fabric. These
cops may stand upon the floor of the room, the cop of fine yarn in front of
the centre of the machine, and the coarser two at either side of it. When the
fine yarn is used it is conducted through a stationary thread guide Z to the
primary thread guide carriage, and when the coarser yarn is used each thread
of it is conducted through a lateral stationary thread guide Z³ to the thread
guide carriage that feeds for the heel strip at that side of the machine. In
knitting stockings it is found convenient to arrange the pins of the pattern
barrels of some machines so as to knit the sheet of fabric, whose form is
represented at Figure 34, and to employ these machines only for doing this
part of the work the pins of the pattern barrels of other machines are then
arranged to knit the sole strips G from fif, to the toe 9, 9,. Figure 36, and

page_text: these machines are employed only for doing this part of the work. This mode
of conducting the work saves time in adjusting the machine, and one machine
working on sole strips can finish the work produced by two or three of the
other machines.
Although the machine thus described embodies all the improvements
which constitute the subject matter of this Patent, the Invention is not limited
to such machine, as parts of the Invention may be applied with advantage to
other knitting machines, as, for example, to those in which only a part of the
movements of the machine in knitting are effected automatically; parts of
the Invention may also be used without other parts thereof. Nor is the
Invention limited to a knitting machine of the precise construction of parts
herein described, or to the precise mode of imparting the requisite motions to
parts thereof, as these may be varied as circumstances may render expedient
to suit particular cases, or the views of different constructors or manufacturers,
or to adopt the machine to the knitting of particular forms of fabric. Thus,
for example, the central division of the needle bed may be fixed, and one
or both side divisions may be arranged to drop, or one lateral division of the
needle bed may be arranged to drop, and the remainder to remain fixed.
Or if necessary the needle bed may be divided into divisions all of which are
arranged to drop so that any one or more may be dropped while the remainder
are retained in their normal positions. When such modifications are made
in the needle bed, the other parts of the machine must of course be suitably
modified to correspond.
A knitting machine constructed in the best manner known to the Inventor
having been thus described, what is claimed as the Invention to be secured by
Letters Patent, is,―
.
First, the combination of the carriage of a travelling needle in a knitting
machine with the mechanism for moving it past the other needles of
the machine in such manner that it can be readily disengaged from said
mechanism and re-engaged therewith, substantially as set forth.
Second, the combination of the instrumentality through which the pattern
mechanism operates upon the travelling needle (or upon the instrumentalities
for withdrawing or replacing the regular needles), with the carriage of said
needle (or of said instrumentalities), substantially as set forth.
Third, the arrangement of the moveable cam plates in a knitting machine
above the devices which they operate upon, substantially as set forth.
Fourth, the arrangement of the pattern mechanism of a knitting machine
above the needle carriage, substantially as set forth.
.

page_text: .
Fifth, the combination of the pattern barrel of a knitting machine with
mechanism for changing its relationship to the device upon which its pins
operate, substantially as set forth.
Sixth, the arrangement of the pins of a pattern barrel in two helical lines
commencing at the opposite ends of the barrel, substantially as set forth.
Seventh, the combination of a cam for restoring the withdrawn needles
with a carriage, substantially as set forth.
Eighth, a needle bed divided into divisions, which are so combined
with the machine that a division may be displaced and replaced, substantially
as set forth.
"
Ninth, the combination of a removable division of the needle bed
with instrumentalities for counterbalancing its weight, substantially as set
forth.
$
Tenth, the combination of a removeable division of the needle bed with a
needle holder, substantially as set forth.
Eleventh, the combination of a removeable division of the needle bed
with its support by devices which permit a transverse movement, substantially
as set forth.
Twelfth, the combination of a series of reciprocating needles with two
thread guides, one of which can be thrown out of gear when a single strip
of work is being knit, the whole operating substantially as set forth.
Thirteenth, the combination of the thread guide carriage with catches that
connect and disconnect it with the mechanism for imparting motion to it,
substantially as set forth.
Fourteenth, the combination of the needle carriage with two sets of bumpers a
for operating two thread guides, substantially as set forth.
Fifteenth, the combination of the sinkers at the inner side of a division
of the needle bed which remains in place with a lifter, substantially as set
forth.
Sixteenth, the depression of the yarn between the thread guide, and the
last needle fed with yarn by an instrumentality which is separate from the
thread guide and effects the depression, substantially as set forth.
Seventeenth, the combination of the thread guide carriage with devices for
gripping the yarn, which are independent of the thread guide.
Eighteenth, the combination of the needle cam bar with a moveable cam &
block operating to withdraw one of the needles to a less extent than the other,
substantially as set forth.
Nineteenth, the combination of the under supports of the needles of a

page_text: knitting machine with devices which permit their adjustment laterally,
substantially as set forth.
Twentieth, the combination of the stocks of the under supports with a rock
shaft, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Second day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)