IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES AND IN FABRICS MANUFACTURED THEREBY
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES AND IN FABRICS
MANUFACTURED THEREBY communicated to him from abroad by Auguste
Bonamy of St Just-en-Chaussée (Oise) France
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th November 1883.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London "IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES
AND IN FABRICS MANUFACTURED THEREBY," [A communication to him. from
abroad by Auguste Bonamy of St Just-en-Chaussée (Oise) France]
This invention relates to circular knitting machines having automatic needles,
and to fabrics manufactured thereby.
In circular knitting machines used for ribbed or plain work and serving for the
manufacture of articles included under the name of hosiery, the use of automatic
needles necessitates the exertion of a very considerable tension upon the fabric in
order that the mesh or stitch should be well formed and that the said fabric should
not rise with the needles when the latter come out of the combs.
This tension effected by some kind of winding apparatus is often injurious when
threads which are hard, or of inferior quality, are employed, and it also prevents
the execution of certain designs produced by means of combined meshes or
stitches.
The object of the present invention is to obviate the above defects.
According to the said invention I form a prolongation upon the head of the
cylinder which is divided as usual in order to receive the needles.
In the portion of solid material situated between the said divisions, I form
grooves, in which I place the sinkers which form the essential feature of this
invention.
When the needles are raised the said sinkers are in a forward position but when
the needles are lowered to seize the thread in order to form fresh meshes or stitches
D

page_text: the sinkers are withdrawn. When the meshes or stitches are formed these sinkers
return to their original position, so that the meshes or stitches are seized under the
beaks of the sinkers and the needles can be raised without carrying the fabric
away with them. It is owing to the meshes or stitches being constantly held
under the beaks of the sinkers that the knitting can be effected without having to
exert any tension upon the fabric. The advance and withdrawal of the sinkers is
effected by means of two cams the sinuosities of which are so arranged as to cause
the movements of the said sinkers to take place at the proper time. These two
cams which are integral with each other are fixed, whereas the cylinder rotates
and carries in its movement the sinkers and needles. When the machine is to be
used for producing plain work, the upper part of the machine used for ribbed work
is suppressed.
One of the principal applications of the above described mechanism consists in
making hems or reversals of edges which can be made of indefinite length and cut
at their bases in the same manner as hems made upon rectilinear machines. In
order to make such hems it is sufficient to arrest at a given time the action of the
horizontal needles. The result being that, the machine continuing to rotate, the
vertical needles will be the only ones seizing any thread and will produce a portion
of the fabric which may have any length required.
When the two sets of needles are again put in their places to operate together
and produce an ordinary ribbed fabric, the said portion of the fabric will be
connected with the ribbed fabric and form a long hem.

page_text: Figure 2 is a plan of the same
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line e, f, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 1, illustrating the production of hems.
In order to better illustrate the details of the said machine, the above figures
have been drawn to an enlarged scale.
Generally the head of the cylinder, in a circular knitting machine, terminates
externally as indicated by the line B, but I form a prolongation or extension B, C,
upon the head of the cylinder, which is divided as usual at V, V₁, V₁, vui to
receive the needles as shewn in Figures 2 and 3.
In the solid parts between the divisions, I form grooves R, R¹, R", R, Figure 3,
in which grooves I place the plates or sinkers K which constitute the essential
feature of this invention and which operate as follows, that is to say:-When the
sinkers K are at rest, they occupy the forward position shown in Figure 1, but
the moment the needles H₁ are lowered to seize the thread in order to form fresh
meshes or stitches, the sinkers K are drawn back to the position indicated by the
dotted lines, and when the meshes or stitches are formed, the said sinkers return
to their original position, so that the meshes or stitches are seized under the beaks
of the sinkers and the needles H can be raised without carrying the fabric with
them. By reason of the constant retention of the meshes or stitches under the
beaks X of the sinkers K, the knitting can be effected without any tension being
caused upon the fabric. The advance and withdrawal of the sinkers K, Figure 1,
and K, K, K, K¹, Figure 2, are effected by means of an outer cam M and an
inner cam N, Figures 1 and 2, the sinuosities of which cams are so arranged as to
cause the movements of the said sinkers at the proper time. These two cams
which are rigidly united are fixed, whilst the cylinder A rotates and carries with
it the needles H' and sinkers K, Figure 1. When the machine is to be used for
producing plain work, the upper part of the machine used for ribbed work is
dispensed with.

page_text: The above described application can be made to any number of devices upon one
machine.
One of the principal applications of the above described mechanism consists in
making hems or reversals of edges, which can be made of indefinite length and cut
at their bases in the same manner as hems made upon rectilinear machines. In
order to make such hems it is sufficient to arrest, at a given time, the action of
the horizontal needles H, Figure 4, the result being that, the machine continuing
to rotate, the vertical needles H' will be the only ones seizing the thread and will
produce a portion of the fabric R which may have any length required. When the
two sets of needles H and H' are again put in operation together to produce the
ordinary ribbed fabric, the said portion R of the fabric will be connected with
the ribbed fabric and form a long hem as seen at T', and the fabric may be cut
at T
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
Foreign Correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim :-
First. The application at the head of the cylinders of a circular knitting machine
used for the production of ribbed or plain work, of auxiliary movable sinkers
baving for their object to permit the knitting to be effected without tension upon
the fabric, the upper part of the machine for producing ribbed work being dispensed
with when it is desired to produce plain work.
Second. The application of the above described mechanism to the making of
folded hems of any desired length.
Third. The novel products which I obtain by means of the improved machines
above described.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twenty third day of May in the year of Our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty four
WM RORT LAKE Gol