Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
We, WILLIAM TYLER, of King Street, Leicester, Hosiery Manufacturer, and
JOHN WILLIAM SMITH, of 86, Noble Street, Leicester, Mechanic, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention has reference to rotary or power knitting machines of the straight
bar type in which latch needles are employed.
The object of the invention is to combine therewith certain mechanism, as here-
inafter referred to, by means of which patterned fabrics, mainly such as are
applicable for knitted gloves, may be produced.
The invention may be applied to a machine of the type mentioned in which are
employed two sets of latch needles, the one set intercalating the other set at right
angles, as in the production of ribbed fabrics.
A set of thread guides is employed equal in number and gauge to one set of
needles.
These thread guides are each provided with a separate thread and are adapted
to pass along the back of the needles, through or between and also in front of the
needles to lay their threads over certain pre-determined needles to produce a
desired pattern.
These thread guides are carried on a rod having bearings in the front of the
machine the said rod being shogged laterally a distance of one or more needles,
determinable in accordance with the pattern to be produced.
The said rod derives its shogging motion in one direction from a lever bearing
one end there against and the other end of which bears against a pattern surface.
The said rod is returned to its original position i.e. shogged in the opposite
direction by a spring which maintains it in contact with the said lever.
The said rod is also provided with a rocking motion which causes the thread
layers to pass between the needles and this latter motion is obtained by means of
a cam and suitable intermediate levers or mechanism between it and the thread
guide rod.
'
The levers actuating the thread guides carrying rod may be moved into an
inoperative position by means of stops or projections on a disc actuated through a
ratchet and clawker- by one or more revolving chains with stops or dogs thereon.
and
or
Sinkers for engaging and holding down the work may be employed and actuated
by cams movable on bars on the front of the frame.
Dated this 5th day of October 1897

page_text: improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
We, WILLIAM TYLER, of King Street, Leicester, Hosiery Manufacturer, and
JOHN WILLIAM SMITH, of 86, Noble Street, Leicester, Mechanic, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention has reference to rotary or power knitting machines of the straight
bar type in which latch needles are employed.
The object of the invention is to combine therewith certain mechanism, as here-
inafter referred to, by means of which patterned fabrics, such as are applicable
for knitted gloves, and other purposes may be produced.
The invention will be understood from the following further description in
reference to the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of so much only of a straight bar knitting machine
with our improvements attached as is necessary to illustrate the invention.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of a part of a division of the said knitting machine
showing a few of the needles and thread guides.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the last figure showing a thread guide in its
normal position at the back of the needle.
Figure 4 is a similar view showing the thread guide moved to the front of the
needle.
Figure 5 is an elevation of the end of the knitting machine showing the
mechanism for actuating the thread guide carrying bar.
Figure 6 is an elevation of the same mechanism taken from the opposite side
thereof.
The invention is shown as applied to a straight bar knitting machine having two
sets of latch needles A and B the one set intercalating the other at right angles
as is requisite in the production of ribbed fabrics.
As the construction and operation of these two sets of needles and their usual
co-operating parts are well known in the trade no further description is necessary
nor will be hereinafter given of them than is requisite to render the invention.
clearly understandable.
For the purpose of producing patterned fabrics there is combined with the needles
a set of thread guides C equal in gauge and if desired in number to the needles.
Each of these guides provided with a separate thread or yarn D Figure 3.
generally of different colour and at times it lays its thread at the front of the
needles and at other times at the back of the needles according to whether such
coloured yarn is to appear at the face of the fabric in course of production or not.
Each separate thread for the guides comes from an independent bobbin which
may be either carried on the usual bobbin frame of the machine or be placed upon
the ground at the back of the frame and led therefrom to the needles in any con-
venient manner.
These thread guides, in the particular construction shown are cut out of and
integrally with a brass plate C¹ which is attached by screws C2 to a horizontal bar E
stretching across the front of the machine and having bearings in brackets F
connected by screws F¹ one to each of the end standards G and others at intervals
fixed to some part of the framing.
This bar carrying the thread guides has at times a shogging or longitudinal
movement for the purpose of causing the guides to move along either in front of
or behind a certain predetermined number of needles to cause the said guides
to lay their threads in front of or at the back of such needles and at other times the

page_text: said bar, has a rocking motion so as to tilt the guides into the position shown in
Figure 4, and cause them to pass between certain of the needles from the front to
the back of the latter as desired.
The longitudinal movement of the guide carrying bar is effected through the
medium of a lever H and a rotating pattern wheel J as hereinafter described.
The upper end of the lever is furnished with an adjusting screw H' against which
the guide carrying bar E is maintained pressing, by means of a spiral spring E¹
attached one end to the said bar and the other end to the side of the bracket
bearing F.
The lever H is centred in an arm K screwed at K¹ to the standard G and its
lower end is in contact with the varying surface of the pattern wheel J being kept
in contact therewith by means of the spring governed bar E which normally
presses the upper end of the lever outwardly.
The pattern wheel is mounted on an axle L having bearings in the end standard
and derives its motion from a ratchet wheel M fixed at the side of it on the same
axle and driven by a clawker M¹ loosely pivotted at M² to a lever N fulcrummed
at N¹ to the end standard G and swung to and fro on its centre so as to impart a
reciprocating motion to the clawker, by means of a connecting rod O attached one
end in a slot N2 in the bottom end of the said lever and the other end eccentrically
to the face of a disc P on the end of the driving shaft R located across the front
of the machine.
The clawker M¹ is maintained in contact with its ratchet wheel by means of a
spiral spring M³ one end of which is fastened thereto and the other end to a hook
on the axle L.
The rocking motion of the guide carrying bar is effected through the medium
of a link S fixed by a set screw S¹ to the end of the said bar and attached at its
opposite end to a vertical connecting rod T fastened by a pin and cottar connection
to a horizontal lever U which is fulcrummed at one end to an arm U¹ screwed
to the standard G and provided near one end with a truck or roller U2 which by
means of a spring U3 pulling the lever downwards keeps the said truck in contact
with the peripheral edge of a cam wheel V revolving on an arbor V having its
bearing in the end standard and carrying also a spur wheel W engaging a small
toothed wheel X on the driving shaft from which it derives its motion.
The cam wheel is furnished with one or more depressions V2 according to the
pattern desired, and when the roller U2 enters one of these depressions, the lever U,
connecting rod T, and one end of the link S are lowered and the latter rocks the
guide carrying bar as herein before described so that the thread guides are pushed
between the needles to the front of the latter as in Figure 4.
The extent and frequency of the depressions in the cam wheel are variable and
determinable according to the pattern of the fabric to be produced.
Immediately the truck U2 enters a depression in the cam wheel and thereby
causes the guides to move between the needles to the front thereof, as indicated in
Figure 4, a projection on the pattern wheel simultaneously presses outwards the
bottom end of the lever H in contact therewith so that the upper end of the
latter shogs the guide bar E to the right a distance of one, two or more needles
according to the extent to which the projections J¹ stand out from the face of the
pattern wheel, by which action the guides take their threads along in front of such
needles.
Immediately the shogging movement of the guide bar stops, the roller leaves
the depression and again mounts the edge of the cam wheel, which action raises
the lever U, connecting rod T, link S and causes the guides to pass between the
needles from the front to the back thereof into their normal position, as in
Figure 3 thereby wrapping their threads round the needles.
The guides by means of the spring E¹ will thereupon be pulled in the opposite
or left hand direction one or more needles according to the extent to which the
next succeeding projection on the pattern wheel projects from the face thereof.
An shaped arm Y attached at its upper end to the lever U passes under a pin

page_text: on the clawker M₁ so that when it is desired to place the patterning mechanism
out of action for making ordinary ribbed fabric, merely raising the lever U to
lift the roller U2 above the action of the cam wheel Y also simultaneously raises
the clawker M¹ out of operation with the ratchet wheel M.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. In a straight bar knitting machine of the latch needle type, for the manu-
facture of patterned fabrics, the combination, with the latch needles of a series
of thread guides, a carrying bar to which the said guides are fixed, a lever such as H
and pattern wheel J for shogging the said carrying bar and its guides longitudinally
in one direction and a spring for moving the said bar and its guides in the
opposite direction substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a straight bar knitting machine of the latch needle type, for the manu-
facture of patterned fabrics the combination with the latch needles of a series of
thread guides, a carrying bar for the said guides and mechanism for moving it
lengthwise in opposite directions, of a cam wheel such as V and mechanism between
the latter and the said carrying bar to rock the latter and cause the thread guides
to pass between the needles substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In a straight bar knitting machine of the latch needle type for the manufac-
ture of patterned fabrics, the combination with the latch needles, of a series of
thread guides for the same, mechanism for moving the said guides to and fro
lengthwise, and a cam wheel V, lever U, connecting rod T, and link S connected to
the guide carrying bar E for rocking the latter and causing the thread guides to
pass between the needles prior to moving along in front of or behind the latter
substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. In a straight bar knitting machine of the latch needle type, for the manu-
facture of patterned fabrics the improved mechanism consisting of the combination
and arrangement of parts operating substantially in the manner and for the
purpose described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 5th day of July 1898.
Witness:
-
WILLIAM TYLER.
E. N. LEWIS,
Berridge Street Chambers, Leicester.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.