Im- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN.
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hancock, of Holland House, Hyson Green,
in the Town and County of Nottingham, for the Invention of “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY
EMPLOYED THEREIN.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hancock at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th February 1874.
I, JOHN HANCOCK, of Holland House, Hyson Green, in the Town and
County of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS, AND IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
In the manufacture of stockings and such like knitted fabrics
according to this Invention I knit them in a tubular form, and also
shaped or fashioned, and at the same time I form them with a mock
seam running down them whilst the fashioning is made at a distance of
a few loops on either side of this seam to resemble stockings which have

page_text: •
Each
been made on rotary or flat frames and have afterwards been seamed
together down the middle. To effect this I employ two opposite straight
rows of needles slightly inclined to one another so that the work may
pass down freely between them, and the thread layers I cause to pass
around the two rows of needles so as to produce a tubular fabric.
needle is mounted upon a needle bit or plate which is received in a
groove in a needle carrier. Each needle carrier rests at its lower end
upon an axis so that any of them can be turned back on this axis and
the needles carried by them be so moved out of the line of the other
needles and thereby thrown out of action. Each carrier is formed as
in some other knitting machines of two plates of metal with a groove
between them in which is received the plate or needle bit which carries
the needle. The stem of cach needle bit I make of sufficient length to
pass
down through a slot or recess formed through a bend or angle made
near the centre of each carrier. By this means the needle bit is always
retained in its proper place in the carrier. When the bit is in its lowest
position a projection upon it comes down on to a stop on the carrier.
The needle bit has a projection standing out from it to be acted upon by
a traversing cam, and by this means the needles are raised in succession
to have a thread laid on to them by a thread layer and again lowered to
cause the loop of work previously hanging on the stem of the needle to
be slipped off from it. Either latch or bearded needles may be used.
At one end of the two rows of needles I place a single bearded needle
to form the mock seam; this needle is caused to rise and fall like the
other needles by means of one or other of the traversing cams and has a
presser plate acting with it; this presser plate may either be con-
tinuously held in position to close the beard and cause the work to be
knocked over at each course whenever it is not desired to form a mock
seam, or it may be moved out of the way at every alternato course
whenever this seam is to be produced.
The cam piece employed for raising and lowering the needles has a
to-and-fro motion given to it, and in it is a V shaped groove into which
the projections on the needle bits enter, and as the cam piece is moved
to and fro the needle bits are in succession raised by this cam groove
and again lowered. There is one such cam piece employed for each row
of needles.
To lay the threads on to the needles I prefer to employ two thread
layers acting simultaneously to lay threads on to the two opposite rows

page_text: of needles and each acting alternately with the two rows so as to pass in
a continuous course around them but in opposite directions. The cam
picces employed for raising and lowering the needles may thus be
allowed to act both in their forward and backward strokes in place of in
onc direction only as heretofore. The two cam pieces employed for
acting upon the two rows of needles are also caused to move simul-
taneously in the same direction, but one somewhat in advance of the
other, so that the needles in the two opposite rows may not interfere
with one another as they are raised. As cach of the thread layers arrives
at either end of its course it comes against an incline which turns it
somewhat around the bar that carries it and moves it from being in
front of one row of needles to a position in front of the other row, and
thus as each thread layer is traversed to and fro it is caused to pass con-
tinuously around both rows of needles. Such of the needle bits as are
constantly in use and are not required at any time to be thrown out of
action may be received in tricks or grooves in a metal plate in place of
cach needle bit having a separate carrier.
The stocking or other work to be produced is commenced at its
narrowest width, and as the work progresses and it is desired to widen it
the needle employed for making the mock scam together with three,
four, or other desired number of needles next to it in cach row is shogged
a distance of one needle away from the others and a fresh needle carrier
is caused to fill in the gap so formed in each row and thus widen the
work. To effect this I employ a pair of pushers, one for each row, and
these pushers are caused continuously to move towards and away from
one another and from the two rows of needles by means of a pair of star-
shaped revolving cams. As the needle for forming the mock seam and
the end needles which move with it are shogged away from the other
needles the pushers are also carried sidewise with them and so are
brought into position, each to act upon a fresh needle carrier, which up
to this time had been turned back out of the way and the pushers at
their next forward movement turn these needle carriers into a position
to bring the needles carried by them into a line with the other needles
and fill in the gaps previously formed.
In order to control the movement of the end needles away from the
others I employ a sliding bar upon which are brackets which hook over
the lower ends of the carriers of these needles. The bar has also other
brackets upon it to control the position of the pushers before mentioned
2

page_text: and move them together with the end needles. The traverse of the
thread eyes or layers is also simultaneously adjusted by the stops which
control their movement, being also shifted by another bracket or arm
extending from the bar. The movement of the bar itself may be con-
trolled by a toothed rack upon it being geared with a pinion, having
upon its axis a ratchet wheel into which a pawl is caused to engage, the
pawl itself being carried by a lever to which a rising and falling motion
is given at the required times by a revolving cam or pattern wheel
whenever the work is to be widened.
In order that whenever a fresh needle is introduced into each of the
rows of needles a hole may not be formed in the work I introduce a
point in the preceding course between the needles where the gap is to
be formed so as to take a loop of the thread which is then laid on to the
needles and subsequently cause the point to transfer this loop on to the
fresh needle. The point is for this purpose so formed that when it has
received a loop of thread and has been moved a distance sidewise the
loop upon it is inclined into a suitable position for the newly introduced
needle to rise up through it.
The several parts of the machine herein-before described may have
motion given to them from a revolving shaft as in ordinary rotary
knitting frames, and may be driven either by power or hand,
A flat frame to produce plain flat fashioned work may also be con-
structed in a similar manner to the machine herein-before described, ono
row of needles only being used and the fashioning being performed at
both ends; it may also be arranged to produce ribbed work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Hancock in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HANCOCK, of Holland House, Hyson Green, in the Town and County of a
Nottingham, send greeting.

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Hancock, Her special
license that I, tho said John Hancock, executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Hancock, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED
THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Hancock, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Hancock, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, 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 :-
In the manufacture of stockings and such like knitted fabrics according
to this Invention 1 knit them in a tubular form, and also shaped or
fashioned, and at the same time I form them with a mock scam running
down them, whilst the fashioning is made at a distance of a few loops on
either side of this seam to resemble stockings which have been made on
rotary or flat frames, and have afterwards been seamed together down the
middle. To effect this I employ two opposite straight rows of needles
slightly inclined to one another, so that the work may pass down freely
between them, and the thread layers I cause to pass around the two rows of
needles so as to produce a tubular fabric as has heretofore been proposed.
Each needle is mounted upon a needle bit or plate which is received in
a groove in a needle carrier. Each needle carrier (which is concerned
in the fashioning of the fabric) rests at its lower end upon an axis, so
that any of them can be turned back on this axis, and the needles carried
by them be so moved out of the line of the other needles, and thereby
thrown out of action. Each carrier is formed of two plates of metal

page_text: with a groove between them in which is received the plate or needle bit
which carries the needle. The stem of cach needle bit I make of
sufficient length to pass down through a slot or recess formed through a
band or angle made near the centre of each carrier. By this means the
needle bit is always retained in its proper place in the carrier. When
the bit is in its lowest position a projection upon it comes down on to a
stop on the carrier. The needle bit has a projection standing out from it
to be acted upon by a traversing cam, and by this means the needles are
raised in succession to have a thread laid on to them by a thread layer,
and again lowered to cause the loop of work previously hanging on the
stem of the needle to be slipped off from it. Either latch or bearded
needles may be used.
At one end of the two rows of needles I place a single bearded needle
to form the mock scam; this needle is caused to rise and fall like tho
other needles by means of one or other of the traversing cams, and
has a presser plate acting with it. This presser plate may either be
continuously held in position to close the beard, and cause the work to
be knocked over at cach course whenever it is not desired to form a
mock scam, or it may be moved out of the way at every alternate course
whenever this seam is to be produced.
The cam piece employed for raising and lowering the needles has a to-
and-fro motion given to it, and in it is a V shaped groove into which the
projections on the needle bits enter, and as the cam piece is moved to
and fro the needle bits are in succession raised by this cam groove and
again lowered. Thero is one such cam piece employed for each row of
needles.
To lay the threads on to the needles I prefer to employ two thread
layers acting simultaneously to lay threads on to the two opposite rows
of needles, and each acting alternately with the two rows so as to pass
in a continuous course around them but in opposite directions. The 3
cam pieces employed for raising and lowering the needles may thus be
allowed to act both in their forward and backward strokes in place of in one
direction only as heretofore. The two cam picces employed for acting upon
the two rows of needles are also when two thread layers are in operation as
above stated caused to move simultaneously in the same direction, but 3
one somewhat in advance of the other, so that the needles in the two
opposite rows may not interfere with one another as they are raised.

page_text: Another link & connects the upper end of the lever d with the bar c,
which is thus caused to slide longitudinally through the guides on the
frame in which it is mounted.
e¹ and e, Figure 2, are round shafts sliding to and fro in bearings on
the frame; they are connected by an arm e³ with the bar c at one end.
The arm is received between adjustable stops on the shafts, so that the
shafts are able to rock when necessary; thus when the bar c moves
to and fro it carries the bars e¹ and e³ with it. The shafts e¹ and e* are
coupled together by arms and e, which are connected by a link e', and
the shafts also carry inclined planes e² and e³, Sheet 2, which impart an
up-and-down motion to the hooks or needles for the making of the work.
f, f, are the needles; those shewn in the Drawings are latch needles.
Each of them is mounted on a needle bit f¹, which is received into a
groove or space provided for it between the two side plates of a needle
carrier fr. The groove is open at the outer side except at the bottom,
where it is closed to guide the lower end or stem of the needle bit.
Each needle bit also has a projection f*, by which the incline e' or e³ acts
upon it. The needles are arranged in two rows, as they are represented
in Figure 3, which shows them with the parts connected with them as
they would appear in a transverse sectional view of the machine. The
needle carriers rest upon two round bars g, g, fixed to the frame of the
machine. Each of the needles concerned in the widening of the fabric
is provided with a separate needle carrier f. These needles are near the
ends of the two rows of needles (to the right of Figure 1), but they are
not the extreme needles. Four or five needles beyond them to the right
I always have in use, and the needle bits of these needles have not
separate carriers but the carriers are fixed together, forming a sort of
guido comb, for the several needle bits. The needles to the left of thic
narrowing needles also do not require independent carriers, and aro
mounted in a comb, so that in cach row of needles (the back row and
the front row) there are two sets of needles in combs, and between these
sets are the widening needles, each with a separate carrier.
The dotted lines in Figure 3 show the positions in which the widening
needles are placed when they are required to remain out of work, and
guides are shewn, which hold them in their place. The needles in combs
do not turn back in this manner on the bars 9, 9. The main combs aro
fixed rigidly to these bars, but the smaller combs to the right of the
narrowing needles are able to move along the bars in order to accom.
I

page_text: modate a greater or lesser number of the narrowing needles between the
main and the outer combs.
The inclines e and e' acting against the projections f* raise the
needles up, each in succession, in order to receive the thread from the
thread layer, which is marked in Figure 3, and then the incline draws
down the needle again so as to knock over the loop of the work which
hangs upon the needle stem. The top of the needle carrier serves to
support the last loop of the work, whilst the needle draws back through
it, and the upper edge of the needle carrier serves to sink the thread,
the needles retiring below this edge to the extent necessary to form
loops in the thread of the requisite length to make the next row of
stitches.
It will be observed that the top edge is removed from one of the side
plates of cach needle carrier, one edge only being required to act as a
sinker., 2, 1, h, are the thread carrier bars; the thread layers are
fixed to them, and they are mounted so as to be able to slide in a
frame i, which is capable of rocking about a centre at for two purposes,
first, in order to change the thread layers, bringing one or the other of
them into working position as may be required, and second, in order to
carry the thread layer which is in use from the front to the back row of
needles, and vice versa.
The motion for changing the thread layer is communicated by pattern
wheels as follows:-The frame i has fixed upon it an arm ³ having a
stud at its end, which is embraced by the fork at the end of the lover k,
which is suspended by its upper end. A projection upon the lever / is
received between the two cams F, P. These cams correspond the one
with the other, and thus are geared together by spur wheels.
By these
cams the lever is caused to incline sometimes to one side sometimes
to the other, and the lever holds the frame i in a corresponding
position.
If there be four thread layers, as the Drawings shew, the cams may
hold the lever at different times in four different positions, and in each
position one of the thread layers will be ready to work, and the other
three out of the way, either to the front or the back of the needles. The
fork of the lever does not fit the stud on the arm closely, but leaves
sufficient freedom to enable the frame i to tip far enough to carry the
thread carrier, which is in work from the front to the back of the

page_text: needles. For this purpose an arm mounted on the axis of the
frame i; it is not fixed upon it, but holds it by friction sufficient to
communicate with certainty the requisite rocking motion to the frame i,
but nevertheless the cams 7, 1, are free to act as above described by
overcoming the friction of the arm ³ on its axis. There is a stud at tho
outer end of the arm which enters an eccentric slot in the lever 7.
This lever has its fulcrum m³, and in its further end is a notch, with
which a sliding piece » mounted on the bar c engages. These parts aro
shewn to a larger scale on Sheet 2. The bar c has two pins 1, 1, fixed
to it, and these pass through two zig-zag slots n¹, n, in the slider;
and n³ and two projections upon the slider. When the bar c travels to
the left hand, carrying the slider n upon it, as it approaches the end of
its motion the projection n² comes against a fixed stop, and the bar still.
moving on a short distance the pins 1, 1, fixed in it move along the
incline grooves and draw down the slider, bringing its upper edge
to the bar c. The slider being engaged with the lever m, and this in
turn with the arm the frame i is rocked, and the acting thread layer.
brought from tho back to the front, or vice versa. When the bar c
moves to the right the action is similar but reversed, the projection n³
then coming against another stop, which however is not permanently
fixed, but moves with the widening apparatus to which it is attached..
The way in which the cams and are actuated is as follows:-They
are geared together as already mentioned, and the axis of the cam & is.
also geared with a spur wheel on an axis o, which also carries a ratchet
wheel o¹. This wheel is driven by a driver o² mounted on a lever o³,
which at each reciprocation of the bar c receives a motion from a stud
fixed on the bar c sufficient to carry the driver o³ to and fro over a space
equal to one tooth of the ratchet. The axis o is thus slowly rotated, and
this motion is transmitted to the cam wheels, which may be made to
rotate more or less rapidly by changing the gear wheels.
The inclines on the cams effect the changing of the thread layers in
the manner already described.
When the work is of such a nature that it is not necessary to change
the thread layer the cams and can be dispensed with. The in-
clines e', e³, are required when but one thread layer is used at a time to act
alternately on the projections fx of the needle bits, so that each needle
in turn may rise just before the thread layer / lays the thread into its
hook, and sink again as soon as this has been effected.

page_text: The way in which the thread layer is caused to pass along the front of
the front row of needles, then to pass to the back and return behind the
back row, and so round and round in a circuitous course has already
been described.
2'
The way in which the actuating inclines e² and e³ are caused to act
alternately in order to correspond with these motions of the thread
layer remains to be explained. On the shaft e³, which moves longi-
tudinally with the bar c, is fixed a finger, which enters a zig-zag slot p¹
formed in a bar p, which is carried upon the front of the bar c, but is
capable of receiving a short sliding motion along it. The bar has
straight slots at its ends, and studs c*, c*, fixed in the bar c project
through these slots and serve as guides for the bar p, leaving it the
requisite freedom of motion; p³, 2³, are stops fixed on the bar p. When
the bar c is at the end of its course in either direction the bar pis
shifted along the bare by means of the double incline q, which at this
instant is caused to rise by the action of the cam q¹ on the axis a; this
cam acting upon a lever q³ with which the double incline Չ is con-
nected by a rod q³. Each time the double incline rises it strikes one or
other of the two projections p², and so shifts the bar p along the bar c,
one time in one direction and the next in the other. At each motion
the zig-zag slot p' alters the position of the finger resting in it, and so the
shafts e¹ and e² are rocked, so as to carry the inclines c' and es into
action alternately. When the shafts rock towards the back the front
incline e is taken into action, and at the next traverso of the bar c it
operates the front row of needles and vice versa.
On Sheet 2 the details of the inclines or driving cams e" and es aro
shown at Figures 4; they are mounted at the lower ends of arms fixed
on the shafts e¹, e², and are adjustable up and down a short distance by
screw and nut; to regulate the distance the needles descend, and con-
sequently the sinking of the loops. The actual inclined surfaces, which
come against the projections f* are marked E and E'; E being the
lower incline, which raises the needles; and E' the upper incline, which
depresses them.
In the simplest arrangement of the machine, that is to say, with one
thread carrier only at work, these parts are rigidly fixed together; but
when I use two thread carriers, circling round the needles in opposite
directions, as already suggested, then the upper incline is made double,

page_text: as is indicated by dotted lines, and it is movable about the centre E;
this is done to adapt it for driving in both directions, whon moving
either to the right or to the left. It is shewn set to drive in travelling
to the right, the lower incline then acts with its right side to lift the
needles, the upper incline E' being on this side up and out of the way.
When the needles have thus been raised to the full height their return
is caused by the left-hand side of the upper incline E. When the
instrument comes to the end of its courso however the bolt E³ comes
against a stop, which drives it to the left, reversing the position of the
upper incline E¹, tipping it about its centre E³, and then locking it in
its new position ready for the return. At the other end of the motion
the bolt Es is driven back to its original position.
When the machine is worked in this way it is obvious that the
mechanism for taking the inclines out of action alternately will have to
be disconnected and disused, and that the thread carrier bars must be
carried in two frames i, which tip simultaneously about the same centre a¹;
but in opposite directions, to cross over the thread layers from front to
back and vice versa.
Figures 5 shew another arrangement of the inclines intended to
produce ribbed as well as plain work. The needle bits adapted to work
with this incline are shewn at Figures 6; they have their projections f*
in different positions, and are arranged alternately in the machine. In
this case the incline or driving cam has three acting parts E, E¹, and E*;
E and E¹ are both fixed, and E' is movable; when E* is set in the
position indicated by dotted lines it is obvious that the action will be the
same as with the simpler incline first described, the only difference being
that the alternato needles receive their motions from different surfaces.
But when the upper incline E' is removed to the position shewn by
the full lines then the return or descent of every alternate needle is
delayed.
I use with this incline or driving cam two thread carriers traversing
together and in the same direction, but one slightly in advance of the
other. The needles which first descend receive the thread from one
thread layer, and when they are out of the way a second thread layer
supplies the needles which remain up just as these needles are on the
point of descending; the result is a fabric of ribbed appearance.
The traversing motion of the thread layers has frequently been alluded
to, but the way in which it is produced has not been described. Each

page_text: bar ',,, ', has a fork fixed upon it which embraces the notched
arc upon the axis 2¹, which receives a longitudinal and also a partial
rotary motion; in its longitudinal motion it carries with it one or more
of the thread carrier bars h¹, h³, h³, or h*. If the fork fixed to the bar
coincides with a notch in the are then that bar remains stationary, but
if a tooth or projecting part of the disc comes against the fork then the
bar is moved.
The rotary motion of the axis, is produced by an arm upon the
axis through the boss of which it is able to slide with a groove and
feather or equivalent contrivance; the upper end of the arm is held
by a spring in contact with a cam upon the axis of the ratchet wheel o',
and on the form of this cam the angular position of the are » will
obviously depend. In this way the thread layers are selected.
The axis receives its longitudinal motion from a finger &¹ fixed upon
a slider & working upon a fixed guide bar 83. c is a driver projecting
upwards from the bar c to which it is fixed. The driver has two pro-
jecting horns cx which push against the ends of catch levers 8³, 83,
jointed to the slider 8, but before the bar c arrives at the end of its course
it is necessary to liberate the slider 8 and stop the motion of the thread
layer. This is done by means of a sliding bolt s* which is caused to slide
or move longitudinally upon the slider; stops are placed in the machine
with which the projections **, **, on the bolt come in collision when
the thread layer is to be stopped. When the bar c is moving to the
right it is the right-hand projection 81* which is brought into collision
with a stop, and vice versa. The result of the collision is to shift the
bolts a short distance along the sliders the slide being carried as it
were past the bolt until the pin &* fixed in the bolt trips the lever
catch s³, raising its end above the level of the driving horn co*; the
driver then travels on freely and overuns the slider. On the return
motion of the bar c the other horn of the driver cº acts, but it passes
over a space equal to the overrun before it commences to move the
slider. One of the stops which control the bolt is attached to the
widening apparatus and moves with it.
There remains now to describe one of the most important features in
the machine, viz., the means by which the widening is effected. The
work is started at its smallest size, and all the independent needle.
carriers which are not for the moment required are turned back out of

page_text: the way.
The combs which carry the extreme needles, as already
described, aro slidden inwards to fill up the gap. These two combs
can slide along the bars g, and they are fixed to a widening bar or
carriage on which is a rack with which a pinion gears; there is a
pulley on the axis of this pinion, and a weighted rope hung over it tends
to turn the pinion and presses the carriage forward. With the parts in
this position any desired length of straight work may be made, as already
cxplained.
When it is desired to widen the pawl is allowed to drop into the
teeth of a ratchet wheel on the axis of the pinion A, and each time
that the pawl drives the ratchet one tooth forward a space is opened for
the insertion of one widening needle into each of the rows, the back and
the front. The pawl is connected with a lever t³ actuated by a cam
upon the axis a³. This axis is geared with the axis a², which at proper
intervals receives motion, that is to say, cach time a pair of widening
needles (back and front) are to be inserted. The way in which the
axis a² is caused to operate at suitable times is herein-after described.
Each time a gap is thus opened between the needles a widening needle
is pushed into it. For this purpose two cams upon the axis a³ give
motion to two sliding bars v, v. Their motions are similar, but in
opposite directions, one serves to operate on the front and the other on
the back narrowing needles. That which operates on the front needles
is more clearly seen in the Drawings than the other. Each bar carries
a horizontal stud v¹, on which a sleeve v is able to slide, and the slecvo
has a finger ** projecting from it. The sleeve also carries a hook v*,
which enters a guide groove v³, and this guide groove is fixed to the
widening carriage on which the combs of the extreme needles are fixed
together with the rack t and other parts, as already mentioned. Thus
whenever the axis a³ rotates the fingers 2x move up towards the
narrowing needles, and they are so arranged that they push against the
innermost pair and carry them forward into work, causing their carriers
to turn about the bars g which support them. At the next rotation of
the axis a³ the same thing again occurs, and the next needles are taken
because in the meantime the widening bar or carriage has been moved
out the width of one needle carrier, and it has taken the guido groove vs
and the finger * with it.
1
w times it is monired to

page_text: end of the axis a, but capable of being clutched on to it by a clutch w¹.
It gears with another wheel 10' upon the axis a². 103 is the clutch lever,
see Figure 7. Its centre is at 103*, and a spring tends constantly to
throw the clutch into gear, but this is prevented by a projection 10° on
the lever 20 resting against the periphery of a cam to', which is able to
turn around a fixed centre. w³, 10, 20%, are ratchets attached to the cam,
and there are corresponding pawls carried by a lever 20%, which receives
a rocking motion corresponding to one tooth of the ratchets from a
cam w upon the axis a. One pawl and ratchet only is in operation at a
time, as the Drawing shews the pawl of a nine-toothed ratchet is in
gear. When the axis a has made nine revolutions it will have brought
the ratchet into a position in which there are teeth missing, so that the
pawl will drive it no further, and simultaneously the cam w will allow
the clutch lever to throw in the clutch, and a widening operation is
conducted, as already explained. As the axis a³ completes its rotation a
toothed arc 100 upon it gears with a toothed wheel on the same axis with
the ratchets 10, 100, and 20³, and turns them and the cam 20' partly round,
throwing out the clutch and allowing the pawl again to act. If this
continued perpetually a widening at regular intervals would constantly
take place, but it is necessary to change the intervals of widening. The
pawls on the lever 10% it will be seen are allowed to act or are held out of
action by cams x, x, and, on an axis x carried by the lever. On the
same axis is a ratchet wheel, and x is a pawl which occasionally turns
this axis. It is carried by a lever 20, which rests on a crown cam 2011,
which moves with the ratchets 10³, 10°; and 10%. Once in each revolution
the cam w¹¹ allows the lever to fall, and puts the pawl x³ into gcar
with the teeth of the ratchet, and at the next rocking motion of the
lever the axis of the cams x¹³, x³, ³, is moved the space of one tooth
of the ratchet. The forms of the cams x¹, ³, x³, then determine which
ratchets operate.
The mock seam is produced by means of a bearded needle y; it is the
last needle to the right of the front series. It is worked like any of the
other needles, but the work does not knock over in the same way. Being
a bearded needle it requires a presser. ¹ is the presser. It is mounted
on the widening carriage, and the needle has its beard turned to it. The
*needle y.as it descends comes against the presser; the beard is thus
closed and the work is knocked over. If the presser y¹ wero a fixture
the bearded needle would leave no mark upon the work, and where the

page_text: mock scam is not required it is so worked, but to produce the mock
seam the presser is caused to move back out of the way at every alternate
course. It is mounted on a sliding bar y³, and is provided with a spring
which constantly tends to draw it back out of action, but a cam y³
controls it, allows it to come back at one course, and moves it forward
again into action ready for the next course. y' is a spike wheel on the
axis of the cam y³, and there is a projection attached to the driving
incline, which at each course moves the wheel y' round a distance
corresponding to the space between the spikes. Thus it will be seen
that the production of the mock scam depends on the arrangement in
the circuit of needles of one needle provided with a presser of its own,
which acts upon it at every alternate course, whilst the other needles
being latch needles knock over at every course.
The use of latch needles, however, as already mentioned, is not
essential if bearded needles be used, it is necessary to fix projections on
the driving inclines e and e³, to close the beards of the needles as they
descend; sucli presses, it is obvious, would not effect the needle y, its
beard being turned round out of the way.
The widening process already fully described, if worked simply as
directed, would leave small holes at cach point where a widening needle
is brought in. These holes, which would be regarded as blemishes, may
casily be closed by hand work, but I generally apply to the machine a
further mechanism which prevents their formation.
When the needles are down, and before the spaces for the widening
needles are opened, two points 1, 2, which are of a boot-like form, move.
forward just over their tops, the needles then rise in the ordinary course.
The point at the front will then be between the two needles next to the
extreme or comb needles, whilst the back point will be amongst the
extreme or comb needles and between the left hand comb needle, and
that next to it to the right hand. The thread layer now passes and the
needles descend, leaving loops hanging on the boot-shaped points. The
widening needles now come in the back point (which works slightly in
advance of the other) now moves to the left, carrying its loop over the
head of the needle which has just come in. This needle then rises
through and takes the loop, and the point retires to its original position
out of the way. The front point works similarly, but it takes its loop:
B

page_text: :
to the right hand to carry it over the head of the newly introduced
needle. This needle then rises through the loop, takes it, and the point
returns as before.
The points 1, 2, receive the motions described from cams on an
axis, acting in conjunction with springs, and the cam axis has
a ratchet wheel on its end, and is rotated by a driving pawl, which
turns the ratchet round four steps or teeth for each widening operation.
A cam on the axis a³ gives motion to the pawl. There is but one other
point in the action of the machine to which it is necessary to refer.
In order to prevent any inequality appearing in the work produced
between the extreme needles in the back and front rows at the left hand
side of the machine, I do not allow these needles to sink and knock
over on the top of their carriers like the other needles, but I shorten
the carriers and fix to the back needle comb a heart piece A, which
stands between these extreme needles and those next to them with the
notch or hollow in its summit on the centre line between the back and
front rows.
When the needles descend they both draw their loops from the centre
of this notch or hollow. At the other end of the machine A' is a rib on
the heart extending between the end needles; it affords them support
when at work. I also fix a piece to regulate the loop of the mock scam
needle. This piece has an horizontal or straight edge, it stands between
the mock scam needle and the next in the front row, and the distance
the mock seam needle descends below it regulates the tightness of the
seam. The mock seam needle is an odd needle, there is no correspond-
ing needle in the back comb, and of this space I avail myself to fix this
sinking and knocking over bit. I have already stated that the machine
(with slight and obvious alterations) may be made to produce flat work,
the back and front rows of needles working independently, or a machine
may be constructed with one row only.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I
claim,―

page_text: 10. The arrangement of machinery for the production of fashioned
circular knitted fabrics, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hancock, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four
JOHN HANCOCK. (L.S.).