tain Improvements in Machinery for Knitting Tubular Fabrics.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th May, 1895-Accepted, 22nd June, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Certain Improvements in Machinery for Knitting Tubular Fabrics.
ROBERT WALTER SCOTT of 2079 East Cumberland Street, in the City of
Philadelphia State of Pennsylvania, United States of America Manufactmer of
Knitting Machinery 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
-
The object of my invention is to construct a knitting machine in which are
combined the rapidity of production of a rotary machine and the facility for
shoping the web possessed by a straight machine having opposite rows of needles
and reciprocating cam boxes and thread gundes
This object attain by arranging two tows of needles in segmental form and
using in connection therewith two sets of rotating thread guides and stitch forming
devices, ono set moving mone direction and acting in conjunction with one
segmental row of needles and the other set moving in the opposite direction and
operating in conjunction with the other row of needles, the thiend being transferred
from one thread guide to the other at each end of the acting set of needles -o that
while the thread guides continuously rotate, the knitting operation is a back and
forth movement, the thread being laid in one set of needles while its guide is
travelling in one direction and in the other set of needles while its guide is
travelling in the opposite direction so that needles can be brought into action at the
end of the acting set in either 10w in order to widen the web, or can have their
stitches transferred and he thrown out of action with the same facility as in the
case of straight machines having opposite rows of needles.
I will descube my mention with reference to the accompanying drawings of
which
Fig. 1 18 a longitudinal sectional view of so much of a knitting machine as is
necessary to illustrate my present invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views illustrating the operation of the shifting thread
feeder.
Fig. 5 18 a side view illustrating the shifting thread feeder and the rotating
thread guides
Figs. 6 and 7 are views illustrating other means of shifting the thread from one
guide to the other;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view illustrating the application of my invention to a
machine in which the needle beds are at light angles to each other instead of being
parallel and
Fig 9 is a diagram illustrating a modification of part of the invention.
In Figs. 1 and 2 A represents the fixed table of bed of the machine to which
are permanently secured two segmental needle beds B and D concentric with each
other and sepainted to such an extent as to provide for the passnge of the knitted
web down between them and through a segmental opening a formed in the
bed A.
The outer segment B is grooved externally for the reception of the usuni
vertical teciprocating latch needles and the tunet segment is grooved internally
for the reception of like needles d, the needles of the outer segment being vertically
reciprocated by cams contained in the outer cam box B and the needles of the
nei segment being reciprocated by like cams carried by the inner cam box D¹.

page_text: The cam boxes B' and D' are of circular form and are suitably mounted upon
the table so as to be rotated thereon, the rotation of the outer cam hox B
being effected by a bevel wheel which meshes with a bevel wheel F formed
upon the lower portion of said cam box 13', the rotation of the inner can box D'
being effected by means of a bevel wheel G which meshes with a bevel wheel G
secured to a central shaft G' which turns in suitable bearings in the table A and is
seemed to a central hub on said cam box D'.
Both of the bevel wheels F and G are secured to a diving shaft II which turns
in depending bearings f on the table A and is operated in any suutable manner, the
shaft being in the present stanee provided with a crank handle Il' and with two
pulleys H and 11 so that it can be diren in either direction
The bevel wheel F meshes with the beval wheel F' of the outer cam box B' on
one side of the axis G' of the machine, while the bevel wheel G meshes with the
bevel wheel G of the inner cam box D¹ on the opposite side of the said axis,
hence the two cam boxes are caused to rotate in opposite directions the wheels
being so proportioned that the cam boxes travel at the same speed
Mounted on the outer cam box 1 is a post I having a boss (Figs. 3, 4 and 5)
to which is fitted the stem of a thread guide by which the thread is fed to the
needles of the outer segment and upon the inner cam box D¹ is mounted a post J
having a boss g' to which is fitted the stem m³ of a thread guide m by which the
thread is fed to the needles of the inner segment, each of the thread guides and m
being notched in its forward or advancing edge so as to catch the thread and teed
the same to the needles when moving forward but so as to permit of the ready
release of the thread therefrom.
Each thread guide 18 adjustable laterally in the boss g or 9' and 18 capable of
being swung towards or from the needles by turning its stem in the said boss, a
set screw h serving to secure the thread guide in position after adjustment
To the upper end of the post I is hung a lever K which has at its lower end an
eye n for the passage of the thead, this lever being so acted upon by a spring p
that its normal position is outside the needles of the outer segment, as represented
in Fig 3, this position being determined by the contact of a lug on the hub of
the lever with a lug upon the post I.
Suitably mounted on a post N projecting upward from the fixed frame of the
machine at a point adjacent to one end of the segmental needle beds is a cat
plate M which, at certain times acts upon an outwardly projecting arm K³ of the
level K so as to move the thiend guiding eye at the lower end of the said lever
to a position wardly beyond the thread guide of the inner set of needles as shown
10 þig. 4.
The posts I and J are so situated that when the thread guide after feeding the
thread to the needles of the outer segment B is leaving the last needle of the set
the thread guide in on the post J is approaching in the opposite direction the first
or corresponding end needle of the inner set carried by the segment D and bofora
the gunde reaches the said end needle the lever K is shifted by the action of the
cam M to the position shown in Fig. 4 so as to lay the thread in front of the said
advancing guide by which it is caught and carried forward to the needles of the
inner set, the lever K then passing from under the control of the cam M and
resuming its normal position which it retains while it is being called round the
inoperative half of the machine.
When the thread guide m has passed half way round the inner get of needles the
guide eyen of the lever K is diametrically opposite the same the post having
goue half way round the inoporative half of the machine and the knitting thread
therefore extends across the top of the machine over the top of the post J from
the ginde m to the eye n. While the guide m is applying the thread to the last
half of the une set of needles the said guide and the eyen are approaching each
other and consequently the knitting thread is being slackened, hence any of the
usual forms of spring take-up may be employed for compensating for this black
and usuring the proper teusion upon the threads ted to the needles.

page_text: The thread guide m continues to feed the thioad to the needles of the inner set
until it reaches the end of the same by which tune the guide eye n occupies such
relation to said guide m as to withdraw the thread therefrom and permit it to be
caught by the outer guide by which it is again fed to the needles of the outer
segment these opciations being repeated indefinitely.
When the web is to be fashioned by widening the same all of the needles of the
segments are not in action when the knitting operation is begun but needle after
needle at one or both ends of each set can be moved into operative position by hand
or otherwise until the desned widening has been effected while if the fashioning of
the web is to be effected by narrowing the same the full number of needles for the
desired maximum diameter of tube can be used in starting the knitting operation
and the stitches can be transferred from needle to needle of each set at one or both
ends and these needles can be moved out of action until the desired nailowing has
been effected, or the cam M may as shown for instance in Fig 9 be constructed in
two parts, movable one in respect to the other so that the said cam can be uciensed
or diminished in length or its relation to the lever K can be changed so as to move
the latter after it has passed any desired needle of the set, whereby the knitting
thread can be carried from one set of needles to the other at any desired point in
the segment.
It will be observed that the thead guides and are pointed in front and have
their outer edges bevelled so that they act as latch guards and tuners, the pointed
and bevelled front edges of each guide catching any latch which may be elevated
or partly elevated and turning the same down to its proper position so as to insure
the proper insertion of the yain in the hooks of the needles.
It will be evident also that vauous meaus may be resorted to in order to effect
the transfer of the knitting thread from one guide to the other, for instance
in Fig 6, I have shown a lever K' hung to the outer cam box and acted upon by
a cam M on the fixed bed the upper end of this lever carrying a bent finger n'
which catches the thread and lays it in front of the inner guide m,
the latter passing
outside of the depending portion of the finger, and in Fig 7 I have shown a
construction in which a separate thread shifter is dispensed with altogether, the
outer thread guide being canied by a lever K2 which is acted on by a cam M' so
that the guide itselt is thrown ward at the proper time in order to lay the thread
into position to be caught by the net guide m.
In the construction shown in Fig 6 the priminiy guide eye for the thread will be
situated above nud outside of the outer guide so that the thread will have a natural
tendency to draw across the advancing end of the said outer guide as soon as it is
released from the inner guide.
When the invention is applied to a machine in which the needle beds are at night
angles to each other as in Fig. 8 the shifting movement of either guide will be
unnecessary as the thread extending from the end of the needle of the vertical
set to the thead guide will lie in the path of the guide m' for the houzontal
needles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim 15:—
Fust. A knitting machine in which two sets of segmentally disposed needles are
combined with two thread feeding devices, one operating in conjunction with one
set of needles, and the other in conjunction with the other set of needles, and means
for 1otating one thread feeding device in one direction, and the other in the opposite
direction substantially as here before described.
Second. A knitting machine in which two sets of segmentally disposed needles are
combined with two thread feeding devices, one operating in conjunction with one
set of needles, and the other in conjunction with the other set of needles, a thread
lufte for cauying the knitting thread back and forth from one thread feeding
device to the other, n.enus for rotating the said thread feeders u opposite directions,

page_text: and means for operating the said thread slufter substantially as hereinbefore
described
Third Akutting machine in which two sets of segmentally disposed needles
having a space between them for the passage of the fabric are combined with two
sets of knitting cams and two thread gudes, one guide and set of cams operating in
conjunction with one set of needles, and the other set of cams and guide operating m
conjunction with the other set of needles, and means for iolating the cam boxes and
guides opposite directions substantially as herembefore described
Fourth A knitting machine in which two sets of segmentally disposed needles
having a space between them for the passage of the fabric, are combined with two
sets of knitting cams and two thread guides, one guide and set of cams operating
in conjunction with one set of needles, and the other guide and set of cams operating
in conjunction with the other set of needles, a thead shifter for canty mg the yain
from one guide to the other guide, and means for 1otating the cam boxes and guides
in opposite dnections and for moving said thread shifter substantially as her embefore
described.
Fifth. A knitting machine in which two sets of needles sigmentally arranged and
having between them a space for the passage of the huntted web, are combined with
two sets of knitting cams and two thi cad guides, one-thread guide and set of knitting
cams acting in conjunction with one set of needles and the other in conjunction with
the other set of needles, a thread guide carried by a shiftu g lever mounted upon one
of the cam boxes a cam for operating the said shifting lever and menus for
rotating the two can boxes in opposite duectious substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Sixth. The combination of the segmentally aanged sets of needles the thiend
guide and knitting cams for each set of needles a lever mounted upon one cum box
and acted upon by a spring tending to move it in one direction, stops for Immuting
such movement, a eam acting upon the lever to shift the same, and means
for rotating the cam boxes in opposite directions substantially as hetembefore
described.
Dated this 14th day of May 1895.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's lun Fields, London, WC, Agents.