IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED OR LOOPED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Thacker, of the Town and County of the Town
of Nottingham, Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED OR LOOPED FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Thacker at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th March 1880.
SAMUEL THACKER, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham,
Engineer. ' IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED OR LOOPED
FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN.”
The Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of knitted or
looped fabrics, and in machinery or apparatus employed therein, and relates to means
whereby knitted or looped fabric cloth is made less elastic, and firmer, and more
even in texture than heretofore, thereby rendering it more suitable for cloth to be
employed in the manufacture of various articles of clothing than looped fabric
cloth manufactured as heretofore.
In the Specification of Letters Patent granted to R. B. Cooley, dated February 17,
1857, No. 468, it was proposed to introduce an additional thread in knitted or
looped fabrics, as they are made in "circular" or "round" knitting machines, in
order to control and lessen the elasticity otherwise possessed by such description of
fabrics, and in order to facilitate the introduction of such additional thread a wheel
with projections was employed to bend in its revolution every alternate needle, and
allow the additional thread to be laid in between the needles and between the
succeeding courses of looped work made on such needles, and the additional thread
was moved beyond the beards of the needles and on to the stems thereof by a
wheel with inclined teeth.
According to my present Invention, instead of introducing only one additional
thread between alternate needles and between the succeeding courses, I introduce
two such additional threads between the succeeding courses, and I cause such
additional threads to be introduced between alternate needles or other arrangements
of needles in such manner that one of such threads shall be on the front of a given
needle and the other on the back of the same needle, such threads crossing each
other's path so as virtually to surround some or all of the said needles. And in

page_text: order to facilitate such operation I employ a separate guide and guide wheel, and a
separate needle bending wheel and inclined toothed wheel to each additional thread
introduced into the work, so that the first needle bending wheel shall bend each
alternate needle or other arrangements of needles, and the first additional thread
shall be laid in between such needles as they are divided by such first bending wheel;
and the second needle bending wheel shall bend the needles intermediate of those
bent by the first wheel, the second additional thread being laid in between the
needles as they are divided by such second bending wheel, whereby one additional
thread is laid on one side of each. alternate needle or other arrangements of needles,
the other additional thread being on the other side of the same needles, thus laying
an additional thread on each side of each needle, by which means two additional
threads are laid in between the needles and between the succeeding courses of
knitted or looped work on such needles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Samuel Thacker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
September. 1880.
SAMUEL THACKER, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham,
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED OR LOOPED
FABRICS, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
The Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of knitted or
looped fabrics, and in machinery or apparatus employed therein, and relates to means
whereby knitted or looped fabric cloth is made less elastic, and firmer, and more
even in texture than heretofore, thereby rendering it more suitable for cloth to be
employed in the manufacture of various articles of clothing than looped fabric cloth
manufactured as heretofore.
In the Specification of Letters Patent granted to R. B. Cooley, dated February 17th,
1857, No. 468, it was proposed to introduce an additional thread in knitted or
looped fabrics as they are made in "circular" or "round" knitting machines, in
order to control and lessen the elasticity otherwise possessed by such description of
fabrics, and in order to facilitate the introduction of such additional thread a wheel
with projections was employed to bend in its revolution every alternate needle and
allow the additional thread to be laid in between the needles and between the
succeeding courses of looped work made on such needles, and the additional thread
was moved beyond the beards of the needles and on to the stems thereof by a wheel
with inclined teeth.
According to my present Invention, instead of introducing only one additional
thread between alternate needles and between the succeeding courses, I introduce
two such additional threads between the succeeding courses, and I cause such
additional threads to be introduced between alternate needles or other arrangements
of needles in such manner that one of such threads shall be on the front of a given

page_text: needle and the other on the back of the same needle, such threads crossing each
other's path so as virtually to surround some or all of the said needles. And in order
to facilitate such operation I employ a separate guide and guide wheel, and a separate
needle bending wheel and a separate inclined toothed wheel to each additional thread
introduced into the work, so that the first needle bending wheel shall bend each
alternate needle or other arrangements of needles, and the first additional thread
shall be laid in between such needles as they are divided by such first bending
wheel; and the second needle bending wheel shall bend the needles intermediate of
those bent by the first wheel, the second additional thread being laid in between
the needles as they are divided by such second bending wheel, whereby one
additional thread is laid on one side of each alternate needle or other arrangements
of needles, the other additional thread being laid on the other side of the same
needles, thus laying an additional thread on each side of each needle, by which
means two additional threads are laid in between the needles and between the
succeeding courses of knitted or looped work on such needles.
And in order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying Drawings, more fully
to describe the same
Figure 1 represents a plan of so much of a "four feeder" circular or round
knitting machine with my improvements applied thereto as will enable me to
describe my present Invention.
a, a, are the needles, which may be of any ordinary description, and are mounted
on a cylindrical needle bar to which rotary motion is given, as is now well under-
stood; b, b, are the loop wheels; c, c, the dividing wheels; d, d, the presser wheels;
e, e, the lifting or landing wheels; and f. f, the knocking over wheels, all of which
work together to produce looped or knitted fabric from threads fed thereto in the
manner now well understood.
g is a notched wheel or disc which is so formed as to act upon every alternate
needle to bend it in the revolution of the circle; h is a wheel provided with a series
of radial blades, each of which is formed with a notch in the centre of its outer
edge, thereby forming a groove around the periphery of such wheel h, and the latter
is caused to be rotated by the needle bar by each successive needle entering
between the blades of the wheel h. An additional thread passes from an eye or
guide partly around the groove in the wheel h, which deposits it in the spaces
between the needles as selected by the wheel g, and such additional thread after
having been laid between the needles is moved beyond the beards of the needles
and onto the stems thereof by a wheel i formed with inclined teeth which, by
passing between the needles, cause rotary motion to be given to such wheel i.
The laying of an additional thread between the succeeding courses of work by
means of the wheels g, h, i, was shown and described in the Specification of Letters
Patent herein before referred to, but looped or knitted fabric produced with the
ordinary looping threads and with only one such additional thread laid between
succeeding courses of looped or knitted work is more elastic, less firm, and less even
in texture-than is desirable in fabric intended-to-be used in lieu of ordinary woven
cloth. According to my Invention I obviate these difficulties by laying in a second
additional thread between succeeding courses, such second additional thread being
laid in between the needles so as to lie on opposite sides thereof to the first
additional thread, as will be clearly seen by reference to the diagram, Figure 2, in
which a, a, represent the needles, the full line j the first additional thread, and the
dotted line the second additional thread. In order to enable such second
additional thread to be laid in between the succeeding courses of looped work I
employ wheels g', h¹, i¹, exactly similar to the wheels g, h, i, but placed a little in
advance thereof, and I arrange the wheels g, gl, in such manner that the wheel g¹
shall bend those needles which were not bent by the wheel g, thereby causing the

page_text: additional threads to cross each other's path and to be laid on opposite sides of the
needles.
The wheels g, g, may be formed, as shown in Figure 1, to act upon every alternate
needle, or they may be formed to act upon other arrangements of needles, but in
all cases they must be so arranged that the two additional threads shall be caused
to cross each other's path, as above described.
By using different colored threads or threads of different materials for the looping
threads and for the additional threads, various ornamental effects can be produced.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode in
which 1 carry the same into effect, I would have it understood that what I
claim is,-
First. Laying in two additional threads between succeeding courses of looped or
knitted work, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose
stated.
Second. Employing wheels g', h¹, and i¹, in combination with wheels g, h, i, for
laying in two additional threads between succeeding courses of looped or knitted
work, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Thacker, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the
within named Samuel Thacker, in
the presence of
HY. WYLES,
17, Low Pavement,
Nottingham,
A Commissioner of the
Supreme Court of Judicature in England.
SAM. THACKER. (L.S.)