Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 20th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 21st June, 1887
We JOHN WILLIAM LAMB, Manufacturer, and SAMUEL LOWE, Machinist, both of
Nottingham in the County of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of Knitting Machinery in which fashioned goods
are produced; the fashioning being effected automatically. Of late, the practice has
been to expedite the production of such goods by retimeing the motions of the
machine, and increasing the driving speed, but concurrent with this increased
production has been a defect in the selvaging of the goods, owing to the thread, at
the commencement of the traverse of the thread carrier, passing behind the selvage
needle.
To provide against this defect is the object of the present invention. When the
thread gets behind the selvage needle (thereby missing the formation of the selvage
loop), the defect is due to it passing over the head of that needle, the needle being at
the moment in a depressed position.
To prevent this accident, we make use of the narrowing points for every course of
knitting, bringing them down so that the outside point shall take the lap of the thread
irrespective of the position of the needles at that time.-It will be obvious that instead
of employing the narrowing points for this purpose, we may provide a special point
bar to take the lap of the threads, and deliver the laps to the ascending needles; we
prefer, however, the use of the narrowing points, as little additional mechanisin is
required to make them perform this new office.
The narrowing points, as hitherto worked, have an up and down motion and a
lateral traverse motion; in addition to these motions, we now cause them to move to
and from the presser bar, taking the same movements in this respect (but to a limited
extent) as the needles.
When the narrowing points are brought down to receive the thread, they stand in
front of the selvage needles, but clear of them, and when the needles have risen to the
requisite height, the selvage needle receives the lap of the thread on its stem, the

page_text: narrowing points rising to deliver the thread thereon. By giving the narrowing
points a movement towards the presser, the movement of the needle bar, to press, is
not interrupted, and consequently, no time is lost, while an uniformity of selvage
loops is secured.
The additional motion given to the narrowing points, and the bringing of them into
action at every course, we propose to effect, first;-by suitably cutting the ordinary
rest cams to provide for the constant rising and falling of the narrowing points, and
secondly by providing an extra pair of cams for making them follow the to-and-fro
motion of the needles. When a special point bar is used, in place of modifying the
movements of the narrowing points, the like provision of cams will be required.
Dated this 2nd day of September 1886.

page_text: We JOHN WILLIAM LAMB, Manufacturer, and SAMUEL LOWE, Machinist, both of
Nottingham in the County of Nottingham, 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 relates to that class of knitting machinery in which fashioned goods
are produced, the fashioning being effected automatically.
Of late, the practice has been to expedite the production of such goods by
re-timeing the motions of the machine and increasing the driving speed, but con-
current with this increased production has been a defect in the selvaging of the goods,
owing to the liability of the thread, at the commencement of the traverse of the thread
carrier, passing behind the selvage needle.
To provide against this defect is the object of the present invention.
When the thread gets behind the selvage needle (thereby missing the formation of
the selvage loop), the defect is due to its passing over the head of that needle, the
needle being at the moment in a depressed position.
To prevent this occurrence, we make use of the narrowing points for every course
of knitting, bringing them down so that the outside point shall take the lap of the
thread, irrespective of the position of the needles at that time. A consequent
advantage of this new use of the narrowing points is, that the starting of the thread
carrier, on its return motion, is advanced in point of time, thus permitting of its speed
of movement being lessened. The same remark likewise applies to the movements of
the jack sinkers.
The narrowing points, as hitherto worked, have, as is well known, an up and down
motion and a lateral traverse motion; in addition to these motions, we now cause
them to move to and from the presser bar, taking the same movements, in this respect
(but to a limited extent), as the needles.
When the narrowing points are brought down to receive the thread, they stand in
front of the selvage needles, and when the needles have risen to the requisite height,
the selvage needle receives the lap of the thread, the narrowing points rising to
deliver the thread thereon.
The additional motion given to the narrowing points, and the bringing of them into
action at every course, we propose to effect, first, by suitably shaping the ordinary
rest cams, to provide for the constant rising and falling of the narrowing points, and
secondly, by providing an extra pair of cams for making them follow the to and fro
motion of the needles.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a knitting machine, with our improvements applied
thereto, those parts only being shown which are necessary to explain the operation of
the knitting instruments, and the means for imparting the new and additional
movement to the narrowing points.
In this Figure, A represents the needle bar carrying the bearded needles a,
as usual; B the fixed presser; C the sinker bar carrying the jack and dividing

page_text: sinkers ce*, as heretofore.-D D* are the ordinary fashioning point bars, and d the
fashioning points which they carry. E is the slur bar carrying the traversing slur
box, on which are mounted the sliding rods E* E*, which carry severally the thread
layers e. F is the stationary knocking over bar, on which are mounted the knocking
over bits f, as usual.-H is the catch bar for advancing the dividing sinkers, e*, and
for withdrawing the sets of sinkers c c*.
The point bars DD* are carried, as usual, by hanging cheeks D', in which they are
free to slide end wise under the action of the well-known fashioning mechanism.
These cheeks D are keyed to a longitudinal rock shaft D² running the whole length
of the machine, and supported in rising and falling arms D³.-These arms receive
motion from cams D₁, hitherto known as the rest cams, but now used, not for holding
the narrowing points out of work, but for providing for their constant use.-These
cams D, which will be in pairs, are carried by the cam shaft G, and upon them bear
the bowles of rock levers D³, the free ends of which are connected by rods DⓇ to the
rock shaft D²-By means, therefore, of the rotation of these cams D, the narrowing
points d receive a vertical movement, which enables them to follow the vertical
movements of the needles.
On the cam shaft G are also fitted cams D', which act upon bowles carried by rock
levers D8, the free ends of which serve to support incline bars D° resting against the
front of the sinker bar, or other fixed part of the machine. Bearing on the front face
of the incline bars D³, are bowles carried by pendent arms D¹, keyed on the rock
shaft D². As, therefore, the incline bars D are raised and lowered through the
rotation of the cams D', the shaft D2 will be rocked in its bearings, and its hanging
cheeks D will move the point bars D D* forward and backward to correspond to the
forward and backward movements of the needle bar.-The object of this movement of
the point bars will be clearly understood when the action of the knitting instruments
is traced by means of the diagrams to be presently referred to.-These diagrams
illustrate the manner of bringing the narrowing points into use at every course, for
the purpose of taking the lap of the thread, and transferring the lap to the selvage
needles, whereby good selvages are ensured during high speed knitting.
Diagrams Nos. I to VII shew in side elevation the several knitting instruments and
their relative changes of position during the formation of a course, and Nos. I and VI*
shew in plan view, on an enlarged scale, the needles, the points, and the thread carrier,
in positions corresponding to the positions of Diagrams Nos. I and VI.-These two
plan views shew respectively the position of the thread carrier at the commencement
of its traverse and at the commencement of the indentation of the thread, two of the
jack sinkers being shewn in No. VI*, to indicate the commencement of this
operation.
Diagram I shews the position of the knitting instruments just previous to the thread
being laid upon the nebs of the sinkers ce*, at which time the narrowing points d
are descending to take up their novel position at the selvage, and have approached
near to the sinkers.-The thread carrier e is now in position to commence its traverse
to lay the thread in front of the needles for a new course, say, from right to left (see
the drawn position of the thread carrier in diagram No. 1"). At this time, the thread
for forming the course next to be knitted in (which has been indented and divided),
is under the beards of the needles a that are descending to press.-By the time the
needles have fallen back to free the indented and divided thread from the nebs of the
sinkers, the narrowing points d, still descending, will have reached the advanced
position shewn at Diagram No. II. At this time, the thread carrier e will have arrived
at the position shewn by dots in Diagram No. I", and the thread will be bent round
the outside narrowing point.-Diagram III shews the position of the parts at the
completion of the previous knitted course, the head of the needles a being in the
knocking over bits f, and the narrowing points in their lowest and most advanced
position. In Diagram No. IV, the needles, previous to rising, have moved forward
under the nebs of the sinkers, so that the sinkers may hold the work down when the
needles rise. This forward movement brings the needles a into contact with the
narrowing points d, the heads of the needles entering the grooves of the points.

page_text: Diagram V shews the needles and points rising together, till the beards of the needles
are above, or clear of the nebs of the dividing sinkers; the selvage needle now takes
the place of the point in holding the thread outside the selvage, and the proper
position of the thread being secured, the narrowing points are free to be withdrawn.
At this time, the slur cock will have arrived at the position for acting upon the first
or selvage jack sinker, and its further movement will thrust out the jack sinker to the
position of Diagram Nos. VI and VI".
When the first jack sinker is forced forwards to indent the thread at the selvage,
the beard of the needle will be above the notch or indenting angle of the sinkers, and
the indenting will take place on the needle stems, as shown at Diagram No. VI,
and the thread carrier haying the ordinary "lead," will be in the advanced position
shewn in the enlarged plan of the work at Diagram No. VI.
Diagram No. VII shews the needles a raised to their highest point, so as to
withstand the pressure of the sinkers in dividing the thread which is laid upon their
stems. So soon as this operation has been effected, the needles will descend to bring
the divided thread under their beards, and the beards will then be brought into
contact with the presser B, to ensure the transference of the last formed course onto
the beards, as shewn at Diagram No. I, preparatory to the delivery of the same to the
back of the needles by the knocking-over bits.
-
Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the knitting machine, shewing a slight
modification of the mechanism for advancing and retracting the point bars D D*.-
In this example, rods D are pivotted to arms D12 projecting rearwards from the
rock shaft D-These rods, at their lower ends, connect with levers D8, which are
operated by the cams D' on the cam shaft G.
This arrangement acts precisely like that first described, and causes the point bars
to follow the backward and forward movements of the needle bar, and thereby present
no obstruction to the movements of needle bar.
It should be remarked that by using the narrowing points to take the thread and
present it to the selvage needles, not only is a perfect selvage produced, but the thread
carrier is enabled to start at an earlier moment to repeat the laying of the thread,
inasmuch as it has hitherto been necessarily retarded, to allow the needles to rise
sufficiently high to secure the lap of the thread on the selvage needles.
It will be obvious that instead of giving to the narrowing points the additional duty
of receiving and transferring the thread from the thread carrier to the selvage needles,
we may provide a special point bar furnished with selvage points to take the lap of
the threads, and deliver the laps to the ascending needles; we prefer, however, the
use of the narrowing points, as the mechanism described, to enable them to perform
this new office, would be required for the working of the special point bars, as well as
additional mechanism for supporting those bars, and giving them an up and down
motion.
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 :-
1st. The application to fashioning knitting machines, of selvage points capable of
following the receding and advancing movements of the needles, taking the lap of the
thread, and transferring the same to the selvage needles, in the manner above set
forth.
2nd. The means above described for enabling the fashioning points to receive the
lap of the thread at every course, and transfer the same to the selvage needles for the
purpose above set forth.
Dated 171 1
B
1003