Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 29th Sept., 1900
Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
A communication from EMIL J. FRANCK, of the City of Philadelphia, County of
Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of London,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention relates to improvements in knitting machines, such improve-
ments being applicable in whole or in part to knitting machines of the general
type described in the Specifications accompanying the British Letters Patent
No. 12761 of 1893 and particularly No. 7483 of 1895.
The objects of the present invention are, first, to tuck while fashioning whereby
the formation of holes in the work is prevented; second to make the various
parts at the top of the needle cylinder more durable and easier of repair and to
improve the operation of the web-holders and sinkers and permit of the applica- *
tion of a transfer trame; third, to provide for loosening and tightening the
stitches so as to fashion tubular work; fourth, to provide shipper mechanism
which shall be simple in construction, positive in action and adapted to work
comparatively slowly and without undue shocks and jars; and fifth, to provide
means for releasing unnecessary tension on some of the working parts and for the
general simplification and improvement of the machines to which reference has
been made..
To these ends this invention comprises the improvements hereinafter described.
Before referring to the accompanying drawings, it may be mentioned that the
invention is shown as applied to the machine tully illustrated in the Specifica-
tion of Letters Patent No. 7483 of 1895, only so much of said machine being
llustrated in the accompanying drawings as is necessary for an understanding
of the present invention.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a sectional view of the needle cylinder and its accessories illustrat-
ing parts embodying features of this invention.
Figure 2 is a similar view drawn to a larger scale and illustrating details of
construction.
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the presser ring.
Figure 4 is a top or plan view showing the needle cylinder in section and illus-
trating the needle strippers.
Figure 5 is a view drawn to an enlarged scale and taken from the centre of
the needle cylinder in the direction of one of the needle strippers (D, Figure 4)
and showing a portion of the bed in section and the tucking mechanism in
elevation.
Figure 6 is a view of the tucking finger, detached, looking from the left to the
right in Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a sectional view illustrating the part 14, shown in Figure 5.

page_text: Figures 8 and 9 are sectional views illustrating positions of the needle bits and
carrier.
Figures 10 to 13 are face and sectional views illustrating how the tucking
operation is accomplished by means of the finger shown in Figure 6.
Figures 14 and 15 are respectively a plan and a sectional view of the needle
carriers.
Figure 16 is a plan view illustrating mechanism for actuating the sinker cam
so as to produce tight and loose stitches.
Figure 17 is a view of the under side of the sinker cam.
Figure 18 is a side view showing certain of the parts illustrated in Figure 16
detached.
Figure 19 is an elevational view of a part of the mechanism that shifts the
sinker cam.
Figure 20 is a sectional view of the upper part of the part shown in Figure 19.
Figures 21 and 22 are respectively plan and end elevational views illustrating
shipper and pawl release mechanism, and
Figure 23 is a view illustrating the type of needles used in the machine.
The needle cylinder B is fixed and grooved upon its exterior and in the direc-
tion of its length for the needles which may be conveniently divided into groups.
The needles 1, Figure 23, may extend half way round the cylinder for example
around the upper half as shown in Figure 14. The fashioning needles are
located on the other half of the cylinder, and between the fashioning needles 2 is
a group 3 of needles like the needles 1. The bits of the needles 1, are connected
with the carrier C by means of removable plates 4. The carriers are reciprocated
upward and downward and serve to actuate the needles as is fully described in the
above mentioned patents. The plates are notched in the form of a semi-circle
as at 5 and provided with generally pear-shaped slots as 6. A. screw is accomo-
dated by the notches 5, and other screws are accommodated by the pear-shaped
slots 6. The described arrangement of screws and slots affords means by which
the plates 4 can be applied and detached without the removal of the screws for
the purpose of putting in and taking out needles. Each carrier C C₁ is, generally
speaking, of semi-circular form in plan (see Figure 14) and the carrier is pro-
vided with a deep groove 7 and above it are shallow grooves 8, formed in the
plate 9 (Figs. 1. 8 and 9) for the reception of the spring bits of the fashioning
needles 2 that are divided into two sets, one on each side of the machine. On
the top of the plate 9 is mounted a grooved plate 10, Figures 14 and 15, that
serves to clamp the needles 3 which might be called the heel needles to place on
the carrier C. The ends of the plates 4 and 9 may be shaped as shown at Y in
Figure 14. When the bit of a fashioning needle is in the groove 7. as shown
in Figure 8, such needle makes full strokes and performs regular knitting. How-
ever, when the bit of a fashioning needle is in the groove S, as shown in Figure 9,
it is carried downward but not to its full stroke, so that it does not throw off its
stitch or stitches, although when the carrier rises, it gets into the groove 7, and
is thus carried up to the full limit of its upward stroke so as to receive an
additional stitch or stitches. When several stitches are collected on one needle
and then all thrown off at the same time in the widening and narrowing opera-
tions or fashioning, there is produced what is designated "tucking" which serves
to close up openings that are frequently formed by automatic fashioning machines.
In the present as in the prior inventions above mentioned, use is made of
strippers and 11, for detaching and attaching the fashioning needles from and
to their carrier. These strippers are shown in plan in Figure 4, and in detail
upon an enlarged scale in Figures 5 to 13, and are provided with a curved edge
or fashioning plate 11, which, when opposite the fashioning needles, compresses
their spring bits and thus clears them from the grooves 7 and 8, so that they
remain out of action until the removal of the stripper. These strippers are also
provided with a finger or fucker 12, which, when opposite the fashioning needles,
compresses their bits to a less extent than the edge 11, and sufficiently to lift

page_text: the bits out of the groove 7, as the needle carrier descends, and into the groove 8.
The finger 12, is brought into position for engaging the bits of the fashioning
needles only when the latter are being brought back into action after having been
out of action for fashioning. Such position of the finger is shown in Figure 12.
In Figure 10 the finger is shown back of the edge 11. Each of the strippers D
and 1, comprises two similar segment-like pieces or plates 13 and 14 placed the
one above the other and adapted to slide in circular ways in the bed of the machine
under the influence, for example, of rack-and-pinion mechanism such as is
described in the above mentioned patents. As shown the bed is slotted for the
accommodation of a bolt that is attached to the part or plate 14. 15 are springs
that operate to prevent an overthrow or excessive movement of the parts of the
strippers. The finger 12 extends from the plate 13 up through an opening 16
in the part 14 so that the parts 13 and 14 are allowed a range of motion in
respect to each other which corresponds with the space or clearance afforded the
finger in the opening 16. 17, Figures 4 and 5, is a set screw that may be caused
to project from one of the side walls of the opening 10 and thus limit the range
of motion of the parts 13 and 14 in respect to each other. Incidentally it may
be stated that the finger 12 and edge 11 are made of hard metal and secured by
means of screws or otherwise to the parts that carry them. When the stripper Di,
Figure 4, is being advanced in a counter clockwise direction in Figure 4 the side
wall 16, Figure 5, engages the shank of the finger 12 and thus pushes the part 13
along and also causes the finger to lie behind the edge 11, Figures 10 and 11.
so that the edge 11 operates to throw out fashioning needles. The described
motion of the stripper D¹ is continued until the forward part of the edge 11 has
advanced slightly beyond the fashioning needles, that is generally speaking
opposite a few of the needles 10 with which, however, it does not engage. To
effect the widening operation the part 14 of the stripper D¹ is moved in a clock-
wise direction with the result that the part 14 at first moves independently of
the part 13 until the side wall 16b or the set screw 17 projecting from it collides
with the shank of the finger 12, as shown in Figure 12, and thus causes the
parts 14 and 13 to move together. The result of this change in relative position
between the parts 13 and 14 is to cause the finger to lie beyond the edge 11 as
shown in Figures 12 and 13. Since the finger is now out from behind the edge 11
it operates upon the bits of the fashioning needles in the manner described, so
that in their descent they are lifted out of the groove 7 into the groove 8 and
thus prevented for a time from throwing off stitches, whereby when they do throw
off stitches by reason of the strippers having moved out of range of them there
is produced in the work what is called tucking. The movements of the stripper D
are like the movements of the stripper D', and the construction and operation of
the strippers are also alike.
18 is a ring dished as at 19 to accommodate the web-holders 20. The tops of
the webs on the needle cylinder that lie between the needle grooves are engaged
by the ring 18 which may be shrunk on to them. As shown the parts of the
webs that are engaged by the ring 18 project somewhat further out from the
cylinder than do the rest of the webs and all the webs are notched as at 21 for
the reception of a spring that encompasses the needles and holds them to place.
The top of the needle cylinder is circular and of less exterior diameter than the
rest of it. The web-holder guide ring 22, which upon its underside is radially
grooved or slotted as at 52 for the reception of the toes of the web-holders. is
applied, for example, by means of screws to the top of the needle cylinder. The
sinker bed 8 is applied to the ring 18 and is provided with sinkers 63 that work
in radial grooves in it. Each sinker has a couple of lugs 23, and is rounded on
top as at 24 whereby a transfer frame may be conveniently used. 25 is the
presser ring of which the teeth extend inward and upward. It rests in a seat in
the sinker head and the tops of the web-holders 20 work between its teeth whilst
the sinkers work between the portions of its teeth which extend upward
There are springs 26 around the web-holders which tend to force them inward

page_text: Each of the web-holders is provided with a rounded toe loosely fitted and seated in
one of the slots 52 of the web-holder guide ring 22 and with a heel adapted to
the dished portion 19 of the ring 18 which serves to limit the outward throw of
the upper and effective portions of the web-holders. The web-holders turn about
the rounded toes as pivots and the amount of outward turning is limited by the
heel coming into contact with the part 19. Each of the web-holders is also pro-
vided with a finger adapted to collide with the top portion 27 of the needle
cylinder which operates as a stop for limiting the range of inward movement of
the web-holders, it being understood that the web-holders turn on the rounded
toes as pivots.
From the foregoing description it is obvious that the sinker head can be
detached from the guide ring 18 by the simple operation of loosening the screws
shown in Figure 1 without removing the web-holders since the latter are held
to place by the springs 26, guide ring 18 and notched web-holder guide ring 22.
Moreover, the sinkers and web-holders are guided in the described slots so that
when a needle is taken out, for example, for repairs and then replaced, the web-
holder cannot get into the wrong position in respect to the needle. Incidentally
it may be remarked that the beards of the needles are closed by the points of
inwardly and radially projecting teeth of the presser ring 25 in both ascending
and descending. The sinker head is provided with circular grooves in which
the projections 23 of the sinkers travel and with a cam 28 located near the thread-
carrier 29, Figure 16, and adapted to produce reciprocation of the sinkers. On
the sinker head is attached a guide block 30, which is, generally speaking,
U-shaped and between the arms of which is pivotted the thread-carrier 29. The
delivery end of the thread carrier is elliptical, whereby the yarn is laid near to
the sinkers so that there is less breakage and less mending to be done at the
heels and toes when stockings are being fabricated. The cam 28 is adjusted
radially in respect to the centre of the sinker head, whereby the throw of the
sinkers is increased or diminished so that the stitch is tightened or loosened. In
making hosiery the stitch is tight at the calf and foot portions and loose at the
leg portion, whereby the stocking is to a certain extent shaped or fashioned.
31 is a sinker cam carrier. It is of U-shape and its arms are guided by the
guide block 30, which may be provided at its sides with flanges overlying these
arms. There are interposed between the block 30 and carrier 31 suitable
springs 32 that balance the centrifugal effect due to the rotation of the machine.
There are also other springs 33 that operate by friction and prevent sudden and
undesired movements of the cam carrier. The car 28 is located above the sinkers
and between the projections thereof and is engaged by pins which depend from
the carrier 31 and work in slots in the top part of the sinker head, which slots
are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 17. 34 is a stop that projects through the
top plate of the sinker head and is adjustably connected with one of the arms of
the cam carrier 31, for example, by means of set screws and their complemental
slots, as shown in Figure 18. This stop 34 engages the inside one of the projec-
tions 23 on each of the sinkers and thus prevents an overthrow of the sinkers by
the cam 28, it being understood that this stop is to be adjusted to compensate for
wear of the outside projections on the sinkers due to the action of the cam 28
thereon.
Means for automatically adjusting the cam 28 in order to tighten or loosen the
stitch as required will now be described. The pattern chain r, with which
machines of the class described are commonly provided, is equipped with
cams 35 which are intended to operate the sinker cam 28 at the required time.
At some suitable point on top of the machine is located a socket 36 that carries
a bell crank lever 37. The arms 38 and 39 of this bell crank lever may be
shifted in respect to each other and clamped to place by means of a set screw 40.
The lower arm 39 is connected to one end of a link 41 of which the other end is
connected to a cam lever 42. The link 41 is preferably provided at its ends with
right and left hand screws and suitable jamb nuts by means of which its length

page_text: may be adjusted. 43 is a spring that operates upon the arm 39 and tends to hold
the cam lever to place in contact with its cam 35. 44 is a screw equipped with a
jamb nut and provided with a conical point that operates as an adjustable back
stop for the arm 39. The arm 38 is provided with two rollers or projections
between which a lip 45 on the cam carrier 31 runs. The journal of one of these
rollers 46 is fitted to a slot in the arm 38 and is provided with a nut and washer
for clamping it to place. To ensure accuracy in adjustment there is provided a
screw 47 equipped with a jamb nut and adapted to have its point limit the posi-
tion of the journal of the roller. The described adjustments not only afford means
for properly positioning the rollers in respect to the lip that passes between them.
but also for compensating or taking up wear upon the parts. When the cam 35
collides with the lever 42 the latter is shifted toward the left in Figure 16, the
bell crank lever is turned by the link 41 slightly in a clockwise direction. The
lip 45 is drawn by the rollers outward and carries with it the cam 28 so that the
stitch is tightened. A reverse motion of the cam lever causes a reverse motion of
the cam 28. Machines of the class described are usually provided with a drum
as H. and with reciprocating pawls ask and ¹, the pawl & being sometimes thrown
out of action. The pawl is normally held up to its work by a spring 47. which
upon such occasions is in compression The outer end of the spring 47 is acted
upon by one arm of a bell crank lever 48 of which the other arm 49 is controlled
by a cam connected with the drum H as will be hereinafter set forth.
drum H is provided at its outer end with a crown cam 50. The belt shipper
mechanism, not shown, is controlled by a shipper lever 51, provided with a roller
that runs on the edge of the crown cam 50. so that when the roller on the shipper
lever drops into a groove or low part like that shown in Figure 21 on the cam 50.
the shipper mechanism is caused to operate by a spring or weight as will be
understood from the before mentioned patents. The arm 49 of the bell crank
lever is held in contact with the shipper lever 51 so that when the latter falls into
a low part of the cam 50 the arm 48 swings outward releasing the spring 47, thus
permitting the pawl to clear its ratchet wheel and become inoperative. The
described cam 50 and shipper lever 51 are simple in construction and positive in
action and operate with a degree of slowness that is desirable for shipper mech.
anism for machines of the class described. By throwing the tension off the
spring 47 by means of the bell crank fever 48 49 as described, unnecessary wear
and noise are obviated and the machine improved.
The
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains
that modifications may be made in details without departing from the spirit
thereof, hence the invention is not limited to the precise construction and
arrangement of parts hereinabove set forth and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a knitting machine of the kind described the combination with the spring
bits of the fashioning needles of a needle-carrier having deep and shallow grooves
for the reception of said bits whereby the needles may accomplish full and partial
strokes substantially as described.
2. In a knitting machine of the kind described the combination with the spring
hits of the fashioning needles of a needle carrier having grooves the one above
the other for the reception of said bits and means for reciprocating the carrier
vertically substantially as described.
3. In a knitting machine of the kind described, the combination of the spring
bits of the fashioning needles, a needle carrier having two grooves for the recep-
tion of said bits and a needle stripper having a finger for transferring the needle
bits from groove to groove substantially as described.

page_text: 4. In a knitting machine of the 'kind described the combination of the spring
bits of the fashioning needles, the carrier provided with grooves for the reception
of said bits, the finger for transferring the bits from groove to groove, the edge for
lifting the bits out of both grooves and means for shifting the finger and edge in
respect to each other substantially as described.
5. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of the spring
bits of the fashioning needles, the needle carrier provided with grooves, the
superposed segmental plates movable in respect to each other and to the bed of
the machine one of such plates being provided with an edge and a slot and the
other with a finger projecting through said slot, and means for shifting the first
mentioned plate whereby the finger is caused to lie behind and beyond the edge to
bring it out of and into range of the bits substantially as described.
6. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of the spring
bits of the fashioning needles, the needle carrier provided with grooves, the
superposed segmental plates movable in respect to each other and to the bed of
the machine one of such plates being provided with an edge and a slot and the
other with a finger projecting through said slot, means for shifting the first men-
tioned plate whereby the finger is caused to lie behind and beyond the edge to
bring it out of and into range of the bits, and a screw carried by the slotted plate
and projecting into range of the finger to afford means for adjusting the relative
movement of said plates, substantially as described.
7. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of the spring
bits of the fashioning needles, the grooves of the carrier, the ways on the bed
plate, the segmental plates movable in said ways and in respect to each other and
respectively provided with a finger and an edge, and springs interposed between
said ways and plates to prevent excessive movement of the latter substantially
as described.
8. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of an axially
grooved needle cylinder. a dished ring mounted on the webs of said cylinder, a
sinker bed applied to said dished ring, web-holders seated on said dished ring and
a spring encircling the web-holders so that the sinker bed may be removed with-
out detaching the web-holders from the cylinder substantially as described.
9. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of an axially
grooved needle cylinder of reduced diameter at its upper end. a dished ring 18
mounted on said cylinder, web-holder guide ring 22 mounted on the upper end
of said cylinder, a presser ring of which the teeth extend inward, web-holders
working between the teeth of the presser ring seated on the dished ring and guided
by the ring 22 and springs encircling the web-holders substantially as described.
10. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of a presser
ring of which the teeth extend inward and upward. spring needles whose beards
co-operate with the inner ends of said teeth, web-holders working between said
teeth. means for supporting the web-holders, sinkers working between
upwardly extending parts of said teeth, and means for supporting said sinkers,
substantially as described.
the
11. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of an axially
grooved needle cylinder provided with rings 18 and 22, a sinker bed detachably
applied to the ring. 18. a presser ring seated in the sinker bed and provided with
inwardly and upwardly extending teeth, web-holders guided by the rings 18 and
22 and working between the teeth of the presser ring, springs encircling the web-
holders, sinkers working between the upwardly extending parts of the teeth of
the presser ring, and needles whose beards co-operate with the ends of the teeth
on the presser ring, substantially as described.
12. In a knitting machine of the kind described a presser ring provided with
inwardly and upwardly extending teeth substantially as described.
13. In a knitting machine, of the kind described a movable sinker cam ring.
sinkers, a sinker cam radially adjustable in respect to the movable ring, and

page_text: means for automatically shifting said cam whilst the ring is moving in order to
increase or diminish the throw of the sinkers and thereby tighten and loosen the
stitches and fashion tubular work substantially as described.
14. In a knitting machine of the kind described the combination of a sinker
bed and its sinkers, a movable sinker cam, a cam carrier radially adjustable in
respect to the sinker bed and provided with a lip and mechanism substantially
as described for engaging said lip and shifting the cam carrier.
15. In a knitting machine of the kind described a revoluble sinker bed and its
sinkers, a movable sinker cam, a cam carrier radially adjustable in respect to the
sinker bed, a spring for balancing centrifugal force exerted on the carrier and
cam and means substantially as described for shifting the carrier.
16. In a knitting machine of the kind described a sinker bed and its sinkers,
a guide block provided with a thread carrier and attached to the bed, a U-shaped
cam carrier having its arms straddling said block, a cam carried by the carrier
and means substantially as described for shifting the carrier.
17. In a knitting machine of the kind described a sinker bed and its sinkers,
a guide block attached to the bed, a U-shaped cam carrier having its arms
astride of said block, springs interposed between said block and arms, a cam
carried by the carrier and means substantially as described for shifting the carrier.
18. In a knitting machine of the kind described a revoluble sinker bed and its
sinkers, a sinker cam movable radially in respect to the bed and connected with
a lip, an arm provided with rollers or projections that co-operate with the lip,
and means responding to changes in the pattern chain and adapted to shift said
arm substantially as described.
19. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of a revoluble
sinker bed and its sinkers, a sinker cam movable radially in respect to the bed
and connected with a lip, a socket supported on top of the machine, a bell crank
lever rotatably mounted in said socket and having one of its arms equipped with
projections or rollers adapted to said lip and having the other of its arms attached
to a link and a pattern chain and its accessories for shifting said link substan-
tially as described.
20. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of a
revoluble sinker bed and its sinkers, a sinker cam movable radially in respect
to the bed and connected with a lip, a socket supported on top of the machine,
a bell crank lever rotatably mounted in said socket and having one of its arms
equipped with projections or rollers adapted to said lip and having the other of
its arms attached to a link, means for adjusting said arms in respect to each
other, and a pattern chain and its accessories for shifting said link substantially
as described.
21. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of a revoluble
sinker bed and its sinkers, a sinker cam movable radially in respect to the bed
and connected with a lip, a socket supported on top of the machine, a bell crank
lever rotatably mounted in said socket and having one of its arms equipped with
projections or rollers adapted to said lip and having the other of its arms attached
to a link, a screw as 44, for limiting the range of motion of said lever and a
pattern chain and its accessories for shifting said link substantially as described.
22. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of a revoluble
sinker bed and its sinkers, a sinker cam movable radially in respect to the bed
and connected with a lip, a socket supported on top of the machine, a bell
crank lever rotatably mounted in said socket and having one of its arms equipped
with projections or rollers adapted to said lip and having the other of its arms
attached to a link, a spring operating upon one of said arms and tending to
shift the link in one direction and a pattern chain and its accessories for shifting
the link in the other direction substantially as described.
23. In a knitting machine of the kind described the combination of a drum, a
reciprocating pawl, a cam on the drum, a spring for holding said pawl up to
its work and a pivotal bell crank lever controlled by said cam and operating to

page_text: press upon said spring to put the pawl into action and to release the spring to
permit the pawl to work free whereby noise and wear are avoided substantially
as described.
24. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of a recipro-
cating pawl, a spring for controlling said pawl, a drum, a crown cam on the end
of said drum, a bell crank lever operating upon said spring, and a shipper lever
co-operating with the cam and operating upon the bell crank lever substantially
as described.
25. The combination in a knitting machine of the kind described of an axially
grooved needle cylinder having a cylindrical top of reduced diameter a web-
holder guide ring applied to the top of the cylinder and having radial notches 52
in its bottom face, web-holders fitted in the notches 52 and a spring encompass-
ing the web-holders substantially as described.
Dated this Sth day of December 1899.
BOULT, WADE & KILBURN,
Agents for the Applicant.