Improvements in Patterning Attachments for Rib-knitting Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1897-Accepted, 17th July, 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Patterning Attachments for Rib-knitting Machines.
I, LOUIS NAPOLEON DEVON WILLIAMS of Ashbourne in the County of Montgomery,
State of Pennsylvania, one of the United States of America, Knitting Machine
Manufacturer, 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:-
My Invention relates to improvements in the rib knitting machine for which I
obtained Letters Patent No. 29404 dated December 22nd 1896, the object of my
present Invention being to so mount and operate the notched pattern disc employed
for acting upon the needles of the machine that the said machine will occupy less
space than before and can be run at a higher speed.
This object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of sufficient of
a rib knitting machine to illustrate my present Invention; and Figure 2 is a vertical
sectional view illustrating a modified form of machine.
A represents part of the fixed bed of the machine and B part of the vertical needle
cylinder which is mounted in the said bed so as to be free to rotate therein and
is provided with a bevel gear wheel B¹ to which power may be applied in order to
effect such rotation.
The needle cylinder has the usual grooves for the vertical guidance of the
needles a which are vertically reciprocated by means of cams carried by the
cylinder cam box D, the latter being fixedly mounted upon the bed A of the machine
in any suitable manner.
The usual circular needle dial is represented at G, this dial having radial grooves
for the reception and guidance of the dial needles b which are operated by cams
on the underside of the dial cam plate F, the latter being fixedly held in position
by being secured to a central spindle F¹ depending from an arch F* mounted
upon the fixed cylinder cam box or upon the fixed bed of the machine and spanning
the needle cylinder and dial.
The needle dial G+ is mounted so as to rotate upon the lower depending portion
of the spindle F" such rotation being effected by engagement of a dog or projection n
on the inner side of the needle cylinder with a dog or projection n' on the underside
of the needle dial, or in any other suitable way.
Secured to and projecting from the cylinder cam box D is a bracket H. having at
the outer end a vertical spindle H¹ on which is mounted so as to be free to rotate a
wheel I adapted to mesh with teeth i projecting from the needle cylinder B,
there being, by preference, as many of these teeth i as there are needles in the
dial G.
spur
Secured to the hub of the spur wheel I is a disc J which has in its periphery a
series of notches x the number and disposition of which will be dependent upon the
desired character of the pattern to be produced, this disc, as it is rotated, acting
upon the projected needles of the dial G so as to push in some of the said needles
and allow others to remain projected in the same manner and for the same purpose as
in my prior patented machine. In the former machine, however, the notched disc

page_text: was mounted upon a rotating cylinder cam box and was carried around a non-rotating
needle cylinder and dial and as the notched disc was frequently of considerable
diameter, a correspondingly large amount of space was required for the operation of
the machine; that is to say, it required a circular space having a radius extending
from the axis of the spindle F¹ to the outermost part of the disc J; moreover, the
weight of the notched disc and its appurtenances was such as to limit the speed at
which the machine could be run, owing to the effect of centrifugal force upon the
rotating mass when the machine was run at high speed.
In the present machine, however, both of these objections are overcome by mounting
the notched pattern disc upon a non-rotative portion of the machine, the
action of the disc upon the needles of the dial, however, being the saine as
before.
Figure 2 illustrates the application of my present Invention to a machine of the
character illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawing of the former patent, the notched
disc J' in this case being carried by a bracket K projecting from the fixed dial cam
plate F and acting upon the bits of the dial needles b instead of upon the ends of the
same, the notched disc J' having on the underside of the same teeth m for
engagement with teeth m³ formned upon a shouldered portion of the rotating needle
dial Ğ so that, as the latter rotates, corresponding rotation of the notched pattern
disc J' will be effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a rib knitting machine such as hereinbefore referred to, an externally
located and peripherally notched pattern disc mounted upon one of the non-rotative
elements of the machine, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the improvements
in rib knitting machines substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
in Figure and the modification thereof illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying
drawings.
Did the oth J. 1007