Improvements in and relating to Knitting Machines for the Manufacture of Knitted Plated Fabrics.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 12th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 13th Jan., 1894
Improvements in and relating to Knitting Machines for the
Manufacture of Knitted Plated Fabrics.
WALTER PRINGLE and ROBERT PRINGLE of R. Pringle & Son Hawick, N.B.
Hosiery Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to improvements in straight bar knitting machines used
for the manufacture of plated knitted work and has for its object the production of
fashioned plated work, our improvements being used in conjunction with the thread
carrier described in the Specification No. 8674 A.D. 1892.
For making fashioned plated work with the carrier referred to it is necessary to
raise the plating thread guide tube at the end of each traverse, and we do this
when making fabrics which are fashioned at the sides only by mounting suitably
In this
shaped cam surfaces upon bars which extend across the machine.
arrangement, two cam surfaces for each carrier are used the bar carrying the cam
surfaces for one side of each division of needles being connected to one of the
fashioning screw nuts, and the bar carrying the cam surfaces for the other side of
each division of needles is connected to the other fashioning screw nut, so that the
cam surfaces are moved in or out according to the width of the fabric and tu.
plating thread guides raised at the proper position.
When our improvements are applied to machines making plated stockings it is
necessary to have one plating carrier for the leg and instep, and two extra plating
carriers for the heel. The legging plating thread tube is raised and lowered by
two sets of cam surfaces in the manner already described but when the instep and
heel are started, the three carriers are at work, the centre or legging and instep
carrier traversing a fixed distance, while the two outside or heeling carriers are
required to fashion the heel pieces on one side only. We accomplish this according
to one method by using separate sets of cam surfaces for each carrier connecting
them to and disconnecting them from the fashioning screw nuts as required. As
the inside edges of the heel and outside edges of the instep are parallel to each
other and are not fashioned we can arrange the same surfaces to act upon the
legging plating guide when making the instep and a different portion of the same
cam or separate cams on the same bar upon the heeling plating guides at the inside
ends of their traverse. In this case the cam surfaces acting upon the heeling
carriers at the outside ends of their traverse would be attached by the bars
carrying them to the fashioning screws so as to obtain the necessary fashioning."
After the heel is completed, the heeling carriers would be thrown out of action
The legging
and their cam surface bars disconnected from the fashioning screws.
carrier cam surface bars would then be connected to the fashioning screws and
would be moved in or out to correspond with the traverse of the carrier.
The connection between the cam surface bars and the fashioning screw nuts may
be made by any of the methods usually adopted in this class of machinery for
connecting and disconnecting the thread carrier bars with the fashioning screw nuts.
Dated this 24th day of March 1893.
W. H. POTTER, M.I.M.E.,
Parliament Chambers, Nottingham, Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Knitting Machines for the
Manufacture of Knitted Plated Fabrics.
WALTER PRINGLE and ROBERT PRINGLE of R. Pringle & Son Hawick N.B.
Hosiery Manufacturers, 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 :-
Our invention has reference to improvements in and relating to straight bar
knitting machines used for the production of plated knitted fabrics, such improve-
ments being used in conjunction with the plating thread carrier described in our
former Patent Specification No. 8674 A.D. 1892.
Previous to this our invention the plating thread carriers hereinbefore referred
to had only been used in the manufacture of unfashioned plated fabrics.
Now the object of our present invention is to enable our patented plating thread
carrier to be used for the manufacture of fashioned knitted plated fabrics.
Our patented thread carrier is made with two thread guides or eyes, one of the
eyes being in the form of a sliding tube which is raised at the end of each traverse
of the thread carrier, for the purpose of allowing the sinkers of the machine to be
brought forward. For raising this tube, fixed cams or inclines at each side of each
division of the machine have hitherto been used, but according to our present
invention, the said cams or inclines at each side of each division of the machine are
mounted upon rods, which are so fitted to the machine, that they can be moved
endways in their guides, and are so connected to the fashioning screws at the ends
of the machine, that the position of the cams on the same for raising the sliding
tubes can be moved to or from the centre of each division of the machine, according
to the motion of the thread carrier, the amount of such motion varying according to
the width of the fabric being knitted.
Our improved apparatus is especially applicable to knitting machines of the
Cotton's type, and it may be used for making all kinds of plated articles or fabrics
usually made on this class of knitting machine.
We have attached hereto one sheet of drawings illustrating our invention and
the method of carrying out the same and refer to such drawings in the following
description.
Fig. 1. is a front elevation showing our patented thread carrier, and the cams or
inclines for acting upon the same as applied to each division of the machine.
Fig. 2. is an end elevation of the above.
Fig. 3. is a diagram of the instep and heel pieces of a stocking or sock.
Fig. 4. is an elevation of the cams used for a fabric fashioned at the sides only.
Fig. 5. is an elevation of the cams used for making a plated instep and the heel
pieces for the foot of a stocking or sock.
Fig. 6. is an elevation of an alternative arrangement of cams for the same
purpose as the cams shown in Fig. 5.
Our patented plating carrier is mounted upon and traversed across the needles
by the thread carrier rod a which. is actuated, and the amount of its motion
controlled by the usual means. The carrier eye bis used for supplying the ordinary
knitting thread, and the tube c for the plating thread, this tube being connected by
a link d to the lever e.
For making a plated fabric which requires to be fashioned at the sides only, the
machine is fitted with two bars or rods and 9 which extend the full width of the
machine. One of these bars is connected to the fashioning screw nut at one end of
the machine, and the other bar to the fashioning screw nut at the other end of the
machine.
The bar f is fitted at each division of the machine with cam pieces k and the
bar g similarly fitted with cam pieces k, the bar f carrying the cams for raising

page_text: the tubes c of the plating thread carriers in all the divisions of the machine,
when the carriers reach the extremity of their motion towards the right hand end
of the machine. The bar carries the cams for acting upon the plating thread
carriers in all the divisions of the machine when the carriers reach the extremity of
their motion towards the left hand end of the machine. Now since the length of
the traverse of the thread carriers is limited by the fashioning screw nuts and the
bars and g are attached to the same, it will be evident that in whatever position
the thread carriers are stopped, the tubes of the same will be raised clear of the
sinkers.
For making the leg, instep, and heel pieces of a stocking or sock, additional
cams are required.
The leg up to the line Fig. 3 is made by the cams and bars arranged as
described, and which are shown in Fig. 4. At the line the leg is divided into
three parts for making the instep 2. 3. and the heel pieces 1. 2 and 3. 4. To make
these pieces two additional thread carriers are brought into action, and according
to the arrangement shown in Fig. 5 four additional cam bars are used. The cams k
and h are used for the outside edges of the heel and the bars fand g carrying the same
are attached to the fashioning screw nuts. For the inside edges of the heel, cams n
and m are used and for the edges of the instep cams p and o are used, the cams n, m,
pando being mounted upon bars q, r, s and t respectively such bars during the
making of the heel remaining stationary, while the bars ƒ and g are moved to
fashion the heel pieces at 5 and 6. When the heel pieces are completed, the
cams n, m, p, and o, are thrown out of action, and the instep made by the cams k
and h which are "racked in " for that purpose, or the cams k, m, n and h may be
thrown out of action, and the instep made by the cams p and o, these cams being
connected to the fashioning screw nuts for making the fashionings of the toe at 7
and 8.
Instead of the cams shown in Fig. 5 the arrangement shown in Fig. 6 may be
used. In this arrangement the cams k and h are mounted and actuated as already
described but instead of the cams n, p, o and m, the double cams u and v are used,
these cams being used for the inside edges of the heel and the outside edges of the
instep, and they may also be used for fashioning the toe at 7 and 8 by connecting
the bars x and y carrying the same with the fashioning screw nuts at the ends of
the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
In knitting machines for making plated fashioned work with a thread carrier
supplying the plating thread through a tube or eye which requires raising clear of
the sinkers at the end of each traverse, the provision of means for raising such tube
or eye when the thread carrier reaches the extremity of its traverse, arranged
substantially as shown and described in the accompanying drawings and Specifica-
tion, and for the purpose specified.
Dated this fich day of December IXYX
Pattu GRIS III (18y On December 1893
W. H. POTTER, Wh. Sc.,
Newcastle Chambers, Nottingham, Agent for the Applicants