Improvements in the Manufacture of Hosiery and in Machinery therefor.
Year: 1888

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Hosiery and in Machinery
therefor.
We, HENRY CLARKE, Foreman, and THOMAS MAWBY of the Firm of Thornton and
Mawby, of Duke Street, Leicester, in the County of Leicester Hosiery Manufacturers,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to the manufacture of goods or articles comprised under the
term "lace hosiery" and its main object is to provide a machine which will operate
automatically to produce such articles in an efficient and expeditious manner.
For this purpose we employ in combination with the other parts of the inachine
jacquard mechanism which will select the "points" to be operated and thus regulato
or determine the pattern to be produced.
Our improvements are applicable to rotary frames or to the machines known as
cotton's patent frames or to any frames with automatic narrowing machines and an
important feature of our invention is the provision of means whereby the points will
be automatically put into or out of action as required.
In applying our said invention to a cotton's patent frame, we attach suitable brackets
to the narrowing machine, and in these brackets we place a round rod on which are
other brackets and a brass" trick" cut for every two needles, in these "tricks" are
slides; at the lower end is a narrowing machine point and at the upper end is a piece
of wire, above this "trick" are plates with holes drilled in them of the same gauge
and pitch as the "tricks." The points required to shift the stitches, are pressed down
by those holes in the plate which are filled up or closed, the holes not filled up
allowing the other points to remain out of action. The shifting of the stitches is
effected in a similar manner and by similar cams to those heretofore used for
narrowing or by other suitable means. The slides are lifted out of action by a bar
attached to the aforesaid brackets attached to the narrowing machine and are
held up
by springs secured to the plate that holds the slides in place. The up and down motion
of the said plates is obtained as follows viz.; brackets are secured to the bed of the
machine and to these brackets are attached levers, to which motion is imparted by
TD 1.

page_text: cams attached to the cam-shaft and arranged to operate upon another lever. secured
to a bracket attached to the main shaft of the narrowing machine. A. considerable
number of plates are required to produce a pattern. These plates are secured to the
rod by means of a number of bosses. The rod is turned by means of a ratchet-
wheel at the end of the rod is a bracket with two pawls attached thereto; when the
cams lift the said rod, the shaft is moved forward one tooth. The said rod is moved
forward as far as required. When the said rod is required to be moved back, a lever
attached to the end of the machine moves forward and throws one pawl out of gear
allowing the other pawl to fall into gear. Motion is imparted to this lever by a cam-
wheel which is rotated by a ratchet-wheel, to which rotary motion is imparted by
means of a jacquard chain or its equivalent.
According to another form or modification of our invention we employ a sley
attached to the narrowing machine, and jacks or levers held in their places with a
jack-wire and put into action by means of a rod with bosses thereon, and plates
secured to the bosses and having therein holes of the same gauge as the sley bar.
These plates have pins or screws projecting outward therefrom, and, as the rod is
moved round, the said pins come in contact with the jacks or levers and put them into
action; and to take them out a bar is secured to the brackets of the narrowing machine
and is lifted up by levers which are carried by brackets attached to the bed of the
machine and are actuated by cams on the cam-shaft.
To produce the required pattern the means above described are employed.
By our invention we are enabled. to dispense in a, great ineasure with hand labour
in the manufacture of lace hosiery, and to produce the same in a more expeditious
manner than heretofore.
Data:
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,.
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Hosiery and in Machinery
therefor. :
We, HENRY CLARKE, Foreman, and THOMAS MAWBY, of the firm of Thornton
and Mawby, of Duke Street, Leicester in the County of Leicester, Hosiery
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of the said 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 relates to the manufacture of goods or articles comprised under the
term "lace hosiery" and its main object is to provide a machine which will operate
automatically to produce such articles in an efficient and expeditious manner, and by
which we are enabled to dispense in a great measure with hand labour in the
manufacture of "lace hosiery.'
Our improved method of inanufacture comprises the formation of the lace-pattern
by taking the loops off one or more of the needles employed in such manufacture
and placing the said loops upon adjacent needles, in such a manner that holes will be
left in the manufactured article where necessary for the formation of the desired
pattern.
For this purpose we employ narrowing machine points which effect such transfer
of the loops and which we will hereinafter term "lace-points" and we combine
with these points and with the other parts of the machine Jacquard mechanism
which will select the "points" to be operated for thus transferring the loops and
thereby regulate or determine the pattern to be produced. We also provide suitable
means for imparting lateral reciprocating motion to the lace-points for the purpose of
transferring the loops.
Our said invention moreover, comprises other improvements hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings we have shown how our said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figures 1 and 2 show a front elevation of a machine known as a Cottons' frame,
with our present improvements applied thereto, the central portion of the said machine
being removed.
Figure 3 is an elevation of one end of the said machine, and
Figure 4 an elevation of the other end of the same machine, such parts of the said
machine as are not necessary to the correct understanding of the novel features being
omitted.
Figure 5 is a transverse section through the narrowing and lace point bars taken on
the line Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a transverse section through the narrowing and lace point bars taken
on the line ¹¹ Figure 2, also showing the Jacquard cylinder depressing the lace
points.
הז
"
1

page_text: •
The figures 5, 6 and 7 are drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 8 is a rear elevation of the chain-mechanism hereinafter described, for
putting the lace-apparatus into operation.
Figure 9 is a transverse section through the narrowing and lace point bars showing
the lace points out of action.
Figure 10 shows in side and front elevation the alternate lace-point slides and
Figure 11 shows in side and front elevation the intermediate slides.
Figures 12 and 13 are face and edge views respectively of the Jacquard plates.
Figures 14 and 15 show a modification of our said invention in which the lace
points are carried by pivoted levers instead of slides. In Figure 15 the lace points
are shown out of action.
Figure 16 is a side elevation of the Jacquard cam.
Figures 9 to 15 are also drawn to an enlarged scale.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
In all the figures of the drawings we have shown mainly, those parts that are
intended for effecting the narrowing of the work and the formation of the lace-
patterns, and not the parts for producing ordinary courses of work, as these latter
are of the usual construction and their manner of working is well understood.
Referring to Figures 1 to 13, A A, are the end standards forming part of the frame
of the machine. Bis the first driving shaft which is mounted in bearings B' attached
to the said standards A..
C is a cam-shaft for operating various parts of the mechanism hereinafter described.
The said cam-shaft is connected by any suitable gearing with the driving shaft B.
D is the needle-bar shaft. E the presser-bar shaft; F the catch-bar shaft; G the
catch-bar lifting shaft. All the said shafts D, E, F, G are mounted and driven-as in
an ordinary Cottons' machine and form no feature of our said invention.
a a are brackets which are firmly attached to the frame of the machine and on which
are mounted other brackets a' forming bearings for the narrowing and lace-point bars
hereinafter described; are the sets of narrowing points carried respectively by
narrowing bars which pass through and have their bearings in the said brackets a
Each bar is provided with a fork which clips or engages with tongues
firmly attached to or formed with nuts 6 adapted to slide in grooved bearings formed
in fixed brackets 67. The said brackets are firmly secured to the frame A. Within
the nuts work screws 68 which rotate in bearings 69 attached to the brackets 67, the
said screws being reduced at each end where resting in the bearings so as to form
shoulders or collars for preventing endwise movement. The screws 68 are provided
with hand-wheels 60 whereby they may be rotated by hand to cause the narrowing
points in each set to recede from each other after the completion of each article
or sets of articles. The said hand wheels are moreover provided with pegs or pins b
whereby they may be actuated automatically by means hereinafter described for the
purpose of racking the points bb¹ inwards when producing the narrowing courses.
cc are the needle-bars, and d d some of the needles carried thereby; e e are the
sets of lace-points the number of sets of these points corresponding with the number
of articles which can be simultaneously produced in the machine. The said lace-
points e are attached to slides e¹ which work in grooves e² formed in the comb-
bar e; et is a covering plate which is screwed or otherwise attached to the comb-bar e³
and which maintains the said slides in position. e is a spring bar also attached to the face
of the comb-bar and formed witli springs e, one for each slide, the said springs-being
adapted to engage with notches e formed in the face or forward edge of the slides in
such a manner that the said springs will maintain the slides in their raised positions until
depressed by the action of the Jacquard cylinders as hereinafter described. .The comb-
bars are firmly attached to bosses e fixed on the lace point barf. This bar has
its bearings in the fixed brackets a' in which it is capable of endwise movement;.
the said bar is, moreover, provided with bosses f1, Figures 1 and 2, which slide
freely on a rod a² fixed in the brackets a, the said bosses being attached by thumb-
screws or other suitable means, to the bar f. By these means the bar is, kept
in position. Adjustable screw-stops g; Figures. 5 and 6, are also provided, which pass

page_text: through brackets g' fixed on the rod a² against which the comb-bars e³ recline and
by means of which, that is to say by screwing the said screws in or out, the angle
of repose of the said comb-bars may be adjusted.
For effecting the endwise reciprocation of the lace-point bar f the following
mechanism is provided that is to say, on the said bar f is fixed a forked lever f³
Figures 2 and 4, in the fork of which works an arm attached to a block / arranged
Moreover the
to slide in a bracket 2 firmly attached to the frame of the machine.
sliding block is provided with two pins which project through longitudinal
slots formed in the bracket h². A pin or studi is formed with or attached to the
said bracket and on this pin or stud is mounted a combined ratchet and pattern
wheel and a bell-crank lever k¹ provided with a pawl or "clawker" which engages
with the teeth of the said ratchet wheel. The lever is operated in the manner
hereinafter described, so as to intermittently rotate the said ratchet and pattern wheel k
and, the periphery of the latter is suitably shaped to engage with the pins, and
cause the said pins and therefore the block to slide or reciprocate in the bracket h
thereby reciprocating the bar fand the sets of points e. The said pattern wheel may
be so shaped as to receiprocate the bar through a distance equal to the gauge of
one or more needles as the pattern may require. The "clawker or pawl can be
put out of gear with the wheel k by any suitable means when it is required not to
reciprocate the said points e as for example when the toe of the hose is being finished
without lacework.
•
are the Jacquard cylinders which are mounted on a shaft fitted to rotate in
bearings formed in the ends of levers m; the said levers m are keyed on a shaft m¹
which is carried by links n pivoted at n' to the brackets a. We provide one Jacquard
cylinder for each set of lace-points e. The surfaces of the said cylinders are formed
of longitudinal plates or lags 12 which are fastened by screws or otherwise to end
discs. The said plates are perforated with suitable holes some of which are
filled by means of plugs according to the lace-pattern to be produced.
The said cylinders are actuated by the following mechanism, that is to say: On.
with
the shaft m' are keyed suitable levers o which are connected by means of rods P
other levers g pivoted at q' to one of the tie-rods of the frame or to any other
suitable fixed support.
The levers are, moreover, provided at their inner or forward
ends with rollers q which are acted upon by suitable cams q fixed on the cam
shaft C. These cams are shown in Figure 16.
The rods are made in two parts joined in such a manner that their length can
be adjusted to regulate the height or position of the Jacquard cylinders. A bracket r,
Figures 1 and 3, is secured to the frame of the machine and to this bracket is
pivoted a pawl; the said pawl is adapted to engage, when free, with a ratchet
wheel fixed on the Jacquard cylinder shaft l', each time the latter is raised
through the operation of the above mentioned cam q³ and partially rotates the
said shaft 1. Another pawl is pivoted to the bracket r and is adapted to
engage with another ratchet wheel also keyed on the shaft ; this second pawl
operates to rotate the shaft / in the contrary direction to that in which the said shaft
is rotated by the pawl, but both pawls are never in gear at the same time, suitable
means, hereinafter described, being provided for throwing either pawl out of gear
The slides that.
with its ratchet-wheel when the other pawl is required to act.
more clearly
carry the lace-points e are provided at their upper ends with pins
shown in Figures 10 and 11. These pins are small enough to pass through the
On the Jacquard
perforations formed in the plates of the Jacquard cylinders 1.
cylinder shaft are fixed two discs or wheels 11, Figures 2 and 4; the wheel
plain periphery, and the wheel has notches in its periphery, the number of the
said notches corresponding to the number of plates or lags 12 on the Jacquard
cylinders and to one of the brackets a is attached a spring 18 which bears against
the plain disc and prevents the turning of the shaft through too great an angle
by either of the operating pawls r. Another spring is fixed on one of the levers m
and is provided with a wedge-shaped piece 110 at its extremity, which fits the notches
formed in the disc and acts as a gauge to regulate or correct the movement of the
a
has

page_text: Jacquard cylinders, .after each partial rotation thereof, when the holes in the plates or
lags are exactly over the pins 15 on the upper ends of the lace-point slides.
18
The operation of the Jacquard mechanism is as follows viz., on the descent of the
Jacquard cylinders 7 due to the action of the cams with which the rollers 8
engage, one of the plates or lags is brought over the ends of the pins 15 projecting
from the slides e. Should any of the open perforations in the said plate or lag
then he coincident with the corresponding pins the said perforations will, in the
descent of the Jacquard cylinders, pass over the said pins and the corresponding
slides will not be depressed. The pins which correspond with the closed per-
forations will, however be depressed and with them the corresponding slides e and
points e. In the depression of any slide e¹, the corresponding retaining spring e is
forced out of its retaining notch e. During the upward movement of the cylinder
shaft the depressed slides are simultaneously raised by the following devices, viz.
On the said shaft are loosely mounted a series of hangers & Figures 5, 6 and 7
each formed with a slot s¹ near its lower extremity, and through these slots we pass
a bar which extends throughout the whole length of the machine. The said bar
passes beneath projections e on the upper ends of the slides e', and engages with the
said projections when it rises with the shaft thereby lifting all the depressed slides
and bringing their notches e again into engagement with the retaining springs eª.
During the upward movement of the shaft, the ratchet-wheel ² encounters the
pawl and the shaft is rotated, thereby bringing another plate or lag 12 opposite
the pins the second plate may if required have a different arrangement of closed
holes to the first one. When a continuous pattern is required to be made the pawl 73
is brought into action periodically in the manner hereinafter described and made to
reverse the Jacquard cylinder shaft an amount equal to one, two three or more
plates or lags as the case may be, that is to say as many plates or lags as are
required for the production of the pattern, and after each reversal the first pawl
again comes into action and the process is repeated in the manner that will be well
understood.
For automatically reciprocating the lace-points e, racking in the narrowing
bars 6363, and shipping and unshipping the pawls 1,3 the following mechanism is
provided that is to say, t, t, Figures 1 to 4, are levers pivoted to brackets t¹ secured
to the standards A. The said levers are provided with rollers t2 which rest on, and
are moved up and down by cans C, fixed on the cam-shaft C. The said cams Care only
in engagement with the said levers when a narrowing or lace course is being produced.
The said cams C¹ are moved out of gear with the rollers t2 when it is desired to
make an ordinary course by "shogging" or moving the cam-shaft C endwise as is
well understood. It is this position of the cam-shaft that is shown in the drawings.
tare rods pivoted at t to the levers t and provided near their upper ends with
rack teeth to. t is a combined cam and ratchet wheel provided at one end of the
machine, and which is keyed on a shaft t' and arranged to engage with one of the
rack rods t. The shaft extends the whole length of the. machine and another
cam is secured. at its other end, this cam engaging with the other rack rod t*.
The said rods are pressed against these cams by means of springs to. t is a lever
also pivoted at t³ to the levert and to which is pivoted a catch or pawl 10 adapted
to engage with the ratchet wheel to. The said pawl 10 bears against a stud t
fixed in the, lever and is maintained against this stud by a spring which is
attached to the frame of the machine. u, Figures 3 and 8, is a shaft mounted in
bearings in brackets u¹ fixed to the end standard A, the said shaft being caused to
oscillate by means of a cam or excentric fixed on the cam shaft C which actuates a
lever fixed to the said shaft u. v is a lever attached to the shaft u and coupled by
means of a link v¹ with a bell crank lever v pivoted at v³ to a bracket v fixed to
the standard A, as clearly shown in Figure 8. is a pawl pivoted to the bell-
crank lever . and arranged to actuate a ratchet wheel v and pattern chain wheel v
both of which rotate on the same centre 3 as the said bell-crank lever. The said
chain wheel is prevented from being jerked too far by the pawl by means of a spring v³.
is a lever pivoted at 10 on the bracket 4, and coupled by a link ¹¹ to the lever to.
'

page_text: The studs on the pattern chain como in contact with the lever when a narrowing
course is required and actuate the said lever and through it the lever thereby
putting the pawl 10 in gear with the ratchet wheel to. The up and down movement
of the levert then rotates the said combined ratchet wheel and cam and the smaller
radius of the cams coming opposite the rack rods the latter are drawn inwards by
the springs and caused to gear with the pegs 611 on the wheels 610 which are
keyed on the screws 68. The rotation of the latter racks in the narrowing rods 62 63
as herein before described. A strong spring draws the rod v back to its normal
position immediately the studs on the pattern chain have left the said rod thereby
disengaging again the pawl 10.
One of the levers t is moreover connected by a link k³ with the bell crank lever k¹
and the reciprocating movement of the said levert actuates thereby the pattern wheel k
at the same time that it goes through an ordinary narrowing, unless the pawl k³ is
thrown out of gear as for example when lacework is not required.
A lever wo is also fixed on the shaft u and is provided with a pawl or "clawker" w
which engages with the teeth of a ratchet wheel w which is free to rotate on a
short shaft 3 secured to the end standard A. A. cam wheel to also mounted on the
shaft w³ is arranged to be rotated by and with the ratchet-wheel. w is a lever pivoted
ut to the bracket and having a runner to attached to its lower extremity for
engaging with the pattern cam or wheel w. "The upper end of the said lever 20³ is
provided with an adjustable screw stop or stops ws the ends of which engage with the
two pawls in such a way as to prevent both pawls being in gear with their
respective ratchet wheels at the same time. On the said ratchet wheel w³ being
rotated the lever is oscillated by the cam w and the two pawls are alternately
put in and out of gear, thereby actuating the Jacquard cylinders in the manner
hereinbefore described. The pawl w¹ that actuates the ratchet wheel w² is put in and
out of gear by means of the studs on the pattern chain. A lever w³, pivoted at w¹o to
the end standard A, is curved at its upper end, the curved portion extending under the
said pawl w¹. The studs on the pattern-chain encounter this lever wand- actuate it
in such a manner as to cause the said lever to lift the pawl w¹ out of gear when it is
required not to reverse the motion of the Jacquard cylinders.
By unscrewing the thumb-screws, the lace-point-bar fis released and the comb-
bare may then be raised as shown in Figure 9 50 as to throw the pins 1 out of
action and to enable the narrowing points to be brought nearer the centre of the sets
of needles. To provide room for the pins when thrown out of action, we omit one
or more plates thus forming a blank space. Moreover we provide a lever f
Figure 3, mounted on the rod f, and which engages with a stud fixed in the
pawl. When the lace-point-bar is rotated to throw the pins 5 out of action, the
said lever disengages the pawl r', so that, during the narrowing of the toe when
lace-work is not required, the Jacquard cylinders remain stationary.
In making a lace stocking or sock according to our invention, the plain or upper
part of the said stocking or sock is knitted in the usual manner. The lace-mechanism
above described is then brought into action and the lace-border is produced, during
which time the Jacquard cylinders are rotated in one direction only by the pawl.
On the completion of the border, the Jacquard cylinders are racked round to bring the
series of plates or lags into operation for producing the leg pattern, the said cylinders
being racked back to the commencement of the series by the pawl as often as the
pattern is required to be repeated. To make the heel and instep combined, the heeling
carriers are now put into action and the Jacquard cylinders are racked round to bring
the series of heel and instep plates into play, the said cylinders being again reciprocated
to repeat the pattern as often as required. The instep is then completed by another
set of cylinder-plates, the backward and forward movement being repeated as before.
The heeling carriers are taken out of action in the ordinary manner after the heel is
narrowed.
For patterns out of the ordinary run, that is to say, for extraordinary patterns,
a Jacquard band 11 of the ordinary construction may be passed round the cylinders

page_text: as shown in figure 9 and made to operate the points in a manner that will be well
understood.
In the modification of our invention shown in Figures 14 and 15 the lace
points e are fixed in bell-crank levers el pivoted at eo to the comb, bar e³. are
springs, one for each lever e' secured to the bosses'es which carry the comb-bar e
The said springs act on the inner ends of the said levers in such a way as to keep
the lace points e down, that is to say to keep the lower ends of the levers el pressed
home within the comb-bar.e³.
In this modification the Jacquard cylinders are provided with projecting pegs for
operating the lace point levers instead of holes as in the arrangement herein before
described. The said pegs are inserted in the holes provided for them in the cylinder
plates or lags according to any arrangement so as to produce any desired pattern:
The levers are returned to their normal positions by the action of the said springs e
immediately the Jacquard cylinders are raised. By forming the springs e of the
curved shape shown we are enabled to so depress the levers e as to bring their
extremities into contact with the curved portion of the springs as shown in Figure 15
and the said levers are then placed out of the range of the cylinder pegs 1, or, in
other words, the points e are placed out of action. We provide a bar running the
whole length of the machine underneath the inner arms of the levers e¹ by means
of which the whole of the levers may be raised again and put into the working
position at once. This bar is operated in a similar manner to bar.s hereinbefore
referred to.
Although we have herein described and shown our improvements. as applied to a
knitting machine known as a Cottons, frame, it is obvious that our said improve-
ments are also applicable to other machines.
י
'
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we wish it understood
that we claim :
First. In the manufacture of lace-hosiery, the formation of the pattern. by
transferring the loops from one or more of the needles to adjacent needles as required,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
Second. A machine for the manufacture of lace-hosiery, which is provided with
bars, slides or levers having points attached thereto and wherein provision is made
for imparting lateral reciprocating motion to the said bars, slides or levers for the
purpose of producing the lace-patterns.
Third. The above described method of manufacturing a stocking or sock with a
lace-pattern and with a selvaged heel formed at the same time as the instep.
Fourth. The employment, in a machine for the manufacture of lace-hosiery, of a
Jacquard cylinder so constructed and arranged that it can be rotated alternately in
either direction for the purpose of repeatedly producing a lace-pattern, as above
specified.
Fifth. Tlie combination, in a machine for the manufacture of lace-hosiery, of the
lace-points and a Jacquard cylinder and means for operating the same, substantially
as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Sixth. The impoved means substantially as described for imparting reciprocating
and intermittent rotary motion to the Jacquard cylinder, for the purposes above
specified.
Seventh. The improved means substantially as described for regulating or
correcting the movement of the Jacquard cylinder, as, and for the purpose, above.
specified:
Eighth. In a machine for the manufacture of lace hosiery, wherein the pattern is
formed by transferring the loops from one or more needles to adjacent needles, the
combination, with the narrowing points, of means for automatically imparting inter-
mittent lateral motion to the same, for the purpose above specified.
Ninth. In a machine for the manufacture of lace hosiery, wherein the pattern is

page_text: formed by transferring the loops from one or more needles to adjacent needles, the
improved means substantially as described for automatically engaging and disengaging
the rack-rods which actuate the screws for adjusting the narrowing points, as, and for
the purposes, above specified.
Tenth. The improved means substantially as described for imparting reciprocating
motion to the sets of lace-points, for the purpose of transferring the loops from one
or more needles to adjacent needles, as above specified.
Eleventh. The combination of the lace-point slides or levers constructed and
arranged substantially as described and means for depressing and raising the same
as, and for the purpose, above specified.
Twelfth. The combination, with the face-point slides or levers constructed and
operating substantially as described, of means whereby the said slides or levers may
be put in or out of action, as, and for the purposes, above specified.
Thirteenth. A machine for the manufacture of lace-hosiery having our improve
ments incorporated therewith or embodied therein substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawings and operating as above specified.
Fourteenth. The modification of our invention, substantially as described with
reference to Figure 9, wherein we employ a Jacquard band or belt, for the purpose
above specified.
Fifteenth. A stocking or other knitted article manufactured by machinery with.
a lace-pattern, substantially as hereinbefore described.
al 1
1000