Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 28th July, 1893-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
I, JOSIAH JOHNSON of 73 Harrison Street, Leicester, Foreman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to knitting machines and is designed with a view
of providing mechanism to act in connection therewith by which the working of
the machine will be stopped upon the breaking of the thread, or upon the supply
of thread becoming exhausted or of certain irregularities occurring therein.
In applying my invention to a straight bar knitting frame of the "Cotton's "
type I mount upon and near the end of the cam shaft a circular plate or disc
carrying a series of cams; or the latter may be attached to the toothed wheel
already in existence upon the end portion of the cam shaft. At the side of the
disc or wheel carrying the beforementioned series of cams there may be a cam
revolving therewith and communicating a rocking motion to one or a series of
levers on a shaft at the back of the machine.
The upper end of the rocking lever or levers moves to and fro underneath one
or more tubes or pipes in each of which may be located a wire or its equivalent
suspended from the knitting thread or threads.
Upon one or more of the latter breaking or becoming exhausted the wire drops
partly through the lower end of the tube and comes into contact with the rocking
lever, thereby holding it out of action and out of contact with the cam from which
it receives its motion.
The lower end of the rocking lever has connected thereto or may be in contact
with a further lever termed an "intermediate lever or equivalent which is in close
proximity to the series of cams hereinbefore mentioned.
The said intermediate lever may also be attached by suitable means to the belt
shipper lever.
During the to and fro movement of the rocking lever, the intermediate lever
misses contact with any of the series of cams referred to, but upon a thread
breaking as before described and the rocking lever being held out of action the
intermediate lever is operated by one of the series of cams so as to move the
shipper lever aside and turn the driving belt on to the loose pulley thereby
stopping the working of the machine.
In applying this invention to circular knitting machines several slight modifica-
tions may be necessary in the levers mentioned and also in the cams by which
they are operated; according to varying conditions in the construction of each
machine.
Dated this 14th day of November 1802
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Knitting Machines.
I, JOSIAH JOHNSON of 73 Harrison Street, Leicester, Foreman, 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 has reference to knitting machines and is designed with a view

page_text: of providing mechanism which acting in conjunction therewith will automatically
stop the working of the machine upon the breaking of one or more of the knitting
threads or upon the supply of the thread becoming exhausted.
For this purpose each of the knitting threads has suspended therefrom a wire o
its equivalent which drops or falls upon the breaking of the thread and acting
through suitable intermediate mechanism shifts the belt off the driving pulley or
to the adjacent loose pulley or otherwise throws out of action the driving gear, and
thereupon the motion of the machine is arrested.
In order that the invention may be fully understood reference is made to the
accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a perspective view of mechanism for stopping the machine upon the
breaking of one of the knitting threads taking place, and shown as applied to a
straight bar knitting machine known technically as a "Cotton's shog bar ribbed
frame."
Figure 2 is an elevation partly in section and drawn to an enlarged scale, of a
tube, wire therein and vibrating arm and plate thereunder.
Figure 3 is a side elevation and Figure 4 a front elevation of a circular knitting
machine provided with automatic stopping mechanism and
Figure 5 is a plan of the major part of the said mechanism.
Only so much of the knitting machine in each case is shown and will be described
as will elucidate the invention and corresponding parts in all the figures will bear
similar letters of reference.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, A is the ordinary cam shaft and B the usual
toothed wheel on the end thereof by which the said shaft is driven in the well
known manner.
Upon the end of the shaft A and adjacent to the wheel B is a cam C in
peripheral contact with a truck or roller D2 carried on a spindle D¹ on the end of
a lever D fulcrummed at D³ to the side of the framing or end standard of the
niachine.
The lever D is connected to an arm E¹ by means of a link E, the said arm E
having a boss E' thereon which is fitted over the end of a rocking shaft F carried
in bearings in the extremes of projecting arms whose opposite tubular ends are
fastened by screws F2 to the upright rods G which form part of the ordinary bobbin
carrying mechanism of the machine.
Mounted on the rocking shaft F are preferably two vibrating arms F³ connected
to each other by a plate and screws passing through the latter into the upper
ends of the former.
Located between the bars G1 G2, which also form part of the ordinary bobbin
supporting mechanism of the machine, are two wires H¹ fixed centrally between
which is a tube H³ having a wire H located therein and formed into a ring at its
upper end so as to encircle the wires H¹ on each side thereof and through which
also passes the knitting thread J on its way to the ordinary thread carrier of the
machine.
The cam C is provided with preferably two elevations C¹ so arranged as to raise
the end of the lever D and roller D2 and thereby vibrate the plate F (through
the intermediate mechanism herein before described) twice in each revolution of the
cam shaft and during the time the thread carrier is laying the thread for each
course.
The said cam C may be arranged to vibrate the plate F any convenient number
of times during the production of a single course in the fabric.
Each time the truck D' and the end of the lever D are raised, the flattened
upper end of an upright rod or bar D' screwed to the latter lifts a truck or
roller K, the latter being movably suspended on a spindle K' by means of a nut K'
to the end of a lever L.
Immediately the elevations C₁ on the cam C pass out of contact with the
truck D the end of the lever D and plate D' become lowered whereupon the
rol'er K of its own weight falls into the position shown in Figure 1 just in time

page_text: to miss contact with oue of a series of cam pieces B¹ fixed on the side of the
wheel B and revolving therewith.
Should, however, one of the knitting threads J break or become exhausted
during the knitting of a course in the fabric, the wire H which is supported
thereby drops in the tube H' so that its end passes through the latter and the
rail G and projects slightly beyond the latter so as to meet or drop against and in
front of the vibrating rail F and stop its motion.
The result is that the end of the lever D is maintained in its elevated position
and out of contact with the cam C and the truck K being at the same time kept
raised, one of the cam pieces B₁ abuts against the truck K and pushes it aside
thereby causing the lever L to turn on its pivot L' and move the belt shipper
lever so as to shift the belt O' from the driving pulley P to the loose pulley P¹,
whereupon the motion of the machine is arrested as will be well understood.
The lever L by which the belt shipper lever O is actuated, is fulcrummed at L'
to the end of an angular bar M attached by a screw M' to the framing of the
machine.
The opposite end of the lever L is embraced by a forked recess in the end of an
arm N screwed or otherwise secured to a boss Of fixed to the rod O' at whose end
the belt shipper lever is carried.
In Figures 3, 4, and 5, the invention is shown as applied to a circular ribbed
head or knitting machine, some slight modification in the mechanism being essential
in view of the difference in the construction of the machine.
Care elevations (preferably three in number) on a cam plate C which
periodically raise the truck D carried on a spindle 1)¹ on the end of one arm D of
a bell crank lever which is similarly actuated.
The said lever is mounted on a rocking shaft F at the back of the machine and
the other arm F' has connected to its upper end a plate F which vibrates therewith
and under the wire H, under whose upper hooked end the knitting thread J passes.
The wire H passes downwards inside a tube H* carried between two horizontal
rods or bars Q, connected to the horizontal arms of vertical plates or bars Q
connected by a screw Q to the usual upright arm Q³ of the knitting machine.
Upon one of the knitting threads becoming broken or exhausted the wire H
drops in the tube H2 and through and beyond the lower rod or bar Q' and in front
of the vibrating plate F' so as to arrest the motion of the latter.
Upon this taking place the end of the arm D is held up so that the truck D'
is kept out of action with the cams C', whereupon one of a series of cams B' pushes
aside the roller or truck D' and the latter similarly operates one end of a lever L
pivotted at L' to the framing and whose opposite end moves under the curved end
of a lever N.
This latter is fulcrummed at N¹ to the side of a rod or bar R' fixed to the side
of the standard or framing R and upon being moved as described, its opposite end
is lowered so as to become disengaged from the usual gear control lever which
immediately moves on one side as is well understood and throws the driving gear
out of engagement.
Although I have shown and described a vibrating plate F1 carried by arms F³ yet
I would have it understood that I reserve to myself the right to use any kind of
vibrating device under the wire H that may be convenient for the purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. Automatically stopping a knitting machine upon the breaking of the knitting
thread, by means of a wire or equivalent suspended thereby dropping against a
vibrating plate or other vibrating device and actuating intermediate mechanism to
disengage or throw out of action the driving gear.
2. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread of a wire or

page_text: equivalent suspended thereby and a vibrating plate or other vibrating device
operating substantially in the manner and as and for the purpose described.
3. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread of a wire or
equivalent suspended thereby, a vibrating plate thereunder, rocking shaft and
mechanism for actuating the latter substantially in the manner and for the purpose
described.
4. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread of a wire or
equivalent suspended thereby, vibrating plate and arms and intermediate levers and
cam for operating the same substantially in the manner and for the purpose
described.
5. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread of a wire
suspended thereby, a vibrating device thereunder and a cam arranged to vibrate
the said device through intermediate mechanism one or more times during the
laying of the thread substantially as and for the purpose described.
6. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread and a wire
suspended thereby, of a vibrating device and a cam and intermediate mechanism
for operating same, of a lever adapted to be actuated at times to disengage
or throw out of action the driving gear, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
7. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread and a wire
suspended thereby, a vibrating device, a cam and intermediate mechanism for
operating the same, of a roller adapted to be lifted at times by the said cam into
the path of a series of revolving cams substantially as and for the purpose
described.
8. In a knitting machine the combination with the knitting thread and a wire
suspended thereby, a vibrating device, a cam and interposed mechanism for
actuating the same, of a roller adapted to be lifted at times into the path of
a series of revolving cams and to be actuated thereby to disengage or throw
out of action the driving gear substantially as and for the purpose described.
9. In mechanism for automatically stopping a knitting machine upon the breaking
of the knitting thread, the combination of a cam such as C arranged so as to move a
lever or roller on the latter into the path of one or more cams and to be actuated
thereby upon the breaking of the knitting thread to disengage or throw out of
action the driving gear substantially as described.
10. The mechanism for automatically stopping a knitting machine upon the
breaking of the knitting thread constructed, arranged and operating substantially
in the manner described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of July 1893.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.