Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 24th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 29th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
We, SAMUEL DAVIS of the firm of Samuel Davis & Son, Hosiery Manufac-
turers, Hinckley, in the County of Leicester, and JOHN LEE, of 12 Charles
Street, Hinckley aforesaid, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows :-
This invention relates to circular knitting machines, and has for its object to
provide improved means for automatically introducing a splicing thread into the
knitted fabric and removing the same therefrom at any desired place so as to
thicken the fabric, as for example in the case of hose or half hose by way of
example at the heel, sole and toe, the ankles, and knee. The splicing thread can
by our improved means be caused to extend entirely around the hose or other
knitted fabric wherever introduced, or it can be arranged to extend only partially
around the fabric.
Our improved splicing device is so constructed and operated that it does not
interfere in any way with the working of the machine and consequently a circular
machine fitted with our improved device can be run at as great a speed as the same
machine not fitted with our splicing device. This is a very important consideration
as it is well known that other splicing devices heretofore in use interfere very
seriously with the speed of the machine, in some cases reducing the speed by nearly
one half.
In order to ensure
According to this invention we provide a special form of thread guide preferably
of tubular construction through which both the ordinary thread and the thickening
thread pass. In combination with the said guide we provide a spring clip adapted,
when freed from an operating or controlling lever hereinafter described, to nip the
thickening thread and prevent further delivery thereof to the fabric until the lever
is again raised to free the said thickening thread. The controlling lever which is
adapted by its movements to actuate the spring clip aforesaid is operated by a cam
fixed on the needle cylinder, it being maintained in contact with the said cam by a
spring. The shape of the cam is such that the spring clip is thereby, through the
medium of the lever aforementioned, raised or lowered for any desired fraction of
each revolution of the needle cylinder, and consequently the thickening thread_is
withheld for any desired fraction of each rotation of said cylinder. When the clip
is raised to free the thickening thread, the latter is then carried forward into the
fabric by the ordinary thread with which it is in close contact.
that the thickening thread shall be perfectly free to be fed into the fabric
immediately the spring clip is raised we prefer to provide a finger attached to the
operating lever aforementioned in such a manner that each time the said lever
releases the spring clip the finger operates on the thickening thread to draw a little
slack thread from the bobbin, which slack is ready to start without resistance and
pass into the fabric immediately the spring clip is raised again. In order to enable
the thickening thread to be fed continuously with the ordinary thread, or when
desired to entirely arrest the feeding of the thickening thread, we provide a sliding
bar adapted to engage the operating lever and maintain the said lever out of
contact with the cam on the needle cylinder. This bar can be moved by hand as
desired and brought so as to retain the operating lever in such a position that it
maintains the spring clip permanently raised, or it can be pushed further to release
the spring clip and allow the latter to permanently close and sever the thickening
thread.
We may have two or more operating levers controlled by the same cam and so
arranged that the splicing thread can be introduced at any side of the fabric. The

page_text: said levers can without stopping the machine be thrown in and out of action as
required by a common bar which is suitably constructed for the purpose.
Our improvements are primarily intended to be applied to loop wheel circular
knitting machines with bearded needles, but they can quite as readily be applied to
latch needle circular frames, and also to the seamless stocking knitter.
Dated this 19th day of October 1892.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
We, SAMUEL DAVIS, of the firm of Samuel Davis & Son, Hosiery Manufacturers,
Hinckley, in the County of Leicester, and JOHN LEE, of 12 Charles Street,
Hinckley aforesaid, Mechanic, 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 relates to circular knitting machines and has for its object to
provide improved means for automatically introducing a splicing thread into
the knitted fabric and removing the same therefrom at any desired place, so as
to thicken the fabric, as for example, in the case of hose or half hose, at the heel,
sole, and toe, ankle, and knee. The splicing thread can by our improved means be
caused to extend entirely around the hose or other knitted fabric wherever
introduced, or it can be arranged to extend only partially around the fabric.
According to our said invention we provide a special form of thread-guide
preferably of tubular construction through which both the ordinary thread and the
thickening thread pass. In combination with the said guide we provide a spring
clip adapted, when freed from an operating or controlling lever hereinafter
described, to nip the thickening thread and prevent further delivery thereof to the
fabric until the lever is again raised to free the said thickening thread. The con-
trolling lever which is adapted by its movements to actuate the spring clip aforesaid
is operated by a cam fixed on the needle-cylinder, it being maintained in contact
with the said cam by a spring. The shape of the cam is such that the spring clip
is thereby, through the medium of the lever aforementioned, raised or lowered for
any desired fraction of each revolution of the needle cylinder, and consequently
the thickening thread is withheld for any desired fraction of each rotation of said
cylinder. When the clip is raised to free the thickening thread the latter is
then carried forward into the fabric by the ordinary thread with which it is in
close contact. In order to ensure that the thickening thread shall be perfectly
free to be fed into the fabric immediately the spring clip is raised, we prefer to
provide a finger attached to the operating lever aforementioned in such a manner
that each time the said lever releases the spring clip the finger operates on the
thickening thread to draw a little slack thread from the bobbin, which slack thread
is ready to start without resistance and pass into the fabric immediately the spring
clip is raised again. In order to enable the thickening thread to be fed continuously
with the ordinary thread, or when desired to entirely arrest the feeding of the
thickening thread, we provide a sliding bar adapted to engage the operating lever
and maintain the said lever out of contact with the cam on the needle-cylinder.
This bar can be moved by hand as desired and brought so as to retain the operating
lever in such a position that it maintains the spring clip permanently raised, or it
can be pushed further to release the spring clip and allow the latter to permanently
close and sever the thickening thread.
We may have two or more operating levers controlled by the same cam and
so arranged that the splicing thread can be introduced at any side of the fabric.
The said levers can without stopping the machine be thrown into and out of
action as required by a common bar which is suitably constructed for the purpose.

page_text: In order that our invention may be more clearly understood we will now proceed
to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings which show
our invention applied to a loop wheel circular knitting machine with bearded
needles.
Figure 1 is a plan view of so much of the machine as is necessary to understand
our invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of the same looking in the direction of the arrow in
Figure 1.
A is the needle-cylinder to which the needles A¹ are secured. B is a tubular
thread guide secured to the frame of the machine, and through which the ordinary
thread C and the splicing thread Care fed to the needles. D is a spring clip
secured to the framework of the machine under which the thickening thread C¹
passes before it reaches the guide tube B. The clip D ordinarily nips the thickening
thread so that it cannot be fed through the tube to the needles. E is a controlling
lever pivoted to the frame at E¹, the upper end E² of said lever being adapted to
engage with a projection D' on the clip D and thus lift the same when the lever
is rotated on its pivot. F is a second lever pivoted to the frame at F and which
likewise engages with the said projection D' and lifts the clip D when rotated
on its pivot. The said levers E and F are actuated to lift the said clip by
means of a cam A² secured to the needle cylinder as will hereinafter be more
fully explained.
When either of the levers E, F is rotated so as to lift the spring D the splicing
thread C is allowed to freely travel thereunder and is drawn by the ordinary
thread with which it is in contact through the tubular thread guide B to the needles
and is incorporated into the knitting. As soon as the clip D is released it nips the
splicing thread which breaks close to the needles at the end of the guide and the
knitting is continued by the ordinary thread alone.
The lever F is connected at its lower end by a link F2 to a lever F³ pivoted on
the frame at F and provided with a pin F which is capable of engaging with the
cam A² on the needle-cylinder. A spring H, one end of which is secured to the
frame at H and the other end of which is secured to the upper part of the lever E
at H2, operates to press the lower part of the lever E towards the cylinder, and a
spring 1 secured to the frame at I' and to the link F2 at 12 operates to press the
pin F towards the cylinder. The cam shewn in the drawings extends for half
the circumference of the cylinder and is therefore adapted to engage with the lower
part of the lever E or with the pin F5 for a period of half the revolution of the
needle-cylinder. The lengths of the link F and lever F3 are moreover so arranged
that the lower part of the lever E and the pin F' are at opposite ends of a diameter
of the needle cylinder. It follows therefore that the levers E, F can only act in
different halves of a revolution, that is to say, they cannot both be operated at the
same time. In order to prevent the levers being acted upon by the cam when
desirable we provide a sliding plate G which is so arranged in reference to the.
levers that it can be set in a position to maintain the tail part of the lever E
or the pin F, which regulates the operation of the lever F, or both, entirely out
of contact with the cam.
The said slide G is guided by means of slots G' and pins G² fixed to the frame
and is provided with recessed portions G3, G4 in one edge, and has fixed to its
lower face a projecting cam piece Go, G. When the straight side of the
slide G is opposite the tail of the lever E the said lever is maintained out of
contact with the cam on the needle-cylinder during the entire revolution thereof
but when the recessed part G³ of the said slide is opposite the said lever E the cam A²
can engage with the lower part of said lever E and so control the feeding of the
splicing thread to the needles as hereinbefore explained. If the recessed part G*
of the slide is opposite to the lower part of the lever E, the said lower part of the
lever is maintained just clear of the cam A2 during the whole revolution of cylinder,
and in this position the splicing thread is fed continuously to the needles. Moreover
when the recessed part G³ or G' of the slide is opposite the lever E the straight

page_text: part G of the cam piece under the said slide is in contact with a pin F projecting
upwards from the link F², and the pin F' is thereby maintained clear of the cylinder-
cam A2 and the lever F clear of the clip D. If the slide G is moved still further to
bring its straight edge in engagement with the lever E the said lever is turned
thereby so far on its pivot as to permanently disengage the clip D.
On moving the slide still further the pin F slides along the part Go of the cam
piece, and the pin F5 is thereby allowed to move in towards the needle-cylinder
and engage with the cam A2 during part of each revolution as herein before
stated.
The slide G is provided with notches 1, 2, 3, 4 in which a spring catch J can
engage to keep the slide in one or other of four positions in which positions the
levers E, F can be operated on or not by the cam A2 as we will now briefly
recapitulate.
Catch J in notch 1 of the slide. This is the position shewn in Figure 1. The
recessed part G3 of the lever is now opposite the lower part of the lever E and
the cam A² acts on the said lever during a part of every revolution of the needle-
cylinder to raise the clip D. During the time the cam is acting, the splicing
thread C¹ is fed to the needles. The pin F is in engagement with the straight.
part of the cam piece G so that lever F is out of action.
Catch J in notch 2. The recessed part G of the slide is now in contact with
the lower part of the lever E and maintains the clip D raised during the whole
revolution, hence the splicing thread is constantly being fed to the needles. The
pin F is still in contact with the straight part G of the cam piece and the lever F
is out of action.
Catch J in notch 3. The lower part of the lever E is now in contact with the
straight part of the slide G and the lever E is out of action as before explained.
The pin F is moreover still in contact with the straight part G of the cam piece
and the lever F is out of action. The clip D is therefore not lifted and the
splicing thread not fed to the needles at any time during the revolution of the
needle-cylinder.
Catch J in notch 4. The lower part of lever E is still in contact with
the straight side of the slide G so that lever E is out of action. The pin F has
moved down the side G of the cam piece so far as to release the link F2 and thus
enable the spring I to pull the link F2 back and press the pin F5 towards the
needle-cylinder. The cam A' can now act on the pin F5, and through lever F³,
link F, and lever F, raise the clip D which allows the splicing thread to be fed to
the needle during part of the revolution, but since the pin is at one end of a
diameter of the needle-cylinder and the lever E is at the other end of the same
diameter the splicing thread is fed to the fabric on the opposite side to that into
which it was fed when the catch J was in notch 1 of the slide and the lever E was
in operation.
In order to ensure that the thickening thread shall be perfectly free to be fed
into the fabric immediately the spring clip D is raised we provide fingers K, L,
attached to the levers E, F, respectively, round which fingers the splicing
thread C¹ passes so that when either of the levers after raising said clip releases
the same so as to nip the thread its finger operates to draw a little slack thread
from the bobbin, which slack thread is ready to start without resistance and pass
into the fabric immediately the clip is raised, and the finger moved forward
again.
Although we have shown the cam-piece A² in the drawings as extending for half
the circumference of the needle-cylinder so that the splicing thread is spread to the
fabric during half the revolution of the cylinder we may obviously provide
removable cams of different lengths, or we may construct adjustable cams in such
manner that the splicing thread is fed to the needles for any desired fraction or
fractions of a revolution.
Our improved splicing device does not interfere in any way with the working of
the machine, and consequently a circular machine fitted with our improved device

page_text: can be run at as great a speed as the same machine not fitted with our splicing
device. This is a very important consideration as it is well known that other
splicing devices heretofore in use interfere very seriously with the speed of the
machine, in some cases reducing the speed by nearly one half.
Our improvements are primarily intended to be applied to loop wheel circular
knitting machines with bearded needles, but they can quite as readily be applied to
latch needle circular frames, and also to the seamless stocking knitter.
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 :-
1. A splicing device for circular knitting machines having a thread guide
through which both the ordinary thread and the splicing thread pass in close
contact, in combination with a spring clip adapted when released to trap and sever
the splicing thread, said clip being controlled by a cam on the needle-cylinder, for
the purpose specified.
2. The means for raising and lowering the spring clip D, substantially as
described, for the purpose specified.
3. The combination with the lever or levers for operating the spring clip D, of
the finger or fingers for drawing slack thread from the bobbin, substantially as,
and for the purpose, specified.
4. The combination with the levers which operate the spring clip, of the slide G
for moving the same in and out of engagement with the cam on the needle-cylinder,
substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
5. A circular knitting machine having a splicing device which can be put in and
out of action without stopping or reducing the speed of the machine, substantially
as described.
6. A circular knitting machine fitted with an improved splicing device constructed
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and
operating as specified.
1
1 1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.