Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1894-Accepted, 21st July, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
I, GEORGE SOWTER, of 88 Robin Hood's Chase, St. Ann's Well Road, in the
Town and County of the Town of Nottingham, Hosiery 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,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say :-
My invention relates to certain improvements in circular knitting machines,
driven by steam or other power, whereby the heels and toes of socks and stockings,
and portions of other knitted articles, may be widened or narrowed at any point
required. By means also of the said invention, a rib top may be formed with a
welt similar to the welts at present formed on stocking knitters worked by hand;
the heels of socks or stockings may have extra courses put in without having to
seam any part, and a complete sock or stocking may be formed on one machine
without any seam.
For the purposes of my invention, I provide suitable mechanism, automatically
controlled by a clutch, for changing the rotary motion of the cam ring into a
reciprocating motion, and vice versa, such mechanism working in conjunction with
the gearing of the said cam ring.
The needles of the dial plate, or rib tackle, are operated by a sliding cam
reciprocated or moved automatically by means of levers and roller actuated by a
star cam, and the cylinder needles are operated by star cam and lever mechanism.
The sinkers are so shaped that they will act as knock over bits, and so knock the
stitches over the heads of the needles, and plain or ribbed work can be held down
without any weight being attached to the work; also so that the welt can be got
off the needles without any holding down apparatus.
Furthermore, the machine is provided with mechanism whereby the yarn or
thread is fed to the needles in such a manner that splicing may be performed
automatically, and several different coloured yarns or threads be introduced for
producing striped work.
And in order that my invention may be readily understood, I proceed to describe
the same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a part vertical section on the line a, ẞ, looking towards the left, and
taken through the needle cylinder and rib tackle of a knitting machine constructed
according to my invention."
Fig. 2 is a general plan of the machine on a smaller scale, and
Fig. 3 a front elevation thereof.
Fig. 4 are views showing my improved jacks, and
Fig. 5 views showing my improved sinkers and knock over bits.
Fig. 6 is a plan of the slack cam ring, and Fig. 7 a side view thereof.
Fig. 8 represents the mechanism for changing the motion of the cam ring from
rotary to reciprocating, and vice versa.
Fig. 9 represents the racking mechanism.
Fig. 10 represents the arrangement of cams for operating the cylinder needles.
Fig. 11 is an end view of the fashioning cam wheel.
Fig. 12 is a vertical section of the yarn trappers and carrier, and Fig. 13 a plan
thereof.
a is the needle cylinder which is supported upon the slack cam ring b, and is
maintained in position by a central tube c secured, by means of screws, or otherwise,
are noodle incle which work in anacos in the
to suitable parts of the hod d

page_text: .
bed d, and by which certain of the needles can be put out of action as desired, so
serving as fashioning needles. The space for the jacks varies with the size and
construction of the machine, and the work it is to do. In a cylinder of 160 needles,
the jacks might be applied to 60 needles, and the needles arranged so that there
would be 80 needles without jacks, then 30 with jacks, after these 20 without jacks,
followed by 30 with jacks.
fare the cams, the cam ring, and 2 the cam ring bevil wheel. These move
round on the bearing surfaces d' of the bed d; the cam ring f, as in stocking
knitters generally, being rotated continuously in one direction for tubular work, and
reciprocated or rotated first in one direction, and then in the other, when making
narrowings or widenings, or forming the heels and toes of socks or stockings. g is
the sinker ring, which is preferably of brass, and is cut with a number of tricks gl
corresponding to the number of needles in the cylinder a. g3 are the sinkers and
knock over bits, which are held in position by a steel wire ring g' and move or turn
upon a wire or ring 9. These sinkers and knock over bits are preferably of the
shape shown at Fig. 5 and are made of sheet metal; they have a nick or notch gⓇ
formed at their upper part so that the projecting portion or nose g' comes against
the yarn or thread on the movement of the sinker, and carries or pushes down the
work, thereby obviating the necessity of attaching weights to the work, or of
holding down apparatus for enabling the welt to be got off the needles. The said
sinkers are operated by cam pieces h, ', (Figs. 1 and 1×) carried by grooves h²
cut round the sinker ring on which the cam pieces slide when they are struck by
the bracket y (Figs. 2 and 3) on the cam ring, or a projection therefrom, which
catches against the corners *, *. These cam pieces slide round the machine and
bear upon the sinkers g³ above and below the ring g'.
The tricks for those cylinder needles which have no jacks e, are formed in the
usual and well known manner, but those for the jacket needles are cut aslant, as
represented at Fig. 1.
For lengthening or shortening the loops, the slack cam ring b is supported upon the
bed d at parts where it is not cut away for the jacks, and upon screws b', by which
it can be raised or lowered, and with it the needle cylinder a for fine adjustment.
The slack cam ring has three or more cam faces or inclines bx which engage with
the bottom of the needle cylinder, so that on moving round the slack cam ring b,
by means of suitably pivotted levers hereinafter described, the needle cylinder may
slide upon said inclines and thus be raised or lowered.
The fashioning or jacked needles can be put into or out of action one at a time,
At
during fashioning, by means of the before mentioned needle holding jacks e.
the right hand side of Fig. 1 a needle is represented as out of operation, the butt 9*
of the needle having been thrown out of the cam race fx by its jack e.
The jacks
are pivotted at e¹ and are operated by jack levers k, k, pivotted at kx, and actuated
by ring segment cams or projections k², k, situated at different levels, and carried
respectively by toothed rings and , the extremities of the jack levers being
suitably shaped to engage that particular cam by which they are operated. The
rings,, are capable of rotating upon each other, in opposite directions, and are
driven, as hereinafter described, by pinions g, 2. The said rings are suitably
supported, say, by small plates 12, 12, fixed to the bed d, in convenient positions.
The needle holding jacks are preferably of the shape shown at Fig. 4 and are
made of thin sheet steel.
The levers k and k¹ are also formed of sheet metal, but somewhat thicker than
that of the jacks.
The rotation or reciprocation of the cam ring f', and its connected parts, is
effected through the medium of a counter shaft m (Figs. 2 and 3) which carries a
bevil wheel gearing with the bevil wheel f2. Upon this countershaft, are mounted
loosely two spur wheels m', m³, of equal diameter, the former having a continuous, and
the latter a reciprocating rotary motion. The countershaft may be made to rotate with
either of these spur wheels, by means of a clutch m³, or equivalent device, and the
movements of the clutch are effected during the working of the machine by a lever mi*,

page_text: pivotted at m³. The other end of this lever is acted on by the fashioning cam wheel m®,
which, as shown clearly, and to a larger scale in Fig. 11, consists of a plain wheel or
pulley. It is mounted on a shaft n and has triangular cam blocks m' secured to its face
by screws, so as to form a cam groove or path m³, in which the end of the lever m
engages. A step by step movement is imparted to this cam wheel by means of a
ratchet wheel m³, see Fig. 9, having half as many teeth as there are blocks m², and
the parts are so arranged that the cam blocks at one side correspond, or are in
alignment, with the teeth of the wheel m³. In order that the rotation or
reciprocation of the cam ring may be regulated as desired, the cam blocks m
are so fitted that any number of them can be unscrewed and shifted to either side of
the wheel, as represented, for a single block in dotted lines at Fig. 11, to alter the
motion of the lever m' at the proper times according to the character or design of
the work. If all the cam blocks be shifted to one side of the wheel, the end of the
lever will not be acted on, and no reciprocating motion will be imparted thereto.
The continuously rotated spur wheel is driven through an intermediate
wheel n' by a pinion n' mounted on the driving shaft n. The reciprocating spur
wheel m² is driven by a toothed sector n³ which is caused to rock or swing on its
pivot n by a rod n connected to a pin n* on the intermediate wheel n', and the
diameter of this wheel n' is double that of the pinion n² and wheels m¹ and m³.
When
For making tubular work, a guard cam n' (Fig. 10) of the ordinary kind is
employed. This guard cam is pivotted at n to the top cam n, and has its nose
elevated by the pin n which is fixed to the lever n", and passes through a
segmental slot (shown by dotted lines) in the cam ring f'. The lever nis
pivotted at n to the cam ring and is operated by the star cam n', against which
it is held by a spring n', a roller n being provided on the lever to diminish the
friction. The ratchet n', fixed on the arbor of the star cam, is moved round by a
pawl and lever " operated from a stop 18 sliding through the bed of the machine.
When the ratchet n is moved by the pawl n one tooth from the position shown
in Fig. 10, the star cam n¹³ turns the lever n" on its pivot and causes it to draw
down the guard cam n' so that the butts of the needles can pass over it.
elevated, the guard cam conducts the needles to the right wing cam n" over which
they pass, and under the left wing cam n. The wing cams are elevated and
depressed alternately upon their slides n², n22, in fashioning, by means of a cam
plate p having a groove p' inclined at its ends, in which run the pins p³, p³, on the
wing cams, and having lugs p, p, attached by screws or studs, said lugs coming in
contact with a stop 26 (Figs. 2 and 3) at each reciprocation of the cam, so moving
the plate p to one side or the other, and raising or lowering the wing cams
alternately. In order to cause the stop p to rise and fall at the proper times, it is
secured to one end of a lever p', pivotted at p³, whose other end bears against an
edge cam or wheel p³ secured on the shaft n and provided with a regular series of
depressions around its periphery. The toothed rings and 1 (Fig. 1) rotate at
such a speed as to operate one of the jack levers k, k, and consequently one of the
fashioning needles, in every revolution of the driving shaft n' at the right and left
side of the machine, alternately. The spur wheels, 9' with which the said
toothed rings engage, are keyed upon spindles 2, 93, carried in bearing
brackets q, 9º.
To allow the narrowings and widenings to be changed at any point desired, the
following arrangement is provided for rotating the spur wheels 4, q'. To the lower
ends of the spindles 92, 93, are fixed worm wheels r, r, engaging with worms s, s¹,
mounted on shafts & in such a manner that, for each revolution of these shafts, the
spur wheels
7, q', turn the rings 1, l', a distance equal to the pitch of the teeth, and
said shafts are caused to revolve simultaneously by spur wheels fixed thereon
and engaging with an intermediate wheel 3 carried by a stud r on the frame of
the machine or otherwise. Two ratchet wheels, 6, (Figs. 3 and 9) which can
be rotated in one direction by a pawl and lever r², and in the opposite direction by
a clawker and lever 8, are secured side by side to the intermediate wheel. The
levers, whose fulcra are secured to the frame of the machine, have cam rollers ³, 2010,

page_text: and are actuated by cams 11, 12, on the driving shaft n. According as the pawl,
or the clawker, is allowed to act on its respective ratchet, the direction of rotation
of the wheel is changed, and this is effected by means of two bent lever arms t,
arranged side by side upon the shaft s² at one side of the machine. The pawl
passes through one, whilst the clawker passes through the other, and either the
pawl or the clawker can be put into, or drawn out of, engagement with its
respective ratchet by operating the lever arms t through the medium of levers t
and links or rods t¹. The levers 2 pivotted at t are directly raised by studs t
upon the chain wheels (mounted on shaft t*) or upon a chain passing over such
wheels, and are lowered by springs to. Any suitable form of chain can be used,
the wheels being constructed to suit the chain. The studs or projections t³ can be
arranged at any required point on the chain, to elevate or depress the levers at
each revolution of the driving shaft, and to allow the narrowings and widenings to
be changed at any point required..
72
When tubular work is to be made, the shaft n is turned sufficiently to cause the
fashioning cam wheel me to bring the clutch m³ into engagement with the spur
wheel m. The rotation of the shaft n is then stopped by raising the pawl v, Fig. 9,
out of the teeth of wheel m³ by an arrangement (omitted from Fig. 9, but indicated
in Fig. 2) of levers w, w¹, and chain wheel w², similar to that used in connection
with the levers t². The pawlr actuating the ratchet wheel m³, is carried at one
end of a lever which is worked to and fro by a cam 2 (Fig. 3) acting against a
roller von the lever. All the cams on the driving shaft n' are ordinary lift cams,
and the rollers may be held against them by springs attached to the frame of the
machine, or in any well known manner. A chain wheel a (see Figs. 2 and 8) also
secured on the shaft tx, raises the end of a lever a, and by means of a link a²,
lever, (pivotted to the frame at ), and lever 2 (pivotted to the frame at 2)
raises the throwing-in splicing stop a. The said throwing-in stop is lowered by a
spring, one end of which is attached to the shaft tx, and the other end to the
lever a¹. The throwing-out stop is actuated by the lever w³, pivotted at 10 to
the frame, and forming an elbow lever with a bent lever arm to riding on cam
faces formed at one side of the rim of the edge cam wheel p³, or otherwise.
When making a welt, I form the work on the cylinder needles only, the dial or
machine needles being held out of operative position by the dial cam disc. This
I am enabled to do by the special form of sinker described, which is so shaped as to
hold and push down the work on the cylinder needles without touching the dial
needles. The welt is formed as on the present hand machines.
I will now proceed to describe the arrangement for feeding the yarn or thread
to the needles, by which splicing may be performed automatically. As the splicing
of a sock or stocking only requires the splicing yarn or thread on one half of the
circle of needles, the yarn or thread is prevented or stopped from engaging with
the rest of the needles by the said throwing-out stop. This stop in the rotation
of the cam ring f', engages in one of the notches of the yarn wheel y (carried on a
bracket y¹ on the said cam ring) and so moves the yarn-wheel round one notch
which, in the present case, is equivalent to turning the wheel 90°. By means of
mitre gear y, the yarn-wheel rotates the yarn trappers y³ (see Figs. 12 and 13),
which have roughened swells or enlargements y*. When a trapper y³ is in the
position shown in Fig. 12, the yarn y can pass freely under it, but on the yarn
wheel striking the stop, the trappers are turned with the axle y so that the parts y
press the yarn against the steel spring y' and so trap or hold it. The trappers also
serve to give the yarn a start on first supplying it to the needles through the
tube y y are guide rollers. In the arrangement shown there are two trappers y³
so fixed on the spindle y that when one is trapping its yarn or thread, the other is
out of action, and is allowing its yarn or thread to pass freely to the needles. By
this means two colours can be used, forming stripes, but for every additional colour
required an additional trapper must be provided, the number of notches on the
yarn wheel being adapted to the number of trappers. The yarn or web thread is
introduced in the ordinary manner. In splicing with one thread, only one trapper

page_text: 3
would of course be used. A yarn or thread that has been trapped by the yarn-
wheel coming in contact with the stop ³, is released or untrapped by the said
wheel meeting the stop. In putting in thick yarn or thread, or in splicing, the
work is slackened by lifting the needle cylinder. For operating the slack cain
ring b, a lever (Figs. 2, 3, and 6) is provided, and is carried by the shafts, or a
projection from the frame, or otherwise, and has, at its upper end, a jointed arm 2ª,
one end of which is fixed to the slack cam ring 6, by which it moves the slack cam
ring. At its lower end, this lever has a stud on which is loosely mounted a
truck 23 A lever 21, operated by a cam wheel similar in form to the fashioning
cam wheel, serves to slide the truck 23 along the stud and cause it to bear,
either on a cylindrical boss 2, or on a lift cam When said truck is upon the
boss, as shown at Figs. 2 and 3, the slack cam ring & remains stationary during
one half revolution of the driving shaft nt, but when the cam wheel - switches the
truck on to the lift cam 27, the lever is operated and, by the jointed arm 2¹,
moves the slack cam ring round the central tube c sufficiently to cause the needle
cylinder to ride up the inclines * on to the faces * (see Figs. 6 and 7).
In making heels and toes, I lift half the needles in the cylinder, i.e. those in that
half of the cylinder where there are no fashioning needles, out of operative position
by a needle lifter A, Fig. 8, on which the needles stand. The lifter A rests on
the bed d between the slack cam ring and the wheel, and consists of a thin
semicircular plate carried on a bar or slide A' passing vertically through the bed
to the needle cylinder a, and carried by a lever B which is pivotted on the worm
shafts and carries a roller C which bears against a cam D on the shaft n. This
lifting allows the guard cam to pass under, or over, the butts.
A clawker F, Fig. 9, taking into the teeth of the ratchet E actuates the chain
wheel shaft t*. This clawker is operated by a cam H (Figs. 2 and 3) raising and
lowering a cam roll on lever G. By this arrangement of clawker one half of the
usual length of chain can be saved.
The dial cam-disc or plate J (Fig. 1) of the rib tackle is provided with a
reciprocating sliding cam K (see Fig. 2). For the purpose of moving this cam to
and fro, a pin L, on cam K, passes through a slot M in the dial disc or plate J,
and is caused to reciprocate in its slide N by the cam plate P (provided with
groove P) when the said cam plate is moved to and fro by the action of the star
cam R on the lever Q, one end of which is secured to the plate P. The star cam
is rotated by a ratchet (shown in dotted lines) with which a pawl U engages.
The pawl U is carried by a lever S and moves the ratchet one tooth on said
lever S coming into contact with a stop T which may be raised and lowered by
levers, or otherwise.
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. My improved circular knitting machine, having its parts arranged, combined,
and operating, substantially as herein described and as shown with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
2. In a circular knitting machine, the means for changing the rotary motion of
the cam ring into a reciprocating motion, and vice versa, comprising a continuously
driven spur wheel, a spur wheel gearing with a rocking sector, and a clutch actuated
by the fashioning cam, substantially as described and shown with reference to
Figs. 2, 3, and 8 of the drawings.
3. In a circular knitting machine, the arrangement for raising the needle
cylinder in order to slacken the work, by means of the slack cam ring, and
maintaining it in position upon such cam ring by a central tube fixed to the bed of
the machine, substantially as described and shown with reference to Fig. 1 of the
drawings.
4. In a circular knitting machine, the means for fashioning, consisting of needles
working in inclined tricks formed in the needle cylinder and actuated by suitably

page_text: operated jacks (such as e) and levers, substantially as described and shown, with
reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings.
5. In a circular knitting machine, the sinkers and knock-over bits, having a
notch (such as g) and a projecting portion or nose (such as g7) at their upper part,
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
6. In a circular knitting machine, the dial or rib tackle having a cam recipro-
cating in a slide in the dial disc or plate, and means for operating the same,
substantially as herein described and shown with reference to Fig. 2 of the
drawings.
7. In a circular knitting machine, the means for operating the guard cam in the
manner described, and as shown with reference to Fig. 9 of the drawings.
8. In a circular knitting machine, the trappers, operated by a yarn wheel and
stops, together with means for introducing splicing and striping yarns or threads to
the needles, substantially as described and shown with reference to Figs. 12 and 13
of the drawings.
9. The arrangement of parts constituting the racking mechanism for controlling
the action of the needles and other parts of the knitter, for plain or fashioned work,
as herein described and shown more particularly with reference to Fig. 9 of the
drawings.
Dated this 20th day of M 1894
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 6, Victoria Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.