IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Josiah Griswold, of the Hop and Malt
Exchange, Southwark Street, in the County of Surrey, Merchant
and Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING
MACHINERY."
Sealed the 2nd April 1874, and dated the 8th October 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Josiah Griswold
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th October 1873.
I, HENRY JOSIAH GRISWOLD, of the Hop and Malt Exchange,
Southwark Street, in the County of Surrey, Merchant and Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invension for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
KNITTING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
My improvements relate to circular knitting machines, and especially
to the machine described in the Specification of former Letters Patent
granted to me the 21st day of August, A.D., 1872, No. 2489, and which
is commonly known as the "little rapid family knitting machine,"

page_text: My improvements consist,-
First. In automatic up-throws adjustable by the needles to lift the
latches of the needles above the last row of loops at the proper time to
prevent completely the dropping of stitches.
Second. In an improved apparatus which forms an attachment to the
said machine for knitting the reverse or purl rib."
In reversible circular knitting machines it has heretofore been found
necessary to construct an up-throw on each side of the cam which
depresses the needles; as a result of this construction the latches of the
needles have been lifted above each stitch and freed therefrom imme-
diately after the stitch was formed; the latches thus-remaining free are
liable to be closed by accident and drop the stitch at the next revolution
of the machine. To avoid this liability to the dropping of stitches I
construct both of the said "up-throws," so that whichever way the
machine is revolved only the up-throw which preceeds the depressing
cam will lift the needles so as to clear the latches, and will so lift them
only after the yarn is placed by the yarn carrier under the hooks of the
said needles.
I construct an improved ribbing attachment for the said machine as
follows: The needles are actuated by jacks or levers preferably made of
steel, to one end of which they are attached at right angles, or nearly so,
while the other ends of the said jacks are provided with a hole or slot,
Near
by which they are vibrated upon a support herein-after described.
the middle longitudinally of the said jacks is a slotted lug, which
engages with the cams herein-after described, and by means of which
the said jacks, and with them the needles attatched to them, are
actuated.
The body of the attachment consists of four parts, viz.---
First. A circular disc or web turned to the same size as the. diameter
of the needle cylinder of the knitting machine, but thickened somewhat
at its circumference, in which thickened part are cut grooves equal in
number to the needles required. The office of these grooves is to guide

page_text: ring herein-after described and to guide the aforesaid jacks as they are
being actuated.
Third. A support for the said jacks, preferably a cup-shaped piece,
concentric with the axis of the attachment, and to which the said jacks
are hinged at their upper ends.
Fourth. A support surmounting the attachment, preferably tubular,
and by which, together with brackets herein-after described, the attach-
ment is connected with the machine and held in position.
These four parts may all be cast in one picce, but are preferably made
in two pieces divided midway to allow the said cam ring to be adjusted
to its proper position. The said cam ring is attached rigidly by three or
more of the aforesaid brackets to the main cam ring of the machine,
with which it is free to revolve while the body of the attachment,
together with the jacks and needles, are kept from revolving by the
aforesaid upper support. This cam ring carries three cams, one a V
shaped cam, which actuates the aforesaid jacks and their needles to
discharge the loops and form the purl stitch, while the other two, which
may be designated wing cams, push the said needles forward at the
proper moment to disengage their latches from the loops last formed.
The jacks are thrown forward sufficiently to engage these wing cams by
an india-rubber ring or other suitable spring.
The attachment is so arranged as to be easily placed upon the
machine or detached therefrom, and will work equally well when
rotated in either direction, and when knitting either a tubular or
flat web.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Josiah Griswold in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th April 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
JOSIAH GRISWOLD, of the Hop and Malt Exchange, Southwark Street,
in the County of Surrey, Merchant and Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the

page_text: thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Josiah Griswold,
Her special licence that I, the said Henry Josiah Griswold, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Josiah Griswold, my executors, administrators, and assigns, a
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for “IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY,” upon the condition ]
(amongst others) that I, the said Henry Josiah Griswold, my exccutors,
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great.]
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Josiah Griswold, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in a
and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings forming a part of this Specification :-
My improvements relate to circular knitting machines, and especially
to the machine described in the Specification of former Letters Patent
granted to me the 21st day of August, A.D. 1872, No. 2489, and
which is commonly known as the "little rapid family knitting
machinery.

page_text: ribbing attachment; Figure 3 is a plan of part of the said ribbin
attachment; Figure 4 is a vertical section illustrating a modification of
the said ribbing attachment, whereby the same is adapted to the use of
the ordinary needles of the machine; Figure 5 is a plan of the under
side of the cam ring shewn in Figure 4. Like letters indicate the same
parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the bed of the machine, which has a clamp screw B, whereby it
is secured upon the edge of a table or other support; C is the needle
cylinder formed with perpendicular grooves O¹ for the reception of the
needles in the usual manner; D is the cam ring, shown detached in
Figure 1; E and F are bevil gear wheels, through which the motion is
communicated to the cam ring D; G is a ring or clamp for keeping the
needles in position; H is the yarn carrier.
In reversible circular knitting machines it has heretofore been found
necessary to construct an up-throw on each side of the cam which
depresses the needles; as a result of this construction the latches of the
needles have been lifted above each stitch and freed therefrom imme-
diately after the stitch was formed; the latches thus remaining free are
liable to be closed by accident and drop the stitch at the next revolution
of the machine. To avoid this liability to the dropping of stitches I
construct both of the said up-throws a, b, so that whichever way, the
machine is revolved only the up-throw which preceeds the depressing
cam c will lift the needles so as to clear the latches, and will so lift
them only after the yarn is placed by the yarn carrier under the hooks
of the said needles. These up-throws are free to move
on the
pivots a¹, b¹, and are lifted by the butts of the needles in their passage
across the said camis.
Second. I construct my improved ribbing attachment for the said
machine as follows:-The said attachment is provided with a series of
needles d. These needles in the attachment shewn in Figure 2 are
actuated by jacks or levers e preferably made of steel, and to one end of
which the said needles are attached at right angles or nearly so, as
shewn, while the other ends of the said jacks are provided with holes or
slots e', by which they are supported so as to vibrate freely upon the
cup shaped part of the frame K. Near the middle longitudinally of
the said jacks is a slotted lug e², which engages with the cams g, h, i,
herein-after described, and by means of which the said jacks, and with
them the needles d, are actuated.

page_text: to
The body or frame K, K, of the said ribbing attachment has a circular
disc or web turned to the same size as the diameter of the needle
cylinder of the knitting machine, but thickened somewhat at its cir-
cumference, in which thickened part are cut grooves j¹ equal in number
to the needles & required. The office of these grooves is to guide the
said needles as they are being actuated and also to discharge or "knock
off" the loops from the said needles. The frame K also has a slotted
circular disc k, which serves both to carry the cam ring L and to guide
the aforesaid jacks as they are being actuated. The said frame is also
provided with the aforesaid cup shaped piccef for the said jacks, and
which is concentric with the axis of the attachment, and to which the
said jacks are hinged at their upper ends, as above described. From this
cup shaped piece fa support 7 projects upward, surmounting the attach-
ment. The support is preferably tubular, as shown, and by which it
together with brackets herein-after described the attachment is con-
nected with the machine and held in position. These four parts may
all be cast in one piece, but are preferably made in two pieces, divided
as shewn in Figure 2 and in Figure 3 where the upper part is removed.
In this case the parts K, K³, would be fastened together by means of the
screw p and nut p¹. If the said frame K, K³, is constructed in one piece
the cam ring L must necessarily be made of two parts to allow of its being
adjusted to its proper position. The said cam ring L is attached rigidly
by three or more brackets o to the main cam ring D of the machine,
with which it is free to revolve, while the body of the attachment,
together with the jacks and needles, are kept from revolving or vibrating
by means of the clip lever m, which is drawn tightly around the
aforesaid extension by the thumbscrew r, the other end of the said
clip lever engages with the upper end of the pedestal n, which is a
part of the body A of the machine itself. By means of these brackets o
combined with the clip lever m I obtain a very accurate adjustment of
the needle frame of the ribbing attachment to the needle frame of the
machine. The cam ring L carries the three cams g, h, i. The cam i
actuates the aforesaid jacks and their needles to discharge the loops and
form the purl stitch, while the other two cams g, h, which may be
designated wing cams, push the said, needles forward at the proper
moment to disengage their latches from the loops last formed. The
wing cams g, h, are preferably hinged at w, w¹, so as to be moved
backward and forward, and are held in the position occupied by the
cam g, by the springs x, x². When temporarily, as in forming the heel

page_text: of a stocking, it is required to suspend the knitting of the ribbing
attachment the wing cams are drawn out into the position occupied by
the cam h, and the pins y, y', are inserted to hold them. The jacks are
thrown forward sufficiently to allow the lugs e² to engage these wing
cams g, h, by an india-rubber ring s or other suitable spring or springs.
In small machines like those used in knitting stockings the needles &
of the ribbing attachments must necessarily be actuated by means of
jacks, as above described, by reason of the want of space to actuate the
needles of ordinary construction, such as are used in the machine itself;
but in machines of larger size I prefer to use the said ordinary needles
and to modify the construction of the machine as represented in
Figures 4 and 5. K is the needle frame, which has radial grooves in
its upper surface similar to those in the needle frame of the machine;
L is a revolving cam ring fitted with cams t, u, v, v¹, which are con-
structed and are actuated by the needles, and act upon the said needles
in substantially the manner as described with reference to the upthrows
and cam a, b, c. A part of the needle frame O and of the revolving cam
ring D of the machinery is shewn in Figure 4. The tubular extension 7,
the three brackets o, and clip lever in are constructed and operate
similarly to those of the ribbing attachment above described.
The said attachment is so arranged as to be easily placed upon the
machine or detached therefrom, and will work equally well when rotated
in other direction, and when knitting either a tubular or flat web.
The operation is as follows:-Having commenced at the top of a
sock in the usual way and having knit once around, the ribbing attach-
ment is adjusted to its position inside of the needle cylinder of the
machine, and sufficiently elevated above it to allow of the knitted web
to pass down between; the cams of the ribbing attachment being
directly over the corresponding cams of the machine. Every second,
third, or fourth needle is then removed from the machine, and its
stitch placed upon the needle of the attachment, after which the knitting
proceeds as usual until the ribbed part of the sock is finished, when the
needles, which were removed from the machine are replaced and their
stitches replaced upon them, the attachment removed and the sock
finished in the usual way.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of

page_text: First. The automatic up-throws adjustable by the needles and con-
structed and operating as herein specified.
Second. In a circular knitting machine which has a fixed needle
cylinder and revolving cam ring, the combination of the cam ring of a
ribbing attachment constructed as herein described with the cam ring
of the knitting machine in such a manner that both revolve simul-
taneously.
Third. The jacks constructed with slotted lugs, which engage with
the cams for the purpose of actuating the levers and needles, as herein
described.
Fourth. The india-rubber ring for throwing the jacks forward, as
herein specified.
Fifth. The construction and arrangement of the cams and automatic
switches of the ribbing attachment for operating the needles, either with
or without the jacks, as herein specified.
Sixth. The means for permitting the accurate adjustment of the
needle frame of the ribbing attachment to the needle frame of the
machine, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Josiah Griswold, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the 2
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
W. ROB. LAKE.
H. J. GRISWOLD. (L.S.)