Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Mar., 1886.
Complete Left, 23rd Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 28th Jan., 1887.
RESERVE
I BENJAMIN KERR of 33 Havelock Street, Leicester, in the County of Leicester,
Hosiery Machinist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The invention of Kerr and Newton described in Specification No. 13537 of 1884
includes mechanism having for its object the formation of fabric of the same gauge
and stiffness round the circle when produced on what are known as Griswold Knitting
and other like Circular or Tubular hosiery machines capable of producing fashioned
goods.
The object of the present invention is to obtain the same result in plain fabric by
means hereafter described from which it will be seen that I avoid the use of the dial
and points and certain other appliances named in the former invention in order to
deal with cylinders or heads of such small diameter or width as to prevent the
application of the earlier invention.
The former Invention also claims a "dial and cylinder of equal numbers" but I now
propose to provide needle slots in the cylinder so that what may be termed the back
portion of the said cylinder may have a proportionately less number of slots than the
fashioning or what may be termed the front portion preferably one in every three but
not necessarily of equal number.
"
The top of the cylinder through which the needle slots run vertically is usually
level or even but I now propose to provide a depression where the ", coarse slots
commence so that on the back portion of the head the loops as they are being formed
may not be carried so low down the cylinder. I further provide for use in the front
or fashioning portion of the cylinder needles of greater length which may be in height
above the level of the needles of the back portion of the cylinder and I also provide
that the latch for the said extra long needles may have additional long action
when used.

page_text: The operation of changing the needles on the front or fashioning portion of the
cylinder may be as follows: When the point has been reached when the hose is to be
fashioned I remove an ordinary needle and insert the extra long needle so that it
may engage with the loop and take the position of the needle just withdrawn the
next adjacent needle is then removed and the loop which it has vacated is then
transferred or lifted on to the extra long needle just described and so on till the
fashioning side of the cylinder is prepared for fashioning accordingly.
It will therefore be seen that when the extra long needles have been inserted as
described the cylinder will on the fashioning or front portion present alternate void
slots i.e. slots without needles.
Having completed the fashioning for the desired distance the extra long needles
described may be withdrawn and the loops may be readily taken up when the ordinary
needles are inserted in their original position viz: a needle in each slot.

page_text: I, BENJAMIN KERR of 82 Havelock St. Leicester Engineer 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 :-
The invention of Kerr & Newton described in specification No. 13,537 of 1884
includes mechanism having for its object the formation of fabric of uniform guage
and stiffness round the circle when produced on what are known as Griswold Knitting
and other like circular or tubular hosiery machines capable of producing fashioned
goods. The object of the present invention is to obtain the same result in plain fabric
by means hereafter described from which it will be seen that I avoid the use of the
dial and points and certain other appliances named in the former invention, in order to
deal with cylinders or heads of sucli small diameter as to prevent the application of
the earlier invention.
The former invention also claims a "dial and cylinder of equal numbers," but I
now propose to provide needle slots in the cylinder so that what may be termed the
back portion of the said cylinder may have a proportionately less number of slots than
the fashioning or what may be termed the front portion preferably one in every three
but not necessarily of equal numbers.
The top of the cylinder through which the needle slots run vertically is usually
level or even but I now propose to provide a depression where the coarse needle slots
commence so that on the back portion of the head the loops as they are being formed
may not be carried so low down the cylinder.
I further provide for use in the front or fashioning portion of the cylinder needles
of greater length, which may be in height above the level of the needles of the back
portion of the cylinder and I also provide that the latch for the said extra long needles
have additional long action when used.
may
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front view of a circular head having a
double guaged cylinder and shewing the position of the needles after the fashioning
or narrowing process has commenced.
Figure 2 is a similar view but shewing the position of the needles after the
fashioning or narrowing process is completed.
Figure 3 is a plan of the needle.cylinder..
Figure 4 shews two needles of an equal size, employed in this invention.
Like letters are used to indicate corresponding parts, throughout the drawings.
B is the inner cylinder of a circular head having the usual needle slots or grooves.
At B the needle slots or grooves which extend the whole distance around the
depressed or back part of the cylinder, are cut coarse, that is to say the grooves are
wider apart, than the needle slots B2 at the raised or front part of the cylinder where
the grooves are narrower and as already stated are proportionately less in number
than the coarse slots.
D shews the raised portion of the top of the cylinder which causes a depression
where the coarse needle slots or grooves B¹ are found, so that the loops drawn by the
needles C may not be carried so low down the cylinder. The needles Cand C¹ shewn
in Figure 1 are also shewn separately in Figure 4, & lettered accordingly, C having

page_text: the short latch and C₁ the long latch so that when in operation, additional long action
or stroke may be obtained thereby. It will be understood that the long needles C¹
are employed in the front or fashioning part of the cylinder only.
When it is desired to fashion or narrow the fabric the operation of changing the
needles in the front or fashioning part of the cylinder B is as follows:-
An ordinary needle C is removed preferably from the centre of the narrow slots B'
in the cylinder (Fig. 1) and an extra long needle C is inserted so that it may engage
with the loop and take the position of the needle C just withdrawn, the next adjacent
needle is then removed and the loop which it has vacated is then transferred or lifted
on to the long needle C¹ just described after which several complete rounds are knitted.
This process or operation is repeated until the whole of the short needles Care
removed from the narrow needle sfots B and the narrowing of the fabric is completed.
In narrowing, the outside or off long needles Care left preferably next to a short or
ordinary needle C.
It will therefore be seen that when the extra long needles C have been inserted as
described the cylinder will on the front or fashioning portion B2 present alternate
slots i.e. slots without needles.
Having completed the fashioning or narrowing of the fabric for the desired distance
the extra long needles C¹ may be withdrawn and the loops may be readily taken up or
transferred when the ordinary needles Care inserted in their original position in the
cylinder, that is a needle in each slot.
Or at this point instead of removing the whole of the long needles C" and inserting
the ordinary needles C to re-commence making the leg portion of a stocking or sock
I may in order to save time reverse the narrowing process just described and working
from the toe-point upwards, widen the fabric by removing one or more long needles C
and inserting two or more short needles C.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
--
1. In a circular knitting machine the combination of needles of unequal length such
as C and C with a double guaged cylinder substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
2. In a circular knitting machine a double guaged cylinder such as B the rim of
which is raised on that portion of its circumference where the fashioning needles are
situated substantially as specified.
Witness-
E. N. LEWIS,
Patent Office,
Market Street, Leicester.
BENJAMIN KERR.