Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Stockings and other Articles, and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Dec., 1888.
Complete Left, 8th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 8th Mar., 1887.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Stockings and other
Articles, and in Apparatus therefor.
We, ARTHUR PARROTT SHEFFIELD, and ALBAN WILLIAM WILLS, manufacturers,
and HARRY EARP, Mechanic, all of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates chiefly to the manufacture of knitted stockings, and to
apparatus therefor.
In the manufacture of stockings it is frequently desirable to thicken the fabric at
the knee portions, in order to render the latter strong and durable. The method
heretofore generally adopted for effecting this thickening consisted in "splicing" an
auxiliary thread to the main thread, so that both threads entered the machine together
and constituted practically one thread, which was woven into fabric. When the
stocking had been thus thickened for the desired distance this auxiliary thread was
severed from the main thread, and the knitting was continued with the single thread.
According to our invention we provide for thickening the stocking without the
necessity for employing an auxiliary thread. For this purpose, instead of drawing
each succeeding loop formed upon a needle through that last formed, we provide for
placing two or more loops upon each needle prior to drawing a loop through the same
to form a stitch. The fabric composed of double, treble or other multiple loop
stitches formed in the manner above described will be found to be much stronger and
more durable than the ordinary thickened fabric. We can, if desired, employ an
auxiliary splice thread in connection with our multiple loop stitches.
In order to form these multiple loop stitches we provide for periodically shortening
the throw of the needles, so that the latches are not entirely passed through the loops
until the desired number of the latter-have-been placed upon the needles.
We will describe this part of our improvements in connection with a circular rib
knitting machine, having a rotary needle cylinder for knitting tubular fabrics. It is
to be understood, however, that our improvements are applicable to apparatus for the
manufacture of plain or unribbed fabric either tubular or otherwise.

page_text: In the machine of the class herein before referred to, the horizontally movable
ribbing needles are attached to the lower ends of jacks or jack-bars, which are pivotted
to the head at their upper ends and adapted to rotate past the thread guide. During
this rotation the jackbars successively come into contact with a cam surface by means
of which the needles are moved far enough to take the latch through the loop."
According to our present invention we make this cam surface adjustable, that is to
say we arrange it in such a manner that it can be drawn back slightly, so that the
needles as they pass the same will not be moved outwards sufficiently far to pass the
latches through the loops. For this purpose the cam surface is located in a slot in
the head, and is attached to one end of a lever pivotted to the fixed part of the said
head, so that it can be moved inwards or outwards, as desired, relatively to the
jackbars.
The
In order to effect the automatic movement of this lover after every two, or more
revolutions of the needle cylinder we arrange the said lever in connection with a
ratchet wheel, through the medium of an intermediate pivotted lever, attached at one
end to the cam lever and at the other end in connection with the ratchet wheel.
latter is operated by means of a pawl acted upon by an excentric fixed to the underside
of the needle cylinder. This ratchet wheel has a series of inclined teeth or projections
upon one face upon which the free end of the intermediate lever bears during the
rotation of the ratchet wheel. When the intermediate lever is upon the top of one of
the said teeth or projections the movable cam surface will be drawn inwards and the
loops will remain on the needle; when, however, the end of the intermediate lever is
in the depression between two teeth, the movable cam surface will be in its outermost
position, thus allowing the latches to move entirely through the loops.
The speed of rotation of the ratchet wheel and the relative lengths of the teeth and
depressions may be so arranged that the movable cam surface will be held back during
two, three or more revolutions of the needle cylinder, thus forming a double, treble, or
other multiple loop stitch.
In order to be enabled to throw the multiple loop apparatus into and out of operation
as desired, we provide a lever, one end of which is arranged in connection with the
pawl operating the ratchet wheel and adapted to hold the said pawl out of engagement
with the ratchet wheel. This lever is also provided with a plate arranged in connection
with a device for altering the throw of the vertically movable needles and thus
adjusting the length of the loops. When the lever is shifted to throw the multiple
loop apparatus into gear the loop regulator is also slightly moved in the direction to
lengthen the loops to allow for the extra thickness of thread.
We wish it understood that we do not limit ourselves to the means hereinbefore
described for effecting the movement of the movable cam surface, as other means may
be employed therefor without departing from the nature of our invention.
ARTHUR PARKOTT SHEFFIELD.
ALBAN WILLIAM WILLS.
HARRY EARP.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,.
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Stockings and other
Articles, and in Apparatus therefor.
We ARTHUR PARROTT SHEFFIELD and ALBAN WILLIAM WILLS, Manufacturers
and HARRY EARP, Mechanic all of Leicester in the County of Leicester 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 :—
Our invention relates to the manufacture of knitted stockings and other articles, and
to apparatus therefor.
In the manufacture of stockings it is frequently desirable to thicken the fabric at
the knee portions, in order to render the latter strong and durable. The method
heretofore generally adopted for effecting this thickening consists in "splicing" an
auxiliary thread to the main thread, that is to say placing an additional thread along
the main thread, so that both threads are woven into the fabric like a single thread,
and when the stocking has been thus thickened for the desired distance severing the
said auxiliary thread, the knitting being then continued with the main thread.
According to our invention we provide for thickening the fabric without the
necessity for employing an auxiliary thread. For this purpose we so construct a
knitting machine that, instead of each loop formed upon a needle being drawn through
the preceding loop formed thereon, as in ordinary knitting by machinery, two or more
loops may be formed upon each needle prior to drawing a loop through them to form
a stitch. The fabric composed of double, treble or other multiple-loop stitches formed
in the manner above described is much stronger and more durable than the ordinary
thickened fabric. We can, if desired, employ an auxiliary splice-thread in connection
with our multiple loop stitches.
We provide for forming these multiple loop stitches by periodically shortening the
throw or movement of the needles, so that the latches do not pass completely through
the loops until the desired number of the latter have been placed upon the needles;
and then permitting the full throw or movement of the needles in order to form the
stitches.
Our said invention moreover comprises various other improvements hereinafter
set forth.
We will describe our improvements as applied to a circular knitting machine,
having a rotary, needle head, for knitting ribbed tubular fabrics. It is to be understood,
however, that our improvements are applicable to other knitting machines for the
manufacture of plain or unribbed fabric either tubular or otherwise.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a knitting machine having a rotary head and
provided with our present improvements.
Figure 2 is a plan of the said machine, partly in horizontal section, the rotary head
being removed.

page_text: Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the rotary head on the line a, a, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the needle cylinder hereinafter described, shewing
the tension devices.
Figure 5 is a view illustrating the method of forming the improved multiple stitch.
A is the base-plate of the machine, and A' is a standard projecting therefrom and
carrying the rotary head a by means of an arm or bracket sliding thereon. bare
the jack-bars pivotted to the said head at their upper ends, as shewn at b¹, and carrying
at their lower ends the horizontally movable needles c.
Below the said head is arranged the cylinder d, which is adapted to rotate simul-
taneously with, and in the same direction as, the head a, and carries the vertical
needles which cooperate with the needles c. Motion is imparted to the head a
and cylinder d through the medium of suitable gearing comprising the toothed
wheels f,f,f,ƒ³.
e is a cam surface formed on the end of the bar e¹ and sliding in a slot in the
tube a¹ upon which the rotary head rotates. During the rotation of the head a the
jack-bars b successively come into contact with the said cam surface, and are thereby
moved outwards sufficiently far under ordinary circumstances to take the latches c¹ of
the needles c forward through the loops thereon.
с
If the throw of the needles c is to be shortened, the bar e¹, the end of which forms
the cam surface e, is drawn back slightly. In order to effect this movement the cam
bar e is connected to one end of a lever g, pivotted at g¹ to the fixed upper part of
the head a, so that the said cam-bar can be moved inwards or outwards, as desired,
relatively to the jack-bars b.
If, now, it is desired to knit multiple-loop stitches we shorten the throw or oscillation
of the jack-bars, so that the needles c, instead of being moved outwards relatively to
the head a to the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5, are only moved to the
position indicated by the full lines, so that the latches are not released. Suppose
that the rotary head has just made a complete revolution and that in this revolution
the yarn has been laid upon the needles to form loops a thereon between the hooks
and latches. If, now, in the next revolution, the throw of the needles is not altered,
the needles will be moved sufficiently far outwards to cause the latches as they lic
back upon the needles, to move quite through the loops, so that when the needles
again move inwards the latches will close upon the hooks, and allow the latter to
draw the yarn placed on the needles during this second revolution through the
said loops.
If, on the contrary, the throw of the needles is shortened in this second revolution,
so that the latches are not moved forward through the loops formed in the previous
revolution, a second loop ¹ is formed upon the needle, as shown in Figure 5. If
the throw of the needles is now again lengthened the loops formed during the
succeeding or third revolution are drawn through the two loops previously laid
upon the needles.
If, instead of again lengthening the throw of the needle at the third revolution, the
head is allowed to make a third or fourth revolution with the short throw, a third or
fourth loop can be laid upon each needle prior to drawing the succeeding loop through
the same to form the stitch.
In this manner double, treble or other multiple loop stitches can be formed as
desired.
I
To effect the automatic movement of the lever g after every two or more revolutions
of the rotary head, we arrange the said lever to be operated by a ratchet wheel i
through the medium of an intermediate lever, pivotted at to a standard projecting
from the bed plate A of the machine, and attached at one end to the lever g and at the
other end bearing upon the face of the ratchet wheel i. The latter is moved by means
of a pawl k connected to one end of a lever 1, the other end of which is attached to the
upper end of a shaft carrying at its lower end a second lever 12. The free end of
this lever carries a roller which tears upon an excentric fixed to the gear
wheel f

page_text: With this arrangement the ratchet wheel i is moved forward a distance of one
tooth at each revolution of the head.
The said ratchet wheel has a series of inclined teeth or projections m upon one face,
which teeth are adapted to intermittently raise the free end of the intermediate lever j
during the rotation of the ratchet wheel. When the lever is upon the top of one of
the said teeth or projections m the movable cam surface e will be moved inwards and.
the latches will not be moved through the loops; when, however, the end of the
intermediate lever is in the depression between two teeth, the movable cam surface e
will be in its outermost position, thus causing the latches to move entirely through.
the loops.
The speed of rotation of the ratchet wheel and the relative lengths of the teeth and
depressions may be so arranged that the movable cam surface will be held back during
two, three or more revolutions of the head, thus forming a double, treble or other
multiple loop stitch.
To provide for throwing the multiple loop apparatus into and out of operation, as
desired, we employ a bent lever n which is so arranged in combination with the paw!
for operating the ratchet-wheel, that when moved into the position shown in dotted
lines at Figure 1 it will hold the said pawl out of engagement with the ratchet
wheel, so that movement of the said pawl by the eccentric will not affect the
ratchet wheel.
In order to hold the jack. bars in contact with the cam surface e when the bar e¹ is
moved back, we provide the plate o which is arranged on the same side of the head a
as the cam-bar el.
This plate o is attached to a bracket o¹, by means of a screw-bolt o² passing through
an elongated slot o³ in the said plate. When the levers g, j are moved to operate the
bar e¹ they press against the said plate and move it inwards, so as to maintain it in
contact with the jack bars b.
p is a device, which is arranged in connection with the lower needles in order to
vary the tension or quality of the fabric being knitted, by slightly varying the
downward movement of the said needles. This device consists essentially of a plate p²,
which constitutes a portion of the wall of the groovey in which the feet of the vertical
needles travel, and of a screw attached to the said plate and carrying a nut ²
bearing against a lug, by which the position of the said plate relatively to the
groove can be varied."
When forming multiple loop stitches it is necessary that the thread or yarn should
be knitted rather more loosely than when knitting single stitches. In order to enable
this adjustment to be made when the multiple loop attachments are thrown into
operation, without the necessity for adjusting the nut by hand, we provide the
wedge s. This wedge is normally situated with its thick end between the said nut²
and the lug. When the thread is to be slackened the wedge is moved, so that its
thin end is between the said lug and nut. The plate p' is thus raised under the action
of the spring p³, so that the needles are not drawn down quite so far as formerly.
The wedge s is attached to the lever n, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, so that when
the latter is moved to throw the multiple loop apparatus into operation the said wedge
is moved as hereinbefore described.
We may employ other means than those above described for varying the throw of
the needles for the purpose above specified. The construction of the apparatus may,
morcover, be otherwise modified without departing from the nature of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we wish it understood that we do not
confine our improvements to knitting machines of the kind or class hereinbefore
described; as it is obvious that they may be applied to other knitting machines but
we claim :-
:-
First A knitting machine wherein provision is made for forming or placing two
or more loops upon each needle and then drawing the succeeding loop through them,
as. and for the purpose, above specified.

page_text: Second In a knitting machine, the provision of means for shortening the throw
or movement of the needles as required, for the purpose above specified.
Third The combination, with a knitting machine, of apparatus constructed and
arranged to operate substantially as described with reference to the accompanying
drawing for automatically regulating or controlling the movements of the needles so
that two or more loops will be formed or placed upon each needle and the succeeding
loop drawn through them, as, and for the purpose, specified.
Fourth-The combination with apparatus for regulating or controlling the
movements of the horizontal needles, substantially as described, of means for varying
the stroke or movement of the vertical needles, for the purpose above set forth.
Fifth-The improved machine consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings and operating
as, and for the purposes, specified.
Sixth-A machine knitted fabric composed wholly or in part of stitches formed by
placing two, three or more loops upon each needle and drawing the succeeding loop
through them.
Seventh. A machine-made stocking the knee-portion of which is composed of
"multiple loop" stitches formed substantially as hereinbefore described.