Improvements in Stopping Mechanism for Knitting and similar Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th July, 1892-Accepted, 3rd Sept., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Stopping Mechanism for Knitting and similar
Machines.
1, GEORGE JAMES MANDERFIELD, a citizen of the United States, and a
resident of the Town of Royersford, in the County of Montgomery, and State of
Pennsylvania, Machinist and Knitter, do hereby declare the nature of this inven
ion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
The invention relates to certain new and improved stop mechanisms for knitting
and other analogous machines and has for its object to provide a construction
whereby the stoppage of the machine may be effected instantly upon the breaking
or running out of the yarn or thread or the knotting or kinking of the same.
Heretofore stop motions for knitting machines have generally been composed of
a loose pulley on the driving shaft, said pulley being driven by a constantly running
driving belt, in combination with an adjacent wheel fixed on the shaft, and a belt
shifter to slip the belt from one pulley to the other, the said belt shifter being
operated by mechanism set in motion by the breaking or knotting of the yarn.
It is well known, however, that this arrangement is objectionable, for the reason
among others that at least one revolution of the shaft is required to entirely shift
the belt from the fast to the loose pulley, and it is necessary therefore to provide
for an unusual length of yarn between the needles and the primary shifter actuating
mechanism in order to prevent the knotted or broken portion from reaching the
needles before the machine comes to rest.
It is to overcome these and other difficulties that my improvement is designed,
and I have herein shown and will now proceed to describe one form of mechanism
in which I have embodied the invention.
Reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this Specifi-
cation.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a common form of circular knitting machine
embodying my invention:
Figure 2 is a detail view of my clutch tripping mechanism;
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the driving shaft showing the clutching
mechanism, and
Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line of Fig. 3.
Similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.
Referring to Figure 1 the yarn 1, 2, runs from the spools or bobbins 3 up through
eyes in the ends of the cross-bar 4 at the upper end of a vertical standard 5, thence
downward through eyes in the ends of pivoted arms 6 to the needles of the
machine. The arms 6 are loosely pivoted upon a horizontal cross-bar 7 supported
by any suitable standards such as 8, rising from the base plate 9 or other part of
the machine frame. The ends of the arms opposite the guide eyes have metallic
forks as at 10, and said forks are arranged to straddle a horizontal metallic bar 11,
supported by an adjustable bracket 12 carried preferably by the standard 5. The
pivotal point of the arms 6 is placed nearer the eye end of the arm in order that
the opposite ends may fall and cause the upper prong of the fork to strike the
metallic bar 11 when the yarn running through the eyes breaks and no longer
offers any resistance to the opposite end of the lever. Instead of this arrangement,
however, the arms may be pivoted centrally of their length and be weighted au
their forked ends.
Located at any convenient point in proximity to the machine is a battery or
other source of electric energy as 13. One of the poles of this battery is connected
by the wire 14 to the metallic bar 11, through the bracket 12, as shown. The

page_text: other pole is in metallic connection with the pivoted arms 6 through the cross-
piece 7, one of the standards 8, and the wire 17. Interposed in the electric
circuit 13, 11, 12, 6, 7, 8, and 17 is the electro-magnet 15, which is the immediate
mechanism for releasing the clutching devices.
During the normal operation of the machine the circuit above described is open
or broken between the forks 10 and the bar 11, the running of the yarn through
the eyes in the other ends of the arms 6 keeping the arms balanced so that neither
prong of the forks at the opposite ends touches the bar 11. As soon, however, as
knot strikes the eye the forked end of the arm will be tipped up and the lower
prong of the fork 10 will contact with the bar 11 thereby closing the circuit and
energizing the magnet. Or, should one of the yarns break, the forked end of the
lever being the heavier drops, and the upper prong contacts with the bar 11 with
the same result, iz.; the closing of the circuit. I will now describe the mechanism
for clutching and unclutching the operating shaft of the machine to the constantly
running belt pulley 30. The shaft 26 carries at one end a gear wheel 28 adapted
to impart motion to the knitting machine in a manner well understood. A.
handle 27 may be applied to the other end of the shaft for turning the machine by
hand when desired. Fixed upon the shaft is the wheel 29 having notches 33 in its
side face, said notches being preferably formed in an annular rim as shown.
Loosely journalled upon the shaft adjacent to the wheel 29 is the constantly driven
belt pulley 30. This pulley not only turns freely upon the shaft but slides length-
wise thereon so as to be engaged with and disengaged from the fixed notched
wheel 29 by mechanism presently to be described. The pulley 30 is provided on
its face adjacent to the fixed wheel with one or a series of pins or teeth 32 to
engage the notches of the wheel 29. The shaft is journalled in the uprising arm
of a small frame 25. Pivoted at one end to this frame below the shaft is a
clutching lever 34. This lever extends up beyond the shaft and has a weighted
end conveniently shaped to form a hand hold by which the lever is operated. At
about midway of its length this lever is cut-away or recessed as shown at 36 so as
to straddle the shaft, and above and below this cut-away portion the lever is
provided with the cam surfaces 37 on one side, the opposite side being plain and
flat and serving as a bearing face for the end of the hub 38 of the belt pulley 30.
The arm of the frame 25 nearest the lever is provided with an oppositely shaped
cam surface 42. In order to provide for the lateral movement of the lever in the
direction of the length of the shaft when it is thrust up into engagement with the
cam surface 42 it is pivoted at its lower end on a loose pin 35 set in the frame and
having a stiff spring 39 tending to hold the arm against the side of the frame as
will be understood from Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing. Encircling the shaft
between the adjacent faces of the fast and loose wheels 29, 30, and conveniently
housed in a recess in the latter, is a spring 31 tending to force and hold the wheels
apart. When the lever 34 is in the position indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 2 the wheels are held apart by the spring .31 and the loose wheel runs
freely on the shaft without operating the machine. When the clutch lever is
pushed up into the position shown in full lines in Figure 2 the cam surfaces 37
and 42 co-operate to thrust the lever laterally along the shaft pushing on the end
of the hub 38 and causing the pulley 30 to be clutched to the fixed wheel 29. To
hold the parts in their clutched position a spring 41 of any convenient form is
secured to the frame in the path of a pin 40 projecting from the side of the lever,
a notch being cut in the spring into which the pin takes when the lever reaches its
locked position.
I will now describe the mechanism for tripping the catch and allowing the lever
to fall.
20 denotes a weight on the upper end of a short rod 21 fixed in a block 19
pivoted as shown, the parts being so arranged that the lever moves in the path of
the spring 41, the end of which is preferably bent to insure the engagement there-
with of the weight.
The numeral 15 denotes an electro-magnet mounted on any suitable frame such
as 18 to which also the weight arm is pivoted. The wires 16 and 17 are connected

page_text: to the opposite end coils of the magnet as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the.
drawings, so that the magnet is included in the circuit heretofore explained. A
spring armature 22 is fixed so that when the magnet is energized it will be drawn
down out of the path of the pivot block of the weight arm 21 and allow the latter
to fall. The armature is preferably provided with a stud 23 to engage the pivot
block, but it may be otherwise constructed to effect the same result. The frame 18
is supported in any suitable manner and located in any convenient position, it only
being necessary that they shall be so arranged that the weight 20 will strike the
spring 41 when the weight arm is allowed to fall. I have herein shown the frame
as supported by an arm or bracket 24 from the frame 25 carrying the driving and
clutching devices.
From the foregoing description the operation of the machine will be readily
understood to be generally as follows:
So long as the yarn is running smoothly through the eyes in the ends of the
pivoted levers 6 these levers will be balanced as before explained and neither of
the prongs of the forked ends will make contact with the cross bar 11, consequently
no current will pass, the circuit being broken at this point. As soon, however, as
the yarn breaks or runs out or a knot or kink passes through the eyes, the forked
end of the levers is raised or lowered as the case may be and one of the prongs
strikes the cross bar 11 completing the electric circuit and allowing the current to
pass. This energizes the magnet and draws down the armature 22 releasing the
pivot block 23 and allowing the weight arm 21 to fall and the weight 20 to strike
the spring catch 41. This of course frees the weighted clutch lever 34 and allows
the same to drop of its own weight, when the spring 31 encircling the shaft
between the wheels instantly forces them apart bringing the machine to rest.
order to set the mechanism again it is only necessary to push the lever 34 up into
place, and to raise the weight arm 21 till the spring armature catches under the
heel of the pivot block, when the machine may be threaded up again in the
ordinary manner and the operation of knitting be resumed.
In
I do not intend to be restricted to the details of the mechanism herein shown
and described, as the same may be considerably modified without departing from
the spirit or scope of the invention.
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. The combination of a shaft, a fixed wheel thereon having a notched rim, a
driving wheel loose upon the shaft and having a tooth to engage the notched rim
of the fixed wheel, a spring encircling the shaft and holding the wheels normally
apart, a cam projection on the bearing for the shaft, and a cam-shaped lever
working between the bearing and the hub of the loose wheel, substantially as
described.
2. The combination of a shaft, a fixed wheel thereon, a loose wheel thereon, a
spring encircling the shaft between the wheels and holding them normally apart, a
cam-shaped projection on the shaft-bearing nearest the loose wheel, a pivoted lever
having a cam surface co-operating with the cam on the shaft-bearing, and a spring
encircling the pivot pin of the lever and holding the latter up to the cam on the
bearing, substantially as described.
3. In a stop motion for knitting machines and the like, the combination of an
operating shaft, a drive wheel normally loose thereon, a wheel fixed on the shaft
and adapted to be engaged with the loose wheel, a cam shaped lever for forcing and
holding the wheels together, a spring catch for holding the lever up to its work, a
weight arranged to strike and release the spring catch, a guide through which the
yarn passes, and an electric circuit including the guide and the mechanism for
dropping the weight, substantially as described.
4. The combination of a shaft, a wheel fixed thereon and having notches, a
driving wheel normally loose on the shaft, a spring encircling the shaft between

page_text: the wheels and holding them normally apart, a weighted cam-shaped lever for
forcing and holding the wheels together, and a spring catch for holding the lever
up to its work, substantially as described.
5. The combination of a shaft, a wheel fixed thereon, a driving wheel loose
thereon, a spring encircling the shaft between the wheels and holding them
normally apart, a cam on the shaft-bearing adjacent to the loose wheel, and a
wedge-shaped cam working between the bearing and the loose wheel for causing it
to engage the fixed wheel, substantially as described.
5. The combination of a shaft, a wheel fixed thereon, a driving wheel loose
thereon, a spring encircling the shaft between the wheels, a cam on the shaft-
bearing adjacent to the loose wheel, a pivoted lever having a wedge-shaped cam
and adapted to work between the shaft-bearing cam and the loose wheel, and a
catch for holding the lever up to its work, substantially as described.
7. The combination of a shaft, a wheel fixed thereon, a drive wheel loose thereon,
a spring encircling the shaft between the wheels, a cam on the shaft-bearing
adjacent to the loose wheel, a pivoted lever having a wedge-shaped cam and
adapted to work between the shaft-bearing cam and the loose wheel, a catch for
holding the lever up to its work, and the lever being weighted to fall upon the
release of the catch, substantially as described.
8. In a stop-motion for knitting machines and the like, the combination of an
operating shaft, a drive wheel normally loose thereon, a fixed wheel on the shaft,
a spring interposed between the wheels and holding them normally apart, a
weighted cam-shaped lever for forcing the wheels together and holding them in
engagement, a spring catch for holding the lever up to its work, a weighted trip-
arm for the catch, a magnet whose armature is arranged to hold the trip-arm
elevated, a guide through which the yarn passes, and an electric circuit including
the guide and the magnet, substantially as described.
Dated this First day of July 1892.
GEORGE JAMES MANDERFIELD.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.