IMPROVEMENTS IN HEALD KNITTING MACHINERY
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Tetlow, of Miles Platting, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, and Thomas Johnson, junior, of Macclesfield, in the
County of Chester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HEALD KNITTING
MACHINERY."
Sealed the 26th August 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, and
Sealed the 26th August 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, and
dated the 29th January 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Tetlow and Thomas
Johnson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th January
1879.
HENRY TETLOW, of Miles Platting, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, and
THOMAS JOHNSON, junior, of Macclesfield, in the County of Chester.
MENTS IN HEALD KNITTING MACHINERY."
" IMPROVE-
Our Invention relates to the machines adapted to be employed in the knitting
of spaced healds, and has for its principal object to simplify the arrangements for
In the said machines as
forming or leaving the spaces at the required intervals.
constructed previously to our Invention the yarn was passed over a fixed finger
which supported the yarn and enabled it to be seized by the part usually termed
the "weathercock." When the yarn is not seized by the said weathercock the
knitting operation is not effected. We fix or form the said finger in or on a part
which is arranged to be lowered or moved downwards, or to be so moved as that
the yarn is lowered or is not supported so as to be seized by the said weathercock.
As long as the said finger remains down or moved away the formation of healds is
suspended, and as a consequence the said spaces are left. To govern the move-
ments of the said finger we employ the ordinary peg-chain, or a peg-barrel, or a
'Diggle's" chain, or a changable pattern wheel, formed as hereinafter indicated, or
a suitable equivalent appliance, which is arranged to act upon a lever, rod, or part
which is connected with the finger or with the part upon which the said finger is
fixed or formed, or which carries the said finger, so that at the required intervals,
as determined by the patteru-chain or equivalent appliance, the said finger. is
lowered or noved. In a modification we arrange the "grab" to swivel at the times
"

page_text: when spaces are formed whereby the said grab does not seize the yarn. The said
changable pattern-wheels are provided with teeth or projections which are removable
so that they can be arranged in the combinations which will be required-to produce. -
the required patterns of healds. We also cast on the pattern-wheel spur teeth with
which gears the wheel or pinion which actuates the said pattern-wheel.
=
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry Tetlow and Thomas Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th August 1879.
HENRY TETLOW, of Miles Platting, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, and
THOMAS JOHNSON, junior, of Macclesfield, in the County of Chester. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN HEALD KNITTING MACHINERY."
Our Invention relates to the machines adapted to be employed in the knitting of
spaced healds, and has for its principal object to simplify the arrangements for
forming or leaving the spaces at the required intervals. In the said machines as
constructed previously to our Invention the yarn was passed over a fixed finger
which supported the yarn and enabled it to be seized by the part usually termed
the weathercock. When the yarn is not seized by the said weathercock the
knitting operation is not effected. We fix or form the said finger in or on a part
which is arranged to be lowered or moved downwards, or to be so moved as that
the yarn is lowered or is not supported so as to be seized by the said weathercock.
As long as the said finger remains down or moved away the formation of healds is
suspended, and as a consequence the said spaces are left. To govern the movements
of the said finger we employ the ordinary peg chain, or a peg-barrel, or a "Diggle's'
chain, or a changeable pattern wheel, formed-as-hereinafter-indicated, or a suitable.
equivalent appliance, which is arranged to act upon a lever, rod, or part which is
connected with the finger, or with the part upon which the said finger is fixed or
formed, or which carries the said finger, so that at the required intervals, as
determined by the pattern-chain or equivalent appliance, the said finger is lowered
or moved. The said changable pattern wheels are provided with teeth, projections,
or pegs which are movable so that they can be arranged in the combinations which
will be required to produce the required patterns of healds.
ور
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood we have attached here-
unto a Sheet of Drawings, made to a scale of about five inches to the foot, and
marked with letters of reference, corresponding marks indicating the same parts in
the two Figures. Referring to the said Drawing, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation
and Fig. 2 an end elevation of the apparatus which we apply to the ordinary heald
knitting machine. A portion of the framing of the said machine is indicated at A.
To the said framing is bolted a bracket b, which carries the pattern wheel 'c and
the gearing which connects the same with the revolving side shaft d.. Upon the

page_text: said shaft is fixed a spur pinion e which gears with a spur wheel f, which is mounted
upon a stud which is fixed to the bracket. A pinion attached to the wheel fis
connected by means of a wheel and pinion g with a spur wheel g¹, which is also
mounted upon a stud, and a pinion cast on or attached to the wheel g' gears with.
spur teeth which are cast upon the pattern wheel c which is mounted on a stud h.
The wheel c is formed with a rim in which holes are drilled at equal distances
apart, and are tapped with a serew thread. Pegs i can be screwed into any of these
holes. The gearing connecting the pattern wheel with the shaft dis so proportioned
as that the said pattern wheel shall rotate to the extent equal to the pitch of the
holes in the rim during the formation of each heald; in the example the pattern
wheel is supposed to have twenty holes in its rim. Such a wheel would make one
revolution during the formation of twenty healds, and would be used in cases
wherein the pattern of the spaced healds would be repeated once or oftener in the
time during which twenty ordinary healds would be made. For patterns
requiring a greater number of operations of the machine for their completion larger
patterns wheels are employed. The bracket b is slotted to receive the stud h so
that by shifting the said stud upwards in the slot a larger pattern wheel can be
applied, each pattern wheel having a number of spur teeth proportionate to the
number of holes in its rim. It will be seen that the stud h is cranked to clear the
wheel g¹. When the stud h is at the upper end of the slot the crank can be turned
upwards to accomadate the largest pattern wheel. Upon a stud j which is fixed to
a bracket k, which is screwed to the framing, is mounted a lever 1, and the inner
end of this lever is jointed to a second lever m which is carried by a standard n.
The outer end of the lever m is furnished with an anti-friction bowl o, upon which
the pegs in the pattern wheel act to depress the said end of the lever as the said
pattern wheel rotates. The inner end of the lever is also provided with a bowl o¹,
which acts upon the crutch-head of a bar p which is arranged to slide up and down
in a fixed frame r. A spring tends to raise the said bar, and on the contrary each
time that the lever m is acted upon by a peg in the pattern wheel the said bar is
depressed, as shewn in dotted lines. The ordinary yarn peg or a "finger" s, sub-
stituted therefore, is fixed to the bar p. Supposing all the holes in the pattern
wheel to be provided with pegs the " yarn peg"s would be depressed at every
operation of the machine. When the yarn peg is so depressed the ordinary
"weathercock" fails to retain the yarn and a heald is not made, therefore in the
case supposed no healds would be made by the machine. It will thus be seen that
each peg in the pattern wheel represents a space or non-formation of a heald, and
therefore that a space equal, say, to three healds, may be made by fixing three pegs
in three adjacent holes in the pattern wheel, and so on with spaces of other widths.
When the end of the lever m is not depressed by a peg the formation of the heald
proceeds in the ordinary manner. The arrangement may be varied by dispensing
with the bar p and attaching the yarn pegs to the end of the lever l. The gearing
connecting the actuating shaft with the pattern wheel may also be variously
arranged without affecting the operation of the apparatus. We do not confine our-
selves to the form of the pattern wheel illustrated and described, and we may employ
ordinary appliances, such as peg chains or barrels, or any suitable pattern chains or
pattern barrels, to act upon the lever m, or to otherwise depress the yarn peg 8.
We are aware that Letters Patent bearing date the Thirtieth of March, in the
year 1876, and numbered 1370, have been granted to John Astley and Francis
Davies for a method whereby the operations of the heald knitting machine when
making spaced healds are rendered self acting, and we therefore make no claim
herein to any part of the Invention of the said John Astley and Francis Davies
covered by their said Letters Patent.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which we carry the same into practical effect, we would in conclusion
have it to be understood that we claim,-
First. The apparatus substantially as and for the purpose set forth and indicated
hereinbefore and in and by the accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Secondly. The employment of a pattern wheel, pattern chain, peg barrel, or othe
similarly acting device to depress the yarn peg of the heald knitting machine at th
required times, for the purpose set forth.
And, lastly. The pattern wheel, substantially as and for the purpose set fort
-and-indicated.
٢٠
11
In-witness whereof,-I-the-said-Thomas-Johnson,-junior, for myself and o
behalf of the said Henry Tetlow, have hereunto set my hand and sea
this Twenty sixth day of August, in the year-of-our-Lord-One thousan
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in
the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
St. Ann's Churchyard,
Manchester,
(Agent to the Patentees).
THOMAS JOHNSON, JUNIOR.
(L.S.)