IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY KNITTING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Moses Mellor and Luke Woodward, of
the Firm of Messrs. Moses Mellor and Sons, Arkwright Street,
Nottingham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROTARY KNITTING
MACHINES."
Sealed the 14th July 1874, and dated the 19th February 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Moses Mellor
and Luke Woodward at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 19th February 1874.
We, HENRY MOSES MELLOR and LUKE WOODWARD, of the Firm of
Messrs. Moses Mellor and Sons, Arkwright Street, Nottingham, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ROTARY KNITTING MACHINES," to be as follows:—
In that class of rotary or flat frames or knitting machines in which
sinkers are employed to sink the thread into loops between the needles
as the thread is laid on to them, the jacks or levers to which the sinkers

page_text: have been connected have commonly been acted upon by what is called
a slur cock, which is drawn across them so as to move down the sinkers
one after the other between the needles just as the thread is laid over
them. When the sinkers are depressed in this manner irregular work
is frequently produced if a rapid motion is given to the slur cock by
reason of the jacks rebounding from off the faller bar, which is employed
to limit their descent. When the jack thus rebounds the sinker fails
to depress the thread sufficiently between the needles, and thus parts of
the work will be tighter than others.
According to our Invention we employ radial drivers or arms mounted
spirally around an axis for depressing the sinkers; the drivers may either
be employed to act upon jacks or other levers or upon the sinkers them-
selves when used without a lever. One radial arm or driver is employed
for each sinker, and the arms are mounted spirally around the axis, so
that when a partial turn is given to it the arms act in succession upon
the jacks or sinkers and strike them down one by one. The extremity
of cach arm is made concentric with the axis, so that cach jack or
sinker as it is depressed by one of the arms is held down by it for a
short time on to the faller bar. By this means the jack or sinker is
prevented from rebounding, and even work is produced; one sinker also
may be caused to complete its descent before the descent of the next,
and the sinkers may be depressed much more quickly than could-here-
tofore be the case, as although the arms on striking the jacks or sinkers
commence to move them quickly yet their action upon them gradually
decreases, and the latter part of the descent of each sinker is effected
quictly.
T
Another part of our Invention consists of a means of mounting such
of the needles as are thrown out of action when narrowing, and of
moving them away from the others whenever loops have been taken off
from them and shifted on to the adjoining needles. For this purpose we
mount such of the needles as may be required to be thrown out of work
when narrowing (by preference in pairs) upon plates of hard metal;
such as iron, steel, or brass. These plates at their rear end we mount
upon pins or hinges at the back of the needle bar, whilst the front ends
of the plates rest. in grooves formed in the verge at the front of the
needle bar; one or both sides of these grooves are inclined, and corre-
sponding inclines are formed on the plates; by this means the plates are

page_text: held rigidly in their proper position and correctly in gauge with one
another.
When the loops have been taken by the narrowing points from off
any of the needles which are mounted in the above manner and have
been transferred from them to the adjoining needles the needles from
which the loops have been taken are caused to be turned back to be out
of the way by means of an arm on a shaft carried by the bar or slide
which carries the points, and which is brought against them by the axis
being caused to make a partial turn. When the plates carrying the
needles have thus been turned back to be out of the way they are held
by a spring pressing against their tail ends, this same spring also acts to
hold them down when they are level with the other needles. The
advantage derived from thus turning the needles out of the way as they
are thrown out of action is that the traverse given to the thread guido
need not be so accurately adjusted as when the needles remain in their
place, it will also allow of two or more thread layers being used, so as
to produce fashioned striped work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Moses Mellor and Luke Woodward in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, HENRY
MOSES MELLOR and LUKE WOODWARD, of the Firm of Messrs. Moses
Mellor and Sons, Arkwright Street, Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Henry Moses Mellor and Luke
Woodward Her special license that we, the said Henry Moses Mellor
and Luke Woodward, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said Henry Moses Mellor and Luke Woodward,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: I
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 ROTARY KNITTING MACHINES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Henry Moses Mellor and Luke
Woodward, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing.
under our, or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
onc of us or them, 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.
•
L
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Moses Mellor and Luke
Woodward, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same. is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
that is to say-
In that class of rotary or flat frames or knitting machines in which
sinkers are employed to sink the thread into loops between the needles
as the thread is laid on to them, the jacks or levers to which the sinkers
have been connected have commonly been acted upon by what is called
a slur cock, which is drawn across them so as to move down the sinkers
one after the other between the needles just as the thread is laid over
them. When the sinkers are depressed in this manner irregular work is
frequently produced if a rapid motion is given to the slur cock by reason
of the jacks rebounding from off the faller bar, which is employed to
limit their descent; when a jack thus rebounds the sinker fails to depress
the thread sufficiently between the needles, and thus parts of the work
will be tighter than others.
According to our Invention we employ radial drivers or arms mounted
spirally around an axis for depressing the sinkers. The drivers may
either be employed to act upon jacks or other levers, or upon the sinkers
themselves when used without a lever. Onc radial arm or driver is
employed for cach sinker, and the arms are mounted spirally around
the axis, so that when a partial turn is given to it the arms act in
succession upon the jacks or sinkers and strike them down one by one.
The extremity of cach arm is made concentric with the axis, so that

page_text: 93 10
ཆ མvPT༦༠SP་
by it for a short time on to the faller bar. By this means the jack or
sinker is prevented from rebounding, and even work is produced. Ono
sinker also may be caused to complete its descent before the descent of
the next, and the sinkers may be depressed much more quickly than
could heretofore be the case, as although the arms on striking the jacks
or sinkers commence to move them quickly yet their action upon them
gradually decreases, and the latter part of the descent of each sinker is
effected quietly.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed shows a transverse section
of a portion of a rotary or flat knitting frame. For the sake of clearness
many of the ordinary and well known parts of the machine which our
Invention does not require to be altered are omitted from the Drawing.
a is a portion of the frame, upon which is fixed the needle bar 6 carrying
the needles; c, d, are the sinkers, they are shewn jointed as usual to levers
or jacks e, which are carried upon a jack bar f. The jack bar is suspended
from the swinging bar or axis g, and the usual motions are imparted
to it. Springs not shewn in the Drawing are applied in the ordinary way
to hold the jacks, but the slur cock is dispensed with, its office being
performed by the radial drivers or arms h, h, set spirally around the
axis . The number of the drums employed corresponds with that of
the jacks, and where these are numerous the spiral will pass nearly but
not quite round the axis h' in the operation of the machine in the time
when the slur cock usually traverses across the machine; the axis h¹,
which with the drivers is substituted for it, is caused partially to rotate
in such wise that cach driver or arm h in succession presses upon its
jack and forces it down until it rests upon the faller bar, where it holds
it for a time, so that the sinker connected with it having been carried
down immediately after the thread carrier has laid the thread on the
stems of the needles cannot rise until the sinkers in advance have
similarly descended, so as to take and hold down the yarn between the
needles; in this way the production of very regular work is ensured.
The partial rotation of the axis ¹ takes place first in one direction and
then in the other, and the sinkers are moved in succession imme.
diately the thread carrier passes them in its course to and fro over the
stems of the needles. The form given to the ends of the drivers and to
the projections of the jacks with which they come in contact is such that

page_text: although the motion of the jack as a whole may be rapid nevertheless
it is brought slowly to rest without unnecessary concussion against the
faller bar. The faller bar can be set nearer to or further from the
needles to regulate the descent of the sinkers. The faller bar and bar h¹
aro raised and lowered simultaneously, thus always maintaining the
same distance between the faller bar and ends of radial arms h, whether
making long or short loops.
...
Another part of our Invention consists of a means of mounting such
of the needles as are thrown out of action when narrowing, and of
moving them away from the others whenever loops have been taken off
from them and shifted on to the adjoining needles. For this purpose
wo mount such of the needles as may be required to be thrown out of
work when narrowing upon plates of hard metal, such as iron, steel, or
brass. These plates at their rear end we mount upon pins or hinges on
the needle bar. The front ends of the plates may rest in grooves 1
formed in the verge at the front of the needle bar. One or both sides
of the grooves may be inclined, and corresponding inclines formed on
the plates. By this means the plates will be held rigidly in their proper
position and correctly in gauge with one another.
When the loops have been taken by the narrowing points from off
any of the needles which are mounted in the above manner and have
been transferred from them to the adjoining needles the needles from
which the loops have been taken are caused to be turned back to be out
of the way by means of an arm carried by the same shaft or axis on
which is mounted the bar or slide which carries the points. This arm
is brought against the needles by the axis being caused to make a
partial turn. When the plates carrying the needles have thus been
turned back to be out of the way they are held by a spring pressing
against their tail ends. This same spring also acts to hold them down
when they are level with the other needles. The advantage derived from 3
thus turning the needles out of the way as they are thrown out of
action is that the traverse given to the thread guide need not be so
accurately adjusted as when the needles. remain in their place. It will
also allow of two or more threads layers being used, so as to produce
fashioned striped work.
The arrangement is shown by the sectional views, Figures 2 and 3;
a is the needle bar, it has fixed to it in the manner shewn in Figure 1
3

page_text: a series of needles which are always ready for work, and at one or both
ends of this series there are a few needles (more or less) which are
required to be sometimes in position for work and sometimes to be
turned up out of the way. These needles are marked in Figures 2
and 3, they are mounted singly or in pairs upon plates c, which aro
capable of turning around the pin d carried by the needle bar; e, e, are
springs pressing upon the plates c and tending to hold them in place,
either down ready for work, as in Figure 2, or up out of the way of the
thread carrier, as in Figure 3; a¹ is a comb fixed on the front of the
needle bar to steady and support the needles b. Or in place of using
the comb a¹ the needle plates may, as before mentioned, bo received
into grooves cut in the verge at the front of the needle bar. This
arrangement is shewn at Figure 3ª, the needle plate is inclined on one
side, or it might be on both sides, where it fits into the groove in the
verge, as is seen in Figure 3b, which is a section of the needle plate on
the line 1, 1, Figure 3ª; f, f, are the narrowing points; they are
mounted, as heretofore practised, upon a sliding bar g, which is carried
by a rocking bar h. Both these bars are controlled by cams, and at
the time when narrowing is required the rocking bar h advances, tho
points finsert themselves into the loops in the needles opposite which
they stand; they take these loops from the needles and then (the sliding
bar moving endwise) they carry the loops to and deposit them upon
other adjacent needles. All these operations however are well under-
stood, and have been practised with needles which always remain in
their working positions. But these needles 6 as soon as they are relieved
of the loops of the work are automatically turned up out of the way, sọ
that they are no longer in position to take the thread as it is laid by the
thread carrier. The arm i effects. this; it moves together with the
narrowing point, and when this has fulfilled its functions a motion of
the rocking bar h, communicated to it by the cam, brings the arm i
against the stem of the needle, which has just been freed from the work,
and pushes it up into the position indicated in Figure 3. The needlo
plate then rests against a stop bar k, and there it remains until the stop
bar is pushed down, so as to restore all the narrowing needles simul- .
taneously to their working positions.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, we would have it understood that we

page_text: 1st. The method of actuating the sinkers by means of drivers or arms
set spirally on an axis, substantially as described.
2nd. The method of mounting and actuating narrowing needles, sub-
stantially as described.
"
In witness whereof, wc, the said Henry Moses Mellor and Luke
Woodward, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seven-
1
י
teenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-four.