IMPROVEMEnts in KnittING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon
and Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, South-
ampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMEnts in KnittING MACHINES."-A communi-
cation from abroad by Dana Bickford, of New York, United States
of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd April 1874.
I, WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-
Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES," (a communi-
cation) to be as follows:-

page_text: °
run and also revolved in either direction and to any extent desired
without the use of any toothed or equivalent gearing, thus reducing cost,
wear, and noise; in a construction whereby at will it may be run either
with or without gearing; in cutting the cam cylinder clear away all
round above the ledge or bed rest for the needle butts to permit the
ready drawing up of the end needles of those used when narrowing, and
the ready pushing down of the same when widening, as in making the
heel of a stocking or other narrowed or widened fabric; in attaching
the bobbin or spool holder, so that it shall revolve with the revolving
cylinder or ring and with the thread carrier, so as to make no slack and
prevent undue delivery in locating the cam switches, so that they are at
all times below the butt of the needles; in the combination with a
rotary knitting machine of a registering device to indicate the number
of courses knitted; in utilizing the needle, confining clasp, or ring as a
scale or registering device for the purpose of registering the amount of
work done; in several varities of automatic switches and cams, in
which the butts of the needles run above the switch when running in
one direction, and below it when running in the other direction; in an
adjustable and removable plate for carrying the switches and cams;
in moulding the cylinders and other parts in permanent moulds, thus
largely economising labor and cost; in a novel construction of needle
and in other details herein-after described in connection with the
Drawings filed with the application.
In the Drawings A is the frame; B, the vertically grooved needle
cylinder; b, b, the grooves for needles, a few only being illustrated;
C, the revolving or cam cylinder with gear teeth x thereon, by which it
may be driven either by power or by a hand driving gear wheel not
shown; D, the yarn guide secured to the shifting thread carrier ring d;
and E, the spool or bobbin frame or stand, shown in this instance as
secured to and carried by the yarn guide, so that these two devices
always occupy the same relative position towards each other under all
conditions, as distinguished from my usual construction, in which the
spool is on a stationary part of the frame whilst the carrier revolves, and
consequently recedes from and approaches it at every revolution.
The cam cylinder is cut out clear all the way around, as shewn at z
in Figure 2, above the ledge or bed rest w for the butt of the needles, so
that in knitting the heel of a stocking or in narrowing or knitting a
bulge on
any work the web is first knitted to a certain length in one

page_text: direction and then knitted back and forth, and at each reversing the
end needle (or needles, as the case may be) is drawn up above the cam
until the article is thoroughly narrowed; and then to widen I com-
mence to push down into action one or more at a time of the end needles
of the series of needles which are being used.
The cylinder may be cut away, only part of the way instead of all the
way around if desired.
By my present construction, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, it will be
seen that no take-up device of any sort is needed, and there can be no
undue delivery of yarn, no slack thread in the way to do damage, and
no tangling of the yarn, especially if more spools than one be used,
whilst the tension of the yarn remains as nearly as may be uniform, thus
producing better work.
The spool frame may be secured to the revolving cylinder or to the
thread carrier ring instead of to the carrier itself if desired.
F is an arm fastened removably or otherwise to the cam cylinder for
driving the machine by hand without the use of any gearing, as will
presently be described, although I have for convenience illustrated a
machine having also therein the customary gearing, as I prefer to build
the machines so that they may be driven either way at option, cither by
hand or by power, though the gearing may in either case be entirely
dispensed with. A loose handle G on the arm serves for convenience in
driving the machine. The cam cylinder rests snugly in or on an
annular bed on the frame A, so as readily and noiselessly to be revolved
thereon.
It will now be seen that with this construction and mode of driving,
the usual crank and the driving gear wheel and its frame, the opening
in the main frame to admit a part of such gear, and the circular series
of gear teeth on the main frame, may all, if desired, be dispensed with,
thus bringing a family machine down to a simpler form it is believed
than was ever yet done.
Instead of making the arm F in a single rigid piece, as shown, it may
be made jointed or hinged, so that when not in use it may be folded
down out of the way.
The handle does not in any way impede the work or play of the
needles, nor can it come in contact with the yarn, as it would do if my.
A 2

page_text: spool frame were stationary, unless I should guide the yarn down
through a hollow handle, as I have sometimes done; in such latter case
I place the handle immediately back of the thread carrier, or attach them
together in that relative position.
The handle may be placed in any desired position on the cylinder, as
well as in the position shown. It may also be made to swing in a small
arc, so that in reversing the movement of the machine it shall shift or
change the cams or switches.
I may here remark that if the needle cylinder instead of the cam
cylinder should be revolved then the thread carrier, spool frame, and
driving handle would of course be affixed to them.
The cam switches are shown at H, H', and it will be seen that in this
instance they are so located as always to be below the lowest point of
the needle, and not as customary on the upper side of the cam groove.
This is a most important feature, and for the following practical reasons,
viz.—It is very desirable that when a machine is stopped, especially if
unfinished work be left upon it, it shall not be meddled with by officious
or inexperienced persons, and the work damaged or ruined. Now by
this construction, as shown in Figure 2, it will be seen that on stopping
the machine, if both switches H, H', be by means of the adjusting
thumbscrews I, I', both lowered to their lowest position, then no
meddler who may put the machine in motion can do any damage
thereby to the knitted fabric, because the needles will not be raised
high enough by the switch cams to free the latch and throw off the
loop.
Another advantage due to this feature is as follows:-When making
continuous tubing by revolving in one direction only the rear cam can
be swung down out of operation, and thus the unnecessary wear of the
parts and useless rising and falling and wear of the needles, and flying
up of the latch and improper throwing off the stitch are avoided.
Upon pulling down both cams an almost endless variety of novel
fancy stitches and fabrics may be formed by simply raising certain
needles (by hand or otherwise) so as to bring them into action for the
moment and then letting them drop out of action again. These cams
may be automatic by simply putting a spring under them to press them
upwards, and in going one way, (forwards) the forward cam would be
pressed upwards into position by the lifting friction of the butt of the

page_text: needle, assisted by the spring, but the back cam as the needles (more in
number) pass over it would be by them pressed down, so that the latch
would not be freed; or springs may press the cams downward, and a
projection on the shifting portion of the machine lift them into action as
required.
K is a vertically adjustable cam plate for lengthening or shortening
the stitch, controlled as to position by the thumbscrew L, a pointer
moving therewith, and a short scale m on the cam cylinder indicating to
the eye externally the degree of such adjustment.
N, N, are the usual fixed pieces on the cam cylinder acting in con-
nection with pins n, n, on the frame to shift the thread carrier to the
opposite side of the cams on reversing the motion that the thread may
be in advance of the rising and falling needles. The picces N also serve
to hold the ring P in place; this part P need not be a complete ring
but only enough thereof to ensure a sufficient shifting of the thread
carrier. O is the clasp ring, the inner edge of which fits into the
annular groove of the needle cylinder; it is hinged at the centre, as
customary, and held by a spring piece and pin p, q. On the upper
surface of this clasp ring (preferably made of brass) I make a scale
extending about half way around, as shown. I have shown it divided
into a hundred parts, sub-divided into fives, tens, &c. On the angular
outer edge of this ring I make a corresponding number of notches, and
on the non-revolving cylinder I place a spring click or equivalent device,
which by means of a pin on the revolving cylinder shall at cacli revolu-
tion thereof be struck and actuated so as to be moved forward ono notch
on the edge of the ring, thus registering cach revolution and each course
of knitting. The ring should for this purpose be so held to one of the
cylinders, by friction or otherwise, as not to move.
Instead of having the driving gear x on the lower side of the revolving
cam ring, as shown in Figure 2, it may be on the lower end or edge of
the needle cylinder, the cam cylinder in such case being stationary, and
serving as a bed, and the needle cylinder being made to revolve carries
the needles to their contact with the cams instead of the cams being
brought into contact with them.
My needle ring or cylinder being readily removable enables me to
take out and substitute another, whether of the same or of smaller
diameter, having a greater or lesser number of needle grooves, as desired,

page_text: the lever, as indicated by the arrows, the needles being in a measure
held up by the work or fabric. The butts next pass down around the
lower end of the lever to form the stitch, and then rise again on the
other side of the lever. Upon reversing the cylinder the lever by reason.
of the reverse action is swung the other way upon its pivot, and a similar
action takes place, but in the opposite direction. This device is adapted.
both for the latch needle and for the spring barbed needle.
Figure 5 shows the same device as Figure 4, except that fixed
switches d, d, are used in conjunction with the lever a to throw up the
needle to free the latch of the latch needle.
In Figure 6 the fixed switches d, d, are used in conjunction with two
swinging levers a, which have a limited range of motion, and are
operated or changed in position by the reversing motion of the machine.
The outside lines or edges of the parts d and a form the switch, and
the inside acts as a cam for forming the stitches, the arrows in this, as
well as in the other Figures, indicating the course of the butts of the
needles, except that the arrow k in Figure 8 indicating the direction of
revolution of the cylinder.
In Figure 7 I use the switches d, d, and a swinging lever e to act as
a cam in forming the stitch. This lever is operated as in Figure 4 by
the needle. The swing lever a is centered at the same point with the
swing lever e, and is adapted to be swung at its top by the reversing of
the cylinder by means of a pin or equivalent device on the outside
coming in contact with an opposite stationary part of the machine.
The dotted lines of a¹ in this Figure and the solid lines of e indicato
their proper positions when knitting in one direction; and the solid lines
of a and the dotted lines of e¹ indicate their positions when knitting in
the other direction.
Figure 8 is a variation from Figure 7. In it are two switclics d, d,
and two swing levers a, a¹, each pivotted to a common cam picce f.
When the cylinder revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow k
the needle butts strike the switch & and against the lever a (shown at
the right hand of the Figure in solid lines), and take the course of the
arrows down between d and a, thence down and around the cam piece f,
and then below the switch d¹.
In order to knit flat goods broad enough to employ all the needles in
the circle the swing levers should be reversed at the proper stage, that

page_text: is, between the first and last used needles of the circle, thus allowing
the cam pieces and levers to pass under the butts of enough of the
needles each way to prevent the selvages becoming united together.
This remark applies to all the Figures except 4 and 5. The swing
levers a, a, are shifted by the reverse motion of the machine, as in
Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 9 shows the same stationary switches d, d, and the same cam
piece f, as in Figure 8, and the same lever a, as in Figures 4 and 5, only
reversed in position, that is, having its pivot or centre of motion at its
lower instead of at its upper end. This accomplishes the same result
as in Figure 8, the single lever performing the duty of the two levers in
that figure.
Figure 10 is the same as Figure 9 with the stationary switches d, d,
omitted, and the shoulder of the cam cylinder for the needles to rest
upon made higher.
Figure 11 shows the picco a arranged as a slide instead of as a lever;
and I use two such pieces instead of one, each being adapted by means
of its slot and pins to be shifted up or down by the reversing action of
the machine through the agency of any appropriate lifting incline or its
equivalent on a stationary part of the machine.
Figure 12 shows the outside of an adjustable or removable plate g
for supporting and carrying any of the above-described or equivalent
stitching devices or cams, or any other kind now in use.
This plate
may be slidden into the rings shown, or applied in any other appro-
priate manner to permit its adjustment or removal, and may be adjusted
by a band lever h, or by a set screw or similar device, to hold it in any
desired position to vary the length of the stitches.
The plate may be removed, and another with different cams or
switches substituted at a moment's notice. In Figure 13 I have illus-
trated the inner side of this plate g, having thereon another modification;
d, d, being as before the switch pieces, and the swing lever a being
pivotted towards its centre, but its tip being located near their tops.
I may use a slot, as above described, to permit its being swung, but
prefer to have an arm or projection on the outside of the cylinder, and
secured to the axis of the piece d. The switches d, d, instead of being
fixed may be if desired be movable.

page_text: Numerous variations may be made from the devices shown in the
Drawings involving the same general features and mode of action
without departing from the spirit of my Invention.
By the above-stated improvements the machine is simplified and
cheapened materially, and operators are more easily instructed in the
use of family rotary knitting machines, as the cams are automatic and
make their own changes. By their use I can dispense with the use of
springs to aid the action of switclics, and dispense with the sliding ring
to which the yarn carrier is attached, and also with all devices for
holding such ring to place; and the expense of making the cams is
much reduced, and a much less number of picces required to be cut in
making the same, besides the great advantage of readily removing onc
set of cams and substituting another, as also of instantly raising or
lowering the cam plate.
To avoid the great labor, time, and expense of cutting, drilling, and
filing away of metal to bring the cylinders, cams, and other parts of the
machine to their ultimate working form and finish, and to enable me
to supply the public with an equally perfect machine, and at much
reduced price, I mould all these parts each in its own highly finished
permanent mould, and thus all the parts ready to be put together may
be exactly reproduced to any desired number and at very short notice,
a single mould serving to produce thousands of fac-simile parts, and tho
number of workmen employed and the number and variety of tools
required are thus materially lessened.
My improved needle, which I prefer to use with these machines, I
make, as shown in Figure 14, with a cut or slab 3 commencing near
the "nooket" or spoon on the open latch, and extending down the
shank of the needle as far as the loop of the yarn ever reaches on the
rising of the needle when knitting. This causes the yarn (whether
coarse or fine) of the discharging loop to be kept well flattened down as
the needle draws back, and to hug closely against the slab, and to ride'
thercon in such condition, and hence to pass under the latch without
any risk as in ordinary latch needles of running against the end of the
latch, and so splitting the yarn or of hitching it on the latch, or pre-
venting the delivery of the loop, and breaking the yarn and stopping
the work. This construction of the slab also allows the latch to lic

page_text: when open nearly flat upon the shank, so that it may pass through the
newly-formed loop without distending or tearing it.
A notch 4 below the slab permits any of the needles to be held up
out of operative action by the mere stress or hold upon it of its own
loop, and this by merely pulling up the needle without removing it from
the machine and without any further device. Instead of this notch 4
on the hooked side of the needle a notch or notches may be made on
its other side; or a small swell, projection, or bend may serve the same
purpose.
I make the butt 5, or such part of it as runs over the cam cylindrical 1
in cross section, instead of flattened as is customary. This prevents any
salient angle or sharp edges at the butt, and the wearing away or cutting
or rutting of the cams therefrom, and allows of making the cams of a
less hardened metal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Morgan-Brown in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 20th October 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue 2
Gaillon, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of April, 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- 2
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Morgan-Brown,
Her special license that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Morgan-Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and a
at all times thercafter 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

page_text: so as to make no slack and prevent undue delivery; in locating the cam
switches so that they are at all times below the butt of the needles; in
the combination with a rotary knitting machine of a registering device
to indicate the number of courses knitted; in utilizing the needle-
confining clasp or ring as a scale or registering device for the purpose of
registering the amount of work done; in several varieties of automatic
switches and cams, in which the butts of the needles run above the
switch when running in one direction, and below it when running in the
other direction; in an adjustable and removable plate for carrying
the switches and cams; in moulding the cylinders and other parts in
permanent moulds, thus largely economising labor and cost in a novel
construction of needle and in other details herein-after described.
In the Drawings A is the frame; B, the vertically-grooved needle
cylinder; b, b, the grooves for needles, a few only being illustrated;
C, the revolving or cam cylinder with gear teeth x thereon by which
it may be driven either by power or by a hand driven gear wheel not
shown; D, the yarn guide secured to the shifting thread carrier ring d;
and E, the spool or bobbin frame or stand shown in this instance as
secured to and carried by the yarn guide, so that these two devices.
always occupy the same relative position towards each other under all
conditions, as distinguished from my usual construction, in which the
spool is on a stationary part of the frame whilst the carrier revolves, and
consequently recedes from and approaches it at every revolution.
The cam cylinder is cut out clear all the way around, as shown at z,
in Figure 2, above the ledge or bed rest w for the butt of the needles,
so that in knitting the heel of a stocking or in narrowing or knitting a
bulge on any work, the web is first knitted to a certain length in one
direction, and then knitted back and forth, and at cach reversing the end
needle (or needles, as the case may be) is drawn up above the cam, until
the article is thoroughly narrowed; and then to widen I commence to
push down into action one or more at a time of the end needles of the
scries of needles which are being used.
The cylinder may be cut away only part of the way instead of all tho
way around if desired.
.
By my present construction, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, it will be
seen that no take-up device of any sort is needed, and there can be no
undue delivery of yarn, no slack thread in the way to do damage, and

page_text: no tangling of the yarn, especially if more spools than one be used,
whilst the tension of the yarn remains as nearly as may be uniform, thus
producing better work.
The spool frame may be secured to the revolving cylinder or to tho.
thread carrier ring instead of to the carrier itself if desired.
F is an arm fastened, removably or otherwise, to the cam cylinder for
driving the machine by hand without the use of any gearing, as will
presently be described, although I have for convenioco illustrated a
machine having also thereon the customary gearing, as I prefer to build
the machines so that they may be driven either way at option, either by
hand or by power, though the gearing may in either case be entirely
dispensed with. A loose handle G on the arm serves for convenience in
driving the machine. The cam cylinder rests snugly in or on an
annular bed on the frame A, so as readily and noiselessly to be revolved
thercon.
It will now be seen that with this construction and mode of driving
the usual crank and the driving gear wheel and its frame the opening
in the main frame to admit a part of such gear and the circular series
of gear teeth on the main frame may all, if desired, be dispensed with,
thus bringing a family machine down to a simpler form it is believed
than was over yet done.
Instead of making the arm F in a single rigid piece, as shown, it may
be made jointed or hinged so that when not in use it may be folded :
down out of the way.
The handle does not in any way impede the work or the play of the.
needles, nor can it come in contact with the yarn, as it would do if my
spool frame were stationary, unless I should guide the yarn down
through a hollow handle, as I have sometimes done; in such latter
case I place the handle immediately back of the thread carrier or attach.
them together in that relative position.
The handle may be placed in any desired position on the cylinder as
well as in the position shown. It may also be made to swing in a small
arc, so that in reversing the movement of the machine it shall shift or
change the cams or switches.
I may here remark that if the needle cylinder instead of the cam
cylinder should be revolved then the thread carrier, spool frame, and
driving handle, would of course be affixed to them.

page_text: The cam switches are shown at H, H', and it will be seen that in this
instance they are so located as always to be below the lowest point of
the needle and not as customary on the upper side of the cam groove.
This is a most important feature, and for the following practical
reasons, viz. -It is very desirable that when a machine is stopped,
especially if unfinished work be left upon it, it shall not be meddled
with by officious or inexperienced persons and the work damaged or
ruined. Now by this construction, as shown in Figure 2, it will be seen
that on stopping the machine if both switches H, H', be by means of
the adjusting thumb screws I, I', both lowered to their lowest position,
then no meddler who may put the machine in motion can do any
damage thereby to the knitted fabric because the needles will not be
raised high enough by the switch cams to free the latch and throw off
the loop.
With my improved cam, as shown in Figure 2, the machine absolutely
refuses to take a stitch until the intelligent operator who has bid it
stop work orders it to resume again.
Another advantage due to this feature is as follows:-When making
continuous tubing by revolving in one direction only the rear cam can
be swung down out of operation, and thus the unnecessary wear of
the parts and useless rising and falling and wear of the needles, and
flying up of the latch, and improper throwing-off the stitch aro
avoided.
Upon putting down both cams an almost endless variety of novel
fancy stitches and fabrics may be formed by simply raising certain
needles (by hand or otherwise) so as to bring them into action for the
moment and then letting them drop out of action again. These cams
may be automatic by simply putting a spring under them to press them
upwards, and in going one way (forwards) the forward cam would be
pressed upwards into position by the lifting friction of the butt of the
needle, assisted by the spring, but the back cam as the needles (more
in number) pass over it would be by them pressed down, so that the
latch would not be freed. Or springs may press the cams downward,
and a projection on the shifting portion of the machine lift them into
action as required.
K is a vertically adjustable cam plate for lengthening or shortening
the stitch controlled as to position by the thumb screw L, a pointer

page_text: moving therewith, and a short scale m on the cam cylinder indicating to
the eye externally the degree of such adjustment.
N, N, are the usual fixed pieces on the cam cylinder acting in
connection with pins n, n, on the frame to shift the thread carrier to the
opposite side of the cams on reversing the motion, that the thread may
be in advance of the rising and falling needles. The pieces N also serve
to hold the ring P in place; this part P need not be a complete ring,
but only enough thereof to ensure a sufficient shifting of the thread
carrier. is the clasp ring, the inner edge of which fits into the
annular groove of the needle cylinder; it is hinged at the centre as
customary and held by a spring piece and pin p, q. On the upper
surface of this clasp ring (preferably made of brass), I make a scalo
extending about half way around as shown. I have shown it divided
into a hundred parts, subdivided into fives, tens, &c. On the angular
outer edge of this ring I make a corresponding number of notches, and
on the non-revolving cylinder I place a spring click or equivalent device,
which by means of a pin on the revolving cylinder shall at each
revolution thereof be struck and actuated so as to be moved forward one
notch on the edge of the ring, thus registering cach revolution and each
course of knitting. The ring should for this purpose be so held to one
of the cylinders by friction or otherwise as not to move.
Instead of having the driving gear on the lower side of the revolving
cam ring, as shown in Figure 2, it may be on the lower end or edge of
the needle cylinder; the cam cylinder in such case being stationary and
serving as a bed, and the needle cylinder being made to revolve carries
the needles to their contact with the cams instead of the cams being
brought into contact with them.
My needle ring or cylinder being readily removable enables me to
take out and substitute another, whether of the same or of smaller
diameter, having a greater or lesser number of needle grooves as desired,
and carrying therefore more or less needles, so that by the same machine
finer and different grades of work may be made, and more or less stitches
at option in each circle or course.
The spool or bobbin spindles & may be stationary if desired, and in
such case are secured in the holes y in the part A' of the frame A.
Instead of a single thumbscrew as shown at t to hold the machine to a

page_text: table or bonoh, two such screws may be used; or a clamp may bo
employed instead thereof.
The take up for the slack of the yarn is composed of a wiro spring u,
one end of which is coiled about an adjustable thumb pin or nut v which.
is internally screw-threaded, and which passes through a hole in the
yarn guide, another thumbscrew connects with this internal screw
thread, and when they are screwed together they are both locked tightly
against the guide; the degree to which the wire is coiled around the.
pin before it is locked to position determining the force, with which
the wire will pull up the slack. Each of the eye holes of the yarn
guide has a lateral slit to facilitate the threading of the yarn in the
cyes.
This machino is adapted for making an almost unlimited variety of
stitches by simply sliding out of action or removing such of the noedles
as may be desired, as also by transferring loops at will from one needle
to another at either side of it, and for fabricating knitted articles of
almost any description, such as tubular or flat goods, tubes of different
diameters, hosiery, hats, caps, shawls, tippets, mats, gloves, muffs,
mittens, garments, under garments, afghans, tidies, fringe, cord, covers
for balls, and other articles, blankets, table covers, carpets, pile fabrics,
tufted goods, &c., &c., at the option of the operator.
I will now describe a number of my novel varities of automatio
switches and oams for operating the needles, and which may be used
instead of those shown in Figure 2, and also will describe my removablo
and adjustable plate for the same and my improved needle.
Figure 4 of the accompanying Drawings illustrates the leading
principle of my Invention, the remaining Figures 5 to 11 inclusive,
showing varities and modifications thereof; and Figures 12 and 13, a
removable and adjustable plate, upon the inner side of which any of
these (as also other forms of cams or cam switches) may be affixed.
In the Figures a is a pivoted swing lever with a pin b thercon arranged
to play in a slot c of the cam plate or cylinder, as the case may be,
and this lever serves instead of the cam heretofore employed; d, d, are
fixed switches. .
•
I will first describe Figure 4, and then the other Figures in order.
When the knitting machine is put in motion and the cylinder revolves

page_text: the butts of the needles (not necessary to be here shown) strike the
lever a and swing it to its extreme opposite position (either one way or
the other, as the case may be), and the butts ride down the inclined side
of the lever, as indicated by the arrows, the needles being in a measure
held up by the work or fabric. The butts next pass down around the
lower end of the lever to form the stitch, and then rise again on the
other side of the lever. Upon reversing the cylinder the lever by reason
of the reverse action is swung the other way upon its pivot, and a similar
action takes place, but in the opposite direction. This device is adapted-
both for the latch needle and for the spring-barbed needle.
Figure 5 shows the same device as Figure 4, except that fixed switches
d, d, are used in conjunction with the lever a to throw up the needle to
free the latch of the latch needle.
In Figure 6 the fixed switches d, d, are used in conjunction with two-
swinging levers a, which have a limited range of motion, and are-
operated or changed in position by the reversing motion of the machine.
The outside lines or edges of the parts d and a form the switch, and the
inside acts as a cam for forming the stitches, the arrows in this as well
as in the other Figures indicating the course of the butts of the needles,
except that the arrow k in Figure 8 indicates the direction of revolution
of the cylinder.
In Figure 7 I use the switches d, d, and a swinging levere to act as a
cam in forming the stitch. This lever is operated as in Figure 4 by the-
needle. The swing lever a is centred at the same point with the swing
lever e, and is adapted to be swung at its top by the reversing of the
cylinder by means of a pin or equivalent device on the outside coming
in contact with an opposite stationary part of the machine. The dotted
lines of a¹ in this Figure and the solid lines of e indicate their proper
positions when knitting in one direction, and the solid lines of a and the
dotted lines of e¹ indicate their positions when knitting in the other
direction.
Figure 8 is a variation from Figure 7: In it are two switches d, d,
and two swing levers a, a¹, cach pivoted to a common cam piece f.
When the cylinder revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow k the
needle butts strike the switch d and against the lever a (shown at the
right hand of the Figure in solid lines), and take the course of the arrows
B
}

page_text: down between d and a, thence down and around the cam piece f, and
then below the switch d.
In order to knit flat goods broad enough to employ all the needles in
the circle the swing levers should be reversed at the proper stage, that is,
between the first and last used needles of the circle, thus allowing the
cam pieces and levers to pass under the butts of enough of the needles
each way to prevent the selvages becoming united together. This remark
applies to all the Figures except 4 and 5. The swing levers a, a, are
shifted by the reverse motion of the machine, as in Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 9 shows the same stationary switches d, d, and the same cam :
piece fas in Figure 8, and the same lever a as in Figures 4 and 5, only
reversed in position, that is, having its pivot or centre of motion at its
lower instead of at its upper end. This accomplishes the same result as
in Figure 8, the single lever performing the duty of the two levers in
that Figure.
Figure 10 is the same as Figure 9, with the stationary switches d, d,
omitted, and the shoulder of the cam cylinder for the needles to rest
upon made higher.
Figure 11 shows the piece a arranged as a slide instead of as a lever,
and I use two such pieces instead of one, each being adapted by means
of its slot and pins, to be shifted up or down by the reversing action of
the machine through the agency of any appropriate lifting incline or
its equivalent on a stationary part of the machine.
Figure 12 shows the outside of an adjustable or removable plate g for
supporting and carrying any of the above described or equivalent
stitching devices or cams, or any other kind now in use. This plate may
be slidden into the ring, as shown, or applied in any other appropriate
manner to permit its adjustment or removal, and may be adjusted by a
hand lever or by a set screw or similar device to hold it in any desired
position to vary the length of the stitches.
The plate may be removed and another with different cams or switches
substituted at a moment's notice. In Figure 13 I have illustrated
the inner side of this plate g, having thereon another modification,
d, d, being as before the switch pieces and the swing lever a, being
pivoted towards its centre, but its tip being located near their tops. I
may use a slot as above described to permit its being swung, but prefer

page_text: to have an arm or projection on the outside of the cylinder and secured
to the axis of the piece d. The switches d, d, instead of being fixed
may if desired be movable.
Numerous variations may be made from the devices shown in the
Drawings, involving the same general features and mode of action,
without departing from the spirit of my Invention.
By the above-stated improvements the machine is simplified and
cheapened materially, and operators are more casily instructed in the
use of family rotary knitting machines, as the cams are automatic and
make their own changes. By their use I can dispense with the use of
springs to aid the action of switches, and dispense with the sliding ring
to which the yarn carrier is attached, and also with all devices for
holding such ring to place, and the expense of making the cams is much
reduced, and a much less number of pieces required to be cut in making
the same, besides the great advantage of readily removing one set of
cams and substituting another, as also of instantly raising or lowering
the cam plate.
To avoid the great labor, time, and expense of cutting, drilling, and
filing away of metal to bring the cylinders, cams, and other parts of the
machine to their ultimate working form and finish, and to enable me to
supply the public with an equally perfect machine and at much reduced
price, I mould all these parts cach in its own highly-finished permanent
mould, and thus all the parts ready to be put together may be exactly
reproduced to any desired number and at very short notice, a single
mould serving to produce thousands of fac simile parts and the number
of workmen employed and the number and variety of tools required aro
thus materially lessened.
"
My improved needle which I prefer to use with these machines I
make as shown in Figure 14 with a cut or slab 3 commencing near the
"nooket or spoon
of the open latch and extending down the shank of
the needle as far as the loop of the yarn ever reaches on the rising of
the needle when knitting. This causes the yarn (whether coarse or fine)
of the discharging loop to be kept well flattened down as the needle
draws back, and to hug closely against the slab, and to ride thereon in
such condition, and hence to pass under the latch without any risk, as in
ordinary latch needles of running against the end of the latch, and so
splitting the yarn, or of hitching it on the latch or preventing the

page_text: delivery of the loop and breaking the yarn and stopping the work. This
construction of the slab also allows the latch to lie when open nearly
flat upon the shank, so that it may pass through the newly-formed loop
without distending or tearing it.
A notch 4 below the slab permits any of the needles to be held up out
of operative action by the mere stress or hold upon it of its own loop,
and this by merely pulling up the needle without removing it from the
machine, and without any further device. Instead of this notch 4 on
the hooked side of the needle a notch or notches may be made on its
other side, or a small swell projection or bend may serve the same
purpose.
I make the butt 5, or such part of it as runs over the cams, cylin-
drical in cross section instead of flattened as is customary. This
prevents any salient angle or sharp edges at the butt, and the wearing
away or cutting or rutting of the cams therefrom, and allows of making
the cams of a less hardened metal.
To knit a stocking I first make a continuous tube with all the needles
until the narrowing begins, then to narrow take out a few needles, and
in order to secure a perfect selvage without the unsightly opening in the
fabric near the edge, which is inevitable in the old modes of narrowing,
I remove a single needle (say the fourth from the gap made by the
removed needles), transfer its loop to the next needle, and move up or
transplace the adjacent three needles with their loops, so that the third
needle occupies the fourth groove, the second the third groove, and thic
first the second groove. I do the same on the other side of the gap, and
then knit back and forth. Similar narrowing is made as often as desired,
and two needles instead of one may be removed and the outer needles
moved up accordingly. The narrowing may thus be as abrupt as may
be desired by taking out more needles before moving up, or by knitting
fewer courses before the next narrowing.
Pins 1 may be placed in any of the holes 2 to shift the carrier E when
the shifting cams, as in Figures 1 and 2, are used, the pins being placed
nearer to each other as the narrowing progresses, or placed farther from
each other as widening progresses. When the narrowing has been
completed I then on the remaining needles knit the part for the ankle,
then knit a strip for the top of the foot, the portion of the web tem-

page_text: porarily taken from the needles hanging down for the time inside the
cylinder, and then for the toe narrow it sufficiently and then widen until
reaching the point where the narrowing for the toe was begun, thus
completing the toe; next knit a flat web to form the bottom of the foot,
the sole or bottom being connected to the already knitted top part of the
foot remaining on the machine by throwing an edge loop of the top or
knitted web at each course of the knitting of the sole over the last
needle of each row of the sole whilst the latter is being knitted; thus
knitting in and interlocking row after row a stitch always ready with a
stitch being made, and making a firm and complete union or seam. The
last rows of the rear of the sole I may knit wider to help to form a
goro at the side of the foot to make a better fitting instep, and inci-
dentally to get a hollow for the bottom of the foot. I now narrow and
widen to make the heel in the same manner as in forming the toc. The
heel being finished it only remains to connect the disconnected parts.
The back of the leg (so far as left open), and the uniting of the bottom
of the leg to the heel, may be done by hand with a crotchet needle, and
the stocking is a complete one with a finished selvage top, and with no
holes left by the narrowing process. To make the heel doubly thick I
simply.double the yarn for that part. The whole stocking may be made
from a single yarṇ.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said
'Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would
have it understood that what I claim is,—
A rotary knitting machine combined with a driving handle and resting
on a bed in its frame, whereby the machine may be operated without
the use of gearing, and having a shifting thread guide, which automa.
tically upon reversing the machine properly changes its position relatively
to the needle operating cam.
Also a rotary knitting machine constructed both with driving gearing
and with a driving handle and bed rest as described; whereby it may be
driven at option, either by the handle or by the gearing, and by hand or
any other motive power.
Also the combination with the rotary cylinder of its bobbin or spool
frame or stand, as described, so that such frame or stand shall revolve
coincidently with it and with the thread guide, and upon reversing properly

page_text: shift its position with the thread guide, whether it be attached to the
cylinder or to the ring or to the thread guide.
Also the arrangement of the adjustable cam switches on the under
side of the cam groove, as described, whereby, whilst serving to perform
the ordinary duty of switches, they also serve, when both are at their 5
lowest points, to prevent the formation of stitches, although the machine
be driven, and permit the operator to make varieties of fancy work, and
when the rear one only is driven it serves to prevent the flying up of the
latch and the throwing off of the stitch, as set forth.
Also the combination with a rotary knitting machine of a registering 1
scale or dial on the ring clasp, substantially as described, to indicate the
number of courses knitted.
Also the combination with a rotary knitting machine of either of the
constructions of switches and switch levers or the cam pieces, as severally
illustrated in Figures 4 to 13 inclusive, or their mechanical equivalents, 1
and allowing the machine to be revolved and to knit in either direction.
Also the adjustable or adjustable and removable cam plate, as shewn
in Figures 12 and 13, for supporting the needle-actuating devices.
Also the combination with a rotary knitting machine of a removablo
needle cylinder adapted for its ready removal, and the ready substitution 2
of another having the same or a lesser diameter, and having a greater or
lesser number of needle grooves.
Also the adjustable take-up consisting of the spring wire u and the nut
and screw or their equivalents.
Also moulding the different parts of a knitting machine in permanent 2
moulds, so that each part can be readily duplicated, so as to dispenso
with the large amount of labor and cost, and the use of expensive
machinery in their manufacture as heretofore.
Also the needle, as described and shewn in Figure 14.
Also the described method of knitting a stocking in a circular rever- 3
sible knitting machine, and the stocking made by such method.
Also the described method of uniting in the machine the successive
selvage stitches of cach course of flat fabric already knitted with the
successive stitches of each course of the fabric being knitted, and all, if

page_text: desired from a single continuous yarn, and without for that purpose
cutting, ravelling, or removing the fabric from the machine.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four..