Improvements in the Manufacture of Hosiery.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Mar., 1892-Acceoted, 14th May, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Hosiery.
We, THOMAS MORLEY Senior and THOMAS MORLEY Junior trading as Thomas
Morley and Son of No. 122 Highcross Street Leicester in the County of Leicester
Hosiery Manufacturers 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 :-
The object of this our invention of improvements in the manufacture of hosiery is
to provide or produce a stocking, half hose or sock with an attached rounded heel,
partly attached thereto at the time of knitting upon any loop wheel, bearded or
latch needle circular knitting machine, or upon straight bar knitters capable of
producing tubular articles or fabric, thereby expediating the production of such
articles of tubular hosiery by attaching what are known and designated "Griswold"
turned heels to the fabric in the manner hereinafter specified.
To carry this into effect we make upon any circular knitter whether by hand or
power. Or in automatic knitting machines made to make the aforesaid "Griswold"
rounded heels and toes either of wool, woollen, cotton, union or mixture yarns and
in the well known manner of making such "rounded heels or toes" lengths of such
pieces consecutively of the width required suitable for the size of leg or foot to
which the said pieces are to be attached. That this our invention may be well
understood we have annexed a sheet of drawings hereunto in which is shown by
Figure 1. a piece of tubular plain knitted fabric A. inside out as it is produced upon
a circular machine or knitter, the heel piece a being either put in by hand or as
hereinafter described. Let us take for example; any machine capable of knitting
tubular fabric the capacity of the bed or cylinder of needles say "eighty," the heel
or "toe" piece a would be knitted upon a machine reciprocating upon "forty
needles or thereabouts. The piece of fabric to form the leg and foot of a
stocking A. A' and A" may be provided with a top and welt of any ordinary kind,
and may be altogether plain, mock ribbed or ribbed in the leg and plain possibly in
the foot portion.
"
"
When sufficient length is "run up or "run down" on the machine or machines,
whether operated by power or hand to form the leg and ankle we take one of the
rounded heel pieces a, of the right width and run it on the top at line a* of the foot
portion A" on about half the bed or circle of needles, having cleared the loops upon
this the "running on" side of the heel piece (line a*) we then go on knitting the
length of fabric A, when sufficient of the fabric has been produced, the lengths can
be removed from the machines-a slit "on the line" is then cut in the fabric
immediately above the "run on " side of the heel piece and to the width of same,
the slit is then opened and the unattached side of the piece B. linked thereto, any
rough edges cleared therefrom thus the top of the back of the heel is formed and
the hose or the like is ready to be toed and boarded when it assumes the form
indicated by dotted line A¹; no seam occurring either under or on the foot portion
at all. The stocking, half hose, or sock is then ready to be toed in any ordinary
way or a "toe piece" of the same size or thereabouts as the turned heel piece can
be attached to the toe in a like manner as the attached heel. Or we may without
departing from the essence of this invention reverse the above and knit the foot
first in this case the "rounded heel piece "will be attached the other road about
but in the manner herein before described.
It will be well understood that the above method of attaching "rounded heel
pieces" made upon one machine, while the fabric is being made upon others, allows
us to turn out tubular hosiery very much better and quicker than making the
stocking, half hose, or sock upon one machine.

page_text: We are aware that a tubular piece of knitted fabric cut to form the leg and instep
or leg and foot portion of a stocking or sock of a rounded heel and rounded toe has
been produced upon a straight bar knitting frame, but this is not applicable to our
case inasmuch as no cutting of the instep is required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
.-claim is :
1. The herein described method of attaching rounded heels or "heel pieces" in
articles of hosiery.
2. In the manufacture of hosiery made upon circular machines the formation of
the leg, heel and foot of stockings, half hose or socks by the insertion or attachment
of "rounded heels" or "beel pieces," substantially in the manner described.
3. In the manufacture of hosiery upon straight bar knitters capable of producing
seamed or tubular fabric, the method as herein specified of attaching thereto for
forming the stocking, half hose or sock a rounded heel or "heel piece" in the
manner substantially as described.
Dated this 24th day of March 1892.
WILLIAM BESTWICK MAXFIELD,
66
The Central" Office for Patents, &c., 19, Bowling Green Street, Leicester,
Applicants Agent.