IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO CIRCULAR MACHINES FOR MAKING LOOPED FABRICS
Year: 1877

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to John William Watts, of Leicester, in the County
of Leicester, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND
APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO CIRCULAR MACHINES FOR MAKING LOOPED
FABRICS."
Sealed the 1st February 1878, and dated the 23rd August 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Watts at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd August 1877.
JOHN WILLIAM WATTS, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO CIRCULAR MACHINES FOR
MAKING LOOPED FABRICS."
To each head of a circular machine for making looped fabrics I employ an
additional cylinder placed above the needles of the head; this cylinder supports a
toothed wheel which revolves around it, being driven by toothed gearing operated
by a wheel on the circular head; the upper toothed wheel carries one or more.
grooved brackets, in each of which a bit carrying a tumbler needle at its lower end
and a bit carrying a shield slide vertically; the shield operates upon the tumbler of
the needle to prevent it falling. I also employ a guard outside the circle of needles
to keep the tumbler raised until the shield falls.
The upper cylinder is provided with a grooved cam or cams to operate the needle
bit and shield bit; the upper cylinder also carries a rocking lever over which a stud in'
the shield bit slides at each alternate revolution of the head, and under it, at each
reverse alternate revolution, the push back is secured to the upper cylinder instead.
of the circular head; the rest of the machine is of the usual construction. The
needle bit and shield bit are each jointed to enabled them to be turned up when not
required.
Each vertical tumbler needle when at work takes the place of one of the needles
in the circular head, which needle is secured in a bit capable of being turned down
to make room for the upper vertical needle, and is turned up when the upper needle>

page_text: is not at work. The needles in the circular head may be either bearded needles or
tumbler needles.
By machinery and apparatus constructed and operating as above-described, I
am enabled to produce a mock seam or seams in the leg or feet of hose, half hose, or
other articles.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John William Watts in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th February 1878.
JOHN WILLIAM WATTS, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO CIRCULAR MACHINES FOR
MAKING LOOPED FABRICS."
To each head of a circular machine for making looped fabrics, I employ an
additional cylinder placed above the needles of the head; this cylinder supports a
toothed wheel which revolves around it being driven by toothed gearing operated by
a wheel on the circular head; the upper toothed wheel carries one or more grooved
brackets, in each of which a bit carrying a tumbler needle at its lower end and a
bit carrying a shield slide vertically; the shield operates upon the tumbler of the
needle to prevent it falling. I also employ a guard outside the circle of needles to
keep the tumbler raised until the shield falls.
The upper cylinder is provided with a grooved cam or cams to operate the needle bit
and shield bit; the upper cylinder also carries a rocking lever over which a stud in the
shield bit slides at each alternate revolution of the head, and under it at each reverse
alternate revolution the push back is secured to the upper cylinder instead of the
circular head; the rest of the machine is of the usual construction. The needle bit
and shield bit are each jointed to enable them to be turned up when not required.
Each vertical tumbler needle when at work takes the place of one of the needles
in the circular head, which needle is secured in a bit capable of being turned down
to make room for the upper vertical needle, and is turned up when the upper needle
is not at work. The needles in the circular head may be either bearded needles or
tumbler needles.
By machinery and apparatus constructed' and operating as above-described, I am
enabled to produce a mock seam or seams in the leg or feet of the hose, half hose, or
other articles.
Figure 1 is a front view of my improved machinery and apparatus applied to a 3
circular machine for making looped fabrics; Figure 2, a plan of the same; and
Figures 3 to 7, portions of the same shewn separately, and severally referred to
hereafter.
The several corresponding parts in each Figure are lettered alike.
To each head A, see Figure 1, of a circular machine for making looped fabrics I
employ an additional cylinder B placed above the needles of the head; this cylinder
is secured to a flanged rail B¹ carried by a bracket B2 at each end of the machine,
and also intermediately, if required; these brackets are secured to the usual bed of
the machine,.
4

page_text: Instead of such rail and brackets I may prefer to employ a separate bracket to
each head of needles to support an additional cylinder; each such cylinder has a
collar B3 secured on its lower end, which supports a toothed wheel C which revolves
round the cylinder; the wheel C is driven by a smaller toothed wheel C' secured
on a vertical shaft C2, the upper end of which lies in a bearing secured to or forming
part of the rail or bracket B'; the lower end of the shaft lies in a bearing secured
to the usual bracket of the next adjoining head, and carries a wheel C³ operated by
a wheel C secured on the pipe of the circular head. The upper wheel C carries one
or more grooved brackets D, in each of which a bit D' carrying a tumbler needle
at its lower end, and a bit D2 carrying a shield at its lower end, slide vertically;
both bits are securely held in the grooved bracket by spring clip bits D³ held in
position by grooved studs D* secured in the bracket D. The shield operates upon
the tumbler of the needle so as to prevent it falling. There is a guard bit E secured
to the usual bracket of the bead outside the circle of needles; this guard bit causes
the tumbler of the upper needle carried by the sliding bit D' to be raised so as to
be covered by the shield in case a loop slips over and frees the tumbler before the
shield covers it.
The upper cylinder is provided with grooved cams F which cause the needle bit
and shield bit to rise and fall at the proper time. The upper cylinder also carries a
a rocking lever F', over which a stud at the back of the shield bit D2 slides at every
alternate revolution of the head and under it at each reverse alternate revolution.
The grooved cams F are shewn at Figure 3 (spread out flat), and are provided with
an inclined piece F2; there is a portion cut away between the upper and lower cam
grooves so as to allow of the needle bit stud to be raised into the groove previously
occupied by the shield bit stud when thrown out of work. When so raised the stud
in the shield bit rises over the inclined piece F2 and prevents the bit falling and
getting into the cam groove, during which time the stud in the needle bit operates
the rocking lever F' and places it in position to guide the next succeeding bit. At
each revolution of the head, the needles carried by the bits D₁ secure a fresh loop
each time it passes over the knocking-over wheel, and releases two loops at every
alternate revolution, but retains one loop; such released loops are ensured being
knocked over as the needle rises by means of a fixed wire G which is secured to the
pipe B above the needle head.
The push back is of the shape shewn (flattened out) at Figure 4, differing slightly
from the one usually employed, but the clearing loop-dividing landing and knocking-
over wheels are of the usual construction, the head being driven by toothed bevel
gearing in the usual way, shewn in the front view, Figure 1.
The needle bit and shield bit may be each jointed, as shewn, by dotted lines at
the lower end of Figure 5, to enable them to be turned up when not required, if
tumbler needles are employed in the circular head.
In Figure 5 a pin H is shewn secured in the needle bit D¹; this pin slides in a
short slot in the shield bit D2, which has its stud slides over the rocking lever, F
is raised to release the tumbler, the needle bit being further raised by the bottom of
the slot to knock over the loops.
Each upper tumbler needle when at work takes the place of one of the needles
in the circular head, which needle is secured in a bit (shewn in side view at Figure 6)
held up or down by a spring G¹, the bit and spring being secured to a needle plate
by a screw where required. The needle is capable of being turned down, as seen at
Figure 1, to make room for the upper vertical needle, which slides in front of an
iron spacing bit placed between the next adjacent needle leads and is turned up
when the upper needle is not at work.
When a circular head having tumbler needles is employed, one such needle is made
to fold down, as shewn at Figure 7.
Any number of seaming needles may be employed in each circular head, the loop
on the lower needles being taken off by the workman and placed upon the seaming
needles previous to the lower needles being turned down.
Whichever kind of needles are employed in each circular head, the upper tumbler

page_text: needle and shield are each alternately operated as follows:-One such needle and
shield is shewn at Figure 1 in the position they occupy after the needle has delivered
its loops and has commenced to fall to get between the needles and the push back,
both being lowered by the grooved cam as the work is lowered by the push back to
pass under the clearing, loop, and dividing wheels; they then rise to allow the crank
of the shield to pass over the landing and knocking over wheels, a fresh loop being
secured as the needle passes over the knocking over wheel, such fresh loop being
passed behind the tumbler of the needle as the needle again descends, when the
movements are repeated. In descending, as the loop of the fabric throws the
tumbler up, the shield descends and covers the tumbler to prevent it from falling
until the shield is raised by the stud in the shield bit rising over the rocking incline
F. When tumbler needles are employed in the circular head only two straight
cam grooves are required and one rocking lever F'. The projection D' in front of
the upper needle bit is to enable the workman to raise or lower the bits. The
rocking lever F¹ is capable of adjustment on the pipe B by means of a slotted bit,
seen at Figure 3, to which the lever is held by a screwed collar pin, a screw being
interposed between the slotted bit and rocking lever.
In the front view of Figure 1 only one seaming needle is shewn at work to
produce an imitation seam, say, at the back of the leg of an hose. In the plan,
Fig. 2, three such needle bits are shewn, the central one D¹ to produce an imitation
seam down the back of the leg of an hose, and when the required length is made
the loop is taken off such needle and transferred to the lower needle raised in its
place, the loops on the two outer lower needles being transferred to the two outer
upper needles to form an imitation seam on each side of the foot of the hose or on
each side of the half hose or other article.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Watts, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness,
H. W. GOUGH, C.E.,
Nottingham.
JOHN WILLIAM WATIO
(14.5.)