Improvements in the Manufacture of Hose or Stockings.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 14th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Hose or Stockings.
We, W. ROTHWELL & Co. LTD. of Albert Works, Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Hosiery Machinists, and WILLIAM ROTHWELL, of Hollywood, Heaton,
near Bolton, aforesaid, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of plain hose or stockings and has for
its object the knitting both of the leg fully fashioned and shaped and the foot by
automatic machinery which by the processes hitherto employed has not been
practical or possible.
It consists essentially of the process of first knitting a fully shaped and fashioned
leg of the stocking from the top to the ankle (or other desired part) upon a flat
latch needle self-acting narrowing and widening machine kuown as the Lamb
principle such as described in English Patents Nos. 7224 of 1887 and 10974
of 1889 and then transferring the leg so formed to a circular self-acting machine
of the Shaw or Aiken type and thereon knitting the foot to the proper size and
shape.
In carrying out the invention the leg of the stocking is first knitted to the
desired shape and size preferably on one of the machines referred to in the above
mentioned Patents the bottom of the fabric being left with loose loops or with a
Black course.
The fashioned or shaped leg so formed is then removed from this
machine and transferied to a circular machine of the Shaw or Aiken type with an
equivalent number of needles. The slack course left at the bottom of the leg is
connected to the needles of the circular machine by picking up (or tacking on)
the loose loops or stitches in the last course formed on the flat or straight
machine. A fully formed foot is then on this machine knitted to the fashioned leg
formed on the flat machine and a plain seamless full fashioned hose produced.
By this process we are enabled to manufacture plain seamless hose or stockings
with fully fashioned or shaped legs and feet automatically by machinery without
the hand labour otherwise necessary and which has hitherto been applied to the
shaping of the legs of stockings.
Dated this 20th day of December 1892.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester, Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Hose or Stockings.
We, W. ROTHWELL & CO. LTD., of Albert Works, Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Hosiery Machinists, and WILLIAM ROTHWELL, of Hollywood, Heaton,
near Bolton, aforesaid, Machinist, 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 :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of plain hose or stockings and has for
its object the knitting both of the leg fully fashioned and shaped and of the foot
by automatic machinery which by the processes hitherto employed has not been
practical or possible.
It consists essentially of the process of first knitting a fully shaped and fashioned
leg of the stocking from the top to the ankle (or other desired part) upon a flat
latch needle self-acting narrowing and widening machine known as the Lamb

page_text: principle such as described in English Patents Nos. 7224 of 1887 and 10974
of 1889 and then transferring the leg so formed to a circular self-acting machine
of the Shaw or Aiken type and thereon knitting the foot to the proper size and
shape.
It will be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1. shows fashioned leg of stocking knitted on a flat Lamb machine.
Fig. 2. completed stocking with fashioned leg the foot knitted on a circular Shaw
or Aiken machine.
The leg A of the stocking is knitted on a flat latch needle self-acting narrowing
and widening machine whereby it can be shaped or fashioned to correspond with
the shape of the leg. When it has been knitted down to the line b-c which is
about the narrowest part it is removed from the flat machine leaving a slack course
with a number of loose loops a along the bottom edge.
The fashioned or shaped leg A thus formed is when removed from the flat Lamb
machine transferred to a circular machine of the Shaw or Aiken type with a corre-
sponding number of needles. The slack course left at the bottom of the leg is
connected to the needles of the circular machine by picking up (or tacking on) the
loose loops or stitches in the last course formed on the flat or straight machine.
A fully formed foot is then on this machine knitted to the fashioned leg formed on
the flat machine and a plain seamless full fashioned hose produced.
By this process we are enabled to manufacture plain se mless hose or stockings
with fully fashioned or shaped legs and feet automatically by machinery without
the hand labour otherwise necessary and which has hitherto been applied to the
shaping of the legs of stockings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
The process of manufacturing hose or stockings with fully shaped or fashioned
legs entirely by automatic machinery which consists in first knitting the fashioned
or shaped leg down to the narrowest part on a flat Lamb machine leaving a slack
course and then transferring the leg so formed to a circular self-acting machine of
the Shaw or Aiken type and thereon knitting the foot substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of September 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Manchester, Liverpool, and London, Patent Agents.