IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Hancock, of Woolaton Street, Nottingham,
Silk Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF LOOPED FABRICS."
Sealed the 27th March 1855, and dated the 10th October 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Hancock at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th October 1854.
I, SAMUEL HANCOCK, of Woolaton Street, Nottingham, Silk Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS" to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to improvements in, and additions to, machinery
employed in the manufacture of looped fabrics of the class known as hosiery
goods; and consists,―
First, in the employment of improved instruments for forming the loops
between the needles, and carrying the loops forward under the beards of the
needles. These instruments perform part of the operations now usually effected
by the instruments known as jack sinkers.
Second, in the employment of improved instruments, and in the method of
working the same, for the purpose of bringing the work forward on the
needles, pressing down the beards of the needles, regulating the loops, knock-
ing over the work, and drawing it back again. (These instruments perform
the operations now usually effected by the lead and jack sinkers and presser
bar of the common stocking frame.)
:
Third, in the use of improved instruments, and in the method of employing
the same, for the purpose of either narrowing or figuring the work, and in
°

page_text: completing these operations whilst the other part of the work is going on, so
that no loss of time may occur in so making the fabrics. (These instruments
perform the operations usually effected by instruments known as ticklers.) And
also in an improved arrangement and method of working the thread carrier,
by means of which the widening as well as the narrowing of the work is in
part performed.
Fourth, in the use of bars, and in the application and method of working
bars, carrying inclined planes and thread carriers used in working the frame.
And, last, in the combination of the parts herein-before described, forming
an improved frame for making hosiery looped goods, whereby on straight
frames the whole work is commenced and completed in the space of less than
three inches, thus leaving the rest of the frame at liberty for narrowing, widen-
ing, or figuring (as before mentioned), without losing time in the manufacture
of the fabric. (The word straight-frame is here used to distinguish the frame
from those known as round-frames.)
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Hancock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th April 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, SAMUEL
HANCOCK, of Woolaton Street, Nottingham, Silk Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Hancock, Her special licence that I, the said Sanuel Hancock,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Samuel Hancock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
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
THE MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Samuel Hancock, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Hancock, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that
is to say:
My Invention has reference to improvements in, and additions to, machinery
employed in the manufacture of looped fabrics of the class known as hosiery
goods; and consists,―
First, in the employment of improved instruments for forming the loops
between the needles, and carrying the loops forward under the beards of the
needles. These instruments perform part of the operations now usually effected
by the instruments known as jack or lead sinkers.
Second, in the employment of improved instruments, and in the method of
working the same, for the purpose of bringing the work forward on the
needles, pressing down the beards of the needles, regulating the loops, knock-
ing over the work, and drawing it back again. (These instruments perform
the operations now usually effected by the lead and jack sinkers and presser
bar of the common stocking frame.)
Third, in the use of improved instruments, and in the method of employing
the same, for the purpose of either narrowing or figuring the work, and in
completing these operations whilst the other part of the work is going on, so
that no loss of time may occur in so making the fabrics. (These instruments
perform the operations now usually effected by instruments known as ticklers.)
And also in an improved arrangement and method of working the thread
carriers, by means of which the widening as well as narrowing of the work is
in part performed.
Fourth, in the application and method of working bars, carrying inclined
planes and thread carriers used in working the frame.
And, last, in the combination of the parts herein-before referred to with other
suitable framing, forming an improved frame for making hosiery looped goods,
whereby on straight frames the whole work may be cominenced and completed
in the space of three inches, thus leaving the rest of the frame at liberty for
narrowing, widening, or figuring (as before mentioned), without losing time in
the manufacture of the fabric.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will first describe the
new parts separately belonging to my Invention, and then describe the frame
as a whole, and the manner of working the same.
The improved instrument, mentioned under the first head of my Invention,
which I use for dividing the thread and carrying it under the beards of the

page_text: needles, is shewn separately in Figure 3. D is the instrument, and is formed
of a piece of metal having two nibs of different shapes, as shewn by the dotted
lines at the end d', d. "The instruments D work between the combs, shewn
Figure 4, k, k, and work on and are steadied by the wire 41, which passes
through the combs k', and are moved forwards by the inclined plane J¹, J'; as
soon as they move off the bar M, (which bar is placed as shewn, to hold up
the instruments D when not in 'motion,) they are forced down by the spring
apparatus H, taking with them the thread that has been laid on the needles
by the thread carrier B, (as is done in the old stocking frame); as soon as
they have moved far enough to work the thread under the beards, the
inclined plane J2 comes into action, and lifts the instruments D. up, when
the inclined plane J comes into action, and draws them back again over the
top of the bar M.
The improved instruments, mentioned under the second head of my Inven-
tion as effecting the operation now performed by jack and lead sinkers and
presser bars, are shewn in Figure 5. This instrument consists of three parts,
E, E, and E, and is made of iron or steel. E is most conveniently made in
two parts, rivetted together, and having slots formed at e³ and e, to receive
the jointed ends of the parts E and E³. Previously to rivetting the two parts
of E together, the top ends are recessed, as shewn, to allow the instrument to
go between the needles, and the projections e, left at the top, form the presser
to press down the needle beards; the hooks & draw back the work. Es is
jointed at one end to E' by a pin e', and at the other is held by
a wire c³, pro-
perly supported in the frame, and works between combs k³. E is jointed at
one end to E' by a pin elo, and at the other is held between the combs k², and
works on and is steadied by the wire e passing through the combs. This
instrument is first pushed forward by the inclined plane J³, bringing the work
with it. Just previous to the work reaching the needle beards, the inclined
plane comes into operation, and, by lowering the instruments, bring the pro-
jections on to the needle beards, which are thus pressed down, and the
continuous operation of the inclined plane J³, pushing the instrument forward,
carries the work on to the .needle beards. The outside of the hook. e at
the same time takes forward with it the thread laid under the needle beard,
and forms and regulates the new loop at the end of the needle; also at the
same time the inclined plane J' comes into operation as soon as the regulating
of the new loop is effected, and lifts the hook over the new loop, allowing
the instrument E¹ to advance and knock over the work. The working of
the inclined plane J now allows the instrument to fall, and J* comes into
operation to force it down; Je now comes into operation, and carries the

page_text: instrument back, the hooks e drawing the work back with it ready for the
succeeding operation.
The improved apparatus and method of working the same for narrowing or
figuring fabrics, referred to under the third head of my Invention, is shewn in
In this
Figure 2, and requires to be applied at each end of the frame.
arrangement I use ticklers of the ordinary kind, and cause them to enter into
the eyes of the needles for removing the loops, as is commonly done; and my
improvement in reference to this part of my Invention consists in the com-
binations, arrangements, and method of working now to be described. Po is a
tickler lead, which is screwed on a lever P¹, which works on an axle in bearings
on the frame P². P is a frame for carrying the lever P¹ at one end, and
also has a projecting piece P** at the other end, to carry the lever Ps. This
lever is jointed to P2x by an axle Ps, and has the inclined plane P' screwed
on it. P is a stud, on which a rod (not shewn) is fixed, to connect the
lever P³ with the lever S*. S' is a cam, fastened on the shaft T, for giving
motion to the lever S*, and through which and the rod and stud Po motion is
given to the lever P. R' is a spring, which presses down the lever P¹ into the
R² is a
line shewn dotted, when the inclined plane is moved from under it.
shaft reaching across the frame. It has a feather Ro, to allow the frame P² to
R¹ is
slide backwards and forwards; it has also fastened upon it a lever R.
a rod, jointed at one end to the lever R, and at the other end to the lever R³.
R is a cam that works the lever R³, and thereby gives motion to the shaft
R. S is a lever, worked by the cam S³, acting upon the frame Pt, and
moving it forward in the direction of the narrowing operation, and thus moving
the ticklers opposite the needles it is desired for them to act upon. N is an
instrument jointed to the lever N¹; it has a recess N* fitting into the projec-
tion on the instruments E, to move these instruments when motion is given to
the instrument N, and is made suitable to act upon the whole number of in-
struments E required to be used for narrowing. N1, N2, N3, are levers keyed
on the shaft N2, which works in suitable bearings; N is a cam fixed on the
main shaft N³, and acts upon the lever N; N is a cam on the same shaft,
aur gives motion to the lever N13, and by means of these the instruments E
are moved backwards and forwards, as required; No is a lever, turning on the
axle N, and worked by a cam N7, out of sight, fixed on the shaft N, for
the purpose of raising and lowering the instruments E', as required. S³ is a
cam for working in or out of action lever No, when the lever is not wanted
to work, by a lever working on it, not shewn. O and Ox are two bars with
inclined plane on them, working in slotted bearings, one of which acts on the
work of each selvage by putting the instruments N into and out of operation, as

page_text: required. These bars are moved by cams S through the medium of levers,
not shewn in the Drawing. T is a shaft carrying the several cams, shewn;
2 is a ratchet wheel, working the shaft T, and operated upon by a pall or
driver w³. Motion is given to this pall or driver by a lever w', which is moved
by the cam W, keyed on the shaft R. The lever also acts upon the
lever w¹ by means of the link a (jointed to the lever at one end, and
steadied by and moving on a stud w' at the other end), which has a recess a
on its upper side, to allow the lever w¹ to drop in, and so put into operation
the pall w. ¹ is a wheel, fixed on the shaft a, having sixty teeth; X is a
disc, gearing into the wheel a¹, and has an inclined plane so raised on one side
as that one revolution of this disc shall move the wheel a¹ the distance of one
tooth. One tooth in this wheel is cut out, so that when the disc X comes into
this division, the wheel a¹ is stopped, and the narrowing operation ceases. The
shaft has also another wheel behind the wheel a fixed upon it, and which
has fifteen rises and falls on its periphery, by means of which the lever a
through the projection w, is moved backwards and forwards, and thus the
recess in the link as is brought under the lever w¹ when it is desired to act
upon the ratchet wheel w³. The wheels X and ', as shewn, are calculated to
make eight courses between each narrowing. These wheels can be altered as
wanted for figuring or other narrowing purposes. The working of this appa-
atus is as follows:-When it is required to commence narrowing, the work-
men move the wheel a¹ into working gear with the disc X, by means of which
the pall w³ is put in action. The ticklers, standing in the position shewn in the
dotted lines, are, by the action of the lever S* upon the inclined plane P
brought close upon the needle beards; the ticklers are now pressed on to the
needle beards by the operation of the cam R. The instrument E' is now
raised sufficient for the hook to clear the work by the working of the cam N,
and pushed forward by the working of the can N³, which carries the loops
already made on to the ticklers. The operation of the cam N' now draws the
instruments E' sufficiently back to clear the ticklers (the work being on the
ticklers past the end of the needles), which now rise a little to clear the needles
by means of the operation of the cam R. The frame P carrying the ticklers
is now moved inwards the distance occupied by two or three needles in the
direction of the narrowing by the operation of the cam S. The ticklers are
now pressed on the needles on which it is intended to deposit the loops by
the working of the cam R. The instruments E' are now pushed forward
again by the cam N3 being allowed to sink between the needles by the working
of the cam N', and brought back by the working of the cam N', the hook of
the instrument drawing the work back along with the loops just shifted. The

page_text: ticklers now return to their original position by the working of the cam S¹.
When the narrowing is finished, the cam S lifts the instrument N above the
projection on the instruments E, and no further action is produced. The
apparatus, as herein described, is arranged for fifteen narrowings. Any intel-
ligent workman would from this description understand at once how to arrange
the different parts to suit other requirements. It is necessary that the thread-
carrier should, in the process of working this third part of my Invention, for the
purpose of making perfect selvages, be stopped at the proper place; I therefore
employ the improved thread-carrier and apparatus connected therewith shewn
separately in Figures 6, 7, and 8. B is a thread-carrier vibrating in brackets,
which are fastened to the carrier bar a'. B' is a slide, moving in front of the
carrier B, steadied by the stud B, and passing through an opening in the top
of the carrier B. It is held up in its place at top by a spring B"; it is also
held close to the carrier B by a small spring at the back, not shewn; the same
small spring also acts on the carrier B. Two plates B are let into the bottom
end of B¹. a' is a bar, working in slots, carrying the thread-carriers. A box v
is fixed on each end of the bar a'. a is a bolt, sliding in the box v*, and held
from falling through by a pin at top; it has a projection on it, a. V is a bar,
fixed to the frame A, and carrying an inclined plane a", which slides on it.
vis a metal plate sliding in bearings (not shewn) on the frame A; it has a
number of inclined planes v cut upon it. S is a cam fastened on the shaft T.
A¹³ is a lever, working at one end on a stud, not shewn, and resting at the other
end on the cam S, and on the top of which the plate v¹ rests. a10 is a bracket
fastened to the bar a³; one end of this bracket has a projecting piece a" on it,
the use of which is to move the carrier bar a forward and backward. a³ is a
bar, moving in slots in the frame, and has fixed upon it inclined planes J* and J³.
B is a rod, moving in bearings acted upon by the inclined plane Js at one end,
and resting against the thread-carrier B at the other end. B is a lever, moving
on a stud B³, and acted upon by the inclined plane J', for the purpose of
depressing the slide B in the thread-carrier; the end of B2 is made broad
enough to reach over the number of needles required to be operated upon.
The working of the thread-carrying apparatus now described is as follows:--
When plain work only is required, the metal plate v remains stationary at its
lowest position, the shaft T not being at work, and in this case the bar a¹ will
traverse backwards and forwards the whole distance to which it is set without
alteration, being driven along with the projection a, and coming into contact
with the projection a. When the narrowing apparatus is brought into action,
the operation of the cam s will gradually raise the plates v', and thus push
forward the inclined plane a"; the bolt a will then be lifted up by this

page_text: incline, and the projection a will pass under the projection a¹, and thus cause
the bar a¹ to stop short of its original length of motion; the different inclined
planes will by their positions thus cause different lengths of action of the
bar a', for the purpose of making a good selvage after each narrowing operation.
The slide B is pressed down below the beards of the needles by the lever B²,
which is operated upon by inclined planes J'. This action takes place during
the time the bar a¹ is standing still; at the same time the thread-carrier B is
pushed outward by means of the rod B4, for the purpose of laying the thread
under the beard of the last needle on which work is to be made; as soon as the
thread is laid in its place, the thread-carrier returns to its original position by
the action of the small spring. The improvements referred to under the fourth
head of my Invention have already been in part explained;. the. other parts are
as follows-Lever No. 1 is connected to the bar a³ by a link, which is not
shewn in the Drawing; the bar a³ has fastened on it the bracket a¹º, which has
projections. The bars a¹, a³, and as, have also projections provided with set
screws for the purpose of adjustment. The projections on the bracket a come
in succession in contact at the required time with the set screws, forming part
of the projections on the bars, and are pulled forward along with the bar a³,
which is moved by the cam No. 1; cam No. 2 and lever No. 2 act in the same
manner on the bars a, a, a, as in the case last described. Cam No. 3 and
lever No. 3 act upon the bar a in a similar manner. A separate view of most
of the different inclined planes, part of which it will be seen by the Drawings
are moveable on axles, are shewn on Sheet A.
Having now described the particular features of the separate parts of my
Invention, I will give the best description I am able of the remainder, premising
that in the front view, Figure 1, of part of a frame, many of the separate parts
are left out, in consequence of being shewn more fully in detail in the different
Figures; and it will also be understood that the parts shewn and described as
belonging to one side of the frame are repeated on the other side. In Figure 1
the work is shewn in division, as it would ordinarily be used for making hose.
Figure 4 is a transverse section of Figure 1. A is the frame work for carrying
the separate parts; G¹ is a comb bar for the combs K; G2 is a comb bar for
the combs ; G³ and G are the bars for the comb bars 2 and 3; G is the
needle bar; F, the needle leads; and L, the stars and falling bars. It will be
unnecessary for me to explain any further the working of this frame. From
the description already given of the working of the separate parts, the action
of the whole will be understood by any person conversant with hosiery frames.
It will be seen that on motion being given to the shaft R, the cams Nos. 1, 2,
and 3 will draw out the different bars on one side of the frame, and a repetition

page_text: of the cams on the other side of the frame will produce the same effect on the
other side. When the word narrowing is used, it will be understood that the
sane machinery suitably modified will produce figuring.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
working the same, I declare that what I claim is,―
First, the improved instrument and method of working the same, explained
under the first head of my Invention, in so far as regards its application to
the dividing of the thread, or forming of the loop between the needles, and
carrying it under the beards of the needles, as described.
Second, the improved instrument and method of working the same, explained
under the second head of my Invention, in so far as regards its application to
pressing down the beards of the needles, regulating the loops, knocking over,
drawing back, and bringing forward the work, as described.
Third, the narrowing apparatus, as explained and described under the third
head of my Invention, in so far as regards its application to the narrowing or
figuring of looped fabrics without stoppage or delay in the making of the fabric.
Fourth, the improved thread-carrier and thread-carrier stopping arrangement,
also explained and described under the third head of my Invention, in so far
as regards the combined arrangements of the same for carrying, stopping,
pressing down, and pushing forward the thread under the beards of the needles,
as described.
Fifth, I claim the method described of employing and working the bars
a³, a, a, a, a', and as, carrying inclined planes, for the purpose of making
looped fabrics, as described.
And, lastly. I claim the general combination of the parts forming a hosiery
frame, as described, whereby I am enabled to make hosiery goods having
narrowings or figures on them, without any time being lost in producing such
narrowings or figurings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Hancock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
T. W. HARRISON.
SAMUEL HANCOCK. (L.S.)