Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture of Hosiery.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th July, 1894-Accepted, 25th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture of Hosiery.
We JOHN WILLIAM LAMB, Manufacturer, and THOMAS WAKEFIELD,
Machinist, both of Lamartine Street, Nottingham in the County of Nottingham,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:—
This invention has for its object the production of hosiery of an ornamental
character, that is to say, lace or openwork hosiery, and twilled knitted fabrics, the
twill, in some cases, being in combination with the lace-work, and intervening
between the rows or pattern of the open-work.
The mechanism we propose to employ with certain alterations and additions in
accordance with our present invention, is similar to that shewn and described in a
Patent granted to J. W. Lamb, one of the present applicants, in conjunction with
Samuel Lowe, dated 7th December 1877, No. 4649.
These improvements are applicable to the "Cotton" knitting machine, and to
other automatic knitting machines of like character.
To attain the objects of this invention we provide the machines with an
additional set of loop-shifting points or "ticklers," independent of the ordinary
narrowing points. This additional set consists of one point for every needle in
the "division of the machine to be improved. The points are mounted in
"trick boxes," which are bolted to a sliding bar mounted in guides pendent from a
special rising and falling frame. This frame is fulcrummed upon a rock shaft
mounted in bearings in rear of the rock shaft carrying the frame of the ordinary
narrowing apparatus, and receives its motion in like manner from cams on the
cam shaft.
To operate upon the whole or part of the needles in the division, as required, we
divide the trick boxes carrying the points, into sections, constructing them so that
they may be removed out of acting position, when not required by the pattern.
For patterns composed solely of lacework, we fit the boxes with as many points
as are necessary to remove the required loops from the needles, and place them on
other needles to form the open-work.
When combining lace-work and twilled work, we employ groups of points one
less in number to the needles forming the twilled portion. These points remove
the loops, and place them on adjacent needles, to the right or left hand, according
to the desired direction of the twill. This action being repeated at every
alternate knitted course, the advanced needle of the group operated on will be
double-looped, and the rear needle will form the open work.
To traverse our additional bar, we provide a special slide and accompanying
mechanism, similar to that described in the Specification of the above mentioned
Patent, and in order to return the lace points to their normal position during the
same rotation of the cam shaft, a double action cam is provided.
we may
To determine the time of action and the direction of motion of the slide
governing the points, we employ tappets on the Jacquard chain, in the manner
described in the Specification of the above mentioned Patent; or, for this purpose,
make use of any of the well known systems of pattern wheel mechanism.
To give to the special rocking frame carrying the additional points, and to the
knitting instruments, the requisite motions for co-acting in the transference of the
loops during one rotation of the cam shaft, without interference with the ordinary
knitting or narrowing courses, we provide the cam shaft with sets of cams in
groups of 3,-the cams for the narrowing course on the left hand, those for the

page_text: lace course on the right hand, and the cams for the knitting course in the
middle.
To bring the sets of cams opposite the bowls of the acting levers, we provide
means for shogging the cam shaft in opposite directions, say, two pairs of shogging
cams of the ordinary kind, modified to allow of their independent action, or
shogging bowls on acting levers governing their action by tappets on the Jacquard
chain, in a manner well understood.
When it is desired to move portions of the additional points in opposite
directions simultaneously, two point bars with duplicate slides, and accompanying
mechanism, will be provided.
To provide against the additional points and the narrowing points interfering
with each other, they may be severally rocked out of their acting position on the
completion of the course, and retained in that position until again required.
Dated this 21st day of October 1893.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in and connected with the Manufacture of Hosiery.
We JOHN WILLIAM LAMB, Manufacturer, and THOMAS WAKEFIELD,
Machinist, both of Lamartine Street, Nottinghamn in the County of Nottingham,
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 present invention relates to the improvement of knitting machinery of the
" Cotton" type, notably that described by Messrs. John William Lamb and
Samuel Lowe in the Specification of their Patent No. 4649, December 7th 1877,
with the view to the better production of knitted goods of an open-work or
ornamental character thereon.
According to the present invention, we employ, in addition to the narrowing
points, the use of which is now well understood in the trade, another, independently
actuated, set of points, whereby the knitted loops can be automatically manipulated
from one needle to another, for the purpose of producing the open-work or
ornamentation desired.
The shifting of the loops is effected one step at a time, that is to say, a loop is
taken from a needle, and placed on the next. This may be done either in the case
of a single or individual needle at intervals throughout the work, or in the case of
several adjacent needles at once. In the first case, the needle from which the loop has
been removed will have none in that course, while the next needle will have two
loops upon it. The effect of this is to produce, at the vacant needle, a hole
which, when repeated at intervals at different needles, alternately with a knitting
course, produces, in any desired pattern, an open-work or lace effect. The
shifting of a number of adjacent loops a distance of one needle to the right or left,
and continued for several courses in the same direction, produces the appearance
of a twill, which may be used in combination with the open-work before
mentioned.
In the accompanying drawings, we have shown so much of a "Cotton" knitting
machine as will serve to illustrate the present improvements.
Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional elevation, shewing the arrangement of our
additional point bars, and their position with respect to the ordinary knitting
instruments.
Figs. 1 and 1 are detail views, full size, of the trick boxes to contain the
additional points, and of the slides whereon the said trick boxes are carried.

page_text: ">
Fig. 2 is a front view of the end portion of the machine, shewing one "division
fitted with a complete set of the additional and narrowing points, and mechanism
connected therewith for operating the same.
Fig. 3 is an end view.
Fig. 4 is a front view of the "counting apparatus" by which the additional
points are set in operation, as required, to form the pattern.
Fig. 5 is an end view of the "counting apparatus," partly in section.
Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, are detached views of shogging mechanism for giving
effect to the movement of the counting apparatus.
Fig. 10 is a front view of the shogging gear for throwing out the ordinary slur
box and thread laying motions during narrowing and lace making.
Figs. 11 to 14 illustrate some of the work capable of being produced by the
machine.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the
figures.
We will now proceed to describe in detail, with reference to the drawings, the
mode of, and means for, manufacturing a combined open-work and twill fabric
according to the present invention, this fabric being illustrated, on an enlarged
scale, in Figs. 11 and 12 (back view), and in Fig. 13 (front view).
In carrying out our invention, we employ the usual needle bar A, with a row of
bearded needles a thereon, the sinker bar B with jack and dividing sinkers b b*, the
knocking-over bar C, and knocking-over bits c, the slur box D carrying one or
more thread layers d (two are shewn in the drawing), and the narrowing and
fashioning point bars E, which carry some half dozen points e at either end of each
"division," for narrowing or fashioning the goods being made, in the manner now
well understood in the trade.
In addition to the parts above mentioned, and the usual means adopted for
operating them, we now propose to employ a separately actuated point bar F, with
points corresponding in number with the needles of each division. It is not
contemplated that all these additional points will be required in the manufacture of
one class of goods; it is therefore proposed to prepare the bar F with such points
as will be required to produce the desired pattern at the beginning of the operation,
and also to provide means for throwing some of the points of each division out of
use, as they are not required.
The additional, or, as we propose to term them, the lace points f, are mounted in
trick hoxes, in such a way that they can be easily removed by unscrewing the
covers (see Figs. 1A and 1B). These trick boxes, with the exception of that
carrying the central points of each division, which is a fixture upon the bar F, arc
carried by slides f*, which slides are capable of lifting out of action (as afterwards
explained) some of the points which are not required for use.
The source of motion for the entire machine is the cam shaft I, driven in any
suitable manner.
The lace point bar F is supported in guides formed in the hanging cheeks
pendent from the rod g', which rod forms, with the rocking arms 9, fulcrummed
at g, an independently actuated frame G.
The point bar F is lowered or raised to bring the points into or out of their
acting position, by rocking the frame G on its fulcrum. The movement of the bar F
longitudinally in its guides, to shift the loops, is effected as will be presently
described. The rocking of the frame G is effected by the lowering bars H
(one only being shewn in the drawings), having, on their lower end, a bowle k,
which rests upon the cams of the cam shaft 1, and supports the weight of the
rocking frame G thereon.
It will thus be seen that a rising and falling movement is given to the said frame,
as the bowle follows the shape of the cam whereon it rests. is the cam from
which the frame G takes its up and down movement, to bring the points fout of,
or into, action. upon one of which the bowle (as shown at Fig. 2) rests, are
merely circular discs, which give no movement to the frame G, but merely hold it

page_text: out of action while the ordinary knitting or fashioning courses are proceeding, and
until the cam shaft is shogged longitudinally to cause the bowle h to bear on the
cami. Lowering bars, and other parts operating therewith, are, in a long machine
of several divisious, arranged at intervals throughout the length, as may be
required.
The cam shaft I carries the usual cams for effecting the knitting and narrowing
operations, which are well understood. There are thus three operations to be
provided for separately, viz., the knitting and narrowing, and the open-work or
ornamentation, which operations are not performed simultaneously. To effect
these three operations, the cam shaft must be shogged to three different positions,
so as to bring the requisite can into action.
This
The shogging of the cam shaft I is effected by means of one of three segmental
face cams, keyed thereon (see Figs. 4, 6, 7, and 8), in connection with which
is arranged a bowle k carried by a radial arm fixed to the shogging shaft K.
shogging shaft, which is parallel with the shaft I, is capable of partial rotation in
bearings in the framing, but is incapable of motion in a longitudinal direction.
The axle of the bowle k is transverse to the shogging shaft, and the face cams jjj
are correspondingly arranged with regard to the cam shaft 1. The cams j¹³ are
set, one () on one side of the bowle k, and the others on the opposite side. The
cams are arranged, as it were, one within the other, so that by the partial
rotation of the shogging shaft K, the bowle thereof (/) is caused to shift from one
cam to another, and thereby (being itself immoveable longitudinally of the shaft K)
to move or shog the cam shaft in the direction of its length.
In order, therefore, to bring about any one of the operations above mentioned
which, at the moment, may be requisite, it will only be necessary to rotate the
shaft K to the proper extent, and bring the bowle k to bear tipon the proper
cam, which will force the shalt I longitudinally into the desired position.
To prevent the cam shaft being carried too far, we have shewn an automatic
sliding stop, operated by an arm of the shogging shaft K (see Figs. 4 and 9).
When the cam shaft is shogged by the cam j', the boss of the group of cams will
.be arrested by the sliding stop, but when shogged by the cam, the sliding stop is
withdrawn by the arm, and the boss of the group of cams seen in Fig. 4, is allowed
to move up to the fixed bearing.
To effect this movement automatically, a counting apparatus," comprising
tappet chains L L', is employed (Figs. 4 and 5), mounted in a swinging frame M.
This frame has a bowle m, held by a spring against the cam m', fast on the cam
shaft I, which cam gives to the frame M, carrying the chains L L', a to and fro
movement.
A pawl (one for each chain) pivotted to the framing of the machine, engages
with a ratchet wheel connected with the roller of the tappet chain L, and advances
the latter tooth by tooth as the frame M is oscillated by the cam m². The tappets
of the chains L L' are arranged to engage, at the required moment, with the tails
of the rock levers, or pushers 1, 2, 3, to cause one of them, as the frame M swings,
to strike against the radial arm k' of the shaft K, and to rotate the latter the
distance required, to shog to the cam shaft I (in the manner before explained) the
necessary amount.
The pusher 1 is shewn, in Fig. 4, dropped out of action.
It is from time to time desirable to stop the advance of the tappet chains. This
is done, in the case of the chain L, by an arm k, keyed to the shaft K (see Figs. 4
and 5), which arm is lifted by the rotation of the shaft, and, at a certain point, lifts
the pawl out of its ratchet wheel. The other pawl is freed by a lifter 1, raised by
one of the tappets of the chain L'. are hand levers for advancing the chains,
to set them properly at the beginning of working.
The "counting apparatus" just described, is for the purpose of lowering and
raising the lace points into and out of action, as required, and we now come to the
mechanism for moving longitudinally the point bars, to effect the shifting of the
loops from needle to needle, when taken up by the points.

page_text: This mechanism may consist of notched pattern wheels, two of which, O and O',
we have illustrated in position at Figs. 2 and 3, mounted loosely upon conveniently
placed axles. O is the smaller of the two wheels, which may be used for a
repeating pattern. O¹ is a special pattern wheel. Both are similarly driven by
pawl and ratchet. One only of the pawls is in engagement at a time. In the
drawing, the pawl of the wheel O is shewn in engagement. The radial arms o and o³,
whereon the pawls are pivotted, are rocked to operate their respective pawls, in the
manner clearly to be seen at Fig. 2. Each is supported by its own pendent rod o² 0³,
which have, in common, the bowle p arranged to bear upon the cam P of the
cam shaft I. p² p² are merely circular discs for supporting the bowle p, when
the pattern wheels are not required, as during the knitting and fashioning
courses.
Q is the lace point slide, which works in one direction (by means of the standard y)
the lace point bar F. In the opposite direction, the point bar F is drawn by a
spring or its equivalent. R, R', are a pair of pivotted bell-crank levers, the tails of
which bear against the slide Q aforesaid, while their noses rest respectively on the
pattern wheels O, O'. The rotation of one of the wheels O, O', causes the notches
therein to come successively beneath the nose of its lever, and thereby causes it to
release the slide Q, and allow the point bar to be drawn to the right, thus moving
the points in that direction. The raised portions of the pattern wheels between the
notches, raise the levers, and force the slide and point bar in the contrary direction.
Thus, it will be seen that the movement of the point bar longitudinally is produced.
in accordance with the pattern prepared on the pattern wheel.
When it is desired to throw out some of the points, to vary the pattern during
the course of manufacture, this may be done by means of the hand slides S, by
which the projections (whereby the slides of the trick boxes f¹ are held
depressed) may be shifted, to allow one or more of the said slides f* to be raised by
their respective springs. If desired, a buttons (see Figs. 14, 1³) may be fitted
over each of the said slides *, to hold the same down after the projections of the
hand slides S have been withdrawn.
The arrangement shewn at Fig. 10 is merely a device for disengaging the thread
layers during the fashioning and ornamenting processes.
T is a bevil pinion engaging with the slur box driving gear on the cam shaft I,
to which it is keyed by a feather. This feather, when the said cam shaft is shogged,.
is withdrawn from the pinion, which thus ceases to be driven. tis a sliding latch piece,
which follows the end-way movement of the cam shaft, and checks the pinion T, by
engaging with the teeth thereof, when released by the removal of the feather.
It will be understood that, without departing from the general character of the
invention, the forms of counting pattern mechanism may be varied. Moreover,
when it is desired to move the lace points in opposite directions simultaneously, two.
point bars and accompanying mechanism will be provided.
Referring now to the diagrams, which illustrate the character of the work
produced Figs. 11 and 12 shew in back view, and Fig. 13 in face view, a piece of
knitted work ornamented with combined open-work and twill. To produce work of
this character in the machine just described, a group of, say, 5 lace points, which
may form a part of a larger pattern, are employed, arranged in the required position
to act, say, on needles 1 to 5. A tappet of the chain L of the counting apparatus.
will be brought up by the step by step motion, and caused to set in position the
shogging lever, which, through the shogging cams, will shift the cam shaft, and
bring the lace cams into contact with the bowles of the several motion levers. The
lace points now come down, and remove the loops from the needles 1 to 5. The
point bar is shifted to the left hand (by the pattern wheel), the space of one needle,.
and the loops are replaced on the needles 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, double looping the
needle 6, as shewn. The "counting apparatus" now returns the cam shaft to its
normal position, and the knitting cams coming into action, a thread will be laid
across in front of the needles, and a course of work knitted. The needle 1 from
which the loop was previously removed, receives a slack thread under its beard, as

page_text: shewn at Fig. 12, and, at the next knitted course, every needle will again be
provided with a loop.
When the counting chain of tappets again shogs the cam shaft, the lace cams
bring the points down, and shift the loops, as before, from the needles 1 to 5. The
effect thus produced on the face of the work is seen at Fig. 13, which shews an
opening opposite the needle 1, formed at every alternate course. The intervening
loops between the opening and the ordinary work on the needles 7 and 8, &c.,
produce a twill work. The needle 6 being double looped, every alternate course
shews on the face of the work as a small ridge.
Fig. 14 illustrates, by means of a diagram, the application of the invention to the
production of a pattern in open-work suitable for the ankle and foot of a stocking.
In this pattern, which is shewn as an example, only two points are used for shifting
the loops, with as many repeats as may be required by the pattern.
In this figure, the vertical lines a a represent the lines of work formed by their
respective needles, and the horizontal lines b b indicate the courses of knitted work.
When working the border or "bracelet" which usually forms the heading of this
class of work, the action is as follows :-
The points are brought down to remove the loops from the needles, and, according.
to pattern, they may be brought down several times, to remove the loops from
various needles, before another thread is laid and a course knitted, the lace cams
being retained in action as long as required by the counting apparatus, the pattern
wheel shifting the point bar longitudinally, as may be required by the pattern; for
example, on line of the diagram, the points are brought down four separate times,
and on line ** six separate times, without any intervening knitting course.
Each
time different loops are removed. For the heading or "bracelet," the larger,
specially-cut pattern wheel is used, and when that part of the design is completely
knitted, that pattern wheel is thrown out of action, and the repeating pattern wheel
brought to act on the point bar. The repeating pattern shewn on the diagram requires
the points to be brought down between every course of knitting, and a shift of the
point bar to be made in accordance with the pattern.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In an automatic lace knitting machine, mounting the lace point bar or bars in
guides carried by an independently actuated point bar frame, substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. The means described with. reference to the drawings, whereby a sliding lace
point bar, and an independently mounted frame carrying the same, are actuated, for
the purpose set forth.
Dated this 10th day of Tu1.. 1904
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicants.