Improvements in and relating to Circular Knitting Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 4th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Circular Knitting Machines.
ALFRED LEE 118 Kirke White Street Nottingham Mechanic do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in that class of circular knitting machine
upon which so called seamless hosiery is made, and my invention has for its object
the construction of a machine upon which the welt and rib-top may be produced
automatically in addition to the remainder of the stocking, the leg of which may
on my improved machine be made plain or ribbed.
The needles and needle jacks or levers in the frame and in the ribber head
work in couples, the needles being so placed that each loop is formed upon two
frame or two ribbing needles. The ends of the needle jacks are guided by grooves
in the needle cylinders, and they are actuated for knitting by the usual mechanism,
which is arranged for fashioning as is usual in this class of machine.
The jacks forming each pair are made of tempered steel, and the ends of the
same are bent, so that when the jacks are out of the grooves in the needle cylinders.
they spring from each other and separate the needles carried by them.
For transferring the loops from one set of needles to the other automatically,
as from the frame needles to the ribbing needles, the machine is fitted with
additional mechanism which acts upon and raises out of the grooves in the needle
cylinder, certain of the needle jacks, the particular jacks raised varying according
to the rib required. This lifting of the jacks allows them to spring apart, separate
the needles and stretch or open the loop on the latter, so that as the double
ribbing needles are advanced they take the loops from the frame needles.
The grooves guiding the jacks in the needle cylinders are made taper at their
outer ends so that when the jacks are returned to their normal position, the
separated ends of the same are pressed together and led into the usual guides.
The loops may be automatically transferred from the ribbing needles to the
frame needles, by acting upon the ribbing needles in a manner similar to that
described with reference to the frame needles, and it should be understood that
when the loops have been taken from any of the needles, that those needles are
not acted upon by the knitting cam until the loops have been transferred back
again to them.
The needles are made with a projection or recess below the latch for holding
and bringing forward the loop about to be transferred from one set of needles to
the other. The needles may be arranged to produce any of the usual ribs, the
transferring mechanism being modified to suit the arrangement of needles.
The stocking is started by making the welt, followed by a rib top, and a plain
or ribbed leg after which the stocking is completed to the toe, and another
stocking started at the welt, one stocking being made after the other continuously
so that the work may be wound up as made.
Dated this 4th day of February 1893.
W. H. POTTER, M.I. Mech. E.,
Parliament Chambers, Nottingham, Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Circular Knitting Machines.
ALFRED LEE 118 Kirke White Street Nottingham Mechanic 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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in and relating to that class of circular
knitting machines upon which-so-called-seamless hosiery is made.
"
At the present time when making-so-called seamless hosiery the rib top is
generally made on a separate machine and then "run ou to the needles of the
machine used for making leg, heel, foot and toe, and if it is required to make ribbed
and plain work on the existing machines the loops have to be transferred from one
set of needles to the other, or the needles transferred from the frame cylinder to
the ribber head, or vice versa hy hand, the running on of the rib top, and the
transferring of the loops or needles entailing a great loss of time.
Now the object of my invention is to make a machine npon which the stocking
or sock may be started at the welt, then make the rib top, followed by the leg,
which may be plain, or have the same on a different rib to that used for the rib top,
then fashion the heel and afterwards make the foot, which may be plain or ribbed,
or partly plain and partly ribbed, and finish off the stocking or sock by fashioning
the toe, the loops for making the various kinds of work being automatically
transferred from one set of needles to the other according to the requirements of
the stocking or sock.
According to my invention the needle jacks in the frame cylinder and ribber head
are provided with two needles, or a needle and a point, the jacks being divided so
that each half of the same carries one needle or a point.
The machine may be fitted with a complete set of double needles, or part of the
jacks may have double needles and part single needles, the arrangement depending
upon the particular rib or ribs required.
The jacks, or the needles are arranged to act as springs so that when out of the
machine the needles or the needle and point stand some little distance from each
other.
The frame and ribber head are provided with suitable means for supporting and
guiding the jacks and needles, the grooves cut in the frame cylinder and ribber head
for guiding the ends of the jacks being made wide enough to admit of the double
jacks or double needles working freely in the same when the halves of the jacks or
the two needles are close together, in which position the double needles, or the
needle and point work as single needles. The ends of the grooves in the frame
cylinder and ribber head are however opened out at the end of the same, so that if
the double jacks are raised from the grooves into these openings, the needles fly
apart and stretch the loop between the two needles or between the needle and point.
Preferably the openings at the top of the grooves are V shaped so that the jacks
will be readily closed together and led into the grooves when they are lowered.
The jacks are worked for knitting by means of suitable cams which are selected
and thrown in and out of action by other cams and pattern mechanism. The
machine is also fitted with an additional set of cams, called transferring cams, which
are actuated and controlled by similar mechanism to that used for the knitting cams,
these transferring cams being used for raising the needles so that the loops on one
set of needles may be transferred to the other set of needles.
The jacks, and the knitting and transferring cams are so formed and arranged
that when a loop has been taken from any needle that needle remains out of action
until a loop is transferred back again to it.
The machine is driven from a driving shaft which gives motion to a vertical
shaft, this latter being geared to the frame cylinder and ribber head. There is a

page_text: thread carrier or guide of any convenient construction and the machine is provided
with means for varying the length of the loop, and with mechanism for changing
the continuous rotatory motion into a reversing motion as is required for fashioning
the heel and toe. The machine may also be fitted with splicing apparatus if
required.
In order that my invention and the method of carrying out the same may be
properly understood I have attached hereto four sheets of drawings illustrating a
machine for making plain work, a one and one rib, and a three and one rib and the
mechanism for automatically changing from one class of work to another. The
same parts in the different views are indicated by the same reference letter.
Fig. 1 is a plan of part of the machine with the ribber head and its connected
parts removed.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing the relative positions of the frame and
ribber needles, and the transferring cams.
Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the arrangement of the knitting cam for fashioning
the heel.
Fig. 4 is an elevation of a double jack with a needle and point.
Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the same, and
Fig. 6 a plan of the same.
Fig. 6 is an elevation of the grooves in the needle cylinder.
Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the sinker.
Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a number of sinkers.
Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the relative positions of the transferring cams for
the ribber head needles.
Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the relative positions of the transferring cams
for the frame needles.
Fig. 11 is an elevation showing the way in which the jacks for the ribber head
are graded or cut, and the relative positions of the ribber head knitting and
transferring cams.
Fig. 12 is an elevation showing the way in which the jacks for the frame
needles are cut, and the relative positions of the frame needle knitting and
transferring cams.
Figs. 13 and 14 are diagrams illustrating the arrangement of the jacks in the
ribber head and frame respectively and the relative position of the two sets, and
are referred to in the explanation of the methods employed for transferring the
loops from one set of needles to the other set of needles.
The needles a Figs. 4 and 5 are the same as the ordinary latch needles two
such needles being attached to the same jack a when loops have to be trans-
ferred to or from the same, or instead of two needles there may be one needle a
and a point a. The jacks a' carrying the needles and points are made double, the
two halves a² and a³ forming the same, being bent to occupy the relative positions
shown in Fig. 6. When a point and a needle are used the latter is recessed at
its side to allow the end of the point entering therein, so that the loop will with
certainty pass on to the point when the jack is raised. In some cases a single
jack is used for the double needles, the needle stems being bent and attached to
the shortened jack. There is also in some cases a notch or projection on the
needle stem for carrying forward the loop it is desired to transfer.
The frame cylinder and the ribber head are provided with grooves a Fig. 6ª
for the needles to slide in, the grooves used for the double needles being opened
out as shown at as to allow of the needles separating when raised for transferring.
The frame cylinder Fig. 2 has a bearing in the machine table c and is fitted
with a spur wheel which is driven by gearing from a vertical shaft, the same
shaft giving motion to the ribber head by another spur wheel which gears into
the wheel e. The wheel b' also carries a support and guide e for the jacks a',
which are held in the same by any suitable cap which rests on the top of the
jacks at a'. The ribber head is carried by an adjustable arm from the table cand
is provided with a central shaft d to which the various parts of the head are attached.
°

page_text: These parts comprise a needle guide d' cut in a similar way for the needles as
the frame cylinder, but with radial instead of parallel grooves. There is also a
second guide d² for the ribber needle jacks fand a supporting ring d³ for the same,
the jacks being held on the same by a ring d².
The thread is supplied by a carrier or guide h Fig. 1 of any convenient con-
struction, and the loops are formed upon the nebs g' of the sinkers g Figs. 7 and 8,
these sinkers being pushed forward as shown at g² for this purpose and drawn
back again after the loop has been properly formed by cams carried from the
machine table. These sinkers also prevent the work accumulating at the tops of
the needles for when withdrawn to their normal position the loops slide off the
nebs g², and at the next forward movement of the sinkers the loops are pushed clear
of the loops about to be formed. The sinkers g are supported at 2 by the needle
cylinder and guided by grooves in a ring 63 carried by the needle cylinder. They
are held from twisting by pins g* and from rising by the work itself. The size of
the loops and consequently the stiffness of the work is regulated by the shape of the
neb g' and the amount of motion given to the sinkers between the points g² g² Fig. 1.
The cams giving motion to the sinkers are carried from the machine table and fitted
with means for regulating the amount of motion.
The machine I have selected to illustrate my invention is capable of knitting plain
work, one and one rib, and three and one rib, and of changing automatically from one
class of work to another. In a machine for making these different kinds of work, half
the total number of needles in the frame cylinder are double needles, and the ribber
head has half the number of needles there are in the frame cylinder, but all the
needles in the ribber head are double needles. There are six different knitting
cams k¹ k² k³ k* k³ and . The cam k¹ is used for making plain work, the cams k² and k
for one and one ribbed work, the cams 3 and 4 for three and one work and the
cam for knitting the heel and toe.
The machine is also provided with five transferring cams t¹ 12 13 14 and to which
are used for raising or bringing forward the needles when it is required to transfer
the loops from one set of needles to the other. The cams t¹ and 12 are carried by
levers and Fig. 2 fulcrumed at v¹ and selected and actuated by cams u¹ and u²
which are mounted upon a ratchet wheel having its bearing in the machine table
and driven by a pawl and lever, the pawl being thrown in and out of action by
pattern mechanism. The cams t³ 4 and 5 for acting upon the ribber needles are
mounted upon levers and which are fulcrumed at v² and actuated by
cams u³ u and u also mounted upon the ratchet wheel v.
In the diagrams Figs. 9 and 10 the relative positions of the transferring cams
are shown so arranged that any one of either set can be brought into action without
interfering with the other cams.
The knitting cams kkkk and are mounted upon levers similar to those
used for the transferring cams and are actuated by cams al 22 23 24 and 25 mounted
upon and rotated by a ratchet wheel the motion of which is controlled by pattern
mechanism. The cams ¹ to a are placed in a different relative position to the
cams u' to us with regard to the knitting cams and transferring cams respectively,
but the object and action of both are the same.
The cam for knitting the heel and toe of the stocking or sock is fixed upon a
lever Figs. 1 and 3 which is fulcrumed at s upon another lever this latter
being fulcrumed upon the standard of the machine. The levers and are
actuated by cams and 10 mounted upon a ratchet wheel s which is actuated by
a pawl thrown in and out of action by pattern mechanism, this pawl and the pawls
actuating the ratchet wheels and being operated by any suitable mechanism
from the driving shaft.
The frame needle jacks in a machine capable of making plain work, one and one
rib, and three and one rib, and of changing from one kind of work to another, are
of three kinds as shown at Fig. 12, and are arranged in the machine as shown at
Fig. 14 in which the jacks marked a are supposed to carry the double needles and
the jacks marked at the single needles, the single and double needles being placed

page_text: alternately. One of the jacks is cut away as shown at m, a second jack as at n
and o and the third jack as at p. the cut or graded jacks being then placed in the
machine in the order shown in Fig. 14. The ribber needle jacks are also cut or
graded, one of them having a cut away portion q and the other shortened as at r,
these jacks being placed in the ribber head alternately as shown in Fig. 13.
Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 the relative positions of the knitting and transferring cams,
and the needle jacks are shown by the cams k', k², k³ t² t¹ to 14 1³, k³ and kª.
in
I will now describe the method of transferring the loops from one set of needles
to the other, supposing first that plain work is being made, and that it is desired to
change to a one and one rib. To do this the cam 2 comes into action and depresses
all the frame jacks carrying double needles until the same are raised into the
recesses at the top of the grooves in the needle cylinder these needles being raised
in succession as the machine revolves. The double needles or the needle and point
then separate, and at the same time the cam to acts upon the ribber needle jacks
and carries the needles or the needle and point through the stretched loop on the
frame needles. The ribber needles are not brought into the recesses at the end of
grooves in the ribber head, but only far enough to carry the hook of the ribber
needles through the stretched loop on the frame needles. The loops are thus
transferred from half the needles in the frame cylinder to all the needles in the
ribber head. When the needles from which the loops were first transferred reach
the knitting cams, the cam k¹ is thrown out of action and the cams and ** into
action. It will be noticed the cam 2 acts upon all the double frame needles
indicated by the even numbers 2 to 12, and the knitting cam 2 upon all the single
needles indicated by the numbers 1 to 11, that is, only upon those needles in the
frame cylinder; which retain their loops. In the ribber head the transferring cam t³
and the knitting cam 1° act upon all the ribber needles, and in this case that can be
done as there are only half the needles in the ribber head as there are in the frame
cylinder, hence all the needles in the ribber head must for a one and one rib have
a loop transferred to them, and equally so must all the same needles knit.
After making a one and one rib it may be necessary to again make plain work.
This is done by bringing into action the same transferring cams and to but the
amount of motion now given to the needles is reversed, the ribber needles being
brought forward far enough for them to enter the recess in the needle grooves and
open, thus stretching the loops on the ribber needles, and through which the hooks
of the frame needles are passed. The knitting cams k² and are also thrown out
of action and the cam k' into action.
Suppose again plain work is being made and it is desired to change to a three
and one rib. This is done by bringing into action the transferring cams t' and t³,
the former acting on the needles numbered 4, 8 and 12, the loops of which are then
transferred to the needles 14, 16 and 18. The work is then made by the knitting
cams and, the former acting upon the needles 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and the
latter cam k upon the needles 14, 16, and 18. If it is desired to change back again to
plain work the same transferring cams are brought into action, the loops transferred,
and the work made by the cam k', the cams k³ and ke being thrown out of action.
It may also be necessary to change from a one and one rib to a three and one rib
as in making a ribbed leg after a rib top. For a one and one rib the work is made
on the needles 1, 13, 3, 14, 5, 15, 7, 16, 9, 17 and 11, 18 and to change from a one
and one rib to a three and one rib half the loops on the ribber head have to be
transferred back to the frame needles. This is done by bringing into action the
transferring cams t² and by which the loops are transferred from the needles 13, 15
and 17 to the needles 2, 6 and 10, and the three and one rib is then made on the
needles 1, 2, 3, 14, 5, 6, 7, 16, 9, 10, 11, and 18, the knitting cams k³ and * being
in action.
If it is desired to change from a three and one rib to a one and one rib, it is
necessary that the loops on the needles 2, 6 and 10 be transferred to the needles 13, 15,
and 17, this being done by the transferring cams and t, and the work is made by
the cams and k³. It will be noticed that in both the latter operations the cam (*

page_text: acts upon the needles 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 instead of upon the needles 2, 6 and 10
only, but as the needles 4, 8, and 12 have no loops upon them, and the corresponding
ribber needles 14, 16, and 18 are not brought forward, no disadvantages arise from
raising the needles 4, 8, and 12.
When making a stocking or sock on my improved machine, the welt is first made
in the usual way, and is followed by the rib top, generally of a one and one rib.
The leg is then made either plain or a three and one rib, the loops being transferred
as required by the methods previously described. Up to this point the machine
has rotated continuously in one direction but for making the heel it is necessary
that the machine should make about half a revolution first in one direction and then
in the other. This oscillation is produced by a rack which is driven by a crank or
a cam, this rack gearing into a wheel-placed-under the driving wheel on the vertical
shaft. The rack wheel can be connected and disconnected to the wheel over it by
a clutch or its equivalent and there is also a similar clutch or its equivalent con-
necting the driving shaft with the gear wheels on it. These clutches or their
equivalents are controlled by pattern mechanism so arranged that the rotating
motion of the machine is changed to an oscillating one and vice versa according to
the size of the stocking or sock. At the same time as the oscillating motion com-
mences the cam * is brought into action, and operates upon these jacks shown in
the upper half of Fig. 1. The heel is then made by the cam which is by the
cams first brought into action for knitting, and is then by the cam s, and the
cam 10 which acts on the lever s gradually moved from the centre of the machine,
the lengths of the jacks being so graded that at each oscillation of the machine two
needles, one at each side of the centre of the heel are thrown out of action until
there are only about a dozen needles at work. The tops of the jacks are made at
such an angle that the increased leverage at which the cam * acts is compensated
for by the increased motion given to the extended ends of the jacks. The cam k
then commences to traverse back again, acting upon two additional needles at each
oscillation of the machine until the full number of heeling needles are in action
when the cam k is thrown out of action and a plain foot knitted by the cam k¹.
The toe of the stocking or sock is afterwards made by the cam k which is actuated
in exactly the same way as it is when making the foot.
It should also be understood that with different arrangements of needles and cams
other ribs in addition to those described may be made, thus if all the needles in the
frame cylinder are double needles, and the ribber head had the same number of
needles as the frame cylinder, all of which were also double needles it would be
possible to make every kind of rib and to change from one kind of rib to any other
kind, by suitably grading or cutting the jacks and using a corresponding arrange-
ment of transferring and knitting cams. The jacks are graded upon the following
method, that is to say, if the loops are to be transferred say from all the odd
numbered needles, the transferring cams must act upon those needles and the
knitting cam miss the same needles. This is done by cutting a recess in those
needles which have to miss the transferring cam, and also a recess in those needles
which have to miss the knitting cam. The same method of grading must also be
employed with the ribber needle jacks.
It should also be noted that if the loops are to be transferred from the frame
needles to the ribber needles the frame jacks must be raised into the recess at the
top of the grooves in the needle cylinder so that the double needles will separate
and stretch the loop on the same. The ribber needles must be brought forward
sufficiently far to pass the hook of the same through the stretched loop on the
frame needles. If however the loops are to be transferred from the ribber needles
to the frame needles, then the former must be brought forward sufficiently far to
enable the needles to separate, and the frame needles are then raised so that the
hooks of the same pass through the stretched loops on the ribber needles.
In making a stocking or sock it is sometimes required to make a ribbed leg and
a partly ribbed foot. This kind of foot can be made on the machine I have
described by throwing in and out action the necessary knitting cams each revolution

page_text: of the head, that is allowing the cam k¹ to be in action during the knitting of the
sole of the foot, and the cams k³ and ke for the other part of the foot if this has
a three and one rib, or the cams and for a one and one rib. The same kind of
foot can however be more conveniently made by specially grading the jacks for
this operation and employing separate cams.
In addition to the mechanism hereinbefore described the machine is fitted with
fixed cams for returning the needles to their normal positions after they have
passed the transferring and kuitting cams. Four such cams are used, two for the
frame needles and two for the ribber needles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A double knitting machine needle or a needle and point arranged to knit as a
single needle substantially as shown and described and for the purpose specified.
2. In a circular knitting machine fitted with the double needles, or needles and
points referred to in the preceding claim, the cut or graded jacks carrying the said
double needles, or needles and points, or single needles when used in combination
with the double needles, or needles and points, in combination with cams for
actuating the said needles so that the loops upon the same can be automatically
transferred from needles in the frame cylinder to needles in the ribber head, or from
the needles in the ribber head to needles in the frame cylinder substantially as
shown and described in the accompanying drawings and Specification.
3. In a circular knitting machine fitted with the double needles or the needles
and points referred to in the first claim and with the cut or graded jacks and
transferring cams, the combination of the same with knitting cams arranged to
actuate those needles only upon which the loops are retained, and the sinkers upon
which the loops are formed and by which the stiffness of the work can be
regulated, substantially as shown and described in the accompanying drawings and
Specification.
4. The general arrangement and combination of the circular knitting machine
shown and described in the accompanying drawings and Specification.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1893.
W. H. POTTER, M.I.M.E.,
Newcastle Chambers, Nottingham, Agent for the Applicant.