IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN KNITTING MACHINERY."-A communication.
Sealed the 11th February 1859, and dated the 3rd September 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bous-
field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 3rd September 1858.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is the so arranging knitting machines that the
fabric may be narrowed and widened in any required manner by the automatio
action of the machine.
In machines arranged according to this Invention the needles and the
sinkers are mounted on a carriage, which is caused to traverse from end to
end of the machine, and during this motion projections on the stems of the
needles and on the sinkers slide in grooves, formed in fixed rails, running the
full length of the machine; and these grooves are so formed as to give suitable
motions to the instruments to cause them, in conjunction with other instru-
ments, to work the course. The heads or barbed ends of the needles are
supported by a rail carried by the needle carriage, and having a series of
V-formed notches in its edge, which serve to keep the needles correctly in

page_text: position, and also when the needles are successively drawn back through these
notches (in consequence of the direction taken by the groove in the rail which
governs them) to knock over the work. Just above the needles there is a
fixed bar forming part of the frame, which carries the sinkers, and under the
needles is a stationary rail, on the edge of which the needles slide; and there
is a projection on this rail, which, when the needles are brought up to it by
the carriage, lifts them and presses their beards against the bar above, so as
to allow the loop of the work to pass over. The widening of the fabric is
effected by motions communicated to the thread guide. This instrument is
mounted on a rail fixed to the frame of the machine, and is capable of sliding
thereon. When the needle carriage commences its traverse in either direction,
the thread guide remains stationary, while the needles at work are passing
under it; then a moveable projection on the needle carriage comes in contact
with the thread guide, and the two move together during the rest of the
traverse of the carriage. As the thread guide slides along its rail, a pro-
jection from it passes along a groove in the rail, which is so formed as to
cause the thread guide first to descend down through the needles, and after-
wards to rise up again to its original position. If the stop on the needle
carriage which pushes the thread guide remains stationary between these
motions, no result is produced by them, but if the stop moves so as to allow
the thread guide to lag after passing down between the needles and before it
rises again, the result is that it comes up between a different pair of needles
to that between which it descended, and the thread being thus lapped over a
greater number of needles than before, the widening is effected. The motion
of the stop on the needle carriage at the required time is caused by a screw.
driven by a train of wheels (which also gives motion to the narrowing
apparatus) as hereafter explained. The last wheel of this train has
mounted on its axis ratchet wheels furnished with pawls or drivers, which
make a motion each time that the machine comes to the position in which
widening or narrowing may be done, but they are kept out of contact with
their ratchet wheels till widening or narrowing is required by the action of
a pattern surface. The pattern surface employed consists of a barrel, having
holes bored in it in a spiral direction. In these holes pegs are arranged in
two sets, one to effect the widening, and the other the narrowing. The
barrel bas a step-by-step motion communicated to it, and at the same time a
forward motion by means of a screw, and as the pegs in succession come up
they allow one or other of the pawls or drivers to descend into the teeth of
the ratchet wheels. The narrowing is effected by means of hooks mounted
on an axis carried by the needle carriage, and the points of these hooks, in

page_text: order to take the loops from the needles, move in a direction along the stems
of the needles, and towards their heads or barbed ends. The narrowing
hooks are at all times over the selvage needles, and they are moved laterally
so as to maintain this position when the fabric is widened by a screw driven
by the same train of wheels as that which drives the widening screw, and the
same screw also, when the hooks have taken the loops, moves them into a
position to place the loops on to other needles. The motion of the hooks on
their axes to take and to deposit the loops is produced by a cam surface at
the end of the screw, which traverses them laterally; and in order that the
hooks may not move laterally while rocking on their axes, the screw axis has,
by means of cam surfaces at its ends, a longitudinal motion given to it, which
compensates for the motion produced by the screw thread. On the stems of
the needles grooves are formed (in addition to the grooves for receiving the
ends of the beards) to receive the points of the transferring hooks, and assist
them in taking the loops; and the under sides of the transferring hooks
have shaped grooves formed in them, and after they have taken the loops
they move over the needles to which the loops are to be transferred, and then
the grooves of the hoops just range with the corresponding V notches
through which the needles slide, so as to form ◊-shaped passages to guide
the needles accurately into the loops. The needle carriage has a toothed
rack attached to it, and it receives its motion from a toothed wheel gearing
with it, which is alternately driven in either direction; and this toothed wheel
drives another similar toothed wheel, which is mounted loosly on its axis, and
by an arrangement of bevilled wheels drives the said axis at the same speed
and in the same direction as the axis on which the first wheel is fixed. The
arrangement of bevilled wheels employed for this purpose is as follows:-
One bevilled wheel is mounted on the driving wheel, and another similar one
on the axis, and between the two are two other bevilled wheels mounted in
a frame, which is ordinarily stationary, but is capable of motion, as will be.
herein-after described. The axis driven in this manner is called the cam
axis; and when this axis has been driven a distance, as before explained, a
projection from it acts on apparatus to reverse the motion of the machinery;
the axes then revolve the same distance in the opposite direction, and the
motion is again reversed, and thus the action continually proceeds. The cam
axis has mounted on it the cams which actuate the train of wheels which
effect the widening and narrowing operations, as before explained. It will
be seen that when the work in the machine is narrow it is not necessary that
the needle carriage should traverse so far as when the work is wider, and
also that the widening and narrowing actions should take place at different

page_text: times, as also the motion of the pattern barrel, which either allows or prevents
widening and narrowing actions. All these changes are effected by changing
the angular position of the cam axis by turning the frame carrying the
bevilled wheels through which it is driven, as before described; and this
turning of the frame is effected automatically by the machine when at work
by means of a screw formed on the axis of one of the train of wheels by which
the widening and narrowing is produced; and this screw so turns the frame
that the angular position of the cam shaft is changed one way or the other
exactly to correspond with the widening or narrowing of the fabric. The
motion of the transferring hooks has to take place partly while the carriage
and axes are travelling in one direction, and partly when they are travelling
in the other direction, and different motions are required while the parts are
moving in one direction to those required while they are moving in the other
direction, the cam which produces the motion is therefore made with a
moveable part and a fixed part; the moveable part acts in whichever direction
the parts are travelling, but in a different angular position, and the fixed
part acts when the parts are travelling in one direction, but not when they
are travelling in the other direction. The groove in the rail which actuates
the needles is forked at its two ends, and by means of a switch the needle
can be caused to be actuated by the front or back fork of the groove as may
be required. The front fork may be used when the machine is not narrowing,
and it serves to throw the needles into a convenient position for examination.
The groove in the needle rail is also so formed, that when the needles are
projected forward to have the thread laid on them they are at first brought
further forward than is required, and then immediately drawn back a short
distance before the sinkers descend. This motion serves to ensure the work
resting in its proper position (for the time) against the notched bar through
which the needles project. The groove in the rail which actuates the sinkers
is so formed as to lift the sinkers out of the way before the narrowing hooks
come into action.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special licence that I, the said
George Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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 KNITTING MACHINERY," a
communication, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say:-
Figure 1 represents a side view and plan of a needle of the full size
together with its slide; Figure 2 is a side view of a sinker and sinker slide of
full size; Figure 3 represents a side view and rear view of a transferring hook
of the full size; Figure 4 represents a front elevation of the machine of half the
full dimensions; Figure 5 represents a rear elevation of the same; Figure 6
represents a plan of the machine; Figure 7 a horizontal section of the
machine at the line Xx of Figure 5; Figure 8 a vertical longitudinal section
of the machine at the line Xx of Figure 6 Figure 9 represents an elevation
of one of the ends of the machine; Figure 10 a vertical transverse section of the
machine following the line X X of Figure 5; Figure 11 represents a view of
one end of the needle carriage; Figure 12 represents a transverse section of
the needle carriage at the line of Figure 6; and Figures 13, 14, 15, 16
and 17 represent views of parts of the machine detached from the remainder
to render their construction and operation more clear.
The Invention has reference to that class of machines by means of which
yarn is knit into fabrics, and the main object of our Invention is to cause the

page_text: various devices in the machine, which operate directly upon the yarn, to
narrow and widen the fabric antomatically according to a previously conceived
design or pattern. The Invention consists in transferring the stitches from the
needles upon which they have been formed to other needles in a series of needles
for the purpose of narrowing the fabric, and for other purposes, by means of
transferring hooks operated in such manner as to enter into the stitches by
moving along the stems of the needles towards their points. The Invention
consists, further, in directing the operation of transferring hooks or their
equivalents, which transfer the stitches from the needles on which they are
formed to others by means of a pattern barrel, or the equivalent thereof, so
that the machine when once set to work accomplishes the narrowing of the
fabric automatically according to the intended pattern or design.
The widening of the fabric in this present machine is effected by casting the
yarn over an additional needle by the operation of the thread guide, and the
present Invention consists in directing the movements of the thread guide by
means of a pattern barrel, or the equivalent thereof, so that the machine when
once set to work accomplishes the widening of the fabric automatically
according to the intended pattern or design. In this machine the needles and
sinkers are mounted in a series upon a carriage which travels alternately in
opposite directions, so as to cause the slides of the needles and of the sinkers
to pass in succession along the inclined portions of the grooves of certain
stationary cam bars, by which their movements in knitting are effected; when
in the operation of such a machine, the work from narrowing contains a less
number of stitches than the number of needles in the series, a portion of the
needles and sinkers are not acting upon the yarn and consequently the carriage
need not travel as far as it must when all the needles are at work. And the
Invention consists further in varying the travel of the carriage in proportion to
the widening and narrowing of the work. The Invention also consists in
varying the periods of time at which the pattern barrel or its equivalent is
moved in proportion to the widening and to the narrowing of the work.
The Invention also consists in various other improvements by means of
which the operation of a knitting machine is improved, as will more fully
appear in the following description.
The several parts of the Invention are embodied in the flat knitting loom
represented in the accompanying Drawings. As the machine necessarily
comprises a great number of parts, I have deemed it best, in order to prevent
confusion, to represent the mechanism for widening and narrowing as applied
to operate at one side only of the fabric, and I shall point out in the course of
the following description the mode of applying widening and narrowing

page_text: mechanism to a machine so that widening and narrowing may take place at
both sides or selvages of the fabric. The various operating parts of the loom
are supported by a strong rectangular bed frame A, which should be secured
to a suitable table or bench at a convenient height for the operator who
tends it. In the upper side of the frame there are two longitudinal V-shaped
grooves a, a, which form ways to support and guide a carriage D that is
caused to traverse to and fro from one end of the machine to the other. This
carriage, which I shall hereafter call the needle carriage, from its office in
carrying the needles, is moved to and fro alternately in opposite directions by
the continuous rotation of a driving shaft B, to which power is applied by the
application of a belt to a belt pulley P secured to this shaft. The driving
shaft is fitted with a sleeve O, Figure 16, that is caused to turn with the shaft
by means of a feather running in a corresponding groove in the shaft, and has
two friction cones Q, Q, Figure 16, secured to it. These friction cones
may be brought alternately into contact with either one of a corresponding
pair of hollow friction cones Q3, Q³, that are formed in hubs that run loosely
upon the driving shaft B, by means of a shifting lever A', which is forked to
embrace a groove formed by the backs of the two solid cones.
The shifting
lever depends from a rock shaft B', which is fitted with an arm h, whose lower
end enters a helical groove formed in a drum P¹, secured to a shaft B³, so
that by rocking this shaft B² in one direction or the other the shifting lever A¹
is caused to force one or other of the solid cones into contact with its corre-
sponding hollow cone. The hub of each hollow cone has a drum P' and Ps
secured to it, upon which drums belts D¹ and D are wound. The belt from
the drum P² is carried to a drum P, secured to a shaft B³, and made fast
thereto. The belt from the drum P³ is carried to a corresponding drum P³
upon the same shaft B3 and is made fast thereto. The belts D' and D² are
wound in opposite directions upon the drums P2 and P3, so that when one
belt D¹ is being wound upon its drum P2 (by the turning of the hub Q³, to
which it is secured by the action of its appropriate friction cone Q',) the shaft
B³ is turned in the direction of the arrow upon the drum P, the other belt D*
being meanwhile unwound; and when the latter belt D2 is being wound upon
the drum P³, the shaft B³ is turned in the opposite direction to that indicated
by the arrow upon the drum P. The shaft B³, to which the drums are
secured, has a cog wheel E¹ upon it, whose teeth engage with those of a
rack F', that is secured to the under side of the needle carriage D, so that the
turning of this cog-wheel shaft B³ alternately in opposite directions by the
alternate action of the two belts D¹ and D², causes the needle carriage to
move to and fro from one end of the bed frame to the other. In the move-

page_text: ment of the carriage the belts are wound several times upon their drums, and
as each new fold of the belt thus made overlaps the preceding folds, the curved
surface upon which the belt is winding while imparting motion to the carriage
becomes progressively of larger diameter, and consequently winds up the belt
more rapidly, and tends to cause the carriage to progress in a corresponding
manner. In the operation of the machine I am describing, it is desirable
that the carriage should progress equably; in order, therefore, to compensate the
irregularity that arises from the winding of the belts, the drums P, P³, upon
the shaft B³ have excentric barrels, as shown at Figure 5, and each belt is
secured to its drum in such manner that it is acting upon the smallest portion
of the excentric drum when it is being wound upon the bare surface of the
winding drum, and that as the belt is progressively wound upon itself, it is
acting upon progressively larger portions of the excentric drum. The enlarge-
ment of the curved surface of the winding drum is thus compensated by a
corresponding enlargement in the acting surface of the excentric drum, and
the movements of the cog-wheel shaft B³, and of the needle carriage to which
it imparts motion, are equalized.
From the foregoing description, it appears that the movement of the shifting
lever A¹ to throw one or other friction cone into operation effects the reversal
of the movement of the carriage, and that the movement of the shifting lever
is effected by the action of the helical groove of the drum P¹ upon the rock
shaft B according as the rock shaft is turned in one direction or the other. In
order that the machine may be automatic, it is essential that the movement of
the rock shaft B2 should be effected at the proper moment by some portion of the
machine, and it is effected in the present instance by means of a strap D³, which
is secured to a drum P upon the rock shaft B2, and whose ends are made fast
to two drums P7 and Ps, whose movements depend on the movement of the cog
wheel E' that drives the carriage rack F¹. One of these drums is hung loosely
upon the shaft of the cog wheel E¹, and is connected by a sleeve with a disc G',
adjacent to the cog wheel E¹. The cog wheel is fitted with a driver, shown in
dotted lines in Figure 8, which comes in contact with a snug secured to the
adjacent face of the disc G just before the carriage reaches the end of its
range of motion nearer the standard C, the drum being thus turned by the
driver, winds up the strap. D³, and moves the rock shaft B2 in the direction
indicated by the arrow applied to the drum P' in Figure 8. The other drum
is hung loosely upon a countershaft B, which from one
the machine I shall hereafter call the cam shaft; this cam shaft is
parallel to the cog wheel shaft B³, and motion is imparted to it
of a cog wheel. E' and. a train of bevelled wheels c, c, c, c'.
of its offices in
by means
The cog

page_text: wheel E is of the same size as that E¹ upon the cog wheel shaft B³,
it is hung loosely upon the cam shaft, and has the bevelled wheel c¹ secured
to it, whose teeth engage in those of a pair of bevilled pinions c², c³, whose
axles are supported by an adjustable stock H¹ hanging loosely upon the cam
shaft B. The teeth of these bevilled pinions engage in those of a secondary
bevilled wheel c made fast to the cam shaft B', and the result of this arrange-
ment is that the cam shaft is driven in the same direction as the cog
wheel shaft B³, and at the same speed with the capacity in the machine
to vary the angular position of the cam shaft B', with reference to the cog
wheel shaft B³, by turning the pinion stock H¹ upon its axis. The cam shaft
is fitted with a driver shown in dotted lines in Figure 8, which comes in
contact with a snug upon the face of the drum P³, as the carriage approaches
the standard C¹ of the main frame, and causes it to turn with the cam shaft
B' to wind up the strap D³, and thus move the rock shaft B2 in the opposite
direction to the arrow in Figure 8. In order that the strap may not interfere
with parts of the machine which intervene between the cam shaft B' and the
rock shaft B³, it is conducted around a segment P situated near one end of the
machine. The movement of the strap Ds, by turning the rock shaft B³, operates
the shifting lever A'; as, however, the movement of the cog wheel shaft B³
stops the moment the friction cone in operation is disengaged, it is necessary
to provide means to continue the movement of the rock shaft B² until the
other friction cone is engaged, this is effected in the present machine by
means of a tumbling bob T', which is made fast to the rock shaft B, and
which by its momentum carries the rock shaft over in either direction to the
furthest limits required to throw either friction cone into operation. In order
to prevent the slacking of the belts D¹, D³, which impart motion from the
driving shaft to the cog wheel shaft by the momentum of the winding drums
P³, P³, during the unwinding of either strap by the winding up of the other,
the periphery of each hollow cone is fitted with a friction strap which is
pressed in contact with it by a weight W of sufficient force to cause the
friction of the strap to which it is secured to overcome the momentum of the
hollow cone and its drum. The needle carriage contains the needles and sinkers
which constitute two series, whose members alternate so that there is a needle
between each two sinkers. The needles as shown at Figure 1, have the
ordinary hook-formed head, the barb of the hook being received when
depressed into a corresponding groove in the shank or stem. The stems of
these needles differ from the needles hitherto used in knitting machines, in
being constructed with a secondary groove a³, Figure 1, whose office in
knitting will be hereafter described. Each needle is secured to a slide

page_text: b
having a snug upon it, by means of which the slide with its needle is moved
to and fro. The sinkers, as shown at Figure 2, are of the ordinary form, and
the shank of each one has a snug c, by means of which it is moved to and
fro. The needle carriage D is of rectangular form, and is mounted upon the
bed frame, its lower side being fitted with V-shaped feathers, which slide in the
V-shaped grooves in the top of the main frame. Upon the upper side of the
carriage there is a block of metal d which extends its entire length, and has
a series of transverse grooves in it to receive and guide the slides E of the
needles for which it forms a bed. The needles .project forward from this bed,
and pass through a corresponding series of transverse grooves in a bar f
which extends along the front side of the carriage and forms a nozing or series
of orifices, into which the needles are withdrawn to cast off the loops, and
from which they are protruded to receive yarn to form new loops. The
grooves of this nosing have at bottom a V-form, so that when the needles are
depressed they are caused by the forms of the grooves to place themselves at
equal distances apart, and to occupy always the same positions, whereby the
uniform width of the stitches is secured, and the transferring of stitches from
needle to needle by the prongs of transferring instruments is insured. A
second block of metal g, is supported at the front side of the carriage by
means of standards; this block has a series of grooves in it similar to those of
the needle bed, and it forms a bed to receive and guide the shanks of the
sinkers. The lower edge e of this sinker bed overlaps the nosing from which
the needles protrude, and forms a bar, against the lower side of which the
barbs of the needles are pressed by the action of the support F beneath to
close them, so that when they are drawn into the orifices of the nosing, they
may pass through and cast off the loops already formed. The needle bed dis
surmounted by a stationary needle cam bar G, which is supported by the
standards c, c', of the main frame of the machine, and has a cam groove in
its lower face to receive the snugs 6 of the needle slides, and thus impart
motion to the needles as the carriage is moved from one end of the frame to
the other. The form of the cam groove is shewn in dotted lines at Figure 6.
It will be perceived that the cam groove forks into two branches e¹ and e³,
into either one of which the needle snugs may be made to travel by turning
a switch g, this mode of constructing the needle cam bar has been devised in
order to cause the needles to be projected forward to their furthest limit
when the carriage is approaching the end of its travel, so as to place them
in a convenient position for inspection and repair. When the machine is
making a fabric of uniform width the snugs of the needle slides may
be permittted to travel in the forward branch of the cam groove, but

page_text: when narrowing is being effected the snugs will be caused to travel in
the rear branch of the cam groove so as to draw the needles into
their orifices, and leave the hoops which are to be transferred upon the
transferring hooks. The switch g¹ is controlled by a spring lever h¹,
by means of which it may be moved and secured in the desired position
to open either branch of the cam groove. The snugs of the sinkers are received
into a cam groove in the hinder face of the sink or cam bar H, which
is supported in the proper position immediately in front of the sinker bed g,
by the standards of the main frame, so that the proper up-and-down
movements are imparted to the sinkers as the carriage moves to and fro. The
yarn or thread is fed to the series of needles by means of a tubular thread.
guide, which is situated in front of the sinkers, and is fitted to a carriage that
slides longitudinally upon ways secured to the front side of the sinker cam
bar H. This thread guide J has the form of a flattened tube, whose upper
and lower edges will readily enter the space between the needles, and whose
thickness is such, that it will readily pass through these spaces. Its shank is
secured to a slide R, which slides vertically in a broad dovetailed groove
formed in the face of the thread guide carriage I. The hinder side of the slide
has a snug or pin projecting from it, which passes through a vertical slot in
the thread guide carriage, and is received into and operated by a cam groove r
formed in the front side of the cam bar H, so that when the thread guide
carriage is moved longitudinally from one end of the machine to the other, the
thread guide J is alternately depressed below and raised above the level of the
needles by the operation of the inclined portions of the cam groover upon
the pin traversing in the groove. The thread guide carriage is moved
alternately to and fro by means of the bumpers K. and M, which are carried
along with the needle carriage, and which come alternately in contact with the
corresponding snugs i and o secured to the thread guide carriage. These
bumpers are hung upon a traverse bar N that is supported by the standards
of the needle carriage. As the machine thus described is adapted to widening
and narrowing at one side of the fabric only, only one of the bumpers M need
be moved, the other bumper K is made fast to the traverse rod N by a set
screw, so that when it has been properly adjusted it remains in its position.
The moveable bumper M is fitted with a nut m, which is traversed by an
5 adjusting screw L, by the turning of which the bumper is moved along toward
one or the other end of the needle carriage, according as the screw is turned in
one direction or the other. The pitch of this screw is equal to the distance
between the centres of two adjacent needles, so that by turning it one or more
. revolutions, the bumper is moved along one or more needles. The shank of

page_text: the adjusting screw L is fitted with a cog wheel E, whose teeth engage
in those of a similar wheel E* secured to a sleeve S, which slides longi-
tudinally upon a shaft B, and is moved to and fro with the needle
carriage. This shaft B is slotted from end to end, and the sleeve S of the
cog wheel E is fitted with a pin or with a feather, which sliding in the
slot of the shaft, forces the cog wheel E to turn with the shaft, when the
latter turns in whatever position the needle carriage may be at the time. The
object of moving the bumper M is to vary the movement of the thread guide
carriage upon which it acts, and thus vary the position of the thread guide
with respect to the needles, so long as the bumper M remains in the same
position with respect to the needle carriage and thread guide carriage, the
thread guide will be caused to descend and rise by the action of its cam groove
between the same pair of needles; but if the bumper screw L be turned a
revolution, so as to move the bumper toward the standard T of the needle
carriage after the thread guide has descended by the operation of the first
inclined part of the cam groove that it reaches, and before the thread guide is
caused to ascend by the action of the opposite inclined part of the cam groove,
the thread guide carriage with the thread guide will be permitted to lag
behind the distance of a needle, and the thread guide in ascending will cast
the thread over an additional needle, thus widening the work the extent of a
stitch. As the widening screw L is turned by the operation of the slotted
shaft B', the movement of this latter shaft at the proper time effects the
widening of the fabric. This same slotted shaft B, in this instance, also
imparts movement to the mechanism, by which the narrowing of the fabric is
effected. I shall therefore proceed to describe this latter mechanism before
describing the means of moving the slotted shaft B. The narrowing of the
fabric in the machine is effected by transferring the selvage stitches from the
needles on which they have been formed to needles nearer the opposite selvage
of the fabric, and this operation is effected by means of transferring prongs or
hooks, which are operated in such manner as to enter the stitches upon the
needles from the inner side of the sinkers, and while the needles are retained
in their exact positions. by the V-shaped grooves of the nosing in which they
lay when the transferring hooks begin to operate. These transferring hooks
are operated by a rock shaft s that lays in a recess in the back of the sinker
bed g; that portion of this rock shaft which is between the standards of the
needle carriage is slotted from end to end, and it is fitted with a stock U, to
which the transferring hooks V are secured. The stock is fitted with a
feather, that enters the slot of the rock shaft, so, that although it may be
moved longitudinally along this rock shaft, it is caused to rock with it, and to

page_text: turn the points of the transferring hooks outward or inward in whatever
position the stock may be upon the shaft. The transferring hooks in the
present instance are two in number, although the number may be increased or
diminished as may be desired according to the kind of work being made.
Each hook is curved, as shown in Figures 3 and 12, and each has a groove
formed in its lower side, of sufficient depth to guide the head of the needle
into the stitch which may be upon the transferring hook. These transferring
hooks, when the stock is not being moved longitudinally, are supported above.
the selvage needle and the next one thereto, and when the rock shaft s is
turned in one direction, the points moving forward traverse the secondary
grooves (a², Figure 1) of the needles, enter and pass through the stitches upon
these needles, and retain these stitches while the needles are withdrawn
inward, whereby the stitches are shifted to the transferring hooks. The
transferring hooks, with the stitches upon them are then moved along the
carriage the space of a needle before the needles are again protruded, so that
the heads of the needles in protruding may traverse the grooves in the lower
sides of the transferring hooks, may enter the stitches, and may take the
stitches off from the transferring hooks; and as the needle which now enters
the selvage stitch is the next one nearer the opposite selvage of the machine,
the fabric will be narrowed the width of a stitch. In order to move the
transferring hooks longitudinally along the series of needles, the stock U is
slotted, to admit the extremity of an arm c² that extends from a hub W. This
hub is fitted with a nut m', that is traversed by a screw L' similar to the
widening screw L, and which, for distinction, I shall hereafter call the
narrowing screw. The pitch of the narrowing screw, like that of the
widening screw, is equal to the distance between the centres of a pair of
needles, so that the turning of it a revolution carries the hub W, and by its
arm the stock U the width of a stitch. The narrowing screw is fitted with
a cog wheel E', whose teeth engage with those of the same wheel E' that
drives the widening screw L, so that these two screws are moved simulta-
neously by the turning of the slotted shaft B³, and the thread guide and
transferring hooks are caused to maintain their proper relative positions what-
ever positions they may occupy in respect to any particular needle. In the
machine I am now describing, the rocking of the shaft s to protrude and with-
draw the transferring hooks is effected by the revolution of the narrowing
screw in the following manner:-The end of this screw passes through one of
the standards T of the needle carriage, and its protruding extremity is fitted
with a snail cam X, the excentric portions t, t¹, of whose volutes acting upon
a pin which is secured to a lever Y, and projects within their range of motion,

page_text: move this lever alternately in opposite directions. The lever Y is pivotted at
one end to the adjacent standard T of the carriages, its opposite end is forked
to embrace a pin x, which is secured in an excentric position to a hub g',
made fast to the extremity of the rocking shaft s of the transferring hooks, so
that as the lever is moved to and fro by the turning of the snail cam X on the
narrowing screw, the rock shaft s is caused to rock to protrude the trans-
ferring hooks and to withdraw them. In the operation of the machine it is
necessary that the movement of the transferring hooks longitudinally along the
series of needles, and their movements in and out by the action of the rock
shaft should not take place simultaneously. The pause in the longitudinal
movement of the hooks while the narrowing screw is turning to move the
rock shaft, is effected by causing the narrowing screw to move endwise as it
turns; in order to effect this endwise movement, a pair of collars 2, 21, having
inclined faces, are secured to the standards of the needle carriage, and a pair
of corresponding collars, 23, having snugs projecting from their faces, are
secured to the narrowing screw L'. The faces of the stationary collars z, z¹,
are inclined in such manner that during a portion of the revolution of the
narrowing screw, it is moved endwise in one direction just as fast, as it would
otherwise tend to screw the hub W in the opposite direction, while during the
remainder of its revolution, the snugs passing over parts of the stationary
collars, which are inclined in directions the reverse of the first, cause the screw
to move endwise in the same direction as it screws to the hub, while it is also
screwing the hub along, so that during the latter part of the revolution of the
screw, the hub W, and with it the transferring hooks are moved longitudinally
by the combined movement of the endwise motion of the narrowing screw, and
its screw action upon the hub. The inclined portions of the stationary collars
2, 21, are of unequal lengths, and that which furthers the longitudinal move-
ment is the shorter, so that this movement of the transferring hooks is effected
during a short angular movement of the narrowing screw. The pause in the
rocking of the rock shafts while the transferring hooks are moving toward
the opposite selvage, is effected by the shape and length of the acting faces of
the snail cam. As the narrowing screw L', and the widening screw L are
both turned simultaneously by the action of the cog wheel E* upon the slotted
shaft B, the transferring hooks will be carried longitudinally along the series
of needles when the thread guide bumper M is being moved outward to widen
the fabric. During the retrograde movement of the transferring hooks, it is
necessary that the stock U, to which they are secured, should not rock, as no
stitches at this time are to be transferred; the cessation of the rocking of the
shaft during the retrograde movement of the transferring hooks, is effected by

page_text: pivotting a portion of one of the ribs of the snail cam to the disc thereof in
such manner, that in turning backward the pin of the lever Y, can pass with-
out having any movement imparted to it. The pivotted portion thus acts as a
switch to direct the movement of the pin and lever Y, and this switch is held
in place by a spring which is secured to that face of the snail can which is
nearer the standard T of the needle carriage. In order to hold the rock shaft s
in its position, while the snail can is not acting upon the rocking lever Y, a
spring wis made to bear upon the rim of the hub g³, on the end of the rock
shaft 8, which is made excentric in such manner that the pressure of the spring
tends to hold it stationary after it has been rocked forward and backward to
its proper positions. The spring acting upon the rim of the hub g³, also
effects another operation in the machine, while the prongs of the transferring
hook are moving longitudinally along the series of needles, they are advanced
so far forward as to permit their heels to clear the grooves of the nosing in
which the needles lay, but before the needles are protruded it is desirable that
the prongs should be in such positions, that the needles in moving forward
cannot fail to enter the stitches upon the transferring hooks. In order to ensure
this operation, the prongs are rocked slightly backward, so as to cause their
heels to re-enter the grooves of the nosing before the needles are protruded,
the grooves in the lower sides of the transferring hooks thus form V-shaped
guides above the needles, corresponding with the V-shaped grooves in the
nosing; and the needles being confined between the two, are compelled in
protruding to enter the stitches on the prongs. This rocking of the rock
shafts to cause the heels of the prongs to re-enter the grooves of the nosing
is effected by the action of the spring w upon the hub g. The rim of the hub
is formed in such manner, that when the prongs are in their most forward
positions, the end of the spring bears upon an inclined part of the rim (shown
in dotted lines at w2, Figure 11), and tends to rock the shaft and prongs back-.
ward, and the snail cam on the end of the narrowing screw is of such form,
that after the prongs are moved to their appropriate needles, it permits the
spring, by acting upon the inclined part of the rim, to turn the rock shaft and
rock the prongs backward the distance required to cause their heels to re-
enter the grooves. When this is accomplished, the end of the spring finds.
itself in a notch, where it rests, thus holding the prongs in their proper
positions. From the foregoing description, it appears that the turning of the.
slotted shaft B, in one direction, by acting upon the widening screw, changes
the position of the thread guide, and thus widens the work, while it at the same
time by acting upon the narrowing screw, carries along the transferring hooks,.
so that the outermost one is always over the selvage needle, and ready to.

page_text: remove the stitches formed thereon. The turning of the slotted shaft B, in the
other direction, by acting upon the narrowing screw, effects the transference of
the selvage stitches toward the opposite selvage, thus narrowing the work, while
it at the same time by acting upon the widening screw carries along the
thread guide, so that it is always in a proper position to feed the yarn to the
selvage needle. In order that the machine may be automatic in its operations,
the turning of the slotted shaft B³ must be accomplished according to the
previously conceived design by the operation of the machine itself, and this is
effected as follows:-The extremity of the slotted shaft B projects through
the standard C of the main frame, and has a cog wheel f¹ secured to it, which
forms the first of a train of cog wheels f¹, ƒ ƒ³, ƒ ƒ³, fo, f", ƒ³, the last one
(f), of which is made fast to a countershaft B, that is supported in suitable
bearings beneath the top of the bed frame of the machine. This counter-
shaft has a bevilled wheel f' secured to it, which is driven by a corresponding
bevilled wheelf 10, secured to a shaft B7. This last-mentioned shaft projects
through the back of the bed frame, and its projecting extremity is fitted with
two ratchet wheels R and R³, whose teeth incline in opposite directions.
Each of these ratchet wheels has a racket lever and pawl appertaining to
it, by which it is moved to turn the ratchet wheel's shaft to impart motion
through the beviled wheels fo, f10, the countershaft B and the train of cog
wheels (f', ff, ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ³) to the slotted shaft B'. As the turning
of the ratchet shaft B', one direction or the other, by the operation of one or
other of the pawls upon its appropriate ratchet wheel, effects a corresponding
turning of the slotted shaft B³ in one direction or the other, and as the
direction in which the slotted shaft B' is turned effects either the widening or
narrowing of the fabric, it follows, that when the one ratchet wheel is acted
upon by its appropriate pawl, the fabric will be widened, and when the other
is acted upon the fabric will be narrowed. In the present machine the outer
ratchet wheel R2 is the narrowing wheel, and the inner one R³ the widening
wheel. The pawl S³ of the latter is pivotted to a ratchet lever L³, which is
hung upon the ratchet shaft B', and whose tail is fitted with a pin d³, (Figures
15 and 7) which lays upon a cam C³, secured to the cam shaft B, so that as
the cam is turned, the ratchet lever is caused to vibrate, and the pawl S³ is
caused to move to and fro. The pawl S² of the narrowing ratchet wheel R²
is pivotted to to a similar ratchet lever L³, whose tail is fitted with a pin that s
hears upon a cam C3, C4, also secured to the cam shaft B', so that as this shaft
turns, this pawl is also caused to move to and fro. As the movement of the
thread guide to widen is effected while it is travelling in its lowest position,
and as this movement may be a simple continuous movement, the cam (C³)
-

page_text: which operates the widening pawl is solidly secured to the shaft B. The
movement of the transferring hooks, on the contrary, to narrow the fabric has
to be accomplished partly while the needles are protruded to their furthest
limit, partly after they are withdrawn inward, and partly while they have been
protruded again to take the stitches off from the transferring hooks. The
movement of the narrowing screw is therefore intermittent, it must also be
effected partly while the carriage is travelling in one direction, and partly.
while it is travelling in the other direction, the extent of movement of the
narrowing screw during the two movements of the carriage, must also be.
unequal in the present machine. In order to produce these intermittent and
unequal movements, the cam is made up of two parts C and C+, one part (C³)
being fast to the shaft B*, and always travelling with it, while the other part (C');
is moved by a pin working in a slot in the cam disk, so that this portion of the
cam does not begin to move until the shaft has travelled a certain distance in
one direction or the other, and the end of the slot has been brought into con-
tact with the pin. The loose portion (C) of the cam is maintained in the
position in which it is placed during the time the shaft is not imparting motion
to it by means of a spring break w*, which being secured to the inside of the
standard h, which supports the cam shaft B, bears against the cam. With a
compound cam of this description, the most eccentric portion C² of this cam
leaves the second part C as the cam is turned in the direction of the arrow in
Figure 15, and thus passes outside of the pin of the ratchet lever L, leaving
the latter to be moved wholly by the second part C of the cam.
When,
however, the cam is turned in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5, the
second part of the cam remains stationary until the most eccentric part C² has
closed up the space between the two, after which the two move on simul-
taneously, forming one continuous curved rim, which passes beneath the pin of
the ratchet lever, and thus causes it to be moved by the most eccentric part
of the cam. The pawls S2 and S* are not permitted to act upon their respective
ratchet wheels, except when widening or narrowing it to be effected. Each
pawl is therefore held out of gear with the teeth of its ratchet wheel by means
of a loose collar, of sufficient diameter, upon whose periphery the pawl rides.
The collar G2 of the narrowing pawl S2 is fitted to turn loosely upon the ratchet
wheel shaft B', and is connected by a rod r, with the end of an arm H³ that
projects from a rock shaft B. This rock shaft is fitted with a second arm I*
that rides upon a pattern barrel J, which is perforated to receive pattern pius
23, 2³. One portion of the rim of the ratchet collar G2 is notched sufficiently to
let the pawl fall into the teeth of the ratchet wheel when the notch of the
collar is beneath the pawl, and as the collar is connected by the rod with the

page_text: árm H2 of the rock shaft, the pin of the pattern barrel operating upon the
other arm Is of the rock shaft effects the turning of the collar, thereby per-
mitting the pawl to drop into the ratchet wheel and move it, and thus direct
the narrowing of the fabric. The collar G³ of the widening pawl Ss is similar
in all respects to that of the narrowing pawl; it is connected by a rod r³, with
an arm H³ that projects from a loose sleeve K³ on the rock shaft Bs, and this
sleeve is fitted with a second arm Is, that rides over another portion of the
pattern barrel J, which is also perforated to receive pattern pins, by whose
operation the action of the widening pawl upon its ratchet wheel is directed..
In the present machine I have found it convenient to use a single pattern
barrel for both widening and narrowing, and this barrel is turned the space of
a pattern pin at each alternate movement of the needle carriage by means of a
cam C, which is secured to the cam shaft B, and operates upon a ratchet
lever L³, this lever is furnished with a pawl So, which operates upon the teeth
of a ratchet wheel R5, that is connected with the pattern barrel J. As the
pattern barrel is thus moved the space of a pattern pin, at each alternate
movement of the needle carriage, there must be as many pin holes in it for each
pawl as there are to be double stitches in the length of the fabric to be widened
and narrowed, and as the large number of pattern holes thus required would
require a pattern barrel of large diameter, which would be inconvenient, in
some machines, I have arranged the series of pattern holes in two helical lines
winding around the barrel from one of its ends toward the other, and in order
to cause all these holes in succession to pass beneath the arms upon which they
are to act, an endwise movement is imparted to the pattern barrel simul-
taneously with its rotation. In order to effect this endwise movement, the
pattern barrel is hung loosely upon a stationary screw shaft B, and a tooth t³ is
secured to the hub of the pattern barrel to engage in the thread of the screw, so
that as the barrel is turned, the screw thread acting upon the tooth t³ pushes the
barrel endwise. The ratchet wheel R is hung loosely upon the shank of the
screw B, and in order that it may turn the barrel without interfering with the
endwise movement thereof, it is connected with the barrel by a bayonet clutch,
whose arms a³, a³, extend through corresponding holes in the hub of the barrel,
which thus slides along the arms of the clutch, but is forced to turn with them.
When a machine of this description, with a long series of needles and
sinkers, is working upon narrow work, it is expedient that no more motion
should be imparted to the carriage than is necessary to carry the needles and
sinkers that are forming stitches past the .inclined parts of their respective
cam grooves.
In order to save the wear and tear and the time that would be
lost by imparting an unnecessary amount of movement to the carriage, I have

page_text: constructed the machine in such manner that the extent of movement of the
carriage is varied in proportion to the breadth of the fabric being formed at
the time, the range of the motion of the carriage thus increasing as the work
is widened, and decreasing as the work is narrowed. It is also expedient that
the pattern barrel J2 should be turned at one particular time in reference to
the movement of the carriage. And it is essential that the apparatus for
widening and narrowing the fabric should be made to operate when the
selvage needle, whichever it may be, has been brought by the movement of
the needle carriage to the same part of the cam groove, as then each needle
in the process of widening or narrowing becomes for the time being the
selvage needle; the cams must be made to operate, sooner or later, upon the
ratchet levers as the work grows wider or narrower. All these variations are
effected in the machine I am describing by varying the angular relation of
the cam shaft B to the cogwheel shaft B³, by changing the position of the
bevelled pinion stock H', for it is evident that if this stock be turned on its
axis to vary the position of the axles of its pinions, the angular position of the
secondary bevilled wheel c' to the primary bevilled wheel c' will be changed.
In order to change the position of the pinion stock H' in proportion to the
widening and narrowing, a series of screw teeth e', are cut upon its rim, and
these teeth engage in the thread of a screw j' formed upon the countershaft
(B) of the widening and narrowing mechanism, so that in proportion as the
countershaft is turned (by the action of the pawls upon the ratchet wheel) in
one direction or the other, to widen or to narrow the work, so is the stock
adjusted to vary the angular relation of the cam shaft B' to the cog wheel
shaft B, and thus vary the times at which the acting surfaces of the cams
come in contact with and operate their respective ratchet levers to commence
the movement of the widening and narrowing mechanism. As the movement
of the rock shaft B2 to change the shifting lever A¹, and reverse the move-
ment of the carriage when it is approaching the end of the machaine at which
widening and narrowing are effected, depends upon the time at which the
driver on the cam shaft B* comes in contact with the snug of the drum P8, the
above-mentioned change in the angular relation of the cam shaft with respect
to the cog wheel shaft, causes the driver to operate the drum and its strap
sooner or later, and thus cause the movement of the carriage to be reversed
As the cam C
when it has approached more or less near to the standard C.
that operates the ratchet lever of the pattern drum is secured to the cam shaft
B and moves with it, the relation between the times of the movement of the
cams and of the pattern barrel remains the same, while the movement of
the pattern barrel in relation to that of the cog wheel E' varies with the

page_text: widening and narrowing, and with the variation in the movement of the
needle carriage.
In the operation of the machine it is necessary that the sinkers should be
out of the way of the transferring hooks when the latter remove the stitches
from the needles, and during the time they are carrying the stitches along and
transferring them again to the needles. In order to remove the sinkers for this
purpose, and at the same time that they may be in their proper positions to
operate during the feeding of yarn and the formation of stitches, the cam
groove of the sinker cam bar is constructed with a double grade, so that the
sinker snugs are travelling in the upper grade 9°, and the lower extremity of
the sinkers are above the bar c, and out of the way of the transferring hooks
while narrowing is being effected. On the other hand the sinker snugs are
travelling in the lower grade g' during the feeding of the yarn.
When a
machine in which the needles are alternately protruded and drawn back
through the stitches is in operation, the protrusion of the needles tends to
cause them to carry along with them the stitches, through which they move
by the friction of the stems of the needles upon the yarn. This tendency is
injurious in its effects, as it prevents the stitches from being close up agaiust
the nosing at the time new stitches are being formed, and thus tends to
render the work uneven. In order to obviate this defect, I construct the cam
groove of the needle cam bar with a protuberance is, by the operation of
which the needles are caused to protrude to a greater extent than is necessary
in the formation of stitches, and that as the needle snugs pass the protube-
rance, the needles are drawn back sufficiently to draw the stitches laying upon
the needles in close contact with the nosing before new stitches are formed.
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me, the needles are
pressed upwards against the bar e to close their barbs by means of moveable
supports, whose upper edges are wholly on the inner side of the sinkers.
When such moveable supports are used in connection with automatic widening
and narrowing mechanism, the mechanism that operates them should be
combined in such manner with the cam shaft B', or other variable portion of
the machine, that the movement of the support varies with the widening and
narrowing of the fabric. In the machine I am now describing, I have deemed
it expedient to employ stationary under supports; and in order that they may
not interfere with the operation of the needles and sinkers, I construct each
support of two parts, one of which k is on the inner side of the sinkers, and
effects the raising of the needles to close their barbs, while the other part k³ of
the support is on the outer side of the sinkers, and supports the needles during
the feeding of the yarn and the descent of the sinkers to form the loops. By

page_text: the employment of supports of this construction I am enabled to dispense with
their movement, while at the same time a tight selvage is ensured, as the yarn
being within the ridge of the support is not drawn over it, an operation which
tends to elongate the stitches.
The fabric as fast as it is formed is drawn beneath the needle bed on the
carriage by the operation of a pair of take up rollers M', M, situated at the
back of the carriage. The lower one (M²) of these rollers has a ratchet wheel
secured to one of its extremities, which is turned a tooth at a time to take up
the work by means of a ratchet lever Lo, having a pawl S secured to it, which
engages with the ratchet teeth. The ratchet lever L is drawn back so that
its pawl may engage with a new tooth by means of a spring; it is moved
forward to impart motion to the take up roller at each passage of the needle
carriage, by means of a double incline plane Ne, which is secured to the main
frame of the machine; the take up roller is prevented from retrograding
while the pawl is passing to a new tooth of the ratchet wheel by means of a
spring pawl S7, which is secured to the needle carriage D, and which engages
with the teeth of the same ratchet wheel; the upper take up roller is pressed
toward the lower, so as to nip the fabric between the two by connecting its
boxes with the carriage frame by means of springs m, and in order to prevent
the slipping of the fabric between the rollers without the employment of an
injurious amount of pressure, I have covered the lower roller with an elastic
material, vulcanized india-rubber, for example, in whose surface the stitches
of the fabric slightly indent themselves.
An eyelet W³ is secured to the front side of the bed frame of the machine
to guide the yarns which is previously wound upon a suitable bobbin or tube in
such manner as to deliver freely; from this eyelet the yarn is conducted to
the thread guide, and passes throug it, after which it is applied to the
needles. When the machine is put to work, the carriage is set at one end of
its track, and the thread guide stands at the inner end of the whole series of
needles and sinkers, so that when the carriage is moved the needles and
sinkers in succession pass by the thread guide, which remaining stationary,
feeds out the yarn to the needles as they pass. As the needles in their move-
ment ride over the support, the sinkers are caused by the action of their cam
grooves to descend in succession between the needles and carry down folds of
5 yarn, thus forming loops upon the needles. As the sinkers descend, the
continued progression of the carriage carries the needles slides along the
inclined portion of their cam grooves, and causes the needles to be drawn into
the orifices in the nosing. As this operation is taking place while the needles
are riding over the highest portion of the under support, they are pressed up

page_text: by its action against the bar e of the sinker bed d, the pressure thus produced
closes the barbs of the needles, so that as they are drawn into the orifices they
enter and pass through the series of loops of yarn previously formed, and
drawing the new folds or loops with them through this previous series, cast off
the latter. The withdrawal of the needles into the orifices of the nosing takes
place simultaneously with the ascent of the sinkers by the action of the groove
of their cam bars, so that the folds of the yarn formed by the latter are
rendered up to the needles as they enter the orifices, when in the progression
of the carriage the selvage needle has passed the thread guide, the bumper M
striking the corresponding snug i on the thread guide carriage, causes the
latter to move with the needle carriage so that no more yarn is fed by the move-
ment of the latter past the former. While the two carriages are moving
together, the thread guides is caused to descend by the action of its cam groove
and to rise again as the needle carriage approaches the extremity of its
stroke, and when the needle carriage comes to rest the thread guide is at the
inner end of the series of needles ready to feed out yarn, when the carriage
again begins to move toward the end of the machine from which it first
started.
In forming goods of varioug width, which is the kind of work for which this
machine is specially adapted, the automatic widening and narrowing mechanisms
are brought into operation. In this case the work is commenced upon as
many needles as it is to be stitches in breadth, and the thread guide and
transferring hooks are set (by turning the slotted shaft B' by hand) so that
the thread guide, and the outermost transferring hook are in the proper
positions to operate in connection with the outermost needle in operation,
which becomes the selvage needle for the time being. The pattern barrel J³
is then run back by hand on its screw shaft, the pawl S' of its ratchet wheel
having been first thrown out of gear, and as many pattern pins are inserted in
their proper holes as there are to be changes in the width of the fabric. It will
be remembered that widening and narrowing may take place at one side of
the fabric at each alternate line of stitches; if, therefore, widening is to take
place at the tenth line of stitches, a pattern pin must be applied to the fifth
hole in the series of holes which pass beneath the widening collar arm I³, and in
the same manner as many pins are to be inserted in their proper holes as there
are to be changes in the width of the fabric by widening. If the fabric is to
be narrowed as well as widened, pattern pins are to be inserted in the series
of holes in the pattern barrel which pass beneath the narrowing collar arm I³,
a pin being inserted for each row of stitches, at which a change is to be made
by narrowing. When the machine is in operation, the turning of the pattern

page_text: barrel brings the pattern pins in proper order, and at the proper times beneath
their respective arms, and widening and narrowing take place according to the
design conceived by the attendant in placing the pattern pins. The narrowing
mechanism begins to operate when the selvage needle after having reached
the centre of the machine begins to recede into its nosing; at this moment the
turning of the narrowing ratchet wheel by the operation of the appropriate
cam causes the stock of the transferring prongs to be rocked forward, so that
as the needles recede, they leave the stitches upon the transferring hooks..
When the sinkers by the continued progression of the carriage are raised out
of the way of the transferring hooks or prongs, the latter, with the stitches.
upon them are carried along (by the action of the. cam upon the ratchet.
wheel) until they are above the needles to which the stitches are to be trans-
ferred, and are drawn back until the heels re-enter the grooves of the
nosing, then as the carriage returns toward the centre of the machine, the
heads of these needles in protruding from the nosing glide along the grooves
in the lower sides of the transferring hooks and enter the stitches, after which
the rocking of the stock of the transferring hooks, (by the continued action of
the cam,) draws back the transferring hooks, leaving the stitches upon the
needles, to which they have thus been transferred. As I have before stated,
the widening mechanism begins to move (by the action of its appropriate
cam,) after the thread guide has descended, and the movement is complete
before it reascends..
In knitting machines constructed previous to this Invention, it has been
customary to transfer stitches by hand, by means of a fork or tickler, as it.is
technically called, whose points are entered by the hand of the attendant into
the stitches on the needles from the front sides of the sinkers. In effecting
this operation, even by hand, difficulty is experienced from the fact that the
parts of the needles which extend beyond the sinkers are neither supported
firmly, nor held in exact positions laterally, nor is there any arrangement for
guiding the points of the transferring instrument into the stitches; the last
difficulty is obviated in this machine by the secondary grooves in the needles, by
which the points of the transferring instrument are guided along their stems
into the stitches, and the first two defects are obviated in this machine by
causing the transferring instrument to enter the stitches from the hinder sides
of the sinkers, their points thus traversing the secondary grooves of the
needles, while the latter are firmly supported and held rigidly in their proper
positions laterally by the V-grooves of the nosing, in which the needles lay at
the time.
It will be evident to the skilful mechanical engineer that this machine may

page_text: be modified to a great extent without effecting the principle of the Invention,
and it is contemplated to modify the construction and arrangement of machines
which embody it as circumstances may render expedient. Thus, for example,
I have described the widening and narrowing mechanism as applied to one
end only of the series of needles, but I have adapted the same mechanism
to both ends of the series of needles.
In this case a duplicate pattern
barrel and mechanism to operate the same with the ratchet shaft, and their
appurtenances, and a train of gearing, are applied to each end of bed.
frame of the machine, and the train of gearing at the right-hand end of the
bed frame is caused to operate a second slotted shaft parallel with the slotted
shaft B³, which in the present machine is in connection with the train of
gearing at the left-hand end of the bed frame. This second slotted shaft is
made to operate a duplicate set of widening and narrowing screws, the widen--
ing screw operating the bumper K, and the narrowing screw operating a
duplicate set of transferring hooks and their mechanism.
A convenient way
of arranging these duplicate widening and narrowing screws and the duplicate
rock shaft of the transferring hooks is to arrange them in lines with those of
the first set, and to extend them from a bracket at the centre of the carriage
across the slides of the series of needles with which they are to act in concert
toward the right-hand end of the bed frame. Each set of widening and
narrowing mechanism will thus act in concert with half of the whole series of
needles contained in the carriage. As the two slotted shafts must extend the
entire length of the bed frame, they cannot be arranged in line with each
other, but must extend side by side, in this case motion is readily communicated
from the cog wheel of the slotted shaft that is further from its widening and
narrowing screw to the cog wheels of their screws, through the intervention
of an intermediate cog wheel which is arranged to turn freely upon the nearer
slotted shaft, and whose teeth engage at one side with those of the cog wheels
upon the screws, and at the opposite side with the teeth of the cog wheel
upon the second slotted shaft. In some cases it may be deemed desirable to
cause the widening and narrowing mechanisms appertaining to the needles at
one end of the carriage to act in concert with a portion of the needles of the
opposite widening and narrowing mechanisms, in this case the duplicate screws
and rock shaft cannot be placed in line, but must overlap each other, and the
means of communicating motion to them from their appropriate slotted shafts
must be varied to adapt them to these changes. I have described a peculiar
pattern barrel for directing the movement of the widening and narrowing
mechanisms believing that this device is the best that can be used, but it is
evident that a pattern barrel of different construction may be used, as for

page_text: example, one of sufficient diameter to contain a sufficient number of pattern
holes in one belt for each arm moved by them. A pattern barrel may be
employed for widening alone, and a separate one for narrowing alone, or a
pattern chain may be employed to direct the widening and narrowing
mechanisms, or a jacquard mechanism may be employed for the same purpose.
In constructing the needles, the secondary grooves in their stems may extend
entirely through the stems so as to take the form of a slot, or this groove may
be made to connect with the hinder end of the groove in which the barb is
received so as to form one continuous groove.
The Invention is applicable to the manufacture of fancy goods, as, for example,
openwork stockings, and other knitted goods in which the pattern is produced
by transferring the stitches. In such cases the transferring hooks are set at the
commencement of the knitting above those needles from which the stitches are
first to be transferred, and pins are inserted in the pattern barrel in the proper
holes, to effect the transferrance at the proper row of stitches.
The present machine is adapted only to the formation of patterns by
transferring stitches laterally in one direction; but it is evident that by
imparting suitable movements to the narrowing screw and to the rock shaft
which carries the transferring hooks, transferrance may be accomplished
in both directions. The transferring mechanism may also, if desired, be
adapted to the transferring of stitches laterally the space of several needles
at once, instead of one needle at a time; moreover, the various parts of the
Invention may be used simultaneously in one machine, or parts of it may
be applied separately to machines where it may be found expedient to employ
them.
Having thus described the various parts of the improvement, and the
manner of embodying the same in a working machine, what I claim as the
Invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
The transferrance of stitches in a knitting machine from the needles on
what they have been formed to other needles by means of transferring hooks
or their equivalents, which take the stitches from the needles, move along to
other needles, and deliver the stitches to these other needles, operating
antomatically, substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim arranging transferring hooks with reference to the needles,
in such manner that they may enter the stitches upon the needles by moving
along the stems of the needles towards their heads, substantially as herein
set forth.
I also claim directing the operation of transferring prongs or their equi-

page_text: valents by means of a pattern barrel, or its equivalent, operating substantially
as herein set forth.
I also claim combining the mechanism that actuates transferring prongs
with the mechanism that moves the needles of a knitting machine, in such
manner that the prongs enter the stitches upon the needles at times when
the latter are supported both vertically and laterally, substantially as herein
set forth.
I also claim the improved knitting needle herein described, having a
secondary groove in its stem, substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim controlling the operation of the mechanism, by means of which
the relation of the thread guide to the needles is changed, so that yarn is
supplied to more or less needles by means of a pattern barrel or its equivalent,
operating substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim varying the extent of travel of the needle carriage in proportion
to the number of needles at work, by means of mechanical operation
automatically, substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim varying the periods of time at which the transferring mechanism
begins to operate in proportion to the number of needles at work, by means of
mechanism operating automatically, substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim combining the widening mechanism with the mechanism
that actuates the needle carriage, in such manner that the period of time
at which the former operates is varied in proportion to the number of needles
at work.
I also claim combining the mechanism that actuates the pattern barrel, or
its equivalent, with the mechanism that actuates the needle carriage, in such
manner that the period of time at which the former is moved is varied in
the proportion to the number of needles at work.
I also claim combining the widening mechanism and the narrowing
mechanism together, when both are used in the same machine, in such
manner that the movement of the one to do its work is attended by a corre-
sponding movement of the other, so that the thread guide and transferring
hook, or their equivalents, are both in the proper positions to operate in
connection with the selvage needle.
I also claim raising the sinkers out of the way of the prongs of the
transferring instrument, substantially as herein set forth, so that the latter may
move along the series of needles without obstruction from the sinkers,
substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim operating the needles substantially as herein set forth, in such

page_text: manner that they are withdrawn partially into the nosing before the sinkers
descend, so as to ensure the contact of the stitches on the needles with the
nosing, before new stitches are formed.
I also claim obtaining a pause in the endwise movement of a nut moved by a
screw, by causing the screw to move endwise while it is turning in the nut,
substantially as herein set forth.
I also claim the arrangement of the pattern holes of a pattern barrel in a
helical line, so that they may be brought in succession beneath the device upon
which the pattern pins operate, by a screw or its equivalent.
I also claim operating the transferring instrument, substantially as herein
set forth, in such manner that its movements is effected partly. while the
carriage is travelling in one direction, and partly while it is travelling in the
opposite direction.
I also claim combining with a travelling series of needles and a stationary
bar above them stationary under supports, over which the needles ride,
so that their barbs may be closed by pressure against the stationary bar above
them.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
10
5
Witness,
R. BROWNING,
New Court,
St. Swithin's Lane.
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)