Improvements in and relating to Circular Knitting Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Circular Knitting Machines.
HENRY ARTHUR BETTNEY, of Meadow Lane, Nottingham, Mechanic, and
CHARLES WALTER HAMMERSLEY, of Brougham Chambers, Nottingham, Commission
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object the production of a circular knitting machine
capable of knitting plain or ribbed fabrics, and upon which the character of the
work may be automatically changed from plain to rib, rib to plain or from one
kind of rib to another kind of rib without stopping the machine or moving the
loops from one needle to another, also the provision of means whereby the change
in the character of the work may be effected on any number of the needles in
work, and also the provision of means whereby the machine may be reciprocated
and needles be thrown in and out of action for the production of a heel and toe.
According to this invention the needles are made with a hook and latch at
both ends and with a projection or recess beyond the part of the needle usually
employed for the formation of the loop. The needles may also be provided with
a third latch which is pivotted in the centre of the needle and is of such a length
and so arranged that it can be turned to overlap the projection at either end of
the needle and thus ensure the passage of the loop over such projection. For
actuating these needles the needle cylinders are provided with jacks which are
made with a recess on their front edge, such recess being equal in length to the
distance between the end of the hook and the projection or recess on the needle.
At the back edge of the jacks there is a lug which is thicker than the jacks and
in normal knitting bears upon the inner surface of the cam ring or plate and
thereby ensures a working connection between the needles and jacks. All the
jacks are provided with butts for engagement with the knitting cam, such butts
being of varying lengths according to the changes it is desired to make in the
character of the work and so that the required needle jacks may be thrown into
engagement with the transfer cams by means of switches which are moved into
and out of their operative position by levers attached thereto and stops operated
by pattern mechanism.
The machine is provided with two needle cylinders which are cut for the
needles and jacks according to the changes in the character of the work it is
required to make and each of the tricks in both cylinders is provided with a jack.
The cylinders are so placed relatively to each other that the needles can be
moved from a trick in one cylinder to a trick in the other cylinder, and at or
near the adjacent ends of both cylinders a cam surface is provided.
When the needles are to be transferred from, say, the lower cylinder to the
upper cylinder, the lower transfer cam raises the needles above the highest
position to which they are raised by the knitting cam into the tricks in the
upper cylinder and the lugs on the back edge of the jacks ride up the cam surface
on the lower cylinder and are thereby separated from the needles, after which
the transfer cam lowers the jacks to their normal position. At or about the same

page_text: time the upper transfer cam acts upon the jacks in the upper cylinder in the
same manner as the lower transfer cam acts upon the jacks in the lower cylinder,
and these upper jacks are lowered to receive the needles from the lower cylinder
and then raised with the connected needle into a position to be actuated by the
upper knitting cam, the needles being thereby drawn through the loops on them.
The two transfer cams are so shaped and fixed that the needle is received and held
by the upper jack before it is released from the lower jack.
The machine is provided with sinkers and a sinker cam which may be inside
or outside the cylinders, and the sinkers may be so arranged that the loops formed
by the needles in either or both cylinders may be knocked over on the sinkers
while the thread may be fed above or below them.
The knitting cams, thread tension device, driving arrangements and the means
for raising and lowering the needles out of and into action for the heel and toe
may be of any well known kind applicable to the arrangements of this machine.
Dated thin 9th la
ן:
1000
W. H. POTTER,
Patent Agent, Brougham Chambers, Nottingham.
Improvements in and relating to Circular Knitting Machines.
HENRY ARTHUR BETTNEY, of Meadow Lane, Nottingham, Mechanic, and
CHARLES WALTER HAMMERSLEY, of Brougham Chambers, Nottingham, Commission
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This invention has for its object the production of a circular knitting machine
capable of knitting plain or ribbed fabrics, and upon which the character of
the work may be automatically changed from plain to rib, rib to plain, or from
one kind of rib to another kind of rib without stopping the machine or moving
the loops from one needle to another, and also the provision of means whereby
the change in the character of the work may be effected on any number of needles
in work.
According to this invention the needles are made with a hook and latch at
both ends and with a projection or recess beyond the part of the needle usually
employed for the formation of the loop. The needles are actuated by jacks
which are provided with a recess on their inner edge, to receive the needle hook
and its projections, and with a pin which projects on both sides of the jack.
The jacks and needles are held in contact for knitting, by a ring on the cam
cylinder. All the jacks are provided with butts for engagement with the
knitting cam such butts being of varying lengths according to the changes it is
desired to make in the character of the work, and so that the required needle
jacks may be thrown into engagement with the transfer cams by means of switches
which are moved into and out of their operative position by levers attached
thereto and stops operated by pattern mechanism.
The machine is provided with two needle cylinders which are suitably cut
and provided with needles and jacks, the cylinders being so placed relatively to
each other that a needle can be slid from a trick in one cylinder to a trick in the
other, and at or near the adjacent ends of both cylinders, a cam surface or
incline is provided.
When the needles are to be transferred from, say, the lower cylinder to the
upper cylinder the lower transfer cam raises the needles above the highest posi-

page_text: tion to which they are raised by the knitting cam into the tricks in the upper
cylinder and the pins on the jacks ride up the cam surface on the lower cylinder
and the jacks are thereby separated from the needles, after which the transfer
cam lowers the jacks to their normal position. At or about the same time the
upper transfer cams acts upon the jacks in the upper cylinder in the same manner
as the lower transfer cams acts upon the jacks in the lower cylinder, and these
upper jacks are lowered to receive the needles from the lower cylinder and then
raise them with the connected needles into a position to be actuated by the upper
knitting cams, the needles being thereby drawn through the loops on them.
The two transfer cams are so shaped and fixed that the needle is received and held.
by the upper jack before it is released from the lower jack.
The machine is provided with sinkers and a sinker cam which may be inside
or outside the cylinders, and the sinkers may be so arranged that the loops formed
by the needles in either or both cylinders may be knocked over on the sinkers
while the thread may be fed above or below them.
The knitting cams, thread tension device, driving arrangements, and the
means for raising and lowering the needles out of and into action for the heel
and toe may be of any well known kind applicable to the arrangements of this
machine.
In the accompanying drawings which are referred to in the following detailed
description.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the machine.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the needle.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the needle jack.
Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the needle jack.
Fig. 5 is an elevation of the sinker.
Fig. 6 is a part plan of the sinker cam ring.
Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the thread carrier.
Fig. 8 is a developement of the machine and frame cylinder cam rings
and cams.
Fig. 9 is a part sectional side elevation of the selecting cam mechanism used
at the transfer of needles from one cylinder to the other.
Fig. 10 is a part sectional front elevation on the line E E Fig. 9.
Figs. 11, 12, and 13 are sections of the cam cylinders and cams on the
lines A, B, and C Fig. 8 respectively, showing also the position of the needles
and jacks during ordinary knitting and during the transfer of a needle from
the frame to the machine cylinder, and
Fig. 14 is a section of the cam cylinders and cams on the line D Fig. 8 show-
ing also the position of the frame needle jacks when acting as latch guards to the
machine needles..
In a machine constructed according to this invention the needles a are made
with hooks and latches b at both ends, and with bends or projections cat con-
venient distances from the same. These needles work in tricks d and e in the
needle cylinders ƒ and g and are actuated for knitting through jacks which
are shaped to receive the needle hook and its projection c. The jacks are pro-
vided with butts i and with a pin which projects on both sides of the jack as
shown in Fig. 4, while the length of the butts is graded or varied according to
the number of different kinds of work it is desired to make; thus in a machine
for making plain work and two kinds of rib work, the butts of the jack are of
three different lengths.
The knitting cams are preferably of the form shown in Fig. 8 and comprise
clearing cams & knocking-over cams 1, rests m. and upthrow cams n, these. latter
landing the butts of the jacks on the ring o with the loops still on the latches of
the 'needles. There are also circular rings against which the outer edges q
of the jacks slide, and by which the jacks are held in position to drive the needles
during the ordinary knitting motions.
The needle cylinder f is fixed to a base plate r which also forms a bearing

page_text: for the frame cam rings the lower edge of which is provided with teeth t and
driven by any convenient arrangement of gearing. The cam ring u is driven
from the cam rings by a lever v pivotted to a bracket w and so arranged that
it can be readily connected and disconnected to a bracket on the cam rings,
the same bracket being used also for driving the sinker cam ring y through
lugs z and adjusting screws 1. The machine needle cylinder is supported on a
pin 2 which revolves with the cam ring in a bracket 3, so arranged that the
cylinder g and ring u can be raised above and swung clear of the frame cylinder
when desired. The sinkers 4 are fitted to slide in a sinker ring 5 which is
grooved on its inner edge to permit of the jacks rising through it, and is fastened
to the needle cylinder by screws or clips in the usual manner.
The adjacent
edges of the needle cylinders are cut for the sinkers to work therein, and when
in these cuts the loops are knocked over by the frame needles on the upper edge
of the lower neb, and by the machine needles on the underside of the upper neb.
The thread carrier 6 is fixed to a bracket 7 on the cam rings and is adjustable
horizontally and vertically. This carrier delivers its thread 9 on to the top of the
lower neb of the sinker 4 and in the centre of the clearing rise of the knitting cam.
The carrier is shaped to open any latches that may accidentally have become
closed, and to allow the latches to roll over during the sinking of the needles to
the knocking-over point. The thread 9 is drawn from a bobbin through the
centre of the spindle 2 supporting the cylinder g and cam ring u and by guides
down the outside of the cylinder to the thread carrier 6.
Both needle cylinders are preferably cut with the same number of tricks as
the full number of needles required for making plain work; in each trick in
the frame cylinder there is a needle and jack, and in the machine cylinder there
may be a jack in every trick or the jacks may be arranged according to the
work to be produced.
The sinkers 4 are actuated by a cam 10 on the ring y, this cam being of the
usual shape but of greater length and designed to give a greater motion than
usual.
In addition to the ordinary knitting cams already described the cylinders s
and are provided with an arrangement of cams for transferring the needles
from one cylinder to the other.
In the cylinder s the transferring cams comprise, one or more selecting
cams 11, a fixed upthrow cam 12, a movable upthrow cam 13, and a fixed down-
throw cam 14. In the cylinder u the transfer cams comprise one or more select-
ing cams 15, a fixed downthrow cam 16, a movable downthrow cam 17 and a
fixed upthrow cam 18, and these cams are arranged relatively to each other sub.
stantially as shown in Fig. 8.
The machine illustrated in the drawing is designed to make plain work, one
and one rib, and three and one rib, and to change from one kind of work to
another kind. In the frame cylinder, half the needle jacks have short length
butts, one quarter have medium length butts, and the other quarter have long
length butts, and there are two selecting cams 11 and 20. In the machine needle
cylinder g, there is a jack in every alternate trick and half of these jacks have
long butts and half have medium butts and there are two selecting cams 15.
The cam 20 Fig. 9 acts upon the longest butts and the cam 11 upon the long
and medium butts. The cam 20 is made with a hollow spindle which has a
bearing in the cam cylinder s and out-side the same is fitted with a notched
disc 19. The cam 11 is mounted on a spindle which has a bearing in the hollow
spindle of the cam 20 and outside the cylinder is fitted with a notched disc 21.
Both discs are provided with pins 22 and by means of springs 23 are normally
held in contract with catches 24 which are held upon the discs by springs 25.
These parts rotate with the cam cylinder and during ordinary knitting combine
to hold the cams 11 and 20 in the position shown in Fig. 8. In connection with
this piece of mechanism there is a frame 26 provided with fingers 27 and 28 and
fitted to slide in a suitably fixed bearing, and so arranged that it can be actuated

page_text: by hand, or connected to and operated by chain or other pattern mechanism.
When the frame 26 is moved towards the cylinder its greatest distance, the inner
finger 27 is struck by the inner catch 24 which is then raised clear of the disc 19
and this latter is then free to move under the action of the spring 23. The
cam 20 is thus raised under the long butted needle jacks and the jack which first
strikes the cam enters the nick in the surface of the same, and under the com-
bined action of the rotation of the cam on its own axis and the movement of the
cam cylinder in the direction of the arrow, the needle thus engaged is lifted off
the ring o on to the cam 12 and the needles immediately adjacent to the one
first engaged are also lifted until the cam 20 meets the cam 12 when it forms a
surface up which all the jacks with the longest butts pass from the ring o to the
cam 12. The frame 26 can then be returned to its normal position and the pin 22
coming into contact with the finger 28 turns the disc 19, lowers the cam 20, and
allows the catch 24 to fall into position to hold the cam down.
The cams 15 in the machine cam cylinder u are constructed in the same
manner as the cams 11 and have similar releasing and holding out mechanism,
but so arranged that the cams force the needles down instead of up.
The cams 11 and 15 are preferably brought into action simultaneously.
The cams 13 and 17 are attached to axles which project outside the cylinders
and are fitted with mechanism similar to that described with reference to the
cams 11 and 20 so that the cams 13 and 17 can be automatically thrown into
and out of their operative positions.
When it is desired to transfer the needles from the frame to the machine
needle cylinder, the cam 17 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 8 and the
outside selecting cams brought into position to move the required jacks off the
rings o, and the jacks so moved are carried by the cams 12 and 16 from the
ordinary knitting position shown in Fig. 11 to the position shown in Fig. 12.
The jacks in both cylinders have then been moved towards cach other until the
ends of the needles abut against the ends of the recesses in both jacks, and the
pins j in both jacks have mounted the separating cams or projections 29 on both
needle cylinders and have thereby being raised clear of the projections c in the
needle stems. The jacks in the lower cylinder then mount the cam 13, and
through the needles, push the machine jacks upward until the pins j are beyond
the cam 29 on the machine cylinder, and the jack is pushed by the ring p into
contact with the needle, the projection on the latter entering the recess in the
former as shown in Fig. 13. The machine jack is then caught by the cam 18
and lifted up to the ring o, to the position shown at the left hand side of Fig. 1
without slipping the loop off the needle stem, and in position to receive the
thread for the next loop and to be actuated by the knitting cam.
There are now a number of jacks in the frame cylinder without needles and
these jacks are raised during knitting to prevent the machine needles latches
closing when the needles are advanced to clear the loops. For this purpose the
frame cam ring is fitted with cam pieces 30 and 31 so placed relatively to the
frame clearing cams that the jacks are raised from the position shown in
Fig. 12 to the position shown in Fig. 14. When this movement takes place
the pins on the jacks pass into the cam recess 32 formed partly in the needle
cylinder and partly in the sinker ring, and the upper end of the jacks are thus
brought nearer the needles and prevent the latches closing when the needles
are moved to the position shown in Fig. 14 and the latches have passed through
the loops. The cam 13 is preferably thrown out of action after the transfer of
needles has taken place, but it is not absolutely necessary to do so.
When it is desired to transfer needles from the machine to the frame cylinder
the cams 13 and 17 are moved into the dotted position Fig. 8 and the selecting
cams operate to bring the jacks into contact with the cams 12 and 16 by which
the jacks are moved into the position shown in Fig. 12. The cam 17 then pushes
the machine jacks until the needles are held by the frame jacks, after which the

page_text: frame jack are lowered with the needles to their knitting position by the cam 14
and the empty machine jacks raised to the ring o by the cam 18.
The machine may be fitted with one or more selecting cams such as 11 and 15,
the number of which and the number of different jacks depend upon the number
of variations in the character of the work it is required to make.
For making the heel and toe of a stocking the machine is fitted with ordinary
mechanisms for reciprocating the cylinder and for changing the motion from
rotating to reciprocating; the machine knitting cams are duplicated, so as to
knit when moving in either direction and the cams 13 and 17 are moved out of
their operative positions to allow the jacks to the non-knitting needles to pass
above the knitting cams. The machine is also provided with any known and
suitable arrangement of picking mechanism for throwing the needles into and
out of action and such mechanism is operated according to any of the usual
methods. The machine is fitted with a suitable thread tension and take up
appliance is mounted on a standard, and driven by any usual arrangement of
gearing.
...
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. In a knitting machine an arrangement of needles, jacks, and cams, whereby
the needles may be automatically transferred from one cylinder to the other,
combined and operating substantially as herein described and for the purpose
set forth.
2. In a knitting machine the arrangement of needles, jacks, and cams, whereby
the needles may be automatically transferred from one cylinder to the other,
constructed, arranged, and operating as herein described with reference to the
accompanying drawings, and for the purpose herein set forth.
3. A knitting machine constructed arranged, and operating substantially
as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing, and for the
purposes herein set forth.
Dated this 6th day of January 1900.
W. H. POTTER, Wh. Sc.,
Patent Agent; Brougham Chambers, Nottingham.