IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street, in
the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
Sealed the 7th March 1856, and dated the 18th September 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald Brooman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th September 1855.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY," (communicated to me by a foreigner
residing abroad,) to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the knitting frame, which
improvements have for their object the making of both kinds of fabric known
as "plain" and "ribbed " work by a machine operating as a power loom.
The ribbed and plain work may be continued in courses, first plain and then
ribbed, or vice versa. In the making, however, of fabrics wholly ribbed, as
shirts, the plain course is generally run in only for the forming the "welt," or
place where one garment terminates and the other begins. It is also adapted
to the making of cuffs, and all those parts of ribbed work now employed for
terminating shirts, stockings, &c. which have their bodies plain. Heretofore
all ribbed stocking frames were to be operated by hand, and the products are

page_text: accordingly more expensive than if a power loom were to be employed. In
this machine, two distinct sets of needles are made to weave in joint operation,
so that loops are formed on both at the same time, each course of ribs being
formed together and cast off complete at the same moment, while at the same
time there is a mechanical provision which can be set to come into play at any
required time, and by a self-operating arrangement to disengage one set of
needles, so that plain work will then be made for the distance necessary to
give a complete finish to the article.
One set of sinkers and jacks operate on one or both sets of needles at the
proper times respectively. The two sets of needles, which are of the ordinary
construction, are arranged upon two bars, lying horizontally and near together,
and supported at their ends in slides secured to the sides of the main frame,
so that they are permitted to have a vibrating motion vertically; what I intend
to claim is,
Firstly, so combining two sets of needles, such as are commonly employed
on knitting frames, that they may be brought into joint action, and have loops
formed on both of said sets at one and the same time, and thus form a ribbed
fabric.
Secondly, the arrangement of the needle bars and two presser bars so com-
bined, that when both sets of needles are in action, both presser bars will also
act upon the barbs of the needles.
Thirdly, combining the needle bars, the sinker bars, and the knocking off' or
discharging plate together by a system of cams, the operation of which is such
as to effect the engagement and disengagement of one set of needles, and to
regulate the quantity of yarn fed for the loops, as more or less is required for
weaving "slack" or "stiff," or for weaving ribbed or plain. I do not restrict
myself to any peculiar mechanism, as the method of combining the cams with
the said several parts may be varied without changing the results produced.
Fourthly, self-setting latches in combination with the needle and presser
bars.
Fifthly, the combination of a regulating bar with a shifting bar and set
screws for regulating the throw of the sinkers and depth of the loops.
Sixthly, the manner of discharging the loops, that is to say, casting off those
of one set of needles a little in advance of those of the other set, and giving to
the first set of needles an upward motion as soon as the cast-off has been
effected from them for the purpose of relieving the strain.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th March 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One, thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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," communicated to me.
by a foreigner residing abroad, upon t the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the knitting frame, which
improvements have for their object the making of both kinds of fabric known
as "plain" and "ribbed" work by a machine operating as a power loom.
The ribbed and plain work may be continued in courses first plain and then
ribbed, or vice versa. In the making, however, of fabrics wholly ribbed, as
shirts, the plain course is generally run in only for the forming the "welt," or.
place where one garment terminates and the other begins. It is also adapted
to the making of cuffs, and all those parts of ribbed work now employed for

page_text: terminating shirts, stockings, &c. which have their bodies plain. Heretofore
all ribbed stocking frames were to be operated by hand, and the products are
accordingly more expensive than if a power loom were to be employed. In
my machine two distinct sets of needles are made to weave in joint operation,
so that loops are formed on both at the same time, each course of ribs being
formed together and cast off complete at the same moment, while at the same
time there is a mechanical provision which can be set to come into play at
any required time, and by a self-operating arrangement to disengage one set of
needles, so that plain work will then be made for the distance necessary to give
a complete finish to the article. One set of sinkers and jacks operates on one
or both sets of needles at the proper times respectively. The two sets of
needles, which are of the ordinary construction, are arranged upon two bars,
lying horizontally and near together, and supported at their ends in slides
secured to the sides of the main frame, so that they are permitted to have a
vibrating motion vertically.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of this
improved knitting machine; Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section on the
plane Y, Y, of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a similar section on the plane X, X,
both being as seen in the direction of the arrows; Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are
views of parts in detail. Similar letters indicate similar parts throughout the
Figures.
A is the front needle bar, and B the back one; C are the slides, whereby
the needle bars are connected to the frame. The needles are therefore carried
up and down with these bars, but with very different motions, for the bars
themselves alter their relative positions towards each other while falling and
rising. The effect intended to be produced by this is to keep one set of
needles, namely, the back set, on the bar B, moving up and down in a vertical
position, while the front set are to start in the vertical position when at the
bottom of the motion of the bar, and rise along with and like the other set
until the latter has attained its greatest elevation and come to a state of rest;
when a new motion is given to those on A, as they then tip over and go from
a vertical to an inclined position, by which means they cross and interlock with
the back set, forming a cross, as shewn at a, b, Figure 1, a being the needles
on the front bar, and those on the back bar. These motions are produced
by the action of dissimilar cams placed on the main shaft; one of these cams
is seen at c, Figures 3 and 4, another at c', at Figures 2, 3, and 4, and another
at c², Figures 2 and 3. These two latter are in pairs, there being one of each
The cams c' act to raise the slides C; the cams c²,
to lower them; and the cani c acts to cause the tipping of the front needle
at each end of the frame.

page_text: bar A, and consequently of the needles a. In order that it may make the
double motion, above described, the front bar A is supported upon two sets of
bearings, the one set being a pin d, Figures 1 and 3, projecting from each of
the slides C, and on which pins the bar hangs as by hinge joints; the other
bearing being at the front edge of the bar, where a vibrating link d¹ extends
down and connects with the cross lever d², Figures 1 and 3, and which lever
is moved by the cam c. A cross lever d* at each end, acted upon by the cam
c, effects the lowering of the slides C. The cams c and c¹ are shaped nearly
alike, although they are of different diameters in their circular part, and are as
seen in the separate Figure 4. Their joint action upon the needle bars will
be as follows: Suppose the rollers d² and d³ to be resting upon that portion
of their cams which is circular, and where the roller de is just on the edge of
the depression of its cam when in this position the slides C are at their full
height, and the front needle bar A elevated, so as to engage the front set of
needles with the back ones, and as shewn in Figures 1 and 2. Now, it is
required that before the needles descend to cast off their loops the front row
must be elevated to a vertical position, and stand so as to form a line parallel
with the back ones. In order to accomplish this, the bar A must be allowed
to turn on its hinge pin d, so that the front edge may drop down. As the
cams c and c¹ rotate, the lever d³ will drop first into the cavity and descend to
some point, as, say x on c, Figure 4, while the slides C are still held up by the
cam c¹, by reason of the roller d³ not yet having reached its depression, as clearly
seen in Figure 4. From × on c to the bottom of the cavities the descent is
alike, thus allowing the two bars A and B to descend together, and thereby
keep their respective sets of needles in the proper vertical position. In ascend-
ing, the same order is preserved. The roller d³ reaches the top of its cam by
the time the roller d has reached the point x, x, so that the back needle bar
will have attained its full height and become stationary, in order that the
crossing of the front set may take place, which is accomplished by the move-
ment of d from the point x, x, out by the edge of its cam. d' is a link,
connecting the front edge of the needle bar A with the tipping levers, and this
is fixed in such manner as to become disengaged from the end of its lever d³
at certain times, that is, when the machine is engaged on plain work, for when
out of gear the bar A no longer tips over, although it moves up and down with
the guides C; consequently its row of needles is not engaged, and no loops are
formed upon them, the action of the back row being then to weave a plain web
as on a common frame. The lower end of the link d' is notched out so as to
rest upon a pin f in the end of the lever; immediately behind the link d¹ there
is a horizontal draw bolt g, Figures 1 and 3, the forward movement of which

page_text: will thrust the end of the said link from the pin f, and keep it off for the given
length of time for weaving the number of plain courses required to finish the
garment, or form what is technically called the "welt." This disengagement
takes place on every revolution of a stop, shewn at G, Figures 1 and 3. The
end of the bolt is secured to an arm h, Figure 3, projecting from an upright
post; a second arm extending from the top of this post terminates so as to come
into contact with the stop G, as seen at h', Figures 1 and 3. When the stop
G' strikes h', the bolt g is thrust forward and disengages the link d'. The
re-engagement of the link upon the pin f on the withdrawal of the bolt is
effected by a spring on its upper end, as seen in Figures 1 and 3. The two
sets of needles are arranged on their bars so that their barbs shall be turned
outward; each set has a presser bar, as seen at i, i', supported upon standards
,, which are hinged to plates bolted fast to a cross bar k, seen in Figures 2
and 3. There is a spring between the standards tending to force the bars
apart, and which keeps them clear of the needles until such time as they are
to be brought into action by other mechanism. To cast the loops off as fast
as the courses are formed, two rails or plates are so placed between the two sets
of needles that the top edges of the rails shall be about on a level with the
presser bars. One of the cast-off plates is secured to the permanent rail k, as
seen at m, and belongs to the back row of needles; the other is represented at
m³, and is fixed to a moveable rail k', Figures 1, 2, and 7, which rail lies
parallel with k, and at a short distance from it in front. The web hangs
between these casting-off plates, and passes down under the frame to the take-
up roller.
At this part of the machine some delicate movements have to be
performed, in order to ensure certainty in its working, and these relate to the
casting off of the loops. As loops are formed at the same time on both sets of
needles which have to be cast off together, it is found that the weight of the
web hanging between was such as to cause a great strain or drawing upon the
needles, especially when the loops had got over the barbs and near the top of
the needles, the needles here being of double thickness. To overcome this, an
easement is effected by a slight vertical motion of the back set of needles, and
immediately after that by a like motion of the front cast-off bar m¹. As these
two motions occur almost in combination, they will be described together.
The back needle bar is attached to the slides C by the pin d by means of an
eye at B. This eye is enlarged or elongated so as to allow of some play, and
as seen by the dotted lines below d, in Figure 3. Attached to the eyes are
two springs C, which pull upward, as shewn. To each eye B¹ there is a down
pull, which connects with a cross lever l', passing beneath the main shaft and
hinged to the back of the frame; and to operate upon this pull is a cam, having

page_text: an acute point, seen at 1, the operation of which is such, that when the needles
have descended, so that the loops to be discharged have been pushed up the
shanks and over the barbs, and approach that point where the strain before-
named commences, the point of the cam shall be just passing along the top
of its bearing piece on the cross lever . The top of the back casting-off'
plate stands a little higher than that of the front one, as shewn in Figures 2
and 7, whereby the cast-off will be effected from the back set of needles first,
and so soon as this has taken place the point of the cam & must have passed
the top of its bearing picce, thereby permitting the back needle bar B
to rise on the pin d to the extent of the elongation of its eye, shewn under
the pin in the dotted lines, Figure 3, and which rising is effected by the
action of the spring C', since the needle bar is not now held down by the
cross lever. The front casting-off plate now rises by the cam I, Figures 1
and 3, acting to raise the bar le through the lever I', and this throws off
the loops on the front row of needles. The front presser bar is to be dis-
engaged at those times when no work is to be done on its row of needles.
This will be made clear during the following description of the manner of
causing both bars to act on their respective sets of needles. On both needle
bars are fixed two sets of bevilled latches, which are alike as regards their
operation on the presses, but the front pair have a provision whereby they
may be disengaged at certain times. Their operation is such, that when the
needle bars descend to carry down the needles, so soon as the barbs of the
latter are in their proper position, the presser bars are pushed together, and
thus close the barbs upon the new laid course to allow of the last or finished
course being discharged, in a manner well known in the common knitting
frame. The latches then become disengaged, and allow the presser bars to
fly back by the force of the springs in the standards i, 3, before described.
n (Figures 1 and 7) are the latches on the back needle bar. The under edges
are bevelled, and they are hinged to the top of the studs, as shewn in Figure 7,
a feather spring keeping them up in the position represented. As the needle
bar descends, the bevelled edges strike against the edge of the presser bar
and force it against the barbs of the needles, holding them closed until the
new loops are up and the last course thrown off; they then get clear, and
the presser bar flies back.
When the needles ascend again, the flat tops of
the latches strike against the edge of the presser bar, so as to turn them down
against the force of their feather springs, and this allows them to pass by
without acting on the presser bar until the next downward movement. The
latches on the front needle bar have a different arrangement for setting. This
is because the bar tips over and shifts the place of the studs which hold the

page_text: said latches, and also because they are to be wholly disengaged at all times
when the front set of needles is not in action. The inner lower ends of these
latches are bevelled, as seen at n³, to press the bar on descending, as is the
case with the back ones. On the back is a locking spring, seen at o, Figure 7,
which can ride into two recesses o', 02, on the back. This sets the latch in
the positions in which it is thrown on passing by the presser bar on the
upward ascent of that bar; for as the top of n strikes on the under side of
the bar, the latch is bent down to clear it, and the spring rides into the
recesso. Thus, if there were nothing in the way to shift the latch back, it
would pass by the said presser bar without acting on it on the next down-
ward stroke. To set the latch, therefore, it is provided with a short arm o",
which is brought up to strike against a pin or arm p by the elevation of the
front edge of the needle bar A when that is raised by the link d', before
described. This throws over the latch, and sets it, as in Figure 2, ready to
act upon the presser bar. When, however, the link d' is unhooked, as the
needle bar will be no longer tipped over, the arm 03 does not reach the pin p,
and the whole latch accordingly plays up and down clear of the presser bar,
which it should do, as at that time no loops are formed on the front set
of needles.
The sinkers lie horizontally, being arranged at the back of the needles, and
at right angles to the back set, as shewn at r, Figures 1 and 2, and their
jacks hinged in a direct line at 7, the sinkers and jacks being held in place by
passing through a metal rack, supported by a bars on the frame. The
motion of both jacks and sinkers is horizontal. The sinker is finished at the
end, which plays between the needles with the usual fork to sink the loops in
the ordinary form. The sinkers are also pushed between the needles by the
action of a slur cock s', which in this case plays against the ends of the jacks
instead of on their tops, as in some of the old frames. There are two springs
acting upon the jacks; one is a locking spring, and the other is to force the
sinker forward the full distance it is allowed to go. After the slur cock has
driven it past the notch where the locking spring takes hold, the locking spring
is at 2, Figure 2, and there is a projection on the jacks at r¹, which shews how
the sinkers are held back. The springs are the other ones named as always
tending to force the jacks forward. The slur cock as it passes along strikes
the ends of the jacks just below the end of the spring, and pushes them so
far as to force the projection ¹ beyond the spring, the other spring 7 then
forcing them along their full distance. H, Figure 2, is a cam, working by a
bevel gear from the main shaft, being a groove cut in the side of an eccentric
wheel. In this, a pin, having on it a friction wheel H¹, travels, the pin being

page_text: attached to a lever K, and thus a vibratory motion is imparted. The upper
end of K is connected with a slide bar K', to which the slur cock is attached,
and from this slide bar connection is formed with another one standing over
the needles, as seen at J. This effects the movement of the yarn guide.
There is nothing peculiar in this particular part of the machinery. The yarn
guide may be provided with a locking spring and catch to hold it in place at
the end of each course until the slur cock goes by, as the yarn guide must
always precede the latter to lay the yarn before the sinkers come into play, as
well known. The part for returning the sinkers and carrying them clear of
the needles is peculiar, as it provides a self-adjusting means for varying the
depth of the loops, and thus weaving the course "slack" or "stiff," as may
be required. This part consists principally of two bars, one within the other,
and suspended to the frame, so as to move back and forth in the direction of
the sinkers. The first or outer bar is seen at t, and the arms by which it is
suspended at t', Figures 1 and 2. Upon this is a rack t², through which the
sinkers play. It is by the vibrations of this bar that the sinkers are pushed
back after having been operated upon by the slur cock, as it also regulates
the distance the springs can throw them forward, and thus it determines
the character of the web as to whether it shall be slack or stiff. On each
jack there is a notch cut, as seen at r*, Figure 2. When the sinkers are to
retreat, the bar t moves back, and, as is evident, the back edge of t must
carry along the sinkers. The locking springs ride past the projections r',
and thus lock the whole row. The bar now moves towards the front of the
frame, and stops at such distance as it is intended to allow the sinkers to return
in forming the loops. The second bar, before spoken of, is for the purpose of
regulating the extent of forward motion the bar & shall have at different times
in order that the slack or stiff work may be woven, as before mentioned.
The second bar is seen at u, and lies under t, extending the whole length
inside of the main frame. It has at each end a sloping part, as seen at u',
Figure 5. While it is carried back and forth with the movement of the main
bar t, it has also a motion of its own along the bar from right to left, and by
this means different parts of the slope are brought opposite to the point of a
regulating screw u³, Figures 1 and 5, which is fixed permanently to some
convenient part of the frame. It has a milled head, which receives the edge
of a gauge spring us. Thus it will be seen that the main bar t will be stopped
by the point of the regulating screw striking against the sloping part of the
bar u, and therefore, by shifting the bar u along to the right or left, the move-
ment is arrested sooner or later, as may be.
It remains now to describe how the different movements are self-produced

page_text: by the general operation of the machine. The bar t tends always towards the
front of the machine by the pressure of springs, one of which is seen at t',
Figures 1 and 3, where it acts against the projecting end of t. On each end of
the main shaft, but outside of the main frame, is' a cam v; these act against
levers v, Figure'l, the upper ends of which levers strike the bar t, as shewn;
these, therefore, push back the bar, and thus the jacks are set in their locking
springs. As the cam releases the bar, it comes forward by the force of the
springs t, until arrested by the points of the regulating screws u³, which
forward motion is more or less according to the position of the bar u, before
named. The sloping part of that bar represents adjustments for sinking the
loops for ribbed and plain work; the deepest part is when the work is to be
woven ribbed, the next when woven plain on a single set of needles. These
come into play during the operation of weaving a garment or cuff of a shirt,
and are actuated by a cam G, Figures 1 and 3. As at each revolution of G
one set of needles is thrown off, as before described, so at that time must the
bar u be shifted to reduce the throw of the sinkers, so that only the yarn
required for a plain web will be fed. To accomplish this, the arm h' is extended
beyond the vertical shaft G2, where it takes hold of a pin h², Figure 2, con-
nected with the shifting bar u, and the movement occasioned by the striking
of G against h¹ pushes the bar u along, so that at the next vibration of t the
point of the regulating screw will strike the highest part of the slope on u,
and keep the bar t from coming so far forward. This then arrests the motion
of the sinkers sooner, and they accordingly sink. the loops shallower, and as
required for plain work. Every revolution of the main shaft H produces one
complete course, and in weaving a garment, say a shirt, a long piece of web
must be woven before any of those shifting parts just described will be brought
into play a second time. H' is a cam or worm wheel, which operates to turn
the vertical shaft G¹ notch by notch of the toothed wheel, shewn attached.
The number of notches in this wheel is the same as the number of courses
required to complete a garment or article, as a "cuff." As such articles are
made in a continuous web, it is necessary that some finish be given, as well as
a means for separating or cutting them apart. This is done by forming at
each end what is known as a "welt." This is a few courses woven plain with
a draw thread, which being taken out separates the articles and leaves a row
of loops to be taken up by the needles on the frame which is engaged in
weaving the shirts to which the cuffs are to be attached. In the present
described machine, the cam G acts upon the lever h', so as to disengage the
link d¹ and to shift the bar u during a time long enough to weave three plain
courses upon one set of needles; the middle of them is the draw thread,

page_text: The rule of this working may be variously changed; for instance, in case the
loom is making plain shirts, requiring but a short piece of ribbed work at the
ends of the arms, the extent of the canr G would in such a case be nearly
equal to the whole circumference of the wheel, the space left being only to the
extent of the ribbed work.
1
It is
It now remains to describe the general operation of the machine.
supposed that the starting course has been fixed as usual, the front needle bar
tipping its needles over, so as to combine with the back set at each rise of their
cam levers. Everything is now in position for working the ribbed courses: The
yarn guide y, Figures 1 and 2, then passes along and lays the yarn on in the
crotch formed by the two sets of needles, the slur cock following close after it
strikes the ends of the jacks and sends the sinkers forward; these form loops
only on the back set of needles, the loops lying on their shanks below the
points of their barbs, as in the ordinary machines. As soon as the whole
course is in this way laid, the first part of the recess on the cam c on the main
shaft comes under the roller on the lever d², the front edge of the needle bar A
drops down, thus tipping its row of needles from their inclined position to a
vertical one, while at the same time the sinkers are withdrawn by the back-
ward movement of the shifting bar t, the cam v coming into play upon the
lever to effect it; by this means, all those loops which were held by the
sinkers have been taken off and laid upon the shanks of the front needles, as
may be clearly seen in Figure 6. This course is above the course last laid,
and which had been finished, the residue of the web banging to it and passing
down between the casting-off plates m and'm'. Both needle bars now begin
to descend by the other cams c¹ and c coming into play. At the proper time:
that is to say, as soon as the loops have been pushed up under the points
of the barbs, the latches n, n', strike against the edges of the two presser
bars and close the barbs of the needles, so that the finished course may pass
to the top and be cast off, which is done by the needles sliding down close by
the face of the cast-off' plates m and m"; the back plate being a little higher
than the front one, pushes off the old loops from the back set of needles' first,
and then the back needles are allowed to rise a little by the passing of the
point of the cam 2 beyond its bearings, consequently liberating the bar B to be
acted on by the spring C, as before described. This slight rising of the back
needles is, however, sufficient to relieve the strain upon the web, since by it
the loops are transferred from the very top of the bend of the needle to the
upright part, and this at once gives relief to those on the front row of needles,
which are now to be discharged by the upward movement of the front plate m,
as before described. The whole difficulty arising from the straining of the

page_text: loops by the weight of the web is thus overcome, and the united action is per-
formed with the same ease as for plain netting. The needle bars now ascend,
the needles crossing, as before described, the loops upon them slip down on
their shanks, and the web now hangs from the needles; and between the dis-
charge plates another course is laid, and the operation is thus continued until
enough has been woven to form the intended article, when changes must be
made to effect the finishing-off. For this purpose the stop on G has now
arrived at h', thereby causing the rod g to throw off the link d', and also
shifting the bar u to reduce the throw of the sinkers. Three plain courses
are then to be woven, as before described, thus marking the place for sepa-
rating the cuff (if that is the article being made). The stop G will then have
passed by the end of h', and the several parts will be restored again to the
appropriate positions for forming ribbed work.
In this machine, however, plain fabrics may be woven, and ribbed work
included, either for the finishing or for any purpose desired, without intro-
ducing the same as a separate article, woven on another frame, as is the casc
in all the old frames. These and various other changes, both as to the
weaving "slack and "stiff," and ribbed and plain, may be automatically
effected by changing the order of the slopes or recesses in the regulating bar u,
and also the construction of the cam G, as these effect the changes to be
made in the shifting bar, and also the times for operating the front set of
needles.
In the foregoing description the needle bars are shewn as having but one
set of needles on each, whereas these bars are long enough and are intended
to carry several sets, whereby several webs may be woven at one and the same
time. In such cases the presser bars and discharging plates must of course be
continued out.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,―
Firstly, so combining two sets of needles, such as are commonly employed
on kuitting frames, that they may be brought into joint action, and have loops
formed on both of the said sets at one and the same time, and thus form a
ribbed fabric, as described.
Secondly, the arrangement of the needle bars and the two presser bars so
combined, that when both sets of needles are in action, both presser bars will
also act upon the barbs of the needles, as described.
Thirdly, combining the needle bars, the sinker bars, and the knocking-off
or discharging plate together by a system of cams, the operation of which is
such as to effect the engagement and disengagement of one set of needles, and

page_text: to regulate the quantity of yarn fed for the loops as more or less is required
for weaving "slack" or "stiff," or for weaving ribbed or plain, as described,
not being confined to the peculiar mechanism described, as it is evident that
the method of combining the cams with the said several parts may be varied
without changing the results produced.
Fourthly, self-setting latches in combination with the needle and presser
bars, as described.
Fifthly, the combination of the regulating bar u with the shifting bar and
the set screws for regulating the throw of the sinkers and depth of the loops,
as described.
Sixthly, the manner of discharging the loops, that is to say, casting off
those of one set of needles a little in advance of those of the other set, and
giving to the first set of needles an upward motion as soon as the cast-off
has been effected from them, for the purpose of relieving the strain, as set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
A