IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JOHN JAMES GILBERT, of the Firm of Gilbert and Son, of Loughborough, in
the County of Leicester, Machinists, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES," to be as follows:―
J
My improvements relate to straight bar rotary knitting machines with latch
needles, (self acting needles) for producing ribbed looped fabrics. The machine is
put in motion by a belt from a main driving shaft passed round a pulley on one
end of a shaft, below the cam shaft, the lower shaft at the opposite end carries a
small pulley under a larger pulley loose on the end of the cam shaft, this pulley
carries a driver, which takes into the teeth of a ratchet wheel, secured on the cam
shaft. By which arrangement when the machine is driven in the ordinary way
at about fifty courses a minute, the cam shaft carries the ratchet wheel past the
driver, but upon the driving belt being traversed onto a loose pulley on the cam
shaft, the driver at the opposite end takes into the ratchet wheel and revolves the
cam shaft at a slower speed, while the narrowings are being made. The cam shaft
carries the usual cam tube, cams, wheels, and couplings.
:
When the machine has made the fabric long enough to be narrowed, a clawker
is let down. by the attendant, and commences to rack round a toothed wheel
connected to a cam carrying an incline on its side, the incline operates a lever
which lifts a catch out of a forked rod, which is pulled by a spring, and throws off
one driving belt, leaving the other to drive the cam shaft, as before stated at a
slower speed. Then by another incline two levers are lifted, one of which brings
the narrowing needles forward, causing the loops of the fabric to throw the latches
of the needles back, the other operates the cam tube on the cam shaft. Then the
narrowing machine moves in, the coverers are placed on the needles, and receive
the loops, the coverers are slightly raised, the latches of the needles also rising, a
steel plate is placed under them, throwing them back, the needles are pushed back,
and the coverers are traversed to the next 'adjoining needles, which are brought

page_text: forward and the loops are delivered onto them. Such movements being repeated
for the requisite number of narrowings, the machine is set in motion at full speed.
By such means I am enabled to produce automatically, narrowed ribbed looped
fabrics, without having to stop the machine as heretofore, on latch needle knitting
machines.

page_text: The left end of the shaft A carries a small pulley A³ under a larger pulley C
loose on the left end of the cam shaft, the two pullies are connected by a belt
passed 'round them, and the pulley C carries two drivers C each provided with a
spring which keeps them engaged with the teeth of a ratchet wheel C* secured on
the cam shaft. The pulleys A³ and C, the drivers C¹ and ratchet Care shown
separately at Figure 2 in order to more plainly show other parts at Figure 1.
By the above arrangement when the machine is driven at the ordinary rate, the
cam shaft carries the ratchet wheel past the drivers, but upon the belt on the broad
pulley being traversed onto the loose pulley B* on the cam shaft, the drivers C¹
will engage with the ratchet wheel, and slowly revolve the cam shaft, which is
provided with the usual cams, wheels, and couplings, which are not shown in the
Drawings.
The right end of the cam shaft has a toothed wheel B³ secured on it which gears
into a toothed wheel on the end of the usual handle shaft, in front of the machine,
for the attendant to drive the machine by hand when necessary.
When the machine has made the fabric long enough to be narrowed, the cam
shaft B is traversed to the left to place the trucks carried by the various levers
onto the narrowing cams by the following means.
I employ a pendent lever D swinging on an axle secured to the inside of the
standard at the left end of the machine, the lever is operated by a cam H¼ shown
by dotted lines at Figure 1, and in plan at Figure 7, the lever near its lower end
carries an axle on which a clawker D' rocks provided with a short lever on its
underside, below which this lever is provided with an axle which carries a cam D³,
when this cam is in the position shown at Figure 1, and in the enlarged view
Figure 6 the short lever of the clawker lies on the flat part of the circumference
of the cam and allows the clawker to engage with the teeth of a wheel D³ in which
position it will rack the wheel round when narrowings are required to be made,
when the narrowings are completed, the attendant partly revolves the cam D² by
depressing the short lever at the front, the circular part of the cam throws up the
clawker clear of the wheel D³, and the machine works in the ordinary way until
other narrowings are required.
The toothed wheel D³ is connected to two cams D4, and D³, the cam D' has two
inclined projections on its edge, and the cam D³ four projections, and on the right
side of the cam D' (as seen when standing in front of the machine) are two
projecting inclines E, one of which is shown by dotted lines at Figure 1, and in the
back view Figure 3, these inclines operate a lever F connected by a link to a
rocking lever F1 (shown at Figure 3) which carries an inclined bit which lifts a
catch lever F clear of a stud in a carrier rod F³ provided at its right end with a
fork F, which when pulled by a spring F attached at one end to a hooked arm
secured on the carrier rod, and its other end to a hooked pin in the vertical central,
back stay of the framing traverses the belt on the broad pulley A², onto the loose
pulley B on the cam shaft, leaving the belt on the pulley A³ to drive the cam shaft
at a slower speed, as before stated when narrowings are required.
The traverse of the cam shaft is effected in the following manner; above the
cams D' and D³ there is a lever G provided with a V shaped stud on its under
side, and with an axle pin on its upper side on which a truck G¹ revolves, the back
end of the lever is hinged to a bracket secured to the back framing of the machine,
as either of the projections on the cams D' and D raise the lever G, the truck it
carries will be between the rims of two cams H3 and H13, which are secured on and
carried by the cam shaft B, and traverse the shaft to the left while the narrowings
are being made.
The projections on the cam D* raise the lever G when narrowing the leg of the
hose, and the projections on the cam D in conjunction with those on the cam D'
raise the lever G when narrowing the heel. The cam D5 slides on its axle and on
two studs D carried-by the cam D', and is traversed to the right to work in

page_text: conjunction with the cam D by the attendant, who moves a handle D' which
carries a friction bit on its lower side which takes into a groove in the cam boss.
The lever G at its front end is connected by a link G¹ to the front end of
a lever H, which rocks on an axle capable of adjustment in a bracket H¹ secured
to the left standard, the back end of the lever is hinged to a clawker H' which
racks round a toothed wheel H³ connected on one side to a cam wheel H*, both
turning together on a short axle carried by a bracket H³, the cam wheel operates a
truck carrying lever HI attached to an axle bar H7 which rocks in bearings secured
to the back of the standards, the axle bar carries as many pairs of brackets H³ as
there are widths of fabric made on the machine, six needle bits I at each selvage
are pressed forward by plates H, each of the width of six needles, which are moved
in by the brackets H³, the plates H have each a spring rivetted to them each
provided with a draw bit H10 which lie on a bar J, carried by the requisite number
of brackets secured on an axle shaft J¹, provided with a truck bearing lever
operated by a cam K, causing the draw bits H to press back two needle bits I at
- each selvage, after each narrowing.
The draw bits, springs, and plates for the left solvages rock upon axles carried
by a front bar H", and the draw bits, springs, and plates for the right selvages rock
upon axles carried by a back bar H.
The bars H are supported by the standards at each end, and are traversed by
the usual narrowing apparatus. The narrowing points being moved in and laid
upon the needles by the cams shown at Figure 4 in the usual manner.
A steel plate of the requisite width is placed at each selvage, each secured to a
bar L, which rocks in bearings attached to the standards, the bar is provided at
the left end with an arm hinged at its lower end to a connecting link L2 having its
back end hinged to the upper end of a lever L³, rocking on an axle carried by a
bracket L, the lower end of the lever L³ works on a stud carried by a sliding
bolt L moving in a slotted bracket Le provided with a spring inside to hold the
stud and lever L³ up to a spring L, at the back of the slotted bracket, the sliding
bolt is provided with either a stud or small truck inside on its inner end which is
forced back when narrowing, by a cam bit L8, which is secured on the left side of
the cam H2 shown in plan at Figure 7 by which means the steel plates L are
placed in position to throw the latches of the remaining needles back.
The remainder of the machine is of the usual construction.
The combined movements of the operating instruments are as follows:-
When the machine has made the fabric long enough to be narrowed, after the
clawker D' is let down the cam shaft is traversed to the left, the narrowing needles
are brought forward for the purpose of throwing the tumblers back, the narrowing
machine moves in, and the coverers placed upon the needles which move forward,
then backward, thereby placing the loops on the coverers, the coverers are slightly
raised, the latches of the needles also rising, the steel plates L are placed under the
latches, and throw them back, then the coverers are traversed to the next needles
and laid on then and the loops delivered, the coverers then move outwards, and
when the whole of the narrowings are finished, the cam shaft is traversed to the
right, and the machine continues its movements at full speed until further narrow-
ings are required.
By such means I am enabled to produce automatically narrowed ribbed looped
fabrics, on latch needle knitting machines without having to stop the machine as
heretofore.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The inclines E. E (carried by the cam D lever F link and lever Fl catch.

page_text: traversing the driving belt, on the broad pulley, from the fast pulley B¹, connected
to the cam shaft, onto the loose pulley B2, while driving the cam shaft with the
large pulley C by means of the small pulley A³, when narrowings are required,
substantially as described.
2. The construction and employment of a link G* connecting a truck lever G
with a rocking lever H, axle and bracket H³, clawker H³, toothed wheel H³, cam
wheel H, axle and bracket H³, truck and lever H6, axle bar H7, brackets H³,
plates H, springs and draw bits H₁, and sliding bars H", substantially as and for
the purposes hereinbefore described.
3. The cam H¹², plates L, bearings and bar L¹, arm and link L, lever L³, axle
and bracket L and spring, bolt L³, bracket L, spring L7, and cam bit L³, substan-
tially as described and illustrated in the Drawings annexed.
4. The traversing of the cam D³ by the hand lever D', substantially as described
and illustrated in the Drawings annexed.