IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINERY to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I BENJAMIN KERR, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Foreman Mechanic
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING
MACHINERY to be as follows:-
"
My invention relates to improvements in knitting machinery and is chiefly
designed to improve the construction of the machine described in the specification
of former Letters Patent dated 3rd December, A.D, 1880, N° 5048, in respect of
increased solidity and facility of adjustment for the various gauges of cylinders
required. My improvements moreover more fully adapt the machine for making
what is technically known as a welt" and obviate any liability of the machine
to tear the work,
"
One part of my invention consists in an improved device, which I will hereinafter
term the "welting cam cap" and which is to take the place of the apparatus shewn
in Figure 27 of the drawings accompanying the said former specification.
"
This device consists essentially of the following parts that is to say, a cam of
substantially similar shape to that shewn in the aforesaid figure and which I term
a "direct action out-throw cam is arranged to slide to and fro in a straight line
and is suitably slotted to permit this movement a pin or stud is fixed in this cam
and projects through a slot in the plate which carries the said cam.
This plate is
made with a boss or hub upon which an adjustable ring or annular piece is fitted.
The said adjustable ring is made with a radial slot through which projects the
aforesaid pin or stud fixed in the cam, so that, by turning the said ring in one
direction or the other upon the said hub or boss, the cam can be adjusted as required.
I provide a cap or cover for the out-throw cam, which cap or cover is secured to
the plate carrying the said cam.
"
An adjustable cam piece which I term the "stitch cam is pivotted to the plate
carrying the out-throw cam and is also secured to the said plate by a screw passing
through a slot in the said stitch cam or in the plate, which slot permits the
adjustment of the said cam.
Another part of my invention consists in substituting for the lug or lugs formed
on, or attached to, the movable ring fitted inside the cylinder as described in the
said former specification, a device consisting essentially of a post extending upward
within the cylinder and a lever or handle for adjusting the said post. This post is
fixed to a plate provided with curved slots and secured to the underside of the
base-plate by screws passing through the said slots. The said lever or handle is
attached to the said plate and is provided with means whereby it can be retained
Γ

page_text: in the desired position. For this purpose I prefer to make the said lever or handle
so that it can be pressed downward and will spring upward when released and to
provide the said lever or handle with a projection which enters one or other of a
series of notches in the base plate or in a plate or bar fixed thereon. By adjusting
this post the machine can be adapted for working with different gauges of
cylinders.
I, BENJAMIN KERR, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Foreman Mechanic,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING
MACHINERY" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to bè particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to knitting machinery and is chiefly designed to improve
the construction of the machine described in the specification of former Letters
Patent dated 3rd December A.D. 1880, N° 5048, and thereby more fully adapt the
said machine for making what are technically known as a "welt" and a "crossed
welt," and also to obviate any liability of the machine to tear the work. But my
improvements are also applicable to other knitting machines.
My said invention comprises an improved device, which I will hereinafter term
the "welting cam-cap," and which is designed for use in place of the apparatus
shewn in Figure 27 of the drawings forming part of the said former specification.
By my present improvements I obtain increased solidity of the out-throw cam,
that is to say, the said cam does not require to be cut away as shown in the said
former specification, to permit its necessary movement, and is therefore stronger
and more rigid than heretofore. My improved welting cam-cap is, moreover,
provided with an adjustable stitch-cam, whereby the length of the stitches can be
regulated.
My said invention also comprises an improved device for adjusting, or determining
the position of, the dial of the ribbing attachment relatively to the needle-cylinder,
which device consists essentially of a post arranged to extend upward within the
needle-cylinder and adjustably secured to the base-plate of the machine so that it
can be used with different gauges of needle-cylinders.
My improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a plan, and
Figure 2 a vertical central section, of part of a knitting machine with my
improvements applied thereto.
Figure 3 is a plan of the said welting cam-cap.
Figure 4 is an inverted plan of the same.
Figure 5 is a section on the line x, x, Figure 4.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 shew details of the said welting cam-cap.
Figure 9 is a side elevation, and
Figure 10 a plan shewing a slight modification of my invention.
Figures 3 to 10 inclusive are drawn to an enlarged scale.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.

page_text: A is the base-plate of the machine, B is the needle-cylinder, and C is the dial of
the ribbing attachment.
In my improved welting cam-cap, I employ a cam a, which I term a " direct
action out-throw cam" and which, instead of being pivotted like the corresponding
cam described in the said former specification, is arranged to slide to and fro in a
straight line and is suitably slotted as at a¹ to permit this movement. A pin or
stud b is fixed in this cam and projects through a slot c in the plated which carries
the said cam. This plate is made with two projecting pieces d' to serve as guides
for the can a, and has a boss or hub d, upon which is fitted an adjustable ring or
annular piece e having a radial slot e' through which the aforesaid pin or stud b
also projects. By these means, the attendant or other person can, by turning the
ring e in one direction or the other upon the hub or boss d³, adjust the cam a as
required. If desired, I fix a spring ds on the plate d, as shown in Figure 1, which
spring is provided with a tooth or projection to enter a recess or cavity e¹ in the
ring e in order to hold the cam a in the position shewn in Figures 2 and 4 for
forming a welt.
I also provide a cover or plate f for the out-throw cam a, which cover or plate
is secured by screws f¹ or other suitable means to the projecting portions d' of
the plate d. By employing this cover I gain the following advantage, viz :-When
the welting cam-cap is rotated in the usual manner, the butts of the needles,
instead of being acted upon by the irregular surface which would otherwise be
presented by the cam a and the projecting portion d' of the plate d, are acted upon
by the smooth edge of the said cover or plate f, and any liability of the machine
to tear the work by irregular motion of the needles is thus obviated.
It will be seen that the cam a does not require to be cut away and thereby
weakened (in order to permit its necessary movements) to such an extent as a cam
pivotted as described in the said former specification; it is, therefore, stronger and
more rigid than the pivotted cam therein described, and, moreover, there is no
space, such as exists with the said pivotted cam, into which the inner ends of the
needles can enter, the needles are, therefore, prevented from rising at their inner
ends and becoming depressed at their outer ends.
g indicates what I term the adjustable stitch-cam. This cam is pivotted at its
end g¹ to the plate d and is secured at its other end to the said plate by a screw h
passing through a slot d in the plate d; this slot permits the said stitch-cam to
be adjusted on its pivot, when necessary, to regulate the length of the stitches.
My improved device for adjusting, or determining the position of, the dial of the
ribbing attachment relatively to the needle-cylinder is shown in Figures 1 and 2.
i is the adjustable post, which is rigidly attached to, or formed integrally with,
a plate j provided with curved slots j¹. This post is secured to the under side of
the base-plate A by screws passing through the said slots. One of these screws k
is fixed in the said base-plate and provided with a thumb-nut m, so that, when the
said post and plate are adjusted to the desired position, they can be secured by the
said thumb-nut. The said plate is, moreover, provided with a handle to facilitate
its adjustinent.
A slight modification of this device is shown in Figures 9 and 10, wherein the
lever or handle is attached to the said plate at j³ by rivets or otherwise and is
provided with means whereby it can be retained in either of two positions. For
this purpose I prefer to make the said lever or handle in the form of a thin steel
blade, so that it can be pressed downward and will spring upward when released;
and I provide the said lever or handle with a projection n, which, according to its
position, will enter one or other of two notches formed in the base-plate A or in
a plate or bar fixed thereon. But it is obvious that other means can be employed
whereby the post i may be adjusted and retained in position.
The said post is arranged to operate in connection with a projection C¹ on the
dial C and thus retain the said dial in the desired position relatively to the needle-
cylinder B, it will, therefore, be readily understood that, by properly adjusting the
said post, the machine can be adapted for making what is known as a "crossed welt."

page_text: By securing this post to the base-plate of the machine, I provide for the
employment of the said machine with different gauges of needle-cylinders.
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—
In a knitting machine:—
First. The improved welting cam-cap wherein I employ the slotted cam arranged
to slide to and fro between guides and to be adjusted by means of the movable
ring or annular piece, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Second. The employment, in the said welting cam-cap, of the adjustable stitch-
cam, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Third. The improvements relating to the adjustable post attached to the base-
plate of the machine and extending up therefrom within the needle-cylinder,
substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Dated this eighteenth day of October 1884