CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING STOCKING FABRIC OR FRAMEWORK KNITTING
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ÖLIVER
LOUIS REYNOLDS, of King Street, Cheapside, in the City of London, Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Oliver Louis Reynolds, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Oliver Louis Reynolds, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Oliver Louis Reynolds, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
mentioned, should, and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, an Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PRODUCING STOCKING FABRIC OR FRAMEWORK KNITTING;" being a
communication from a foreigner residing abroad;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Oliver Louis Reynolds,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Oliver Louis Reynolds, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon, that is to say:-
These improvements consist in certain novel constructions and arrangements
of the working part of a machine for producing stocking fabric or framework
.knitting, which improvements are designed principally for the purpose of
enabling the machinery, to be worked by rotary power. In the accompanying
Drawings are shewn different views of the machine geometrically taken upon
a scale of half the real size.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of. the front of the machine complete; Fig. 2, an
elevation of the back part of the same; Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken
through the machine at right angles to the preceding Figures, nearly in the
middle of the machine; Figure 4 is an elevation taken at the left hand end of
Fig. 1, the driving pulley and its clutch being removed to exhibit some of the
parts more clearly; and Fig. 5 is a partial horizontal view of the machine as
it would appear from above, some of the parts being removed to shew the
internal mechanism. The several Figures in the Drawings represent the
'machinery in the same positions, that is, when about to start or commence
'operations, which is at the time the thread is about to be carried across
the needles, and the respective letters of reference marked upon the Drawings
point out the same agents or parts of the machinery in all the Figures.
A, A, A, are the stationary frame-work which carries the mechanism; B, B,
the main rotary shaft, driven by a pulley C and band from any first mover.
Upon this shaft there are two toothed wheels D and D*, turning loosely upon
the shaft; E and E* are two clutches attached to the shaft by keys, which
⚫clutches are occasionally slidden to and fro by levers for the purpose of locking
either of the said wheels D or D* to the main shaft. F and F are two
'pinions turning loosely upon a stationary shaft G, which pinions are respec-
tively actuated by the wheels D and D*. To each of the pinions F and F à
bevil 'toothed wheel H and H* is affixed, both of which gear into the mitre
'wheel I, mounted upon a bracket fixed to the frame; upon the face of this
mitre wheel I, there is a grooved' ring or pulley a, a, carrying a band b, b, b;
this band is attached to the sliding thread 'conductor K, passing over tension
pullies c, c, and its ends are made fast to the pulley a; the thread conductor
K slides upon a horizontal bar L, fixed to the framework in front of the
machine (seen best in Fig. 8), and carries with it the bobbin d, upon which the

page_text: thread or yarn is wound to feed the machine, the thread passing from
the bobbin through a tubular conductor e. The horizontal bar M, to which
the series of needles f, f, f, are affixed, forms part of a. vertical rocking frame
or lathe N, which vibrates upon a shaft g; this shaft has its bearings in
adjustable arms o, o, hanging upon a back shaft h, fixed to the end frames or
standards. The sinkers i, i, i, one to each of the needles, are formed at:
the ends of levers hanging upon a, horizontal rod k, fixed in the vibrating
sinker frame P, P, which hangs upon pivots at I, I, set into the end standards;
the presser bar Q, Q, is attached by arms, pivots, and brackets m, m, at
each end of the lathe N; and from the presser. bar are suspended the connecting
rods n, n, which are jointed at bottom to levers o, o, fixed by adjustable pins
in the bent arms R, R; on the levers o, o, are placed elevations p, p,,
which are acted upon by cams q, q, affixed to the main shaft, and as those
cams q, q, go round at the proper periods, they depress the levers o, o, and
thereby bring down the presser bar Q on to the beards of the needles, and
when these cams are out of operation the helical springs r, r, draw up the.
levers o, o, and raise the presser bar into the position shewn in the Drawings.,
The slurcock, by which the sinkers are depressed; is shewn at S sliding upon
a horizontal bar T, fixed into the bridge rising up from the sinker frame;
the traversing of the slurcock is effected by a cord s, 8, s, the ends of which
are made fast to the large pullies U and U* turning loosely. upon the main:
shaft; these pullies are alternately locked to the main shaft by being brought
into contact with one or the other of the clutches t or t* fixed upon the main
shaft, which is effected by the slurcock coming against one of the stops u, u,.
fixed upon a horizontal rod v, which slides endways in the bridges of the sinker.
frame, and is fixed at its ends into the upper parts of vertical rocking levers,
V and V, which levers are attached at bottom to the standard frames. These.
vertical levers V and V* are respectively attached by à hook w to the
clutch boxes or shippers W and W*, by which the pulley U or U* is forced
into connection with its clutch tor t. Upon the main shaft B a cam X is
fixed, which, as it revolves, acts against an intifriction roller mounted on a.
bent lever x, x; this lever hangs, upon, a fulcrum pin in a vertical arm.
mounted upon the back horizontal shaft h, (see Fig. 3,) and at its other end is
connected by a joint to the back of the vibrating lathe N, so that this lever a,
must be considered only as a connecting link causing the cam X to draw back
the rocking frame N which carries the needles; and when the cam X has.
ceased to act, a powerful spring Y, fixed to a bar bolted to the standard frame.
by pressing against the back of the needle bar M, affixed to the lathe, forces,
it and the needles again outward. Another cam Z, upon the main shaft B, as:

page_text: it revolves, acts against an antifriction roller attached to a vertical bent lever
y, y; this lever y is mounted upon a pivot in an arm affixed to and extending
from the back shaft h, and at its upper end is attached by a joint to the bar Z
fixed in the sinker frame, and upon which bar the sinkers fall.
•
Having now explained generally the various parts, and constructions of the
improved machine I proceed to describe its mode of operating: The Figures
of the Drawings represent (as before mentioned) the parts of the machine as
they would be situate at the moment of starting to work. Rotary motion
being given to the main shaft B, and the clutch E being locked to the wheel
D, that wheel will be driven round, and, in revolving will actuate the pinion F,
which carries round with it the bevil wheel H; this bevil wheel by mitreing
into the wheel I, will turn that wheel and its pulley a, in such a direction as
will cause the pulley.to wind on the cord 6 and draw the thread conductor K
along the bar L, by which means the thread is laid along upon the tops of the
needles fff; at the same time the clutch t* being locked to the pulley U*
that pulley will go round with the main shaft, and thereby wind on the cord
&, 8, which draws the slurcock S upon the bar T.across the machine toward the
left of the front view, depressing the sinkers severally as it passes. When
the thread conductor K has reached the end of its range, it comes in contact
with a sliding box (a") upon the bar I. and by pressing that box causes it, to
slide the horizontal rod (6) toward the left; to this rod is made fast. the upper
end of a jointed lever (c*, c*,) which is attached by a pin to a crank lever
d*, d*, connected by a link e* to the clutch box or shipper f** to the.clutch
E; hence, by the movement, thus given to the sliding box a* and the rod b,
the wheel D is now thrown into gear with the, main shaft, and the other
wheel. D. necessarily thrown out of gear by a contrary movement of the jointed
lever c, c, the crank levers d, d, link e, and the clutch box or shipper f, at, the
right-hand end of the machine. The slurcock also when it is brought into
contact with the stud u fixed upon the horizontal rod v, pushes that rod to
the left and causes it to move the vertical rocking levers V and V*, and
thereby to draw the pulley U* out. of gear with the clutch t*, and cause the
other ever V to throw the pulley. U into gear with the clutch t. The thread
being now laid across the tops of the needles, and pressed down into loops
between the needles by the descent of the. sinkers, and the sinker frame being
held up by the helicical springs 2, r, the next thing is, to draw the needles back
for the purpose of bringing the. loops under the beards of the, needles; this, is
effected by the rotation of the cam X, which acting upon the bent lever or
click x, x, draws the lathe N and needle bar M back so as to bring, the, loops:
of the thread which were held by the nibs. of the sinkers under the open

page_text: beards of the. needles up to the extremities of the needles. This being done
the sinker frame is forced up by the helical springs.sufficiently high to allow of
the presser bar Q being brought down upon the beards of the needles, which
is done by the cams'q, q, on the main rotary shaft coming into contact with
the elevations p, p, upon the levers o, o; and by depressing those levers.causing
the rods n, n, to bring down the pressing bar Q upon the, needles, for the
purpose of forcing the beards into their eyes. In this situation of the presser
bar the lathe N is carried back until the previously made stitches are thrown
upon the beards of the needles by the necks of the sinkers, by which time the
cam 9 will have passed over the elevation p, and allowed: the levers. o. to. be
raised by the springs r, which will bring the presser bar Q to its first position;
the elevated part of the cam X still acting upon the lathe. N, forces back the
needle bar M to its greatest extent, which causes the necks of the sinkers to
press the old stitches over the loops formed in the ends of the needles; the
cami Z will now begin to act upon the vertical lever.y, y, and by forcing. "it
down will drawn down the sinker frame P, and the sinkers. coming in contact
with the top of the stationary bar g will be forced up into the comb h, and be
held there by the friction of the bar pressing against the back ends of the
sinkers. The work having been thrown over the points of the needles, and
the last formed row of stitches brought into the throats of the sinkers, the lathe
is sent forward by the spring Y, which slides the shafts of the needles through
the stitches, and the sinker frame rises to its first position, which brings all the
parts into the situations ready to begin another course from the opposite side,
the movements being a repetition of the same, as above described..
Having now explained the improved construction of machinery for making
stocking fabric, which forms the subject of the above in. part recited Letters
Patent, with, reference to the Drawings hereto annexed, I deem it only neces
sary further to add, that I find it convenient to employ a self-acting apparatus.
for taking up the work upon a beam i, placed in front of the machine, which
beam I connect by a toothed wheel at its end with a pinion k upon a stud /,
fixed to the side standard; to this pinion is attached a ratchet wheel m, acted
upon by a click n, which click has a tail lever connected with the lathe, and,
consequently, at every vibration of the lathe the click is moved and the ratchet
sent forward one or more teeth, giving a slow rotation to the pinion, and
through it to the work roller. I also find it desirable to introduce a mode of
adjusting the needle bar for regulating the lengths of the stitches, which is
done by raising the lathe and needle by means of a winch o placed upon a
shaft p, carrying excentric rollers q, q, working in elliptical slots in the bars R, R,
and vertical. screws connect these bars with the arms o that support the

page_text: lathe; and in order to regulate the breadth of the work I shift the positions
of the boxes a and a* upon the bar I.. This is effected by turning the shaft b,
which has upon it a right and left threaded screw working in the boxes as
nuts; and on turning a winch S at the end of the, shaft the boxes are male to
recede from or approach towards each other, and as the thread conductor stops
above the needles in the narrowings it is necessary that it should be drawn
back from the sinkers sufficiently far to allow the presser bar to pass it. This
is done by a peculiar appendage to the thread conductor, shewn in Fig. 3, and
in the detached Fig. 6, in which a right, angled levert is mounted upon a
bracket, and acted upon by a spring u, and when the presser bar in coming
down strikes the end of the lever t, it forces back the conductor which is made
to slide in its standard.. Fig. 7 represents a double conductor for working the
heel parts of stockings; the construction of which is the same as the preceding,.
except that the two conductors are enabled to approach to or recede from each
other by the action of a double threaded or right or left hand screw. And
lastly, it is convenient to apply a reed W as a guide for the lower ends of the
sinkers..
In witness whereof, I, the said Oliver Louis Reynolds, have hereunto.
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year. of
A. H. LYNCH.
0. L. (L.s.). REYNOLDS.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-fifth day of May,.
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Oliver Louis Reynolds came before.
our Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the. Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to, the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year above: written..