Improvements in Hosiery and in Apparatus Used in its Manufacture.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd May, 1886.
Complete Left, 3rd Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 4th Mar., 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hosiery and in Apparatus Used in its
Manufacture.
We, JOHN HARRIS COOPER Hosiery Manufacturer and GEORGE BLUNT Machinist
both of St. Margarets Works Leicester do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows: :-
The object of this invention is mainly to provide improved means of forming fast
or locking courses in the welt of stockings made upon circular knitting machines.
The improvements are applicable to circular knitting machines in which latch needles
are used whether the machines be adapted for producing plain work or ribbed work.
To produce the fast course the loops of work on alternate needles or on some needles
are left upon the needles and not knocked over until the next course.
We effect this in the following manner. The lifting cam (that is the cam which
lifts the needles so that their latches may come above the loops of work to allow these
loops to be knocked off from the needles when the needles descend) we so form that
whenever a fast course is to be produced its upper or highest point can be drawn
back and put out of action so that none of the needles lifted by it will then be raised
high enough for the work to pass below the latches and in order to then raise every
alternate needle or some of the needles to the requisite height for the work upon
them to come below the latches we employ a small notched or toothed wheel with
which the nebs or projections on the needle bits come into contact when the moveable
portion of the cam is drawn back and out of action. If alternate needle bits are to
be so raised then the neb of one needle bit is made to come on to the top of one
tooth and to be lifted by it to the same height that it would have been lifted by the
cam and the neb on the next needle bit is made to come into the hollow between that
tooth and the next and so on the wheel rotating by the action of the needle nebs as
the needle nebs move past it.
For a two and one rib made with every third needle out of the frame we simply
employ a needle bit without a needle to help in rotating the wheel.
By the expression needle nebs we mean the projections common to all hosiery
needles whether on the needle stem itself or when a jack is employed.

page_text: The above arrangement is not only applicable for making fast courses but by
varying the pattern of the wheel tucks or Royal rib or vertical or other stripes can be
produced the same means can also be employed for holding or raising the needles
when making garters to stockings.
When the wheels are applied to circular knitting machines which are adapted to
produce work whichever way the machine is worked-two wheels are used one for
each lifting cam and these are coupled in such manner that whenever one is raised
and brought into action the other is simultaneously lowered to render it impossible
for any of the needle bits to strike against it.
Instead of the wheels being applied to the lifting cams they can be applied to the
knocking over or pressing cams which draw the needles downwards and the same
result will be obtained.
Similar means can also be adopted for making a fast course with the machine
needles and so produce a fast course or three and two rib or five and three or other
such like rib.
Fast courses can be made in the above manner in knitted work wherever the
work is required to be cut or divided into lengths so as to make a fast edge at one end
of each length of work so that when this edge of the work is doubled over to be sewn
down and form a welt there will be no danger of the stitches rnnning should the
sewing be carelessly done.

page_text: We, JOHN HARRIS COOPER, Hosiery Manufacturer, and GEORGE BLUNT Machinist,
both of St. Margaret's Works, Leicester, 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:—
The object of this invention is mainly to provide improved means of forming fast
or locking courses in the welt of stockings made upon circular knitting machines.
The improved means of forming fast or locking courses are applicable generally to
all circular knitting machines in which latch needles are used whether the machines
be adapted for producing plain work or ribbed work. For the production of a fast
course the loops of work on alternate needles or on some needles are as usual left
upon the needles and not knocked over until the next course.
We effect this in the following manner. The lifting cam (that is the cam which
lifts the needles so that their latches may come above the loops of work to allow these
loops to be knocked off from the needles when the needles descend) we so form that
whenever a fast course is to be produced its upper or highest point can be drawn
back and put out of action so that none of the needles lifted by it will then be raised
high enough for the work to pass below the latches and in order to then raise every
alternate needle or some of the needles to the requisite height for the work upon them
to come below the latches we employ a small notched or toothed wheel with which
the nebs or projections on the needle bits come into contact when the moveable
portion of the cam is drawn back and out of action. If alternate needle bits are to be
so raised then the neb of one needle bit is made to come on to the top of one tooth and
to be lifted by it to a sufficient height to clear its loop and the neb on the next
needle bit is made to come into the hollow between that tooth and the next and so
on the wheel rotating by the action of the needle nebs as the needle nebs move
past it.
For a two and one rib made with every third needle out of the frame and with the
frame cylinder cut uniformly all round we employ a needle bit without a needle for
each third needle so removed to help in rotating the wheel.
Similarly for other ribs blank needle bits may be used wherever required.
By the expression needle nebs we mean the projections common to all hosiery
needles whether on the needle stem itself or when a jack is employed.
The above arrangement is not only applicable for making fast courses but by
varying the pattern of the wheel tucks or Royal rib or vertical or other stripes can be
produced and the lifting wheel can be employed for raising alternate needles or some
only of the needles wherever it is for any purpose required to do so.
When the wheels are applied to circular knitting machines which are adapted to
produce work whichever way the machine is worked-two wheels are used one for

page_text: each lifting cam and these are coupled in such manner that whenever one is raised
and brought into action the other is simultaneously lowered to render it impossible
for any of the needle bits to strike against it.
Instead of the wheels being applied to the lifting cams they can be applied to the
knocking over or pressing cams which draw the needles downwards and the same
result will be obtained.
Similar means can also be adopted for making a fast course with the machine
needles and so produce a fast course; or with three and two rib or five and three or
other such like rib.
Fast courses can be made in the above manner in knitted work wherever the work
is required to be cut or divided into lengths so as to make a fast edge at one end of
each length of work so that when this edge of the work is doubled over to be sewn
down and form a welt there will be no danger of the stitches running should the
sewing be carelessly done.
The improvements are shewn applied to a circular knitting machine of well known
type for producing ribbed work.
Figure 1 shews a side elevation of the machine. A is the revolving cylindrical
head of frame needles, B the revolving conical head of machine needles-they are
made to revolve simultaneously in the ordinary manner and as they revolve the needles
in each head are moved endwise to and fro by cams or inclines as is well understood.
To permit of a welt being formed automatically whenever desired the toothed
wheel A' by which the head A. is revolved has fixed upon it a cam piece A2 to give a
step by step revolving motion to a cam or pattern wheel on the axis B. The parts by
which this motion is imparted to the pattern wheel are shewn separately at Figure 2.
At each revolution of the wheel A' the cam A2 upon it acts upon an arm A³ carried
by an axis A another arm on this axis carries à pawl or clawker A' which by a
spring A is held against the circumference of a ratchet wheel B' and each time that
the pawl or clawker A' is raised by the action of the cam A² it (in the machine shewn)
turns the ratchet wheel a distance of two teeth.
When the machine is required to produce a length of work without any welt in it
lowered by the action of the cam A². The holding own is constantly tending to
then the pawl A is held up in its highest position so that it is no longer raised and
of the pawl is effected by an
arm A on a vertical axis A8 which by a spring not
turn into a position to bring the arm A below a tooth or projection on the back of
the pawl when it does so it holds the pawl up. At this time the end of another
arm A on the vertical axis A* enters a recess in the cam wheel on the axis B.
When a welt is to be formed the vertical axis As has a partial turn given to it by
hand by the lever arm A10-the pawl then drops and has a reciprocating up and down
motion given to it by the cam A². At its first upward movement it turns the ratchet
wheel a distance of two teeth--when it has done so the recess in the cam wheel into
which the end of the arm A previously entered has moved away and when the lever
handle A is released and the end of the arm again drawn towards the cam wheel the
end of the arm comes against the circumference of this wheel and is stopped by it
so that the arm A7 cannot turn into a position to catch and uphold the pawl and it is
retained from doing so until the cam wheel has made one complete revolution, the end
of the arm A then again drops into the recess before mentioned and the pawl is
again caught and upheld and the machine again goes on producing ordinary
ribbed work.
If between the formation of succeeding welts it is only desired to make a com-
paratively short length of ribbed work as when making what are known as rib-tops
then the pattern wheel might be arranged to revolve continuously step by step but to
revolve slowly during the time that ordinary work is being produced. This motion
may be given to the pattern wheel B by the use of two pawls as shewn at Figure 3
one marked A to turn the ratchet wheel one tooth at a time the other marked (: to
turn it two or it might be more teeth according to the size of teeth used. During
the time that ordinary work is being made the pawl C may be prevented from
engaging with the teeth of the ratchet wheel by a projecting guard rim D around

page_text: part of the circumference of the ratchet wheel. The pawl being wider than the
ratchet wheel will rest on the guard rim and so be kept out of action but the pawl A
being narrower will not be interfered with by the guard rim and will turn the ratchet
wheel one tooth at each of its upward movements.
When by the rotation of the pattern wheel it has been brought into position to
commence the formation of a welt a fast course is made in the work formed on the
frame needles, or more fast courses may be made on these needles in the drawings
the cam is formed to make one fast course only. The parts used for effecting this
are shewn separately at Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. "In these and in the various other
views herein after referred to of separate parts the cams are shewn in position just
before commencing to form a welt and ready to commence to form a weſt when they
make their next movement.
In Figure 1 the parts are shewn in position after a welt has commenced to be
formed. A cam on the axis B acts upon a lever C and causes it to turn on its axis
and allow a plunger C which it before held down to rise, this again by allowing a
lever C3 to turn on its axis permits the point of the lifting or clearance cam C to be
drawn downwards (see Figures 5 and 6) by the action of a spring C. When the
point of the cam C is so drawn down the nebs X' of the frame needle bits X come on
to a small toothed wheel C. The machine shewn in the drawings being arranged to
make a two and one rib every third needle bit carries no needle. As the needle bits
pass the wheel every alternate needle bit is raised by its neb coming upon the top of
one of the teeth of the wheel and the needles carried by them are raised sufficiently
for the loop of work upon them to pass below the end of the latch whilst the nebs of
the other needle bits being received into the spaces between the teeth of the wheel
the needles carried by them will not be raised sufficiently for the loops of work on
them to get below the latches and consequently these loops will not pass off from the
needles when the needles are subsequently drawn downwards and so a tuck course
will be produced.
As before stated the wheel instead of being applied at the lifting cam might be
applied to the knocking over or pressing cam to effect the same result. When the
formation of the tuck course or courses has been completed the lever C' is by the
cam C again caused to depress the plunger C2 and thereby move back the point of
the cam C to its former position and so put the wheel C out of action. If desired a
slight projection C on the cam wheel may at the same time cause the lever C¹ to
depress a projection (38 from the knocking over cam and by drawing down this cam
cause the needles to draw downwards a longer loop of thread and so slacker work is
produced whilst the welt is being formed. Z is the thread eye through which thread
is conducted onto the needles.
At the same time that the tuck course is commenced on the frame needles or it
might be before or after commencing this course the knocking over of the work on
the machine or rib needles Y is arrested so that after the completion of a course there
will be two loops upon each of the needles. The parts by which this is effected are
shewn separately at Figures 8, 9 and 10. A cam D on the cam wheel acting on a
lever D allows a spring to raise the point of the clearance cam D2 by which the
machine needles are thrust forward to carry the latches of the needles beyond the
loops so that they may be cast off when the needles are next drawn back. By raising
the point of this can the needles are no longer thrust forward by it sufficiently to
clear their latches and so the loops will remain on the needles and not be cast off.
Afterwards at the end of the course of work the cam D acting on the lever D' lifts
the clearance cam D² sufficiently to put it entirely out of action so that the needles
are not thrust forward at all by it and the needles remain back entirely out of work
for the next 8 or 9 courses or for as many courses as may be desired.
At the same time that the clearance cam D² is partially drawn back the cam E* by
which the machine needles are first thrust forward is also raised and put entirely out
of action. The parts for effecting this are shewn separately at Figure 11, a cam E on
the cam or pattern wheel acts on a lever E' and this acts upon the cam E2.
At the same time that the formation of the welt commences the push back blade F²

page_text: is caused to bear downwards upon the work between the frame needles and machine
needles. The parts for doing this are shewn clearly in Figure 1. A cam F acting
on a lever F¹ turns it and allows a spring F³ to depress the blade which it carries
and to depress the blade more and more as succeeding courses are made on the frame
needles. When the desired number of courses have been made on the frame needles
the push back rises so as only to bear upon the next course of work and after
the completion of the next course it again rises and then remains entirely out
of action. At the same time the levers D' E which act upon the cams D² E
whereby the machine needles are actuated resume their former position and the
machine needles again come into work and at the end of a course of work the
formation of the welt is completed and the machine goes on making ordinary ribbed
work. The driving pawl at this time goes out of action by reason of the end of the
arm A passing into the recess in the pattern wheel as before described whereby the
arm A on the vertical axis Aª is free to pass below the projection on the driving
pawl and so the pawl is upheld. A plan of the cam or pattern wheel is shewn at
Figure 12.
The above described improvements can be applied to other constructions of circular
knitting machines producing ribbed work.
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. The employment of a toothed wheel substantially as herein before described for
acting on the needle nebs when a tuck or fast course or Royal or vertical or other
stripe is to be produced or for raising alternate needles or some only of the needles
wherever it is for any purpose required to do so.
2. The combination of mechanism substantially as herein before described for
producing a welt on hosiery formed on circular knitting machinery producing ribbed
work.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicants.