Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Surgical Elastic Fabric and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 23rd Nov., 1889
COMPLETE DIECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Knitted Surgical Elastic Fabric
and in Apparatus therefor.
1, WILLIAM KEYWOOD of 7 Kings Meadow Road, in the Borough of Nottingham,
Surgical elastic hosiery manufacturer, 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:-
This invention relates to fabric in which an elastic thread is worked for surgical
purposes and it has for its object improvements in the manufacture of such elastic
fabric and in apparatus therefor.
Surgical elastic fabric is manufactured in a well known manner on what are well
known as hand knitting frames and the elastic thread worked into the ordinary looped
fabric transversely by removing at each course the loops from alternate needles by a
set of points, inserting the elastic thread, then replacing the loops on the needles and
pressing off the previous set of loops in the usual manner.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings
in which Fig. 1 is a front and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the apparatus shown in con-
nection with a knitting frame only the requisite parts of which are shown.
On one side of the fabric I form a pile or fleece by using an additional thread of
any suitable material, colour and thickness, this I place on the needles after a
course of the ordinary thread and sink in the usual manner with the sinkers each
alternate loop is then removed from the needles by the points used for inserting
the elastic thread, another set of loops is then formed with the ordinary thread the
elastic thread inserted and the loops of the former course of the ordinary thread
together with the remaining loops of the pile thread are then pressed off.
The foregoing process is repeated throughout, the loops of the pile thread
removed by the points forming a pile which may be if desired brushed in a well known
manner into a fleece. The pile thread may be inserted between every course of the
ordinary and elastic threads as described or as often as desired to form a pile of the required
thickness. As the length of the pile is regulated by the fall of the sinkers and as the
sinkers when set to form a loop of a length to produce the fabric may not produce a
pile of suitable length it is necessary to alter the fall of the sinkers each course this I
effect by using a bar A provided with slots fitting over the vertical pins B carrying
the bar C which regulates the fall of the sinkers, the har A is placed under the adjusting
nuts Band is provided at the slotted parts with reduced portions A¹ which are alternately
with the thick portions of the bar brought under the nuts B¹ thus raising or permitting
the bar C to fall; the distance the bar C is thus raised or lowered depending
upon the difference between the reduced and thick portions of the bar A. Instead
of the bar A being provided with parts of reduced thickness it will be obvious that a
bar provided with thickened portions may be used with equally satisfactory results.
For the production of fabrics having various thicknesses of pile or fleece there
may be used different interchangeable bars having different proportions between
the thick and thinner portions thereof, or, if desired, there may be used one bar
having long inclined planes which may be more or less drawn beneath the nuts B¹
It is obvious that
by a specially constructed cam or cams or equivalent means.
instead of a bar such as A many other different devices may be employed for raising
and lowering the bar C.
The bar A which from its office may be termed a cam-bar is moved. to the right or
left by the action of a cam wheel D rotating on a spindle E carried by a bracket F
secured to the framing through the lever G having a pin G¹ or truck bearing against
the cam wheel D the lower end of the lever being pivotted to a bracket H secured to
the bracket F and the upper end connected to the bar A by a link I.

page_text: Connected to the cam wheel D is a ratchet wheel J operated by a pawl K carried
by a lever L pivotted to the bracket F, the inner end of the lever L is depressed by
a pin M secured to a bracket N the upper end of which is secured to the link Ŏ
carrying the framing. By this arrangement as the framing is brought down to press
off, the cam wheel is turned and the bar A is automatically moved so as to raise or
lower the bar C by the arrangement of the ratchet wheel and pawl and the
formation of the cam wheel the bar A may in this manner be operated as often as
desired.
The fabric may be manufactured into surgical appliances with the pile on the inside
so as to protect the skin of the wearer from the elastic threads, or the said appliances
may be formed with the pile outward so as to produce an ornamental effect.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A surgical elastic fabric having a pile or fleece formed thereon substantially as
herein described.
2. In a knitting frame for the manufacture of elastic fabric the employment of a
moving part such as A of varying thickness for raising the bar C or permitting.
it to fall by which the fall of the sinkers is regulated substantially as and for the
purpose described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a a knitting frame for the manufacture of elastic fabrics the combination with
a sliding bar such as A of a cam wheel such as D substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
4. In a knitting frame for the manufacture of elastic fabrics the combination with a
sliding bar such as A and cam wheel such as D of a ratchet wheel and pawl ada,ted to
be operated by the framing when it is lowered for pressing off substantially as described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
5. In a knitting frame for the manufacture of elastic fabrics the combination and
arrangement of parts for raising and lowering the bar C consisting essentially of
sliding bar A connecting link I lever G cam wheel D ratchet wheel J pawl K lever L
operated by the bracket N secured to the link O of the frame, the whole operating
substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 15th day of October 1889.
KEYWOOD.
WILLIAM
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.