Improvements in and applicable to Circular Knitting Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Jan., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 12th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Sept., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and applicable to Circular Knitting Machines.
HENRY CLARKE, of No. 12, The Chase, Nottingham, Hosiery Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is the provision of means for enabling automatic
seamless circular knitting machines to produce striped articles, and has particular
reference to machines fitted with a stationary needle cylinder and rotating knitting
canis.
According to this invention the machine is provided with the required number
of thread guides which are fitted to turn on axles or slide in guides. The thread
guides are provided with differently coloured threads and are so operated that the
threads are changed at the same needle or needles. For operating the thread
guides to move them into and out of position for supplying their thread to the
needles the machine is provided with suitable pattern mechanism which is arranged
to move cams, inclines or their equivalents into and out of the path of the rotating
thread guides or cams, inclines, or their equivalent attached or connected thereto.
The thread guides may be operated independently of each other, or when the
thread guide is thrown into action it may act upon the thread guide already in
action and move it out of action. Springs may be used for moving the parts in
one direction and means are provided for holding the thread guides in and out of
action. The threads are suitably guided and means may be provided for prevent-
ing the threads out of action twisting together during the knitting of the thread
in action.
The improved mechanisms are operated from any convenient moving part of the
machine which is fitted with the usual and necessary parts.
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W. H. POTTER,
Patent Agent, Nottingham.
Improvements in and applicable to Circular Knitting Machines.
HENRY CLARKE, of No. 12, The Chase, Nottingham, 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 improvements in and applicable to circular knitting
machines of the type known as seamless, and has reference to machines fitted with
a stationary needle cylinder and rotating knitting cams and thread carriers,
CD 77

page_text: machines of the kind referred to being particularly suitable for the manufacture
of stockings and socks. This invention is herein shown and described with
reference to a machine known as the "Standard" and described in the Specifica-
tions of the British Patents No. 18644 A.D. 1892 and No. 8559 A.D. 1895. The
invention may however be applied to other machines.
The object of this invention is the provision of means for enabling circular
seamless knitting machines to produce striped work, means for changing the
thread carriers at the same needle, means for guiding and holding the threads
out of work, and pattern mechanism for controlling the action of the above means
and the other ordinary mechanisms of the machine.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1, is an end elevation of a machine showing the general arrangement of
the improved mechanisms.
Fig. 2, is a back elevation of the machine and mechanisms shown in Fig. 1
with the cam ring and thread carriers turned half a revolution from the position
shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is an elevation of the motion changing mechanism for the knitting cam,
showing the relative positions of the parts when the knitting cam is being
reciprocated.
Fig. 4 is an elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3 showing the relative
position of the parts when the knitting cam is being rotated.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the pattern wheel, chain, and levers.
Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation on the line A, A, Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 is a plan of the needle cylinder showing more particularly the thread
carriers and connected mechanisms.
Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation on the line B, B, Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation on the line C, C, Fig. 7.
Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating the method of throwing the thread carriers
into and out of work and also shows the shape of the inclines, and
Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating the action of the guides on the threads when
the latter are thrown out of work.
In the machine selected to illustrate the application of this invention the
needles 100 are carried by a needle cylinder 101 which is fixed and fitted in the
usual manner, and the needles are actuated for knitting by a cam 102 which is of
the usual construction and is carried by a ring 8 which is driven as hereafter
explained.
The thread carriers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are pivottedly mounted on a bracket 5 which is
pivotted to another bracket 5* fixed upon a wheel 6 and provided with a sliding
spring pin 7 by which the cam ring 8 is driven, the wheel 6 and cam ring 8 being
fitted, mounted and operating as usual. For changing the thread carriers the
machine is provided with inclines 9, 10, 11 and 12 fixed upon rods 13, 14, 15
and 16 which are fitted to slide in brackets 17, 18, 19 and 20 and rest upon
levers 21, 22, 23 and 24 which are pivotted upon an axle 25 and held in contact
with the pattern chain 26 by springs 27 on the rods 13, 14, 15 and 16.
The pattern chain 26 runs over fixed pulleys 28 and round floating, weights 29,
and is driven by a chain wheel 30 on the same axle as a ratchet wheel 31 which is
actuated by a cam 32 on the driving shaft 33 through a lever 34, rocking shaft 35,
lever 36 and clawker 37.
When tubular work is being knitted the wheel 6 driving the thread carriers and
knitting cams receives its motion from a wheel on the shaft 38 which is then
driven from the shaft 33 through bevil wheels 39 and 40, and a clutch 41 which
connects the shaft 38 with the wheel 40. When the heel and toe are being knitted
the shaft 38 is disconnected from the wheel 40 and by means of the clutch 41 is
connected to a pinion 42 which is reciprocated by a rack 43 from a lever 44, this
latter being driven from the shaft 33 through wheels 45 and 46, crank pin 47,
and connecting link 48. The clutch 41 by which the motion of the cam ring is
changed from rotary to reciprocating is moved on the shaft 38 by an arm 49

page_text: which is mounted on a sliding shaft 50 connected to a frame 51 which is operated
by a cam 52 on a shaft 53 carried by bearings on the standards 54. The above
described mechanism for changing the character of the motion of the cam ring
is the same as that described in the specifications herein referred to, and this
mechanism according to the present invention is thrown in and out of action as
follows;-On the shaft 53 there is loosely mounted a lever 55 carrying a pawl 56
and oscillated from the lever 44 by a link 57. During rotary knitting the pawl 56,
when the lever 55 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, comes into contact
with the end 58 of a lever 59 which is fulcrumed at 60 and connected by a link 61
The
to a lever 62 pivotted on the axle 25 and in contact with the pattern chain.
lever 59 is also connected by a link 63 to a lever 64 upon which there rests a
pin 65 in the clawker 37. When reciprocating knitting is required a pattern
bit on the chain 26 raises the lever 62 and by actuating the lever 59 removes its
end 58 clear of the oscillating clawker 56 which then engages with a tooth on the
ratchet wheel 63 thereby rotating the shaft 53 and cam 52 which raises the
frame 51 and through the shaft 50, arm 49 and clutch 41 couples the shaft 38
to the wheel 42 which is driven by the rack 43. The wheel 63 is then moved
three more teeth, after which the fashioning mechanism by the usual means
through the link 64 raises the bluff 65° into the position shown in Fig. 3. When
the clawker 56 is at one end of its motion as shown in Fig. 3 the pin 50 in the
clawker rides upon the bluff and is thereby prevented from engaging with the
teeth of the wheel 63. The movement of the lever 59 also raises the lever 64
which holds the clawker 37 clear of the ratchet wheel 31 and thereby stops the
motion of the pattern chain.
After the toe is completed and it is required to return to rotary knitting the
fashioning mechanism by the usual means again acts upon the bluff 65" which is
returned to its normal position. This allows the clawker 56 to rack the wheel 63
This acts
one tooth, thereby turning the cam 52 and lowering the frame 51.
upon the clutch 41 and the shaft 38 is disconnected from the rack 43 and coupled
to the wheel 40. On the arm 49 there is a pivotted clawker 66 so arranged that
when the arm is lowered the clawker acts upon the wheel 31, and advances the
chain 26 one link. The lever 62 then falls off the pattern piece and the connected
parts are returned to their normal position.
The needle cylinder is raised during the knitting of the heel and toe by the
usual means, and is also raised during the knitting of the leg by the usual incline
and lever arrangement from a chain on the wheel 67. According to the present
arrangement this wheel is thrown into action from the pattern chain 26 through
a lever 68 on the axle 25. This lever is connected by a link 69 to a lever 70 which
is fulcrumed at 71 and connected by a link 72 to another lever 73 fitted with a
pawl 74 which is arranged to operate a ratchet wheel 75 on the same axle as the
chain wheel 67. When the lever 68 is lifted by the pattern chain it advances the
wheel 75 one tooth and the continued movement of the wheel is then effected by
a clawker 76 on a lever 77 which is operated from the lever 44 through a link 78.
The wheel 75 is made with one long tooth and when the pawl 76 falls into the
same it oscillates to and fro without driving the wheel.
The machine may be provided with any convenient number of thread carriers,
an arrangement of four being shown in the drawings.
The thread carrier 1 which is used for the body colour and for knitting the
heel and toe, is supplied with thread from a fixed bobbin through the usual tension
and take up apparatus. This carrier is pivotted at 1 and its other end is held
by a spring 1 on a cam 1° mounted on a shaft 1d which is carried in bearings
formed upon or connected to the bracket 5. On the shaft 1d there is also a nicked
wheel 1° upon which there presses a spring 1 for the purpose of ensuring the shaft
turning a definite amount at each motion, and there is also a star wheel 18 by
which the shaft 1 is turned when the incline 9 is raised into the path of the star
wheel arms.
The other carriers 2, 3 and 4 are all pivotted to the bracket 5 on an
axle 2 and are provided with the same arrangement of cams, nicked wheels,

page_text: springs, and star wheels as the carrier 1, and the corresponding parts of each
carrier arrangement are indicated by the same reference letters as are used in
describing the arrangement connected with the carrier 1, each carrier arrange-
ment being distinguished from the others by the addition of the carrier reference
numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The carriers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are thrown in and out of action by the inclines 9, 10,
11 and 12 respectively and these latter are always selected in pairs, one incline
being raised for throwing a carrier out of work while the other is raised at the
same time to throw a different carrier into work.
The threads for the carriers 2, 3, and 4 are supplied from bobbins 88, 89 and 90
which are carried by a frame fixed to the wheel 6.
The machine is provided with the usual guard 92 which is cut at 93 to allow of
the carrier 1 passing to the inside of the same.
The machine is also provided with additional guides 94 and 95 which are pre-
ferably shaped and arranged relatively to the needles as shown in the drawings.
Both these guides are carried by arms from the bracket 5 and revolve with the
carriers. When a thread carrier is thrown out of action its thread is attached to
the fabric by the last loop formed, and after the thread carrier has made half a
revolution, after being thrown out of action, its thread is stretched across the
needle cylinder, and this stretched portion of the thread would be liable to entangle
itself with the needles or other parts of the machine as the thread carrier completed
the second half of its revolution. To prevent this the guide 95 is placed in the
centre of the needle cylinder and the thread is wrapped round it and kept tight.
The continued rotation of the carriers wrap all the out of work threads round the
guide 95 and causes the threads to twist together, while the shape of the guide
allows the wrappings to more readily slip off the end of the same.
The guide 94 placed near the ends of the carriers is used to prevent the out of
work threads twisting together up to the ends of the carriers and the action of the
guide is illustrated in Fig. 11. In this fig. the needles 100 are represented by a
dotted circle while the arrow 97 shows the direction of rotation of the carriers.
The diagram shows a thread which has been thrown out of action at the
needle 100. After a quarter revolution of the thread carriers, the thread is
stretched to its carrier and the guide 94 is in the position shown. At the half
revolution the thread is stretched across the needle head and has been laid on
the angle of the guide 94 as shown in Fig. 10. The thread there meets the other
threads that are out of work and these threads twist together from the guide 95
to the guide 94. On the other side of the guide 94 the threads pass in straight
lines to their respective carriers and each thread is free to be moved into action
without dragging with it either or both of the other threads.
When the machine is at work the carriers are supplied with differently coloured
threads and in Fig. 10 the carrier 1 is shown actually supplying thread to the
needles and it is supposed that a change is to be effected at the needle 100" by
throwing into action the carrier 4. This carrier however is several needles in
advance of the carrier 1 and has to be thrown into action before the carrier 1 is
thrown out of action. The carrier 4 is shown in its knitting position having
being thrown into action to lay its thread at the left hand side of the needle 100b.
The carrier 1 continues to supply its thread until the needle 100b is reached when
the thread is thrown out of action at the right hand side of that needle. All the
carriers are thrown into and out of action at the same needle and all the carriers
lay their threads into work at the left hand side of the needle, and withdraw their
threads out of work at the right hand side of the same needle, thus ensuring a
perfect connection between the thread thrown out of work and the thread thrown
into work without the formation of two complete loops on the same needle.
The inclines 9, 10, 11 and 12 are made with two faces as shown in Fig. 10 to
allow for the difference in the time at which the carriers are thrown into and out
of work, and the arms of the star wheels are arranged in different planes to corre
spond with the faces of the inclines. When a carrier in work has to be changed

page_text: for a carrier behind it, relatively to the direction of the motion of the machine,
then at the change, the carriers move over a few needles without any carrier
being at work, and when the carrier in work has to be changed for a carrier before
it, relatively to the direction of motion of the machine, then at the change, the
carriers move over a few needles with two carriers at work, and the number of
needles moved over without carriers, or with two carriers, depends upon the dis-
tance between the carriers to be changed.
The machine here illustrated is shown fitted with four carriers but a larger
number may be used, and they may be thrown in and out of action as often as
may be required by the pattern.
The thread carrier arrangement with the inclines and pattern chain may be
applied to any seamless knitting machine having a fixed needle cylinder and
rotating knitting cams and thread carriers, the clawker mechanism for operating
the pattern chain wheel being modified according to circumstances.
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. In a knitting machine the combination of the needles, knitting cams,
striping thread carriers, means for throwing each carrier into work at one side
of a needle, means for throwing each carrier out of work at the other side of the
same needle, a guide for holding the slack thread, a guide for preventing the out
of work threads twisting together to the ends of the carriers, and pattern mechan-
ism controlling the movements of the above means substantially as herein set
forth.
2. In a knitting machine the combination of the needles, knitting cams,
striping thread carriers, means for throwing the same into and out of action at
the same needle, pattern mechanism for controlling the above means, guides for
the threads, and means for throwing into and out of action the mechanism for
changing the character of the motion of the cam ring substantially as herein
set forth.
3. In a knitting machine the combination of the needles, knitting cams,
striping thread carriers pivotted on a bracket which is rotated round the needle
cylinder, cams and star wheels for throwing the thread carriers into and out of
action, movable inclines for the star wheels to strike against, a pattern chain
controlling the position of the inclines and mechanism for stopping and starting
the pattern chain wheel substantially as herein set forth.
4. In a knitting machine the combination of the needles, knitting cams, striping
thread carriers, a bracket carrying the same, cams, star wheels, and inclines for
operating the thread carriers, a pattern chain, a guide for ensuring the selected
thread being fed at a particular needle, a guide for holding the out of work
threads clear of the needles and mechanisms for stopping and starting the pattern
chain wheel substantially as herein set forth.
5. In a knitting machine the combination of the needles, knitting cams, striping
thread carriers, a bracket carrying the same, cams, star wheels, inclines," and
pattern chain for throwing the thread carriers into and out of action, guides for
the threads, a frame for carrying the bobbins, a cam, lever and clawker for
actuating the pattern chain wheel ratchet, a lever operated from the pattern chain
for holding out of action the clawker for the pattern chain wheel ratchet wheel,
a cam and ratchet wheel for operating the knitting cam motion changing mechan-
ism, a lever for preventing the clawker acting on the above mentioned ratchet
wheel and connections between the latter lever and pattern chain substantially
as herein set forth.
6. In a knitting machine the combination of the needles, the knitting cams,
striping thread carriers, a bracket carrying the same, cams, star wheels, inclines
and pattern chain for throwing the thread carriers into and out of work at the
same needle, guides for the threads, a bobbin frame, pattern chain wheel ratchet

page_text: mechanism, means for stopping the motion of the same, a clawker pivotted to
the clutch operating arm for starting the pattern chain wheel ratchet mechanism
when the motion of the cam ring changes from reciprocating to circular a lever
and connections from the pattern chain for throwing into action the pattern chain
used during the shaping of the leg substantially as herein set forth.
W. H. POTTER,
Patent Agent, Nottingham.