IMPROVE- MENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING FRAMES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Moses Mellor, of the Firm of Moses Mellor
and Sons, Arkwright Street, Nottingham, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING FRAMES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Moses Mellor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th September 1867.
I, HENRY MOSES MELLOR, of the Firm of Moses Mellor and Sons, Arkwright
Street, Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING FRAMES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in circular knitting frames,
and the improvements relate to the arranging that class of circular knitting
frames in which a circle of fixed needles is employed in such manner as to
produce work with a tuck, rib, or seam down it from end to end, so that the
work may more nearly resemble that produced on a flat frame, and also
arranging such knitting frames so that they may produce ribbed work. For,
these purposes one of the needles of the circle of fixed or frame needles is
taken out, and in its place an inverted needle is substituted, this inverted or
machine needle is carried by a slide which can be moved to and fro parallel
with the axis around which the circle of needles is as is usual caused to revolve,

page_text: the slide carrying this inverted needle is carried by a cylinder which is carried
by and revolves around a hollow axis which is above the circle of needles and
concentric with the axis around which the circle of needles revolves; this
cylinder is caused to revolve in the same direction and at the same speed as
the circle of needles, so that the inverted needle is carried round with the
other needles and always occupies the blank space or gap formed by the
removal of a needle as before mentioned. When as the circle of needles
revolves the inverted needle comes round towards the point at which the
thread is led on to the needles it is at its lowest position, so that whilst the
thread is led on below the beards of the fixed needles it is led on above
the beard of this inverted moving needle, and the needle remains in this
position until it has passed the point at which the work on the fixed needles
is knocked over; when it has passed this point the needle is caused to rise
until the thread which has last been laid on, and which at this time will be
the lowest thread on the needle (as the other loops which were below this
thread at the time it was laid on to the needle will have been slipped up past
it by the act of knocking over the work on the other fixed needles) is under
the beard of the needle, which is, then at this time closed by a presser
at every alternate revolution of the circle of needles, and whilst the beard
is so closed the needle is raised, and thus the work on this. needle is
knocked over the thread that is under the beard. The presser I form
of a small wheel having formed around its periphery notches or teeth into
which the circle of needles gear, and so cause the presser wheel to rotate;
there are an even number of notches or teeth formed around the presser
wheel, and every alternate notch is deeper than the notch next to it, and as it
is arranged that there shall be an odd number of needles in the circle of
needles the inverted needle will at one revolution be received in one of the
deep notches in the presser, whilst at the next revolution it will be received
in one of the shallow notches. When the inverted needle enters a deep noteli
then the beard of the inverted needle will not be closed, but if it enters a shallow
notch then the beard is closed, and the work knocked over. The work on
the inverted needle will thus be knocked over at every alternate revolution of
the circle of needles, and thus the appearance of a tuck, rib, or seam is pro-
duced. The raising and lowering of the slide carrying the inverted. needle is
effected by fixed cam surfaces acting against a projection at the back of the
slide. To arrange the machine to produce ribbed work any desired number
of slides, each carrying an inverted or machine needle may be carried by the
revolving cylinder which is above the circle of fixed or frame needles, the presser
would in this case be made with all its notches shallow, so that the beards of

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Moses Mellor in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th March 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY.
MOSES MELLOR, of the Firm of Moses Mellor and Sons, Arkwright Street,,
Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent; bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight huudred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Moses Mellor, Her special licence that the said
Henry Moses Mellor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Henry Moses Mellor, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and.
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention.
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CIRCULAR KNITTING FRAMES," upon the condition (amongst
others), that I, the said Henry Moses Mellor, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-.
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Moses Mellor, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is, to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in circular knitting frames,
and the improvements relate to the arranging that class of circular knitting.
frames in which a circle of fixed needles is employed in such manner as to
produce work with a tuck, rib,, or seam down it from end to end, so that the
work may more nearly resemble that produced on a flat frame, and also
arranging such knitting frames so that they may produce ribbed work. For
.

page_text: these purposes one of the needles of the circle of fixed or frame needles is
taken out, and in its place an inverted needle is substituted, this inverted
machine needle is carried by a slide which can be moved to and fro parallel
with the axis around which the circle of needles is as is usual caused to revolve ;
the slide carrying this inverted needle is carried by a cylinder which is carried
by and revolves around a hollow axis which is above the circle of needles, and
concentric with the axis around which the circle of needles revolves; this
cylinder is caused to revolve in the same direction and at the same speed as
the circle of needles, so that the inverted needle is carried round with the
other needles and always occupies the blank space or gap formed by the
removal of a needle as before mentioned. When as the circle of needles
revolves the inverted needle comes round towards the point at which the
thread is led on to the needles it is at its lowest position, so that whilst the
thread is led on below the beards of the fixed needles it is led on above
the beard of this inverted moving needle, and the needle remains in this
position until it has passed the point at which the work on the fixed needles is
knocked over; when it has passed this point the needle is caused to rise until
the thread which has last been laid on, and which at this time will be the
lowest thread on the needle (as the other loops which were below this thread
at the time it was laid on to the needle will have been slipped up past it by
the act of knocking over the work on the other fixed needles) is under the
beard of the needle, which is then at this time closed by a presser at every
alternate revolution of the circle of needles, and whilst the beard is so closed
the needle is raised, and thus the work on this needle is knocked over the
thread that is under the beard. The presser I form of a small wheel having
formed around its periphery notches or teeth into which the circle of needles
gear, and so cause the presser wheel to rotate. There are an even number of
notches or teeth formed around the presser wheel, and every alternate notch
is deeper than the notch next to it, and as it is arranged that there shall be an
odd number of needles in the circle of needles the inverted needle will at one
revolution be received in one of the deep notches in the presser, whilst at the
next revolution it will be received in one of the shallow notches; when the
inverted needle enters a deep notch then the beard of the inverted needle will
not be closed, but if it enters a shallow notch then the beard is closed and the
work knocked over; the work on the inverted needle will thus be knocked
over at every alternate revolution of the circle of needles, and thus the
appearance of a tuck, rib, or seam is produced. The raising and lowering of
the slide carrying the inverted needle is effected by fixed cam surfaces acting
against a projection at the back of the slide. To arrange the machine to

page_text: produce ribbed work any desired number of slides each carrying an inverted
or machine needle may be carried by the revolving cylinder which is above
the circle of fixed or frame needles, the presser would in this case be made
with all its notches shallow, so that the beards of the inverted needles would
be closed at every revolution of the circle of needles.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe more fully the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a side view of a knitting frame constructed in the manner.
above described, so as to produce work with a tuck, rib, or seam; Figure 2 is
a plan view of the same with some of the parts removed. These parts are
shewn separately at Figures 3 and 4 on Sheet 3.
.
In all these Figures a is the circle of frame needles carried at the upper end
of a cylindrical axis b, which is supported in bearings in the framing c in the
usual manner, and as is also usual the lower end of the axis 6 has fixed upon it a
bevil wheel 6 gearing with a bevil wheel 62 on the driving axis of the machine,
and the circle of frame needles is thus caused to revolve; d is the inverted
needle taking the place of one of the frame needles a. The stem of the
inverted needle is fixed to the slide e carried by the cylinder f, which is above
the circle of frame needles and concentric therewith; the slide e is capable of
moving upwards or downwards in a slot in the cylinder f, and is retained in
the slot by the plate f¹, which is held by screws against the side of the
cylinder.f. On the top of the cylinder f is fixed a toothed wheel f³, and on
the axis b, of the circle of frame needles is a corresponding toothed wheel b³.
At one side of the machine is a vertical axis g, the upper end of which turns
in a bearing in a bracket h bolted to the upper, horizontal plate of the
framing c, and the lower end of the axis turns in a bearing in this plate. At
the upper end of the axis g is a toothed wheel g¹ gearing with the toothed
wheels on the cylinder f, and on the lower end of the axis is a corresponding
toothed wheel gearing with the toothed wheel b on the axis of the circle of
frame needles a, thus when the circle of needles a is rotated the cylinder f
carrying the inverted needle will be caused to rotate in the same direction and
at the same speed as the circle of frame needles, the inverted needle will
therefore, be carried round with the other needles, and always occupy the
blank space formed by the removal of one of them.
The manner in which the cylinder f is carried is shown most clearly at
Figures 3 and 4, Sheet 3. In these Figures k is a standard, the lower end of
which is bolted to a standard
carried by the upper horizontal plate of the

page_text: framing c, the stems of the bolt being passed through a vertical slot in the
standard k to allow of the height at which the cylinder f is held above the
circle of needles a being adjusted. At the upper end of the standard k is a
horizontal arm terminating in a short cylinder, which is adjusted so as to be
concentric with the circle of frame needles; within this short cylinder is fixed
by screws the upper end of a cylinder l, over which the cylinder f fits, so that
the cylinder can turn freely, the lower end of the cylinder f resting, as is
shown, upon a shoulder near the lower end of the fixed cylinder 7; is a cam
groove formed on the exterior of the cylinder 1; in this groove is received a
projection on the back of the slide e, carrying the inverted needle, and it
serves to raise and lower the slide as the slide is carried round with the
cylinder f; this fixed cam surface or groove is so formed that the inverted
needle shall be at its lowest position at the point where the thread is led on to
it, and that the needle shall be caused to rise as it comes up to the presser
wheel which is to close the beard of the inverted needle. The yarn or thread
is led on to the stems of the needles through the eyen, so that it shall be
below the beards of the needles a, but above the beard of the inverted needle,
and the thread is pressed or sunk into loops between the stems of the needles
by the sinker wheels o, o¹; these wheels also raise the thread to pass it under
the beards of the needles a, whilst the old loops of work are at this time held
down on the stems of the needles by the depressing wheel p and the guard
plate p', which is carried by the cylinder I, and which prevent the work from
rising on the needles. After the yarn laid on to the needles has thus been
formed into loops as is usual the beards of the needles are closed in the
ordinary manner by a presser wheel r, and whilst so closed the old loops of
work on the stems of the needles are raised by the lifting wheels, as is well
understood. The sinker wheels and presser can be set nearer to or further
from the circle of needles and retained in any position by spring catches o*
and in the ordinary manner. The circle of needles as they revolve after-
wards pass another lifting wheel s¹, which ensures that the loops of work upon
the needles a shall have been knocked over before they come opposite to the
presser wheel t, which is to act on the beard of the inverted needle. The
way in which this presser wheel is constructed is seen clearly in Figures 1
and 2; it is formed with an even number of notches around its periphery, into
which the circle of needles gear and so cause this wheel to rotate. As before
stated, every alternate notch is deeper than the notch next to it, and as it is
arranged that there shall be an odd number of needles in the circle of needles,
the inverted needle will at one revolution be received in one of the deep
notches in the presser wheel, whilst at the next revolution it will be received in

page_text: one of the shallow notches and its beard will then be closed; the beard of the
inverted needle will thus only be closed at every alternate revolution of the
circle of needles. Just before the inverted needle comes up to the presser
wheel it is caused to rise by the cam surface l', so that the end of its beard
shall overlap the last loop of thread which has been laid on to the needle
(this loop being now as before explained the lowest loop on the needle), and
whilst the beard is closed by the presser wheel the needle is still further raised
so as to cause the loops of work on the stem of the needle to pass over the
point of the beard (or if the beard has not been closed to pass under the
point of the beard), and the needle continues to rise until these loops (if the
beard has been closed) slip off the end of the needle, leaving the last loop of
thread under the beard. In place of sinking only the last loop of thread
under the beard of the inverted needle as above described the cam surface l
may be so adjusted as to cause the point of the beard to overlap the two lowest
loops on the needle at the time when the beard is closed; thus at every
alternate revolution of the circle of needles two loops will be sunk under the
beard of the inverted needle and two loops thrown off it, and a stronger seam will
be produced. The needle afterwards descends to its lowest position to be ready
for the thread to be laid on to it; u is a plate against which the back of the
inverted needle rests whilst its beard is closed by the presser wheel; the
closing of the beard is thus ensured. The work as it is produced is led up
through the cylinder 7. In constructing a machine to produce ribbed work
any desired number of slides each carrying an inverted or machine needle may
be carried by the revolving cylinder which is above the circle of fixed or frame
needles; the presser would in this case be made with all its notches shallow,
so that the beards of the inverted needles would be closed at every revolution
of the circle-of needles.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Moses Mellor, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
HENRY MOSES MELLOR. (L.S.).