Improvements in Knitting Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 17th Nov., 1894
Improvements in Knitting Machines.
I, GEORGE WATSON BEACH, of Number 8 Main Street, Hartford, in the County
of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, United States of America, 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:-
The main object of my invention is to provide a machine on which a fleece lined
fabric may be made, the fibrous facing material being deposited on the thread and
secured thereon in the process of knitting.
My invention relates to the class of knitting machines commonly known as
"Warp knitting machines," the reciprocating latch needles being borne on a
long bar and operating in connection with the needles is a series of thread-guides.
or carriers and a corresponding number of sinkers.
My invention consists in details of the parts bearing the needles, the thread-
guides, the sinkers, the fleece, and in their combination, and in details of the
mechanism for moving and operating the several parts, as more particularly
hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.
1
In the operation of the within described form of knitting machine in which my
invention is embodied a series of needles aro fixed in a line along the edge of a
bar, and they have a rectilinear reciprocation in the line of the needles; the
sinkers that are located between each two of the needles have also à rectilinear
reciprocation, but it is at about right angles to the plane of the movement of the
needles. A number of thread-guides equal in number to the needles, are so
supported and arranged that they have an irregular movement across and around
the needles so as to wrap the thread first around one needle and then the next
adjacent one to form a loop. The several movements of the above parts are
timed with relation to each other and they are substantially continuous during
the operation of knitting..
Referring to the accompanying drawings.:
Figure 1 is a top or plan view of a knitting machine embodying my invention.
Figure 2 is a detail view in end elevation looking from the left, the scale in this
view being enlarged.
Figure 3 is a detail view in transverse section of the machine looking at the
reverse side of the end shown in Fig. 2.
Figure 4 is a detail view on enlarged scale in lengthwise section of the fleece rol!
and its bearing.
Figure 5 is a detail view in transverse section of the machine near one end
looking from the right.
Figure 6 is a detail view on enlarged scale in vertical section of the adjustable
bearing of the sinker bar lever.
Figure 7 is a detail view of part of the thread guiding device and the operating
mechanism thereof..
Figure 8 is a detail end view of part of the thread-guide mechanism.
Figure 9 is a detail view of the mechanism that gives a vertical movement to
the thread-guide bar.
Figure 10 is a detail side view of one of the cams used in operating the
thread guide.
Figure 11 is a detail end view of the thread-guide bars.
Figure 12 is a detail bottom view showing how the thread-guide bars are

page_text: Figure 13 is a detail side view of the fleece clamp.
Figure 14 is a detail face view of one end of the fleece clamp.
Figures 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 are detail diagram views illustrating
the operation of the thread carriers in forming the stitch in the process of knitting.
Figures 23, 24, and 25 are diagram views illustrating the operation of the
machine in incorporating the fleece in the process of knitting.
Figures 26, 27 and 28 are diagram views illustrating the method of knitting
the fabric.
Figure 29 is a detail view showing the construction of the jointed lever
supporting the bat feed device.
Figure 30 is a detail view on enlarged scale showing the method of attaching the
thread guide supporting brackets to the side parts of the machine.
In the accompanying drawings the letter A denotes the frame of the machine as
a whole; a, a¹ side parts that are arranged in an upright position and are held
together by cross ties a², and are supported in part by braces a³ that extend to
the floor, or to cross ties not shown in the drawings, and serve to stiffen the
frame and the shafts. The main shaft B. that is supported in suitable bearings
in the side parts of the frame extends across it and has the fast pulley Cand loose
pulley Cin convenient position to be driven as by means of a belt from a counter-
shaft. The belt shifter D is pivoted to a bracket d on the side of the frame,
the lever d being connected at one end to the sliding fork d² that engages the
belt, while the opposite end is. connected to the shifter rod d that extends
across the front of the machine in a position where it is easy of access to the
operator. The spring latch d' is fast to the frame and its free end is adapted
to engage a notch in the shifter bar so as to lock the latter at either end of
its throw.
On the main shaft B are secured the eccentrics e near opposite ends of the frame,
each eccentric being connected by means of a rod e' with the fleece bar E. The
rods are each composed of two parts that permit the rods to be made longer
or shorter within certain limits, one part e being threaded and bearing the
nuts e, while the other part has a bent or offset portion et through which the
end of part e passes and to which it is secured by means of the nuts e arranged
on opposite sides of the bent portion, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.
The fleece bar is supported at each end in a slot e in the lever ef that is pivoted
to the frame by a pivot bolt e passing through the slot that enables the
pivot to be fixed in various positions within the extent of the slot. The slotted
end of this levere rests upon an adjustable pin e' (see Fig. 5) in the end of
the jointed lever eo that is pivoted to the side a of the frame and bears on
its outer end a friction roll e¹ in engagement with the cam. es that is fast to
the main shaft B. This lever eo is made in two parts united by means of the
bolt that forms the pivot and a nut forming a means of clamping the parts.
together so that they may be set either in exact alignment with each other or at
any desired angle, the bend coming at the pivot. The ordinary means of clamping
such parts together is employed. By means of the eccentric and parts connecting
it to the fleece bar, the latter is given a sliding movement towards and from the
front of the machine, and by means of the cam e the levers supporting the
fleece bar, and the latter with them are given a vertical movement, the location
of the fleece bar and its supporting, levers depending upon the relative position as
to aligument with each other of the two parts that make up the lever elo. It is
the location of this vertical play and not the extent of the motion of the several
connected parts just described that is determined and controlled. As the move-
ments of the several mechanisms that tend to produce the movements of the fleece
bar in both a horizontal and a vertical plane are contemporaneous the result is that
the fleece bar is given a resultant curved motion for the purpose of causing the
fleece bar to move outward, then upward and then forward and downward so as to i
avoid the needles in the upward movement of the fleece and to then carry it
diagonally downward upon the needles that. tear off a portion of the fleece and

page_text: leaves it hanging on the needles where it is boun:1 by the thread in the making
of the loops in the knitting operation. The cam shaft is also supported in
bearinge in the frame and extends across it in a line parallel to the main shaft B,
and is driven from the latter by means of intermeshing gears 6' borne on
the outer ends of the respective shafts. This cam shaft supports near
the opposite sides of the frame the eccentrics which are by means of straps and
rod's connected to the needle bar F, and serve to produce a rectilinear reciprocation
of the needle bar as the shaft b revolves. The opposite ends of the needle bar F
travel in grooves in the side parts a of the frame, and the rods that connect the
needle bars to the eccentrics are made adjustable lengthwise so that the limit of
the movement of the needle bar may be determined, while the extent of this
movement is always the same, the purpose being to control the relation of the
needle to the thread guide. The needles are set in a convenient number in a cast
block, preferably of soft metal, the needles being held in the block in the process
of casting, and these blocks are clamped as by means of screws or bolts to the
front edge of the needle bar so that the needles all lie in one plane extending in
the line of direction, of movement of the needle bar. The sinker bar Gis
suspended from the ends of the sinker bar levers g that are located near the
opposite ends of the machine, the bar extending lengthwise across it and underlying
the needle bar F. The opposite ends of the sinker bar G are located in a slot
formed in adjustable blocks g', the blocks being located in slots a' in the frame and
adjustable thereon in a direction parallel to the movements of the needles by means
of feed screws 93 that extend through sockets in the frame and also through a
threaded socket in the blocks g. On the front edge of the sinker bar the sinkers g
are secured, the soft metal bases in which they are held being clamped in sections
of convenient length to the front edge of the sinker bar. The sinkers stand in a
position at right angles to, the plane of the needles and extend between them as
illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The vertical movement of the sinker bar is
produced by means of the cams & borne on the shaft b, an anti-friction roller g³
pivoted to the lever g being held in rolling contact with the surface of the cams
by means of the springs ge that are connected to the levers and to some fixed point,
as the base of the machine.
On one end of the frame A the shaft 6
driven from the cam shaft b by means of the
mediate shaft, the cams 6, 60, on said shaft 6
sliding movement of the guide bars H, H',
(see Figs. 2 and 7 of the drawings).
is supported in bearings, and it is
intermeshing gears b', 6, and inter-
being used to produce the horizontal
that support the thread guides h,
In the within described machine two thread guide, bars with corresponding. sets
of thread guides are used, one set of thread guides (on guide bar H') being used,
in forming the stitch, simply for passing a strengthening thread through the fabric,
and the other set of guides (on guide bar Hy being used for the purpose of forming
a regular stitch, but the principle on which the machine works and the method of
making the stitch are the same when a single set of thread guides on a single.
guide bar is used for the purpose of forming tho regular stitch.
The guide bars H, H', are supported on the levers H2 that are pivoted to the
opposite ends of the frame (see Figs. 1, 2 and 9) by means of the vertical.
shafts that slide in the barrels that are secured to the frame, the pins ½³ ou
the shafts projecting into the slots in the ends of the levers H. These shafts
or supports have a movement in a straight line, and the term reciprocation in the
Specification and claims herein when referring to these parts is used in contra-
distinction to the terms oscillating or vibrating. The guide bar H extonds across
the frame of the machine between the shafts h' to which the bar is secured by
arms passing through the upper ends of the shafts, and the vertical movement of
the guide bar is produced by a.cam 612 secured to the shaft b with its face in
rolling contact with a roll borne on one end of the lever H³, the said roll being
held in contact with the cam by means of a spring e" extending from the opposite
end of the lever to a fixed part of the frame or to the floor. This lever H' is

page_text: C
formed in two parts and jointed at the pivot in like manner as is the lever e¹o so
that these two parts may be clamped in line or at an angle with each other, and
this adjustability of the lever at the pivot enables the path of movement of the
thread guide bar to be changed in position vertically but not in extent of
movement. To one of the arms that project from the thread' guide bar Ha
guide, Figures 7 and 8, is clamped, the said guide having a slot in which a
pin projects from a fixed part of the frame, the function of this guide being to
prevent the bar from tilting while it is being moved up and down by means of
the mechanism above described. On the lower side of the thread guide bar His
supported the thread guide bar H by bolts that extend from the former through
slotted openings in the latter to allow it lateral sliding movement independent of
while supported on the bar H. In addition to the vertical movement of the thread
guide bars they have also a lengthwise reciprocation, this movement of the bar H
being determined by the cam &10, while the movement of the bar His determined
by the cam 6. This construction and arrangement of the cams as shown permits
each guide supported on the guide bar H' to have lateral movement about one
needle only, while each guide supported on the guide bar H has a 'movement about
two needles as before described. The face of the cam. is in contact with the lower
end of the lever that is pivoted to the bracket c' projecting from the frame a, (Fig. 7)
the upper end of this lever e bearing an adjustable arm that is connected by the
rod to the guide bar H. The arm cie pivoted to the upper end of the lever c,
and an adjusting screw e extends through the nut or threaded socket in this arm
and engages the end of the lever in such manner that by means of this adjusting
device the lateral position of the bar may be adjusted. These connections just
described between the cam and guide bar H' are duplicated between the
cam 6 and guide bar H. The object of providing a guide bar with lateral
adjustment is to provide for the precise location of the thread guides borne on the
bar oue to each needle, the proper location of each thread guide being, however,
between each two adjacent needles. By means of the thread guide mechanism
just described the guide bar H is given a movement resembling 'somewhat a figure
eight turned on its side. The movement of a single thread guide and the thread
supported by it on the guide bar H with relation to the needles on either side is as
follows: A thread started in its movement from a point below the plaue of the
needles moves upward then to the right over the needle down oue side then
returning below moves upward again crossing between the needles over and around
the needle on the left and back to the point of beginning. By this movement of
the thread it is wrapped as it were around the two needles next adjacent to it on
each Bide.
The barrels A³ that support the shafts.h on which the thread bar is mounted are
each secured to a base h that is adjustably attached to the top of the side parts a, a,
of the frame by means of bolts passing through slotted openings in the base and
into the side parts a, a.. Adjusting screws pass through threaded sockets in
the brackets i fixed to the frame and are secured against lengthwise movement
in upturned flanges of the bases: (see Fig. 30). By means of this arrangement
the thread guides can be adjusted horizontally with relation to the needles so as
to aid in determining the exact position where the thread shall be laid across the
needle.
In the operation of the knitting machine each thread guide his threaded and it
is arranged normally about half way between each two of the needles and below
them, as shown in Fig. 19. The thread guides are, by the above described
mechanism, moved first to the left, then up between the needles, then over one
toward the right, and then down laying a loop or turn of the thread t over the
needle, (Figs. 15, 16, 19 and 20) that is next withdrawn so that the sinkers g* cause
the loop to catch in the hook on the needle at the same time that it pushes the
previously formed loop over the one newly caught by the hook, the latch of the
needle closing over the loop that. is hung on the needle, as shown in Figs. 19
to 22. The sinker descends before the needle withdraws so that it holds the

page_text: Loop down upon the needle and insures the closing of the latch by the loop
already on the shank of the needle, as shown in Fig. 26., The needles are then
inoved forward so as to slip the new loop back along the needles, the sinkers rise
and the thread guide then moves to the right under the needles next to the one..
on which it threw a loop of the thread, then, up between the needles, and then to
the left over the second needle (this being the needle just mentioned under which
the guide moved on going to the right) and down between the first and second
needles (said first needle being that on which was formed the loop first described)
to the position from which it started laying a loop of the thread around the
second needle, (Figs. 17, 18, 21 and 22). The siukers then descend, the needles..
withdraw and a new loop is thrown off from each needle, and as the several,
threads are looped together as well as on to the needles simultaneously a row, of
loops or stitches along the edge of the fabric is formed!
There is nothing new in this operation of a web knitting machine, although
there are several features of invention in the mechanism involved and in that
relating to securing the fleece or fibres to the web in the process of knitting. The
fleece bar E, that has already been described, forms a part of the mechanism for
depositing the fleece on the needles and loops of thread, the upper edge of the bar
being arranged to support the fleece feed apron I which is an endless belt or apron.
of a width equal to the length of that part of the needle bar supplied with needles.
The construction shown is intended to cause the fleece roll to be depressed by
spring action as well as gravity so as to regulate the tension upon the apron, and
also to control the direction of the feed by regulating the angular position of the
axis of the roll with reference to the upper edge. This apron passes over the
fleece bar aud under the bat feed roll that is supported in bearings in slots in
the brackets that are fast to the frame A, so as to allow an adjustment of the
roll towards and from the fleece bar in a manner to tighten or loosen the apron, and
also to place the axis of the roll parallel to the edge of the fleece bar; or at such
an angle therewith as to insure a proper movement of the apron without any
tendency to crawl to either end of the roll or of the fleece bar in feeding.
On the projecting end of the journal of the bat feed roll is secured a toothed
wheel (Fig. 2) and a similar toothed wheel is secured to the journal of thie
ratchet wheel, the chain extending between them cominunicating the motion of
the ratchet wheel to the bat, feed roll. The ratchet wheel is driven by the
spring pawl on the lower end of the tilting lever that is pivoted to the side
part a' of the frame of the machine and is operated by means of the cam iº on the
main shaft B, the spring fast to the lever and to a fixed part of the frame
holding a roller on the upper end of the lever, in engagement with the face of
the cam.
The ratchet wheel is held against any return movement by the pawl'i¹³
secured to the frame and engaging the teeth of the ratchet.
The fleece k, or inass of fibres, usually and preferably of wool, is made up into a
sheet or bat and from any roll or like source of supply is fed upon the apron and
by it moved with an intermittent action timed with the formation of the loops in
the knitting thread towards the upper edge of the fleeco bar above which it
projects a slight distance passing between the front face of the bar and the fleece
clamp L. This clamp L is a bar that is hinged or pivoted on the fleece bai E
and extends from end to end thereof with the needle-like guard fingers
projecting from its upper edge, and an arm extending downward and inward, as
shown in Fig. 3. This clamp bar is hinged to the bar E by a pin on each end of
the bar L entering socket pieces fast to the bar E (see Fig. 3) and the needed
swinging movement is thus obtained. The function of the guard fingers.is to
back up or support the edge of the bat of fibres that projects above the edge of
the fleece bar, the needles passing between the fingers that are arranged one on
each side of each of the needles, (see Fig. 23). A spring is attached to the
clamp arm in such manner that the clamp is held close upon the bat except when
the fleece bar is thrown forward and the arm strikes against the adjustable.stop 1
secured to the frame which throws, the clamp forward and releases, the apron and
1

page_text: bat, which are then fed upward a short distance depending on the amount of fibre
it is intended the bar shall leave upon the needles when it moves backward and
downward. In Fig. I these stops are clearly shown in top or plan view and they
are adjustable by being slotted for the passage of a bolt the head of which
overhangs the edges of the slot, aud when tightened operates so as to bind the stop
to the bar. The movement of the fleece bar that deposits the fibre on the needles
(Figs. 23, 24, and (25) is followed immediately by the movement of the guide bar
that causes the thread guide to lay the thread across the needle in front of the
latch, and this binds the fibre into the fabric as the successive loops are thrown off
in knitting.
The tension roll in is supported across the fleece bar with its surface adapted to
press against the apron and the bat that passes between the rolls and the fleece
bar, the object of this roll being to regulate the movement of the apron and
fleece as the latter is fed towards the upper edge of the fleece bar. The small
bunches of fibres that are deposited on the needles and secured in the fabric
may vary in grade as to fineness, and in order to adapt the machine to various
grades of stock and also to the kind of work to be done the sinker bar is
provided with the means already described to adjust its extent; of movement
forward and back, and in order to draw the stitch tight provision is made for
a vertical adjustment of the sinker bar and of the sinkers carried by it by
making the pivot pin g of the sinker lever g vertically adjustable in the frame
by supporting it on the screw 9, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, that
extends down through the slot in which the pivot is arranged and through a
threaded socket in the latter, while it is held against lengthwise movement in
the frame although turning loosely in a socket thereon. This screw 9 is hell
against lengthwise movement by the head of the screw overlying the socket
piece and a collar secured to the screw under the socket piece as clearly set
out in the drawings. By thus providing means by which the extent of movement
of the sinkers can be exactly adjusted it is possible to make stitches of various
sizes to accommodate varying amounts of fleece or grades of stock that may be
desired to use in the machine.
A further feature of improvement in the within described machine is.in
providing means whereby the thread guide has a movement in a straight
line up and down between the needles as it prevents any chance of laying the
thread on the wrong needle, that was a fault in prior machines owing to the
curved path of movement of the thread guide, and by this improvement any
chance of the thread catching back of the latch and closing it so as to cause
a thread to be dropped is avoided. The accidental closing of the latches of the
needles by the motion of the machine is guarded against by providing the latch
guard n that is borne on the sinker bars and extends directly across and over
the needles while the thread is being laid in the hook.
'
The rod connecting the needle bar with the eccentrics that impart a sliding
movement to the needle bar is made up of jointed sections, one being fast to
the eccentric strap and having a threaded socket into which the connecting rod
is screwed, and a nut located on the threaded portion of this connecting bar
forms a lock nut by screwing it down upon the end of the socket piece on the
eccentric when the proper length of the connecting bar has been obtained to
give the needle bar the proper throw.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In a knitting machine, in combination with a reciprocating needle bar and a
series of latch needles secured thereto, a Heece bar, the intermittingly actuated
fleece clamp borne on said fleece bar, means for actuating the fleece clamp,
and means for feeding the fleece to the needles independent of the clamp, all
substantially as described.

page_text: 2. In combination iu a kuitting machine, the hooked needles, a fleece bar, a feed
roll and the endless apron extending over the fleece bar and the feed roll, the fleece
Colamp borne on the fleece bar and a stop located in the path of movement of the
fleece clamp and by contact with which the clamp is opened, all substantially as
5.described.
3. In a knitting machine, in combination with the reciprocating needle bar,
bearing a series of fixed latch needles, the cam shaft & having an eccentric secured
thereto, an adjustable connecting rod extending from said eccentric to said needle
bar, the sinker bar G, the sinker lever g, guide blooks g¹ located in guide grooves
in the side parts of the frame of the machine, means for actuating the lever.g,
means for actuating the guide blocks g', the thread guide bar H, and means for
operating the said bar, all substantially as described.
4. In a knitting machine, in combination with a reciprocating needle bar bearing
a series of fixed needles, the lever g, the reciprocating sinker bar suspended from
said lever, the vertically adjustable pivot support for said lever g formed in the
frame of the machine, nieans for actuating the lever g, the adjustable lever €6,
the
fleece bar E supported on said lever, the lever el supporting the lever e* at one
end, and in operative contact with the cam el on the shaft B at the opposite end,
the came and the fleece clump mechanism, all substantially as described.
5. In a knitting machine, in combination with a series of latch needles fixed to a
reciprocating needle bar, the lever e, the reciprocating fleece bar E borne on said
lever, the adjustable pivot e' of the supporting lever e, the levere having an
adjustable pin at one end and its opposite end in operative contact with the cam on
the main shaft B, all substantially as described.
6. In a knitting machine, in combination with a series of latch needles fixed on a
reciprocating needle bar, the sinker bar borue in an adjustable guide and bearing a
series of sinkers, the fleece bar E and mechanism for moving said fleece bar, the
feed roll, the endless apron I passing around the fleece bar and feed roll, the fleece
clamp L bearing a series of guard fingers and pivotally supported on the fleece bar,
the arm projecting from the fleece clamp, and the adjustable stop /* secured to the
frame of the machine, all substantially as described.
7. In a knitting machine, in combination with a series of latch needles secured to
a reciprocating needle bar, the sinker bar borne in an adjustable guide, the fleece bar,
the fleece clamp pivoted thereon, and the fleece feed mechanism connected therewith
and independent of the clamp, the thread carrier, and mechanism whereby each
thread guide is moved in a path around and between each of two adjacent needles,
all substantially as described.
8. In a knitting machine, in combination with the fleece bar E, the feed roll i,
the belt I passing over the said roll and the fleece bar, the pressure roller m, the
fleece clamp L pivotally connected to the fleece bar, the clamp opening device,
mechanism for operating the fleece bar, the sinker bar 9 borue in an adjustable
guide, the sinker bar operating meobanism, the needle bar bearing the fixed series
of latch needles, and tlie guide bar bearing a series of thread guides, and the means
whereby said guides are given a rectilinear movement around each of two adjacent
needles, all substantially as described.
9. In a knitting machine, in combination with fleece feeding mechanism, fabric
forming devices including a guide bar borne on the reciprocating supports on the
frame of the machine, means for reciprocating said supports, and means for causing
an endwise reciprocation of the guide bar on the supports, all substantially as
desoribed.
10. In a knitting machine, in combination with the fabric forming mechanism
driven from a shaft b, the shaft B bearing the cam, the tilting lever, bearing a
spring pawl and in operative contact with the cam, and a ratchet wheel it, the
fixed pawl, the toothed wheel borne on the journal of the ratchet wheel, the
chain, the toothed wheel secured to the shaft. of the fleece feed roll i, and
the within described fleece feed roll and apron, all substantially as described.
11. In a kuitting machine, in combination with the needle bar and its operative

page_text: 3
L
mechanism as described, the sinker bar and its operative mechanism, the thread
guide bar H supported on the shafts, the shafts in engagement with the
jointed levers H, the cam 6 borne on the rotary shaft b and in operative contact
with the end of the lever H opposite the thread guide bar, and means for moving
Baid bar longitudinally, all substantially as described.
12. In a knitting machine, in combination with a reciprocating needle bar bearing
a series of fixed needles, a fleece bar movably supported on a system of levers
including a jointed lever, the jointed lever provided with clamping means at the
joint, and means for actuating the lever, all substantially as described.
13. In a knitting machine, a thread guide bar borne in a reciprocating support, the
support and means for reciprocating it, means for imparting longitudinal recipro-
cation to said bar, a secondary bar supported by the first mentioned bar, and
means for imparting longitudinal movement to said secondary har, all substantially
as described.
14. In a knitting machine, in combination with a needle bar and its operating
mechanism, a sinker bar and its operating mechanism, a thread guide bar borne on
reciprocating supports, the supports, means for reciprocating the supports, and
the guides as described for preventing a tilting, movement of the said bar, all
substantially as described.
:
'
15. In a knitting machine, a thread guide bar borne in reciprocating supports,
the reciprocating supports borne in bases adjustably secured to the frame of the
machine, the bases, and the thread guide bar operating mechanism, all substantially
as described:
Datedth:
J
1 100i