Manufacture of the same.
Year: 1886

page_text: Manufacture of the same.
We, WILLIAM WRIGHTSON, and ROBERT NELSON WRIGHTSON, both of Linwood,
Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States of America, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
Our Invention relates to the manufacture of that class of knitted fabrics in
which a heavy surface thread is confined to a body fabric by means of a special
binding thread, the objects of our Invention being to produce a more acceptable
and economical fabric of this character than is now made, and to provide simple
machinery for the manufacture of said fabric.
On the accompanying drawings:-
---
Fig. 1, represents a rear view (on an exaggerated scale,) of a piece of knitted
fabric made in accordance with our Invention;
Fig. 2, represents a rear view of a piece of fabric similar to that which is now
manufactured under the name of "stockinette" fabric ;
Fig. 3, represents a side view of sufficient of a circular or balmoral kuitting
machine to illustrate our improvements in the same, whereby it is rendered
available for the production of our improved knitted fabric;
Fig. 4, is a sectional diagram, (on a larger scale,) of a portion of the machine;
Fig. 5, represents a view showing the different needle bits;
Figs. 6, and, 7, represent views showing the different cams; and
Figs. 8, to, 11, are diagrams illustrating one of the features of the Invention.
Our improved fabric shown in Fig. 1, is similar to the well-known "stockinette
fabric shown in Fig. 2, in that it comprises a body of ordinary kuitted fabric
having on one face floating threads tied to the body fabric at intervals by a third
or binding thread, but our improved fabric differs from the ordinary stockinette
fabric in two respects; firstly, in that the binding threads are interlocked with
alternate loops only of the holding courses of stitches of the body fabric instead
of with each loop of said courses, as usual; and secondly, in that each course of
binding thread engages with but one course of loops of the body fabric instead of
with two courses, as in the ordinary fabric.
The body fabric consists of successive courses of interlocked loops, a, and on
one face of this fabric are the surface threads, b, which are generally of yarn of
inferior quality to, and much heavier than that forming the body fabric, there

page_text: being one row of such surface thread for every course of stitches in the body fabric,
as shown, or one for every two, three or more courses of stitches in the body
fabric, as the desired character of the surface may suggest.
The binding thread, d, serves to tie the surface thread, b, to the body fabric. In
our fabric shown in Fig. 1, the binding thread passes round the surface thread at
the points 1, 2, 3, &c., and forms a loop on every alternate needle, so that it is
prevented from floating with the surface thread, and hence is not liable to be cut
so as to release said surface thread when the latter is subjected to the usual
gigging or finishing operation. The distance apart of the tying-in points may be
varied as desired.
•
It will be observed that the binding threads in our improved fabric are inter-
locked with alternate loops only of the holding courses of stitches of the body
fabric, and that there is but one holding course of stitches, a, in said body fabric
for each course of binding thread, d, whereas in the ordinary fabric shown in Fig. 2,
the binding threads are interlocked with each of the loops of the holding courses
of stitches in the body fabric, and there are two holding courses of stitches, a, a¹,
for each course of binding threads, d.
Where there is a course of surface thread, b, for each course of stitches in the
body fabric, there is a further distinction between our improved fabric and the
ordinary fabric, due to the fact that in the latter, the successive courses of binding
thread are interlooped with each other, whereas in our fabric they are not.
This, however, is a distinction which is not found when the ordinary fabric
only has a course of surface thread, b, for every two or more courses of the body
fabric.
As in our improved fabric the binding thread, d, engages with the loops, a, of
but one course of stitches of the face fabric, instead of with the loops of two
courses of stitches of said face fabric, a less amount of binding thread is required
than usual, and there is less liability of said binding thread appearing upon the
face of the fabric and detracting from the uniform appearance of the latter than in
the ordinary stockinette fabric; moreover, the backing thread is not held so closely
as usual, and hence produces a fuller and better effect when subjected to the
gigging or finishing operation.
The machine which we use for the manufacture of our improved fabric is
similar to an ordinary circular balmoral knitting machine, such as shown in Fig. 3,
A, being the fixed frame of the machine, B, the cam box mounted thereon, and,
D, the needle cylinder, driven by spur gears, w, and, x, and bevil gears, y, y¹, from
the driving shaft, as usual.
The threads fed to the machine are arranged in sets, each set comprising one or
more knitting threads, a, a binding thread, d, and a backing thread, b, these threads
being adapted to their respective guides, W, X, and, Y, as shown in Fig. 3, in
which one set of threads and guides is illustrated, although it should be understood
that in practice, the sets are duplicated to any extent which the capacity of the
cylinder will permit.
In producing the fabric on this machine, certain of the needles are first raised to
such an extent that their loops are not slipped back of the latches. Certain of the
raised needles are then depressed and the backing thread is fed to the hooks of the
needles remaining elevated.
These raised needles are then, by preference, depressed, so as to draw the
backing thread into their hooks, and all of the needles that were first raised are
then again raised to receive the binding thread, this second rise being to a greater
extent than the first, so that the loops on the needles and the backing thread
carried by some of the needles will be slipped back of the latches (see Fig. 9).
The needles are then depressed, so as to draw the binding thread into their
hooks, the extent of this depression being preferably such as to cause the discharge
of the backing thread, but not sufficient to slip the fabric loop, (see Fig. 11).
All of the needles are then raised to receive the knitting thread and slip the
old loops and the loops of the binding thread back of the latches, after which tho

page_text: needles are depressed so as to cast their loops and form loops of the new knitting
thread.
As shown in Fig. 4, there is a succession of needles, 1, 2, 3, and, 4, the needles, 1,
and, 3, being first raised, and the needles, 2, and, 4, allowed to remain down, and
the needles, 1, being then depressed so as to leave only the needles, 3, elevated, for
the reception of the backing thread, these needles being then depressed so as to
draw the thread into their hooks, said thread being laid behind the intervening
needles, 4, 1, and, 2. The needles, 1, and, 3, are then again raised so as to receivo
the binding thread, and are then depressed so that the backing thread will be cast
off the needles, 3, as before set forth, all of the needles being then raised to receive
the knitting thread.
This operation of the needles we effect by the use of what are known as upper
and lower tuck came and upper and lower tuck bits on the needles. The
needles, 1, have full bits, the needles, 2, and 4, lower tuck bits; i.c. bits cut away
at the bottom; and the needle, 3, an upper tuck bit; i.e. a bit cut away at
the top.
The lower cams, 5, and, 6, are tuck cams; i.e. they are recessed so that while
they will elevate to the full extent, all the needles having full bits or upper tuck
bits subjected to their action, they will only partially lift the needles having
recessed lower tuck bits.
The upper can, 8, is a tuck cam, which, while it depresses the needles having
full bits or lower tuck bits, will fail to depress, or will only partially depress, the
needles having upper tuck bits.
The lower cam, 7, and the upper cams, 9, 10, and, 11, are full cams, which act
upon all of the needles to the same extent.
The lower tuck cam, 5, has its' point reduced, so that it will not elevate any of
the needles subjected to its action to such an extent as to cause them to slip their
loops back of the latches, and the upper cans, 8, 9, and, 10, are likewise reduced,
so that they will not depress the needles to the point of casting the knitting
loop or drawing a stitch, the cam, 11, being the only one which effects this
result.
We can, however, in some cases, use a full pointed cam in place of the reduced
cam, 10, the loops of face fabric carried by the needles, 1, and, 3, being, in such
cases, cast off and fresh loops formed on said needles by the binding thread.
It will be observed that in the machine shown and described, every fourth
needle must be lifted to receive the backing thread, every alternate needle to
receive the binding thread, and every needle to receive the knitting thread.
In the absence of the arrangement of upper and lower tuck cams, as described,
three different lifting cams and three different styles of bits on the needles would
be required, so that each cam would operate only upon its special needles.
The use of lower tuck cams, 5, and, 6, and the employment of an upper tuck
cam to depress certain of the needles raised by the first lower tuck cam, 5, enables
us to dispense with a specially constructed lower cum and needle bits for the
purpose of raising every fourth needle to receive the backing thread.
The casting of the backing thread from the needle without casting the loop of
face fabric is facilitated by imparting a slight tension to the backing thread, which
may be effected by partially obstructing the guide eye, m, through which said
thread passes before reaching the guide, Y, or in any other of the numerous ways
which will suggest themselves to those familiar with this class of machinery. The
guide eye can be obstructed by drawing a tuft of fibres or strands into the same,
as shown in Fig. 3.
In some fabrics, the thread, b, may be on the face of the fabric, the threads, a,
forming a backing fabric, and the threads, d, serving to tie the face threads
thereto.
In its preferable form, our improved machine is provided with bevilled work-
retaining hooks, around the edge of the needle cylinder, so that as the needles, 3,
are drawn down by the cam, 9, the thread, b, will, by the action of said hooks, be

page_text: drawn inward so as to lie back of the intervening needles, 1, 2, and 4, whereby
the latter will rise on the outside of the thread, b, and will not engage with the
same.
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. A knitted fabric having a body composed of courses of inter-locked loops,
combined with a surface thread tied to said body fabric by successive courses of
binding thread, which are interlocked with alternate loops only of the holding
courses of stitches of the body.
2. A knitted fabric having a body composed of successive courses of interlocked
loops, combined with a surface thread tied to said body fabric by successive courses
of binding thread, each of which engages with the loops of a single course only of
the body fabric.
3. A knitting machine having latchet needles, with tuck and plain bits as
described, in combination with tuck and plain cams operating said needles for the
reception of surface, binding and body threads, substantially as specified.
Dated this 23rd day of November 1886