Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 9th Mar., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Circular Knitting Machines.
A communication by ELI TIFFANY, of Bennington, in the County of Bennington
and State of Vermont, United States of America, Inventor.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S., M.1.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester both in the County of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham in
the County of Warwick and 31 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex Civil
Engineer, 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 provisions for supplying the yarn to the needles of circular
rib knitting and other cylinder machines for knitting tubular fabrics and for regulating
the depth of the stitch; to provisions for separating the horizontal needle dial from
the vertical needle cylinder for purposes of running on a rib or of making repairs ;
and to mechanism for controlling the action-of the presser wheel in making royal
2
rib finish so called.
66
In this machine one set. of spring needles and one set of latch needles are
employed, although the yarn feeding devices are equally well adapted to use on
ordinary machines where only one set of needles is employed.
With the machines in common use it has not been practicable to use weak, rotten
or tender yarn, or yarn which was not of uniform strength, for the reason that as it
was carried or forced in between the needles by the wings of the burr wheels,"
breakage would occur at the weak points of the yarn due to the excessive strain or
tension put upon it. To obviate this objection my correspondent has dispensed
with the burr and cast-off wheels and has substituted therefor a small rotary apparatus
which in its entirety he calls a "feed wheel." The construction and details of this
part of the invention are mainly found in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Another objectionable feature in existing machines consists in the fact that
adequate provision for the separation of the dial plate from the cylinder so as to
permit free access to the interior for any purpose, is not provided for. To meet
this difficulty he has devised special apparatus for lifting the horizontal cam and
dial plates high enough above the needle cylinder to allow free access to the interior
of the machine. This is especially advantageous in making repairs, adjustments or
in running on a web preparatory to starting a new rib.
The invention is fully shown in the drawings wherein
Figure 1 shows an elevation of a circular rib knitting machine with the dial plate
elevated as when about to run on a starting piece.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a radial section taken on the line a, of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the feed wheel and of the cams and
radial needles of the dial plate.
Figure 5 is a face view of the sinker bed of the feed wheel.
Figure 6 is an inverted view of the cam race plate.
Figure 7 is a detail of the presser wheel and of its eccentric pivotal adjustment
on the hub of the sinker bed.
Figure 8 is a detail view of one of the sinkers.
These improvements are applicable to that class of machines employed in knitting
tubular ribbed work which uses two sets of needles worked at right angles with each
other-one set working in vertical grooves in a rotating cylinder while the other

page_text: works in radial grooves in a horizontal rotating bed. In this machine the radial
are latch needles while the vertical are spring needles.
This apparatus is shown mounted on the table 1 of a circular rib knitting
machine with the dial plate which carries the radial needles elevated so that the
arm can be easily passed between the edge of said plate and the upper edge of the
vertical needle cylinder as shown in Figure 1. For the purpose of effecting this
open separation of these two parts, two cylindrical guide posts 42 42 are erected on
the table 1, which are united at the top by the cross-tree 41. Upon these guide
posts a vertically sliding cross-head 47 is fitted to be moved up and down. For this
purpose it is provided with the two sleeve bearings 47ª and to the bottom of each
of these a set screw 45 is fitted to work through the ear 44 and. be confined by
the jam-nut 46. These set screws bottom on the surface of the table 1 when the
dial plate 8 is lowered into working position as in Figure 3, and regulate the
degree of separation or space between the upper edge of the needle cylinder 6 and
the under edge of the dial plate 8. The lifting spindle 11 passes through the
cross-head 47 and is rigidly confined therein. A collar 12 is attached to its bottom
end above which the dial plate 8 is fitted to turn. The dial and cam plates are
held in proper adjustment and relation to each other by a pin 10 which passes
through them as in Figure 3 whenever it is found necessary to elevate or raise the
dial plate out of its working position. The upper end of the lifting spindle 11 is
provided with a rack with which the pinion 40 on shaft 39 engages.
This pinion
is rotated by the hand wheel 38 by the revolution of which the dial plate is raised
and lowered at will. This feature of mounting the dial and cam plates on a spindle
connected with a vertically movable cross-head provided with long sleeve bearings
is new and prevents any rocking or wobbling of either the spindle or of the rotary
knitting apparatus.
In using the above described apparatus when it is desired to lift the dial plate
for any purpose, the pin 10 is inserted in the holes provided for it in order to
prevent the relative displacement of the dial and the cam plates. Then the two
are elevated by the rotation of the hand wheel 38. However the pin 10 may be
withdrawn if necessary and the dial plate rotated when elevated, but care should
be exercised that the two plates should be brought into proper apposition and the
pin inserted before the plates are lowered into their working position.
The feed wheel mechanism shown in Figures 3 and 4 is all mounted on a small
horizontal sliding stand 20, Figure 3, which moves in ways or between guides 23 on
a base plate 19 which is bolted to the table of the machine by a bolt the head of
which is seen at 36, Figure 4. The stand slide 20 has a retractile spring 34
attached to it at pin 35 the other end of which is connected with a pin on the
stationary base as seen in Figure 1. This spring acts to throw the slide towards
the needles, and the limit of such throw is determined by the adjustment of the set
screw 21, the end of which strikes against the outer edge of the base plate 19.
This sliding feature is used whenever it is necessary to withdraw the whole
apparatus out of its normal working position in reference to the needle cylinder.
The journal stud 25 is erected on the slide plate and on this stud the rotating
sinker bed 26 is fitted to run. Around the hub of the sinker bed the gear wheel 27
is fitted and fastened so as to run therewith. The teeth of the gear mesh between
the tricks of the needle cylinder as shown in Figure 4 by which it together with
the sinker bed are driven when the cylinder is rotated. Above the gear and
below the sinker bed an eccentric ring 28 is fitted which has a handle or lever 28"
projecting from one side as seen in Figures 1, 4 and 7 by means of which said ring
may be slightly turned about the hub of the sinker bed. Outside of this eccentric
ring the presser wheel 29 is fitted to revolve freely as it may be propelled. by
the vertical needles with which it comes in contact in the process of knitting. The
swing of handle 28 carries this eccentrically pivotted presser wheel towards and
from the needle barbs and is utilized for the purpose of mispressing any prede-
termined needle or number of needles according to the design set up in the pattern
chain shown in Figure 1 as will appear further on. The sinker bed is radially

page_text: grooved as seen in Figure 5 for the reception of the sinkers 31 of which a detail
appears in Figure 8. These sinkers have both ends of symmetrical shape so that
they are reversible, a feature which materially enhances their value as- when one
end is worn out or broken their position in the groove may be reversed. Each one
has a shank which is designed to run in the cam race 30 shown in Figure 6. The
cam plate in which this race appears is attached to the top of the journal stud 25.
A portion of the plate next to the needle cylinder is cut away to make room for
the slur-cock 33 and the retracting cam 32. The slur-cock is screwed to the upper
side of the cam-plate 30 and is capable of adjustment towards and from the needles.
by means of a screw and slot in its tail piece as seen in Figure 4. This adjustment.
of the slur-cock is for the purpose of determining the throw of the sinkers between
the needles and by its means the depth of the stitch is regulated. The sinker
wheel runs in the direction of the arrow as shown in Figure 4, and as the shanks of
the sinkers in passing around strike the face of the slur-cock 33 they are thrown
out between the vertical needles 15 15 of the needle cylinder, and taking the yarn
as it is delivered to them sink it between the needles to such a depth as the
adjustment of the slide 20 and of the slur-cock call for. The guard cam 32 is so
constructed that as the shanks of the sinkers pass off the incline of the slur-cock
they fall within the reach of the guard cam 32, the front end of which is made to
be substantially concentric with the wheel for the space of two or three needles
before the retracting cam face is reached. From this point the cam face retracts
the sinkers until they reach the concentric part of the shauk race.
As this is a
The needles in the dial plate 8 are operated by the action of the cams 17 and 18
as they pass them in the rotation of the dial plate 8, and as there is nothing in
their action different from that of many existing and well known machines which
are well understood, no specific description thereof is here given. The vertical
needles are actuated by means of the cam plates 49 and 49" shown in section in
Figure 3. The interval between the under edge of plate 49 and the top of plate 49"
constitutes a race through which the shanks of the needles travel.
common construction well understood it is not here particularly described.
When ordinary ribbed goods are being produced, the presser wheel is set to the
desired position and the lever 28 fastened so as to secure its positive action; but.
when an intermittent action of this wheel is called for the pattern mechanism shown.
in Figures 1 and 2 is brought into action. This consists of an endless chain or
jacquard made up of thick and thin links c c and e e, and carried by the sprocket
wheel 58. This sprocket revolves on a journal stud projecting from a bracket 55
attached to the side of the main frame of the machine. It is propelled by a
ratchet 57 and pawl 56 attached to the bell crank 54 which is actuated by a cam
lug 51 on the suspender arm 50 which depends from the underside of the needle-
cylinder and revolves therewith. At each revolution of the needle cylinder this:
lug lifts the roll 52 on the inner end of one of the arms of the bell crank 54,.
thereby propelling the ratchet one notch and the chain one link. Above the chain,
another bell crank 60 is pivoted to the same bracket, the lower arm of which has a
tappet which rides on the top of the chain 59 while at the end of the other arm the
link 37 connects the same with the handle 28" of the presser wheel. Accordingly.
as the vertical arm of the bell crank 60 is thrown in and out under the influence of
the pattern chain, the handle 28ª will be swung and the presser wheel 29 will be:
correspondingly thrown into and out of contact with the vertical needle barbs.
This mechanism is brought into action in producing figured fabrics or in making.
royal ribs."
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When the needle cylinder is equipped with latch needles only in using the feed
wheel the presser wheel and its connections are dispensed with, the system of
sinkers being adapted to work with latch needles equally as well as with spring
needles. By the use of this feed wheel either with spring or latch needles a much
more elastic fabric can be produced than by the old style devices and a much more
even and uniform surface can be produced.
The above described "feed-wheel" may be mounted on a suitable stand and

page_text: adapted to run in connection with the horizontal set of needles without in any way
departing from its principle of operation; therefore my correspondent claims the
invention in combination with any set of rotating needles whether arranged to
radiate from the axis of rotation of a cylinder or in parallelism therewith.
As many of these feed wheels may be arranged around a cylinder as can be
operated advantageously, and connections may be made from one to another in any
of the well known ways so that the action of pattern chain can be communicated to
as many as may be desired.
The special advantage accruing from the use of this device in working uneven,
weak, or tender yarn results from the fact that after the thread is seized by a
sinker blade the cam face of the slur-cock 33 is such, taken in connection with the
intermeshing of the needles 15 15 with the sinkers, that practically the stitch is
sunk to the limit of its depth between the first two needles between which the
sinker enters, so that in the further rotation of the wheel the yarn is not drawn
from one needle to another through the notches at ends of the sinkers whereby it is
stretched, drawn or weakened in any way. Therefore a much finer, weaker and
tenderer yarn can be worked than where the ordinary burr wheel is used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with the described rotary feed wheel and the series of barbed.
needles of a rotary knitting machine, of the eccentrically mounted presser wheel
and means substantially as shown, connected therewith, for putting said presser
wheel in and out of action substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination of a grooved rotating needle cylinder equipped with
vertically movable barbed needles, cams for imparting to said needles their
appropriate vertical movements, a horizontal toothed wheel geared to mesh with
the tricks of the needle cylinder aud to be rotated thereby and in unison therewith,
a concentric sinker dial connected with said wheel and revolving therewith, a
series of shanked sinkers and a cam race for imparting to said sinkers their
appropriate movements, with a presser wheel and an adjustable eccentric bearing
on which said presser wheel is fitted to run, substantially as described and for the
purpose specified.
3. The combination of the needle cylinder, needles, feed wheel comprising the
gear, sinker dial, sinkers and cam race, a presser eccentrically mounted as shown,
and the described sliding stand on which the feed wheel is mounted, substantially
as and for the purposes described and set forth.
4. The combination with the needle cylinder and needles of the feed wheel fitted
with the eccentric presser, the pattern device and provisions substantially as shown,
connecting it with the presser for the purpose of alternately knitting pressed or
mispressed work substantially as specified.
"
5. The stationary cam plate and rotating dial plate mounted on the lifting
spindle, a sliding crosshead to which said spindle is attached, the vertical standards
upon which said crosshead slides, and means substantially as shown, connected with
said standards for elevating and lowering said spindle in the manner substantially
as described and for the purpose set forth.
6. The presser-shifting-lever carrying the presser wheel, eccentrically pivoted
on or about the axis of the feed wheel and connected by means substantially as
shown with the pattern mechanism and the feed wheel, in combination with said
pattern mechanism, as a provision for mispressing at predetermined intervals,
substantially as specified.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1895.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.