Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Knitted Articles and to Machinery or Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 8th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 13th Sept., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Knitted Articles and
to Machinery or Apparatus therefor.
We, SAMUEL DAVIS, Hosiery Manufacturer, of Hinckley, FRANK MOORE, Hosiery
Manufacturer, of Leicester, JOHN INGRAM COLTMAN, of Mill Lane, Leicester and
JOHN SHELTON of Clarendon Park, Leicester, Overlookers, do hereby doclare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relatos to the manufacture of knitted articles and to machinery or
apparatus therefor.
"
The main object of our said invention is to provide for the manufacture on a
power" frame of full-fashioned articles having portions thereof thickened by means
of the Royal Rib" stitch or multiple loop, like the thickened portions of tubular
or bag hose or circular knitted articles.
68
"
Heretofore there has been no means devised for producing such thickened portions
in full-fashioned articles manufactured on a power frame. But by our improve-
ments we are enabled to very effectually accomplish this result.
power
We apply our improvements, by preference, to
" frames or knitting-
machines known as Cotton's Patent Rib Frames"; our said improvements are,
however, applicable or adaptable to other "Rib Flat Frames" driven by power.
In carrying our said invention into practice, we provide an additional or supple-
mentary slide which is fixed in any convenient manner to the ordinary slide of the
knitting-machine.
Moreover we provide suitable means for moving or adjusting the slide so that the
knees or angles or other parts of the articles can be thickened as desired.
1330
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Knitted Articles and
to Machinery or Apparatus therefor.
We, SAMUEL DAVIS, of Hinckley, Hosiery Manufacturer, FRANK MOORE, of
Leicester, Hosiery Manufacturer, JOHN INGRAM COLTMAN, of Mill Lane, Leicester,
Overlooker, and JOHN SHELTON, of Clarendon Park, Liecester, Overlooker, 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 :-
Our invention relates to the manufacture of knitted articles and to machinery or
apparatus therefor.
The main object of our said invention is to provide for the manufacture, on a power
knitting frame, of rib fabric having portions thereof thickened by forming thereat
multiple loops known as the " Royal Rib" stitch. As for example, in the production
of stockings, composed of rib fabric, by our improved apparatus, we may form the
said multiple loops or "Royal Rib" stitch at the knee, beel, and ankles for the purpose
of thickening those parts.
We apply our improvements by preference to power frames or knitting machines
Cotton's Patent Rib Frames"; our said improvements are, however,
applicable or adaptable to other "Rib-flat Frames" driven by power.
known as
In carrying our said invention into practice we provide an additional or supple-
mentary slide, to which are attached a series of plates so arranged and actuated as

page_text: to periodically prevent the casting for one or more stitches of certain loops in order to
form on the corresponding needles multiple loops; these multiple loops are subsequently
cast, like the ordinary single loops, and form the thickened stitches. Moreover, we
provide for moving or adjusting the said plates attached to the supplementary slide
so that the knees, heels or ankles or other parts of the knitted articles can be thickened
as desired.
In the accompanying drawings, we have shown how our said invention may be con-
veniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a plan of portions of a rib fabric knitting frame, having our improve-
ments applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a plan of the mechanism, not shown in Figure 1, for locking the
supplementary slido hereinafter described."
Figure 3 is an end elevation of Figures 1 and 2, portions of the apparatus being
removed.
Figure 4 is a section on the line a Figure 1 drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 5 is a similar section on the line. Figure 1 but showing the supplementary
slide hereinafter described in a different position.
Figure 6 is a plan of a portion of our improved apparatus showing the plates,
attached to the supplementary slides, set for thickening the heels.
Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the frame of the machine; B the ordinary slide with its platos attached for
casting the loops from off the machine needles ; D is the presser; E the template
rail; a main driving shaft; and G the knitted fabric.
At suitable intervals on the template rail E we firmly fix, by screws or otherwise,
standards a Figures 4 and 5 having slots a' in which is mounted a slide b so as to
be capable of sliding in the said slots in a direction transversely to its length. To
the said slide bar bare firmly fixed at suitable intervals pairs of brackets e, one pair
for each piece of fabric, carrying short spindles c' on which fingers d are mounted.
The said fingers d are movable endwise on the spindles e for the purpose herein-
after specified. Each finger d carries a plate e, which project under the plate of
the ordinary slide B for casting the loops and is supported by the knitted portion
of the fabric G. For actuating the slide bar we provide the following mechanism;
that is to say, we attach to the said bar two or more brackets having jaws f¹
carrying hinge pins f* and we couple the said pins by links g to arms h which
are firmly fixed by screws or otherwise to a longitudinal shaft carried in suitable
bearings mounted on the frame A. By oscillating the shaft i the slide bar & way
he moved backwards and forwards in the slots a¹ and the plates e moved towards or
from the presser 1); the two extreme positions of the said plates are shown in
Figures 4 and 5. On one end of the shaft i is adjustably fixed by a screw j¹ or
equivalent means an arm j, and the said arm is coupled by a link k to one end
of a lever centred at in a bracket fixed to the frame A. The other end of
the lever carries an anti-friction roller m which is maintained in contact with a
rotating disc by a spring 1 connected at one end to an arm of the lever
and at the other to a pin 17 fixed to the frame of the machine. The disc n is
secured on the driving shaft F and at one portion of its circumference is formed a
depression which allows the roller m to be momentarily raised by the spring le
thus slightly oscillating the lever about its pivot and through the link k and
arm jalso oscillating the shaft i and as above described sliding the bar band its attached
plates e inwards towards the presser D. Immediately the depression n¹ of the disc n
has passed the roller m the latter is depressed again by the circular portion of the
disc n and the plates e are withdrawn to their initial position. It is obvious that the
said plates e if not otherwise restricted would be moved in and out once every revolution
of the disc n. The movement of the plates e towards the presser D causes all those
loops opposite the said plates to be slid underneath the harbs of their corresponding
needles from which position they cannot be cast by the ordinary slide B, consequently
when the plates e are moved forward as above described the loops opposite the said
plates are prevented from being cast, while the remaining loops are cast in the ordinary

page_text: course. It will thus be seen that when the next row of loops is formed, there will be
double loops on all the needles opposite the plates e. If the said plates are then slid
back and retained in the inoperative position all the loops will be cast at the next
operation by the ordinary slide B, and at the particular part where the double loops
were formed a thickened stitch will have been produced which results in a thickening
of the knitted fabric thereat. We provide for retaining the plates e in the inoperative
position when desired to allow of the loops being cast in the ordinary manner by the
following mechanism; that is to say, a hook o Figure 3 fixed on a shaft o' carried by
a bracket o secured to the frame A, is adapted to engage with the extreme end 18 of
the lever and when so engaged the said hook locks the lever and prevents its being
moved by the spring when the depression n' of the disc n passes over roller m.
Consequently at that revolution of the shaft F when the lever is locked, the plates e
are not actuated and all the loops across the whole width of the fabric are therefore
cast. On the shaft o' is securely fixed an arm p having a jaw pl at its upper end
which works between adjustable collars q₁ of a rod 7 adapted to slide in bearings g²
fixed to the frame A. In a convenient position on the said rod g is adjustably secured by
a screw or otherwise an arm or striker having a head piece and in line with the
said head is a rod s mounted to slide in bearings s¹ fixol to the frame A. On studs s²
adjustably fixed to the rods are mounted rollers one on each side and engaging
with a cam secured on a shaft t' which rotates in suitable bearings fixed to the
frame A and is driven by gear wheels from the shaft F. The cam tacting through
the rollers s traverses the rod s backward and forward in its bearings and causes it
to periodically strike the head of the arm r and thereby slide the rod 7 in its
bearings g, and, through the arm p and shaft o', move the catch o into engagement
with the end of the lever 2, thus locking the said lever and preventing movement of
the plates e as above described. Immediately the rods retires from the armr the
rod is returned to its initial position by a spring q which is compressed between
one of the bearings q² and a collar q fixed on the rod q. A collar 7' is secured on
the rod behind one of its hearings q' for the purpose of limiting the return move-
nent of the said rod under the action of the spring q³ when released by the return
of the rod s.
The rollers are maintained in position by pins or in any other suitable
manner. In the arrangement shown in Figures 2 and 3 the ratio of the gear
wheels is two to one the shaft t' revolving at half the speed of the shaft F, and
consequently the lever is locked at every alternate revolution of the disc n. The loops
on these needles opposite the plates e will thus be cast every alternate stitch and
the intermediate stitches will consist of double loops, while those loops not opposite
the plate e will be cast every stitch. Instead of connecting the rod q directly to the
arm p we prefer to divide the rod into two sections qq and connect the said two
parts together by a spring g' attached to collars qq fixed one on each of the said
parts. Moreover we fix on the part 9 by a screw or otherwise a sleeve q³ into which
the end of the rod y is free to slide. By reason of this elastic connection the
movements of the catch o and its actuating parts when struck by the rods are performed
with much greater smoothness than would otherwise be the case if the connections
were rigid.
In Figure 6 we have shown the plates e, for one piece of fabric, separated for the
purpose of thickening the heels.
Although we have described an arrangement for producing double loops at the
desired places in the knitted fabric and for casting the said loops at alternate stitches
it is obvious that we may if desired by varying the relative sizes or ratio of the
wheels produce trebled loops and cast the same every third stitch or any other
desired arrangement of multiple loops may be produced.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
First. The manufacture, on a rib-flat power knitting frame, of rib fabric having

page_text: one or more portions thereof thickened by multiple loops formed by periodically
preventing for one or more stitches the casting of certain loops and then permitting
one or more ordinary stitches to be made, substantially as above specified.
Second. A rib-flat power knitting fiame provided with a supplementary slide
having suitable plates attached thereto for periodically preventing for one or more
stitches the casting of certain loops and then retiring to allow of one or more
ordinary stitches being made, substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
Third. The combination with the said supplementary slide of suitable means for
actuating and for locking the said slide substantially as described, and for the purposes
specified.
Fourth. The improved apparatus constructed substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawings, and operating as, and for the purpose,
above specified.
Dated Gins on day
August
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.