IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Edward Harding, of the City and State
of New York, United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, London, Civil Engineer, and Peter Wright, of Argyle
Street, Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES."
Sealed the 22nd July 1870, and dated the 25th January 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Edward
Harding and Peter Wright at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 25th January 1870.
We, GEORGE EDWARD HARDING, of the City and State of New York,
United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings,
London, Civil Engineer, and PETER WRIGHT, of Argyle Street, Glasgow,
in the County of Lanark, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention has especial reference to the machine described in the
Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent have been obtained,
bearing date the Eighth day of September, A.D. 1869, No. 2639..

page_text: The said improvements are designed partly to render such machines
more generally useful than heretofore by increasing the varieties of work
which they will perform, and also to render them more efficient and
convenient with regard to the operations of "narrowing" and forming
selvedges..
In the knitting machine above referred to the stitches are formed
upon a reciprocating comb, which is moved to and fro by a cam or wheel
whose peripheral surface is composed of one or more annular ribs or
collars, which are fitted to work between the teeth of a rack on the said
comb, and a portion of which is made movable so that it can be inclined
laterally to either side of the cam, the said inclined portion then acting
like a screw or worm upon the comb rack. The direction in which the
said comb moves depends upon the direction to which the movable
portion of the cam or wheel is inclined; and in order that the comb
may be reversed and made to move to and fro within any desired distance
(which distance limits the width of the fabric) an automatic device is
employed as follows: Under the moveable part of the periphery of the
cam or wheel is pivotted a small three-armed dog or tumbler capable of
turning freely on its pivot, and connected to the said moveable part. On
the comb are adjustable stops, which are placed the required distance
apart, and which strike this tumbler at the end of the movement of the
comb in each direction. When either of these stops" strikes the tumbler
the inclination of the cam wheel is reversed, and the comb therefore
begins to move in the opposite direction.
In order to produce in such a machine openwork or fancy knitting of
various patterns it is necessary that the comb should have while
performing the distance between the aforesaid stops in either direction a
short advancing and receding motion repeated a number of times at
certain intervals, that is to say, that although it moves to the limit of its
stroke in each direction to give the required width of the fabric, it will
meanwhile perform a scries of short to-and-fro movements, and thereby
form open spaces in certain parts of the fabric instead of making a
continuous even web. For this purpose we attach to the machine an
apparatus which can be made to act on the tumbler of the cam and
reverse the motion of the comb any desired number of times between
the limits of its stroke or travel in either direction. This apparatus
consists of a sliding bar formed with fingers or projections to operate on
either side of the tumbler, and it is operated by a cam which receives an

page_text: intermittent motion by means of a ratchet and pawl from the main shaft
of the machine. The said cam is formed with a peculiar shaped zig-zag
groove around its periphery, into which groove is fitted a pin or stud on
the sliding bar; the said bar is guided in suitable bearings, which allow
it to slide freely endwise while keeping it in its proper position with
regard to the main cam of the machine and the zig-zag grooved cam
above mentioned. The zig-zag groove in this cam is so formed that as
it is turned by the ratchet and pawl the sliding bar is moved endwise
and operates the tumbler of the machine cam, so that the inclinable
portion of the said cam is reversed and reverses the motion of the comb
at certain intervals and as often as may be required, and by this means
the fabric instead of being one continuous web of plain knitting has the
desired figure or openwork pattern formed on it. The motion of the
comb and consequently the configuration or pattern of the knitting may
be varied by changing the cam of the attachment. For this purpose we
make the same with a square hole and form on the ratchet wheel a
square boss, which permits the ready changing of the said cams without
disturbing the other parts of the apparatus. The grooves in these
cams should be so formed as to correspond with the number of teeth
in the ratchet wheel or with multiples thereof. The said apparatus or
attachment may be readily attached to or removed from the knitting
machine, which may be used with or without the said attachment as

page_text: on the original shifting piece of the said cam. The effect of the secondary
or auxilliary switch is to return the last formed loops of. the web upon
that tooth of the comb which (according to the direction in which the
comb is travelling) is to the right or left of the tooth whereon without
the secondary switch it would be received, and thus the automatic
"narrowing" is effected. The adjustable part of the stops is thrown out
of action by turning it back on its pivot: A small lever pivotted at the
back of the operating cam or wheel is provided with flanges or projections
to act on each side of the aforesaid secondary switch or movable part of
the cam.
When this lever stands in its vertical or central position it
holds the switch central with the cam, and limits the action of the.
latter on the comb to one movement; but when the said lever is inclined
to the right or left the said switch continues its action on the comb, and:
while in this position the main or primary switch is placed in its central.
or newtral position, and a continuous narrowing of the fabric or a'
selvedge on the last row of stitches is produced.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Edward Harding and Peter Wright in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th July 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE,
EDWARD HARDING, of the City and State of New York, United States
of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Civil
Engineer, and PETER WRIGHT, of Argyle Street, Glasgow, in the County
of Lanark, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said George Edward Harding and Peter Wright,
Her special licence that we, the said George Edward Harding and Peter
Wright, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said George Edward Harding and Peter Wright, our executors, admi-
nistrators, 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
:

page_text: .
"
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN KNITTING MACHINES,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said George Edward
Harding and Peter Wright, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, therefore, that I, the said George Edward Harding,
for myself and the said Peter Wright, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings forming a
part of this Specification :-
Our Invention lias especial reference to the machine described in the
Specification of an Invention for which Letters Patent have been
obtained, bearing date the Eightli day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, No. 2639.
The said improvements are designed partly to render such machines
more generally useful than heretofore by increasing the varieties of work
which they will perform, and also to render them more efficient and
convenient with regard to the operations of "narrowing" and forming
selvidges.
In the knitting machine above referred to the stitches are formed
upon a reciprocating comb, which is moved to and fro by a cam or wheel
whose peripheral surface is composed of one or more annular ribs or
collars, which are fitted to work between the teeth of a rack on the said
comb, and a portion of which ribbed surface is made movable in such
manner that it can be inclined laterally to either side of the cam, the
said inclined portion then acting like a screw or worm upon the comb
rack. The direction in which the said comb moves. depends upon the.
diretion to which this moveable portion of the cam or wheel is inclined,
and in order that the comb, may be reversed and made to move to and
fro within any desired distance (which distance limits the width of the
fabric) an automatic device is employed as follows:-Under the movable
part of the periphery of the cam or wheel is pivoted a small three-armed
dog or tumbler capable of turning freely on its pivot, and connected to

page_text: the said moveable part. On the comb are adjustable stops, which are
placed the required distance apart, and which strike this tumbler at the
end of the movement of the comb in cach direction. When either of
these stops strikes the tumbler the inclination of the cam wheel is
reversed, and the comb therefore begins to move in the opposite direction.
. In order to produce in such a machine openwork or fancy knitting
of various patterns it is necessary that the comb should have while
performing the distance between the aforesaid stops in either direction
a short advancing and receding motion repeated a number of times at
certain intervals, that is to say, although it moves to the limit of its
stroke in each direction to give the required width of the fabric it will
meanwhile perform a series of short to-and-fro movements, and thereby
form open spaces in certain parts of the fabric instead of making a
continuous even web. For this purpose we attach to the machine an
apparatus, which can be made to act on the tumbler of the cam and
reverse the motion of the comb any desired number of times between the
limits of its stroke or travel in either direction.
One form of our Invention is illustrated on Sheet 1 of the Drawings.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the said apparatus; Figures 2 and 3
shew detached portions of the same. Like letters indicate the same parts
in each of these Figures.
This apparatus consists of a sliding bar a formed with fingers or
projections a¹ to operate on either side of the tumbler of the cam
wheel F of the machine. The said bar is operated by a cam 6, which
receives an intermittent motion by means of a ratchet wheel c and
pawl d from the main shaft D of the machine. The cam is formed
with a peculiar shaped zig-zag groove b¹ around its periphery, into which
groove is fitted a pin or stud a³ on the sliding bar a; the said bar is
guided in suitable bearings e, which allow it to slide freely endwise while
keeping it in its proper position with regard to the main cam F of the
machine and the zig-zag grooved cam above mentioned. The zig-zag
groove in this cam 6 is so formed that as the said cam is turned by the
ratchet and pawl the sliding bar a is moved endwise and operates the
tumbler g of the machine cam F, so that the inclinable portion of
the said cam is reversed, and reverses the motion of the comb h at
certain intervals and as often as may be required, and by this means the
fabric instead of being one continuous web of plain knitting has the
desired figured or openwork patern formed on it.
The motion of

page_text: the comb h and consequently the configuration or pattern of the knitting
may be varied by changing the cam 6 of the attachment. For this
purpose we make the same with a square hole, and form on the ratchet
wheel a square boss, which permits the ready changing of the said cams
without disturbing the other parts of the apparatus; or the boss of the
ratchet wheel and the hole in the cam may be round, the cams being
secured on the boss by a small screw. The grooves in these cams should
be so formed as to correspond with the number of teeth in the ratchet
wheel c, or with multiples thereof. The said apparatus or attachment
may be readily attached to or removed from the knitting machine, which
may be used with or without the said attachment, as desired.
The second part of our said Invention is illustrated in Sheet 2 of the
Drawings.
Figure 4 is a front elevation shewing the machine provided with our
improved machanism; Figure 5 is a front elevation shewing the parts in
a different position; Figure 6 is a rear elevation of part of our improved
machine; Figures 7 and 8 shew detached portions of the same. Like
letters indicate the same parts in all of these Figures.
According to this part of our Invention we provide a knitting machine
of the class herein-before specified with the means whereby the
narrowing of the fabric may be automatically performed by the said
machine. For this purpose we provide the cam F which operates
the comb with an additional shifting or changing piece F2, on its
periphery, and attach to the stops i which (as described in the aforesaid
former Specification determine the width of the fabric) an adjustable
part i³, which being thrown into a position to act on the cam at the
proper times reverses the comb at longer or shorter intervals, as desired,
and thus gradually narrows the fabric being produced. The adjusting
part of the stops has two arms, and is pivoted to the stop at *. The
latter is thus provided with three points or projections 1; 2, 3, and in
the arrangement illustrated in the Drawings two of these points are
equidistant from the centre of the wheel F, while the third is further
from the centre of the said wheel. The second changing or shifting
part F of the cam wheel F, as shewn in Figure 8, is made shallower
than the other shifting part, and it coincides in its radial distance from
the centre of the wheel with the point 1, so that when adjusted, as shewn
in Figure 5, this point will act on the said adjustable part, while the
points 2 and 3 act only on the original shifting piece f of the said cam.

page_text: In knitting a plain web with the aforesaid machine constructed as
described in the said former Specification two revolutions of the wheel F
are required to reverse the action of the comb, the tumbler g in one
revolution being acted on by the stop to bring the adjustable part f
into its central or neutral position, and the said part f being by the
further action of the tumbler produced by the stop in the next revo-
lution of the cam thrown to the other side thereof. By arranging the
two points 2, 3, of the stop one behind the other in the path of the:
tumbler g the reversal of the comb is effected in one revolution of the cam
wheel F. The effect of this mechanism is to return the last formed loops
of the web at the end of each row of stitches upon that tooth of the
comb which (according to the direction wherein the comb is travelling)
is to the right or left of the tooth whereon without this secondary switch it
would be received, and thus the automatic "narrowing" is effected. The
adjustable part of the stops is thrown out of action by turning it back on
its pivot . A small lever F³ pivoted at the back of the operating cam
or wheel F, as shewn in Figure 6, is provided with. flanges or projec-
tions F to act on each side of the aforesaid secondary switch or movable
part F2 of the cam. When this lever stands in its vertical or central
position, as shewn, it holds the switch F2 central with the cam, and
limits the action of the latter on the comb to one movement, but when
the said lever is enclined to the right or left the said switch continues its
action on the comb, and while in this position the main or primary
switch is placed in its central or neutral position and a continuous
narrowing of the fabric or a selvidge on the last row of stitches is
produced.
Having thus fully described our said Invention, I wish it understood
that on behalf of myself and the said Peter Wright I claim,-
First. An attachment for a knitting machine as illustrated in Sheet 1.
of the accompanying Drawings, substantially as set forth for the purposes
specified.:
Second. An arrangement of parts which includes substantially the
same devices as the said attachment, that is to say, a ratchet wheel or
equivalent device operated by a cam or eccentric and giving motion to
the peculiarly formed grooved zig-zag cam, and thereby actuating a
sliding bar or rod which is so formed and aranged as to effect the
automatic reversal of the knitting for the purpose set forth.
Third. Constructing the cam wheel of the machine-with a secondary

page_text: or additional switch or a number of such switches, and arranging in
combination therewith a guide lever whereby the said switch or switches
may be retained in a central position or inclined to either side of the cam
wheel, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. In combination with the said secondary switch and with the
other switch of the cam wheel a stop with the three points adjustable
and operating substantially as set forth for the purposes specified.
Fifth. The combination with the original parts of the aforesaid
knitting machine of the said secondary switch the stops with three
points, and the lever, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Edward Harding, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
Witness,
D. L. WAGNER.
GEORGE EDWARD HARDING. (L.S.)