US1050787A - Driving mechanism for knitting-machines. - Google Patents

Description

G. L. BALLARD.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES; APPLICATION FILED AP11.25, 1911.

- Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1 111mb, I Rvenwn Georgegl .flallwr I e. L. BALLABD. DRIVING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES. I r 1,050,787.

APPLICATION FILED APR.25, 1911.

PatntedJan. 21, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ifwentor. 9 6 L'. Ba/Z'Za G. L. BALLARD. DRIVING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED 11.25, 1911.

' Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

r 2W: Y

Ifivenior; Q W0C. 7% a George L Ballard,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

enoncn LAWSON BALLARD, or Noams'rowN, PENNSYLVANIA, nssmuon 'ro WILD- MAN MFG. 00., or NORRISTOWN, rEnnsYLvANm.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

speeification of Letters lPatent. Application filed A ril 25, 1 11. serall'm. 628,259.

Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

To all whom z'tmay concern Be it known that I, GEORGE Lawson BAL- LARD, subject of the Kin of Great Britain, residing at Norristown, Tennsylvanizn'have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Driving Mechanism for Kmtting- Machines, of WhlCh the following is a specification. v

The invention consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims. i

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a let off and drive mechanism embodying my invention; Fig. 2' is a sectional view across the drive shaft substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig.1, parts being shown in dotted lines; Figiisa/reareview of tlid invention;Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are views of details.

In these drawings, 1 is the drive shaft of the knitting machine having a gear 2 thereon for drivm the machine; This shaft has a bearing in t e machine frame atits inner end and at its outer end it bears in a sleeve 3 fixed ina bracket 4. This shaft has fixed thereto a hand wheel 5, while the belt pulley 6 is loosely and slidably mounted on the said sleeve. This pulle has a. grooved hub 7 receiving the let 0 fork 8, which is mounted upon a rod 9 guided in the bracket, and pressed by a spring 10 to move the pulley to the left, Fig. 3, to withdraw the clutch blocks 11 from engagement with the clutch blocks 12 to stop drivlng. The clutch blocks 11 are carried by a flange or ring 13 fixed to or formed with the pulley hub. When the blocks are in engagement, as shown in Fig. 3, the power from the pulley is transmitted through these blocks, the carrier of the blocks 12 consisting of: the ratchet wheel 13', which is loose on the shaft, but which carries around with it a friction band 14 by means of the pin 15 on said ratchet wheel, the said friction band engaging a drum 16 the hub 16 of which is pinned to the shaft 1 at 17, Figs. 2 and 9. The shaft 1 is thus driven through the friction band and drum from the belt pulley when the clutch pins are in engagement, as shown in the drawings.

For holding the parts set in their driv-' mg positions. just mentioned, a hand lever is used composed of a main part 18 mounted on a pin 19 fixed in the frame bracket .20 supported on the bed of the machine, said hand lever having a, gripportion 21 to be grasped by the hand pivoted at 22 to'the main part of the hand lever. To an upwardly extendin arm 23 of this-grip or handle is pivoted a latch 24 guided in a bearing 25 of the man part of the handf'lever," it being'pressed" by asprifi'g 26in said bearing outward away from the mai'npart of' the lever. This .latch- .,,24 rests upon acatch pin 27 carried by a leveror arm28 mounted on a vertical rock shaft 29 joiir nzgeinthe bracket 20, said rockshaft having an arm 30"at its up er end extending to a' point to be struckand operated by the stop motion device on the knitting head WhlCh acts for instance when any one of the threads breaks, thus turning the rock shaft and horizontal arm 28,- withdrawing the catch 27 from the latch 24 and allowing the hand lever to fall. This hand lever, when up in the position shown, holds the driving clutch in position to drive by means of the link 31 connected to the rear arm 18" of the hand lever, and to an arm of a bell crank lever 32, which controls the clutch fork -8 above described. When now the hand lever is released by withdrawing the catch 27, the spring 10 will operate the clutch fork and unclutch the drive mechanism. This will take place when the shaft 29 is turned by the stop'motion or detector devices. The let oil" can also be operated by hand at any time by the operator tipping the grip or handle21 downwardly, thus drawing the latch bar 24 to the left in 2 from ofi the catch pin.

When the let off is operated by the turning of the shaft or rod 29, the arm 28"of thehorizontal lever will carry a catch pin 27 under the rear arm 18 of the hand lever. at the sametime that the catch pin 27 is re' moved from said hand lever, and this will. prevent the clutch from being thrown in until after the stop motion connections have been reset, 2'. e.,the shaft 29 and arm 30, ready to be operated again on the occurrence of a broken thread or other imperfection in the the pawl comes against a slide 41 guided in work. This resetting action will withdraw an arm 42 on the fixed pin 19, and pivotally the rear catch 27' frombeneath the hand leconnected at 43 with the forward arm 28 of ver, and set the forward catch 27 in line the horizontal lever, so that while the pawl above the latch 24, but as this latch has a 36 will drop part way down when the hand 70 beveled upper surface at its end Figs. 1 and lever is lowered to unclutch, it will still be 8, and as the catch pin is beveled on its held just free of the teeth of the ratchet by under side, the latch will ride over the end the pin 40 engaging the slide 41 which thus ofthe catch pin, its joint at 22 being sufiiforms a stop for the detent. Should, howciently loose to allow slight lateral moveever, the machine be unclutched by the op- 75 ment, and then the spring 26 causes the latch eration of the stop motion, the same moveto snap over the catch pin to rest thereon, ment of the horizontal lever 28 which reand support the hand lever up With the, leases the hand lever 18 will withdraw the driving clutch thrown in. contact edge 41 of the slide which acted as The movement of the hand grip 21 in rea stop for the pawl pin when the hand le- 30 spect to the main part of the hand lever 18 ver was operated manually, so that now the islimited by a pm 33 on an arm or lug said pawl may drop all the way down and of said grip engaging the walls of a recess enter a tooth on the ratchet and hold it, toin the side face of the main part of the gether with the band which new acts as a my arm. brake to the revolution of the drum and 35 In order to place a certain degree of reshaft. Now this slide also insures that the straint. upon the horizontal lever 28, 28, stop motion be reset at the same time that with its catches and its rock shaft- 29 and the control of the pawl is resumed, that is, arm 30 toholdthese parts in either poSithe-control to hold it up for releasing the iffi o'n tbwlficfitheymiay-bendjustedbut-yeL b gke so that the machine can not be started to allow them to be readily operated when without setting the stop motion. For this sufiicient power is applied, a spring detent purpose I pivoton the slide 41 a finger lepin 34 is spring mountedvin the arm 20 of ver 44 of bell crank form, lateral pressure the bracket 20, its inclined end engaging against the finger piece 45 of which in the 30 the inclined end of an arm 35 fixed to the arrow direction, Fig. 1, will first lift the lever'28, 28". pavM; engaging its pin 40 and then, as the It will be seen from the above that the swingirig movement of the finger lever is clutch can be thrown by hand by simply limited by its edge 46 striking the Edge of pressing down a forward pivoted portion the slide, further pressure on the finger le- 35 -of the hand lever, thus retracting the latch ver will move the slide as a whole to the 24 from ofi the catch 27 and thus the whole right, Fig. 1, to bring its stop edge 41 in hand lever can fall and allow the spring 10 front of the pawl pin 40, and this same above mentioned to throw the clutch out. movement will reset the stop motion connec- The same thing will occur when the stop tions, 0., will set the lever 28, 28 so that 40 motion shaft 29 is operated, for then the the catch 27 will be in the position of Fig. horizontal lever 28, 28, will turn and re- 1 ready to engage and hold the hand lever tract the catch pin, freeing the hand lever up when this is lifted manually to start the and allowing the spring 10 to act. machine.

v The band or friction member 14 which I claim as my invention 45 drives the drum 16 and consequently the 1. In combination in a let-ofi' for knitting shaft 1 also acts as a brake when the let-off machines, a drive shaft, clutch members for is operated and the clutchthrown out. The driving the same, a friction member connecratchet 13' is controlled to. make this band tion between one clutch member and the act as a drive or as a brake as the case may drive shaft, a ratchet wheel connected with 50 be. As long as this ratchet is rotating, the said friction member and clutch member, a 11s band will drive through the drum, but if it detent for on aging the ratchet to make the is arrested then the band will act asa brake. friction member act as a brake, and means For arresting the ratchet, a detent or pawl for controlling the clutch and said detent, '36 is provided pivoted on the pin 19, the substantially as described.

55 said pawl being pressed by a spring 37 tend- 2. In combination, in a let-off for knitting ing to force it into the ratchet, but when machines, a drive shaft, a clutch compristhe machine is running, the pawl is held up ing the two members one of which is shiftby a pin 38 on the hand lever engaging unable to and fromthe other, a friction mem- ..der a pin 39 on the pawl. Should the hand her, a ratchet wheel connected thereto and 60 lever be lowered by the attendant so that to one of the clutch members, a detent for the clutch is thrown out, it is desirable to controlling the ratchet wheel, a hand lever still keep the detent up, and consequently with connections for operating the clutch and thebrake off, so that the machine may be the detent, a stop for the detent to retain it turned over by hand by operating the hand inactive when the hand lever is manually op 65 wheel 5, and for this purpose a pin 40 on erated to release the clutch so that the brake will be held off, and stop motion connections for withdrawing the said stop and permitting the detent to engage the ratchet and set the friction member, said connections also controlling the throwing out of the clutch, substantially asdescribed.

3. In combination in a let-off for knitting machines, a clutch member, a friction member connected with one clutch member to drive the shaft, detent means to prevent rotation of the friction member and thereby form a brake, stop motion means for setting the detent means for the braking effect, connections operated by the stop motion means for throwing the clutchmembers apart, and a resetting device for-the stop motion means, said device also withdrawing thedetent means to release the brake, substantially as described.

4. In combination in a let-off for knitting ,machines, clutch members, a friction mema friction driving member to impart movement to the said shaft from one clutch memher, a detent for said clutch member to arrest the same with the friction member to make the latter act asabrake, a stop for the .detent, stop motion connections leading to said stop and connections controlling the clutch from said stop motion, a manually operated device for releasing thedetent to I take off the brake, said device, by the same movement, resetting the stop motion connections, substantially as described. I

6. In combination in a let-off for knitting machines, a shaft, clutch members, one of which has a friction member for driving the shaft, a ratchet also connected with said clutch member, a detent for holding the said ratchet, a hand lever with connections therefrom to the clutch, said hand lever having means for holding the detent released, a stop motion controlled catch for holding the hand lever in position for the'clutch to drive, means for manually releasing the hand lever from its catch to open the clutch, and a stop for the detent to prevent the setting of the brake when the hand lever is manually released, substantially as described.

7'. In combination in a let-ofi' for knitting machines, a shaft, clutch members, one of which has a friction member for driving the shaft, a ratchet also connected with said clutch member, a detent for holding the said ratchet, a hand lever with connections therefrom to the clutch, said hand 'lever havingmeans for holding the detent released, a stop motion'controlled catch for holding the hand lever in position for the clutchv to drive, means for manually'relea'sing the hand lever from its catch to open the clutch, and a stop for the detent to prevent the setting of the brake when the hand lever is manually released, said stop being withdrawn when the catch is removed from the hand lever by the stop motion connections to allow the brake to be set, substantially as described.

7 8. In combination in a let-off for knitting machines, a shaft, clutch members, one of which has a friction member for driving the shaft, a ratchet also connected with said clutch member, a detent for holding the said ratchet, a hand lever with connections therefrom to the clutch, said hand lever having means for holding the detent released, a stop motion controlled catch for holding the. hand lever in position for the clutch to drive, means for manually releasing the hand lever from its catch to open the clutch, a. stop for the detent to prevent the setting of the brake when the hand lever is manually released, said stop being withdrawn when the. catchis removed from the hand lever by the stop motion connections to allow the brake to be set, and a finger lever pivoted to the stop having limited swinging movement for withdrawing the detent, and having bodily movement with the stop to reset thestop mot-ion connections and to set the stop in front of the detent, substantially as described. a

9. In combination in let-off mechanism for knitting machines, a shaft, a clutch,a hand lever connected thereto, a friction device driving the shaft from one of the clutch members, a detent to make said friction device act as a brake, a connection from the hand lever to the detent for lifting the same, a stop for said detent, stop motion connections controlling said stop, a catch conitrolle'd by said stop motion connections for holding the hand lever with the clutch set when the stop motion is set, and a second catch controlled by the stop motion connection to prevent movement of the lever for throwing in the clutch after the stop motion connections have operated, substantially as described.

10. In combination in a let-01f for knitting machines, a shaft, clutch members, a hand. lever pivoted intermediate of its length and controlling the'clutch members, and a stop motion connection for holding the lever in both its position for driving and its position for stopping said stop motion connection consisting of a vertical rock shaft having arms extending therefrom in opposite directions, catches'on. the arms, one lying adjacent the hand lever in front of its pivot and the other lying adjacent the hand lever in rear of its pivot, and a latch carried by the hand lever to removably engage the front catch,

5 said latch being operated manually to free the hand lever from the front catch, substantially as described.

GEORGE LAWSON BALLARD.

Witnesses;

E. R. ROBERTS, EDITH C. FRICK.

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