US13165A - Knitting-ktachnste - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JULY 3, 1855.

' T. FOWLER.

ROTARY KNITTING MACHINE.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS FOWLER, OF COHOES, NEW YORK.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 13,165, dated July 3, 1855.

To all whom 2t may concern Be it known that I, THouAs FOWLER, of Cohoes, in the county of Albany, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Knitting-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is an isometrical projection of a rotary knitting machine as improved by me for making ribbed work; Fig. 2, a vertical sect-ion through a 2 (Figs. 1 and 3,) some parts being shown in elevation; Fig. 3 a horizontal section through 3 'y, with some parts below that line shown in plan; and Fig. 4 a detached view of a stationary stitch cam.

The same letters refer to like parts in all the figures.

The description of the construction and operation of a rotary knitting machine, as improved by me for producing ribbed work, is as followsviz:

J is the base of the machine.

K is a standard from which a complete circular series of radial hooked needles, (B, B, B, B, 13,) fastened to the block X, is suspended by the rod H. The block or plate, X, turns freely upon the lower portion of the rod H, it being retained thereon by the washer T and screw U, or by other convenient means. The needles B, B, are arranged in a radiating manner in one plane with their barbs uppermost, and are fastened in any convenient manner; as, for example, by the method shown in section in Fig. 2; where the inner ends of the needles are seen bent at right angles to the bodies of the needles and inserted in a circular row of holes, (6, 6) while the bodies of the needles rest in radial grooves as seen at 0 and c, and held by the clamp screws I, I and clamp plate I, made in sections for convenience in removing or inserting the needles.

C is a hollow cylinder or block, having slots or channels 8, s, s, s, .9, cut into it and extending from its circumference to near its interior surface. These channels or slots are in number equal to the number of needles in the radiating series, and are all cut of uniform depth and width, and divide the cylinder into equal sections, 25, t, t, t. This cylinder is fastened at its largest part to the surrounding ring W, and is thereby supported, so as to be revolved directly beneath the series of radial needles; the ring being supported and retained in place by the flanged rollers S, S S and rollers S S projecting from the standard K and ports 0 and O; or the cylinder may be supported by the ring being held by, and turning Within, a circular box, or in any, ordinary and suflici'ent manner. A, A, A, A, are a set of hooked needles, (equal in number to that of the needles in the radiating series) that are soldered or otherwise secured to the slats or strips A, A A so as to form therewith a series of sliding or movable needles. These strips are suited in size and shape to move freely, and without much shake or turning, within the slots or channels of the cylinder C, and are placed therein with the barbs of the needles directed outwardly. Semi'circular notches are made in the outside edges of the slats near their lower ends, and the inside portions of their bottom parts are rounded, so that the movable needles shall be retained within the slots by, and be free to vibrate about or upon the cam ring D; which cam ring surrounds the slotted cylinder; being fastened to the cylindrical part J projecting unequally from the base. The depression (6) in the cam ring, causes the movable needles to descend, and they rise, as the slot-ted cylinder is revolved. (The position of this cam ring is shown in outline, in

- elevation and plan by the dotted lines 71., h,

Figs. 2 and 3). A small part of this camring is made adjustable (i, to allow a nfirledle to be removed or inserted when desira e. 1

E is a stationary cam supported within the deep groove C of the slotted cylinder, by arms R, R, fastened to the under side of the base of the machine. This cam (E) causes the movable needle to vibrate or partially turn upon the cam, ring D, as the cylinder, that carries the movable needles, is revolved. The needles of the two sets alternate With each other and revolve together; for those of the cylinder cross those of the radiating series in a considerable part of their revolution. The radiating set is adjust-ed and secured at the right height to properly operate with the movable set, by sliding and clamping the rod H, at H.

The driving power is applied to the machine by means of the crank, L, shaft, P, pinion, P, and toothed ring W; or it may be applied by gearing to the bevel wheel V, upon the block that holds the radiating set of needles; or to both of the sets of needles, by well known gearing; so as to cause them to revolve independently, yet together.

N is an adjustable spring support for the ordinary thread wheel or sinker N.

M is a common rotary presser for the radial needles, and Y a cam presser, in ordinary use, for the movable needles.

j is the yarn from a spool or cap and passed through the hole 0, in the shield and yarn guide, 37.

o is the knit fabric, inside of the slotted cylinder. This fabric may extend to the take-up rollers, and be wound thereon; or, be left hanging to and revolving with the needles, suflicient weight being attached to the fabric to give the proper tension upon the needles and stitches. This pulling upon the fabric causes the movable needles, when the cam E ceases to act, to return to a position inside the barbs of the radial needles; but to secure this result more promptly, the movable needles are surrounded by the guide rod or cam (a) that is held upon the supports Q, Q, Q, or in other convenient manner. The position of the surrounding cam or guide rod, in elevation and plan, is indicated by the dotted lines 9, 9, Figs. 2 and 8.

After the cylindrical fabric or web has been manually put into the machine, with the unbroken thread or yarn extending therefrom, and with all the loops or stitches of the inside ribs put on the radial needles, and all the stitches of the outside ribs upon the set of movable needles, and the machine put in motion, its operation is as follows, viz: The yarn is carried and laid by the sinker wheel under the barbs of the radial needles. The sinker also leaves thereby enough yarn between the radial needles to form the new loops or stitches of the movable needles; As the two sets of needles revolve together, first the cam E pushes the movable needles outward until they are a little beyond the ends of the radial needles before the cam ring D begins to draw the movable needles downward. During the passage of the movable needles outward, the stitches of the radial needles are completed; for the movable needles then slide the old stitches of the radial needles out with them, over the barbs that are then sunk by the presser M and oi the ends of the needles; while the new loops or stitches remain under the barbs at the ends of their needles.

F is a cam fastened to the lower end of the rod H, and inside the knit fabric. The outer dial needles.

edge f, of the thin arm, F thereof, (seen in section at F,) is close to the under side of the radial needles; and, by its shape and arrangement assists the passage of the old stitches over the barbs and off the needles.

As soon as the old stitches are cast off from the radial needles, the depressed part of the cam ring D, draws the movable needles downward until their ends are a little below and outside the ends of the ra- During this downward motion of the movable needles the new stitches thereof are made, and the old ones cast off; for when the needles begin to descend the old stitches are so drawn down by the tension upon the knit fabric, that the loops of which the new stitches are to be made are left above the old stitches, and slide under the barbs of the needles, and the barbs depressed before the points of the barbs meet the old stitches; consequently, as the needles are drawn farther down, the old stitches are slipped over the barbs and off the needles. To assist and further insure the separation of the old stitches, from the yarn-for the new stitches, at the time of depressing the barbs, the part F of the cam F, is enlarged or thickened, and so applied to the web as to pass the old stitches fart-her down than would be eflected by the general tension upon the knit fabric. As soon as the barb is depressed this cam ceases to act.

To help slide the old stitches off over the depressed barbs of the movable needles, a stationary cam G, is arranged outside the web, yet within the needle cylinder, C, and fastened to theunder side of the bed plate of the machine; and so applied to the under or outside of the web, and close to the needles, as to raise the old stitches, or assist their passage off the needles. The end G, of this cam or stitch guide is bent down so as not to catch in any holes that accidentally occur in the knit fabric. As soon as the old stitches are cast off from the movable needles, said needles are raised upward, by the cam D, until their barbs are entirely above the radial needles, and are allowed by the cam E to be returned inside the barbs of the radial needles, in which position they remain until the radial needles are again fed with yarn, when they are again pressed out by the cam E.

When the machine is constructed and used as above described, plain ribbed work, or that which has single rows of ribs upon both sides, will be made. When fancy ribbed work or that which has, for instance two rows of stitches upon the inside, alternating with one row upon the outside of the fabric, is to be knit by this machine; every other one of the movable needles is taken out of the needle cylinder and the feed wheel raised a little, so that it shall not supply as much yarn as when plain work is knit. The machine will also operate when alternate needles of the radiating series are removed; and by this system of removing needles, several varieties of cylindrical ribbed work can be produced upon one machine.

Instead of knitting with but one thread and employing one sinker and two pressers, one cam E, and one depression in the cam ring D, as shown in the drawings and above described; as many sets of these appliances with a thread of yarn to each can be used, as there is room for these sets in the machine; so that one, two, three, four, or more threads can be used at once, whereby the quantity of the fabric produced will be proportionally greater.

I am aware that a knitting machine, having two rotary sets of hooked needles placed at an angle to each other and operating to gether and in connection with a sinker and two pressers so as to make ribbed work, has been used; and I do not, of course, extend my claim to embrace such general principle of construction, and I believe that a rotary machine having a radiating series of sliding hooked needles and an annular series of fixed hooked needles operating together in a certain manner and in connection with one rotary sinker and two rotary pressers has been patented heretofore, to John Pepper Jr., and used to make ribbed work; but that machine, so far as it is mainly distinguishable in character from older machines than it, is made to operated by a substantially different principle of arrangement and construction from that employed by me. For I believe that the operation of that machine, aside from the sliding of the radial needles depends upon the fact that the line of the axis of rotary motion of the radial set is inclined to or forms an angle with the line of the axis of motion of the annular set; and without this inclination of the axes of motion of the two sets of needles, that machine could not operate to knit ribbed work; and further, by the adoption of said principle of construction, the possibility of using more than one thread of yarn in a machine, is precluded, whereas, by the manner in which I arrange and combine the two sets of needles in my machine and operate the movable needles by cams, as many threads of yarn can be used at one time as there is room for in the machine of the appliances used to feed the yarn and operate the needles; which fact is of much importance, as the quantity of the product of the machine is in proportion to the number of threads used at a time.

The distinguishing characteristics of my improvements in rotary knitting machines for making ribbed work, are expressed or indicated in the following statement of What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, to wit:

1. I claim combining a revolving, radiating series of horizontal fixed hooked needles, and a series of vertical movable hooked needles that are so operated within and by a revolving slotted cylinder or its equivalent and by cams, as described, that the two series of needles shall operate together, and with, one or more than one set of appliances, each consisting of one sinker and two pressers, and make cylindrical ribbed Work substantially as set forth.

2. I claim combining and arranging the set of movable needles with the revolving slotted cylinder, and one, or more thanone set, of stationary cams, each set consisting of the cam E, and a depression and an elevation in the cam ring D, as described; so that the movable needles shall be successively carried outward to cast off the old stitches from the radial needles, and then downward to cast off the old stitches from themselves, and finally upward and inward to allow the yarn to be again fed upon the radial needles in their revolving course; and the following improvements, viz:

3. I claim the inside stitch guide F, constructed and arranged in connection with the two sets of needles, as described; to help cast 013? the old stitches of the radial needles; and to increase the distance between the old stitches and the new ones, upon the movable needles, at the time their barbs are depressed.

4. I claim the outside stitch cam G, constructed and arranged as described; to help cast off the old stitches of the movable needles.

5. I claim the cam (a) constructed and arranged as set forth; to assist the return of the movable needles to, and to retain them in, the position they occupy during the

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