US1340695A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

E. U. AMES- KNlTTlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8. 1915.

1,340,695. Patented May 18,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. U. AMES, KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICMIGN man NGV. 8, 1915 Patented May 18, 1920.

. S. Patent, Serial No.

UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

ELIE! Ur LIES, OI PHILADELPHIA, YENNSYLVANIA, ASBIGNOR TO K. BBINTON' comm, OI PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- BYLVANIA.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed November 8, 1915. aerial No. 80,300.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Emma U. Amns a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphla, Pennsylvania, have invented a certain Knitting-Machine,-(being a continuation in part of m a plication for U. 11 filed'Febrnaliy 9, 1915), of which the following is a spec s cation.

One object of this invention is to provide relatively simple, substantial and accessible mechanism -for controlling the operation of the yarn guidin fingers of a circular knitting machine, t e invention contemplating S1161 an arrangement of artans w1ll..permit the raising of the late ringto an inoperative position and its lowering to an operative position without changing the operative connection between the yarn guiding fingers carried by said ring'and the cams whereby their action is controlled.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for maintaining constant'or invariable the an In at which yarn is fed to'the needles regar less of the movement of the cam ring to vary the length of the stitches, the various parts being arranged so that the cam and latch rings are mechanically connected and caused to move with the am guides in such manner as to iccomplish this end.

It is also desired that the mechanism operatiirely connecting the yarn-serving fingers or guides with their controlling cams shall be so arranged as to permit of the latch ring adjustment without interfering with the proper operation of the machine.

These objects and other advantageous endsv I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

igures l and 2 are respectlvely a side olevation and lan of a circular knitting machine embo ying m invention;

Fig. 3 is avertical section on the line a,-a, Fi .2; V a

Fig. 4 is an elevation partly in section illustrating certain of the parts of the me.-

chine in positions difierent" from those illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing one of the features of my invention; and Fig. 6 is an elevation partly in 'pn illustrating the reinforcing yarn 'de'with the t eseveral positions occupied under conditions of use of the machine to which my invention is ap lied.

n the above drawin s, 1 is a frame supporting a needle cylin er 2 which, during the operation of the machine, alternately receives a rotary and an oscillatory movemerit and is of any suitabie construction, havin grooves 3 forthe rece" tion of needles 4. T e lower end of said cy inder fits within a ring 5 having set screws 6 laced to enter recesses 7 in the lower en of said cylinder so that this latter Ina be removed by backing ofi' said screws. bred to the lower portion of the ring 9 is a ear 8 throu h which power is applied for riving the cy inder.

Y The frame lvis provided with a vertically extending guideway 28 in which is slidably mounted a post 27 formed as part of the cam ring 63 and having a flange 29 formed to constitute a pocket for one end of a coiled spring 30 whose opposite end ongages said frame so as to be capable of moving the post u ward after it has been depressed. The ower end of the post 27 is connected through a link 31 and a rod 31 to an arm 32 of a bell crank lever 33, which at 36, on a main cam drum 37, in order to periodically lower the post 27 and with it the cam ring 63 during the knitting of certain ortions of a stocking.

A atch ring 38 is pivotally mounted on a pin 39 carried by a forked structure 27 mounted so as to be vertically ad'ustable as well as adjustable in a horizonta plane on post 27,- there being a set screw 27 wherehyit ma be retained in an given position. Said atch' ring normal occupies a position'directly over the nee e cylinder so that the needles when moved upwardly will pass within it and is adjusted by means of a screw 40 which extends through a lug 41 thereon and has its inner end in contact with said forked structure 27, so that said latch ring cannot move down below a horizontal lane.

late ring has a radial extension 43 in which is formed an openin 38 serving as a ideway for arn-gui e actuating jacks which are sli able toward and from thineedles. in order to hold these jacks in place while permitting their linntedlongitudinal movement I provide two pins &6 and 17 which extend through the walls of said tension across the opening 38 and iass through slots -14 and 45 in said jacks. arn guide lingers 48", 48",,48 and 48 are ivotally mounted on a shaft 4.9 supported in the extension of the latch ring and each has an actuating arm 50 fitting within a. notch fit in a enacting one of the jacks 42, so that a sliding movement of one of the latter will raise or lower its particular yarn guide within the :iatch ring 38 in order to withdraw yarn from or serve it to the needles.

For the purpose of actuatinq the jacks I provide a number of hell cranr levers 52, 52", 52" and 52, movably mounted on a shaft 53 carried in an extension 54 of the frame 1. Each of these levers has an arm provided with an adjusting screw 56 whose lower end is placed to en age a flat butler spring 57 also projecting rom said arm, and the main druni 37 has cams 5 placed to engage. these springs at definite tion of the machine, so as to move the levers into the position occupied by the lever 52 in Fi 3. In addition to the above I also provide a yarn guide 48 pivotally mounted on. a bracket carried by the latch ring'extension position to feede reinforcing yarn to the needles, the others of the yarn guides being actuated by cams on the "Mill terndrum to insert the yarns required in knitting a stocking. For example, the guide 4 may be used to supply the yarn for the body of the foot of the stockir q, while the fingers 48", 48" and 48 may be employed to feed threads of difl'erent kinds, si cs or colors as desired.

Each jack 42 at the lower part of its rear end has a projection 42 placed below the pivotal support 39 of the latch ring and is forced toward its actuating lever by a spring 59; oneend of each spring being attached to a pin 60 on the extension diiwhile its other end is attached to a pin 61 on the jack.

When. the latch ring 38 is in its horizontal position and the lever 52 has been moved to engage and slide the jack 4% into its extreme forward position, the yarn guide 48" is thrown up out of action. If on the other hand the cam 58 on the, pattern drum 37 is moved from -under the lever 52, the spring 59 will move said jack 42 rearwardly and permit the yarn guide to move down into a position in which it can feed yarn to the needles.

The above jack-actuating levers 52 etc., are so shaped and mounted that when they are moved by the earns 58 to their highest positions, their jack engaging surfaces are substantially vertical, thus permitting vertical movement of the post 27 without aftimes during the opera-.

'l'cctin" the position of the yarn guides. in the other hand, when the cams 58 move from under the lovers 52, etc., and allow them to drop to their lowest positions, their jill'lv' engaging surfaces will. occupy positions clear of the jacks 42 as shown in the case (in the lever 51 Fig. 4. lly the above dc srribed arrangeim-nt of jacks and jack opcrating levers the latch ring 38 may be freely moved into and out of its operative position without interference from any of the associated mechanism, since when it is lowered, those jacks -12 which lpnl, moved their yarn guides up before the latlgh rin; was raised, will engage the vertical surfaces of their respective actuating levers and will be again moved on the extension 48, thereby again moving said fingers into inoperative )ositions.

ln'Fi 4 have shown the latch ring in its partl y raised position, with the projecting end of one of the jacks 42 in engage ment with the actuating face of the lever '52, so that a. downward movcn'wnt of said ring will cause said jack to be moved in wardly, thereby raisinp the yarn-guide linger -18 out of action. If the latch ring he moved upwardly from the position shown iirFig. 4, the s ring 59 will move the jack 42 outwardly, t ins drawing the yarn finger within the opening of the extension of the latch ,ring.

The reinforcing yarn guide 4.8 tends to move into the lower position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6 under the action of a spring {134 mounted within a cylindrical casing 135, in which osition it will feed yarn to the needles. aid guide 48 may be moved into an inoperative or raised position by means of a jack 42 slidahly mounted like the jacks 42 and actuated by a fiver 52, which may be shifted as described in connection with the levers 5 to 52 inclusive. Said jack 42 may be moved by a spring 59 away from the yarn guide 48 to permit the spring 1 34't0 lower it Hill) operative position. or controlling this move.- ment of the parts I provide a cam 52 on the P n drum 37 which acts on an arm f the lever 52 to move the jack 42" into engagement with the yarn guide 48 and swing it up and wholly out of action as re aired in order to allow the ion butt need es to pass it when they are in 15 mir highest positions, as during the knitting of the heel and toe.

The lever 52 is connected b y a link 136 to one arm of a lever 138 pivoted to a dependinglug 139 on the frame 1. The other arm of saidlever is provided with an antifri'ction roller 141 which, when the lever 52 is djsengafiei from the cam 52 0a the-drum i 37 ma enga; ed b a cam 142 on the bottom 0 the need e 037 the yarn guide t8-out' ef. action during the der, in order to raise- V mg reinforcin sition relatively to the needles,

length of this cam be "lowing the jack knitting of the unreinforced part of the stocking. If it is desired that the mechanism shall knit a stocking with its sole portion reinforced, the length of this cam 142, is such as to be inversely proportional to the number of needles to which it is desired to feed the reinforcing yarn; it being obvious that at a definite point in the rotation of the needle cylinder, said cam will actuate the lever 138 in such manner as to move the reinforcing yarn guide 48 upwardly awa from the needles, and prevent it from fee yarn to those needles which, for exam le, nitthe upper or instep portion of the foot.

On the other hand, as the cam 142 passes out of enga ement with the roller 141, the lever 138 wi I be moved by the jack 42" under the action of the sprin 59 transmitted through the lever 52 an link 136, and the yarn guide will be moved into its lower or o eratlve position in which it feeds the rein orcing yarn to the needles for knitting the sole part of the foot. The cam 142 and the spring 134 will thus act during each revolution of the needle 0 linder to move the yarn guide 48 out of an into operative poit being understood that if said cam has an angular length of 180 degrees, the reinforcing yarn guide 48 will remain in operative position to feed reinforcing yarn to one-half the needles in the cylin er and will then be moved into an inoperative position in which it withholds the reinforcing yarn from the remainder of the needles. Obviously if the increased, it results 1n a decrease in the number of needles to which reinforcing yarn is fed and vice versa. If therefore during the knitting of the foot portion of a stocking, the reinforcing yarn guide is alternately moved into and out of operative position at such times that 'reinforcing yarn is fed to but one-half of the needles in the needle cylinder, one-half of the knitted web will'be reinforced as is desired in the sole portion of the foot.

The movement of the pattern drum 37 is such that when the foot portion of the stocking is to be knitted, the cam 52' rection of the arrow X, Fig. 1, thereby al- 42 to move outwardly. The action frees the yarn guide 48 so that its movement into and out of operative posi' tion may be affected by the cam 142. By the rotation of the needle cylinder during the-knitting of the foot portion of a stocking, the roller 141 is moved down by the earn 142, causing the yarn guide 48 to be moved out of operative position for a certain time during each revolution, though not for such a distance as that caused by the cam 52' on the drum 37. In any case however the outwill pass 7 out of engagement with the lever 52, which Wlll be moved by the spring 59 in'the diward movements of said yarn uide 48 are sufiicient to prevent it from fee ing yarn to the needles.

In order to knit the reinforced sole of the stocking, the cam 52' is so placed upon the pattern drum 37 that when the machine starts to knit said portion, it will move frpm under the arm of the lever 52, thus moving the yarn guide 48 into a position to serve the reinforcing yarn; it being noted that for each revoluti n of the needle cylinder 2 the cam 142 will move the lever 138and thereby cause a movement of said guide into and out of its yarn feeding position While I have described a certain definite construction of yarn uide for feeding the reinforcing yarn, it will be understood that other forms, such as the main yarn gu1des illustrated, may be employed to serve such reinforcing yarn, and the main yarn may served from any one of the guides 48,etc.

It is particularly to be noted that as shown in Fig 5, by rigidly connecting the cam ring and the yarn changer comprised by the latch ring 38 and its associated parts, the angle of delivery of the yarn relatively to the needle wave remains constant irrespective of the changes in the position of said cam ring incident to the knitting of a stocking. That is to say, there can be no variation of the angle at which yarn is fed when the cam ring moves up or down to lengthen or shorten the stitches, connection between said ring and yarn changer, the latch ring with the yarn directing members will moveup or same time and to the same extent. This angle may be adjusted however by moving the forked structure 27" up or down on the post 27.

Under operating conditions the yarn passes from the yarn guides to the corner of the throat plate 65 and from thence to the point at which it is engaged by the needles. Ordinarily when the cam ring is lowered to cause lengthening of the stitches, the needles move down bodily so that the line of the yarn between said throat plate and thepoint at which said yarn is engaged by the needles approaches the adjacent line of travel of the needles, increasing the likelihood of the yarn passing above rather than into thc'hooks of the needles. On the other hand when the cam ring is raised, the movement of the above mentioned line of the yarn away from the line of travel of the needles frequently pinched between the latch and the Wall of each needle as said latch closes. By connecting the yarn changing device with the cam ring as previously described, the angle of yarn delivery remains constant regardless of the position of said ring.

claim 1. The combination in a knitting machine since owing to the rigid own at the causes the yarn to be of a needle support; needles therein; a latch ring; a jack; a finger fc" feeding yarn to the needles actuated by said jack; and a lever normally disconnected from the jack having an actuating surface perpendicular to the line of movement of the jack for actuating the same. the jack, the finger and the lever all being movable in me same plane.

2. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; needles therein: a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring; a finger for feeding yarn to the needles: a jack slidable on the latch ring for moving said yarn finger and having a portion below the axis of said pivotal support: means for moving said jack in one direction to move said finger into one position; and a structure movable into contact with that part of said jack below the pivotal support for moving the jack in another direction to move said finger into a second position.

3. The combination in a knitting machine ot' a needle support; needles therein; a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring;

a finger for feeding yarn to the needles; a jack slidnble on the latch ring to move said yarn finger and having a portion below the pivot of said latch ring; means for sliding said jack in one direction to move said finger into one position; a lever having a surface movable into engagement with said lower portion of the jack to slide it in another direction to move said finger into a second position said lever surface being substantially vertical when in engagement with the jack.

4. The combination in a knitting machine of a cylinder: a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring; a yarn feeding finger; a jack for moving said yarn finger;

means for sliding said jack in one direction to move said finger into one position ;.a lever having a surface movable into engagement with said jack to slide the latter in another direction to move said finger into a second position, said lever surface being substantially vertical when in engagement with the jack; and means r'or automatically moving said pivotal support to vary the distance between the latch ring and the cylinder.

5. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; needles therein a latch ring; a pivotal support for said latch ring; a finger or feeding yarn to the needles; a

; jack slidable on said latch ring. for moving said yarn finger; means for sliding said jack in one direction to move said finger into one position; a lever movable into contact avith the jack to slide it in another direction to move said finger into a second position;

and means for holding said lever in engagement with the jack to hold said linger in an inoperative position the finger. the jack and the lever all being movable in the same plane.

6. The combination in a knitting machine 5 of a needle support; needles therein; a latch ring; a jack supported by said latch ring;

a finger actuated by said jack for feeding yarn to the needles ;'means for moving said jack in one direct-ion to move said finger into one position; a lever for moving the jack in another direction for moving said finger into a second position; means for holding said lever in engagement with the jack to keep said yin-n finger in said latter position; means for releasing said lever; and T5 at second means for moving the lever into engagement with the jack after said leuer has been released by the holding means. i

7. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; needles therein; a latch :30 ring; a. jack slidably supported by said latch ring; a finger for feeding yarn to the needles and movable by said jack into and out or operative position; a lever having one of its faces movable into engagement with the jack for moving it in a direction to throw said yarn finger out of operative position; and a spring for moving said jack in the opposite direction to throw said yarn finger into operative position, the jack the finger and the lever being all movable in the same plane.

a 8. The combination in a knitting machine of a cylinder-having needles: a cam ring;

a member for delivering yarn to the needles; means for automatically moving said ring with said member to vary the lengths of the stitches; and means for maintaining constant the angle at which the yarn passes to the needles irrespective of the position of the cam rim 9. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; a cam ring; means for automatically moving said cam ring up and down during operation of the machine; and a yarn guide connected to the cam ring so as to be moved up anddown therewith.

10. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; a cam ring; a yarn guide; and means for simultaneously and automatically moving the cam ring and yarn guide relatively to the needle support at predetermined times during operation of the machine.

11. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle-support; a cam ring; a movable structure supporting said cam ring; a member including a latch ring mounted on said structure; a yarn directing element carried by said member; and auto- 20 matic means for actuating the supporting structure to move the cam ring and the yarn directing element simultaneously up or down.

12. The combination in a knitting ma- 2 chine of a needle support; a cam ring therefor; a structure supporting the cam ring; means for automatically actuating said structure to move the cam ring relatively to the needle support; a latch ring carried by 1 the supporting structure; and yarn directing means mounted on the latch ring.

13. The combination in a knitting machine of a needle support; a vertically movable structure adjacent thereto; a cam ring for the needle support carried by said structure; a latch ring also carried by the structure: a plurality of yarn guides mounted on the latch ring; and automatic means for periodically imparting vertical movement to the structure carrying the cam and latch rings.

14. The combination in a knittin machine of a needle support; a latch ring; a

structure pivotally supporting said ring;

a yarn guide; a jack for actuating said yarn guide and mounted on said latch ring; with a member for operating the jack detachably engaging the same below the pivot of the latch ring.

15. The combination in a knittin machine of a needle support; a latch ring; a structure pivotally supporting said ring; a yarn guide; a jack for actuating said yarn 16. The combination in a knit-tin machine of a needle support; a latch ring; structure pivotally supporting said ring; a yarn guide; a jack for actuating said yarn guide and mounted on said latch ring; said jack having a projection below the pivot of the latch ring; with an operating lever haw ing a surface substantially perpendicular to the line of movement of the jack, placed to detachably engage the jack projection.

17. In a knitting machine, the combination of a series of needles; means for actuating said needles; means for shifting said actuating means for fashioning purposes; a pluralit of yarn. feeds; and means for sbiftin said feeds in correspondence with the shifting of the needle actuating means, whereby a constant feeding relation is at all times maintained between the feeds and the needles.

ELMER U. AMES.

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