US1390660A - Printing attachment for knitting-machines - Google Patents

Description

PatentedSept. 13, 1921.

G. S. WEINERTH.

PRINTING ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 23, I920. 1,390,660.

nd I N N ,I lf *I I IWI ITS: I 1I tachments for UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. WEINERTH, 0F READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

To all whom it may concern y l Be it known that I, GEORGE S. WEINERTH, a citizen of the United States, residin at Reading, in the county of Berks and tate of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in `Printing Atnitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in a printing attachment for knitting machines, which is adapted'to automatically print `determined markings upon each of a series of consecutively produced knitted articles, and which is fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing and the novel features thereof clearly .defined in the claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the attachment; coperative portions of a knitting machine to which it is applicable, and a cross-section of the fabric, being indicated in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation mainly on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, with the relative positions of knitting machine parts and of the fabric again indicated.

Fig. 3 is a artial end view with the fixed platen arm broken away and the inking device removed.

The directly cooperating parts of a knitting machine in connection with which my invention is employed, are the needle cyl inder indicated at a, and the pattern wheel b suitably mounted in the machine frame c and chain driven as usual to automatically control the knitting as required;these parts being shown in the relation commonly employed in hosiery ribbers. The fabric d represents a connected series of tops, as ordinarily knitted on such machines and as passing through the fabric-way 5 of the attachment to the usual take-ofi rolls c.

These hosiery ribbers, which knit a continuous string of hosiery tops to be subsequently cut apart for separate use in completing the stockings, are commonly cmployed in large numbers; and the particular purpose of my invention is to provide for automatically marking each top produced so as to identify the particular machine which produced it, so that in case of any defect the cause thereof may be quickly determined and corrected.

The frame of the printing attachment is formed with attaching arms 6, 6 adapted to be rigidly secured, as indicated, to the knitting machine frame c; with a slide-way bracket 7 extending at right angles to the Speclcaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 13, 1921.

Application filed November 23, 1920. Serial No. 425,955.

axis of the needle cylinder and having a fixed-platen extension arm 8 spaced apart from the end of the slide-way portion of bracket 7 so as to provide the vertical fabricway 5; and with vertical supports 9, 9 forming bearings for the lever mechanism employed to operate the reciprocative bed member 10 in the slide-way of the bracket.

The reciprocative bed member 10, which is suitably guided in the bracket slide-way, is

provided at its forward end with an impresv sion plate or type 11 adapted to effect any desired marking on the interposed portion of fabric d, when the member 10 forces it outward against the fixed platen arm 8.

This movement is automatically imparted to the member l() at determined intervals, corresponding with the fixed length of each top, by action of the pattern wheel b upon the operating lever mechanism carried by the supports 9, 9 of the attachmentframe. As shown this mechanism comprises a horizontal shaft 15 mounted in said supports and provided with a fixed operating arm 16; the spring-pressed pivoted end portion 17 `of the latter being arranged in the path of a projection or pin 18 on the pattern wheel so as to cause a rocking movement of the shaft 15 at a determined time in each rotation of the pattern wheel, and consequently at a determined position of each knitted top produced. This rocking movement of shaft 15 is transmitted to the reciprocative bed member 10 through a link 20 pivotally connected to lugs 2l on said member;'this be- `ing eifected Vas shown through an intermediate level` shaft 22 also mounted in said supports 9, 9 and arranged to receive a rocking movement from an arm 24 on said operating shaft 15, and to transmit the same to the member 10, as desired through a fixed arm 25 on the shaft 22 and said pivoted link 20.

To provide for automatically inking the impression end of the reciprocative member 10 after the making of each impression, I employ an inking device 30, pivotally secured at 31 to lugs 32, 32 on the slideway bracket 7, and having an end portion 33 thereof depending below said pivoted connection 31 so as to be operatively engaged by the reciproeative member 10; the latter being provided on its upper surface with spaced offsets 35, 36 forming between them a recess for said depending end 33 ofl the inking device, so that the latter is caused to swing reversely lOO Y with corresponding move-ments of the member'10. The inking end 39 of the device is thus swung into inking contact with the impression end of the member during each retracting movement of the latter, andV is swung out of the way, as indicated in dotted'lines, during each forward movement of the'latter. A stop spring l() is shown to limit the upward swing of the inking device.

' 25, shaft 22 and link 20, will press forward the reciprocative bed member 10 in the guide- Vway bracket 7. The offset 35 of the latter,

pressing" against the depending: end 38 of the inking device 30 will swing the latter `upward to the dotted position indicated,

leaving the inked impression end of the member 10 free to press the fabric in fabricway 5 against the fixed platen arm 8 and impart the desired marking-ordinarily the particular number of the machine to which the attachment-l is applied. When the pin 18 passes the lever-arm 16 the member 10l is withdrawn by Va spring41, and offset 36 of the member 10 throws the end 39 of the pivoted inking device 30 into inking contact with the impression end 11 of said member; while the lever arm 16 is returned to normal position for a repeat-operation by the pattern wheel. lfa defect appears in any product of a series of machines provided. with the attachment, the particular machine in which such defective, product was made is at once identied by the marking.

The preferred construction of my attachment which is specifically set forth may obviously be modified within the scope of the invention Aas defined in the claims.

Nhatl claim is:V

1. In combination with a knitting machine havin'ga needle cylinder and a pattern wheel; a fabric-printing mechanism comprising an attaching frame having operating-lever supports and a slide-way bracket forming a passage-way for the produced fabric, a reciprocative bed member in said slide-way, and lever devices for projecting said member including a tensioned arm arranged in the path of said pattern wheel having limited independent movement.

2. A fabric-printing mechanism for circular knitting machines, comprising an attaching frame having operating-lever supports and a slide-way bracket with an extension forming a fabric-way, a rcciprocative bed member in said slide-way, a pivoted inking device, means carried by t-he bed member operating to positivelyswing the inking device to operative and inoperative positions incident to the retracting and advancing movements, respectively of the bed member and lever mechanism for operating said rcciprocative platen member.

3. A fabric-printing mechanism for circular knitting machines, comprising an attaching frame having operating-lever supports and a slide-way bracket, a stationary arm arranged at the end of the slide-way bracket forming a fabric-way, a reciprocative bed member in said slide-way, an inking device pivoted to said bracket and operatively engaged by said reciprocative platen member, and lever mechanism for operating the latter.

1. A fabric printing mechanism for circular knitting machines comprising an attaching frame having operating-lever supports and a slide-way bracket with an extension forming a fabric way, a reciprocative bed member in said slide-way, a lever mechanism for operating said reciprocative platen member, a pivoted inking device, means carried by the bed member operating to positively swing the inking device to operative and inoperative positions incident to the retracting and advancing movements, respectively, of the bed member, and means t0 resiliently stop the movement of the pivoted inking device during its return to inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signataire.

GEO. S. VElNERTl-l'.

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