US1848477A - A partnership composed os - Google Patents

Description

March 8, 1932. I s R HARTRANF-r 1,848,477

THREAD FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 28, 1928 A 2 SheetsSheet 1 3 7 3e 44 I; O 8

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March 8, 1932. s. R. HARTRANFT 1,848,477

THREAD FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1928 fiuilllllL Emma 6111b: ncqa Patented lVlar. 8, E932- SAMUEL R. HARTRANF'I, F READING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO CENTRAL HOSIERY COMPANY, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA, A PARTNERSHIP GOMIOSED OF MORRIS R. ADAMS, JOHN G. RHOADS, MARY E. HEILIVIAN AND SAMUEL R.

HARTRANFT THREAD-FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Application filed December as, 1928. Serial No. 328,998.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines, and particularly to an improved attachment therefor adapted to feed additional thread to determined needles principally for the production of ornamental stripes, pattern designs, or the like.

My main object is to provide an improved thread feeding attachment for this purpose effectively cooperating with the usual machine operations and supplying thread to selected needles, whereby an increased variation in possible ornamental designs is readily provided for and controlled by a predetermined setting of the pattern means.

Another main object is-to provide an attachment mounted transversely of the needle cylinder and outside the latter, the feeding ends only of its thread guiding means being revolved about an axis extending transversely toward the cylinder and substantially radially crossing the axis of the latter, and simultaneously longitudinally reciprocated toward said cylinderabove the needlesand across their circular path, thus facilitating its application to any usual type of circular machine with a minimum of structural changes in the latter, and occupying heretofore comparative- 1y unused space. i

A still further object is to provide an attachment of substantially unitary structure whereby it may be readily placed in its cooperative mounted position, tiltable to idle out-of-the-way position for necessary machine operations, or simply lifted bodily from its mounting when not required.

\Vith the above main objects thus outlined, and with other important objects that will appear later as the description progresses, my invention comprises the structure hereinafter more fully set forth in connection with the drawings accompanying the same and forming part thereof and showing a preferred embodiment of my attachment applied to a known type of circular knitting machine, the nature of its operation being fully described, and the novel features thereof being specifically set forth in the subjoined claims.

ig. 1 shows in front elevation essential portionsof a known circular knitting machine suflicient to disclose the. application thereto of a preferred embodiment of my complete attachment.

Fig. 2 is mainly a corresponding side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1, only the forward end of the finger carrying unit being shown.

Fig. 3 shows separately one of the threadguide fingers and its cooperatingslack takeup device.

Fig. 4 indicates a partial plan view of the knitting head showing details of the needle selecting mechanism employed in connection with my attachment.

Fig. 4a is a fragmentary detail of the controlling lever for the slide bar.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail of the needle cylinder showing a jack employed with the needle.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the driving connection for the rotary thread guide carrier, and Fig. 7 a partial diagrammatic view of the cam ring.

My attachment may be applied to any usual circular knitting machine, the drawings indicating parts of a well known machine more fully set forth in Scott Patent No. 1,152,850 of September 7 ,1915, such parts shown be- 7 ing sufiicienflto disclose the nature and operation of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, 5 represents the usual machine frame, in which the main drive shaft 6 is mounted and provided with a gear 7 to drive the needle cylinder 8 and its circular complement of needles 9 as heretofore in the 1 production of a tubular knit fabric through the cooperation of usual knitting cams and the like, not shown, acting on a main or body yarn in a manner well known and requiring no further explanation, the automatic machine control being efiected as usual through a pattern chain 10 and cooperating cam drum 11 functioning as heretofore.

My improved attachment is particularly adapted to co-operate with such known knitting mechanism in the introduction to determined needles of additional thread to be interknitted with the main or body thread and show plated on the surface of the fabric in pleasing ornamental embroidery designs. And to insure the accurate engagement of gaging the butts of needle jacks 12 which, as

shown, are employed in known manner wit Y certain or all the needles 9, as later hereinafter more fully described.

Various striping thread attachments have heretofore beenused in connection with circular machines, such attachments commonly employing a series of thread guides axially suspended above the needle cylinder. In my present improved construction I have advantageously mounted my thread guide fingers to revolve transverselyv of and outside the needle cylinder, only their thread-feeding ends being reciprocated toward said cylinder and substantially radially across the circle of needles, occupying laterally unused machine space and leaving the space above the needle cylinder comparatively free for other uses; such finger mounting preferably comprising a carrier device removable as a unit when not required as more fully hereinafter described.

As shown in the drawings such unitary carrier device for the guide fingers preferably comprises a front ring bearing piece 15 and a rear bearing piece 16 having integrally secured concentric cam-edged cylindrical extensions 17 and 18, said bearing pieces being fixedly spaced by one or more rigid bail pieces 19, and rotatably carrying a shaft 20 having a finger head 21 hearing in the front ring piece 15 and a rear bearing axially of the cam cylinders 17 and 18 in the rear bearing piece 16, a free end of said shaft projecting beyond the latter to seatingly rest in a recessed bearing block 22 of a supporting bracket 23 fixed to the table top 12 of the machine frame 5, while the ring piece 15 is formed with a spread base24 which rests on a supporting .lever 60 hereinafter more fully described. The recess in bearing block 22, as shown, is downwardly inclined so as to permit a tilting of the forward end of said entire carrier device by a lifting motion of lever 60, or the entire device may be readily manually lifted from its front rest on said lever 60 and its rear support on bracket 23, bail 19 forming a convenient handle for the purpose.

To form a support for my transversely reciprocated thread guide fingers, the shaft 20 is preferably provided, as shown, with spaced fixedly secured discs or plates 25, 25, formed with suitably alined apertures 26, 26, and the finger head 21 is formed with a corresponding series of apertures 27 alined with the apertures 26, 26. A plurality of guide fingers are preferably mounted in said discs 25, 25, and finger head 21, the drawings showmg provision for four, but a commercial embodiment of my invention successfully employing ten, each capable of producing an individual stripe or pattern design on determined wales of the tubular fabric.

Fig. 3 indicates separately a preferred embodiment of a complete thread giiide and its associated parts, the same comprising, as shown, aguide finger 30 with a forward eyeletted thread-feeding end 31 and its opposite rear end pivotally connected at 32 to a longitudinally movable operating rod 33, the free end of the latter carrying an anti-friction cam-engaging roller 34. Rod 33, as shown intermediately' carries a bracket 35 forming a support for a thread bobbin 36, and a second spaced bracket 37 provided with a suitable thread-tensioning device 38.

Associated with each thread guide device I preferably employ a thread-slack take-up device comprising, as shown, a take-up finger 40 with an eyeletted forward end 41 and its rear end pivotally connected at 42 to a rod 43. the free end'of the latter carrying an antifriction cam-engaging roller 44.

As shown, each thread guide finger 30 with its operating rod 33, and its associated threadslack take-up finger 40 with its operating rod 43, are similar in construction and closely positioned in parallel relation, being jointly mounted in an alined series of apertures 27 26, and 26 respectively of the finger head 21 and shaft discs 25, 25, with their eyeletted ends 31 and 41 projecting through said head 21 to overlie the needle cylinder and their opposite rollered ends respectively engaging against the cam edges of cylinders 18 and 17 As shown, tension springs 46, 47 connecting the respective rods 33 and 43 to a rod disc 25 hold the rollers 34 and 44 against their respective cam edges and the drawings further indicate a partial peripheral cam 48 on cylindrical extension 17 forming a partial positive cam path for roller 34 supplementing the action of. spring 46; the essential action desired, and securable in any convenient manner, be-

ing to maintain a determined longitudinal 21, as shown, with a ring gear 50 integral with the latter or securely fixed thereto, and conveniently drive said gear as shown from a pinion gear 51 on shaft 52 mounted in a hous ing sleeve 53 secured to table 12, the lower end of said shaft having a pinion gear 54 meshing with a suitable gear 55 on main drive sh aft 6. As said main shaft 6, through its gear 7.

drives the needle cylinder 8, determined synchronized rotation of said cylinder and shaft is simply secured by a proper ratio of the drive gears for the latter. Attention is here directed to the specific showing of the drawings which indicate the guide fingers as inclined inwardly toward the axis of shaft 20 which causes their ends 31 to rotate in an orbit derstood.

In order that the forward end of the thread guide device above described may be tilted by lever 60, or removed entirely as hereinabove described, I preferably mount pinion gear 51 in a bracket 56 secured to ring bearing 15 so as to remain always in mesh with .ring gear 50, and provide the axial aperture 57 thereof, as clearly seen in Fig. 6, with radially projecting recesses 58 having angular inclines leading thereto in the direction of rdtation, said recesses being engageable with a transverse pin 59 formed in the top of shaft 52, so that said pin will act as a clutch to engage said pinion gear 51 to shaft 52 when lever 60 supports the ring bearing 15 I in lowered operative position to thereby drive shaft 20 and the guide fingers mounted thereon, While permitting ready disengagement of said pinion and shaft when lever 60 lifts to tilt the forward-feed end of said guide finger I device as aforesaid.

The determined tilting effected by lever 60 is simply providedfor, as shown, by forming said lever with an integral downwardly projectedend 61 overhanging suitable cams on cam drum 11; bearing supports 62, 62 secured to frame 5 providing proper mounting for said lever.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood by those familiar with circular knitting machines, that with proper synchronized drive of cylinder 8, and shaft 20. and proper shape given to the cam edges of cylindrical extension 17 and 18, the rotated guide fingers 30 will swing vertically toward and form the needle cylinder and be reciprocated across the latter to feed their threads from their respective bobbins 36, with proper tension given by their tension devices 38, to determined needles of said rotated cylinder 8; and furthermore that each thread slack takeup finger 40 will be simultaneously reciprocated with its guide finger 30 so as to move its eyeletted end 41 from or toward the thread feed eyeletted end of respective guide 30 thus taking up the slack of the thread as re uired by the rotated cylinder, and rotated an fl reciprocated guide.

In order that the series of rotated guide fingers 30 and their respective take-up fingers 40 may occupy desired compact space when projected across the needle cylinder 8, I prefer, as shown, to form the apertures 2 7 in finger head 21 radially closer to the axis of shaft 20 than the apertures 26, 26 in discs 25, 25, so that theprojecting action of operating rods 33 and 43 will cause their respective guide and take-up fingers 30 and 10 to turn on their pivots 32 and i2 thus swinging their eyeletted ends 31 and 41 toward the axial line of their rotation, and reversely moving them when rods 33 and 43 are retracted.

By turning the cylinder 8 and shaft 20 to rotate at the same speed, each guide finger 30, due to the lag of its lineal speed relative to that of the needle cylinder, as aforesaid, will supply its thread to the same needle or needles at each cylinder rotation producing a vertical stripeof equal width throughout the length of thetubular fabric. And by determinedly varying the respective rotations of said cylinder and shaft so as to advance or retard the cooperative point along the circle of needles in successive rotations of the cylinder, the guide fingers 30 will supply different needles at each cylinder rotation, producing with proper timing, a spiral stripe winding in either direction diagonally across the wales of the fabric. When reciprocative action of the cylinder 8 is employed, as to make heel and toe pockets in a tubular stocking fabric, ordinarily no stripe is desired, and by proper location and shape of a cam 011 drum 11, lever 60 is then lifted and held raised during such cylinder reciprocations to tilt the carrier device by raising ring bearing 15 as before described, thus disengaging gear 51 fromits drive shaft 52, when the carriers 30 will remain at rest, but with their threads engaging in their last interknitted loops. And to cut out the stripes in the foot portion of such stockingfabric, and also selectively engage the threads of each guide 30 with cer: tain only of its possibly engageable needles in producing interrupted stripes, pattern designs and the like, I preferably employ jacks 12 with certain or all the needles 9, depending on the pattern efi'ects desired, and by the use of pattern controlled cams acting on said jack, as now about to be described, lift the selected needles that are to take the guide fed thread, above the normal needle level, such lifting action of the needles being preferably employed also in making vertical or spiral stripes so as to insure posltive feed to the selected needles only and not to adjacent ones as might possibly otherwise occur.

The use of jacks to operate the needles in dividing them for selective thread feed to certain of them, is not new in itself, but such lift ' it. will be readily seen that a multiplicity of I division while not essential particularly cooperates with my improved feed mechanism above set forth, and the preferred pattern control mechanism operative on sai jacks shown in the drawings permits an increase in possible pattern effects and a ready variation of the same by a simple changing of lugs or projections on a special pattern drum hereinafter more fully described, andcooperating witha selected variety and arrangement of jacks having difl'erent lengths and different butt projections.

The particular jacks shown in the drawings are of two heights 12 indicating the shorter one and 12a the long one, a series of each being employed distributed around the needle cylinder, and each jack controlling its respective needle and having either a short butt 13 or a long butt 13a depending on the requirements for the desired pattern; such specific arrangement, however, being easily modified as will be readily understood.

In the specific showing of Fig. 7, 65 indicates the usual cam ring of the knitting machine, needle rest upon which the needle butts tragel ordinarily duringrotation of said cylin- In the present structure I utilize the lower edge 67 of said ring 65, as a butt rest for the loweredidle jack 12 and 12a, but recess said ring at 68, as shown, and employ a fixed cam 69 1n-said recess to engage the butts of all the jacks and raise them a determined distance, the spaced angular wall 70 ofsaid recess acting as a lowering cam to restore said jacks to their rest level under edge 67. Such arrangement permits me to employ selective cams to act on determined jackbutts only and cause said jacks to act on their respective needles. The drawings indicate two such cams 7'1 and 7 2, the first being positioned to receive the jack butts raised by cam 69, and the latter, set at a higher level, to act only on jackbutts delivered to it by cam 71. Cams 71' and 72 are mounted to move radially of the cylinder and either may be positioned to act on all jack butts, to act only on the long jack butts, orto be -withdrawn out of action on any jack butt.

Taking into consideration the specific arrangement of jacks of different heights, 12 and 12a, and butts of different lengths, 13 and'13a, and the determined distribution of said jacks beneath all needles intended to be moved to receiving position for the guidefed threads, which may embrace all the needles in the cylinder or only certain of them,

selections of determined needles may be effected by determined positioning of cams 71 and 72. For instance both said earns 71 and 72 may be set to act on all jack butts, or cam 72 positioned to act only on long butts, in which case the short butt jack will pass by the top edge 66 of which forms the said cam and be lowered by wall cam 70, or cam 71 may raise only long butts, cam 72 then raising them to a greater height or passd ing them idly to cam 70, such actions-in connection withthe different heights of the jacks cooperatin in actionon selected needles. The long acks 12a are of such height that action of cam 71 alone will efli'ect their selection, while the short jacks 12 require the additional actionof cam'72; the action of the latter on long butt high jacks merely eifecting an idle extra lift to their needles.

, Such action of cams 71 and 72 might of themselves selectively raise desired needles to guide feed position, but I prefer, as shown, to employ a cam 75 above the needle rest 66 to receive the needle butts of such needles as are raised by earns 71 and 72 and further lift said needles to a desired feeding level at a higher level than the cam'72' raises certain of them to idle position; and by giving said cam 75 varied radial positions, it will also selectively act on all the needle butts, only the long needle butts, or be withdrawn out of action on any of them. The cam 75 is so positioned relative. to the usual knitting cams as to act in advance of the latter and raise the selected needles to receive thread from determined guide fingers 30 as the latter are rotated and reciprocated as before described, it being usually desired to feed such thread to the needles in advance of the feed of the body thread so the former will show plated on the surface of the-fabric. The proper positioning of the guide and body threads may be otherwise secured. 1

It is readily apparent that with such selective control of the needles the determined feed of the guide thread to desired ones may be very changeably controlled by a proper manipulation of the several cams 71, 72 and 75, which in conjunction with proper synchronized rotation of the guide fingers 30 will produce a great multiplicity of possible pattern effects as well as continuous or interrupted' vertical stripes of varying widths, the guide thread being integrally interknitted with the body thread.

To automatically selectively control the positions of cams 71, 72 and 75 the drawings indicate a preferred simple mechanism, as shown and now to be described.

Cam 75 as shown is carried by a bar mounted to move radially from and toward cylinder 8 in a bracket 81 secured to the fixed base of the knitting head, said bracket also acting as a foot rest for lever 60/ The bar I 11 which is provided with suitable cams to raise and lower said lever. When the cam 7 5 is positioned by the proper step on block 82 to act only on long butt needles, it will be evident that no patterns or stripes will then be formed on short butt needles permitting the making of a plain stocking foot when desired.

(lams 71 and 72, as shown, are formed on the ends of slide bars 85 and 86 respectively mounted in a bracket 87, said bar 86 having a rigid rearward extension 89 and bar 85 a hinged rearward extension 88,and both bars being normally retracted by any convenient means to hold'their cams 71 and 72 away from cylinder 8 out of the path of any jack butt. Cams 71 and 72 are positioned in one or other of their positions by a pair of bell cranks pivotally mounted at 90 on the frame 5, and one end 91, 92 of each respectively bearing against extensions 88 and 89 and their other ends 93, 94 respectively resting on a pair of levers, 95, 96 pivotally supported on the frame 5 at 97. The ends'of levers 95 and 96 overhang a pattern drum 98 carried on a shaft 99 mounted in suit-able bearings on frame 5, saiddrum having requisite stepped lugs or projections 100 to raise'levers 95 and 96 which latter swing bell crank arms 93, 9e and cause their opposite ends 91, 92 to press extensions 88 and 89 to advance cams 71 and 72 toward cylinder 8.

In order to make interrupted stripes where desired, 1 preferably provide means for determinedly preventing bell crank end 91 from acting on extension 88, such means comprising, as shown, a lever 105 having aforked end 106 adapted to loosely overhang extension 89 but engage extension 88 and swing same on its pivoted connection to bar 85 so as to lift its forked free end above the end of said bell crank lever 91, rendering idle action of the latter, and withdrawal of cam 71 rendering idle any feeding movement of the jack utts. Lever 105 has an angular extension 107, carried in frame brackets 62, 62, with its lower end overhanging drum 11 for action of suitablecams carried by the latter.

Determined intermittent rotation of pattern drum 98 is controlled, as shown in the drawings, by suitable. studs 110 provided on the regular machine pattern chain 10, which.

. studs act on the free end of a lever 111 fixed pawl 114 engageable with a ratchet gear 115' to shaft 112 rotatably mounted in brackets on table 5. Shaft 112 forms a loose pivotal support for one end of a lever 113, the free opposite end of which pivotally carries a on drum shaft 99. An additional lever 116 fixed to shaft 112 pivotally carries at its free end a strap 117 intermediately engaging with lever 113, and a spring 118, engaging lever 111, normally swings said shaft 112 to cause said strap 117 to swing lever 113 away from a cam 119 onmain shaft 6. Said cam 119 is adapted to engage said lever 113 at times to rock the same in a pawl racking movement on gear 115, spring 120 connecting said strap 117 to said lever 113 tending to hold the latter against said cam 119 when permitted drawings, 1 do not desire to'limit myself to such specific showing, as modifications will readily be devised that are within the spirit of my invention and the scope of the following claims defining the same.

What 1 claim is:

1. In combination with a circular-knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a threadfeeding attachment therefor comprising a. guide carrier mounted to rotate about an axis extending transverse from said cylinder, and a thread-carrier finger mounted in said carrier said finger being reciprocated so as to project its thread-feeding end across said cylinder.

.2. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a threadfeeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger, a carrier device for the latter mounted to rotate about an axis extending transversely from said cylinder, means to rotate said carrier, and means actuated by said rotation to reciprocate said finger longitudinally toward the cylinder and across the circular path of the needles.

3. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder and pattern-controlled means adapted to selectively position determined needles for reception of an additional thread, an additional thread feeding attachment comprising a thread-guide finger arranged to revolve about an axis extending transversely toward said cylinder, the thread-feeding end of said finger being movable into feeding relation to said selectively positioned needles during its revolving traverse.

4. In combination with a circular knitting by inward movement of said strap caused by cylinder, means to synchronously rotate said cylinder and carrier about their respective axes, and means to reciprocate said fingers longitudinally of said carrier during rotation of the latter to cause their thread feeding ends to project beyond said head and intoand out of the circle of needles.

5. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread guide finger revolvable about an axis extending transversely toward the cylinder and reciprocable radially above the latter and across the circular path ofthe needles. i

6. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread guide finger and a cooperating thread slack take up finger mounted for independent longitudinal reciprocation and joint revolution about an axis extending transversely to ward the cylinder above the circle of needles.

7. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder with needles therein and means for feeding a main thread to the needles, an attachment including a plating thread guide finger rotatable about an axis extending transversely toward the cylinder; said plating finger being reciprocable transversely toward said cylinder and into and out of the circular'path of the needles.

8. In combinationlwith a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger revolvable about an axis extending approximately radially toward the cylinder axis.

9. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a kiiitting cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger simultaneously revolvable and longitudinally reciprocated about an axis extending approximately radially toward the cylinder axis.

10. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder, a

thread feeding attachment therefor compris- I ing a thread-guide finger, the thread-feeding end of the latter being simultaneously revolvable about an axis extending transversely toward said cylinder and longitudinally reciprocated toward the latter and radially across the circular path of the needles, said finger end revolving about said axis in a spiral path of varying diameter but less than the diameter of the circle of needles.

'11. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger revolvable bodily about an axis extending approximately radially toward the cylinder axis, means to longitudinally advance and retract said finger across the circular path of the needles 12.-In combination with a circular knit ting machine having a knitting cylinder, :1 thread feeding attachment therefor compris ing a thread-guide finger and a separate thread-slack take-up finger cooperatively re volvable about an axis extending approximately radially toward the cylinder axis.

13. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a thread-feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger and a separate thread-slack take-up finger jointly revolvable and separately longitudinally reciprocated about an axis extending approximately radially toward the cylinder axis.

14. I11 combination with a circular knitting machine having a knitting cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger and a separate threadslack take-up finger, jointly revolvable bodily about an axis extendingapproximately radially toward the cylinder axis, means to separately longitudinally reciprocate said finger so as to cooperatively advance and retract their ends into and out of the circle of needles, said finger and take-up ends radially approaching their axis of revolution during said longitudinal advance, whereby each advances in a spiral path of reducing diameter and retracts in a spiral path of increasing diameter.

15. In combination with a circular knitting machine having' a knitting cylinder, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a guide-finger carrier mounted to revolve about an axis extending transversely toward said cylinder, means to cooperatively rotate said cylinder and carrier about their respective axes, and means to disengage said carrier from its rotating means.

16. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a rotary needlev cylinder, an embroidery thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a plurality of thread-guide fingers and separate cooperating thread-slack take-up fingers, bobbin supports and tension devices for the respective guide-fingers, acarrier device for said fingers having a bearing head adjacent said cylinder, a mounting for said carrier adapted to rotatably support the same to rotate about an axis extending transversely toward the 'cylinder, means to sync gaonously rotate said cylinder and carrier a out their respective axes, means to longitudinally reciprocae said fingers in said carrier during rotation of the latter to head and across the circular path of the needles, and means to tilt said carrier to disengage it from its rotating means.

17. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder, an embroidery thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a plurality of thread-guide fingers and separate cooperating thread-slack take-up fingers, bobbin sup- 10 ports and tension devices for the respective guide fingers, a carrier device for said fingers aving an apertured finger bearing head ad: j acent said cylinder, a mounting for said carrier adapted to rotatably support the same about an axis extending transversely toward the cylinder, means to synchronously rotate said cylinder and carrier about their respective axes, means to longitudinally reciprocate said fingers in said carrier during rotation of the latter to cause their thread-feeding ends to project beyond said bearing head above the needles and into and out of the circular path of the latter, said bearing head apertures acting to radially reciprocate said finger ends toward and from the carrier axis during said longitudinal finger reciprocations.

18. In combination with a circular knitting machine having a rotary knitting cylinder and a circle of needles therein, a thread feeding attachment therefor comprising a thread-guide finger having a thread-feeding end adapted to simultaneously bodily re-- volve, longitudinally reciprocate and radially shift about an axis extending transversely toward said cylinder whereby said finger feeding end advances and retreats across the circular path of the cylinder needles in a spiral path of varying diameter. In testimon whereof I aflix-my signature.

SA JUEL R. HARTRANFT.

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