US1926522A - Flat knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

P 1933- A. FRIEDMANN ET AL 1,926,522

FLAT KNITT ING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l fi zo 21 70 M50 do 15 FIG: I v 72 72 1 52 2395 1 51 1o 50 a1 70 30 F WITNESSES Sept. 12, 1933. A FRIEDMANN Er L 1,926,522

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 l Sept. 12, 1933. l A. FRIEDMANN ET AL' 1,926,522

' FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jun e 26, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 W1 TNE ES' INVENTOR: T

pt- 1933 A. FRIEDMANN ET AL 1,926,522

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIFTL TZ ar WITNESSES 1N VEN TOR:

p 2, 1933. A. FRIEDMANN in N. 1,926,522

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG- T11 a BY W I wows s.

Patented Sept. 12, 1933 FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Albert Friedmann, Wyomissing, and Albert Rudelt, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors of one-half to Minisac Mills, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania, and one-half to Louis Hirsch Textile Machines, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 26, 1931. Serial No. 547,024

3 Claims. (Cl. 66--96) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to flat knitting machines; and it has more especial reference to full needles so as to transfer loops back and forth between adjacent needles and thereby form the open meshes of the fabric.

In the main. our invention is directed toward making possible production, with a knitting machine organization of the character indicated, of laceor open mesh fabrics having ornamentally configured areas of plain knit loops, for example, stocking blanks with upwardly tapered plain knit high heel areas. This desideratum we realize in practice, through provision of a simple automatic mechanism with cover blade means adapted to be interposed between selected groups of needles and the corresponding lace points, thereby to prevent such points from functioning with resultant production of plain knit areas by the selected needles, and also adapted to be periodi cally shifted for the purpose of predetermining an ornamental configuration for the plain knit areas.

In the more specific adaptation to flat stocking knitting machines, it is a further aim of our invention to provide for progressive shifting of. the cover blade means, incident to knitting of rein forced tapered or otherwise ornamentally-configured high heel areas or the like, concurrently and compensatively with the throw limiting stops for the auxiliary yarn carriers. thereby to prevent functioning of the points corresponding to the changing groups of heel needles served with the auxiliary yarns, and so determine a plain knit texture in the said ornamentallysconfigured reinforced areas.

Still other objects and attendant advantages will be manifest from the detailed description following in connection with the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I shows a fragmentary front elevation of a full fashioned stocking leg knitting machine conveniently embodying our invention.

Fig. II is a cross sectional view of the machine taken as indicated by the arrows II--II in Fig. I.

Fig. III is a fragmentary cross sectional view corresponding to Fig. II showing certain parts of the organization in changed positions.

Fig. IV is another cross section of the machine taken as indicated by the arrows IV-IV in Fig. I.

Fig. V is a diagrammatic illustration showing the operation of our invention incident to the knitting of the instep and heel portion of a stocking leg blank.

Fig. VI is a detail view showing the action of the cover blade means.

Fig. VII illustrates an open mesh or lace stocking with a tapered plain knit high heel such as may be produced with our novel mechanism and .Fig. VIII is a fragmentary diagrammatic view showing the texture of the stocking fabric along the juncture between the instep and one of the tapered plain knit reinforced high heel areas.

The knitting machine herein shown for convenience in illustrating our invention is, generally speaking, standard both as regards its construction and operation, and designed to simultaneously produce a number of full fashioned stocking blanks like the one shown at B in Fig. V, with reinforced high heel areas I-I. As usual, the illustrated machine comprises a series of aligned needle bars 10 each carrying a double bank of needles N, which bars are reciprocated vertically relative to the horizontally sliding sinkers, indicated by the letter S in Fig. II, through suitable mechanism operated by rotary cams (not shown) on the cam shaft 12 of the machine to determine formation of successive fabric loop courses inthe several stocking blanks B after a manner well known in the art. The main yarns Y, which are used throughout the knitting of the stocking blanks B, are served by fingers 13 on a reciprocating carrier bar or rod 14; while the auxiliary yarns Y used concurrently with the body yarn Y incident to knitting of the reinforced heel areas H, are served by fingers 15 and 16 respectively on separate carrier rods 17 and 18. The three identified carrier rods 14, 17 and 18, together with others not particularly pertinent to our invention, are slidably supported in upward guide brackets 19 bolted to the longitudinal center beam 20 at the top of the machine frame 21. Incident to fashioning of the stocking blanks B, the throw of the main yarn carrier bar 14 is limited in both directions by stops controlled by the usual screw operated narrowing heads (not shown) at the opposite ends of the machine.

The outward throw of the auxiliary yarn carrier rods 17, 18 is likewise limited by suitable stops embodied in the aforementioned narrowing heads; while the inward throw of said auxings 24 afforded by brackets 25 fixed to the ma chine frame 21 at the rear. The reverse threads 23a, 23b of the spindle 23 serve to shift a pair of nut collars 26, 27 either toward or away from each other depending upon the direction in which the spindle 23 is rotated, said nut collars being respectively formed with forwardly reachingstop arms 26a, 27a. These stop arms 26a, 27a are respectively fitted with adjustable screws 28 and 29 adapted to be engaged by lugs 17a and 18a on the auxiliary yarn carrier rods 17, 18, see Figs. II, III and V. The reversely threaded screw spindle 23 is intermittently rotated under the governance of the usual measuring chain 30 of the machine, through racking mechanism which includes a-double pawl 31 with fingers 31a, 31b for selective action respectively upon oppositely pitched ratchet wheels 32 and 33 fast on the screw-spindle 23. As shown, the double pawl 31 is pivoted to the upward arm 34a of a rock lever 34 which is centrally fulcrumed on a longitudinal shaft 35 at the rear of the top of the machine. The downward arm 34b of the rock lever 34 is coupled, by means of a horizontal link 36, with a curved arm 37, which latter is fulcrumed on a bracket 38 bolted or otherwise rigidlysecured to the rear bottom channel beam 39 of the machine frame 21 and which is subject to a helical tension spring 40. The curved arm 37 overreaches the cam shaft 12, and, as shown, has projecting laterally therefrom a stud shaft 41 whereon is mounted an axially slidable roller 42 which is adapted to be influenced by a rotary cam 43 on the said cam shaft. 1 Normally the roller 42 rides a circular disk 44 on the cam. shaft 12 adjacent the rotary cam 43 just referred to. The means directly instrumental in shifting the roller 42 on the stud shaft 41 of the curved arm 37, from the circular disk 44 to the cam-43 and vice'versa, has the form of a yoke arm 45 that reaches inward from a horizontal rod 46 having support for longitudinal sliding movement in bearings 4'7 at the front of the machine frame 21. From Fig. I it will be observed that the slide rod 46 is urged toward the left by a compression spring 48 and coupled, through alink 49, with the upward arm of an angle lever 50 fulcrumed to rock on a stud 51 in a fixed bracket 52 which is mounted on the lower frontal beam 53 of the machine frame 2l. The horizontal arm of the angle lever 50 lies in the path of suitably allocated actuating lugs (not shown) on the measuring chain 30. The direction of picking of the screw spindle 23 of the patterning stop means 22 is selectively determined by swinging the double pawl 31 downward 0r upward about its pivot whereby its pick fingers 31a and 31b are respectively brought into operative position for action upon the ratchets 32 and 33 on the'said spindle. Such swinging of the pawl 31 is induced by means of a vertical'rod 55 21. By means of a compression spring 62, the free end of the transverse rod 60 is yieldingly maintained in the path of a cam piece 63 on another longitudinal slide rod 64 below the slide rod 46 at the front of the machine, said rod 64 being subject to a compression spring 64a. As shown in Fig. I,. the slide rod 64 is .coupled, by means of a link 65, with another angle lever 66 fulcrumed on the same stud 51 with the angle lever 50 aforementioned, and adapted to be actuated by another set of suitably allocated lugs (not shown) on the measuring chain 30 of the machine. The usual picking mechanism 67 for the measuring chain 30 is operated by another rotary cam 68 on the cam shaft 12, see Fig. I.

The fashioning .or shaping of the stocking blanks B is controlled solely through variantly limiting the outward throw of the main yarn carrier, rod 14 without the aid of the fashioning mechanism of the machine, which latter is employed in the present instance to raise and lower the lace point bars shown at '70, of which there is one providedfor each set of the needles N. The points of the bars '70 which cooperate with individual needles, are designated by the letter P in all the drawings.v As usual, the lace point bars '70 aremounted on a horizontal rod 71 which is shiftable endwise in brackets '72 attached to forwardly reaching curved dipping arms '73, of the.

fashioning mechanism of the machine, said arms being secured to the shaft 35, which, through suitable connections (not shown) is intermittentlyrocked by cams on the cam shaft 12 in the well known manner. The rod '71 carrying the several lace point bars '70 is periodically shifted longitudinally, first in one direction and then in the other as the knitting progresses, under control of a mechanism '74 which is of a well known type and located near the left hand end of the machine. see Fig. I. The various cooperating elements of this lace control mechanism '74 are actuated by cams 75, '76 and '77 on thecam shaft 12 under governance of the measuring chain 30 which carries still another set of suitable lugs (not shown) to actuate a third angle lever '78, the latter being independently fulcrumed on the stud 51 alongside the angle levers 50 and 66 hereinbefore described, and coordinated with the said lace control mechanism '74 by means of a link connection shown at '79 in Fig. I. In the present instance, the lace control mechanism '74 is so arranged and timed as to determine the formation of open meshes such as shown at M in Figs. VII and VIII in the stocking leg blanks B produced on the machine. I

Having described sufficient of a standard full fashioned knitting machine to enable those skilled in the art to readily understand our invention, we will now proceed to the novel mechanism whereby we are enabled to attain the ends hereinbefore pointed out. Referring to Figs. I, II, III and V, the numerals and 81 designate cover blades of which there is a pair associated with each bank or series of the needles N on the bars 10. These cover blades 80, 81 are respectively secured'to horizontal rods 82 and 83 which are supported, with capacity for rotation as well as for endwise'sliding, in the brackets '72 at the ends of the curved dipping arms'73 of the fashioning mechanism" of the machine. Incident to dipping movement of the arms '73, the cover blades 80, 81 are brought down concurrently with the lace point bars '70 so as to occupy a position between the lace points P and the needles N, as shown in Fig. VI, thereby to prevent the covered points from taking the loops L from the corresponding needles N as more fully explained hereinafter. Secured to the rods 82 and 83, are fingers 84 and 85 with laterally projecting studs 86, 8'7 in their ends overlying tappet heads 88; 89 at the upper ends of vertical rods 90 and 91, the latter being confined to up and down movement by guide plates 92 secured to the frontal top beam 93 of the machine frame 21. At their lower ends the rods 90-and 91 are pivotally connected to horizontal arms 94 and 95, which are fulcrumed on the machine frame 21 and carry rollers 96, 97 that normally run on circular disks 98, 99 on the cam shaft 12 of the machine. However, as the cam shaft 12 is shifted to the right to initiate a narrowing dip, rotary cams 100 and 101 alongside the circular disks 98 and 99, are brought into the province of the rollers 96, 97 with attendant lowering of the rods 90 and 91 and their heads 88, 89, to the dot-and-dash line position shown in Fig. IV, during the ensuing rotation of the cam shaft 12 for a purpose later on explained. The means relied upon to shift the cover blades and 81 toward each other concurrently and compensatively, with increase in the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers 17 and 18, includes a pair of collars 102 and 103 which are independently shiftable axially of the usual longitudinal rod 104 which connects the ends of the curveddipping arms 73 of the narrowing mechanism. As shown in Figs. II and V, the collars 102 and 103 have rearward fingers 105 and 106 respectively engaging guide grooves 107 and 108 in the extensions 26a and 27a of the nut collars 26, 27 of the patterning stop mechanisms 22, said grooves being curved concentrically with the shaft 35 to accommodate the dipping movement of the arms 73. Reaching forwardly from the collars 102 and 103 are projections 109 and 110 which respectively engage between collars 111 and 112 on the rods 82 and 83 whereto the cover blades 80 and 81 are secured.

The operation of my invention to produce open mesh or lace stockings such as shown in Fig. VII is as follows: As before stated, the leg portion or body of each stocking is knit with the main yarn alone; (designated Y in Fig. VIII) while the shaping of the stocking is effected solely by progressively decreasing in the throw of the main yarn carrier 13 under the control of the usual end narrowing heads of the machine. During the aforesaid phase of the knitting, the open meshes M of the fabric are formed as a consequence of the transfer of loops back and forth laterally between adjacent needles N at recurrent intervals, this being accomplished by the point bar 70 in the known manner with the associated cover blades 80 and 81 swung upward out of the way or in the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. II. Before commencement of the ankle portion of the stocking, the machine is stopped to permit the operative to swing the cover blades 80, 81 down into the full line operative position, and also to permit him to couple the auxiliary yarn carriers 17 and 18 With their respective friction boxes (not shown) in readiness for action. Upon re-starting of the machine. the lace point bar 70 continues in operation as before; but the points P of said bar corresponding to a definite number of heel needles at opposite ends of each of the series N (which are served with the auxiliary yarns Y) are covered by the blades 80, 81 and thereby prevented from functioning. with resultant formation of plain knit fabric within the heel areas H. During the first dip of the arms 73 of the narrowing mechanism of the machine, which takes place incident to each narrowing rotation of the cam shaft 12 when the latter is in shifted position, the rotary cams 100 and 101 permit the vertical rods 90 and 91 which carry the tappet heads 88 and 89 to drop. As a consequence, the cover blades 80 and 81 are permitted to remain in the position shown in Fig. II for descent between the heel needles N and the corresponding points P of the lace point bar 70. At the end of the first dip of the arms 73, the rods 90 and 91 carrying the tappet heads 88 and 89 are raised and maintained in the full line position of Fig. II, so that, during the second clip of the said arms 73, the lateral pins 86 and 87 of the fingers 84 and projecting from the cover blade rods 82 and 83, encounter the tappet heads 88 and 89 with the result that the blades 80 and 81 are swung to the position shown in Fig. III for descent outward of the needles N. To form heel areas of the shape illustrated in Figs. V, VII and VIII, the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers 15 and 16 is for a time, maintained constant to predetermine the laying of the auxiliary yarns Y over the aforementioned definite number of the heel needles N, and the cover blades 80 and 81 maintained fixed in positions relative to each other laterally to define square tops for the heel areas H. Eventually, the patterning con-' trol means 22 is periodically operated under the governance of the measuring chain 30 in the known manner, to effect progressive increase in the throw of the carriers 15 and 16 so that the auxiliary yarns Y are laid over a correspondingly increasing number of the end needles N as the knitting is continued until the desired full Widthis obtained in the areas H. Now, by virtue of the connection of the cover blade carrying rods 82 and 83 with the nut collars 26 and 27 on the reversely threaded spindle 23 of the patterning mechanism 22 through the fingers 105 and 106 on the slide collars 102 and 103, it is evident that the cover blades 80 and 81 will be shifted toward each other concurrently with the variation in the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers 15 and 16 and thus cover the lace points P corresponding to the progressively increasing number of heel needles N with predetermination of plain fabric loops throughout the heel areas H. As will be readily understood by skilled knitters, the design or configuration of the plain knit areas H may be varied indefinitely by variously allocating the lugs on the measuring chain 30 relied upon to effect the picking of the patterning mechanism 22. In all instances, the patterning means 22 will cause the cover blades 80 and 81 to be shifted compensatively with the variations in the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers 17, 18.

Having thus described our invention,'we claim:

1. In a fiat knitting machine for producing open-mesh hosiery including a series of needles, a carrier to serve a main yarn, another carrier to concurrently serve an auxiliary yarn, lace mechanism with a point bar to co-operate with individual needles in producing open mesh fabric, and cover blades for co-operation with certain of the needles in predetermining formation of plain knit areas, means to shift the cover blades concurrently and compensatively with variations in the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers whereby valiantly-configured sharply-outlined solid areas may be knit in the hosiery. said means comprising a reversely-threaded screw, a nut on each reversely-threaded portion having a projecting arm, and independent axially-shiftable means having aligned fingers respectively co-operative with grooves in the projecting arms aforesaid and the carrier means for the cover blades.

2. In a flat knitting machine for producing open-mesh hosiery including series of needles, a carrier to serve auxiliary yarn, another carrier to concurrently serve an auxiliary yarn, fashioning mechanism, lace mechanism with a point bar to co-operate with individual needles in producing open mesh fabric, and cover blades supported by carrier rods for co-action with certain of the needles in predetermining formation of plain knit areas, means to shift the cover blades concurrently and compensatively with variations in the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers whereby variantly-conflgured sharply-defined solid areas may be produced in the hosiery knit, said means comprising a reversely-threaded screw, a nut collar on each reversely-threaded portion of said screw and embodying a groove-ended projecting arm, axially-shiftable collars on the usual rod connecting the dipping arms of the fashioning mechanism, each latter collar embody a rearwardlydirected finger engaging in the grooved-end of the projecting arm aforesaid, and a forwardly directed projection engageable between collars on the cover blade carrier rods.

3. In a fiat knitting machine for producing open-mesh hosiery including a series of needles, a carrier to serve a main yarn, another carrier to concurrently serve an auxiliary yarn, lace mechanism with a point bar to co-operate with individual needles in producing open mesh fabric. and cover blades supported by carrier rods for cooperation with certain of the needles in predetermining formation of plain knit areas; means to control the variable throw of the yarn carriers as well as concurrently and compensatively shift the cover blades whereby variantly-configured sharply-outlined solid heel areas may be produced in the hosiery knit, said means comprising a reversely-threaded screw, a nut on each reverselythreaded portion having a projecting arm, adjustable screws carried by said arms adapted to engage lugs on the respective yarn carriers to limit throw of the latter, and independent axiallyshiftable means having fingers co-operative with grooves in the arms aforesaid and opposed projections that respectively connect with the cover blade carrier rods.

ALBERT FRIEDMANN. ALBERT RUDELT.

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