US1968162A - Flat knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

July 31, 1934. M. NEBEL 1,963,162

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a? T my k w E a Q6 it w g b N Ive/7X02".- ///0 r 4 ee/ Patented July 31, 1934' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Max Nebel, Chemnitz, Germany Application July 23, 1932, Serial No. 624,316

In Germany July'Z'I, 1931 I r.

Y 9 Claims. (CI. 66-82) My invention relates to flat knitting machines or hosiery frames. It is an object of my invention to so design a machine of this type that various operations can be performed on it-without- 13 stance, twice the gauge of the complete set, so

that the gauge of the complete set is equal to one half of the gauge in the rows, 1. e., to the normal gauge, and connect the needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles but move in unison transversely to this direction.

Various operations may be performed in this machine and it is in particular suitable for the manufacture of the knitted fabric described in my copending application for patent of the United States, Ser. No. 622,486, filed July 14, 1932, for Knitted fabric.

In this application I have described a fabric which will not unmesh and in which the rows of needle loops and the wales in the fabric are formed from two threads. The needle loops in each row are alternately'formed from one of the two threads and the thread portions of each thread which extend inter-mediate the loops formed from this thread, span the open ends of the loops formed from the other thread, and vice versa.

My machine may also be used for the knitting of fabrics of other kinds than the fabric described in my said copending application, without requiring special appliances, for instance, for knitting tuck patterns, ladders patterns,-and a particular kind of fabric similar to ribbed goods which is obtained by knitting with a thinner and a thicker thread, plain fabrics, reinforced fabrics, plaited fabrics, etc., with patterns and variations of any kind.

By these means, machine by which plain and many other fabrics can be knitted without special appliances, and my machine can even be converted from a given operation on a fabric to another operation in the same fabric, so that, for instance, the operation may change from patterned fabric. of any kind to normal plain fabric, or to the fabric described in my said copending application, etc.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved needle on whose eye the thread is sunk and divided. To this end the eye of the needle is bent with .its upper portion of its hook extending in parallel to the axis of the needle, and the hook ending in a point which is adapted to engage in the groove of the needle when the needle is pressed.

I have provided a universal .for the landing operation subsequent upon the In the drawings affixed to this specification andforming part thereof a machine embodying my invention and various operations to be performed thereon, are illustrated diagrammatically byway of example.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a transverse section of the machine, Fig. 2 is an. elevation of its needle bars, viewed from the left in Fig. 1 and drawn to a large scale,

Fig. 3* is a plan view of the needle bars, partly in section on the line III-411 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a section on theline IV--IV in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 showsa portion of a needle bar, with the grooves for the reception'of the needles, drawn to a still larger scale,

Fig. 6 is an elevation ofa needle, drawn to the same scale as Fig, 5,

Figs. "7, 8 and 9 are sectional elevationsof the needle bar and the jack and dividing sinkers, showing the .parts in the positions they occupy shortly before the beginning of the pressing operation,

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 show the positions of the parts during the initial stage of the pressing operation,

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 show the positions of the parts during the finishing stage of the pressing operation, 1

Figs. 16 and 1'7 show the positions of the jack and dividing sinkers and the needles when land- Figs. 18, 19 and 20 show positions of parts which correspond to the positions illustrated in Figs. '7 to 9, but with the needles in another position,

Figs. 21, 22 and 23 show the parts in positions corresponding to those inFigs. 18, 19 and 20, with the distinction, however, that here the needles of one row move at higher velocity,

Figs. 24, 25 and 26 show the positions of the parts during the pressing operation subsequent upon the operation illustrated in Figs. 21 to 23,

and

Figs. 2'7 and 28 show the positions of the parts operation illustrated in Figs. 24 to 26.

Referring now to the drawings, and first to Figs, 1, 2 and 3, 1 is the frame of the machine, 2 and 3 are suitable bracing members forming part of the frame, and 4 is a cam shaft which is mounted to rotate in bearings of the frame and operated by any suitable means (not shown), with three cams 5, 6 and 7. 8 and 9 are rocking levers on a shaft 10, 11 is a roller at the free end of the lever 8 which bears on the cam 5, and 12 is a roller at .the free end of the lever 9 which bears on the cam 6. 13 is a thirdrocking leveron a shaft 14, with a roller 15 at its free end for cooperation with the cam '7. The arms are extended beyond the pivots of their rollers and each extension is equipped with a spring 16 which applies each roller to its cam.

The levers 8 and 9 operate the needle bars and the lever 13 serves for operating the presser lever, as will be described. 17 is an arm which extends at right angles to the lever 8 and moves in unison with the lever. The boss of the other lever 9 is mounted to turn freely on the shaft 10 and is equipped with an arm 18. The arm 17 is pivoted to a pin 19, Figs. 2' and 4, 20 are two links on opposite ends of the pin 19, 21 are pins to which the other ends of the links 20 are connected, and 23 is a needle-bar bracket to whose upper end one of the needle bars, 24, is secured by a pair of screw bolts 25, while the pins 21 are inserted in suitable eyes at its lower end. -By these means the arm 17 is connected to the needle bar 24 through the medium of the pin 19, the links 20, the pins 21 and the bracket 23. The other arm 18 is pivoted to a pin 25 at the lower end of a bracket 26 to which the other needle bar 27 is secured by screw bolts 28 or the like The presser arm 29 is secured to the needle bar 27 by screw bolts 30 and 31 ina T-bar at its upper end. The arms 17 and 18 with their accessories are duplicated at opposite sides of the presser arm, as

shown in Fig. 2. 32 is a link which is pivoted to the lower. .end of the presser arm 33 and is equipped w ith a notch 34 for engaging a pin 35 on the lever 13, and a handle 36 at its free end for lifting it out of engagement with the pin 35.

It will beunderstood that the needle bar 24 is reciprocated vertically by the arms 17 to which it is connected by the links 20, the pins 21 and the brackets 23, and that the needle bar 27 is reciprocated vertically by the arms 18 which are directly connected to the brackets 26 by the pins 25. The presser arm 29 is oscillated about the pins 25 by the rocking lever 13 to which it is connected by the link 32.

The needle bar 24 has a row of needles 37 and the needle bar 2'7 has a row of needles 38. The needle bars, as shown for a portion of the needle bar 24 in Fig. 5, have grooves 39 for the reception of the needle heels. Their upper edges are inclined in opposite directions from the needles, and the needle heels are bent into the shape of the letter U, but with the upper portion of the heel inclined at the same angle as the upper face of the corresponding needle bar. Holes 40 are provided in the grooves 39 for the reception of the horizontal heel ends. The position of a needle heel in its groove 39 is best seen in Fig. 7. If the normal gauge of the needles is t, the needles in each row of the needle bars 24 and 27 are pitched at 2t, as seen in Fig. 5, and the grooves in the two needle bars are staggered for the gauge t so that the needles while pitched at the double gauge 2t in the individual rows, are pitched at the normal gauge t in the complete set and make up a single row, with the needles in one place.

One of the needles 38 in the needle bar 27 at the left in Fig. 7 is illustrated in Fig. 6, the needles 37 in the other bar 24 being exactly like those in the bar 27. The eye 41 of the needle is bent over at the top to form the hook. The top'portion 42 of the hook is parallel to the top portion of the needle for a certain length. It has been found convenient to make the length of the parallel portion about one third of the total length of the hook. The two parallel portions are so arranged that the distance of their outer faces from each other is equal to the diameter of the needle stem.

- The parallel portion 42 of the hook is connected to the point 43 of the hook by an inclined portion 44, and the point is adapted toenter the usual groove 45 in the stem of the needle.

The needles 37 and 38 are placed in the grooves 39 of the respective needle bars with their heels, the upper portion 46 of the heel being inclined in parallel to the inclined upper portion of the groove 39 and the horizontal lower portion 47 of the heel being inserted in the hole 40 of the groove. The needles are held in position by detachable covers, 48 on the bar 24 and 49 on the bar 27, which are secured by screw bolts 50 and are. preferably divided, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The bars are mounted to slide on each other with their inner faces in parallel to the axis of the needles under the action of the arms 17 and 18 and are held against displacement transversely to this direction by channeled slide bars 51 and 52 at opposite ends of the needle bars. The slide bars are secured to the needle bar 27 by stud screws 53 in one of their flanges. The opposite flange is provided with a jib or tongue 54 which engages in a groove of the other needle bar 24. The needle bars 24 and 27 are free to slide on each other with their inner faces in transverse direction, i. e., in the direction parallel to the axes of the needles, but they are held against relative displacement in longitudinal direction by the slide bars 51 and 52.

Mounted on a transverse bar 55 of the frame 1 (Fig. 1) are guides 56 and 57 for the jack and dividing sinkers 59 and 60. 58 are the knock-over bits below the guide 56.

Referring now to Fig. 16, the front portion of each dividing sinker 60 is a little lower at its corresponding jack sinker 59 (but otherwise both sinkers are of equal height, an inclined portion 31 extending from the lower portion of the edge of each dividing sinker 60 to the level of the upper edge of the corresponding jack sinker 59. Each jack and each dividing sinker is equipped with an upper thread rest 62 and a lower thread rest 63. As the rests in the jack and dividing sinkers register, only the rests in the jack sinkers 59 are visible. The outer face 64 of the lower guide 56 is the presser bar.

Referring now to the figures illustrating various stages of operation, and first to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the knitting of the fabric described in my said copending application will first be described. 65 and 66 are the threads which are controlled by suitable thread guides. not shown. Fig. 7 shows the needle bars 24 and 27 in the initial position after the sinking and dividing of the threads 65 and 66. The threads 65 and 66 have been placed into the thread rests 62 and 63 of the corresponding sinking jacks 59, and sunk into loops which are divided by the dividing sinkers 60 advancing with the jack sinkers 59, as shown in Fig. 7. The needle bars 24 and 27 are so positioned with respect to each other that the eyes of the needles 38 in the bar 27 are above the upper edge of the sinkers, while the needles 37 in the bar 24 are lowered until their parallel hook portions 42 are at the level of the upper thread rest 62 in the sinkers. The threads 65 and 66 are consequently sunk on the needle stems but in different positions with respect to the points 43 of the needles. Fig. 8 illustrates this, showing one of the needles 38 and the threads 65 and 66 on its stem. Fig. 9 shows the position of a needle 37 with respect to the sinkers 59, 60. It will appear that in this position the upper thread 65 is sunk and divided by the respective sinkers on the parallelportion 42 of the needle hook, i. e., on the eye of the needle and not on its stem, and this is a most important improvement as compared with needles having the normal rounded eyes. The lower thread 66 is sunk and divided below the point 43.-

The relative displacement of the needle bars 24 and 27 in parallel to the axes of their needles is effected by the arms 17 and 18 under the control of the cams 5 and 6, and their movement in unison for pressing is effected by the cam 7, the lever 13 and the presser arm 29, as will now be described with reference to Figs. 10, 11 and 12.

Both needle bars 24 and 27 are about to move together toward the presser bar- 64 in Fig. 12. The needle bar 24, with the. needles 37, moves down slowly while the bar 27, with the needles 38, has moved in the same direction but at a more rapid rate. In the position illustrated in Fig. 2 the bar 27 has descended so far with respect to the bar 24 that the eyes of its needles 38 have moved into the vicinity of the eyes of the needles 37. In this position theloops of thread which have been sunk and divided on the needles 38, are directly below the points 43 of the needles '38 while the loops on the thread 66 are still at a considerable distance below the points 43, as shown for one of the needles 38 in Fig. 11. The shanks of thread 66 which are sunk on the needles 37, have moved below the points 43 of needles 37 owing to the vertical movement of these needles. The loops from the thread 65 are still on the parallel hook portion 42 of this needle, as shown in Fig. 12.

Referring now to Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the needles 37 and 38 are now in contact with, and pressed by, the presser bar 64, the points 43 of the needles 38 being engaged by the upper, and the points of the needles 37 being engaged by the central portion of the presser bar 64. The loops from the thread 65 which have been sunk and divided on the needles 38, are directly-below the pressed points 43 and the loops from the thread 66 are at some distance below the pressed points on the stems of the needles, as shown in Fig. 14. Upon the fur-- I ther pressing movement by which the loops from thread 65 are drawn into the thread rests 62 and 63, the loops from the thread 66 in the thread rests which have been sunk on the parallel hook portions 42 of the needles 38, are thrown off from these needles. The needles 37 support the sunk and divided shanks of threads 66 on their stems below the pressed points 43, the loops of thread 65 which have been sunk and divided on the parallel portions 42 of these needles, having left their parallel portions, as shown in Fig. 15, owing to the continued downward movement of the needles from the positions shown in Figs. 10 and 12.

Figs. 16 and 17 show the landing position of the needles 37 and 38. The needle bars 24 and 27 not shown in these figures) are at the same level. The needles 38, Fig. 16, are just going to draw a loop 652) from thread 65 through a previously formed loop 66b of thread 66. The shank 66a from thread 66 which is still on the needles 38. as

shown in Figs. 13 and 15 is thrown off from the eye 41 of the needle 38 between the point 43 of the needle and the presser bar 64 before the landin of th loop 66b during the vertical displacement of the needle 38 when being pressed, and after having been finished, the shank 66a is laid on the newly formed loop 65b as a new loop 66a. The needles 37,'Fig. 17, are just going to pull the loop 661) from thread 66 which is engaged by their points 43, through the previously formed loop 65b for formin a new loop in the known manner.

The thrown-off loop 65a, Fig. 15, is at the left side of the new, loop 66b after the operation has been completed.

After this stage, the knocking-over movements are performed by displacing the bars 24 and 27 in parallel but these movements are not illustrated. At the beginning of the knocking-over movement, 1. e., when the needles 37 and 38 move from the knocking-over position upwardly into the sinking position, the needle bar 24 moves up into its initial position while the needle bar 27 is held in a lower position, as shown in Fig. 18, which illustrates the position of the bars during the knitting of the next row after the row the knitting of which has been'described with reference to Figs. 7 to 17. This position is similar to the position illustrated in Fig. 7, with the distinction, however,-that-for knitting the next row the needle bars 9 and 10 are reversed as to their relative position, the needles 37 of the'bar 24 being raised and the needles 38 of the bar 27 beinglowered. In this position, the thread 65 is sunk and divided on the parallel portions 42 of the needles 38, Fig, 19, and the thread 66 is sunk and divided on the stems of the needles 37 in its lowermost position, Fig. 20.

The movements according to Figs..21, 22 and23 are the same as those for the corresponding stage of the preceding rows, Figs. 10, 11 and 12, with the distinction that for the next row the needles 37 move faster while the needles 38 move more slowly with their respective bars. After these movements have been performed the needles are applied to the presser bar 64 as shown in Fig. 24, but in contradistinction to the preceding row, Figs. 13, 14 and 15, the needles 38 are now applied to the central, and the needles 37 to the upper, portion of the presser bar. The loops of the thread 65 on the needles 38 are not pressed below the points 43. but, being'sunk on the parallel hook portions 42 of the needles, are thrown off by the needles during their vertical movement as shanks 65a, Fig. 25. The shanks 66a of the thread 66, Fig. 26, which are sunk and divided on the needles 37 are thrown off between the presser head and the eyes of the needles while the needles move along the presser head 64.

Referring now to Figs. 27 and 28, the needle bars are omitted as in Figs. 16 and 17. and the needles are shown in the landing position; in which they are at the same level. This position. however, is distinguished from the corresponding position for a preceding row, Figs. 16 and 17. in that on account of the reversed movement of theneedles 37 and 38 and of the different positions which the two sunk threads assume with respect to the needles, in consequence thereof. the loop 65b is drawn through the loop 661) on the needles 37 so that on these needles the threads 65 are formed into loops 65d in contradistinction from the preceding row. Figs. 16 and 17. in which the thread 66 had been formed into loops 66b while the loops 66a of thread 66-are laiddown a's shanks. The needles 38. Fig. 27, form new loop 66?) from the thread 66 while in the preceding row, Fig. 17, they had formed new loops 65b from the thread 65. The shanks in this row. Fig. 26. are formed from the thrown-off shanks of threads 65 while the correing-over position (not illustrated) into the looking position, Figs. 18, 19 and 20, is not interfered with by the relative vertical movement of the needle bars 24 and 27 because during the narrowing or covering operation the needles are maintained at the same level.

By performing the respective operations in the manner described for knitting a fabric according to my said copending application, I may also obtain the above mentioned particular kind of fabric which is similar to ribbed goods, by knitting with two; threads of the same material but of different thickness, or with threads of different materials, for instance, a silk and a lisle or woolen thread, of'equal thickness. In this manner loops of different volume are obtained so that the wales alternately are thicker and th'nner. In the case of a silk and a lisle thread the wales from the silk thread are thinner and the wales from the lisle thread are thicker and such fabrics, if not inspected very closely, have the appearance of ribbed goods. In order to avoid the changing of the thread in the wales which is required for knitting the fabric according to my said copending application, I proceed in such manner that for each row of loops the same needle bar 24 or 27'is in the topmost position so that one of the threads or 66 is invariably conducted to one row of needles and the other to the other row, by the thread guides. The operations described with reference to Figs. 7 to 17 are repeated, i. e., the needle bar 27 with the needles 38 assumes its topmost position when sinking and dividing, and the needle bar 27 with the needles 37 assumes its lowermost position. The thread 65 which may be a woolen or lisle thread, is pressed below the points 43 of needles 38 only and the thread 66 is thrown off from the parallel hook portions 42 of the same needles 38, while the thread 66, which may be a silk thread, is pressed below the points 43 of needles 37 only and the thread 65 is thrown off from the parallel hook portions of the same needles 37. The wales formed from the woollen or lisle thread 65 by the needles 38 are thicker than the wales formed from the silk thread 66 by the needles 37.

The different volume of the loops may also be obtained by so selecting the materials of the threads that one of the threads swells upon finishing or dyeing. If the needles 37 and 38 are uniformly distributed in the rows of their respective needle bars, i. e., one half of the needles of the set is in one row and the other half is in the other row, as shown, thick wales alternate with thin wales. However, I may also arrange the needles at different gauges in the individual rows. For instance, I may pitch the needles 38 in the bar 27 at a gauge equal to four times the normal gauge t while the needles 3'7 in the other bar 24 are at normal gauge, so that the needles 38 form a gap of the length 2t after each third needle 37 and each fourth Wale will be thicker than the three other wales.

If it is desired to knit ladder patterns the needle bars 24 and 27 may be equipped with normal needles instead of the needles shown in Fig. 6. Only one thread is supplied to the needles of one of the bars, while the other bar is moved out of its active position, i. e., lowered .so far that no loops are formed on its needles by the advancing sinkers. For instance, the needle bar 27 with the needles 38 may be placed in inactive position as shown in Fig. 16, while the other bar 24 with the needles 37 is in its normal position during the sinking operation, as shown in Fig. 9. Thread 65 is supplied to the needles 37 only and loops are formed on these needles only while a hole forms above each inactive needle 38. The number of ladder wales with respect to the normal wales is determined by the number of needles in the needle bar 27. By suitably selecting the number of needles 38 in this bar, ladder wales may be formed alternately with normal wales or several ladder wales may be inserted between each second, each third, etc., normal wale.

A most important advantage of my novel machine if used for knitting ladders or other patterns, is that by throwing in the needle bar which had been inactive during the knitting of the pattern, for instance, ladder wales in a stocking, the machine may be converted immediately for knitting the heel and the heel top of the stocking. In other words, normal, plain, reinforced or plaited fabric may be knitted immediately upon the knitting of the pattern, and vice versa, Without any auxiliaries.

If it is desired to knit tuck patterns, the two needle bars are operated in the manner illustrated in Figs. 7 to 22 but that needle bar which is in its lowermost position at the time, for instance, the bar 24 with its needles 37, Fig. 13, is lowered before all needles are pressed so that the previously formed loops on the needles 4 cannot be thrown ofi from the hook portions 42 of their needles. By suitably varying the distributin of the needles in the two needle bars 24 and 27 and by alternating uniformly or non-uniformly the elevated and lowered positions of both needle bars with respect to each other during the sinking of each row, tuck patterns of the most varied bars as described which are displaced transversely with respect to each other but move in unison longitudinally, it is possible for the first time in the simplest manner and without substantial alterations in the design of the old flat knitting machine to sink one or two or more threads in one row at various distances from the eyes of the needles. With the eyes of my needle equipped with the parallel hook portion 42, I may, with the needle bars having needles pitched at 2t, sink a thread on the stern of one needle and on the eye of another needle in the same row, and a1- ternate these operations regularly. It is important that the parallel hook portions 42 are in theextension of the side of the stem which faces the sinkers 59, 60 so that the loops sunk on the parallel hook portions and thrown ofi as shanks, are as long as those sunk on the stem, which latter may also be thrown off as shanks, or moved to a point below the eyes for forming loops.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

In the claims afiixed to this specification no selection of any particular mod fication of the invention is intended to the exclusion of other modifications thereof and the right to subsequently make claim to any modification not covered by these claims is expressly reserved.

I claim? 1. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the'complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement v transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle bars together transversely to this direction.

2. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at twice the normal gauge so that the gauge ofthe complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its needles, and means for moving the. two needle bars together transversely to this direction.

3. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge and that the two rows together make up a single row, with the needles in one plane, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar-individually in parallel to the axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle bars together transversely to this direction.

4. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar,'the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal bars, a row of needles on each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to'those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement transversely to this direction, a cam per needle bar, a rocking lever operatively connected to one of said cams at one end and to a link at its other end which in turn is connected to one of the needle bars, another rocking lever operatively connected to the other cam at one end and pivoted directly to the other needle bar at its other end, a presser arm mounted to rock about the pivotal connection of the other arm to the other needle arm, a rocking lever operatively connected to said presser arm, and a cam for rocking said lever.

6. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its needles,-means for moving the two needle bars together transversely to this direction, and jack sinkers and dividing sinkers each having a pair of thread rests.

7. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on eachbar, an eye on each needle which is adapted for the sinking and dividing of the thread, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle bars together transversely to this direction.

8. In a flat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar, an eye on each needle, the upper portion of whose hook extends in parallel to the axis of the needle, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but areheld against displacement transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its needles, and means for moving the two needle bars together transversely to this direction.

9. In a fiat knitting machine, a pair of needle bars, a row of needles on each bar, an eye on each needle, the upper portion of whose hook extends in parallel to the axis of the needle, while the lower portion of the hook is formed with a point adapted to engage in a groove of the needle, the needles in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row and pitched at such a gauge that the gauge of the complete set is equal to the normal gauge, means for connecting said needle bars in such manner that they can be displaced with respect to each other only in parallel to the axes of their needles, but are held against displacement transversely to this direction, means for moving each needle bar individually in parallel to the axes of its

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