US1982257A - Knitting machine and method for making open-work fabric - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 27, 1934. N L N 1,982,257

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING OPEN WORK FABRIC Filed Aug. 1, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ISnventor new? Zea/n Nov. 27,

Filed Aug. 1, 1931 N. LEVIN KNITTING- MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING OPEN WORK FABRIC ULBB ' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZSnnentor (IttornegS Patented Nov. 27, 1934 KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR NIAKING OPEN-WVORK FABRIC Nathan Levin, Trenton, N. J., assignor to H.

Brintcn Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 1, 1931, Serial No. 554,570

7 Claims.

My invention relates to an open work fabric and to a method and machine for making the same. It is an object of the same to provide a novel fabric with simple and inexpensive means by which the same can be made on a knitting machine.

Referring to the drawings, which are made a part of this application and in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a partial vertical section of a machine in which the features of my invention are embodied, 1

Fig. 2, a front elevation of one of my special instrumentalities,

Fig. 3, an enlarged perspective of the lower end of such an instrumentality,

Fig. 4, a diagrammatic view in elevation, illustrating the method of operation,

Fig. 5, a vertical section of the machine with the parts in the position at the right end of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6, a similar view showing the parts at the second position in Fig. 4,

Fig. 7, a similar view showing parts at the third position,

Fig. 8, a similar view of parts at the fourth position, and

Fig. 9, a conventionalized view of a detail of the fabric.

Taking up first the fabric shown in Fig. 9, this fabric is an ordinary plain knitted fabric comprising a plurality of wales a, b, c, d, e, ,f, 9.11, the courses being marked 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 for convenience of reference. In wales b, c, and d, e, I have illustrated open work formations such as constitute the subject matter of my improvement in the fabric. Considering wales b, c, it will be seen that the full complement of stitches is present but that in course 13 a sinker loopbetween two of the stitches is not in its normal;

position (thereby leaving a hole), but has been expanded so as practically to surround two of the adjacent stitches in the respective wales b and c, as indicated at 16. In like manner a sinker loop in course 12 has been removed from its normal position so as to leave a hole and has been positioned about two stitches of the same course in the respective wales d and e. Obviously such ornamentation may occur at various points in the same wale or be so arranged as to form desirable figures in the fabric, etc.

Referring now to Fig. 1, I have shown my invention as embodied in a circular knitting ma chine of the type having a needle cylinder 17, a cam ring 18, indepedent needles 19, a sinker bed 20, sinkers 21 and a sinker cam ring 22,

though it will be understood that the mechanisms shown could readily be incorporated in other machines such as straight machines with independent needles, etc.

Above the needle cylinder there is a finger cylinder 23, which will be rotatable or stationary according as the needle cylinder isrotatable or stationary. This finger cylinder has fingers 24. mounted in longitudinal slots of the cylinder, the fingers being preferably provided with rela- 66 tive projections 25 engaging in a corresponding groove of the finger cylinder and forming pivots for the fingers. Spring rings at 26 below the pivots of the fingers serve to hold them in the position indicated in Fig. 1. Each finger is pro- 70 vided with one or more butts 27. These butts are preferably formed on the fingers in the manner described in the patent to Ames No. 1,780,328.

In the present case there is shown a finger which originally has thirteen such butts, all so made as to be frangible so that they can readily be removed by placing a tool against the face of a butt which is held in a vise or other suitable holder, the tool being then lightly tapped with a hammer or the like to break off the undesired butt. A series of actuating devices 28 is shown as mounted vis-a-vis the butt positions on the fingers, which actuating devices when moved inward toward the finger cylinder will contact with approximately positioned butts to rock the fingers on their pivots 25 so as to move them transversely of the needle series. The actuating devices may be such as shown in Ames Reissue Patent No. 17,705 of June 17, 1930, and may be moved by any suitable pattern mechanism, so that the ornamentation maybe varied both by varying the order in which the actuatingIdevices are moved to operative position and by varying the butts on the fingers. I

At their lower ends, the fingers 24 have forks 29 which are separated at theirlower ends to a distance greater than the width between two adjacent needles of the series and are bent forward to provide fingers 30 which are preferably bent at their forward ends into approximate parallelism as indicated at 31 and beveled off at 32 so that the extreme forward ends form what is approximately a pointed instrument. The forks are preferably of spring metal to permit them to spread in passing from position C to position D.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 8, Fig. 4 may be taken as illustrating so much as necessasry of the needles of a machine having a single yarn feed or as illustrating one feed of a multiple-feed machine the entire finger above described forms 110 a loop spreader and assumes essentially four different positions in the formation of a course of stitches wherein an open work structure such as shown in Fig. 9 is to be made. At position A in Fig. 4, corresponding to Fig. 5, the loop spreader has been brought forward sufficiently to catch the sinker loop between two needles as they are drawn down to draw the yarns across the sinkers.

As the needles are drawn down this loop will be 10 expanded as indicated at B in Fig. 4, corresponding to the position of Fig. 6, the loop spreader holding its position. As the needles pass onward to the position C of Fig. 4 they are elevated to normal position whereby the expanded sinker loop is laid around them as indicated at C and in Fig. 7. Thereafter the finger is withdrawn I as shown in Fig. 8 and at D in Fig. 4, so that the enlarged sinker loop lies around them as further indicated at E in Fig. 4. When the loops of the next course are drawn the stitches on the needles and the enlarged sinker loop will be cast ofi together in drawing the loops indicated at 33, 34 in Fi 9.

It will be understood that many changes may be made in the means above illustrated and described and in the fabric formed thereby and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a knitting machine, a needle cylinder, a series of needles, means coacting therewith to knit a fabric, a slotted finger bed coaxial with said cylinder, a sinker loop spreader comprising an elongated body, lying in a slot of said bed, said loop spreader having at its lower end fingers approximately at right angles to the body, the fingers being spaced adjacent the body to a distance greater than that between two adjacent needles and approaching each other at their outer ends,

means for actuating said spreader to cause the outer ends of the forks to enter between a pair of needles and engage under a sinker loop preliminary to the formation of loops in a course by the needles, and means for withdrawing said 'loop spreader preliminary to the formation of another course whereby said sinker loop is laid about said pair of needles, said loop spreaders being provided with differentiated spaced butts, 5@ and pattern means acting upon the outer ends 'of said butts for actuating said butts to vary the action of the loop spreaders.

2. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means coacting therewith to knit a fabric, a sinker loop spreader comprising an elongated body --having at its lower end forks spaced adjacent the body to adistance greater than that between two adjacent needles and approaching each other at their outer ends, means for actuating said spreader to cause the outer ends of the forks -to enter between a pair of needles and engage under a sinker loop preliminary to the formation of loops in a course by the needles, and means for withdrawing said loop spreader preliminary to the formation of another course whereby said sinker loop is laid about said pair of needles, said loop spreaders being pivotally mounted above said needles, differentiated frangible butts on the body portions of said loop spreaders, and means acting selectively on said butts for varying the pattern produced.

3. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means coacting therewith to knit a fabric, a sinker loop spreader comprising an elongated body having at its lower end forks spaced adjacent the body to a distance greater than that between two adjacent needles and approaching each other at their outer ends, means for actuating said spreader to cause the outer ends of the forks to enter between a pair of needles and engage under a sinker loop preliminary to the formation of loops in a course by the needles, and means for withdrawing said loop spreader preliminary to the formation of another course whereby said sinker loop is laid about said pair of needles, said loop spreaders being pivotally mounted above said needles, differentiated frangible butts on the body portions of said loop spreaders, and a stack of actuating devices each operatively related to the position of a butt on a loop spreader, whereby the pattern may be varied by removal of butts and also by selective actuation of said actuating devices.

4. A sinker loop spreader for a knitting machine, said spreader having a shank with a series of frangible butts and having means extending from the shank at the same edge thereof as said butts for transferring a sinker loop to a needle of the machine, and a rounded enlargement at the opposite edge providing a pivot for the spreader.

5. In a knitting machine a finger cylinder, a series of sinker loop spreaders pivotally supported thereby, a series of frangible butts on each spreader said butts varying in length as their distance from the pivot of the spreader, pattern means related to the various levels at which said butts occur, and loop spreading means extending from said spreaders approximately parallel tosaid butts.

6. In a circular knitting machine, a needle bed, independent needles therein, a finger bed spaced from said needle bed, sinker loop spreaders piv otally supported by said finger bed in operative relation to the needles, a spring ring acting on said fingers below their pivots to move them to idle position, and selective means acting on said fingers above their pivots.

7. A device as in claim 6, said fingers having selectively removable butts thereon, and pattern means coacting with said but-ts to actuate the fingers.

NATHAN LEVIN.

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