US2015540A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

Sept 24, 1935. E. TITHER KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28, 1934 25 7 X M 15 4 h INVEN TOR.

l Patented Sep 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNITTING MACHINE Ernest Tither, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to The I Vogue Silk Hosiery Co., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 28, 1934, Serial No. 759,477 2 1 Claim.

This invention relates to yarn sinking instrumentalities for knitting machines, particularly fiatknitting machines of the cotton type such as are commonly used in the manufacture of full 5 fashioned stockings and the like.

In fiat knitting machines of the specific kind referred to, the sinkers are advanced progressively through the medium of actuating jacks impelled by a slur cock, to sink the yarn laid into the notches of the sinkers betweenthe knitting needles; the kinks in the yarn thus formed around the needle shanks being subsequently robbed by concerted advance of dividers intervening the sinkers in the sinker head. At these times, the sinkers are free for capacity to yield to the ac tion of the yarn so that the lateral robbing may take place between the previously measured yarn kinks. If, incident to this robbing action, one or more of the sinkers should become disaligned with relation to the others of the series, it or they will prevent the catch bar from retracting the sinkers preparatory to the traverse of the yarn carrier finger for the purpose of laying yarn for a succeeding fabric course, and thus cause a smash, with attendant bending or nicking of the sinkers, as well as possible damage to the needles and the sinker head, which, for correction, entails a very considerable outlay for new parts and the idling of the machine while repairs and replacements are being made.

My invention is directed toward obviating the contingencies such as above pointed out, which desideratum I attain as hereinafter more fully explained, by providing recesses in the top edges 35 of the sinkers adjacent the top nibs of their yarn sinking ends, so that, in the event that the sinkers are not retracted by the catch bar of the knitting machine, the yarn carrier may pass over them without contact.

In the drawing, Fig. I shows in cross section, a sufl'icient portion of a flat knitting machine of the cotton type to illustrate the operation of my improved sinkers.

Fig. II is a similar view with a sinker in an abnormal position; and

Fig. III is a perspective view of one of my novel sinkers.

Fig. IV represents a fragmentary perspective view of the knitting apparatus embodying the 50 present invention.

Fig. V represents a fragmentary top plan-view of sinkers, dividers and needles as embodying the present invention.

Referring first to Fig. III of these illustrations, it will be observed that my new sinker comprehensively designated by the numeral 5 is generally speaking of conventional design and construction, with a horizontally elongate parallel edged main or body portion 6 of thin steel having 50 at its frontal or yarn sinking end, an angular notch '1 between upper and lower nibs 8 and 9. At the rear or butt end |0, the sinker 5 is strengthened and thickened by\ a permanently attached reinforcement also fashioned from sheet metal. It will be further noted from Fig. 111 5 that the sinker 5 is distinguished from ordinary sinkers now generally usedby virtue of having a recess II in the top edge of its main or body portion 6 immediately inward of the upper front point or nib 8.

Sinkers made in accordance with my invention can thus be substituted for ordinary sinkers in flat knitting machines of the cotton type such as delineated fragmentarily in Figs. 1, II, IV and V wherein l2 designates the transversely grooved 15 bottom rail of the sinker head; l3, the correspondingly grooved sinker head cap bar; It, the associated verge plate; l5, one of the pivoted sinker a'dvancing jacks; lithe-catch bar for retracting the sinkers; l1, one of the knitting 20 needles; l8, the'yarn'carrier-fingers of the machine whereof the thread eye l9 extends down to a level below the top edge of the sinkers as required to lay the yarn 20 into the angular notches 1; 2|, the dividers which alternate withthe 5 sinkers 5; and 22, the upright catch-bar-engaged rear-portion of the dividers.

As a characteristic of the flat types of fullfashioned knitting machines in general use at the present time, the sinkers advance in succes- 30 sion or progressively as the yarn carrier finger I8 is moved longitudinally .of the sinker head; the successive or progressive advancement of the sinkers lagging behind the traverse of the yarn carrier finger to any suitable extent so that the yarn carrier finger l8 leads the progressive advancement of the successive fingers by a suitable margin throughout traverse of the yarn carrier, except possibly" when the yarn carrier reaches the limit of its movement when the lead v of the yarn carrier diminishes to a minimum for the formation of the desired selvage. The sinkers are caused to advance in this progressive l fashion (one after the other, but always lagging behind the yarn carrier) through actuation of a slur cock (not illustrated), and the effect of such progressive advancement of the sinkers is to send (or to sink) the yarn paid out by the yarn finger l8 (by engagement with the angular notch 1), into the alternate spaces between the needles |1,'as indicated in Figs. IV and V, thereby forming kinks embracing adjacent pairs of needles.

When the yarn carrier l8 has reached its limit. of travel, that is, approximately when the last 5 of the sinkershas been advanced .by the traverse of the slur cock, the series of dividers 2| are advanced simultaneously by means of the catch-bar I6, in the direction of the arrow 24, which catchbar remains in engagement with the upright butts 22 of the dividers 2| through all phases of the knitting cycle. The simultaneously advanced dividers 21 enter the other series of alternate spaces between the needles H, which were not theretofore entered by the sinkers 5, thereby laterally to rob the previously measured dents in the yarn and to divide the previously formed kinks so that instead of each two adjacent needles being embraced by one relatively long yarn loop or kink, each needle then becomes embraced individually by a shorter yarn loop or kink.

In the normal progress of the knitting cycle the full course of new stitches or new loops is then formed by the simultaneous lowering of the needles (by means not shown) Thereupon, the catch-bar IS in its generally advanced position shown inFig. II is lowered downwardly a small extent until the catch channel or catch-groove 25 thereof comes down over the somewhat lower ends or terminals of the upright butts H! of the sinkers, thereby to engage the same, and is then retracted quickly in the direction of the arrow 26 to its rearmost or retracted position;carrying with it the permanently engaged dividers and temporarily engaged sinkers. Thereupon, the catch-bar I0 is again raised to its upper position, indicated in Fig. I, wherein the sinkers become disengaged from the catch-bar, while the dividers still remain engaged. The sinkers are then again advanced progressively for the initial sinking of the yarn for the next course of loops.

Upon the passage of the slur cock (which progressively advances the sinkers independently of the catch-bar) the sinkers are left free to recede slightly when the previously measured dents of yarn are robbed or divided laterally by the simultaneous advance of the dividers.

It sometimes happens that as a result of such slight recession of the sinkers, as just explained, or as a result of some other slight inequalities in tension or momentum or rebound, or other slight irregularities, one or several of the sinkers become slightly misaligned with respect to the others so that the catch-bar I6 is stopped in its downward engaging movement by the butts of the misaligned sinkers which fail to enter the groove or channel 25, as indicated in Figure II,

' and the catch-bar is hence prevented from catching any of the sinker butts I0 so that the sinkers remain in their advanced position instead of of the needles, as well as bending of the slot walls of the sinker head cap bar which is usually made of brass or other relatively soft metal. A smash of this sort invariably entails complete replacement of the sinkers and the sinker head cap bar, since to accurately restore the sinkers to their original shape is a practical impossibility and at best results in the production by the machine of streaky fabric. The dents in the upper edges of the sinkers resulting from the smash, even though slight, would on the other hand, if the damaged sinkers were retained, cause rapid wear of the guide slots in the sinker head cap bar.

Through my invention contingencies of the sort described are absolutely precluded, because in the event of non-retraction of the sinkers 5 by the catch bar 16, the notches H provide a clearance through the length of the series of sinkers for free and unobstructed passage of the yarn guide finger I8 in a manner which will be readily apparent from Figs, II and IV without the necessity for further description.

It will be understood that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claim rather than to the foregoing description or indicate the scope of the invention. Thus, for instance, the shape of the recesses or notches ll may be altered, as for ex- 9 ample by inclining the bottom of the recess 01 notch upwardly in a forward direction so that by a more or less gradual incline, the bottom of the recess will meet the very front tip of the nib 8 instead of coming up sharply a slight distance behind the tip.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a flat knitting machine, the combination of a bank of upright spring-beard needles arranged in rectilinear alignment with each other, and uniformly spaced with respect to each other, and adapted for vertical reciprocation in unison with each other, a thread carrier adapted for traversing longitudinally of the bank of needles, with its thread-discharge point at a fixed height, and to discharge thread across the front of said needles at a fixed height or level, corresponding to the height or level of the discharge point of the thread carrier, a bank of forming-sinkers and a bank of dividers arranged for horizontal sliding movement transversely of the needle bank, with the forming-sinkers and dividers being aligned with the alternate spaces between adjacent needles, means for advancing the formingsinkers in succession in a position slightly lagging after the thread carrier, while the dividers are retracted in an inoperative position, and a catch-bar for advancing the dividers simulta' neously after all the forming-sinkers have been advanced, and for retracting the dividers simultaneously, said catch-bar being in constant engagement with the dividers and being adapted to engage the forming-sinkers in its outermost or advanced position, and to retract said forming-sinkers in unison with each other and si- -multaneousl v with the retraction of the dividers,

and to release or disengage the forming-sinkers in its retracted position;the upper nibs of the forming-sinkers being above the discharge end of the thread carrier and said forming-sinkers having recesses in their upper edges immediately adjacent the upper nibs in their sinking ends, with the bottom of the recess below the level of the thread-discharge point of the thread carrier, thereby to permit the free and uninterfered traverse of the thread carrier in both the advanced position of the forming-sinkers as well as in'the retracted position of the forming sink-

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