US2076902A - Reverse plating by knitting needle control - Google Patents

Description

April 13, 1937.

R. H. LAWSON ET AL REVERSE PLATING BY KNITTING NEEDLE CONTROL Filed April 18, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l Tmve miw m @WZHL @W@ @m, flz ihuz mmo mw,

April 193% R. H. LAWSON ET AL 9 9 REVERSE PLATING BY KN ITTING NEEDLE CONTROL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 WU earn/Zora &e @Hlawsan a" wife/m2 J1 Uiouifv'er,

April 13, 193'? R. H. LAWSON ET AL REVERSE PLATING .BY KNITTING NEEDLE CONTROL 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 18, 1927 IWUEZ'i/ZOY'fi 662 57 Lava/(so n, CHWZhZQ/T'CJV 05010771968", ey V'M 1 Patented- Apr. 13, 1937 REVERSE PLATING BY KNITTING NEEDLE CONTROL Robert H. Lawson, Pawtucket, and Arthur N. Cloutier, Lonsdale, R. I., assignors to Hemphill Company, Central Falls, R. 1., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 18.19211, Serial No. 184,576

3 Claims.

This invention relates to reverse plating by knitting needle control, and more particularly to circular hosiery knitting machines provided with web holders or sinkers having nibs of usual type and wherein the reverse plating is effected I through inward movement of the needles, and to the method of moving the needles to efiect reverse plating.

In order that the principle of the invention may be readily understood, we have disclosed in the accompanying drawings a single embodimentof mechanism for practicing our invention and whereby the method thereof may best be carried out.-

Insaid drawings: Fig. lis an end elevation of the lower part of a circular hosiery knitting machine having I our invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation ,of the head of the knitting machine and adjacent parts of the mechanism for controlling the cams whereby the inward movement of the needles is eflected;

I 1 Fig. 3 is a plan view of the knitting machine of the means for imparting inward movement to the reverse plating needles, but representing the head, but with parts removed to show the cams and web holders;

Fig. 4 is' a detail showing one of the cams for imparting the inward movement to the reverse plating needles, in its relation to the regular sinker operatingcam;

Fig. 5 is an inside view in transverse section of the latch ring, the plating yarn guides and the yarn tensioning means;

- Fig. 6 is a detail in vertical transverse section aeedle as in its outer or normal plating posion ;m

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but representing the needle as being moved radially inward for efiecting -reverseplating; r

Fig. 8 is a detail in plan showing the position of the parts in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a similar detail showing the position of the parts in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation showing a needle with the two yarns. in the hook thereof in a normal plating relation;

Fig. 11 is a, similar view but representing the same needle as moved inward so that the two yarns in the hook thereof assume a reverse plating position, and also showing the next adjacent needle in a normal plating position; and

Fig. 12 is a view showing in side elevation the web holders or slnkers preferably employed in (01. se-se) that embodiment of the'mechanism of our invention herein. represented.

In accordance with our invention, we efiect reverse plating by movement of selected or predetermined needles transversely of the needle series. Assuming, for purpose of illustration and explanation, that the needles employed are latch needles (although our invention is not limited to the employment of latch needles), reverse plating is efiected by movement of desired or selectedneedles backward; that is, away from the observer who is facing the latches of the needles. In the event that the invention is applied to a circular independent needle knitting machine; the desired or selected needles are moved radially inward in efiecting reverse plating. The inward movement of the desired or selected needles may be effected by any means or instrumentalities.

Such means desirably engages the needle stems, and in such manner as to cause the desired or selected needles to move inwardly at the proper time. Our invention is not limited to the em ployment of any particular means or instrumentality for effecting such inward movement of the needles, and while, within the scope of our invention, such means may be so located with respect to the series or circle of needles as to pull the desired or. selected needles inward at the proper time, we preferably employ means or instrumentalities located outside the needle circle and s0 engaging the desired or selected needles as to push them inwardly at their upper ends at the proper time. Assuming that the means which acts directly upon the desired or selected needles, moves them inward by a pushing action, such means or instrumentality is desirably. individual to each of the needles, and may be I made to engage the desired or selected gneedles at any suitable point along said needles. Without in any sense limiting ourselves thereto, we

have, forsimplicity and convenience of operation, chosen to move the desired or selected needies inward by lateral projections upon certain of the web holders.

Within the scope of "our invention,-means may i be provided for moving each-and every one of the needles inwardly for effecting reverse plating thereon, but preferably and as herein shown only a. part of the needles are adapted or intended to have reverse plating efiected thereon. Said needies wherein reverse plating is to be effected are of said needles whereon reverse plating is at any time to be effected, there is positioned a'sinker or web holder having a lateral projection or formation adapted to engage the needle stem and thereby move the needle inwardly 'sufl'iciently to effect reverse plating. Those sinkers or web holders which are provided with lateral formations or projections may be and preferably are contrasted among themselves by different lengths or shapes of butts or other parts, and we preferably provide a plurality of cams, each cam being adapted to act'only upon butts of a certain formation. In this manner a very considerable variation in patterning may be effected especially in forming vertical lines of greater or less length, or mere dots.

Our invention may be applied to any type of independent needle knitting machine, but we have represented the same as applied to a circular hosiery knitting machine, and have selected for illustration a machine of the so-called Banner type and, without limiting ourselves thereto, we will describe the preferred form or embodiment of our invention as applied to a machine of that type.

The Banner machine, to which our invention is here represented as applied, is of the general type shown in the patent to Hemphill, No. 933,443, and shown also in the patent to Robert H. Lawson,

' Reissue No. 16,584, April 5, 1927. In said latter patent is disclosed means for effecting reverse plating, but therein the reverse plating is effected through the action of thread engaging instrumentalities movable transversely of the needles,

and for that purpose those thread engaging instrumentalities at whose needles reverse plating is to be effected are of special formation at the thread engaging portions thereof. In accordance with our invention, however, the sinkers or web holders throughout the entire series may be and desirably are of usual and regular formation so far as the thread engaging portion thereof is concerned, and the reverse plating is efiected through and by reason of the inward movement of the desired or selected needles at the proper time,-by

or through the action of instrumentalities desirably individual to those needles and engaging the same at some proper point along the same and preferably at the outer edge of their stems or shanks below the pivots of their latches (if latch needles are employed).

Referring more particularly to the drawings, we

have represented the framing of the machine at I. It is provided with a needle cylinder 2 that may be of the usual construction, but if desired the upper part of the needle grooves 3 may be sufllciently inwardly enlarged or deepened to permit sufi'icient inward movement of the needles.

The needles are represented at 4. While within the scope of our invention the needles may be of any type, they are preferably provided with hooks 5 and latches- 6. The needle cylinder is desirably of the revolving type, though obviously our invention is not limited in this respect. While any 55 suitable" provision may be made-for permitting the desired or selected needles to be moved inwardly, we preferably provide a slight bend in the needle stems, as indicated at l in Figs. 6 and 7, so as to render the needles sufficiently springy 7 for the purpose intended. Such bend is preferably provided in all the needles of the circle, and

for that purpose as slight a bend as one sixtyfourth of an inch has been found suflicient. The

- amount of the bend, however, may be varied according to conditions of gauge, character of yarn or thread, etc. Inasmuch as desirably all the needles are thus slightly bent, it is apparent that reverse plating may be effected upon any needle, it being merely necessary to provide means to engage the needle and effect the inward movement thereof at the proper time.-

The web holder bed ring is indicated at 8, and the cap ring is indicated at 9. The sinkers or web holders are desirably all provided with ordinary upper nibs I 0 beneath which are the throats ll. Immediately below the throats II are the web holding edges l2 of the sinkers or web holders. In effecting normal plating the sinkers or web holders all act in the usual manner known to those skilled in the art, and which therefore need not be described in detail. The knitting machine is provided with any suitable number of yarn guides or fingers by which any desired number of yarns or threads may be supplied to the machine. Assuming that the machine is of the Banner hosiery type, there are preferably provided four or flve yam fingers which at the proper time introduce their respective yarns or threads at the throat l3 of the latch ring I, shown in Fig. 5. Among said yarn guides we provide two guides i 5, l6, which introduce the yarns or threads l1, l8 in a plating relation. In accordance with the preferred practice of our invention, tension or the greater tension is imparted to one of the yarns or threads, and herein tension is imparted to the yarn or thread I8 by suitable tension means indicated at l9 and which may be of the type shown in said Lawson Reissue Patent No. 16,584 of any suitable type. While our invention is not limited in this respect, we desirably impart tension or the greater tension to that yarn which in normal plating is the front yarn and which strikes the needles more quickly and lower down on the stems thereof than does the backing yarn, all as fully described in said Reissue Patent No. 16,584, so that in normal plating said front yarn appears at the outer face of the fabric.

The sinkers or web holders are or may be all represented the stationary cam II in Fig. 3 for- Figs. 6 and 7. Desirably the sinkers or web holders are of the sliding ty'pe, although our invention is not limited in this respect, it being merely necessary that the sinkers or web holders be so web holders, and, excepting as herein described,

the said means may be the same as or similar -for controlling or limiting their inward movement and as usual the said cam is provided with an inwardly sloping outer edge 22 at its end nearest the means for moving the sinkers or web holders'inwardly. Radially outside of the cam 2| is the regular cam 23, shown most clearly in Figs. 3-and 4, and which, as shown, is provided with an inwardly sloping edge 24 which in normal plating engagesv the butts of the web holders to move the same radially inward as they approach the casting ofl point.

Inasmuch as in this embodiment of the invention we impart the inward movement to each of the desired or selected needles through lateral formations upon the next adjacent web holder or sinker, we provide means for moving inward pertaining thereto.

those sinkers or web holders having such lateral formation, at an abnormally early point in the stitch forming operation. Such means is desirably cam means and while a singlecam may be employed for this purpose we desirably employ a plurality of cams which are so positioned that each will act only upon sinkers or web holders While in no sense limiting ourselves to a plurality of cams, or to two cams if a plurality be employed, we have herein represented two special cams at 25, 26, shown most clearlyin Figs. 3, 6 and '7. Said cams are desirably placed one over the other and are herein represented as having a common pivot 21 in the cap ring 9. The said cams are provided with tails 28, 29 extending beyond their pivots and adapted to be engaged by springs 30, 3|, sothat they are normally so acted upon that their sinker or web holder engaging edges are moved outward beyond the range of the butts upon said sinkers or web holders. Said cams are provided with pins or projections 32, 33, to be engaged by means to be described for moving said cams inward at the proper time, thereby to cause them respectivelyto engage with the butts of those sinkers or web holders pertaining thereto.

Assuming for simplicity of operation only that but two special cams are provided, the sinkers or web holders of the entire circular series are herein of the shapes or forms shown in Fig. 12. Therein we have represented at 34 sinkers or web holders which have short butts 35 and which are devoid of lateral projection. Therefore reverse plating is not effected at any time upon the needles pertaining to the web. holders or sinkers 34. In said figure,we have represented at 36 sinkers or web holders. having medium height butts 31. At 38 we have represented sinkers or web holders provided with high butts 39. The said sinkers or web holders 36 and 38 are provided with lateral formations or projections 48, and it will of course be understood that the web holders 36 and 38 may be distributed as desired throughout the entire circle. They may be inserted singly, if desired, but preferablyin' groups of atleast two, but their distribution and arrangement depend upon the pattern or design that is to be produced.

The lateral formations or projections 48 may 4i of the needle stems at the proper time in the,

downward movement of the needles and hencewhile the two threads are within the hooks thereof or are just below and. are approaching the hooks. This depends upon the shape of the inner edges of. the special cams 25, 26. In Fig. 4, where we have shown the special cam 25, the inner edge thereof slopes preferably gradually inward as indicated at 42 until the point or corner 43 is reached, and which is preferably the extent of several needles in advance of the casting off .cam 23, and at such point the needle whose loop is being cast off is then at its lowest point ofdescent. We have here shown that portion 45 be provided upon the sinkers or web holders 36,

of the inner edge of the special cam 25 extending between the point or shoulder 43 and the cam 25, the said two cams being merely in different horizontal planes, and the same would be true if more than two special cams be employed.

Each sinker or web holder 36 and 38, by reason of engagement of its lateral projection or formation 48 with the stem of its needle 4, causes the hook portion of the said needle to be slightly inward, so as to be slightly inside the-line of the circle of needles. The amount of the inward I movement of such needles may vary under different conditions, but in fine gauge work an inward movement of about one sixty-fourth to one thirty-second of an inch has been found to be sufiicient. This, however, depends upon conditions and circumstances, and may be varied accordingly.

Desirably the hooks 5 of all the needles are the same. Herein we have shown them all as forward hooks. The bend I in the shank of the needles need be merely enough to make them all springy so that the desired needles may be moved inward by the sinkers or web holders having a lateral projection 40. By providing all the needles with the bend I it is merely necessary to take out web holders 34 or any of them and substitute web holders like 36 or 38 in order to efiect reverse plating at those needles.

The position of the lateral projections or formations 40 is such that said projections or formation's do not interfere with casting off; that is, when the throat of a sinker has moved in just far enough to cast off the lateral projection or formation 46 upon that sinker or web holder (if one be provided) is still pressing its needle in beyond the circle of needles to the maximum extent. Such lateral projection or formation 40 first engages the stem of the needle at about the point 46 (see Fig. 4), and at the point 43 the said projection 40 has pushed its needle inward to the maximum. extent and the said needle remains in to the full extent for a distance which is about the space included by four or five of the sinkers or web holders when in the machine.

While any suitable means may be provided to move thecams 25 and 26 inward into functioning position, we preferably provide the following means to which, however, our invention is in no wise restricted. 1

In a bracket or standard 41 shown in Fig. 2 as located at the narrowing picker side of the machine there are mounted for sliding movement two bars 48, 49 of which the upper bar 48 engages the pin 33 'upon the cam 25 and the lower bar 49 engages the pin 32 upon the cam 26. Thus at times determined by the respective controlling means of the said bars, one or the other of the said cams 25, 26 is moved radially inward sufficiently for it to cause the sinkers or web holders whose butts are of the form or location to be engaged by such cam, to be so engaged, and thereupon to move the corresponding needles inward as already described.

Each bar 48, 49 is connected by a pin (not herein shown) to the proper one of two levers whose outer ends are forked and are respectively engaged by the upper reduced ends 50, 5| of hell crank levers 52, 53 co-axially pivoted at 54 upon a bracket 55, and respectively connected at 56, 51 to downwardly extending links 58, 59. Said links, as shown at their lower ends, are pivotally connected at 60, 6|, to horizontally positioned levers 62, 63 co-axially pivoted at 64 upon the framing of the machine and having free ends adapted to bear upon properly shaped cams, one of which is shown at 65, upon the pattern drum 66 on the usual pattern shaft 61.

The shape of the cams upon the drums 66 for controlling the levers 64, 63 depends upon the pattern and may be varied if desired. When the article being knitted is a hose or stocking, the said cams should be such as to render the cams 25, 26 ineffective for reverse plating during heel and toe work, and the cams may be and preferably are of such shape as to provide both long and short vertical lines and also mere dots, as well as figured or pattern effects. While we are not limited in the scope of our invention to imparting tension to one only of the yarns or to imparting a greater tension to one of the yarns, it is important to have greater tension upon one yarn than the other inasmuch as the nibs I of all the web holders or sinkers may be and desirably are identical in shape, and therefore the reversal in position of the yarns in effecting reverse plating is due wholly to the inward movement of the selected or predetermined needles in co-action or cooperation with the greater tensioning of one yarn than the other, so that said tensioned yarn will be positioned to one side or the other of the less tensioned or non-tensioned yarn according to whether normal plating or reverse plating is effected. Desirably there is no change in the position of the yarn guides themselves in effecting reverse plating, nor any movement of the yarn guides for this purpose. In other words, the reversing of the yarns is automatically performed through the inward movement of the needles, and is not attributable to the movement of the yarn guides or yarn feeding means. Without limiting the invention in any way by a statement of the theory of operation, it is sufllcient to state that the tensioned yarn is desirably that shown in Fig. as the lower fed to the needles. In Fig. 10, the tensioned yarn is marked i6 and as tensioned, the untensioned yarn being marked II. It will be observed that in normal plating as indicated in Fig. 10, the said tensioned yarn gets to the inside or to the back 66 of the hook 5 of the needle. In said Fig. 10, the needle 4 is shown as in its normal or outer position. In Fig. 11, where the same needle is shown as moved inward by the projection 40 pertaining thereto, the tensioned yarn gets to the front side of the hook and therefore is reversed in position,

. so that in the completed loop the yarn l6 appears at the inner face of the fabric.

We are aware that it has long been a practice to set desired needles permanently in with respect to' the circle or series of needles for the purpose of securing reverse plating upon those needles, but in such cases the reverse plating must occur upon said needles throughout the extent of the fabric.

So far as we are aware, it has never been proposed prior to our invention to move needles inward or transversely of the needle series during the knitting operation, so as to perform reverse plating thereon or thereat, and we desire to claim the same broadly.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of the mechanism of the invention and the best mode known to us for practicing the method thereof, it is to be understood that although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A circular knitting machine comprising a circular series of independent latch needles, operating means therefor, means to feed two threads to said needles in a normal plating relation, sinkers or web holders having an in and out movement between said needles, and means to cause certain of said sinkers or web holders to move their needles slightly inward at their upper ends during the downward movement of said needles, in such timed relation as to effect thread reversal in the stitch forming operation.

2. A circular knitting machine comprising a circular series of independent latch needles, operating means therefor, means to feed two threads to said needles in a normal plating relation, sinkers or web holders having an in and out movement between said needles, and means to cause certain of said sinkers or web holders to move their needles slightly inward at their upper ends during the downward movement of said needles so as to cause the two threads to become reversed in position in the hooks of the needles so moved inward whereby said threads appear in a reversely plated position in the completed fabric.

3. In a machine having independent latch needles and having cam means for operating the same, a sinker or web holder adapted to be moved to and fro between two needles and having a web holding function, and also having a lateral formation so located thereon as to engage the outer edge of the shank of the next adjacent needle at one side thereof during the downward move-

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