US2101639A - Circular knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

ADec.'7, 1937. A. A. cAUDLE 2,101,639

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE y l Filed Dec. s, 19:54 4 sheets-sheet 1 De- 7, 1937. A. A. cAuDLE 2,101,639

' CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Deo. 8, '1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 7, 1937. f A.A, CAUDLE 2,101,639

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec; 8, 1934 4 sheets-sheet 5 Dec. 7, 1937. A- A CAUDLE 2,101,639

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 8, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 7, 1937 Y UNITED srrrl'resv CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Arthur A. Candle, Hendersonville, N. C., assignor to James P. Grey, Charles L. Grey, and James P. Grey, Jr., a co-partnershipdoing business' as Grey Hosiery Mills, Hendersonville, N. C.

Application. December 8, 1934, Serial No. 756,692

This invention relates to circular knitting machines for knitting silk stockings and is adapted to be applied to a machine of the Scott and Williams type in which a single silk thread is employed in knitting the leg and foot portions of a stocking, and a separate yarn is employed in knitting the toe and heel portions thereof.

It is a well known fact that natural silk threads yare formed with intermittent and relatively heavy l@ and light portions throughout their lengths. Sometimes these relatively heavy portions extend for twenty or more feet, and consequently when a thread is knitted into tubular io'rm these heavy portions of the thread are laid in adjacent con- ]l volutions or courses which give to the stocking the appearance o'f having a. stripe or ring exy tending therearound. Sometimes this stripe is of a relatively narrow width, and sometimes it is relatively very` wide, the width of the stripede- 2o pending upon the length of the heavy portion of the thread. After the stockings have been knitted, they are dyed and therelatively heavy portions of the silk have the appearance of being much darker in shade 'than the relatively light 25 sections.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a circular knitting machine with means for employing a plurality of silk`threads when knitting the leg and foot portions of the stocking, 30 whereby the heavy or thick portions of the thread will be dispersed to such an extent that the stripes or rings will' be eliminated.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a circular knitting machine with certain parts being omitted, but dfi showing my invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a planl view of the head, certain of.

the' parts being omitted;

Figure 3 isan enlarged detail elevation of the stitch cams;` Y it Figure 4 is a bottom plan viewof the sinker ring;

Figure 5 is a vertical cross section taken through said ring;

Figure 6 is a' plan View partly'in section showing 45 the dial cap, the sinkerring, the needles and sinkers, and the thread cutters and clamps Figure 7 is an elevation partly in section of the dial frame and showing particularly the thread cutters and clamps;

Figure 8 is an enlargedV section showing the mounting of one of the auxiliary stitch cams; and

Figure 9 is a. detail perspective view of the pattern cam.

55 My invention is adapted to be applied, with (ci. ss-s) slight modifications, to the well known Scott and Williams circular knitting machine employed for knitting tubular silk stockings, and therefore I have shown in the accompanying drawings only those parts of such a machine as will enable any 5 one skilled in the art to understand the nature and operation of my invention.

This Scott and Williams machine includes a main head 5 in which the cylinder is rotatably mounted. This cylinder carries the latched nee- 10 dles 'l which are vertically reciprocated in the usual manner by means of a stitch cam" A iixed to a cam ring 8 mounted on the head and receiving the needle butts El. A thread guide nger IIB which is mounted on the head functions to guide a silk thread a to theneedles at the stitch cam A. Cooperating with the needles to form the stitches are the usual sinkers ll which are actuated by means of a stationary sinker ring l2 mounted on the head and provided with the usual horizontally extending cam groove ila for receiving the sinker butts. Fixed to the cylinder is a driven gear I3 which is actuated by the usual drive mechanism for rotating the cylinder in an anti-clockwise direction when knitting the leg and foot portions of a stocking and for oscillating the cylinder when knitting the heel and toe portions of the stocking. Pivoted to the head 5 above the cylinder li is the usual frame ld carrying the dial l5 which is rotated in the usual manner, andxed to the frame` it above the dial is the usual cap i6. Upon the completion of the leg portion, as well as the foot portion; the thread a is clamped and cut by means of a pivoted clamp il and a pivoted cutter blade i8 which are both mounted on the ca-p I6. To this end, a rotary pattern drum i9 is mounted on the main frame and-is rotated once for each completed stocking by the usual driving connections. Spaced circumferential cams 20, 2l are fixed to the ydrum for lifting a vertically disposed thrust rod 22, the

upper lend thereof being disposed under and engageable, with the horizontal arm 23 of a bell crank lever 2d pivoted at 25 to the dial frame lt. The vertical arm 26 of said lever terminates in an inwardly extending arm 21 to which is connected the upper end of a vertical link 28, the vlower end of the link beingpivotally connected to one end of the pivoted thread cutter bladeIl Ill. A spring pusher 29 is mounted on the frame ld directly under the arm 21 .and functions to normally maintain the throat of the cutter blade I8 in open positionfor freely receiving the thread. A stationary ledger blade 30 is mounted on the cap I6 for cooperation with the movable blade I8. 55

The thread clamp II which is pivoted on the cap I6 is normally pressed downwardly by a spring 3I, and is raised by upward movement of the cutter blade I8 to allow the thread to pass thereunder. As soon as the cams 20, 2l pass under the thrust bar, the cutter throat will be opened and the clamp elevated, and as soon as the cams leave the thrust bar the cutter blade and the clamp will be actuated by means of the spring pusher 29. As soon as the leg and foot portions have been respectively completed, a thread change-over is made in the usual manner, the cylinder is oscillated, and the heel and toe are thereby knitted. These extra threads or yarns which are employed in knitting the heel and toe portions of a stocking are directed to the needles through vertically movable thread guiding lingers which are operated in proper timed relation from the pattern drum I9; these fingers and operating connections, however, are not shown, as they are well known in the art.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the thread guide finger IU, the stitch cam A, the needles 1, the sinkers I I, and the sinker ring I2 constitute a main or primary set of knitting instrumentalities.

In applying my invention -to the above described machine, I provide two auxiliary and vertically movable thread guide lingers 32, 33 which are mounted for reciprocation in guide brackets 34, 35 attached to the dial frame I4 at spaced points in advance of the stitch cam A. Fixed to the brackets and extending outwardly therefrom are guides 36, 3'I for leading the auxiliary silk threads b and c to the lower ends of the thread fingers 32, 33. Fixed to the upper end of the thread finger 32 is a laterally extending arm 38 which extends under and has sliding connection with a pin 39fixed to the upper end of the finger 33, whereby when the finger 32 is elevated the finger 33 will be elevated therewith. Fixed to and extending outwardly from the upper end of the thread nger 32 is a pin 40 and extending under this pin and having sliding contact therewith is the free end of a lever arm 4I which i s pivoted at 42 on the dial frame I4. The downward movement of this lever arm is limited by' a stop 43 which is also xed to said dial frame. Coil springs 44, 45 have their upper ends respectively connected to the fingers 32, 33 and their lower ends connected to the brackets 34, 35 and function to normally hold the thread ngers in cooperative relation with the needles. These thread ngers 32, 33 are automatically withdrawn from their cooperative relation with the needles at the beginning of the heel portion and the toe portion, and are automatically returned to cooperative relation withthe needles upon the completion of said heel and toe portion whereby the three threads, a, b, and c, will be utilized in knitting three courses during the formation of the leg and foot portions of the stocking. In order to swing the lever arm 4I upwardly and thereby elevate the thread fingers 32, 33, I have employed a vertically disposed thrust rod 46 which is movable in upper and lower guides 4T, 48, as shown in Figure 1. The upper end of this thrust rod 46 is positioned under an adjustable eccentric 49 attached to the lever arm 4I. lever cooperates with spaced circumferential cams 5U, 5I which are fixed to the pattern drum I9.

Cooperating with the needle butts 9 and located in cooperative relation. with the thread lingers 32, 33 are spaced stitch cams B and C. These The lower end of the two cams are movable horizontally into and out of engagement with the needle butts, and when these cams are in operative position they cooperate with stationary cam plates 52, 53 fixed to the cam ring 8, to thereby form between the stitch cam B and the plate 52 and between the stitch cam C and the plate 53 downwardly inclined grooves for receiving the needle butts, as shown in Figure 3. The stitch cams B and C are supported on the head 5 for horizontal reciprocations and their movements are controlled by the pattern drum I9. 'I'he cams B and C are rigidly attached to the inner ends of bars 54, 55 which are slidably mounted in bearing blocks 56, 5'I fixed to the head 5, said slide bars being movable in different radial -planes with respect to the cylinder I5.I Mounted in each bearing block is a spring plunger 58 which bears against a depending shoulder 59 carried by the inner end of the bar and functions to yieldably retain the stitch cam carried thereby in normal cooperative relation with the needles. Mounted in the outer end of each slide bar is an adjustable stop screw 6U which is adapted to cooperate with the associated bearing block and thereby limit the inward movement of the slide bar.

In order to periodically retract the stitch cams B and C upon completion of the leg and foot portions of the stocking, I have provided the following mechanism:

Vertically disposed levers 6I, 62 are fulcrumed intermediate their ends to the periphery of the head 5, and links 63, 64 are pivotally connected to the upper ends of these levers and to the slide bars 54, 55. The lower ends of the levers 6I, 62

are pivotally connected by links 65, 66 to rock arms 61, 68 fixed to and depending from a rock shaft 69 journaled in brackets 10, 'I0 depending from head 5. An inwardly extending rock arm 'II is xed to one end of the rock shaft 69 and a vertically disposed thrust rod 'I2 has its upper end pivotally connected to the rock arm 'II This thrust rod extends downwardly through the lower guide 48 and the lower end thereof cooperates with spaced circumferential cams 13, 'I4 fixed to the pattern drum I9.

When the needles are drawn down by the stitch cams B and C, it is necessary to shift the associated sinkers II in order to form stitches, as will be readily understood. I have, therefore, provided two spaced sinker cams 'I5, 16, as shown particularly in Figures 4 and 5, and these two cams are disposed in cooperative relation to said stitch cams B and C. The sinker ring I2 has its inner face cut away as at TI, I8 to receive the sinker cams 15, 16, and these two cams are rigidly mounted on an arm 'I9 which is pivoted at one end as at 8|) to a post 8l xed to the sinker ring I2, the arm I9 being located above the ring. Normally the arm I9 is in a horizontal position, as shown in Figure 1, wherein the sinker cams 15, I6 are normally disposed in cooperative relation with the needles. When, however, the thread fingers 32, 33 are elevated upon the completion of the leg portion and foot portion, the sinker cams are likewise elevated so as to throw out these two extra threads b and c to permit the cylinder 6 to be oscillated and thereby form the heel and toe portions of the stocking. To this end the arm 19 is normally held in its horizontal position against upward movement by means of an extension arm 82 fixed to the upper end of the thrust rod 46. A coil spring 83 surrounds the pivot 80 of this arm and one end engages the latter to normally -whereupon the cam carrying arm 1.9 will be swung upwardly by means of said spring 83. A post 84 is threadably engaged in the sinker ring l2 in close proximity to the arm 19, and Y a vertically adjustable stop 85 is mounted on Athe upper end of said post above said arm to limit the upward movement of the latter.

When the leg and foot portions of the stocking have been knitted, it is desirable to cut not only the thread a as previously explained, but also to cut the'threads b and c. It is also desirable to clamp the supply ends of these two threads b and'e after they have been cut. To

this end, I have mounted a bracket 36 on the dial cap I6 and have fulcrumed a movable cutting blade 81 on said bracket by means of a'pivot screw 38. A stationary ledger blade 33 is xed to.the bracket 86, for cooperative engagement with the movable blade 81. A vertically disposed link` 33 has its lower end pivotally connected to the end of the movable blade 81 opposite the throat thereof, and its upper end connected to an arm of the lever 33. A thread clamp 9i formed of iiat spring metal is attached to the dial cap, as shown in Figure 6. The two threads b and c are led under the clamp 3i and across lthe throat of the thread` cutter 31, 33, and when the throat is opened these two threads will be received therein, and consequently, when the throat is closed said threads will be cut and the supply ends of the threads will be clamped by the clamp 3i. Thus the lever 33 functions to operate simultaneously the thread cutter i3,

33 for the thread a and also the thread cutter lill, 3 for the threads b and c.

In the operation of my invention, we will assume that the leg portion of the stocking isbeing knitted. At this time the cylinder is being rotated, the thread iigures 32 and 33 are disposed in cooperative relation to the needles, and the stitch cams B and C, as wellas thesinker cams 33, llt, are likewise disposed in cooperative relan tion to the needles.

iro

The needle draws thread a down by stationary stitch cam A to form a loop and a sinker passes into this loop to thereby form the first stitch. The needle is thenraised to shed the stitch by a cam 32 which is mounted on the slide bar 53 of the auxiliary stitch cam B, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The needle is then lowered to engage thread b and form a stitch by means of a cooperating sinker, the latter being moved by the cam 15, and this stitch is then shed by a cam 93 which is mounted on the slide bar 33 f of the auxiliary stitch cam C. The needle is then lowered to engage thread c and form a stitch by means of a cooperating sinker, the latterbeing moved by the cam 16.

94 which is located on theV cam ring 8 just in advance of cam A. Thus, vit will be seen that by means of my invention,fthree silk threads, a, b, and c, are fed into the machine, and after the initial start the courses lare formed simultaneously, and that said' courses are arranged above one another. Consequently, two courses formed by threads b and c will be positioned intermediate adjacent courses formed by the thread a. Practice has demonstrated that if only one extra thread were employed the dark spots This third 'stitch however is not shed until said stitch reaches a cam out of cooperative relation with the needles, and

both the thread cutters are actuated to cut the three threads, a, b, and c. The supply ends of the threads are then clamped as previously described. The cylinderis then oscillated to effect the knitting of the heel portion of the stocking by a yarn, in the well-known manner. Upon completion of the heel portion, the thread fingers 32, 33 are lowered into cooperative position with the needles, and the stitch cams B and C, as well as the sinker cams 15, 16, are likewise moved into cooperative position with the needles to form the foot portion'. Upon completion of the foot portion the above mentioned instrumentalities are withdrawn from their cooperative relation with the needles and the cylinder is again oscillated to effect the knitting of the toe portion of the stocking in the well known manner.

It will be` understood that various changes may be made in the specific construction and relative arrangement of the parts without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

l. In a circular knitting machine for knitting stockings, the combination of a frame, a stationary head, an alternatelyI rotary and oscillatory needle-carrying cylinder mounted in said head, a dial frame supported on the head above the cylinder, arotary drum mounted on the frame below the head, and a main set of cooperating knitting instrumentalities for successively knitting the leg portion, the heel portion, the foot portion and the toe portion of a stocking including a vertically movable thread finger supported on the dial frame and normally disposed in cooperative relation to the needles, a stationary cam ring mounted in the head, a stitch cam on said ring, a sinker cam ring mounted on the cylinder, and a plurality of sinkers, and an auxiliary set of instrumentalities for knitting at least one extra course in the leg andfoot portions when the cylinder is being rotated, said auxiliary set functioning subsequent to the main set and including a vertically movable thread linger mounted on the dial frame and normally disposed in cooperative relation to the needles, a horizontally reciprocatory stitch cam mounted on the head and normally disposed incooperative relation to the needles, a horizontally disposed Jever fulcrumed on the sinker ring, an Aauxiliary cam iixed to said lever and normally disposed in cooperative relation to said movable stitch tions including a thrust rod having an extension overlying the cam-carryinghlever and normally retaining said lever against upward movement.-

2. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with a circular head, of a reciprocatory stitch cam mounted on the head for horizontal radial movements, a vertical lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends to the periphery of said head, a link connecting the upper end of the lever with said cam, a horizontal rock shaft located below said head and journaled thereon, a rock arm xed to said rock shaft and having pivotal connection with the lower end of said lever, and a pattern drum for actuating the rock shaft.

3. The combination with a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder and a main knitting station with yarn feeding means and knitting cam mechanisms, of a plurality of auxiliary knitting stations spaced apart and from said main knitting station circumferentially of said cylinder, yarn feeding means at said auxiliary stations respectively, stitch cams at said auxiliary stations respectively, means for simultaneously moving said yarn feeding mechanisms between operative and inoperative positions, means for simultaneously moving said stitch cams betwen operative and inoperative positions, said auxiliary stations when active being adapted to knit a corresponding number of courses in addition to the course knit at the main station, and a single set of yarn clamping and cutting devices for acting on the yarns fed at all of said auxiliary stations.

ARTHUR A. CAUDLE.

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