US2105965A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 18, 1938. w. E. BdOTON 2,105,965:

KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 12, 1957 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1.

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'Jan. 18, 1938. w BOOTON I 2,105,965

KNITTING MACHINE N Filed July 12, 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet e F ig. 6 Fig 6B Fig. 6E Fig 6F Jan. 18, 1938. 4 w. E. BOOTN 2,105,965

' KNITTING-MACHINE Fild July 12, 1957 7 Sheets-Sheet 7' Fig. 7.

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Patented Jan. 18, 1938 KNITTING PAT ENT OFFICE v MACHINE William Edward Booton, Leicester, England Application my 12, 1937, Serial No. 153,019 /2 In Great Britain December 24, 1935 19 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in and relating to knitting machines, and provides novel picker mechanism for use therein for selective purposes, particularly butjnot exclusively for producing mock fashioning marks parallel with the fashioned edges of fashioned hose produced on a circular knitting machine. In full-fashioned hose produced on a straight bar or Cottons patent machine the fashion marks diverge up the back of the leg, each line of fashion marks being parallelto the selvedg'e edge. In seamless hose produced on circular knitting machines mock fashioning marks are inserted in imitation of the real fashioning marks on full-fashioned hose. These mock fashion marks are usually produced by tuck stitches and in order that the machine shall not be unduly complicated by reason of the necessary selecting mechanism they are, in practice, produced always on the same needles. In other words the lines of mock fashioning marks are formed in the same wales and are parallel. Proposals have, however, been made for produc ing divergent lines of mock fashion marks in hose knitted on circular machines. These proposals all involve rather complicated mechanism for racking certain parts (including picking levers) step by step about theneedle cylinder, and in general are chiefly applicable to stationary needle-cylinder machines.

In addition to these proposals, it is well know that pickers are in fact used in seamless hose machines for introducing needles into, or removing them from activity in the production of the heel and toe pouches. These pickers are, however, only capable of picking up or picking down the first butt of a group of butts reaching them, because they occupy a'flxed position in relation to the knitting cams, and therefore are rotated or oscillated with said cams in relation to the needle cylinder, being actually operated by the said butt striking them in the course of the relative movement betweenthe cylinder and cams. Although the picker according to the present invention may be arranged to pick up the first butt meeting it, an outstanding advantage of the invention is that the said picker may be arranged to operate at the trailing end of a group of butts (the trailing end being that end of the group which passes the knitting cams last), and to work towards the leadingend of said group. Thus when the invention is applied to mock fashioning, divergent lines of mock'fashloning marks may be produced, even in rotating cylinder machines, without the addition of complicated selecting mechanism. Picker mechanism according to this invention may also be employed to vary the number of needles taking and knitting a thread. I

The invention providesa knitting machine having an instrument bed'for a line of instruments, instruments movable in said bed, cammeans movable in relation to said bed along'the line of instruments to move successive instruments, and an instrument picker which is movable, along said line and relativelyto both the bed and the cammeans, to bring it into picking register with successive instruments of the line, characterized in that the location of said picker in, or in relation to, the line of instru-' ments is determined by the instruments themselves, and in that movement offsuccessive instruments in the bed causes or permits movement of the picker along the line.

' Theinvention also includes a knitting machine having an instrument bed .for a line of instruments, instruments movable therein, cam-means movable in relation to the bed along the line of instruments, to displace successive instruments, an instrumentpicker which is adjustable along said line to pick successive instruments, and

"a stationary picker (i. e. one thatfoccupies a fixed position in relation to the knitting cams,

as in a seamless hose machine)--.or it may be a movablelpicker as provided bythis invention.

V The instruments picked by the pickers may consist of several portions, as for examplethe needles-jacks and bits hereinafter referred to.

Inforder that the invention may be better understood one construction according thereto, as incorporated in a circular knitting machine adaptedto knit in the main by rotation, will now be described by way of example. A machine adapted to knit in the main by rotational knitting is described, in preference to one which knits by oscillation and produces a selvedged blank because in such a machine a greater number 'of picking operations need to be effected at the trailing end-of a group of butts. In" the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation of the relevant parts of a knitting machine according to this invention.

Figures 2 and 2A, takentogether represent an "interior development showing the various cams,

butt at the trailing end of a group of butts-is picked up by a movable fashioning pickerand causes an associated moving mock-fashioning picker to move around the needle circle'by one needle space,

Figures 6A-6G show the selecting butts with which the instruments are equipped at diflerent levels lettered A-G in Figure 2A,

Figure 7 illustrates the manner in which the movable mock-fashioning and a movable fashioning picker are restored to their initial position, while Figure 8 illustrates the manner in which the other movable mock-fashioning picker (which is 7 associated with the fixed fashioning picker) is restored to its initial position.

Throughout this description like merals indicate like parts.

' The drawings illustrate a circular knitting mareference nuchine for knittingseamless hose, half-hose or three-quarter hose, having a rotatable and oscillatable needle cylinder 20 and relatively stationary cams and thread feeders, although the invention is'also applicable to a stationary'cyiinder machine. The needle cylinder is cut with 480 tricks and in each trick, with the exception of a narrow group of 16 (indicated at 2| inFlgs. 6A and 6B) there is located a needle 22 having secured to it a jack'23, below which there is a separate bit 24. The said jacks and bits are provided with butts at seven contrasting levels A-G shown respectively in Figs. 6A-6G. It is to be noted that. the needle cylinder rotates in-an anticlockwise direction as viewed in plan. The needles may be considered as divided into two groups, viz: the instep needles and the foot bottom or sole needles and a set of knitting cams is provided for each said set of needles. The arrangement is such that while forming tabs for the toe pouch, the needle cylinder 29 is oscillated and both sets of cams and their respective thread feeders 25, 26 are in operation. On completion of thesetoe tabs, knitting proceeds by rotation (with the exception of the period during which the heel pouch is knitted) and the instep cams are withdrawn from action while the sole cams are so adjusted that they operate all needles.

At the commencement of a stocking, all needles, with the exception of those constituting three spaced groups, occupy a low inoperative track.

Of these needles, there are two substantiallydiametrically opposed isolated groups of foot bottom needles, numbering 17 in each, having medium length butts at the level A, as shown at 21A and 21a in Fig. 6A, and mid-way between them (opposite the gap) an isolated group of 34 instep needles having medium length butts at the level B as indicated at 28B in Fig. 63. Both the feeders25 and 26 are in action and thencedle cylinder oscillates so that the needles pass to and fro through the knitting cams shown in Figs. 2 and 2A. At each oscillation a widening picker 29 operates on the long butts A and "a, with which a batch of 42 toe-shaping needles (adjacent to each group of medium butt footbottom needles 21A and 21a at the side thereof adjacent the said isolated group of instep needles 28B) is provided at level A. Simultaneously, a second widening picker 92 operates on the long butts MB and 3") with which two second groups of 42 toe-shaping needles are provided at the level B as shown in Fig. 6B. These groups flank the central group of instep needles 29B. Picking therefore, continues, forming a triangular tab at the top of the foot and triangular tabs at the foot bottom (the parallel adjacent edges of the last mentioned triangular tabs being spaced apart by 228 needle spaces) until 236 needles are knitting.

This terminates the production of the toe tabs.

The pickers utilized in their formation are pro vided with controls. The picker 29 is released for operation at the commencement of the toe and is removed from operation at the termination of it by vertical movement imparted to the push rod 33 (Figure 1) from the cam-drum, chain or other standard control. When this push rod is lowered, the outer end of a pivoted lever 94 is drawn down by a spring and an arm 35 thereon is raised to permit the picker 29 tospring to the operative position. For a certain period during each course, however, the inner end of the lever 34 is depressed by a cam 36 on the needle cylinder to render the said picker inoperative so that it does not operate at the wrong ends oi the groups of instep needles. The picker 32 is similarly controlled during oscillation of the cylinder by means of a cam 91 and a rocking lever 99.

At the termination of the toe, the widening pickers are rendered inoperative, the instep feeder 25 withdrawn from operation, the instep cams 44, 45 are rendered inoperative, while the sole cams are rendered operative on all the needles. It is the act of withdrawing the instep cams that holds inoperative the second widening picker 92 for in its retraction one, of the said cams rocks a rocker I26 and causes a bar 69 on it to raise a lever 6| and todepress the outer end of the picker. The sole cams are rendered operative on all needles, in the following manner. Hitherto, the sole stitch and clearing cams 46, 4|, operating on the butts'in the knitting track at the level A have been held in a partially retracted position in which they miss the H8 short butts 28a at level A (these butts being provided on the isolated group of instep needles and on the two second groups of toe-shaping needles). A push rod 43 is therefore lowered, by the drum or other control of the machine, permitting springs 42 to draw the said cams 40, 4| inwards until they are positioned to engage the said H8 short butts. Therefore, during rotational knitting, all the needles having butts in the knitting track at the level A will knit at the feeder 26 associated with the said cams. At the termination 01 the toe tabs these butts are those on the isolated groups of heel and instep needles and on the toe-shaping needles lying between said groups viz: butts 21A, 21a, 30A, 30a, and 26a, others are subsequently added to them, in fashioning.

' The instep clearing and stitch cams 45, 44 are also controlled by means of a push rod 46 from the drum of the machine. This push rod has a projection 41 co-operating with a ramp 48 at the underside of a slidable arcuate bar 49 that encircles the needle cylinder in suitable guides upon a platform 59.

This bar is biassed in an 75 anti-clockwise direction by a. spring and it has on it pins co-operating with bell crank levers which, when the push rod is raised to move the sliding rod in a clockwise direction retract the said cams against the action of springs. During the retraction of the cams one of them rocks a lever 51 which raises the instep thread feeder 25 to its inoperative position.

Knitting thereupon proceeds along the foot by rotation and in each course a floating thread is laid across the gap occupied by inoperative needles. Of course, during this period splicing or reinforcing threads maybe introduced in the ordinary manner.

As the heel is approached, it is desirable to fashion the foot bottom as in a fully-fashioned stocking. For this purpose, special fashioning pickers are utilizedoperating on butts provided at the levels E, F, and G, on fashioning needles that occupy the major portion of the interval between the two isolated groups of foot bottom needles. These fashioning needles are divided into two groups each consisting of 106 needles, the said groups being separated by the gap 2| in which there are no needles whatsoever and being provided at level A with long butts 15A and 1511. At the level E one group of fashioning needles, which as the cylinder rotates in an anticlockwise direction in plan may be considered as the group which first passes through the sole cams, are provided with long butts 10E (the same needles being provided with the long butts 15A at level A). These butts are operated upon by a. stationary fashioning picker 1| (Figs. 2A and 3) which picks up the first needle of the group at spaced courses. At the level F, the other group of fashioning needles is provided with long butts "F that are operated upon by a movable fashioning picker 18 (Figs. 2 and 5). This picker each time it elevates the last needle of the group overtakes the needles by one needle space and in order to control this overtaking movement, a corresponding group of control butts 13G is provided at the level G.

The stationarypicker operates in the ordinary manner to pick up the first butt of the group 10E reaching it at level E. This butt is raised still further by a dividing cam H which brings the long butt 15A with which the corresponding fashioning needle is provided at level A, into the knitting track of the sole cams. As it is not desired to pick up a needle at each course, but only at spaced courses (desirably every sixth), the stationary picker 'H is rocked out of action when the dividing cam 14 is withdrawn at the intervening courses by means of a bell-crank lever operated by a pattern drum I1 (provided with bits) which encircles the base of the needle cylinder and is racked round at appropriate intervals.

The movable fashioning picker I8 is mounted upon a ring '|9 that freely encircles the needle cylinder and is biassed by a spring 88 in a clockwise direction against a stop 8| on the cylinder. The said picker is operated at appropriate spaced courses by a bolt cam 85 which at the intervening courses is withdrawn from operation by a rocking lever 86 operated by the pattern drum. As the movable fashioning picker l8 raises a butt 12F at the level F, into the track of a second dividing cam 81, that cam brings the long butt with which the needle is provided at level A into the range of the sole cams and the needle is thus introduced into activity. This additional movement brings the control butt 13G with which the bit is providedat the lower level G against the underside of a picker-moving cam 88 on the body of the picker so that as the said butt travels up the face of the cam the picker body, together with the cam and the picker, is displaced around the cylinder to the extent of one needle space (the spring being extended) and the said butt 13G at level G takes the place of the stop 8| on the needle cylinder. The picker [8 is thus brought into register with the next instrument and in this manner needles are introduced at spaced courses until the width of the gap and the length of the floating threads is sufficiently reduced to give the desired increased width in the foot bottom.

It is also desirable to provide mock fashioning marking simulating the fashioning marks actually produced on a fully-fashioned stocking.

These real fashioning marks do not extend up converging edges of the gap, say spaced l6 wales in therefrom. For this purpose, movable mock fashioning pickers are employed. These mock fashioning pickers operate to pick down the needles so that they miss the clearing cam and produce tuck stitches.

The support for one mock-fashioning picker 98 (Figs. 2 and 5) is mounted on a ring 92 that freely encircles the needle cylinder and is biassed by a spring 93 in a clockwise direction against a second stop 94 on said cylinder. The said movable mock fashioning picker operates on butts 910 with which the fashioning needles 15a, operated upon by the movable fashioningv picker I8, and one isolated group of foot bottom needles 21a are provided at the level C. It may here be noted that because the mock fashioning marks never approach within 16 needles of the edge of the gap the 16 fashioning needles at e'achside of the blank space 2| in the needle cylinder are not provided with the mock fashioning butts 97C or 910. For stepping the movable mock fashioning picker 98 around the needle circle in step'with the movement of the movable fashioning picker 18, on its support or body 92 there is apickermoving cam 99 so that when a needle is raised by the movable fashioning picker [8 and the dividing cam 81, the butt 91d associated therewith at level D is raised into contact with the pickerv level C, with which the fashioning needles 15a,

and foot bottom needles 21a are provided. For operating at the left hand or leading edge of the group of fashioning needles at the other side of the blank gap 2| (which needles have butts 15A at level A), a second movable mock fashioning picker I08 working in association with the fixed fashioning picker H is provided. This second movable mock fashioning picker I00 (Figs. 2A, 3, and 4) like the first-mentioned mock fashioning picker 98, is secured to a ring IOI that freely encircles the needle circle, and is biassed in a clockwise direction by a spring I82, but instead of bearing against a stop on the needle cylinder, it is provided on its support with a stop cam I03, which bears against the control butts 91D provided on said needles at the level D. Each time the stationary fashioning picker 1| picks up a needle to the dividing cam M a control butt 97D is removed from the stop cam I03 and the said spring I02 moves the movable mock fashioning picker I around, in a clockwise direction, by one needle space. Like the first-mentioned mock fashioning picker 98, the one under consideration operates on the butts 916 at level C to cause the needles to make tuck stitches by passing them in pairs beneaththe clearing cam 4|.

The mock fashioning pickers are operated by a bolt cam 62, which is withdrawn, after the requisite degree of fashioning has been effected, by means of a lever 63 and a vertical spindle 64 rocked by the drum 'I I.

Next a heel'pouch is produced and to do so, the machine changes over to reciprocating knitting. When the heel has been knitted a return is made to rotary knitting. This proceeds for the requisite number of courses until a point is reached at which the fashioning of the leg starts.

v The leg fashioning, which is accompanied by the provision of mock fashioned marks, is effected by the various pickers in exactly the same way as the fashioningof the sole and is continued until nearly all the fashioning needles have been introduced into activity. Thereafter, the parallel upper portion of the panel is knitted, and then fashioning again effected to produce what is known in fully-fashioned hose as the thigh fashioning. At the termination of this thigh fashioning (with its accompanying mock fashioning) all the fashioning needles are active and the gap across whichv thethreads float at each course is reduced to 16 needle spaces. Thereafter the welt is knitted to complete the stocking.

After the loops have been pressed off all needles with the exception of the three spaced'groups of sole and instep needles (by means of suitable cams and controls, that form no part of this invention and are therefore not described but which are shown in Figs. 1 and 2), a few courses of circular knitting are now produced, and then the needle cylinder changes over to reciprocatcry motion, the instep cams and feeder being operative. It is during the initial course of this reciprocatory knittingthat the movable pickers are returned to their initial positions.

Adjacent to the stationary fashioning picker 'II there'are two bolt cams I30, and I3I located one at each of levels E and F. These two cams are introduced at the appropriate moment to engage the butts E and HF at levels E and F on the aforesaid bits 24 that are located below the jacks. As the cylinder moves in a clockwise direction, the said butts are, therefore, lowered as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. During the descent of the bits, the control butts 91D thereon at level D descend the inclined upper face of the stop cam I03 with which the second movable mock fashioning picker I00 (which picker co-operates with the stationary fashioning picker) is provided. This picker, is, therefore, prevented from rotating withthe needle cylinder in the clockwise direction and its biassing spring I02 is extended until the picker reaches its original position in which it will be held by the last butt 91D, at level D, which acts as a stop. Therefore, in the restoration of thepicker I00 to its original position the stop cam I03 operates as a picker-moving cam.

In the case of the movable fashioning picker 1! the descent of the'control butts "F at the level F down the bolt cam I at level F removes the butts "G at level G from their obstructive position behind the small picker-moving cam 80 with which that picker is provided. Hence, the picker is pulled round in a clockwise direction by its spring 80 until it reaches the stop 8| provided for it on the cylinder. In the case of the movable mock fashioning picker 90 associated therewith, as the butts 12F at level F descend the bolt cam just mentioned, the butts 91d at level D are removed from their obstructive position behind the picker-moving cam 99 with which the said mock fashioning picker is provided. Hence the picker is returned to its initial position, against the stop 94 provided for it on the needle cylinder by the spring 93.

Everything is, therefore, in train for the production of a second stocking blank.

I claim:-

1. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of needles, instruments movable in said bed, means movable in relation to the bed along the line of instruments to move successive instruments, an instrument picker for picking the instruments, which picker is movable, along said line and relatively to both the bed and said means, to bring it into register with successive instruments of the line, means for locating said picker in relation to the line by the instruments themselves, and means for moving the picker along the line upon movement of the instruments in the bed.

2. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of needles, instruments movable in said bed, means movable in relation to the bed along the line of instrumentsto move successive instruments, an instrument picker for picking the instruments, which picker is movable, along said line and relatively to both the bed and said means, to bring it into register with successive instruments of the line, an abutment on the picker for positioning the latter by engagement with the instruments, means for. displacing successive instruments in the bed to bring successive different instruments into register with the abutment, and means for moving the picker along the line upon such displacement oi the instruments.

3. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of needles, instruments movable in said bed, means movable in relation to the bed along the line of instruments to move successive instruments, an instrument picker for picking the instruments, which picker is movable, along said line and relatively to both the bed and said means, to bring it into register with successive instruments of the line, an abutment on the picker for positioning it by engagement with the instruments, means for urging the picker along the line and the abutment into engagement with an instrument, and means for moving successive instruments from engagement with the abutment, whereby the picker moves along the line into picking register with successive instruments.

4. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of needles, instruments movable in said bed, means movable in relation to the bed along the line of instruments to move successive instruments, an instrument picker for picking the instruments, which picker is movable, along said line and relatively to both the bed and said means, to bring it into register with successive instruments of the line, an abutment for positioning the picker by engagement with the instruments, and means for bringing successive instruments into engagement with the abutment and for thereby effecting movement of the picker along the line.

5. A knitting machine having an instrument bed for a lineof instruments, instruments movable therein, means tor moving said instruments, an instrument picker which is adjustable along the line to pick successive instruments, and means whereby the picking of successive instruments effects said adjustment.

6 A knitting machine having a line of instruments, a picker for picking successive instruments, which picker is adjustable along the line of instruments, a picker-moving cam associated with the picker, and a cam for continuing the picking movement imparted to the instruments by the picker and for forcing them over the picker-moving cam to displace the picker along the line of needles.

7. A knitting machine having an instrument bed, instruments movable therein, means movable along the line to displace the instruments in the bed, a movable picker for picking the instruments, which is adjustable, in relation to the bed and to the said means, along the line into register with successive instruments and is located in relation to the line by the instruments themselves, and a second picker for picking successive instruments and for thereby efiecting adjustment of the moving picker.

8. A knitting machine according to claim -7, wherein the second picker is a movable picker adjustable along the line of instruments, in relation to the bed and the instrument-moving means, into picking register with successive instruments and which is located in relation to the line by the instruments themselves, and means areprovided for adjusting said second picker along the line as successive instruments are picked by it.

9. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of instruments, instruments movable individually therein, means movable in relation to the bed, along the line of instruments, to move successive instruments, picker-mechanism comprising a picker body movable along the line oi instruments relatively to the bed and to said means to bring a picldng element thereon into picking register with successive instruments, a picking element for picking the instruments, and a picker-moving cam on said body for engagement by the instruments in their movements in the bed and for thereby effecting adjustment of the picker-mechanism along the line, and means for operating the picking element to pick the instruments.

10. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of needles, instruments movable in said bed, means movable in relation to the bed along the line of instruments to move successive instruments, an instrument picker for picking the instruments, which picker is movable, along said line and relatively to both the bed and said means, to bring it into register with successive instruments of the line, an instrument-engaging abutment on the picker, means for moving successive instruments out of engagement with said abutment, and means for biassing the picker along the line of instruments and for thereby moving it along the hne as successive instruments are moved out of engagement with the abutment.

11. In a knitting machine having an instrument bed, and a row of individually movable instruments mounted therein, picker-mechanism which is movable along said row and is located therein by the instruments themselves, comprising a picker body movable in relation to the bed along said row in a direction transverse to the individual movements of the instruments in the 12. In a knitting machine-having an mam-- ment bed, and a row of individually movable instruments mounted therein, a picker-mechanism which'is movable along said row and is located therein by the instruments themselves, comprising a picker body movable in relationto the bed along said row in a direction transverse to the individual movements of the instruments in the bed, a picker element mounted thereon for picking the instruments, a cam-faced abutment on the body for positioning said mechanism relative to the row of instruments by engagement with any one thereof presented opposite said abutment, means for biassing the picker-mechanism into suchengagement, and means for operating the picker element to pick, and means for displacing successive instruments in the bed over ,the cam-face of the abutment to displace said picker-mechanism along the row.

13. In a knitting machine having an instrument bed, instruments individually mounted therein and having projections for occupying a line along the bed and for locating pickermechanism, which instruments are displaceable in the bed transversely of the line to bring said projections into and out of the line, picker-mechanism comprising a body adjustable along said line, a picker element on the body for picking successive instruments, an abutment on said body for engaging the end projection of the line, and a picker-moving cam on the body for engagement by the last instrument of the line as the latter is displaced and for thereby moving said picker-mechanism along the line by one instrument space.

14. In a knitting machine having aminstrument bed, instruments individually mounted therein and having locating parts for occupying picker-mechanism comprising a picker-body adjustable along said line to bring a picker-element into picking register with successive instruments, a picker element on said body for picking the instruments, an abutment on said body for engaging the end part of the group andfor positioning the picker-mechanism, and a. pickermoving cam on said body for engagement by successive instruments as the length of the line is varied and for displacing the picker-mechanism along the line, in combination with means for moving successive instruments to vary the length of the line.

15. In a knitting machine, an instrument bed, instruments individually movable therein, a. picker-locating part on each instrument, a. pickerstop on the bed, picker-mechanism located by said stop or by a locating part inserted between it and the stop by movement of aminstrument inv the bed, and means for moving successive instruments to place an increasing number of locating parts between said stop and mechanism and for thereby controlling movement of the latter to bring it into picking register with successive instruments.

16. In a knitting machine, an instrument bed,

instruments individually movable therein, a

picker-locating part on each instrument, a pickerstop on the bed, picker-mechanism located by said stop or by a locating part inserted between it and the stop by movement .of an instrument in the bed, means for biasing the picker-mechanism towards'the stop, and means moving successive instruments to reduce the number of locating parts interposed between said stop and picker-mechanism, whereby the picker mechanism approaches said stop.

17. In the combination claimed in claim 15. means. for urging the picker-mechanism towards said stop, and means for decreasing the number of locating parts between them and for permitting the said mechanism to return towards the stop.

18. A circular knitting machine, having a tricked needle cylinder, instruments in said tricks, relati'vely movable'cams for moving successive instruments in their tricks, picking butts on the instruments, control butts on the instruments for locating picking mechanism, a picker body partaking with the needle cylinder 0! movement relative to thecams but also adjustable about the cylinder, a' picking element on said body, means for operating said element to pick in such relative movement, an abutment on the picker body, a spring anchorage fixed in relation to the cylinder, a spring extending between said anchorage and bodyfor biassing the abutment into contact with a control butt, and means for moving successive instrumentsto bring successive control butts into contact with the abutment whereby the picker body and picking element'is adjusted about the cylinder.

19. A knitting machine, having an instrument bed for a line of instruments, instruments movable in the bed, a knitting hook for'each instrument, means movable in relation to the bed to move successive instruments in knitting, a thread feeder, and means for varying the number of wales at which the fed thread is taken and knitted, which means comprises an instrument picker for picking the instruments, which picker is movable, along said line and relatively to both the bed and said means, to bring it into register with successive instruments of the line, means for locating said picker in relation to the line by the instruments themselves, and means for moving the picker along the line upon movement of the instruments in the bed.

WILLIAM EDWARD BOO'I'ON.

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