US2165975A - Stop motion - Google Patents

Description

' July 11, 1939.

R. H. LAWSON ETAL I 2,165,975

l sToP MOTION ATTy.

.July 11 1939- R. H. LAWSON ET AL 2,165,975

' STOP MOTION Filed oct. 11, 1935 v 4 sheets-sheet 2 Flc. 2. 4E

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STOP ,MOTION Filed Oct. 1l, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [NMEA/70H5.'

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STOP MOTION Filed Oct. l1, 1935 #Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 11, 1939 UNITEDy STATES PATENT OFI-ica STOP MOTION Bobert H. Lawson and William L. Smith, Jr., Pawtucket, B. I., assignors to Hemphill Company,

Central Falls, B. La

chusetts corporation of Massa- Appuca'uon october 11, 1935, sensi No. 44,591 in om october zo, 1934 6 Claims. (Cl. Gil-157) Fig. 2 is an elevation showing one of the singlev i guiding and stopping devices which is applied to each yarn feeding station;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view showing three of the yarn guides and stop motions applied to adjacent cam blocks; Y

lo Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing in detail the manner in which adjacent stopping assemblies are connected to form a complete electrical circult;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing one of these as- 20 semblies with the yarn feeding flngerin operative position; Fig. 6 is an elevation corresponding to Fig. 5, the yarn being shown feeding to the needles;

Fig. 7 is an elevation showing how the detent engages yarn which has been broken;

Fig. 8 is a view partly in section showing the mechanism of Fig. 'I as seen from another angle;

Fig. 9 is an elevational view showing how the stopping device is operated when contacted by a i needle having a broken butt;

f Fig. 9a is a partial sectional view showing the plunger of Fig. 9 in greater detail;

Fig. 10 is ayview corresponding to Fig. 9, but showing the device as seen from another angle;

`l Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing how the stopping device is actuated when fabric has hunched up after being cast off the needles;

Figs. 12 and 13 are elevations showing the normal and stopping positions respectively of the fabric engaging nger shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is an elevation showing the yarn finger and stopping assembly, the yarn finger being swung upwardly to an inoperative position;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view showing 'a part of 45 the stopping device which functions upon engagement with a hole in the fabric;

Fig. 16 is a plan view showing the elements of Fig. l5; and

Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic view showing the I0 eiegtaitcal circuit of which this stop motion forms 'I'he stopping mechanism herein shown and described is particularly adapted to be used with multi-feed knitting machines and forms avunii tary structure in combination with the yarn feeding finger which is essential to deliver yarn to the needles at each feeding station. As shown,

vthis feeding and stopping device is quickly attached or detached from one of the cam block assemblies upon which it is mounted, it being pos- L5. sible to remove one or more of these combined feeding and stopping assemblies without disturbing the function of those remaining. It is also possible to remove any number of the cam blocks with their attached' stopping and feeding asseml0. blies without in any way detracting from the ability of those remaining to continue knitting fabric. While we have chosen to illustrate and described the invention relative to a multi-feed machine of the type shown, we do not intend to Il limit our invention to the specific construction shown since the same may be applied to all general classes of circular knitting machines.

Referring to Fig. 1, a multi-feed knitting machine is shown having a needle cylinder I witha in which are mounted needles of either the latch or spring beard type, said cylinder being rotatable in a circular base 2 mounted on a frame 3 which is supported by a plurality of legs l. Upright posts 5 support a creel generally indicated by 25 numeral 6 upon which a supply of knitting yarns equal in number to the feeding stations spaced about said needle cylinder are placed. A plurality of individual cam assemblies are spaced about said needle cylinder, one of these assemblies being shown at l,- and three similar assemblies being shown atl, 9 and I0. For purposes of clearness the complete complement of individual cam assemblies has not been shown. The invention is not necessarily limited in application to a machine having individual cam assemblies like those herein illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but

may be used and would be particularly useful in any multi-feed knitting machine wherein cams are mounted in a continuous ring encircling a needle cylinder.

The framework of the machine has been extended to one side to provide an extension I I and bearings I2 and I3 within which a shaft Il is rotatably mounted. Driving and loose pulleys are associated with shaft IQ in a manner to receive power from some source through a belt and are adapted to drive the elements of the machine through gearing not shown herein since it forms no part of the present invention. A belt shifter l0 is mounted to slide horizontally below the pulleys and is held in driving position by one or the other of two catches i5 which are held by a fixed latch which is attached to the frame. The operator may unlatch thisbelt shifter by lifting upwardly on handle i6 in which case the spring I1 will draw the shifter and belt over on' to the Aloose pulley. In case one of the feeding yarns breaks or when fabric becomes loaded up on the needles or f or any of the other reasons herein given, an Aelectrical circuit is completed which energizes a magnet at Il, said magnet withdrawing a catch which releases a latch I allowing a plunger to be pulled upwardly by spring 2| so 10 that the belt shifter will be automatically released and the belt shifted to the loose pulley by means of spring l1.- Other means of throwingl ofi" the .drive.'with or without a brake, may be .employed i:ivithout departing from the spirit of the invenon. Referring to Figs. 1 and 17 we will indicate how the machine is wired to provide an electrical circuit which makes it 'possible for the stop motion to instantaneously release the belt shifter vand stop the machine. 'Ihe current is taken from any ordinary source at 22 and passes lthrough transformer 23 where it is stepped down to a suitable voltage for the purpose herein concerned. Under normal operating conditions the current merely completes a circuit through a light at 24.

knife switch being closed. this light indicating' to the machine operator that the severalyarns are feeding properly and that none of the stop motions are being actuated for any of the usual causes. A combined magnetically operated catch and buzzer indicated at I 3. operates to latch the plunger 2l and also a brake generally indicated at 25, but not described herein since it forms no important part of the invention, in an inoperative position. In the event that one of thedetents 21 or any of the other associated detents which are to be described later -is allowed to swing from an inactive position to contact an element which terminates the live portion of said circuit, generthe machine but connected through suitable connections to the electrical circuit previously described, a different circuit will be completed .through the machine ground which will energize th'e magnetic catch at I8 and release the belt shifter and/orbrake. Atlthe same time knife switch will be opened, and, of course, light 24 will cease to burn indicating that the circuithas been closed to the flow of curi-ent. The knife switch 25 may be of conventional construction and is to be tripped by plunger 20 or any of the other parts actuated therewith upon shifting of thebelt. li- 8 Referring to Figs. 2 and'3, one of th'e individual "cam blocks 1 is shown which has a base 30 for attaching to the frame of the machine and also carries needle cams, jack cams and sinker cams which operate o n needles and slnkers to draw stitches asthey pass behind each of these cam 00 blocks. 4I'hesesinker'cams are mounted under a plate `3l which is attached to the upper end of block 1 by means of a suitableangular connecting piece 32. A stud 33 is arranged to project -upwardly from plate 3`I and attached to the c5 upper end cf this stud by means of a suitable connecting bolt or screw is a support 34 which carries a yam guiding finger 35 having two porcelain v guides .33 and 31 through which the yarn is threaded as it is lcd to the needles. This yarn 70 guiding finger is capable of-beng swung upwardly` to an inactive'posltion (Fig. 14). wherein it.wlll not operate to feed yarn tolthe needles and the flngeris held -in either of its extreme positions by means oi' a spring and stops4 later to be de- 15 scribed. The fact that'this yarn guide Swings ally indicated at 28 and which is insulated from n suonava to the upper extremity not only makes it possible, for one of the feeds to be dropped out, but such movement greatly facilitates the threading of the guide itself. 'I'he support 34 has a slot therein which extends in such a direction that the support 5 and its attached parts may be adjusted radially of. the machine to properly position the guide just outside the needle circle but outoi contact with the needles.

A contact element 33 is attached to support 34' 1b along with a pair of radiallyl projecting strips `39 and 40 shown in Fig. 4, the three elements being insulated fromthe support by means of washers 4I and 42 through which pass screws 43.

The lower strip 39 has a -curved outer end in .which seatbars 44,.a plurality of which extend between adjacent stop motionsas they are spaced about the machine. It is -posslble to quickly remove these bars since the upper strip 40 is exible an'd merely serves to maintain said bars in place. One of the bars 44 has attached thereto a conductor 45 which leads down to the transformer or other source of electrical current. It is to'be understood, of course, that batteries lmay be used in place of the transformer herein shown. Any pair of bars 44 except one including the bar to which conductor 45 is attached may be removed from the machineto render one of the stop motions inoperative in case it is `not desired to use the particular ya`rn feed corresponding or in the event that a complete cam block assembly is to be temporarily taken out of action. This removal will not affect the function of the stop motions remaining, and, for this reason, the stop motions and .their connecting elements are particularly adapted to 'multi-feed machines having a great number of feeds since they act collectively, but are also capable of performing their function individually if need be.

Referring to Figs.' 5-8 and 14, the stop motion assembly will be described in greater'detall. The yarn feeding nger 35 is fixed to a short spindle 45 which passes througha bearing 41 in one end of support 34. A knurled thumbwheel 43 is secured by means of a set screw'to the opposite end .of this. spindle 46 to hold it in axial 'position in, its bearing and also to serve as a means of manuallyrotating said yarn feeding fingers into and out of active position. A pin 49 passes through knurled vwheel `43 and is so positioned circumferentially of the same as' tolimit thel swing of said yarn nger in both directions as it stops against either one of the shoulders 5,0 or 5i, Fig. 8. At the other end of this pin 49 has been attached .a coil spring 52 which is'connected at its cuter end to the support. This spring is under sulcient tension to maintain the'ya'rn. nger in either of its extreme positions as shown in Figs.v 6 and 14.

A detent 21 is pivoted on a sleeve `45' on spindle 44 and is held upwardly against the action of 'gravity by means of the yarn 53 as it passes downwardly to the needles through guides 36 and 31. In case the yarn breaks or becomes excessively slack -the detent will swing downwardly (Figr') until a` projection. 54 at the upper end thereof strikes against contact element 33 thereby completing a circuit through the. machine ground to magnetically operate catch I3. The machine will then be stoppedas described" above. l

-Referring to Figs. 5 and 9-13, a part of the stop motion will be described which provides for stopping the machine when a butt is broken` on a needlek or; if for any other reason, a needle does not adhere to the path in which it is designed to t5 aleman 3 travel. 'I'his device also works upon loading upof the fabric onthe needles in which case the fabric will build or pucker up on top of the stitch ring as shown in Fig.4 11. An arm desigi nated by numeral 55 is pivoted on the end of spindle 45 by means of a screw 58 projecting from that spindle, and further, carries a pin 51 at its upper end which projects inwardly far enough to contact the vstrip 38 when it is actuated. This strip 38 has been provided with a separate extension 58 which may be bent to a suitable arc which will provide for pin 51 making contact with it whenever the arm 55 is rotated through a slight angle as shown in Fig. l0. An extension y 5 58 provided with a long slot therein which engages about screw 55 and is clamped in position by another shouldered screw 58 has a hooked projection 6| at its lower end which will engage the fabric whenever the same has loaded up on the o needles, the same extension 59 has a second projection 52 which extends at right angles over the path of needles which normally pass beneath when they are properly guided by their cams. Spindle 46 has a spring pressed plunger 63 g5 therein which normally engages a corresponding indentation in arm 55 to maintain the same in a substantially vertical position.

' In operation the arm 55 and its projecting pin 51 will be swimg from its vertical position until said projecting pin contacts element 38 and/or the extension 58 whenever a needle passes through which has for some reason failed to be guided within the proper pathway as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, also upon loading up of the needles as shown in Fig. 1l. Extension 59 is adjustable along arm 55 by means of clamping screw 60. Whenever the yarn feeding nger is swung to an inoperative position, arm 55 will be rotated around with that finger to the position of Fig. 14 wherein pin 51 will engage the hooked end 38' of contact strip 38. The portion of the stop motion which functions on yarn breakage is included with every yarn finger, but it is preferable although not necessary, to use the elements which have been described relative to Figs. 9-13 at spaced feeds about the machine, since they do not function except at very rare occasions.

In Figs. l5 and 16 a modified attachment is shown applied to arm 55 which actuates the stop -motion whenever fabric having a hole therein passes downwardly over a fabric supporting ring 5l which is adjacent stitch ring 65, In'this case arm and pin 51 function in exactly the same way they did in the modification described above,

55 but have attached thereto in place of extension 55, a bracket 55 which has a vertically disposed extension 61 at the top and a forked projection at 58 extending laterally from the bottom. An arm 55 is pivotedat 10-and curves inwardly at its 60 lowermost end to form a feeler 1I which will engage any hole .in the fabric as it passes over element 5l. Since the cylinder, the stitch ring and fabric ring M are rotating, the lower end of arm I! which engages a hole in the fabric will be swung in such a direction to force pinl 51 into contact with strip 88 or extension 58 thereof. A spring 12 is attached at one end to arm 55 and at its opposite end to element 55 to resiliently press feeler 1l against the fabric. This stop which operates upon engaging a hole in the fabric is also used upon only a few of the feeds of the machine since it is a very rare loccurrence to encounter such'mpcrfections, and if a hole is actu-v ally found in the fabric, there is no particular advantage in stopping the machine in a very short space asis necessary upon breakage of one of the feeding yarns.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be noted that yarn guide finger 35 is provided withl a downwardly projecting flange 13 which is beveled along its 5 lower edge and is located very closely adjacent the rotating circle of needles. This lower edge serves very effectively to open and hold open any needle latches which tend to swing outwardly under the centrifugal force exerted upon them. 10

The yarn feeding and stop-motion assembly which has been described above forms a particularly compact unit which acts practically independent of other elements of the machine and very effectively stops or initiates the stopping 15 mechanism of the knitting machine whenever a yarn breaks, upon loading up of the needles, upon encountering holes in the fabric and whenever a needle fails to beproperly guided within its intended pathway. Any one of the feeding 20 fingers can be instantaneously thrown out of action and that stopping mechanism which accompanies said finger is capable of being immediately disconnected from all those adjacent by simply removing the bar Il on either side of the g5 same. This complete detachment of one of the assemblies does not in any way affect the full and complete function of those remaining. The machine Amay be set up with only the stopmotions which function upon yarn breakage, or it may 30 be provided with any number of the other motions which it is considered necessary to have, and these other motions function in combination with the same contacting elements and electrical circuit without any change or adjustment on this 35 latter mechanism.

The invention has been described relative to one particular embodiment of the same, but it is evident that many modifications may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the o original spirit of the invention, and we do not intend to be limited except by the scope of theV appended claims.

We claim: l

l. A stop motion for a multi-feed knitting ma- 5 chine including an electric circuit and individual stop motions associated with each of several feeds, the circuit including detachable current carrying parts, the construction being such that by detaching certain ones of said current carrying parts 5o the stop motions at several of the feeds may-be rendered ineffective without. rendering ineffective the stop motions at the other feeds. y

2. In a knitting machine, the combination of a plurality of yarn feeding assemblies, yarn feed- 55 ing fingers common to each assembly, supports for carrying said fingers, extensions projecting from said support and insulated from the same,

a contact piece also insulated from said support,

a detent associated'with each support and its w finger and arranged to be held in one position by a feeding yarn and to engage the contact piece whenever said yam fails to hold its detent in an uppermost position, quick detachable bars extending between said extensions one of which is 55 connected to a source of electric current.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination of a yarn feeding finger, a support to which said nger is attached, means for carrying an electric current into close proximity to said nger and 70 stopping means associated with said nger and its support, said means being arranged to contact the current carrying means upon breakage of yarn, and a second stopping meansarranged to contact the same member when a needle passes 75 outside its normal pathway or when' fabric loads 'f up on needles.

Y4. In a knitting machine, the combination of yarn -ifeeding means at each of a plurality oi' feeding stations. stopping' means including current carrying devices and yarn controlled detenta operable upon breakage of yarn to contact said current carrying devices and complete a circuit, re-

' movable connections for carrying current between said devices, the construction being such that one or more ot said connections may be removed to isolate one or' more oi.' said stopping means at certain.' of the feeding stations without ailecting those remainingl 5. In a. knitting machine, a plurality of'feeding stations and means for-feeding yarn at each feeding station. stop-mechanism associated 4with said feeding means` at each station including current carrying-members connected to a source of current and connectible toground by yarn controlled detenta, at least one such detent being associated with each of the feeding means, connecting means for carrying current between the stopping mechanisms at adjacent feedingstation, the construcasocian adjacent each of the said feeding mean's'tor stopping the machine upon an abnormal condition in the feeding yarn including a yarn engaging detent and current carrying elements, o ne of which elements is removable and extends from that stopping means to the next, the construction being such that one or more of the stopping means may be rendered inactive upon removal oi.' connecting, current carrying elements without affecting stopping of the machine as iniluenced stopping devices remaining.

ROBERT H. Lawson. Y WILLIAM L. sMrrn Jn;

by thosev 2

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