US2168869A

US2168869A - Knitting machine

Info

Publication number: US2168869A
Application number: US148843A
Authority: US
Inventors: Getaz James Louis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1937-06-18
Filing date: 1937-06-18
Publication date: 1939-08-08
Anticipated expiration: 1956-08-08
Also published as: GB502292A; FR836906A; NL49583C

Description

5 939. J. GETAZ 2,168,869

KNITTING MACHINE I I Filed' June 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 %JQNTOR BY I ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1939. J. L. GETAz ,i68,869

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Juz le 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet'Z ATTORNEY I Patented UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v I i l if et hif'y v ifii'lenn. Application June 18, 1937, Serial No. 148,843

"needles then taking the inelastic thread in their 8 Claims.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the same, selected by me for pur- 6 poses of illustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

This invention is an improvement in knitting machines for forming seamless hosiery made of i plain fabric, and more particularly hosiery having elastic threads incorporated in the fabric along with the inelastic body threads, for example, in the top part of a sock or anklet, or other leg engaging portion, for the purpose of imparting a form fit to the plain fab ic by drawing it together so as to form vertica ridges, and at the same time to provide floatedportions of, the elastic thread forming substantially continuous horizontally disposed'beads to engage the 20' leg and support the stocking or sock on the leg.

One of the objects of the invention is to produce a smooth fiat fabric having the appearance of rib fabric, which is accomplished by feeding the elastic thread under tension in front of alternate needles of the circular series below the latches thereof and behind the intervening neetiles, so that when the sock or stocking is removed from the machine, it is contracted by the elastic threads in such manner that the wales 30 are drawn together, alternate wales appearing on the face of the fabric, while intervening wales are drawn to the back of the stool( flat surface, similar to 1 x 1 rib fabric, while as a matter of fact, the fabric is formed by plain knitting.

In my former application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 140,587, filed May 4, 1937, which is a division of my application for Letters Patent 01 the United States, Serial No. 53,824, filed December 10, 1935, I have illustrated, described and claimed improvements in circular knitting. ma-

chines for the purpose of carrying out these general objects. In the operation of such machines, an inelastic thread is fed to the hooks 4.3 of all of the needles by means of one of the feeding fingers located at the throat of the machine, and in order to insure the interlacing ing, giving a pass in front of the elastic thread, all of the hooks from the feeding finger on the throat, before reaching the knitting wave. Where ordinary knitting needles are employed, they may occasionally strike the elastic" thread (which is 6 usually of greater diameterthan the ordinary inelastic knitting thread or body thread) and 'either fail to pass in front of it, or in some instances force it upward against the latch of the needle and close the latches of adjacent needles, 10 in which case it may also pass to the rear of the elastic thread, and by closing the latches of adjacent needles prevent them from receiving the body thread, with the result that no stitch would be formed on those needles. 1 In order to prevent the possibility that the said intervening needles as they rise will at any time pass in rear of the elastic thread, I provide a latch ring having sufllcient depth in the portion thereof extending from the point where the elastic thread is introduced to the throat plate, so thatv at the time of relative movement between the alternate needles having the elastic thread below their latches and the intervening needles,

the latch ring will extend in front of the latches of the alternate needles and preventthem from upward movement even if any of the intervening needles should strike against the elastic thread and raise it, and also hold the elastic thread against the shanks of said alternate needles. to

insure that, the said intervening, needles will possible, by which I mean merely that sharp angular turns should be avoided, to avoid friction on the elastic thread which would have a tendency'to vary [the tension under which it is fed, and which it is desirable to have as uniform as possible.- To accomplish this result I prefer to provide the latch ring with a delivery eye extending therethrough and to provide the auxiliary feeding flngr,-which is capable of movement into and out of operative position, with a delivery eye, so located as to register with the delivery'eye in the latch ring'when the auxiliary feeding finger is in operative position, and to feed the elastic thread in as nearly a straight line as possible through these registering eyes in order that the threads shall be delivered to the needles with substantially uniform tension at all times.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic development of part of the knitting wave and knitting cams of -a circular knitting machine embodying my invention, showing how the two yarns are fed to the needles.

Fig. 2 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 1, showing the needle circle, and illustrating the manner in which the body thread and the elastic thread are fed to the needles, the small arrow indicating the knocking over point.

Fig. '3 is a side elevation of the parts indicated in Fig. 2, showing the auxiliary thread feeding finger forthe elastic thread in operative and inoperative positions.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line l-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 4a is an enlarged detail of a portion of the latch ring and two adjacent needles at the moment when the intervening needles are passing in front of the elastic thread.

' Fig. 5 is a detail view of portions of the latch ring and auxiliary thread feeding finger, the latter being shown in operative position.

Fig. 8 is a similar view to Fig. 5, showing the inoperative position of the auxiliary feeding finger.

My invention finds its greatest use in carrying out the invention disclosed in my former application, Serial No. 53,824, above referred to, wherein the top portion of a stocking is knit by plain knitting and an elastic thread of rubber, or the well known Lastex, is interlaced with the needles and incorporated in the fabric in the first course to form an elastic selvage, and thereafter in spaced courses throughout a portion of a sock or stocking, to produce a form fitting and self-supporting tubular portion, usually the top of a sock or hose, which has for many year been formed of rib knitting, although it is to be understood that my invention is equally applicable to any other kind of hosiery and may be employed also for the purpose of introducing an inelastic thread, if that should be desirable. make no claim herein for the process or the product disclosed in my said former application, Serial No. 53,824.

Any circular knitting machine having cylinder needles with selectivity as between successive needles can be adapted to make this sock or stocking. Thus, the well known Scott 8; Williams type of revolving needle cylinder machine, such as shown for example in the United States Letters Patent to Robert W. Scott, No. 1,152,850, dated September '1, 1915, can be adapted to carry my present invention into effect, by the addition of the mechanism hereinafter described, for feeding the elastic thread and by properly adjusting the various cams.

In the drawings, the needle cylinder is indicated at C, and is provided with a circular series of needles, N, the upper ends of which, extending from the point of pivoting of the latch to the hook portion, are inclined forwardly with respect to the shank of the needles.v Such needles can be obtained, and any of the so-called forward hook needles can be advantageously employed for this purpose. Each needle is provided with a I therefore butt, 11., adapted to engage the knitting cams, indicated at 360, 351 and 36l, respectively in the usual manner to effect the drawing of stitches by the hooks of the needles. Selected needles, in this case every alternate needle, are provided with a vertically disposed needle jack, indicated at 38I, and these jacks are provided with butts, 72, adapted to engage a selecting cam, 366, located in advance of the throat, for the purpose of raising the alternate needles, which are designated by the number 2!, above the intervening needles, indicated by the numeral 22, at a point before the needles reach the throat. The throat is indicated at 560 in Fig. 2, and is provided with one or more thread feeding fingers, ,f, in the usual manner.

L represents a. latch ring, shown in section in Figs. 4 and 4a, which is provided with a delivery eye, i, located in advance of the throat, through which the thread to be interlaced with the needles, and which in this instance is the elastic thread of rubber or Lastex, indicated at 20, may be delivered through the delivery eye of an auxiliary feeding finger, hereinafter described, so as to pass in a line, approximately tangential to the circle of needles, and without sharp'turns, to avoid placing any unnecessary friction on the thread. As shown herein the delivery eye, i, in the latch ring, L, extends through the latch ring angularly to a radius of the ring, and substantially tangential to the circle of the needle series. 30 represents the auxiliary thread feeding finger which is preferably pivotally mounted on some stationary'part of the machine. It is here shown secured by a horizontal pivot, 29, to one side of the throat, 560, but it may be secured at any desired part. The thread feeding finger, 30, is provided at its outer end with a downwardly extending plate portion, 3!, which in its operative position lies against the inner face of the latch ring, L, as shown in Fig. 4, and is provided with a delivery eye, 32, at its lower end, adapted to register with the delivery eye, I, in the latch ring, and form a continuation thereof, so that the auxiliary thread, 20, can pass freely through the registering delivery eyes, I and 32, with an avoidance of sharp turns, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The auxiliary thread, in this case the elastic thread, 20, will be delivered from the supply spool in such a manner as to pass into the delivery eye of the latch ring in as nearly a straight line longitudinally thereof as practicable, and if found necessary or desirable, the latch ring, or some adjacent portion of the machine, may be provided with a grooved roller, indicated at 33, for this purpose, the thread, 20, passing to the roller as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, or otherwise, as indicated in one or other of the dotted lines, 20a and 2011, according to the direction in which it comes from the spool. It will be understoodthat before passing through the registering eyes, i and 32, the elastic thread passes through a suitable tensioning device, in dicated diagrammatically at T in Fig. 2, of any desired character. The auxiliary thread feeding finger, 30, will be provided with suitable means for automatically throwing it into and out. of operation. In this instance it is shown provided with an arm, 34, extending rearwardly of its point of pivoting and connected with a rod or link, 35, operated by suitable cam (not shown) for moving it from the operative position, shown in full lines in Figs. 3 and 5, to the inoperative position, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and in full lines in Fig. 6. As indicated in the latter figure, when. the feed finger is moved to its inoperative position, it will lift the thread, 20, out of a position in which it can be interlaced with the needles, in the manner previously described, and hold it until the auxiliary thread guide, 30, is restored to its operative position. The knitting machine will also preferably be provided with a clamp and cutter of any desired form and operating in any suitable manner for holding the elastic thread when the auxiliary thread guide, 30, is moved to inoperative position, and for severing it after the elastic thread has been fed to all of the courses desired in the stocking which is being knit. These parts are well known and are not herein shown. The body thread, which is fed to the hooks of all-the needles, is indicated at 40 in Figs. 1 and 2, and is fed to the needles by one of the ordinary feeding fingers, I, located at the throat.

Assuming that the auxiliary thread guide, 30, is in its operative position, and the elastic thread is supplied under desired tension to the registering delivery eyes, land 32, and that the machine is in operation, the butts, n, of the needle jacks, 38l, will engage the cam, 366, and elevate alternate needles, as indicatedat 2|, in

.Fig. 1 for example, sufficiently high to receive needles, 2|, the forwardly bent hook portions of the needles, 22, will pass in front of the elastic thread, 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 4a. The latch ring, L, is of suflicient depth so that it extends below the latches of the needles, 2|, and any frictional engagement between the rising needles, 22, and the elastic thread, 20, will not have the effect of closing the latches of the adjacent needles, 2|, which will be held from upward movement by engagement with the inner face of thelatch ring. As the needles pass the throat, the thread guide, f, thereof will feed the main knitting thread, or body thread, 40,

to the hooks of all the needles, which will thereafter be drawn down by the knitting ,cams in the usual manner to form a course of plain knit stitches, the loops of the inelastic body thread, 40, being drawn on opposite sides of theelastic thread in incorporating it in the fabric, in the manner fully described in my former application, Serial No. 53,824. As soon as a complete course, of stitches has been formed with the rubber. thread incorporated therein, the auxiliary feeding finger, 30, will be drawn into inoperative position, so that one or more courses may be knit with the body thread, 40, alone, after which the thread guide, 30, can be restored to its operative position to knit a course,

containing the rubber thread, and so on.

As described in my aforesaid former application Serial No. 53,824, a stocking may be set up on bare needles and the rubber thread, 30,'

interlaced with the needles, in the manner described, and incorporated within the loops of the first course of stitches','which will be drawn, as before stated, on opposite sides of the rubber thread, thusforming a complete singlethickness, nonravel edge or selvage, in the manner disclosed in my said former application, Serial No. 53,824, and in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,054,217 dated September 15, 1936,

on an application filed January 14, 1936, Serial No. 59,125, which is a division of my said application Serial No. 53,824. After making this selvage or non-ravel edge, the knitting of plain knit courses will continue and the elastic thread,

20. can be incorporated in courses at desired intervals by simply moving the feeding finger, 30, into and out of operative position.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that by the construction shown and described, it is practically impossible for the intervening needles, 22, in raising, to pass in rear of the elastic thread, 20, or to force it up under the latches of adjacent needles, 2|,-so as to close the latches thereof, and furthermore, when the elastic thread, 20, is being fed to the needles, 2|, below the latches thereof, it will pass in as nearly a straight line through the delivery eye, I, of the latch ring as practicable, and the registering delivery, 32, of the feeding finger, 30, in a substantially tangential relation to the needle circle, so that all undue friction which mightttemporarily arrest the forward movement needles to cause the elastic thread to pass below.

the latches, before the intervening needles are raised in front of the elastic thread.

' It will be understood from the foregoing description that the leading feature of my invention is to hold down the latches of the needles which take the elastic thread below the latches,

so as to keep the elastic thread from rising and hold it against the shanks of these needles, to

.insure the passage of the intervening needles when raised in front of the elastic thread, and this effect is further contributed to by the emplcyment of forward hook needles.

What I claim .and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A seamless hosiery knitting machine hav-' (ing. a circle of independent needles, a yarn feeding linger in advance of the throat plate, 'means for piacingaltemate needles at different levels at said yarn finger to feed a thread in front of and below-the latches of said alternate needles, and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, a latch ring having the portion. between said yarn feeding finger and the throat plate of sufllcient depth to hold down the latches of said alternate needles, to

prevent them from being raised by the thread below the latches thereof and to hold the threadfed by said fingers against the shanks of said n edles, said needles having forwardly extending hook portions to permit the upper ends of the intervening needles to pass in front of' sa d thread when the .needles are brought to substantially the same level and cooperating with needles.

2. A seamless hosiery knitting machine having a circle of independent 'needles, a yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate, means for placing alternate needles at different levels at said yarn finger to feed a thread in front of and below the latches of said alternate needles, and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, a latch ring having the portion between said yarn feeding finger and the throat plate of sufficient depth to hold down the latches of said alternate needles, and thereby hold the thread fed by said fingers against the shanks of said needles, to insure the passage of the intervening needles in front of said thread to interlace it with the needles, said latch ring being provided with a thread delivery eye in alignment with the delivery eye of the thread finger when in operative position, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles.

3. A-seamless hosiery knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, a yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate, means for placing alternate needles at different levels at said yarn finger to feed a thread in front of and below the latches of said alternate needles, and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, a latch ringhaving the portion between said yarn feeding finger and the throat plate of sufficient depth to hold down the latches of said alternate needles, and thereby hold the thread fed by said fingers against the shanks of said needles, said needles having forwardly extending hook portions cooperating with said latch ring in insuring the passage of said intervening needles in front of said thread and interlacing it with the needles when the needles are brought to substantially the same level, said latch ring being provided with a thread delivery eye in alignment with the delivery eye of the thread finger when in operative position, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles.

4. A seamless hosiery knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, a yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate, means for placing alternate needles at a different level at said yarn finger to feed a thread in front of and below the latches of said alternate needles, and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, each of said needles having a forwardly extending hook portion to place the intervening needles in front of the said thread, and interlacing itwith the needles, a latch ring provided with a thread delivery eye in alignment with the delivery eye of the thread finger when in operative position, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles.

5. A seamless hosiery knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, a yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate, means for placing. alternate needles at a different level at said yarn finger to feed a thread in front of and below the latches of said alternate needles, and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, each of said needles having a forwardly extending hook portion to place the intervening'needles in front of said thread, and interlacing it with the needles, a latch ring provided with a delivery eye, saidfeeding finger being movable and having a terminal portion lying on the inner face of the latch ring and provided with a delivery eye registering with the delivery eye in the latch ring. when in operative position, means for feeding the said thread in a substantially straight line through said registering eyes, means for moving said feeding finger into and out of inoperative position, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles. I

6. A seamless hosiery knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, a. yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate, means for placing alternate needles at a different level at said yarn finger to feed a thread in front of and below the latches of said alternate needles, and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, each of said needles having a forwardly extending hook portion to place the intervening needles in front of said thread, and interlacing it with the needles, a latch ring constructed to prevent the raising of the latches of said alternate needles by upward pressure on said thread and provided with a delivery eye in advance of the throat, said feeding finger being pivotally mounted and having a part provided with a delivery eye lying on the inner face of the latch ring with its delivery eye registering with that in the latch ring when in operative position, means for feeding said thread to the needles in a substantially straight line through said registering apertures, means for moving said finger into and out of operative position, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles 7. A seamless hosiery knitting machine having a circle of independent needles, a yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate, means for placing alternate needles at a different level from intervening needles at said yarn finger, to feed a thread in front of and below the latches of said alternate needles and thereafter bringing all the needles to substantially the same level, each of said needles having a forwardly extending hook portion to place the intervening needles in front of said thread and interlacing it with the needles, a latch ring provided with a delivery eye in ad- 'vance of the throatextending therethrough in a line substantially tangential to the needle circle, said feeding finger being movable and having a terminal portion lying'on the inner face of the latch ring. and provided with a delivery eye registering with the delivery eye on the latch ring when in operative position, means for feeding said thread to the needlesin a substantially straight line through said registering apertures, a tension means for the said thread, means for moving said finger into and. out of operative position, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles.

8. A seamless hosiery knitting machine having ing a circle of independent needles, means for placing alternate needles at different levels in advance of the throat plate, a yarn feeding finger in advance of the throat plate located so as to effect the feed of a thread in front of the alter-- nate needles at the higher level only and below the latches thereof, means for effecting relative movement between said alternate needles and the intervening needles to bring all the needles to substantially the same level, a latch ring having portions between said yarn finger and the throat plate in position to prevent the latches of said alternate needles being raised during said relative movement of the needles to the same level, by the frictional engagement of the intervening needles with said thread, and to insure the interlacing of said thread with the needles, and means for feeding another thread to the hooks of all the needles. I

JAMES LOUIS GETAZ.

.-James Louis Ge dated Aug. 8, 1939. Davis Company.

Hereby enters this discla 01 Gazette Augu Disclaimer taz, Maryvill Disclaim TTING MACHINE. Patent July 13, 1

imer to claims 1 to 8, inclusive, of said patent.