US2696721A

US2696721A - Knitting instrument

Info

Publication number: US2696721A
Application number: US219143A
Authority: US
Inventors: Shortland Arthur
Original assignee: Mellor Bromley and Co Ltd
Current assignee: Mellor Bromley and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1950-04-04
Filing date: 1951-04-04
Publication date: 1954-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 1971-12-14

Description

Dec. 14, 1954 i A. sHoRTLANm 2,696,721

xNIT'rING INSTRUMENT l Filed April 4, 1951 2 sneetsnsheet z y BVMW/22% United States Patent Office 2,696,721 Patented Dec. 14, 1954 KNITTIN G INSTRUMENT Arthur Shortland, Leicester, England, assignor to Mellor Bromley & Co. Limited, Leicester, England, a British company Application April 4, 1951, Serial No. 219,143

Claims priority, application Great Britain April 4, 1950 3 Claims. (Cl. 66-121) This invention relates to knitting instruments for use in knitting machines, which expression is intended to include not only looping elements, such, for instance, as needles, sinkers and certain forms of points or transfer elements adapted either to form or to be actually in contact With loops during knitting and auxiliary operations, but also jacks and the like for actuating such elements.

The invention is, however, principally concerned with the manufacture of knitting needles of any appropriate type, but more particularly independent latch needles.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel manner of manufacturing knitting instruments as herein defined whereby many of the difculties and disadvantages of prior methods will be obviated, and certain advantages will accrue, as will be hereinafter described.

According to this invention, there is provided a knitting instrument, or a part thereof, comprising two integral opposing sections which are contoured to correspond generally with the configuration of the instrument or part and are produced by wholly or partially folding a blank 1n two.

ln making such an instrument or part, at least the major portion of the initially flat blank will usually be folded in two along its median line. Thus, in this case, the adjoining sections at opposite sides of the median line of the blank, in its initially at form, are wholly or for the most part the mirror image of one another.

An important advantage derived from making a knitting instrument, or a part thereof, in this way is that it can be blanked out from relatively thin sheet metal of a thickness half, or even less than half, that of the finished instrument or part. If the material of the blank is substantially half the final thickness desired, then, when the blank is folded in two, the aforesaid opposing sections or the appropriate portions thereof, will require to be pressed firmly together facially. But if, on the other hand, the material from which the blank is formed is less than half the required thickness of the instrument or part, then the blank may be folded in such a way that the resulting opposed sections are spaced apart somewhat laterally, thereby producing a light-weight instrument of U, i. e. channel, section.

ln any event, afurther advantage arising from the adoption of instruments made from folded blanks is that by judiciously separating or squeezing together the opposing sections, the degree of frictional contact of the instruments with the walls of the tricks in an instrument bed can be precisely varied, according to requirements.

lt will accordingly be understood that the new or improved method of manufacture makes it possible to produce several gauges of knitting instruments from relatively thin sheet steel of the same thickness.

Quite apart from the foregoing advantage, the fact of being able, in the manufacture of knitting instruments, to use sheet steel of thicknesses considerably less than heretofore not only materially reduces the wear, and consequently the upkeep, of the tools used in stamping, pressing or cutting out the blanks, but also enables cleaner blanks to be produced.

By means of the herein described method of manufacture, moreover, slots, grooves, channels or eyes for various purposes can be expeditiously and accurately formed in the Shanks or stems of instruments, without recourse to difficult and unsatisfactory sawing or 1nilling operations, merely by folding blanks in two suchwisc as to leave the adjoining sections, or appropriate portions of such sections, separated.

ln this connection a desired portion of a blank may advantageously be made thinner than the remainder so that upon the blank being folded in two and the opposing sections pressed together, the thin portions will remain separated, laterally, to provide the opposite side walls of a slot, groove or eye. If, in such a construction, the opposing sections of the folded blank, instead of being pressed together facially, are allowed to remain separated to produce a shank or stern of channelled form, then there will be provided between the aforesaid thinner portions a slot, groove or eye with width of which exceeds the separation of the remaining portions of the adjoining sections.

Some specific examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 illustrates an initially flat blank suitable for the manufacture of an independent latch needle,

Figure 2 shows the first stage in the operation of folding the said blank-this resulting in the provision of a butt reinforcement,

Figure 3 shows the blank as it appears when folded in two,

Figure 4 is a detail front edge view of the lower portion of the folded blank showing the manner in which the butt is completed,

Figure 5 illustrates the next stage in the manufacture of the latch needle from the folded blank,

Figure 6 is a detail View of the upper portion of the needle shown in Figure 5, and depicts the formation of the hook of the needle before turning,

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of the breast or swell of the needle per se,

Figure 8 is a side View of the completed latch needle,

Figure 9 shows an alternative way of shaping the upper part of the blank represented in Figure 1 so that it initially includes the hook and breast (or swell) forms,

Figure 10 depicts a possible modication of the lower part of the said blank to provide a plain butt,

Figure ll shows this modied lower part of the blank folded in two,

Figure 12 shows a strengthening piece for insertion between the opposing sections of the folded lower part of the blank depicted in Figure l1,

Figure 13 shows the said strengthening piece inserted and riveted in position,

Figure 14' depicts a further modification of the latch needle blank,

Figure l5 shows, drawn to an enlarged scale, the initially dat blank from which the latch of the needle is ma e, v

Figure 16 shows the last mentioned blank partly folded in two such wise as to form the spoon of the latch,

Figure 17 is a front View of the completed latch,

Figure 18 represents a symmetrical blank, in its initially at condition, from which can be made the spring beard needle shown in Figure 19,

Figure 20 shows one form of foldable sinker blank,

Figure 21 shows the holding down sinker produced by folding the said blank in two,

Figure 22 illustrates a modification of the sinker blank shown in Figure 20, and

Figure 23 represents a still further form of symmetrical blank for the manufacture of the loop transfer instrument depicted in Figure 24.

Like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawings.

The initially ilat blank illustrated in Figure 1 1s 1ntended to be stamped or cut out from relatively thin deep drawing sheet steel. The thickness of the steel is one third that of the final thickness of the needle to be produced. ln the main the outer edges of .the integral adjoining sections 2 of this blank at opposite sides of the median line a thereof, are identically contoured cach to correspond, generally, with the front edge of the stem of the latch needle to be produced. The contours, one right-hand and the other left-hand, are designed to provide initially, starting from the lower end of the blank, a rectangular tail 3, an outwardly directed T-shaped foldable extension l at the right-hand side of the blank comprising portions 4a and 4b serving to provide respectively an operating butt and a reinforcement therefor, an extension 5 which is located at the left-hand side of the blank and is foldable to embrace the butt, an adjoining parallel-sided portion 6 to form a straight length of the stem followed by an upwardly tapered portion 7 and finally a narowed parallel-sided portion 3. The adjoining sections of the upper parallel-sided portion 8 are punched at locations 9 to form small protuberances.

The rst step in the manufacture of a latch needle from the blank just described is illustrated in Figure 2 and consists in folding in two along the line b the portion 4a of the T-shaped extension 4. As the result of this first fold there is provided an operating butt it? of double thickness, and the reinforcing portion 4b becomes located on the blank with its then inner edge de coincident with the median line a. Next, the entire blank l is folded in two along the median line a, in such a way that the integral sections 2 become opposed but remain separated by the thickness of the reinforcing portion ib then interposed between them in the manner depicted in Figure 4. The folded blank is accordingly of channel form, with the protuberance at 9 facing inwards and co-axially disposed. To complete the folding of the blank, the upper and lower ends of the extension 5 are folded along the lines c and d over the corresponding edges of the butt itl so as to embrace, thicken and still further strengthen the latter (see Figure 4).

The blank having been folded, the upper part thereof is appropriately shaped, e. g. either by means of a concave cutter or by clipping, to form, as shown Figure 5, the hook and adjoining breast or swell contours 1l and l2 respectively. The opposed separated parts of the breast or swell 12 constitute the walls of a slot 13 (Figure 7) to receive a latch blade. Next the hook portion of the folded blank is formed to the required shape shown in Figure 6, either by swaging it in two operations (rough and finish) or by first fusing it to produce a solid point and then swaging. In either event, the treated hook portion of the blank is then set in line, cut to length and pointed.

Thereupon the pivoted latch is fitted between the separated parts of the breast or swell 12. Now in this particular example, the latch 14 of the needle is, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, also fashioned from an initially flat sheet metal blank such as that indicated at l5 in Figure l5. The latch blank 15, which is small and comparatively narrow, has straight parallel sides 16 a rounded leading end il? and an opopposite end ll8 shaped as shown. The latch is fashioned by folding in two along the median line e a portion only of the blank l5 so as to produce a flat latch blade i9, the remaining portion of the blank being left unfolded but carefully worked to form a conventional latch spoon 29. lf necessary or desirable the opposed folded portions of the latch blade i9 may be braeed, welded or otherwise suitably secured together. The end of the latch le remote from the spoon 29 is punched with a pivot hole 2l, or such a hole may be produced by stamping a pair of side by side holes in the adjoining sections of the initially flat blank l5 so that when the latter is folded, the pair of holes will be brought into register to form what is in effect a single pivot hole. In either event, in tting the completed latch to the needle, the latch is positioned within the appropriate portion of the fold and the scparated parts of the breast or swell 12 are squeezed together so that the co-axial protuberances 9 engage in opposite sides of the pivot hole 2l.

To complete the latch needle, the previously prepared hook portion of the folded blank is turned to form the hook 22 in the manner shown in Figure 8. This hook may, if desired and as shown, be tilted. Thereafter, the needle is iirst inspected, for latch freedom and to check that the spoon 2t) accurately seats on the point of the hook 22, then hardened, tempered and, if necessary, finally polished.

According to a modification (not shown) the appropriate end of the latch blank is indented at opposite sides of the median line e to produce a pair of side by side protuberances so that when the blank is folded the resulting latch blade will have projecting from opposite sides thereof axially aligned pintles or trunnions for engagement in registered bearing holes in the opposed parts of the breast or swell l2.

It is to be clearly understood that the needle latch need not necessarily be of the form produced from a folded blank as hereinbefore described.

According to a further modification of the hereinbef-ore described method of manufacturing a latch needle, the upper portion of the flat blank l, instead of being parallel-sided as shown in Figure l is initially shaped as depicted in Figure 9 to provide the hook and breast or swell contours, thereby eliminating the necessity for cutting or clipping the blank after it has been folded. Thus, the modified blank has a narrowed neck-like portion 23 followed by 'a pair of outwardly curved portions 24- to form the breast or swell and hence also the walls of the slot to receive the latch blade, and a relatively narrow portion 25' merging into a point to provide the hook. At the region of the outwardly curved portions 24: the blank may, if desired, be thinned down somewhat.

Again, the sides of the body of the needle may be corrugated to obtain greater stiffness, in which instance the `blank 1 would be initially formed with corrugations such as those indicated at 26 in Figure lll.

lt is also within the scope of the invention to provide the bottom part of the needle blank l, following the rectangular tail 3 and in lieu of lthe extensions fi and 5 with a pair of outwardly directed rectangular lugs 2.7 (Figure l0) adapted, when the blank is folded as shown in Figure ll to provide an operating butt in this alternative construction, a strengthening piece Z9 having a butt-reinforcing projection 3@ (Figure l2) is inserted in the folded blank and riveted in position illustrated in Figure 14. Or, again, the opposing sections o. :l butt and tail parts of the folded blank may be reinforced by welding, brazing or otherwise securing them together, with or without the interposition of an insert therein,- tween.

To vensure that the yarn engaging surface of the hook of a needle made in accordance with this invention is smooth, the narrow portion of the blank to form the hook ma, according to a still further modication, be cranked or offset and folded in two rearwardly, whilst the remaining part of the said blank is folded in two forwardly to restore the alignment of the two portions. By this procedure, instead of two adjacent edges being presented outermost for engagement with yarn, the inner surface of the hook is -constituted by a smooth fold in the material.

Broadly speaking, the invention is applicable to the manufacture of many varieties of latch and bearded needles including those having more than one butt, double-ended needles, rib dial needles, loop transferring needles, 4and so on. For instance, the spring beard needle 3l shown in Figure 19 may be fashioned from the initially dat symmetrical blank 311 shown in Figure 18.

The flat blank 32 illustrated in Figure 2() is for the manufacture of a holding down sinker or web holder. As will be seen this particular blank, which is not symmetrical, comprises, `at opposite sides of a median line f, a rectangular section 33 in the outer longitudinal edge of which is formed a recess 34, and an integral adjoining section having a portion 35 of the same contour as, but opposite hand to the section 33 and also a forwardly projecting operative portion 36 shaped to provide a nib, throat and belly. The sinker or web holder is made by folding the blank in two along the median line f, so that the finished instrument has, as shown in Figure 2l, an appropriately recessed and reinforced shank of double thickness and an operative portion of single thickness. In this example, the fold is coincident with the lower edge of the instrument.

The sinker blank just described may 'be modified in the manner shown in Figure 22, that is to say, lby forming therein a single rectangular opening 37 instead of the two recesses. Thus, when such modified blank is folded in two along the median line f, the resulting holding down sinker or web holder will be similar to that de icted in Figure 2l with the exception that the fold will be coincident with the upper instead of the lower edge of the reinforced shank.

The operative end 38 of the symmetrical transfer iustrument blank E@ illustrated in Figure 23 is divided longitudinally, by a cut 4), into two separated halves which, when the blank is folded in two along the median line g, can be bowed outwardly lin opposite directions to provide, as shown in Figure 24, a loop-spreading forma` tion 41 having shoulders 42 adapted for the retention of a spread loop.

What I claim then is:

1. A knitting needle of the latch type comprising integral opposing sections which are produced by folding an yinitially flat sheet metal blank and shaped to provide the stem and the hook of the needle from which stem projects an integral operating butt, a strengthening piece which is formed integrally with the blank and is inserted into the folded blank to reinforce the said butt and the adjoining portion -of the stem, and a latch the inner end of which Iis provided within the folded blank adjacent to the hook.

2. A method of making a knitting needle of the latch type using a flat sheet met-al blank, the outer longitudinal edges of which are con-toured each to correspond, generally, with the front edge of the stem of the needle to be produced, the right and left-hand contours being such as to provide, starting from the lower end of the blank, a tail, an outwardly directed T-shaped extension adjoining the tail 4at one edge of the blank, the sa'id extension being adapted to be folded to provide a butt and an integral strengthening piece, an extension at the opposite ed-ge of the blank which is foldable to embrace the said butt, a straight-sided portion to form a length of the needle stem followed by an upwardly tapered portion and nally a narrowed straight-sided portion having a pair of side-by-side formations for engagement with a latch which includes the rst steps of folding in two the portion of the T-shaped extension immediately adjoining v integral operating butt and strengthening piece is defined by an outwardly directed T-shaped extension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 119,651 Roper Oct. 3, 1871 1,681,512 Beyer Aug. 21, 1928 1,961,429 Perret June 5, 1934 2,030,261 Lombardi Feb. 11, 1936 2,156,439 Takeda May 2, 1939 2,249,780 Page July 22, 1941 2,399,308 Amidon Apr. 30, 1946 2,436,371 Amidon Feb. 24, 1948 2,450,723 Elrad Oct. 5, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 688,926 France Aug. 30, 1930