US2718129A - Manufacture of looped fabrics - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 20, 1955 F. SEILER 2,718,129

I MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS Filed Oct. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1

. M 10 r '10 l :TLL: 4 5 4 11 I I "I" HI lnl H I I! I I: H L a l INVENTOR Fn'ftz Sei 161 W; A T TOR/V5 S Sept. 20, 1955 F. SEILER 2,713,129

MANUFACTURE OF LOOPED FABRICS Filed Oct. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M 3 J1 J1 INVENTOR! FP/ZZ Sl/QF 4 7 TOP/Vi"? United States Patent "O MANUFACTURE E LOOPED FABRICS Fritz Seller, Auvernier, near Neuchatel, SwitzerlaniLassignor to Edouard Dubied &. Cie (Societe Anonyme), Neuchatel, Switzerland 1 Application October 9, 1951, Serial No. 250,442 Claims. priority, application. Switzerland October 12,1950 Claims. c1. 66-6) My present invention relates to a method for manufacturing looped fabrics by means of two rows of staggered needles Whichthrow off their loops towards. each other. My present method is characterised in that, subsequently to yarn-sinking .or drawing which is carried out alternately by individual needles of the two. rows, the individually movable needles of one row are moved in turn forwardly and rearwardly for the purpose of looping, andin. that, independently-thereof, all the needles of the other row are actuated together for the purpose of throwing off the loops; the whole with a view of manufacturing a double-faced looped fabric which on one side comprises knit loops and, on the otherside, sunk or drawn loops.

For economical and, above all, practical reasons, no use is made of conventional flat knitting machines having two needle beds.

When using my present method, racked, openwork, colorand fancy-patterns are obtainable in a very simple way and manner.

By virtue of disengaging .theneedlesvof one row from the loop-sinkingor drawing. means, ,the apparatus con,- structed forcarrying out my present method is suited for manufacturing plain or common hosiery or. single-faced inlaid fabric in solid colors.

The. said knitting apparatusalso forms part of. my

present invention and; comprises a conventional yarn guide which feeds the yarn alternately to.- individual needles in a needle bed and to individual needles in a needle bar, acam box being reciprocated along the needle bed to movethe individually-movable. needles in the needle-bed passages one after another forwardly and rearwardly and to'actuate'theneedlesof the needle bar, through relative movementofthe latter with-respect to the other needle row, simultaneously but separately from the needles movable in the needle bed;

. For producing color-, fancy-, or openwork patterns, suitable latch-needles areprovidedlwhich are rockablymounted in the needle bar and which are adjustable, according to pattern, in the inoperative and operative positions. The said needle bar by conventional means conveniently is rackable laterally and vertically with respect to the other needle row.

The needle bar-for the purpose of manufacturing plain stitch hosiery or single-faced inlaid fabrics with one-andone or two-and-two borders, as desiredsuitably is movable out of the operating range, and the cam box comprises a stationary and a swingable cam, these two cams being reversible with respect to the needles for the purpose of varying the function after removing the carriage from its guides.

My present method as well as the knitting apparatus for carrying out said method shall be explained, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 shows a side view of the apparatus,

Fig. 2 illustrates the needle position during movement of the cam box and yarn guide in direction of the arrow 2 Aalong the needle bed for the purpose of producing double-face looped fabrics, Fig. 3 depicts therneedle position for transferring the loops by means. of a hook from the bar needlesto thebed needles,

Fig. 4 is a top plan viewof-thecam box,- in which the base plate is-shown in dash-and-dot lines, it beingassumed that the saidxplate is moved indirection of the arrow A to produce plain hosiery,

Fig. 5 is. a top plan view similar to Fig 4, but under the assumption that the cam-box base plateis moved in direction of the arrow B,

Fig. 6 is another top plan view similar to Fig. 4, in which, however, the cams are reset, it-being assumed that the plate is moved in direction of the arrow A to produce one-face inlaid fabrics, and

Fig. 7 is still another top plan view, similar to Fig. 6, but under the assumption that the plate is moved in direction ofthe arrow B. V

In Fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates the :frame for the needle bed. 2 of which the'latch needles 3 inoperation are individually and successively moved. The carriage 5 and the cam-box plate 6 together are movable along the needle bedZ intwo guide rails 4. On the plate6 are disposed two cams 7 and 8. Ahandle 9serves for moving the carriage 5 along the needle bed 2. Numeral 10 designates thethread-guidecarrier on carriage 5, which comprises the feeder 11 for thedraw-thread 12.. In the needlebar 13 at 15 are. rockably mounted the latch needles 1L4.

The needle bar 13 atiboth ends has a handle 16.for moving the bar on guides vertically to formv sunkloops and, horizontally, to obtainracked patterns. Numeral 17 -'is a bail whichais-laterally withdrawablefrom. thebar 13 to. selectively position the needles 14, for. which purposewthenon-operative needles 14 are rocked on the elongated pin 15 to the position shown in dash-and-dot lines iu'Fig. 1. An iron band 18 rigidly secured toframe llserves-as stop, for the operativeneedles :14.

To. manufacture a..two-face looped fabric, the needles Sand 14 of the: two'rows have to'be in their operative position, and the needles 3 inwbedtz have to be engaged to the: cams 7 and -8. as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 respectively, whilst'thew needles14 of bar. 13 (which needles arestaggered-with respect tothe needles '3) are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When moving the carriager-5rby means of handle 9 in. the direction ofarrow Ain Figs. 2 and 4, i. .e. from left to right, the feeder 11 delivers the draw-thread 12to all theoperative needles '3 -and:1'4. As in the case of conventional knitting .ma-

chines, the: needles Siaresuccessively and. in sequence movedl forwardly and'rearwardly in.- the. needle-bed passages. The thread 12 thereby is caught by the hooks of the needles 3, and the loops formed by means of the thread then are passed through the previously formed needle loops which now slide over the needle latches which have been closed thereby, so as to produce knit loops on the respective fabric side. At the same time, the thread by means of thread 12 is sunk through the needles 14 of bar 13.

On completion of the stroke of carriage 5, the needle bar 13 by means of the two handles 16 is moved downwardly and upwardly, whereby the needle loops situated rearwardly of the latches of their needles 14 close the latches and are thrown off onto the loops situated in the needle hooks. In this way are formed a row of sunk loops, i. e., loops as formed in conventional knitting frames. The carriage 5 then is moved in direction of the arrow B in Fig. 5, i. e. from right to left, to repeat the operation.

By virtue of simultaneously casting off the needle loops through all the latch needles 14, as is customary in knitpatterns desired. By selectlng the needles 14 provided on the needle bar 13 and exchanging the feeder 11, there may be produced color and fancy patterns for example. In Fig. 3 is shown a position of the needle bar 13 or, respectively, of the needles 14 from which the loops by means of a hook are transferred to the adjacent needles 3 of the needle row of the bed 2.

It also is possible to produce fabrics of common hosiery or single-faced inlaid fabrics with a double-faced oneand-one or a two-and-two border.

The two-face rib is made from the two kinds of loops in the manner described above. On completion of the rib, the last row of sunk loops 19 is transferred to the hooks of the needles 3 (Fig. 3). After the needle bar 13 has been moved out of the operating range, either common hosiery or single-faced inlaid fabrics are produced with the aid of the needles 3 of bed 2.

Common hosiery is produced in the positions shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, of feeder 11 and cams 7 and 8. For producing single-faced inlaid fabrics, however, the carriage 5 after having been moved out of the range of the rails 4, is turned through 180 and reinserted into the rails 4. The carrier with feeder 11 then is outside the working range of the apparatus, as shown in dash-anddot lines in Fig. 1, and the cams 7 and 8 are correspondingly reversed with respect to each other, i. e. as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. All the needles 3 of bed 2 are advanced in their passages by means of a straight edge until the needle loops hanging from the needles 3 are situated to the rear of the open needle latches. The threads then are inserted into the needle hooks in accordance with the desired inlaid color pattern, just as in the case of an inlay machine having a needle bed. To produce the loop row, the carriage 5 with the cams 7 and 8 then is moved in direction of the arrow A in Fig. 6, i. e. from left to right along the bed 2. When the carriage 5 has arrived on the right-hand side of the apparatus, the threads are again put in the needle hooks, and the carriage is moved in direction of the arrow B in Fig. 7 back to its initial position on the left-hand side of the apparatus. After each stroke of the carriage 5, the cam 8 is automatically tilted on its pivot pin into another position, as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7.

In another embodiment, not shown, the rocking cam 8 is replaced by two conventional movable cams.

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

1. Method for the manufacture of knit goods by means of two rows of staggered latch needles which drop their loops in opposite directions to each other, one of said rows being a horizontal row of needles and the other a'vertical row of needles comprising the steps of feeding thread by a feeder to the horizontal row of needles and to selected needles of the vertical row which are in operative position, moving the needles of the horizontal row forwardly and backwardly in succession by cams to produce knit loops and subsequently moving all the selected iieedles of the vertical row simultaneously to form sunk oops.

2. A knitting machine for manufacturing knit goods comprising horizontal and vertical rows of staggered latch needles which drop their loops in opposite directions to each other, a needle bed for the horizontal row of needles, feeder means for feeding thread to the horizontal row of needles and to selected needles of the vertical row which are in a working position relative to the needles of the horizontal row, a slidable carriage movable over said bed, a cam plate, cam means on said plate movable with said slidable carriage so as to move the needles of the horizontal row of needles forwardly and backwardly in said bed one after another to form knit loops and a needle bar supporting all of the needles of the vertical row and which is movable upwardly and downwardly and which serves to move selected of the vertical needles all simultaneously to form sunk loops.

3. A knitting machine as set forth in claim 2 in which for the purpose of obtaining racked patterns and effects involving loop transfers handle means are provided for moving the needle bar and the latch needles supported by the needle bar vertically as well as laterally relative to the horizontal row of needles, and means for guiding said needle bar for lateral and vertical movement.

4. A knitting machine as set forth in claim 2, including means for tiltably supporting each of the latch needles carried by said needle bar from said bar so that selected ones of such needles may be swung individually from an operative into an inoperative position on said needle bar and vice versa for the purpose of producing color and fancy patterns.

5. A knitting machine as set forth in claim 2 in which for the purpose of manufacturing common hosiery and single-faced inlaid fabrics with one-and-one or two-andtwo borders as may be desired the needle bar is movable out of the operating range, and in which said cam means includes a fixed cam and a pivoted cam, said two cams being reversible with respect to the needles of the horizontal row for operating the latter as required respectively for manufacturing said common hosiery and said singlefaced inlaid fabrics.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 3,901 Penney Mar. 29, 1870 73,164 Chantrell Jan. 7, 1868 74,266 Abel Feb. 11, 1868 110,479 Leek et a1 Dec. 27, 1870 188,441 Tifiany Mar. 13, 1877 389,592 Musgrove Sept. 18, 1888

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