US3107509A

US3107509A - Method and apparatus for terrying yarn

Info

Publication number: US3107509A
Application number: US803965A
Authority: US
Inventors: Glen R Farmer
Original assignee: POWELL KNITTING CO
Current assignee: POWELL KNITTING CO
Priority date: 1959-04-03
Filing date: 1959-04-03
Publication date: 1963-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 1980-10-22
Also published as: GB917353A

Description

G. R. FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 22, 1963 Filed April '5, 1959 jyf,

INVENTOR 63/8 FHRMER BY MM, f4, im wazzw ATTORNEY Oct. 22, 1963 G. R. FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Filed April 5, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 70 INVENTOR 6/ E. Fix/ 15A BY Maia,

ATTORNEY 0a. 22, 1963 G. R. FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Filed April 3, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lil I I I I I Pp I! N I'I II I l 0 M :1 ii i: i: i: Z i': iL ii H i oUoUoLlo o 0 o o o 0H0 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 22, 1963 G. R. FARMER 3,107,509

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Filed April 3, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 UOHOHOHOHO OijO O FO 0 OLIOijOUO I W 5d a 55 INVENTOR BY Wzfim, 5 4,, MMVZSW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,107,509 METHQD AND APPARATUS FOR TERRYING YARN Glen R. Farmer, Spartanhnrg, S.C., assignor to The Powell Knitting Company, Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 803,965 14 Claims. (Cl. 66-14) The present invention relates to the art of terrying yarn and is directed more precisely to an improved method and apparatus of knitting articles including at least portions of terry fabric.

It is quite desirable that certain articles of apparel, especially foot wear, include areas which are of a heavier, bulkier nature than the remainder so as to provide a cushioning or pile effect. In the case of hose, the advantages of having a sole and heel and toe which will cushion and support the foot are apparent. It is now well known that this can be accomplished by means of a procedure known as terrying. Typically, terry fabric is obtained by simultaneously feeding two strands of yarn to the bed of needles of a knitting machine and separately restraining the respective threads at points between the needles as the threads are drawn into stitches thereby forming long loops of one thread and ordinary loops of the other thread. The long loops constitute terry loops, projecting to one side of the normal plane of the fabric constituted by the ordinary loops, and cause the fabric as a whole to be thicker or bulkier in character. If desired, the terry loops may be brushed or mapped to provide more of a pile efiect.

Proposals have been made of ways by which terrying might be effected in connection with double-cylinder, circular knitting machines, a common type of knitting machine used in the production of hose. One of these is exemplified by US. Patent 2,450,376, among others, and involves the use of so-called terry instrumentalities having the form of long levers extending vertically the entire length of the upper cylinder and arrayed in a circle around the interior of the cylinder, each lever having a yarn-engaging project-ion at the lower end thereof and one or more control butts at the upper end, being ful crurned at a point intermediate its length within a circular carrier; and a highly complex lever actuating mechanism associated with the top end of the upper cylinder and acting on the butts to cause selective movement of the levers. Machines of this type are currently in production in this country and are capable of satisfactorily knitting terry fabrics. It will be apparent, however, that the mechanism employed is quite complicated, both in the array of lengthy levers, for which the interior of the upper cylinder must be especially adapted, and in the highly involved actuating or control mechanism, which would necessarily require delicate adjustment for satisfactory operation and therefore constitute a maintenance problem.

Another type of mechanism suggested for terrying is found in US. Patent 2,435,770 and it is to this type that the invention is more closely related. Here, the verge associated with the lower end of the upper cylinder is modified to accommodate, for limited radial movement, a substantially semi-circular array of small terrying bits, each in the form of a thin sheet metal rectangle having a yarn engaging projection at the outer end. A cam is supported from the shaft of the upper cylinder within the verge for actuating the bits, the operative portion of the cam being capable of independent vertical movement. The upper cylinder is mounted for bodily axial movement and a mechanical connection is provided between the cylinder and the movable cam portion such that downward movement of the cylinder raises the cam portion "ice out of engagement with the terrying bits, and vice versa. This arrangement is simpler in its conception than that previously described as the operative mechanism is largely confined within the verge. Unfortunately, however, attempts to adapt the arrangement to a commercially acceptable machine'have encountered very serious difliculties and, so far as it is known, no practical apparatus embodying the mechanism of the patent has ever been developed. There are several reasons for the aforesaid difficulties. One of these is the necessity for bodily axial movement of the upper cylinder as a whole. The delicate nature of a circular knitting machine requires very close tolerances between working parts and maintenance of these tolerances is virtually impossible if the upper cylinder is to be subjected to axial movement. Moreover, in many machines of the double cylinder type, the upper cylinder is in very close operative association with a complicated mechanical system for actuating the needles and/ or controlling the movement thereof in response to a pre-determined pattern. Consequently, repeated axial movement of the cylinder, even if through only a short distance, introduces special problems in maintaining proper working relationship of this system with the cylinder. Other causes of improper functioning of the patented machine are the two-part verge, one part being movable with the cylinder and the other part remaining stationary to support the verge bits, and the divided control cam in which the bit-actuating segment or salient moves out of and into working engagement with the bits. Here again, it borders on the impossible to design a machine to accommodate these movements without disturbing the precise inter-relation between the parts essential to proper operation.

In general, the present invention may be considered an improvement upon the mechanism of Patent 2,435,770 which is free of the defects present in the arrangement proposed there but retains the desirable feature of incorporating the terrying bits within the verge of the machine.

It is an object of the invent-ion to provide a doublecylinder knitting machine adapted for terrying yarn wherein the elements cooperating with the knitting needles to form terry loops, as well as the actuating mechanism for such elements, are located essentially within the confines of the verge, and wherein the actuating mechanism can be converted for purposes of plain knitting by a simple change, but involving bodily translation, in the positional relationship of the actuating mechanism with respect to the elements.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a knitting machine of the type described including a plurality of terrying bits mounted within the verge of the machine for limited radial movement; cam means associated with the verge for relative rotational movement with respect thereto and operative in one position to sequentially project the terrying bits into the knitting field in timed relation to the actuation of needles therein, whereby stitches with the terry loops therebetween are formed; and means for moving the cam means to another position with respect to the terry bits to correspondingly alter the time relationship between the projection of bits and the actuation of stitches, whereby plain stiches are formed.

Another object [of the invention is the provision of a machine of the type described adapted for the knitting of both terry stitches and plain stitches in the same course of the fabric, wherein the proportion of terry and non-terry stitches as well as the order in which they occur can be varied as desired.

An additional object of the invention is a knitting machine of the type described including a plurality of nonterry bits as well as a plurality of terry bits wherein the verge is adapted to interchangeably receive both types of bits.

Another object of the invention is a knitting machine of the type described including a verge and an associated verge dial cap mounted for relative rotation and adapted to contain and support for limited radial movement a plurality of terry bits, the dial cap having a removable segment to permit removal and replacement of the terry bits.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial view in vertical section of the needle cylinders of a knitting machine embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial top plan view of the machine of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed view in vertical section of the verge assembly and upper cylinder shaft;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the verge assembly with the dial cap removed and showing a portion of the verge bits in operative position therein;

FIGURE 5 is "a fragmentary view in vertical section taken along a chord of the verge assembly, illustrating the manner of supporting the bits;

FEGURE 6 is a top plan view of the verge dial cap, showing the configuration of the bit-actuating cam groove therein;

FIGURE 7 is a detail view in perspective of a verge bit adapted for forming terry loops;

FIGURE 8 is a detail in perspective of a verge bit adapted for forming plain loops;

FIGURE 9 is a greatly enlarged partial perspective view somewhat diagrammatic in nature, showing a few needles and terry bits in the actual process of knitting terry stitches, as well as the path taken by the yarns during knitting;

FIGURE 10 is a developed side elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic in nature, of a fragment of the machine in the region of the verge showing the relationship of the needles, bits and yarns during the knitting of terry fabric;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary development looking down on the arrangement of FIGURE 9 but with the yarns omitted;

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURE 10, but showing the relationship of the parts during the knitting of plain fabric;

.GURE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 11 looking down on the arrangement of FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 14 is a perspective View similar to a portion of FIGURE 9 but showing non-terry bits in operative position for knitting plain fabric.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention as the description unfolds, certain terms employed in connection therewith will now be defined. The term terry yarn is used herein to refer to that yarn from which terry loops are to be formed, irrespective of whether or not at the particular point of the description terry loops are actually being produced, while the term plain yarn refers to that yarn employed exclusively for the formation of plain stitches in the ground or base fabric. Similarly, the term, terry bit refers to a verge bit which is capable of forming terry loops Without regard to whether or not at a particular point it is actually being employed for that purpose, while the term non-terry bit refers to a verge bit which is incapable of forming terry loops. The adjective plain is used herein only in the sense of being distinct from terry and is not to be taken as virtually descriptive of the thing to which it is applied. Thus, for example, the term plain fabric will be understood as meaning a fabric or fabric portion free of terry loops without regard to whether the fabric is ribbed, patterned, or actually plain in a strict technical sense. Verge" or verge assembly refers to the assembled combination of the verge dial, the array of verge bits, and the verge dial cap, while verge dial connotes only the generally cylindrical member of the combination that is slotted to receive the bits. The term stitches denotes the U- shaped stretches of yarn drawn by the needles during knitting while loops refers to the stretches or bights of yarn, sometimes also U-shaped, connecting the ends of adjacent stitches. Terry-loops shall mean long loops formed by terry bits; plain loops shall mean normal loops formed by conventional sinkers.

In general, the present invention contemplates a double cylinder circular knitting machine including a shaft extending axially through the upper cylinder and a verge dial mounted rotatably on the shaft partially within the lower end of the upper cylinder, the shaft normally being restrained against movement with the cylinders, associatecl elements and verge dial rotating there-around. The lower face of the verge is formed with closely spaced, radially directed tricks or slots, into each of which a bit is adapted to fit for limited radial movement. Preferably, two groups of bits are employed, each group occupying a plurality of the slots and the two groups together occupying all of the slots, the bits in one group being shaped to produce terry loops and the bits in the other group being shaped to produce plain loops. A verge dial cap fits closely against the bottom face of the verge, being fixedly secured to the upper cylinder shaft, and maintains the bits within their respective slots. The up per face of the verge dial cap is formed with a cam surface, preferably in the shape of a groove, having engage ment with butts provided for that purpose on the bits. The configuration of the cam surface is such as to define two adjacent symmetrical salient portions separated by a re-en-trant portion, preferably in the shape of a V angle. As the cylinders, verge dial and bits rotate during knitting, the dial cap remaining in a predetermined fixed position relative to stitch formation, the cam surface acts upon the bits to sequentially project them a short distance into the knitting field with the result that terry loops are formed in one yarn and plain loops in the other during the terrying portion of the cycle and plain loops are formed in both yarns during the remainder of the cycle. By moving the dial cap and shaft to another predetermined position to alter the relationship of the cam surface to stitch formation, the projection of the bits can be retarded, resulting in the formation of plain loops or stitches with both types of bits.

Turning now to a detailed description of the apparatus illustrated in the drawings, particuiarly FIGURE 1, the

numerals

21 and 23 respectively designate the upper and lower needle cylinders of the machine, which are mounted in closely spaced co-axial relationship for rotation about their common axis, being supported by known means largely not shown, and being driven in synchronism by means also not shown. A circular series of doubleended needles 25 is disposed at the mutually adjacent ends of the two cylinders, each needle being operable in either cylinder and being transferable from one cylinder to the other at will. For this purpose, each cylinder has its external wall provided with closely spaced tricks or slots, as at 27 in the upper cylinder, and sliders, 29, 29' are arranged for vertical movement in these slots, the sliders being formed at one end for engagement and disengagement with the hooks of the needles. At the upper end of lower cylinder 23 is a circularly spaced series of sinkers 31 which cooperate with the needles to form stitches in the usual way, the position of the sinkers being controlled by a sinker cam 33. The reciprocation of the needles to form stitches during knitting is controlled by means of slider cams 35, 35'. Up to this point, all of the parts referred to are well known and only enough of a conventional double cylinder knitting machine has been illustrated and described as to convey an understanding of the context in which the invention exists. It should be borne in mind that the improvement of the present invention has to do primarily with the verge and other than this the machine is un changed from any of the conventional forms in which it exists. For this reason, it is believed unnecessary to give a more elaborate description of the arrangement and operation of a double cylinder machine.

Still referring to FIGURE 1, the top plate 37 of the machine is provided with an aperture 39 coaxial with the upper cylinder through which passes a shaft or spindie 41, which is held in place by a retaining collar 43 surrounding the shaft adjacent its upper end, being secured thereto as by means of set screws (not shown), and bearing'against portions of the top plate adjacent aperture 3?. Shaft 41 projects at its upper end slightly above the collar 43 and extends through the entire length of upper cylinder 21 axially thereof to a point slightly below the lower end of upper cylinder 21 but still somewhat above the upper end of the lower cylinder 23. Fitting around the lower end of shaft 41 is a solid, generally cylindrical verge dial 45, having therein an axial aperture 47 of a suitable diameter to freely accommodate the shaft, and a self-lubricating bushing 49 is inserted in this aperture between the verge dial and shaft to permit relative rotation thereof. The axial position of the verge on the shaft is limited by a retaining collar 51 encircling the shaft and adjustably secured thereto by means of a set screw (not shown). A slight running clearance between the lower surface of collar 51 and the upper surface of verge dial 45 is ordinarily provided.

Verge dial 45 fits snugly into the open lower end of upper cylinder 21 except for a bottom flange portion 53 which overlaps the end of the cylinder and is exposed to view when the verge is assembled in the cylinder. it is necessary that during operation the verge dial and upper cylinder rotate as a unit and to this end the verge is keyed in any desired fashion to the cylinder at some point around its periphery. The lower face of verge dial 45 is substantially covered by a circular verge dial cap 55 having a central hub 57 bored to receive the extreme lower end of shaft 41. Cap 55 is fixed to the shaft by means of a set screw (not shown) and is also keyed to shaft 41, as at 59, to prevent relative rotation between the shaft and cap.

Considering now FIGURES 35, the lower face of verge dial as is provided with a circular series of narrow slots or grooves 61 located at closely spaced points around the entire periphery of the face and extending radially inwardly from the periphery about one-half the length of the dial radius. Each of the grooves ll is adapted to receive a thin, sheet metal bit 63, the length. of which is sufficiently less than that of the groove as to permit the bit to slide back and forth radially of the cylinder axis. Preferably, as can be best seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, the bits inserted within the grooves of the dial are of two distinct types: one, designated 63, for forming terry loops, hereinafter referred to as the terry bit, and the other, designated 64-, for forming plain loops, hereinafter referred to as the non-terry bit. Except at the radially outward ends, both types of bits are identical, having an elongated body portion 65 and a downwardly projecting butt or tab 66 at the inner end of the body portion. Each terry bit at its outward end is provided with a generally L-shaped extension 67, having parallel top and bottom edges 68 and 69, which will engage and retain a strand of yarn laid there across. Each non-terry bit at the same point is provided with a generally triangular extension 7@ having the inclined edge '71 thereof extending downwardly and outwardly from top to bottom, so that any yarn laid there across will not be engaged but will rather slide off, and the bottom edge 72 extending horizontally.

Bits

63, 64 are held in position in verge dial slots 61 by means of dial cap 55, the lower edge of body portions 65 slidably resting upon butts 66 projecting downwardly below the lower face of verge dial 45 and are engaged by a cam groove 73 formed in the upper face of dial cap 55, the purpose of groove 73 being to cause controlled radial movement of the bits within the slots upon relative rotation between the dial cap and the verge dial. Looking now especially at FIG. 5, it will be seen that earn groove 73 over most of its length has the configuration of a regular circle and is spaced well inwardly from the peripheral edge of cap 55. Those bits having their butts in engagement with this portion of the groove will be maintained within the confines of the upper cylinder and verge dial flange 53 (the two having a common periphery). This confined position will be referred to as the inoperative position of the bits. The remainder of groove 73 is constituted by two salient or radially projecting portions 73!) which at their mutually adjacent ends are connected together by a re-entrant, preferably V-shaped, portion 730 and at their remote ends are connected with the remainder of the groove by means of inclined flank portions 73d. The radial distance between the salient portions and the dial cap periphery is equal to the length of the

bits

63, 64 exclusive of the extensions 67, '70. Consequently, the bits engaged by the salient portions will have their extensions jutting out side the vertical face of the verge dial. This will be known as the operative position of the bits.

As the butt of a bit is contacted by the leading flank portion 73d, that bit will be moved from its inoperative (confined) position radially outwardly until the butt on ters the first salient portion 73b. At this point, the bit extension (67 or 78) will project outside the cylinder periphery in operative position between the needles situated there, in which position it will remain throughout the arcuate length of the salient portion. As the butt passes into re-entrant portion 73c, the bit is retracted until, at that moment when the butt coincides with the very bottom of the V, the tip of the bit extension will lie on or. slightly within the common periphery of the cylinder and dial flange. Thereafter, the bit will be again projected by the other side of the re-entrant portion until its butt is within the second of salients 73b. Throughout the arcuate length of the latter, the bit extension will protrude beyond the cylinder periphery as before, and upon leaving this salient will be carried back into the circular portion 73a by means of the trailing flank 73d. It is desirable that each salient be of substantial arcuate extent so that a number of bits will be maintained thereby in projected or operative position, and also that the two salients be symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of the re-entrant portion. Furthermost, for most satisfactory operation, it is desirable that the butts are contacted by walls, i.e. at the flank and re-entrant portions, that extent at an angle of not greater than about 45 relative to the previous path of travel of the butts, except at the very base of the re-entrant portion. Greater angles than this, while operable, increase the likelihood of the butts becoming jammed and bent or broken.

The radial dimension of groove 73 isselected to receive the butts 66 of the bits snugly within rather close tolerances to prevent undesirable play. This snug fit, however, makes it very difiicult to assemble the verge dial, bits and dial cap by inserting the bits in the inverted dial, positioning the butts in conformity with the shape of the groove 73, even using a pattern or jig, and placing the dial cap over the face of the dial with the butts fitting into groove 73. Because of this, it is preferred that the dial cap 55 include a section which is removable to provide an access opening to groove 73 through which opening the bits may be inserted one by one. Such a removable section is shown in FIGURES 3 and 5 under the designation 75, and includes a central sector 77 of more or less truncated triangular shape, extending through the entire thickness or vertical dimension of cap 55 from its periphery to the outside wall of groove 73, and two integral side portions 79 of lesser thickness than the cap. The latter mate with correspondingly formed recesses shaped for that purpose in the cap on either side of the cleft cut therein to accommodate sector 77. The entire removable section 75 is fixed to the body of the cap by means of screws 81 in threadwise engagement with tapped apertures in the recessed areas of the cap. By unscrewing screws 81, section 75 may be separated from the remainder of cap 55, leaving an opening through which any or all of the bits may be removed and replaced for any reason, such as breakage. Obviously, where less than the entire array of bits is to be removed and replaced any bit or group of bits may be placed in alignment with the cleft in the cap obtained by removal of section 75 by suitable rotation of the verge dial relative to the cap and shaft.

The operation of the verge assembly thus far described has a certain timed relationship to the formation of stitches by the knitting machine and thus, to the vertical movement of needles which results in the formation of stitches. For this reason, a description of the operation of the assembly will be preceded by a brief statement of the functioning of the usual double cylinder circular knitting machine to produce stitches. As is too well known to require illustration here, being shown, for ex ample, in Patent 2,435,770, reciprocation of the needles during stitch formation is ordinarily effected by means of fixed cams spaced around the periphery of the cylinders for engagement with the needle sliders, which cams in the case of the lower cylinder include a center cam and two stitch cams arranged symmetrically on each side of the center cam. The design of these cams is such that the operation of the needle is the same irrespective of the direction of rotation of the cylinder so that knitting can be carried out in either direction, as is sometimes necessary. Assuming that the cylinder is rotating in a given direction, the needles encounter in sequential order the leading or first stitch cam and are lifted by the top surface of this cam, raising the hooks of the needle to the point above the level of the yarn or yarns to be knitted. Next, the needles engage the center cam by which they are depressed slightly and centered for the next operation. Continued rotation of the cylinder brings the needles into contact with the lower surface of the trailing or second stitch cam, which causes the needles to move sharply downwardly, the yarn being caught by the hook of each needle in sequence, until the hooks of the needles are slightly below the horizontal plane of the upper end of the lower cylinder. Since the yarn on either side of each needle is always held by sinkers at the plane of the cylinder (or in the case of the terry yarn during terrying, is held by terry bits on either side of each needle at a level spaced upwardly from the plane of the cylinder as will hereinafter be more clearly brought out) each sharply depressed needle will therefore draw a U-shaped stretch or stitch of yarn held at its ends by a previously formed stitch, each pair of stitches being connected by a sinker loop. The alternative stitches and loops form a course as knitting proceeds. After the stitches are drawn, the needles are held in depressed position for a short are of cylinder rotation, and are then lifted to relieve the tension on the yarn by means of another cam known as a clearing cam. Other cams may be employed to raise the needles to pass the stitches over the needle latches. For the purpose of simplifying further description, that portion of the knitting cycle during which the needles are depressed by the stitch cam to draw stitches in the yarn will be referred to as the locus of stitch formation and that region of the cycle at which the needle is lifted by the clearing cam to relieve yarn tension will be known as the locus of clearing.

The upper cylinder, on the other hand, is normally provided with only one stitch cam and a companion clearing cam. These cams fulfill for purposes of knitting needles in the upper cylinder to form a ribbed or Links- Links fabric essentially the same function as their counterparts in the lower cylinder and accordingly, need no further description.

The present invention contemplates that in the knitting of a course of yarn at least partly terry, the relationship of the bit-control-cam groove '73 to the cycle of the machine during which the course is knitted will be such that the terry bits are in projected position at the locus of stitch formation. Referring now to FIG URE l and more especially FIGURES 9-10, it will be seen that a terry yarn T and a plain yarn P are fed to the needles at vertically spaced points. The feeding means actually illustrated in the drawing are in the form of short rigid tubes supported by means, not shown, externally of the needle cylinders and terminating at points spaced slightly from the cylinder periphery. Such feeding means are known in the art and 'may be employed quite satisfactorily, although other means, such as the latch-guard, are also known and may be employed with equally good results. Irrespective of the particular means utilized, the two yarns are made available =to the needles from the vertically spaced points closely adjacent the cylinder periphery.

In the arrangement of the drawings, where the needles are being manipulated in the lower cylinder, as is the usual practice during terrying, the upper feed tube 35a carries terry yarn T while the lower feed tube 85/) carries plain yarn P, the terry yarn tube being above the horizontal plane of the bits and the plain tube being below that plane. The exact spacing between the two tubes as well as the spacing between the cylinder periphery and tube ends may be varied somewhat in accordance with individual preference, provided that sufficient vertical operating clearance is maintained vertically between these tubes and the projected position of the bits and horizontally between the tube ends and cylinder periphery.

In FIGURES 911, there is shown a fragment of the needle bed and adjacent portions of the two cylinders engaged in the actual knitting of a section of terry fabric, it being understood that these figures are greatly enlarged and rather diagrammatic in character. The latter is particularly true in the case of FIGURE 9 where the number of needles engaged in the operation have been greatly reduced from that which would actually be employed in order to compress the action to available space. In FIGURES l0 and 11, the number and position of the necdles is more nearly in agreement with actual practice although even here, it should not be necessarily inferred that a precise operative arrangement is illustrated. As these figures are considered, it should be kept in mind that the two cylinders, verge dial, bit array, and needle array all rotate as a unit during actual knitting as indicated by an arrow, while the yarn feeding means, i.e. tubes 85a and 85b, remain stationary as does verge dial cap 55, the latter being hidden in these figures. During each cycle to produce one course of yarn, the cylinders pass through 360 degrees of rotation and each of the needles in the needle bed move in sequence to all of the positions determined by the slider cams. The action has been stopped in the FIGURES 9-11 to illustrate such of these positions as is relevant to an understanding of the invention.

It has already been stated that when terry fabric, or more precisely a course of yarn composed at least in part of terry loops, is to be knitted the terry bits must be in projected position during the formation of stitches. This is effected by means of the second or trailing salient of bit control cam 73. Consequently, when the verge as sembly is installed in the machine and preliminary to actual operation, shaft 1 is rotated to align the proper salient with the locus of stitch formation. As the shaft is rotated, the verge dial being held stationary in the upper cylinder, one will observe two adjacent waves of bit-projecting portions moving progressively around the peripheral face of the verge dial. Suitable alignment is achieved when the second of these waves, in the direction of the cylinder rotation, is in correspondence with the vertically moving wave of downwardly descending needles denoting the locus of stitch formation.

It has been found in the case of typical 4 Komet Links & Links Knitting Machine, proper alignment obtains when the axis of the re-entrant or ti-shaped groove portion 730 is in radial alignment with yarn feed tubes 85:: and 85b (see FIGURE 11). Whether or not this would hold true for all machines would depend upon the spacing of the feed tubes from the locus of stitch formation, which spacing may conceivably vary. In any event, determination of proper alignment can be made by observing the correspondence of the second wave of bit projections with the downwardly descending wave of needles.

With the axis of the V-shaped groove portion 730 and the axis of the yarn feed tubes lying in a common vertical plane passing through the cylinder axis, that terry bit having its longitudinal axis in this same plane, designated 63a, will be in retracted inoperative position, no portion thereof projecting externally of the verge dial periphery. On either side of this fully retracted bit will be at least one partially retracted bit 63b, and on the side of each partially retracted bit remote from fully retracted bit 63a will be a group of fully projected bits 630. The number of fully projected bits 630 in each group will depend upon the length of the respective salient groove portions 7311 as will be more fully discussed later.

Once the preliminary adjustment is completed and knitting is initiated in the usual way, the yarns extend from tubes 85a, 85b around a part of the periphery of the verge dial towards the needles within the locus of the stitch formation, with terry yarn T passing above, and plain yarn P passing below the several bits adjacent fully retracted bit 63a. The projected bits in the first wave may be disregarded since they play no part in the operation, being utilized only when knitting takes place in an opposite direction.

As seen in FIGURE 9, needle 25a has been centered by the center cam and is in position to enter the locus of stitch formation. It is important to note that the spacial arrangement of the machine is such with regard to the distance separating the two yarns, the distance separating the lowermost yarn P and the lower cylinder, and the dimensions of the needle and its latch that no needle is ever raised to an extent that would permit the lowermost yarn to pass below a needle latch in the region of the needle bed between the yarn feed tubes and that point at which the stitch is completely formed. The lowermost yarn may, and ordinarily will, lie on the open latch of certain needles but that yarn cannot be permitted to pass beneath or below the open latch if unsatisfactory operation is to be avoided. Needle 25b is already within the locus of stitch formation, having dropped somewhat from its centered position, but neither yarn has yet become engaged in the hook thereof.

Subsequent needles in the needle wave take progressively lower positions, first engaging the terry thread T in the hook and drawing this yarn into the form of a shallow catenary between the end portions of two projecting bits 630, as exemplified by needle 250; next drawing the terry yarn into a deeper catenary while engaging the plain yarn P in the needle hook, as exemplified by needle 25d; then drawing the engaged portions of both yarns through a previously formed stitch of the two yarns in plated relation, which stitch pass-es over the closed latch and off the needle, as exemplified by needle 25a; and finally drawing the plain yarn into a catenary between the points of engagement thereof with sinkers (not shown) while drawing the terry yarn catenary to maximum depth as exemplified by needle 25 Stitch formation therefore results, on one side of the plane of knitting, in normal stitches of terry and plain yarns in plaited relation and, on the other side in normal loops of plain yarn and substantially elongated loops of terry yarn, the latter being due to the engaging action of the projecting terry bit extensions on the terry yarn.

The stage is now set for casting oil of the elongated terry loops one by one from the bit ends and lessening of stitch tension. As might be expected, the terry loops are cast oil by retracting the terry bits in sequence into the body of the verge dial through engagement with the butts thereof of the trailing flank portion 73d, and, as already explained, easing of the tension on the hookengaged loops is done by means of the clearing cam progressively raising the needles above their maximum depressed position. Preferably, these two steps are carried out in approximate synchronism, and while this is not absolutely necessary, there is no particular advantage in maintaining either the bits projected or the needles fully depressed for substantial periods in the cycle, the usual practice in the field being to relieve stitch tension shortly after the complete formation of each stitch. If the two steps are not to be carried out together, it is advantageous that the needles be lifted first, since if the hits were to be retracted first the terry loops would likely give to release tension imposed on adjacent stitches by the fully depressed position of the needles engaged therewith. Bits casting off loops are indicated at 63d.

It will of course be understood that the above described sequence of operations will, in actual practice, occur continuously and smoothly on each needle in sequence without the existence of any well-defined stages as might be inferred from FIGURE 9. By way of explanation, there has been included in FIGURE 9 enough of the two prior courses of yarn to generally illustrate the interrelationship between these courses and the course in the actual process of knitting, prime designations being applied to the yarns in the immediately preceding course and double prime designation to the course once removed from that being knitted. In addition, the sinkers in the lower cylinder have been omitted although the slots in which these :sinkers would operate have been indicated at 89.

FIGURES l0 and 11 are front elevational and top plan views, respectively, of a development of a portion of the knitting cycle generally similar to that depicted in FIGURE 9 with the difference, as already mentioned, that a greater number of needles has been included in these views. In order to better correlate FIGURES 10 and 11 with FIGURE 9, the needles in substantially corresponding position in all figures are given the same numerical designation. In some instances, such as FIG- URES l0 and 11, the same designation is applied to more than one needle where, due to the inclusion of a greater number of needles, more than one needle occupies substantially the same position. Also shown in these figures is the approximate position of the several needles in advance of centered needles 25a, e.g. needles 251' have been lifted by the first or leading stitch cam and needles 25k have been lowered by the center cam but are not yet in centered position. Sinkers 31 are shown in place in slots 89 but all previous courses of yarn are omitted for sake of clarity. In FIGURE 10, the yarn in the course actually being knitted is also omitted to better reveal the relationship of needle and bit projecting portions. Otherwise, the description of these figures is the same as for FIGURE 9 and will not be repeated.

The invention contemplates that it shall be possible to knit plain fabric through that portion of the knitting cycle, is. around that portion of the cylinder periphery corresponding to the segment of the verge dial which contains terry bits despite the fact that the bit extensions are being projected between adjacent needles. This is accomplished by rotating the verge dial cap 55 relative to the verge dial and bit array and can best be understood with reference to FIGURES l2 and 13. It will be recalled that for purposes of terrying by means of active participation of the terry bits, the second or trailing salient 73b of cam groove 73 is positioned in general alignment with the locus of stitch formation, which in the case of the particular machine illustrated exists where the axis of the re-entr-ant groove portion 730 is aligned with the yarn feed tubes. When it is desired to knit one or more courses of plain fabric wherein the terry and plain yarns are in plaiting relationship throughout, dial cap 55 is rotated through an are sufficient to align reentrant portion '73 with the locus of stitch formation. The bits in engagement with the re-entrant groove portion are, of course, retracted from their projected position with at least one bit at a time being fully retracted within the verge dial as the butt thereof coincides with the axis of there-entrant portion. A gap free of projecting bit portions will, consequently, exist between the two waves of projecting bits. By causing the terry yarn to pass through this gap between the yarn feed tubes and the first needle in the book of which it is engaged, the terry yarn avoids the projecting bits and is plaited with the plain yarn into stitches and plain loops. In other words, considering that the paths of terry yarn and plain yarn from the ends of the feed tubes to the hook of the first engaged needle define a shed, the position of the cam re-entrant portion is such that the trailing salient projects bits into or within this shed if terry loops are to be formed, but is such that the trailing salient projects no bits within this shed if no terry loops are to be formed. The plain yarn is unaffected by the change in cam position, being below the level of the bits throughout.

The actual number of needles taking part in the various steps of the knitting cycle as well as the actual number of bits engaged by the various portions of the bit control groove depends to a large extent upon the gauge of the particular machine in operation, which can vary widely. For purpose of exemplification, the following specific arrangement has been found satisfactory for a 24 gauge machine having 132 needles and 132 bits of which 66 are terry bits and 66 non-terry bits. At any given time, about 4 needles are centered, 3 of these being located subsequent, in the direction of cylinder rotation, to the feed tubes, and the locus of stitch formation begins about 3 needles from the feed tubes. About 5 needles are present in the descending wave of needles constituting the locus of stitch formation from the highest point after centering to the lowest point, and the locus of clearing begins, therefore, about 10 needles from the feed tubes. About 5 needles are included in the locus of clearing, considering that this locus ends when the latch of a needle is on a horizontal level with the top of the sinkers. About 8 bits are in fully projected position in each of the salients 73b and about 3 bits in each of the flank portions 7315. About 4 bits are within the re-entrant portion, the maximum arcuate extent of which is about equal to the distance separating 4 needles. When a plain course is to be knitted, dial cam 55 is rotated a distance equal to the spacing between about 3 needles.

It will be understood that the above values are by no means absolute, even for a given gauge of machine. For example with the gauge indicated, the number of bits in the reentrant portion may vary between about 3 and 5 and the number of bits in each salient may vary between about 5 and 10. More or less definite standards are established by the art as to the number of needles in each step of the knitting cycle, which standards should ordinarily be followed. Given the knowledge of how many needles are in each step, one skilled in the art will have no difiiculty in determining the number of bits that should be employed in each group of bits for operative correspondence with the needles. Preferably, the arcuate extent of the re-entrant portion is kept to a minimum consistent with the above-described objectives, i.e. that the bits be engaged during terrying and avoided during nonterrying, for best operation during back-and-forth knitting.

FIGURES 12 and 13 are front elevational and top plan views, respectively, similar to FIGURES 10 and 11, but with the relationship between the dial cap and bit array shifted or changed for plain knitting. To aid in making a comparison of these figures with FIGURES l0 and 11, it is pointed out that the position of the yarn feed tubes remains the same so that these tubes constitute a convenient fixed point of reference. Also, in each pair of figures, the position of the axis of the re-entrant groove portion 73c is indicated by a vertical dot and dash center line. It will be seen that in the altered arrangement of FIGURES 12 and 13 this axis, instead of being aligned with the yarn feed tube, has been shifted to within the locus of stitch formation and that the fully retracted bit, designated 63a and the two partially retracted bits, designated 63b, are in a position corresponding to that of the needles descending to draw stitches. The two waves of projecting bits, now designated 530', are on either side of the retracted bits as before. All other parts, including the descending wave of needles are the same as in FIG- URES l0 and 11 and have been given similar designations.

Where, in the strict sense, a plain fabric is to be knitted, the fully retracted bit may be located at any point within the zone of stitch formation. Where, on the other hand, a ribbed or like fabric is to be knitted, the fully retracted bit cannot be located in the region of the needles which are actually engaged in drawing stitches. Formation of rib stitches occurs in this same region, the needles being operated in the upper cylinder, and projected bit portions must be available to cooperate with the needles drawing the rib stitches. Thus, the cam should be shifted into alignment with the first or second needle in the descending needle wave, preferably coming as close as possible to the yarn shed but still remaining outside this shed.

The invention includes means for automatically shifting the position of re-entrant portion 730 for purposes of plain knitting. To this end (see FIGURES 1 and 2), an operating lever 91 is attached to collar 43 at the upper end of shaft 41 for rotation with the shaft. To the free end of lever 91 is connected one end of the wire 93 of a Bowden cable, the sheath 95 of which is restrained against movement by means of a clamping block $7 carried by top plate 37. The other end of wire 93 is connected to a cam follower (not shown) actuated by a cam on the main pattern drum (also not shown) of the machine. The limits of movement of lever 91 is determined by two spaced-apart blocks 99 mounted on the upper surface of top plate 37, a degree of adjustment in these limits being obtained by means of abutment screws 101 supported by the blocks. A spring 103 urges the lever against the abutment opposite to the direction of cylinder rotation and wire 93 moves the lever against the other abutment for plain knitting.

Up to this point, the description has been confined to the operation of the terrying bits in relation to the remainder of the machine. As already brought out, however, the bit array will, under most circumstances, include a group of non-terry bits in addition to the group of terry hits, the configuration of the non-terry bits being that of FIGURE 7. These bits are adapted to behave in all respects like the terry bits under the actuation of cam groove '73 but are so shaped at their end extension 7t) as to be incapable of engagement with the terry yarn. In order to illustrate the operation of the non-terry bits, FIGURE 14 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a part of the locus of stitch formation similar to the righthand portion of FIGURE 9 but with the cylinders and verge dial rotated to bring the non-terry bits into place. Except for the difference in bits, all parts are the same as in FIGURE 9 and are similarly designated. From FIGURE 14, it will be readily apparent that as the needles in the descending needle wave engage the terry yarn, this yarn will be brought down into contact with the extensions 70 or bits 64. Due to the downward and outward inclination of the top edge 71 of extension 70, the yarn will not catch thereon but rather will slide easily over the extension as the needles continue to descend to form stitches. Thus, the non-terry bits are inherently incapable of forming terry loops irrespective of how they aromas are projected in timed relation to \the formation of stitches.

It will be noted that the bottom edge 72 of extension '71 projects at right angles to the axis of the needles in the needle bed as does the lower edge 69 of extension 67 of the terry bit 63. The lower edges of both types of the bits are, therefore, capable of functioning as knocking-over edges for any needles which may be operated in the upper cylinder, as during knitting of vertical rib or Links & Links fabric. At this point, it may be mentioned that while the improvement of the invention is shown for purposes of illustration with a machine of the Links & Links type, it is by no means limited to this particular type but is equally well adapted for use in connection with any conventional double cylinder circular knitting machine.

Occasionally, it is desirable to insert partial terry courses containing terry loops in localized areas of the fabric being knitted, as in the case of the heel of footear. This type of knitting is known as back-andforth knitting. By virtue of the presence of two symmetrically disposed salient portions 73b in the bit control groove '73, the arrangement of the invention is readily capable of back-and-forth knitting. All that need be done is to have the needle and cylinders oscillate to and fro in the usual way with the dial cap being in position to produce terry loops. In other words, if the dial cap is in position for terry knitting with the second of the two salients (in the order encountered in the direction of cylinder rotation) properly aligned with the locus of stitch formation so that the axis of the re-entrant groove portion is generally aligned with the yarn feed tubes, as already explained, no change in the position of the cap is required for back and forth knitting. Since the two salient portions are symmetrically disposed with respect to the re-entrant portion, the originally leading salient portion is already aligned with the new locus of knitting established when the direction of cylinder rotation is reversed and automatically becomes the trailing salient portion for the new direction of knitting without anything further being done. In this way, hose having heel pockets and toe pockets composed of terry fabric may be produced. The illustrated arrangement is not designed for back-and-forth knitting in the region of the terry bits with the dial cap in position for plain knitting.

The length of the terry loops formed in accordance with the present invention depends upon the distance separating the plane of the bit projecting portions from the upper end of the lower cylinder. This distance may be varied by raising or lowering shaft 51 in collar 43 to correspondingly raise or lower the verge assembly relative to the lower end of the upper cylinder, subject to the proviso, of course, that the verge remain in keyed engagement with the cylinder so as to be incapable of independent rotation. Lowering of the verge assembly results in a gap between the lower edge of the upper cylinder and the upper edge of verge dial flange 53 but this is not objectionable.

It will be apparent from the preceding description that terrying is carried out with the needles in the lower cylinder; this is the custom in the art. Conceivably, the entire arrangement could be inverted to terry with the needles in the upper cylinder but the relationship of the parts would be unchanged in this event and no special advantage would follow. Ribs can, of course, be formed by controlling certain needles in the usual way in the upper cylinder as already indicated.

Conceivably, cam '73 could be designed to maintain the bits in projected position throughout the cycle except at the re-entrant portion. This, however, increases the possibility of the bit extensions becoming bent or broken due to some malfunction during operation. Consequently, it is preferred that the bits be retracted and maintained in an out of the way position throughout much of the cycle. Also, the dial cap can be constructed in such a way that the operative section of the cam, i.e. including the salient and re-entrant portions, is removable. This section is subject to wear over long periods of time and it obviously reduces maintenance cost to replace a worn section with a new one rather than to discard an entire cap.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings and specifically described is for purposes of exemplification only. Certain deviations and alterations have already been indicated and others will occur to one skilled in the art. Consequently, the scope of the invention is not limited by the details shown and described but only by the hereunto appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. A circular knitting machine including, in combination, an upper cylinder; a lower cylinder arranged coaxially with said upper cylinder; needles for operation in the cylinders; means for feeding two yarns in vertically spaced relation to said needles; terry bits for cooperating with said needles to knit terry loops in one of said yarns, each of said bits having a yarn engaging projection at one end thereof; means for supporting said bits in a radial array adjacent to, but slightly spaced from the inner end of one of said cylinders with said projections extending outwardly, said bits being movable radially to and from an operative position at which terry loops are formed from and to an inoperative position; and means for cyclically moving said bits radially, said means including a generally circular cam track engageable with said bits, said track including two segmental salient sections adapted to move a predetermined number of said bits to operative position and an outwardly facing re-entrant section connecting the adjacent ends of said two sections, said re-entrant section moving selected bits in said predetermined number from operative position at the end of one segmental section to inoperative position and back to operative position at the end of said other segmental section.

2. A machine as in claim 1 wherein said re-entrant portion is of V-shape, the ends of the V being connected to the mutually adjacent ends of said salient sections.

3. A knitting machine as in claim 1 including means for varying the relationship of said track to said bits.

4-. A machine as in claim 3 wherein said cylinders, needles and bits rotate as a unit and said cam track is normally held fixed and said means for varying the relationship of track to bits includes a shaft supporting said track and means for rotating said shaft.

5. A circular machine for knitting terry and plain fabric comprising, in combination, coaxial upper and lower cylinders mounted in close vertically spaced relationship for rotation together about a vertical axis, a plurality of needles mounted around the periphery of said cylinders for vertical reciprocation, means with each cylinder for operatively associating said needles with the respective cylinder and controlling the reciprocation of said needles to form stitches; means for feeding a terry and a nonterry yarn to said needles at vertically spaced points; a plurality of elongated terry bits, each having a yarn engaging projection at one end, disposed adjacent the lower end of the upper cylinder with their longitudinal axes extending at right angles and radially with respect to the cylinder axis and rotating with said cylinders, said bits lying on a plane intermediate the points at which said yarns are fed and being movable radially from a position at which said projections are confined within the cylinder periphery to a position at which said projections extend beyond said periphery; cam means, normally held against rotation, for cyclically moving said bits radially during bit rotation, said cam means including a cam surface operative to project and maintain in extended position a fixed number of said bits, said surface being interrupted by a re-entrant surface operative to retract to confined position at least one of said bits from said fixed number, said re-entrant surface being generally aligned radially with said yarn feeding means, whereby operation of the machine forms terry fabric; and means for shifting said cam means a predetermined distance to align said re-entrant surface with l 5 the locus at which needles are actuated to form stitches, whereby operation of the machine forms plain fabric.

6. A knitting machine as in claim 5 adapted for knitting terry loops and rib loops in the same course including a plurality of non-terry bits in addition to said plurality of terry bits, said terry bits extending radially through only a portion of the cylinder periphery and the non-terry bits extending through the remainder of said periphery, each of said non-tcrry bits having a yarn-releasing surface at the radially outward end thereof, whereby each cycle of operation with the cam means in normal position results in a course including terry and rib loops and each cycle with the cam means in shifted position results in a course of rib loops only.

7. A knitting machine as in claim 6 including a generally cylindrical verge dial substantially fitting within the lower end of said upper cylinder for rotation therewith, the lower face of said dial having radially directed slots spaced around the circumference thereof and extending inwardly of said circumference, said slots receiving the plurality of terry and non-terry bits for limited radial sliding movement; and a circular verge dial cap fitting over the lower face of said dial and maintaining the bits in said slots, said cam means being carried by said dial cap.

8. A knitting machine as in claim 6 wherein said means for shifting said cam means includes a shaft extending axially through said upper cylinder to adjacent the lower end thereof, said dial cap being fixedly connected to the lower end thereof, said verge dial being supported by said shaft for rotation therearound, said shaft being independently rotatable between fixed positions to shift said cam means.

9. A knitting machine as in claim 8 wherein said shaft is movable axially of said cylinder to adjust the axial position of said dial, bits and cap relative to the lower end of the upper cylinder, whereby the length of said terry loops may be varied.

It). A circular knitting machine for both terry and plain knitting and convertable from one to the other, said machine comprising, in combination, coaxial upper and lower cylinders in closely spaced vertical relationship; a circular bed of needles for operation in said cylinders to form stitches in a fixed locus; a plurality of sinkers cooperating with said needles to form plain loops alternating with said stitches; a plurality of terry bits cooperating with said needles to form terry loops alternating with said stitches, said bits being spaced at least partially around the cylinder periphery in alternation with said needles, each bit having a projected position, in which it projects between adjacent needles, and a retracted position, in which it is within the cylinder periphery; cam means for controlling the position of said bits in sequence, said cam means including a salient portion operative to maintain a group of said bits in projected position and an adjacent reentrant portion operative to maintain at least one bit in retracted position;

means connected to said cam means for normally locating said salient portion in alignment with said locus of stitch formation to produce terry loops; and means operable on said last-mentioned means to locate said re-entrant portion in alignment with said locus to produce plain loops.

11. A knitting machine as in claim 10 wherein said cam means includes a salient portion on either side of said reentrant portion, said salient portions being symmetrical with respect to the radial axis of the re-entrant portion.

12. A circular machine adapted in one portion of its circumference to knit terry fabric and in another portion of its circumference to knit ribbed and non-ribbed plain fabric selectively, said machine comprising, in combination, coaxial upper and lower cylinders in closely spaced vertical relationship, means for rotating said cylinders together, a bed of needles for operation in said cylinders, a circular array of elongated bits adjacent one end of one cylinder and adapted to cooperate with said needles to form stitches, said bits being arranged with their longitudinal axes in a common plane and extending radially from the cylinder axis, said array including two groups of bits, one group extending around the portion of the cylinder periphery where the terry fabric is knit and the other group extending around the portion of the cylinder pcriphery where the ribbed and non-ribbed plain fabric is selectively knit, each of the bits in said first-mentioned group having at its exterior end a yarn-engaging extension adapted to engage the yarn being knit and form terry loops therein and each of the bits in said second-mentioned group having at its exterior end an extension having top and bottom edges, one of said edges being adapted to engage the yarn when the needles are being knit in the cylinder opposite said one edge to form ribbed plain fabric, the other of said edges being adapted to pass the yarn clear of said extension when the needles are being knitted in the cylinder opposite said other edge to form nonribbed plain fabric, means supporting the entire array of bits for limited radial movement, and means in engagement with said array for moving the bits therein radially along a predetermined path.

13. A machine as in claim 12 wherein the extension of each bit in said first-mentioned group is of generally L- shape and the extension of each bit in said second-mentioned group is of generally right triangular shape, the inclined edge or" said triangle extending downwardly and outwardly with respect to the cylinder axis to clear yarn moving in a downward direction and the base edge thereof extending perpendicularly with respect to the cylinder axis to engage yarn moving in an upward direction.

14. A verge assembly for use in connection with a double cylinder knitting machine to terry yarn, said assembly comprising a generally cylindrical verge dial adapted to substantially fit within the open end of one cylinder, said dial having a flange portion at one end thereof adapted to overlap the end of said cylinder and present a common external periphery with said cylinder, the end face of dial and flange portion being formed with slots closely spaced around the circumference thereof and extending radially inwardly from said circumference, a plurality of elongated bits fitting Within said slots for limited radial movement, a dial cap extending substantially over said end face and bits and maintaining the bits in said slots, said cap being formed with cam means for engaging the bits to move them radially in accordance with a predetermined path, said cam means including two salient sections, each operative to maintain a group of said bits in projected position with respect to the dial flange portion and a re-entrant section connecting the mutually adjacent ends of said salient sections and operative to maintain at least one bit in retracted position with respect to said flange intermediate said groups of bits in projected position, and means for mounting said assembly in operative position in said machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,928 Murby Aug. 5, 1884 1,545,845 OLena July 14, 1925 1,885,322 Bentley ct al Nov. 1, 1932 1,910,457 Bentley et a1 May 23, 1933 2,098,446 Agulnek Nov. 9, 1937 2,370,449 Clarke Feb. 27, 1945 2,376,050 Green May 15, 1945 2,736,177 Bristow Feb. 28, 1956

Claims

1. A CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION, AN UPPER CYLINDER; A LOWER CYLINDER ARRANGED COAXIALLY WITH SAID UPPER CYLINDER; NEEDLES FOR OPERATION IN THE CYLINDERS; MEANS FOR FEEDING TWO YARNS IN VERTICALLY SPACED RELATION TO SAID NEEDLES; TERRY BITS FOR COOPERATING WITH SAID NEEDLES TO KNIT TERRY LOOPS IN ONE OF SAID YARNS EACH OF SAID BITS HAVING A YARN ENGAGING PROJECTION AT ONE END THEREOF; MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID BITS IN A RADIAL ARRAY ADJACENT TO, BUT SLIGHTLY SPACED FROM THE INNER END OF ONE OF SAID CYLINDERS WITH SAID PROJECTIONS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY, SAID BITS BEING MOVABLE RADIALLY TO AND FROM AN OPERATIVE POSITION AT WHICH TERRY LOOPS ARE FORMED FROM AND TO AN INOPERATIVE POSITION; AND MEANS FOR CYCLICALLY MOVING SAID BITS RADIALLY, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A GENERALLY CIRCULAR CAM TRACK ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID BITS, SAID TRACK INCLUDING TWO SEGMENTAL SALIENT SECTIONS ADAPTED TO MOVE A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF SAID BITS TO OPERATIVE POSITION AND AN OUTWARDLY FACING RE-ENTRANT SECTION CONNECTING THE ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID TWO SECTIONS, SAID RE-ENTRANT SECTION MOVING SELECTED BITS IN SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER FROM OPERATIVE POSITION AT THE END OF ONE SEGMENTAL SECTION TO INOPERATIVE POSITION AND BACK TO OPERATIVE POSITION AT THE END OF SAID OTHER SEGMENTAL SECTION.