US3111827A - Splicing in circular knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL' 3,111,827 s ucmq m CIRCULAR KNITTING mcnzmas Filed May 1, 1961 7 Sheets-She et 1 P I mvcuroas:

PETER A. MAHLER KERWIN RBOYER ATTYS.

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,111,827

SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1 1961 TORS HLER BOYER INV ETER A. ERWIN R.

ATTYS Nov; 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL sPLIcINc IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 1, 1961 INVENTORS: PETER A. MAHLER KERWlN R. BOYER ATTYS,

Nov. 26, 1963 RA. MAHLER ETAL 3,111,827

' SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGJ3.

INVENTORS: PETER A. MAHLER BY KERWIN R.BOYER ATTYS,

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL 3,111,327

A SPLICING m cmcuum KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, i961 7 Sheets-*She'et 5 I E mvzufrons;

PETER A. MAHLER KERWIN R. BOYER ATTYS'.

Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ET AL SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, 1961 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS r v .51 W A MAHLER PETER A 1 KERWIN R. BOYER Nov. 26, 1963 P. A. MAHLER ETAL ,3

SPLICING IN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 1, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 PETER A. MAHL. KERWIN R. BOYER BY ATTYSI 3,111,825? Ice Patented Now. as, 1963 1 3,111,827 SPLKIING IN CCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Peter A. Mahler, ?hiladelphia, and Kerwin R. Boyer,

Gilhertsviile, Pa, assignors, by mesne assignments, to

The Finger Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed May 1, 1961, Ser. N 166,562 8 (Jlairns. (til. 6649) The present invention relates to the circular knitting machines of the type for manufacturing sheer ladies hose. The invention is particularly directed to a method and apparatus for controlling the insertion and removal or withdrawal of the splicing yarn, particularly in the heel and foot portions of the stocking.

The present invention has particular utility in circular knitting machines which are operated continuously and unidirectionally without reciprocatory motion to form heel pockets and toe pockets, the product of the machine being a straight knitted tube open at both ends and tapering slightly from the Welt to the toe. When the stocking is subsequently finished, the toe is closed, for example by a seam, and the stocking is shaped to conform to the contour of the leg by the conventional boarding and finishing techniques.

In stockings of this type, it is customary to provide a reinforced area in the heel and foot portions in order to strengthen the hosiery in the area where it is subject to the greatest stress during the final finishing operations and in the subsequent wearing. The shape of the reinforcing in the area where the heel is formed is normally similar to the shape of the heel pockets formed by the reciprocatory knitting operations of the conventional hosiery machine.

There are two conventional methods of inserting reinforcing strands into a knitted tube of the type to which the present invention relates, the first comprising accurate control of the feed finger for the reinforcing strand so as to insert it and withdraw it from the needle circle at the proper points during each revolution of the knitting machine. in order to insure proper insertion and Withdrawal of the reinforcing yarn by this method, it may not be possible to attain the highest speed desirable. Furthermore, it has been the practice if it is desired to use a reinforcing yarn in dual feed machines, to do so in only one feed station of the machine, requiring the accurate control of the yarn feed finger at only one feed station. However, multiple feed machines wherein the reinforcing yarn is inserted at more than one station render it difficult to accurately control the movement of the plural feed fingers for the reinforcing yarn to insure that the reinforcing yarns inserted at the plurality of feed stations are all inserted at the same point so as to avoid a ragged or uneven outline of the reinforced area.

The second method of selectively splicing an area consists of the usual needle selection wherein the selected needles are raised to take additional yarn. This method heretofore has required the use of a needle selecting mechanism, usually applied to what are called high cylinder machines where a large number of butts on needle selecting jacks are available and in which patterns are controlled by a pattern selecting drum carrying pattern selecting jacks having a number of butts equal to the number of butts on the needle selecting jacks. Associated with each row of butts is a lever. In one typical example, about twenty-six such butts are involved requiring pattern selecting jacks with twenty-six butts and twenty-six cooperative levers. This form of mechanism tends to wear excessively and requires the aforesaid high cylinder, thus involving a costly and space-occupying assembly. On rnulti-feed machines, the provision of more than one set of such mechanism substantially adds to the complication of the machine.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides means for selecting identical needles at multiple feed stations with very few butts on the selected jacks, avoiding the use of the intermediate pattern selector jacks.

More particularly, the present invention provides means for controlling the insertion and withdrawal of the reinforcing yarn by operation of a single selector drum or bank of cams and a limited number of levers to select the individual needles to duplicate the complexity of selection obtained by the two conventional methods.

More specifically, the present invention provides a low cylinder machine having a single selector drum or bank of cams to operate jack-selecting levers for all of the feed stations which insert reinforcing yarns in a multi-feed machine. in the illustrated embodiment, there are two such feed stations, each having only three levers to attain the complex pattern of reinforcing.

The present invention enables the use of a small number of butts for controlling the insertion and Withdrawal of the reinforced yarn by operation of the individual needles in conjunction with the yarn feed fingers so that the exact point of insertion and withdrawal is determined by the operation of the needles themselves.

The present invention also provides mechanism which may be incorporated in a standard knitting machine without substantial rebuilding whereby the standard low-cylinder machine may be converted to knit a pattern of reinforcing.

All of the objects of the invention and the various features and details of the construction and operation of the apparatus are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

PEG. 1 is a View in perspective of a knitted tube made in accordance with the present invention;

PEG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a completed stocking embodying a reinforced area made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged development of the reinforced area of the knitted tube of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the area enclosed by the broken line box identified by the reference numeral 4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view in a horizontal plane showing the bed of a knitting machine made in accordance with the present invention, with the needle circle and feed stations shown schematically therein, and illustrating the ratchet-driven cams for operating the jack slides of the knitting machine to produce a reinforced area in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 5 showing the operation of one element of the mechanism;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged sectional views taken on the lines 7-7 and 83 respectively of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are detached perspective views of certain elements of the mechanism shown in PEG. 5;

MG. 11 is a modified form of the element shown in PEG. 10;

PEG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of PEG. 5;

51G. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 13-45 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary view in side elevation showing the connections from the main drive and the pattern rum to the ratchet mechanism shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the operation of the cam follower and the cams on the pattern drum shown in FIG. 14;

PEG. 16 is a development of the cylinder showing the jack slides and the needle tracks during the formation of the reinforced area;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of the jack butt patterns for the formation of the reinforced area shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive; and

FIGS. 18 to 23 inclusive are diagrams of the cams and followers shown in FIG. 5.

The apparatus of the present invention is illustrated as a part of a multi-feed knitting machine made in accordance with the copending application of Peel and Mahler, Serial Number 34,799 filed June 8, 1960, and reference may be had thereto for a more complete description of an apparatus to which the present invention may be applied.

With reference to the attached drawings, the machine illustrated therein is adapted to knit a stocking blank having a turned welt 25, a shadow welt 26, a leg 27 and a heel and foot portion 2 8 in which is included a reinforced area 29. When the stocking is subsequently finished, as shown in FIG. 2, the heel and foot portion 28 is shaped to the contour of the foot so that the reinforced area 29 covers the heel and the sole of the stocking. As shown in FIG. 4, the leg and upper portion of the heel and toe portion are knit with a mesh pattern having in alternate courses a the sequence of three plain stitches P and one tuck stitch T. The intermediate courses b are knit with plain stitches P throughout. In the reinforced area 29, the intermediate courses b are similarly knit with plain stitches, and the alternate courses a are knit plain throughout with both a leg yarn and a reinforcing yarn, as indicated at R in FIG. 4. A smooth contour is provided by the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, by increasing the length of the reinforced area of each course stepwise along the imaginary line indicated by the broken line S.

In accordance with the invention, the initiation and termination of the reinforcing stitches R in each course is controlled precisely by a simplified jack-selection mechanism operating upon the needles to raise selected needles to an elevated level so as to intercept yarn fed thereto from a yarn feed finger which is elevated above the level of the yarn feed finger which normally feeds the body yarn to the needles throughout the formation of the leg portion 27 and foot portion 28. The elevation of the selected needles to the higher level thereby insures that the selected needles will take both the body yarn and the reinforcing yarn at the proper feed stations, the nonselected needles, being lower, taking only the body yarn without taking the reinforcing yarn.

In order to form the contour of the reinforcing area 29 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive, the present invention embodies a minimum of additional butts on the pattern In the present instance, two additional butts are provided and the lowermost guide butt of the jack is also used, these three butts cooperating with three additional jack slides beyond those shown in the copending application of Peel and Mahler, above-identified.

In the machine illustrated in FIG. 5, the frame 351 of the machine mounts for rotation therein a circle of needles 32 which rotates counterclockwise past feed stations designated 33-1, 33-2, 33-3 and 33-4. In the present instance, the feed stations 33-2 and 33-4- alternately knit the plain courses b throughout the entire stocking and the feed stations 33-1 and 33-3 alternately knit the mesh and reinforced courses a. The mesh and the pattern of reinforced stitches are controlled by jack slide stations 34-1 and sea respectively. As shown in FIG. 16, each jack slide station includes an upper jack slide 36, a group of mesh jack slides 37 and, in the present instance, three reinforce jack slides 41, 42 and 43. A needle slide 44 is also positioned at each jack slide station which may be engaged to elevate all of the needles to the aforementioned elevated position.

In accordance with the invention, the reinforce jack slides 41, 42 and 43 are operated and controlled from a reinforce cam hank designated generally 46. The slides at the station Ta l-ll are operated directly by followers 4 7-1 and the slides at the station 34-3 are oper- '4 ated by followers 47-3 through a train of follower push rods 48-35, as clearly shown in FIGv 5.

With reference to FIGS. 7-and 8, the reinforce cam bank 46 comprises a cam post 51 mounted for rotation on an upstanding stub shaft 52. The cam post mounts six cams 61-1, 61-3, 62-h, 62-3, 63-1 and 63-3. It is apparent that the cams 61 control the slides 41, the cams 62 control the slides 42 and the cams as control the slides 43 respectively. The cams are fixedly mounted on the cam post 51 in their proper relationship by means of a cam index pin 53. Formed integrally with the cam post 51 is a ratchet wheel 54 having a series of ratchet teeth 55, interrupted in the present instance at two locations by dead spots 55 and 57 (see FIG. 5). An actuating pawl 65 is mounted on an arm as rotatable on the stub shaft 5?, to drive the cam bank 46. A stop pawl 6% is mounted on the frame 31 to prevent reverse movement of the ratchet wheel 54 during retraction of the pawl 65.

Since the index pin 53 fixes the relative positions of the cams for the respective jack slide stations, adjusting means is provided on the followers 47-1 as indicated at 67. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, a substitute follower arm designated 47-h; is provided with a micrometer-type adjustment as indicated at 57a. The adjustment for the follower 57-3 is provided in the tram of push rods 48-3 as indicated at 69. I

The pawl 55 is continuously oscillated over the on cumferential length of one tooth 55 as indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 5. To this end, a pawl operator 71 is connected to the pawl 65 at one end, and is pivoted, as shown at 72 in FIG. 14 at its other end to a pivoted lever '73 which is oscillated by an eccentric 74 on a drive shaft '75 of the knitting machine.

With the pawl 65 resting on the dead spot 56, as shown, continued oscillation of the lever 73 does not effect movement of the ratchet wheel 54. In order to initiate movement of the ratchet wheel 54, means is provided on a; pattern drum of the knitting machine to control the opera-: tion of the cam bank 46. A pattern drum of the knitting machine is shown at ill in FIG. 14, the drum having an overhang which provides an exposed under-surface 82 thereon. A cam element 83 is mounted on the undersurface 82 to engage a follower 84 having an arm 85 pivoted to a control lever 86. The remote end of the control lever 86 is provided with an elongated slot 87 which receives and permits oscillatory movement therein of a pin 88 on the pivoted arm '73. When the follower $4 is engaged and displaced by the cam 23,- the retractrve movement of the arm 36 engages the end abutment 89 of the slot 37 against the pin 88 and displaces the arm a distance sufficient to cause the actuating p 65 P over the dead spot 56 (see FIG. 6) and initiate stepwise rotation of the ratchet wheel 54 and cam bank 6 under the oscillatory movement of the pivoted arm The rotary movement of the cam bank 46 continues urlill the dead spot 57 passes into engagement with the pawl 65, at which time the movement is arrested until the second cam 91 on the pattern drum 31 is displaced into engagement with the follower 84 to thereby again initiate stepwise rotation of the cam bank 46. The can? bank- 46 continues its rotation until the next dead spot in the present instance the dead spot 56, is reached.

During the stepwise rotation of the cam bank 46, the cams d1, 62 and 63 operate to selectively displace the jack slides 41, 42 and 43 respectively to elevate selected needles to an elevated position. With reference to the cylinder development of FIG. 16, the needles are displaced between a stitch draw position d2, a tuck position 93, and a clearing position 94. When knitting plain, all of the needles are elevated to the clearing position at each feed station wherein they are thendrawn to the stitch. draw position 92 and returned to the tuck position. When making mesh, selected needles, in the present instance, every fourth needle, is retairiedatthe tucliposi tion wherein the loop previously knit thereon deos not clear the latch and its interknit with the loop subsequently knit thereon. The operation of the mesh cams 37 to effect this selection is described in detail in the aforementioned copending application of Peel and Mahler.

According to the present invention, the reinforce jack slides 41, 42 and 43 operate to selectively elevate needles to an elevated position 95 above the clearing position 94. To this end, as best shown in FIG. 16, the reinforce jack slides 43, 42, and 41 are longer than the mesh jack slides 37 and therefore operate on the jack butts to raise the jacks and therefore push the needles to the elevated position 95 at each of the feed stations 331 and 33-3. At each of these feed stations, there are two separate yarn feeds, each at a different position. The body yarn feed $6 is at a position to engage the body yarn in the hooks of all of the needles passing through the feed station. The reinforce yarn feed 97, on the other hand, is at an elevated position so that it only engages reinforcing yarn in those needles which are at the elevated position @5. This is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 16 and graphically in FIG. 13.

in order to select the needles to provide the reinforce contour shown at 28, the simplified apparatus of the present invention provides only two additional levels of butts on the jacks 1%. In addition, the bottom guide butt fill of the jack is provided with selectively differing butt lengths. The additional butt levels are indicated at 102 and 1&3 respectively in FIG. 16. It is apparent that the butts 162i cooperate with the jack slides 41, the butts 1G2 cooperate with the jack slides 42, and the butts 103 cooperate with the jack slides 43. As shown in the jack diagram in FIG. 17, the butts at the level 163 are provided with ten different butt lengths, the jacks at the level 162 are provided with ten different butt lengths and the bottom guide jacks 1M are provided with eight different butt lengths, all of the jacks having a butt of at least minimum length at the level laid in order to insure proper guiding of the jacks in the jack cam track.

With reference to FIGS. 17-23, it is apparent that, in the illustrated position of the cam where the pawl 65 is resting on the dead spot 56, all of the jack slides 41, 42 and 43 are in their fully retracted position. When the pawl is kicked off the dead spot by the pattern drum earn 83, the cam bank 46 is ratcheted to advance the slides 434i and 43-3 to the first position to form the first course of the reinforce 29. The advance of the slide 41 causes all of the selected needles in that portion of the course to be raised to the elevated position 95, thereby eliminating the tuck stitches in that portion.

Each revolution of the machine advances the cam bank one step, thereby advancing the slides stepwise according to the pattern of the cams shown in FIGS. 18-23. The stepwise advance continues for a half revolution, until the pawl 65' reaches the second dead spot 57. At this point, the reinforce pattern has been widened by two needles at each side during each step of the advance, and the pattern is at its widest point. The pattern continues at its widest point to form a rectangular area until the next pattern drum cam 91 kicks the pawl off the dead spot 57. Advance of the cams then continues and the reinforce area narrows stepwise to its minimum point at which point the pawl 65 is again at the dead spot 56. vIt remains at this point, knitting reinforcement of minimum width, until the pattern drum again provides a cam (not shown) for kicking the pawl 65 off the dead spot, at which time widening of the reinforce area recommences. When the reinforce area is at its widest width again, the advance of the drum is halted by the dead spot 57 and the knitting of reinforcing yarns into the stocking is arrested by raising the reinforce feed finger to an elevated position, for example, as shown at 98 in FIG. 13 to thereby withdraw the reinforcing yarn from the needle circle. A further cam (not shown) on the pattern drum kicks the pawl 65 off the dead spot 57 so that the cam bank may return to the starting position shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that the present invention provides a selection among twenty-eight needles on only three levels of butts, thereby enabling the use of a low cylinder with a single circle of jacks having a minimum number of butt levels. The pattern in the illustrated embodiment is relatively simple, adding width in a regular predetermined manner, so that at each butt level, the butt lengths are increased in regular sequence. It should be understood that the pattern of the area may be varied by a judicious selection of butt lengths.

In like manner, the jack slides of the illustrated embodiment are adjusted stepwise inwardly separately and in sequence. Greater variation is possible by adjusting the slides concurrently.

In order to reduce the length of the cylinder, the jack slides 4'1, 42 and 43 overlap one another vertically. Thus, the vertical rise provided by the slide is greater than the vertical spacing of the butt levels. The overlapping arrangement of the slides limits to some extent the concurrent adjustment of the slides. In the operation of the slides, the uppermost slide must be advanced toward the cylinder first, and each succeeding slide cannot be advanced further than the upwardly adjacent slide. Otherwise, the succeeding slide, because of its length, might engage a butt at the upwardly adjacent level on a jack which is not to be selected for elevation. Such engagement would elevate such jack and may cause serious operational malfunction. By operating the slides so that each slide is advanced no further than the upwardly adjacent slide, it is possible to provide elevation of the jacks through a distance greater than the spacing of the butts on the jacks.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention, and a single contour for the reinforcing pattern have been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention to this particular disclosure, but changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto Within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for controlling the insertion of reinforcing yarn in a circular knitting machine for knitting a tube of at least one body yarn comprising a feed station, a circle of knitting needles mounted for relative revolution past said feed station, a circle of jacks underlying said needle circle and having at least one jack for each needle to position the latter, butts on said jacks disposed at a plurality of levels, at least one needle selection station in advance of said feed station, including jack slides cooperable with said jack butts to effect selection of needles to dispose the selected needles in an elevated position above the position of the non-selected needles and yarn feed means at said feed station comprising a body yarn feed finger positioned below said elevated position to introduce a body yarn into the hooks of both said selected and said non-selected needles, and a reinforcing yarn feed finger positioned above said body yarn feed finger and above the position of said non-selected needles to introduce a reinforcing yarn into the hooks of only said selected needles, avoiding engagement of the reinforcing yarn in the hooks of the non-selected needles; the improvement wherein said jack butts comprise butts of a plurality of different lengths, said selection station including cam means operable on said jack slides to selectively advance said slides stepwise toward said cylinder to selectively engage said butts, the steps of said advance correponding to the different lengths of butts.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said ca-m means comprises a rotary cam for each slide, means mounting said cams for concurrent rotation, and drive means for said cams to advance the same rotationally one step during and in timed relation to said needle and jack circle.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of said cams operate to advance its associated slide toward said jac circle stepwise from a fully withdrawn position to a fully advanced position, said earns being mounted for operation on said slides in sequence one after the other..

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said drive means includes a ratchet Wheel having a series of teeth interrupted by at least one dead spot, and pawl means to en age said teeth, and continuously operable actuating means to reciprocate said pawl over the distance of one ratchet tooth to advance said cams stepwise continuously until said pawl engages said dead spot, and separate control means selectively operable to reciprocate said pawl means beyond said dead spot to thereby effect resumption of said continuous stepwise advance of said cams by said actuating means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said knitting machine includes a rotary pattern drum, said separate control means comprising a cam on said pattern drum and follower means connected to said pawl and engageable with said cam to reciprocate the pawl beyond said dead spot.

6. In a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder with jacks slidable axially therein, said jacks having radially projecting butts arranged in a series of levels in vertically spaced relation, a series of jack slides corresponding in number and vertical-spacing to said butt levels, at least two adjacent jack slides having a vertical rise greater than said vertical spacing of the butt levels to thereby vertically overlap the adjacent slide, and means to displace said slides radially toward said cylinder to selectively engage the butts and effect vertical displacement of said jacks a distance corresponding to the verti- 8 cal rise of said slides, said distance being greater than the vertical spacing of the butt levels.

7. A circular knitting machine according to claim 6 wherein said means to displace said slides includes cams operahle to advance the first and second overlapping slides of said series, said cams advancing the second overlapping slide of said series a distance no further than the advance of said first overlapping slide whereby each butt which clears the first slide in the area of said overlapping also clears the second slide.

8. The method of operating a vertical series of jack slides of a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder with jacks therein, said jacks having butts cooperable with said slides, comprising the steps of providing a vertical rise on said slides greater than the vertical spacing therebetween, advancing said slides stepwise toward the needle cylinder to selectively engage the butts of the jacks therein, and controlling the advance of said slides so that the uppermost slide of said series is advanced first, and each remaining slide is advanced no further than the upwardly adjacent slide in the series.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,872,760 Lawson Aug. 23, 1932 2,460,487 Bristow Feb. 11, 1949 3,004,414 Billi Oct. 17, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,066,885 France June 10, 1954 751,811 Great Britain July 4, 1956

Claims (1)

1. IN APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE INSERTION OF REINFORCING YARN IN A CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE FOR KNITTING A TUBE OF AT LEAST ONE BODY YARN COMPRISING A FEED STATION, A CIRCLE OF KNITTING NEEDLES MOUNTED FOR RELATIVE REVOLUTION PAST SAID FEED STATION, A CIRCLE OF JACKS UNDERLYING SAID NEEDLE CIRCLE AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE JACK FOR EACH NEEDLE TO POSITION THE LATTER, BUTTS ON SAID JACKS DISPOSED AT A PLURALITY OF LEVELS, AT LEAST ONE NEEDLE SELECTION STATION IN ADVANCE OF SAID FEED STATION, INCLUDING JACK SLIDES COOPERABLE WITH SAID JACK BUTTS TO EFFECT SELECTION OF NEEDLES TO DISPOSE THE SELECTED NEEDLES IN AN ELEVATED POSITION ABOVE THE POSITION OF THE NON-SELECTED NEEDLES AND YARN FEED MEANS AT SAID FEED STATION COMPRISING A BODY YARN FEED FINGER POSITIONED BELOW SAID ELEVATED POSITION TO INTRODUCE A BODY YARN INTO THE HOOKS OF BOTH SAID SELECTED AND SAID NON-SELECTED NEEDLES, AND A REINFORCING YARN FEED FINGER POSITIONED ABOVE SAID BODY YARN FEED FINGER AND ABOVE THE POSITION OF SAID NON-SELECTED NEEDLES TO INTRODUCE A REINFORCING YARN INTO THE HOOKS OF ONLY SAID SELECTED NEEDLES, AVOIDING ENGAGEMENT OF THE REINFORCING YARN IN THE HOOKS OF THE NON-SELECTED NEEDLES; THE IMPROVEMENT WHEREIN SAID JACK BUTTS COMPRISE BUTTS OF A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS, SAID SELECTION STATION INCLUDING CAM MEANS OPERABLE ON SAID JACK SLIDES TO SELECTIVELY ADVANCE SAID SLIDES STEPWISE TOWARD SAID CYLINDER TO SELECTIVELY ENGAGE SAID BUTTS, THE STEPS OF SAID ADVANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE DIFFERENT LENGTHS OF BUTTS.

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