US3464234A - Knitting machines - Google Patents

Description

Pt- 969 F. H. CARROTTE 3,464,234

KNITTING MACHINES Filed July 12, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheei 2 lrwen lor FREDERICK HENRY CARROT'IIE DAVIS, HOXIE, FAITHFULL & x g coon orney s p 2, 1969 F. H. CARROTTE 3,464,234

KNITTING MACHINES Filed' July 12, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet s 5a 5b 50 5d f 7 l7 l7 7 I40. 4a Ma 14a 4b 14b 14b Mb Invenlor FREDERICK HENRY CARROTTE By DAVIS, H OXIE, FAITHFULL & PGOOD ttorney s p 2, 1969 F. H. CARROTTE 3,464,234

KNITTING MACHINES IT H NUMBER Inventor FREDERICK HENRY CARROTTE DAVIS HOXIE, FAITHFULL & EXEGOOD florney Sept. 2, 1969 Filed. July 12, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 2 1 3e D 4 3 D 1) 7 4 a1 a a v 1 b "6 0% 26 6 1a 13 14 8 g b 2s 16 H 18, 0 M a ig. 5 c v a I lnuenlor FREDERICK HENRY CARROTTE rney s United States Patent 3,464,234 KNITTING MACHINES Frederick H. Carrotte, Leicester, England, assignor to A. Kirkland & Company Limited, Leicester, England, a British company Filed July 12, 1967, Ser. No. 652,825 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 15, 1966, 31,911/66 Int. Cl. D04b 9/06, 9/38 US. Cl. 66-25 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a circular knitting machine capable of knitting patterned fabrics with increased repeat pattern areas not subject to spirality, having Nn needle tricks and pattern Wheels each having the same number Np of elements plus element spaces cooperative with selectors on the machine cylinder, the number Nn divided by the number Np equals Where x, y and z are integers, y is less than 1 and the fraction y/z is in its lowest terms. Each pattern wheel comprises z pattern Wheel members each having Np elements plus element spaces and a different set of Np/z elements plus element spaces from each wheel member cooperates with selectors during each of z revolutions of the machine. 0

This invention relates to knitting machines, in particular to circular knitting machines adapted to knit patterned fabric. By the term patterned fabric we mean fabric having a freehand or geometric pattern either in stitch configuration or colour.

The production of a patterned fabric is accomplished on a circular knitting machine by arranging for the cylinder needles to knit, tuck or miss according to a prearranged sequence. As each needle approaches each feeder the needle is selected either to be raised to knit or tuck or not to be raised by the cams associated with that feeder. The characteristics of the cams associated with each feeder dictate the type of stitch formed at that feeder and we use the term knit, as opposed to miss, to refer to all types of stitch which can be so formed.

One apparatus for selecting the needles to knit or miss uses pattern wheels. This term is taken to include all devices which are rotated at a prearranged speed in relation to the speed of the cylinder and have elements and element spaces thereon adapted to cooperate with the needles or with selector memebrs on the cylinder for selecting needles in consecutive tricks in the cylinder to knit or miss according to the prearranged configuration of the elements and element spaces on the pattern wheel.

One type of pattern wheel in common use is inclined to the cylinder and has bits which contact the butts of needles in the tricks and so raise the needles. Selection, i.e. pattern formation, is attained by removing some bits from the pattern wheel so that the needles which would have been raised had the bits been retained are left down. I

One other type of pattern wheel operates by having bits which bear against jacks in the tricks. Each jack is associated with a needle in the same trick and on moving the jack radially in the trick, under the influence of a bit in a pattern wheel, the same jack, a further jack, or the needle in the trick is positioned so as to be ready to be raised or not by a cam associated with the next feeder. Again, patterning is achieved by removing or retaining the bits on the pattern wheels.

3,464,234 Patented Sept. 2, 1969 Although it is possible to produce Jacquard patterned fabrics with designs which are limited in size only by the diameter and the number of feeders of the knitting machine, most patterned fabric have a repeat pattern area which for knitted fabrics is normally defined by the number of courses and the number of wales within that area. Within the repeat pattern area any design can be produced, and this pattern area is reproduced over the whole area of the finished fabric.

Normally the repeat pattern area of a knitting machine is dictated by the number of feeders and the number of selections available in each patterning device. For a two colour, one revolution, Jacquard pattern the number of courses is equal to half the number of feeders so that for example, with 30 feeders and 30 pattern wheels, each having 50 elements or element spaces, the repeat pattern area would be 50 wales by 15 courses. It is normally desirable to have a large repeat pattern area but the size of the machine and hence the number of feeders and the number and size of the pattern wheels is limited by practical considerations.

It has been proposed to increase the repeat pattern area of a knitting machine by causing each pattern wheel to form courses of two, or more, adjacent pattern areas. For example, referring to the figures given above, if each pattern wheel is provided with elements plus element spaces, and on dividing the total number of needles by the number of elements plus element spaces there is a remainder of 50, the repeat pattern area could be changed to 30 courses by 50 wales. However, this introduces another problem, termed spirality, in which adjacent pattern areas are offset or staggered from each other. This is distinct from the normal property of weft knitted fabrics in Which the courses are spiralled round the fabric.

It has also been proposed to form each pattern wheel of two or more pattern wheel members, each of which has the same number of elements plus element spaces on it as the pattern wheel. The maximum repeat pattern area is then increased as the pattern wheel members can be sequentially moved into and out of cooperative relationship with selector members on the needle cylinder.

It is an object of this invention to provide a knitting machine capable of knitting patterned fabrics with increased repeat pattern areas which are not subject to spirality.

According to this invention a circular knitting machine having a number Nn. of needle tricks in its cylinder comprises a number of pattern wheels disposed around the cylinder of the machine, each pattern wheel having the same number Np of elements plus element spaces cooperative with selector members on the cylinder, the number Nn being divisible by the number Np according to the equation:

are

wherein x, y and z are integers, y is less than 2 and the fraction y/z is in its lowest terms, each pattern wheel comprising z pattern wheel members each having Np elements plus element spaces, a set of Np/z elements plus element spaces from each pattern wheel member being adapted to cooperate with selector members on the cylinder during each revolution of the pattern wheel, and a different set of Np /z elements plus element spaces from each pattern wheel member being so adapted during each of z revolutions of the cylinder.

Because of the relationship between the number Nn of needle tricks in the cylinder and the number Np of elements plus element spaces on each pattern wheel, and because each pattern wheel comprises a set of z pattern wheel members operating as described, it will take z revolutions of the cylinder for all the elements plus element spaces on all the pattern wheel members to be used to cooperate with the selector members on the cylinder. Thus it is possible, by suitable choice of patterns, and hence the appropriate configuration of elements and element spaces around the pattern wheels, to produce knitted fabrics in which the repeat pattern area is larger than normal for the number of pattern wheels without producing patterns which suffer from spirality.

In one example each pattern wheel comprises two pattern wheel members. If, as is preferred, the pattern wheel is of the type having bits around its periphery to cooperate with butts on jacks in the cylinder tricks, the pattern wheel members are preferably discs or drums, which for each pattern wheel are rotatable about a common axis. Jacks having differently shaped or positioned butts may then be arranged in sets so that, for each revolution of the pattern wheel, half of each pattern wheel member is alternately cooperating with the butts on sets of jacks to select needles for knitting or missing according to the arrangement of the bits on the pattern wheel member. With each complete revolution of the cylinder, because of the relationship between x and y, there will be a change-over in the halves of the pattern wheel members used. It is thus possible to impose one pattern arrangement, in terms of the configuration of the bits removed and retained, on one half of each of the pattern wheel members of each pattern wheel and another pattern arrangement on the other opposing halves of the pattern wheel members, so as to increase the repeat pattern area knittable by the machine by a factor of two in comparison with a similar machine with pattern wheels without introducing spirality. If it is possible to cut the finished fabric along a particular line, the repeat pattern area may be increased four times in area compared with that of a machine with conventional pattern wheels by imposing different pattern arrangements on each of the halves of the pattern Wheel members.

It will be appreciated that for each pattern wheel z may be more than two so that larger repeat pattern areas may be produced whilst avoiding spirality. This can be accomplished using an embodiment of this invention in a relatively simple and inexpensive manner, both as regards the cost of the machinery and the cost of changing over from one pattern to another.

The values which z may adopt can be derived from the equation an P wherein y is less than Np, the number z of pattern wheel members in each pattern wheel being a factor, other than 1, of the number Np, or being the number Np, and the number y being obtained by multiplying the number Np/z by an integral number which is either 1 or a higher number which is less than z and which is neither a factor of 2 nor a number having a common factor with z.

For example, if a circular knitting machine has pattern wheels each having 96 elements plus element spaces, i.e. Np=96, the number of pattern wheel members in each pattern wheel may be any of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48 or 96. If, as in the example mentioned above 2 has the value of 2, the value of y can only be 48, i.e.

owl-

and this corresponds with Equation 1 above, with the exception that the remainder y/z is stated to be reduced to its lowest terms to define 2. If now, for example, z takes the higher value of 8, y (which is equal to an odd multiple of 96/ 8) can take any one of the values 12, 36, 60 or 84. Preferably, however, y has the value of either 12 or 84 which corresponds to y having the value of either 1 Nae-1) as this simplifies the cutting of the elements and the element spaces on the pattern wheel members for arranging the pattern in fabrics to be knitted.

To get a large number of bits of appreciable size around each pattern wheel member, each member is preferably formed of a number, usually two, of sub-members having a smaller number of bits. This practice is known as half-gauging. As with the pattern wheel members, such sub-members may be superimposed discs, having bits around their peripheries and rotatable about a common axis. The bits on each disc are then overlapped so as to operate on adjacent selector members.

The patterning method of this invention is particularly applicable to interlock or double-jersey machines in which each cylinder needle can be arranged to knit or miss at each feeder. The stitches knitted on the cylinder are formed on the face of the fabric so that, when knitting colour-patterned fabrics, the desired colour can be brought to the front at each stitch. In one method of accomplishing this the cam system has two or more cam tracks and each of the needles has an equal number of associated butts projectable from its trick into a cam trick. The cam track followed by each needle is then governed by the choice of the butt projecting from each trick so that the elements and element spaces on the pattern wheel members may be arranged to dictate which of the butts shall project from each trick. One method of accomplishing this is by the use of jacks which have butts towards their ends and are able to pivot about a point between the butts.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which FIGURE 1 is a developed elevation of a pair of cylinder cam segments of a circular knitting machine,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation through the cam segment of FIGURE 1, taken on the line AA, together with sectional elevations of the knitting machine cylinder, part of the dial and a pattern wheel assembly,

FIGURE 3 is an elevation of parts of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a plan of the pattern wheel assembly shown in FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic plan of the knitting machine showing the inter-relation of the cylinder and a number of pattern wheel assemblies,

FIGURE 6 is a repeat pattern area graph, and

FIGURE 7 shows two of the pattern areas of FIG- URE 5.

In FIGURES 1 to 4 like numerals denote like parts.

Referring firstly to FIGURES 1 and 2, the knitting machine comprises a frame 1 in which a cylinder 2 is rotatable. A number of needles 3 are slidably mounted in tricks in the outer side wall of the cylinder and below each needle in each trick is a locking jack 4 and a rocking jack 5. A number of pairs of cylinder cam segments 6, formed of upper and lower parts 6a and 6b are secured to the frame 1. In operation the cylinder 2 is rotated, in the direction of the arrow B in FIGURE 1, to cause the cams mounted on the cylinder cam segments to cooperate in the normal way with the needles 3 and the jacks 4 and 5 to cause the needles to perform knitting operations in conjunction with needles 7 in the machine dial 8. Part of a dial cam segment 9 is also shown.

The pair of cylinder cam segments shown in FIGURE 2 is the same as all of the other pairs of cam segments on the machine with the exception of a single segment which has straight cam tracks and is present to enable broken needles to be removed and easily replaced. The pair of cam segments 6 has four cam tracks denoted in FIGURE 1 by the arrows C, D, E and F which control the movement of (C) the needles 3, (D) the locking jacks 4, and (E and F) the rocking jacks 5.

Associated with each pair of cam segments 6 are two feeders (not shown) which are positioned generally above each of the tuck/clear cams in the needle cam track C. All of the needles which pass over each tuck/ clear cam 10 are caused to knit whilst all other needles miss. The tuck/clear earns 10 can be radially withdrawn into the cam segments in which case tuck stitches are formed by needles passing over the dividing cams 11. The cam track C is arranged so that the needles 3 can follow a path either above or below the dividing cams by having radially movable bolt earns 12 withdrawn into the cylinder cam segments. The bolt cams are present to enable the machine to be used as a plain knitting machine if desired by inserting at least some of the bolt cams into the cam track C. After passing over or under the dividing cams 11, all needles are lowered by lowering cams 13.

Whether the needles pass over or under the dividing cams 11 is dictated by the positions of the associated rocking jacks 5 which have butts running in either of the cam tracks E or F, the choice of the cam track for each rocking jack being decided according to the pattern to be knit, as described below. Thus a rocking jack with its lower butt 14 protruding from its trick, which is the position of the jack shown in dotted line in FIGURE 2, will be raised on meeting the raising cam 15 and lowered by the lowering cam 16, whilst a rocking jack with its upper butt 17 protruding, in the position shown in full line, will be raised and lowered respectively by the raising and lowering cams 18 and 19. The cam track E is left open at 20 and the cam track F left open at 21 so that rocking jacks having upper butts 17 protruding will be unaffected on passing raising cam 15 and those with lower butts 14 protruding will be unaffected on passing raising cam 18.

The cam track D is open at 22 so that the locking jack 4 is able to follow the movement of its associated rocking jack 5, whichever position the rocking jack is in, and therefore whether the rocking jack is following cam track E or F. After each of the open spaces 22 the cam track D has lowering earns 23 so that the locking jacks are lowered as their associated rocking jacks are lowered by either of the lowering earns 16 or 19. Also in the cam track D are releasing cams 24 which raise the locking jacks whilst their associated rocking jacks are being held on a straight path with their pivot grooves 25 passing over pivot bars 26. The raising heights of the releasing cams 24 are sufficient to cause the tails 27 and 28 on the locking and rocking jacks respectively to disengage. The rocking jacks are then free to pivot about the pivot bars 26 so as to assume either the position shown in full line or the position shown in dotted line in FIGURE 2. The choice of the position adopted by each rocking jack is dictated by the pattern wheel assembly 29, which is described in more detail below. One pattern wheel assembly is mountable midway between each of the pillars 30 in the frame. The releasing cams 24 are adjustable so that they can be lowered to the positions shown by the dotted lines 31 where they do not cause the locking jacks to be raised and hence do not cause disengagement of the tails of the locking and rocking jacks. This is to enable the use of fewer pattern wheel assemblies than the full complement, which is equal to the number of feeders on the machine, if the pattern to be produced makes this possible. Thus each releasing cam 24 is only in its upper positions when a pattern wheel assembly is used in conjunction with that cam.

Within the cam track E are presser cams 32 which are pivoted about set studs 33 on the lower part 6b of the pair of cam segments. These presser cams act on the butts 17 of all of the rocking jacks 5 which pass them. Thus where a presser cam is situated beneath a releasing cam 24 which is in its raised position, in which the tails of the locking and rocking jacks are disengaged, the presser cam will operate to put all of the rocking jacks passing it into the position shown in dotted line in FIG- URE 2. The presser cams can be withdrawn from the cam track E by means of a rod 34 which extends through the part 6b if plain knitting is to be performed, or if the pattern or if the pattern being knitted does not require the setting of the rocking jacks to be changed at any cam segment, at the same time as the releasing cams 24 are lowered.

On each of the rocking jacks 5 the butts 14 are wide butts of which only the end shoulders 14a and 14b are present. This is shown more clearly in FIGURE 3. Between the butt shoulders 14a and 14b is a space which has a projecting tooth for cooperation with parts on the pattern wheel assemblies. In FIGURE 3, by way of example, four rocking jacks 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are shown, each having a tooth 35a, 35b, 35c and 35d respectively in a different position between the butt shoulders 14a and 14b. The teeth project out of the trick in which each rocking jack is mounted when that jack is in the position shown in dotted line in FIGURE 2 so enabling the parts on the pattern wheel assemblies to act on the jacks and move them into the position shown in full line in FIG- URE 2. By having teeth at different positions on the rocking jacks it is possible to have different teeth acted on by different parts of the pattern wheel assemblies. The number of types of rocking jacks having teeth in different positions may be varied according to the pattern area desired and whether or not half-gauging is used.

The pattern wheel assembly shown in FIGURES 2 and 4 comprises a body 36 which is bolted to the frame 1 of the machine. A spindle 37 is mounted in bearings 38, 39 in the body so that the spindle is rotatable about a vertical axis. A pinion 40 is keyed to the spindle 37 and meshes with an annular gear 41 on the cylinder 2. Also keyed to the spindle 37 is a pattern disc supporting member 42. An annular pattern disc clamping ring 43 is attached to the supporting member 42 by screws 44 to clamp between them a number of pattern discs, the outlines of which are indicated by a dotted line 46. A pin 45 serves to locate the annular ring 43 and the pattern discs clamped thereby in one position only on the member 42. The number of discs employed in each pattern wheel assembly corresponds to the number of types of rocking jacks having teeth 35 in different positions so that all of one type of rocking jacks are affected by one disc, and those of another type by another disc, and so on. Around the peripheries of each of the discs in the pattern wheel assemblies are a number of bits 47, the dimensions of which are chosen according to the gauge of the knitting machine and according to whether or not half-gauging is used. The diameter of the discs is such that the edges of the bits thereon nearly touch the edges of the tricks in the cylinder, so that on operation of the machine a bit which contacts a tooth on a rocking jack causes the jack to be moved from the position shown in dotted line to that in full line in FIGURE 2. Thus, patterning is achieved by removing or retaining the bits on the discs in each pattern wheel assembly. A short sector of a pattern disc is shown in FIGURE 4 with one bit removed to leave a gap 48.

The rocking jacks are arranged in sets of one type around the cylinder, all of the jacks of each type having their teeth 35 in the same position, so that the discs on the pattern wheel assemblies operate on sets of rocking jacks. By adjustment of the number of rocking jacks in each set it is possible to make each disc operate with rocking jacks over only a fraction of its circumference for each complete revolution of the pattern disc assembly. It can also be arranged that all of the discs operate over the whole of their circumferences with rocking jacks from different sets in a number of revolutions of the knitting machine, as described more fully below with reference to FIGURES 5 to 7.

The pattern wheel assembly is provided with a brake shoe 49 which is pivoted about a pin 50 in the body 36 and is hand operated by a knurled screw 51 to move to the position shown in dotted line against a spring (not shown) which can be adjusted by a screw 52. The provision of the brake shoe 49, which acts on the pinion 40, enables the spindle 37 to be locked into any position by rotation of the screw 51. This means that the pattern wheel assemblies can be changed and replaced easily without requiring tedious setting of the discs in relation to the position of the cylinder.

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 serve to illustrate the production of a patterned fabric on a circular knitting machine embodying this invention. In FIGURE the large circle denotes the periphery of the cylinder of the machine. Around the cylinder are 36 feeders denoted by radially inward directed arrows numbered anti-clockwise. Each feeder can be provided with a pattern wheel assembly, or less of the feeders can be so provided. For the purpose of this example, in describing the production of a two colour pattern, alternate feeders have associated pattern wheel assemblies, making 18 in all, numbered anti-clockwise round the cylinder. Each of the pattern wheel assemblies comprises two pattern discs, shown for simplicity as two circles outside the cylinder, although in practice the discs would be coaxial, as described with reference to the pattern wheel assembly in FIGURES 2 and 4. Each of the discs is divided into two semicircular sectors marked, for the inner discs (say the upper discs in practice) A and B, and for the outer (lower) discs C and D. Thus, again in practice, sector A would be superimposed over sector C and sector B over sector D. The straight cam section described above, for the removal of broken needles, is disposed between pattern wheel assemblies Nos. 1 and 18.

Thus, each pattern wheel assembly governs the action of the needles at the two feeders between it and the next pattern wheel assembly. This is accomplished by rendering the patterning action at intermediate points inoperative by, referring now to FIG. 1, lowering the releasing earns 24 at the feeders where there are no associated pattern wheel assemblies. Each rocking jack is thus locked into position, after being acted on by a disc on a pattern wheel assembly, whilst it passes two feeders before being unlocked just before the next pattern wheel assembly is reached. It will be appreciated that this arrangement allows for two-colour double-jersey fabrics to be knitted by appropriate patterning arrangements, with the cam system arranged as shown in FIGURE 1. With such a cam system any needle which is not raised at one feeder will be raised at the other feeder of the pair of feeders which are influenced by each pattern wheel assembly. The differently coloured yarns are fed to alternate feeders, and, when a loop is formed by a cylinder needle at a feeder, the yarn fed to that feeder appears on the front of the fabric.

In referring to forming a two-colour pattern we mean that either of two-yams can be used in the formation of each stitch on the fabric face. Clearly each yarn could differ in a way other than in colour. If patterns are product in more than two colours, it is normal to use a pattern wheel assembly at each feeder. Patterns in stitch configuration may be made, using similar or different yarns, by arranging for needles following different cam tracks to form different types of stitches and by the use of stitch holding and transferring devices. For example blister fabrics can be made by arranging for more courses of knitting to be produced on the face of the fabric then on the backing of the fabric over discrete areas.

The knitting machine illustrated diagrammatically in FIGURE 5 may be used to produce a fabric of which the repeat pattern area, without spirality, is as shown in FIGURE 6. This is accomplished by giving each of the pattern discs 96 bits. It is assumed here, for the sake of simplicity in description, that half-gauging is not adopted. Thus, only two types of rocking jack are used with teeth in two positions only. Were half-gauging to be employed, four types of rocking jack would be used with four pattern discs each having 48 bits. The number of needles in the knitting machine is then made up to 1,680 so that the previously mentioned equation is satisfied, the number 1680 being divided by the number 96 to give 17%. It will be noted that the denominator 2 corresponds to the number of discs in each pattern wheel assembly shown in FIGURE 5.

The two types of rocking jack in the cylinder are arranged in sets of 48 rocking jacks of one type alternating with sets of 48 rocking jacks of the other type. Thus, all of one type of rocking jack will be acted on by all of the inner (upper) pattern disc, as shown in FIGURE 5, whilst all of the other jacks will be operated on by the outer (lower) pattern discs. However, as the number of bits on each pattern disc is not an exact fraction of the number of needles on the cylinder there will be some point around the cylinder at which there are two adjacent sets of 48 rocking jacks of the same type. When the combined sets meet each pattern disc the rocking jacks will cooperate with bits thereon around the whole of the circumference of the pattern disc whereas in the other sets the rocking jacks will be acted upon by only half of the bits in each pattern disc.

In mounting the pattern wheel assemblies on the knitting machine it is arranged that the junctions between the different sets of rocking jacks coincide, on rotation of the cylinder and of the pattern wheel discs, with junctions between the sectors A and B, and C and D on the pattern discs. Consider now one revolution of the cylinder shown in FIGURE 5, starting at pattern Wheel assembly No. 1, the first set of 48 rocking jacks is acted upon by the bits on sector A of the inner pattern disc but the second set of 48 rocking jacks cannot be acted on by sector B as they have different teeth from those in the first set. Hence, the second set of jacks is acted on by sector D of the outer disc which has rotated half a revolution with the inner disc. As each of the sets of rocking jacks passes pattern wheel assembly No. 1 it too will be acted upon alternately by sectors A and D. This procedure is followed at all of the pattern wheel assemblies Nos. 1 to 18 so that, in one complete revolution of the cylinder, 18 courses of knitting are produced and, with a distance between adjacent pattern wheel assemblies 0n the cylinder equivalent to 48 tricks, blocks of pattern areas are produced, alternate blocks being patterned by all the sectors A and all the sectors D. However, where the two sets of 48 rocking jacks of the same type are adjacent to each other, all of the 96 rocking jacks are operated on by all of the bits in the circumference of one of the pattern discs on each pattern wheel assembly but therafter the sequence of contact between the normal sets and half sectors of the pattern disc is recontinued. On the second revolution of the cylinder therefore, the operative sectors of the discs change to sectors B and C so that blocks of pattern, each produced alternately from all of the sectors B and all of the sectors C are produced in the 18 courses of that revolution. Blocks patterned by sectors B are abovethose by sectors A, and blocks patterned by sectors C or those by sectors D.

Consider now the case where the pattern formed by the discs in each pattern wheel, in terms of the bits removed and retained, is the same in sector A as in sector D and the same in sector B as in sector C. Thus all the blocks of pattern produced from sectors A and D during the first revolution will be the same, and all the blocks of pattern produced from sectors B and C during the second revolution will be the same, although different from the blocks in the first revolution. The repeat pattern area of the machine is then the combined areas of adjacent blocks from each revolution of the machine. This repeat pattern area is, for the example considered, 36 courses by 48 wales. Thus it takes two revolutions of the machine to complete the pattern areas and it will be appreciated that this two revolution cycle is repeated during knitting. Of course, if, say, four pattern discs were used in each pattern wheel assembly, with the appropriate positioning of four sets of rocking jacks, the whole cycle would be completed in four revolutions of the machine, and so on.

In FIGURE 6, alongside the pattern graph, the numbers of the feeders and the numbers and sector letters of the pattern discs which are used to form each course of knitting are given. The construction of such graphs enables each pattern disc to be cut correctly to produce the desired pattern.

In FIGURE 7 two adjacent repeat pattern areas are shown with the letters corresponding to the disc sectors marked onto the four blocks, forming the pattern areas. It will be seen that the repeat pattern area can be enlarged to cover 36 courses by 96 wales, still without spirality, by imposing different patterns on the blocks A and D and B and C instead of making the pairs of blocks alike. However, as the number 96 does not divide exactly into the number of needles there is a point in the fabric where only half a pattern area is present. Where it is possible to cut the knitted fabric along the pattern joining line in the fabric this need be no disadvantage.

Thus, a relatively large pattern area has been produced as described in this example, on a knitting machine embodying the invention using only 18 pattern wheel assemblies. Moreover, each assembly is of simple, compact construction and is aranged so that the discs on each assembly can be changed very quickly, compared with conventional patterning devices. Furthermore the discs used are flat and inexpensive and they can be cut to remove bits according to the pattern desired simply by breaking oil the unwanted bits.

For completeness, it should be mentioned that the repeat pattern area shown, by way of example, in FIGURE 6 could in fact be produced on the knitting machine described using only 11 pattern wheel assemblies Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18. This is because the pattern areas produced by the omitted pattern wheel assemblies, are in all cases the same as the patterns produced by the preceding pattern wheel assemblies. At the points on the machine where the pattern wheel assemblies are omitted, the associated releasing cams 24, shown in FIGURE 1, are lowered to their positions in which they do not elfect disengagement of the tails of the locking and associated rocking jacks. Thus, the rocking jacks stay in the positions imparted to them by the preceding pattern wheel assemblies as they pass all the feeders to the next pattern wheel assembly and operative releasing cam.

If, in the embodiment described above, each pattern wheel is provided with eight pattern wheel members instead of two, each still having 96 elements plus element spaces, and the number of needles in the cylinder is increased to 1,716, but the number of feeders remains 36, the free-hand, non-spiral, two-colour pattern area of the machine becomes as large as 144 courses by 96 wales. If a three-colour pattern is to be produced, 36 pattern wheels are used and the free-hand, non-spiral pattern area is then decreased to 96 courses by 96 wales. It will be appreciated, however, that both of these two and three colour repeat pattern areas are large by any knitting machine standards. However, it is possible to increase the free-hand pattern area still further. Thus, if, for example, the number of needles were to be increased to 1,722, by using 18 pattern wheels each having 16 pattern wheel members having 96 elements plus element spaces each, the two-colour, free-hand repeat pattern area would be 288 courses by 96 wales. In the extreme, the non-spiral, two-colour repeat pattern area of a circular knitting machine embodying this invention and having 36 feeder and pattern wheels with 96 elements plus element spaces is 1,728 courses by 96 wales.

When a larger number of pattern wheel members is incorporated in each pattern wheel, the selector members on the cylinder have to be arranged to cooperate with the larger number of pattern wheel members during the larger number of revolutions of the cylinder. Where the selector members are rocking jacks having protruding butts for contacting bits on discs, as in the embodiment described above, the jacks used have butts in different positions for contacting bits on different discs, which are preferably coaxially mounted. For example, if each pattern wheel has 8 discs each having 96 bits plus bit spaces, then 12 bits plus bit spaces from each disc are arranged to cooperate for needle selection with the butts on 12 rocking jacks during each revolution of the pattern wheel. This can be accomplished by placing the jacks around the cylinder in sets of 12, all of the jacks in any one set having an operative butt in the same position. There will then be 8 different types of rocking jacks. Thus, around a cylinder having, for example, 1,716 needle tricks there will be 17 complete arrangements of 96 jacks arranged in 8 sets of 12 jacks each and also at some point there will be 7 sets of 12 jacks to complete the total number. The remainder of 84 jacks enables Equation 2 above, relating the number of needle tricks to the number of elements plus element spaces in each pattern wheel, to be satisfied.

If half-gauging is used, each disc in a pattern wheel having 96 elements plus element spaces will have 48 bits plus bit spaces and, if the number of discs to each pattern wheel is then 16, the number of jacks in each set will be 6. There will then be 16 different rocking jacks used.

The jacks in each set need not be located in consecutive tricks in the cylinder, although for convenience this may be desirable. In particular, if half-gauging is used, the jacks of each set may be located in alternate tricks.

Whereas, in the specific embodiment described above, the butts on the rocking jacks are all located at one end of the rocking jacks, it is possible to have butts on the jacks both above and below the pivoting points on the jacks. This is particularly useful when the jacks have a large number of butts, as in the case described above when there are 16 different types of jack used, each type of jack having a butt in a different position. When jacks having butts both above and below the pivoting points are used, the action necessary to cause a jack having a butt on one side of its pivot point to adopt the position where its associated needle will be caused to knit at the next feeder on the cylinder, will be opposite to the action to be taken to cause a jack having a butt on the other side of its pivot point to adopt the same position. Thus discs adapted to cooperate with jacks having butts on the opposite sides of their pivot points are in a sense negative of each other.

I claim:

1. A circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder having a number of Nn of needle tricks in the cylinder and a number of pattern wheels disposed around the cylinder of the machine, each pattern wheel comprising z pattern wheel members each having the same number Np of elements plus element spaces capable of cooperating with selector members on the cylinder during each revolution of the pattern wheel, wherein the number Nn is divisible by the number Np according to the equation:

Nn y Np z wherein x, y and z are integers, y is less than z and the fraction y/z is in its lowest terms, a set of Np/z elements plus element spaces from each pattern wheel member cooperating with selector members on the cylinder during each revolution of the pattern wheel, and a different set of Np/z elements plus element spaces from each pattern wheel member cooperating during each of z revolutions of the cylinder.

2. A circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the values which z may adopt are derived from the equation wherein y is less than Np, the number z of pattern wheel members in each pattern wheel being a factor, other than 1, of the number of Np, or being the number Np, and the number y being obtained by multiplying the number N p/ z by an integral number which is either 1 or a higher number which is less than z and which is neither a factor of 2 nor a number having a common factor with z.

3. A circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 1 and in which each pattern wheel comprises bits around its periphery to cooperate with butts on jacks in the cylinder tricks, wherein the pattern wheel members are discs or drums which for each pattern wheel are rotatable about a comomn axis. l

4. A circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the bits on each member are overlapped so as to operate on adjacent selector members.

5. A circular knitting machine as claimed in claim 3, and in which said selector members are rocking jacks having protruding butts for contacting bits on a pattern wheel, wherein said rocking jacks have butts in different positions for contacting bits on different pattern wheel members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,127,224 8/ 1938 Lombardi. 3,075,372 1/1963 Philip. 3,122,905 3/1964 Gutschmit. 3,145,548 8/ 1964 Mishcon.

OTHER REFERENCES Lancashire, Knitted Outerwear Times, May 8, 1967, vol. 36, No. 20, pp. 133, 135, and 137.

Shinn, Principles of Knitting, vol. 11, 1949, Clark Publishing 00., p. 178.

WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner

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