US3805557A

US3805557A - Accessory for knitting machines

Info

Publication number: US3805557A
Application number: US00328812A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Seegers
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-02-01
Filing date: 1973-02-01
Publication date: 1974-04-23
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-23

Abstract

A machine for semi automatically applying a selvage to a knitted fabric while at the same time casting the fabric off the needles of a knitting machine. A carriage is slidable along the needle bed of a knitting machine and a mechanism advances the carriage one needle at a time while simultaneously reciprocating a needle with a latch which thus makes the selvage. The selvaging machine can be actuated by turning a crank or squeezing and releasing two knobs in an inexpensive embodiment. The selvaging machine can be made with a pinion and double acting pawl so that it can work in both directions and therefore have capability for V-neck and polo neck selvaging on jerseys.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Seegers 5] Apr. 23, 1974 ACCESSORY FOR KNITTING MACHINES [76] Inventor: Constant Petrus Albertus Seegers,

Box 1080, Pietersburg, South Africa 22 Filed: Feb. 1, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 328,812

[52] US. Cl. 66/147 [51] Int. Cl D04b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 66/60, 83, 147, 172; 139/124 A [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 69,647 7/1893 Germany 66/172 Primary Examiner-Ronald Feldbaum Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Omri M. Behr; Peter J. Gaylor i 5 ABSTRACT A machine for semi automatically applying a selvage to a knitted fabric while at the same time casting the fabric off the needles of a knitting machine. A carriage is slidable along the needle bed of a knitting machine and a mechanism advances the carriage one needle at a time while simultaneously reciprocating a needle with a latch which thus makes the selvage. The selvaging machine can be actuated by turning a crank or squeezing and releasing two knobs in an inexpensive embodiment. The selvaging machine can be made with a pinion and double acting pawl so that it can work in both directions and therefore have capability for V-neck and polo neck selvaging on jerseys.

7 Claims, 24 Drawing Figures PATENTEU APR 2 3 I974 SHEET 1 [IF 5.

PATENTEUAPR 2 1 1 3805557 SHEET 2 BF 5 ZIIL EIG-12.

PATEMTEUAPR 23 I974 SHEEI 3 [IF 5,

FIG.

lllllillllllllll l l l l I "ATENTED APR 2 3 IBM SHEET t UF 5 F IG. 9a

1 ACCESSORY FOR KNITTING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of this invention is knitting machines, that is knitting machines of one or more beds of reciprocable needles, the needles being of a knitting type having a latched hook. The invention is in principle applicable both to manually operable knitting machines and motor driven knitting machines of more or less fully automatic operation. Ordinarily most knitting machines comprise a single (usually almost horizontal), needle bed. However, machines are also known comprising two needle beds inclined to and facing one another for knitting a double sided fabric between the two beds. This invention is applicable to all such knitting machines.

In the case, for example, of the single bed manually operated knitting machine which is well known, the machine effects casting on and knitting of successive rows. However, reducing (e.g., as at the neck and arm holes of a jersey) and finishing off the top edge of-a knitted fabric by knitting a selvage has at the present to be done by hand using an individual needle. A common experience therefore is that the application of the selvage and reducing take virtually as much time as knitting the entire remainder of the garment by use of the knitting machine. This limitation of the capability of known knitting machines, which applies to other known knitting machines operating by means of one or more beds of reciprocable needles thus seriously detracts from the value of them to users.

An object of this invention is to provide a selvaging machine for use in mechanically applying a selvage to a fabric knitted by a machine of the type described above. To the applicants knowledge a selvaging machine of this nature has not beendeveloped up to now.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION A selvaging machine in accordance with this invention for use on a knitting machine which knitting machine comprises a needle bed. which has two slide surfaces'extending along the length of the needle bed and a plurality of needles located transversely across the bed all mutually parallel and equally spaced, the selvaging machine being for use in applying a selvage to a knitted fabric in which the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric are on the needle shafts of the needles,

which selvaging machine comprises: a carriage adapted to be slidably movable along the needle bed by means of slide members which can slide on the slide surfaces of the needle bed,

a toothed element mounted in the carriage and adapted to engageeach needle in the needle bed successively by interposing into a space between two adjacent needles and bearing against one needle so as to advance the carriage the distance between adjacent needle centres and the toothed element to then move out of the space and into the next space between and so on, and a needle carrier mounted in the carriage adapted to carry a needle which has a latched hook, with the hook located near to the books of the needles of the needle beda'nd the shaft of the needle in the needle carrier directed awayfrom the'needle bed,

the next two adjacent needles,

the needle carrier being adapted to reciprocate one cycle comprising once towards the needle bed and once away from the needle bed while the carriage moves lengthwise along the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between centres of the needles in the needle bed and handle means adapted to be manually actuated and connected to the toothed element and to the needle carrier by mechanisms adapted to actuate the toothed elementand the needle carrier in the manner described so that one cycle of reciprocation of the needle carried on the carriage is completed per needle spacing on the bed during transportation of the carriage along the bed, the hook of the needle carried on the carriage being positioned and oriented so that such reciprocation successively removes the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric andv chain-connects them to form a selvage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention will be more fully. described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which several embodiments are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 to 7 relate to a first embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a selvaging machine in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this in vention,

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the machine shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an inverted plan view of the machine shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional end elevation on section IVIV of FIG. 3 of the machine shown in FIG. I,

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the machine of FIG. I mounted on'the bed of a typical knitting machine during use,

FIG. 6 is a front elevation on the machine and knitting machine shown in FIG. 5 and FIGS. 7a to E area series of detailed plan views each showing the same two needles from thebed of needles of the knitting machine shown in FIG. 5 and the reciprocable needle mounted on the carriage of the selvaging machine in successive positions of one cycle of reciprocation.

FIG. 3A illustrates a modification which can be introduced to the machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 7,

FIGS. 8 to 11 relate to a second embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 8 is apIan view,

FIG. 9 is an underneath view (view IX IX of FIG. 1 l )a I FIG. 10 is an underneath sectional view (section X X of FIG. 11)

FIG. 11 is a sectional elevation (section XI XI of FIG. 8),

FIG. 9a is a similar view to that of FIG. 9 with the mechanism in a different position.

FIGS. 12 to 14 relate to a third embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 12 is a plan view,

FIG. 13 is a side sectional elevation (section XIII XIII of FIG. 12'),

FIG. 14 is a sectional plan view (section XIV XIV of FIG. 13),

FIGS. 15 to 18 relate to a fourth embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 15 is a plan view,

FIG. 16 is a side sectional elevation (section XVI XVI of FIG. 15),

FIG. 17 is a plan sectional view (section XVII XVII of FIG. 16),

FIG. 18 is an underneath view (view XVIII XVIII of FIG. 16)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION The pawl 63 shown in FIG. 3 in particular can be substituted for by means of a pawl 167 of a double acting kind having a spring 168 connected between the pawl and the element 60 (FIG. 3a). With the pawl 167 in the position shown in full lines in FIG. 3A the pawl 167 will work on the gear 15 so as to rotate in the direction of arrow 169 which is the opposite direction to that in which it will rotate in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. In order to get the gear 15 to rotate in that direction the pawl 167 must be flipped over to the position indicated by the broken lines 170. Thusin this embodiment two directional operation can be achieved as well as in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 18.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a cover plate 1 of the machine has been removed to reveal the components inside.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the selvaging machine comprises a base plate 2 of rectangular form fabricated from sheet metal. The base plate 2 carries various components of the mechanism and two

slides

3 and 4 which are provided to permit the mechanism to be mounted on the bed of a typical knitting machine and to be transported along the bed accurately, that is without the mechanism wobbling. The

slides

3 and 4 could be substituted for by other slides which are not shown of different shape or different position so as to adapt the selvaging machine to be applied to the bed of any other knitting machine to which it can be applied. Thus differences in details of the beds of different knitting machines can be accommodated for, screws 5 being illustrated to indicate the removability of the beds 3 and.

. The components ofthe mechanism carried by the base plate 2 include a winding handle 6 which is fixed to a gear 7, the handle and gear being rotatably mounted by a bracket 80, and the base plate 2. The gear 7 meshes with a second gear 8 which in turn is fixed to an eccentric 9 on the opposite side of the base plate 2, the gear 8 and the eccentric 9 being rotatable when driven by the gear 7 on winding of the handle 6. The eccentric 9 is rigidly connected to the gear 8 by means of shaft 10. The gear 8 further carries a pin 11 fixed to it which reciprocates inside a slot in rectangular cross bar 12, the'cross bar 12 in turn being fixed to a shaft 13 which is reciprocably mounted by brackets 14 which are fixed to the base plate. Thus rotation of the gear 8 imparts a simple harmonic reciprocation to the shaft 13. The eccentric 9 oscillates in an eccentric follower 60 in the form of a flat plate which has a slot 61 reciprocable on a bolt 62 which is fixed on the base plate 2. The plate 60 carries a pawl 63 which is springloaded to work on a gear 15. The gear 15 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 16 fixed to the base plate 2. The purpose of the gear 15 is for its teeth to engage with upstanding elements of the needles in the bed of a knitting machine and so by rotation of the gear 15 advance the carriage along the bed of the knitting machine during use.

The shaft 13 is bent re-entrantly at 17 and the end has a hole in it with a set screw 18 entering the hole from the side. This permits a knitting needle 19 to be fixed to the end of the re-entrantly bent shaft 13, the knitting needle being of the type having a hook 20 with a latch 21, here shown flapped over to the position in which the hook 20 is open. A guide 22 is fixed tothe base plate 2 and its operative part includes a slot 23 and guiding curve 24.

The use of the apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 can now be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown the mechanism is mounted on the bed 30 of a well known type of knitting machine, for example the type well known under the trade mark Empisal. The bed 30 of this machine includes a groove 31 in which the terminal flange of the slide 3 of the selvaging machine runs. The other slide 4 of the selvaging machine slides on the edge 32 of the bed 30. Located in the bed 30 are the usual multiplicity of knitting needles 33 of which the set of needles indicated by the bracket 34 have been extended to an extreme position for the purpose of carrying out the selvaging with the use of the machine of this invention. All the needles 33 are of the hook-and-latch kind similar to the needle 19, the needles 33 being located in the bed in slides 35 with upturned ends 36 of the needles 33 projecting above the upper surface of the bed 30. These upturned portions 36 of the needles 33 perform a function of the gear teeth of a straight rack of gear teeth. Asindicated by the broken lines 37, the gear 15 located on the underside of the mechanism mesheswith these upturned end portions 36 of the needles 33'.

The mechanism of this invention is shown during selvaging, the mechanism having progressed roughly halfway along the needles 33 which have been fully extended, is indicated by bracket 34. The mechanism is moving from right to left as indicated by arrow 38 and about half of the needles have had the loops removed from them and chain-connected into a selvage. The point 20 of the needle 29 is about to carry on moving following a path indicated by broken line 39 and arrows 40. This path of movement 39 is provided by the intermittent action of the gear 15 operated by the pawl 63. Thus during the stroke of the needle point 20 in the direction towards the bed 30, the pawl 63 drives the gear 15 thus progressively advancing the mechanism carriage and the point 20 proceeds along an inclined line 39 as indicated. On the return stroke of the reciprocating movement of the point 20 the pawl 63 is recovering and does not drive the gear 15 so that the carriage is not advanced but is substantially parallel to the needles 33. The needles 33 are fully extended for the selvaging action so that this reciprocating motion of the needle 19 is not interfered with by the combs 41 of the knitting machine. The knitted fabric is guided by the guide surface 24 of the guide 22 and the groove 23 of the guide 22. Control of the knitted fabric is further achieved by means of a weight 42 which has a grab 43 which is en gaged in the knitted fabric so weight 42 the weightl42 pulls the fabric downwards. The portion of the knitted fabric which is already selvaged is indicated at 44 in FIG. 6 and at the point of operation illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a loop 45 is around the shaft of the needle 19. With continuing operation of the mechanism the point 20 of needle 19 approaches the next loop of the knitted fabric which is indicated by 46. Reference may now be had to FIGS. 7 wherein sub-figures a, b, c, d and e indicate successive positions of the needle 19 in one complete reciprocation. Sub-figure 7a shows the position of the needle 19 shortly after the instant illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The point of the needle 19 has now moved along its path to a position in which the point 20 is about to enter the loop 46 of the fabric. The movement of the needle has also resulted in the loop 45 encircling its shaft and sliding along towards the latch 21 of the needle 19. The direction of movement of the needle 19 is indicated in all figures 7 by arrows 48.

Slightly further movement brings the needle 19 to the position illustrated in sub-figure 7b where the point 20 of the needle 19 has entered the loop 46 and further sliding of the loop 45 along the shaft of the needle 19 occasioned by the movement of the needle 19 has flipped the latch 21 over.

Still further movement of the needle 19 in the direction away from the knitting machine bed results in the closed book of the needle 19 pulling the loop 46 of the fabric completely off its needle 33, while the loop 45 of the fabric slips over the closed hook of the'needle 19, thus being chain-connected to continue the-selvage as shown in 70. Near the position illustrated in subfigure 7c the needle l9 reaches the end of its stroke away from the knitting machine bed and begins the return stroke towards the knitting machine bed. v Movement of the needle 19 a little way along the return stroke is indicatedin sub-figure 7d. This subfigure illustrates how the loop 46 in the closed hook of the needle 19 travels round the curve of the hook away from the point 20 during this portion'of themovement of the needle 19. 7

Still further movement of the needle 19 towards the knitting machine bed resultsin the loop 46 sliding back along the shaft of the needle 19 and so flipping over the latch 21 as shown.

Still further movement brings the needle 19 to a position corresponding to that illustrated in FIG. 5, but of course in the space between the next pair of needles 33 of the knittingmachine. Thereafter the whole cycle of reciprocation is repeated, progressing along the knitting machine bed, andso'completing the selvaging of the knitted fabric.

Clearly it is critical that the path of movement of the point 20 of the needle 19 be sufficiently accurately determined to ensure that at the stage of the cycle illustrated in FIG. 7a, the point 20 of the needle 19 does enter the loop 46 and does not miss it.

At the stage of the cycle of reciprocation illustrated in FIG. 7d, it is critical that the loop 47 moves along the curve of the hook away from the point and not of course towards the point in which event it would fall off the hook and the function would fail. The way in which it is achieved that the loop 46 travels around the hook away from its point is that the imaginary plane in which the curve of the hook of the needle 19 is located lies at approximately 45 to the vertical. Thus the point 20 of the hook is a little above the axis of the shaft of the needle 19. This factor coupled with the fact that the knitted fabric is pulled downwards ensures the function that the loop 46 slidesonto the needle shaft and not off it. 45 is not of course in any sense a critical angle and assuming a downward pull on the knitted fabric, any angle not too close to horizontal as to be substantially horizontal would suffice. On the other hand, however,

the hook cannot be too near the vertical since it might then not hook into the loop 46 at the stage illustrated in FIG. 7a. Hence something near 45 represents the good compromise. These angles are based on the assumption of a downward pull on a knitted fabric but it .is possible that with a pull exerted on the knitted fabric in another direction, other satisfactory angles of the hookof the needle 19 could be achieved.

Finally as shown in FIG. 7e, the fact that the needle 19 is inclined at an angle looked at in plan view, relative to needles 33, provides that the latch 21 does not interfere with the loop 46 during that portion of movement of the needle 19 away from the knitting machine bed, from the position illustrated in FIG. 5 towards the dle 67 protrudes above the cover 65 on a crank 68 secured by screw 69. A needle carrier 70 protrudes and carries a needle 71 with a set screw 721 for securing the needle and permitting interchanging. A guide (for the knitted fabric) 73 is mounted on a carrier 74 which is fixed to and protrudes from the carriage. The carriage further comprises two

sliders

75 and 76 which are attached to the base 66 and which slide on slide surfaces provided on a needle bedof a knitting machine for which this selvaging machine is adapted. The selvaging machine further comprises a mechanism which is adapted in the first place to provide reciprocation of the needle carrier 70 and in the second place to move the carriage along a needle bed of a knitting machine by means of the tooth element 77. The mechanism for providing reciprocation of the needle carrier 70 com prises a crank 78 connected by shaft 79 to the crank 68 of the handle 67. The crank 78 carries a pin 80 which slides inside a cross-head 81 which is a channel-shaped element fixed to the shaft 70a of the needle carrier 70. The shaft 70a of the needle carrier 70 is slidably mounted by means of two

brackets

71 and 72 which are fixed to-the lid 65. By these means rotation of the handle 67 causes reciprocation of the needle carrier 70. Movement of the tooth element 77 is achieved by means of a pin 82 which, apart from serving to secure the cross-head 81 onto the shaft 70a, also projects through a slot 83 which is provided in the base plate 66 for it. The tooth element 77 comprises a terminal projection of a tab element 84 which is mounted on the base plate 66 by means of a stud 85 which passes through a slotted hole 86 in the tab 84. A tension coil spring 87 is connected between a bracket 88 which is fixed to the base plate 66 and a projection 89 of the tab 84. This pulls the tab 84 so that its edge 90 bearsagainst the pin 82 and so that the tab 84 slides in the direction of the arrow 91 to the extreme position of its slotted hole 86. When the pin' 82 reciprocates to the extreme position shown in FIG. 9a it draws the tab 84 in the direction of the arrow 92 practically to the opposite extreme end of the slotted hole 86 as shown and also pulls the tab 84 to pivot in the direction in which it is tending to be pulled by the spring 87. This arrangement provides that when the carriage is on a needle bed of a knitting machine and the tooth element 77 is located between adjacent needles in the position shown in FIG. 9, when the pin 82 moves to the position shown in FIG. 9a the tooth element 77 is first pulled in the direction of arrow 92 out of engagement with the needles then the spring 87 pulls it across in the direction of arrow 93 so that it passes to the next adjacent space between needles and then when the pin 82 reciprocates back towards the position shown in FIG. 9 it works against the edge 90 so that the tooth element 77 pushes against a needle and advances the carriage one needle pitch. This procedure continues as one winds the handle 67 so that for each complete revolution of the handle 67 the carriage is advanced one needle pitch along the needle bed of the knitting machine. The inter-action of the needle 71 with a knitted fabric whose loops are on the needles of the needle bed of the knitting machine is the same as has already been described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

As shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 this selvaging machine comprises a cover 100 which is fixed to a base plate 101. Onto the base plate 101 two

sliders

102 and 103 are fixed on the base plate 101 and are adapted so that they can slide along the length of the needle bed of a knitting machine to which this selvaging machine can be applied. The base plate 101 in this example also carries a guide surface 104 which is adapted to pull all the needles into the desired position as the selvaging machine moves along a knitting machine bed. Such a guide can be provided ,in all the embodiments of this invention. A needle carrier 105 comprises a shaft 105a which passes through two

brackets

106 and 107 which mount the shaft in a way permitting it to reciprocate. Fixed onto the shaft is a pin 108 which passes through a slot provided for it in the cover 100 and carries a knob 109 secured by set screw 110. A counterpoised knob 111 is fixed to the cover plate 100. The shaft 105a also carries a cross-head 112 whose sole purpose is to prevent the shaft 1050 from rotating at all by virtue of the cross-head 112 bearing against the base plate 101. A compression coil spring 113 is located around the shaft 105a, acts against the pin 108 and reacts against the bracket 106 so that-the spring 113 tends to push the shaft 105a in the direction ofthe arrow 114. A pin 115 is fixed to the shaft 105a and it acts against a side edge 116 of a tab 117 which is mounted by means of a stud 118 which passes through a slotted hole in the tab 117. The tab 117 carries a tooth element 119 and a tension coil spring 120 connects between the end of the tab 117 and a bracket 120. The tooth element 119 passes through a hole 121 in the base plate 101. The base plate 101 has turned up tabs 122 by means of which the cover plate 100 is attached to the base plate. A carrier shaft 123 is fixed to the bracket 106 and carries the fabric guiding means 124. The needle carrier 105 carries a needle 125 with a fixing screw 126 to permit interchanging of the needle. In order to operate this selvaging machine one hand is placed with the ball of the hand on the knob 111 and the fingers on the knob 109 and while alternating squeezing and releasing the hand the shaft 1050 is reciprocated and with it the needle 125 is reciprocated. During the reciprocation the pin 115 acts against the surface 116 of the tab 117. When the shaft 105a moves in the direction of the arrow 127 from the position shown in FIG. 14 the coil spring 120 is permitted to draw the tab 117 in the same direction which causes the tooth element 119 to enter a space between two adjacent needles in a needle bed of the knitting machine on which this selvaging machine is mounted. Further movement in a direction of the arrow 127 causes the pin to act against the edge 116 of the tab 117 so as to move the tooth element in the direction of the arrow 128 which drives the carriage along the needle bed by a distance equal to the pitch of the needles on the needle bed. When the limit of reciprocation is reached and one releases the hand the spring 113 pushes the shaft 105 back to the position shown in FIG. 14 which again withdraws the tooth element 119 from between the space between the two needles mentioned above. Repeated squeezing and releasing the knobs repeats the cycle so that one reciprocation of the needle is effected for each advance of the carriage by one needle pitch along the needle bed of the knitting machine. This causes the selvaging to be carried out in the manner described above with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

In FIGS. 15 to 18 a selvaging machine is shown which can work in both directions as indicated by

arrows

130 and 131. The machine comprises a cover plate 132 which is fixed to a base plate 133. On the base plate 133 two slide surfaces i34 and 135 are provided for sliding along the needle bed of a knitting machine to which this selvaging machine is to be applied. A handle 136 is mounted on a crank 137 which is fixed by means of a thumb screw 138 to a shaft 139 which is journaled in a hole in the base plate 133. The shaft 139 also passes through a slotted hole 140 which is provided in a crosshead 141. The shaft 139 has fixed to it an eccentrically mounted circular disc 142 and a second eccentrically mounted circular disc 143. The cross-head 141 is mounted on the base plate 133 between two

slide edges

144 and 145. A needle carrier 146 is fixed to the crosshead 141 and carries two

needles

147 and 148 with a screw 149 for interchanging and adjustment. A carrier 150 is fixed to the cover plate 132 and carries

material guiding strips

151 and 152. The eccentrically mounted cicular disc 143 works inside square hole 153 provided in a tab 154 which is mounted by means of a stud 155 which passes through a slotted hole 156 of the tab 154. The stud 155- is fixed in the base plate 133. The tab 154 carries a tooth element 157. A bar 158 is mounted on the base plate 133 and has a notch 159. When the handle 136 is rotated the eccentrically mounted circular disc 142 works inside the cross-head 141 and causes it to reciprocate thereby reciprocating the needle holder 146 and thus the

needles

147 and 148. Simultaneously the eccentrically mounted disc 143 works inside the square hole 153 of the tab 154. This causes the tooth element 157 to oscillate on an elliptical path which is substantially centered on the notch 159. The result is that the tooth element 157 enters and leaves the spaces between adjacent needles in a needle bed of a knitting machine on which the carriage is mounted and pushes the carriage along the needle bed, one needle pitch at a time. The notch 159 pro- This makes the mechanism more compact and cheaper to manufacture. A disadvantage is that the tooth element 77 does not give quite as positive and reliable an action as the gear 115 which may result in missing a stitch.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 is substantially similar to that shown in FIGS. 8 to 1 1 except that here the crank has been omitted together with its corresponding cross-head with again a resulting saving and cost of manufacture. The three embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 14 have a common disadvantage that they can operate only in one direction. This is of importance for example when finishing polo-necks or when reducing V-necks, where the above described models could only do one side. Also lefthanded people were handicapped. These disadvantages are of course overcome in the embodimentof FIGS. 15 to 18 where the selvaging machine can move in both directions. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 18 could if warranted be given improved reliability and positiveness of action by substituting the tooth element 157 with the gear 15 of the embodiment-of FIGS. 1 to 4 and the associated elements.

An important point for all embodiments of this invention which employ a crank handle is that the crank must be so fitted that at the instant of advance of the carriage the movement of the crank is in the same direction, otherwise a force applied to the crank by a person cranking it can tend to counteract the advance of the carriage and encourage jamming or unreliable operation. r 1 a e The notch 159 shown in FIG. 16 which provides what can be described as a click engagement with'the needles is a feature which can be incorporated in all the embodiments of this invention for more positive engagement with the needle bed.

In application of the mechanism in accordance with this invention to one well known type of knitting machine, for example, it is necessary that the needles of the knitting machine carrying the fabric to be selvaged should be fully extended to project beyond the comb of the knitting machine so that the prongs of the comb between each needle do not interfere with the operation of the reciprocating needle carried on the carriage of the mechanism provided by this invention.

The embodiments of the mechanism in accordance with this invention have all been shown with a guide mounted on the carriage adapted to guide the knitted fabric which depends from the needles of a knitting machine during transportation of the carriage along the bed of the knitting machine. The guiding function which must be exercised by the guide is basically a function of holding the .knitted fabric which depends from the needles of the machine in one suitable position during reciprocation of the needle carried on the carriage. During each action of removing the loops of the fabric and chain-connecting them, the guide ensures against the fabric being moved back abd' forth, which would otherwise nullify the operation of the reciprocating needle. Whether the guide is essential for effective functioning of this invention, would have to be determined by experiment in each particular embodiment and application of the invention and while in general it would be preferable to use the guide in all applications and embodiments of the invention, it is possible that the invention could be employed effectively in some circumstances without the guide. For example,

whether or not weights are applied to the knitted fabric so asto make it hang down stiffly may have a considerable influence on this factor. In practice, one hand of the user may also be employed to hold the knitted fabric in a direction suitable to ensure effective operation of the selvaging action of the reciprocating needle.

In accordance with a preferred feature of this invention, the reciprocatable needle carried on the carriage is orientated in such a way that the curve of the hook of the end of the needle lies in a plane which is inclined between horizontal and vertical, preferably between 20 and conveniently in the vicinity of 45. This orientation may preferably be employed to ensure on the one hand that the point of the hook enters a depending loop of a knitted fabric which is looped around a needle of the knitting machine in one stroke of reciprocation while providing that on the other hand on the next stroke in the opposite direction of the reciprocating needle a loop which has been caught by the point of the hook passes round the hook and slides onto the shaft of the needle. This presupposes a downward pull on the loop exercised by the remainder of knitted fabric of which it is a part, the downward pull coming perhaps merely from the knitted fabric itself, perhaps from a weight applied to it or perhaps from a manual downward pull. 5

In accordance with a further preferred feature of this invention, the reciprocable needle carried on the carriage is orientated so that the longitudinal axis of the shaft of the needle is inclined at a substantial angle to the path of reciprocating of the point of the needle during use. For example, by the term substantial angle, an angle lying between 5 and 10 is implied. The purpose of this inclination of the reciprocable needle is to ensure that the latch does not catch on theloop which the point of the hook is intended to catch during that stroke of reciprocation which causes the hook to engage with a loop of the knitted fabric. Thus the inclination is in a sense which results in the latch being moved away from that position in which it may, catch with and interfere with a loop of the knitted fabric. Otherwise instead of lying at an angle of 5 10 the needle could be at 0 but in staggered relationship to the needles of the main machine. The description of selvaging with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 has described the chainconnecting of the loops which are on the needle shafts. Another method of selvaging is to use the free end of the thread to make the selvage. In this method that latch needle of the invention will enter a loop which is on a knitting machine needle on the inward moving stroke and on the outward stroke the hook of the needle of the carriage will catch the knitting yarn and pull a loop of it through the firstmentioned loop. This loop of the knitting yarn will then be carried by the needle of the carriage to the next loop held by the next knitting machine needle. It first passes through this next loop and catches again the yarn at the back, pulls it through this next loop on the knitting machine and theloop of the knitting yarn which was formed, the resulting loop is then carried forward to the following loop on the knitting machine and so on, repetitively.

This method can be achieved on the selvaging machine shown in FIGS. 15 to 18 by adding guides and 166, shown in broken lines, for the knitting yarn and varying the needle positions slightly.

What I claim is:

1. A selvaging machine for use on a knitting machine which knitting machine comprises a needle bed which has two slide surfaces extending along the length of the needle bed and a plurality of needles located transversely across the bed all mutually parallel and equally spaced, the selvaging machine being for use in applying a selvage to a knitted fabric in which the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric are on the needle shafts of the needles,

which selvaging machine comprises a carriage adapted to be slidably movable along the needle bed by means of slide members which can slide on the slide surfaces of the needle bed,

a toothed element mounted in the carriage and adapted to engage each needle in the needle bed successively by interposing into a space between two adjacent needles and bearing against one needle so as to advance the carriage the distance between adjacent needle centres and the toothed element to'then move out of the space and into the next space between the next two adjacent needles, and so on,

and a needle carrier mounted in the carriage adapted to carry a needle which has a latched hook, with the hook located near to the hooks of the needles of the needle bed and the shaft of the needle in the needle carrier directed away from the needle bed, the needle carrier being adapted to reciprocate one cycle comprising once towards the needle bed and once away from the needle bed while the carriage moves lengthwise along the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between centres of the needles in the needle bed and handle means adapted to be manually actuated and connected to the toothed element and to the needle carrier by mechanisms adapted to actuate the toothed element and the needle carrier in the manner described so that one cycle of reciprocation of the needle carried on the carriage is completed per needle spacing on the bed during transportation of the carriage along the bed, the hook of the needle carried on the carriage being positioned and oriented so that such reciprocation successively removes the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric and chain-connects them to form a selvage.

2. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the toothed element comprises a gear wheel having a plurality of teeth, the pitch of the gear teeth being equal to the distance between centres of the needles of the needle bed and each tooth dimensioned to be able to enter a space between two adjacent needles.

3. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the gear wheel is advanced by means of the action of a pawl which oscillates by virtue of an eccentric mechanism which is connected with a handle crank which constitutes the handle means, and the oscillation of the needle is contrived by means ofa crank pin connected with the handle and crank and the crank pin running in or cross-head fixed to a needle holder which is mounted for linear reciprocation, the needle being mounted in the needle holder.

4. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 3, in which the pawl is contrived to be a double acting pawl, with a suitably adjustable spring loading, adapted so that the pawl can act on the gear wheel to rotate it either in one direction or another according to the setting of the double acting pawl.

5. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a needle carrier for the needle, which carrier is arranged for linear reciprocating movement, having a pin fixed to the needle carrier, a tab pivotally mounted by means of a stud passing through a slotted hole in the tab, the tab comprising a profiled edge against which the pin is adapted to work when the pin reciprocates linearly due to such movement of the needle carrier, the tab being spring loaded to tend to keep the profiled edge bearing against the pin, the tab carrying a tooth element dimensioned to be able to enter a space between two adjacent needles of the knitting machine needle bed, and the profiled edge being adapted to cause the tooth element to enter a space between two needles on the needle bed, to bear against one needle so as to slide the carriage along the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between adjacent needle centres and the tooth element to then withdraw from the space and enter the next space, and so on, repetitively, during reciprocation of the needle holder.

6. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 5, in which the handle means comprises simply two knobs, one mounted on the needlecarrier and one mounted on the carriage, juxtaposed so that a person may put the ball of the hand against one knob and the fingers against the other and by alternately squeezing and releasing cause reciprocation of the needle carrier.

7. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the needle carrier is mounted for linear reciprocation and carries a cross-head in the form of a channel section, and an eccentrically mounted disc works in the cross-head, a handle and crank being connected to a shaft on which the disc is eccentrically mounted, the shaft carrying further means comprising a tooth element, adapted to oscillate the tooth element, the tooth element being dimensioned to be able to enter a space between two adjacent needles on the needle bed of the knitting machine, the oscillation adapted to cause the tooth element to entera space between adjacent needles, to bear against one needle and cause the carriage to slide along the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between adjacent needle centres and to then move out of the space between the aforementioned adjacent needles and move into the next space between the next two adjacent needles, and so on, repetitively.

Claims

1. A selvaging machine for use on a knitting machine which knitting machine comprises a needle bed which has two slide surfaces extending along the length of the needle bed and a plurality of needles located transversely across the bed all mutually parallel and equally spaced, the selvaging machine being for use in applying a selvage to a knitted fabric in which the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric are on the needle shafts of the needles, which selvaging machine comprises a carriage adapted to be slidably movable along the needle bed by means of slide members which can slide on the slide surfaces of the needle bed, a toothed element Mounted in the carriage and adapted to engage each needle in the needle bed successively by interposing into a space between two adjacent needles and bearing against one needle so as to advance the carriage the distance between adjacent needle centres and the toothed element to then move out of the space and into the next space between the next two adjacent needles, and so on, and a needle carrier mounted in the carriage adapted to carry a needle which has a latched hook, with the hook located near to the hooks of the needles of the needle bed and the shaft of the needle in the needle carrier directed away from the needle bed, the needle carrier being adapted to reciprocate one cycle comprising once towards the needle bed and once away from the needle bed while the carriage moves lengthwise along the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between centres of the needles in the needle bed and handle means adapted to be manually actuated and connected to the toothed element and to the needle carrier by mechanisms adapted to actuate the toothed element and the needle carrier in the manner described so that one cycle of reciprocation of the needle carried on the carriage is completed per needle spacing on the bed during transportation of the carriage along the bed, the hook of the needle carried on the carriage being positioned and oriented so that such reciprocation successively removes the loops of the last knitted row of the fabric and chain-connects them to form a selvage.

3. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the gear wheel is advanced by means of the action of a pawl which oscillates by virtue of an eccentric mechanism which is connected with a handle crank which constitutes the handle means, and the oscillation of the needle is contrived by means of a crank pin connected with the handle and crank and the crank pin running in or cross-head fixed to a needle holder which is mounted for linear reciprocation, the needle being mounted in the needle holder.

6. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 5, in which the handle means comprises simply two knobs, one mounted on the needle carrier and one mounted on the carriage, juxtaposed so that a person may put the ball of the hand against one knob and the fingers against the other and by alternately squeezing and releasing cause reciproCation of the needle carrier.

7. A selvaging machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the needle carrier is mounted for linear reciprocation and carries a cross-head in the form of a channel section, and an eccentrically mounted disc works in the cross-head, a handle and crank being connected to a shaft on which the disc is eccentrically mounted, the shaft carrying further means comprising a tooth element, adapted to oscillate the tooth element, the tooth element being dimensioned to be able to enter a space between two adjacent needles on the needle bed of the knitting machine, the oscillation adapted to cause the tooth element to enter a space between adjacent needles, to bear against one needle and cause the carriage to slide along the needle bed a distance equal to the distance between adjacent needle centres and to then move out of the space between the aforementioned adjacent needles and move into the next space between the next two adjacent needles, and so on, repetitively.