US461358A - Ciroulak knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. 8u G. D. MAYO.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

ATTORNEY (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

w. H. su G'. D. MAYO. GIRGULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 4615358. Patented Oct. 13,1891.

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8 l V t W ea. Mayo.

UNITED STATI-3sPATENT` OFFICE.

Y VILLIAM H. MAYO AND GEORGE D. MAYO, FRANKLIN, NEV HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNORS T() THE SLLOVAY MILLS, OF SAME PLACE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,358, dated October 13, 1891. Application filed June 1'7, 1890. Serial No. 355,741. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, /VILLIAM H. MAYO vand GEORGE D. MAYO, citizens of the United States, and residents of Franklin, county of 5 Merrimac, and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improve! i' ments in CircularKnittingMachines,of which the following is a specication.

Our invention, while relating to that class of knitting-machines which employs latchneedles and is made use of in the production of socks and stockings, has reference more particularly to that form of such machine in which the needles concerned in the formation of the heels and toes, in addition to the usual reciprocating movement impartedby O 3 the needles to effect the knitting operation is accomplished by a V-shaped advancing cam and suitable knitting or stitch cams arranged A on opposite sides thereof, and in which the 3 5 elevators and depressors-called elevating and depressing cams, respectively, thereinare pivoted to the outside of the cam-cylinder, and,working through slots formed in the walls thereof, are brought into operation at the required times by suitable cam-levers under the control of an appropriate pattern mechanism, the needles made use of in the formation of the heels and toes being provided with heels or butts which are somewhat shorter than those of the remaining needles, whereby to permit of these latter needles, in a body, being all raised out of operation and brought back into the same as the knitting of a at or tubular fabric, respectively, may be desired.

The construction and arrangement of parts this character, in which the reciprocation ofv ing heels or butts of dilerent lengths. 9-

thus described, while efficient in operation and desirable in some classes of work, are found inconvenient in practice when a worktransferring mechanism is to be employed in connection therewith, principally because of the fact that as the V-shaped advancing cam projects some distance above the ledge upon which the needles normally rest, with no provision made for lowering the same, the bringing of all the needles to the same height at an elevation midway that to which they are depressed when drawing the new loop through the old and that occupied by them when carried out of action in the narrowing operation is impossible.

Our present invention has for its objects, first, to obviate this inconvenience and to provide means whereby the needles may all be brought to the same height, which shall be substantially that occupiedy by them when in ltheir normal position; second, to provide cam mechanism for reciprocating the needles, which shall be wholly located belowth'e elevators and depressors, and, third, to simplify the construction of parts, and thereby render the machine more efficient in operation.

To these ends our invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, the distinguishing characteristics of which will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a needle-cylinder and a cam-cylinder constructed in accordance with our invention, the latch-opener being broken away for convenience of illustration; Fig. 2, a plan of the cam-cylinder, taken in the plane x ce of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a rear elevation of the'parts shown in Fig. l; Fig. 4, an elevation of the interior of the cam-cylinder developed on a plane, and Fig. 5 a sectional detail showing the needle elevating and depressing switch and the needles hav- In all the figures like letters are employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates the needle cylinder or bed, having the usual needle-grooves a for reception of the needles o cwhich are arranged therein, and B indicates the cam-cylinder, surrounding -the same and provided on its interior IOO with a circumferential ledge 19, upon which the needles rest when in their normal position, and also with a bevel-gear 19 at its lower end, by means of which it may be operated. Located in the interior of the latter cylinder, above the ledge 19, are guide-plates 19-2 193, above and below which the heels of the needles are carried as they are respectively retired from and brought back into operation, while to the outside of said cylinder and working through slots 194, formed in the walls thereof, are pivoted-the elevators-and depressors 195 196, by means of which the needles concerned in the narrowing and Widening operations are respectively carried out of or brought back into action as one or theother of these operations is being effected. In their normal position these elevators and depressors rest with their respective free or hooked en ds 197 198 in line with the heels of the needles in connection with which they are to co-operate, and when carried out of operation by the elevation or depression of such needles they are engaged by latches C C, also pivoted to the outside of the cam-cylinder, and by them preventedfrorn re.- turning therein'to until again released by removing the latches from engagement therewith. At all times when the narrowing and widening operations are not being effected the elevators and depressors are held out of action, or in the. position shown in Fig. 4, by the latches aforesaid; but when one or the other of these operationsis to be accomplished either the elevators or the depressors, orboth, as the case may be, will be released from the latches and allowed to return into action ready for engagement with their' appropriate needles as the cam cylinder is reciprocated in the operation of the machine.

In all cases when the narrowing ofthe fabric is to be effected the elevators alone will be released from their latches and returned into operation. On the other hand,when thewidening of the fabric is to be accomplishefd the depressors will be released from their latches and similarly returned into action, the. elevators in some cases being retired from operation when the depressors are brought into action and in others retained in operation therewith. Vhen the elevators areretired fromoperation at the same time that the depressors are brought into action, the hooks 19S of the depressors will be made of the same length as the hooks 197 of the elevators, and each will at each reciprocation of the camcylinder engage the heel of but a single needle; but when both the elevators and depressors are retained in action the hooks 198 will be made of a length to engage theheels of two needles, while the hooks 197 will be made of a length to engage the heel of buta single needle, whereby during the widening operation the depressors will at each reciprocation of the cam-cylinder bring down into operation4 two needles, and the elevators at the next reciprocation thereof carry one of the needles thus brought down out of operation, and soV on throughout the entire operation of widenin 0. l t

zlnthe drawings l have shown the hooks 198 of a length to engage the heels of two needles and the hooks 197 of a length to engage the heel of but a single needle; butit will be understood that such hooks 198 maybe so proportionedas to engage the heel'of but a single needle without in any way changing their essential characteristics.

To provide for releasing the elevators and depressors at the proper times to effect the narrowing and wideningl operations, the latches C C are each equipped with a pin or studc, extending outward therefrom, with which suitably-arranged cam-surfaces under the control of Aan appropriate pattern mechanism co-operate.

The parts as thus far alluded to, with the needles, the cam-surfaces for acting upon the studs c, the pattern mechanism, and the de- Vices made use of for operating the cam-cylinder are or may be the same as the corresponding parts shown and described in the application aforesaid, to which reference may be had, and require no further elucidation herein.

Disposed in a suitable recess d, formed in the interior of the cam-cylinder, above the ledge 19, in proper relation to the guide-plates 192 193, is the switch D, by means of which the long-heeled needles, or those not concerned in the narrowing and widening operations, may in a body be retired from and, with such short-heeled needles as may have been likewise retired, returned into action Vat the will of the operator. In our preferred form of construction this switch consists of a suitable body having formed in its inner face a longitudinal groove d', which, cxtendin g throughout its entire length and tapering gradually from its outer to its inner end, has its under walls cut away to such an extent as to permit of their engagement only with the long-heeled needles, while its upper walls are extended inward toward theneedle-cylinder sufficienti y far to engage not only with the long-heeled needles, but with the short-heeled needles as well. As thus constructed, this body is mounted upon the inner end of a shaft or pivot C12, that is fitted to oscillate in a sleeve d3, secured to the outer sideA of the cam-cylinder, a milled or gnarled head C14, secured to the outer end of the pivot, affording a convenient means whereby it may be operated. When it is desired to retire the long-heeled needles from operation, as when the bulged portion of a sock or stocking is to be knit, the switch will be turned downward until the Outer end of the groove d is brought into line with' their heels as they rest upon the ledge 19, in which position its under walls will, as the cam-cylinder is rotated, engage such heels alone and deflect them upward above the guide-plates 192 193, thereby carrying them with the respective needles out of action. The long-heeled needles having been thus re- IIO l tubula'r portion of a sock or stocking is to be knit, by simply turning the switch into the position shown in the drawings, when` the outer end of its groove will be brought into line with their heels as they rest upon the upper side of theguide-plates aforesaid, and their deflection therefrom down upon the ledge b and into operation will be aecompli'shed by the upper walls thereof upon turning the cam-cylinder in the proper direction.

The means whereby the reciprocation ofthe needles to. effect the knitting operation is accomplished and provisionmade for bringing them all to thesame height at a point midway the limits of their movements is best corners of the recess H upward and outward at the proper inclination to said ledge, the result of which construction is to bring the cam-surfaces as a whole not only below the ledge, but below the elevators and depressors as well, and permit of the rotation of the cam- ;cylinder in either direction to effect the knitting operation.

As thus constructed, when the cam-cylinder is rotated the heels of the needles d a2, when deected downward into the top of the recess H, will be successively engaged by one or the other of the depressing cam-surfaces E, depending upon the direction in whichthe cam-cylinder is rotated, and caused to travel down' along the same until they pass its lower end, `when they will enter Vthe appropriate groove H and travel up the elevating camsurface E' to the point of starting, where.

A they will remain until again depressed `or retired from operation in the further movements of the machine, swinging gates m m, carried by pivots n 'n and kept normally closed by light coiled springs o 0, surrounding said pivots, preventing such heels from either dropping back or being carried downinto said grooves, while yielding to their action in an opposite direction and permitting of their free upward movement therein.

To provide for the deflection of the heels of the needles down into the upper end of the recess H, various means may be employed.v We prefer, however, to make use of a wedgeshaped del'leetor I, and to secure it either pivotally or lixedly to a stop L, which, in addi.

tion to carrying a lug or gate Z, is 'made vertically adjustable in a guideway Z' by a handle or th-umb-piece Z2, working through a slot Z3, formed in the walls of the cam-cylinder, as

shown.

When it is desired to bring all the needles to the same elevation, which shall be substantially that occupied by them when their heels rest upon the ledge b, and retain them in that position without reciprocation-as, for

instance, when a work-transferring mechanism is to be applied in connection therewiththe deflector and gate carried by its stock will be adjusted to the position shown by full lines in the drawings, in whichsituation the vdeflector Will be elevated wholly above and out of engagement with the heels of the needles and the upper end of the recess'H closed.

by the gate Z, which will be raisedinto the described the support for the needles, embracing the ledge b and the gates Z and my, will be practically continuous and unbroken throughout and the needles held .thereby from all downward movement. When, on the other hand, it-is desired to reciprocate the needles to effect the knitting operation, the deliector I and gate Z will be adjusted to the position shown by dotted lines in said drawings by simply moving down their supporting-stock L by its handle or thumb-piece Z2, by which operation the upper end of the recess H will be opened and the defiector brought down into engagement with the heels of the needles, deflecting them downward into enadjusted positions, we employ the lockingspring N, which, through the instrumentality of the-bent portion p, engages With the handle or thumb-piece Z2, and while permitting of a vertical movement being imparted thereto securely holds it. with the defiector and gate inv either of the positions to which they may be adjusted.

Located on the outside of the cam-cylinder are the several devices in which the elevators b5 and depressors b, with their co-operating latches O,are respectively pivoted and the yarn-guide and latch-opener, with the locking-spring N for the deflector I and its accompanying gate Z, properly supported. These several devices, instead of being made separate, as heretofore, are combined in groups and respectively make up the stands O O, which are integral throughout and secured to the outside of said cylinder by screws s s or otherwise. The stand O (see Fig. 3) is provided with suitable ears or lianges 2i, to which the elevators b5 and their locking devices C are pivoted, and also with an upwardly-extending arm u for Supporting the lockingspring N, the yarn-guide N', and assisting in the support of the latch-opener N2, which latter, in the construction shown in the drawi-ngs, is made in the form of a ring, while the stand O (see Fig. l) is similarly constructed and is likewise equipped with eers or flanges t', in which the depressors h6 and their co-operatingA latches C are pvoted, and with an upwardly-projecting arm u for assist-ing in the support of the latch-opener, which in practice may be hinged to the upper end thereof, as shown at'N3. l

By this construction, as willbe seen, sim plification of parts is accomplished and a greater permanence of adjustment obtained than has been possible heretofore. The parts composing each stand, being united integrally-prevent any and all movement of the one-with respect to the other or others and thereby insure their constant maintenance in their adjusted positions. Moreover, -the stands, being thus each composed otbut a single piece, permit oftheirbeing made interchangeable, and the replacement of one by another on the machine, in case of breakage or otherwise, is not only greatly simplified, but brought within the capabilities of the ordinary operative.

With'the cams for reciprocating the needles arranged Wholly below the ledge h the needles during the regular knitting operation never rise above the position they occupy when resting thereon, and in this position the yarn will be delivered to them just before their descent at a point slightly in advance ofthe upper end of the recess H in whichever of the two directions the cam-cylinder may be rotated.

The construction of the machine and its mode of operation having been thus set forth, the results and advantages flowing therefrom are obvious and will be readily understood without further comment.

In the foregoing we have described the best means contemplated by us for carry'mg our invention into practice; but we wish it distinctly understood that we do not limit ourselves strictly thereto, since it is obvious that the same may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit thereofas, for instance, instead of employing the respective forms of yarn-guide and latch-opener shown and described herein, I may substitute in place of them any of the well-known forms of these devices and still be within the scope of my invention.

Again, we have described our invention as applied to the machine shown and described in the application before referred to; but it is obvious that the same may be applied in connection with any of the other-forms of circular-knitting machines in which latch-neeand in the drawings we have illustrated a special form of defiector for co-operating with the needles, whereby certain of them may be deflected upward from the circumferential ledge v to the upper side of the guide-plates, or, resting upon such guide-plates, may be deflected downward therefrom to the circumferential ledge, we make no claim herein, broadly, to a deflector or to the combination of such device with long and short heeled needles and a camcylinder provided with both a circumferential ledge and guide-plates secured to its interior irrespective of the particular form of the deflectOr, as such device and its combination with the parts mentioned,when broadly considered, are shown and described in our earlier application,A to which reference has heretofore been made.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. The combination, with a cam-cylinder ciprocation, substantiallyvas described.

2. The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a circumferential ledge in its interior and needle-operating cam-surfaces located below such ledge, of a detlector for the needles, a stock to which such defiector is secured, and means for imparting to such stock and through it to the defiector a vertical adjustment, whereby to bring such deflector into operation when it is desired to effect the reciprocation of the needles or to carryv it above and out of contact with them when their reciprocation is not required,sub stanti-ally as described.

3. The combinatiomwith the cam-cylinder provided with a circumferential ledge in its Yinterior and needle-operating cam-surfaces located below such ledge, of a deflector, a gate, a stock to which such dellector and gate are secured, and mechanism for imparting to such stock and through it to the deiiector and gate a Vertical adjustment, whereby to bring the deector into operation when it is desired to effect the reciprocation of the needles or to carry it above and out of contact with them and bring the gate into operation when it is desired to raise such needles all to IOO the same height andprevent their reciproca-Y' tion, substantially as described.

4.v The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a vertical guideway and a vertical slot, of a stock carrying a detlector and gate arranged in said guideway, a handle or lthumb piece extendingvoutward from the stock through such slot, and a locking-spring for engaging with the handle or thumb-piece, substantially as described.

5. A cam-cylinder provided with a circumferential ledge in its interior, needle-operating cam-surfaces located wholly below such ledge, and elevators and depressors located entirely above the same, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a circumferential ledge b in its interior, and recess H, grooves H', and gates 'm m, located below such ledge, of the elevators and depressors b5 bguideplates b2 b3, and dellector I, located entirely above said ledge, the stock to which such deflector is secured, and means for imparting tothe stock and through it to the deliector a vertical adj ustrnent, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a circumferential ledge in its interior and with guide-plates located above the same, of needles having heels or butts of different lengths, and a switch consisting of a body provided in its face with a tapering groove, the under walls of which arecut away to reduce their height, whereby the longer heeled needles resting upon the ledge may be deflected upward upon the guide-plates or, resting upon the guide-plates, both the longer and shorter heeled needles may be deliected downward upon the ledge, substantially as described.

S. The combination,witl1 the stand O, provided with the ears or flanges t and with an upwardly-extending arm u, 'of the elevators and their latches pivoted in such flanges, and the locking spring, yarn-guide, and latchopener supported uponl said arm, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the stand O, provided with the fianges t and with an upwardly-extending arm u', of the depressors and their latches pivoted in said iianges, and the latch-opener hinged to said arm, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this v13th day of June, 1890.

WM. H. MAYO.

GEORGE D. MAYO.`

lVltnesses:

NAPOLEON B. HALE, J AMES E. BARNARD.

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