US962292A

US962292A - Circular-knitting machine.

Info

Publication number: US962292A
Application number: US30570706A
Authority: US
Inventors: Arthur N Ames
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1906-03-12
Filing date: 1906-03-12
Publication date: 1910-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 1927-06-21

Description

A. N. AMES.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MABHIZ, 1906.

Patented June 21, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHBBT l.

A. N. AMES.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

'APPLIGATION FILED MAR.1Z,1906.

962,292. Patented June 21,1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. N. AMES.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR.12, 1906.

962,292. Patented June21, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. N. AMES.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.12,1906.

962,292. Patented June 21, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' was ARTHUR N. AMES, OF FRANKLIN FALLS, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 12, 1906. Serial No. 305,707.

Patented June-21, 1910.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR N. AMEs, a citizen of the United States, residing in Franklin Falls, in the county of Merrimack and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a circular knitting machine, and is embodied in a machine of that type known as the full automatic, in which the machine, once started, will knit a stocking complete; the transfer from the circular knitting for the leg and foot to the reciprocating knitting for the heel and toe, and vice versa, being accomplished by automatic pattern mechanism; and the machine being stopped automatically when the stocking has been completed.

The invention is mainly embodied in a novel'pattern mechanism to cooperate with a thread shifting device for striping around the leg and foot, the object being to utilize a pattern chain comparatively short in length, the said chain being controlled by a main pattern mechanism which stops the movement of the chain ekcept when it is in active operation for controlling narrow stripes, so that it is unnecessary to use a very long chain in case there are groups of narrow stripes some distance apart in the pattern for a long stocking.

Figure l is a front elevation of a suflicient portion of a knitting machine to include the features which embody the invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view partly in section; Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, looking toward the right hand side of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail on a larger scale showing the pattern chain and its cooperating parts;- Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line :0 of Fig.

4; and Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line w of Fig. 4..

The driving mechanism of the machine is substantially like that employed in machines of this type as heretofore constructed, as

- shown, for example, in Letters Patent No.

745,449, to Mayo, Dec. 1, 1903, the main shaft A, Fig. 1, having sleeved thereon a driving pulley A and a loose pulley A the driving pulley having connected therewith a driving gear A which meshes with a large gear A which is driven continually when oscillating movement is controlled in the usual wa by the belt is on the pulley A The said large gear A is connected by means of a pit-man A with a gear segment A upon a rock-' shaft A, which, through the action of said pitman A, is oscillated continuously durin the operation of the machine. The said gear segment is in mesh with a gear A sleeved on the shaft A, and free to oscillate thereon, the said gear A therefore, being oscillated'so long as the machine is in operation.

Inte'rposed between the driving gear A and the oscillated gear A is a clutch member B, which is shown as a sleeve splined on the shaft A so as to be connected therewith,'so far as relates to rotating or oscillatiiig motion, the said clutch member B having projections B and B which are adapted to engage respectively with shoulders in the gears A? and A. When, therefore, the clutch member B is in engagement with the gear A, as shown, the shaft A will be rotated, while if the clutch member B is shifted to the other position so that the said clutch member is connected with the gear A the shaft will be oscillated. The said shaft A is further provided with a gear A, which is in mesh with a gear C on a stub shaft C which is also provided-with a bevel gear ortion C intermeshing with a bevel gear 4 on a port-ion of the cam cylinder C so that the said cam cylinder is rotated or oscillated in accordance with the operation of the shaft A, the rotary movement of the cylinder performing the circular knitting operation, while the oscillating movement thereof performs the reciprocating knitting operation by which the heel and toe of the stocking are formed, sub- ,stantially as in the patent to Mayo above cited.

The starting and stopping of the machine, and the shifting from the circular to the are controlled by a pattern-wheel D, the specific construction and operation of which need not be herein described, since they do not enter into the novel features of the resent invention. The said pattern wheel the fast and loose gears D and D igs. 2 and 3) which have mutilated portions and which are rotated through the agency of a small gear D operated from the oscillated shaft A by a pawl. D and ratchet D. The conof the cam cylinder struction is substantially like that shown in Letters Patent No. 474,671, W. H. and G. D.

struction and operation of which, as herein shown, are already known to the art. Briefly, these thread guides may be described as consisting of guide members E, (Figs. 2 and 3) which are carried by the rotating cam c hnder C each guide member being pivota 1% supported at E and having a proection 3 which is arranged to be acted on y an upright projection from a slide E to tip the guide into or out'of the path of the needles. The slides E areon different levels, as best shown in Fig. 1, and project forward into the path of a cam or cams E In the construction shown there are two. cams E and these cams are vertically movable in accordance with the operation of the special pattern mechanism under consideration so as to engage one or the other of the slides E, as controlled by the pattern, so as to shift the thread guides with relation to the needles. The two slides E are provided with a cross-connection. E, herein shown (Fig. 2) as an arm pivoted between them and connected at opposite sides with the slides res ectively, so that the movement of either sli e produces a corresponding movement of the other in the opposite direction. The purpose of using two cams is merely to lessen the distance necessary to move the cam member. The cams E are shown as supported by means of guide pins E" (Figs. 1 and 3) one of the sa1d pins being in engagement with a lever a (Fig. '1) pivoted on a portion of the frame and connected by means of a link a with a controlling lever a pivoted at a, and directly operated by the pattern chain a which is provided with a series of projections a properly spaced in accordance with the pattern des1red. Each time, therefore, assuming that the chain a is traveling, one of the projec-- tions at comes under the end of the lever a as shown in Fig; 4, the link a will be pulled downward and will act through the lever a to raise the cam ortion and shift the thread guides. After t e projection a has passed stocking in one color between the stripes:

this being accomplished by causing the chain a to stop its travel during the knltting of a considerable portion of a stocking in one color between stri ping of the chain ing contrlolle by a attern controlling device on some trav ing member of the machine, such as the mam pattern shaft D".

As herein shown, the chain a is mounted on a sprocket wheel a and preferably runs over an idle sprocket a. (Fig. 1) the sprocket wheel a having a ratchet a WhlCh IS 0 erated by a pawl a arranged to be contmur ously reciprocated during the operation of the machine. The pawl a is ivoted on an arm a (dotted lines, Fig. 4) aving a pivs, the startin and stopotal su port and a forked projection a engaged y a in 0. upon an elbow lever a",

one end of w ich is provided with a cam roll or engaged by a cam surface formed on the travel of the chain, however, the pawl a is under the influence of a secondary member a which is shown as a lever pivotally supported at a and normally he (1 in the path of projections a'-' (Figs. 3, 5 and 6) upon the pattern chain a, by means of a spring a. This controlling member a is provided with a supporting surface a which engages a projection a from the pawl a and it has an inclined surface a in the path of the projections a, so that when in the travel of the pattern chain a one of the said projections comes in contact with the inclined surface a on the said supporting member a, it will lift the said supporting member and carry the awl a out of engagement with the rate et teeth. The momentum of the chain, however, carries the projection a past the su porting membeir a before the travel of t echain actuall' ceases, and it is, therefore, necessary to a ford a secondary support for the stop. This secondary support, moreover, maybe utilized to control the starting of the chain, as will of the chain. Assuming, therefore, that the pattern calls for twoor more narrow stripes close together, the projections (1 upon the pattern chain are arranged to stop the movebe described. The said secondary su port is shown as consisting of a spring atch b,

on the disk without producing any feed ment of the chain after the proper number of pattern projections a have passed under the lever a and the solid knitting without stripes will then take place as long as is necessary without further movement of the chain.

To set the chain 0, in operation again the latch 11 isnnder the control of engaging projections carried by some part of the machine which travels during the entire knitting operation, the said projections being herein shown as blocks b (Fi s. 2 and 3) which are secured in the desire positions to one or both of the fast and loose gears D and D so as to act at the intervals desired in starting up the pattern chain. Theseblocks are preferably secured in holes D in the gears, so that they may be readily adjusted as to position,-and are mounted on the adjacent faces of the gears.

The blocks Z1 act'upon an arm b which is mounted on the rock shaft 6, and which projects between the gears D and D as best' shown in Fig. 2, so as to cooperate with the blocks 12 on either gear which is in operation. The rock shaft 6 is connected with an arm b, which in turn is connected by means of a link 6 with an arm or elbow 6 (Figs. 3 and 5) forming a art of the latch b, so that each time one of the projections b comes in contact with the arm the latch b will be moved out of engagement with the pawl supporting member a, permitting the same to drop and thus letting the pawl a come into engagement with the ratchet teeth a to start the feed movementof the chain. 7

Assuming, for example, that in a long stocking the pattern calls for three narrow stripes followed by a considerable length of solid color, the pattern can be so arranged that one of the projections a will reach the awl supporting member a after three 0 the pro ections a. on the pattern chain 0. have acted, thus stopping the pattern chain. The plain knitting will then continue to such a position as may be determined by the posiparatively short pattern chain, which would otherwise be impossible unless all the stripes are equi-distant from each other, and close together, since if the fine stripes were widely separated a continuously traveling chain would have to have the pattern -controlling projections separated a distance equivalent to that between the sets of narrow st-rlpes.

Claims.

1. In a knitting machine, a plurality of thread-guides; a pattern chain for shifting said thread-guides; a ratchet to produce a movement of said pattern-chain; a pawl cooperating with said ratchet; a movable sup port for said pawl to hold it out of the path of said ratchet; devices connected with the pattern-chain to move said support; an automatic retaining device for said support; a main pattern controlling mechanism; and means connected with said mechanism for tripping said retaining device.

2. In a knitting machine, a pluralitypf thread-guides; a pattern chain for shifting said thread-guides; a ratchetto produce a movement of said pattern-chain; a pawl cooperating with said ratchet; a movable support for said pawl to hold it out of the path of said ratchet; devices connected with the pattern chain to move said support; a spring-latch to hold said support; a lever connected with said spring latch to release it from said support; a separate continuously traveling member; and a series of abutments carried by said member to operate at intervals. upon said lever.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. ARTHUR N. AMES.

Witnesses:

FRANK PRoo'roR, G. B. CLEMENT.