USRE6424E - Improvement in knitting-machines - Google Patents

Description

D. BIQKFURD.` Knitting-Machine.

No. 6,424, Reissuedmaynnvs.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANA B1cKF0nD,oF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT` IN KNITTING-MACHINES.

S-pecitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 92,146, dated July 6, 1869 reissue No. 6,424, dated May 11, 1875; application filed April 12, 1875.

.To all whom 'it may conqern Be it known that I, DANA BIcKFoRD, of the city and State of N ew York, formerly of Boston, Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Knitting-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawings, \.which accompany and form part of this specieatiomisa description of my invention sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

My improvements relate chietly to rotary knitting-machines, and are designed to perfect and facilitate their operations, especially for knitting'in opposite directions upon reversing thelnovements; and they consist in the improvement of all parts of the machine. In my patent No. 80,121 I employed twosttch 0r draw-down cams and one throw-up cam, such construction allowing ofa fixed yarncarrier, but in my present invention I use but one stitch or draw-down/cam/nd two throwup cams, sc that the latch of the needle can .be freed in either direction.

I construct so as to have it act perfectly upon the needles in whichever direction the cylinder may be running. The throw-up cams are placedupon each` side of the stitch-cam, and are so arrangcdzas to drive up 'the needles and free the latcheseach way,'so that they can be drawn down to form thel next stitch. These throw-up cams I prefer to construct so that the forward one only shall act -upon the needles to free the latch, leaving them held firmly by the loop of thread upon them until the needle is driven up to free `the latch and theyarn is to be fed to the hook. yThis will prevent the flyin g up of the latch so as to drop stitches. 1 construct the draw-down cam substantially as hereinafter described. -In the knitting of flat web or the heel and toe of socks the yarn must be fed to the needles opposite or a little forward of the forward throw-up cam, and as lrst one and then the other is forward, as the machine is reversed. This will necessitate the V construction of the yarn-carrier so that it can be reversed or held in position while the cams are reversing, so as to bring first one and then 4the other into position. For this reason I have constructed this particular machine in the manner described, with the carrier attached to the sliding ring. I Yemploy change- Th is ,stitch-cam able stops for determining the distance to which kthe yarn-guide shall be shifted; and I also employ fixed stops on the cam-cylinder to check or limit the extent of its revolution' to accord with the movement of the yarn-carrier. f

In all machines heretofore 1nade,`so far as? I am aware, the needles have been putin or taken out 'of action througha small groove in the lcam-ring, which has been very inconvenient, for many reasons; and to obviate that ditticulty I now propose to have the camcyl inder made with spacious grooves or entirely cut awayabove 'the needle rest or groove. The part cnt away may be the thickness or nearly so of the calnfgroove or cams. This will leave the space unoccupied by the cams or switches entirely free from obstruction from the needlerest up to the ring clamp or clasp, hereinafter named, so that one or many ofthe needles can be put in or ont of the machine at a time. importance.. l

My invention further consists in rounding thev tops ot' the ribs or pillars which separate the needle-grooves, in order to prevent the cutting or breaking of the stitches of yarn, especial] y when l'knots or irregularities appear; and in a peculiar construction and application ot' automatic springswitches in the cam-grooves, to compel the needles, at the commencement of each return movement of the can'rcylinder in either direction, to rise to their full height, to insure the rising of the.

A represents the frame ot' the machine,

which, when desired, is constructed as shown, so as to be capable of being attached, by a clamp and thumb-screw, to a table topp);

the clamping may be dispensed with, and the This feature 4is found to `be of great.

e f v 6,421

frame bc secured in the center ot the table, or supplied with legs reaching to the floor.

Upon that portion projecting over theledge of the table are attached spindles, for the support ot'` any vdesired number of bobbins, and also a corresponding number ot' slit-eyed thread-guides, each of which is furnished p with an adjustable tensioi'i-device, B, and a self-acting spring take-up, for the slack-yarn, and which is marked C. Rising within the central part of frame A is the needle-ring D, lirmly secured thereto. Surrounding this ring is the cam-cylinder E, and lwhich is driven in a well-known manner by means of the crank F, toothed pinion G, and rack H, on the camcylinder. 'Alo this cylinder are tirmly secured projections or stops I, t'or a purpose hereinafter mentioned, and which also serve in this case to keep in proper position the ring K. This ring, which carries the yarn-delivering guide, is not `attached to the cam-cylinder, but is arranged to turnfreely with or without it, in order to make the changes from one..

tlIrow-up cam to the other.

It will be seen that where the carrier is attached to the ring K, it must be formed in a dii'erent shape from what it-has been when it was directly attached tothe top ofthe cylinder, as it must clear the working or adjust,- able parts of the machine, and for that-reason it is constructed with the ben-d, as shown, and stand outward sufi'iciently to avoid' coming in contact with any part-s which'would obstruct the shifting action; and. at a point above this it is turned or'h'ent inward, so as to bring its thread-delivering eye tothe proper positiou'in its relation to the needles.

M M represent movable stops or' pegs,

Which fit intoangyof theseircu-lar series'ot holes N on the frame, and-which holes correspond in-nunibcr with the number of needles, and they are equidistant from each other. O O are stops fixed diametrically opposite each other upon the ring K, and which serve to arrest the motion ot' the cam-cylinder or carrier whenever either of the stops I shall come in contact with them, the stops M M allowing the changing of the relative positions of the cam-ring and the carrier, andthe stopsland 0 determining the distance thateith'e'r may move relatively to the other; the object of this travel of the cam-cylinder beyond the travel of the thread-guide being for the purpose of carrying the cams' which actuate the needles far enough beyond the last needleof the series employed, to cause said cams, upon their lret-urn movement, to 'actuate properly thesame needle, rwhich now becoiriespthe irst ot` the course. 1 "l It must therefore have, through the medium of the stops, just the proper amount of additional trnverse, and this will vary with the number of needles employed, and may be regulated by altering, as need be, the positions of pins or stops M. I P designate the spaces or rabbets cut away from the inner sides of the cam-cylinder, and Aextending part of the way r is their normal position.

down, reaching to the cam-groove, and which allow of the removal and insertion ot' many needles at once.

I prefer, however, to make these rabbcts continnousall the way around the cylinder, and rely upon the weight of the knitted fahric, and the usual weight which is attached thereon, to keep the needles down upon thelower edge ot` the cam-surface; and by this construction, in connection with the remov able pegs or stops, when used, I dispense with the necessity of removing these pegs or stops to bring the single narrow groove usually enr ployed opposite the needle to be displaced, and also the necessity of replacing the pegs, with the risk of not replacing them in the same holes from which they are taken.

Q is the clasp or ring around the needles, which holds the needles in place.'v It may'also serve to hold the cani-cylinder to its bed.

The top of the needle-cylinder, as heretoforemade, is ground or made smooth horizontally, so as to be at sharp, right, or otherangies with its vertical sides, and, when the needle-grooves have been made therein, it leaves the-tops of the piers or ribs which separate the grooves with sharply'defined edges, which not only have aitendency to cut the yarn as the yarn is Vsuddenly pulled over them upon the descent of the needles within the grooves, but also when knots or irregularities occur in the yarn. "l`o prevent this entirely, I round ott' the top of each rib, and this is also produ ctive ot', anoth erresult, namely, it enlarges the top'opening of the groove to ease the entrance of the yarn or vknots without enlarging the groove itself, or interferiin g with the action of the needles.

Upon the inner side'of the cam-cylinder is v a groove or rest, It, annular, as usual, for the most of its length, but having its needle-actuating partsmade, as shown, with two elevating and one depressing curvatures, the formerV marked S S and the latter marked T. fithin each of the elevated portions S ot' the groove is a switch, u, which acts automatio- 4ally, as follows: It-s pivot projects through the cylinder, and receives in a slit in its outer end aspring, V, supported, as shown, at one end.

The force of this spring keeps the switches or' latches in the positions shown at W, and which An y form or arrangement of spring may be used, or the mere weight of the switch, if made heavy enough, will answer the .same

purpose, so long as the switch, aftergbeing lifted, is made to resume its place.

When the cylinder is revolved in either direction, the butts of the needles, as they ride along the straight .part of the groove, and' come to the edge of the switch, ride up and over it to the highest part of the groove;f

thence they descend to the lowest part, and again ascending a part of the distance on the opposite side, are readyto be similarly' acted upon again. Z is a sliding adjustable 'piece,

which, being raised or lowered, varies t e dez', au ma@ grec of descentof the needles, and so permits "The knitting of tight or loose work. Z Z are guides, which direct the needles to the drawdown cam, in whichever direction the machine may move. Y Y is a cam or cams'for the purpose of guiding andforcing the needle back into the groove, and onto the rest, after the draw-down cam has taken it down and formed the stitch. This cam Y is also formed so as to permit of the machine being run freely in either direction.

. The operation of the machine is as follows: When it is desired to knitl less than a tube, and to revolve a the machinepartially, alternately in opposite directions, as many needles as would-reach to both sides of the needleoperatingcams A in order to clear them, must be taken out otI-actionj." This number, as shown in thejdrawingi's twelve; and if the needles were smalIer,-z and thel cylinder of the same size, this number would be greater, and vice versa.

The 'stopsM M are next adjusted theproper distance aparta-to limit the movementsV of the thread-carrier', and the crank being turned, it

will befound that theseameylinder will revolvo no farther than has been previously determined, theyarn-g'uide being rst stopped yb'y-M M, and. tiiegcylinder neigt stopped by OA O.' 4Thedrank i'silnow reversed, and precisely the sameoperatou takes place, the yarn-carrier bei'g always carried to the proper distance togdellvergits yarn` .i0 .the lirst needle ofthe series, and the 'team-cylinder being always carried thel proper distance to operate the first needle of the series inthe beginning` of the next course-.ofthe stitches, the switches' or'throw-up-calns, always being improper positionto insure fthe' freeing of the latch of the needles before the stitch-cams take them 'rue-stops for pnpjec'tions; it 116mb@ seen', de; .termine the extents-cf traverse in either direction of thecani-`s'ylin'der, andA also of the yarncarrier. j v

' When all the needles are in my machine, it

, 1. The draw-down cam -Z of a rotary reversible .family 'knitting-machine, substantially as described, combined with the guides Z f0rth.-

and applied substantially as set 2. In combination with the needle-cylinder, the cam-cylinder, provided with the stitchcam, the switches, and the guides Z, for bringing or keeping the needles in position as the machine reverses, to work properly to free the latch and form the stitch.

3. A rotary reversible cam-cylinder for a knitting-machine, provided with a stitch-cam, substantially such as described, and with automatic switchessituated on opposite sides of such stitch-caer, 4whereby the needles first engaged by such switches are compelled to rise high enough to free the latch, as setlforth.

4. The combination, with the cam-cylinder, of a yarn carrier or guide, constructed .substantially as shown and described, whereby 'it may be changed in position from one side to the other of the stitch-cam, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with the cam, grooved substantially as described, and with the bedplate, provided with a series of holes, the adjustable pins or stops, and a shifting yarnguide, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. A needle ring or plate, the tops of whose walls or ridges between the needle-grooves are rounded olf, substantiallyas and for the purpose described. A 7.,- The combination of the bed-plate, the cam-rin g, the reversible yarn-carrier, the stitchc'am, and the automatic-switches, the combination -beingsuhstantially as delibed. 8. The combination, with a revolving cam,

grooved substantially as described, of a threadcarrier, held by friction on the cam-plate or ring, so as to be carried by it, andyet permit-.the latter tocontinue its motions after the carrier is at rest, substantially as set forth.

9. Stops, or their equivalents,and projections on the cylinder, for determining the extent of traverse in either direction of the camcylinder or yarn-carrier of a rotating knitting- 4 machine.

10. The continuously-grooved cylinder, having spacious rabbets P, two similar .needleelevating cams, and two automatic switches, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

- DANA BIOKFORD; f

Witnesses:

J ouNRoBY, Jr., Guo. T. SMALLwooD, Jr.

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