USRE8779E - Improvement in kn - Google Patents

Description

6 Sheets-Sheet 3,

W. H. ABEL, Knitting-Machine.

W. H. ABEL. 'Knitting-Machine.

No. 8,779. Reissued July I, 1879.

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6 Sheets-Sheet 5 W. H. ABEL. Knitting-Machine.

No. 8,779. Reisgued .mm/1,1879.

. Shets-Sheet 6. W. H. ABEL. Knitting-Machine.

No. 8,779. y Reissued July 1, 1879.

VILLIAM ll. ABEL, OF BRIDGEWATEfNEVV HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT Inl Kuli-Tine-MAeHiNrs.

Specification forming part ol' Letters Patent No. 197,696, dated February 27, 1877; Reissue No. 8,279, dated .lilly 1, 18795 application iiled December 3, 1878.

had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification-k Figure 1 being a top view of the machine;

Fig. 2, a front view of the same, Fig. 3, a rear view thereof Fig. l, an end view of the same, the driving-pulley being in section 5' Figs. 5, 6,

7, 8, 9, and 10, vieu-s ot' parts detached. Fig. 11 represents a front view of the needle-bar, showing the fillets a2 a2; Fig, liti-aback view '01"y said barliv. L3 awtransverse section. oi'

said bar, the plane or bedl surface for the operative knitting-needles being shown .by t-he line b2, and the plane for depressed needles,

aft-er the stitch( are taken ori', by thel line c2.

Fig. 14 shows a front view ot the plate, ready for cutting the grooves for the iillets. Fig. 15 shows a separate fillet or rib. Fig. 16 shows a latch-needle, with the regulatingbar or tail d? and a transferring-point over the hook and in the Haring slot f2. Fig. 17 shows a longi tudinal section of the needle and transferringpoint, With the hook of the needle shown in the slot in the transferring-point and the trans` ferringlpoint in the flaring slot ot' the needle. Fig. 1S is a top vie'w oi" the needle,sho\ving the Haring slot/'2. of the transferringpoint, with the slot for the reception of the hook extending through the point.'

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all of the figures.

The purpose of my invention is to produce an improved self-acting narrowing knittingmaehine for making shaped goods whereby the machine itself may be greatly simpliiied and cheapened; whereby the knitting can be done much more rapidly than with the springA needle narrowing-machines heretofore geilerally used; Whereon almost any quality of yarn may be employed in knitting, and whereby the skilled labor required with other narrowing machines may :be rendered unnecessary.

The nature of my invention consists in a latch-needle knitting-machine, with which is Fig. 19 shows the top side,

driving-pulley on the driving-shaft, D, the

11eedle-bar, receiving any required number of latch-needles, E E; and G, the sliding bar, bearing the cam which operates the needles, and having a longitudinal reciprocating movement over and a little back of the needlebar.I The reciprocating movement of the sliding one end oi the machine, and a connecting-1nd` I, extending fromv the cranlepin to a pivot, b on the sliding cam-bar, ncarvthe other end of the machine, so thatas greata length maybe given to the connecting-rod as practicable.

The crank H is driven by two` bevel-gears, c d', respectively, on the driving-shaft B and on the crank-shaft, the former beingjust halt` as large as the latter, Wherebya reciprocating A movement in either direction is given to the sliding cam-bar at each revolution of the drive ing-shaft, and the motions of all the operative parts ofthe machine are properly timed.

The back sinker-bar J is mounted on 'two standards, e c, on the rock-shaft jf., which is pivoted to the front end of arms g g, reaching back and attached to an adjusting roeieshait, h, at the rear side of the machine, and provided with an adjnstingarm, i, serevrj, es shown in Figs. Send +L, whereby tire sintiera arcraised and ioxvered. Theordin @Wardand-backward movement oi `this is produced by means cfa cam, l, liigs. 3 and 5,011 the driving-shaft operating against an' anti-friction Wheel, L, on an arm, it', of the rockshaft f.

The cam is perfectly circular and eoncen-i i tric with its. shaft, excepting one depression' in its edge, to allowsr the einher-bar to move clrward at'the proper time by the action of L@unter-Spring,'Z'. At ail other timesV the sinner-bar is held by the circular part of the* 'cam steadily and constantly to the work. v

The shaker-bar is adjusted tomake closer T or looser stitches by-ineans of two counter adjusting-screws, m m, acting against the latertending from the rear end of the said arm to` '1a stationary part of the machine, to hold the .sinker-bar in the right position in front of thel work, the device being adjustable by a setscrew, against which the arm bears.` Since the only function of the front sinkers in ordinary knitting is to hold the Work to the back sinkers and allow the needles to perform their oiice without displacing their loops, no operative movement of the front sinker-bar is required in the knitting organization ofthe machine.

For convenience in putting on the work with the hook-bar for taking up stitches and repairing the Work, the front sinker-bar is provided with a means of swinging it forward ont of the way,consisting of a downwardly-projecting arm, r, on the rock-shaft o, and a hookcatch, s, pivoted to the arm p, and catching on a pin on the said arm lr to couple the rockshaft rigidly thereto, and thereby cause the saine to move withthe arni p but on detaching the catch s from vits pin the rock-shaft `is left free to turn and allow the front sinker-bar to be moved forward away from the work.

rlhe mechanism and movements thus far described belong to the latch-needle knittingmachine proper; but all the parts are adapted to receive the narrowing mechanism and its adjuncts, so that the movements of the two' organizations are in perfect harmony.

The narrowing-machine proper, consisting of the covering or transferring' points F F, their sliding blocks N N, and rocking bar O, on which the said blocks slideaud are moved to and from the work, is mounted on a swinging frame, I, to which the bar Q is pivoted at t t, and the said frame is pivoted at 'u u to a suitable part of the main frame.

A cani-arm, Q, is secured to the frame P by pivoting' at one end ot' the pivots u n, and by a notched catch, r, pivcted to a forward projectien of the arm and catching' yover a pin on the frame P, so that the narrowing-machine may be uncouplcd from and coupled to its cam-lever at will. v

rlhe attachment ot' the pivot of the catch c is adjustable in a siot, n?, of the arinQ, whereby the position of. the parts and limits or the movements of the narrowing-inachine may be adjusted and determined vThe reciprocating backwardand-ibrward movement of the narrowing part of the machine is effected by-acam, R, on the drivingshai't B acting on the rear end of the arm Q.

The needles are similar to the ordinary latchn'eedle, and possess all its properties, added to which is the daring slot between the latch and the hook for 'the reception of the trans- `ferring-points and lthe regulating-bar or tailpiecc attached to the shank or rear end of the needles. 1

The covering or transfer-ring points have a vslot cut in their under sides for the reception of the hooks of the needles, and their points are tapered to enter the slots in the needles. v

Neither the needles having a slotbetween their hooksy and latch-'pivots to receive the transferring-points nor the transferringpoints having a slot in the under sides to receive the hooks of the needles do I claim 'separately or in combination inthis application, as the saine have been made the subject-matter of'a separate application for Letters Patent filed by me in the United States Patent Office March 22,1877, and require no further description here.

The up-and-'down movements of the covering or transferring points to cover and uncover the latch-needles after being brought over the saidncedles, as indicated in Fig. l, are produced by rocking the bar O on its pivots t i. From the said bar an arm, S, extends backward, and bears Aa stationar cam, T, which lies Within reach of' the driving-pulley C, and lon the inside ot' this pulley are pivol'ed two anti-friction rollers, at. (Shown in position in Fig. 4.) As the drivin g-pulley revolves these rollers ride over thc cam T and depress the arm S, thereby bringing` the covering or tranferring points down upon the needles, first, to take ofi' the loops from their needles, and,

second, to deliver them to the next needles and as soon as the rollers pass from the cam a counter-spring, y, operates to raise the arm, and, by consequence, the covering or transferring points.

Itis essential that the transferring-points, when brought over the needles, should be held securely in exact position without the possibility' ot' getting out ot' place during the narrowing movements. 1 provide locks which effect this very pericctly,on e of wh ich lookin g-cn gage'- ments is effected by the cam-arm of the transferring-points frame, being held firmly in place by its cam during 4the narrowing. The other lock at the other side of the machine is constructed as Icilows: Upn the top of the arm S is formed or attached a stop, e, abutting at the rear against an anti-friction roller or equivalent stop, 1, on the freine A when the covering or transtcrriug points are brought into position over the needles, as shown in Fig. 4. Then, as the arm S is lowered by action upon its earn T, another stop, 2, on the under side 0iA said arm, facing forward, moves downward close behind or in contact with the fixed, projection 3 of the frame. Thus, when the covcring or transferring points go down upon the f oted ,jointed vtwo parte Iof the pawls, respectively,

5 i 8,1m v 3 neetllesi-thereiisino possibility oftheir movingeither forward zombackxvard..

transferring points to takeithe'stitches or loopsf` from xthcirneedles and transfer them.. to the.- next inner needles-.for narrowing are etfected' by the followiu g means: Blocks or carriages U U are arranged to slde=on -tixed-sways4 4. On these blocks,v respectively, are" securedarms 5 5, which reach to. the outer edges-of the sliding blocks, N1N. Whicltcbear the cotvel';Y` ingforftranslerringpoints? *smto the outer ends of the blocks U U are, respectively, piv pawls 6 6,.wl1ich'take into fixed ratchet-bars 7 7, secured 4to the said ways or to the frame of the machine. The notches in theseratchet-'bars are just as far apartas the needles from center to center, so asl to produce al1-exact and uniform movement of the coveringfpoigntmelide-blocks, whereby, at each time when-thefpawls 6 6 are shifted from one notch to thenext inuernotch of these ratchet-bars, the covering.ortransferring points are moved precisely froinone 4needle to the next inner needle lin order. The pivot-pins S 8,- by which the are pivoted-togcther, project backward into horizontalv grooves of litters 9.9, located just back or" and parallel with the. ways 44. The said grooves allow these pivot-points to slide freely, audby raising/the litters at .the proper mo mentsto a certain extent the pawls are thereby lil'il @leiht/i1? juin ts. and ,shurterred.suieiexnlyu tol draw theirL pom ts from their notches in the notchsbars into tlienext inner notches thereof. Then, on again depressing the lifters, so as again tostraighten the pawls, the rack-blocks U U, and consequently the blocks N N, carry'- ing thel coveringor transferring points, are moved inward ad'istaucc equal to the distancel between two adjacent'needles, as required.

The litters 9 9 are actuated by a hook-cam,

V, Fig. 4, on the driving-shaft B, catching around a projection on the lower end ofa down-4 wardly-extending arm, 10, on a-rock-shaft,11,

whiclris pivoted in a suitable position, as

shown, to the frame ofthe machine, and bearsJ the two lifters or projecting arms secured to it.- The cam vibrates the rock-shaft at the proper time' just sufficiently' to raise'the lifters to the extent desired. The edge of the cam then strikes the arm l() and` brings 'thc liftersv down into place again.

The movements of the .front and backisinkervbars, in connection with ,the covering or transferring points in narrowing, are peculiar.

When the covering or v'transferring pointsare moved backward over the needles for narrowing` the front and back sinker-bars both move backward, carrying the sinkers between the needles, the front sinkers for sliding the loops back'upon the needles beyond the pivots `of the latches to move and hold the latches awa;Y from the covering or transferring' points?. andro give room for the saidcovering or trans-4 ferring points to come down upon the needles in j front of the loops, and the back sinkers to give way-fenthefwork and-to t into position for its-next forward-functional movement. Then, v

asfsoon as the covering or'transferring points are-brought down upon the needles, both sinkcr-,barsmove forward for the back sinken-s to push the loops upon-the covering ortransferring points;and for the front sinkers to give wayfor the work to get into position again. Next, (the back sinker-bar recedes a little to allow the covering or transferring points to raise r"theeloops, and thenimmediately comes forknitting proceeds till it is time to commence the next narrowing. All these movements are determined. automatically by the machine itself.

To effect these movements ot` the front and back sinker-bars cams on the driving-shaft B are employed. t

A cam, W, acting upon 1 an anti-friction -wheeh 12,911 the arm eloctsf-thel movements of the `front sin ker-bar, as described, there being two operating projections on the cam to move the sinker-bar backward twice in the revolution of the driving-shaft.

A cam, X, acting upon an anti-friction wheel, 13, on the arm Jr, effects the movements of the back sin ker-bar. move the sinker-barlbrward at each revolution of the drivin g-shat't, and it also has a depression in one throwing projection of its periphery, to effect the slight receding' movement of the sinker-bar to' allow the covering or tran'sierring points to lift the loops before full;7 pushing the"loops thereon, as above described. -This cam X is entirely distinct from the cam K, which controls the movements of the. buck sinker-bar in knitting, and.thcanti-frictiou wheel 13, against which the cam X acts, is entirely distinct from the vanti-friction wheel L, against which the cam K operates, but it is on the same pivot as that and adjusted by the same means.

In narrowing, as fast as the loops are taken from the-outermost needles, the said needles are' required to be moved from their position to a sufficient distance not to take the yarn again as the yarircarrier passes over the needles in knit-ting.

To effect this purpose, the said needles are caused to drop down into a position a littleA lower than the plane of the needles for knitting. To admit of this the needlebar is con: structed as follows: The means of effecting 'the dropping movenxcutcousists of slides Y Y,

This cam also acts twice to 4 i l n.779

attached to the rack-'blocks U U, and reaching inward therefrom to the needles, and having the following construction A portion, 14, at the inner end of' each slide, has its upper edge just high enough to hold` the needles, which rest thereon at the proper height for knitting,

the slides being the sole support for the front ends of the'se needles, which are subject to depression fronr their usual height in narrowing. At the outer extremityof -this portion of the v slide there is aidownward inclination, 15, to a portion, 16, of the slide, which holds the lneedles at a` height far enough below the clina'tiou 15 is such as to act as a cam to raise v the need'les out oi' the groove or slot 18 upon the raised part 14 when the slide recedes from under the needles after each narrowing; and the inclination of the inner end of the projection 17 isnearly parallel with the inclination 15, so as to act in connection with the weightof the needles to cause them to descend into the slot without failure in narrowing. The position of the inclination 15 is such that as the slide moves inward correspondingly with the movement of the covering or transferring points sliding blocks N N, driven inward by thnprojecting arms 5 5 ofthe rackblocks U U, and, as the loops are taken` one by one successively from the needles iu narrowing, veach needle, as soon as the loop is taken from it,A drops down into the slot 18, out of the way; and when the slides Y Y are drawn outward, after the narrowing is conipleted, all the needles which had vdropped one by one into each slot 8 are thereby again brought out upon the raised part `14 of the slides, readyfor knitting the full width again, or for another narrowing. The operations of the two organizations, the knitti'ng-inachine part and the narrowing-maehine part above described, are distinct and alternate with each other.' It remains to describe the means by which this alternation of the two sets of operations is ci'ected.

Upon the driving-shaft B, the cam K, which controls the back` sinker-bar while knitting, and the bevel gear-wheel c, which operates the sliding-needle cam-bar G through the crank H and connecting-rod 1, belong to the knitting organization, and the hook-cani V, which causes the movement of the rack-blocks U U, and the cams `W X, which, respectively, operatc the front vand back sinner-bars simultaneously, or in harmony together, belong to the narrowing organization.

The cams are so located on the driving-shaft. that by moving 'the said shaft lengthwise a distance somewhat more than the thickness ot' the cams, one way or the other, either the cam K is brought into action or the cams V W X,

as the case may be; also, when the drivingshaft is moved to throw the cams V W X into action for narrowing, the bevel-wheel c, which drives the needle cam-bar, is uncoupled from the'said shaft, since the said cam-bar must be at rest while narrowing. This uneonpling is effected by having a clutch, 19, secured fixedly to the driving-shaft, arranged to separate from its counterpart on the said bevel-wheel when theshaft is moved endwise to bring the narrowing mechanism into action. Then, when the drivin g-shaft is moved inl the other direction, to throw the narrowing mechanism ont of action, the said clutch engages with the bevelwheel c again and brings the cam bar into action.

An important point in this movement is that the cam-l i Gwhich bears the yarn-carrier 20,

must be the extremity of its movements, or

nearly so, when the uncoupling of the bevelwheel c takes place and the movements of the said cam-bar are suspended for narrowing; otherwise the yarn -carrier would be left over the needles, and the narrowing could not proceed. This proper stopping of the cam-bar is very easily and naturally1 effected by arranging the clutch 19 so. that it becomes conipletely detached from its` counterclutch on the bevel-wheel c only at the very extreme of the sliding movement of the driving shaft in that direct-ion; but, should the bevel-wheel on he turned to any considerable extent from ltsposition when uncoupled during the time of its being uncoupled, disarrangeinent ot' the machine would take place, and the wheel would Ilot become automatically coupled again.

To obviate the liability of this happening, I employ a spring, 2l, secured to the frame A, and bearing slightly on the top of the bevelwhecl 1, which 'gears into said bevelwheel c, thus acting as a brake to keep the said bevelwheel in position. rllhe pressure ot' this springbrake is not suiiicient to practically impede the motions ofthe parte when in action. A pad, 22, may be applied to the foot of the spring to prevent unnecessary rubbing and friction on the bevel-wheel d.

To enable the driving shaft B tc have the sliding movement neccssaryibr bringing the two organizations alternately into action, it

is preferable to mount it in bearings 23 23, which themselves have a sliding 'movement of the requisite extent in the frame of the inachine, these bearings being V-shaped at the bottom to slidcin corresponding Vshaped ways, which always wear centrally and keep the bearings always accurately fitted therein. The sliding movement of thc driving-shaft is effected bytwo cams, Z Z', secured thereto, one at one side` and. the other at the other side of one ot' the uprights of the frame A. These' cams act respectively againsttwo projections, 2-i and 25, on a shifting block, A', which-has an lip-and-down sliding move ment in the said standard of the frame. Thon the cam Z strikes the projection 241 of the shifting block, the latter bein g stationary,

the cam itself -must move, and with it the driving-shaft, the movement produced thereby being as much as the distance the said shaft is required to move endwise; and when the cam Z strikes` the projection 25 the cam itself', and the driving-shaft with it, for a similar reason, are moved in the other direction to theextent required. lThe projections 24 and 25`are at different heights, so that when the shifting block is raised to its highest position the projection 24 is brought opposite to the 4cam Z, and causes the said cam to thropw. the i dir-ivingshaft: farthest 'toward the end of the machine when the cam is located in position for knitting, and keep the shaft there while the knitting 'continues,the projection 25, during the time, being entirely above and out of contact with the cam Z', and when the shifting block is moved .to the extremity of its downward position the projection 24 is brought below and ont of contact with its cam Z, and the projection 25 is brought opposite to the cam Z' which then and thereby isl made to throw the .51: ing-shaft endwise in the other .dircction, thus bringing the narrowing mech-v A simple spring, 26, servesanism into action.

to raise and' to hold raised the shifting block. vThe depression of the shifting block to bring the narrowing mechanism into action is eiiected by the following device: A pattern-wheel, B', Fig. 10, is mounted on the frameA in front of the shifting block, and a connecting-loyer, C', is -pivoted -to the frame between the two.

Qne end of the lever playsbetweeu two-pm jections, one of which may be the projection 24, and a projection, 27, below, bearing and operating on the latter. lever has an adjustable cam-point, 28, which bears upon the edge of the pattern-wheel, so that the levez` may be aetedon thereby. Y The pattern-wheel has cani-projections 29 29, each suiicient to raise the forward end of the lever, and consequently depress the shifting block to its lowest position, while the spaces 30 30 be.

` tween these cam -projections are deep enough to receive the cam-point on the lever and permit the lowering thereof, so as to allow the shifting block to be raised to its highest posi` tion bythe spring 26. The distances between the canrprojeetions 29 are to be according to the form of narrowing required. If the narrowing is to be uniform the distances are uniform. If the narrowing is to be irregular the distances are irregular. Y The revolving motion of the pattern-wheel is regular, being produced, as shown in :the drawings, by a ratchet-wheel, Df, secured to the shaft of the same, into the teeth of which works a pawl,.E, pivoted to an arm, 3l, that vibrates on `the shaft of or on a pivot `concentric with the pattern-wheel and ratchet-wheel. Against the upper end of the pawl-lever a cam, G', 011 the driving-shaft acts to cause the same vto vibrate. forward and backward once at each revolution thereof,.and consequently to move the ratchet-wheel notches inthe ratchet-Wheel correspond in Vpr The other end of the one notch. The

the cam-point of ,the lever C' is down in these to its highL spaces. the shiftingzblock is raised est position, and the driving-shaft is thereby brought into position for knitting, and when a cam-point is on a cam-projection of the patternwheel the shifting block is thereby brought 'to its lowest position, and the driving-shaft is thrown into position for narrowing, the effect of the construction of' pattern-wheel described is to knit two courses and then narrow one stitch alternately. It is obvious the patternwheel may be'con structed to produce any'form of narrowing and shaped work within practicable limits. When long portions of straight work intervene between the ilarrowings, the pattern-wheel may be thrown into and out of action by hand; but the entire opterationiseasily effected, automatically and continuously, for knitting shirts, drawers, or any kind cles.

To accomplish this a Jacquard mechanism is combined with or takes the place o'f the pattern-wheel, the' simplest way of constructing .which-is-v te' formthecam-pmjections for oper'- ating the shifting block on Jacquard links,

which travel ona simple sprocket-wheel inplace of the pattern-wheel, and turn by the same means.

are, of course, omitted.

The narrowing-movement is stoppedantomatically by simplyhaving one tooth omitted lon theratchetlwheel, as at 32, `there being a space, 33, of greater extent 'than the other spaces between the cani-projections opposite to the said lspace when the ratchet-tooth is omitted, it being understood that a course of narrowing isv completed in one revolution ot' `the ratchet-wheel. The narrowing mechanism is again brought into action, at the. will of the operator, by simply moving the ratchetwheel the distance yof one or two notches. by hand, so as to engage the pawl with a tooth thereof. Having thus described my invention, I claim- ,L The needle-bartering dat and or depressed surfaces, in combination with in dependently-constructed illetsattached there to, as set forth.

2. The needle-bar having dat and inclined or depressed surfaces, incombinatiou with the latch-needles having tiaringfslots therein between the .hooks and latchfpivots for the reception of the transferringapoints,"substanJ tiallyas shown and described..

3. The transferring-points and latch-,needles slottedhetween theirhooks and latchepivots of y arti- VVhen no narrowing is to take place thecam-projections on theJacquard links for their reception, combined with the needlebar having at and depressed surfaces, sub stantiallyr as specified.

4. The slides Y Y in combination with the latch-needles, slotted as aforesaid, and the needle-bar of dat and inclined or depressed surfaces.

5, vThe slides YY, and needles E E, when con-i structed as'aforesaid, combined with the needle-bar of flat and inclined or depressed snrfaces and the transferring-points.

6. The'transierring-points with their carrying-frame,'its lever, and their actuating and locking-cam, combined with the latch-needles having daring slots between their hooks and latch-pivots for thev reception of said `points,

V- substantially as indicated.

7. The transferring-points and their carrying-iramein combination with their locking device, consistingof the arm S, stop z, stop-- roll l, and'stop 2, substantially as shown and described. l

8. In a knitting-machine, the front sinkerbar, M, constructed and arranged as'and fo'rthe purposes` indicated.

9. The combination, with a series of knitting-needles, of` the front' sin'ker-bar, M, and the back sinker-bar, J. L

10. The combination of vthe sinker-bars M and J with the needles and transferringpoints. 11. The front sinker-bar, M ',in combination with its actuating-lever, cam, andlspring for imparting the forward'lnd backward move ments thereto, as and for the pnrposesshwn and stated. 4 l l 12. The transferring-points and their carryt ing-bar, arranged as described, in combination with its cam, lever, and spring for dcpressing and raising said points, substantially as stated and shown.

13. The jointed pawls, in combination with their raclrbars, the. transferring-pointaland slides Y Y. I

14. The eombi11ation,with the reciprocating camshaft and its cams, constructed and arranged subetantially as described, of the sinker-bars M and J,the transferring-points, and the latch-needles slotted, as shown and described. v

15. The sliding bearings 22 and 23, in combination with the shaft D 'and frame of the machine, for the -pnrposes shown and.- described. v p

16. In combination with a narrowing mechanism and self-acting pattern mechanism-controlling the movements thereof, the reciprocating needle-operating cam-bar G, arranged to be stopped at the proper .place before the narrowing mechanism is brought into action,

substantially as andfor the purposes specified.4

' y WM. H.' ABEL.`

Witnesses:

J. Sanown,

S. A. TERRY.

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