US2025463A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

De@ 24, 14935. v. LOMBARDI 2,025,463

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17 19:54 14 sheets-Sheet 1 25 1,2; Jag e2 l ,e5 21 ai@ .5f 24 40 5r i0 r l 37, l ,I 35a, 33 i l v 7' Dec. 24, 1935. v.'| oMBARDl KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1934 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 ed elf we# al Dec. 24, 1935. v. LOMBARDI KNIITING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1934 14 Sheets-Sheet 3 V. LOMBARDI Dec. 24, 1935.

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1954 14 sheetssheet 4 Dec. 24, 1935; v. LOMBARDI' 2,025,463-

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1934 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec? 24, 1935. v LOMBARDI 2,025,463

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1954 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 2,025,463 35 v, LOMBARDI Dec. 24, v KNITTING MACHINE -sneet 7 Filed April 17, 1934 1 4 Sheets V. LOMBARDI Bec. Z4, 1935.

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 1'?, 1934 14 Sheets-Sheet 8 90N i M u MM W?. n

Dec. 24, 1935.

V. LOMBARDI KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1934 14 Sheet'S-She 9 Dec. 24, 1935. v. Uma/mmV 2,025,463

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Apil 17, 1934 14 Sheets-Sheet l0 v. LOMBARDI 2,025,463 I Dec. 24, 1935.

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1934 14 Sheets-Sheet ll www..

V. LOMBARDI Dec.I 24, 1935.`

KNITTING MACHINE FiledA April '17, 1934 14 sheets-sheet 12l WSW...

1 1 SELJ:

Dec. 24, 1935. v. I OMBRDI 2,025,463

KNITTING MACHINE l Filed April 17, 1954 14 Sheets-Shel??I 15 V. LOMBARDI I Dec. 24, 1935.

KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1934 14 Sheets-Shet 14 'A Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES QFFCE KNITTING MAC Application April 17, 1934, Serial No. 729,921

29 Claims.

` This invention relates to knitting machines and is in part a continuation of my co-pending application Serial No. 680,168, led July 13, 1933.

An object of the invention is the production of improved mechanism whereby there may be produced knitted fabric embodying a wide variety of designs.

A further object is the provision of knitting mechanism which possesses a high degree of simplicity with'relation to character of work to be performed.

A still further object is to provide knitting mechanism which is economical of construction, certain in operation, capable of a wide Variety of uses, and adapted eiciently and eiectively to eifectuate the purposes for which it is intended.

Other objects of the invention will in part -be obvious and 'will in part appear hereinafter.

lThe invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation and order vof one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had tothe following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of one' form of knitting machine embodying the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views showing the parts in different positions;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view along the line I-l in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating certain modications;

Figs. 6 and 7 are views similar to Fig. 5 showing the parts in diiferent positions;

Fig.v 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing flu'- ther modiiications; l

Fig. 9 is o. view simnar to Fig. 1 showing another modiied form of mechanism and including a showing of a needle and sinker;

Fig. 10 is a. horizontal sectional view along the line lli-I0 in Fig. 9;

Fig. 10a is a fragmentary` vertical sectional view showing a form of mechanism which may be utilized to performpa modiiled type 0:!v operation upon the selective elements shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view f (Ci. (i6-50) illustrating a portion of a wiping out mechanism adapted for use in connection with the arrangement showniin Fig. 9;

Figs. l2 and 13 are sectional views taken re spectively along the lines i2-i2 and I3--l3 in -the direction of the arrows in Fig. 11;

Fig. 14'is a somewhat diagrammatic view i1- lustrating a form of machine embodying the disclosures of Fig. 9 thru 13;

Fig. 15 is a similar view showing a form of ma- 19 chine embodying the disclosure of Fig. l and including a modified form.l of wiping out mechamsm;

- Fig. 15a is a plan view o a portion of machine shown in Fig. 15; l5 Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. l showing a modiiied form of machine;

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary view looking down along the line i'i-i'i in Fig. 16; Y

Fig. 18 is a sectional View along the line I8-I8 20 in Fig. 16;

Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 16 showing a further modication;

Fig. 20 is a sectional view along the line 29-20 in Fig. 19;

Fig. 21 is a horizontal yview showing one form of means'for impartinga selective stepped movement vto the rotary member;

Fig. 22 is a side view of a portion of this mech- 30 Fig. 23 is a sectional view along the line 23-23 in Fig. 21;

4 Fig. 24/is a view similar to Fig. 1 showinganother modied form of mechanism;

Fig. 25 is a similar view taken somewhat for- 35 wardly of Fig. 24;

Fig. 26 is a partly sectional line 26-26 in Fig. 25;

l Fig. 27 is a fragmentary vertical vsectional view illustrating another modification;

Fig. 28 is a sectional view along the line 28-28 in Fig. 27;

Fig. 29 is a view similar to Fig. 27 showing adi-Y ditional positioning of the elements and a modied form/of knitting element;

Fig. 30 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing mechanism as exemplied in Fig. 1 utilized to operate a spring needle;

Fig.v 30a is a fragmentary horizontal section;

View along the Fig. 31 is a view similar to the upper part of 50K Fig. 30, showing the needle in another position; Fig. 32 is a similar view showing the needle in stm another position; l

Fig. 33 is a diagrammatic showing of a manner of operation.

Fig. 34 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of construction;

Figs. 35 and 36 are similar views showing the l parts in other positions;

Fig. 37 is a side view of the cam shown in Figs. 34, 35 and 36;

Fig. 38 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a form of construction wherein the knitting element and the selective element are unitary;

Fig. 39 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing sinker-operating mechanism;

Fig. 40 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a 'Y further modification;

Fig. 45 is a similar view showing certain of the parts in other positions;

"l Fig. 46 is a fragmentary view showing still another positioning of the parts;

Figs. 47 and 48 are fragmentary views showing other positions of other parts;

Fig. 49 is a sectional view along the line 49--49 in Fig. 44 Awith various of the parts broken away to reveal the mechanism;

Fig. 50 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 50-50 in Fig. 49;

. Fig. 51 is a view showing mechanism disposed beyond the left-hand end of Fig. 44; and

Figs. 52 and 53 are somewhat diagrammatic horizontal Views of certain of the mechanism ishown in Fig. 5l.

Mechanism of the character under consideration ordinarily includes a stationary needle bed of cylindrical form and a plurality of units revolving about the cylinder. Commonly, the mechanism is equipped with an even number of revolving yarn feeds and with an actuator unit acting in advance of the passage of each yarn feed. It is to be understood, however, that the needle bed may be of any well known or desired shape or contour; that either the bed or the units may be movably mounted; and that va single. yarn feed and unit or any greater number thereof may be utilized without departingA fromV the invention. It is also to be understood that the invention in its more generic aspects is adapted for use Ln connection with the actuation of any desired type of knitting element whetherl latch needle, beard needle, jack, sinker, yarn controller or the like.

While a considerable number of means for producing complicated patterns by effectuating movements of knitting elements between a multiplicity of positions have beenv devised in the past, these usually involve mechanisms which are extremely complicated and/or involve the use of arrangements wherein fragile elements are so placed that they are extremely likely to be broken in operation. In spite of the lfact that the pattern machines in commonest use have for many years utilized pattern wheels or other rotating pattern elements to separate -knitting elements and other elements into two positions for subsequent operations, the use of such rotating elements for multiple positioning, so far as is known, has not occurred to the art even though there has been very considerable activity over a number of years in the development of mechanisms for the production complicated fabrics. The inventioncontemplates the use of selective elements individual to each of a series of knitting elements carried by a needle bed and` arranged to be mounted for setting movement as 5 on an axis, between a multiplicity of different positions and to be selectively actuated to effect actuations of the knitting elements in accordance with the setting thereof, and in response to the passages of a selecting member such as a cam 10 element. The invention further contemplates the provision of actuator means including an element which is rotatable during relative movement of the needle bed and the actuator means for effecting a selective setting of the selecl5 tive elements in a multiplicity of positions. Desirably the selective elements are mounted so as to be swingable between said positions. The selective elements and the knitting elements may Y be made unitary, if desired. or'may be independ- 20 ent elements either attached or unattached. 'I'he rotary actuator member may be`a pattern wheel,

pattern drum, or other rotary mechanism of any of a. variety of types and may be arranged to operate upon a selective portion either directly25 or indirectly. l

The form'of construction exemplified in Figs.

1, 2, 3 and 4 comprises a needle cylinder 20 having vertical slots 2l about its periphery. In these slots are disposed knitting elements 22 held in 30 place by a circular resilient member 23 and are formed at their lower ends with outwardly-extending portions 24 terminating in butts 25. 'Ihe knitting elements may be latch needles arranged to receive yarn from a suitable yarn carrier (such` 35 for instance as shown at 26 in Fig. 15) both when they are in a fully advanced position or knitting position or when they are in a partially advanced or tucking position. While the members 22 are hereinafter described as 40 needles, it will be appreciated that they may be jacks, sinker's, etc. In this connection it is to be observed that in certain instances it is the usual practice to omit a needle or other knitting element from one or more of the slots of 45 a bed, and that references herein to members individual to the slots of a series are not to be construed as implying that there are,no empty slots.

Beneath cach needle 22, and arranged to work 50 against the portion 24 thereof, is a selective element in the form of a rocker 2l. These rockers, in the present instance, are of a form described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 720,960, filed herewith.' They are frictionally held in the slots 2| by means of a bend 28 at their central portions. They are each, provided with an aligning notch 28 to permit their alignrnent by an aligning cam. The upper end of each rocker is formed in the present instance with a. nub 29 adapted to be pressed inwardly to adjust the position of the rocker. About the-needle cylinder there is rotatably mounted an annulus 30 suitably connected in any well known or suitable manner to means on which the yarn feeds are 66 carried. Mounted on the annulus 30 in advance of each yarn feed is a revolving unit 3l including a shaft 32. On this shaft there is rotatably mounted a pattern wheel 33 including an element 34 having a toothed periphery 35 adapted 70 to mesh with portions 28 of the rockers 2l so that the pattern wheel will rotate as it revolves about the cylinder. It is to be noted that the axis o1' the pattern wheel is parallel to the direction of needle movement. The pattern wheel itself com" Z6 Drss a lower disc 36 and an upper disc 31. In

vthe present instance the disc 36 is formed with slots 31 for the reception of actuator members 38. The discs are held together by nuts 33 on the shaft 32. 'I'he disc 31 is formed with a series of notches 40, and the actuators 38 are formedA with projections 4I adapted to seat in these notches. similar to the number of teeth on the member 34 so that each notch will,be aligned with the -being provided in such manner that at certain of the notches 46 actuators 38a are` provided, that at others actuators 38h are provided, and at still others no actuators are provided, the arrangement being such as may be desired for a particular type of knitting operation to be performed.y Accordingly, the pattern wheel provides a series of configurations of a multiplicity of types (as shown in Figs. 2, 1 and 3) for eiectuating the setting of the selective elements in the multiplicity ot positions shown in these figures. It is to be noted in this connection that the term multiplicity is used herein as the equivalent of the phrase three or more". j

In actual use, the pattern wheel is put together for the production of the particular type of design upon the fabric by inserting actuators such as shown at 38a in some of the slots to provide one type of configuration, by inserting actuators such as shown at 38h in other of the slots to provide another type ofA configuration, and by leaving still others of the slots without actuators to provide a third type of conguration. After the desired amount of fabric with the particular design has been produced, the nut 39 is unscrewed, the disc 31 removed and the arrangement'altered as to give any desired type of selection for the f next piece of fabric. It will be observed that the re-arrangement of these actuators is a matter of extreme simplicity. It is to be noted that the long actuators, the short actuators, and the open slots are all disposed in various relationships about the wheel to provide a varied arrangement v of actuator elements; and that, while two or any larger number of long actuators, "of short actuators, or of empty slots, may be juxtaposed on any particular part'of the wheel and still permit such a varied arrangement, the construction exempliedabove and the constructions exempliiled hereinafter are to be distinguished from arrangements in which a camming element has a plurality of spaced active portions arranged progresysively in increasingly or decreasinglydvanced positions so as to follow a regular cam curve.

As will be seen, if a rocker 21 is in the position shown in Fig. 2 the pattern wheel will act, either to leave the rocker in this position if there is no actuator is of the character shown at 38h. Inv

order to move all the actuators to the position shown in Fig. 2 there is provided a roller 42 acting in advance of the pattern wheel. be seen, the rocker arms are provided with a plurality of shoulders 43 and 44 at their lower ends` and there is provided a cam 45 for operating them; the surfaces of the shoulders and the cam being bevelled to assure against transverse move- 'I'he number` of slots in the disc 36 isA ment of the rockers in the slots. The cam is carried on the supporting annulus adapted to impart, when'the rocker is in either of the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 3, but not when in the position shown in Fig. 2, longitudinal movement 5 to the rocker arm and likewise to the needle or other knitting element. Accordingly, after the passage of the pattern wheel, if the rockers have not been otherwise acted upon, they will not be moved longitudinally or impart longitudinal l0 movement to the. needles or other knitting elements when in the position shown in Fig. 2; but when in the position shown in Fig. 1 the cam 45 will act against the shoulder 43 to partially advance the rocker and the knitting element with l5 it, so that if the knitting element is a needle the needle will be raised to a partially advanced or tucking position; and when in the position shown in'Fig. 3, the cam 45 will act. on the shoulder 44 to fully advance the'rocker and the knit- 20 ting element with it, so that if the knittingl element is a needle, the needle may be moved to a fully advanced or casting position. Preferably, each cam t5 is disposed a considerable distance to the rear of a unit 38 so as to permit the-25 setting of the rockers to be wiped out or otherwise changed, if desired, before` the passage of the cam 45. It will thus be seen that the invention permits the useof a pattern Wheel or other rotating element to impart selective movements 30 to selective mechanism by an action at right angles to the mechanism and in a manner such 4that the knitting elements are not directly affected, and permits a subsequent action upon the selective mechanism such that the knitting elements, after such action, will be in any of a multiplicity of (three or more) positions. It is to be noted in this connection that'the use of a rotating pattern wheel or pattern drum in connection with a seriesof knitting elements which is indivisible by the number of actuating spaces on the rotating element permits designs with obliquely controlled eects to be obtained in a manner otherwise impossible except by extraordinarily complicated mechanism. Such condition obtainswhere the 45 patternwheel contains'actuating portions about its periphery and the needle cylinder contains slots, as in the exempliied apparatus. It is also to be noted that, whereas the ordinary pattern wheel acts obliquely uponvthe knitting elements with the result that there is always considerable difllculty due to bending or breaking of the butts or to lack of proper alignment, the present invention permits the use of a. pattern wheel acting on a pla-ne perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder and acting directly on the nubs or other portions of the selective elements so as to avoid these diillculties. y i

In many instances it is desirable that all the actuators have the same size and conguration, sothat they may be kept together and utilized as Vdesired without sorting. To this end the pattern wheell and the actuators may be so formed as to permit actuators to protrude at different extents when diierently placed. For 85 instance, the pattern wheel may be formed with two or more sets of notches'or projections, so that when a projection or vnotch in an actuator registers with one of these the end of the actuator will be at one distance from the pattern 'an arrangement similar tov that of Figs. 1-4, but

of this type wherein a pattern wheel 33d comprises a lower plate or disc 36a having an lnwardly disposed notch 46 and an upper plate 31d having an outwardly disposed notch 41. Actuators l38d are provided. These have projections 40d adapted to register with a notch 46 when the projection is turned downwardly or 'with a notch 41 when the projection 40d is turned upwardly. In the former case, as shown in Fig. 6, the actuator projects a short distance -from the pattern wheel, and in the latter case the actuator projects an additional distance.

Selective elements may be arranged to be rocked on their inner portions or may be swung on a special pivot as desired. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 also illustrate selective elements 21d, each mounted on a pivot 48 integral with knitting elements 22d. In these figures, there is also shown an varrangement whereby the pattern wheel is rotated by meshing with projections on the knitting elements. In the present instance, the upper plate 31d is formed with a toothed periphery 49, adapted to receive projections 50 ,on the knitting elements 22d.

If desired, the actuator may be formed with a forward portion which will protrude different extents when in opposite positions and the pattern wheel may be formed to retain the actuators in such positions. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 8 wherein there is illustrated an arrangement similar to that of Figs. 1-4 as modied in Figs. 5-7, except as indicated. lI-Iere there is provided a selective element 21e similar to the element 21d except that its upper portion is longitudinally extended. The upper plate 31e of the pattern wheel 33e isformed with an annular projection 5I, and there are employed actu ators 38e provided with upper and lower notches 52 each of which isadaptedto register with the rim 5I depending upon the position of the actuator. The lower plate 36e is formed to receive the actuator regardless of its position. The forward end of the actuator extends a distance beyond its center line, as indicated at 53, and extends forwardly at this point so that when the actuator is in the position shown in heavy lines it will press inwardly the portion 29e of the selective element 21e a less distance than when in th position shown in dot-and-dash lines.

In certain instances it is desirable that the selective element be formed with stepped shoulders at each of its ends so that it may be shifted longitudinally in either direction as desired, depending upon the position into which it has been swung. One such arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 9 wherein there is exemplified a vertical needle'cylinder 20j carrying a series of needles 22,* having pivoted latches 54 at their upper ends and carrying also a series of sinkers 55 in a sinker ring 56. The needles 22f rest in slots 2If between ribs 51 on the cylinder. Each needle carries at its lower end a pivot element 48j on which there is swingingly mounted a selective element 21f adapted to be acted upon by a pattern wheel 331. At the lower portion of the selective element there are provided stepped shoulders 43j and M] adapted to be operated upon by a cam 451, and at its upper end there are provided stepped shoulders 58 and 59 adapted to be operated upon by a stitch cam 60. l

As will be seen, when the element 21j is in the position shown in Fig. 9 the cam 45j will act upon the shoulder 44f to raise the selective element a full distance and the needle with it; when the selective element has not been acted upon by vever, because of the provision of the shoulder 58 the cam 60 may be made to act in a variety of selective manners upon the selective elements, depending upon a suitable setting of the selective elements after the passage of the cam 45j. Such setting may be performed by a suitable member, such for instance as a pattern wheel 42a in the nature of the pattern wheel 33j, positioned similarly to the position of the roller 42j and acting on the lower portions of the selective elements. After such setting the selective elements, which have been fully raised by the cam 45j and which remain in a full clockwise position will not beV retracted by the stitch cam 60. Accordingly, an 25 associated needle may receive a yarn without knitting it. If the selective element has been moved to a full counter-clockwise position after it has been lifted by the cam 45j, the ordinary knitting operation will take place. been moved to an intermediate position after being fully raised by the cam 45j the cam 60 will action the shoulder 58. and will cause merely a short stitch with or without casting, as may be desired. As will be appreciated, if a pattern wheel is substituted for the roller 42f a roller may be substituted for the pattern wheel 331, if desired, or for the performance of more complicated operations pattern wheels may be utilized at each point. As exemplified, the patternA 40 wheel 33f comprises a single rotating disc 31! and in this disc is formed the slots indicated at 6I in which the actuators 38f'are set. The disc 31j has a toothed periphery 62 which meshes with projections63 on the ribs 51 so as to ro- 45 tate the disc upon the shaft 32j carried by'the annulus 30j. Beneath the disc 31) is a stationary disc 64 flxedly secured tothe annulus 30f and carrying acontinuous, generally annular, upward projection 65. Each of the actuators 38j is formed with a forward notch 66 and a rearward notch 61. VThus there is provided, as in the case of Fig. 1, mutually abutting means on the pattern wheel and on the actuator members to assure that the actuator members will be properly positioned.. In this connection it is to be noted that the terms rotatable pattern member, rotatable pattern means, rotary pattern member, pattern wheel?, pattern drum, and the like, are used herein to include not only 60 members all parts of which rotate on their axes during operation, but also members. with which include relatively stationary guide means and the like which are nevertheless a part ,of the pattern member in effect, and such terms are' to be so 65 understood. V

As will be seen, the effective extent of the actuators 38f depends upon whether the actuator is inserted so that the notch 66 registers with the continuous projection 65, or so that 70 the notch 61 registers with it. In the present instance, the projection 65 is irregularly shaped so as to eifect a camming action as the actuators approach the selective elements, and to thrust the actuators forwardly at this point.

If it has 3Q I'his forward thrust permits the actuators readily to i'lt into the slots in the cylinder. This arrangement is desirable in cases where the selective elements are disposed somewhat rearwardly of the eiective periphery of the needle cylinder; where -a particularly large swinging movement of the selective elements is desired; or where fine gage machines are utilized. As will be seen the slotted portion of the disc 3'lf is formed with a recess 69 adapted to receive the continuous projection 65. 'I'he shaft 32j is spread outwardly at 69 to provide a shoulder against which the disc 64 is held by a nut 69. Movement of the stationary disc 64 isthus prevented.

As will be apparent various other types of selective elements, actuators, rotating pattern members and other elements may be utilized. Certain of these are exemplied hereinafter. It will also be understood that needle beds such as exemplied may be disposed at any desired angle with respect to the horizontal and may be of any desired shape.

As has been indicated, the pattern wheel .or other rotating element and the selecting cam (e. g. 45 or 45j) are desirably suiiiciently'spaced to permit the wiping out of the settings eiectuated by the pattern wheel prior to the operation' of the selecting cam. For example, there are many instances when it is desirable to knit several rows of plain Jersey cloth intermediate repetitions of a given pattern, and there are other instances whenit is desirable to prevent needles at oney or more yarn feeds from knitting while a given pattern is being knit at other yarn feeds. Again, it is often desirable to intermingle with certain patterns a, number of rows of knitting in which yarns are interlocked by a method, for instance, as set forth in my Patent No. 1,541,230, dated .lunev 9, 1925. This may involve, fdr instance, moving only alternate needles to tucking positions at one yarn feed (the intermediate needles passing the yarn), and moving all of the needles to casting position at the next yarn feed. Furthermore, there are a variety of other variations in the operation of needles and other knitting elements which are desirable to effectuate at certain stages of the knitting, and to this end the invention in certain of its aspects contemplates the provision of means which may be operative at certain times during the knitting to re-set the selective elements after the passage of the pattern wheel and before the operation of the selecting cam. One form of mechanism to this end adapted for operation in connection with the type of mechanism illustrated in Figs. 9 and l0 is exemplified in Figs. 11, l2, 13 and 14. This mechanism includes an upper roller 'i9 adapted when moved inwardly to press inwardly the upper ends of the selective elements 2li, a roller 'H adapted when moved inwardly to press in the lower ends of the selective elements 2li, and a wheel 'l2 adapted when pressed inwardly to eiectuate a positioning wherein every other selective element is in a position with its lower end extending inwardly, and wherein the remaining selective elements are in an. intermediate position. The wheel 'I2 comprises a lower disc 13 having teeth 'M adapted to press the lower end of every other selective element inwardly and notches l5 arranged for the intermediate positioning of the selective elements. The wheer'l also comprises an upper disc 16 having teeth Tl the outer diameter of which is the lsame as the inner diameter of the notchesl 15, and notches 18 adapted to receive the upper ends of selective plied one type of automatic control of such movement. The elements lll, 'i2 and .19 are individually mounted on arms H9 each centrally pivoted at t@ and tending under the inuence 10 ci a spring 9i to thrust its roller or wheel inwardly. The free end of each arm carries'a. lug 92 which is normally held in an inward positionagainst the tension of the spring by means of a catch 89. Each catch is normally held in ef- 15 fective position by a spring 89, but is releasable by pressure on it by a rod 85. In order to move the rods inwardly in a selective manner, there is provided a cylinder 96 having at suitable points on its periphery protuberances 8i which are pref- 20 erably removably mounted in holes 99. The cylinder may be rotated step-by-step either manually or by pattern-control mechanism, such for lnstance as hereinafter described., Whenever a protuberance 9i registers with a rod 95 the rod will 25 move inwardly, the catch will be released, and the spring 8l will pull the free end of the arm 19 outwardly so that the roller or wheel will move inwardly. In order to restore the lugs 92 behind the catches' there are provided supplemental 30v rods 89 adapted to be pressed inwardly by protuberances 99 on the cylinder 96. When such a rod is pressed inwardly by a'protuberance 90, the rod presses an arm 'i9 inwardly to bring its lug 92 under the catch 93. 35

The form ofmechanism for automatically stepping the cylinder 89 here exemplified comprises a pawl 9i acting on a ratchet 92 at the base of the cylinder and pivotally mounted on one endv of an arm 93. A spring 9d is provided to hold the 4o pawl in place and a spring 95 tends to hold against a stop 96 the arm 93 which is pivoted at 91. At the free end of the arm there is provided a. pressure surface 99. A pressure disc 99 is provided for selective engagement with the pressure sur- 45 face 98 to swing the arm 93 against the pressure of the spring 95. The disc 99 is carried'on a. post i 09 encircled by one end of an arm IUI which. is stationary with respect to the needle cylinder.

The disc 99 normally is in a position beneath the 50 y lower end of the surface 99 so as to pass it without contact, but is adapted to be raised by a lever i 92 so as to contact with the surface 99 and cause the pawl to slip back one notch. 'I'he lever E92 which is pivoted at m9 may be lifted from. time 65 to time by suitable mechanism such as protuberances 99 on a pattern chain S95. Any desired number of dims 99 and operating mechanism therefor may be disposed about the machine.

Similar wiping out or re-setting mechanism 60 may be utilized intermediate the operations of any type of rotating element and selecting cam or other members to re-set the selective elements. In Figs. 15 and 15a one such form of mechanism arranged for operation in connection with mech- 05 anism such as shown'in Fig. l is exemplified. Intermediatev the pattern wheel 33 and the cam 95 there are provided upper and lower rollers 10a and llg and an interlocking wheel 12g, Each of these members is carried by an arm 19g pivoted 70 at 99g and normally pulled inwardly" bya spring tlg. At the free end of each arm there is provided a nub |06 adapted to be pressed outwardly by protuberances lill removably mounted on a. cylinder 86g which may be operated by members 75 as |08, on the cylinder 86g where there is no protuberance |01, the roller 10g Will be operative and the needles will knit plain Jersey cloth (or will properly operate in connection with an interlocking setting at a previous yarn feed) until the pawl 9| is operated to move the cylinder. When the nub on the lower arm registers with a point such as |09 where there is no protuberance, the needles on the succeeding yarn feed 2B will not catch the yarn at all until the cylinder 86g has again been moved forward a step. When the nub on the middle arm registers with a point such as I|0 where there is no protuberance, the

needles will be alternately in retracted and partia'lly raised positions for an interlocking operation at the yarn feed 26.

In instances where it is desired to obtain the advantages of the use of re-setting mechanism without re-setting the parts, there may be utilized a rotatable member carrying adjustable actuators and means automatically to adjust the actuators for varying operations. Such means also lends itself to operations where radical changes in the type of design at different stages of the knitting are desirable; and in cases where some sacrifice in simplicity is permissible, means of this character may be utilized. One type of .such means is exemplified in Figs. 16, 1'7 and 18,

wherein there is illustrated a needle bed 20h formed with a series of slots 2Ih carrying knitting elements in the form of latch needles 22h.. On each needle there is pivotally mounted a selective element 21h. An annulus 30h. is mounted for movement relative to the needle bed and carries a suitable cam 45h for selective operation of the selective elementsin a manner similar to the action of the cam 45 on the elements 21.

`The element 30h also carries a rotatable pattern member somewhat in the nature of a pattern wheel and mounted on a bearing ||2. The pattern member includes a disc I|3 formed with peripheral teeth |I4 meshing with projections 4 ||5 which extend from the needle bed between the slots 2|h. This pattern member is formed about its periphery with slots |I6 in which are set adjustable actuators |I1. The actuators are heldin place by a pivotspring I i8 at their lower ends and by a spring I|9 which tends to move them toward the axis of the pattern member. Each actuator is provided with an outward projeotion |20 adapted to register with a selective Velement and with varyingv conformations on its inner side along a multiplicity of positions. In

the present instance such conformations are disf posed at eight positions. Within the pattern member at the side adjacent the needle bed there are provided a multiplicity of cam elements |2| (eight in the present instance) mounted on a plvot'rod I2 I' and normally thrust against a cylinder |22 which is xed on a shaft |23. Springs |24 may provide this thrust. The shaft |23 is disposed at the side of the axis of the pattern member remote from the needle bed and is mounted for rotation within the bearing member II2. It will be seen that the pattern member' provides a series of configurations of a multi-- plicity of different types consisting of the members |20 under the influence of an operative element |2| as the pattern member movespastthe bed. Vertically disposed on the cylinder |22 are eight series of vertically-disposed holes |25, and in certain of these holes are selectively disposed removable protuberances |26. At the bottom of the shaft |23 is a ratchet |21 whereby one or 10 another of the series of holes may be moved to a position in line with the elements |2|. A suitable mechanism may be provided for effectuating desired rotations of the shaft |23 from time to time in the operation of the machine, as desired. 15, The mechanism exemplified comprises a pawl |28 pivoted at |29 on an arm |30 and held by a` spring |3| against the ratchet. The pawl is retracted'to a desired extent by the arm |30 and returned by a spring |32. The movements of the 20 arm |30 are effectuated by a pressurey disc |33 acting on a pressure surface |34 on the arm. The disc |33 may be operated by mechanism of the character utilized in operating the disc.99. It isv to be observed that the inner conformations on 25 the actuators comprise surfaces at three positlons;-an inner position |31, an intermediate position |38; and an outer position |39;so that, provided that a surface in position |31 is in line with an element |2|, when the element |2| is 30 projected by a protuberance |26 it will press the actuator all the way out lfrom the pattern Wheel and swing the selective element so that its lower end is all the way out from the cylinder. If a` surface |38 is in line with the element |2| the 35 actuator and the selective element will be moved only part way, and if a surface |39 is in line with the element |2|, the actuator and the selective element will not be moved at all, or at least will not be moved to a material extent. Accordingly, .40 the type of knitting operations to 'be performed will be determined by which of the elements |2| is projected by a protuberance on the cylinder |22'. For instance, if a series vof holes |25 containing no protuberances. is aligned with the ele- 45 ments I2 I, the actuators will all be held inwardly by the spring I9 and will not affect the selective elements, so that if they have been properly positioned with their lower ends inwardly, the cam 45h would not aiect them and the yarn carried 50 by the yarn feed corresponding Ito the particular pattern member will not be caught by the needles.

If each of the actuators is formed with an inwardly-extending surface. |31 in line with the lowermost element |2|, the projection of this 55 element will cause all of the selective elements t0 be in the position shown at full lines, and if the knitting -elements 23h are latched needles will cause them to knit Jersey cloth. Again, if alternate actuators have an outward surface |39 60 in position in line with the second element |2|, and if the remaining actuators have an intermediate surface |38 in line with this actuator,"

the actuators will operate upon the selective elements so that the cam will move these to cause 65 latched needles to be positioned to receive yarn for interlocking. If at a position in line with` the third selective element |2| afew of the actur ators have an inward surface |31 and the remaining actuators have an intermediate surface |38, the action will be such that latched needles will perform a tucking operation. Various unusual and pleasing patterns may-be performed by arranging the configurations in line with the I fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth elements4

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