[1]d July 5, 1932, Patente 118659710 ,UNITED STATES PATENT ..OFFICE WILLIAX L. SMITIL JR., OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR TO XAT HOSIlagY MIILLS, OF NAS]EIVILLE, TENNESSEE,. A CORI@ORATION OF TENNFSSEE XNITTING XACHINE Application :aled Ootober 28, 1925. Serial go. 65,42(L My' said invention relates to 'a knitting - Figure. 13, a bottom plan of the dial cam inachine and it is an objec,t of the same to provide a circular machine of the type h aving a revolving needle cylinder with - moans r, whereby stockings ca.n be made thereon having ribbed tops with plain. feet provided with heel and toe pockets or pouches in usual manner, the w-liole being@ knitted from toe tb top in oiie continuous piece. It will be uli:. io derstood that the invention is not limited ii@ all respects to a machine having a revolving needle cylinder as some of the parts may be used with machines. having a stationary laeedle cylinde ' r and revolving needle cams. 15. Neither is it limited to the forming of stockings as other fabrics may.be formed thereon. Another object is to provide improved s. cams for operating a series of dial needle Another object is to provide. an n@aproved 20 pattern mechanism for controlling said cams. Another object is to provide an improved take-up for a machine capable of makii6g the fabric described. Referrin- to the accompanying drawings, 25 which are ;t@de a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, FiLyure 1 is a front elevation of the machin@'of my invention, 3o Figure @, a rear elevation of a part of the machine on an enlarged scale Fi,-ure 3, a plan of the up'per part of the machine 7 Figurd 4, a development of the cams, for :85 -actuating the cylinder needles, Figure 5, an elev'ation of the pattern mechanism viewed from the right in Figure 1 Fig. 5a, a deta-il of certain parts shown iii Fig. 5, but at right angles to said filyurei 40 Figure 6, a similar elevati,on of a @art of .said mochanism on an 4nlarged scale, Figure 7, a plan of parts shown in Figure 6, Fio,ure 8, a section on line 8-8 of Figure 7, 'Fiiure 9, a s6etion on line 9-9 of Figure 8, 45 Figure 10, an.elevationof the take-up of the inachine Figure 11, a fragmentary plan,shoWin-- the take-up rolls, Figure 12i a fragmentiry d pattern etai 60 mechanism controlling the take@uop:' , cap siiowing the petrts in knitting position, Figure 14, a similar view showing the nee. dle projecting cam halfway in, i. e. in tuck position, Figure 15, a similar view showing the parts in the casting-off and Idtch-opening positioln, Figtire 16, a similar view showing @he idle po@,ition of the cam, Figure 17, a detail of a dial cam cap, Figure 18 - , a perspective of th4D upper part of the machine, . Figure 19, a fragmentary perspective showing some of the parts in a different position, and Figure 20, a modified yarn-pusher. Suppo-pting and diiving con?wotiom The general construction of the machine is similar to that of the well-known Banner machine'as shown in the patent to HemphiH, Ng. 933,,44 3, September 7, 1909, said condruetion including a revolving needle cylinder 25 and a stationary sup ort 26 on.which are mounted a @t, 27, carrvi . Lng (,-ams for I& the. cylinder nee(fles 27' (Fig.,4), the pickers of 'which one is indicated at 28, the instep cams 29, and various other parts of the mechanism. A bracket 30 is mounted on the support 26, so said bracket extending over the eyhnder and with an Aperthe dial post 32. bed outside cam ring 25'. 86 s lar gear 34. s secure to the upper end of the dial post by means. of a nift 35 said gear resting on a flaiige 36 of the post which flange rests on the bra@ket 30. As shown in Fig. 3 the web of the gear is cut out to reduce its go we ig 't b )lid if preferred.,. A ht, or ma sha :ff 37 ale d in a bea rm g su ppor 30 and said shaft cE Lr@ries be 39 the teeth (yf which me sh res the teeth of gears 34 ob: an d 33 sin with the mounted to m ported at theend of '41 is preferably 10
[2]2 1,865,710 sleeve 40 said plate having a cam slot in which s fouower 42 (Fig. 18) is movably mounted. The.. plate 41 is here shown as being approximately on a, le,@el with the top of the latch ring 43. The dial 44 is secured to the lower end of the dial post in anv convenient manner. Above the dial is a di@l cam cap 45 shown in detail in Figures 13 to 16 and above this is a plate 10 46, preferably annular, which is substantiallv stationary but may have a slight oscillatorv movement, the extent of which is determinea by means of a set screw 47 engaging the pin 48 on the plate 46 extending upward t' gh .Irou 15 a slot in the plate 41 (Fig. 3). Pref@:,rably' iL lost motion connection is -provided between the plate and the plat-e 41 as this is,found to prevent cramping of the parts on the plate and their connedtions. 20 The cylinder is driven as usual by a gear 49 on a shaft driven -from a belt i-)O through a set of pulleys 51,-52, 5'0, ,-)4 I)eininterposed as usual for caiising tli - gear 49 and the needle cylinder to i,otite ol- oscillate 25 in well-known manner. Ii; invtiaion obviously the dial wiR have i.,!- .1@it,.iilar to those of the cylinder. Dial ea?" and controll-ing there30 toir At its underside the dial cam f@ap is provided with an outer waR or rib 55 (Fi@-. 13) combining in itself guard cams and iieedle retracting cams 57 aiad 58. The knockin35 over point of the nee-dlc retracting portion is at 56. The outer waR of the needle-butt -path is interrupted at one point by a gap closed by a gate 59 which gate is slidable in a. counterclockwise direction in Figure 17 to 40 open the gap and permit the removal of the dial needles 59' (F@ii. 13). A spring 60 serves to return the gate to closed position. The inner wall of the needle butt path is formed by a downward projection 61 of the cam cap which projection is reduced at. one side to pro . vide space for an oscillatorv needle projecting cam 62 pivoted at 63. The oscillation of the cam is brought about by movenient of the dial cam cap about the dial post as an axis r'o whereupon the needle projectin- caiii is moved i-n and out by the cam pwth in the plate 41 in which pat@ the follower 42 travels. The cam cap has an upwardlv projecting circular portion 64 (Fig. 2) which enga.-es 55 the inner peripher-v of the plate 46 and aids in holding the part@ in place. The oscill-ation of the cam cap for adjusting the needle propecting cam to its various positions is effected by a train of mechanism 60 including @L link 65 pivotally connected to the di-,il cam'tap and to a rod 66 slidably supported in"a bearing 67 moiinted at one side of the bracket 30. The bearing has a lateral extension 68 with a slot at one side in 65 which is guided a pin 69 extending into a slot in a rockarm 70 (Figs. 1 and 3). The rockarm is fixed to a rockshaft 71 journaled in a sleeve 72. The rockshaft at its other end is provided with a gear '3 having a set of teeth, which teeth mesh wi.th teeth of an internal 70 gear 74 arran(red about an are of approximately 180', said gear,being mounted for oscillatory movemedt on the outer end of the shaft 71 that is provided for this purpose with an eccentric flange 75. A link 76 is piv- 75 otally secured to the gear 74 at its upper end and 'at its lower end is pivoted to a lever 77 (Fig. 5) arranged for acttiation by Itigs on a pattei-n chain 78 positioned to engage with a laterally extending pin 79 at the fre(! end 80 of the lever. The pattern chain passes over an independly rotatable sprocket 80 which sprocket is driven by a ratchet 81. A pawl 82 is mounted as ustial on -tlie oscillating quadrant - which 85 causes the machine to knit reciprocatingly and said pawl normally moves the ratchet one step for foitr rotations of the needle C.Vlinder. At certaiii times a higher speed is desirable, such as one step for each revolution of the 90 needle cylinder. I have pron-ided n-teans for speeding up the moven-ient of the @liiin at certain times. which mearis. lionyevei-, ciiinot be used throughotit the knit t i @ i,-y of the entire stocking as it - would 95 interfei e %%,itl) tl)e proper operation of the machine in l@nitting heels and toes, and a verv loii(r cliain would be required. For the purpose of speeding up the movement of the chain at certain times another 100 pawl indicated at 83 is arranged for engagement with the ratchet, this pawl being constantly operated by an eccentric 84 on which the pa'wl is pivotalty supported. The eccentric is driven bv a gear 85 with which it may 105 be iyitegral whi"ch gear is driven from'a series of gears 86, 87, 88, the latter being the quadrant driving gear of the Banner knitting machine. The pawl 83 is normallv held out of action 110 by gravity and an elevator 89 engages the underside of the pa.wl for Efting it into enga,-ement wit-h the rat@chet, the elevator being piv?tally mounted and pressed upward by a spring 90. When this is done the ratchet 115 will be driven a step for each rotation of the needle CVI-iDder, t-he pawl being moved at this rate by the gearing indicat@ed.- The elevator 89 is moied downward on its pivot 90' by an ecceiitric portion 93 of a shaft 92 shown i@ de- '.'20 tail in Figtires 7 and 8. The. shaft has another eccentric portion at 91 passing through a slot in a lever 94 pivoted at 95 (Fig. 5). At its forward efid the lever is connected b-1, a siid- 125 pin and slot connection to a vertically able rod 96 (Figs. 5 and 5a) provided at its tipper end with a finger 96' acted on by a spring 97' said finger engaging the underside of the pawl 82. The purpose of this yielding action of spring 97' is to prevent damage to 130
[3]1,865,710 3 the mechanism should the rod. 96 be Efted while the pawl is being moved forward and is pressing against a ratchet tooth in which case the finger can yield until the pawl is released from the ratchet whereupon the pawl will. be lifted. The sbaft 92 is journaled in a support mounted on a fixed part of the machine frame and is rotatable by means of a gear 97 pro10 vided witb an inteoral sleeve extending into a ratchet drum 98'hxed to the shaft by -a set screw 98'. A pawl 100 (Fig. 9) is pivoted in a circumferential notch on the ratchet drum once for each four revolutions of the cylinder. It will be understood that after the lug 109 passes the lever 108 the parts return to the o 'tioi@'indicated in Figure 6, the gear 67 TO d to turn freely backward on eans of the ratchet clutch. or latching device is provided for dial cam cap in, a position which to the idle position of the dial 7 r), needle cam (Figs. 2 and 3). This locking means com ses a rockei 111 having a triangular lug 112 at one side thereof. This lug on to ei otch s I - a directi agage with n e at 102 'R the sleeve portion of the gear 97. @ A reaf spriiig 103 has a bent end for engagement in n . otches iD the ratchet drum for holding it in place after it has been driven through a ha-If 2o rotation by the shaft 92 acting through the ratchet clutch. The rack segment 99 (Fig. 6) is pivoted oi@ a fixed @upport and is connected by a link 104 to a lever 105, pivoted at 106, and carrying 25- a piia at 107 engaging a slot in a lever 108@ The lever 108 is positioned for engagement at its free bnd by a lug 109 on the chain 78. A spriing 110 serves to hold the lever normally in t-he position of Figure 6 so In *the operation of the chain driving means the parts are normally in the opposite position to that indicated in Figure 5 with th6 pawl 82 engaging the ratchet 81 and drivinig the chain oAe, step to four rotations of the 35 ineedle cyli@d@@@@ @nd dial. When it becomes desirabl,e'' io "@@spee'@a u@p the ()peration of the chain, as dukinl, the triinder from plain to rib Imittine, in casting @:ff or in making a welt a lug 109 on the chain engages the adjacent 4o end of the lever 108. The surface at the upper side of the short portion of the curved slot in siid lever now bears down on the pin 107 of the lever 105 and by the movement of this lever about its pivot 106 acts througli the said pawl being impelled by a spring@ 101 in ..is adapted to engage in a notch at 113' on a fixed abutment 113 of approximately ellip- 80 tical shape having both ends pointed. Such engagement occurs on movement of the rockarm 70 to the left in Fioure 2 by a lug on the pattq!in cliain 78 throuih levers and conneetions between the'said chain 78 and a rock 65 arm 70. To release the latch it is moved further to the '@eft as by a high6r lug on chain 78 and descends under the influence of 'ravity plus the action of the cam at 113" below the level of abutment 113 wl--reupon the lug il2 00 strikes t,he upper surface of -a lever 114 pivoted at .1 15 and suppoited in the position indicated by a coil, spring 115' connected at one end to a pin 116 on the lever which pin extend s through a slot in the rearmost one of a , 95 pair of plates 117 bet@ween wliieh the rocker Ill and lever @114 are guided for up and down mov ement. At its upper end the spring is atta ched to a suitable holding means at the fart he@r side of the rear one of the plates 117. 100 It will be seen that the lever 114 will support the lug 112 which when the rockarm 70 mov es to the right will ride underneath the abut ment 113 uiider the-tension of the sprin115' after which the rocker 111 will rise anA 105 lift the lug-112 into the position show,n in Fig. 2. When the rockarm now moves to the left in 'Said figure the lug will readily ride ove r the abutment 113. When the locking 45 link iO4 and quadrant 99 to turn th'e gear 97, means is released the rod 66 will be moved to 110 and rotate the shaft .92 through an are of l8Oi6. This br-ings the eccentric 91 and 93 into the s pc@sition shown in Figures 5 6 and:8. -The entric 91 acts oii lever 94 t' 50 ece o lift the rod 96 and -pawl 82 into: the 1)o! ition shown in Figure 5. At the same time the@ eccentric porti6n 93 has been m . oved upward to relieve its @pressure on the elevator 80 whi 55 ch'is now moved upward by its spring 90 and ca"ies the pawl 83 into engagemen.t with the! iatchet whereupon the ratchet 81 sp@ockei 80 @ 'ano'chain are I @ @@ @ @ , raoved-one@ step iorleacn revolution of the 60 ne@edle cylindeir and !dial. This action continues until the lug iog on the ch@tin passes the free end of lever 108 whereupon the operation just described is rev@rsed and -the pawl 82 is returned to action. When the pawl 015 82 returns to action the chain is again moved the right in Figure 2 by a spring 118 to the limit of its movement in tl-lat direction. When the ea follower 42 reaches the end ol the cam slot indicated by the reference letter a, Figure 18, the. dial cam is in -the locked 115 Position and is thei6by prevented fiom being moved to q projected,position. It should be noted that pdtterii chain 18 moves continuously althoutgh intermittently and when a lug the I reon moves by, the locldng device func- 120 tions, i. e., when, a @ cha n,lug.is tiot p@t@ern loperative. the latelh serves the purpose mt ended. The cams for- id@erating the cylinaer-' i6dles are show in detail in Figure 4 an 125 n6 n d colrkprise a bottidm center cam 119, a top center i@am 120 stitch cams 121 and 1221, ne die a , e raising cain 123 and a guard cam 124 above the same. The top anct bottom center cams and.the stitch cams shown iLt the right in Fig- 130
[4]1,865$710 ure 4 may be as in the prior art but stitch cam 122 has an extended horizontal portion at 125 for holding down the cylinder needles until the dial needles have drawn their loops. The g needle raisiiig cam 126 is, of course, similarly formed so as to provide 'a narro-%v path for the needle butts. The machine of my invention is provided with sinkers whereas the ordinary ribber ,o does not have sinkers. By reason of the presence of the sinkers the fabric caiinot pass down to the take-up in the sanie direct manner from my niachine as is the ease in conventional ribbers. Cai-n .123 is therefore provided for liftincr the needles to a. greatelheight than would be necessarv in plain knitting or even in a 4@onventional ribber. It will be understood that the level of the ver,-e. of the forming fabric is raised during rib knit20 ting since while knitting plain fabric the position of this verge is determined by the sinkers or in ot-her words the work is held bv the throats of the sinkers whereas iii rib kniiting t-he dial needles necessarily pull the fabric 25 upward to a certain extent, awav from the throats of the sinkers. It is importa-nt also that the needies be not so high during reciprocating knitting wlien the cylinder ne'edles alone are in operation as 30 to fail to engage the pickers, or as to enga-e at improper times and da,mage the machi@'e. The cam 124 finds its usefulness during the reciprocating part of plain knitti!ig wlien the low place at the left-hand side in Figure 4 .43 can bring the needles down to prevent their butts from stril,-ing the droppers while the up-picks are acting to narrow the fabric and locate the butts properly for enoagement bv said up-picks. During the abc@ve wideniin@. 40 and narrowing.of the fabric the low part of the cam 124 at the right-hand side in Figtire 4 finds its useful function in that it brings the needle butts to the proper level for the action of the up-picks. For this reason the A guard cam 124 is provided with low parts at each side of the cam 123 so a-s to briiig the needles down immediately to an elevation at which t,he pickers can act to move the needles in widening and narro*ing. ',S'titch length control The main cam shaft 127 is driven bv a pawl engagin- a coarse rateliet 128. Tlie'rotation of the shaft controls in t-he tisual manner chn-nges in speed by means of a. ca-m 129 acting on a belt shifter 130. It @also controls the varn feeds kv means of cams indicated at 1317 and controls changes from rotary to reciprocating knittin,- b-i a cam indicated at 132 and coacting mechanism as in the Hemphill I)atent above referred. At the left end of the shaft iii Ficr. 1 is qjiown a cam or druin 133 whicli acts on a pair of -followers 184 to change the len@,,th of the stitches by raising and lowering the cam ring relatively to the nee.dle cylinder. For a sharp control over the length of stitches to enable such I.ciagth to be changed, e. g. in successive revolutions, the cam shaft is provided with a ratchet disk 135 (Fia. I having a short series of closely spaced @ect4 70 at 136 (Figs. 1 and 5) these teeth being positioned for engagement by a pawl 137 which may be mounted on the same eccentric 84 as the pawl 83 or on a similarly located eccentric. The pawl 137 i@ al*ays in engage- 75 ment with the periphery of the disk 135 so that when the teeth 136 come into position to be engaged the cam shaft has moved one step for each rotation of the needle cylinder. Thl'3 arrangement may be utilized for changing th6 80 length of stitches quickly as is desirable in transferrin- from plain to rib knitting. In the present instance the teeth are positioned to operate the cam shaft rapidly for changing the length of the stitch at the time of trans- 85 fer from plain to rib knitting. Ya2-n. feeding The machine is provided with the usual virn fingers 138 operated from the pattern 90 mechaiiism by means of levers 139, links 140 and levers 141 resting on the cams 131. The rin- 46 (Fig. 18) is provided with a resilient yarn clamp 142, a hook 14a underneath which the yarn passes, and a shear having a stat.ion- 95 ai,y blade 144 and a movable blade 145. The shear is operated by a plunger 146 (Fig. 19) here shown as provided with a roller at the top for engagement with a cam 147 (Fig. 19) at the underside.of the gear 34. A link 148 100 connects the plunger to the movable shear blade. A yarn push@@r 149 is pivotally supported on i@e bracket 30 and is moved in one direct,ion by a cam 151 on the gear 34 against the tension of a spring 151'. The pusher has OF a notch at its forward end for engagement with a yarn that is moved into idle position and it is moved bv a cam 151 in a manner to pieli: tip an intei-@lediate part of a yarn extending from an idle yarn-finger about the 110 edge of the dial to the'knitted fabric and to carry sue-h a. yarn into a position tinderneath the clamp 142 and into the space betwein the shear blades, as illustrated in Fig. 18. It will be tinderstood that wben the eam 151 re- 115 leases the pusher it will move toward the baek of the machine stifficientl- fai, to pieli: ii)-) the next yai-ii iiioved up oiit. 6f knitting position. The @iisher swings back and forth at each rotation of the machine, but act,s only on idle 120 variis. as the yarn which is being f . e(I to -the needles lies b@low the. path of the pusher. Take-?Ip 7?iccha??isn't The take-up mechanisii-i (Figs. 1. 1(,) and 125 11) for this machine is secured to the lower end of the needle cylinder to rotate therewith ind con-iprises a frame men-lber 152 fixed to the usual ring gear (not sliown) in aiiy convenient manner. This frame member is open 130
[5]at the sides and is provided with bearin gs for a pair of rollers 153 and 154, th(3 first one of 'which is concave and the other convex. The rollers are connected at one end by suitable 5!artihng to cause them' to rotate together. t other end the roller 153 is provided with 4 Lyear, 155 meshi " th a in lntywl gear 156 which "' turn is diiven a gear on the same shaft with a ratchet 157 or in10 tegral with the ratchet. The ratchet is operated by a pawl 158 on a pawl lever 159 and is held in adjustable po@ition by means of a pair of pawls 160 set so as to have their points spaced by one half the distance betweeii tw6 15 teeth of the ratchet so as to reduce backlash. A spring 161 normally holds the le@ver aoainst a stop 162 on the downwardly proj(@ctini part of the take-up frame and the spring is attacl@ed at oiie end to an adjustink screw 163 20 through an opening in a bent arm of a depending bracket 164, said screw carryingr a nut 165 by which the tension -of the spring may be adjusted.' The lever 159 has a dow'nwardly project25 in arm 166 positioned to engage with an alf utnient 167 (Figs. 10 and 12) at each rotation of the needle cylinder when the parts are in the position indicated in Fig. 12. The disc 133 on the pattern drum has cams at 169 30 for lifting the lever 170 pivoted at 171. This lever has attached thereto cit'its other end a rod 172 carrying the abutment 167 said rod being slidably mounted in a gaide 173. A spring 174 attached at one end to a jection pro 35 174' tends to bring the abutment 167 into the 'position indicated in Fig. 12 which is the GorFeet positign for actuatmg the take-up diirlllg round-and-roundl knitting. ' When the pouches such as heels and toias of stockings 40 are being formed the cam -,haft 127 is turned so as to bring the cams 169 under the end of lever 170 ancl pull the abutment 167 down below the position at which it can engage the pawl lever 159. The take-up theretore does 45, iaot act on the fabiie dur,ing the formation of pouches, i. e. during reciprocating knitting. Operatio,ii In a typical operation of the machine'of 50 iny i'nvention for knitting a stocking the iaeedle cylinder revolves and the cylinder 170 at this time being lifted by one or the other of the cams 169 to bring the abutment 167 out of reach of the'pawl lever 159. 'The foot and heel arb -also made in usual manner and a short distance above the heel is formed 70 as plain fabric, Th@ incidental operatiojis such as change of stitch length, te. up to this time have been as in conventional'manufacture of hosiery on ii circular knitting, machine. The knitting is now to be changed from plain to ribbed for the production of a ribbed leg.. As soon as the ankle portion has been knitted the travel of'the pattern chain is changed from the normal 1 x 4 to I x 11 i. e. 80 instead of moving the chain one step to four revolnti. ons of the cyjinder it now is moved one step to each revolution of the cylinder, and a lug of the proper height on the right hand side of the pattern chain causes the dial 85 cam to move from its idle position (Fig. 16) to the latch opening position (Fig. 15). The needle latches are opened by a brush 57' (FiLy. 1'5). While the dial needle@ will be project@'d to their most outward position at this time go the needle wave of the dial needles is far enough eircumferentially from the knitting position to pyevent the dial needles from taking yarn. It may I be noted- that all lugs on tbe pattern chain controlling the positions of 95 the dial cam are at the right-hand side of the chain whereas the lugs for controlling the 6ther operations of the machine are at the lefthetnd side. The dial needles remain in this position for as many revolutions as are 100 require d.-for opening the latches, the dial cam is then caused to rotate toward the knitting position (Fig. 13) and the carr track in plate 41 just above the dial cam w@ieh is tationary. causes the dial needle projecting cam 62 to move to the half-wa@ position (Fi I g. 14). 105 The dial needles will, now be in the first yarn taking position which is th6 tuck'mg position of the ne@dles. In other wordg the rotating of the cam from the latch-opening 110 position ioward the kniiting position e-auses the dial needles to move to their half-way-in position and also to take their first course of yarn at the s'ame time. The positioias of the forower 42 correspondin g to the different phases of the knitneedles are operated to knit a looper-s mar- Itiiag operation and to the positions of the gin of plain fabric. At this time, the dial of needle projectiiag cam shown in Figures 13, to I course, rotates with the cylind@i but th@ di!Ll .16 a.re illustrate@d in Fig. 18. When the pin 66 - parts are in the eircum' is e po I sition indicated at a the projectcam cap and related - in th ferential positio'n illustrated in Fipre 18-iso, ing cam is in idle 'p'osition (Fig. 16) ilnd the cam cap has been turned, to the limit of its movement in a clockwise direction, V@@ewed 'bo from a ve. When the, cam cap is now, moved counterclockwise to move the follower 12# from position a to position b the parts assume. the latch-opening pbsition illustrated in Figure 15. The next movement in the same direction carries the follower fron@,position b to position d which@ is the tueldni position 130 that the needle wave is ' ition whp m a pos re the needles will not take yarn. After a suit, able length of material has been knitted the 60 motion of the machine is changed to reciprocat'mg, fcor knitting the toe pocket, an addit' nal @rn being put into action as usuil 101 a througlout the toe. It will be reealled that during the formation of these _pockets the take-up rohers are not operated the, lever
[6]1,865,710 wb,ere the yarn -will now be taken and held by the hooks of the neeclles. After the dial needles have taken one course of yarn a lug of the proper heioht caiises the dial cam to rotate away frory@t-he knittina position, the projecting cam remaining in the half-way position in, order to hold the loops of the fitst course, the follower being now in position c. This movement serves to prevent ,O the dial needles from taking any more yarn for the next one or more revolutions as may be required. These courses of plain knitting serve to close up the large holes that would otherwise,bemadeinthetransfer. Thenext 15 step -in the operation is to turn the dial cam cap to hrii3.g the cam 62 into the knitting Position (Fig. 13), the follower now bein(y at e. It should e noted that the idle posit5l@'on of the follower at a is at the same distance from 20 t-he axis of the machine as are the positions c and d. Similarly the follower and the cam are at the same distances from the axis in positions b and e of the follower. It should be rernarked also that when the follower is in 25 position e the needles are in tucking position but cannot take yarn because the needle wave has not been moved sufficiently far about the machine in a countercloclcwise direction whereas when it has been advanced far 30 enougli to.bring the follower to position d yarn will be taken. In moving in the contrary direction from e to c loops already on the needles will be held in either position d or position c of the follower. Finally posi35 tion b is both the latch-opening position and the casting-off position so far as the follower and the needle projecting cam are concerned. It is to be understood that while n-lakin,(y the transfer the pattern chain mtas travelina one 40 step to each revolution of the cylinder and when the transfer is completed the ttavel of the pattern chain is chanoed back to one step of the chain to four revoyutions of the cylinder. 45 It is desirable to -iye the stocking a finish by making wliat are called welts; These may be made in the following manner. First the travel of the pattern el-lain is changed from I x:4 to 1 x 1. A lug of the proper height on 50 this pattern chain causes the dial cam cap to rotate away from the knitting position causIng the projecting edm to move to the half wav position (Fig. 14), the follower being at @. The, dial needles will still receive yarn 55 but the old loops will not knit off. The dial cam may be held in this position@ for as many courses as is wanted, after which it moves to 0 the position of the cam remaining as before, but the dial needles ceasing to take 60 yarn. Plain courses are now knitted as far as necessary according to' the style of welt desired. The dial cam is then caused to rotate back to the knitting position thereby allowing the old loops to be knitted off. As 65 many of these welts can be made as required. Afte-r the welts have been made the dial cam is cause4'-to rotate away from the knitting position and to the cast-off position which is the same as the latch-opeiiing position. When the loops have been cast off from the 70 dial noedles the dial cam is rotated still further away from the'knittinlr position to its idle position. The travel of the pattern chain is now changed from 1 x 1 to 1 x 4. The machine is now ready to begin a new stock- 75 ing. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself 50 to what is shown in the drawilligs and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims. Figure 20 illustrates one such change. The yarn pusher 149' is piv,bted on a bracket 150' 55 similar to that s'hown ln F' res 18 and 19, the yarn pusher, how@ver,rein- smaller in form than'that in the other figu@es. Whereas the yarn pusher 149 is nearly S-shaped, that of Figure 20 approaches more iaearly 90 to a straight line, the upper le- beino- approximately in line with the no-tched l'ower end. This form is preferable in some instances as being of smaller coiastruction and less liable to get out of order. 95 Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by
