US2202824A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1940. w. BouLAls KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1957 l1 Sheets-Sheet l June 4, 1940. wfBouLAls 2,202,824

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KNITTING MACHINE `Filed March 25, 1937 1l Sheets-Sheet 6 Okinawa/I3 June 4, 1940- w. BQULAls 2,202,824

KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1937 l1 Sheets-Sheet 7 June 4, 1940. .w. BouLAls KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1937 11 Sheets-Sheel'l 8 SN @NN NN@ @o ma/(QL yad ` 11 sheets-sheet 9 w. BouLAls KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 2S, 19s? WN .www

K June 4, 1940.

June 4, 1940.

w. BouLAls 2,202,824

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Maron 25, 1957 11 Sheets-Sheet 10 June 4, 1940. W, BOULAls 2,202,824

KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1937 ll Sheets-Shea?l l1 :92:12-- @24S/Vl 2,29 C@m ff/w l 7345 I 2&2 :Z-7C9-27 I I 184e/ I l I d 1T/9.25 /EI 54d 6 *RG/E l Syvum/vm 8406 1&3 4Z lo 30W 75014@ Patented June 4, 1940 UNITED STATI-:s

PATENT OFFICE KNITTING MACHINE tion of Pennsylvania Application March 25, 1937, Serial No. 133,032

65 Claims.

plain or Jersey fabric, ribbed fabric with any desired sequence of inner and outer ribs, pearl fabric, etc., in desired sequence by automatic means. l5 Another object of my invention is to provide a machine with novel means for knitting stitches twisted in either direction and for either a fractional turn or for any'desired number of turns.

Another object is to provide a machine with means for wrapping stitches about each other in the knitting operation.

Many other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the description) in the following specification, and from the drawings which are hereby made a part of this application, and in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan of the ma- 30. chine,

Fig. la, a partial horizontal section of a comb and related parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3;

Fig. 2, a partial vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, 35

Fig. 1,

Fig. 4, an enlarged vertical section illustrating the operation of the needles and cooperating instrumentalities at the knitting point,

Fig. 5, an elevation of a needle container, with the front wall broken away,

Figs. 6, 7 and 8, sections respectively on -lines 6 6, 1-1, and 8-8 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 9, a top plan of a needle container, y

45 Fig. 10, a view similar to Fig. 4, with the operative parts in a different position,

Fig. 11, a similar view showing details of a beard presser,

Fig. 11a, an inner or front elevation of said 50 beard presser,

Fig. 12, a top plan of a beard presser and related parts,

Figs. 13 and 14, vertical sections through a group of' needle and sinker cam sets forming part 5 5 of the machine,

Fig. 3, a partial vertical section on line 3-3 of y part at 50;

Fig. 14a, a detail of a trick wheel and related parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3,

Fig. 15, a plan showing cams for operating th needles, sinkers and pressers,

Fig. 16, a detail of the presser cam,

Fig. 17, a section on line Il--Ii of Fig. 16,

Fig. 18, a development of the cams for the needles and cooperating instrumentalities, looking from the center of the machine outward,

Fig. 19, a front elevation of the lower twister l0 cams,

Fig. 20, a rear elevation showing setting mechanism for said cams,

Fig. 21, a front elevation of the upper twister l cams, l Fig. 22, a plan showing shogging mechanism for a comb forming part of the machine,

Fig. 23, an elevation of the same,

Fig. 24, a plan showing pattern mechanism for controlling parts of the machine,

Fig. 25, an elevation of means for varying the movement of a set of sinkers,

Figs. 26 and 27, details of such means, and

Fig. 28, an elevation partly in section, showing details of a detent shown in Fig. 22.

General structure In the drawings, reference character 30 indicates the main drive shaft for driving the cam rings which rotate about the needle beds. This shaft is provided with a series of gears 3|, 32, 33 and 34, of which gear 3| drives a vertical shaft 35 hereinafter described. Gear 32 drives a ring gear 36 bearing pillars 31 secured to a ring 33 bearing a plate 39 on which there are supported a. lower needle cam set 40 and an upper sinker cam set 4I. Gear 33 drives a ring gear 42 bearing pillars 43 which support a ring 44 on which the lower sinker cam set 45 is mounted. Gear 34 drives aring gear 46 bearing pillars 41 which in turn carry a beard presser operating cam 203 (see below). The ring gears and other parts hereinafter described are carried by a xed frame indicated in The upright shaft 35 drives a horizontal shaft 5| on the main frame 50 carrying gears 52, 53 for driving upper rotary parts comprising a ring gear 54 with depending shafts 55 carrying a ring 56 on which is mounted the upper needle cam set 51. Gear 53 drives a ring gear 53 carrying depending shafts 53 which bear a ring Gly on which is mounted a beard presser cam 239 (see below). The parts driven .from shaft 5I are carried on a shogging frame a provided with annular ledges or shoulders as indicated at 50h, 50c and 50d (Fig. 2), supporting the respective parts.

The stationary supports for knitting instrumentalities include a lower set comprising pillars 63 supporting a lower comb 64, and a ring 66 for certain pattern controlling instrumentalities including Ames trick wheels 61 (see Ames Reissue Patent No. 17,705); pillars 68 supporting a ring 69 having means for supporting in'readily removable manner the radial guiding walls 10 for the needle containers and a lower series of beard pressers; and pillars 69 carrying a ring 10' on which is mounted a cylinder 1I flared outward at its upper end to provide a ring at 12 to form a lower guide for the fabric being knitted. In like manner the shogglng frame 50a, supports depending shafts 13 on brackets 14, said pillars bearing an upper comb 15 and a ring 16 for pattern controlling devices including Ames trick wheels 11; shafts 18 carrying a ring 19 supporting an upper set of removable walls 10; and shafts 80 supporting a ring 8|'l which is the upper guide for the fabric passing between rings 12 and 8| to the floor or to suitable take-up means, as desired. The Walls 10, as best shown in Fig. 4, have their inner nose portions set into slots in cylinder rings 12 and 8| and locked in place by flat rings 10" (Fig. 4) which are removably secured to said cylinder rings respectively.

Needle and sinker containers For the purpose of this invention it is neces-1 sary that the needles be shiftable bodily from an operative position in one needle bank to an operative position in another bank, either selectively or as an entire series. Containers have therefore been provided for holding the needles and for shifting said containers into either of the positions indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. In each container there is a spring beard needle 82, having a shank guided by stationary studs 83 (Fig. 5) said shank being bent at 84 to prevent accidental rotation thereof.

The needle is reciprocable by means of an annular butt 85 thereon, which butt is engaged at its opposite ends by lugs on a silde 86 having a butt 81 for operation by the needle-actuating cams, said slide being movable endwise of the container (indicated generally by reference character 88) and being guided by the side walls of the container. A leaf spring 89 acts frictionally against a side of butt 81 for preventing accidental movement of the slide 86 and its needle. The needle may be rotated about the axis of its shank by means comprising a pinion 90 on a flattened portion of the shank, and a rack 9| guided in a bracket 92 at one side of the container. Lugs 93, 94 on the rack form means whereby the rack may be moved transversely of the container. A kink at 84 in the needle shank acts against the side walls of the holder to keep the beard in proper position while being pressed and loops are being formed. When such kink is opposite the windows 94 or 95' in the said side walls, the needle may be rotated.

Each container carries a sinker 95 coacting with the needle of said container whether such container is in the upper or the lower comb, for which reason the sinker has two horns, as shown in Fig. 5, to coact with the needle, it being noted that each time a container is moved from one comb to the other the needle must be rotated into proper position for knitting in the needle bank into which it is moved (see positions of needles 82, 82 in Fig. 2). The body of the sinker comprises a narrow portion 96 bearing an operating butt 91 frictionally held in place by a leaf spring 98, and a wide portion 89 with an inclined edge to prevent that portion of the sinker from catching on the ends of the walls of the container when the sinker is retracted.

At its rear end the container has an arcuate base |0| shaped for sliding engagement in the grooves of combs 64 and 15, and the front or inner ends of the containers are guided by thc upper and lower sets of walls 10, the gap between sets of walls being narrower than the vertical width of a container, so that a container moving out from one set will engage between walls of the other before it is free from the walls of the first set. Butts |02 and |03 on bases IDI serve as means whereby the containers may be moved up or down. An arcuate bar IOI' (Fig. 15) supports the front ends of the needle containers when they are ln the upper comb.

Container operating means For moving the containers upward there are provided an initial raising cam |04 (Fig. 2) and a main raising cam |05 (Fig. 18) carried by ring 44 (Fig. 2). Each container has an individual jack |06, mounted in the ring 66 directly below the container and provided with a cam butt |01 positioned to engage the lower end of the base |0I when the jack is moved horizontally and radially outward. The jacks are each porvided with a butt |08 for engagement with cams |09, |09' (Fig. 1) for moving the jacks respectively inward and outward, said cams being carried by a bracket I|0 on the rotary ring gear 42 and the jacks are each provided with one or more butts III, which may be selectively removable as in Reissue Patent No. 17,705, and the jacks are flexible so that if a butt ||I is engaged by one of a series of cam levers I2 operable by the trick Wheel 61 the butt |08 is moved out of reach of jack cam |09 so that the jack is not moved and the container stays down. (See Fig. 14a.)

The trick wheel 61 is carried by bracket ||0 on rotary ring gear 42 and is constructed for step-by step rotation by a cam plate I I3 adapted to operate a pawl and ratchet device II4, as in Reissue Patent No, 17,705, when the plate is raised. It is normally held down out of action by means of a spring |I5 and is raised at desired times by a cam I6 on a slidable bar I I1 operable by a lever ||8 pivoted at ||9 and movable by means of lugs arranged according to desired pattern on a cam drum |20 on a vertical shaft When a jack is moved radially its butt |01 will raise the corresponding holder-to carry the lug |02 to a level where it is engaged by cam |04 and subsequently a cam |05 engages under the side of the holder to lift it into proper position in the upper comb, where it is held by friction and additionally by a spring-pressed detent |2I. It will be seen that any desired selection may be made among the holders in the lower comb and the desired holders will be transferred to the upper comb, or all the holders may be raised by omitting a trick from a slot of the trick wheel or using a trick with all its butts removed.

For transferring the containers from the upper comb to the lower one I have provided means comprising an upper trick wheel 11 carried by a bracket |22 on rotary ring gear 54, a set of cam levers |23 selectively operated by trick wheel 11 for selectively actuating jacks having operating vthe container down into the proper position in i the lower comb. The jacks are reciprocated by means of cams similar to those at |69 and |09 for the lower jacks, and the trick wheel is rotated step-by step by means of a cam plate |28 located on a rod |29, which is reciprocated to engage or disengage the cam from the pawl and ratchet means |30, as in Reissue Patent No. 17,705, said` rod being actuated by a rock arm on a shaft |32, which shaft also-carries a rock arm |3| engaging cams on a drum |33 on shaft |2I, to move the cam plate |28 into and out of engagement with said pawl and ratchet means.

When a container is transferred from one comb to the other it is necessary that its needle be reversed in position (see Figs. 2 and 4) and the needle may also be rotated for making twisted stitches. For these purposes there are provided the pinions 90 and the racks 9|. For moving the racks up and down to rotate the needles I have provided on a support |34 fixed to ring 44 a pair of finger cams |35 and |36, which are pivotally mounted and provided respectively with depending bent actuators |31 and |38, |31a and |38a (Figs. 3, 18, 19 and 20) mounted on levers |39, |39a and guided in brackets |39b, |39c. The actuators are operated by` patterncontrolled means comprising a lever |40 on the fixed frame of the machine with a cam face at its upper end at |4011. A link |4| connects this lever to another lever |42, which is rocked by cams of different heights on drum |20 to place the actuator in idle or operative position. The cams |43 and |44 of the upper set of rack-actuating cams are operated by similar means controlled from drum |33, and including a slide |43" and a cam |44',. These cams act on the needles only when the needles are in retracted or else fully-advanced position, so as to avoid damage to the needle beards. Guard cams |35', |36', |43 and |44 serve to hold the racks in proper position and `also to move a'rack suitably end- Wise if it has been moved too far or not far enough, so Aas to make certain that the needle beards will be located properly with reference to the yarn to be taken.

When both cams |43 and |44 are set with their sharp ends pointing upward, as shown in full lines in Fig. 21, the loops are not twisted during a series of courses. If the sharp points are both turned downward, as in Fig. 19, the next course or row of loops, as made in the next revolution of the machine, will be twisted, but thereafter the needles do not twist their loops. Now,

if both sharp points are moved upward the next K courses will not have twisted loops.

If cam |43 is set to point upward and cam |44 to point downward the loops are twisted in course after course, cam |43 rotating the needies to twist theirdoops and cam |44 resetting the needles so that they can again twist their loops in the next course, so long as these cams or analogous cams remain in such position; if these positions are now reversed so that cam |43 points downward and cam |44 upward the loops are also twisted (in course after course, if desired), but in the opposite sense. In this way it is possible to reverse the twist of the loops in successive courses or in successive groups of courses.

By adding rack butts, such as those shown at 93 and 94, to the opposite side of the racks 9| and by installing two additional sets of cams, such as those shownat |43 and |44, at the inner side of the racks on support |34', Fig. 3, it is possible to twist some loops in a course to the right and others to the left in the same row of stitches.

In such case butts may be removed from some of the racks at one side thereof and from others at the other side, or some of the butts may be omitted in making the racks, but preferably the racks will have frangible butts. By suitable manipulation of the twist cams with reference to racks some of which have no butts at one of the four points in question, Awhile others have no butts at another of said points, it is possible to vary the positions of twisted stitches so as to make a great variety of ornamental variations in the fabric.

Needle and sinker operating cams In Fig. 15 there are shown the sinker cams on top of bracket |66, the needle cams on bracket |58 being directly underneath said sinker cams, and being shown mainly in dotted lines.

The needle cam sets 40 and 51 are similar in construction, each including a pair of cams and |52 between which the needle actuator butts 81 pass, a needle advancing center cam |53 which advances the needles to a yarn-taking position relatively to the yarn supplied by guide |54 to which a yarn is led by passages l'54a, |54b (Figs. 13, 14 and 15), and a needle retracting cam |55 with a. dwell at |56 for permitting the needles to dwell while their beards are pressed, after which cam |55@ retracts them farther to complete the drawing of new loops and to knit off their previously formed stitches. The needle cams of the respective sets are located on brackets |51 and |58 (Fig. 2), while the sinker cam sets are located respectively on brackets |59 and |66.

The sinker cams comprise an advancing cam |6|, a second advancing cam |63, a coacting cam |62, and a sinker retracting cam |64. Cam |6| is vertically adjustable, so that it can be lowered into an inactive position in which it will not act to impart the initial advancing movement to the sinkers, which will then remain idle since their butts can be engaged by cam |63 only if vfirst advanced by cam |6|. Cam |6| may be moved vertically by hand into and out of operative position and fixed in position as by means of a setscrew acting on a stem |65 fixed to cam |6|, but is here shown as adjustable by means of a cam |66 (Fig. 13), acting on a follower |66a on the stem |65, cam |66 being on a shaft |66b having two or more star wheels |66c operated by means of a toothed finger |66d, as in the case of the finger, etc., for actuating cam |82, hereinafter described, to rotate the shaft and its cam |66.

Sinker cam |63 is adjustable in radial direction to vary the length of the stitches measured olf by the sinkers 95 (Fig. 14) the notches at |66' on walls 18 serving as fixed abutments across which the yarn is drawn in y.measuring of (see Figs. 4 and 11). For this purpose the cam |63 has a depending stem |61 that is pushed outward by a spring-pressed plunger |68. A face cam |69 on a shaft |10 (Figs. 3 and 14) serves to move sinker cam |63 inward to different extents as determined by the different steps of rotation of the shaft. Star wheels in suitable number (here shown as three) |1|, |12, |13 secured on shaft |10 are adapted to be actuated by a finger |14 slidable in a bracket |15, the finger being pivoted on a rockarm on a shaft |16 and having an arm |11 adapted to be moved by lugs of three different heights on a drum |18 to extents predetermined by the height of such lugs. The structure of the star wheels and their actuator is like that of the devices for operating cam |82, hereinafter described.

The sinker cams of the lower set 45 corresponding to cams |6| and |63 of the upper set may be similarly adjusted. In the case of the radially adjustable cam a lever |19 pivotally connected to said cam is pivoted at |80 and is urged outward by a spring |8| secured at one end to the upper arm of the lever and at the other end to a fixed frame member of the machine. A cam |82 on a shaft |83 (Figs. 25 to 27) is positioned to act on an adjustable screw |84 on the lower arm of lever |19, said cam having four faces at different distances from its axis for engagement with screw |84 to vary the inward movement of the sinkers. Shaft |83 is provided with star wheels |84a, |841); |84c and |84d adapted to be actuated by a three-toothed finger |81 similar to fingers |14 and |66d. Finger |61 is carried by a vertically movable rod |88, which is elevated to varying extents by a four-level cam (not shown) on a rod |90 slidably mounted in the machine frame, and connected to a lever |9| pivoted at ||9, the free end of said lever being positioned for engagement by lugs of four different heights on drum |20.

Each of the star wheels is here shown as having three teeth (Fig. 27) and each has a tooth missing at a different angular position about the shaft. The nger |81 also has three teeth adapted to engage those of any one of the wheels. It will be seen that whenever finger |81 is moved into position to actuate a star wheel the wheel will be turned until its blank segment comes next to the finger, regardless of whether the star wheel is so located that one, two or three of its teeth must be engaged by the teeth on the finger to turn the shaft |10 and its cam |69 to the desired position. In this way the sinker-advancing cam |63 can be moved into four different positions (or more or less if preferred), and the throw of the sinkers varied to a very large extent as compared with previous practice, so that short stitches can be drawn, or very long stitches, as well as stitches of intermediate length.

Beard presser and presser operating means The pressers 20| of the lower set and 200 of the upper set are best shown in Figs. 4, 10 and 11 and comprise flat plates located between the guiding walls 10. The pressers 20| are guided for radial sliding movement by studs 202 carried by lower walls 10 and a fiat ring 205 supported on the needle carrier separator walls 10, while the pressers 200 are similarly supported and guided by studs 206 on upper walls 10 and a ring 201 on upper needle carrier separator walls 10. Cams 208 and 209 (Figs. 4, 15 and 16) respectively actuate the two sets of pressers, they being each provided with a rear cam face at 2|0 acting on an edge portion of each presser of the corresponding set to retract it, and a cam face at 2|| acting on an opposed edge portion for advancing the presser for appropriate coaction with the needles. Specific features of cam 208 are best shown in Fig. 16, and include risers 2|2, 2| 3 on the rear face 2|0 for retracting the pressers to deflect needles of holders which are in the lower comb so that an advancing needle, for example, in the position of Fig. 10 will be raised to miss the rim of cylinder ring 8| as shown in Fig. 4, the presser having an edge face at 2|4 (Fig. 4) for engaging the needle shank to deflect the needle at such times. In like manner a needle whose holder is in the upper comb will be deflected downward to miss cylinder ring 12, by means of an edge face at 2|5 on a presser of the upper series. After passing riser 2|2 the presser moves back to leave the needle free until the presser reaches the second riser 2|3 which causes the needle to be again deflected to place tension on the measured off loops of the kinked yarn, so that the yarn will be taut against the needle and will clear the ends of the beards, and then the pressers are advanced by risers 2|6 each presser acting to close the beard of a needle in the opposite series, i. e., a lower presser closes the beard of a needle in the upper comb and vice versa. At this time the needle is in partially retracted position due to the action of the dwell at |56 (Fig. 15) Each presser cam also has on the face adjacent the needle holder a riser 2 |1 (Figs. 4, 16 and 17) for engagement with the sinkers of holders in the corresponding comb to maintain the sinkers in position where their horns will coact with the needles for measuring off loops, and so that the end of the sinker will not strike cylinder ring 12 (or 8|) and will not dig into the former loops on the needles. Adjacent to the beard pressing face of the presser at 2|8 there is a beveled face 2|9 (Figs. 10, 11, 11a) on the presser for guiding the sinker alongside the presser, and a lug 220 (Figs. 1l, 11a) on the presser aids in guiding the hook end of the needle. A at piece 22| (Fig. 15) on the cam supporting plate 39 (Fig. 2) serves to prevent the sinkers from being thrown up too far by the action of lug 2|1 on the lower presser cam 208 and too great depression of sinkers in the upper comb is prevented by a similar piece directly underneath said piece 22| in Fig. 15.

Pattern mechanism The features of pattern mechanism not hereinbefore described include a pattern drum cam 225 (Figs. 1, 3 and 24) for actuating a slide 226 drawn outward by a spring 226', said slide operating a spring-pressed pawl 221 engaging a ratchet 228 on shield |2|. A shield 229 is pivoted on shaft 2| and is connected by a link 230 to the lower end of a lever 23|, Fig. 3. The upper end of this lever 23| is actuated by lugs on a chain 230. The chain is driven by means of a drum 232 having a ratchet driven by a pawl 232 connected to slide 26. Thus the shield is so actuated as to permit the pawl 221 to engage its ratchet only when drum shaft |2| is to be rotated.

Shogging mechanism The upper comb and parts secured thereto are not permanently secured to the main frame of the machine but are on a shogging frame 50a, supported by an overhang at 233 resting on an annular shoulder 234 of the frame 50 whereby said shogging frame is adapted to be racked or shogged circumferentially with reference to the lower comb, and this may be done manually or by means of such devices as those shown in Figs. 22 and 23, or by other suitable means.

At a suitable portion of the shogging frame 55a, as on a segment 256 carried by posts 13 (Fig. 23), I provide rack teeth 25E, arranged for engagement by either one of a pair of pawls 252, 253. Pawl 252 is actuated by a lever 255 connected to a link 255 and so to a second lever 256, oscillated fonmcving the shogging frame clockwise by a cam 251 on main shaft 30. Pawl 253 is actuated -for moving said frame clockwise by means including a lever 258, a link 259, a lever 260 and a cam 25B (Fig. 23) levers 256 and 260 being pivoted at 255' on a bracket 25 i secured to frame 51|. For determining the direction of rotation, a ring 262 is shown as superposed on the part marked 250, said ring having a horizontal slot to receive studs on a shield 25d whereby said shield is slldably supported, and the ring being held in position by means shown at 2155. A dependingstud 265 on the shield is engaged by a rockarm 251 on a shaft 255 which may be actuated by any suitable means for moving the shield to expose one or more teeth 251 for racking the frame 50a one or more steps in either direction. A beveled springpressed detent at 255 serves to center the rack segment after actuation by pawls 252, 253 to insure accurate spacing of the needles. While I have shown the racking means as applied to the upper comb, it is within the purview of my invention to rack the lower comb, if preferred.

Operation The direction of rotation of the various needle cams, etc., is indicated by the arrow in' Fig. 15. ii the machine be set, for example, as in Figs. 2 and 3 with the needle holders 55 alternately in upper and lower position one-and-one ribbed fabric will be knitted. If now the order of the holders be changed to provide two up and two down throughout the series or a part thereof two-andtwo ribbed fabric will be made, and other variations in the rib knitting will be obvious. During such knitting yarn will be fed to the needles between the lower ends of their beards and the outer ends of the sinkers through an. eye atthe inner end of part 55 (Fig. 15) and the needles, the sinkers and the pressers will move as indicated in Fig. 18 wherein line 235 indicates the movement of the needle butts; line 236, that of the sinker butts; and line 236', that of the presser butts, the various relative positions of the needles, sinkers and pressers being also indicated in Figs. 4, l and l5. As above stated the needles are lifted or deflected by contact with parts of the backwardly moving pressers to prevent collision of their heads with cylinder rings 12 and 8|, and the beards are pressed by forward or inward movement of the pressers in the opposite bank when the needle butts are moving along dwell |56 (Fig. The positions of the sinkers with relation to the needles for measuring oil? stitches are also indicated in said figure, and the extent of movement of the pressers is indicated in Fig. 4.

supposing the needles to be arranged in twoand-two relation, if it be now desired to break up the two-and-two fabric into short sections in which the ribs shall appear first on one face and then on the other, the needle holders which are up may be lowered and the lower ones may be raised by operating both of the trick wheels 61 and 11 to cause the jack butts' |26 to move th container butts |03 into the path of cam |21 and to cause the jack butts |41 to raise the container butts |62 into the path of cam |04, after which rf Q3 cam G55 engages under the bodies of the containers to raise the same fully into the upper comb. The needles whose heads projected below the cylinder rings 12 and 5i now have their heads above said rings and vice versa, and a length will now be knitted with the ribs that formerly appeared on a face appearing at the opposite face, in each case; i. e., the ribs are reversed. The positions of the containers may thus be reversed at any desired intervals in the knittingoperation.

When the positions of the containers and their needles are thus reversed the needles of each set or bank must be rotated 180 to bring their hooks into appropriate position with reference to the yarn, as will be obvious. 'I'he transfer of the containers is performed while the needles are retracted, as indicated by the position of the cams 05, 4| 21 in Fig. 18 with reference to the needle and sinker operation, and the rotation is done while the needles are advanced as shown by the position of cam idd. Obviously the loop `must be twisted when the needle is in retracted position and the loop is in the hook of the needle. In so doing the rack moves to its opposite position (at the other end of its throw), from which it must be returned if the next loop of the wale is to be twisted. For this purpose the needle must be advanced to bring the loop upon its shank and so avoid untwisting the loop just twisted.

The twist cam being in the position indicated, it will engage the butt 53 of a rack on a container which is to be lowered from the upper comb and will rotate its needle as stated, the kink of the needle being now opposite the window 55', as in Fig. 5. In like manner the needles of the containers which are raised may be rotated by appropriately setting a twist cam in either the upper or the lower set.

It should be noted that cams 55 and M3 are really the twist cams by the action of which the stitches are twisted, the cams H55 and Mld serving only to reset the racks after a twisting operation, or to rotate needles in connection with a transfer operation, without twisting the stitches. Cams H55, |36', |53 and M55 are guard cams that hold the butts of the racks in such position that their racks will keep the needles with their beards centrally above the shanks in the lower bank, or centrally below the said shanks respectively in the upper bank. It should also be noted that while the twister cams have been shown as close together in Figs. 19 and 21 as a matter of convenience they are actually spaced to a considerable extent, as shown in Fig. 18, since the cams such as |43 act while the needles are retracted.

If it is now desired to twist one or more stitches in a course of knitting, a cam such as |35 `or |43 or both may be set to rotate the needle while the stitch is in the hook, and the coacting cams |36 and |44 are set to reset the rack, that being done while the needle is advanced as above explained. By twisting stitches several times between.i'eeds, i. e., by rotating their needles by successive increments with a resetting of the rack after each such twisting rotation, itis possible to twist the stitches to a greater or less extent.

It is feasible to reverse the positionsof the containers in each course if desired, it being only necessary to transfer containers, etc., as above set forth after each course of knitting or after each feed in a. multiple feed machine.

Pearl knitting may be done at any desired time by positioning all needle holders in one comb for one or more courses, and then transferring them all to the other comb, and so on.

For making fabrics with long loops the sinker cams |63 are adjusted to make the loops as long as desired (within the capacity of the machine) and such loops may be twisted in like manner to short loops. 0r some of the long loops may be twisted while others remain untwisted in the same course.

Loops may be wrapped about one another by arranging certain needles, e. g., in the lower and upper combs. causing them to draw stitches, then shogging the upper comb two needle spaces if the needles are alternated, then transferring each of I the holders to the other comb, shogging the upper comb over two spaces in the same direction, andA transferring the holders back to the comb from which they first started thereby making a socalled cable stitch fabric. Or the needles may be placed two up, two down, two up, etc., and shogged to and fro as above described but over four needle spaces. By twisting loops on them-L selves openings may be made in the fabric for ornamental or other purposes, the loops preferably being rather long; by wrapping a loop about another, larger openings may be made; and still larger openings may be made by wrapping two or more loops about a similar number of other loops, etc. By the use of a finer yarn for the wrapped course the openings may be made still larger than would otherwise be the case.

Novel short loop effects may be made by twisting loops to the left in certain courses and to the right in others, with or Without plain knitmachine.

During the shogging operation it is necessary that all the needles and sinkers and the yarn linger or fingers must be out of operation. In a machine of the variety herein disclosed, if the capability of shogging is desired, the needle advancing cams are mounted like the sinker advancing cams in Fig. 13, so that they may be retracted from operative position either manually or automatically, so that the needles remain in idle position, and the yarn fingers are also moved out manually or otherwise, the yarn being cut and securely held at this time, after which the shogging operation will be completed in one or sometimes in two rotations of the machine, according to the amount of shogging desired, etc.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many alterations may be made in the devices herein shown and described and which constitute the form of the invention as at present preferred, all without departing from the spirit of the invention; therefore I do not limit myself to what is so shown and described except as required by the state of the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a knitting machine, a series of needles having loop forming means at one end only, means for supporting needles of the series in either of a plurality of positions angularly related to each other, means for actuating the needles to knit when in either of said positions, and means whereby needles may be moved individually from one of said positions to another.

2. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means for supporting needles of the series in either of a plurality of positions angularly related to each other, means for actuating the needles to knit when in either of said positions, means may be transferred from one of said positions to l0 another.

4. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, holders forthe individual needles, means for supporting said holders in either of a plurality of angularly related positions, means whereby a l5 holder may be transferred from one of said positions to another, and sinkers in said holders and movable therewith. Y'

5. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, holders for said needles, means for supporting 1 the holders in either of a plurality of angularly related positions, means whereby the needle holders may be transferred from one of said positions to another, and separate needle actuating means for operating needles in either of said positions.

6. A device as in claim 5, including sinkers in said holders.

7. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means for supporting said needles in either of a plurality of angularly related positions, means whereby any one needle individually or all of the needles may be given an oscillatory movement from one of said positions to another, and means for actuating needles in each of said positions.

8. In a knitting machine, a circular series of independent needles, means for supporting each of said needles in either of a plurality of angularly related knitting positions, a set of needle reciprocating cams for actuating the needles to knit in one of such positions, an independent set of needle reciprocating cams for actuating needles in another of said positions and means for transl ferring all the needles of the lseries from one such position to another by oscillatory movement of the needles.

9. In a knitting machine, a series of needle holders, needles each individual to a holder, means for reciprocatng the needles with reference to Y their holders, means for supporting said holders in either .of a plurality of angularly related operative positions, and means whereby a holder may be transferred from one of said positions to another by oscillatory movement of the holder.

10. A device as in claim 9, including means for selectively predetermining the transfer of the holders.

l1. In a knitting machine, a series of spring beard needles, a holder for each needle, means for supporting the holders in either of a plurality of positions, means for actuating the needles to knit in either of said positions, and sinkers and beard pressers coacting with said needles in either of said positions.

12. A device as in claim 11, there being for each needle position a beard presser individual to that position.

13. A device as in claim 1l, there being in each holder a sinker operatively related to the needle in either of its positions.

14. A device as in claim l1, including means for transferring holders selectively from one position to another by an oscillatory movement thereof, and means for rotating on their axes the needles of the holders so transferred.

15. In an independent needle knitting machine, f

a senes of needles, means for reciprocating said needles to cause them to knit, and means for rotating needles of the series on their axes between movements of reciprocation.

16. In aknitting machine, a series of needles having shanks with butts thereon, means acting on said butts to reciprocate said needles independently, and means for rotating needles between movements of reciprocation.

i7. A device'as in claim 15, including means to rotate such needles when in position to twist their loops, and means for rotating them when in sumciently projected position to insure against twisting their loops.

18. A device as in claim 16, including means for rotating such needles when in position to twist their loops, and means to rotate them when sufllciently projected to be incapable of twisting their loops, said rotating means being arranged so as to be capable of rotating said needles in 19. In a knitting machine, independent needles,

means for reciprocating said needles in a knitting operation, and means for rotating them at will in either direction about their axes when they are in a position to twist their loops.

20. In a knitting machine, a needle holder comprising a Hat casing having side walls with aprtures therein, a rotatable spring beard needle and a sinker between said walls and each projecting from an end of the holder, the shank of such needle having a lateral extension and said Walls being apertured to permit said extension to rotate only atcertain predetermined positions of the needle, and means on the holder for rotating the needle when in such position.

2x1. In a knitting machine, a needle holder hav-v ing spaced-apart side walls, a rotatable spring beard needle in the space between said walls, and means on the holder for rotating the needle on its axis, said needle and said walls providing coacting means whereby such rotation is prevented except in certain predetermined positions of the needle.

22. In a knitting machine, a needle holder having spaced-apart side walls, a rotatable needle between said walls, and means on the ,holderv for rotating the needle, said walls and said needle being provided with `means for preventing rotation of the needle except at a. predetermined position of the needle relatively to the holder.

23. In a knitting machine, a needle holder, a yneedle mounted in the holder for reciprocation and rotation relative to` 'the holder, and means for preventing rotation of the needle except at particular longitudinal positions thereof in the holder.

24. In acircular knitting machine, a series of spring beard needles, holders individual to each needle, means for supporting said holders in either of two angularly related positions, a pair of rings located adjacent the verge of the forming fabric, the hook of an advanced needle inone of said positions of a holder passing said rings at one side thereof while the hook of an advanced needle in the other position of the holder passes to the other side of said rings, and the fabric passing between said rings.

25. A device as in claim 24, including a sinker in each holder, and means for moving the sinkers each into operative relation to its needle in each of said positions of the holder.

26. A device as in claim 24, including means for transferring said holders selectively from one of said positions to the other, and means for rotating the needle of each transferred holder approximately 180 on its axis.

27. A device as in claim 24, including individual beard pressers for the needles in each of said positions, and means for moving said pressers to deflect the needles away from said rings as they are being moved endwise.

28. A circular independent needle knitting machine having a series of needles, means whereby said needles may be supported in either of a plurality of angularly related positions which positions intersect adjacent the hook ends of the needles, and means whereby the needles may be transferred individually or collectively from one of said positions to another.

29. A device as in claim 28, including selectively controlled means for rotating said needles on their axes.

30. A device as in claim 28, said needles. having spring beards, and said device including means for rotating a transferred needle on its axis.

31. A device as in claim 28, said needles having spring beards, and said device including means for rotating a transfer needle on its axis, doubleacting sinkers transferable with the needles, and operating means for the sinkers comprising means for positioning the sinkers operatively with respect to the needles in each of the needle positions.

32. A circular independent needle knitting machine having a series of needles, means whereby said needles may be supported in either of a plurality of angularly related positions which positions intersect adjacent the hook ends of the needles, and means whereby the needles may be transferred individually from one of said positions to another, sinkers transferable with the needles, and sinker-actuating means adjacent each needle position including means for varying the throw of the sinkers.

33. A knitting machine as in claim 32, including means for rotating individual needles on their axes to bring their hooks into either of two opposite positions, said sinkers being arranged to coact with said needles in either of said positions.

34. A device as in claim 32, said needle-transferring means and said .sinker-throw-varying means being each pattern controlled.

35, A device as in c laim 32, said sinker actuating means including a sinker advancing cam, a rotatable shaft, and a cam on said shaft for adjusting the sinker advancing cam.

36. In a knitting machine, a series of independent spring beard needles, means for reciprocating said needles, means for rotating needles individually through an arc of 180, sinkers each arranged in substantial parallelism to the shanks of an adjacent, needle and shaped to sink a yarn to the hooks of adjacent needles in either of the positions of rotary adjustment of the needles, and means for moving the sinkers in substantial parallelism to the movement of such adjacent needle.

37. A circular independent needle knitting machine having a series of needle holders arranged circumferentiall-y .of the machine, a needle and a sinker in each of said holders, upper and lower sets of sinker and needle actuating means, and means whereby the individual holders may be moved to bring their needles and sinkers into operative relation with either one of said sets.

' 38. A device as in claim 37, including pattern controlled means for transferring said holders either individually or collectively.

39. In a circular knitting machine, upper and lower circumferentially extending combs, needle holders each engaged with a comb and transferable from one comb to the other, needles in said holders with their hooks projecting at a part of the holder remote from the comb-engaging portion, and yarn-feeding means arranged to feed a yarn to said needles in either position of the holders.

40. A device as in claim 39, including means for shogging one of said combs relatively to the other.

41. In a knittingy machine, a pair of spacedapart combs, each provided with arcuate grooves, individual grooves in each comb being adapted to register with grooves in the other comb, needle holders having bases fitting in said grooves and adapted to be moved from one comb to the other, reciprocatory needles in said holders, yarn feeding means arranged to feed a yarn to the needles in either position of the holders, and needle cams operatively related to each holder for operating the needle therein to cause them to knit said yarn.

42. In a knitting machine, a pair of co-axial circular combs, a series of independent needle holders transferable fr om comb to comb, knitting needles carried by the holders, the needles in one comb adapted to extend crosswise of needles in the other holder, means for operating the needles in either' oi said positions to cause them to coact in knitting a fabric, and means for shogging one of said combs circumferentially of the machine relatively to the other comb.

43. In a circular knitting machine, means for supporting knitting needles in either of a plurality of angularly related positions, a series of needles transferable selectively from one of said positions to another, means for operating needles to knit when in either of said positions, and means for shogging needles that are in one of said positions laterally with reference to needles in another of said positions.

44. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means for supplying a yarn to said needles, means for actuating said needles to knit a fabric from said yarn, and means for moving selected groups of said needles so as to wrap their loops about one another.

45. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means for supplying a yarn to said needles, means for supporting needles of the series in either of a plurality of angularly related knitting positions, means for actuating said needles to knit said yarn in either of such positions, means whereby needles may be transferred individually from one of such positions to another, and means for shifting needles laterally of the series, whereby loops drawn by the needles may be wrapped about one another.

46. In a knitting machine, a series of individual needle holders, means for supporting said holders in either of a plurality of knitting positions, each of said holders carrying a knituing needle, a sinker and needle rotating means, means for actuating the instrumentalities carried by the holder in either of the knitting positions of the holder; and means whereby said holders may be shifted laterally with reference to said supporting means.

4'7. In a knitting machine, a series of spring beard needles, yarn-measuring sinkers coacting with said needles, and cams for actuating said needles and sinkers including a s inker advancing cam movable into and out of position for initial advancing the sinkers, and a main sinker advancing cam to move farther sinkers partially advanced by the first-named sinker cam.

48. A device as in claim 47, including ffieaii for moving the second-named sinker actuating cam for varying the throw of the sinkers.

49. A device as in claim 44, including yarnmeasuring sinkers coacting with said needles, sinker cams including an advancing cam therefor, and pattern controlled means for positioning said cam so as to lengthen the stitches to be wrapped about each other.

50. In a knitting machine, a series of reciprocatory independent needles, supporting means including fixed walls between said needles, sinkers movable substantially in parallelism with adjacent needles, and fixed abutments on said walls over which yarn is measured off by said sinkers in feeding said needles.

5l. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, individual holders therefor, means for supporting said holders in either of a plurality of knitting positions including xed walls between said holders, sinkers in said holders movable approximately parallel to adjacent needles, means for reciprocating said needles and sinkers in either position of the holders, means for reversing the needles when their holders are transferred from one such position to another, and abutments on said walls about which a yarn is measured oii by the sinkers in feeding said needles.

52. A device as in claim 51, each sinker being constructed and arranged to coact with adjacent needles in either position of the needles.

53. A method of knitting on independent needles of a circular knitting machine arranged in separate circular series with their hook ends extending in the same general direction, comprising drawing long loops on a. plurality of neighboring needles in each series, shogglng those of such plurality of needles that are in one of said series laterally with respect to the others, then shifting each of such plurality of needles into the other of said series, then shogging those of said needles which are in one of said series in the opposite direction to the previous shogglng motion, and then removing them to their original positions in the respective series.

54. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means for supporting said needles in either of a plurality of angularly related positions, means for imparting a rocking movement to a needle for transferring it from one such position to another, and independent sets of needle reciprocating means for actuating needles to knit when in either of such positions.

55. A knitting machine as in claim 54, including sinkers individual to the needles and each sinker rocking with its needle in a needle transferring operation.

56. A device as in claim 54, including patterncontrolled means for transferring needles selectively from one of said positions to another.

57. In a knitting machine, a series of spring needles, means for supporting the needles of the series in either of a plurality of angularly related positions, means for rocking a needle from one of said positions to another, beard pressing means operative on the needle in one of said positions, independent beard pressing means operative on the needle in the other of said positions, and means for causing the needle to knit when in either of said positions.

58. A method of knitting ornamental fabrics comprising arranging needles in two spaced-apart sets with their hook ends arranged to take the same yarn, drawing loops on a pair of adjacent needles each of which is in a different one of said sets shogging the needle of one set laterally past the other of said needles, shifting each of said needles into the other set, shogging said needles back again, shifting each needle back to its original set, and thereafter knitting off the loops of said needles.

59. A method as in claim 57, including the step of twisting one or more of the loops before knitting them ofi.

60. A method of making ornamental knitted fabrics comprising drawing stitches on a plurality of needles in a course, rotating one or more of said needles in one direction and one or more others in the opposite direction to twist their respective loops in opposite directions, and subsequently knitting off to form oppositely twisted stitches.

61. In a knitting machine, a series of needles, means for supplying a yarn to said needles, means coactlng with said needles for knitting a fabric with said yarn, and vneedle supporting means arranged to permit selected needles to be manipulated so as to wrap their loops about one another.

62. In a knitting machine a needle bed, a needle holder movably mounted in said bed, a needle and a sinker mounted for reciprocation in said holderaand means on the holder serving te held the needle and the sinker respectively in their advanced or retracted positions.

63. A needle holder as in claim 62, there being a needle operating butt projecting at one side of the holder and a sinker operating butt projecting at another side of the holder, and independent friction means on the holder for maintaining the needle and sinker in their advanced or retracted positions.

64. In a knitting machine, a pair of slotted combs arranged in parallelism, said combs each having slots in line with the slots of the other comb. a series of needles, needle holders therefor having bases shaped to t in said slots, needle actuating means operatively related to said combs, and a yarn feed positioned to supply a yarn to the needles of the series irrespective of the location of said holders in said combs.

65. In a knitting machine, independent needles, means for reciprocating said needles in a knitting operation, and means arranged to rotate needles in retracted position either in the same direction so as to twist their loops in the same sense, or in opposite directions to frm oppositely twisted loops.

WILFRID BOULAIS.

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