US70678A - Improved machine for making the tongues of machine knitting-needles - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES l'PATENT OFFTCE.

WALTER AIKEN, OF FRANKLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MAKING THE TONGUES 0F MACHINE KNITTING-NEEDLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 70,67S, dated November 12, 1867.

To all whom it ma/ z/ concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER AIKEN, of Franklin, of the county of Merrimack, of the State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Machine for Making the Tongues of Knitting-Machine Needles; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is a top View, Fig. 2 a front elevation, and Fig. 3 atransverse section, of it. Fig. 4 is a side View of a knitting-machine needle with its tongue. Fig. 5 is. a side View, Fig. G an under-side View, and Fig. 7 a longitudinal section, of a needle-tongue as made by the machine, the said Figs. 5, 6, and 7 showing the tongue on a scale four times its ordinary size, and with the shank-piece, which is afterward to be broken off from the rest of the tongue by a workman after fixation of the tongue to a needle.

The machine in questionv performs upon a piece of wire, after its introduction therein, the following operations: First, it makes the bowl a and the nick b of the tongue, (see Figs, 6, and 7,) and at the same time forces back the feeder upon the wire. Next it moves the Wire between flattening-dies, by which it will be iiattened on its opposite sides. Next the wire is moved to the punching-dies, by which a hole, as seen at e in Fig. 5, will next be punched through the attened part of the said wire. Next the wire will be moved and introduced between dies for rounding the end next to the hole, and such dies will effect such rounding of the end. Next the wire will be moved between the separating-dies, which will cut off the part constituting the needle-tongue with the shank-piece d projecting from it. Finally the carriage supporting the feeder of the wire will be retracted to its original position, and the feeder will be advanced, so as to again introduce the wire between the dies for making the bowl and nick, the said bowl being shaped like that of a spoon. The nick is to enable the shank to be readily broken away from the bowl.

In the drawings, A denotes the base-plate of the machine. A rail, B, projects up from the front edge of such base-plate and supporti a block or carriage, C, which is applied to the rail so as to be capable of being slid lengthwise thereon.

The intermittent movements' of the carriage and its subsequent retraction are effected by a ca'm, D,and a spring, E, arranged in manner as represented. The cam is fixed on a shaft, F, and works against a'friction-Wheeh-e, arranged on an arm, f, projecting from the carriage. Through the carriage a grooved bar or feeder, G, extends and slides in a direction at right angles with that in which the carriage is moved. A friction-sprin g, g, is arranged Within .the groove h to properly hold the Wires down against the bottom of the groove.

A spring, z', acting against a pin, 7c, extending down from the feeder G, serves to advance the feeder toward the dies. The retraction of the feeder at the proper period is effected by a broad arm, l, extended from a rocker-shaft, m, arranged on bearings n n projecting from the .front edge of the base-plate. A helical spring, o, encompasses the rocker-shaft, so as to cause the retraction of the feeder. Furthermore, there is applied to the rocker-shaft a mechanism to move it in the opposite direction at the proper times to enable the feeder to be advanced. This mechanism consists, not only of an arm, p, extended from one end of the rocker-shaft, but of a cam, q, and a lever, r, arranged in manner as represented, this lever being provided with friction-rollers s t to rest on the arm and cam. The said cam is fixed on a cross-shaft, u, arranged as shown in the drawings. This shaft engages with the camshaft F by means-of two beveled gears, o fw, and such shaft F is engaged with another shaft, H, by means o f a train of spur-gears, x y z. The shaft H, in turn, engages with a cranked or drivingl shaft, I, by means of two gears, a b', fixed to the two shafts.

On the front end of the shaft H is an eccentric, c', which extends into an opening or slot,

vertical posts m on m m', and so as to be adjustable thereon as may be required, the lower attening-die, c', the punch-die g', the lower rounding-die, i', and the lower cutter, Z.

Fig. S is a vertical section of the said dies and punch. Fig. 9 is a top View of the lower dies. Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the upper dies. Fie: 11 is a front elevation of all the dies and the punch. Fig. l2 is a horizontal section of the dies for nicking the wire and making the bowl.

In front of each of the lower dies is an adjustable stop or screw, m2, which is screwed into the rail B from its front side. These stops serve to arrest the feeder or stop it at its proper distance from each pair of dies when directly in front of such pair.

The dies for nicking the wire and punching the bowl are shown at n 010 n', the dies n' and w being movable and the dies o 'v' being stationary. The dies n and w are fixed to a plunger, L', which slides horizontally through a box, M, and is forced forward by a cam, p', on the shaft F, and retracted by a spring, q, arranged as represented.

Another slider or plunger is shown at o". It carries a finger, s, which is employed to force back the feeder at the proper period to enable it to present the proper length of wire to be cut off by the separatiiig-cutters. This is done immediately after the formation ofthe nick and bowl and while the wire is grasped and held by the dies for making' such.

A spring, t', serves to retract the plunger r.

Having thus described my said machine, what I claim therein is as follows:

1. The combination of the carriage G, the feeder G, the bowl-formin g dies 'w' fv, and the flattening'dies el" e', all provided with mechanism for operating them, substantially as described.

2. The combination of thecarriage C, the feeder G, the nicking and bowl-forming dies a o w e', and the flattening-dies d e', all provided with mechanism for operating them, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the carriage, the feeder, the bowl-forming dies, (or the latter and the nicking-dies,) and the punch f and punch-die g', all provided with mechanism for operating them, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the carriage, the feeder, the bowl-forming dies, (or the latter and the nicking-dies,) the punch and punchdies, and the rounding-dies h i', all provided with mechanism for operating them. substantially as specilied.

5. The combination of the carriage, the feeder, the bowl, the punching-dies, (or the latter and the niclring-dies,) the punch and punch-die, the rounding=dies, and the separating-dies k i', all provided with mechanism for operating them, substantially as explained.

WALTER AIKEN.

Witnesses:

DANIEL BARNARD, PARKER C. HANCOCK.

Images