ITFI20110039A1 - "KNITTING METHOD OF A CLOTHING, MACHINE TO ACTUATE IT AND WEAR THIS" - Google Patents

Description

"METHOD OF KNITTING A GARMENT, MACHINE FOR IMPLEMENTING IT AND CLOTHING THUS PRODUCED"

Description

Technical Field

The invention relates to a garment comprising a bodice and two leggings, such as for example a panty, a pantyhose or the like, to a method and a machine for weaving the same.

State of the art

For the production of tights or similar, the currently most widespread method is to weave two tubular knitted fabrics on a single-cylinder circular knitting machine, cut them lengthwise in correspondence with the pant area and join them together by sewing the respective flaps cut. A pantyhose thus obtained presents a good wearability, however the presence of the seams is unsightly and uncomfortable for wearing, particularly in the groin area. In some cases, to achieve greater wearing comfort, a piece of fabric is sewn into the crotch area of the garment, thus increasing the production cost of the tights.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, various methods and corresponding knitting machines have been developed to produce tights which have a wearable configuration when exiting the machine itself which does not require further sewing operations in the area of the pant.

One of these processes is described for example in US patent 4011738. The process described in this patent provides for the knitting of such a garment by means of a circular double-cylinder knitting machine. The machine produces a first tubular fabric, called bodice, designed to dress the pelvis by means of both cylinders that are rotated with alternating motion and work the same threads of one or more feeds, the needles of a cylinder by working a first half of the tubular fabric. when the cylinders rotate in one direction, and those of the other cylinder working the other half when the cylinders rotate in the opposite direction. Then, once the bodice is completed, the machine begins to rotate continuously, simultaneously producing two other tubular fabrics with both cylinders, one for each cylinder, intended to dress the legs (hereinafter called "leggings"), each of which is fabric as a continuation of a respective half of the first tubular fabric.

While at first sight the appearance of such a garment is completely acceptable due to the lack of any seam in the panty, however it has some basic drawbacks that have prevented its commercial diffusion and which we summarize below:

a) in the alternating motion processing of the pant part, the two facing cylinders of the machine must be brought together as far as possible to minimize the interlacing connecting the two halves of the first tubular fabric. Therefore, to allow the movement of the needles of one cylinder to take the thread and form stitches in one or more feeds without interfering with the corresponding needles of the other cylinder, only alternate needles are used in both cylinders, for example needles of odd place in the lower cylinder and needles of even place in the upper one. It follows that the pant part is worked with half of the needles available in each cylinder, obtaining a knitting density that is more than halved compared to an equivalent classic garment sewn on a machine of equal fineness, which severely limits wearability. and the covering power of the garment thus obtained, in particular for large sizes.

b) These three tubular fabrics have a single point in common, a point found in the lowest and most stressed part of the horse. It is inevitable that the tensions of wearing are concentrated in this point, making the garment fragile and uncomfortable to wear.

c) The productivity of a machine for producing pantyhose according to the aforementioned procedure is greatly reduced due to the reduced speed of the cylinders in the reciprocating motion by which the bodice of the garment is obtained, a speed which is of the order of two hundred oscillations per minute, against the speed of about a thousand revolutions per minute possible in modern sock machines to produce the separated tubular fabrics of the traditional process in a continuous motion. Furthermore, the number of wire feeds that can be used in reciprocating motion for each cylinder, for example in a machine with four-inch diameter cylinders, can hardly be more than two, that is half compared to traditional machines. It follows that the weaving of a pantyhose according to this procedure involves a time that is of an order of magnitude that exceeds even ten times the weaving time of two leggings to be sewn together in the classic procedure.

In order to overcome this latter drawback and obtain other advantages, in particular a considerable simplification of circular machines, US 3975924 describes a process for obtaining, by means of a circular hosiery machine equipped with two cylinders, a pantyhose formed by two tubular fabrics already joined together in the body area, in which the cylinders of the machine always rotate in a continuous circular motion.

This second procedure also has the drawback b) mentioned above for the previous case of the concentration of wearing tensions in a single groin point and the union of the two halves of the bodice, each worked on a respective cylinder, results in two lines anterior and posterior medians coarse and annoying to the sight and to the wearing.

Processes similar to the latter are described in patents IT 176732, EP 0046737 and EP 0083320, which also have the same drawback.

WO-A-2011/004408 describes a method for weaving a seamless knitted garment, in particular a garment comprising a bodice and two leggings, by means of a circular knitting machine, which overcomes the drawbacks of traditional methods in particular as far as it concerns wearability. This known method provides for weaving the bodice by means of an alternating motion of the two cylinders of a double-cylinder circular machine, keeping an arc of needles of both cylinders out of work. At the end of the alternating motion weaving of the bodice, the needles of the arch of needles remained inactive on both cylinders perform a seam line along the crotch of the garment and subsequently the weaving of the two leggings is started, which are formed by simultaneous weaving on the two cylinders of the two leggings, one quarter being woven by one cylinder and the other quarter being woven by the other cylinder.

The garment obtained has wearability characteristics that are much superior to garments obtained with the previous techniques. However, the alternating motion weaving of the bodice prevents it from reaching very high production speeds.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention has the purpose of proposing a method of knitting a garment with a bodice and two leggings, such as for example a pant, a pantyhose or the like which at least partially overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks by means of a process for weaving a knitted garment comprising a bodice and two leggings by means of a circular double-cylinder knitting machine which is rotated continuously in a single direction of rotation to simultaneously produce two tubular fabrics designed to each form the fabric of one half of the bodice and a respective quarter by means of threads of respective feeds.

In an embodiment of the method according to the present invention, throughout the weaving of the bodice, a consistent group or arc of adjacent needles of a first cylinder (for example an arc comprising from 1/20 to 1/5 and preferably between 1 / 15 and 1/8 of the total number of needles of the cylinder) also knit with threads from the other cylinder while the corresponding group of needles of the other cylinder is kept out of work, that is, without taking thread or producing fabric. A strip of fabric is thus formed which connects the two parts of the bodice produced by the other needles of both cylinders at the same time as the strip. Once the desired length of the bodice has been reached, all the needles that produced the strip are made to leave the fabric produced and the strip itself is separated from the adjacent fabric by means of two parallel cuts according to the columns of stitches. Then, needles of said group of needles which formed the strip thus separated and needles interspersed with these of the other cylinder perform at least a common initial partial row of stitches by taking the same thread and weaving of the quarters of the garment is started, each quarter being then worked with all the needles of the respective cylinder.

The garment thus produced is formed by the union of three tubular fabrics in which a first tubular fabric forms the bodice and the other two tubular fabrics form the leggings of the garment. The bodice is obtained by means of both cylinders of the machine which each work one half of the bodice itself by means of wires fed by at least one yarn guide of at least one respective feed, the two halves being connected to each other according to connection links aligned according to a front line and a posterior line and also according to a partial start row of the quarters forming a crotch line. The other two tubular fabrics that form the quarters are each woven simultaneously on a respective cylinder of the machine, feeding the first and second cylinders with respective yarn guide threads of at least one feed for each cylinder.

Therefore, in the garment produced according to the invention, for the formation of the bodice each cylinder uses a first arc of adjacent needles having a number of needles smaller than the total number of needles of the cylinder, and the weaving of each of the other two constituent tubular fabrics the quarters is performed by means of all the needles of the respective cylinder, the two quarters being connected to each other in the crotch by a partial row of common stitches. In this way the concentration of wearing tensions in a single inguinal point is avoided, overcoming the aforementioned drawback of the garments produced according to the various previous documents cited.

More generally, the invention provides a method for weaving a knitted garment comprising a bodice and two leggings by means of a circular knitting machine with double cylinder with two superimposed cylinders, comprising the steps of:

∠’weave in a continuous motion simultaneously with the two cylinders, respective portions of fabric forming the bodice, which are joined according to a midline of frontal union and a midline of dorsal union; during the weaving of the bodice, along a partial arc of needles and through the needles of at least one cylinder, at least one strip of fabric being formed between said front and rear midlines;

∠’after weaving the bodice, weave the two leggings in a continuous motion at the same time, each using a respective cylinder.

Characteristically, at the end of the weaving of the bodice and the strip of fabric, along the aforementioned partial arch in correspondence with which the aforementioned fabric strip has been woven, a crotch joining line is formed between the leggings. In addition, the fabric strip is separated and removed from the bodice.

By partial arc of needles we generally mean an arc substantially less than 360 ° and in general substantially less than 90 ° of the circumferential development of the two substantially coaxial needle bars of the two superimposed cylinders of the machine. In practice, along this partial arc of needles there will be a portion of the circular needle bed of a first cylinder and a portion of the opposite circular needle bed of the second cylinder. As will become clear from the description that follows, the length of this partial arch determines the extent of the seam or connection between the leggings that is made at the crotch of the garment. The greater the length of the partial arc of needles, in terms of the number of needles, the greater will be the extension of the connecting line along the crotch of the two leggings. The extension of this range of needles can be limited, for example to about 20-80 needles and preferably to about 30-60 needles.

The method differs substantially from the known processes, in particular because it allows to combine a continuous weaving motion both in the bodice formation phase and in the leggings formation phase, with the generation of a seam along the crotch, which avoids the concentration of efforts in one point and which improves the fit of the garment. Furthermore, the removal of the strip of fabric formed in correspondence with the crotch seam allows to improve comfort, preventing abundant flaps of cut fabric from remaining inside the garment, as occurs in some known weaving systems.

In some embodiments it can be envisaged that along this partial arc two strips of fabric are formed, one on a cylinder and the other on the opposite cylinder. In this case, a double strip of fabric must be cut and then removed. Preferably, according to some embodiments, a single strip of fabric is woven along the partial needle arc. In some embodiments this strip of fabric is formed using needles from both cylinders along the partial needle arc. Basically, a strip of ribbed fabric is formed, as normally occurs on double-cylinder machines when weaving, for example, socks.

Preferably, however, along the partial arc in correspondence with which the fabric strip is formed, the needles of one cylinder weave the strip of fabric intended to be subsequently removed from the garment while the opposite needles of the other of said two cylinders remain temporarily inactive during the weaving of the bodice. In this way, a better fabric is obtained and an easier separation of the strip from the garment.

In some embodiments the fabric strip can be separated from the bodice once the garment has been completed and unloaded from the machine. The garment can, for example, be taken from a collection basket and placed on equipment suitable for cutting and removing the strip of fabric. However, a method of this type involves a greater incidence of labor and / or the need for particular machinery for handling the garments coming from the knitting machine, with consequent higher costs and lower productivity. In preferred embodiments of the invention, conversely, the strip of fabric is separated from the bodice during weaving of the garment on the machine. For example and advantageously it can be provided that the threads forming the fabric strip are cut or interrupted gradually, that is during the formation of each row of stitches of the fabric strip. At the end of the formation of the bodice in this way, the strip of fabric formed along the aforementioned partial arch of needles will already be separated from the bodice with the exception of the last row which is engaged in the partial arc of needles of one or both cylinders ( depending on whether the strip is woven by a single cylinder or by both). At this point, by unloading the needles along said partial arch of needles, the strip of fabric is completely removed from the garment which is still in the weaving phase. Once the needles have been freed from the last row of stitches of the strip of fabric, the thread can be fed back to the needles to form an interlacing of union between the two leggings, forming the seam along the crotch and thus starting the simultaneous weaving of the two leggings.

In some advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention, at both ends of the needle arch, at least one respective needle of at least one cylinder is formed at least one continuous column of connecting links forming connecting bridges between lateral edges of the portions of the bodice. The columns of connecting links define the midline of frontal union and the midline of dorsal union of the portions of the bodice. The connecting links can be conveniently produced by at least one needle per side of each portion of the body by imagining together a thread of a fall of one cylinder with a thread of a fall of the other cylinder.

In advantageous embodiments, the columns of connecting links which define the central lines of frontal and dorsal union are formed by a single needle at each end of the partial arch of needles.

In advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention, during the weaving of the bodice, along the partial arc of needles which weave the strip of fabric intended to be removed from the garment, the needles forming said strip of fabric weave rows of double-wire meshes, with a thread of a fall of a first of said cylinders and a thread of a fall of a second of said cylinders. It is not excluded the possibility of making along the strip of fabric a number of rows of stitches double compared to the number of rows of stitches along the portions of the bodice, using a single thread for each row of stitches.

In advantageous embodiments, in each row of the bodice, between the columns of connecting links and the said strip of fabric which is separated and removed from the bodice, at least one column of links is formed adjacent to the columns of connecting links to improve the tightness of the connecting links to wear stresses.

In order to facilitate the operations of cutting and removing the strip from the garment, according to some advantageous embodiments of the invention, it is provided that on the two sides of the strip (S) of fabric to be separated, respective columns of floating stitches are produced.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a circular double-cylinder knitting machine for producing a garment such as a panty, pantyhose or the like, characterized in that it is configured and programmed to carry out a weaving method as defined above. Double cylinder circular machines are per se known to those skilled in the art and do not require particular descriptions herein. In general, they comprise a lower cylinder and an upper cylinder, substantially coaxial to each other and arranged with the opposite needles, i.e. the needles of the lower cylinder turned with the beak upwards and the needles of the upper cylinder turned with the beaks downward.

According to some embodiments, the invention provides a double-cylinder circular knitting machine, in which the knitting elements are controlled in such a way that:

∠'during the weaving of the bodice with continuous motion, the needles in an arc of at least one of the cylinders produce along said arc a strip of fabric which is separated from the bodice and the needles of the arcs complementary to said arc of needles of the first cylinder and of the second cylinder form two portions of said bodice;

∠’at the end of the weaving of the bodice, a crotch joining line is formed along the arch between the leggings;

∠’after the formation of the union line, the two cylinders simultaneously weave the two leggings of the garment in a continuous motion.

Preferably the textile members are controlled in such a way that during the weaving of said bodice the needles in said arc of a first of said cylinders remain inactive. while the needles in said arc of a second of said cylinders produce said strip of fabric.

According to advantageous embodiments, the machine comprises in combination:

∠’additional knitting cams for controlling the needles of the second cylinder substantially aligned vertically with knitting cams of the first cylinder, to work yarns from the feeds of the first cylinder;

∠’for each of said additional cams, a respective cam for setting the needles of the second cylinder at restraint level, for gripping the threads of the first cylinder in the formation of connecting links of two portions of the bodice;

- in the second cylinder, means for moving the needles from the float level to the unwinding level followed by a further needle control cam, to unload the last row of the strip of fabric from the needles that have formed said strip and to bring to work on threads of the first cylinder selected needles of the second cylinder for the formation of a partial row of connection along a line of the crotch of the garment.

Preferably, the two cylinders of the machine are angularly offset from each other so that each cylinder has its own needles aligned with the sinkers of the other cylinder.

In some advantageous embodiments the sinkers of each cylinder have a beak and a heel between which a recess is arranged to allow the passage of the corresponding needle of the opposite cylinder when it forms a link.

In order to remove the strip of fabric during its formation, in a preferred embodiment the machine according to the invention comprises a device for cutting the strip of fabric formed during the weaving of the bodice, arranged and made to cut columns of stitches of fabric on the sides of said strip.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the machine comprises a particular path of needle control cams which will be described in detail below, and preferably also a cutting device able to perform said double cut to separate the aforementioned strip of fabric. Characteristics and embodiments of the machine and of the cutting device are defined in the dependent claims.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the two cylinders are angularly offset from each other so that each cylinder has its needles aligned with the sinkers of the other cylinder, so that the needles of one cylinder do not interfere with those of the other. cylinder in the processing of the garment, and both cylinders can be used in their effective fineness for the weaving of all parts of the garment.

According to a further aspect, the invention also relates to a garment such as a pantyhose, a panty or the like, comprising a bodice and two leggings and formed by the union of tubular fabrics, in which said tubular fabrics are joined together without any seams, garment being obtained by the method as defined above.

In some embodiments, the bodice of the garment is formed by two lateral portions joined by bridges formed by connecting links developing along a dorsal midline and a front midline; between said dorsal median line and said frontal median line develops a connecting line extending along the crotch of the garment, formed by at least a partial row of connecting links; and the bodice is at least partially formed by rows of meshes formed by interrupted threads in proximity of said frontal median line and of said dorsal median line. The connecting line along the crotch is made up of a plurality of links, for example from 5 to 100 and preferably from 20 to 70 links. In practice, the garment has a bodice with a number of columns of links lower than the sum of the number of columns of links of the two leggings. The difference in the number of columns of links is due to the presence of the connecting line along the crotch. In some embodiments the number of columns of links of the bodice is between 50 and 95% and preferably between 70 and 90% of the sum of the number of columns of links of the leggings.

Contrary to what happens in some known garments, obtained by continuous and seamless weaving of a bodice and two leggings, as well as having a seam or connection of the two leggings along the crotch, which in itself improves wearability and comfort, in the garment according to the invention the presence of fabric flaps inside the bodice in correspondence with the dorsal and frontal connection lines is eliminated.

In advantageous embodiments, along the front median line and along the dorsal median line only one or a few columns of binding links develop adjacent to the column of connecting links, the threads forming the knitting ranks of the bodice being interrupted along said column of binding links.

In some embodiments each connecting link is formed by two threads intertwined in the same mesh, one of which forms the respective bridge, a first of said two threads of each connecting link extending to form meshes of a rank of one before said side portions of said bodice, and a second of said two threads of each connecting link extending to form links of a row of a second of said two side portions of said bodice.

In some embodiments of the invention, at least two partial connection rows, staggered to each other, form a connection weave along the connection line at the crotch of the garment. This weave can be made to connect opposing partial rows of beginning of the fabric of the leggings. In some embodiments, the partial connecting rows are formed by threads that form knitting rows of at least a portion of the bodice.

Further advantageous characteristics and embodiments of the method, of the machine and of the garment according to the invention are described below with reference to an example of embodiment and in the attached claims, which form an integral part of the present description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood by following the description and the attached drawing, which shows a practical non-limiting embodiment of the invention. More specifically, in the drawing: the

Fig.1 shows a schematic perspective view of a garment, in particular a tights, according to the invention; the

Figs.2 and 3 show a partial schematic perspective view of the two cylinders of a circular machine in two phases of the weaving of the garment of Fig.1, respectively during the weaving of the pant and during the weaving of the leggings; Fig. 4 shows a side perspective view of the garment produced as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, as it appears when it falls from the machine, with the position of formation of a strip S of fabric which is separated from the garment to be thrown away; there

Fig.5 is a sectional view according to V-V of the garment of Fig.4; there

Fig.5A is a schematic top view of the garment according to the arrows VA-VAdi FIG.4: la

Fig.6A schematically and partially shows the formation of a row of a region of the bodice; the

Figs.6B to 6F show the same fabric area of Fig.6A during weaving phases between the end of the bodice and the beginning of the quarters; there

Fig.7 is an enlarged view of detail VII of Fig.3; there

Fig.8 is an enlarged view of detail VIII of Fig.7; there

Fig.9 is a view according to IX-IX of Fig.8, developed flat and deformed by extending it horizontally for greater clarity; there

Fig. 10 shows an enlarged view of a platen; the

Figs. 11 to 16 show the diagram developed in plan of the control cams of the needles, of the sub-needles and of the sinkers of the machine of Fig. 2, seen from the outside, in different working phases, Fig. 12 showing the detail XII enlarged of Fig.11; the

Figures 17 and 18 show, in a section according to an axial plane of the cylinders, a mechanical cutting device of the machine in non-operative position during the weaving of the quarters and operative during the weaving of the bodice, respectively; Fig.19 is a view according to XIX-XIX of Fig.17 of said mechanical cutting device applied to the upper cylinder of the machine of Fig.2; there

Fig.20 shows a view in a section similar to that of Fig.18 showing a laser cutting device instead of a mechanical one; there

Fig.21 is a view according to XXI-XXI of Fig.20; the

Figs 22 and 23 show respective sectional views similar to those of Figs 17 and 18 showing a cutting device with electrical resistances rather than mechanical; and Fig.24 is a view according to XXIV-XXIV of Fig.22.

Detailed description of embodiments of the invention

Description of a garment and synthesis of the knitting method

In the following, a garment according to the invention is described, in particular for example a pantyhose, and a weaving method for its production. The garment has a bodice and two leggings that can end with closed or open toe portions of the foot (and subsequently sewn off the machine). Moreover, the method of the present invention can also be used for weaving other types of garments, for example underpants or the like, in which the leggings are reduced to small portions of fabric that surround the exit opening of the legs at the groin. Fig.1 shows a partial schematic perspective view of a garment (in particular a tights) according to the invention in which some important geometric elements for understanding the weaving method of the garment are highlighted.

In particular, Fig.1 distinguishes a bodice 1 which comprises an elastic edge 3A, 3B surrounding the mouth of the garment, the bodice properly called 5A, 5B and two quarters 9A, 9B. The part 5A, 5B of the bodice is woven in a circular double cylinder knitting machine with the cylinders rotating continuously, the left half 5A (looking at Fig. 1) on one cylinder and the right half 5B on the other. cylinder, these halves being connected together according to two central lines (m, n) respectively anterior and posterior of the garment. In the weaving process, the junction between the two halves of the bodice along these lines (m, n) is formed by a series of connecting links that join together the ends of corresponding ranks of the two halves of the bodice 5A, 5B, such as it will be better described in the following.

The leggings 9A, 9B are also worked in continuous motion, each by means of a respective cylinder of the machine and are joined together along a partial arc of links CC which defines the crotch line of the garment. The arc CC extends between the extreme points C1, C2 of union of partial rows of links A1 and A2 which join the bodice to the leggings. In some embodiments, the arc CC is formed by one or more rows of connecting links between initial partial rows of links of the two quarters, as described in detail below with reference to the weaving method.

In Fig. 1, the trend of columns of stitches formed by single needles is indicated with continuous lines CL. As can be seen in this figure, the columns extend from the elastic edge 3A, 3B along the body 5A, 5B forming a single tubular fabric and subsequently divide to form the two quarters 9A, 9B. However, a part of the columns of links which form the inner zone of the quarters 9A, 9B begins in correspondence with the line CC formed by the connecting rows.

Figures 2 and 3 schematically show a double cylinder circular knitting machine usable for weaving the product with the method according to the invention. The circular machine, which will be described in greater detail below, comprises two superimposed and substantially coaxial cylinders 11 and 13. Each cylinder 11, 13 is equipped with a circular needle bed indicated with 15s for the upper cylinder 13 and with 15i for the lower cylinder 11. As will become clear from what is described in greater detail below, the two circular needle beds 15s , 15i weave together in combination the two portions 3A, 3B, 5A, 5B of the bodice and subsequently each needle bed one of the two quarters 9A, 9B. During weaving, the fabrics formed by the two cylinders 11, 13 are collected inside one of the two cylinders. In the illustrated example, the two fabrics are collected in the upper cylinder 13, for example by suction. The possibility of aspirating the fabric into the lower cylinder 11 during the formation of the fabric itself is not excluded.

At the end of the weaving, the garment is presented as schematically indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, with a leg 9A and a part 3A, 5A of the bodice inside the other leg 9B and the other part of the bodice 3B, 5B. The garment is then brought to the conditions of use by extracting (arrow F) the internal portion towards the outside.

In summary, the garment is formed as follows:

- the portion 3A, 5A of the body 1 and the quarter 9A are woven with a continuous motion by one (Figs. 2 and 3) of the two cylinders of the double cylinder machine, in the example illustrated the lower cylinder 11;

- the portion 3B, 5B of the body 1 and the quarter 9B are woven with a continuous motion from the other of the two cylinders of the double cylinder machine, in the example illustrated the upper cylinder 13;

- the columns of links start from the elastic edge and extend to form the leggings, except for the central ones which form the crotch area and the inner part of the leggings starting from the interlacing of union along the line CC between points C1 and C2.

Figures 6A-6F schematically illustrate the weaving process in particular in the step of joining the two parts of the bodice 1, of forming the crotch line CC and starting the weaving of the quarters 9A, 9B. These figures show opposite portions of the two needle bars 15s, 15i of the upper cylinder 13 and of the lower cylinder 11 respectively. In this illustration it is assumed to use cylinders with 400 needles. The needles of the two cylinders 11 and 13 are numbered from 1 to 400. As can be understood from the numbering of the needles, shown above the needles of the upper cylinder 13 and below the needles of the lower cylinder 11, for simplicity of representation in these figures show a part of the needles (needle 400 and needles from 1 to 49) of a C arc that weaves the half-row of junction CC and the first needles of the complementary arc to the C arc (needles from 50 to 399).

Again with reference to the sequence of Figs 6A to 6F, Y1s, Y2s and Y1i and Y2i indicate the threads of two feeds respectively of the upper cylinder 13 and of the lower cylinder 11.

In the following the weaving process will be briefly described, on which further details will be provided after having described the control elements of the needles.

As previously observed, the bodice 1 is woven through the simultaneous use of the two cylinders 11, 13 of the knitting machine, by rotating the cylinders in continuous motion and feeding for example four threads to the two circular needle beds.

Fig.5A shows a schematic view from the top of the garment in the weaving phase of the bodice 1. Fig.5A shows the portions 3A, 5A and 3B, 5B of the bodice as well as a strip of fabric S which is woven and removed from the garment. The strip of fabric S is generated in order to allow the continuous motion weaving of the bodice using the two circular needle beds of the two cylinders 11, 13. The strip S can be formed by one or the other of the two cylinders 11, 13. In the context of the present description it is assumed that the strip S is woven by needles of the upper cylinder 13. In summary, during the weaving of the bodice the two cylinders 11, 13 of the machine rotate in synchronism and in continuous motion so that the needles for example of the lower cylinder weave the portions 3A, 5A of the body while the needles of the upper cylinder weave the portions 3B, 5B. The mesh of the bodice is formed by feeding, for example, two yarns Y1i, Y2i to the lower cylinder 11 and two yarns Y1s and Y2s to the upper cylinder 13. In the continuous rotary motion, all the needles of a cylinder, for example the lower cylinder 11, for example with the exception of the needles of an arc C of reduced extension equal for example to about one tenth of the complete circular needle bed, weave the portion 3A, 5A. All the needles of the other cylinder, for example the upper cylinder 13, with the exception of those of an arch C opposed to the arch of inactive needles C of the lower cylinder 11, weave the other portion 3B, 5B of the body. Along the arc C the yarns normally fed to the lower cylinder 11 are passed to the upper cylinder 13 in order to obtain a weaving with continuous motion and in order to join the two portions of fabric 3A, 5A and 3B, 5B formed by the two cylinders. The strip of fabric S, formed by needles of the upper cylinder in correspondence of the arc C, is removed as described below.

With reference to the schematic representation of Fig.5A, for example, the weaving proceeds from point X following the arc indicated by 360-C of the portion 3A, 5A formed by the needles 15i of the lower cylinder 11 and the arc 360-C of the portion 3B, 5B formed by the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13. When point Y has been reached, the threads fed up to now to the lower cylinder 11 are transferred to the needles of the upper cylinder 13. Along the arc C, from the point Y at point X the lower cylinder 11 does not produce knits, while the upper cylinder 13 produces a row of double-threaded stitches, forming part of the strip S. In other embodiments it can be provided that along the arc C the upper cylinder 13 form, at each revolution of the cylinders, a double row of single stitches, that is with single thread. However, the first mode, with the formation of a single row at each round of double yarn stitches is preferred because it provides a better quality fabric and above all a more resistant fabric in particular along the connecting lines m, n between the two halves 3A, 5A; 3B, 5B of the girdle.

The sequence of Figs. 6A-6F shows in greater detail what happens in the area of the arch C of needles and in the portions adjacent to the arch C, in particular during the final phase of the weaving of the bodice 1 and in the phase of formation of the weave along the crotch line CC and start of weaving of the two leggings 9A, 9B.

According to an embodiment of the invention, during the weaving of the bodice 1, in the arc C of needles (Fig.6A) of at least one cylinder (for example the indicated needles 400 and from 1 to 49 of the upper cylinder 13), a group of central needles (from 5 to 44 in Fig.6A) forms the aforementioned central strip S of fabric by simultaneously imagining threads Y1s, Y2s, Y1i, Y2i respectively of falls of the upper cylinder 13 and of the lower cylinder 11. In Fig.6A two consecutive ranks of the S stripe are visible, namely the penultimate rank and the last rank formed, still busy with the needles. More specifically, the penultimate rank formed is formed by the threads Y1s of a fall of the upper cylinder and Y1i of a fall of the lower cylinder; the last row, which in Fig.6A is still engaged with the needles 15s, is formed by the threads Y2s of the other feed of the upper cylinder 13 and Y2i of the other feed of the lower cylinder 11. The previous rows are not visible in the figure.

The needles of the arch complementary to the arch C of the two needle bars of the upper 13 and lower 11 cylinders respectively form half 3B, 5B and 3A, 5A of the body 1. With Rs two rows of the portion 5B of the body are indicated, formed by the needles of the upper cylinder 13 in the arc complementary to the arc C. With Ri are indicated two rows of the portion 5A of the body, formed by the needles of the lower cylinder 11 in the arc complementary to the arc C.

Two extreme needles (numbered 400, 49) of the upper cylinder 13 knit with both threads (Y1s, Y1i for the penultimate rank formed and Y2s, Y2i for the last formed rank, still engaged by the needles) to form a respective column of meshes M for lateral connection between the two halves of the bodice 3A, 5A; 3B, 5B. In practice, for each row formed by the machine, the thread (Y1i or Y2i) fed to the lower cylinder 11 is passed from the needle number 50 of the lower cylinder 11 to the needle number 49 of the upper needle, forming the double-knitted row along the arc C by means of the needles from number 48 to number 400 of the upper cylinder 13 and is subsequently transferred again to the lower cylinder 11 where it resumes with the needle number 400 of the lower cylinder 11 to form a stitch of the other half of the bodice. The procedure is reversed (passage from the lower needle n.400 to the upper needle number 400 and so on) if the rotary motion is reversed.

In Figs. 4 and 5 for clarity, the strip S of fabric connected to the bodice 1 is shown highlighted in checkered lines, even if, as explained below, it can be separated from the garment and removed for example already during weaving of the garment. € ™ garment. In other less advantageous embodiments the strip S can be removed from the garment in a separate step of the manufacturing process, for example after the garment has been removed from the knitting machine which formed it.

Returning to Fig. 6A, the ends of corresponding ranks of the two halves of the bodice 3A, 5A and 3B, 5B formed by the arches of needles complementary to the arch C are thus connected to each other by connecting bridges P each formed by a branch of one of the meshes M. In the garment thus produced, the connecting bridges P are aligned according to the frontal m and dorsal n median lines of the bodice 1.

Furthermore, next to the columns of connecting links M, between the fabric of the bodice 1 and that of the strip S, there are columns of binding links produced with groups of needles L (Fig. 6A) which have the function of providing sufficient resistance to the connection between the two halves 3A, 5A; 3B, 5B of the girdle 1 along the median lines m, n of this. Preferably, these groups of needles L are each formed by a single needle, in the illustrated example the needles number 1 and number 48, respectively of the upper cylinder 13.

Preferably, groups T of needles adjacent to the subgroup of central needles that form the strip S, and adjacent to the needles of the group L, float the threads Y1s, Y2s, Y1i, Y2i, i.e. they do not form stitches, generating two areas of straight lengths of thread designed to facilitate the separation cut of the strip S from the bodice 1, as shown by two scissors symbols in Fig.6A itself. In the example illustrated, the needles that do not form a stitch are those indicated with the numbers 2, 3, 4 and 45, 46, 47 respectively.

Furthermore, at the end of the weaving of the bodice, the needles of the arc C in the upper cylinder 13 which formed the strip S are deprived of thread (Fig. 6B), thus leaving the strip S of fabric produced along its terminal side .

In this way, already during the knitting of the bodice 1, the strip S can be separated from the bodice by means of two lateral cuts and be removed from the machine (for example by means of a suitable suction duct) to be thrown.

While the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 thus produce the central strip S of fabric and the lateral connecting bridges P, the corresponding needles 15i along the arc C of the lower cylinder 11 (i.e. the needles numbered from 1 to 49 of the cylinder lower 11) are left inactive and without thread during the whole weaving phase of the bodice 1.

Once the bodice 1 is finished and before starting the actual processing of the leggings 9A, 9B of the garment, the needles of the arch C, that is the needles number 400 and from 1 to 49 in the example illustrated, of both cylinders 11 and 13 are put into operation (Figs.6C to 6G) to carry out a joining weave along the line of the crotch CC.

In the illustrated embodiment, the process of weaving the line CC provides first of all to form on each cylinder 11, 13 one and preferably at least two initial partial rows of stitches according to classic weaves of the beginning of the stitch. Fig.6C shows the phase in which a first partial starting row C1s were formed on the upper cylinder 13 and a first partial starting row C1i on the lower cylinder 11. In Fig.6D two partial starting rows were formed C1s, C2s on the upper cylinder 13 and two partial starting rows C1i, C2i on the lower cylinder 11. In the illustrated example, the rows C1s, C2s, C1i, C2i are formed with a 1: 1 selection of the needles. The first rank C1s, C1i on each of the two needle bars is formed with the needles of odd place and the second rank C2s, C2i is formed with the needles of even place. Along the arc of needles complementary to arc C the two cylinders continue to weave ranks Rs and Ri of the respective halves of the girdle 1.

In the illustrated example, in this step two further connection bridges are formed between the two halves of the bodice 1 by means of the yarns which form the initial rows of stitches C1i, C2i. In fact, at the ends of the arc of needles C the two threads Y1i and Y2i of the falls of the lower cylinder 11 have been engaged by the needles number 49 and 400 of the upper cylinder 13. In other embodiments this further copy of connecting bridges can be omitted.

Subsequently, the initial partial rows C1s, C1i, C2s, C2i are connected to each other by means of partial connecting rows RC1, RC2 (Figs.6E, 6F) of connecting links formed by the needles of at least one cylinder with a thread of a cylinder fall opposite to.

For this purpose, in the example illustrated the first partial row of connection RC1 is formed by one needle every four of the upper cylinder 13, that is by the needles number 3, 7, ..., 43, 47 of the cylinder 13, which take the thread Y1i of a fall of the lower cylinder 11. Similarly, the second row of connection RC2 is formed by one needle every four always of the upper cylinder 13, but staggered with respect to the previous ones (in the illustrated case the needles number 5, ...., 45 , 49), which take the thread Y2i of the other fall of the lower cylinder 11.

In this way, the initial partial rows C1s, C2s, C1i, C2i have been connected to each other by means of the two partial connecting rows RC1, RC2, and at this point the simultaneous processing of the quarters 9A, 9B is started, each on all the needles of a respective cylinder (Fig.6F). RA and RB indicate the first complete row of the quarter 9A formed by the lower cylinder 11 and the first complete row of the quarter 9B formed by the upper cylinder 13.

In this way, in the finished garment, the two leggings 9A, 9B will be connected to each other along the crotch line CC (Fig.4) by means of the staggered and therefore intertwined connecting rows RC1, RC2.

Surprisingly, it has been found that, for each of the frontal median lines m and dorsal n (Fig. 1), with the described procedure a single column of connecting links M with the relative bridges P and a single column of binding links is sufficient produced by the groups L of needles, to provide a connection resistance between the two halves 3A, 5A and 3B, 5B of the bodice 1 sufficient to withstand the tensions of use of the garment, and thus said midlines are thin and aesthetically totally acceptable.

The garment thus produced is therefore formed by the union of three tubular fabrics: a first tubular fabric 3A, 3B; 5A, 5B form the bodice 1 and the other two tubular fabrics 9A, 9B form the leggings of the garment. The bodice is obtained by means of both cylinders 11, 13 of the machine which each process half of the bodice itself by means of threads fed by at least one thread guide of at least one respective feed, the two halves 3A, 5A; 3B, 5B being connected together according to frontal and dorsal midlines (m, n) of connecting links and a lower horse line CC. The portion 3A, 5A of the bodice, formed in the example illustrated by the needles 15i of the lower cylinder 11 has a number of stitches per row (and therefore a number of columns of stitches) corresponding to the total number of needles of the circular needle bed minus a corresponding number to the number of needles of the arc C that have remained out of work, i.e. in the example illustrated the needles from 1 to 49. Similarly, the portion 3B, 5B of the bodice, formed in the example illustrated by the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13, includes a number of stitches per row (and therefore a number of columns of stitches) equal to the difference between the total number of needles of the upper cylinder 13 and the number of needles of the upper cylinder 13 which along the arc C have woven the strip S of fabric and the needles which, remaining out of work, formed the floating stitches T, as well as the needles (numbered 1 and 48) which formed the two binding stitches L. Along the midline dorsal (n) and frontal (m) lines are build bridges P of the connecting links M, as well as the binding links L. Adjacent to these are the cut ends of the threads Y1s, Y1i, Y2s, Y2i which have been cut adjacent to the strip of fabric S removed from the garment. The tying stitches L and the connecting stitches M are double, as they are formed by knitting two threads in each stitch, one thread through the same needles (number 48, 49 on one of the two middle lines and numbers 1, 400 on the other) forming a rank of one of the two halves of the bodice and the other thread forming a rank of the other half of the bodice. In Figs.6A, 6B, for example, the threads Y1i, Y1s are intertwined in the connecting links M and binding L of the penultimate rank formed, while in the last formed rank (i.e. the one still engaged on the needles 15s) the threads Y2i are intertwined. , Y2s.

In the finished garment, the front midline (m) and rear median (n) lines end at points C1, C2 and are joined together by the crotch line CC formed by the two pairs of partial ranks starting C1i, C2i, C1s, C2s of the two leggings, joined by the two partial connecting rows RC1, RC2.

The other two tubular fabrics of the quarters 9A, 9B are obtained by simultaneously and separately weaving a first of said other two fabrics with the first cylinder and a second of said other two fabrics with the second cylinder and feeding the first and second cylinders with respective threads. by respective yarn guides of at least one feed for each cylinder.

Therefore, in the garment produced according to the invention, for the formation of the bodice each cylinder uses a first arc of adjacent needles (i.e. consecutive to each other) having a number of needles lower than the total number of needles of the cylinder, while the weaving of each of the other two tubular fabrics constituting the quarters 9A, 9B is performed by means of all the needles of the respective cylinder, the two quarters being connected to each other in the crotch by a partial row or two partial rows of common connecting links RC1, RC2. In this way, the concentration of wearing tensions in a single inguinal point is avoided, overcoming the aforementioned drawback of garments produced according to the aforementioned previous documents. At the same time the weaving of the garment is obtained with a continuous motion and therefore with a short production cycle.

Description of the double cylinder circular knitting machine

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a circular double-cylinder knitting machine for producing a garment such as a panty, pantyhose or the like, programmed to carry out a weaving method as defined above. As already briefly described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 above, the double cylinder circular machines generally comprise a lower cylinder 11 and an upper cylinder 13 substantially coaxial to each other and arranged with the opposite needles 15s, 15i, i.e. the needles 15i forming the circular needle bed of the lower cylinder 11 are turned with the beak upwards and the needles 15s forming the circular needle bed of the upper cylinder 13 are turned downwards. Interleaved between the needles of the two cylinders are respective sinkers.

Such machines are known per se to those skilled in the art and only their particular new arrangements will be described below, which allow to obtain products according to the invention and to carry out the weaving method according to the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the two cylinders are angularly offset from each other so that each cylinder has its own needles 15s, 15i aligned with the sinkers of the other cylinder, so that the needles of one cylinder do not interfere with those of the other cylinder in the processing of the garment, and both cylinders can be used in their effective fineness for the weaving of all parts of the garment, i.e. the weaving of all the portions of fabric forming the garment takes place using all the needles consecutive and adjacent arches of the affected needles, instead of (as occurs in some known techniques) alternating needles.

As can be seen from what has been described above with reference to the sequence of Figs. 6A-6F, it is observed that during the weaving of the bodice 1 of a garment according to the invention, not all the needles 15i, 15s of the cylinders 11 and 13 contribute to the weaving proper of the bodice. For the weaving of the body 1, in effect, an arc of contiguous needles is used in each cylinder equal to a preponderant part of the total needles, for example for a cylinder of 400 needles 350 needles are used forming an arc of contiguous active needles. The remaining needles form an arc C of needles which, apart from the groups of needles L, do not form the rows of stitches of the bodice.

As already mentioned with reference to Figs. 2 and 4, in some embodiments of the method and of the machine according to the invention, during the weaving inside the upper cylinder 13 an air current is generated from above by means of a suction system not shown in the drawing and known per se. In this way, as the garment is formed, it is sucked upwards and advances inside the upper cylinder 13 with the parts 3A 5A of the bodice and the quarter 9A woven by the lower cylinder 11 inserted inside the corresponding parts 3B, 5B, 9B of the garment, so that, when the garment is removed from the machine, it appears as in Figs. 4 and 5 and, to bring the garment into its wearable form of Fig.1 , it is necessary to extract the left quarter 9A from inside the right quarter 9B acting according to the arrow F of Fig. 5, thus also unfolding, at the end of the overturning of the quarter 9A, the left portion 5A of the body and the left part 3A of the edge rubber band.

Fig.7 schematically shows in axial section the facing ends of the lower 11 and upper 13 cylinders of a knitting machine according to the invention in the weaving phase of the bodice 1 of a garment according to the invention. Fig.8 shows an enlargement of a detail of Fig.7 and Fig.9 shows an external view according to IX-IX of Fig.8.

In the two cylinders 11 and 13 one distinguishes the needles 15i, 15s respectively, which slide in longitudinal grooves 11A, 13A outside the cylinders under the action of control cams and sub-needles which will be described below, and the sinkers 17 which slide horizontally in radial grooves of respective plates or external crowns 19, 21 and of internal crowns 20, 22 all integral with the respective cylinders 11, 13. The sinkers are driven by cams 23 for the lower cylinder and 25 for the upper cylinder. The cams 23 are carried by a ring 27, while the cams 25 are carried by a ring 29. The rings 27, 29 are angularly locked by suitable angular stops (not shown) of a non-rotating part of the machine, to prevent the rings themselves to rotate.

In Fig. 9, in which the horizontal distances between needles and sinkers have been shown enlarged to make the drawing clearer, it can be seen how the needles 15i of the lower cylinder 11 are interspersed between the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13, so that the needles of one cylinder are aligned with the sinkers 17 of the other. Furthermore, in an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the sinkers 17 have a deep recess 17B (see Figs. 7, 8 and 10) adjacent to the respective beak 17A, and in practice between the beak 17A and the heel 17T, for allowing the passage of the needles of the opposite cylinder when these are made to protrude from said cylinder to take the threads of a gravity.

Thus, in Fig. 8 a needle 15s of the upper cylinder 13 is shown which has been lowered making it protrude from its own cylinder 13 passing into the compartment 17B of the opposite platen to take a Y1i thread from a thread guide feeding the needle bed of the lower cylinder 11, while the needles 15i of the lower cylinder 11 are inactive and remain retracted approximately at the level of the upper edge of the respective sinkers 17. Furthermore, the sinkers 17 of the lower cylinder 11 which is not forming a stitch are kept advanced in the position shown in Fig. 8 , in order not to interfere - thanks to the compartment 17B - with the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 when they form a stitch.

This arrangement allows the elastic edge 3A, 3B and the bodice 5A, 5B to be worked with all the needles of an arc of active needles of each cylinder 11, 13, i.e. using the true fineness of the machine to obtain the desired knitting density in the bodice. , as explained above.

Since in the weaving of the bodice 1 it is advisable that the distance between the two facing cylinders is the minimum possible, to minimize the length of the connecting links M (Fig.6A), in a preferred embodiment the sinkers 17 have the felling surface 17C (Fig. 10) at the same level as the upper part of the respective spout 17A. In this way the cylinders can be kept close together so that the distance (d) (Fig. 8) between the sinkers 17 of the two cylinders 11, 13 is just sufficient to allow the knitted fabrics produced to pass.

Figures 11 to 16 show the flat development, seen from the outside of the cylinders, of the assembly of the control cams of the needles 15i of the lower cylinder 11, 15s of the upper cylinder 13 and of the respective sub-needles 16i, 16s in a machine double cylinder with two feeds per cylinder. The direction of rotation of the machine is indicated with F1. As described, the machine produces the respective tubular fabrics with the two cylinders in continuous rotation. For ease of understanding, on the left of Figs. 11 to 16, overturned on the plane of the drawing, the needles, sub-needles and sinkers of the two cylinders are represented in scale and in correspondence with the relative paths.

In particular, for the two feeds of the lower cylinder 11 the control cams of the needles 15i for knitting are indicated respectively with 41i, 42i, with 51i, 52i and 71i, 72i the lifting / lowering cams of the sub-needles 16i put into work by means of respective sets of selection levers 61i, 62i, with 81i, 82i thread guides working for respective threads Y1i, Y2i, and with 91i, 92 the respective needle opening devices.

Similarly, for the two feeds of the upper cylinder 13 the control cams of the needles 15s for knitting are indicated respectively with 41s, 42s, with 51s, 52s and 71s, 72s the lowering / lifting cams of the sub-needles 16s activated by means of respective sets of selection levers 61s, 62s, with 81s, 82s yarn guides in operation for respective yarns Y1s, Y2s, and with 91s, 92s respective needle opening devices.

The arrangement of the aforementioned organs is completely classic and does not require further study. In addition to this arrangement, in order to produce a garment with a method according to the invention, in one embodiment the machine comprises:

a) a group of members which, during the weaving of the bodice 1 of the garment, allow the formation of the strip of fabric S, of the connecting links M between the two halves of the bodice and of the ranks of connecting links Rs, Ri in the line of the crotch of the garment. These elements of the garment are formed with only the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 and with threads Y1i, Y1s; Y2i, Y2s of both cylinders falls. The group of machine parts that allow these operations include:

- two additional stitch-forming cams 43s, 44s for controlling the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13, these cams being vertically aligned with the stitch-forming cams 41i, 42i of the lower cylinder 11, respectively, for processing yarns Y1i, Y2i of the feeds of the lower cylinder 11;

- for each additional stitch forming cam 43s, 44s, a respective cam 53s, 54s for lowering at the level of retaining the sub-needles 16s of the upper cylinder 13, to set the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 to hold the threads Y1i , Y2i in the formation of the links M for connecting the two halves 3A, 5A; 3B, 5B of the girdle. As will be apparent from the following description of the bodice weave, these cams 43s and 44s are vertically aligned with the lower cylinder cams 41i, 42i, respectively;

- again for the upper cylinder 13, a set of selection levers 63s with relative cams for lowering 55s and lifting 73s of sub-needles 16s and a further control cam for needles 45s, to unload the last row of the strip S from the needles which have formed and to work yarns Y1i of the lower cylinder 11 on selected needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13, in the formation of the connecting rows RC1, RC2 in the crotch of the garment.

b) a cutting device that allows, during the formation of the bodice, to cut the fabric along two rectilinear sections each in correspondence with a respective group of needles indicated with T in Fig. 6A, so as to separate the central strip S from the bodice 1 along lines parallel to the columns of meshes. Some examples of cutting devices according to respective embodiments will be described in detail below.

Detailed description of the weaving of the bodice

Having described the control members of the needles and sub-needles of the two cylinders 11, 13 and on the basis of what has already been described briefly with reference to the sequence of Figs. 6A-6F, hereinafter the working of the garment according to the invention will be described in greater detail, taking up the sequence of Figs.

6A-6F.

The weaving of the garment, for example a tights, started with the bodice and ends with the leggings. The arrangement shown in Figs. 11 and 12 highlights the trajectory Ui (indicated by a solid line) of the nose of the needles 15i of the lower cylinder 11 and Us (indicated by a dashed line) of the nose of the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 during the weaving of the bodice. 1 in the first two turns of the machine, in which needle openers 91i, 91s, 92i, 92s were set to open the tabs of the needles which are put to work on the two feeds. Subsequently, the needle openers are moved away from the needles and the working of the body 1 proceeds until the desired length is reached.

Fig.6A illustrates this working phase with particular reference to the needle arc C in which the needles numbered 1, ... 49 of the lower cylinder 11 are always left low and therefore do not produce fabric, while the needles numbered 400 and 1 to 49 of the upper cylinder 13 are driven to produce fabric.

In this phase, the cams 53s, 54s of the upper cylinder 13 are brought close to the cylinder just enough to lower the sub-needles 16s of the needles 15s numbered 400, 1, 5-44, 48 and 49 of the upper cylinder 13. These sub-needles have a heel K longer than the other needles. The cams 53s, 54s are configured so as to lower the sub-needles and the relative needles of the upper cylinder 13 only to the holding level, so that the needles numbered 400, 1, 5-44, 48 and 49 take the threads Y1i, Y2i from the yarn guides 81i, 82i which normally feed the yarn to the needles of the lower cylinder 11 and make links on the cams 43s, 44s but do not unload them.

Continuing in their path (see Figs. 11 and 12) these needles of the upper cylinder 13 are then lowered to the discharge level by means of the respective sub-needles 16s by the cams 51s, 52s, they take respective yarns Y1s, Y2s from yarn guides 81s and 82s of the upper cylinder 13 and, by means of the cams 41s, 42s, thus form links of two wires Y1s + Y1i, Y2s + Y2i, as clearly visible in Fig.6A.

In the step described above, the stitches M formed respectively by the needles 15s numbered 400 and 49 of the upper cylinder 13 each have a branch P which forms a connection bridge between the end of a row Ri of a half 3A, 5A of the bodice, produced from the lower cylinder 11, with the end of a corresponding row Rs of the other half 3B, 5B of the body produced by the upper cylinder 13. Therefore, the needles numbered 400 and 49 each form a respective column of connecting links M between the aforementioned two halves of the bodice, columns which, with their respective connecting bridges P, are aligned according to the frontal and dorsal midlines m, n of the bodice.

In this phase and always with reference to Fig.6A, while the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 numbered from 5 to 44 produce the central strip S, laterally to this two groups T of three needles of the upper cylinder 13 (and more precisely the needles numbered 2, 3, 4 and 45, 46, 47) are left raised, i.e. out of work, so as not to form a mesh, thus leaving on the sides of the strip S three columns of floating links forming rectilinear sections T of threads suitable for easily cut by the cutting device described below, to laterally separate the strip S from the fabric of the bodice 1.

As previously described, in particular in Fig.6A it can be seen that in the upper cylinder 13, between the needle 15s numbered 400 and the needle 15s numbered 49 and the adjacent groups T of floating needles, groups L of needles (in this case consisting of a single needle numbered 1 and 48 respectively) to form respective columns of binding links which have the function of preventing the sliding of the connecting links M, to provide said connecting links M with good resistance to tensions of use of the garment itself.

In practice it has been seen that, by forming these L groups with a single needle (as shown in Fig.6A), sufficient resistance is obtained and, when the garment is worn, the front midline m and dorsal n of the bodice, which are formed by the M connecting links, are thin, with a completely acceptable aesthetic effect.

When the body 1 has reached the desired length, the needles 15s of the upper cylinder 13 from number 5 to number 44 unload the fabric of the strip S produced by them. For this purpose, by means of package selection levers 63s and the cam 45s, these needles are lowered and raised, as shown in circle XIII of Fig.13, without supplying them with any thread, thus making them lose their work. Fig.6B shows the situation after this abandonment.

The strip S, which during the weaving of the bodice 1 was also separated by means of lateral cuts produced for example by means of a cutting device described below, can thus be extracted from the machine, for example by means of a suitable suction collection tube not shown in the drawings, to be thrown.

Detailed description of the formation of the weave of the horse in the passage from the weaving of the bodice to that of the leggings

At the end of the weaving of the bodice, the needles of the arc C of both cylinders 11, 13 are devoid of thread, and they are re-inserted into work using the needle openers 91i, 91S, 92i, 92s (Fig. 14) forming with them a first respective partial starting rank C1i, C1s on alternate needles of odd position of the two cylinders (Fig. 6C) and then a second respective partial starting rank C2i, C2s on alternate needles of even position of the two cylinders (Fig. 6D), while the needles of the complementary arc are executing respective terminal rows Rs, Ri of the girdle 1 (see also Figs 6C, 6D).

At this point, the partial starting ranks produced by the two cylinders C1i, C1s; C2i, C2s are connected together in the following way. With reference to Fig. 15 and Figs 6E, 6F, the cams 53s, 54s, 41s and 45s (which are drawn here with a thin line in dashes) are extracted radially to take them out of work and, by means of selection levers of the pack 63s and the lowering cam 55s, in the arc C of the upper cylinder 13 one every four selected sub-needles and respective needles 15s (i.e. the needles numbered 3, 7, .... 43, 47) are lowered to take the thread Y1i, normally worked by the lower cylinder 11 (see also Fig.6E), to place it in the fabric produced by the upper cylinder 13 by means of the cam 43s. Furthermore, by means of package selection levers 61s and the lowering cam 51s, one every four selected sub-needles, offset with respect to the previous ones, and respective needles 15s (i.e. the numbered needles 5, .... , 45) to take the thread Y2i, normally worked by the lower cylinder 11, to place it in the fabric produced by the upper cylinder 13 by means of the cam 44s. The two partial connecting ranks RC1, RC2, shown in Fig.6E, were thus formed between the initial partial ranks C1i and C1s; C2i and C2s. The connecting rows RC1, RC2 are intertwined as they are produced by staggered needles.

At this point the weaving of the quarters 9A, 9B is carried out in a known way, weaving each quarter with all the needles of a respective cylinder 11, 13 (Figs.16 and 6F).

By means of the above described operation of forming the partial connecting rows RC1, RC2, the quarters 9A, 9B are connected to each other according to the crotch line CC of Fig.1 by means of the same partial connecting rows RC1, RC2. In the weaving phase of the leggings 9A, 9B, as soon as a sufficient quantity of fabric of the leggings has been produced, the two cylinders 1, 13 are spaced more axially from each other, as can be seen by comparing Fig. 16 with Figs 14 and 15, to facilitate processing.

The weaving proceeds until the desired length of the leggings 9A, 9B is reached and finally the garment is unloaded from the machine.

The device for cutting the strip S of fabric

In the following different embodiments of the cutting devices for the separation of the strip S of fabric formed by the upper cylinder 13 during the bodice formation step are described. In all the embodiments the cutting devices provide for the use of a pair of cutting elements suitable for performing the double cut for the lateral separation of the strip of fabric S from the fabric of the bodice according to cutting lines that extend adjacent to the columns of binding stitches formed by the groups of needles L (Figs 6A, 6B).

a) Mechanical cutting device

With reference to Figs. 17 to 19, according to a first embodiment, the machine is equipped with a mechanical cutting device 100 able to simultaneously perform two cuts along the columns of floating links T (Fig.6A) in the bodice fabric during the weaving of the bodice itself, to separate the strip S of fabric to be thrown from it.

In practice, the device comprises two scissors formed by respective pairs of flat blades 101, 103 and 105, 107. The blades of each pair are in contact with each other according to a respective plane W1, W2 (Fig.19) which passes through the X-X axis of cylinders 11, 13. Said planes W1, W2 are arranged in correspondence with the zones T of floating links of Fig.6A. Each scissor comprises a fixed blade 103, 107 fixed, by means of a support ring 109 (see also Fig. 18), to the internal plate-holder crown 111 of the upper cylinder 13, and a movable blade 101, 105. The ring 109 also carries two bushings 111 which guide respective pins 113 to one end of which the movable blades 101, 105 are respectively fixed by means of special supports indicated generically with 115. A spring 117 is invested on each pin 113 which, compressed between an end block 119 of the pin itself and the bushing 111 of the ring 109, vertically urges the respective movable blade 101, 105 towards the corresponding fixed blade 107 in the direction of the arrow F2 (Fig. 18). The end block 119 is common to both pins 113 of the movable blades 105 and carries a transverse pin 121 (Fig. 17) with a roller 123 which, with the rotation of the cylinders 11, 13, rolls on a fixed annular cam 125 causing, at each rotation of the cylinders 11, 13, the periodic vertical displacement of the movable blades 101, 105 with respect to the fixed blades 103 overcoming the force of the springs 117, 107, thus providing the cutting motion to the two scissors. The cam 125 is fixed to the fabric suction tube 127, a tube which does not rotate as it is held by fastening and lifting means external to the cylinders and not shown in the drawing. By these means, the suction tube 127 can be made to slide in the axial position shown in Figs. 17 and 18 to bring the cam 125 into contact with said roller 125, or raised enough to avoid such contact, thus activating or deactivating the cutting action of the scissors.

In Figs. 17 and 18 it is shown how the scissors formed by the respective pairs of blades 101, 103; 105, 107 open in correspondence with the path of the fabric exiting the needles, in particular at a short distance t from the needles, for example of the order of 4 mm. This condition proved to be useful for safely cutting the respective T columns of floating links in Fig.6A, minimizing the lateral deviations of the cut. b) Laser cutting device

With reference to Figs. 20 and 21, a cutting device in a second embodiment comprises as cutting elements two laser light emitting diodes 201, 202 each emitting a thin laser beam FL suitable for cutting the fabric produced by the machine. Such devices are for example of the type used in optical computer disc readers and are fixed in respective cavities of the platelet-holder crown 111 of the upper cylinder 13, so that each diode 201, 202 can emit, when excited, its own laser beam FL in direction of the fabric to make respective separation cuts of the strip S from the fabric of the bodice 3A, 3B, 5A, 5B on the two sides of the strip S.

For this purpose, the cavities of the sinker-holder crown 111 are each created in correspondence with a respective diametrical plane W1, W2 and in such a way that the respective laser beam FL is at a minimum distance t from the needles.

Two electrical supply cables 204 exit from each laser diode 201, 202 and terminate in respective contacts 205, 206 which slide on respective conductive rings 207, 208 carried by an insulating ring 209 integral with a non-rotating tube 210 coaxial to the cylinder.

By means of a bipolar electric cable 211 integral with the tube 210, the laser diodes 201, 202 can thus be powered to emit the respective laser beams FL when the cutting action is required, that is, during the weaving of the body.

In the examples illustrated in Figs. 20 and 21, in order to reduce as much as possible the distance t of the cutting elements from the needles and thus increase the cutting precision, the part of the sinkers that protrudes radially in front of the nose of the same, at least for the sinkers that are located in correspondence with the laser diodes 201, 202, is reduced in length as much as possible (see the front wire 203 of these sinkers in Fig. 20). This arrangement can also be adopted in the case of the mechanical cut in Fig.17. c) Electric resistance cutting device

With reference to Figs. 22 to 24, a cutting device in a third embodiment comprises two electrical resistors 301, 302 suitable for coming into contact with the tissue just formed by the needles, and which can be powered to bring them to a temperature sufficient to locally melt the fabric to cut it.

Each resistance 301, 302 is welded to the end of a respective arm 303 integral with a stem 304 able to slide in a bush 305 fixed in the plate-holder crown 111 of the upper cylinder 13. The arm 303 and the stem 304 are joined by a plate 306 guided in a slot 307 of the sinker-holder crown 111, the slots 307 each being formed in correspondence with a respective plane W1, W2. A spring 308 axially draws the stem 304 and therefore the respective resistance 301, 302, to remove it from the fabric inside the slot 307 during the weaving of the quarters. In the stem 304 there are also provided channels for two electrical conductors which connect the resistor to two conducting shoes 309, 310 of an end block of the stem. The conducting shoes 309, 310 are adapted to slide in radial contact with a respective conducting ring 311, 312 carried by an insulating ring 313. The conducting rings 311, 312 are fixed to a non-rotating tube 314 to which a bipolar cable is fixed 315 to power both resistors 301, 302.

The tube 314 can be slid axially to lift the resistances in the shear position by overcoming the springs 308 by means of a stop ring 316 and, as shown in Fig. 23, bringing them into contact with the fabric to make respective separation cuts of the strip S from the fabric of the bodice 3A, 3B, 5A, 5B to the two sides of the strip S itself during the weaving of the bodice.

It is understood that the drawing shows only an exemplification given only as a practical demonstration of the invention, which can vary in forms and arrangements without however departing from the scope of the concept underlying the invention. The presence of any reference numbers in the attached claims has the purpose of facilitating the reading of the claims with reference to the description and the drawing, and does not limit the scope of protection represented by the claims.

Claims (41)

"METHOD OF KNITTING A GARMENT, MACHINE FOR IMPLEMENTING IT AND CLOTHING THUS PRODUCED" Claims 1. A method for weaving a knitted garment comprising a bodice (1) and two leggings (9A, 9B) by means of a double-cylinder circular knitting machine with two overlapping cylinders (11, 13), comprising the steps of: ∠'weave in continuous motion simultaneously with the two cylinders (11, 13) respective portions of fabric (3A, 5A; 3B, 5B) forming the bodice (1), said portions being joined according to a median frontal union line (m) and a midline of dorsal union (n); ∠’after weaving the bodice, weave said two leggings (9A, 9B) in a continuous motion simultaneously, each using a respective cylinder (11, 13), wherein: during the weaving of said bodice (1), along a partial arc of needles (C), needles (15s) of at least one (13) of said two cylinders (11, 13) produce at least one strip of fabric (S ); and in which at the end of the weaving of the bodice, along said partial arch of needles (C) a joining line (CC) is formed between the quarters (9A, 9B); said strip of fabric (S) being separated and removed from the bodice (1). 2. Method according to claim 1, in which along said partial arch of needles (C) the needles (15i) of the other (11) of said two cylinders (11, 13) remain temporarily inactive during the weaving of the bodice (1) . Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said strip of fabric (S) is separated from the bodice (1) during weaving of the garment on the machine. Method according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, wherein said strip of fabric (S) is separated from the bodice (1) by making cuts according to columns of links (T) from opposite sides of the strip of fabric (S) and, at the end of the weaving of the bodice (1), unloading the terminal rank of the strip of fabric (S) from the needles that produced it. Method according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which at both ends of said partial arc of needles (C), at least one continuous column is formed by means of at least one respective needle (15s, 15s) of at least one cylinder (13) of connecting links (M) forming bridges (P) for connecting the lateral edges of said portions (3A, 5A; 3B, 5B) of the body (1), said columns of connecting links (M) defining said median line of frontal union (m) and said midline of dorsal union (n) of the portions (3A, 5A; 3B, 5B) of the girdle (1). Method according to claim 5, wherein said connecting links (M) are produced by at least one needle (49, 400) per side of each portion (3A, 5A; 3B, 5B) of the body (1) by imagining together a wire (Y1s, Y2s) of a fall of one cylinder (13) with a wire (Y1i, Y2i) of a fall of the other cylinder (11). 7. Method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said columns of connecting links (M) defining said frontal and dorsal midlines of union (m, n) are formed by a single needle (49, 400) at each end of said partial arch of needles (C). 8. Method according to at least claim 2, wherein during the weaving of the bodice (1), along said partial arc of needles (C), the needles (15s) forming said strip of fabric (S) weave rows of double stitches thread, with a thread (Y1i, Y2i) of a fall of a first (11) of said cylinders (11, 13) and a thread (Y1s; Y2s) of a fall of a second (13) of said cylinders. Method according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which at the end of the weaving of said bodice (1), at the beginning of the weaving of the quarters (9A, 9B), at least a partial connecting line (RC1, RC2) of the two bodice portions (1) forming said union line (CC). Method according to claim 9, wherein at the beginning of the processing of the quarters (9A, 9B), needles of said partial arc of needles (C) of both cylinders (11, 13) are brought into work to form respective rows start partial (C1s, C2s; C1i, C2i) of the leggings and therefore at least a partial connection row (RC1, RC2) of the leggings formed by needles (15i, 15s) of both cylinders (11, 13), to form said union line (CC) of the quarters (9A, 9B), thus continuing the weaving of the quarters with all the needles (15i, 15s) of both cylinders (11, 13). Method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein two partial connecting rows (RC1, RC2) are formed by means of groups of staggered needles of said partial arc of needles (C). Method according to at least claim 5, wherein in each row of the bodice (1), between said columns of connecting links (M) and said strip of fabric (S) to be separated, adjacent to said columns of connecting links (M) At least one column of links is formed (L), to improve the tightness of the butts Method according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein, on the two sides of the fabric strip (S) of fabric to be separated, respective columns of floating links (T) are produced. 14. Method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bodice (1) is woven using at least two feeds of the first cylinder (11) and at least two feeds of the second cylinder (13). 15. A circular double-cylinder knitting machine (11, 13) for producing a garment with a bodice (1) and two quarters, comprising a first cylinder (11) and a second cylinder (13) superimposed on each other, each cylinder being equipped with respective needles (15s, 15i), sinkers (17) and control members for said needles and said sinkers, programmed to perform a weaving method as per one or more of the preceding claims. 16. A circular double cylinder knitting machine (11, 13) for producing a garment with a bodice (1) and two leggings (9A, 9B), comprising a first cylinder (11) and a second cylinder (13) between them superimposed, each cylinder being equipped with respective needles (15s, 15i), sinkers (17) and control members of said needles and said sinkers, in which said cylinders (11, 13), said needles (15i, 15s) and said sinkers (17) are controlled in such a way that: During the continuous weaving of said bodice (1), the needles in a partial arc of needles (C) of at least one (13) of said cylinders produce along said partial arc of needles (C) a strip of fabric ( S) which is separated from the body and the needles of the arches complementary to said partial arch of needles (C) of the first cylinder and of the second cylinder (11, 13) form two portions (3A, 5A; 3B, 5B) of said body ( 1); ∠’at the end of the weaving of the bodice (1), along said partial arch of needles (C) a crotch line (CC) is formed between the leggings (9A, 9B); and ∠’after the formation of said joining line (CC) the two cylinders simultaneously weave the two quarters (9A, 9B) of the garment in a continuous motion. 17. Machine as per claim 16, in which said cylinders (11, 13), said needles (15i, 15s) and said sinkers (17) are controlled in such a way that during the weaving of said body (1) the needles in said partial arc of needles (C) of a first (11) of said cylinders (11, 13) remain inactive. while the needles in said partial arc of needles (C) of a second (13) of said cylinders (11, 13) produce said strip of fabric (S). 18. Machine according to one or more of claims 15 to 17, comprising: - additional stitch-forming cams (43s, 44s) for driving the needles (15s) of said second cylinder (13), said cams being substantially vertically aligned with stitch-forming cams (41i, 42i) of the first cylinder (11) , for processing yarns (Y1i, Y2i) of the feeds of said first cylinder (11); ∠'for each of said supplementary cams (43s, 44s), a respective cam (53s, 54s) for setting the needles (15s) of the second cylinder (13) at restraint level, for gripping (Y1i, Y2i ) of falls of the first cylinder (11) in the formation of links (M) for connecting two portions (3A, 3B; 5A, 5B) of the body (1); ∠'in the second cylinder (13), means (63s) for moving the needles from the float level to the unwinding level followed by a further needle control cam (45s), to unload the last row of the fabric strip (S) from the needles that have formed said strip of fabric and to bring selected needles of the second cylinder (13) to work on threads (Y1i) of the first cylinder (13), for the formation of a partial connection row (RC2) along a line of the crotch of the garment. 19. Machine according to one or more of claims 15 to 18, in which said two cylinders (11, 13) are angularly offset from each other so that each cylinder (11, 13) has its own needles (15i, 15s) aligned with the sinkers (17) of the other cylinder (13, 11). 20. Machine according to one or more of claims 15 to 19, in which the sinkers (17) of each cylinder (11, 13) have a beak (17A) and a bead (17T), between said beak and said bead a recess (17B) designed to allow the passage of the needle (15s, 15i) corresponding to the opposite cylinder (11, 13) when it forms a mesh, the sinkers (17) of a cylinder (11, 13) being kept advanced in correspondence with the actuation of the needles of the other cylinder (13, 11) to form a stitch. 21. Machine according to claim 20, wherein the sinkers (17) of the two cylinders (11, 13) have a stitch formation plane (17C) approximately aligned with the upper part of the nose (17A) of the sinkers. 22. Machine according to one or more of claims 15 to 21, comprising a device for cutting the strip of fabric (S) formed during the weaving of the bodice (1), arranged and made to cut columns of fabric stitches on the sides of said strip of fabric (S). 23. Machine according to claim 22, wherein said cutting device comprises: two cutting elements (101, 103; 105, 107; 201, 202; 301, 302) supported by one of the two cylinders (13) of the machine, inside the needles, these cutting elements lying in respective radial planes (W1, W2) arranged on opposite sides of the partial arch of needles (C) which forms said strip of fabric (S) to be separated from the bodice; and means for activating / deactivating the cutting elements. 24. Machine according to claim 23, in which said two cutting elements are arranged at a minimum distance (t) with respect to said needles, said minimum distance being preferably not greater than twenty rows of fabric and more preferably comprised between three and fifteen rows of fabric and even more preferably between three and ten ranks of fabric. 25. Machine according to claim 22, 23 or 24, wherein said cutting device comprises two pairs of blades (101, 103; 105, 107), each pair comprising means for moving said blades (117, 125, 123), the pairs of blades opening to cut the fabric just formed at a minimum distance (t) from the machine needles. 26. Machine according to claim 25, in which each pair of blades comprises a movable blade (101; 107) and a fixed blade (103; 105), and that said movement means comprise an axial cam (125) carried by a tube (127) internal and coaxial to one of said cylinders (13, 11), whose axial position can be varied to activate / deactivate the cutting device. 27. Machine according to one or more of claims 22 to 24, wherein said cutting device comprises two laser diodes (201, 202). 28. Machine according to claim 27, wherein said laser diodes (201, 202) are fixed in respective cavities of a sinker-holder crown (111) of a cylinder (13) of the machine and oriented to emit their own laser beam (FL ) towards the fabric, and in which means (204 to 211) are provided for powering each laser diode during the weaving of the bodice. 29. Machine according to one or more of claims 20 to 22, wherein said cutting device comprises a pair of electrical resistors (301, 302). 30. Machine according to claim 29, in which said two electrical resistances (301, 302) are equipped with a movement of approaching the fabric and moving away from the fabric. 31. Machine according to claim 30, in which said two electric resistances (301, 302) are carried by a set (303, 304, 306) inside a recess (307) of a sinker-holder crown (111) of a cylinder (13), said assembly being sliding in a bush (305) fixed to the sinker-holder crown and recalled by a spring (308) to remove the resistance (301, 302) inside the sinker-holder crown during the weaving of the leggings, each said assembly being able to be pushed axially by means of a ring (313) fixed to a tube (314) movable axially internal and coaxial to the cylinder (13) to bring said resistances (301, 302) into contact with the fabric to cut it, simultaneously with this displacement the resistors being supplied with electric current by means of feeding (309 to 312, 315). 32. A knitted garment comprising a bodice (1) and two leggings (9A, 9B) joined together without seams, in which: said bodice is formed by two side portions (3A, 5A, 3B, 5B) joined by bridges (P) formed by connecting links (M) developing along a dorsal midline (n) and a frontal midline (m); between said midline dorsal (n) and said midline front (m) develops a connecting line (CC) extending along the crotch of the garment, formed by at least a partial row of connecting links (RC1; RC2); and the bodice is at least partially formed by ranks (Ri; Rs) of meshes formed by threads (Y1i; Y2i; Y1s; Y2s) interrupted near said frontal median line and said dorsal median line. 33. Garment according to claim 32, in which at least one column of binding links (L) extends along said front midline (m) and along said dorsal midline (n) adjacent to said at least one column of connecting links ( M), the yarns (Y1s, Y1i; Y2s, Y2i) forming the knitting ranks of the bodice being interrupted along said column of binding stitches (L) 34. Garment according to claim 32 or 33, in which each of said connecting links (M) is formed by two threads (Y1i, Y1s; Y2i, Y2s) intertwined in the same mesh, one of which forms the respective bridge (P ), a first of said two threads of each connecting link (M) extending to form links of a row of a first of said side portions (3A, 5A, 3B, 5B) of said bodice (1), and a second of said two threads of each connecting link (M) extending to form links of a row of a second of said two side portions (3B, 5B, 3A, 5A) of said bodice (1). 35. Garment according to one or more of claims 32 to 34, wherein said bodice (1) has a number of columns of links lower than the sum of the number of columns of links of the two quarters (9A, 9B). 36. Garment according to claim 35, wherein the number of columns of stitches of the bodice (1) is comprised between 50 and 95% of the sum of the number of columns of stitches of the leggings (9A, 9B). 37. Garment according to claim 36, wherein the number of columns of stitches of the bodice (1) is comprised between 70 and 90% of the sum of the number of columns of stitches of the leggings (9A, 9B). 38. Garment according to one or more of claims 32 to 37, in which at least two partial connection rows (RC1, RC2) are developed along said connection line (CC), staggered to each other forming a connection weave. 39. Garment according to one or more of claims 32 to 37, in which at least two partial connecting rows (RC1, RC2) develop along the connecting line (RC1, RC2) which connect opposite partial starting rows (C1s, C2s; C1i, C2i) of the fabric of the leggings (9A, 9B). 40. Garment as per one or more of claims 32 to 39, wherein said or said partial connecting rows (RC1, RC2) are formed by yarns (Y1i, Y2i) forming knit rows (Ri) of at least a portion ( 5A) of said bodice (1). 41. Garment according to one or more of claims 32 to 41, wherein said bodice (1) is formed by columns of links (CL) which extend from an edge (3A, 3B) of the bodice (1) to the leggings ( 9A, 9B) and, in the lower part, by further columns of links which extend from said connection line (CC) in said quarters (9A, 9B).