US1459496A - Island - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1923.

G. P. BOSWORTH HOMER! AND METHOD F MAKTNG THE SAME F1 Led July 1919 Imen "i0 G'coi gePBoswoviii Patented June 19, 1923.

v UNITED STATES GEORGE P. BOBWOBTH, OF CENTRAL FALLS,

HILL 00mm, 0! PAWTUGKET, REODE OHUBE'I'TB.

maroon 13mm), assumes no nur- ISLAND, a conrona'rron or xassa,

HOSIEBY ANIIHETHO D O]? RING 1133 BAKE.

. Application filed July 5,

To all whom it my cmwem:

Be it known that I, Gnoaos P. Boewoa'ru, fort a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Central Falls, in the county of Providence 3 and State of Rhode Island, have invented an 1m rovement in Hosiery and Methods of Making the Same, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like arts. p This invention relates to hosiery and to the method of making the same.

The object of the invention is economically to produce a stocking, more particularly of the full-fashioned knitted type, havin a foot includin toe and heel pockets and a portion inc uding ankle and fashionetf calf seamed respectively along the center-of the bottom of the foot and up the center of the back of the leg to the top of the calf.

Referring to the accompan ing drawings wherein I have merely for t e purposes of illustration disclosed one embodiment of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a completed stocking made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one form of blank therefor; and

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustratin the arrangement of the needles employs in knittin the stocking blank.

1% the drawings, referring particularly to Fig. 1, a stocking is shown embodying a foot 2, including toe and heel pockets 3 and 4 respectively, an ankle 5, a fashioned calf 6 and a tubular leg 7.

The toe pocket 3 is herein shown as having a seam 8 across the top thereof, and in addition to said seam there is a seam 9 ex tending from or near said seam 8 alon the tip of the toe pocket around the tip 0 the toe as at lfi along the center of the bottom of the foot and up the center of the back of the leg to the top of the calf 6, but obviously within the scope and purpose of the invention said seam 9 may be extended if desired to the top of the leg 7, merely, however, to form an imitation or mock seam.

All of the parts hereinbeforementioned may be and preferably are formed automatically in and by a continuous series of knitting operations upon one and the same 'leg or at the toe,

191s. lel'lll Io. mp5s.

macllliine, and as hereinafter more fully set Although I shall-herein refer to the stockmgae a machine-knitted stocking and refer to its formation upon the machine of the general type, n as ,a circular knitting machine wherein either the needle cylinder or the knitting cams have relative rotary or neiprocatory movement, it is distinctl to be understood that within the scope an W of the invention the stocking may itted by hand or upon other types of machines than those to which reference has been made, as forexample, on a straight bar knitting machine or a knitting frame socalled. As previously stated, the stocking blank, from which the stocking embodying this invention is produced, is knitted upon a circular knitting machine and the produc tion thereof involves both rotary and reciprocatory movements of the machine, and I will for convenience refer to these movements as being applied to the needle carrier or cylinder, rather than to the knitting cams. Obviously, the knitting of the stockin blank may be started either at the top of the but herein I shall refer to the operation as beginning at the toe and upon a circular series of needles having an interruption or gap in the circular continuity of wales formed by the withdrawal of a certain number of needles at a point in the circumference representing the center of the bottom of the foot portion of the stocking. Upon this interrupted series of needles I roceed to knit a plurality of courses eit er reciprocatingly or as herein shown by circular knitting, thereby to form a series of protective courses ll, opposite ends of said courses being connected together by floating yarns 12, which span the gap produced by the absence, during such knitting, of the above-mentioned withdrawn needles.

Having knitted a sufficient number of these protective courses, the next step is to produce the toe pocket 3, the first course in the formation thereof being effected by with drawing from action in the usual manner the needles representing the instep needles which, in other words, are those upon which the upper portion or half of the foot of the stocking is knitted, said needles retaining their loops while thus withdrawn. Knitting next proceeds upon the remaining portion of the needles which are arranged in two groups, substantiall comprising the same number of needles, liut separated by a gap reduced by the withdrawn needles herein fore referred to.

To better understand the arrangement of the needles at this point, let it be assumed that there are three hundred needles in the entire machine, one hundred of which represent the instep needles and comprise the group 13 (see Fig. 3), which at this point in the operation are withdrawn from action retaining their loops, another hundred of said needles represent the needles upon which the fabric constituting the toe pocketis to be formed and these needles are separated into two groups l l and 15. of say fifty needles each, by ,a third group 16 of one hundred needles, which latter group was withdrawn at the start of the knitting operations.

Reciprocating, knitting now continues upon the groups 11 and 15 to client the usual narrowing and widening operations neces sary to produce the toe pocket 3. which narrowing and widening operations include the gradual withdrawal of needles from opposite ends of the series. until the required number have hen withdrawn. and subseon ntly restoring said ncedlcs in a reverse order to unite the courses previously formed h th narrowing operation. living to the cparation ot' the toe pocket needles into two groups by the n edles 16, aid toe pocket will he formed in two sections separated by a gap corresponding to the withdrawn group of needles 16. said gap being spanned by floating yarns 18.

Following the knittinu of the last widenin; course of Said toe pocket. the needles of the group 1-! are restored to action and circular knitting: proceeds upon all the nec dies except those of the group 16, thus forniinn the fabric of the foot. 2 between the toe and h cl pockets 3 and 1 respectively. Upon c: ction. the last circular course of the foot prior to the first narrowing course of di l lie-cl pocket. the instep nccdlcs l arc again n'itlnirmrn from acti n rctainin; th ir loops. and reciprocatin; lmittinL is elicited upon the groups 14 and 153 to pro (tn-" .inl hecl pocket 1, the i cdles of said group being first gradually rcdu ed in number iming v aid knittin; and subsequently incrcawil in r v-r order to form the narrowing and ridening courses ca l) including a fl ating yarn it. which pan th gap produmd ht the '-\'ithrlrawal of the needles 16.

'lhiinstep needles 13 are again restored to a t re-r and circular knitting foilo s for I. certain number of courses to producc the ankle portion 5 of the tocking. the c ur jcs of loops mnili rsing said ankle portion beinless than a complete cir le and having op ylo site culls thereof wnnected by float ng yarns 20, which span the gap produced by reason of the inaction of the needles 16.

The gap spanned by the floating yarns 12, 18. 19, 2t and likewise those intervening between the yarns 18 and 19, extends along' the center of the bottom of the foot and up the center of the back of said ankle.

Following the completion of the ankle portion 5 of said stocking, the fashioned calf t) is next knitted, and preferably upon gradually increasing series of needles -abet is to say. the needles of the group 16 during the formation of said fashi ned calf, are gradually restored to action at opposite ends of the interrupted circular series of needles including the groups l3, l4. and 15, said needles 16 being operated automatically and at the desired intervals to effect the desired angle of increase for said fashioned. calf, opposite sides of said calf being preferably symmetrically shaped during said knitting operations, which operations continue until all the needles of the group 16 have been restored.

As a result of the gradual restoration of sflitl needles 16, the floating yarns 21, spanning the gap at the bank of said calf, will gradually decrease in. length as they approaeh the upper end of said calf until they finally merge in the tubular leg portion 7,.

which is knitted herein subsequently to the knitting of the calf 6, said tubular leg having: no seam or gap formed therein, it being knitted upon a full or complete circle of needles including the groups 13, 14, 15 and 16:

Following the completion of said tubular leg 7, the stocking may be removed from the machine or knitting: may continue upon the machine to repeat the above-described 0pcrations and thereby knit a second. or a series of similar blanks.

To complete the stocking from the blank hcreinbefore described. the floating yarns spanning: the gap along the center of the foot and up the center of the hack are sevcrcd and correspondingedges of the various sc tions are then stitched together to form a scam fl extending from the tip i of the toe or from the scam Q alow the center of the t e po ket. center of the fTIot and heel pocket, up the center at the hack of the ankle 5 and the ccntcr of the calf t; to the top of said calf or, if desired. said seaming operations llltlV 'hc continued to the top of the stocking and then-h effect the formation of a mock warn as shown at 2'3. Furthermore. the protective c urses 12 are reveled hack and the tir i course of the heel pocket is stitched to thc first o'nrsc of the instep portion of the stocking to form the seam 8 across the top f the toe.

While I have her in hown and described int-vol for illustrative pizrporcs one specific crn nlinu-n of my invention. and have disclosed and discussed in detail the construe tion and arrangement incidental to such disclosure, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is limited neither to themere details or relative arran ment of the parts of the stockihg nor to ti e specific application herein shown but that extensive variations from the illustrations may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

Claims:

1. A stocking including continuous circular knitted instep "of the foot, ankle and fashioned calf portions and reciprocatingly knitted toe and heel pockets, and a seam extending from the top of the toe over the front thereof and thence along the center of the bottom of the foot and along the center of the back of the leg.

2. A stocking blank having circular knitted foot, ankle and fashioned calf portions and fashioned toe and heel portions separated alon the toe and the bottom of the foot and a ong the center of the heel and back by a gap spanned by floating yarns, the floating yarns at the calf portion of said blank gradually decreasing in length from the bottom to the top thereof.

3. A stocking blank having a foot including toe and heel pockets formed with a ap extending longitudinallynofthe toe and the heel and the bottom of said foot and spanned by floating yarns. an ankle and a fashionedcalf also provided with a gap at the back, spanned by floating, yarns. the floating yarns of said calf varying in length to correspond with the fashioning of said calf, and a seamless tubular leg constituting a continuation of said calf.

1-. That method of making a stocking which comprises commencing the knitting at the toe, knitting reciprocatingly upon two separated series of needles to form a toe pocket in two parts connected together by floating yarns, then in knitting circularly upon an interrupted series of needles to produce a tubular web having a gap spanned by floating yarns, said Web constituting the arch of the foot, then in knitting upon two separated series'of needles, reciprocatingly to form a heel pocket in two sections connected together by floatingyarns, then in knitting circularly upon said interrupted series of needles to produce a tubular Web having a gap spanned by floating yarns, said web constituting the ankle of the stocking, then in knitting circularly upon said intering fashioned, said stocking rupted series of needles and in radually adding needles thereto to form a ashioned calf, and finally in knitting circular] upon a full set of needles to form a seaml bular web constituting the leg of the stockin A stockin blank consisting of a plurality of circu arly knitted ravelling back courses, toe pocket, heel pocket, ankle and fashioned calf, each formed with a gap spanned by floating yarns, the gaps of said several sections uniting in a continuous aperture extending from the top of the toe over the top thereof and thence along the bottom of the foot and the hack of the leg to the top of the calf of the blank, and a tubular leg formed without gap and integral with said calf.

6. That method of making a stocking which comprises eommencin the knitting at the toe, knitting reciprocatmgl upon two separated series of needles to f orm a toe pocket intwo parts connected together by floating arns, then in knitting circularly upon an interrupted series of needles to produce a tubular web having a gap spanned by floating yarns, said web constituting the arch of the foot, then in knitting upon two separated series of needles, reciprocatingly to form a heel pocket in two sections connected to ether by floating yarns, then in knitting circularly upon said interrupted series of needles to produce a tubular web havinga gap spanned by floating yarns, said web constituting the ankle of the stocking, then in knitting circularly upon said interrupted series of needles and in gradually adding needles thereto form a fashioned calf in knitting circularly upon a full set of needles to form a seamless tubular web constituting the leg of the stockin and thence removing the floating yarns an seaming the stocking lengthwise the toe pocket, along the bottom of the foot and the heel and the back of the ankle and calf.

7. A stocking .having narrowed and widened heel and toe pockets and circularly knit foot, ankle and leg portions, the calf beextending from the top 0 the toe pocket along the upper and under side of the toe pocket lengthwise thereof, thence lengthwise the under side of the foot, the heel and the back of the ankle and le In testimony whereo I have signed my name to this s ecification.

EORGE P. BO SWORTH.

ess tuhaving a seam

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