US1592460A

US1592460A - Hosiery manufacture

Info

Publication number: US1592460A
Application number: US737025A
Authority: US
Inventors: Emil A Hirner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1921-06-22
Filing date: 1924-09-11
Publication date: 1926-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 1943-07-13

Description

July 13 1926. 1,592,460

E. A. HIRNER 7 HO 5 I ERY MANUFACTURE original Filed June 22, 1921 WITNESSES: 11v VENTOR Emil/flifinzaz;

Patented July 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES EMIL A. HIRNER, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

HOSIEBY MANUFACTURE.

Original application filed June 22, 1921, Serial No. 479,603. Divided and this application filed September 11, 1924. Serial No. 737,025. g

This invention relates to the manufacture of hosier more especially to seamless hosicry and t e presentapplication is a diyision of a previous one No. 479,603 originally filed by me undendatebf June 22, 1921, and renewed the 12th day of January, 1925.

In the manufacture of seamless hosiery as ordinarily practiced, the heel of a stocking is knit by first narrowing and then w dening upon a limited number of fashioning needles resultin in the production of a pocket having at eac side, the diagonal suture characteristic of such hosiery. A heel pocket produced in this way is square in configuration, i. e. with corners at the inner ends of the sutures, and therefore is at best, only a rather poor approximation to the shape of the human heel. To secure a semblance of roundness in the heel, it is necessary to rely upon the shaped form used in steam-pressing the stocking, but even then unsightly puckerin cannot be entirely eliminated in the finis ed article. Moreover, as is well known, the sutures formed during fashioning are non-yielding, and, by virtue of their diagonal position in the heel pocket, tend to mar the elasticity of the stoc ing structure at a region where capacity for yielding is greatly to be desired, 1. e. between the highest portion of the instep and the back of t e heel.

The object of my invention is to overcome the various difiiculties above pointed out and to enable roduction of a novel form of heel pocket, w ich is of true spherical configuration so as to conform very accurately to the human heel; that is further characterized by absence of any sutures whatever within its area so that its loops are entirely free from tension or restraint and elastic in the same degree as other portions of the stocking; and which is also so proportioned as to bring the foot more nearly at right angles to the leg portion of a stocking than possible of accom lishment with-previously employed metho s.

Other objects and attendant advantages of my invention will be readily apparent from the detailed description which follows, while the scope thereof is circumscribed by the appended claims.

The drawing herewith represents, more or less diagrammatically, a stocking conveniently illustrating m invention. Although shown as embodie in a half hose, it will be obvious as the description proceeds that my invention may be just as readily embodied in long or ladies hose, or even in childrens stockings.

In carrying out my invention, the leg ortion of the stocking indicated at 1, is nit in the usual manner by round and round knitting upon a circular knitting machine. Upon reaching the course represented by the line 2-3, 4-5, rotation of the machine is suspended and formation of the heel pocket commenced by oscillation upon a llmited number of the needles. At this juncture, in stead of first narrowing and then widening as is generally customary in forming heel pockets, I make a radical departure from such usual practice by reversing this order; or in other words, by first widening, and then narrowing. With this end in view, the procedure is as follows:

For the purposes of an illustrative example let it be assumed that the stocking herein shown is knit on a cylinder comprising 228 needles. Of these I employ half or 114 as instep needles, which, during the formation of the heel, are rendered inactive to hold the loops of the fabric alon the line 23 and also the corresponding oops-- on the far side of the stocking. The remaining needles, withthe exception of about 20 atthe center of the series, I employ as fashioning needles, said needles being thus divided into two groups of 47 each. At the beginning of the oscillation period of the machine cycle, the fashioning needles are rendered inactive as a body, and then, as the. knitting proceeds, are added, alternately one at a time, to opposite ends of the subdlvision of 20 needles above referred to until the full com lement is restored tov activity, with resu ting formation of the web 5436 and incidental formation of sutures 34 at opposite sides of the stockof each group. This results in the production of a gusset 3687. At the conclusion of the narrowing operation just described, the loops of the fabric are held by the needles along the line 2, 3-7, 8, and thereupon the needle cylinder is rotated with all the needles in action, and the foot 10 otherwise completed in the usual manner, sutures 3-7 appearing at opposite sides of the fabric along the line of union between the heel and the instep due to the narrowing, and as angular-1y disposed segments of the sutures 34.

From the foregoing it will be'particularly observed that the sutures 34 and 3-7 are entirely without the area of the heel pocket, in fact lying as already pointed out, along the j unctures respectively between the ankle and the heel. and the heel and the instep 'of the foot. As a consequence the loops constituting the heel fabric are absolutely free to adjust themselves to the advantage of affording the desired circumferential elasticity about the stocking, between the highest. point 2 of the instep and the back of the heel as required in conforming to the anatomy of the human foot.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The method of producing a complete stocking heel by firstly widening and then narrowing with incidental formation of a suture in the direction of the fabric wales, whereby said heel is afforded circumferential elasticity.

2. The method of producing a complete stocking heel by firstly widening and then narrowing upon a limited portion of the fashioning needles with incidental formation of sutures in the direction of the fabric wales, whereby said heel is afforded circumferential elasticity.

3. The method of producing a complete stocking heel by firstly widening until the full complement of fashioning needles are in action and then narrowing upon only a portion of said needles with incidental formation of sutures substantially in the direction of the fabric wales whereby said heel is afforded circumferential elasticity.

4. The method of producing a complete stocking heel by firstly widening until the full complement of fashioning needles are in action and then narrowing upon a limited number of said needles for a few courses to form a substantially spherical heel that is characterized by circumferential elasticity.

5. A seamless stocking characterized by a circumferentially elastic heel pocket bounded by convergent sutures substantially in the direction of the fabric wales.

6. A seamless stocking characterized by a circumferentially elastic heel with fashioning sutures respectively along the line of juncture between the heel and ankle, and in part along the juncture of the heel with the instep.

7. A seamless stoclnng characterized by a circ-umferentially elastic heel with fashionh ing sutures respectively along the line of. juncture between the heel and ankle, and in part along the juncture of the heel with the instep, said sutures being located en tirely beyond the normal area of the heel pocket.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Allentown, Pennsylvania, this sixth day of September, 1924.

EMIL A. HIRNER.