US2585456A - Manufacture of stockings and the like articles of hosiery - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 12, 1952 J. GARRIC 2,585,456

MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE ARTICLES OF HOSIERY Filed June 6, 1950 Fig. 2

JEAN GAE/W6 Patented Feb. 12, 1952 MANUFACTURE OF STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE ARTICLES OF HOSIERY Jean Garric, Sainte-Savine, France Application June 6, 1950, Serial No. 166,310 In France September 7, 1949 2 Claims. (Cl. 66-89) My invention has for its object improvements '7 in the manufacture of stockings, half stockings, socks, and the like articles on straight bar knitting machines of the Cotton type and it covers means for producing the two lateral tabs, or heel parts, forming component elements of the heel.

It is known that it is possible to produce the heel parts of full-fashioned ladies stockings on Cotton machines through outward transferring, i. e. through a widening of two strips or tongues having a width equal to that of the heel that it is desired to produce.

According to a usual method, the fabric is widened by outward transferring the loops to the extent of a needle space in every other courses of a plurality of succeeding courses (in fact, it is difiicult, if not impossible, to widen to a greater extent, by reason of the differences in the draft existing between the'widened parts of the medial part of the stocking) until at the end of the heel the strip is located almost entirely outside the initial width of the leg portion close above the ankle. A heel is thus obtained that has two courses in length for every needle space in breadth. For instance for a heel fifty needle spaces wide, the length should be equal one hundred courses. Now it is recognized that the proportion is not the best in practice, and as a matter of fact, the heel is too long for its Width and one is led to produce a heel of proper length that is too narrow or else a heel of proper width that is too long. In this latter case, there arises also a further drawback inasmuch as the knitting being continued over the instep portion during the knitting of the heel parts, said instep portion is too long.

My invention has for its object to remove the above drawbacks through the execution of a heel the width of which is not necessarily proportional to its length and to this purpose it has for its object improvements consisting chiefly in combining the operative steps in a manner such that before beginning the outward transfer of the Whole width of the heel tabs, widening of the leg portion close above the ankle is provided for, but only on a few selvedge needles.

According to a preferred embodiment the outward widening in width of the leg portion close above the ankle, before transfer of the whole width of the tabs takes place, is obtained by transferring two or three marginal loops orstitches.

In the execution of this improved arrangement,-

the two transfer point plates or blocks adapted to provide for a widening of the heel parts are broader than the usual plates or blocks by reason 2 of their including a number of points that is at least equal to that of the needles corresponding to the width it is desired to give the heel; said plates are, at the end of the knitting of the leg portion close above the ankle, shifted outwardly in a manner such that a few, say two or three points may engage the corresponding marginal loops or stitches and the desired widening is then proceeded with; this being done, the plates are returned back inwardly by a distance corresponding to the number of needles forming the width of the heel less the number of marginal or selvedge needles, two or three in the case considered, and one proceeds then with the usual transfer of the whole width of the heel tabs, the heel being finally finished in accordance with any known or suitable method.

Further features and advantages of my invention will appear moreover clearly from the following description, reference being made to ac-.

companying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fractional view of a part of a stocking blank as it appears when knitted flat ona straight bar machine, said Fig. 1 illustrating the successive steps in the execution of oneof the two heel parts.

Fig. 2 shows the appearance of the stocking obtained when finished.

I have illustrated in Fig. 1 only the right hand side of the part of a stocking to which the invention is applied and I have removed from the drawing, with a view to greater simplification, the other half that is symmetrical of the right hand side half with reference to the line X--X. In said figure, XA corresponds to the leg portion close above the ankle, AC to the instep portion and OK to the sole.

Examination of Fig. 1 shows that, as far as the usual method giving the stocking blank an outline illustrated by way of comparison by thinner'lines is concerned, after the usual knitting of the leg portion up to the ankle at A--A the widening is executed up to BB by means of transfer point plates or blocks while the stroke of the yarn carrier is modified, after which one continues the widening while leaving the stroke of the yarn carrier unchanged up to C-C so as to produce the curve of the heel; the width is then abruptly narrowed at C-C at the beginning of the sole, the part C ----C being left aside that will be looped thereafter, it being understood that it is necessary yet to knit a supplementary tongue C C D D to allow holding the fabric for the. looping. This being done, the sole is knitted while carrying out the arch narrowings FF.

It is known that in the Cotton machine provided with sinkers and dividers, the yarn carriers should, or necessity, be shifted by two needles at a time, whereas the transfer points may be shifted by one or two needles.

Taking this fact into account, the widening starting from the course AA is executed as follows according to prior art: For the first course the transfer point plates execute the transferring of the heel parts by one needleoutwardly while the carrier rod stops do not move; for the second course no transfer is executed; for the third course the transfer point plates transfer the heel tabs by one needle outwardly while the carrier rod stops are shifted by two needles outwardly; for the fourth course, no transfer is made. The work continuesthereafter starting from the fifth course according to the same cycle of operation (that may as well begin in the manner described for the third course) during a number of courses that is sufiicient for the whole heel tab to be formed outside the selvedge needle constituting the origin of the transfer. As amatter' of fact, the sole entrance assumes substantially the same width as the leg portion close above the ankle and in order to provide for a, suitable fitting of the wearers heel, the heel tabs should be on the outside.

In the meantime, the outward movement of the carrier'rod stops has been discontinued starting from the line BB while the transfer of the loops was continued which has for its result the obtention of the curve of the heel.

The heel obtained is delimited by a line of fashioning marks A C owing to the fact that to each transfer of the transfer points outwardly, the-loop engaged by the first point on the inside is not replaced on the corresponding needle, thus producing a mark.

The heel thus obtained in accordance with the usual method shows the serious drawback disclosed hereinabove and due to the fact that, as there is a transfer by one needle every other course, the surface of the heel is such that it has twice more loops lengthwise than widthwise.

According to my invention and in order to obtain a heel of a predetermined width that is not necessarily proportional to its length, I produce before transferring the whole width of the heel tab and for a certain number of courses comprised in the longitudinal strip aA a widening of the leg portion close above the ankle through transfer on only a few selvedge needles. To this purpose, the transfer point plates that are wider than those generally used, include at least as many points as there are needles corresponding to the width it is desired to give the heel. For instance, each of the transfer point plates will carry sixty points instead of fifty in the numerical example disclosed hereinabove.

Starting from the course shown diagrammatically 317101-41 there is executed a widening affecting only a few marginal loops, say two or three. The transfer point plates are consequently outwardly shifted in a manner such that two or three points only for instance engage these two orthree marginal loops. As the fabric is twice shifted by a needle while the yarn carriers are once shiftedby two needles, it should be noticed that if for the first transfer, there are two points operating, there will be three points operating for'the following transfer, and then again two etc., which leads to a width AA for the last course of the leg portion close above the ankle.

At this moment, the transfer point plates are retracted i. e. they are returned inwardly by 58 needles, which is the difference between 60 and 2 and the heel tabs are then shifted by their entire width outwardly in accordance with the usual method referred to hereinabove. This allows obtaining a heel part defined by the lines a ---A B ---C C with the tongue C C D D provided for holding the fabric for the looping.

It should be remarked that the marginal marks a A produced by the preliminary widenings of the lower end of the leg portion are hardly visible as they are very near the selvedge and that furthermore for this same reason they are incorporated in the seam. They are thus invisible on the finished stocking. This provides for the possibility of extending the heel to the desired width. For instance, if there are provided at the selvedge ten widenings by one needle space, the heel will be widened by ten needle spaces without the apparent length being modified. A heel measuring normally fifty needle spaces in width and courses in length may thus be made to have a width of sixty needle spaces while the number of courses is always 100.

Fig. 2 shows the finished stocking; the selvedges a A B C have been sewn and the heel borders 0 0 C have been looped.

It will readily be ascertained that in the usual modus operandi, the surface of the heel is A A B C C whereas in the embodiment according to my invention, the surface of the heel is increased by the surface a A B C In addition to a better appearance of the stocking, I. obtain furthermore according to the invention other advantages and in particular:

A heel of greater width and consequently a greater elastic width. It is known as a matter of fact that the knitted fabric is elastic widthwise but is not elastic lengthwise.

A greater length for the rearward middle line, that is to say the seam line, and what is more important, said increase in width is obtained in an elastic part, to wit the looped portion, whereas the seam is not elastic.

Now, the elasticity of the heel and of its looped portion is necessary to allow the stocking to fit the heel of the wearer and to fit it permanently when the wearer is walking as, at each opening or closing movement of the instep, the length of the underside or sole of the foot varies and only the elasticity of the heel is capable of making up for these differences in length.

Obviously, it is possible to provide for numerous modifications, detail improvements and incorporation of equivalent means without widening unduly thereby the scope of the invention as defined in accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

l. The method of making the heel portions of stockings and the like on a straight bar knitting machine which comprises widening the leg portion above the ankle by transferring a few marinal loops before beginning the outward transfer of the entire width of the heel portions at the end of the step of knitting of the leg portion down to the ankle, said transferring being effected by shifting the transfer points plates outwardly in a manner such that a few points engage the corresponding marginal loops, effecting the desired widening, thereafter returning the transfer points plates inwardly by a distance corresponding to the number of needlesforming the width of the heel less the number of selvedge needles corresponding to said few marginal loops,

transferring the entire width of the heel parts and thereafter finishing the heel.

2. The method of making the heel portions of stockings and the like on a straight bar knitting machine which comprises widening the leg por-v tion above the ankle by transferring a few mar ginal loops before beginning the outward transfer of the entire width of the heel portions at the end of the step of knitting of the leg portion down to the ankle, said transferring being effected by shifting the transfer points plates outwardly in a manner such that a few points engage the corresponding marginal loops, said transfer points plates including a number of points that is at least equal to that of the needles corresponding to the width it is desired to give to the heel, effecting the desired widening, thereafter returning the transfer points plates inwardly by a distance corresponding to the number of needles forming the width of the heel less 6 the number of selvedge needles corresponding to said few marginal loops, transferring the entire width of the heel parts and thereafter finishing the heel.

JEAN GARRIC.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,943,178 Heinitz Jan. 9, 1934 2,385,672 Woodcock Sept. 25, 1945 2,424,957 Schletter July 29, 1947 2,532,072 Nebel Nov. 28, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 558,301 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1943

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