US2795123A - Knitted fabric - Google Patents

Description

KNITTED FABRIC William Schumann, High Point, N. C., assignor to Diarlonlzl Hosiery Corporation, a corporation of New '3' Claims. (Cl. 66-178) Thisinvention relates to the art of knitting, more particularly to the manufacture of knitted fabric such as hosiery from synthetic yarn.

As conducive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted that in the manufacture of womens full-fashioned nylon hosiery, mono-filament yarn of ten or fifteen denier is generally used to provide a sheer, attractive fabric.

Where such fabric is knitted with single loops each dependent upon the next adjoining course and loop for the permanence of the fabric, by reason of the relative weakness of the fine threads, they are apt to snag and tear with a resultant run in the stocking. Furthermore, such fine denier plastic fabric made with single loops is smooth and slick and such fabric tends to cling to any object which it contacts, particularly human hands, which often causes picks and pulls in the fabric with resultant damage thereto.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide sheer, attractive full-fashioned hosiery of desired dull appearance which utilizes fine, mono-filament plastic threads, which hosiery has the same high resistance to wear, snags and runs as heavy, relatively unattractive service weight fabric and which may be made by a relatively simple method utilizing conventional hosiery knitting equipment.

To form the stocking, two mono-filament threads of suitable plastic such as nylon of any given denier are mounted in the single conventional thread carrier generally used to knit stockings. One of the threads is in the normal state generally received from the manufacturer, i. e., it is not pre-shrunk and the other thread is completely pre-shrunk, so that no additional shrinkage will occur during the conventional pre-boarding or heating operation which is performed to mold and set the stocking to the desired shape after the stocking is knit to form plural thread loops. The knitted stocking fabric, acconding to the invention, thus comprises plural thread loops having one of the threads of each loop exerting tension against the other at the cross-over portions of said loops, said threads being bonded together at said cross-over portions.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 444,895, filed July 21, 1954, now Patent No. 2,715,762.

In the following drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a pair of mono-filament threads,

United States Patent 2,795 ,123 Patented June 11, 1 957 ice same state as received from the manufacturer, i. e., it is not pre-shrunk. The other thread 12 is pre-shrunk so that no'additional shrinkage will occur after knitting and duringthe pre-boarding operation.

The two threads are positioned in one and the same thread carrier of a conventional knitting machine and when knitted by a common needle, will intertwine as shown in Fig. 1. Although the threads will generally intertwine in irregular manner, for ease of illustration they have been shown to be regularly intertwined in the drawings', it being understood that in an entire piece of fabric in many cases theindividual threads may lie side by side. After the fabric is knit in conventional manner, the

loop L of the'fabric will have the same general appearance as the loops formed in single yarn fabric except that each "*loop will 'have two threads which lie side by side, as

shown in Figs. 3 and 4. After the stocking comes off the knitting machine, it is shapeless and is placed on a suitable form, and is subjected to heat, which may be live steam, in a box or retort to mold the stocking to desired shape which is retained for the life of the stocking.

When the fabric is subjected to heat during the preboarding process, the loop formation of the thread 12 which has been pre-shrunk, does not change, but the loop formation of the thread 11 that has not been preshrunk, will shrink and become smaller than the loop formation of the pre-shrunk thread, so that the threads will become spaced from each other at least partially along the bights of the loop as at the positions shown at S.

As the non-pre-shrunk thread 11 shrinks during the pre-boarding process, wherever it crosses a portion of another non-pre-shrunk thread 11 or a pro-shrunk thread 12, as at C, it will exert tension thereon to form a kink or lock, thereby creating resilience to pull, with the result that the engaging non-pre-shrunk threads and engaging non-pre-shrunk and pre-shrunk threads will securely bond together, rendering the fabric more resistant to picks and pulls when it comes into contact with anything rough. Furthermore, as the threads are irregularly twisted, as shown in Fig. 1, the loops L will also be of irregular shape due to such shrinkage of the non-pre-shrunk thread, with resultant vdesired dull appearance.

Due to the spacing of the threads at the positions designated S, the threads are subjected to individual rather than joint snagging with the result that if one of the threads should break, the other thread will prevent running of the fabric. Furthermore, as a result of the secure bonding at the multiplicity of cross-over points C throughout the fabric, the loops are snag-resistant and even if both threads of a loop should break, as the adjacent cross-over points C of the threads are securely bonded together as above described, the danger of runs in the fabric will be minimized and the free ends may be severed so that the appearance of the fabric is substantially unimpaired.

Although as illustratively described herein, two monofilament threads are used, it is within the scope of the invention to use a mono-filament thread together with multi-filament thread, as long as one of the threads is pre-shrunk and the other is not.

As a result of the method above described, a knitted fabric is provided which, although it may be made from fine plastic thread, is durable, long lasting and not subject to picks, snags or runs, and though especially useful for full-fashioned nylon hosiery may be used for any other knitted articles.

As many changes could be made in the above article, and many apparently widely diiferent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying 1. A, knitted "stocking fabric comprising plurahthreadi loops, at leastjone of the threadszbeing;preeshnunkand the other non-pre-shrunk, priorto pre=boardingiofi the:

fabric, said fabric having cross-over portions at least where adjacent loops cross, one of the threadsv of eachloop exerting tension against the other at thecross-over portions. ofsaid; loops, saidthreads being bonded together at said, cross-over portionsiand. spaced from each, other, at

leastpartially along,the)bights of thB-IOCPS.

2., A knitted. stocking fabric comprising,.plurallthread; loops, at! least one of the threadsbeing ,pre-shrnnk. and. the

other nonepre-shrunkmrior to;pne -boardingj.of the fabric, saidfahrie having cross-over. portions, at least where adjacent loops-cross, each of, said, threads being of monofilament material, one of; the threads'bfeach,loopiexerte1g0 ing tension against the: other at the cross-over portions of said loops, said threads being bonded together at said cross-over portions.

3. A knitted stocking fabric comprising plural thread loops, at least one of the threads being pre-shrunk and the other non-pre-shrnnk, prior to prel-boarding of the fabric, said loops having cross-over portions at least where adjacent loops cross, each of said threads being of mono filament material, saidthreads. being bonded together. at,

said; cross-over'portions and spaced'fronl each. other'at least partially along the bights of said loops.

References Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES, PATENTS 2,396,166 Faucette May. 5, .1946 2,460,674 Bihaly Feb. 1, 1949 2,536,163 Feild'et a1. Jan. 2, 1951 2,594,521 Tingley Apr. 29, 1952 2,636,369 Tait Apr.- 28,1953

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