US2923143A

US2923143A - Knitted fabric

Info

Publication number: US2923143A
Application number: US595618A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert W Harris
Original assignee: A & W Manufacturing Corp
Current assignee: A & W Manufacturing Corp
Priority date: 1956-07-03
Filing date: 1956-07-03
Publication date: 1960-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 1977-02-02

Description

Feb. 2, 1960 w. R s 2,923,143

KNITTED FABRIC Filed July 3, 1956 .INVENTOR gobert W. Harris jazz; 7%

ATTORNEY Manufacturing Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application July 3, 1956 Serial No. 595,618

5 Claims. c1. 66-192) This invention relates to knitted fabric, and more particularly to such a fabric in which'the individual stitches upon the application of tension after knitting, selectively contract or expand to give'anopen mesh appearance, each opening having a characteristic polygonal configuration.

In the knitting art this kind of fabric is known, but those fabrics currently in use are marked by certain disadvantages which show up sometimes in processing the fabric itself, sometimes in the fashioning of garments or other items therefrom, and sometimes only on the usage by the purchaser of the garment or other item made from such fabric. These net type fabrics are desirable not only because of minimum weight and maximum ventilation, but as well because of their delicate apparance. The problem of the fabricator of such fabrics is to preserve and maintain such delicate appearance, while in effect making the appearance of fragility illusory, that is, making a fabric which is sturdy as to construction yet deceptively fragile in appearance.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to make a knitted fabric of the character described, which has all the attributes in appearance desired in such a fabric, yet which is stronger in body than previous known fabrics of this character. How this object is to be achieved can best be understood by reference to the manner of manufacture. The fabric is to be made on a conventional warp knitting machine. Mention must be made of the bank of knitting needles in such a machine, the needles being of the latch type, and of the guide bars which govern the feed of individual threads or ends to the needles. For purposes of the present disclosure it will be considered that the machine has two such guide bars, a front and a rear, the motion of each bar being independently governed. In the process of manufacture, each end of thread from the front bar is operatively associated with one end from the rear guide bar, to form what will be here designated as a thread couple. In the present inventive fabric, strength is achieved by having only the ends fed from the front guide bar knitted by the needles, the ends fed by the rear guide bar only laying in. The laid in ends not only perform a strengthening function, but as well operate structurally within the fabric.

Another object herein is to provide a fabric, the meshes of which have a characteristic and very pleasing appearance. The virtue of delicacy in appearance is enhanced'by a necessity for the presence of only four stitches per mesh, whereby a bulky appearance and feel is avoided.

How these and many other objects are to be achieved will become clear through a consideration of the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the actual interrelationship of stitches in the fabric as they appear upon formation in a warp knitting machine, and

Fig. 2 represents a portion of the finished fabric.

It will be understood that in Fig. 1 each section line,

ited saws Patc Q respectively designated A, B, and C, represents a needle position on the machine. The stitches which are shown are sequentially formed from bottom to top of Fig. 1. Enough stitches are shown in Fig. 1 in order that the construction of a single mesh in Fig. 2 may be understood, all meshes, of course, being identical.

In Fig. 1, three thread couples are shown, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, and 14 and 15, each couple consisting of an end fed from the front guide bar, and a second end fed from the rear guide bar respectively. A complete cycle of the formation of four stitches is shown only for the thread couple 10 and 11, it. being understood that an identical progression occurs for each thread couple. In

any complete cycle, one thread couple is alternately involved with two adjacent needles, in Fig. 1, A and 'B. Thus, the four basic stitches in which the thread couple 10 and 11 is involved, are successively designated by, I, II, III, and IV. In addition are shown two stitches III and IV, knitted on needle A by thread couple 12 and 13. These last two stitches III and IV are, of course, identical with stitches III and IV formed by the couple 10 and 11.

Tracing now particularly the front guide bar end 10 through the four basic stitches, it will be observed that on needle line A, stitch I is formed by crossing endlt) from left to right of the needle, while stitch II is formed by crossing the end 10 from right to left of the needle line A. End 10 then shifts to needle B, moving from right to left of needle line B to form stitch III, then from left to right of needle line B to form stitch IV. End 10 then returns to needle line A to repeat this cycle.

Meanwhile, the rear guide bar end 11, which together with end 10 comprises a thread couple, is laid in, its movement paralleling that of end 10. Thus, end 11 passes through stitch I moving to the left of needle A, then being laid in when stitch II is formed, moving from left to right to a position between needle lines A and B.

End 11 then moves from left to right of needle line B,

and is laid into stitch III by movement from right to left of needle line B, and is again laid in when stitch IV is formed. Thus, end 11 is laid in as each successive stitch in the cycle is formed. It will be observed that during the formation of each stitch from end 10, end

11 is disposed for the most part on one side of that stitch between adjacent needle lines, as is apparent in Fig. 1 from the disposition of end 11 during the formation of stitch II, end 11 then being primarily between needle lines A and B, and during formation of stitch III, when end1 11 is disposed primarily between the needle lines B an C.

By reference to Fig. 2, it may be best understood how the respective stitches contract or elongate under tension to form meshes or openings in the finished fabric. Successive stitches I formed by a single thread couple contract to form bottom and top apices for a given opening. Stitches III and III contract to form side apices for the given opening. The sides of the polygon are comprised of two thread portions in each case. Side 20 results from an elongation of stitch II, while side 21 results from an elongation of stitch IV, the two thread portions for each side 20 and 21 thus being formed from a single end, end 10 in the case of side 20 and end 13 in the case of side 21. The

sides

22 and 23, on the other hand, are formed by thread couples, the portions of the couple 10 and 11 designated 30 and 31 in Fig. 1 resulting in side 23, and

portions

32 and 33 of the same thread couple, end 11, resulting in side 22.

I claim:

1. A knitted fabric comprising interengaged thread couples, the first of the threads in each of said couples providing stitches in said fabric, and the second threads of said couples being laid in throughout the fabric, said Patented Feb. a, race 3 a a fabric having a plurality of meshes, each of said meshes being Substantially diamond in shape, the apices of each said diamond comprising a contracted stitch each of two contiguous sides of each said diamond having two Sub: stantially parallel thread portions "supplied a' single extended stitch, and each of the two other contiguous sides of each said diamond comprising substantially parallel portions of threads within a thread couple.

2. A knitted fabric as claimed in claim l wherin said two contiguous sides of each said diamond having two substantially parallel thread portions supplied by a single extended stitch are disposed on one side of an axis drawn between the top and bottom apices of said diamond, and said two other contiguous sides of each said diamond are disposed on the other side of said axis.

3. A knitted fabric as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of three of the said apices of each said diamond comprises a contracted stitch formed from the" said first thread in one thread couple, and the fourth apex of each said diamond being formed from the said first thread of another thread couple.

4 A knitted fabric as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of th tiipand"bdttorii apicesand one side apex of each said diamond comprises a contracted stitch formed from the said first thread in one thread couple and the remaining apex of each said diamond is formed from the said first thread of another thread couple.

5. A knitted fabric as claimed in claim 1 wherein of the said two contiguous sides of each said diamond having two substantially parallel sides supplied by a single extended stitch, dne of said contiguous sides results from an extended stitch in the said first thread of one of said thread couples, and the other of said contiguous sides results from an extended stitch in the said first thread of another thread c c m ple.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS