US3651667A - Machine knitting - Google Patents

Abstract

Seamless bifurcated tubular fabric warp-knit with a filigreelike net structure is provided for panty hose and like uses.

Description

United States Patent Titone [4 1 Mar. 28, 197 2 [54) MACHINE KNITTING 1,078,914 11 1913 Gabe] ..68/l95 ux [72] Inventor: Seymour C. Titone, Birchrunville, Pa. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Assigneeh Time Research & Development p 1,059,202 3/1954 France ..60/l95 lion, Burlington, NJ. OTHER PUBUCATIONS [22] Filed: July 18, 1969 Darlington, Seamless Warpknit Stockings and Tights" The [211 PP 842,867 Hosiery Trade Journal" v01. 74, No. 879, (Mar. 1967 pp. 74

7 thru 77) Publication The Hosiery Trade Journal Raschel Seam- [52] US. Cl ..66/87, 66/l77, 66/195 51 Int. Cl. ..D04b 23/02 [58] Field oiSearch ..66/87, 190-195, Primary Exammer Rnald Fcldbaum 66/175477 Anorney--McClure, Weiser & Millman [56] References Cited [57] ABSTRACT UNITED STATES PATENTS Seamless bifurcated tubular fabric warp-knit with a filigreelike net structure is provided for panty hose and like uses. 3,555,853 l/l97l Diehl et al. ..66/87 2,990,703 7/ l 961 Bialostok 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATEMTED MR 2 8 I972 SHEET 1 UP 4 #mmrm SEYMOUR C. TITONE PATENTEDFMR28 I972 3,651,667

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RIGHT DRUM LEFT DRUM m l/bvm/a I SEYMOUR C. TITONE M Mu/WM mLLml mLLmm RIGHT DRUM PATENTEBMAW 1972 3,651,667 sum 0F 4 u ao 99 98 97 96 95 94 pwzewme SEYMOUR c. TITONE A TTO/PIVEYI.

MACHINE KNITTING Reference is made to my pending patent application, Ser. No. 694,655 filed 29 Dec. 1967, for disclosure of a basic method for warp-knitting bifurcated tubular fabric articles in fabric articles are designated by broken lines extending beyond the edges of the band and are referred to by the letter C followed by the numbers of the respective portions to be cut apart (e.g., C-l2, C23, etc.).

seamless form. A Raschel machine suited to practicing that 5 FIG. 1a shows an artists stylization of a fragment of the method, and for doing so to make the fabric disclosed in the fabric band (one thickness only) of FIG. 1 to convey an impresent application, is known in the trade as the Fashion pression of the filigree-like appearance of the fabric without Master machine, is available commercially from Cocker attempting to depict photographically what is too intricate to Machine & Foundry Company, Gastonia, North Carolina, and follow readily with the eye. Visualization of the intricacies of is disclosed in its essentials in my pending patent applicati the actual structure will be aided by consideration of the sublsdersNtol. 752,587 fileid l3hSept. 1968, filed jointly with Walter cfil ng se nd efafhcompanyt'iing tablzs. u

. ie an assigne to t at company. e a r1c artrc es 0 1s inven on are n1t convenren y on A primary object of the present invention is provision of an a h l m hine having a least a dOZen yarn guide bars: two attractive fili -like war -k it structure. for the basic net on the front needlebed, two for the basic net Another object is incorporation of such structure in seamn th a needlebed, two for eonneeling the rightmost g less bifurcated tubular fabric articles useful as panty hose and two for connecting the leftmost edge, and four intermediate the like. bars (two each for each of the two inner edges of the bifur- A further object is Raschel knitting thereof. cated portions). The description will be based upon a four- Other objects of this invention, together with means and teen-bar machine (such as the aforementioned Fashion gtethorllls ftornattaining the various :bjgClS, will be apparJe nt Mtaster) with bass f; an; fi gotbthreaded, 3e.,l o:t." Thle rom t e o owing escr1pt1on an t e accompanymg tare erence numer s or t e gu1 e ars are un er me or ita grams. icized to distinguish them readily from the low-numbered nee- FIG. 1 is a flat view of a band of bifurcated tubular fabric dle numerals. The needles are numbered from right to left, as warp-knit according to this invention; is conventional. Intermediate guide bars Q, 1,, and 2 are ac- FlG. la is an enlarged detail view of a single-thickness portuated or shogged by pattern chains (two alternative chains tion of FIG. 1 in stylized form rather than photographic per bar) on a drum at the left side of the machine, and the rest representation; of the guide bars are controlled from the usual drum and pat- FlG. 2 is a schematic threading diagram for the yarn guide tern chains at the right end of the machine. The pattern chain bars of a Raschel machine patterned to make the tubular link numerals (0, 2, 4, etc.) for the respective guide bars are fabric of the preceding views; referred to the drum end of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a point pattern or schematic stitch diagram for the The following table lists the starting points (front needlebar respective guide bars thereof; and up) for the threaded guide bars.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary fabric point pattern or schematic stitch diagram of the construction at the outer edges of the TABLEI band and along the center line of the unitary or wide portion and the inner edges of the bifurcated or narrow portions.

In general, the objects of the present invention are accom- S guide 5 '1"" plished by warp-knitting seamless tubular fabric having a mm m filigree-like net construction wherein each threaded yarn 40 guide for the basic net is patterned to stitch consecutively on 22 Z2 each of three adjacent needles so that the intermediate needle Right 1 receives a stitch following each stitch on either of the flanking Right 4 2 0 191,192 needles. The net is formed by two guide bars per bed, each L f i g threaded two in, one out, four in, one out over substantially I g- :22: their entire length but out of phase as to the number in. Two Left E m 97:98 connector guide bars, one for each bed, each threaded at one Lef 9 414 95,96 guide only, duplicate the action of the bars for the basic net at Ri m l 2 each edge of the band, except that one of the flanking needles g, 2 [1 5 is outside the band, and instead of stitching on that needle the Right 1 3 m 1,2 guide crosses over and stitches on the edge needle in the other Right 1i bed.

F l0. 1 shows a band of fabric as produced according to this invention. The band comprises a succession of unitary wide FIG- 21Sthe corresponding threading d1agram. Gu1de bar A tubular portions alternating with pairsdofbsifde-by-sdide narrow olnkthe frontbbed 2anddb'ilrt Q (Ln the back bleddarexhhzeadeti tubular portions (sometimes calle i urcate portions 8 1 as are t e respecti e e 5. Our 0 herein) and joined end-to-end thereto. The various parts into those bars, which form the basic net of the fabric, are threaded which the band is divided or proposed to be divided are two One foul one out remaining Out Of Phase as referred to by appropriate letters (B for the body or wide port0 th num r in) Over the por ion of the bed length omitted tions, and L for the leg or narrow portions) and by successive from the view in the interest of simplification. The indicated numbers (1, 2, etc.; and also by l, 2', etc. for the leg porandwidth is 192 needles. tions). The interchange locations between body and leg por- The next table gives the chain readings for the respective tions are designated by transverse broken lines thereacross gulde The intermediate bars ha t pat s a and referred to by the letter I followed by the number designated by the bar number followed by A and B, respecdesignating those portions (e.g., ll, [-2, etc.). Transverse tively, to denote the respective bifurcated (or leg) and unitary locations along which the band is to be severed into individual or o y) P ern- TABLE II Right drum Left (double chain) drum Right drum Guide Bar No 1 2 3 4 6A 6B 7A 73 8A 8B 9A 9B 11 12 13 14 Needlebed:

TABLE II Right drum Left (double chain) drum Right drum Guide Bar No 1 2 3 4 6A 613 7A 713 8A 8B 9A 9B 11 12 13 14 N eedlebed' FIG. 3 shows the resulting stitch patterns schematically in point pattern form. From that view it is apparent that guide bars l and A on the front bed zigzag laterally exactly out of phase with one another to both right and left of an intermediate needle position, stitching successively at each position so that each intermediate needle of the three upon which each bar stitches receives a stitch following each stitch on either of the needles flanking it. Bars l 3 and Hstitch likewise on the back bed. In this way a panel of fabric having the basic net is formed on the front bed, and a like fabric panel is formed opposite and parallel to it on the back bed. In the unitary or body portion the singly threaded intermediate bars substitute for an unthreaded central position on those basic bars and stitch likewise. Thus, 152 is like 2 B like A, Q like 11, andfl like 1 3 The remaining guide bars function to connect the outer edges (land l l at the right, A and Eat the left) of the two fabric panels into tubular form. These connector bars are patterned singly threaded at edge positions where the basic bars are unthreaded so that the resulting structure is identical with that in the panels proper, thereby rendering the construction truly seamless. Each such bar is patterned like the corresponding bar forming the basic net except that the intermediate" needle is located at the edge of the band so that stitching can shift to one flanking needle position only, whereupon after stitching on the intermediate (i.e., edge) needle the guide crosses over and stitches on the corresponding edge needle of the other bed before returning to stitch on the first bed.

When intermediate bars 6, 1, Q, and 2 are in their A pattern, they interconnect the fabric panels along the respective inner edges (land gat the right, 6 and at the left) of the narrow tubular portions where the fabric is bifurcated.

F IG. 4 shows schematically the fabric stitch pattern along the outermost edges and the inner edges or center panel portion. The bars forming the basic net are shown in single lines, solid on the front bed and broken on the back bed, and the top row of bar numerals immediately below the stitch diagram identifies representative yarn ends guided by each of such guide bars. The stitches made by the connector guide bars are shown in double lines shaded variously to aid in following them visually from course to course, and their reference numerals appear in the lowest row. The numerals above the stitch diagram denote the needles, and it will be understood that the diagram is broken away at the missing needle numerals, as well as fragmentary along the needle positions adjoining the portions broken away. In this view the crossing over of the connector bars from one needlebed to the other is readily seen, as is the duplication of the basic net pattern by the intermediate bars in the unitary or B portion shown extended centrally toward the top of the view, where the pattern along the outer edges remains the same as in the lower or A pattern portion, where it is set forth.

It will be understood that, in Table II and FIGS. 3 and 4, only a single repeat, constituting four courses, of each different pattern is shown. Each such pattern portion for the intermediate bars usually is repeated dozens or hundreds of example.

The filigree-like appearance of this fabric is especially attractive in garment fabrics. Its construction has a desirable elasticity and is adapted to fitting a wide range of sizes while maintaining its characteristic appearance. Manufacture thereof according to this invention is quite simple and reliable, as well as economical.

The inyentign itself is defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In double needlebed warp-knitting, wherein a pair of panels of fabric of equal band width are knitted opposite and parallel to one another and their opposing lateral edges are knitted together simultaneously to form seamless tubular fabric, the improvement comprising forming a basic filigreelike net construction thereof with four basic yarn guide bars, being two bars per bed, each bar having its yarn guides threaded two-in, one-out, four-in, one-out over substantially the entire panel width and out of phase with one another; patterning each basic bar to stitch with a four-course repeat, yarn from each threaded guide stitching in successive courses on a given needle, then on an immediately adjacent needle to one side of the given needle, then back on the given needle, then on an immediately adjacent needle to the other side of the given needle, and repeating; interconnecting the edges with four outer connector yarn guide bars, being two bars per bed, one bar at each fabric panel edge, each connector bar having only a single guide threaded; and patterning the respective outer connector bars to stitch in like manner to the basic bars but interchanging from bed to bed upon reaching the edges of the band and thereby connecting the fabric panels along their edges into seamless tubing.

2. Warp-knitting according to claim 1 to form a furcate fabric article comprising a plurality of side-by-side partialwidth tubes for part of the article length and bordering an intervening locus of furcation, and forming unitary partial-width tubes for the rest of the article length; including knitting with four intermediate connector yarn guide bars, two per bed, each having only one guide threaded, along each such locus of furcation in place of threaded guides of the respective basic bars thereat, patterning the intermediate connector bars like the outer connector bars to interconnect intermediate edges of the respective side-by-side tubes throughout the furcate part, and patterning the intermediate bars like the basic bars for the unitary tubing throughout the rest of the length of the tubular fabric to form the basic net construction.

3. Warp-knitting bifurcated tubular fabric according to claim 2, utilizing chain readings for the respective yarn guide bars substantially as follows:

TABLE II v s h g lepattern w n lrrtgchanalng patterns Singl p rn Guide Bar No 1 2 3 4 6A 6B 7A 7B 8A 8B 9A 9B 11 12 13 14 Needlebed:

wherein F denotes front needlebed and B denotes back needlebed; wherein the basic yarn guide bars are denoted by l, 2 Q, and g1, outer connector yarn guide bars are denoted by 2,1, l l and Q, and intermediate yarn guide bars are denoted by Q, 1, Q, andi; and wherein side-by-side partialwidth tubes are produced when the intermediate yarn guide bars follow the A pattern, and unitary full-width tubing is produced when the same bars follow the B pattern.

4. Warp-knitting according to claim 3, utilizing starting wherein the band width is 2w needles.

5. Process of Raschel knitting alternately bifurcated and unitary seamless tubular fabric having a filigree-like net construction, comprising utilizing a plurality of partially threaded rows of yarn guides knitting a panel of fabric on a front needlebed, utilizing a plurality of partially threaded rows of yarn guides knitting a panel of fabric on a back needlebed, each such row of yarn guides being threaded x-in, y-out, z-in, y-out, where each of x, y, and 1 (respectively, four, one. and two) is greater than zero but small with respect to the total number of needles in the band width, with the unthreaded yarn guides in the rows for each bed being out of phase with one another; utilizing for each side edge of the fabric on the respective beds yam guides threaded only at such edge location and knitting principally on one bed only but crossing over during each pattern repetition to knit at least one stitch on the other bed and thereby seamlessly interconnecting the panels of fabric on the respective beds into side-by-side tubes of fabric and upon conversion from bifurcated to unitary construction employing intermediate yarn guides so utilized for connecting the front and back panels at the respective adjacent edges of the bifurcated portions dun'ng knitting thereof to knit a corresponding number of stitches at corresponding repetition intervals on adjacent needles located in the same bed but used in formation of the opposite bifurcated portion during knitting thereof, and thereby forming a unitary portion of seamless tubular fabric joined seamlessly to the bifurcated portions; the patterning being such that each guide stitches alternate courses on a given needle and stitches intervening courses on adjacent needles, alternate intervening courses being stitched respectively first on a needle immediately adjacent on one side of the given needle and in the same bed and second on another needle immediately adjacent the given needle, on the opposite side and in'the same bed except in the opposite bed for the intermediate guides during formation of the bifurcated portions only.

l l l 0'

Claims (5)

1. In double needlebed warp-knitting, wherein a pair of panels of fabric of equal band width are knitted opposite and parallel to one another and their opposing lateral edges are knitted together simultaneously to form seamless tubular fabric, the improvement comprising forming a basic filigree-like net construction thereof with four basic yarn guide bars, being two bars per bed, each bar having its yarn guides threaded two-in, one-out, four-in, one-out over substantially the entire panel width and out of phase with one another; patterning each basic bar to stitch with a four-course repeat, yarn from each threaded guide stitching in successive courses on a given needle, then on an immediately adjacent needle to one side of the given needle, then back on the given needle, then on an immediately adjacent needle to the other side of the given needle, and repeating; interconnecting the edges with four outer connector yarn guide bars, being two bars per bed, one bar at each fabric panel edge, each connector bar having only a single guide threaded; and patterning the respective outer connector bars to stitch in like manner to the basic bars but interchanging from bed to bed upon reaching the edges of the band and thereby connecting the fabric panels along their edges into seamless tubing.

2. Warp-knitting according to claim 1 to form a furcate fabric article comprising a plurality of side-by-side partial-width tubes for part of the article length and bordering an intervening locus of furcation, and forming unitary partial-width tubes for the rest of the article length; including knitting with four intermediate connector yarn guide bars, two per bed, each having only one guide threaded, along each such locus of furcation in place of threaded guides of the respective basic bars thereat, patterning the intermediate connector bars like the outer connector bars to interconnect intermediate edges of the respective side-by-side tubes throughout the furcate part, and patterning the intermediate bars like the basic bars for the unitary tubing throughout the rest of the length of the tubular fabric to form the basic net construction.

3. Warp-knitting bifurcated tubular fabric according to claim 2, utilizing chain readings for the respective yarn guide bars substantially as follows:

4. Warp-knitting according to claim 3, utilizing starting points substantially as follows: TABLE I Chain Guide Pattern Between Drum Bar Link Needles Right 1 2/0 1,2 Right 2 6/4 3,4 Right 3 4/2 2,3 Right 4 2/0 2w-1,2w 5 bar out Left 6 0/2 w+2,w+3 Left 7 4/6 w-1,w Left 8 2/2 w+1,w+2 Left 9 4/4 w-1,w 10 bar out Right 11 2/2 1,2 Right 12 2/2 2w-1,2w Right 13 2/2 1,2 Right 14 4/4 2,3 wherein the band width is 2w needles.

5. Process of Raschel knitting alternately bifurcated and unitary seamless tubular fabric having a filigree-like net construction, comprising utilizing a plurality of partially threaded rows of yarn guides knitting a panel of fabric on a front needlebed, utilizing a pluRality of partially threaded rows of yarn guides knitting a panel of fabric on a back needlebed, each such row of yarn guides being threaded x-in, y-out, z-in, y-out, where each of x, y, and z (respectively, four, one, and two) is greater than zero but small with respect to the total number of needles in the band width, with the unthreaded yarn guides in the rows for each bed being out of phase with one another; utilizing for each side edge of the fabric on the respective beds yarn guides threaded only at such edge location and knitting principally on one bed only but crossing over during each pattern repetition to knit at least one stitch on the other bed and thereby seamlessly interconnecting the panels of fabric on the respective beds into side-by-side tubes of fabric and upon conversion from bifurcated to unitary construction employing intermediate yarn guides so utilized for connecting the front and back panels at the respective adjacent edges of the bifurcated portions during knitting thereof to knit a corresponding number of stitches at corresponding repetition intervals on adjacent needles located in the same bed but used in formation of the opposite bifurcated portion during knitting thereof, and thereby forming a unitary portion of seamless tubular fabric joined seamlessly to the bifurcated portions; the patterning being such that each guide stitches alternate courses on a given needle and stitches intervening courses on adjacent needles, alternate intervening courses being stitched respectively first on a needle immediately adjacent on one side of the given needle and in the same bed and second on another needle immediately adjacent the given needle, on the opposite side and in the same bed except in the opposite bed for the intermediate guides during formation of the bifurcated portions only.

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