US3675447A

US3675447A - Simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric, and method for making the same

Info

Publication number: US3675447A
Application number: US50234A
Authority: US
Inventors: George E Jackson
Original assignee: Union Carbide Corp
Current assignee: Viskase Corp
Priority date: 1970-06-26
Filing date: 1970-06-26
Publication date: 1972-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-11
Also published as: DE2131765A1; JPS5013866B1; CH542947A; FR2099945A5; GB1360997A; CA935654A

Abstract

A warp-knit fabric is given a simulated weave appearance by chain stitching one set of warp yarns into wale-wise pillars and looping a portion of each chain stitch in a course wise direction from its pillar, over and around a chain stitch of another pillar in the same course, and back again to its pillar, thus producing ''''weft'''' portions in the chain stitch warp yarns. A second set of warp yarns are alternately overlaid and underlaid walewise of the weft portions to produce the simulated weave. The ''''weft'''' yarns and chain stitch yarns are one and the same and carried on a single guide bar. The chain stitch yarn forms chain stitches only on one pillar, or wale, and is carried course-wise to wrap around another chain stitch in another pillar, rather than forming a conventional chain stitch therein.

Description

PATENTEDJUL 1 1 m2 SHEET 10F 3 l W MW ATTORNEYS GEORGE E JACKSON W *Plwon If I I I, I l

PATENTED'JUL 1 1 i972 SHEET 2 a; 3

INVENTOR, GEO RGE E. JACKSON Fig.16.

Fig. 15.

ATTORNEYS P'A'TE'NTEDJUL 1 1 m2 SHEET 3 BF 3 2 4 2 3 m M O 4 O 3 INVENTOR. GEORGE E. JACKSON mm "W P ATTORNEYS SIMULATED-WEAVE, WARP-KNIT FABRIC, AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Warp knitting machines have long been known to produce warp knit fabric at a high rate of production compared to weft knitting machines and compared to automatic powered weaving looms. Such warp knitting machines have a warp yarn for each needle and produce the knitted fabric structure at high speed without the delay required by the travel of a filling shuttle, or weft carriage, across the fabricv There have been numerous proposals in the prior art for obtaining the interwoven pattern produced by a relatively slow moving loom in fabric produced at high speed on a warp knitting machine.

One proposal has been to attempt to present successive course-wise extending filling strands into the needle bar of a warp knitting machine for inclusion in the knitted structure, in some cases the filling being full width and in other cases the filling being short sections only.

Another proposal has been to provide a single needle bar warp knitting machine with four guide bars, one for a chain stitch yarn, two for warp yarns, and the fourth guide bar for a warp yarn designated as a "weft" yarn. This proposal is exemplified by the Co-We-Nit process of Karl Mayer Co., Offenbach, Gen, which process forms course-wise extending weft loops in the separate weft yarns, the weft loops being pushed below the open latches of the needles by a chopper bar or fall plate. The warp yarns are alternately overlayed walewise on two weft portions and then underlayed relative to the next two weft portions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention avoids the delays and complicated feed mechanisms of the methods in which weft yarn is inserted into the warp knit fabric Instead, the method of the invention is high speed and uses a simulated weft portion of a warp yarn. Unlike the Co-We-Nit process, the method eliminates the need for a separate warp yarn, designated as a weft yarn, and eliminates the extra guide bar required thereby. In this invention, it is possible to obtain a simulated weave, warp knit fabric using only two guide bars per needle, one set of guide bars carrying chain stitch yarns and the other set carrying warp yarns. Obviously, if additional warp yarns are desired for decorative, or other, purpose, a third set of guide bars may be provided, or additional sets, where necessary or desirable.

In place of a separate weft yarn and guide bar, in this invention the chain stitch yarns and guide bars are used to produce horizontal, or course-wise extending, wefts to contrast with the wale-wise extending warp yarns for producing a simulated weave pattern. Thus, at each course the chain stitch yarns are looped sidewise from one pillar course-wise over and around a chain stitch in another pillar, in the same course, and then back again to the said one pillar, to not only serve as the weft of the weave, but also as the body yarn of the knitted structure, the course-wise extending connecting yarns of the fabric and to anchor the chain stitch yarn against further splitting in the event of a break.

The method of the invention includes the provision of only two sets of guide bars, a double guide bar stroke for each needle bar stroke and patterning the warp knitting machine to wrap the chain stitch yarn around one needle in one guide bar stroke, around another needle in the second guide bar stroke of each cycle, and to then form a chain stitch in each course. The warp yarn guide bar is shifted first to the right and then to the left, in different courses, to overlay and then underlay the weft portions, or loops, wale-wise of the fabric to produce the simulated weave pattern.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing how the chain stitch yarns are looped around adjacent chain stitches in the same course to produce a weft loop in each pillar;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing the warp yarns laid in wale-wise to overlay and underlay the welts and produce a simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric;

FIGS. 3-7 are enlarged diagrammatic elevations showing the course-wise looping of the chain stitch yarns without showing the warp yarns;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the chain stitch wefis of the invention in pattern notation form;

FIGS. 9-22 are views similar to FIGS. 3-7 showing the warp yarns inlaid wale-wise of the fabric.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings, 20 represents a portion of a warp knitting machine of well known type, having at least one needle bar 21 and at least two sets of

guide bars

22 and 23, (FIGS. 9-22) and suitable powered actuation and patterning mechanism to cause the guide bars to oscillate through two full strokes for each single stroke of the needle bar. Machine 20 may include chopper bar, or fall plate mechanism, but preferably includes mechanism for raising the needles, 24, of needle bar 2], to higher than conventional level, whereby yarn loops wrapped around the opened latches 25 of needles 24 are slid downwardly onto the shanks 26 of the needles. Machine 20 also includes conventional pattern chain mechanism, not shown, for shifting the guide bars to the right or left in parallelism with the needle bars. The needles are reciprocable in trick plate 27.

A plurality of chain stitch yarns, such as 30, 31, 32 and 33, are supplied from a conventional warp beam, or otherwise, to the guide bars 34 of the first set of guide bars 22 and threaded in the eyes 35 thereof.

A plurality of warp yarns, such as 40, 41, 42 and 46 are supplied from another conventional warp beam, or otherwise, to the guide bars 43 of the second set of guide bars 23 and threaded in the eyes 44 thereof, (FIGS. 8-22 It will be noted that no separate, or extra, warp yarn is required for producing the wefts of this invention, as in the above noted Co-We-Nit process, and the extra guide bar therefor is also eliminated. However, additional warp yarns and guide bars may be used to increase the decorative values of the simulated weave pattern.

In FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3 to 7, all warp yarns are eliminated from the views for clarity and to show the chain stitch yarn motions alone.

As shown in FIG. 3, the knitting cycle, which is repeated by the machine 20, starts with the needles 24 at their lowermost level, within the trick plate 27 of needle bar 2], in cast off" position. A

Wale-wise extending pillar

36 or 37 of chain stitches 38 depends from each needle, each stitch 38 having been drawn through a preceding stitch 39 of the same chain stitch yarnv In FIG. 4, the needles 24 have been raised to conventional upper position, indicated by line 45, with latches 25 open, Guide bar set 22 has been oscillated to the front of the needles and then to the back thereof, in the first full oscillatory stroke of the cycle, while also being shifted one needle space to the right to loop the

chain stitch yarns

30, 31, 32 and 33 around adjacent needles as at 50, 51, 52 and 53 in one angular direction.

In FIG. 5, the needles 24 have been raised to a high rise" level, indicated by the line 54, the guide bar set 22 has been oscillated again to the front of the needles and back again and has been shifted one needle space to the left to loop the

chain stitch yams

30, 31, 32 and 33 around the needles 24 in the opposite angular direction from the loops on the adjacent needles.

The raising of the needles to the level 54 has caused the weft loops 50, SI, 52 and S3 to slide downwardly below the opened latches 25 onto the shanks 26, so that they will not be caught in the hooks of the needles when the needles descent to cast off. The course-wise, extending loops, or wefts 50, SI, 52 and 53, may also be lowered onto the shanks by a chopper bar, or

fall plate, if desired, as in the Co-We-Nit process, although the raising of the needle bar is preferred.

In FIG. 6, the chain stitch yarns, having been looped sidewise, or course-wise, to form the

wefts

50, 51, 52 and 53, and then back again, are being pulled downwardly in the hooks of the needles on their way to cast oh, and in FIG, 7 the chain stitch loops 38 have been pulled through the previous loops 39 in the same strands, to form the

pillars

36 and 37.

The loop path of the chain stitch yarns is shown schemati cally in FIG. 8 to illustrate the motions of the guide bars 22 in connecting the pillars into a coherent fabric 59 by means of the

weft loops

50, 51, 52 and 53, extending horizontally from a chain stitch in one course to a chain stitch in the same course, whether juxtaposed, or separated by several needle spaces, if desired.

In Fig. 2 and FIGS. 9 to 13, the chain stitch motions are identical with those illustrated in FIGS. 37, but the laying in vertically, Wale-wise or warp-wise, of the warp yarns into the fabric is also shown.

In FIG. 9, the

warp yarns

40, 4i and 42 are threaded in the eyes 44 of guide bars 43 of second set 23 and pass in rear of the

legs

48 and 55 of each course-wise extending weft loop 50, Si, 52 and 53. In FIG. 10 the next successive weft loop is being formed around adjacent needles with the warp yarns held in front of the

legs

48 and 55 of the weft loops, so that the warp yarns will be overlaid thereon.

FIGS, ll, 12 and 13 show the completion of the two strokes of the guide bars to complete the chain stitches 38 of the course, as in FIGS. 3-7. The remaining FIGS. 14-22, show successive cycles of the knitting process, following the same general sequence of operations, or motions, but especially showing that the warp yarns, having been overlaid on the wefts in one cycle, as in FIGS. ll-l3, are underlaid relative to the wefts, in the next cycle, as in FIGS. 15-17, and then overlaid again in the next cycle, as in FIGS. 19-22.

The second set of guide bars, 23, for the

warp yarns

40, 41 and 42, when on one side of the set of chain stitch guide bars 22, for example, to the right thereof, will be overlaid by the wefts while when the warp yarn guide bars are shifted to the other side of the chain stitch guide bars, to the left thereof, the warp yarns will be underlaid.

It will he understood that a woven appearance will be achieved by the underlay and overlay of the warp yarns relative to the weft loops of the chain stitch yarns, even if both yarns are of the same denier and color, but that decorative simulated weave, warp knit patterns can be achieved by using yarns of contrasting color and/or contrasting thickness, material, or texture.

The courses of the fabric 59 of the invention are designated 60 and the wales are designated 61. The fabric 59, made from only two guide bars, may form a base for cut pile, loop pile, or scrim type fabrics which resemble a plain weave. Fabric 59 is free of the conventional course-wise, extending inlaid warp yarns, and is held together as a fabric by the course-wise extending loops of the chain stitch yarns of the body, the latter yarns being chain stitched in one pillar only and not transversely back and forth between pillars as in tricot knitting.

What is Claimed is:

l. The method of making a simulated weave pattern on a warp knitting machine, which comprises the steps of:

supplying a set of chain stitch yarns to one set of guide bars and supplying a set of warp yarns to another set of guide bars of said machine;

knitting said chain stitch yarns into a plurality of Wale-wise extending pillars, while guiding a portion of the yarn of each chain stitch in a course-wise direction, to extend from one said pillar in a loop around the chain stitch of another chain stitch yarn in another pillar in the same course and then back to said one pillar thereby connecting said pillars into a warp knit fabric;

said course-wise extending loops of said chain stitch yarns creating a weft-like appearance;

and alternately overlaying and underlaying said warp yarns Wale-wise relative to said course-wise extending chain stitch yarn loops, in parallelism with, and between, said chain stitch pillars to create a warp-like appearance in said simulated-weave pattern.

2. A method as specified in claim I, wherein:

said step of looping a portion of the yarn of each chain stitch around a chain stitch of another nearby chain stitch yarn includes the step of looping said chain stitch yarn around a chain stitch in another juxtaposed pillar in the same course.

3 A method as specified in claim 1, wherein:

each chain stitch of each pillar is drawn through a preceding chain stitch of the same chain stitch yarn in the same pillar after the said yarn has been looped around and ad jacent chain stitch in an adjacent wale, or pillar.

4. A method for making simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric on a warp knitting machine having one set of guide bars threaded with chain stitch yarns, and another set of guide bars threaded with warp yarns, said method comprising the steps of:

guiding said one set ofguide bars to form a plurality of chain stitch pillars, each chain stitch in each course being drawn through a chain stitch of the same yarn in the next course; shifting said chain stitch guide bars in each said course to wrap each chain stitch yarn around the chain stitch of another of another chain stitch yarn of another wale or pillar in the same course to create a course-wise extending weft" section of chain stitch yarn in each course; and

shifting said set of warp yarn guide bars to inlay said yarns wale-wise of said fabric, and to overlie and underlie said weft sections in different courses to produce said simulated weave fabric.

5. The method of making a simulated-weave, warp-knitted fabric, which comprises the steps of:

warp-knitting a plurality of Wale-wise extending chain stitch pillars from chain stitch yarns;

connecting said chain stitch pillars into a fabric by wrapping a section of each successive chain stitch in each pillar side-wise around a chain stitch of another chain stitch yarn in another pillar in the same courses and then back to the said pillar, and

alternately overlaying and underlaying at least one set of warp yarns wale-wise into said warp-knit fabric, to create a warp appearance in association with the weft ap pearance of said side-wise extending wraps.

6. A method for making a simulated-weave, warp-knitted fabric on a warp knitting machine having mechanism for vertically reciprocating a needle bar, for oscillating a set of at least two guide bars, and for shifting each said guide bar independently of the other, said method comprising the steps of:

supplying a warp yarn to each guide bar of one said set and supplying a chain stitch yarn to each guide bar of the other said set;

oscillating said guide bars two full strokes and reciprocating said needle bar one full stroke in each cycle of said machine; during the first full stroke of each said cycle, guiding each said chain stitch guide bar from proximate one needle, side-wise in one direction at least one needle space, to wrap around another needle in one angular direction;

during the second full stroke of each said cycle guiding each said chain stitch guide bar side-wise in the opposite direction, at least one needle space to wrap around said one needle in the opposite angular direction;

during each said cycle lowering said wraps on said other needles below the opened latches thereof onto the shanks thereof and drawing the wraps on said one needles down through previous loops of the same yarns to form a chain stitch therein; and

during each said cycle guiding said warp yarn guide bars to alternately overlay and underlay said warp yarns walewise relative to said side-wise extending portions of said chain stitch yarns to produce a woven appearance therein.

7. The method of warp knitting a simulated weave pattern on a warp knitting machine having a set of chain stitch yarn guide bars and a set of warp yarn guide bars, said method comprising the steps of:

guiding said chain stitch guide bars through chain stitch motions to form chain stitch wales, with a chain stitch of the same yarn in each course, while also guiding said guide bars to loop the said yarn of each chain stitch from the wale thereof course-wise in a wrap around the chain stitch of an adjacent wale in the same course and then back again to the said wale, thereby producing a weft portion of each chain stitch; and

guiding said warp yarn guide bars to underlay and overlay said warp yarns. wale-wise, of said weft portions of said chain stitch yarns to constitute the warp" portion of said simulated weave:

8. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric, said fabric comprising:

a plurality of chain stitch yarns warp knitted to form a plurality of wale-wise extending chain stitch pillars, said pillars being connected into a fabric by integral portions of each said chain stitch yarn looped course-wise from one said pillar and wrapped around a chain stitch of another pillar in the same course and then back again to the said one pillar; and plurality of warp yarns. laid wale-wise into said warp knitted fabric, in the spaces between said pillars, each said warp yarn alternately overlaying and underlaying the course-wise extending loops of said chain stitch yarns to produce a simulated-weave pattern:

9. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric as specified in claim 8, wherein:

each said course-wise extending loop of said chain stitch yarns is wrapped around a chain stitch of one of the next adjacent pillars in the same course.

10. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric as specified in claim 8, wherein:

all of the chain stitches in each said chain stitch yarn are drawn through preceding loops in the same said yarn, and all of the course-wise extending loops of each said chain stitch yarn are wrapped around chain stitches of another yarn in the same course ofa next adjacent wale, or pillar.

11. A simulated-weave, warpknit fabric as specified in claim 8, wherein:

said chain stitch yarns and said warp yarns are of contrasting colors in accordance with a predetermined weave pattern.

12. A warp-knit fabric of wales and courses defining a predetermined simulated weave pattern and formed of at least two sets of warp yarns of contrasting appearance;

the warp yarns of one set forming chain stitch wales, connected into a fabric, by loops of each chain stitch each loop extending course-wise from one wale to wrap around a chain stitch ofa yarn in an adjacent wale and then back again to said one wale; and

the warp yarns of the other set being alternately overlayed and underlayed walewise in said fabric to produce a contrasting simulated-weave pattern.

13. A warp-knit fabric having a plurality of chain stitch pillars. each chain stitch thereof having a weft loop extending course-wise from the pillar thereof and wrapped on a chain stitch of an adjacent pillar in the same course and then back to the said pillar thereof, and having a plurality of warp yarns. each alternately overlaid and underlaid wale-wise in a space between juxtaposed pillars to create a simulated-weave pattern in cooperation with said "weft" loops.

Claims

1. The method of making a simulated weave pattern on a warp knitting machine, which comprises the steps of: supplying a set of chain stitch yarns to one set of guide bars and supplying a set of warp yarns to another set of guide bars of said machine; knitting said chain stitch yarns into a plurality of wale-wise extending pillars, while guiding a portion of the yarn of each chain stitch in a course-wise direction, to extend from one said pillar in a loop around the chain stitch of another chain stitch yarn in another pillar in the same course and then back to said one pillar thereby connecting said pillars into a warp knit fabric; said course-wise extending loops of said chain stitch yarns creating a weft-like appearance; and alternately overlaying and underlaying said warp yarns walewise relative to said course-wise extending chain stitch yarn loops, in parallelism with, and between, said chain stitch pillars to create a warp-like appearance in said simulatedweave pattern.

2. A method as specified in claim 1, wherein: said step of looping a portion of the yarn of each chain stitch around a chain stitch of another nearby chain stitch yarn includes the step of looping said chain stitch yarn around a chain stitch in another juxtaposed pillar in the same course.

3. A method as specified in claim 1, wherein: each chain stitch of each pillar is drawn through a preceding chain stitch of the same chain stitch yarn in the same pillar after the said yarn has been looped around and adjacent chain stitch in an adjacent wale, or pillar.

4. A method for making simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric on a warp knitting machine having one set of guide bars threaded with chain stitch yarns, and another set of guide bars threaded with warp yarns, said method comprising the steps of: guiding said one set of guide bars to form a plurality of chain stitch pillars, each chain stitch in each course being drawn through a chain stitch of the same yarn in the next course; shifting said chain stitch guide bars in each said course to wrap each chain stitch yarn around the chain stitch of another of another chain stitch yarn of another wale or pillar in the same course to create a course-wise extending ''''weft'''' section of chain stitch yarn in each course; and shifting said set of warp yarn guide bars to inlay said yarns wale-wise of said fabric, and to overlie and underlie said weft sections in different courses to produce said simulated weave fabric.

5. The method of making a simulated-weave, warp-knitted fabric, which comprises the steps of: warp-knitting a plurality of wale-wise extending chain stitch pillars from chain stitch yarns; connecting said chain stitch pillars into a fabric by wrapping a section of each successive chain stitch in each pillar side-wise around a chain stitch of another chain stitch yarn in another pillar in the same courses and then back to the said pillar, and alternately overlaying and underlaying at least one set of warp yarns wale-wise into said warp-knit fabric, to create a warp appearance in association with the weft appearance of said side-wise extending wraps.

6. A method for making a simulated-weave, warp-knitted fabric on a warp knitting machine having mechanism for vertically reciprocating a needle bar, for oscillating a set of at least two guide bars, and for shifting each said guide bar independently of the other, said method comprising the steps of: supplying a warp yarn to each guide bar of one said set and supplying a chain stitch yarn to each guide bar of the other said set; oscillating said guide bars two full strokes and reciprocating said needle bar one full stroke in each cycle of said machine; during the first full stroke of each said cycle, guiding each said chain stitch guide bar from proximate one needle, side-wise in one direction at least one needle space, to wrap around another needle in one angular direction; during the second full stroke of each said cycle guiding each said chain stitch guide bar side-wise in the opposite direction, at least one needle space to wrap around said one needle in the opposite angular direction; during each said cycle lowering said wraps on said other needles below the opened latches thereof onto the shanks thereof and drawing the wraps on said one needles down through previous loops of the same yarns to form a chain stitch therein; and during each said cycle guiding said warp yarn guide bars to alternately overlay and underlay said warp yarns wale-wise relative to said side-wise extending portions of said chain stitch yarns to produce a woven appearance therein.

7. The method of warp knitting a simulated weave pattern on a warp knitting machine having a set of chain stitch yarn guide bars and a set of warp yarn guide bars, said method comprising the steps of: guiding said chain stitch guide bars through chain stitch motions to form chain stitch wales, with a chain stitch of the same yarn in each course, while also guiding said guide bars to loop the said yarn of each chain stitch from the wale thereof course-wise in a wrap around the chain stitch of an adjacent wale in the same course and then back again to the said wale, thereby producing a ''''weft'''' portion of each chain stitch; and guiding said warp yarn guide bars to underlay and overlay said warp yarns, wale-wise, of said weft portions of said chain stitch yarns to constitute the ''''warp'''' portion of said simulated weave.

8. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric, said fabric comprising: a plurality of chain stitch yarns warp knitted to form a plurality of wale-wise extending chain stitch pillars, said pillars being connected into a fabric by integral portions of each said chain stitch yarn looped course-wise from one said pillar and wrapped around a chain stitch of another pillar in the same course and then back again to the said one pillar; and a plurality of warp yarns, laid wale-wise into said warp knitted fabric, in the spaces between said pillars, each said warp yarn alternately overlaying and underlaying the course-wise extending loops of said chain stitch yarns to produce a simulated-weave pattern.

9. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric as specified in claim 8, wherein: each said course-wise extending loop of said chain stitch yarns is wrapped around a chain stitch of one of the next adjacent pillars in the same course.

10. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric as specified in claim 8, wherein: all of the chain stitches in each said chain stitch yarn are drawn through preceding loops in the same said yarn, and all of the course-wise extending loops of each said chain stitch yarn are wrapped around chain stitches of another yarn in the same course of a next adjacent wale, or pillar.

11. A simulated-weave, warp-knit fabric as specified in claim 8, wherein: said chain stitch yarns and said warp yarns are of contrasting colors in accordance with a predetermined weave pattern.

12. A warp-knit fabric of wales and courses defining a predetermined simulated weave patteRn and formed of at least two sets of warp yarns of contrasting appearance; the warp yarns of one set forming chain stitch wales, connected into a fabric, by loops of each chain stitch each loop extending course-wise from one wale to wrap around a chain stitch of a yarn in an adjacent wale and then back again to said one wale; and the warp yarns of the other set being alternately overlayed and underlayed wale-wise in said fabric to produce a contrasting simulated-weave pattern.

13. A warp-knit fabric having a plurality of chain stitch pillars, each chain stitch thereof having a ''''weft'''' loop extending course-wise from the pillar thereof and wrapped on a chain stitch of an adjacent pillar in the same course and then back to the said pillar thereof, and having a plurality of warp yarns, each alternately overlaid and underlaid wale-wise in a space between juxtaposed pillars to create a simulated-weave pattern in cooperation with said ''''weft'''' loops.