US3788103A

US3788103A - Method of knitting gloves

Info

Publication number: US3788103A
Application number: US00306048A
Authority: US
Inventors: F Asai
Original assignee: MATSUYA TEKKOSHE KK
Current assignee: National Seating Co; MATSUYA TEKKOSHE KK
Priority date: 1972-11-13
Filing date: 1972-11-13
Publication date: 1974-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-29

Abstract

A glove is knitted with a continuous knitting thread by a knitting machine in such a way that the pockets for the little, ring, middle and index fingers are each formed starting at that corner of the tip of each pocket located on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger, that the knitting-ends at the base of the pockets for the little, ring and middle fingers and of the intermediate body portion are each positioned at that corner located on the side same as that mentioned above, that the knitting end of the final course of each of the index finger and thumb pockets is positioned on the side opposite to the aforesaid knitting-end locations, and that the pockets for the ring, middle and index fingers are knitted by coupling -- in superposed relation -- two to three stitches of the base of their preceding adjacent finger pocket to the same number of stitches of the base of the adjacent finger pocket respectively. This new knitting method permits full automatic knitting of gloves without requiring any manual stitching or drawing-in of the leading end of the thread and obviates the development of wide-looped stitches at the joints of pockets.

Description

United States Patent [191 Asai Jan. 29, 1974 METHOD OF KNITTING GLOVES [5 7] ABSTRACT [75] Inventor: Fujio Asai, Anjo, Japan A glove is knitted with a continuous knitting thread by 7 Asslgnee: Kabushlk' Kalsha M a knitting machine in such a way that the pockets for Tekkoshe Alchl Japan the little, ring, middle and index fingers are each 22 Filed; 13 1972 formed starting at that comer of the tip of each pocket located on the side closer to the outer side of [21] Appl' 306,048 the little finger, that the knitting-ends at the base of Rehted U Application Data the pockets for the little, ring and middle fingers and [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 117,455, Feb. 22, of the intermediate body portiqn are each positioned 1971, abandoned at that corner located on the slde same as that mentioned above, that the knitting end of the final course 52 US. c1. 66/65, 66/174 of each of the index finger n humb pockets is posi- 51 Int. Cl D04b 7/34 honed the Side Opposite to the afresaid khhtihg- 58 Field of Search 66/65, 174 and locations and that the dle and index fingers are knitted by coupling in su- 56] References Cited plfrposed recliation two to fthree stitcllles of th; base of t eir prece ing adjacent mger poc et to t e same UNITED STATES PATENTS number of stitches of the base of the adjacent finger 2,214,517 9/1940 Z1pp el.. 66/65 pocket respectively This new knitting method permits 323:3 full automatic knitting of gloves without requiring any 3 115 760 l2/1963 Pierced: If 66 65 manual Stitching or drawing'in the leading end of the thread and obviates the development of wide- Pn-mary Examiner Ronald Feldbaum looped stitches at the joints of pockets. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cushman, Darby & Cushman 3 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures 3 5ATENTEUJAN29I974 SHEET 2 F g 3.788.10

FIG .3

FIG.4

FIG..5

PATENTEUJAI 29 m4 sum 3 0F FIG.6

FIG.7

lN-VENTOR.

MT'MAJEIG METHOD OF KNITTING GLOVES This is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application, Ser. No. 117,455, filed Feb. 22, 1971, now

abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION a. Field of the Invention The present invention is concerned with an improved method of knitting gloves with a continuous knitting thread, which permits full automatic knitting without requiring any manual stitching of certain portions of the glove knitted by a knitting machine.

b. Description of the Prior Art It is known, in knitting gloves by a glove-knitting machine, to first form four pockets, i.e., for the little, ring, middle and index fingers, then the intermediate body portion to continue from these pockets, then the thumb pocket, then the main body portion which joins the intermediate body portion and the thumb pocket, and finally the wrist portion extending continuously from the main body portion.

This conventional method of knitting gloves is performed generally in the following order. Knitting of a glove starts at the tip of the little finger, with this tip facing downwardly when viewed from the foreground of the glove being knitted. Then, as the little finger pocket has been formed up to the predetermined length, the knitting operation successively proceeds to the formation of an adjacent finger pocket, leaving the base of the previously formed pocket open. After four adjacent pockets, i.e., the little, ring, middle and index finger pockets, have been knitted in this way, the intermediate body portion is knitted as a continuation of these four pockets. When this intermediate body portion has gained a certain length reaching the position at which its base is aligned with the base of the thumb pocket which is to be formed, knitting of this thumb pocket starts continuously from said base of the intermediate body portion, leaving this latter base open. Then, as this thumb pocket has acquired the predetermined length, the knitting proceeds to the formation of the main body portion, extending from the open base edge of the intermediate body portion.

Because of the aforesaidmanner of knitting of theprior art, there develops, at the junction between the bases of adjacent two finger pockets, a region where stitches of these two base portions are not engaged by each other. As a result, this region tends to present a wide opening. For this reason, these stitches which are not engaged by each other had to be stitched together manually to establish engagement therebetween. In actual use of gloves, the thumb pocket and the index finger pocket, in particular, are frequently extended apart. Therefore, the stitches located at the joint of the bases of these two finger pockets have to be stitched together manually to avoid the development of an opening during use.

As another means to prevent the development of such an opening at the joint between each two adjacent finger pockets, there has been proposed a gloveknitting method which is designed so that, when one finger pocket is formed, two to three knitting needles used for the knitting of the left side portion of the previously formed finger pocket (in case the pocket which is to be formed next is, for example, for the ring finger, the previously formed pocket means the pocket for the mation of the right side portion of the pocket to be knitted next so that two to three stitches of the base of said previously formed finger pocket are engaged, in superposed relation, by like number of stitches of the base of the adjacent pocket which is knitted next thereto.

According to this prior method, one may be tempted to think that the development of an enlarged opening is prevented. In actual use of such gloves, however, the loops of the stitches engaged by each other in superposed relation become widened, leading to the same result as that where a wide opening is developed in the joint of pockets. More specifically, in order to render these particular number of stitches to the superposed relation, it is necessary to insure that said stitches of the finger pocket previously knitted will not be engaged by stitches of the adjacent pocket which is to be formed next until the knitting of this next pocket completes its finalknitting course. This is attained by forcibly pulling out said stitches of the end portion of the previously formed pocket from the row to which they belong so that they protrude therefrom. As a consequence, the final stitch of the previously formed pocket from which directly extends the leading end of the knitting thread inevitably becomes widened of its loop and presents the same condition as if a wide opening has been developed. Also, if the extensionof the knitting thread is cut at a position very close to said final stitch, this latter stitch will become loosened and unstitched. Therefore, it is necessary to cut the thread at a position having a substantial distance from the final stitch and to lead this length of cut thread inside the knitted glove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to eliminate the drawbacks and inconveniences of the prior art and to provide an improved method of knitting gloves, which requires no manual stitching of the joint portions of adjacent finger pockets and which can manufacture gloves solely by the knitting operation performed by a fully automatic glove-knitting machine.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of knitting gloves, which is capable of forming a glove in such a way that a length of the end portion of the knitting thread extending beyond the base of a knitted finger pocket is held in the state of having been led inside the formed glove, and which, accordingly, permits the omission of the otherwise necessary manual step of drawing said portion of thread inside the glove.

The foregoing as well as other objects, the features and the attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Comparison of the Invention With Prior Art The present invention provides a method of knitting a glove in such a manner that, as shown in FIG. 1, the pockets of the little finger A, the ring finger B, the middle finger C and the index finger D are knitted starting at their tips and proceeding toward their'base portions, respectively, and then the intermediate body portion E which is adjacent to these four finger pockets is knitted, and then the thumb pocket F is knitted starting at its tip, and finally the main body portion G which is adjacent to the thumb pocket is intertwined thereto. In this respect, the present invention is fundamentally different from any one of these known cited references with respect to the order of knitting.

According to the knitting methods of the prior art, however, the respective finger pockets are, in themselves, independent from each other. As a result, it was impossible to avoid the formation of an opening at the crotch between two adjacent fingers.

The present invention has as its object to minimize as much as possible this defect of the prior art, and is characterized by setting the terminals at which the knitting of each portion is started and ended as shown in FIG. 3. Such order of knitting and such a method of ours are not described in any one of the U.S. Patent Specifications relied upon in the parent of this case.

U.S. Pat. of Imbriani, 2,259,381

The groups of needles for knitting the respective finger pockets are independent from each other.

As shown in FIG. 5, in order to apply the loops to the needles on both bands, it is necessary that, after the completion of one finger pocket, the operator removes the loops off the needles by the use of a decker 8 and the resulting loops are brought into engagement with the needles which are used for the adjacent finger. As such, Imbriani is different also from that prior technique which the present invention intends to improve.

US. Pat. of Powell, 2,877,635.

First, the wrist portion is knitted starting at its lower end. In continuation therefrom, knitting proceeds to the formation of the body portion and then toward the finger tips. This is the gist of Powells method.

In contrast to this, the present invention has its base in the method of knitting which features that knitting is started at the finger tips and proceeds toward the wrist portion.

In addition to the difference stated above, there is a complete discrepancy between the two in the manner of knitting the crotches of fingers.

More specifically, Powell forms a crotch by cross stitching. According to this method of Powell, however, it is necessary to temporarily stop the knitting machine to switch the application of the knitting threads between the front bed and the rear bed. Thus, it is quite difficult to perform continuous knitting on an automatic knitting machine while taking such complicated procedure as stated above. Furthermore, according to Powells method, the knitting efficiency is very low.

In contrast to this, according to that knitting method which the present invention intends to improve, the four finger pockets from the little finger to the index finger are knitted by starting at their finger tips and proceeding toward their bases, and then the body portion is knitted continuously to the open portions of the respective finger pockets, and during the course of knitting this body portion, the thumb pocket is knitted. Therefore, fully automatization of the knitting of a glove is quite easy (in fact, this is actually automatized, enabling non-stop operation).

As stated above, the known method which is improved by the present invention, i.e., the prior art of starting knitting at finger tips is such that the respective finger pockets are knitted and formed independently of each other and that the body portion is intertwined continuously to the open base portions of the pockets. As a result, this prior art had the drawback that the crotch portions tended to develop an opening.

The present invention intends to minimize the formation of these openings at the crotch portions of fingers. It is the feature of the present invention to arrange the starting and ending of knitting of each portion in the manner as shown in FIG. 3. As a consequence, at the crotch portions between the little finger and the ring finger, and between the ring finger and the middle finger, the intermediate loop portions of the thread forming the front and the rear stitches are superposed one upon another when viewed externally thereof; and at the crotch portion between the middle finger and the index finger, and also at the crotch portion at the base of the thumb finger, the same loop portions of the thread of the front and the rear stitches are imposed on each other, so that the formation of openings at these crotch portions can be eliminated.

U.S. Pat. of Pierce, 3,115,760.

In the same way as that of Powell, the knitting of the wrist portion is started at its lower end. In succession thereto, knitting proceeds onto the body portion and to the finger tips. This is the basic idea of Pierce. Thus, this citation differs fundamentally in conception from ours which starts knitting at the finger tips and proceeds toward the wrist portion. In forming the crotch portions, Pierce uses double needles. In the knitting of, for example, the body portion, these double needles are actuated in the single needle fashion. In the knitting of finger pockets, only either one of the double needles is actuated.

In contrast to this, the present invention performs knitting in the order described in connection with Powell. Thus, there is a clear difference between Pierce and ours. In particular, it is impossible for Pierce to attain the obviation of the formation of openings in the crotch portions of fingers, especially at the thumb finger and between the middle finger and the index finger where said intermediate loop portions of the knitting thread of the front and the rear stitches are superposed one upon another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a knitted glove;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation, illustrating the conventional order and manner in which respective parts of a glove are knitted;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation, illustrating the order and manner in which the respective parts of a glove are knitted according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation, on an enlarged scale, of the manner in which the joint of the bases of adjacent two finger pockets are knitted according to the conventional method wherein two to three stitches of one base portion are superposed and engaged by like number of stitches of the adjacent base portion of another pocket;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation, on an enlarged scale, showing a base joint portion similar to that shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic explanatory representation, showing the manner in which the forward end of the knitting thread which has completed the formation of one finger pocket proceeds on to the formation of an adjacent finger pocket according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view, on an enlarged scale, showing the state in which several elastic strings are inserted through rows of stitches transversely in the wrist portion of a knitted glove of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan diagram illustrating which knitting needles are used for knitting respective portions of the glove;

FIGS. 9 through 11 show in fragmentary perspective the use of the needles with which a preceding finger pocket has been fonned as the needles for knitting the next adjacent finger pocket; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the relationship between the needles and the depressing rods.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The order in which a glove is knitted will be described as follows by referring to FIG. 1 in which the knitted glove is shown with the tips of pockets facing downwardly. Referring to FIG. 1, a pocket A for the little finger is first formed. Knitting of this little finger pocket A starts at its tip. Then, in a similar way, a pocket B for the ring finger is formed, and then a pocket C for the middle finger, and then a pocket D for the index finger. After the index finger pocket D has been knitted, knitting proceeds continuously to the formation of the intermediate body portion E, joining the aforesaid respective four finger pockets at the upper edge of the intermediate body portion. As this intermediate body portion E has gained a certain length reaching the base edge of a thumb pocket F to be formed next, the knitting of the intermediate portion is ceased to proceed on to the knitting of the thumb pocket F which begins at its top. Thereafter, as a continuation therefrom, the knitting proceeds on to the formation of the main body portion G which extends from the base of the thumb pocket to the base of the intermediate portion. Finally, an elastic wrist portion H is knitted with stitches same in number as those of the main body portion G andby inserting elastic strings transversely through desired several courses or more than ten courses of knitting inthis wrist portion H. Thus, a knitted glove is completed.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory representation, showing the aforesaid order of knitting of a glove according to the prior art. In the drawing, small circles of each represents the position x at which the knitting of each part of a glovebegins, whereas the mark .x represents the position y' at which the knitting of each part ends. As

seen in FIG. 2, knitting of each finger pocket starts, ac-

cording to the prior art, at that corner of the tip of the finger pocket located on the side farther from the outer side of the little finger, that is to say, on the left side of each finger as viewed in the drawing. The knitting of each of these fingers ends invariably at the left corner of the base thereof. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, even when these pockets are formed by having two to three stitches (shown in fine lines) of one pocket which has been already knitted engaged by a corresponding number of stitches (shown in thick lines) of the adjacent pocket formed next thereto, it is necessary to coercively pull out the loop of that particular stitch from which extends the leading end of the knitting thread after this thread has completed the formation of this stitch, as discussed previously. As a result, the final stitch from which the leading end of the thread extends directly is enlarged of its loop so that the joint of the bases of two adjacent finger pockets presents a loss of good appearance with substantially the same effect as that presented by a wide opening which is developed at the joint.

The following aspects of the method of the present invention do not differ from the prior art. They are: (l) a glove is knitted in the aforesaid order, namely, it is started with the little finger pocket A, then the ring finger pocket B, then the middle finger pocket C and then the index finger pocket D, thereafter the intermediate body portion E, then the thumb pocket F and finally the main body portion G as well as the wrist portion H; (2) two to three of the knitting needles with which one pocket has been knitted are used as the knitting needles for the knitting of the right side portion of the adjacent pocket; and (3) the joint portion of adjacent two pockets is knitted in such a way that two to three stitches of the base of one pocket are engaged, in superposed relation, by two to three stitches of the base of the adjacent pocket. However, as shown in FIG.,3, the present invention is distinguished over the prior art and features in that the knitting of each finger pocket starts at that corner x of the tip of pocket located on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger, which in the case of the little finger starts on the outer side corner. In other words, these pockets are each knitted starting at the right side as viewed in FIG. 3. The method of the present invention is of another feature that the knitting of the little finger pocket A, the ring finger pocket B and the middle finger pocket C ends at the position y which is located on that side of each of these pockets closer to the outer side of the little finger, which .in the case of the little finger is located on the outer side thereof. In other words, the knitting ends of these three finger pockets are located invariably on the right side as viewed in the drawing. The present invention is of still another feature that the position y at which the knitting of the intermediate body portion ends is located either at that corner thereof closer to the outer side of the little finger or on an arbitrary stitch other than those stitches which are engaged, in superposed relation, by the stitches of the thumb pocket as this latter pocket is knitted continuously from the intermediate body portion. The present invention has a further feature that the knitting ends of both the index finger pocket and the thumb pocket are positioned invariably on that side farther from the little finger, or in other words, on the left side as seen in the drawing.

Since according to the. present invention, the starting position x and the ending position y of knitting of each of the finger pockets are established as described above, the respective joint portions of the four finger pockets, i.e., from the little finger through to the index finger, are knitted in the manner as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. More specifically, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, knitting of the three pockets, i.e., the little finger pocket, the ring finger pocket and the middle finger pocket, ends at the position y which is located on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger, and the position y at which the knitting of the intermediatebody portion ends is located either at that corner thereof closer to the outer side of the little finger or on an arbitrary stitch other than those of the stitches of the intermediate body portion which are engaged, in superposed relation, by the stitches of the thumb pocket as the latter pocket is knitted continuously from the intermediate body portion. Therefore, each next finger pocket is knitted in such a way that the leading end 2 of the thread is extended up to the right end c of said next pocket and that therefrom a series of loops d are formed toward the outer side of the thumb to utilize these loops for the knitting of said next finger pocket. Owing to this arrangement of the method of the present invention, there arises no fear that the stitches of the base of one pocket previously knitted are forcibly enlarged. It should be noted also that the final stitch of one pocket from which extends the leading end 2 of the thread and which is not engaged by those stitches located on both sides thereof is automatically entered inside a stitch of the adjacent pocket which is engaged by stitches located on both sides thereof. Thus, the size of the opening which tends to be formed in the joint between two adjacent pockets can be minimized. Also, by cutting the leading thread after completion of two to three courses of knitting of the adjacent pocket, the cut end portion of the thread is rendered to the state of having been automatically drawn inside the knitted glove, and this saves the otherwise necessary manual step of bringing the leading end of the thread inside the knitted glove after the completion of the latter.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the knitting end of the intermediate body portion E is positioned on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger or at point P in FIG. 1, whereas the knitting end of the thumb pocket F is positioned on the side opposite thereto or, in other words, on the outer side of the thumb. Accordingly, the joint portion of the thumb pocket F and the intermediate body portion E is formed with two superposed groups of stitches of said two parts, and these stitches, in turn, are engaged by stitches located on both sides thereof. Thus, the glove can be knitted in such a perfect way that no opening is developed at the base of the thumb pocket, and therefore, no manual operation is required after the glove is knitted.

FIG. 7 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a part of the wrist portion of a knitted glove. As is clear from this drawing, an elastic string e made of a rubber thread covered with a yarn wound therearound is inserted through a transverse row of loops of stitches of the wrist portion every other course or every two or three courses to provide an elastic wrist portion. It is needless to say that this method of forming an elastic wrist portion is known and does not constitute a part of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the little finger pocket A is knitted using the needles A. Two of these knitting needles, as indicated, are used also as the needles B for knitting the ring finger pocket B. In similar fashion, the middle finger pocket C and the index finger pocket D are knitted.

Using the needles with which the preceding finger pocket has been formed as the needles for knitting the next adjacent finger pocket is explained with reference to FIGS. 9-11. In FIG. 9, a single finger pocket has been completed. The stitches l and 2 in the knitting of the final course of knitting of the finger pocket are shown engaged by the hooks 3, 4 of the knitting needles. The

depressing rods

5,6, and each having a U- shaped opening, are moved in the direction perpendicknitting thread by a glove-knitting machine in such an order as to first form the little finger pocket A, then the ring finger pocket B, then the middle finger pocket C, then the index finger pocket D, then the intermediate body portion B, then the thumb pocket F, then the main body portion G and then the wrist portion H to provide a continuous glove, said method being characterized by the fact that:

a. the knitting of the respective finger pockets begins at that corner x of the tip of each pocket located on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger, which in case of the little finger pocket lies on the outer side of the little finger,

. the knitting end y of each of the little finger pocket A, the ring finger pocket B, the middle finger pocket C and the intermediate body portion E are positioned at the same side as that for the corner x at which the knitting of the respective finger pockets is started,

c. the knitting end of the final knitting course of each of the index finger pocket D and the thumb pocket F is located on the side opposite to the corner x at which the knitting of these two parts is started, and

d. the knitting of the ring finger pocket B, the middle finger pocket C and the index finger pocket D is performed by having two to three of the stitches of their adjacent previously formed pocket engaged, in superposed relation, by like number of stitches of the adjacent pocket formed next thereto.

2. A method according to claim 1, in which the knitting of the ring finger pocket B, the middle finger pocket C and the index finger pocket D is performed in such a way that the knitting end of the final knitting course of their adjacent previously formed pocket is positioned on the side closer to the little finger, that the leading end of the knitting thread extending from each of said previously formed pocket, said ring finger pocket B, the middle finger pocket C and the index finger pocket D is led up to the extreme right side of the pocket to be formed next thereto, that loops are formed with said extending end portion of the thread starting from said extreme right side of said pocket to be formed next toward the thumb finger, and that said loops of the thread are utilized in the knitting of the next pocket.

3. A method according to claim 2, in which the knitting end of the final knitting course of the pocket previously formed and adjacent to the pocket to be formed next thereto is positioned on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger which in case of the little finger pocket lies on the outer side of the little finger, and the leading end of the thread extending from said knitting end is led up to the extreme right side of the finger pocket to be formed next to said previously formed pocket, and loops are formed with said extending end portion of the thread starting from said extreme right side of said pocket to be formed next toward the thumb finger to utilize these loops for the knitting of the next pocket, and during the course of knitting said next pocket the leading thread is cut so that the cut end portion of this thread is contained within the knitted glove.

Claims

1. A method of knitting gloves with a continuous knitting thread by a glove-knitting machine in such an order as to first form the little finger pocket A, then the ring finger pocket B, then the middle finger pocket C, then the index finger pocket D, then the intermediate body portion E, then the thumb pocket F, then the main body portion G and then the wrist portion H to provide a continuous glove, said method being characterized by the fact that: a. the knitting of the respective finger pockets begins at that corner x of the tip of each pocket located on the side closer to the outer side of the little finger, which in case of the little finger pocket lies on the outer side of the little finger, b. the knitting end y of each of the little finger pocket A, the ring finger pocket B, the middle finger pocket C and the intermediate body portion E are positioned at the same side as that for the corner x at which the knitting of the respective finger pockets is started, c. the knitting end of the final knitting course of each of the index finger pocket D and the thumb pocket F is located on the side opposite to the corner x at which the knitting of these two parts is started, and d. the knitting of the ring finger pocket B, the middle finger pocket C and the index finger pocket D is performed by having two to three of the stitches of their adjacent previously formed pocket engaged, in superposed relation, by like number of stitches of the adjacent pocket formed next thereto.