Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D05—SEWING; EMBROIDERING; TUFTING
  • D05B—SEWING
  • D05B7/00—Linking machines, e.g. for joining knitted fabrics
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04B—KNITTING
  • D04B1/00—Weft knitting processes for the production of fabrics or articles not dependent on the use of particular machines; Fabrics or articles defined by such processes
  • D04B1/10—Patterned fabrics or articles
  • D04B1/102—Patterned fabrics or articles with stitch pattern
  • D04B1/108—Gussets, e.g. pouches or heel or toe portions
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04B—KNITTING
  • D04B9/00—Circular knitting machines with independently-movable needles
  • D04B9/42—Circular knitting machines with independently-movable needles specially adapted for producing goods of particular configuration
  • D04B9/46—Circular knitting machines with independently-movable needles specially adapted for producing goods of particular configuration stockings, or portions thereof
  • D04B9/56—Circular knitting machines with independently-movable needles specially adapted for producing goods of particular configuration stockings, or portions thereof heel or toe portions
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D05—SEWING; EMBROIDERING; TUFTING
  • D05B—SEWING
  • D05B23/00—Sewing apparatus or machines not otherwise provided for
  • D05B23/007—Sewing units for assembling parts of knitted panties or closing the stocking toe part
  • D05B23/009—Toe closers

Definitions

• the present invention constitutes an improvement of the invention described in Italian patent application No. FI2001A000037, filed on March 8, 2001 , corresponding to International Application PCT/IT02/00130, filed March
• the aforesaid patent application describes a method for forming a closed toe in a tubular knitted article, comprising the steps of: setting two end flaps of said article alongside one another; inserting in the loops of at least one first row of stitches of said end flaps a comb-like structure comprising a plurality of teeth; sewing together the loops of at least one second row of stitches, arranged between said first row of stitches and the body of the tubular article; and opening the loops of the first row of stitches.
• the present invention relates to a method for forming a closed toe in a tubular knitted article, comprising the steps of:
• the longitudinal tensioning is advantageously obtained, for instance, by providing at least one third row of stitches, arranged on the opposite side of said first row of stitches with respect to the second row of stitches, said third row of stitches being formed by a yarn of greater thickness.
• the third row of stitches may be a portion of an edge of greater thickness of the article, which is then eliminated by opening the loops of the first row of stitches.
• the loops of the first row of stitches may be opened by cutting, or else by using a destructible yarn to form them, for instance a material that melts with heat, which can be eliminated in a subsequent dyeing step.
• the invention also regards a device for sewing two end flaps of a tubular knitted article and for forming a closed toe of said article, said device comprising in combination:
• the contrast member can comprise a pair of basically rectilinear bars set alongside one another, which can be associated to a cutting member, for instance a blade housed inside the bars themselves.
• the longitudinal-tensioning means may advantageously comprise a cyclically mobile element synchronized to the movement of said needle, which tensions the article longitudinally when the needle penetrates inside it and releases the article to enable movement of relative advance between the needle and the article to form consecutive sewing stitches.
• Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a device invention for extraction of the tubular article from a circular knitting machine equipped with a device according to the present for closing the toe of the article;
• Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the tubular article in the step prior to start of sewing
• Fig. 3 is a local longitudinal cross-sectional view in a sewing step
• Fig. 4 is an enlargement of Fig. 3; Fig. 4A shows a detail of a portion of fabric of the tubular article;
• Figs. 5 to 8 illustrate successive steps of cutting of the loops of the first row of stitches and elimination of the yarn residue
• Fig. 9 shows a schematic detail of the textile structure of the end edge of the tubular article
• Fig. 10 shows a schematic detail of the second row of stitches, on which sewing is carried out
• Fig. 11 illustrates the structure of Fig. 12 after cutting of the loops of the first row of stitches.
• Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a device, designated as a whole by 501 , for picking up and closing the toe of the tubular article produced by a circular knitting machine 503.
• the details of the device 501 except for the means for closing the toe of the article, are described in detail in the above- mentioned prior application of the present applicant, to which reference is made.
• the device is designated by 1.
• the reference number 513 designates a suction duct by means of which the article is extracted from the circular machine 503 and presented to the sewing members, with modalities similar to what is described in the prior application.
• Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal cross section of the end region of the duct
• the reference number 539 designates a unit which is longitudinally mobile along the duct 513 and which carries a plurality of pushers 547 associated to actuators 549.
• the mobile unit 539 has the function, as already described in the prior application, of carrying the article outside the suction duct 513 and of tensioning said article longitudinally.
• a pick-up member 571 with brackets 573 that constitute means of transverse tensioning of the article.
• brackets are inserted in the tubular article and divaricated in a direction orthogonal to the plane of Fig. 2 to bring the end flaps L1 , L2 of the edge B2 of the article M to set themselves alongside one another.
• Set underneath the brackets 573 is a pair of approximately rectilinear and mutually parallel bars, designated by 577 and 579. These are set alongside one another until they assume a distance such as not to compress the fabric that forms the article, but such as to withhold the edge B2 of the article itself, said edge being made with a yarn of greater thickness.
• a cutter blade 587 Set inside the bar 579 is a cutter blade 587, provided with a movement of extraction from a seat set in the bar 579 itself, whilst in the bar 577 there is made a contrast channel 588 within which the blade 587 can penetrate when it is made to project from the bar 579, for the purposes described hereinafter.
• a sewing machine designated as a whole by 595, which is equipped with a needle 596 that cooperates with a resting plate 598 (Figs. 3, 4) with an opening 600 for the passage of the needle.
• a mobile element designated as a whole by 602, equipped with three blocks 604, 606, 608 constituting means for picking up and drawing along the fabric forming the article M.
• the mobile element 602 is connected by means of a cam 610 to a rotating shaft 61 and is moreover guided, by means of a groove 614, by a fixed pin 616.
• the mobile element 602 oscillates about the axis of the pin 616 and translates with respect to the latter so that the blocks 604, 606, 608 are cyclically pressed on the fabric of the article M, which is thus gripped between said blocks and the plate 598.
• the movement of translation of the mobile element 602 tends to draw the fabric of the article M downwards, so causing a cyclic tensioning thereof in the longitudinal direction.
• the movement of the mobile element 602 is synchronized with the movement of the needle 596 in such a way that the drawing downwards of the fabric forming the article M by the blocks 604, 606, 608 and by the contrast exerted by the contrast bars 577, 579 causes stretching of the stitches of the fabric that are comprised between the block 604 and the bars 577, 579 before penetration of the needle 596.
• This facilitates penetration of the needle 596 through a pair of loops or stitches which are mutually aligned and belong to the two flaps L1 and L2. Drawing may cease when the needle has penetrated into the knitted fabric of the tubular article.
• the block 604 has (as may be seen, in particular, in the enlargement of Fig.
• the sewing machine 595 is now made to advance parallel to the bars 577, 579 so that the needle 596 can form the chain that sews together the loops of the row of knitting designated by X3.
• the sewing machine 595 advances integrally with the plate 598 and the mobile element 602, which grips and releases the fabric of the tubular article M cyclically against the plate 598 in a synchronous way with the movement of the needle, thus enabling relative advance between the plate 598 and the fabric of the article M.
• the article M is gripped, below the seam C made by the needle 596, by a pair of retention bars 605 (Fig. 1 and Figs. 5-8) that have been made to advance integrally with the sewing machine 595. It is now possible to cut the loops or stitches of the first row X1 , which is at the height of the contrast bars 577, 579, by means of the blade 587 housed in the bar 579.
• the cutting operation is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, whilst Fig. 7 shows the edge of the article M after closing by means of the seam C and cutting of the loops of the row X1.
• the residue of yam generated by cutting of the row of loops X1 is eliminated by a suction mouth and a brush (Fig. 8) or other equivalent means.
• the needle 596 will form sewing loops with a smaller pitch, for example half the pitch of the loops of the row X3, which must be sewn together.
• a free loop or stitch of sewing i.e., one that does not engage the yarn of the article M. This can be seen in the schematic representations of the textile structure of the edge B2 of the article and of the row X3 of sewing shown in Figs. 9 and 10.
• FIG. 9 shows a portion of the area of the edge B2 of the tubular article.
• the reference X1 designates the row of stitches or loops BX1 , which in the sewing operation, are at the height of the contrast bars 577, 579.
• these loops BX1 have a length greater than that of the remaining loops BX set underneath, which are the ones forming the body of the tubular article.
• the row X1 there is a plurality of rows X2 made with the same yarn or with a yarn of poorer quality than that of the one forming the rows of loops or stitches BX underneath.
• the loops or stitches of the rows X2 may be of the same size as the loops BX.
• the first of the rows X2 is made with a yarn FG of greater thickness, as mentioned previously, so as to cause the article to bear upon the bars 577, 579.
• the seam C is shown, which is formed by the needle 596 of the sewing machine 595. As may be seen in this figure, the seam C is performed in an area corresponding to the row of stitches X3 underneath the row of stitches X1. As has already been mentioned, the pitch of the seam C is smaller than the pitch of the loops or stitches of the row X3 and hence than that of the row X1 and of any other row of the article.
• the loops of the row X3 are sewn together by joining the loops of the flap L1 to a corresponding loop of the flap L2 by means of a stitch formed by a sewing thread forming the seam C.
• This sewing thread forms a chain of stitches, in which intercalated between the stitches joining the two flaps are stitches that do not join the two flaps of the tubular article.
• Fig. 10 shows two portions of the row of stitches or loops X3 on which sewing is performed.
• the isolated representation of this individual row of stitches or loops illustrates clearly the sewing technique, obtained with a pitch smaller than the pitch of the loops.
• Designated by XC1 and XC2 are the loops formed by the sewing thread. More in particular, the loops XC1 are the ones that engage the thread forming the loops of both flaps set alongside one another of the edge B2 of the article M, whilst designated by XC2 are the loops formed by the sewing thread that do not join the two flaps.
• the seam is in this example a single chain stitch, but other embodiments are not ruled out.
• Fig. 11 represents again the article in the area of sewing in a way similar to what is represented in Fig. 9, but after the cutting performed by the blade 587.
• Figs. 9 and 11 are schematic illustrations of how the first of the rows X2, i.e., the one immediately subsequent to the row X1 , is made with a yarn FG of larger cross section, which may possibly be elastic. Instead of the first of the rows X ⁇ , the row immediately following may be made with the yarn of larger cross section. Alternatively, even more than one row can be made with yarn of greater thickness. The function of this yarn was illustrated previously with reference to the step of preparation of the article for sewing.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Bending Of Plates, Rods, And Pipes (AREA)
• Sewing Machines And Sewing (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11442147

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (2)

Citations (3)

• 2001
  • 2001-04-11 IT IT2001FI000063A patent/ITFI20010063A1/it unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-04-05 WO PCT/IT2002/000212 patent/WO2002084003A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

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