Textiles: knitting – Independent-needle machines – Straight
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-04
2003-12-02
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)
Textiles: knitting
Independent-needle machines
Straight
C066S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06655175
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a knitted fabric joining method for joining together knitted fabrics and, more particularly, to a knitted fabric joining method capable of eliminating the need of transference of loop between front and back needle beds for making the knitted fabrics close to each other or capable of reducing the number of times for the transference of loop therebetween therefor.
BACKGROUND ART
When knitted fabrics are knitted in different regions on a flat knitting machine and are joined together in the course of the knitting, the sewing process after the knitting can be simplified or eliminated. Many studies have been made for the use of this knitting technique or method. Take a sweater for instance, this knitting method can allow sleeves of the sweater and a body of the same to be joined together in a joining region extending from the underarms up to the shoulder, while they are knitted, so that the after knitting treatment can be simplified or eliminated. In the following, reference will be made of the knitting method for joining the sleeves
102
,
103
of the sweater
101
to the body
104
of the same by using a four-bed flat knitting machine having upper needle beds disposed over a pair of front and back needle beds with reference to
FIGS. 22-25
. In
FIGS. 23-25
, FD denotes a front lower needle bed, FU denotes a front upper needle bed, BD denotes a rear lower bed, and BU denotes a back upper bed, and the numeric characteristics at the left side of the diagrams denote course numbers. In the course
0
in
FIG. 23
, the right sleeve
102
, the body
104
and the left sleeve
103
are retained in order, as viewed from the left. A right front sleeve
102
a
and a right back sleeve
102
b
, a front body
104
a
and a back body
104
b
, and a left front sleeve
103
a
and a left back sleeve
103
b
are each joined together at both ends thereof and formed into a tubular body. In the course
1
, the right back sleeve
102
b
is transferred to the front upper needle bed FU and the left front sleeve
103
a
is transferred to the back upper needle bed BU. In the course
2
, after the back needle bed is racked leftwards one pitch, the right back sleeve
102
b
is transferred to the rear lower bed BD, so that a loop at the right end of the right back sleeve
102
b
is laid over a loop at the left end of the back body
104
b
, and the left front sleeve
103
a
is transferred to the front lower needle bed FD, so that a loop at the left end of the left back sleeve
103
a
is laid over a loop at the right end of the front body
104
a
. In the course
3
, the right front sleeve
102
a
is transferred to the back upper needle bed BU and the left back sleeve
103
b
is transferred to the front upper needle bed FU. In the course
4
, after the back needle bed is racked rightwards one pitch, the right front sleeve
102
a
is transferred to the front lower needle bed FD, so that a loop at the right end of the right front sleeve
102
a
is laid over a loop at the left end of the front body
104
a
, and the left back sleeve
103
b
is transferred to the back lower needle bed BD, so that a loop at the left end of the left back sleeve
103
b
is laid over a loop at the right end of the back body
104
b
. In the courses
5
and
6
, a yarn feeder
110
is driven to knit the front body
104
a
, and in the courses
7
and
8
, another yarn feeder
111
is driven to knit the back body
104
b
. In the knitting (
1
) illustrated in these courses
1
to
8
, the right and left sleeves
102
,
103
are joined to the body
104
without being knitted. Sequentially, in the courses
9
to
12
, the same knitting as in the courses
1
to
4
is performed, so that the loop at the side end of the right sleeve
102
and the loop of the left sleeve
103
are laid over the loops of the front body
104
a
and the back body
104
b
, respectively. In the course
13
, the front body
104
a
is knitted by using the yarn feeder
110
and the right front sleeve
102
a
is knitted by using the yarn feeder
113
used to knit the right sleeve
102
. In the course
14
, the front body
104
a
and the right front sleeve
102
a
are knitted, and the left front sleeve
103
a
is knitted by using the yarn feeder
114
. In the course
15
, the back body
104
b
, the right back sleeve
102
b
and the left front sleeve
103
a
are knitted. In the course
16
, the back body
104
b
, the right back sleeve
102
b
and the left back sleeve
103
b
are knitted. In the course
17
, the left back sleeve is knitted. Subsequently, the knitting in which whenever the knitting (
1
) is repeated an adequate number of times, the knitting (
2
) is performed is repeated, whereby the sleeves
102
,
103
and the body
104
are joined together.
For joining together the sleeve
103
and the body
104
at an angle Z close to a right angle, the knitting (
1
) for joining together the sleeves
102
,
103
and the body
104
without knitting the sleeves
102
,
103
is only required. However, each time the knitting (
1
) for joining together the sleeves
102
,
103
and the body
104
without knitting the sleeves
102
,
103
is performed, the front knitted fabric parts
102
a
,
103
a
and the back knitted fabric parts
102
b
,
103
b
are changed over between the front and back needle beds by transferring loops the corresponding number of times to each back-and-forth movement therebetween, in order to shift the sleeves
102
,
103
toward the body
104
. Consequently, the loops must be transferred two times or more the number of wale of the sleeves
102
,
103
, for joining all the loops to the body
104
. Accordingly, for example, when there is a large number of wale of the sleeves
102
,
103
, or when a weak yarn is used for knitting, or when further finer loops are formed in the knitting, there is the possibility that when the same loop is repeatedly transferred between the front and back needle beds, yarn breakage may occur or the loop may be stretched out or elongated. To avoid this problem, in the joining method mentioned above, whenever the knitting (
1
) is repeated an adequate number of times, the knitting (
2
) is performed, whereby the knitting for joining is performed while the loop to be transferred is transferred to a loop newly formed. However, the knitting (
2
) produces sleeve caps
105
a
,
105
b
, resulting in reduction in the sleeve joining angle Z. Thus, in the knitting method mentioned above, even after the joining of the sleeves
102
,
103
and the body
104
is started, the sleeves
102
,
103
must be knitted in order to avoid the yarn breakage and the elongation of the loop. Due to this, it is hard to join together the sleeves
102
,
103
and the body
104
at a sleeve joining angle Z as large as right angles at which an orientation of the wale of the sleeves and an orientation of the wale of the body are crossed each other. Especially when a weak yarn is used for the knitting, the knitting (
2
) for knitting the sleeves
102
,
103
must be performed an increased number of times and, as a result of this, a sufficient sleeve joining angle Z is not afforded.
On the other hand, Japanese Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Publication No. 2000-256947 discloses the method for joining the sleeves with sleeve caps formed by a flechage knitting to the body, before the start of the joining of the sleeves and the body. In the method disclosed by Japanese Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Publication No. 2000-256947, right and left sleeves and the body are knitted in different regions on needle beds, respectively, with the body sandwiched between the right and left sleeves. Then, the sleeves are knitted from cuffs up to and the body is knitted from a rib up to their underarms at which the joining of the sleeves and the body is started. Then, the knitting of the body is halted temporarily and the sleeve caps are knitted in the flechage knitting and formed into any desired shape. The final courses of the sleeve caps are knitted by using a special yarn such as an elastic yarn. Sequentially, with the loops in the
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn
Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.
Worrell Danny
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