Textiles: knitting – Independent-needle machines – Straight
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-11
2003-06-03
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)
Textiles: knitting
Independent-needle machines
Straight
C066S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06571584
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a binding off method for casting off to prevent loosening of stitches at an end of a knitted fabric in the process of knitting by using a flat knitting machine, which method is particularly suitable for use in binding off at the part of the knitted fabric that wants stretch.
BACKGROUND ART
There has been proposed a knitting method of knitting a knitted fabric which is called an integral garment, wherein when knitting by use of a flat knitting machine, the knitted fabric is finished by binding off to prevent loosening of stitches at the end thereof or by knitting into a desired form, so as to simplify the tail end process after knitting of the knitted fabric. Also, there have been proposed a variety of further advanced knitting methods of a knitting a knitted fabric which is called a seamlessly knitted fabric, wherein the knitted fabric is knitted in the form of a nearly completed product on the flat knitting machine, so as to practically eliminate the need of the tail end process such as the sewing operation. Taking the method of knitting a sweater
1
shown in
FIG. 1
as an example, a knitting method of the seamlessly knitted fabric will be described. The sweater
1
starts in knitting from ribbed hems
9
of front and back bodies
3
,
5
and from cuffs
11
a,
11
b
of left and right sleeves
7
a,
7
b
and is gradually shaped while the front and back bodies
3
,
5
and the sleeves
7
a,
7
b
are knitted toward their respective sides at which they start to be joined to each other. At the respective sides of the sweater, the left and right sleeves are shifted toward their respective bodies
3
,
5
and then are joined thereto. After the front and back bodies
3
,
5
and the sleeves
7
a,
7
b
are joined, the loops in the final courses of the front and back bodies
3
,
5
are joined at the shoulder lines
17
a,
17
b.
Finally, the neck
13
is formed. In this manner, the sweater
1
is knitted in the form of a seamlessly knitted fabric that requires no substantial tail end process. The final course of the neck of the sweater
1
is cast off in a knitting manner that is called the binding off process. The binding off process is the process in which a loop in the final course of the knitted fabric is laid over the next to form a double loop; then a loop of the next course is formed on the double loop; further the newly formed loop is laid over the next to form a loop of the next course; and this knitting is repeatedly performed from one side of the knitted fabric to the other side thereof, whereby the loops of the final course of the knitted fabric are cast off.
Referring now to
FIG. 11
showing a knitting course diagram and
FIG. 12
showing the looping of the knitted fabric that was subjected to the binding off process by the knitting shown in
FIG. 11
, a conventional binding off method will be described. The course
0
of
FIG. 11
shows the state of a tubular knitted fabric before binding off process in which a front knitted fabric portion
201
held on needles B, D, F, . . . and a back knitted fabric portion
203
held on needles a, c, e, . . . are continuously connected at both ends thereof. In the course
1
of
FIG. 11
, a yarn is fed to needles T, R to form loops
211
,
213
subsequent to loops in the final course of the knitted fabric and, then, a yarn feeder
915
is shifted rightward. Thereafter, in the course
2
, the loops
211
,
213
at the needles T, R are transferred to a back bed. In the course
3
, those loops are transferred further to needles P, R, so that a double loop is formed with a loop
221
in the final course of the knitted fabric at the needle P. In the course the yarn is fed to the needles R, P to form loops
215
,
217
of the next course. In this manner, the number of loops held on the needles decreases by one loop from the number of loops of the course
0
. The knitting shown in the courses
1
to
3
is repeatedly performed, proceeding to the left to which the binding off process proceeds, to finish the binding off process of the front knitted fabric portion
201
. Thereafter, the knitting is repeatedly performed, proceeding reversely from the left to the right, to finish the binding off process of the back knitted fabric portion
203
.
When undergoing the binding off process mentioned above, the knitted fabric comes into the state shown in
FIG. 12
(which shows only a part of the front knitted fabric portion
201
around the location at which the binding off process is started). Of the loops formed in the course
1
and the course
4
, the loops
213
,
217
formed to the left, which is the same direction as the proceeding direction of the binding off process, are laid over loops
221
,
223
of the final course of the knitted fabric in an intersecting relation, so as to extend from the starting point of the binding off process to the termination point. Likewise, the loops
211
,
215
formed to the right, which is the opposite direction to the proceeding direction of the binding off process, are also laid in an intersecting relation to the loops of the final course of the knitted fabric, so as to extend in parallel with the loops
213
,
217
. The loops that are laid over the loops in the final course of the knitted fabric in the intersecting relation to the loops
221
,
223
in the final course of the knitted fabric so that the adjoining loops in the final course of the knitted fabric are connected to each other, like the loops
213
,
217
, and the loops that are formed in the process of the biding off process, to extend along the final course of the knitted fabric, like the loops
211
,
215
that are formed in parallel with the loops
213
,
217
, are both referred to as “the binding-off loop” in the following description. The binding-off loops that are formed in double wale are referred to as “double binding-off loops”, and the binding-off loops that are formed in triple wale are referred to as “triple binding-off loops”.
In the integral garment or the seamlessly knitted fabric, the fabric knitted on the flat knitting machine is directly presented in the form of a part of the knitted product. Accordingly, the fabric is required to be knitted so as to have the requirements for each part of the knit goods, such as stetchability, toughness and good appearance. When wearing the sweater
1
mentioned above, the neck
13
it often stretched out under the action force. If the neck
13
is poor in stretch, there arise the problems that when wearing the sweater, a thread breakage is caused to produce snag stretch or the neck
13
is overstretched to be visually undesirable. In the case of the knitted fabric that was subjected to the conventional binding off process illustrated in
FIGS. 11 and 12
, when it is stretched in a horizontal direction under the action force, the loops
211
,
213
and the loops
217
,
225
, which are connected to the loops
219
,
221
,
223
in the final course of the knitted fabric, are both simultaneously strained horizontally, so that they cannot be stretched any further. Thus, the conventional binding off method fails to provide sufficient stretch for the part of the knitted fabric that wants high stretch, such as the neck
13
, thus providing the disadvantages that the thread breakage is caused and that it is hard for one's head to insert through the neck
13
.
To try to solve the problems, there has been proposed a binding off method in which in the step between the completion of the knitting of the course
1
of FIG.
11
and the start of the knitting of the course
2
of
FIG. 11
, the yarn is fed to the needles R, T in the process of the shift of the yarn feeder
95
to the right side, so that each time when two courses of binding-off loops are formed, they are laid over the loops in the final course. However, this binding off method has the problem that since the knitted fabric subjected to this binding off process comes to have an increased number of courses of binding-off loops, even when no force acts on the knitted fabric, the bound off
Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck
Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.
Worrell Danny
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