Textiles: knitting – Independent-needle machines – Circular
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-14
2001-12-18
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3741)
Textiles: knitting
Independent-needle machines
Circular
C066S121000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330814
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circular knitted fabric and a method for circular knitting.
2. Description of Related Art
When a garment is produced from a circular knitted fabric, a series of processes has been conventionally taken, wherein the knitted fabric is subjected to a cutting along pattern papers, thereby obtaining corresponding parts of the garment, such as a front body, a back body and a collar, et al, which is followed by a sewing by which these parts are connected with each other, thereby obtaining a garment.
In order to increase a production efficiency by an automation, a computerized system has recent been developed as far as a cutting is concerned. Namely, in this kind of system, a data base is provided for storing pattern papers in accordance with sizes, a selection of a pattern paper matched to the result of a size measurement is then done, the selected pattern paper is corrected suitably on a computer screen and a cutting of the fabric is done by using a laser cutting device. Such a laser cutting system has recently been widely used in a semi custom-made manufacture of men's garments.
As far as a sewing is concerned, an automated operation is much more difficult, and therefore a manual operation is, basically, still used. Therefore, the sewing is a bottleneck from the view point of increase in an production efficiency as well as of decrease in a production cost. Under these circumstances, there has heretofore been a strong requirement as to a development in a garment making by which any sewing is not necessary.
As far as weft knitting process is concerned, where stitched loops can be desirably laterally moved for controlling a knitting width, a garment making without sewing has been conventional from old days where only manual knitting is done. Furthermore, even a mechanical knitting is concerned, sophisticated weft knitting machines have commercially been available, where one to one independent electronic control of knitting needles is employed, thereby realizing, without sewing, a fully automated garment making, including a tying up at opened portions of the garment such as a sleeve, a collar and a hemline or base. As to this kind of weft knitting machine, refer, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No.3-75656.
However, a weaving technique is completely different from a weft knitting technique. In other words, weaving technique can not, at any means, be applied to the weaving technique. The present invention aims, thus, to eliminate substantially sewing, also, in a garment making from a circular knitted fabric.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a circular knitted fabric for cutting therefrom articles is provided, said fabric comprising:
an inner and an outer knitted layers which are, basically, separate from with each other, the inner knitted layer being for one side of the article while the outer knitted layer being for the other side of the article, and;
stitching parts by which the inner and outer layers are stitched along a contour line of an article so that the articles are integrated to the fabric;
said contour lines of articles as repeated patterns being distributed along substantially entire length and the width of the fabric, which, by cutting, allows the article to be separated from the fabric, while the opposite sides of the article are connected with each other along the contour line.
According to the present invention, said article is a garment, and said one side is a front body of the garment while said other is a back body of the garment.
According to the another aspect of the invention, a circular knitted fabric for cutting therefrom articles is provided, said fabric being knitted by a circular knitting machine having a series of dial needles and a series of cylinder needles, said fabric comprising:
an inner and an outer layers which are separated from each other, said inner layer being knitted by using the dial needles while said outer layer is knitted by using the cylinder needles and;
stitched parts in which, by using both of the dial needles and the cylinder needle, said inner and outer layers are stitched with each other along a contour line of the article.
According to the present invention, said article is a garment, and said one side is a front body of the garment while said other is a back body of the garment.
According to the present invention, the arrangement of the repeated patterns is such that the stitched parts which become opening of the article are run along the direction inclined with respect to a course of the circular knitted fabric.
According to the present invention, the circular knitted fabric is constructed by an inner and outer layers, which are separate with each other and which are knitted by the dial and cylinder needles, respectively. The inner and outer layers are, along an outline of an article or a garment, connected with each other by using a stitching construction using both of the dial and cylinder needles. A cutting of the fabric along the stitched line is done in such a manner that the stitched parts are at least partially remained, thereby obtaining a garment having opposite sides which are, along its outline, firmly connected with each other. As a result, according to the present invention, without fully or at least partially eliminating any sewing process, which has hereto been essential, an article or garment can be cut out from a circular knitted fabric.
The stitched parts according to the present invention is a kind of a pattern which extends substantially full width, i.e., full length of the fabric in the wales direction. Thus, the present invention can be desirably practiced by using a circular knitting machine capable of providing a large pattern. From this view point, a desirable circular knitting machine for practicing the present invention is the one which is provided with needle to needle based electronic controlled pattern selection mechanism, which makes it possible to obtain a large sized pattern extending along the full width in the wales direction.
In case of a circular knitted fabric, the cutting makes a loosening to be likely occurred. However, the inclined arrangement of the pattern makes it possible that the cutting line at the sleeve or neck extends, as long as possible, in a direction inclined with respect to the direction of the course, thereby making a loosening to be less likely.
According to the another aspect of the invention, a method for producing a garment from a circular knitted fabric is provided, comprising the steps of:
providing a circular knitting machine having a series of dial needles and a series of cylinder needles;
knitting a fabric by the circular knitting machine, which fabric has an inner and an outer layers which are separate with each other and which are knitted by the dial needles and the cylinder needles, respectively, while stitching, by using the both of the dial and cylinder needles, the inner and second layers along a contour line of the article and:
cutting the fabric along the contour line for separating, from the fabric, an article having opposite sides which are stitched along the contour line.
According to the method invention, advantages as explained with reference to the product invention can also be obtained.
Furthermore, according to the method invention, an article or garment can be obtained from a fabric without or substantially without necessitating any sewing process, which otherwise is essential, thereby reducing a production cost of an article or garment from a fabric.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3985003 (1976-10-01), Reed
patent: 4095441 (1978-06-01), Robinson et al.
patent: 4682479 (1987-07-01), Pernick
patent: 5081854 (1992-01-01), Lonati
patent: 5651847 (1997-07-01), Loeffler
patent: 62-37007 (1967-03-01), None
patent: 62-153304 (1967-09-01), None
patent: 50-12362 (1975-02-01), None
patent: 52-12306 (1979-04-01), None
patent: 54-11053 (1979-05-01), None
patent: 57-71460 (1982-05-01), None
patent: 57-87005 (1982-11-01), None
Kabushiki Kaisha Miyake Design Jimusho
Pitney Hardin Kipp & Szuch LLP
Worrell Danny
LandOfFree
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