Textiles: knitting – Independent-needle machines – Straight
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-09
2001-10-30
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3741)
Textiles: knitting
Independent-needle machines
Straight
C066S064000, C066S076000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308536
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of producing a three-dimensional knit. In fashioning, needles are made inactive in predetermined sections of the needle bed and reactivated after a predetermined number of loops. The non-inactivated, i.e. fully knitted, portions bulge since on reactivation of the inactivated needles they are puckered by the interlooped courses in the inactivated portions between which one or also more courses of the fully knitted portion may be arranged. This inactivation/activation may also be achieved staircased, i.e. sectionwise from one course to the other so that knits materialize in a predetermined shape which may be used e.g. as preformed seat covers.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first method of producing three-dimensional knits consists of the widening
arrowing technique. Widening in this sense involves forming two wales from a single wale at an optional location in the knit, it thus involving a widening of the knit. In a first embodiment of the widening technique the loops at least on one side of the widening location are shifted outwards by the desired widening width. In an alternative embodiment of the technique loops are knitted separately in two needle regions and subsequently interlinked by transferring at least one region.
Whilst the known loop widening
arrowing technique in the marginal portion of a knit merely results in contouring of the knit, but not in three-dimensional shaping, in widening
arrowing in the knit in accordance with the invention additional loops are introduced into the knit or taken out of the knit, resulting in a shaping of the knit and thus in a three-dimensional shaping. The narrowing technique represents precisely the opposite procedure. In the narrowing technique at least two wales are combined into a single wale, this procedure involving transferring loops on at least one side of the knit further inwards so that the resulting gap is closed. This technique too, may be continued successively over several courses so that desired bulged portions may be generated. One possibility of bulging involves e.g. first implementing the widening and then the narrowing technique, resulting in a bulge due to an excess of material being obtained in the widening
arrowing region. Another technique first applies narrowing followed by widening to the original number of loops, as a result of which a deficient amount of material occurs in the narrowing/widening region which in turn results in a deformation of the knit as a whole and thus in three-dimensional shaping.
Transferring the loops is preferably implemented as follows: The loops are transferred from an active needle bed to an auxiliary needle bed. The auxiliary needle bed which, among other things, may also be an active needle bed is then shifted relative to the active needle bed. Subsequently the loops are transferred back at a shifted location to the auxiliary needle bed. Although this method is thus rather complicated as regards the machine action sequence, it permits production of three-dimensional knits with possibilities hitherto not available.
Another method of producing three-dimensional knits consists of making needles inactive in specific portions of the knit, whilst knitting is continued with the needles in the other portions. By later activating these inactivated needles, e.g. after one or more courses, a puckering of the knit is achieved in this inactivated portion which again may be made use of as desired in achieving specific shapes. When needles are made inactive e.g. for a knit in the marginal portions of the flat knitting machine and this inactivation repeated on a spacing of a few courses differing in width, then a spherical structure is attained having a highly homogeneous structure. In this case too, inactivating the needles should take place only over a few courses so that excessive deformations of the knit at any one location is avoided. Further, the width (number of needles) involved in inactivation may be alternatingly changed so that here too, a distribution of the deformed locations may be achieved in the shaping portion. These locations are located at points at which an inactivated portion adjoins an fully knitted portion.
Both of the principle techniques of producing geometrical knits as cited above may be achieved by the method in accordance with the invention in that the widening
arrowing of the loops, on the one hand, or inactivating needles, on the one other, is distributed to many locations in the deformation portion. In any case, for one thing, a more homogeneous structure of the three-dimensional knit is achieved which, for another, incorporates improved mechanical properties.
In both the fashioning and the widening
arrowing technique portions occur which, as compared to normally knitted portions, are altered, be it by this portion being made inactive over several courses or be it that wales are generated at a specific location or removed by combining wales. At these locations inhomogenities occur as a rule in the knit, these inhomogenities involving in part the formation of “holes” at the transit locations.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention in addition to the interlooping yarn weft and/or warp yarns are incorporated in this portion which result in the portion being reinforced, and for anothing thing, the holes at inhomogeneity locations being closed. This reduction in the size of the holes may be improved, among other things, by making use of weft and/or warp yarns of an elastic material, such as e.g. rubber yarns.
In the case of the fashioning technique it is e.g. of advantage when a weft yarn is placed in at least one, preferably both, courses defining an inactivated portion. As regards the adjacent fully knitted courses, this weft yarn may run without binding, although it may be placed on tuck or linked in some other way, however. What is achieved in any case is that the hole formation at point of contact between the activated portion and non-activated portion is puckered or closed and is thus hardly discernible any more as a inhomogeneity.
Another possibility of reducing inhomogenities both in widening
arrowing and in fashioning consists of splitting loops in the region of the inhomogeneity, i.e. producing two loops from a single loop, e.g. by looping on a further needle bed, these two loops making for a better fill in the region of the inhomogeneity of the knit and a better join between differing portions, e.g. in the activated and non-activated region in fashioning. Widening loops also achieves a more homogeneous surface free of holes when a split loop is placed in the new empty needle in the knit.
A further technique of reducing the holes in inhomogeneity locations in widening
arrowing/fashioning relative to normal knit is to lay one or more marginal loops to tuck in this region of the inhomogeneity. In conclusion a special technique of reducing the holes exists for fashioning technology, especially in the case of staircase fashioning, i.e. in which the width of inactivation from one course to another or also from one course portion to another is altered.
One possibility consists of knitting one or more additional (horizontal) loops onto the outermost loop prior to a loop inactivation, which is/are then including in the knit on later activation. In this way a greater volume is achieved in the inactivated portion. A similar effect may be achieved also by not inactivating the outermost needle of the portion to be inactivated over a course so that an additional vertical loop is achieved, contrary to a further horizontal outer loop when an additional outer loop is knitted into the last active courses. Here too, several vertical loops may be attached. Both techniques result in an increase in volume at the fashioning line, i.e. the line in which the last course prior to the inactivated portion is joined to the first course after inactivation.
This technology may, of course, also be made use of to join knit sections of any shape to each other as will be detailed later in describing
Recaro GmbH & Co.
Smith-Hill and Bedell
Worrell Danny
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