Textiles: knitting – Independent-needle machines – Straight
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-01
2001-11-20
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)
Textiles: knitting
Independent-needle machines
Straight
C066S075100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318131
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method of a three-dimensional shape fabric requiring no post-treatment after completion of knitting by using a flat knitting machine including at least a pair of front and back needle beds, either or both of which is/are movable in a lateral direction thereof.
BACKGROUND ART
Various knitting methods for knitting a fabric in the form of a nearly finished product on the flat knitting machine to eliminate or relieve the need of the post-treatment after completion of the knitting are now under study, which are called “the shaping knit”. Generally known shaping knits include, for example, (i) a knitting method in which while a front body portion is knitted, the widening or narrowing is performed to change the knitting width so as to correspond in configuration to a dress pattern, or a pocket is formed in the front body portion, so as to relieve the post-treatment after completion of the knitting, which is called “the integral garment”, and (ii) a knitting method in which after front and back bodies and right and left sleeves are each knitted in the form of tube in adjacent regions, the sleeves are moved toward the bodies at the armpits and are joined thereto by repetition of the knitting step that loops of the sleeves are superposed on loops of the bodies at the sleeve sides so as to form the loops in the next courses, followed by the knitting step that the final courses of the front and back bodies are joined in the shoulders, whereby a fabric of a nearly completed product is knitted, which is called “the no-seam fabric”. Further, another method of the shaping knit is known, which is called “the flechage knitting”, in which in the knitting of a fabric, needles associated with a part of a knitting region are put into the rested state and a yarn feeder is reversed on the way in the knitting region to form loops at only a part of the needles and then loops of the next courses are formed on the loops retained at the needles as are in the rested state as well as on the loops retained at the needles as are put in the rested state after completion of the knitting in the other knitting region, so that the number of courses are varied between the wale in the rested state and the wale in the region in which the loops are continuously formed to allow a portion of the fabric having an increased number of courses to project in a convex form, whereby desired undulations are formed in the fabric.
German patent specification No. DE 3937406C2 discloses a knitting method of making use of flechage knitting to form a three-dimensional knitted article. DE 3937406C2 discloses that after the setup, the fabric is branched off back and forth, and one of the branched fabrics is put into the rested state, keeping the loops formed by the setup in their retained state. Then, the other needle bed is used and the other of the branched fabrics is knitted by the flechage knitting at both lengthwise end portions of the other needle bed, so as to form a part. Further, a next part to the previously formed part is knitted by the same flechage knitting to join that part to the previously formed part. Subsequently, the next part to the part formed by the flechage knitting is further knitted by the flechage knitting, whereby that part is joined to the previously formed part. This knitting is repeatedly performed in order, to join the parts to each other, to thereby produce a generally spherical knitted fabric. Then, after the loops of the final course of the one fabric as were kept in the rested state after the setup and the loops in the final course of the fabric of the part that is continuously knitted while it is joined to the previously formed part are joined, the bind-off process is performed. This method provides the advantages that the number of times and the locations of the flechage knitting can be selectively changed in accordance with the configuration of the fabric in which the flechage is formed, to knit a fabric of a desired configuration and that the setup portion and the finishing portion of the knitted fabric can be joined in the process of knitting. The knitting method disclosed by DE3937406C2 has however the disadvantage that the fabric which is put in the rested state after the knitting of the setup portion is being kept in the condition in which the loops formed by the knitting the setup portion are retained by the related needles until they are superposed on the loops of the final course of the other fabric and, as a result of this, a downward tensile force is exerted on the same loops for a long while. Thus, there is the possibility that the loops may be stretched while the other fabric is knitted or yarn breakage may occur and the resultant drop stitch may occur.
It is the object of the present invention to disclose the knitting method of three-dimensional shape fabric having undulation formed in the fabric by the flechage knitting that can provide improved efficiency in the knitting and also can prevent a downward tensile force from being exerted on the same loops for a long while, unlike the conventional knitting method, to prevent loop stretch and yarn breakage.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the disadvantages above, the present invention provides a knitting method of a three-dimensional shape fabric whose front fabric and back fabric are knitted by use of a flat knitting machine, which comprises at least a pair of front and back needle beds, either or both of which are movable in a lateral direction thereof, and a plurality of cam systems, to transfer loops between the front needle bed and the back needle bed, and are joined at setup portions thereof and finishing portions thereof, the knitting method of the three-dimensional fabric comprising: the step of forming the setup portion of the three-dimensional shape fabric by use of needles of the both front and back needle beds; the step of knitting a non-rectangular front fabric and a non-rectangular back fabric by performing a flechage knitting in which a first part of the front fabric and a first part of the back fabric are varied in number of courses from one wale to another so as to put a part of loops into a rested state in the process in which the front fabric knitted in association with the front needle bed and the back fabric knitted in association with the back needle bed are knitted in parallel to each other by use of different cam systems; the step of forming loops of the next parts following the forming of loops of final courses of the previously formed parts including the part of the loops as were put in the rested state, so as to join the parts to each other; and the step of superposing the loops of the final course of a final part of the front fabric and the loops of the final course of a final part of the back fabric on each other to perform a bind-off process. According to the construction of the present invention, after the knitting of the setup portions of the front and back fabrics, the front fabric and the back fabric are knitted while they are kept in the condition of being overlapped back and forth and also the parts continuously formed by the flechage knitting are joined to each other and the final course of the front fabric and the final course of the back fabric are joined to each other, so that the three-dimensional shape fabric requiring no post-treatment after completion of the knitting can be knitted. When cam systems with different carriages are used for the knitting of the front fabric and the back fabric, both of the front fabric and the back fabric can be knitted in one operation of the carriage.
In the present invention, an interlock structure is formed by a knitting using the alternate needles, which is one of the characteristic feature of the invention. The construction of the present invention can produce the result that knit structure such as rib stitch or garter stitch that provides a reinforcing effect or an ornamental effect is formed in the three-dimensional shape knitted fabric. When this knit structure is formed in the fabric at desired loca
Kobata Yoshiyuki
Nakai Syunichi
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Shima Seiki Mfg. Ltd.
Worrell Danny
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