ES2243882T3 - PROCESS TO MANUFACTURE A KNITTED FABRIC AND ITS PRODUCT. - Google Patents

Abstract

In a process in order to obtain a knitted fabric (10) comprising the phases of passing over a row of simple stitches with the previous row of stitches, there is a phase wherein two threads (13a,13b) pass over respectively a left row (20) and a right row (22) which are separated and independent to each other, whereas the number of stitches per row is gradually reduced until it is reduced to zero so as to obtain a fabric with a "V" shape, the two sides (15,17) of the "V" shape forming a sole row (24) of stitches which are passed over, so generating a fabric surplus which produces a left wave (18) and a right wave (19). <IMAGE>

Description

Process to manufacture a knitted fabric and its product.

The present invention relates to a process to manufacture a knitted fabric and a product obtained with this process, as well as to a use of a knitting machine.

It is known that the manufacture of a fabric is difference according to the entanglement that can be obtained with either straight threads in the process of interlacing weft threads with those of the warp, arranged perpendicularly to each other, which gives place to the weave, or with interwoven curvilinear threads between them to produce a knitting.

A single thread or fiber that extends longitudinally and curvilinearly so that forms loops that give rise to a row of simple meshes, that are attached to the meshes of the previous row and will join the from the next row.

In this specific field, the loops are called meshes, the rows of meshes are called past and the entanglement represents the joining phase of two passes; in the Following paragraphs will use this specific terminology.

The manufacture of a knitted fabric is carried out by knitting machines or looms, in which a support, called guide bar, houses several needles placed parallel to each other, whose function is to join the meshes of the new pass with the meshes of the previous pass. The number Needles obviously equals the number of meshes per pass. To perform the joining phase, the movement of the needles proceeds of a sliding carriage equipped with cam elements that at pressing on the ends of the needles generate a movement of swinging of the needles.

With these machines you can also generate a tissue increase or decrease, that is, can be obtained shaped fabrics. Thus, for example, it is possible to widen a tissue (called "augmentation") by inserting other needles placed next to those located at the ends; similarly, you can decrease the tissue (called "diminished") by eliminating the needles located at the ends.

To make stockings or the top of a footwear is necessary to manufacture separately the different parts of the stocking or footwear and attach them to then through a sewing process.

Each of the parts can be obtained from of a rectangular fabric on which the pieces that are cut make up the stocking or footwear, which results in scraps; or, they can be obtained directly by technique of increases and decreases, thus avoiding the waste.

In any case, the smooth pieces obtained they must sew each other following different seams.

Then, in order that the stockings or footwear adopts a perfectly shaped three-dimensional operation is necessary to perform widen them, which allows to obtain a definitive and uniform way a form of boot.

It is clear that all the operations described, particularly those of increases and decreases, sewing and the widening ones are long and expensive, especially if we have note that such operations must be performed many times and for each component of the stocking or footwear.

Another document describing the Previous existence of these procedures is the European Patent EP 0490694 whose owner is the manufacturer Shima Seiki, or the patent GB-A-1 413988 from Courtaulds. These patents refer to the methods used to knit the area from the neck of a sweater, a cardigan or a vest, as well as the knitted fabrics obtained with said methods.

Specifically, they provide a knitting system in which the neck area is woven after the part front, and the number of meshes on the edge of the part cropped from the neck area corresponding to the part front increases thanks to a widening of the meshes.

Another document describing the Previous existence of these procedures is the Patent U.S. No. 2,334,206, which refers to an elastic garment, such as a surgical mean and the method to make it

The purpose of the present invention is, by consequently, to conceive a process that allows to obtain a fabric of point eliminating the mentioned disadvantages.

Specifically, the purpose is to obtain a fabric in One piece, from which you can directly manufacture the stocking or the garment of footwear, that is, a fabric with the characteristics geometric shapes so that, once folded, it forms directly the stocking or the footwear.

The aforementioned purpose is achieved through a process for manufacturing knitting comprising the stages following:

to)

The preparation of at least one first thread that forms a first past of meshes arranged along a line between a left edge and a right edge;

b)

the union of the mentioned, at least, first thread with the mentioned meshes, starting at the aforementioned left edge and ending at the cited right edge, thus forming a second pass of tights.

C)

the union of the mentioned, at least, first thread with the mentioned second pass of meshes, starting at the aforementioned right edge and ending at the aforementioned left edge, thus forming a third pass of meshes.

d)

the repetition of stages b) and c) until the last pass of tights,

So how are you Other stages listed below:

and)

The preparation of at least two threads, a second thread that joins the meshes of the last pass between the mentioned edge left and a first central edge located in the center of said last pass, or near said center, on the corresponding side to the aforementioned left edge, thus defining a pass left of meshes, and a third thread that joins the meshes of the last pass between the mentioned right edge and a second central edge located in the center of said last pass, or near said center, on the side corresponding to the mentioned right edge, thus defining a right pass of meshes; The union of the left pass and the right pass located, respectively, in the positions defined by the same ordinal it is carried out at the same time and, in addition, when proceeding to the union of the passes located in the following positions, the first mentioned center edge gradually shifts to the left edge, thus decreasing the number of meshes of the pass left until that number reaches zero or very close to zero, and the said second central edge gradually shifts towards the right edge, thus decreasing the number of meshes of the right pass until said number reaches zero or very close to zero and, through this process, a tissue is obtained in form of a "V" in which the two sides of the "V" are formed by the mentioned first and second edges centrals;

F)

the repetition of the binding steps a) and b) by joining, in a single pass, of the meshes of the two sides of the "V" with the mentioned first thread, so that the excess tissue produced by the mentioned second and third thread form, respectively, a left wave on the left side and a right wave on the right side.

Through this process, therefore, you can manufacture a one-piece fabric that has a proper shape at its edges (increasing or decreasing the tissue) and that, in the area corresponding to the instep of the foot and in the direction of the center towards the two opposite side edges, it has a surplus of tissue that increases as the distance from the center so that it forms two waves. All this in such a way that the stocking or footwear is obtained directly by folding in boot form the fabric and applying a simple sewing operation to join the two lateral edges.

This avoids both the operations of cutting and sewing each of the different parts of the stocking or of the footwear, as the subsequent operation of widening

Specifically, during the joining stage of the right past and the left past a force is applied to the tissue already manufactured to keep it constantly in tension.

Thus, the tissue obtained by this procedure can become a stocking or a pledge of footwear that adapts to a person's foot or leg.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be more widely demonstrated in detail description given below, but not limiting, in relation to the drawings contained herein document:

- Figure 1 is a top view of the tissue obtained by the process object of the present invention;

- Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are seen from above of the tissue, represented in consecutive stages of its manufacturing.

In figure 1 a fabric 10 is shown for get a stocking or a shoe item through the process object of the present invention. Figures 2 to 5 represent the different stages of the process to obtain tissue 10, starting by the upper end of the middle or the upper part of the footwear

When you start, knitting is performs in the usual way, that is, a first thread 11 produces a first pass of meshes and then in the second cycle, a second pass of meshes is formed that joins the first pass, and so on until the last one is reached past 12, located near the instep of the foot. Therefore, the tissue depicted in figure 2 has been obtained by this procedure, applying increases and decreases so that the leg, defined by the left edge 14 and the right edge 16, can adapt to the lower leg.

At this point, the first thread 11 is stopped and prepare a second thread 13a and a third thread 13b to resume the knitting that, as of this moment, is done by dividing in two parts the last pass of meshes 12; one pass left 20 located between the left edge 14 and a first central edge 15, located near the center on the side corresponding to the edge left 14, and a right pass 22 located between the right edge 16 and a second central edge 17, located near the center in the side corresponding to the right edge 17.

Obviously, since the last two are independent of each other, it is necessary to have at least two threads: the second thread 13a to form the left passes 20, and the third thread 13b to form the right passes 22.

The operation of forming the left passes 20 and the right passes 22 is performed simultaneously; so by example, the union of the meshes located in the third position of the left pass is done at the same time as the union of the meshes located in the third position of the right pass.

As the left passes are executed 20 and the right passes 22, the first center edge 15 is gradually shifts to the left, in order to decrease the number of meshes per pass; similarly, the second edge central 17 gradually shifts to the right, in order to Decrease the number of meshes per pass.

During this stage, the newly formed meshes are pressed down by a suitable device, which it is a pressure leg, which produces a pressure on the meshes in order to keep the newly formed mesh pass in the right position At the same time, on the fabric already manufactured, by means of a device, that is, a tension bar, a uniformly distributed stretching force is applied to the along its entire length, so that the fabric remains constantly tense.

As the process progresses, since the central edges move towards the ends, a increasing number of loose meshes.

By continuing the knitting process, in a certain time the number of meshes per pass reaches zero or very close to zero, thus obtaining a tissue that, if deposit on a plane, form a "V", as represented in figure 3, in which the first and second central edge 15 and 17 they form the two sides of the "V".

In practice, since the meshes are blocked by the straight needle bar of the machine, the fabric, to As it occurs, it is arranged as shown in the figure 4, in which the meshes on the sides of the "V", that is the first 15 and second 17 center edge delimit the last pass of meshes arranged in a straight line, identified in the figure with reference 24.

Therefore, the tissue has on its side left and on its right side a surplus of material to form the left wave 18 and the right wave 19.

Finally, the meshes of the last past 24 are unite with a single thread that is precisely the first thread 11 (which starts from the situation represented in figure 4), the which begins again and, as already described, forms the following mesh passes. In this way tissue 10 is obtained drawn in figure 5.

When the knitting operation ends, just by putting the left edge 14 in contact with the right edge 16, and join them by means of a seam so as to obtain a half or a footwear with a perfect shape and uniform.

The first thread 11, the second thread 13a and the third thread 13b are preferably elastic threads manufactured with a natural matter, like latex, or artificial, like lycra.

As shown in Figure 3, while perform left passes 20 and right passes 22, and of simultaneously, an increase occurs and, consequently, add needles in the last left 20, increase the meshes left and then the left edge 14 moves toward the left; similarly, needles are added to the pass right 22, the right meshes increase and then the right edge 16 moves to the right.

The increase during the completion of the pass left 20 and from the right pass 22 is necessary to obtain the part of the fabric that covers the heel; in fact, the central part of the fabric covers the instep of the foot, while the two parts lateral, once joined, it has to cover the opposite part of the instep of the foot, that is, the heel.

Obviously, all changes or modifications functionally or conceptually equivalent are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

For example, the joining steps can be repeated through left passes and independent right passes between yes, interspersed with joining stages along a single pass, in order to more adequately follow the shape of the instep of the foot

Obviously, the described process can be used to make other garments that are not exclusively stockings and footwear. In general, this process may include all items that cover body parts provided with angular shapes such as orthopedic items and medical-sanitary covering different parts of the body, such as elbows or shoulders.

Also, instead of using a single thread 13a to form the left passes and a single thread 13b to form the right passes, a larger number of threads can be used, both to improve productivity and design when, by For example, threads of different colors are used.

Similarly, to form the initial part or the end of the fabric you can use a larger number of threads, in instead of using a single thread 11.

The process is carried out conveniently using a knitting machine and, specifically, a machine with a straight needle bar.

The scope of protection of the invention is also extends to the use of any machine for the purpose to perform the process described above, as well as to the tissue obtained by performing the process corresponding to this invention.

Claims (19)

1. A process to make a knitted fabric (10) comprising the following stages:

to)

The preparation of at least one first thread (11) that forms a first pass of meshes arranged along a line located between a left edge (14) and a right edge (16);

b)

the union of the mentioned, at least, first thread (11) with the mentioned meshes, starting at the aforementioned left edge (14) and ending at the aforementioned right edge (16), thus forming a Second pass of meshes.

C)

the union of the mentioned, at least, first thread (11) with the mentioned second pass of meshes, starting at the aforementioned edge right (16) and ending at the aforementioned left edge (14), forming in this way a third pass of meshes.

d)

the repetition of stages b) and c) until the last pass of tights,

So how are you Other stages listed below:

and)

The preparation of at least two threads, a second thread (13a) that joins the meshes of the last pass (12) located between said left edge (14) and a first central edge (15) located in the center of said last pass, or near said center, on the side corresponding to said left edge (14), thereby defining a left pass of meshes (20), and a third thread (13b) that joins the meshes of the last pass (12) located between said right edge (16) and a second central edge (17) located in the center of said last pass, or near said center, on the side corresponding to said right edge (16), defining from this right pass mode of meshes (22); The union of the left pass (20) and the right pass (22) located, respectively, in the positions defined by the same ordinal are carried out at the same time, characterized in that when proceeding to the union of the passes located in the following positions , said first central edge (15) gradually moves towards the left edge (14), thereby decreasing the number of meshes of the left pass (20) until said number reaches zero or very close to zero, and said second central edge (17) gradually moves towards the right edge (16), thereby decreasing the number of meshes of the right pass (22) until said number reaches zero or very close to zero and , by this process, a fabric in the form of a "V" is obtained in which the two sides of the "V" are formed by said first and second central edges (15, 17);

F)

the straight line arrangement of the meshes on both sides of the "V", that is, the first (15) and the second (17) center edge and  the repetition of the binding stages a) and b) by joining, in a single pass (24), of the meshes of the two sides of the "V" with said first thread (11), so that the surplus of tissue produced by the mentioned second (13a) and third (13b) thread form, respectively, a left wave (18) in the part left and a right wave (19) on the right side.

2. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that while increasing the positions of the left passes (20) and the right passes (22), needles are added at the left end of the left pass (20), and the left edge (14) moves to the left and, at the same time, needles are added at the right end of the right pass (22), and the right edge (16) moves to the right, so that an increased tissue is obtained . 3. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that while increasing the positions of the left passes (20) and the right passes (22), the meshes at the left end of the left pass (20), and the edge are decreased left (14) moves to the right and, at the same time, the meshes at the right end of the right pass (22) are decreased, and the right edge (16) moves to the left, so that a diminished tissue 4. A process according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that during step e), two threads are prepared to obtain said left passes (20) and two other threads to obtain said right passes (22), in order to obtain a Jacquard type knitting. 5. A process according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that during step e), that is, during the joining operation of the aforementioned left (20) and right (22) passes, the newly made passes are pressed down. 6. A process according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that during step e), that is, during the joining operation of said left (20) and right (22) passes, a stretching force is applied to the tissue formed with in order to keep it under constant tension. 7. A process according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that steps e) and f) are repeated more than once and alternate with steps a) and b). 8. A process according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that it is carried out using a knitting machine. 9. A process according to claim 7, characterized in that said knitting machine has a straight needle bar. 10. A process according to claims 5 and 8, characterized in that said newly formed meshes are pressed down by means of a pressure device. A process according to claim 8, characterized in that said stretching force applied to the fabric, according to claim 6, is applied by means of a tension device. 12. A process according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that said at least first thread (11), said second thread (13a) and said third thread (13b) are elastic. 13. A process according to claim 12, characterized in that said elastic threads are made of latex or lycra. 14. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that said left edge (14) is brought into contact with the right edge (16) and both edges are joined by a seam. 15. A knitted, folded, single-piece fabric (10), obtainable by a process according to claim 1, which by increasing or decreasing the fabric (10) its edges (14, 16) and whose edges can be shaped they are joined by a seam, characterized in that it has a surplus of tissue that forms two waves (18, 19). 16. A knitted fabric according to claim 15, characterized in that it is a product (10) designed to cover a joint of the human body. 17. A knitted fabric according to claim 16, characterized in that said fabric is a stocking (10) or a footwear that adequately covers the instep of the foot. 18. A knitted fabric according to claim 16, characterized in that said fabric is an orthopedic or medical-sanitary article, such as knee pads or the like. 19. The use of a knitting machine to carry out the process according to any one of claims 1 to 13.