US 4,244,197 AGranted

Method and apparatus for producing knit fabric

AssigneeSulzer Brothers Limited

InventorKlaus P. Althammer

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Abstract

Method and apparatus for knitting fleece fabrics on a knitting machine having two sets of needles disposed for movement in planes disposed at angles to each other to form a fabric construction; and wherein one set of needles is employed exclusively to knit a jersey ground construction from relatively lightweight yarns, while selected of the other set of needles are employed with selected needles of said one set to inlay a much heavier yarn along selected courses to pass alternately over and be tucked under groups of one or more consecutive wales of the knit ground construction without forming stitches therein. The heavy inlay yarns are drawn by the selected needles of the other set to appear primarily on one face of the fabric, and these selected needles which hold the inlay yarn are retracted to less than full welt position to dispose the inlaid yarn below the plane of knitting movement of certain of the needles of said one set. On double knit machines employing two sets of latch needles, a latch opener is provided for opening the latches of the selected needles of said other set to receive the heavy yarn in the hooks thereof. After the knitting cycle, the inlay yarn is released from the selected needles into the courses of the knit ground without forming stitches therein.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A knitting machine for producing a fleece fabric having a relatively light single knit ground construction and unknitted relatively heavy yarns inlaid and tucked in selected courses thereof to extend alternately over and under spaced groups of one or more consecutive wales of the ground construction, said machine including two sets of hook needles positioned for extended and retracted movement in planes disposed at angles to each other to form a fabric construction,

a first yarn feed position along the sets of needles of the machine;
needle control means for extending selected groups of one or more consecutive needles of one of said sets which are spaced by at least one intervening of said set to a tuck position at said first yarn feed position while maintaining said intervening needles in welt position;
needle control means for selectively extending at least one needle of the other set of needles which is located between each of said groups of tuck positioned needles to a yarn receiving position at said first yarn feed position;
means for introducing a relatively heavy inlay yarn into the hooks of said extended needles of both sets at said first yarn feed position;
needle control means for thereafter retracting the extended needles of both sets to dispose the inlaid yarn in a sinuous path extending alternately on opposite sides of said plane of movement of said one set of needles;
a second yarn feed position along the sets of needles, needle control means for extending the previous tuck positioned needles and at least one of said intervening needles between each of said groups of tuck positioned needles of said one set to a knit position at said second yarn feed position while maintaining said other set of needles in a retracted yarn miss position with said selected needles thereof holding said heavy inlaid yarn out of the plane of movement of said intervening needles of said one set, means for feeding a relatively lightweight ground yarn to the hooks of each of said knit positioned needles in said one set at said second yarn feed position, needle control means for moving said knit positioned needles to a welt position to form corresponding stitches in said ground yarn while simultaneously releasing said inlay yarn from said previously tuck positioned needles to tuck the same into said ground yarn stitches without forming a stitch therein;
and
needle control means for thereafter moving said selected of said other set of needles to a knit position and then to a welt position to clear and release the inlaid yarn from said needles into the knitted ground construction without forming a stitch therein.

5 more elements

A method of knitting a fleece fabric on a multi-feed circular double knit knitting machine having a set of cylinder latch needles and a set of dial latch needles selectively extendable and retractable in planes disposed at angles to each other to position the needles for receiving yarns fed thereto for incorporation into a knitted fabric construction, said fleece fabric comprising a jersey knit ground construction having unknitted relatively heavy inlaid yarns extending along selected courses and pass alternately over and being tucked under selected wales of the ground construction, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) extending selected spaced groups of one or more needles of one set of needles having a ground yarn stitch held thereon to tuck positions while maintaining intervening needles of said one set at yarn miss positions;
(b) extending selected needles of the other set of needles having no yarn thereon to yarn receiving positions between said spaced groups of tuck-positioned needles and opening the latches of the needles;
(c) feeding a relatively heavy inlay yarn to the hooks of the thus extended needles of said sets;
(d) retracting said extended needles of said sets to dispose the inlaid yarn held thereon in a sinuous path about said retracted needles and at one side of the plane of movement of said intervening needles of said one set;
(e) extending the previously tuck positioned needles and at least one intervening needle of said one set containing a ground yarn stitch thereon and which lies between each of said groups of tuck-positioned needles to a knit position while maintaining the needles of said other set of yarns at said retracted position;
(f) feeding a relatively lightweight ground yarn to the hooks of said extended needles of said one set;
(g) retracting said needles containing said ground yarn to a welt position to form corresponding knit stitches in the ground yarn while releasing the inlay yarn from said previously tuck-positioned needles to tuck the same into the ground yarn stitches without forming a stitch therein;
and
(h) thereafter moving said selected needles of said other set of needles holding the inlaid yarn to a knit position and then to a welt position to clear and release the inlay yarn from said selected needles into the course of ground yarn stitches without forming a stitch therein.

6 more elements

A knitting machine for producing single knit fleece fabrics and having two sets of needles positioned for extended and retracted movement in planes disposed at angles to each other;

(a) first needle control means on said machine, said first needle control means including first control means for extending spaced groups of one or more needles of one of said sets to a tuck position while maintaining intervening needles between said spaced groups in said set in a welt position;
second control means for extending selected needles of the other set of needles which are located between said tuck-positioned groups of needles of said one set to yarn receiving positions;
means for feeding a relatively heavy yarn to the hooks of said extended needles of both sets;
and third control means for retracting said extended needles of both sets to dispose the yarn held in the hooks thereof in a sinuous path about the needles, with said selected needles of said other set being retracted to less than full welt position;
(b) second needle control means on said machine, said second needle control means including control means for extending said groups of previously tuck-positioned needles and at least one of said intervening needles of said one set to knit position while maintaining said selected needles of the other set at their retracted position so that the heavy yarn held in the hooks thereof is not engaged by said intervening needles when they are extended to knit position;
means for feeding a relatively light yarn to the hooks of said knit positioned needles of said one set;
and control means for thereafter retracting said knit positioned needles of said one set to welt position to form stitches in said light yarn while releasing said heavier yarn to tuck the same into the course of light yarn stitches without forming a stitch therein;
and
(c) third needle control means for thereafter moving said selected needles of said other set holding the heavy yarn in the hooks thereof to release the heavy yarn into the knitted course of light yarn without forming stitches therein.

6 more elements

A method of knitting a fleece fabric on a double knit machine having two sets of needles positioned for extended and retracted movement in planes disposed at angles to each other, comprising the steps of:

(a) operating on a relatively light ground yarn exclusively with one set of the needles to knit a single knit jersey ground construction exclusively on said one set of needles, while
(b) operating on a relatively heavy yarn with selected ones of both sets of needles to inlay the heavy yarn to lie alternately in front of and be tucked behind groups of one or more consecutive wales of the ground construction along selected courses thereof to secure the inlay yarn in the ground construction without forming loop stitches in the yarn, and while
(c) drawing the inlay yarn primarily to one face of the ground fabric by movement of said selected ones of the needles of the other set to a retracted position which is less than welt position of the set.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.