Napped warp-knitted fabric and method of producing same
AssigneeGuilford Mills, Inc.
InventorHolger Scheller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Warp knitted fabric of an at least two bar construction nappable on both fabric faces is produced on a warped knitted machine of at least three bar construction by utilizing a pile loop forming device on the bottom bar while simultaneously knitting a ground yarn substrate on the middle bar and knitting pile yarns on the top bar to be knitted into the substrate in needle loops at the technical fabric face and extended pile underlap loops at the technical fabric back. At least one surface of the fabric is napped, the extended underlap loops at the technical back being nappable to a plush surface effect while also being adapted to be partially drawn through the substrate to the technical face upon napping of the needle loops to produce a comparable plush surface at the technical face.
Claims10
A method of producing a warp knitted fabric of at least two bar construction having a nappable surface on both the technical face and the technical back of said fabric, said method comprising:
- providing a warp knitting machine having at least top, middle and bottom yarn guide bars with pile loop forming means mounted on said bottom bar;
- warp knitting a set of ground yarns on said middle bar of said machine to form a fabric substrate;
- simultaneously warp knitting a set of pile yarns on said top bar of said machine and over said pile loop forming means on said bottom bar to knit said pile yarns into said substrate in needle loops at the technical face of said fabric forming a first nappable surface and in elongated pile underlap loops at the technical back of said fabric forming a second nappable surface;
- said underlap loops being nappable to produce a plush surface on the technical back of said fabric and being further adapted to be partially drawn sufficiently from the technical back of said fabric through said substrate to the technical face of said fabric into said needle loops upon napping of said needle loops to render said needle loops nappable to produce a plush surface at the technical face of said fabric of a comparable thickness to the technical back of said fabric;
- and
- then napping at least one of said nappable surfaces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.