Method of knitting
OwnerVictor J. Lombardiinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for operating a conventional circular knitting machine, provided with indepenent and continuously operating pattern wheels, to develop patterns including knit, tuck, welt and terry stitches in the same course(s). By synchronizing the sinker selection and needle selection components, in a complementary manner, the resulting tubular fabric may include terry loop areas adjacent to decorative flat-knitted areas which together comprise the entire circumference of said tubular fabric rather than the dull, uninteresting non-terry areas generally resulting in tubular fabrics which include terry areas in only a portion thereof.
Claims11
A method of knitting a decorative fabric on a circular knitting machine having continuously operating pattern wheels for independent sinker selection operative at a single level with said pattern wheels cooperating with a full complement of sinker elements extending around the entire circumference of the sinker dial of said machine for selectively activating sinkers between first retracted non-terry loops forming positions in which the nibs of said sinker elements are out of the path of the yarn caught in the hooks of needles on opposite sides thereof and second advanced terry loop forming positions in which the nibs of the sinkers are in the path of the hooks of needles on opposite sides thereof, and continuously operating pattern wheels for independent needles selection on the full complement of needles for selectively activating needles to a plurality of different heights, and a plurality of feeds, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) introducing in at least one of said plurality of feeds at least a first ground yarn at substantially a sinker throat level and at least a second yarn at a higher level above the nibs of the sinkers;
- (b) selectively advancing at the same ones of said feeds selected ones of said sinkers according to a prescribed pattern to said second advanced terry loop forming positions in selected areas of said decorative fabric;
- and simultaneously;
- (c) selectively advancing at the same ones of said feeds selected ones of said needles to knit height in the said selected areas of said decorative fabric in cooperate with said selected sinkers in the same said selected areas in forming elongated or terry loops over the nibs of said sinkers selectively advanced in said selected areas;
- and
- (d) selectively maintaining at the same ones of said feeds selected ones of said sinkers in retracted non-terry loop forming positions in areas complementary to said selected areas while simultaneously and selectively advancing cooperating needles to a plurality of different positions to form knit, tuck, and welt stitch combinations with at least one of said first yarn and at least a second yarn in said areas complementary to said selected areas.
A method of knitting a decorative fabric on a circular knitting machine having independent sinker selection capabilities for activating sinkers at a single level between a first retracted non-terry loop forming position in which the nib of the sinker is out of the path of the yarn caught in the hooks of needles on either side thereof and a second advanced terry loop forming position in which the nib of the sinker is in the path of the yarn caught in the hooks of needles on either side thereof, independent needle selection capabilities for selectively activating needles to a plurality of different heights, and a plurality of feeds comprising alternate feeds and intermediate feeds, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) introducing in at least one of said alternate feeds at least a first ground yarn at substantially a sinker throat level and at least a second yarn at a higher level above the nibs of the sinkers;
- (b) selectively activating at the same ones of said alternate feeds selected ones of said sinkers according to a prescribed pattern to said second position for forming elongated or terry loops of said second yarn over the nibs of said sinkers in selected areas of said decorative fabric;
- (c) at times when said sinkers operative at the said ones of said alternate feeds are in said first retracted non-terry loop forming positions, selectively activating at the same ones of said alternate feeds selected ones of said needles to form knit, tuck and welt combinations with at least one of said first and second yarns;
- (d) intermediate feeds of said plurality of feeds in complementary cooperation with said alternate feeds;
- (e) as the needles approach certain of said intermediate feeds in selected feeds of said intermediate feeds, selected ones of said needles are raised to a tuck level while others of said needles remain unselected at a welt level and certain of said sinkers remain in said first retracted position whereby a third yarn is introduced into the fabric in a non-knit manner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.