Patent Application
20060144097
The present disclosure relates to the subject-matter that was disclosed in German patent application No. 10 2004 058 959.3 dated 8 Dec. 2004. The entire description of this earlier application is incorporated by reference to the present description.
The present invention relates to a knitted stocking, which comprises a first region, which comprises a tread region and/or a heel region and/or an upper heel region and/or a toe region and/or an over toe region of the stocking and contains at least one first material, and comprises a second region, which comprises a leg region and/or an instep region of the stocking and comprises at least one second material, which is different from the first material.
Stockings of this type are known from the prior art.
For the combination of different materials in a knitted stocking, the coloured Jacquard pattern comprising floats and the pattern obtained by the splitting of additional yarns are known, in particular.
In the case of the coloured Jacquard pattern for plain knitted fabrics, there are clear colour demarcations for the stitches made from different-coloured materials. However, the floats may not be produced without width limitation, as otherwise difficulties occur during knitting. Float loops, which, owing to the required elastic properties in use, have to be kept as short as possible, since otherwise sufficient transverse elasticity of the stocking is not ensured, are produced as a result of the floating pattern.
In the case of the splitting of additional, over or under-plated yarns, additional materials may be incorporated into a region of the stocking; however, this is associated with the drawback of cut yarn ends, which are located on the inside of the fabric and may be inconvenient during use of the stocking.
The object of the present invention is to provide a knitted stocking of the type mentioned at the outset, in which the use of different materials in specific regions of the stocking is possible, as a result of which wearer comfort is improved.
According to the invention, this object is achieved, in the case of a stocking having the features of the preamble of claim 1, in that the first region of the stocking is incorporated into the stocking as an at least two-ply knitted fabric using the intarsia method.
The term “stocking” refers, in the sense of this description and the accompanying claims, to any type of hosiery, including, in particular, a sock.
The intarsia method is a knitting method for inserting a region made from a different material into a knitted fabric, wherein the yarns made from the different material, in contrast to the Jacquard/floating pattern, do not run through the entire fabric, but rather are spatially delimited to the inserted region made from the different material.
The use of the intarsia method thus prevents the problems that occur as a result of the float loops in the case of the floating pattern.
The use of the intarsia method also allows different materials to be processed with spatial separation in a single stocking, without inconvenient yarn ends being produced, as in the case of the splitting of additional over or under-plated yarns, on the inside of the knitted fabric.
The stocking according to the invention may comprise completely different materials in its first region, which comprises the tread region and/or the heel region and/or the spliced heel region and/or the toe region and/or the over toe region of the stocking, from those in its second region, which comprises the leg region and/or the instep region of the stocking.
The materials of the first region and the second region are regarded as being different from one another, provided that at least one yarn made from the material of the first region is different from the material of the second region.
In principle, it is therefore possible that the material of the first region and the material of the second region comprise individual yarns that are knitted in both regions. However, it is also possible that only those yarns that are not present in the second region are knitted in the first region.
The stocking according to the invention allows materials that are purposefully adapted to the respective reason for wearing the stocking to be combined with one another in the first region, which is in the form of an at least two-ply knitted fabric, of the stocking, without the materials used in the second region of the stocking having to be taken into account.
The differences between the material of the first region and the material of the second region may, in principle, be of any kind and consist, for example, in a different material composition, a different yarn strength and/or different dyeing.
In a preferred configuration of the stocking according to the invention, it is provided that at least certain sections of the first region and the second region are knitted in the oscillating mode.
A particularly clean and rigid connection between the two regions is achieved if the first region is connected to the second region by interlocking in a transition region.
A transition region of this type may, in particular, comprise interlocking stitches of the material of the first region, which are knitted together with a respective stitch of the material of the second region.
It may also be provided that the transition region comprises interlocking stitches of the material of the second region, which are knitted together with a respective stitch of the material of the first region.
It may, in particular, be provided that a respective interlocking stitch of the material of the first region and an interlocking stitch of the material of the second region are in succession along the transition region.
A particularly secure connection between the two regions is achieved if the transition region contains at least one respective interlocking stitch in each stitch row.
However, alternatively, it is also possible that the transition region comprises non-interlocked stitch rows, as well as stitch rows comprising interlocking stitches.
In a preferred configuration of the stocking according to the invention, it is provided that, in the transition region, stitch rows comprising interlocking stitches and non-interlocked stitch rows are in succession in a recurring knitting repeat pattern.
This knitting repeat pattern may, in particular, comprise a respective stitch row comprising an interlocking stitch of the material of the first region, then a plurality of non-interlocked stitch rows, then a stitch row comprising an interlocking stitch of the material of the second region, and then a plurality of non-interlocked stitch rows, after which the knitting repeat pattern is repeated.
The stocking according to the invention may comprise, in a transition region between the first region and the second region, ventilation zones, which assist the comfort of the wearer of the stocking in that, in particular, they improve the transfer of moisture and the foot climate, as water vapour may be removed from the stocking more effectively through the ventilation zones.
The knitted fabric of the first region may, for example, be in the form of a plated knitted fabric, at least one plating yarn being under-plated or over-plated on a main yarn.
Plating is a method for the production of knitted fabrics, in which the main yarn and the plating yarn are processed in the same knitting system in such a way that one of these yarns is on the right product side of all of the stitches, and the other yarn is on the left product side of all of the stitches.
The plating method per se is well known to a person skilled in the art in the field of textile technology and is described, in particular, in the article “Auswirkung des Fadenzulaufs auf die Qualitat plattierter Rundstrickware” by G. Buhler and 0. Widmayer, which appeared in the journal “Wirkerei-und Strickereitechnik”, Vol. 42 (1992), Part 10, pages 931 ff., so a detailed description of the plating method per se may be dispensed with.
Additionally or alternatively to the production of the knitted fabric of the first region as a plated knitted fabric, it may also be provided that the knitted fabric of the first region is in the form of a main knitted fabric with additional plush padding, which may be produced internally or externally.
In the case of a preferred configuration of the invention, it is provided that the material of the first region comprises wool. Wool, as a material, has, in particular, very good moisture absorption, a good heat insulation capacity and temperature-compensating properties.
It is particularly beneficial if the knitted fabric of the first region has an inner ply, which comprises wool.
The inner ply of the knitted fabric of the first region is preferably produced in its entirety from a woollen material.
It may also be provided that the material of the first region comprises cotton.
Cotton also has good moisture absorption and, in particular in combination with wool, is comfortable to wear and provides a pleasant foot climate.
It is particularly beneficial if the knitted fabric of the first region has an outer ply, which comprises cotton.
The outer ply of the knitted fabric of the first region is preferably produced in its entirety from a cotton material.
It has proven particularly advantageous if the first region comprises an inner ply made from a woollen material and an outer ply made from a cotton material.
Alternatively, it may also be provided that the material of the first region comprises a synthetic material, preferably polyamide and/or polypropylene.
Particularly good wear resistance is achieved as a result of the use of synthetic materials of this type.
It is particularly beneficial if the knitted fabric of the first region has an outer ply, which comprises a synthetic material, preferably polyamide and/or polypropylene.
In a preferred configuration of the stocking according to the invention, said stocking is produced in such a way that the first region has an outer contour, which is asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal centre plane of the foot part and/or the leg part of the stocking.
It may, in particular, be provided that the outer contour of the first region is adapted, in a tread region of the stocking, to the course of the outer contour of the foot treading surface of a wearer of the stocking. As a result of such an ergonomic shape, which is adapted to the foot treading surface of the wearer, of the first region, an additional improvement in wearer comfort is achieved.
It may also be provided that the toe region of the stocking is asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal centre plane of the foot part of the stocking.
This allows the shape of the toe region of the stocking to be adapted with maximum precision to the course of the toe of the wearer of the stocking, as a result of which a further improvement in wearer comfort is achieved.
It may, in particular, be provided that the toe region comprises a first edge portion, on the side of the large toe of a wearer of the stocking, and a second edge portion, on the side of the small toe of a wearer of the stocking, wherein the first edge portion is inclined at a smaller angle relative to the longitudinal centre plane of the foot part of the stocking than the second edge portion.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for knitting a stocking, which method allows the use of different materials in specific regions of the stocking, thus improving wearer comfort.
This object is achieved by a method for knitting a stocking having the following method steps:
Particular configurations of the method according to the invention are the subject of claims 24 to 38, the advantages of which have already been described above in relation to the particular configurations of the stocking according to the invention.
Further features and advantages of the invention are the subject of the following description and the illustration of embodiments.
In the drawings:
Identical or functionally equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals in all of the figures.
A stocking illustrated in
The stocking 100 comprises a first region A, denoted by reference numeral 108, and a second region B, denoted by reference numeral 110, which are adjacent to each other along a transition line 112 and are knitted from different materials.
The region A is knitted from a first main yarn, on which a first plating yarn is under-plated, so the first plating yarn is located on the inside (left product side) of the first main yarn, and the first main yarn substantially completely covers the first plating yarn toward the outside (right product side) of the stocking.
The region A of the stocking 100 is therefore two-ply in its construction and comprises an inner ply, made from the first plating yarn, and an outer ply, made from the first main yarn.
As may be seen from
In order to achieve particularly good wearing properties in the region of the sole of the foot, a woollen yarn is preferably used as the first plating yarn in order to form the inner ply, facing the foot of the wearer of the stocking 100, of the region A.
Wool, as a material, is suitable for forming this inner ply, in particular owing to its very good moisture absorption, its good heat insulation capacity and its temperature-compensating properties.
The purposeful use of wool in the inner ply of the region A of the stocking 100 is particularly beneficial for absorbing sweat, since, owing to the physiology of the foot, approximately 60% of the perspiratory glands are located in the sole of the foot.
In conjunction with the over toe region 116, as many as 70% of all perspiratory glands are covered with wool as a result of the use of wool for the inner ply of the region A.
The material used as the first main yarn for forming the outer ply, which is remote from the foot of the wearer of the stocking 100, of the region A of the stocking 100 may be adapted according to the respective wearer requirements.
It is particularly beneficial if the outer ply of the region A comprises cotton, in particular mercerised cotton.
As a result of the use of cotton in the outer ply, in combination with wool in the inner ply of the region A, a natural fibre content of 100% is achieved in the region A.
Cotton, like wool, has good moisture absorption and, in particular in combination with wool, is comfortable to wear and provides a pleasant foot climate.
As a result of the combination of cotton and wool in the region A, particularly high moisture absorption and effective sweat transfer are achieved in the region A of the stocking 100.
Alternatively or additionally to the use of cotton in the outer ply of the region A, a synthetic material, in particular polyamide and/or polypropylene, may also be used in the outer ply of the region A.
Particularly good wear resistance is achieved as a result of the use of synthetic materials of this type in the outer ply of the region A.
Moreover, these materials have low to imperceptible moisture absorption, so they allow effective redrying of the stocking 100.
Particularly preferred is the use of polypropylene in the outer ply of the region A. Polypropylene does not absorb any moisture and therefore has a good moisture transfer capability.
In particular, if the stocking 100 is used in functional shoes comprising water vapour-permeable membranes, the moisture is transported highly effectively, in conjunction with an outer ply, which comprises polypropylene, away from the foot and out of the shoe.
The region B, which comprises the portions of the foot part 102 and the leg part 104 of the stocking 100 that are located outside of the region A, comprises, in the case of the embodiment illustrated in
This region B may be one-ply or multi-ply in its construction.
In the case of a preferred configuration of the stocking 100, the region B is two-ply in its construction and comprises a second main yarn, on which a second plating yarn is under-plated, so the second main yarn forms an outer ply, which is remote from the foot of the wearer of the stocking 100, of the region B, and the second plating yarn forms an inner ply, which faces the foot of the wearer of the stocking 100, of the region B.
Cotton is preferably used as the second main yarn for the outer ply of the region B.
Cotton is soft, easy-care and pleasant to wear, and therefore results in a high degree of wearer comfort in the leg and instep regions.
A resilient material, for example elastane, may, for example, be used as the second plating yarn for forming the inner ply of the region B.
The stocking 100 is produced on a single-cylinder circular knitting machine comprising at least two knitting systems, a first system and a second system, which diametrically oppose each other over the perimeter of the cylinder of the circular knitting machine. (The circular knitting machine may comprise further knitting systems, although these are not compulsory.)
The first system produces, in the region A, a plain knitted fabric from the material of the region A. The second system produces, in the region B, a plain knitted fabric from the material of the region B. The circular knitting machine is operated in oscillating mode in the stitch rows, which contain both stitches of the region A and stitches of the region B.
During this procedure region A is connected to the region B using the intarsia method.
A first option for connecting the regions A and B using the intarsia method is illustrated in the knitting pattern of
The circular knitting machine is accordingly operated in the oscillating mode, the material 131 of the region A (i.e. the first main yarn, which is plated with the first plating yarn) being knitted in the first system, and the material 133 of the region B (i.e. the second main yarn, which is plated with the second plating yarn) being knitted in the second system of the knitting machine.
The needles 125 of the knitting machine thus move to form a first stitch row, for example toward the left, by means of the first system, so the stitches 126 of the region A are knitted on the needles associated with the region A (see
The first needle 127, which is associated with the region B, captures the yarns of the material of the region A and forms a loop 128. This loop 128 of the material of the region A, is then knitted, together with a stitch 130 of the material of the region B, on the same needle 127 in the second system, in the same stitch row as the stitches 126 of the region A, so an interlocking stitch is formed.
Moreover, the further stitches 132 of the region B are knitted in the same stitch row in the second system.
For forming the following second stitch row, the shuttle direction is reversed, so the needles now move in the opposite direction.
Firstly, the stitches 134 of the material of the region B, are knitted in the second system.
The first needle 129, which is adjacent to the needles of the region B, of the region A captures the yarns of the material of the region B and forms a loop 136 therefrom.
The loop 136 of the material of the region B, is then knitted, together with a stitch 138 of the material of the region A, in the first system, in the same stitch row as the stitches 134 of the region B, so an interlocking stitch is formed, after which the further stitches 139 of the region A are knitted in the same stitch row.
As a result of the common knitting of the loops 128, 136 of the material of one region, together with the stitches 130 and 138 of the material of the respective other region, the plain knitted fabrics of the regions A and B are connected to each other, along the transition line 112, by interlocking in each stitch row, without float loops being produced or yarns having to be cut on the inside of the stocking.
The above-described procedure is then accordingly repeated during the knitting of the following stitch rows 3 and 4, and so on.
The schematic stitch structure resulting from this knitting pattern according to
The material of the region A in
It should also be noted that, in
The inside (left product side) of a stocking produced in the above-described manner, by means of the interlocking of two plain knitted fabrics, using the intarsia method, is illustrated in the photographic image of
As may be seen from
It is thus possible optimally to adapt the course of the transition line 112 between the regions A and B to the anatomy of the foot of the wearer of the stocking 100.
It may, in particular, be provided that the region A is asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal centre plane 148 of the foot part 102 or the leg part 104 of the stocking 100.
It may, in particular, be provided, as is schematically illustrated in
A particularly high degree of wearer comfort is thus achieved.
It may further be provided that the toe region 114 of the stocking 100 is also asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal centre plane 148 of the foot part 104, in order to allow more effective adaptation of the stocking 100 to the course of the toes of the wearer of the stocking 100 (see
It may, in particular, be provided that an inner edge portion 150, arranged on the side of the wearer's large toe, is inclined at a smaller angle relative to the longitudinal centre plane 148 of the foot part 102 than an outer edge portion 152, arranged on the side of the wearer's small toe.
A method for producing an asymmetrical toe region 114 of this type is disclosed in EP 1 049 828 B1.
Additional improvement in wearer comfort is achieved as a result of the asymmetrical shape of the toe region 114.
Owing to the asymmetry of the toe region 114 and/or the outer contour of the region A of the stocking 100, the left-foot stocking and the right-foot stocking of a pair are not identical with each other, but rather are mirror-symmetrical to each other.
It may therefore be provided to distinguish the two stockings of a pair using a—for example, knitted—marking, which may, for example, correspond to the letters “L” and “R”.
A second embodiment, illustrated in
As a result of the fact that the knitted fabrics of the regions A and B are not connected to one another in the stitch rows located between the stitch rows comprising interlocking, ventilation zones 154 are produced, in the transition region between the regions A and B, in the form of ventilation openings, which are in succession along the transition line 112 and are separated from one another by means of the interlocking, consisting of a respective interlocking stitch 128, 136 and a stitch 130 or 138, knitted together with the interlocking stitch, located therebetween.
These ventilation zones 154 promote the wearer comfort of the stocking 100.
In particular, they allow the transfer of moisture and the foot climate to be improved, as water vapour may be removed from the stocking 100 more effectively through the ventilation zones 154.
A stocking 100 comprising ventilation zones 154 in the transition region between the regions A and B, which extend over two respective stitch rows, is produced as follows using a knitting repeat pattern of six stitch rows according to the knitting pattern illustrated in
The circular knitting machine comprising the first system, which produces a plain knitted fabric in the region A, and a second system, which produces a plain knitted fabric in the region B, is in the oscillating mode.
In order to produce the stitch row 1, the needles 125 move, for example, toward the left.
After the knitting of the stitches 126 on the needles that are associated with the region A, the first needle 127, which is associated with the region B, captures the yarns of the material 131 of the region A and forms therefrom a loop 128, which is then knitted, in the second system, together with a stitch 130 of the material 133 of the region B, so an interlocking stitch is formed. After knitting of the further stitches 132 of the region B, the shuttle direction 123 is reversed, and the stitches 134 of the second stitch row are knitted in the region B in the second system, without a loop being captured on a needle associated with the region A.
The stitches 156 of the second stitch row and, once the shuttle direction has been reversed, the stitches 158 of the third stitch row are then knitted in the region A in the first system, without a loop of the material of the region A being captured on a needle associated with the region B.
In the second and third stitch rows, the regions A and B are therefore produced without interlocking stitches, thus forming a ventilation zone 154 extending through these stitch rows.
After the stitches 160 of the region B and, once the shuttle direction has been reversed, the stitches 134 of the fourth stitch row in the region B have been knitted in the second system, the final needle 129, which is associated with the region A, captures the yarns of the material of the region B and forms therefrom a loop 136.
This loop 136 is knitted with a stitch 138 of the material for the region A in the first system, on the same needle 129 and in the same stitch row. Interlockings, which connect the regions A and B and delimit the ventilation zone 154 formed in the second and third stitch rows, are thus formed in the fourth stitch row, as they are in the first stitch row.
The stitches 162 of the fourth stitch row in the region A and, once the shuttle direction has been reversed, the stitches 164 of the fifth stitch row in the region A are then knitted by means of the first system, without a loop of the material of the region A being formed on a needle associated with the region B.
The stitches 166 of the fifth stitch row in the region B and, once the shuttle direction has been reversed, the stitches 168 of the sixth stitch row in the region B are then knitted by means of the second system, without a loop of the material of the region B being formed on a needle associated with the region A.
In the fifth and sixth stitch rows, too, the regions A and B are therefore produced without interlocking stitches, thus forming a further ventilation zone 154.
After knitting of the stitches 170 of the sixth stitch row in the region A and, once the shuttle movement has been reversed, of the stitches 126 in the seventh stitch row of the region A, by means of the first system, the first needle 127, which is associated with the region B, again captures the yarns made of the material of the region A and forms therefrom a loop 128, which is then knitted in the second system, together with a stitch 130 of the material of the region B, in the same stitch row and on the same needle 127, in order to form interlockings, which delimit the second ventilation zone 154.
The knitting repeat pattern is thus repeated, as from the seventh stitch row.
The schematic stitch structure resulting from the knitting pattern according to
Moreover, the second embodiment, illustrated in
Further possible connections of the knitted fabrics of the regions A and B in the transition-region are possible.
It might, for example, be provided that the interlockings, connecting the two regions, in each stitch row comprise not only one respective loop, which is knitted together with a stitch of the material of the respective other region, but rather a plurality of adjacent loops, which are then respectively knitted together with a stitch of the material of the respective other region, thus forming a corresponding number of interlocking stitches.
It is also conceivable that—in the event of the formation of ventilation zones 154—not only one respective stitch row comprising interlocking is provided between two ventilation zones 154, in succession along the transition line 112, but rather a plurality of successive stitch rows are provided, each of which is provided with at least one interlocking stitch.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2004 058 959.3 | Dec 2004 | DE | national |
