Method for knitting perforated lace fabric by flat knitting machine

Abstract

A knitted fabric (53) having perforated lace formed of lace yarn (49) and pattern yarn (51) is knitted using a flat knitting machine equipped with compound needles. In order to knit the knitted fabric (53) having perforated lace by using a flat knitting machine comprising knitting needles (1), a cam system (10) and a stitch presser foot (9), the pattern yarn (51) is not drawn in and floated, and only the lace yarn (49) is drawn in to form a loop at the hook (7) on the knitting needle (B) for knitting a base portion (55), and both the lace yarn (49) and the pattern yarn (51) are drawn in to form a loop at the hook (7) of the knitting needle (P) for knitting a pattern portion (57) by the advance and retreat control of the combined needle body (3) and the slider (5) and the pressing control of the stitch presser foot (9).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for knitting a perforated lace fabric by a flat knitting machine. Background Art

[0002] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG, the perforated lace knitted fabric 53 is a knitted fabric including: a base portion 55 in which a loop is formed as a whole by the lace yarn 49; a pattern portion 57 in which a loop is formed in a state in which the pattern yarn 51 is aligned with the lace yarn 49; and a portion other than the pattern portion in which the pattern yarn 51 is formed by a float. Perforated lace is sometimes called a watermark pattern.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for knitting a perforated lace fabric using a flat knitting machine. However, the knitting method described in Patent Document 1 is a method of knitting using a flat knitting machine equipped with crochet needles as knitting needles, and does not disclose a method of knitting using a flat knitting machine equipped with compound needles that relatively move a needle body with a hook and a slider to open and close the hook.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: EP3556921A1 Summary of the Invention

[0007] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for knitting a punched lace fabric using a flat knitting machine equipped with compound needles.

[0009] Means of solving the problem

[0010] In the present invention, a method for knitting a knitted fabric with perforated lace using a flat knitting machine is provided, wherein the flat knitting machine is equipped with:

[0011] a compound needle comprising a needle body having a hook serving as a knitting needle on a needle bed and a slider, the slider moving relative to the needle body to open and close the hook;

[0012] a compound needle control unit configured to control the advance and retreat of the needle body and the slider of the compound needle;

[0013] a lace yarn feeder and a pattern yarn feeder as yarn feeders that travel on the needle bed and supply knitting yarn to the knitting needles, the lace yarn feeder being configured to supply the lace yarn as the bottom yarn and the pattern yarn feeder being configured to supply the pattern yarn as the top yarn; and

[0014] a stitch presser foot configured to act on a knitting yarn portion extending from the yarn feeder to the knitting needles and push downward;

[0015] The lace yarn forms a base of the braid having looped loops;

[0016] The pattern yarn forms a loop in a state where the pattern portion is aligned with the lace yarn, and the portion other than the pattern portion is floated; wherein,

[0017] The process of weaving the perforated lace comprises the following steps:

[0018] Selecting a base needle for forming the base portion of the knitted fabric and a pattern needle for forming the pattern portion by the compound needle control unit, advancing the needle bodies and the sliders of the base needle and the pattern needle to positions capable of disengaging the bent yarn held on the hook, and moving each yarn feeder so that the needle is in the following state: the hook is opened, and the lace yarn of the portion extending from each yarn feeder to the needle is within the advance and retreat path of the hook, and the pattern yarn is at a height above the advance and retreat path of the hook;

[0019] Further advancing only the slider of the base knitting needle by the compound needle control unit, and allowing the distal end of the slider to enter between the lace yarn and the pattern yarn;

[0020] The compound needle control unit is used to retract the needle bodies of the base knitting needle and the pattern knitting needle by a predetermined amount, so that the distal end of the slider abuts against the hook of the base knitting needle to close the hook, and the hook in the pattern knitting needle is maintained in an open state; then the stitch presser foot is further lowered to push the pattern yarn portion extending from the pattern yarn feeder downward into the advance and retreat path of the hook of the pattern knitting needle in the state where the hook is open;

[0021] The needle bodies of the base knitting needle and the pattern knitting needle are retracted by the compound needle control unit, so that the base knitting needle forms a loop by pulling in only the lace yarn without pulling in the pattern yarn and causing the pattern yarn to float, and the pattern knitting needle forms a loop by pulling in both the lace yarn and the pattern yarn with the hook.

[0022] Preferably, by repeating the above steps, a plurality of base portions and pattern portions are continuously formed in the row direction.

[0023] Preferably, the compound needle control unit is constructed by a cam system mounted on a carriage of the flat knitting machine.

[0024] Preferably, the cam system includes a slider switching presser foot and a slider side lifting cam, the slider switching presser foot causes the heel of the slider to sink into the needle groove by pressing, and the slider side lifting cam acts on the heel of the slider; and the pattern yarn and the lace yarn form a loop coil, or the slider switching presser foot and the slider side lifting cam cause only the pattern yarn to float.

[0025] Effects of the Invention

[0026] In the present invention, even in a flat knitting machine equipped with compound needles, according to the needle selection of the knitting needle, it is possible to knit a perforated lace fabric by combining the advance and retreat control of the needle body and the slider with the downward push of the knitting yarn by the stitch presser foot.

[0027] By controlling the advance and retreat of the knitting needles using a single cam system, it is possible to complete course knitting of punched lace knitted fabrics, thereby enabling efficient knitting. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a cam system of a flat knitting machine for knitting a punched lace fabric according to one embodiment.

[0029] Figure 2 (a) to Figure 2 (e) is shown Figure 1 A diagram showing the states on the tooth gaps of the knitting needles B and P at the respective X, Y, and Z positions in FIG.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing a perforated lace fabric. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Below, we will refer to Figures 1 to 3 An embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0032] Example

[0033] In this embodiment, a method for knitting a perforated lace fabric using a two-bed flat knitting machine will be described. A plurality of compound needles are arranged on the needle bed 2 of the flat knitting machine as the knitting needles 1. A carriage (not shown) including a cam system 10 reciprocates on the needle bed to operate the knitting needles 1 to advance and retreat, and a plurality of yarn feeders are provided on the flat knitting machine, which supply knitting yarn to the knitting needles 1. As the knitting needles 1, the same structure as that of the known flat knitting machine disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2917146 can be applied, as the presser foot mounted on the cam system 10, the needle bed and the needle selection mechanism, the same structure as that of Japanese Patent No. 5057996 can be applied, and as the coil presser foot 9 for pressing the knitting yarn, the same structure as that of the known flat knitting machine disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4102430 can be applied, and therefore their description will be omitted here.

[0034] <Knitting Needles>

[0035] The knitting needle 1 includes a needle body 3 having a hook 7 at the distal end, and a slider 5 that moves relative to the needle body 3 to open and close the hook 7. Each of the needle body 3 and the slider 5 is provided with a heel, and when acted upon by a cam system 10 described later, the needle body 3 and the slider 5 advance and retreat relative to the tooth gap.

[0036] <Cam system>

[0037] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing a cam system 10 mounted on a carriage. This cam system 10 is configured to perform a stitch-tuck-float pattern, but in addition to this configuration, the cam system 10 can be a composite cam system capable of shifting bent yarns. Multiple cam systems 10 can be mounted on the carriage. The cam system 10 serves as a composite needle control unit, controlling the forward and backward movement of the needle body 3 and slider 5 of the knitting needle 1.

[0038] Figure 1 The cam system 10 is shown in a state where it is moving to the left to perform knitting. The cam system 10 includes: a presser foot unit 13 that acts on the butt of a selector jack (not shown); a needle body control cam unit 21 that acts on the butt of the needle body 3 of the knitting needle 1; and a slider control cam unit 31 that acts on the butt of the slider 5.

[0039] The presser foot unit 13 is provided corresponding to the butt of a selector jack selected at three positions of A, H, and B by a needle selection mechanism (not shown) provided below the presser foot unit 13 .

[0040] A fixed hemming presser foot 15 is provided at position B, a tuck presser foot 17 is provided at position H, and a pair of left and right slider switching presser feet 19 are provided at position A. The tuck presser foot 17 and the slider switching presser foot 19 can be extended and retracted by an electromagnet and can be switched to an active position or an inactive position. Figure 1 As shown in FIG-C, the presser foot presses the butt of the selector jack accommodated in the needle groove, causing the butt to sink into the needle groove. Consequently, the butts of the needle body 3 and slider 5, which are accommodated below the selector jack, also sink into the needle groove and are not affected by the cam. As described above, the slider switching presser foot 19 of this embodiment acts on the butt of the selector jack. However, in the case where the slider has two butts (a first butt and a second butt) at the front and rear, as in Japanese Patent No. 3292836, the slider switching presser foot can act on the first butt (auxiliary butt) at the front to cause the second butt to sink.

[0041] The needle body control cam unit 21 is arranged above the presser foot unit 13. A needle lifting cam and a bridge cam 25 are arranged in the center, and a yarn bending cam 27 is arranged on the left and right sides, with the needle lifting cam 23 and the bridge cam 25 interposed between the yarn bending cam 27. The needle lifting cam 23 serves as a lifting cam, which acts on the heel of the needle body 3 to raise the needle body 3 to the knitting position. The bridge cam 25 pulls the heel of the needle body 3 downward and guides the heel to the subsequent yarn bending cam 27. A slider control cam unit 31 is arranged above the needle body control cam unit 21. A slider lifting cam 33 is arranged in the center, and slider side lifting cams 35 are arranged on its right and left sides. The slider side lifting cam 35 and the slider switching presser foot 19 are arranged in the same phase in the forward direction of the carriage. Note that in the slider switching presser foot 19, only the rear side in the forward direction of the carriage is the active position, and the leading side is the inactive position.

[0042] Since the heel of the selector jack at position B is pressed by the piping presser foot 15 during the advancement of the carriage, the knitting needle 1 at this position is not affected by the needle lifting cam 23 and the slider lifting cam 33, so the knitting needle does not form a bent yarn (floating yarn).

[0043] When the tuck presser foot 17 is in position H, it causes the needle body 3 and the butt of the slider 5 to sink, releasing their engagement with the cams before the top of the needle lift cam 23, and each butt passes through route 42 (tuck) without being acted upon by the slider center lift cam 33. When the tuck presser foot 17 is in the inactive position, the needle body 3 and the butt of the slider 5 rise along the inclined surfaces of the needle lift cam 23 and the slider center lift cam 33, respectively. Thereafter, the butt of the slider 5 rises due to the action of the slider side lift cam 35, passing through route 41 indicated by the dotted line in the figure. Knitting at this time will be described later.

[0044] When the slider switching presser foot 19 is in the inactive position at position A, the heel traverses the same route as when the tuck presser foot 17 is inactive at the aforementioned position H. When the rear-side slider switching presser foot 19 is in the active position at position A, the heel of the needle body 3 and the heel of the slider 5 rise along the inclined surfaces of the needle lift cam 23 and the slider center lift cam 33, respectively, and are then pressed by the slider switching presser foot 19, causing the heel of the slider 5 to move linearly without engaging with the slider side lift cam 35 and to descend when acted upon by the slider guide cam 39. As a result, the heels of the needle body 3 and the slider 5 traverse the route 40 indicated by the solid line (loop formation).

[0045] <Coil presser foot>

[0046] As described in Japanese Patent No. 4102430, the stitch presser foot 9 is mounted on an auxiliary bed (not shown) above the needle bed. It is moved forward and backward relative to the needle gap by a stitch presser foot control cam (not shown) mounted on the carriage, and lowered above the needle gap to push the knitting yarn downward. While it is possible to provide a stitch presser foot 9 for each of the multiple needles, it is preferable to provide a stitch presser foot 9 corresponding to each needle 1. This allows the pattern portion of the punch lace fabric to be formed using any needle. This provides the advantage of eliminating pattern restrictions.

[0047] <Yarn feeder>

[0048] exist Figure 1 The feeder is shown in the figure at the upper part of the carriage. The leading side in the forward direction of the carriage is the lace feeder 45, and the rear side is the pattern feeder 47. The lace feeder 45 is ahead of the pattern feeder 47, so that the lace yarn 49 extending to the knitting needle 1 is positioned lower than the pattern yarn 51, and the height of the lace feeder 45 is set lower. Instead of this construction, as long as a height difference is obtained between the lace yarn 49 and the pattern yarn 51, if, for example, the lace feeder 45 is made to be significantly ahead, the height of each feeder can be the same. Since the lace yarn 49 is located below the pattern yarn 51, the lace yarn can be called the lower yarn, and the pattern yarn can be called the upper yarn. When transparent nylon-based lace yarn is used as the lace yarn 49, a visual effect such as the floating of the pattern yarn portion can be obtained, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of yarn can be used.

[0049] <Piercing lace braid>

[0050] The following describes a method for knitting a punch lace fabric using a flat knitting machine having such a configuration. In this embodiment, a case where needle 1 at position A passes through route 40 and needle 1 at position H passes through route 41 will be described as an example. During the knitting of the punch lace fabric, needle 1 is selected at position H to knit the fabric base 55 with lace yarn 49, and needle 1 is selected at position A to knit the pattern portion 57. In this embodiment, the needle selected at position A is referred to as a pattern needle (hereinafter referred to as needle P), and the needle selected at position H is referred to as a base needle (hereinafter referred to as needle B). In the cam system 10, the leading slider switching presser foot 19 and tuck presser foot 17 are set to their inactive positions, and the trailing slider switching presser foot 19 is set to its active position.

[0051] First, when the carriage advances in the left direction with each yarn feeder, the needle bodies 3 of the knitting needles B and P and the slider 5 all pass through the route 40 and arrive at the position X. Figure 2(a) illustrates the current state of the tooth gap. Due to the difference in the amount of cam advance, the needle body 3 and the slider 5 are in a state where the hook 7 is open, with a distance between the distal end of the hook 7 and the slider 5. The lace yarn 49 is within the advance and retreat path of the hook 7, and the pattern yarn 51 is above the advance and retreat path of the hook 7. The stitch presser foot 9 is advanced to a position further above the pattern yarn 51.

[0052] After position X, the sliders 5 of needles B and P take different routes. Since the slider switching presser foot 19 is set to the active position at position A, the slider 5 of needle P is not affected by the slider-side lifting cam 35 and passes through route 40 for forming a completed loop. Meanwhile, since there is no presser foot at position H, the slider 5 of needle B is lifted to position Y via route 41 by the slider-side lifting cam 35. Figure 2 (b) shows the state of the tooth gap at this time, and the distal end of the slider 5 of the knitting needle B enters between the lace yarn 49 and the pattern yarn 51. At this time, the stitch presser foot 9 is lowered to a position abutting on the pattern yarn 51. Figure 2 (c) shows the state of the teeth of the knitting needle P at position A, which is the same as Figure 2 (a) Approximately the same state.

[0053] At position Z, the slider 5 of the knitting needle B is at approximately the same height as position Y, but since the needle body 3 descends along the descending surface of the bridge 25, the hook 7 abuts on the distal end of the slider 5 to close the hook. Figure 2 (d) shows the state of the teeth of the knitting needle B at this time. The lace yarn 49 is held in the hook 7, and the stitch presser foot 9 is further lowered to push the pattern yarn 51 downward, but since the hook 7 of the knitting needle B has been closed by the slider 5, the hook 7 does not bite the pattern yarn 51. Figure 2 In (d), the pattern yarn 51 is omitted. Figure 2 (e) shows the state of the teeth of the knitting needle P at position Z. Figure 2 While in the state (c), the needle body 3 is lowered along the descending surface of the bridge 25, and by further lowering the coil presser foot 9, the pattern yarn 51 is pushed downward into the advance and retreat path of the hook 3 of the knitting needle P.

[0054] Afterward, the knitting needle P at position A pulls in both the lace yarn 49 and the pattern yarn 51 to form a knitted loop. Meanwhile, the knitting needle B at position H pulls only the lace yarn 49 into the hook 7. Since the pattern yarn 51 is outside the closed hook 7, a knitted loop consisting solely of the lace yarn 49 is formed, and the pattern yarn 51 is left floating. In this way, in the punched lace fabric 53, the base 55 is formed by the lace yarn 49, and the pattern yarn 51 is in a state where only the portion forming the pattern portion 57 forms a knitted loop while aligned with the lace yarn 49. In the portion other than the pattern portion 57, the pattern yarn 51 does not form a loop and is left floating, extending horizontally. In this way, by controlling the advance and retraction of the knitting needle 1 using a single cam system 10, it is possible to complete the course knitting of the punched lace fabric. This allows for efficient knitting of various combinations of the base 55 and the pattern portion 57, continuing in the course direction. Furthermore, by arranging the base portion 55 and the pattern portion 57 in combination in the wale direction, various patterns can be formed in the knitted fabric 53 .

[0055] In the above embodiment, the needle body 3 and slider 5 of the knitting needle 1 are advanced and retracted by the slider switching presser foot 19 and the slider side lifting cam 35 via a carriage including a cam system 10. However, other configurations may be employed as long as the necessary motion for knitting a punch lace fabric can be imparted to the knitting needle 1. Of course, it is also possible to perform knitting using a carriage-less flat knitting machine, for example, by providing a drive mechanism on the knitting needle 1 itself to control the needle body 3 and slider 5. Furthermore, each feeder 45, 47 may be a type that moves while being driven by the carriage, or a type in which the feeder itself includes an independent drive source and moves independently of the carriage. A punch lace fabric in which the relationship between the lace yarn and the pattern yarn is interchangeable can be knitted by interchanging the relationship between the feeder on the leading side, which serves as the lower yarn, and the feeder on the trailing side, which serves as the upper yarn.

[0056] Description of Reference Signs

[0057] 1 knitting needle

[0058] 2 needle bed

[0059] 3-pin body

[0060] 5 Sliders

[0061] 7 Hook

[0062] 9 Coil presser foot

[0063] 10 Cam system

[0064] 13 Presser foot unit

[0065] 15 Hemming foot

[0066] 17 Tuck foot

[0067] 19 Slider to switch presser foot

[0068] 21 needle body control cam unit

[0069] 23-pin lifting cam

[0070] 25 bridge cam

[0071] 27 Yarn bending cam

[0072] 31 Slide control cam unit

[0073] 33 Slider lifting cam

[0074] 35 Slider side lifting cam

[0075] 37 Slide center guide cam

[0076] 39 Slider guide cam

[0077] Routes 40, 41, and 42

[0078] 45 Lace Feeder

[0079] 47 Pattern Yarn Feeder

[0080] 49 lace yarn

[0081] 51 pattern yarn

[0082] 53 Braid

[0083] 55 base

[0084] 57 Pattern part

Claims

1. A method for knitting a perforated lace fabric by a flat knitting machine, the flat knitting machine being equipped with: a compound needle comprising a needle body having a hook serving as a knitting needle on a needle bed and a slider, the slider moving relative to the needle body to open and close the hook; a compound needle control unit configured to control the advance and retreat of the needle body and the slider of the compound needle; a lace yarn feeder and a pattern yarn feeder as yarn feeders that travel on the needle bed and supply knitting yarn to the knitting needles, the lace yarn feeder being configured to supply lace yarn as a bottom yarn and the pattern yarn feeder being configured to supply pattern yarn as an upper yarn; and A loop presser foot is configured to further act on the knitting yarn portion extending from the yarn feeder to the knitting needle and push it downward, the lace yarn forming the base of the knitted fabric having loops, the pattern yarn forms loops in a state where the pattern portion is aligned with the lace yarn, and floats the portion other than the pattern portion to form perforated lace, wherein in the process of knitting the perforated lace, the method is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: Selecting a base needle for forming the base portion of the knitted fabric and a pattern needle for forming the pattern portion by the compound needle control unit, advancing the needle bodies and the sliders of the base needle and the pattern needle to positions capable of disengaging the bent yarn held on the hook, and moving each yarn feeder so that the needle is in the following state: the hook is opened, and the lace yarn of the portion extending from each yarn feeder to the needle is within the advance and retreat path of the hook, and the pattern yarn is at a height above the advance and retreat path of the hook; Further advancing only the slider of the base knitting needle by the compound needle control unit, and allowing the distal end of the slider to enter between the lace yarn and the pattern yarn; retracting the needle bodies of the base knitting needle and the pattern knitting needle by a predetermined amount through the compound needle control unit so that the distal end of the slider abuts against the hook of the base knitting needle to close the hook, and the hook of the pattern knitting needle is maintained in an open state; Then, the stitch presser foot is further lowered to push the pattern yarn portion extending from the pattern yarn feeder downward into the advance and retreat path of the hook of the pattern knitting needle in a state where the hook is opened; The needle bodies of the base knitting needle and the pattern knitting needle are retracted by the compound needle control unit, so that the base knitting needle forms a loop by pulling in only the lace yarn without pulling in the pattern yarn and causing the pattern yarn to float, and the pattern knitting needle forms a loop by pulling in both the lace yarn and the pattern yarn with the hook.

2. The method for knitting a perforated lace fabric by a flat knitting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that A plurality of base portions and pattern portions are continuously formed in the row direction by repeating each step.

3. The method for knitting a perforated lace fabric by a flat knitting machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The compound needle control unit is a cam system installed on the carriage of the flat knitting machine.

4. The method for knitting a perforated lace fabric by a flat knitting machine according to claim 3, characterized in that The cam system includes a slider switching presser foot and a slider side lifting cam, the slider switching presser foot causes the heel of the slider to sink into the needle groove by pressing, and the slider side lifting cam acts on the heel of the slider; and the pattern yarn and the lace yarn form a loop coil, or the slider switching presser foot and the slider side lifting cam cause only the pattern yarn to float.

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