Double knit circular knitted fabric, knitted fabric product, double knit circular knitted fabric manufacturing method, and knitted fabric presser

Abstract

To provide a new double knit circular knitted fabric capable of suppressing entering of dust between a front knitted fabric and a rear knitted fabric from holes on a surface at low cost.SOLUTION: A double knit circular knitted fabric 1 comprises: a front knitted fabric 10 having a stitch structure 12 of a front yarn 11; a rear knitted fabric 20 having a stitch structure 22 of a rear yarn 21; and a connection structure 30 to connect the front knitted fabric 10 and the rear knitted fabric 20 by a connecting yarn 31. The front knitted fabric 10 has a bottomed hole 40 that is recessed from a front surface 13 and linked to the rear knitted fabric 20. The front yarn 11 pulled by the rear knitted fabric 20 is disposed on a lateral surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a double knit circular fabric, a knitted product, a method for producing a double knit circular fabric, and a fabric presser. [Background technology]

[0002] A thick double raschel knitted fabric having a mesh structure is used as an upholstery material for automobile seats. This double raschel knitted fabric has a three-dimensional structure in which a front knitted fabric having a mesh structure and a back knitted fabric are joined together with a connecting yarn. The double raschel knitted fabric is knitted by a double raschel machine, which is a type of warp knitting machine. A plurality of holes constituting the mesh structure knitted by the double raschel machine penetrate the front knitted fabric. Therefore, the back knitted fabric can be seen through each through-hole of the front knitted fabric. In the double raschel knitted fabric shown in Patent Document 1, the back knitted fabric seen through a first mesh row of the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric seen through a second mesh row of the front knitted fabric have different hues. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Registered Utility Model No. 3080618 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, double raschel knitted fabrics are expensive. Also, if debris such as candy crumbs or hair gets into the holes in the front knitted fabric, the debris may get into the gap between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, making it impossible to remove the debris from the double raschel knitted fabric. The above-mentioned problems may also occur in the covering materials of child seats, nursing beds, and the like.

[0005] The present invention discloses a novel knitted fabric that can inexpensively prevent dirt from entering between the front and back knitted fabrics through holes on the surface, a knitted product using the knitted fabric, a method for manufacturing the knitted fabric, and a knitted fabric presser used in the manufacturing method. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The double knit circular knitted fabric of the present invention is A front knitted fabric having a stitch structure of a front yarn; A back knitted fabric having a back yarn stitch structure; A bonding structure in which the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric are bonded together with a bonding yarn, The front knitted fabric has a blind hole recessed from the surface and connected to the back knitted fabric, and the front yarn drawn into the back knitted fabric has a blind hole arranged on a side surface.

[0007] The knitted product of the present invention has an embodiment in which the double knit circular fabric is used.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for producing a double knit circular knit fabric using a double knit circular knitting machine including a cylinder having a plurality of cylinder needles arranged thereon, a dial having a plurality of dial needles arranged thereon, a needle selecting device, and a support member located outside the cylinder, the method comprising the steps of: a holding step of holding the knitted fabric at the pressing position between the plurality of cylinder needles and the plurality of dial needles by a spring steel wire connected from a pressing tool base attached to the support to the pressing position so that the knitting yarn does not become entangled at the pressing position; The knitting method has an aspect including a control process for controlling the operation of the plurality of cylinder needles and the plurality of dial needles as well as the supply of the knitting yarn so as to knit a double knit circular fabric comprising a front knitted fabric having a stitch structure of a front yarn contained in the knitting yarn, a back knitted fabric having a stitch structure of a back yarn contained in the knitting yarn, and a bonding structure in which the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric are bonded together with a bonding yarn contained in the knitting yarn, the front knitted fabric having a bottomed hole recessed from the surface and connected to the back knitted fabric, and the front yarn drawn into the back knitted fabric being arranged on the side of the bottomed hole.

[0009] Furthermore, the knitted fabric presser of the present invention is a knitted fabric presser that is attached to a double knit circular knitting machine including a cylinder on which a plurality of cylinder needles are arranged, a dial on which a plurality of dial needles are arranged, a needle selecting device, and a support outside the cylinder, and that holds the knitted fabric at a presser position between the plurality of cylinder needles and the plurality of dial needles so that the knitted yarn does not become entangled, A presser base attached to the support; A spring steel wire connected from the presser base to the pressing position so as to hold the knitted fabric at the pressing position; The present invention has an aspect comprising: Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a new double knit circular fabric that can inexpensively prevent dirt from entering between the front and back knit fabrics through holes on the surface, a knitted product using the double knit circular fabric, a method for manufacturing the double knit circular fabric, and a fabric presser used in the manufacturing method. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic example of a double knit circular fabric. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic example of a structure of a double knit circular fabric. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of knitting a double knit circular fabric. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an example of a main part of a double knit circular knitting machine to which a fabric presser is attached. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic example of a fabric pressing tool. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a positional relationship between a needle and a fabric presser. [Figure 7] Photo of double knit circular fabric sample. [Figure 8] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a schematic example of how intrusion of dust into a gap between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric through holes in the surface is suppressed. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a double raschel knitted fabric of a comparative example. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a fabric presser having a hard metal plate having a chipped portion in a comparative example. [Figure 11] Photograph of a comparative double knit circular fabric sample. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following embodiments of the present invention will be described. Of course, the following embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention, and not all of the features shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0013] (1) Overview of the technology included in this invention: First, the outline of the technology included in the present invention will be described with reference to the examples shown in Figures 1 to 11. The figures in the present application are diagrams showing examples in a schematic manner, and the magnification ratios in each direction shown in these figures may differ, and the figures may not be consistent with each other. Of course, each element of the present technology is not limited to the specific example shown by the symbol. In addition, in the present application, a numerical range "Min to Max" means equal to or greater than the minimum value Min and equal to or less than the maximum value Max.

[0014] [Aspect 1] 1, 2, etc., a double knit circular fabric 1 according to one embodiment of the present technology includes a front knitted fabric 10 having a stitch structure 12 of a front yarn 11, a back knitted fabric 20 having a stitch structure 22 of a back yarn 21, and a bonding structure 30 in which the front knitted fabric 10 and the back knitted fabric 20 are bonded together with a bonding yarn 31. The front knitted fabric 10 has a bottomed hole 40 recessed from a surface 13 and connected to the back knitted fabric 20, and the front yarn 11 drawn into the back knitted fabric 20 is disposed on a side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40.

[0015] Since the front knitted fabric 10 and the back knitted fabric 20 are bonded with the bonding yarn 31, the double knit circular fabric 1 is thick and can be used as a corrugated knit (carton knit) or the like. The front knitted fabric 10 having a stitch structure 12 of the front yarn 11 which is a weft yarn has a bottomed hole 40 recessed from the surface 13 and connected to the back knitted fabric 20, and the front yarn 11 drawn into the back knitted fabric 20 is arranged on the side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40. As a result, even if trash such as candy crumbs 301 and hair 302 enters the bottomed hole 40 as exemplified in Fig. 8, the intrusion of the trash between the front knitted fabric 10 and the back knitted fabric 20 is suppressed.

[0016] 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a double raschel knitted fabric 801 of a comparative example. The double raschel knitted fabric 801 includes a front knitted fabric knitted to have a plurality of through holes by swinging the front yarn 11, which is a warp thread, in the weft direction, a back knitted fabric knitted by swinging the back yarn 21, which is a warp thread, in the weft direction, and a binding structure in which the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric are bound by a binding yarn 31. Because of the structure of the double raschel machine, the front yarn 11 does not turn to the back, so the binding yarn 31 appears on the side of a hole 840 visible in the front knitted fabric. For this reason, when trash such as candy scraps 301 and hair 302 enters the hole 840, the trash (301, 302) enters between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, and it may be impossible to remove the trash (301, 302) from the double raschel knitted fabric 801.

[0017] In the double knit circular fabric 1 exemplified in Fig. 8 etc., the face yarn 11 drawn into the back fabric 20 is arranged on the side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40, so that the intrusion of dust from the bottomed hole 40 into the gap between the face fabric 10 and the back fabric 20 is suppressed. Therefore, the above-mentioned mode 1 can provide a novel double knit circular fabric that can inexpensively suppress the intrusion of dust from the holes on the surface into the gap between the face fabric and the back fabric.

[0018] Here, the bottomed hole means a hole having a bottom. The front yarn is pulled into the back knitted fabric at the bottom of the bottomed hole of the front knitted fabric, and the bottomed hole has a size of at least one course in the warp (vertical) direction. The above remarks also apply to the following aspects.

[0019] [Aspect 2] There may be a plurality of blind holes 40. The surface 13 of the face knitted fabric 10 may have a pattern 14 formed by the plurality of blind holes 40. This embodiment can provide a novel double knit circular knitted fabric having a pattern on the surface formed by the plurality of blind holes.

[0020] [Aspect 3] The plurality of bottomed holes 40 may include bottomed grooves 44 whose longitudinal direction is oriented in the warp direction D2. This embodiment can provide a novel double knit circular fabric having bottomed grooves on its surface whose longitudinal direction is oriented in the warp direction.

[0021] [Aspect 4] A knitted product according to one aspect of the present technology is a knitted product using the double knit circular fabric 1. This aspect can provide a knitted product using a novel double knit circular fabric that can inexpensively prevent dust from entering between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric through holes on the surface. Here, the knitted product includes a product in which a double knit circular fabric is cut into a product shape, a product in which the edges of the cut double knit circular fabric are processed by sewing or the like, a product in which the cut double knit circular fabrics are sewn together, etc. The knitted product may include an accessory different from the double knit circular fabric. The knitted product includes a cover material for a vehicle seat, a cover material for a child car seat, a cover material for a nursing bed, etc.

[0022] Incidentally, the above-mentioned double knit circular fabric 1 can be manufactured by a double knit circular knitting machine 200 including a cylinder 210 on which a plurality of cylinder needles 211 are arranged, a dial 220 on which a plurality of dial needles 221 are arranged, a needle selection device 230, and a support 240 on the outside of the cylinder 210, as illustrated in FIG. 4. If the double knit circular fabric 1 is thick like a corrugated knit, it is necessary to raise the position of the dial 220 to widen the gap between the cylinder 210 and the dial 220. When the position of the dial 220 is raised, the knitted fabric 50 connected to the knitting yarn 51 is lifted, and if there is no knitted fabric holder, the knitted yarn 51 may become entangled. Therefore, it is considered to attach a knitted fabric holder to the support 240 to hold the knitted fabric 50 so that the knitted yarn 51 does not become entangled at the holding position P1 between the plurality of cylinder needles 211 and the plurality of dial needles 221.

[0023] In order to knit a double knit circular fabric having a pattern such as bottomed holes 40, a fabric presser having a hard metal plate connecting from the presser base attached to the support 240 to the presser position P1 was attached to the support 240, and it was found that defects occurred in the double knit circular fabric. Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a fabric presser 900 of a comparative example. The fabric presser 900 is provided with a hard metal plate 920 that holds the fabric so that the knitting yarn does not get tangled between the cylinder needles and the dial needles. As shown in the double-dashed line box in Fig. 10, the cross section of the hard metal plate 920 is substantially rectangular. When the fabric presser 900 was checked, a portion 930 was confirmed in the hard metal plate 920 that had been scraped off due to the cylinder needle hitting the vertical surface on the cylinder needle side.

[0024] FIG. 11 shows a photograph of a comparative double knit circular fabric sample. When the operation of the double knit circular knitting machine was checked, it was confirmed that defects such as yarn breakage as shown in FIG. 11 occurred in the double knit circular fabric when the knitting yarn got caught on the scraped portion 930 of the hard metal plate 920.

[0025] It is therefore desirable to prevent defects from occurring in the double knit circular fabric due to the knitting yarn getting caught in a scraped portion of the fabric presser.

[0026] [Aspect 5] A double knit circular fabric manufacturing method according to one embodiment of the present technology is a method for manufacturing a double knit circular fabric 1 using a double knit circular knitting machine 200 having a cylinder 210 in which a plurality of cylinder needles 211 are arranged, a dial 220 in which a plurality of dial needles 221 are arranged, a needle selection device 230, and a support body 240 located outside the cylinder 210, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, and includes the following steps. (a1) Holding process ST1 in which a spring steel wire 120 connected from a presser base 110 attached to the support 240 to a presser position P1 between the plurality of cylinder needles 211 and the plurality of dial needles 221 holds the knitted fabric 50 so that the knitting yarn 51 does not become entangled at the presser position P1. (a2) A control process ST2 for controlling the operation of the plurality of cylinder needles 211 and the plurality of dial needles 221 and the supply of the knitting yarn 51 so that a double knit circular fabric 1 is knitted, the double knit circular fabric 1 comprising a front knitted fabric 10 having a stitch structure 12 of a front yarn 11 contained in the knitting yarn 51, a back knitted fabric 20 having a stitch structure 22 of a back yarn 21 contained in the knitting yarn 51, and a bonding structure 30 in which the front knitted fabric 10 and the back knitted fabric 20 are bonded together with a bonding yarn 31 contained in the knitting yarn 51, the front knitted fabric 10 having a bottomed hole 40 recessed from the surface 13 and connected to the back knitted fabric 20, and the front yarn 11 drawn into the back knitted fabric 20 being arranged on the side 43 of the bottomed hole 40.

[0027] Even if the needle hits the spring steel wire 120, the spring steel wire 120 bends due to elasticity, so that a specific portion of the spring steel wire 120 is prevented from being scraped off. This makes it possible to manufacture a double knit circular fabric 1 in which defects caused by the knitting yarn 51 getting caught in the scraped portion in the knitting presser are suppressed. In the obtained double knit circular fabric 1, the front yarn 11 is arranged on the side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40 that is recessed from the front surface 13 and connected to the back knit fabric 20, so that the intrusion of dust from the bottomed hole 40 into the gap between the front knit fabric 10 and the back knit fabric 20 is suppressed. Therefore, the above embodiment can provide a method for manufacturing a double knit circular fabric that can inexpensively suppress the intrusion of dust from the holes on the surface into the gap between the front knit fabric and the back knit fabric. Here, the spring steel wire includes piano wire, stainless steel wire for springs, hard steel wire usable for springs (for example, oil-tempered wire for springs), etc. This remark is also applied to the following aspects.

[0028] [Aspect 6] The spring steel wire 120 may have an elliptical cross section with a maximum diameter of 0.7 to 1.2 mm, including a circular cross section with a diameter of 0.7 to 1.2 mm. In the above cases, the spring steel wire 120 having an elliptical cross section (including a circular cross section) that is struck by the cylinder needle 211 escapes to the side of the cylinder needle 211, further preventing a specific portion of the spring steel wire 120 from being scraped off. Therefore, the above embodiment can further prevent defects in the double knit circular fabric caused by the knitting yarn getting caught in a scraped portion of the fabric presser.

[0029] [Aspect 7] The fabric presser 100 including the presser base 110 and the spring steel wire 120 suppresses the above-mentioned defects in the double knit circular fabric 1, and realizes a double knit circular fabric 1 that can inexpensively suppress the intrusion of dust from holes in the surface 13 into between the front knit fabric 10 and the back knit fabric 20. The fabric presser 100 according to one aspect of the present technology is a fabric presser 100 that is attached to the double knit circular knitting machine 200 and holds the knitted fabric 50 at a presser position P1 between the multiple cylinder needles 211 and the multiple dial needles 221 so that the knitting yarn 51 does not get entangled. The fabric presser 100 includes the presser base 110 that is attached to the support 240, and a spring steel wire 120 that is connected from the presser base 110 to the presser position P1 so as to hold the knitted fabric 50 at the presser position P1.

[0030] Even if the needle hits the spring steel wire 120, the spring steel wire 120 bends due to its elasticity, and therefore, scraping of a specific portion of the spring steel wire 120 is suppressed. Therefore, the above embodiment can provide a fabric presser that can suppress defects in a double knit circular fabric caused by the knitting yarn getting caught in a scraped portion of the fabric presser. As described above, the spring steel wire 120 may have an elliptical cross section with a maximum diameter of 0.7 to 1.2 mm, including a circular cross section with a diameter of 0.7 to 1.2 mm.

[0031] (2) Examples of double knit circular knit fabrics: Fig. 1 shows a typical double knit circular fabric 1 as a specific example used for a covering material of a vehicle seat, etc. Fig. 2 shows a typical structure of the double knit circular fabric 1 as a specific example. Note that each drawing shown in the present application is merely a typical drawing for explaining the specific example in an easy-to-understand manner. For example, the thickness of the double knit circular fabric 1 is exaggerated in Fig. 1, and the stitch structures 12 and 22 shown in Fig. 2 are simplified. The double knit circular fabric 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a thick corrugated knit comprising a front knit 10, a back knit 20, and a bonded structure 30. The double knit circular fabric 1 of this specific example is a novel corrugated knit having bottomed holes 40 recessed from the surface 13 of the front knit 10, and is knitted by a double knit circular knitting machine 200 equipped with a novel knitted fabric presser 100 as exemplified in Figures 4 to 6. Figure 1 shows that the surface 13 has a mesh pattern as a pattern 14 formed by the multiple bottomed holes 40.

[0032] The double knit circular fabric 1 has a structure along the weft direction D1 as shown in Fig. 2. When the structure shown in Fig. 2 is repeated in the warp direction D2 intersecting with the weft direction D1, bottomed grooves 44 with their longitudinal directions facing the warp direction D2 are formed as bottomed holes 40.

[0033] The front knitted fabric 10 has a stitch structure 12 of the front yarn 11 which is a weft yarn. The back knitted fabric 20 has a stitch structure 22 of the back yarn 21 which is a weft yarn. The binding structure 30 is a tuck structure in which the front knitted fabric 10 and the back knitted fabric 20 are bound together by the binding yarn 31 which is a weft yarn. The front knitted fabric 10 has a bottomed hole 40 which is recessed from the front surface 13 and connected to the back knitted fabric 20. At the position of the bottomed hole 40, the front yarn 11 is caught by the stitch structure 22 of the back yarn 21 and drawn in. As a result, the bottomed hole 40 has an opening 41 on the front surface 13, the part of the front yarn 11 which is caught by the back knitted fabric 20 is at the bottom 42 of the bottomed hole 40, and the front yarn 11 drawn into the back knitted fabric 20 is disposed on the side 43 of the bottomed hole 40. Since the front yarn 11 is drawn into the back knitted fabric 20, even if dust (301, 302) enters the bottomed hole 40 as shown in FIG. 8, the intrusion of the dust between the front knitted fabric 10 and the back knitted fabric 20 is suppressed.

[0034] The types of the front yarn 11, the back yarn 21, and the binding yarn 31 are not particularly limited. For the front yarn 11, the back yarn 21, and the binding yarn 31, synthetic fiber filaments, synthetic fiber spun yarns, natural fiber spun yarns, blended yarns, twisted yarns, blended yarns, etc. can be used. For the synthetic fibers, polyester fibers, polyamide fibers, acrylic fibers, polyolefin fibers, etc. can be used. For the natural fibers, wool, cotton, hemp, etc. can be used. Yarns dyed in advance may be used for these yarns. The thicknesses of the front yarn 11, the back yarn 21, and the binding yarn 31 are also not particularly limited. Of course, different types of yarns may be used for the front yarn 11, the back yarn 21, and the binding yarn 31. The stitch structures 12, 22 may be various structures such as a plain stitch structure, a rib stitch structure, a purl stitch structure, and the like.

[0035] The depth of the bottomed hole 40 can be, for example, 1.0 to 4.0 mm. In order to make the bottomed hole 40 deeper, the dial 220 (see FIG. 4) can be raised to make the double knit circular fabric 1 thicker. In order to make the bottomed hole 40 shallower, the dial 220 can be lowered to make the double knit circular fabric 1 thinner.

[0036] (3) Examples of double knit circular fabric manufacturing methods: Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a knitting structure of a double knit circular fabric 1. The upper part of Fig. 3 shows needle arrangements for feeders F1 to F4 in a portion of a course where a bottomed hole 40 is formed. The lower part of Fig. 3 shows needle arrangements for feeders F1 to F4 in a portion of a course where a bottomed hole 40 is not formed. In each needle arrangement, the arrangement of cylinder needles 211 is shown on the lower side, and the arrangement of dial needles 221 is shown on the upper side. A control step ST2 is performed according to the structure diagram shown in Fig. 3.

[0037] The feeder F1 supplies the binding yarn 31 for the tuck structure to some of the needles (211, 221). The feeder F2 following the feeder F1 supplies the binding yarn 31 for the tuck structure to the needles (211, 221) at a position different from the yarn feeding position from the feeder F1. The feeder F3 following the feeder F2 supplies the front yarn 11 to the dial needle 221. The dial needle 221 knits the stitch structure 12 of the front yarn 11 by knitting. The structure corresponding to the feeder F3 includes a tuck structure. The feeder F4 following the feeder F3 supplies the back yarn 21 to the cylinder needle 211. The cylinder needle 211 knits the stitch structure 22 of the back yarn 21 by knitting. The front yarn 11 supplied from the feeder F3 is drawn into the stitch structure 22 of the back yarn 21 at the position of the bottomed hole 40. In this manner, a tubular double knit circular fabric 1 is knitted in which the front fabric 10 and the back fabric 20 are bonded together with the bonding yarn 31. In this double knit circular fabric 1, the front fabric 10 having the bottomed hole 40 is on the inside.

[0038] When forming one course of bottomed holes 40 in the warp direction D2, knitting of "without bottomed holes" shown in the lower part of Fig. 3, knitting of one course of "with bottomed holes" shown in the upper part of Fig. 3, and knitting of "without bottomed holes" shown in the lower part of Fig. 3 are performed in this order. When forming bottomed grooves 44, the knitting shown in the upper part of Fig. 3 is repeated for multiple courses. When forming N courses of bottomed holes 40 in the warp direction D2, knitting of "without bottomed holes", knitting of N courses of "with bottomed holes", and knitting of "without bottomed holes" are performed in this order. N is an integer of 2 or more.

[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a main part of a double knit circular knitting machine 200 for knitting the double knit circular fabric 1. As shown in FIG. The double knit circular knitting machine 200 includes a cylinder 210 in which a plurality of cylinder needles 211 are arranged, a dial 220 in which a plurality of dial needles 221 are arranged, a needle selection device 230, and a support 240 on the outside of the cylinder 210. Each cylinder needle 211 is a latch needle in which a hook 212 at the tip is opened and closed by a latch 213, and is arranged so as to be vertically movable back and forth relative to the cylinder 210. Each dial needle 221 is a latch needle in which a hook 222 at the tip is opened and closed by a latch 223, and is arranged so as to be horizontally movable back and forth relative to the dial 220. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the knitting yarn 51 hooked on the cylinder needle 211 is the front yarn 11 or the bonding yarn 31, and the knitting yarn 51 hooked on the dial needle 221 is the back yarn 21 or the bonding yarn 31. The dial 220 is supported on a support portion (not shown) of the double knit circular knitting machine 200 so as to be able to change its height. The needle selecting device 230 individually controls the operation of the cylinder needles 211. The needle selecting device 230 may also individually control the operation of the dial needles 221. The double knit circular knitting machine 200 is equipped with a control unit including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The needle selecting device 230 individually controls the operation of the needles according to signals from the control unit.

[0040] When the double knit circular fabric 1 is thick, it is necessary to raise the position of the dial 220 to widen the gap between the cylinder 210 and the dial 220. If the position of the dial 220 is raised, the fabric 50 connected to the knitting yarn 51 may be lifted, and the knitting yarn 51 may become entangled. Therefore, a fabric presser 100 that holds the fabric 50 at a presser position P1 between the multiple cylinder needles 211 and the multiple dial needles 221 to prevent the knitting yarn 51 from becoming entangled is attached to the upper surface 241 of the support 240.

[0041] However, when the fabric presser 900 of the comparative example shown in FIG. 10 was attached to the support 240 in order to knit a double knit circular fabric having a pattern such as a bottomed hole 40, it was found that defects such as those shown in FIG. 11 occurred in the double knit circular fabric sample. The fabric presser 900 shown in FIG. 10 has a hard metal plate 920 that is connected to the presser position P1 from the presser base attached to the upper surface 241 shown in FIG. 4. A portion 930 that was scraped by the cylinder needle hitting the vertical surface of the hard metal plate 920 was confirmed. When the operation of the double knit circular knitting machine 200 was confirmed, it was confirmed that the knitting yarn 51 was caught in the scraped portion 930 of the hard metal plate 920, causing the defect shown in FIG. 11 to occur in the double knit circular fabric.

[0042] The knitting yarn 51 is supplied from the feeder to the needles (211, 221) at a constant speed by a yarn feeding device. When the double knit circular fabric is a plain corrugated knit that does not have a pattern such as bottomed holes 40, the cylinder needles 211 operate regularly in addition to the dial needles 221, so that the knitting yarn 51 does not pull the cylinder needles 211 toward the inside of the cylinder 210. As a result, the cylinder needles 211 protruding from the cylinder 210 do not hit the hard metal plate 920.

[0043] When the double knit circular fabric has a pattern such as bottomed holes 40, the amount by which the cylinder needles 211 protrude from the cylinder 210 becomes irregular, and the knitting yarn 51 may pull the cylinder needles 211 inward of the cylinder 210. For example, if the amount by which the cylinder needles 211 protrude from the cylinder 210 is small, the knitting yarn 51 becomes loose, and if the amount by which the cylinder needles 211 protrude from the cylinder 210 is large, the knitting yarn 51 pulls the cylinder needles 211 inward. When the cylinder needles 211 move inward and hit the hard metal plate 920, a scraped portion 930 is generated in the hard metal plate 920. For the above reasons, a double knit circular knitting machine equipped with the knitting presser 900 does not manufacture a double knit circular knitted fabric having a pattern such as the bottomed hole 40. On the other hand, a double raschel knitted fabric having a mesh structure is expensive.

[0044] In this specific example, a fabric presser 100 equipped with a spring steel wire 120 for holding the fabric 50 at a presser position P1 is attached to a double knit circular knitting machine 200. As a result, the holding step ST1 shown in Fig. 4 is performed, and the control step ST2 shown in Fig. 3 is performed, thereby obtaining a new double knit circular fabric having a pattern but without defects.

[0045] Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a fabric presser 100 attached to a double knit circular fabric 1. Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the needles (211, 221) and the fabric presser 100. The fabric pressing tool 100 includes a pressing tool base 110 and a spring steel wire 120. The pressing tool base 110 includes a horizontal surface portion 111 having a vertical hole 112, a vertical shaft portion 113 having a horizontal through hole 114, and a steel wire support portion 115. In FIG. 5, the hole 112 is hidden by the vertical shaft portion 113. The spring steel wire 120 includes a base portion 121 supported by the steel wire support portion 115, a fabric holding portion 123 disposed at the pressing position P1, and a bent portion 122 that changes direction from the base portion 121 and is connected to the fabric holding portion 123. The steel wire support portion 115 supports the base portion 121 so that the fabric holding portion 123 holds the fabric 50 at the pressing position P1, and is fixed to the vertical shaft portion 113 by a screw SC3 in a state where it penetrates the through hole 114. The vertical shaft portion 113 is fixed to the horizontal surface portion 111 by a screw SC2 with its lower portion inserted in the hole 112. The horizontal surface portion 111 is fixed to an upper surface 241 of the support body 240 by a screw SC1 so that the fabric holding portion 123 holds the fabric 50 at the pressing position P1. In this manner, the presser tool base 110 is attached to the support body 240, and the spring steel wire 120 leading from the presser tool base 110 to the pressing position P1 holds the fabric 50 at the pressing position P1.

[0046] The spring steel wire 120 may be made of elastic steel wire such as piano wire, stainless steel wire for springs, or hard steel wire usable for springs. Piano wire is usually made of high-quality piano wire material with a carbon content of 0.60 to 0.95%, and has stable elasticity usable for high-grade springs. Therefore, piano wire is a preferred material for the spring steel wire 120. Since the spring steel wire 120 has elasticity as a spring, the spring steel wire 120 that is hit by the cylinder needle 211 is bent by elasticity, and scraping of the spring steel wire 120 is suppressed. As a result, a patterned double knit circular fabric 1 is obtained in which defects caused by the knitting yarn 51 being caught in the scraped part by the knitting fabric presser are suppressed.

[0047] The cross section of the spring steel wire 120 is preferably elliptical, including circular. When the cross section of the hard metal plate 920 is substantially rectangular, as in the comparative example shown in FIG. 10, the cylinder needles 211 irregularly coming out of the cylinder 210 hit the corners of the hard metal plate 920, and chipped portions 930 are likely to occur at the corners of the hard metal plate 920. Since the spring steel wire 120 has an elliptical cross section, including circular, and has no corners, even if the cylinder needles 211 hit the spring steel wire 120, the spring steel wire 120 is unlikely to be chipped. When the cross section of the spring steel wire 120 is elliptical, including circular, the spring steel wire 120 escapes to the side of the cylinder needles 211, which also suppresses chipping of a specific portion of the spring steel wire 120.

[0048] The diameter d1 of the spring steel wire 120 having a circular cross section is preferably 0.7 mm or more in order to hold the knitted fabric 50 at the pressing position P1 and prevent the knitting yarn 51 from being entangled. When the spring steel wire 120 has an elliptical cross section, the maximum diameter of the cross section of the spring steel wire 120 is preferably 0.7 mm or more. Moreover, the diameter d1 of the spring steel wire 120 having a circular cross section is preferably 1.2 mm or less in order to facilitate the spring steel wire 120 hitting the cylinder needle 211 to escape to the side of the cylinder needle 211. When the spring steel wire 120 has an elliptical cross section, the maximum diameter of the cross section of the spring steel wire 120 is preferably 1.2 mm or less. The diameter d1 or maximum diameter of the cross section of the spring steel wire 120 may be adjusted according to the gauge of the double knit circular knitting machine 200 and the thickness of the knitting yarn 51.

[0049] As shown in Figure 4, the pressing position P1 is preferably a position where the knitted fabric holding portion 123 (spring steel wire 120) enters at least a part of the area A1 inside the line connecting the position P2 where the cylinder needle 211 exits the cylinder 210 and the position P3 where the dial needle 221 exits the dial 220. As shown in Fig. 6, the fabric holding part 123 covers a needle entry / exit range A2 where the needles (211, 221) advance and retreat in response to yarn supply from the feeder. The length L1 (see Fig. 5) of the fabric holding part 123 is preferably longer than the needle entry / exit range A2. When the length of the needle entry / exit range A2 is 1 inch, the length L1 of the fabric holding part 123 may be, for example, 26 to 40 mm, more preferably 27 to 35 mm, and even more preferably 28 to 30 mm.

[0050] The above-mentioned fabric presser 100 is attached to the support 240 so that the fabric holding part 123 is located at the presser position P1 of the needle entry / exit range A2 corresponding to the feeder where the knitting operation is performed. For example, in the organization diagram shown in Fig. 3, the fabric presser 100 is attached to the support 240 so that the fabric holding part 123 is located at the presser position P1 of the needle entry / exit range A2 corresponding to the feeders F3 and F4 where the knitting operation is performed.

[0051] The double knit circular fabric 1 having a pattern such as a bottomed hole 40 is manufactured by performing a holding step ST1 and a control step ST2 in the double knit circular knitting machine 200. In the holding step ST1, the spring steel wire 120 holds the fabric 50 at the pressing position P1 so that the knitting yarn 51 is not entangled. In the control step ST2, the double knit circular knitting machine 200 (particularly the control unit and the needle selection device 230) controls the operation of the multiple cylinder needles 211 and multiple dial needles 221 and the supply of the knitting yarn 51 so that the double knit circular fabric 1 having the bottomed hole 40 is knitted. As a result, a new double knit circular fabric 1 is knitted in which the face yarn 11 is arranged on the side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40 recessed from the front surface 13 and connected to the back fabric 20.

[0052] The spring steel wire 120 that is hit by the cylinder needle 211 pulled by the knitting yarn 51 bends due to its elasticity, thereby preventing abrasion of a specific portion of the spring steel wire 120. This makes it possible to manufacture a novel double knit circular fabric 1 that prevents defects caused by the knitting yarn 51 getting caught in a portion that has been abraded by the knitting fabric presser. In the obtained double knit circular fabric 1, the face yarn 11 is arranged on the side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0053] FIG. 7 shows a photograph of a sample obtained by actually knitting a double knit circular fabric having a plurality of bottomed holes 40 according to the organizational diagram shown in FIG. 3. The plurality of bottomed holes 40 in the double knit circular fabric sample shown in FIG. 7 includes one course of bottomed holes 40a in the warp direction D2, two courses of bottomed grooves 44a in the warp direction D2, and six courses of bottomed grooves 44b in the warp direction D2. FIG. 7 shows that a mesh pattern is formed on the surface of the double knit circular fabric sample as a pattern formed by the plurality of bottomed holes. The double knit circular fabric sample shown in FIG. 7 does not have any defects as shown in the comparative example of FIG. 11. Therefore, it was confirmed that a new double knit circular fabric 1 having a pattern and no defects can be manufactured by attaching a knitting presser 100 equipped with a spring steel wire 120 to a double knit circular knitting machine 200.

[0054] In the double raschel fabric 801 of the comparative example shown in Fig. 9, the front yarn 11 is not pulled into the back fabric due to the structure of the double raschel machine. In this case, if dust (301, 302) enters a hole 840 visible in the front fabric, the dust (301, 302) also enters between the front fabric and the back fabric. As a result, it may not be possible to remove the dust (301, 302) from the double raschel fabric 801.

[0055] In the double knit circular fabric 1 shown in Fig. 8, the face yarn 11 is arranged on the side surface 43 of the bottomed hole 40, which prevents dust (301, 302) from entering between the face fabric 10 and the back fabric 20 through the bottomed hole 40. Therefore, the double knit circular fabric 1 is a novel knitted fabric that can inexpensively prevent dust from entering between the face fabric 10 and the back fabric 20 through holes on the surface. 3, a double knit circular fabric 1 having bottomed grooves 44 with the longitudinal direction oriented in the warp direction D2 can be easily knitted. Therefore, this example can easily provide a novel double knit circular fabric having bottomed grooves on the surface with the longitudinal direction oriented in the warp direction.

[0056] (4) Examples of knitted products: Knitted products using the double knit circular fabric 1 include covering materials for automobile seats, covering materials for child seats, covering materials for nursing beds, etc. Knitted products as covering materials for seats can be manufactured, for example, by cutting the double knit circular fabric 1 to fit the shape of a seat and processing the edges of the cut double knit circular fabric by sewing or the like. Knitted products such as covering materials for seats may be manufactured by sewing together a plurality of cut double knit circular fabrics. Knitted products may be manufactured by sewing accessories to the cut double knit circular fabric.

[0057] (5) Variation: The present invention contemplates various modifications. For example, when the needle selecting device 230 controls the operation of the dial needles 221 individually, it is possible to knit a tubular double knit circular fabric 1 in which the front fabric 10 having the bottomed holes 40 is on the outside. When the needle selecting device 230 individually controls the operation of both the cylinder needles 211 and the dial needles 221, it is possible to knit a double knit circular fabric having bottomed grooves whose longitudinal direction faces the weft direction D1. Furthermore, it is also possible to form a double knit circular fabric having bottomed holes 40 for multiple courses in the warp direction D2 and multiple wales in the weft direction D1, or bottomed holes 40 of more complex shapes. The presser base 110 of the knitted fabric presser 100 is not limited to a combination of three members (111, 113, 115). For example, a member in which the horizontal surface portion 111 and the vertical shaft portion 113 are inseparably formed as one unit may be used for the presser base 110, or a member in which the vertical shaft portion 113 and the steel wire support portion 115 are inseparably formed as one unit may be used for the presser base 110. Of course, the presser base 110 may be a member in which the three portions (111, 113, 115) are inseparably formed as one unit. The shape of the spring steel wire 120 can be appropriately changed as long as the spring steel wire 120 includes the fabric holding portion 123. For example, the spring steel wire 120 may be composed of the fabric holding portion 123 and a connecting portion that changes direction from the presser base portion 110 and is connected to the fabric holding portion 123.

[0058] (6) Conclusion: As described above, according to the present invention, in various aspects, it is possible to provide a novel double knit circular fabric capable of inexpensively preventing the intrusion of dust into the gap between the front and back knit fabrics through holes in the surface, a knitted product using the double knit circular fabric, a manufacturing method for the double knit circular fabric, a fabric presser used in the manufacturing method, etc. Of course, even a technology consisting only of the constituent elements according to the independent claims can obtain the basic functions and effects described above. In addition, configurations in which the configurations disclosed in the above examples are substituted with each other or the combination is changed, configurations in which the configurations disclosed in the publicly known techniques and the above examples are substituted with each other or the combination is changed, etc. The present invention also includes these configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1...Double knit circular fabric, 10...front knitted fabric, 11...front yarn, 12...knit structure, 13...surface, 14...pattern, 20...back knitted fabric, 21...back yarn, 22...knit structure, 30...binding structure, 31...binding thread, 40...bottomed hole, 41...opening, 42...bottom, 43...side, 44...bottomed groove, 50...knitted fabric, 51...knitted yarn, 100...knitting presser, 110...holding tool base, 120... spring steel wire, 123... knitted fabric holding portion, 200…Double knit circular knitting machine, 210...Cylinder, 211...Cylinder needle, 220…dial, 221…dial needle, 230...needle selection device, 240...Support, 241...Top surface, A1: Area, A2: Needle insertion / removal range, D1: Weft direction, D2: Warp direction, d1...diameter, F1~F4: Feeder, L1: Length, P1: Pressing position, ST1...holding process, ST2...control process.

Claims

1. A front knitted fabric having a stitch structure of a front yarn; A back knitted fabric having a back yarn stitch structure; A bonding structure in which the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric are bonded together with a bonding yarn, The front knitted fabric has a bottomed hole recessed from the surface and connected to the back knitted fabric, and the front yarn drawn into the back knitted fabric is arranged on the side of the bottomed hole.

2. There are a plurality of the blind holes, The double knit circular knit fabric according to claim 1 , wherein the surface of the face knitted fabric has a pattern formed by the plurality of blind holes.

3. There are a plurality of the blind holes, The double knit circular knit fabric according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of blind holes include blind grooves extending in the warp direction.

4. A knitted product using the double knit circular knit fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A method for producing a double knit circular knitted fabric using a double knit circular knitting machine including a cylinder in which a plurality of cylinder needles are arranged, a dial in which a plurality of dial needles are arranged, a needle selecting device, and a support outside the cylinder, comprising: a holding step of holding the knitted fabric at the pressing position between the plurality of cylinder needles and the plurality of dial needles by a spring steel wire connected from a pressing tool base attached to the support to the pressing position so that the knitting yarn does not become entangled at the pressing position; a control step of controlling the operation of the plurality of cylinder needles and the plurality of dial needles as well as the supply of the knitting yarn so as to knit a double knit circular fabric comprising: a front knitted fabric having a stitch structure of a front yarn contained in the knitting yarn; a back knitted fabric having a stitch structure of a back yarn contained in the knitting yarn; and a bonding structure in which the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric are bonded together with a bonding yarn contained in the knitting yarn, the front knitted fabric having a bottomed hole recessed from the surface and connected to the back knitted fabric, and the front yarn drawn into the back knitted fabric being arranged on the side of the bottomed hole.

6. The method for producing a double knit circular knitted fabric according to claim 5, wherein the spring steel wire has an elliptical cross section with a maximum diameter of 0.7 to 1.2 mm, including a circular cross section with a diameter of 0.7 to 1.2 mm.

7. A fabric presser that is attached to a double knit circular knitting machine including a cylinder on which a plurality of cylinder needles are arranged, a dial on which a plurality of dial needles are arranged, a needle selecting device, and a support on the outside of the cylinder, and that holds a knitted fabric at a presser position between the plurality of cylinder needles and the plurality of dial needles so that the knitted yarn does not become entangled, A presser base attached to the support; A spring steel wire connected from the presser base to the pressing position so as to hold the knitted fabric at the pressing position; A knitting presser comprising:

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