U.S. patent application number 13/065395 was filed with the patent office on 2011-09-01 for knitted glove with modified variable plating having a reinforced region.
Invention is credited to Agustin Portillo Mercado, Norberto Hector Perales Solis, Eric Michael Thompson.
Application Number | 20110209505 13/065395 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44504543 |
Filed Date | 2011-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110209505 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thompson; Eric Michael ; et
al. |
September 1, 2011 |
Knitted glove with modified variable plating having a reinforced
region
Abstract
A knitted glove and a method of making a knitted glove. The
knitted glove comprising a plurality of glove components wherein at
least one section of at least one of the components in the
plurality of components comprises two yarns knitted simultaneously
forming a plated structure and at least one reinforced region
formed on the glove having at least three stitch courses.
Inventors: |
Thompson; Eric Michael;
(Central, SC) ; Perales Solis; Norberto Hector;
(Las Montanas, MX) ; Mercado; Agustin Portillo;
(Chihuhua, MX) |
Family ID: |
44504543 |
Appl. No.: |
13/065395 |
Filed: |
March 21, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12430048 |
Apr 24, 2009 |
7908891 |
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13065395 |
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12209529 |
Sep 12, 2008 |
7555921 |
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12430048 |
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11444806 |
Jun 1, 2006 |
7434422 |
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12209529 |
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11181064 |
Jul 13, 2005 |
7213419 |
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11444806 |
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10892763 |
Jul 16, 2004 |
6962064 |
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11181064 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
66/174 ; 2/169;
66/202 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 19/01547 20130101;
D04B 1/28 20130101; A41D 2500/10 20130101; D04B 7/34 20130101; A41D
19/0065 20130101; A41D 19/0006 20130101; D10B 2403/0114
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
66/174 ; 2/169;
66/202 |
International
Class: |
D04B 9/58 20060101
D04B009/58; A41D 19/00 20060101 A41D019/00 |
Claims
1. A knitted glove comprising: a plurality of glove components
wherein at least one section of at least one of the components in
the plurality of components comprises two yarns knitted
simultaneously forming a plated structure; and at least one
reinforced region formed on the glove having at least three stitch
courses.
2. The knitted glove of claim 1 wherein the plurality of glove
components comprises: four finger components with each having at
least two separate knitted sections; a thumb component having at
least two separated knitted sections; two palm components with each
having at least two separate knitted sections; and a wrist
component having at least one knitted section.
3. The knitted glove of claim 2 wherein the interconnection of
finger components and finger to thumb components forms a crotch
area in which the at least one reinforced region is formed.
4. The knitted glove of claim 3 further comprising a coating over
at least a portion of the four finger components, thumb component
and two palm components, where the coating does not penetrate
through the at least one reinforced region.
5. The knitted glove of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of at
least one component is knitted using a single yarn and the
reinforced regions is knitted using at least one additional
yarn.
6. The knitted glove of claim 1 wherein the plated structure
comprises at least one glove section adjacent to a finger crotch
area.
7. The knitted glove of claim 1 wherein the plated structure
comprises at least one of 4, 5 or six stitch courses.
8. The knitted glove of claim 1 wherein the at least one reinforced
region is located in a crotch area.
9. A knitted glove comprising: a plurality of glove components
wherein at least one section of at least one of the components in
the plurality of components comprises two yarns knitted
simultaneously forming a plated structure, where the plurality of
components comprises: four finger components with each having at
least two separate knitted sections; a thumb component having at
least two separated knitted sections; two palm components with each
having at least two separate knitted sections; and a wrist
component having at least one knitted section; and a plurality of
reinforced regions formed on the glove having at least three stitch
courses, where at least one reinforced region of the plurality of
reinforced regions is formed at a finger crotch area formed by an
interconnection of finger components or finger to thumb
components.
10. The knitted glove of claim 9 further comprising a coating over
at least a portion of the four finger components, thumb component
and two palm components, where the coating does not penetrate
through the at least one reinforced region.
11. The knitted glove of claim 9 wherein at least a portion of at
least one component is knitted using a single yarn and the
reinforced region is knitted using at least one additional
yarn.
12. The knitted glove of claim 9 wherein the plated structure
comprises at least one glove section adjacent to the finger crotch
area.
13. The knitted glove of claim 9 wherein the plated structure
comprises at least one of 4, 5 or six stitch courses.
14. A method of making a knitted glove comprising: knitting a
plurality of components of a glove wherein at least one section of
at least one of the components comprises two yarns knitted
simultaneously forming a plated structure; and knitting at least
one reinforced region on the glove having at least three stitch
courses.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein knitting a plurality of
components comprises: knitting four finger components with each
having at least two separate knitted sections; knitting a thumb
component having at least two separated knitted sections; knitting
two palm components with each having at least two separate knitted
sections; and knitting a wrist component having at least one
knitted section.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the plated structure is in at
least one glove section adjacent to a finger crotch area formed at
the interconnection of finger components or thumb to finger
components.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the plated structure comprises
at least one of 4, 5 or 6 stitch courses.
18. The method of claim 14 further comprising: forming a coating on
at least a portion of at least one component, where the coating
does not penetrate through the reinforced region.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the coating is at least one of
natural latex, nitrile or polyurethane.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/430,048, filed Apr. 24, 2009,
which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 12/209,529 filed
on Sep. 12, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,555,921, which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 11/444,806 filed on Jun. 1,
2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,434,422, which is a continuation-in-part
of U.S. Ser. No. 11/181,064, filed Jul. 13, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No.
7,213,419, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.
10/892,763, filed Jul. 16, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,064. Each
of the aforementioned related patent applications are herein
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to
knitted gloves. More specifically, embodiments of the invention
relate to modified variable plating as used in knitted gloves,
knitted glove liners, and methods of making knitted gloves or
knitted glove liners.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Knitted gloves are commonly used in handling and light
assembly conditions. Knitted gloves used for these purposes are
currently made using flat knitting machines that use a number of
needles in the form of a needle array and a single or multiple
yarns to knit the gloves. Among other mechanism and controls, flat
knitting machines include a yarn feeding apparatus and a stitch
control system. In general, the stitch control system includes the
necessary hardware and proportional-integral-derivative (PID)
controller to control the stitch dimension or loop size. While the
yarn feeding apparatus minimizes the fluctuations in knitting yarn
tension. A glove is generally knitted as a collection of
components, e.g., eight components. The eight glove components
include one component for each of the five fingers, two components
for the palm including an upper section and a lower section, and
one component for the wrist area (cuff). All of the sections are
cylinders or conical sections that join to each other fashioning
the general anatomical shape of a hand. Conventional knitting
processes use the knitting machine to knit each of the areas in a
particular sequence, generally one finger at a time, beginning with
the pinky finger and continuing on through the ring finger and
middle finger to the forefinger. After each finger is knitted using
only selected needles in the needle array, the knitting process for
the completed finger is stopped, and yarn is cut and bound. The
knitted finger is held by holders and weighted down by sinkers. The
remaining fingers are knitted sequentially, one at a time, using a
different set of needles in the needle array. When all four fingers
are knitted in this fashion, the knitting machine then knits the
upper section of the palm, picking stitches from each of the
previously knit four fingers. After knitting an appropriate length
of upper palm, the thumb portion is initiated, using a separate set
of needles in the needle array, and the lower section of the palm
is knitted using all of the needles in the needle array. Finally,
the knitting machine knits the wrist component to the desired
length. Glove components are joined together, after each component
is knitted, using one or two overlap stitch courses. Overlap stitch
courses proceed from one glove component to the next to
interconnect the components.
[0006] The knitting stitches used at the fingertips are generally
tighter than the stitches used elsewhere in the glove to improve
the strength of the glove in the fingertips area, where more
pressure is likely to be applied during use. Depending on the size
of the needles used and the denier of the yarn, a certain number of
courses are used to create each of the eight components of the
glove. The finer the gauge of needle used, the higher the number of
courses for each component to create the same size of a finished
glove. Changing needles or the denier of a yarn is extremely
difficult in a continuous process and generally a continuous yarn
of pre-selected denier and a corresponding needle size are
commercially used. While this standardization in needle size and
number of courses permits the manufacturing of a glove or liner
with a standard shape, that shape does not accommodate variations
in size.
[0007] In knitting, a plated structure has two loops in each stitch
The two loops results from the simultaneous feeding of two yarns to
the needles of the knitting machines. The loops are positioned such
that one yarn is on one side of the stitch and the other yarn is on
the other side of the stitch. A knitted glove or liner may be
comprised of a straight plated structure. That is, it may have one
type yarn on the inside and another type yarn plated on the
outside. For example, a glove may be knitted such that it has a
yarn which has a soft comfortable feel on the inside and plated
with a spandex type yarn on the outside to provide stretch. Such
knitted gloves or liners are generally straight, i.e., fully plated
with a particular using a varying number of stitch courses.
Straight plated gloves or liners are relatively heavy as compared
to a glove knitted with a single yarn. Additionally, the use of
straight plating yields a narrow circumference for each of the
glove's finger components. If the glove is coated (e.g., dipped in
latex, nitrile or polyurethane) to provide a protective, high grip
surface, the narrow circumference leads to a relative heavy
penetration of coating during the coating process, especially in
the finger crotch areas. Such penetration can make the gloves
uncomfortable to wear.
[0008] Therefore, there is a need in the art for a knitted glove
having reinforced regions, e.g., finger crotch areas to reduce
coating penetration during the coating process and provide other
benefits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a
knitted glove and a method of making a knitted glove. The knitted
glove comprising a plurality of glove components wherein at least
one section of at least one of the components in the plurality of
components comprises two yarns knitted simultaneously forming a
plated structure and at least one reinforced region formed on the
glove having at least three stitch courses.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] So that the manner in which the above recited features of
the present invention can be understood in detail, a more
particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above,
may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are
illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however,
that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of
this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of
its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective
embodiments.
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a glove according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of varying stitch dimension
using a stitch setup wherein the needle penetration determines the
length of yarn included in the stitch.
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of varying stitch dimension
using an different stitch setup wherein the needle penetration is
larger than the penetration in FIG. 2.
[0014] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the stitch dimension wherein
the computer controls the yarn feeding roller and the tension in
the yarn between the pinch roller and the knitting head.
[0015] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of two needle beds
used to form reinforced regions of one embodiment of the
invention.
[0016] FIG. 6 shows a glove according to an embodiment of the
present invention having nine components.
[0017] While the invention is described herein by way of example
using several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled
in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the
embodiments of drawing or drawings described. It should be
understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are
not intended to limit the invention to the particular form
disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all
modification, equivalents and alternatives falling within the
spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the
appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational
purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of
the description or the claims. As used throughout this application,
the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having
the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning
must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes"
mean including, but not limited to. The word "glove" means glove or
glove liner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Embodiments of the present invention comprise a knitted
glove with modified variable plating for creating select reinforced
regions on the glove. FIG. 1 depicts a glove 200 according to one
embodiment of the present invention. This glove 200 includes
nineteen total sections of the glove, including three sections for
each of the finger components 210, 212, 214, and 216 and thumb 218
of the glove, three palm sections 204, 206, and 208 and one wrist
section 202. Each of the fingers 210, 212, 214, 216 and 218 is knit
according to three separate instructions for the knitting machine
to create these three distinct areas designed to conform to the
shape of fingers. These three sections are shown in FIG. 1 as
sections 250, 252, and 254 for the pinky finger 210; sections 244,
246, and 248 for the ring finger 212; sections 238, 240 and 242 for
the middle finger 214; sections 232, 234, and 235 for the
forefinger 216; and sections 220, 222, and 224 for the thumb
218.
[0019] One embodiment of the present invention incorporates extra
yarn in the finger crotch areas 260, 262, 264, 266 by knitting a
modified variable plated structure in those areas comprising at
least three stitch courses. Specifically, the number of overlap
courses in the figure crotch is increased to at least three to
create a reinforced region. Generally, no more than two stitch
courses are used as overlap stitch courses in joining the various
components of the glove together. If the glove is coated, the extra
material minimizes coating penetration in the finger crotches where
penetration is typically heavy relative to the other sections of
the glove. Whether the glove is coded or not, the extra yarn adds
reinforcement to the finger crotch area adding strength to the
finger crotches. In some embodiments, to compensate for the
additional weight of the extra stitches, various other sections of
the glove may be knitted using a single yarn, e.g., not plated.
[0020] The glove 200 of this invention can be knit on a knitting
machine and requires programming of the machine for each of the
nineteen sections. For example, the glove 200 can be made according
to the specifications provided in Table 1. Each of the components
is indicated, and the sections that match FIG. 1 are shown. Note
that the courses begin with 1 for each component and continue
through the sections. The stitch setup here shows a number, which
indicates how deep the knitting needle penetrates. A lower number
indicates less needle penetration, while a larger number indicates
that the needle penetrates deeper. For example, in component 1,
which is the pinky finger, the first course has a knitting needle
penetration depth of 37 in course 1 and increases gradually in a
linear fashion to a knitting needle penetration depth of 39 at
course 22. This means that course 1 is tighter to stretch than
course 22, and the pinky finger is draped by the glove with the
finger edge tight against the glove. The second section of
component 1 continues seamlessly with the same stitch setup of 39,
maintaining the depth of penetration of the knitting needle.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 STITCH SECTION IN COMPONENT SETUP COURSES
FIG. 1 1 37-39 1-22 250 39 23-58 252 39-37 59-88 254 2 37-39 1-32
244 39 33-72 246 39-37 73-116 248 3 37-39 1-32 238 39 33-72 240
39-37 73-126 242 4 37-39 1-32 232 39 33-72 234 39-37 73-116 235 5
37 1-56 208 6 37-39 1-32 220 39 33-69 222 39-37 65-100 224 7 37
1-20 206 36-22 21-70 204 8 37 1-72 202
[0021] This specification in Table 1 can be used on a SFG knitting
machine available from Shima Seiki Mfg., Ltd. based in Wakayama,
Japan to create a size 9 glove. The information for the stitch
setup and the number of courses are entered into the knitting
machine's operation system using a keypad and LED display.
Adjustments can be made to the specifications in Table 1 to create
gloves of different sizes. The gloves can be knit from different
compositions of yarn, including cotton, nylon fibers, water-soluble
fibers, such as polyvinyl alcohol, or other fibers that can be used
on a knitting machine, such as polyester or high-strength synthetic
fibers, such as aramid, polyethylene, and liquid crystal polymer.
The yarns used to knit the gloves can be spun yarns, textured
filament yarns, or multi-component composite yarns.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates at 30 a stitch knitted with a smaller
stitch setup number. The knitting needle 35 penetrates to a smaller
extent, including a smaller loop of yarn 36 in the stitch,
providing limited stretch capability.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates at 38 a stitch knitted with a larger
stitch setup number. The knitting needle 35 penetrates to a larger
extent, including a larger loop of yarn 36 in the stitch, providing
enhanced stretch capability.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates at 40 a yarn 41 from a conical spool 42
fed through a pinch roller 43 and yarn feed roller 44. The yarn 41
is supplied to the knitting head 45 through a tension control
device comprising a arm 46 attached to a spiral spring 47 which is
connected to a computer controlled stepper motor 48. The rotation
of the stepper motor shaft 49 increases the tension provided by the
spiral spring 47, enhancing the tension in the yarn in the segment
between the pinch roller 43 and knitting head 45. This variation in
tension, generated under computer control, incorporates a higher
level of tension within the stitch, limiting its stretch
capability. The dimension of the stitch is independently controlled
by the feed roller 44, which is also controlled by the
computer.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a pair of needle
beds 500 (upper bed 502 and lower bed 504). The upper bed 502 is
holding the previously completed course 506, while the lower bed
504 is operating to add the additional stitches in the reinforced
region 508. To facilitate the reinforcement, a select number of
needles 510 (e.g., four) are used to add an additional stitch
course 510 in the region 508 i.e., in one embodiment, three stitch
courses 510.sub.1, 510.sub.2, 510.sub.3 form the reinforcement in
region 510. The additional course is added by activating the plait
feeder and adding an additional yarn to overlap and reinforce the
region 508. In this manner, the glove is reinforced in the selected
region 508.
[0026] The knitted variable stitch dimensions in the glove 200
allow the alteration of stitch dimension within a larger number of
finger and palm sections than would be found in a standard glove
having eight components. This increased number of sections benefits
the glove by improving the degree to which it conforms to the shape
of the hand, creating a better fit. In turn, this better fit
provides increased dexterity and grip as well as increased
long-term comfort in wearing the glove. In the embodiments of the
present invention, stitch dimensions can be increased in areas such
as knuckles, which would require greater glove flexibility as
fingers move and overlapping stitches can be used in the finger
crotches or elsewhere. Additionally, additional courses may be
added to the reinforced regions to strengthen these regions.
[0027] Knitted stitch dimensions can be used to eliminate
additional manufacturing steps that would be required in, for
example, the use of heat or water to shrink gloves or liners to fit
a particular hand size. This saves both money and time in the
manufacturing process and does not require unique times,
temperatures, or pressures. It also produces a more consistent
product than one relying on difficult-to-control steps, such as
heat or tumbling.
[0028] The knitted gloves forming embodiments of this invention,
once finished, also can be coated either on the outside or inside
with a coating, such as natural rubber latex or synthetic rubber
latex, as well as other elastomeric polymer coatings. The coating
can be applied by dipping the knitted glove into the coating
material or by spraying the coating onto the glove. Coating the
knitted gloves can improve the grip of the glove in handling dry
and oily items when the coating is on the outside of the glove. The
addition of a coating to the knitted layer can also improve the
quality of the glove as an insulator. By having the finger crotches
reinforced with overlapping courses, there is substantially less
penetration of coating material into the reinforced regions as
compared to similar areas without reinforcement on standard gloves.
In some embodiments, none of the coating material penetrates
through the reinforced regions.
[0029] FIG. 6 shows a glove 600 according to one embodiment of the
present invention. This glove 600 includes nine components,
including each of the finger components 610, 612, 614, and 616, the
thumb component 618, three palm components 204, 206, and 207, and
the wrist component 602. Palm component 507 is referred to as a
three-fingered palm since it is attached to only three finger
components 612, 614, and 616 (ring, middle, and first). The
presence of palm component 607 permits an ergonomic enhancement to
the glove by creating a pinky 610 component that is dropped (that
is, a "dropped pinky") as compared to the rest of the fingers. Palm
component 606 is a four-fingered palm since it attaches to the
pinky 610 and the three-fingered palm component 607. The wrist
component contains courses of a colored yarn 620, whose color is
chosen to be indicative of the glove size. The wrist component also
has a ravel-resistant edge 622.
[0030] The finger crotch areas 650, 652, 654 and 656 are reinforced
with overlapping courses (e.g., three courses) to strengthen the
finger crotches as well as provide a barrier to coating material,
if the glove is to be coated. Other areas may also be reinforced by
overlapping courses such as the edge 622 to provide cuff durability
in donning and doffing, finger tips to provide additional
durability and abrasion resistance, and so on.
[0031] Glove 600 can be knit on a programmable knitting machine to
create gloves having variable stitch to achieve an overall shape
that accommodates variations in size and shape of individual
fingers and hands. These gloves also have zones that are enhanced
with different stitch sizes to permit stretch in the areas of the
knuckles, which are called high stress zones, as well as reinforced
regions having overlapping courses. Glove 600 can be made, for
example, according to the exemplary specifications provided in
Table 2, where use of one main yarn is indicated with the addition
of a colored yarn at the end of the wrist and a heat fusible yarn
subsequent to the colored yarn that prevents unraveling. Each of
the components is indicated in accordance with FIG. 6. Note that
the courses begin with 1 for each component, a plurality of courses
creates a section within the component. The stitch setup here shows
a number, which indicates how deep the knitting needle penetrates.
A lower number indicates less needle penetration and a tighter
stitch, while a larger number indicates that the needle penetrates
deeper and creates a looser stitch. For example, in component 610,
which is the pinky finger, courses 1-47 and 69-82 both have a
knitting needle penetration depth of 33, courses 48-50 and 67-68
both have a knitting needle penetration depth of 18, and courses
51-66 have a knitting needle penetration depth of 40. This means
that courses 48-50 and 67-68 are more tightly knit than courses
1-47 and 69-82, which in turn are tighter than courses 51-66.
Looked at another way, courses 51-66 are the loosest knit of the
component corresponding to the second knuckle of the pinky finger
to permit ease of movement. The combination of three stitch sizes
within a component permits the creation of high stress zones that
permit extra stretch where needed during wearing of the glove.
Tension of the yarns is kept relatively constant during stitching.
High stress zones are similarly provided in components 612, 614,
616, 618, and 606.
[0032] In palm component 604, the stitches vary linearly from 28 to
18 along courses 1-96. In this way, the palm component 604 becomes
more tightly knit as it approaches the wrist component 602.
[0033] In wrist component 602, an additional elastic yarn is
weft-inserted relative to the main yarn. The wrist component has a
constant stitch size with the main yarn for courses 1-68, and then
for courses 69-90, the yarn is changed to a colored size-indicating
yarn 620 having a stitch size of 15. Generally, the colored yarn is
a polyester and elastic composite yarn. The wrist component is then
finished with an edge formed by a heat fusible yarn 622, which
generally comprises elastic, polyester, and low melt
polyethylene.
[0034] To generate the reinforced regions, the following steps are
performed.
1) In the components 610, 612, 614, 616 and 618, the plait feeder
is activated to twist the last courses of the finger components, in
order to reinforce the finger crotch areas 650, 652, 654, 656. 2)
In areas 606 and 607, the plait feeder is activated to twist the
first course of the upper palm area to reinforce the crotch areas
650, 652, 654 and 656. 3) When activated, the plait feeder adds an
extra thread (Yarn U3 in Table 2) into the main thread of the
liner, creating the overlapping yarn and a reinforcement in the
fingers crotch area 650, 652, 654 and 656. 4) In the finger crotch
areas 650, 652, 654 and 656, an extra knot is added in the finger
crotch area and twisted using the knitting machine default finger
crotch area knot by using extra needles from the needle bed.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Knitting Component Total Stitch Pattern
Courses (FIG. 6) Courses Courses Setup U3 Start Stop Yarn 610 80
1-47 33 Main 48-50 31 51-66 35 67-68 31 69-80 33 2 1-60 U3 1 61-82
U3 612 114 1-61 33 Main 62-64 31 65-80 35 81-82 31 83-114 33 2 1-92
U3 1 93-110 U3 614 118 1-69 33 Main 70-72 31 73-88 35 89-90 31
91-118 33 2 1-96 U3 1 97-118 U3 616 106 1-57 33 Main 58-60 31 61-76
35 77-78 31 79-106 33 2 1-88 U3 1 89-106 U3 607 8 1-8 28 Main 1 1-6
U3 2 7-10 U3 606 52 1-27 33 Main 28-30 31 31-50 35 51-52 31 2 1-25
U3 1 27-52 U3 618 84 1-39 33 Main 40-42 31 43-58 35 59-60 31 61-84
33 2 1-62 U3 1 63-88 U3 604 96 1-96 18 Main 1 1-6 U3 2 7-52 U3 602
100 1-68 32 Main + 69-100 30 Elastic Color Yarn Edge 2 1-2 28 Heat
Fusible Yarn
[0035] The specification in Table 2 can be used on a SFG knitting
machine available from Shima Seiki Mfg., Ltd. based in Wakayama,
Japan to create a size 9 glove. The information for the stitch
setup and the number of courses is entered into the knitting
machine's operation system using a keypad and LED display.
Adjustments can be made to the specifications in Table 2 to create
gloves of different sizes. The gloves can be knit from different
compositions of yarn, including cotton, nylon fibers, water-soluble
fibers, such as polyvinyl alcohol, or other fibers that can be used
on a knitting machine, such as polyester or high-strength synthetic
and/or cut-resistant fibers, such as aramid & para-aramid,
polyethylene & ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, and
liquid crystal polymer. The yarns used to knit the gloves can be
spun yarns, textured filament yarns, or multi-component composite
yarns. Gloves according to the present invention are suitable for
comfortably handling tools, fine instruments, and small mechanical
parts where dexterity is needed.
[0036] Table 2 provides stitch setups for the needles (in one
embodiment, both back and front beds use the same setup). In some
designs, it may be desirable to provide the reinforced regions in
fewer than all or none of components 510, 512, 514, 516, 518, and
506.
[0037] Table 2 shows: each component 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 607,
606, 604, 602, 620, 622; the total number courses to create each
component; the specific courses and needle depth used in each
course (i.e., stitch dimension); the additional pattern added for
reinforcement (pattern U3 using an additional yarn); the courses in
the reinforcement pattern; and the yarn used in each course (e.g.,
main yarn and/or the additional reinforcement yarn). Using this
specification, after each component 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 607,
606 and 604, the additional yarn feeder is activated and pattern U3
is utilized to create a reinforced region in the appropriate
location.
[0038] Although only a few exemplary embodiments of the present
invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the
art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in
the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the
novel teachings and advantages of this invention. For example, the
number of sections of the glove can be increased or decreased to
adjust the fit of the glove without departing from the spirit of
the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are
intended to be included within the scope of this invention as
defined in the following claims.
[0039] The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention
comprises a number of elements, devices, machines, components
and/or assemblies that perform various functions as described.
These elements, devices, machines, components and/or assemblies are
exemplary implementations of means for performing their
respectively described functions.
[0040] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention
may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and
the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
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