Terry Cloth

Abstract

A terry cloth is manufactured on a double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine, said terry cloth including a tight knit ground construction knit under greater tension than the terry threads, which are distributed in preselected areas on the ground construction. Both the ground construction and the terry threads are made simultaneously as part of one knitting operation.

Parent Case Text

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants' prior co-pending application bearing Ser. No. 846,755 and filed Aug. 1, 1969 now abandoned.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to fabrics which are produced on double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machines and is particularly concerned with a terry cloth made upon such machines.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Heretofore, terry cloths have frequently been manufactured on circular knitting machines. However, the nature and form of such terry cloths have been limited by the number of feeds available on circular knitting machines. For example, color combinations and variations in texture have been limited in such conventionally available terry cloths.

The present invention solves these problems.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved terry cloth wherein uninterrupted terry threads are knit into a ground construction under very little or no tension and interrupted terry threads of that kind form a variety of geometric patterns.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved terry cloth which may possess a much greater range of color combinations and a much greater variation in texture than is available in conventional terry cloths such as those previously referred to.

Another object of the invention is to provide a terry cloth wherein the terry threads may be formed in a striped pattern upon the ground structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a terry cloth which is more moisture-absorbent and more stretchable than conventional terry cloths.

Another object of the invention is to provide a terry cloth comprising a tight knit ground structure and terry threads knit into the ground structure under very little or no tension, the opposing sides of which said terry cloth may have different textures.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following discussion when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a terry cloth which is knitted on a double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine. Here, the rear needles are employed for knitting the ground structure and both rear and front needles are employed for knitting the terry threads under very little or no tension and superimposing them upon the ground structure which is knit under greater tension than the terry threads so as to have a tighter knit construction. Both front and rear needles operate simultaneously to form the ground structure and terry threads which are connected to the ground structure at predetermined points.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a point diagram for representing the manufacture of terry cloth in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is an alternative point diagram for representing the manufacture of terry cloth in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a ground or basic fabric produced in accordance with the point diagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4B is a diagram of a terry stitch in accordance with the point diagram of FIG. 3 superimposed upon the ground or basic fabric of FIG. 4A; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of said embodiment of the invention wherein the ground fabric is interrupted by striped portions of the relatively open knit fabric superimposed upon the ground fabric.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, one embodiment of the present invention includes two groups or systems of threads, one of these systems being a ground structure, generally designated by the numeral 10, and the other system of threads being terry threads or pile threads generally designated by the numeral 11. As hereinafter indicated, the terry threads 11 are stitched or connected to the ground structure 10 at predetermined points. The terry threads 11 are knit into the ground structure under very little or no tension and the ground structure 10 is a tighter knit construction which is knit under greater tension than the terry threads 11, these two systems of threads thereby forming a terry cloth.

This terry cloth is manufactured on a double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine according to the formula hereinafter set forth. Since such a machine is capable of accommodating as many as 1,800 ends of yarn, each of which may have a different color and texture, it will be seen that the resultant terry cloth may have a corresponding wide variety of colors and textures. In addition, since the ground fabric 10 is disposed on one side of the terry cloth and the relatively open knit fabric 11 on the other, it will be seen that opposing sides of the terry cloth may have different textures, depending upon the textures of the yarn used for the ground fabric 10 and open knit fabric 11.

The terry cloth comprised by this invention is preferably made on a double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine according to the following formula, the notation of which is well known to those persons who are skilled in the art of warp knitting: No. 1 Guide Bar No. 2 Guide Bar 0 0 ) Stitch Stitch B 2 2 ) 2 Stitch 2 Idle ) F 0 0 2 ) Stitch Stitch B 2 4 ) 2 Stitch Idle ) 0 4 F 2 6 ) Stitch Stitch B 0 4 ) 0 Stitch Idle ) 2 4 F 2 4 ) Stitch Stitch B 0 2 ) 0 Stitch Idle ) 2 2 F

The letters, B and F, are intended to represent the back and fron needle bars of the double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine employed to form the aforesaid terry cloth.

The foregoing formula, which is commonly designated as a "lapping formula" produces the illustrative stitch patterns 21 and 22 shown in the point diagram of FIG. 2. The patterns 21 and 22 are respectively produced by the No. 1 (front) guide bar and the No. 2 (rear) guide bar of the knitting machine.

As is evident from the lapping formula, there are eight successive stitching actions of alternate back and front needle bars of the No. 1 guide bar before the pattern is repeared. In the case of the No. 2 guide bar, the stitch pattern 22 is also repeated after eight successive actions, except that there are four stitching operations which individually alternate with four idling operations.

Accordingly, the point diagram of FIG. 2 has eight successive courses of representative needle points. The Courses are numbered from 1 through 8, beginning with the bottom row of the diagram along its right-hand margin. A ninth course, number 9, indicated by the top row of the diagram, shows the position at which the stitching pattern begins to be repeated. The points in alternate horizontal rows represent needle heads of alternate back and front needle bars and are numbered from 1 to 7 and right to left at the bottom of the diagram to designate representative needle positions.

Since the overall stitch pattern is the same for each set of courses, there being one point from each point in a set, the single pattern 21, which corresponds to the lapping formula entries for the No. 1 guide bar, illustrates the operation of that bar and, correspondingly, the single pattern 22, which corresponds to the lapping formula entries for the No. 2 guide bar, illustrates the operation of that bar.

In addition, at the top of the point diagram of FIG. 2, the spaces between the needle head positions for the pattern 21 are numbered 0 and 2, while the spaces between the needle heads for the pattern 22 are numbered 0, 2, 4 and 6. The positions of the inter-needle 0's, i.e., to the right of the patterns 21 and 22, are determined by the positions of the guide bar traversing mechanism, which illustrativelt is at the right side of the machine. It is apparent that the designations of the inter-needle positions are relative and any convenient origin and numbering scheme may be selected.

Each successive pair of column entries of the lapping formula, beginning at the top, indicates a pair of inter-needle positions in FIG. 2, beginning at the bottom. Thus, the first pair of entries 0,2 (for the back needle bar B) in the lapping formula for the No. 1 guide bar, produces that portion 21a of the stitch 21 that extends in a counterclockwise direction from inter-needle position 0 to inter-needle position 2 above a needle point designated N.sub.15 in the first course. The subscript notation used for the needle points in FIG. 2 indicates the row and column position of the designated points. Thus, the designation N.sub.15 indicates that the associated needle is in the 1st row (bottom course) of the 5th column (needle position). The second stitch of the pattern 21 about needle point N.sub.25 is produced by the front needle bar F, in accordance with the second pair of entries of the lapping formula for the position 0. Between needle points N.sub.15 and N.sub.25 the stitch moves along inter-needle position 2. Subsequently, as indicated by the lapping formula, the stitch moves along position 0 to needle point N.sub.35 where it forms a counterclockwise open loop to position 2. The stitch pattern 21 then proceeds as indicated about successive needle points N.sub.45, N.sub.55, N.sub.65, N.sub.75 and N.sub.85. The pattern 21 then begins to be repeated beginning with needle point N.sub.95.

Stitch 22 is produced by the entries in the lapping formula for the No. 2 guide bar. The first pair of entries 0, 2 for the back needle bar B produces an open loop about needle point N.sub.11 extending from inter-needle position 0 to inter-needle position 2. The next entry 2 is for the idling motion of the front needle bar F and is indicated in FIG. 2 by the diagonal line that extends from the vicinity of needle point N.sub.11 to the vicinity of needle point N.sub.32. The next pair of entries 2,4 produces an open loop about needle point N.sub.32, followed by an idling motion corresponding to the idle entry 4 and an open loop about needle point N.sub.53 for the entries 6,4. The direction of the stitch pattern 22 is now reversed. The remainder of the pattern 22 entails idling along inter-needle position 4; an open loop for the entries 4,2 about needle point N.sub.72 ; and idling along position 2 towards needle N.sub.91. At this latter point the pattern begins its repetition, and the stitch corresponds to that at needle point N.sub.11.

When all needles are operating, the result is a composite pattern P.sub.1 shown at the left side of the point diagram of FIG. 2.

It is evident from the formula, as illustrated in FIG. 2, that the pattern 21 is a chain stitch in which there is traverse of a single needle, while the pattern 22 is a base stitch which traverses three needle positions. Accordinly, the invention results in a stitched terry cloth with a set of stitches of the type 21 upon a ground pattern fabric with a set of stitches of the type 22.

The foregoing lapping formula permits many obvious variations which are in keeping with the invention. One such alternative is set forth below.

______________________________________ No. 1 Guide Bar No. 2 Guide Bar ______________________________________ 2 B 2 0 0 2 F 2 0 2 2 B 4 0 F 4 0 4 2 B 6 2 F 4 2 4 0 B 2 2 F 2 ______________________________________

A representative stitch pattern 31 corresponding to the alternative lapping formula for the No. 1 guide bar is shown in FIG. 3, along with a representative stitch pattern 32 for the No. 2 guide bar.

As indicated by FIG. 3, the stitch pattern 31 is merely the inverse of the stitch pattern 21 of FIG. 2, while the stitch pattern 32 is like the pattern 22, except that loops 32a and 32e and 32j, which are at positions corresponding to needle points N.sub.11, N.sub.53 and N.sub.91 of FIG. 2, are completely closed instead of being open.

The Pattern P2 of FIG. 3 is a superposition of the various patterns of the type 31 or 32 of FIG. 3.

The basic fabric formed by stitches of the type 32 is shown in FIG. 4A, in which the illustrative stitch pattern 42 corresponds to a mirror image of the pattern 32 in FIG. 3, with the loop 42a corresponding to the loop 32a, the loop 42e corresponding to the loop 32e and the loop 42j corresponding to the loop 32j.

When the terry stitching produced in accordance with patterns of the type 31 are superimposed upon the base fabric of FIG. 4A, as shown in FIG. 4B, the terry loop 41a corresponds to the loop 31a of FIG. 3. Similarly, the loop 41c corresponds to loop 31c and loop 41g corresponds to loop 31g.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the terry cloth of the present invention is formed by continuous knitting by the rear needles of the Raschel machine to form the ground structure 10 and simultaneous knitting by both the front and rear needles of said machine to form the system of terry threads 11, which is stitched to one side of the system of threads forming the ground structure 10. Thus, as will be seen in FIG. 4B, the terry threads are stitched to the system of threads forming the ground structure at predetermined points as, for example, in courses indicated generally by the numerals 100, 101, 102, 103 wherein loops 42k, 42l, 42m, 42n of the system of threads forming the ground structure are connected with the terry threads, thereby anchoring them to the ground structure and providing a corresponding strength and stability. It will be seen that the terry loops are disposed intermediately of the said courses; but it is to be understood that other stitching arrangements may be resorted to whereby other interconnections may be had between the systems of threads forming the ground structure and the terry threads.

It is also to be understood that the size of the terry loops in the foregoing arrangements is determined by the distance between the trick plates in the double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine which may be varied so as to determine the height and openness of the terry pile and the size of the loops thereof, all of which is well known to persons skilled in the art.

When desired, the system of threads comprising the terry threads 11 11 may be distributed in preselected areas on the system of threads forming the ground structure 10. Thus, as may be seen in FIG. 5, the surface of the system of threads forming the ground structure 10 may be interrupted by the system of threads comprising the terry threads 11 to form stripes as shown. Other geometric forms may also be availed of.

The embodiments of the invention illustrated and described hereinabove have been selected for the purpose of clearly setting forth the principles involved. It will be apparent, however, that the present invention is susceptible to being modified in respect to details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims

1. A terry cloth formed on a double needle bar Raschel warp knitting machine comprising, in combination:

a. a system of threads forming a ground structure knitted upon one said needle bar;

b. a system of terry threads being knit into the ground structure at predetermined points;

c. said system of terry threads being chain stitches knit into the ground structure under very little tension;

d. said system of terry threads being disposed in preselected areas upon one side of said system of threads forming said ground structure;

e. said system of threads forming said ground structure being tighter knit than said system of terry threads;

f. said system of terry threads being interconnected upon said one side of said system of threads forming said ground structure whereby said system of terry threads are interconnected on the terry surface of said terry

2. A method of manufacturing terry cloth upon a double needle bar warp knitting machine comprising simultaneously forming a system of threads forming a ground structure and a system of terry threads knit by the front needle bar under very little tension, comprised by chain stitches according to the following formula:

3. A terry cloth according to claim 1,

a. said system of terry threads interconnected on the terry surface of said terry cloth including a plurality of terry loops disposed in parallel wales;

b. each of said terry loops being interconnected with at least one of two

4. A terry cloth according to claim 3,

a. said each of said terry loops also being interconnected with the other of said adjacent terry loops;

b. said interconnected terry loops being in the same wale.