COMFORT HOSIERY WITH SEAMLESS CUSHIONED AREA
A garment constructed by a cylinder knitting machine with a comfort quality area on or near the foot area, created by a different method of knitting from the rest of the tight. The difference between the quality of the leg and comfort portion of the garment (i.e., tights) consists of the use of a different needle movement and/or knitting tool, but is not limited to just that. Additionally, the fiber may also differ in the comfort area as compared to the leg area of the tights in order to reach different end results.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/312,647, filed Mar. 24, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference, as if fully set forth herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to hosiery, and more specifically, to fashion tights with cushioned areas that are seamless.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHosiery, such as fashion tights, are often uncomfortable due to the fact that they are constructed at a fine gauge, and do not provide adequate cushioning. For example, most fashion tights do not provide adequate padding in the heel and toe regions.
In order to address this comfort issue, most existing hosiery have used “sewn-in” socks whereby two products (e.g., a tight and a sock) are sewn together. In many cases, tights and socks are constructed using two separate machines, making this process complicated. Tights with “sewn-in” socks also have many drawbacks. For one, there is a seamline where the tight-portion and the sock-portion come together. This seamline is uncomfortable for the user and is not aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, because tights with “sewn-in” socks require the use of at least two separate knitting machines, there is often a break in the manufacturing process (between the knitting of the tight and the sewing-in of the sock), resulting in wasted material, higher cost, added labor, longer development process and potentially causing delays in production. Moreover, because tights are typically made of fine gauge material, the process by which a sock is sewn into the tight may cause greater defects during the manufacturing process.
Accordingly, there is presently a need for hosiery which provides comfort through a cushioned sock area, while also providing a fashionable look which is free from seamlines between the cushioned sock area and the rest of the hosiery. There is also a need for an efficient and streamlined process for producing such hosiery, which reduces the amount of wasted material, decreases labor and machine costs, and generates less defects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a garment including at least one non-cushioned portion comprising a first stitch technique, and at least one cushioned portion comprising a second stitch technique such that the at least one non-cushioned portion and the at least one cushioned portion are seamlessly separated. The first stitch technique may be distinct from the second stitch technique and both the first stitch technique and the second stitch technique may be manufactured by a knitting machine having one or more cylinders.
The invention will be better understood with reference to the following detailed description, of which the following drawings form an integral part.
The present invention relates to hosiery and methods for making the same. In one exemplary embodiment, the hosiery includes a cushioned portion and a non-cushioned portion, each made using the same, or different, stitches. The cushioned and non-cushioned portions are preferably constructed so as to appear seamless. The cushioned are may be created by knitting a cushion pile in specific areas of the hosiery.
The cushioned and non-cushioned portions of the garments 100, 100′, 100″ and 200 may be constructed by a circular knitting machine of fine gauge. For example, fine gauge could be knitting machine with three hundred needles or more (i.e., 300N and above). Such a circular knitting machine may include one or more cylinders, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. The same circular knitting machine can be used to produce all parts of the garments 100, 100′, 100″ and 200, including the cushioned (203, 103A, 103B, 103C) and non-cushioned (201, 101A, 101B, 101C) portions. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that while the exemplary embodiments described herein reference a circular knitting machine, any type of knitting machine may be utilized.
The non-cushioned portion 201 of the garment 200 may be constructed using a flat knit stitch. In one exemplary embodiment, a circular knitting machine may have approximately four hundred (400) latch needles and a sinker configured for radial movement between the latch needles in order to form knit stitches. The cushioned portion 203 may be constructed using one of various types of cushioned stitches discussed further below. For example, the cushioned portion 203 may be formed using a terry loop stich (500;
The circular knitting machine used to manufacture the garments 100, 100′, 100″ and 200 may have adjustable settings and/or be programmed to be able to transition from constructing the cushioned and non-cushioned portions of the garment. In one exemplary embodiment, the circular knitting machine does not have to be stopped while transitioning from constructing the cushioned to the non-cushioned portion of the garment. The needles and/or sinker may be adjusted in order to knit portions with various pile heights (and amount of cushion). The pile height may be increased by adjusting the knitting method, fiber type, additional brushing of the pile fibers post-knitting and the like. The cushioned portions (203, 103A, 103B, 103C) of the garments (200, 100, 100′, 100″) may be constructed using elongated sinker loops or terry loop stitches, tuck loop stiches, and/or float loop stitches. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand how to make various pile heights and cushioning for the cushioned portion of the garment 200 using the above-referenced techniques. The following U.S. Patents generally describing knitting techniques, circular knitting machines and the generation of piles are incorporated by reference herein: (1) U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,952; (2) U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,887; (3) U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,115; (4) U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,653; (5) U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,518; (6) U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,419; (7) U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,683; (8) U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,025; (9) U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,681, and (10) U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,047.
To produce elongated sinker loop stitches or terry loop stitches, a body thread is knit into stiches in successive course, producing needle wales. The needle loops in each course are connected by sinker loops in turn producing sinker wales between the needle wales. A second thread of same size, composed of the body thread, is knitted into needle loops in each course. In one exemplary embodiment, the sinker loops for the second thread are elongated when compared to the sinker loops for the first thread. The elongated sinker threads protrude from the plane formed by the knitted item by forming a cushioned region on the face of the knitted item. More elongated sinker loops may be associated with longer terry loop stitches, in order to create the elongated sinker loops.
As shown in
The terry loop stitch 500 may be formed in much the same way as described above for the elongated sinker loop stitch (
As illustrated in
Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly to include other variants and embodiments of the invention which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein.
Claims
1. A garment comprising:
- at least one non-cushioned portion comprising a first stitch technique; and
- at least one cushioned portion comprising a second stitch technique such that the at least one non-cushioned portion and the at least one cushioned portion are seamlessly separated,
- wherein the first stitch technique is distinct from the second stitch technique and both the first stitch technique and the second stitch technique are manufactured by a knitting machine having one or more cylinders.
2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment further comprises at least one of a sock, leggings and tights.
3. The garment of claim 1, wherein the second stitch technique configured to create the at least one cushioned portion is one of a terry loop stitch, a tuck loop stitch and a float loop stitch.
4. The garment of claim 1, wherein the materials of the cushioned and non-cushioned portions of the garment have a fiber size of 400 denier or less.
5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the knitting machine is programmed to transition from knitting the at least one non-cushioned portion to knitting the at least one cushioned portion without stopping.
6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the non-cushioned portion has a shorter pile height than the cushioned portion.
7. The garment of claim 1, wherein the at least one cushioned portion covers a user's sole.
8. The garment of claim 1, wherein the at least one cushioned portion extends from a user's toes to user's mid-calf.
9. The garment of claim 1, wherein the at least one cushioned portion extends from a user's toes to a user's ankle.
10. The garment of claim 1, wherein the knitting machine includes 300 or more needles.
11. A method for making a garment comprising the steps of:
- forming at least one non-cushioned portion of the garment using a first stitch technique on a knitting machine; and
- forming at least one cushioned portion of the garment using a second stitch technique on said knitting machine, such that the at least one non-cushioned portion and the at least one cushioned portion are seamlessly separated.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the second stitch technique is selected from the group consisting of a terry loop stitch technique, a tuck loop stitch technique and a float loop stitch technique.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the non-cushioned portion has a shorter pile height than the cushioned portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 19, 2016
Publication Date: Sep 28, 2017
Inventors: Kathryne N. Patchin (Lacey, WA), Yu-Ting Huang (Edmond, OK), Lindsay A. Gin (Oklahoma City, OK)
Application Number: 15/297,884