METHOD OF MANUFACTURING KNITTED BRIEFS

Abstract: A plurality of brief blanks are knitted upon a circular knitting machine. A row of brief blanks are interconnected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube. In one embodiment, the tube is slit walewise as it is being knitted upon the machine, followed by coursewise separation. In a second embodiment, following coursewise separation on the machine, a length of tube (including a row of brief blanks) is removed from the machine and then slit walewise. The brief blanks are folded and side- seamed to complete assembly.

Description: The present invention relates to the manufacture of knitted briefs. By briefs is meant a garment comprising a body portion adapted to conver the lower portion of a wearer's trunk from the waist downwards to and beneath the crotch, and having therein leg openings at respectivley opposite sides if the crotch portion which closes the garment at its lower end. Figure l of British Patent No. l485952 illustrates the profile of the flat knitted brief blank traditionally produced prior to side seaming into a brief proper. The blank profile consists of spaced generally rectangular portions connected by way of respective adjoining trapezium-shaped portions, the narrower ends of which are connected by way of an intervening bridge portion. In use, the rectangular portions from the front and back of the ultimate briefs, the edges of the trapezium shaped portions from the leg openings and the intervening bridge portion forms the crotch. Historically, a blank of the above shape was produced either by cutting from flat fabric or by walewise fashioning by transference of loops on a straight-bar knitting machine. Our above identified British patent however discloses a method of knitting a seamless tubular blank on a circular seamless hose machine prior to slitting the tube to provide a flattened blank of the required profile. In accordance with the broadest aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of knitting a plurality of brief blanks upon a circular knitting machine characterised by knitting a row comprising a plurality of blanks inter-connected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of knitting plurality of brief blanks of the required form upon a circular knitting machine which comprises knitting the blanks inter-connected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube, slitting the tube walewise as it is being knitted on the machine to sever the connection between the inter-connected blanks on the machine, and coursewise separating successive blanks to provide a plurality of separated brief blanks of the required form. Also, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of knitting a plurality of brief blanks of the required form upon a circular knitting machine which comprises knitting the blanks inter-connected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube, coursewise separating successive blanks, removing the tube from the machine, slitting the tube walewise to sever the connected between the inter-connected blanks to provide a plurality of separated brief blanks of the required form. The tube may be slit walewise a plurality of times to provide a corresponding plurality of brief blanks. Alternatively, where two blanks are invloved, the tube may for example be collapsed and the two walewise slits performed simultaneously, for example by a common hot wire device. The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. l shows, in diagrammatic form, an unslit, waisted tube as taken down from a circular knitting machine, the knitted loop structure for the indicated parts being as given to the right of the Fig., in Figs. lA, lB,lC and lD. Fig. 2 shows one of the opened out flat knitted brief blanks produced from the knitted tube shown in Fig. l, Fig. 3 illustrates the blank of Fig. 2 folded over into brief form, ready for seaming, Fig. 4 illustrates briefs completed from the folded over blank of Fig. 3, and Figure 5 illustrates an unslit waisted tube containing connected brief blanks for a ladies brief and a childs brief. A waisted tube shown in Fig. l is knitted by wholly rotary knitting on a multi-feed circular knitting machine. the tube consists of two connected brief blanks of the required generally hourglass form. In Fig. l the blanks are shown in overlying relationship, the portions E, E₁, and F, F₁ alternatively forming the waist band of the briefs produced from the upper brief blank. In order to faciliate separation of the two blanks, a number of needles, typically three, are omitted at diametrically opposite portions of the tube indicated at Z, Z. Half of the waistbands for each of the two blanks is knitted first, the knitted structure being as illustrated in Fig.lA. The portion E, E₁ of the waistband consists of l84 courses of a fabric knitted from Helanca (Trade Mark) yarn l0, a Lycra (Trade Mark) yarn l2 being laid-in in alternate wales and floated across the intervening wales on a l × l knit/float basis. The body portion of the brief is then knitted, the portion E, D, B, E₁ having the same extent as the waistband portion E, E₁. The crotch portion C, A, C₁, A₁ having an extent of approximately l/3 of that of the waistband portion E, E₁. G, G₁, are non-symmetrical centres of the crotch portion. The fabric portions E, D, C, G, A, B, E₁ and F, D₁, C₁, G₁, A₁, B₁, F₁ are both of plain stitch fabric of Helanca yarn. The edges of a fabric shown in Fig. l at D, D₁ and B, B₁ respectively form the leg openings in the ultimate briefs with the edges C, C₁ and A, A₁ forming the crotch portion. The structure of the portions C, A, G and C₁, A₁, G₁ are given in Fig. lB and are knitted on a 7 × l basis from Helanca yarn. The fabric has two spaced wales l4 of plain stitches, the intervening seven wales being knitted at alternate courses l6. The points CC₁ and AA₁ indicate the start of the intervening elasticated construction of the crotch the structure of which is illustrated in Fig. lC. This structure is identical to that of Fig. lB but with a Lycra yarn used in conjunction with the floated Helanca yarn 20. The two yarns are knitted together in widely spaced wales only, i.e. only each eighth wale and are elsewhere floated across the intervening wales. Thus, the floats are long ones serving to contract the fabric walewise in the area of the crotch resulting in a related width, d, which is approximately one third of the width d₁, of the body portion. Finally, a turned welt similar to E, E₁ and of the structure illustrated in Fig. lA is knitted together with a plain run-off section (not shown). The run-off section is of sufficient length to lock the ends of the tubular waistband portions together to facilitate press-off of a finished tube. When the tube has been knitted and taken down from the machine, it is slit walewise as described, either with a single or a plurality of slit operations using a hot wire cutter or cutters at each of the two slitting positions where the three needles were omitted. When the tube is slit, the margin around the leg opening in the finished brief is caused to roll inwards along the lines BB₁ and DD₁. This is achieved by the structure shown in Figure lD where alternate courses 32 of elongated floats (each of up to l6 wales) are floated across the loops 34 of the knitted ground structure, terminating on a wale 36. To the right of wale 36, as viewed, are a succession of l × l float stitches 38 immediately preceding the severed portion at the extreme right of Figure lD, as viewed. In the structure illustrated in Figure lD, when slitting occurs, the loops to the right of wale 36, as viewed, cause the fabric edge to roll in on itself, whereas the floated loops 32 to the left of wale 36 cause the fabric to fold back on itself thus providing a neat, automatic selvedge along the leg openings. The blank is then folded over as shown Fig. 3 and the side edges of the blanks seamed using an overlock or flat lock machine. A completed brief as shown in Fig. 4 is thus provided. Alternatively, the tubular blank may be coursewise separated on the machine, the tubular section present after separation being then removed from the machine and slit walewise to provide a plurality of separated brief blanks of the required form. Example A tubular length of fabric as illustrated in Figure 5 was knitted upon a 5.75 inch diameter circular knitting machine having 5l2 needles. Two walewise separation positions 22 were provided at each of which three needles were omitted and across which positions yarn 24 was floated. The positions 22 do not extend in a straight line to accommodate the difference in brief blank sizes. One section between separation positions included 320 needles, for manufacture into a ladies brief and the other section included l80 needles, for manufacture into a childs brief. As may be seen from Figure 5, the blank for the ladies brief has the same overall lenghth as the brief for the childs brief. A different pattern drum was provided for each section, i.e. one for the ladies brief and one for the childs brief, each pattern drum effecting a different needle selected for the crotch portions 28, 30 of the two brief blanks. The brief blanks were knitted in the manner described with respect to Figure l save that in Figure l two brief blanks of the same size were knitted whereas in the example the blanks were of different size as indicated above. The tube was then coursewise seperated to provide a shortened tube having two walewise connected blanks. With the shortened tube removed from the knitting machine, walewise separation was performed to provide a ladies brief blank and a childs brief blank each of the configuration illustrated in Figure 2. Each of the blanks was then folded over as illustrated in Figure 3 and the side edges of the blank overlocked to form two completed briefs each as illustrated in Figure 4. It will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to the product of a ladies and a childs brief. In dependence upon the size of brief required, on the 5.75 inch machine described above, two normal-sized ladies briefs can be produced or three childrens-sized briefs. When two identical briefs are knitted, it has been found that a single pattern drum or other needle selected device, such as an electric device may be used for effecting needle selection.. A major advantage offered by the invention, for example, over the method disclosed in British Patent Number l485952, lies in the fact that an increased number of briefs can be produced in a given floor space on a single machine.

Claims: 1. A method of knitting a plurality of brief blanks upon a circular knitting machine characterised by knitting a row comprising a plurality of blanks inter-connected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube. 2. A method of knitting a plurality of brief blanks upon a circular knitting machine characterised by knitting the blanks inter-connected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube (Figure l), slitting the tube walewise as it is being knitted on the machine to sever the connection between the inter-connected blanks, and coursewise separating successive blanks to provide a plurality of separated brief blanks of the required form (Figure 2). 3. A method according to claim 2 additionally characterised by individually slitting the tube a plurality of times to provide a corresponding plurality of brief blanks. 4. A method according to claim 2 when used for producing a pair of brief blanks in side-by-side relationship which is additionally characterised by the step of collapsing the tube and slitting the collapsed tube walewise upon a common slitting device. 5. A method according to claim 2,3 or 4 characterised in that the configuration of each brief blank is determined by neddle selection programmed from a common pattern drum or other needle selection system. 6. A method of knitting a plurality of brief blanks upon a circular knitting machine characterised by knitting the blanks inter-connected in side-by-side relationship in the form of a tube (Figure l) coursewise separating blanks removing the tube from the machine, slitting the tube walewise to sever the connection between the inter-connected blanks to provide a plurality of separated brief blanks of the required form. 7. A method according to claim 6 additionally characterised by individually slitting the tube a plurality of times to provide a corresponding plurality of brief blanks. 8. A method according to claim 6 when used for producing a pair of brief blanks in side-by-side relationship which is additionally characterised by the step of collapsing the tube and slitting the collapsed tube walewise upon a common slitting device. 9. A method according to claim 6, 7, or 8 characterised in that the configuration of each brief blank is determined by needle section programmed from a common pattern drum or other needle selection system.

Inventors: VAN LAAR, ANTON, WRIGHT, KENNETH
Applicants: PANTY CANDY LIMITED
Application year: 1986
Main classification: D04B1
IPC codes: D04B1, D04B9