Patent ID: 7213418

Claim:
A method of producing a hose-like knitted product which is closed at one end using a one-cylinder circular knitting machine provided with a dial plate that is situated above a needle cylinder, the dial plate being equipped with dial sinkers in operative arrangement with a plurality of needles of the circular knitting machine, the plurality of needles being divided into a first half-circle of needles and a second half-circle of needles, a first half of dial sinkers ( 4 ) being located on one side of the dial plate corresponding to the first half-circle of needles and a second half of dial sinkers ( 4 ′) being located on the other side of the dial plate corresponding to the second half-circle of needles, wherein the method comprises the steps of: performing make-up of knitting loops defining a toe portion of the knitted product on the first half-circle of needles and the first half of dial sinkers ( 4 ) knitting a number of courses in reverse run with the first half-circle of needles to form a toe pouch (V) with the knitting loops on one edge of the toe pouch (V) being retained on the first half of dial sinkers ( 4 ); retracting the first half of dial sinkers ( 4 ) inward to transfer the knitting loops on the retained edge to corresponding loop retaining ends on transferring means ( 5 , 6 , 51 , 61 ) with the loop retaining ends pointing toward the first half-circle of needles radially in a semi-circular pattern and the transferring means in operative arrangement with the first half dial sinkers ( 4 ), the transfer means being pivotable about a transverse axis; overturning the transferring means about the pivotal axis thereof such that the loon retaining ends are pointing toward the second half-circle of needles and the transferring means is in operative engagement with the second half of dial sinkers ( 4 ′) extending the second half of dial sinkers ( 4 ′) outward to engage and carry the knitted loops of the retained edge to a position over the respective ones of the second half-circle of needles; actuating the second half-circle of needles to engage the respective knitted loops of the retained edge: and continue knitting from the edges of the toe pouch simultaneously with at least one of the first half-circle of needles and the first half-circle of needles to form the knitted product.