Sliding clasp fastener stringers

Claim 1

A warp-knitting machine for making a sliding clasp fastener stringer, the machine having a knitting zone and comprising a row of knitting needles for knitting a carrier tape of the stringer from a plurality of filaments of yarn, a plurality of guide bars each carrying yarn guides, a tubular guide having a lower end disposed to guide a series of interconnected coupling elements to a predetermined position in the knitting zone adjacent one end of the row of knitting needles, a hook type knitting needle which is secured to a rotatably mounted lever so as to be movable substantially perpendicularly through a plane containing the row of carrier tape knitting needles and filaments of yarn by a first cam follower which is connected to said lever and is urged into engagement with a first moving cam surface, said hook type needle further being located beneath the tubular guide for movement through the path of movement of the series of coupling elements at the knitting zone and said lever being mounted for lateral movement with respect to said plane by means of a second cam follower which is connected to said lever and is urged into engagement with a second moving cam surface such that the hook of said hook type needle grasps a filament of yarn during the penetration of said needle through said plane and withdraws said filament on one side of said coupling elements and then overlaps said coupling elements with said yarn before again penetrating said plane and means are provided for oscillating said hook type needle about its axis during movements of the needle through said plane at said laterally spaced positions so as to retain said yarn on said hook during the overlapping movement from a first to a second laterally spaced position.

Claim 6

A method of making a sliding clasp fastener stringer comprises warp-knitting a carrier tape with a plurality of knitting needles which operate in a first plane and, during the knitting, locating a series of interconnected coupling elements at one face of the tape and adjacent a longitudinal edge of the tape, moving a knitting needle in a direction substantially perpendicular to and into said plane and over one of said plurality of knitting needles between adjacent coupling elements of the series to engage at least one of the knitting yarns, moving said knitting needle in a direction substantially perpendicular to and out of said plane to draw a first loop of said yarn between adjacent coupling elements of the series, feeding the series of elements and tape, and repeating the movements of said knitting needle so that a second loop of yarn drawn by said needle is interlinked with said first loop thereby to secure the series of coupling elements to the knitting tape.

Claim 7

A method of making a sliding clasp fastener stringer comprises warp-knitting a carrier tape with a plurality of knitting needles which operate in a first plane and, during the knitting, locating a series of interconnected coupling elements at one face of the tape and adjacent a longitudinal edge of the tape, moving a knitting needle in a direction substantially perpendicular to and into said plane and over one of said plurality of knitting needles between adjacent coupling elements of the series to engage at least one of the knitting yarns, moving said knitting needle in a direction substantially perpendicular to and out of said plane to draw a first loop of said yarn between adjacent coupling elements of the series, feeding the series of elements and tape, and repeating the movements of said knitting needle so that a second loop of yarn drawn by said needle is interlinked with said first loop thereby to secure the series of coupling elements to the knitting tape.