Method and machine for manufacturing stockings

Claim 3

A method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of knitting tubular portions between said legs and said tubular panty portion adjacent said waist opening by reciprocating said needle cylinder and forming at least some complete courses.

Claim 4

A method as claimed in claim 1, including the step of knitting at least some wales of the courses adjacent said waist opening with an elastic yarn.

Claim 5

A method as claimed in claim 2, including the step of knitting at least some wales of the courses forming said tubular portions adjacent said waist opening with an elastic yarn.

Claim 6

A method as claimed in claim 1, including the steps of knitting a crotch zone substantially diametrically opposite said waist opening and a front and rear central portion of said tubular panty portion by feeding yarn to a number of needles of said needle cylinder to form partial courses at the sides of said crotch zone and further feeding at regular intervals said yarn to a further number of needles of said needle cylinder to knit courses across said crotch zone joining together said partial courses at regular intervals, whereby said crotch zone is Formed by a number of courses smaller than that of said front and rear central portions of said panty portion.

Claim 7

A method as claimed in claim 5, including the steps of knitting said crotch zone and said frontal and rear central portions of said panty portion on a circular hosiery knitting machine having two feeds spaced from one another and needles grouped in two substantially opposite needle groups and an intermediate needle group arranged between said two substantially opposite needle groups, wherein said partial courses forming said frontal and rear central portions are knitted by the needles of said two substantially opposite groups of needles with a yarn fed by that of said two feeds which is opposite thereto and said courses across said crotch zone are knitted by the needles of said intermediate needle group with a yarn fed at regular intervals after a predetermined number of reciprocations by one and the other of said two feeds, said partial courses being joined to said courses of said crotch zone by feeding at least one needle at one end of said groups with the yarns of both said feeds.

Claim 8

A method as claimed in claim 2, including the steps of knitting said tubular portions between said legs and said tubular panty portion adjacent said waist opening on a circular hosiery knitting machine having two feeds spaced from one another and needles grouped in two substantially opposite needle groups and an intermediate needle group arranged between said two substantially opposite needle groups, wherein said tubular portions are knitted by feeding yarn to the needles of said two substantially opposite needle groups to form partial courses joined together at one end thereof and by feeding at regular intervals said yarn to the needles of said intermediate needle group to form courses joining together said partial courses at the other end thereof at regular intervals, whereby during reciprocation of said needle cylinder at least one needle at the end of adjacent needle groups is operated to take up yarn from both the feeds for joining together said courses at said ends.

Claim 9

A method as claimed in claim 1, including the steps of knitting some wales of elastic yarn adjacent said waist opening of said tubular panty portion knitted of a body yarn on a circular hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder with a generatrix along which said waist opening is defined, said needle cylinder including a first and a second needle group arranged symmetrically with respect to said generatrix and opposite to each other, a third needle group arranged between said first and second needle group substantially opposite said generatrix and a fourth and a fifth needle group adjacent each other and arranged opposite to said third needle group between said first and said second needle group, and further having two feeds for said body yarn and two feeds opposite thereto for said elastic yarn, wherein said wales of elastic yarn are knitted by feeding said elastic yarn to the needles of said fourth and fifth needle group.

Claim 10

A method as claimed in claim 8, further including the steps of knitting additionally to said wales of elastic yarn some wales of said body yarn by feeding selected needles of said fourth and fifth needle group with said body yarn fed by said feeds for body yarn and the remaining needles of said fourth and fifth needle group with said elastic yarn fed by said feeds for elastic yarn at regular intervals, thereby to form courses of body yarn arranged between courses of elastic yarn.

Claim 12

A method as claimed in claim 1, including knitting a crotch portion of said panty portion by selecting needles and forming held loops.

Claim 13

A circular hosiery knitting machine for manufacturing tubular panty hose and the like having a panty portion with a waist opening and two legs integral with said panty portion, comprising a needle cylinder having needles slidable therein, means for reciprocating said needle cylinder by an extent of substantially a complete turn, at least one feed for feeding a body yarn and two feeds for feeding elastic yarn, selecting mechanisms including patterning levers arranged along the periphery of the needle cylinder to select said needles at both strokes of each reciprocation to knit the yarn of a corresponding feed, and control means for causing substantially all the needles to knit at each of at least some strokes of reciprocation during the knitting operation of said tubular panty portion and for controlling the needles at the end of each said strokes of reciprocation to form a knitted selvage edge during manufacturing of at least a part of said panty portion to define said waist opening.

Claim 14

A circular hosiery knitting machine for manufacturing tubular panty hose and the like having a panty portion with a waist opening and two legs integral with said panty portion, comprising a needle cylinder having needles slidable therein, means for reciprocating said needle cylinder by an extent of substantially a complete turn, at least one feed for feeding a body yarn and two feeds for feeding elastic yarn, selecting mechanisms including patterning levers arranged along the periphery of the needle cylinder to select said needles at both strokes of each reciprocation to knit the yarn of a corresponding feed, and control means for causing substantially all the needles to knit at each of at least some strokes of reciprocation during the knitting operation of said tubular panty portion and for controlling the needles at the end of each said strokes of reciprocation to form a knitted selvage edge during manufacturing of at least a part of said panty portion to define said waist opening.

Claim 15

A circular hosiery knitting machine as claimed in claim 12, including two adjacent feeds for feeding said body yarn, wherein said needle control means further include means for causing at least one needle to knit together the yarns fed by said two adjacent feeds at the end of each reciprocation to form tubular parts made of complete courses adjacent the ends of said waist opening.

Claim 16

A circular hosiery knitting machine as claimed in claim 12, comprising needles grouped in a first and second needle group arranged diametrically opposite to each other, a third intermediate needle group arranged between said first and said second needle group, and a fourth and fifth needle group arranged between said first and said second needle group opposite to said third needle group, further comprising two feeds for feeding said body yarn to said needles of said first and second group during reciprocation of said needle cylinder such that each of said first and second needle groups is fed by that one of said two feeds which is arranged substantially opposite thereto, and for feeding said body yarn at certain times to said needles of said third needle group such that each of said feeds supplies yarn alternately and said third needle group is not fed during other times, and two feeds for feeding said elastic yarn to said fourth and fifth needle group such that each of said fourth and fifth needle group is fed by one of said feeds feeding elastic yarn and by a corresponding one of said feeds feeding said body yarn arranged opposite to the corresponding needle group, the machine wherein said selecting mechanisms include means for controlling at least one needle at at least one end of said groups to knit together the yarns fed to said groups by different feeds.