EP0431984B1 - Double faced elastic knitwear - Google Patents

Abstract

The double-faced knit of the invention comprises an outer face made of jersey, based on hydrophilic fibres, for example cotton, plaited with an elastic yarn, an inner face made of jersey, based on hydrophobic fibres, for example polyester, and the two faces are bonded by a yarn which is itself elastic. This knit is particularly suitable for the manufacture of sportswear in contact with the skin. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a double-sided knit fabric intended for clothing and in particular for making articles in contact with the skin and more particularly still for making articles for high competition sports.

The technique of double-sided knitting is well known to those skilled in the art. According to this technique, the two faces are connected during knitting by a connecting thread.

We have already proposed, for the manufacture of large articles, double-sided knitwear, the two faces of which are made from different materials, in particular one face made from hydrophilic fibers, capable of absorbing moisture and therefore the sweat, and the other side from hydrophobic fibers, capable of transferring moisture.

The aim set by the applicant is to propose a knit which, compared to the aforementioned known knit, improves comfort, by allowing better air conditioning of the body, the knit being in contact with the skin.

This object is achieved thanks to the knitting of the invention. This is in known manner a double-sided knitted fabric, the two sides of which are connected by a connecting thread, the reverse side of which is based on hydrophobic fibers and the right side of which is based on hydrophilic fibers. Typically, on the one hand, this double-sided knitted fabric comprises an elastic thread for vanishing the hydrophilic fibers of the face side and, on the other hand, the connecting thread is an elastic thread.

Preferably the two right and wrong sides are jerseys.

Preferably, the two elastic threads used, one for the plating and the other for the connection, are spandex threads, for example known under the brand "lycra".

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the description which will be given of the preferred embodiment of a double-sided knit. elastic, illustrated by the appended drawing in which the single figure is a representation of the corresponding knitting diagram.

The elastic double-faced knitted fabric which the applicant prefers is composed of polyester fiber yarn, cotton fiber yarn and elastane yarn known under the brand name "lycra".

This knitting is carried out on a circular knitting loom of gauge 18, of diameter 30 inches, having 36 scraps, for example on loom manufactured by the firm MAYER.

The polyester fiber yarn is for example a fiber yarn known under the trademark "DACRON", of Nm 1/50.

The titration of the cotton yarn is for example Nm 1/56.

The elastic thread used is an elastane thread of either 22 or 44 dtex. It is bare, that is to say free of covering or covering fibers.

• 1. formation d'un jersey, sur le cylindre à partir du filé de fibres polyester;
• 2. formation d'un jersey , sur le plateau, à partir d'une part du filé de coton et d'autre part du fil d'élasthanne de vanisage qui est dans le cas d'espèce un 44 dtex;
• 3. liage des deux jerseys des points 1 et 2 par un fil d'élasthanne qui est soit un 44 soit un 22 dtex, à raison d'une maille sur le plateau et deux mailles sur le cylindre;
• 4. formation d'un jersey, sur le cylindre, à partir du filé de fibres polyester;
• 5. formation d'un jersey, sur le plateau, à partir d'une part du filé de coton et d'autre part du fil d'élasthanne de vanisage qui a le même titrage que celui du point 3 ci-dessus;
• 6. liage des deux jerseys des points 4 et 5 par un fil d'élasthanne qui est un 44 dtex , à raison d'une maille sur le plateau et deux mailles sur le cylindre, en alternance avec le liage du point 3 ci-dessus.

The single figure illustrates the knitting diagram, which includes a knitting cycle of 6 scraps, namely:

• 1. formation of a jersey, on the cylinder from the spun polyester fibers;
• 2. formation of a jersey, on the tray, on the one hand from the cotton yarn and on the other hand from the vanishing elastane yarn which is in this case a 44 dtex;
• 3. binding of the two jerseys of points 1 and 2 by an elastane thread which is either a 44 or a 22 dtex, at the rate of one stitch on the plate and two stitches on the cylinder;
• 4. formation of a jersey, on the cylinder, from the yarn of polyester fibers;
• 5. formation of a jersey, on the tray, on the one hand from the cotton yarn and on the other hand from the vanishing elastane yarn which has the same titration as that of point 3 above;
• 6. binding of the two jerseys of points 4 and 5 by an elastane thread which is a 44 dtex, at the rate of one mesh on the plate and two meshes on the cylinder, alternating with the binding of point 3 above .

The knitting conditions are as follows. The flow rates of all elastane threads are identical; their supply voltages differ, it is for example 4g for yarns for vanishing elastane, and 3g for the binding elastane yarns. The absorbed yarn length per hundred stitches, commonly called LFA, is 350 mm for cotton yarns and 350mm for polyester yarns. Plateau and cylinder slaughterings are simultaneous.

Vanisage is well known to those skilled in the art. It consists in simultaneously and parallel feeding two wires which will be meshed together. The presentation of the vanization thread is such that in the present case the elastic vanization thread is not visible on the outside of the face side, and therefore only cotton appears on this face.

Of course the circular knitting loom on which the above knitting is made is not, originally, able to work with elastic threads for binding and vanization. It was therefore necessary to mount on this loom means, known moreover, making it possible to obtain the aforementioned knitting conditions, namely suppliers of elastic threads and the corresponding thread guides.

The double-sided knit obtained is particularly suitable for making clothing for high-competition sports, in particular clothing in contact with the skin. It has in fact been found that the dual use of elastic thread as a connecting element and as a plating element appreciably improves the wearing comfort thanks to a better transfer of moisture from the body to the outside.

We can try to explain this finding by the following considerations. The vanity of the cotton yarn by the elastic thread tends to tighten the stitches on the right side, which constitutes the part of the garment facing outwards: this practically closes the inter-stitches and reduces the passage of air through the knitting. The combined use of the two elastic threads, of connection between the two faces and of vanization, gives the knit an elasticity such that the garment is in permanent contact with the skin; therefore the transfer of moisture from the body is faster from the reverse side, hydrophobic, in contact with the skin up to the right side, hydrophilic which absorbs the moisture which is transferred to it. The user does not feel like a garment that sticks to the skin.

The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment which has been described by way of non-exhaustive example, but covers all variants thereof. In particular, without departing from the invention, it is possible to use other types of hydrophobic fibers, for example based on polypropylene, or on polyvinyl chloride (known under the brand RHOVYL'UP), or those known under the TACTEL AQUATOR brand. One can also use other types of hydrophilic fibers, natural, such as flax, or chemical, or other types of elastic son, bare or gimped or whose elastic core is covered with fibers.

Claims (6)

1. A double-faced knitted fabric of the kind in which the wrong side is based on water-repellent fibres and the right side on absorbent fibres, the two sides being interconnected by a connecting yarn, characterised in that it has a resilient yarn for plaiting the absorbent fibres of the right side and the connecting yarn is a resilient yarn.

2. A knitted fabric according to claim 1, characterised in that the right side and wrong side are jerseys.

3. A knitted fabric according to claim 1, characterised in that the right side consists of cotton plaited with elastane.

4. A knitted fabric according to claim 1, characterised in that the wrong side consists of polyester.

5. A knitted fabric according to claim 1, characterised in that it is produced on a circular double-bed knitting machine by producing a jersey of water-repellent fibre yarn on the cylinder and a jersey of absorbent fibre yarn plaited with a resilient yarn on the bed, the two jerseys being meshed with a resilient yarn.

6. A knitted fabric according to claim 5, characterised in that the resilient plaiting yarn has a feed tension of 4 g and the resilient connecting yarn has a feed tension of 3 g.

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