Untitled record

Oct. 22, 1935.

2,018,248

R. P. B0RNER

STOCKING

Filed April 7, 1933

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Gttorneijo

Patented Oct 22, 1935

2,018,248

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,018,248 STOCKING Richard P. Bonier, West Reading, Pa., assignor to The Nolde and Horst Company, iteading; Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania

Application April 7, 1933, Serial No. 664,859

Claims.

This invention relates to full fashioned stockings and particularly to reenforcing the parts of the stocking foot and toe pocket thereof which are subjected to the greatest wear.

Among the points of greatest wear in stockings are the toe pockets and the sides of the foot portions adjacent the same, which not only are subjected to the forward thrust of the toes, but to the friction against the shoe lining due to the 10 natural flexing of the foot in walking. Anri while the toe pocket and foot sole are ordinarily reenforced with extra thread or knitted of a heavier thread, there are portions thereof, as the top and sides of the toe pocket and adjacent top 15 foot portions that receive such extra wear as to call for additional protection. Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to so form and reenforce these parts of the stocking foot as to increase their resistance to wear. A main object 20 of the present invention is to improve the reo enforcement of the toe pocket in connection with the characteristic diamond point toe of full fashioned stockings, which feature in addition to its structural qualities is valuable because of its 25 long acceptance as an identifying mark of full fashioned stockings.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view of the foot portion of a full fashioned stocking embodying the present in30 vention as it appears upon the foot; and

Fig. 2 is a view of the foot-blank as produced by the knitting machine.

In knitting the major part of the foot three carriers are employed, one supplying the body 35 thread and two supplying sole reenforcing threads to produce an instep portion a knit, of the body thread and sole portions b each knit of the body thread and a reenforcing thread. From the point I the carriers for the reenforcing *0 threads have their traverse gradually increased to knit said extensions b' of the reenforcing thread overlying corresponding areas of the instep which are being knit of the body thread. Additional carriers are also set in operation to knit gradually 45 widening panels e overlying the sole-extensions b' from a wale alined with the junctions 2 of sole and instep to or adjacent the inner edges of the sole extensions b'.

The panels e are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as of 50 lesser area than the sold extensions b' in order to more clearly illustrate the multi-ply constructions thus provided adjacent the toe pocket inwardly of the sole portions, although the panels may be, and preferably are of substantially the same area as the sole extensions. As a result, (CL 66—187) three-ply reenforced areas are provided in the stocking foot at the points where friction against the lining caused by natural foot flexing within · the shoe causes excessive strain and wear on the stocking foot. _λ

At the beginning of the toe pocket, the toe yarn carrier is set in operation together with a carrier supplying an additional thread for reenforcing the central portion f located between the sideand-under-toe portions g. After a few courses jo have been knit the narrowing mechanism is brought into operation to narrow the toe pocket by inward transfer of end loops. Two sets of narrowing points are employed at each side of the toe pocket with the inner set of each pair 15 spaced;, the distance of a needle for example, from the outer set so as to produce toe gores h having spaced suture edges formed by the coincidence of inwardly shifted spaced loops with untransferred loops, the suture edges inclining 20 inwardly across the wales in substantial parallelism for the major part of each gore. At the point 3 the rate of narrowing, or effective inward movement of the loop transfer points, is increased and, as a result, the suture edges of 25 the gores While continuing parallel extend at a more acute angle of inclination across the wales so that in this near-end part of each gore the suture edges thereof are angularly disposed with respect to the corresponding edges of the main or 30 upper parts of the gores.

When knitting and narrowing of the toe pocket has proceeded to the point 4, “covering” blades or. other like members are brought into action for progressively eliminating the innermost loop 35 transferring points of the inner set of points at each side of the toe pocket thereby causing the inner suture edges in the tip portion of each gore to incline reversely across the wales to convergence with the end parts of the outer sutures 40 as narrowing continues at the more rapid rate until junctions of the converging sutures are effected in the wales 5 as knitting of the toe is completed along the line 6, 5, 5, 6.

The number of points employed in the two 45 sets for each side of the pocket, or their initial positions in registration with the needles, for shifting loops inwardly is such that as narrowing of the toe pocket is effected the resulting parallel suture-edge of each gore extends gradu- 50 ally inwardly across the wales in such positions relatively to the sides of the toe pocket as to locate almost all of each gore h wholly outwardly of the needle wales 5 in which the end portions oi the sutures come together at the tip 65

2,018,248 of the toe pocket, and substantially parallel with outer seaming edges of said toe sole portions, as clearly shown in the drawing.

Inwardly beyond these wales there is only a. 5 minor part of each gore adjacent the tip thereof where more rapid narrowing causes the more acute Inclination of the sutures so that each outer suture may extend to, or reach, the wales S at the end of the toe pocket and form a junction 10 with the reversely inclined parts of the inner sutures which results from “covering” inner narrowing points. Consequently, the carrier supplying the additional yam for the toe-pocket part t may be given a traverse sufficient to reen15 force an area of such size as to extend over the tops of all the toes and partially over the sides of the outer _r toes, thus affording additional strength in the portions of the toe pocket at which wear is greatest, relative to the under20 toe portion g.

This reenforced portion f has a major gradually narrowing part f defined by the Inner sutures of the gores inclining gradually inwardly across the wales as the toe pocket is narrowed to 25 the point 3 a contiguous more rapidly narrowing ' part fl defined by the more acutely inclined por; tions of the inner sutures, and a widening part fl extending from the point 4 to the end of the toe pocket and defined by the reversely inclined end 30 portions of the inner sutures as the latter converge to a junction with the inwardly inclining end parts of the outer sutures.

It should also be noted that in forming the toe pocket as described above the desirable identlfy35 ing characteristic of the diamond point toe gore has been retained in improved form although the toe pockety reenforcement has been applied in such manner as to provide the additional structural strength desired over all the toes and along 40 the sides of the outer toes, and said under-toe section has substantially reduced thickness and correspondingly increased elasticity relative to said toe-covering section.