Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Courtaulds Plc

Gerald F Day

Frank Robinson

Giles T Gregory

Keith Jeffcoat

Malcolm Frederick Proctor

Daniel J Forest

William E Girard

Dennis J Williams

Vincent L Brooks

Gary J Leeke

Tony M Lay

Albert L Traywick

Where a knitted cover is intended to be subjected to a heat treatment to stabilize or otherwise process the fabric, it is useful to form a knitted-in portion (in an unobtrusive portion of the cover) using a suitably heat-sensitive yarn so that such heat treatment indicator portion undergoes a visual and tactile change to reveal that the cover has been so treated.

Knitted cover

A knitted fabric cover, especially for a vehicle seat having a vehicle air bag housed therein, in which the cover is adapted to provide minimal hindrance to inflation of the air bag by having at least one line of weakness knitted into the cover, in particular in a coursewise direction.

A weft knitted upholstery fabric having an aesthetic surface and incorporating a ground yarn (preferably with a count between 550 and 900 decitex) and a chenille yarn (preferably having a decitex in the range 2000 to 5000), the chenille yarn being knitted into the fabric as full loop stitches to leave the chenille yarn evident on the aesthetic surface of the fabric.

Upholstery fabric incorporating chenille yarn on one face

A piece of upholstery fabric for covering three-dimensional supports such as vehicle seat bases and seat backs is machine-knitted, preferably in a mainly double jersey structure, with integral tubular portions. These serve as anchorage devices for securing the fabric piece to the support which it is to cover using rods or tapes which are threaded through the tubular portions. The tubular portions may be located at the margins of the fabric piece and also at intermediate positions where the fabric piece needs to be held down, for example in a depression in the support. They may project from a surface of the fabric piece and may be like loops or they may be in the form of tubular hems or a tube lying between front and rear faces of a double jersey structure.

Upholstery fabric

A piece of upholstery fabric for covering three-dimensional supports such as vehicle seat bases and seat backs is machine knitted, preferably in a mainly double jersey structure, with integral tubular portions. These serve as anchorage devices for securing the fabric piece to the support which it is to cover using rods or tapes which are threaded through the tubular portions. The tubular portions may be located at the margins of the fabric piece and also at intermediate positions where the fabric piece needs to be held down, for example in a depression in the support. They may project from a surface of the fabric piece and may be like loops or they may be in the form of tubular hems or a tube lying between front and rear surfaces of a double jersey structure.

A method of knitting an upholstery fabric having at least two adjoined regions of different knitted structures located side-by-side in a wale-wise direction and having courses extending continuously through both regions in which the fabric is knitted with stitches having a first loop length in one region and a second, different loop length in the adjacent region, the loop lengths of the two adjacent regions being relatively adjusted so that, in the relaxed condition of the fabric, the same number of courses in each of the two regions of different knitted structures in the wale-wise direction extend for substantially the same wale-wise distance, so as to give the overall structure a balanced even appearance.

Fabric and knitting

An upholstered three dimensional structure incorporating an internal core and a knitted fabric cover, in which there is provided in the cover a line along which the fabric is less extensible compared to the surrounding fabric, the line being positioned on the fabric such that the line curves over an edge of the core so that on stretching the fabric over the core the less extensible line is displaced from the general plane of the fabric towards the core.

Improved three-dimensional structures incorporating two components sewn together, at least one of which is a knitted component, have sewing alignment guides provided at spaced locations along an edge of the knitted component, the said guides being provided during the knitting operation. The guides can be knitted or laid-in lines in the fabric and/or notches formed in the fabric.

Fabric

An upholstered three dimensional structure in which there is an upholstery fabric stretched over a three dimensional core, the fabric being formed by knitting and incorporating a sewn seam between the knitted fabric and a further fabric, the knitted fabric being provided with stable sewing zones which are less elastic than the majority of the remaining portions of the knitted fabric to assist in the sewing of the knitted fabric to a further fabric.

An upholstered structure comprising a three dimensional support core having a fabric cover, and in which the fabric cover is a double jersey knitted structure, the technical reverse side of the fabric cover being located on the core side of the upholstered structure and exhibiting at least one identifying mark in a contrasting yarn to its surroundings, the mark being substantially not visible on the exposed technical face of the fabric.

Fabric and structure

A weft knitted double-jersey fabric is knitted in a construction of repeating groups of courses in which some courses have loops pulled to both fabric faces and some courses have loops pulled to one fabric face and are transversed by yarn regions which extend across at least two wales and up to seven or more wales. The yarn feed to the needle beds of the knitting machine is limited to no more than 4.0 cm/cm of bed length over which the fabric is knitted in courses in which loops are pulled to both faces of the fabric and to no more than 2.0 cm/cm of bed length, preferable no more than 1.8 cm/cm, in courses in which loops are pulled to one face of the fabric. The fabric has an extensibility of no more than 12% in wale and course directions. It is knitted with a high count yarn of 550 to 850 decitex which may be an air-textured polyester yarn. It is suitable for use as upholstery fabric particularly in the form of a vehicle seat upholstery cover which may be shaped to fit the seat in the knitting process.

Knitted fabric having low stretch for upholstery

Knitted joins are made in double jersey knitted articles using a method which minimizes the effect of hole formation at the join. Single jersey edges are knitted along the edges to be jointed, being knitted on from one to six needles in each of the courses of knitting which form part of the edge of the join. The edgings need not extend along the whole length of the join. In a further embodiment superimposed strips of single jersey knitting are knitted between the edgings so as to split hole formation into two smaller series which are less noticeable. With this embodiment, one or both edgings can be omitted. The method is useful for upholstery fabric joins, particular for vehicle seat covers, where exposure of the padding is to be avoided.

Knitting method for forming integrally formed joins for three dimension

A weft knitted double jersey fabric is knitted with a textured continuous filament synthetic yarn on a knitting machine having a gauge of 10 to 14 to give, in the relaxed state of the fabric, from 4 to 6 wales per cm and from 10.5 to 22 courses per cm. The yarn used preferably has a count of 550 to 850 decitex, especially 680 to 750 decitex and may be an air textured polyester yarn. The fabrics produced are dense, heavyweight fabrics with a weight of at least 380 gms/square meter. They have superior abrasion and snag resistance and are suitable for use as upholstery fabrics particularly for vehicle seat covers.

Knitted fabric

A fabric reinforcement for use with synthetic plastics material to produce a composite article is shaped to exhibit a tubular portion having a longitudinal axis, which can be curved, and at least one flange extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis. Using up to several interlinked tubular portions and a plurality of the flanges gives wide possibilities for the shape of the fabric reinforcing elements produced. Woven or knitted fabrics can be used.

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Derbyshire, United Kingdom

Gerald F Day