KNITTED FABRIC ARTICLE

Abstract

A knitted fabric article, one or a plurality of dissimilarly bright and dark regions which transition into one another in a stepless manner being configured on the knitted fabric article external side of said knitted fabric article, which has a knitted base fabric composed of at least one knitted base fabric thread, wherein the knitted base fabric is embodied as a knitted compression fabric and/or as a thin knitted fabric which in the worn position is transparent.

Claims

1. A knitted fabric article, one or a plurality of dissimilarly bright and dark regions which transition into one another in a stepless manner being configured on the knitted fabric article external side of said knitted fabric article, which has a knitted base fabric composed of at least one knitted base fabric thread, wherein the knitted base fabric is embodied as a knitted compression fabric and/or as a thin knitted fabric which in the worn position is transparent.

2. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein at least one elastic weft or support thread is inserted or interknitted in the knitted compression fabric.

3. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein the brightness dissimilarities are formed by printing or coloration the knitted base fabric.

4. The knitted fabric article according to claim 3, wherein the knitted base fabric has a base color and is only locally printed or dyed, or in that the knitted base fabric is completely printed or dyed.

5. The knitted fabric article according to claim 4, wherein the knitted base fabric at least in portions is composed of a plurality of knitted base fabric threads which in terms of the printed color or the dyed color have dissimilar color uptake properties.

6. The knitted fabric article , according to claim 5, wherein the knitted base fabric thread or threads that takes/take up the color are knitted only locally into the knitted base fabric.

7. The knitted fabric article according to claim 6, wherein the loop count of the knitted base fabric threads that take up the color continuously decreases in the stepless transition region from one region to the neighboring region.

8. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein the knitted base fabric is composed of a plurality of knitted base fabric threads, wherein the dissimilarly bright regions are formed by dissimilarly bright knitted base fabric threads.

9. The knitted fabric article according to claim 8, wherein the loop count of the knitted base fabric threads having a dissimilar color in the stepless transition region continuously decreases from one region (9-12) to the neighboring region (13-16).

10. The knitted fabric article according to claim 8, wherein also the colored weft or support thread on the knitted fabric external side are in part knitted in a loop-forming manner.

11. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein knitted base fabric in terms of the external color is thermally sensitive, and the dissimilarly bright regions are generated by an at least local thermal treatment.

12. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein the knitted base fabric is a non-transparent dark knitted fabric which has local brighter regions, or is a non-transparent knitted fabric which, in comparison to the base color of the knitted base fabric, has brighter and darker regions.

13. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein the darker regions, in terms of the worn position, are provided on the lateral portions of the tubular knitted compression fabric article.

14. The knitted fabric article according to claim 1, wherein said knitted fabric article is an arm or leg stocking, a pantyhose, an upper garment, or a torso garment.

15. The knitted fabric article according to claim 13, which is embodied as a leg stocking or as a pantyhose, wherein the darker regions extend from the calf to beyond the upper leg, and/or in that said knitted fabric article has a graduated pressure profile, wherein the highest pressure is in the region of the ankle.

Description

[0034] Further advantages and details of the present invention are derived from the exemplary embodiments described hereunder as well as by means of the drawings in which:

[0035] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a view of the front, the back, and the sides of the legs of a person wearing a knitted fabric article according to the invention in the form of a pantyhose; and

[0036] FIGS. 4 to 6 show the corresponding views of a person wearing a commercially available pantyhose.

[0037] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a partial view of a person 1, specifically of both legs 2, wherein the person 1 is wearing a knitted fabric article 3 according to the invention in the form of a pantyhose 4. The pantyhose 4 which clothes the two legs 2 is embodied as a knitted compression fabric article 5 and has a knitted base fabric which is composed of one knitted base fabric thread or a plurality of knitted base fabric threads, as well as of at least one elastic, compressive weft thread. The weft thread can be inserted into the knitted base fabric loops, or else said weft thread can also be interlooped with said knitted base fabric loops. The knitted fabric article 3 across the entire length of the two legs 2 is embodied as a knitted compression fabric article; the knitted base fabric article in the panty region and torso region adjoining above the two legs can also have lower or no compressive properties.

[0038] A knitted compression fabric article is understood to be a knitted fabric article which exerts in a targeted manner a compressive pressure on the region of the body covered by said knitted compression fabric article, here thus the legs 2, wherein said pressure is significantly higher than the pressure, usually a multiple thereof, that is exerted by a normal knitted fabric article, in the present case a normal pantyhose, which does not contain any compressive weft thread. Such a normal pantyhose is of course also capable of stretching and bears on the legs by way of a slight pressure. However, this slight pressure is not in any case comparable to the compressive pressure which is higher by a multiple and set in a targeted manner, and which the knitted compression fabric article according to the invention exerts on the leg.

[0039] For example, the knitted compression fabric article 5 is a medical compression stocking which, for example, corresponds to the quality and testing stipulations of RAL-GZ 387/1 Medizinische Kompressionsstrumpfe (Medical Compression Stockings) of the Gutezeichengemeinschaft Medizinische Kompressionsstrumpfe e.V. (Quality Seal Association for Medical Compression Stockings). However, this is not mandatory; the knitted compression fabric article 5, or the pantyhose here, respectively, can also be a pantyhose which is suitable as sportswear and which builds up a correspondingly high compressive pressure, or else a fashionable pantyhose which nevertheless builds up an adequately high compressive pressure.

[0040] In principle, the compressive pressure which the knitted compression fabric article 5 that is embodied as a stocking or presently as a pantyhose 4 exerts on the leg should be approx. 10-15 mmHg in the region of the ankle 6, 8-10 mmHg in the region of the calf 7, and 7-8 mmHg in the region of the upper leg 8, thus values which are a multiple of the pressure values which are a commercially available stocking, or a commercially available pantyhose exert. The pressure herein can decrease from the ankle 6 by way of the calf 7 towards the upper leg 8, a graduated pressure profile thus consequently being provided.

[0041] In any case, geometric shaping of the leg is achieved by way of the pressure that is exerted on the leg on account of the knitted compression fabric article 5, which means that the respective portion of the leg covered is correspondingly compressed on account of the local high pressure. A corresponding shaping of the leg inevitably results, said shaping being a function of the mobility of the covered tissue. This means that an active geometric shaping of the leg is achieved solely on account of the embodiment of the knitted fabric article 3 as a knitted compression fabric article 5, said active geometric shaping of the leg in particular leading to the region of the calf 7 as well as the region of the upper leg 8 being compressed, consequently thus anatomically pre-shaped. Since the shin bone and the calf bone run in the region of the front of the calf, for example, thus a certain bone structure that counteracts the compressive pressure is provided, compression takes place in the calf region on account of the compressive properties, in particular in the region of the sides of the calf, which means that, when viewed from the front or the rear, the calf overall is shaped so to be somewhat slimmer on account of the knitted compression fabric article. The same applies in an analogous manner also in the region of the upper leg, the latter however being more muscular, or having more tissue, respectively, than the calf region.

[0042] According to the invention, in addition to said geometric shaping of the respective leg 2 caused by the compression, a visual shaping of the leg is also provided in that the knitted fabric article 3, or the knitted compression fabric article 5, respectively, locally has brighter and darker regions which transition into one another in a stepless manner. In the example shown, darker regions 9, 10 are configured in the region of the calf 7 as well as darker regions 11, 12 are configured in the region of the upper leg 8 on the knitted fabric article external side. As is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and in particular in FIG. 3, said darker regions are situated only on the sides of the respective leg part of the pantyhose but not on the front and the rear side, thus not in the region of the shin bone and calf bone as well as of the front upper leg and also not in the region of the rear calf as well as of the rear upper leg. There, correspondingly brighter regions 13, 14, and 15, 16, respectively, which are formed, for example, by the base color of the compressive, for example transparent, knitted base fabric, thus substantially by the base color of the knitted base fabric thread or threads, optionally of the weft thread, are provided.

[0043] As can be seen, the darker regions 9-12 transition in a stepless, thus steady, manner to the brighter regions 13-16, which in the figures is indicated by the shaded effect or by dashed lines. The darker regions in the central region can have a consistent darker coloration, just as the shaded effect can continuously vary from one side to the other.

[0044] The darker regions 9-12 can be generated, for example, by local printing or local dyeing of the knitted compression fabric article 5, or the knitted base fabric 6. It is conceivable herein that the knitted compression fabric is composed of dissimilar threads which have a dissimilar color take-up capability, or of threads which in principle take up color and threads which do not take up color, respectively. For example, it is conceivable to interknit the threads that take up color only into those regions in which the darker regions 9-12 are to be configured, and to configure the knitted base fabric in the brighter regions only from one knitted base fabric thread and weft thread, or a plurality of knitted base fabric threads and weft threads, that does/do not take up any color. This enables the pantyhose to be printed across the full area, for example across the entire length of the leg, since the color is taken up only in the region that is correspondingly provided and equipped to this end. The same applies in a similar manner in the case of large-area dyeing in a dye bath.

[0045] Alternatively thereto, there is the possibility to also knit the darker regions 9-12 by interknitting one knitted base fabric thread, or a plurality of knitted base fabric threads, which is/are somewhat darker in comparison to the knitted base fabric threads that form the brighter regions 13-16, and to configure the stepless, seamless transition by correspondingly varying the loop count in the individual courses, and similar. It is also conceivable that the knitted compression base fabric is composed of one or a plurality of thermally sensitive knitted base fabric thread or threads which is/are at least locally interknitted, thus from knitted base fabric threads which display a change of hue, thus permanently change their color, when correspondingly heated.

[0046] As has already been described, an active geometric shaping of the leg takes place on account of the compressive effect of the knitted compression fabric. On account of the configuration of the shaded effect, a visual shaping of the leg is moreover derived from the dark regions 9-12 and the bright regions 13-16, and the local positioning of said regions, such that the leg, when viewed from the front and the rear, looks overall slimmer. Said visual shaping of the leg, or said visual effect, respectively, is superimposed on the geometric shaping of the leg, which means that the leg appears to be even slimmer. Two effects are thus superimposed on one another here.

[0047] The effect of said shaping of the leg is to be illustrated by FIGS. 4 to 6 as comparative figures. FIGS. 4 to 6 show comparable views of a person 1, or the legs 2 of said person 1, respectively, wherein the person 1 in this case is wearing a normal commercially available pantyhose 17 which bears on the leg 2 by way of only a very minor pressure and does not have any kind of compressive properties. As can be seen, neither geometric nor a visual shaping of the leg takes place here, which means that the leg in the region of the calf and the upper leg, see the front-side and rear-side views according to FIGS. 4 and 5, appears to be significantly more massive than in the comparable views according to FIGS. 1 and 2. The active geometric shaping of the leg on account of the compressive properties as well as the additional visual shaping of the leg on account of the coloration are thus absent here.

[0048] Even if the pantyhose according to FIGS. 4 to 6 were to be a normal commercially available pantyhose which, as is known in the prior art according to U.S. Pat. No. 1,654,064, for example, has a shaded effect, the respective leg would still be significantly more massive, or appear to be significantly more massive, respectively, than in the comparative views according to FIGS. 1 and 2. This is because it has been very surprisingly demonstrated that a significant improvement of the shaping of the leg can be achieved on account of an embodiment of a shaded-effect pantyhose of this type, or generally a shaded-effect knitted fabric article of this type as a knitted compression fabric article, respectively, and that the two dissimilar effects, specifically the visual shaping of the leg on account of the shaded effect, on the one hand, and the active geometric shaping of the leg on account of the compression, on the other hand, can be advantageously superimposed.

[0049] For example, the knitted base fabric can be composed of one knitted base fabric thread or a plurality of knitted base fabric threads, which are bright, for example skin-colored and can be embodied so as to be transparent such that the skin of the leg is visible, or shines through, respectively, and forms the bright regions 13-16, or is responsible for the brightness of said regions 13-16, respectively, while the darker regions 9-12 are correspondingly printed or generated by darker knitted fabric threads. A brilliant thread, for example as an additional knitted base fabric thread, can also be incorporated into the knitted fabric article 3, thus the pantyhose 4, such that the pantyhose 4 apart from a matt effect also displays a brilliant effect which in turn is visually advantageous with a view to a slim appearance.