A flexible hose reinforced with at least two superimposed textile layers includes an inner load-bearing tubular layer defining a longitudinal axis and made of a first polymeric or elastomeric material, an outer cover layer made of a second polymeric or elastomeric material, and a first and a second reinforced textile layer mutually superimposed and interposed between the inner and outer layers. The first and the second textile layers are both knitted textile layers with tricot chain stitches having courses of stitches and rows of stitches, the courses of stitches being substantially parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis, the rows of stitches having opposite inclinations with respect to the longitudinal axis. A production line and a method of manufacturing such hose.

A flexible hose reinforced with at least two superimposed textile layers includes an inner load-bearing tubular layer defining a longitudinal axis and made of a first polymeric or elastomeric material, an outer cover layer made of a second polymeric or elastomeric material, and a first and a second reinforced textile layer mutually superimposed and interposed between the inner and outer layers. The first and the second textile layers are both knitted textile layers with tricot chain stitches having courses of stitches and rows of stitches, the courses of stitches being substantially parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis, the rows of stitches having opposite inclinations with respect to the longitudinal axis. A production line and a method of manufacturing such hose.

The machine for making a shoe upper comprises a reel holder rack, a dial and a sinker crown, a needle cylinder with a vertical axis and forward and backward movement having a plurality of grooves, inside of which the needles are slidable, controlled by selection thereof, a cup element, at least four feeders assembled along the circumference of the machine, guide, first brake, first recovery means for recovering each of the threads to be fed to said needles for forming the upper and a suction bell for unloading said upper, said selection of said needles comprising a pre-selection cam defining a working path and a non-working path of the heels of the elastic jacks of the corresponding needles and sub-needles of said cylinder and a lifting cam defining a first path executing working stitches and a second lowered path with respect to the first path executing tuck stitches.

The machine for making a shoe upper comprises a reel holder rack, a dial and a sinker crown, a needle cylinder with a vertical axis and forward and backward movement having a plurality of grooves, inside of which the needles are slidable, controlled by selection thereof, a cup element, at least four feeders assembled along the circumference of the machine, guide, first brake, first recovery means for recovering each of the threads to be fed to said needles for forming the upper and a suction bell for unloading said upper, said selection of said needles comprising a pre-selection cam defining a working path and a non-working path of the heels of the elastic jacks of the corresponding needles and sub-needles of said cylinder and a lifting cam defining a first path executing working stitches and a second lowered path with respect to the first path executing tuck stitches.

A method for the production of portions of manufacture by means of a circular knitting machine with needle cylinder, which comprises the following steps: identifying a group of contiguous needles in the needle cylinder; dividing the group of needles into two contiguous needle subgroups, respectively a first needle subgroup and a second needle subgroup; moving to knit at a feed or drop of the machine a needle subgroup of the two needle subgroups during rotation of the needle cylinder in one direction and in the subsequent rotation in the opposite direction to form two partial rows of knitting in succession; moving to knit at the feed the other needle subgroup of the two needle subgroups during the rotation of the needle cylinder in one direction of rotation and in the subsequent rotation in the opposite direction to form two partial rows of knitting in succession; moving to knit at the feed the other needle subgroup of the two needle subgroups during the rotation of the needle cylinder in one direction of rotation and in the subsequent rotation in the opposite direction to form two partial rows of knitting in succession.

The machine for making an upper for a shoe comprises a reel holder rack, a dial and a sinker crown, a needle cylinder with a vertical axis and forward and backward movement having a plurality of grooves, inside of which the (needles) are slidable, controlled by selection means thereof, a cup element, at least four feeders assembled along the circumference of the machine, guide means, first braking means, first recovery means for recovering each of the threads to be fed to said needles for forming the upper and a suction bell for unloading said upper, below said first braking means at least second braking means being present for braking or locking each thread for the formation of said upper during at least the first part of the return movement of said needle holder cylinder and second recovery means for recovering said thread from said cylinder, preventing its recovery by a reel of said reels, said second braking means being activated and deactivated by said second recovery means.

The field of the present invention relates, in general, to apparatus and methods of knitting a material into a tubular form, where the length of such tubular form is not dictated by conventional distances between the knitting areas and the catch basins of integrated machines. In short, this invention increases the distal relationship between the needle-equipped element, which performs the knitting function, and the basin that catches the resulting tubular form of the material. The basin rotates synchronized with the rotation of the resulting tubular form. The separation facilitates the continuous production of a length of the resulting tubular form of the material. The tubular form thus can be longer than such length where, as taught in the prior art, the catch basin is fixedas part of integrated machinesin close proximity with the element that performs the knitting. As an inventive method, the steps include (A) feeding such material into the proximity of a needle-equipped element; (B) knitting such material with such needle-equipped element to produce such resulting tubular form; (C) catching such resulting tubular form in a basin that is physically disconnected from the needle-equipped element and distanced therefrom to produce a desirably longer length of the resulting tubular form; and (D) electronically controlling such feeding step, such knitting step, and such catching step (synchronizing the catching with the rotation of resulting tubular form), whereby the rates of the feeding, knitting and catching produce such resulting tubular form that is unbuckled.

A needle-holding element for circular knitting machines, having a structure as a hollow solid of rotation developing around a central axis and configured for rotating and for supporting a plurality of needles moving so as to produce a knitted fabric; the needle-holding element has at least one working surface shaped as a surface of rotation obtained through the rotation of a portion of generating straight line around the central axis; on the working surface a plurality of needle seats is defined, placed one beside the other and arranged circumferentially or radially around the central axis, wherein each needle seat movably houses at least a portion of at least one respective needle. At least one needle seat has at least a first length has a longitudinal development, on the working surface, inclined with respect to the generating straight line.

A circular knitting machine includes a needle-holding cylinder having plurality of longitudinal grooves housing plurality of needles, at least one yarn feed operatively associated to needles, actuating cams arranged around and movable relative to cylinder, drive chain for each needle operatively placed between needle and actuating cams. Drive chain includes: sub-needle, selector having butt which can be engaged with selector paths, selecting device acting, punch equipped with butt which can be engaged with punch paths. Punch paths include a tuck stitch ascent and drop stitch ascent for each yarn feed. Inlet of drop stitch ascent circumferentially precedes inlet of tuck stitch ascent. Selector paths include a single track defining first and second ascents placed in succession for each yarn feed. First ascent circumferentially precedes second and is operatively associated to drop stitch ascent and second ascent is operatively associated to tuck stitch ascent.

A circular knitting machine includes a needle-holding cylinder having plurality of longitudinal grooves housing plurality of needles, at least one yarn feed operatively associated to needles, actuating cams arranged around and movable relative to cylinder, drive chain for each needle operatively placed between needle and actuating cams. Drive chain includes: sub-needle, selector having butt which can be engaged with selector paths, selecting device acting, punch equipped with butt which can be engaged with punch paths. Punch paths include a tuck stitch ascent and drop stitch ascent for each yarn feed. Inlet of drop stitch ascent circumferentially precedes inlet of tuck stitch ascent. Selector paths include a single track defining first and second ascents placed in succession for each yarn feed. First ascent circumferentially precedes second and is operatively associated to drop stitch ascent and second ascent is operatively associated to tuck stitch ascent.