Flat-Knit Compression Leg Garment With Off-Sole Seam Placement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing leg garments with longitudinal seams, particularly those used for compression, suffer from poor wearing comfort due to seams that cause pain and irritation, especially in areas of increased load such as the sole of the foot, heel, calf muscle pump, and knee hollow, and are unsuitable for individuals with sensitive feet or chronic wounds.
Innovation Solution
The leg garment design features a longitudinal seam positioned outside the sole of the foot, extending medially or laterally on the side of the foot, lower leg, or front side, avoiding seams in sensitive areas and incorporating functional zones with varying elasticity to enhance comfort and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a longitudinal seam is used to join flat-knitted fabric edges, then the leg garment can be formed as a tubular knitted fabric, but the seam causes pain and irritation in high-load areas such as the sole of the foot, heel, and calf muscle pump
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful seam from the high-load areas by positioning it in low-load zones. The longitudinal seam is deliberately placed in the calf area or hollow of the knee, away from the sole of the foot, heel, and calf muscle pump regions, thereby removing the source of pain and irritation from the critical wear zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to different regions of the leg garment. The seam placement is strategically optimized for each functional zone, placing the seam in areas with lower mechanical stress while maintaining compression functionality in high-load areas through localized elastic properties of the knitted fabric.
2Ease of operation
If the seam is positioned in the calf area or hollow of the knee, then wearing comfort is improved, but the seam may still cause issues in areas of increased load during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the leg garment into functional zones with different seam placement strategies. The longitudinal seam is positioned in specific segments (calf area or hollow of the knee) that are distinct from the high-load zones, allowing each region to be optimized independently for its specific functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of avoiding the calf area and hollow of the knee entirely, the patent inverts the approach by deliberately placing the seam in these regions while avoiding the obviously problematic sole and heel areas. This strategic inversion identifies and exploits less critical zones for seam placement.
3Shape
If a flat seam machine is used to create a flat seam, then the bead at the joint is reduced, but the seam still creates pressure points that cause pain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the seam from the high-pressure zones by repositioning it to the calf area or hollow of the knee, where it cannot create painful pressure points on the sole, heel, or active calf muscle pump regions, regardless of the seam's flatness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent resolves the pressure point issue not by modifying the seam's two-dimensional flatness alone, but by changing the spatial dimension of seam placement. The seam is positioned in the longitudinal dimension at locations where it does not intersect with high-pressure contact zones during foot and leg movement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design significantly improves wearing comfort by eliminating seam-induced pain and irritation, enhances durability, and is suitable for sensitive feet, reducing seam-related issues in high-load areas, and ensuring seamless contact with the foot sole.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic weft thread is preferably inserted into the knitted stitches in every, or in every X-th, preferably in every second course
Data Source
AI summary
A leg garment, comprising a flat-knitted basic knitted fabric part forming at least one foot part, with at least one first functional zone knitted into the basic knitted fabric part and formed to accommodate a heel of a foot, wherein the flat-knitted basic knitted fabric part is sewn together with a longitudinal seam to form a tubular knitted fabric, with a first functional zone knitted into the basic knitted fabric part such that, when worn the longitudinal seam connecting the basic knitted fabric part is arranged outside the sole of the foot at least in a heel area.