Flexible Filament with Stitch Indicators for Textile Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for forming textile products using flexible filaments, such as knitting or crocheting, are cumbersome and wasteful due to the need for frequent color changes, which result in knots, waste of yarn, and complexity in achieving intricate designs, especially for novice practitioners.
Innovation Solution
A flexible filament with integrated stitch indicators and segmented regions that guide users in forming specific patterns without the need for constant spool changes, allowing for sensory indications to ensure consistent stitches and reducing yarn waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple spools of yarn in different colors are used to create intricate designs, then design complexity and visual variety are improved, but the process becomes more time-consuming and complex due to frequent color transitions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple colored yarns into a single integrated spool, merging the functions of multiple separate spools into one unified structure. This allows the manipulator to access multiple colors without switching spools, thereby maintaining design complexity while reducing process complexity and time
Solution Approach 2:
The single spool is designed to perform multiple functions by incorporating different colored yarns, each accessible at specific locations. The spool acts as both a storage container and a delivery mechanism for multiple colors, eliminating the need for separate spools and simplifying the overall system
2Adaptability or versatility
If knots are used to join different spools of yarn for color transitions, then color changes are achieved, but the final textile product becomes less comfortable and aesthetically pleasing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful knots from the final product by providing a continuous yarn supply from a single spool. Color transitions are achieved by switching between yarns on the same spool without tying knots, thereby maintaining color transition capability while eliminating the harmful effects of knots on comfort and appearance
Solution Approach 2:
The single spool acts as an intermediary that enables color transitions without direct knotting. By providing multiple colored yarns on one spool, it mediates between the need for color changes and the desire to avoid knots in the final product
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate spools of yarn are purchased for each desired color, then color variety in the design is improved, but material waste increases due to unused yarn from partially consumed spools
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple colored yarns into a single spool structure, allowing the manipulator to use only the required amounts of each color from the same spool. This eliminates the waste generated by partially consumed separate spools while maintaining full color variety in the design
4Adaptability or versatility
If the manipulator stops to cut and change yarn spools during textile formation, then color transitions are achieved, but productivity decreases due to interruptions in the workflow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple colored yarns on a single spool, enabling the manipulator to transition between colors without stopping to change spools. This maintains color transition capability while significantly improving productivity by ensuring continuous workflow without interruptions
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to a flexible filament that includes a length of material configured to be used in forming at least a portion of a textile product to have at least a portion of a visual pattern that is visible on at least one of a first side or a second side of the textile product. The material includes a plurality of stitch indicators formed on the material to separate the material into a plurality of segmented regions, at least one of the stitch indicators or the segmented regions forming at least the portion of the visual pattern visible on the at least one of the first side or the second side of the textile product.