Flexible Knitting Pin Smooth Joint Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional knitting pins with metal shanks and nylon monofilament junctions experience snagging due to rough steps, obstructing smooth stitch movement and functionality.
Innovation Solution
A flexible circular knitting pin design featuring two stiff shanks connected by a smooth joint using a flexible hollow tube, where a metal sphere, hemisphere, or cone is positioned inside the tube to prevent yarn snagging, and the shanks can be made from materials like wood or metal with a polyurethane tube and brass components for a seamless connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a nylon monofilament junction is used to connect metal shanks, then the knitting pin structure is simple to manufacture, but the step formed at the junction is rough and catches the wool, obstructing smooth stitch movement
Solution Approach 1:
A metal sphere, hemisphere, or cone is introduced as an intermediary element inside the flexible hollow tube at the junction between shanks. This intermediary component creates a smooth rounded surface that guides the yarn through the junction area, preventing snagging while maintaining the structural connection between shanks.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs spherical, hemispherical, or conical surfaces at the junction area instead of flat or angular transitions. This curvature principle eliminates sharp edges and steps that cause yarn catching, allowing smooth stitch movement through the flexible connection region.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a flexible connection made from polymer plastics material is used to join metal end parts, then the knitting pin becomes more flexible, but the junction requires complex manufacturing processes including heating and elongation
Solution Approach 1:
The complex heating and elongation processes are extracted from the manufacturing method. Instead of thermally processing the flexible tube to join it to metal shanks, the invention uses a mechanical assembly approach where pre-formed flexible tubes are connected using simple fastening methods with the metal sphere/hemisphere/cone components.
3Reliability
If axial bores are made in the flexible connection and spigots are inserted with heat treatment, then the end parts become fixed to the flexible connection, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The metal sphere, hemisphere, or cone components are pre-formed with their final shapes and dimensions before assembly. The flexible hollow tube is also prepared in advance with appropriate fittings. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming during-process heating, boring, and elongation operations, while ensuring reliable joint fixation through precision-machined interference fits.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A flexible knitting pin consisting of two relatively stiff shanks (1) pointed one end each, wherein said shanks (1) are connected with each other by the other end with a flexible hollow connecting material (2) comprising a joint; said joint between the stiff shanks (1) characterized in that it comprises a flexible hollow connecting material .