Knit Design System Contour Line Approximation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing knit designing systems face challenges in creating design data that accurately represents a designer's intended contour line for flat knitting machines, often requiring manual adjustments to ensure knitting efficiency, which can be time-consuming and result in deviations from the original design, especially when dealing with multiple sizes.

Innovation Solution

A knit designing system that includes an input unit for editing design data, a display unit, a first creation unit for original data, a second memory for line modules, and a specifying unit that uses dynamic time warping to identify candidate lines closest to the original contour, allowing for efficient creation and correction of design data suitable for flat knitting machines.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the first creation unit creates original data to faithfully reproduce the contour line of paper-pattern data, then the accuracy of contour representation is improved, but the knitting efficiency deteriorates because the contour line is difficult to be efficiently knitted by a flat knitting machine

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontour line accuracyVSAvoidknitting efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the contour line by generating multiple candidate lines with different degrees of approximation and allowing selective application to different size data, transforming the static faithful reproduction into a dynamic optimization process that balances accuracy and knitting efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of contour line approximation by creating candidate lines with varying levels of fidelity to the original paper-pattern contour, enabling selection of the optimal balance between contour accuracy and knitting efficiency for each specific case

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If the user manually adjusts the contour line to make it easy to be knitted, then the knitting efficiency is improved, but the time consumption increases and the contour line may deviate from the designer's intention

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveknitting efficiencyVSAvoidadjustment time
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by automatically generating multiple candidate contour lines that are optimized for knitting efficiency before the user needs to make adjustments, reducing the time and effort required for manual optimization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates copied versions of the original contour line as candidate lines, allowing the user to select from pre-generated alternatives rather than manually creating adjustments from scratch, thereby reducing time consumption

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Adaptability or versatility

If there are a plurality of sizes of design data, then the versatility is improved, but the complexity of manual adjustments increases because it is troublesome to make adjustments to each size of design data

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemulti-size capabilityVSAvoidadjustment complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system achieves universality by generating candidate contour lines that can be selectively applied across multiple sizes of design data, allowing a single optimization approach to serve multiple size variations and reducing the need for separate manual adjustments for each size

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the adjustment process by generating candidate lines that can be selectively applied to different size data independently, allowing efficient handling of multiple sizes through modular selection rather than comprehensive manual adjustment of each size

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

4Productivity

If the system automatically corrects the contour line to have a shape that can be easily knitted, then the knitting efficiency is improved, but the accuracy of representing the designer's intention deteriorates because the corrected contour line may be significantly different from the original

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveknitting efficiencyVSAvoiddesign accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system resolves this contradiction dynamically by generating multiple candidate contour lines with different approximation levels and enabling selective application, allowing the user to choose the optimal balance between knitting efficiency and design accuracy for each specific case rather than applying a fixed automatic correction

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the approximation parameter by creating candidate lines that vary in their fidelity to the original design, enabling selection of the appropriate level of automatic correction that maintains both knitting efficiency and design accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3754080B1Knit designing system for creating a contour line
Publication Date: 2023.03.08 SHIMA SEIKI MFG LTD
  • EP3754080B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3754080B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3754080B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A knit design system capable of easily creating design data that includes a contour line corresponding to the contour line imagined by the designer and that is suitable for knitting performed by a flat knitting machine. A knit designing system includes a first creation unit that creates original data including a shape corresponding to a contour of paper-pattern data, and a first memory that stores the original data. The knit designing system includes: a second memory that stores a line module including information regarding a plurality of minute lines for constituting a contour line suitable for knitting and an order of arrangement of the minute lines; a second creation unit that creates a plurality of candidate lines based on the line module; and a specifying unit that compares a contour line of the original data with each of the candidate lines, and specifies the candidate line that is most approximate to the contour line of the original data as an approximation line.