Knitted Wire Mesh Filter Design to Eliminate Tinkle Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Knitted wire mesh filters often contain 'tinkles' - loose, irregularly shaped pieces of metal that are difficult to remove and can be detrimental in applications like airbag inflators and fuel filtration, as existing methods are labor-intensive and do not guarantee tinkle-free filters.
Innovation Solution
Producing knitted wire mesh filters by creating a knitted tube with alternating wire and yarn segments, separating these segments without cutting any loops, and treating the yarn to remove it, ensuring no tinkles are generated during the process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional cutting methods are used to produce knitted wire mesh filters, then production efficiency is improved, but tinkles (loose metal pieces) are generated that contaminate the filtered stream
Solution Approach 1:
The knitted tube is segmented into alternating wire segments and yarn segments during the knitting process itself, rather than cutting the finished product. This segmentation is built into the structure as it is being formed, allowing subsequent separation without cutting metal loops.
Solution Approach 2:
The yarn segments are extracted from the knitted tube structure through chemical or mechanical treatment, leaving only the wire segments. This extraction method allows separation of the tube into individual filter elements without cutting the metal wire loops that would create tinkles.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If manual tinkle removal methods are used (shaking or hand-picking), then some tinkles can be removed, but the process is highly labor-intensive and does not guarantee complete removal
Solution Approach 1:
The structure is prepared in advance by knitting the tube with removable yarn segments integrated into the structure. This preliminary configuration enables easy subsequent separation without manual tinkle removal, as the yarn acts as a built-in separation mechanism.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If electric resistance welding is used to bond tinkles to the wire mesh, then tinkles are immobilized, but the process adds complexity and does not guarantee complete tinkle elimination
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than attempting to immobilize or remove tinkles after they are formed, the invention extracts the problem entirely by preventing tinkle formation through the knitting process. The yarn segments are removed chemically or mechanically, leaving no metal loops to become tinkles.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If the sock is folded upon itself to bury cut ends inside the filter, then some tinkles are contained, but this does not guarantee complete tinkle-free filters and adds structural complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of trying to contain or manage tinkles after they are formed, the approach is inverted: the process is designed to prevent tinkle formation entirely from the beginning through the knitting and separation methodology.
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
This method guarantees the production of tinkle-free knitted wire mesh filters, suitable for critical applications where metal fragments cannot be tolerated, by eliminating the generation of tinkles entirely.
Implementation Method 1
treating the knitted tube or a separated portion thereof to remove yarn
Data Source
AI summary
“Tinkles” (also known as “gotchas”) (see reference number 20 in FIGS. 1 and 2) are portions of knitted metal loops produced when a tube of knitted wire mesh is cut into individual pieces. In the prior art, tinkles have been considered a fact of life and the approach has been to try to shake them out of the mesh or immobilize them on or in the mesh. By producing a knitted tube (11) having alternating segments (12,13) of knitted rows of yarn and knitted rows of wire, completely tinkle-free knitted socks are produced which are used to produce completely tinkle-free knitted wire mesh filters. Knitted wire mesh filters that cannot release tinkles because they do not have any tinkles can be used in such applications as fuel filters and airbag filters.