Knitting Needle Return Drop Design for Ergonomic Yarn Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional knitting needles are prone to causing injuries and yarn piercing due to sharp tips, and deformations at the needle points lead to ergonomic and low-fatigue knitting challenges, while existing designs often result in irregular stitch patterns and difficulty with thicker yarns.
Innovation Solution
A circular knitting needle with a strongly rounded tip featuring a drop-shaped thickening (return drop) and a tapering shaft, designed with low frictional resistance and no edges, allowing easy yarn sliding and reducing the risk of injury and yarn piercing, combined with a triangular shape transition for reduced friction and ergonomic handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the needle tip is made sharp for easy yarn penetration, then the knitting process is facilitated, but the risk of injury and yarn piercing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The needle tip is designed with a strongly rounded shape instead of a sharp point. The return drop features a curved surface that gradually tapers, eliminating the sharp edge that causes injury and yarn piercing while maintaining the ability to penetrate yarn through controlled curvature rather than acute angles
2Ease of operation
If deformations are added to the needle point to make knitting easier for clumsy operators, then ease of operation is improved, but the knitting yarn can get caught and the knitting process becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding complex deformations like constrictions or thickening, the invention uses a smoothly curved return drop shape that naturally guides the yarn. The continuous curvature provides ergonomic benefits without creating catch points, as the smooth transition prevents yarn from hooking onto irregularities
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the needle tip is rounded to reduce injury risk, then safety is improved, but the ability to penetrate thick yarn may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The return drop is designed with specific dimensional parameters where the diameter at the base is larger than at the tip, creating a gradual taper. This parameter optimization allows the rounded tip to safely contact thick yarn while the tapered geometry maintains sufficient penetration capability through controlled pressure distribution
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional needle designs are used, then manufacturing is simple, but ergonomic knitting with low wrist movement amplitude is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The return drop's curved geometry is integrated into the needle shaft using techniques such as injection molding or grinding, which are standard manufacturing processes. The curved shape is formed as a continuous surface without complex assembly, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while providing ergonomic benefits through the rounded profile that reduces wrist movement requirements
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an improved knitting needle (10) having at least one needle tip (11) and a shank (12) on which the knitting can be at least regionally arranged. Also provided is a gripping region (13) which is arranged on the shank (12) in the vicinity of the needle tip (11) and which has a round cross section, wherein the gripping region (13) can be gripped by a user during knitting. The knitting needle (10) itself narrows along its length (15) from the shank (12) in the direction of the needle tip (11). The invention proposes that the needle tip (11) itself be designed in a rounded manner and that a droplet-shaped thickening, namely a retrieval droplet (20), be attached thereto, the latter having a smaller diameter than the shank (12). The transition between the shank (12) and the narrowed portion (14) and between the narrowed portion (14) and the retrieval droplet (20) is formed without edges and with little frictional resistance. The invention also relates to a method for producing such a knitting needle (10). In said method, the knitting needle (10) is designed as a circular knitting needle (40), wherein, during the production of the circular knitting needle (40), the cord (41) is overmoulded with the material of the shank (12).