Laminar Velour Knitwear With Alkaline-Free Polyester Pile
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing imitation suede production methods are costly, environmentally burdensome, and limited in material choices due to the use of alkaline dissolution, and they do not provide a cost-effective, durable, and soft-to-the-touch alternative to natural leather.
Innovation Solution
A laminar velour knitted fabric is produced using a knitting process with fine polyester fibrils, anchored by a knitted structure, eliminating the need for additional adhesives and reducing the number of process steps, while maintaining or improving properties like softness, durability, and air permeability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional nonwoven processes with chemical/thermal detachment of polystyrene sheathing are used, then suede-like surface is achieved, but environmental burden increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the harmful chemical/thermal detachment process for polystyrene sheathing from the manufacturing process. Instead, it uses a mechanical needling process that physically entangles fibers to create the suede-like surface without chemical treatments, thereby removing the environmental burden while maintaining surface quality
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the chemical/thermal process with a mechanical needling process. The needling mechanism uses barbed needles to mechanically entangle and interlock fibers, creating the desired suede-like surface through mechanical action rather than chemical dissolution or thermal detachment
2Reliability
If complex multi-stage manufacturing processes are used to achieve durable and soft imitation suede, then product quality is improved, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple process steps into a single integrated needling process. The needling operation simultaneously creates the suede-like surface, bonds the fiber layers together, and forms the three-dimensional structure, eliminating the need for separate chemical detachment, impregnation, and bonding steps
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the fiber structure into specific components (carrier fibers and staple fibers with particular length and fineness ratios) that work together to provide both durability and softness. The specific fiber composition (60-80% carrier fibers, 20-40% staple fibers) creates a self-bonding structure that achieves reliability without complex processing
3Ease of manufacture
If alkaline dissolution of sea component is used in sea-island nonwovens, then imitation suede is obtained, but material choice is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the chemical alkaline dissolution process with a mechanical needling process. This substitution removes the chemical constraint that limited material selection, allowing any suitable fibers to be used in the carrier and staple components without concern for alkaline resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental processing parameter from chemical dissolution to mechanical entanglement. This parameter change transforms the material compatibility requirements, enabling a broader range of fiber materials to be used since they are no longer subjected to alkaline conditions that would cause hydrolysis or degradation
4Stability of the object's composition
If additional adhesives and multiple process steps are used to anchor pile material, then fabric stability is improved, but production time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables the fabric to self-anchor through the needling process. The barbed needles mechanically entangle the carrier fibers and staple fibers together, creating internal bonds that stabilize the fabric structure without requiring external adhesives or additional anchoring steps
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines the pile anchoring function with the surface formation and layer bonding functions into a single needling operation. The mechanical entanglement simultaneously secures the pile material to the base fabric and bonds the fiber layers together, eliminating separate anchoring steps and improving production efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of producing a laminar velour knitted fabric include: providing at least one pile yarn made of a pile material consisting only of polyester and at least one base yarn made of a base material consisting only of polyester, wherein the at least one pile material includes individual filaments with a fineness of at most 2 dtex per fibril; knitting the pile yarn and the base yarn to form a raw knitted fabric of pile yarn and base yarn having a top side and a bottom side, the top side including the pile yarn; and forming a raised pile in the absence of alkaline dissolution, wherein forming the raised pile includes napping the top side of the raw knitted fabric, whereby the pile yarn at the top side of the knitted fabric is cut and a pile is formed and raising the pile to form the laminar velour knitted fabric.