Vision-Guided Stitching of Superposed Wires for Engineered Textiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional footwear manufacturing processes involving multiple sheet elements are time-consuming, costly, and generate significant waste, making recycling difficult, especially for uppers with complex designs.
Innovation Solution
Automated manufacturing systems with controller-automated, vision-guided stitching systems are used to assemble engineered textiles, such as woven fabrics, woven fabrics, woven fabrics, woven fabrics, woven fabrics, woven fabrics, natural and synthetic leather panels, etc., by interconnecting unwoven, intercrossed arrays of wire windings using a movable end effector with a stitching head and image capture device, guided by a system controller for precise stitching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sheet elements are used to fabricate footwear uppers, then design complexity and functionality are improved, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate sheet elements into a single engineered textile structure. Instead of cutting and joining multiple pre-fabricated panels, the invention creates one integrated textile that provides all the functional zones (waterproof, breathable, flexible areas) in a unified construction, eliminating the need for multiple separate components and their associated joining operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The engineered textile is constructed with segmented functional zones that correspond to different performance requirements. The textile includes distinct regions with different properties (waterproof membranes in rigid zones, breathable layers in flexible zones) that are integrated into a single structure, allowing complex functionality without requiring multiple separate sheet elements to be assembled.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sheet elements are joined together, then functional properties are improved, but material waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs preliminary action by creating the engineered textile with pre-defined functional zones and structural characteristics before the footwear manufacturing process begins. The textile is fabricated with integrated waterproof layers, breathable zones, and flexible areas already in their final positions, eliminating the need for subsequent cutting and joining operations that would generate waste from pattern making and assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional layers (waterproof membranes, breathable layers, structural support zones) are merged into a single integrated engineered textile structure. This consolidation eliminates the waste associated with joining separate sheet elements, as all functional components are incorporated during the textile fabrication process rather than through subsequent assembly operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sheet elements are used in upper construction, then design versatility is improved, but recycling difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functional components into a single engineered textile structure, making the entire upper construction more amenable to recycling. By integrating waterproof layers, breathable zones, and structural elements into one unified textile rather than assembling multiple separate sheets, the material composition becomes more homogeneous and easier to process for recycling at the end of the product lifecycle.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional stitching processes are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but precision and alignment of complex designs suffer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical stitching processes with automated cutting and joining technology. Instead of using traditional needle-and-thread stitching methods, the invention employs automated cutting systems that precisely cut the engineered textile to the required shape, followed by precise joining operations that maintain alignment accuracy for complex design geometries while simplifying the manufacturing process.
Data Source
AI summary
Presented are automated manufacturing systems for fabricating engineered textiles, footwear and apparel formed with such engineered textiles, methods for making such engineered textiles, and memory-stored, processor-executable instructions for operating such manufacturing systems. An automated manufacturing system constructs engineered textiles from workpieces composed of superposed, unwoven wires. The system includes a movable end effector bearing a stitching head and an image capture device. The stitching head has a thread feeder and sewing needle to generate stitches. The image capture device captures images of the workpiece and outputs data indicative thereof. A system controller receives this image capture device data and locates, from the captured image of the workpiece, gaps defined between quadrangles of the superposed wires. The controller commands the end effector to sequentially move the stitching head and thereby align the sewing needle with the gaps, and commands the stitching head to insert a succession of stitches within these gaps.