Variable Thickness Knitted Fabric via Segmented Spacer Threads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing knitted spacer fabrics have limited design flexibility due to constant thickness across the width, requiring complex control of warp knitting machines to alter thickness, which is often linked to changes in the entire width.
Innovation Solution
A method to produce knitted fabrics with varying thickness in the width direction by using spacer threads of different lengths in alternating stitch rows, allowing for adjustable distances between covering layers, controlled by a jacquard guide bar and actuating drive, enabling regions with varying thickness without affecting the entire fabric width.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the distance between needle heads is altered by an actuating drive to change fabric thickness, then the thickness of the knitted fabric can be varied, but the thickness changes over the entire width of the fabric
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric width is divided into multiple width regions (first width region, second width region, etc.), each with different thickness characteristics. The pile guide bar is divided into multiple sections corresponding to these width regions, with each section controlling spacer thread formation in its respective region. This segmentation allows independent thickness control in different width regions without affecting the entire fabric width.
Solution Approach 2:
Different width regions of the fabric are given different local properties (thicknesses) by using spacer threads of different lengths in different regions. The first width region has spacer threads of a first length while the second width region has spacer threads of a second length, creating locally optimized fabric characteristics for different functional requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If bars carrying knitting tools are divided to achieve variable thickness in width direction, then different thicknesses can be obtained, but the control and operation of the warp knitting machine becomes extraordinarily complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The pile guide bar serves multiple functions: it guides pile threads, controls spacer thread formation, and enables variable thickness production across different width regions. By making the pile guide bar movable with guide needles that can be positioned in different states, a single component performs what would otherwise require multiple divided bars and complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The pile guide bar is designed to be movable rather than fixed, with guide needles that can be dynamically positioned in different states (engaged or disengaged). This dynamic capability allows the same physical structure to produce different fabric thickness patterns without requiring physical reconfiguration or division of the knitting tools.
3Adaptability or versatility
If spacer threads of different lengths are used in different width regions, then design freedom is increased, but the arrangement of spacer threads becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide needles are pre-positioned in specific states before the knitting process begins. For each width region, the guide needles are configured to either form spacer threads or not form spacer threads, depending on the desired fabric structure. This preliminary configuration simplifies the actual knitting process by eliminating the need for complex real-time control decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
A knitted fabric, a method of producing the knitted fabric and a warp knitting machine. The knitted fabric includes a first covering layer; a second covering layer; and an arrangement of pile threads formed as spacer threads between the first covering layer and the second covering layer. Each covering layer includes multiple stitch rows arranged one after another. The spacer threads have different lengths, and the spacer threads woven into each stitch row have equal lengths. The spacer threads in a first width region have a different length than the spacer threads in a second width region. For at least two adjacent stitch rows, one stitch row is connected to spacer threads of a first length in the first width region and one stitch row is connected to spacer threads of a second length in the second width region.