Variable-Thickness Spacer Knit Components With Adjustable Needle Beds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional V-bed flat knitting machines are limited by a fixed, small spacing between needle beds, resulting in uniformly thick spacer knit fabrics with restricted thickness and volume, limiting their applications and aesthetic appearances.
Innovation Solution
A knitting machine with adjustable needle beds allows for variable spacing between the needle beds, enabling the formation of fabrics with varying thickness by selectively adjusting the distance between the needle beds during the knitting process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional V-bed flat knitting machine with fixed needle bed spacing is used, then the knitting process is simple and efficient, but the fabric thickness is uniform and limited, reducing design versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the needle bed spacing adjustable rather than fixed. The second needle bed is made movable relative to the first needle bed through an adjustment mechanism, allowing the spacing to be dynamically changed during the knitting process. This enables the production of spacer knit fabrics with variable thickness, directly resolving the technical contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
2Volume of moving object
If the needle bed spacing is increased to create thicker spacer knit fabrics, then fabric volume and aesthetic options improve, but the structural stability of the knitting machine deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment mechanism allows the needle bed spacing to be dynamically increased when greater fabric volume is needed, while maintaining structural stability through a controlled, reversible mechanism. The second needle bed can be moved to increase spacing for thicker fabric sections, then returned to its original position, preventing permanent structural compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the spacing parameter between needle beds in a controlled manner. By adjusting the position of the second needle bed relative to the first, the fabric thickness and volume can be varied without permanently altering the machine's structural composition. This parameter change approach allows flexible volume control while maintaining overall structural stability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A variable thickness knitted component including a first region having a spacer knit construction, the first region having a first thickness, and a second region having the spacer knit construction, the second region having a second thickness different than the first thickness. The knitted component may be an integral one-piece element.