Weft Knit Fabric Free-Cut Edge Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional weft knit fabrics for underwear often suffer from impaired appearance and undesirable feel due to sewing irregularities and the fusion of heat-fused elastic and non-elastic yarns, leading to hardness and curling issues.
Innovation Solution
A weft knit fabric design featuring non-elastic and elastic yarns with specific loop structures, where the proportion of sinker loops formed by doubling is 50% or lower, and needle loops are 50% or greater, ensuring no excessive coalescing or fusion, resulting in excellent free-cut properties and bending softness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If heat-fused elastic yarn and non-elastic yarn are knitted by plating followed by heat setting, then the yarns fuse together providing structural stability, but the fabric becomes hard and difficult to bend resulting in undesirable feel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different loop structures at different locations: needle loops where both yarns are present provide fusion stability, while sinker loops with only non-elastic yarn maintain softness and bendability. This spatial differentiation of yarn configuration resolves the contradiction between structural stability and bending softness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the loop structure into two distinct types: needle loops (where elastic and non-elastic yarns fuse) and sinker loops (where only non-elastic yarn exists). This segmentation allows different regions of the fabric to have different properties - stability from fused needle loops and softness from non-fused sinker loops - thereby resolving the contradiction.
2Reliability
If conventional fabric cut sections are sewn to prevent fraying, then fraying is prevented, but irregularities at sewn sections impair outer appearance and compressed sewn sections reduce wearable feel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by designing the knitted fabric structure itself to prevent fraying through the interlocking loop configuration at cut edges. The alternating needle and sinker loops create a self-containing structure that secures yarn ends without requiring external sewing, thereby maintaining appearance regularity while achieving fray resistance.
3Strength
If heat-fused elastic yarn and non-elastic yarn fuse throughout all needle loops and sinker loops, then structural integrity is improved, but the apparent fiber size at sinker loops is thickened causing hardness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by restricting yarn fusion to specific locations (needle loops) while leaving other locations (sinker loops) with only non-elastic yarn. This localized approach maintains structural integrity where needed while preserving uniform fiber appearance and softness where yarn fusion would cause thickening and hardness.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a weft knit fabric with excellent raw edge properties and flexural softness. This weft knit fabric, which contains non-elastic yarns and elastic yarns and has a front surface and a back surface, is characterized in that: the elastic yarns connect the front surface with the back surface; the front surface and the back surface have portions wherein the non-elastic yarns and the elastic yarns form needle loops together; and the ratio of the number of sinker loops formed by the non-elastic yarns and the elastic yarns together with respect to the total number of sinker loops of the non-elastic yarns on the front surface and the back surface is not more than 50%.