Woven Sleeve with Integral Loops for Secure Attachment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing textile sleeves for protecting elongate members require additional supplemental members like clips, adhesives, or separate hook and loop fasteners for fixation, which increase costs and complexity.

Innovation Solution

A wrappable textile sleeve with woven bulky, fluffy multifilaments that form floats to create integral hook and loop fasteners, allowing direct attachment to a support member without additional fixation components.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If supplemental members (clips, adhesives, separate hook and loop fasteners) are used to fix the wire harness, then the wire harness can be securely fixed in location, but the cost and complexity increase due to additional products and secondary operations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefixation securityVSAvoidnumber of components
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the wire harness sleeve and the loop fastener into a single integrated component. The loop fastener is constructed by weaving bulky, fluffy multifilament yarns directly into the sleeve during the knitting process, eliminating the need for separate fastening components and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining secure fixation capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The sleeve is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it protects the wire harness, provides structural support, and incorporates integral loop fastening capability. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate supplemental members, reducing both component count and assembly complexity while maintaining reliable fixation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If supplemental members and secondary operations (stitching, adhesive application) are used for fixation, then secure attachment is achieved, but manufacturing time and process complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveattachment securityVSAvoidmanufacturing process simplicity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The loop fastener structure is pre-formed during the sleeve manufacturing process itself. The bulky, fluffy multifilament yarns are incorporated into the knit structure during production, creating ready-to-use loop fastening surfaces without requiring subsequent stitching, adhesive application, or separate fastener attachment operations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The manufacturing processes for the sleeve and the fastener are merged into a single knitting operation. The loop fastener is constructed integrally with the sleeve in the same production line, eliminating multiple secondary operations and simplifying the overall manufacturing process while ensuring secure attachment capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP3577263B1Woven sleeve with integral attachment loops and method of construction thereof
Publication Date: 2021.03.17 FEDERAL MOGUL POWERTRAIN INC
  • EP3577263B1 patent drawingFigure 1~1A
  • EP3577263B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3577263B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~4

AI summary

A wrappable textile sleeve for protecting an elongate member and method of construction thereof is provided. The sleeve includes a plurality of warp filaments and at least one weft filament woven with one another to form a woven wall. The woven wall has opposite sides extending lengthwise between opposite ends. The opposite sides are wrappable about a central longitudinal axis into overlapping relation with one another to bound the elongate member within a cavity of the sleeve. At least one warp and/or weft filament is provided as a bulky, fluffy multifilament, wherein the bulky, fluffy multifilament is woven to form at least one float extending over 2 or more weft and/or warp yarns, wherein the at least one float provides loops sufficient to readily fix themselves to hooks of a standard hook and loop fastener.