you can use KNIME for many different tasks, among others for prediction, analysis and visualization (we are getting better on this. Give the JavaScript Plots a try).
Pattern is a really generic term and can mean many different things. A clustering analysis can be understood as a classic example for finding patterns, in this case similar groups, in data. I guess it is more about finding patterns than producing patterns, as you are looking at already existing data in most of the cases.
You don't need to know how to code in R to use KNIME. That is what KNIME is about, analyzing and processing data without the need to code. Of course you can still add code, if you want to. If you want to apply data mining or machine learning with KNIME, I strongly recommend you to gain at least basic knowledge about the relevant techniques beforehand. Otherwise you will have a hard time setting up your workflow and interpreting the results. A good starting point might be our training material: https://www.knime.com/knime