U.S. patent application number 09/947996 was filed with the patent office on 2002-05-30 for brass plated carbon fiber reinforced rubber.
Invention is credited to Duvall, Robert E., Morin, Louis SR..
Application Number | 20020064655 09/947996 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26924979 |
Filed Date | 2002-05-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020064655 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Morin, Louis SR. ; et
al. |
May 30, 2002 |
Brass plated carbon fiber reinforced rubber
Abstract
Reinforced elastomeric compositions comprising brass plated
fibers comprising a core material of carbon, glass, polymer or
metal covered with a layer of brass incorporated into an
elastomeric material.
Inventors: |
Morin, Louis SR.;
(Tarrytown, NY) ; Duvall, Robert E.; (Yonkers,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Evelyn M. Sommer, Esq.
PATTERSON, BELKNAP, WEBB & TYLER LLP
1133 Avenue of the Americas
New York
NY
10036-6710
US
|
Family ID: |
26924979 |
Appl. No.: |
09/947996 |
Filed: |
September 6, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60231291 |
Sep 8, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
428/375 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C08J 5/06 20130101; C08J
2321/00 20130101; Y10T 428/2933 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/375 |
International
Class: |
D02G 003/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Brass plated fibers comprising a core material of carbon, glass,
polymer or metal which is covered with a layer of brass.
2. A reinforced elastomeric composition comprising rubber or
elastomeric material reinforced with the brass plated fibers
according to claim 1.
3. The composition of claim 2, wherein the fibers are selected from
the group consisting of carbon, glass, polymer, and metal.
4. A product formed from the composition of claim 1, wherein the
product has at least one outer surface and said fibers are oriented
perpendicular to said outer surface.
5. The product of claim 4, wherein the product is a heat sink.
6. The composition of claim 2 having a tailorable coefficient of
thermal expansion.
7. The composition of claim 6, wherein the coefficient of thermal
expansion is negative or zero.
8. A product formed from the composition of claim 2, wherein said
product is a belt, hose or a tire.
9. The composition of claim 2, wherein the brass is applied to said
fiber by lectroplating, electroless plating or chemical vapor
deposition.
10. The article of claim 2, wherein the metal plated fibers
comprise a coating formed of a sizing agent applied before the
metal plated fibers are incorporated into the elastomeric
material.
11. The composition of claim 2, wherein the elastomer comprises
vulcanized or unvulcanized natural rubber, nylon, polyester,
styrene, vinyl, fluoropolymer and synthetic rubbers.
Description
[0001] This application claims the priority of Provisional
Application Serial No. 60/231,291 filed Sep. 8, 2000.
[0002] The present invention relates to elastomeric materials
reinforced with metal plated fibers. Specifically, the present
invention is directed to rubber compositions strengthened by brass
plated carbon fibers, and methods of making the same. The present
invention is also directed to methods of using such strengthened
compositions in articles that require superior mechanical
properties, as well as flexibility characteristics.
[0003] The phrase "elastomeric material" or "elastomer" as used
herein is intended to mean natural or synthetic rubber, polymers or
copolymers. Elastomers include vulcanized or unvulcanized natural
or synthetic rubber, as well as any well-known organic polymer or
copolymer, such as the flexible and resilient forms of nylons,
other polyamides, polyesters, styrenes, vinyls, aramids, and
fluoropolymers. Presently, elastomer materials are reinforced with
steel, polyester, nylon, Kevlar.RTM., Nomex.RTM. and the like.
Products in which these reinforced elastomers have been used
include the automotive industry. Such products include, for
example, steel radial tires, belts and hoses. However, reinforced
elastomers can be used in other applications that require strength
and flexibility, such as bullet resistant structures and cordage
products, precision timing belts and conveyor belts.
[0004] The effectiveness, and thus end-use of the reinforced
elastomer is known to be a function of the reinforcing material.
For example, while elastomeric material can be reinforced with
steel, applications that require durability at high speed, such as
in airplane and motorcycle tires, have been limited by the
deformability and flexibility properties required in such
applications. Thus, conventional airplane and motorcycle tires are
reinforced with nylon or other synthetic cord rather than
steel.
[0005] In addition, belt applications, namely timing or conveyor
belts, have to exhibit a combination of flexibility and strength.
Advantageously, a reinforced material used in belt applications
must also be able to dissipate heat generated at increased
operating temperature more effectively than products traditionally
used in such applications. More advantageously, a reinforced
material used in belt applications would not only be able to
dissipate heat effectively, but would have a tailorable coefficient
of thermal expansion. As used herein, "tailorable coefficient of
thermal expansion" means a thermal expansion that could be altered,
within a finite range, from a negative value to zero to a desired
positive value, depending on the processing conditions of the
plated fiber. This property would allow the resulting reinforced
product to exhibit thermal stability.
[0006] Thermal stability is important in applications that expose
the reinforced material to temperatures that may adversely affect
the resulting product. For example, in high precision belt
applications, even a small increase in slack due to thermal
expansion associated with traditional metal filler would be
unwanted. Similarly, in tire applications an increase in thermal
expansion during use may change the profile, and thus the wear of
the tire.
[0007] Still further, it is important that the reinforced material
have high tensile strengths, great resistance to elongation and
high energy absorption properties.
[0008] It would be desirable to provide a reinforced elastomeric
material that exhibits the improved mechanical, thermal and other
properties mentioned above, but which can be processed using known
techniques.
[0009] To solve the foregoing problems associated with the prior
art, the present invention utilizes metal plated fibers to
reinforce elastomeric materials. This new reinforced material
preferably comprises brass plated carbon fibers that are
incorporated into rubber. Products comprising rubber reinforced
with brass plated carbon fiber have improved tensile and elongation
properties over present elastomers reinforced with either steel,
Kevlar or Nomex, and are able to dissipate heat better than
traditional steel, Kevlar or Nomex reinforced materials. In
addition, products made in accordance with the present invention
have a tailorable coefficient of thermal expansion, and thus are
thermally stable at increased operating temperatures.
[0010] Accordingly, a subject of the present invention is a
reinforced elastomeric composition comprising brass plated fibers,
wherein the fibers are selected from the group consisting of
carbon, glass, polymer, and metal. Depending on the orientation of
the fiber, the application of the resulting product differs. For
example, a product having the fibers oriented perpendicular to an
outer surface is able to dissipate heat away from the outer surface
more effectively than fibers oriented in a random or parallel
fashion, and thus can be used as a heat sink. However, a product
comprising fibers oriented parallel to an outer surface may exhibit
improved mechanical properties that may make it more attractive as
a hose, belt or tire.
[0011] In addition, through processing conditions, the composition
is able to have a coefficient of thermal expansion that can be
tailored to specific applications. For example, some belt or tire
applications may require precision engineering, and thus benefit
from a coefficient of thermal expansion that is negative or zero
across the operating temperature region. Tailoring the coefficient
of thermal expansion would be a function of the method of
depositing the brass, i.e., if it applied to the fiber by
electroplating, electroless plating or chemical vapor deposition,
as well as the amount of brass and fiber incorporated into the
elastomeric material.
[0012] In another aspect, the invention provides a method of
producing a composition in which the metal plated fiber is treated
with a sizing agent, preferably latex-based, to enhance adhesion to
the elastomeric material. This aspect is primarily used when the
elastomeric material is a rubber.
[0013] The metal plated fiber of the present invention comprises a
core material of carbon, glass, polymer or metal, which is covered
with a metal layer formed of material selected from the group
consisting of electroplated metal, chemical vapor deposited metal,
and electroless plated metal. The method of coating and the use of
such metal coated fibers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,680,093,
4,609,449 and 4,661,403, the entire contents of which are
incorporated by reference herein. Preferably, the core material
comprises aramid, fiberglass, graphite, stainless steel. Preferably
the metal plated onto the fiber is brass.
[0014] By using the metal plated fibers described above, a
reinforced product comprising a composition made in accordance with
the present invention exhibits flexibility and elongation at break
that are comparable to traditional steel or Kevlar reinforced
elastomers, but which have tensile, thermal, resistance to
elongation and high energy absorption properties much better than
these traditional reinforced elastomers.
[0015] The present invention has been disclosed generally and by
reference to embodiments thereof the scope of the invention is not
limited to the disclosed embodiments but is defined by the appended
claims and their equivalents.
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