U.S. patent application number 11/733455 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-16 for low permeability fabric.
Invention is credited to Berry Brockotter, Mark Hodson, Antony Morton, Torben Schlieckau, Arved Westerkamp.
Application Number | 20080254273 11/733455 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39428010 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080254273 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schlieckau; Torben ; et
al. |
October 16, 2008 |
LOW PERMEABILITY FABRIC
Abstract
A fabric comprising a plurality of coiled yarns arranged in
side-by-side intermeshing relationship and having elongated pintles
extending through intermeshed portions of the yarn. Elongated
stuffer elements extend through central portion of each of the
coils in between adjacent pintles. The stuffer elements respond to
a given input after insertion to expand and fill the central
portions of each of the coils. The input may be temperature, light,
sound, chemical and tension. In one form, the stuffer elements
formed from auxetic material which is placed in tension, after
insertion, to cause the stuffer elements to expand and reduce the
permeability of the fabric.
Inventors: |
Schlieckau; Torben;
(Heidenheim, DE) ; Brockotter; Berry; (Neede,
NL) ; Hodson; Mark; (Lancashire, GB) ;
Westerkamp; Arved; (Dettingen/Ems, DE) ; Morton;
Antony; (Yorkshire, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TAYLOR & AUST, P.C.
P.O. Box 560, 142. S Main Street
Avilla
IN
46710
US
|
Family ID: |
39428010 |
Appl. No.: |
11/733455 |
Filed: |
April 10, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
428/222 ;
139/383AA |
Current CPC
Class: |
D21F 1/0072 20130101;
Y10T 428/249922 20150401 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/222 ;
139/383.AA |
International
Class: |
D03D 13/00 20060101
D03D013/00 |
Claims
1. A fabric comprising: a plurality of coiled monofilaments
arranged in side-by-side, intermeshing relationship and elongated
pintles extending through intermeshed portions of said coiled
monofilaments; and elongated stuffer elements extending through
central portions of each of said coils in between adjacent pintles,
said stuffer elements responding to a given input after insertion
to expand and fill the central portions of each of said coils.
2. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to a temperature input to expand in place.
3. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to a light input to expand in place.
4. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to a sound input to expand in place.
5. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to chemical input to expand in place.
6. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to applied tension to expand in place.
7. A fabric as claimed in claim 6, wherein said stuffer elements
are formed from auxetic material.
8. A method of forming a fabric comprising the steps of: arranging
a plurality of coiled monofilaments in side-by-side intermeshing
relationships; extending pintles through intermeshed portions of
said coiled monofilaments; extending tubular stuffer elements
through central portions of said monofilaments in between said
pintles, said tubular stuffer elements being responsive to a given
input to expand and fill the central portion of each of said coils;
and after said stuffer elements are in place, subjecting them to
said given input.
9. A method of forming a fabric as claimed in claim 8, wherein said
stuffer elements are responsive to temperature input to expand and
after said stuffer elements are in place said stuffer elements are
subjected to a temperature input.
10. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to a light input to expand and after said stuffer
elements are in place said elements are subjected to a sound
input.
11. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to a chemical input to expand and said chemical
input is applied to said stuffer elements after they are in
place.
12. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said stuffer elements
are responsive to tension to expand and said stuffer elements are
subjected to tension after they are in place.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said stuffer elements
are auxetic.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said stuffer elements
are pressed into place in between said pintles thereby reducing
their thickness for insertion.
15. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said stuffer elements
are kept in tension by securing them to outer edges of said fabric.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to spiral fabrics, and, more
particularly, to such fabrics having stuffers inserted into open
areas to reduce the permeability of the fabric.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Spiral fabrics wound with coiled filaments are used in such
applications as dryers, PMC, and other applications. They are
typically assembled using a series of right and left handed
monofilament coils. Adjacent coils are connected by pintles,
typically formed from a monofilament. The permeability of the
assembled fabric may be reduced by insertion of stuffer yarns into
the openings formed between adjacent pintles. The stuffers may be
extruded or braided and come in a variety of elongated solid
geometric shapes. The stuffers may be effectively locked into the
fabric structure by heat setting the monofilament or by applying a
polymeric resin material at each edge of the fabric. An
encapsulated composite of spiral loops, stuffers and resin results.
Due to the nature of the manufacturing process, it becomes
progressively more difficult to achieve reductions in permeability
for wider fabrics approaching 9 meters wide because of the
difficulty of inserting the stuffers in the open spaces in the
woven fabric.
[0005] When significantly lower permeability is required, it is
difficult to seal all the space in the fabric because the geometric
shapes placed in the fabric fail to intimately conform to the
intricate shape of the coiled filaments.
[0006] What is needed in the art is a fabric of the above type that
has a significantly lower permeability and which is made using a
simplified process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention, in one form, is directed to a fabric having a
plurality of coiled monofilaments arranged in side-by-side,
intermeshing relationship and elongated pintles extending through
intermeshed portions of the coiled monofilaments. Elongated stuffer
elements extend through central portions of each of the coils in
between adjacent pintles. The stuffer elements respond to a given
input after insertion to expand and fill the central portion of
each of the coils.
[0008] The invention, in another form, is directed to a method of
forming a fabric having the steps of arranging a plurality of
coiled monofilaments in side-by-side intermeshing relationships.
Pintles are extended through intermeshed portions of the coiled
monofilaments and tubular stuffer elements are extended through
central portions of the monofilaments in between the pintles. The
tubular stuffer elements are responsive to a given input to expand
and fill the central portion of each of the coils and after the
stuffer elements are in place they are subjected to the given
input.
[0009] In yet another form the invention involves a fabric having a
plurality of coiled monofilaments in side-by-side intermeshing
relationship. Pintles extend through intermeshed portions of the
coiled monofilaments between adjacent pintles and tubular stuffer
elements extend through central portions of the coiled
monofilaments. The stuffer elements are formed from auxetic
material to expand in response to tension and fill the central
portion of each of the coils.
[0010] An advantage of the present invention is the easy insertion
of stuffer elements with substantial reductions in
permeability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of
this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more
apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference
to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a fabric including
stuffer elements embodying the present invention; and
[0013] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fabric with stuffer elements also
embodying a form of the present invention.
[0014] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding
parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out
herein illustrate embodiments of the invention and such
exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of
the invention in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG.
1, there is shown a plurality of stuffer elements 10 in place in a
fabric made of a plurality of coiled yarns 14 intermeshing to form
continuous coiled or spiral loops in the MD (machine direction). At
the intersections 16 of the coiled yarns there are a series of
pintles 18 which extend in a CMD (cross machine direction). The
fabric 12 is formed to provide a belt and the elongated portion of
the belt is in the MD while the CMD extends at right angles to the
plane of FIG. 1. Although the yarns have been described as coiled,
an alternative term for designating their shape and interaction is
spiral. The yarns may be formed from a variety of materials
suitable for use as a dryer fabric. One type of material suitable
for this purposes is polyester. It should be apparent, however,
that other materials may be employed for the yarns with equal
results.
[0016] After the spiral monofilament, spiral yarns or coiled yarns
14 are interweaved and the pintles 18 are inserted, tubular
stuffers are inserted in a CMD fashion. The tubular stuffers 10 are
sized to be received in the open spaces between adjacent pintles
18. The stuffer elements 10 are fashioned from material having a
property that is responsive to an external input, shown
schematically by reference character 20, which causes the stuffer
elements to expand and substantially fill the spaces between
pintles, as shown by stuffer element 10a to the right of FIG.
1.
[0017] The external input is selected from one of heat,
temperature, light, sound, chemical and tension to cause the
stuffer elements to expand in place. The materials may be
responsive to the external input to expand in substantially an
irreversible condition or remain in the expanded state so long as
the input is present.
[0018] The advantage of the materials set forth above is that they
can be sized to easily fit into the spaces in the coiled fabric
between pintles 18 but, in place, subjected to the external input
from element 20 to expand them to substantially completely fill the
spaces in the fabrics. This enables permeability levels
significantly lower than those experienced in prior art coiled or
spiral fabrics.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows yet another example of a material that is
subjected to an external input to expand, once it is in place and
fill the spaces between the pintles 18. In this case, the material
is selected from a type of material known as auxetic material. This
material exhibits a negative Poisson's ratio. Unlike an elastic
band for example, which becomes thinner when stretched, an auxetic
material will become thicker. Conversely, when auxetic material is
compressed, it will become thinner. Thus, when stuffer element 10
is made from auxetic material, and it is pushed into the spaces
between the pintles 18, it becomes thinner. Once the stuffer
element 10 is in place, its ends 22 and 24 are stretched thus
causing the thickness of the stuffer element 10 to increase. The
ends 22 and 24 are held in tension by securing them to the ends 26
and 28 of the fabric 12. Thus the auxetic material is held in the
expanded position during operation of the fabric 12.
[0020] While this invention has been described with respect to at
least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified
within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is
therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of
the invention using its general principles. Further, this
application is intended to cover such departures from the present
disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to
which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of
the appended claims.
* * * * *