U.S. patent application number 13/433871 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-04 for system and a method for manufacturing substrates for coated fabrics.
This patent application is currently assigned to Springs Creative Products Group, LLC. Invention is credited to John V. Wirth.
Application Number | 20120253501 13/433871 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46928271 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120253501 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wirth; John V. |
October 4, 2012 |
SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUBSTRATES FOR COATED
FABRICS
Abstract
A system and a method are disclosed for weaving SC fabrics using
multiple weft insertion. The system and method may be used to
increase the thread count of the SC fabric while reducing fabric
costs.
Inventors: |
Wirth; John V.; (Fort Mill,
SC) |
Assignee: |
Springs Creative Products Group,
LLC
Rock Hill
SC
|
Family ID: |
46928271 |
Appl. No.: |
13/433871 |
Filed: |
March 29, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61470248 |
Mar 31, 2011 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
700/140 ; 139/11;
139/440; 139/450 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D03C 19/005 20130101;
D10B 2505/00 20130101; D10B 2505/204 20130101; D03D 47/38
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
700/140 ; 139/11;
139/450; 139/440 |
International
Class: |
D03D 41/00 20060101
D03D041/00; D03D 47/34 20060101 D03D047/34; D03D 47/27 20060101
D03D047/27; D03D 47/02 20060101 D03D047/02 |
Claims
1. A system for manufacturing a substrate for coated fabric
tailored to customer defined requirements, the system comprising:
an interweaver that interweaves two or more weft threads
substantially simultaneously with a warp yarn and outputs the
substrate; and a controller that controls the interweaver according
to the customer defined requirements.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the customer defined
requirements comprise at least one of: an opacity; an air
permeability; a warp direction tear strength; a weft direction tear
strength; a fabric thickness; a dimensional stability; a fabric
tensile strength; a bursting strength; a rate of wetting out; a
wicking; a weight; and a shrinkage.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the two or more weft
threads are interwoven to follow a weaving pattern of the warp
yarn.
4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the two or more weft
threads are interwoven in a single pass or weaving step in the
interweaver.
5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the two or more weft
threads are interwoven using a double-pick weaving of the two or
more weft threads.
6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the customer defined
requirements comprise at least one of: a number of weft threads to
be woven substantially simultaneously; a density for each of the
two or more weft threads; and a type or blend of warp yarn to be
included.
7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a database
that stores the customer defined requirements.
8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a driver
that controls the interweaver according to a signal received from
the controller.
9. A method for manufacturing a substrate for coated fabric
tailored to customer defined requirements, the method comprising:
substantially simultaneously interweaving two or more weft threads
with a warp yarn; controlling the interweaving according to the
customer defined requirements; and outputting a substrate that
comprises the two or more weft threads and warp yarn.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the customer defined
requirements comprise at least one of: an opacity; an air
permeability; a warp direction tear strength; a weft direction tear
strength; a fabric thickness; a dimensional stability; a fabric
tensile strength; a bursting strength; a rate of wetting out; a
wicking; a weight; and a shrinkage.
11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the two or more weft
threads are interwoven to follow a weaving pattern of the warp
yarn.
12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the two or more weft
threads are interwoven in a single pass or weaving step in an
interweaver.
13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the two or more weft
threads are interwoven using a double-pick weaving of the two or
more weft threads.
14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the customer defined
requirements comprise at least one of: a number of weft threads to
be woven substantially simultaneously; a density for each of the
two or more weft threads; and a type or blend of warp yarn to be
included.
15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: receiving
the customer defined requirements from a database that stores the
customer defined requirements.
16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: driving an
interweaver according to a signal received from a controller.
17. A computer readable medium comprising a computer program for a
manufacturing process for manufacturing a substrate for coated
fabric according to a customer defined requirement, the computer
medium comprising program code sections, which when executed on a
computer, cause the computer to: substantially simultaneously
interweave two or more well threads with a warp yarn; control the
interweaving according to the customer defined requirement; and
output a substrate that comprises the two or more weft threads and
warp yarn.
18. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the
customer defined requirement comprises at least one of: an opacity;
an air permeability; a warp direction tear strength; a weft
direction tear strength; a fabric thickness; a dimensional
stability; a fabric tensile strength; a bursting strength; a rate
of wetting out; a wicking; a weight; and a shrinkage.
19. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the
two or more weft threads are interwoven to follow a weaving pattern
of the warp yarn.
20. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the
customer defined requirement comprises at least one of: a number of
weft threads to be woven substantially simultaneously; a density
for each of the two or more weft threads; and a type or blend of
warp yarn to be included.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/470,248,
filed Mar. 31, 2011, and titled "SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR
MANUFACTURING SUBSTRATES FOR COATED FABRICS," the disclosure of
which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a system and a method for
manufacturing substrates for coated fabrics.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] Substrates for coated (SC) fabrics are used in a wide
variety of applications, including, for example, medical
substrates, adhesive backings, industrial fabrics, geotextiles, to
name only a few. Substrates for coated (SC) fabrics can be made
using one of a number of processes. For example, SC fabrics may be
made by coating and laminating a fabric with a synthetic material
such as, for example, a film of polyester (PET), polyvinyl chloride
(PVC), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or the like. In certain
applications, a laminated fabric may consist of a reinforcing
polyester scrim that is pressed between two layers of PVC film and
heated to join the fabric with the PVC film layers.
[0004] Current manufacturing processes make it difficult and costly
to manufacture multiple styles and to fine tune properties for
substrates for coated fabrics. That is, existing manufacturing
processes lack a flexibility to tailor fabric characteristics to
specific customer requirements while keeping costs low. Thus, an
unfulfilled need exists for a flexible manufacturing process that
tailors fabric characteristics to specific customer requirements
with minimal style change cost.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0005] According to one non-limiting example of the disclosure, a
system and a method are disclosed for weaving substrates for coated
(SC) fabrics using multiple weft insertion. The system and method
may be used to increase the threadcount of SC fabrics while
reducing fabric costs. The system and method may be used to
manufacture products such as, for example, backing substrates for
various forms of tapes, abrasives or adhesives.
[0006] The disclosed system and method offer numerous advantages
that are not available from existing manufacturing processes. For
example, the system and method include multiple weft insertion in
the production of substrates for coated fabrics, thereby lowering
cost by reducing the amount of time required to weave the SC
fabric. Multiple weft insertion allows the manufacture of a
multitude of fabrics to be produced with customer specific
properties while using weaving machines that use a common warp
construction. This allows for enormous flexibility in manufacturing
and tailoring of fabric characteristics to specific customer
requirements with minimal style change cost.
[0007] Some of the properties that are important to coating
operations that can easily be altered by multiple weft insertion
techniques include, for example, opacity, air permeability, warp
direction tear strength, weft direction tear strength, fabric
thickness, dimensional stability, fabric tensile strength, bursting
strength, rate of wetting out, wicking, weight, shrinkage, and the
like.
[0008] According to an aspect of the disclosure, two or more weft
threads may be interwoven simultaneously with a warp yarn. The two
or more weft threads may follow the same weaving pattern relative
to the warp yarn. As a result, multiple weft threads may be woven
in a single pass or weaving step, thus saving overall weaving time.
The system and method may substantially simultaneously insert
multiple weft threads using, for example, double-pick weaving (2
weft threads woven simultaneously) the weft threads, which may be
done when making high thread density SC fabrics. The system and
method may include existing looms that are available from
manufacturers such as, for example, Dornier GmbH, Lindau, Germany
in making SC fabrics.
[0009] The number of weft threads woven substantially
simultaneously, the density of the weft yarns, and/or the types or
blends of yarns chosen a be adjusted and tailored according to
particular customer requirements or applications. These may be
regarded as important properties for fabrics used as substrates in
coating operations.
[0010] The disclosure provides the ability to use common warp
styles to produce finely tuned properties such as weight, opacity,
air permeability, strength, wet out rate, tear strength and fiber
content. The disclosure also provides the ability to produce lower
cost substrates with the same properties as currently available SC
fabrics, including reducing the time required to manufacture the SC
fabrics.
[0011] The system and method according to the present disclosure
offer the advantages of reduced downtime at coating range and
minimal breakouts or tear outs, while providing each customer with
a specialized product that meets the customer's specific SC fabric
property requirements. The system and method may use a common warp
yarn construction or a minimal number of warp yarn
constructions.
[0012] The system and method may produce various styles and types
of SC fabrics, according to unique customer requirements. For
example, the system and method may make yarns with different blends
of fibers and densities for both warp and weft. This may increase
turnaround time in product development and increase inventory that
must be held. The current approach is to make fabrics for coating
substrates with single weft insertion.
[0013] Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the
disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the
detailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is to be understood
that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following
detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further
explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as
claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment
of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serves
to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to
show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may
be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and
the various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 shows an example of a system for manufacturing an SC
fabric, according to principles of the disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a cross-section of a state of
the art woven fabric;
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a side view cross-section example of a woven
fabric that is constructed according to the principles of the
disclosure; and
[0018] FIG. 4 shows another side view cross-section example of a
woven fabric that is constructed according to the principles of the
disclosure.
[0019] The present disclosure is further described in the detailed
description that follows.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0020] The disclosure and the various features and advantageous
details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the
non-limiting embodiment and example that is described and/or
illustrated in the accompanying drawing and detailed in the
following description. It should be noted that the features
illustrated in the drawing are not necessarily drawn to scale, and
features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments
as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly
stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing
techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the
embodiments of the disclosure. The example used herein is intended
merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the
disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in
the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly,
the example and embodiment herein should not be construed as
limiting the scope of the disclosure.
[0021] A "computer", as used in this disclosure, means any machine,
device, circuit, component, or module, or any system of machines,
devices, circuits, components, modules, or the like, which are
capable of manipulating data according to one or more instructions,
such as, for example, without limitation, a processor, a
microprocessor, a central processing unit, a general purpose
computer, a super computer, a personal computer, a laptop computer,
a palmtop computer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a
workstation computer, a server, or the like, or an array of
processors, microprocessors, central processing units, general
purpose computers, super computers, personal computers, laptop
computers, palmtop computers, notebook computers, desktop
computers, workstation computers, servers, or the like.
[0022] A "database", as used in this disclosure, means any
combination of software and/or hardware, including at least one
application and/or at least one computer. The database may include
a structured collection of records or data organized according to a
database model, such as, for example, but not limited to at least
one of a relational model, a hierarchical model, a network model or
the like. The database may include a database management system
application (DBMS) as is known in the art. The at least one
application may include, but is not limited to, for example, an
application program that can accept connections to service requests
from clients by sending back responses to the clients. The database
may be configured to run the at least one application, often under
heavy workloads, unattended, for extended periods of time with
minimal human direction.
[0023] A "communication link", as used in this disclosure, means a
wired and/or wireless medium that conveys data or information
between at least two points. The wired or wireless medium may
include, for example, a metallic conductor link, a radio frequency
(RF) communication link, an Infrared (IR) communication link, an
optical communication link, or the like, without limitation. The RE
communication link may include, for example, WiFi, WiMAX, IEEE
802.11, DECT, 0G, 1G, 2G, 3G or 4G cellular standards, Bluetooth,
and the like.
[0024] The terms "including", "comprising" and variations thereof,
as used in this disclosure, mean "including, but not limited to",
unless expressly specified otherwise.
[0025] The terms "a", "an", and "the", as used in this disclosure,
means "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.
[0026] Devices that are in communication with each other need not
be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly
specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication
with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one
or more intermediaries.
[0027] Although process steps, method steps, algorithms, or the
like, may be described in a sequential order, such processes,
methods and algorithms may be configured to work in alternate
orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be
described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the
steps be performed in that order. The steps of the processes,
methods or algorithms described herein may be performed in any
order practical. Further, some steps may be performed
simultaneously.
[0028] When a single device or article is described herein, it will
be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be
used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more
than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily
apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of
the more than one device or article. The functionality or the
features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more
other devices which are not explicitly described as having such
functionality or features.
[0029] A "computer-readable medium", as used in this disclosure,
means any medium that participates in providing data (for example,
instructions) which may be read by a computer. Such a medium may
take many forms, including non-volatile media, volatile media, and
transmission media, Non-volatile media may include, for example,
optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile
media may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Transmission
media may include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics,
including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to the
processor. Transmission media may include or convey acoustic waves,
light waves and electromagnetic emissions, such as those generated
during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications.
Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a
floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other
magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch
cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of
holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory
chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any
other medium from which a computer can read.
[0030] Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in
carrying sequences of instructions to a computer. For example,
sequences of instruction (i) may be delivered from a RAM to a
processor, (ii) may be carried over a wireless transmission medium,
and/or (iii) may be formatted according to numerous formats,
standards or protocols, including, for example, WiFi, WiMAX, IEEE
802.11, DECT, 0G, 10, 20, 30 or 40 cellular standards, Bluetooth,
or the like.
[0031] FIG. 1 shows an example of a system 100 for manufacturing an
SC fabric, according to principles of the disclosure. The system
100 comprises a controller 110, a driver 120, a user interface 130,
a storage 140, and a random access memory (RAM) 150, all of which
may be connected to a bus 160 via one or more communication links
170. The controller 110 includes a computer that is configured to
control the manufacture of an SC fabric. For example, the
controller 110 may effectuate the weaving of substrate-coated
fabrics using multiple welt insertion via an interweaver (not
shown) and the driver 120. The driver 120 may be configured to
drive the interweaver (not shown) to receive two or more weft
threads simultaneously with one or more warp yarns and to
interweave the two or more weft threads substantially
simultaneously with the one or more warp yarns, outputting a
manufactured product. The controller 110 may be configured to
control and monitor the driver 120. For example, the controller 110
may generate a control signal that it may forward to the driver 120
via the communication link 170 to control the interweaver according
to one or more customer defined requirements, which it may receive
from the storage 140. The system 100 may be configured to make
manufactured products such as, for example, backing substrates for
various forms of tapes, abrasives or adhesives.
[0032] The storage 140 includes a database, which may include one
or more SC fabric property parameters, including, for example, but
not limited to, an SC fabric style(s), a number of weft thread
insertions, a number of weft threads to be woven simultaneously, a
weft thread insertion configuration(s), a weft thread dimension(s),
a weft thread weight(s), a density of the weft yarn(s), the types
of blends of yarns, a substrate type, a desired opacity, a desired
air permeability, a desired warp direction tear strength, a desired
weft direction tear strength, a desired fabric thickness, a desired
dimensional stability, a desired bursting strength, a desired rate
of wetting out, a desired wicking, a desired fiber blend level, a
desired shrinkage rate, and the like. The storage 140 may include a
record for each customer, each SC fabric product, each application,
and the like. The storage 140 may be accessed by the controller 110
to retrieve customer or product specific SC fabric property
parameters. Accordingly, the system 100 may provide for enormous
flexibility in manufacturing and tailoring of fabric
characteristics to specific customers and/or products with minimal
style change cost.
[0033] The system 100 may effectuate two or more weft threads to be
interwoven substantially simultaneously with a warp yarn. The two
or more weft threads may follow substantially the same weaving
pattern relative to the warp yarn. As a result, the system 100 may
weave multiple well threads in a single pass or weaving step, thus
saving overall weaving time. The system 100 may effectuate the
insertion of multiple well threads by, for example, double-pick
weaving (for example, 2 weft threads woven simultaneously) the
multiple weft threads, which may be done when making, for example,
high thread density SC fabrics. The system 100 may use available
looms (not shown) from manufacturers such as, for example, Dornier
GmbH, Lindau, Germany, in making the SC fabrics.
[0034] The system 100 may be used with common warp styles to
produce finely tuned properties such as weight, opacity, air
permeability, strength, wet out rate, tear strength and fiber
content. The system 100 may effectuate the production of lower cost
substrates with the same properties as currently available SC
fabrics, while reducing the time required to manufacture the SC
fabrics.
[0035] U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,648, which issued on Sep. 26, 2006,
titled "Terry Fabric and Method for Weaving Same," describes a
terry fabric and a method for weaving a terry fabric. The entire
disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,648 is incorporated herein by
reference, as if fully set forth herein. The patent describes a
number of weave patterns for terry fabrics. The technology
described in the patent enables the production of fabrics with
different performance characteristics. For example, the technology
of the patent has been used to manufacture bed sheeting, since the
technology allows for an increased thread count of the fabric while
reducing fabric costs. The system 100 may be used with the
technology described in the patent to manufacture tailored SC
fabrics.
[0036] According to an aspect of the disclosure, a computer
readable medium is provided containing a computer program, which
when executed in, for example, the controller 110, causes an SC
fabric to be manufactured according to specific customer
requirements. The computer program may be tangibly embodied in the
computer readable medium, comprising a code segment or code section
for each of the step of manufacturing of the SC fabric.
[0037] The system 100 may effectuate the production of woven
fabrics with different properties by simultaneously inserting two
or more weft threads in a single type of warp thread. For example,
the system 100 may effectuate the production of woven fabrics such
as woven fabric 200 (shown in FIG. 2), woven fabric 300 (shown in
FIG. 3), woven fabric 400 (shown in FIG. 4), or the like, varying
the construction of the woven fabric from a single insertion to a
multiple insertion fabric on the basis of the SC fabric property
parameters, which may include, for example, the number of wefts,
the type of weave, the size/density of weft, the type of weft, and
the like. By using multiple weft insertion technology, as well as
selection of particular yarns, the system 100 can manipulate one or
more SC fabric properties to desired levels. As noted earlier, the
SC fabric property parameters may be stored in, for example, the
storage 140 (shown in FIG. 1).
[0038] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a cross-section of a state of
the art woven fabric 200. As seen, the fabric 200 is constructed of
a single weft 210 of a consistent density and/or size. The weft 210
is embedded (or inserted) in an interlacing warp yarn 220. The
fabric 200 may be constructed using the system 100.
[0039] FIG. 3 shows an example of a woven fabric 300 that is
constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The
fabric 300 includes multiple wefts 310 that are embedded (or
inserted) in a single type of interlacing warp yarn 320. As seen in
FIG. 3, the woven fabric 300 may be constructed by substantially
simultaneously inserting two wefts 310 during a weaving cycle,
wherein the two wefts 310 may be of substantially the same type and
have substantially the same density. The weft threads 310 and/or
warp thread 320 may be selected based on the SC fabric parameters,
which may, for example, be retrieved from the storage 140 (shown in
FIG. 1).
[0040] FIG. 4 shows another example of a woven fabric 400 that is
constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The
fabric 400 includes multiple wefts 410 that are embedded (or
inserted) in a single type of interlacing warp yarn 420. As seen in
FIG. 4, the woven fabric 400 may be constructed by substantially
simultaneously inserting two or more wefts 410 during a weaving
cycle, wherein the two or more wefts 410 may be of substantially
the same type and have substantially the same density and size.
Additionally (or alternatively), the two or more weft threads 410
may be of different types, different densities and/or different
sizes. Each interlacing in the figures (shown in FIGS. 2-4)
represents one weaving cycle. The weft threads 410 and/or warp
thread 420 may be selected based on the SC fabric parameters, which
may, for example, be retrieved from the storage 140 (shown in FIG.
1).
[0041] While the disclosure has been described in terms of
exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that
the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit
and scope of the appended claims. These examples are merely
illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all
possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the
disclosure.
* * * * *