Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for making biased fabric

US4907323A · kind A · utility

8Cited by
5References
40Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 15, 1988
Grant dateMar 13, 1990
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 15, 2008

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10T29/1194
  • WIPO fieldMachine tools
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus is provided for producing a woven biased fabric in which the structural fibers are skewed from the fabric centerline. The method and apparatus are particularly designed for producing a woven biased structural fabric in which the structural fibers are oriented about 45.degree. to the fabric centerline, where the flimsy, open-knit nature of the fabric makes handling extremely difficult. Broadly speaking, the apparatus includes a fabric feeding station, slitting station, and winding station. The feeding station holds a roll of conventional structural fabric (parallel and perpendicular structural fibers) woven in a tube configuration and flattened into the roll form. The feeding station rotates the roll in a vertical plane as the fabric unwinds in a horizontal direction. The slitting station includes a cutter and a pair of slatter rolls, the rolls moving the tube of fabric in the horizontal direction while rotating the tube of fabric. The cutter makes a slit in the underside of the moving fabric tube at about a 45.degree. helix angle (or other desired angle). The slit fabric comes off the slatter rolls as a strip of extremely flimsy material with the structural f…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.