Enhanced thickness fabric and method of making same
US7699949B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 31, 2009 |
| Grant date | Apr 20, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 31, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T442/3301
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides thickened fabrics and reinforcements for use as a spacer or reinforcement for a matrix system. The fabric includes in a first embodiment a woven fabric comprising weft and warp yarns containing glass fibers. A portion of the weft yarns are undulated into a sinusoidal path forming a generally “C” shaped bridge between adjacent warp yarns which results in an increased thickness for the fabric. The fabric is coated with a polymeric resin or bonding agent, for substantially binding the weft yarns in the undulated condition. This invention also includes methods for making such fabric by increasing the thickness of a woven or non-woven material by such methods as applying tension to warp yarns having opposite twists during weaving operations, or using unbalanced yarns, for example.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.