GB1138722A - Improvements in or relating to fabrics - Google Patents

Abstract

1,138,722. Laminated fabric. APPLETON WIRE WORKS CORP. 19 Jan., 1966 [8 Feb., 1965], No. 2467/66. Heading B5N. [Also in Division D1] A fabric formed by sewing filaments together comprises a plurality of substantially straight and parallel segments of rack filament 12 disposed in a plane, one or more sewn filaments 16, 18 stitched in parallel rows transversely across the rack filament segments, a filler 14 of non-woven fibres sewn to the rack filaments by the sewn filament or filaments, and means bonding the or each sewn filament to the filler filaments and the segments of rack filaments. The fibres used in the fabric may be one or combinations of man-made fibres, e.g. viscose, nylon, polyester, e.g. Dacron (R.T.M.), acrylic, fluorocarbon and glass materials, or natural fibres e.g. cotton, and may be or treated to be non-absorbent of water. The fabric may include metal or mineral fibres. The fabric fibres may be bonded by adhesive resins. In one method of forming the fabric, Fig. 4, a web of filler 14 is fed into contact with rack filaments 12 spaced in parallel relationship on a rack 24, and the assembly passes beneath a sewing machine head 32 where the filler is sewn to the filaments 12 by sewn filaments 16, 18. To prevent weakening of the filaments 12 by piercing with the sewing machine needle the stitches are made between them or a dull needle is used. In an alternative method of making the fabric the rack filaments are looped round pegs at each end of a rack so that a single sheet is produced. In a method of making the fabric in the form of an endless belt, e.g. for use as a Fourdrinier wire in a paper-making machine, the filaments 12 are individually spliced to form closed loops, or a single rack filament is wound helically about a group of supporting rolls. The sewn filaments 16, 18 may be of different diameters or different materials to impart different properties to the faces of the fabric, e.g. one surface may be made abrasion resistant and the other smooth. The filaments may be sewn using a lock stitch, a two filament chain stitch, or a single filament chain stitch. The rack filaments, which may be mono-filaments, may be concentrated at various points, e.g. at the centre or edges, to provide greater strength there, or filaments of different diameters can be used. Filler may be applied to both sides of the rack filaments or vice versa. The filler filaments are preferably longer than the space between adjacent sewn filaments, and the needle holes formed in the filler may be reduced by shrinking the filler about the holes, e.g. by heat, e.g. during curing of the bonding resin. The fabric may be used as a filter, in which case it is permeable, as upholstery or drapery material, as a wall covering, or as conveyer belting e.g. as an absorbent felt in a papermaking machine.