Industrial fabrics comprising infinity shape coils

Abstract

An industrial fabric/belt including spiral coils shaped as a symbol for infinity or a lemniscate, i.e., infinity elements, are joined to each other with a pintle. A fabric element is configured as a continuous loop to form an industrial fabric employing a plurality of infinity coil elements.

Claims

1. An industrial fabric/belt consisting essentially of: a plurality of infinity coil elements, each of the infinity coil elements having a first loop, a second loop, and an intersection region where the first loop intersects with the second loop, and wherein each of the infinity coil elements is a discontinuous helical infinity coil having a cross-machine direction length less than the width of the fabric/belt and a machine direction length less than the length of the fabric/belt; wherein the second loop of a first infinity coil element, having an open interior portion and the first loop of a second infinity coil element, having an open interior portion, are interdigitated such that the open interior portions of the second loop of the first infinity coil element at least partially aligns with the first loop of the second infinity coil element to form a passage therethrough; and a pintle disposed in the passage formed by the aligned loops to join the first infinity coil element to the second infinity coil element; and wherein the infinity coil elements are formed from material selected from the group consisting of a monofilament, twisted multifilaments, and metal wire.

2. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 1, wherein the plurality of infinity coil elements are arranged in individual rows by successively positioning the infinity coil elements next to each other along an axis of the infinity coil elements until a desired width of the fabric/belt is achieved.

3. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 2, wherein the individual rows of infinity coil elements are interdigitated and joined to form the fabric/belt of desired length.

4. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 3, wherein the infinity coil elements are joined by inserting a pintle or pin into a channel formed by interdigitating the plurality of coil elements from adjacent rows.

5. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 1, wherein the monofilament, twisted multifilaments, or metal wire making the coils is round, rectangular, oval, or flattened in cross section.

6. An industrial fabric/belt consisting essentially of: a plurality of infinity coil elements, each of said infinity coil elements having a first loop, a second loop, and an intersection region where the first loop intersects with the second loop, wherein axes of the first loops of the plurality of infinity coil elements are collinear with each other, and axes of the second loops of the plurality of infinity coil elements are collinear with each other, each infinity coil element having a machine direction length less than the length of the fabric/belt; wherein the second loop of a first infinity coil element, having an open interior portion, and the first loop of a second infinity coil element, having an open interior portion, are interdigitated such that the open interior portion of the second loop of the first infinity coil element at least partially aligns with the first loop of the second infinity coil element to form a passage therethrough, the first loop of the first infinity coil element and the second loop of the second infinity coil element being on opposite sides of the passage; and a pintle disposed in the passage formed by the aligned loops to join the first infinity coil element to the second infinity coil element; and wherein the infinity coil elements are formed from material selected from the group consisting of a monofilament, twisted multifilaments, and metal wire.

7. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 6, wherein the plurality of infinity coil elements are arranged in individual rows by successively positioning the infinity coil elements next to each other along an axis of the infinity coil elements until a desired width of the fabric/belt is achieved.

8. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 7, wherein individual rows of infinity coil elements are interdigitated and joined to form the fabric/belt of desired length.

9. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 8, wherein the infinity coil elements are joined by inserting a pintle or pin into a channel formed by interdigitating the plurality of coil elements from adjacent rows.

10. The industrial fabric/belt of claim 6, wherein the monofilament, multifilaments, or metal wire making the coils is round, rectangular, oval, or flattened in cross section.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The following detailed description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed details, is made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like references denote like or similar elements and parts, and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an axial view of a conventional spiral link coil;

(3) FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the conventional spiral link coil of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 2 is an axial view of the spiral link coil of FIG. 1 formed on a single mandrel;

(5) FIG. 3 is an axial view of conventional coils joined together by a pin;

(6) FIG. 4 is an axial view of an infinity coil according to one embodiment of the present invention;

(7) FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the infinity coil of FIG. 4;

(8) FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a separate infinity loop according to one embodiment of the present invention;

(9) FIG. 4C is a perspective view of a separate infinity loop according to another embodiment of the present invention;

(10) FIG. 5 is an axial view of the infinity coil of FIG. 4 formed on a double mandrel;

(11) FIG. 6 is an axial view of two infinity coils joined by a pin according to one embodiment of the present invention;

(12) FIG. 7 is an axial view of the infinity coils of FIG. 6 under an increased tensile load transverse to the axis of the fabric/belt;

(13) FIG. 8 is a plan view of an industrial fabric/belt with pintles inserted, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

(14) FIG. 9 is an axial view of the coil link fabric/belt shown in FIG. 8, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(15) Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings which depict embodiments of the disclosed infinity coil and exemplary applications thereof. However, it is to be understood that application of the disclosed infinity coil is not limited to those embodiments illustrated. Also, the invention is not limited to the depicted embodiments and the details thereof, which are provided for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

(16) The present invention relates to industrial fabrics/belts, and includes engineered fabrics and fabrics used in papermaking. The present invention also relates to a process for producing such industrial fabrics/belts.

(17) According to one exemplary embodiment, the fabric/belt may be a fabric comprised of a plurality of the inventive coils or spiral elements pinned together to form a fabric.

(18) The coils or spiral elements may be formed from a monofilament or twisted multifilament, coated or uncoated, made from a polymer or polymers, such as polyester, a coated or uncoated metal wire, or from other materials known in the art. The coils may be formed as a continuous piece having an appropriate length for the width of the fabric/belt to be formed, as measured as the cross machine direction (CD) width of the fabric/belt. In some instances, a coil formed as a continuous piece may have the same length as, or nearly the same as, the width of the fabric/belt to be formed. Other coil lengths may be useful, such as lengths less then the width of the fabric/belt, or greater than the width of the fabric/belt and trimmed to an appropriate length. In other embodiments, the coils may be individual pieces formed into separate loops, with a number of individual loops arranged across the width of the fabric/belt.

(19) Coils in this application are illustrated as having two enclosed interior portions or nodes, when viewed along the axis of the coil, for ease of illustration. This corresponds with the common infinity symbol or the mathematical lemniscate. However, coils of more than two enclosed interior portions or nodes are anticipated, and are also referred to as infinity coils because they comprise coil turns forming at least one infinity symbol or lemniscate. Such coils lend themselves to similar manufacturing techniques using a forming apparatus with a number of support members corresponding to the number of desired nodes. Infinity coils with more than two nodes have industrial uses, for example, uses similar to those disclosed for the two-node coils.

(20) A loop 1 for a conventional, prior art spiral coil spiral seam, as shown in an axial view in FIG. 1 and in a perspective view in FIG. 1A, has a curved shape, approximating a circular or ovular shape. Successive coils are similarly shaped and approximately coaxial, extending into the paper as illustrated. Typically, such coils are formed by placing successive coaxial coils of material, for example a polyester monofilament, on a single mandrel 3 as shown in FIG. 2. The open interior portion 2 is similarly shaped and proportional in size to the mandrel 3 upon which it is formed. Although an ovular shaped mandrel is shown, other shapes may be used for the mandrel.

(21) The materials used may be a monofilament formed from one or more polymers such as polyester. In cross section, the spiral coils may be round, rectangular, oval, flattened, or other noncircular shapes.

(22) When, for example, two coils 1a and 1b are joined to opposite fabric edges (not shown) and configured to form a spiral coil seam illustrated generally as 5 in FIG. 3, at least some of the open interior portions 2 of the two spiral coil loops 1 align to form a passage 4 to accept a pintle or pin 6, forming a seam joining the two fabric edges. The two conventional spiral coil loops 1 are generally free to pivot or rotate about the axis of the pintle which substantially corresponds with the axis of the seam 5.

(23) An entire spiral link fabric can be produced from these prior art coils by interdigitating adjacent coils and inserting pins until the desired fabric length is acquired as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,213, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

(24) When the seam 5 of FIG. 3 (or a fabric constructed entirely of these prior art coils and pins) is placed in tension perpendicular to the axis of the seam/fabric which corresponds with the axis of the pintle 6, that is tension in the length direction of the industrial fabric, conventional spiral coil loops 1a and 1b tend to elongate slightly in the direction of the tension and contract slightly a distance in the direction perpendicular to the tension. That is, in the case of oval coils, the major diameter of the coils lengthens and the minor diameter shortens.

(25) According to one embodiment of the present invention, a spiral element is provided in the form of the infinity coil 8 in FIGS. 4 and 4A, formed as a figure-eight shaped curve, or a lemniscate, resembling a symbol commonly used to represent infinity, co. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a continuous helical infinity coil as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4A is an infinity coil formed from a continuous strand of material. When viewed parallel to the axis X-X of the coil, the continuous helical infinity coil will appear to have two closed curves forming first and second infinity coil loops 10a and 10b, respectively, with first and second open interior portions 2a and 2b, respectively. Coils according to embodiments of the invention may also have more than two open interior portions, yet are still referred to as infinity coils throughout the disclosure. For example, they can have three or more closed curves forming three or more adjacent coil loops, the three or more coil loops enclosing respective open interior portions, and intersection regions between adjacent coil loops in which the coil material forming a coil loop intersects with material forming an adjacent coil loop.

(26) The material used to form infinity coils may be any of the materials known in the art as suitable for industrial fabrics, for example a polyester monofilament, and may have any suitable cross section. Circular cross sectional shapes of the material may be used. Additionally, in non-limiting examples, other cross section shapes may be used, such as oval, rectangular, square, triangular, flattened, star-shaped, grooved or other non-circular shapes may be used depending upon particular requirements.

(27) FIG. 4A illustrates an infinity coil 8 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The coil 8 comprises first and second loops 10a and 10b. As shown, a plurality of loops 10a, 10b can extend along coil axis X-X in the direction of coil length L. Coil 8 may have any combination of number of loops 10a, 10b, and coil length Las determined by the particular application.

(28) Width W of the coil is taken perpendicular to, or generally perpendicular to, the axis X-X and is the maximum dimension between the outermost portion of loop 10a and the outermost portion of adjacent loop 10b. The width W may be the same, or substantially the same, for all adjacent loop pairs 10a, 10b.

(29) Within each of the coil loops 10a and 10b are open interior portions 2a and 2b, respectively. The open interior portions 2a and 2b have axes Xa and Xb, which are parallel, or generally parallel, to coil axis X. In embodiments of the inventive coils, the axis of all, or substantially all, first open interior portions 2a of first loops 10a are collinear. Similarly, in embodiments of the invention, the axis of all, or substantially all, second open interior portions 2b of second loops 10b are collinear. In some embodiments, axes X, Xa and Xb may be coplanar.

(30) In addition to the plurality of loops 10a and 10b shown in FIG. 4A, embodiments of the invention include individual infinity coil elements 8a comprising at least one complete loop 10a and one complete loop 10b as illustrated in FIG. 4B. Individual coil elements 8a may be formed by cutting the coil element of FIG. 4 in an appropriate location to form two complete loops and joining the free end portions 2c to form the individual coil element. Portions of the coil 8a which cross, with one portion of the coil crossing over the other, or intersect, between the open interior portions 2a and 2b may be affixed to each other by adhesive, welding, bonding, or other known methods after formation of the coil 8a. Thus, one loop 10a and one loop 10b are formed, each loop forming a completely closed interior portion 2a or 2b, respectively, of individual coil element 8a. Alternately, other techniques may be employed in forming individual coil elements 8a, as shown, in FIGS. 4B and 4C. Individual coils can be formed from molten or softened polymers or resins by known plastic fabrication methods. Such methods include, as non-limiting examples, injection molding, extrusion molding, compression molding, transfer molding, or casting. In some embodiments, the portion of seam material 2d may intersect on the same, or substantially the same, plane between the open interior portions 2a, 2b of the coil 8a as illustrated in FIG. 4C. Thus the portion of coil 8a between the open interior portions 2a, 2b may be integrally formed with loops 10a and 10b. The individual coil elements 8a thus formed are comprised of one loop 10a and one loop 10b, joined at 2d, each loop forming a completely closed interior portion 2a or 2b, respectively.

(31) As used herein, the term infinity coil includes both continuous helical infinity coils and individual infinity coil elements unless a distinction is made for clarity.

(32) Continuous helical infinity coils 8 can be formed on a double mandrel coil former comprising generally parallel coplanar mandrels 3a and 3b as shown in FIG. 5. Infinity coils 8 can be formed, for example, by passing material, for example, polyester monofilament, over the top of a first mandrel 3a, through the space between the two mandrels, below and then around and over the top of the second mandrel 3b, back through the space between the mandrels and under the first mandrel 3a. Thus the coil forming material traces the path of a figure-eight as the infinity coils 8 are formed around mandrels 3a and 3b. This pattern can continue with each coil turn offset axially from the previous, until the desired number of coils, or the desired axial length of the infinity coil 8, which may be proportional to the number of coils, is formed. In this manner a spiral element comprising a plurality of infinity coils 8 can be formed with loops 10a and 10b, with each loop 10a formed coaxially with previous loops 10a and each loop 10b formed coaxially with previous loops 10b.

(33) The two individual mandrels 3a and 3b comprising the double mandrel are illustrated as having a round cross section for ease of illustration only. The mandrels may be of any suitable shape to yield the desired shape of the infinity coil loops 10a and 10b. The mandrels are also shown as substantially the same size for ease of illustration. However, the mandrels 10a and 10b may be the same, or substantially the same size, or one mandrel may be larger than the other, or differently shaped, as desired.

(34) Other techniques may be employed in forming the inventive infinity coils. For example, the infinity coil could be molded from a molten or softened polymer or resin as one piece using known molding methods, such as, for example, injection molding, extrusion molding, compression molding, transfer molding, or casting. The material used for the coil could also be extruded in a linear or near linear form and mechanically deformed into the lemniscate or infinity shape, with or without the application of heat. The material could also be extruded in a manner such that the extruded material forms the lemniscate or infinity shape either by moving the extruding head or by moving the bed or receptacle upon which the material is extruded.

(35) According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the industrial fabric/belt 12 can be formed by interdigitating two infinity shaped coils formed according to the above embodiments. In forming an infinity coil fabric/belt 12 a first infinity coil 8a is joined with a second infinity coil 8b via respective loops 10b of the infinity coils 8a and 8b using a known method of joining, such as a pintle, as illustrated in FIG. 6, for example. More specifically, loops 10b from first infinity coil 8a are interdigitated with loops 10b from second infinity coil 8b such that the open interior portions 2b of the loops 10b at least partially align and form a single passage 4 in the seam 12. The passage 4 may be sized to allow a pintle or pin 6 to pass through the aligned open interior portions 2b of loops 10b, joining the coil elements 8a and 8b. Similarly, a third infinity coil 8c (not shown) is joined to the second infinity coil 8b in the same manner in which 8b is joined to 8a, a fourth infinity coil 8d (not shown) is joined to the third infinity coil 8c in the same manner in which 8c is joined to 8b, and so on and so forth until the desired length of the fabric/belt is produced.

(36) The loops 10b from the first and second infinity coil loops 8a and 8b may interdigitated and alternate, i.e., alternatingly interdigitate, one loop from a first coil, the next loop from a second coil, followed by a loop from the first coil in a repeated pattern along the length of the fabric. However, other patterns of interdigitation may be used as required.

(37) According to one embodiment of the present invention, an industrial fabric 12 may be formed using several of the disclosed infinity coils interdigitated with one another and joined using pintles or pins 6, as shown in FIG. 8, for example. As illustrated in FIG. 8, infinity coils 8a, 8b, etc. may be joined to form fabric/belt 12 together. More specifically, infinity coils 8a and 8b may be drawn toward each other such that infinity loops 10b of infinity coil 8a may interdigitate with loops 10b of infinity coil 8b and open interior space 2b of infinity loops 10b at least partially align with each other to form a single passage (reference 4 in FIG. 6) as illustrated in FIG. 9, for example.

(38) A pintle or pin 6 may be passed through the formed passage and through all, or substantially all, of the infinity coil loops 10b joining infinity coil 8a with infinity coil 8b.

(39) The industrial fabric/belt 12 as shown in FIG. 9 behaves in a manner similar to the coils 12 in FIGS. 6 and 7. That is, when the industrial fabric 12 is under tension perpendicular to, or substantially perpendicular to, the fabric 12 in the length direction of the industrial fabric, that is, a longitudinal tension, will be under tension and experience some thinning. The flexible (compared to stiff prior art conventional spiral link coils) infinity coils 8a and 8b will decrease in thickness measured perpendicular to the longitudinal tension. The C of FIG. 7 will be positive and the infinity coil loops will move away from the surface planes of the fabric, towards the interior of the fabric, resulting in thinning of the entire fabric. Concurrently, the length of the fabric, L1 in FIG. 6 will increase to L2 of FIG. 7. Depending upon use, for example as a dryer fabric, a thinner fabric carries less entrained air which can cause objectionable sheet blowing in the dryer section.

(40) An additional advantage of the present technique is that during installation on an industrial machine, the last two coils on the two parallel fabric edges which will be joined together to make the fabric into an endless loop, the insertion of the pintle can be easier as the interior opening is larger during installation on the machine before running tension is applied than after tension is applied.

(41) Another advantage of a fabric comprising these infinity shaped coils is the fact that there is no large open interior space or void as in prior art conventional spiral link coils. Therefore, no stuffer is required to obtain lower fabric air permeability, thereby reducing overall stiffness, mass, and fabric cost.

(42) According to one embodiment of the present invention, an industrial fabric may be formed from a plurality of infinity coils 8 joined to each other to form an infinity coil link fabric. Spiral link fabrics, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,659 to Billings and U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,642 to Perrin, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein, disclose a spiral link fabric comprised of conventional spiral coils. Billings discloses a spiral link fabric for a papermaking machine, while Perrin discloses a spiral link belt for use as a conveyor belt.

(43) In a similar fashion, the presently disclosed infinity coils can be joined with each other, with a pintle or the like, as in forming the fabric/belt 12 of FIG. 6. By interdigitating additional infinity coils 8, and joining the additional infinity coils with pintles 6 or the like as discussed above, and repeating the procedure, an infinity coil link fabric 18 could be produced, a portion of which is illustrated in FIG. 9 in a view taken parallel to the axis of the pintles 6. As shown, a plurality of infinity coils may be joined in the longitudinal direction until an infinity coil link structure or seam of suitable length is obtained. The width of the structure may be determined by the length of the infinity coils. In a fabric thus formed, opposite fabric edges may be joined with a pintle to form an industrial fabric (not shown) in the form of a continuous loop.

(44) The benefits of an infinity coil link industrial fabric 18 include a thinner caliper and uniform mechanical characteristics throughout the width and length without the need to modify portions of the structure. Important in some applications is the uniform surface characteristics resulting from the lack of seams with a construction different than the remaining fabric, which may cause discontinuities in the surface characteristics.

(45) According to one embodiment, industrial fabric/belt 12 can be formed using a plurality of infinity coil elements 8a, as shown in FIG. 4B, for example. In this embodiment, plurality of infinity coil elements 8a are aligned next to each other in a single row such that the desired width of the final fabric is achieved. Infinity loops 10a and 10b from adjacent rows of such infinity coil elements 8a are interdigitated and joined using pintles or pins 6, as described in the above embodiments to form a fabric/belt 12 of the required length. These steps may be carried out manually or may be carried out using a machine that is configured to align the individual elements in rows and then interdigitate infinity coil elements in adjacent rows in order to form the final fabric.

(46) According to another embodiment, industrial fabric/belt 12 can be formed using a plurality of infinity coil elements 8a, as shown in FIG. 4C, for example. In this embodiment, plurality of infinity coil elements 8a are aligned next to each other in a single row such that the desired width of the final fabric is achieved. Infinity loops 10a and 10b from adjacent rows of such infinity coil elements 8a are interdigitated and joined using pintles or pins 6, as described in the above embodiments to form a fabric/belt 12 of the required length. These steps may be carried out manually or may be carried out using a machine that is configured to align the individual elements in rows and then interdigitate infinity coil elements in adjacent rows in order to form the final fabric.

(47) Having thus described in detail various embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention defined by the above paragraphs is not to be limited to particular details set forth in the above description as many apparent variations thereof are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.