CA1286525C - Reinforced polymeric component and method of manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A reinforced polymeric component which utilizes a reinforcing material comprised of a reinforcing member portion possessing a high Young's modulus discontinuous throughout the length of the reinforcing material and a carrier member portion extending the length of the reinforcing material. The carrier member portion facilitates transport and winding of the reinforcing material about a forming mandel during manufacture. A plurality of belt assemblies may be cut from the cured reinforced sleeve material such that the high Young's modulus member does not emerge from the cut sidewalls of the belt assemblies.

Description

BacJsqround oi~ tlle Invention ~ e ~resent invention re.lates to cylindrical polylllel~ conlponent usirlg a novel reinforcement memb~r, and whicll nlay be use~ul as a hose, a tire belt, or as an interlllediate product ln ~he making of flexible drive belts, 9UCII as tlming belts. The invention also provides a method of manufacturing sùcll components. The present application Ls related to the subject matter of U.S. Patent No.
4,7()1.,1.54, fi.led in the name of -the present inventor and assiglled to the assignee of the present invention.
Timing belts are flexible drive belts, similar to pulley-t:ype belts, wllich have teeth on one ox more sides of the belt whlch permitY the ~elt to perform much as gears per.Lorlll ln trallsmlttlng preclse precision motion. ~iming be:l.l:s, a.Lso Jcnown as synchronous belts, generally do not transmlt the amount of power that a gear wlll transmi-t, but offer light weight and alignment flexibility with the advantage of non-slip precision motion transmission. In sucll precisio~ motion transmission, the motion is transmitted by the pulley teeth meshing with the belt teeth and during the meshing operation of the engagement and disengagement of the teeth, relative movements take place between the pulley teeth and the belt teeth. Accordingly, ~everal prlor art structures and compositions have been suggested for manufacturing belt structures which provlde a high degree of fl~xibility while maintaining the necessary wear anu liEe characteristics of the belt.
Belts for transmitting motion have been known for mal~y yea.rs, as evidenced by U.S. patents 1,928,869, 30 1,611,829, 3,464,875 and 4,266,937 which describe processes i.n wh.i.ch ~he cogs or teeth are perormed in some manner and p].acecl boul: a drum and tllen the remaln.illg portion oE the l-e.ll: coln,~onent:s or l~ell; sleeve ls wra~ecl aro!lrlcl l.he leetll l.o I~Or~ he COmpJ.~ 'e('l IlllCl.lrF!CI be.l.t s.lr?eve. Mo.~e recel~t.ly 35 lJ. S ~ pat:F3nt ~ r 4~ lescr.i.~es a be.lt corlst.ructiol~ and tlle mt-.~tllod of ~n~nufacture of tlle same.
Conventional timing belt constructlons for industrial use, which include V-belts and drive belts con.structions, are generally comprised of a polymeric matrix material, ,~

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such as, rubber or polyurethane, and the like, reinforced with a higher strength material, primarily glass, fabric or an arumid, and with an even higher Young's modulus filament, primarily metal, so as to resist stretching and maintain precise belt-tooth spacing under operating load conditions. Moreover, such timing belts, containing glass or fabric reinforcements, generally do not possess sufficient Young's modulus coefficients to withstand stretching or elongation of the belt during operating loads. Thus, the preferred reinforcement is generally a metal, such as steel.
Although timing belts comprised of rubber reinforced with metal filaments such as steel cables and the like have bsen suggested, such belt structures present problems relating to corrosion of the metal within the bPlt, slipping and fatigue of the metal during operating load, adhesion problems with respect to th2 metal to the rubber reinforced belt construction and the difficulty of producing a belt construction possessing the necessary fle~ibility and stretch required in order to ef~ectively u'cilize steel as a reinforcing member of the belt. The flexibility of the belt is necessary to prevent, during the opera'ting load conditions of the belt motlon transmitted from the pulley teeth meshing with the belt teeth, the engagement and disengagement of the pulley ~eeth and the belt teeth with respect to each other, which action results in substantial teeth wear in that portion of the belt construction.
Importantly, also, and perhap~ the most important 30 di~icultly associated with the use o~ steel as the reinorcem~nt ten~ile member within a be}t construction, relate3 to the dlfficult~es associated wlth the use of steel in the method of manufacturing for timing belts.
In general, timing or drive belts are manufactured by applying an inner rubber rein~orced layer from a continuous sheet around a mandrel drum having an outer surface longitudinally grooved, which grooves provide the internal ~ teeth molded structure in the timing belt construction.

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s Thus, initially, a continuous layer of uncuzed rubber reinforced material is positioned and layed around the mandrel to form a tubular sleeve of material.
Conventionally, a reinforcement cord or filament is then wrapped about the inner reinforced sheet of rubber continuously across down the length of the tubular sleeve.
Next, an outer rubber protective layer is stitched and wrapped about the reinforcement cord or f;lament wrap and the resultant uncured long layered tube of rubber reinforced material i~ placed ~n a curing apparatus to cure the composit~ structure. Therea~ter, cutting knives are positioned ad~acent the 91eeve to cut predetermined widths of the timing belt~ off o~ the formed and cured composite sleeve to produce the dimen~ioned timing belt, as desired. ~owever, during the cutting operation of the layered and cured sleeve~ the reinforcement material is out and exposed at the side~ of the cut belt. Such ex~osed steel ends behave poorly in use and cause difficulty during the cutting operation~. Moreover, ~uch structures permit corrosion and the tende~y of the ~teel filament cord to move out o~ the side of the belt, to catch moving parts o~ the mechanical device. Such difficulties result in a timing belt con~truction which is unsatisfactory and a timing belt that possesses a short operating lifetime.
It follows that great manufacturing difficulties are introduced to overcom~ the above described de~iciencies of having the reinforcement material emerge from the belt assembly sidewalls.
The above-described drawback~ and shortcomings of the prior art b~lt con~txuction~ and the conventLonal method of manufacturing timin~ belt~ and other types of V-belts or dr$ve belt~, and the secondary di~ficulties as~ociated w~th the manufacture of such belt structures will be hereinafter descrlbed with re~erence to FIGS. 1-7.
As shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical metal mold or mandrel 18 having longitudinally extending grooves 18a or teeth 19 on the outer surface thereof is provided as the former for the belt construction. }n FIG. 2, a strip .

~365X5 of uncured polymeric mat~ix material 20 is positioned about the outer surface of the metal mandrel 18 to provide the year tooth enga~ing wear surface 14 portion of the prior art belt construction or assembly 301 The strip of polymeric matrix material 20 may be wrapped several times around the mandrel 18 to provide a wear and friction surface portion of a belt assembly and is comprised of a reinforcing fiber material 22 disposed substantially uniformly throughout the polymeric matrix material 20 to provide the year-tooth wear surface portion 14 o the belt assembly 30. During manufacture, the application of the strlp of polymeric matrix material 20 is suffic~ent to provide the desired buildup and thickness of the gear-tooth wear surface portion of the prior art belt ass~mbly 30.
1~ As shown in FIG. 3, the next step in the known process for manufacturing a cog or tooth-type belt construction or assembly 30 is the positioning of the reinforcing cord or filament 24 about the strip of polymeric matrix material 20. Generally, as described in ~.S. patent 3,188,254, the rein~orcing cord 24 is spirally spun around the periphery of the strip of polymeric matrix material 20 and applied under high tension. The reinforcing cord 24 may be of such material such as nylon, rayon, polyester, glass fibers or steel and the application of the cord about the mandrel assists the polymeric matrix material 20 in flowing ~nto the grooves 18a between the longitudinal teeth 19 of the mandrel }8.
A~ter the reinforcing cord or Eilament 24 has been wound about the mandrel 18, as shown in FIG. 4, an additional sheet or cover layer 22 of a plastomeric or rubber material, of a type known to those skilled in the art, is positioned around the wound reinforcing cord and matrix material and stitched thereon to complete the raw - uncured tubular sleeve of belting material. Thereafter, 3~ tubular sleeve and mandrel assembly is positioned in a conven~ional steam vulcanizing process, which is well known in the art, to complete the vulcanizing process of the belt assembly~ During curing or vulcanization, there i5 ~36~

_5 addi~iollal flow of rubber or elastomeric material throughout the composite structure to provide ~ cured integral belt sleeve, the composite as shown in cross-sectiOn in FIG. 5. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, S the cured belt sleeve on the mandrel is removed from "he curing mold and cut by knives 26 into individual belt constructions or assemblies 30, as shown in FIG. 7 and disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,487,814. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, becau~e the reinforcing cord or filament 24 is spir~lly wound about the ~andrel, when the indi~idual belts are cut from the cured sleeve, the cutt$ng operation necessar ily provides a plurality of areas on the cut side of the belt as~embly 30 wh~re the reinforcing cord or filament 24 is exposed along the side and at the ends, as shown by 28 in FIG. 7. These exposed ends permit corrosion within the belt assembly when steel cord is used, which reduces operating lifetimes of the belt assPmbly 30, and permit the steel filament or other reinforcing cord to move -~
out of the side of the belt to catch on the mechanical devices driving the drive belt.
Summary of the Invention One object of the present invention is to provide a novel reinforced belt construction which is cut from a cured belt sleeve wherein the reinforcing cord or filament material is positioned and sealed within the body of the belt construction.
The present invention utilizes a reinforcing cord or filament material comprised of a reinforcing ~ilament or cord member and a carrier member, which is continuous in length of ~0 the rein~orci.ng material and wherein the rein~orcing cord 1 discontinuous in length over the entire length of the reinforcing material, which reinforcing material permits the winding upon a mandrel o~ discrete winds of the rein~orcement filament or cord separated by discrete winds about the mandrel of the carrier fiber, which structure permits ~he subsequent cutting of belt assemblies wherein the reinforcing filament is positioned and sealëd within the body of the belt construction.
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. , . . ' , ' ., ': ' . ' 5;;~5 The present invention also provides a novel method of manufacturing belt assemblies or con~tructions which provide uniform cut belt assemblies without sacrifice of manufacturing efficiency and productivityO

5~ Brief Descri~tion of the Dra~win~s FIG. 1 ls a perspective view illustrati~- the cylindrical ~etal mandrel utilized in manufacturing belt assemblies or constructionst FIG. 2 i a per~pective view lllustrating the application of polymetric matrix mater;~l to t~e metal mandrel in accordance with the prior art;
FIGo 3 i~ a perspective view illustrating the winding of a reinforcing cord or filament around the mandrel during a step in the manufacture of the reinforced belt assembly in accord~nce with the prior art;
FIG. 4 is a perspectiYe view illustrating the securing of an outer rubber layer material to the wrapped belt assembly shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2 0 5-5 of FIG . 4;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary isometric view illustrating the cutting of the belt sleeve a~ter curing to produce the endless ~ein~orced belt construction in accordance with the prior art;
FI~. 7 i~ a fragmentary isometric view with parts in cross section illustrating a typical belt construction in accordance with the prior artt ; . ' , ' ' ' ' 12~36525i FIG. 8 is a fragmentary isometric view of one embodiment of a reinforc,ing mater,ial containing a reinforcing member and a discontinuous portion thereof having a carrier fiber therebetween in accordance with the present invention:
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 9A-9A of FIG. ~;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary isometric view of still another embodiment of the reinforcing material having a discontinuous portion throughout the length thereof and an extruded covering extending the length thereof in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the cutting of the belt sleeve after curing and cooling to provide an endless reinforced belt con~tru~ti~n in accordance with the present invention; and FIG. 12 is a fragmentary isometric view with par~s in cross- section illustrating a reinforced belt constru~tion in ac~ordance with the present invention.
Detailed Description Referring now to the drawings of FIGS. 8-12, wherein like numerals have been used throughout the several views to designate the same or similar parts, in FIG. 8 there is shown a reinforcing cord or filament material 24 which is continuous in length and which is comprised of a reinforcing member 12, discontinuous in length, and a plurallty o~ carrier member~ or means }6 braided about the reinforcing member or means 12 and extending the length of the filament material 24 such that when the reinforcing cord or filament material 24 is drawn or pulled and deposited about the mandrel 18, the carrier members 16 confine and pull the reinforcing member 12 therealong.
The carrier member or mean~ may be a tubular or flat braid, a conventional cable structure, an extruded jacket or a narro~ thin film tape material.

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~L28~52s FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcing cord or filament material ~4, as shown irl F~G. 8~, and schematically represents a 7 x 3 x 0.0058 inch brass or zinc plated steel reinforcing cable member 12 which is substantially centered within four 0.01 inch nylon monofilament carrier members 16 that have bee~ braide~
around the 7 x 3 reinorcing member 12 member or construction. As shown in FIG. 8, the reinforcing cord or filament material 24 is comprised o~ a plurali~y of carrier membe~ that extend the entire length thereof, with the reinforcing cable member 12 be~ng discontinuous in length with respect 'co the reinforcing cord or filament mal:erial 24 and carrier member~ 16. Alsc, as shown in FIG. 8, section A represent~ a fir~t -~ection or portion of ~he r~inforcing cord or filament ~aterial 24 having four carrier member~ 16 braidet~ about the re~nforcing meta cable member 12. At the end 12a of the reinforcing member 12, tb~ carrier members continue to ~orm a section or po~4ion B, which i5 devoid o~ any rainforcing cab~e member 12, and s~ction 8 terminate~ at the end 12a to include a discrete and predet~r~ned length of the reinforcing m~terial 24 containing a reinforcing ~ember 12 with braided carr~er memb~r 16 therearound. FIG. 9A is a schematic cros -sectional view o~ section B showing the four nylon ~ilament carrier members 16. A~ i~ understood, the overall length of reinforcing materi~.l 24 will be such that it may be supplied in coil ~o~m and that the lengtb of section A would be sufficient to provide the deslred number of turns or wraps around the mandrel 18.
When such a con~lnuou~ length of reinforcing material 24 is wrapped or wound continuously about a strip of polymeric matrix material 20 that ha3 been positioned on the outer surface of a metal mandrel }8 as shown in FIG. 3, the resultant conf iguration o the wound reinforcing cord material 24 is depicted and shown in FIG. 11. Tbere, section B illustrate~ continuous wraps or windings of the carrier member 16 and section A represents discrete ~ wrappings of the reinforcing material having the :~ ' :,, , , ~ .
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g reinforcing member 12 therein. Thus, after the sheet or ; cover layer portion 22 of the belt asse~bly 10 is positioned around the wound reinforcing material and stitched thereon, the resultant sleeve and mandrel are S placed in a chamber and cured or vulcanized, as is well known in the art. After curing, knives 26 are positioned adjacent the cured sleeve and the precise width of reinforced belt 10 are cut from the cured sleeve. The knives 2~ engage the cured sleeve in the~ area defined by section B, between section~ A, to provide the novel reinforced belt construction in accordance with the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12. A~ is depicted in FIG. 12, the sidewalls 10a and 10b (not shown) of the belt assembly or construction 10 do not have any reinforcing member 12 extending outward}y therethrough and the reinforced belt assembly or construction 10 provide~ a sea}ed and uniformly rein~orced belt construct~on wh~ch has herefore.been unattainable ir. the art. As depicted in FIG. 12, il: is sho~n that the center within the cut belt assembly 10 are four con'cinuous wraps o the reinforcing materi21 24 containing the reirlforcing member 12 thereirl with the two outside wrap~ representi~g the continuou~ carrier member 16 only. Thus, during curing o~ the compos~te reinforced belt assembly, the carrier members _6 may be comprised of a cotton-polye~ter ~uilt yarn, such a~ carpet thread, button thread, nylon or other polymer material which may possess the property of substantially fusing or interacting with the cured body portion o~ the belt assembly to substantially disappear a~ter curing. On the other band, retention o~ the carrier member identity in the cured belt sleeve, may be de~irable to facilitate controlling the ends 12a of the reinforcing member within the cured composite. Additionally, it may be desired to enhance the fixation o~ the reinforcing member end 12a to the carrier member 16 by variety of means, such as, gluing, heat sealing, auxilliary wrapping or by changing the pitch of the carrier member overlapping the end 12a o~ the reinforcement member 12.

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~;Z 8~25 Additionally, it is withi~ the scope of the present invention that the reinforcing member 1~ may be any type of carbon steel or other metal cords, such as, stainless steel, aluminum and the li~e, or may be a cable, tubular or flat braid, a ribbon or single metal filament and the carrier members may be glass fibers, aramid fibers, Teflon*
fibers or polyurethane fibers, nylon fibers, or natural or synthetic yarns in the geometric form of tapes, extruded or dipped jackets or filaments. Importantly, the reinforcing member possesses a Youn~'s modules greater than the Young's modulus of any other component of the composite belt assembly. For example, a further example of a useful reinforcement material 24 in accordance with the present invention includes a reinforcing mem~er portion comprising S strand cable comprised of 0.010 inch brass plated stainless steel cord substantially centered within a carrier member portion comprised of four 0.015 inch~lylon monofilaments or within four 0.009 inch cotton-polyester yarn threads. In the present illustration of this invention, it is preferred that the reinforcing member 12 is discontinuous so as to facilitate forming or cutting in specific locations within the reinforced belt sleeve construction. However, it is within the scope of the present invention that the discontinuity suggested may be the absence of the reinforcing member over a spe~ific length of the reinforcing material 24 or may be in the form in the change in the properties of the rein~orc~ng member 12 over a specific length o the reinforcing member 24, such as, for example, the reinforcing member or portion 12 may be heat treated or softened and thereby extend continuously through section B.
FIG. 10 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention wherein the reinforcing cord or filament material 24 includes a reinforcing member or portion 12 comprised of a four wound wire cable. Surrounding or encapsulating the reinforcing member 12 is a non-metallic extrudate, c02ting, wrappinq or carrier member 16 which extends along the entire length of the material 24, with * Trademark ~8~5ZS

the reinforcing member 12 having an end 12a, thereof to define the gap or section B therebetween. Thus, as previously set forth, when the reinforcing ~ord or filament material 24, as shown in FIG. 10, is wound arouna the mandrel, discrete regions A having the wire reinforcing member 12 therein followed by discrete wraps of the non-metallic extrudate 16, as represented by Section B, and followed by a distinct region of reinforcing member 12 covered by the extrudate, the structure illustrated in FIG. 11. Such a structure provides a cable reinforced belt construction 10 having the reinforcing cable or member 12 embedded therein with the outside walls lOa and lOb being free of a~y reinforcing member cut ends. In such an embodiment, the extrudate or carrier member 16 may be a rubber base material, of the same composition of the reinforced belt construc~ion and upon curing ~hereof, provides a uniform composite belt assembly or constxu~tion, as shown in FIG. 12. ~owever it may be desirable to reta n the extrudation carrier member identity in cured belt sleeve, to facilitate control}ing the ends 12a of the reinforcing member 12 withi~ the cured composite. and upon curing thereof, provides a uniform composite belt construction. Also, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the reinforcing member port on 12 of the reinforcing material 24 may be a stranded cable structure having the carrier members 16 stranded therewith or the carrier members may be braided about the central core of a strand. Such a reinforcing material 24 may be produced, for example, on a flat or tubular braider. It is merely sufficient that 3G the carrier members 16 have sufficien~ strength to retain the cable member 12 and permit transport and winding of the same upon the mandel 18, during manufacture. Moreover, as shown, the braided carrier member 16 may be comprised of various types o materials and may be comprised of mixtures of various materials to provide the unique and novel composite reinforced belt construction in accordance with the present invention.

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~ 65~5 The present disclo5ed reinforcement material 24 having discontinuous properties over its length has particular application as a reinforcement material for belt assemblies and reinforced hose structures~ The reinforcement material may include a plurality of predetermined lengths of a reinforcing member 12, as shown in 10, wherein the carrier member ~6 is affixed to the ends 12a of member 12 and connects the predetermined len~ths of reinforciny member 12. Such a~fixation may be by shrinking a heat shrinkable carrier material or by gluing the ends 12a to the connecting bridge or carrier member 12. One example of such a construction is a tubular polymer carrier member 12 which is heat shrunk or sealed around the ends 12a of the cable reinforcing member 12. Such a csnstructio~ of the reinforcing material 24 provides for the precise anchoring and retaining of the reinforcing member 12 during spirally winding of material 24 about the man~rel and prevents migration of the cable reinforcement during curing of the assembly.
The present disclosed reinforcement material 24 having discontinuous properties over its length may be used on the reinforcement material for polymer based matrix structures. Examples o~ such structures su~h as a reinforced hose may be beneficially fabricated with reinforcement material having discontinous properties in the vicinity of the hose couplings. ~ tire belt may be advantageously produced from a reinfarcement material havin~ discontinuous properties in the vicinity of the belt edges. Accordingly, the present invention broadly describes a uni~ue and novel clas~ o reinEorcement materials that may be incorporated within any polymeric comoosite assembly requiring termination or geometrical transition of the reinforcement material.
What has been described is a unique an~ novel reinforced belt assembly or construction, a novel reinforced composite assembly and a novel method of manufacture of such reinforced belt assemblies.

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Claims (30)

1. A cylindrical reinforced polymer component comprising:
a cylinder of polymeric matrix material;
a reinforcing filament material deposited on said cylindrical polymeric matrix material, said reinforcing filament material comprised of a discontinuous length of a reinforcing member and a continuous length of a carrier member to provide a predetermined number of windings having said reinforcing member and said carrier member therein extending around said cylinder and a predetermined number of windings having said carrier member portion extending around said cylinder;
a cover layer positioned over said deposited reinforcing material to provide the cylindrical reinforced polymer component.

2. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said reinforcing member is steel.

3. The reinforcing component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said reinforcing member is stainless steel..

4. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 2 wherein said reinforcing member is coated with a material selected from a group comprising, brass, zinc or organic adhesive.

5. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 3 wherein said reinforcing member is coated with a material selected from a group comprising, brass, zinc or organic adhesive.

6. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said reinforcing member is a metal and said carrier member is selected from a group comprised of polymers, glasses, natural fibers or mixtures thereof.

7. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said reinforcing member is in the configuration of a cable.

8. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 7 wherein said carrier member is a plurality of filaments braided about said cable reinforcing member.

9. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 8 wherein said carrier member is a plurality of filaments stranded into a cable configuration with said cable reinforcing member.

10. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 8 wherein said carrier member is a non-metallic extrudate surrounding said cable reinforcing member.

11. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 10 wherein said non-metallic extrudate is a rubber based material.

12. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 8 wherein said carrier member is in the form of a tape with said cable reinforcing member adhered thereto.

13. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said discontinuous length of said reinforcing member portion is provided by heat treating predetermined lengths of said reinforcing member.

14. The reinforcing component in accordance with claim 1 wherein said reinforcing member includes ends attached to said carrier member.

15. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 14 wherein said attachment is by an adhesion material.

16. The reinforced component in accordance with claim 14 wherein said attachment is by reducing the lay length of said carrier member and said ends.

17. A method of manufacturing a cylindrical reinforced polymer component comprising the steps of:
forming a cylinder of polymeric matrix material;
winding spirally on said cylinder of polymeric materia material a reinforcing filament material comprised of a discontinuous length of a reinforcing member portion and a continuous length of a carrier member portion to provide a predetermined number of windings having said reinforcing member portion and said carrier member portion therein extending around said cylinder and predetermined number of windings having said carrier member portion extending around said cylinder; and applying a cover layer over said wound cylinder material to provide a cylindrical reinforced polymer

18. The method of claim 17 further including the step of curing said cylinder reinforced polymer component.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein said reinforcing member portion is a metal.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein said carrier member portion is selected from a group comprised of polymers, glasses naturally occurring fibers or mixtures thereof.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein said cylindrical reinforced polymer component is a hose.

22. A method of manufacturing a cylindrical reinforced polymer component comprising the steps of:
forming a cylinder of polymeric matrix material;
braiding on said cylinder of polymeric matrix material a reinforcing filament material comprised of a discontinuous length of a reinforcing member portion and a continuous length of a carrier member portion to provide a predetermined number of windings having said reinforcing member portion and said carrier member portion therein extending around said cylinder and a predetermined number of windings having said carrier member portion extending around said cylinder; and applying a cover layer over said braided cylinder material to provide a reinforced cylinder.

23. The method of claim 22 further including the step of curing said reinforced cylinder.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein said reinforcing member portion is a metal.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein said carrier member portion is selected from a group comprised of polymers, glasses, naturally occurring fibers or mixtures thereof.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein said cylindrical reinforced polymer component is hose.

27. A method of manufacturing an endless reinforced belt assembly comprising the step of:
depositing a strip of polymeric matrix material around a mandrel to form a cylinder of said material;
winding spirally on said polymeric matrix material a reinforcing filament material comprised of a discontinuous length of a reinforcing member portion and a continuous predetermined number of windings having said reinforcing member portion and said carrier member portion therein extending around said mandrel and a predetermined number of windings having only said carrier portion extending around said mandrel, applying a cover member on said reinforcing filament material to provide a cylindrical polymer component in the form of an uncured reinforced belting sleeve;
curing said reinforced belting sleeve; and cutting predetermined widths of the cured reinforced belting sleeve in the region where predetermined number of windings having said carrier member portion extends around the reinforced belting sleeve to obtain the reinforced belt assembly having the reinforcing member portion positioned therein.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said mandrel includes longitudinally extending grooves on the outer surface thereof.

29. A method of manufacturing an endless reinforced belting sleeve comprising the steps of:
depositing a strip of polymeric matrix material around a mandrel to form a cylinder of said material;
winding spirally on said polymeric matrix material a reinforcing filament material comprised of a discontinuous length of reinforcing member portion and a continuous length of carrier member portion to provide a predetermined number of windings having said reinforcing member portion and said carrier member portion therein extending around said mandrel and a predetermined number of windings having only said carrier member portion extending around said mandrel;
applying a cover member on said reinforcing filament material to provide a cylindrical polymer component in the form of an uncured reinforced belting sleeve; and curing said reinforced belting sleeve.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said mandrel includes longitudinally extending grooves on the outer surface thereof.