CA2073965C - Apparatus for making a braid structure - Google Patents
Apparatus for making a braid structureInfo
- Publication number
- CA2073965C CA2073965C CA002073965A CA2073965A CA2073965C CA 2073965 C CA2073965 C CA 2073965C CA 002073965 A CA002073965 A CA 002073965A CA 2073965 A CA2073965 A CA 2073965A CA 2073965 C CA2073965 C CA 2073965C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- layer
- braid
- pair
- paths
- machine
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04C—BRAIDING OR MANUFACTURE OF LACE, INCLUDING BOBBIN-NET OR CARBONISED LACE; BRAIDING MACHINES; BRAID; LACE
- D04C1/00—Braid or lace, e.g. pillow-lace; Processes for the manufacture thereof
- D04C1/06—Braid or lace serving particular purposes
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04C—BRAIDING OR MANUFACTURE OF LACE, INCLUDING BOBBIN-NET OR CARBONISED LACE; BRAIDING MACHINES; BRAID; LACE
- D04C3/00—Braiding or lacing machines
- D04C3/02—Braiding or lacing machines with spool carriers guided by track plates or by bobbin heads exclusively
- D04C3/08—Braiding or lacing machines with spool carriers guided by track plates or by bobbin heads exclusively with means for superimposing threads or braids
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04C—BRAIDING OR MANUFACTURE OF LACE, INCLUDING BOBBIN-NET OR CARBONISED LACE; BRAIDING MACHINES; BRAID; LACE
- D04C3/00—Braiding or lacing machines
- D04C3/02—Braiding or lacing machines with spool carriers guided by track plates or by bobbin heads exclusively
- D04C3/22—Guides or track plates
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04C—BRAIDING OR MANUFACTURE OF LACE, INCLUDING BOBBIN-NET OR CARBONISED LACE; BRAIDING MACHINES; BRAID; LACE
- D04C3/00—Braiding or lacing machines
- D04C3/40—Braiding or lacing machines for making tubular braids by circulating strand supplies around braiding centre at equal distances
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D10—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBLASSES OF SECTION D, RELATING TO TEXTILES
- D10B—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBLASSES OF SECTION D, RELATING TO TEXTILES
- D10B2505/00—Industrial
- D10B2505/02—Reinforcing materials; Prepregs
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Braiding, Manufacturing Of Bobbin-Net Or Lace, And Manufacturing Of Nets By Knotting (AREA)
- Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
- Prostheses (AREA)
- Compositions Of Macromolecular Compounds (AREA)
Abstract
The invention concerns a braid structure comprising a plurality of braided layers of stranded material in which said layers are laid down in a single pass of a braiding machine with at least one strand of each layer extending into a contiguous layer to form and interlock between the said layers.
The invention also concerns a machine and a method of making the structure by supplying groups of strands (R, B, G, O, W) to a braid forming station whereby each group of strands forms a braid layer thereat; a strand (R) from one of the groups passing into or through the strands (B) of a group on an adjacent layer to form an interlock therebetween.
The invention also concerns a machine and a method of making the structure by supplying groups of strands (R, B, G, O, W) to a braid forming station whereby each group of strands forms a braid layer thereat; a strand (R) from one of the groups passing into or through the strands (B) of a group on an adjacent layer to form an interlock therebetween.
Description
CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 APPARATUS FOR MAKING A BRAID STRUCTURE
This invention is concerned with the production of a braid structure which has a plurality of layers of stranded material which can be laid down in the form of a hollow structure. Multi-layer braided material is made conventionally by forming a first layer of braid and then sequentially forming further layers over the original layer. Braids are currently produced using a "maypole" type of braider where an annular bedplate has a serpentine path formed by a pair of intersecting, serpentine tracks formed in it and movable package carriers adapted to travel along said tracks, each carrier carrying a package of stranded material which material forms the braid crossing the strands thereof from the various package carriers over each other at the intersections in said serpentine paths. The braid can be reinforced by having further "static" strands supplied from static carriers, i.e. carriers which are fixed in their location to the serpentine paths. Such a "static" strand is incorporated within the resultant braid structure to form a longitudinal strand. The braid is usually 7~
formed generally centrally of the bedplate and usually on its longitn~i n~ 1 axis.
To form a multi-layer braid, a series of maypole braiders may be set up with a common longitll~inAI axis and the braid as formed is passed serially through successive braiders so that separate layers are laid down one upon another. Alternatively, such a multilayer braid may be passed the re~uisite number of times through a single braider to build up the required number of layers. The braid thus formed can have any nllmh~r of layers dep~n~ing on the number of maypole hrA;~rs employed or the nllmh~r of passes made as the case may be.
Multi-layer braid structures may be formed on a mandrel of a suitable shape, which mandrel can be .~,,~ved subsequent to the formation of the structure, to result in the formation of a shaped, braid ~L.~L~re.
As an alternati~e to the maypole type of braider, it has been proposed to form a hollow braid in brAi~;ng machines of a tubular t~e such as is described, for . .
WO91/10766 PCT~GB91/00002 J3 ~
-example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 4621560 and 4753150 assigned to Atlantic Research Corporation. In the ~rh; ne disclosed in these patents the intern~l surface of a cy~;n~Pr constituting the apparatus is composed of a plurality of ring members, each of a 5imil~r size which are ~ lly arranged with respect to each other and each having a yarn carrier which can be moved A~i~lly of the cyl;n~r. The ring members are adapted for rotation about the axis of the cylinder and the carriers are moved axially to interbraid the filaments. Stops are pro~ided to lLmit and control the amount of ~xial ~-uv~lent. These m~h ines~ however, operate by discontinuous or i~teger motion of the m~mhPr5 and carriers and in consequence are slow in operation. This in turn limits for practical purposes the uses to which such machines can be put and hence the nature and type of braided structures which can be produced.
A major problem of multilayer braids of the type described above is the tPn~n~y for the resultant braid to ~el~min~te in service. Such braid structures are used in so-called "composites" formed, for example by impregnating such a braid structure with a . .. . . . ~ ,. ~ - ~
WO91/10766 PCTIGB91/ ~ 02 ~A207~q~5 resin material. While such a composite P~hih;ts good m~ch~nical properties in terms of tensile strength and tensile modulus in the plane of the layer, the mPch~nical properties of the composite transverse to the layer rely only on the shear strength of the matrix material and the braid strength between the matrix and material and the fibre layers since this is all that physically unites adjacent layers in the structure. Thus, when the composites are subjected to transverse loads there is a risk of inter-l~min~
failure between the layers of the braid.
Proposals have previously been made to overcome the de-l~min~tion problem by introducing a~ition~l strands of material which extend transversly of the layers, during the brAi~ing process. Some of these strands have been introduced r~n~mly, whilst others have been introduced on a systematic radial basis by providing a mandrel which has apertures through which radial strands project. Such radial strands impart a degree of coherence between the .braid layers, but their presence makes it difficult to interbraid the various strands from the package carriers and as a WO91/10766 PCT/GB91/0~02 C A~07 39 65 -result the rate of formation of the braid slows down.
Another attempt to overcome the problems of delamination has been by introducing strands in a stitrhing operation which will unite and reinforce the layers of braid. This, althou~h partially successful, does not give the level of strength or consistency which is reauired in many applications of such braid structures or of the composites formed therefrom.
In order to have an effective braid structure it is desirable for the various layers of the braid to be positi~ely interlocked. The present in~ention seeks to provide a multilayer braid structure in which the layers are interbraided and which exhibits substantially uniform or predetPrmi~ properties. The invention also sets out to provide an i~ ov~d form of braid structure which can be used also as a basis for a braided composite which is able to be constructed cheaply and swiftly and thus is economic in its m~ml f~cture.
~ L ' 7 ; ~; 5 According to the present in~ention there is provided a braid structure comprising a plurality of layers of stranded material in which said layers are laid down in a single pass of a br~i~ing m~rhin~ and in which in each layer at least one strand of that layer extends into a contiguous layer to form an interlock between the said layers.
As used herein, the term "strand" is to be understood to include fil~m~ntsr monofilaments, slit tape, rovings, mult;fil~mPnt yarn, braids or other longitudinal textile products.
The interlock between the layers may be a direct interlock in which the interlocking strand passes from a first layer to a contiguous second layer, and passes around at least one strand in said second layer.
Alternatively the interlock between the layers may be an indirect interlock in which an interlocking strand passes from said first layer through the second layer to anothe~, not necessarily contiguous layer in the structure, and passes around a strand in said other layer to serve to bind the first layer and said other ~ '''4~ ,C~aoo2 _ ~A2~73965 ~ tr,~ ' 7 ~ ~
O ~ i~r.~ 2 layer together and at the same time to bind the second layer therebetween.
The braid structure in accordance with the present invention may be hollow and and may be of a circular or of an irregular cross-section. In a further aspect of the invention the braid is a collapsed braid.
The invention includes a composite material comprising a braid structure in accordance with the invention having a matrix of resin material dispersed and/or distributed within the interstices of the braid. In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a composite material comprising a braid structure having a plurality of layers of stranded material in which said layers are laid down in a single pass of a braiding machine and in which in each layer at least one strand of that layer extends into a contiguous layer to form an interlock between the said layers, and a matrix material incorporated at least in the interstices of the said braid structure.
WO 91/10766 PCT/GB91/ ~ 02 ~07~9~5 -At least some of the strands may co,llyLise a resin compatible with said matrix material. Such strands may be preimpregnated. The preimpregnation may be by coating the strands with a resin layer or coating.
Alternatively, the strands may include or comprise the resin material.
After formation of the braid, it may, with or without a ma~rix material be subjected to a treatment in which the resin material component of said strand may permeate the interstices of said braid structure.
The matrix material of the braid composite may be either a thprmoplastic or a thPrm~setting resin. The cnmrosite after formation, may subsequently be subjected to shaping, for example, by the application of heat and pressure in a mould.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a multilayer braid structure which method co,..yLises supplying yr OU~ of strands to a b~aid forming station whereby each group of strands forms a braid layer thereat in which a strand from one of said groups passes into or through WO91/10766 PCT/G~91/00002 ~.~2~3q~5 '_ _ g _ the group of an adjacent layer to form an interlock thereketween.
The present invention also provides a method of making a multi-layer braid structure which method comprises:-(i) feP~ing a plurality of strands of mat~ri~l from a first set of movable package carriers to a braid-forming area to form a braid layer thereat in which each mo~able package carrier tra~erses a predetpr~in~ first serpentine path.
(ii) feeding a plurality of strands from a second set of movable package carriers to said braid-forming area to form a braid layer thereat in which each movable package carrier of said second set traverses a predet~rmin~ second serpentine path, wherein each of said serpentine paths is ArrA~ged so that at least one package carrier of each set can- carry a strand of material from its respective layer into t~e other layer to interlock with said other layer.
CA2073q65 ~n one aspect of the present invention said second layer may be contiguous to said first layer, whereas in an alternative embo~imPnt of the invention said second layer may be spaced from said first layer and have a n1tmher of int~r~P~i~te layers interposed therebetween. In these ci~,.sLances a strand associated with the package carrier moving between the first and the second layer is caused to pass through all the interm~ te layers prior to forming a positive interlock with said second layer.
Strands of mater;~1 from "static package carriers may also be fed to the braid forming area in respect of each layer for interbrA i ~ i n~ with the strands from said respective movable package carriers.
A mandrel may be positione~ at the braid-forming area in order to form a hollow braid structure and the first layer of the braid is then formed on the mandrel and second, and subsequent layers are formed over said first layer. The mandrel; which may be of circular or other cross section, may be moved through the braid-forming area as br~i~;ng takes place to build up a continuous hollow braid structure.
PC~ 9 ~ o L
0 6 J~¢~ '~2 The method also includes the step of laying down all the layers of the multi- layer braid structure in one pass of the braiding machine.
The invention further encompasses a method of making a braid structure having a plurality of layers, each layer being constituted by interbraided strands of material with at least one strand of each layer interlocking with strands of another layer and includes, in respect of each layer, the steps of feeding a plurality of strands of material from a plurality of package carriers to a braid-forming area and causing or allowing those strands to be interbraided by moving a respective set of package carriers along a predetermin~ path in respect of each layer, and fee~ing strands in respect of each layer to the braid forming area so that the layers are overlaid one on another, wherein the strands fed to the braid forming area for each layer include strands from a plurality of static package carriers, and the strands from the sets of static and movable package carriers for each layer are interbraided by causing or allowing the movable package carriers to traverse a predetermined serpentine path, and each serpentine path is arranged so that at least one movable package U~ K !~do~ ~ e ~ 9~ ~'~Y~rl~
P~ Y~ or~.i A~r~v~~J~Ji WO91/10766 C A 2 0 7 3 9 ~ 5 PCT/GB91/00002 carrier of each set carries the strand of material from its respective layer into another layer to interlock with strands of said another layer.
In one embodiment said at least one mo~able pA~k~ge carrier returns the strand to its its originating layer. In another PmhoAimPnt the serpentine path of the movable package cArr;ers of an intPrm~; Ate layer may move from said intPrmP~iAte layer to carry a strand of material from that layer into both contiguous layers and returns to the said intPr~e~;Ate layer to interlock the strands of the intprme~i~te layer with each contiguous layer.
Where the braid structure to be manufactured includes a plurality of intermediate layers, a movable package c~rTier may traverse from one serpentine path to a next adjacent serpentine path to carry a movable strand from a layer associated with the package carrier into layers beyond the ;m~iAte contiguous layers and to return the package carrier to the original serpentine path thereby interlocking the layers through which the strand from the movable package carrier has passed.
p~'7t';~ 9 ~ 3 0 ~ 0 2 -- CA2073965 Q 6 !~ 3 Zl ~ u~ 2 The braid structure may be of hollow form and may be formed over a mandrel, which can be position~ at the braid-forming area. Typically, the mandrel moves through the braid-forming area as braiding takes place to build up a continuous hollow braid structure thereon with all the layers of the braid structure being interlocked.
The invention further provides a method of making a braid structure having a plurality of layers of stranded material, each layer being constituted by interbraided strands of material, in which a plurality of strands of material are fed to a braid forming area from a plurality of package carriers and those strands are caused or allowed to be interbraided by moving package carriers along paths therefor arranged on the internal surface therefor of a tubular br~i~in~
machine, wherein a plurality of "static" strands of material are fed to the braid-formi ng area from a first set of static package carriers whereby the said "static" strands are interbraided with further strands fr~m a corresponding set of movable package carriers, each movable package carrier traversing a predeter~ine~
IJ. ~ 7~ v~ ~ 3 ' P C~ 9 1 / O 0 2 20739 65 ~ ~ 3c:nu~
first serpentine path to interbraid the strands of the first set of movable package carrier with the strands from the first set of static package carriers to form a first braided layer; feeding simultaneously to the braid-forming area, strands from a second set of static package carriers for interbraiding with strands from a corresponding second set of movable package carriers, each movable package carrier of the second set traversing a predetermined second serpentine path which interbraids the strands from the second set of movable package carriers with the strands from the second set of static package carriers, to form a second braided layer on the first braided layer and arranging each serpentine path so that at least one movable package carrier of each set of movable package carriers carries a strand of material from its respective layer into another layer to interlock with that other layer before returning the strand to its own originating layer so that at least one strand of each layer interlocks with or passes through strands of a contiguous layer.
The braid forming area is preferably situated at the longitudinal axis of the tubular braiding machine and, as the braid structure is formed it is moved through Un,ia~i ,<in~dGm Psre--~ C-~
PC;T "~ rr~:Tiona, ~.pp.,~,a.ion ~ ~5 i ~ 5 ~ i _ - ~A2073965 -the tllhll 1 ~r br~i~ing machine along the longitu~inAl axis thereof.
The tubular bed of the tubular br~i~ing m~hine may be of circular cross-section or may be ellipsoidal or any other closed or multisided shape.
The in~ention also includes a braiding machine for for,ming a multi-layer hollow braid which mA~hin~
comprises:-means for supplying ~roups of strands of material to a hrAi~in~ station to form a layer of braid at said station associated with each group of strands and means, effective during br~idi~g, to cause or allow a strand from one layer of braid to pass into or through a next adjacent layer to form an interlock between said layers.
The invention further includes a m~shine for forming a multi-layer hollow braid in accordance with the invention, the braid structl~e having a plurality of layers each constituted by inter~raided strands of material with at least one strand of each layer ~ ~A~73~5 interlocking with the strands of a contiguous layer, which machine comprises a hollow tubular member, two apertured end plates securing the hollow cyl;n~ric~l ~PmhPr between them, a plurality of serpentine paths circumferentially formed on the inner surface of the tubular m~m~Pr~ a plurality of int~rmP~hing horn gears, a plurality of movable package c~rriPrs, each ~rr~nged for ~llov~ ent over a serpentine path in a sequence predetPrmined by rotation of the horngears, and changeover track means effective between adjacent serpentine paths for the l"ov~.,ent of a movable package carrier from one circumferential serpentine path into said adjacent serpentine path.
This Illov~e~lL preferably occurs at least once during a single passage of the package carrier around the tubular ~PmhPr.
The machine may include a serpentine path disposed adjacent each end plate and an intPrmP~;~te sel~e~--ine path in which a movable package cArriPr in the intermediate path is transferred by the horngears to travel into the serpentine path of each contiguous 7~9~
serpentine path at least once during a single passage of the package carrier around the tubular m~mh~r.
The tubular m~hPr may be circular, ellipsoidal or multi-faceted in cross-section.
The m~Ch; n~ may further include a plurality of intermediate seL~enLine paths in which a movabie package carrier in at least one of the intPrm~iAte paths is transferred by horngears to travel into a plurality of said serpentine paths during a single passage of the package carrier around the cylin~riral member.
Each sepentine path i5 defined by a pair of intersecting zig-zag or generally sinusoidal trac~s disposed in the base plate in which the part is located. Each pair of tracks between adjacent intersections effectively defines a generally lemon shaped island portion. The movable package carriers are mounted for sli~in~ V~Ie~lt àlong in the tracks and are driven by the horngears disposed thereunder, the arrangement being such that the array of horngears disposed beneath the serpentine tracks serves to drive WO91/10766 PCT/GB9l/00002 -- ~A2073965 the package carrier in contrary directions in each track. Thus, at any one crossover point the horngears will serve to drive a package carrier in a first direction across an intersection and subsequently a second package carrier across the same intersection in an approximately orthogonal direction.
This ~rr~ngement is well known in an st~n~Ard br~i~ing m~chine and movable package carriers in such a machine are restricted to movement solely in the single track of the serpentine path pair within which it is located. In accordance with the present invention two or more serpentine paths are arranged in juxtaposition to provide an array of island portions ext~n~ing as columns generally across the direction of l~wve~.ent of package carriers in each track. Thus, all the islands in a first serpentine path would be in register with all the islands of the second and subsequent serpentine paths i.e. to form columns extPn~in~
substantially ~orm~l to the line of the serpentine track. In accordance with the present invention, at inter~als between two adjacent paths, islands are modified to define part of a crossover track between the adjacent serpentine paths.
WO91/10766 PCT/GB9'1/00002 2~73965 -lg --The horngears are arranged under the serpentine paths to provide an array of gears with basically one gear arranged under each island. Thus, while gears along each serpentine path interm~h at the crossover points to effect a changeover point between the intersecting tracks of said path, the gears between adjacent paths also intersect, not only along the path lengths, but laterally along the columns. Thus, at the changeover point between the adjacent paths there is positive drive between the horngears disposed therebeneath and the package carrier can move smoothly between one serpentine path to the next via the crossover tracks which feed from one path into an adjacent path, thus permitting a package carrier to move from one path to an adjacent path and carrying the yarn with it, thereby effecting ~ ve~,ent of the strand from one layer to a next adjacent layer. It will ~e appreciated that a variety of different interloc~ing patterns can be produced between adjacent layers in this way.
~he ~; men-~ions between each lsland portion and the ~;m~n~ions ~etween each crossover point in a given serpentine path remain substantially constant; a pair WO 91/10766 PCrlGB91/Q0002 -of st~n~rd adjacent island portions in contiguous serpentine paths may be exchanged for a pair of modified islands which define part of the crossover trac~ between them. Since island portions are readily interchangable it will ~e appreciated by a man skilled in the art that a large variety of patterns and changeover arrangements are possible.
In a further aspect of the present invention the apparatus comprises a tubular and preferably substantially cylindrical body member adapted to carry about its surface a plurality of intermPshing horngears. Each horngear is in direct meshing relationship with the next horngear in a given path, but horngears within a given path lor row) may intPrmesh at an angle one with respect to the other.
The intPrn~l surface of the cylindrical bedplate may be provided with a plurality of track forming elements or track plate comprising stAn~rd trac~ fnrming elements each of which define the extremity of a track portion of a se, ~e~Line path, each element ~eing curved to correspond with the curvature of the bedplate. External track for~ng elements may serve to -' ~ CA2073965 define either st~n~rd elements which in juxtaposition produce a st~n~rd serpentine path without crossover points or may be modified to provide a crossover section.
The int~rm~shing horngears are mounted ex~rnAlly of the cylindrical bedplate. The drive means for the gears may be mounted on one of the end plates. The drive means may include principle driving gears mounted on one of the end plates and disposed at 90~ with respect to each other and these may be driven by a single prime mover. Coupling means may be provided between the drive gears on each end plate.
In addition to the movable package carriers described above, fixed or ~static" package carriers may also be provided such that they introduce strands at points on the surface of the cylindrical member. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, such "static" package carriers may be arranged to provide a strand of braidable material to the braid area or station of a ~r~ i /1 i ng machine ~ia hollow axles of each of the horngears.
, CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 Machines in accordance with the present invention can produce either a collapsed or a hollow form of braided structure. Where a hollow form or structure is produced, the machine may include a mandrel movable longitudinally along the central axis of the cylindrical member. In this case, strands from the movable package carriers may be fed to the movable mandrel to form a braid structure thereupon.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a braiding machine for forming a multilayer braid, said machine comprising:
a braiding station;
supply means for supplying a plurality of strands of material to said braiding station to form a layer of braid at said station associated with each group of strands;
track means disposed at said braiding station defining at least a first and a second pair of serpentine paths, each pair of paths including a first and a second path, said first and second paths of each layer crossing over each other to define intralayer crossover points; and braiding means disposed at said braiding station for braiding said strands into said layers and for passing one strand from each layer of braid into a next adjacent layer to form an interlock between said layers and including a plurality of package carriers, CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 - 22a -each package carrier being arranged for movement in one of said serpentine paths and receiving a strand from said supply means; each layer being formed by at least two package carriers, each carrier moving along a respective serpentine path of one of said pairs of serpentine paths; wherein one of said serpentine paths of one layer and one of said serpentine paths of an adjacent layer are provided at preselected positions with interlayer crossover points with one carrier crossing over to said first serpentine path of said adjacent layer at said interlayer crossover points; and with one carrier of said serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said first layer at said interlayer crossover point;
wherein said first pair is axially spaced with respect to said second pair, and any two interlayer crossover points between two adjacent layers are separated by at least two intralayer crossover points.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a braiding machine for making a hollow braid comprising:
a support structure having a tubular surface;
a plurality of rotatable interengaged horn gears in toothed engagement;
CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 - 22b -driving means for driving said horn gears, each horn gear being arranged to rotate in a direction contrary to each interengaged horn gear;
track means overlaying said horn gears and defining at least a first pair and a second pair of serpentine paths extending circumferentially around said surface each pair including a first serpentine path and a second serpentine path, said first and second serpentine paths crossing each other at intralayer cross points, said first pair being axially spaced with respect to said second pair, said first and second pairs of paths being interconnected by interlayer crossover points, each interlayer crossover point being separated from any other crossover point by at least two intralayer crossover points and a plurality of yarn carriers movable along said paths by said horn gears, the yarn carriers in each pair of paths cooperating to braid a yarn layer, a carrier of said first pair crossing over to said second pair and a carrier of said second pair crossing over to said first pair at one of said interlayer crossing point to interlock said yarn layers.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the flexibility of the structure in accordance with the present invention permits a large variety of different braid structures to be produced. The invention includes the braiding or interbraiding of different types of -CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 strands; laminated braid layers may be formed with an interlocked configuration by providing each principle layer of the braid structure with strands of braidable material of one set of properties and adjacent braid layers being formed of strands of material of different properties, while at the same time allowing a predetermined degree of interbraiding between the layers.
W091tlO766 PCTIG~91/00002 CA2~i73q~5 -Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the ac~r~nying drawings of methods of carrying the invention into effect.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a front view of braiding machine in accordance with the invention and for producing a hollow braid structure.
Flgure 2 is a detail of Figure 1 showing the drive arrangement therefor.
Figure 3 is a longitll~inAl cross-sectional ~iew of the ~AchinP showing the lay out of gearing.
Figure 4 is a detail of the intPrn~l surface of the ~Arh i nP i n~; c~ting a general layout of the serpentine tracks.
Figure 5 is a typical int~rme~i~te track plate.
Figure 6 is a typical end track plate.
Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6 in~ic~ting the curYature of the plate; and Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing part of a typical layout of horngears and illustrating the serpentine tracks for enabling the invention to be effective.
The machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a pair of end plates 10, 10' each plate haYing a substantially circular opening 11, a top edge 12, a bottom edge 13 and pair of side edges 14. Each corn~r is proYided with a chamfered portion 15 which, toegether with the top edge 12 and side edges 14 defines a generally eight sided periphery for each end plate 10, 10 .
Each end plate 10 is secured to a yeneLally cylindrical bedplate 16 formed of a plurality, in the specific example forty eight, of flat elements, each interconnected one to the other, so that each flat element is disposed at an angle of 7.5~ to its neighbour. Each flat element comprises a cenL~al bore 18 which receives and retains a shaft bearing 19 of a horngear 20. Each horngear 20 has a perirhPral tooth portion 21 which is adapted to a mesh at 22 with the correspon~ing tooth portion of each adjacent gear in the circumferential array. In this ex2mple, each horngear 20 has two orthogonal diametric slots in the surface thereof which is disposed towards the centre of the ~ArhinP.
Each shaft bearing 19 carries a drive shaft for driving a respective horngear 20. Each hnrn~eAr 20 is jonr~Alled for rotation about a hollow tube 23 which latter serves to SU~OL L island plates 27 or 28 (See Figure 4).
A plurality of horngears 20 is arranged abou~ the circumference of bedplate 16 to provide a plurality, in the case of the specific example in the drawings forty eight li~P~r columns of horngears, each column ~ten~ing longitll~in~lly of the cylindrical bedplate 16, the arrangement being such that the intprmochi ng gears within each columm lie within a plane.
PCtl~ 9 1 ~ ~ O'Q O 2 CA2073965 0 6 ~J 1 9 ~ ~ J~:ru~
Each column comprises five horngears which when considered circumferentially constitute five circumferentially disposed rows of horngears, each row comprising forty eight gears. Each circumferential row corresponds to a serpentine path extPn~ i ng circumferentially of the cylindrical bedplate 16 the arrangement being such that the horngears of the array intermesh one with respect to another. Each horngear in an intermediate row meshes with four other gears, i.e. two gears in its own row and a gear from each adjacent row. Each horngear in an edge row meshes with three adjacent gears, i.e. the two adjacent gears in its own row and the adjacent gear in the next intermediate row. This is best seen from Figure 3 in which horngears 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 int~rmesh one with respect to another in a plane and the gears 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 together constitute one column of the 48.
Referring now to Figure 4, it will be appreciated that each serpentine path comprises a pair of intersecting tracks. Thus, the first serpentine path 29 comprises generally sinusoidal path tracks 72 and 73. The tracks are defined by outer plate 25 which has a WO91/10766 PCT/GB91/0~02 CA2073q65 contoured track edge 53 which serves to define the outer edge 53 of track 73. Inner edge 36 of the track is defined by guide plate 27 which is a stAn~rd island plate having a generally lemon- shA~
configuration. It will be seen that the tracks 73 and 72 intersect at 65 and the arranyt~.e.lL is such that a strand package carrier (not shown) moving in direction of arrow A passes along path 73 and crosses over intersection 65 and is then followed in time by a yarn package carrier moving along in the direction of arrow B in the opposite sense. Thus, it would be appreciated that in the st~n~rd serpentine path formed solely of island plates 27 the crossovers 64, 65 all lie within the same row. Guide plate 28, however, is an island crossover plate; it has one edge 36 contoured to correspond with edge 36 of island plate 27 while the other edge 37 is contoured to define a crossover 66 together with the intPr~e~i~te track plate 26 and correspon~;ng island plate 28'. It will be noted that island plate 28' is provided with two crossover edges 37 to provide-systematic crossover along a column.
~A2073965 It will be appreciated that the plates 27, 28 and 28' are selectively interchangeable, together with plates 25, 26 and other variants thereof to enable a complete interlocking matrix or array of interlocks either along columns or between rows to provide interlocks between adjacent layers or alternatively to provide interlocks passing through an int~rme~;~te layer to provide the positive interloc~ on the next adjacent layer.
Four drive units 41, 42, 43 and 44 (Figure 1) are situated in the corners of drive plate 10 and these are coupled together by means of a continuous chain 45. The chain 45 is driven by a suitable prime mover, such for example, an electric or pneumatic motor.
In order to distribute the load on the array of horngears, corresponding drive units 41a, 42a, 43a and 44a are provided on the other end plate 10' of which only one, 43a, is shown in Figure 3. These are interconnected by means of a shaft 46 which serves to ensure that all the drives and horngears are synchronised by providing positive drive at 8 points WO91/10766 PCT/GB9l/00002 through the gear array so that the applied torque on individual gears is reduced.
Each serpentine path track is adapted to contain a plurality of package carriers. Each package carrier has a ~epen~;ng lug which is engaged by slots in each of the horngears and as each of the gears rotates the slots co-act with the lug to drive the package around the track. The track plates 25, 26, 27 28 and 28' serve to constrain the l,lov~"~ent of the carriers to a given track and the carriers will be ret~inP~ in a given track of that path passing sequentially over crossovers with the other track of the same path. When the package carrier enters a track portion of a serpentine path giving a column crossover to an adjacent serpentine path, crossover will be effected by means of a crossover, such as crossover 66 in Figure 4 to the next adjacent path.
It will be appreciated that the ,,,uv~,e~L of the package carrier can be controlled so as to direct the carrier along one given serpentine path or to transfer it between adjacent paths, depen~;ng on the layout of the track plates for any particular design of braid 'PCT/GB 9 1 1 0 0 0 0 CA2073965 0 6 ~1 ~ 2 ~ ,~ ~
construction. In use a series of movable package carriers are mounted on the five serpentine paths or rows of the machine and the strands from each carrier are lead to a central mandrel which extends longitudinally of the axis of the machine. The strands are secured to the mandrel together with the strands from any "static'~ package carriers which may extend through tubes 23. Such "static" package carriers may be located on the island plates.
When all the strands have been secured to the mandrel the drive means is started which serves to rotate the horn gears to cause movement of the movable package carriers along the serpentine paths in the ~n~er described above. The design of the paths is such that braidable strands of material from various carriers move between the layers defined by each path to form an interlocked braid structure. The braid structure so formed thus has multiple layers which constitute a three-dLmensional braid having strands passing from layer to layer thus increasing the strength of the structure against delamination. Since carriers are moving in all five rows of all forty eight columns simultaneously, the braid structure is continuously U~ d ~ v~ ~ ~.F~
WO 9l/10766 PCT/GB91/00002 ~07~9~
-laid down as a three ~imPn~ional braid with all the layers interlocked.
This is further illustrated in Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings which shows five rows of gears 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 each row having 48 gears disposed around the circumference of the m~chine.
Corresponding gears in adjacent rows namely, 101, 201, 301, 401 and 501 each together define a column.
Thus, the machine comprises five circumferential rows each cont~ining 48 gears or 48 columns each cont~i~in~ 5 gears, a total of 240 gears in all. In Figure 8 common gears in a row are prefixed by the first digit, CO~IIu~l gears within a column are prefixed by the third digit.
Columns of gears may ~e arranged in sets and in the particulzr embodiment shown in Figure 8, the colums 101 to 501, 102 to 502, 103 to 503, 104 to 504 constitute a single set. The columm 105 to 505 and so on constitute the next adjacent set. Hence in the specific example of which there are fi~e rows of 48 columns, there are 12 sets of gears in the total array of 240 gears.
W O 9l/]0766 ~ ~ ~ 0 7~ 9~ PCTJGB9l/00002 In Figure 8, the horngears which rotate in a clockwise direction are indicated by sh~i ng and the gears which rotate in a counter clockwise direction are those which have no sh~;ng. Thus, each gear will rotate in a contrary direction to its neighbours meshed with it.
Slots in the horngears are in~;c~ted diagrammat;c~lly by circles on the periphery of the gear and it is these slots which at any time are occupied by a movable package carrier.
n;ng now to the first column of horngears 101 to 501, if we consider the horngear at R carrying a red strand, we see from the solid small circle that this is pasitioned at the far left hand position of gear 101 as seen in Figure 8; as 101 rotates the package carrier will be carried generally cloc~wise through 180~ to the crossover point with the next gear 102 in in the same row. Gear 102 is rotating in a counter clockwise direction and the package carrier R is thus carried by gear 102 to a crossover point between gears 102 and 202, i.e. the crossover point between adjacent rows within the same column. Cont~
rotation of gear 102 results in l"ov~..e~t of the package carrier substantially clockwise thereabouts to CA2û739~5 the crossover point between gears 202 and 203, i.e. in adjacent columns, but in the same row. A crossover takes place as the package carrier is moved by gear 203 through an arc of 180~ to a crossover point between gear 203 and 204, i.e. a crossover point between adjacent columns within the same row. Gear 204 rotates clockwise and carries the package carrier through an arc of 90~ to a crossover point between gears 204 and 104, i.e. to effect a crossover in the same column but between different rows, where the package carrier is then rotated clockwise about gear 104 through an arc of 90~ to a crossover point with gear 105 and the sequence starts once again.
lS Thus, it will be seen that the strand from the package carrier, starting with gear 101, moves along its row 1 to column 2 and then has crossed over in column 2 from row 1 to row 2; it is then moved along row 2 via gear 203 and back to row 1 via column 4 thus completing an interlock sequence. By following the r~mA i nd~r of the lettered package carriers within Figure ~ it will be seen that the same se~uence is repeated but staggered, for each of the rows, thus producing a three ~im~n~ional braid structure.
In operation of the machine a mandrel is ~ocated substantially centrally of the cylindrical bedplate 16. This mandrel (not shown in the drawings) is moved generally along the longitll~;n~l axis of the m~ch;ne as the braid is built up. The mandrel may be a rigid mandrel or one that is capable of being collapsed to enable the braid to be released from the mandrel after formation. It will be appreciated by the man skilled in the art that the shape of the mandrel depends on the shape of the product required, although it is normally of a circular cross section.
The braid structure produced in the mAnnPr described above may be subsequently impregnated with a matrix material such as th~rmoplastic or a ~hermosetting resin to make a durable braided composite structure.
In the alternative, the strand material itself may either be i~ eyLLated by a matrix binder which may subsequently be acti~ated or may be composed of cnm~on~nts of matrix material. Due to the truly three ~;m~n~ional structure of the resulting braid, the braid exhibits a much enhanced strength against delamination than has been experienced hitherto.
CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 The method and apparatus of the invention has been found to be suitable for the braiding of ceramic fibres such as those of silica, glass and carbon, as well as standard textile fibres including fibres such as KEVLAR~.
This invention is concerned with the production of a braid structure which has a plurality of layers of stranded material which can be laid down in the form of a hollow structure. Multi-layer braided material is made conventionally by forming a first layer of braid and then sequentially forming further layers over the original layer. Braids are currently produced using a "maypole" type of braider where an annular bedplate has a serpentine path formed by a pair of intersecting, serpentine tracks formed in it and movable package carriers adapted to travel along said tracks, each carrier carrying a package of stranded material which material forms the braid crossing the strands thereof from the various package carriers over each other at the intersections in said serpentine paths. The braid can be reinforced by having further "static" strands supplied from static carriers, i.e. carriers which are fixed in their location to the serpentine paths. Such a "static" strand is incorporated within the resultant braid structure to form a longitudinal strand. The braid is usually 7~
formed generally centrally of the bedplate and usually on its longitn~i n~ 1 axis.
To form a multi-layer braid, a series of maypole braiders may be set up with a common longitll~inAI axis and the braid as formed is passed serially through successive braiders so that separate layers are laid down one upon another. Alternatively, such a multilayer braid may be passed the re~uisite number of times through a single braider to build up the required number of layers. The braid thus formed can have any nllmh~r of layers dep~n~ing on the number of maypole hrA;~rs employed or the nllmh~r of passes made as the case may be.
Multi-layer braid structures may be formed on a mandrel of a suitable shape, which mandrel can be .~,,~ved subsequent to the formation of the structure, to result in the formation of a shaped, braid ~L.~L~re.
As an alternati~e to the maypole type of braider, it has been proposed to form a hollow braid in brAi~;ng machines of a tubular t~e such as is described, for . .
WO91/10766 PCT~GB91/00002 J3 ~
-example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 4621560 and 4753150 assigned to Atlantic Research Corporation. In the ~rh; ne disclosed in these patents the intern~l surface of a cy~;n~Pr constituting the apparatus is composed of a plurality of ring members, each of a 5imil~r size which are ~ lly arranged with respect to each other and each having a yarn carrier which can be moved A~i~lly of the cyl;n~r. The ring members are adapted for rotation about the axis of the cylinder and the carriers are moved axially to interbraid the filaments. Stops are pro~ided to lLmit and control the amount of ~xial ~-uv~lent. These m~h ines~ however, operate by discontinuous or i~teger motion of the m~mhPr5 and carriers and in consequence are slow in operation. This in turn limits for practical purposes the uses to which such machines can be put and hence the nature and type of braided structures which can be produced.
A major problem of multilayer braids of the type described above is the tPn~n~y for the resultant braid to ~el~min~te in service. Such braid structures are used in so-called "composites" formed, for example by impregnating such a braid structure with a . .. . . . ~ ,. ~ - ~
WO91/10766 PCTIGB91/ ~ 02 ~A207~q~5 resin material. While such a composite P~hih;ts good m~ch~nical properties in terms of tensile strength and tensile modulus in the plane of the layer, the mPch~nical properties of the composite transverse to the layer rely only on the shear strength of the matrix material and the braid strength between the matrix and material and the fibre layers since this is all that physically unites adjacent layers in the structure. Thus, when the composites are subjected to transverse loads there is a risk of inter-l~min~
failure between the layers of the braid.
Proposals have previously been made to overcome the de-l~min~tion problem by introducing a~ition~l strands of material which extend transversly of the layers, during the brAi~ing process. Some of these strands have been introduced r~n~mly, whilst others have been introduced on a systematic radial basis by providing a mandrel which has apertures through which radial strands project. Such radial strands impart a degree of coherence between the .braid layers, but their presence makes it difficult to interbraid the various strands from the package carriers and as a WO91/10766 PCT/GB91/0~02 C A~07 39 65 -result the rate of formation of the braid slows down.
Another attempt to overcome the problems of delamination has been by introducing strands in a stitrhing operation which will unite and reinforce the layers of braid. This, althou~h partially successful, does not give the level of strength or consistency which is reauired in many applications of such braid structures or of the composites formed therefrom.
In order to have an effective braid structure it is desirable for the various layers of the braid to be positi~ely interlocked. The present in~ention seeks to provide a multilayer braid structure in which the layers are interbraided and which exhibits substantially uniform or predetPrmi~ properties. The invention also sets out to provide an i~ ov~d form of braid structure which can be used also as a basis for a braided composite which is able to be constructed cheaply and swiftly and thus is economic in its m~ml f~cture.
~ L ' 7 ; ~; 5 According to the present in~ention there is provided a braid structure comprising a plurality of layers of stranded material in which said layers are laid down in a single pass of a br~i~ing m~rhin~ and in which in each layer at least one strand of that layer extends into a contiguous layer to form an interlock between the said layers.
As used herein, the term "strand" is to be understood to include fil~m~ntsr monofilaments, slit tape, rovings, mult;fil~mPnt yarn, braids or other longitudinal textile products.
The interlock between the layers may be a direct interlock in which the interlocking strand passes from a first layer to a contiguous second layer, and passes around at least one strand in said second layer.
Alternatively the interlock between the layers may be an indirect interlock in which an interlocking strand passes from said first layer through the second layer to anothe~, not necessarily contiguous layer in the structure, and passes around a strand in said other layer to serve to bind the first layer and said other ~ '''4~ ,C~aoo2 _ ~A2~73965 ~ tr,~ ' 7 ~ ~
O ~ i~r.~ 2 layer together and at the same time to bind the second layer therebetween.
The braid structure in accordance with the present invention may be hollow and and may be of a circular or of an irregular cross-section. In a further aspect of the invention the braid is a collapsed braid.
The invention includes a composite material comprising a braid structure in accordance with the invention having a matrix of resin material dispersed and/or distributed within the interstices of the braid. In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a composite material comprising a braid structure having a plurality of layers of stranded material in which said layers are laid down in a single pass of a braiding machine and in which in each layer at least one strand of that layer extends into a contiguous layer to form an interlock between the said layers, and a matrix material incorporated at least in the interstices of the said braid structure.
WO 91/10766 PCT/GB91/ ~ 02 ~07~9~5 -At least some of the strands may co,llyLise a resin compatible with said matrix material. Such strands may be preimpregnated. The preimpregnation may be by coating the strands with a resin layer or coating.
Alternatively, the strands may include or comprise the resin material.
After formation of the braid, it may, with or without a ma~rix material be subjected to a treatment in which the resin material component of said strand may permeate the interstices of said braid structure.
The matrix material of the braid composite may be either a thprmoplastic or a thPrm~setting resin. The cnmrosite after formation, may subsequently be subjected to shaping, for example, by the application of heat and pressure in a mould.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a multilayer braid structure which method co,..yLises supplying yr OU~ of strands to a b~aid forming station whereby each group of strands forms a braid layer thereat in which a strand from one of said groups passes into or through WO91/10766 PCT/G~91/00002 ~.~2~3q~5 '_ _ g _ the group of an adjacent layer to form an interlock thereketween.
The present invention also provides a method of making a multi-layer braid structure which method comprises:-(i) feP~ing a plurality of strands of mat~ri~l from a first set of movable package carriers to a braid-forming area to form a braid layer thereat in which each mo~able package carrier tra~erses a predetpr~in~ first serpentine path.
(ii) feeding a plurality of strands from a second set of movable package carriers to said braid-forming area to form a braid layer thereat in which each movable package carrier of said second set traverses a predet~rmin~ second serpentine path, wherein each of said serpentine paths is ArrA~ged so that at least one package carrier of each set can- carry a strand of material from its respective layer into t~e other layer to interlock with said other layer.
CA2073q65 ~n one aspect of the present invention said second layer may be contiguous to said first layer, whereas in an alternative embo~imPnt of the invention said second layer may be spaced from said first layer and have a n1tmher of int~r~P~i~te layers interposed therebetween. In these ci~,.sLances a strand associated with the package carrier moving between the first and the second layer is caused to pass through all the interm~ te layers prior to forming a positive interlock with said second layer.
Strands of mater;~1 from "static package carriers may also be fed to the braid forming area in respect of each layer for interbrA i ~ i n~ with the strands from said respective movable package carriers.
A mandrel may be positione~ at the braid-forming area in order to form a hollow braid structure and the first layer of the braid is then formed on the mandrel and second, and subsequent layers are formed over said first layer. The mandrel; which may be of circular or other cross section, may be moved through the braid-forming area as br~i~;ng takes place to build up a continuous hollow braid structure.
PC~ 9 ~ o L
0 6 J~¢~ '~2 The method also includes the step of laying down all the layers of the multi- layer braid structure in one pass of the braiding machine.
The invention further encompasses a method of making a braid structure having a plurality of layers, each layer being constituted by interbraided strands of material with at least one strand of each layer interlocking with strands of another layer and includes, in respect of each layer, the steps of feeding a plurality of strands of material from a plurality of package carriers to a braid-forming area and causing or allowing those strands to be interbraided by moving a respective set of package carriers along a predetermin~ path in respect of each layer, and fee~ing strands in respect of each layer to the braid forming area so that the layers are overlaid one on another, wherein the strands fed to the braid forming area for each layer include strands from a plurality of static package carriers, and the strands from the sets of static and movable package carriers for each layer are interbraided by causing or allowing the movable package carriers to traverse a predetermined serpentine path, and each serpentine path is arranged so that at least one movable package U~ K !~do~ ~ e ~ 9~ ~'~Y~rl~
P~ Y~ or~.i A~r~v~~J~Ji WO91/10766 C A 2 0 7 3 9 ~ 5 PCT/GB91/00002 carrier of each set carries the strand of material from its respective layer into another layer to interlock with strands of said another layer.
In one embodiment said at least one mo~able pA~k~ge carrier returns the strand to its its originating layer. In another PmhoAimPnt the serpentine path of the movable package cArr;ers of an intPrm~; Ate layer may move from said intPrmP~iAte layer to carry a strand of material from that layer into both contiguous layers and returns to the said intPr~e~;Ate layer to interlock the strands of the intprme~i~te layer with each contiguous layer.
Where the braid structure to be manufactured includes a plurality of intermediate layers, a movable package c~rTier may traverse from one serpentine path to a next adjacent serpentine path to carry a movable strand from a layer associated with the package carrier into layers beyond the ;m~iAte contiguous layers and to return the package carrier to the original serpentine path thereby interlocking the layers through which the strand from the movable package carrier has passed.
p~'7t';~ 9 ~ 3 0 ~ 0 2 -- CA2073965 Q 6 !~ 3 Zl ~ u~ 2 The braid structure may be of hollow form and may be formed over a mandrel, which can be position~ at the braid-forming area. Typically, the mandrel moves through the braid-forming area as braiding takes place to build up a continuous hollow braid structure thereon with all the layers of the braid structure being interlocked.
The invention further provides a method of making a braid structure having a plurality of layers of stranded material, each layer being constituted by interbraided strands of material, in which a plurality of strands of material are fed to a braid forming area from a plurality of package carriers and those strands are caused or allowed to be interbraided by moving package carriers along paths therefor arranged on the internal surface therefor of a tubular br~i~in~
machine, wherein a plurality of "static" strands of material are fed to the braid-formi ng area from a first set of static package carriers whereby the said "static" strands are interbraided with further strands fr~m a corresponding set of movable package carriers, each movable package carrier traversing a predeter~ine~
IJ. ~ 7~ v~ ~ 3 ' P C~ 9 1 / O 0 2 20739 65 ~ ~ 3c:nu~
first serpentine path to interbraid the strands of the first set of movable package carrier with the strands from the first set of static package carriers to form a first braided layer; feeding simultaneously to the braid-forming area, strands from a second set of static package carriers for interbraiding with strands from a corresponding second set of movable package carriers, each movable package carrier of the second set traversing a predetermined second serpentine path which interbraids the strands from the second set of movable package carriers with the strands from the second set of static package carriers, to form a second braided layer on the first braided layer and arranging each serpentine path so that at least one movable package carrier of each set of movable package carriers carries a strand of material from its respective layer into another layer to interlock with that other layer before returning the strand to its own originating layer so that at least one strand of each layer interlocks with or passes through strands of a contiguous layer.
The braid forming area is preferably situated at the longitudinal axis of the tubular braiding machine and, as the braid structure is formed it is moved through Un,ia~i ,<in~dGm Psre--~ C-~
PC;T "~ rr~:Tiona, ~.pp.,~,a.ion ~ ~5 i ~ 5 ~ i _ - ~A2073965 -the tllhll 1 ~r br~i~ing machine along the longitu~inAl axis thereof.
The tubular bed of the tubular br~i~ing m~hine may be of circular cross-section or may be ellipsoidal or any other closed or multisided shape.
The in~ention also includes a braiding machine for for,ming a multi-layer hollow braid which mA~hin~
comprises:-means for supplying ~roups of strands of material to a hrAi~in~ station to form a layer of braid at said station associated with each group of strands and means, effective during br~idi~g, to cause or allow a strand from one layer of braid to pass into or through a next adjacent layer to form an interlock between said layers.
The invention further includes a m~shine for forming a multi-layer hollow braid in accordance with the invention, the braid structl~e having a plurality of layers each constituted by inter~raided strands of material with at least one strand of each layer ~ ~A~73~5 interlocking with the strands of a contiguous layer, which machine comprises a hollow tubular member, two apertured end plates securing the hollow cyl;n~ric~l ~PmhPr between them, a plurality of serpentine paths circumferentially formed on the inner surface of the tubular m~m~Pr~ a plurality of int~rmP~hing horn gears, a plurality of movable package c~rriPrs, each ~rr~nged for ~llov~ ent over a serpentine path in a sequence predetPrmined by rotation of the horngears, and changeover track means effective between adjacent serpentine paths for the l"ov~.,ent of a movable package carrier from one circumferential serpentine path into said adjacent serpentine path.
This Illov~e~lL preferably occurs at least once during a single passage of the package carrier around the tubular ~PmhPr.
The machine may include a serpentine path disposed adjacent each end plate and an intPrmP~;~te sel~e~--ine path in which a movable package cArriPr in the intermediate path is transferred by the horngears to travel into the serpentine path of each contiguous 7~9~
serpentine path at least once during a single passage of the package carrier around the tubular m~mh~r.
The tubular m~hPr may be circular, ellipsoidal or multi-faceted in cross-section.
The m~Ch; n~ may further include a plurality of intermediate seL~enLine paths in which a movabie package carrier in at least one of the intPrm~iAte paths is transferred by horngears to travel into a plurality of said serpentine paths during a single passage of the package carrier around the cylin~riral member.
Each sepentine path i5 defined by a pair of intersecting zig-zag or generally sinusoidal trac~s disposed in the base plate in which the part is located. Each pair of tracks between adjacent intersections effectively defines a generally lemon shaped island portion. The movable package carriers are mounted for sli~in~ V~Ie~lt àlong in the tracks and are driven by the horngears disposed thereunder, the arrangement being such that the array of horngears disposed beneath the serpentine tracks serves to drive WO91/10766 PCT/GB9l/00002 -- ~A2073965 the package carrier in contrary directions in each track. Thus, at any one crossover point the horngears will serve to drive a package carrier in a first direction across an intersection and subsequently a second package carrier across the same intersection in an approximately orthogonal direction.
This ~rr~ngement is well known in an st~n~Ard br~i~ing m~chine and movable package carriers in such a machine are restricted to movement solely in the single track of the serpentine path pair within which it is located. In accordance with the present invention two or more serpentine paths are arranged in juxtaposition to provide an array of island portions ext~n~ing as columns generally across the direction of l~wve~.ent of package carriers in each track. Thus, all the islands in a first serpentine path would be in register with all the islands of the second and subsequent serpentine paths i.e. to form columns extPn~in~
substantially ~orm~l to the line of the serpentine track. In accordance with the present invention, at inter~als between two adjacent paths, islands are modified to define part of a crossover track between the adjacent serpentine paths.
WO91/10766 PCT/GB9'1/00002 2~73965 -lg --The horngears are arranged under the serpentine paths to provide an array of gears with basically one gear arranged under each island. Thus, while gears along each serpentine path interm~h at the crossover points to effect a changeover point between the intersecting tracks of said path, the gears between adjacent paths also intersect, not only along the path lengths, but laterally along the columns. Thus, at the changeover point between the adjacent paths there is positive drive between the horngears disposed therebeneath and the package carrier can move smoothly between one serpentine path to the next via the crossover tracks which feed from one path into an adjacent path, thus permitting a package carrier to move from one path to an adjacent path and carrying the yarn with it, thereby effecting ~ ve~,ent of the strand from one layer to a next adjacent layer. It will ~e appreciated that a variety of different interloc~ing patterns can be produced between adjacent layers in this way.
~he ~; men-~ions between each lsland portion and the ~;m~n~ions ~etween each crossover point in a given serpentine path remain substantially constant; a pair WO 91/10766 PCrlGB91/Q0002 -of st~n~rd adjacent island portions in contiguous serpentine paths may be exchanged for a pair of modified islands which define part of the crossover trac~ between them. Since island portions are readily interchangable it will ~e appreciated by a man skilled in the art that a large variety of patterns and changeover arrangements are possible.
In a further aspect of the present invention the apparatus comprises a tubular and preferably substantially cylindrical body member adapted to carry about its surface a plurality of intermPshing horngears. Each horngear is in direct meshing relationship with the next horngear in a given path, but horngears within a given path lor row) may intPrmesh at an angle one with respect to the other.
The intPrn~l surface of the cylindrical bedplate may be provided with a plurality of track forming elements or track plate comprising stAn~rd trac~ fnrming elements each of which define the extremity of a track portion of a se, ~e~Line path, each element ~eing curved to correspond with the curvature of the bedplate. External track for~ng elements may serve to -' ~ CA2073965 define either st~n~rd elements which in juxtaposition produce a st~n~rd serpentine path without crossover points or may be modified to provide a crossover section.
The int~rm~shing horngears are mounted ex~rnAlly of the cylindrical bedplate. The drive means for the gears may be mounted on one of the end plates. The drive means may include principle driving gears mounted on one of the end plates and disposed at 90~ with respect to each other and these may be driven by a single prime mover. Coupling means may be provided between the drive gears on each end plate.
In addition to the movable package carriers described above, fixed or ~static" package carriers may also be provided such that they introduce strands at points on the surface of the cylindrical member. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, such "static" package carriers may be arranged to provide a strand of braidable material to the braid area or station of a ~r~ i /1 i ng machine ~ia hollow axles of each of the horngears.
, CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 Machines in accordance with the present invention can produce either a collapsed or a hollow form of braided structure. Where a hollow form or structure is produced, the machine may include a mandrel movable longitudinally along the central axis of the cylindrical member. In this case, strands from the movable package carriers may be fed to the movable mandrel to form a braid structure thereupon.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a braiding machine for forming a multilayer braid, said machine comprising:
a braiding station;
supply means for supplying a plurality of strands of material to said braiding station to form a layer of braid at said station associated with each group of strands;
track means disposed at said braiding station defining at least a first and a second pair of serpentine paths, each pair of paths including a first and a second path, said first and second paths of each layer crossing over each other to define intralayer crossover points; and braiding means disposed at said braiding station for braiding said strands into said layers and for passing one strand from each layer of braid into a next adjacent layer to form an interlock between said layers and including a plurality of package carriers, CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 - 22a -each package carrier being arranged for movement in one of said serpentine paths and receiving a strand from said supply means; each layer being formed by at least two package carriers, each carrier moving along a respective serpentine path of one of said pairs of serpentine paths; wherein one of said serpentine paths of one layer and one of said serpentine paths of an adjacent layer are provided at preselected positions with interlayer crossover points with one carrier crossing over to said first serpentine path of said adjacent layer at said interlayer crossover points; and with one carrier of said serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said first layer at said interlayer crossover point;
wherein said first pair is axially spaced with respect to said second pair, and any two interlayer crossover points between two adjacent layers are separated by at least two intralayer crossover points.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a braiding machine for making a hollow braid comprising:
a support structure having a tubular surface;
a plurality of rotatable interengaged horn gears in toothed engagement;
CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 - 22b -driving means for driving said horn gears, each horn gear being arranged to rotate in a direction contrary to each interengaged horn gear;
track means overlaying said horn gears and defining at least a first pair and a second pair of serpentine paths extending circumferentially around said surface each pair including a first serpentine path and a second serpentine path, said first and second serpentine paths crossing each other at intralayer cross points, said first pair being axially spaced with respect to said second pair, said first and second pairs of paths being interconnected by interlayer crossover points, each interlayer crossover point being separated from any other crossover point by at least two intralayer crossover points and a plurality of yarn carriers movable along said paths by said horn gears, the yarn carriers in each pair of paths cooperating to braid a yarn layer, a carrier of said first pair crossing over to said second pair and a carrier of said second pair crossing over to said first pair at one of said interlayer crossing point to interlock said yarn layers.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the flexibility of the structure in accordance with the present invention permits a large variety of different braid structures to be produced. The invention includes the braiding or interbraiding of different types of -CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 strands; laminated braid layers may be formed with an interlocked configuration by providing each principle layer of the braid structure with strands of braidable material of one set of properties and adjacent braid layers being formed of strands of material of different properties, while at the same time allowing a predetermined degree of interbraiding between the layers.
W091tlO766 PCTIG~91/00002 CA2~i73q~5 -Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the ac~r~nying drawings of methods of carrying the invention into effect.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a front view of braiding machine in accordance with the invention and for producing a hollow braid structure.
Flgure 2 is a detail of Figure 1 showing the drive arrangement therefor.
Figure 3 is a longitll~inAl cross-sectional ~iew of the ~AchinP showing the lay out of gearing.
Figure 4 is a detail of the intPrn~l surface of the ~Arh i nP i n~; c~ting a general layout of the serpentine tracks.
Figure 5 is a typical int~rme~i~te track plate.
Figure 6 is a typical end track plate.
Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6 in~ic~ting the curYature of the plate; and Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing part of a typical layout of horngears and illustrating the serpentine tracks for enabling the invention to be effective.
The machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a pair of end plates 10, 10' each plate haYing a substantially circular opening 11, a top edge 12, a bottom edge 13 and pair of side edges 14. Each corn~r is proYided with a chamfered portion 15 which, toegether with the top edge 12 and side edges 14 defines a generally eight sided periphery for each end plate 10, 10 .
Each end plate 10 is secured to a yeneLally cylindrical bedplate 16 formed of a plurality, in the specific example forty eight, of flat elements, each interconnected one to the other, so that each flat element is disposed at an angle of 7.5~ to its neighbour. Each flat element comprises a cenL~al bore 18 which receives and retains a shaft bearing 19 of a horngear 20. Each horngear 20 has a perirhPral tooth portion 21 which is adapted to a mesh at 22 with the correspon~ing tooth portion of each adjacent gear in the circumferential array. In this ex2mple, each horngear 20 has two orthogonal diametric slots in the surface thereof which is disposed towards the centre of the ~ArhinP.
Each shaft bearing 19 carries a drive shaft for driving a respective horngear 20. Each hnrn~eAr 20 is jonr~Alled for rotation about a hollow tube 23 which latter serves to SU~OL L island plates 27 or 28 (See Figure 4).
A plurality of horngears 20 is arranged abou~ the circumference of bedplate 16 to provide a plurality, in the case of the specific example in the drawings forty eight li~P~r columns of horngears, each column ~ten~ing longitll~in~lly of the cylindrical bedplate 16, the arrangement being such that the intprmochi ng gears within each columm lie within a plane.
PCtl~ 9 1 ~ ~ O'Q O 2 CA2073965 0 6 ~J 1 9 ~ ~ J~:ru~
Each column comprises five horngears which when considered circumferentially constitute five circumferentially disposed rows of horngears, each row comprising forty eight gears. Each circumferential row corresponds to a serpentine path extPn~ i ng circumferentially of the cylindrical bedplate 16 the arrangement being such that the horngears of the array intermesh one with respect to another. Each horngear in an intermediate row meshes with four other gears, i.e. two gears in its own row and a gear from each adjacent row. Each horngear in an edge row meshes with three adjacent gears, i.e. the two adjacent gears in its own row and the adjacent gear in the next intermediate row. This is best seen from Figure 3 in which horngears 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 int~rmesh one with respect to another in a plane and the gears 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 together constitute one column of the 48.
Referring now to Figure 4, it will be appreciated that each serpentine path comprises a pair of intersecting tracks. Thus, the first serpentine path 29 comprises generally sinusoidal path tracks 72 and 73. The tracks are defined by outer plate 25 which has a WO91/10766 PCT/GB91/0~02 CA2073q65 contoured track edge 53 which serves to define the outer edge 53 of track 73. Inner edge 36 of the track is defined by guide plate 27 which is a stAn~rd island plate having a generally lemon- shA~
configuration. It will be seen that the tracks 73 and 72 intersect at 65 and the arranyt~.e.lL is such that a strand package carrier (not shown) moving in direction of arrow A passes along path 73 and crosses over intersection 65 and is then followed in time by a yarn package carrier moving along in the direction of arrow B in the opposite sense. Thus, it would be appreciated that in the st~n~rd serpentine path formed solely of island plates 27 the crossovers 64, 65 all lie within the same row. Guide plate 28, however, is an island crossover plate; it has one edge 36 contoured to correspond with edge 36 of island plate 27 while the other edge 37 is contoured to define a crossover 66 together with the intPr~e~i~te track plate 26 and correspon~;ng island plate 28'. It will be noted that island plate 28' is provided with two crossover edges 37 to provide-systematic crossover along a column.
~A2073965 It will be appreciated that the plates 27, 28 and 28' are selectively interchangeable, together with plates 25, 26 and other variants thereof to enable a complete interlocking matrix or array of interlocks either along columns or between rows to provide interlocks between adjacent layers or alternatively to provide interlocks passing through an int~rme~;~te layer to provide the positive interloc~ on the next adjacent layer.
Four drive units 41, 42, 43 and 44 (Figure 1) are situated in the corners of drive plate 10 and these are coupled together by means of a continuous chain 45. The chain 45 is driven by a suitable prime mover, such for example, an electric or pneumatic motor.
In order to distribute the load on the array of horngears, corresponding drive units 41a, 42a, 43a and 44a are provided on the other end plate 10' of which only one, 43a, is shown in Figure 3. These are interconnected by means of a shaft 46 which serves to ensure that all the drives and horngears are synchronised by providing positive drive at 8 points WO91/10766 PCT/GB9l/00002 through the gear array so that the applied torque on individual gears is reduced.
Each serpentine path track is adapted to contain a plurality of package carriers. Each package carrier has a ~epen~;ng lug which is engaged by slots in each of the horngears and as each of the gears rotates the slots co-act with the lug to drive the package around the track. The track plates 25, 26, 27 28 and 28' serve to constrain the l,lov~"~ent of the carriers to a given track and the carriers will be ret~inP~ in a given track of that path passing sequentially over crossovers with the other track of the same path. When the package carrier enters a track portion of a serpentine path giving a column crossover to an adjacent serpentine path, crossover will be effected by means of a crossover, such as crossover 66 in Figure 4 to the next adjacent path.
It will be appreciated that the ,,,uv~,e~L of the package carrier can be controlled so as to direct the carrier along one given serpentine path or to transfer it between adjacent paths, depen~;ng on the layout of the track plates for any particular design of braid 'PCT/GB 9 1 1 0 0 0 0 CA2073965 0 6 ~1 ~ 2 ~ ,~ ~
construction. In use a series of movable package carriers are mounted on the five serpentine paths or rows of the machine and the strands from each carrier are lead to a central mandrel which extends longitudinally of the axis of the machine. The strands are secured to the mandrel together with the strands from any "static'~ package carriers which may extend through tubes 23. Such "static" package carriers may be located on the island plates.
When all the strands have been secured to the mandrel the drive means is started which serves to rotate the horn gears to cause movement of the movable package carriers along the serpentine paths in the ~n~er described above. The design of the paths is such that braidable strands of material from various carriers move between the layers defined by each path to form an interlocked braid structure. The braid structure so formed thus has multiple layers which constitute a three-dLmensional braid having strands passing from layer to layer thus increasing the strength of the structure against delamination. Since carriers are moving in all five rows of all forty eight columns simultaneously, the braid structure is continuously U~ d ~ v~ ~ ~.F~
WO 9l/10766 PCT/GB91/00002 ~07~9~
-laid down as a three ~imPn~ional braid with all the layers interlocked.
This is further illustrated in Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings which shows five rows of gears 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 each row having 48 gears disposed around the circumference of the m~chine.
Corresponding gears in adjacent rows namely, 101, 201, 301, 401 and 501 each together define a column.
Thus, the machine comprises five circumferential rows each cont~ining 48 gears or 48 columns each cont~i~in~ 5 gears, a total of 240 gears in all. In Figure 8 common gears in a row are prefixed by the first digit, CO~IIu~l gears within a column are prefixed by the third digit.
Columns of gears may ~e arranged in sets and in the particulzr embodiment shown in Figure 8, the colums 101 to 501, 102 to 502, 103 to 503, 104 to 504 constitute a single set. The columm 105 to 505 and so on constitute the next adjacent set. Hence in the specific example of which there are fi~e rows of 48 columns, there are 12 sets of gears in the total array of 240 gears.
W O 9l/]0766 ~ ~ ~ 0 7~ 9~ PCTJGB9l/00002 In Figure 8, the horngears which rotate in a clockwise direction are indicated by sh~i ng and the gears which rotate in a counter clockwise direction are those which have no sh~;ng. Thus, each gear will rotate in a contrary direction to its neighbours meshed with it.
Slots in the horngears are in~;c~ted diagrammat;c~lly by circles on the periphery of the gear and it is these slots which at any time are occupied by a movable package carrier.
n;ng now to the first column of horngears 101 to 501, if we consider the horngear at R carrying a red strand, we see from the solid small circle that this is pasitioned at the far left hand position of gear 101 as seen in Figure 8; as 101 rotates the package carrier will be carried generally cloc~wise through 180~ to the crossover point with the next gear 102 in in the same row. Gear 102 is rotating in a counter clockwise direction and the package carrier R is thus carried by gear 102 to a crossover point between gears 102 and 202, i.e. the crossover point between adjacent rows within the same column. Cont~
rotation of gear 102 results in l"ov~..e~t of the package carrier substantially clockwise thereabouts to CA2û739~5 the crossover point between gears 202 and 203, i.e. in adjacent columns, but in the same row. A crossover takes place as the package carrier is moved by gear 203 through an arc of 180~ to a crossover point between gear 203 and 204, i.e. a crossover point between adjacent columns within the same row. Gear 204 rotates clockwise and carries the package carrier through an arc of 90~ to a crossover point between gears 204 and 104, i.e. to effect a crossover in the same column but between different rows, where the package carrier is then rotated clockwise about gear 104 through an arc of 90~ to a crossover point with gear 105 and the sequence starts once again.
lS Thus, it will be seen that the strand from the package carrier, starting with gear 101, moves along its row 1 to column 2 and then has crossed over in column 2 from row 1 to row 2; it is then moved along row 2 via gear 203 and back to row 1 via column 4 thus completing an interlock sequence. By following the r~mA i nd~r of the lettered package carriers within Figure ~ it will be seen that the same se~uence is repeated but staggered, for each of the rows, thus producing a three ~im~n~ional braid structure.
In operation of the machine a mandrel is ~ocated substantially centrally of the cylindrical bedplate 16. This mandrel (not shown in the drawings) is moved generally along the longitll~;n~l axis of the m~ch;ne as the braid is built up. The mandrel may be a rigid mandrel or one that is capable of being collapsed to enable the braid to be released from the mandrel after formation. It will be appreciated by the man skilled in the art that the shape of the mandrel depends on the shape of the product required, although it is normally of a circular cross section.
The braid structure produced in the mAnnPr described above may be subsequently impregnated with a matrix material such as th~rmoplastic or a ~hermosetting resin to make a durable braided composite structure.
In the alternative, the strand material itself may either be i~ eyLLated by a matrix binder which may subsequently be acti~ated or may be composed of cnm~on~nts of matrix material. Due to the truly three ~;m~n~ional structure of the resulting braid, the braid exhibits a much enhanced strength against delamination than has been experienced hitherto.
CA 0207396~ 1998-02-23 The method and apparatus of the invention has been found to be suitable for the braiding of ceramic fibres such as those of silica, glass and carbon, as well as standard textile fibres including fibres such as KEVLAR~.
Claims (13)
1. A braiding machine for forming a multilayer braid, said machine comprising:
a braiding station;
supply means for supplying a plurality of strands of material to said braiding station to form a layer of braid at said station associated with each group of strands;
track means disposed at said braiding station defining at least a first and a second pair of serpentine paths, each pair of paths including a first and a second path, said first and second paths of each layer crossing over each other to define intralayer crossover points; and braiding means disposed at said braiding station for braiding said strands into said layers and for passing one strand from each layer of braid into a next adjacent layer to form an interlock between said layers and including a plurality of package carriers, each package carrier being arranged for movement in one of said serpentine paths and receiving a strand from said supply means; each layer being formed by at least two package carriers, each carrier moving along a respective serpentine path of one of said pairs of serpentine paths; wherein one of said serpentine paths of one layer and one of said serpentine paths of an adjacent layer are provided at preselected positions with interlayer crossover points with one carrier crossing over to said first serpentine path of said adjacent layer at said interlayer crossover points; and with one carrier of said serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said first layer at said interlayer crossover point;
wherein said first pair is axially spaced with respect to said second pair, and any two interlayer crossover points between two adjacent layers are separated by at least two intralayer crossover points.
a braiding station;
supply means for supplying a plurality of strands of material to said braiding station to form a layer of braid at said station associated with each group of strands;
track means disposed at said braiding station defining at least a first and a second pair of serpentine paths, each pair of paths including a first and a second path, said first and second paths of each layer crossing over each other to define intralayer crossover points; and braiding means disposed at said braiding station for braiding said strands into said layers and for passing one strand from each layer of braid into a next adjacent layer to form an interlock between said layers and including a plurality of package carriers, each package carrier being arranged for movement in one of said serpentine paths and receiving a strand from said supply means; each layer being formed by at least two package carriers, each carrier moving along a respective serpentine path of one of said pairs of serpentine paths; wherein one of said serpentine paths of one layer and one of said serpentine paths of an adjacent layer are provided at preselected positions with interlayer crossover points with one carrier crossing over to said first serpentine path of said adjacent layer at said interlayer crossover points; and with one carrier of said serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said adjacent layer crossing over to said one serpentine path of said first layer at said interlayer crossover point;
wherein said first pair is axially spaced with respect to said second pair, and any two interlayer crossover points between two adjacent layers are separated by at least two intralayer crossover points.
2. The machine of Claim 1 further comprising a plurality of horn gears for driving said package carriers along said paths.
3. The machine of Claim 1 wherein said braiding station comprises a stationary member having an internal tubular surface and wherein said serpentine paths extend circumferentially around said tubular surface.
4. The machine of Claim 3 wherein said tubular surface has a longitudinal axis along which said multilayer braid is formed, and wherein said package carriers are arranged radially with respect to said longitudinal axis.
5. A braiding machine for making a hollow braid comprising:
a support structure having a tubular surface;
a plurality of rotatable interengaged horn gears in toothed engagement;
driving means for driving said horn gears, each horn gear being arranged to rotate in a direction contrary to each interengaged horn gear;
track means overlaying said horn gears and defining at least a first pair and a second pair of serpentine paths extending circumferentially around said surface each pair including a first serpentine path and a second serpentine path, said first and second serpentine paths crossing each other at intralayer cross points, said first pair being axially spaced with respect to said second pair, said first and second pairs of paths being interconnected by interlayer crossover points, each interlayer crossover point being separated from any other crossover point by at least two intralayer crossover points and a plurality of yarn carriers movable along said paths by said horn gears, the yarn carriers in each pair of paths cooperating to braid a yarn layer, a carrier of said first pair crossing over to said second pair and a carrier of said second pair crossing over to said first pair at one of said interlayer crossing point to interlock said yarn layers.
a support structure having a tubular surface;
a plurality of rotatable interengaged horn gears in toothed engagement;
driving means for driving said horn gears, each horn gear being arranged to rotate in a direction contrary to each interengaged horn gear;
track means overlaying said horn gears and defining at least a first pair and a second pair of serpentine paths extending circumferentially around said surface each pair including a first serpentine path and a second serpentine path, said first and second serpentine paths crossing each other at intralayer cross points, said first pair being axially spaced with respect to said second pair, said first and second pairs of paths being interconnected by interlayer crossover points, each interlayer crossover point being separated from any other crossover point by at least two intralayer crossover points and a plurality of yarn carriers movable along said paths by said horn gears, the yarn carriers in each pair of paths cooperating to braid a yarn layer, a carrier of said first pair crossing over to said second pair and a carrier of said second pair crossing over to said first pair at one of said interlayer crossing point to interlock said yarn layers.
6. The machine of Claim 5 wherein said crossover point is arranged to cause a carrier of said first pair and a carrier of said second pair to cross over once for each passage of said carrier around said tubular surface.
7. The machine of Claim 5 wherein said tubular surface is circular.
8. The machine of Claim 5 wherein said paths are defined by tracks.
9. The machine of Claim 8 further comprising a plurality of plates having edges forming said tracks.
10. The machine of Claim 9 wherein each track has an outer edge and an inner edge, and said plates include an outer plate defining said outer edges and island plates defining inner edges.
11. The machine of Claim 5, wherein said driving means includes a plurality of driving units arranged around said tubular surface and drive unit coupling means for coupling said drive units, said drive units driving said horn gears.
12. The machine of Claim 5 further comprising radial tubes extending toward an axis of said tubular surface and static yarns extending through said tubes, said yarn layers being braided around said static yarns.
13. The machine of Claim 5 wherein a single carrier is disposed in each path at all times.
Applications Claiming Priority (5)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB909000815A GB9000815D0 (en) | 1990-01-15 | 1990-01-15 | Braider |
| GB9000815.2 | 1990-01-15 | ||
| US50104390A | 1990-03-29 | 1990-03-29 | |
| US501,043 | 1990-03-29 | ||
| PCT/GB1991/000002 WO1991010766A1 (en) | 1990-01-15 | 1991-01-02 | Braid structure |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2073965A1 CA2073965A1 (en) | 1991-07-16 |
| CA2073965C true CA2073965C (en) | 1999-02-16 |
Family
ID=26296498
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002073965A Expired - Fee Related CA2073965C (en) | 1990-01-15 | 1991-01-02 | Apparatus for making a braid structure |
Country Status (10)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0511248B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE136068T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2073965C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE69118362T2 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK0511248T3 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2085984T3 (en) |
| GR (1) | GR3019966T3 (en) |
| IE (1) | IE77039B1 (en) |
| PT (1) | PT96479B (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1991010766A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (20)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO1992016166A1 (en) * | 1991-03-25 | 1992-10-01 | Meadox Medical Inc. | Vascular prosthesis |
| US5383925A (en) * | 1992-09-14 | 1995-01-24 | Meadox Medicals, Inc. | Three-dimensional braided soft tissue prosthesis |
| US5562725A (en) * | 1992-09-14 | 1996-10-08 | Meadox Medicals Inc. | Radially self-expanding implantable intraluminal device |
| TW353123B (en) * | 1993-03-23 | 1999-02-21 | Murata Machinery Ltd | Braider a braider having a mandrel support member which is pivotable around a braiding point and linearly movable toward and away from the braiding point |
| US5370682A (en) * | 1993-04-26 | 1994-12-06 | Meadox Medicals, Inc. | Solid woven tubular prosthesis |
| WO1994024960A1 (en) * | 1993-04-26 | 1994-11-10 | Meadox Medicals, Inc. | Solid woven tubular prosthesis |
| US5913894A (en) * | 1994-12-05 | 1999-06-22 | Meadox Medicals, Inc. | Solid woven tubular prosthesis |
| US5741332A (en) * | 1995-01-23 | 1998-04-21 | Meadox Medicals, Inc. | Three-dimensional braided soft tissue prosthesis |
| US5758562A (en) * | 1995-10-11 | 1998-06-02 | Schneider (Usa) Inc. | Process for manufacturing braided composite prosthesis |
| US5891191A (en) * | 1996-04-30 | 1999-04-06 | Schneider (Usa) Inc | Cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy stent and stent-graft |
| US6592617B2 (en) | 1996-04-30 | 2003-07-15 | Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. | Three-dimensional braided covered stent |
| US5957974A (en) | 1997-01-23 | 1999-09-28 | Schneider (Usa) Inc | Stent graft with braided polymeric sleeve |
| US5906641A (en) | 1997-05-27 | 1999-05-25 | Schneider (Usa) Inc | Bifurcated stent graft |
| US6245103B1 (en) | 1997-08-01 | 2001-06-12 | Schneider (Usa) Inc | Bioabsorbable self-expanding stent |
| US6174330B1 (en) | 1997-08-01 | 2001-01-16 | Schneider (Usa) Inc | Bioabsorbable marker having radiopaque constituents |
| US6340367B1 (en) | 1997-08-01 | 2002-01-22 | Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. | Radiopaque markers and methods of using the same |
| US5980564A (en) * | 1997-08-01 | 1999-11-09 | Schneider (Usa) Inc. | Bioabsorbable implantable endoprosthesis with reservoir |
| US6626939B1 (en) | 1997-12-18 | 2003-09-30 | Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. | Stent-graft with bioabsorbable structural support |
| US6929626B2 (en) | 2003-01-15 | 2005-08-16 | Scimed Life Systems, Inc. | Intraluminally placeable textile catheter, drain and stent |
| US7641681B2 (en) | 2004-12-28 | 2010-01-05 | Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. | Low profile stent-graft attachment |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE1026815B (en) * | 1953-05-21 | 1958-03-27 | Arthur Crossley | Circular braiding machine for braiding cables or the like. |
| EP0113196A1 (en) * | 1982-12-01 | 1984-07-11 | Cambridge Consultants Limited | Woven tubular structure |
| US4621560A (en) * | 1985-04-11 | 1986-11-11 | Atlantic Research Corporation | Method of sequenced braider motion for multi-ply braiding apparatus |
| US4719837A (en) * | 1986-04-17 | 1988-01-19 | E. I. Dupont De Nemours And Company | Complex shaped braided structures |
| US4737399A (en) * | 1987-02-12 | 1988-04-12 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Three-dimensional structures of interlocked strands |
| US4753150A (en) * | 1987-06-12 | 1988-06-28 | Atlantic Research Corporation | Braiding apparatus |
-
1991
- 1991-01-02 EP EP91902107A patent/EP0511248B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-01-02 WO PCT/GB1991/000002 patent/WO1991010766A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1991-01-02 DE DE69118362T patent/DE69118362T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1991-01-02 ES ES91902107T patent/ES2085984T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-01-02 AT AT91902107T patent/ATE136068T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1991-01-02 DK DK91902107.1T patent/DK0511248T3/en active
- 1991-01-02 CA CA002073965A patent/CA2073965C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1991-01-15 IE IE11691A patent/IE77039B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1991-01-15 PT PT96479A patent/PT96479B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1996
- 1996-05-20 GR GR960401341T patent/GR3019966T3/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2073965A1 (en) | 1991-07-16 |
| WO1991010766A1 (en) | 1991-07-25 |
| PT96479A (en) | 1992-12-31 |
| DE69118362T2 (en) | 1996-09-19 |
| EP0511248A1 (en) | 1992-11-04 |
| DK0511248T3 (en) | 1996-04-22 |
| DE69118362D1 (en) | 1996-05-02 |
| ATE136068T1 (en) | 1996-04-15 |
| GR3019966T3 (en) | 1996-08-31 |
| PT96479B (en) | 1998-07-31 |
| ES2085984T3 (en) | 1996-06-16 |
| EP0511248B1 (en) | 1996-03-27 |
| IE910116A1 (en) | 1991-07-17 |
| IE77039B1 (en) | 1997-11-19 |
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