KR20150020193A - Industrial fabric including spirally wound material strips with reinforcement - Google Patents

Abstract

Industrial fabrics, such as endless belts or sleeves for nonwoven fabrication, and methods of making the same are disclosed. The industrial fabric is produced by spirally winding a strip of polymeric material 16, such as industrial strapping or ribbon material, and joining the neighboring sides of the strip 16 of polymeric material by ultrasonic welding or laser welding techniques. The boll can then be punched using suitable techniques to make it permeable to air and / or water.

Description

Industrial fabric including spirally wound material strips and reinforcement with reinforcing material

Cross reference of related application

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 12 / 635,367, filed December 10, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 246,812, filed September 29, 2009, filed on September 29, 2009 U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 246,801 filed January 27, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 147,637 filed January 27, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 121,998 filed on December 12, 2008.

Consolidation by quotation

Product sheets for all patents, patent applications, documents, references, manufacturer's instructions, specifications, product specifications, and any products mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference, Can be used in practice.

The present invention relates to endless fabrics, and more particularly to industrial fabrics used in the production of nonwoven products. In particular, the present invention relates to a support member such as a belt or sleeve used in the manufacture of nonwoven products with patterned or marking. The present invention may also be used as belts and / or sleeves used in the manufacture of nonwoven fabrics by processes such as airlaid, melt blown, spunbonding, and hydroentangling.

Processes for making nonwoven products have been known for many years. In one process, a fiber batt or web is treated with water streams or water jets to intertwine the fibers and improve physical properties such as strength of the web. Techniques for treatment by water jets have been known for decades and can be collected in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,214,819, 3,508,308 and 3,485,706.

In general terms, this method involves interlacing basic fibers with each other under the action of a water jet under pressure, which acts on the fibrous structure, such as a needle, to grow some of the fibers forming the web in the thickness direction Lt; / RTI >

Such techniques have now been extensively developed and can be used in a wide variety of applications such as "spunlaced" or "water " applications for textile applications such as wiping, medical applications for filtration and hospital applications and wrapping for tea- Quot; hydroentangled "structure, and the resulting articles include designs obtained from the orientation of the fibers, if necessary, regular and uniform, as can be seen from the disclosure of U.S. Patent No. 3,508,308 , Which is essential for cosmetic purposes as can be seen from U.S. Patent No. 3,485,706.

For products of the "spunlace" or "hydroentangled" type, it has been known for a very long time that the final properties of the product can be adjusted by creating mixtures of materials, (E.g., webs of "natural", synthetic or synthetic fibers, or even webs of pre-mixed webs (such as "spunbonded" forms) with reinforcing materials where the fibers can be incorporated into the nonwoven structure .

French patents FR-A-2 730246 and 2 734 285 corresponding to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,718,022 and 5,768,756 comprise hydrophobic fibers or mixtures of these fibers and other hydrophilic fibers or even entirely of natural fibers This article describes solutions that enable you to successfully process webs that can be processed by water jets.

In general terms, according to the teachings of these documents, the process comprises the steps of processing a basic web composed of basic fibers of the same type or of a different type, compressing and wetting the basic web, And mixing the fibers with at least one rack of continuous jets of water.

For this purpose, the basic web proceeds positively on the moving infinite porous support and reaches the surface of the perforated rotating cylindrical drum where a partial vacuum is applied to the interior. The basic web is mechanically compressed between the porous support and the rotating drum that travels at substantially the same speed. Immediately downstream of the compression zone, the water curtain is directed over the web and continuously passes through the porous support, the compressed basic web, and the support drilled drum, where the vacuum source removes excess water.

The primary fibers are still continuously mixed on the rotary cylindrical drum by a compressed and wet web under the action of at least one rack of water jets under high pressure. In general, the coupling is carried out by a plurality of successive water jets, wherein the water jets alternately act on the same side of the web or on the two sides of the web, and the pressure in the racks and of the discharged water jets The speed changes from one rack to the next, usually gradu- ally changing.

As can be seen from French Patent FR 2 734 285, perforated rollers / drums can contain randomly distributed micropores. If necessary, after the initial bonding treatment, the fibrous nonwoven structure may be subjected to a secondary treatment acting on the opposite side.

In the production process of spunlaced or entangled nonwoven products, it is often required to impart a pattern or mark to the finished product, thereby creating the desired design for the finished product. This pattern or mark is typically generated using a secondary process, which is separate from the roll-up process in which a nonwoven sheet forming process and an embossed / patterned calender roll are used. These rolls are typically expensive and operate under the principle of compressing certain areas of the fibrous web to produce the necessary patterns or marks. However, there are several drawbacks to using a separate process for making patterns or marks on nonwoven products. For example, expensive initial investment costs for calendar rolls are needed, which can limit the length of manufacturing operations that can be economically justified by the manufacturer. Second, high processing costs can result from separate patterning or marking steps. Third, the final product may have a higher content than the material content required to maintain the product caliper (thickness) after compression in the calendering step. Finally, the two-step process causes low bulk in the final product than desired due to high pressure compression during calendering. Conventional nonwoven products made from such known patterning processes have no obvious and well defined ridges and are thus difficult to see the desired patterns. Also, the ridges of prior art embossed nonwoven products are not dimensionally stable, and their ridges tend to lose the three-dimensional structure when subjected to stress after a period of time depending on the application.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,098,764 and 5,244,711 disclose the use of support members in more recent methods of making nonwoven webs or products. The support members have an arrangement of openings as well as a topographical feature structure. In this process, the starting web of fibers is located on the topological supporting member. The support member with the fibrous web thereon passes under a high pressure fluid jet, typically a water jet. The water jets cause the fibers to entangle one another in a specific pattern based on the topographical structure of the support member.

The topographical features and patterns of openings in the support member are critical to the structure of the resulting nonwoven product. In addition, the support members must have sufficient structural integrity and strength to support the fibrous web, while fluid jets will rearrange the fibers and entangle them with their new arrangement to provide a stable bubble. The support member should not undergo substantial deformation under the force of the fluid jet. In addition, the support member must have means to remove a relatively large volume of entangled fluid to prevent "flooding" of the fibrous web that impedes effective entangling. Typically, the support member includes drainage openings, which must be small enough to maintain the integrity of the fibrous web and prevent loss of fibers through the forming surface. In addition, the support member must be substantially free of burrs, hooks or the like, which may interfere with the removal of the fibrous nonwoven fabric entwined therefrom. At the same time, the support members must be such that the fibers to be treated on the fibrous web are not washed out (i.e., retaining and supporting good fibers) under the influence of the fluid jets.

One of the major problems that arise during the fabrication process of nonwoven fabrics is the ability to maintain and impart specific physical properties such as bulk, hand, appearance, etc., while providing nonwoven fabrics to impart mechanical properties to non- To achieve cohesion of the fibers.

Bulk, absorbency, strength, softness and aesthetic appearance characteristics are very important for many products when used for the intended purpose. To produce nonwoven products having these properties, the support member will often be constructed so that the sheet contact surface exhibits topographical variations.

It should be appreciated that such support members (foils, belts, sleeves) may take the form of infinite loops and may function in the manner of a conveyor. It should also be borne in mind that nonwoven products are a continuous process that proceeds at considerable speed. That is, while the entangled nonwoven fabric is continuously transferred from the support member to the subsequent process, the primary fibers or webs are continuously deposited over the forming fabric / belt in the molding section.

The present invention provides an alternative solution to the problems addressed by these conventional patent / patent applications.

The present invention provides an improved belt or sleeve that functions in place of a conventional belt or sleeve that imparts desired physical properties such as bulk, appearance, texture, absorbency, strength, and hand to the non- do.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a spun lacing or entangling support member, such as a belt or sleeve, having through-holes in a desired pattern.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming a topography or texture made using any of the means known in the art such as, for example, sanding, graving, embossing or etching. To provide a belt or sleeve on the surface or both surfaces. These and other objects and advantages are provided by the present invention. Other advantages, such as, but not limited to, improved fiber support and superior release (no picking) over conventional wovens, easier washing performance as a result of the absence of yarn crossovers capturing primary fibers Are provided.

If the belt / sleeve has a surface texture, a more effective patterning / texture is transferred to the nonwoven and better physical characteristics such as bulk / absorbency are obtained.

The present invention relates to endless support members such as belts or sleeves for supporting and conveying natural fibers, man-made fibers or synthetic fibers in a spun lace or a water-entangling process. This porous structure, belt or sleeve exhibits the following non-limiting advantages over calendering technology: a foam sleeve is a relatively low cost item without a large capital investment in fixed equipment; Patterning is accomplished during the entangling process itself, eliminating the need for a separate calendering process; The lower material content of the final product can be achieved since the caliper / thickness is not degraded by compression; The final product can be produced in higher bulk since it is not compressed in the calendering step. For nonwoven rolled-goods producers, these process advantages lead to the following final product advantages: a lower cost spun lace or hydroentangled web with the desired pattern, mark, or texture, ; The ability to customize the product to the customer because the size / length of the production run for that particular product is reduced; The production of higher performance products, such as high bulk products, has a higher absorbency characteristic, which is of value in consumer applications.

In an exemplary embodiment, the endless belt or sleeve is formed of strips of material spirally wound around two rolls in a left-right adjacency fashion. The strips are firmly attached to one another in any suitable manner to form an infinite loop of length and width required for a particular application. In the case of a sleeve, the strips can be wound about the surface of a single roll or mandrel, approximately the size of the CD and the diameter of the drum on which the sleeve is to be used. The strips of the material used are generally produced as industrial strapping materials. Strapping, especially plastic strapping material, is usually defined as a relatively thin plastic band used to fasten or secure objects together. Surprisingly, it has been found that this type of plastic material has properties suitable for being the material strips forming the belt or sleeve of the present invention.

(Plastic) The difference in definition between strapping and monofilament is related to size, shape and application. Strapping and monofilaments are both produced by extrusion processes, which have the same basic steps of extrusion, uniaxial orientation and winding. Monofilaments are generally smaller in size than strapping and usually have a rounded shape. Monofilaments are used in a wide range of applications, such as industrial foils, including fishing lines and paper machine clothing. Strapping is generally much larger in size than monofilaments, and is always basically wider along the major axis, and thus is rectangular in shape for its intended purpose.

It is well known in the extrusion art that plastic strapping is produced by an extrusion process. It is also well known that this process involves uniaxial orientation of the extruded material. It is also well known that there are two basic extrusion processes using uniaxial orientation. One process is the extrusion and orientation of a broad sheet that slits into individual straps. Another process is the extrusion of oriented individual strapping. This second process is very similar to the monofilament manufacturing process as evidenced by the similarity of the equipment for both processes.

The advantage of using strapping materials over monofilaments is the number of spiral turns required to manufacture the bobbins. Monofilaments are usually considered to be threads less than 5 mm from their maximum axis. The uniaxial monofilament sizes used for paper machine fabrics and for the other uses described above do not exceed 1.0 mm at their maximum axis. The strapping material used usually has a width of at least 10 mm, sometimes exceeding 100 mm width. It is envisioned that strapping up to 1000 mm in width may also be used. Suppliers of strapping materials that may be used include companies such as Signode.

Another advantage is the thickness compared to tensile modulus. For example, in the prior art, a polyester (PET) film has a tensile modulus of about 3.5 GPa in the longitudinal axis (or machine direction - MD). The PET strapping (or ribbon) material has a tensile modulus in the range of 10 GPa to 12.5 GPa. In order to achieve the same modulus with the film, the structure will have to be 3 to 3.6 times thicker.

Therefore, according to a preferred exemplary embodiment, the present invention is a foam, belt or sleeve formed as a single layer or multi-layer structure from such spirally wound ribbons. The foam, belt or sleeve may have a flat, smooth upper surface and a bottom surface. The belt or sleeve may also be textured in several ways using any means known in the art, such as, for example, sanding, graving, embossing, or etching. The belt or sleeve may be impervious to air and / or water. The belt or sleeve may also be perforated by some mechanical or thermal (laser) means and may be permeable to air and / or water.

In another exemplary embodiment, the ribbon is formed to have an interlocking profile. The belt or sleeve is formed by spirally winding such interlocking strips and may have better integrity than just adjoining parallel and / or vertical sides of adjacent ribbon strips. The belt or sleeve may be impermeable to air and / or water or may be perforated to exhibit permeability.

While the above embodiments are for a single layer of strips of spirally wound ribbon, it may be advantageous to use strips having various geometries to form a belt or sleeve of two or more layers. Thus, according to one exemplary embodiment, the belt or sleeve may have two or more layers, wherein two or more layers are mechanically interlocked or otherwise attached to one another by other means known to those skilled in the art Strips can be formed. Again, the structure may be impermeable to air and / or water, or may be perforated to be permeable to air and / or water.

Another exemplary embodiment is a multi-layer structure formed using the concept of a "welding strip" used to further improve belt or sleeve integrity. The structure may be impermeable to air and / or water, or may be perforated to be permeable to air and / or water.

Various new features that characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the operational advantages of the present invention and the specific objects attained by the use of the present invention, reference is now made to the following description, and the preferred and non-limiting embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Corresponding elements in the figures are indicated using the same reference numerals.

The terms fabric and fabric structure are used, but the fabric, belt, conveyor, sleeve, support member and fabric structure are used interchangeably to describe the structures of the present invention. Similarly, the term strapping, ribbons, strips of material, and material strips are used interchangeably throughout the specification.

The terms " comprising "and " comprises ", as used herein, can have the meaning of " including" and "includes" quot; comprising "or" comprises ". As used in the claims, the terms " consisting essentially of "or" consists essentially of "have the same meaning as those given to them in the US patent law. Other aspects of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, or may be obvious from the following description, which is within the scope of the invention.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings provided herein illustrate other embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the accompanying drawings:
1 is a perspective view of a foam, belt or sleeve according to an aspect of the invention;
Figure 2 shows a method of making a foam, belt or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 3 (a) - 3 (i) are cross-sectional side views of some embodiments of a strip of material used to make a foam, belt, or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 4 (a) - 4 (d) are cross-sectional side views of some embodiments of a strip of material used to make a foam, belt, or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 5 (a) -5 (c) are width cross-sectional views of some embodiments of a strip of material used to make a foam, belt, or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 6 (a) - 6 (d) are cross-sectional side views of some embodiments of a strip of material used to make a foam, belt or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 7 (a) - 7 (d) are cross-sectional side views of some embodiments of a strip of material used to make a foam, belt, or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 8 (a) - 8 (c) are cross-sectional side views of some embodiments of a strip of material used to fabricate a foam, belt or sleeve of the present invention;
9 is a bar graph showing the advantages of using uniaxial orientation material (strap / ribbon) for biaxial orientation material (film) and extruded material (molded part);
Figures 10 (a) to 10 (d) are views showing the steps involved in the method used to fabricate the foam, belt or sleeve of the present invention;
Figures 11 (a) and 11 (b) are schematic views of an apparatus that may be used to form a foil, belt, or sleeve according to one aspect of the present invention;
Figure 12 is a schematic view of an apparatus that may be used to form a foil, belt or sleeve according to an aspect of the present invention;
Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of a bag, belt or sleeve according to an aspect of the present invention; And
Figure 14 shows a device used in the manufacture of a foil, belt or sleeve according to an aspect of the invention; And
15 and 16 are schematic views of other types of apparatus for making nonwoven webs using the support members of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrative embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these illustrated embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The present invention provides a continuous support member, such as an endless belt, for example used in the apparatus shown in Fig. The nonwoven supporting member acts on behalf of a conventional woven support member and imparts the desired texture, hand, and bulk to the nonwoven fabric product produced thereon. The support members of the present invention will reduce manufacturing time and costs in connection with nonwoven production.

15 shows an apparatus for continuously producing a nonwoven fabric using the supporting member according to the present invention. The apparatus of FIG. 15 includes a conveyor belt 80 that actually operates in accordance with the present invention as a topographical support member. The belt continues to move counterclockwise around a pair of spacially spaced rollers as is well known in the art. On the belt 80, a fluid injection manifold 79 connecting a plurality of orifice 81 lines or groups is disposed. Each group has more than one column of very fine diameter orifices, each about 0.007 inches in diameter and has 30 such orifices per inch. Water is supplied to the orifice group 81 under a predetermined pressure and is ejected from the orifice in the form of a very fine, substantially columnar, non-diverging stream or jet of water. The manifold is equipped with a pressure gauge 88 and a control valve 87 to regulate fluid pressure in each line or group of orifices. A suction box 82 for removing excess water is disposed below each orifice line or group to prevent excessive flooding in the area. A fibrous web 83 formed of a nonwoven product is fed to the topological supporting member conveyor belt of the present invention. The incoming web 83 is pre-wetted and water is sprayed onto the fibrous web through a suitable nozzle 84 to help control as the fibers pass under the fluid injection manifold. A suction slot 85 is located below the water nozzle to remove excess water. The fibrous web passes counter-clockwise below the fluid ejection manifold. The pressure at which any given orifice group 81 operates can be set independently of the pressure at which any other orifice group 81 operates. Typically, however, the orifice group 81 closest to the spray nozzle 84 operates at a relatively low pressure, for example 100 psi. This helps to position the incoming web on the surface of the support member. In Fig. 15, as the web passes counterclockwise, the pressure at which the orifice group 81 operates typically increases. Each successive group 81 of orifices need not operate at a higher pressure than their counterparts in the clockwise direction. For example, two or more adjacent groups 81 of orifices may be operated at the same pressure, and then the next successive group 81 of the orifices (counterclockwise) may be operated at different pressures. Most typically, the working pressure at the end of the conveyor belt from which the web is removed is higher than the working pressure at which the web is initially fed to the conveyor belt. In Figure 15, six groups of orifices 81 are shown, but this number is not critical and will depend on the weight of the web, the speed, the pressure used, the number of rows of holes lined up in each group, and so on. After passing between the fluid injection manifold and the intake manifold, the now formed nonwoven fabric passes over the additional suction slots 86 to remove excess water. The distance from the lower surface of the orifice group 81 to the upper surface of the fibrous web 83 typically ranges from about 0.5 inches to about 2.0 inches; A range of about 0.75 inch to about 1.0 inch is preferred. It will be apparent that the web can not be positioned so close to the manifold that the web contacts the manifold. On the other hand, if the distance between the lower surface of the orifice and the upper surface of the web is too great, the fluid stream will lose energy and the process will be less efficient.

A preferred apparatus for producing a nonwoven fabric using the support member of the present invention is schematically depicted in Fig. In the apparatus, the topological supporting member is a rotatable drum sleeve 91. The drum under the drum sleeve 91 rotates counterclockwise. The outer surface of the drum sleeve 91 includes the required topological support configuration. A manifold 89 is disposed around a portion of the outer circumference of the drum which connects a plurality of orifice strips 92 for applying water or fluid to the fibrous web 93 located on the outer surface of the curved plate do. Each orifice strip may comprise one or more very fine diameter holes or openings of the type described above. Typically, the apertures have a nominal diameter, for example, from about 0.005 inch to about 0.01 inch. Different sizes, shapes, and orientations can be clearly utilized if appropriate for the purpose. Also, for example, there may be as many as 50 or 60 holes per inch, or more if needed. Water or other fluid is directed through the orifice column. Generally, as discussed above, the pressure of each orifice group typically increases from the first group through the last group through which the fibrous web passes. The pressure is controlled by a suitable control valve 97 and monitored by a pressure gauge 98. The drum is connected to a sump 94 where a vacuum is applied to help remove the water and prevent the area from overflowing. In operation, the fibrous web 93 is placed on the top surface of the topological support member in front of the water jet manifold 89, as shown in FIG. The fibrous web passes under the orifice strip to form a nonwoven product. The next formed nonwoven fabric passes over the section 95 of the device 95, where there is no orifice strip, but the vacuum is still hanging. After dehydration, the blanks are removed from the drum and the blanks are dried through a series of drying can 96 cautions.

Turning now to the structure of the support member, belt or sleeve, the support members will have a pattern of through-voids. Where nonwoven products or webs are produced, for example, on support members, belts or sleeves, the through pores will include, among other things, geometric features that provide improved topography and bulk to the nonwoven product or web. Other advantages of the present support member include easy web release, improved fouling resistance and reduced fiber picking. Another advantage is that the through holes can be located in any desired location or pattern, thus avoiding the limitations or necessity of conventional looms. The support member may also have a texture on one or both surfaces produced using means known in the art, such as, for example, sanding, graving, embossing, or etching.

It will be appreciated that the term "through void" is synonymous with the term " through hole "and refers to any opening through which the support member, such as a belt or sleeve, passes completely. The support members referred to herein include, but are not limited to, industrial foils, such as belts or conveyors, and sleeves or cylindrical belts, which are specifically used in the production of nonwovens. As described above, the terms fabric and shell structure are used to illustrate the preferred embodiments, but the foam, belt, conveyor, sleeve, support member, and shell structure may be used interchangeably to illustrate the structure of the present invention. .

1 is a perspective view of an industrial fabric, belt or sleeve 10 of the present invention. A batt, belt or sleeve 10 has an inner surface 12 and an outer surface 14 and is provided with a plurality of adjacent, mutually tangential turns of a strip of polymeric material 16, for example an industrial strapping material In a spiral manner. The strip of material 16 is spirally spiral in a substantially longitudinal direction about the length of the sleeve 10 in a helical fashion, thus forming a forked belt or sleeve 10.

An exemplary method by which a fabric, belt, or sleeve 10 can be fabricated is shown in FIG. The apparatus 20 includes a first process roll 22 and a second process roll 24, each of which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. The first process roll 22 and the second process roll 24 are parallel to each other and spaced apart by a distance which determines the overall length of the fabric, belt or sleeve 10 to be produced thereon, . A feed reel (not shown) is provided on the side of the first process roll 22, which is rotatably mounted about an axis and displaceable parallel to the process rolls 22, 24. The feed reel receives a reeled supply of strip 16 of material having a width of, for example, 10 mm or more. The feed reel is initially located at the left end of the first process roll 22, for example, before it is continuously displaced to the right or to the other side at a predetermined rate.

The beginning of the strip 16 of polymer-strapping material may be transferred from the first process roll 22 to the second process roll 24 in a taut state to the second process roll 24, Extends to the first process roll 22 around the second coil 24 and again forms the first helical coil 26 closed. To close the first coil 26 of a closed spiral, the beginning of the strip 16 of material is joined to the end of its first coil at point 28. As described below, adjacent rotations of the spirally wound strip 16 of material are joined together by mechanical and / or tacky means.

Thus, by feeding the strips of material 16 to the first process roll 22 and rotating the first process roll 22 and the second process roll 24 in a common direction, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, The subsequent coils 26 of the helix are generated. At the same time, the strip 16 of freshly wound material over the first process roll 22 may be removed, for example by mechanical and / or tacky, or by any suitable means to produce additional coils 26 of a closed helix , And is continuously connected to a strip 16 of material already present in the first process roll 22 and the second process roll 24.

This process continues until the closed spiral 26 has a desired width when measured axially along the first process roll 22 or the second process roll 24. At this point the strip 16 of material that has not yet rolled over the first process roll 22 and the second process roll 24 is cut and a closed spiral 26 made therefrom is cut from the first process roll 22 Is removed from the second process roll 24 to provide the foam, belt or sleeve 10 of the present invention.

Although two roll set-ups are described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that strips may be wound around the surface of a single roll or mandrel to form a batt, belt, or sleeve. Appropriate sized rolls or mandrels can be selected based on the required dimensions of the fabric, belt or sleeve to be produced.

The method of the present invention for producing a fabric, belt or sleeve 10 is quite versatile and can be adapted to the manufacture of nonwoven fabrics and / or industrial fabrics or belts of various longitudinal and lateral dimensions. That is, the manufacturer does not need to manufacture wool of appropriate length and width for a given paper machine by practicing the present invention. Rather, the manufacturer merely separates the first process roll 22 and the second process roll 24 by a suitable distance to determine the approximate length of the fabric, belt or sleeve 10, It is only necessary to wind the strip 16 of material over the first process roll 22 and the second process roll 24 until the desired width is reached.

It is also contemplated that the outer surface 12 of the batt, belt or sleeve 10 may be smooth and continuous (not shown) because the batt, belt, or sleeve 10 is fabricated by spirally winding the strip 16 of polymer- And does not have knuckles that prevent the surfaces of the woven fabric from being completely smoothed. However, the foils, belts or sleeves of the present invention may have geometric features that provide improved topography and bulk to nonwoven products produced thereon. Other advantages of the present support member include easy sheet or web release, improved fouling resistance and reduced fiber picking. Another advantage is that the through-voids can be positioned in any desired position or pattern, thus avoiding the need for conventional loom constraints and conventional looms. The foam, belt, or sleeve may also have a texture on one or both surfaces that is manufactured using any means known in the art, such as, for example, sanding, grazing, embossing, or etching. Alternatively, the foam, belt or sleeve may be smooth on one surface or both surfaces.

Figures 3 (a) - 3 (i) are cross-sectional side views of some embodiments of strips of material used to make the fabric, belt, or sleeve of the present invention. Each embodiment includes a top surface and a bottom surface, which may be flat (planar) and parallel to each other, or may have a profile that is intended to be consistent with a particular application. 3 (a), the material strip 16 includes a top surface 15, a bottom surface 17, a first side surface 18, a second side surface 19, and a second side surface 19, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Respectively. The top surface 15 and the bottom surface 17 may be flat and parallel to each other and the first side plane 18 and the second side plane 19 may be inclined in a parallel direction, The first side plane 18 of each spirally wound strip 16 of material is closely adjacent to the second side plane 19 of its immediately preceding rotation. Each rotation of the strip of material 16 is coupled to its adjacent turns by engaging each of their respective first and second side planes 18,19 with an adhesive, It may be heat-activated, room-temperature-cured (RTC) or hot-melt adhesive or any other suitable means.

In Fig. 3 (b), the material strip 16 may have a cross-sectional structure that allows mechanical interlocking to couple adjacent strips 16 of material in a spirally formed batt, belt, or sleeve. Adjacent strips of material 16 may be the same or different in size and / or profile, but each has a locking position as shown in Figure 3 (b). Other examples of mechanical interlock structures are shown in Figures 3 (c) to 3 (g), which show cross sections of individual strips 16 of material. In either case, one side of the strip of material 16 may be designed to be mechanically interlocked or connected to the other side of the adjacent strip 16 of material. For example, referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 (g), a strip of material 16 may be applied to the upper surface 42, the lower surface 44, the tongue 46 at one side, (Not shown). The tongues 46 may have dimensions corresponding to the dimensions of the grooves 48 so that each of the helically wound rotary tongues 46 of the strips 16 are spaced apart within their immediately preceding, That's right. Each rotation of the strip 16 of material is coupled to adjacent rotations by securing the tongue 46 to the groove 48. The upper surface 42 and the lower surface 44 may be planar and parallel to each other or may be non-planar or non-planar, or even planar, as shown in FIG. 3 (f) And can be concave or convexly curved. Likewise, each side of the strip can be convex or concave in a cylindrical shape with the same radius of curvature.

3 (h) shows another embodiment of the present invention.

In addition to having the extruded strip of opposed hemispherical or profiled material as described above, various other shapes may be extruded or machined from the rectangular extrudate to form a male mating edge with raised rails edges, which can promote bonding by mechanical and / or adhesive means. One such structure according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 3 (i). Alternatively, the material strips may not mate or join together and may not need the right and left sides. For example, as shown in Fig. 4 (a), the cross-section of the strip 16 of material may have interlocking grooves on its upper surface or upper side, or alternatively, as shown in Fig. 4 (b) , The material strip 16 may have interlocking grooves on its bottom surface or bottom side.

Fig. 4 (c) shows the material strips of Figs. 4 (a) and 4 (b) for example for interlocking. The arrows in Fig. 4 (c) indicate, for example, the direction in which each of the material strips 16 is moved to engage the grooves and interlock the two strips. Figure 4 (d) shows after two material strips 16 are interlocked or joined together. Although only two of the male and female mating material strips are shown in the preferred embodiments, it should be noted that the final fabric, belt or sleeve is formed of several material strips interlocked together. Obviously, interlocking the material strips in a spiral wound process can form a sheet of material in the form of an endless loop. Although mechanical interlocks are shown, the strength of the interlocks is dependent on, for example, thermal bonding, particularly to a technique known as selective bonding as exemplified by a commercial process known as "Clearweld" (see www.clearweld.com) It should also be noted that this can be improved by

5 (a) is a cross-sectional view of a material strip 16 having grooves on both the top and bottom. Fig. 5 (b) shows how two material strips 16 having the cross-sectional shape shown in Fig. 5 (a) can be interlocked. The interlocking structure has grooves on the upper and lower surfaces of the finished product.

Referring to the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 (c), Fig. 5 (c) shows the interlocking of the two material strips 16 shown in Figs. 5 (a) and 4 (b). As a result, a sheet product having a flat upper surface with a groove in the bottom surface is obtained. Likewise, a structure having a flat bottom surface and a groove in the top surface may also be formed.

Other exemplary embodiments are foils, belts or sleeves formed from material strips 16 having knob-shaped interlocks or "positive" locks that form a stronger interlock due to their mechanical design. The design has a "positive" interlock in that the receptors for the pins and the pins have mechanical interferences that require significant force to couple or separate the ribbons. Figure 6 (a) shows the characteristics of the knob shaped interlocks in, for example, individual ribbon-like material strips 16. Figure 6 (b) shows the characteristics of interlocks such as knobs in individual ribbon-like material strips 16 of opposite construction designed to interlock with the structure shown in Figure 6 (a). Figure 6 (c) shows individual ribbon-like material strips of Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b) positioned for interlocking. It should be noted here that the staggered positions of the top and bottom ribbons are intended to accommodate other material strips 16 of opposite construction. Finally, FIG. 6 (d) shows the same strips formed after interlocking with each other. Some ribbon-like material strips, such as these, may be interlocked together to form a final fabric, belt or sleeve.

Another exemplary embodiment is a foam, belt, or sleeve formed from material strips 16 having grooves in both the top and bottom thereof, for example, as shown in Fig. 7 (a). These two ribbon-like material strips 16 are designed to join together to form a positive interlock, as shown in Figure 7 (b). Note that the top surface and the bottom surface have grooves on their respective sides. 7 (a) and 7 (b), it will be clear to combine three or more strips to make a multilayer structure, or if only two strips are used, the groove profile of the grooves in the top strip It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the top surface may differ from the top surface. Similarly, the groove profile of the grooves in the bottom strip may be the same or different on both sides. As noted above, although the implementations described herein are for a single layer of spirally wound ribbons or strips, it may be advantageous to use strips having various geometries to form belts of two or more layers. Thus, according to one exemplary embodiment, the belt may have two or more layers, wherein the strips may be formed such that the two or more layers are mechanically interlocked. Each layer may be spirally wound in the MD in opposite or angled directions to provide additional strength.

Figure 7 (c) shows an interlocking structure that is a grooved bottom surface and a flat upper surface, while Figure 7 (d) shows an interlocked structure, for example, a flat bottom surface and a grooved top surface. Structure.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, many shapes can be considered to make the positive interlocks described above. For example, some prior implementations have focused on rounded knob-like protrusions and round receptacles. However, it is also possible to use other shapes such as a trapezoid to achieve the same effect. An example of a positive interlock having such a shape is shown in Fig. 8 (a). Alternatively, shapes can be mixed to achieve positive interlock. Examples of mixed shapes are shown in Figs. 8 (b) and 8 (c).

The mechanical interlock thus formed between adjacent strips of material as described in the above embodiments increases the ease with which a spirally wound base fabric or structure can be fabricated because without such a lock, Since adjacent strips can be delineated and separated during the process of making a spirally wound fabric. By mechanically interlocking adjacent spirals, derailment and separation between adjacent spirals can be prevented. In addition, it is not necessary to rely only on the strength of the mechanical lock for the bond strength, and it is also possible to form a thermal weld in the mechanically locked area of the shell. According to one embodiment of the invention, this can be accomplished by placing a near-infrared or infrared or laser absorbing dye before locking the male / female elements together and then exposing the mechanical lock to near-infrared or infrared energy or a laser source, This causes thermal welding of the mechanical locks without melting of the material outside the area of the mechanical locks.

The strip of material described in the above embodiments may be extruded from any polymeric resin material known to those skilled in the art, such as polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, polypropylene, polyetheretherketone resin, and the like. Industrial strapping as a base material is attractive, but considering that it is uniaxially oriented, i. E., At least twice the tensile modulus of biaxially oriented material (film) and tensile modulus of extruded material (molded) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 10-fold, < / RTI > That is, the structure derived from the uniaxially oriented material requires less than half the thickness of the biaxially oriented material (film) and requires less than one tenth of the thickness of the extruded material (molded). This feature is shown in FIG. 9, which shows the result of designing a part designed for a specific force and strain for a fixed width. The equation used in this design problem is the relationship between stress and strain as shown below:

In the present description, the force (or load) remains constant as well as the width and strain. The above equation shows that the required thickness is inversely proportional to the modulus of the material. This equation represents a problem in designing nonwoven production machine fabrics for dimensional stability. That is, the load is known, the maximum strain is known, and the width of the machine is fixed. The result is expressed as the final thickness of the required part according to the modulus of the material employed. Obviously, uniaxial materials such as strapping or ribbons have significant advantages over films and molded polymers, as shown in Fig. However, the bags, belts or sleeves of the present invention are not limited to uniaxial or biaxial orientation of strapping in that one or both of the two orientations can be utilized in practicing the present invention.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the strip or strapping material of the materials described in the above embodiments may comprise a reinforcing material to improve the mechanical strength of the overall structure. For example, the reinforcing material can be fibers, yarns, monofilament yarns or multifilament yarns that can be oriented in the MD direction of the batt, sleeve or belt along the length of the strapping material. The reinforcing material may be included through an extrusion or drawing process wherein the fibers or yarns may be extruded or drawn together with a material forming a strip or strapping material of the material. They can be completely embedded in the strapping material, or they can be partially embedded on one or both surfaces of the strapping material, or both. The reinforcing fibers or yarns may be formed of a high modulus material, such as, but not limited to, Kevlar ^® and Nomex ^® , and may have extra strength, tensile modulus, tear resistance and / Or resistance to cracking, abrasion, and / or chemical degradation. Broadly, the reinforcing fibers or yarns can be made of thermoplastic and / or thermosetting polymers. Non-limiting examples of suitable fiber materials include metals such as glass, carbon, polyester, polyethylene, and steel. According to a further embodiment, the melting point of the reinforcing fibers or yarns may be higher than the melting point of the strip or strapping material of the material, or vice versa.

Strapping is usually provided in a continuous length with a product having a rectangular cross section. It is a tough, versatile, usually untreated polyester strip with excellent handling properties, which makes it suitable for many industrial applications. As mentioned above, it has excellent mechanical strength and dimensional stability and is not brittle to aging under normal conditions. Strapping has excellent resistance to moisture and most chemicals, and can withstand temperatures of -70 캜 to 150 캜 or more. Typical cross-sectional dimensions of the strapping material that may be used in the present invention are, for example, a thickness of 0.30 mm (or greater) and a width of 10 mm (or greater). Strapping can be helically wound, but adjacent wraps of strapping that do not have any means of interlocking to lock together need to be welded or coupled in some manner. In such a case, laser welding or ultrasonic welding may be used to fix or weld adjacent ribbons or material strips together to improve cross-machine direction ("CD ") characteristics such as strength and reduce the risk of separation of neighboring material strips .

It has been found that uniaxial strapping has a maximum MD modulus, but other properties besides modulus may also be important. For example, if the MD modulus is too high for the strapping material, the crack and flex fatigue resistance of the final structure may not be accepted. Alternatively, the CD characteristics of the final structure may also be important. For example, when referring to PET materials and strips of the same thickness, the non-oriented strips may have a typical MD modulus of about 3 GPa and an intensity of about 50 MPa. On the other hand, biaxially oriented strips can have a MD modulus of about 4.7 GPa and a strength of about 170 MPa. It has been found that modifying the uniaxial strip process so that the MD modulus is from 6 to 10 GPa and the strength is greater than 250 MPa can result in a strip having CD strength approaching about 100 MPa. Also, the material may be less brittle, i.e., cracks may not occur even when repeatedly bent, and may be better processed when the strips are joined together. In addition, the coupling between the strips can resist separation during intended use in the production machine.

According to an embodiment of the invention, one method for securing adjacent strips together is to ultrasonically weld the edges and edges of adjacent strip edges while simultaneously providing lateral pressure to keep the edges in contact with each other. For example, a portion of the welding apparatus may fix one strip, preferably a spirally wound strip, against the support roll in a downward direction during which the other portion of the apparatus is another strip, The unheated strip is held up against the lower fixed strip. Such edge-to-edge welding is described, for example, in Figure 11 (a).

Application of ultrasonic gap welding creates particularly strong bonds. In contrast, ultrasonic welding of either a time mode or an energy mode (also known as conventional ultrasonic welding) produces bonds that can be described as brittle. Thus, it can be concluded that bonding formed through ultrasonic gap welding is preferable to conventional ultrasonic welding.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, another exemplary method for securing adjacent strips together is to apply an adhesive 30 to the ends 34,36 of adjacent strips 16,16, Are shown in Figs. 10 (a) to 10 (d). Note that fill material 32 may be used to fill gaps or portions where the strips do not touch each other.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, another method for securing adjacent strips or functional strips of material together is to use a "weld strip" composed of the same base material as the strip of material. For example, this welding strip is shown as a thin material seen above and below the strip of material in Figure 11 (b). In such an arrangement, the weld strip provides a material for the strips of material to be welded so that the assembled structure does not depend on the edge-to-edge weld shown in Fig. 11 (a). Using a welding strip method, edge-to-edge welding can be produced; However, this is neither necessary nor desirable. Using a welding strip method, a "sandwich" or laminate type structure can be formed, wherein the horizontal surface of the strip of material is welded to the horizontal surface of the weld strip as shown in FIG. 11 (b). The welding strip need not be located both above and below the strip of material, but may be located directly above or below the strip of material. According to one aspect, the weld strip may be located at the center of the sandwiched structure, wherein the strip of material lies above and / or below the weld strip. Additionally, the weld strip is shown as being thinner than the strip of material for illustrative purposes only and is shown to have the same width as the strip of material. The weld strip may be narrower or wider than the strip of material, and may be the same thickness or much thicker than the strip of material. The weld strip may also be another piece of strip of the material rather than being a special material made only for the purpose of the weld strip. The weld strip may also have an adhesive applied to one of its surfaces to assist in fixing the weld strip in place for the welding operation. However, if such an adhesive is used, it is desirable to apply it partially to the welding strip as compared to the entire surface, since partial application may be achieved by ultrasonic welding or similar materials of the welding strip (for example, poly Ester to polyester). ≪ / RTI >

If the weld strip is made from an unoriented extruded polymer, it is preferred that the weld strip is much thinner than the strip of the material. Because the non-oriented extruded weld strips can maintain the dimensional stability of the final structure less as described earlier herein. However, if the weld strip is made from an oriented polymer, it is preferred that the weld strip to be combined with the strip of material is as thin as possible. As mentioned above, the weld strip may be another piece of strip of the material. In this case, however, it is preferred that the thickness of the individual materials be selected so as to minimize the overall thickness of the sandwich or laminate. As previously mentioned, the weld strip may be coated with an adhesive that is used to secure the structure together for subsequent processing. According to one aspect, a weld strip having an adhesive can be used to create a structure that goes directly into the drilling step, for example, which may be laser drilling without ultrasonic bonding, Or laser drilling creates spot welds that can secure the sandwich structure together.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, another method for securing adjacent strips of material together is to weld adjacent strips using laser welding techniques.

Figure 14 shows an exemplary apparatus 320 that may be used in a laser welding process in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. In such a process, it is to be understood that the batt, belt or sleeve 322 as shown in Fig. 14 is a relatively short portion of the overall length of the final batt, belt or sleeve. The batt, belt, or sleeve 322 may be of an infinite shape, but not shown in the figures, but may be mounted, most practically, around a pair of rolls as is well known to those skilled in the art. In such an arrangement, the apparatus 320 may be disposed on one of the two surfaces and most conveniently disposed on the upper surface of the foil 322 between the two rolls. With or without an infinite shape, the foil 322 can preferably be laid under an appropriate degree of tension during the process. In addition, to prevent sagging, the foil 322 may be supported from below by a horizontal support member when moving through the apparatus 320.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 14, the cannula 322 is shown moving upward through the device 320 as the method of the present invention is carried out. The laser head used in the welding process can traverse the film transversely in the direction of the CD or in the "X" direction of the width, while the gun can move in the MD or "Y" direction. It may also be possible to set up a system in which the carriage moves in three dimensions with respect to a mechanically fixed laser welding head.

The advantage of laser welding for ultrasonic welding is that laser welding can be achieved at a speed of 100 meters per minute, whereas ultrasonic welding has a top end speed of about 10 meters per minute. Adding a light absorbing dye or ink absorber to the edges of the strips may also help focus the thermal effect of the laser. Absorbents can be black inks or near-infrared dyes not visible to the human eye, such as those used by "Clearweld" (see www.clearweld.com).

Once the final fabric, belt or sleeve is made and adjacent strips in the fabric, belt, or sleeve are welded or bonded in some manner, fluid (air and / or water) is allowed to pass from one side of the fabric to the other side of the fabric Holes or perforations may be provided by means such as laser drilling. Note that such through holes or through-holes allowing fluid to pass from one side of the bubble to the other side of the bubble can be made before or after the spiral winding and bonding process. Such holes or perforations may be made through laser drilling or any other suitable perforation / perforation manufacturing process, for example, using mechanical or thermal means, and may be of any size, shape, orientation, shape And / or pattern. An exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. 13, which is a cross-sectional view of the inventive bag 80 taken transversely or in a cross-machine direction, wherein strips of material 82 are provided with an air- and / A plurality of holes 84 are provided.

The blanks of the present invention may be used as process belts or sleeves used in airlaid, meltblown, spunbonding or entangling processes as previously mentioned. The foam, belt, or sleeve of the present invention may include one or more additional layers above or below a substrate formed using strips of material to provide functionality, rather than reinforcement. For example, a MD yarn array can be laminated to the back of a belt or sleeve to create void spaces. Alternatively, one or more layers may be provided between two layers of strapping. The additional layers used may be selected from the group consisting of a woven or nonwoven material, a machine direction (MD) yarn or cross-machine direction (CD) yarn arrangement, a spirally wound strip of woven material having a width less than the width of the batt, a fibrous web, , And may be attached to the substrate using any suitable technique known to those skilled in the art. Needle punching, thermal bonding and chemical bonding are just a few examples. The bags, belts or sleeves of the present invention may also have coatings on either side for functionality. The textures on the foam, belt or sleeve of the present invention may be produced before or after application of the functional coating. The textures on the batt, belt, or sleeve as described above may be generated using any means known in the art, such as, for example, sanding, grabbing, embossing, or etching.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention and its variations have been described in detail, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to such precise implementations and modifications, and that other variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (36)

A belt or sleeve for manufacturing nonwoven fabrics comprising a strip of at least one spirally wound polymeric material:
Wherein the strip of the at least one polymeric material is an industrial strapping or ribbon material. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the belt or sleeve is used in airlaid, melt blown, spunbonding, and hydroentangling processes. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein said industrial strapping or ribbon material has a thickness of at least 0.30 mm and a width of at least 10 mm. The method according to claim 1,
Said belt or sleeve being permeable or impermeable to air and / or water. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the belt or sleeve is permeable to air and / or water, and through voids or holes in the belt or sleeve are produced by mechanical means or thermal means. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the through-void or hole is formed in a predetermined size, shape or orientation. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the through-void or hole has a nominal diameter in the range of 0.005 inches to 0.01 inches or greater. The method according to claim 1,
(MD) yarn array or cross-machine direction (CD) yarn arrangement, spirally wound strips of woven material having a width less than the width of the belt or sleeve, fibrous webs ), A film, or a combination thereof. The method according to claim 1,
Belts or sleeves in which adjacent strips of polymeric material are mechanically interlocked. The method according to claim 1,
Said belt or sleeve having a texture on one or both surfaces. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the texture is provided by sanding, graving, embossing or etching. The method according to claim 1,
The belt or sleeve may be one surface or both surfaces smooth. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the belt or sleeve comprises two or more layers of strapping material wound helically in opposite directions, or in a direction opposite the machine direction (MD). The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a functional coating on one or both sides of the belt or sleeve. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the at least one layer is provided on one or both sides of the belt or sleeve, or between two layers of strapping. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the functional coating has a texture on its upper surface. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the industrial strapping or ribbon material is selected from the group consisting of fibers, yarns, monofilament yarns and multifilament yarns and comprising a reinforcement material oriented in the MD direction of the foam, sleeve or belt, sleeve. 18. The method of claim 17,
A fabric, belt or sleeve made from a material selected from the group consisting of aramid, thermoplastic polymer, thermosetting polymer, glass, carbon, and steel fibers, yarns, monofilament yarns and multifilament yarns. A method of forming a belt or sleeve for making a nonwoven, the method comprising the steps of:
Spirally winding a strip of at least one polymeric material around a plurality of rolls, wherein the strip of the at least one polymeric material is an industrial strapping or ribbon material; And
And combining the edges of the strips of adjacent materials using a predetermined technique. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the predetermined technique is laser, infrared or ultrasonic welding. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the industrial strapping or ribbon material has a thickness of at least 0.30 mm and a width of at least 10 mm. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the belt or sleeve is permeable to air and / or water or is impermeable. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein said belt or sleeve is made permeable to air and / or water by creating a through-void or hole in said belt or sleeve using mechanical or thermal means. 24. The method of claim 23,
Wherein the through-void or hole is formed in a predetermined size, shape or orientation. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the through-void or hole has a nominal diameter in the range of 0.005 inches to 0.01 inches or greater. 20. The method of claim 19,
A forming method, further comprising the steps of:
A woven or nonwoven material, a machine direction (MD) yarn arrangement or a cross-machine direction (CD) yarn arrangement, a spiral wound of a woven material having a width less than the width of the belt or sleeve, on the upper or lower surface of the belt or sleeve Applying one or more layers of fabric strips, fibrous webs, films, or combinations thereof. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein adjacent strips of polymeric material are mechanically interlocked. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the belt or sleeve is provided with a texture on one or both surfaces. 29. The method of claim 28,
Wherein the texture is provided by sanding, gravying, embossing or etching. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein said belt or sleeve is smooth on one surface or both surfaces. 20. The method of claim 19,
Wherein the belt or sleeve comprises two or more layers of strapping material wound helically in opposite directions, or in a direction opposite the machine direction (MD). 20. The method of claim 19,
Further comprising coating a functional coating on one or both sides of the belt or sleeve. 27. The method of claim 26,
Wherein the at least one layer is provided on one or both sides of the belt or sleeve, or between two layers of strapping. 33. The method of claim 32,
And providing a texture to the functional coating. 20. The method of claim 19,
Reinforcing said industrial strapping or ribbon material in the MD direction of said foam, sleeve or belt with fibers, yarns, monofilament yarns or multifilament yarns. 36. The method of claim 35,
Wherein said fiber, yarn, monofilament yarn or multifilament yarn is made of a material selected from the group consisting of aramid, thermoplastic polymer, thermosetting polymer, glass, carbon, and steel.

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