WO2001073316A1

WO2001073316A1 - Improvements to belt jointing

Info

Publication number: WO2001073316A1
Application number: PCT/GB2001/001227
Authority: WO
Inventors: Melvyn Douglas
Original assignee: Marathon Belting Limited
Priority date: 2000-03-27
Filing date: 2001-03-16
Publication date: 2001-10-04
Also published as: AU3940401A; GB0007189D0

Abstract

A method of jointing woven belting, primarily but not necessarily, to produce an endless conveyor belt for use in the biscuit and flour confectionery industries comprises the steps of cutting parallel edges (2) across each of the two ends of the fabric (1) to be jointed and aligning the parallel edges (2) and the free ends (3) of cut yarns in the opposing parallel edges with one another. The free ends (3) of the yarns are then covered with a fusible pliable material (15), such as polyurethane strips (10, 12, 13), which is melted and cast into the gap (9) defined between the adjacent parallel edges (2). In this way the free yarn ends (3) are encased in the pliable material and the gap (9) is filled with the pliable material (15) to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven fabric (1). The pliable material is cooled to set and thereby joint the two ends of the fabric (1) together. Advantageously, the surfaces of the fusible pliable material (15) on both faces of the fabric (1) are impressed with a pattern to simulate the surface texture of the woven faces of the fabric (1) as the pliable material sets (15).

Description

IMPROVEMENTS TO BELT JOINTING

The present invention relates to a method of jointing woven belting, primarily but not necessarily, to produce an endless conveyor belt for use in the biscuit and flour confectionery industries. The invention also relates to an article, such as an endless belt, comprising a joint so formed.

Conventionally, in the biscuit and flour confectionery industry endless conveyor belts are used in rotary dough moulding machines to receive moulded pieces of dough and to transport them to an oven feed band. The moulded pieces of dough are sucked on to the belt from a moulding roller and for this reason the belt must be porous to air, which means that an impervious, coated belt is unsuitable. In addition, the surface of the belt must be textured to permit easy, efficient extraction of all types of dough pieces from the moulding machine and subsequently release them, typically by means of a transverse nose-bar or knife-edge around which the moving belt passes. As a result of these requirements such belts are specially woven in an endless loop, without any joints, usually from cotton warp and flax weft yarns in order to provide a seamless belt. Such belts are generally known as ^ΛBray' belts and whilst they leave a pattern on the underside of the dough produced by the surface texture of the belt, this pattern is not interrupted by any joint marks, which might distort the dough-piece shape, because of the seamlessness of the belt.

However, endless woven ^ΛBray' belts are expensive to produce as they are usually woven by hand on specially constructed looms. In addition, as a result of the manner in which they are woven, they are generally only made of a single-ply fabric which, while yielding a high longitudinal flexibility that is advantageous for the easy negotiation of the nose-bars and knife-edges under the belt, is generally disadvantageous as it decreases the stability of the belt. As a result, such belts are usually coated with a suitable coating, such as nylon, on their inner, driving face. The need to coat the endless belt in this way also increases its cost.

One way of reducing the high cost of a 'Bray' belt would be to produce a jointed belt. However, known jointing methods have several disadvantages that make them unsuitable for this purpose. First, the joint in the belt must not exhibit a greater thickness than the rest of the belt in order for the belt to be driven evenly and run properly over nose-bars and knife-edges. This requirement rules out belts which are jointed by connecting overlapping ends. Second, the joint must not leave an interruption in the surface pattern formed on the underside of the dough. This means that the joint must be very narrow and undetectable in surface texture from the rest of the belt. Conventional woven belt jointing methods do not fulfil these requirements. Typically, they comprise overlapped, stitched joints, or interleaved finger or ^λV butt joints which are coated with adhesive materials to bond them together. Belts made by both of these methods exhibit the aforementioned disadvantages and the joints tend to be broad in width. Broad butt-joints in textiles made of natural yarns such as cotton and flax also tend to result in unsightly water marks in the belt, caused when moisture escapes from the fabric during heating in the jointing process. Such marks cannot be eradicated from the belt and can make them unsuitable for use in the food industry.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of jointing which overcomes or substantially mitigates the aforementioned disadvantages and enables the production of a belt which can be used in the biscuit and flour confectionery industries in place of a conventional endless woven ^ΛBray' belt. However, it is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of jointing which can be advantageously adopted in other applications as a result of its relative simplicity.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of jointing two ends of woven fabric together to produce belting characterised in that it comprises the steps of cutting parallel edges across each of the two ends of the fabric to be jointed; aligning the parallel edges and butting the free ends of the cut yarns of the woven fabric in the opposing parallel edges together; covering the free ends of the yarns in a fusible, pliable material which is heated and cast into the gap defined between the adjacent butting edges in order that the free ends are encased in the pliable material and the gap is filled with the pliable material to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven material; and permitting the pliable material to cool and set to joint the two ends of the fabric together.

Preferably, the method comprises the additional step of impressing the surfaces of the fusible, pliable material as it sets with a pattern to simulate the surface texture of the woven faces of the fabric.

The method is preferably accomplished using a press which can be heated to a temperature high enough to melt the fusible, pliable material used to adhere the two free ends of the fabric together.

More particularly, therefore, the method comprises the steps of cutting parallel edges across each of the two ends of the fabric to be jointed; laying a first piece of a heat-resistant, non-stick material between the platens of a press; laying a first strip of fusible, pliable material over the non-stick material; aligning the parallel edges of the woven fabric to be jointed over the first strip of pliable material and butting the free ends of cut yarns in the opposing parallel edges together; inserting a second strip of fusible, pliable material between the free ends of the cut yarns in both of the opposing parallel edges; laying a third strip of fusible pliable material on the uppermost faces of the two ends over the butting free ends; laying a second piece of heat-resistant, non-stick material over the third strip of fusible, pliable material; closing the platens of the press to apply pressure over the aforesaid layers and heating the press sufficiently to melt the fusible, pliable material and to cause it to flow around and between the free ends of the cut yarns and into the gap defined between the aligned edges in order that the free ends are encased in the pliable material and the gap is filled with the pliable material to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven material; and allowing the press to cool to permit the pliable material to set before removing the jointed woven fabric therefrom.

Preferably, the heat-resistant, non-stick material comprises an impervious fabric with a similar surface texture to that of the woven fabric to be jointed.

Preferably also, the faces of the woven fabric are coated with the pliable material to a width of up to 8 mm on either side of the joint. Preferably also, the fusible, pliable material comprises a thermoplastic material. Advantageously, the fusible, pliable material comprises polyurethane .

Preferably also, the parallel edges of the ends to be jointed are cut on the bias across the width of the fabric.

Preferably also, the two ends of the woven fabric to be jointed are pre-heated to remove moisture therefrom prior to melting of the fusible, pliable material.

Preferably also, the woven fabric comprises a two-ply fabric and the method comprises the additional steps of slitting between the plies along the parallel edges of the two ends of the fabric to a depth of up to 8 mm and inserting the second strip of fusible, pliable material into the slits between the two plies of the fabric.

Preferably also, the second strip of pliable material is inserted into the slits between the plies of the fabric by being pulled therethrough from one side of the woven fabric to the other. Advantageously, the method comprises the additional steps of inserting a carrier thread into the slit between the plies of at least one of the ends of the woven fabric prior to insertion of the ends into the press; welding the carrier thread to the third strip of pliable material; and using the carrier thread to pull the second strip of pliable material into position into the slits between the plies after the ends of the fabric have been positioned into the press.

Alternatively, if the woven fabric comprises a single- ply fabric the parallel edges are cut following the line of the weft across each of the two ends of the fabric to be jointed and the method comprises the additional steps of removing at least two weft yarns from each of the parallel edges of the two ends of the fabric to define a channel between the cut warp yarns, and inserting the second strip of fusible, pliable material into the channels along both edges of the fabric.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an endless belt formed from a woven fabric jointed in accordance with the method according to the first aspect of the present invention.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a jointed woven fabric article, characterised in a joint is formed between two aligned parallel edges cut across the width of the fabric by a fusible, pliable material which has been cast into the gap defined between the edges to fill the gap to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven fabric, the pliable material additionally encasing the cut yarn ends in the opposing parallel edges on either side of the gap.

The various aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Fig. 1 is a perspective view from above and one side of a joint in a woven fabric produced in accordance with the method of the present invention, the view showing yarns of the fabric exaggerated in size compared to the scale of the joint;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic, transverse cross-sectional view of a press between the platens of which are located two ends of woven fabric to be jointed in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic, transverse cross-sectional view of a finished jointed fabric.

The method of jointing the two ends of woven fabric according to the present invention is primarily intended for use in the production of endless belts for use in the biscuit and flour confectionery industries but it should be appreciated that the method has universal application for the production of a joint between two fabric ends. In addition, the method is suitable for jointing both single ply fabrics and those with two or more plies. However, in the present example the production of a joint between two ends of a piece of two-ply, woven fabric to produce a replacement for an endless woven ^λBray' belt will be described in detail.

^ΛBray' belts are typically between 1000 mm and 1500 mm in width and normally do not exceed 9000 mm in length. Hence to produce a jointed version of a 'Bray' belt requires a piece of woven fabric of similar dimensions. As previously described, a traditional ^λBray' belt comprises a single-ply, cotton and flax fabric which may have its under or inner side coated with a suitable material such as nylon. However, as the present method is suitable for jointing multi-ply fabrics, the fabric from which the jointed belt of the present invention is made can comprise a two-ply fabric which will not require subsequent coating as it will inherently exhibit sufficient dimensional stability in use.

The method according to the invention for jointing a two-ply fabric will now be described.

First, an appropriate piece of such a fabric 1 is selected. Then two parallel and preferably straight edges 2 are cut across the warp yarns 3 of the fabric at appropriate positions to produce the length of belt required. It is important to ensure that these edges are cut parallel with one another in order that they can be aligned and jointed to produce the endless belt. However, it is advantageous to cut the edges on the bias across the fabric rather than transversely at right angles to the longer edges 4 of the fabric 1 and subsequently the belt. This is in order that after production of the joint, it will run at an angle across the belt rather than at a right angle and in this way the whole length of the joint will not pass apparatus such as scraper blades, nose-bars and knife edges located transversely across the belt when in use at the same time. This significantly reduces the risk of the joint being damaged by such apparatus. The angle of the bias cuts across the fabric is dependent on the length of the belt. Normally, a cut would be made which steps across half the width of the belt. For a typical belt this produces an angle of 22.5°.

After the parallel edges 2 have been cut, a slitting machine is used to slit between the two plies 5 along the parallel edges to a depth of up to 8 mm. A length of carrier thread (not shown) is now inserted along the length of at least one of the slits for use as described below. Preferably, a length of such thread is inserted into the slits of both edges 2. If the fabric 1 has more than two plies then preferably they are all separated from one another in a similar operation and to the same depth and carrier threads inserted between each of them.

The piece of fabric 1 is now ready for insertion into a press 6 to produce the joint. Platens 7a, 7b of the press need to be of an appropriate length commensurate with the length of the joint required. However, they only need to be of the order of 20 mm wide as the joint itself is typically only 14-16 mm in width but it is advantageous for them to be somewhat wider that the intended width of the finished joint for the reason detailed below. In addition, the press 5 must be mounted on a support such that after jointing the endless belt can be readily removed therefrom.

In view of the fact that the platens 7a, 7b of the press are relatively small compared with the size of the belt, it is possible for the press to be made portable in order that it can be used on-site to joint belts as required.

As previously described, it is important that the surface texture of the finished joint simulates that of the fabric 1. In order to achieve this, the surface of the joint is impressed with an appropriate pattern during manufacture.

The simplest way of doing this is to use a woven textile which has a similar surface texture to that of the fabric 1. However, as this textile is going to come into contact with a fusible pliable material used to produce the joint and be subjected to both heat and pressure in the press 6, it is important that it is both heat-resistant and non-stick. A suitable impervious textile for this purpose has been found to be a PTFE-coated glass fabric with a similar weave to that of the fabric 1. A first piece 8a of this coated glass fabric is therefore laid over the lower platen 7a of the press.

The material used for fusing the ends of the fabric 1 together must comprise a fusible, pliable material that after the joint has been formed and the material has cooled and set exhibits a similar flexibility to the fabric 1 itself.

Suitable pliable materials for this purpose are thermoplastic materials such as polyurethane films, many of which are acceptable for use in the food industry. However, it is expected that other alternative fusible, pliable materials could be found and used successfully. In the present application, the polyurethane film used is in the form of narrow strips of similar width to that of the joint to be produced. Typically, therefore the strips used are 14 - 16 mm in width. The thickness of the film is dependent both on the thickness of the fabric 1, and therefore to some extent on the number of plies of the fabric 1, but also on the width of the gap 9 which will exist between the two edges 2 of the fabric to be jointed, as is further described below. Typically, the thicknesses of the films selected are between 200 and 350 μm inclusive.

The colour of the pliable material can be selected to blend with that of the fabric 1 in order that the joint will not be conspicuous in the finished belt. Belts for use in the food industry tend to be made from undyed yarns. However, as some natural yarns such as cotton tend to discolour when subjected to high temperatures during pressing, the pliable material can be coloured to disguise this in the finished belt.

A first length of polyurethane strip material 10 is now laid over the piece of glass fabric 8a on the lower platen 7a of the press. For a two-ply fabric 1 for use as a 'Bray' belt, the material 10 is in a strip of approximately 14 mm in width and with a thickness of around 200 μm. The cut edges 2 of the ends of the fabric 1 are then laid over the material 10. These edges 2 are aligned and the free ends of the cut yarns 2 of the opposing edges 2 are brought adjacent and butted up to one another. The gap 9 defined between the butting edges 2 of the fabric 1 is preferably made as narrow as possible without the edges 2 overlapping one another. This is because the joint must be capable of being tensioned in a direction along the length of the belt when the belt is in use. Although with a two-ply fabric the joint will be the weakest part of the belt, the tensile strength of a joint made according to the present method is more than sufficient than is necessary for use of the belt in the food industry. It has been found that using polyurethane as the pliable material to produce the joint, a gap 9 of up to at least 3 mm can be left between the butting edges 2 for the finished belt still to be suitably tensioned for use as a ^ΛBray' belt. However, as it is desirable for the joint to be as narrow as possible, the gap 9 is preferably made as narrow as possible.

After correct positioning of the cut edges 2 in the press, the two ends of the fabric 1 are preferably clamped into position using clamps 11 on either side of the platens 7a, 7b and just outside the area of the joint.

A further strip of 12 of polyurethane material is now located between the slit plies 5 of the two edges 2 of the fabric 1. The strip 12 is preferably approximately 14 mm in width and has a thickness of around 350 μm. It has been found that the best way of locating the strip 12 between the plies 5 is by pulling it through from one edge 4 of the fabric 1 to the other. One of the simplest ways of accomplishing this is by using a carrier thread (not shown) and hence the reason for the insertion of such a thread into the slits between the plies 5 prior to insertion of the edges 2 into the press. One end of the strip 12 can be attached to the ends of the carrier threads at one side of the fabric and simply pulled through the slits between the plies 5. However, as the strip 12 is thin, it tends to rip if simply stitched to the thread. Preferably, therefore, it is welded to a heat resistant carrier thread such as one made of KEVLAR or a similar material which can withstand the pulling strain. After the strip 12 has been pulled into place the carrier threads are cut away and removed.

If the fabric 1 has more than two plies 5, then as many strips 12 of pliable material as necessary should be used to interleave between them. In this case, thinner strips 12 may be used for the inner layers than for the outermost layers.

A final strip 13 of polyurethane material is then placed over the top of the butted edges 2. If the gap 9 is kept to a minimum and the thickness of the fabric 1 fairly low, both the strips 10 and 13 may have a thickness of 200 μm whereas the strip 12 may have a thickness of around 350 μm.

The strip 13 is covered by a second piece 8b of the impervious, heat-resistant fabric as described previously.

The press 6 is then closed. If the fabric comprises natural fibres such as cotton and flax yarns, then as these tend to have a high natural moisture content, the press 6 is firstly heated to a temperature, typically around 100 °C, which is too low to melt the pliable material of the strips 10, 12 and 13 but high enough to dry out the fabric which is clamped between the platens 7a, 7b and which will form part of the finished joint. After drying the fabric for a short time, the temperature of the press 6 is then raised to one high enough to melt the strips 10, 12 and 13 but not to cause damage to the fabric 1 or the textile material 8a, 8b. If polyurethane is used for the strips 10,12 and 13 then the temperature of the press 6 is raised to 150°C for up to one minute. The press 6 is then permitted to cool whilst the fabric 1 is retained therein under pressure to permit the polyurethane time to set and form the joint. Preferably, the press 6 should be permitted to cool to at least 80°C before the now jointed fabric 1 is removed therefrom.

When the strips 10, 12 and 13 melt under the pressure of the press 6, the polyurethane flows between the cut yarns 3, encasing them, and will also penetrate into the structure of the yarns 3 themselves. In addition, the polyurethane will flow into the gap 9. In this regard it is advantageous for the platens 7a and 7b to be made wider than the width of the strips 10, 12 and 13 and therefore the finished joint as then, when the strips 10, 12 and 13 melt, the polyurethane cannot escape from the fabric 1 around the edges of the platens 7a, 7b and effectively is cast into the gap 9. If the thickness of the strips 10, 12 and 13 is chosen carefully and with regard to the width of the gap 9 and the thickness of the fabric 1, then the polyurethane will fill the gap 9 and both encase and penetrate the free ends of the yarns 3 to a distance of up to 8 mm on either side of the gap 9. Such a finished joint 14 is shown in Fig. 3 wherein it can be seen that the thickness of the joint is similar to that of the fabric 1. The encasement of the cut yarns 3 in each of the jointed edges 2 is illustrated in Fig. 1, where the size of the yarns 3 is exaggerated with regard to the size of the joint to show their encasement by the pliable material 15 of the joint. This pliable material 15 forms a band with parallel edges 16 on either side of the former gap 9 which is typically only between 14 - 18 mm in width. In addition, as the non-stick pieces of fabric 8a, 8b have been in direct contact with the pliable material forming the upper and lower faces of the joint, the pliable material 15 of the finished joint is impressed with a surface texture which is indistinguishable to the touch from that of the fabric 1 as is necessary for a belt for use in the food industry.

If it is desired to joint a single-ply fabric 1, then the method described above is modified as follows.

First, an appropriate length of such a fabric 1 is selected and the two parallel edges 2 are cut following the line of the weft across the width of the fabric 1. Usually, at the edges of the fabric the line of the weft is not normal to the longer edges 4 and therefore the parallel edges 2 do tend to be angled relative to the longer edges 4 at least close to the edges 4 of the fabric 1. At least two weft yarns are now removed from each of the parallel edges 2 of the two ends of the fabric 1 to define a ^ΛV -shaped channel between the cut warp yarns 3 along each edge 2. These channels, which form naturally owing to the interlacing of the warp around the weft yarns 3, are then similar to the slits between the plies 5 in a two-ply fabric. The method as described above can then be followed, the second strip 12 of fusible, pliable material being inserted into the ^ΛV -shaped channels between the cut warp yarns 3 along both edges 2 of the fabric.

The jointed belts produced by the aforementioned method are therefore suitable for use as 'Bray' belts but can be produced for a significantly lower cost than that of a endless woven belt and without necessarily requiring further treatment such as coating to increase dimensional stability.

Claims

1. A method of jointing two ends of woven fabric (1) together to produce belting characterised in that it comprises the steps of cutting parallel edges (2) across each of the two ends of the fabric (1) to be jointed; aligning the parallel edges (2) and the free ends (3) of cut yarns in the opposing parallel edges (2) with one another; covering the free ends (3) of the yarns with a fusible pliable material (10, 12, 13); melting the pliable material (10, 12, 13) and casting it into the gap (9) defined between the adjacent parallel edges (2) in order that the free yarn ends (3) are encased in the pliable material (15) and the gap (9) is filled with the pliable material (15) to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven fabric (1) ; and permitting the pliable material (15) to set to joint the two ends of the fabric (1) together.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that it comprises the additional step of impressing the surfaces of the fusible pliable material (15) as it sets with a pattern to simulate the surface texture of the woven faces of the fabric (1) .

3. A method of jointing two ends of a woven fabric (1) together to produce belting using a heated press (6) and characterised in that it comprises the steps of:- cutting parallel edges (2) across each of the two ends of the fabric (l)to be jointed; laying a first piece (8a) of a heat-resistant, non-stick material between platens (7a, 7b) of the press (6); laying a first strip (10) of fusible pliable material over the impervious heat-resistant material (8a) ; aligning the parallel edges (2) of the woven fabric (1) to be jointed over the first strip (10) of pliable material and butting the free ends of cut yarns (3) in the opposing parallel edges (2) together; inserting a second strip (12) of fusible, pliable material between the free ends of the cut yarns (3) in both of the opposing parallel edges (2); laying a third strip (13) of fusible, pliable material on the uppermost faces of the two edges (2) over the butting free ends (3) ; laying a second piece (8b) of heat-resistant, non-stick material over the third strip (13) of fusible, pliable material; closing the platens (7a, 7b) of the press (6) to apply pressure over the aforesaid layers and heating the press (6) sufficiently to melt the fusible, pliable material (15) and to cause it to flow around and between the free ends (3) of the cut yarns and into the gap (9) defined between the aligned edges (2) in order that the free ends (3) are encased in the pliable material (15) and the gap (9) is filled with the pliable material (15) to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven material (1; and allowing the press (6) to cool to permit the pliable material (15) to set before removing the jointed woven fabric therefrom.

4 A method as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that the heat-resistant, non-stick material (8a, 8b) comprises an impervious fabric with a similar surface texture to that of the woven fabric (1) to be jointed.

5. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the faces of the woven fabric (1) are coated with the fusible, pliable material (15) to a width of up to 8 mm on both sides of the joint.

6. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the fusible, pliable material (15) comprises a thermoplastic material.

7. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the fusible, pliable material (15) comprises polyurethane.

8. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the two ends of the woven fabric (l)to be jointed are pre-heated to remove moisture therefrom prior to melting of the pliable material (15) .

9. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the parallel edges (2) of the ends to be jointed are cut on the bias across the width of the fabric (1) •

10. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the woven fabric (1) comprises at least a two ply fabric and the method comprises the additional steps of slitting between the plies (5) along the parallel edges (2) of the two ends of the fabric (1) to a depth of up to 8 mm and inserting the fusible pliable material (15) into the slits between the two plies (5) of the fabric (1) .

11. A method as claimed in Claim 2, characterised in that the woven fabric (1) comprises a two-ply fabric and the method comprises the additional steps of slitting between the plies (5) along the parallel edges (2) of the two ends of the fabric (1) to a depth of up to 8 mm prior to insertion of the fabric (1) into the press (6), and of inserting the second strip (12) of the fusible, pliable material into the slits between the two plies (5) of the butting edges of the fabric (1) prior to laying the third strip (13) of pliable material over the uppermost faces of the woven fabric (1) .

12. A method as claimed in Claim 11, characterised in that the second strip (12) of pliable material is inserted into the slits between the plies (5) of the fabric (1) by being pulled therethrough from one side of the woven fabric (1) to the other.

13. A method as claimed in Claim 11 or Claim 12, characterised in that the method comprises the additional steps of inserting a heat-resistant carrier thread into the slit between the plies (5) of at least one of the ends of the woven fabric (1) prior to insertion of the ends into the press ( 6) ; welding the carrier thread to the second strip (12) of pliable material; and using the carrier thread to pull the second strip (12) of pliable material into position into the slits between the plies (5) after the ends of the fabric (1) have been positioned into the press (6).

14. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the woven fabric (1) comprises a single ply fabric and characterised in that the parallel edges are cut following the line of the weft across each of the two ends of the fabric to be jointed; at least two weft yarns are removed from each of the parallel edges (2) of the two ends of the fabric to define a channel between the cut warp yarns (3) along each edge (2) ; and the second strip of fusible, pliable material (12) is inserted into the channels along both edges (2) of the fabric (1) •

15. An endless belt formed from a woven fabric (1) characterised in that it has been jointed in accordance with the method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 14.

16. A jointed woven fabric article, characterised in a joint

(14) is formed between two aligned parallel edges (2) cut across the width of the fabric (1) by a fusible pliable material (15) which has been cast into the gap (9) defined between the edges (2) to fill the gap to substantially the same depth as the thickness of the woven fabric, the pliable material (15) additionally encasing the cut yarn ends (3) in the opposing parallel edges (2) on either side of the gap

(9) .