Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Sheets or webs edge spliced or joined – Sheets or webs coplanar
Patent
1998-06-01
1999-12-14
Thomas, Alexander
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Sheets or webs edge spliced or joined
Sheets or webs coplanar
428 58, 428100, 139383AA, 162904, B32B 306
Patent
active
060014431
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to the joining together of the two ends of a papermaking dryer fabric to form an endless belt.
Such fabrics may be from two to ten metres wide and from fifteen to over a hundred metres long and the making of a satisfactory seam quickly and easily is essential for the efficient operation of a dryer. To facilitate the formation of a seam the free ends of the web are each provided with complementary interdigitating formations, such as loops which when in engagement define a passage through which a pintle wire may be passed. In order to form this joint the ends of the web must be drawn towards each other correctly and the two rows of formations aligned accurately before the pintle wire is inserted.
It is known to use a temporary seaming aid when forming the seam so as to hold the interdigitated loops in position as the pintle wire is passed down the tunnel defined by the interdigitated loops.
One such temporary seaming aid 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. Here small pads 11 of grip material (such as a hook or pile fastener) are secured to fabric ends 12 and straps 13 of complementary surface-grip material (such as a pile or hook fabric) are secured to straps 13. Straps 13 overlie the interdigitated Loops 14 and can be press-fitted to the pads 11 to hold the loops 14 together whilst the pintle wire 15 is threaded in. The pads 11 and straps 13 are secured to the dryer fabric with stitching. Removal of the temporary seaming aid 10 after seaming is difficult in that the many individual straps and pads must be removed separately.
Removal of the stitching may result in damage to the dryer fabric in the seam region, which in turn will adversely affect the permeability of the fabric. Also it is difficult to gain access to the seaming aids which are not at the edges of the fabric. As these fabrics are very wide an operator may need to climb onto the fabric to remove some of the seaming aids. This may damage the fabric and adversely affect its permeability. The operator may even need to climb into the paper machine itself in order to remove some of the seaming aids. This is clearly hazardous and should be avoided.
FIG. 2 illustrates a further prior art temporary seaming aid 20 which is described in detail in EP 0274244. An elongate pad 21 of grip material (such as a hook or pile fastener) is secured to one of the fabric ends 22 across the entire width of the fabric. A flap 23 of complementary surface-grip material (such as a pile or hook fastener) is secured to the other of the fabric ends and can be pressfitted to the pad 21 to hold the loops 24 together whilst the pintle wire 25 is threaded in. The flap 23 extends across the full width of the fabric. A series of slits are provided in the free end of the flap so as to provide the flap with a number of distinct straps 26. In order to manoeuvre the seaming aid it is necessary to simultaneously apply downward and lateral pressure. Thus this seaming aid is very difficult to handle.
The present invention seeks to provide a temporary seaming aid which is easy to handle when in use.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a temporary seaming aid for use in seaming a dryer fabric, the dryer fabric having at each fabric end a respective row of interdigitatable formations capable of union by a pintle wire to form a flexible joint, a respective one of complementary parts of said temporary seaming aid being provided adjacent to the said fabric ends, said parts being adapted for cooperation, in a relative disposition of the fabric ends consistent with engagement of the interdigitating formations, to maintain such interdigitation, wherein at least one of the complementary parts of the seaming aid comprises a looped handle.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a papermakers dryer fabric having, at each fabric end, a respective row of interdigitatable formations capable of union by a pintle wire to form a flexible joint and further including adjacent to the said fabric ends, a respective one of the co
Coop Philip
Holden David
Scapa Group PLC
Thomas Alexander
LandOfFree
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