Textiles: weaving – Fabrics – Drier felts
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-20
2003-06-24
Falik, Andy (Department: 3765)
Textiles: weaving
Fabrics
Drier felts
C139S38300A, C139S38400B
Reexamination Certificate
active
06581645
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to woven composite forming fabrics for use in papermaking machines. The term “composite forming fabric” refers to a forming fabric comprising two woven structures, which are the paper side layer and the machine side layer. Each of these layers is woven to a repeating pattern, and the two patterns used may be substantially the same or they may be different; at least one of the patterns includes the provision of binder yarns which serve to hold the two layers together. As used herein, such fabrics are distinct from those described, for example, by Johnson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,499 or Barrett in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,678, which require additional binder yarns, in particular weft yarns, to interconnect the paper and machine side layers. In the composite forming fabrics of this invention, the paper side layer and the machine side layer are each woven to different, but related, weave patterns, and are interconnected by means of the paper side layer warp yarns.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In composite forming fabrics that include two essentially separate woven structures, the paper side layer is typically a single layer woven structure which provides, amongst other things, a minimum of fabric wire mark to, and adequate drainage of liquid from, the incipient paper web. The paper side layer should also maximise planar support for the fibers and other paper forming solids in the paper slurry while providing sufficient open area to allow adequate drainage. The machine side layer is also typically a single layer woven structure, which should be tough and durable, provide a measure of dimensional stability to the composite forming fabric so as to minimize fabric stretching and narrowing, and sufficiently stiff to minimize curling at the fabric edges. It is also known to use double layer woven structures for either or both of the paper and machine side layers.
The two layers of a composite forming fabric are interconnected by means of either additional binder yarns, or intrinsic binder yarns. Additional binder yarns do not contribute significantly to the fundamental weave structure of the paper side surface of the paper side layer, and serve mainly to bind the two layers together. In comparison, intrinsic binder yarns both contribute to the structure of the paper side layer and also serve to bind together the paper and machine side layers of the composite forming fabric. The chosen yarns may be either warp or weft yarns. The paths of the yarns are arranged so that the selected yarns pass through both layers, thereby interconnecting them into a single composite fabric. Examples of prior art composite forming fabrics woven using intrinsic binder warp or weft yarns are described by Osterberg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,303; Bugge, U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,412; Chiu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,805, U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,004 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,808; Givin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,448; Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,929 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,042; Ward et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,250; Vohringer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,326; Johansson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,585; Hawes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,405; Wright, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,475; and Seabrook et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,627. Additional binder yarns have been generally preferred over intrinsic binder yarns for commercial manufacture of composite forming fabrics because they were thought to be less likely to cause discontinuities, such as dimples, in the paper side surface of the paper side layer. Examples of prior art fabrics woven using additional binder yarns are described by Johansson et al., CA 1,115,177; Borel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,853; Vohringer, DE 3,742,101 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,952; Fitzka et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,372; Taipale, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,642; Huhtiniemi, U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,117; and Barreto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,567.
In composite forming fabrics where intrinsic warp binder yarns from the machine side layer have been used to interconnect the paper and machine side layers, the prior art has generally advocated modifying the path of the selected machine side layer warps so as to bring these yarns up to the paper side layer to interlace with it at selected weft knuckles. A known disadvantage associated with this practice is that the area immediately adjacent to these tie locations tends to become pulled down into the fabric structure, well below the plane of the adjacent knuckles, causing a deviation in the paper side surface of the paper side layer, commonly referred to as a “dimple”. These dimples frequently create a pronounced unevenness in the paper side surface of the fabric, which can result in an unacceptable mark in any paper formed on the fabric. The residual impression made by the weave design of the forming fabric on the side of the paper sheet in contact with the fabric is referred to as “wire mark” or “mark”.
In comparison, intrinsic weft binder yarns have been found to cause less paper side surface dimpling, and hence have been a preferred method of interconnecting the layers of composite forming fabrics. However, there are a number of problems associated with their use.
First, intrinsic weft binder yarns have been found to cause variations in the cross-machine direction mesh uniformity of the paper side surface of the paper side layer in certain weave patterns, resulting in an unacceptable level of wire mark in some grades of paper.
Second, fabrics woven using intrinsic weft binder yarns are known to be susceptible to lateral contraction, or narrowing, when in use. Lateral contraction may be defined as the degree to which a fabric narrows when machine direction (or longitudinal) tension is applied. If the fabric narrows excessively under this tension, particularly at driven rolls in the forming section, the resulting width changes will cause the fabric to buckle or form ridges. Generally, single layer fabrics, and composite fabrics having additional or intrinsic weft binder yarns, exhibit much higher degrees of lateral contraction than either double layer, or extra-support double layer, fabrics of comparable mesh.
Third, composite forming fabrics containing intrinsic weft binder yarns are less efficient to weave than comparable intrinsic warp binder designs, because a greater number of weft yarns is required to provide a reliable interconnection between the paper side layer and the machine side layer. Comparable fabrics whose designs utilise intrinsic warp binder yarns require fewer weft yarns per unit length, since none of the weft yarns is utilised to interconnect the paper and machine side layers. For example, a fabric containing intrinsic warp binder yarns whose paper side layer is woven so as to provide 31.5 weft yarns/cm, and 15.75 weft yarns/cm on its machine side layer (resulting in a 2:1 ratio of the paper side layer to machine side layer weft yarn count), has a total weft yarn count of 47.25 yarns/cm. A comparable fabric containing intrinsic weft binder yarns, woven at 31.5 weft yarns/cm in its paper side layer, at 15.75 weft yarns/cm in its machine side layer, and which employs additional weft yarns to interconnect the layers, has a total weft yarn count of between 55 to 63 weft yarns/cm, because additional weft yarns must be provided so as to tie the two layers together. Thus, composite forming fabrics that utilise intrinsic warp binder yarns to interconnect their paper and machine side layers require up to 25% fewer weft yarns to weave each unit length, making them more efficient to produce.
Fourth, a fabric utilizing intrinsic warp binder yarns will generally have a lower caliper (and provide a lower void volume) than a comparable fabric of similar specification utilizing intrinsic weft binder yarns. Because there are fewer weft yarns per unit length, those remaining do not contribute as much to the thickness of the fabric.
A benefit provided by composite fabrics utilizing intrinsic warp binder yarns is their increased resistance to delamination, when compared to a composite fabric utilizing either additional or intrinsic weft binder yarns. Delamination, which is the catastrophic separ
Johnson Dale B.
Seabrook Ronald H.
Stone Richard
AstenJohnson, Inc.
Falik Andy
Muromoto, Jr. Robert
Wilkes Robert A.
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