US3008213A

US3008213A - Method of making an inflatable fabric

Info

Publication number: US3008213A
Application number: US635200A
Authority: US
Inventors: Boutwell H Foster; Haddad Nassib
Original assignee: United States Rubber Co
Current assignee: Uniroyal Inc
Priority date: 1957-01-22
Filing date: 1957-01-22
Publication date: 1961-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 1978-11-14
Also published as: GB835488A

Description

N v. 14, 1 6 I B. H. FOSTER ETAL 3,008,213

INVENTORS 500777514 bi P087167? M46675 wwaAa BY m .AT TORNEY Nov. 14,1961 BHF STER Em 3,008,213

METHOD OF MAKING AN INFLATABLE FABRIC Filed Jan. 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 H3 /36 41% A35 0'': /Jw

INVENTORS 600177511 6. FOdff/P M48678 f/ADD/ID Y ATTORNEY United States PatentOfilice 3,008,213 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 3,008 213 METHOD F MAKING Aid INFLATABLE FABRIC Boutwell H. Foster, Maplewood, and Nassib Haddad,

Iselin, Nl, assignors to United States Rubber Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 635,200 3 Claims. (Cl. 28-72) This invention relates generally to the art of fabrics and, more particularly, to a two-ply fabric for use in making inflatable articles and to the method of making the same.

The fabric of this invention has wide application. It is especially useful in manufacturing inflatable articles having the characteristic of being substantially rigid when in inflated condition. Such articles include air mattresses, floats, rafts, temporary shelters in the nature of portable buildings and huts, and the like.

It has been the practice in the past to make many inflatable articles from coated plush loom fabrics and from coated plies of ordinary fabrics. Articles heretofore made from these fabrics have frequently been objection able for several reasons. In the first place, due to manufacturing complexities, operational difficulties and the considerable amount of hand work involved, the cost of producing the articles has been necessarily high. Then again, many of the articles do not possess the required degree of rigidity when inflated.

The principal disadvantage of plush loomfabrics is their cost. Plush looms are much more complex than ordinary looms and are considerably more expensive. The fabric of the present invention may be readily made by the use of ordinary looms, thereby substantially reducing manu facturing costs as compared to that of similar fabrics that are made by plush looms.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved fabric for use in making inflatable articles having the characteristic of being substantially rigid when fully inflated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lightweight, compact, strong, durable, and air-impervious fabric for inflatable articles of the type referred to above.

The invention has for a further object the provision of a fabric of the character indicated which may be readily woven by an ordinary loom and which is capable of performing its intended functions in an entirely satisfactory manner.

A preferred and recommended fabric according to this invention comprises woven first and secondfabric plies positioned one above the other with the warp yarns and the filler yarns of the first ply extending in the same direction as the corresponding yarns of the second ply. The fabric is provided with several pluralities of limp binder yarns which are joined to the plies by weaving along corresponding spaced rows. Each binder yarn alternately engages each ply and extends between the plies in unstressed condition. The juncture of each binder yarn with the first ply in one of the rows is intermediate and substantially equidistant from its next preceding and next successive junctures with the second ply. Each ply is provided with a flexible, air-impervious coating which is substantially coextensive with its outer surface. The fabric has its parts so constructed and arranged that when it is sealed along its edges and fully inflated with air, it forms a substantially rigid structure having generally planar and parallel walls which are defined by the coated plies and which are spaced apart to the extent allowed by the binder yarns.

The warp yarns comprise substantially shrunk heatshrinkable synthetic filaments. The filler and binder yarns, on the other hand, comprise filaments that are normally non-shrinkable to a substantial extent, as compared to the warp yarns. The plies and the binder yarns are simultaneously woven by means of an ordinary loom prior to shrinking the heat-shrinkable yarns.

The expression heat-shrinkable, as applied to certain yarns and filaments in this description and in the claims, refers to yarns and filaments which are adapted to be contracted or shrunk to a substantial extent under heat treatment. Such yarns and filaments may be made of a suitable polyvinyl chloride compound, one of which is now available under the name Rhovyl. Filaments of this material may be shrunk approximately 50% of their original length upon being subjected to treatment at a temperature above F. Other synthetic materials which may be used for the heat-shrinkable yarns or filaments include polyethylene and a polyvinyl composition which is presently available under the name Vinyon.

The expression non-shrinkable, as applied to various yarns and filaments in this description and in the claims, refers to yarns and filaments which do not contract or shrink substantially under heat treatment. The materials of such yarns and'filaments include cotton, nylon, rayon, wool, silk, and the like.

The enumerated objects and other objects, together with the advantages of this invention, will be readily under stood by persons versed in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings which respectively describe and illustrate fabrics embodying the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a piece of fabric of this invention prior to being shrunk and coated, the relationship of parts being exaggerated for purposes of illustration;

FIG. 2 corresponds to FIG, 1 and shows the relative position of the parts of the fabric after it is shrunk but prior to being coated;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a portion of an inflat able article embodying the fabric of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a fabric which is similar to the fabric shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 after the fabric is shrunk.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify corresponding parts throughout the several views, we have illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 an uncoated fabric 10 which is woven by an ordinary loom, as distinguished from a plush loom or other special loom. FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate the fabric prior to shrinking and coating, while FIGS. 2 and 5 illustrate the fabric after shrinking but prior to coating.

Fabric .10 consists of a first or top fabric ply 11, a second or bottom fabric ply l2, and pluralities of

binder yarns

13a, 13b and 13c which are joined by weaving to the first and second plies. First ply 11 comprises warp yarns 14 and filler yarns '15. Second ply 12 comprises warp yarns 16 and filler yarns 17 which extend in the same direction as the corresponding yarns of ply 11.

Warp yarns 14 and 16 comprise a heat-shrinkable synthetic material, such as Rhovyl.

Filler yarns

15 and 17 comprise a material which is substantially non-shrinkable, such as cotton or nylon. Nylon is preferred for the reason that filaments thereof have high tensile strength. If desired, the warp yarns may comprise the non-shrinkable material while the filler yarns may comprise the heatsuch as nylon or cotton. These yarns are normally limp and substantially unstressed in uninflated articles en1- bodying the fabric. The binder yarns are adapted to be stressed in tension when the article is inflated.

Binder yarns 13a are represented by full lines in FIGS.

l, 2 and 3. Binder yarns 13b are represented by broken lines in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, while binder yarns 130 are represented by dot-dash lines in these views. It will be observed tha-

t binder yarns

13a, 13b and 130 are arranged in repeating groups and their junctures with the first and second plies are staggered in each group. This relationship is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

Each binder yarn extends in the warp direction of the plies and alternately engages each ply and extends be tween the plies in substantially unstressed condition. The binder yarns are joined to the plies along corresponding rows or lines in the warp direction, as shown in various views. The junctures or connections of one of the binder yarns are identified by corresponding numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2, by way of example. Reading from left to right in these views, one of binder yarns 13a is first joined to ply 11 at 18, is next joined to ply 12 at 19, is next joined to ply 11 at 20, is next joined to ply 12 at 2 1, is next joined to ply 11 at 22, is next joined to ply 12 at 23, and is lastly joined to ply 11 "at 24. All the binder yarns are joined to both plies in the same manner. Hence, it will be observed that the juncture of each binder yarn with the first ply is intermediate and substantially equidistant from its next preceding and next successive junctures with the second ply. This relationship exists in the fabric before shrinking (FIG. 1) and after shrinking (FIG. 2).

The fabric of FIG. 1 is treated after it leaves the loom in a hot water bath having a temperature above 160 F. This causes the fabric to shrink approximately 50% of its original length due to the warp yarns being made of a heat shrinkable material. This brings successive junctures of each warp yarn closer together in each ply from their relative locations shown in FIG. 1 to those shown in FIG. 2, and allows the plies to be spaced apart as illustrated in FIG. 2 to the extent permitted by the segments of the binder yarns which are positioned between the plies.

The following tables set forth data in respect to typical fabrics of this invention:

(b) After shrinking"-.. 3.1.

TABLE 2 Fabric prior and subsequent to being shrunk Before After Shrinking Shrinking 1. Width, inches 52. 5 44. 75 2. Weight, oz./sq. yd 5. 76 12.25 3. Ends/inch of 3-120 denier Rhovy 74 87 4. Picks/inch of 210 denier nylon. 46 86 5. Binder yarns/inch of 210 denier nylon 37 43. 5 6. Percent Rhovyl in fabric 59. 2 59. 2 7. Percent Nylon in fabric.-- 40. 8 40. 8 8. Percent Shrinkage in length 46. 5 9. Percent Shrinkage in width 14. 8

Reference is next had to FIG. 3, which illustrates part of an inflatable article, such as a float 25, that is made from a piece of shrunk fabric of FIG. 2. Prior to making the float, a layer of rubber or other suitable material is applied to the outer surface of each ply to form thereon a coextensive coating 26 that is flexible and impervious to air. Float includes sealing strips 27 which are made of an appropriate material, such as a rubberized fabric, and which are applied to and seal the edges of the coated fabric to prevent escape of air from its interior. A flexible inflating tube 28 is secured to the coated fabric with the aid of a sealing ring 29 and communir'stes with the space between the fabric plies.

The float may be readily inflated by admitting air under pressure thereinto by Way of tube 28. The air so admitted moves the coated plies apart to the extent allowed by the portions of the binder yarns between the plies, as shown in FIG. 3. The parts are so constructed and arranged that the inflated float is substantially rigid and its walls, which are defined by the coated plies, are planar and parallel.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the objects and advantages of the herein described inflatable fabric and of the method of making the same, will-be apparent to those skilled in the art, without further description. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as here shown and described and that various changes may be made without deparb ing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a method of making a fabric of the character described, the steps of weaving first and second fabric plies having warp yarns extending in one direction and filler yarns extending in another direction, the yarns which extend in one of said directions comprising substantially heat-shrinkable filaments, connecting the plies with normally limp non-shrinkable binder yarns to obtain a product wherein the binder yarns are joined to the plies along spaced rows in a manner that the juncture of each binder yarn with the first ply in one of said rows is intermediate and substantially equidistant from the next preceding and next succeeding junctures thereof with the second ply, heating said product to substantially shrink the heatshrinkable filaments thereof, and then applying to the outer surface of each ply a material to form thereon a substantially coextensive coating that is flexible and impervious to air.

2. In a method of making a fabric of the character described, the steps of weaving first and second fabric plies having heat-shrinkable synthetic warp yarns that extend in one direction and non-shrinkable filler yarns that extend in another direction, connecting the plies with normally limp non-shrinkable binder yarns to obtain a product wherein the binder yarns arejoined to the plies along spaced rows in a manner that the juncture of each binder yarn with the first ply in one of said rows is intermediate and substantially equidistant from the next preceding and next succeeding junctures thereof with the second ply, and heating said product to substantially shrink the warp yarns thereof.

3. In a method of making a fabric of the character described, the steps of weaving substantially parallel first and second fabric plies having heat-shrinkable warp yarns extending in one direction and non-shrinkable filler yarns extending in another direction and simultaneously connecting the plies by weaving with normally limp nonshrinkable binder yarns to obtain a composite fabric wherein the binder yarns are joined to the plies along spaced rows in a manner that the juncture of each binder yarn with the first ply in one of said rows is intermediate and substantially equidistant from the next preceding and next succeeding junctures thereof with the second ply, heating the composite fabric to substantially shrink the warp yarns thereof, and then applying to the outer surface of each ply a material to form thereon a substantially coextensive coating that is fiexible and impervious to air.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wallwork May 24, 1949 Crawford Sept. 5, 1950 Foster Aug. 19, 1952 Mauney et al. May 1, 1956 McCord et al. Aug. 7, 1956 Paris et a1 Aug. 7, 1956 Runton Oct. 30, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 14, 1933

Claims

1. IN A METHOD OF MAKING A FABRIC OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, THE STEPS OF WEAVING FIRST AND SECOND FABRIC PLIES HAVING WARP YARNS EXTENDING IN ONE DIRECTION AND FILLER YARNS EXTENDING IN ANOTHER DIRECTION, THE YARNS WHICH EXTEND IN ONE OF SAID DIRECTION COMPRISING SUBSTANTIALLY HEAT-SHRINKABLE FILAMENTS, CONNECTING THE PLIES WITH NORMALLY LIMP NON-SHRINKABLE BINDER YARNS TO OBTAIN A PRODUCT WHEREIN THE BINDER YARNS ARE JOINED TO THE PLIES ALONG SPACED ROWS IN A MANNER THAT THE JUNCTURE OF EACH BINDER YARN WITH THE FIRST PLY IN ONE OF SAID ROWS IS INTERMEDIATE