Belt type friction power conveyor belt

Abstract

A belt-type friction power conveyor belt having a satin weave ribbon fabric wrapped around the outside of the belt. The ribbon fabric may be a satin fabric weave of warp and weft yarns, and may include high strength wear resistant yarns such as aramid fibers, and may include high adhesion yarns such as nylon and / or cotton. The aramid and / or nylon fibers may be staple fibers or filament fibers. The ribbon fabric may be treated. The ribbon fabric may have a 4 * 1 satin fabric weave. The ribbon fabric may be a skewed wrap. The high adhesion yarn may be located primarily on an inner side of a fabric contacting the V-belt, and the high strength wear resistant yarn may be located primarily on an outer side of the fabric, the outer side being an outer surface of the belt contacting a pulley. The belt type belt can be a V-shaped belt, a round belt, a double V-shaped belt or a plurality of V-shaped belts, or has another friction belt profile.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese Patent Application No. 201880086959.8, filed on November 2, 2018, entitled “Power Transmission Belt with Frictional Drive Belt,” TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a power transmission belt with frictional drive belt, such as a V-belt, having one or more outer layers of fabric wrapped around the belt, and in particular to a V-belt having a belt fabric with a satin weave organization of some aramid fibers and other fibers. BACKGROUND

[0003] Covered or power transmission belts with frictional drive belts are typically constructed of an outer layer of rubber impregnated or other polymer impregnated fabric surrounding a belt core. The covering or “belt layer” provides a number of functions, including protecting the belt from environmental factors, controlling the frictional properties of the belt, and resisting wear of the belt when it contacts the sheaves (pulleys) in a frictional drive belt transmission.

[0004] U.S. Patent No. 4,238,530 to Hollaway et al. teaches the use of a square woven fabric and cutting the fabric at an angle of about 45 degrees into relatively wide strips. The individual strips are then spliced together by overlapping the ends of one strip with the ends of another strip using a tacky elastomeric compound as an adhesive, and then wound into a roll. If desired, the fabric can be slit lengthwise into relatively narrow belts of the desired width and length for wrapping around a belt. This method produces a transverse splice joint as well as a lengthwise seam from the wrapping. The transverse splice joint in particular can cause undesirable periodic belt noise and vibration.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 3,784,427 to Griffin is representative of the prior art and discloses a V-belt that can be wrapped or covered with a bias cut woven fabric, and a method of making a bias fabric in which continuous strips of bias material are helically cut from a length of tubular woven fabric.

[0006] U.S. Patent No. 2,519,590 to L. W. Mitchell is also representative of the prior art and discloses a number of belt shapes that can be covered with a bias cut woven fabric having warp and weft yarns that cross at an angle of 90° or at a cross angle that is shifted to less than or greater than 90°.

[0007] U.S. Patent No. 6,595,883 discloses a V-belt suitable for clutch applications having a textile component employing any suitable or conventional type of textile material including a fabric weave of warp and weft yarns in any desired angle of any natural or synthetic variety. In a preferred embodiment, the fabric is a nylon / cotton blended bias weave having warp yarns at an angle of 100-130° to the weft yarns and both oriented in a direction of about 57° ± 7° to the direction of travel or longitudinal direction of the belt.

[0008] The above discloses "full cover" V-belts which are typically manufactured so that one edge of the fabric outer layer laps over the other. U.S. Patent No. 7,942,773 to Daugherty et al. discloses various arrangements of the covering fabric which avoid the lapped edges. Some belts can have multiple layers of fabric on one or more surfaces. The belt-like layers of fabric can be square woven fabric, twill, knit, woven or non-woven such as felt or needled fleece.

[0009] U.S. Patent No. 4,302,197 to Kimura et al. discloses a toothed belt having a tooth cover fabric woven with different types of warp and weft fibers and one of the warp and weft fibers having a greater exposed surface area on one side of the fabric and the other of the warp and weft fibers having a greater exposure on the opposite side of the fabric. The fabric is a 4 / 1 twill weave.

[0010] It is unknown or unsuggested to use a bias oriented woven fabric for a belt-type V-belt cover fabric wherein the warp or weft yarns include staple or filament yarns of aramid, cotton and nylon and wherein the fabric weave is a satin weave, a modified satin weave or a sateen. SUMMARY

[0011] The present invention relates to systems and methods which provide a belt-like fabric for use in a belt-type friction power transmission belt such as a belt-type V-belt.

[0012] A power transmission belt having a satin weave fabric band encircling the outer side of the belt. The band fabric can be a satin weave of warp and weft yarns. The band fabric can include a blended yarn of two or more fiber materials. The warp and weft yarns can be the same, i.e., a balanced fabric construction. Alternatively, the warp and weft yarns can be different, i.e., an unbalanced construction. The band fabric can include a high strength or high modulus or abrasion resistant fiber material or yarn such as aramid fiber, which can be located primarily on the outer side of the fabric and belt. The band fabric can include a high adhesion fiber material or yarn such as nylon or cotton fiber, which can be located primarily on the inner side of the fabric that is adhered to the belt body. The band fabric can be woven as a warp-faced satin or a weft-faced satin. The band fabric can be oriented parallel to the belt axis or at an angle of declination. The fibers of the yarns such as aramid or nylon fiber can be staple or filament fiber. The band fabric can be treated. The band fabric can have a 4x1 satin weave. The belt can be a V-belt or a round belt, and it can be endless.

[0013] If the band fabric is oriented parallel to the belt axis, the fabric can advantageously include a predetermined level of stretch in the parallel yarns, which can be the warp yarns. The amount of stretch under a specified load of 2 kg per 25 mm of fabric width can advantageously be from 5% or 10% up to 35% or 80%. Belts having parallel oriented, warp-stretched fabric are easier and less expensive to produce than various conventional methods of skewing and shifting fabric, and they do not have any transverse splicing lap.

[0014] The resulting belt belt can have little or no impact of inner rubber material to the belt surface. The belt belt can have improved coefficient of friction stability during use.

[0015] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present application so as to provide an overall understanding of the detailed description of the application that follows. Additional features and advantages of the application will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the disclosure of the concepts and specific embodiments disclosed herein can be readily utilized as a basis for the changing or designing for other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present application. Those skilled in the art will also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the application as set forth in the additional claims. When considered in light of the following detailed description, it will be appreciated that new features of the application believed to be novel are embodied in the construction and organization hereinafter described, and in the methods of operation to be performed therein. It will be understood, however, that each of the drawings, while indicating a preferred embodiment of the application, is provided solely for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the preferred embodiment of the application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1 is a simplified V-belt drive utilizing the V-belt of the present application;

[0018] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 2-2 of the V-belt drive of

[0019] Figure 3 shows a plain weave fabric of the prior art;

[0020] Figure 4 is a schematic view of an alternative belt or cover configuration of the present application;

[0021] Figure 5 is a schematic view of another alternative belt or cover configuration of the present application;

[0022] Figure 6 shows a 4 / 1 sateen weave fabric organization for a V-belt cover fabric according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 7 shows the other side of the 4 / 1 sateen weave fabric organization of Figure 6

[0024] Figure 8 shows a 6 / 1 sateen weave fabric organization for a V-belt cover fabric according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 9 shows a 7 / 1 sateen weave fabric organization for a V-belt cover fabric according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 10 shows a twelve-end modified sateen weave fabric organization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 11 shows another twelve-end modified sateen weave fabric organization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 12 shows a twelve-end sateen weave fabric organization according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 13 shows another twelve-end modified sateen weave fabric organization according to an embodiment of the present application; and

[0030] Figure 14 ​Another twelve-end satin weave fabric construction according to an embodiment of the application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Figure 1 A belt friction power transmission belt drive 10 is shown utilizing a belt 18 according to an embodiment of the application. In Figure 1 , a typical power transmission drive system 10 is shown including a drive pulley 12, a driven pulley 14, a belt 18 trained around and wedged into them in driving relationship, and a flat idler 16 (which can engage the top or wide side of the belt to maintain tension on the belt and eliminate slack between the pulleys).

[0032] The belt 18 is shown in Figure 2 typical cross-section at 2-2 in the form of a V-belt. The construction of the V-belt 18 includes a tensile member 19 embedded in a belt body that is generally trapezoidal in shape, wrapped in two layers of a belt layer (or cover) fabric. The details of the outer belt 13 are the subject of the present application. The belt of the present application can have only one layer of belt layer fabric, or it can have more than one layer. The belt body can be formed of rubber or rubber-like material, and can include various reinforcing layers, such as a compression section rubber 20, a tensile section rubber layer 26, a fiber loaded rubber layer 24, and a reinforcing fabric layer 22, which can be any type of reinforcing or supportive fabric such as woven, non-woven, tire cord, etc. Any desired number of rubber or reinforcing layers can be used in the belt body. While the belt of the present application can be used for a variety of applications, including power transmission between pulleys or sheaves of complementary shape for automotive and industrial applications, the belt of the present application is particularly suited for industrial applications. Standard single ply industrial V-belt cross-sections that can be used in the belt of the present application include industrial standard sizes A, B, C and D, 2L, 3L and 4L and 3V, 5V, 8V and metric sizes SPZ, SPA, SPB and SPC. Any desired friction belt cross-section can be wrapped with the fabric cover according to the present application. For example, the V-shaped side surfaces can be somewhat concave, and / or the top and bottom surfaces can be crowned, as shown in Figure 4 and 5 , or the belt can be given other conventional shapes such as round, or double V. The belt can be tied together side by side with multiple belts to act as a single belt, for example, for use in multiple V-belt drives.

[0033] Figure 2 The drawing at Figure 4 and 5Alternative construction methods are shown that eliminate the overlap of the coverings. In Figure 4 the angled sides and bottom of the belt body 20b are first covered with a U-shaped fabric 45, and then covered with an inverted U-shaped fabric 47. In Figure 5 the angled sides and bottom of the belt body 20b are first covered with two layers of U-shaped fabric 49 and 51, and then covered with an inverted U-shaped fabric 53. The U-shaped and inverted U-shaped belt fabrics can be applied in any desired order.

[0034] The belt body can be formed of rubber, and by "rubber" is meant a cross-linkable natural or synthetic elastomer that is processable in solid form, e.g., on a mill. Such rubbers are typically mixed in the green or unvulcanized form with appropriate additives, extenders, reinforcing agents, accelerators, fillers, vulcanizing agents such as sulfur or peroxides, etc. in a suitable batch or continuous mixer, as is well known in the rubber processing industry. Typical synthetic rubbers useful in the present invention include chloroprene rubber (CR), copolymers of ethylene and propylene (or other alpha-olefins), terpolymers of ethylene, propylene (or other alpha-olefins) and diene monomers such as EPDM, styrene butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber, natural rubber, butadiene rubber, chlorosulfonated ethylene, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, silicone rubber, fluoroelastomers, mixtures of the foregoing, etc.

[0035] Any of the various layers of the belt body can be formed of any of the foregoing rubber materials, which are typically stacked on a building drum as a calendered stock sheet or layer with or without textile reinforcement therein. The fiber-loaded layers of the belt body can include any conventional fiber loading, such as cotton, aramid, nylon, polyester, to name a few examples.

[0036] By "belted" herein is meant wrapped in fabric. A belted belt can be fully wrapped, or partially wrapped. In particular, a belted belt is at least wrapped so that one or more pulley contact surfaces are covered by fabric. A V-belt can be wrapped across the top and up both sides, or across the back and down both sides. The wrap can be a two-and-a-half wrap, which overlaps to completely cover the belt, which is two layers on two sides and one layer on the other two sides, as shown in Figure 4 . The wrap can be one or more fully wrapped layers of fabric, as disclosed in Figure 2 . Belting does not include so-called raw edge or cut edge V-belts, in which the molded belt plate is cut to form the V-shape, which results in the main body material of the belt being exposed at the angled pulley contact surfaces. The cut edges expose, for example, one or more rubber layers, and optionally one or more transverse reinforcement layers embedded in the rubber. The fabric that wraps the belt is referred to as a belt fabric.

[0037] The V-belt indicates that the pulley contact surface is two angled sides of a trapezoidal cross-section belt together. The angled sides can include some curvature. The V-belt can be a ring belt. The belt backside and / or belt inside can have a crimp, or teeth, which can be included to increase flexibility. However, toothed or synchronous positive drive belts are not included herein, and are considered distinct from a belted V-belt or other type of frictional belt.

[0038] Turning now to a description of the belt fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least the outer layer of the belt fabric includes staple or filament yarns of high performance fibers such as aramid, polyester, nylon, PBO (poly-p-phenylene-benzobisoxazole), PEEK (polyether ether ketone), PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), fluoropolymer, or blends thereof in the warp or weft yarns. The aramid is an aramid, which can be a para-aramid such as poly-para-phenylene terephthalamide, meta-aramid, or an aramid copolymer. The nylon can be any suitable type of polyamide, including for example nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 46, etc. The aramid yarn (i.e. aramid) is preferably a para-aramid, such as Kevlar grades, which are sold under that trademark name by DuPont; or Twaron or Technora grades, which are sold under those trademark names by Teijin; or Heracron grades, which are sold under that trademark name by Kolon Industries, Inc.; or Alkex grades, which are sold under that trademark name by Hyosung Corporation. Any suitable commercial high performance yarn or yarns can be used. A preferred nylon yarn is nylon 66. The belt fabric can be 100% aramid fiber or 100% nylon fiber, or 100% other high performance fiber.

[0039] The belt fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least the outer layer of the belt fabric can include staple or filament yarns of high bonding fibers such as nylon or cellulosic fibers in the warp or weft yarns. The nylon can be any suitable type of polyamide, including for example nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 46, etc. The cellulosic fiber can be one or more of cotton, flax, hemp, ramie, kenaf, rayon, etc. The bonding yarn can be or include cotton or nylon or blends thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the belt fabric includes aramid yarns, cotton yarns, and nylon or polyester yarns, and the fabric weave is a satin weave or a cotton sateen weave. The fabric weave can be balanced, with the same warp and weft yarns, or the fabric weave can be unbalanced, with different warp and weft yarns. If there are multiple layers of the belt fabric, the inner layer can have the same construction as the outer layer, or the inner layer can be any conventional fabric.

[0040] The yarns of the belt fabric can include a blend of aramid and cotton, or a blend of aramid and nylon, or a blend of aramid and polyester, or a blend of aramid, cotton and nylon, or a blend of aramid, cotton and polyester. The cotton fibers are staple fibers. The synthetic fibers can be filaments or staple fibers. If filaments yarns are used in blend with staple yarns, the yarns can be wrapped or cabled filaments and staple yarns. The fabric weave of the belt fabric can be a balanced weave of such blended yarns.

[0041] The fabric weave can be illustrated with a simple diagram such as Figure 3 Figure 3 A conventional plain or square weave is shown. The dark squares represent the warp yarns as they extend vertically across the top of the weft yarns, and thus are visible. The light squares represent the weft fibers as they extend horizontally across the top of the warp yarns, and thus are visible. The plain weave maximizes the number of intersections of the warp and weft yarns, which results in a strong fabric. The two sides of a plain weave fabric typically look the same, with the same amount of exposed warp and weft yarns on each side. Each intersection in the diagram represents a void that occurs in the middle between two warp yarns and two weft yarns. When a molded wrapped belt is made, this void can allow rubber to penetrate to the belt surface. Rubber penetration (or "breakthrough") can be undesirable. It can be preferable, for example, to have the fabric fibers exposed at the belt surface to provide certain coefficients of friction or abrasion resistance. Rubber penetration can significantly increase the coefficient of friction and / or decrease the abrasion resistance of the belt.

[0042] Figure 6 A preferred satin weave is shown. The satin weave has relatively few warp and weft yarn intersections, and relatively few visible weft yarns on the surface. The warp yarns ride on top of four weft yarns, then pass under a single weft yarn. Thus, Figure 6 The satin weave of

[0043] Figure 7 The reverse side of the satin weave fabric of Figure 6 is shown. In Figure 7 ​In the context of the present application, the weft yarns now exhibit long floats, with relatively few warp yarns exposed. As a result of this difference between the two sides of the satin weave construction, using different yarns for the warp relative to the weft (i.e., an "unbalanced" construction) allows the two sides to be designed for different functions. In the context of a wrapped V-belt, it can be advantageous to use a high-wear yarn for the warp yarns when it is the yarn that is more exposed to the wear surface of the belt (i.e., the "outside" surface of the fabric), and to use a yarn that has good adhesive properties to rubber for the weft yarns when it is the yarn that is more exposed to the rubber of the belt body (i.e., the "inside" surface of the fabric). It should be understood that the fabric can be woven with the warp yarns exposed on the outside surface (so-called "face warp" satin weave), or alternatively with the weft yarns exposed (so-called "face weft" satin weave), as indicated in the context of the present application. Figure 6 The choice of fabric construction details such as these can depend on the materials desired on each side, or on the orientation of the yarns desired on the belt, in conjunction with the planned method of cutting the fabric or wrapping the belt.

[0044] The fabric can be oriented with the weft or warp parallel to the belt longitudinal axis. The choice of fabric construction can then depend on which yarn the belt designer prefers to extend along the length or longitudinal direction of the belt, and which yarn the designer prefers to extend along the cross-section of the belt in the transverse direction. Thus, it can be desirable to select a yarn that is more reinforcing or higher modulus for the transverse belt direction, and a yarn that is more flexible for the longitudinal belt direction, and to select the more wear-resistant of the two for the outside exposed surface, and the more adhesive of the two for the inner or inside surface. All such choices are considered to be within the scope of the present application. One advantage of parallel orientation of the belt fabric is that it eliminates the need to cut the fabric at an angle, to move the skew angle, and the associated processing steps.

[0045] If the webbing fabric is oriented parallel to the webbing axis, the fabric can advantageously include a predetermined level of stretch in the parallel yarns, which can be the warp yarns. For example, the warp yarns can be crimped or textured or cored with an elastic core to impart increased stretchability to them. Textured nylon can be used for the stretchable warp yarns. The amount of stretch under a specified load of 2 kg per 25 mm of fabric width can range from 5% or 10% up to 35-80%. The fabric can thus have a stretch in the warp direction in the range of 5-100%, or 10-35% under a specified load of 2 kg per 25 mm of fabric width. Thus, for example, the weft yarns, which are perpendicular to the webbing longitudinal axis, can be high-strength fibers such as aramid or non-textured nylon or polyester, etc., and the warp or longitudinal yarns can be significantly more flexible. This can help to maximize the webbing transverse stiffness and minimize the webbing longitudinal flexibility, both of which are highly desirable in a friction V-belt. The fabric can be any of the satin weave constructions described herein, thus also allowing each side of the fabric to have the unique and desirable properties described herein as well as different directional properties. Alternatively, if the side-to-side differences are not desired, the fabric with stretchable warp yarns can have a plain or square weave construction. The stretchable warp webbing fabric would also be very useful as a tie strap for joining multiple V-belts, or for a cross-cord reinforcement, as it would not require any angled cutting, skewing or shifting steps, yet still have good transverse strength / stiffness and longitudinal flexibility.

[0046] As a non-limiting example, the abrasion-resistant exposed yarns can be or include aramid, nylon, PBO, PEEK, PPS, fluoropolymer, polyester or blends thereof, while the more cohesive yarns can be or include cotton or nylon or blends thereof.

[0047] The wrapped V-belt can be constructed with a skew-oriented wrapping fabric. In such a case, the skew angle can also be moved from the natural 90° to a predetermined angle to provide the desired flexibility or stretchability in the belt longitudinal direction and / or increased stiffness in the belt transverse direction. In such a skew-oriented case, it can be preferred to use the same yarns for both the weft and warp yarns to provide a "balanced" construction. The skew and skew angle can be achieved by any conventional weaving or post-weaving techniques. The skew angle can be moved on conventional equipment or using conventional techniques, for example, on a tenter frame. Continuous strips of the skew material can be spiral cut from a length of tubular satin weave fabric. Strips of the skew material can be cut at the desired angle from a plain weave fabric and spliced together if longer strips are needed. Alternative straight cut strips can be spiral wrapped around the belt at the desired spiral or skew angle.

[0048] The term "satin" is often used to refer to a fabric that has a satin weave and is made from cotton, which is a staple fiber. Because the fabric organization of a cotton satin fabric is still a satin weave, the term "satin" or "satin weave" is used herein regardless of whether the fabric includes cotton, or cotton blended with other yarns or other staple fiber yarns. Satin woven fabrics consist almost entirely of floats in the warp or weft yarns that are repeatedly produced in the fabric, and the intersections are distributed as evenly and widely spaced as possible. A float indicates that a warp or weft yarn extends over two or more adjacent weft or warp yarns.

[0049] In other embodiments, non-staple fibers can be used. Figure 6 The satin weave fabric organization of 4x1 fabric organization. Figure 8 Another preferred satin weave fabric organization is shown, namely a 6x1 satin weave fabric organization. This satin weave fabric organization has even fewer intersections of warp and weft yarns, and relatively few visible weft yarns on the surface. The warp yarns rest on top of six weft yarns, and then pass under a single weft yarn. Again, Figure 9 Another preferred satin weave fabric organization is shown, namely a 7x1 satin weave fabric organization. Figure 12 A 11x1 satin is shown. Figure 14 An alternative 11x1 satin is shown.

[0050] The satin weave fabric organization can be varied from those shown in Figures 6-9 by changing the spacing or regularity of the fabric organization. For example, a 6x1 satin with warp floats of different lengths relative to the weft floats is conceivable. Also, a so-called crowsfoot satin fabric organization can have a series of spaced apart intersections with two adjacent (or diagonally adjacent) exposed weft yarns instead of the single weft yarn visible in Figures 6-9 Such alternative fabric organization patterns are referred to herein as altered satin weave fabric organizations. The 3x1 satin is most commonly referred to as a crowsfoot satin. Figure 10 An example of an altered satin is the 5x1 satin, which has longer floats than the simple 3x1 crowsfoot satin organization, but has a similar diagonal pair of intersections pattern. Figure 10 、 11 and 13 show some more examples of altered satin weave fabric organizations that can be used to practice the invention.

[0051] Figures 10-14 The fabrics shown in

[0052] The fabrics can be identified in terms of the number of ends used to produce them on a loom, and the pattern of movement. For example Figure 6 and 7of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 8 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 9 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figures 10-14 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 10 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 11 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 13 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 12 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row. Figure 14 of 4 x 1 sateen can be woven with five ends, moving 2 or 3 per row.

[0053] The preferred ribbon fabric has long floats as described above. There can be a combination of long and short floats. The length of the long floats is preferably 3 or greater, or 4 or greater, or 5 or greater, or 4-11.

[0054] The ribbon fabric can include one or more treatments to impart additional functionality, such as changing the coefficient of friction, improving adhesion to the belt body, providing some electrical or static conductivity, increasing thickness or bulk, etc. The treatment can be applied by dip, roll, or spray coating one or both sides of the fabric or impregnating into or throughout the fabric. Examples include resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex ("RFL") coating, epoxy latex coating, rubber cement coating, or other types of latex, liquid, or polymeric coatings. The treatment can be a rubber, plastic, or other polymeric film applied by lamination or by calendering, such as a rubber friction coating or a rubber gum coating.

[0055] The following examples ("Examples") show the benefits of the inventive belts relative to conventional belts of comparative examples ("Comparative Examples"). The belts were all constructed with the same aramid tensile element, a neoprene belt body compound, an RFL dip, and a CR rubber-cement top coat fabric. Only the ribbon fabric was changed. The belts were constructed and tested in pairs, with one and two layers of ribbon fabric, respectively. Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 had a conventional flat woven ribbon fabric of a nylon / cotton blend (25 / 75). Comparative Example 3 and Comparative Example 4 had a conventional flat woven ribbon fabric of an aramid / nylon / cotton blend (20 / 20 / 60). The fabrics of Comparative Examples 1-4 were flat woven, and as shown in Table 1, were balanced and skew cut for wrapping. The inventive fabrics for Example 5, Example 6, and Example 7 were blends of nylon, cotton, and aramid staple yarns, with a balanced 4 / 1 sateen weave, as shown in Table 1. Figure 3 The following examples ("Examples") show the benefits of the inventive belts relative to conventional belts of comparative examples ("Comparative Examples"). The belts were all constructed with the same aramid tensile element, a neoprene belt body compound, an RFL dip, and a CR rubber-cement top coat fabric. Only the ribbon fabric was changed. The belts were constructed and tested in pairs, with one and two layers of ribbon fabric, respectively. Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 had a conventional flat woven ribbon fabric of a nylon / cotton blend (25 / 75). Comparative Example 3 and Comparative Example 4 had a conventional flat woven ribbon fabric of an aramid / nylon / cotton blend (20 / 20 / 60). The fabrics of Comparative Examples 1-4 were flat woven, and as shown in Table 1, were balanced and skew cut for wrapping. The inventive fabrics for Example 5, Example 6, and Example 7 were blends of nylon, cotton, and aramid staple yarns, with a balanced 4 / 1 sateen weave, as shown in Table 1.Figures 6-7 The coated fabric was also coated with the same process. In all of these examples, the fabric was moved on a tenter frame, skew cut and applied. Table 1 lists the materials used in these examples and the belt V-belts. It was determined that the amount of core rubber material was a bit too much for the closed belt mold in Example 5, so Example 7 was a repeat of Example 5 with a slight adjustment of the core rubber. This adjustment significantly improved the blowthrough.

[0056] The most significant benefit of the satin weave construction is the elimination of rubber blowthrough from the inside of the belt to the surface of the belt. The blowthrough rating in Table 1 is a subjective measure based on the fraction of the belt surface covered by rubber that has flowed from the inside of the fabric. A rating of 1 indicates no blowthrough visible to the naked eye or felt by hand, while a rating of 5 indicates complete rubber coverage of the surface due to blowthrough. In this case, four people each rated two belts of each construction to the nearest integer rating, thus producing the average values reported in Table 1. The plain weave fabric of the comparative examples allowed a significant amount of rubber to flow through the voids at the intersections of the warp and weft yarns. Note that this even occurred with two layers of fabric. On the other hand, the inventive belts with the satin weave construction allowed very little or sometimes even no rubber blowthrough, achieving a rating of 1.0 for Examples 6 and 7.

[0057] Examples 8 and 9 used a plain weave fabric with warp stretch, oriented with the warp yarns stretched parallel to the belt longitudinal direction. The warp yarns of the warp stretch fabric were all nylon, and the nylon warp yarns were deformed to produce a fabric with a stretch of 10-35% in the warp direction under a 2 kg / 25 mm width load. The weft yarns were all para-aramid yarns. The fabric was applied without warp / weft angle movement. Surprisingly, even with a plain weave fabric, the warp stretch fabric had no visible blowthrough and a fairly stable COF. It would be expected that making it with a satin weave construction would also produce no blowthrough and an even more stable COF.

[0058] The belts were then run on a tension ratio slip test, which measures the amount of belt slip at various levels of tension ratio, which measures the coefficient of friction ("COF") both before and after the test. For all of the comparative belt examples, the COF increased significantly during the test. The inventive belt examples exhibited very stable COF values, with minimal or no change during the test. Thus, the inventive belts should provide longer, more predictable performance at the COF level of the newly manufactured belt.

[0059] While the application and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the scope of the application as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the application is not intended to be limited to particular embodiments described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein can be utilized according to the present application. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, substantially as set forth in the disclosure and their equivalents. The application disclosed herein can suitably be practiced in the absence of any element of the disclosure not specifically disclosed herein.

[0060] Table 1.

[0061] In particular, the present application is also directed to each of the following items:

[0062] Item 1. A power transmission belt comprising a belt fabric wrapped on the outer side of the belt, wherein the belt fabric comprises a satin weave or a modified satin weave and has warp yarns and weft yarns.

[0063] Item 2. The power transmission belt of item 1, wherein the belt fabric comprises two or more different fiber materials.

[0064] Item 3. The power transmission belt of item 2, wherein the at least one of the warp yarns and weft yarns comprises a blend of two or more fiber materials.

[0065] Item 4. The power transmission belt of item 3, wherein the blend comprises two or more fiber materials selected from the group consisting of aramid, cotton, nylon, and polyester.

[0066] Item 5. The power transmission belt of item 1, wherein the warp yarns and the weft yarns have the same yarn construction.

[0067] Item 6. The power transmission belt of item 1, wherein the warp yarns and weft yarns have different yarn constructions.

[0068] Item 7. The power transmission belt of item 6, wherein the yarns predominantly located on the outer side of the belt fabric comprise a high-strength abrasion-resistant fiber material, and the yarns predominantly located on the inner side of the belt fabric comprise a high- adhesion fiber material.

[0069] Item 8. The power transmission belt of item 7, wherein the yarns predominantly located on the inner side of the belt fabric comprise cotton or nylon as the high-adhesion fiber material.

[0070] Item 9. The belted belt of item 7, wherein the yarns predominantly located on the outside of the belted fabric comprise aramid as the high strength abrasion resistant fiber material.

[0071] Item 10. The belted belt of item 9, wherein the aramid fiber is staple fiber.

[0072] Item 11. The belted belt of item 9, wherein the aramid fiber is filament fiber.

[0073] Item 12. The belted belt of item 1, wherein the belted fabric is a 4 / 1 sateen weave.

[0074] Item 13. The belted belt of item 1, wherein the belted fabric is a weave comprising over 4-11 additional of the warp and weft yarns, floats of one of the warp and weft yarns.

[0075] Item 14. The belted belt of item 1, in the form of a V-belt.

[0076] Item 15. The belted belt of item 1, wherein the belted fabric is skewed in orientation relative to the longitudinal belt direction.

[0077] Item 16. The belted belt of item 1, wherein the yarns comprise aramid fiber.

[0078] Item 17. The belted belt of item 1, wherein the warp and weft yarns comprise a three component blend of aramid, cotton and nylon or polyester fiber.

[0079] Item 18. The belted belt of item 1, wherein the warp yarns have a stretch that results in the belted fabric having a stretch in the range of 5% to 100% under a specified load of 2 kg per 25 mm of fabric width.

[0080] Item 19. A belted frictional conveyor belt comprising a belted fabric having warp and weft yarns; wherein the belted fabric is oriented with the warp yarns parallel to the longitudinal direction of the belt; and wherein the fabric has a stretch in the range of 5% to 100% in the warp direction under a specified load of 2 kg per 25 mm of fabric width.

[0081] Item 20. The belted belt of item 19, wherein the warp yarns comprise textured nylon fiber, and the weft yarns comprise aramid fiber.

[0082] Item 21. The belted belt of item 20, wherein the fabric has a sateen or modified sateen weave.

[0083] Item 22. The belted belt of item 20, wherein the fabric has a plain weave.

Claims

1. A belt-type friction power transmission belt comprising a strip fabric wrapped around the outside of the belt, wherein the strip fabric comprises a satin weave or a modified satin weave and has warp and weft yarns.

2. The belt of claim 1, wherein the belt fabric comprises two or more different fiber materials.

3. The belt of claim 2, wherein at least one of the warp and weft yarns comprises a blend of two or more fiber materials.

4. The belt of claim 3, wherein the blend comprises two or more fibrous materials selected from aramid, cotton, nylon and polyester.

5. The belt of claim 1, wherein the warp yarns and the weft yarns have the same yarn construction.

6. The belt of claim 1, wherein the warp and weft yarns have different yarn structures.

7. The belt of claim 6, wherein the yarns mainly located on the outer side of the belt fabric comprise a high-strength abrasion-resistant fiber material, and the yarns mainly located on the inner side of the belt fabric comprise a highly adhesive fiber material.

8. The belt of claim 7, wherein the yarns located primarily on the inner side of the belt-like fabric comprise cotton or nylon as a highly adhesive fiber material.

9. The belt of claim 7, wherein the yarns located primarily on the outer side of the belt-like fabric comprise aramid as a high-strength, abrasion-resistant fiber material.

10. The belt of claim 9, wherein the aramid fiber is a short fiber.

11. The belt of claim 9, wherein the aramid fiber is a filament fiber.

12. The belt of claim 1, wherein the belt fabric is a 4 / 1 satin weave.

13. The belt of claim 1, wherein the belt fabric is a fabric structure comprising a float of one of the warp and the weft yarns above 4 to 11 other warp and the weft yarns.

14. The belt of claim 1, which is in the form of a V-shaped belt.

15. The belt of claim 1, wherein the belt-like fabric is oriented obliquely relative to the longitudinal belt direction.

16. The belt of claim 1, wherein the yarn comprises aramid fibers.

17. The belt of claim 1, wherein the warp and weft yarns comprise a three-component blend of aramid, cotton, and nylon or polyester fibers.

18. The belt of claim 1, wherein the warp yarn has tension, which causes the belt fabric to have a stretch in the range of 5%-100% under a specified load of 2 kg / 25 mm fabric width.

19. A belt-type friction conveyor belt comprising a belt-shaped fabric having warp and weft yarns; wherein the belt-shaped fabric is oriented with warp yarns parallel to the longitudinal direction of the belt; and wherein the fabric has a stretch in the warp direction within the range of 5%-100% under a specified load of 2 kg / 25 mm fabric width.

20. The belt of claim 19, wherein the warp yarn comprises deformed nylon fibers and the weft yarn comprises aramid fibers.

21. The belt of claim 20, wherein the fabric has a satin weave or a modified satin weave fabric structure.

22. The belt of claim 20, wherein the fabric has a plain weave structure.

Images