Hinge-Type Seaming Element for Stronger Industrial Textile Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for joining industrial textiles, such as welding or creating loops, are time-consuming and may not ensure sufficient seam strength, while maintaining compatibility with the fabric's characteristics, especially when forming endless textiles for industrial applications.
Innovation Solution
A hinge-type seaming element comprising two planar components made from polymeric film or textile, with selectively slit regions to accommodate a pintle or similar securing means, allowing for secure attachment and alignment to form a channel for joining, ensuring compatibility with the fabric's thickness and intended use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional methods such as welding or loop creation are used to join industrial textiles, then the textiles can be connected to form endless structures, but the process becomes time-consuming and may not ensure sufficient seam strength
Solution Approach 1:
The seaming element is divided into two separate components that are attached to opposite ends of the textile independently, then joined together. This segmentation allows parallel processing and simplifies the seaming operation, reducing time while maintaining strength through the two-part construction that distributes stress across the joint.
Solution Approach 2:
The seaming components are pre-attached to the textile ends before the actual joining operation. This preliminary attachment ensures proper positioning and alignment, and allows the textile ends to be prepared in advance, reducing the time required for the critical joining step while ensuring sufficient seam strength through pre-established connections.
2Reliability
If loops are created in yarns to form coil seams or pin seams, then the textile ends can be connected, but the process is complex and difficult to ensure sufficient seam strength while maintaining fabric characteristic compatibility
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the seaming function from the textile structure itself by introducing separate seaming components that attach to the textile ends. This eliminates the need to create loops in the yarns and perform complex interdigitating operations, simplifying the process while maintaining seam strength through the dedicated seaming elements designed for robust connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The seaming components serve as intermediary elements between the two textile ends, providing a simplified connection mechanism. Instead of directly manipulating yarns and creating loops, the intermediary seaming components with their land areas and apertures facilitate joining through a less complex process while ensuring sufficient seam strength through their structural design.
3Ease of manufacture
If seaming elements are attached to textile ends, then joining can be facilitated, but thickness discontinuity may occur at the seam area
Solution Approach 1:
The seaming components are designed with local quality variations, including land areas and apertures with specific dimensional characteristics tailored for their joining function. The land areas provide bonding surface with appropriate thickness and surface properties for secure attachment to textile ends, while the apertures are dimensioned to accommodate securing means, achieving both ease of manufacture and thickness compatibility through localized structural optimization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The seaming element provides a simple, economical, and secure method to join industrial textiles, enhancing seam strength and compatibility, while minimizing thickness discontinuity, and can be integrally constructed with the textile for seamless integration.
Implementation Method 1
the seaming elements can be attached by welding or other secure joining methods to the end regions of individual yarns of a woven fabric, or to selected surfaces of a nonwoven fabric
Data Source
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AI summary
A seaming element and a method of seaming an industrial textile. The seaming element comprises first and second components, each constructed of a substantially planar polymeric film, comprising a textile body contacting portion and a free edge, and at least one row of pairs of substantially parallel slits spaced across the component, the slits having first ends substantially equidistant from the free edge of the component, and the pairs of slits defining strips which are deformable out of a plane of the film. When the two components are attached respectively to textile edges to be seamed, and the components are brought together, deformed strips of the first component are alignable with deformed strips of the second component to interengage the two components and to define a channel for a seam securing means, thus providing a simple and secure seam which is compatible with the properties of the textile body.