OPENWORK FABRIC

• US 20150289525A1
• Filed: 04/09/2015
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merctech Pty Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Merctech Pty Ltd.
• Inventors: MERCURI, Ennio
• Granted Patent: US 10,638,765 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 13/00 Sausage casings made of animal intestines A22C17/14
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 2013/0056 nets and similar open structures to hold sausages and meat in general making nets D04G; filling sausage products into sleeve netting A22C11/005
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 29/04 Net-like containers made of plastics material
• CPC Class Codes: D04B 21/12 characterised by thread material
• CPC Class Codes: D04B 25/02 Tubular machines
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2401/061 elastic
• CPC Class Codes: D10B 2505/10 Packaging, e.g. bags

Abstract

An improved tubular openwork fabric or net for food products, the openwork fabric including alternating cojoined and intermediate members, each intermediate member including a filament assembly and each cojoined member including a pair of filament assemblies that are worked together, the filament assemblies being extensible and the open work fabric being extensible in both longitudinal and transverse directions.

Claims

1. An openwork fabric comprising:

alternating cojoined and intermediate members, each intermediate member further comprising a filament assembly and each cojoined member further comprising a pair of filament assemblies that are worked together, the filament assemblies being extensible and the open work fabric being extensible in both longitudinal and transverse directions.

2. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein each filament assembly transitions from an intermediate member in a first direction into a cojoined member and then transitions into a subsequent intermediate member in a second direction, such that each filament assembly extends substantially longitudinally along the openwork fabric as the filament transitions through alternating cojoined and intermediate members.

3. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein each cojoined member comprises a pair of adjacent filament assemblies that transition from adjacent first and second intermediate members by joining to form a first end of a cojoined member and separate at a second end of the cojoined member to form adjacent third and fourth intermediate members.

4. The openwork fabric of claim 3, wherein each intermediate member comprises a chain stitch to form a filament assembly.

5. The openwork fabric of claim 4, wherein each cojoined member comprises a chain stitch of a pair of filament assemblies.

6. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein each cojoined member comprises two chain stitches of filament assemblies that are joined together.

7. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein the filament assemblies are formed from one or more filaments that comprise elastic thread.

8. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein the openwork fabric is tubular.

9. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein the openwork fabric is a tubular net.

10. The openwork fabric of claim 1, wherein each filament assembly comprises a composite filament.

11. The openwork fabric of claim 10, wherein each composite filament comprises an inner layer and an outer layer, the inner layer being extensible and the outer layer comprising at least one spiral winding of an inextensible thread.

12. The openwork fabric of any claim 10, wherein each composite filament comprises an inner layer and an outer layer, the inner layer being extensible and the outer layer comprising two or more threads braided together.

13. The openwork fabric of claim 11, wherein the inner extensible layer comprises natural rubber, synthetic rubber or elastane.

14. The openwork fabric of claim 12, wherein the inner extensible layer comprises natural rubber, synthetic rubber or elastane.