Inflatable fabrics comprising basket-woven attachment points between fabric panels

• US 6,220,309 B1
• Filed: 09/24/1999
• Issued: 04/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Milliken & Company
• Original Assignee: Milliken & Company
• Inventors: Sollars, John A. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Falik, Andy
• Application Number:
  US09/406,264
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 139/414, 139/389, 139/384.R, 139/410, 139/387.R, 280/743.1, 442/203, 428/166, 428/101, 428/116
• US Class Current: 139/389
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23542 Weaving
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/235 characterised by their material
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 1/02 Inflatable articles
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 11/02 Fabrics formed with pockets, tubes, loops, folds, tucks or flaps fabrics consisting of a single tube D03D3/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1362 Textile, fabric, cloth, or pile containing [e.g., web, net, woven, knitted, mesh, nonwoven, matted, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24025 Superposed movable attached layers or components
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24562 Interlaminar spaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/3179 Woven fabric is characterized by a particular or differential weave other than fabric in which the strand denier or warp/weft pick count is specified

Abstract

An all-woven inflatable fabric having areas of two layers and attachment points or “seams” where single layers of fabric are formed. Such single fabric layers are constructed solely through the utilization of basket weave patterns. These specific single fabric layers provide a relatively effective manner of reducing air permeability within the entire fabric article by decreasing the possibility of yarn shifting upon inflation of the inflatable fabric. Alternatively, the presence of at least a second single fabric layer area adjacent to the first and separated by a narrow double fabric layer can further reduce the possibility of yarn shifting in the first single fabric layer area. Such a fabric may be utilized in numerous and various applications wherein fabric inflation is desired or necessary. In particular, the inventive fabric may be incorporated within an airbag cushion.

Claims

1. An inflatable fabric comprising at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least two discrete narrow areas of single fabric layer at discrete areas within said fabric, wherein said at least two narrow areas of single fabric layer are each formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width, wherein said at least two narrow areas of single fabric layers are separated by an area of at least two layers of fabric, and wherein the lengths of each single layer is from 4 to 8 yarns in length, wherein said at least two single fabric layer areas are seams through the inflatable fabric which run parallel to each other, and wherein said separator area of two layers of fabric between said two single layers of fabric comprises an even number of weft yarns.

2. The fabric of claim 1 wherein said separator area of two layers of fabric comprises at most 12 weft yarns and at least 2 weft yarns.

3. The fabric of claim 2 wherein said at least two single fabric layers are constructed solely from two-by-two basket weave patterns and said separator area of two layers of fabric comprises four weft yarns.

4. An inflatable fabric comprising at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least two discrete narrow areas of single fabric layer at discrete areas within said fabric wherein said at least two narrow areas of single fabric layer are each formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width, wherein said at least two areas of single fabric layers are separated by an area of at least two layers of fabric, wherein the lengths of each single layer is from 4 to 8 yarns in length, and wherein a weave diagram having rows and columns of filled and unfilled blocks for the fabric does not exhibit more than three consecutive unfilled blocks in any row or column.

5. An inflatable fabric comprising at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least two discrete narrow areas of single fabric layer at discrete areas within said fabric, wherein said at least two narrow areas of single fabric layer are each formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width, wherein said at least two areas of single fabric layers are separated by an area of at least two layers of fabric, wherein the lengths of each single layer is from 4 to 8 yarns in length, and wherein at least a portion of one of said at least two discrete narrow areas of single fabric layer form at least one of a non-linear seam and seal.

6. An inflatable fabric comprising at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least two discrete narrow areas of single fabric layer at discrete areas within said fabric, wherein said at least two narrow areas of single fabric layer are each formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width, wherein said at least two areas of single fabric layers are separated by an area of at least two layers of fabric, wherein the lengths of each single layer is from 4 to 8 yarns in length, and wherein said fabric has three different types of patterns, the first pattern is a repeated plain weave pattern throughout at least two layers of fabric which must always initiate at a location in the warp direction of 4X+1, with X representing the number of pick arrangement a weave diagram, and at a location in the fill direction of 4X+1, pick arrangement including the specific two layer plain-weave-signifying-block begins at the block four spaces below it in both directions, the second pattern is an “

up-down”

basket weave pattern wherein an empty block must exist and always initiate the basket-weave pattern at a location in the warp direction of 4X+1, with X representing the number of repeating pick arrangements within the diagram, and at a location in the fill direction of 4X+1, when a single layer fabric is desired, the pattern including the pertinent signifying “

up-down”

block includes an empty block within the basket-weave pick arrangement in both the warp and fill directions four spaces below it, the third pattern is basically a “

down-up”

basket weave pattern to a single fabric layer and must always initiate at a location in the warp direction of 4X+1 and fill of 4X+3, or warp of 4X+3 and fill of 4X+1, when a seam is desired, such a specific arrangement of differing “

up-down”

basket weave and “

down-up”

basket weave pattern is necessary to effectuate the continuous and repeated weave construction wherein no more than three floats or empty blocks are present simultaneously within the target fabric structure.

7. An inflatable fabric comprising at least two layers of fabric in certain discrete areas of the fabric and at least two discrete narrow areas of single fabric layer at discrete areas within said fabric, wherein said at least two narrow areas of single fabric layer are each formed solely from a basket weave pattern of an even number of yarns, at most 12 yarns in width, wherein said at least two areas of single fabric layers are separated by an area of at least two layers of fabric, wherein the lengths of each single layer is from 4 to 8 yarns in length, and wherein weft yarns are present in each of the fabric layer areas over and under which individual warp yarns have been woven, the at least two layer fabric areas are woven in plain weave patterns, the single fabric layer areas are woven in basket weave patterns, four weft yarns each are configured through each repeating basket weave pattern, however, anywhere from two to twelve weft yarns may be utilized within the single layer fabric areas or, the intermediate two layer fabric areas comprise each only four weft yarns within plain weave patterns, the number of such intermediate weft yarns between the single layer fabric areas must be in multiples of two to provide the maximum pressure bearing benefits within the two seams with the at least two layer fabric areas.