Woven fiber-oriented sails and sail material therefor

• US 6,311,633 B1
• Filed: 05/15/2000
• Issued: 11/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fred Aivars Keire
• Original Assignee: Fred Aivars Keire
• Inventors: Keire, Fred Aivars
• Primary Examiner(s): Morano, S. Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): WRIGHT, ANDREW D
• Application Number:
  US09/570,959
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 114/102.31, 114/102.33, 114/102.29, 428/109, 428/110, 428/113
• US Class Current: 114/102.33
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/12 next to a fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 9/067 Sails characterised by their construction or manufacturing process
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 9/0678 Laminated sails
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 13/00 Woven fabrics characterised by the special disposition of the warp or weft threads, e.g. with curved weft threads, with discontinuous warp threads, with diagonal warp or weft
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 13/002 With diagonal warps or wefts
• CPC Class Codes: D03D 13/008 characterised by weave density or surface weight
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/04 in rectilinear paths, e.g. crossing at right angles

Abstract

Fiber-oriented sails, including a method of manufacture, wherein woven, laminated panels of oriented fibers are of oriented fill yarns, e.g., in a woven cross-cut panel and the fill yarns, from panel to panel define load paths such as from head to clew and head to tack of a sail.

Claims

1. As an article of manufacture, a yarn-oriented sail comprised of a number of specifically woven sail panels, wherein at least a majority of said specifically woven sail panels are of a specifically woven material of fill yarns and warp yarns wherein said fill yarns in said specifically woven material are fill yarns of nonparallel orientation in each of said majority of woven sail panels and are along primary load paths specific for each of said majority of specifically woven sail panels, said majority of specifically woven sail panels extending from luff to leach for each of said majority of specifically woven sail panels in said sail when said sail is in use for its intended purpose, and where in said fill yarns within each of said majority of specifically woven sail panels are of opposite slope at said luff versus said leach in said specifically woven sail panel.

2. The article of manufacture as defined in claim 1 wherein the majority said specifically woven sail panels in said sail have specific fill yarns in said specifically woven material for each of said panels, wherein said specific fill yarns for each of said majority of panels follow a plurality of load paths from panel to panel in said sail and define load paths from head to clew and from head to tack of said sail.

3. The article of manufacture as defined in claim 1 wherein said fill yarns in said specifically woven material are fill yarns of non-parallel orientation and follow primary load paths of a sail;

and wherein said fill yarns are of an aramid polymer, carbon, PBO polymer, polyester polymer, or a high tenacity polyalkalene polymer.

4. The article of manufacture as defined in claim 3 wherein said fill yarns in said specifically woven material are fill yarns of ararnid, PBO, polyester, or high tenacity polyethylene polymer and wherein warp yarns in said specifically woven material are of an aramid, high tenacity polyethylene polymer, PBO polymer, or a polyester polymer.

5. The article of manufacture as defined in claim 1 wherein fill yarns in said specifically woven material in each of said majority of sail panels are oriented to follow along principal load paths in said sail, said fill yarns are substantially non-parallel, said fill yarns with said warp yarns are substantially in the form of a scrim;

and wherein said scrim is in a laminate having at least on one side thereof a film of at least one polymer of high tenacity.

6. The article of manufacture as defined in claim 1 wherein in said laminate said film is a polyester polymer film and said laminate has at least a further layer of an X-Ply or Diax material.

7. In a method for constructing a sail of yarn-oriented sail panels, the steps comprising:

weaving a series of sail panels, each sail panel being specific for said sail, wherein fill yarns in each sail panel are oriented along principal load paths for each of said sail panels when each of said sail panels is incorporated in said sail;

laminating said series of sail panels sail with at least one film or a yarn reinforced film; and

assembling into a sail said series of sail panels by broad seaming each of said sail panels being specific for said sail, wherein woven fill yarns in said panels being specific for said sail follow principal load paths in said series of sail panels from sail panel to sail panel in said sail.

8. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein said weaving of a series of sail panels each being specific for said sail is by varying, during weaving, in said each sail panel being specific for said sail, an angle for said fill yarns from a right-handed slope in a leach area of said each sail panel being specific for said sail to a left-handed slope for said fill yarns in a luff area of said each sail panel being specific for said sail.

9. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein sail weaving of said series of sail panels is by varying an angle of said fill yarns in each sail panels being weaved whereby said fill yarns are in a non-parallel relationship and are of an opposite slope leach to luff, in a cross-cut sail panel.

10. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein said weaving of said series of sail panels is by varying, in a leach area, fill yarn density in each of said sail panels being specific for said sail and wherein said fill yarn density is optionally varied from panel to panel during said weaving.

11. As an article of manufacture, a yarn-oriented structural sail of triangular shape comprised of a number of panels, wherein at least a majority of said panels are of a specifically woven material for each of said majority of panels;

said majority of panels are across said sail from luff to leach;

said majority of panels include fill yarns in said specifically woven material for each of said majority of panels and said fill yarns are non-parallel and are oriented in each of said panels along primary load path from panel to panel;

wherein said fill yarns are primary structural members and are specific for each of said panels in said sail when said sail is in use for its intended purpose; and

wherein warp yarns in said majority of panels comprise secondary structural members.