Method of producing reinforced, formed fabrics
First Claim
1. A sail, comprising:
- a plurality of strips, each of the strips comprising;
reinforcing elements comprising substantially parallel filaments; and
an activated resin encasing the filaments;
wherein at least some of the plurality of strips partially overlap adjacent strips;
wherein the strips are arranged to form a fabric of the sail that accommodates expected forces in the sail; and
wherein the substantially parallel filaments of a first of the strips are oriented in a first direction and the substantially parallel filaments of a second of the strips are oriented in a second direction that is different than the first direction.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a method of producing reinforced, formed fabrics, consisting in producing a continuous fabric alternated with a membrane (34) containing embedded reinforcing elements, which is prepared in overlapping portions on a conveyor belt (29) which passes over a preparation table (25). The membrane (34) and the reinforcing elements are then positioned under a press consisting of an upper air-filled chamber (1), the lower part thereof comprising a flexible element (4), and a lower water-filled chamber (14), the upper part thereof comprising a flexible element (17). According to the invention, a forming bar (10) is adjustably mounted in the upper chamber (1). When the aforementioned forming bar (10) is adjusted to adopt a particular shape, the different flexible elements can deform at the forming bar and the membrane and the reinforcing elements are hot pressed with a portion corresponding to the forming bar having a three dimensional shape, thereby defining the form of the fabric produced.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A sail, comprising:
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a plurality of strips, each of the strips comprising; reinforcing elements comprising substantially parallel filaments; and an activated resin encasing the filaments; wherein at least some of the plurality of strips partially overlap adjacent strips; wherein the strips are arranged to form a fabric of the sail that accommodates expected forces in the sail; and wherein the substantially parallel filaments of a first of the strips are oriented in a first direction and the substantially parallel filaments of a second of the strips are oriented in a second direction that is different than the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 30)
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2. A sail, comprising:
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a first strip; and a second strip, wherein each of the strips consists essentially of; reinforcing elements comprising substantially parallel filaments; and an activated resin encasing the filaments; wherein the first strip partially overlaps the second strip and wherein the strips are arranged in a predetermined, three-dimensional fashion to form a fabric of the sail that accommodates expected forces in the sail. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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5. A sail, comprising:
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a plurality of strips, each of the strips consists essentially of; reinforcing elements comprising substantially parallel filaments; and an activated resin encasing the filaments; wherein at least some of the plurality of strips partially overlap adjacent strips to form a fabric of the sail. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A sail, comprising:
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a plurality of strips, each of the strips comprising; reinforcing elements comprising substantially parallel filaments; and an activated resin encasing the filaments; wherein at least some of the plurality of strips partially overlap adjacent strips and wherein the filaments of overlapping strips are intermixed so as to constitute a fabric of the sail that is impervious to wind and has outermost layers free of a separate polymerized plastic sheet. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A sail, comprising:
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a plurality of strips, each of the strips comprising; reinforcing elements comprising substantially parallel filaments; and an activated resin encasing the reinforcing elements individually; wherein at least some of the plurality of strips partially overlap adjacent strips, and wherein the filaments of the overlapping strips are intermixed so as to constitute a fabric of the sail substantially homogeneous, having no creases. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A sail, comprising:
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a plurality of strips, each of the strips comprising; reinforcing elements of thousands of filaments and are distributed uni-directionally over the width of each strip; and an activated resin encasing the filaments; wherein at least some of the plurality of strips partially overlap adjacent strips, and wherein the strips are layered to form a fabric of the sail, which comprises thousands of the filaments disposed uni-directionally in a first layer, and wherein the fabric further comprises a second layer of thousands of the filaments disposed in another direction relative to the filaments of the first layer.
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Specification