Braid welding

• US 9,227,362 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2012
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BL Technologies Inc. (Ashland Global Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Bator, Zsolt
• Primary Examiner(s): FORTUNA, ANA M
• Application Number:
  US13/592,424
• Publication Number:
  US 20140054214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 210/500.23, 210/490
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 53/58 helically
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/08 using ultrasonic vibrations non-plastics element to plastics elements B29C65/645
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/081 having a component of vibration not perpendicular to the welding surface
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1122 Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/69 General aspects of joining filaments bundling articles B65B13/00; interconnecting successive lengths of material B65H69/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81419 and flat
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81423 being concave
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/81431 comprising a single cavity, e.g. a groove
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8161 said pressing elements being supported or backed-up by springs or by resilient material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/836 Moving relative to and tangentially to the parts to be joined, e.g. transversely to the displacement of the parts to be joined, e.g. using a X-Y table B29C66/65 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/9513 characterised by specific vibration frequency values or ranges
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/9517 characterised by specific vibration amplitude values or ranges
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 28/00 Producing nets or the like, e.g. meshes, latticesby knotting D04G
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2028/00 Nets or the like
• CPC Class Codes: D04C 1/02 made from particular materials
• CPC Class Codes: D04C 3/06 with spool carriers moving always in the same direction in endless paths
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 3/073 Hollow cylinder shaped

Abstract

A tubular support for use with a hollow fiber membrane is made with an apparatus that comprises a forming machine and an ultrasonic welding machine. The apparatus may also include a coating nozzle for depositing a dope on the support. In operation, filaments are formed into a tubular structure in which the filaments cross each other in radial and circumferential directions, for example a braid. The filaments are ultrasonically welded together at intersections between them. The support is combined with a polymeric membrane wall to form a hollow fiber membrane.

Claims

1. A hollow fiber membrane comprising:

a plurality of filaments forming a braided tubular support, and

a polymeric membrane wall attached to the tubular support,

wherein the filaments cross each other in both radial and circumferential directions,

and wherein the filaments are ultrasonically welded together at one or more intersections where the filaments cross each other.

2. The hollow fiber membrane of claim 1 wherein the membrane wall has pores in the microfiltration or ultrafiltration range.