Abstract: Woven sleeving having integral tie cords for bundling and harnessing electrical cables and other elongated substrates is disclosed. The sleeving is woven by displacing catch cords a fixed distance from the fabric selvages and raising the catch cords at predetermined intervals to effect a looping of the fill yarn at predetermined intervals. The fill yarn may extend directly from the selvage or from points spaced inwardly from the selvage so as to creat a tab area along the margin of the sleeve so that the sleeve margins overlap when the sleeve is fastened in place.

Abstract: A tubular, thermally insulating gasket product is produced using as a mounting element a bulky knitted tape of glass fiber, ceramic or other heat resistant material. The tape has a main body portion knitted using a rib or interlocking stitch for firmness and body and a lip portion adjacent to the body portion knitted with a plain jersey stitch. The lip portion has an inherent tendency to curl back upon itself so as to hold the body portion on a flanged door frame or the like, freeing the installer's hands for installation of a clamping front frame or other fasteners. A tubular gasket of known construction is fastened to the main body of the tape along a single sew line. For increased flexibility, one or more ladder portions may be formed running lengthwise of the ribbon within the main body portion.

Abstract: Disclosed are flexible, kink-resistant shaped fabric products which are particularly well adapted for protecting and/or covering elongate substrates, such as cables, conduits, wiring and the like. The shaped fabric products include a wall portion comprising a filament resiliently set in a spiral configuration with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaped product. The wall portion may also preferably comprise a filament in the form of circumferential hoops substantially conforming in shape and size to the cross-sectional configuration of the shaped product. Also disclosed are methods for forming such shaped product.

Abstract: Gaskets suitable for high temperature use and having applicability for sealing oven doors are provided. The gaskets are interbraided from a wire such as stainless steel and a thermally insulating yarn formed, for example, from spun glass fibers. Continuous wireforms having spaced apart protrusions are retained in place within the openings formed by the wires and provide for attachment of the gaskets to apertures in a surface. The gaskets are manufactured on a circular braider with approximately 1/3 of the carriers being loaded with wires and 2/3 of the carriers being loaded with glass fiber yarn. The gaskets are characterized by an absence of an inner resilient support structure. Gaskets of the so called "tadpole" type comprised of interbraided glass fiber yarn and wire are also disclosed.

Abstract: Woven tubular gaskets for sealing the space between an oven and oven door in a self-cleaning oven. A clip for securing an oven gasket to a surface on an oven comprises a shoulder for interfacing to the surface on the oven and securing the gasket to the surface, a first retaining member integrally formed on a first side of the shoulder for efficiently retaining the clip on the gasket, and a second retaining member integrally formed on a second side of the shoulder for further fixedly retaining the clip to the gasket. Oven gaskets described and claimed herein economically and efficiently seal the space between two surfaces and reduce the number of attaching clips necessary to securedly fix the gasket to the oven by providing mounting of the clips through a braided fiberglass sleeve and a knitted wire bulb of the gasket.

Abstract: Wraparound sleeves formed by weaving, knitting or braiding for the protection of elongated articles, such as cables and hoses, are disclosed. The tubes are provided with closure means comprising multifilament, bulky yarn interlaced in the sleeving material and relatively unconfined along one of its marginal edges and of Velcro brand hook tape or similar hook type elements disposed along the other marginal edge.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for providing a seal between two surfaces. Gaskets in accordance with the invention provide efficient and economical devices to seal spaces between two surfaces. The gaskets comprise frames for providing a rigid substrate to the gasket which are formed into a shape substantially conforming to a shape of one of the surfaces, clips interfaced to the frame for securing the gasket between the two surfaces, the clips being interfaced to the frame in a corresponding relationship to a receiving aperture in one of the surfaces adapted to fixedly hold the clips, thereby securing the gasket between the two surfaces, and resilient members fitted over the frame such that the frame resides in an interior space of the resilient member and the clips extend outwardly through the resilient member to be engaged with the receiving aperture for filling the space between the two surfaces and for ensuring that the gasket adequately seals the space between the two surfaces.

Abstract: Woven tubular gaskets for sealing the space between an oven and oven door in a self-cleaning oven. A clip for securing an oven gasket to a surface on an oven comprises a shoulder for interfacing to the surface on the oven and securing the gasket to the surface, a first retaining member integrally formed on a first side of the shoulder for efficiently retaining the clip on the gasket, and a second retaining member integrally formed on a second side of the shoulder for further fixedly retaining the clip to the gasket. Oven gaskets described and claimed herein economically and efficiently seal the space between two surfaces and reduce the number of attaching clips necessary to securedly fix the gasket to the oven by providing mounting of the clips through a braided fiberglass sleeve and a knitted wire bulb of the gasket.

Abstract: Sleeves of braided monofilament formed resilient materials are fabricated incorporating flexible, nonresilient (i.e. limp) multifilament warp yarns. Monofilaments are braided from strands of high modulus engineered plastic materials to provide enhanced pushback and springback propeties in sleeves formed of the braided material. Yarns, such as, spun or texturized yarns, impart body, coverage, and improved tensile strength without sacrificing springback properties. "Loopies", which are characteristic of monofilament warps, are avoided.

Abstract: A blind rivet (10) comprises a head (12), a shank (14) made at least partially of heat-softenable polymeric material, and force transmitting means (22, 24) operable to apply force to a portion (14a) of the shank (14) to cause it to deform to form a further head (30) opposed to the first-mentioned head (12). The rivet also comprises electrical heating means (26) arranged to be supplied with electrical current through the first-mentioned head (12) and operable to heat the deformable portion (14a) of the shank (14).

Abstract: An expandable braided product having greatly reduced tendency to splay at its ends when cut is provided by coating the braided product with a thin layer of elastomeric material which provides the desired anti-splaying property, while retaining the expandable characteristic whereby the product expands laterally when compressed longitudinally and when released returns to its original size and shape.

Abstract: Tubular sleeves of braided, knited or woven construction comprised of bulky continuous filament yarns and a resilient engineered plastic monofilament have excellent noise reduction characteristics. The bulky yarn provides a flexible cushion for cables and tubes covered by the sleeves thereby reducing vibration induced wear. The resilient monofilament gives the sleeve material sufficient hand so that sleeves formed according to the invention tend to assume the open position without loss of the ability to deaden sound and cushion vibration.

Abstract: Tubular sleeves formed from elongated flat sheets, particularly braided sheets are disclosed. Sheet material comprised of interlaced monofilaments is cold worked by the process of drawing the interlaced monofilaments over a forming edge with sufficient force and in a direction causing permanent elongation of the molecules of material on one side of the interlaced monofilaments. The cold worked monofilaments impart a permanent bias to the sheet causing it to curl about its longitudinal axis. Sleeves so formed may be slipped over or wrapped around bundles of wires or other elongated substrates, particularly those which include terminals, plugs and connectors of irregular dimension.

Abstract: A wraparound closure device which includes an axially compressible, radially expansible tube which is made from a fabric of engineered plastic. The tube may be braided on a circular or flat braider. If braided as a tube it is axially split to define a first and a second mating edge. Fastening means are sewn to the mating edges for selectively opening and closing the tube. The fastening means is fixed in length and thereby when it is connected to the tubular member, the tubular member is also fixed in length. However, the tubular member remains radially variable and expands and contracts to adapt to the shape of a substrate to be enclosed.

Abstract: Sleeves formed of fabrics comprised wholly or in part from engineered plastic materials which are settable by heat to be biased to a specific sleeve geometry are disclosed. One form of sleeve illustrated involves heat-setting plastic material to a helical configuration by wrapping an elongated strip of the fabric material helically on a mandrel, heating the material while in the helical configuration, and thereafter cooling the material so that is has a permanent helical set with the side edges of the material in overlapping relation. the sleeves so formed may be collapsed into a short cylinder for packaging. In use, the compressed cylinder is allowed to expand lengthwise over an elongate object or objects to effect a jacketing of the same without additional assembly effort. A second form of sleeve disclosed involves setting the fabric material in tubular form, wherein the product is formed to have side edges abutting one another or in overlapping relation.

Abstract: a braided sleeve is formed from a tow of flexible filaments such as glass fibers and a rigid filament such as a stainless steel wire. The rigid filament reduces the tendency of a braided sleeve to fray at its ends, and can cause the end portions of the sleeve to taper inwardly, which can enhance the thermal insulation properties of the sleeve. The sleeve may be coated with polymeric material.

Abstract: An abrasion resistant sleeve for flat substrates, for example ribbon cable and the like, which includes a hollow flexible sleeve made from a fabric of engineering plastic that has been flattened to define two edges, each of which has a top and a bottom layer. The layers of each edge are bonded together permanently while the sleeve is in the flattened condition to maintain the sleeve in said condition. Preferrably the sleeve is axially compressible and radially expansible.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are woven, knitted or braided fabric coverings having an increased abrasive resistance under vibrating conditions which are suitable for hoses, wires, tubes, harnessing, etc. where vibration under abrasive conditions causes rapid wearing of protective coverings. The resistance to these conditions is achieved by incorporating into the fabric of a flexible first yarn, a second yarn of a metal wire filament of comparable flexibility as the first yarn and forming a matrix to protect the first yarn. Also disclosed is the method of making the protective coverings from these fabrics.

Abstract: This invention provides a woven tubular gasket having a continuous integral attachment means which is contained within the woven tubular members and which has protrusions which extend through or are extendable through the walls of the woven tubular member or members and are adapted to engage openings in an appropriate surface or substrate on which the gasket is to be attached. The method of this invention provides for continuously forming the combination of the attachment means and the woven tubular member. The attachment means is fed continuously into the interior of the woven tubular member as it is formed to thereby incorporate the attachment means into the interior of the woven tubular member.

Abstract: A wrap-around sleeve, for enclosing and protecting an object such as a wire bundle, comprises a plain weft-knitted sheet formed from a filament having an elastic modulus such that the sheet has a sufficiently high transverse curl force (which is the force with which the sheet tends to curl transversely) that the sleeve remains wrapped around the object without separate closure means. Preferably the elastic modulus of the filament is at least 4000 N.mm.sup.-2.