Inflatable Jacquard-Woven Textiles for Structural Applications
Embodiments of the invention comprise woven multilayer textiles having shaped, enclosed, inflatable pockets, where the inflated textile carries tension, compression, torsion and/or bending loads. Composite structures incorporating such inflatable members or spars are also described and claimed.
This is an international patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, claiming priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/670,201 filed 26 Mar. 2015. For U.S. purposes, this application is a continuation-in-part of said application.
FIELDThe invention relates to structurally defined components formed from specially-shaped woven fabrics. More specifically, the invention relates to inflatable textile shapes woven as a variable number of plies, said shapes including some woven (rather than sewn or welded) seams.
BACKGROUNDThe simplest woven fabrics comprise two roughly-perpendicular sets of threads: the warp and the weft (see
Decorative patterns can be woven by changing weft-thread colors and/or by altering the over/under pattern in one direction or another, so that (for example) a weft thread might pass over two adjacent warp threads, then under the next two, and so on; or two successive weft threads might use the same over/under pattern, rather than the typical inverted pattern.
Jacquard looms (named for inventor Joseph Marie JACQUARD) can be configured to create particular over/under weaving patterns under mechanical or electronic control, thus automatically producing complicated designs. Modern Jacquard looms offer sophisticated control of both warp and weft threads, which permits textile designers to specify and manufacture fabrics with both structural and aesthetic (design) characteristics.
SUMMARYEmbodiments of the invention include a woven textile featuring a shaped, enclosed pocket or chamber (or a multicell area) that can be inflated to form a structure (or a component of a structure) that can withstand multi-modal loading.
Embodiments of the invention use Jacquard weaving techniques to construct textiles having partially- or completely-enclosed pockets that can withstand a fluid or gaseous pressure differential (i.e., they can be filled or inflated). The pockets have fewer or no sewn seams, compared to an inflatable or fillable pocket constructed by prior-art methods (principally needle-and-thread sewing and welding). Sewing can damage fabric by poking holes in it, and the threads with which a pocket is sewn concentrate stresses on the seam. Thus, by comparison to prior-art methods, textiles according to embodiments of the invention are stronger and can withstand greater pressures. These characteristics permit the fabrication of new structural members having superior strength-to-weight ratios and other beneficial, distinguishing features.
The lengthwise (warpwise) ridges or pockets 130 are formed, not by sewing or welding seams down the length of two separate layers of fabric (as one might do according to the prior art), but by selectively weaving together subsets of the warp and weft threads. At the selvage and at the pinched portions of the fabric, all warp and weft threads are woven together. (These portions are depicted in crosshatch, e.g. at 140 and 150.) At points between these locations, half of the warp and half of the weft threads are woven together to form the upper surface, and the other half of the warp and weft threads are woven together to form the lower surface.
Even more complicated internal structures may be woven in this way, subject to the limitation that the length of each weft thread must be substantially the same. Another way of expressing this limitation that the woven structure is must be capable of being pulled flat and taut from edge to edge on the loom. It is appreciated that portions of the fabric where only a fraction of the warp and weft threads are woven together are less-densely covered than portions where more threads are woven together.
The border of the pocket, gray crosshatch at 520 (also described at times as the boundary, the perimeter, the peripheral edge or the seam allowance) usually consists of all warp and weft threads woven together in a very dense, simple, alternating over/under pattern. The fabric in this area is a single layer thick, and the shaped pocket may be cut from the bulk woven cloth here.
It is appreciated that the selvedge of woven cloth is often formed by turning a weft thread around the outside warp thread and returning it back towards the other side. Such a selvedge resists fraying because the turned-back weft thread locks the outside warp thread. (See
However, when a woven, shaped pocket structure according to an embodiment is cut in its seam-allowance area, the edges of the seam allowance may be less resistant to fraying. To prevent fraying here, techniques such as sewing, edge binding, or heat treatment (e.g., melting exposed threads together) may be useful. Note that this area of the pocket is inherently strong, because it includes all warp and weft threads woven together. Thus, in addition to being somewhat resistant to fraying on its own, it also offers a favorable place to attach other elements of a composite structure, as described below.
Multi-layer and multi-chamber structures with arbitrary outer boundaries can also be formed, subject to the foregoing restrictions that all warp and weft threads must be approximately the same length and/or the multilayer fabric must be able to be pulled mostly flat and taut on the loom. Another way of understanding the limitations is that neither warp nor weft threads can reverse direction as they cross a flattened swath. For example, the tubular structure shown in
More generally, a complex internal structure can be manufactured by the methods of an embodiment if a cross-section through the desired structure can be pulled flat from edge to edge so that no section of weft fiber doubles back on itself.
Embodiments of the invention rely on the precise and economical manufacturing of woven-pocket structures like those described above to construct strong inflatable objects having complex shapes and (optionally) internal structures, which are also lightweight and easy to pack into smaller volumes when deflated. The following sections describe several specific applications of the inventive woven objects, including details which may be applicable or beneficial in other situations as well.
Inflatable MattressA simple rectangular, multiple-chamber inflatable mattress can be woven in one operation by following the pattern of
Once the desired multi-chamber article has been woven and cut from the bulk fabric, a valve is attached in a suitable location and the mattress is complete. A mattress constructed in this way may provide the desired firmness and cushioning when inflated to about 8-45 psi (of course, the firmness can be adjusted by changing the inflation pressure). At pressures in this range, a traditional valve similar to those used on pneumatic tires offers adequate performance at a reasonable cost. Also, ordinary polyester or nylon threads have adequate tensile strength to withstand the applied stresses. Threads may be coated with a thermoplastic polyurethane (“TPU”), polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), silicone, latex, urethane or another substance, which may be heat-sealed after weaving to create an airtight inflatable structure, even if the thread count (threads per inch) and/or other characteristics of the weave would ordinarily be insufficiently dense to be airtight. Coatings such as these may also improve the fabric's structural characteristics, by (for example) reducing or eliminating bias stretch.
In an alternate embodiment shown in
A second example application is an inflatable watercraft known as a stand-up paddleboard. As shown in
Like the inflatable mattress described above, the stand-up paddleboard will be inflated through a valve. However, higher internal pressure may be necessary to achieve adequate stiffness for this application. Thus, stronger threads (e.g., aramid fibers such as Kevlar®, Spectra® or Dyneema®) may be needed. Also, a higher-pressure valve may be required.
The mattress and paddleboard embodiments discussed above are woven “square” to a loom direction (i.e., with their centerline aligned with either warp or weft threads). However, complex bending and twisting characteristics of a woven structural member can be obtained by placing the centerline of the member at an angle to warp and weft threads. Such placement may be described as “on the bias,” signifying the diagonal placement. And, of course, curved spars (discussed below) necessarily have at least some portions which are not squarely aligned with warp or weft threads.
FurnitureThe foregoing examples have been limited to woven and coated structures needing nothing more than simple assembly and an inflation valve to be complete. However, strong, lightweight inflatable objects according to an embodiment can also be incorporated into larger structures with other materials and elements. These embodiments will be described under the general name “spar,” which is specifically defined to mean “a structure similar to a stick or pole, having a length, a possibly-varying diameter or profile along its length, and optionally a curvature; which is subjected to compression, tension, torsion and/or bending.”
A spar according to an embodiment is an inflatable tube, often curved, woven in a single loom operation where the warp threads are oriented generally in a first direction along the tube, and the weft threads are oriented generally in a second direction across the tube. (“Along” and “across” may be interchanged if the spar is short enough to be woven across the loom, rather than along it.)
The spar is characterized in that it includes a first section where all of the adjacent warp and weft threads are woven together to form a first peripheral border of the spar; a second adjoining section where a first subset of warp and weft threads are woven together to form one outer surface, and a second subset of warp and weft threads are woven together to form a second, separate outer surface; and a third adjoining section where all of the warp and weft threads are woven together again to form another peripheral border of the spar. The first and third sections are equivalent to the “seam allowances” described earlier. If the spar is deflated and pulled flat, a swatch cut out of the second section will yield two separate and disconnected pieces of cloth, corresponding to the first and second subsets of warp and weft threads.
The spar may include a third subset of warp and weft threads woven together in the second adjoining section, which forms an interior partition or wall within the second adjoining section. In this case, the swatch cut from the second section may yield three or more separate and disconnected pieces of cloth.
Tent SupportAn embodiment of the invention may be used to support a temporary structure such as a tent (
An embodiment of the invention may be used to support a crib or playpen (
An embodiment of the invention may be used to form the leading edge and struts for a kite-surfing kite. The finished structure (
As noted earlier, some textile structural members according to an embodiment may be woven with a thread count (threads per inch) or thread composition that is not airtight or leak-proof. For example, the fabric may have the appearance of a gauze, where openings between adjacent warp and weft threads are clearly visible and incapable of holding air. Such woven objects may nevertheless be inflated to pressures sufficient to support structural loads by treating the threads with a thermoplastic coating that can be sealed by heat activation, or by inserting an airtight bladder into the woven pockets. In the latter arrangement, the woven structure provides support for the bladder, allowing it to contain high-pressure gas without rupturing. Note that the threads of such a “gauze” embodiment are loaded primarily in tension when inflated, even if the spar is loaded in another mode. High-tensile-strength threads are widely available and well characterized, and many are suitable for use on Jacquard looms with little or no modification. Thus, for example, a strong, high-pressure spar according to an embodiment may be constructed of an aramid-fiber gauze shell surrounding and supporting a thin rubber, silicone or polyurethane bladder that contains the inflation gas or liquid.
Multi-Ply Jacquard LoomsIn the foregoing material, inflatable woven articles having structural applications are described, with their manufacture performed largely on a Jacquard loom having a single set of warp threads. Multi-layer regions and pockets are formed by interweaving different sets of warp threads, but the overall article is mostly flat (prior to inflation) and, but for the structured interweaving, the output of the loom would be a single ply of fabric.
However, Jacquard looms may be provided with multiple, distinct, parallel sets of warp threads, each of which is woven with its own set of weft threads. (So far, the loom can be imagined as two separate single-ply looms stacked on top of each other, and producing two independent plies of fabric [each of which may have pockets or multi-layer regions as discussed above].) The “stacked” two-ply loom may be configured so that weft threads can pass from the top ply to the bottom ply (or vice versa); or a third set of fibers, distinct from both warp and weft threads, can pass between the plies. Fibers of this sort will be referred to as “pile” fibers, since a loom as described could be used to weave open-loop carpet by weaving two backing plies parallel to each other, joining the backing plies with pile threads of a uniform length, and then severing the pile threads between the backings to produce two carpets having complementary pile depths (see
Since the warp threads of each ply of a stacked Jacquard loom can be controlled individually (allowing the weft threads to pass over or under them as desired), it is also possible to control the distance between the two plies (or, from another perspective, the length of the pile threads connecting the top and bottom plies). The addition of another set of warp and weft threads (or multiple such sets, for a loom with three or more stacked plies), joined by roughly perpendicular pile threads, permits even greater control of woven, inflatable structures similar to those described above. For example, the restriction discussed at [0034]-[0036] that a weft fiber cannot backtrack across the width of a ply can be relaxed by weaving a pile fiber in place of such a backtracking weft fiber. The pile fiber can fix the perpendicular distance between two plies at the point of crossing. A mixture of angled weft fibers and pile fibers can effectively constrain the distance between two plies so that the surface of an inflated structure formed by the plies more closely matches a designed profile. The pile fibers and any interior plies typically form interior channel walls or partitions between inflated cells, while the outermost plies form the outer surfaces of the woven structure.
Finally,
The specific characteristics of a woven, inflatable structural item according to an embodiment of the invention include at least one set of warp and weft threads woven together selectively to form separate pockets or channels, which can be inflated to create a structure of desired stiffness (according to inflation pressure); the structure can be somewhat soft and resilient (at moderate pressure) or quite rigid (at higher pressure). The pockets or channels may be aligned with the warp threads, with the weft threads, or they may travel in a desired shape or pattern across the expanse of woven fabric, with some portions aligned with warp or weft, and other portions curving or traversing the bias. Some embodiments comprise at least two sets of warp and weft threads woven together selectively to form outer layers or plies of an inflatable structure, with an additional plurality of pile fibers woven between the outer layers to constrain the distance between the plies. When an embodiment of this form is inflated, it also creates a structure of desired stiffness, but its outside surface profiles may be more closely controlled than a single-ply (with inflatable pockets or channels). The outside surface of a multi-ply embodiment may be substantially flat (which is different from a convex or ballooned shape) or it may have bulges or indentations designed and woven in. These bulges or indentations may be aligned with the warp or weft fibers of one of the plies, or may travel arbitrarily along and across the fabric in curves, angles and bias shapes. A multi-ply structure with pile fibers may additionally have chambers, tubes, pockets or other areas formed in one of the plies. These areas may be inflated together with or independently from the chambers between the plies.
An embodiment may be a woven, inflatable structure comprising a first plurality of warp and weft threads woven together to form a first fabric ply, a second plurality of warp and weft threads woven together to form a second fabric ply, said first and second fabric plies positioned roughly parallel to each other; and a third plurality of pile fibers woven together with the first and second fabric plies to constrain a distance between the first and second fabric plies at each pile fiber's end points, wherein a distance between the first and second fabric plies varies across a width of the first and second fabric plies and along a length of the first and second fabric plies.
An embodiment may be like the previous structure, and further comprising an inflation valve for pressurizing a volume bounded by the first and second fabric plies to achieve a predetermined stiffness of the woven, inflatable structure.
An embodiment may be like a previous structure, and further comprising an inflatable pocket woven into the first fabric ply by separating the first plurality of warp and weft threads into two subsets, a first of the two subsets woven together to form a first surface of the inflatable pocket, and a second of the two subsets woven together to form a second surface of the inflatable pocket.
An embodiment may be like a previous structure, and further comprising a first inflation valve and a second inflation valve, said first inflation valve for pressurizing a first volume between the first fabric ply and the second fabric ply, and said second inflation valve for pressurizing a second, separate volume including the inflatable pocket.
An embodiment may be an inflatable woven structure forming a roughly rectangular mattress of roughly uniform thickness, a seating portion of a sofa, or a stand-up paddleboard.
An embodiment may be an inflatable spar comprising a curved textile tube having warp fibers generally oriented in a first direction along the tube and having weft fibers generally oriented in a second, different direction across the tube, wherein an adjacent plurality of weft fibers are woven together through all of a first section of warp fibers, then two subsets of the plurality of weft fibers are woven together through different subsets of a second section of warp fibers, then all of the adjacent plurality of weft fibers are woven together through all of a third section of warp fibers, the first and third sections of warp fibers thus forming a seam allowance at opposite sides of the curved textile tube and the different subsets of the second section of warp fibers forming upper and lower surfaces of the curved textile tube.
Another embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further comprising an inflation valve installed through one of the upper surface of the curved textile tube or the lower surface of the curved textile tube.
Another embodiment may be similar to one of the foregoing, and further characterized in that a portion of a centerline of the spar is curved relative to both the warp fibers and the weft fibers.
Another embodiment may be similar to one of the foregoing, and further characterized in that a first portion of a centerline of the spar is parallel to the warp fibers and a second portion of the centerline of the spar is parallel to the weft fibers.
Another embodiment may be similar to one of the foregoing, and further characterized in that wherein a third subset of the plurality of weft fibers are woven together with a third subset of warp fibers in the second section, said third subsets thus forming an interior partition wall.
Many embodiments are characterized by having an airtight interior partition wall.
Some embodiments are characterized by having porous interior partition walls.
An embodiment may be a woven textile comprising a plurality of warp fibers oriented generally lengthwise along the woven textile and a plurality of weft fibers oriented generally widthwise across the woven textile, wherein a first section across a width of the woven textile includes a first selvage-like portion where all weft fibers are woven together with all warp fibers, a second portion adjoining the first portion includes a first subset of weft fibers woven together with a first subset of warp fibers and a second, distinct subset of weft fibers woven together with a second, distinct subset of warp fibers, and a second selvage-like portion adjoining the second portion where all weft fibers are woven together with all warp fibers.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the second portion adjoining the first portion has a third, distinct subset of weft fibers woven together with a third, distinct subset of warp fibers.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that a sample cut through a full thickness of the woven textile within second portion yields at least three separate woven swatches.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the second portion forms an inflatable chamber.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the second portion forms a plurality of adjacent inflatable chambers, at least two of such adjacent inflatable chambers sharing at least a portion of a chamber boundary.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that at least some warp fibers and at least some weft fibers are treated with a coating that can be activated to reduce porosity of the woven textile.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the coating is a thermoplastic coating, and wherein activating is heat treating.
An embodiment may comprise a plurality of separate, inflatable textile components, each component cut from a length of woven fabric having shaped pockets woven therein, said components cut apart in seam allowances surrounding the shaped pockets, wherein said plurality of separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together between portions of their respective seam allowances.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together by sewing or welding.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together by lacing.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together to form one of a sofa or a chair.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that a textile surface is fastened to a seam allowance of one of the inflatable textile components.
An embodiment may be similar to the foregoing, and further characterized in that the inflatable structure comprises a bridle and harness, said structure forming a kite-surfing wing.
The present invention has been described largely by reference to specific examples and in terms of particular applications of the inventive principles. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that Jacquard-woven fabrics having complex shapes and internal structures can provide aesthetic and structural benefits to a variety of other useful articles of manufacture. Such articles are understood to be captured as embodiments of the invention if they meet the limitations of the following claims.
Claims
1. A woven, inflatable structure comprising:
- a first plurality of warp and weft threads woven together to form a first fabric ply;
- a second plurality of warp and weft threads woven together to form a second fabric ply, said first and second fabric plies positioned roughly parallel to each other; and
- a third plurality of pile fibers woven together with the first and second fabric plies to constrain a distance between the first and second fabric plies at each pile fiber's end points, wherein
- a distance between the first and second fabric plies varies across a width of the first and second fabric plies and along a length of the first and second fabric plies.
2. The woven, inflatable structure of claim 1, further comprising:
- an inflation valve for pressurizing a volume bounded by the first and second fabric plies to achieve a predetermined stiffness of the woven, inflatable structure.
3. The woven, inflatable structure of claim 1, further comprising:
- an inflatable pocket woven into the first fabric ply by separating the first plurality of warp and weft threads into two subsets, a first of the two subsets woven together to form a first surface of the inflatable pocket, and a second of the two subsets woven together to form a second surface of the inflatable pocket.
4. The woven, inflatable structure of claim 3, further comprising:
- a first inflation valve and a second inflation valve, said first inflation valve for pressurizing a first volume between the first fabric ply and the second fabric ply, and said second inflation valve for pressurizing a second, separate volume including the inflatable pocket.
5. The woven, inflatable structure of claim 1 forming a roughly rectangular mattress of roughly uniform thickness.
6. The woven, inflatable structure of claim 1 forming a seating portion of a sofa.
7. The woven, inflatable structure of claim 1 forming a stand-up paddleboard.
8. An inflatable spar, comprising:
- a curved textile tube having warp fibers generally oriented in a first direction along the tube; and
- having weft fibers generally oriented in a second, different direction across the tube, wherein
- an adjacent plurality of weft fibers are woven together through all of a first section of warp fibers, then two subsets of the plurality of weft fibers are woven together through different subsets of a second section of warp fibers, then all of the adjacent plurality of weft fibers are woven together through all of a third section of warp fibers,
- the first and third sections of warp fibers thus forming a seam allowance at opposite sides of the curved textile tube and the different subsets of the second section of warp fibers forming upper and lower surfaces of the curved textile tube.
9. The inflatable spar of claim 8, further comprising:
- an inflation valve installed through one of the upper surface of the curved textile tube or the lower surface of the curved textile tube.
10. The inflatable spar of claim 8 wherein a portion of a centerline of the spar is curved relative to both the warp fibers and the weft fibers.
11. The inflatable spar of claim 8 wherein a first portion of a centerline of the spar is parallel to the warp fibers and a second portion of the centerline of the spar is parallel to the weft fibers.
12. The inflatable spar of claim 8 wherein a third subset of the plurality of weft fibers are woven together with a third subset of warp fibers in the second section, said third subsets thus forming an interior partition wall.
13. The inflatable spar of claim 12 wherein the interior partition wall is airtight.
14. The inflatable spar of claim 12 wherein the interior partition wall is porous.
15-21. (canceled)
22. An inflatable structure, comprising:
- a plurality of separate, inflatable textile components, each component cut from a length of woven fabric having shaped pockets woven therein, said components cut apart in seam allowances surrounding the shaped pockets,
- said plurality of separate, inflatable textile components fastened together between portions of their respective seam allowances.
23. The inflatable structure of claim 22 wherein the separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together by sewing or welding.
24. The inflatable structure of claim 22 wherein the separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together by lacing.
25. The inflatable structure of claim 22 wherein the separate, inflatable textile components are fastened together to form one of a sofa or a chair.
26. The inflatable structure of claim 22, further comprising:
- a textile surface fastened to a seam allowance of one of the inflatable textile components.
27. The inflatable structure of claim 26, further comprising a bridle and harness, said structure forming a kite-surfing wing.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 25, 2016
Publication Date: May 3, 2018
Inventors: Natalie A. CANDRIAN-BELL (Portland, OR), Thomas G. BELL (Portland, OR)
Application Number: 15/561,449