Claims
- 1. A process to provide a plain weave air bag fabric comprising the steps of: providing an uncoated plain weave fabric having a permeability greater than one cubic foot of air per minute per square foot of fabric at a pressure dial of 124 Pascals (0.5 inches of water) across the fabric in its untensioned state, supplying said plain weave fabric into the nip of a continuous rubber belt and a heated drum to compact the woven fabric therebetween and allowing the compacted fabric to recoil as it exits the nip of the belt and the heated drum to provide a fabric having a permeability of less than five cubic feet of air per minute per square foot at a pressure drop of 124 Pascals (0.5 inches of water) across the fabric when the fabric is subjected to substantially equivalent biaxial tension in both the warp and fill direction equal to or less than 150 pounds per linear inch.
- 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the permeability of the fabric never exceeds about four cubic feet of air per minute per square foot of fabric at a pressure drop of 124 Pascals (0.5 inches of water) across the fabric when the fabric is subjected to substantially equivalent biaxial tension forces in both the warp and the fill directions up to about 150 pounds force per linear inch.
- 3. The process according to claim 1, wherein the permeability of the fabric never exceeds about three cubic feet of air per minute per square foot of fabric at a pressure drop of 124 Pascals (0.5 inches of water) across the fabric when the fabric is subjected to substantially equivalent biaxial tension forces in both the warp and the fill directions up to about 150 pounds force per linear inch.
- 4. The process according to claim 1, wherein the permeability of the fabric never exceeds about two cubic feet of air per minute per square foot of fabric at a pressure drop of 124 Pascals (0.5 inches of water) across the fabric when the fabric is subjected to substantially equivalent biaxial tension forces in both the warp and the fill directions up to about 150 pounds force per linear inch.
- 5. The process of claim 1 wherein the yarn in said fabric is substantially all nylon 6.6.
- 6. The process of claim 5 wherein said heated drum operates at a temperature of between room temperature and 325° F.
- 7. The process of claim 6 wherein said drum temperature is below 250° F.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of our pending prior application Ser. No 08/842,825, pending, filed on Apr. 17, 1997, for AIR BAG FABRIC POSSESSING IMPROVED PACKED VOLUME CHARACTERISTICS the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (31)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/842825 |
Apr 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/074123 |
|
US |