1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weaving machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a weaving machine for fabricating three-dimensional woven fabrics.
2. Description of Related Art
Under the trend of globalization, the fabrics industry is facing severe competition, and fabric manufacturers have to continue researching and developing new technology and diversified products to keep up with the competition worldwide. Recently, not only fantastic exterior design of the textiles or fabrics is required, but also comfortable and protective fabrics are required. Accordingly, fabrics with multiple functionalities have become mainstream products.
Several methods for fabricating three-dimensional distance fabrics have been proposed by prior arts. For example, three-dimensional distance fabrics are often applied to fabrics for construction engineering, floating ships, protection buffer fabrics, flooring, and so on. The gap between two outer fabrics of the distance fabric is usually required to be greater than 1 centimeter. In addition, the gap between two outer fabrics of the three-dimensional distance fabrics is modified according to different applications. Nowadays, three-dimensional distance fabrics with superior gap are often fabricated by velvet weaving machines. The gap of the distance fabrics fabricated by velvet weaving machines is about 20 centimeters at most. Obviously, distance fabrics with a gap greater than 20 centimeters cannot be fabricated by velvet weaving machines. Accordingly, how to fabricate three-dimensional distance fabrics with a gap greater than 20 centimeters to meet different design requirements is an important issue to be solved.
The present application provides a three-dimensional woven fabric having superior gap greater than 20 centimeters and a method for weaving the same.
The application further provides a three-dimensional distance woven fabric including two outer fabrics, at least one inter-layered fabric and a plurality of inter-yarns connected with each one of the outer fabrics and the inter-layered fabric, wherein a gap between the inter-layered fabrics and each one of the outer fabrics of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric is greater than 20 centimeters and is less than 50 centimeters.
In an embodiment of the present application, the distance between the inter-layered fabrics and each one of the outer fabrics is greater than 50 centimeters and is less than 100 centimeters.
In an embodiment of the present application, the distance between the inter-layered fabrics and each one of the outer fabrics is greater than 100 centimeters and is less than 200 centimeters.
In an embodiment of the present application, the distance between the inter-layered fabrics and each one of the outer fabrics is greater than 200 centimeters and is less than 300 centimeters.
The application further provides a method for weaving a three-dimensional distance woven fabric including two outer fabrics, at least one inter-layered fabric and a plurality of inter-yarns connected with each one of the outer fabrics and the inter-layered fabric, comprising: providing and transferring a plurality of warps through a warp let-off mechanism including at least one first warp beam and at least two second warp beams; driving and dividing the warps provided by the first warp beam into at least three warp layers by a plurality of heald frames such that a first shed is formed between two adjacent warp layers, wherein a plurality of vertically arranged heald wires are supported by each of the heald frames, each of the heald wires having a heald eye for the warps passing through; transferring wefts to pass through the first shed along a transferring direction by a picking mechanism; pushing the wefts by a beating-up mechanism such that the wefts and the warps are interwoven to form the outer fabrics and the inter-layered fabric, wherein the heald frames are located between the warp let-off mechanism and the beating-up mechanism; passing through the first shed along a direction substantially parallel to the transferring direction and raising parts of the warps provided by one of the second warp beams by a yarn raising mechanism, wherein the parts of the warps raised by the yarn raising mechanism functions as the inter-yarns, and the yarn raising mechanism is separate from the heald frames; driving and dividing the warps provided by the first warp beam into at least three warp layers by heald frames such that a second shed is formed between two adjacent warp layers; transferring wefts to pass through the second shed along the transferring direction by the picking mechanism; pushing the wefts by the beating-up mechanism such that the wefts and the warps are interwoven to form the outer fabrics and the inter-layered fabric; passing through the second shed along the direction substantially parallel to the transferring direction and raising parts of the warps provided by another one of the second warp beams by the yarn raising mechanism; and adjusting and controlling latitude density of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric by a take-up mechanism.
In an embodiment of the present application, the warp let-off mechanism has at least three back rests corresponding to the first warp beam and the second warp beams.
In an embodiment of the present application, the back rests comprises at least one first back rest and at least two second back rests, wherein parts of the warps functioning as the inter-yarns are provided by the second back rests, the other parts of the warps are provided by the first back rest, and each of the second back rests is a movable active back rest.
In an embodiment of the present application, the movable active back rest moves towards the heald frames when the parts of the warps functioning as the inter-yarns are pulled by the yarn raising mechanism.
In an embodiment of the present application, the yarn raising mechanism moves to the top of the first shed and the second shed such that the parts of the warps functioning as the inter-yarns are pulled upwardly.
In an embodiment of the present application, the yarn raising mechanism in the first shed or in the second shed moves towards the take-up mechanism such that the parts of the warps functioning as the inter-yarns are pulled laterally.
In an embodiment of the present application, the yarn raising mechanism is operationally individually from the heald frames.
In an embodiment of the present application, the take-up mechanism comprises a first active roller, a second active roller and a plurality of driven rollers, the one of the two outer fabrics of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric is in contact with the first active roller, and another one of the two outer fabrics of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric is in contact with the second active roller.
In an embodiment of the present application, the diameter of the first active roller is greater than the diameter of the second active roller.
In an embodiment of the present application, the diameter of the first active roller is substantially the same with the diameter of the second active roller.
In an embodiment of the present application, the linear velocity of the first active roller is substantially the same with the linear velocity of the second active roller.
In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1′ schematically illustrates that the yarn raising mechanism extends into the shed and pulls parts of the warps.
In this embodiment, the warp let-off mechanism 110 has at least two back rests 112 corresponding to the warp beams 110A, 110B. Specifically, parts of the warps Y functioning as the inter-yarns I are provided by the first back rest 110A, and the other parts of the warps Y are provided by the second back rest 110B. Here, the warps Y provided from the second back rest 110B are used to fabricate the outer fabrics F1, F2. It is noted that the number of the heald frames 120 is relevant to fabric structure such as pattern, fabric density, and formation, etc. . . . One ordinary skilled in the art may modify the number of the heald frames 120 according to the aforementioned fabric structure based on actual requirements.
In order to simultaneously move with the yarn raising mechanism 150, the first back rest 112A may be a movable active back rest. The first back rest 112A (i.e. the movable active back rest) moves towards the heald frames 120 simultaneously when the parts of the warps Y functioning as the inter-yarns I are pulled by the yarn raising mechanism 150. It is noted that the first back rest 112A may includes at least one movable roller while the second back rest 112B may includes at least one roller. The warps Y are transferred through rotation of the above-mentioned rollers.
In this embodiment, the gap G between the outer fabrics F1, F2 of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric T can be well adjusted through control of the length of the inter-yarns I. Specifically, the pulling range of the yarn raising mechanism 150 is relevant to the length of the inter-yarns I. In this embodiment, the pulling range of the yarn raising mechanism 150 ranges from about 10 centimeters to about 150 centimeters. Certainly, the pulling range of the yarn raising mechanism 150 can be properly modified to meet design requirements of other products. It is noted that the pulling direction is properly selected to avoid the moving of the yarn raising mechanism 150 from being obstructed when the inter-yarns I are pulled. Accordingly, by properly selecting the pulling range of the yarn raising mechanism 150, the three-dimensional distance woven fabric T having superior gap G can be integrally-woven.
The three-dimensional distance woven fabric T includes two outer fabrics F1, F2 and a plurality of inter-yarns I connected with the outer fabrics F1, F2, wherein a gap G distance between the outer fabrics F1, F2 of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric T is greater than 20 centimeters. In an embodiment of the present application, the gap G between the outer fabrics F1, F2 is greater than 50 centimeters, for example. In an alternative embodiment of the present application, the gap G distance between the outer fabrics F1, F2 is greater than 100 centimeters or 200 centimeters, for example. It is noted that pulling distance range of the yarn raising mechanism 150 is approximately a half one of the gap G.
In an alternative embodiment of the present application, the yarn raising mechanism 150 moves to the top of the shed A such that the parts of the warps Y functioning as the inter-yarns I can be pulled upwardly, as shown in
FIG. 1′ schematically illustrates that the yarn raising mechanism extends into the shed and pulls parts of the warps. Referring to FIG. 1′, the yarn raising mechanism 150 of this embodiment includes a driving unit 152 and a pulling unit 154 connected with the driving unit 152. Specifically, the pulling unit 154 is suitable for extending into the shed A between the warp layers Y1, Y2. In addition, the pulling unit 154 is driven by the driving unit 152 to move to the top of the shed A or to move towards the take-up mechanism 160. The design of the yarn raising mechanism 150 is limited to the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1′, other mechanical designs may be used in the present application.
Referring to
Referring to
The density of the wefts used in the vicinity of the intersections of the inter-yarns I and the outer fabrics F1, F2 can be adjusted properly, such that the latitude density of the outer fabrics F1, F2 in the vicinity of the intersections of the inter-yarns I and the outer fabrics F1, F2 is greater than the latitude density of the outer fabrics F1, F2 at the other area of the outer fabrics F1, F2. For example, the density of the weft can be increased through cramming motion. When the density of the wefts used in the vicinity of the intersections of the inter-yarns I and the outer fabrics F1, F2 increases, the inter-yarns I are tied up by the wefts in the vicinity of the intersections of the inter-yarns I and the outer fabrics F1, F2, and the position of the inter-yarns I cannot shift significantly. Moreover, the position of the inter-yarns I can be ensured by using thin wefts having smaller diameter and increasing the quantity of the wefts used in the vicinity of the intersections of the inter-yarns I and the outer fabrics F1, F2.
It is noted that the parts of warps Y located in the first shed A1 can be raised in the manner disclosed in
Referring to
It is noted that the inter-yarns I between the outer fabric F1 and the inter-layered fabric F3 may be parallel with each other (
In an embodiment of the present application, the warp let-off mechanism has at least three back rests 212A, 212B1 and 212B2 corresponding to the first warp beam 210A and the second warp beams 210B1, 210B2.
In an embodiment of the present application, the back rests comprises at least one first back rest 212A and at least two second back rests 212B1 and 212B2, wherein parts of the warps functioning as the inter-yarns I are provided by the second back rests 212B1 and 212B2, the other parts of the warps are provided by the first back rest 212A, and each of the second back rests 212B1, 212B2 is a movable active back rest. Specifically, the second back rests 212B1, 212B2 (i.e. the movable active back rest) are capable of moving towards the heald frames 220 or moving upwardly when the parts of the warps Y functioning as the inter-yarns I are pulled or raised by the yarn raising mechanism 250. However, the movable active back rest may have alternative designs. For example, the movable active back rest may have a structure shown in
Referring to
Referring to
It is noted that the inter-yarns I between the outer fabric F1 and the inter-layered fabric F3 may be parallel with each other (
It is noted that the gap between the fabrics of the three-dimensional distance woven fabric can be varied locally such that the profile of the fabrics may have waved-outline. Additionally, the gap between any two adjacent fabrics can be modified according to actual design requirements by one ordinary skilled in the art.
The present application provides a weaving machine for fabricating three-dimensional woven fabrics having superior gap without significantly increasing costs. In addition, the three-dimensional distance woven fabrics of the present application may easily have a gap greater than 20 centimeters.
In order to optimize the performance of weaving machine of the present application, the detail design of the movable active back rest, temples for clamping fabrics, and the take-up mechanism are described as follow.
Due to the rapid motion of the second roller R2, the operation of the yarn raising mechanism 250 can be performed successfully. Accordingly, the active back rest shown in
It is note that the linear velocity of the first active roller AR1 is substantially the same with the linear velocity of the second active roller AR2. As shown in
Referring to
It is noted that the linear velocity of the first active roller AR1 is substantially the same with the linear velocity of the second active roller AR2. Additionally, the angular velocity of the first active roller AR1 is substantially the same with the angular velocity of the second active roller AR2.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
98141578 | Dec 2009 | TW | national |
This is a continuation-in-part application of and claims the priority benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/179,426, filed on Jul. 8, 2011. The prior U.S. application Ser. No. 13/179,426 is a divisional application of and claims the priority benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/642,353, filed on Dec. 18, 2009, which claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 98141578, filed on Dec. 4, 2009. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 12642353 | Dec 2009 | US |
Child | 13179426 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 13179426 | Jul 2011 | US |
Child | 13480100 | US |