TEXTILE SLEEVE WITH NON-ABRASIVE WALL AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION THEREOF

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/666,373, filed Jul. 1, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates generally to textile sleeves for protecting elongate members, and more particularly to flexible, non-aggressive, abrasion and heat resistant, textile sleeves.

2. Related Art

It is known to contain and protect elongate members, such as cables, wires, and hoses, for example, in circumferentially continuous and wrappable textile sleeves to provide protection to the cables, wires, and hoses contained therein. Although the protection provided by the sleeve to the elongate member contents against impact, contamination, the thermal conditions, may be sufficient, protection against abrasion and abrading neighboring objects may be compromised due to abrasion caused by the sleeve against the contents and neighboring object(s). As such, improvements of known circumferentially continuous and wrappable textile sleeves are desired to not only provide suitable protection to an elongate member contained therein, but also to protect against abrading the elongate member and neighboring objects, such as other sleeves, hoses, wires, and components, for example, with the textile sleeve, while providing the textile sleeve being economical in manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention provides a textile sleeve for routing and protecting an elongate member. The textile sleeve has a textile wall having an inner surface and an opposite outer surface extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends. The inner surface bounds a cavity sized for receipt of the elongate member. The textile wall is formed of first monofilaments and second monofilaments interlaced with one another. The first monofilaments are a homopolymer material and the second monofilaments are a copolymer material. The copolymer material includes between 5-40 percent by weight of resin material with excellent sliding characteristics.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first monofilaments are PET or PA.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first monofilaments have a first diameter and the second filaments have a second diameter, the second diameter being equal to or greater than the first diameter.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the resin material with excellent sliding characteristics is UHMW-PE.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the copolymer material includes between 60-95 percent by weight of PET or PA.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first monofilaments and second monofilaments are woven with one another.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first monofilaments and second monofilaments extend generally parallel to the central longitudinal axis as warp yarns and generally transverse to the to the central longitudinal axis as weft yarns.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first monofilaments and second monofilaments are braided with one another.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the textile wall extends widthwise between opposite edges configured to be wrapped about the central longitudinal axis to bound the elongate member within the cavity.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, at least some of the first monofilaments are heat-set to bias the wall to take-on a tubular configuration with the opposite edges being biased in overlapping relation with one another.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the textile wall is circumferentially continuous.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a textile sleeve for routing and protecting an elongate member includes a textile wall having an inner surface and an opposite outer surface extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends. The inner surface is configured to bound a cavity sized for receipt of the elongate member. The textile wall is formed of first monofilaments and second monofilaments interlaced with one another. The first monofilaments are a homopolymer material and the second monofilaments are a copolymer material. The copolymer material includes resin material with excellent sliding characteristics. The first monofilaments have a first diameter and the second filaments have a second diameter, wherein the second diameter is equal to or greater than the first diameter.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the copolymer material consists of between 60-95 percent by weight of PET or PA and the remaining resin material with excellent sliding characteristics of the copolymer material consists of UHMW-PE.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a textile sleeve for routing and protecting an elongate member consists of: a textile wall having an inner surface and an opposite outer surface extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends. The inner surface bounds a cavity sized for receipt of the elongate member. The textile wall is formed of first monofilaments and second monofilaments interlaced with one another. The first monofilaments are a homopolymer material and the second monofilaments are a copolymer material. The copolymer material includes between 5-40 percent by weight of resin material with excellent sliding characteristics.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the copolymer material consists of between 60-95 percent by weight of PET or PA and the remaining resin material with excellent sliding characteristics of the copolymer material consists of UHMW-PE.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a textile sleeve for routing and protecting an elongate member consists of: a textile wall having an inner surface and an opposite outer surface extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends. The inner surface is configured to bound a cavity sized for receipt of the elongate member. The textile wall is formed of first monofilaments and second monofilaments interlaced with one another. The first monofilaments are a homopolymer material and the second monofilaments are a copolymer material. The copolymer material includes resin material with excellent sliding characteristics. The first monofilaments have a first diameter and the second filaments have a second diameter, wherein the second diameter is equal to or greater than the first diameter.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the copolymer material consists of between 60-95 percent by weight of PET or PA and the remaining resin material with excellent sliding characteristics consists of UHMW-PE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments and best mode, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a wrappable woven sleeve in accordance with an aspect of the invention, with the wrappable woven sleeve shown wrapped about an elongate member to be protected therein;

FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view of a wrappable braided sleeve in accordance with an aspect of the invention, with the wrappable braided sleeve shown wrapped about an elongate member to be protected therein;

FIG. 2A is schematic perspective view of a circumferentially continuous woven sleeve constructed in accordance with another aspect of the invention, with the circumferentially continuous woven sleeve shown disposed about an elongate member to be protected therein;

FIG. 2B is schematic perspective view of a circumferentially continuous braided sleeve constructed in accordance with another aspect of the invention, with the circumferentially continuous braided sleeve shown disposed about an elongate member to be protected therein;

FIG. 3A is a fragmentary schematic view of a wall of the woven sleeves of FIGS. 1A and 2A in accordance with a non-limiting aspect of the disclosure; and

FIG. 3B is a fragmentary schematic view of a wall of the braided sleeves of FIGS. 1B and 2B in accordance with a non-limiting aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring in more detail to the drawings, FIGS. 1A, 1B show a schematic representation of a wrappable textile sleeve 10a1, 10a2, respectively, and FIGS. 2A, 2B show a schematic representation of a circumferentially continuous textile sleeve 10b1, 10b2, respectively, constructed in accordance with different aspects of the invention, wherein textile sleeves 10a1, 10a2, 10b1, 10b2 are discussed hereafter generically as sleeve 10, with common reference numerals being used to identify like features of the sleeves 10a1, 10a2, 10b1, 10b2, unless otherwise specified. The sleeve 10 has a flexible, elongate textile wall 12 for routing and protecting one or more elongate member(s) 14, such as a cable, wires, and pipe, for example, to provide a variety of types of protection, including protection against abrasion, protection against thermal conditions including high heat and fire, fluid absorption and ingress, e.g. water, oil, fuel, and the like, and other environmental conditions, such as contamination. The textile wall 12 can be constructed having any suitable size, including length and diameter, depending on the requirements of the application. The textile wall 12 has an inwardly facing an inner surface 15 and an opposite outwardly facing outer surface 17 extending lengthwise about a longitudinal central axis 20 between opposite ends 19, 21, with inner surface 15 bounding a cavity 22 sized for receipt of the elongate member 14 therein. The textile wall 12, in addition to protecting the elongate member 14, as discussed above, further provides protection against causing damage, such as abrasion, for example, to the elongate member 14 and neighboring objects external to the sleeve 10, such as other sleeves, wires, tubes, and/or components, for example, due to the non-aggressive, non-abrasive inner and outer surfaces 15, 17 of the textile wall 12, as constructed in accordance with the disclosure. The wrappable sleeve 10a1, 10a2 of FIGS. 1A and 1B has opposite edges 16, 18 that extend parallel or generally parallel (intended to mean that to the naked eye, a person possessing ordinary skill in the art (POSA) would view the relationship to be parallel, though it may not be truly parallel, such as off between about 0-7 degrees) to the longitudinal central axis 20, wherein the opposite edges 16, 18 are wrappable, such as under a heat-set bias imparted on the wall 12 by at least some of the weft yarns, into overlapping relation with one another in “cigarette wrapped” fashion to fully enclose the elongate member 14 within the central cavity 22. The textile wall 12 is formed in an interlacing operation of first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26 interlaced with one another. The first monofilaments 24 are a homopolymer material (single polymer material) and the second monofilaments 26 are a copolymer material (multiple, different polymer materials blended together in a homogenous or substantially homogenous mixture). In accordance with one aspect, the copolymer material of the second monofilaments 26 includes a homogenous blend between 5-40 percent by weight (weight %) of resin material with excellent sliding characteristics, such as ultrahigh molecular weight-polyethylene (UHMW-PE), and a balance of the copolymer material includes one of either polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyamide (PA). In accordance with another aspect, the first monofilaments 24 have a first diameter D1 and the second monofilaments 26 have a second diameter D2, such as between about 0.2-0.5 mm, wherein the second diameter D2 is equal to or greater than the first diameter D1, and in one exemplary embodiment, the second diameter D2 is greater than the first diameter D1, as discussed further below.

The first and second monofilaments 24, 26 of the wall 12 are interlaced with one another in one of a weaving process such that the first and second monofilaments 24, 26 are woven with one another (10al, FIG. 1A and 10b1, FIG. 2A) or in a braiding process such that first and second monofilaments 24, 26 are braided with one another (10a2, FIG. 1B and 10b2, FIG. 2B). At least some or all of the yarns include the aforementioned first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26. As such, it is to be understood that the wall 12 can include additional filaments, whether monofilaments and/or multifilaments in addition to the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26, or, the wall 12 can be interlaced solely (entirely) with the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26.

The interlaced first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26 can be woven (FIGS. 1A; 1B; 3A), including the warp yarns extending generally parallel to the central longitudinal axis 20 and the weft yarns extending generally transversely to the central longitudinal axis 20. The warp yarns can be woven with the weft yarns in any desired weave pattern, including a plain weave, twill weave, satin weave or basket weave, for example, with the plain weave pattern being preferred, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 3A, to provide a smooth outer surface 17, stable and uniform protection pattern, with the smoothness enhancing the non-aggressive, non-abrasive surface of the inner and outer surfaces 15, 17. The warp yarns can be provided including both the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26, and the weft yarns can be provided including both the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26. The number of ends of each the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26 can be the same for one or both the warp and weft yarns, in alternating relation with one another, by way of example and without limitation. Accordingly, the first and second monofilaments 24, 26 can alternate with one another in one or both the warp and weft directions. Otherwise, the number of ends of each the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26 can be different for one or both the warp and weft yarns, as desired for the intended application. Accordingly, adjacent filaments in the warp and/or weft direction can include the first monofilaments 24, and/or adjacent filaments in the warp and/or weft direction can include the second monofilaments 26. In one exemplary non-limiting embodiment, the number of ends has a ratio of first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26 of 6:3, respectively. Accordingly, for every 6 first monofilaments 24, 3 second monofilaments 26 were provided. If braided, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 3B, the number of ends of each the first monofilaments 24 and second monofilaments 26 can be the same, in alternating relation with one another in both helical directions, or different, as desired for the intended application.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the second diameter D2 of the second monofilaments 26 can either be equal to, and in one preferred embodiment, greater than the first diameter D1 of the first monofilaments 24. In particular, the first monofilaments 24 of an exemplary embodiment were provided having a diameter of about 0.25 mm+/−0.02 mm and the second monofilaments 26 were provided having a diameter of about 0.38 mm+/−0.02 mm. The blended composite material of the copolymer second monofilament 26, which is more lubricious and less aggressive than the single polymer material (homopolymer) of the first monofilament 24 due to the content of resin material with excellent sliding characteristics, such as UHMW-PE, given its relatively increased diameter to that of the first monofilament 24, makes contact with the elongate member 14 and neighboring the object(s), while minimizing or preventing contact of the first monofilament 24 with the elongate member 14 and neighboring object(s), and thus, abrasion to the elongate member 14 and neighboring object(s) is negated or minimized. Meanwhile, the content of the PET or PA in the blended copolymer second monofilaments 26 enhances the resistance to high heat thermal conditions and enhances the mechanical strength, while keeping the cost of material of the second monofilament 26 down, given the cost of PET or PA is substantially less than the cost of resin material with excellent sliding characteristics. Accordingly, synergies are provided by the copolymer monofilament 26 that enhance the functionality of the sleeve 10 and protection provided to both the elongate member 14 and the neighboring object(s).

In accordance with another aspect, the copolymer material of the second monofilament 26 consists of between about 60-95 percent by weight of PET or PA, with the balance of the copolymer material consisting of the resin material with excellent sliding characteristics, such as UHMW-PE, which consists of between about 5-40 percent by weight, with the 2 materials consisting of a combined 100 (wt %) percent by weight of the second monofilament 26.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, at least some of the first monofilaments 24 extending in the weft direction are heat-set to bias the wall 12 to take on a self-wrapping, tubular configuration with the opposite edges 16, 18 being biased in overlapping relation with one another (FIGS. 1A and 1B).

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is contemplated that all features of all claims and of all embodiments can be combined with each other, so long as such combinations would not contradict one another. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.