INDUSTRIAL MULTILAYER FABRIC

Description

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to industrial multilayer fabrics used for paper machines.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In the related art, papermaking meshes made of warps and wefts have been widely used as industrial multilayer fabrics for paper machines. The characteristics required for the papermaking meshes vary. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an industrial fabric in which an upper surface side fabric including upper surface side warps and upper surface side wefts is bonded to a lower surface side fabric including lower surface side warps and lower surface side wefts. In this industrial fabric, an upper surface side warp serves as an upper surface side binding yarn that binds the upper surface side fabric and the lower surface side fabric, and a lower surface side warp includes: a lower surface side binding yarn binding the upper surface side fabric and the lower surface side fabric; and a warp that is not a binding yarn.

In the industrial fabric described in FIG. 1 of Patent Literature 1, for example, an upper surface side binding yarn 4Ub and a lower surface side binding yarn 5Lb complement each other to form one weaving pattern and form a pair. This upper surface side binding yarn 4Ub forms a lower surface side knuckle on the same lower surface side weft as an adjacent lower surface side warp 3L, and the lower surface side binding yarn 5Lb forms a lower surface side knuckle on the same lower surface side weft as an adjacent lower surface side warp 6L.

Patent Literature 1: JP 2022-15983

In the technology described in Patent Literature 1, the upper surface side binding yarn 4Ub is placed to the left side to form a lower surface side knuckle on the same lower surface side weft as the adjacent lower surface side warp 3L, and the lower surface side binding yarn 5Lb is placed to the right side to form a lower surface side knuckle on the same lower surface side weft as the adjacent lower surface side warp 6L. Therefore, the upper surface side binding yarn 4Ub and the lower surface side binding yarn 5Lb, which form a pair, may become separated in the weft direction, hindering dewaterability and generating marks.

SUMMARY

A purpose of the disclosure is to provide industrial multilayer fabrics in which first and second binding warps forming a pair are prevented from becoming separated in a weft direction, thereby reducing the generation of marks.

In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the present invention relates to an industrial multilayer fabric including an upper surface side layer and a lower surface side layer formed by weaving warps and wefts. The wefts have upper surface side wefts that form a part of the upper surface side layer and lower surface side wefts that form a part of the lower surface side layer. The warps include: a first binding warp that is interwoven with the upper surface side wefts and the lower surface side wefts; a second binding warp that is interwoven with the upper surface side wefts and the lower surface side wefts and that forms a pair with the first binding warp; and lower surface side warps that are interwoven with the lower surface side wefts and that are arranged adjacent to the pair of the first binding warp and the second binding warp. The first binding warp and the second binding warp, which form a pair, are each interwoven with the upper surface side wefts so as to function as warps located on the upper surface side that form the upper surface side layer and are each interwoven with the lower surface side wefts so as to function as warps located on the lower surface side that form the lower surface side layer. The pair of the first binding warp and the second binding warp and the lower surface side warps are arranged alternately. The first binding warp forms a knuckle on the lower surface side weft on which one knuckle is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp on the left side and forms a knuckle on the lower surface side weft on which one knuckle is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp on the right side. The second binding warp forms a knuckle on the lower surface side weft on which one knuckle is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp on the left side and forms a knuckle on the lower surface side weft on which one knuckle is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp on the right side.

According to the disclosure, it is possible to provide industrial multilayer fabrics in which first and second binding warps forming a pair are prevented from becoming separated in a weft direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 1Bl and a right binding warp 1Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 1 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 2L in the design diagram shown in FIG. 1 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 3Bl and a right binding warp 3Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 1 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 4L in the design diagram shown in FIG. 1 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 4 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 1Bl and a right binding warp 1Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 4 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 2L in the design diagram shown in FIG. 4 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 3Bl and a right binding warp 3Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 4 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 4L in the design diagram shown in FIG. 4 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 7 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 1Bl and a right binding warp 1Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 7 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 2L shown in FIG. 7 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 3Bl and a right binding warp 3Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 7 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 4L in the design diagram shown in FIG. 7 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 10 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 1Bl and a right binding warp 1Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 10 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 2L shown in FIG. 10 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a form in which a left binding warp 3Bl and a right binding warp 3Br in the design diagram shown in FIG. 10 are woven into an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft. FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a form in which a lower surface side warp 4L in the design diagram shown in FIG. 10 is woven into a lower surface side weft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following explanation, “warps” are threads extending along the direction of conveyance of paper materials, and “wefts” are threads extending in a direction that intersects the warps, when a multilayer weave for papermaking constitutes an endless belt. Further, an “upper surface side layer” is a layer located on the upper surface side where the paper materials are conveyed out of the two sides of a papermaking mesh when a multilayer fabric is used as the papermaking mesh, and a “lower surface side layer” is a layer located mainly on the lower surface side where a drive roller is in contact out of the two sides of a papermaking belt. The upper surface side layer may be an upper surface side fabric and the lower surface side layer may be a lower surface side fabric. An “obverse surface” simply means a surface on the side where the upper surface side layer or the lower surface side layer is exposed. While the “obverse surface” of the upper surface side layer corresponds to the outer surface side of a papermaking mesh, the “obverse surface” of the lower surface side layer corresponds to the outer surface side of the papermaking mesh.

Further, the term “design diagram” represents the minimum repeating unit of a weave texture and corresponds to a weave repeat of the weave. In other words, a “weave repeat” is repeated from front to back and left to right to form a “weave.” Further, “knuckles” refers to parts where a warp is exposed on the obverse surface after passing above or below a single or multiple wefts.

Further, “binding warps” means at least some of warps that form the upper surface side layer and the lower surface side fabric and are yarns that bind the upper surface side layer with the lower surface side layer by being woven into both an upper surface side weft and a lower surface side weft.

First Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment. In the design diagrams, warps are represented by Arabic numerals, for example, 1, 2, 3, and so on. Wefts are represented by Arabic numerals with a dash, for example, 1′, 2′, 3′, and so on. Upper surface side yarns are denoted by numbers with “U,” and lower surface side yarns are denoted by numbers with “L,” e.g., an upper surface side weft 1′U, a lower surface side warp 2L, etc. Binding yarns binding the upper surface side layer and the lower surface side layer are denoted by numbers with “B,” and a left binding warp and a right binding warp are denoted as Bl and Br, respectively. The left and right binding warps form a pair side by side, with the left binding warp located on the left side of the pair and the right binding warp located on the right side of the pair. The left and right binding warps that form a pair partially overlap one another vertically; however, at the intersection, the left binding warp is located on the left side, and the right binding warp is located on the right side. This is because wefts are woven while the warps are arranged side by side so as to weave the industrial multilayer fabric. One of the left and right binding warps may be referred to as a first binding warp, and the other may be referred to as a second binding warp.

In the design diagrams, × marks indicate that left binding warps are arranged above upper surface side wefts, ∘ marks indicate that lower surface side warps and right binding warps are arranged below lower surface side wefts, Δ marks indicate that left binding warps are arranged below lower surface side wefts, and ▴ marks indicate that the right binding warps are arranged above the upper surface side wefts. The × marks, the ∘ marks, the Δ marks, and the ▴ marks indicate knuckles of warps.

In the industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, warps and wefts are woven together to form an upper surface side layer and a lower surface side layer. This industrial multilayer fabric includes an upper surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), and upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) and a lower surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L), and lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L).

The warps have left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) that are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts, right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) that are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts, and lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) that are interwoven with the lower surface side wefts only. The warps do not have upper surface side warps that are interwoven only with the upper surface side wefts.

The left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) and the right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) are interwoven with both the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L). In a weave repeat, there are eight left binding warps and eight right binding warps as well. The left and right binding warps are adjacent to each other vertically to form eight pairs.

There are eight lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) in a weave repeat and are arranged adjacent to left and right binding warp pairs and alternately with left and right binding warp pairs.

The wefts have upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U), which form a part of the upper surface side layer, and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L), which form a part of the lower surface side layer. In the weave repeat, there are 24 upper surface side wefts and 16 lower surface side wefts, and the ratio of the upper surface side wefts to the lower surface side wefts is 3:2.

The left and right binding warp pairs and the lower surface side warps are arranged alternately side by side in the weft direction. By arranging the lower surface side warps between the binding warp pairs, the dewaterability of the industrial multilayer fabric can be improved.

In the weave repeat, the upper surface side wefts involve 24 shafts. By setting the number of the shafts of the wefts to be long, the intersections of the left and right binding warps can be dispersed.

The weaving method of each warp and each weft in the industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment will be explained next with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B. The arrangements of upper and lower surface side wefts shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B are the same.

FIG. 2A shows a form where the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br are interwoven with the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L). As shown in FIG. 2A, the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br form a pair being adjacent to each other vertically and intersect with each other for binding.

The left binding warp 1Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (2′U, 4′U, 6′U, 20′U, 22′U, and 24′U) so as to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the upper surface side wefts (1′U, 3′U, 5′U, 7′U to 19′U, 21′U, and 23′U). The left binding warp 1Bl passes below the lower surface side wefts (11′L and 16′L) so as to form two lower surface side knuckles and passes above the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 13′L, 14′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L). In other words, the left binding warp 1Bl forms six upper surface side knuckles at the upper surface side wefts (2′U, 4′U, 6′U, 20′U, 22′U, and 24′U) and forms two lower surface side knuckles at the lower surface side wefts (11′L and 16′L).

The right binding warp 1Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (8′U, 10′U, 12′U, 14′U, 16′U, and 18′U) so as to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 7′U, 9′U, 11′U, 13′U, 15′U, 17′U, 19′U to 24′U). The right binding warp 1Br passes below the lower surface side wefts (4′L and 23′L) so as to form two lower surface side knuckles and passes above the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, and 22′L). In other words, the right binding warp 1Br forms six upper surface side knuckles at the upper surface side wefts (8′U, 10′U, 12′U, 14′U, 16′U, and 18′U) and forms two lower surface side knuckles at the lower surface side wefts (4′L and 23′L).

FIG. 2B shows a form where the lower surface side warp 2L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L). The lower surface side warp 2L passes below the lower surface side wefts (4′L, 8′L, 16′L, and 20′L) so as to form four lower surface side knuckles and passes above the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 5′L, 7′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 17′L, 19′L, 22′L, and 23′L).

With respect to the lower surface side wefts, the lower surface side warp 2L forms a weaving pattern of passing below one lower surface side weft (4′L and 16′L), above two consecutive lower surface side wefts (“5′L and 7′L” and “17′ and 19′L”), below one lower surface side weft (8′L and 20′L), and above four consecutive lower surface side wefts (“10′L, 11′L, 13′L, and 14′L” and “22′L, 23′L, 1′L, and 2′L”), which is a weaving pattern for so-called ½-¼ weave.

FIG. 3A shows a form where the left binding warp 3Bl and the right binding warp 3Br are interwoven with the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L). As shown in FIG. 3A, the left binding warp 3Bl and the right binding warp 3Br form a pair being adjacent to each other vertically and intersect with each other for binding.

The left binding warp 3Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (5′U, 7′U, 9′U, 11′U, 13′U, and 15′U) to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (1′L and 20′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles. The right binding warp 3Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (1′U, 3′U, 17′U, 19′U, 21′U, and 23′U) to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (8′L and 13′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

FIG. 3B shows a form where the lower surface side warp 4L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L). The lower surface side warp 4L passes below the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 5′L, 13′L, and 17′L) to form four lower surface side knuckles. Although the lower surface side warps (4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) include those whose weaving positions shifted in the longitudinal direction from that of the lower surface side warp 2L, the lower surface side warps form a weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave in the lower surface side layer, which is a common weaving pattern with the lower surface side warp 2L.

Although the left binding warps (3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) include those whose weaving position is shifted in the warp direction from that of the left binding warp 1Bl, the left binding warps have a common weaving pattern with the left binding warp 1Bl, form six consecutive upper surface side knuckles, and form two lower surface side knuckles.

Although the right binding warps (3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) include those whose weaving position is shifted in the warp direction from that of the right binding warp 1Br, the right binding warps have a common weaving pattern with the right binding warp 1Br and are woven in a weaving pattern of forming six consecutive upper surface side knuckles and forming two lower surface side knuckles. In this manner, the left binding warps and right binding warps form a common weaving pattern that forms six upper surface side knuckles and two lower surface side knuckles. The left binding warps and the right binding warps are interwoven in a common weaving pattern with respect to the wefts, which means that all the binding warps are thereby formed in the common weaving pattern. This makes it possible to manufacture industrial multilayer fabrics with two types of weaving patterns, one weaving pattern for binding warps and one weaving pattern for lower surface side warps, and thus makes it easier to manufacture industrial multilayer fabrics.

In a warp pair of the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br, each warp forms six upper surface side knuckles, thereby forming a weaving pattern where the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) are woven up and down alternately one by one on the obverse surface of the upper surface side layer. Warp pairs consisting of the left binding warps (3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) and the right binding warps (3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) also form a weaving pattern where the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) are woven up and down alternately one by one on the obverse surface of the upper surface side layer in the same manner. As described, the warp pairs form knuckles at constant intervals with respect to the upper surface side wefts, form a common weaving pattern for plain weave on the upper surface side layer, and are interwoven without disrupting the obverse surface texture. Further, by making the obverse surface of the upper surface side layer into a plain weave, good smoothness and support for paper fibers can be obtained, and it is thus possible to reduce the number of parts where paper fibers can get stuck.

In the warp pair consisting of the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br, each warp forms two lower surface side knuckles, thereby forming a weaving pattern of passing below one lower surface side weft (4′L and 16′L), above four consecutive lower surface side wefts (“5′L. 7′L, 8′L, and 10′L” and “17′, 19′L, 20′L, and 22′L”), below one lower surface side weft (11′L and 23′L), and above two consecutive lower surface side wefts (“13′L and 14′L” and “1′L and 2′L”), which is a weaving pattern for so-called ½-¼ weave. Warp pairs consisting of the left binding warps (3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) and the right binding warps (3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) also form a weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave in the same manner. As described, the warp pairs form knuckles at constant intervals with respect to the lower surface side wefts and form a common weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave on the lower surface side layer.

As shown in FIGS. 2B and 3B, the lower surface side warps also form a common weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave. Since the warp pairs and the lower surface side warps form the same weaving pattern, the warp pairs and the lower surface side warps are interwoven without disrupting the obverse surface structure of the lower surface side layer. By weaving one lower surface side weft with two warps located on the lower surface side, the interval between the lower surface side knuckles formed on the lower surface side weft can be increased. Therefore, the proportion of the lower surface side wefts exposed on the lower surface side can be increased, and the lower surface side wefts, which have excellent wear resistance, mainly bear the wear from the machine, thereby improving the wear resistance of the industrial multilayer fabric. Further, in the industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment, the lower surface side knuckles are not aligned but are dispersed, which reduces the occurrence of marks compared to when the lower surface side knuckles are aligned diagonally. Further, in a rib weave, areas that are easy to dehydrate and areas that are difficult to dehydrate are arranged in a cluster; however, in the lower surface side layer of the industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment, the areas that are easy to dehydrate and areas that are difficult to dehydrate can be dispersed.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the left binding warp 1Bl and right binding warp 1Br, which form a pair, are each interwoven with the upper surface side wefts and function as warps located on the upper surface side that forms the upper surface side layer, and the left binding warp 1Bl and right binding warp 1Br are also each interwoven with the lower surface side wefts and function as warps located on the lower surface side forming the lower surface side layer. Warps located on the upper surface side refer to warps that are exposed on the upper surface side, and warps located on the lower surface side refer to warps that are exposed on the lower surface side. In the portion where the left binding warp 1Bl is exposed in the upper surface layer, the right binding warp 1Br is not exposed in the upper surface layer, and in the portion where the right binding warp 1Br is exposed in the upper surface side layer, the left binding warp 1Bl is not exposed in the upper surface side layer. As a result, the left and right binding warps 1Bl and 1Br complement each other in the upper surface side layer so as to form a plain weave weaving pattern. The left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br are also in a complementary relationship in the lower surface side layer as in the upper surface side layer and form the same weaving pattern as that of the lower surface side warps. The other left and right binding warp pairs also complement each other in the same manner to form weaving patterns in the upper and lower surface side layers, respectively.

The left binding warp 3Bl forms a lower surface side knuckle N2 with respect to the lower surface side weft 20′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N1 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 2L on the left side, and forms a lower surface side knuckle N4 with respect to the lower surface side weft 1′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N3 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 4L on the right side. In other words, the left binding warp 3Bl forms the lower surface side knuckles (N2 and N4) in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles (N1 and N3) formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps (2L and 4L), respectively. Since the left binding warp 3Bl and right binding warp 3Br are positioned so as to substantially overlap each other vertically except for the intersecting portions, the lower surface side knuckle N4 of the left binding warp 3Bl is adjacent to the lower surface side knuckle N3 of the lower surface side weft 4L.

The right binding warp 3Br forms a lower surface side knuckle N6 with respect to the lower surface side weft 8′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N5 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 2L on the left side, and forms a lower surface side knuckle N8 with respect to the lower surface side weft 13′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N7 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 4L on the right side. In other words, the right binding warp 3Br forms the lower surface side knuckles (N6 and N8) alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles (N5 and N7) formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps (2L and 4L), respectively.

The other left binding warps also form the lower surface side knuckles in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps, respectively. In addition, the other right binding warps also form the lower surface side knuckles in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps, respectively. In other words, the left binding warp forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the left adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft, and forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the right adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft. Further, the right binding warp forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the left adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft, and forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the right adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft.

The lower surface side warp forms a lower surface side knuckle that is aligned with the lower surface side knuckles formed separately by the left binding warp adjacent to the left side, the right binding warp adjacent to the left side, the left binding warp adjacent to the right side, and the right binding warp adjacent to the right side.

In this way, both the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left binding warp and the right binding warp are arranged side by side with either of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the lower surface side warps adjacent to the left and right and are thereby pulled upward, thus making it more difficult for the left and right binding warps to wear.

Further, compared to when the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right binding warps are arranged side by side with the lower surface side knuckles of only one of the adjacent lower surface side warps on either side, a side-by-side arrangement with the lower surface side knuckles formed by the lower surface side warps on the left and right sides allows for the prevention of shifting of the left and right binding warp pairs from side to side, and the left and right binding warp pairs can overlap each other to ensure the dewaterability of the industrial multilayer fabric. In addition, the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right binding warps are dispersed to the left and right by being arranged side by side with the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right lower surface side warps, thus reducing the occurrence of marks during papermaking. In addition, since the weaving patterns of adjacent left binding warps among the left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) are significantly shifted in the longitudinal direction, the occurrence of marks can be suppressed. Further, since the weaving patterns of adjacent right binding warps among the right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) are significantly shifted in the longitudinal direction, the occurrence of marks can be suppressed.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the second exemplary embodiment. The industrial multilayer fabric shown in FIG. 4 differs from the industrial multilayer fabric shown in FIG. 1 in that the weaving pattern of the left and right binding warps is shifted in the longitudinal direction.

In the industrial multilayer fabric according to the second exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, warps and wefts are woven together to form an upper surface side layer and a lower surface side layer. This industrial multilayer fabric includes an upper surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), and upper surface side wefts (1′U to 24′U) and a lower surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L), and lower surface side wefts (1′L, 2′L, 4′L, 5′L, 7′L, 8′L, 10′L, 11′L, 13′L, 14′L, 16′L, 17′L, 19′L, 20′L, 22′L, and 23′L).

The warps have left binding warps that are interwoven with both the upper and lower surface side wefts, right binding warps that are interwoven with both the upper and lower surface side wefts, and lower surface side warps that are interwoven with the lower surface side wefts only. The warps do not have upper surface side warps that are interwoven only with the upper surface side wefts. In a weave repeat, there are eight left binding warps and eight right binding warps as well. The left and right binding warps are adjacent to each other vertically to form eight pairs.

There are eight lower surface side warps in a weave repeat and are arranged adjacent to left and right binding warp pairs and alternately with left and right binding warp pairs.

The wefts have upper surface side wefts that form a part of the upper surface side layer and lower surface side wefts that form a part of the lower surface side layer. In the weave repeat, there are 24 upper surface side wefts and 16 lower surface side wefts, and the ratio of the upper surface side wefts to the lower surface side wefts is 3:2.

The weaving method of each warp and each weft in the industrial multilayer fabric according to the second exemplary embodiment will be explained next with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B. The arrangements of upper and lower surface side wefts shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B are the same.

FIG. 5A shows a form in which the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts. The left binding warp 1Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (2′U, 4′U, 6′U, 20′U, 22′U, and 24′U) to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (11′L and 16′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

The right binding warp 1Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (8′U, 10′U, 12′U, 14′U, 16′U, and 18′U) to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (4′L and 23′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

FIG. 5B shows a form in which the lower surface side warp 2L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts. With respect to the lower surface side wefts, the lower surface side warp 2L forms a weaving pattern of passing below one lower surface side weft (4′L and 16′L), above two consecutive lower surface side wefts (“5′L and 7′L” and “17′ and 19′L”), below one lower surface side weft (8′L and 20′L), and above four consecutive lower surface side wefts (“10′L, 11′L, 13′L, and 14′L” and “22′L, 23′L, 1′L, and 2′L”), which is a weaving pattern for so-called ½-¼ weave.

FIG. 6A shows a form in which the left binding warp 3Bl and the right binding warp 3Br are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts. The left binding warp 3Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (1′U, 3′U, 17′U, 19′U, 21′U, and 23′U) to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (8′L and 13′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles. The right binding warp 3Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (5′U, 7′U, 9′U, 11′U, 13′U, and 15′U) to form six upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (1′L and 20′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles. The left binding warps and right binding warps form a common weaving pattern that forms six upper surface side knuckles and two lower surface side knuckles.

FIG. 6B shows a form in which the lower surface side warp 4L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts. The lower surface side warp 4L passes below the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 5′L, 13′L, and 17′L) to form four lower surface side knuckles. Although the lower surface side warps (4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) include those whose weaving positions shifted in the longitudinal direction from that of the lower surface side warp 2L, the lower surface side warps form a weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave in the lower surface side layer, which is a common weaving pattern with the lower surface side warp 2L.

In a warp pair consisting of the left binding warp and the right binding warp, each warp forms six upper surface side knuckles, thereby forming a weaving pattern where the upper surface side wefts are woven up and down alternately one by one on the obverse surface of the upper surface side layer. The warp pair consisting of the left binding warp and the right binding warp form a weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave in common with the lower surface side warps.

The left binding warp forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the left adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft, and forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the right adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft. Further, the right binding warp forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the left adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft, and forms a lower surface side knuckle adjacent in the weft direction to one lower surface side knuckle formed by the right adjacent lower surface side warp passing below the lower surface side weft.

The left binding warp 1Bl and the left binding warp 3Bl shown in FIG. 1 are arranged being shifted by nine upper surface side wefts. The other left binding warps that are adjacent to each other are also arranged being shifted by nine upper surface side wefts. Further, the right binding warps that are adjacent to each other shown in FIG. 1 are also arranged being shifted by nine upper surface side wefts. In contrast, the left binding warp 1Bl and the left binding warp 3Bl shown in FIG. 4 are arranged being shifted by three upper surface side wefts, and the other left binding warps that are adjacent to each other are also arranged being shifted by three upper surface side wefts. Further, the right binding warps that are adjacent to each other shown in FIG. 4 are also arranged being shifted by three upper surface side wefts. This difference allows the positions where the left and right binding warps intersect to be arranged apart from one another in the industrial multilayer fabric shown in FIG. 1, thereby suppressing the occurrence of marks.

The industrial multilayer fabric shown in the first exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1 and the industrial multilayer fabric shown in the second exemplary embodiment in FIG. 4 have the same weaving pattern and weaving position for the lower surface side warps. The position of the knuckles of the lower surface side warps is the same as that of the lower surface side knuckles of the left and right binding warp pairs. While the amount of alignment between adjacent left binding warps is different between the industrial multilayer fabric according to the first exemplary embodiment and the industrial multilayer fabric according to the second exemplary embodiment, the position of the knuckles of the left and right binding warp pairs is the same. This is because the arrangement of the left and right binding warps constituting the pairs is partially reversed in the first and second exemplary embodiments. On the other hand, the weaving pattern is the same in the first and second exemplary embodiments when the left and right binding warps are viewed as pairs.

Third Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the third exemplary embodiment. In the industrial multilayer fabric according to the third exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 7, warps and wefts are woven together to form an upper surface side layer and a lower surface side layer. This industrial multilayer fabric includes an upper surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), and upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) and a lower surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L), and lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L).

The warps have left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) that are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts, right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) that are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts, lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) that are interwoven with the lower surface side wefts only. The warps do not have upper surface side warps that are interwoven only with the upper surface side wefts. The left and right binding warps are interwoven with both the upper and lower surface side wefts. In a weave repeat, there are eight left binding warps and eight right binding warps as well. The left and right binding warps are adjacent to each other vertically to form eight pairs.

There are eight lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) in a weave repeat and are arranged adjacent to left and right binding warp pairs and alternately with left and right binding warp pairs.

The wefts have upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U), which form a part of the upper surface side layer, and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L), which form a part of the lower surface side layer. In the weave repeat, there are 32 upper surface side wefts and 16 lower surface side wefts, and the ratio of the upper surface side wefts to the lower surface side wefts is 2:1.

The left and right binding warp pairs and the lower surface side warps are arranged alternately side by side in the weft direction. In the weave repeat, the upper surface side wefts involve 32 shafts. All of the industrial multilayer fabrics according to the first through third exemplary embodiments have wefts of 24 shafts or more. By setting the number of the shafts of the wefts to be long, the intersections of the left and right binding warps can be dispersed.

The weaving method of each warp and each weft in the industrial multilayer fabric according to the third exemplary embodiment will be explained next with reference to FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B. The arrangements of upper and lower surface side wefts shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B are the same.

FIG. 8A shows a form where the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br are interwoven with the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L). As shown in FIG. 8A, the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br form a pair being adjacent to each other vertically and intersect with each other for binding.

The left binding warp 1Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (3′U, 5′U, 7′U, 9′U, 11′U, 13′U, 15′U, and 17′U) to form eight upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (23′L and 29′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

The right binding warp 1Br forms eight upper surface side knuckles at the upper surface side wefts (1′U, 19′U, 12′U, 23′U, 25′U, 27′U, 29′U, and 31′U) and forms two lower surface side knuckles at the lower surface side wefts (7′L and 13′L).

FIG. 8B shows a form in which the lower surface side warp 2L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts. The lower surface side warp 2L passes below the lower surface side wefts (3′L, 13′L, 19′L, and 29′L) to form four lower surface side knuckles.

With respect to the lower surface side wefts, the lower surface side warp 2L forms a weaving pattern of passing below one lower surface side weft (13′L and 29′L), above two consecutive lower surface side wefts (“15′L and 17′L” and “31′ and 1′L”), below one lower surface side weft (19′L and 3′L), and above four consecutive lower surface side wefts (“21′L, 23′L, 25′L, and 27′L” and “5′L, 7′L, 9′L, and 11′L”), which is a weaving pattern for so-called ½-¼ weave.

FIG. 9A shows a form where the left binding warp 3Bl and the right binding warp 3Br are interwoven with the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L). As shown in FIG. 9A, the left binding warp 3Bl and the right binding warp 3Br form a pair being adjacent to each other vertically and intersect with each other for binding.

The left binding warp 3Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (16′U, 18′U, 20′U, 22′U, 24′U, 26′U, 28′U, and 30′U) to form eight upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (3′L and 9′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles. The right binding warp 3Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (2′U, 4′U, 6′U, 8′U, 10′U, 12′U, 14′U, and 32′U) to form eight upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (19′L and 25′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

FIG. 9B shows a form where the lower surface side warp 4L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L). The lower surface side warp 4L passes below the lower surface side wefts (9′L, 15′L, 25′L, and 31′L) to form four lower surface side knuckles. In the same way as in the lower surface side warp 2L, the lower surface side warps (4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) form a weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave in the lower surface side layer.

Although the left binding warps (3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) include those whose weaving position is shifted in the warp direction from that of the left binding warp 1Bl, the left binding warps have a common weaving pattern with the left binding warp 1Bl, form eight consecutive upper surface side knuckles, and form two lower surface side knuckles.

Although the right binding warps (3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) include those whose weaving position is shifted in the warp direction from that of the right binding warp 1Br, the right binding warps have a common weaving pattern with the right binding warp 1Br and are woven in a weaving pattern of forming eight consecutive upper surface side knuckles and forming two lower surface side knuckles. Thus, the left binding warps and right binding warps form a common weaving pattern. The left binding warps and the right binding warps are interwoven in the common weaving pattern with respect to the wefts, which means that all the binding warps are thereby formed in the common weaving pattern.

In a warp pair of the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br, each warp forms eight upper surface side knuckles, thereby forming a weaving pattern where the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) are woven up and down alternately one by one on the obverse surface of the upper surface side layer. Warp pairs consisting of the left binding warps (3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) and the right binding warps (3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) also form a weaving pattern where the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) are woven up and down alternately one by one on the obverse surface of the upper surface side layer in the same manner. As described, the warp pairs form a common weaving pattern for plain weave on the upper surface side layer and are interwoven without disrupting the obverse surface texture.

In the warp pair consisting of the left binding warp and the right binding warp, each warp forms two lower surface side knuckles, thereby forming a weaving pattern of passing below one lower surface side weft, above two consecutive lower surface side wefts, below one lower surface side weft, and above four consecutive lower surface side wefts, which is a common weaving pattern for so-called ½-¼ weave. Since the warp pairs and the lower surface side warps form the same weaving pattern, the warp pairs and the lower surface side warps are interwoven without disrupting the obverse surface structure of the lower surface side layer.

The left binding warp and right binding warp, which form a pair, are each interwoven with the upper surface side wefts and function as warps located on the upper surface side that forms the upper surface side layer, and the left binding warp 1Bl and right binding warp 1Br are also each interwoven with the lower surface side wefts and function as warps located on the lower surface side forming the lower surface side layer.

The left binding warp 3Bl forms a lower surface side knuckle N1 with respect to the lower surface side weft 3′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N2 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 2L on the left side, and forms a lower surface side knuckle N3 with respect to the lower surface side weft 9′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N4 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 4L on the right side. In other words, the left binding warp 3Bl forms the lower surface side knuckles (N1 and N3) in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles (N2 and N4) formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps (2L and 4L), respectively.

The right binding warp 3Br forms a lower surface side knuckle N5 with respect to the lower surface side weft 19′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N6 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 2L on the left side, and forms a lower surface side knuckle N7 with respect to the lower surface side weft 25′L on which one lower surface side knuckle N8 is formed by the adjacent lower surface side warp 4L on the right side. In other words, the right binding warp 3Br forms the lower surface side knuckles (N5 and N7) alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles (N6 and N8) formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps (2L and 4L), respectively.

The other left binding warps also form the lower surface side knuckles in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps, respectively. In addition, the other right binding warps also form the lower surface side knuckles in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps, respectively. This allows for the prevention of shifting of the left and right binding warp pairs from side to side, and the left and right binding warp pairs can overlap each other to ensure the dewaterability of the industrial multilayer fabric.

Fourth Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a design diagram showing a weave repeat of an industrial multilayer fabric according to the fourth exemplary embodiment. In the industrial multilayer fabric according to the fourth exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 10, warps and wefts are woven together to form an upper surface side layer and a lower surface side layer. This industrial multilayer fabric includes an upper surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), and upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) and a lower surface side layer formed including left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl), right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br), lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L), and lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L).

The warps have left binding warps (1Bl, 3Bl, 5Bl, 7Bl, 9Bl, 11Bl, 13Bl, and 15Bl) that are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts, right binding warps (1Br, 3Br, 5Br, 7Br, 9Br, 11Br, 13Br, and 15Br) that are interwoven with the upper and lower surface side wefts, and lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) that are interwoven with the lower surface side wefts only. The warps do not have upper surface side warps that are interwoven only with the upper surface side wefts. The left and right binding warps are interwoven with both the upper and lower surface side wefts. In a weave repeat, there are eight left binding warps and eight right binding warps as well. The left and right binding warps are adjacent to each other vertically to form eight pairs.

There are eight lower surface side warps (2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) in a weave repeat and are arranged adjacent to left and right binding warp pairs and alternately with left and right binding warp pairs.

The wefts have upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U), which form a part of the upper surface side layer, and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L), which form a part of the lower surface side layer. In the weave repeat, there are 32 upper surface side wefts and 16 lower surface side wefts, and the ratio of the upper surface side wefts to the lower surface side wefts is 2:1. The left and right binding warp pairs and the lower surface side warps are arranged alternately side by side in the weft direction. In the weave repeat, the upper surface side wefts involve 32 shafts.

The weaving method of each warp and each weft in the industrial multilayer fabric according to the fourth exemplary embodiment will be explained next with reference to FIGS. 11A, 11B, 12A, and 12B. The arrangements of upper and lower surface side wefts shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 12A, and 12B are the same.

FIG. 11A shows a form where the left binding warp 1Bl and the right binding warp 1Br are interwoven with the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L).

The left binding warp 1Bl forms eight upper surface side knuckles at the upper surface side wefts (1′U, 19′U, 12′U, 23′U, 25′U, 27′U, 29′U, and 31′U) and forms two lower surface side knuckles at the lower surface side wefts (7′L and 13′L).

The right binding warp 1Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (3′U, 5′U, 7′U, 9′U, 11′U, 13′U, 15′U, and 17′U) to form eight upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (23′L and 29′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

FIG. 11B shows a form in which the lower surface side warp 2L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts. With respect to the lower surface side wefts, the lower surface side warp 2L forms a weaving pattern of passing below one lower surface side weft (13′L and 29′L), above two consecutive lower surface side wefts (“15′L and 17′L” and “31′ and 1′L”), below one lower surface side weft (19′L and 3′L), and above four consecutive lower surface side wefts (“21′L, 23′L, 25′L, and 27′L” and “5′L, 7′L, 9′L, and 11′L”), which is a weaving pattern for so-called ½-¼ weave.

FIG. 12A shows a form where the left binding warp 3Bl and the right binding warp 3Br are interwoven with the upper surface side wefts (1′U to 32′U) and the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L).

The left binding warp 3Bl passes above the upper surface side wefts (16′U, 18′U, 20′U, 22′U, 24′U, 26′U, 28′U, and 30′U) to form eight upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (3′L and 9′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles. The right binding warp 3Br passes above the upper surface side wefts (2′U, 4′U, 6′U, 8′U, 10′U, 12′U, 14′U, and 32′U) to form eight upper surface side knuckles and passes below the lower surface side wefts (19′L and 25′L) to form two lower surface side knuckles.

FIG. 12B shows a form where the lower surface side warp 4L is interwoven with the lower surface side wefts (1′L, 3′L, 5′L, 7′L, 9′L, 11′L, 13′L, 15′L, 17′L, 19′L, 21′L, 23′L, 25′L, 27′L, 29′L, and 31′L). The lower surface side warp 4L passes below the lower surface side wefts (9′L, 15′L, 25′L, and 31′L) to form four lower surface side knuckles. In the same way as in the lower surface side warp 2L, the lower surface side warps (4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 14L, and 16L) form a weaving pattern for ½-¼ weave in the lower surface side layer.

The left binding warps form the lower surface side knuckles in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps, respectively. In addition, the right binding warps also form the lower surface side knuckles in the weft direction alongside one of the lower surface side knuckles formed by the left and right adjacent lower surface side warps, respectively.

An industrial multilayer fabric according to each of the above exemplary embodiments may be subjected to the following processing. For example, in order to improve the surface smoothness, the obverse surface side of the industrial multilayer fabric may be polished in the range of 0.02 to 0.05 mm. In particular, the obverse surface side may be polished by 0.02 mm or 0.03 mm.

Further, in order to suppress the fraying of yarns at the ends of the mesh (industrial multilayer fabric), the range of 5 mm to 30 mm, particularly the range of 5 mm, 10 mm, or 20 mm, from the ends of the mesh may be coated with a polyurethane resin for reinforcement. The coating of the mesh ends may be applied on one or both sides. The resin may be hot melt polyurethane.

In order to improve the wear resistance of a mesh end, the mesh may be coated in the range of 20 mm to 500 mm (particularly 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 250, 300, 350, or 400 mm) from the mesh end with three to sixteen (particularly three, four, seven, eight, ten, twelve, fifteen, or sixteen) strips of resin of a width of about 7 mm over the entire length. The plurality of above-mentioned strips of polyurethane resin may be applied to both ends of the mesh or only to one side. The resin may be hot melt polyurethane.

The entire mesh may be coated with resin in order to improve the antifouling performance. In order to allow for the trimming of the paper making width near the mesh end, the mesh may be coated in the range of 10 mm to 500 mm (particularly 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, or 400 mm) from the mesh end with one strip of resin of a width of about 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 mm over the entire length. The above-mentioned resin may be applied to both ends of the mesh or only to one side. The resin may be polyurethane and may be hot melt. Further, the mesh may have lines of about 25 mm or 50 mm in width across the entire width such that the line bending of the mesh can be seen during use.

The following is a list of preferred element ranges for an industrial multilayer fabric. The warp diameter is preferably 0.10 mm to 1.0 mm, more preferably 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, and particularly preferably 0.11 mm to 0.35 mm. The diameter of the warps may be the same. The diameter of the lower surface side warps may be the same as the diameter of the binding warps or, alternatively, may be set 1.1 to 1.3 times the diameter of the binding warps. The weft diameter is preferably 0.10 mm to 1.0 mm, more preferably 0.12 mm to 0.6 mm, and particularly preferably 0.12 mm to 0.55 mm. The diameter of the lower surface side wefts is desirably larger than the diameter of the upper surface side warps and may be 1.1 to 3.0 times and more preferably 1.2 to 2.0 times the diameter of the upper surface side wefts.

The upper surface side wefts may be composed of only PET wires, only polyamide wires, or PET wires and polyamide wires that are alternately interwoven. The lower surface side wefts may be composed of only PET wires or only polyamide wires or may be composed of PET wires and polyamide wires that are alternately interwoven. Also, in order to reduce the driving load of the machine, low-friction yarns may be woven with the lower surface side wefts.

The air permeability is preferably 100 cm³/cm²/s to 600 cm³/cm²/s and more preferably 120 cm³/cm²/s to 300 cm³/cm²/s.

The mesh thickness is preferably 0.3 mm to 3.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm, and particularly preferably 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm. The usage applications include mainly usage as a papermaking or nonwoven fabric belt and may include particularly usage as a papermaking dewatering belt or a spunbond nonwoven fabric conveying belt.

The cross-sectional shape of the warps and wefts according to each of the above-mentioned exemplary embodiments is not limited to a circular shape, and yarns having a quadrangular shape, a star shape, etc., and yarns having an elliptical shape, a hollow shape, a sheath-core structure shape, etc., can be used. In particular, by making the cross-sectional shape of the lower warps have a square shape, a rectangular shape, or an elliptical shape, the cross-sectional area of the yarns can be increased, and elongation resistance and rigidity can thus be improved.

Further, the yarn material can be freely selected as long as the yarn satisfies the desired characteristics, and polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyvinylidene fluoride, polypropylene, aramid, polyether ether ketone, polyethylene naphthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene, cotton, wool, metals, thermoplastic polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomers, etc., can be used. Needless to say, yarns prepared from a copolymer and yarns prepared by blending or adding various substances to such a material may be used according to the purpose. In general, polyester monofilaments having rigidity and excellent dimensional stability are preferably used as yarns constituting industrial multilayer fabrics.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention relates to industrial multilayer fabrics used for paper machines.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

• • 1Bl left binding warp, 1Br right binding warp, 1′U upper surface side weft, 1′L lower surface side weft, 2L lower surface side warp.