System and a method for manufacturing substrates for coated fabrics

Abstract

A system and a method are disclosed for weaving SC fabrics using multiple weft insertion. The system and method may be used to increase the thread count of the SC fabric while reducing fabric costs.

1 . A system for manufacturing a substrate for coated fabric tailored to customer defined requirements, the system comprising:
 an interweaver that interweaves two or more weft threads substantially simultaneously with a warp yarn and outputs the substrate; and   a controller that controls the interweaver according to the customer defined requirements.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the customer defined requirements comprise at least one of:
 an opacity;   an air permeability;   a warp direction tear strength;   a weft direction tear strength;   a fabric thickness;   a dimensional stability;   a fabric tensile strength;   a bursting strength;   a rate of wetting out;   a wicking;   a weight; and   a shrinkage.   
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven to follow a weaving pattern of the warp yarn. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven in a single pass or weaving step in the interweaver. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven using a double-pick weaving of the two or more weft threads. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the customer defined requirements comprise at least one of:
 a number of weft threads to be woven substantially simultaneously;   a density for each of the two or more weft threads; and   a type or blend of warp yarn to be included.   
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a database that stores the customer defined requirements.   
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a driver that controls the interweaver according to a signal received from the controller.   
     
     
         9 . A method for manufacturing a substrate for coated fabric tailored to customer defined requirements, the method comprising:
 substantially simultaneously interweaving two or more weft threads with a warp yarn;   controlling the interweaving according to the customer defined requirements; and   outputting a substrate that comprises the two or more weft threads and warp yarn.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the customer defined requirements comprise at least one of:
 an opacity;   an air permeability;   a warp direction tear strength;   a weft direction tear strength;   a fabric thickness;   a dimensional stability;   a fabric tensile strength;   a bursting strength;   a rate of wetting out;   a wicking;   a weight; and   a shrinkage.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven to follow a weaving pattern of the warp yarn. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven in a single pass or weaving step in an interweaver. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven using a double-pick weaving of the two or more weft threads. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the customer defined requirements comprise at least one of:
 a number of weft threads to be woven substantially simultaneously;   a density for each of the two or more weft threads; and   a type or blend of warp yarn to be included.   
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 receiving the customer defined requirements from a database that stores the customer defined requirements.   
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 driving an interweaver according to a signal received from a controller.   
     
     
         17 . A computer readable medium comprising a computer program for a manufacturing process for manufacturing a substrate for coated fabric according to a customer defined requirement, the computer medium comprising program code sections, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to:
 substantially simultaneously interweave two or more well threads with a warp yarn;   control the interweaving according to the customer defined requirement; and   output a substrate that comprises the two or more weft threads and warp yarn.   
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 17 , wherein the customer defined requirement comprises at least one of:
 an opacity;   an air permeability;   a warp direction tear strength;   a weft direction tear strength;   a fabric thickness;   a dimensional stability;   a fabric tensile strength;   a bursting strength;   a rate of wetting out;   a wicking;   a weight; and   a shrinkage.   
     
     
         19 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 17 , wherein the two or more weft threads are interwoven to follow a weaving pattern of the warp yarn. 
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 17 , wherein the customer defined requirement comprises at least one of:
 a number of weft threads to be woven substantially simultaneously;   a density for each of the two or more weft threads; and   a type or blend of warp yarn to be included.