Albany International Corporation

Phillip R Elkins

Steven S Yook

An on-machine-seamable papermaker's fabric includes a base fabric having seaming loops at its widthwise edges for joining the papermaker's fabric into endless form on a paper machine. The seam formed when the seaming loops are interdigitated and joined to one another with a pintle is covered with a strip of flow-resistant material, or, where the base fabric is a laminated structure having a top layer and a bottom layer, strips of flow-resistant material are placed between the top and bottom layers adjacent to the seam. The flow-resistant material provides the seam region with permeabilities to air and water substantially identical to those of the rest of the papermaker's fabric. At least one layer of staple fiber batt is entangled through the base fabric and flow-resistant material.

Seamed papermaker's fabrics

An on-machine-seamable papermakers' fabric includes a first and a second base fabric, each of which is joined into endless form with a seam. The first and second base fabrics are attached to one another by at least one layer of staple fiber batt entangled therethrough such that they are offset with respect to one another in a lengthwise direction when so joined. As a consequence, seaming loops at one widthwise edge of the first base fabric coincide with a non-seam region of the second base fabric, and seaming loops at one widthwise edge of the second base fabric coincide with a non-seam region of the first base fabric. These coincident non-seam regions have additional flow-resistant material included so that when the on-machine-seamable papermakers' fabric is joined into endless form by closing both seams, it may, in the vicinities of the seams, have permeabilities to air and water substantially identical to the remainder of the fabric body thereof. Alternatively, the on-machine-seamable papermakers' fabric includes a multi-layered integrally woven base fabric having two systems of machine-direction yarns forming seaming loops in two distinct rows separated from one another in a thicknesswise direction of the fabric along each of its two widthwise edges. The two distinct rows are offset with respect to one another in a lengthwise direction of the base fabric. As a consequence, the seaming loops in one row coincide with a non-seam region of the base fabric at each widthwise edge thereof. The coincident non-seam regions, as above, have additional flow-resistant material.

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Goose Creek, SC, United States of America

Phillip R Elkins