Albany International Corporation

Robert A Hansen

Glenn J Kornett

Bjorn Rydin

Maurice R Paquin

A structure for use in industrial fabrics such as paper machine clothing and engineered fabrics. The structure contains both axially elastomeric yarns and relatively inelastic yarns in various patterns. The structure has a high degree of both compressibility under an applied normal load and excellent recovery (resiliency or spring back) upon removal of that load.

Ultra-resilient fabric

A structure for use in a compressible resilient pad. The structure contains both axially elastomeric yarns and relatively inelastic yarns in various patterns. The structure has a high degree of both compressibility under an applied normal load and excellent recovery (resiliency or spring back) upon removal of that load.

Ultra-resilient pad

A stratified press fabric for the press section of a paper machine having a passive sensor system for detecting wear in the press fabric. The lower (non-surface) layer(s) of the stratified press fabric are produced using colored staple fiber batt material. As the surface of the fabric is worn away through use, the colored batt material is exposed to provide a visual indication of the wear. This visual indication allows the customer to readily determine the appropriate time to replace the press fabric.

Passive sensor system for detection of wear problems in paper machine clothing

A papermaker's fabric formed by arranging a number of layers in a predetermined manner, wherein at least one layer comprises a material which is woven, knitted or braided and has a first melting point temperature and wherein each of the remaining layers has a melting point temperature which is higher than said first melting point temperature; and heating said number of layers to a temperature at least equal to said first melting point temperature and less than said melting point temperature of each of the remaining layers such that said at least one layer melts without melting the remaining layers.

Semi-permeable fabrics for transfer belt and press fabric applications

A stratified press fabric for the press section of a paper machine includes a base fabric in the form of an endless loop. A first staple fiber batt material is attached to the outer side of the base fabric by needling. A fine fabric covers the first staple fiber batt material, and a second staple fiber batt material is attached to the fine fabric by needling. The fibers making up the second staple fiber material are finer, that is, of smaller diameter or denier, than the fibers making up the first staple fiber material. The fine fabric prevents the coarser fibers of the first staple fiber batt material from being needled therethrough to mix with the finer fibers of the second fiber batt material.

Stratified press fabric

An on-machine-seamable industrial fabric includes rings in the seam region. In one principal embodiment, the rings are between the seaming loops at the two ends of the fabric and enclose at least one cross-machine-direction (CD) yarn. As such, the rings strengthen the seam region by involving the CD yarns as a reinforcement. In another principal embodiment, the rings are used instead of a seaming spiral.

On-machine-seamable industrial fabric having seam-reinforcing rings

An anti-rewet press fabric for paper and board machines includes a barrier layer such that during compression in the press nip, the water is forced through the barrier layer, but is prevented from flowing back to the paper web during expansion. The barrier layer comprises a continuous material possessing, for example square, rectangular, tetrahedral, circular or oblong conical inclusions with a smaller opening on the bottom than on the top of the structure. Each of these 'funnels' effectively constitutes a one-way valve and creates a vacuum to prevent re-absorption of water by the paper sheet. Under pressure, the structure of the barrier layer allows water to flow into the cones and out of the smaller opening in the bottom. Upon expansion, the smaller opening in the bottom of the structure restricts backward water flow and creates a vacuum on the other side. The vacuum increases water retention in the press fabric and prevents rewetting of the paper sheet. Another embodiment of the invention is described herein, wherein the barrier layer exists as a separate fabric fed through a press section. In this embodiment, the 'separate fabric' can just be the &#x201c;conical inclusion sheet&#x201d; itself. That is, the sheet itself constitutes an inventive belt having anti-rewet properties.

Anti-rewet press fabric

A nonwoven papermaker's fabric, usable in the dryer section of a paper machine, has a spiral wound machine direction (MD) base layer of raw stock which is wound around a pair of parallel rolls or cylinders until the desired length and width is achieved. The spiral wound MD layer is overlaid with a cross-machine direction (CD) layer of similar or dissimilar raw stock and mated by any of a number of means. The spiral wound MD layer can also be mated to another MD layer spiraled in the opposite direction and in one embodiment further mated to a CD layer. The fabric is preferably produced so that its neutral line is oriented toward the paper side of the fabric so that the paper sheet will stretch less than when typical dryer fabrics are used to turn the paper sheet and fabric around the dryer cylinders.

Nonwoven neutral line dryer fabric

An on-machine-seamable industrial fabric comprising rings connected by pintles. In one principal embodiment, the rings are oriented in the machine direction and the pintles extend at an angle, connecting the rings. Such configuration improves the strength of the fabric and provides resistance to needling damage. In another principal embodiment, the rings are oriented in the cross-machine direction and the pintles extend in the machine direction, joining the rings.

On-machine-seamable industrial fabric comprised of interconnected rings

A papermaker's fabric is manufactured by spirally winding a laminated structure in a plurality of turns. The laminated structure has a bottom layer and a top layer, both of which are strips having a common width. The bottom layer and the top layer are laminated to one another in a transversely offset manner, so that an unlaminated portion of the bottom layer is along one lateral edge of the laminated structure and an unlaminated portion of the top layer is along the other lateral edge. When the laminated structure is spirally wound, the unlaminated portion of the top layer in one turn overlies the unlaminated portion of the bottom layer in an adjacent turn. These are joined to one another to form the papermaker's fabric from the spirally wound structure.

Method for producing spiral wound paper machine clothing

A fabric for the forming, press and dryer sections of a paper machine, for use as a reinforcing base for a polymeric-resin-coated paper-processing belt or as a corrugator belt, or in other industrial settings where a material is being dewatered, is formed from a monofilament yarn, which is spirally wound in the form of a closed helix, adjacent turns thereof being abutted against and joined securely to one another. The monofilament yarn has a first side and a second side which are oppositely and correspondingly shaped, so that, when spirally wound in a plurality of turns, the first side fits closely into or against the second side of an adjacent and abutting turn, and adjacent spiral turns are secured to one another at the abutting first and second sides to form the fabric.

Spirally wound shaped yarns for paper machine clothing and industrial belts

A press fabric is manufactured by spirally winding a strip in a plurality of non-overlapping abutting turns, and by joining each turn of the strip to that previously wound. The strip is itself a laminated structure having at least two layers attached to one another. The strip is manufactured in considerable lengths for subsequent use in manufacturing press fabrics in any length and width dimension.

Growing community of inventors

Stuttgart-Birkach, Germany

Robert A Hansen