System and method for transport of fibers to/from a circular needle-punching loom

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9932696-B2
Application number	US-201715632010-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2017
Priority date	May 23, 2014
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

A circular needle loom comprises a bed plate for receiving a transport layer. Engagement members may be disposed proximate to the bed plate, such that the engagement members interface with a positional structure of the transport layer that is used to position and rotate the transport layer around the bed plate. The engagement members may be configured to rotate the transport layer around the bed plate until a predetermined number of fibers and/or layers are deposited on the transport layer and/or bed plate in order to create a needled preform.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
coupling a carbonized carbon fiber layer to a scrim layer to form a transport layer;
positioning the transport layer on a circular needle loom;
rotating the transport layer on the circular needle loom such that carbon fibers are deposited on the carbonized carbon fiber layer and are delivered to a needling zone;
needling the carbon fibers and the carbon fiber layer to create a first needled carbon fiber layer;
adding additional carbon fibers on the first needled carbon fiber layer;
needling additional carbon fibers and the first needled carbon fiber layer to create a second needled carbon fiber layer; and
removing the transport layer comprising the first needled carbon fiber layer and the second needled carbon fiber layer from the circular needle loom.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the carbonized carbon fiber layer is an substantially annular shaped carbonized carbon fiber layer, wherein the scrim layer is a substantially annular shaped scrim layer, and wherein the substantially annular shaped carbonized carbon fiber layer substantially surrounds a first annular shaped scrim portion, and wherein a second annular shaped scrim portion substantially surrounds the substantially annular shaped carbonized carbon fiber layer.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the substantially annular shaped scrim layer comprises at least one of cotton, rayon, polyester or other low cost natural or synthetic yarns.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the substantially annular shaped carbonized carbon fiber layer is at least one of sewn, needled, or bonded onto the substantially annular shaped scrim layer.

Assignees

• Goodrich Corp

Inventors

• Le Costaouec Jean-Francois

Classifications

• D04H1/46

  by needling or like operations to cause entanglement of fibres (D04H1/45 takes precedence; needling machines D04H18/00) · CPC title

• D04H18/02

  with needles · CPC title

• D04H3/002

  Inorganic yarns or filaments · CPC title

• D04H1/4242

  Carbon fibres · CPC title

• D04H3/105 Primary

  by needling (needling machines D04H18/00) · CPC title