Sail of one piece three dimensional laminated fabric having uninterrupted load bearing yarns
AssigneeNorth Sails Group, Inc.
InventorJean-Pierre Baudet
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A one piece sail is made on a mold and includes an outer impervious layer, such as film, and an inner layer of continuous and uninterrupted yarns disposed in continuous trajectories from one edge of the sail to the other and carrying the majority of the load imposed on the sail.
Claims19
A sail having a body extending between the edges thereof, said sail comprising a three dimensional, one piece laminate, said one piece laminate comprising an outer impervious layer of sheet material and an inner layer comprising load carrying yarns, said load carrying yarns being pretensioned and extending continuously and uninterruptedly between the edges of the sail, said yarns being laid in a three dimensional fashion in said laminate and carrying the majority of loads in the sail.
A sail having a body extending between the edges thereof, said sail having major lines of stress when placed in use, the body of said sail being a one piece, pliant molded laminate comprising a first outer impermeable layer, an inner layer comprising a plurality of stress bearing yarns being pretensioned and extending continuously and uninterruptedly across the body of the sail between the edges thereof in a preformed three dimensional fashion to accommodate said major lines of stress, a second outer protective layer over said inner layer, and adhesive means for bonding said layers together.
A method for making a one piece, three dimensional sail using a convex mold surface, said method comprising placing a first sheet of impervious pliant material on said mold surface, with the sheet defining the borders of the sail and the three dimensional surface thereof, applying a plurality of continuous load bearing yarns in an uninterrupted fashion on said three dimensional sheet surface from one boarder to the other, applying a second pliant sheet over said yarns and said first sheet, and then laminating said sheets together on said mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.