Patent · 20 pages
US Patent 5,431,193 (granted 11 July 1995) to Geoffrey I. Mood and Malcolm G. B. Mahboubian-Jones, assigned to Short Brothers PLC, describes a process and loom head for weaving multi-axial fabric. The loom uses a reed split into vertically aligned upper and lower portions that move relative to each other in the weft direction. Warp yarns are transferred between the portions by latch-needle healds under jacquard control, so that some warp yarns lie at an incline to the take-off direction. The text covers the claims, background, a description of multi-layer weaving (four yarns per dent), and the warp yarn movement sequence. It includes eight sheets of patent drawings of fabric structures, the machine, and the yarn transfer steps. The fabric is intended as reinforcement for composite components.