Braided textile sleeve with self-sustaining expanded and contracted states and method of construction thereof
View Patent ↗A textile sleeve and method of construction thereof is provided. The sleeve includes a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends. The wall has a decreased length, increased cross-sectional area first state and an increased length, decreased cross-sectional area second state. Heat-set, yarns within the wall impart a bias on the wall, wherein the bias causes the wall to remain in each of the first and second states absent an externally applied force.
1. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force.
2. The protective sleeve of claim 1 wherein at least some of said heat-set yarns are braided in bundles, said bundles including a plurality of yarns twisted with one another.
3. The protective sleeve of claim 2 wherein at least some said bundles have loops interlinked with loops of another bundle.
4. The protective sleeve of claim 2 wherein each of said bundles have loops interlinked with loops of another bundle.
5. The protective sleeve of claim 3 wherein at least some of said bundles are formed entirely of said heat-set yarns.
6. The protective sleeve of claim 5 wherein each of said bundles is formed entirely of said heat-set yarns.
7. The protective sleeve of claim 5 wherein said wall includes non-heat-settable yarns.
8. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force, wherein said wall includes non-heat-settable yarns, and wherein at least some of said non-heat-settable yarns extend in opposite helical directions.
9. The protective sleeve of claim 7 wherein at least some of said non-heat-settable yarns extend through at least some of said loops.
10. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force, wherein said wall includes non-heat-settable yarns, wherein at least some of said non-heat-settable yarns extend through at least some of said loops, and wherein at least some of said non-heat-settable yarns extend co-helically between a pair of said bundles.
11. The protective sleeve of claim 7 wherein at least some of said bundles are formed entirely of said non-heat-settable yarns.
12. The protective sleeve of claim 3 wherein at least some of said bundles include non-heat-settable yarn.
13. The protective sleeve of claim 12 wherein at least some of said bundles include said non-heat-settable yarn twisted with said heat-set yarn.
14. The protective sleeve of claim 1 wherein said heat-set yarn is a multifilament yarn.
15. The protective sleeve of claim 1 wherein said heat-set yarn is a monofilament yarn.
16. The protective sleeve of claim 1 wherein said wall springs between said first and second states upon overcoming said bias.
17. The protective sleeve of claim 1 wherein said wall includes non-heat-settable yarns.
18. The protective sleeve of claim 17 wherein said non-heat-settable yarns are multifilament yarns.
19. The protective sleeve of claim 17 wherein said non-heat-settable yarns are monofilament yarns.
20. The protective sleeve of claim 2 wherein said bundles have loops and wherein said wall further includes non-heat-settable yarn extending through at least some of said loops.
21. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force, wherein at least some of said heat-set yarns are braided in bundles, said bundles including a plurality of yarns twisted with one another, wherein said bundles have loops and wherein said wall further includes non-heat-settable yarn extending through at least some of said loops, and wherein said bundles extend solely in one of an S or Z helical direction.
22. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force, wherein at least some of said heat-set yarns are braided in bundles, said bundles including a plurality of yarns twisted with one another, wherein said bundles have loops and wherein said wall further includes non-heat-settable yarn extending through at least some of said loops, and wherein said bundles extend in opposite S and Z helical directions.
23. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force, and wherein said wall has a non-circular outer periphery.
24. A protective textile sleeve, comprising:
a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends; and
said wall having a first state with a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and a second state with an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area, as viewed in cross-section taken generally transversely to said central longitudinal axis, and further including braided, heat-set yarns imparting a bias on said wall, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent some externally applied force, wherein at least some of said heat-set yarns are braided in bundles, said bundles including a plurality of yarns twisted with one another, wherein all the yarns extending in one of an S or Z helical direction are provided as said bundles of twisted yarns and all the yarns extending in an S or Z helical direction opposite the helical direction of said bundles are provided as non-twisted yarns.
25. The protective sleeve of claim 24 where said bundles are formed entirely of said heat-set yarn.
26. The protective sleeve of claim 25 where said non-twisted yarns are non-heat-settable yarn.
27. The protective sleeve of claim 25 where said non-twisted yarns are said heat-set yarn.
28. The protective sleeve of claim 24 where at least some of said bundles are formed with said heat-set yarn twisted with non-heat-settable yarn.
29. The protective sleeve of claim 24 where said at least some of said bundles are formed entirely of said heat-set yarn and at least some of said bundles are formed entirely of non-heat-settable yarn.
30. The protective sleeve of claim 29 wherein said bundles formed entirely of said heat-set yarn and said bundles formed entirely of non-heat-settable yarn alternate with one another.
31. A method of constructing a textile sleeve, comprising:
braiding a plurality of yarns with one another to form a seamless tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends with at least some of said yarns being provided as heat-settable yarns, said tubular wall being moveable between a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area first state and an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area second state; and
heat-setting said heat-settable yarns while said wall is in one of said first state and second state to impart a bias on said wall via said heat-set yarns, said bias causing said wall to remain in each of said first and second states absent an externally applied axial force causing said wall to be moved to the other of said first or second state.
32. The method of claim 31 further including braiding said wall with a lace-braiding machine.
33. The method of claim 31 further including forming bundles of said yarns by twisting at least some of said yarns together and braiding said bundles with one another.
34. The method of claim 33 further including forming loops in said bundles, and interlinking the loops in at least some of the separate bundles with one another.
35. The method of claim 34 further including interlacing non-heat-settable yarn through at least some of said loops.
36. The method of claim 35 further including providing at least some of the non-heat-settable yarn as non-twisted yarn.
37. The method of claim 33 further including forming at least some of the bundles with non-heat-settable yarn and heat-settable yarn.
38. The method of claim 33 further including forming at least some of the bundles entirely with non-heat-settable yarn.
39. The method of claim 33 further including forming at least some of the bundles entirely with heat-settable yarn.
40. The method of claim 33 further including forming at least some of the bundles including heat-settable yarn.
41. The method of claim 40 further including forming each of the bundles entirely with heat-settable yarn.
42. The method of claim 31 further including heat-setting said heat-settable yarns to provide said wall with a non-circular outer periphery.