Title of Invention	A GROOVED SPINDLE TAPE
Abstract	This invention relates to a grooved spindle tape. It consists of at least one fabric layer and at least one friction layer. The outer surface of the friction layer is provided with a plurality of grooves. This prevents slippage of the belt from the pulleys during operation.

Full Text

This invention relates to a grooved spindle tape useful in transmitting power to the spindles in textile industry. Conventional spindle tapes are made from cotton tapes produced from narrow width looms. Tapes are then cut according to the desired length and joined by sewing the ends together. The main disadvantages of these cotton tapes described above are given below: 1. when spindles are driven at high speed the sewen joint of cotton tapes hit the spindle wharve at high frequency thereby causing damage to the spindle wharve besides causing vibration and noise. 2. cotton spindle tapes get damaged easily resulting in belt cuts which affects the production adversely. 3. another factor which affects production rate is the ineffective transmission of power to the spindle and consequent power loss due to low coefficient of friction. 4. high and variable slippage between the belt and pulley as well as between the belt and wharve result in variation in the twist of the yarn. Uneven twist affects the quality of yarn and results in the production of low quality products. In order to overcome these drawbacks synthetic spindle tapes have been developed which are now extensively used all over the world now. Synthetic sandwiched tapes are also in use. The existing spindle tapes consist of an outermost friction layer made of rubber or thermoplastic material having high coefficient of friction such as PVC, and polyurethanes bonded on a polyamide fabric. This outer layer is adhesively bonded to a composite fabric of polyamide or cotton. A coating of a known antistatic material is provided below the friction layer and may also be incorporated in the adhesive layer that bonds the friction layer to the composite fabric. Even though these tapes are able to overcome most of the drawbacks of the conventional cotton tapes, certain problems such as 'fly-ofF or jumping off from the roller or jockey pulleys are noticed. Fly-off or jumping offtakes place either during starting or during the course of running the machine and results in tape cuts. This problem becomes acute when there is slight misalignment in the system or in the event of any marginal obstruction to the swinging movement that occurs in the jockey pulley at the starting of the machine. This causes the tape to slip resulting in production loss. An objective of this invention is to develop a spindle tape which avoid slippage and consequent time delay and production loss. A thorough study of the existing spindle tape drive system has indicated that the contact between the tape and the pulleys in the drive system is not absolute all the time. A phenomenon known as 'pneuma planning' occurs due to the formation of a thin film of air trapped between the pulley surface and the tape. Friction or adhesion between the tape and the pulley is reduced as a result of the thin air film found in between resulting in loss of control and consequent slipping off of the tape. This can be compared to the 'aqua planning' that occurs between a bald smooth tyre surface and a wet road. The water film that gets formed between the smooth tyre surface and the road causes loss of grip or adhesion resulting in loss of control of the vehicle. One of the main objectives of this invention is to flush out the air and eleminate the formation of air film between the tape and the pulley to maintain the grip or adhesion therebelow. Fine grooves if provided on the outer surface of the friction layer are found to flush out air and to establish firm contact of the spindle tape with the pulley. The grooves may be provided continuously on the outer surface of the tape and may be either straight or inclined in nature. The depth of each groove may range from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm depending on the thickness of the friction layer. Grooves may be provided on the surface of a tape made with a single fabric or a tape having a sandwiched layer of fabrics. These grooves may be provided on both the sides of the tape or on the friction side in contact with the pulley alone. Providing grooves on both the outer surfaces is to enable interchanging of the surfaces if required. Grooves may be provided on the spindle tape by conventional methods. These tapes provide absolute contact between the tape and the pulleys, and dissipates the heat generated due to the higher surface area as well as due to the air passage between the grooves. Suction produced due to the air movement through the grooves provides improved grip or adhesion and greater resistance to lateral movement of the tape on the pulley surface. This invention relates to a grooved spindle tape which comprises at least one a fabric layer and at least one a friction layer, the outer surface of said at least one friction layer having a plurality grooves provided thereon. This invention will now be illustrated with reference to figure 1 in the accompanying drawing which shows a sectional view of a sandwich type of spindle tape. Reference numeral 1 indicates the friction layer which is provided with a plurality of grooves shown by letter G. Reference numeral 2 shows the fabric layer bonded to the friction layer while reference numeral 3 shows the adhesive layer which bonds the composite fabric layer 4 to the first fabric layer. Though this invention has been described herein above with a specific embodiment obvious alterations or modifications are within the scope of this invention and the appended claims. CLAIM : 1. A grooved spindle tape comprising at least one fabric layer and at least one friction layer, the outer surface of said at least one friction layer having a plurality grooves provided thereon. 2. The spindle tape as claimed in claim 1, wherein said friction layer is made of natural or synthetic rubber and is bonded to said fabric layer by an adhesive layer. 3. The spindle tape as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said friction layer and the adhesive layer has a known antistatic material incorporated therein. 4. The spindle tape as claimed in claims 1 to 3, wherein said tape is a sandwiched tape having a friction layer, and a fabric layer bonded through an adhesive layer in between and sandwiched with a composite fabric layer by means of an adhesive layer provided in between. 5. The spindle tape as claimed in claims 1 to 4, wherein the grooves are provided continuously on said outer surfaces. 6. The spindle tape as claimed in claims 1 to 5, wherein said grooves are either inclined or straight with respect to said outer surface. 7. The spindle tape as claimed in claims 1 to 6, wherein the depth of each groove ranges from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm. 8. The spindle tape as claimed in claims 1 to 7, wherein the pitch of each groove is between 0.2 mm to 2.0 mm. 9. A grooved spindle tape substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

399-mas-01 abstract duplicate.pdf

399-mas-01 claims duplicate.pdf

399-mas-01 description (complete) duplicate.pdf

399-mas-01 drawings duplicate.pdf

399-mas-2001-abstract.pdf

399-mas-2001-claims.pdf

399-mas-2001-correspondence others.pdf

399-mas-2001-correspondence po.pdf

399-mas-2001-description complete.pdf

399-mas-2001-drawings.pdf

399-mas-2001-form 1.pdf

399-mas-2001-form 18.pdf

399-mas-2001-form 26.pdf

399-mas-2001-form 3.pdf

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