US Patent 7786026 Enhanced thickness fabric and method of making same

The present invention provides thickened fabrics and reinforcements for use as a spacer or reinforcement for a matrix system. The fabric includes in a first embodiment a woven fabric comprising weft and warp yarns containing glass fibers. A portion of the weft yarns are undulated, resulting in an increased thickness for the fabric. The fabric is coated with a polymeric resin or bonding agent, for substantially binding the weft yarns in the undulated condition. This invention also includes methods for making such fabric by increasing the thickness of a woven or non-woven material by such methods as applying tension during weaving operations, or using unbalanced yarns.