Braided textile sleeve with axially collapsible, anti-kinking feature and method of construction thereof

Abstract

A protective textile sleeve and method of construction thereof are provided. The sleeve has a tubular wall of braided yarns extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends. At least some of the braided yarns including heat-set yarns, and the wall has a plurality of annular first regions forming generally convex ridges and a plurality of annular second regions forming generally concave valleys. The first regions alternate with the second regions along the central longitudinal axis. The first regions include a plurality of twisted yarns forming a plurality of closed loops, wherein at least some of the braided yarns pass through at least some of the closed loops within the first regions to enhance the radial stiffness and resistance of the wall to kinking,

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of constructing a textile sleeve, comprising:
 braiding a plurality of yarns with one another to form a 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;   compressing said opposite ends of said tubular wall axially toward one another; and   heat-setting said heat-settable yarns while said wall is in said compressed state to form a plurality of annular first regions and a plurality of annular second regions alternating with one another along said central longitudinal axis, said first regions forming generally convex ridges and said second regions forming generally concave valleys.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further including braiding said wall with a lace-braiding machine. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further including braiding said wall as a seamless, circumferentially continuous wall. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further including braiding said second regions including non-heat-settable yarns. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further including providing said non-heat-settable yarns as multifilaments. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further including braiding at least some of said heat-settable yarns in twisted bundles with each of said twisted bundles including a plurality of closed loops, and further including interlinking at least some of said closed loops of one twisted bundle with at least some of said closed loops of another twisted bundle in said first regions. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  further including providing at least some of the yarns as non-heat-settable yarns and extending at least some of the non-heat-settable yarns through at least sonic of said closed loops. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  further including providing the heat-settable yarns as monofilaments and providing the non-heat-settable yarns as multifilaments. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  further including extending a plurality of the non-heat-settable: yarns through each of said closed loops. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  further including braiding yarns in said first regions in a first pattern and braiding said second yarns in said second regions in a second pattern, said first pattern being different from said second pattern. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further including braiding said wall entirely of heat-settable yarns. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further including braiding at least some of said heat-settable yarns forming a plurality of closed loops in the first regions. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further including braiding the second regions being free of the closed loops. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  further including braiding the first regions having a first stiffness and braiding the second regions having a second stiffness, with the first stiffness being greater than the second stiffness.