Patent ID: 7794555

Claim:
A method of selectively welding areas within a seam area of a woven fabric, the method comprising the steps of: providing first and second ends of a woven fabric, at least one of the first and second ends of woven fabric having terminal yarn ends; weaving the terminal yarn ends of one end of woven fabric into the other end of woven fabric at discrete locations; placing terminal yarn ends within the seam area of the fabric between an ultrasonic horn and an anvil; adjusting a distance between the horn and the anvil to a predetermined gap; and welding said one end of woven fabric to said other end of woven fabric at a plurality of discrete locations corresponding to the discrete locations of the terminal yarn ends in the seam area of the fabric at the predetermined gap by applying energy for a predetermined length of time or until a predetermined amount of energy is absorbed by the seam area terminal yarn ends.