Linen especially bed linen and method for manufacturing bed linen

Abstract

Linen is usually woven or machine-knitted and consists of cotton or similarly absorbent fibres. It can be re-used but this is very expensive and therefore costly. According to the invention, the linen is to be made of a cotton nonwoven, of a nonwoven free from binders and hydrodynamically needled for compaction. The strength and also a low tendency to pilling is sufficient for single usage. On account of the inexpensive method of manufacture, such linen can advantageously be sorted out and discarded, and without contaminating the environment.

Description

Linen such as bed linen is generally made of cotton, linen or other natural absorbent fibres. For this purpose a thread must first be formed from the respective fibres, the woven fabric or knitted fabric produced using the corresponding machinery and the web then manufactured. This manufacturing process is very expensive and costly. This linen can certainly be washed many times, ironed and therefore reused but sometimes this is not at all desirable. In hospitals, for example, the linen must be expensively disinfected. In railway carriages of night trains, a large amount of bed linen accumulates every night which must be collected for reuse at great expense and cost in all possible locations reached by the train, washed using a large amount of water and energy, ironed and transported back into the trains.

It is the object of the invention to find a simpler less expensive solution. However, it is important that the linen can be recycled and is biologically degradable.

Assuming that for hygiene and other reasons, linen, especially bed linen, is manufactured of cotton fibres and possibly additional components of other natural and/or synthetic fibres, the invention consists in that said linen consists of a nonwoven containing no binders, which is hydrodynamically needled for compaction. This method of manufacture is so inexpensive that after being used once, such as in trains for example or after being soiled in hospitals, it can be thrown away or possibly recycled. This recycling can consist in biological degradation or in reuse after separating into fibres. If the linen is badly soiled, e.g. from hospitals after an operation, this linen can be easily be discarded. The other waste is not too badly contaminated, this linen is degradable.

The nonwoven should have a weight of about 60 to 90 g/m² and substantially consist of cotton, as well as raw cotton. However, flax or linen fibres as well as in some cases chemical fibres as well as viscose can also be added. Pilling formation during usage as bed linen can be avoided by solid compaction.

Claims

1. Linen, especially bed linen made of cotton fibres and possibly additional components of other natural and/or synthetic fibres, characterised in that it comprises a nonwoven containing no binders, which is hydrodynamically needled for compaction.

2. The bed linen according to claim 1, characterised in that the nonwoven for the linen contains recycled cotton.

3. The bed linen according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the nonwoven for the linen contains viscose.

4. The bed linen according to claims 1 to 3, characterised that the nonwoven for the linen contains lyocell.

5. The bed linen according to claims 1 to 4, characterised that the nonwoven for the linen contains a small amount of bicomponent fibres.

6. A method for manufacturing linen, especially bed linen made of cotton fibres and possibly additional components of other natural and/or synthetic fibres, characterised in that a nonwoven is manufactured using a carding machine or similar nonwoven forming units as well as using the air-lay method without binders and is then compacted by means of hydrodynamic needling merely for compaction.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterised in that the compacted nonwoven is then made up and finally whipped at the edges.