QUALITY LINEN-LIKE, LOW CARBON EMISSION COMPOSITE FABRIC

Abstract

The present invention relates to a quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric, including at least: a fabric main body, which is woven from a plurality of pineapple yarns. The pineapple yarns are produced from a mixture of cotton fibers, degradable polyester fibers, and pineapple fibers. The pineapple fibers imitate flax fibers, enabling the fabric main body to have a linen-like characteristic appearance and style. Moreover, the raw material for the pineapple fibers is pineapple leaves, which are the material leftover from farming pineapples, and thus does not require additional consumption of resources for planting, providing convenient availability. The fabric main body of the present invention is decomposable by microorganisms, thus achieving the objects of providing a fabric with a quality linen feel, low carbon emissions, and is environment friendly.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(A) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric, and more particularly to a woven composite fabric having a linen feel that uses pineapple leaf material leftover from farming as the raw material.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

It is understood that hemp fiber is a spinning raw material, and that its fibers generally have vertical grains and cross-sections, causing fabrics manufactured from hemp fiber to be rough and stiff, with a rugged style but durable and wear-resistant, as well as having favorable breathability, wrinkle resistance, and good sweat absorption. However, hemp fiber is processed from the hemp plant, and hemp as a commercial crop is only allowed to be planted in some countries, meaning the spinning of hemp raw material is only generally available through imports, resulting in relatively high production costs and a high carbon footprint.

In order to produce a fabric that imitates the hemp feel, the fabric is generally produced using coarse cotton (inferior quality cotton containing cotton husks) or produced from a mixture of coarse cotton and polyester fibers, and uses cotton husks to imitate the vertical grains and cross-section of hemp fiber, giving the coarse cotton a hemp characteristic appearance and style. However, this kind of hemp-like fabric has poor breathability and sweat absorption.

In addition, because polyester fiber is a high molecular polymer made from petrochemical raw materials, general polyester fibers cannot undergo microbiological deterioration. Therefore, prodegradants are added to the polyester fibers (such as transition metal salts) or various types of biodegradable polymers, enabling the polyester fibers, under anaerobic conditions, to be decomposed by microorganisms and become water, carbon dioxide, biomass, and inorganic salts, thereby achieving the object of providing an environment friendly fiber.

Pineapples are a very popular fruit, however, the stems and leaves thereof are discarded as general waste. According to statistics from the Taiwan Council of Agriculture, Taiwan produces about 480,000 tons of pineapples every year and about 700,000 tons of pineapple leaves, more than 60% of which are disposed of by burning, composting, or landfill. Because of the leaves low value, nowadays, although the fibers of pineapple leaves are processed and used to manufacture fabrics, however, because pineapple fiber is excessively coarse, fabric produced therefrom is often formed with nodes, resulting in poor appearance and comfort.

Hence, it is the strong desire of the inventor of the present invention to produce a fabric that achieves the objects of having a hemp-like characteristic appearance with low carbon emissions.

Accordingly, in light of the shortcomings of the aforementioned prior art, the inventor of the present invention, having collected related data, and through evaluation and consideration from many aspects, as well as having accumulated years of experience in related arts, through continuous testing and improvements, has designed the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention lies in providing a quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric, comprising at least a fabric main body, which imitates the rough appearance and characteristic appearance of flax using the natural fibers of pineapple leaves. Moreover, the raw material of the pineapple fibers is pineapple leaves, which are the material leftover from farming pineapples, and thus does not require additional consumption of resources for planting, providing convenient availability, thus achieving the object of providing a quality linen-like fabric with a low carbon footprint.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the fabric main body is woven from a plurality of pineapple yarns, which are produced from a mixture of cotton fibers, degradable polyester fibers, and pineapple fibers. The fabric main body of the present invention is completely decomposable by microorganisms, thus achieving the object of being environment friendly.

In order to achieve the above-described objects, the pineapple yarns produced from the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers by means of a system, which comprises at least a carding unit, a roving unit, and a spinning unit. The carding unit carries out an initial combing of the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers, whereby the fibers are extended along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer. The roving unit then carries out an initial stretching and slight twisting of the strips of fibrous layer to form a roving, after which the spinning unit additionally stretches and fine draws the roving, as well as further reinforcing the twisting to form the pineapple yarns.

To enable a further understanding of said objectives, structures, characteristics, and effects, as well as the technology and methods used in the present invention and effects achieved, a brief description of the drawings is provided below followed by a detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view of the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a partial enlarged schematic view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a first process flow diagram according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a second process flow diagram according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a third process flow diagram according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a fourth process flow diagram according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a fifth process flow diagram according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A detailed description of the technological means adopted to achieve the aforementioned objects and effectiveness are provided below, together with the diagrams that show the preferred embodiments, structure, characteristics, and functions of the present invention to facilitate complete understanding thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, wherein FIGS. 1, 1A, and 2 show a structural schematic view, a partial enlarged schematic view, and a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively. The present invention mainly provides a quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric, comprising at least:

A fabric main body 1, which is woven and formed from a plurality of pineapple yarns 10, which are produced from a mixture of cotton fibers 11, degradable polyester fibers 12, and pineapple fibers 13. Moreover, the pineapple yarns 10 are produced through a system 2.

The system 2 comprises at least a carding unit 21, a roving unit 22, and a spinning unit 23, wherein the system 2 carries out at least the following procedural steps:

A carding step S1, wherein the carding unit 21 carries out an initial combing of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 to form strips of fibrous layer.

A roving step S2, wherein the roving unit 22 carries out an initial stretching and slight twisting of the strips of fibrous layer to form a roving.

A spinning step S3, wherein the spinning unit 23 additionally stretches and fine draws the roving, as well as further slight twisting to form the pineapple yarns 10.

The raw material for the pineapple fibers 13 is pineapple leaves leftover from farming.

In the carding step S1, the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 are first mixed in an appropriate proportion, after which the carding unit 21 carries out the carding step S1.

The carding step S1 uses the carding unit 21 to respectively comb the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 to form separate strips of fibrous layer. The separate strips of fibrous layer of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 are then mixed in an appropriate proportion, after which the roving unit 22 carries out the roving step S2.

The carding step S1 is further divided into a coarse carding step and a fine carding step.

The coarse carding step uses the carding unit 21 to carry out an initial combing of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13, whereby the fibers are extended along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer.

The fine carding step combines the plurality of strips of fibrous layer, and then the carding unit 21 further carries out high density combing to remove fibers that are too short, forming fine combed strips of fibrous layer.

The proportion of cotton fibers 11 in the pineapple yarns 10 is 50%˜60%.

The proportion of polyester fibers 12 in the pineapple yarns 10 is 30%˜45%.

The proportion of pineapple fibers 13 in the pineapple yarns 10 is 5%˜10%.

The plurality of pineapple yarns 10 are plied and twisted together to form at least one pineapple yarn thread, which is woven to from the fabric main body 1.

The pineapple leaves undergo processing including at least removal of leafy flesh, steam boiling, washing, and exposure to the sun or drying to produce the pineapple fibers 13.

The present invention mainly provides the weaving process of the pineapple yarns 10 to form the fabric main body 1 (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A), using the nodes of the pineapple fibers 13 in the pineapple yarns 10 to simulate the cross-section of flax fibers, enabling the fabric main body 1 to have the characteristic appearance and style similar to linen fabric, as well as achieving the object of having a quality linen feel. Moreover, because the raw material for the pineapple fibers 13 is pineapple leaves leftover from farming, farmers are able to plant pineapples without the need to consume other resources to provide the pineapple leaves, thus achieving low carbon emissions and increasing the added value of planting pineapples, as well as achieving the object of reducing costs.

In accordance with the above, the pineapple yarns 10 are produced from a mixture of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 by means of the system 2, which mainly involves first the carding step S1, wherein the carding unit 21 carries out an initial combing of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13, whereby the fibers are extended along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer. The roving step S2 then uses the roving unit 22 to carry out an initial stretching and slight twisting to form a roving, after which the spinning step S3 uses the spinning unit 23 to further stretch and fine draw the roving, and also reinforce the twisting to produce the pineapple fibers 13 (as detailed in FIGS. 3 and 4). In addition, because the cotton fibers 11 and the pineapple fibers 13 in the pineapple yarns 10 are biodegradable natural plant fibers, and the polyester fibers 12 are also degradable, the fabric main body 1 woven from the pineapple yarns 10 is decomposable by microorganisms, thus achieving the object of being environment friendly.

Moreover, in the carding step S1, the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 are first mixed in an appropriate proportion, after which the carding unit 21 carries out an initial combing of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 to extend the fibers along the same axial direction (as detailed in FIG. 5). Accordingly, the formed strips of fibrous layer become a composite of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13.

However, in the carding step S1, the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 can also be respectively initially combed using the carding unit 21 to form separate strips of fibrous layer of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13. The separate strips of fibrous layer of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 are then mixed in an appropriate proportion, and during the roving step S2, the roving unit 22 is used to stretch and twist together the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 (as detailed in FIG. 6), causing the formed roving to become a composite of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13.

In addition, the carding step S1 is further divided into a coarse carding step and a fine carding step, wherein the coarse carding step uses the carding unit 21 to carry out an initial combing of the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13 to form strips of fibrous layer. The fine carding step then combines the plurality of strips of fibrous layer, after which the fine carding step unit 21 further carries out high density combing to remove the fibers that are too short in the strips of fibrous layer, and also carries out additional aligning and straightening of the fibers to form fine combed strips of fibrous layer (as detailed in FIG. 7). The roving step S2 and the spinning step S3 are then carried out on the fine combed strips of fibrous layer, causing the diameter, colour and lustre of the pineapple yarns 10 to be more uniform and have better strength.

Further, referring to FIG. 2, because of the cotton fibers 11 in the pineapple yarns 10, the fabric main body 1 woven from the pineapple yarns 10 has a cotton-like comfortable feel to the touch; moreover, increasing the proportion of the cotton fibers 11 in the pineapple yarns 10 can correspondingly increase the cotton-like feel of the fabric main body 1.

Further, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of pineapple yarns 10 can be further plied and twisted together to form at least one pineapple yarn thread 10′, which is then woven into the fabric main body 1, producing a stronger woven fabric main body 1. Moreover, the pineapple fibers 13 in the pineapple yarns 10 are produced from pineapple leaves after the leaves have undergone processing including at least removal of leafy flesh, steam boiling, washing, and exposure to the sun or drying.

In conclusion, compared to the shortcomings and problems of traditional fabrics, the composite fabric of the present invention is woven from the pineapple fibers 13 produced from a mixture of through the cotton fibers 11, the degradable polyester fibers 12, and the pineapple fibers 13, wherein the pineapple fibers 13 are used to imitate flax fibers, enabling the fabric main body 1 to have the coarse and rugged characteristic appearance and style of flax. Moreover, the pineapple leaves used as the raw material for the pineapple fibers 13 can be obtained locally, being the material leftover from farming pineapples. Hence, using such leftover material, the fabric main body 1 of the present invention achieves the object of providing a quality linen-like fabric with low carbon emissions. And because the fabric main body 1 is decomposable by microorganisms, the present invention also achieves the object of being environment friendly.

It is of course to be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention and that a wide variety of modifications thereto may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric, comprising at least: a fabric main body, which is woven from a plurality of pineapple yarns;the pineapple yarns are produced from a mixture of cotton fibers, degradable polyester fibers, and pineapple fibers, wherein the pineapple yarns are produced by means of a system;the system comprises at least a carding unit, a roving unit, and a spinning unit, and carries out at least the following procedural steps:a) a carding step, wherein the carding unit carries out an initial combing of the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers to extend the fibers along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer;b) a roving step, wherein the roving unit carries out an initial stretching and slight twisting of the strips of fibrous layer to form a roving;c) a spinning step, wherein the spinning unit carries out further stretching and fine drawing of the roving, and also reinforces the twisting to form the pineapple yarns;wherein raw material for the pineapple fibers is pineapple leaves leftover from farming.

2. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein, in the carding step, the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers are first mixed in an appropriate proportion, after which the carding unit carries out the carding step.

3. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the carding step is carried out using the carding unit to respectively comb the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers to form separate strips of fibrous layer, after which the separate strips of fibrous layer of the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers are mixed in an appropriate proportion, and the roving unit then carries out the roving step.

4. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the carding step is further divided into a coarse carding step and a fine carding step; the coarse carding step uses the carding unit to carry out an initial combing of the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers, extending the fibers along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer;the fine carding step combines the plurality of strips of fibrous layer, wherein the carding unit further carries out high density combing to remove fibers that are too short, forming fine combed strips of fibrous layer.

5. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 2, wherein the carding step is further divided into a coarse carding step and a fine carding step; the coarse carding step uses the carding unit to carry out an initial combing of the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers, extending the fibers along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer;the fine carding step combines the plurality of strips of fibrous layer, wherein the carding unit further carries out high density combing to remove fibers that are too short, forming fine combed strips of fibrous layer.

6. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 3, wherein the carding step is further divided into a coarse carding step and a fine carding step; the coarse carding step uses the carding unit to carry out an initial combing of the cotton fibers, the degradable polyester fibers, and the pineapple fibers, extending the fibers along the same axial direction to form strips of fibrous layer;the fine carding step combines the plurality of strips of fibrous layer, wherein the carding unit further carries out high density combing to remove fibers that are too short, forming fine combed strips of fibrous layer.

7. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the proportion of cotton fibers in the pineapple yarns is 50%˜60%.

8. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the proportion of polyester fibers in the pineapple yarns is 30%˜45%.

9. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the proportion of pineapple fibers in the pineapple yarns is 5%˜10%.

10. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pineapple yarns are plied and twisted together to form at least one pineapple yarn thread, and the pineapple yarns are woven into the fabric main body.

11. The quality linen-like, low carbon emission composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the pineapple leaves undergo processing including at least removal of leafy flesh, steam boiling, washing, and exposure to the sun or drying processes to produce the pineapple fibers.