Patent Application
20240254664
The present invention relates to stretchy terrycloth towels, and a terrycloth towel with a stretchiness feature, and a preparation method thereof.
A towel is one kind of textile fabric that is used for various purposes in everyday life. Normally it is woven fabric made of either cotton or cotton-polyester and is used to absorb moisture on the body after bathing or other purposes. There are various types of towels, such as bath towels, beach towel, hair towel, hand towel etc.
Terrycloth towels have been used as drying cloths, but have also been used in making clothing. Without regard to figure, age or sex, terrycloth is now being used as body and hair wraps for use after bath, spa or sports. Traditional, e.g., 100% cotton terrycloth towels, have a limited dimension, and no stretchability. In view of this lack of stretchability, traditional terrycloth towels or wraps fall off easily while wrapping, making the wearer feel uncomfortable and unsecure while moving or bending.
Moreover, because of the low thread density in weaving terrycloth, it has been very hard to use individual stretch fibers, such as spandex (i.e., elastane) fibers in terrycloth, because the low density of terrycloth makes it difficult to keep the spandex fibers in place, especially during care by a washing machine.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a stretchy terrycloth towel and a preparation method for producing stretchy terrycloth towels, with a stretchiness feature, that provides additional fit performance and improve comfort in wrapping the towel on, e.g., for body and hair.
The present invention remedies the conventional problems by providing the stretch together with the physical stability of terrycloth, and provides a terrycloth with excellent elasticity using a composite yarn comprising cotton with a spandex core, which provides excellent handleability upon weaving.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention a woven terrycloth stretch fabric includes: a plurality of weft yarns arranged along a first direction so as to form a weft base; a plurality of first ground warp yarns arranged along a second direction; a plurality of second ground warp yarns arranged along the second direction, the first and second ground warp yarns being looped around the weft yarns with a first degree of tightness; a plurality of face loop warp yarns; and a plurality of back loop warp yarns, the face loop and back loop yarns being looped around the weft yarns with a second degree of tightness, less tight than the first degree of tightness. The first and second ground warp yarns, together with the weft yarns, together form a base ground of the terrycloth stretch fabric. The plurality of face loop warp yarns and the plurality of back loop warp yarns each loop around the weft yarns so as to form front and back piles of the terrycloth stretch fabric. At least one selected from the group consisting of the first and second ground warp yarns comprises a composite yarn comprising a cotton yarn having a core made of polyolefin-based elastic yarn.
In another aspect, each of the first and second ground warp yarns comprise a two-ply composite yarn, the two-ply composite yarn comprising a cotton yarn twisted together with the composite yarn having the core made of polyolefin-based elastic yarn.
In another aspect, the twist per inch of the core of polyolefin based elastic yarn of the composite yarn is 8.5 TPI.
In another aspect, the core of polyolefin based elastic yarn of the composite yarn is more than 100 dtex.
In another aspect, the cotton yarn that is twisted together with the composite yarn having the core made of polyolefin-based elastic yarn to form the 2-ply composite yarn comprises staple cotton fibers spun yarn in 20 British type cotton count.
In another aspect, the weft base comprises staple cotton fibers spun yarn in 16 British type cotton count, having a twist per meter of 4.1 TPM.
In another aspect, the yarn thread count of the pile is 1/13 Hollow yarn.
In another aspect, the twist per meter of the pile is 3.2 TM.
In another aspect, the ground count is 2/20 KW (carded warp/weft) with 55 denier spandex.
In another aspect, the weft count is 1/16 KW (carded warp/weft).
In another aspect, the composite yarn has 8.5 TPI (twist per inch).
In another aspect, the 2-ply composite yearn has a ground count of 1/20 KW with 55 cotton/spandex.
In another aspect, the woven terrycloth stretch fabric further includes a non-stretchy hem/border of the fabric having a count of 2/20 CW (combed warp/weft) with a preshrunk 8.5 TPI.
In another aspect, a method of forming the woven terrycloth stretch fabric includes applying a wet heat set at 60° C. or more to the 2-ply composite yarn before weaving using the warp and/or weft, wherein the constant load elongation rate is more than 480%, and the stretchability is facilitated by relaxing heat treatment at low tension in a post-weaving period.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.
As can be seen in
As seen in
In the present invention, rather that attempt to weave separate elastane fibers as one of the warp fibers, or as separate additional fibers, a composite yarn 60 is used in the base of the terrycloth towel, the composite yarn being a cotton yarn having a polyolefin-based elastic yarn 55 as its core.
In particular, a composite yarn 60 is made, for example, of staple cotton fiber spun yarn in 20 British type cotton count having a polyolefin-based elastic yarn 55 as the core in 55 Denier. To form the stretchy terrycloth, the composite yarn 60 is used during weaving to be part of the warp and/or weft stretch base of the towel, wherein the proportion of the polyolefin-based elastic yarn is from 3 to 5% of the whole towel. The terms elastane and spandex will be used interchangeably throughout this application and claims for the above-mentioned polyolefin-based elastic yarn
The use of such a composite yarn 60 in the base provides stretchability to the terrycloth in a manner far superior to a terrycloth that would, for example, have separate woven elastane fibers, or no elastane at all. The composite yarn 60 is preferably used in the base as a part of a 2-ply composite yarn 70, as shown in
To provide directionality to the stretch, it is preferable that the weft fibers do not comprise the 2-ply composite yarn 70. Since most users wrap around the longer dimension of the, for example, towel, it is preferable if the stretch is only provided along this longer dimension, leaving the shorter dimension, formed by the orientation of the weft fibers 50, made of regular cotton, or other appropriate yarn, without the stretchy characteristic. However, the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment, and it is possible to use stretchy material in the weft instead of, or in addition to, the warp.
Although not shown in detail in the figures, as is typical in towels, an outer, pile-free, border or hem of the towel is provided, the border preferably not using the stretch fibers discussed above.
The twist per inch of the core of polyolefin based elastic yarn 55 of the composite yarn 60 is preferably 8.5. The core of polyolefin based elastic yarn of the composite yarn is preferably more than 100 dtex for use in the warp stretch base, wherein, as discussed above, it is then false-twist with a staple cotton fibers spun yarn in 20 British type cotton count to the form the 2-ply composite yarn 70.
Preferably the weft base 50 comprises staple cotton fibers spun yarn in 16 British type cotton count, twist per meter of 4.1. Firstly, the warp is fully spread/stretched, wherein the 16 British type cotton count yarn of the weft is crosslinked. Then the weft direction of the constant load pre-draft within 11.5+/−3%, wherein the washing shrinkage rate of 8% or less.
Since the piles of terrycloth do not add to the structural integrity or relate to the overall stretch of the terrycloth fabric, preferably neither the face loop warp 10 nor the back loop warp 20, which form, respectively the face and back piles of the terrycloth, are made of the 2-ply composite 70.
As shown in
As shown in
During manufacturing of the terrycloth according to the present invention, a wet heat set at 60° C. or more is applied to the 2-ply composite yarn 70 before weaving using the warp and/or weft, constant load elongation rate is more than 480%, by relaxing heat treatment at low tension of a post-weaving method for producing a stretch terrycloth, to effect/create the stretchability
The stretch terrycloth of the present invention can be used in a number of applications. For example, bath towels may be formed using at least a part of the stretch terrycloth as described. Similarly hair towels may be so formed, as well as beach and gym towels.
While the above stretch terrycloth has been described as having stretchability only in the ground warp fibers, multi-directional flexibility can be provided by also using the 2-ply composite yarn in the weft as well as in the warp.
Although the invention is not limited to any particular type of elastic fiber, for reference,
On the basis of the above, a terrycloth having stretchability, in one or more directions, is provided.
Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/634,829 which was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 11, 2022. Priority is claimed for this invention and application, corresponding PCT application PCT/US2020/046133 filed Aug. 13, 2020. This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent application No. 62/886,108, filed on Aug. 13, 2019, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62886108 | Aug 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17634829 | Feb 2022 | US |
| Child | 18631719 | US |
