Patent Grant
6840066
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to fabric webbings for furniture, bedding, and the like, and particularly to webbing comprising at least one high-performance polymeric reinforcement yarn.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common in the bedding and furniture industries to use webbing materials in mattresses, box springs, seats and the like. These elongated lengths of webbing materials typically are a few inches wide, and typically are constructed of knit or woven synthetic filaments or yarns such as polyester or the like. These webbings typically have at least limited stretch even without elastic yarns. Elastomeric yarns are sometimes included in the constructions of such webbings to provide a desired amount of strength and resiliency. Such webbings may be used as part of a coil-spring foundation, in a mattress or box spring, for a cushion support, or in similar applications. In these applications, a matrix of pre-stretched webbings at least partially restrain and support a plurality of pre-compressed coil springs in a distributed pattern within a support frame. Arrays of such webbings may also be used to form a direct support for a cushion or the like.
The tensile, elastic, and elongation properties of webbings used in such bedding and furniture constructions are a factor in defining the overall firmness of the underlying supports as well as the responsiveness of such systems to applied loads. Highly-elastic webbings may provide a “spongy” feel, and may have insufficient strength to be useful in supporting a cushion, to restrain coiled springs in a desired pre-compressed state, or to adequately resist or withstand applied loads. Webbings that have high tensile strengths may be relatively inelastic, but may be capable of resisting and withstanding high load conditions and adequately restraining pre-compressed coil springs in a desired arrangement. Such webbings may not have sufficient resiliency, however, to provide a desired “feel” and responsiveness to applied loads.
Therefore, there is a need for a webbing material that provides a combination of high tensile strength and resilient responsiveness to applied loads.
A reinforced elastic webbing material is disclosed. The webbing material has a high tensile strength, and resiliently responds to applied loads. Reinforcement yarns limit the overall elongation of the webbing material. The flat knitted fabric is comprised of a plurality of warp yarns and a plurality of weft yarns at least partially interlaced together to form a substantially flat knitted fabric having first and second lateral edges. Such a construction will have some stretch. The fabric may also include elastomeric warp yarns to provide added resiliency to the webbing material. Such a fabric will stretch under load, and will tend to return to its original unstretched configuration. Longitudinal reinforcement is provided in the webbing by one or more polymeric reinforcement yarns that are at least partially interwoven in the knitted fabric. The reinforcement yarns are high-performance polymeric yarns having high strength-to-weight ratios (high tensile strength). These yarns act to limit the overall stretch of the webbing. The polymeric reinforcement yarns may be constructed of aramid fibers (e.g. Kevlar®, Twaron®, Technora®, or Monsanto X-500) or fibers comprising Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (“UHMWPE”) (e.g. Spectra®, Dyneema®, or Tekmilon™). Other “high performance” yarns may be used.
The combination of the polymeric reinforcement yarns and the elastomeric members provides the knitted webbing material with a unique balance of strength and elastic responsiveness to applied loads. The polymeric reinforcement yarns and elastomeric members are integrally knitted into the knitted fabric structure so that they interact together in the webbing when the webbing is subjected to longitudinal or transverse loads. The reinforcement yarns limit the overall elongation of the webbing material under load, while the substantially elastic elastomeric yarns provide a resilient response to the applied loads.
The at least partially interlaced warp, filler, and weft yarns may be knitted together in a flat kit pattern such as by warp knitting. In one embodiment, the interlaced warp and weft yarns are polyester yarns, and may be a combination of two types of two-ply textured polyester yarns. At least one of the reinforcement yarns should be at least partially interwoven in a substantially lengthwise direction in the knitted fabric. Preferably a first polymeric reinforcement yarn is inlaid along a path proximate to a first lateral edge, and at least one other polymeric reinforcement yarn is inlaid lengthwise in the knitted fabric along a path proximate to the second lateral edge. These reinforcement yarns along the edges of the webbing material help to ensure that applied tensile loads are distributed substantially uniformly across the full width of the webbing material. There may be additional reinforcement yarns extending longitudinally or even transversely of the webbing.
This reinforced webbing material is useful for constructing foundations for bedding, seats and the like where a balance between strength and resilient responsiveness is required. Lengths of the webbing material may be pre-stretched across a bedding or furniture frame to provide a high-strength, semi-elastic support for cushions, coil springs, or the like. A more complete description of the webbing material may be understood from a reading of the following detailed description together with the drawings.
As shown in
As shown in
One typical embodiment of the invention is shown in
Elastomeric warp members 60 are inlaid in the webbing in spaced, warpwise arrangement along the length of the webbing to impart additional elastic stiffness to the webbing. The elastomeric warp members 60 may be, but are not necessarily, comprised of an elastomeric material such as DuPont Hytrel®(a thermoplastic polyester elastomer), extruded rubber, or the like. In the illustrated embodiment, the elastomeric warp members 60 are 2350 denier monofilament Hytrel® elastomeric cords. In a typical six-inch wide webbing, about fifty of these elastomeric warp yarns, cords, or filaments 60 may be used. More or fewer elastomeric warp members 60 may be incorporated into the webbing 10 depending on the desired strength and the desired degree of stiffness and stretch for the webbing 10.
Also as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In a typical 6-inch wide webbing construction, about ten polymeric reinforcing yarns 50 are interlaced in spaced, lengthwise arrangement in the knitted material. In this embodiment, one reinforcement yarn 50 is inlaid proximate to one lateral edge 100 of the webbing 10, and a second reinforcement yarn 50 is inlaid proximate to an opposite lateral edge 102 of the webbing. The balance of reinforcement yarns 50 are distributed in spaced arrangement between the lateral edges 100, 102 at equal or unequal spaced intervals. More or fewer reinforcement yarns may be used to impart the desired properties to the webbing 10.
The reinforcement yarns 50 impart enhanced tensile strength to the webbing 10 and control the elongation of the webbing 10 without eliminating the elastic properties of the webbing. Webbing 10 constructed as described above typically exhibits elongation in a range between about 1 percent and about 20 percent.
Optionally, a heat fusible binder yarn (not shown) may be integrated into the knitted fabric as, for example, an additional weft yarn. The webbing can be sufficiently heated after knitting to soften and fuse the heat fusible binder yarn to the other yarns and other component members.
The various embodiments disclosed herein are provided for the purpose of explanation and example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that certain modifications can be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, though aramid or UHMWPE reinforcement yarns 50 are desirable because they exhibit a high strength-to-diameter ratio, other high performance yarn materials exhibiting comparable qualities or properties also may be used. In addition, by way of example, other compositions and weights of yarns 20, 30, 40 other than those specifically described above may be used. Such modifications are within the scope of the claims appended hereto.
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