EP0853152A1 - Process to produce an extensible fabric for use as a seat cover and so produced new fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

In the method for producing a fabric that is extendible in both the warp and weft directions and which exhibits colour effects, the warp and weft yarns being synthetic yarns that have been subjected a false twist type texturing treatment to render them both voluminous and extendible, the textured yarns forming the warp and/or the weft are dyed prior to forming into the fabric under conditions such that the yarns can contract during the dyeing operation. The weave of the fabric is designed such that the raw fabric is decontextured in the warp and the weft with respect to the desired density in the finished fabric. It then involves carrying out a weaving operation while maintaining the warp and weft yarns under tension. After the weaving operation, the raw fabric is washed at a temperature of below 100 degrees C to avoid washing out of the colourants, then subjected to a thermal finishing treatment by passage on a tenter frame, these operations being carried out under conditions which cause a contraction of the crimp of the yarn which in turn causes a retraction of the fabric in both the warp and the weft directions.

Description

The present invention relates to an improved method for make a new type of stretch fabric both in the warp direction and in the weft direction, and more particularly a fabric usable as coverings for seats, especially automobile seats.

It is known that the materials used to make coatings for seats, especially in the automotive sector, must not only have very good resistance to abrasion under pressure, but does not deteriorate over time under the influence of heat, solar radiation ...

In addition, the complex shape that the seat and the seat back can have to improve the comfort and support of the driver's body, do what we do more and more use of extensible textile structures to realize such coatings.

To date, as materials, we mainly use fabrics obtained by knitting and more particularly those produced according to the so-called "to picked meshes "which are, by the very fact of the interlocking of the meshes in the others, slightly stretchy even if the threads used to make them do not have no such property.

Although many proposals have been made to date for make stretch warp and weft fabrics that can be used more particularly in in the field of clothing, their use as seat coverings has not not developed, which can be explained by the fact that they do not allow simultaneously solve all the problems mentioned above, especially with regard to resistance to friction.

Among the stretch fabrics offered to date, two large families can be cited.

The first, which makes it possible to obtain articles which can have a very high stretch, up to 40%, involves making the fabric from wrapped, assembled or equivalent yarn, the core of which consists of a thread belonging to the elastofibers class, elastane for example, and whose the coating agent may consist of either a fiber spun or a synthetic yarn, possibly textured in particular by false twist.

These wrapped threads undergo an appropriate heat treatment which allows temporarily block their extensibility thus making them suitable for weaving, the extensibility of the fabric being revealed during a subsequent finishing treatment.

However, such a procedure poses implementation problems. work, in particular to obtain the retraction of the wire during the heat treatment, retraction which can cause defects in the tissue, blistering in particular, requiring further treatment to bring the tissue flat.

If such articles are suitable for the production of coatings seats given their very high extensibility, they are not adapted by the fact that the elastic core can degrade over time, and above all that they have an insufficient friction resistance for such a application.

In addition, fabrics based on elastomeric yarns (core yarns) also have a major drawback, namely their resulting high price, both of the materials which are part of their composition, only the molding operations necessary to obtaining them and they cause problems during their handling, dyeing especially.

It has also been proposed, still in the field of clothing, to make warp and weft fabrics with very good extensibility, which can reach 15%, using synthetic yarns, polyamide or polyester by example, having received a texturing treatment, in particular by false twisting.

Such fabrics made from textured yarn can be produced at a price very competitive. From a practical point of view, however, these products are mainly used in the clothing industry and have not found of application in the field of seat coverings. By the way, this guy is generally dyed in pieces, which only allows fabrics plain or semi-plain, and does not allow for colored designs.

Now we have found, and this is what is the subject of the present invention, a improved process which makes it possible to produce stretch fabrics both in the warp and weft direction, fabrics which have colored effects, and this at from textured yarns by false twist called “foam yarn” which have not received additional heat treatment, to limit its extensibility.

• les fils texturés formant la chaíne et/ou la trame sont préalablement teints avant l'opération de transformation en tissu, et ce dans des conditions telles que les fils puissent se contracter pendant cette opération;
• l'armure du tissu est conçue pour que le tissu écru soit décontexturé en chaíne et en trame par rapport à la densité souhaitée dans le tissu fini ;
• l'opération de tissage est réalisée en maintenant les fils de chaíne et de trame sous tension ;

   après tissage, le tissu écru est soumis à une opération de lavage à une température inférieure à 100°C pour éviter le dégorgement des matières colorantes, puis à un traitement thermique de finition (passage sur rame), ces opérations étant réalisées dans des conditions telles que l'on provoque une contraction de la frisure des fils entraínant une rétraction de l'étoffe tant dans le sens chaíne que dans le sens trame. In general, the method according to the invention consists in producing a fabric which can be stretched both in the warp direction and in the weft direction, and which has colored effects, the warp threads and the weft threads being synthetic yarns having received a texturing treatment by false twist, making them both bulky and extensible, the process according to the invention being characterized in that:

• the textured yarns forming the warp and / or the weft are dyed beforehand before the transformation operation into fabric, and this under conditions such that the yarns can contract during this operation;
• the weave of the fabric is designed so that the unbleached fabric is decontextured in warp and weft relative to the desired density in the finished fabric;
• the weaving operation is carried out while keeping the warp and weft threads under tension;

after weaving, the unbleached fabric is subjected to a washing operation at a temperature below 100 ° C to avoid bleeding of the dyestuffs, then to a finishing heat treatment (passing over a ream), these operations being carried out under such conditions that it causes a contraction of the crimp of the son causing a retraction of the fabric both in the warp direction and in the weft direction.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fabric obtained by the process according to the invention is made from polyester threads fake textured torsion. In such a case, to carry out the dyeing operation, the threads are presented in the form of soft spools allowing retraction of the wire during the dyeing operation, which is preferably carried out in an autoclave at a temperature of the order of 130 ° C.

Such a fabric can be based on any type of armor, whether it is armor plain, fancy, even Jacquard.

In addition, during the production of the off-white fabric, the density of warp threads and weft yarn is calculated to be approximately 10 to 15% less than the density desired finish in the finished fabric.

As indicated previously, the washing operation is carried out so as not to affect the coloring of the threads, a temperature of 90 ° C. being suitable in the case of polyester yarn previously dyed, the heat treatment of finishing (treatment on oars) being carried out on an installation the interior of which reigns a temperature of 150 ° C, but which, taking into account the speed of passage of the fabric which is of the order of 15 m / minute, makes it only reaches a temperature of the order of 130 ° C.

By doing so, you get stretch fabric at a time in the warp direction and in the weft direction, having an extensibility of the order of 20% and which, moreover, has improved abrasion resistance compared to anterior warp and weft fabrics, extensible, made of textured threads and which are intended for clothing.

The invention and the advantages which it brings will however be better understood. thanks to the exemplary embodiments given below for information but not limiting.

Example 1

• Chaíne : fils polyester texturés par fausse torsion, chaque fil comportant deux bouts de 167 dtex30 brins, ayant été préalablement teints. La chaíne comporte 4498 fils et est réalisée avec une disposition de couleurs (trois coloris). Le peigne du métier comporte 13 dents/centimètre avec deux fils par dent, soit 26 fils par centimètre.
• Trame : fils polyester texturés FT similaires aux fils de chaíne. Les fils de trame sont également teints.

We realize a fabric according to the invention, the warp and weft constituents are as follows.

• Chain : polyester threads textured by false twist, each thread comprising two ends of 167 dtex30 strands, having been previously dyed. The chain has 4498 threads and is made with a color arrangement (three colors). The loom comb has 13 teeth / centimeter with two wires per tooth, or 26 wires per centimeter.
• Weft : FT textured polyester threads similar to warp threads. Weft threads are also dyed.

Weaving is carried out by keeping the warp threads under tension, the weft being inserted also under tension at the rate of 20 strokes / centimeter.

When the loom falls, the fabric obtained has a width of 152 centimeters and weighs 230 grams / square meter.

Such an ecru fabric has a 10% long and wide stretch.

The ecru fabric thus produced is subjected to a treatment making it possible to amplify these extensibility properties, a treatment which consists first of all of an operation washing at a temperature of 90 ° C. carried out on a “Jet” type machine, treatment during which the fabric is kept tensionless both lengthwise and large. The washing temperature is such that, on the one hand, it does not affect the qualities of the dye produced on the threads, and do not cause fixing thermal crimping of the wires. After such a washing treatment, the fabric is subjected to a drying operation and fixing on a train. During this operation, the ream is at a temperature of 150 ° C, the speed of passage of the fabric is 15 meter / minute. Consequently, taking into account this speed of the passage, the rise in fabric temperature is limited to around 130 ° C °. In addition, the train is set so that the fabric is kept in the width obtained after washing, without exerting voltage, and also with an introduction boost.

At the end of the treatment, a finished fabric is obtained having a width of 145 cm and a weight of 255 grams per square meter.

The density of warp threads is 30.5 threads / centimeter and that of weft of 23.8 threads / centimeter.

Such a fabric has an elasticity of the order of 20% both in the direction chain only in the weft direction. This elasticity is determined by measurement on a dynamometer according to the test method defined by the automobile manufacturers French in standard D 41029 under a load of 5daN.

Example 2

We repeat Example 1 except that the warp and weft threads are made of textured polyester yarn each consisting of three ends having a title 167dtex / 30 strands, the number of warp threads being 4134 threads and the density at also comb of 26 threads / centimeter.

The weft also consists of a false twist textured polyester thread formed of three pieces of 167 dtex / 30 strands previously dyed, with a reduction of 14 shots / centimeter.

When the loom falls, the fabric is 152 centimeters wide and weighs 275 grams / square meter.

Its elasticity in warp and weft is 10%.

A finishing treatment is carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1.

After treatment, a finished fabric is obtained having a width of 142 cm and weighing 335 grams per square meter.

Such a fabric has 28.5 threads / centimeter and 15.5 threads / centimeter.

Like the fabric of example 1, it has a two-way elasticity in the range of 20%.

This fabric is particularly suitable for coating seats, especially for cars, and has very good characteristics of abrasion resistance.

Claims (3)

Method for producing a fabric which can be stretched both in the warp direction and in the weft direction and which has colored effects, usable in particular as seat coverings, the warp threads and weft threads being synthetic threads having received a texturing treatment by false twist, making them both bulky and extensible, characterized in that: the textured yarns forming the warp and / or the weft are dyed beforehand before the transformation operation into fabric, and this under conditions such that the yarns can contract during this operation; the weave of the fabric is designed so that the unbleached fabric is decontextured in warp and weft relative to the desired density in the finished fabric; the weaving operation is carried out while keeping the warp and weft threads under tension; after weaving, the unbleached fabric is subjected to a washing operation at a temperature below 100 ° C to avoid bleeding of the dyestuffs, then to a finishing heat treatment (passing over a ream), these operations being carried out under such conditions that it causes a contraction of the crimp of the son causing a retraction of the fabric both in the warp direction and in the weft direction. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the density of the yarns of warp and weft yarn is calculated to be approximately 10 to 15% lower than the desired final density in the finished fabric. Fabric obtained by implementing the method according to one of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is based on polyester threads textured by false twist and presents, after finishing treatment, an extensibility of the order 20% in both warp and weft direction.