FR2586715A1 - FOLDING JOINT FABRIC, WITHOUT PERMANENT PLY, AND A STORED STORAGE WITH SUCH FABRIC - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A FOLDABLE ARTICULATED FABRIC, WITHOUT PERMANENT FOLDING, AS WELL AS A BLIND MADE WITH SUCH FABRIC. THE ARTICULATED FABRIC OF THE PRESENT INVENTION IS CONTINUOUSLY MADE BY WEAVING CHAIN YARNS AND WEFT YARNS MADE FROM ANY MATERIALS SUCH AS TEXTILE FIBERS OR METAL YARNS. IN ITS STRUCTURE, THE ARTICULATED FABRIC PRESENTS AT LEAST ONE LONGITUDINAL ZONE OF WEAKNESS WHICH CONSTITUTES A PRIVILEGED FOLDING AXIS. ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION, THE CREATION OF A PRIVILEGED FOLDING AXIS 2 IS OBTAINED BY A LOCAL MODIFICATION OF THE FABRIC ARMOR ACCORDING TO THE CHAIN AXIS 3 OF THE LATTER. IN PARTICULAR, THE LOCAL REMOVAL 2 OF THE LAYING OF CHAIN THREADS 3 ALLOWS AN AREA OF WEAKNESS WHICH CONSTITUTES THE BENDING AXIS. THE INVENTION WILL FIND FULLY ITS APPLICATION IN THE TEXTILE WEAVING INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE CONFECTION OF BLINDS.

Description

- 1 -

  The invention relates to a folding articulated fabric without fold

  permanent and a blind made with the said articulated fabric.

  It will notably find its application in the weaving industry.

  particular of textile and other materials.

  Currently, regardless of the material used for the manufacture of fabrics, whether textile yarn, natural or synthetic fibers or metal threads, fabrics

  have a homogeneous structure.

  The structure of the fabric itself gives the latter properties of flexibility particularly appreciable in

many uses.

  A fabric naturally does not have any particular folding axis and, if necessary, a permanent fold can be made artificially, for example using a pleating, using an iron

  hot and steam to fix a permanent crease.

  However, the ply-forming method can be criticized for being costly in the sense that it can not be performed continuously and therefore it must undergo a systematic recovery operation. In addition, the permanent crease permanently marks the fabric, which can not, even when deployed, resume a

flat and smooth shape.

  In addition, the direction of folding is imposed indeed, the fabric tends to fold naturally at the fold and it does not really play a hinge role because a recall effort is

imposed.

  The folding can be located but the direction of folding can not be indifferent which can be a significant handicap

for some applications.

  As regards blinds for example, these are currently constituted from slatted systems connected by a cord device which serves to connect them. The manufacture of this kind

  is unitary and therefore its cost is high.

  The creation of a folding zone in a slatted awning requires that the structure of the blind is made by an assembly of semi-rigid planar elements connected by auxiliary hinges. It is indeed essential that in the deployed position, the blind has a flat surface without fold and therefore the pleated fabrics mentioned above can not be suitable for this use because - 2-

  their deployment can not be done without a crease.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a foldable articulated fabric without permanent fold which can be made continuously by traditional weaving son son formed from any materials. The absence of permanent folds presents

  many advantages in particular it prevents the fabric from being creased.

  The possibility of using materials of any kind for producing the fabric of the present invention greatly expands

the scope of application.

  Continuous manufacturing considerably lowers the cost of production, especially since weaving looms traditionally used for making fabrics can still be used in the case of application of the present invention with

  minor changes in their operation.

  The articulated fabric of the present invention maintains structural homogeneity and therefore aesthetically the fabric of the present invention is particularly attractive since it retains

the continuous appearance of the fabrics.

  The articulation of the tissue is localized and therefore there is no fear of malformations in the folding since this one

  is self-controlled by the structure of the fabric itself.

  In the context of the present invention, the joints of the fabric have no sense in contrast to the -plissage traditionally used until now. No restraint effort is encountered and the deployment of the fabric can be obtained perfectly to obtain a flat panel having no pleating defect. Another object of the present invention is to provide a blind which can have sun visor functions or partitioning of living rooms. The awning can be freely deployed as needed and in storage position, it occupies a very small volume because it has articulating properties that allow a very folding

flat cloth tablecloth.

  In the deployed position, the awning offers a solid surface and the materials used to make it respect the harmony of colors and the appearance of upholstery fabrics.

  traditionally used to decorate pieces.

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention 258 c6 7 1 5 - 3

  will appear in the following description which is not

  however, given as an indication only but not intended to limit it. The foldable articulated fabric, without permanent fold, made continuously by weaving warp yarns and weft threads of any material such as textile fibers, is characterized by the fact that in its structure, it has at least one zone

  longitudinal weakness which constitutes a privileged fold axis.

  The blind made with the articulated fabric of the present invention is characterized in that it is in the form of a single-structure panel composed of articulated rigid panels

  between them by privileged folding zones.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the

  following description accompanied by attached drawings among which

  FIG. 1 schematizes a piece of articulated fabric, manufactured continuously, according to the present invention; FIGS. 2a, b, c, d, and e are diagrammatic cross-sectional views of examples of folding of an articulated fabric according to the present invention; FIG. 3 schematically illustrates the structure of an articulated tissue according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of an articulated tissue according to the present invention;

invention.

  The present invention aims at a collapsible articulated fabric, without

  permanent fold, and a blind made with the said articulated fabric.

  It will find particular application in the industry of weaving warp yarns and weft son formed of any materials

  such as textile fibers or metal wires.

  The articulation of the fabric of the present invention allows it to be folded with minimum effort. The fabric of this

  invention provides low folding resistance.

  No binding of the fold has to be carried out, contrary to current techniques in which the fixing of the fold must be carried out by calendering under pressure or by steam folding, in which case the formation of the fold is permanent and the fabric once

  deployed does not have a smooth, even surface.

Z586715

  In addition, the direction of the fold in the case of the present invention is not imposed, which multiplies all the possibilities of application. According to the main characteristic of the present invention, the fabric in its structure has at least one longitudinal zone of weakness which constitutes a privileged fold axis. It should be emphasized, however, that the fabric structure of the present invention remains

however homogeneous.

  The longitudinal zone of weakness results in a greater flexibility of the fabric at this level and therefore when an external folding constraint is imposed on the fabric, it folds

at this level.

  The location of the fold is particularly interesting because it allows storage of the fabric in a reduced volume without having to perform a recovery operation to perform a pleating as

  this was traditionally done.

  The zone of weakness is made in the structure of the fabric and therefore the fold made at this level is not permanent, which offers the possibility after deployment of the fabric

  to obtain a smooth and plain surface that is not wrinkled.

  The fold made in the articulated fabric of the present invention is meaningless and therefore it is possible to perform

  the folding of the piece of cloth with an indifferent folding direction.

  It should also be emphasized that the construction of the articulated fabric of the present invention is carried out continuously on a traditional loom. This continuous manufacture minimizes

  manufacturing costs and allows standardization of the product.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the articulated fabric of the present invention, it has areas of weakness which are directed along the axes of implementation of the warp or weft son. Thus, the preferred folding axes are directed according to the direction

  longitudinal or transverse of the web of fabric.

  These directions represent the majority of the cases of use and if for example a direction of folding in bias was necessary, it is enough to cut the piece of fabric in the band with some

  tilt to meet the needs.

  The realization of weak areas directed along the axis of the weft are, although possible, more difficult to achieve in -5- continuous also, preferably, the preferred folding axes are made continuously over the entire length of the frame fabric

as shown in Figure 1.

  I, the fabric roll 1 which is formed from the band obtained in weaving has preferred folding axes 2 directed according to the

fabric chain 1.

  The expanded fabric provides perfect continuity, however, when the web is compressed according to the width of the web, a series of localized bends are created at the level of the areas of weakness.

  2 which constitute in a way hinges.

  Figure 2 schematically shows the sectional views

  transverse of the piece of fabric 1 according to different folding modes.

  Figure 2a shows articulated tissues 1 perfectly deployed. It offers a homogeneous and unique structure perfectly

smooth.

  When a compressive force is exerted on the ends of the fabric 1 as envisaged in FIG. 2b, fold formation is performed at the level of the zones of weakness 2 which constitute

of preferred folding axes.

  Since the folding direction is indifferent according to the present invention, a symmetrical folding as envisaged in FIG.

could also be considered.

  Continuing the folding, it leads to the full folding accordion volume reduced as illustrated in Figure 2d or its

  symmetrical shown in Figure 2e.

  It has been envisaged folding accordion-like folds of identical fabric which represents most of the application cases, however, it is obvious that other folds could also be considered without departing from the scope of the present invention, especially n spiral folding could all

to be considered.

  For the good functioning of the joint, it is desirable that the sections of fabric which do not constitute the articulations are semirigid in order to decide on the plan of the

  rigidity with areas of weakness.

  In terms of manufacture, Figure 3 schematically shows the structure of a fabric composed of son 3 of the weft and son 4 weft. A simple structure has been envisaged to facilitate understanding, however, it is evident that complex armor

  could be adopted as well.

  The creation of a preferred folding axis is obtained by a local modification of the weave of the fabric according to the chaihe axis of the latter. For example, the preferred longitudinal axis of folding 2 is made along the warp 3 of the fabric by local removal of a string. In Figure 3, this local deletion is

  schematized by the presence of a dashed line.

  It could also have been envisaged for the longitudinal creation of a preferred folding axis, of the laying in the zone of

  weakness 2 of warp threads smaller than those used elsewhere.

  This slight modification in the structure of the fabric allows it to maintain its homogeneous and even appearance, however this modification

  local armor is enough to create a zone of weakness.

  Another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 4, consists in bringing back on the fabric 1 longitudinal elements which will give the fabric a certain rigidity. Under these conditions, the intermediate zones 6 situated between the rigid or semi-rigid elements 5 constitute longitudinal zones of weakness which will form

Preferred folding axes.

  The stiffening elements 5 can also be replaced by superficial treatments or primers which give the

stiffness fabric.

  Moreover, in the case of son formed of synthetic fibers, gluing or welding by heating son gives them the rigidity necessary to form separate sections

  by parts of fabric where the threads remain free and therefore flexible.

  Among the many applications of the present invention, making blinds with the articulated fabric is particularly interesting since unlike prior art, the blind can be manufactured continuously. Indeed, the formation of the plies is directly carried out on loom and only the cutting

  dimensions must be carried out a posteriori.

  The blind is in the form of a fabric panel with a unique structure. The blind is composed of rigid sections, the stiffness of the panels depends on the nature of the wires used mainly

  in chain to give some resistance to the panels.

  The weft threads ensure transverse continuity of the panel, it is articulated between the rigid panels by zones of

Preferred folding. -

  In the deployed position, the blind has a smooth and solid surface, as shown in FIG. 2a, and it can be folded easily under reduced volume as illustrated in FIGS.

or 2nd.

  Thanks to the nature of the foldable folding fabric without permanent fold which is used for the making of the blind, it does not crease. In addition, since the blind can be entirely made of textile material, it can quite respect the harmony of the room in which it is located in accordance with the fabric

  wall upholstery used to coat the walls of the room.

  Other applications and implementations of the present invention, within the reach of those skilled in the art, could have been

  envisaged without departing from its scope.

- 8-

Claims (9)

  1. Articulated folding fabric, without permanent fold, made continuously by pleating of warp yarns - (3) and - of trance threads (4) of any material such as textile fibers, characterized in that in its structure, it has at least one longitudinal weakness zone (2) which constitutes a preferred fold axis. 2. articulated fabric according to claim 1, characterized in that the areas of weakness (2) are directed along the axes of   placing the chain (3) or weft (4) wires.   3. articulated fabric according to claim 2, characterized in that the preferred folding axes (2) are made continuously on   the entire length of the chaihe (3) of the fabric (1).   4. articulated fabric according to claim 3, characterized in that the creation of a preferred folding axis (2) is obtained by a local modification of the armor of the fabric (1) along the axis of charne (3) of the latter.   5. articulated fabric according to claim 4, characterized in that the preferred longitudinal axis fold (2) is formed along the chalhe (3) of the fabric (1) by local removal son laying of chalk.   6. articulated fabric according to claim 4, characterized in that the longitudinal axis (2) of preferred folding is performed along the chalhe (3) of the fabric (1) by laying in the zone of weakness (2) of chanihe son (3) smaller.   Articulating fabric according to Claim 1, characterized in that its structure is composed of a flexible fabric (1) on which   rigid elements (5) are reported.   8. articulated fabric according to claim 7, characterized in that the rigid elements are made by a treatment or primer local tissue (1) base.   9. Store made with the articulated fabric of claim 1, characterized in that it is in the form of a single structure panel composed of articulated rigid sides   between them by privileged folding zones.