US2445751A

US2445751A - Textile fabric

Info

Publication number: US2445751A
Application number: US612726A
Authority: US
Inventors: William R Thomas
Original assignee: M & W Thomas Co
Current assignee: M & W Thomas Co
Priority date: 1945-08-25
Filing date: 1945-08-25
Publication date: 1948-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 1965-07-27

Description

Patented July 27, 1948 TEXTILE FABRIC William R. Thomas, 3rd, Bethlehem, Pa., assignor to M. & W. Thomas 00., New York, N. Y., a

partnership No Drawing. Application August 25, 1945,

Serial No. 612,726

'7 Claims.

' ing in one direction, e. g. the warp yarns, whichfabrics are free from the defect of grinning.

A fabric of. balanced construction wherein .the

2 derance of the yarns constitutes the filler, present similar problems.

I have found that unbalanced fabrics having greatly improved stability can be made utilizing yarns which have been prepared in the special manner described below and which have novel warp and filling yarns are about equally spaced and are spaced closely together, provides the greatest degree of stability. The stability of a fabric is diminished by increasing the spacing of the yarns, even though the fabric remains balanced as in the manufacture of highly porous fabrics, or by the manufacture of unbalanced fabrics, e. g. in the manufacture of fabrics woven so as to provide special ornamental effects.

Unbalanced fabrics have been heretofore manufactured wherein the yarns extending in one direction are closely spaced and are interwoven with relatively fewer yarns extending in the other direction. For example, the warp yarns may be much more closely spaced than the filling yarns. In such case the warp yarns provide the decorative outer surface and are intended to conceal the filling yarns. However, if such fabrics are made with sufficient unbalance to conceal the filling, they lack stability and the warp yarns can relatively easily be'displaced. On the other hand, if the warp and filling yarns are more balanced to create stability the filling yarns become visible and the result is known as grinning and is unsightly. In order to reduce the unsightly appearance due to grinning, it has been proposed to dye the filling yarns so as to approach as closely as possible the color of the warp yarns, but this has the effect of deadening the color of the fabric as a whole. Moreover, this expedient is of little avail when skein dyed warp yarns of contrasting color are used, for the filling yarns will not match the different colors of the warp yarns. It has also been proposed to use filling yarns having loosely associated fibers at the surface so that the yarns will have a fuzzy surface, but the loosely associated fibers providing the fuzzy surface of the yarns tend to show through. Of course, unbalanced fabrics wherein the preponproperties whereby new and improved fabrics having a high degree of stability can be obtained. According tothis invention I have successfully produced fabrics having high stability which, because of their unbalanced construction or low density, or both, have not been regarded heretofore as being capable of production so as to have the stability required for commercial applications. Moreover, the present invention has been found to be especially advantageous in the manufacture of unbalanced fabrics of brilliant color that provide sharp color contrasts using skein dyed yarns for the warp incombination with filling that is'of much lower density'and that is completely concealed by the warp yarns so that undyed or bleached filling yarns may be employed as the filling without the risk of having the filling yarns becoming visible and cause grinning. A similar result can be obtained by re.- versing the densities of the yarns, namely, by employinglthe filling yarns in relatively high density and employing warpyarns in relatively low density, although in the manufacture of unbalanced fabrics I prefer to employ special rough surfaced yarns that are used in relatively low density as the filling.

According to this invention the special yarns which are used in the manufacture of fabrics having high stability have been made as follows: The special yarn as prepared for use in fabrics is made by twisting together two previously twisted strands Each of the strands is individually twisted to a very high degree and to a degree sufficient to impart creping tendency to the individual strands. The amount of twist necessary to impart a creping tendency to a strand or thread is well known in the art. By twisting a thread or strand to a sufliciently high degree the strand or a creped fabrics any naturally occurring gums, waxes or the like tend to assist in the setting of athread or yarn that has had a crepe twist imparted thereto. However, any naturally occurring gums, waxes or the like may be removed by washing and the threads or yarns treated with oils or the like to assist in the twisting and weaving of the threads or yarns. In any such case, however, the threads or yarns are given a crepe twist and after a fabric containing such threads or yarns has been made it is treated as by washing so that the creping tendency of the threads or.yarns results in a creped fabric. Any thread or yarn which has been twisted until it has a creping tendency as initially produced or after moistening is referred to herein as having a normal crepe twist."

According to the present invention the strands are subjected to further treatment, so that instead of producing a conventional creped fabric, a fabric is produced which is not creped but which, because of the roughness of the surface of the composite yarns in the fabric, has the special properties and advantages herein described. To this end two strands twisted in the same direction to the extent aforesaid, namely, until they have a normal crepe twist, are then doubled and given a secondary twist in either direction but preferably in the same direction until the resulting composite yarn has a roughened surface due to the relatively high secondary twist. The secondary twist has the effect of counteracting the creping tendency of the previously twisted indi vidual strands so that the composite yarn in the finished fabric is 1 substantially free of cr ping tendency. The special yarn made in the manner described is of a resilient character with a rough surface that is highly resistant to slippage longi tudinally of the yarn.

In order to afford a better understanding of this invention, this invention will be described in connection with the following illustrative examples.

Using rayon thread of about 100 denier, two strands, each consisting of a singlethread of the denier aforesaid, are twisted in the same direction individually so as to give each thread a normal crepe twist. This usually occurs when the thread has been given about 50 tums per inch and for thread of the character mentioned this degree of twist has been found to be especially desirable. The strands thus prepared are then doubled and twisted'together using a sec ondary twist, preferably in the same direction, in the neighborhood of about 20 turns per inch. As a result of the secondary twist, the composite yarn that is produced counteracts the creping tendency of the individual strands and becomes rough on the surface and highly resistant to slippage longitudinally of the yarn.

As a speciflc example of a fabric embodying this invention which comprises the special yarn above described, the special yarn is used as the filling in combination with warp yarns of much greater density, namely, whichare much more closely spaced. The warp yarns consist of 150 denier rayon disposed with 240 warp ends to the inch. The special yarn used as the filling is that previously described and is disposed with only 34 filling ends to the inch. Notwithstanding, the highly unbalanced nature of the fabric, it had high stability due to the special nature of the filling yarns and was not subject to grinning. When this type of fabric was made with skein dyed warp yarns providing stripes of contrasting having for example 240 ends to the inch. Silk may also be employed, although when silk is employed, the silk is generally of lower denier than the rayon or cotton yarns. For example, I have used as the warp two-thread silk yarns, each thread being of 13-15 denier. and the threads as twisted together providing a single end of approximately 26-30 denier. Such ends were disposed 600 to the. inch, and were interwoven with filling composed of the special rough surface yarns disposed o as to provide about 34 ends to the inch. In a similar cloth two-thread silk yarns were used as the warp each thread being of 20-22 denier, the threads being twisted together to provide a single end of approximately 4044 denier, and such yarns were disposed about 400 ends to the inch. These silk threads were skein dyed to different colors and were woven with the filling to provide fabric of great brilliance and striking color-contrast that was free from the defect of grinning notwithstanding the extreme unbalance of the weave.

In addition to rayon, silk may be employed as the strands used in preparing the special yarns. For example, 20-22 denier silk threadsmay be used which are twisted in the same direction to provide a normal crepe twist, this requiring about '75 to 80 twists to the inch. The strands thus prepared were doubled and twisted together about 40 turns in the same direction as the original twist of the individual threads thereby providing a yarn having a rough surface but free from creping tendency in the woven fabric. When the silk threads each having a normal crepe twist were doubled and given a secondary twist in a'direction opposite to that of the original twist of the individual threads, the result was about as satisfactory.

Instead of preparing the special. rough surface yarns by imparting a normal crepe twist to individual threads to form strands which are doubled and twisted together as in the preceding example of the practice of this invention, the strands which have the normal crepe twist may be composed of a plurality of threads. For example, the strands may be prepared from 2, 3,0r 4 threads which are twisted together so as to give the strands thus constituted a normal crepe twist. In the case of rayon it has been mentioned above that it requires about 50 turns to impart a normal crepe twist to individual 100 denier rayon threads. By employing two 75 denier rayon threads, the pair can.be given a normal crepe twist by giving the pair about 40 turns to the inch. By preparing two strands in this way, twisted in the same direction,

' and by doubling the strands and imparting to the tendency is counteracted. In the case of rayon yarns, the special rough surface yarn' generally will have a denier between about 60 and about 320,

while deniers of about 100 to 200 have been found 7 normal crepe twist. For example, two silk threads of 20-22 denier may be twisted together about 70-75 turns to the inch to impart a normal'crepe twist. sing three silk threads of the aforesaid denier about 65-70 turns to the inch will provide a normal crepe twist; while if four of such silk threads are'employed about 60-65 turns to the inch will impart a normal crepe twist. For silk threads of different denier, the amount of twist -will vary in imparting a normal crepe twist. For

example, for silk having a denier of 13-15 a strand composed of a single thread requires about 85 turns to the inch to give it a normal creping tendency while a single silk thread having a denier of about 34-36 requires about 65 turns per inch. to give it a normal crepe twist. If a plurality of silk threads is used, the numberof turns required to produce a normal crepe twist will be about 5 less than that indicated fora single thread for each thread more than one that is used in' the making of the strands.

It is seen from the foregoing that the number of turns per inch required to produce a normal crepe twist varies considerably with the denier of the individual threads used and with the materialsof which the individual threads are composed, and also varies depending upon whether the strand that is given a normal crepe twist is composed of a single thread or is composed of a plurality of threads. Generally, however, the individual strands are given between about 30 and about 85 turns to the inch to produce a normal crepe twist. However, the normal crepe twist, upon being produced, is very apparent to the operator and the amount of twisting required to obtain this condition is readily ascertainable.

With regard to the secondary twist of the doubled .strands in making up the rough surfaced composite yarn, it may also be mentioned that the amount oftwist varies with the denier of the make-up thread and with the material of which the make-up thread is composed and also depends upon whether the strands which are doubled and subjected to the secondary twist are composed of single threads or of a plurality of threads. In the usual case the secondary twist will be in the neighborhood of- 15 to 50 turns per inch. In imparting the secondary twist, the strands are twisted until the creping tendency of the composite yarn is counteracted so that as incorporated in the woven fabric it is free from crepingtendency. Preferably the yarn is subjected to the secondary twist somewhat in excess of the minimum re to counteract the normal crepe twist of the individual strands, the resulting rough surface yarn may have some tendency to curl, particularly if naturally occurring waxes, gums or the like have been removed therefrom and, while it is not essen-- tial to do so, the composite yarns may be sub- Jected to steam or quick temperature changes in water to set the composite yarn and thereby reduce any such curling tendency so as to facilitate the weaving of fabrics of this invention from the special composite yarn. In the woven fabric of this invention the special composite yarn does not have any creping tendency and the fabrics are similar to ordinary fabrics so far as creping tendency is concerned but differs from ordinary fabrics in the greatly improved stability that is afforded. When it is stated herein or in the claims that the fabric of this invention contains composite yarns that are uncreped or are free from creping tendency it is intended that such yarns as disposed in the woven fabric do not have any creping tendency or impart any creped effect to the woven fabric.

While reference has been made to silk and rayon hereinabove and while this invention is of especial advantage in the manufacture of fabrics consisting of silk or rayon or mixtures of these materials. Other fibers can be employed such as cotton or wool for the special rough surface yarns or for the yarns used with the special rough surface yarns. However, the deniers mentioned herein are all on the silk basis.

.In making up special yarns, it is preferable to i have both of the strands which are doubled and I subjected to the secondary twist of the same character.

istlcs or of different materials, but each of which has been twisted so as to have a normal crepe twist, may be used. Moreover, strands of differ-' ent materials or of different twists, or both, may be doubled and given a secondary twist in the manner above described.

This invention, as aforesaid is of great utility in the manufacture of unbalanced fabrics wherein the number of ends per unit length of yarns extending in one direction substantially exceeds the number'of ends per unit of length of yarns extending in the other direction, the special yarns of greater frequency are silk, the ratio may be higher, e. g., about 15 to 1. In fabrics of this type the less closely spaced special rough surfaced.

yarns ordinarily are employed so that there will be from about 30 to about 50 ends per inch, and generally such yarns are between about 60 denier and about 320 denier. In such fabrics the rough surface yarns that are spaced less closely are generally used as the filling, and the .more closely spaced yarns are generally used as the warp. due to the fact that the manufacturing operations for producing such fabrics may be more readily per.- formed. However. the relationship can, if desired, be reversed, so that the rough surface yarns that are less closely spaced will occur as the warp while the more closely spaced yarns will occur as the filling.

By employment of the special rough surface yarns according to this invention unbalanced fabrics can be produced which have not been re- However, this is not essential, inas- I much as two strands having different characterarded as feasible due to lack of stability. Both the number of warp yarns and of filling yarns can be reduced below that which was regarded as possible without objectionable grinning. This results in very substantial reduction in cost without sacrifice of quality. Further savings also result from the fact that the number of square inches required for cutting can be materially reduced. For example, unbalanced fabrics are made according to this invention also minimize the effect of grinning due to the fact that the rough surface of the special yarns diffuses light reflection thereby enabling the filling yarns to be more effectively concealed. While the special rough surface yarns are usually used either as the warp or the filling, the special rough surface yarns can, if desired, be used as both the warp and the filling in the manufacture of fabrics having especially high stability.

After a fabric has been produced according to this invention, it can, of course, be subjected to the usual dyeing or finishin operations, or both, as may be desired, although this invention is of particular utility in the manufacture of unbalanced fabrics wherein the special rough surface yarns are used in combination with skein dyed -yarns which are of substantially greater density than the density of the special rough surface composite yarns.

While this invention has been described in connection with certain specific illustrations of thepractice thereof, it is to be understood that this has been done merely for the purpose of illustration and that the scope of this invention is to be governed by the language of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An unbalanced textile fabric containing a multiplicity of yarns extending in one direction in woven relation with a multiplicity of less closely spaced yarns extending in another direction, the number of ends per inch of the more closely spaced yarns being several times the number of ends per inch of the less closely spaced yarns, a multiplicity of said less closely spaced yarns being composed of two strands, each of which strands is from about 20 to about 150 denier and is twisted in the same direction as the other to provide a normal crepe twist and which trands are twisted together by as much as approximately 15 to approximately 40 turns to the inch inversely in relation to the denier magnitude of said strands to provide a composite yarn having distinct surface roughness, said fabric being stable against normal handling, free of grinning and without appreciable crepe effect.

2. An unbalanced fabric according to claim 1 wherein each of said strands is composed of from 1 to 4 threads, and wherein each of the strands is twisted by as much as approximately 80 to approximately turns to the inch inversely in relation to the denier magnitude of the strands to provide said normal crepe twist.

3. An unbalanced textile fabric according to claim 1 wherein said strands are twisted together in the same direction as the direction of the normal crepe twist in the individual strands to provide said composite yarn having distinct surface roughness.

4. An unbalanced textile fabric according to claim 1 wherein the number of ends per unit of length of the yarns extending in one of said directions is at least 5 times the number of ends per unit of length of said less closely spaced yarns extending in the other direction.

5. An unbalanced textile fabric according to claim 1 wherein the number of ends per unit of said less closely spaced yarns is between about 30 and about 50 ends to the inch, and wherein the number of ends per inch of the yarns extending in the other direction is at least about 5 times greater than the number of ends per inch of said less closely spaced yarns, a multiplicity of the more closely spaced yarns being skein dyed and providing stripes of contrasting color.

6. An unbalanced textile fabric according to claim 1 wherein said less closely spaced yarns having a distinct surface roughness are composed principally of rayon,

'7. An unbalanced textile fabric according to claim 1 wherein said less closely spaced yarns having a distinct surface roughness are composed principally of silk.

WILLIAM R. THOMAS, 3121).

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,823,053 Lawton Sept. 15, 1931 2,134,022 Bell ..l Oct. 25, 1938 2,199,428 Finlayson et a1 May 7, 1940 2,203,721 Dingley et a1 June 11, 1940 2,241,442 Bell et al. May 13, 1941 2,353,666 Hathorne et a1 July 18, 1944 OTHER REFERENCES Publication Formula'and Construction of Silk Yarns; published by Harron Hosiery 00., Philadelphia, Pa.

Analysis of WovenFabrics. by A. F. Barker, M. Sc. and E. Midgley, second revised and enlarged edition published by Scott, Greenwood and Son, 1922.

Staple Cotton Fabrics," by Hoye; published 1942 by McGraw-Hill Book Co.,. Inc., New York and London. Pages 43 and 44. (Copy in Div. 21.)