US3146800A - Puffed fabrics - Google Patents

Description

P 1, 1964 N. G. BROWN, JR 3,146,800

" PUFFED FABRICS Filed May 31, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet l r IN VENTOR ATTORNEYS Sept. 1, 1964 3, BROWN, JR 7 3,146,800

PUF FED FABRICS Filed May 51, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Non/4 GBRQ w/v, JR.

ATTORNEYS United rates 3,1463% PUFFED FABRICS Noah G. Brown, In, Buriington, N.C., assignor to Burlington Industries, Inc, Greensboro, N.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 31, 1969, Ser. No. 32,663 7 tilt-tints. (Cl. 139384) The present invention relates to the manufacturing of woven textile fabrics and more particularly to woven fabrics having raised puffs woven into the fabric during the weaving operation.

Puffs in fabrics are generally produced by manufacturing methods requiring manipulation of the fabric after weaving such as gathering the material into puffs or raised portions and sewing in seams to retain the puffs or slitting the material into strips and combining it with other materials followed by sewing the materials to form fabrics with puffs. Another complex manufacturing method commonly used includes the use of a woven fabric and a foam or padding material and a so-called di-electric processing operation. All of these techniques require handling of a fabric after it is woven and represent unnecessary excessive cost.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties and provides a woven fabric having a puffed effect woven into the fabric by virtue of the sequence of interlacing of yarn so that the fabric as received from the loom, has a puffed effect permanently woven into it. Basically, this is made possible with a double, triple or multi-layer weave in the raised portion of the puffed fabric and only a single layer in the depressions or seams between the puffs. That is, the yarn running transverse to the puffs is interwoven at the seams to form a single woven layer. In the raised portions, there are two or more substantially superimposed layers of weave and the yarn running transverse to the puffs is divided among the several superimposed layers, each end of this yarn being in only one of these superimposed layers. The outer or face weave generally has relatively fine yarn while the underlying stuffer layer or layers have relatively coarse yarn, running along the puff to provide body to the fabric and raise the outer weave above the puffs. These underlying woven layers are actually woven sections which are an integral part of the fabric and are not merely yarn or materials loosely stuffed into the puffs. As a result, the puffs are a permanent characteristic of the fabric which is not substantially affected by handling and are not subject to shifting as is the case when the puffs are filled with loosely held stufiing material.

The invention is applicable to both horizontal and vertical puffs running respective transverse to and along the running length of the fabric and both horizontal and vertical puffs may be formed in the same fabric. It can be modified to produce various types of weave in the outer face layer of woven material within the capacity and limitation of conventional high speed looms and such conventional looms with multiple beams or with one beam can be used.

The objects and purposes of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and by reference to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a horizontally puffed fabric showing the fabric loosely woven in order to illustrate more clearly the nature of the weave;

FIGURE la is a side view of a completed fabric woven in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1 and showing the yarns in their final positions;

FIGURE 1b is a bottom view of the completed fabric of FIGURE 1a;

Patented Sept. 1, 1964 FIGURE 2 is a composite side view of the fabric of FIGURE 1 along the ends of the weft yarn;

FIGURE 3 is a side view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the first end of a four binder end Weave;

FIGURE 4 is a side view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the second end of a four binder end weave;

FIGURE 5 is a side view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the third end of a four binder end weave;

FIGURE 6 is a side view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the fourth end of a four binder end weave;

FIGURE 7 is a partial sectional view of a vertically puffed fabric; and

FIGURE 8 is an end view in the warp direction of the fabric of FIGURE 7 showing, for the sake of simplicity only one of the weft yarns.

The horizontally-puffed fabric of FIGURES 16 is produced on a conventional high speed loom using two groups of warp yarns. The first warp yarn, which will be designated No. 1 may have two or more threads or ends of yarn for each end of the second yarn, designated No. 2, and serves to form the face weave covering the puffs. The No. 2 yarn is woven into the fabric lying under the face yarn in the puffed areas and both No. 1 and N0. 2 yarns are interlaced with weft yarns to form the seams which separate the puffs. Thus, there are at least two layers of weave in the puffed area and there is only one layer in the seams.

There may be two or more groups of weft yarns. An A yarn, which intermeshes with No. 1 warp yarn to form the facing weave covering the puffed area and a B yarn which intermeshes with the No. 2 yarn to form the underlying puff filling material are required, and a C yarn may be used for weaving with the No. 1 and No. 2 warp yarns in the seam areas, although the A weft yarn may be used for the seams instead.

As can be seen in FIGURE 1, when a puff area is being woven, the No. l warp ends interlace only with the A weft yarn, and, while A picks are interlacing with them, the No. 1 warp ends are raised above No. 2 warp ends so that a facing fabric is woven which floats over the underlying filling material. At the same time, the B weft threads are interlacing with the No. 2 warp ends which are below the No. 1 warp ends so that two separate layers of woven material are formed on a single loom. T 0 illustrate this phase of the weaving, a four binder end weave is shown in composite in FIGURE 2 and each end is shown in detail in one of FIGURES 3-6. In this illustration there are 8 weft threads B B B B B B B and B filling the interior of the puff arranged generally in pairs and in generally upper and lower layers. The No. 2 ends are divided into four groups and the ends of each group are intermeshed with the B Weft threads in ways differing from the others. That is, each of the four warp ends are interlaced with some of these weft threads in a weave different from the other ends so as to form an integral unit of the material to fill the puffs. As shown in FIGURE 3, the first of the yarn ends, designated 2a passes over weft threads B and B and under B and B. This warp end is thus confined to the lower layer of the B yarn and passes between the threads of each of the lower pairs. The second warp end, 2b, shown in FIGURE 4, passes under weft threads B and B and over B and B then over one upper pair of weft threads, B and B Thus, this warp end serves to tie together the upper and lower layers of weft threads.

In a similar manner, as shown in FIGURE 5, warp end 2c passes under B up over the upper pair of weft threads B and B under lower weft thread B and over B and also serves to hold together the upper and lower pairs of weft threads. It will be noted "that end 20 passes under the upper pair of weft threads B and B while end 129 2b runs over the same pair. This serves to hold these threads together and, at the same time, since end 2c passes over lower weft thread B it tends to force B and B upwardly to give added loft to the puff filling.

In FIGURE 6, the end 2d passes over all of the lower pairs including weft threads B B B and B and under and over the upper threads B and B and B and B respectively, passing between the threads of each of the upper pairs. This weft end also serves to give a lofting effect to the upper pairs.

While the filling material is woven from the B weft threads and No. 2 warp ends, the facing layer is woven simultaneously and the No. 2 and B threads are always held below the facing materials. This outer facing is woven from No. 1 warp ends and A weft yarn and any suitable outer weave can be used. If desired, several colors of yarn may be used and a pattern woven into the fabric following any conventional weaving technique. The sole consideration is that the threads woven into the facing always are held above those woven into the underlying stufiing and there is no interlacing of these threads with the result that there are at least two separate layers of fabric.

In the seams lying between the pufis, there is only a single layer of woven material in which the No. 1 and No. 2 warp ends are woven. The specific embodiment shown in FIGURES 1-6, has three sets of weft threads in the seam, designated C C and O and C The sets may contain one or more threads, and, as shown, C and C are single thread units and C C comprise a double thread unit. The No. 1 ends are all woven over and under the C threads in one sequence and similarly the No. 2 threads are all woven in another sequence. That is, all of the No. 1 threads pass under C over C and C and under C while all the No. 2 threads are woven in the opposite manner or over C under C and O and over C As a result, there is only a single woven layer in the seam area which ties together all the warp yarns of the several layers in the pleated areas.

The relative number of No. 1 and No. 2 ends may vary considerably, but, in general, there will be at least two No. 1 ends for each No. 2 end. The ratio may be increased, but preferably does not exceed 10:1. The No. 1 and No. 2 yarns are generally quite fine such as 200 denier; however, an adjusted ratio of No. 1 to No. 2 ends would permit use of yarns ranging from 70 denier to 900 denier. The A weft yarn is commonly 600 denier cotton count yarn or equivalent, but may vary from 300 denier to 1500 denier. A suitable size for the B yarn is 2 ply 2s or approximately 1500 denier, although smaller yarn sizes such as 900 denier may be used. The bulk of this yarn in great measure determines the fullness of the puff.

It will be understood that FIGURES 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 schematically illustrate the intermeshing relationship between warp and wefts achieved by the Weaving process and are not intended to illustrate actual positions of the yarns. In the final fabric the wefts B will have, for example, the positions shown in FIGURE la. Thus, the different weaving of the No. 2 yarns with the various B wefts produces different vertical forces on the B wefts with the result that the latter will have different vertical positions in the final fabric. For example, B has only yarn 2c pulling it down, whereas yarns 2a 2b and 2d are holding it up. Also, the diameter of the B wefts may be much greater than that illustrated so that the B wefts tend to overlie one another.

Although a fabric has been described which has only two layers in the puffed areas, more layers may be formed to give added lofting and firmness to the puffs. It will be appreciated also that the relationship of the wefts B to the ends No. 2 may be such that in the completed fabric the layer underlying the facing puif may be a single ply layer, i.e. the wefts B may be substantially in a single horizontal plane rather than in more than one horizontal plane.

A vertical puff, running along the length of the fabric is shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, and the same basic principle is applied. That is, the puffed areas are composites or" two or more substantially superimposed layers of woven fabric and the seams between the puffs have only a single layer. In this illustration, the warp yarns are divided into three groups, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 yarns. The No. 4 yarn is woven into the face material covering the puffed areas, the No. 5 yarn is in the seam areas between puffs and the No. 6 yarn is a much heavier material wovn into the material which stuffs the putfs.

Two groups of weft yarn are used, the D weft yarn which is woven with No. 4- into a face fabric covering the pleats and an E weft yarn which is used to intermesh with the No. 6 yarn to form the stufiing for the puffs. Both D and E weft yarns are woven with No. 5 yarn in the seams, and the result is two layers in the puffed areas and a single layer in the seams. Thus, the D and E weft yarns are woven into separate layers in the puffed area to give a raised fabric and are woven together into a single layer in the seams so that there is an anchoring of the stutling of the puffs to the main body of fabric.

The No. 4 and No. 5 yarns may be of like or different sizes and any conventional textile warp yarn may be used. Sizes such as to 900 denier are suitable. The No. 5 yarn should have high tensile strength to avoid tearing the fabric at the seams which are thinner than the part of the fabric in the puffed areas, and yarns such as nylon or any other commercial yarn of good strength are useful. The No. 6 yarn is a heavy yarn having a size of 900 to 5500 denier and its size is determined by the fullness of the puffs. The greater its diameter, the fuller the puffs.

The D weft yarn, which is woven into the face of the fabric, may be of any size suitable for such purpose, such as 300 to 1500 denier, and more than one color yarn may be used to achieve pattern effects on the puff faces. The E filling may be of a suitable size such as 900 to 2800 denier and heavier yarns result in fuller puffs although the D and E yarns may be the same size. Since the E weft threads are woven into puffs and seams, they should not be too heavy if a thin seam is desired. However, it must be at least as contractable as the D yarn so that the puffs will not flatten out when the fabric is stretched. This relationship in contraction properties between D and E yarns must be such that the contraction of D and E yarns must be equal or E yarn must have a greater degree of contraction for both wet and dry yarn. A shrink yarn may be used for the E yarn such as the direct spun rayon type yarns, and any contraction of these yarns will draw the seams toward each other and compress the puff stuffing laterally to give increased lofting to the puffs.

The number of weft ends used and the ratio of No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 ends may vary. By way of illustration, there may be a ratio of No. 4 to No. 5 to No. 6 ends of 144:16z10, and in the puffed areas there are 12 No. 4 ends for each No. 6 end. In this arrangement, the sequence of warp yarns is shown in Table I.

TABLE I In weaving of the puffed areas, the No. 6 yarn ends are woven with E picks and always are maintained below the No. 4 ends which are woven with D picks. The seams are formed by weaving both D and E picks with a single layer of No. 5 ends.

The enlarged section shown in FIGURE 8 illustrates the use of the No. 4, S and 6 warp ends for their respective purposes. The E weft threads may be woven through and around the bundle of No. 6 ends to lace them into a compact bundle, and any weave which can be produced on a conventional high speed loom is suitable. An enlarged view illustrating the manner ofinterlacing stutfer warp ends 6 with picks E is shown in FIGURE 7 in which the insert overlay represents a section of the face.

The present invention produces a puffed woven fabric having two or more layers of fabric in puffed areas separated by other seam areas having single layers of fabric. Each of the yarns running across the puffs and seams are woven into a single layer in the seam area. While horizontal and vertical puffs have been described, the invention is applicable to fabrics having both horizontal and vertical puffs which may be formed by suitable adjustment of yarns and weaves. By the use of several colors of yarn, patterns may be woven into the facing weave and almost any type of facing weave can be used to cover the puffed areas. These weaves are advantageous in that a permanent puff is Woven into the fabric and becomes a permanent characteristic not changed by washing and handling. There is no necessity to process a fabric after it leaves the loom to form puffs in it, and a considerable savings in cost results.

Although yarn sizes have been described in terms of denier, it is obvious that corresponding sizes of spun yarns may be used regardless of the method of yarn manufacturing, and while only specific embodiments of the invention have been described, various changes and modifications may be made in the weaving method, the yarns used, the woven fabric and in other details without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A woven fabric having a plurality of raised puffs each separated from adjacent pufis by a seam area, said fabric comprising: an upper layer of fabric woven of a first group of threads with a second group of threads; a lower layer of fabric of greater bulk than said upper layer below and coextensive with said upper layer and woven of a third group of threads with a fourth group of threads, the threads of at least one of the groups forming the lower layer being of greater diameter than the threads of said first and second groups to achieve said greater bulk whereby said upper layer is raised above said lower layer in the form of puffs, said upper layer having a greater number of threads than said lower layer, said seam area between adjacent puifs being a single layer 5 woven of one group of threads from each of said layers with a plurality of other threads, said seam area having a lesser bulk than said lower layer.

2. A fabric as in claim 1 in which some of said threads of greater diameter in said lower layer overlie other threads in the same group.

3. A fabric as in claim 1 in which one of the groups of threads forming said lower layer is divided into subgroups which are each interlaced with the threads of the other group in the lower layer in a different weave.

4. A fabric as in claim 1 in which the threads from the upper layer which extend into the seam area are interlaced as a group with said other threads in the seam area in one sequence and in which the threads from the lower layer which extend into the seam area are interlaced as a group with said other threads in the seam area in a sequence different from the sequence of the threads from said upper layer.

5. A fabric as in claim 1 wherein said puffs are elongated and wherein said threads of greater diameter in said lower layer extend longitudinally of the puffs and overlie each other, said threads of greater diameter being interlaced in different weaves with the threads of the other group in said lower layer.

6. A fabric as in claim 1 wherein said puffs are elongated in the direction of the weft threads and wherein said first and third groups are warp threads and said second and fourth groups are weft threads, the size of the threads in said first group corresponding to -200 denier, the size of the threads in said second group corresponding to 300-1500 denier, the size of the threads in said third group corresponding to 70-900 denier, the size of the threads in said fourth group corresponding to at least 900 denier, the ratio of the number of threads in said first group to the number of threads in said third group being from 2:1 to 10:1, and the number of said other threads being at least four.

7. A fabric as in claim 1 wherein said puffs are elongated in the direction of the warp threads and wherein said first and third groups are weft threads and said second and fourth groups are warp threads, the size of the threads in said first group corresponding to 300-1500 denier, the size of the threads in said second group corresponding to 70-900 denier, the size of the threads in said third group corresponding to 900-2800 denier, and the size of the threads in said fourth group corresponding to 900-5500 denier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 793,524 Hewett June 27, 1905 1,359,973 Entz Nov. 23, 1920 1,998,041 Barbet Apr. 16, 1935 2,424,928 Glendinning July 29, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 560,433 Belgium Sept. 14, 1957 403,171 Great Britain Dec. 21, 1933

Claims (1)

1. A WOVEN FABRIC HAVING A PLURALITY OF RAISED PUFFS EACH SEPARATED FROM ADJACENT PUFFS BY A SEAM AREA, SAID FABRIC COMPRISING: AN UPPER LAYER OF FABRIC WOVEN OF A FIRST GROUP OF THREADS WITH A SECOND GROUP OF THREADS; A LOWER LAYER OF FABRIC OF GREATER BULK THAN SAID UPPER LAYER BELOW AND COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID UPPER LAYER AND WOVEN OF A THIRD GROUP OF THREADS WITH A FOURTH GROUP OF THREADS, THE THREADS OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE GROUPS FORMING THE LOWER LAYER BEING OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN THE THREADS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND GROUPS TO ACHIEVE SAID GREATER BULK WHEREBY SAID UPPER LAYER IS RAISED ABOVE SAID LOWER LAYER IN THE FORM OF PUFFS, SAID UPPER LAYER HAVING A GREATER NUMBER OF THREADS THAN SAID LOWER LAYER, SAID SEAM AREA BETWEEN ADJACENT PUFFS BEING A SINGLE LAYER WOVEN OF ONE GROUP OF THREADS FROM EACH OF SAID LAYERS WITH A PLURALITY OF OTHER THREADS, SAID SEAM AREA HAVING A LESSER BULK THAN SAID LOWER LAYER.

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