FABRICS MADE WITH WARP COMPONENT FORMED OF SPUN YARN THAT IS MADE WITH POLYESTER FIBERS OR ACRYLIC FIBERS

Abstract

A fabric comprising a warp component and a weft component. The warp component is made of a spun yarn that is 100% polyester fiber. The 100% polyester fiber spun yarn may be combined with one or more other yarns to form the warp component, such as a texturized polyester yarn but not limited thereto. Alternatively, the warp component is made of a spun yarn that is 100% acrylic fiber. The 100% acrylic fiber spun yarn may be combined with one or more other yarns to form the warp component, such as a texturized polyester yarn but not limited thereto. The weft component of the fabric may be formed of using one or more of manmade fibers and/or natural fibers. The fabric may be used to make bedding products.

Claims

1. A fabric comprising: a warp component; and a weft component, wherein the warp component is a spun yarn made of 100% polyester fibers.

2. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the warp component may include one or more other yarns combined with the spun yarn made of 100% polyester fibers.

3. The fabric of claim 2, wherein the warp component further includes a second yarn substantially in parallel with the spun yarn made of 100% polyester fibers, wherein the second yarn is 100% polyester texturized yarn, and wherein a blend ratio of the 100% polyester spun yarn and the 100% polyester texturized yarn is in a range of 99 to 1 to 1 to 99 by weight.

4. The fabric of claim 3, wherein the warp component further includes a third yarn substantially in parallel with the second yarn and the spun yarn made of 100% polyester fibers, wherein the third yarn is a spun yarn that is 100% acrylic yarn, wherein a blend ratio of the 100% polyester spun yarn, the 100% polyester texturized yarn, and the 100% acrylic spun yarn is in any of the ranges of 98 to 1 to 1, 1 to 98 to 1, and 1 to 1 to 98, by weight.

5. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the weft component is made of any of: one or more of: a 100% polyester spun yarn, a 100% polyester filament yarn, a cotton yarn, a Modal yarn, an Excel yarn, and a Rayon yarn; a yarn made of a blend of two or more of: cotton fibers, polyester fibers, viscose fibers, Modal fibers, Excel fibers, linen fibers, hemp fibers, wool fibers, and acrylic fibers; and 100% cotton, wherein the 100% cotton is selected from Indian cotton, Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton, Supima cotton, cotton mixed with a polyester fiber, and cotton mixed with cellulosic fiber.

6. A fabric comprising: a warp component; and a weft component, wherein the warp component is spun yarn made of 100% acrylic fibers.

7. The fabric of claim 6, wherein the warp component may include one or more other yarns combined with the spun yarn made of 100% acrylic fibers.

8. The fabric of claim 7, wherein the warp component further includes a second yarn substantially in parallel with the spun yarn made of 100% acrylic fibers, wherein the second yarn is 100% polyester texturized yarn, and wherein a blend ratio of the 100% acrylic spun yarn and the 100% polyester texturized yarn is in a range of 99 to 1 to 1 to 99 by weight.

9. The fabric of claim 7, wherein the warp component further includes a second yarn substantially in parallel with the spun yarn made of 100% acrylic fibers, wherein the second yarn is a spun yarn made of 100% polyester fibers, and wherein a blend ratio of the 100% acrylic spun yarn and the spun yarn made of 100% polyester fibers is in a range of 99 to 1 to 1 to 99 by weight.

10. The fabric of claim 6, wherein the weft component is made of any of: one or more of: a 100% polyester spun yarn, a 100% polyester filament yarn, a cotton yarn, a Modal yarn, an Excel yarn, and a Rayon yarn; a yarn made of a blend of two or more of: cotton fibers, polyester fibers, viscose fibers, Modal fibers, Excel fibers, linen fibers, hemp fibers, wool fibers, and acrylic fibers; and 100% cotton, wherein the 100% cotton is selected from Indian cotton, Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton, Supima cotton, cotton mixed with a polyester fiber, and cotton mixed with cellulosic fiber.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG. 1 is a close-up view of a fabric of the present invention showing a general form of the fabric as including a warp component and a weft component in a plain weave configuration.

[0036] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing the general steps, some of which are optional, that may be taken to carry out a method of making the fabric of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is a fabric 10 that may be single-ply or multi-ply. The fabric 10 is formed of a combination of yarns with the yarns being made of fibers. The fabric is made of a warp component 12 and a weft component 14. The warp component 12 is made of one or more yarns, and the weft component 14 is made of one or more yarns. The warp component 12 are either formed of 100% polyester fiber spun yarn alone or in combination with one or more other yarns, or 100% acrylic fiber spun yarn alone or in combination with one or more other yarns. For example, a continuous polyester filament yarn may be combined with the polyester fiber spun yarn, the acrylic fiber spun yarn or both. The continuous polyester filament yarn may be texturized, multi-texturized or untexturized. The weft component 14 may be any one or more of yarns made with manmade fibers, natural fibers, or combinations thereof. For example, the weft yarns may be cotton yarn, Modal yarn, Excel yarn, Rayon yarn, silk yarn, and cellulosic yarn, and combinations thereof, but not so limited.

[0038] The warp and weft yarns may be woven together in any of the following weaves: a) plain; 2) bucket; c) satin; d) satin stripe 5/1; e) satin 4/1; f) 4/1 satin stripe; g) 4/1 satin swiss dot; h) 4/1 Jacquard; i) 5/1 Jacquard; j) 5/1 Jacquard satin; k) 2/1 rib; l) 2/2 rib; m) 2/3 rib; n) twill; o) percale; and p) oxford.

[0039] The 100% polyester fibers of the spun yarn used to form the warp component 12 of the fabric 10 has characteristics of: a) Denier in the range of about 0.5 to about 10; and b) cut fiber length in the range of about 15 millimeters to about 61 millimeters. The fiber count of then spun polyester (Number English or “NE”) is preferably in the range of about NE 2 to about NE 120. The 100% polyester fibers may be in the form of circular, trilobal; and/or at least partially voided. An advantage of using the polyester spun fiber yarn as the warp component is that the fabric ends up with improved temperature control capability; anti-bacterial, antiviral; and moisture management, with those fibers located at the warp location rather than solely at the weft location.

[0040] The 100% polyester fibers of the spun yarn used to form the warp component 12 of the fabric 10 may be produced in any of a number of ways known to those skilled in the art of polyester spun fiber manufacture including: a) open end spinning; b) ring frame spinning; c) rotor spun spinning; d) core spinning; e) compact spinning; f) vortex spinning; and g) jet spinning. Additionally or alternatively, the 100% polyester fiber spun yarn of the warp component 12 may be combined with one or more other yarns, such as yarns made of: a) acrylic fibers; b) nylon fibers; c) rayon; d) viscose fibers; and d) Modal fibers. The spun yarn of the warp component 12 may alternatively be made of 100% acrylic fibers. The 100% acrylic fiber spun yarn of the warp component 12 may be combined with one or more other yarns, such as yarns made of: a) polyester fibers; b) nylon fibers; c) rayon; d) viscose fibers; and d) Modal fibers. In the configuration of the invention wherein the fabric 10 includes a filament yarn, the filament yarn may be a polyester yarn, a rayon yarn, an acrylic yarn, and/or a yarn coated with a desirable component. Other additives may be included with the warp component 10 and/or the weft component 14 including, for example, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and moisture moving component, such as silver fibers, for example.

[0041] The fabric 10 of the present invention that combines the warp component 12 formed with a spun yarn that is made of 100% polyester fiber, 100% acrylic fiber, or a combination of those two and/or other yarns, along with the weft component 14 eliminates some undesirable characteristics of natural fibers including, but not limited to, a reduction in pilling and an increase in durability.

[0042] When the weft component 14 of the fabric includes a yarn made partially or completely of cotton, the cotton may be selected from the group including 100% cotton, Indian cotton, Egyptian cotton, Pima cotton, Supima cotton, and CVC. The cotton count is preferably in the range of about NE 20 to about NE 120. The natural fiber of the weft component 14 may additionally or alternatively include silk, wool linen, and flax.

[0043] A fabrication method 100 of the present invention suitable for forming the fabric 10 of the first embodiment of the invention includes a plurality of steps, several of which are optional, in the fabrication of the first embodiment of the fabric. Generally, the steps of the method 100 may be carried out as shown in FIG. 2. In step 110, one or more warp yarns are selected wherein the warp yarns are made of either or both of 100% polyester fibers and 100% acrylic fibers, and optionally other yarns, and in step 112, one or more weft yarns are selected, wherein the weft yarns may be formed of or include one or more natural fibers. In step 114, a weave or knit is chosen. In step 116, the fabric 10 is formed by weaving or knitting the selected warp yarn/yarns and selected weft yarn/yarns together. For purposes of the description of the present invention, the two terms may be used interchangeably, such that when it is stated that the method 100 includes a weaving step, that means weaving or knitting the yarns together. In optional step 118, the fabric 10 may be sized simultaneously with the step 116 of weaving. In optional step 120, the fabric 10 may be pre-treated to prepare it for subsequent dyeing and/or printing, for example, or for any other purpose. In optional step 120, the woven fabric 10 may be further processed as desired to produce a finished product, such as bedding, for example.

[0044] The skilled artisan will recognize that the warp component 12 and weft component 14 may be woven or knitted to form the fabric 10 by using any one or more of a variety of techniques that are well known in the art. For example, the skilled artisan will recognize that such weaving may be carried by using an air jet frame, and that such knitting may be carried out by using a loop circular frame, but the method 100 is not restricted or limited to using these exact type of machines.

[0045] The skilled artisan will recognize that the fabric 10 of the present invention may be used for any one or more of a large variety of purposes and to form partially or wholly any one or more of a large variety of products. For example, the fabric 10 may be used to form apparel or non-apparel products partially or wholly such as bedding, towels, and clothing, but not limited thereto.

[0046] The present invention has been described with respect to various examples. Nevertheless, it is to be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described by the following claims.