Textile that is Both Soft to Touch and Resistant to Abrasion and Stretching

Abstract

A woven textile includes, in at least one of the warp or weft directions, non-flocked yarns and flocked yarns. The flocked yarns include a support yarn having a core covered with an adhesive layer. The support yarn has a base diameter. Protruding filaments provide the flocked yarns with an apparent diameter. The non-flocked yarns have a diameter which is smaller than the apparent diameter and larger than the base diameter of the flocked yarns.

Claims

1. A woven textile comprising, in at least one of the warp or weft directions, non-flocked yarns and flocked yarns, the flocked yarns comprising a support yarn having a core covered with an adhesive layer, the support yarn having a base diameter, and protruding filaments providing said flocked yarns with an apparent diameter, said non-flocked yarns having a diameter which is smaller than said apparent diameter and larger than said base diameter of said flocked yarns, wherein, in the direction comprising the flocked yarns, the textile has a ratio of the number of non-flocked yarns to the number of flocked yarns of less than or equal to 1.

2. The textile as claimed in claim 1, wherein the textile is woven in accordance with a tabby, twill or satin weave, or any of the variations of these weaves, using up to 20 heddle frames.

3. The textile as claimed in claim 2, wherein the weave is of the twill type having a ratio in the range 3 to 8.

4. The textile as claimed in claim 2, wherein the weave is of the satin type having a ratio in the range 5 to 8, with a stepping of more than 1.

5. The textile as claimed in claim 2, wherein the weave is of the louisine type.

6. (canceled)

7. The textile as claimed in claim 1 wherein the non-flocked yarns and/or the flocked yarns have a core based on a multifilament yarn.

8. The textile as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that wherein the core of said non-flocked yarns is of high tenacity polyester, polyvinyl alcohol, polyamide, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyarylate, aramid or glass, alone or as a mixture.

9. The textile as claimed in claim 1 wherein said non-flocked yarns are sheathed yarns with a thermoplastic material sheath.

10. The textile as claimed in claim 9, wherein the thermoplastic material is selected from the group comprising polyolefins, elastomers, polyvinyl chloride, silicones and fluorinated polymers, alone or as a mixture.

11. The textile as claimed in claim 1 wherein the adhesive layer is an acrylic, acrylate, polyurethane, epoxy or neoprene adhesive.

12. The textile as claimed in claim 1 wherein the core of said flocked yarns is polyamide and wherein the adhesive layer is an acrylic adhesive.

13. The textile as claimed in claim 1 wherein said protruding filaments, are polyamide filaments, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) filaments, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filaments, polyester filaments or acrylic filaments.

14. Outdoor furniture comprising a textile as claimed in claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0042] The manner of carrying out the described embodiments as well as the advantages thereof will become apparent from the following description of embodiments made with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 diagrammatically represents a cross section of a flocked yarn,

[0044] FIG. 2 diagrammatically represents a cross section of the flocked yarn of FIG. 1 in which the filaments are subjected to a stress,

[0045] FIG. 3 diagrammatically represents a cross section of a non-flocked yarn,

[0046] FIG. 4 diagrammatically represents a cross section of a textile, woven with the flocked yarn of FIG. 1 and the non-flocked yarn of FIG. 3,

[0047] FIG. 5 is a photo of the face of a textile in accordance with a first embodiment, with a twill weave,

[0048] FIG. 6 is a photo of a cross section of the textile in the photo of FIG. 5 along the line AA′,

[0049] FIG. 7 is a photo of the face of a textile in accordance with a second embodiment, with a louisine weave.

[0050] Clearly, the dimensions and proportions of the elements illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 have been exaggerated compared with reality and have been provided solely with the aim of facilitating comprehension of the contemplated embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flocked yarn 1 intended to be woven into a textile has a core 2. As already mentioned, the core may be a monofilament or a multifilament yarn. This core 2 is completely covered with an adhesive layer 3. The base diameter 5 corresponds to the external diameter of the adhesive layer; in other words, the base diameter 5 corresponds to the diameter of the cylinder in which the entire core 2 and adhesive layer 3 are inscribed.

[0052] Filaments 4 protrude from the adhesive layer 3. A portion of each filament 4 is integrated into the adhesive layer 3, enabling the filaments 4 to key in.

[0053] In FIG. 1, the filaments 4 are not subjected to any stress and the apparent diameter 61 is a maximum. In FIG. 2, the filaments 4 are subjected to a small stress. The filaments 4 are slightly folded down on themselves. Visually, the flocked yarn 1 appears more flattened in FIG. 2 than in FIG. 1. The apparent diameter 62 is in fact reduced because of the stress exerted on the filaments 4.

[0054] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the non-flocked yarn 7 intended to be woven into a textile is a sheathed yarn. The non-flocked yarn 7 has a core 8 which, as already mentioned, may be a monofilament or a multifilament yarn, and a thermoplastic material sheath 9 The diameter 10 of the non-flocked yarn 7 corresponds to the diameter of the cylinder in which the core 8 and sheath 9 assembly are inscribed.

[0055] The textile 11 of FIG. 4 is woven with flocked yarns 1 and non-flocked yarns 7, and a yarn 12. The yarn 12 may be identical to or different from the non-flocked yarn 7. Although the textile 11 is more homogeneous if the yarn 12 is identical to the non-flocked yarn 7, it is advantageous for the yarn 12 to have a diameter which is smaller than the diameter 104 of the non-flocked yarn 7, so that the non-flocked yarn 7 can protect the flocked yarn 1 more effectively. Because they have been woven, the yarns 1, 7 and 12 are slightly flattened. This results hi the fact that the diameters 54, 104, 64 are slightly reduced compared with the diameters 5, 10, 61.

[0056] As already mentioned, the base diameter 54 is smaller than the diameter 104, which in turn is smaller than the apparent diameter 64. It is of no importance that certain areas of the filaments are overfilled or even squashed by the yarns 7 or 12. The apparent diameter 64 within the scope of the contemplated embodiments corresponds to the diameter of the overall cylinder in which the Hocked yarn 1 is inscribed. The quantity of filaments going beyond the crest of the yarns 7 and 12 is sufficient to provide the textile 11 with a soft nature.

First Exemplary Embodiment

[0057] A textile in accordance with the disclosed embodiments was woven in accordance with a 3×1 twill weave, with:

[0058] in the warp: a yarn with a diameter of 390 μm with a linear density of 1400 dtex, having a core of multifilament polyester with a diameter of 230 μm with a linear density of 280 dtex and a polyvinyl chloride sheath rendered fire-retardant with antimony trioxide and with an antifungal treatment, having a linear density of 1120 g/10000 m,

[0059] in the weft; as the non-flocked yarns, yarns with a diameter of 480 μm with a linear density of 2000 dtex, having a core of multifilament polyester with a diameter of 300 μm with a linear density of 550 dtex and a polyvinyl chloride, sheath with an antifungal treatment, having a linear density of 1450 g/10000 m; as the flocked yarns, yarns with an apparent diameter in the range 1100 μm to 1400 μm with a linear density of 1563 dtex, having a core of polyamide covered with a water-based acrylic adhesive with a base diameter of 185 μm, wherein the filaments are polyamide 6.6 and have a linear density of 1.9 dtex, the flocked yarns having a linear density of 1328 g/10000 m.

[0060] The textile had 20 yarns per cm in the warp and in the weft, non-flocked yarns in an amount of 4.65 per cm and flocked yarns in an amount of 4.65 per cm.

[0061] A photograph of the textile in accordance with the disclosed embodiments as described above is reproduced in FIG. 5.

[0062] A photograph of a cross section, along the line AA′ in the textile of FIG. 5 is reproduced in FIG. 6. In this photograph, it will be seen that the filaments 4 protrude beyond the yarn crests 12 by an average distance of 277 μm.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

[0063] A textile in accordance with the disclosed embodiments was woven in a louisine weave, with:

[0064] in the warp: a yarn with a diameter of 390 μm with a linear density of 1400 dtex, having a core of multifilament polyester with a diameter of 230 μm with a linear density of 280 dtex and a polyvinyl chloride rendered fire-retardant with antimony trioxide and with an antifungal treatment, having a linear density of 1120 g/10000 m,

[0065] in the weft: as the non-flocked yarns, yarns with a diameter of 480 μm with a linear density of 2000 dtex, having a core of multifilament polyester with a diameter of 300 μm with a linear density of 550 dtex and a polyvinyl chloride sheath with an antifungal treatment, having a linear density of 1450 g/10000 m; as the flocked yarns, yarns with an apparent diameter in the range 1100 μm to 1400 μm with a linear density of 1563 dtex, having a core of polyamide covered with a water-based acrylic adhesive with a base diameter of 185 μm, wherein the filaments are polyamide 6.6 and have a linear density of 1.9 dtex, the flocked yarns having a linear density of 1328 g/10000 m.

[0066] The textile had 18.2 yarns per cm in the warp, and non-flocked yarns in an amount of 4.35 per cm and flocked yarns in an amount of 4.35 per cm in the weft.

[0067] A photograph of the textile in accordance with the disclosed embodiments as described above is reproduced in FIG. 7.

Softness Test for First Textile

[0068] A panel of 90 consumers of various ages comprising 30 men and 60 women, all users of outdoor furniture covered with fabric, compared the softness of the woven textile in accordance with the disclosed embodiments and commercially available fabrics, namely Sunbrella Natte® fabric, Sunbrella Linen® fabric and Batyline® fabric. The users provided a score out of 10. The results are reported in Table 1.

Abrasion Resistance Test for First Textile

[0069] The first textile woven in accordance with the disclosed embodiments, the Sunbrella Natte®, fabric, the Sunbrella Linen® fabric and the Batyline® fabric were tested using the Martindale test in accordance with the standard NF EN ISO 12947-2 (2 distinct threads broken). The results are reported in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Abrasion resistance Softness NF EN ISO 12947-2 (score out (number of cycles to Fabric of 10) 2 broken threads) Described 7.8 >120000 Embodiments Sunbrella Natte ® 7.3 <20000 Sunbrella Linen ® 7.0 <50000 Batyline ® 6.2 >120000

[0070] The textile in accordance with the disclosed embodiments is the only one to have both good softness and a high abrasion resistance.

[0071] It should be noted that an abrasion resistance test (Martindale test) comparing two prior art fabrics produced with chenille yarns and a fabric in accordance with the disclosed embodiments produced with flocked yarns showed that the loss of thickness after 50 000 cycles is 4 times greater in the case of the prior art fabrics.