EP0344103A1 - Pile fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

A pile fabric is described and claimed which consists of a base fabric made of polyester filaments and a pile of natural fibers, with up to four pile threads being worked in between two weft threads. The binding of the pile threads consists at least partially of three- or five-chain pile-through binding. The pile fabric is particularly used as a car and furniture seat cover.

Description

The present invention relates to a pile fabric, in particular a weft fabric, preferably for use under difficult conditions of use.

Pile fabrics are known per se. They are made by incorporating additional thread systems into a base fabric. A distinction is made between warp and weft fabrics based on the location of the additional thread systems. With the weft weave, the weaving process initially creates a smooth fabric, and the pile is achieved by subsequently cutting open the correspondingly tied thread system. Known pile fabrics are plush, velvet, velvet and carpets.

Upholstery fabrics for furniture and seating, especially car seats, have to withstand heavy use. They are exposed to special mechanical influences and great friction and must continue to be dirt-repellent. Acrylic velvet and polyamide, in which pile threads are woven into a staple fiber fabric, have proven their worth. To achieve the elasticity of the fabric, which must be pulled over corners and edges of the basic structure of the furniture or seat during assembly, the chain and weft contain elastomeric fibers (Lycra). The pile fabric, like carpets, must be provided with a binder from the back, an acrylate or polyamide binder, so that the simply bound pile threads cannot be pulled out of the composite.

These pile fabrics for seating furniture covers, in particular automobile seats, have disadvantages. For example, the production is difficult and expensive because of the use of elastomer threads. Furthermore, the light fastness of the pile fabric, if it with that for polyacrylic or polyamide usual dyes, often not sufficient, as is well known to every driver. Seating comfort is also unsatisfactory because of the absolutely hydrophobic properties of the synthetic fibers and their electrostatic charge.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved pile fabric suitable for seating furniture, in particular automobile seats, which does not have the disadvantages described above and, with great durability, has an elastic behavior without the installation of elastomer threads. It should have sufficient elasticity for assembly, but not one that - like elastomer threads - suffers a loss of elasticity over time or at high elongation with the formation of waves and wrinkles. The coloring of the pile threads should be possible with high-light and rub-fast dyes, and the seating comfort should be significantly improved if the threads are sufficiently resistant to abrasion.

Corduroy fabric, which was initially thought of, could not fulfill the tasks set because the stretchability of the fabric was not given and the base fabric did not have sufficient strength values.

The objects are now solved by a new pile fabric, which is the subject of the invention and is defined in claim 1. It is characterized by a basic structure in plain weave or twill weave or a weave derived therefrom with warp and weft threads, which consist of a polyester filament yarn, the base fabric being fixed at elevated temperature in such a way that it has latent elasticity at least in the weft direction . Up to four pile threads are inserted between two weft threads, which are at least partly in three- or five-chain Poldurch-weave, ie as W-knobs and at least to consist mostly of natural fibers such as cellulose staple yarns, especially cotton.

There can be up to four pile threads between successive polyester weft threads. A pile thread creates a very dense pile fabric; if there are more than four pile threads, the strength of the base fabric is insufficient. Two pile threads between two polyester weft threads are therefore preferred.

The three- and five-chain pile-through weave of the pile threads, which is explained below, can be distributed over the fabric as desired and combined with pile threads in a single-chain pile weave. The Poldurch bond ensures a particularly firm, non-removable anchoring in the base fabric without the need for an adhesive back coating.

The three-chain pile through-binding of the pile threads can be described as follows (see also Fig. 2) if you look at a cross section through the pile fabric from left to right and follow the course of the pile thread:
- open loop - under a warp thread - over a warp thread - under a warp thread - open loop etc.

When viewed in the same way, the five-chain Poldurch bond is as follows:
- open loop - under two warp threads - over one warp thread - under two warp threads - open loop etc.,
while the single-chain pile binding, as usual, only passes once under a warp thread and forms a V-nub. With the pile fabric according to the invention, a new cover fabric for seating furniture is created which combines the advantages of the natural fiber cotton, ie in particular ease of use and lightfast dyeability, with the strength values of a polyester filament base fabric in a firm bond.

The back of the new pile fabric can remain unchanged. But it can also be provided with a back coating that is adapted to the purpose. This backside coating must have the same or a higher stretch than the pile base fabric. Elastic coatings, for example with foams, meet this requirement.

The base fabric must have a noticeable, if only relatively slight, stretch at least in the weft direction. This can advantageously be achieved by weaving the fabric with the lowest possible weft thread tension and fixing the structure at elevated temperature. If you want to achieve a stretch in the direction of the warp thread either, use weakly textured warp threads or fix the fabric with lead to the tenter frame.

The polyester threads of the base fabric are high-strength filament yarns. They consist of a large number of continuous fibrils, which are combined into a cable. You can dye them, ideally in the spinning mass. Double threads of two filaments are preferably used, which are dyed with a little carbon black and twisted with a weak twist. In mass dyeing, other additives known per se can also be added, e.g. fire retardant additives, plasticizers, etc.

The pile threads are preferably made of cotton. But there are also those made of wool and silk or also mixed fa applicable, the main component of which is a natural fiber. As usual, they are dyed with lightfast dyes, for example reactive or metal complex dyes.

The type, quantity and distribution of the pile threads introduced during weaving determine the feel, density and pattern of the pile. These conditions are known to the person skilled in the art, also with regard to the height of the pile to be produced. The fabric is made with high warp density so that stretch can form in the weft direction.

An elegant way to achieve a stretch in all surface directions is to use a very tightly knitted knitwear as the base substrate.

• Fig. 1 einen Teil der Patrone der Ausführungsform von der Rückseite gesehen, und
• Fig. 2 die Bindung der Polfäden.

A preferred embodiment of the pile fabric according to the invention will now be described with reference to the drawing. The drawing shows:

• Fig. 1 seen a part of the cartridge of the embodiment from the back, and
• Fig. 2 the binding of the pile threads.

• (a) in fünfkettiger Poldurch- und einkettiger Polauf-­Bindung (W⁵ und V)
• (b) in jeweils einkettiger Polauf-Bindung (V)
• (c) in jeweils fünfkettiger Poldurch-Bindung (W⁵ + W⁵), oder
• (d) in jeweils dreikettiger Poldurch-Bindung (W³ + W³).

1, as usual, the chain running from top to bottom is not shown. 12 weft yarns S can be seen (empty squares). At the lower end of the cartridge, the repeat begins anew, also to the right. Between two weft threads there are either pile threads at regular intervals

• (a) in five-chain pile through and single-chain pole binding (W⁵ and V)
• (b) in single-chain pole binding (V)
• (c) in five-chain Poldurch bonds (W⁵ + W⁵), or
• (d) in a three-chain Poldurch bond (W³ + W³).

Of course, other combinations are also possible. The W⁵ pile threads are hatched from top left to bottom right, the W³ pile threads top right to bottom left, and the V threads are black.

The types of weave are shown in Fig. 2, in which the warp threads are shown in section. The pile threads are shown between two successive cut loops.

The five-chain Poldurch weave is firmly anchored on both sides of a warp thread, against which it lies and does not form a loop, through an underpass under two warp threads. A firm, if also simpler, anchoring results in the W³ bond in FIG. 2, while the simple V bond, which contributes to the density of the pile, is also shown in FIG. 2.

A pile fabric, the cartridge of which is shown in Fig. 1, was made from 100% PE filament yarn in warp and weft with a thickness of 107/48 x 2 dtex, S-thread 250 / m and with blue-colored CO pile threads. The pile fabric had a pleasant, non-slip pile surface with good moisture absorption, and the base fabric showed a reversible stretch in the weft direction of approximately 10%. The back gives the impression of a waffle pattern.

The inventive pile fabric is ^o is first treated at 130 to 140 ^o C in the presence of brine and then further processed as corduroy. After the polar loops have been cut, they are brushed, bleached, washed, the CO fibers are dyed, washed and dried and then in the Usually equipped to repel dirt. Then, if desired, the back can be coated or laminated with other sheets.

Claims (8)

1. pile fabric made from a base fabric and pile threads forming the pile, characterized by a basic structure of warp and weft fixed at elevated temperature in plain or twill weave or a weave derived from polyester filament yarn, with latent elasticity being present at least in the weft direction, and with pile threads, which consist entirely or for the most part of natural fibers, with up to four pile threads being located between two successive weft threads, which are at least partly bound in a three- or five-chain pile-through weave as W-knobs. 2. pile fabric according to claim 1, characterized in that the warp and weft consist of spun dyed polyester filament yarns. 3. pile fabric according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it also has a latent elasticity in the warp direction due to slightly structured or fixed under negative tension warp threads. 4. pile fabric according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the absence of elastomer threads or fibers. 5. pile fabric according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pile threads consist of cotton as the sole or main component. 6. pile fabric according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with a back coating, the stretch of which is at least equal to that of the pile fabric. 7. Use of the pile fabric according to one of claims 1 to 6 as a seat cover fabric. 8. Use according to claim 7 as an automobile seat cover fabric.

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