EP2940203A1

EP2940203A1 - Terry cloth

Info

Publication number: EP2940203A1
Application number: EP15165226.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ezio Zavattaro
Original assignee: Best & Best Srl
Current assignee: Best & Best Srl
Priority date: 2014-04-28
Filing date: 2015-04-27
Publication date: 2015-11-04

Abstract

Terry cloth (1) comprising a weft (2), a background warp (3), a first terry warp (4) and a second terry warp (5), wherein said weft, said background warp and said first terry warp are made of a hydrophilic yarn, or of a yarn which is made hydrophilic, characterized in that said at least one second terry warp is made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester yarn of the channel type (5a).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a terry cloth.
In particular, the terry cloth in question is used to make bathrobes, bath towels, hand towels or other general bath linen.

KNOWN BACKGROUND ART

Terry clothes for the above described applications comprising a weft, a background warp, a first terry warp and a second terry warp are known in the art, wherein said weft, said background warp and said first terry warp and said second terry warp are made of a cotton yarn which is made hydrophilic in textile-dyeing plant, or of other similar hydrophilic material. The above mentioned terry warps are made with a lighter tension with respect to the background yarn and, for this reason, they give rise to actual loops protruding from the base structure of the cloth, made from the background warp and the weft. Therefore, the terry warps are able to retain in their loops a greater amount of water with respect to flat clothes, i.e. the ones without terry warp.
Actually such cloth, right by virtue of the above mentioned features, is generally used to manufacture bath linen so as to absorb and retain part of the water contacting the cloth when approached to the user.
However this terry cloth, in particular with two terry warps, involves some drawbacks.
In fact, it dries very slowly and, for this reason, because of the wet feeling sensed by the user on the skin, the bath linen made of this terry cloth can not be worn for a long time.
In practice, the high hydrophilic characteristics of the cotton terry cloth allow, when used as bath linen, the removal of large amounts of water present on body parts of the user of such a cloth, but do not allow for a rapid drying of the same cloth which, remaining in contact with the user skin, cause a wet and therefore a cold feeling to the latter, due to the water slowly evaporating from the cloth.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a terry cloth of the first and second terry warp type, which is able to rapidly dry or, anyway, to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable when wearing an item made of terry cloth.
It is another object of the invention to provide a terry cloth which, however, can be implemented by the traditional linear loom weaving techniques.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide bath linen, such as bath towels or bathrobes, which are made of the terry cloth of the present invention and allow not only to rapidly dry at least part of the user body, but also not to give the user the above mentioned wet feeling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects are achieved by the present terry cloth comprising a weft, a background warp, a first terry warp and a second terry warp, wherein said weft, said background warp and said first terry warp are made of a hydrophilic yarn, or of a yarn which is made hydrophilic, characterized in that said at least one second terry warp is made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester yarn of the channel type, for example and preferably of the four-channel type.
It should be noted that the definition "yarn of the channel type" means that the yarn, here made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester, is provided on its outer surface with at least one channel, or micro channel, shaped so as to retain/remove, due to capillarity, water particles it comes into contact with and then disperse them on the extended surface of the same yarn, so that they rapidly evaporate.
Preferably, still according to the invention, the weft, the background warp and/or the above said first terry warp are made of cotton, or other natural fiber having similar hydrophilic properties, and in particular can be composed of cotton of the twisted ring type (i.e. twisted and ring-spun).
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the above said polyester yarn of the channel type is an extruded polyester having a 4 or 6 channel surface, produced by the INVISTA Company, which, mixed to cotton during weaving, forms a fabric called Coolmax®.
As observed by the Applicant the coupling, by means of two terry warps in a terry cloth, of a first terry warp made of cotton or other textile fiber having high absorption properties of aqueous particles, with a second terry warp made of a polyester yarn of the channel type and able to absorb and expel a large amount of aqueous particles towards the cotton cloth (thanks to the micro channels of this yarn as well as its terry weaving), allows the surface of the terry cloth, where the second terry warp extends, to be kept very dry even if significant amount of water is present. In a preferred embodiment of the terry cloth according to the present invention, said terry cloth is made by means of a linear loom, i.e. the thread count of the used yarns is that of yarns suitable for being processed in an ordinary linear loom.
According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, said cloth has a percentage of cotton, or preferably twisted ring cotton, or other hydrophilic textile fiber or which is made hydrophilic, comprised between 80% and 60% and a percentage of polyester of the channel type and preferably having four channels, respectively comprised between 20% and 40%. Preferably said cloth has a percentage of cotton, or preferably twisted ring cotton, of 65% and a percentage of polyester of the channel type, and preferably having four channels, of 35%.
It should be noted that the percentages of cotton and polyester yarns herein specified for implementing the cloth according to the present invention, surprisingly resulted in the production of a terry cloth able to transfer large amounts of water from the polyester layer (second terry warp) to the layer made of the hydrophilic yarn, or the yarn which is made hydrophilic (first terry warp), so that the ability to dry and keep substantially dry the polyester layer of a bath linen item made from this terry cloth has proven to be remarkable.
In fact, the Applicant experienced that such a cloth can provide a high transfer of moisture, i.e. of aqueous particles, from the second terry warp made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester of the channel type to the first terry warp made of hydrophilic cotton, especially if the user heat in contact with said second terry warp can be exploited.
Therefore, still according to the invention, the above said objects can be further achieved by a bath linen item of bathrobe, bath towel, hand towel or similar types, comprising a terry cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one first terry warp is arranged on the outer side of said bath linen and said at least one second terry warp is arranged on the inner side of said bath linen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent to the person skilled in the art from the following description of various preferred embodiments of the present invention, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows a simplified view of weft and warps of the terry cloth according to the invention;
Figure 2 illustrates the operation mechanism of the cloth according to the present invention; and
Figure 3 shows a double-face bathrobe made from the cloth according to the invention, worn respectively on one side and the other one.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Referring in particular to figures 1 and 2, the numeral 1 indicates a terry cloth according to the invention.
The terry cloth 1 comprises a weft 2, a background warp 3, a first terry warp 4 and a second terry warp 5. In particular the weft 2, the background warp 3 and the first terry warp 4 are made of a hydrophilic yarn, or a yarn which is made hydrophilic, and in particular can be made of a cotton which is made hydrophilic, whereas the second terry warp is made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester yarn of the channel type, i.e. having one or more micro channels formed on the surface 5a thereof. According to the particular embodiment of the invention herein described, the polyester yarn of the second terry warp 5 is of the channel type having four channels.
An example of such a yarn is the four-channel polyester yarn called For Coolmax® manufactured by the INVISTA Company. An embodiment providing a yarn made of channel polyester composed of six or more channels still falls within the scope of protection of the present invention.
It should anyway be noted that For Coolmax® four or six channel polyester yarns may be preferably used to make the cloth according to the invention.
According to a further embodiment of the invention the weft 2, the background warp 3 and the first terry warp 4 or, alternatively, at least the first terry warp 4, are made of cotton of the twisted ring type. Anyway, it should be noted that a different type of cotton, for example combed cotton, i.e. a cotton yarn processed so as to obtain a polished and little furry appearance, still falls within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Moreover, any other natural textile fiber able to provide at least the first terry warp 3 with marked hydrophilic properties, in addition to give the user a pleasant texture, can be alternatively used to make the weft 2 and/or the background warp 3 and /or the first terry warp 4 or, alternatively, at least to make the latter.
According to the present invention, by coupling at least the first terry warp 4 made of a cotton yarn, which rapidly absorbs aqueous particles and provides the cloth with smoothness and softness, to the second terry warp 5 made of a hydrophobic polyester yarn of the channel type (for example a For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn, having four channels), able to rapidly remove and expel the aqueous particles, it is possible to provide a terry cloth 1 which is particularly soft to the touch of the user and, simultaneously, which is able to absorb large amounts of water while keeping substantially dry the layer made of the second terry warp 5, a rather short time after contacting the water.
Still according to the invention, this cloth 1 can be made by means of a linear loom, i.e. the thread count of the used yarns is that of yarns suitable for being processed in a linear loom. These yarns, substantially having a larger thickness (section) with respect to the ones adapted to be used in a circular loom, or a hosiery loom, have proven to be particularly suitable to make a terry cloth with the aforesaid characteristics. For example, the Applicant used yarns made of cotton and For Coolmax® channel polyester having four channels with a thread count (Ne) 24/2 for terry warps, a yarn made of cotton with a thread count 16/2 for the weft and a yarn made of cotton with a thread count 30/2 for the background warp (tensioned). According to the embodiment herein described of the present invention, the cloth has a percentage of cotton, or preferably of twisted ring cotton yarn, of 65% and a percentage of For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn, preferably having four channels, of 35%.
In any case, an embodiment in which the terry cloth 1 includes a percentage of cotton, or twisted ring cotton, or other hydrophilic fiber or a fiber which is made hydrophilic, comprised between 60% and 80% and a percentage of polyester comprised between 40% and 20% still falls within the scope of protection of the present invention.
It should be noted that, as already mentioned, such a composition of the terry cloth 1 according to the present invention has proven to be very effective in absorbing large amounts of liquids, while keeping substantially dry the layer 5 made of hydrophobic polyester of the channel type, after having absorbed even high amounts of water.
In fact, as shown for example in figure 2, because in the terry cloth 1 there is an amount of cotton or other hydrophilic yarn, or which is made hydrophilic, made of natural textile fiber, that is about twice or little more the amount of polyester of the channel type, therefore the first terry warp 4 made of cotton is allowed to rapidly absorb, although retain, the aqueous particles which have been removed and expelled from the second terry warp 5 made of polyester of the channel type, thereby allowing such second terry warp 5 to rapidly dry.
In practice, the terry cloth 1 according to the present invention allows, by having the above stated percentage composition of the yarns and while remaining extremely soft to touch, to dry large amounts of water from user skin by simply placing the layer 5 made of channel polyester yarn in contact with the wet skin of the user, or a portion thereof, thereby achieving rapid drying of the user's skin, or portion thereof, as well as an equally rapid drying of the layer 5 made of channel polyester yarn and water absorption in the terries of the cotton layer 4.
Therefore, the terry cloth 1 according to the invention can be used to implement bath linen such as bathrobe, bath towel, hand towel or similar types. In this case the first terry warp 4, the one which is hydrophilic or which is made hydrophilic, is arranged on the outer side of the bath linen, i.e. that intended in theory not to contact the user skin, whereas the second terry warp 5, the one which is made of a channel polyester yarn, in particular of the four-channel type, called For Coolmax®, is arranged on the inner side of said bath linen, i.e. that intended to contact the user skin.
As shown in figure 3, the terry cloth 1 according to the present invention can be used to implement a bathrobe 100 of double-face type in which the second terry warp 5, made of a channel polyester yarn such as the For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn preferably having four channels, defines an inner face 105 of the bathrobe and the first terry warp 4, preferably made of a hydrophilic cotton yarn, or a yarn which is made hydrophilic, defines an outer face 104 of the same bathrobe.
As will be clear to the reader, the inner face 105, preferably made of For Coolmax® channel polyester, preferably having four channels, placed in contact with the wet skin of a user, leads the aqueous particles to the outer face 104 preferably made of cotton by removing them and then transferring them, so as to rapidly dry the user skin while remaining, or rapidly becoming, dry.
In fact, as mentioned, the terry cloth 1 of the invention once worn or used to dry parts of the body, if placed in contact with the wet portion of the skin through the second terry warp 5 made of polyester yarn, facilitates the evaporation of moisture and keeps the skin dry. As said, the operation mechanism is particularly facilitated by the body heat.
In the bathrobe 100, water contacting the user skin is absorbed by the inner face 105 defined by the second terry warp 5 but the absorbed water, thanks to the body heat and capillarity phenomena caused by the channel structure of the polyester yarn, is rapidly transferred to the outer face 104 defined by the first terry warp 4 which is hydrophilic, as said. As a result, the surface of the inner face 105 contacting the user skin dries the latter and get dried very rapidly itself so that the user body contacts a dry item.
It should be noted that, preferably, the cloth 1 of the bathrobe 100 provides that the hydrophilic yarn, or the yarn which is made hydrophilic, substantially defining the outer side 104 of the bathrobe 100 itself, is made of cotton or preferably twisted ring cotton, and that the polyester yarn of the channel type defining the inner side 105 of this bathrobe 100 is made of For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn, preferably having four channels.
Preferably, the bathrobe 100 is made of a cloth 1 including a percentage of cotton, or twisted ring cotton, comprised between 80% and 60% and a percentage of For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn, preferably having four channels, respectively comprised between 20% and 40%, and preferably said cloth 1 includes a percentage of cotton, or twisted ring cotton, of 65% and a percentage of said For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn, preferably having four channels, of 35%.
As mentioned, such a composition makes the bathrobe 100 very lightweight further allowing to maximize the water absorption of the bathrobe 100 itself while maintaining the inner face 105 substantially dry after a short time.
As can be seen from figure 3, in order to facilitate the use of the bathrobe 100 and to distinguish the performances, the faces 104 and 105 thereof are preferably made in different colors and are differently manufactured so that for the user it is immediately clear which face is the inner one 105, i.e. the one substantially made of channel polyester yarn, which has to be at least initially placed in contact with the wet body in order to dry it.
The double-face bathrobe 100, according to a particular aspect of the present invention, allows for a seasonal use of the item itself so as to optimize the sense of well-being of the user and allows, at the same time, to use two manufacturing models in the same item in order to optimize its wearability.
In particular, this item provides that the user can use a first "normal" drying method to be carried out with high ambient temperatures, for example in the summer months, in which the user wears the bathrobe 100 by placing the aforementioned inner side 105 - preferably made of For Coolmax® four-channel polyester - in contact with the wet skin and, once dried, can continue to wear the item so as to experience a feeling of freshness caused by the fact that the inner side 105 in contact with the skin is dry and only the outer side 104 - preferably made of hydrophilic cotton - is wet. Conversely in case of low ambient temperatures, for example in the winter months, the user can carry out a second drying method according to which he/she can initially wear the bathrobe 100 so as to have the so-called outer side 104 - preferably made of cotton - in contact with the skin and, once dried, he/she can turn the item inside out so as to place in contact with the skin the so-called inner side 105 - preferably made of For Coolmax® four-channel polyester - which, being dry, provides the user with a special feeling of warmth, precisely enjoyable in the cold months of the year.
It should be noted that, since the double-face bathrobe herein described is extremely versatile, a third alternative drying method can be thought according to which the user, in the summer months, has initially the "outer" side 104, preferably made of cotton, in contact with the skin to have it dried, and only subsequently he/she turns the item inside out so as to subsequently have the "inner" and substantially dry side 105, preferably made of Coolmax®, in contact with the skin.
Other and different drying methods are obviously possible at user discretion.

Claims

Terry cloth (1) comprising a weft (2), a background warp (3), a first terry warp (4) and a second terry warp (5), wherein said weft, said background warp and said first terry warp are made of a hydrophilic yarn, or of a yarn which is made hydrophilic, characterized in that said at least one second terry warp is made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester yarn of the channel type (5a).
Cloth according to claim 1, characterized in that said polyester yarn is of the type comprising four or six channels on its own outer surface.
Cloth according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said polyester yarn is a For Coolmax® four-channel polyester yarn.
Cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said hydrophilic yarn, or said yarn which is made hydrophilic, for at least said first terry warp is cotton, or is another natural textile fiber that is hydrophilic or is made hydrophilic.
Cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said hydrophilic yarn is cotton and, preferably, is twisted ring cotton.
Cloth according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cloth has a percentage of said hydrophilic yarn, or of said yarn which is made hydrophilic, comprised between 80% and 60% and a percentage of said polyester yarn of the channel type respectively comprised between 20% and 40%, and preferably said cloth has a percentage of said hydrophilic yarn, or said yarn which is made hydrophilic, of 65% and a percentage of said polyester yarn of 35%.
Cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thread count of said hydrophilic yarn, or of said yarn which is made hydrophilic, and of said polyester yarn, is that of yarns suitable for being processed in a linear loom.
Bath linen of bathrobe, bath towel, hand towel or similar types, comprising a terry cloth according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one first terry warp (4) is arranged on the outer side of said bath linen and said at least one second terry warp (5) is arranged on the inner side of said bath linen.
Double-face bathrobe (100) comprising a terry cloth (1) according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized by comprising an inner face (105) defined by said second terry warp (5) made of a substantially hydrophobic polyester yarn of the channel type and an outer face (104) defined by said first terry warp (4) made of a hydrophilic yarn, or of a yarn which is made hydrophilic.
Bathrobe according to claim 9, wherein said hydrophilic yarn, or yarn which is made hydrophilic, is made of cotton, or preferably twisted ring cotton, and said polyester yarn of the channel type is made of For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn, characterized in that said cloth includes a percentage of cotton, or twisted ring cotton, comprised between 80% and 60% and a percentage of For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn respectively comprised between 20% and 40%, and preferably said cloth includes a percentage of cotton, or twisted ring cotton, of 65% and a percentage of said For Coolmax® channel polyester yarn of 35%.