US2121909A - Textile fabric and method of making the same - Google Patents

Description

. June 28, 1938.

H. H. FONDA TEXTILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING'THE SAME Filed Aug. 31, 1937 Nk gz Wi /Zr designs formed in relief on the face of the fabric. degree of beauty, as formerly obtained by the old Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Harold Fonda, Skaneateles, N. Y., assignor to Nye-Wait Company, Inc., Auburn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 31, 1937, Serial No. 161,866

14 Claims. (Cl. 139 391) This invention appertains to a new and imto produce embossed or relief designs in pile proved textile pile fabric and method of making fabrics in a more practical and economical way the same, and more especially, to the manufacthan has been heretofore possible, and enabling vture of carpets or rugs having artistic figurative the practical attainment of the same-or a greater In a broad sense, the design may be said to be mechanical hand-shearing method generally atan embossed design which is attained by intertributed to the Chinese artisans previously menweaving differentially twisted-yarns in a predetioned. termined pattern and subsequently treating the My invention attains the desired ends just yarns to release the twist of the harder twisted referred to with a. greater uniformity of surface 10 yarns, thereby causing certain of the pile tufts to appearance of the fabric in the high and low pile rise above the others, or elongate and form a disareas, and affords a higher degree of density of tinctive contrast against the field or background the pile and greater coverage, thus contributing which is constituted by the other pile tufts. This to a much longer and better. wearing quality of 5 contrast is readily discernible irrespective of any both the low and high pile areas than in the 15 difference in material composition of the yarns case of the old practices previously referred to. which form the pile tufts, or a contrast resulting Other objects and advantages of the invention from, the employment of yarns of different colors. will be hereinafter described, and the novel fea- Of course, if desired, yarns of different compositures thereof defined by the appended claims.

, tion and/or colors may be employed to emphasize In the drawing: 20

the embossed effect, but it is to be understood Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a that this is not essential to the invention. pile fabric embodying my invention, and illus- I am aware that mechanical shearing of the trating the distinctive embossed effect in atypical pile tufts to form figurative designs has been figurative design, which has been shown merely practiced for many years, and the origin of sich as one example of the many artistic designs which 25 practice is generally attributed to the Chinese may be produced in the practice of my method; artisans of old. However, this old mechanical Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical shearing method involved nothing more than the sectional view, taken through the fabric of Figcutting of grooves or channels in the pile face of .ure 1 to illustrate the-manner in which the pile thefabric in the form of figurative Outl tufts are bound in the fabric, and showing. the .30 at the p areas Outlined bounded y these relationship of the long and short pile tufts which r ov s r ch n s are merely separated fr m form the high and low pile areas on the surface the other areas, and does not embrace the use of of th fabric; pile tufts of different heights within the respec- Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view, taken tive areas, as in the present invention. approximately on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and 35 Another old practice of forming figurative de- Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view signs in pile fabrics is to employ yarns of differ in vertical section, illustrating the method of ent material composition such as a combination weaving the pile yarns in the fabric, the view -of yarns of animal and vegetable fibers which are representing one stage of the weaving operation 0 treated after weaving of the same in such ma'nprior to withdrawal of the pile wires and cutting 40 ner that one set of yarns is destroyed or disinof the pile loops.

' tegrated, leaving the other yarns to form the pat- Like reference characters designate corretern. This practice has never gone into extensive sponding parts in the several figures of the drawuse, and is generally considered to be impractical. ing. The invention is especially applicable to a I am also aware that the employment of dilfer- Wilton weave as obtained with a Jacquard 45 entially twisted yarns in pile fabrics, and the subequipped loom, or an Axminster weave, ora Chesequent treatment of said yarns so as to cause nille weave, in each of which there isrelatively certain of the pile tufts to sink down or mat belittle limitation in design and pattern. It is also low other pile tufts formed of other yarns having applicable to other types of looms where more a different twist, have been proposed to create thanone yarn can be handled simultaneously, as 50 frieze, pebbled or crepe effects, but this practice in the case of a plain tap loom for producing twois likewise materially different from the method tone effects. The resulting embossed effect which of producing my embossed pile fabric, as will I am able to obtain must, of course, fall ,within hereinafter become more apparent. the limitations of the pattern controlofthe loom i One of the primary objects of my invention is or its mechanical arrangement for handling the, 56

yarn. In the case of a Wilton weave, any portion of the rug can be made embossed, depending upon how the pattern is out. If yarns of the weaving operations in practicing my invention are carried out in the customary manner of forming designs and patterns in pile fabrics having an even surface, whereas the embossed effect is not produced in the actual weaving operation, but rather as a result of the subsequent treatment of the yarn.

In the drawing, I have shown my invention embodied in a typical Wilton weave, wherein l designates the usual fine chain or binder warp, 2 the buried yarn and stuifer, and 3 the filling threads, which, together with the fine chain I, bind the pile surface yarns, generally designated 4, to the backing fabric. The pile yarns 4 are woven in the usual manner over pile wires 5, as best seen in Figure 4, to form pile loops of substantially uniform height, and when the pile wires are withdrawn, the pile loops are cut and cause the pile yarns to assume the form of tufts which are uniformly distributed over the face of the fabric. Thus, there is nothing novel in the weaving of the fabric itself.

To attain the embossed effects which characterize my invention, I employ differentially twisted pile yarns. As one specific example of the pile'yarns employed in the fabric illustrated in the drawing, I take a single wool yarn having a twist of about forty-seven turns in ten inches, and make up a three-ply yarn having a twist of about seventy-four turns in ten inches, the ply twist being in the opposite direction to the single twist. This three-ply yarn is employed for one of the sets of pile yarns which are embodied in the fabric. This yarn is preferably treated before weaving the same into the fabric, in a water bath having a temperature of approximately 120 degrees F.for about twenty minutes, 7

- to temporarily set the ply twist. Where colored set the ply twist.

yarns are employed, the yarn is preferably dyed in single before plying so as not to permanently The bath to which the plied yarn is subjected after plying, as previously mentioned, should be maintained at a temperature below that which would strip the yarn color, in the case of dyed yarns, and it is for this reason that I have selected a bath temperature of about 120 degrees F.

In contrast to the three-ply yarn above referred to, a second set of pile yarns is employed, which are preferably of two-ply construction, the single twist being the same as in the three-ply yarn, and the two-ply twist being approximately twenty-eight turns in ten inches in the opposite direction to the single twist. No bath treatment is required in the case of the two-ply yam since the twist is not as great as in the harder twisted three-ply yarn. v

Although two and three ply combination is perhaps preferred, and is used in this instance as ameans of explanation, other combinations of twist can be used to produce similar results.

The two yarns are placed in the loom in ac-. cordance with the design of the carpet or rug to be produced, which, of course, is predetermined just as in the case of any pattern where different colors are used. One of the advantages of my invention is that the yarns which are used to produce the long and short pile in the final fabric may be of the same kind and quality of fiber. Wool yarn is preferred, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the yarns may be composed of the same or different blends of staple length fibers-of a spinnable character. As previously mentioned, the fabric is woven in the same manner as any two-tone or figured fabric, and it comes off the loom with a relatively uniform pile height, just as in the case of ordinary pile carpet or rug fabrics. After weaving, the fabric is preferably sheared in the usual manner to insure that all the pile tufts are of the same height, but this shearing operation is not absolutely necessary, and largely depends upon the quality desired. Ordinarily, the better quality fabrics are sheared after weaving. At this stage, the fabric is next given a wet treatment by washing the same in plain water, or with a suitable chemical solution, depending upon whether or not it is desired to impart a luster or sheen to the fabric. In the case of a chemical wash, the fabric is preferably washed in a chlorinated lime solution for a period of approximately twenty minutes, and then in a formic acid solution for another period of approximately twenty minutes, the solutions being maintained at a temperature of approximately ninety degrees Fahrenheit. Thereafter, the-fabric should be rinsed in plain water for about five minutes, and when the fabric has been dried, it will have a beautiful luster or sheen.

The wet treatment in either plain water or the chemical solutions referred to serves to partially release the twist; of the harder twisted three-ply yarn, thereby causing the pile tufts formed by this set of yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other set of two-ply yarns, thereby creating high and low pile areas 4' and 4", according to the pattern woven on the loom, as illustrated, for example, in Figure 1 of the drawing. This difference in the height of the pile is quite distinct, and gives the embossed effect in the final fabric. The wet treatment does not materially affect the lesser twisted two-ply yarns, but does shrink the backing threads which are ordinarily composed of cotton. This shrinkage of the backing threads aids in securely binding the pile yarns to the backing fabric.

A further effect of the wetting treatment on the pile yarns is to partially spread or open up the pile tufts, with the result that the pile .surface becomes quite dense and is uniform throughout, aifording an unusually high degree of coverage which materially contributes to the beauty and long wearing qualities of the fabric. After the wet treatment, and when the fabric has been dried, it is again preferably sheared to give greater evenness to the high pile areas, but here again, the final shearing is a matter of choice, and depends upon the desired quality and surface appearance of the final fabric. The yarn in the high pile areas assumes a state of lesser ply twist after the wet treatment, and is substantially the same in this respect as the yarn which forms the low pile areas, just as if the fabric were originally made with the same pile height over all. Of course, the bases or roots of the pile tufts which form the high pile areas, will remain harder twisted than the bases or roots of the other pile tufts, due to the former being initially woven and bound in the backing fabric in a harder twisted state. The twist releasing result of the wetting treatment is effective at least on the free ends of the tuft yarns, and substantially down to the tuft bases or roots.

From the foregoing, it will be readily understood that an effect compared to a two-tone effect can be created through the use of yarns of the same color in both the high and low pile areas. This is due to the shadows and highlights which result from the use of two pile heights. The amount of increase in the pile height which results from the wet treatment largely depends upon the relative twist of the diflerent yarns, and-of course, I am not limited to the use of only two different pile heights, since more than two different pile heights may be obtained through the employment of more than two sets of pile yarns, each having a difierent amount of twist.

The embossed effect emphasizes pattern designs where different colors are used, regardless of the form of the design, whether it be geometrical, floral, oriental, or otherwise. tion has a distinct style appeal and is unusually serviceable, and does not readily loose its distinctiveness through wear or cleaning treatments, even where the cleaning treatment involves a washing operation. In this respect, my invention is a marked advantage over pebbled or frieze fabrics.

The references herein to two and three ply yarns and to the specific degrees of twist of the yams in single or plied form, are not to be taken as fixed, but rather merely as one practical example of the construction. In other words, the plied yarns may be composed of more than two or three single yarns and the ply twist may be varied.more or less as desired, depending upon the quality and degree of differentiation between the high and low'pile areas to be ultimately attained. It is important, however, that the twist of the harder twisted yarns should not be so great as to cause the pile ends to curl over or mat down when subjected to a wetting treatment, and it is equally important that the twist be not permanently set prior to the wetting treatment.

While the specific details have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto, as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat.- ent is- 1. The method of producing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics, which comprises weaving twisted pile yarns composed of staple length fibers and having different degrees of twist, according to a predetermined pattern, to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height, and thereafter subjecting said pile yarns to a wetting treatment whereby to partially release the'twist of the harder twisted yarns so as to cause the pile tufts formed by these yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by the wetting treatment.

2. The method of producing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics, which comprises weaving a plurality of sets of multi-ply pile yarns, the yarns of each set having a different degree of twist, according to a predetermined pattern, to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height, the component strands of each set of pile yarns being individually twisted in one direction and plied by twisting lief designs .in

The construcin the opposite direction, and'the ply twist of one set of pile yarns being substantially less than the ply twist ofthe other set, and thereafter sub- Jecting said pile yarns to a wetting treatment whereby to. partially release the twist of the harder twisted yarns so as to cause the pile tufts formed by these yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by the wetting treatment.

3. The method of producing embossed or repile fabrics, which comprises weaving a plurality of sets of pile yarns, the yarns of each set being composed of staple length fibers and having a different degree of twist, according to a predetermined pattern, to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height, and thereafter sub- Jecting said pile yarns to a wetting treatment at a temperature of approximately ninety degrees Fahrenheit whereby to partially release the twist of the harder twisted yarns so as to cause the pile tufts formed by these yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by the wetting treatment.

4. The method of producing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics, which comprises mechanically plying a plurality of individually twisted pile yarns in a direction opposite to the single twist, mechanically plying a second set of pile yarns in the opposite direction to the single twist and in the same direction as but with a lesser twist than the ply twist of the first mentioned plied yarn, weaving said plied yarns according to a predetermined design to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height, and thereafter subjecting said pile yarns to a wetting treatment whereby to partially release the twist of the harder twisted yarns soas to cause the pile tufts formed byv these yarnsto elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by the wetting treatment.

5. The method of producing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics, which comprises mechanically plying a plurality of individually twisted pile yarns in a direction opposite to the single twist, mechanically plying a second set of pile yarns in the opposite direction to the single twist and in the same direction as-but with a lesser twist than the ply twist of the first mentioned plied yarn, weaving said plied yarns according to a predetermined design to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height shearing said pile tufts to even the same, thereafter subjecting said pile yarns to a wetting treatment whereby to partially release the twist of the harder twisted yarns so as to cause the pile tufts formed by these yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the'other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by'the wetting treatment, drying the fabric, and subsequently shearing the pile tufts forming the high pile areas to even the same.

6. The method of producing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics, which comprises meyarns in the opposite direction to the single twist and in the same direction as but with a lesser twist than the ply twist of the first mentioned plied yarn, weaving said plied yarns according to a predetermined design to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height, and thereafter subjecting said pile yarns to aj'wetting treatment whereby to partially release the twist of the harder twisted yarns so as to cause the pile tufts formed by these yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by the wetting treatment.

7. The method of producing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics, which comprises weaving a plurality of sets of pile yarns, the yarns of eachset being composed of staple length fibers and having a different degree of twist, according to a predetermined pattern to initially provide a pile surface composed of tufts of substantially uniform height, and thereafter subjecting said pile yarns to a wetting treatment in solutions of chlorinated lime and formic acid, whereby to partially release the twist of the harder twisted yarns so as to cause the pile tufts formed by these yarns to elongate and rise above the pile tufts formed by the other lesser twisted yarns which are substantially unaffected by the wetting treatment.

8. The method ofproducing embossed or relief designs in pile fabrics; which comprises weaving a plurality of sets of .pile yarns, the yarns of each set having a. difl'erent degree of twist, and being composed of staple length fibers, to form a surface which is composed of pile tufts initially having substantially uniform height, and thereafter partially releasing the twist of said harder twisted pile yarns in such-manner that the tufts formed thereby elongate and thereby form higher pile areas according to a predetermined design, which have distinct contrast with the lower pile areas :composed of the other tufts.

. 9. A pile fabric the surface -of.w hich consists pile tufts being harder twisted than the bases of the lower pile tufts.

10. A pile fabric consisting of twisted pile yarns composed of staple length fibers and having the formation of substantially U-shaped pile tufts,

the bases of which are bound in between yarns of a backing fabric, the pile tufts being of different heights. according to a predetermined design, and the bases of the higher pile tufts being harder twisted than the bases of the lowerpile tufts.

11. A pile fabric as claimed in claim 9, wherein certain of the pile tufts are composed of a greater number of pile yarns plied together than the other pile tufts.

12. A pile fabric as claimed in claim 9, wherein the higher pile tufts are composed of a greater number of pile yarns plied together than the other pile tufts.

13. A pile fabric consisting of a plurality of sets of twisted pile yarns composed of staple length fibers and forming substantially U-shaped pile tufts having their bases bound between the yarns of a backing fabric, the pile tufts being of diflerent heights and arranged in a predetermined design, the bases of the higher pile tufts formed by one set of pile yarns being harder twisted than the bases of the other pile tufts, and at least the free ends of the pile tufts forming the pile surface being substantially spread open and completely concealing the backing fabric.

14. A pile fabric, the pile surface of which is composed of twisted pile yarns composed of staple length fibers and forming tufts of different heights arranged in a predetermined design, the respective pile areas formed by the relatively high and low pile tufts being of substantially uniform density, and the bases 01 the higher pile tufts being harder twisted than the bases of the lower pile tufts.

HAROLD H. FONDA.

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