U.S. patent application number 09/767652 was filed with the patent office on 2001-06-07 for calendered weft inserted warp knit fabric.
Invention is credited to Callaway, Brian, Murphy, John R..
Application Number | 20010003081 09/767652 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23324739 |
Filed Date | 2001-06-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010003081 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Callaway, Brian ; et
al. |
June 7, 2001 |
Calendered weft inserted warp knit fabric
Abstract
A 2-warp knit, weft inserted fabric having the face thereof
calendered to produce a fabric when a PVC film is laminated thereto
that has a surface roughness of 2.0 microns or below.
Inventors: |
Callaway, Brian; (Moore,
SC) ; Murphy, John R.; (Spartanburg, SC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Milliken & Company
P. O. Box 1926
Spartanburg
SC
29304
US
|
Family ID: |
23324739 |
Appl. No.: |
09/767652 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09767652 |
Jan 23, 2001 |
|
|
|
09338416 |
Jun 22, 1999 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
442/216 ;
442/208; 442/59 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D04B 21/14 20130101;
Y10T 442/322 20150401; B32B 2307/538 20130101; Y10T 442/20
20150401; B32B 27/12 20130101; Y10T 442/463 20150401; D10B
2403/0122 20130101; B32B 2262/0276 20130101; Y10T 442/3285
20150401 |
Class at
Publication: |
442/216 ; 442/59;
442/208 |
International
Class: |
D03D 015/00 |
Claims
1. A coated fabric having a substrate and a film connected to face
and back side thereof, said substrate having a warp knit, weft knit
fabric with the face thereof calendered thereof to provide a
surface roughness of less than 2.0 microns.
2. The coated fabric of claim 1 wherein the back side thereof is
calendered.
3. The substrate fabric of claim 2 wherein said fabric is combined
of 100% polyester yarns.
4. A warp knit, weft inserted fabric comprising: warp yarns and
weft inserted yarns connected thereto with stitch yarns and having
the face thereof calendered, wherein said calendered face is
covered with a thermoplastic film, and said surface roughness of
said covered face is less than 2.0 microns.
5. The fabric of claim 4 wherein all of said yarns are polyester.
Description
[0001] This Application is a Divisional Application based on U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 09/338,416, filed Jun. 22, 1999.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates generally to a coated or laminated
fabric which can be printed evenly and clearly on both sides and in
particular to a calendered weft inserted warp knit fabric for such
use in laminated or coated fabrics or applications.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] Prior to this invention, weft inserted, warp knit fabrics
were supplied to the customer generally in the condition that it
comes off the knitting machine and the customer usually applied any
further treatment required by them for their particular use. Warp
knit farics with weft inserted yarns therein generally provided a
face side which was rough and uneven due to the weft inserted yarns
which did not allow good adhesion for a film or other substance to
be laminated or coated thereon.
[0004] Therefore the object of the invention is to provide a warp
knit, weft inserted fabric which when coated or laminated provides
excellent adhesion as well as printability.
[0005] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become
readily apparent as the specification proceeds to describe the
invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the process of
treating the warp knit, weft inserted fabric;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the process to
laminate the fabric treated in FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the fabric produced by the
treatments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0009] FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic representations of the equipment
used to measure surface roughness of a fabric;
[0010] FIG. 6 is a table comparing surface roughness of an
untreated and a treated warp knit, weft inserted fabric; and
[0011] FIGS. 7 and 8 represent, respectively, a running graph of
the measurements made by the equipment of FIGS. 4 and 5 on the
untreated and treated fabric.
[0012] Looking now to the drawings and especially to FIG. 1, a roll
of warp knit, weft inserted fabric 10 is shown being processed and
taken-up on the surface driven roll 12. The preferred warp knit,
weft inserted fabric is a two bar, 100% polyester fabric having a
70 denier multifilament stitch yarn, a 1000 denier multifilament
warp yarn and a 1000 denier multifilament weft inserted yarn.
[0013] The fabric 14 from the supply roll 10 is supplied over a
series of guide rolls 16, 18, 20 and 22 to the calendering machine
24 wherein the face of the fabric 14 is calendered between the
heated steel roll 26 and the rubber coated roll 28 wherein the weft
inserted yarn 74 is crushed to provide a smooth face. From the
calendering machine 24 the calendered fabric 15 is guided by the
rubber roll 32 to the inspection machine 34 and then, after
inspection, is guided by another series of rolls 36, 38, 40 and 42
to the take-up roll 12 driven by the surface drive rolls 44 and
46.
[0014] In the preferred form of the invention the face calendered
fabric 15 is taken-up on the take-up roll 12 and delivered to the
machine shown in FIG. 2 but obviously, if desired, the face
calendered fabric 15 could be delivered continuously in line with
machine in FIG. 2. From the roll 12 the face calendered fabric 15
is guided into the nip of heated steel rolls 48 and 50 by a series
of idler rolls 52, 54 and 56 wherein it is mated with a PVC
thermoplastic film 58 from rolls 60 to provide the coated fabric 62
shown in FIG. 3. From the nip of calender rolls 48 and 50, the
coated fabric 62 is taken upon a take-up roll 64 driven by surface
drive rolls 66 and 68.
[0015] The fabric 62, as shown in FIG. 3, consists of the outer PVC
film layers 58 and the calendered warp knit, weft inserted fabric
15 consisting of warp yarns 70, stitch yarns 72 and weft inserted
yarns 74. The fabric 62, in the preferred form of the invention is
19-20 mils thick with each of the films 58 being approximately 5
mils thick. This particular fabric is desirably used as a banner
fabric which can be printed on both sides due to the evenness or
smoothness of the face of the warp knit, weft inserted fabric.
[0016] To measure the surface roughness of the face of the
calendered warp knit, weft inserted fabric after it has been
laminated to the film, the surface tester machine 76 shown in FIGS.
4 and 5 is used to obtain the data shown in FIG. 6 and the graphs
of FIGS. 7 and 8. The surface roughness tester machine illustrated
is a KES-FB-4 machine sold by Kato-Tekko Co., Ltd. of Kyoto,
Japan.
[0017] The sample 78 of the fabric 62 to be tested is clamped at
one end to the winding drum 80 by chuck 82 and to the chuck 84 at
the other end. A transducer (not shown) is hooked to the cage 86 to
record the up and down movement thereof as dictated by the finger
88 as it senses the face of the fabric sample 78 as it moves back
and forth thereunder by rotation of the winding drum.
[0018] Looking at FIG. 6 the mean deviation in microns of the warp
knit, weft inserted fabric before and after calendered as shown in
FIG. 1 and treated as in FIG. 2 is shown with the face of the
calendered fabric A having a surface roughness of less than 2.0
microns whereas the face of the sample fabric coated without
calendering had a surface roughness almost four times greater. Note
the difference in amplitude of the face of the non-calendered
fabric in FIG. 7 versus that of the calendered fabric in FIG. 8. It
is clearly evident that the fabric of FIG. 8 is very smooth which
increases the adhesion of the warp knit fabric to the film as well
as enhancing the printability on the surface thereof.
[0019] It is abundantly clear that the calendered warp knit, weft
inserted fabric has a face with a surface roughness of less than
2.0 microns which can readily be used as a banner fabric on which
the face could be printed or in other applications such as a
substrate for roofing fabric where adhesion and thickness is a
factor or in a tenting fabric where smoothness thereof makes it
more readily cleanable. As indicated the use of the warp knit, weft
inserted fabric for the production of banner material is the
preferred use thereof but other suitable uses may be made thereof
where a low surface roughness below 2.0 microns is necessary to
provide a viable product.
[0020] The above described embodiment is given for the purpose of
illustration only and it is understood that improvements and
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the
invention as defined in the claims set forth below.
* * * * *