The invention relates to a tarpaulin (1) comprising a woven basic fabric (2) made waterproof, and several fastening means (5,6) for fastening the tarpaulin (1) to a transport means. A problem with previous tarpaulins has been that they are not alone able to bind the load but chains, for instance, have to be used. This problem is avoided by means of a tarpaulin according to the invention, which is characterized in that the warp yarns of the basic fabric (2) are multifilament yarns, and that areas (3) woven mainly with flat-film as weft yarns and reinforced areas (4) woven with multifilament weft yarns having a greater thickness and tensile strength than warp yarns alternate in the basic fabric in the warp direction, the fastening means (5,6) being attached to the reinforced areas (4) of the basic fabric (2).

The invention relates to a tarpaulin comprising fastening means for 
fastening the tarpaulin to a transport means. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Tarpaulins of this type are used widely during transport to protect the 
load against rain and snow or other disadvantageous environmental or 
weather effects. Tarpaulins are usually made of woven and/or laminated 
polyethene or polypropylene. They usually comprise cords or the like means 
for binding the tarpaulin to the transport means and for tightening it 
over the load. Prior art tarpaulins, however, are not alone able to keep 
the load in position during transport, because they are easily torn under 
the influence of the weight of the load when a ship sways or when a lorry 
brakes suddenly, for instance. According to regulations, a load should be 
fastened so as to withstand forces of 1 G in every direction in transport 
by sea and forces of 1 G in the forward direction and forces of 0.5 G in 
the backward or any other direction in transport by land. In order to 
comply with the regulations, the load has to be fastened separately by 
means of various irons and chains, which requires several workmen at the 
different transport stages and in many cases also machines for displacing 
heavy irons and chains. Similarly, the load fastening means are difficult 
to detach at the receiving end. The fastening means are not usually 
returned by the receiver, which increases the cost of transport. In 
addition, the fastening chains may damage the load, e.g., tear down paper 
rolls. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above problems and 
disadvantages. 
This is achieved by means of a tarpaulin of the type described in the 
preamble, which according to the invention is characterized in that the 
warp yarns of the basic fabric are multifilament yarns, and that areas 
woven mainly with flat-film yarns as weft yarns and reinforced areas woven 
with multifilament weft yarns having a greater thickness and tensile 
strength than the warp yarns alternate in the basic fabric in the warp 
direction, the fastening means being attached to the reinforced areas of 
the basic fabric. 
The tarpaulin according to the invention is sufficiently durable to be used 
both for the packing and protection of the load as well as for the 
fastening of the load so as to comply with the above-mentioned 
regulations. No other fastening means are needed. 
Since the fastening means are attached to the reinforced areas of the 
tarpaulin, the strains caused by the load are mainly exerted on these 
reinforced areas. For this reason, the areas between the reinforced areas 
can possess considerably poorer tensile strength. This involves several 
advantages. 
First, the use of thick multifilament weft yarns increases remarkably the 
weight of the tarpaulin. As such thick multifilament yarns are used only 
in relatively narrow zones while flat-film yarn is used in the zones 
between them, the tarpaulin is sufficiently light to be handled by a 
single workman who is able to cover the load easily and rapidly with 
resultant savings in labour costs. 
Second, the use of relatively narrow reinforced areas reduces the cost of 
manufacture of the tarpaulin and, as a consequence, its price, because 
thick multi-filament yarn is considerably more expensive than flat-film 
yarn. The cost of manufacture is largely dependent on the time spent on 
weaving. The solution according to the invention thus provides a tarpaulin 
which withstands high loads while the weight and price of the tarpaulin 
are optimized. 
The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with 
reference to an embodiment shown in the attached drawings, wherein

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 shows a specific tarpaulin according to the invention. The tarpaulin 
1 comprises a woven basic fabric 2 of desired shape, in this particular 
case rectangular. In FIG. 1, the warp yarns extend in the horizontal 
direction and the weft yarns in the vertical direction. 
Reinforced areas 4 woven with relatively thick multifilament weft yarns and 
weaker areas 3 woven with flat-film yarn as weft yarn alternate in the 
basic fabric 2. The warp yarns of the basic fabric are multifilament yarns 
preferably thinner than those used as weft yarns in the reinforced areas. 
The warp yarn should, however, have sufficient tensile strength to prevent 
longitudinal stretching or tearing of the tarpaulin. 
As used herein, the term "multifilament yarn" refers to synthetic fiber 
yarn comprising at least several tens of filaments, preferably hundreds of 
filaments. Yarns manufactured by the multifilament technique are well 
known in the art. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the 
multifilament yarns are made of polypropylene or polyester. Other suitable 
material can be used as well. 
The flat-film yarn used as weft yarn is also well known in the art. In the 
preferred embodiment of the invention, the flat-film yarn is made of 
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) but other suitable materials can be used 
as well. 
If there are sharp points in the load that may tear the unreinforced areas 
of the tarpaulin, part of the flat-film yarns used as weft yarns in these 
areas can be replaced with, e.g., multifilament yarns of the same 
thickness as the warp yarn. For instance, every forth flat-film yarn may 
be replaced with a multifilament yarn. 
The basic fabric 2 is not usually fully waterproof as such but it has to be 
treated to obtain good water-proof properties. In the preferred embodiment 
of the invention, the basic fabric 2 is coated with a tough, weather-proof 
and water-proof plastic film. 
In order to reduce the weight and the price of the tarpaulin, the 
reinforced areas 4 are usually substantially narrower than the 
unreinforced areas 3. The spacing between the reinforced areas depends 
mainly on the position and number of the fastening points in the transport 
means. A container bottom or platform typically comprises fastening points 
at intervals of 80 to 120 cm. A tarpaulin suited for such a container 
platform may comprise a corresponding number of reinforced areas having a 
width of about 10 to 30 cm. However, it is to be noted that the width, 
number and spacing of the reinforced areas may vary considerably in 
different applications. 
A fastening means such as a fastening band 5 for fastening the tarpaulin to 
the transport means is attached to or close to one end of each reinforced 
area 4 by stitching or in some other way. In the preferred embodiment of 
the invention, each fastening band 5 forms a loop, whereby its both ends 
are attached to the reinforced area 4 of the tarpaulin 1. This facilitates 
the fastening and tightening of the tarpaulin as any type of additional 
fastening means can be connected to the fastening band loop 5 and fastened 
to the transport means and tightened in a suitable manner. This provides a 
further advantage in that when detaching the tarpaulin, this additional 
fastening band can be cut off while the fastening band loop 5 attached to 
the tarpaulin 1 remains undamaged so that the tarpaulin can be reused if 
required. Of course, it is likewise possible to attach the fastening band 
to the tarpaulin 1 in such a manner that it does not form a loop or in any 
other suitable way. 
Since the fastening means at the ends of the tarpaulin 1 strain the 
tarpaulin in a direction perpendicular to the reinforced area 4 and 
parallel to the warp yarns, the fastening means 5 are attached to the 
basic fabric 2 on all sides by means of a triangular fastening piece 6 
woven of multifilament yarns, for instance. The triangular piece 6 of 
woven fabric is stitched onto the basic fabric 2 in such a manner that one 
of its sides extends in parallel with the weft yarns of the basic fabric 
2, and the warp and weft yarns of the piece 6 of fabric are substantially 
parallel with the other two sides of the piece 6 of fabric. Both ends of 
the preferred fastening band loop 5 are stitched onto the triangular piece 
6 of fabric, preferably onto a point opposite to the first-mentioned side, 
whereby the point load exerted by the fastening band loop 5 is transferred 
via the triangular piece 6 over a wider area within the tarpaulin and does 
not cause stretching of the tarpaulin in the longitudinal direction. The 
triangular piece 6 is dimensioned so as to correspond to the strength of 
the basic fabric. If the tensile strength of the reinforced areas is three 
times that of the basic fabric 2, the length of the side of the triangle 6 
may be three times the width of the reinforced area 4. By means of the 
piece 6, the fastening means 5 can be attached anywhere in the basic 
fabric. The length of the side of the triangular piece is preferably about 
40 to 70 cm. A very durable triangular piece 6 of fabric is achieved by 
bending a square piece of fabric into triangular shape in such a manner 
that the warp and weft yarns of the piece 6 of fabric are diagonally 
positioned as described above. 
By means of the tarpaulin according to the invention, a load can be 
fastened as desired even though the tarpaulin would cover only the top of 
the load. In one embodiment of the invention, the basic fabric of the 
tarpaulin is dimensioned so as to cover the top of the load while skirt 
portions of a lighter water-proof weather protection material are attached 
by stitching or in some other way to the edges of the basic fabric so that 
the size of the tarpaulin is increased to such an extent that the lower 
part of the load will be covered as well. In this way the weight and the 
cost of manufacture of the tarpaulin can be further reduced. 
The figures and the description related thereto are only intended to 
illustrate the invention. In its details, the tarpaulin according to the 
invention may vary within the scope of the attached claims.