Woven-mat for humid spaces

Abstract: The warp system comprises textile yarns (3a, 3b), which are preferably of a water-repellent synthetic material, and the weft system comprises at least an elastic, water-impermeable circular ribbon (1), such as a plastic or rubber circular ribbon. Thus water absorption is prevented in the mat, which does not feel wet. The mat is agreeable to stand on, owing to the elastic circular ribbon wefts, and the mat has an easy maintenance and dries rapidly. In addition to the circular ribbon wefts, the mat can comprise textile wefts, for example a ribbon and a textile yarn alternating in every second weft. The borders of the mat in the direction of the weft are bordered with a cleaved plastic hose (4), which is fixed by a listing seam (5) and on the borders in the direction of the warp simply a listing seam (5) is provided.

Description: This invention relates to woven mats for use in humid spaces. Nowadays mats woven of various materials are used in the washing rooms of hotels, saunas and the like, and in other damp spaces, such as hallways. Cotton rugs are used, which are agreeable to the feet when dry, but have a high water-content when wet, and which dry very slowly. Mats woven of plastics strips are used, which have a hard surface and do dry rapidly, but they do not absorb water, being permeable to water, which gives an impression of standing in a water pool. Most commonly used today are, probably, mats woven of synthetic yarn, which are agreeable to the feet, but are water-permeable like plastics mats, owing to lacking water absorption. US-A-2 643 686 discloses a woven elastic fabric comprising weft strands disposed in spaced relationship to provide relatively large openings between them. The wefts are elastic strands, threads of any conventional kind, or ordinary non-elastic textile yarns or threads. Elastic warp strands overlie the weft strands and are disposed entirely on one face of the weft strands and are not interwoven therewith. These elastic warp strands are of a usual construction, for example, formed from a core of solid rubber provided with a helical wrapping of silk, rayon, cotton or other suitable textile material. The elastic warp strands are bound down to the weft strands by binder warps. The object of this invention is to reduce the drawbacks of known mats and to provide a mat that is hygienic and agreeable to the feet, even massaging, warm and elastic, and is impermeable to water, gets no more than damp and dries rapidly. The present invention provides a mat for use in humid spaces, the mat comprising a weft system woven with a warp system, one of the systems including a water-impermeable ribbon of circular section made of elastic rubber or plastics material, and the other of the systems comprising a water-repellent textile yarn, the binding of the mat being a warp rib binding. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing, a synthetic and water-repellent textile yarn is used in the warp of the mat. In the weft, the elastic water-impermeable ribbon is used. Preferably, a solid plastics hose is used, because it does not get wet nor absorb moisture or dirt, and thus is very hygienic. Such a plastics ribbon is preferably of PVC. In addition to the plastics ribbon weft, a water-repellent textile yarn can also be used as an intermediate weft. Considering the end product, it does naturally not make any difference whether the warp consists of the textile yarn or the plastics ribbon but with regard to production, the use of the textile yarn in the warp is more economical. Such a mat gets damp only on the surface and not throughout its thickness. Thus it never feels wet. Owing to the flutes generated by the thickness of the plastic circular ribbon, the water is allowed to flow from underneath the mat and thus does not give any pool-like impression. Both acrylic yarn and propylene yarn are appropriate as a water-repellent and rapidly drying warp yarn. They are also usable as an intermediate weft yarn. The mat is manufactured on a conventional rug loom. Preferably the circular ribbon weft is introduced in the shed in lengths. The selvage of the mat is preferably formed by listing with a listing machine. The transverse borders of the mat are preferably finished with cleaved plastic hoses, which are slipped onto the border of the mat. The listing can also be carried out with a U-shaped PVC ribbon likewise on a mat listing machine. A common warp rib binding is used as a binding, a plastics ribbon of circular section being used in the weft. Owing to the thickness of the weft, this binding produces a rib effect. The warp is made dense enough for the circular weft ribbon used in the weft to be entirely covered. By alternating, for instance, plastics ribbon of circular section and thinner water-repellent textile yarn in every second weft, and by using a two-coloured warp yarn, nice stripe effects can be produced. The plastic circular ribbon has preferably an approximately 5 mm cross-section and the textile yarn a Nm 10/4 thickness. The thickness can also be e.g. Nm 5/3 with a dense twist in order to provide a good strength and crockfastness. With these combinations the desired properties of the mat are provided. The thickness ratios may of course vary. The excellent properties of the illustrated mat according to the invention as used in humid spaces are due to the hose wefts comprised in it, which are not water-permeable nor water-absorbing and which raise the upper surface of the mat over 5 mm from the floor surface. Since a water-repellent yarn has been used as a textile yarn, the mat dries rapidly, after having become damp. The mat is easily washed and spun-dried in a washing-machine. The mat is agreeable to stand on, feeling soft by means of the elastic round wefts. The mat does not smell even when damp, as do mats made of natural fibre materials. As shown above, the mat is easy to manufacture on a conventional rug loom. The production costs can be reduced by automating the introduction of the plastics ribbon weft into the shed. Nice checkers and colour surfaces are easily produced on the mat. Ways of carrying out the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawing which show one embodiment of the invention and in which: figure 1 presents a section of the mat structure in the direction of the warp and figure 2 presents a perspective projection of a corner of the finished mat. In the figures, the circular-section ribbon weft is marked with number 1, the water-repellent textile yarn weft with number 2, the warp yarn with numbers 3a and 3b, the edging cleaved circular-section ribbon with number 4 and the border listing with number 5. The binding is a warp rib binding. In the example, nice stripes in the direction of the weft have been achieved by alternating two warp yarns 3a and 3b of different colours, and by alternating thick plastics circular-section ribbon and thin water-repellent textile yarn in the weft, whereby the thin stripes in the direction of the weft get one colour and the large stripes in the direction of the weft get another colour. By alternating warp yarns of different colours, i.e. by using two warp yarns of the colour 3a and two warp yarns of the colour 3b next to each other in the warp, the main colour, i.e. the colour of the thick wefts, becomes opposite, and longitudinal stripes are achieved in the mat. Stripes in the direction of the warp are also simply produced by using warp yarns of different colours for the different stripes, whereby the stripes become single-coloured inside the stripes.

Claims: A mat for use in humid spaces, the mat comprising a weft system woven with a warp system, one of the systems including a water-impermeable ribbon (1) of circular section made of elastic rubber or plastics material, and the other of the systems comprising a water-repellent textile yarn (3a, 3b), the binding of the mat being a warp rib binding. A mat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said one system is the weft system, and the said other system is the warp system. A mat as claimed in claim 2, wherein the weft system comprises the ribbon (1) and a water-repellent textile yarn (2) arranged in alternation. A mat as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ribbon (1) is a hollow ribbon. A mat as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ribbon (1) is a solid ribbon. A mat as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the ribbon (1) is made of PVC, silicone, rubber or an equivalent material. A mat as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the water-repellent yarn (2, 3a, 3b) is an acrylic yarn, a polypropylene yarn or an equivalent yarn. A mat as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the selvages of the mat are listed with a hose of plastics material, the hose being fixed with a listing seam. A mat as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the selvages of the mat have been listed with a mat listing machine.

Inventors: KARVANEN SALME, KARVANEN, SALME
Applicants: KARVANEN SALME, KARVANEN, SALME
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A47G27
IPC codes: D03D15, A47G27