Patent Publication Number: US-9850599-B2

Title: Woven terry fabric with controlled weight distribution and articles made therefrom

Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention relates to woven terry fabrics and, more particularly, to woven terry fabrics having controlled weight distribution and articles made therefrom. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Woven terry fabric bath and hand towels tend to have a uniform weight distribution from end to end and side to side resulting from a generally uniform construction and height across the length and width of the fabricated finished article. However, during use, it is known that most individuals primarily utilize the central portion of the towel to dry their hands, hair, and bodies, while the ends of the towel are less frequently used for these purposes and more commonly serve to provide a means by which one holds the towel. 
     Laundering towels consumes significant resources. In particular, towels tend to be made from hydrophilic materials that require significant amounts of detergents or soaps to clean, water to rinse, and heat to dry. Moreover, facilities that pay to process towels and other terry cloth articles on a large scale typically pay according to article weight for laundering services. Reducing the weight of towels could reduce the resources and costs to launder the towels. One way to reduce the weight of a towel is to reduce the pile height in the towel. However, the absorbency of a towel corresponds to the weight of the towel and the total weight of the towel is often a significant influence on the perception of towel quality. As such, a lighter weight towel with a reduced pile height will tend to be less absorbent and will tend to have a less luxurious feel than a heavier weight towel. This can be particularly important in the hospitality industry where patrons often prefer and expect heavy weight towels as a sign of quality and luxury. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the present invention provide an improved terry fabric. Further aspects of the invention provide improved terry fabric articles, such as towels, having desirable drying characteristics and aesthetics while also having a reduced total weight as compared to the weight of the primary area of use, which decreases the resources necessary to manufacture and launder the terry fabric articles. One way to accomplish this is to vary the height of individual rows or groups of pile yarns so as to create a fabric having a controlled, non-uniform distribution of weight either from side to side or end to end. The resulting terry fabric may be utilized to make a terry fabric article, such as a towel, that is woven so that the expected area of primary use, such as the central area of the terry fabric article, has a weight that may be the same or even greater than the weight of a article made from a conventionally woven fabric having a substantially uniform pile height from end to end. However, the fabric results in a terry fabric article that is woven so as to reduce the unit weight in aggregate by decreasing the pile heights of rows or groups of pile that are outside of the primary use of the terry fabric article. Control of the pile height variations could facilitate the weaving and fabrication of terry fabric articles that can be more or less imperceptible from conventionally woven terry fabric articles woven with substantially uniform pile height and weight distribution. 
     In particular, an aspect of the invention is directed to a terry fabric that includes a body having a first end and a second end that are opposite one another and a first side edge and a second side edge that are also opposite another and generally perpendicular to the first and second opposite ends. The body also includes a plurality of zones extending across the fabric between the first and second opposite ends or the first and second opposite edges. Each zone of the plurality of zones has a pile with a pile height and the pile height in a zone differs from the pile height in an adjacent zone and the difference between the pile heights in adjacent zones is in a range between about 0.1 mm and about 2 mm. The plurality of zones may include a first zone having a lowest pile height and a second zone having a highest pile height and a first plurality of intermediate zones that are intermediate to the first zone and the second zone. The pile heights in each of the first plurality of intermediate zones incrementally increases from adjacent the first zone to adjacent the second zone. The plurality of zones may further include a third zone having a pile height less than the pile height of the second zone and a second plurality of intermediate zones that are intermediate to the third zone and the second zone. The pile heights in each of the second plurality of intermediate zones incrementally increases from adjacent the third zone to adjacent the second zone. In an embodiment, the pile height in at least one zone is less than the pile height in the zones that are on opposite sides of and immediately adjacent to the at least one zone. The fabric may be utilized to produce a terry fabric article, such as a bath mat, a wash cloth, or a towel. 
     By virtue of the foregoing, there is thus provided a terry fabric, and terry fabric articles made therefrom, having a reduced overall weight as compared to the weight of the primary area of use while maintaining the appearance and utility of a heavier weight conventionally woven terry fabric having uniform weight from edge to edge or end to end. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a woven terry fabric in accordance with the principles of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial, cross-sectional view, not to scale, taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a schematic representation of a terry fabric towel in accordance with the principles of the invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a partial, cross-sectional view, not to scale, of a portion of the terry fabric towel of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a terry fabric  10  is woven in a three-pick terry weave, and includes a top surface  12  and a bottom surface  14 , with the surfaces  12 ,  14  extending between a left selvage  16  and a right selvage  18 , as well as a top or trailing end  20  and a bottom or leading end  22 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the ground warp ends E 1 , E 2  are formed of yarn C, the terry pile loops N are formed of yarns T 1 , T 2 , and the ground fill picks P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , P 4 , P 5 , P 6 , P 7 , P 8  are formed of yarn F. The ground warp ends E 1 , E 2  and the ground fill picks P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , P 4 , P 5 , P 6 , P 7 , P 8  form the ground fabric. The terry pile loops N form the pile that projects from the surface of the ground fabric. As seen in  FIG. 2 , the ground warp yarn C, terry pile loop yarn T 1 , T 2 , and ground fill yarn F are woven together in a three-pick terry weave. Although  FIG. 2  illustrates part of a single warpwise row, the ground warp ends and terry pile loops of the other rows of the terry fabric  10  may be constructed and arranged as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     While not readily apparent upon casual visual inspection, the terry fabric  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is woven with a plurality of zones extending across the fabric wherein the pile height in each zone is slightly higher or lower than the pile height in an adjacent zone.  FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a terry fabric article, in particular, a towel  30  formed from the terry fabric  10  with dashed lines indicating otherwise non-apparent transitions between zones.  FIG. 4 , which is not drawn to scale, is a partial cross section of the towel  30  of  FIG. 3  illustrating the differences in pile height between adjacent zones of terry fabric  10 . 
     The exemplary towel  30  in  FIGS. 3 and 4  has a body  31  with a length L B  extending between the opposite ends  32 ,  32 ′ of the towel  30  and a width W extending between opposite side edges  34 ,  34 ′ of the towel  30 . In the illustrated embodiment, the terry fabric  10  of towel  30  includes optional opposite end sections  36 ,  36 ′ that are separated from the body  31  of the towel  30  by a pair of optional border sections  38 ,  38 ′. The body  31  of the towel  30  is illustrated as being divided into a plurality of zones  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′, and  48  that each extend across the width of the towel. It will be appreciated that the terry fabric  10  could be formed in which the zones  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′, and  48  extend across the length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30  instead of the width W. It will be further appreciated that the towel  30  may be formed without the optional end sections  36 ,  36 ′ or the optional border sections  38 ,  38 ′. Moreover, it will be appreciated that the towel  30  may include a hem and a selvage or both around the sides edges  34 ,  34 ′ and opposite ends  32 ,  32 ′ and that references herein to extending to the ends  32 ,  32 ′ and/or edges  34 ,  34 ′ of the towel  30  contemplates extending to beginning of the hems and/or selvage. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the pile in the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ of the body  31  of the towel  30  adjacent to the border sections  38 ,  38 ′ have a height h that is the shortest pile in the towel  30 . In the first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′ that are adjacent to the end zones  40 ,  40 ′, the pile height h increases by an increment y that is not readily apparent upon casual visual inspection. The pile height in the first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′ is thus equal to h+y. In the second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′ that are adjacent to the first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′, the pile height increases by another increment, designated here as 2y, relative to the pile height h PZ  in the preceding zones, (i.e., first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′). The pile height in the second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′ is thus equal to h PZ +2y. In the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′ that are adjacent to the second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′, the pile height increases by another increment, designated here as 3y, relative to the pile height h PZ  in the preceding zones (i.e., second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′). The pile height in the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′ is thus equal to h PZ +3y. In the central zone  48  that is adjacent to the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′, the pile height increases by another increment, designated here as 4y, relative to the pile height h PZ  in the preceding zones (i.e., third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′). The pile height in the central zone  48  is thus equal to h PZ +4y. The central zone  48  has the highest pile height in the body  31  of the towel  30 . 
     While the incremental increases y, 2y, 3y, 4y in pile height h, h PZ  are illustrated as being the same across all zones  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′,  48 , it will be appreciated that the incremental increases in pile height between adjacent zones need not be identical across all zones. For example, the incremental increase y in pile height between the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and the first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′ may equal a first value and the incremental increase 2y between the first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′ and the second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′ may be a second value that is greater or smaller than the first value so long as the incremental increase y, 2y, 3y, 4y between adjacent zones  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′,  48  is not readily apparent upon casual visual inspection of the body  31  of the towel  30 . The pile heights in the optional end sections  36 ,  36 ′ and optional border sections  38 ,  38 ′ may be less than, greater than, or equal to the pile heights of one or more of the zones  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′,  48  of the body  31  of the towel  30 . 
     As described above, the differences (i.e., incremental increases y, 2y, 3y, 4y) between the pile heights h, h PZ  in adjacent zones  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′,  48  of the body  31  of the towel  30  are small enough that the differences are not readily apparent upon casual visual inspection of the towel  30 . In an embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 2 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 1.5 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 1 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 0.8 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 0.6 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 0.5 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 0.4 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 0.3 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.1 mm and about 0.2 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.2 mm and about 0.4 mm. In another embodiment, the difference in pile height between adjacent zones may range between about 0.3 mm and about 0.4 mm. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the central zone  48  has the highest pile height in the body  31  of the towel  30 . In an embodiment, the pile height in the zone with the highest pile height is not less than about 110% or more than about 300% of the pile height in the zone with the lowest pile height. In an embodiment, the pile height in the zone with the highest pile height is not less than about 125% or more than about 250% of the pile height in the zone with the lowest pile height. For example, if the pile height in the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ of the illustrated embodiment is about 10 mm, the pile height of the central zone may range between about 12.5 mm and about 25 mm. In another embodiment, the pile height in the zone with the highest pile height is not less than about 125% or more than about 200% of the pile height in the zone with the lowest pile height. 
     In an embodiment, the heights of the pile, measured as the distance that the pile projects from the ground fabric, may range from between about 5 mm and about 10 mm. If the terry has double sided pile, the total thickness of the pile from both sides of the fabric may range between about 10 mm and about 20 mm. 
     The pile height may also be considered as a function of the terry ratio, which is an expression of the length of yarn consumed for the pile as compared to the ground warp. In an embodiment of the invention, the fabric may have a terry ratio which ranges between about 3:1 and about 12:1. In another embodiment, the fabric may have a terry ratio which ranges between about 5:1 and 11:1. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, end zone  40 , first intermediate zone  42 , the second intermediate zone  44 , the third intermediate zone  46 , and the central zone  48  each have a different pile height with the end zone  40  having the lowest pile height and the central zone  48  having the highest pile height. These pile heights correspond with the pile heights in the zones at the opposite end of the towel, i.e., end zone  40 ′, first intermediate zone  42 ′, the second intermediate zone  44 ′, the third intermediate zone  46 ′. Thus, the illustrated embodiment utilizes five different pile heights spread across the end zones  40 ,  40 ′, intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′, and the central zone  48 . It will be appreciated that a different number of zones, each having a different pile height relative to their respective adjacent zones may be used. In an embodiment, at least four zones from the end zones to the central zone having four different pile heights are used. In another embodiment, at least eight zones from the end zones to the central zone having eight different pile heights are used. In another embodiment, at least twelve zones from the end zones to the central zone having twelve different pile heights are used. In another embodiment, at least sixteen zones from the end zones to the central zone having sixteen different pile heights are used. In another embodiment, at least twenty zones from the end zones to the central zone having twenty different pile heights are used. In another embodiment, the number of zones between the end zones and the central zone may range between four zones and thirty-two zones. In another embodiment, the number of zones between the end zones and the central zone may range between ten zones and thirty zones. In another embodiment, the number of zones between the end zones and the central zone may range between sixteen zones and thirty zones. In another embodiment, the number of zones between the end zones and the central zone may range between twenty zones and thirty zones. 
     Furthermore, while the illustrated towel  30  has a central zone  48  surrounded by an equal number of intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′ between the central zone  48  and the two end zones  40 ,  40 ′, the towel  30  could have an unequal number of intermediate zones between the central zone  48  and the end zones  40 ,  40 ′. For example, in an embodiment, the first end  32  of the towel  30  may include end zone  40  and a first plurality of intermediate zones and the second end  32 ′ of the towel  30  may include second end zone  40 ′ and a second plurality of intermediate zones, and the number of zones in the first plurality of intermediate zones may be different from the number of zones in the second plurality of intermediate zones. 
     It will be further appreciated that the towel  30  could have a zone at the first end  32  with the shortest pile height and a second zone at the opposite end  32 ′ with the highest pile height and a plurality of intermediate zones with piles heights that incrementally increase from the zone at the first end  32  to the zone at the second end  32 ′ such that the difference between pile heights in adjacent zones is not be readily apparent upon casual visual inspection. 
     It is further contemplated that the pile heights in adjacent zones may not necessarily increase from one zone to the next across a plurality of zones. In other words, the pile heights across a plurality of zones may alternate between lower pile heights and higher pile heights. For example, the towel illustrated in  FIG. 3  could be produced such that the pile heights in zones  40  and  44  are higher or lower than the pile height in zones  42  and  46 . This pattern of alternating pile heights could continue along the entire length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30  or along a portion of the length of the towel  30 . To exemplify this latter point, the pile heights could alternate in the end zones  40 ,  40 ′, the first intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′ and the second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′ and then the pile heights could increase incrementally from the second intermediate zones  44 ,  44 ′ across the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′ to the central zone  48 . These alternative embodiments maintain the spirit of the invention that the difference between pile heights in adjacent zones is not readily apparent upon casual visual inspection. 
     Between each zone  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′,  48  is a transition from the pile height in one zone to the pile height in the adjacent zone. The distance between the transitions from one zone to the next zone defines the widths of each zone. For example, the width W EZ  for end zone  40  is defined as the distance between transition  52  to the optional border section  38  and transition  54  to the first intermediate zone  42 . And, the width W CZ  for the central zone  48  is defined as the distance between the transitions  56 ,  58  to the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′. In an embodiment, the width W CZ  of the central zone  48  may be wider than the width of the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and the intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′. In another embodiment, the width W CZ  is about equal to the width of one or more of the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and the intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′. In an embodiment, none of the individual zones (i.e., the individual end zones  40 ,  40 ′, intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′, or central zone  48 ) has a continuous width that is more than about 25% of the overall length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30 . In another embodiment, the width of the individual zones (i.e., the individual end zones  40 ,  40 ′, intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′, or central zone  48 ) ranges between about 1% and about 25% of the overall length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30 . In another embodiment, the width of the individual zones (i.e., the individual end zones  40 ,  40 ′, intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′, or central zone  48 ) ranges between about 2% and about 15% of the overall length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30 . 
     In another embodiment, the width of the central zone  48  is greater than the width of any one of the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ or intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′ and is not more than about 25% of the overall length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30 . In this same embodiment, the width of the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′ may range between about 1% and about 10%, or, alternatively between about 2% and about 5% of the overall length L B  of the body  31  of the towel  30 . In a towel exemplifying this embodiment that has a length of about 50 inches, the widths of the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′ may range from between about 0.5 inch and about 5 inches and the width W CZ  of the central zone  48  would not be more than about 12.5 inches. Of course, intermediate zones in addition to the illustrated intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′ may be necessary to span to the distance from the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ to the central zone  48 . 
     In another embodiment, the width of the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′ immediately adjacent to the central zone  48  may be greater than the width of the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and the remaining intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′. For example, the central zone  48  may have a width W CZ  that ranges between 5 times and 10 times the widths of the individual end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and first and second intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′ and the third intermediate zones  46 ,  46 ′ immediately adjacent the central zone  48  may have a width that ranges between about 3 times and about 6 times the width of the individual end zones  40 ,  40 ′ and first and second intermediate zones  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′. 
     The yarns defining the ground fill, ground warp, and pile warp of embodiments of the terry fabric  10  may be made of any suitable material including yarns made of natural material, synthetic material, and combinations thereof. In an embodiment, at least a portion of the yarns include hydrophilic fibers, such as cotton or other cellulosic fibers that may optionally be blended with synthetic yarns such as polyester in spun or filament yarn form. Such yarns are known in the art. Further, depending upon the desired characteristic of the fabric the ground fill and ground warp may be selected of appropriate materials and the pile warp may be selected of the same or different materials, likewise any combination of yarns may be utilized to define the ground fill, ground warp, and pile warp as desired. 
     The terry fabrics described herein may be used to manufacture any sort of terry fabric article, such as bath mats, wash cloths, and towels including bath sheets, bath towels, hand towels, and dish towels. 
     As the fabric is woven, the pile height for each zone  40 ,  40 ′,  42 ,  42 ′,  44 ,  44 ′,  46 ,  46 ′,  48  of the body  31  of the towel  30  is woven to have the desired height. In an embodiment, terry fabric is woven on a terry loom capable of weaving the terry fabric with the desired pile height in each zone. In an embodiment, the terry loom weaves a different pile height for every 48 to 96 pick insertions, which corresponds to about 16 loops to about 32 loops at the desired height in the zone over a distance of about 1 inch to about 2 inches. The number of pick insertions and corresponding loops per zone may be adjusted as necessary to result in zones having the desired widths as discussed above. 
     The incremental increases y, 2y, 3y, 4y in pile height from the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ to the central zone  48  result in a towel  30  wherein the difference in the pile height in the end zones  40 ,  40 ′ of the towel  30  compared to the central zone  48  will not be readily apparent to the user of the towel  30  upon casual visual inspection. Moreover, since most people dry themselves with the central area of towels, which corresponds to the central zone  48  of the presently described towel  30 , most people using the resulting towels  30  will experience the same performance qualities as they would experience if the towel  30  had been woven with a uniform pile height from end to end  32 ,  32 ′ that matches the pile height in the central zone  48 . The resulting towel  30  has the further benefit of requiring less material to manufacture as less yarn will be needed to weave the fabric for the towel  30  due to the lower average pile heights. Further, the lower average pile heights will decrease the weight of the towels  30  which will decrease the resources necessary for laundering the towels  30 . This has environmental consequences as less soap and water will be necessary to wash the towels  30  and less energy will be needed to dry the towels  30 . This is especially helpful in institutional settings wherein laundering is paid based on the weight of the laundered items. The significant weight reductions in the towel will result in significant savings for institutional users of the towel  30 , such as hotels and hospitals, which launder large quantities of towels  30  every day. Thus, the resulting towel  30  provides the same user benefits as heavier towels while reducing the resources required to manufacture and launder the towel  30 . 
     By virtue of the foregoing, there is thus provided a woven terry fabric  10  with controlled weight distribution and terry fabric articles, such as towel  30 , having advantages over prior woven terry fabrics and terry fabric articles. 
     While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof and specific examples, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. For example, although the drawings illustrate a three-pick terry-weave pattern, any suitable pattern may be used to form the woven terry fabric. It is further contemplated that the towel could include one or more zones that include a continuous or near continuous increase in pile height from one row of pile loops to the next so long as the difference between pile heights is not readily apparent upon casual visual inspection. Additionally, if more than one yarn type is used in the warp, any desired sequence or pattern of spun yarn and/or synthetic filament yarn may be used. Also, the woven terry fabric may include synthetic fibers, filaments, and/or yarns in the pile loops, with the synthetic material being polyester and/or other suitable synthetic material(s). In addition, while the pile is illustrated herein as a loop pile, cut pile could also be used and is within the scope of the invention. Thus, the invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of applicant&#39;s general inventive concept.