Undergarment

Details Undergarment Undergarment

2002-03-19

2004-03-23

Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)

Textiles: knitting

Fabrics or articles

Articles

C066S177000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06708529

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an undergarment formed from a tubular knitted fabric containing a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn.
BACKGROUND ART
As lifestyles change, an undergarment that is not tight while giving a suitable fitting feeling to the wearer and having adaptability to the body movement, and, in addition to that, that is flexible and excellent in stretchability and elongation recovery has been desired in recent years.
For undergarments having stretchability, those prepared from a knitted fabric in which an elastic fiber is blended by mixed knitting, or a similar procedure, have been commercialized. However, an undergarment in which an elastic fiber such as a polyurethane fiber is blended makes the wearer feel confined because it is thick and gives a tight feeling. Moreover, because an elastic fiber itself is degraded when it is exposed to light, chlorine, etc., the undergarment has the problem that it loses adaptability to the body movement when it is subjected to repeated washing that causes breakage of the elastic fiber.
Stretchable undergarments the tightening feeling of which is suppressed have been commercialized by using a polyester fiber crimped yarn having a poly(ethylene terephthalate) as its principal component. However, such undergarments lack stretchability in the warp direction although they have stretchability to a certain degree in the weft direction. As a result, the fabric does not adequately follow the elongation in portions such as an elbow portion and a knee portion that are required to elongate sufficiently in the warp direction. The wearers therefore feel confined, and the undergarments have a stiff feel. Moreover, because the poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiber shows a low elongation recovery, the undergarments have the disadvantage that the shape stability is poor, for example, bubbling (wrinkle) is formed in the necks and bottoms of the undergarments when the undergarments are repeatedly washed and worn.
There are undergarments for which a nylon fiber crimped yarn having a relatively flexible feeling is used. However, they give a poor wear feeling because they lack stretchability in the warp direction similarly to the undergarments of a polyester fiber. Moreover, the undergarments have the following disadvantages. They not only show poor shape stability when repeatedly washed and worn, but also yellow when heated, are contacted with NO
x
gas or are stored in a corrugated cardboard box over a long period of time.
In contrast to the nylon fiber, the poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber shows a low Young's modulus, an excellent elongation recovery, substantially no embrittlement caused by light and chlorine, and an excellent resistance to yellowing. The fiber therefore can be expected to give a fabric appropriate to undergarments.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-12902 describes an invention related to a mixed knitted fabric prepared by mixed knitting a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber yarn and a cellulose-based fiber yarn. The invention described in the patent publication is one that is aimed at obtaining a knitted fabric that has a feeling specific to cellulose-based fiber filaments and that produces no streaks and shade bars. There is no description in the invention related to designing a knitted fabric when the tubular knitted fabric is to be used as undergarments. Moreover, the knitted fabric disclosed in the patent publication substantially shows no stretchability, and cannot be said to be excellent in comfort and shape stability, after washing, when used for undergarments.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-64853 describes an invention related a knitted fabric containing a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber yarn. The invention described in the patent publication is one aimed at obtaining a knitted fabric excellent in instantaneous recovery subsequent to dry cleaning. There is no description of the use of the tubular knitted fabric for undergarments. Moreover, the invention defines the stretchability in one direction alone, namely, in the warp or weft direction. Furthermore, although the knitted fabric disclosed in the patent publication has suitable stretchability and an instantaneous recovery subsequent to dry cleaning in one of the two directions alone, the knitted fabric, used for undergarments that are required to have suitable stretchability in both the warp and weft directions, cannot be said to be excellent in a comfortable feeling to the wearer.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an undergarment formed from a tubular knitted fabric having a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn. The undergarment of the invention has a flexible feeling, shows excellent stretchability and elongation recovery in both the warp and weft directions, and is excellent in durability and/or comfortable feeling to the wearer.
As a result of intensively carrying out investigations to attain the above objects, the present inventors have achieved the present invention.
That is, the present invention is as explained below.
1. An undergarment formed from a tubular knitted fabric that comprises a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn in a blending ratio of 15% by weight or more, the tubular knitted fabric having a course number of from 30 to 70 courses/2.54 cm and a wale number of from 30 to 70 wales/2.54 cm.
2. The undergarment according to 1, wherein the poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn is composed of a false-twisted yarn.
3. The undergarment according to 1 or 2, wherein the poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn is a latently crimpable polyester fiber comprising a plurality of polyester components, and at least one of the components is a poly(trimethylene terephthalate).
4. The undergarment according to 3, wherein the latently crimpable polyester fiber satisfies the following conditions (a) to (c):
(a) an initial tensile resistance of from 10 to 30 cN/dtex;
(b) a stretch elongation of crimp of from 10 to 100% and a stretch modulus of crimp of from 80 to 100% after development of latent crimping; and
(c) a thermal shrinkage stress at 100° C. of from 0.1 to 0.5 cN/dtex.
5. The undergarment according to any one of 1 to 4, wherein the tubular knitted fabric is formed from a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn and a short fiber.
6. The undergarment according to 5, wherein the short fiber is at least one fiber selected from the group consisting of a cellulose-based fiber, an acrylic fiber and an animal fiber.
7. The undergarment according to any one of 1 to 6, wherein the blending ratio of a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber crimped yarn is from 20 to 60% by weight.
8. The undergarment according to any one of 1 to 7, wherein the (course number)/(wale number) ratio of the tubular knitted fabric is from 0.5 to 1.5.
9. The undergarment according to any one of 1 to 8, wherein the {stretch ratio in the warp (course) direction}/{stretch ratio in the weft (wale) direction} ratio of the tubular knitted fabric is from 0.2 to 1.2.
10. The undergarment according to any one of 1 to 9, wherein the stress at 30% elongation of the tubular knitted fabric is from 0.2 to 4.9 N/cm in the warp (course) direction.
11. The undergarment according to any one of 1 to 10, wherein the ratio of dimensional change of the tubular knitted fabric is 10% or less in the warp (course) direction after repeating 30% elongation in the warp (course) direction of the knitted fabric 10,000 times.
The present invention will be explained below in detail.
In the present invention, undergarments designate clothing directly contacted with the skin of the upper half or lower half of the body, and function as underwear. Examples of the undergarments include shirts, body wear, tank tops, camisoles, slips, pants, shorts, briefs, trunks and underpants. However, the undergarments are not always worn in such a manner that other persons cannot see them, but they include clothing th

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