Textiles: weaving – Fabrics – Drier felts
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-22
2001-12-11
Falik, Andy (Department: 3765)
Textiles: weaving
Fabrics
Drier felts
C101S481000, C101S485000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328078
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is generally directed to a system and process for transferring a design onto a set of warp yarns which are then woven into a fabric incorporating the design. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a process and system for digitally applying a printed pattern to the warp yarns using, for instance, ink jet printing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Woven fabrics are produced on various types of weaving machines, commonly referred to as shedding devices. Examples of shedding devices include, for instance, a cam weaving device and a Dobby weaving device, which generally produce fabrics having a single and uniform weave. More complicated weaving systems capable of producing fabrics containing multiple weaves are generally referred to as jacquard weaving systems.
In the past, attempts have been made to incorporate printed patterns into woven fabrics. In particular, attempts have been made to produce a fabric containing a printed design in combination with a woven design. Having the capability of combining a printed design with a woven design offers the ability to produce fabrics containing many different patterns and colors that have a unique and distinctive appearance.
For instance, one technique used in the past was to print a pattern onto a set of warp yarns prior to weaving the yarns into a fabric. If woven in an appropriate manner, the pattern applied to the warp yarns becomes visible in the resulting fabric. Other applications which discuss warp yarn printing include U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,845 to Corbiere and the present inventors' prior applications having U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/042,123 and 09/226,342, which are all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Generally, in the past, the preferred methods for applying a printed pattern onto the warp yarns in a warp yarn printing process included screen printing and heat transfer printing. In each of these printing methods, typically the printing device includes a substrate, such as a roll of transfer paper or an engraved roll, that has a design imprinted onto the substrate. The substrate is used to apply the design to a moving web of warp yarns.
Unfortunately, however, each of the above printing techniques has limitations. For instance, since the design is preprinted onto the substrate that is applied to the warp yarns, it is generally not easy to make adjustments in the printed design during processing. Also, these printing devices typically do not provide a great amount of flexibility in switching from one design to another. For instance, in order to switch designs during processing, the preprinted or engraved substrate typically needs to be removed from the printing device and replaced. Further, since the substrates are prefabricated, a certain amount of time is required from when a new design is created until that design can be applied to a set of warp yarns and incorporated into production.
In view of the above deficiencies and drawbacks, a need currently exists for an improved system and process for printing a design onto a set of warp yarns that are to be woven into a fabric. In particular, a need exists for a process and system for printing a design onto a set of warp yarns that offers greater flexibility and more controls than printing techniques used in the past.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention recognizes and addresses the foregoing disadvantages, and other disadvantages of prior art constructions and methods.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved system for producing woven, knitted or stitchbonded fabrics containing a printed pattern.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and process for printing a design onto a set of warp yarns.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and process for printing a design onto a set of warp yarns using a printer having a digitally controlled pattern.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a process and system for applying a design onto a set of warp yarns using an ink jet printer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a weaving system that maintains a printed pattern in alignment with a woven pattern.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fabric containing synchronized printed and woven patterns.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a process for printing a pattern onto a set of warp yarns during the fabrication of a woven product. The process includes the steps of providing a set of moving warp yarns that are substantially parallel. In accordance with the present invention, a pattern is printed onto the set of warp yarns using a digital printing device as the yarns are moving. For instance, the pattern can be transferred to the yarns using an ink jet printing device that can be digitally controlled. Once the pattern is applied to the warp yarns, weft yarns are then woven into the warp yarns for producing a fabric, wherein the ink jet printed pattern is visible from at least one side of the fabric.
In order to make the warp yarns receptive to ink jet printing, in one embodiment, the warp yarns can be pretreated in order to enhance their receptivity to ink jet printing and/or to improve the clarity of the printed pattern.
In one embodiment, the process can further include the step of creating a woven pattern into the fabric that compliments the printed pattern. In this embodiment, the digital printing device can be used to maintain the printed pattern in alignment with the woven pattern as the fabric is formed. In particular, the digital printing device can include a controller that monitors the position of the woven pattern and the printed pattern as the fabric is being woven. Based on the position of the printed pattern relative to the woven pattern, the controller can selectively adjust the position of the printed pattern in a manner that maintains the patterns in alignment. For instance, if a misalignment of the patterns is detected, the controller can be configured to control the digital printing device for adjusting the position of the printed pattern in order to realign the printed pattern with the woven pattern. In particular, the controller can be configured to automatically change the size of the printed pattern when an adjustment is necessary.
In order to monitor the position of the woven pattern, the weaving device used in the process of the present invention can include a weaving controller. The weaving controller can then send information regarding the progress of the woven pattern to the controller used in conjunction with the digital printing device.
Other objects, features and aspects of the present invention are discussed in greater detail below.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5801739 (1998-09-01), Silverbrook
patent: 5983952 (1999-11-01), Carpenter et al.
patent: 6038977 (2000-03-01), Haney et al.
patent: 6105624 (2000-03-01), Wildeman et al.
patent: 070950 (1995-03-01), None
Carpenter Jeffrey A.
Houghton Lawrence F.
Wildeman Martin
Dority & Manning P.A.
Falik Andy
Tietex International, Ltd.
LandOfFree
System and process for forming a fabric having digitally... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with System and process for forming a fabric having digitally..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and System and process for forming a fabric having digitally... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2576508