Textiles: weaving – Fabrics – Materials
Reexamination Certificate
2003-03-12
2004-03-16
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Textiles: weaving
Fabrics
Materials
C139S4260TW, C428S364000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06705353
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a stretchable woven fabric in which a false-twisted yarn of a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (hereinafter abbreviated to PTT) multifilamentary yarn is used.
BACKGROUND ART
As a sports boom has increased in recent years, the realization of a woven fabric, for sportswear, that has a flat surface feel similarly to a windbreaker, that gives a soft fitting feeling and an very comfortable feeling to the wearer, has good stretchability, and that is excellent in weathering resistance and wash-and-wear properties (W & W properties), has been strongly desired. Moreover, a highly stretchable woven fabric having the properties described above has recently been required in the field of outerwear in order to give a comfortable feeling to the wearer.
As a method of producing a highly stretchable woven fabric, there has been a method of obtaining a woven fabric having a relatively high stretch ratio by blending elastic fibers. Moreover, there is a method of using a polyester-based fiber excellent in an elongation recovery and suitable for a stretch material. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-78373 proposes a polyester-based false-twisted yarn having a PTT as its principal component. However, the method of using an elastic fiber has the following difficulties: the tightening force is strong and, moreover, a costly double covering yarn must be used in order to suppress the formation of a crepe-liked surface; the resultant woven fabric has poor weathering resistance; the fabric shows poor dye-affinity, and the yield in dye finishing is low.
A polyester-based false-twisted yarn having a PTT as its principal component which yarn is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-78373 is excellent in an elongation recovery and has a low Young's modulus in comparison with a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (hereinafter abbreviated to PET) yarn; as a result the yarn is characterized in that it is soft.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-93031 discloses woven fabrics, as lining cloth formed from a false-twisted yarn of a PTT fiber, such as a plain weave fabric, a twill weave fabric and a satin weave fabric, that are excellent in surface smoothness and that show a stretch ratio of from 15 to 20%. However, when the woven fabrics are made to show a stretch ratio of 20% or more, the surface smoothness becomes poor as described in the patent publication. Moreover, the patent publication describes that additional twisting may be imparted to the yarn at a twist number of from 100 to 1,000 T/m for the purpose of improving the surface smoothness, and that the woven fabrics may be subjected to alkali reduction for the purpose of making them have a soft feeling.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-93037 describes a woven fabric comprising a twisted yarn of a PTT fiber with a twist factor of from 0 to 4,000 as one of the warp or the weft yarn, and a twisted yarn of a PTT fiber with a twist factor of from 10,000 to 30,000 as the other yarn. Moreover, the patent publication describes that the woven fabric is optionally subjected to alkali reduction. However, the two patent publications do not describe at all the importance of the relationship between the twisting direction of the false twisting and that of the twisted yarn.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-93016 describes a PTT fiber on which micropores are formed by alkali reduction and which is excellent in color developability.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a woven fabric having one or at least two of the following properties: excellent surface flatness; a soft feel; high stretchability; a high elongation recovery; snagging resistance; an excellent wrinkle resistance; and an excellent comfortable feeling for the wearer.
In general, when the woven fabric is intended to have a high stretch ratio, the woven fabric surface shows a crepe-liked surface or a striped crepe-liked surface. The woven fabric must therefore be finished while the woven fabric is being held in a tensed state, in order to make the surface flat. As a result, only a fabric showing a low stretch ratio has heretofore been obtained, and the real situation has been that a woven fabric having a flat surface and showing a high stretch ratio has been unavailable.
That is, simultaneously imparting a stretchable function to the fabric and suppressing a crepe-liked surface signify simultaneously pursuing two mutually contradictory functions. It has been extremely difficult to make the two functions compatible.
The present inventors have completely investigated the relationship between a surface flatness and a stretch ratio of woven fabrics for which various polyester-based false-twisted yarns are used as warp yarns and/or weft yarns while the structure design, the weave design and the finish texturing conditions are being varied. As a result, the present inventors have discovered that a woven fabric excellent in stretchability while having surface flatness can be obtained only by using a false-twisted yarn of a PTT multifilamentary yarn showing high stretchability and a high elastic recovery as a warp yarn and/or a weft yarn, and combining a textured yarn design, a weave design and a finish texturing design that are most suitable. The present invention has thus been achieved.
That is, the present invention is as explained below.
1. A stretchable woven fabric characterized in that the warp yarn and/or the weft yarn is prepared from a false-twisted yarn of a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) multifilamentary yarn, and that the false-twisted yarn is twisted with a twist factor of from 2,700 to 13,000 in the direction reverse to the false twisting direction.
2. The stretchable woven fabric according to 1, wherein the stretch ratio of the woven fabric is from 15 to 50% in the warp and/or weft direction.
3. The stretchable woven fabric according to 1, wherein the stretch ratio of the woven fabric is greater than 20% and 50% or less in the warp and/or weft direction.
4. The stretchable woven fabric according to any one of 1 to 3, wherein the surface roughness (R
a
) is from 10 to 30 &mgr;m.
5. The stretchable woven fabric according to any one of 1 to 4, wherein the filaments of the poly(trimethylene terephthalate) filamentary yarn have microcraters on the surfaces.
6. A stretchable woven fabric characterized in that the warp yarn and/or the weft yarn is prepared from a false-twisted yarn of a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) multifilamentary yarn, that the stretch ratio of the woven fabric is 15% or more in the warp and/or weft direction, and that the surface roughness (R
a
) is from 10 to 30 &mgr;m.
7. The stretchable woven fabric according to 6, wherein the stretch ratio of the woven fabric is greater than 20% and 50% or less in the warp and/or weft direction.
8. The stretchable woven fabric according to any one of 1 to 7, wherein the weave texture of the woven fabric is a 2/2 weft ribbed weave, a 2/1 twill weave or a 2/2 twill weave.
9. A process for producing a stretchable woven fabric comprising the steps of: twisting a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) multifilamentary yarn prior to or subsequently to false twisting with a twist factor of from 2,700 to 13,000 in the direction reverse to the false twisting direction, whereby a textured yarn is obtained; weaving the textured yarn used as a warp yarn and/or a weft yarn; and subjecting the resultant woven fabric to alkali reduction.
10. The process for producing a stretchable woven fabric according to 9, wherein the alkali reduction ratio is from 4 to 15% by weight.
11. A process for producing a stretchable woven fabric comprising the steps of: false twisting a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) multifilamentary yarn; additional twisting is imparted to the false-twisted yarn in the direction reverse to the false twisting direction, whereby a textured yarn having a twist factor of additional twist of from 2,700 to 13,000 is obtai
Hotta Yoshiomi
Oue Kazuto
Takahashi Tomoko
Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha
Calvert John J.
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Muromoto Jr. Robert H.
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