DESC:Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, relates to the field of narrow elastic fabrics, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic atomizing and spray impregnation and compacting method for manufacturing soft-textured narrow elastic fabrics of improved shrink-resistance.

Background of the Invention
Narrow elastic fabrics are used in various apparel wear, including many types of innerwear, outerwear, sport-wear, and medical wear. In the related art, yarns are used in an effort to make the narrow elastic fabric comfortable to the wearer. Narrow elastic fabrics of this type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,986,171. Though being comfortable, narrow elastic fabrics lack aesthetic value and hand feel, and the cost for manufacturing is high. Hence, there exists a need for a narrow elastic fabric that has high aesthetics, and is not industrially expensive to manufacture.

Summary of the Invention
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a narrow elastic fabric with improved shrink-resistance and hand feel, and is industrially scalable and economically viable.

In one aspect of the present invention, a narrow elastic fabric manufactured by an ultrasonic atomizing and spray impregnation and compacting method is provided. In another aspect of the present invention, a narrow elastic fabric impregnated with softening compound is provided.

In another aspect of the present invention a narrow elastic fabric compacting method is provided.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a narrow elastic fabric with improved shrink-resistance and hand feel is provided.

These and other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims.

Detailed Description of the Invention
As used herein, each of the following terms has the meaning associated with it in this section.

The articles “a” and “an” are used to refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article.

As used herein, “narrow elastic fabric” or “narrow fabric”, as interchangeably used, refers generally to a fabric or material not exceeding 300mm in full and finished width and is assembled from interlacing two distinct sets of yarns or threads at right angle.

The term “yarn” or “thread”, as interchangeably used herein, refers to a continuous strand comprised of a multiplicity of fibers, filaments, or the like in a bundled form, such as may be suitable for knitting, weaving or otherwise used to form a fabric.

As used herein, “hand feel” refers to the smoothness or softness of the narrow fabric whereas “shrink-resistance” refers to the property of narrow fabric not to contract.

It has now been surprisingly discovered that the sensation problem of narrow elastic fabric can be overcome when starch and softening compound is impregnated into core of the elastic but which, according to the present invention, are applied using ultrasonic atomizer and spray device.

Our experimental data have demonstrated that application of ultrasonic atomizer and spray device helps better penetration of starch and softening compound into core the narrow elastic fabric and thereby results into improved softening of the narrow fabric.

The ultrasonic atomizer of the present invention has a solid state design with auto tuning with three modules of 250 watts, delivering 750 watts of average ultrasonic power.

The ultrasonic atomizer is placed in a Chemical Tuff filled with a solution of starch and softening compound and when in use, vibrates to form stream of bubbles in the solution. A narrow elastic fabric when passed through the solution, bubbles hit the fabric repeatedly to penetrate chemicals into the core of the elastic fabric.

The spray device of the present invention is designed and placed at the outward end of the Chemical Tuff. A elastic fabric treated with ultrasonic atomizer when passes from the front of the spray device, a solution stream is sprayed uninterruptedly to further penetrate chemicals into the core of the elastic fabric, which then passes through a padding mangle to remove excess amount of chemicals.

The compacting device of the present invention is designed to compress the elastic fabric between Drums and Teflon belt. The elastic fabric when passed through the padding mangle is compressed by the compacting device to give better hand feel.

The following examples serve to provide the best modes of practice for the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention:

Examples
The narrow elastic fabric was fed through Chemical Tuff filled with chemical solution of starch and softening compound. The chemical solution was subjected to ultrasonic atomizer to form stream of bubbles to allow chemicals to penetrate into the core of the elastic fabric. The treated elastic fabric was then passed from the front of the spray device and chemical solution is sprayed uninterruptedly on the treated elastic fabric to provide impregnated narrow fabric.

The impregnated elastic fabric was then passed through padding rollers at pressure of 5 bar/sq inch to remove excess amount of starch and softening compound, which is then passed through compacting device at a speed of 20mtr/min and pressure of 4 bar/sq inch and compressed between the Teflon endless belt and steel drum to produce soft-textured narrow elastic fabric.

The present invention has been described through the illustration of the preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art can derive variations from the preferred embodiment without departing from scope of the present invention. Therefore, the preferred embodiment shall not limit the scope of the present invention defined in the claims.
,CLAIMS:1. A soft-textured narrow elastic fabric comprising a narrow elastic fabric (2) impregnated with a softening compound into core of the narrow elastic fabric.
2. The soft-textured narrow elastic fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the narrow elastic fabric (2) is further impregnated with starch.
3. The soft-textured narrow elastic fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the softening compound is impregnated by applying ultrasonic atomizer (10) and spray device (6).
4. A method of manufacturing a soft-textured narrow elastic fabric comprising steps of:
(a) passing a narrow elastic fabric (2) through a chemical tank (8) filled with a chemical solution of starch and softening compound,
(b) subjecting the chemical solution of step (a) to ultrasonic atomizer (10) to form a stream of bubbles to allow chemicals to penetrate into the core of the narrow elastic fabric (2),
(c) spraying the chemical solution uninterruptedly on the narrow elastic fabric obtained in step (b) using a spray device (6) to obtain an impregnated narrow fabric,
(d) passing the impregnated narrow fabric obtained in step (c) through padding rollers (11) at pressure of 4-6 bar/sq inch to remove excess amount of starch and softening compound, and
(e) passing the narrow fabric obtained in step (d) through compacting device at a speed of 10-20 mtr/min and pressure of 4-6bar/sq inch and compressed between the Teflon endless belt (14) and steel drum (13) to obtain the soft-textured narrow elastic fabric.