Terry Product

The present invention relates to a terry product which consists, in a manner known per se, of a textile base material and a pile associated with the base material.

Terry products are textile articles with a particular absorbency and a pleasant feel, which are used, in particular, in the fields of home textiles and sports articles. The pile (in particular in the form of yarn loops) which is associated with a textile base material, e.g. a fabric, is characteristic of terry products.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “terry product” covers especially but not exclusively products such as terry cloths, velour terry products, milled terry products and twisted terry products.

Terry products, e.g. towels, have to meet specific demands especially in terms of their softness, their absorbency, their bulkiness und their bulk stability (during storage, a stack of towels must not sink down under its own weight).

Presently, commercially available terry products essentially consist of cotton. Towels made of cotton exhibit the required bulkiness, bulk stability and absorbency.

However, in order to achieve the required softness of the product, cotton products must be furnished with a plasticizer. For home washing, the use of fabric softeners is necessary. Both plasticizers and fabric softeners are suspected to be allergenic. Moreover, plasticizers substantially reduce the absorbency and absorption rate of products furnished therewith.

Without the use of plasticizers and fabric softeners, terry products made of conventional modal fibres are soft and also absorbent but exhibit a lower bulkiness and a lower bulk stability than products made of 100% cotton.

Terry products comprising a mixture of cotton and conventional modal fibres are soft, absorbent and have sufficient bulkiness but do not exhibit sufficient bulk stability.

Terry products made of synthetic fibres (e.g. micropolyester) are soft but have to be furnished with hydrophilic chemicals in order to attain sufficient absorbency.

It is the object of the present invention to provide terry products which meet the demands made on such textile articles in an excellent manner without exhibiting the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior art products.

Said object is achieved with a terry product which is characterized in that the base material and/or the pile comprise(s) at least partially a cellulose fibre selected from the group consisting of viscose fibres, modal fibres, polynosic fibres and lyocell, which cellulose fibre has a titre of more than 1.7 dtex to 4.5 dtex.

Surprisingly, it has been found that the use of “man-made” cellulose fibres, i.e., viscose fibres, modal fibres, polynosic fibres and lyocell fibres, in a specific titre range of from more than 1.7 dtex to 4.5 dtex in a terry product causes the products according to the invention to exhibit both excellent bulkiness and excellent bulk stability.

Absorbency is improved in comparison to existing products comprising, for example, modal fibres having a lower titre or mixtures, respectively, of modal fibres with a lower titre and cotton. In a preferred embodiment, fibres with a modified cross-section, in particular fibres with a multilobal cross-section, are used, since the absorption rate and absorbency are once more improved as a result of the enlarged fibre surface. A trilobal cross-section is particularly preferred. “Man-made” cellulose fibres having a multilobal cross-section are described, for example, in EP 0 301 874 A1 as well as in WO 2006/060835.

Preferably, the titre of the cellulose fibre used according to the invention ranges from 2 dtex to 4.5 dtex, particularly preferably from 2.2 dtex to 3.3 dtex, most preferably from 2.5 dtex to 2.8 dtex, in particular from 2,5 dtex to 2.6 dtex.

The use of a modal fibre in the above-mentioned titre range is particularly preferred.

The name “modal fibre” is a generic term which, according to the definition by BISFA (Bureau for the International Standardization of Man-Made Fibers), denotes a cellulose fibre having a defined high wet strength and a high wet modulus that has also been defined (i.e., the force which is required for expanding the fibre in the wet state by 5%).

Due to the softness of the modal fibre, neither plasticizers are required during the production, nor fabric softeners are needed for further use in the terry product according to the invention.

In the terry product according to the invention, the cellulose fibre used can be provided as a cellulose staple fibre having a cutting length of from 30 mm to 60 mm, preferably from 38 mm to 51 mm.

The cellulose fibre can be present in the form of a yarn or a twisted yarn produced therefrom. Types known per se such as, e.g., ring spun yarns, SIRO-yarns, core-spun yarns, compact yarns, OE-yarns, air-jet yarns, chenille yarns, looped yarns and zero-twist yarns, for example, in a mixture with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-fibres and -yarns, come into consideration as yarns.

In the terry product according to the invention, the cellulose fibre can be present in a mixture with a fibre material selected from the group consisting of cotton, polyester, wool, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyacryl (PAC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), linen, silk, or also viscose fibres, polynosic fibres, lyocell fibres and modal fibres having a, for example, lower titre range.

A mixture of a modal fibre in the above-mentioned titre range with cotton is particularly advantageous.

In a preferred embodiment, the textile base material and/or the pile consist(s) essentially entirely of the cellulose fibre or the mixture comprising the cellulose fibre, respectively. This means that exclusively yarns from the cellulose fibre or blended yarns, respectively, from the cellulose fibre and a second component, e.g. cotton, are used for the production of the base material and/or the pile.

The proportion of the cellulose fibre in the base material and/or the pile advantageously ranges from 1% to 100%, preferably from 10% to 100%, particularly preferably from 30% to 100%.

Mixtures of, in each case, 30% to 50% modal fibres and 70% to 50% cotton, e.g., 30% modal fibres/70% cotton or 50% modal fibres/50% cotton, are particularly preferred. As mentioned above, these mixtures can be used in the material of the pile and/or in the material of the backing fabric.

In a possible embodiment, merely the pile consists essentially entirely of the cellulose fibre or, respectively, comprises a mixture with a different fibre, and the base material consists of a different fibre material. An embodiment with a base material of, for example, 100% cotton and a pile of 100% modal fibres or a mixture of 50% modal fibres and 50% cotton is advantageous.

In a further embodiment, both the pile and the base material consist essentially entirely of the cellulose fibre or, respectively, comprise a mixture with a different fibre. An embodiment is beneficial in which both the base material and the pile are made of 100% modal fibres or a mixture of 50% modal fibres and 50% cotton or a mixture of 30% modal fibres and 70% cotton, respectively.

In a further embodiment, the base material consists of either 100% cotton or 100% modal fibres. The pile consists of two threads, namely a thread made of 100% modal fibres and a thread made of 100% cotton. This construction allows itself to be woven, depending on the pattern, with the main focus specifically on the modal fibres or the cotton, respectively. In case of piece dyeing with selected dyestuffs, the portions of cotton and modal fibres, respectively, differ in terms of shade and colour depth (e.g. Jacquard effect). Instead of cotton, a fibre from the group comprising polyester, wool, polypropylene, polyamide, polyacryl, polyvinyl alcohol, linen, silk, viscose, polynosic and lyocell and/or mixtures thereof can also be used for the second thread.

In the terry product according to the invention, the pile preferably consists, as is known per se, of yarn loops or, as with velour goods, of shorn yarn loops.

The textile base material is preferably selected from the group consisting of woven fabrics, warp-knitted fabrics, knitted fabrics and stitch-knitted fabrics.

The terry product according to the invention is preferably provided in the form of or as a component, respectively, of an article selected from the group consisting of towels, beach towels, bath towels, sauna towels, bath robes, washcloths, bath carpets, tea towels, bedclothes, e.g. bed linens, mattress and blanket covers and mattress supports, baby clothes, sportswear, socks, lining materials and diapers.

Examples:

Example 1:

The warp of the base material consists of a 100% cotton yarn (Ne23.5/2 or Ne12/1), the weft also consists of 100% cotton – (Ne 16.5/1). For the pile, a blended yarn made up of 50% modal fibres (2.5 dtex, cutting length 38 mm) and 50% cotton (Ne 16.5/1) is used. The finished product exhibits excellent absorbency, high bulkiness and excellent bulk stability. The article has an inherently soft and pleasant feel. Finishing with plasticizers is not required but actually has adverse effects since the absorbency and absorption rate are clearly reduced.

Example 2:

The warp of the base material consists, as in Example 1, of a 100% cotton yarn (Ne23.5/2 or Ne12/1) and the weft consists of 100% cotton – Ne 16.5/1. For the pile, a yarn mixture of 88% modal fibres (2.5 dtex, cutting length 51 mm) and 12% PVA (Ne 12 zero-twist yarn) is used. During the further processing of the product, the PVA fibres are extracted, whereby the weight of the product is reduced. The finished product exhibits excellent absorbency and a very high volume of the looped yarn. Due to the improved fibre bonding in the looped yarn as a result of using a 2.5 dtex modal fibre with a cutting length of 51 mm, such a towel loses far less fibres during use than a comparable towel from a zero-twist yarn made of cotton.

Example 3:

The warp of the base material consists of a 100% cotton yarn (Ne23.5/2 or Ne12/1), the weft also consists of 100% cotton – (Ne 16.5/1). For the pile, a blended yarn made up of 50% modal fibres having a trilobal fibre cross-section (2.5 dtex, cutting length 38 mm) and 50% cotton (Ne 16.5/1) is used. The finished product exhibits excellent absorbency, high bulkiness and excellent bulk stability. The article has an inherently soft and pleasant feel. Finishing with plasticizers is not required but actually has adverse effects since the absorbency and absorption rate are clearly reduced. Bulkiness, bulk stability, absorption rate and absorbency are once more improved in comparison to Example 1.