DOUBLE-FACED WOVEN FABRIC

Abstract

A double-faced woven fabric includes a first and a second weave unit interlocked to each other at a plurality of stitching points. The first weave unit includes a plurality of interlaced first warp and weft threads to define a first face, and the second weave unit includes a plurality of interlaced second warp and weft threads to define a second face, which is not coplanar with the first face. The stitching points are formed by crossing the first warp threads over predetermined second weft threads, so that the stitching points are always covered by float second warp threads adjacent to the stitching points. The double-faced woven fabric with the interlocked first and second weave units has largely increased fabric strength and can present different textures, colors or patterns on the first and the second face to thereby provide good applicability.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a woven fabric that presents different textures, colors or patterns on two opposite faces thereof, and more particularly to a double-faced woven fabric that include a first weave unit and a second weave unit interlocked at a plurality of stitching points without showing defective color spots at the stitching points.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the progress and development in different scientific and industrial fields, new and good weaving techniques are constantly introduced into the market. The textile industry has close relation with people's daily life and plays a very important role in supplying products in connection with clothing, housing and traffic means needed by most people. In brief, the textile industry is one of the most important sectors in the livelihood-related industries. Following the upgraded living quality in the modern society and people's strong demand for constantly improved textile products, various fabrics of different functions have been developed.

By “fabrics”, it means sheets of cloth that are formed by, for example, interlacing, weaving or knitting fibers or yarn and threads in predetermined manners. The currently available fabrics can be divided according to texture and processing principle into woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, non-woven fabrics, and fabrics with other structures. All these types of fabrics can serve as clothing fabric, furnishing fabric and industrial fabric according to their applications. The forming of these fabrics is generally referred to as the manufacture of fabric.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective and cross sectional views, respectively, of a conventional double-faced fabric. Generally speaking, for a fabric to present different textures or colors on two opposite faces thereof, it is necessary to prepare two pieces of cloth 10, 11 having different textures or colors. Thereafter, a bonding material 12 is applied to between the two pieces of cloth 10, 11 to bond them into a smooth piece. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, two pieces of cloth 20, 21 are prepared and then connected together by sewing a thread 22 along the peripheral edges thereof, so as to form a flat piece of double-faced fabric.

The conventional double-faced fabric requires additional processing procedures, which inevitably increases the manufacturing cost of the fabric. Further, the two pieces of cloth being bonded together to form the conventional double-faced fabric are subject to separation from each other after the double-faced fabric has been used and washed many times. Even with the conventional double-faced fabric formed by sewing two pieces of cloth together, the sewing thread 22 is subject to loosening or breaking to cause complete or partial separation of the two pieces of cloth from each other. In brief, the conventional double-faced fabric is formed by bonding or sewing together two pieces of cloth of different colors and textures, and has the disadvantages of high manufacturing cost and not durable for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a double-faced woven fabric having upgraded fabric strength, attractive appearance and good applicability by interlacing warp threads and weft threads of different colors using general weaving materials and weaving machines to form two weave units interlocked via a plurality of stitching points formed between them, so that different colors and textures can be presented on two opposite faces of the woven fabric.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a double-faced woven fabric characterized by that all stitching points thereof are covered by float warp threads adjacent to the stitching points, so that both faces of the woven fabric present color integrity without any defects of different color spots at the stitching points.

To achieve the above and other objects, the double-faced woven fabric according to the present invention includes a first weave unit, a second weave unit, and a plurality of stitching points. The first weave unit includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced first warp threads and a plurality of transversely spaced first weft threads, which are interlaced to define a first face. The second weave unit includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced second warp threads and a plurality of transversely spaced second weft threads, which are interlaced to define a second face. The second face and the first face are not coplanar. The stitching points are formed by crossing the first warp threads of the first weave unit over predetermined second weft threads of the second weave unit, so that the first weave unit and the second weave unit are interlocked at the stitching points.

According to the present invention, at least one of two second warp threads that are adjacent to two lateral sides of each stitching point is a float warp, so that the first warp threads at the stitching points are covered by the float second warp threads adjacent thereto after water shrinkage of the produced double-faced woven fabric. In the present invention, all the float second warp threads for covering the first warp threads at the stitching points are located at the same lateral side of the stitching points, and the stitching points are spaced from one another by a predetermined number of warp threads or weft threads.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first face and the second face defined by the first weave unit and the second weave unit, respectively, are selected from the group consisting of a plain-weave face, a twill-weave face, a checkered face, a striped face, and a face showing any geometrical patterns.

The present invention is characterized by interlacing warp threads and weft threads of different colors using general weaving materials and weaving machines to form two weave units, which are not coplanar and are interlocked at a plurality of stitching points between them to thereby form a double-faced woven fabric. The double-faced woven fabric so formed has largely increased structural strength, and can present different colors, textures and patterns on the first and second faces, giving the woven fabric attractive appearance and good applicability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 shows a conventional double-faced fabric that includes two pieces of cloth being bonded together;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the double-faced fabric shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows another conventional double-faced fabric that includes two pieces of cloth being sewed together;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a double-faced woven fabric according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a basic weave structure for the double-faced woven fabric according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows how a float warp thread shifts to cover a stitching point according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows the stitching point is covered by the shifted float warp thread; and

FIG. 8 shows another basic weave structure for the double-faced woven fabric according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand, elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The present invention provides a double-faced woven fabric that presents different textures and colors at two opposite faces thereof. The double-faced woven fabric of the present invention is obtained mainly by weaving warp threads and weft threads of different colors, such that two weave units located in two different planes are mutually connected via a plurality of stitching points. The double-faced woven fabric of the present invention can be woven using general weaving materials and weaving machines without any particular restriction thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 4. The double-faced woven fabric according to the present invention includes a first weave unit 30, a second weave unit 40, and a plurality of stitching points 50. The first weave unit 30 includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced first warp threads 31 and a plurality of transversely spaced first weft threads 32. The first warp threads 31 and the first weft threads 32 are interlaced to define a first face of the double-faced woven fabric. The second weave unit 40 includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced second warp threads 41 and a plurality of transversely spaced second weft threads 42. The second warp threads 41 and the second weft threads 42 are interlaced to define a second face of the double-faced woven fabric. The first face and the second face are not coplanar.

The stitching points 50 are formed by crossing the first warp threads 31 of the first weave unit 30 over predetermined second weft threads 42 of the second weave unit 40, so that the first weave unit 30 and the second weave unit 40 are interlocked at the stitching points 50.

FIG. 5 shows a basic weave structure for the double-faced woven fabric according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Herein, the basic weave structure according to the first embodiment is described with a piece of red plain-weave cloth and a piece of orange plain-weave cloth. In FIG. 5, diagrams A1, A2 and A3 are exploded views of the weave structure of the red plain-weave cloth, while diagrams B1, B2 and B3 are exploded views of the weave structure of the orange plain-weave cloth.

In the illustrated first preferred embodiment, 300 denier (d/f) warp and weft threads are used (denier is defined as “the mass of thread W per 9000 meters of thread length L”), and the warp and weft threads are woven at a density of 120×70 per inch. Both the warp threads and the weft threads include alternately spaced red and orange threads. As an assembled weave structure diagram shown at the top of FIG. 5, there are eight heald frames in warp direction; the warp threads are so arranged that red threads are spaced alternately with orange threads, and the warp threads A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are sequentially drafted straightly in the warp direction. That is, warp threads A, C, E and G are red threads while warp threads B, D, F and H are orange threads. Meanwhile, there are eight cards in weft direction; the weft threads are also so arranged that the red threads are spaced alternately with the orange threads, and the weft threads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are sequentially woven in the weft direction. That is, weft threads 1, 3, 5 and 7 are red threads while weft threads 2, 4, 6 and 8 are orange threads.

As shown, A1, A5, C3, C7, E1, ES, G3 and G7 are weave points with red warp floats, while B2, B6, D4, D8, F2, F6, H4 and H8 are weave points with orange warp floats. Regarding the orange warp threads at weave points B1, B3, B5, B7, D1, D3, D5, D7, F1, F3, F5, F7, H1, H3, H5 and H7, since B, D, F and H are threads in an upper second plane, warp threads B, D, F and H all are located over a lower first plane defined by the weft threads 1, 3, 5 and 7 to form raised weave points.

As can be seen from the exploded diagrams A1 to A3, the odd warp threads in red and the odd weft threads in red are located in the lower first plane and are interlaced to form a piece of red plain-weave cloth defining a lower face of the double-faced woven fabric. Similarly, as can be seen from the exploded diagrams B1 to B3, the even warp threads in orange and the even weft threads in orange are located in the upper second plane and are interlaced to form a piece of orange plain-weave cloth defining an upper face of the double-faced woven fabric.

In the present invention, the stitching points 50 are so designed that they can be covered by the weave at one lateral side thereof, so as to avoid forming defective color spots on the woven fabric at the stitching points 50. In the case of failing to cover the stitching points 50, orange stitching points would appear on the red plain-weave cloth and red stitching points would appear on the orange plain-weave cloth.

Please refer to FIG. 6. When the first warp threads 31 of the first weave unit 30 interlace with selected second weft threads 42 of the second weave unit 40 to form stitching points 50, at least one of two second warp threads 41 located adjacent to two lateral sides of each of the stitching points 50 is a float warp, which, after water shrinkage, will cover the first warp thread 31 at the stitching point 50, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6. By “water shrinkage”, it means, when the produced woven fabric is water washed as a fabric treatment thereof, the distances between any two adjacent warp threads and any two adjacent weft threads are reduced to cause shrinkage of the whole piece of woven fabric. After water shrinkage, the float second warp threads 41 located at and over two lateral sides of the stitching points 50 would move closer to one another without leaving any naked-eye observable clearance between them, so that the first warp threads 31 showing different colors at the stitching points 50 are covered by the shrunk second warp threads 41, and no defective color spot would present on the double-faced woven fabric.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stitching points 50 are spaced from one another by a predetermined number of warp threads or weft threads. As shown in FIG. 5, the odd warp threads C, G are respectively interlaced with the even weft threads 8, 4 to form two stitching points (C, 8) and (G, 4).

As can be seen from FIG. 7, according to the present invention, the float second warp thread 41 located at the right side of each stitching point 50 is shifted leftward, such that the two float second warp threads 41 located at two lateral sides of the stitching point 50 cooperatively cover the stitching point 50 below them. In this manner, the first warp thread 31 located at the stitching point 50 and showing a different color from that of the second warp threads 41 is invisibly located below two float second warp threads 41 to avoid forming a defective color spot on the double-faced woven fabric at the stitching point 50, so that the red plain-weave cloth and the orange plain-weave cloth together form a piece of double-faced woven fabric with color integrity and high fabric strength.

From the above description, it can be found that, in the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, while it is also possible for the warp thread C in the lower first plane (also referred to as first warp thread C) to interlace with the weft threads 2, 4 and 6 in the upper second plane (also referred to second weft threads 2, 4, 6) to form other stitching points, warp thread G in the lower first plane (also referred to as first warp thread G) can only interlace with predetermined weft threads in the upper second plane (also referred to as second weft threads) to form stitching points, such that there are always float second warp threads located at the same lateral side of the stitching points.

For example, in the case the first warp thread C interlaces with the second weft thread 2, the first warp thread G can be interlaced with the second weft threads 2 and 6 to form two stitching points; or alternatively, in the case the first warp thread C interlaces with the second weft thread 4, the first warp thread G can be interlaced with the second weft threads 4 and 8 to form two stitching points. Thus, it is ensured the first warp thread G at the two stitching points (G, 2; G, 6) or (G, 4; G, 8) can always be covered by the shrunk float second warp threads adjacent to the same lateral side of the stitching points, allowing the stitching points to invisibly locate between the lower face (i.e. the first weave unit) and the upper face (i.e. the second weave unit) of the double-faced woven fabric.

FIG. 8 shows another basic weave structure for the double-faced woven fabric according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Herein, the second basic weave structure is described with a piece of red plain-weave cloth and a piece of light khaki twill-weave cloth. In FIG. 8, diagrams C1, C2 and C3 are exploded views of the red plain-weave cloth, while diagrams D1, D2 and D3 are exploded views of the light khaki twill-weave cloth.

In the illustrated second preferred embodiment, 300 denier (d/f) warp and weft threads are used (denier is defined as “the mass of thread W per 9000 meters of thread length L”), and the warp and weft threads are woven at a density of 120×70 per inch. The warp threads include red threads and light khaki threads, and the weft threads include only red threads. As an assembled weave structure diagram shown at the top of FIG. 8, there are eight heald frames in warp direction; the warp threads are so arranged that red threads are spaced alternately with light khaki threads, and the warp threads A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are sequentially drafted straightly in the warp direction. Meanwhile, there are eight cards in weft direction; and the red weft threads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are sequentially woven in the weft direction.

As can be seen from the diagrams C1 to C3, the even warp threads in red and the odd weft threads in red are interlaced to form a piece of red plain-weave cloth. Similarly, as can be seen from the diagrams D1 to D3, the even warp threads in light khaki and red and the even weft threads in red are interlaced to form a piece of twill-weave cloth showing red and light khaki colors.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the second preferred embodiment, the odd warp threads A, E are respectively interlaced with the even weft threads 8, 4 to form two stitching points (C, 8) and (E, 4). Just as in the first preferred embodiment, the red plain-weave cloth and the red/light khaki twill-weave cloth are connected to each other at invisible stitching points to form a complete double-faced woven fabric with high fabric strength. In this manner, the obtained red plain-weave cloth would not show any light khaki stitching points, and the obtained light khaki twill-weave cloth would not show any red stitching points.

According to the above two embodiments of the present invention, the first face defined by the first weave unit 30 and the second face defined by the second weave unit 40 can be differently designed according to the required appearances, textures and colors. For example, the first face and the second face can respectively be a plain-weave face, a twill weave face, a checkered face or a striped face for forming two opposite faces of the double-faced woven fabric of the present invention. It is understood the textures and colors mentioned in the above-described embodiments are only illustrative to enable easy explanation of the present invention and not intended to limit the appearances and shapes of the first and second faces in any way. In other words, the first face and the second face may also show any other geometrical patterns and colors.

In brief, according to the present invention, warp threads and weft threads of different colors are interlaced to produce a double-faced woven fabric showing different colors and textures on two opposite faces thereof. The double-faced woven fabric of the present invention can be woven with general weaving materials and weaving machines without any particular restriction thereto, and includes two weave units that define two different faces of the woven fabric and are connected together via a plurality of stitching points between them. The double-faced woven fabric so formed has largely upgraded structural strength, attractive appearance and good applicability. Further, the double-faced woven fabric of the present invention is characterized by that all the stitching points are covered by the float second warp threads adjacent to the stitching points, so that both faces of the woven fabric present color integrity without showing any defects of different color spots at the stitching points.

The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A double-faced woven fabric, comprising:

a first weave unit including a plurality of longitudinally spaced first warp threads and a plurality of transversely spaced first weft threads; the first warp threads and the first weft threads being interlaced to define a first face;

a second weave unit including a plurality of longitudinally spaced second warp threads and a plurality of transversely spaced second weft threads; the second warp threads and the second weft threads being interlaced to define a second face; and the second face and the first face being non-coplanar faces; and

a plurality of stitching points being formed by crossing the first warp threads of the first weave unit over predetermined second weft threads of the second weave unit, so that the first weave unit and the second weave unit are interlocked at the stitching points.

2. The double-faced woven fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of two second warp threads that are adjacent to two lateral sides of each of the stitching points is a float warp.

3. The double-faced woven fabric as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first warp threads at the stitching points are covered by the float second warp threads adjacent thereto after water shrinkage of the produced double-faced woven fabric.

4. The double-faced woven fabric as claimed in claim 3, wherein all the float second warp threads for covering the first warp threads at the stitching points are located at the same lateral side of the stitching points.

5. The double-faced woven fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stitching points are spaced from one another by a predetermined number of warp threads or weft threads.

6. The double-faced woven fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first face and the second face defined by the first weave unit and the second weave unit, respectively, are selected from the group consisting of a plain-weave face, a twill-weave face, a checkered face, a striped face, and a face showing any geometrical patterns.