Anti-allergen fabric

Abstract

An anti-allergen fabric is woven by warp yarns and weft twines, wrap twines and weft yarns, or wrap twines and weft twines. Each of the wrap twines or weft twines is formed of a plurality of yarns. The anti-allergen fabric has a mean pore size not greater than 9 μm. Therefore, the anti-allergen fabric has advantages of relatively better anti-allergen effect, longer duration in use and lower manufacturing cost.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/387,946 filed on Mar. 24, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to fabrics and more particularly, to an anti-allergen woven fabric that is inexpensive to manufacture and durable in use.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional anti-allergen fabrics are woven fabrics of fine yarns. The greater the number of yarns in a unit area of the fabric, the smaller the mean pore size of the fabric will be. When the mean pore size of a fabric is smaller than the size of the allergen, such as pollen, dust mite, etc., the fabric can provide an anti-allergen effect. Normally, the conventional anti-allergen fabric has a mean pore size smaller than about 10 μm.

Because fine yarns for weaving anti-allergen fabrics are commonly formed of natural or synthetic fibers, the fine yarns have a limited strength. When weaving more yarns in a unit area, fine yarns will bear a relatively greater stretching force during weaving. Therefore, when wishing to make a woven fabric having a mean pore size below 10 μm, it is needed to use synthetic fibers of high toughness or natural fibers of the first class. However, a woven fabric made of synthetic fibers does not provide a nice touch. If natural fibers of the first class are used to make the woven fabric, the cost of the woven fabric will be very expensive so that the woven fabric will be less acceptable to the consumers. Therefore, manufacturers are trying hard to develop new anti-allergen fabrics of reasonable price that are acceptable to the consumers.

There are manufacturers using fine yarns of twisted fibers of regular price to make a fabric having a big pore size and then employing a calendering technique to flatten the fine yarns so as to reduce the mesh size. However, when the fabric is washed, the fine yarns resume to their former shape, and the mesh size becomes greater, loosing the anti-allergen function.

Further, a woven fabric of fine yarns normally has a relatively thinner thickness so that it is breakable when undergoing wash and/or a long time of use, thereby lowering the anti-allergen effect and limiting the duration thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide an anti-allergen fabric, which has a great anti-allergen effect and is durable in use.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an anti-allergen fabric, which is inexpensive to manufacture.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the anti-allergen fabric is a woven fabric of warp yarns and weft twines having a mean pore size not greater than 9 μm. Each weft twine is formed of a plurality of yarns. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the anti-allergen fabric is a woven fabric of warp twines and weft yarns having a mean pore size not greater than 9 μm. Each warp twine is formed of a plurality of yarns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by reading the following detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of an anti-allergen fabric in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an anti-allergen fabric 10 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is a woven fabric of warp yarns 12 and weft twines 14. Each warp yarn 12 is formed of twisted cotton fibers. Each weft twine 14 is formed of two yarns 15 arranged in parallel. The mean pore size of the anti-allergen fabric 10 is about 9 μm so that the anti-allergen fabric 10 can effectively block allergens such as pollens, dust mites, etc. Because each weft twine 14 is formed of two yarns 15, the strength of the weft twine 14 is substantially increased. During weaving, the weft twines 14 can bear a high stretching force so that more weft twines 14 can be woven in each unit area. Therefore, natural fibers of usual class can be used to make the weft twines 14 and the warp yarns 12, and sufficient weft twines 14 and warp yarns 12 can be woven into each unit area to form the desired anti-allergen fabric 10 having a mean pore size equal to or less than about 9 μm, which can effectively block allergens. As indicated, the present invention has not only a better anti-allergen effect but also a lower manufacturing cost due to the use of the usual quality yarns. Further, because the weft twines 14 have a high toughness, the anti-allergen fabric 10 is durable in use. The anti-allergen effect of the fabric is not reduced as prior art after being washed.

During fabrication, the warp yarns 12 and the weft twines 14 can be starched to enhance the fabric's strength and flexibility, thereby improving the clearness of the opening of the loom and preventing breaking of the warp yarns 12 and the weft twines 14 when they are heavily stretched. Therefore, the invention greatly increases the count of the warp yarns and the weft twines in each unit area and greatly reduces the mean pore size of the fabric, thereby improving the anti-allergen effect. Natural or synthetic fibers can be used to make the yarns. Further, each weft twine 14 can be formed of three or more yarns that can be arranged in parallel, or twisted or wound together.

FIG. 2 shows an anti-allergen fabric 20 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The anti-allergen fabric 20 is a woven fabric of warp yarns 22 and weft twines 24. According to this embodiment, each weft twine 24 is formed of two yarns 25 that are twisted together. This embodiment achieves the same effects as the aforesaid first embodiment.

It is to be easily understood that there are a variety of alternative embodiments that can achieve the same effects as the aforesaid embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, FIG. 3 shows an anti-allergen fabric 30 in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. The anti-allergen fabric 30 is a woven fabric of warp twines 32 and weft twines 34. According to this embodiment, each warp twine 32 is formed of two yarns 33 that are arranged in parallel, and each weft twine 34 is formed of two yarns 35 that are twisted together. This embodiment allows more yarns to be woven in each unit area so that the woven fabric can have a relatively smaller mean pore size. Further, this embodiment allows the use of relatively cheaper fibers to save the cost.

FIG. 4 shows an anti-allergen fabric 40 in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The anti-allergen fabric 40 is a woven fabric of warp twines 42 and weft yarns 44. According to this embodiment, each warp twine 42 is formed of two yarns 43 arranged in parallel.

FIG. 5 shows an anti-allergen fabric 50 in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The anti-allergen fabric 50 is a woven fabric of warp twines 52 and weft yarns 54. The fifth embodiment is similar to the aforesaid fourth embodiment with the exception that according to this embodiment, each warp twine 52 is formed of two yarns 53 that are twisted together.

According to the spirit and the scope of the present invention, the anti-allergen woven fabric of the present invention can be made as a double-layer or multi-layer fabric. FIG. 6 shows an anti-allergen fabric 60 in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The anti-allergen fabric 60 is comprised of a surface layer 61 and a lining layer 65. The surface layer 61 is a woven fabric of warp yarns 62 and weft twines 63. Each weft twine 63 is formed of two yarns 64 that are arranged in parallel. The lining layer 65 is a woven fabric of warp twines 66 and weft yarns 68. Each warp twine 66 is formed of two yarns 67 that are twisted together. This embodiment allows more yarns to be woven into each unit area, providing an optimum anti-allergen effect. When the surface layer 61 is broken, the lining layer 65 works as a secondary barrier, thereby extending the service life of the anti-allergen fabric 60.

FIG. 7 shows an anti-allergen fabric 70 in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the anti-allergen fabric 70 is comprised of a surface layer 71 and a lining layer 75. The surface layer 71 is a woven fabric of warp twines 72 and weft yarns 74. Each warp twine 72 is comprised of two yarns 73 that are arranged in parallel. The lining layer 75 is a woven fabric of warp twines 76 and weft yarns 78. Each warp twine 76 is formed of two yarns 77 that are twisted together. This embodiment achieves the same effects as the aforesaid various different embodiments.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Actually, the objectives of the present invention can be achieved as long as the twines formed of a plurality of yarns that are arranged parallel or twisted are used to weave the anti-allergen fabric no matter the twines are used as one or both of the wrap twines and weft twines in manufacturing. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An dust mite allergen barrier fabric being a woven fabric of warp twines and weft twines and having a mean pore size not greater than 9 μm, said warp twines each formed of a plurality of yarns, said weft twine each formed of a plurality of yarns.

2. The dust mite allergen barrier fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said warp twines each are formed of a plurality of yarns that are arranged in parallel.

3. The dust mite allergen barrier fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said warp twines each are formed of a plurality of yarns that are twisted together.

4. The dust mite allergen barrier fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said weft twines each are formed of a plurality of yarns that are arranged in parallel.

5. The dust mite allergen barrier fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein said weft twines each are formed of a plurality of yarns that are twisted together.