Milliken + Co

Karen H Stavrakas

Nathan B Emery

Franklin Sadler Love, Iii

Joseph E Rumler

Randy G Meeks

Mathias Richardson

Robert Hollar

Marion Pittman

Joseph L Alexander

Carma Dunyell Jordan

Emery Robert Hollar, Iii

Terry S Taylor

John R Farrall

Fabric

The invention relates to a process of forming a nonwoven fabric with microsponges comprising obtaining a nonwoven base comprising fibers having a first side and a second side and having a weight of greater than about 2 oz/yd, stitching the nonwoven base with a stitching yarn in elongated spaced apart rows of stitches, the rows of stitching having a stitch shape factor greater than 0.54 wherein the stitching yarn has a tenacity greater than 1 gf/denier. Next, a plurality of microsponges is formed by impinging the first side of the stitched nonwoven fabric with a collimated fluid stream with from about 100 to 200 joules per gram while supporting the stitched nonwoven fabric on a supporting member having areas impervious to the collimated fluid and pores in the supporting member which are pervious to the collimated fluid. The pores of the supporting member have a pore shape factor value of at least the stitch shape factor value of the rows of stitches and the ratio of the distance between the rows of stitches to the average width of the pores is from about 3:2 to 5:2. Also disclosed are the product made by the process and the article.

Nonwoven towel with microsponges

A process for producing fancy woven fabrics having balanced hand characteristics on each of the face and back is described. The process involves hydraulically processing a fancy-woven fabric having spun yarns in the warp to force fibers from spun yarns which are dominant on one fabric surface through the fabric to regions to form a nap on the other surface of the fabric. The process achieves fabrics having balanced hand characteristics with superior strength to those formed by conventional napping and sanding processes. In addition, the patterns have good pattern clarity.

Hydraulic napping of fabrics with jacquard or dobby patterns

A fabric having at least one hydraulically napped surface comprised of tangled fibers is disclosed. Because the fiber tangles are created from intact, undamaged fibers, fabric strength is not adversely affected by treatment. In addition, laundering enhances entanglement and the aesthetic qualities attributed to this fabric property: surface texture (hand), resistance to pilling, drapeability, and the like. These subjective characteristics have been quantified using values from the Kawabata Evaluation System. A process for creating such fabrics has also been disclosed. The fabric passes through one or two treatment zones in which high pressure fluids (e.g., water) are directed at the fabric surface as the fabric moves away from a support member. In the case of dual treatment zones, a substantially lower pressure is used in the second treatment zone.

Napped fabric and process

Growing community of inventors

Greenville, SC, United States of America

Karen H Stavrakas