WOVEN TEXTURIZED FILAMENT BED BLANKET

RELATED APPLICATION

[00001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/162,208 filed August 31, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[00002] This invention is directed to bedding and, more particularly, to blankets, particularly for use in the hospital and hospitality industry.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[00003] Historically, woven blankets used for comfort and/or warmth and/or decorative purposes in bedding applications have been manufactured utilizing spun yarns of natural, synthetic, and some combination of natural and synthetic yarns. Specifically, versions are

known to commonly exist that are made from cotton, wool, polyester and acrylic fiber yarns or combinations of these.

[00004] Blankets have also been manufactured by compressing cut fibers forming non- wovens, or flocking of cut staple fibers to a base substrate. Blankets can also be formed from circular knitting, as well as warp knitting. Each of these constructions offers specific advantages and disadvantages with respect to the use as a blanket or article of bedding.

[00005] Blankets must retain heat. Unlike a bed sheet, they should be thick. In the hospitality industry, lighter blankets are preferred because they are less expensive to launder. The selection of the appropriate material, i.e., the spun yarn or staple fibers, introduces limitations with respect to the finished product. These limitations may relate to product strength, consistency of quality, dyeability or color retention, inherent cost of yarn spinning or staple fiber preparation, diminishing thermal retentive performance associated with weight loss, as well as excessive weight associated with providing a blanket with acceptable thermal properties and market acceptable hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[00006] The present invention is premised on the realization that a bedding linen having excellent thermal retention with a low weight, and which dries quickly and is stable with respect to chlorine bleach, can be formed from a yarn wherein the filaments of the yarn are formed from a material having a specific gravity less than about 1. The yarn is advantageously air textured, such as by a core-and-effect method or a parallel method, and may be polypropylene having a

specific gravity of not more than about 1, and advantageously less than about 1. The air textured yarn may be used in the fill, the warp, or both.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00007] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

[00008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a blanket according to the present invention.

[00009] FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the bedding of

FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00010] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is a blanket 10 having four finished edge surfaces 12,14,16,18 and a field 20. The field 20 is a woven material formed from interwoven warp yarns 22 or ends extending between top and bottom edges 12 and 16, and filling yarns 24 or picks extending between left and right edges 14 and 18, for example. The warp and filling yarns can be different or the same material and, preferably, are formed from the same type of yarn.

[00011] The yarn 22 or 24 for use in the present invention includes one or more synthetic continuous filaments 26, and is advantageously comprising of a plurality thereof so as to be a synthetic multi-filament yarn. The filaments 26 are formed from a material having a specific gravity of not more than about 1, and advantageously less than about 1. Polypropylene which has a specific gravity of .91 may be use to form the filaments 26, although other polymeric materials can be utilized.

[00012] The yarn 22 or 24 is formed and air textured. The air texturing may be

accomplished using, for example, the Taslan® method. The term "Taslan texturing" as used

herein is meant to refer to a process in which a jet or jets of compressed air are directed against the yarn such as in a texturing chamber (not shown), usually in the direction of travel of the yarn, forming a turbulent region, the speed or the tension of the yarn is greater at the entrance of the texturing chamber jet than at the exit (net overfeed) and the filaments of the resultant product have a multitude of ring-like portions 30 at random intervals along their lengths and possibly combined with smaller random protrusions (not shown) on the yarn surface. One air texturing method may be core-and-effect in which a pair of yarns or a pair of sets of yarns are fed at different rates into the texturing chamber (not shown) to be hit with the jet(s) of air. Alternatively, the air texturing may be parallel method in which a single yarn or a single set of yarns is fed into the texturing chamber (not shown) at one speed. In either case, the input speed(s) are different (usually higher) than the output speed, with the net overfeed and compressed air producing random filament protrusions that add texture to the resultant yarn. The textured yarn will have a denier of 120 to 5300 and, preferably, 300 to 1800.

[00013] One advantageous yarn can be purchased from American Fibers and Yarns

Company. One such yarn is a bulked, core-and-effect air textured product treated using the Taslan method. Another is a bulked, parallel air textured product treated using the Taslan method. In both cases, the yarn is formed from polypropylene material having a specific gravity of .91. Each yarn includes about 576 filaments and has an overall bulked denier of about 1440.

[00014] If the warp yarns or filling yarns are different, the second yarn can be any yarn typically used for blanket applications. These can be wool, cotton, rayon, acrylic, and other such materials. Polyester could also be used. Advantageously the warp and filling yarns 22 and 24 will both be formed from the air textured polypropylene yarn. Preferably, the yarn is a non-plied yarn, although plied yarns are suitable for use.

[00015] The blanket 10 can be woven in any typical manner such as a standard weave, a twill weave or a satin weave, by way of example. As shown in the FIG. 2, a 2/2 twill weave is employed. This provides an esthetically pleasing appearance. But, satin or plain weaves can also be employed. The edges 12,14,16,18 of the blanket 10 are finished as desired to prevent fraying or unraveling. The field 20 advantageously has a thread count of about 30 to about 40 threads per inch with a density of about 200 to about 350 grams/square meter.

[00016] Using air textured, advantageously bulked, continuous filament yarn formed from a material that has a low specific gravity provides a blanket that is very lightweight, thereby reducing laundering costs while at the same time providing excellent heat retention and excellent hand. This combination is extremely desirable for blankets. Further it has the strength to

withstand repeated industrial launderings, and dries quickly. When formed from a polypropylene material the blanket exhibits chlorine tolerance as well as excellent color retention.

[00017] While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is, therefore, not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is: