The invention has as its object bathwear items for personal use, especially for drying purposes, such as towels, bath rugs, bathrobes, bath slippers and the like, and the process for manufacturing the same.

The bathwear items for personal use of the invention, especially for the drying of the user, are used in the home as well as in hotels, hospitals, etc.

The towels existing at present have some improvable aspects such as the drying time both for the user and for the actual towel, the absorption power, the amount of water and detergent being necessary for the washing of the towel, the heat and energy input for the cleaning of the towel, the durability and useful life, and the hygienic power.

The improved quality of the polymers being used, the new extrusion technologies and the new spinning, drawing and texturising processes have on the other hand made it possible to carry out the manufacture of fibres of sufficient fineness for what is technically known as microfibres (a multitude of long and artificial, synthetic fibres), as opposed to the cotton fibre, which is a natural and short one.

There are on the other hand technical fields around what constitutes the object of the invention from among which can be cited the dimensional stability being given to the microfibre by the weaving operation being carried out on a shed loom and with a three-yarn weave, this latter weaving process having nothing to do with that being used for making the knitted fabrics existing in the market, these latter being manufactured through the use of special (circular) knitting machines and with a two-yarn weave and without the possibility of forming different widths or selvages forming part of the actual body of the fabric, these latter fabrics finding their application in the field of the wipes being intended for the cleaning of kitchens, cars, television sets, etc.

The invention also evidently has nothing to do with the applications of the upholstery world for furniture linings, curtains, etc., where a vertical yarn (warp) and another one (weft) being arranged in a transversal arrangement are used in order to make the textile weave.

The present invention has as its object bathwear items for personal use ostensibly improving the known bathwear items for personal use. The bathwear items of the invention thus comprise microfibres producing neither fuzz nor pilling and thanks to their high wickability being in a position to absorb eight times more moisture as compared with the traditional cotton and thus acting as a sponge when being used for drying purposes.

Their maintenance is as well much more economical than that of the cotton towels, with an approximate 40% reduction in the water consumption in the washing process and with a 35-45% reduction in the use of detergents because of the oleophilic nature of the microfibre, and with no need to use said detergents with an aggressive pH, with all the environmental advantages and improvements and energy savings being associated to this.

Based on the tests having been carried out their durability and useful life is at least four or five times higher than that of the cotton towels, their dry and wet tensile strength being barely reduced after successive washes.

In a traditional textile a moisture residue always remains after the drying and thus promotes the growth of bacteria and mould, the amount of bacteria being present on the skin after the drying hence only experiencing a 30% reduction. Nevertheless, thanks to the wicking and static effect and action taking place in the case of the microfibres the drying becomes much more efficient with a higher dirt and moisture retention, the amount of bacteria being present on the skin surface after the drying thus experiencing a reduction of between 96 and 99%.

The use of towels and bathrobes being made of microfibre is hence absolutely recommendable for all those staff members being posted or supposed to intervene in critical or semicritical areas in hospitals, clinics and the like, said bathwear items being besides able to withstand the action of surgical alcohols.

With respect to the manufacture of traditional cotton towels, apart from the fact that the composition of the warp yarns is a different one the transverse density is also different. The machines and the order of the process are the same, but with different computer control parameters and mechanical adjustments, since without them it would be impossible to achieve a smooth operation at all stages in the manufacturing process.

The making up technique of the present invention is the same one being used for the standard towels, a strength and dimensional stability being achieved which are adequate for the needs of the product.

The most outstanding coincidence between the conventional cotton terry towel and that being made of microfibre lies in the appearance and the order of the manufacturing process, since as for the components as for the raw materials, the technical adjustment of the existing machines in the process, the behaviour of the fibres during and after the manufacturing process and the performance of said fibres there is no relation whatsoever between one towel type and the other.

The invention obviates the drawbacks of the known towels and the like as has been set forth above.

According to what has been set forth above the bathwear items for personal use, especially for drying purposes, are essentially characterised in that they are made up of terry cloth fabrics being made of microfibre on a flat loom with a three-yarn weave, two of said three yarns being microfibre warp yarns whereas the other yarn being the weft yarn is made of cotton and/or polyester/cotton. One of the two warp yarns is loose and makes up the terry pile, whereas the other one is taut and makes up the ground.

The bathwear items of the invention can incorporate designs and/or logos on the actual surface of the fabric, with the desired colour combination. The thickness (textile titre) of the yarns can span the whole range being possibly allowed by the loom without modifying the fabric's performance or the technical adjustments being necessary for its manufacture.

The process for the manufacture of bathwear items for personal use as per the invention is characterised in that it starts at a warping preparation stage wherein by using a sectional warper being specially parametrised for the preparation of the microfibre this latter can be readied to pass over to the ulterior weaving stage, and in said weaving one proceeds to fit to the shed loom the upper beam feeding the terry loop yarn and the lower beam feeding the ground yarn and to pass each of the yarns of each beam through the eyelets of the jacquard mounting and through the reed.

According to the process of the invention one also proceeds to equip in the same way a shed loom wherein the eyelets guiding each of the yarns passing through them are not of the jacquard type but of the dobby type. Both in the warping process (1^st stage) and in the weaving process (2^nd stage) the machines are equally in a position to weave both a conventional terry cloth fabric or one being made of microfibre. The terry cloth fabric when woven on a shed loom, both of the jacquard or of the dobby type, can be woven in several sizes thereby finishing the ends of the terry cloth fabric in a special fabric with no terry pile in order to thus be in a position to make up the selvages and to directly on the loom provide each wear item being woven with the necessary strength and finish thus avoiding ulterior processes for the making up of added selvages already not forming part of the very fabric.

Since each of the yarns is passed through the jacquard mounting this allows to directly weave and thereby insert designs and/or logos in any area of the fabric and with the desired colour combination. The cutting and making up processes to be carried out after the weaving are the 3^d and 4^th stages of the making up process, respectively. A machine being specially designed for cutting between the longitudinal selvages having been previously woven with no terry pile on the loom takes charge of separating the different widths having been woven by the loom, it being thus possible to go over to the subsequent selvage making up process wherein the double-folding and lock stitching operations are carried out in order to provide the selvages with the shape and strength being necessary for an optimum performance in the ulterior washing processes.

These and other characterising features will be best made apparent by the following detailed description whose understanding will be made easier by the accompanying two sheets of drawings showing a practical embodiment being cited only by way of example not limiting the scope of the present invention.

• Figs. 1A and 1B diagrammatically illustrate the terry cloth weave on a shed loom of the flat loom type as used in the making up of bathwear items as per the present invention.
• Fig. 2 illustrates an enlarged detail of a piece of a bathwear item of the invention perfectly showing at its edge the three-yarn weave being made up of two warp yarns being made of microfibre and one weft yarn being made of cotton and/or polyester/cotton as per the invention.
• Fig. 3 shows a plan-view of a portion of a bathwear item as per the invention allowing to appreciate the designs being incorporated in it.

According to the object of the invention this latter has been conceived in form of bathwear items for personal use, especially for drying purposes, such as towels, bath rugs, bathrobes, bath slippers and the like, and at the same time comprises the way of manufacturing the same.

As can be appreciated in Figs. 2 and 3, the bathwear item -RB- being the object of the invention is made up by a terry cloth fabric -TE- being made of microfibre and cotton on a shed loom of the flat loom type and with a three-yarn weave, two of said three yarns being warp yarns -U- being made of microfibre (vertical direction) whereas the other one is a weft yarn -T- (horizontal direction) being made of cotton and/or polyester/cotton, the textile weave of the fabric being thus given the indispensable dimensional stability and the necessary solidity.

The microfibre is made up of a multitude of long and artificial, synthetic fibres of texturised polyester.

One of the two warp yarns is besides a loose yarn making up the terry pile -R- whereas the other one is taut and makes up the ground -B- (Figs. 1A and 1B). Said Fig. 1A illustrates said yarns and the number of the pick (pick number) -PN- corresponding to the top surface weave -LCS- and to the bottom surface weave -LCI- of the fabric.

The tying up of the terry cloth fabric together in the conventional way consists in at every three picks (see -3-, -6-, -9- in Fig. 1A) carrying out a beating up operation and thus forming a terry loop, the tyings of the top and bottom surfaces being arranged in an alternate arrangement, the weft tying each pick irrespective of the number of colours being one or several colours.

The textile titre (count/size), which is after all the thickness of the yarns, can span the whole range possibly being technically allowed by the loom, since a modification of the titre only affects the visual texture of the fabric, such as that being appreciable in Figs. 2 and 3, without in any way modifying the fabric's performance or the technical adjustments being necessary for its manufacture.

The bathwear items -RB- being the object of the present invention, as can be appreciated in Figs. 2 and 3, can incorporate jacquard designs -D-, logos -L-, anagrams, borders, etc. directly on the actual surface of the fabric, said features being possibly made in any colour combination.

The microfibre towels allow to carry out the body drying operation in a much faster way and with less effort as compared with the traditional ones being made of cotton. They produce an immediate drying effect even if applied with an only slight pressure on the body or the hair.

The texturised polyester of this microfibre has a high tensile and rubbing strength and a good elasticity and washability and allows to obtain a good binding of the dyes.

The microfibre towels must be considered as ultraabsorbent ones since thanks to their high wickability and static electricity they absorb more water and even oils.

As a consequence of the treatment being applied to the linear mass of the filaments the surface of the polyester multifilament filament is improved (cross-section, fineness, indefinite length), an item being thus obtained which has a good appearance and a pleasant feel. As a consequence of this, the microfibre towels and bathrobes are very silky, flexible and soft products.

The vapour being produced during the user's perspiration can pass through the fabric without accumulating on the skin, this being most advantageous in the case of the bathrobes.

As for the bathwear manufacturing process making up the other object of the present invention, it comprises a number of stages starting at the warping preparation stage wherein by using a sectional warper -not shown-being specially parametrised for the preparation of the microfibre this latter can be readied to pass over to the ulterior process, this latter being that of the weaving stage. Already in the weaving process one proceeds to fit to the shed loom the upper beam feeding the terry loop yarn and the lower beam feeding the ground yarn and to pass each of the yarns of each beam (which depending on the width of the shed loom can contain up to 4800 yarns per beam or bobbin) through the eyelets of the jacquard mounting and through the reed.

It is also possible to proceed to equip in the same way a shed loom wherein the eyelets through which each of the yarns passes is not of the "jacquard" type but of the "dobby" type (heddles in our jargon).

Both in the warping (1^st stage) and in the weaving process (2^nd stage) machine-specific computer control and mechanical adjustments are necessary in order to thus finally enable the machines to be operated in a multipurpose manner and to thus be in a position to equally weave (always after a reprogramming) a conventional or a microfibre terry cloth fabric on them.

It is also important o point out that the terry cloth fabric when woven on a shed loom both of the jacquard or of the dobby type allows to weave in several sizes (those being standardised in each market) thereby finishing the ends of the terry cloth fabric in a special fabric with no terry pile in order to thus be in a position to make up the selvages and to directly on the loom provide each wear item being woven with the necessary strength and finish thus avoiding ulterior processes for the making up of added selvages already not forming part of the very fabric. The terry cloth fabric and the selvages of the towel are hence of one and the same body.

The passage of each of the yarns through the jacquard mounting is what allows to directly weave and thereby insert personalised designs in any area of the fabric and with the desired colour combination.

The cutting and making up process to be carried out after the weaving are the 3^d and 4^th stages of the making up process, respectively.

A machine being specially designed for cutting between the longitudinal selvages having been previously woven with no terry pile on the loom takes charge of separating the different widths having been woven by the loom, it being thus possible to go over to the subsequent selvage making up process wherein the double-folding and lock stitching operations are carried out in order to provide the selvages with the shape and strength being necessary for an optimum performance in the ulterior industrial washing processes being carried out in hotels, hospitals, industrial laundries, etc.

The system having been shown above can have the configuration and components being best suited for such functions. It is thus possible to use the components having been described or any other components as best suited for carrying out the same type of job.