JP7788175B2 - Handkerchief manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a handkerchief that is wrinkle-resistant and does not require ironing.

A standard handkerchief is made of plain weave cotton fabric and measures 45cm square. It is folded several times and carried in a pocket. This handkerchief is prone to wrinkling with use and washing, and must be ironed each time to remove the wrinkles.

Patent Documents 1 to 3 describe handkerchiefs that do not require ironing. Patent Document 1 describes how the handkerchief can be made to be approximately square, with sides measuring approximately 12 cm ± 3 cm, and has a multi-layer structure in which the front and back surfaces are made of absorbent, quick-drying, and wrinkle-resistant material, while the interior is made of an antibacterial material that contains a water-absorbing material, resulting in a handkerchief that does not require ironing.

Patent Document 2 describes a handkerchief made from a fabric containing a sheath-core long and short composite yarn, in which the sheath portion of the sheath-core long and short composite yarn is made up of cellulose staple fibers at a rate of 60% by mass or more, the core portion of the sheath-core long and short composite yarn is made up of long fibers with a single filament fineness of 5 to 33 dtex, the staple fiber coverage on the surface of the fabric is 90% or more, and the handkerchief has excellent wrinkle resistance with a wrinkle resistance of 3.3 or higher.

Patent Document 3 describes a handkerchief made by weaving and sewing composite fibers, with a core made of thermoplastic synthetic fibers and a sheath made of natural fibers, and which has creases created by hot pressing in a folded state. Here, polyester or nylon thread is used as the thermoplastic synthetic fiber for the core.

JP 2019-35181 A JP 2013-177708 A Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 4-4004

Patent Document 1 provides few specific explanations and is technically unclear, and all that can be gleaned from it is the desire for a wrinkle-resistant handkerchief. It claims that a wrinkle-resistant handkerchief can be obtained by making it compact in size and using a multi-layered structure. While making it compact in size is advantageous for preventing wrinkles, this alone does not make it wrinkle-resistant to the point that ironing is unnecessary. Regarding the structure of the fabric, it simply states that it is made of a wrinkle-resistant material, and there is no specific description of that material.

Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 describe handkerchiefs with excellent wrinkle resistance. However, no matter how much the wrinkle resistance is improved, it is not possible to completely prevent wrinkles from forming. Neither document mentions how to remove wrinkles that have already formed. If wrinkles do form, the handkerchief must be ironed, otherwise it can only be used with the wrinkles as they are.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a handkerchief that is less likely to wrinkle and that allows any wrinkles that do occur to be easily removed without the need for an iron.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the handkerchief of this invention is a knitted fabric made of polyester long-fiber yarn and polyurethane yarn, the weight ratio of polyurethane in the knitted fabric is 5% to 20%, the fabric is shrunk to a size of 40% to 60% of the gray fabric, and has a cutting edge on the periphery. The knitted fabric is preferably a cardboard knit having a face and a lining with a connecting yarn therebetween, and the knitted fabric is preferably a knitted fabric in which a first polyester long-fiber yarn appears on the face and lining, polyurethane yarn enters from each of the face and lining into an intermediate layer between the face and lining, and a second polyester long-fiber yarn is the connecting yarn.

The handkerchief of this invention is highly wrinkle-resistant, and hardly any wrinkles occur during washing or normal use. Furthermore, even if wrinkles do occur, they can be removed simply by pulling the handkerchief to stretch it, then releasing it to return it to its original shape.

FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of the fabric.

We will now explain the mode for implementing this invention. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a handkerchief. Handkerchief 1 is made of knitted fabric 2 and has a cut edge 3 around the periphery.

This section explains knitted fabric. Polyester long fiber yarn and polyurethane yarn are used. Other yarns may be added as supplementary yarns, but these two types are the main yarns.

Microfiber yarns, which use fine fibers, are suitable as polyester long-fiber yarns, and high-multifilament yarns, in which each filament is 0.8 denier (0.88 decitex) or less, are particularly preferred. For example, 50 denier/72f or 50 denier/144f are suitable.

Here, the weight ratio of polyurethane to all the yarns used is important. In the knitted fabric, the weight ratio of polyurethane is between 5% and 20%. A weight ratio of polyurethane of 5% or more increases the elasticity of the handkerchief, making it suitable for removing wrinkles, as described below. On the other hand, if there is too much polyurethane, the elasticity will be too high, and a large tensile force will be required to achieve sufficient stretch. A ratio of between 8% and 15% is particularly preferable.

Knitted fabrics can be knitted using either flat knitting, warp knitting, or circular knitting, and knitting methods that allow the polyester filament yarn to be predominantly present in the outer and inner layers are preferred. For example, a cardboard knit fabric may be used, which has an outer layer, an inner layer, and connecting yarns between them, and it is preferable that the polyester filament yarn be present in the outer and inner layers.

The knitted fabric is shrunk from the yellowfin (grey) fabric immediately after knitting, shrinking it to between 40% and 60% of its original size. As a result, handkerchiefs made from the resulting knitted fabric will no longer shrink. Furthermore, it has the elasticity to expand to about twice its original size when pulled, and will return to its original shape when pulling stops.

The resulting knitted fabric is cut to form handkerchiefs. The cutting can be done with a blade, or with a die of any shape, or by cutting with laser light. After cutting, there is no need to sew the outer periphery. Therefore, a cut edge is formed around the outer periphery of handkerchief 1. The handkerchief of this invention is smaller than a regular handkerchief, for example, formed as a square measuring 20 to 30 cm in length and width, yet still has water absorbency equal to or greater than that of a regular square handkerchief measuring 40 to 50 cm in length and width.

An example of a handkerchief of this invention will now be described. In this example, the first polyester filament yarn is a drawn false-twisted yarn of semi-dull microfiber yarn having a thickness of 50 denier (56 dtex) and 72 filaments, and the second polyester filament yarn is a drawn false-twisted yarn of semi-dull microfiber yarn having a thickness of 50 denier (56 dtex) and 144 filaments. Furthermore, a 20 denier (22 dtex) single yarn is used as the polyurethane yarn. The weight of polyurethane is set to be between 5% and 20% of the total weight of the knitted fabric, but when using polyurethane yarn of approximately 20 denier as in this example, it is particularly preferable to keep it between 8% and 15%. In this example, it is set to 9%.

A cardboard knit fabric was produced using high-gauge circular knitting. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the fabric. Here, the first polyester long fiber yarn is used to knit the outer fabric 5 and inner fabric 6, and appears in both the outer fabric 5 and inner fabric 6. In this example, the same type of first polyester long fiber yarn is used on both the outer fabric side and the inner fabric side. The polyurethane yarn passes from both the outer fabric 5 and inner fabric 6 into the intermediate layer 8 formed between the outer fabric and the inner fabric. Furthermore, a second polyester long fiber yarn is used as a connecting yarn 7 to knit a cardboard knit fabric.

The knitted grey fabric is then subjected to a shrinkage treatment. Here, it is preferable to perform a greater shrinkage than is normally performed on knitted fabrics, and to shrink the knitted fabric to near its limit of shrinkage. Ultimately, the fabric is shrunk to a size that is between 40% and 60% of the grey fabric size.

In this example, the grey fabric is washed after knitting and is also treated with an antibacterial and deodorizing agent. This is when the initial shrinkage occurs. Next, rough cutting (temporary cutting) is carried out and a preliminary pressing is carried out. By this point, the knitted fabric has shrunk to a size that is between 50% and 55% of the original grey fabric.

The knitted fabric of the present invention is then cut freely using a blade or similar tool. After cutting, no fraying occurs even without sewing, and the edges created by the cutting are stable, so the outer periphery can remain as they are. This means that it can be cut into any shape, and in addition to squares, it can also be freely formed into complex shapes such as circles, hearts, or the shapes of animals and characters. In this example, the fabric was cut using a die cutter to create a square handkerchief shape.

In this example, sublimation printing was performed on cut knitted fabric. This knitted fabric has microfiber polyester long fiber yarn on both the front and back, allowing for precise transfer printing. Printing can be done on one side only or both sides. Furthermore, because knitted fabric is thick and has a high surface density, the pattern on the other side is less likely to show through. This makes it possible to print completely different designs on the front and back. Alternatively, the handkerchief can be left unprinted and made plain. In this example, sublimation printing was performed on both sides at 200°C for approximately 4 minutes to form printed surface 4. This is a longer heating time than normal transfer printing, and the knitted fabric will shrink during this time.

The handkerchiefs obtained in this way have shrunk to 40-60% of their original size, and have a stretchability of 160-250%, which is the reciprocal of that. Knitted fabrics that have been shrunk in this way will no longer shrink and will retain their shape. They will hardly wrinkle even after washing or use. They can be folded normally, and no creases will remain when unfolded. Even if you try to intentionally create wrinkles by rolling the handkerchief up and clenching it, they will hardly wrinkle at all.

What's more, even if wrinkles do occur, they can be easily removed without using an iron. Simply grab the handkerchief with both hands, pull it open, and then quickly release the pressure. This handkerchief is highly stretchable, so it can be stretched significantly by pulling, and will return to its original shape when released. This action alone will remove any wrinkles.

This handkerchief also has a high water absorption capacity. It can absorb 130-150% of its dry weight in water. Compared to the 75-85% absorption capacity of a regular cotton handkerchief, the water absorption capacity of the handkerchief of this invention is significantly higher.

Furthermore, this handkerchief is highly absorbent, absorbing water in a short time, and has excellent water retention, making it less likely to leak the absorbed water. Even a small handkerchief measuring 24-26cm on each side can absorb more water than a regular cotton handkerchief measuring 45cm on each side, and what's more, when put in a pocket, the absorbed water does not leak back into your clothes.

1. Handkerchief 2. Knitted fabric 3. Cutting edge 4. Printed surface 5. Outer fabric 6. Lining 7. Connecting thread 8. Middle layer

Claims (1)

A knitted fabric is made of a first polyester long fiber yarn, a second polyester long fiber yarn, and a polyurethane yarn having a weight ratio of 5% to 20% in the knitted fabric,
A cardboard knit fabric is knitted so that the first polyester filament yarn appears on the outer and inner surfaces, the polyurethane yarn enters the intermediate layer between the outer and inner surfaces from each of the outer and inner surfaces, and the second polyester filament yarn serves as a connecting yarn;
The knitted fabric is shrunk to a size of 40% to 60% of the size of the raw fabric immediately after knitting,
The method for manufacturing a handkerchief involves forming a border around the periphery of the obtained knitted fabric by cutting.