GB1568717A - Fabric with integrally formed sewing guide lines and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

(54) FABRIC WITH INTEGRALLY FORMED SEWING GUIDE LINES AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME (71) We, TEXTRON INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, of 40 Westminster Street, Providence, Rhode Idand, United States of America, do hereby de dare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particular.

ly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to mounting tapes for sliding clasp fasteners. It is often difficult to sew such fasteners into garments in a straight line whilst avoiding misalignment and wrinkles, and it is extremely advantageous if a guide line is integrally provided in the mounting tape. Such tapes are also known as carrier tapes.

It has therefore been proposed to provide on mounting tapes sewing guide lines which are produced in a secondary operation by printing the guide line on a tape, or by attempting to use a dye on the guide line different from that on the rest of the tape, or, in a woven tape, by using a different weave pattern in the area where the guide line is to be placed.

According to the present invention in one aspect, a dyed fabric mounting tape for a slide fastener has in it a guide line extending in the fabric at a predetermined distance from the tape edge, which guide line is of thread differing in its dyeing characteristics from the threads forming the remainder of the tape whereby the guide line is visible in the dyed fabric.

There is thus created a guide line in a mounting tape without the need for any secondary operation on the tape.

Also the properties of the tape may not be affected.

Further the width and visibility of the guide lines can be selected by a judicious selection of the guide line thread.

According to the invention in a second aspect, a method of producing a stringer tape for a slide fastener comprises knitting or weaving the tape from thread of a first material and incorporating a thread of a second material to extend in the tape at a predetermined distance from the tape edge, the second material being selected to have different dyeing characteristics from the first material, and then dyeing the tape whereby the thread of the second material has a different dyed shade from the remainder of the tape.

Some embodiments of the present invention are described in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan elevation view of a slide fastener including guide lines constructed according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the mounting tapes of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram of a variety of knitting patterns usable with the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of an alternative embodiment of one of the mounting tapes of Fig. 1.

Shown in Fig. 1 is a slide fastener indicated generally at 10, which incorporates therein a variable dye guideline according to the present invention. The slide fastener 10 includes a pair of mounting tapes 12 and 14 upon the adjacent edges of each of which is mounted a chain of slide fastener coupling elements 16 and 18. A slider 20 is entrained in the chains of slide fastener elements 16 and 18 and is movable up and down thereupon to engage and disengage the coupling elements of the chains. A respective guide line 22 and 24 is defined on the respective mounting tapes 12 and 14. The guide lines 22 and 24 are used, in this instance, to aid in the correct installation of the slide fastener 10 in a garment.

A first method of forming the guide lines 22 and 24 is illustrated in Fig. 2 which is a close up view of a fabric used in one of the mounting tapes 12 or 14. The fabric of Fig. 2 is warp knit having a plurality of warp loop threads 26, 28, and 30, and a plurality of weft-like threads 32,34,36,38, and 40. The fabric is knitted in a conventional manner on any one of a large number of warp knitting machines well known to the art. At the time of knitting all the threads 26,28, 30,34,36,38, and 40 are in an undyed or white state.The warp loop threads 26 and 30 and the weft-like warp threads 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 are all of a single type of textile material, as for example polyester, while a single thread, in this case the warp loop thread 28, is of a second material, such as acrylic, which has a different dye absorption characteristic from the first textile material. Sometime following the knitting of the fabric of Fig.

2, the fabric is dyed the color desired for the particular application, and the polyester threads 26, 30,32,34,36, 38 and 40 all dye a relatively dark shade of the dye color while the acrylic warp loop thread 28 remains white or is dyed a very light shade of the dye color due solely to the relative absorption characteristics of the two thread materials. Thus a white or a least a very light guide line is created in the fabric of Fig. 2 by a warp loop thread.

The use of the warp loop thread 28 for creating the guide line results in a guideline that is plainly visible on both sides of the fabric. If it is desired that the guideline be partially hidden on one side of the fabric, so, for instance, it will not show in the completed garment, it is possible to utilize one of the weftlike warp threads as for example thread 36, as the guideline threads. The warp loop thread 28 would be of a material similar to the other threads while the weft-like warp thread 36 is of the different material. Inasmuch as each of the warp threads 26, 28 and 30 passes twice behind the weft-like warp thread 36 during each of their loops and only once in front of it, the guide line is clearly more visible from the front of the fabric of Fig. 2 than from the back.

Shown in Fig. 3 is a variety of knitting patterns that can be used to create a guide line according to the present invention. The patterns shown in Figs. 3 a through e are generally warp loop patterns that create guide lines visible on both sides of the resultant fabric.

The patterns in Figs. 3 f through j show generally weft-like patterns which create guide lines in the fabric visible only on one side of the fabric or, at least, more visible on one side than the other.

Shown in Fig. 4 is an alternative method for forming the guide lines of the present invention. A fabric has a plurality of warp loop threads 42,44,46 and 48 and a plurality of weft-like warp threads 50, 52, 54, 56, 58 and 60 all of a single thread material such as polyester. The fabric is again knitted ina conventional manner well known to the art. However, during the knitting a laid-in guide line thread 62 is laid in the fabric such that the warp loop thread 46 loops over it and secures it to the fabric. The laid-in thread 62 is of a second material having a dye adsorption characteristic different from the first, as for example, nylon.

The fabric after being knitted is then dyed and the laid-in thread 62 dyes to a darker hue than the remaining threads 42 through 60, due to the generally greater adsorption of dye by nylon compared to polyester. The guideline created by the laid-in thread will be visible only on the front side of the fabric of Fig. 4 inasmuch as it lies on top of the weft-like threads 54, 56, 58 and 60 and will therefore be hidden from the reverse side of the fabric.

An alternative form of the laid-in thread guideline is also shown in Fig. 4. A laid-in guide line thread 64 is shown which could be inserted in the knit instead of the laid-in thread 62.

The laid-in thread 64 passes through every loop of the warp loop thread 42 and agian is only visible on the top side of the fabric.

It is within the scope of the present invention that a woven tape could incorporate a variably dyed guide line. A single warp thread of the weave could be of a different thread material than the remaining threads in the weave thereby creating a straight guide line after dyeing along that warp thread.

It is also within the scope of the present invention that a wide variety of materials could be used for both the guide line thread and the threads in the remainder of the fabric.

Table I lists a few of the many possible combinations of materials used to create the variably dyed guide line.

It is possible for more than one thread to be used in a single guideline. Thus a guideline of the width of several wales could be constructed by using several threads of the second material.

Also it is envisioned that more than one guideline could be incorporated into a single fabric.

Thus in the case of a slide fastener mounting tape a variety of spaced guidelines could be utilized, with each positioned for a specific purpose, i.e. one guideline for installation in a skirt, another guideline of the slide fastener is to be installed in a pair of pants, etc.

Thus by utilizing the present invention, a sewing guideline is created that will become visible after the mounting tape fabric is dyed.

It is advantageous in that the tape can be dyed any one of a variety of colors for the guideline to be visible. The process requires no new secondary steps in the manufacture of the tape and requires no degeneration of any of the tape's normal properties. The width of the guideline and its visibility on one or both sides of the tape is controllable by the selection of the particular thread for the guideline. Also, TABLE I EXAMPLE FABRIC THREAD MATERIAL GUIDE LINE THREAD MATERIAL 1 Polyester (Dacron - Regd. T.M.) Acrylic 2 Polyester Rayon 3 Polyester Cotton 4 Polyester Nylon 5 Nylon Polyester 6 Nylon Wool 7 Nylon Glass Fibre 8 Polyester Variably dyed polyester 9 Nylon Variably dyed nylon the guide line will inevitably be straight and unerring inasmuch as it is an element in the knit of the tape and it will therefore also be immovable.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A dyed fabric mounting tape for a slide fastener, the tape having in it a sewing guide line extending in the fabric at a predetermined distance from the tape edge, which guide line is of thread differing in its dyeing characteristics from the threads forming the remainder of the tape whereby the guide line is visible in the dyed fabric.

2. A mounting tape according to claim 1, wherein the guide line thread is of a different material from that of the threads forming the remainder of the tape.

3. A mounting tape according to claim 1, wherein the guide line thread has a dyeabsorbing characteriStic different from that of the threads forming the remainder of the tape.

4. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric with warp loop threads and weft-like warp threads and the guide line is formed by a warp loop thread of a material different from that of the remainder of the tape.

5. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric with warp loop threads and weft-like warp threads, and the guide line being a weftlike warp thread of a material different from that of the remainder of the tape whereby the guide line is more visible from one side of the tape than the other.

6. A mounting tape according to claim 4 knitted in accordance with any of patterns a toe of Fig. 3.

7. A mounting tape according to claim 5 knitted in accordance with any of patterns toj of Fig. 3.

8. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric with warp loop threads and weft-like warp threads and the guide line is a laid-in thread.

9. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, the fabric being a woven fabric.

10. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the materials used for the guide line and the remainder of the tape are as shown in the foregoing table.

11. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 9, the guide line comprising a plural ity of threads.

12. A dyed fabric mounting tape for a slide fastener substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompany drawings.

13. A method of producing a stringer tape for a slide fastener which comprises knitting or weaving the tape from a thread of a first material and incorporating a thread of a second material to extend in the tape at a predetermined distance from the tape edge, the second material being selected to have different dyeing characteristics from the first material, and then dyeing the tape whereby the thread of the second material has a different dyed shade from the remainder of the tape.

14. A method of producing a stringer tape substantially as hereinbeofre described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (14)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. TABLE I EXAMPLE FABRIC THREAD MATERIAL GUIDE LINE THREAD MATERIAL

1 Polyester (Dacron - Regd. T.M.) Acrylic

2 Polyester Rayon

3 Polyester Cotton

4 Polyester Nylon

5 Nylon Polyester

6 Nylon Wool

7 Nylon Glass Fibre

8 Polyester Variably dyed polyester

9 Nylon Variably dyed nylon the guide line will inevitably be straight and unerring inasmuch as it is an element in the knit of the tape and it will therefore also be immovable.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A dyed fabric mounting tape for a slide fastener, the tape having in it a sewing guide line extending in the fabric at a predetermined distance from the tape edge, which guide line is of thread differing in its dyeing characteristics from the threads forming the remainder of the tape whereby the guide line is visible in the dyed fabric.

2. A mounting tape according to claim 1, wherein the guide line thread is of a different material from that of the threads forming the remainder of the tape.

3. A mounting tape according to claim 1, wherein the guide line thread has a dyeabsorbing characteriStic different from that of the threads forming the remainder of the tape.

4. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric with warp loop threads and weft-like warp threads and the guide line is formed by a warp loop thread of a material different from that of the remainder of the tape.

5. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric with warp loop threads and weft-like warp threads, and the guide line being a weftlike warp thread of a material different from that of the remainder of the tape whereby the guide line is more visible from one side of the tape than the other.

6. A mounting tape according to claim 4 knitted in accordance with any of patterns a toe of Fig. 3.

7. A mounting tape according to claim 5 knitted in accordance with any of patterns toj of Fig. 3.

8. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fabric is a knitted fabric with warp loop threads and weft-like warp threads and the guide line is a laid-in thread.

9. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 3, the fabric being a woven fabric.

10. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the materials used for the guide line and the remainder of the tape are as shown in the foregoing table.

11. A mounting tape according to any of claims 1 to 9, the guide line comprising a plural ity of threads.

12. A dyed fabric mounting tape for a slide fastener substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompany drawings.

13. A method of producing a stringer tape for a slide fastener which comprises knitting or weaving the tape from a thread of a first material and incorporating a thread of a second material to extend in the tape at a predetermined distance from the tape edge, the second material being selected to have different dyeing characteristics from the first material, and then dyeing the tape whereby the thread of the second material has a different dyed shade from the remainder of the tape.

14. A method of producing a stringer tape substantially as hereinbeofre described with reference to the accompanying drawings.