US20250228413A1

US20250228413A1 - Quick dry towel

Info

Publication number: US20250228413A1
Application number: US18/977,014
Authority: US
Inventors: Prasad Sudhir Bhatkhande; Richard R. Bing; Zaibunnisa Razzak Jumani; Mohd Amin Mandhai; Mohammad Anwer Shakoor; Rehan Umar
Original assignee: UNITEX INTERNATIONAL Inc; Cintas Corporate Services Inc
Current assignee: UNITEX INTERNATIONAL Inc; Cintas Corporate Services Inc
Priority date: 2024-01-11
Filing date: 2024-12-11
Publication date: 2025-07-17

Abstract

A quick dry terry towel is made from a blend of cotton and polyester fiber which are blended in different proportions in different layers of the fabric. The resulting towel has shown significant savings in drying time when tested compared to towels of known compositions, such as a known terry towel made from 100% cotton fibers which is highly absorbent, but comparatively slow drying. Towels according to this invention maintain desired absorbency performance levels on the surface of the towel and the polyester fibers in the core region of the towel offer durability enhancement over all cotton towels. The layered composition of towels according to this invention offer the desirable quick dry and absorbent characteristics while maintaining the durability needed for repeated use, cleaning and drying cycles.

Description

This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/619,889, filed Jan. 11, 2024 and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to an absorbent towel, and more specifically, to an absorbent towel construction having quick-drying properties.
Towels are typically used for drying. Accordingly, commercially available towels are designed for maximum absorption. At maximum absorption, commercially available towels weigh too much and also require longer than desirable drying times. One approach to reducing towel drying times and weight is to reduce the aesthetic properties (e.g., look and feel) of the towels, such as a towels' bulk and softness. However, consumers desire aesthetically pleasing towels with quick drying times. Although commercially available towels have been generally adequate for the intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.
Towels are generally woven on looms to include a ground fabric and an extra set of warp and fill yarns. The yarns of this extra set are interlaced with the ground warp and filling yarns to form a number of loops or cut ends which extend outwardly from one or both surfaces of the ground fabric to form a pile. The ground fabric is typically a plain weave construction. The various fiber or yarn inputs and/or the towel production process can be varied to produce towels having varied styles, levels of quality, patterns, and the like. For example, to achieve a towel having a pattern, the yarns fed to form the ground fabric and/or pile can be varied in color, luster, yarn size, etc., or the pile height can be varied in selected areas. Similarly, to vary the level of towel quality, the quality and size of the yarns woven can be varied, as well as the number of warp and filling ends. Likewise, other features of the input materials, such as the twist, type of yarn, etc., can be selected to determine the type of towel produced.
Because towels are generally used to dry other objects, they are customarily designed to be highly absorbent. To this end, towels have historically been manufactured from all cotton or substantially all cotton. While cotton has been found to be advantageous in many respects (i.e., it is absorbent, relatively durable, and generally available), it also presents several drawbacks. For one, cotton tends to shrink when exposed while wet to high temperatures such as those of a conventional hot dryer. In addition, while cotton is a good moisture absorber, it is less inclined to release the absorbed moisture. As a result, the drying time for cotton towels tends to be relatively long. The thicker yarns which are used to form the towels results in longer drying times. This slow drying is disadvantageous in several respects because not only does it result in increases in time between the instances when the towels can be used, but the slow drying consumes more energy and thus is less eco-friendly. As a result, consumers are often forced to buy towels which are less plush than they would prefer from an aesthetic (i.e., look and feel) perspective, to obtain a towel which will dry suitably quickly.
Various modifications to conventional 100% cotton pile towel constructions have been proposed to combat the problems associated with shrinkage. One such proposal is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,274 to Sherrill, et al., which describes a towel construction with a reduced tendency to shrink. The towel has a base of interwoven sets of ground warp and filling yarns, with at least one of the sets of ground yarns being formed of a blend of cellulosic and 35-65% polyester fibers. Because the inclusion of the polyester reduces the absorbency of the fabric, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the terry yarns forming one of the towel surfaces are absorbent rayon yarns, which are intended to make up for the absorbency loss caused by the inclusion of the polyester in the ground fabric.
Other commercially available towels include a percentage of polyester fibers in the ground fabric in order to reduce the tendency of the towel to shrink when convection dried. The percentage is generally limited to about 14% or less of polyester in the ground fabric, since amounts greater than that tend to adversely affect the absorbency of the towel.
Thus, a need exists for a towel which has a high rate of absorbency, quick drying capabilities, and a comfortable feel to a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of this invention solve these and other shortcomings in the prior art. This invention relates to a quick dry terry towel which is made from a blend of cotton and polyester fiber which are blended in different proportions in different layers of the fabric in various embodiments. The resulting towel has shown significant savings in drying time when tested compared to towels of known compositions, such as a known terry towel made from 100% cotton fibers which is highly absorbent, but comparatively slow drying.
In testing a towel according to one embodiment of this invention, the towel returned to its dry weight after being wetted in less than 10 minutes, compared to a regular 100% cotton towel which took 20 minutes to return to its dry weight. Towels according to this invention maintain desired absorbency performance levels on the surface of the towel and the polyester fibers in the core region of the towel offer durability enhancement over all cotton towels. It has been determined that towels with 100% polyester filament in the core are not feasible due to seam slippage. Heat on the outer surfaces of the towel according to this invention evaporate surface moisture quickly.
The layered composition of towels according to this invention offer the desirable quick dry and absorbent characteristics while maintaining the durability needed for repeated use, cleaning and drying cycles.
These and other benefits of various embodiments of this invention are obtained to overcome shortcomings in the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a towel according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of warp, weft and pile segments of a towel according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a chart of the composition by layers of a towel according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a chart of the drying time of a 100% cotton towel versus a blended cotton and polyester towel; and

FIG. 5 is a table of the weight of a 100% cotton towel and an 80/20 blended cotton/polyester towel at various drying times.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1 a towel 10 according to one embodiment of this invention is shown. The towel 10 is rectangular as shown in FIG. 1 , but this invention is not limited to any particular shape, size or configuration. Moreover, the invention is described herein in various embodiments as a towel, but other embodiments of this invention may be other textile articles such as, but not limited to, wipes, clothes, towelettes, and the like. The towel 10 includes an upper surface 12 having a composition and a lower surface 14 having a composition with each being bounded by a perimeter edge 16. An intermediate layer 18 of the towel 10 also has a composition and is sandwiched between the upper and lower surfaces 12, 14 as shown in FIG. 2 . The composition of the intermediate layer 18 is different from the compositions of the upper and lower surfaces 12, 14 in various embodiments of this invention.
As shown in FIG. 2 , the towel 10 of one embodiment of this invention includes pile yarn 20 which forms the upper and lower surfaces 12, 14. As shown in FIG. 3 , the pile yarn 20 is 100% cotton in one embodiment of this invention. The intermediate layer 18 may be formed from intertwined weft yarns 22 and warp yarns 24 (FIG. 2 ). The warp yarns 24 may be 25% polyester and 75% cotton according to one embodiment of this invention. The weft yarns 22 may be 40% polyester and 60% cotton according to this embodiment. As such, the percentage of the polyester content of the towel 10 increases from either surface 12, 14 toward the intermediate layer 18. In this embodiment of the towel 10, the resultant composition of the towel 10 is 20% polyester and 80% cotton by weight as shown in FIG. 3 .
Another composition for the towel 10 according to various embodiments of this invention has 100% cotton upper and lower surfaces 12, 14 and warp yarns 24 with 100% filament polyester for the weft yarns 22.
A still further composition for the towel 10 according to various embodiments of this invention has 100% cotton upper and lower surfaces 12, 14; 65% cotton and 35% polyester warp yarns 24; and 50% cotton and 50% polyester for the weft yarns 22. Other combinations and compositions are also within the scope of this invention.
One advantage of the towel 10 and the associated composition of the towel according to various embodiments of this invention is the increased drying time of the towel 10. FIG. 4 shows a plot of the weight in grams of the towel 10 measuring 15 inches by 18 inches versus the composition of the towel 10. The dryness of the towel 10 is demonstrated by the combined weight of the towel 10 and the moisture remaining in the towel 10. One plot 26 in FIG. 4 shows the initial weight of a towel and another plot 28 shows the wet weight of the towel. A still further plot 30 shows the weight of the towel after ten minutes of drying time and the final plot 32 in FIG. 4 shows the weight of the towel after twenty minutes of drying time. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate from the plots 26, 28, 30, 32 in FIG. 4 that the drying time as demonstrated by the weight of the towel 10 is faster in the towel 10 of 80% cotton and 20% polyester (80/20 cotton poly) compared to the 100% cotton towel.
FIG. 5 shows the date in weight of a 100% cotton towel and weight of an 80/20 cotton poly towel.
These foregoing embodiments of the invention are exemplary only and in no manner should be viewed as exhaustive or limiting on the scope of this invention. Alternative numbers of components, method steps, materials, parameters, arrangements and other aspects may be utilized within the scope of this invention.
From the above disclosure of the general principles of this invention and the preceding detailed description of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which this invention is susceptible. Therefore, we desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A textile article comprising:

an upper surface having an upper surface composition;

a lower surface having a lower surface composition;

an intermediate layer having an intermediate layer composition and being juxtaposed between the upper and lower surfaces;

wherein the intermediate layer composition is different from at least one of the upper surface composition and the lower surface composition.

2. The textile article of claim 1 further comprising:

pile yarn which at least in part contributes to the upper and lower surfaces.

3. The textile article of claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of weft yarns; and

a plurality of warp yarns intertwined with the plurality of weft yarns;

wherein the plurality of weft yarns and the plurality of warp yarns at least in part contribute to the intermediate layer.

4. The textile article of claim 3 further comprising:

pile yarn which at least in part contributes to the upper and lower surfaces.

5. The textile article of claim 1 at least one of the upper surface composition, the lower surface composition and the intermediate layer composition includes polyester and a percentage of polyester in the intermediate layer composition is greater than at least one of a percentage of polyester in the upper surface composition and a percentage of polyester in the lower surface composition.

6. The textile article of claim 1 wherein at least one of the upper surface composition and the lower surface composition is 100% cotton.

7. The textile article of claim 1 wherein the intermediate layer composition is 100% polyester.

8. The textile article of claim 1 wherein the intermediate layer composition is 40% polyester and 60% cotton.

9. The textile article of claim 6 wherein the intermediate layer composition is 100% polyester.

10. The textile article of claim 1 wherein a textile article composition is 20% polyester and 80% cotton by weight.

11. The textile article of claim 1 wherein the intermediate layer composition is different from both of the upper surface composition and the lower surface composition.

12. The textile article of claim 3 wherein the plurality of warp yarns are 25% polyester and 75% cotton.

13. The textile article of claim 3 wherein the plurality of weft yarns are 40% polyester and 60% cotton.

14. The textile article of claim 4 wherein the upper surface composition, the lower surface composition and the plurality of warp yarns are each 100% cotton.

15. The textile article of claim 14 wherein the plurality of weft yarns are 100% polyester.

16. The textile article of claim 3 wherein the upper surface composition and the lower surface composition are each 100% cotton.

17. The textile article of claim 16 wherein the plurality of warp yarns are 65% cotton and 35% polyester.

18. The textile article of claim 17 wherein the plurality of weft yarns are 50% cotton and 50% polyester.

19. The textile article of claim 1 wherein the textile article is selected from the group consisting of towels, clothes, and towelettes.

20. A towel comprising:

an upper surface having an upper surface composition;

a lower surface having a lower surface composition;

a perimeter bounding the upper and lower surfaces and the intermediate layer;

wherein the intermediate layer composition is different from both of the upper surface composition and the lower surface composition;

pile yarn which at least in part contributes to the upper and lower surfaces.

a plurality of weft yarns; and

a plurality of warp yarns intertwined with the plurality of weft yarns;

wherein the plurality of weft yarns and the plurality of warp yarns at least in part contribute to the intermediate layer,

wherein at least one of the upper surface composition, the lower surface composition and the intermediate layer composition includes polyester and a percentage of polyester in the intermediate layer composition is greater than at least one of a percentage of polyester in the upper surface composition and a percentage of polyester in the lower surface composition.