Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M17/00—Producing multi-layer textile fabrics
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D31/00—Materials specially adapted for outerwear
  • A41D31/04—Materials specially adapted for outerwear characterised by special function or use
  • A41D31/10—Impermeable to liquids, e.g. waterproof; Liquid-repellent
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M17/00—Producing multi-layer textile fabrics
  • D06M17/04—Producing multi-layer textile fabrics by applying synthetic resins as adhesives
  • D06M17/06—Polymers of vinyl compounds
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M17/00—Producing multi-layer textile fabrics
  • D06M17/04—Producing multi-layer textile fabrics by applying synthetic resins as adhesives
  • D06M17/08—Polyamides polyimides
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M23/00—Treatment of fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics or fibrous goods made from such materials, characterised by the process
  • D06M23/16—Processes for the non-uniform application of treating agents, e.g. one-sided treatment; Differential treatment
  • D06M23/18—Processes for the non-uniform application of treating agents, e.g. one-sided treatment; Differential treatment for the chemical treatment of borders of fabrics or knittings; for the thermal or chemical fixation of cuttings, seams or fibre ends
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2500/00—Materials for garments
  • A41D2500/50—Synthetic resins or rubbers
  • A41D2500/54—Synthetic resins or rubbers in coated form
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D27/00—Details of garments or of their making
  • A41D27/24—Hems; Seams
  • A41D27/245—Hems; Seams made by welding or gluing

Definitions

• This invention relates to barrier fabrics.
• Such fabrics have wide uses, for example in the manufacture of garments for wear by surgeons and other hospital operating theatre staff.
• the fabrics are water repellant and prevent contact between the wearer's skin and body fluids which may be infected such as blood, urine and pus.
• repellent fabrics are provided by hydro-entangling webs of textile and woodpulp fibres together and treating the resultant non-woven fabric with fluorocarbons, and waxes. This is well known in the art of creating repellant fabrics.
• Garments made from barrier fabrics are manufactured using conventional sewing methods.
• the puncturing of the fabric by the sewing needle provides a route through which microorganisms, in suspension, might travel. Also, short fibres are broken from the body of the fabric, by the action of the needle.
• Such lint is a potential carrier of organisms about the operating theatre. The lint may even enter the operative site and cause a reaction after the wound has been closed.
• a further use for such fabrics is in applications where contaminated air has to be contained, or people have to be protected from contaminated air.
• Such applications can be in the decontamination of buildings which contain dangerous dust or particles, such as asbestos and the like.
• sewn seams have the grave disadvantage that the perforation of the two layers of fabric leaves gaps which can allow contaminated air and contaminating particles to pass therethrough.
• seams by sewing particles of the fabric create a fine lint which can itself constitute a contaminant in certain circumstances.
• the present invention seeks to provide a barrier fabric and a method of fabricating a structure, such as a garment from such a barrier fabric, in which these disadvantages are obviated or minimised.
• the present invention provides a barrier fabric provided with a heat sealable material.
• the heat sealable material can be incorporated within the fabric or can be incorporated on one or both surfaces thereof.
• the barrier fabric can be a woven, knitted or a non-woven textile material, made from natural, or man-made fibres, or a combination of natural and man-made fibres, which has been treated with water repellent, or protective coating, by any conventional technique.
• the present invention further provides a. method of making a structure from a barrier fabric provided with a heat-sealable material comprising the steps of providing at least two components from the said barrier fabric, placing the components next to one another and applying heat and pressure to join the components together.
• the steps of cutting out and placing the components next to one another and applying heat and pressure can be carried out separately, or can be carried out simultaneously.
• the heat sealable material can be applied to the barrier fabric by any conventional technique, such as paste coating, dry dot (powder point) printing, scatter coating, or grids of thermoplastics, such as polyolefins, polyamides, polyesters, and poly(ethylene vinyl acetate).
• the base material of the barrier fabric in this invention may be formed from natural or synthetic fibres, or a blend of the two. They may be a hydro-entangled fabric containing (or not containing) woodpulp fibre, or may comprise of other nonwoven construction eg spunbond.
• the factor common to the barrier fabrics described in this invention is that all must possess at least one surface capable of being heat fused to form a seam.
• the heat sealability of the fabric being provided by means of some coating, or incorporated into the base fabric structure for example by using thermal bonding fibres.
• the advantages of the barrier fabric, according to the present invention, and a garment made from such a fabric are that the handling and flexibility of the fabric are not adversely affected, and that the barrier quality of the garment is improved.
• the heat-sealable coating can include other additives to impart special properties such as colour, liquid repellency and the like. Desirably these additives are not such as to adversely affect the fabric properties.
• Fig. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating a first step in the manufacture of a preferred fabric of the invention
• Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating a part of the product of the step of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 is a schematic side elevation illustrating a second step in the manufacture of the preferred fabric of the invention;
• Fig. 4 is a plan view showing one platen of a press suitable for use in carrying out a preferred method of manufacturing a garment in accordance with the invention
• Fig. 5 is a schematic fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating a press suitable for carrying out garment manufacture in accordance with the invention
• Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a seam in a garment of the invention.
• Fig. 7 is a fragmentary schematic view illustrating, in plan, a seam in a garment of the invention.
• Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but illustrating a prior art seam for comparison purposes.
• apparatus 10 for carrying out a first step in the manufacture of a fabric of the invention comprises, basically, a feed roll 11 whence a web of silicone paper 12 can be drawn.
• the web 12 passes through a nip between rollers 13 and 14.
• Roller 13 is a printing roller which is supplied with a printing 'ink' in the form of a thermo-plastic fabric bonding agent such as one based on poly(ethylene vinyl acetate).
• the printing roller 13 is effective to deposit a web of the material on the silicone web 12 in the form of a lattice 15, best seen in Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale.
• the web 12 carrying the printed lattice 15 is cooled and wound on to a roll 16.
• the grid could be coated directly onto the base fabric.
• a web 18 of barrier fabric whose nature will be apparent from the later examples is fed from a storage roll 19 to the nip between a pair of pressure rollers 20, 21. Also fed to the nip between rollers 20, 21 is the web 12 carrying the printed lattice 15. At the nip between rollers 20, 21 the web 18 and the lattice 15 are brought into contact and subjected to pressure and heat. The heat can be supplied by the rollers 20 and 21 or independently as indicated by the arrows 22.
• the described garment 26 is manufactured by sandwiching together and uniting two sheets of barrier fabric of the invention 27 and 28. These two sheets can be separate, or two parts of a folded sheet. In such a folded construction a fold can provide a seam if this is appropriate in the manufacturing process.
• Two sheets 27, 28 are placed together between two platens 29, 30 of a press. The remainder of the press is conventional in construction and is not described in any detail.
• the sheets of material 27, 28 have intrinsically included therrno-plastic uniting members such as thermo-plastic fibres the sides of the sheets which face each other is not critical. However, if the sheets are only coated on one surface with heat sealing material it is desirable if those surfaces (indicated in the drawing as 27A and 28A) are placed in facing relationship.
• the platen 29 has a base 31 which supports an insulating layer 32.
• a sealing element in the form of a metal tubular electrically heated element 31 forming the shape of at least part of the garment 26.
• the element 33 can be supplied with electrical power via leads 34 and will, of course, be thermostatically controlled in order that it heats the fabric only to a desired temperature sufficient to create a bond. In a similar manner the time of pressing will be also controlled.
• the platen 30 has a base 35, an insulating layer 36 and a reaction pad 37 facing the element 33.
• Fig. 4 there is shown, in dotted lines, the outline of a pair of pieces of the fabric 38 which have been previously cut to shape and then put in position on the platen 30. Normally, of course, the pieces of fabric 27, 28 would be positioned on the lower platen 30 and then the heated platen would be brought down on them.
• Fig. 5 illustrates a slight variation in that instead of precut sheets 27, 28 being used, means are provided on the two platens for effecting cutting simultaneously with the heating.
• Such means is shown in Fig. 5 by the items 39.
• Such means 39 can be either a sharp knife which would cut into the reaction part of 37, or could be a second heating element heated to a much higher temperature which would (a) form a secondary seal at the seam and (b) cut away the outer portions of the sheets 27, 28 by melting them completely.
• An example of a base fabric for use in making a fabric of the present invention is a barrier fabric manufactured by the applicants and sold under their identification T30101/4B.
• This fabric is an approximately 80g/m 2 polyester cellulosic barrier fabric comprising a base non-woven face fabric (25% polyester, 25% viscose, 50% wood pulp) having a fluorochemical repellent finish and usable as an operating room material.
• An adhesive net was applied to this fabric and the net was a commercially available net sold by Protechnic, 66 Rue de Fabric BP43F68700 Cernay, France. This net is under the trade mark TEXIRON.
• the net was a diamond lattice structure on a silicone carrier paper.
• the net was of poly(ethylene vinyl acetate) and was of a diamond lattice pattern type GNO at 35 g/m 2 .
• the temperature of the heating element was selected to be 160°C
• the pressure was 300 g/m 2
• the dwell time was 9 seconds.
• Articles, structures and clothing produced in this way were excellent barrier fabrics preventing passage of dust and particulate materials directly through the fabric and through their seams.
• the fabric also maintained excellent @ and during the manufacture of the article or of the clothing no lint or other loose materials were generated to adhere to the final article or garment.
• Clothing produced was excellent for use as an operating gown or as part of an operating suit.
• the fabric was water repellent and non-permeable.
• the adhesive net used can vary widely in its character and various types was selected for different applications. For example, as well as poly(ethylene vinyl acetate) polyamide and polyester can be used. There is a range of weights 13 - 40 g/m 2 and various webs and patterns can be used. EVA net having bonding temperatures in the manufacture of articles from the fabric from 80 - 90°C, or the higher ranges preferred for operating room applications.
• the base fabric weighing approximately 80 g/m 2 and containing 25% polyester, 25% viscose and 50% woodpulp was foam coating with approximately 17 - 19 g/m 2 of a heat sealable polymeric binder in the form of a foam coating. After manufacture this fabric could be seamed by applying heat at a temperature of 120°C at low pressure for a few seconds.
• a polyamide net can be used at 13 g/m 2 as the adhesive mesh. This material can be applied and sealed at 110 - 125°C.
• a base fabric of 45 g/m 2 non-woven base 100% polyester was foam coated with approximately 12 - 14 g/m 2 of heat sealable acrylic binder. After manufacture this fabric could be heat seamed by applying heat at a temperature of 120°C for a few seconds at low pressure.
• the pressure can be less than 300 g/m 2 for example, from 150 - 350 g/m 2 and the dwell time can be in the range of 0.5 -20 seconds.
• the preferred sterilisation method for OR gowns is gamma radiation.
• steam sterilisation required, for example at 134°C, the fusing component would be required not to soften below 140°C.
• a low temperature bonding is satisfactory, it is possible to use a fusing temperature below 140°C provided that sterilisation techniques are taken into account and high temperature autoclaving is eliminated as a possible means of sterilisation.
• Figs. 6 and 7 show prior art wherein a pair of sheets 42, 43 are united by a sewing thread 34 passing through holes 45 made by a sewing machine needle.
• the garments manufactured in accordance with the present invention do not have this disadvantage and this makes a superior performance.
• the invention can be applied to barrier fabrics and methods of fabricating using barrier fabrics for all purposes other than de-contamination and operating and closing.
• the barrier fabric and the articles made therefrom can be used in any situation where air filtration effect is needed to keep particulate contaminated air from entry to some other area.
• the invention provides a relatively cheap and simple way of providing a seamed structure which has all the advantages of cheap particle impervious barrier fabric together with cheap easily produced and particulate proof seams.
• barrier fabric itself can be any convenient fabric and is not limited to the two examples described.
• the barrier fabric can be woven, knitted or of non-woven construction or of any other convenient form. It can be water repellent or water absorbent depending upon the application.
• the heat sealable material can be applied externally to the barrier fabric by any conventional techniques such as paste coating, dried or powder point, printing, scatter coating or by the methods described herein.
• the @ use can be thermo- plastic polyolefins, polyamides and/or polyesters. It is, of course, desirable that heat sealable material is chosen so as to satisfy some or all of the following criteria:- a) to seal below 180°C, or some other higher level depending on the nature of the fabric. In certain applications there can be a minimum fusing temperature of 140°C, particularly if steam autoclaving at 134°C is contemplated.
• the material should be sufficient to provide a bond of sufficient strength for the end use and preferably equal to or greater than a bond capable of creation by sewing c) the material should have a minimal effect on the handle of the fabric d) the material should be non-tacky at room temperature so as to facilitate handling and storage.
• a tacky adhesive can be used and protected by a release coating if necessary.
• the sealbble material is stable to gamma radiation if such radiation be required for sterilisation or other applications f) the heat sealing material should be non-toxic g) the heat sealing material should be aesthetically pleasing, non-abrasive and should not shed particles h) the material should be as light as possible yet achieve a strong bond. Weights of the material can reach 50 g/m 2 .
• the heat sealable material can be incorporated in the fabric either as a particulate material, or as a fibre during its construction.
• garments can be produced by a continuous roller press rather than the intermittent platen press illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.
• the necessary elements and cutters will be arranged on the surface of a roll or rolls and a web or webs of fabric fed continuously therethrough.
• Heating other than electrical can be used to heat seal the fabric for example radiant or convective heat or ultrasonic high frequency heating can be used.
• a portable sealing tool can be provided so that after, for example, a contaminated item has been placed in a bag made from the barrier material in accordance with the invention a seal can be created in that bag to form a sealed enclosure in which the contaminated article can be stored for further treatment and/or disposal.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=10682762

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

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Family Cites Families (7)

• 1990
  • 1990-09-26 GB GB909020917A patent/GB9020917D0/en active Pending
• 1991
  • 1991-09-24 AU AU86177/91A patent/AU8617791A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1991-09-24 WO PCT/GB1991/001645 patent/WO1992005308A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1991-09-24 EP EP91916994A patent/EP0563046A1/de not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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