Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41B—SHIRTS; UNDERWEAR; BABY LINEN; HANDKERCHIEFS
  • A41B11/00—Hosiery; Panti-hose
  • A41B11/12—Means at the upper end to keep the stockings up
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06B—TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS, GASES OR VAPOURS
  • D06B11/00—Treatment of selected parts of textile materials, e.g. partial dyeing
  • D06B11/0056—Treatment of selected parts of textile materials, e.g. partial dyeing of fabrics
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06B—TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS, GASES OR VAPOURS
  • D06B15/00—Removing liquids, gases or vapours from textile materials in association with treatment of the materials by liquids, gases or vapours
  • D06B15/09—Removing liquids, gases or vapours from textile materials in association with treatment of the materials by liquids, gases or vapours by jets of gases

Definitions

• This invention relates to narrow fabrics and more particularly concerns narrow fabrics intended for use as part of a garment or appliance to be worn on part of the body of a wearer.
• a narrow fabric intended for use as part of a garment or appliance to be worn on part of the body of a wearer, said narrow fabric being provided with one or more areas of friction-generating material in the form of a relatively thin film.
• narrow fabric is intended to refer not only to fabrics falling within a strict definition as used in the textile industry but to any fabric which has a longitudinal dimension considerably greater than its lateral, or average lateral, dimension.
• narrow fabric is intended to include fabric produced on a small diameter circular knitting machine.
• the use of friction-generating material in the form of a film has also been found to provide a superior holding performance, so that garments tend to stay in position for longer periods. This, combined with the improved discomfort and irritation qualities, enables garments and appliances to be worn for longer periods which is an important consideration for the wearer.
• the effective surface area of the film should be relatively large as compared with the thickness.
• the effective surface area of the film may be limited by the lateral dimensions of the narrow fabric but the average lateral dimension of film area should be at least 25 mm, preferably 30 mm and more preferably 35 mm.
• Average lateral dimensions of 35 mm to 60 mm and especially 35 mm to 50 mm have been found to be particularly advantageous.
• the thickness of the film should be controlled and it is preferably substantially uniform throughout. Whilst some variation in thickness is acceptable any tendency for the variation in thickness to resemble a plurality of beads should be avoided in order to take full advantage of the invention.
• the average thickness should not exceed 0.5 mm, preferably 0.3 mm and more preferably 0.2 mm. Average thicknesses of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, especially 0.15 mm to 0.25 mm have been found to be particularly advantageous.
• the film is preferably continuous but it is not necessarily so; it may be interrupted in a longitudinal or a transverse direction. It is, however, necessary that the applied friction-generating material should be in the form of a relatively thin film and the interruptions should not be such as to divide the applied material into one or more beads.
• the films are believed to have an advantage in that they contribute less to the resilience of the coated fabric than relatively thicker beads or layers of friction-generating material and this is considered to be one of the factors in reducins the discomtort to the wearer.
• the friction-generating material is preferably a silicone elastomer and more preferably is a heat-curable silicone elastomer. Conveniently, the viscosity of the uncured silicone elastomer is 50,000 to 150.000 MPas.
• the invention includes a process for producing a narrow fabric intended for use as part of a garment or appliance to be worn on part of the body of a wearer, which comprises extruding a film of a curable friction- generating material onto a length of narrow fabric and curing the resultant film in situ on the fabric.
• the narrow fabric is fed past a longitudinally stationary extrusion head.
• the film is applied to an "open" fabric and is arranged to follow the structure of the fabric so that the film of friction-generating material exhibits a plurality of openings corresponding to openings in the fabric. It should be appreciated that in this modification of the invention the openings are determined by the nature of the substrate and not by external mechanical means controlling the application of the silicone coating.
• Such a structure of film has many advantages.
• the openings provide access for air to the body of the wearer, both factors contributing to improved comfort for the wearer.
• the structure also improves the aesthetic quality of the fabric in that the film is virtually invisible from the reverse side of the fabric.
• the openings in the fabric need to have corresponding openings in the film of friction-generating material.
• the fabric is a lace it will usually comprise a design which will include a variety of openings of different shapes and sizes arranged in a pattern.
• the lateral dimensions of the film in this modification may be similar to those specified for the unmodified.
• the thickness should not exceed 0.5 mm and is preferably from 0.25 mm to 0.4 mm.
• a process for producing a narrow fabric intended for use as part of a garment or appliance to be worn on part of the body of a wearer which comprises extruding a film of a curable friction-generating material onto a length of narrow fabric having a plurality of openings therein, directing at least one jet of gas onto the fabric in the region of the extruded film so as to produce openings in at least the areas of openings of relatively larger dimension in the fabric and curing the resultant film in situ on the fabric .
• the narrow fabric having a plurality of openings therein may be a lace.
• the or each jet is preferably relatively wide in comparison to its length, the width of the jet being determined by the lateral area of the fabric in which it is desired to produce openings in the film.
• the gas is conveniently air and is preferably comparatively dry clean air since contaminants may adversely affect the curing of the friction-generating material .
• the or each jet of gas may be operated so as to act on only selected areas of a fabric where an open structure is required.
• the application of the film and its subsequent treatment can be arranged so that openings in the film of friction-generating material will only correspond to the larger openings in the lace fabric and the film will be continuous in the regions of relatively smaller openings. Since these openings are relatively small the aesthetic appearance of the fabric is not adversely affected to any great extent.
• the friction-generating material is preferably a silicone elastomer and more preferably is a heat-curable silicone elastomer.
• the viscosity of the uncured silicone elastomer is 50,000 to 100,000 MPas.
• the process can be adjusted to determine the size of openings which are present in the film. This can be achieved by controlling the pressure of the jet or jets of gas whilst selecting an appropriate viscosity of the silicone elastomer. Openings in the film corresponding to relatively small openings in the fabric can be produced by stretching the fabric to a desired extent until after the applied film has been cured.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lace fabric having a film of friction-generating material applied thereto;
• Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of an apparatus suitable for applying the film of friction-generating material to a fabric
• Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of a lace fabric having a film of friction-generating material applied thereto with openings corresponding to larger openings in the fabric;
• Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of a part of the apparatus shown in Figure 2 with the addition of means for providing a jet of gas.
• the fabric 10 is a stretch lace intended for attachment to the top of a stocking.
• a continuous film 1 1 of a heat-cured silicone elastomer is applied thereto.
• the transverse dimensions of the particular embodiment shown are: fabric: 70 mm and film 40 mm with the film thickness being constant at about 0.15 mm.
• FIG. 2 An apparatus suitable for carrying out the process is shown schematically in Figure 2.
• a length of narrow fabric 10 such as lace fabric, is fed continuously from a supply reel 20 to a take-up reel 24.
• a dry heat- curable silicone elastomer is fed from a supply chamber 21 to an extrusion head 22 which is arranged to extrude a film 11 of the heat-curable silicone elastomer onto the surface of the fabric 10.
• the silicone elastomer film is cured as it passes through the curing station
• the product shown in Figure 3 comprises a length of stretch lace 10 having openings 12 of relatively large dimension. In the regions 13 of these relatively large openings it will be seen that the film 11 is confined to the textile material surrounding the openings whilst in the region 14 the openings are relatively small and the film is continuous.
• Figure 4 is a detail showing the provision of a nozzle 41 for producing a jet of air 42 which is directed from the underside of the fabric 10 in the region of the extrusion head 22 so that the desired openings in the film of friction-generating material are produced before the material is cured.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Socks And Pantyhose (AREA)
• Treatments For Attaching Organic Compounds To Fibrous Goods (AREA)
• Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
• Finger-Pressure Massage (AREA)
• Outer Garments And Coats (AREA)
• Details Of Garments (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=10799145

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 1996
  • 1996-08-29 GB GBGB9618090.6A patent/GB9618090D0/en active Pending
• 1997
  • 1997-08-28 ES ES97937728T patent/ES2210560T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-08-28 WO PCT/GB1997/002305 patent/WO1998009013A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1997-08-28 AU AU40258/97A patent/AU4025897A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-08-28 DE DE69725740T patent/DE69725740T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-08-28 AT AT97937728T patent/ATE252658T1/de active
  • 1997-08-28 EP EP97937728A patent/EP0922130B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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