MXPA00002870A - Full-fashioned weaving process for production of a woven garment with intelligence capability - Google Patents

Abstract

A full-fashioned weaving process for the production of a woven garment which can accommodate and include holes, such as armholes. The garment is made of only one single integrated fabric and has no discontinuities or seams. Additionally, the garment can include intelligence capability, such as the ability to monitor one or more body vital signs, or garment penetration, or both, by including a selected sensing component or components in the weave of the garment.

Description

TOTALLY MODELED FABRIC PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A CLOTHING DRESS WITH CAPACITY OF INTELLIGENCE.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fully modeled fabric process for the production of a woven garment that can accommodate and include openings, such as openings for the arms. The garment is made only of a single integrated fabric and has no discontinuities or seams. Additionally, the garment may include intelligence. 2. Background of the Invention In fabrics, two sets of threads - known as warp and weft threads, respectively - are interlocked at right angles to each other in a weaving or weaving machine. Traditional weaving technologies typically produce a two-dimensional fabric. For a three-dimensional model garment from said fabric requires the cutting and sewing of the fabric.

The tubular fabric is a special variation of the traditional fabric in which a cloth tube is produced in the loom. However, tubular fabric has not been available so far to produce a fully patterned garment, such as a shirt, because it is not capable of accommodating discontinuities in the garment, such as openings for the arms, without requiring cutting. and the sewing.

There is therefore a need for a process to produce a fully patterned garment that eliminates the need to cut and sew the parts of the fabric to model the garment, especially a shirt, except for the joining of sleeves and rounding or finish of the collar of the shirt. It is to the provision of such process and the product for which the present invention is employed, the traditional step required for a two-dimensional fabric of side seams is avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process for producing a fully patterned woven garment comprised of only a single integrated piece and in which there are no discontinuities or seams.

It is a further object of the invention to be able to mold a garment that can accommodate openings, such as openings for the arms, for example in a shirt without requiring the cut and seam of the fabric, except for the joining of sleeves and rounding or finishing of the neck, if desired.

It is still a further object of the present invention to be able to provide a fully patterned garment for sound care that may include intelligence, such as the ability to monitor one or more vital signs and / or the penetration of a garment. dress and a process to make said garment.

In the fully patterned garment of the present invention, two different fabric structures are used: one is a section of tubular structure and the other is a double layer structure section of the fabric. Unlike the structure of a regular shirt made of woven fabric where the front and the rear need to be sewn together to make a "one piece" garment, the tubular structure fabric of the present invention emerges as a garment of "one piece" integrated during the weaving process. In the tubular section of the woven fabric, only one thread or a set of threads is wound helically and continuously in the front and back.

In the draft drawing for the tubular structure section of the woven fabric of the present invention, two different sets of warp yarns are used alternately - one is for the front and the other for the rear of the fabric. The plane in elevation provides the sequence of movements of the harnesses. The harnesses of the loom are lifted by the plane in elevation representing the front and the rear of the fabric alternately. Since it is a double garment structure, both front and rear warp yarns are placed on the same warp tooth of the loom.

Although the weft for a tubular fabric needs only one set of continuous yarns, the fully patterned garment of the present invention, when accommodating the openings, such as the arm openings, requires two sets of yarns. This is due to the innovative nature of the double layer structure section of the garment.

An innovative facet of the garment lies in the creation of a hole in the fabric, such as an opening for the arm, by means of the section of the double-layer structure of the garment. Unlike the section of the tubular structure, in a section of the double-layer structure of the garment, there are two sets of yarns and a double-layer structure is used separately for the front and the back of the garment of wear. Since two sets of yarns are used from the tubular structure section, the fabric of the double layer structure section can be woven continuously from the tubular structure section. Also, the section of the tubular structure can be weave continuously from the double layer structure section. Thus, for example, a fully patterned garment can be made by continuously weaving a first tubular structure section as described, followed by the double layer structure section woven from the tubular structure section and then a second structure section. tubular section of double layer structure. Other combinations of tubular structure woven continuously and the double layer structure sections can also be made. Furthermore, the fully molded fabric process of the present invention is not limited to the manufacture of a garment with openings for the arms, but is generally applicable in the manufacture of any fully patterned garment requiring similar openings.

In a particular embodiment, to achieve a garment using, for example, a loom of 24 harnesses, the elevation plane for the double layer structure is more complicated than the plane for the first and second tubular structure sections of the garment of wear due to the number of harnesses used (fewer harnesses are used for the tubular structure sections than for the double layer structure section). The 24 harnesses of the loom are divided into six groups. Among the four harnesses in each group, two harnesses are used for the front layer and two harnesses are used for the back layer of the garment. As described in more detail below, to make an opening for the arm for the garment, the width of each extraction set is sequentially increased to a desired amount and then sequentially decreased by the same amount for both layers and each set of harnesses is lowered in each 2.54 cm of fabric length and subsequently collected in a similar manner. Since the extraction sequence on both sides of the garment is the same, the opening for the arm will be created simultaneously on both sides of the double layer structure section. In this way, an individual garment woven continuously is produced in the manner in which the openings for the arms are created.

In a further embodiment, the garment made in accordance with the present invention can be modeled into a garment of reasonable care ("filament of reasonable care"). The filament of reasonable care can be provided with means to monitor one or more vital body signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, pulse and temperature, as well as monitor the penetration of the filament. The reasonable care filament consists of: a base fabric ("comfort component") and at least one detection component. The detection component can be a component of penetration detection material or a component of electrical conductive material or both. The preferred penetration detection component is plastic optical fiber. The preferred electrical conductive component is an inorganic fiber coated with polyethylene, nylon or other insulating coating or a thin gauge copper wire with polyethylene coating. Optionally, the filament may include a shape adjustment component, such as a Spandex fiber, or a static dissipation component, such as Nega-Stat, depending on the need and the application. Each of these components can be integrated into the fabric of the present invention and therefore incorporated into a fully modeled garment of reasonable care.

It can be seen from the description of the present invention that a fully patterned knitting process is provided, whereby a fully patterned garment can be manufactured and that it can accommodate discontinuities in the garment such as openings for the arms without requiring of cutting and sewing and by means of which an intelligent garment can be manufactured. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and the claims together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a fully patterned woven garment which was manufactured by the weaving process of the present invention. Figures 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D illustrate the draft drawing of the elevation plane, the warp plane and the design of the sections of the tubular fabric structure of the garment of Figure 1; * F indicates the Front layer of the fabric. * B indicates the back layer of the fabric. Figures 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D illustrate the draft drawing of the elevation plane, warp plane and design of the double layer fabric structure section of the garment of Figure 1; * F indicates the Front layer of the fabric. * B indicates the back layer of the fabric. Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of the opening portion for the fabric arm of the double layer fabric structure section of the garment of Figure 1; Figure 5A illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention in the form of a reasonable care filament; Figure 5B illustrates a cutting portion of Figure 5A; Figure 6 illustrates the interconnection of the sensor for the reasonable care filament of Figure 5; Figure 7 illustrates a tissue sample of the filament of Figure 5 where there are 15.24 cm to connect the sensors and Figure 8 illustrates the invention of Figure 5 in the form of a printed elastic edge. a) Transmitters b) Elastic fiber optic sensor c) Receivers A. PSM 1 B. PSM 2 Figure 9 illustrates a fully patterned garment with T connectors for sensors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MODALITIES ILLUSTRATIVES Referring now to the previous Figures, where similar reference numbers represent parts through the different views, the weaving process and the product of the present invention will be described in detail.

A. Garment and Process of the Fully Modeled Fabric of the Present Invention As illustrated in Figure 1, in a fully patterned garment made in accordance with the present invention, two different fabric structures are used: one is the tubular structure for Sections A and C and the other is the structure of double layer for Section B. To aid in the description of the present invention, the reference will now be made to the garment, such as a sleeveless shirt having a rounded neck 14 similar to a knitted shirt, modeled by a process of fully modeled fabric of the present invention. However, it should be recognized that the present invention is not limited to only such garment. 1. Description of Sections A and C of the Garment Unlike the structure of a regular shirt made of woven fabric where the front and the rear need to be sewn together to make a "one piece" garment, the structure of the present invention emerges as a garment integrated in "one piece" during a fully modeled weaving process.

Only one thread or set of threads 16 is helically interlaced and continuously in the front and back to make a tubular section of the fabric (garment).

Figures 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D show a unit of the draft pattern, the elevation plane and the warp plane respectively as well as the design for sections A and C of the tubular structure of the garment. The draft drawing indicates the pattern in which the warp ends are arranged in their distribution over the frames of the harnesses. In the draft drawing, two different sets of threads are used alternately - one is for the front F and the other is for the rear B of the garment. The elevation plane defines the selection of harnesses to be raised or lowered at each successive insertion of the peak or fill. The harnesses of the loom are lifted by the plane in elevation representing the front and rear of the garment alternately. Since this is the double garment structure, the rear and front warp threads are placed on the same warp tooth of the loom. The warp plane shows the arrangement of the warp ends on the warp teeth for the back and front of the garment.

Although the filling for the tubular fabric needs only one set of continuous threads, in one embodiment the fully patterned garment of the present invention makes use of two sets of threads. This is due to the innovative nature of Section IB. 2. Description of Section B of the Garment An innovative facet of the fully modeled process lies in the creation of the opening for the arms of the tubular woven fabric. Section B is the place for arm openings. Otherwise Sections A and C of the tubular structure, of the double layer structure of Section B, there are two sets of threads, and a double layer structure is used separately for the front F and the rear B of the article of clothing. Since two sets of threads are used from the section of the previous tubular structure (Section A), the fabric of Section B can be weave continuously from the fabric of Section A. In addition, it will be integrated with Section C.

The tubular fabric is a special variation of the traditional fabric in which a cloth tube is produced in the loom. This technology has been chosen over traditional fabrics for the production of the fully modeled garment because it will obviate the cut and seam of the fabric (with the exception, for example, of the rounding or neck finish required to model the shirt ) and the resulting structure will be similar to a regular tank top, for example, without any seams on the sides. This should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the garment may also be modeled by joining sleeves or attaching a collar or both.

A loom that allows the production of this garment is the AVL Compu Dobby, a shuttle loom that can be operated in manual and automatic modes. You can also intervene with computers with designs created using a design program that can be loaded directly into the power control mechanism. Alternatively, a jacquard loom can also be used. Since a dobby loom has been used, the production of the fabric in said loom will be described. The configuration of the loom for the production of the garment is: The following steps are followed to produce a garment in accordance with the present invention. 1. Register the tissue pattern in the design program and transfer it into the AVL Compu-Dobby Loom. 2. Prepare 160 stretchers for a section folder of 5.08 cm separation. 3. Place the threads on the 55.88 cm wide section folder.

Install the required number of stop lamellae.

. Retract 160 ends through the stop blades. 6. Tuck 160 ends through the meshes of the 24 harnesses with specific sequences based on the defined tissue pattern. 7. Reed 1600 ends through the warp. 8. Join the ends over the weaver's wool at each end. 9. Prepare 8 coils for plot with 6 shuttles.

In Figures 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D the drawing plane, the elevation plane and the warp plane (as defined above with reference to Figures 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D) and the design for twenty-four (24) Harnesses of the loom used for the double layer structure section of the garment were illustrated. To achieve a continuous weave garment, the elevation plane of the double layer structure of Section B is more complicated than the plane for the tubular structure sections of Sections A and C due to the number of harnesses used (only four harnesses are used for Sections A and C as shown in Figures 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D). However, the warp plane is the same for Section B as for the other Sections A and C.

The 24 harnesses of the loom are divided into six games. Each set contains four harnesses. Among the four harnesses in each set two harnesses are used for the front layer and the other two are used for the back layer of the garment. As illustrated in Figure 4, to make an opening for arms for the garment, the width of each tuck assembly is increased sequentially and then 0.127 cm is decreased on both sides, and each harness assembly is tucked in 2.54 cm in length of the fabric and subsequently collected in a similar way. The tucking sequence of the harness assemblies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 for one half of the arm opening in Figure 4. In addition, the harness sets need to be used for the other half of the opening for arms. The sequence of the harness sets for closing the sleeve opening will be 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in Figure 4. Since the drawing plane sequence for both sides of the garment is the same, the opening for arms will be created simultaneously on both sides of the double layer structure of Section B.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the production of the woven garment in accordance with the present invention is not limited to the use of a fabric loom having 24 harnesses. A more uniform arm opening can be made using a 48 harness loom. Similarly, the use of a 400-hook jacquard loom machine will provide an even more even opening in the arms in Section B.

The woven garment can be made of any yarn applicable to conventional woven fabrics. The selection of material for the yarn will be determined in an ordinary way by the final use of the fabric and will be based on a review of the comfort, fit, handling of the fabric, air permeability, moisture absorption and structural characteristics of the yarn. Suitable yarns include, but are not limited to cotton, polyester / cotton blends, polyester / cotton microdenier blends, and polypropylene fibers such as Meraklon (manufactured by Dawtex Industries).

B. A Filament of Reasonable Care in Accordance with the Present Invention In addition to the advantage of removing the cut and seam, the woven garment and the process of the present invention can provide the basis for a reasonable care garment ("reasonable care filament"). Such a filament may be provided with the means to monitor the physical bodily signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, pulse and temperature as well as for the monitoring of filament penetration. The reasonable care garment consists of the following components: the base of the fabric or "comfort component" and one or more detection components. Additionally, a shape adjustment component and a static dissipation component can be included if desired.

Figures 5A and 5B show a representative design of the reasonable care filament 20 of the present invention. It consists of an individual piece of clothing woven and patterned as described above and is similar to a sleeveless shirt. Table 1 below denotes the relative distribution of the yarns for various structural components of the filament in a 5.08 cm segment as described in Figure 5.

The comfort component 22 is the base of the fabric. The comfort component will ordinarily be in intermediate contact with the skin of the wearer and will provide the necessary comfort properties for the garment / filament. For this, the selected material should provide at least the same level of comfort and fit in comparison with a typical shirt, for example, good fabric handling, air permeability, moisture absorption and elasticity.

The comfort component may consist of any applicable yarn for conventional fabric fabrics. The selection of material for the yarn will ordinarily be determined by the final use of the fabric and will be based on a review of the comfort, fit, fabric handling, air permeability, moisture absorption and structural characteristics of the yarn. Suitable yarns include but are not limited to cotton, polyester / cotton blends, polyester / cotton microdenier blends, and polypropylene fibers such as Meraklon (manufactured by Dawtex Industries).

The main fibers particularly suitable for use in the comfort component are Meraklon and the polyester / cotton combination. Meraklon is a modified polypropylene fiber to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with pure polypropylene fibers. Its key features in light of the performance requirements are: (a) good packaging and comfort; (b) volume without weight; (c) rapid drying; (d) good mechanical properties and color fastness; (e) non-allergenic and antibacterial characteristics; and (f) odor free with protection against bacterial growth. The polyester / cotton microdenier combinations are extremely versatile fibers and are characterized by: (a) good touch, ie handling; (b) good moisture absorption; (c) good mechanical properties and abrasion resistance; and (d) ease of processing. It must be recognized that other fibers meet such performance requirements that they are also adequate. The combined polyester / cotton microdenier fibers are available from Hamby Textile Research of North Carolina. Microdenier fibers for use in the combination are available from DuPont. Meraklon yarn is available from Dawtex, Inc., Toronto, Canada. In Figure 5, the Meraklon is shown in the warp and weft directions of the fabric.

The information infrastructure component of the fabric may include materials 24 for detecting the penetration of the fabric 20 or materials 25 to detect one or more vital signs of the body or both. These materials are woven during the fabric of the comfort component of the fabric. After the modeling of the fabric is finished, these materials can be connected to a monitor (referred to as "personal status monitor" or "PSM"), which will take the readings from the detection materials, the monitoring of the readings and issues an alert depending on the readings and the determinations desired by the monitor, as described in more detail below.

Suitable materials for providing penetration detection and warning include, but are not limited to: silica based optical fibers, plastic optical fibers, and silicon rubber optical fibers. Suitable optical fibers include those having a filling medium having a bandwidth that can support the desired signal to be transmitted and the desired data streams. Optical fibers based on silica have been designed for use in long distance applications of high bandwidth. Its extremely small silica core and low numerical aperture (NA) provide considerable bandwidth (up to 500 mhz * km) and low voltage (as low as, 5dB / km). However, such fibers are currently not preferred due to the high manufacturing costs in the installation and the danger of fragmentation of the fibers.

Plastic optical fibers (POF) provide many of the same advantages of glass fibers, although at a lower weight and cost. In certain fiber applications, such as in some detectors and medical applications, the length of the fiber used is too short (less than a few meters) that the loss of fiber and the dispersion of the fiber are not of interest. Instead, good optical transparency, adequate mechanical strength and flexibility are the required properties and plastic or polymer fibers are preferred. In addition, plastic optical fibers do not fragment like glass fibers and therefore can be used more safely in the fabric than glass fibers.

For relatively short lengths, POFs have several inherent advantages over glass fibers. POFs exhibit relatively higher numerical aperture (NA), which contributes to their ability to supply more energy. In addition, the greater NA reduces the susceptibility of POF to the slight loss caused by bending and bending of the fiber. The transmission on the scale of visible wavelengths is relatively higher than any other in the spectrum. This is an advantage since in most medical detectors the transducers are driven by wavelengths on the visible scale of the optical spectrum. Due to the nature of its optical transmission, POF offers similar high bandwidth capacity and the same electromagnetic immunity as fiberglass. In addition to being relatively inexpensive, POF can be finished using a hotplate procedure that melts excess fiber to an optical quality finish. This simple termination combined with the spring closure design of the POF connection system, whose connection system can be a conventional connection system, allows the termination of a node in less than one minute. This results in extremely low installation costs. In addition, POFs can withstand a more severe mechanical treatment exhibited in relatively unfavorable environments. Applications claiming inexpensive, and durable, optical fibers for conducting visible wavelengths over short distances are commonly referred to by POFs made either of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or styrene-based polymers.

Silicone Rubber Optical Fibers (SROF) A third class of optical fibers provide excellent flexural properties and elastic recovery. However, they are relatively thick (of the order of 5mm) and suffer from a high degree of signal attenuation. They are also affected by high humidity and are not commercially available. Therefore, although such fibers are not preferred for use in the fabric, they can be used. Such fibers can be obtained from Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

In Figure 5, the POF 24 is shown in the weft direction of the fabric, although it need not be limited only to the direction of the weft. In order to incorporate the penetration sensing component material into a woven fabric, the material, preferably plastic optical fiber (POF) is integrated in a spiral form within the structure during the production process of fully modeled woven fabric. The POF does not end under the hole in the arms. Due to the modification described above in the weaving process, the POF continues through the fabric without any discontinuity. This results in a single integrated fabric and there are no seams where the POF is involved. The preferred plastic optical fiber is from Toray Industries, New York, in particular the product code PGU-CD-501-10-E of the fiber optic cable. Another POF can be used, its product code is PGS-GB250 fiber optic cable from Toray Industries.

Alternatively or additionally, the sensor component may consist of a component of electrical conductive material (ECC) 25. The electrical conductive fiber preferably has a resistivity from about 0.07 x 10"3 to 10 Kohms / cm. ECC 25 can be used to monitor one or more vital signs of the body including the heart rate, pulse rate and temperature and blood pressure through the sensors in the body and to link to a personal status monitor (PSM) the appropriate materials include all three classes of intrinsically conductive polymers, non-purified inorganic fibers and metallic fibers respectively.

Polymers that conduct electrical currents without the addition of conductive (inorganic) substances are known as "intrinsically conductive polymers" (ICP). The electrically conductive polymers have a conjugated structure, that is, alternating double and simple bonds between the carbon atoms of the main chain. At the end of the 70's it was discovered that polyacetylene could be prepared in a form with a high electrical conductivity and that the conductivity could be further increased by chemical oxidation. Subsequently, many other polymers with a conjugated carbon main chain (alternating double and single bonds) have shown the same behavior, for example polythiophene and polypyrrole initially, it was considered that the processing capacity of traditional polymers and electrical conductivity could combine. However, it has been found that conductive polymers are rather unstable in air, have poor mechanical properties and can not be easily processed. Likewise, all intrinsically conductive polymers are insoluble in any solvent and have no melting point or other resharpening behavior. Consequently, they can not be processed in the same way as normal thermoplastic polymers and are usually processed using a variety of dispersion methods. Due to these disadvantages, shaped fibers of fully conductive polymers with good mechanical properties are not yet commercially available and therefore are not currently preferred for use in the fabric, although they may be used.

Another class of conductive fibers consists of those that are not purified with inorganic or metallic particles. The conductivity of these fibers is rather high if they are not sufficiently purified with metallic particles, although this would make the fibers less flexible. Such fibers can be used to carry information from the sensors to the monitoring unit if they are properly insulated.

Metal fibers such as copper and stainless steel insulated with polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride can also be used as the conductive fibers in the fabric. With its exceptional current carrying capacity, copper and stainless steel are more efficient than unpurified polymer fibers. Likewise, the metallic fibers are strong and resist the stretching, overflow, progressive deformation with notches and breaks. Therefore, metal fibers of very small diameter (of the order of 0.1mm) will be sufficient to transport the information from the detectors to the monitoring unit. Even with insulation, the diameter of the fiber will be less than 0.3mm and therefore these fibers will be very flexible and can easily be incorporated into the fabric. Also, the installation and connection of the metal fibers to the PSM unit will be simple and there will be no need for special connectors, tools, compounds and procedures. An example of a highly conductive yarn for this purpose is Bekinox available from Bekaert Corporation, Mariette, Georgia, a subsidiary of Bekintex NV, Wetteren, Belgium, which is made of stainless steel fibers and has a resistivity of 60 ohm-meter. The flexural stiffness of this yarn is comparable to that of high strength polyamide yarns and can easily be incorporated into the information infrastructure of the present invention.

Therefore, the preferred electrical conductive materials for the sensor component for the fabric are: (i) inorganic fibers not purified with polyethylene, nylon or other insulator-coating; (ii) isolated stainless steel fibers; and (iii) thin gauge copper cables with polyethylene sheet. All of these fibers can easily be incorporated into the fabric and can serve as elements of an elastic printed circuit board, described below. An example of an unpurified inorganic fiber available is X-Static coated nylon (T66) from Sauquoit Industries, South Carolina. An example of a thin copper wire available is the 24 gauge insulated copper wire from Ack Electronics, Atlanta, Georgia.

The electrical conductive component fibers 25 may be incorporated within the woven fabric in two ways: (a) regularly separated yarns that act as detection elements; and (b) yarns placed in a precise manner to transport the signals from the detectors to the PSM. They can be distributed in the warp and weft directions in the woven fabric.

The shape adjustment component (FFC) 26 provides the shape adjustment to the user if desired. More importantly, it keeps the detectors in place on the user's body during movement. Therefore, the selected material must have a high degree of stretch to provide the required shape adjustment and at the same time be compatible with the material selected for the other components of the fabric. Any fiber that meets these requirements is adequate. The preferred form fitting component is Spandex fiber, a block polymer with urethane groups. Its elongation at breaking scales is from 500 to 600% and, therefore, it can provide the necessary fit for the garment. Its elastic recovery is also extremely high (99% recovery from 2-5% stretch) and its resistance is on the scale of 0.6-0.9 grams / denier. It is resistant to chemical agents and resists repeated machine washes and the action of perspiration. It is available on a linear density scale. : The Spandex band 26 shown in the weft direction in Figure 5 is the FFC for the tubular woven fabric that provides the desired shape fit. These bands behave like "straps" but they are not obstrusive and are well integrated into the fabric. There is no need for the user of any mooring to ensure a good fit for the garment. In addition, the Spandex band stretches and contracts as it expands and contracts the user's chest during normal breathing. Spandex fiber can be obtained from E.l. DuPont de Nemours, Wilmington, Delaware.

The purpose of the static dissipation component (SDC) 28 is to rapidly dissipate any accumulation of static charge during the use of the fabric. Such a component is not always necessary. However, under certain conditions, several thousand volts may be generated, which could damage the sensitive electronic components in the PSM Unit. Therefore, the selected material must provide adequate electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in the fabric.

Nega-Stat, a two-component fiber produced by DuPont is the preferred material for the static dissipation component (SDC). It has a three-lobed conductive core that is coated with polyester or nylon. This unique trilobal conductive core neutralizes the surface charge on the base material by induction and dissipates the charge by air ionization and conduction. The non-conductive nylon or polyester surface of the Nega-Stat fibers controls the release of surface loads from the yarn to provide effective static control of the material in applications with or without grounding in accordance with end-use requirements specific. The outer layer of polyester or nylon ensures effective service life with high wash and wear durability, and protection against acid and radiation. Other materials that can effectively dissipate the static charge and even function as a component of a washable and usable garment can also be used.

Referring again to Figure 5, the Nega-Stat 28 fiber moves along the height of the jacket, in the warp direction of the fabric, is the static dissipation component (SDC). The proposed separation is adequate for the desired degree of static discharge. For the woven tubular garment, in an ordinary manner although it will not necessarily be introduced in the warp direction of the fabric.

With reference to Figure 6, the connectors (shown in Figure 9 as element 55), such as the T-connectors (similar to "button fasteners" used in clothing), can be used to connect the body sensors 32 for the conductive cables that go towards the PSM. By modularizing the design of the fabric (using those conductors), the detectors can be made independent of the fabric. This conforms to different body shapes. The connector makes the connection of the detectors to the cables relatively easy. Another advantage of the separation of the sensors from the fabric is that they do not need to be washed when the garment is washed, thus minimizing any damage to them. However, it should be recognized that the sensors 32 may also be woven within the structure.

The specification for preferred materials to be used in fabric / garment production are as follows: Yarn counts have been selected based on initial experimentation using yarn sizes that are typically used in undergarments. Other yarn counts can be used. Figure 5 also shows the specifications for the tubular woven fabric. The weight of the fabric is around 10 oz / yd2 or less. While the aforementioned materials are the preferred materials to be used in the production of the fabric, from reading this description it will be readily recognized that other materials may be used in place of said preferred materials and still provide a garment of reasonable care in accordance with the present invention.

C. Core Turn Technology The core rotation is the process for coating a core yarn (eg, POF or conductive yarns) with coating fibers (eg Meraklon or Polyester / Cotton). It is not required in all situations of the present invention. It is desirable when the information infrastructure component or other components other than the comfort component do not possess the comfort properties that are desired for the garment. There are two forms of core turning wires, one that uses modified ring spinning machines and the other using a friction spinning machine. The ring spinning machines are very versatile and can be used for both thin and thick cores of cores. However, the productivity of the ring spinning machine is low and the pack sizes are very small. Friction spinning machines can only be used to produce coarse-coarse yarns, although production speeds and package sizes are greater than with ring spinning. When the threads used are relatively thick, the friction spin technology is preferred for the core rotation of the threads. The preferred configuration of the friction spinning machine for producing core spinning yarns is as follows: Approximately 2000 m of core spinning yarns were produced in a friction spin machine. The POF was used as the core and the polyester / cotton as the insulator. A core / insulator ratio of 50:50 was chosen so that the yarn had optimum strength and comfort properties.

A large-scale prototype was produced on the AVL-Dobby line. Additionally, two samples of the woven line were produced in a production line. The specifications for the samples are shown in Figure 7. Said samples were designed with low conduction 42 and high conduction electrical fibers 43, spaced at regular intervals to act as an elastic circuit board 40. The circuit diagram of this board is illustrated in Figure 8. The Figure shows the interconnections between the power cables 44 and the ground wires 46 and the fibers of low driving 42 and high driving 43. Data block 47 is also shown for the transfer of data from randomly located interconnection points 48, for the sensors to the personal status monitors 1 and 2 (PSM1 and PSM2).

Not expressly shown in Figure 8, but included in the elastic board, are the modular arrays and connections for providing power to the electrical conductive material component and for providing a light source for the penetration sensor material component. The fabric can be manufactured with the sensor component (s), but without the inclusion of such light and energy sources, or the transmitters 52 and the receivers 53 illustrated, being expected to be separated and subsequently connected to the cloth. In another embodiment of the invention, the virgin POF was isolated using a flexible plastic tube that was used as the penetration sensitive component.

D. Operation of the Fabric.

The operation of the cloth assembly illustrates its penetration alert and the vital signs monitoring capabilities are described below: Penetration Alert: 1. Precisely regulated impulses are sent through the integrated POF inside the garment. 2. If there is no break in the POF, the signal pulses are received by a receiver and an "acknowledgment" is sent to the PSM Unit indicating that there is no penetration. 3. If the optical fibers are broken at any point due to penetration, the signal pulses bounce back to the first transmitter from the point of impact, ie, the point of rupture. The time elapsed between the transmission and the recognition of the signal pulse indicates the length at which the signal has moved until it reaches the breaking point, thus identifying the exact point of penetration. 4. The PSM unit transmits a penetration alert by means of a transmitter that specifies the location of the penetration.

Monitoring of Physical Signs 1. The signals from the sensors are sent to the PSM Unit or to a monitoring unit through the electrical conductive component (ECC) of the fabric. 2. If the signals from the sensors are within the normal range and if the PSM unit has not received a penetration alert, the physical signs readings are recorded by the PSM Unit for further processing. 3. However, if the readings deviate from normal, or if the PSM unit has received a penetration alert, the physical sign readings are transmitted using the transmitter.

Therefore, the fabric of the present invention is easy to deploy and meets all the functional requirements to monitor vital signs and / or penetration. The detection of the place of the current penetration in the POF can be determined by means of an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer.

While the invention has been described in its preferred forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, additions and deletions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the following claims.

Claims (20)

1. A process for continuously weaving a fully patterned garment, comprising the steps of: providing two sets of warp yarns to be used alternately, one set for the front and the other set for the back of the garment; provide two sets of weft threads; weaving a tubular structure section of the garment from the weft and warp yarns and weaving a double layer structure section from the warp and weft yarns; the tubular structure section and the double layer structure section being woven continuously with respect to each other.

2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the weaving step of the tubular structure section includes entangling a yarn or set of helical yarns and continuously on the front and the back of the garment.

3. A process according to claim 1, further comprising the step of weaving a fiber sensing component to provide the monitoring capability of a vital body sign or the penetration of the garment.

4. A process according to claim 3, wherein the detection component fiber is selected from the group consisting of optical fibers and electrical conductive fibers.

5. A process according to claim 3, further comprising the step of weaving a component fiber in an adapted form.

6. A process according to claim 3, further comprising the step of weaving a fiber component dissipating from the static.

7. A process according to claim 1, wherein the weaving step of the double layer structure results in holes for the arms on each side of the garment.

8. A process according to claim 1, wherein the double layer structure is continuously woven from the tubular structure section and a second tubular structure section woven continuously from the double layer structure section.

9. A woven garment comprising: a tubular structure section and a double layer structure section; the tubular structure section and the double layer structure section being woven continuously with respect to each other.

10. A knitted garment according to claim 9, wherein the double layer structure section includes arm holes on each side of the garment.

11. A woven garment according to claim 9, wherein the tubular structure section includes a yarn or set of yarns intertwined helically and continuously on the front and back of the garment.

12. A woven garment according to claim 9, further comprising a fiber sensing component to provide the ability to monitor a vital body sign or penetration of the garment.

13. A woven garment according to claim 12, wherein the detection component is selected from the group consisting of optical fibers and electrical conductive fibers.

14. A woven garment according to claim 9, further comprising a fiber component of adapted form.

15. A woven garment according to claim 9, further comprising a fiber component dissipating from the static.

16. A woven garment according to claim 9, wherein the double layer structure section is woven continuously from the tubular structure section and a second tubular structure section is continuously woven from the double layer structure section.

17. A woven garment comprising: a woven structure and a fiber sensing component

18. A knitted garment according to claim 17, wherein the woven structure includes a tubular structure section and a double layer section and the sensing fiber component is selected from the group consisting of optical fibers and electrical conductive fibers.

19. A process for continuously weaving a fully patterned garment, comprising the steps of: weaving a comfort component of the garment and weaving a fiber sensing component into the comfort component of the garment.

20. A process according to claim 19, wherein the weaving step of the comfort component includes knitting a tubular structure section and a double layer structure section and the sensing fiber component is selected from the group consisting of optical fibers and electric conductive fibers.