WO2010106418A1

WO2010106418A1 - A device for protecting clothing when drying

Info

Publication number: WO2010106418A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/000549
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gianfranco Cipriani; Patrizia Tognotti
Original assignee: Allergosystem S.R.L.
Priority date: 2009-03-19
Filing date: 2010-03-16
Publication date: 2010-09-23
Also published as: ITMI20090422A1; IT1393528B1

Abstract

A device for protecting washed garments during the drying phase is made with a non woven fabric having a grammage within the range between 30 and 180 g/ m2 and permeability to water vapour measured according to DIN 53122 included in the range between 2000 and 10,000 g/m2*24h.

Description

A DEVICE FOR PROTECTING CLOTHING WHEN DRYING

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention concerns a device for protecting washing. More in particular, the invention concerns a device for protecting washed garments during the outdoor drying phase. INVENTION BACKGROUND

Washed garments can be dried in a drying machine or be hung out on suitable clothes-horses (or drying racks or line dryers). Clothes-horses can have many different shapes and vary from simple wires or lines stretched between two due bars or rods to more or less complex foldable structures, such as for example that described in EP 1634988.

In any case, clothes-horses holding washed garments to be dried are preferably placed outdoors, both for reasons of space and for accelerating drying times.

It is known that garments placed outdoors are exposed to rain and that they can be soiled by rain or animals. Devices are known and commercially available for protecting washing from rain, dust and animals; these devices consist of waterproof sheets, formed by a layer of transparent plastic, to be placed over the clothes-horse. The sheets can be placed on the clothes- horse or held out over and above it.

However, known devices have proved to be substantially of little use for their purpose, in particular for protecting washing hung outdoors to dry from dust and dirt in general. The need thus arises to provide a device that protects washing hung outdoors to dry in an effective manner.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem and provide a device that protects washed garments during the drying phase in an effective manner. This objective is achieved by the present invention, which concerns a device characterized according to claim 1. INVENTION ABSTRACT

According to the invention, the container is made with a textile material that is preferably a non woven fabric in a fibrous thermoplastic material, having a grammage, or weight, in the range between 30 and 180 g/m², more preferably between 50 and 130 g/m² and even more preferably between 90 and 110 g/m². The preferred grammage is 100 g/m².

The textile material preferably has a permeability to water vapour measured according to DIN 53122-1 included in the range between 2000 and 10,000 g/m^2*24h, preferably between 4500 and 8100 g/m²*24h. The permeability to air measured according to DIN EN ISO 9237 is preferably included in the range between 25 and 95 l/dm²*min, more preferably between 30 and 85 l/dm^2*min and even more preferably between 35 and 80 l/dm²*min. In a preferred embodiment, the textile material has a permeability according to the EN 1822-3:1988 standard to dust or particles with sizes of 0.5-10 μm (aerodynamically determined), using ISO 12103-1 A2 test dust (PTI or SAE fine), such that in an air flow of 5 cm/second, the textile material functions as a filter and traps at least 54% of particles having dimensions equal to or greater than 1 μm, preferably at least 60% of particles >= 1 μm and more preferably at least 70% of said particles. Unlike known embodiments, the textile material of the washing protection device according to the invention is not completely waterproof and allows the passage of air and water vapour.

The above-listed characteristics are at least applicable when the textile material is new. Preferred materials are non woven fabrics obtained by spunbonding or spunlacing, from the extrusion of thermoplastic filaments that are then stretched in a current of air and laid on a mobile support to form a non woven fabric. The filaments obtained in this manner are then bonded to each other with high-pressure jets of water Qet bonding). In the preferred embodiment, 100% polypropylene filaments are used (more precisely, monofilaments).

Examples of this type of product are available on the market for use as coverings and shelters. For example, such cover sheets are manufactured by Ultrabond and marketed with the name Ultratex.

Other filaments suitable for utilization in the present invention are those obtained from the coextrusion of different materials (e.g. polyester and polyamide) placed side by side to form different segments of a single filament; when subjected to said high-pressure water jets, the filaments split, giving rise to a plurality of sub-filaments that generate an intricate, "labyrinth" like microfibre structure. The structure remains the same, even if the grammages or material finishing is changed. Preferably, polyester and polyamide are used in the ratio 70/30.

Examples of products manufactured in this manner are available on the market, from Freudenberg with the name Evolon® or from Orsa with the name Micro-jet Orsa. Machines for obtaining these types of filaments and fabrics are available on the market, for example, from Fare SpA (IT) and Reifenhauser (DE). An example of a process for making a suitable product is described in US 6815382 and in WO2008072278.

Alternatively, fabrics having the above-specified characteristics can be used; examples of these fabrics are cotton fabrics with a Dicrylan or Teflon coating on at least one side.

It was surprisingly discovered that washing protection devices made with textiles, in particular non woven fabrics, classifiable as indicated above, allow effective protection of washed garments to be achieved and, at the same time, provide drying times comparable or even shorter than those that would be necessary for unprotected garments.

In addition, by its nature, non woven fabric is necessarily and always opaque, as opposed to known devices in plastic that are transparent, and is therefore able to shield the underlying garments on the clothes-horse from the sun. The colour of the non woven fabric influences the amount of shade for the garments, this being greater if the non woven fabric has a dark colour. It was also observed that the device according to the invention, especially if black or in a dark colour, accelerates the evaporation of water from the garments being dried: this brings the further unexpected advantage of the above- mentioned shorter drying time.

The invention also concerns the use of textiles as defined above for protecting washed garments during the drying phase. The invention also concerns the use of textiles as defined above for the production of devices for protecting washed garments during the drying phase. Another advantage is that it is possible to make devices that cover all of the washing hung out, i.e. that extend down along the sides of the clothes-horse or other support for the drying garments. This was not possible with known devices, which would have hindered the drying of the garments if shaped in the same way, namely with long vertical sides.

The advantages of vertical sides that hang down to cover the garments are those of greater protection from dust and dirt in general and of hiding the washed garments from view.

A further advantage of the device according to the invention is that it protects from rain and frost. With regards to rain, non woven fabric with the claimed characteristics partially protects against rain, but in any case, in a manner sufficient to delay passage through the non woven fabric; in addition, the water that passes through the device is filtered and any dirt remains on the outer surface of the non woven fabric.

In a preferred embodiment, the device protects the garments to be dried from dust and particles deriving from environmental pollution and also pollen and other materials capable of causing allergies. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other advantages shall be illustrated in the following description, with reference to the enclosed non-limitative examples and figures provided by way of example, where:

- Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention,

- Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the device in Fig. 1 positioned over a clothes-horse, and

- Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a non woven fabric of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to Figure 1 , a schematic perspective view is shown of a possible embodiment of the device according to the invention.

The protection device is, for example, obtained from a non woven fabric in polypropylene, with grammage of 70-100 g/m², of the type used in agriculture, and having permeability to air measured according to DIN EN ISO 9237 included in the range between 35 and 80 l/dm²*min. The device 1 has been obtained from a sheet of non woven fabric, cut in strips 2-4 and sewn along the sides 5 and 6 to form an approximately parallelepipedal element that can be placed over a clothes-horse 7 (Fig. 2). The fabric effectively constitutes 100% of the material of the container. In the embodiment shown, there is also a strip 8 that is integral with strip 3 and which has not been sewn to strip 2. The purpose of keeping strip 8 free is that of allowing the device 1 to be adapted to the length of the clothes- horse 7. A clothes-horse 7 is shown in Fig. 2 that has a length greater than that of strip 2: strip 8 can cover at least the upper part and one of the vertical sides of the portion of the clothes-horse that sticks out from strip 2. In an embodiment of the device, the opposite end of strip 3 is also free, i.e. strip 3 is not sewn or constrained to strip 2 and strip 4 in correspondence to sides 6, but only in correspondence to sides 5.

In a preferred embodiment, the fibres of the textile material are coloured black or a comparable dark-shaded colour to increase the temperature in the space beneath the non woven fabric and facilitate evaporation of water from the garments to be dried.

Alternatively, all sides of the device can be sewn together. Summarizing, the protection device for washing that is hung out to dry can be made with a single piece of sheet having the required characteristics, to be laid over the hung-out washing; alternatively, and preferably, the device is formed by at least two pieces or elements of fabric that are sewn or otherwise constrained to each other.

Preferred materials are non woven fabrics in synthetic fibres or thermoplastic materials, having grammages, or weight, in the range between 30 and 180 g/m², more preferably between 50 and 130 g/m² and even more preferably between 70 and 110 g/ m². A preferred grammage is 70/100 g/m².

The textile material preferably has a permeability to water vapour, measured according to DIN 53122-1 , included in the range between 2000 and 10,000 g/m^2*24h and preferably between 4500 and 8100 g/m²*24h. The permeability to air, measured according to DIN EN ISO 9237, is preferably included in the range between 25 and 95 l/dm^2*min, more preferably between 30 and 85 l/dm²*min and even more preferably between 35 and 80 l/dm²*min. In a preferred embodiment, the textile material has a permeability to dust or particles with sizes of 0.5-10 μm (aerodynamically determined), according to the EN 1822-3:1988 standard with ISO 12103-1 A2 test dust (PTI or SAE fine), such that in a current of 5 cm/second, the textile material functions as a filter and traps at least 54% of particles having dimensions equal to or greater than 1 μm, preferably at least 60% of particles >= 1 μm and more preferably at least 70% of said particles. The materials than can be used consist of thermoplastic fibres, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyamides and polyesters; fibres obtained via coextrusion can also be used, for example, the coextrusion of a recycled material with a virgin material.

Suitable non woven fabrics can be obtained using the methods of known art, for example, flocking, spunbonding or spunlacing, from the extrusion of thermoplastic filaments that are then stretched in a current of air and laid on a mobile support, forming a non woven fabric. The filaments obtained in this manner are then bonded to each other, preferably with high-pressure jets of water (jet bonding). In the preferred embodiment, coextruded filaments of different materials are used (e.g. polyester and polyamide), these being arranged side by side to form different segments of a single filament; when subjected to said high-pressure water jets, the filaments split, giving rise to a plurality of sub-filaments or microfibers that are similar even if the grammages or any material finishing are changed. The polyester filaments (PES, 70% by weight) have a triangular section with two sides measuring from 6.5 to 7.5 μm and one side of approximately 3μm (-0.20 dTex). The polyamide filaments (PA, 30% by weight) are also triangular in section with two sides measuring from 6.5 to 7.5 μm and one side of 2 μm (-0.10 dTex). Examples of products manufactured in this manner are available on the market, from Freudenberg with the name Evolon ® or from Orsa with the name Micro-Jet Orsa 60. This material is also preferably resistant to washing at temperatures up to 95°C.

Machines for obtaining these types of filaments and fabrics are available on the market, for example, from Fare SpA (IT) and Reifenhauser (DE). An example of a process for making a suitable product is described in US 6815382 and in WO2008072278. The preferential material for the textile to use in the invention is a non woven fabric in monofilament microfibre and preferably with a grammage between 70 and 130 g/m².

The following are examples of fabrics suitable for the invention and available on the market: EVO 60, 80, 100 and EVO 130 from Freudenberg, Ultratex and Ultrabond from Texbond, and Micro-Jet from Orsa.

There are obviously other ways of producing the container device according to the invention, as long as they respect the basic requirement, which is that of being made with a textile of suitable permeability. The dimensions are not critical for achieving the object of the invention; in fact, the dimensions are calculated according to the dimensions of the type of clothes-horse or line to which the protection device will be applied. The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is provided with decorations or similar, possibly including also advertising, on at least part of its outer, and therefore visible, surface. In particular, the textile device can provide a variety of technical information, such as garment washing instructions for example, and/or decoration-information 9 to advertise, for example, a washing powder, fabric conditioner or other product more or less connected with the use of the device 8.

Any colour can be used for the device, the fibres being opaque to light in any case. With a dark colour, such as black for example, or dark green, dark red and the like, the temperature beneath the device increases and the washing drying times are shortened.

Claims

1. A device for protecting washed garments during the drying phase on means for their support, of the kind comprising a piece of fabric or similar element to be placed on the washed garments, characterized in that said device is made of a textile material having a weight within the range between 30 and 180 g/m² more preferably between 50 and 130 g/m² and even more preferably between 70 and 110 g/m².

2. A device according to claim 1 , wherein said material is a non woven fabric.

3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said fabric has a permeability to water vapour, measured according to DIN 53122, within the range between 2000 and 10.000 g/m^2*24h, preferably between 4500 and 8100 g/m²*24h.

4. A device according to any previous claim, wherein said fabric has a permeability to air, measured according to DIN EN ISO 9237, included in the range between 25 and 95 l/dm^2*min, preferably between 30 and 85 l/dm^2*min and more preferably between 35 and 80 l/dm^2*min.

5. A device according to any previous claim, wherein at least externally said container is formed by a fabric which presents a permeability according to EN 1822-3:1988 to a test powder ISO 12103-1A2 such that in a current of 5 cm/second it holds at least 54% of particles having dimensions same as or more than 1 μm.

6. A device according to any previous claim, wherein at least part of said device is provided with decorations and/or information.

7. A device according to any previous claim, wherein said fabric is black.

8. Use of a fabric as defined in one or more of claims 1 to 5 for the protection of washed garments during the drying phase.

9. Use of a fabric as defined in one or more of claims 1 to 5 for the production of a device for the protection of washed garments during the drying phase.