Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D1/00—Garments
  • A41D1/06—Trousers
  • A41D1/08—Trousers specially adapted for sporting purposes
  • A41D1/084—Trousers specially adapted for sporting purposes for cycling

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for providing a pad for cycling shorts, as well as a pad provided with such method.
• pads are made for example by way of coupling and heat-sealing of several different layered portions of polyurethane, with gluing operations and subsequent thermoformation or high frequency heat- sealing of the fabrics with the polyurethanes.
• a method that is known today for providing a pad for cycling shorts comprises the following steps:
• a first step consists of coupling a first fabric, the one in contact with the skin, with a thermal adhesive, usually in a film or arranged at spots, with a first layer of polyurethane a few millimeters in thickness; the fabric and the adhesive film are in a roll or on a spool and the coupling between fabric and adhesive film is generally achieved by continuously using heat-pressing rollers, with a temperature that varies between 80° and 120°;
• the first fabric, coupled to the first layer of polyurethane, is laid out and contoured in the desired shape by way of cutting machines or die-cutting machines;
• thermo-adhesive film, or glue in spots is coupled, using machines with hot rollers, as with the cloth fabric, to the first layer of polyurethane, which defines a part of the cushion/shock absorber of the pad;
• the sandwich of portions of polyurethane can be covered by a second piece of fabric;
• thermoforming machines are used and temperatures of approximately 200° are used for 60-70 seconds with high pressures;
• the last step is an optional final cutting-off of the material in excess.
• Such method although known and widespread, suffers a number of drawbacks, the most evident of which is constituted by the high number of manual steps that are necessary in order to carry out the method described above, since the portions of polyurethane that are added onto the first layer of polyurethane supplied from a spool are provided separately and must be positioned manually, together with the intermediate contoured sheets of thermo-adhesive film.
• a second drawback of such method is constituted by the fact that the pad that results from it is in reality much less breathable, and thus less comfortable, than what is expected and announced, since the vapor permeation ensured by the fabric in contact with the skin is greatly limited by the layer of polyurethane that is glued to that fabric so as to affect the entire surface thereof, even if it is not very thick, and both the polyurethane and the intermediate adhesive prevent the passage of air.
• the aim of the present invention is to provide a method for providing a pad for cycling shorts, as well as a pad provided with such method, which are capable of overcoming the above mentioned drawbacks of the known art.
• an object of the invention is to provide a method for providing a pad for cycling shorts which is quicker and with less use of labor, and thus economically more advantageous.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a pad for cycling shorts which is technologically advanced and innovative using technical materials that are known per se.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a pad for cycling shorts which is more breathable than conventional pads.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a method with which it is possible to provide pads that are better shaped anatomically and thus have better shock absorbing capacities.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a method with which it is possible to provide a pad to measure starting from a cast of the user for whom the pad is destined.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a method that also makes it possible to provide the pad directly on the finished cycling shorts instead of on an independent fabric support.
• thermo-adhesive sheet that acts as a barrier to the passage of a polymeric material, in order to provide a resting pad, toward said supporting fabric, said thermo-adhesive barrier sheet being shaped so as to imitate a region of the supporting fabric that is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion of said resting pad,
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet on said supporting fabric in a preset position and coupling the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet and the supporting fabric
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet arranged at a first impression part defined on a first part of a mold for providing said resting pad
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet
• a pad for cycling shorts comprises a supporting fabric which supports a resting pad, and is characterized in that said resting pad is fixed to said supporting fabric by means of a thermo-adhesive barrier sheet that is shaped so as to affect a region of the supporting fabric which is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion of said resting pad, the flaps of said supporting fabric that surround said resting pad being free from said thermo-adhesive sheet.
• FIG. 1 is an exploded sectional view of a pad according to the invention, provided by way of a method according to the invention in a first embodiment thereof;
• FIG. 2 shows a step of the method according to the invention
• FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of a pad according to the invention, provided with a method according to the invention in a second embodiment thereof;
• FIG. 5 shows a step of the method according to the invention in a second embodiment thereof
• FIG. 6 is an exploded sectional view of a pad according to the invention, provided with a method according to the invention in a third embodiment thereof.
• a pad for cycling shorts according to the invention is generally designated with the reference numeral 10 in the exploded sectional view in Figure 1.
• a method for providing a pad 10 for cycling shorts comprises the following operations:
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 that acts as a barrier to the passage of a polymeric material, in order to provide a resting pad 13 described in more detail below, toward the supporting fabric 11 ;
• the thermo- adhesive barrier sheet 12 is shaped so as to imitate a region 14 of the supporting fabric 11 that is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion 15 of the resting pad 13,
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 on the supporting fabric 11 in a preset position and coupling the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 and the supporting fabric 11 ,
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 arranged at a first impression part 16 defined on a first part 17 of a mold 18 for providing the resting pad 13, as in Figure 3,
• the supporting fabric 11 is understood to be of the breathable type, constituted by a piece of fabric or non- woven fabric or other equivalent thin, flexible and breathable support.
• the polymeric material is, for example and preferably, polyurethane, or other similar and equivalent polymeric material.
• the method according to the invention is characterized in that prior to the operation of overmolding the resting pad 13 on the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12, a covering fabric 20 is arranged on a second part 19 of the mold 18 and is contoured so as to cover the resting pad 13 on the opposite side with respect to the supporting fabric 11, the covering fabric 20 being coupled to a corresponding thermo- adhesive barrier sheet 21 that is contoured so as to affect only a portion 22 of covering fabric 20 that is adapted to cover a corresponding surface portion 23 of the resting pad 13.
• the pad according to the invention designated with the reference numeral 24 in Figure 4
• the pad 13 is constituted by two separate parts that are mutually mirror- symmetrical, but it should be understood that it can be provided in a single body or in more than two parts, of other shapes, contours and thicknesses, according to the necessities and technical requirements of the maker and user.
• FIG 4 has perimetric flaps 25, which surround the pad 13 and define the edges for sewing to the rest of a pair of cycling shorts, and such perimetric flaps 25 are completely free from the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet and also from the polyurethane of the pad, and are thus breathable to the maximum of the specifications of the fabric used, differently from the known art in which the supporting fabric, although breathable, is substantially completely affected by the polyurethane that constitutes the pad and by the barrier film, with considerable if not total reduction of the effective breathable capacities.
• the supporting fabric 11 In the operation of shaping the supporting fabric 11, which is intended to come into contact with the skin of the user, the supporting fabric 11 is stretched and contoured into the desired shape with a cutting machine with an adapted software program.
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 is carried out on a film with an adapted die-cutting machine, which is adapted to shape the thermo-adhesive sheet so as to affect, as said, only the part of supporting fabric 11 that is intended to receive the polyurethane which, once formed, defines the resting pad 13.
• the barrier film from which the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 is taken is constituted by the coupling between a layer of aromatic or aliphatic polyurethane and a thermo-adhesive layer, with a total thickness that can vary between 50 and 100 microns; such barrier film is produced and coupled continuously onto a paper or polyester support.
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 serves to prevent the polyurethane in liquid form from penetrating the fabric and at the same time acts as a bonding agent during the chemical process of modeling of the expanding polyurethane.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is positioned by way of a template in the impression part 16 of the mold part 17 only on the portion 14 of the supporting fabric 11 that is affected by the foaming of the polyurethane.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and the supporting fabric 11 are performed by means of a hot-pressing machine; the adhesion between the two materials occurs at a temperature that varies, depending on the type of adhesive, between 100° and 160° for 10-20 seconds at a pressure of 4-5 bar.
• the operation to arrange the supporting fabric 11 at the impression part 16 involves hooking the supporting fabric 11 to the mold part 17 with means that are known per se, and the mold part is heated to the temperature of approximately 40°C.
• the barrier function and the interleaving of adhesion between the polyurethane and the supporting fabric is provided by a layer of special polyurethane resins which are deposited on the supporting fabric by way of a silkscreen-printing process.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 interposed between the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and the polyurethane pad 13 is a second supporting fabric 31, which is thus coupled in a sandwich-like fashion to the supporting fabric 11 by means of the thermo-adhesive sheet 12; the porosity of the second supporting fabric 31 enables the passage of the foamed polyurethane, which thus adheres in any case to the underlying thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12; the pad 32 that results constitutes a technical solution that is practicable in cases where particular mechanical strengths of the supporting fabric are necessary.
• the invention also relates to a pad 10, 24 and 32, for cycling shorts, which is made according to a method as described above, and comprises a supporting fabric 11 which supports a resting pad 13, characterized in that the resting pad 13 is fixed to the supporting fabric 11 by means of a thermo- adhesive barrier sheet 12 that is shaped so as to affect a region 14 of the supporting fabric 11 which is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion 15 of the resting pad 13; the flaps 25 of such supporting fabric 11 which surround the resting pad 13 are thus free from the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and are therefore breathable insofar as it is permitted by the structure of the supporting fabric 11.
• the pad according to the invention which is designated therein with the reference numeral 24, comprises a covering fabric 20, which is contoured so as to cover the resting pad 13 on the opposite side with respect to the supporting fabric 11, the covering fabric 20 being coupled to a corresponding thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 21 that is contoured so as to affect only a portion 22 of covering fabric 20 which is adapted to cover a corresponding surface portion 23 of the resting pad 13.
• the pad according to the invention which is designated therein with the reference numeral 32, has, interposed between the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and the polyurethane pad 13, a second supporting fabric 31, which is thus coupled in a sandwich-like fashion to the first supporting fabric 11 by means of the thermo-adhesive sheet 12; the porosity of the second supporting fabric 31 allows the passage of the foamed polyurethane, which thus adheres in any case to the underlying thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 either to the supporting fabric 11 or to the resting pad 13,
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 - superimposing the supporting fabric 11 and the resting pad 13 with the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 interposed, - executing an operation of activating the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 in order to obtain the adhesive bonding with the component to which the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is not pre-fixed.
• Another object of the invention is a method that comprises the following operations:
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 that acts as a barrier to the passage of a polymeric material toward the supporting fabric 11 , the thermo- adhesive barrier sheet 12 being shaped so as to imitate a region 14 of the supporting fabric 11 that is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion 15 of a resting pad 13,
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 on the supporting fabric 11 in a preset position and coupling the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 and the supporting fabric 11 ,
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 by gluing the resting pad 13 to the supporting fabric 11.
• the contoured thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is positioned in register by way of a template, within the shape in which the supporting fabric 11 is obtained.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 has a thickness comprised between 50 and 100 microns.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 The coupling between the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and the supporting fabric 11 is provided by way of hot-pressing, with a conventional apparatus.
• the hot-pressing is carried out at a temperature of between 100°C and 160°C, at a pressure of between 4 and 5 bar, for a time of between 2 and 5 seconds, depending on the material of which the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is constituted.
• the resting pad 13 is provided separately by injection molding or foaming, or is provided with other methods and means that are understood as being known per se.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 pre-glued on the supporting fabric 11 occurs by way of an adapted template.
• the resting pad 13 is glued to the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and to the supporting fabric 11 by way of a further hot-pressing operation, which thermally reactivates the thermo-adhesive sheet 12.
• Such further hot-pressing operation which can be carried out with conventional apparatuses, involves a temperature of between 100°C and 160°C at a pressure of between 1 and 2 bar, for a time of between 15 and 20 seconds, depending on the material of which the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is constituted.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 reactivated, determines the gluing/anchoring between the supporting fabric 11 and the pad 13.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 that acts as a barrier to the passage of a polymeric material, in order to provide a resting pad 13, toward the supporting fabric 11, the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 being shaped so as to imitate a region 14 of the supporting fabric 11 that is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion 15 of the resting pad 13, - positioning the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 in a preset position in a first impression part 16 defined on a first part 17 of a mold 18 for providing the resting pad 13,
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 incorporated in the resting pad 13, by gluing the resting pad 13 to the supporting fabric 11.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 contoured in the desired shape, has a thickness between 50 and 100 microns.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is obtained with a die punch by way of a die-cutting machine, or by way of a cutting plotter.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 in a preset position in a first impression part 16 is achieved with the aid of means of retaining the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 in position.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 Such means of retaining the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 in position are constituted by a suction system that comprises a series of holes made on the first part 17 through which air is sucked and the thermo-adhesive sheet 12, arranged above such holes, is held in position.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is held in position by way of a spray adhesive, conventional, which is adapted to not leave residues.
• the joining of the resting pad 13 with the supporting fabric 11 occurs by way of hot-pressing.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 occurs by way of hot- pressing, at a temperature of between 100°C and 160°C, at a pressure of between 1 bar and 2 bar, for a time comprised between 10 seconds and 20 seconds, depending on the material with which the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is made.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 that acts as a barrier to the passage of a polymeric material, in order to provide a resting pad 13, toward the supporting fabric 11, the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 being shaped so as to imitate a region 14 of the supporting fabric 11 that is preset to cover a corresponding surface portion 15 of the resting pad 13,
• thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 on the supporting fabric 11 in a preset position and coupling the thermo-adhesive barrier sheet 12 and the supporting fabric 11 ,
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 by way of a thermoforming operation, thus gluing the resting pad 13 to the supporting fabric 11 by way of the thermo-adhesive sheet 12.
• the contoured thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is positioned in register by way of a template, within the shape in which the supporting fabric 11 is obtained.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 has a thickness comprised between 50 and 100 microns.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 The coupling between the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and the supporting fabric 11 is provided by way of hot-pressing, with a conventional apparatus.
• the hot-pressing is carried out at a temperature of between 100°C and 160°C, at a pressure of between 4 and 5 bar, for a time of between 2 and 5 seconds, depending on the material of which the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 is constituted.
• the resting pad 13 is provided separately by injection molding or foaming, or is provided with other methods and means that are understood as being known per se.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 pre-glued on the supporting fabric 11 occurs by way of an adapted template.
• the resting pad 13 is glued to the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 and to the supporting fabric 11 by way of the thermo forming operation, which can be carried out with conventional thermoforming machines, which thermally reactivates the thermo-adhesive sheet 12.
• thermoforming operation which can be carried out with apparatuses with female and male mold parts of conventional type, involves a temperature of approximately 200°C for a time between 60 seconds and 70 seconds.
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 reactivated, determines the gluing/anchoring between the supporting fabric 11 and the pad 13.
• gluing of the supporting fabric 11 with the resting pad 13 by way of the interposition of the thermo-adhesive sheet 12 comprises the following operations:
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 either to the supporting fabric 11 or to the resting pad 13,
• thermo-adhesive sheet 12 with the material of the resting pad 13.
• the shaped fabric is positioned on the surface of the high frequency heat-sealing/fusion machine, of conventional type, and on it the resting pad, for example made of polyurethane, is positioned; such pad is inserted, with the adapted male mold part, in the machine and the fusion between the two materials is carried out.
• the high frequency gluing, or rather the fusion, occurs by way of a mold contoured in the shape of the pad desired, the machine by way of a generator produces an electrical charge which is converted to high frequency, and this frequency basically fuses the two materials together.
• the temperature generated is not essential for the fusion, and in any case it is not very high and it can vary depending on the materials and on the time required for the fusion.
• the time required for the fusion varies between 20-40 seconds, again depending on the materials and on the thickness of the materials.
• a method for providing a pad for cycling shorts has been devised which can be performed quicker and with less use of labor, thus economically more advantageously, with respect to conventional processes and production methods, thanks to the automation of the process of molding by pouring onto a preset and adapted portion of the supporting fabric; in this manner there are no operations of molding several portions of polyurethane to be superimposed manually in a sandwich-like manner as in the known art.
• a pad for cycling shorts has been devised which is technologically advanced and innovative using technical materials that are known per se, but is capable of performance levels, in terms of comfort and durability, which are improved with respect to conventional pads.
• a pad for cycling shorts which is more breathable than conventional pads, and which can be made better shaped anatomically and thus with better shock absorbing capacities, thanks to the production of the entire pad in the mold, where the known art involves pads composed of multiple overlapping portions and thus simply and schematically shaped.
• the production process that is the subject matter of the present invention is optimized in its working steps and makes it possible to use fewer materials, less processing of the materials, less manual work with respect to conventional methods, which all translate to low costs and greater speed of execution, with an increase in productivity and in the quality of the product.
• the molding of expanded polyurethane a vast range of materials can be used of greater or lesser rigidity and with greater or lesser breathability and/or with shape memory.
• the method according to the invention also makes it possible to use very light technical fabrics and thus obtain a product that is comfortable, light and with high breathability, in that it is possible to limit the part with the barrier, reducing it to the sole region affected by the shock-absorbing function.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Details Of Garments (AREA)
• Corsets Or Brassieres (AREA)
• Undergarments, Swaddling Clothes, Handkerchiefs Or Underwear Materials (AREA)
• Outer Garments And Coats (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (3)

Citations (3)

• 2013
  • 2013-06-20 IT IT000173A patent/ITPD20130173A1/it unknown
  • 2013-09-24 IT IT000259A patent/ITPD20130259A1/it unknown
• 2014
  • 2014-06-13 WO PCT/EP2014/062353 patent/WO2014202477A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (3)

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