This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Aspects herein are defined by the claims.
At a high level, aspects herein are directed to garments comprising integral wipe zones. The integral wipe zones in the garments may comprise a plurality of integrally raised structures that extend outward from the surface of the garment. The integrally raised structures provide a surface with higher friction than other garment surfaces that are substantially planar. In other words, the integrally raised structures provide more surface area to the otherwise substantially planar surface of the garment, to effectively wipe away moisture from an athlete's skin when the skin is rubbed against or otherwise moved across the integrally raised structures. In accordance with aspects herein, surfaces that are “substantially planar” may be defined as surfaces having components or structures that have a height that is 20% or less of the height of the integrally raised structures, where the height is measured perpendicularly from the plane of the fabric surface.
The garments in accordance with aspects herein may be made of warp/weft knitted or woven hydrophobic fabrics. When woven, the fabrics in accordance with aspects herein may exhibit high durability characteristics and be resistant to snagging. Further, the fabrics, when woven, may hold their shape, be less susceptible to shrinking and/or stretching, and be able to withstand multiple wash cycles without being deformed. Further properties of the fabrics may be varied by introducing yarns with different properties when knitting or weaving, such as elastic yarns to make the woven fabrics or knit fabrics more elastic in accordance with aspects hereof. Additionally, the fabrics used may be inherently hydrophobic due to, for instance, forming the fabrics from polyester fibers. Alternatively, the fabrics used may be natural or synthetic fabrics made hydrophobic by applying a hydrophobic coating such as a durable water repellent (DWR) coating to one or both surfaces of the fabric.
The hydrophobic fabrics used in accordance with aspects herein comprise one or more engineered zones that are integrally woven or knit, each zone having its own characteristics. For example, a first zone of the hydrophobic fabric may have a substantially planar first surface and an opposite planar second surface. A seamlessly adjacent second zone may have a substantially planar first surface and a textured opposite second surface. The first zone and second zone of the hydrophobic fabric in accordance with aspects herein are continuously or integrally woven or knitted with one another using the same set of fibers/yarns.
In accordance with further aspects herein, the hydrophobic fabrics may comprise a denier differential with the first surface of the first zone comprising a fiber/yarn having a first denier per filament (DPF), the second surface of the first zone comprising a fiber/yarn having a second DPF, the first surface of the second zone comprising a fiber/yarn having a third DPF, and the second surface of the second zone comprising a fiber/yarn having a fourth DPF. The second DPF may be greater than the first DPF, while the third DPF may be greater than the fourth DPF. The DPF may aid in the transport of moisture from a first location to a second location on the hydrophobic fabric by capillary action, moving the moisture from the yarns with greater DPF toward the yarns with lower DPF.
The textured second surface of the second zone in the hydrophobic fabric in accordance with aspects herein comprises a plurality of integrally raised structures. These integrally raised structures may have a height that can be measured along a first plane that is perpendicular to a second plane, the second plane comprising the first or second surface of the hydrophobic fabric. The integrally raised structures may be configured to transfer fluids away from a moist or wet surface, such as a wearer's skin, when the integrally raised structures come into contact with the moist or wet surface. The fluid transfer is greatly increased when a frictional force is applied in a direction that is parallel to the second plane, or in other words, by making a wiping motion in a direction that is perpendicular to the first plane.
The garments made from the hydrophobic fabric in accordance with aspects herein may comprise, for example, shorts, pants, skirts, dresses, jerseys, t-shirts, jackets, coats, vests, gloves, sweaters, jumpsuits, and the like, or any other type of garment suitable to be worn on a wearer's body. The hydrophobic fabric may be woven or knit according to specifications of characteristics of a particular garment being manufactured for strategically weaving or knitting the first zone and the second zone at intended locations corresponding to the finalized garment construct. The specifications, for example, could be specific to whether the garment is to be worn on an upper body, a lower body, etc.
An exemplary finalized garment construct, in one aspect, may comprise a lower body garment. For example, the lower body garment may comprise a pair of shorts such as basketball shorts. Basketball athletes, for example, due to their constant high paced motion, tend to sweat from the palms of their hands. Having wet or damp hands while participating in a game would be undesirable because it would potentially lower the athletes' performances by making their palms slippery and unable to get a good grip on the ball, particularly when the ball is passed to them. Typically, athletes will attempt to dry the palms of their hands by wiping them on their shorts or jerseys. However, oftentimes, the athletes' shorts or jerseys will not be very effective in removing sweat or perspiration from the athletes' palms because these garments conventionally have smooth and slippery surfaces. Additionally, after one or two wiping motions, and as physical exertion increases over time, these garments may themselves become saturated with sweat or other fluids, making them ineffective for removing sweat from the athletes' palms. Basketball shorts are just one example of the finalized garment construct contemplated herein. Other exemplary garment constructs comprise, for instance, garments for tennis players, football players, softball or baseball players, and the like.
The lower body garment comprising the hydrophobic fabric may, for example, comprise a back panel and a front panel. In exemplary aspects, the back panel may comprise two integrally woven or knit engineered zones and the front panel may comprise one woven or knit engineered zone. As described above, the first zone in the back panel may comprise substantially planar first and second surfaces, and in the second zone, one of the surfaces may be textured with a plurality of integrally woven/knit structures extending outwardly or projecting from the surface plane. In exemplary aspects, the integrally woven/knit structures may be located on an outer-facing surface of the lower body garment. The second zone in the lower body garment may be strategically placed on the back panel such that when the lower body garment is worn by a wearer, the second zone is configured to overlay a lower back and side torso area of a wearer. The size and shape of the second zone may be varied based on utility (e.g., optimal performance) as well as aesthetics.
Aspects herein are described in detail herein with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
The subject matter of aspects provided herein is described with specificity to meet statutory requirements. However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover, although the terms “step” and/or “block” might be used herein to connote different elements of methods employed, the terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly stated.
Aspects herein provide fabrics and garments comprising integrally knit or woven wipe zones. Additionally, aspects herein provide for manufacturing garments with integrally knit or woven wipe zones. In one exemplary aspect, the fabrics described herein may be formed from yarns/fibers that are inherently hydrophobic. Exemplary yarns/fibers may comprise, for example, polyester. In another exemplary aspect, the fabrics may be treated with one or more treatments to impart hydrophobic characteristics to the fabric. One such exemplary treatment may comprise a durable water repellant (DWR). One or both surfaces of the fabrics may be hydrophobic. The hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic fabrics refers to a physical property of the fabric that repels water or moisture away from their hydrophobic surface(s) and/or away from individual yarns/fibers.
In accordance with aspects herein, “integrally knit or woven” refers to two or more contiguously or continuously knit or woven fabric configurations and/or structures formed without having to stitch, adhere, glue, or otherwise piece together two or more knit or woven fabrics with different configurations and/or structures. As such, the contiguously knit or woven configurations and/or structures are seamlessly adjacent to one another. The two or more continuously knit or woven fabric configurations and/or structures are engineered for providing the resulting fabric with at least two different properties within the same knit or woven fabric piece. In other words, the fabric configurations and/or structures engineered for providing the fabric with at least two different properties within the same knit or woven fabric piece are knit or woven side-by-side and comprise a single fabric layer. To put it yet another way, the different properties are achieved within the same fabric without having to layer different fabrics having the different properties on top of one another or adjacent to one another.
As used throughout this disclosure, the term “zone” is used to refer to each individual knit or woven fabric configuration within the same knit or woven fabric piece. And, as used throughout this disclosure, the term “wipe zone” refers to a “zone” having engineered “integrally knit or woven” raised structures capable of efficiently wiping moisture away from a wet surface.
Turning now to
In accordance with aspects herein, one or both surfaces of the woven/knit hydrophobic fabric 100 may be hydrophobic and may comprise at least two different zones 110 and 120, as shown in
As described, the hydrophobic fabrics in accordance with aspects herein may comprise inherently hydrophobic yarns/fibers (e.g., polyester, nylon), or natural yarns/fibers (e.g., cotton, hemp, silk) treated with a hydrophobic coating. Alternatively, a combination of natural and synthetic yarns may be used to construct the fabrics in accordance with aspects herein, and the formed fabrics may be treated with a hydrophobic coating(s) on one or both surfaces of the fabrics. Additionally, the fabrics may be stretch woven or knit, or in other words, the fabrics may be formed with added elasticity by interweaving or interknitting elastic yarns/fibers (e.g., elastane.) For example, the hydrophobic fabrics may contain at least 2% of elastic yarns/fibers. In aspects herein, the fabrics may contain between 2% and 25% of elastic yarns/fibers. For example, the fabrics may comprise up to 40% elastic fibers and up to 60% synthetic or natural fibers, or a combination of both, the fabrics may comprise up to 30% elastic fibers and up to 70% synthetic or natural fibers, or a combination of both, the fabrics may comprise up to 20% elastic fibers and up to 80% synthetic or natural fibers, or a combination of both, or the fabrics may comprise up to 10% elastic fibers and up to 90% synthetic or natural fibers, or a combination of both. Alternatively, the fabrics may comprise between 2% and 25% elastic fibers and between 98% and 75% hydrophobic yarns/fibers or the like (such as other inherently hydrophobic fibers or natural fibers treated with a hydrophobic coating), between 5% and 15% elastic fibers and between 95% and 85% hydrophobic yarns/fibers or the like. For example, the fabrics in accordance with aspects herein may comprise 10% elastane or other elastic fibers and 90% polyester or nylon, or a combination of polyester and nylon.
As described above, the hydrophobic fabric 100 in accordance with aspects herein comprises at least two different integrally woven/knit and seamlessly adjacent zones 110 and 120, the adjacent zones being configured differently from each other. The hydrophobic fabric 100 may be integrally woven/knit with the at least two adjacent zones 110 and 120 having different configurations by changing the stitch at locations where the integrally raised structures 150 are presented. Additionally or alternatively, the yarns/fibers may be switched or additional yarns/fibers may be introduced at the locations where the integrally raised structures 150 are presented during the weaving or knitting of the hydrophobic fabric 100. In yet a different example, the integrally raised structures 150 may be provided by embroidery methods, such as by embroidering the integrally raised structures 150 into suitable patterns with suitable yarns/fibers. The yarns/fibers forming the integrally raised structures may have a DPF that is greater than the DPF of the rest of the yarns/fibers forming the rest of the fabric surface on which the integrally raised structures 150 are provided. Alternatively, the yarns/fibers forming the integrally raised structures 150 may have a DPF that is equal to or greater than the DPF of the yarns/fibers forming the substantially planar first hydrophobic inner face 135 and the opposite substantially planar first hydrophobic outer face 130, not comprising the integrally raised structures 150.
The lower body garment 20 shown in
The lower body garment back panel 233 further comprises wipe zone(s) 204A and 204B, which would correspond to the second zone 120 in the woven/knit hydrophobic fabric 100 of
In exemplary aspects, the wipe zones 204A and 204B may be present in only the back panel 233 of the lower body garment 20 and may take up at least 5% of the total area of the back panel 233 of the lower body garment 20 shown in
Although the lower body garment 20 in
With particular respect to
The integrally woven/knit wipe zones in accordance with aspects herein will be described in greater detail with reference to
Referring collectively back to
As described above in reference to
On the other hand, at the second zone 330, where integrally raised structures 318 are provided, the DPF of yarns/fibers forming the integrally raised structures 318 may be greater than the DPF of the opposite surface 322 of the fabric 300. The integrally raised structures 318 may be formed of hydrophobic yarns/fibers. Therefore, as the integrally raised structures 318 are used to wipe moisture away from a moist or wet surface (e.g., a wearer's skin), the moisture will travel from the integrally raised structures 318 toward the second surface 324 into the valleys 319 formed between the integrally raised structures 318. The second surface 324 comprises yarns/fibers having a smaller DPF than the yarns/fibers forming the integrally raised structures 318 and the DPF forming the surface 322 of the fabric 300 (as shown.) Therefore, as moisture is gathered in the valleys 319, the moisture will have a tendency to slide off the overall second surface 324 of the fabric 300 without it being absorbed through the fabric 300.
Moisture tends to be absorbed into the yarns/fibers with the greater DPF and is carried away by capillary action to the surface with the smaller DPF. Thus, moisture will flow in one direction 350 in the first zone 320 and in an opposite direction 360 in the second zone 330, and as such, the moisture that is gathered on the second surface 324 and valleys 319 will be readily eliminated by letting it “drip” as it is pulled by the force of gravity.
Furthermore,
Taking this motion into account, the garment 500 may be an upper body garment with at least a front panel 505 and a back panel 507, the front panel 505 having a first zone 510 and a seamlessly adjacent second zone 520 on the surface that is opposite (exposed to the external environment) from the skin-contacting surface of the garment 500. The second zone 520 is located at a bottom portion of the front panel 505 near a bottom edge of the garment 500 and comprises integrally woven or knit raised structures 522 similar to those described above in reference to the lower body garment 20 depicted in
The second zone 620 comprising the integrally raised structures 622, may extend from a first edge 630 to a second edge 640. The size and shape of the second zone 620 may be configured according to the functionality and aesthetic appeal desired for the particular upper body garment 600. Since the integrally raised structures 622 are internal to the upper body garment 600, the aesthetic appeal may play a lesser role than when the integrally raised structures 622 are external to the upper body garment, as in the upper body garment 500 in
From the foregoing, it will be seen that aspects described herein are well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
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