Patent Application
20080196136
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of assembling fabric panels and to the products assembled by such method.
More particularly, the invention relates to the field of clothing or garments and/or bags.
It particularly relates to the field of sports garments and/or clothing to be in direct contact with the skin, such as underwear, swimsuits, and articles of lingerie, the invention providing more comfort for such type of clothing.
The invention also relates to the field of sports garments, sports bags and/or waterproof and/or water-resistant garments.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
In terms of lingerie, garments are generally assembled by means of extensible seams, of the overhand stitch or French seam type, but these seams are not very flat and can therefore cause discomfort.
Generally speaking, the closer to the body the garment is intended to be when worn, and the more the garment tends to move relative to the body during use, such as when the wearer is engaged in a sport, for example, the more likely attempts will be made to avoid friction between the body and the garment assembly seams and, therefore, the more likely attempts will be made to limit the thickness of such seams.
Furthermore, it is well known in the garment industry to use materials having a waterproof coating or laminates in order to produce waterproof garments.
The coating can be either external (for example, an oilskin coat), or the coating can be applied onto the inner surface of the garment; which is generally a PU or PVC coating.
Laminates are composite materials uniting several layers adhered together, one of them being generally made of a waterproof and/or breathable-waterproof and/or windproof membrane. These membranes can be made of PTFE, PU, etc.
Typical examples of such laminates are those provided with a so-called “breathable-waterproof” membrane, which is waterproof but permeable to water vapor, and such laminates are sold under the tradename Gore-Tex® or Sympatex®. These laminates can be made of two or three layers, depending upon whether the laminate must be integrated into the garment with other layers, or used as is, as in the case of a three-layered laminate, usually referred to as the “three-ply,” the membrane being inserted between an inner liner fabric and an outer shell fabric.
In the context of this description, the term “laminated material” refers to both (interiorly or exteriorly) coated fabrics and laminated fabric materials provided with a film or membrane acting as a windproof, waterproof, or water-resistant (or the like) barrier. Any membrane or coating, which acts at least as a barrier to water or any other liquid penetration, will also be referred to as a “protection layer,” a “functional layer,” a “membrane,” a “treatment,” or a “coating”.
Garments are generally made of pieces or panels of these laminates, the latter being assembled by means of stitched seams.
For garments which must be waterproof when finished, the seams must then be made waterproof, generally by applying a sealing strip provided with a thermoplastic or thermofusible adhesive.
For practical and aesthetic reasons, the seams are generally sealed inside the garment.
Gluing the sealing strips can however pose problems, depending particularly upon the material constituting the first layer of the laminate (or liner layer), especially for three-layered laminates, such as mentioned above.
Thus, the document US 2005/0081281 explains that, depending upon the type of liner layer, gluing can be insufficient for properly waterproofing the seam, and that, in order to overcome this problem, the liners are generally made of simple jerseys having a mono-filament type of open structure, which reduces the choice of materials that are available for such liners. Low-viscosity or liquid glues have also been developed to overcome this problem and enable the glues to penetrate inside more complex structures (see, e.g., the documents U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,994 and WO 01/26495).
The problem with gluing also arises in relation to water repellent and/or stain-repellent materials, which is especially the case with materials having a coating known by the tradenames Scotchguard®, or Teflon®, namely, a coating based on fluorine, Teflon, or the like. Repellent treatments of this type are also called durable water repellents or “DWR”. Hereinafter, the term “repellent treatment” will refer to any water-repellent and/or stain-repellent and/or DWR treatment.
To overcome these drawbacks, the aforementioned document US 2005/0022920 proposes removing or making even (by planing, grinding down, abrasion, cutting etc.) a portion of the liner fabric over at least a portion of the stitching zone to be made waterproof, the sealing strip being then applied over this entire zone.
It can be very complicated and difficult to carry out such a sizing or even-planing operation, as one must indeed not damage the membrane located beneath the evened-up layer. Furthermore, it is necessary to remove enough fabric to achieve the desired goal. In addition, the thickness of the fabric layers can vary more or less substantially, especially in the case of a fleece type of material; it can therefore be very difficult and complicated to adjust the sizing machine.
The invention provides a new design for the assembly seams in a garment that can be used in direct contact with the skin.
The invention also provides for the assembly of an article of clothing that further minimizes friction or abrasion while using a garment that is worn in direct contact with the skin.
The invention further provides for the assembly of fabric materials allowing new aesthetics.
The invention additionally provides for the assembly and waterproofing of the seams of a garment or an article made of laminated fabric material.
In these regards, a method for assembling fabric panels according to the invention, which is fabric panels are of the type comprising at least a first panel and a second panel to be assembled to one another, comprises:
With this assembly method, all the parts that project from the welding line, or assembly “seam”, are outside of the article; and when the article is a garment, they do not cause any friction with respect to the body, even when the latter is moving.
This results in an incomparable comfort since there is no more “seam” or welding inside the garment, and therefore no more risk of friction with such a “seam”, even in the case where the garment is very tight and/or close to the body.
Furthermore, covering the welding line with a strip not only allows reinforcing said welding, but also giving it a very particular aesthetics.
According to an embodiment, the method comprises the step of cutting the excess matter beyond the welding line before the flattening, so that the welding line “showing” on the outer side has a minimal thickness that is not visible underneath the reinforcement strip.
The article then appears to be assembled only by means of the reinforcement strips.
According to another embodiment, the assembly method is applied to laminated fabric panels and includes the following steps:
Such a method ensures that the adhesive creeps completely in into the interstices between the fabric fibers, and thus wets the fibers, even though the fabric has been treated, and therefore guarantees the desired waterproofness; as well as guarantees, by means of accelerated cooling, that the adhesive does not shrink or separate, thus ensuring waterproofness or water-repellency of the finished product. Such a method achieves a very advantageous aesthetic effect while being compatible with coated fabric materials.
The invention will be better understood and other characteristics will become apparent from the following description, with reference to the attached schematic drawings, and in which:
Such a machine is well known, for example from the document U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,802 and, therefore, is not described in detail herein. It comprises a stand 10 supporting the ultrasonic motor or vibrator 12, a plate 11 for supporting the elements 14 to be welded, and a welding tool 13.
There are also other ultrasonic welding machines in which the elements to be welded move forward between two rotary welding tools, under a pressure on the order of several bars, which allows an assembly like that of a sewing machine.
Based on the principle of ultrasonic welding, vibrations at a frequency ranging from 20 to 30 KHz are applied to the welding tool via the vibrator. The vibrations heat up the two layers of material to be assembled and causes them to weld to one another.
Other welding modes can be envisioned within the scope of the invention, particularly hot welding or high frequency welding.
A first panel 21 and a second panel 22 of the article of clothing to be assembled are superimposed on the support plate 11 so that their inner surfaces 21a and 22a, respectively, face one another, that is, are in contact with one another.
These two panels 21 and 22 are then welded to one another by means of the welding tool 13, as shown in
After cooling for a period of about ten seconds, the two panels 21, 22, which are welded together, are laid flat so that their outer surfaces 21c, 22c, respectively, are turned upward, as shown in
Due to the small thickness e of the welding line, the assembly, once completed, only allows the reinforcement strip 30 to be visible, whereas the inside of the garment is completely smooth and therefore causes no friction against the user's skin.
The materials used for the panels 21, 22 of the garment and for the reinforcement strip will be adequate with the welding/gluing mode that is used.
The panels 21, 22, can, for example, be mesh, or synthetic mesh, in particular made of polyamide or polyester.
The panels 21, 22 can also be made of an extensible material such as a mixture of polyamide and elasthane (tradename Lycra Power®). For a material made of 78% polyamide and 22% elasthane, for example, the elongation can be 218% lengthwise and 126% widthwise. For another example of material made of 92.8% polyamide and 7.2% elasthane, the elongation is only 62% lengthwise and 102% widthwise. Indeed, the ultrasonic welding is relatively extensible and can be used with extensible materials.
In any cases, the reinforcement strip 30 is selected so as to be also extensible, but with an elongation rate that is lower than that of the weld and panels 21, 22 in order to not risk damaging the ultrasonic weld. If none of the materials of the panels 21, 22 is extensible, the reinforcement strip 30 can also be non-extensible.
In this case, the various panels of the tee-shirt, namely, the front 41, the back 42, the sleeves 43, and under the sleeves, at locations 44, are assembled by welding and applying reinforcement strips 46. Depending upon the materials used for the various panels 41, 42, 43, 44, the reinforcement strips 46 can be different.
Also within the scope of the invention are other applications thereof, in which only those panels of the garment which are most subjected to forces while worn, such as, for example, the areas of the knees for pants or tights, are made of extensible material, such as known under the tradename Lycra® or Lycra®Power, and are assembled according to the invention.
The invention can also be applied to the manufacture of fabric articles other than garments, in particular bags, or the like, the aesthetical effect achieved by means of the method according to the invention being particularly advantageous.
Each laminated panel 110, 120 is made of at least two layers 111, 112, and 121, 122, respectively.
According to a first example, the laminated panels 110, 120 are water-repellent-treated fabric panels (DWR), meaning that they are covered with a fluorine-based coating or a Teflon-based coating, or the like, each layer 111, 121, therefore, being a fabric layer, either woven, or plain knitting, made from a synthetic material such as PA, PE, polypropylene, with or without elastic fibers such as known by the tradename Lycra®, etc.
It can also be a fabric provided with a breathable-waterproof membrane (PTFE, PU) known as “three ply”, three layers, described above.
Each layer 112, 122 shows the water-repellent treatment which, for example, can be of the type known by one of the tradenames Scotchguard®, Teflon®, or the like.
Other water-repellent and/or water-resistant treatments can also be provided. In the case described, the water-repellent treatment is applied over the outer surface of the fabric. It could also be applied over the inner surface.
In a first step of the assembly method according to the invention, the two panels 110, 120 are superimposed so that their inner surfaces 111a, 121a face one another, that is, they are in contact with one another, as shown in
The two panels 110, 120 are then welded to one another by means of an ultrasonic welding machine (not shown in
Ultrasonic welding machines are well known, for example, from the document U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,802, as mentioned above, and, therefore, the machine used is not described in detail here.
Based on the principle of ultrasonic welding, vibrations at a frequency ranging from 20 to 30 KHz are applied to the welding tool. The vibrations heat up the two layers of material in contact with one another and cause them to weld to one another by melting.
Other welding modes are encompassed within the scope of the invention, particularly hot welding or high frequency welding.
A more conventional type of assembly, such as stitching, for example, is also encompassed within the scope of the invention.
The excess material 110a, 120a located on the other side of the joining line 140 is removed, almost simultaneously with the welding operation, by means of a tool 142 in the form of an adequate knife, as shown in
The weld or joining line 140 then has a maximum thickness e of about 1 mm.
This principle of removing the excess material 110a, 120a can also be applied to the other assembly modes, for example stitching, that is also within the scope of the invention.
After cooling by air, or after cooling by another method, for a period of about ten seconds, the two panels 110, 120, which are welded together, are laid flat so that their outer surfaces 111b, 122b, respectively, are turned upward. A sealing and reinforcement strip 130 is then applied by gluing on the visible portion of the joining line 140, as shown in
In the example shown (see
The two layers of glue 131, 132 can be combined into a single layer.
According to an embodiment of the invention, this layer 134 is made of the same laminated material as that of the panels 110, 120. In this case, it is also provided with the same treatment or outer coating. If the base layer 111, 121 is a laminate, that is, a complex with a membrane, only the outer layer of this laminate, that is, the one without a breathable-waterproof membrane, but with or without a water-repellent treatment, will be used to form the layer 134 so as to limit the thicknesses.
This layer 134 can be in the same color, or in a different color so as to be in contrast with that or those of the panels 110, 120.
In the example described, the third layer 133 is used to prevent the glue from creeping toward the outer decorative layer 134 during the various parts of the method. Also encompassed by the invention is a sealing strip having only the two first layers 131, 132, and therefore lacking a decorative layer. In this case, the third layer is not necessary, but the layer of glue 132 is provided with a mesh, or the like, embedded therein, which gives it the necessary mechanical strength and finish.
The sealing strip 130 is glued according to three separate phases of the method shown in
In a first phase, shown in
The temperature of the hot air coming from the nozzle is 130° C. or approximately 130° C., and the assembly pressure is 5 bars or approximately 5 bars. The temperature and the pressure for assembling can be different depending upon the fabrics to be assembled and the sealing strip used.
Such an operation allows an assembly of the strip 130, such as described in the first embodiment, that is satisfactory for holding the strip and the joining line 140, even if the assembly is done by welding, but that is insufficient to ensure waterproofness of said assembly, and therefore of the garment and/or bag in its entirety.
The actual waterproof assembly is carried out by means of two following phases.
In the second phase, shown in
At the end of this hot-pressing phase, the upper flat bed 161 is raised, and lowered again after the insertion of a cold metal plate 170, shown in
The cold plate 170 can simply be at room-temperature or can be cooled off to a temperature ranging from 0 to 10° C., depending upon the type of glue.
The cold plate 170 is kept under a 2-bar pressure for 5 to 10 seconds, for example. The press can also be one that includes two pivoting flat beds for hot-pressing or cold-pressing.
During this last phase, a cold-pressing is undertaken, which prevents any shrinking of the first gluing layer 31 and therefore ensures an adequate distribution of the glue inside interstices of the fabric, and therefore waterproofness.
This phase is therefore particularly important for the waterproofness of the final assembly.
The assembly and waterproofing method described hereinabove makes it possible to obtain an assembly that is waterproof at 2 m (200 mm) or 200 mbar with a rise in pressure of 60 mb/mm according to the ISO 811 standard-compliant method of dynamic testing and according to the AATCC 127 standard-compliant method of dynamic testing.
The invention is not limited to the several embodiments described hereinabove, but also applies to bags made from supple and flexible materials and to waterproof and/or water resistant fabrics, whether they are laminated as those described, or not laminated.
The invention also applies to any type of assembly of products made from fabric materials having a waterproof and/or water-resistant coating.
In the case of the second embodiment described, the laminated panels can be extensible as in the first embodiment described, and in this case, the sealing strip 130 can have an elongation rate lower than that of the joining line 140, particularly when the latter is made by welding.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0408405 | Jul 2004 | FR | national |
| 0508010 | Jul 2005 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FR2005/001971 | 7/28/2005 | WO | 00 | 2/14/2008 |
