Patent Application
20210363687
The present disclosure provides an indicator that presents a visual change as a function of number of washes for a textile.
Medicated yarns are woven or knitted into garments, like compression wear, socks, and leggings. The medicated yarns include, for example, an active ingredient configured to administer to the wearer during use for pain relief. The active ingredient content of in the garment decreases during use as well as after laundering, i.e., wash cycles. Current garments incorporating medicated yarns do not provide the consumer an indication of the number of wash cycles.
In one example, a textile wash cycle indicator system is provided, the indicator system comprising an initial amount of a dye system that comprises at least one dye, the dye system configured to release an amount of the at least one dye during consecutive wash cycles. The system also includes where the release of the amount of the at least one dye correlates with the consecutive wash cycles.
In another example, the release of the at least one dye correlates with a visual change of the dye system. In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the visible change is: a change of color; producing, reducing, or increasing a visual presence of a symbol; producing, reducing, or increasing a visual presence of text characters; or combinations thereof. In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the visible change is irreversible.
In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the dye system is integral with a textile. In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the dye system is integral with a yarn or fiber of a textile.
In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the dye system may include: a first dye having a first washing fastness value; and one or more dyes different from the first dye, each of the one or more dyes different from the first dye independently having a washing fastness value less than the first wash fastness value. In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a first range of wash cycles.
In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a second range of wash cycles greater than or less than the first range of wash cycles. In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a range of wash cycles between 1 and about 10 and where the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a range of wash cycles of more than about 10.
In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a range of wash cycles between 1 and about 10 and where the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a range of wash cycles of between about 10 to about 20 and where the rate of change of at least one of the washing fastness values less than the first wash fastness value corresponds to a range of wash cycles greater than 20.
In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the first dye or the one or more dyes different from the first dye are coupled to or immobilized on an inorganic support or an organic support. In another example, alone or in combination with any of the previous examples, the first dye and the one or more dyes different from the first dye are coupled to or immobilized on an inorganic support or an organic support.
Another example includes a method for indicating wash cycles of a textile. The method also includes providing an indicator associated with a yarn, fiber, or section of fabric of the textile that directly or indirectly corresponds to a qualitative, semi-qualitative, quantitative or semi-quantitate amount of wash cycles of a textile. The method also includes providing a visual change of the indicator that directly or indirectly corresponds to the qualitative or the quantitate amount of washing cycles of the textile.
Washing life-span is useful for fabrics and garments. In one example, washing lifespan is useful for fabrics and garments containing medicaments imbibed or incorporated in the yarn or fibers thereof. The present disclosure provides an indicator that will indicate qualitatively or quantitatively a predetermined number of wash cycles for the fabric or garment. In one example, the predetermined number of wash cycles is at least 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or more wash cycles. In one example, a perceivable indicia change can be observed after each subsequent wash throughout 5, 10, 15, or 25 or more wash cycles.
The present disclosure provides a wash cycle indicator suitable for a fabric or garment, the indicator configured to alter its visual appears in qualitative, semi-qualitative, quantitative, or semi-quantitative relationship to the number of wash cycles of the fabric or garment. In one example, the indicator is configured for reflecting approximately 15, approximately 20, and/or approximately 25 washes or more of the fabric of garment. In another example a single dye system is constructed for providing visual indication of approximately 15, approximately 20, and/or approximately 25 washes or more of the fabric of garment.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, the present system comprising of one or more dyes associated with a fiber, yarn or section of a fabric or garment is configured such that during or after each successive wash, a small amount of the one or more dye will fade out and after a predetermined number of washes, the dye will have completely faded out. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the present system comprising of one or more dyes associated with a fiber, yarn or section of a fabric or garment is configured such that during or after each successive wash, a small amount of the one or more dye will fade out and after 5 washes, 10 washes, 15 washes, 20 washes or 25 washes, etc., with the dye having completely faded out at its predetermined wash cycle limit. For example, the yarn/fabric or textile could start out with an initial visual indication and after a predetermined number of washes, would present a visual indication different from the initial visual indication.
With reference to
In one example, the dye system comprises at least one dye chosen from semi-permanent hair dyes. Semi-permanent hair dyes typically are configured for release from hair over the course of consecutive shampoos. The dye system of the present disclosure can include one or more dyes selected from the five main classes of dye: acid dyes, direct dyes, disperse dyes, mordant dyes, and basic dyes. In another example, the dye system of the present disclosure can include one or more dyes having chemical structures that were of medium molecular weight (less than 1000 Mw) and contained at least one acid dye.
In another example, the dye system of the present disclosure includes one or more acid dyes comprising a sulfonate auxochrome group that are negatively charged (anionic) compounds which denature or lose color fastness under alkaline pH.
In yet another example, the dye system of the present disclosure includes one or more basic dyes that are cationic (positively charged) compounds. In another example, the dye system of the present disclosure includes one or more direct dyes that are cationic or anionic, highly soluble in water and applied to the fibers/yarns in solutions containing ionic salts and electrolytes. In yet another example, the dye system of the present disclosure includes one or more disperse dyes that are used for dyeing synthetic fibers such as cellulose acetate, polyester, and nylon. In yet another example, the dye system of the present disclosure includes one or more mordant dyes that use mordant for improving the color retention property of the dye molecules within the fiber.
In one example, the dye system comprises at least one dye providing a linear rate of change of a visual indicia (e.g., wash fastness) with respect to successive wash cycles. In another example, the dye system comprises at least one dye providing a polynomial rate of change with respect to successive wash cycles. In another example, the dye system comprises at least one dye providing a linear rate of change of a visual indicia with respect to successive wash cycles in combination with one or more dyes providing a polynomial rate of change with respect to successive wash cycles.
In one example, the dye system is based on a visual indicia, based on or correlated to, a ΔE equation. There are a number of ΔE equations that can be used to calculate the difference between two colors or a change of color. In one example, the equation for ΔE2000 (=ΔE00)was used. The numerical value for ΔE00 can be correlated to a human's eye perception of color change approximately 75-80% of the time. Alternatively, the ΔELab equation can be used.
Using ΔE values to correlate rate of color change over the course of 25 washes can provide satisfactory results for dye systems that present linear or polynomial wash fastness. In one example, a change every 5 wash cycles of about 5 points is used such that the color change is perceivable to the human eye for dye systems that present linear wash fastness. If the wash fastness curve is polynomial, the curve can plateau at a certain wash cycle value with no further change but there will still be a difference to the end-user leading up to the point of plateau. In one example, the presently disclosed dye systems provide linear rates of change in ΔE versus number of wash cycles, polynomial rates of change in ΔE versus number of wash cycles, or or combinations thereof. The dye systems of the present disclosure provide qualitative or quantitative wash cycle indicators providing end-user indication of one or more, for example 5, 15, 20, and 25 wash cycles.
In one example, a single dye was used in the dye system with dye add-on %, prepared as a dye system indicator for use with fabric or textiles. Add-on % was done by determining the weight of the un-dyed fabric and taking 1% of that weight to as the add-on amount needed. For example, fabric samples were about 10 grams, so to get the amount of dye added to the bath, 1% of 10 grams 0.10 grams of dye was added (1% of 10 grams). Dyes were not added together in the same bath, rather the fabric was dyed in two different steps using separate dye baths. Thus, for example combinations that were 1% dye A and 1% dye B, with the total add-on % being 2%, was achieved with separate dye baths at a concentration that was 1% of each dye. In one example, a plurality of different percent add-ons for a single dye, were used for a predetermined number of wash cycles. Thus, as shown in
In one example, combinations of one or more dyes are used, where one dye has good wash fastness (permanent dye, ΔE00<10) and another dye has bad wash fastness (leaving dye, AE00>20), using only 1% add-ons of each dye.
In one example, a dual dye, two color dye system was used. Determination of color combinations was determined based on whether or not the dyes were permanent (high color fastness/ ΔE <10) or transient (low color fastness/ΔE>20) and by ensuring that color combinations would result in visual changes, for example, such as blue/yellow/green, and red/blue/purple combinations. As shown in
In one example, a 3 component dye system was used. As shown in
The 1% Basic Blue 3 and 2% Direct Yellow 12 (used for indicating approximately 25 washes) and the 0.5% Basic Blue 3 (used for indicating approximately 20 washes) had a ΔE00 values of 22.67 and 22.77, respectively. Comparison, 0.5% Direct Blue 86 and 0.2% Basic Yellow 2 after 15 washes had a ΔE00 of 18.28. In one example, the one or more dyes of the dye system configured for providing visual indication of the maximum number of wash cycles, for example 25 or more washes, had a substantially linear regression of ΔE2000 value vs. wash cycles.
In one example, a continuous, semi-continuous, or batch yarn dyeing process can be implemented. In one example, a continuous dyeing process, as shown in
In one example, a known initial dye bath concentration can be monitored using conventional techniques for a given period of time, and a dynamic concentration of the dye calculated which can be adjusted automatically to ensure that the same percent add-on is present in the dye bath. In one example, color differences can be determined using the yarn rather than the fabric and correlated to the visual change analysis for the fabric.
Thus, in one example a dye system comprising various two color combinations were washed and data was collected over the 25 wash cycles providing a functional wash cycle sensor for 15, 20, and 25 wash cycles. In another example, a percent add-on of dyes was determined to determine the rate of color change over the course of 25 washed and a best fit analysis was used to provide a 15, 20, and 25 wash cycle sensor. Thus, for example, an exemplary 2 color combination dye system was developed comprising 0.5% Direct Blue 86 and 0.2% Basic Yellow 2 for providing a visual indication of change after a 15 wash cycle, 0.5% Basic Blue 3 for providing a visual indication of change after a 20 wash cycle, and 1% Basic Blue 3 and 2% Direct Yellow 12 for providing a visual indication of change after a 25 wash cycle suitable for use for a fabric or garment.
The present disclosure provides for a continuous dye process that maximizes dye retention/wash fastness and maximizes indicator effectiveness. The present disclosure provides for a dye system compatible with various detergents, wash cycles, and anti-soiling performance of the indicator under various lighting settings.
The present dye system and indicator provides wide process latitude for accommodating wash cycles that can differ in the amount of water used, temperature, and time with acceptable dye release profiles throughout the lifetime of the garment while minimizing leaving dye on the skin during wear. The present dye system and indicator can be incorporated into textile products and/or constructed of natural, synthetic or blends of yarns, with substantially little if any compromise of the product's functionality and comfort. The present dye system and indicator is designed and configured for complimentary reading/indexing instructions that can be presented on product packaging.
The conditions of dye bath such as temperature and pH may be varied depending on the uniformity of the fabric and the degree of penetration of dyes in the fibers. The evaluation of dye systems suitable as indicators consisted of a CIE color difference test after washing in the standard washing machine and laundrometer. The visual change of the of the indicator was determined using AATCC EP7-EP7-2015: “Instrumental Assessment of the Change in Color of a Test Specimen.” In this procedure, a spectrophotometer and visual gray scale assessments were performed before and after treatment (wash cycle) to the fabric. A ΔE value is obtained for each specimen before and after each subsequent wash cycle. ΔE is calculated by using Equation (I):
ΔE=(ΔL2+Δa2+Δb2)/2 Equation (I)
where ΔL is the difference in lightness from black to white, Aa is the difference in color from red to green, and Δb is the difference in color from blue to yellow.
A threshold ΔE00 value of about 20-50 was used so as to provide a range of acceptable values that would correlate to a detectable visual difference to the human eye. Values below 20 will likely have an unperceivable difference to the human eye or not be different in the case where the ΔE00 value is initially 0. The ΔE00 values were used to analyze the rates of color depth change for different percent add-on per fabric weight samples.
A stock solution using water and dye. was used to create dye baths in Ahiba-Labomat beakers with a maximum volume of 200 milliliters, in which samples were introduced. The Ahiba-Labomat was set to have the maximum ramp rate, to have a dwell time of 30 minutes, and to maintain a temperature of 100° C. After dyeing, the samples were rinsed and dried by first running the fabric through a padder and then laying the fabrics out to dry overnight in the open air. After drying, the samples underwent color assessment using aColor i7 Benchtop Spectrophotometer with the following settings: specular included, UV excluded, observer angle of 10°, illuminate D65, an average of 4 readings per sample, and medium to large aperture to obtain initial ΔE00 values. All of the fabric samples were dyed using the same conditions and at a temperature of 100° C. for 30 minutes. After dyeing, the samples were washed 25 times to evaluate the degradation/color fastness of each exemplary dye, an example ΔE00 verses wash cycles is shown in
Once the fabric samples were dyed, dried, and the initial ΔE00 values obtained, a detergent solution of 0.37% AATCC detergent and warm water was prepared. One of the fabric samples, 200 milliliters of detergent solution, and 10 metal ball bearings were added to the launderometer beakers, which were subsequently sealed and then placed in the launderometer to run for 45 minutes at a temperature of 40° C. After a cycle of the launderometer finished, the fabric was, rinsed, padded, and placed in a drying oven for 20 minutes before measuring color change. Each fabric sample underwent 5 launderometer cycles which is equivalent to 25 traditional washing cycles and color was assessed after each cycle resulting in 6 different color readings, including the initial color assessment before laundering.
Wash cycle testing was performed in accordance with AATCC 61: “Test for Colorfastness to Laundering—Accelerated procedure.” For the washing procedure, the recommended washing instructions commencement for fabrics and garments containing medicament were used as wash cycle parameters, e.g., 0.37% AATCC laundering detergent, 10 ball bearings, temperature of 40° C., and a wash cycle of 45 minutes in a launderometer.
Although the above disclosure has been presented in the context of exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/029,125 filed on May 22, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63029125 | May 2020 | US |
