Patent Application
20130291270
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Embodiments relate to a wet suit material, useful for fabricating articles from for use in underwater diving or water surface activities, and more particularly to wet suit materials incorporating a heat-reflective layer or panels in combination with one or more stretchable insulative layers.
Wet suits are generally used to stay warm in water that is too cold to be comfortable, or to stay warm when evaporative cooling might otherwise extract undue energy from the user. Typical activities where wet suits are used include snorkeling, SCUBA diving, open-water swimming, fishing, surfing, and wind-surfing. Conventional wet suits are insulative, with greater insulation being achieved for thicker sections of a given material (generally, an elastomeric closed-cell foam, such as neoprene). The insulative character of the wet suit conserves energy of the user by reducing energy (body heat) lost to the colder water. A thicker wetsuit generally results in less energy loss. Unfortunately, thicker wet suits are generally more restrictive of movement, and can result in the user having to work against the wet suit. Furthermore, thicker wetsuits provide more floatation, and divers use additional weight on a weight belt to counteract the floatation.
Therefore, wet suit materials that provide superior heat retention for the user while avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art are desirable.
In one embodiment, a wet suit material has an elastic insulative foam layer having a first surface configured to be proximal to a user and a second surface configured to be distal from the user and a reflective layer between the user and the second surface of the elastic insulative layer. The elastic insulative layer is, for example, closed-cell rubber foam such as neoprene foam. The reflective layer can be formed on the first surface, such as by painting on a leafing pigment of reflective flakes. Alternatively, the reflective layer is disposed on a stretchable liner that is bonded or otherwise attached to the first surface of the elastic insulative foam layer. In some embodiments, the wetsuit material includes reflective thread stitched through at least the elastic insulative foam layer, and in further embodiments, the reflective thread forms a stitched reflective field on an elastic insulative foam layer.
In another embodiment, the reflective layer is between the elastic insulative foam layer and a second elastic insulative foam layer. In particular embodiments, the reflective layer includes a reflective metal layer, such as an aluminum layer, formed on a polymer film, such as a polyester film. A slit is optionally provided in the reflective layer to allow easier movement and adhesive to bond the elastic insulative foam layer to the second elastic insulative foam layer through the slit. In a further embodiment, a breakable link is provided in the slit. The reflective layer also optionally includes perforations through which the adhesive bonding the elastic insulative foam layer to the second elastic insulative foam layer can extend.
In some embodiments, the reflective layer includes multiple reflective panels that are separated from each other to facilitate movement. For example, in an arm portion of a wet suit, a first reflective panel includes a shoulder end and a first elbow end and a second reflective panel includes a second elbow end and a wrist end.
In another embodiment, a method of fabricating a wet suit material includes forming a reflective interlayer; and laminating the reflective interlayer between a first elastic insulative foam layer and a second elastic insulative foam layer. The reflective interlayer is formed, for example, by depositing a metal layer on a polymer film. A slit or perforations are optionally formed in the reflective interlayer before laminating. In some embodiments reflective interlayer comprises a first reflective panel and a second reflective panel, the first reflective panel and the second reflective panel being laminated between the first elastic insulative foam layer and the second elastic insulative foam layer.
In another embodiment, a wet suit is fabricated by depositing a reflective coating on a first surface of a stretchable fabric. The stretchable fabric is laminated or bonded to an insulative layer to form a wet suit material and a wet suit is fabricated from the wet suit material. In some embodiments, a first portion of the wet suit is fabricated from the wet suit material and a second portion of the wet suit is fabricated from a second wet suit material.
Conventional wet suit materials are typically relatively stretchable to allow a user freedom of movement; however, polyester film has relatively low stretch, and embodiments incorporating low stretch reflective layers typically have one or more features, such as multiple panels 104, 106, 108 or slitting (see, e.g.,
Alternative embodiments use a compliant (i.e. stretchable) reflective layer. Examples of complaint reflective layers include knit materials (e.g., nylon or elastane (spandex)) that have had a reflective material (e.g., aluminum, silver, or gold), or elastic webs. In a particular embodiment, an elastic web is a thin (e.g., about 3 mils to about 10 mils) layer of rubber. In an alternative embodiment, a reflective layer is formed on a surface of an insulating layer.
A reflective coating deposited on an elastic web or neoprene foam insulating layer typically has a lower yield point than the web or neoprene foam, so that when a user bends the wet suit where a reflective interlayer or coating is incorporated, the reflective coating cracks. Such cracking is acceptable because it results in relatively little non-reflective area being created, while the reflective coating provides substantial heat reflection back to the user. As used herein, “reflective” generally means that a material, such as a deposited aluminum layer reflects energy in at least the infrared portion of the spectrum.
In a further or alternative embodiment, reflective thread 208 is used to sew a seam between panels of insulative foam or laminated panels, such as panels including a reflective interlayer, reflective surface layer, or other surface layer. The reflective thread 208 is, for example, aluminized thread, metalized thread, fiber thread wound with a reflectively coated polymer binding, or other thread having greater heat reflectivity than conventional insulative foam.
In a particular embodiment, the reflective thread 208 is stitched to form a stitched reflective field 210. The stitched reflective field 210 is used with or without the reflective interlayer 202. The stitched reflective field 210 is stitched beyond the reflective interlayer 202, or alternatively a reflective field is formed over a portion of a reflective interlayer (not shown).
In a particular embodiment, the stretchable liner 408 with reflective layer(s) 402, 406 is on the skin-side 410 of a wet suit (i.e., the side of the wet suit material that is intended (configured) to be proximal to a user). In a further embodiment, a second knit layer is included over portions or essentially the entire exterior surface (i.e., the second surface, which is distal from the user) of the wet suit to improve the abrasion resistance and durability of the wet suit. In a particular embodiment, thin-film aluminum layers are formed (e.g., by physical vapor deposition or other deposition techniques) on one or both sides of a stretchable knit fabric, such as knit nylon, elastane, or blended fabric.
The upper arm panel 600 extends essentially from a shoulder end 604 to a first elbow end 606, and the lower arm panel extends essentially from a second elbow end 614 to a wrist end 610. Providing arm panels that are separated at the elbow portion of the wet suit allows a user to freely bend his arm without undue constraint by the reflective panels, which in a particular embodiment are aluminized polyester panels. Similar combinations of panels are used in some embodiments for other areas of a wet suit subject to movement by a user, such as leg portions, shoulder portions, and torso portions.
Slits 608 in the reflective panels 600, 602 further facilitate movement by a user and allow rubber-to-rubber adhesion in embodiments using insulative rubber foam layers. Holes 612 in the reflective panels 600, 602 provide additional rubber-to-rubber adhesion.
In an alternative embodiment, the reflective interlayer is a reflective layer formed on a surface of at least one of the insulative layers. In a particular embodiment, the reflective interlayer is formed from a leafing paint. In an alternative embodiment, the reflective interlayer is deposited, such as by physical vapor deposition, on the surface of the insulative layer.
The laminated wet suit material is fabricated into an article, such as a wet suit (step 804). In a particular embodiment, the wet suit is a one-piece wet suit. In an alternative embodiment, the wet suit includes a jacket and pants or bibs. In yet another embodiment, the article includes pants or bibs, such as are used for waders.
The first surface of the stretchable fabric is laminated to an insulative layer (904) to form a wet suit material. In a particular embodiment, the insulative layer is a layer of neoprene foam between about 1 mm to about 5 mm thick. An article, such as a wet suit, is fabricated using the wet suit material (906). In a particular embodiment, the wet suit material is used for one or more portions of the wet suit and conventional wet suit material is used for other portions of the wet suit. In another embodiment, wet suit material according to an embodiment is used for first portions of the wet suit, and wet suit material according to another embodiment is used for other portions of the wet suit. For example, some portions of the wet suit are fabricated with a wet suit material according to an embodiment having a first thickness, and other portions of the wet suit are fabricated with a wet suit material according to another embodiment having a second thickness or a second type of reflective layer(s).
In a particular embodiment, the wet suit is a one-piece wet suit. In an alternative embodiment, the wet suit includes a jacket and pants or bibs. In yet another embodiment, the article includes pants or bibs, such as are used for waders; a helmet, booties, or gloves.
While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments, variations of these embodiments will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, alternative insulative materials, combinations of insulative materials, or reflective materials and types of layers could be used, or processing steps could be performed in a different order. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the foregoing description.
