Textiles: knitting – Fabrics or articles – Articles
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-20
2001-07-24
Falik, Andy (Department: 3741)
Textiles: knitting
Fabrics or articles
Articles
C066S17200R, C066S175000, C066S202000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263707
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to support garments which comprise opaque heat-moldable circular knit fabrics having relatively high amounts of spandex material as well as sufficient amounts of other fibers to simultaneously provide maximum support and maximum comfort to a wearer and which can be easily molded to the specifications of a wearer's body dimensions. Such high-spandex content, moldable garment fabrics are novel to the industry since the permissible added amount of spandex within such fabrics has been limited due to the power, modulus strength, and elongation of such fibers. Furthermore, the ability to provide moldable, high-spandex circular knit fabrics has been limited, if not impossible, due to the above-noted characteristics of the spandex fibers themselves. Thus, the incorporation of such moldable fabrics within certain support garments (such as brassieres, girdles, medical braces, athletic supporters, and the like) has been unsuccessful in the past. The inventive moldable fabrics and garments provide such desirable spandex properties while also increasing the comfortability to the wearer. The method of producing such fabrics is also contemplated within this invention.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
Support garments have been utilized for centuries to provide methods of keeping body parts stationary (such as with knee braces), alleviating discomfort and/or making fashion statements (such as with brassieres, including sports bras), constraining certain areas of a person's body in order ultimately to provide an aesthetically pleasing figure (such as with girdles and the like), protecting particularly susceptible body parts from harm (such as with athletic supporters), and the like. Myriad ways of providing such methods have been developed in the past. For instance, braces have been produced which utilize high tensile strength/low elongation fibers, metal components, and cast materials. Brassieres and girdles have been fashioned from certain fabric configurations, metal wires, and, again, high tensile strength/low elongation fibers. Added padding and/or high tensile strength/low elongation fibers have been utilized to improve upon existing athletic supporter garments as well. In each of these examples, the improvements have focused on adding cumbersome and potentially uncomfortable metal wires or extra material within the body of the garment, utilizing high tensile strength fibers in high amounts, or utilizing strips of the garment fabric placed at specific angles, all in order to provide the requisite and desired support. Nor have these past garment and/or fabric developments have generally not been available as moldable articles which can be modified to conform to a wearer's body dimensions. As such, there is a need to produce a moldable fabric which provides the necessary level of support for such garments with a simultaneous increase in comfort for the wearer.
High modulus fibers, such as spandex, have been introduced in the past within woven and knit fabric constructions in order to provide increased power, elongation, and thus support within such garments. However, an increase in the amount of spandex has invariably reduced the comfort level due to the highly constrictive power of such high spandex-content fabrics. In particular, circular knit fabrics have been extremely difficult to create which comprise high amounts of spandex (greater than 24%) and which are sufficiently comfortable to the wearer. Circular knits are highly desirable as support garments and permit more efficient jet-dyeing procedures through the production of curl-susceptible (i.e., elastomeric fiber-containing) fabrics in tubular form. Jet dyeing provides a simplified and effective method of coloring fabrics quickly and evenly. Thus, in an effort to more efficiently produce such support garment fabrics, the ability to utilize jet dyeing techniques would reduce cost by more thoroughly and evenly coloring the target fabrics. Consistency in colorations for large amounts of fabrics would thus be more easily and inexpensively achieved. Warp-knit fabrics comprising curl-susceptible fibers are not produced in tubular form; instead they are formed as webs. Thus, in order to permit proper jet-dyeing of such fabrics, the edges of such webs must be attached by gluing, sewing, and the like, and subsequently split apart in order to properly permit jet-dyeing. Such a time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure is therefore unacceptable, particularly for curl-susceptible fabrics for which circular knit constructions are desired. Thus, there is a clear need to produce high spandex-content circular knit fabrics which can be jet-dyed in knitted tubular form. Such high spandex-content circular knit fabrics have heretofore been unexplored. Furthermore, circular knits are more easily stitched to conform with specific shapes and configurations in order to provide comfort to a wearer as well. Thus, circular knit fabrics which comprise large amounts of spandex are highly desirable within the industry; unfortunately, as noted above, the incorporation of such high amounts of spandex have proven too difficult to provide the desired comfort level and simultaneous support function. The prior art has not accorded the industry with any teaching to accomplish this desired task. As such, there is still a need to develop a circular knit fabric having a high spandex content (above 24% of the total weight of the fabric) which comprises other fibers to provide comfort to the wearer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
It is thus an object of the invention to provide such improved high-density (opaque) heat-moldable support for a wearer's body parts (such as an injured knee joint, a woman's breasts, and the like) within a garment through the utilization of a specific circular knit fabric comprising relatively high amounts of spandex fibers. A further object of the invention is to provide a comfortable, functional support garment made from circular knit fabrics of high spandex content. Another object is to provide a support garment which possesses suitable flexibility for placement on and around a target body part and provides excellent support upon placement at the target location. Still a further object of the invention is to provide a method for producing such a high spandex-content circular knit support garment fabric.
Accordingly, this invention encompasses an opaque heat-moldable circular knit fabric comprising at least two different types of fibers, wherein one type is spandex, wherein said spandex is present in an amount of at least 24% of the total weight of fabric, and wherein at least one non-spandex-containing float per repeated knit pattern is present within the knit fabric. Furthermore, this invention also concerns a method of forming an opaque heat-moldable, circular knit fabric comprising at least 24% of spandex yarns by weight of the fabric, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing at least one thread of spandex fiber;
(b) delivering said thread to a needle bed under constant tension;
(c) feeding said thread into a needle bed while simultaneously elongating said thread to at least 100% of its total stretch capability;
(d) introducing said elongated spandex thread within a carrier fabric comprising at least one fiber selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, cotton, wool, ramie, acetate, polyurethane, and any blends thereof;
(e) pulling said spandex thread into the loop construction of said circular knit fabric; and
(f) knitting at least one non-spandex-containing float per repeated knit pattern into the fabric structure. Further steps to produce a support garment comprising such an inventive fabric would include
(g) incorporating the circular knit fabric into a garment (such as through sewing, adhering, and the like);
(h) fitting the support garment of step “g” to at least a portion of a person's body; and
(i) heat-setting the garment in the position in which the garment is oriented during step “h”. Nowhere within the prior art has such a specific
Hall Arlis Steven
McCarter Harry
Miller James Martin
Stephens Larry
Falik Andy
Milliken & Company
Moyer Terry T.
Parks William S.
LandOfFree
Opaque heat-moldable circular knit support fabrics having... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Opaque heat-moldable circular knit support fabrics having..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Opaque heat-moldable circular knit support fabrics having... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2562508