Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Woven fabric – Including a foamed layer or component
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-02
2004-08-10
Singh, Arti R. (Department: 1771)
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Woven fabric
Including a foamed layer or component
C428S040100, C428S040200, C428S042100, C428S066500, C428S103000, C428S141000, C428S142000, C428S144000, C428S147000, C428S160000, C428S194000, C428S198000, C428S200000, C428S205000, C428S206000, C428S304400, C428S308400, C428S315500, C428S318400, C428S319900, C428S343000, C428S346000, C428S347000, C428S349000, C428S354000, C428S3550EN, C442S065000, C442S072000, C442S073000, C442S074000, C442S075000, C442S076000, C442S079000, C442S085000, C442S089000, C442S149000, C442S150000, C442S226000, C442S286000, C442S
Reexamination Certificate
active
06774065
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a waterproofed fabric which is suitable for use in sports clothes, rain wear, and so forth, and is comfortable to wear, a sealing tape for use with the waterproofed fabric, and a waterproof article of clothing using the same.
BACKGROUND ART
Referring to waterproofed fabrics, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,000 and DE02948892 each discloses a method of coating a polyurethane solution onto a fabric, the solution being prepared by dissolving a polyurethane resin into a water-soluble solvent, and wet-gelling the polyurethane resin. In these patent specifications, so-called moisture-permeable waterproof fabrics are disclosed. When water is substituted for the solvent, a porous polyurethane film is formed on the fabric. This film is impermeable to water such as rain water or the like, and is permeable to moisture (steam). The moisture-permeable waterproof fabric can be used to form a waterproof article of clothing.
However, the porous polyurethane film disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,000 and DE02948892 has problems in that the polyurethane film becomes sticky to the touch once dew drops are generated on the surface of the porous film and inside thereof, that is, the film is remarkably uncomfortable to wear.
Moreover, there is a known method in which a hydrophilic resin is used to absorb drops of sweat. However, the fabric has defects in that once the fabric absorbs water, it is difficult to remove the water, and the resin surface becomes sticky to the touch.
To eliminate this uncomfortable feel when wearing, that is, the sticky touch and the tackiness, various methods are known, in which a so-called three layer structure containing a knitted fabric or the like bonded to the surface of the film is formed, and a liner is used, and so forth. However, these methods are expensive.
Referring to conventional sealing tapes for use with waterproofed fabrics, for example, a hot melt layer is laminated directly onto a waterproof resin layer. However, the sealing tape feels/unpleasant to the touch. To improve this unpleasant feel to the touch, for example, a fabric is laminated onto the other surface of the hot melt layer. However, the production process becomes more complicated, and the tape becomes expensive, due to the lamination of the fabric.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel waterproofed fabric which is waterproof, and moreover, is comfortable to wear, a sealing tape for use with the waterproofed fabric, and to provide a waterproof article of clothing using them, in which no liner is used, and which may have a two layer structure without need of providing a three layer structure, and is comfortable to wear.
As a result of the intensive investigation by the inventors, it has been found that a waterproofed fabric and a sealing tape for use with the waterproofed fabric, each having a low sliding friction at the surface and being comfortable to the touch, can be provided by lamination of a resin containing spherical particles onto a waterproof layer. Moreover, it has been found that the waterproof article of the present invention using the waterproofed fabric and the sealing tape of the present invention feels dry to the touch without sticky and tacky feel, even if the article does not have a three layer structure but a two layer structure, and no liner is used for the article.
That is, in the waterproofed fabric of the present invention, a waterproof layer is provided on one side of a fabric, and a resin composition is laminated to the waterproof layer, the resin composition containing 20 to 200 parts by weight of spherical particles with an average particle size of 5 to 200 &mgr;m dispersed in 100 parts by weight of the total-resin of the composition.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
As a fabric for use in the waterproofed fabric of the present invention, any fabric may be employed, provided that it is suitable for its uses and so forth. For example, synthetic fibers of polyester, nylon, or the like, semi-synthetic fibers of acetate or the like, and natural fibers such as cotton, hemp, and wool may be used singly or as a mixture of at least two of these fibers. The form of the fabric is not particularly limited. For example, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, non-woven fabrics, and so forth may be used.
As a component for forming the waterproof layer, a resin is used. Examples of the resin include polyurethane resins of a polyester copolymer type, a polyether copolymer type, and a polycarbonate copolymer type, polyurethane resins copolymerized with silicone, fluorine, amino acids, or the like, acrylic resins, synthetic rubbers, vinyl resins such as polyvinylchloride, and so forth may be used. Preferably, the polyurethane resins are employed.
To make the waterproofed fabric of the present invention moisture-permeable, a moisture-permeable polyurethane resin is preferably used as the resin.
In preferred forms of the present invention, the waterproof layer is a micro-porous film made of a polyurethane resin, a non-porous film made of a polyurethane resin, or a laminate of the non-porous film made of the polyurethane resin and the micro-porous film made of the polyurethane resin. In this case, the polyurethane resins for the micro-porous film and the non-porous film may have the same composition or different compositions.
Preferred forms of the waterproof layer include the following films (1) and (2).
(1) A micro-porous film made of a polyurethane resin or containing a polyurethane resin as a major component.
(2) A non-porous film made of a moisture-permeable polyurethane resin or containing a moisture-permeable polyurethane resin.
In a preferred form, the non-porous film made of the moisture-permeable polyurethane resin is further laminated onto a micro-porous film such as the aforementioned film (1).
In the waterproofed fabric of the present invention, a resin composition containing 20 to 200 parts by weight of spherical particles with an average particle size of 5 to 200 &mgr;m dispersed in 100 parts by weight of the total resin of the composition is laminated onto the waterproof layer.
The resin in which the spherical particles are dispersed is not particularly limited. For example, polyurethane resins, acrylic resins, vinyl type resins, and so forth may be used. Preferably, the polyurethane resins are employed.
The particles to be dispersed are required to be spherical. The term “spherical particles” means that a particle having an acute angle such as a needle-like particle or a broken piece-shaped particle is not contained in the spherical particles. Specifically, the amount of particles each having a protuberance of which the size is larger than the-diameter of the largest possible sphere which can be imaginarily contained in the particle is less than 5 percent by weight. If particles having acute angles are used, they cause a sticky touch, and the laminated resin composition is not smooth and dry to the touch.
Moreover, it is required that the average particle size is set to be in the range of from 5 &mgr;m to 200 &mgr;m, and the amount of the particles is set to be in the range of from 20 to 200 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the total resin in which the-particles are dispersed. If the average particle size is less than 5 &mgr;m, a dry touch cannot be obtained due to the excessively small size. On the other hand, if the size exceeds 200 &mgr;m, the touch of the laminated resin composition undesirably becomes considerably rough. Furthermore, if the amount of the particles is less than 20 parts by weight, a smooth touch cannot be obtained, due to the excessively small amount of particles. If the amount exceeds 200 parts by weight, undesirably, the effects of the added particles will peak out, and moreover, the particles will be released in remarkable amounts by laundering and so forth.
Preferably, the weight distribution of the spherical particles has at least two peaks. More preferably, at least two types of particles of which the weight distributions
Furuya Takenori
Haruta Masaru
Kagao Hiroshi
Manabe Yuichi
Uemoto Masanori
Piper Rudnick LLP
Singh Arti R.
Toray Industries Inc.
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