Voluminous garment

Abstract

The application pertains to a garment article comprising at least one upper material with the upper material at least in part covering at least one piece of a three-dimensional material characterized in that the piece of three-dimensional material is a three-dimensional mat of randomly oriented fibers.

Description

[0001] The present application pertains to a voluminous garment article.

[0002] Although most people seek to look as slim as possible in most contexts, also garment articles that provide a voluminous appearance are popular in some fields. Important examples are hoop skirts worn especially by noble women during the early new age and in the 19 th< century which today are still popular from historic movies. Other examples are the petticoats which had been popular in the 20 th< century. While hoop skirts and petticoats were regular fashion ware, voluminous garment also plays a role in the field of fancy dresses, costumes, e.g. for carnival celebrations or for stage clothes, e.g. for movies or theaters.

[0003] In the latter field, voluminous garment plays a role especially as a means of estrangement or for appearances of fictitious figures, e.g. from comics. A fancy dress which should e.g. appear like a big animal, such as a bear, or like a comic character, such as Obelix, may need to be much larger and voluminous than the person wearing it.

[0004] Especially in the field of costumes and fancy dresses, volume is often provided to garment using foam pads or even formed parts of foam, which in most cases is polyurethane (PU) foam, which is very popular due to its abundance.

[0005] However, there are three major disadvantages of PU foam in voluminous garment. First, foams tend to absorb moisture, especially sweat and also condensed water that has been exhalated by the wearer. Due to the structure of foam pads or formed parts of foam, they dry very slowly, especially if they are embedded into the garment and covered by an upper material and / or an inner lining. Thus, moisture in the foam pads or formed parts of a voluminous garment may produce a bad odour and also lead to hygienical problems.

[0006] Second, foam pads and formed parts have a strong thermally insulating effect which leads to a very warm climate within the garment which is not only uncomfortable for the wearer but also makes the wearer sweat even more and thus strengthens the first problem, especially when the garment is heavy and wearing it is thus exhausting or exhausting activities are carried out wearing the garment.

[0007] Third, especially in the field of costumes and fancy dresses, garment is often short-lived and is subject to disposal after e.g. a carnival season, when a movie has been produced or a theater play is no longer performed. However, foam material and especially polyurethane are very difficult to recycle. Voluminous garment comprising foam pads or formed parts is thus an ecological problem as it consumes a large amount of ressources and has a large CO 2 -footprint.

[0008] It is thus the object of the present application to provide a voluminous garment that absorbs less moisture, that provides a less warm climate within the garment and / or that is more environmentally friendly than voluminous garment according to the prior art.

[0009] These problems are solved by a garment article comprising at least one upper material with the upper material at least in part covering at least one piece of a three-dimensional material characterized in that the piece of three-dimensional material is a three-dimensional mat of randomly oriented fibers.

[0010] Throughout the present application, the expression "garment" or "garment article" will be used synonymously. According to the present application, the expression "garment" should be interpreted in the broadest way as possible and includes everything which has the main purpose of covering the body. Due to this broad definition, the expression "garment" includes, but is not limited to, articles which are as different as shirts, blouses, overalls, sweaters, jackets, vests, trousers, shorts, boxers, briefs, pants, socks, shoes, hats, caps or helmets but also scarfs or hoods. For the definition as a garment, it is not relevant whether the article is worn directly on the skin as e.g. underwear, over underwear or even in further layers like a jacket worn over a sweater being worn over a shirt. The garment may be of all different kinds of characters known to the person skilled in the art. It may thus be a piece of business or leisure clothing, of a uniform, a piece of functional clothing used for any kind of sports, a costume, a fancy dress or a piece of stage clothing.

[0011] An upper material according to the present application is a material which is visible on the side of the garment article opposite to the body of the wearer. The optical impression of the garment article is typically dominated by the upper material and e.g. its color and / or structure. It is understood that, in case a garment article comprises only one layer of material as it is typically the case e.g. for underwear, this single layer is the upper material according to the present application. In general, the upper material has a thickness that is negligible compared to its surface area. In an embodiment, the upper material is a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric such as a felt or a fleece, natural leather, artificial leather or a polymeric foil.

[0012] A three-dimensional mat according to the present application is a piece of randomly oriented and intermingled fibers which has a thickness which is at least five times the thickness of the upper material which means literally speaking that the thickness of the mat is not negligible compared to its surface area which is not the case for the upper material.

[0013] Throughout the present application, it is understood that the terms "three-dimensional mat", "mat" and "three-dimensional mat of thermoplastic fibers" are used synonymously unless it is either mentioned otherwise or unambiguously clear from the context.

[0014] In contrast to the upper material, the three-dimensional mat has a clearly visible three-dimensional geometric form which may be the form of a simple geometric body such as a cuboid, a cylinder, a pyramid, a tetraeder, a cone, a sphere or any part thereof. In an embodiment, the mat may have an individual geometric form that may be adapted to the contours of the garment article or the contours of a part of the garment article. Said individual form may be a form that should be given to the garment article or a part thereof. So, the individual form may e.g. be the form of the ears of a Mickey Mouse, the belly of Obelix, the tail of a dinosaur or the like. It is understood that the terms mentioned above, namely the ears of a Mickey Mouse and the belly of Obelix will, throughout the application, be used as synonyms for any kind of individual form the skilled person knows for voluminous elements in a garment article, also in garment articles that are not costumes or fancy dresses.

[0015] In contrast to the upper material, the three-dimensional mat shows a stiffness that allows it to keep its form under both the influence of gravity and of any kind of impact the garment article may face during regular use such as bumping against a person or against an item. Bumping should not compress the garment in such a manner that its form is modified. On the contrary, the garment article should keep its voluminous appearance.

[0016] As the three-dimensional mat may look unattractive and can have an uncomfortable hand, it is at least in part covered by the upper material. In an embodiment, the three-dimensional mat is entirely covered by the upper material and / or a second two-dimensional material which may be a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, natural or artificial leather or a plastic foil. The second two-dimensional material may be of different character than the upper material or it may be of the same character as the upper material. The second two-dimensional material is arranged underneath the upper material in that sense that it is closer to the body of the wearer of the garment as the upper material. In an embodiment, the second two-dimensional material may be an inner lining of the garment. In an embodiment, the second two-dimensional material may form a layer between the upper material and the inner lining of the garment.

[0017] In an embodiment, there may be an intermediate layer located in between the mat and the upper material and / or the second two-dimensional material. Said intermediate layer may be connected to the mat on one side or it may totally surround the mat. The intermediate layer may be a layer of foam such as polyurethane foam. In an embodiment, the intermediate layer may be a nonwoven layer of fibers.

[0018] A possible function of the intermediate layer of fibers is to cushion and / or to soften hard edges the mat may comprise.

[0019] The three-dimensional mat may be covered by the upper material directly or with a layer in between which layer may be the second two-dimensional material. In an embodiment, the second two-dimensional material surrounds the three-dimensional mat completely in such way that it gets the shape of a pad or a pillow which may then be connected to the upper material e.g. by sewing or by gluing. In such case, the fibers of the three-dimensional mat are entirely concealed from exposure to a user which means that a person does not see and / or feel the thermoplastic fibers of the three-dimensional mat, at least during regular use. Randomly oriented fibers according to the present application mean that the individual fibers of the mat are formed in a disordered manner. However, "randomly oriented fibers" does not exclude that the multiple of randomly oriented fibers which form the mat takes over a regular structure which may e.g. be a regular pattern. However, it is important to stress that a regular structure is always formed by a multiple of fibers and not by a single fiber itself.

[0020] The fibers forming the three-dimensional mat comprise or consist of a thermoplastic polymer. A thermoplastic polymer is any polymer that softens and melts when heated. According to the present application, glass and metals are not considered thermoplastic polymers although they soften and melt when heated. The thermoplastic fibers comprised in the three-dimensional mat are not particularly limited to any material but may comprise any thermoplastic polymer known to the person skilled in the art such as polyolefins like polyethylene or polypropylene, polyamides such as polyamide-6, polyamide-6.6, polyamide-4.10 or polyamide-10.10, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polynaphylene terephthalate (PNT) or any blends of the named polymers or any copolymers comprising monomers of the named polymers. In an embodiment, the mat comprises a thermoplastic elastomer. The thermoplastic elastomeric polymer is preferably selected from thermoplastic polyolefin elastomeric polymers (TPO), such as for example thermoplastic polypropylene elastomeric polymer, thermoplastic vulcanisates (TPV), thermoplastic polyester elastomeric polymers (TPE-E or CoPET), thermoplastic styrenic elastomeric polymers (TPS, including styrene-butadiene copolymers, SBC), thermoplastic polyamides (TPA), or thermoplastic elastomeric polyurethane polymers (TPU) or polyether block amide (PEBA).

[0021] The fibers in the mat may be macroscopic fibers. Macroscopic fibers according to the present application are fibers which have a length of at least 1 centimeter and a apparent diameter of at least 0.25 millimeters. Macroscopic fibers may have the appearance of wires.

[0022] In an embodiment, the fibers, be it macroscopic fibers or fibers in general, are filaments. Filaments are fibers which a have a length which is essentially infinite compared to their apparent diameter. Filaments may thus have lengths of several meters or even several kilometers.

[0023] The apparent diameter of macroscopic fibers can be at most 0.5 millimeters, at most 1 millimeters or at most 1.5 millimeter. The macroscopic fibers may be massive or hollow. Also combinations of hollow and massive fibers in one mat are possible. Such combinations allow for an adjustment of the compressibility over the surface area of the mat.

[0024] The cross section of the fibers, be it macroscopic fibers or fibers in general, may have any geometry known to the person skilled in the art such as round, oval, oblong or triangular.

[0025] In an embodiment, macroscopic fibers forming the mat have an apparent thickness of at least 0.25 millimeters, 0.35 millimeters or 0.45 millimeters. They may have an apparent diameter of at most 0.55 millimeters, 0.65 millimeters, 0.8 millimeters, 1 millimeter or 1.5 millimeters.

[0026] In an embodiment, the mat has a thickness of at least 3 millimeters, at least 4 millimeters or at least 8 millimeters. In an embodiment, the mat has a thickness of at most 23 millimeters, 40 millimeters or 50 millimeters with the apparent thickness being measured according to EN ISO 9863-1. In an embodiment, the thickness of the mat may vary over its surface area.

[0027] In an embodiment, the fibers forming the three-dimensional mat are welded where they cross. By welding at crossing points, the fibers are fixed to each other. By the amount of crossing points, the stiffness and / or rigidity of the three-dimensional mat can be adjusted and optimized to the purpose of a garment article.

[0028] The three-dimensional mat of thermoplastic fibers may be a construction that is essentially open. Essentially open according to the present application means that the mat is of a character, that the fibers comprised in the mat form a kind of framework which surrounds and fills a space which is essentially empty or filled by a gas such as air, respectively, in such a manner that the volume of the mat exceeds the volume of the fibers comprised therein by a multiple. In an embodiment, the mat comprises at least 50 Vol.-%, at least 80 Vol.-%, at least 90 Vol.-% or at least 95 Vol.-% of gas or open space, respectively. The amount of empty space is determined by the relation between the density of the mat and the density of the material of the fibers. In both cases, the density is the ratio between the weight and the volume.

[0029] In an embodiment, the amount of empty space comprised in the mat is so large that it is possible to see through the mat with a human eye although it may have a thickness of several centimeters.

[0030] The amount of empty space of the mat is larger than the amount of empty space in a foam which comprises a large amount of small pores within solid material which can absorb a lot of liquid. On the contrary, the empty space formed by the randomly oriented fibers of the mat does no longer form small pores but is a large interconnected space surrounded by a small amount of solid material which cannot absorb a large amount of liquid as a foam in general or a sponge in particular can do. This is not only an advantage over foam-like materials but also over three-dimensional knitted materials.

[0031] The larger the amount of open space in the mat is, the better is the mat's ability to dry after exposure to liquids such as rain or sweat which is crucial for the improvement of the hygienic properties of the garment article.

[0032] In an embodiment, the mat has an areal weight of at least 200 and at most 1500 g / m 2< . In an embodiment, the areal weight of the mat is at least 400 g / m 2< . In an embodiment, the areal weight of the mat is at most 600 g / m 2< , at most 800 g / m 2< , at most 1000 g / m 2< or at most 1200 g / m 2< .

[0033] In an embodiment, the mat has a residual density of at least 70%, at least 80% or at least 90% of the original thickness after 1000, 5000, 10000, 50000 or 80000 compression cycles and a residual compression hardness bis a compression of 25% of at least 70%, 80% or 90% of the original compression hardness at 25% compression after 1000, 5000, 10000, 50000 or 80000 compression cycles according to DIN EN ISO 2439, method A.

[0034] In an embodiment, the compression hardness of the mat is the same over the whole surface area of the mat. In an embodiment, the compression hardness of the mat varies over the surface area of the mat.

[0035] In an embodiment, the mat has an air permeability perpendicular to its thickness of at least 10 l / (m 2< ·s), at least 100 l / (m 2< ·s), at least 500 l / (m 2< ·s) or at least 1000 l / (m 2< ·s) at 200 Pa and a pressure gradient of 0.5 measured according to EN ISO 9237.

[0036] In an embodiment, the mat has an air permeability parallel to its thickness of at least 10 l / (m 2< ·s), at least 100 l / (m 2< ·s), at least 500 / (m 2< ·s) or at least 1000 l / (m 2< ·s) at 200 Pa and a pressure gradient of 0.5 measured according to EN ISO 9237.

[0037] In general, the thickness according to the present application is the smallest dimension of the three-dimensional mat.

[0038] The air permeability is a property of the mat which makes an important contribution to the ability of the garment article to dry after it has been exposed to liquids such as rain or sweat and which thus is crucial for the improvement of the hygienic properties of the garment article.

[0039] In an embodiment, the garment article according to the present application comprises more than one three-dimensional mats. The three-dimensional mats may be comprised in the garment article at different positions and thus separate from each other or they may be comprised in the garment article in such a manner that they are in contact with each other. In an embodiment, several three-dimensional mats may form different layers of a stack of three-dimensional mats which are connected to each other e.g. by stitching, welding or gluing and which together may be connected to the upper material of the garment article either directly or with a second two-dimensional material in between the stack of mats and the upper. Stacking of three-dimensional mats has the advantage that also very large and voluminous structures can be produced also if the three-dimensional mat is only available with a limited amount of thicknesses or even in one single thickness. Then the desired thickness can be achieved by stacking of several three-dimensional mats. A stack of three-dimensional mats may, prior to formation or after formation, be brought into a desired form by cutting, milling, hot-wire cutting, thermal forming or any other mechanical, abrasive or thermal technique or combination of techniques. In an embodiment, an individual form such as an ear of a Mickey Mouse or a part of the belly of Obelix may thus be formed by forming a stack of three-dimensional mats that were cut in form or by cutting in form a stack of three-dimensional mats.

[0040] The three-dimensional mats comprised in the garment article according to the present application may also be arranged abutted to each other. An abutted connection according to the present application is a connection where two or more mats are arranged in such a manner that their thicknesses do not add to a thickness that is larger than the thickness of the thickest mat. Prior to connection, parts of the thickness of the mats may be removed in order to have them overlapping in part as described in claim 1 and Figs. 3-14 of European Patent Application 18721070 and in claim 1 and Figs. 3-13 of European Patent Application 19783315 which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In an embodiment, stacking and abutted connection of mats may be connected and three or more mats may be abutted and stacked on each other.

[0041] For both stacking and abutted connection all ways of connection known to the person skilled in the art may be used, in particular glueing, welding, stitching or sewing or any combination thereof.

[0042] In an embodiment, the mats which are stacked and / or abutted to each other have different properties such as different areal weights, densities, thicknesses, resiliences or chemical compositions. By stacking mats with different resiliences, the resilience of the thickness may be modified. By abutted connection of mats with different resiliences, different levels of protection may be provided to different parts of the body with different sensitivities.

[0043] The three-dimensional mat comprised in the garment article according to the present application, be it a single mat or as a part of a stack, may comprise three-dimensional structures which are arranged in parallel columns and / or rows. It is important to notice that the mentioned structures are not formed by the fibers themselves but by the multiple of fibers which form the mat. The three-dimensional structures may be seen as kind of an envelope or contour of the fibers forming the three-dimensional mat and thus make the three-dimensional mat a profiled three-dimensional mat. The three-dimensional mat may comprise hills and valleys, hemispheres, positive and / or negative cuspates, cups and / or waffles, pyramids, U-grooves, V-grooves, cones, truncated cones, hexagon, chevron-like, tetraeders, domes, pyramids, truncated pyramids and / or cylinders capped with a hemisphere. In an embodiment, the mentioned structures are arranged in rows or columns in the three-dimensional mat. V-grooves and U-grooves may extend over a whole row or column such that a row or column may be interpreted as a wave crest and the trench separating two rows from each other may be interpreted as a wave trough.

[0044] In an embodiment, the fibers of the three-dimensional mat and the upper material are formed from polymers of the same polymer family. Throughout the present application, a polymer family is a group of polymers which are formed from chemically similar monomers. Examples for polymer families are polyolefins, polyamides or polyesters.

[0045] Polymers from the same polymer family have the advantage that they can be depolymerized using the same technique and that depolymerization yields a manageable mix of monomers that can easily be separated by e.g. distillation to form new polymers thereof to recycle them properly. Furthermore, polymers of the same polymer family can also often easily be connected by thermal fusion and even be fused together in recycling processes which do not necessitate depolymerization. Thus, with the three-dimensional mat and the upper material comprising polymers from the same polymer family, the garment article becomes easier to recycle than a garment article according to the prior art.

[0046] Recycling is further simplified if the upper material and the three-dimensional mat are made from the same polymer. In an embodiment, also direct re-use without any chemical or physical transformation is possible which means that e.g. three-dimensional mats are taken from used garments and become part of new ones. This is of special interest e.g. for stage clothes or fancy dresses for the occasion of e.g. carnival as in such cases, the garment of often short-lived and needs to be replaced by different garments at a high frequency. On the other hand, such garment is often tailor-made and thus, an individual processing and thus also recycling is possible.

[0047] Direct re-use of the three-dimensional mat in garment according to the present application is simplified by the fact that - in contrast to e.g. foam - the three-dimensional mat can easily be cleaned and dried and thus be transferred into a state where it is close to new. This makes direct re-use of the three-dimensional mat even possible by the user which means that a garment according to the present application does not have to be returned to a manufacturer or processor but the mats can directly be moved from an old garment to a new one.

[0048] Especially for the ease of recycling, the whole garment article may be made of polymers from the same polymer family or even of the same polymer such as e.g. polyethylene terephthalate or polyamide-6.6. In such case, the garment article can easily be recycled by melting the polymer and giving it a new form. This is of special importance e.g. for fancy dresses and / or costumes which are often short-lived and may be disposed after the end of a carnival season, the season of a theater or the production of a movie.

[0049] The garment article according to the application may be any garment article known to the person skilled in the art which has any part with a voluminous appearance. In an embodiment, the garment article is a voluminous skirt such as a hoop skirt or a petticoat. In an embodiment, the garment article is a jacket, a suit jacket, a blazer, a coat, a tail coat, an overall, a bodywarmer, a slipover or a sweater which comprises shoulder pads as voluminous parts. In an embodiment, the garment article is a bra with voluminous cups such as a push-up bra (e.g. known under the brand name "wonder bra"). In an embodiment, the garment article may be briefs, boxers or pants equipped with a packer. A packer is a phallic object worn within the clothes by trans men to imitate male genitals.

[0050] The present application further pertains to the use of at least one three-dimensional mat of randomly oriented fibers to make the appearance of a garment article more voluminous.

Claims

1. A garment article comprising at least one upper material with the upper material at least in part covering at least one piece of a three-dimensional material characterized in that the piece of three-dimensional material is a three-dimensional mat of randomly oriented fibers.

2. The garment article according to claim 1 wherein the three-dimensional mat comprises, preferably consists of, thermoplastic fibers.

3. The garment article of claim 2 wherein the thermoplastic fibers comprise a polyolefin such as polyethylene or polypropylene, a polyamide such a polyamide-6, polyamide-6,6, polyamide-11, polyamide-4,10, a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), or a thermoplastic elastomer such as polyether block amide.

4. The garment article according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the thermoplastic fibers are welded where they cross.

5. The garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the randomly oriented fibers are macroscopic fibers.

6. The garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the three-dimensional mat comprises an open space of at least 50 Vol.-%, preferably at least 80 Vol.-%, more preferably 90 Vol.-% and even more preferred at least 95 Vol.-%.

7. The garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the garment article comprises more than one three-dimensional mats, the three-dimensional mats preferably forming a stack.

8. The garment article of any one or more of the previous claims wherein the three-dimensional mat comprises three-dimensional structures which are arranged in parallel columns and / or rows.

9. The garment article of claim 8 wherein the three-dimensional structures comprise hemispheres, domes, pyramids, truncated pyramids, cones, truncated cones, cylinders, tetraeders, wave-like, hexagon, chevron-like, V-groove or U-groove structures or any combination thereof.

10. Garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the randomly oriented fibers and the upper material are formed from a polymer of the same polymer family, preferably from the same polymer.

11. Garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the whole garment article is formed from polymers from the same polymer family, preferably from the same polymer.

12. Garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the garment article is a fancy dress or a part thereof, a petticoat, a hoop skirt, a shoulder pad or a bra cup.

13. The garment article according to any one or more of the previous claims wherein the garment article comprises more than one three-dimensional mat.

14. Use of a three-dimensional mat of randomly oriented fibers to make the appearance of a garment article more voluminous.

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