MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION PROCESS OF A TEXTILE ARTICLE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the textile field, and more particularly concerns the manufacture of a fabric for making a textile article such as clothing for example.

[0002] Traditionally, when making a textile item (such as a garment for example), the pattern of the pieces of the textile item is created, then the pieces of the textile item are cut out of a fabric, then the pieces of fabric are assembled together (usually by sewing) to obtain the textile item.

[0003] During use of the garment, certain areas of the garment often endure specific stresses that are different from the stresses experienced by other areas of the garment.

[0004] For example, areas of clothing may be subject to increased friction, such as the shoulders of a ski jacket where the user will place their skis for carrying. Areas of increased friction may also result from the performance of a specific task carried out by an operator on an industrial production line.

[0005] Other areas of the garment may require a different surface mass or stiffness, to better limit or promote the wearer's movements or to give the garment an aesthetically different fit.

[0006] Other areas of the garment may require increased permeability, for example because they are located in areas where the user's body is most likely to perspire, while other areas of the garment will need to have less permeability, to limit the cooling of a part of the user's body by the too easy entry of an air flow, for example.

[0007] To meet these different constraints, garment pieces are traditionally cut from several fabrics with different predetermined technical properties. It is thus possible to give garments surface areas with different predetermined technical properties in order to meet the intended use of the garment.

[0008] Such a known manufacturing process generates numerous losses (offcuts) in the fabrics used, requires having a stock of several suitable fabrics, and requires a fairly long assembly time by sewing.

[0009] Document EP 1 081 261 A1 describes the manufacture of a garment (in this case, a pair of panties) by Jacquard knitting by drawing the contours of said garment in a transverse strip of fabric. The garment further comprises several areas with different Jacquard bindings which are adjacent according to the width and length of the knitted fabric. However, when knitting a fabric, it is only possible to give a predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length across the entire width of said knitted fabric. Being adjacent according to the width of the knitted fabric, the areas with different Jacquard bindings have a different number of rows of stitches per unit length after knitting depending on the chosen scale.

[0010] US 4430870 A mentions the production of a fabric comprising at least two longitudinal sections having different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length.

[0011] WO 2014 / 193892 A1 describes the manufacture of a shoe slipper by knitting. Here again, adjacent areas along the width of the knitted fabric and having different patterns necessarily have the same predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length during knitting.

[0012] A problem proposed by the present invention is to simplify and accelerate the manufacture of a textile article, such as a garment in particular, comprising at least two surface areas with different predetermined technical properties.

[0013] To achieve these and other objects, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a method of manufacturing a fabric for making a textile article, comprising the following steps: a) creating a pattern of the piece shapes of the textile article by defining at least two surface areas with different predetermined technical properties, b) carrying out a placement of at least part of the piece shapes of the textile article on a placement area having a width less than or equal to a predetermined width of fabrics achievable by a fabric manufacturing machine, by arranging at least one piece shape of the textile article so that it extends in several distinct transverse bands of the placement, c) manufacturing at least one non-running knitted fabric using the fabric manufacturing machine, said fabric having a width greater than or equal to the width of the placement area and comprising longitudinal sections corresponding to the transverse bands of the placement, and in which: each longitudinal section has a predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length,at least two longitudinal sections have different predetermined numbers of rows of mesh per unit length.

[0014] This produces a fabric made from a single piece of unravelable knit (e.g. warp knit or Raschel knit), comprising at least two longitudinal sections with different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length. The longitudinal sections follow one another continuously (same constituent threads) throughout the fabric. The predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length make it possible to confer different predetermined technical properties to the longitudinal sections of the fabric, and therefore to the pieces that will be cut from these longitudinal sections.

[0015] Said at least one piece of textile article (such as a garment for example), cut from the fabric and corresponding to the shape of the piece arranged in transverse bands distinct from the placement, is manufactured in a single piece but provided with two adjacent and continuous surface areas (with the same constituent threads, without connection by sewing or gluing between them) with different predetermined technical properties due to their predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit of length which are different from each other. This avoids having to resort to assembling two pieces (or pieces) of different fabrics to obtain said piece, which limits fabric losses and assembly operations.

[0016] A textile article can then be manufactured comprising at least one piece of fabric made from a single piece of non-running knit, said piece comprising a first surface area and a second surface area adjacent to different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit of length (therefore with different predetermined technical properties).

[0017] Finally, since it is a non-running knitted fabric, it has increased resistance to unravelling, and its production speed is higher than that of a fabric obtained by weaving.

[0018] Preferably, in step b), all the shapes of the piece of the textile article are placed. All the pieces of the textile article will thus be cut from the fabric produced in step c). A single fabric is thus cut to obtain pieces with different predetermined technical properties, unlike known processes where it was necessary to have a particular fabric for each desired predetermined technical property.

[0019] Advantageously, the manufacturing machine can perform knitting by Jacquard binding. Jacquard binding allows yarn-by-yarn control to provide fabric areas with different binding patterns providing different aesthetic appearance characteristics or different technical characteristics (with more or less openwork areas for example).

[0020] Preferably, areas of different Jacquard bonds may be provided in a single longitudinal section of the fabric to better correspond to the different predetermined technical properties desired.

[0021] Advantageously, in a subsequent step, a membrane can be applied to at least one side of the fabric. This membrane can add technical properties to the fabric, as reinforcement or in addition to the different predetermined technical properties obtained by the different mesh densities. Said membrane can be fixed to the fabric by lamination, for example. In particular, a waterproofing and / or breathability membrane, or even thermal insulation, can be provided.

[0022] Preferably, in a later step, certain areas of the fabric can be coated. This coating can be done, for example, with neoprene. This coating can also be done with microporous polyurethane to allow water vapor to pass through better.

[0023] Advantageously, the manufacturing machine can be a Raschel loom. Such a machine, which can be obtained from KARL MAYER Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH for example, makes it quite easy to vary the predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length of the fabric to be manufactured. The variation of the predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length can be achieved by varying the rotation speed of the beam and / or varying the speed of the drum winding the knitted fabric.

[0024] Preferably, a conformable yarn can be added passing through the loops of certain rows of stitches. Pieces of the fabric can then be shaped into a desired shape (for example, ergonomic). The conformable yarn can be a thermoformable yarn, the shaping of the piece then being done by heating and pressing against a shaping die.

[0025] According to a second aspect, the invention proposes a method for manufacturing a textile article, comprising the following steps: A) providing at least one non-run-resistant knitted fabric, said fabric extending along a length and a width and comprising longitudinal sections, and wherein: each longitudinal section has a predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length, at least two longitudinal sections have different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length, B) cutting at least one piece along a contour extending in several distinct longitudinal sections of the fabric, so as to obtain a single piece of non-run-resistant knitted fabric, comprising a first surface area and a second surface area adjacent to each other and with different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length, C) assembling said at least one piece of fabric with other pieces to form the textile article.

[0026] In such a process, a piece of textile article is obtained made from a single piece of unravelable knit, which piece comprises a first surface area and a second adjacent surface area with different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length (therefore with different predetermined technical properties). This avoids having to assemble two pieces (or pieces) of different fabrics to obtain said piece, which limits fabric losses and assembly operations during the manufacture of the textile article.

[0027] The fabric cut during this process of making a textile article can be obtained by the process of manufacturing a fabric as described above.

[0028] The manufacturing method therefore provides a textile article comprising a piece of fabric made from a single piece of unravelable knit, said piece comprising a first surface area and a second surface area adjacent to each other and with different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit of length. The binding of the unravelable knit may advantageously be a Jacquard binding.

[0029] Said textile article may be an item of clothing (a jacket to cover a user's trunk for example), a bag or a glove for example.

[0030] Other objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the following description of particular embodiments, made in relation to the attached figures, among which: there figure 1 is a schematic top view of a pattern of the pieces of a textile article of clothing type; the figure 2 is a schematic top view of a placement of the pieces of the figure 1 ; there figure 3 is a schematic top view of a fabric made to obtain the pieces of the figure 1 ; and the figure 4 is a schematic top view of some pieces of a textile article of the clothing type, obtained by cutting the fabric of the figure 3 .

[0031] On the figures 1 à 4 are schematically illustrated steps a) to c) of a method for manufacturing an example of a textile article of clothing type according to a particular embodiment of the present invention. Steps a) to c) are successive in time.

[0032] On the figure 1 a step a) is illustrated during which the pattern P of the piece shapes 1 to 23 of a garment is created. The pattern P consists of the set constituted by the piece shapes 1 to 23. By their assembly, the pieces corresponding to the shapes 1 to 23 can form a garment conforming to a desired aesthetic and use.

[0033] A person skilled in the art will recognize from their shapes that the piece shapes 4 to 7 are the contours of pieces of clothing intended to form at least part of the sleeves of the clothing.

[0034] In the context of the projected garment, illustrated as an example, it is desired that the parts of the garment covering the top of the shoulders, the neck area and the chest of the user have increased resistance to abrasion or reduced permeability than the parts of the garment covering the lower front of the torso and the back of the user. We have therefore defined at least two surface areas of the garment to be obtained whose technical properties differ.

[0035] To do this, a single piece 1 is provided to cover the top of the shoulders, the area around the neck and the front and back of the user's torso. More specifically, surface areas 1a and 1b are intended to cover the back of the user's torso, from approximately the bottom of the shoulder blades to approximately above the kidneys. Surface area 1c is intended to cover the top of the shoulders (on the front and back of the torso), the area around the neck and the user's chest. Finally, surface areas 1d and 1e are intended to cover the bottom of the front of the user's torso. It can be guessed that the front of the user's torso will be covered by piece 1 by joining the straight edges 1d1 and 1e1 by means of a closure (so-called "zipper" or buttonhole closure for example).

[0036] In step b) illustrated on the figure 2 , a placement PL of at least a portion of the piece shapes 1 to 23 of the garment is carried out on a placement area AP. The placement area AP has a generally rectangular shape comprising a width L1 less than or equal to a predetermined width L2 of a fabric E ( figure 3 ) can be made using a fabric manufacturing machine available (Raschel loom in particular). The placement area AP extends along a length L3.

[0037] When carrying out the PL placement of the figure 2 , we place all the piece shapes 1 to 23 constituting the projected garment. In other words, we carry out a placement of the complete pattern P of the projected garment on the placement area AP.

[0038] It is noted that piece shape 1 is placed in a very particular way. In this case, it is placed across four distinct transverse strips BT1 to BT4. Surface area 1a of piece shape 1 is placed in transverse strip BT1, surface area 1b of piece shape 1 is placed in transverse strip BT2, surface area 1c of piece shape 1 is placed in transverse strip BT3, and surface areas 1d and 1e of piece shape 1 are placed in transverse strip BT4.

[0039] In step c), a fabric E is manufactured in a non-running knit (warp knit or Raschel knit for example) using a suitable manufacturing machine (Raschel loom in particular), said fabric E having a width L2 greater than or equal to the width L1 of the placement area AP. The length L4 of the fabric E is also greater than or equal to the length L3 of the placement area AP.

[0040] During its manufacture, fabric E is knitted so as to include longitudinal sections TL1 to TL4 corresponding to the transverse bands BT1 to BT4 of the PL placement.

[0041] These longitudinal sections TL1 to TL4 each have a predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length (in other words a predetermined respective knitting density d1, d2, d3 or d4).

[0042] To confer different specific technical properties to the surface areas 1a to 1e of piece 1 (which will be cut from fabric E), the knitting densities of the longitudinal sections TL1 to TL4 were specifically chosen.

[0043] In this case, a constant density of 20 stitches per centimeter was chosen in the longitudinal section TL1, 30 stitches per centimeter in the longitudinal section TL3, and 25 stitches per centimeter in the longitudinal section TL4. The longitudinal section TL2 has a knitting density varying continuously between 20 stitches per centimeter at its junction with the longitudinal section TL1 and 30 stitches per centimeter at its junction with the longitudinal section TL3.

[0044] On the fabric E of the figure 3 , we notice that different areas A1 to A16 have been provided. These areas A1 to A16 are areas in which, during manufacturing by knitting, a specific Jacquard binding was carried out.

[0045] For example, a first Jacquard binding was carried out in areas A1, A3, A7, A9 to A11 and A14, a second different Jacquard binding in areas A2, A6, A8 and A12, a third different Jacquard binding in areas A4, A5 and A16, and a fourth different Jacquard binding in areas A13 and A15.

[0046] These different Jacquard bindings also make it possible to give certain surface areas of the pieces predetermined technical properties or predetermined aesthetic appearance properties.

[0047] After fabric E has been manufactured, pieces 1' to 23' of the projected garment are cut from fabric E, these then being cut from fabric E according to the contours defined by the placement PL ( figure 2 ). In other words, pieces 1' to 23' are cut from fabric E, corresponding to the shapes of pieces 1 to 23 (both in terms of geometric shapes and relative positions on the placement or fabric).

[0048] On the figure 4 some of the pieces 1' to 23' are illustrated, namely pieces 1', and 4' to 7'.

[0049] It results that in piece 1' which is obtained: surface area 1a' will have a density d1 of 20 meshes per centimeter to allow the user's perspiration to pass through more easily; surface area 1b' will have a density d2 varying continuously between 20 and 30 meshes (according to a gradient) per centimeter to allow progressively less perspiration to pass through; surface area 1c' will have a density d3 of 30 meshes per centimeter to provide increased resistance to abrasion; surface areas 1d' and 1e' will have a density d4 of 25 meshes per centimeter for a compromise between permeability for the passage of perspiration, and resistance to abrasion.

[0050] It also results that in the pieces 4' to 7' which are obtained: surface areas 1b' and 4a' to 7a', having the same density varying between 20 and 30 stitches per centimeter, are intended to cover respectively the upper back and partly the arms of the user; surface areas 1a' and 4b' to 7b', having the same constant density of 20 stitches per centimeter, are intended to cover respectively the lower back and predominantly the forearms of the user.

[0051] Surface areas 4a' and 6a' have the Jacquard pattern of area A15, surface areas 5a' and 7a' have the Jacquard pattern of area A13, surface areas 1a' and 1b' have the Jacquard pattern of area A14, while surface areas 4b' to 7b' have the Jacquard pattern of area A16.

[0052] The other pieces 2', 3' and 8' to 23' (not shown on the figure 4so as not to complicate it unnecessarily) have a constant number of stitches per centimeter, depending on the transverse strip BT1, BT3 or BT4 of the PL placement in which they were planned, and therefore depending on the longitudinal section TL1, TL3 or TL4 of the fabric E from which they are cut.

[0053] The pieces 1' to 23' are then assembled together to form the intended garment. The pieces 1' to 23' may be used to form the outer layer of the garment and / or to form the inner layer of the garment. The garment may thus comprise pieces resulting from the cutting of one or more fabrics according to the present invention.

[0054] Note that, prior to cutting pieces 1' to 23' from fabric E, a membrane can be applied to at least one side of fabric E. Certain areas of the fabric can also be coated.

[0055] It is also possible to add a conformable thread (especially thermoformable) passing through the loops of certain rows of stitches in fabric E. Pieces 1' to 23' cut from fabric E can thus be shaped into a desired shape (for example, more suited to the user's ergonomics).

[0056] Although the present invention has been explained in connection with the manufacture of a textile article which is a jacket, it is applicable for the manufacture of other textile articles, in particular gloves and bags for example.

[0057] In the case of a glove, it is thus possible to provide a lower face (intended to cover the palm of the hand) or an upper face (intended to cover the back of the hand) with at least one zone with a very high predetermined number of rows of mesh per unit length to resist abrasion, while other zones will have a lower predetermined number of rows of mesh per unit length to provide increased permeability.

[0058] In the case of a bag, it is thus possible to provide a bottom wall with a very high predetermined number of rows of mesh per unit of length to resist abrasion (in particular by contact with the ground), which bottom wall is formed from a single piece with at least part of the side wall which can have a lower predetermined number of rows of mesh per unit of length (in particular because it is less exposed to abrasion).

[0059] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been explicitly described, but it includes the various variations and generalizations contained within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. Method for manufacturing a fabric (E) for making a textile article, having the following steps: a) creating a pattern (P) of the pattern pieces (1-23) of the textile article by defining at least two surface regions (1a-1e) with different predetermined technical properties, b) producing a marker (PL) of at least some of the pattern pieces (1-23) of the textile article on a marker area (AP) having a width (L1) that is smaller than or equal to a predetermined width (L2) of fabrics that can be produced by a fabric manufacturing machine, by arranging at least one pattern piece (1, 4-7) of the textile article such that it extends within a plurality of distinct transverse bands (BT1-BT4) of the marker, c) manufacturing at least one fabric (E) made from a run-proof knit using the fabric manufacturing machine, said fabric (E) having a width (L2) that is greater than or equal to the width (L1) of the marker area (AP) and having longitudinal portions (TL1-TL4) corresponding to the transverse bands (BT1-BT4) of the marker (PL), and wherein: - each longitudinal portion (TL1-TL4) has a predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length, - at least two longitudinal portions (TL1-TL4) have different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length.

2. Manufacturing method according to Claim 1, characterized in that, in step b), a marker (PL) is produced for all of the pattern pieces (1-23) of the textile article.

3. Manufacturing method according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the manufacturing machine creates a Jacquard-woven knit.

4. Manufacturing method according to Claim 3, characterized in that areas with different Jacquard weaves are defined in one longitudinal portion (TL1-TL4).

5. Manufacturing method according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, in a subsequent step, a membrane is affixed to at least one face of the fabric (E).

6. Manufacturing method according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in a subsequent step, a coating is applied to certain regions of the fabric (E).

7. Manufacturing method according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the manufacturing machine is a Raschel machine.

8. Manufacturing method according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a conformable thread that passes through the loops of certain rows of stitches is added.

9. Method for making a textile article, having the following steps: A) providing at least one fabric (E) made from a run-proof knit, said fabric (E) extending along a length (L4) and a width (L2) and having longitudinal portions (TL1-TL4), and wherein: - each longitudinal portion (TL1-TL4) has a predetermined number of rows of stitches per unit length, - at least two longitudinal portions (TL1-TL4) have different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length, B) cutting at least one piece (1', 4'-7') along a contour extending within a plurality of distinct longitudinal portions (TL1-TL4) of the fabric (E), so as to obtain an integral piece (1', 4'-7') made from a run-proof knit, comprising a first surface region (1a'-1e', 4a'-7a') and a second surface region (1a'-1e', 4b'-7b'), which are adjacent to one another and have different predetermined numbers of rows of stitches per unit length, C) assembling said at least one piece (1', 4'-7') of fabric (E) with other pieces in order to form the textile article.