Method and apparatus for applying ornamentation to a garment

Abstract

A method of applying ornamentation to a garment (1000) The method comprises the steps of providing a garment (1000) constructed from a material, the garment comprising at least one feature (1104) having a thickness greater than the garment material. A garment support (1100) is also provided, the garment support comprising a compressible layer of support material. The garment support is inserted into the garment such that the at least one feature is supported by the garment support and ornamentation is applied to the garment by application of pressure (F) such that the at least one feature locally deforms the garment support material.

Description

Method and apparatus for applying ornamentation to a garmentTechnical Field

[0001] The present application is concerned with a method and apparatus for application of ornamentation to a garment. More specifically, the present application is concerned with a method of, and apparatus for, dye sublimation of a pattern onto a pre-manufactured garment having irregular features.Background Art

[0002] Ornamentation is applied to garments for a number of reasons. Such ornamentation may be for purposes of fashion, or for more practical reasons such as the application of patterns, colourways, text and logos to garments for sports. Such patterns and colourways both differentiate teams and identify individual players. Typically, several members of a team will wear identical shirts adorned with patterns, sponsor logos and a team logo as well as text identifying the player by name and number. Such garments are not only worn by players, but also by supporters of the team in question. Therefore, there is a need for both mass production and individual customisation.

[0003] Traditionally, sports shirts are constructed from coloured and patterned fabrics on which ornamentation is applied. For example, a shirt may be constructed from a coloured fabric upon which logos and text may be applied in the form of a heat transfer vinyl (HTV) material. HTVs are printed with colours and patterns and adhered to the shirt material with the application of heat.

[0004] A drawback of this technique is that it the vinyl material is overlaid onto the shirt material, and inevitably has different properties such as drape coefficient, thermal properties and so on that can detrimentally affect appearance and comfort. Further, application of vinyl can also cause problems for the recyclability of such shirts.

[0005] Another technique is known as direct to garment ("DTG") printing. This uses a modified inkjet printer to apply ink to the outer surface of a garment. Drawbacks of DTG include its suitability for natural fibres only, and many garments (particularly sports garments) are constructed from synthetic polymeric materials. DTG also requires pretreatment of the material by pressing, and for the garment to be held very still during the lengthy printing process. Further, commercial DTG printers are expensive to purchase. Inaddition, the fabric must be flat and have no raised features due to the print moving above the fabric and platen. It is not possible to DTG print over or directly adjacent to seams.

[0006] Directto film (DTP) printing is a relatively new technology in which ornamentation is printed onto a polymer film to form a transfer. The transfer is then coated with an adhesive and the pattern applied to the fabric with heat. A drawback of DTP is that ultimately it is a layers of ink adhered to the underlying fabric, which may become damaged or peel over time and with use and washing. In addition, DTP is not able to stop bleedthrough from dye sublimated fabrics through the print, and also with certain colours of garment dye bleed.

[0007] The bulk patterning and colouring of shirt material is often achieved with a technique called dye sublimation. Dye sublimation is carried out by depositing a dye onto a special transfer medium (sublimation paper). The patterned paper is placed in direct contact with the material (in sheet form prior to shirt manufacture) and heated such that the dye sublimates to a gas, and back to a solid when contacting the material. As such, the material is dyed. The benefits of this technique are that the dying of the material is permanent- there is no risk of peeling or degradation during use and washing. Further, it does not change the properties of the material. Finally, the underlying material (if recyclable) remains recyclable. A drawback of dye sublimation is that it is only useful for perfectly flat areas of material. The presence of seams or any other three-dimensional features will cause defects in the patterning process. It is therefore only used on bulk roll material in a 'cut and sew' method, or flat regions of garments (such as front / back panels).

[0008] For the purposes of this application, the term "dye sublimation" will be used as a term of art, despite the fact that "dye diffusion" is more accurate due to the fact that the dye does, in fact, undergo a brief liquid phase transition.

[0009] The net result of these many techniques is that producing a typically e.g., football shirt can require many processes, and typically the available colourways are limited by what the shirt manufacturer can produce economically and sustainably before it is passed to a shirt customisation company to apply the required logos, text etc.

[0010] It is an aim of the present invention to overcome, or mitigate, the problems with the prior art.Summary of Invention

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of applying ornamentation to a garment, the method comprising the steps of: providing a garment comprising at least one feature having a thickness greaterthan the garment material; providing a garment support, the garment support comprising a compressible layer of material and being flexible to enable insertion into the garment; inserting the garment support into the garment such that the at least one feature is supported by the garment support; applying ornamentation to the garment by application of pressure such that the at least one feature locally deforms the garment support.

[0012] Advantageously the present invention allows the three-dimensional features of the garment to be compressed into the support, thus presenting a flat surface for application of ornamentation and thus reducing or eliminating defects. The invention therefore allows printing to occur across a 3D feature such as a seam between two adjacent panels of printable or dyable material. By "printable or dyable material" we mean material that is configured to receive ornamentation- for example with dye sublimation the material should be of a type that will accept the dye.

[0013] The invention also facilitates the use of dye sublimation to apply any ornamentation to a shirt where previously elements like vinyl would have been applied. This means that the garment remains fully recyclable, and unlike shirts with transfers applied will not need to be disposed of in landfill. The invention therefore has a strong environmental benefit.

[0014] Preferably the compressible material is in direct contact with the garment material at the least one feature. In other words, no layers of material such as coatings, covers etc. are provided between the compressible garment support material and the garment. Advantageously, this allows the material to locally deform, whereas provision of a layer of material capable of supporting lateral tension would act to spread the deformation which would be less effective.

[0015] Preferably the garment support is shaped to at least part of the shape of the garment. More preferably it is in the same general shape of the garment. In other words it is homothetic with the garment. For example, for shirts, the garment support has a torso and arm regions. For shorts, the garment support has a hip / waist region and leg regions. In other words, the garment support is irregular and has an outline that follows the outline of the garment, in particular in areas where the garment is curved, has corners or forms a shape other than a regular polygon. The garment support may have an outline in the shape of part of a human body, for example, with a torso portion and a limb portion projecting from the torso portion, where the limb portion has a width less than the main portion, and is at a non-zero angle to the main portion.

[0016] In one embodiment, the garment material has elastic properties allowing it to stretch resiliently, and wherein the garment support is sized to stretch the garment material when inserted. Advantageously, this acts to flatten the material for better application of the ornamentation. In other embodiments, some materials may not have any extensible properties, and in this instance the insert simply holds the material under tension without extending it.

[0017] Preferably the step of applying ornamentation comprises dye sublimation. Although the present invention can be used with any type of application of ornamentation, it is best suited to dye sublimation due to the sensitivity of dye sublimation to out-of-plane features.

[0018] Preferably the support material comprises a foam material. Advantageously, foam is compressible but not very extensible, meaning that it will retain its shape under the resilient force of the garment elasticity, but will remain compressible normal to its own plane. Preferably the foam material is a open cell foam. Preferably the foam material is a foam that can withstand the heat of dye sublimation without changing its properties, for example silicone foam. Dye sublimation processes occur at up to 200 degrees C, and therefore the support material should be resistant to this temperature.

[0019] In one embodiment the garment support comprises a further layer of material different to the support material. Preferably the further layer of material is incompressible and flexible. For example, it may be cardboard. Preferably it is attached to the compressible material across substantially its entire surface. Provision of such a layer provides in-plane stiffness to the support, ensuring that its shape it retained in use. Flexibility is necessary to allow the support to be manipulated for insertion into the cavity of the garment.

[0020] In one embodiment the garment support comprises two layers of compressible support material either side of an intermediate further later of incompressible, flexible material.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for applying ornamentation to a garment, the apparatus comprising: a garment support comprising a compressible layer of support material for insertion into a garment; an ornamentation application press configured to apply ornamentation to a garment containing the garment support by application of pressure.

[0022] Preferably the garment support is shaped to at least part of the shape of a garment.

[0023] Preferably the garment support is in the same general shape of the garment.

[0024] The garment support may have a torso and arm regions. Alternatively it may have legs / leg parts such as shorts, It may also have a torso and arm / neck holes such as a basketball, running or training vest.

[0025] Preferably the ornamentation application press is a dye sublimation press.

[0026] Preferably the support material comprises a foam material.

[0027] Preferably the foam material is a open cell foam.

[0028] Preferably the form material is a silicone foam.

[0029] In one embodiment the garment support comprises a further layer of material different to the support material. Preferably the further layer of material is incompressible and flexible.

[0030] In one embodiment the garment support comprises two layers of compressible support material either side of an intermediate further later of incompressible, flexible material.Brief Description of Drawings

[0031] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the following figure in which:FIGURE 1 is a flow diagram of a first process in accordance with the present invention;FIGURE 2 is a diagram of a garment;FIGURE 3 is a diagram of a step in the process of Figure 1 ;FIGURE 4a is a cross-sectional view of a prior art step; and,FIGURE 4b is a cross-sectional view of a prior art step in the process of Figure 1 .Description of the first embodiment

[0032] A method 100 according to the present invention is shown in Figure 1 .

[0033] At step 102, a predetermined pattern is established in computer software for printing. The pattern may be designed to cover all exposed areas of a flattened garment, including the edge seams (at the neck, waist and arm openings), seams between regions of the garment (where the torso meets the arms) and other raised three-dimensional features such as embroidered logos and other details. The pattern is therefore in the shape of the garment.

[0034] At step 104, the predefined pattern of sublimation dye is transferred to a sheet of transfer medium ("sublimation paper") as is known in the art.

[0035] In a separate, parallel process, a garment 1000 is provided at step 106. In this embodiment, the garment 1000 is shown in Figure 2. The garment 1000 has edge seams 1002, seams 1004 where the torso meets the arms, and side panels and an embroidered logo 1006. All of these features are three-dimensional- specifically they provide a garment thickness that is thicker from the base material from which the garment is constructed. In this embodiment, the garment is constructed from a synthetic fabric such as polyester, elastane and similar polymer materials that are both durable but lightweight, are elastic and offer a degree of resilient stretch under tension.

[0036] At step 108, a garment support 1 100 is provided. The garment support 1 100 is shown in Figure 3. It is provided in the general shape of the garment 1000 having a torso portion 1 102 and sleeve portions 1 104. It is constructed from a through-thicknesscompressible material which in this embodiment is a open-cell foam 1 106 having cells 1 107. It has a constant thickness t (in the plane of the page) of 12mm (although other thicknesses are possible, from 5mm to 15 mm). In this embodiment, the foam is a silicone foam which offers a high degree of heat resistance to dye sublimation temperatures of around 200 degrees C..

[0037] At step 1 10 the garment support 1 100 is inserted into the garment 1000 to form a supported garment 1200. The garment support is sized such that the garment 1000 is stretched to be flat against the support. The support 1 100 projects from the garment openings as shown in Figure 3.

[0038] At step 1 12, the supported garment 1200 is moved to a dye sublimation press. At step 1 14 the transfer medium with predefined pattern is applied to the garment surface.

[0039] At step 1 16 the predefined pattern is dye sublimated onto the garment 1000 with the applicant of heat and pressure. Referring to Figure 4b, a close-up view of the process is shown from the side. The layers would ordinarily be in contact but are shown apart for clarity. The supported garment 1200 is shown with the garment 1000 layers either side of the garment support 1 104 within. A seam 1 104 is shown where two parts of the garment material overlap forming a three-dimensional feature having a thickness higher than the thickness of the garment material.

[0040] A dye sublimation apparatus 2000 comprising a platform / base 2002 and a head 2004 is shown. The head 2004 moves towards the base to apply a force F and heat H. The dye-containing sublimation paper 3000 is also shown.

[0041] Referring briefly to Figure 4a, a dye sublimation process is shown in which no support is present. A garment support is not provided. Pressure and heat are applied and defects will occur around the seam 1 104 due to its three dimensional nature.

[0042] Contrasting this with Figure 4b, the support 1 104 is locally deformable to receive the protrusion otherwise formed by the seam 1104, locally decreasing thickness from t to t'. In this way, the dye sublimation paper 3000 is presented onto a flatter surface of the garment 1000 including the seam, and defects are reduced or eliminated altogether.

[0043] At step 1 18, the supported garment 1200 is removed from the press.

[0044] At step 120, the garment support 1 100 is removed.

[0045] As well as the above method, the invention comprises the apparatus for carrying out the invention- specifically: a) An apparatus for carrying out a dye sublimation process by the application of pressure between two surfaces; and, b) A garment support configured to fill at least part of a garment and being constructed from a compressible material.Variations

[0046] As well as traditional overlock seams, the present invention is suitable for use with flatlock seams, and other features such as raised collars.

[0047] A soft material layer, e.g. shirt fabric or other compressible material may be provided over the foam.

[0048] The insert may be provided in a combined insert / heat press. In this embodiment, a heat press base is provided to the shape and size of the garment, and a layer of foam in the same shape applied to the base. The garment can then be placed over the bed (i.e. with the combined bed and insert inside the garment cavity) for the process.

[0049] The foam may be cut to fit inside of the garment shape without putting the garment under tension.

[0050] In a further embodiment, non-penetratable materials may be used on exposed foam to stop the dye migration of the transfer print onto the foam.

Claims

Claims1. A method of applying ornamentation to a garment, the method comprising the steps of: providing a garment constructed from a material, the garment comprising at least one seam between two adjacent sections of printable or dyable garment material; providing a garment support, the garment support provided in the shape of at least part of the garment, and comprising a compressible layer of support material; inserting the garment support into the garment such that the at least one seam is supported by the garment support; applying ornamentation to the two adjacent sections of garment material by application of pressure such that the at least one seam locally deforms the garment support material.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the compressible material is in direct contact with the garment material at the least one seam.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the garment support is in the same general shape of the garment.

4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the garment is a top.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the garment support is in the shape of a top with sleeves, or a vest without sleeves.

6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the garment support is sized to place the garment material under tension when inserted.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the garment material is elastic, and wherein the garment support is sized to stretch the garment material when inserted.

8. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the step of applying ornamentation comprises dye sublimation.

9. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the support material comprises a foam material.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the foam material is an open cell foam.1 1. A method according to claim 10, wherein the form material is a silicone foam.

12. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the garment support comprises a further layer of material different to the support material.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the further layer of material is incompressible and flexible.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the garment support comprises two layers of compressible support material either side of an intermediate further later of incompressible, flexible material.

15. An apparatus for applying ornamentation to a garment, the apparatus comprising: a garment support comprising a compressible layer of support material for insertion into a garment, the garment support being provided in the shape of at least part of the garment such that when inserted, the garment support supports at least one seam between two adjacent sections of printable or dyable garment material; an ornamentation application press configured to apply ornamentation to a garment containing the garment support by application of pressure.

16. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the garment support is in the same general shape of the garment.1 7. An apparatus according to any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the ornamentation application press is a dye sublimation press.

18. An apparatus according to any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the support material comprises a foam material.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the foam material is a open cell foam.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the form material is a silicone foam.

21. An apparatus according to any of claims 15 to 20, wherein the garment support comprises a further layer of material different to the support material.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21 , wherein the further layer of material is incompressible and flexible.

23. An apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the garment support comprises two layers of compressible support material either side of an intermediate further later of incompressible, flexible material.

Images