Loose Plastic Particle Insulation for Sports Garments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sports garments require improved thermal insulation, water resistance, and odor resistance, while being easy to clean and maintaining shape after washing, which existing designs fail to achieve effectively.
Innovation Solution
A two-layer garment design with loosely arranged expanded plastic particles of thermoplastic materials in spherical or elliptical shapes within lamellar pockets, combined with a non-woven synthetic wadding material, providing visible insulation and distributed for optimal thermal retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional down or polyester padding is used for thermal insulation, then the garment provides insulation, but it absorbs water and sweat, leading to weight gain, loss of insulation properties, and difficulty in drying
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses expanded plastic particles with a porous structure that provides thermal insulation through trapped air pockets while the hydrophobic nature of the plastic material prevents water absorption. The particles maintain their insulating properties even when exposed to moisture, solving the contradiction between insulation and water absorption.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines expanded plastic particles with a hydrophobic coating or treatment to create a composite filling material that enhances both thermal insulation and water resistance. This composite approach allows the garment to maintain insulation properties while minimizing water and sweat absorption.
2Temperature
If traditional padding materials are used, then the garment provides insulation, but it absorbs odors from sweat and is difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The expanded plastic particles have a closed-cell porous structure that prevents odor-causing bacteria and sweat from penetrating into the filling material. This structure allows thermal insulation through air trapping while blocking the absorption of odors, resolving the contradiction between insulation and odor resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydrophobic and odor-resistant properties of the plastic particles allow the garment to be easily cleaned and reused without degradation of insulation properties, effectively making the filling material resistant to cumulative odor buildup that occurs with traditional materials.
3Volume of moving object
If compressed insulation materials are used to reduce garment bulk, then the garment becomes more compact, but the thermal insulation properties are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The expanded plastic particles maintain their porous structure and trapped air pockets even under compression, allowing the garment to be compressed for storage or transport while retaining thermal insulation properties. The particles resist permanent deformation, solving the contradiction between compressibility and insulation maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The filling material dynamically adapts to compression forces by redistributing particles while maintaining overall insulation capacity. When compressed, the particles shift but retain their air-trapping ability, and when released, they return to their original insulation-providing configuration.
4Temperature
If natural down is used for insulation, then the garment provides excellent thermal insulation, but it is difficult to clean and loses insulation properties when wet
Solution Approach 1:
The expanded plastic particles feature a hydrophobic porous structure that repels water and sweat, preventing the filling material from becoming saturated like natural down. This allows the garment to be easily washed and dried without loss of insulation properties, resolving the contradiction between insulation performance and ease of cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The synthetic plastic particles are inherently more resistant to degradation from washing and drying processes compared to natural down, making the garment easier to maintain and clean repeatedly without compromising insulation performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution offers superior thermal insulation, quick drying, resistance to odor and water, and maintains shape after compression, outperforming traditional down or polyester padding in terms of insulation and sustainability.
Implementation Method 1
the plastic particles consist of expanded (foamed) plastic material... provides superior thermal insulation
Implementation Method 2
resistance to odor and water, and maintains shape after compression... thermoplastic polyolefin
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a garment (1), especially to a sports garment, comprising a substrate (2) which covers a part of the body of the wearer of the garment (1). To provide a garment of the generic type which has good thermal insulation properties and which is especially suitable for sports the invention proposes that the substrate (2) is at least partially designed as an at least two-layer arrangement, wherein an inner layer (3) is facing the body of the wearer and an outer layer (4) is delimiting the outside of the garment (1), wherein the two layers (3, 4) form a pocket (5) which is filled with a filling material (6) and wherein the filling material (6) are at least partially plastic particles which are arranged loosely in the pocket (5).