Spacer Textile Apertures for Cooling Without Skin Cling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional athletic textiles fail to provide adequate cooling, especially under moist conditions, due to inadequate air circulation and cling to the skin, which obstructs airflow and reduces breathability.
Innovation Solution
A knit spacer textile with integrally formed, larger apertures extending from one surface to another, combined with controlled stiffness and drape, to maintain airflow and breathability even when wet, promoting convective and evaporative cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional athletic textiles are used to promote air flow, then air circulation is improved, but the textiles cling to the skin and obstruct airflow when wet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a three-dimensional spacer structure with through-apertures that extend from one surface of the textile to the other. This dimensional change creates continuous air pathways through the fabric thickness, allowing air to flow through the material rather than just along the surface, thereby maintaining breathability even when the textile contacts the skin.
Solution Approach 2:
The textile incorporates through-apertures that create a porous structure extending through the entire fabric thickness. These apertures maintain open pathways for air circulation even when the textile becomes wet or contacts the skin, preventing the obstruction problem associated with conventional dense athletic fabrics.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If textile structure is made denser to reduce skin contact, then cling is reduced, but air circulation and breathability are decreased
Solution Approach 1:
By creating through-apertures that extend through the textile thickness, the patent enables air to travel in the third dimension through the fabric rather than being restricted to surface-level flow. This maintains high air flow speed without requiring a loose, skin-contacting structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The textile is segmented into multiple layers with through-apertures creating discrete air pathways. This segmentation allows the fabric to maintain structural integrity and reduce skin cling while preserving dedicated channels for air circulation.
3Temperature
If conventional textile features are used for cooling, then fast-drying and air flow are promoted, but adequate cooling is not achieved in certain environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The through-aperture porous structure enables consistent air circulation through the textile regardless of environmental humidity or moisture conditions. This maintains effective convective cooling and evaporative cooling mechanisms across varying environmental conditions, overcoming the limitations of conventional athletic textiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous through-apertures ensure uninterrupted air flow pathways through the textile, maintaining consistent cooling performance. This continuous air exchange mechanism operates effectively across different environmental conditions, providing reliable thermal regulation.
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
Enhances airflow and breathability by allowing continuous air exchange, reducing cling to the skin, and facilitating both convective and evaporative cooling, even under varying environmental conditions.
Implementation Method 1
promoting convective and evaporative cooling
Implementation Method 2
promoting convective and evaporative cooling
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects herein are directed to textile that includes a first layer formed from a first plurality of yarns or fibers. The first layer includes a first set of apertures, each aperture having a first opening size. The textile further includes a second layer formed from a second plurality of yarns or fibers. The second layer includes a second set of apertures. Each aperture in the second set of apertures is axially aligned with a corresponding aperture in the first set of apertures. Each aperture in the second set of apertures has a second opening size that is smaller than the first opening size of apertures in the first set of apertures. The first layer is relatively more hydrophilic than the second layer.