U.S. patent application number 13/580190 was filed with the patent office on 2012-12-13 for soft and elastic jacket.
This patent application is currently assigned to TORAY INDUSTRIES (H.K.) LIMITED. Invention is credited to Juan Liu, Tongjuan Liu, Masanari Murakami, Qingmei Ni, Toshiaki Shimizu.
Application Number | 20120311765 13/580190 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44462354 |
Filed Date | 2012-12-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120311765 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ni; Qingmei ; et
al. |
December 13, 2012 |
SOFT AND ELASTIC JACKET
Abstract
A soft and elastic jacket is provided. No less than 70 percent
of the body circumference of the soft and elastic jacket is
composed of an elastic weft knitted fabric, when the soft and
elastic jacket is in a motionless state without being worn. The
elastic weft knitted fabric is produced by knitting 5.about.15%
weight of elastic yarns with the rest of non-elastic yarns, and it
has a basis weight of 140.about.200 g/m.sup.2. The elastic weft
knitted fabric has a tightness index of not greater than 0.8 and a
recovery stress of 0.3.about.1.3 N at an elongation range of
30.about.80%. The respiratory quotient is not greater than 1.05,
when a person wearing the soft and elastic jacket exercises at an
intensity of less than 7 Mets and a body exercise amount of not
greater than 25 Metshr for an exercise time of less than 6 hrs. The
soft and elastic jacket has a clothing pressure of 0.6 kPa or less
in a motionless state, and 2.5 kPa or less in a motion state.
Inventors: |
Ni; Qingmei; (Nantong,
CN) ; Liu; Tongjuan; (Nantong, CN) ; Shimizu;
Toshiaki; (Otsu, JP) ; Liu; Juan; (Nantong,
CN) ; Murakami; Masanari; (Harbour City, CN) |
Assignee: |
TORAY INDUSTRIES (H.K.)
LIMITED
Harbour City, Howloon, Hong Kong
CN
TORAY FIBERS & TEXTILE RESEARCH LABORATORIES (CHIN) CO.,
LTD.
Nantong, Jiangsu
CN
|
Family ID: |
44462354 |
Appl. No.: |
13/580190 |
Filed: |
November 4, 2010 |
PCT Filed: |
November 4, 2010 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2010/078433 |
371 Date: |
August 21, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/93 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 13/0015 20130101;
D04B 1/18 20130101; A41D 31/18 20190201; A41D 2500/10 20130101;
D04B 1/246 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/93 |
International
Class: |
A41D 3/02 20060101
A41D003/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 22, 2010 |
CN |
201010116434 |
Claims
1. A soft and elastic jacket wherein no less than 70 percent of the
body circumference of the soft and elastic jacket is composed of an
elastic weft knitted fabric, when the soft and elastic jacket is in
a motionless state without being worn, the elastic weft knitted
fabric has a tightness index of not greater than 0.8 and a recovery
stress of 0.3.about.1.3 N at an elongation range of
30.about.80%.
2. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 1 wherein the
respiratory quotient is not greater than 1.05 when a person wearing
the soft and elastic jacket exercises at an intensity of less than
7 Mets and a body exercise amount of not greater than 25 Metshr for
an exercise time of less than 6 hrs.
3. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 1 wherein the
soft and elastic jacket has a clothing pressure of 0.6 kPa or less
in a motionless state, and 2.5 kPa or less in a motion state.
4. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 3 wherein the
clothing pressure in a motionless state is 0.60 kPa or less at a
portion between the elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.33 kPa
or less at the chest portion, and 0.40 kPa or less at the back
side.
5. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 3 wherein the
clothing pressure in a motion state is 1.25 kPa or less at a
portion between the elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.45 kPa
or less at the chest portion, and 1.85 kPa or less at the back
side.
6. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 1 wherein the
elastic weft knitted fabric is produced by knitting 5.about.15%
weight of elastic yarns with the rest of non-elastic yarns, and has
a basis weight of 140.about.200 g/m.sup.2.
7. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 6 wherein the
elastic yarns are polyurethane fibers.
8. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 6 wherein the
non-elastic yarns are modified polyethylene terephthalate fibers
and/or polyamide fibers.
9. The soft and elastic jacket according to claim 8 wherein the
non-elastic yarns are cationic dyeable PET fibers.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates to a soft and elastic jacket.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] People are increasingly paying attention to their own
health, daily dietary and life quality, and people doing various
kinds of exercises are increasing. Therefore, the people's
requirements, especially the performance requirements for the
exercise garments, such as sportswear, have been raised
accordingly. A soft and elastic jacket integrating comfortableness
with sports function becomes a new demand of the people.
[0003] At present, for elastic jackets for sports available in the
market, the designs thereof are usually focused on how to acquire
high elasticity or on how to splice and cut different elastic
fabrics such that the elasticity in different portions is
different. For certain portions, high elastic fabrics are used to
enhance tightening force on the wearer's muscles contacting these
portions. For example, Chinese Unexamined Patent Publication
CN101351129A discloses an exercise garment which exerts tightening
forces on the scapulae and scapulae-surrounding muscle groups, so
as to improve the exercise performance in various types of exercise
accompanied by rotation of the trunk and movements of the arms.
There are also examples in which taping theory is used to exert
tightening forces on different parts. For example, Chinese
Unexamined Patent Publication CN 101056551A discloses a compression
garment which has the first and second panels of stretchable
material joined by a seam. The seam is adapted to correspond to the
part of a muscle ridge. The taping theory is used to tighten the
muscle ridge and therefore to improve the exercise ability and
performances. The elastic fabrics used in these prior art
technologies are high elasticity fabrics which exert high
tightening forces on human body. For peoples like professional
athletes with well developed muscles, their sports performances can
be improved by wearing these compression garments. However, for
ordinary sports enthusiasts, they may easily feel tired and
discomfort, because these compression jackets may tighten the
enthusiast's muscles too strong to a too tight state when worn, and
may excessively increase burden on the muscles and even the hearts
when worn for a long time due to the enthusiasts doing not have
hard muscles like professional athletes.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a soft
and elastic jacket.
[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is:
[0006] A soft and elastic jacket, wherein no less than 70% of the
body circumference of the soft and elastic jacket is composed of an
elastic weft knitted fabric, when the soft and elastic jacket is in
a motionless state without being worn. The elastic weft knitted
fabric has a tightness index of not greater than 0.8 and a recovery
stress of 0.3.about.1.3 N at an elongation range of
30.about.80%.
[0007] The term "tightness index" referred to here means a degree
of compression provided by clothing to a human body. It is measured
with an IT-DRS stretching fatigue testing machine from INTEC
Company of Japan according to the method specified in JIS L-1096.
Sample specimens of 10 cm.times.15 cm in size are taken separately
in both the warp and weft directions. The sample specimens are
pulled at a speed of 30 cm/min to 110% with a clamping interval of
7.6 cm and a width of 2.5 cm, and finally, the values of the stress
at 30% and 80% elongations are read, respectively. The tightness
index is calculated as follows:
Tightness index=((Stress of elastic weft knitted fabric at 80%
elongation <N1>-Stress of elastic weft knitted fabric at 30%
elongation <N2>)/ 50).times.10.
[0008] In addition, a method for determining the recovery stress is
as follows: a tensile testing machine from A & D Company of
Japan is used for the determination according to the method for
determining elongation recovery rate and residual elongation rate
specified in JIS L-1096. Specifically, the elastic weft knitted
fabric is pulled once until the stress thereof reaches 20 N, and
the values of the recovery stresses at 80% recovery rate and at 30%
recovery rate are read, respectively. The recovery stress has close
correlation with the comfort level in actual wearing situation. The
less the recovery stress is, the more compression and comfort a
wearer feels.
[0009] The respiratory quotient is not greater than 1.05, when a
person wearing it exercises at an exercise intensity of less than 7
Mets and a body exercise amount of not greater than 25 Metshr for
an exercise time of less than 6 hrs. The term "exercise intensity"
referred to here means a degree of physiological stimulation of
human body caused by physical exercise. A quantification method
thereof is carried out by using oxygen consumption. The exercise
intensity for consumption of one kilocalorie per hour per kilogram
of body weight is defined as 1 Met. A body exercise amount is the
product of the exercise intensity and an exercise time. Unlike
compression garments commercially available for professional
athletes, the designers paid specific attention to the
characteristics of normal sports enthusiasts when designing the
soft and elastic jacket. The sports enthusiasts with a habit of
daily exercising at an appropriate amount of exercise are the main
object of the designer's study. The appropriate amount of exercise
is specified in the present invention as a monthly amount of
exercise of 50 to 1000 Metshr.
[0010] The term "respiratory quotient" ("RQ" for short) refers to
the ratio of the volume or molar of carbon dioxide released to the
volume or molar of oxygen absorbed in an organism in a specified
time, i.e. the ratio of the molecular of CO.sub.2 released to the
molecular of O.sub.2 absorbed in respiration. Sugars, fats and
proteins have different CO.sub.2 outputs and O.sub.2 consumptions
when oxidized. Therefore, these three substances have different
respiratory quotients. The respiratory quotients can be classified
as protein respiratory quotients and non-protein respiratory
quotients. The protein respiratory quotient can be measured by
measuring the amount of urinary nitrogen quantity in a specified
time, and then calculating the amount of the protein decomposed in
vivo based on the amount of urinary nitrogen, and calculating the
O.sub.2 consumption and CO.sub.2 output during the decomposition of
the proteins. Thus, the non-protein respiratory quotient, i.e., the
respiratory quotient of the sugars and fats, can be calculated by
subtracting the O.sub.2 consumption and CO.sub.2 output during the
composition of the proteins from the measured total O.sub.2
consumption and total CO.sub.2 output. Since more fats are consumed
than sugars are in an exercise, the exercise an exerciser does when
the non-protein respiratory quotient is small is called as aerobic
exercise, which is healthful. In fact, the amount of the proteins
for oxidation is so small, in comparison with those of fats and
sugars, it can be negligible. Thus, a mixed respiratory quotient so
measured can be reckoned as non-protein respiratory quotient. In
other words, the smaller the measured value of the respiratory
quotient value is, the higher the degree of aerobic exercise an
exerciser does is, and the healthier for the exerciser is.
[0011] In actual determination, the oxygen consumption and carbon
dioxide output of a sports enthusiasts is measured by using a
cardio-pulmonary function tester from JAEGER Company of German, and
the body weight of a sports enthusiasts is measured by using a
human body precision balance from METTLER Company of Japan. Thus,
the exercise intensity and the respiratory quotient can be obtained
by using the following equation:
Exercise intensity=Oxygen intake <mL/min>/(Sports
enthusiast's body weight <kg>.times.3.5 <mL/kgmin>)
Respiratory quotient=Oxygen intake <mL/min>/Carbon dioxide
output <mL/min>
[0012] The clothing pressure of the soft and elastic jacket is 0.6
kPa or less in a motionless state, 0.60 kPa or less in a portion
between the elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.33 kPa or less
in the chest portion, and 0.40 kPa or less in the back side . The
clothing pressure is 2.5 kPa or less in a motion state, and 1.25
kPa or less in a portion between the elbow portion and the wrist
portion, 0.45 kPa or less in the chest portion, and 1.85 kPa or
less in the back side. The clothing pressure is measured by using a
contact pressure tester, in which the diameter of a bag as used is
20 mm, from AMI Company of Japan. The determination is made
simultaneously at three points: chest, back and forearm (a portion
between the elbow portion and the wrist portion). The term "a
motionless state" refers to a state in which the body is upright
and the arms are sagging naturally, and the term "a motion state"
refers to a state in which exercises, such as lateral-raising,
front-raising, stretching downwards, elbow flexion, expanding the
chest, golf swing, doing horizontal push-ups, running, riding
bicycle, etc., are done to a certain level over a period of
time.
[0013] The elastic weft knitted fabric in the present invention is
produced by knitting 5.about.15% weight of elastic yarns with the
redundant rest of non-elastic yarns, and has a basis weight of
140.about.200 g/m.sup.2. If the content of the elastic yarns is
lower than 5%, the tightness index of the elastic weft knitted
fabric will exceed 0.8 and the recovery stress on the body will
also exceed 1.3 N at 30.about.80% elongation, or the elastic weft
knitted fabric can not be stretched to 30.about.80%. If the content
of the elastic yarns is higher than 15%, the content of the elastic
yarns will be too high, such that the tightness index of the
elastic weft knitted fabric will exceed 0.8 and the recovery stress
on the body will exceed 1.3 N at 30.about.80% elongation. In other
words, the content of the elastic yarns being too low or too high
will cause the wearer too tight and difficult to exercise when
wearing the elastic jacket.
[0014] The elastic yarns are polyurethane fibers. The non-elastic
yarns are modified PET fibers and/or polyamide fibers.
[0015] The non-elastic yarns are preferably cationic dyeable PET
fibers.
[0016] The advantages of the invention are as follows: since the
elastic weft knitted fabric of the soft and elastic jacket has an
appropriate tightness degree, the elastic jacket can be stretched
or recovered freely following stretching or recovery of the body
skin caused by the wearer's movement within the range of normal
exercise movement. Thus, the elastic jacket can reduce the energy
excessively generated by human body for resisting the compression
from the jacket. On the other hand, the jacket can timely expand or
recover to follow stretching or recovery of the body skin caused by
wearer's movement. As compared with the elastic jackets of the same
kind, wearer will feel lighter, free of burden when wearing a soft
and elastic jacket made of the elastic weft knitted fabric and
exercising, and it is possible for a person wearing the elastic
jacket to do aerobic exercise which is healthful.
MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0017] The following examples are provided to give further
explanation of the present invention.
EXAMPLE 1
[0018] 84 dtex/72 filament cationic dyeable PET yarns and 33 dtex
polyurethane yarns were used in a proportion of 88 to 12 to produce
a circular plain knit fabric with a gram weight of 175 g/m.sup.2. A
compression garment of size L using the knit fabric for 100% body
circumference was finally made after the treatments of refining,
dyeing, and forming. The weft knitted fabric was measured to have a
maximal tightness index of 0.7 and a maximal recovery stress of 1.2
N at 30.about.80% elongation. A male subject having a body height
of 173 cm, a body weight of 72 kg and monthly exercising at an
amount of 120 Metshr did golf swing at a frequency of 30 times/min,
and continued for 5 minutes in a mode of exercising for 1 min and
then resting for 1 min. The maximal respiratory quotient of the
male subject was measured with a cardio-pulmonary function tester
from JAEGER Company of German during the exercising and it was
0.86. A contact pressure tester from AMI Company of Japan was used
to measure the following maximal clothing pressures when wearing
the elastic jacket in a motionless state: 0.57 kPa in a position
between the elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.33 kPa in the
chest portion, and 0.39 kPa in the back side. The maximal clothing
pressure in a motion state was 1.15 kPa at a position between the
elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.27 kPa in the chest portion,
and 0.88 kPa in the back side. The color fastness of the elastic
jacket dyed with cationic dyes was Class 4 or higher when measured
according to JIS.
EXAMPLE 2
[0019] Core-sheath composite deformation textured yarns made of 110
dtex/51 filament polyamide and 33 dtex polyurethane yarns were used
in a proportion of 90 to 10 to produce a circular plain knit fabric
with a gram weight of 180 g/m.sup.2. A compression garment of size
L using the knit fabric for 100% body circumference was finally
made after the treatments of refining, dyeing, and forming. The
circular knitted fabric was measured to have a maximal tightness
index of 0.7 and a maximal recovery stress of 1.1 N at 30.about.80%
elongation. A male subject having a body height of 173 cm, a body
weight of 75 kg and monthly exercising at an amount of 86 Metshr
did jogging exercise at 8 km/hr for 20 min. The maximal respiratory
quotient of the male subject was measured with a cardio-pulmonary
function tester from JAEGER Company of German during the exercising
and it was 1.02. A contact pressure tester from AMI Company of
Japan was used to measure the following maximal clothing pressures
when wearing the soft and elastic jacket in a motionless state:
0.60 kPa at a position between the elbow position and the wrist
portion, 0.31 kPa in the chest portion, and 0.36 kPa in the back
side. The maximal clothing pressure in a motion state was 1.25 kPa
at a position between the elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.32
kPa in the chest portion, and 1.51 kPa in the back side. The color
fastness of the soft and elastic jacket dyed with cationic dyes was
Class 4 or higher when measured according to JIS.
EXAMPLE 3
[0020] Core-sheath composite deformation textured yarns made of 140
dtex/70 filament PET fiber core and polyamide fiber sheath, and 33
dtex polyurethane yarns were used to in a proportion of 92 to 8
produce a circular plain knit fabric with a gram weight of 180
g/m.sup.2. A compression garment of size L using the knit fabric
for 80% body circumference was finally made after the treatments of
refining, dyeing, and forming. The circular knitted fabric was
measured to have a maximal tightness index of 0.8 and a maximal
recovery stress of 1.3 N at 30.about.80% elongation. A female
subject having a body height of 168 cm, a body weight of 60 kg and
monthly exercising at an amount of 460 Metshr did upright push-ups
exercise at a frequency of 30 times/min. The exercise mode was:
Exercise: 1 min; rest: 1 min; Exercise: 2 min; rest: 1 min;
Exercise: 3 min; rest: 1 min; Exercise: 4 min; rest: 1 min. The
total time of the Exercise was 10 min. The maximal respiratory
quotient of the female subject was measured with a cardio-pulmonary
function tester from JAEGER Company of German during the exercising
and it was 1.02. A contact pressure tester from AMI Company of
Japan was used to measure the following maximal clothing pressures
when wearing the soft and elastic jacket in a motionless state:
0.60 kPa at a position between the elbow portion and the wrist
portion, 0.33 kPa in the chest portion, and 0.39 kPa in the back
side. The maximal clothing pressure in a motion state was 1.13 kPa
at a position between the elbow portion and the wrist portion, 0.43
kPa in the chest portion, and 1.68 kPa in the back side portion.
The color fastness of the soft and elastic jacket dyed with
cationic dyes was Class 4 or higher when measured according to
JIS.
* * * * *