IE911812A1 - A Blanket - Google Patents

Abstract

A variable tog blanket for use in the manufacture of bedding and clothing, particularly horse clothing, comprises a quilt (1) made up of two outer layers of material (3, 4) which are seamed together to form a plurality of pockets (6). Within at least some of the pockets (6) is located a filling (7). The tog rating of the quilt (1) varies across its surface depending upon the presence or otherwise of the filling (7) in the pockets (6) and the tog value of the filling (7) in each pocket (6). One way of manufacturing the blanket is to weave the two outer layers of material (3, 4) simultaneously as a two ply cloth which is stitched together in the weave at regular intervals to form the seams (5) which define the plurality of pockets (6). A filling (7) is then introduced between the stitched layers (3, 4) into at least some of the pockets (6) to form the quilt (1).

Description

A BLANKET The present invention relates to blankets and clothing. In particular it relates to a quilted blanket for a horse or other animal.

Conventionally, horse blankets are made from single or double ply fabrics and may also comprise quilts for use in cold weather. However, the disadvantage of quilted blankets is that as the horse is unable to remove the blanket it is likely to become too hot and distressed if the ambient temperature around the horse increases. This can have serious consequences if the horse sweats too much and becomes dehydrated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a blanket which can be used in the manufacture of clothing which mitigates the aforementioned problem.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a blanket comprising a quilt made up of two outer layers of material which are seamed together to form a plurality of pockets and characterised in that within at least some of the pockets is located a filling, and in that the tog rating of the quilt varies across its surface depending upon the presence or otherwise of the filling in the pockets and the tog value of the filling in each pocket.

Preferably, the two layers of material have been woven simultaneously as a two ply cloth and are stitched together in the weave at regular intervals to form the seams which define the plurality of pockets.

Preferably also, the pockets are in the form of parallel tubes.

Preferably also, the widths of the tubes vary to permit different amounts of filling to be accommodated in each pocket to enable the tog rating of the quilt to vary across its surface depending upon the tog value of the filling in each pocket.

Preferably also, the filling comprises sheets of a lofted non-woven material and two or more of these sheets are overlaid in some of the pockets to increase the thickness of the filling and thereby increase the tog rating of the quilt in the area of these pockets.

Preferably also, the tog rating of the quilt is reduced in some areas by incorporating in one or both outer layers of the quilt an area of open weave.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a horse blanket made from a blanket according to the first aspect of the present invention and characterised in that the tog rating of the blanket is at its lowest in the area of the blanket to be located across the animal's spine and at its highest along the area of the blanket which will lie adjacent the animal's midriff.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of making a blanket comprising the steps of weaving a two ply cloth in which the two layers are stitched together in the weave and characterised in that the stitching is at regular intervals to form seams which define a plurality of pockets, and in that a filling is subsequently introduced between the stitched layers into at least some of the pockets to form a quilt, the quantity of filling within the pockets varying so that the tog rating of the quilt varies across its surface depending upon the presence or otherwise of the filling in the pockets and the tog value of the filling in each pocket.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in whi ch: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an according to the invention; edge of a blanket Figure 2 is a cross-section to a greatly enlarged scale through part of the blanket shown in Figure 1 along the line II-II, the filling being omitted; Figure 3 shows diagrammatically a method of introducing the filling into the blanket shown in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a horse blanket made from two blankets as shown in Figure 1, when in use.

With reference to Figure 1, a blanket according to the invention comprises a quilt 1 with a casing made up of two layers of material 3, 4 which are stitched together along seams 5 to form a plurality of pockets 6 in which a stuffing material or filling 7 is located. In this example the pockets 6 comprise a series of parallel tubes.

The width of each of the pockets or tubes 6 varies across the width of the quilt. As shown in Figure 1, the central tube 8 is the widest and if the blanket is for use in the manufacture of a horse blanket, as will be described, it is best made in the order of 6 inches wide. The two tubes 9 on each side of the central tube are made slightly narrower, say 4 inches in width, and the rest of the tubes 10 are each 2 inches wide.

The quantity of stuffing material or filling 7 also varies from tube to tube 6 across the width of the blanket.

Conveniently, the fi11ing comprises a lofted non-woven sheet material and in this case different thicknesses of the material are employed in the different widths of tube 6. In the widest central tube 8, three separate overlaid strips of the lofted material are located within the tube 8 whereas in the adjacent tubes 9 there are only two overlaid strips. In the rest of the tubes 10 only one layer of filling 7 is located.

In this way, the tog rating of the blanket varies across its width from pocket 6 to pocket 6 depending upon the tog value of the filling material. The central tube 8 will have the highest tog rating owing to the greater thickness of filling 7 it contains and the tog rating will decrease for the adjacent tubes 9 and decrease again for the rest of the tubes 10.

Apart from simply varying the tog value of the filling, the tog rating of the blanket can also be varied by altering the character of the outer layers 3 and 4 of the blanket. For example, the weave employed and the yarns used to make these layers 3 and 4 can be altered to vary the tog value of the blanket in certain areas. As indicated in Figure 1, one of the layers 3 can be partially woven in an open weave, as at 11, adjacent one of its selvedge edges 2 along the length of at least one of the tubes 10. This will increase the air flow through the quilt 1 in this area and thus reduce the tog value of this tube as compared with the other tubes 10 of the same width and level of filling 7. Suitable open weaves include a leno or mock leno weave.

Similarly, the tog value of the blanket can be increased by weaving either or both of the layers 3,4 defining those tubes 6 where the tog value is best kept high in a close weave, preferably one which forms air pockets between the layers 3 and 4 and the filling 7. Here, a suitable weave would be a heavily textured honeycomb weave.

The blanket according to the invention can be manufactured in several ways. One suitable method will now be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. This method obviates the need for a quilting sewing machine and produces a quilted blanket which is robustly made, giving a greater durability than many conventionally sewn quilted blankets .

In this method, the outer layers 3 and 4 of the 10 blanket are woven simultaneously to produce the quilt casing Into which the filling 7 is subsequently introduced. This is accomplished by weaving a two ply cloth in which the two layers 3 and 4 are stitched together in the weave along predetermined warp threads to form the seams 5 of the blanket. Such a weave is called a stitched weave. A double reversible weave could also be used in which the layers 3 and 4 are crossed over along predetermined weft threads to form each seam 5.

In the stitched weave shown in Figure 2, the layers 3 and 4 are woven simultaneously in a plain weave, the weft threads being labelled 12 and the warp threads 13. Where it is desired to stitch the two layers 3 and 4 together to form the tubes 5, then at regular intervals along the length of the fabric a warp thread 14 of the lower layer 4 is interwoven with a weft thread 15 of the upper layer 3. This produces a seam 5 along the length of the blanket and similar such seams 5 can be repeated at desired intervals across the width of the blanket to produce the pockets or tubes 5 of the blanket.

The woven stitches formed by interlacing the warp and the weft threads of the two layers 3 and 4 are much stronger stitches than those produced by a conventional sewing machine and, in addition, they cannot be unravelled as often happens with the latter. Hence, the finished blanket is more robust and harder wearing than a conventionally sewn quilt.

After the outer layers 3 and 4 of the blanket have 5 been woven, the filling 7 is introduced into the tubes 6 by passing down each of the tubes 6 a gripper device 16 attached to a rod 17, as shown diagrammatically in Figure 3. The required thickness and width of filling 7 is secured by the grippers 16 and then the rods 17 are retracted to pull the filling into the tubes 6 to form the finished blanket.

Apart from using layers of filling material 7 as previously mentioned, it will be appreciated that any filling material could be employed. For example, any suitable loose filling material such as kapok could simply be stuffed into the tubes 7 to the required density for the tog value desired. Alternatively, hard to handle loose filling such as feathers or foam particles could be stuffed into tubular casings of similar size to the interior size of the tubes 6. These casings could then be introduced into the tubes 6 in the same way as described above for the sheet filling 7.

Other methods of manufacturing the blanket are, of course possible. For example, a conventional quilting machine could be employed to sew the seams 5 of the blanket after the filling material has been located in the requited thickness and pattern between two separately produced outer layers 3 and 4. This method is suitable for blankets where some pockets 6 are not in the form of tubes and may be completely encircled by other pockets 6 in the central region of a blanket. Conventional methods may also be employed where the outer layers 3 and 4 are made from material which is not woven, such as plastics sheeting, or from yarn which is difficult to weave in two ply weaves.

In use, the blanket is intended primarily for the production of horse clothing or coats for other animals but it will be appreciated that human clothing for both adults and children can also be manufactured from the blanket. In the case of a horse or animal blanket, it is desirable for the blanket to have the lowest tog rating in the area which will lie over the animal's spine and the highest tog rating in areas which lie adjacent the animal’s midriff. Hence, it is convenient to join together two suitably cut lengths of blanket as shown in Figure 1 along the selvedge edges 2 adjacent their open weave portions 11 to form a horse blanket as shown in Figure 4.

For use in horse blankets and other forms of clothing, the blanket 1 is preferably made from easily laundered materials. The outer layers 3 and 4 of the casing of the blanket can be made from nylon, polyester, or polypropylene yarns woven in a loose structure weave as well as from natural yarns such as wool or cotton. Similarly, the filling 7 can be lofted non-woven synthetic sheet material as previously described or polyester scrim or similar.

The blanket according to the invention is, of course, not limited to use in clothing and can be adapted for use in other articles such as bedding, and in any other application where a variable tog rated blanket or covering is desired.

Claims (13)

1. A blanket comprising a quilt (1) made up of two outer layers of material (3,4) which are seamed together to form 5 a plurality of pockets (6) and characterised in that within in at least some of the pockets (6) is located a filling (7), and in that the tog rating of the quilt (1) varies across its surface depending upon the presence or otherwise of the filling (7) in the pockets (6) and the tog value of 10 the filling (7) in each pocket (6).

2. A blanket as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the two layers of material (3,4) have been woven simultaneously as a two ply cloth and are stitched together 15 in the weave at regular intervals to form which define the plurality of pockets (6). th· e seams (5)

3. A blanket as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the pockets (6) are i n tiie form of 20 parallei tubes (8 ,9, 10) .

4. Λ blanket as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that the widths of the tubes (8,9,10) vary to permit different amounts of filling (7) to be accommodated in each pocket (6) to enable the tog rating of the quilt (1) to vary across filling its surface depending upon the tog value of tine in each pocket (6). 5 . A blanket as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, 30 characterised in that the filling (7) comprises sheets of a lofted non-woven material and two or more of these sheets are overlaid in some of the pockets (6) to increase the thickness of the filling (7) and thereby increase the tog rating of the quilt (1) in the area of these pockets (6).

3. 5

6 . A blanket as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the tog rating of the quilt (1) is reduced in some areas by incorporating in one or both outer layers (3,4) of the quilt (1) an area of open weave (11). 5

7 . i n An article of clothing made from a blanket as c1 a i med any one of Claims 1 to 6.

8 . A horse blanket made from a blanket as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 and characterised in that the tog 10 rating of the blanket is at its lowest in the area of the blanket to be located across the animal's spine and at its highest along the area of the blanket which will lie adjacent the animal's midriff. 15

9. A method of making a blanket comprising the steps of weaving a two ply cloth in which the two layers (3,4) are stit ’>ed together in the weave and characterised in that the stitching (15) is at regular intervals to form seams (5) which define a plurality of pockets (6), and in that a 20 filling (7) is subsequently introduced between the stitched layers (3,4) into at least some of the pockets (6) to form a quilt (1), the quantity of filling (7) within the pockets (6) varying so that the tog rating of the quilt (1) varies across its surface depending upon the presence or otherwise 25 of the filling (7) in the pockets (6) and the tog value of the filling (7) in each pocket (6).

10. A blanket according to Claim 1 or an article of clothing according to Claim 7 or a horse blanket according to Claim 8, substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. A method of making a blanket according to Claim 9, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings . 10 12. A blanket whenever made by a process according to

Claims 9 or 10.

13. The features described in the foregoing specification or any obvious equivalent thereof, in any novel selection.