WO2000056971A1

WO2000056971A1 - Down sheet

Info

Publication number: WO2000056971A1
Application number: PCT/CA2000/000302
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ronnie Reuben
Original assignee: Fabco Trading Corp
Current assignee: Fabco Trading Corp
Priority date: 1999-03-22
Filing date: 2000-03-22
Publication date: 2000-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 2001-09-22
Also published as: AU3411100A

Abstract

A method of fabricating a down feather sheet is described and it comprises forming a sheet of down feathers having been treated whereby to retain a homogeneous form. A binder is associated with the down feathers whereby they are retained together in sheet form. The down feather sheet product is also described. The down feathers may also be coloured and utilized in garments having thin light coloured outer fabrics whereby to achieve a uniform tone or be visible to produce a coloured design feature.

Description

DOWN SHEET

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a contmuation-m-part of Application Ser. No. 09/066,791, filed on April 27, 1998.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a down feather sheet or membrane as well as the method of fabricating same.

BACKGROUND ART

Down feather sheets are usually provided by forming a pouch, which may be of rectangular outline or patterned shape, by stitching together two fabric sheets and leaving an unseamed area wherein down feathers may be inserted within the pouch. The unseamed area is then sewn to trap the down feathers m the pouch. These feathers are then distributed within the pouch by shaking the pouch to displace the feathers substantially evenly therein. Cross- stitched lines are then formed across the fabric sheets whereby to trap the down feathers therebetween.

One of the major problems with this method of fabrication is that the down feathers are often unevenly distributed withir the pouch due to the fact that in the manufacturing process the pouches are formed with fabrics which conceal the down feathers within the pouch ard this often results in areas of the poucn not having enough down feathers and others having too many. Accordingly, the product does not have even insulating properties and its appearance is not suitable for use in fabricating a garment. Furtnermore, by making many stitch lines across the fabric, cold spots are developed and the stitch lines where there is no insulation. The process is also very labor intensive and cannot be adapted to automatic fabrication. Another problem associated with down feathers is their uneven colour. When these are inserted into a pouch formed by thin, light coloured fabrics to form garments, sleeping bags, etc., the down feathers within the pouch or between fabric layers, will give an uneven colour appearance to the light coloured outer fabric.

Many of the new high-tech performance fabrics are very thin and almost translucent. When they are used in conjunction with down insulation, the uneven colouring of the down particularly the gray and black plumes, show through the fabric. This results m either two layers of material being required to conceal the discolouration and this increases the manufacturing cost, complicates the process, adds unnecessary weight to the garment, often negates the performance advantage of the fabric, and results in the garment structure being stiffer. More often, the result is that these new fabrics are not used m a down application.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a method of fabricating a down feather sheet or membrane which substantially overcomes the above- mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a down feather sheet or membrane which is comprised of a substantially homogeneous distribution of down feathers which are retained together m a sheet form by a binder such as a chemical binding agent. According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a method of fabricating a down feather sheet which comprises the step of forming a sheet of down feathers having been treated to retain a homogeneous form.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a down feather sheet which comprises a substantially homogeneous distribution of down feathers retained together in sheet form by a binding means .

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a down feather sheet and a method of fabricating same wherein the binding means is a chemical binding agent which causes the feathers to adhere to one another.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide coloured or bleached down for use as insulation in the construction of garments, sleeping bags, bedspreads, etc. A further feature of the present invention is to provide a coloured down sheet.

According to the above features, from a broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of fabricating a down feather sheet comprising the step of forming a sheet of down feathers having been treated to retain a homogeneous form.

According to a further broad aspect of the invention there is provided a down feather sheet comprising a substantially homogeneous distribution of down feathers retained together in sheet form by a binding means .

According to a still further broad aspect of the invention there is further provided down feathers for use as an insulating material in the construction of articles intended to provide warmth and wherein said down feathers are coloured. According to another broad aspect of the invention there is provided an article of apparel having an outer fabric or parts thereof which are translucent and wherein coloured down fathers are provided as an insulation material disposed behind said outer fabric and visible through said translucent fabric or parts thereof.

According to a still further broad aspect of the invention there is further provided an article of apparel having an outer fabric or parts thereof formed of thin, light coloured fabric and wherein coloured down feathers are provided as an insulation material disposed behind and in contact with said outer fabric to maintain a uniform tone of said outer fabric.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a down feather sheet constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration showing a method of fabricating the down feather sheet using a liquid or powder binding agent;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view similar to Figure 2 but wherein the method comprises the fabrication of patterned down feather sheets and wherein the down feathers can be coloured;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing a dye- cut pattern down feather sheet;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing an article of apparel having an outer garment layer which is very thin, or translucent and wherein coloured down gives the garment a uniform tone or colour; and

FIGs. 5 and 6 are schematic illustrations showing that the down feather sheet can be fabricated m roll form or in stacked sheet form.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1, tnere is shown generally at 10 the down feather sheet of the present invention. It consists of a substantially homogeneous distribution of down feathers 11 retained together in sheet form by a binder means which will be described later. The down feather sheet 10 may be produced in roll form as illustrated at 12 in Figure 5 or in sheet form, which may be stacked one on top of the other, as illustrated at 13 m Figure 6.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown one method of fabricating the down feather sheet 10 of the present invention. The method consists of providing a conveyor support surface, herein shown as an endless belt 14 supported between rollers 15. A supply of down feathers 11 is disposed within a hopper 16 at a feed end 17 of the conveyor and the feathers are deposited on the top surface 18 of the endless belt 14 at the feed end 17. The distribution of the feathers 11 is controlled by a rotor 19. A shroud, not srown, could be installed between the discharge end of the hopper 16 and the conveyor to shield the feathers against air currents, etc. Dye sprayers 9 may be disposed below the hopper 16 or above the endless belt 14 adjacent its hopper to spray a aye colour on the down feathers to colour them, _f desired. The down feathers could also be o_eached or coloured in another process, such as immersing them in a dye bath and then drying them to provide coloured down in bulk form.

As can be seen, a substantially even layer of down feathers 11 is disposed on the top surface 18 of the conveyor 14 and is displaced towards a binder applicating station 20 where a liquid or powder binder is applied to the down feathers. An agitator mechanism 21 may also be provided under the endless belt 14 at the binder application station whereby to cause the dry binder to mix thoroughly with the feathers .

After the binder application station 20 the layer of down feathers is fed under a heater or dryer station 22 where the binding agent is caused to set whereby to bind the feathers together. At the outlet of the heater or dryer station 22, the sheet is of substantially homogeneous form and can then be slit by a slitter 23 whereby to produce down feather sheets, as illustrated m Figure 6, which may be disposed on a support platform 24 to produce stacks of sheets 13 as shown in Figure 6. A sheet transfer mechanism 25 disposes the sheets in stack form. Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a further method of producing the down feather sheet 10 of the present invention. As hereinshown the down feathers are retained m even distribution on the conveyor belt 14 by an electrostatic field or charge which extends to at least the dryer station 22'. The electrostatic field is produced by a voltage source 26 which creates an electrostatic field between the top side and bottom side of the endless belt 14. As hereinshown the binder application station 20' is comprised of et nozzles 27 wnich emit a spray of binder onto the down feathers. This binder is then dried at the dryer station 22 ' . As previously described, a dye applicator 28 may also be provided if it is desirable to dye the down feather sheet 10 a certain colour. The sheet may also be cut into a pattern by a dye-cut press 29 to produce the dye-cut down feather sheets 30 as illustrated in Figure 4.

The thickness of the feathers deposited on the belt may be regulated by the speed of displacement of the endless belt or else the speed of operation of the rotor 19 which dispenses down feathers from the hopper. The binding agent, when m powder form, may also be mixed with feathers m the hopper 16. Accordingly, it is not necessary to use the agitator 21.

It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the examples of the preferred embodiment described herein. It is also readily apparent that with the process of manufacturing of the present invention down feather sheets of predetermined thickness and density may be produced by controlling the output of the hopper or the velocity of the endless belt and this can be done by automatic control means. Sensors may also be provided along the conveyor to detect the density and thickness of the down feather sheets. Further sensors may also be provided at the outlet end of the sheet to operate the slitter or the dye-cut press and to regulate the density of the colouration of the sheet should a dye be applied thereto .

As previously described the binder may be a liquid, a powder or binding fibers added to the down feathers but it may also be provided m vapor spray or as a gas spray provided it has binding properties associated therewith. Although an automatic layering of the down feathers on the endless belt is described, this could also be done manually but to obtain a more even consistency in the distribution of the down, it is preferable that it be done by an automatic layering process. The entire process may also be performed in a regulated air pressure chamber or a vacuum could be provided under the endless belt to retain the down feathers evenly distributed on the top surface 18 of the conveyor belt 14. The vacuum would retain the feathers m place from the feed end of the conveyor to the dryer station. Such an optional vacuum system is illustrated in Figure 1 and identified by reference numeral 34. Another modification is to feed the down feather sheet 10 from the output of the conveyor between a pair of fabric sheets which can then be sewn together whereby to sandwich the down feather sheet between fabric sheets to form quilts or fabric to be later pattern cut for the production of articles of apparel. It is also pointed out that m the process herein described the down feather sheet remains reasonably subtle to the feel rather than rigid and the thermal property of the down is substantially preserved. The sheets also produced may be fragile or delicate and it is not essential that these be strong like a blanket. They merely need to be capable of packaging and onward shipment to some other facilities to accommodate further processing.

As previously described, the down may be bleached or dyed into a desired colour, be it white, black or any other colour. By using the appropriate colour of down, the previously mentioned problems would be solved. In addition, there is the opportunity to market garments intentionally showing the down, either m contrast to the translucent fabric or clearly showing through a clear (or lightly tinted) fabric. Here, the down itself could provide most of the colouring to a garment and be visible, both of which have a particular marketing appeal .

Figure 4B shows a garment 40 having a light coloured or clear outer sheet 41 and through which the coloured down 42 is visible. The panels 43 may also have down of a different contrasting colour. As previously described, if the outer fabric is very thin and almost translucent, then the substantially even coloured down will provide an overall even colour or tone to the outer fabric. It is also foreseeable that a mixture of down feathers of different colours or tones could be mixed together to create a different look to a garment or garment pieces. The coloured down may be free floating and inserted in pockets which form sections of apparels or have other uses.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A method of fabricating a down featner sheet comprising the step of forming a sheet of down feathers having been treated to retain a homogeneous form.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said down feathers are subjected to a chemical binding treatment whereby said down feathers will adhere to one another.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said down feathers are substantially evenly distributed over a support surface prior to being subjected to a chemical binding treatment .

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said support surface is constructed of material capable of maintaining an electrostatic charge, said method further comprising applying an electrostatic charge to said support surface to retain said down feathers by electrostatic charge.

5. A method as claimed m claim 3 wherein said down feathers are automatically positioned over said support surface in quantities to produce a sheet of down feathers having a predetermined thickness.

6. A method as claimed m claim 3 wherein said chemical binding treatment is a liquid, gas, powder or vapor spray of a chemical having binding properties.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said binding treatment is performed within a predetermined temperature range .

8. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said binding treatment is performed within a predetermined pressure range .

9. A method as claimed m claim 2 wherein said sheet of down feathers is subjected to a drying process after having been treated with a chemical binder agent.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said sheet of down feathers after being dried is subjected to a cutting process .

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein said cutting process is a pattern cutting process for the production of articles of garments.

12. A method as claimed m claim 10 wherein said cut sheet is then packaged n sheet or roll form.

13. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said sheet of down feathers is subjected to a drying process to produce a coloured down feather sheet.

14. A down feather sheet comprising a substantially homogeneous distribution of down feathers retained together m sheet form by a binding means .

15. A down feather sheet as claimed in claim 14 wherein said binding means is a chemical binding agent.

16. A down feather sheet as claimed m claim 14 wherein said down feather sheet is of predetermined thickness and density .

17. A down feather sheet as claimed in claim 14 wherein said down feather sheet is a coloured αown feather sheet.

18. Down feathers for use as an insulating material in the construction of articles intended to provide warmth and wherein said down feathers are coloured.

19. Down feathers for use as an insulating material in the construction of articles intended to provide warmth and wherein said down feathers are bleached.

20. An article of apparel having an outer fabric or parts thereof which are translucent and wherein coloured down fathers are provided as an insulation material disposed behind said outer fabric and visible through said translucent fabric or parts thereof.

21. An article of apparel having an outer fabric or parts thereof formed of thin, light coloured fabric and wherein coloured down feathers are provided as an insulation material disposed behind and in contact with said outer fabric to maintain a uniform tone of said outer fabric.