It is provided a fabric that simultaneously responds to multiple environment conditions to enhance comfort of an individual. The fabric comprises a fabric layer with a first yarn that mainly forms a face surface of the fabric facing an environment and a second yarn that mainly forms a back surface of the fabric facing a wearer. At least two stimuli responsive materials are applied to the fabric. One of the at least two stimuli responsive materials is temperature responsive material or moisture responsive material that dynamically changes its dimensions, conformation, rigidity/elasticity or its color in response to a change of a temperature or humidity in the environment.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
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. An article of apparel comprising:
. The article of apparel of, wherein a first one of the at least two stimuli responsive materials comprises the moisture responsive material, a second one of the at least two stimuli responsive material comprises the temperature responsive material, and the article of apparel is configured to position the moisture responsive material closer to skin of a wearer body and is configured to position the temperature responsive material further away from skin of a wearer body.
. The article of apparel of, wherein a first one of the at least two stimuli responsive materials comprises the moisture responsive material, a second one of the at least two stimuli responsive material comprises the temperature responsive material, and the moisture responsive material and the temperature responsive material create a pattern on the fabric.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the pattern includes a first area or first areas comprising only the moisture responsive material, and includes a second area or second areas comprising only the temperature responsive material.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials comprises a first responsive material and a second responsive material, the first responsive material comprises the temperature responsive material or the moisture responsive material, and the second responsive material comprises a strain/stress responsive material configured to dynamically change dimensions, chemical structure, rigidity/elasticity or color in response to a force applied to the fabric.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the fabric further comprises a middle layer positioned between the face layer and the back layer of the fabric.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials include the moisture responsive material, and the moisture responsive material comprises a polyurethane or a polyurethane derivative.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials include the moisture responsive material, and the moisture responsive material includes a liquid crystal.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials include the moisture responsive material, the moisture response material comprises a synthetic polymer, a natural material, or a combination thereof; or comprises a blend of a cellulose microfibril/nanofibril, or comprises a graphene, or comprises a blend of a cellulose microfibril/nanofibril and a graphene.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials include the moisture responsive material, and the moisture responsive material comprises a brush polymer, or the moisture response material comprises a liquid crystal polymer or a liquid crystal dispersed polymer.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive material include the temperature responsive material, the temperature responsive material is configured to change from being hydrophilic with a high moisture regain level to hydrophobic with a lower moisture regain level when a temperature in the ambient environment or in the microclimate environment between a wearer body and the fabric increases above a lower critical temperature, and wherein the temperature responsive material comprises a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), a derivative thereof, a copolymer thereof, or a combination thereof.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials include the temperature responsive material, and the temperature responsive material comprises a brush polymer.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials include the temperature responsive material, and the temperature responsive material comprises a liquid crystal polymer or a liquid crystal dispersed polymer.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the strain/stress responsive material is configured to change rigidity/elasticity, dimensions or color in response to a force is applied to at least part of the fabric, and is a composite material comprising a strain/stress responsive response material and a base polymer.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the strain/stress responsive material comprises a brush polymer, or comprises a liquid crystal polymer, or comprises photonic crystals embedded in an elastic polymer or a blend of elastic polymers.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the strain/stress responsive material is configured to stiffen in response to a force, and is selected from crosslinked polymer networks, a hydrogel, a liquid metal and elastomer composite, or a nanocomposite.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the strain/stress responsive material is configured to soften in response to a force, and comprises a carbon fiber and elastomer composite or a nanocomposite.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the fabric further comprises at least one self-healing agent configured to reinforce the fabric with extra rigidity or elasticity or durability, or to repair a damage to the fabric by crosslinking, curing, solidification, or material growth.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the self-healing material comprises an isocyanate prepolymer enclosed by a polyurethane hardener and a 1,4-butanediol shell, or comprises a polyelectrolyte including positively and negatively charged polymers.
. The article of apparel of, wherein the at least two stimuli responsive materials comprise the moisture responsive material, and the moisture responsive material is applied in a pattern along pores in the fabric.
Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.
The present application is claiming priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/365,341 filed May 26, 2022, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
It is provided a fabric responsive to environmental conditions and more particular to a fabric that senses and responds to multiple environment conditions.
Fabrics used in apparel designed for athletic activities are conceived with the objective of maximizing the body performance by notably controlling the body temperature and keeping the moisture away from the individual. The challenge is to manufacture such apparel which generally exhibit characteristics that enhance the performance without compromising the appearance and/or comfort of an individual. Current fabrics are mostly inert and non-responsive to environment conditions and changes in the microclimate or ambient temperature and/or humidity. There are fabrics with moisture wicking finishes or moisture responsive coatings for sweat management but such moisture finishes and coating are only responsive to moisture/humidity changes in the microclimate or ambient environment.
It is thus highly desired to be provided with improved fabrics that simultaneously respond to multiple environment conditions to enhance thermal comfort of an individual.
In one aspect, it is provided a fabric layer comprising a first yarn forming a face surface facing an ambient environment and a second yarn forming a back surface facing a wearer; and at least two stimuli responsive materials applied to at least a portion of the fabric, the at least two responsive materials are different materials responding independently to environment stimuli, wherein one of the responsive material is a temperature response material which dynamically changes its dimensions, conformation, chemical structure, color or its rigidity/elasticity in response to a change of a temperature or a moisture responsive material which dynamically changes its dimensions, conformation, chemical structure, color or its rigidity/elasticity in response to a change of moisture in an environment.
In an embodiment, the second responsive material of the at least two stimuli responsive materials is a strain/stress responsive material that dynamically changes its dimensions, rigidity/elasticity, chemical structure, or its color in response to a force applied to the fabric.
In another aspect, the strain/stress responsive material is applied to the face surface of the fabric and the temperature responsive or moisture responsive material is applied to the back surface of the fabric.
In a further embodiment, the fabric comprises three stimuli responsive materials, a first responsive material is a temperature responsive material, a second responsive material is a moisture responsive material and a third responsive material is a strain/stress responsive material.
In a further embodiment, the moisture response material is applied to the face surface of the fabric layer and a temperature responsive material is applied to the back surface of the fabric layer. Alternatively, the moisture response material is applied to the back surface of the fabric layer and the temperature responsive material is applied to the face surface of the fabric layer.
In another aspect, the temperature responsive material is applied to the face surface of the fabric layer and the moisture response material is applied over the temperature responsive material. Alternatively, the moisture responsive material is applied to the back surface of the fabric layer and the temperature response material is applied over the moisture responsive material. Furthermore, the moisture responsive material is applied to the back surface of the fabric layer and the strain/stress response material is applied to the face surface of the fabric layer.
In an embodiment, the temperature responsive material is applied to the back surface of the fabric layer and the strain/stress response material is applied to the face surface of the fabric layer. Alternatively, the temperature responsive material is applied to the face surface of the fabric layer and the strain/stress response material is applied to the back surface of the fabric layer.
In another aspect, the fabric comprises a face layer, a back layer and a middle layer positioned between the face layer and the back layer of the fabric. The middle layer comprises a third yarn comprising at least two responsive materials responding independently to environment stimuli.
In an additional embodiment, the moisture response material is selected form a synthetic polymer, a natural material, or a combination thereof.
In another embodiment, the moisture response material is at least one of a polyurethane and a polyurethane derivative.
In another embodiment, the moisture response material is a liquid crystal.
In a further embodiment, the moisture response material is made of cellulose, protein, starch, algae, lignocellulose, chitin, chitosan, or a derivative thereof.
In a further embodiment, the moisture response material is bacterial spore; a plant cell; a microorganism, a natural component generated by or separated from microorganisms, plants or animals; or an artificial component that mimics the structure and function of said moisture response material.
In a further embodiment, the moisture response material is a composite material made of moisture response materials and a base polymer. The base polymer is a polyurethane or a polyurethane derivative, or an organic silicon or derivative polymer, or a polyamide or derivative, or a polyester or derivative polymer, or an acrylic or derivative polymer, or a polyolefin or derivative polymer, or an ethyl acetate or derivative polymer, or protein based polymer, or starch based polymer, or a polysaccharide polymer, or a algal polymer, or a rubber.
In an aspect, the moisture response material is a blend of a cellulose microfibril/nanofibril and/or a graphene.
In an embodiment, the moisture response material comprises photonic crystals embedded in a polymer, an inorganic material, a multilayered structural material made with polymer coated inorganic nanomaterial, multilayered inorganic nanostructured material, or liquid crystals, wherein the photonic crystals dynamically changes its color when the moisture in the environment changes.
In a further embodiment, the moisture response material comprises a brush polymer.
In a further embodiment, the moisture response material comprises a liquid crystal polymer or a liquid crystal dispersed polymer.
In one aspect, the moisture responsive material changes its rigidity/elasticity, dimensions, confirmation, chemical structure or color in response to a humidity change.
In one embodiment, the moisture responsive material comprises a water soluble lyotropic liquid crystal polymer and a moisture responsive polymer. Upon exposure to moisture, the moisture responsive polymer expands and exposes the water soluble lyotropic liquid crystal polymer to moisture, wherein, the liquid crystal polymer swells and become softer.
In another embodiment, the moisture responsive material comprises a dissolved lyotropic liquid crystal polymer and a moisture responsive polymer. Upon exposure to moisture, the moisture responsive polymer expands and exposes the dissolved lyotropic liquid crystal polymer to moisture, wherein, the solvent of the liquid crystal polymer is extracted by moisture and the liquid crystal polymer solidifies and gains a higher stiffness.
In another aspect, the temperature response material changes its rigidity/elasticity, dimensions, confirmation, chemical structure or color in response to a temperature change.
In another aspect, the temperature response material changes from being a hydrophilic with a high moisture regain level to a hydrophobic with a lower moisture regain level when a temperature in a neighboring climate increases above a lower critical temperature.
In an additional embodiment, the temperature response material is a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), a derivative thereof, a copolymer thereof, or a combination thereof.
In another embodiment, the lower critical temperature is between 34° C.-40° C.
In a further embodiment, the temperature response material is a polyurethane, a polyurethane copolymer or a combination thereof.
In a further embodiment, the temperature response material is a composite material made of temperature response materials and a base polymer. The base polymer is a polyurethane or a polyurethane derivative, or an organic silicon or derivative polymer, or a polyamide or derivative, or a polyester or derivative polymer, or an acrylic or derivative polymer, or a polyolefin or derivative polymer, or an ethyl acetate or derivative polymer, or protein based polymer, or starch based polymer, or a polysaccharide polymer, or a algal polymer, or a rubber.
In an additional embodiment, the temperature responsive material comprises photonic crystals embedded in a temperature responsive polymer or a blend of temperature responsive polymers.
In a further embodiment, the temperature response material comprises a brush polymer.
In a further embodiment, the temperature response material comprises a liquid crystal polymer or liquid crystal dispersed polymer.
In an additional embodiment, the liquid crystal polymer is thermotropic.
In an aspect, glass transition or melting point of the thermotropic liquid crystal polymer is above the environment temperature. When the environment temperature rises to or above its glass or melting transition point, the molecular structure of the polymer becomes more disordered and the polymer become softer.
In another aspect, glass transition or melting point of thermotropic liquid crystal polymer is below the environment temperature. When the environment temperature drops to or below its glass or melting transition point, the polymer molecules become more oriented and shows high mechanical properties as a consequence of the self-reinforcing properties derived from the macromolecular orientation and it gains higher stiffness/rigidity.
In another embodiment, the strain/stress responsive material changes its rigidity/elasticity, dimensions, chemical structure or color in response to a force or strain is applied to at least part of the fabric.
In a further embodiment, the strain/stress responsive response material is a composite material made of strain/stress responsive response materials and a base polymer. The base polymer is a polyurethane or a polyurethane derivative, or an organic silicon or derivative polymer, or a polyamide or derivative, or a polyester or derivative polymer, or an acrylic or derivative polymer, or a polyolefin or derivative polymer, or an ethyl acetate or derivative polymer, or protein based polymer, or starch based polymer, or a polysaccharide polymer, or a algal polymer, or a rubber.
In a further aspect, the strain/stress responsive material comprises a brush polymer.
In a further embodiment, the strain/stress response material comprises a liquid crystal polymer.
In an embodiment, the strain/stress responsive material comprises photonic crystals embedded in an elastic polymer or a blend of elastic polymers.
In another aspect, the strain/stress responsive material stiffens in response to the force, the strain/stress responsive material being selected from crosslinked polymer networks, any suitable hydrogel, any suitable liquid metal or liquid crystal polymer or liquid crystal dispersed polymer, any suitable elastomer or elastomer composite, or any suitable nanocomposite.
In another embodiment, the strain/stress responsive material softens in response to the force, the strain/stress responsive material being selected from a carbon fiber and elastomer composite or a nanocomposite.
In another aspect, the fabric provided herein further comprises at least one cooling agent that is thermally conductive and/or chemical agents that activate cutaneous transient receptor potential (TRP) channels that triggers the generation of cooling perception.
In an embodiment, the at least one cooling agent is a cooling oil, a cooling oil extract, a synthesized chemical with identical chemical structure to a cooling oil extract or a bioprocessed chemical with identical chemical structure to a cooling oil extract.
In a further embodiment, the at least one cooling agent is encapsulated by or incorporated with at least one of the moisture response material and the temperature responsive material.
In an additional embodiment, the at least one cooling agent is a cooling oil extracted from a peppermint plant, a spearmint plant, a jojoba, a tea tree, a, aor a combination thereof.
In another aspect, the fabric provided herein further comprises at least one warming agent that is thermally insulative or reflective and/or chemical agents that activate cutaneous transient receptor potential (TRP) channels that triggers the generation of warming perception.
In an embodiment, the at least one warming agent is a warming oil, a warming oil extract, a synthesized chemical with identical chemical structure to a warming oil extract, or bioprocessed chemical with identical chemical structure to a warming oil extract.
Unknown
November 6, 2025
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