Patent Publication Number: US-2022220648-A1

Title: Method and system for creating a non-woven fabric

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the manufacturing and packaging sector of clothing and textile accessories, including for furnishing, and other products partially or completely made with textile threads. 
     In particular, the invention relates to a method and a system for the creation of a non-woven fabric. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Currently for the manufacture of clothing, accessories and textile products for the home or industry many steps are faced starting from the creation of one or more fabrics obtained through the intertwining of textile yarns, in turn composed of fibres or filaments of length variable twisted together. 
     The fabric is commonly made in strips or tubulars of variable length and width depending on the production support. Subsequently, the fabric can be treated or finished to improve its qualities or technical skills. The strip of fabric is then cut to obtain parts of a specific shape that will be used, after being combined with other materials or pre-treated, to create an item of clothing once sewn together, or joined with various methods, according to a sequence precise. The garment in turn can be subsequently finished, treated or printed. 
     The process described above has some drawbacks. 
     First, each of these steps is commonly managed by separate entities that make a single part or step of the semi-finished product, resulting in the need for numerous machines. 
     Furthermore, textile production requires high quantities to compensate for the amount of work required for the production of a fabric, especially for the so-called “shuttle” fabrics, i.e. fabrics with orthogonal warp and weft. 
     A further negative aspect is that the quality of the product obtained is strictly dependent on the manual skills and abilities of the people who participate in the packaging of the garment, although part of the process can be automated. 
     Finally, the cutting process produces a certain waste of fabric due to the specific shapes of the parts that will make up the garment. 
     As an alternative to the traditional process, there are the processes of creating so-called non-woven fabrics (TNT), a heterogeneous case that includes, for example, fabrics obtained through needle-punch processes, gluing on plastic supports (such as plastic films—bonded), thermoforming and/or mechanical compression of staple fibres, usually synthetic combined with glue substances (other examples of ‘non-woven’ are staple n., melt-blown n., spun-bond n., etc) 
     This category of fabrics is rarely used for textiles that come into contact with humans, due to the low quality of the fibres used and poor resistance to stress. Therefore, these fabrics are mainly used in industry and not for the creation of clothing. 
     Recently, methods have been experimented for the creation of textile parts that exploit the electrostatic properties of some fibres which are subsequently joined with physical/chemical actions. 
     Also in this case, the garments have poor quality and resistance qualities. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide a process to generate garments, and parts of them, which requires a lower number of machines and steps than the processes of the prior art. 
     It is also a feature of the present invention to provide such a process which can be automated even in the case of production of a low number of items. 
     It is a further feature of the present invention to provide such a process that considerably reduces fabric waste. 
     It is still a feature of the present invention to provide such a process that can be used both for industrial production and for home production. 
     These and other objects are achieved by a method to generate a non-woven fabric, according to claims from 1 to 10. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further characteristic and/or advantages of the present invention are more bright with the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, exemplifying but not limitative, with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  diagrammatically show the step of joining the textile threads of the method to generate a non-woven fabric, according to the present invention, showing the trajectories of the textile threads and the intersection point; 
         FIG. 2  shows two portions of textile threads suitable for being arranged on trajectories γ 1  and γ 2  at intersection point P i  according to a defined sequence; 
         FIG. 3  shows graphically an exemplary implementation of the method wherein union is made by overlapping the two rigid supports; 
         FIG. 4  shows graphically an exemplary implementation of the method where the tensioning points T i  for arranging the portions of textile thread along the respective trajectories are made by means of tensioning elements integral to the rigid supports; 
         FIG. 5  graphically shows an exemplary embodiment, variant of that of  FIG. 4 , wherein mobile tensioning elements are provided; 
         FIG. 6  graphically shows an exemplary embodiment in which two rotating rigid supports are provided for continuous processing; 
         FIG. 7  graphically shows the subsequent steps of an embodiment of the method wherein a three-dimensional rigid anthropomorphic support and a rotating rigid support are provided; 
         FIG. 8  shows a variant of the method, according to the present invention, wherein the two rigid supports are not superimposed to carry out the step of joining the textile threads, but are placed adjacent to one another in order to allow the joining of non-woven fabrics created in parallel; 
         FIG. 9  shows the step of joining several parts obtained by means of three three-dimensional rigid supports. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2 and 3  in a first embodiment of the method to generate a non-woven fabric  10 , according to the present invention, there is a first step of prearranging a plurality thread guides  100  that are moved to guide at least as many textile threads  110  to arrange themselves along first trajectories γ 1  on a first rigid support  200 , which in  FIG. 1A  is schematically represented by the dotted line below the thread guides  100 . There is then a step of new handling of the thread guides  110  to arrange second portions of textile thread  110  along second trajectories γ 2 , in order to join the first portions and the second portions of textile threads  110  at the intersection point P i  and to thus create the non-woven fabric. The union of one thread on the other gives tension to the threads. 
     In particular, in the present embodiment of the method, the step of joining the textile threads is made by gluing and, before the joining step, there is a step of depositing a glue element on the intersection point P i  on the portions of textile thread  110 . 
     In particular, with reference to  FIG. 2 , the textile threads  110  can already be provided with glue before being arranged along the trajectories γ 1  and γ 2 , calculating the distance d i  between the intersection point P i  on the respective threads  110 . 
     In particular, the glue is arranged in such a way as to prevent it from escaping from the intersection point P i , so as to prevent the non-woven fabric from becoming adhesive at the end of the process. 
     In particular, the glue element can be:
         a photo-hardening resin, subsequently exposed to UV rays;   a two-component resin;   a physically or chemically activatable resin;   an adhesive film;   a combining the previous.       

     Alternatively, the textile threads can be treated previously, so that they can be joined by ultrasound. 
     Alternatively, the joining step can be made by means of other systems such as, for example, sewing or needling. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , in an embodiment of the method, the second portions of textile threads  110  are arranged on a second rigid support  200 ′ and the step of joining the textile threads  110  is made by overlapping the rigid supports  200  and  200 ′. 
     In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 4 , on the two rigid supports  200  and  200 ′ tensioning elements  220 , 220 ′ are provided arranged to create, respectively, tensioning points T i  along the trajectories γ 1  and auxiliary tensioning points T i ′ along the trajectories γ 2  to provide to the textile threads  110  a predetermined tension between two consecutive tensioning points T i . The rigid supports  200  and  200 ′ are then overlapped, in a similar manner to what has been said for  FIG. 3 . 
     In particular, the tensioning elements  220 , 220 ′ can be equipped with mobile parts, be totally or partially separable from the support or can be made, even partially, of elastic or soft materials (e.g. foam or rubber) to facilitate the overlapping and joining steps. 
     In this embodiment, both the first rigid support  200  and the second rigid support  200 ′ have a planar shape. Alternatively, only one of the two rigid supports  200 , 200 ′ may have planar shape. 
     In  FIG. 5  a variant of the method is shown wherein the tensioning elements  220 , 220 ′ can translate with respect to the supports  200  and  200 ′ to suitably adjust the tension of the threads  110   a , 110   b  and to facilitate the arrangement of the textile thread along the trajectory, in addition to allow greater adaptation to the desired geometry for the textile product. 
     In a first solution of the invention, as shown for example in an exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 4 , a first and a second portion of a single textile thread  110  are arranged on both the trajectories γ 1  and γ 2 , so that the textile thread  110  is glued on itself to generate the non-woven fabric. 
     Alternatively, as shown for example in the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , a first textile thread  110   a  can be arranged on the trajectory γ 1 , whereas at least one second textile thread  110   b  is arranged on at least one trajectory γ 2 , passing on the intersection point P i . In this solution, therefore, the textile thread  110  is cut after being placed along the trajectory γ 1 . 
     In each embodiment of the present invention, can be a step of cutting the textile thread  110 , 110   a , 110   b  to separate it by the thread guide  100 . Such step can be carried out both before and after the joining step, or only after this step. 
     In general, the tensioning points T i  and T i ′ can be made, alternatively, or in combination:
         using glue or other removable adhesives on the rigid support;   by means of tensioning elements integral with the rigid support;   by means of tensioning elements movable with respect to the rigid support, so as to vary the working perimeter on the rigid supports and/or increase the tension of the thread;   by means of a rigid support equipped with micro-holes that keep the thread in position by suction;   by means of a rigid support equipped with an electrostatic charge which holds the thread in position by electrostatic force;   by means of a rigid magnetically charged support and a magnetized thread.       

     In particular, the rigid support can be equipped with parts made with elastic or rubbery materials, such as shown in  FIG. 7 , to facilitate the meeting of the threads in the overlapping and joining steps. 
     In the variant embodiment of  FIG. 6 , two rotating rigid supports  200  and  200 ′ are provided comprising tensioning elements  220 , 220 ′ translatable with respect to each other, configured to create tensioning points T i  and arranged along the trajectories γ 1  and γ 2 . In this embodiment, the joining by gluing is carried out by overlapping the supports and can be carried out during the continuous arrangement of the textile threads  110  along the trajectories γ 1  and γ 2 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , the first rigid support  200  can also be an anthropomorphic three-dimensional support that allows the non-woven fabric to be modelled in a three-dimensional way, obtaining the joining of the textile threads by means, for example, of a second rotating rigid support  200 ′. 
     In  FIG. 8  an embodiment of the method is shown, according to the present invention, wherein the two rigid supports  200  and  200 ′ are not superimposed to carry out the step of joining the textile threads  110 , but are used in parallel to provide different portions of non-woven fabric  10   a  and  10   b  and join them subsequently. 
     In this embodiment, therefore, the joining the textile threads  110  is made separately on each rigid support  200 , 200 ′, for example by gluing. 
     In particular, with reference to  FIG. 9 , the rigid supports  200  and  200 ′ can be anatomically shaped three-dimensional supports that allow the various parts of an item of clothing to be created. 
     The foregoing description some exemplary specific embodiments will so fully reveal the invention according to the conceptual point of view, so that others, by applying current knowledge, will be able to modify and/or adapt in various applications the specific exemplary embodiments without further research and without parting from the invention, and, accordingly, it is meant that such adaptations and modifications will have to be considered as equivalent to the specific embodiments. The means and the materials to realise the different functions described herein could have a different nature without, for this reason, departing from the field of the invention. it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology that is employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.