Patent Publication Number: US-2006015055-A1

Title: Air permeable tape

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to an air permeable tape, and more particularly to an air permeable tape that is used in medical treatments.  
      2. Related Art  
      In the modern world of medicine, a huge variety of medical equipment has been developed for successfully performing and aiding medical treatments. The medical equipment ranges from large precision detection devices to tiny, easy-to-use medical accessories. The air permeable tape that is used to affixing bandages is one of such examples.  
      Air permeable tape is widely used in medical treatments, especially in affixing other medical instruments such as injection needle or gauze pad onto human body. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a perspective view of a conventional air permeable tape is illustrated. The air permeable tape  10  includes a cloth  11  and epoxy layer  12 . The cloth  11  can be made of many kinds of soft materials, while the epoxy layer  12  is sprayed or coated on one surface of the cloth  11  for adhering the air permeable tape  10  on human body. However, since the air permeability of the conventional air permeable tape  10  is quite low, a plurality of holes  13  is punched on the tape  10  to enhance the air permeability. In addition to the spraying or coating method used for applying the epoxy layer  12  on the cloth  11 , the epoxy layer  12  can also be formed by using pressure sensitive thermal glue. The thermal glue is transferred to the cloth  11  by means of a pressure roller, or permeated to the fiber of the cloth  11  to achieve similar adhesive effect. The sectional view of the holes  13 , cloth  11  and epoxy layer  12  of a conventional air permeable tape is illustrated in  FIG. 1A .  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Since in the conventional air permeable tape, a layer of pressure sensitive thermal glue that is not air permeable is used, the thermal glue will cover the holes formed in the cloth fiber when combining the epoxy layer and the cloth, which worsens the air permeability. Therefore, a plurality of holes is punched on the conventional air permeable tapes to improve the air permeability.  
      However, punching holes on the air permeable tapes requires additional manufacturing processes. On the other hand, since there are still a significant portion of the conventional air permeable tapes not being punched a hole, punching holes on the air permeable tape can not solve the air permeability problem completely. If such tapes are used for a long time, the water vapor (e.g. sweat, etc.) generated from human skin will induce the growth of bacteria, which can easily render a wound being infected. In addition, after the conventional air permeable tape being rinsed in the sweat generated from human skin, the epoxy layer is easily disseminated from the cloth. Therefore, some epoxy layer will remain on the skin when tearing the tape off, which is rather inconvenient.  
      In light of the above, one objective of the present invention is to provide an air permeable tape that can solve the air permeability problem mentioned above, as well as reducing the manufacturing process. The air permeable tape of the present invention can be affixed to any place of a human body. Since a plurality of air permeable holes is formed on the air permeable tape, the water vapor generated from human skin is sufficiently dissipated to the air. In addition, a layer of adhesive is formed on the fiber surface, the air permeable tape can easily be affixed and tore off from the skin.  
      Hereinafter, the air permeable tape of the present invention is described in detail by incorporating with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional air permeable tape.  
       FIG. 1A  is a sectional view of the conventional air permeable tape.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an air permeable tape in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2A  is a detailed perspective view of the air permeable tape of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the air permeable tape in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3A  is a sectional view of the air permeable tape of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  illustrates the usage of the air permeable tape of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENTS  
      The novel features of the present invention are hereinafter described in detail by incorporating with the accompanying drawings. However, it is appreciated that the accompanied drawings are provided only for the convenience of illustration and description, no limitation is intended thereto.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , a perspective view of the air permeable tape in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The air permeable tape  10  includes a cloth  11 . The cloth  11  is made of fibrous polymer materials. The fibrous polymer material includes non-woven fabrics, nylon cotton or other fibrous cloth. Referring to  FIG. 2A , a detailed perspective view of the air permeable tape of the present invention is illustrated. The cloth  11  is composed of a plurality of interwovenly constructed fibers  14 . The fibers  14  are irregularly integrated and arranged in an arbitrary manner. Since fibers  14  are arranged irregularly, air permeable holes  13  are formed between the fibers  14 . In addition, a layer of adhesive  15  is formed on the surface of each piece of fiber  14 . The adhesive  15  on the fiber  14  of the cloth  11  provide the means for securely affixing the air permeable tape  10  onto the skin of the user.  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , a perspective view of the air permeable tape in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The air permeable tape  10  includes a cloth  11 . The cloth  11  is made of fibrous polymer materials. The fibrous polymer material includes non-woven fabrics, nylon cotton or other fibrous cloth. Referring to  FIG. 3A , a sectional view of the air permeable tape of the present invention is illustrated. The cloth  11  is composed of a plurality of interwovenly constructed fibers  14 . The fibers  14  are irregularly integrated and arranged in an arbitrary manner. Since fibers  14  are arranged irregularly, air permeable holes  13  are formed between the fibers  14 . As shown, the surface of some fibers  14  forms the contact surface of the cloth  11  that contacts the skin of the user. Since a layer of adhesive  15  is formed on the surface of each piece of fiber  14 , the adhesive  15  on the fiber  14  of the cloth  11  provide the means for securely affixing the air permeable tape  10  onto the skin of the user.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , one usage example of the air permeable tape of the present invention is illustrated. As shown, the air permeable tape  10  is used to affix the injection needle  20  on the skin surface. Since the air permeable tape  10  includes a huge amount of air permeable holes, the water vapor generated from the skin surface  1  can be dissipated to the air through the air permeable holes. Since the conventional air permeable tape does not have air permeable holes, the water vapor generated from the skin surface can not be dissipated to the air, thereby resulting in  . In addition, since only the adhesive on the fibers is used to contact with human skin, the employment of adhesives can largely be reduced. In this manner, the production cost is reduced and the tape is easier to tear down as well.  
      Since, any person having ordinary skill in the art may readily find various equivalent alterations or modifications in light of the features as disclosed above, it is appreciated that the scope of the present invention is defined in the following claims. Therefore, all such equivalent alterations or modifications without departing from the subject matter as set forth in the following claims is considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention.