Patent Publication Number: US-11661684-B2

Title: Plaited low-melt yarn for adhering fabric

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims the benefits of and priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application Number 62/785,889 filed Dec. 28, 2018 by Bowles et. al. and entitled “Plated Low Melt Yarn for Adhering Fabric” of which the entire disclosure is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to methods and systems for producing and using a knitted fabric and more particularly to producing and using a plaited fabric comprising a low-melt yarn for adhering the fabric without a glue adhesive. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many different goods or articles have hard enclosures covered with a fabric for aesthetics or to provide a pleasant tactile feel. For example, various smart speakers and/or audio speakers are covered in while or in part with a fabric. Typically, these fabric covers are affixed to the surface of the article with a glue adhesive. However, glue adhesives are messy and difficult to apply. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for producing and using knitted fabrics. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the disclosure provide systems and methods for producing and using a plaited fabric comprising a low-melt yarn for adhering the fabric without a glue adhesive. According to one embodiment, a knitted fabric can comprise a first polymeric yarn of a first material and a second polymeric yarn of a second material. According to one embodiment, the first polymeric yarn can be knitted with the second polymeric yarn by plaiting. 
     The first polymeric yarn can form a base of the knitted fabric and can be knitted with the second polymeric yarn to form the fabric. The second material can be different from the first material and can have a lower melting temperature than the first material. For example, the first polymeric yarn can be a polyester-based yarn, a nylon yarn, or a cotton yarn. The second polymeric yarn can comprise a copolyimide yarn such as Grilon K85, for example. 
     The knitted fabric can be elastic and the first polymeric yarn can move relative to the second polymeric yarn prior to the application of heat to the knitted fabric. Upon application of heat to the knitted fabric, the second polymeric yarn can form an adhesive and cohesive mechanical attachment to itself and form a tight-knit structural bond within the fabric without the use of a glue adhesive. 
     According to another embodiment, an article can comprise an enclosure forming an external surface of the article, e.g., a speaker. A knit fabric cover can surround at least a portion of the external surface of the article. The knit fabric cover can comprise a first polymeric yarn of a first material and a second polymeric yarn of a second material knitted with the second polymeric yarn to form the fabric. For example, the first polymeric yarn can be knitted with the second polymeric yarn by plaiting. 
     The first polymeric yarn can form a base of the knitted fabric. The second material can be different from the first material and can have a lower melting temperature than the first material. For example, the first material can be a polyester yarn, a nylon, or cotton. The second material can comprise a copolyimide. 
     The knitted fabric cover can be elastic and the first polymeric yarn can move relative to the second polymeric yarn prior to the application of heat to the knitted fabric. Thus, the knit fabric cover can be placed over the article and positioned to surround the portion of the external surface of the article before the application of heat to the knit fabric cover. Once in place and upon application of heat to the knit fabric cover, the second polymeric yarn can form an adhesive and cohesive mechanical attachment to itself and form a tight-knit structural bond within the fabric without the use of a glue adhesive. 
     According to yet another embodiment, a method for producing and using a knitted fabric can comprise plaiting a first polymeric yarn of a first material with a second polymeric yarn of a second material into the knitted fabric. The first polymeric yarn can form a base of the knitted fabric and can be plaited with the second polymeric yarn to form the fabric. The second material can be different from the first material and having a lower melting temperature than the first material. For example, the first material can comprise polyester, nylon, or cotton and the second material can comprise a copolyimide. The knitted fabric can be elastic and the first polymeric yarn can move relative to the second polymeric yarn. 
     The knitted fabric can be formed into a cover for an article and can be placed over the article. Heat can be applied to the cover. The heat can melt the second polymeric yarn to form an adhesive and cohesive mechanical attachment to itself and form a tight-knit structural bond within the fabric and around the article without the use of a glue adhesive. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a view of a fabric comprising plaited, low-melt yarn according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates another view of a fabric comprising plaited, low-melt yarn according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an exemplary use of a fabric comprising plaited, low-melt yarn according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for producing and using a knitted fabric according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments disclosed herein. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that various embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specific details. The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope or applicability of the disclosure. Furthermore, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structures and devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scopes of the claims. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should however be appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein. 
     As used herein, the phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “A, B, and/or C,” and “A, B, or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 
     The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
     It shall be understood that the term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the summary of the disclosure, brief description of the drawings, detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves. 
     Various additional details of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the figures. While the flowcharts will be discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure include a low melt yarn adhesive yarn integrated into the fabric during the knitting process by plating (such is performed in textile knitting constructions) the yarn on one side of the fabric. The fabric can be adhered to a rigid base with heat and pressure rather than glue. In some cases, two dissimilar polymeric yarn materials can be used with one yarn material having a higher melt or Tg than the second polymeric yarn material that when heated the second polymerical yarn material forms an adhesive or cohesive mechanical attachment to itself resulting in a tight knit structural bond, eliminating the need for a glue adhesive application to form the mechanical bond. 
     For example, in construction, polyester based ground yarn plaited (such is done is performed in textile knitting constructions) with a copolyamide yarn (such as Grilon K85) with material properties for bonding or other materials with similar properties. Other types of ground yarns could include, but are not limited to, Nylon, cotton, and other fibers commonly used in textile constructed goods. The constructed yarn can be woven on a knit machine such as a Shima Seiki SWG091N2 Wholegarment knitting machine. Other machines are available to perform similar operations. 
     Fabric according to embodiments described herein can maintain elastic properties until thermally activated into desirable rigid position and the fabric can move freely on base for correct positioning before it is adhered. Adhesive can be integrated during the creation of the fabric as opposed to being added as an additional operation. Minimal glue seepage and mess are created during adhering and rigidity can be added to the fabric. Additionally, the fabric can maintain air permeability and acoustic integrity by only applying adhesive where there is yarn. One application of such a fabric can be speaker covers as commonly used in product lines such as those of Sony, Bose, Sonos, Dyson, Sennheiser, and others. Other applications can include but are not limited to audio, automotive, medical, industrial, consumer, home, wearables, aerospace, where fabric encasements and integration is needed. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a view of a fabric comprising plaited, low-melt yarn according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG.  2    illustrates another view of a fabric comprising plaited, low-melt yarn according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in these example, a knitted fabric  100  can comprise a first polymeric yarn  110  of a first material and a second polymeric yarn  105  of a second material. According to one embodiment, the first polymeric yarn  110  can be knitted with the second polymeric yarn  105  by plaiting. 
     The first polymeric yarn  110  can form a base of the knitted fabric  100  and can be knitted with the second polymeric yarn  105  to form the fabric. The second material can be different from the first material and can have a lower melting temperature than the first material. For example, the first polymeric yarn  110  can be a polyester-based yarn, a nylon yarn, or a cotton yarn. The second polymeric yarn  105  can comprise a copolyimide yarn such as Grilon K85, for example. 
     The knitted fabric  100  can be elastic and the first polymeric yarn  110  can move relative to the second polymeric yarn  105  prior to the application of heat to the knitted fabric  100 . Upon application of heat to the knitted fabric  100 , the second polymeric yarn  105  can form an adhesive and cohesive mechanical attachment to itself and form a tight-knit structural bond within the fabric without the use of a glue adhesive. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates an exemplary use of a fabric comprising plaited, low-melt yarn according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in this example, an article  300  can comprise an enclosure forming an external surface of the article  300 , e.g., a speaker. A knit fabric cover can surround at least a portion of the external surface of the article  300 . The knit fabric cover can comprise a first polymeric yarn  110  of a first material and a second polymeric yarn  105  of a second material knitted with the second polymeric yarn  105  to form the fabric. For example, the first polymeric yarn  110  can be knitted with the second polymeric yarn  105  by plaiting. 
     The first polymeric yarn  110  can form a base of the knitted fabric  100 . The second material can be different from the first material and can have a lower melting temperature than the first material. For example, the first material can be a polyester yarn, a nylon, or cotton. The second material can comprise a copolyimide. 
     The knitted fabric  100  cover can be elastic and the first polymeric yarn  110  can move relative to the second polymeric yarn  105  prior to the application of heat to the knitted fabric  100 . Thus, the knit fabric cover can be placed over the article  300  and positioned to surround the portion of the external surface of the article  300  before the application of heat to the knit fabric cover. Once in place and upon application of heat to the knit fabric cover, the second polymeric yarn  105  can form an adhesive and cohesive mechanical attachment to itself and form a tight-knit structural bond within the fabric without the use of a glue adhesive. 
       FIG.  4    is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for producing and using a knitted fabric according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in this example, producing and using a knitted fabric  100  can comprise plaiting  405  a first polymeric yarn  110  of a first material with a second polymeric yarn  105  of a second material into the knitted fabric  100 . The first polymeric yarn  110  can form a base of the knitted fabric  100  and can be plaited with the second polymeric yarn  105  to form the fabric. The second material can be different from the first material and having a lower melting temperature than the first material. For example, the first material can comprise polyester, nylon, or cotton and the second material can comprise a copolyimide. The knitted fabric  100  can be elastic and the first polymeric yarn  110  can move relative to the second polymeric yarn  105 . 
     The knitted fabric  100  can be formed  410  into a cover for an article  300  and can be placed  415  over the article  300 . Heat can be applied  420  to the cover. The heat can melt the second polymeric yarn  105  to form an adhesive and cohesive mechanical attachment to itself and form a tight-knit structural bond within the fabric and around the article  300  without the use of a glue adhesive. 
     The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Moreover, though the description has included description of one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.