Patent Publication Number: US-2020281279-A1

Title: Tee shirt

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 62/815,720 filed Mar. 8, 2019, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an article such as a tee shirt. More particularly, the tee shirt may be constructed in such a way as to provide durability, measurable moisture management, and wearer comfort. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In the state of the art, various tee shirts sacrifice comfort or fit in an attempt to improve moisture management. Alternatively or additionally, conventional tee shirts may use synthetic materials and yarns in construction. However, improvements are needed. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure relates to articles of clothing such as tee shirts. 
     Articles, such as tee shirts, and method of making the same are disclosed. An article may comprise a main body formed from a pre-shrunk natural fabric; and a wicking barrier printed on a first surface of the fabric in a pattern that defines adjacent printed and unprinted portions such that moisture adjacent the first surface of the fabric is cause to move to the unprinted portions and is absorbed through the fabric. 
     There has thus been outlined, certain embodiments of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are referenced with like numerals. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the invention and intended only to be illustrative. 
         FIG. 1  is a chart of comparative data of conventional articles comprising examples A-K. 
         FIG. 2  is a chart of comparative data of conventional articles comprising examples A-K. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An article of clothing such as a tee shirt is described. 
     Materials 
     An article in accordance with the present disclosure may be formed from natural fibers. The article may be formed from a material comprising cotton (e.g., long fiber cotton, Supima cotton, etc.). Reference to long fiber cotton may comprise extra-long staple cotton and/or may comprise cotton having an average fiber length of greater than 1 inch, greater than 1.1 inches, greater than 1.2 inches, greater than 1.3 inches, greater than 1.4 inches, greater than 1.5 inches, greater than 1.6 inches, greater than 1.7 inches, greater than 1.8 inches, greater than 1.9 inches, or greater than 2 inches. The article may be formed from a material consisting essentially of cotton (e.g., long fiber cotton, Supima cotton, etc.). The article may be formed from a material consisting of cotton (e.g., long fiber cotton, Supima cotton, etc.). 
     Materials for forming articles in accordance with the present disclosure may be processed using various spinning techniques. Fibers may be spun using a conventional spinning technique. Fibers may be spun using ring or open-end spinning. Alternatively, fibers may be spun using an air entanglement (e.g., air jet) processes such as spinning. Such air entanglement may cause short fibers to fall out leaving longer fibers in the yarn. 
     In an aspect, when yarn is knitted into a fabric, a pre-shrink process may include compacting the fabric to effectively increase the g/cm̂2 of the pre-compacted-fabric. 
     The fabric may be processed in a wet tumbling and/or dry tumbling processes. The fabric/garment may be pre-shrunk such that a shrinkage rate at the garment level is below 2% or below 1%. 
     The fibers&#39; yarn and resultant fabric of the present disclosure may provide increased fabric strength, low fabric torque effect, and/or higher resistance to shrinkage and pilling. 
     Wicking 
     Fabric in accordance with the present disclosure may be printed with wicking patterns (for example, which may comprise Wicking Windows™ technology by Cotton Incorporated). As an example, a wicking barrier may be printed on the skin-facing side of the fabric. The printed barrier may define a pattern of non-absorbent barrier portions disposed adjacent unprinted absorbent fabric portions. As the wearer begins to sweat, the printed areas remain dry against the skin while small absorbent “windows” pull moisture to the outside of the fabric where it can evaporate and dry quickly. The print pattern may be a simple coverage effect or can incorporate a stylized design, which adds a greater level of versatility to the functional performance. As an example, a waffle pattern may be used such that the interior diamonds are printed, while the interposed lattice are unprinted. As such, moisture is forced to the lattice and is pulled to the fabric for faster expansion and evaporation. Other patterns may be used. 
     Construction 
     An article such as a tee shirt may be constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. Such construction may comprise a side seam overlock. The construction may comprise a bound seam interior seam allowance at shoulder. The construction may comprise a double bound collar. The construction may comprise minimized exterior topstitching at structural seams (e.g., to avoid abrasion). Conventional closing is under-arm, but articles in accordance with the present disclosure may comprise a construction that closes the arm hole last. Other construction methods may be used. 
     Performance of example articles (tee shirts) in accordance with the present disclosure was compared to conventional articles. Performance of conventional articles labeled examples A-K are shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . By comparison, example articles of the present disclosure were produced and tested, demonstrating improved performance over the conventional articles of  FIGS. 1-2 . As an illustrative example, several articles were produced in accordance with the present disclosure and exhibited the following example characteristics: 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     
         
         
           
             100% cotton; fabric weight 225 g/m 2 — 
             Dimensional Change After Laundering—AATCC 135-2018; Machine wash at 80° F. normal cycle, tide ultra powder detergent, followed by tumble dry delicate cycle: Length: −1.5%; Width: −0.9%. 
             Water Vapor Transmission—ASTM E96/E96M—15 Procedure B Result: 2893.30 g.day/m 2    
             Liquid Moisture Management Properties of Textile Fabrics—AATCC 195-2017: One-way transport capability (R): 243.6879; grade 4. 
           
         
       
    
     EXAMPLE 2 
     
         
         
           
             100% cotton; fabric weight 225 g/m 2 — 
             Dimensional Change After Laundering—AATCC 135-2018; Machine wash at 80° F. normal cycle, tide ultra powder detergent, followed by tumble dry delicate cycle: Length: −1.9%; Width: −0.7%. 
             Water Vapor Transmission—ASTM E96/E96M-15 Procedure B Result: 2714.3 g.day/m 2    
             Liquid Moisture Management Properties of Textile Fabrics—AATCC 195-2017: One-way transport capability (R): 256.3935; grade 4. 
           
         
       
    
     EXAMPLE 3 
     
         
         
           
             100% cotton; fabric weight 225 g/m 2 — 
             Dimensional Change After Laundering—AATCC 135-2018; Machine wash at 80° F. normal cycle, tide ultra powder detergent, followed by tumble dry delicate cycle: Length: −2.0%; Width: −0.0%. 
             Pilling Resistance: Random Tumble, After Three Wash—ASTM D3512/D3512M-16 After 3 Washes: After 30 minutes Average: 4.5 
             Water Vapor Transmission—ASTM E96/E96M-15 Procedure B Result: 2712.25 g/m 2 /24 hrs 
             Liquid Moisture Management Properties of Textile Fabrics—AATCC 195-2017: One-way transport capability (R): 297.2794; grade 4. 
           
         
       
    
     The above examples 1-3 are non-limiting and presented for illustration only. As shown, the present disclosure may produce articles exhibiting improved durability over conventional articles. For example, an article may comprise a main body formed from a pre-shrunk natural fabric; and a wicking barrier printed on a first surface of the fabric in a pattern that defines adjacent printed and unprinted portions such that moisture adjacent the first surface of the fabric is cause to move to the unprinted portions and is absorbed through the fabric. As a further example, forming an article in accordance with the present disclosure may comprise a combination of fiber length (e.g., long staple cotton) and spinning technique (e.g., air entanglement). 
     An article may comprise a main body formed from a pre-shrunk natural fabric; and a wicking barrier printed on a first surface of the fabric in a pattern that defines adjacent printed and unprinted portions such that moisture adjacent the first surface of the fabric is cause to move to the unprinted portions and is absorbed through the fabric. Such an article may exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:
         one-way transport index &gt;200 when tested using Moisture Management Test (MMT) method AATCC TM 195; and/or   &lt;10 seconds drop absorbency speed when tested using Drop Absorbency method AATCC TM 79.       

     The present disclosure may produce article exhibiting improved durability over conventional articles. For example, an article may comprise a main body formed from a pre-shrunk natural fabric; and a wicking barrier printed on a first surface of the fabric in a pattern that defines adjacent printed and unprinted portions such that moisture adjacent the first surface of the fabric is cause to move to the unprinted portions and is absorbed through the fabric. As a further example, forming an article in accordance with the present disclosure may comprise a combination of fiber length (e.g., long staple cotton) and spinning technique (e.g., air entanglement). Articles in accordance with the present disclosure may show improved characteristics such as:
         minimum Grade 3.5 after 10 home laundry when tested using Appearance After Wash AATCC TM 143; and/or   &lt;1% width shrinkage after 3 home laundry when tested using Dimensional Change AATCC TM 135, &lt;2% length shrinkage; and/or   minimum Grade 3.5 after 100 cycles when tested using Pilling Resistance ASTM D4970.       

     The present disclosure comprises at least the following aspects: 
     Aspect 1: An article comprising: a main body formed from a pre-shrunk natural fabric; and a wicking barrier printed on a first surface of the fabric in a pattern that defines adjacent printed and unprinted portions such that moisture adjacent the first surface of the fabric is cause to move to the unprinted portions and is absorbed through the fabric. 
     Aspect 2: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric comprises cotton. 
     Aspect 3: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton. 
     Aspect 4: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of long-fiber cotton. 
     Aspect 5: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.0 inches. 
     Aspect 6: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.1 inches. 
     Aspect 7: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.2 inches. 
     Aspect 8: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.3 inches. 
     Aspect 9: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.4 inches. 
     Aspect 10: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.5 inches. 
     Aspect 11: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.6 inches. 
     Aspect 12: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.7 inches. 
     Aspect 13: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.8 inches. 
     Aspect 14: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.9 inches. 
     Aspect 15: The article of aspect 1, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 2.0 inches. 
     Aspect 16: The article of any one of aspects 1-15, wherein the natural fabric exhibits a shrinkage rate of less than 2%. 
     Aspect 17: The article of any one of aspects 1-15, wherein the natural fabric exhibits a shrinkage rate of less than 1%. 
     Aspect 18: The article of any one of aspects 1-17, wherein the wicking barrier pattern comprises a waffle pattern. 
     Aspect 19: A method for making the article of any one of aspects 1-18. 
     Aspect 20: A tee shirt comprising: a main body formed from a pre-shrunk natural fabric having an interior surface configured to abut a body of a wearer; and a wicking barrier printed on the interior surface of the fabric in a pattern that defines adjacent printed and unprinted portions such that moisture adjacent the interior surface of the fabric is cause to move to the unprinted portions and is absorbed through the fabric. 
     Aspect 21: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric comprises cotton. 
     Aspect 22: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton. 
     Aspect 23: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of long-fiber cotton. 
     Aspect 24: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.0 inches. 
     Aspect 25: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.1 inches. 
     Aspect 26: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.2 inches. 
     Aspect 27: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.3 inches. 
     Aspect 28: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.4 inches. 
     Aspect 29: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.5 inches. 
     Aspect 30: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.6 inches. 
     Aspect 31: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.7 inches. 
     Aspect 32: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.8 inches. 
     Aspect 33: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 1.9 inches. 
     Aspect 34: The tee shirt of aspect 20, wherein the natural fabric consists essentially of cotton having average fiber length of greater than 2.0 inches. 
     Aspect 35: The tee shirt of any one of aspects 20-34, wherein the natural fabric exhibits a shrinkage rate of less than 2%. 
     Aspect 36: The tee shirt of any one of aspects 20-34, wherein the natural fabric exhibits a shrinkage rate of less than 1%. 
     Aspect 37: The tee shirt of any one of aspects 20-36, wherein the wicking barrier pattern comprises a waffle pattern. 
     Aspect 38: A method for making the tee shirt of any one of aspects 20-37. 
     It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments or embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     Reference in this application to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “one or more embodiments,” “aspects,” or the like means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of, for example, the phrases “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by the other. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not by other embodiments. 
     The following exemplary embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and fully convey the scope to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices and schematic configurations to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details need not be employed, that the exemplary embodiments may be embodied in many different forms, and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     While the system and method have been described in terms of what are presently considered to be specific embodiments, the disclosure need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.