Patent Description:
Generally, natural dyeing refers to the process of coloring fabrics using vegetable, animal, or mineral dyes. Such natural dyeing is characterized by not having higher color saturation than chemical dyes, and being highly eco-friendly and highly human-friendly.

Compared with synthetic dyeing, such natural dyeing is advantageous in terms of natural color, excellent aesthetic performance, and having functionalities such as antibacterial, deodorizing, and anti-allergic properties due to natural dyeing using processed natural materials as dyes. In addition, natural dyes are advantageous in that wastewater and odor problems, which accompany the use of synthetic dyes, do not occur, and they are eco-friendly.

However, the use of natural dyes gradually decreases as synthetic dyes are developed, due to limited production of dyes, unsatisfactory fastness of dyed products, and ease of forming dyeing stains, and thus currently, natural dyes are not used much except for special purposes. In natural dyes, the content of a pigment component varies depending on various environmental changes, such as production area, growing environment, nutritional status, and collection time, and the color of a dyed product varies depending on a pigment extraction method, a dyeing method, and the like, and thus natural dyes are not very suitable for mass production required by modern industry, which is one of reasons for poor industrialization thereof. In particular, low fastness of dyed products during natural dyeing is the most difficult problem to overcome and acts as a major obstacle to the modernization of natural dye dyeing techniques.

Meanwhile, persimmon is a tuber vegetable belonging to the hemp family, and persimmon juice has typically been used as a dye to dye textiles. As an example of the related art, <CIT> discloses a dyeing method using a persimmon juice dye and a natural dye. However, in the above-described related art, as the method not only uses only pure persimmon juice, but also requires a process of pre-treating a fabric with a dye extracted from natural dye stuffs and soybean juice to prevent the occurrence of stains, dyeing processes and costs are increased, resulting in reduced economic efficiency and productivity.

In the present disclosure, a method of naturally dyeing a fabric using fermented persimmon juice obtained by fermenting persimmon juice under specific conditions, whereby not only excellent color development but also excellent antibacterial activity are exhibited, and decolorization of natural dyeing due to daylight, washing, water, sweat, and the like can be prevented, was developed, thus completing the present disclosure.

Processes for dyeing with fermented persimmon juice are also disclosed in <CIT>) and <CIT>).

The present disclosure has been made to address the above-described problems, and provides fermented persimmon juice that not only undergoes no color change, but also exhibits excellent antibacterial activity and deodorization, and not only exhibits excellent management and practicality without a change in the shape of a material, but also exhibits excellent natural dyeing properties and excellent dyeing fastness such as friction fastness and light fastness.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice includes: a first process of preparing fermented persimmon juice; a second process of adding a fabric and the fermented persimmon juice to a sealed container and hermetically storing the same at a temperature between about <NUM> and about <NUM> for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours; a third process of performing a dying process by immersing the fabric taken out of the sealed container in the fermented persimmon juice and drying the immersed fabric; a fourth process of uniformly spraying water onto both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the dyeing process to perform a color development process by oxidative polymerization; a fifth process of performing a post-treatment process by immersing the fabric subjected to the color development process by oxidative polymerization in water for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours and drying the immersed fabric; and a sixth process of coating both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the post-treatment process with a silicon coating solution to produce a naturally dyed fabric.

The fermented persimmon juice prepared in the first process is prepared through process <NUM>-<NUM> of aging crushed fresh persimmon for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours, process <NUM>-<NUM> of squeezing the aged crushed fresh persimmon to produce persimmon juice, and process <NUM>-<NUM> of fermenting the produced persimmon juice for about <NUM> days to about <NUM>,<NUM> days to produce fermented persimmon juice.

The aging of process <NUM>-<NUM> is performed at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, and the fermentation of process <NUM>-<NUM> is performed at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>.

The immersion of the third process is performed for about <NUM> minutes to about <NUM> minutes.

The color development process by oxidative polymerization of the fourth process is performed two to six times.

The spraying of the fourth process comprises spraying about <NUM> to about <NUM> of water per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric.

The water in the fifth process has a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the silicon coating solution may include a first silicon base solution and a second silicon base solution in a weight ratio of about <NUM>: about <NUM>-<NUM>.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first silicon base solution may include about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt% of a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below and about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt% of a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below, with respect to the total weight%.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the second silicon base solution may include about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt% of a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below, about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt% of silicon dioxide, and about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt% of a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below, with respect to the total weight%. <CHM>
wherein, in Formula <NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, and R<NUM> are each independently a C1-C5 alkyl group, and n is a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>,
<CHM>
wherein, in Formula <NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, and R<NUM> are each independently a C1-C5 alkyl group, and <NUM> and m are each independently a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>, and
<CHM>
wherein, in Formula <NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM> and R<NUM> are each independently a C1-C5 alkyl group, and q and p are each a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the fabric may be cotton, linen, silk, or wool.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the following condition (<NUM>) may be satisfied.

In condition (<NUM>), A denotes a basis weight (g/m<NUM>) of the fabric, and B denotes a basis weight (g/m<NUM>) of the naturally dyed fabric.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in such a way that the present disclosure may be easily carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosure pertains. The present disclosure may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to embodiments set forth herein.

A natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure includes first to sixth processes.

First, the first process of the natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure is to prepare fermented persimmon juice.

The fermented persimmon juice prepared in the first process is prepared by fermenting persimmon juice obtained by squeezing persimmons, and is prepared by process <NUM>-<NUM> to process <NUM>-<NUM>.

First, process <NUM>-<NUM> of the preparation of the fermented persimmon juice is to age crushed fresh persimmon for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours, preferably about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours. In this case, the crushed fresh persimmon may be obtained by washing naturally collected persimmons and crushing the same.

When the aging time of process <NUM>-<NUM> is less than <NUM> hours, in performing process <NUM>-<NUM>, fermentation does not sufficiently occur, and thus dye adsorption problems may occur. When the aging time of process <NUM>-<NUM> exceeds <NUM> hours, contamination and deterioration problems may occur.

In addition, the aging of process <NUM>-<NUM> is performed at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, preferably about <NUM> to about <NUM>. When the aging temperature is less than <NUM>, fermentation may not occur in process <NUM>-<NUM>. When the aging temperature exceeds <NUM>, bad odor and contamination problems may occur.

Next, process <NUM>-<NUM> of the preparation of the fermented persimmon juice is to produce persimmon juice obtained by squeezing the crushed fresh persimmon aged in process <NUM>-<NUM>. In this case, before process <NUM>-<NUM>, air bubbles generated in the crushed fresh persimmon aged in process <NUM>-<NUM> may be removed, and then the crushed fresh persimmon is squeezed, thereby preparing persimmon juice.

Lastly, process <NUM>-<NUM> of the preparation of the fermented persimmon juice is to ferment the persimmon juice prepared in process <NUM>-<NUM> for about <NUM> days to about <NUM>,<NUM> days, preferably about <NUM> days to about <NUM>,<NUM> days to thereby produce fermented persimmon juice.

When the fermentation time of process <NUM>-<NUM> is less than <NUM> days, there may be a problem that dyeing may not be uniform due to an insufficient function of a dyeing agent. When the fermentation time of process <NUM>-<NUM> exceeds <NUM>,<NUM> days, damage to fabric and bad odor problems may occur when performing dyeing.

In addition, the fermentation of process <NUM>-<NUM> is performed at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, preferably about <NUM> to about <NUM>. When the fermentation temperature is less than <NUM>, fermentation may not occur. When the fermentation temperature exceeds <NUM>, uniform dye extraction may not occur due to excessive generation of air bubbles.

Next, the second process of the natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure is to add a fabric and the fermented persimmon juice prepared in the first process to a sealed container and hermetically store the same at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, preferably about <NUM> to about <NUM> for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours, preferably about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours.

The fabric prepared in the second process may be cotton, linen, silk, or wool, preferably cotton.

In addition, the basis weight of the fabric prepared in the second process is not particularly limited, but may range from, preferably, about <NUM>/m<NUM> to about <NUM>/m<NUM>, more preferably about <NUM>/m<NUM> to about <NUM>/m<NUM>.

When the hermetic storage temperature of the second process is less than <NUM>, the fermented persimmon juice may not be sufficiently fixed to the fabric. When the hermetic storage temperature of the second process exceeds <NUM>, stains and damage to the fabric may occur. In addition, when the hermetic storage time of the second process is less than <NUM> hours, the fermented persimmon juice may not be sufficiently fixed to the fabric. When the hermetic storage time of the second process exceeds <NUM> hours, problems such as damage to the fabric and a unique odor remaining on the fabric may occur.

Next, the third process of the natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure is to perform a dyeing process by immersing the fabric taken out of the sealed container in the fermented persimmon juice prepared in the first process and drying the immersed fabric.

In this case, the immersion of the third process is performed for about <NUM> minutes to about <NUM> minutes, preferably for about <NUM> minutes to about <NUM> minutes. When the immersion time is less than <NUM> minutes, the fermented persimmon juice may not be sufficiently fixed to the fabric so that stains can occur. When the immersion time exceeds <NUM> minutes, not only the fabric may be damaged, but also the color may be blurred.

In addition, the drying of the third process may be performed until the fabric is completely dried in a natural state after the immersed fabric is taken out of the fermented persimmon juice, and may be performed for approximately <NUM>-<NUM> hours.

Next, the fourth process of the natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure is to perform a color development process by oxidative polymerization by uniformly spraying water onto both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the dyeing process. The color development process by oxidative polymerization is a process of developing a color on a fabric by moisture, oxygen, or the like in an environment where the fabric can come into contact with air, and the spraying of the fourth process is performed by spraying water at an amount of about <NUM> to about <NUM>, preferably about <NUM> to about <NUM>, per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric. When less than <NUM> of water per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric is sprayed, the fermented persimmon juice may not be uniformly fixed to the fabric. When greater than <NUM> of water per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric is sprayed, color sharpness may deteriorate.

Meanwhile, the color development process by oxidative polymerization of the fourth process is performed two to six times, and more preferably three times to five times. When the color development process by oxidative polymerization of the fourth process is performed less than twice, color development problems may occur. When the color development process by oxidative polymerization of the fourth process is performed more than six times, stains and dull color may occur.

Next, the fifth process of the natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure is a post-treatment process of immersing the fabric subjected to the color development process by oxidative polymerization in water for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours, preferably about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours, and drying the immersed fabric. When the post-treatment process is not performed, dyeing fastness may be reduced.

In addition, the drying of the fifth process may be performed until the fabric is completely dried in a natural state after the immersed fabric is taken out of the water, and may be performed for approximately <NUM> to <NUM> hours.

In addition, when the immersion time of the fifth process is less than <NUM> hours, not only color persistence may be deteriorated, but also dyeing fastness may be reduced. When the immersion time of the fifth process exceeds <NUM> hours, the fabric may be damaged and a dye may be unstably fixed to the fabric.

Meanwhile, the water of the fifth process has a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>,
preferably about <NUM> to about <NUM>, and more preferably about <NUM>. When the temperature of the water of the fifth process is less than <NUM>, fastness and a deodorization rate may be reduced.

Lastly, the sixth process of the natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice according to the present disclosure is to coat both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the post-treatment process with a silicon coating solution to thereby produce a naturally dyed fabric.

In this case, the basis weight of the naturally dyed fabric produced in the sixth process is not particularly limited, but may range from, preferably, about <NUM>/m<NUM> to about <NUM>/m<NUM>, more preferably about <NUM>/m<NUM> to about <NUM>/m<NUM>.

In addition, preferably, the following condition (<NUM>) may be satisfied. <MAT>preferably <NUM> ≤ B/A ≤<NUM>, more preferably <NUM> ≤ B/A ≤ <NUM>.

In condition (<NUM>), A denotes the basis weight (g/m<NUM>) of the fabric, and B denotes the basis weight (g/m<NUM>) of the naturally dyed fabric.

The silicon coating solution used in the sixth process may include a first silicon base solution and a second silicon base solution in a weight ratio of about <NUM>: about <NUM>-<NUM>, preferably about <NUM>: about <NUM>-<NUM>.

The first silicon base solution may include a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below in an amount of about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, preferably about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, with respect to the total weight%. <CHM>
wherein, in Formula <NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, and R<NUM> are each independently a C1-C5 alkyl group, preferably each independently a C1-C3 alkyl group, and n is a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>.

More particularly, the compound represented by Formula <NUM> above may be a material with chemical abstracts service registry number (CAS No.) <NUM>-<NUM>-<NUM>.

In addition, the first silicon base solution may include a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below in an amount of about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, preferably about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, with respect to the total weight%. <CHM>
<CHM>
wherein, in Formula <NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, and R<NUM> are each independently a C1-C5 alkyl group, preferably each independently a C1-C3 alkyl group, and <NUM> and m are each independently a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably each independently a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>.

More particularly, the compound represented by Formula <NUM> may be a material with chemical abstracts service registry number (CAS No.) <NUM>-<NUM>-<NUM>.

In addition, the second silicon base solution may include the compound represented by Formula <NUM> in an amount of about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, preferably about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, with respect to the total weight%.

In addition, the second silicon base solution may include silicon dioxide in an amount of about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, preferably about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, with respect to the total weight%.

In addition, the second silicon base solution may include a compound represented by Formula <NUM> below in an amount of about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, preferably about <NUM> wt% to about <NUM> wt%, with respect to the total weight%. <CHM>
<CHM>
wherein, in Formula <NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, R<NUM>, and R<NUM> are each independently a C1-C5 alkyl group, preferably a C1-C3 alkyl group, and q and p are each independently a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>, preferably each independently a rational number satisfying <NUM> to <NUM>.

In addition, the sixth process may be to coat both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the post-treatment process with a silicon coating solution and cure the coated fabric at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, preferably about <NUM> to about <NUM>, for about <NUM> minute to about <NUM> minutes, preferably for about <NUM> minutes to about <NUM> minutes, thereby producing naturally dyed fabric.

While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, and it will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which embodiments of the present disclosure pertain that various modifications and applications, which are not set forth herein, can be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure. For example, each of the elements specifically shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be modified. Also, differences related to these modifications and applications should be construed as being within the scope of the present disclosure defined by the appended claims.

Fresh persimmons harvested between early August and mid-August in Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the Republic of Korea were washed and crushed to prepare crushed fresh persimmon. The prepared crushed fresh persimmon was aged at a temperature of <NUM> for <NUM> hours. Air bubbles generated in the crushed fresh persimmon by aging were removed, and the crushed fresh persimmon from which air bubbles had been removed was squeezed to thereby produce persimmon juice.

The prepared persimmon juice was fermented in a storage room maintained at a temperature of <NUM> for <NUM>,<NUM> days to thereby produce fermented persimmon juice.

Fermented persimmon juice was prepared in the same manner as in Preparation Example <NUM>, except that the aging was performed at a temperature of <NUM> to finally produce fermented persimmon juice.

Fermented persimmon juice was prepared in the same manner as in Preparation Example <NUM>, except that the fermentation was performed for <NUM> days to finally produce fermented persimmon juice.

Fermented persimmon juice was prepared in the same manner as in Preparation Example <NUM>, except that the fermentation was performed for <NUM>,<NUM> days to finally produce fermented persimmon juice.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that the fermented persimmon juice prepared according to Preparation Example <NUM> was used instead of the fermented persimmon juice prepared according to Preparation Example <NUM>, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric.

This example is not part of the present invention.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that, in performing the dyeing process, the immersion was performed for only <NUM> minutes instead of <NUM> minutes, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that, in performing the dyeing process, the immersion was performed for <NUM> minutes instead of <NUM> minutes, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric. This example is not part of the present invention.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that, in performing the color development process by oxidative polymerization, <NUM> of water per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric was sprayed instead of spraying <NUM> of water per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that, in performing the post-treatment process, the fabric was immersed in water at <NUM> instead of immersing the fabric in boiling water at <NUM>, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that the persimmon juice prepared according to Comparative Preparation Example <NUM> was used instead of the fermented persimmon juice prepared according to Preparation Example <NUM>, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric.

A naturally dyed fabric was produced in the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that, in hermetically storing the fabric and the fermented persimmon juice prepared according to Preparation Example <NUM> in a sealed container, the hermetic storage was performed at a temperature of <NUM> instead of a temperature of <NUM>, to finally produce a naturally dyed fabric.

The following physical properties of each of the naturally dyed fabrics produced according to Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Examples <NUM> to <NUM> were measured, and the results thereof are shown in Tables <NUM> to <NUM> below.

A dry cleaning dimensional change rate was measured according to the KS K ISO <NUM>:<NUM> and KS K ISO <NUM>-<NUM>:<NUM> test standards.

(+) sign: elongation, (-) sign: contraction.

A deodorization rate was measured in accordance with the gas detector tube method.

Antibacterial activity was measured in accordance with the KS K <NUM>:<NUM> test standard.

Dyeing appearance was evaluated by <NUM> panelists, and the average score evaluated by each panelist was <NUM> to <NUM> points, with <NUM> or more points-Excellent, <NUM> to <NUM> points-Good, <NUM> to <NUM> points-Normal, <NUM> to <NUM> points-Somewhat inadequate, and less than <NUM> points-Inadequate.

As can be seen in Tables <NUM> to <NUM>, it was confirmed that the naturally dyed fabric produced according to Example <NUM> exhibited excellent fastness, a small dimensional change rate, excellent antibacterial activity, an excellent deodorization rate, and excellent dyeing appearance.

Claim 1:
A natural dyeing method using fermented persimmon juice, the method comprising:
a first process of preparing fermented persimmon juice;
wherein the fermented persimmon juice is prepared through:
process <NUM>-<NUM> of aging crushed fresh persimmon for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours;
process <NUM>-<NUM> of squeezing the aged crushed fresh persimmon to produce persimmon juice; and
process <NUM>-<NUM> of aging the produced persimmon juice for about <NUM> days to about <NUM>,<NUM> days to produce fermented persimmon juice;
wherein the aging is performed at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, and the fermentation is performed at a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>;a second process of adding a fabric and the fermented persimmon juice to a sealed container and hermetically storing the fabric and the juice at a temperature between about <NUM> and about <NUM> for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours;
a third process of performing a dying process by immersing the fabric taken out of the sealed container in the fermented persimmon juice and drying the immersed fabric;
wherein the immersion of the third process is performed for about <NUM> minutes to about <NUM> minutes;
a fourth process of uniformly spraying water onto both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the dyeing process to perform a color development process by oxidative polymerization;
wherein the color development process by oxidative polymerization of the fourth process is performed two to six times, and wherein the spraying of the fourth process comprises spraying about <NUM> to about <NUM> of water per <NUM><NUM> of the fabric;
a fifth process of performing a post-treatment process by immersing the fabric subjected to the color development process by oxidative polymerization in water for about <NUM> hours to about <NUM> hours and drying the immersed fabric;
wherein the water of the fifth process has a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>; and
a sixth process of coating both surfaces of the fabric subjected to the post-treatment process with a silicon coating solution to produce a naturally dyed fabric.