Patent ID: 12201234

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

An embodiment is described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In general terms, embodiments of the invention provide insulating fill materials that comprise a blend of cashmere guard hair with other fibres, preferably natural fibres, examples of which include sheep wool and alpaca.

Referring toFIGS.1a,1band2, an exemplary product that employs a fill material in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described.FIG.1aschematically shows a cross-section through a portion of the product andFIG.2schematically shows a plan view of the portion.

As can be seen, the product has a layered structure in which multiple layers101of the fill material are encapsulated between top and bottom cover layers102,103. The cover layers102,103may be secured to one another, and to the insulating fill material layers101, using lines of stitching104that pass through the layered structure from top to bottom. The layers101are formed from a single continuous web of the fill material that are lapped over one another, as shown schematically inFIG.1b

In this example, the fill material is a blend of 65% cashmere guard hair and 35% alpaca, although Lambswool and/or Merino wool could be used as an alternative. Other percentage blends may be used.

The blended fibres are formed into a non-woven web, with each fine, transparent layer of the web gently folded over the previous layer to form the desired thickness, insulating properties and weight of filling. Three layers of insulation are shown inFIG.1afor illustrative purposes but typically there will be more, possibly many more, layers than this (e.g. at least 10 and as many as 40 or more where heavier weights are wanted).

The two cover layers in this example are formed from a 100% cotton fabric. Other materials may be used. A cotton thread is used for the stitches through the layered structure that hold the structure together.

FIG.3illustrates the steps in an exemplary process for manufacturing a layered product as shown inFIGS.1a,1band2, using the insulating fill material of the present invention.

Greasy cashmere is typically combed or sheared from the goat in early spring. The greasy cashmere is sorted into shade (Dark Brown, Medium Brown, Fawn and White/Light Grey) and checked for any contamination. The greasy cashmere is then mechanically opened, and dedusted prior to scouring through a six bowl scouring line, using bio degradable detergent and the addition of 1% formaldehyde solution in the last rinse bowl to kill any bacteria present in the raw cashmere. The scoured cashmere is then dried using a gas fueled hot air system, following which it is put through another opener and deduster, to remove more sand and dust. The scoured cashmere is then further opened before dehairing to separate the fine down and guard hair.

Normally, the guard hair is discarded and the fine down goes on to be used in the manufacture of luxury cashmere scarves, fabric and accessories. Embodiments of the present invention, however, make use of the guard hair.

Once the guard hair has been obtained as a by-product of the conventional process described above, in a first step300of a process for making an insulating fill material in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the guard hair is scoured again, dried and dedusted two or three times (e.g. by passing over a shaker machine) to remove sand, dead skin and vegetable matter that might still be caught up in the guard hair fibres.

In a second step301cashmere guard hair fibre is blended with either alpaca or wool. The blending may be by hand or machine. To provide the desired finished blend of about 65% guard hair and 35% alpaca/wool, it is generally necessary to start the blending step with a higher percentage of guard hair, e.g. with 75% cashmere guard hair and 25% wool. This is because, due to the nature of the cashmere guard hair (in particular its fineness and straightness), a proportion falls through the carding machine during processing, leaving the desired final blend.

In the next step302, the blended material is passed through a carding machine to create a non-woven web. Carding is a well-known conventional processing method used to straighten the fibres, aligning them all in the same direction, to remove any remaining ‘scurf’ (vegetable matter and dead skin), and intermix fibres to produce a continuous, non-woven web. Conventional carding machines may be used in the present example.

Once the non-woven web has been formed, the next step303is to lap the web to build up layers of the web to give the desired thickness of fill material. This can be done using a conventional lapping machine, which folds the web back and forth on itself to form multiple pleats to layer the web on top of itself.

The fill material can then be incorporated into a product, for example a duvet, by adding appropriate cover layers, for example cotton fabric layers. A multi head sewing machine can be used to stitch lines through two outer layers of fabric, one above and the other below the fill material. This is shown as step304inFIG.3. InFIG.2, these stitch lines are shown in a diamond pattern but other stitching patterns can be used, for example S-shape (or serpentine) stich lines running along the length of the fabric layers.

In a final step305, the composite layered material piece formed in step304can then be cut to a desired shape and size and the edges of the cut piece hemmed to close the edges of the cover layer around the fill material to form the finished product.

The skilled person will understand that various modifications and additions can be made to the example described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For instance, other treatments may be applied to the fill material prior to it being incorporated into a finished product, for example treatments to ensure the fill material is washable (i.e. so that the fibre does not shrink or change character when washed). Similarly, steps other than those described above may be incorporated into the process for manufacturing the finished product, for example to add decorative elements or patterns to the cover layers.