Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to a fiber for constructing garments and the like and, more particularly, it relates to an open-sided fiber for constructing garments and the like which directs moisture away from the person wearing the garment and promotes rapid drying of the garment. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     When a person is conducting and/or participating in strenuous activities, such as exercising, working, or participating in a sporting activity, the person tends to emit increased moisture from his or her body in the form of sweat. The garments worn by these persons during these activities naturally absorb the moisture. Without quick and proper drying of the fabric used to construct the garment, the moisture saturates the garment thereby substantially increasing the weight of the garment and presenting a potentially dangerous problem for the person in keeping his or her body and equipment warm and dry, especially in cold weather environments since if the moisture does not evaporate quickly, the user&#39;s body core temperature drops potentially leading to hypothermia and even death. 
     In the past, garments constructed from a particular fabric, i.e., COOLMAX™, E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company, were designed to direct the moisture away from the person&#39;s body when used in these types of activities. As the person emits moisture, the conventional fabric of these garments directs the moisture away from the person&#39;s body thereby keeping the person in a substantially dry state. Unfortunately, due to the construction of the conventional fabrics, the moisture is collected within and on the outside of the garment thereby increasing the weight of the garment and impeding the fabric of the garment from transporting additional moisture away from the person. 
     Accordingly, there exists a need for a garment which directs moisture away from a person and promotes quick drying of the garment. Additionally, a need exists for a garment constructed from a specially constructed fabric which directs moisture away from a person and promotes quick drying of the garment. Furthermore, there exists a need for a fabric constructed from fibers having an open-sided configuration, used alone or together with other types of fibers, which directs moisture away from a person and promotes quick drying of the garment. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is a fabric material for forming a garment to be worn by a user. The fabric material has a first side and a second side. The fabric material comprises a plurality of fibers with at least a portion of the fibers having at least one open side wherein each fiber directs moisture from the first side of the fabric material to the second side of the fabric material thereby moving the moisture away from the user. 
     The present invention additionally includes a method for constructing a fabric material with the fabric material formable into a garment to be worn by a person. The method comprises constructing a plurality of fibers, forming at least a portion of the fibers as open-sided fibers, and knitting the fibers together to form the fabric material. 
     The present invention further includes a garment to be worn by a user with the garment directing moisture in a direction generally away from the user. The garment comprises a fabric material having a plurality of fibers with each fiber being either a closed-sided fiber or an open-sided fiber. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view illustrating a portion of a fabric having open-sided fibers, constructed in accordance with the present invention; and 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the fabric having open-sided fibers of FIG. 1, constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a fabric material, indicated generally at  10 , constructed from a plurality of fibers  12 , including closed-sided fibers  12   a  and open-sided fibers  12   b  for use in constructing garments  14  and the like. The garments  14  made from the fabric material  10  of the present invention can be any type of garment  14  typically worn by a user during exercising, working, or participating in a sporting activity such as shirts, pants, shorts, socks, sports bras, etc. Furthermore, it is within the scope of the present invention to utilize the fabric material  10  of the present invention to construct any type of item typically constructed from a fabric material  10 , in addition to garments  14 . 
     Since a wet person loses valuable body heat at a much faster rate than a dry person and a wet garment impedes removal of additional moisture from the user, directing moisture away from the fabric material  10  and quickly drying the moisture collected on the fabric material  10  allowing more moisture to be directed away from the user&#39;s body is extremely important to the user. The fabric material  10  of the present invention accomplishes these important requirements by directing moisture away from the person and promoting quick drying of the fabric material  10 . Actual construction of the fabric material  10  to maximize movement of the moisture away from the user while minimizing drying time of the fabric material  10  will now be discussed in detail. 
     As mentioned briefly above, the fabric material  10  of the present invention is constructed from a plurality of fibers  12 , both the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b . As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closed-sided fibers  12   a  are substantially tubular having a substantially circular cross-sectional configuration and the open-sided fibers  12   b  have a substantially C-shaped cross-sectional configuration. As the user wearing the fabric material  10  sweats or otherwise emits moisture, the moisture will travel from the user through the tubular closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the C-shaped open-sided fibers  12   b  in a direction generally away from the user. 
     By constructing the fabric material  10  from both the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and open-sided fibers  12   b , the resulting garment  14  is sufficiently durable for use in many desired activities. It should be noted, however, that while the fabric material  10  has been heretofore and will be hereafter described as being constructed from both the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b , it is within the scope of the present invention to construct the fabric material  10  entirely from open-sided fibers  12   b . As will be described in detail below, the open-sided fibers  12   b  provide the unique ability for the fabric material  10 , and thus the garment  14 , to dry quickly thereby allowing the fabric material to direct additional moisture away from the user&#39;s body. 
     The fibers  12 , both the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b , are preferably constructed from a polyester material to promote moisture removal from the user. It should be noted, however, that while the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b  have been described as being constructed from a polyester material, it is within the scope of the present invention to construct the fibers  12  from other materials which direct moisture away from the user&#39;s body. 
     The closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b  preferably have a range of wall thicknesses which are appropriate for constructing a garment  14  from the fabric material  10 . The actual wall thickness of the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b  depends on the use of the garment  14 , the weight of the garment  14 , and the desires of the user. 
     Since the fabric material  10  of the present invention is preferably used to construct garments  14  having some degree of stretch, knitting the fibers  12  together is the preferred construction method. Basically, knitting is the interloping of fibers  12  to construct the fabric material  10 . The fabric material  10  of the present invention with the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b  is preferably constructed from a warp knit knitting method. Basically, the fibers  12  run down the length of the fabric material  10  and zigzag across each other to form the fabric material  10 . Each stitch in a course is made by a different fiber  12 , either closed-sided or open-sided, feeding from a sheet of fibers (not shown) wound on a beam (not shown). Various forms of warp knits include, but are not muted to, tricot knit and raschel knit. The fabric material  10  can then be cut, shaped, and formed into a garment  14  or the like to be worn by a user. 
     When constructed, the fabric material  10  has an inside surface and an outside surface. Due to the construction of the fabric material  10  with the warp knit knitting method, with both the closed-sided fibers  12   a  and the open-sided fibers  12   b , a person skilled in the art will understand that at least a portion of the open-sided fibers  12   b  will be exposed to air on the outside surface of the fabric material  10 . As any moisture flows from the inside surface of the fabric material  10  adjacent the user&#39;s body, to the outside surface of the fabric material  10 , the moisture captured within the open-sided fibers  12   b  will be exposed to air thereby promoting quicker drying of the moisture within the open-sided fibers  12   b  of the fabric material  10 . 
     It should be noted that while the fabric material  10  of the present invention has been described as transporting moisture from an inside surface of the fabric material  10  to the outside surface of the fabric material  10 , the fabric material  10  of the present invention can also transport moisture from the outside surface of the fabric material  10  to the inside surface of the fabric material  10 . In other words, any garment  14  utilizing the fabric material  10  can be reversed and still maintain the beneficial features of the present invention of transporting moisture away from the body of the user. 
     The foregoing exemplary descriptions and the illustrative preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained in the drawings and described in detail, with varying modifications and alternative embodiments being taught. While the invention has been so shown, described and illustrated, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, and that the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the claims except as precluded by the prior art. Moreover, the invention as disclosed herein, may be suitably practiced in the absence of the specific elements which are disclosed herein.

Technology Category: 4