EP1557103B1 - Reinforcement material - Google Patents

Abstract

Reinforcement for application onto an article at a temperature T3 comprises a discontinous covering of abrasion-resistant material with a softening temperature T2 on the outside of a thermoplastic film with an adhesion temperature T1, where T2 is higher than T1 and T3 is between T1 and T2. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) an article comprising a reinforcement as above; (2) applying a reinforcement as above by placing the reinforcement on the part the be reinforced with the thermoplastic film facing this part, applying pressure at the temperature T3, and cooling.

Description

The subject of the present invention is a reinforcement, in particular for an article of textile material or the like such as clothing (bag, shoe, etc.) and intended for protection in particular against abrasion, tears, etc.

The field of application of the present invention is more particularly that of sports equipment and in particular sports clothing for skiing, skiing, climbing, walking, but also sports bags, backpacks, shoes, etc.

Traditionally in the clothing industry, areas subject to greater stress are reinforced by the sewing of inserts / reinforcements based on various materials.

For example, WO 01/67903 teaches to cover the exposed parts with an additional yarn made of high tenacity polyamide as known under the trade name Cordura.

Likewise US 6,286,150 relating to a pair of trousers teaches two ways of making a protection of the lower leg against the edges of skis, namely by the addition of a heavy polyamide yoke, relatively rigid or by the provision of a specific yoke in a material as known under one of the trade names Kevlar, Cordura or Spectra, added in a corresponding cut of the pants.

He is also known by the US 6,044,493 to provide a non-slip protective coating on the palm of a glove by PVC coating, that is to say application of this material in liquid form and drying.

In all cases the reinforcements thus made always introduce an excess thickness detrimental to the comfort and aesthetics of the garment.

This extra thickness also prevents a smooth and continuous surface and therefore constitutes a "hooking" zone weakening said reinforcement.

In addition sewn inserts require recovery operations and may cause additional sealing problems if they are applied to waterproof clothing, the seams then to be sealed.

Regarding the reinforcements deposited by coating, their implementation requires a few minutes of drying / cooking. In addition, the coating is easier to make flat.

Finally, these reinforcements being deposited in liquid phase must always provide a solvent evacuation, which can also pose problems with respect for the environment if said solvents are dangerous or harmful to the environment and / or people who manipulate or breathe them.

In all cases the additional inserts or reinforcements put in place by coating, have a significant overweight.

The FR 2,838,303 proposes to use a reinforcement constituted by a simple thermoplastic film provided with a thermocollante face and applied under hot and under pressure on the outer face of the garment.

Despite their small thickness, such films have a certain resistance to abrasion and tears, cuts and can be used to form effective reinforcements.

Moreover, as they are not applied by sewing but by simple gluing, they do not require additional seam sealing operations.

An object of the present invention is to improve a reinforcement of this type to make it even more resistant to cutting and abrasion.

This object is achieved in the reinforcement according to the present invention, which is intended to be hot assembled at a temperature θ3 on an article, in that it consists of a thermoplastic adhesive film having a bonding temperature θ1, provided with on the inner side of a heat-sealing face and, on the outer side, of a discontinuous application of abrasion-resistant material having a softening temperature θ2, greater than the bonding temperature θ1 of the thermoplastic film, and in that the temperature θ3 reinforcement assembly is between θ1 and θ2.

• de mise en place d'une ébauche du renfort sur la partie à renforcer, le film thermoplastique étant situé du côté de ladite partie à renforcer,
• d'application sur l'ébauche d'une pression à chaud, à une température θ3 comprise entre θ1 et θ2,
• de refroidissement.

The method of setting up such a reinforcement comprises the steps

• placing a blank of the reinforcement on the part to be reinforced, the thermoplastic film being located on the side of said part to be reinforced,
• for application to the roughing of a hot pressure, at a temperature θ3 between θ1 and θ2,
• cooling.

During the hot pressing operation, the thermoplastic film softens and adheres to the article to be reinforced, simultaneously the thermoplastic film fills the gaps between the pieces of abrasion-resistant material and thus ensures excellent cohesion of the film composite thermoplastic / material resistant to abrasion.

A very flexible and flexible reinforcement is obtained, having a very smooth upper surface and an abrasion resistance significantly increased by the pieces / particle of abrasion-resistant material.

Moreover, the construction of such a reinforcement is inexpensive since the abrasion resistant material is applied by inexpensive means, such as screen printing, and it is during the assembly / bonding of the reinforcement to the article to reinforce, that the reinforcement itself is finished.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective du mode de préparation d'une ébauche du renfort,
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe montrant la pose d'une ébauche du renfort sur un article,
• la figure 3 est une vue en perspective des processus de collage de l'ébauche de renfort sur l'article,
• la figure 4 est une vue similaire à la figure 2 montrant le renfort collé sur l'article,
• la figure 5 est une vue similaire à la figure 4 selon un autre mode de réalisation,
• la figure 6 illustre l'application du renfort selon l'invention à un bas de pantalon,
• la figure 7 illustre l'application du renfort selon l'invention à une chaussure,
• la figure 8 illustre l'application du renfort selon l'invention à un gant.

In any case the invention will be better understood and other characteristics thereof will be highlighted with the aid of the description which follows with reference to the appended schematic drawing, showing by way of nonlimiting examples several embodiments. preferred and wherein:

• the figure 1 is a perspective view of the mode of preparation of a blank of the reinforcement,
• the figure 2 is a sectional view showing the laying of a blank of the reinforcement on an article,
• the figure 3 is a perspective view of the bonding process of the reinforcing blank on the article,
• the figure 4 is a view similar to the figure 2 showing the reinforcement stuck on the article,
• the figure 5 is a view similar to the figure 4 according to another embodiment,
• the figure 6 illustrates the application of the reinforcement according to the invention to a pant bottom,
• the figure 7 illustrates the application of the reinforcement according to the invention to a shoe,
• the figure 8 illustrates the application of the reinforcement according to the invention to a glove.

The figure 1 illustrates the manufacture of a blank 10 of the reinforcement according to the invention.

This blank 10 consists of a thermoplastic film 1, on which is applied by screen printing, that is to say through a screen 2, a discontinuous coating of material 3 resistant to abrasion.

The screen 2 has a grid shape whose mesh 2a open allow the material 3 to pass.

The material 3 can be applied, preferably at an ambient temperature such as 20 ° C, with the brush 4 as shown in FIG. figure 1 or by any other means of application used in screen printing such as roll, buffer, etc.

The reinforcing blank 10 is then in the form of a flexible film having discontinuous platelets 3a of abrasion resistant material 3.

In the case shown, the plates 3a have a shape corresponding to that of the meshes 2a of the screen, namely a hexagonal shape, and are separated by intervals 3b corresponding to the wires 2b forming the meshes 2a. Of course, any other form of mesh may be provided.

The thermoplastic film 1 may be a polyurethane, polyamide, polyester, polyolefin or polyvinyl chloride film.

Depending on the type of material constituting it, this thermoplastic film has a different softening temperature.

The bonding temperature θ1 of said film will be greater than the softening temperature.

By way of example, the temperature θ1 of bonding can vary between 100 and 185 ° C.

• polyuréthane 100 à 175°C
• polyamide ≈ 140°C
• polyester 130 à 185°C
• polyoléfine 80 à 150°C
• polychlorure de vinyle ≈ 120°C

The bonding temperatures of the various thermoplastic films that can be used are given below:

• polyurethane 100 to 175 ° C
• polyamide ≈ 140 ° C
• polyester 130 to 185 ° C
• polyolefin 80 to 150 ° C
• polyvinyl chloride ≈ 120 ° C

The thermoplastic films used can be, for example, adhesive films sold by the company Bermis under the trade names "Dewface", "Clarese", or by the West Bridgford Machine Company or Ardmel. They have a thickness of between 100 and 400 microns.

Prior to use, the reinforcing blank 10 may be protected by at least one non-adhering paper (not shown in the drawing) disposed on the side of the adhesive film, and intended to prevent inadvertent bonding of said film.

The abrasion resistant material 3 consists for example of epoxy resin, or any other thermosetting resin (silicone, cross-linked polyurethane (PUR)) filled with fiberglass, carbon, aramid, etc.

This resin has a softening temperature θ2 which is chosen to be greater than the bonding temperature θ1 of the thermoplastic film.

For example, for an epoxy resin, the softening temperature θ 2 is greater than 180 ° C.

In the case shown on the figure 1 , the epoxy resin 3 applied by brush, roller, etc. will dry and polymerize, either at an ambient temperature of the order of 20 ° C, or at a temperature below θ1.

Once hardened, this resin can be softened only after heating to a temperature greater than or equal to 180 ° C, ie higher than its softening temperature.

The Figures 2 to 4 illustrate the placing and gluing of a reinforcing blank 10 on an article 20 to be protected.

Firstly, a blank 10, pre-cut to the desired shape, is positioned on the article 20 so that the thermoplastic or heat-sealing film 1 is located on the side of the article to be reinforced 20. The assembly is then placed in a press 30 and hot pressed at a temperature θ3 of less than 180 ° C, and for example between 100 and 175 ° C if the resin is epoxy resin, at a pressure of a few bars, by lowering the upper plate 31 of the press.

As soon as the pressure is exerted at the appropriate temperature θ3, the plate 31 is raised and the cooling is almost immediate. Depending on the case, additional cooling means may be provided. Depending on the case other means of hot pressing can be provided.

At the end of this operation, not only the reinforcing blank 10 is transformed into a reinforcement 15, but said reinforcement 15 is glued on the article 20.

By a single hot pressing operation is therefore carried out at the same time two steps, namely the realization of the reinforcement 15 itself and its assembly / bonding to the article to be reinforced.

As shown more particularly by the figure 4 in the finished reinforcement, the thermoplastic film 1 which has softened during the heat-pressing step is raised in the gaps 3b situated between two particles 3a of material 3 and thus ensures excellent cohesion between the various particles 3a of materials, who are no longer in danger of detaching themselves.

According to the thermoplastic film thickness 1 these intervals 3b will be more or less filled.

The reinforcement 15 then has a much more flexible structure, flexible and resistant to shocks.

According to a preferred embodiment, the distance d separating two wafers 3a substantially corresponds to the thickness e of each wafer 3a, for example the thickness e is equal to 0.8 mm, and in general, d is between 0.2 mm and 1 mm, and e is between 0.2 mm and 1 mm.

In addition, the structure of the wafers 3a is not modified since the hot pressing temperature θ3 is lower than the softening temperature θ2 of said wafers.

According to a preferred embodiment, represented at figure 5 a layer of foam material 40 is interposed between the reinforcement 15 and the article to be protected 20, below the thermoplastic film 1.

This foam layer may be polyurethane foam, polyolefin and have a thickness between 0.5 mm and 3 mm. It can also be a three-dimensional type fabric bringing the same as the foam, volume and shock absorption to the whole.

For example for a pant bottom protection, a foam thickness 40 of about 3 mm will be provided.

Experience has shown that such a foam / fabric thickness increases the wear / abrasion resistance of such a reinforcement by about 20% and therefore the service life thereof. It has in fact been found that, surprisingly, the three-dimensional foam / fabric provides a supple support which makes the shear / cut of the reinforcement more difficult.

The foam 40 will preferably be pre-applied to the material to be protected, for example by sewing and / or gluing.

It can also be envisaged that the foam layer is held in place by the heat-sealing film 1 during bonding of the blank to the article to be protected, in this case the foam layer will have a smaller contour than that of the draft to be held in place by the overflowing parts of the film.

The Figures 6 to 7 illustrate the application of the reinforcement according to the invention to different articles.

In the case of figure 6 , the reinforcement 15 is applied to the bottom of the legs 51 of a pair of trousers 50, on the inner or medial side thereof.

In the case of figure 7 , the reinforcement 15 is applied at least partially on the shaft 61 of a shoe 60.

In the case of figure 8 , the reinforcement 15 is applied to the end of each of the fingers 71 of a glove 70, palm side of the hand.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above by way of non-limiting examples and includes all similar or equivalent embodiments.

Claims (13)

1. Reinforcement adapted to be hot assembled to an article at a temperature θ3, characterized in that it is made of a thermoplastic adhesive (1) having a bonding temperature θ1, provided internally with a thermal bonding surface and externally with a discontinued application (3a) of a material (3), the material (3) being abrasion-resistant and having a softening temperature θ2 greater than the bonding temperature θ1 of the thermoplastic film, the reinforcement assembly temperature θ3 being between θ1 and θ2.
2. Reinforcement according to claim 1, characterized in that the film (1) is made from at least one of the followings polymers:

   - polyurethane

   - polyamide

   - polyester

   - polyolefine

   - polyvinyl chloride
3. Reinforcement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the film (1) has a thickness between 100 and 400 microns.
4. Reinforcement according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the abrasion-resistant material (3) is obtained from at least one of the following polymers:

   - epoxy resin

   - silicon, PUR (polyurethane reactive)
5. Reinforcement according to claim 4, characterized in that the abrasion-resistant material (3) is constituted of a loaded polymer.
6. Reinforcement according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the abrasion-resistant material (3) is applied to the thermoplastic film using silk screen printing.
7. Reinforcement according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the abrasion-resistant material (3) is applied by forming discontinued wafers (3a).
8. Reinforcement according to claim 7, characterized in that the wafers (3a) are shaped evenly.
9. Reinforcement according to claim 8, characterized in that the distance (d) between two wafers (3a) corresponds substantially to the thickness e of each wafer (3a).
10. Article comprising a reinforcement according to any of claims 1 to 9.
11. Article according to claim 10, characterized in that the shock absorbing material, such as the foam (40), is inserted between the reinforcement (15) and said article.
12. Method for manufacturing and positioning a reinforcement according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it includes the following steps:

    - positioning a perform (10) of the reinforcement on the portion to be reinforced, the thermoplastic film (1) being located on the side of said portion to be reinforced;

    - applying hot pressure on the perform (10), at a temperature θ3 comprised between θ1 and 02; and

    - cooling.
13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that the temperature θ3 is comprised between 100°C and 175°C.

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