The improvements of this invention relate to feather filled articles and particularly to the washing of feather filled articles which become soiled, dirty or otherwise infected. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention is related to the washing of articles such as quilts, duvets, pillows, mattress comfort pads, cushions, sore relief pads and the like which are feather filled. The invention is provided such that said bedding materials can be prepared so that they can subsequently be washed a substantial number of times without any damage or reduction in the effectiveness and comfort of the said bedding articles. The improvements o f the invention allow the bedding articles to be washed a considerably greater number of times than is possible with conventional filled articles.

Conventionally, feather filled articles are generally regarded as being of greater comfort and effectiveness to the person using the same. However, there are inherent problems in using feather filled articles, one of the major problems being that the articles cannot normally be washed and, even if they can, the number of times which said articles can be washed before they lose their comfort or are damaged, is restricted. This restriction is largely due to the fact that upon contact with water at a higher temperature, such as above 40°C, the feathers start to disintegrate and are relatively rapidly reduced to dust. Furthermore the feathers in the articles tend to lose their loft, insomuch that after they have been used a relatively short period of time they become "squashed" and flattened and the article becomes les s comfortable. For these reasons, feather filled articles, in particular in areas where th ey are liable to be regularly soiled such as in hospitals, have gradually

been phased out and replaced by articles filled with artificial or synthetic fibres. Λs the cost o f purchase is lower the same can be discarded if badly soiled but can also withstand limited washing at water temperatures below 40°C. However, synthetic materials cannot be disinfected by hot wash routines and conventional feather filled articles when normally washed at temperatures up to 4()"C are required to be washed with a detergent o f low alkalinity in order to avoid deterio ration in the article.

Disinfection is normally by a chemical solution in a foul wash process. In contrast this invention enables sterilisation and disinfection to take place by heat alone i.e. by a wash at boiling point and at temperatures up to 200 degrees celsius . Ideologically, this is a major improvement as the whole product is recyclable and is free from potentially harmful chemicals.

In an attempt to overcome the problems of feather filled bedding materials, there is a process available which is patented under German patent N o 2228491 , wherein the conventional feathers are impregnated with a heat decomposable salt o f low organic fatty acids and in addition there may be provided in the water alkali salts which act as stabilizers and allow the material or feathers to be washed in temperatures of typically 60°C. Typically, at present, it is regarded that while it is possible to treat the feathers o f feather filled bedding materials such that they can be washed at temperatures up to 60°C, this is not satisfacto ry for hospitals and other environments where said bedding material may be soiled frequently and also requires to be disinfected. For example, disinfection requires that washing takes place at temperature s in excess of 70°C and therefore th e known treatment of feathers and the general preparation o f said feather filled article s does not allow

this to be possible without affecting the article and therefore the conventional articles do not meet the requirements of hospitals and other similar establishments. Thus the conventional feather filled articles are required to be discarded and, if this is required, synthetic articles are more commonly used.

The aim of this invention is to provide a method o f preparing feather filled articles such that they can be hot and even boil washed without any effect on the properties of the said feather filled articles and furthermore may be washed a considerable number of times whilst ensuring that the feather filled articles retain their added comfort and are also economical to use by institutions where high turnover of feather filled articles is common place.

The present invention provides feather filled bedding which can be washed repetitively at temperatures o f up to 100°C wherein said performance o f the said bedding is maintained and wherein said washing can take place in normal washing water with no additives other than washing detergent and drying by tumble drying at very high temperatures in one pass, unlike manmade or synthetic fibre products which need to be dried and cooled down by removal, and then dried again, thus representing two passes. The ability for one pass drying as with the articles according to this invention is a major advantage to commercial laundries as one pass is significantly cheaper and quicker than the conventional two pas s method..

The present invention provides a method for preparing feathers for feather filled articles, said method comprising the steps o f selecting small whole feathers, washing said feathers , drying and

removing dust from same, subjecting feathers to high temperature conditioning and salts of low organic fatty acids and drying . said feathers.

As the feathers are not cut feathers, and have been dry plucked, so they are susceptible to the improved treatment of the same.

Typically, the said feathers are washed at least two, but preferably three times prior to the drying, de-dusting and sorting of said feathers.

The feathers when dried are used to fill any o f the fearther filled articles previously mentioned. The process is al so found to maintain the natural properties o f the feathers such as absorption and moisture which makes them significantly advantageous relative to synthetic products.

After the washing of the feathers it is found that the fatty content of the feathers is reduced by a minimum of 1.6%.

In a further feature of the invention the method includes the additional step o f adding a composition including nitrates to the feathers.

Typically said feathers which are selected will be duck or goose feathers and will be small and whole as opposed to larger duck feathers or feathers from other birds which are chopped into small pieces. I t is regarded as being important to the invention that the feathers used are whole. Furthermore it is al so desired that said feathers are formed with at least a proportion, preferably around third o f feather area o f downy feather material. I t is preferred that

a down content of a maximum of 35% can be used down to a minimum of 7.5%.

Furthermore, the selection of whole feathers prevents the harbouring of disease which can happen in broken quills of chopped feathers and which can greatly reduce the quality and life o f the loft or volume, of the feathers and further maintains the quality of the article.

It is yet further preferred that the feathers are dry plucked or are molted feathers. This is in contrast to the wet plucking o f feathers as it is found that this causes bacteriological damage to the plucked feathers.

Typically said bedding articles formed with feathers treated as so described in this invention, are capable o f washing at least 300 times before replacement is deemed nece ssary. This represents an improvement of at least a multiple of 30 and typically 60, more than is possible with traditional feather filled products polyester filled products. The articles are also now capable of being washed at temperatures of up to 100°C which is an improvement o f 40°C on conventional techniques. Furthermore, the feather filled articles o f the invention can be washed repetitively in detergent solutions with a pH of up to 12.

In one embodiment, where said bedding articles are being washed and in particular in hospital environments where it is necessary that said articles are further disinfected, this is commonly done by a process called "autoclaving" which submits the said bedding articles to pressure and steam up to a temperature of 1 50°C. I t has been found that this has no deleterious effect on the bedding

articles o f this invention which is contrary to the effects on conventional bedding articles used in this environment.

It is envisaged that at 100°C, the bedding articles o f the invention can be capable of being washed at least 300 times prior to replacement. Typically said wash lasts a hal f hour and will be followed by tumble drying o f the bedding articles which can last from 20 - 45 minutes.

By selecting feathers which are whole and not cut, the invention assures that the feathers used do not have the quill of the feather exposed to ingres s o f water during the washing process and therefore this is a major advantage o f the present invention.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a feather filled article, said feathers treated according to the invention and enclosed in a securely stitched, tightly woven fabric wherein said article is capable of being washed in boil wash cycles, capable o f being washed repetitively at said temperatures , a wholly recyclable article which maintains comfort and performance for the user and washer respectively.

A typical weave is 171 gram Egyptian Cotton o f 2 by 1 twill construction 98 picks and said article is held in a tightly woven cotton which is double or triple stitched at the edges thereof to prevent feather escape. The cotton is normally treated to be fire retardant so as to provide a fire resistant article up to crib ignition source 7 to be deemed "non-ignition" rating.

A further improvement over synthetic filled articles is that they are required to be subject to four wash cycles which involves the

addition of many chemicals. In contrast the feather filled articles according to this invention can be hot washed and therefore sterilised without the need for many different chemicals to be added. This allows the articles according to the invention to be less susceptible to causing allergic reaction to users and, indeed it has been found that due to the treatment o f the feathers according to the invention, persons who are thought to be allergic to feathers can use these articles without problems. Indeed the articles have been found in repeated tests to be non-allergenic.

Furthermore, the articles according to this invention have been found to be non-conducive to house mite which has b«en shown by the Entomology Centre at Cambridge U niversity to make the articles and feathers acco rding to the invention non-allergenic. This is partly due to the closely woven cloth which is used and also the ability for the articles to be repeatedly hot washed and the processing of the feathers so that the house dust mite cannot live within the feathers.

A specific embodiment of the invention, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein;-

Figure 1 illustrates the different types o f feathers which may be selected for conventional purposes and for the method acco rding to this invention; and

Figure 2 shows a diagram showing the method o f preparing said feathers acco rding to this invention.

Re ferring firstly to Figure 1 there is shown two forms o f feather 2, 4, which are conventionally used in bedding articles.

Feather 2 comprises a large feather cut into a series of segments 8 in an attempt to allow each segment to have a characteristic of a small feather as with feather 4 However, by cutting the feather, the quill 10 is- exposed to ingress from water at each of the cut points and therefore it is found that while the feathers may initially be comfortable, should they be required to be washed then the characteristics o f comfort quickly disappear as the feathers lump together and also allow ingress of water which can allow damaging and unhygienic bacteriological action. The feather 4 depicted in Figure 1 is a whole feather but it is not preferred for use as it does not have the ability to fill a sufficient space in the articles of the invention in that the feather does not comprise any down feather area.

The feather 6 which is selected for use in the current invention, is a relatively small whole feather with at least a third of its area formed of downy feathers 12, and as it is a whole feather is less susceptible to bacteriological damage.

Referring now to Figure 2 there is illustrated the method of preparation for the selected feathers so that they are prepared in a condition such that when used to fill the articles, the articles can subsequently be washed a number of times as claimed. Firstly the feathers arrive in a raw condition as shown by 14 having typically been cold water rinsed in their country o f origin from where they are selected. Subsequently the feathers are washed twice 16. I t is regarded as important that in this invention the feathers arc washed preferably three times as this prepares the feathers to have the properties required for subsequent washing o f the articles filled with them. The feathers are then dried, sorted 19 and de-

dusted 20 for twice as long as in the conventional preparation process so that this ensures that any dust remaining on the feathers is removed. The feathers selected are then typically held in steam 22 at 120°C for approximately 1 5 minutes to disinfect them.

A further selection procedure is then followed and those feathers which are selected are then treated with a low organic fatty acid salt 26 This process is to prevent water formation on the feathers in the articles and also to prevent infectious diseases being harboured within the feathers and being resistant to washing. It has been found that by treating the feathers with this process, the feathers do have a degree of resistance to washing but the suggested conventional addition o f the low organic fatty acid salts do not allow the repetitive washing o f the bedding articles up to the number of times achieved by this invention. Thus as part of the invention the feathers are treated with twice the conventional quantity of low organic fatty acid salts and this allows the washing temperature capability to be increased to 100°C. Further treatment may then be applied, which includes applying a composition with added nitrates to the feathers and, when dried, the feathers are placed in the article cloth envelope, enclosed and sewn therein and supplied to the user 28,30 and 32 respectively.

Once supplied the user can use the said articles and wash them in hot wash cycles so that they can be confident in the knowledge that once washed, the products will be clean, disinfected, and importantly, retain the elements of comfo rt, insulation, low weight and ability to rapidly absorb humidity which makes feather filled bedding articles more beneficial than synthetic filled bedding articles. Thus, this overcomes the disadvantages which have previously prevented use of feather filled bedding articles in

environments where washing is required frequently such as hospitals, prisons, old peoples homes etc.

Furthermore, feather filled products and articles conventionally lose loft and thus comfort because they cannot be washed. Fo r this reason they harbour dust and can become a breeding ground for bacteria and house dust mite. The dust leads to the term "allergic to feathers".

Conventional manmade fibre products do not absorb moisture and become hot when lain on and, if used in duvets, are heavy. House dust mite and bacteria live on the moisture retained in— the fibres. In contrast, products made using the current invention can contain less feathers by weight than conventional feather filled articles i. e. a pillow according to the invention would contain around 800 grams o f feathers whereas a conventional feather filled pillow would need 1500 grams to provide the same lo ft and comfort.

Furthermore, in the current invention the articles allow the circulation o f air through the same, and because o f this and the reduced number of feathers the user is kept cool when the environment is hot, and warm when the environment is cool .