The present invention concerns a superabsorbent material comprised within a detachable component of a garment.

Superabsorbent materials are well-known in the art, and have previously been used in many applications including nappies, sanitary products, fire retardants and water waste treatment. Superabsorbent materials are able to absorb a volume of liquid considerably greater than its own weight.

It has previously been found that superabsorbent materials are effective for use as a method of evaporative cooling. The superabsorbent material absorbs a liquid, preferably water, and then allows said liquid to slowly evaporate and induce cooling, rather than rapidly releasing said liquid. This provides the benefit of cooling over a prolonged period of time.

It has been found that one particularly effective use of superabsorbent materials is within clothing for people living or working in conditions which are subject to elevated temperatures. For example, workers in countries with a hot climate are exposed to elevated temperatures for long periods of time. This poses a significant health risk to the individual who, when subject to these conditions, is susceptible to heat stress and/or dehydration. Use of a superabsorbent material within a garment helps to alleviate this problem, and improves heat tolerance and work productivity. It would also be desirable to provide a convenient solution to the problem of keeping the body cool under conditions of exercise or exertion particularly in warmer climatic conditions.

To date, it has proven difficult to find a practical use of a cooling superabsorbent material in an item of clothing. In addition to effective cooling of the wearer in hot climates, the item of clothing must also be both comfortable to wear and convenient to use.

It is also preferable for the superabsorbent material used within the item of clothing to have good structural integrity, so that the material can be subjected to multiple wet and dry cycles without significant loss in cooling performance. KR200444383 describes a cooling pack on the collar lining of protective clothing, the cooling pack comprising acrylic polymer.

US5887284 describes a removable anterior sweatband comprising a perspiration- absorbent pad, said pad comprising an absorbent material for holding perspiration.

US2002/100106 describes a temperature regulating cap for heating or cooling the head of the user, the cap having a removable and replaceable heating or cooling insert with a releasable connector.

WO9728708 describes a cooling device for reducing a person's body heat, the cooling device comprising a core material capable of absorbing and holding a quantity of liquid, and a cover for the core material.

US2015/173432 describes a cooling apparatus comprising one or more liquid permeable enclosures, an absorbent material that facilitates controlled evaporation of fluid, and at least one tab extending from the enclosure.

US2018/356164 describes an evaporative cooling fabric that can be fashioned into garments including, for example, vests, jackets and socks. Garments are either made entirely of the cooling fabric, or panels of said cooling fabric are placed into the garment. However, this requires the entire garment to be activated prior to use. Furthermore, as the garment is made entirely from the cooling fabric, the garment is cooling areas of the body which are less susceptible to heat fatigue, and therefore uses more superabsorbent material than is necessary for effective cooling of the wearer.

Thus, there is a need for an improved use of a cooling superabsorbent material within a lightweight and inexpensive item of clothing, which targets specific areas of the body, and is quick and easy to (re)-activate. By “activate”, we mean that the superabsorbent material is soaked in a liquid, preferably water, for a relatively short period of time so that said superabsorbent material is saturated with said liquid.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detachable component of a garment to help cool the wearer of said garment, wherein the component comprises a superabsorbent material.

It has surprisingly been found that a detachable component of a garment, which comprises a superabsorbent material, is able to cool the wearer of the garment, at targeted areas of the body, over a prolonged period of time whilst providing a quick and simple method of reactivating the superabsorbent material for continued use of the garment.

By“superabsorbent” we preferably mean a material which is able to absorb and retain a large volume of liquid, relative to its own weight. Preferably, the material can absorb from about 50 to about 500 times its own weight in a liquid.

By“detachable” we preferably mean that the component can be easily removed or separated from the garment without any damage or alteration to the integrity of said garment. Preferably, this process is reversible and the component may be reattached to the garment without any damage or alteration to the integrity of said garment.

By“prolonged” we preferably mean that the cooling ability of the superabsorbent material will last between about 1 hour and 12 hours, preferably between about 4 hours and 8 hours. After this time, the superabsorbent material will need to be reactivated.

The superabsorbent material may comprise a nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric may comprise short fibres, long fibres, or a combination of both. The fibres of the nonwoven fabric may be all made from the same material, or made from any number of different materials. The fabric may be in the form of a sheet or a web structure. The fibres are preferably entangled to provide structural integrity to the material. The superabsorbent material may comprise polymeric material. The fibres of the material may be made from any suitable polymeric material including, but not limited to, polyamines, polyesters, polyolefins, polyurethanes, polyacrylates, naturally occurring polymers such as cellulosic and starch based materials and compatible co- polymers and blends of two or more thereof.

The superabsorbent material may be multi-layered. This is beneficial as each layer may be required to provide different functionality and properties to the superabsorbent material. For example, each layer may individually be hydrophilic, hydrophobic, both, or neither. Further, each layer may or may not comprise the same material as any other layer within the multi-layered superabsorbent material.

The multi-layered superabsorbent material may comprise at least one absorbent layer and at least one non-absorbent layer. The at least one absorbent layer provides the cooling functionality in the superabsorbent material. The at least one non-absorbent layer may have a low gel permeability, to prevent material from migrating from the at least one absorbent layer to the at least one non-absorbent layer when the material is wet. Preferably, the superabsorbent material comprises one absorbent layer and two non absorbent layers, such that said absorbent layer is located between said non absorbent layers.

The at least one absorbent layer may comprise an optionally cross-linked polyacrylate. The polyacrylate may comprise a copolymer made from different acrylate monomers including, but not limited to, acrylic acid, optionally substituted acrylates and optionally substituted methacrylates. Further, it has been found that increasing the degree of cross-linking within the polymer improves the integrity of the superabsorbent material and prolongs the useable lifetime of the material.

The at least one absorbent layer may comprise a polyester and/or a polyolefin. It has been found that use of a polyester and/or a polyolefin within the at least one absorbent layer further improves the strength and integrity of the superabsorbent material. Preferably, the polyolefin comprises at least two different polyolefins coextruded together.

The at least one absorbent layer may comprise an optionally cross-linked polyacrylate and a polyester. The at least one absorbent layer may comprise an optionally cross- linked polyacrylate and a polyolefin. The at least one absorbent layer may comprise an optionally cross-linked polyacrylate, a polyester and a polyolefin.

The at least one absorbent layer may alternatively or as well consist of or comprise one or more biopolymers derived from, for example, cellulose, starch or PLA.

The detachable component may further comprise at least two fabric layers, such that the superabsorbent material is located between said fabric layers. The at least two fabric layers may each individually be woven or nonwoven, and may have additional beneficial properties. By way of a non-limiting example, one of said at least two fabric layers may be in contact with the skin and thus require a smooth and soft material. Further, one of said at least two fabric layers may be in contact with external conditions, and may require further treatments or coatings. This layer may be made of a fabric material such that air, water and water vapour can flow to and from the superabsorbent material, for example a coarse weave fabric.

Preferably, one of the at least two fabric layers is in contact with the skin and another of the at least two fabric layers is in contact with external conditions (for example, air). Without wishing to be bound by theory, such an arrangement improves air flow in and around the detachable component, and consequently aids evaporative cooling. This may be achieved by positioning the detachable component on the garment such that one of the at least two fabric layers is in contact with the skin and another of the at least two fabric layers is in contact with external conditions (such as, by way of a non limiting example, as the collar of a polo shirt).

Preferably, the detachable component has a laminate structure comprising the superabsorbent material and a layer of wicking fabric. The capillary action of a wicking fabric may assist in drawing water from the superabsorbent material, facilitating evaporative cooling.

The detachable component may comprise a layer of wicking fabric on the skin-side surface of the garment as worn, or on the external surface, or both. Evaporative cooling may take place against the skin of the wearer, or from the external surface of the detachable component as worn, or both.

The wicking fabric may be a woven material. Pique knit materials are especially preferred.

The wicking fabric may a hydrophobic material and may be chemically treated to increase its hydrophobicity. Any suitable wicking fabric such as polyester, polyamide or acrylic may be used. Wicking polyesters are preferred.

The detachable component may be a collar or a cuff. It is well-known in the art that the neck and the wrists are particularly effective cooling spots of the body. Without wishing to be bound by theory, this is because the neck and wrists contain pulse points, in which blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin, and is consequently the most effective area with which to cool the body, as heat transfer at these areas is most efficient. It is therefore desirable to have a cooling superabsorbent material which is in contact specifically with these areas of the body.

The detachable component may be reversibly affixed to the garment through a means of fastening. The component is attached to the garment using a means in which the component is securely held in place and does not freely detach unless the wearer applies a force to reversibly remove the component from the garment, without any damage or alteration to the integrity of said garment The means of fastening is selected from the group consisting of snap, button, hook- and-loop, zip, hook-and-eye and magnet. The means of fastening will depend on the type of garment, the detachable component, and how tightly the two should be affixed together. Preferably, the means of fastening is hook-and-loop. The hook-and-loop fastening means may be any type of hook-and-loop fastener known in the art including, but not limited to, VELCRO ^® fasteners. More preferably, the means of fastening is a plurality of hook-and-loop tabs. A plurality of hook-and-loop tabs is a particularly effective method of securely holding the component in place on the garment, whilst remaining reversibly detachable with only a minimal force required to detach said component from said garment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a garment, comprising at least one detachable component discussed above. The garment may have one or more detachable components, depending on the nature of the garment.

The garment may be a jacket, a coat, a shirt, a jumper, or any suitable garment wherein a component of the garment may be detachable.

Preferably the garment is a shirt, preferably a polo shirt, comprising at least one detachable component. More preferably, the garment is a long-sleeved polo shirt comprising three detachable components, wherein one component is a collar and two components are each a cuff. Each component has properties and materials chosen independently from the other components, and may each be made of the same superabsorbent material as any other component, or a different superabsorbent material. Each component may have the same or a different number of layers in its multi-layered superabsorbent material as any other component.

In the non-limiting example where the garment is a shirt and the detachable component is a collar, the shirt absent the detachable component is collarless. This arrangement is different to examples in the prior art (such as disclosed in

KR200444383), wherein the detachable component is merely a lining to be attached to a surface of the collar; the collar itself is irreversibly fixed to the garment in question. The detachable component of the present invention improves air flow, and thus evaporative cooling, compared to examples in the prior art.

Regardless of the nature of the detachable component (preferably it is a collar or cuff) the invention in its most preferred form comprises a detachable component of a garment to help cool the wearer of said garment, wherein the detachable component comprises a superabsorbent material, wherein the detachable component further comprises at least two fabric layers (one or both of which may be wicking fabric layers), such that the superabsorbent material is located between said fabric layers, wherein on wearing of the garment at least one of the two fabric layers is in contact with the skin and another of the at least two fabric layers is in contact with the external environment (for example, the ambient air). Preferably on wearing of the garment no portion of the garment overlays at least a major surface of the fabric layer in contact with the external environment. Other preferred features of the detachable component, the superabsorbent material and the (wicking) fabric layer(s) are specified in the claims.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the following figures, which are not limiting to the scope of the invention, in which;

Figure 1 illustrates the front of a shirt with detachable collar and cuff according to an aspect of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates the back of a shirt with detachable collar and cuff according to an aspect of the present invention; and Figure 3 illustrates a detachable collar according to an aspect of the present invention.

Referring in more detail to Figure 1 there is shown the front of a long-sleeved polo shirt 100 according to an aspect of the present invention. Figure 2 shows the back of the shirt in Figure 1. The shirt comprises a detachable collar 101 and detachable cuffs 102, 103. The detachable collar 101 is reversibly affixed to the shirt using short hook

VELCRO ^® tabs, exemplified by 104. The use of short hook tabs results in reduced snag.

In Figure 3 there is shown a 2D flat view of a detachable collar 300 according to an aspect of the present invention. The detachable collar 300 comprises one complete piece of material comprising two parts; the collar itself 301 and the stand 302, used to support the collar itself. The collar is reversibly affixed to the shirt using a plurality of short hook VELCRO ^® tabs 303, attaching to corresponding VELCRO ^® tabs on the shirt. The detachable collar 300 comprises the superabsorbent material provided to cool the wearer.