It is known to manufacture textiles having a metallic appearance by electrodepositing a metal onto a fabric. The resulting material, however, is stiff and difficult to make into garments.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a material comprising a backing sheet having stiffened panels formed thereon, the panels being separated by gaps of unstiffened backing sheet, the lines between the panels being arranged to form continuous lines, whereby pleats can be formed between the panels.

The stiffening of the panels is preferably brought about by a metallic layer, which is preferably copper, silver or gold; the metallic layer is suitably applied by electrodeposition.

The panels are arranged such that the gaps between adjacent panels form continuous lines in a first direction for the formation of pleats in this first direction. In addition gaps are formed to provide lines in a further direction transverse to the first direction also for the formation of pleats. When the material is pleated in both the first and second directions, adjacent panels form a series or row of three dimensional cells; because of the material can flex about the pleated unstiffened lines, the formation of the cells means that the stiffened material can be stretched both longitudinally and laterally despite the presence

of stiffened panels and so the cells give flexibility to the material that means that it can be used more easily.

A large number of shapes are possible for the cells but they are preferably pyramidal in shape; in the most preferred embodiment, each cell is formed of a pair of end walls joined together by a ridged"roof", each end wall being formed from rhomboid-shaped panels and the ridged roof being formed by trapezium- shaped panels. Such an arrangement can be formed by providing a series of straight-line pleats between the stiffened panels all running in the same general direction (although they need not be parallel); adjacent pleats are pleated in opposite directions. The panels on either side of each pleat are alternately rhombus and trapezium in shape. This provides a series of zigzagged pleats running generally orthogonal to the straight pleats.

However, different pleating patterns may also be used; e. g. instead of straight- line pleats with adjacent pleats being pleated in opposite directions (pencil pleats), box pleats may be used. However, it is preferred that the transverse pleats are zigzagged to assist in forming three-dimensional cells that will maintain their shape despite the material being stretched either longitudinally or transversely. The combination of stiffened panels and zigzag transverse pleats will assist in maintaining the shape of the cells.

The pattern of panels may be chosen so that the material may be formed into a desired shape. For example, the arrangement of panels and pleating in the stiffened and pleated material may facilitate the material forming a closed loop and so be used as an item of ornamental decoration, for example an item of jewellery, a necklace or a hair tie. Alternatively, the stiffened and pleated

material may be utilised to form a garment.

The panels are preferably stiffened by metal, e. g. by electrodeposition, or by applying plastic to the backing sheet; in either case the stiffened material is subsequently pleated.

The present invention will now be explained in more detail by the following non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 shows a preferred pattern of stiffened panels for use in the material pleated material.

Figure 2 is a photograph showing the panels in greater detail..

Figure 3 is a view of the material showing a preferred pattern after electrodeposition of the stiffening material.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the pleated material according to a preferred embodiment.

Figures 5 and 6 are examples of the material arranged as an ornamental decoration.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a material in accordance with the invention. The material comprises a backing sheet 10, which is preferably a woven textile; it should be made of a material that can withstand the subsequent manufacturing process. For example, if the process involves metal electrodeposition (as described below), the backing sheet 10 is preferably made of polyester or other such material that is not damaged by an electrodeposition process.

A pattern shown in Figure 1 is printed or otherwise applied onto the backing sheet 10 with an electrically conductive ink or paint, e. g. using screen-printing.

The ink is seen in Figure 1 as the white areas 12 that will later form metallised panels. The pattern of panel areas 12 is such that thin gaps 11 are located between adjacent panel areas in which the backing sheet is not covered with conductive ink. These thin gaps are aligned and form straight and zigzag pleat lines 14 and 16 and will remain non-metallised, i. e. will remain pliable. The straight pleat lines 14 are continuous lines running in one general direction (the horizontal direction as seen in Figure 1). They may be parallel to each other or may be tapered or fanned along the required length of the backing sheet.

Zigzag pleat lines 16 extend in a direction transverse to the straight pleats. The ink-covered areas 12 thus form alternate rhombuses and trapezium shapes when viewed in the direction of the straight pleat lines 14.

As best shown in Figure 2, fine lines 20 of the electrically conductive ink are printed across the gaps 11 to connect adjacent panels together so as to provide a pathway for an electric current through each panel during the electrodeposition process. The fine lines 20 are preferably covered up with a varnish prior to electrodeposition of metal to prevent build up of metal at the fine lines 20 during electrodeposition.

The ink-covered areas 12 are connected to an external circuit to form the cathode in an electrodeposition bath. Generally, several of the ink-covered areas 12 will be directly connected by wires to the electrical circuit while the remaining ink-covered areas will be connected to the circuit indirectly via the thin lines 20 of conductive ink between adjacent areas. The connection to the

external circuit may be achieved by weaving a wire (not shown) through the backing sheet to pierce the sheet in several areas 12 where the conductive ink has been applied. The wire stands proud of the backing sheet and can readily be connected to the electrical circuit of a standard electrolytic electrodeposition bath. In order to ensure uniform current distribution during electrodeposition, several wires may be threaded through the material.

The electrolytic metal deposition bath includes an acidic or alkaline solution containing dissolved metal, an anode and a cathode which in this embodiment is the backing sheet woven with wire. The backing sheet is immersed in the electrodeposition bath and current is passed for a sufficient period of time to allow the build up of a metallic layer of the desired thickness in the ink-covered areas 12 to form metallised panels. These panels are consequently stiffer than the backing sheet (the panels may even become rigid). Because the pleat lines 14 and 16 are uncovered by conductive ink, no metal is deposited along the pleats. Deposition on the thin lines 20 is prevented by the application of varnish. Thus the pleat lines 14 and 16 remain flexible and unstiffened.

The backing sheet is then removed from the bath and any varnish is preferably removed using an appropriate standard solvent. A resulting metallised material is shown in Figure 3.

Pleats are formed by folding the fabric along the pleat lines 14 and 16 of the bare backing sheet and are fixed into place by known pleating techniques, e. g. heat treatment. Pleats 14 are pencil pleats, i. e. adjacent pleats are pleated in opposite directions while pleats 16 are formed as box pleats with one pair of adjacent pleats being pleated in the same direction as each other with the next

pair of adjacent pleats being pleated in the opposite direction. The structure of the pleating is shown schematically in Figure 4. Because the pleating is performed along two generally orthogonal directions, the material is formed into three-dimensional cells 24 with the rhombus-shaped panels forming the side walls of the cells and the trapezium-shaped panels forming a ridged"roof' for the cells.

Because the pleats 14 and 16 are still flexible, the material may be stretched in both directions 26 and 28, making the material easier to work with than simple metallised material. Figure 5 shows an example of the flexibility of the finished material and how it may be arranged to produce an item of ornamental decoration.

The material may be rolled up to form a tube (see Figure 6) and the ends of the tube can be joined together to form a loop that can be used as a necklace or hair tie.

The technique of manufacturing the material described herein is only one preferred embodiment only of a technique that may be used. An alternative technique in may be the use of an electrically conductive fabric and screen- printing stop-off varnish onto the material in the areas of the pleats 14 and 16 before the electrodeposition stage of the manufacture.

The metal layer may be anodised or otherwise oxidised to alter, the visual effect of the material.

Obviously the shape of the pleats and the shape of the individual panels may be

altered according to the intended use of the material.

The panels may be of any size, e. g. 1 to 10 cm in length, such that the pleats can be formed between the panels.

The material may be used industrially whenever a flexible covering is required, e. g. as a bellows, covering a hydraulic arm to prevent dust contacting the hydraulic parts.

Other possible applications of the material include: (a) the material can be rolled up into a cylinder (see Figure 6) which is resilient and can be pushed over delicate items and grip them.

(b) the material can be formed onto a impervious backing sheet, in which case it could be inflated. When the internal pressure is released, the resilience of the fabric will collapse it, driving out the inflating gas.

(c) the material could be used for covering a framework to make tent-like structures.

Indeed the material can be used in any situation in which a flexible barrier is required and is especially useful when resilient properties are required.