CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. utility application "SIMULATED RIP

STOP FABRICS" filed on October 27, 2004, and no serial number has yet to be

assigned, and is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Firefighters typically wear protective garments commonly referred to in the industry as turnout gear. Turnout gear normally comprises various garments

including, for instance, coveralls, trousers, and jackets. These garments usually

include several layers of material including, for example, an outer shell that protects

the wearer from flames, a moisture barrier that prevents the ingress of water into the

garment, and a thermal barrier that insulates the wearer from extreme heat.

In addition to shielding the wearer from flames, the outer shells of firefighter

turnout gear further provide protection from sharp objects. In that the outer shell must

withstand exposure to flame and excessive heat and must be resistant to tearing, it must be constructed of a flame resistant material that is both strong and durable.

One common method for increasing the strength or tear resistance of a fabric,

including outer shell fabrics, is to form what is called a rip stop weave. A rip stop

weave is a weave that includes a grid of multiple ends and picks that are woven side-

by-side along the fabric to reduce the propagation of tears and, therefore, increase the

fabric strength. Common rip stop weaves include two-end and three-end rip stop

weaves in which two or three ends/picks, respectively, are woven along with each

other intermittently throughout the fabric.

Although the provision of such rips increases the strength of the fabric, the rips

can adversely affect the appearance of the fabric. For example, the rips can be higher

tensioned during the weaving processes relative to the other yarns of the fabric,

resulting in undesired puckering. Furthermore, the fibers of the rips can "fibrillate" at

the cross-over points, i.e., the points in the fabric at which the rips of one direction of

the fabric cross over the rips of the other direction of the fabric. Such fibrillation

results in small fibrils being formed that extend from the shafts of the fibers in the rips. Those fibrils can create a frosted appearance for the fabric along the rip stop grid

and, therefore, a non-uniform color across the fabric. In view of the above, it would be desirable to be able to produce outer shell

fabrics, and other fabrics, that are highly tear resistant, but which are not rip stop

fabrics.

SUMMARY Disclosed are simulated rip stop fabrics. In one embodiment, a simulated rip

stop fabric includes a plurality of body yarns that form a body of the fabric, and a plurality of pseudo rip stop yarns that are provided individually in discrete portions of

the fabric body so as to form a grid pattern, the psuedo rip stop yarns comprising at

least three individual yarns that are plied together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed fabrics can be better understood with reference to the following

drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 is a rear view of an example protective garment that includes a simulated

rip stop fabric.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a simulated rip stop fabric that can be used in the construction of the garment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a body yarn that can be used to construct

the fabric of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of a pseudo rip stop

yarn that can be used to construct the fabric of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a pseudo rip

stop yarn that can be used to construct the fabric of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As is described in the foregoing, it would be desirable to be able to provide

fabrics that are highly resistant to tearing, but that are not rip stop fabrics. As is

described in the following, such a result can be achieved by substituting individual

pseudo-rip stop yarns for the multiple rip stop yarns (or "rips") that are provided in

typical rip stop weaves. Through such substitution, problems that may be encountered with rip stop weaves, such as puckering and color non-uniformity, can be reduced or

avoided completely. As is described in greater detail below, the pseudo rip stop yarn

can comprise a plied yarn having from 3 to 7 single yarns that are twisted together.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example protective garment 100. More particularly, FIG.

1 illustrates a firefighter turnout coat that can be donned by firefighter personnel when

exposed to flames and extreme heat. It is noted that, although a firefighter turnout

coat is shown in the figure and is described herein, embodiments of this disclosure

pertain to garments and fabrics generally. Accordingly, the identification of

firefighter turnout gear is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

As is indicated in FIG. 1, the garment 100 generally comprises an outer shell

102 that forms the exterior surface of the garment, a moisture barrier 104 that forms

an intermediate layer of the garment, and a thermal liner 106 that forms the interior

surface (i.e., the surface that contacts the wearer) of the garment. In that it forms the

exterior surface of the garment 100, the outer shell 102 preferably is constructed so as

to be flame resistant to protect the wearer against being burned. In addition, the outer

shell 102 preferably is strong and durable so as to be resistant to abrasion and tearing

during use in hazardous environments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic detail view of an example blended outer shell fabric 200

that can be used in the construction of the protective garment 100, and more

particularly the outer shell 102 shown in FIG. 1. It is noted, however, that the fabric

200 could be used in the construction of other garments, either by itself or in

combination with other fabrics. The example fabric 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 is a plain

weave fabric that simulates rip stop fabrics. Accordingly, the fabric 200 may be

referred to as a simulated rip stop fabric.

The fabric 200 comprises a plurality of body yarns 206, including picks 202 and ends 204, and a plurality of pseudo rip stop yarns 208. In some embodiments, the

fabric 200 comprises a blend of inherently flame resistant materials. This blend can

comprise a single type of inherently flame resistant fibers, or a blend of two or more

different types of inherently flame resistant fibers. By way of example, the yarns of

the fabric 200, including one or more of the picks 202, ends 204, and pseudo rip stop

yarns 208, comprise a blend of para-aramid fibers and meta-aramid fibers. Example

blends of those materials include blends that comprise about 40% to about 60% para-

aramid, and about 40% to about 60% meta-aramid. For instance, one preferred

embodiment comprises a 50/50 blend of para-aramid and meta-aramid fibers.

Example para-aramid fibers include those that are currently available under the

trademarks KEVLAR ^® (DuPont) and TECHNORA ^® and TWARON ^® (Teijin).

Example meta-aramid fibers include those sold under the tradenames NOMEX T-

450 ^® (100% meta-aramid), NOMEX T-455 ^® (a blend of 95% NOMEX ^® and 5%

KEVLAR ^® ), and NOMEX T-462 ^® (a blend of 93% NOMEX ^® , 5% KEVLAR ^® , and

2% anti-static carbon/nylon), each of which is produced by DuPont. Example meta-

aramid fibers also include fibers that are currently available under the trademark

CONEX ^® , which is produced by Teijin.

It is noted that, for purposes of the present disclosure, when a material name is

used herein, the material referred to, although primarily comprising the named material, may not be limited to only the named material. For instance, the term "meta-

aramid fibers" is intended to include NOMEX ^® T-462 fibers, which, as is noted

above, comprise relatively small amounts of para-aramid fiber and anti-static fiber in

addition to fibers composed of meta-aramid material.

While para-aramid and meta-aramid fibers have been explicitly identified

above, other inherently flame resistant fibers may be used to construct the fabric, including, for example, polybenzoxazole (PBO), polybenzimidazole (PBI), melamine,

polyamide, polyimide, polyimideamide, and modacrylic.

Notably, materials that are not inherently flame resistant can also be used to

construct the fabric 200, if desired. For instance, the fabric 200 may comprise fibers

that are made of material that, although not naturally flame resistant, can be made

flame resistant through application or addition of a suitable flame retardant.

Examples of such materials include flame resistant cellulosic materials, such as FR

rayon, FR acetate, FR triacetate, and FR lyocell. Moreover, in cases in which flame

resistance is not needed, non-flame resistant fibers may be used to construct the fabric

200.

The body yarns 206 typically comprise spun yarns that, for example, each

comprise a single yarn or two or more individual yarns that are plied, twisted, or

otherwise combined together. By way of example, the body yarns 206 comprise one

or more yarns that each have a yarn count (or "cotton count") in the range of

approximately 10 to 40 cc. In some embodiments, the body yarns 206 can comprise two yarns that are twisted together, each having a yarn count in the range of

approximately 10 to 25 cc. In one preferred embodiment, each body yarn 206 comprises two yarns, each having a yarn count of 21 cc (i.e., a 21/2 yarn). FIG. 3

illustrates an example embodiment 300 for a body yarn 206. As is indicated in that

figure, the body yarn embodiment 300 includes two individual yarns 302 that are

twisted together.

The pseudo rip stop yarns 208 can comprise spun yarns that are similar to the body yarns 206, but are larger in terms of yarn count and/or diameter. The pseudo rip

stop yarns 208 comprise plied yarns that include at least three individual yarns that are combined together. An example embodiment 400 for the pseudo rip stop yarns 208 is

illustrated in FIG. 4. As is apparent from FIG. 4, the pseudo rip stop yarn

embodiment 400 includes a plurality of individual yarns 402 that are twisted together.

The degree of twist can be varied to suit the application, hi some embodiments, the

pseudo rip stop yarn 208 has a twist multiple of about 2 to about 5. By way of

example, each of the individual yarns 402 has a yarn count of about 10 to about 40 cc,

and 3 to 7 such yams are twisted together to form the plied yarn, hi such a case, the

pseudo rip stop yarns 208 have a yarn count from. about 2 cc to about 6 cc. hi one

preferred embodiment, each pseudo rip stop yarn 208 comprises 4 or 5 yarns each

having a cotton count of 21 (i.e., a 21/4 or 21/5 yarn).

It is noted that alternative constructions are possible for the pseudo rip stop

yarns 208. For instance, the pseudo rip stop yarns 208 can comprise cabled yarns.

Such cabled yarns comprise two or more plied yarns (i.e., yarns that incorporate two

or more individual yarns) that are plied together to form a cable. For instance, two

21/2 plied yarns could be plied together to form a pseudo rip stop yarn 208. An embodiment 500 of such a cabled yarn is shown in FIG. 5. As is indicated in that

figure, the cabled yarn embodiment 500 comprises two plied yarns 502 that are plied together. In the example of FIG. 5, each plied yarn 502 comprises two individual

yarns 504.

The placement of the pseudo rip stop yarns 208 within the fabric 200 can be

varied depending upon the desired physical properties. In the embodiment shown in

FIG. 2, the pseudo rip stop yarns 208 are provided within the fabric 200 in a grid

pattern in which several body yarns 206 are placed between each consecutive pseudo

rip stop yarn 208 in both the warp and filling directions of the fabric. By way of example, a single pseudo rip stop yarn 208 is provided in the fabric 200 in both the

warp and filling directions of the fabric for every about 7 to about 14 body yarns 206.

In some embodiments, the grid pattern forms a plurality of squares. To accomplish

this, a greater number of body yarns 206 may need to be provided between

consecutive pseudo rip stop yarns 208 in the one direction as compared to the other

direction.

With the constructions described above, the fabric 200 has a weight of about 5

to about 9 ounces per square yard (osy). In one preferred embodiment, the fabric 200

has a weight of about 7.5 osy.

The fabric 200 can be colored to suit the application. Such coloring can be achieved in various ways. In some embodiments, the fibers that are used to construct

the fabric 200 are producer colored. Producer coloring, which is also referred to as

solution dyeing, is a method in which color pigment is added to the solution from

which the fibers are spun. One advantage of producer coloring is that the entirety of

the fibers, both inside and out, are colored. This can result in deeper, more colorfast fabric shades.

In other embodiments, the fibers, yarns, or fabric 200 can be dyed using any one of various dyeing methods. By way of example, the fabric 200 can be piece dyed

using an exhaust process, such as jet dyeing.

Example Fabric

A pre-blend of black, producer-colored N310 from DuPont, which comprises a

50/50 blend of KEVLAR ^® (para-aramid) and NOMEX ^® (meta-aramid), was

constructed having a fabric weight of approximately 7.5 osy. The fabric was formed

as a plain weave fabric (see, e.g., FIG. 2) having 56 ends per inch and 41 picks per

inch, with 9 ends provided between each pseudo rip stop yarn in the warp direction,

and 9 picks provided between each pseudo rip stop yarn in the filling direction. The

body yarns of the fabric comprised two 50/50 KEVLAR ^® /NOMEX ^® yarns each having

a yarn count of 21 cc (i.e., 21/2 yarns), while the pseudo rip stop yarns comprised five

50/50 KEVLAR ^® /NOMEX ^® yarns each having a yarn count of 21 cc (i.e., a 21/5 yarn).

The example fabric was evaluated in terms of aesthetic appearance, and was

compared to a black, producer-colored 50/50 KEVLAR ^® /NOMEX ^® three-end rip stop

fabric. This comparison revealed that the example fabric (i.e., the simulated rip stop)

exhibited significantly less puckering and greater color uniformity as compared to the rip stop fabric. Although the reasons for this improvement have not been

scientifically verified, it appears that use of the pseudo rip stop yarns of the simulated

rip stop fabric reduces puckering because the pseudo rip stop yarns are smaller than

the bundled sets of picks and ends that form the rips of the rip stop fabric and,

therefore, are less disruptive to the fabric, hi addition, the pseudo rip stop yarns are

tensioned more uniformly relative to the remainder of the fabric during weaving as compared to rips of rip stop weaves due to the repetitive nature of the plain weaving

process. In contrast, rip stop weaving processes comprise periodic pauses or hesitations that cause greater variation in tension between the rips and the remainder

of the fabric.

The pseudo rip stop yarns are further believed to improve color uniformity

because, given that the pseudo rip stop yarns are smaller than the bundled rips of the

rip stop fabric, less damage is caused to the fibers of pseudo rip stop yarns at the

cross-over points, thereby resulting in less fibrillation and the non-uniformity that

such fibritation causes.

While particular embodiments of fabrics have been disclosed in detail in the

foregoing description and drawings for purposes of example, it will be understood by

those skilled in the art that variations and modifications thereof can be made without

departing from the scope of the disclosure.