EP1557103A1 - 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 articles made of textile material or similar such as garment (bag, shoe, etc ..) and intended for protection including 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 stronger Constraints are reinforced by the sewing of inserts / reinforcements based on various materials.

For example, WO 01/67903 teaches to cover the parts exposed by a additional yoke of high tenacity polyamide as known under the Cordura trade name.

Similarly, US Pat. No. 6,286,150 relating to trousers teaches two ways to achieve 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 yoke specific in a material as known under one of the trade names Kevlar, Cordura or Spectra, added in a corresponding cut of the pants.

It is also known from US 6,044,493 to provide a protective coating anti-slip on the palm of a glove by PVC coating, ie application of this material in liquid form and drying.

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

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

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

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

Finally these reinforcements being deposited in liquid phase it is always necessary to provide an evacuation solvents, which can also pose problems with respect for the environment if the said solvents are dangerous or harmful to the environment and / or people who handle 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 consisting of a simple thermoplastic film provided with a thermally bonded face and applied under hot and pressure on the outer face of the clothing.

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

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

An object of the present invention is to improve a reinforcement of this type in order to make it even more resistant to cuts and abrasions.

This object is achieved in the reinforcement according to the present invention, which is intended to be assembled when hot at a temperature 3 on an article, in that it consists of an adhesive film thermoplastic having a bonding temperature 1, provided, inner side of a face fusible and, on the external side, a discontinuous application of material resistant to abrasion and having a softening temperature 2, greater than the temperature of collage1 bonding of the thermoplastic film, and in that the 3 assembly temperature of the reinforcement is between 1 and 2.

• 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 3 comprise entre 1 et 2,
• 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 applying to the roughing of a hot pressure, at a temperature 3 of between 1 and 2,
• cooling.

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

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

Furthermore, the construction of such a reinforcement is inexpensive since the material resistant to abrasion is applied by inexpensive means, such as screen printing, and that is when of the assembly / bonding of the reinforcement to the article to be reinforced, that the reinforcement itself is completed.

• 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:

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

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, to which is applied by silkscreen, ie through a screen 2, a discontinuous coating of material 3 abrasion resistant.

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. 1 or by any other means of application used in screen printing such as roll, stamp, etc.

The reinforcement blank 10 is then in the form of a flexible film presenting discontinuous platelets 3a of material 3 resistant to abrasion.

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 son 2b forming the meshes 2a. Of course, any other form of mesh can be provided.

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

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

The bonding temperature 1 of said film will be greater than the temperature of softening.

By way of example, the temperature 1 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 Bermis under the trade names "Dewface", "Clarese", or by the West Bridgford Machine Company or Ardmel. They have a thickness between 100 and 400 microns.

Before use, the reinforcement blank 10 may be protected by at least one non-paper adherent (not shown in the drawing) disposed on the side of the adhesive film, and intended to prevent any unwanted collage of said film.

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

This resin has a softening temperature 2 which is chosen higher than gluing temperature 1 of the thermoplastic film.

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

In the case shown in Figure 1, the epoxy resin 3 applied by brush, roller, etc. will dry and polymerize, either at an ambient temperature of about 20 ° C, or at a temperature below 1.

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.

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate the placing and bonding of a reinforcing blank 10 on a Article 20 to be protected.

First, a blank 10, precut to the desired shape, is positioned on the article 20 so that the thermoplastic or fusible film 1 is located on the side of the article to 20. The assembly is then placed in a press 30 and pressed hot to a temperature 3 less than 180 ° C, and for example between 100 and 175 ° C if the resin is epoxy resin, under 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 3, the plate 31 is reassembled and the cooling is almost immediate. According to the case of the cooling means may be provided. According to the case of other means of hot pressing may 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, therefore, two steps are carried out at the same time. know the realization of the reinforcement 15 itself and its assembly / gluing to the article before to be strengthened.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, in the reinforcement 15 the film thermoplastic 1 which has softened during the hot pressing stage is reassembled in the 3b intervals located between two particles 3a of material 3 and thus provides excellent cohesion between the different particles 3a of materials, which are no longer likely to detach.

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

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

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

Moreover, the structure of the wafers 3a is not modified since the temperature 3 of hot pressing is less than the softening temperature 2 of said platelets.

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

This layer of foam may be made of polyurethane foam, polyolefin and have a thickness between 0.5 mm and 3 mm. It can also be a type of fabric three-dimensional bringing as well as foam, volume and damping shocks to all.

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

Experience shows that such a foam / tissue thickness increases by about 20% resistance to wear / abrasion of such a reinforcement 15 and therefore the service life thereof. It has been noticed that, surprisingly, three-dimensional foam / tissue soft support that 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 film fusible 1 when gluing the blank on the article to be protected, in this case the layer of foam will have a smaller outline than that of the draft so as to be held in place by the overflowing parts of the film.

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

In the case of FIG. 6, the reinforcement 15 is applied to the lower legs 51 of a pants 50, inner or medial side of it.

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

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

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. as non-limiting examples and encompasses all similar embodiments or equivalents.

Claims (13)

Reinforcement intended to be hot assembled at a temperature 3 on an article, characterized in that it consists of a thermoplastic adhesive film (1) having a bonding temperature 1, provided, on the internal side, with a face fusible and, on the external side, a discontinuous application (3a) of material (3), the material (3) being resistant to abrasion and having a softening temperature 2, greater than the bonding temperature 1 of the film thermoplastic, the 3 assembly temperature of the reinforcement being between 1 and 2. Reinforcement according to claim 1, characterized in that the film (1) is made from at least one of the following polymers: polyurethane polyamide polyester polyolefin polyvinyl chloride Reinforcement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the film (1) has a thickness of between 100 and 400 microns. Reinforcement according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the material (3) resistant to abrasion is obtained from at least one of the following polymers: epoxy resin silicone, PUR (crosslinked polyurethane) Reinforcement according to claim 4, characterized in that the abrasion-resistant material (3) consists of a charged polymer. Reinforcement according to claim 1 to 5, characterized in that the material (3) resistant to abrasion is applied to the thermoplastic film by screen printing. Reinforcement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the abrasion-resistant material (3) is applied by forming discontinuous plates (3a). Reinforcement according to claim 7, characterized in that the plates (3a) are of regular shape. Reinforcement according to claim 8, characterized in that the distance (d) between two plates (3a) substantially corresponds to the thickness e of each plate (3a). An article comprising a reinforcement according to any of claims 1 to 9. An article according to claim 10, characterized in that a layer of damping material such as foam (40) is interposed between the reinforcement (15) and said article. Method for manufacturing and placing a reinforcement according to any one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises the steps: placing a blank (10) of the reinforcement on the part to be reinforced, the thermoplastic film (1) being situated on the side of said part to be reinforced, applying on the blank (10) a hot pressure, at a temperature 3 between 1 and 2 cooling. Process according to Claim 12, characterized in that the temperature 3 is between 100 ° C and 175 ° C.

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