SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DECORATING FABRIC MATERIAL

Abstract

Systems and methods for decorating fabric material may include a device. The device may include a first absorbent layer, a second absorbent layer on the first absorbent layer, and a water-soluble dye between the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer.

Claims

1. A device comprising: a first absorbent layer; a second absorbent layer on the first absorbent layer; and a water-soluble dye between the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein a perimeter portion of the first absorbent layer and a perimeter portion of the second absorbent layer are connected to each other such that a chamber is formed between the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer, and the water-soluble dye is in the chamber.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the chamber is divided into two or more chambers, and each of the two or more chambers comprise a different colored water-soluble dye.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the water-soluble dye is configured to dissolve into liquid form dye responsive to being mixed with liquid.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the liquid form dye is configured to be discharged through the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer, from an interior side of the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer to an exterior side of the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer comprise the same material.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer comprise tissue paper material or microfiber material.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first absorbent layer is substantially flat and the second absorbent layer is curved.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the first absorbent layer is substantially flat and the second absorbent layer is substantially flat with squared corners.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the water-soluble dye is loose powder dye or a compressed powder dye.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer are circular, polygon, or star shaped.

12. A method for decorating a fabric material, the method comprising: positioning a dye capsule on the fabric material, wherein the dye capsule comprises: a first absorbent layer; a second absorbent layer on the first absorbent layer; and a water-soluble dye between the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer; pouring liquid on the dye capsule such that the liquid is absorbed through the second absorbent layer and dissolves with the water-soluble dye to form a liquid form dye; and dying the fabric material by discharging the liquid form dye through the first absorbent layer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the pouring the liquid is performed with a pipette.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein a perimeter portion of the first absorbent layer and a perimeter portion of the second absorbent layer are connected to each other such that a chamber is formed between the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer, and the water-soluble dye is in the chamber.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the chamber is divided into two or more chambers, and each of the two or more chambers comprise a different colored water-soluble dye.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer comprise the same material.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer comprise tissue paper material or microfiber material.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the first absorbent layer is substantially flat and the second absorbent layer is curved.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the first absorbent layer is substantially flat and the second absorbent layer is substantially flat with squared corners.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the water-soluble dye is a loose powder dye or a compressed powder dye.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In the following section, the aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein will be described with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the figures, in which:

[0025] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a plurality of capsules on a fabric material, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a plurality of capsules on another fabric material, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 3 is an illustration of a fabric material with a plurality of capsules arranged in a pattern, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the capsule, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIGS. 5A-5B are cross-sectional views of the capsule, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a user pouring water on to a capsule, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 7 is an illustration of the fabric after the capsules are removed, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIGS. 8, 9A-9C, and 10 illustrate other examples of capsules, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a method for decorating a fabric material, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Unless otherwise noted, like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the attached drawings and the written description, and thus, descriptions thereof will not be repeated. In the drawings, the relative sizes of elements, layers, and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. It will be understood, however, by those skilled in the art that the disclosed aspects may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail to not obscure the subject matter disclosed herein.

[0036] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for designing and/or decorating textile or fabric products such as a shirt, pants, socks, and/or other clothing, bags, banners, and the like. For simplicity in explaining the aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the fabric will be referred to as a shirt, but it should be known that the shirt may be replaced with any one or more of the above-mentioned textile or fabric products and the like.

[0037] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a teabag-like capsule containing water-soluble dye, which may also be referred to herein as a dye-dot, may be placed on a shirt, and water may be slowly poured onto the capsule, which then causes the dye to dissolve and turn into a liquid form of dye. Once the dye is in a liquid form, the liquid dye may then be discharged or bled through the capsule and spread on the shirt that is placed underneath the capsule, thereby decorating by dying the shirt.

[0038] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a plurality of capsules 104 placed on a shirt 102 in a decorative pattern, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Eight capsules 104 are placed or arranged in a circular pattern on the shirt 102 and each of the capsules 104 may include a different colored dye or a same colored dye so that when water is poured on to the capsules 104, the shirt may be dyed according to the color of the dye. In other embodiments, the capsules 104 may be arranged in other desired patterns on the shirt. For example, the capsules 104 may be placed at random locations across the shirt as desired.

[0039] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a plurality of capsules 104 placed on a sock 202 in a decorative pattern, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Here, five capsules 104 are placed in a substantially straight line along the sock 202 and each of the capsules 104 may include a different colored dye or a same colored dye so that when water is poured on to the capsules 104, the sock may be dyed according to the color of the dye.

[0040] FIG. 3 is an illustration of the shirt 102 with the eight capsules 104 arranged in a circular pattern after the water is poured on the capsules 104 and the liquified dye from the capsules 104 are discharged and spread on the shirt, thereby decorating or designing the shirt. For example, an area 306, 308 of the shirt 102 around and underneath the capsules 104 may be dyed according to the color of the dye. In some embodiments, the color of the dye in the first area 306 may be different from the color of the dye in the second area 308, and so on. In other embodiments, the color of the dye in the first area 306 and the second area 308 may be the same, depending on the color selected or chosen by the user as desired. A similar result may be achieved on other textile or fabric products such as pants, socks, and/or other clothing, bags, banners, and the like as explained above.

[0041] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the capsule 104 and FIGS. 5A-5B are cross-sectional views of the capsule 104 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5A-5B, the capsule 104 may have a circular shape and may be made of a bottom layer 504 and a top layer 502, and the dye element 506 may be included inside a chamber that is formed inside the capsule 104 between the top layer 502 and the bottom layer 504. The top layer 502 and the bottom layer 504 may be made of absorbent material such as paper (e.g., tissue paper), microfiber, and/or other similar material that allows liquid to permeate through it. In some embodiments, the top layer 502 and the bottom layer 504 may be made of the same material, whereas in other embodiments, the top layer 502 and the bottom layer 504 may be made of different materials. The type of material used may determine the rate at which the liquid is absorbed or permeates through the layers. Therefore, certain materials may be chosen to achieve the desired flow rate of the liquid that is being poured onto the capsule 104 and the rate at which the liquified dye discharges from the layers.

[0042] The perimeter portion 508 of top layer 502 may be connected to the perimeter portion 510 of the bottom layer 504, for example, by stitching, crimping, gluing, and/or welding (e.g., sonically or electrostatically weld) the two layers together, but the center portion of the top layer 502 and the bottom layer 504 are not connect together so that a chamber (or a pocket) is formed therebetween so that the capsule may be positioned there. In some embodiments, the larger the surface area of the perimeter portion 508 of the top layer 502 that is in contact with the perimeter portion 510 of the bottom layer 504, the better the adhesion of the two layers to each other. Therefore, the amount of surface area that is in contact with each other may be adjusted according to the needs of the strength of the adhesion. In some embodiments, the perimeter portion 508, 510 formed by the stitching, crimping, gluing, and/or welding of the top layer 502 and the bottom layer 504 may help the user to more easily grasp the capsule 104. For example, a lip 518 may be formed at or around the perimeter, which may improve the ability of the user in grasping the capsule 104. The dye element 506 may be any water-soluble material in its solid or dry form so the dye does not run and bleed or discharge though the capsule, but when mixed with liquid, turns into liquid form dye and bleeds or discharges. In some embodiments, the dye element 506 may be, for example, loose powder dye or compressed powder dye tablet (e.g., encapsulated powder in tablet form).

[0043] In some embodiments, the bottom layer 504 may have a substantially flat surface so that the capsule may lay flat on the fabric to be dyed that will be underneath the capsule. The top layer 502 of the capsule may have a concave or a hump-like shape so that the powdered or tablet dye may be contained inside. FIG. 5A shows an example capsule having the substantially flat bottom layer 504 and a concave or curved hump top layer 502, and substantially the entire chamber may be filled with loose powder dye. FIG. 5B shows an example capsule having the substantially flat bottom layer 504 but the top layer 512 may also have a substantially flat surface with substantially squared off corners 514 instead of a curved hump. The chamber may include the encapsulated powder dye tablet 516, which may have a shape that is similar to a medicine tablet. However, it should be noted that the shapes of the top layers 502, 512 and the bottom layer 504 shown in FIGS. 5A-5B are merely examples and that other shapes and forms may be envisaged. For example, the encapsulated powder dye tablet may be included in the capsule having the curved hump shape shown in FIG. 5A and the loose powder dye may be included in the capsule having the substantially flat top layer 512 shown in FIG. 5B, and the like. In some embodiments, the capsule 104 may be about 4 cm in diameter and the encapsulated power dye may have a diameter of about 2 cm with a 1 cm perimeter portion 508, 510 all around the capsule 104. However, this is just one example embodiment and other smaller or larger sizes and/or proportions may be envisaged.

[0044] In some embodiments, the capsule is not necessarily limited to just a circular shape. Instead, the capsule may have the shape of a square, triangle or other polygon, star, and the like. Because a darker imprint in the shape of the capsules is formed on the shirt, capsules of different shapes and sizes may further aid in the design of the shirt by leaving different shaped patterns on the shirt when the capsules are removed (see, for example, FIG. 7).

[0045] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a user pouring water on to the capsule, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is an illustration of the shirt after the capsules are removed, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 6, a user may first lay the shirt flat on a flat surface, and place one or more capsules 104 on the shirt according to his/her desired pattern. The user may then gradually pour water or other liquid on to the top layer of the capsule using, for example, a pipette 602 or eye dropper. The absorbent material of the capsule will cause the water to soak through the top layer and cause the powder dye to turn into a liquid form dye and begin to exit from the interior of the capsule to the exterior of the capsule. The amount of water and the rate at which the water is poured on to the capsule may vary the amount of dye that bleeds through the capsule and the darkness of the dye on the shirt. For example, using a larger amount of water may dilute the color of the dye and therefore may result in a lighter shade of the color (e.g., light blue) whereas a smaller amount of water may result in a darker shade of the color (e.g., dark blue). As the dye bleeds out from the capsule, the shirt that is underneath the capsule will be dyed 704 according to the color of the dye and may leave an imprint on the shirt in the shape of the capsule as shown in FIG. 7. Therefore, if the capsule has a star shape, then a star shape stain will result on the shirt, and so on. More water may continue to be poured on the capsule to create a larger dye spot on the shirt. Once the desired dye spot is formed on the shirt, the capsules may simply be removed and thrown away, thereby making the cleanup process easy. In some embodiments, the shirt may be picked up and shaken over a trash bin to cause the capsules to fall into the trash bin. Therefore, the user does not have to touch the capsules at all and not risk getting dye on his/her hands. The shirt may then be dried (e.g., hang dried) and once dried, the shirt may be worn.

[0046] FIGS. 8-9 illustrate other examples of capsules, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, a single capsule may contain more than one color of dye inside. For example, a circular capsule like the one shown in FIG. 8 may include four different colored dyes inside so that when water is poured on it, a different color dye will bleed through the capsule in different directions. In some embodiments, the inside of the capsule may be segmented or divided into four quadrants 801a-801d, wherein each quadrant may be separated from each other by the top layer and/or bottom layer of the fabric material of the capsule. Yet in other embodiments, the inside of the capsule may be one single opening and the dye may be a multi-colored dye. In other examples, the capsule may have other shapes such as a star, a triangle, or a heart, as shown in FIGS. 9A-9C. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, each point of the star may include a different colored dye thereby causing a different colored dye to bleed through the capsule in different directions. Similar to the circular shaped capsules, the star-, the triangle-, or the heard-shaped capsules may also include a perimeter portion that may be connected together and also forming a lip around the perimeter to help the user more easily grasp the capsules. Accordingly, any number of various shaped capsules may be arranged on the shirt or other desired fabric material and decorated according to the persons likings.

[0047] In some embodiments, the capsule may be an enlarged capsule containing multiple separate dyes as shown in FIG. 10. As illustrated, the capsule may be an elongated and/or curved-elongated capsule 1002 that includes, in this example, five separate dye tablets 1004. Each tablet 1004 may be a different color dye or they may all be a same color dye. Thus, when the user places the elongated capsule 1002 on a shirt, an elongated dye-pattern shape may be formed. In other embodiments, an even larger capsule may be envisaged including 10 or 15 dyes.

[0048] FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a method for decorating a fabric material, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. When a user wants to design a fabric material such as a shirt, the user may first lay the shirt flat on a flat surface, and position or arranged one or more dye capsules on the fabric material. As shown above, the dye capsule may include a first absorbent layer, a second absorbent layer on the first absorbent layer, and a water-soluble dye between the first absorbent layer and the second absorbent layer (802). When more than one dye capsules are utilized, the capsules may be arranged in any desired or decorative pattern or array on the shirt. Next, the user may pour a liquid such as water using a pipette onto the dye capsule such that the liquid is absorbed through the second absorbent layer and dissolves with the water-soluble dye to form a liquid form dye (804). A pipette may help the user control the amount and the flow rate of the water being poured onto the capsules. Finally, the fabric material may be dyed by discharging the liquid form dye through the first absorbent layer (806). Once the desired design is achieved, the user may simply pick up and remove the capsules or pick up the shirt and shake the capsules off over a trash bin so that the dye does not get on the users hands.

[0049] Unless otherwise noted, like reference numerals, characters, or combinations thereof denote like elements throughout the attached drawings and the written description, and thus, descriptions thereof will not be repeated. Further, parts that are not related to, or that are irrelevant to, the description of the embodiments might not be shown to make the description clear.

[0050] In the drawings, the relative sizes of elements, layers, and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Additionally, the use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the accompanying drawings is generally provided to clarify boundaries between adjacent elements. As such, neither the presence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shading conveys or indicates any preference or requirement for particular materials, material properties, dimensions, proportions, commonalities between illustrated elements, and/or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc., of the elements, unless specified.

[0051] Various embodiments are described herein with reference to sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of embodiments and/or intermediate structures. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Further, specific structural or functional descriptions disclosed herein are merely illustrative for the purpose of describing embodiments according to the concept of the present disclosure. Thus, embodiments disclosed herein should not be construed as limited to the particular illustrated shapes of regions, but are to include deviations in shapes that result from, for instance, manufacturing.

[0052] For example, an implanted region illustrated as a rectangle will, typically, have rounded or curved features and/or a gradient of implant concentration at its edges rather than a binary change from implanted to non-implanted region. Likewise, a buried region formed by implantation may result in some implantation in the region between the buried region and the surface through which the implantation takes place.

[0053] Thus, the regions illustrated in the drawings are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to be limiting. Additionally, as those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure.

[0054] In the detailed description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments. It is apparent, however, that various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details or with one or more equivalent arrangements. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring various embodiments.

[0055] Spatially relative terms, such as beneath, below, lower, under, above, upper, and the like, may be used herein for ease of explanation to describe one element or features relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or in operation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as below or beneath or under other elements or features would then be oriented above the other elements or features. Thus, the example terms below and under can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein should be interpreted accordingly. Similarly, when a first part is described as being arranged on a second part, this indicates that the first part is arranged at an upper side or a lower side of the second part without the limitation to the upper side thereof on the basis of the gravity direction.

[0056] Further, in this specification, the phrase on a plane, or plan view, means viewing a target portion from the top, and the phrase on a cross-section means viewing a cross-section formed by vertically cutting a target portion from the side.

[0057] It will be understood that when an element, layer, region, or component is referred to as being formed on, on, connected to, or coupled to another element, layer, region, or component, it can be directly formed on, on, connected to, or coupled to the other element, layer, region, or component, or indirectly formed on, on, connected to, or coupled to the other element, layer, region, or component such that one or more intervening elements, layers, regions, or components may be present. In addition, this may collectively mean a direct or indirect coupling or connection and an integral or non-integral coupling or connection. For example, when a layer, region, or component is referred to as being "electrically connected" or "electrically coupled" to another layer, region, or component, it can be directly electrically connected or coupled to the other layer, region, and/or component or intervening layers, regions, or components may be present. However, directly connected/directly coupled refers to one component directly connecting or coupling another component without an intermediate component. Meanwhile, other expressions describing relationships between components such as between, immediately between or adjacent to and directly adjacent to may be construed similarly. In addition, it will also be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being between two elements or layers, it can be the only element or layer between the two elements or layers, or one or more intervening elements or layers may also be present.

[0058] For the purposes of this disclosure, expressions such as at least one of, when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. For example, at least one of X, Y, and Z, at least one of X, Y, or Z, and at least one selected from the group consisting of X, Y, and Z may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance, XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ, or any variation thereof. Similarly, the expression such as "at least one of A and B" may include A, B, or A and B. As used herein, the term and/or includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example, the expression such as "A and/or B" may include A, B, or A and B.

[0059] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section described below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The description of an element as a first element may not require or imply the presence of a second element or other elements. The terms first, second, etc. may also be used herein to differentiate different categories or sets of elements. For conciseness, the terms first, second, etc. may represent first-category (or first-set), second-category (or second-set), etc., respectively.

[0060] In the examples, the x-axis, the y-axis, and/or the z-axis are not limited to three axes of a rectangular coordinate system, and may be interpreted in a broader sense. For example, the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis may be perpendicular to one another, or may represent different directions that are not perpendicular to one another. The same applies for first, second, and/or third directions.

[0061] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms a and an are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms comprises, comprising, have, having, includes, and including, when used in this specification, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0062] As used herein, the term substantially, about, approximately, and similar terms are used as terms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations in measured or calculated values that would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. About or approximately, as used herein, is inclusive of the stated value and means within an acceptable range of deviation for the particular value as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, considering the measurement in question and the error associated with measurement of the particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system). For example, about may mean within one or more standard deviations, or within 30%, 20%, 10%, 5% of the stated value. Further, the use of may when describing embodiments of the present disclosure refers to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0063] When one or more embodiments may be implemented differently, a specific process order may be performed differently from the described order. For example, two consecutively described processes may be performed substantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to the described order.

[0064] Also, any numerical range disclosed and/or recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges of the same numerical precision subsumed within the recited range. For example, a range of 1.0 to 10.0 is intended to include all subranges between (and including) the recited minimum value of 1.0 and the recited maximum value of 10.0, that is, having a minimum value equal to or greater than 1.0 and a maximum value equal to or less than 10.0, such as, for example, 2.4 to 7.6. Any maximum numerical limitation recited herein is intended to include all lower numerical limitations subsumed therein, and any minimum numerical limitation recited in this specification is intended to include all higher numerical limitations subsumed therein. Accordingly, Applicant reserves the right to amend this specification, including the claims, to expressly recite any sub-range subsumed within the ranges expressly recited herein. All such ranges are intended to be inherently described in this specification such that amending to expressly recite any such subranges would comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 35 U.S.C. 132(a).

[0065] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/or the present specification, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

[0066] Embodiments described herein are examples only. One skilled in the art may recognize various alternative embodiments from those specifically disclosed. Those alternative embodiments are also intended to be within the scope of this disclosure. As such, the embodiments are limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.