SILVER-INFUSED ANTIMICROBIAL FABRIC

Abstract

Provided is a silver-infused antimicrobial fabric for apparel used in contact with human skin including a skin-contact layer formed on a lower surface that contacts the skin, and a surface layer bonded onto the skin-contact layer, wherein the skin-contact layer is woven from hydrophobic yarn, wherein the surface layer is woven from hydrophilic yarn, wherein the skin-contact layer and the surface layer are joined by a knitted structure, wherein the skin-contact layer is woven from polypropylene yarn, wherein the surface layer is woven from a yarn spun from a blend of polyester and graphene, wherein the yarn constituting the surface layer has a hexagonal cross-sectional structure.

Claims

1. A silver-infused antimicrobial fabric for apparel used in contact with human skin, comprising: a skin-contact layer formed on a lower surface that contacts the skin; and a surface layer bonded onto the skin-contact layer, wherein the skin-contact layer is woven from hydrophobic yarn, wherein the surface layer is woven from hydrophilic yarn, wherein the skin-contact layer and the surface layer are joined by a knitted structure, wherein the skin-contact layer is woven from polypropylene yarn, wherein the surface layer is woven from a yarn spun from a blend of polyester and graphene, wherein the yarn constituting the surface layer has a hexagonal cross-sectional structure, wherein a part of the skin-contact layer includes a silver-containing yarn.

2. The silver-infused antimicrobial fabric of claim 1, wherein the silver-containing yarn in the skin-contact layer is a yarn of pure silver plated on nylon yarn.

3. The silver-infused antimicrobial fabric of claim 1, wherein the silver-containing yarn in the skin-contact layer is formed in a linear shape and is repeated at regular intervals.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a part of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] In the following description, the same or similar elements are labeled with the same or similar reference numbers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0022] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms a, an and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms includes, comprises and/or comprising, when used in this specification, specify the presence of 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. In addition, a term such as a unit, a module, a block or like, when used in the specification, represents a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and the unit or the like may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.

[0023] Reference herein to a layer formed on a substrate or other layer refers to a layer formed directly on top of the substrate or other layer or to an intermediate layer or intermediate layers formed on the substrate or other layer. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that structures or shapes that are adjacent to other structures or shapes may have portions that overlap or are disposed below the adjacent features.

[0024] In this specification, the relative terms, such as below, above, upper, lower, horizontal, and vertical, may be used to describe the relationship of one component, layer, or region to another component, layer, or region, as shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that these terms are intended to encompass not only the directions indicated in the figures, but also the other directions of the elements.

[0025] 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 this invention 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 will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0026] Preferred embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, they may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, an embodiment of the present invention includes a skin-contact layer 100, a surface layer 200, and a silver-containing yarn 300.

[0028] The embodiment of the present invention is a fabric for apparel used in contact with human skin and can be used for various types of apparel that come into contact with the skin, such as underwear, shirts, and gloves.

[0029] The skin-contact layer 100 is the part formed on the lower surface that contacts the skin, is woven from a hydrophobic yarn, such as polypropylene yarn, and a part of it includes the silver-containing yarn 300.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Specific Gravity Comparison Table of Yarns Fiber Specific Gravity Cotton 1.54 Rayon 1.52 Polynosic 1.52 Linen 1.5 Silk 1.39 Polyester 1.38 Wool 1.32 Acetate 1.32 Polyurethane 1.2 Acrylic 1.15 Nylon 1.14 Polypropylene 0.91

[0030] As seen in Table 1 above, polypropylene has a low specific gravity and is designed to not hold moisture but to discharge it. The skin-contact layer may be woven from a hydrophobic yarn such as polypropylene, so that moisture is discharged to the hydrophilic surface layer.

[0031] The surface layer 200 woven from hydrophilic yarn and is bonded onto the skin-contact layer 100. The skin-contact layer and the surface layer may be joined by a knitted structure. The surface layer may be woven from a yarn spun from a blend of polyester and graphene. The yarn 210 may have a hexagonal or polygonal cross-sectional structure as shown in FIG. 2. In particular, the yarn may contain graphene and may have a hexagonal shape, resulting in high breathability and absorbency because pores are formed uniformly and are larger compared to the cylindrical cross-section of general polyester.

[0032] The silver-containing yarn in the skin-contact layer may be a yarn of pure silver plated on nylon yarn. The silver-containing yarn 300 may be formed in a linear shape and repeated at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 4. The layers may be formed in a manner where the silver-containing yarn is woven together with the other yarns of the skin-contact layer.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Test Result Test Item Sample 1 Antimicrobial rate (%) KS K 0693:2022 Bacteriostatic reduction rate Test strain {circle around (1)} 99.9 Test strain {circle around (2)} >99.9 Test strain {circle around (3)} 99.4 Test strain {circle around (4)} 99.9 * Note) 1. Test strains: Test strain {circle around (1)}: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 Test strain {circle around (2)}: Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 Test strain {circle around (3)}: Candida albicans ATCC 10231 Test strain {circle around (4)}: Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 14990 2. Concentration of inoculum: Test strain {circle around (1)}: 0.8 10.sup.5 CFU/mL Test strain {circle around (2)}: 0.7 10.sup.5 CFU/mL Test strain {circle around (3)}: 0.9 10.sup.5 CFU/mL Test strain {circle around (4)}: 0.9 10.sup.5 CFU/mL 3. Control swatch: Standard cotton 4. Nonionic surfactant: Tween 80, 0.05% added to the inoculum

[0033] Table 2 above shows the antimicrobial activity test results for an embodiment of the present invention using four bacterial strains, confirming that the reduction rate for major bacterial strains is from 99.4% to 99.9%, which indicates that the antimicrobial function of the fabric of the embodiment of the present invention is excellent.

[0034] The embodiments of the present invention disclosed in this specification and drawings are presented as specific examples merely to easily explain the technical content of the present invention and to aid in the understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains that other modified examples based on the technical idea of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0035] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the figures, the embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and other embodiments equivalent thereto can be performed. Therefore, the technical scope of the disclosure is defined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

[0036] The drawings and the forgoing description gave examples of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, however, is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of the invention is at least as broad as given by the following claims.