BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This application relates generally to the field of waterproofing, and more particularly
to the field of waterproofing normally permeable apertured surfaces or materials,
and even more particularly to the field of waterproofing materials using nanotechnology
coatings or chemical compositions and treatments.
[0002] Many common materials are not waterproof, either because their material of composition
absorbs liquids or because of apertures present in the material that are of sufficient
size to allow penetration of water or other liquids. Some materials, such as common
woven fabrics for example, are often composed of materials which absorb liquids and
which contain apertures as a result of the weaving process. It has long been known
to treat such materials with waterproofing materials, such as for example waxes, polymer
coatings or PTFE-based SCOTCHGARD brand water repellent. Recently, advances in nanotechnology
have produced coatings or solutions which impart extreme hydrophobic properties to
the materials to which they are applied by providing specialized nanoparticles in
the coatings or solutions. The term hydrophobic is used for surfaces having water
contact angels greater than about 120 degrees, and the term superhydrophobic is used
for surfaces having water contact angles of greater than about 150 degrees. The nanoparticle
technology often provides oleophobic and other nonaqueous liquid barriers as well
as creating a hydrophobic barrier.
[0003] Examples of various hydrophobic and superhydrophobic compositions and treatment methodologies
are provided in
U.S Patent Publication Nos. 2013/0109261,
2012/0009396,
2010/0314575,
2012/0045954, and
2006/0029808, and also in
U.S. Patent Nos. 8,007,638,
6,103,379,
6,645,569,
6,743,467,
7,985,451,
8,187,707,
8,202,614,
7,998,554,
7,989,619,
5,042,991,
8,361,176,
8,258,206 and
6,723,378, and also in International Publication No.
WO2013/058843, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. An example of a commercially
available superhydrophobic coating is sold under the brand ULTRA EVER DRY by UltraTech
International, Inc.
[0004] In materials such as woven fabrics having relatively small apertures between the
intersecting threads or yarns, i.e., the apertures are smaller than the widths of
the intersecting members, it has proven relatively easy to create waterproof surfaces
using known waterproofing technology. Problems will arise however when the apertures
are excessively large in relation to the diameters of the threads. Similar problems
occur in screens or meshes, or materials that have inherent apertures that are of
sufficient size to allow water passage directly or by wicking through the material.
Another problem arises due to intrusion of connecting members or the like passing
through the material, such as occurs for example with stitching or lacing passed through
fabrics or leather.
[0005] It is an object of this invention to provide waterproof apertured materials or surfaces
composed of intersecting members and a method for waterproofing such apertured materials
or surfaces, using nanoparticle hydrophobic coatings or treatments, wherein the apertures
defined by intersecting members are of greater width than the individual intersecting
members. It is a further object to provide such waterproof materials or surfaces wherein
the aperture size is sufficient such that the material or surface only minimally interferes
with the passage of air or wind through the material or surface.
[0006] It is a further object to provide a method for waterproofing materials or surfaces
having intrusive or breeching members passing through the waterproof material or surface,
wherein the intrusive members are treated with a nanoparticle hydrophobic coating
or treatment.
[0007] The invention comprises a method of providing waterproof apertured materials or surfaces
using hydrophobic nanoparticle compositions and treatments, and preferably superhydrophobic
compositions and treatments, and the materials or surfaces resulting therefrom, wherein
apertures of a size that would normally render the surface or material water-permeable
may be provided in the surface or material, and further wherein intrusive or breeching
members, such as stitching threads, laces, strings, shoestrings or the like, may pass
through a waterproof surface or material without reducing the impermeability to water.
[0008] For open or unfilled apertures, the method comprises determining the extent of the
hydrophobic field that extends beyond the physical edge of a particular treated material
to determine the allowable size of the aperture, such that the extended hydrophobic
field present on the material surrounding the aperture will be sufficient to prevent
surface wetting and water permeability by fully overlapping the aperture or by presenting
a reduced area effective aperture that is small enough to preclude passage of water.
[0009] Expressed in other terms, the invention embodies a method of manufacturing an apertured
waterproof mesh material comprising the steps of interweaving intersecting members
to form a mesh material comprising apertures of a size such that said mesh material
is not waterproof; treating said intersecting members with a nanoparticle hydrophobic
or superhydrophobic composition to create a hydrophobic field extending beyond said
intersecting members and into each of said apertures such that the effective size
of each of said apertures is reduced to a size that precludes passage of water through
said apertures; or in other terms a method of manufacturing an apertured waterproof
mesh material comprised of intersecting members, the method comprising the steps of
treating said intersecting members with a nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic
composition to create a hydrophobic field extending beyond said intersecting members;
determining the extent of said hydrophobic field; interweaving intersecting members
to form a mesh material having apertures wider than the width of each of said intersecting
members, such that said hydrophobic field extends a sufficient distance into said
apertures to preclude passage of water through said apertures; or in other terms a
method of manufacturing an apertured waterproof mesh material comprised of intersecting
members, the method comprising the steps of treating said intersecting members with
a nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic composition to create a hydrophobic
field extending beyond said intersecting members; determining the extent of said hydrophobic
field; interweaving intersecting members to form a mesh material having apertures
of a size that would be water permeable but for said treating step, whereby said hydrophobic
fields extending into each of said apertures precludes passage of water through said
aperture. Additionally, it is a method wherein said intersecting members are treated
prior to said interweaving step; or wherein said intersecting members are treated
after said interweaving step; and/or wherein said step of interweaving intersecting
members produces apertures of a size such that said hydrophobic fields of said intersecting
members adjacent said apertures extend completely across said apertures; and/or wherein
said step of interweaving intersecting members produces apertures of a size such that
said hydrophobic fields of said intersecting members adjacent said apertures extend
partially into said apertures a sufficient distance to define effective apertures
that preclude passage of water through said apertures.
[0010] Also, the invention embodies an apertured waterproof mesh material produced by the
above methods.
[0011] For filled apertures extending through waterproof materials that receive breeching
members, such as for example apertures produced by stitching or to receive a lace
or similar elongated member, the breeching member is first treated with a nanoparticle
hydrophobic composition, such that wicking through the breeching member is precluded
and the aperture is effectively blocked by the hydrophobic field, thereby maintaining
liquid impermeability of the waterproof material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012]
Figure 1 is an illustration of an apertured material composed of intersecting members
having been treated to produce a hydrophobic surface and showing the extended hydrophobic
field sufficient to maintain liquid impermeability.
Figure 2 illustrates a breeching member extending through a waterproof material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] With reference to the drawings, embodiments of the invention will now be described
in detail. In general, the embodiments of the invention disclose a method of manufacturing
an apertured mesh material composed of intersecting members defining apertures of
sufficient size to be permeable to water, and treating said intersecting members before
or after the step of intersecting the members with a nanoparticle hydrophobic, including
superhydrophobic, composition that creates a hydrophobic field extending beyond the
intersecting members and across and into the apertures, whereby the overlapping or
adjacent hydrophobic fields preclude passage of water through said normally permeable
apertures. For purposes of this disclosure, the term "mesh" or "mesh material" shall
refer to and include a material, such as a fabric, screen or the like, composed of
intersecting elongated members, such as threads, yarns, strings, wires, cables, rods
or the like.
[0014] For purposes of this disclosure, hydrophobic or superhydrophobic compositions and
treatments suitable for this invention shall include but not be limited to the compositions
and treatments disclosed in
U.S Patent Publication Nos. 2013/0109261,
2012/0009396,
2010/0314575,
2012/0045954, and
2006/0029808, and also in
U.S. Patent Nos. 8,007,638,
6,103,379,
6,645,569,
6,743,467,
7,985,451,
8,187,707,
8,202,614,
7,998,554,
7,989,619,
5,042,991,
8,361,176,
8,258,206 and
6,723,378, and also in International Publication No.
WO2013/058843. The disclosure of these publications and patents as to the compositions and methods
of application are incorporated herein by reference.
[0015] As shown in Figure 1, an apertured mesh material or surface 10 is manufactured by
interweaving a plurality of intersecting members 11, such as for example thread members
combing to create a fabric. The intersecting members 11, and therefore the apertured
mesh material 10 as well, is treated with a nanoparticle hydrophobic composition through
either a coating process or an absorption process. For example, intersecting members
11 may be treated with a nanoparticle hydrophobic composition sold under the brand
name ULTRA EVER DRY. The intersecting members 11 may be treated prior to the step
of intersecting the members 11 to form the mesh material 10, or the intersecting members
11 may be inter woven together first to form the apertured material 10 and then treated.
The treatment step does not physically block any portions of or reduce the actual
size of the apertures 13.
[0016] The intersecting members 11 are interwoven to produce apertures 13 of a size that
are permeable to water. More preferably, the apertures 13, which are generally square
or rectangular in configuration, have width dimensions greater than the cross-sectional
widths of the intersecting members 11, i.e., greater than the diameters of generally
cylindrical intersecting members 11 for example. Apertures of such size are typically
provided in mesh materials 10 that are designed to permit significant flow of air
through the mesh material 10.
[0017] Application of the nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic composition to the
intersecting members 11 creates a hydrophobic field 12 (taken herein to include superhydrophobic
fields as well) that extends beyond the actual physical edges of each of the intersecting
members 11. The extent of the extended hydrophobic field 12 must be measured and known,
as it is this extent that determines the maximum permissible size for an aperture
13. Properly chosen, the combination of the hydrophobic fields 12 associated with
the portions of the intersecting members 11 defining an aperture 13 will combine,
either because of overlapping or being sufficiently adjacent, to create a hydrophobic
barrier either fully across the aperture 13 or sufficiently across the aperture 13
to create an effective aperture 14 sufficiently small in dimensions so as to preclude
passage of water through the aperture 13, thereby producing a mesh material that is
liquid impermeable. The extent of the hydrophobic field 12 will vary dependent upon
the material of composition of the intersecting members 11 and the strength of the
particular nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic composition chosen. The hydrophobic
can be measured for a particular intersecting member 11 can be measured by treating
the intersecting member 11 and then varying the size of the interwoven aperture 13
to determine the maximum allowable size for the aperture 13 to remain waterproof.
[0018] In this manner, mesh materials such as fabrics, screens or the like may be manufactured
that are water impermeable while still allowing passage of air through the apertures
13. The method thus comprises determining the extent of the hydrophobic field 12 that
extends beyond the physical edge of a particular treated intersecting member 11 to
determine the allowable maximum size of the aperture 13, such that the extended hydrophobic
field 12 extending from the intersecting members 11 surrounding the aperture 13 will
be sufficient to prevent surface wetting and water permeability by fully overlapping
and extending across the aperture 13 or by extending sufficiently into the aperture
13 to create an effective aperture 14 of reduced area that is inherently small enough
to preclude passage of water.
[0019] In a second embodiment, an aperture 13 may be present in a waterproof material 16
for the purpose of receiving a breeching or member 15. The material 16 which may be
naturally liquid impermeable or treated as discussed or referenced above, the breeching
member 15 passing through either a pre-made hole or bore, such as a shoelace, tie
or string passing through a pre-cut hole or a grommet in a leather material, or a
hole or bore made during construction, such as a stitching thread passing through
a fabric. In many instances the presence of the breeching member 15 in the aperture
13 may render the material 16 permeable to liquids, especially if the breeching member
15 is composed of a material susceptible to wicking, such as a shoelace or thread.
To maintain liquid impermeability, the breeching member 15 is treated with a nanoparticle
hydrophobic or superhydrophobic composition that creates a hydrophobic field 12, as
shown in Figure 2, such that the combination of the nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic
treatment and the hydrophobic field 12 preclude passage of liquid through the aperture
13 whether by wicking or capillary effect. More preferably, the material 16 is also
treated with the nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic composition such that
the hydrophobic fields 12 will overlap to better seal the aperture 13.
[0020] While the terms "nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic treatment and composition"
have been used herein, it is to be understood that some of the nanoparticle hydrophobic
or superhydrophobic treatments and compositions will also render the treated material
impermeable to almost all liquids and oils, such that the effect is hydrophobic, liquid-phobic
and oleophobic. The allowable presence of apertures in the liquid impermeable material,
whether the apertures are present due to weaving manufacture, needling, apertures
inherent in the material, apertures required for functionality of the object (e.g.,
a shoe), etc., enables surfaces, materials, coverings, garments or the like to be
created, for example, that allow air passage through the material while maintaining
impermeability. Such materials can be utilized for normal or protective clothing,
shoes, covers, tents, canopies, umbrellas, etc. In addition to providing materials
that are not wetted, the invention also provides such materials that may be termed
"self-cleaning", in that the material is not susceptible to common liquid stains and
is more easily cleaned of solid or particulate matter. Most preferably even the inherently
waterproof materials are treated so as to be hydrophobic.
[0021] It is contemplated that equivalents and substitutions for certain elements set forth
above may be obvious to those of skill in the art, and therefore the true scope and
definition of the invention is to be as set forth in the following claims. The examples
and embodiments described above and in the drawings are not meant to be limiting.
[0022] Alternative expressions of the inventive concept are set out in the following clauses:
- 1. A method of manufacturing an apertured waterproof mesh material (10) comprising
the steps of:
interweaving intersecting members (11) to form a mesh material (10) comprising apertures
(13) of a size such that said mesh material (10) is not waterproof;
treating said intersecting members (11) with a nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic
composition to create a hydrophobic field (12) extending beyond said intersecting
members (11) and into each of said apertures (13) such that the effective size (14)
of each of said apertures (13) is reduced to a size that precludes passage of water
through said apertures (13).
- 2. The method of clause 1, wherein said intersecting members (11) are treated prior
to said interweaving step.
- 3. The method of clause 1, wherein said intersecting members (11) are treated after
said interweaving step.
- 4. The method of clause 1, wherein said step of interweaving intersecting members
(11) produces apertures (13) of a size such that said hydrophobic fields (12) of said
intersecting members (11) adjacent said apertures (13) extend completely across said
apertures (13).
- 5. The method of clause 1, wherein said step of interweaving intersecting members
(11) produces apertures (13) of a size such that said hydrophobic fields (12) of said
intersecting members (11) adjacent said apertures (13) extend partially into said
apertures (13) a sufficient distance to define effective apertures (14) that preclude
passage of water through said apertures (13).
- 6. An apertured waterproof mesh material (10) produced by the process of clause 1.
- 7. A method of manufacturing an apertured waterproof mesh material (10) comprised
of intersecting members (11), the method comprising the steps of:
treating said intersecting members (11) with a nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic
composition to create a hydrophobic field (12) extending beyond said intersecting
members (11);
determining the extent of said hydrophobic field (12);
interweaving intersecting members (11) to form a mesh material (10) having apertures
(13) wider than the width of each of said intersecting members (11), such that said
hydrophobic field (12) extends a sufficient distance into said apertures (13) to preclude
passage of water through said apertures (13).
- 8. The method of clause 7, wherein said intersecting members (11) are treated prior
to said interweaving step.
- 9. The method of clause 7, wherein said intersecting members (11) are treated after
said interweaving step.
- 10. The method of clause 7, wherein said step of interweaving intersecting members
(11) produces apertures (13) of a size such that said hydrophobic fields (12) of said
intersecting members (11) adjacent said apertures (13) extend completely across said
apertures (13).
- 11. The method of clause 7, wherein said step of interweaving intersecting members
(11) produces apertures (13) of a size such that said hydrophobic fields (12) of said
intersecting members (11) adjacent said apertures (13) extend partially into said
apertures (13) a sufficient distance to define effective apertures (14) that preclude
passage of water through said apertures (13).
- 12. An apertured waterproof mesh material (10) produced by the process of clause 7.
- 13. A method of manufacturing an apertured waterproof mesh material (10) comprised
of intersecting members (11), the method comprising the steps of:
treating said intersecting members (11) with a nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic
composition to create a hydrophobic field (12) extending beyond said intersecting
members (11);
determining the extent of said hydrophobic field (12);
interweaving intersecting members (11) to form a mesh material (10) having apertures
(13) of a size that would be water permeable but for said treating step, whereby said
hydrophobic fields (12) extending into each of said apertures (13) precludes passage
of water through said aperture (13).
- 14. The method of clause 13, wherein said intersecting members (11) are treated prior
to said interweaving step.
- 15. The method of clause 13, wherein said intersecting members (11) are treated after
said interweaving step.
- 16. The method of clause 13, wherein said step of interweaving intersecting members
(11) produces apertures (13) of a size such that said hydrophobic fields (12) of said
intersecting members (11) adjacent said apertures (13) extend completely across said
apertures (13).
- 17. The method of clause 13, wherein said step of interweaving intersecting members
(11) produces apertures (13) of a size such that said hydrophobic fields (12) of said
intersecting members (11) adjacent said apertures (13) extend partially into said
apertures (13) a sufficient distance to define effective apertures (14) that preclude
passage of water through said apertures (13).
- 18. An apertured waterproof mesh material (10) produced by the process of clause 13.
1. A method of manufacturing an apertured waterproof material (16) having a breeching
member (15) passing through an aperture (13), the method comprising the steps of:
treating said breeching member (15) with a nanoparticle hydrophobic or superhydrophobic
composition to create a hydrophobic field (14)extending beyond said breeching member
(15); and
inserting said breeching member (15) through said aperture (13);
whereby said hydrophobic field (14)precludes passage of liquid through said aperture
(13).
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating said aperture (13)
prior to said step of inserting said breeching member (15).
3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising the step of choosing said breeching
member (15) from the group of breeching members (15) consisting of wicking members
which prior to said treating step absorb liquids.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of choosing said breeching member (15) comprises
choosing said breeching member (15) from the group of breeching members (15) consisting
of strings, shoelaces and threads.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of creating said aperture (13) is performed
by stitching.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of creating said aperture (13) is performed
by forming a hole.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of creating said aperture (13) is performed
by forming a grommet.
8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising the step of creating said
waterproof material (16) by treating a non-waterproof material with a nanoparticle
hydrophobic or superhydrophobic composition.
9. An apertured waterproof material having a breeching member (15) passing through an
aperture (13) produced by the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.