Article of apparel including apertures

Abstract

An article of apparel is formed of a woven textile structure including channels formed by selectively removing warp and/or weft yarns from the textile structure. Specifically, the removed yarns define engineered apertures within textile structure. The apertures, oriented along the warp and weft directions, provide an article of apparel with good breathability and air permeability properties.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An article of apparel comprising
 a woven textile structure including a plurality of warp yarns and a plurality of weft yarns,   a warp channel defined by an elongated gap along the warp of the textile structure, the warp channel formed by removal of a warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns,   a weft channel defined by an elongated gap along the weft of the textile structure, the weft channel formed by removed of a weft yarn from the plurality of weft yarns   an engineered aperture disposed at an intersection of the warp channel and the weft channel, the engineered aperture permitting flow of fluid through the textile structure.   
     
     
         2 . The article of apparel according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of warp yarns comprises a dissolving yarn dissolvable by a dissolving agent and an inert yarn not dissolvable by the dissolving agent. 
     
     
         3 . The article of apparel according to  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of weft yarns comprises a dissolvable yarn dissolvable by a dissolving agent and an inert yarn not dissolvable by the dissolving agent. 
     
     
         4 . The article of apparel according to  claim 3 , wherein the dissolvable yarn comprises modified polyester and dissolving agent comprises sodium hydroxide. 
     
     
         5 . The article of apparel according to  claim 1 , wherein the textile structure further comprises:
 a plurality of weft channels disposed at predetermined locations along the textile structure, wherein adjacent weft channels of the plurality of weft channels are separated by one or more weft yarns; and   a plurality of warp channels disposed at predetermined locations along the textile structure, wherein adjacent warp channels of the plurality of warp channels are separated by one or more warp yarns.   
     
     
         6 . The article of apparel according to  claim 5 , wherein:
 the plurality of weft channels and the plurality of warp channels cooperate to form a plurality of engineered apertures oriented in spaced relation along the textile structure; and   the plurality of engineered apertures permit passage of fluid through the textile structure.   
     
     
         7 . The article of apparel according to  claim 6 , wherein the fluid is air. 
     
     
         8 . The article of apparel according to  claim 6 , wherein the fluid is water vapor. 
     
     
         9 . The article of apparel according to  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of engineered apertures comprises:
 a first engineered aperture possessing a first diameter; and   a second engineered aperture possessing a second diameter, wherein the second diameter is greater than the first aperture.   
     
     
         10 . The article of apparel according to  claim 9 , wherein ratio of the second diameter size to the first diameter is approximately 1.5:1 to 5:1. 
     
     
         11 . The article of apparel according to  claim 9 , wherein one of the first or second diameters is greater than 100 μm. 
     
     
         12 . The article of apparel according to  claim 1 , wherein the fluid at least one of fluid or water vapor. 
     
     
         13 . The article of apparel according to  claim 12 , wherein each of the warp yarn and the weft yarn comprises a synthetic polymer. 
     
     
         14 . The article of apparel according to  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of engineered apertures oriented along each of the warp channel and the weft channel. 
     
     
         15 . An article of apparel formed of a textile, the textile comprising:
 a plurality of warp yarns, said plurality including an inert warp yarn and a dissolvable warp yarn;   a plurality of weft yarns interwoven with the plurality of warp yarns; and   a plurality of dissolution voids formed via exposing the plurality of warp yarns to a dissolving agent to dissolve the dissolvable warp yarn.   
     
     
         16 . The article of apparel according to  claim 15 , wherein:
 the plurality of weft yarns includes an inert yarn and a dissolvable weft yarn;   the dissolving agent further dissolves the dissolvable weft yarn.   
     
     
         17 . The article of apparel according to  claim 16 , wherein:
 the dissolvable warp yarn comprises modified polyester; and   the dissolving agent comprises sodium hydroxide.   
     
     
         18 . The article of apparel according to  claim 17 , wherein the inert yarn is not dissolved by the dissolving agent. 
     
     
         19 . The article of apparel according to  claim 15 , wherein the article of apparel weighs less than the same or similar article of apparel including apertures formed mechanically.