Denim fabric, jeans, and shirts involving self-cleaning, odorless, and/or eco-friendly features, as well as methods for manufacturing same

Abstract

Self-cleaning, odorless, and/or eco-friendly denim fabrics, including one or more implementations that are woven/knitted with silver bonded filaments or staple silver fibers or coated with anti-microbial and anti-odor treatment. In some embodiments, the strength of the anti-microbial and anti-odor properties may vary at the time of coating the fabric or at the time of weaving/knitting based on the ratio use of silver filament/staple silver fibers compared to the ratio of other yarns in the fabric.

1 . A self-cleaning and stain resistant denim fabric, comprising:
 warp yarns in the vertical direction made with natural and/or man-made fibers;   weft yarns in the horizontal direction made with natural and/or man-made fibers, in addition to silver fibers made of 99.9% pure silver permanently bonded to a base polymer that is made with natural and/or man-made fibers;   an antimicrobial treatment on the fabric's surface; and   anti-stain treatment on the fabric's surface that is both oil repellant and water repellant with irregular peaks made of microscopic nano-spheres bonded permanently to the fabric's surface and warp and weft yarns.   
     
     
         2 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the warp yarn is comprised of natural and man-made fibers. 
     
     
         3 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the weft yarn is comprised of the silver fibers. 
     
     
         4 . The fabric of  claim 3 , wherein the base polymer consists of man-made fibers. 
     
     
         5 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the weft yarn comprises a combination of the silver fibers and the natural or man-made fibers in a ratio of about 95:5. 
     
     
         6 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the weft yarn comprises commercially available silver fibers. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the anti-stain treatment is comprised of an anti-water and/or anti-oil finish. 
     
     
         9 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the anti-microbial treatment includes finishes including one or more of Silvadur™, PureTex™ and Sanitized AG™. 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the weft yarn are constructed via blending the natural and/or man-made fibers with the silver fibers in a certain ratio of 80:20. 
     
     
         12 . A self-cleaning and stain resistant denim fabric, comprising:
 warp yarns in the vertical direction made with natural and/or man-made fibers;   weft yarns in the horizontal direction made with natural and/or man-made fibers; and   anti-stain treatment on the fabric's surface that is both oil repellant and water repellant with irregular peaks made of microscopic nano-spheres bonded permanently to the fabric's surface and warp and weft yarns.   
     
     
         13 . The fabric of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an antimicrobial treatment that kills odor-causing bacteria in the fabric.   
     
     
         14 . The fabric of  claim 13 , wherein the anti-microbial treatment comprises a finish. 
     
     
         15 . The fabric of  claim 14 , wherein the finish includes one or more of Silvadur™, PureTex™ and Sanitized AG™. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 19 , comprising the material having anti-microbial property, wherein the material comprises a finish containing silver ions. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the finish includes one or more of Silvadur™, PureTex™ and/or Sanitized AG™. 
     
     
         19 . A method of making self-cleaning and stain resistant denim fabric, the method comprising:
 providing weft yarns made by blending natural and/or man-made fibers with silver fibers or a material having anti-microbial property;   spinning warp yarns made with natural and/or man-made fibers;   making a beam with the warp yarns;   dyeing the warp yarns;   weaving a fabric using the warp yarn on the beam and the weft yarns;   stitching the fabric to make garments;   washing the garments;   finishing the garments to various looks;   dipping the garments into a solution of nano-spheres for a period of time;   removing the garments;   putting the garments in a hydro extractor to remove a percentage of the solution;   drying the garments; and   curing the garments in a curing chamber.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the weft yarns are constructed by mixing natural and/or man-made fibers and silver fibers made of 99.9% pure silver permanently bonded to a base polymer that is made with natural and/or man-made fibers. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 applying an antimicrobial treatment to the fabric that kills odor-causing bacteria in the fabric.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein, as a function of the silver fibers and the antimicrobial treatment, the fabric kills odor and resists staining such that the fabric requires less frequent washing. 
     
     
         23 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the weft yarn comprises a combination of the silver fibers and the natural or man-made fibers in a ratio at or between 90:10 and 85:15.