Supple penetration resistant fabric and method of making

Abstract

A puncture, pierce, and cut resistant fabric comprised of a plurality of sheets of plates arranged in a repeating pattern. A material interconnects the plates. The fabric is twistable, bendable, and flexible. It is constructed of substances that will withstand cutting, puncture, and piercing forces encountered in medical or other environments.

1 . A fabric assembly suitable for use in protective apparel, the fabric assembly comprising:
 a woven fabric substrate suitable for apparel;   an array of non-overlapping, polygonal-shaped guard plates having selected dimensions, the guard plates made of a curable composite resin, wherein the resin is screen-printed directly on to the woven fabric substrate so that the resin at least partially penetrates into the woven fabric substrate, wherein the resin is subsequently heat-cured to provide a mechanical bond or surface adhesion between the guard plates and the woven fabric substrate, wherein the cured guard plates are so spaced to define gap sections having an approximately uniform width through which the woven fabric substrate remains visible, and wherein the width of the gap sections and the dimensions of the guard plates are so selected to render the fabric assembly cut and puncture resistant yet sufficiently flexible and supple so that the fabric assembly is suitable for use in protective apparel.   
     
     
         2 . The fabric assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the curable composite resin comprises a cross-linked polymeric material so selected that after curing provide the guard plates with a hardness suitable for use in various protective apparel and wherein the guard plates are not brittle. 
     
     
         3 . The fabric assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the width of the gap sections is between 5 mils and 15 mils. 
     
     
         4 . The fabric assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the surface dimensions of the guard plates are between 50 mils and 100 mils. 
     
     
         5 . The fabric assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the guard plates have a thickness between 5 mils and 20 mils. 
     
     
         6 . The fabric assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the gaps sections have selected lengths and are interconnected in such a way that no more than a few adjacent gap sections are co-linear to greatly enhance the cut resistance of the fabric assembly over the cut resistance of the woven fabric substrate alone. 
     
     
         7 . The fabric assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the woven fabric substrate is selected from the group consisting of polyester, nylon, cotton, Kevlar®, Nomex®, polyethylene or blends thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The fabric assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the guard plates are identical hexagons printed in a repeating pattern. 
     
     
         9 . A composite fabric comprising:
 a woven fabric substrate;   an array of flat, regularly-spaced, non-overlapping, polygon-shaped guard plates comprising a polymer material that is directed printed to partially penetrate into the surface of the woven fabric substrate so that after curing mechanical bonds are formed or surface adhesion is obtained between threads of the woven fabric substrate and the guard plates, wherein the guard plates define a plurality of interconnected gap sections, wherein the guard plates have surface dimensions so selected that the guard plates and the defined gap sections, collectively, greatly enhance the cut and puncture resistance of the composite fabric over the woven fabric substrate alone while maintaining sufficient flexibility and suppleness of the fabric assembly for use in protective apparel.   
     
     
         10 . The composite fabric of  claim 9 , wherein the gap sections have uniform width and no more than a few adjacent gap sections are co-linear. 
     
     
         11 . The composite fabric of  claim 9 , wherein the width of the gap sections is between 5 and 15 mils and the surface dimensions of the guard plates is between 50 and 100 mils. 
     
     
         12 . The composite fabric of  claim 11 , wherein the guard plates have a thickness between 5 mils and 20 mils. 
     
     
         13 . The composite fabric of  claim 9 , wherein the woven fabric substrate is selected from the group consisting of polyester, nylon, cotton, Kevlar®, Nomex®, polyethylene, or blends thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The composite fabric of  claim 9 , wherein the guard plates are identical hexagons printed in a repeating pattern. 
     
     
         15 . A fabric assembly comprising a woven fabric substrate and a plurality of cured polymeric plates printed onto the woven fabric substrate wherein the cured polymeric plates partially penetrate to mechanically bond with the woven fabric substrate, characterized by, the guard plates have selected dimensions, spacing, and hardness to selectively enhance the cut and puncture resistance of the fabric assembly over the cut and puncture resistance of the woven fabric substrate alone, while maintaining sufficient flexibility and suppleness so the fabric assembly is suitable for use in protective apparel. 
     
     
         16 . The fabric assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the surface dimensions of the guard plates are between 50 mils and 100 mils, and wherein the distance between adjacent guard plates is less than 15 mils. 
     
     
         17 . The fabric assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the thickness of the guard plates is between 5 mils and 20 mils. 
     
     
         18 . The fabric assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the woven fabric substrate is selected from the group consisting of polyester, nylon, cotton, Kevlar®, Nomex®, polyethylene, or blends thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The fabric assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the guard plates have a polygonal shape. 
     
     
         20 . The fabric assembly of  claim 15 , wherein adjacent guard plates are separated by gap sections having approximately uniform width between 5 mils and 15 mils, and wherein no more than a few adjacent gap sections are co-linear.