BACKGROUND
The disclosed invention relates to garment, outerwear, or hoodie that includes inflatable cushions to provide comfort and possibly protection for a wearer.
SUMMARY
The disclosed invention is directed to garment, outerwear, or hoodie that is constructed to provide a wearer with best comfort with inflatable cushions embedded in the garment, outerwear, or hoodie in certain environments, such as while traveling on airplane, bus, or train. For this purpose, the garment, outerwear, or hoodie of the disclosed invention includes inflatable cushions placed in the back section of the garment, outerwear, or hoodie. The inflatable cushions are configured to be inflated with air, inert gas, or inert fluid by using injection devices such as pumps and high pressure gas or fluid tanks, or alternatively to be inflated by a wearer by using a mouthpiece or a blow tube.
These advantages and others are achieved, for example, by a garment that includes a torso section including a front section and a back section, one or more inflatable cushions internally placed in the back section, and one or more tubes internally placed in the back section and connected to the one or more inflatable cushions. The front section is configured to substantially cover a chest region and an abdominal region of a wearer, and the back section is configured to substantially cover a back region of the wearer. The inflatable cushions are configured to be inflated by fluid.
The garment may further include a hood extending upward from the torso section and configured to substantially cover the head of the wearer. The garment may further include sleeve sections that are configured to substantially cover arms of the wearer. The one or more inflatable cushions may include a back shoulder cushion placed on a back neck/shoulder region of the back section, an upper back cushion placed on an upper back region of the back section, a lower back cushion placed on a lower back region of the back section, a left side upper back cushion placed on a left upper back region of the back section, and a right side upper back cushion placed on a right upper back region of the back section. The one or more inflatable cushions may be placed inside a fabric of the back section. The garment may further include one or more additional inner layers attached to an inner side of a fabric of the back section, and configured to cover and hold the inflatable cushions at the inner side of the fabric of the back section. The additional inner layers may be detachably attached to the inner side of the fabric of the back section. The one or more tubes may include one or more internal tubes connecting the inflatable cushions to one another, and at least one coupling tube configured to be coupled to an external device to inflate or deflate the one or more inflatable cushions. The at lest one coupling tube may include a valve configured to open or close a passage of the fluid to the inflatable cushions.
These advantages and others are achieved, for example, by an air hoodie that includes a body defining an interior space configured to receive a torso of a wearer, and a plurality of inflatable cushions embedded in a fabric of a back section of the body. The back section is configured to substantially cover a back region of the wearer. The inflatable cushions includes a back shoulder cushion placed on a back neck/shoulder region of the back section, an upper back cushion placed on an upper back region of the back section, a lower back cushion placed on a lower back region of the back section, a left side upper back cushion placed on a left upper back region of the back section, and a right side upper back cushion placed on a right upper back region of the back section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiments described herein and illustrated by the drawings hereinafter are to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements.
FIG. 1 is a front view of an air hoodie or garment of the disclosed invention.
FIG. 2 is a back view of the air hoodie or garment.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the air hoodie or garment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a neck/shoulder region along line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a chest region along line B-B′ shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view a waist region along line C-C′ shown in FIG. 1.
FIGS. 7A-7C are cross-sectional views along line A-A′, line B-B′, and line C-C′, shown in FIG. 1, of another embodiment of air hoodie of the disclosed invention.
FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the air hoodie in which the inflatable cushions are connected together by tubes to be inflated and deflated together.
FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the air hoodie in which the inflatable cushions are configured to be separately inflated and deflated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. It is also to be understood that the drawings included herewith only provide diagrammatic representations of the presently preferred structures of the present invention and that structures falling within the scope of the present invention may include structures different than those shown in the drawings.
With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a front view of air hoodie or garment 100 of the disclosed invention. The air hoodie 100 of the disclosed invention is designed as a garment, outerwear, or hoodie which provides a wearer with comfort. In particular, the air hoodie 100 is designed to provide comfort while traveling on airplane, bus, or train, enabling the traveler to relax and take restful rest and sleep during the trip. The air hoodie 100 may be useful for the traveler especially in a situation that long distance travel is required. The air hoodie 100 may also provide the user with safety and protection benefits as well. The air hoodie 100 includes torso section 101 configured to cover the torso of a wearer and sleeve sections 102 configured to substantially cover the arms of the wearer. The torso section 101 is the body of the air hoodie 100, which defines an interior space configured to receive a torso of a wearer. The air hoodie 100 may further include hood 103 that is connected to the upper portion of the torso section 101 around neck/shoulder region 105. The hood 103 is constructed, when in use, to be pulled up over the wearer's head to cover the wearer's head and neck region. In a typical hoodie design, the air hoodie 100 may have a panel 104 at the front section 121 of the torso section 101 that allows the wearer to insert his or her hands or to keep items. The hoodie 100, however, may not include the panel 104.
With reference to FIGS. 2-3, shown are a back view and a side view of the air hoodie or garment 100, respectively. The air hoodie 100 includes one or more inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 that may be filled with fluid, such as air, inert gas and inert liquid, to provide a wearer with comfort in certain environments, such as while traveling on airplane, bus or train. The torso section 101 has a front section 121 and back section 122. The front section 121 is configured to substantially cover a chest and abdominal regions of a wearer. The back section 122 is configured to substantially cover a back region the wearer. The back section 122 includes back neck/shoulder section 122a that may cover a back side of lower neck and shoulder of a wearer. The hood 103 is connected to the back neck/shoulder section 122a of the back section 122 of the torso section 101 and is configured to be pulled up over the wearer's head.
The one or more inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are placed in the back section 122 of the air hoodie 100. In an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2-3, the air hoodie 100 may include back shoulder cushion 111, left side upper back cushion 112, right side upper back cushion 113, upper back cushion 114, and lower back cushion 115. The back shoulder cushion 111 is placed around the back neck/shoulder region 122a. The position of the back shoulder cushion 111 may substantially correspond to the back side of lower neck and shoulder of a wearer. The upper back cushion 114 is placed around the upper back region (opposite side of the chest region) 106 of the torso section 101. The lower back cushion 115 is placed around the lower back or back waist region (opposite side of the abdominal region) 107 of the torso section 101, which may be an opposite side of the abdominal region of the wearer. The left side upper back cushion 112 is placed around a left back side of the chest region 106, and the right side upper back cushion 113 is placed around a right back side of the chest region 106. The inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 may be placed only in the back section 122 to provide a wearer with comfort in certain environments.
FIGS. 2-3 exemplarily show these five (5) inflatable cushions. However, the number and locations of the inflatable cushions are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 2-3. One or more cushions may be omitted, or more inflatable cushions may be added. The cushions may be placed different locations from the locations described above and shown in FIGS. 2-3.
With reference to FIG. 4, shown is a cross-sectional view of a neck/shoulder region 105 along line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 5, shown is a cross-sectional view of a chest region (upper torso region) 106 along line B-B′ shown in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 6, shown is a cross-sectional view a waist region (lower torso region) 107 along line C-C′ shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 4-6, the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are placed in the back section 122 of the torso section 101. The inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are placed internally in the back section 122 so that the inflatable cushions may not be exposed externally. In an embodiment, inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 may be placed or embedded inside the fabric 101a of the air hoodie 100 between outer side 123 and inner side 124 of the fabric 101a.
With reference to FIGS. 7A-7C, shown are cross-sectional views along line A-A′, along line B-B′, and along line C-C′, shown in FIG. 1, of another embodiment of air hoodie 100′ of the disclosed invention. The exterior shape of the air hoodie 100′ is the same as that of the air hoodie 100 shown in FIGS. 1-3. Internal structure of the air hoodie 100′, however, is different from that of the air hoodie 100. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the air hoodie 100′ may have one or more additional inner layers 125 that are configured to hold and cover the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 on an inner side 124 of the fabric 101a of the air hoodie 100. The additional inner layers 125 may be attached to the inner side 124 of the fabric 101a to cover and hold the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The additional inner layers 125 may be detachable.
FIGS. 7A-7C exemplarily show the additional inner layer 125 that covers cover back shoulder cushion 111 at the neck/shoulder region 105, left side upper back cushion 112, right side upper back cushion 113 and upper back cushion 114 at the check region 106, and lower back cushion 115 at the waist region 107, respectively. The additional inner layers 125 hold and cover the inflatable cushions so that the cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 may be fixed at predetermined locations and may not be movable in position. The additional inner layer 125 may be one piece covering all of the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, or may be separate pieces separately covering the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115.
The inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are configured to be inflated with fluid, such as air, inert gas, or inert liquid, by using injection devices (not shown) such as pumps, high pressure gas and fluid tanks. Alternatively, the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 may be inflated by a wearer by using a mouthpiece or a blow tube. The air hoodie 100 may further include tubes 131, 132 (see FIG. 8) that are connected to the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 to inject fluid into cushions or to remove the fluid from the inflatable cushions. The tubes 131, 132 may include one or more internal tubes 131, which connects one inflatable cushion to another inflatable cushion, and a coupling tube 132 that may have a coupling connection configured to be connected to an external injection device (not shown), mouthpiece, or blow tube to inject air or gas into the cushions.
With reference to FIG. 8, shown is an embodiment of the air hoodie 100 in which the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are connected together by internal tubes 131 to be inflated and deflated together. The internal tubes 131 are internally placed in the air hoodie 100 so that the internal tubes 131 may not be exposed externally. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-6, the internal tubes 131 may be embedded in the fabric 101a of the back section 122. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the internal tubes 131 may be covered by the additional inner layer 125. At least one of the cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 may be connected to a coupling tube 132 to be connected to an external injection device, mouthpiece, or blow tube. FIG. 8 exemplarily shows the coupling tube 132 connected to the lower back cushion 115, but the coupling tube 132 may be connected to any of the cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The coupling tube 132 may have a valve 133 to open or close a passage of fluid to the cushions. The valve May be opened to inject fluid into the cushions or to exhaust the fluid from the cushions. The valve May be closed to keep the injected fluid in the cushions.
With reference to FIG. 9, shown is an embodiment of the air hoodie 100 in which the inflatable cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are configured to be inflated and deflated individually and independently. In this configuration, each of the cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 may be respectively connected to coupling tubes 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e that are used to inflate or deflate the cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 individually. In this configuration, the inflations and deflations of the cushions 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 are controlled separately. Each of the coupling tubes 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e has a valve (not shown) to control on/off of the fluid passage.
However, the arrangement of the tubes 131, 132 are not limited to the configurations shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. For example, some of the cushions may be connected to one another while the rest of the cushions are separated. Each of the separated cushions may be connected to a coupling tube. The cushions connected together may be connected through internal tubes and one of them may be connected to a coupling tube.
Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Consequently, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Patent Application
20240358104
