The present invention relates to heated articles of warmth which are electrically heated and more specifically to such articles having battery retention pockets are to support batteries. Specifically, the present invention pertains to such electrically heated articles of warmth formed with one or more large integrally formed concealed pocket(s) having one or opposed internal binding surfaces permitting the batteries to be positioned and retained therein at desired locations to provide comfort to the user person in a simple and in a user-friendly way and which is more comfortable and safer for the user person.
It is well known in the art to provide articles of warmth, such as jackets and vest, for example, with one or several pockets formed on its outer surfaces to support batteries therein to provide power to heating wire patterns permanently secured inside the fabrics of the article. In each of the pockets there is also provided an electrical conductor with a connector plug to connect and disconnect the battery form the heating wire circuit. These pockets are usually small in size and can usually accommodate only one battery. Therefore, if there are several heating wire circuits there may be several pockets to support batteries to power different circuits. This is inconvenient to the user person and to the fabricator of such articles of apparel due to the fabrication of many pockets and the securement of wires and connectors thereto increasing the risk or malfunction due to defects in the manufacture. The location of these pockets can also be uncomfortable to the user person depending on ones activities, such as a job function or a sport activity. These pockets are also dimensioned to receive a specific size of battery, which also limits the type of battery that can be utilized. These pouches mounted on the external surface of the article of warmth can also be unpleasant to the design appearance of the article. Still further, the weight distribution of the batteries due to the location of the pockets may cause a discomfort to the user person depending of its physiognomy.
It is also known in the art to provide battery support harnesses secured to a person's body under an article of apparel to support batteries at various locations to distribute the weight of the battery load, for example a battery belt wherein several batteries are positioned about the waist of the user person and concealed from view. However, such is uncomfortable to different parts of the body and is bulky and very uncomfortable to a wearer person when concealed under an article of apparel. It is also a different article worn under an article of apparel equipped with heating wires and requiring connection thereto. Further, the wearer person cannot displace the location of the batteries as pockets are not displaceable. It is also known to provide a vest capable of supporting thermal packets at different locations against a person's body to provide warmth to targeted areas of the body, see U.S. Pat. No. 8,105,371, issued Jan. 31, 2012 and entitled Comfort Enhancing Vest System. This patent disclosed the connection of VELCRO, Registered trademark, strips in parallel pairs and oriented vertically at different locations of a vest. These strips may comprise the loops material. The Thermal packets are also provided with parallel pairs of VELCRO strips, herein the hooks, and oriented in parallel pairs and disposed transversely. Accordingly, the position of the packets are adjustably positioned to a desired location to provide heat to a different part of a wearer person's body. Such vest, however, possess several of the disadvantages mentioned herein above, such as being visible, uncomfortable due to the stiffness of the Velcro material and bulky, particularly when worn under a jacket article of apparel. Velcro is made out of plastic and unfriendly to the environment and the hook side is very abrasive and known to be ripping the fabrics surrounding or touching it. These harnesses are also not pleasant to the touch or to the eye. For example, if a wearer person wished to carry a backpack of its back, such would make it very uncomfortable or impossible to do so. It is also an added cost has it is not prat of an outerwear. There is therefore a need to provide articles of warmth with an improved battery support means which can overcome the above noted inconveniences.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an electrically heated article of warmth having an integrally formed pocket for the placement and retention of one or more batteries at desired locations and battery orientations and which substantially overcomes all of the abovementioned disadvantages of the prior art.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated article of warmth wherein an integrally formed large and concealed hollow battery retention pocket is formed between an outer shell of the article of warmth and an inner liner to define a hollow space wherein the opposed faces of the space are microfiber materials which bind together when placed in contact to prevent the displacement of batteries positioned therein. The present invention allows for each battery, of various sizes and shapes, to be retained in a pocket at virtually unlimited orientations and position arrangements.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated article of warmth having a large pocket formed therein and concealed from the outer surface of the article of warmth thereby not impeding on the fashionable external appearance of the article of warmth.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated article of warmth formed with a large pocket concealed from the outer surface of the article and wherein the pocket has at least one inner surface thereof formed with microfibers having loops or hook fibers to receive and retain one or more batteries provided with an external binding material having the opposed binding fibers of the loops or hooks to attach to the inner surface when positioned in contact therewith.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated jacket or vest having at least one integrally formed with concealed battery support pocket space wherein the article of apparel can be worn with or without batteries without affecting the external fashionable appearance of the article.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated article of apparel having an integrally formed concealed large battery support pocket wherein one or more batteries can be positioned at desired positions and orientation in the pocket for the comfort of the wearer person to suite the person's body shape or weight distribution of the batteries or for accommodating a sport activity or job function of the user person.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated article of apparel having an integrally formed large concealed pocket formed in a composite material article and wherein the pocket defines a hollow space having opposed material inner surfaces and wherein one or both inner surfaces have binding microfibers or binding rubber or other sticky material surfaces to retain one or more batteries positioned therein at desired positions and orientations and wherein the composite materials includes one or combinations of cushion padding, for comfort and battery protection; extra resistant material against ripping from sharp objects, such as Kevlar, Registered trademark, for battery protection; fireproofing fabrics, static proof fabrics, waterproof fabrics and thermal insulating fabrics.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide the user person a pocket structure wherein the battery(les) can be positioned at the most convenient and comfortable place and orientation. The position of batteries will differ according to the numbers of battery required by the user person. It may be advantageous to position the batteries in order to balance weight distribution and optimize comfort. Accordingly, the position of a battery might be at a different place for one person to another, depending on the gender, body shape and the activity for which the user intends to practice (perform), while wearing the heated garment. For example, it could be uncomfortable or even dangerous to place the battery in one particular position while doing horseback riding and another place might be more suitable for the same person practicing another activity, such as golfing. The feature of adjusting the battery position and location in a simple and user-friendly way and giving multiple, almost unlimited, position options to the user person is an incredible advantage over a fixed location and angle, such as what is currently offered in all heated garments.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an electrically heated article of warmth adapted to generate heat to a user person's body. The article of warmth has at least one integrally formed pocket to support and conceal one or more batteries at desired locations and orientations therein for the comfort of the user person. The pocket is formed between opposed fabric materials interconnected to one another to define a hollow concealed pocket space to receive and position the one or more batteries therein. An opening is formed in one of the opposed fabric materials for access to the hollow concealed pocket space. The opposed fabric materials have an inner surface facing one another in the hollow concealed pocket space. The inner surfaces have connecting fibers which when the inner surfaces are placed against one another they exhibit a binding retention force. The one or more batteries are retained at the desired locations and orientations by the retention force of the connecting fibers of the inner surface of the opposed fabric materials being placed in contact with one another and surrounding the one or more batteries.
According to another broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an electrically heated article of warmth adapted to generate heat to a user person's body. The article of warmth is comprised of at least one integrally formed pocket to support and conceal one or more batteries at desired locations and orientations therein for the comfort of the user person. The pocket is formed between opposed fabric materials interconnected to one another to define a hollow concealed pocket space to receive and position the one or more batteries therein. An opening is provided in one of the opposed fabric materials for access to the hollow concealed pocket space. The opposed fabric materials have an inner surface facing one another in the hollow concealed pocket space. A least one of the inner surfaces is formed with connecting microfibers for binding retention and removable attachment of one or more batteries on which is secured a fiber connecting material for releasable attachment to the connecting microfibers of the at least one of the inner surfaces.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an electrically heated article of warmth adapted to generate heat to a user person's body. The article of warmth comprises at least one integrally formed pocket to support and conceal one or more batteries at desired locations and orientations therein for the comfort of the user person. The pocket is formed between an outer and an inner fabric material of the article of warmth interconnected to one another to define a hollow concealed pocket space between opposed inner surfaces of the outer and inner fabric materials. The inner fabric material has a flap section for access to the inner surface of the outer fabric material of the hollow concealed pocket space. The inner surface of the outer fabric material defines a battery retaining section. The battery retaining section has a sticky surface which exhibits a binding retention force with a further sticky surface provided on an inner surface of the flap section or on a surface of the one or more batteries provided with a sticky surface. The one or more batteries are retained at the desired locations and orientations by the retention force created by the opposed sticky surfaces of the opposed inner surfaces of the outer and inner fabric materials being placed in contact with one another or the sticky surface of the one or more batteries positioned against the sticky surface of the inner surface of the outer fabric material.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Before any embodiments of the application are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the application is not limited to the details of construction and the arrangement of component part set forth in the following description or illustrated by the following drawings. Further, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting but should encompass equivalents thereof.
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring now to
With the embodiment of
Many other modifications and other embodiments of the present invention as described above will come to mind to a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings described herein above and the drawings. Hence, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the present invention are not to be limited to the specific examples thereof as described herein and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention and the appended claims. Although the foregoing descriptions and associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain examples of the elements and members and/or functions, it should be understood that different combinations of elements or substitutes and/or functions may be provided by different embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and other equivalent terms are contemplated herein with respect to the items that they relate to. It is therefore within the ambit of the present invention to encompass all obvious modifications of the examples of the preferred embodiment described herein provide such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4106121 | Belson | Aug 1978 | A |
4241459 | Quayle | Dec 1980 | A |
D316472 | Flanagan | Apr 1991 | S |
5024360 | Rodriguez | Jun 1991 | A |
5211321 | Rodriguez | May 1993 | A |
D357342 | Gelinas | Apr 1995 | S |
5564124 | Elsherif | Oct 1996 | A |
5572401 | Carroll | Nov 1996 | A |
5617582 | Burwell | Apr 1997 | A |
6874163 | Marshall | Apr 2005 | B2 |
8105371 | Giocondo, Jr. | Jan 2012 | B1 |
8793815 | Kelley-Mozsy | Aug 2014 | B1 |
8876875 | Nilforushan | Nov 2014 | B1 |
20060213895 | Dennis | Sep 2006 | A1 |
20170013890 | Byrne | Jan 2017 | A1 |
20180228226 | Corcoran | Aug 2018 | A1 |
20180338549 | Orr | Nov 2018 | A1 |
20210186749 | Kates | Jun 2021 | A1 |
20230208114 | Thiel | Jun 2023 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
WO-2018178618 | Oct 2018 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20230284712 A1 | Sep 2023 | US |