The prior art is familiar with various forms of rainwear. However, much of this rainwear is uncomfortable because the rainwear does not efficiently transmit water vapor away from the body. Other prior art rainwear can be bulky and uncomfortable to wear; that is, generally the outer most layer of a multi-layer system provides the rain protection.
There is a need for improvements to rainwear. It is, accordingly, one feature hereinbelow to provide a new type of rainwear that fits snugly to the body to provide both comfort and rain protection. Other features are apparent within the description that follows.
As used herein, moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) means the amount of moisture vapor transmission through a fabric as measured by the JIS-1099-B2 method.
As used herein, waterproof penetration or resistance in “psi” means that the material withstands water penetration to at least the stated pounds per square inch as measured by the Mullen test method.
As used herein, “hydrophilic” means a material that absorbs water.
As used herein, “hydrophobic” means that a material that will not absorb water.
As used herein, “substantially hydrophobic” means that a material will gain no more than 10% in weight in water when fully saturated by water.
As used herein, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene with a hydrophobic oleophobic treatment may be manufactured according to GORE-TEX® XCR® 3-LAYER Fabric and BHA eVENT™ Fabric technology known in the art.
As used herein, “form fit” means a material that fits close to body but does not restrict freedom of movement. Preferably, a “form fit” material also allows other garments to fit over it comfortably.
As used herein, “skin tight” means a clothing material that substantially contacts human skin, throughout the full internal area of the material, when worn by a user.
As used herein, “adhesive dots” are glue which couple two layers of material together.
As used herein, “termination” implies a clothing item with only one aperture, like a glove; once a hand enters terminated clothing, like a glove, then that hand may only leave the clothing, generally, back through the same aperture. “Non-terminated” implies clothing such as pants, long underwear, underwear, one-piece body suits, and shirts, where several apertures permit use of the clothing around the human appendages and without termination.
In one aspect, non-terminated, multi-aperture body form-fitting rainwear is provided. In the rainwear, a first waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophobic layer couples to a first fabric layer. The first fabric layer faces the body and couples to a first side of the first waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophobic layer. The first waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophobic layer and first fabric layer are formable about a human body and are constructed and arranged with multiple apertures to accommodate, without termination, two or more human appendages. This aspect may for example form a shirt, pant, underwear, long underwear and a one-piece body suit.
In accord with one aspect, the inner hydrophobic fabric layer pulls sweat off the body by wicking action to spread over a large surface area in order to facilitate a rapid transfer of moisture through the layers. This function may be accomplished by surface treatments with the fiber providing capillary action. Polyester is one such hydrophobic material and an ideal synthetic.
In one aspect, the waterproof hydrophobic layer resists water penetration to at least 2 psi, and preferably at least 10 psi.
In another aspect, the layer adjacent human skin is a “bicomponent” knit, so that sweat is “wicked” off the body; that moisture is then pulled to the second side of the knit where it spreads over a larger surface area adjacent the waterproof layer. The spreading occurs because (a) there is a stronger wicking finish on the outer knit side (so there is a differential wicking factor between the two yarns), and/or (b) the first part of the bicomponent is comprised of yarns with a certain number of filaments and a second part of the bicomponent is comprised of yarns with a greater number of filaments which have a much higher surface area (hence a stronger capillary action).
In one preferred aspect, the body form-fitting rainwear includes two key features as compared to the prior art:
However, hydrophilic layers may also be used. In one aspect, non-terminated, multi-aperture body form-fitting rainwear is provided. In the rainwear, a first waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophilic layer couples to a first fabric layer. The first fabric layer faces the body and couples to a first side of the first waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophilic layer. The first waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophilic layer and first fabric layer are formable about a human body and are constructed and arranged with multiple apertures to accommodate, without termination, two or more human appendages. This aspect may for example form a shirt, pant, underwear, long underwear and a one-piece body suit.
In accord with one aspect, the inner hydrophilic fabric layer pulls sweat off the body by wicking action to spread over a large surface area in order to facilitate a rapid transfer of moisture through the layers. This function may be accomplished by surface treatments with the fiber providing capillary action.
In another aspect, the layer adjacent human skin is a “bicomponent” knit, so that sweat is “wicked” off the body; that moisture is then pulled to the second side of the knit where it spreads over a larger surface area adjacent the waterproof layer. The spreading occurs because (a) there is a stronger wicking finish on the outer knit side (so there is a differential wicking factor between the two yarns), and/or (b) the first part of the bicomponent is comprised of yarns with a certain number of filaments and a second part of the bicomponent is comprised of yarns with a greater number of filaments which have a much higher surface area (hence a stronger capillary action).
In another aspect, the rainwear includes an outer fabric layer coupled to a second side of the waterproof hydrophilic layer for protecting the first waterproof hydrophilic layer and the first fabric layer and without interference with the apertures. The outer fabric layer is generally selected from the group consisting of woven, knit, or non-woven material(s). The outer fabric is ideally non-wicking but it should have a strongly water repellant finish an the hydrophobic layer. It may for example be polyester or nylon treated with water repellant chemicals (such as fluorocarbon or silicones) so that penetrating rain generally stays off of the membrane layer (i.e., the hydrophilic layer).
The rainwear may be extended, in another aspect, by two additional layers. A second waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophobic (or hydrophilic) layer has a first side coupled to a second side of the first waterproof hydrophilic layer. A second fabric layer couples to a second side of the second waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophobic (or hydrophilic) layer. The first and second waterproof moisture vapor permeable hydrophobic (or hydrophilic) layers and the first and second fabric layers are formable about a human body and are constructed and arranged with the multiple apertures to accommodate, without termination, the two or more human appendages.
In still another aspect, the coupling of these four layers includes utilizing new and novel waterproof seams, as described herein.
The rainwear thus provides several advantages. Since the waterproof layer is next to the body, it is protected from the wear and tear of use. There is also less chance of the waterproof layer losing its protection because it most commonly will function as an “internal” layer, which is more easily protected from the abrasions, punctures, rips, and tears experienced by outer clothing. Moreover, the waterproof/breathable barrier is placed in close proximity to the heat engine of the body where the driving forces that power the transmission of water vapor are most powerful. Accordingly, once the water vapor has been pushed through the close-to-body waterproof layer, that vapor will not go back into contact with the body and contribute to conductive or evaporative heat loss. Additionally, a garment construction in a body form-fitting, or skin tight manner uses less fabric and is hence less expensive to produce. As well, a rain garment of this type will allow greater freedom of movement than traditional rainwear used as the outer layer in a clothing layering system. In another advantage, an inner garment rainwear as described herein is less expensive, as compared to the prior art, since it does not generally include pockets, flaps or decorative styling features.
A more complete understanding of the invention may be obtained by reference to the drawings, in which:
Generally, rainwear 10 has a MVTR of 5,000 or more, to provide comfort. Layer 14 may for example be made from expanded polytetrafluoroethylene with a hydrophobic air permeable oleophobic treatment, or from expanded polytetrafluoroethylene with a hydrophilic oleophobic treatment. Layer 14 may also be a polyurethane, polyolofin, or a waterproof polymer layer. Layer 14 absorbs less than 30%, and preferably less than 10% in water weight when fully saturated by water. In one embodiment, layer 14 absorbs less than 1%, and preferably less than 0.001% in water weight when fully saturated by water. Layer 12 maybe a knitted (e.g., a plaited knit), woven or non-woven fabric; preferably layer 12 is a bicomponent knit. Layer 16 may for example be a nylon, polyester, acrylic, polypropylenc polyotefin or synthetic fiber material.
Along direction 24, layer 14 has a thickness generally less than 2 mm. Layer 12 may couple to layer 14 by glue or adhesive dots 26, as shown. Outer layer 16 is preferably sewn to layer 14 at the perimeter 28 of rainwear 10, such as shown by sewing material 30. Only a small air gap 32 generally exists between layer 14 and layer 16; gap 32 for example is generally less than twenty millimeters and is preferably less than two millimeters; layer 16 may also be in direct contact with layer 14. Those skilled in the art should again appreciate that gap 32 is illustrative and that gap 32 may vary throughout in interfacing between layer 14 and layer 16; specifically, outer layer 16 may also contact layer 14 in some locations even though a gap 32 exists, on average, for the whole interface between layer 14 and layer 16. Outer layer 16 may also be in designed for direct contact with layer 14, thereby eliminating gap 32.
It should be obvious to those skilled in the art that laminate rainwear 10 “surrounds” the body as “near-to-body” clothing and that
In one embodiment, and as shown in
In one embodiment, layer 14 of
The rainwear 100A and 100B of
In one embodiment, one or both of layers 154, 156 of
It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that rainwear 150 is shown in a cross-sectional view, for purposes of illustration, and that rainwear 150 forms about body 160 at the desired region to protect that body region from rain.
Laminate 308 differs from laminate 306 at least in that it is loosely fitting to body 302. Layer 310 serves to pull rainwear 300 close to body 302, as noted.
Laminate 330 differs from laminate 326 at least in that it is loosely fitting to body 322. Layer 332 serves to pull rainwear 320 close to body 322, as noted.
Inner knit layer 356 may have a smooth sliding texture such as a tricot knit; or it may be a bi-component knit with some texture. Layer 360 may also be a bi-component knit.
Optionally, rainwear 350 is configured within an inner underwear layer 362. Layer 362 couples with layer 356 through techniques such as described in
In one embodiment, laminate 354 is constructed with a side panel 380 and, optionally, with an outer insulation layer 382, as shown in
Since certain changes may be made in the above methods and systems without departing from the scope hereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover all generic and specific features described herein, and all statements of the scope which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/340,686, filed Dec. 12, 2001 and incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20030106130 A1 | Jun 2003 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60340686 | Dec 2001 | US |