Patent Application
20250127247
As one example of the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 9,854,857 discloses an upper body article of clothing, comprising: a hood and means for filling an airtight inflatable inner space in the hood with air or other gas, the inflatable inner space extending along parts of the hood around a neck and over a head of a person wearing the article, and a first adjustable strap extending over the head wherein the first adjustable strap, that extends over the head, is connected to fastening means on shoulders of the article of clothing for fastening the first adjustable strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,393,013 discloses systems and methods for providing apparel that is both selectively inflatable and adapted for use as a pillow. The inflatable apparel may include any clothing or object that is adapted to be worn by a person and is selectively inflatable so as to act as a cushion for the person wearing the apparel or of another. The inflatable apparel comprises an apparel item, such as a necktie, and an inflatable bladder. In some cases, the necktie is made to receive and retain the bladder in an inflated position or a deflated position. The bladder extends through at least a portion of the necktie. Additionally, when inflated, the bladder provides a pillow or cushion for use by the individual wearing the inflated necktie, or for use by an individual other than the person wearing the necktie.
However, the prior arts suffer from limitations including lack of comfort and adaptability. Improved solutions for inflatable garments are desirable.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ergonomic inflatable travel garment, comprising: a fabric; two or more air bladder holders positioned in the fabric; an air bladder positioned in each air bladder holder; a manifold serving as a central device for the wearer to provide airflow; wherein each air bladder holder has at least one hole that connects to a channel system having tubes traveling across the lining side of the garment to connect with the valves on the air bladders held in the bladder holders; wherein the channel system is built to allow tubes to reach all the air bladders in the garment; wherein one end of each air tube connects with a valve on each air bladder held in the bladder holder and the other end of each air tube links to a manifold; wherein each valve on the manifold connects independently to a specific air bladder through the tubes and wherein the wearer can turn the valves to control the airflow in and out of each air bladder.
The present invention is a revolutionary garment designed to improve passengers' comfort and wellness when they must bear prolonged sitting on flight, train, bus, car, or any long-distance transportation. To help travelers have a comfortable journey, the present invention proposes an all-in-one inflatable garment that can convert into an ergonomic sitting support system. This invention will improve travelers' comfort level for prolonged sitting en route. Additionally, this invention might also help other population groups like office workers and students, who also suffer from the same issues from sitting for prolonged hours each day.
The invention features a built-in inflation system that converts a garment into an ergonomic sitting support system including a headrest, neck support, upper and lower back support, armrest, and hip support.
Contemporary travel involves a lot of sitting. When taking a flight, train, bus, car, or any long-distance transportation, travelers often experience major discomfort from sitting for long hours. Without proper cushions to support their neck, back, and hips, travelers' can develop musculoskeletal symptoms such as stiffness, pain, and sometimes even muscle dysfunctions. Additionally, the seats on contemporary transportation are not designed to be ergonomic, therefore could bring large amounts of discomfort and harm to travelers' musculoskeletal health.
To prevent these musculoskeletal issues from prolonged sitting in travel, some travelers bring portable neck pillows, back support cushions, and seat cushions to make their travel more comfortable. However, these portable items are very inconvenient. For a flight passenger, a set of a full-size neck pillow, a back support cushion, and a seat cushion could easily take up most space of their carry-on luggage. In addition, bringing multiple scattered items on a plane could be a big burden to travelers. Such bulky solutions cannot support contemporary travel, which encourages passengers to travel with as few items as possible.
As an alternative to the above full-size items, some passengers take inflatable neck pillows, back cushions, and hip cushions when traveling. But this solution has its own inconvenience: these scattered inflatable items could get lost easily when passengers get onboard and offboard, considering passengers already have many other personal items such as IDs, tickets, phones, electronic items, and luggage at hand. Taking an extra three items onboard could be too much for any traveler.
Garment 10 can serve as a regular jacket or coat for its wearer when uninflated. The appearance of the garment is not different from a common outerwear. The full version of the garment can be long enough to reach the wearer's knees or ankles. Sometimes the garment may just be a regular length jacket with a hemline reaching the wearer's waist.
Air bladders 12, 14, and 16 are contained with air bladder holders 28, 30, and 32 respectively. Tubes 22, 24, and 26, connect to air bladders 12, 14, and 16 respectively. Air intake 20 is used by the wearer to provide air for inflation e.g., by blowing into it. Manifold 18 houses the tubes and the air intake.
A wearer can inflate selective areas of the garment. The inflatable areas include a hood, collar, lapels, sleeves, upper back area, chest area, lower back area (lumbar), waist, hip area, and the area close to the hemline. For sitting support, the wearer can choose to inflate the hood, collar and/or lapel for neck support, lower back area (lumbar) for lower back support, and hip area for seat support.
Overall, the present invention has potential applications in long-distance travel or poor sitting environments and can greatly improve passengers' comfort and allow them to sit and sleep in an ergonomic position. The invention has the potential to largely improve the wearer's comfort and well-being.
The full version of the garment features a long jacket/coat that falls to the knees or ankles. The jacket's front can be secured with buttons or zippers. The main components of the garment include a hood, a collar, a pair of lapels, sleeves, and a few pockets. The garment is designed to be wide and roomy to ensure the wearer's comfort even when the garment is inflated to become an ergonomic sitting support system.
Multiple air bladders are placed in multiple locations of the garment including the hood, collar, lapels, sleeves, upper back area, lower back area (lumbar), and hip area, and areas close to the hemline. Each air bladder has a valve. The valve can connect to a tube and control the airflow in and out of the air bladder. Here are the detailed features of the air bladders:
Air bladders in the hood can be inflated to become a headrest cushion or a pillow. The hood may be detachable or permanently attached to the garment.
Air bladders in the collar and lapels can be inflated to become neck support cushions.
Air bladders in both sleeves can be inflated to become armrests.
Air bladders in the upper back areas can be inflated as cushions for the upper back.
Air bladders in the lower back areas can be inflated as cushions for the lower back.
Air bladders on the hip area can be inflated to become a seat.
All the air bladders are held by air bladder holders, which are either sewn or attached on the lining side of the garment and hidden inside the garment. The air bladder holders can be opened and closed with zippers or buttons. The air bladder holder is spacious that it allows the wearer to move the air bladders within the holder to accommodate the wearer's comfort.
Each air bladder holder has at least 1 open hole that connects to a channel system where tubes can travel across the lining side of the garment and to connect with the valves on the air bladders held in the bladder holders. The channel system is built to allow tubes to reach all the air bladders in the garment.
The air tubes' main purpose is to transport air to inflate or deflate the air bladders. One end of each air tube connects with a valve on each air bladder held in the bladder holders. The other end of each air tube links to a manifold.
The manifold serves as a central device for the wearer to selectively control the airflow in and out of each air bladder. The manifold is placed in a location that can be conveniently reached by the wearer, preferably near the interior chest pocket, either on the left or right side, or both sides in cases two valve manifolds are installed. Each valve on the manifold connects independently to a specific air bladder through the tubes. When the wearer starts inflating or deflating the system, the wearer can turn the valves to control the airflow in and out of each air bladder.
The manifold connects to a mouthpiece, manual pump or automatic pump via an air tube. A wearer can inflate the system by blowing air into the mouthpiece or using a manual or automatic pump. A wearer can deflate the system by opening the gate on the mouthpiece, manual pump or automatic pump. To ensure convenience, the mouthpiece, manual pump or automatic pump can be strategically located on the collar, collar gorge, lapels, or can be aesthetically integrated as front buttons around the chest area, enabling the wearer to easily blow air into the valve while sitting. The wearer can also put the mouthpiece, manual pump, or automatic pump in their pockets for discreet use.
When using the garment, a wearer can switch on the valves connecting to the air bladders in the hood, collar, lapels, sleeves, upper back, lower back, and hip area. When air comes in, the manifold will direct air to the hood, collar, lapels, sleeves, upper back, lower back, and hip area, transforming the garment into an ergonomic chair.
The fabric used for outer shell of the garment may be wool, cotton, leather, or synthetic blends. The fabric used for lining inside of the garment may be stretch lining materials that can expand when the air bladders are inflated. The insulation layer of the garment consists of polyester or natural fillers like down, but also embeds the air bladders, which could be made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), nylon, rubber or silicone.
Additionally, the manifold is washable and replaceable. The wearer can easily replace any worn-out tubes. Moreover, the tubes are built with soft materials and should not cause any discomfort to the wearer. The lining of the clothes will prevent the tubes from rubbing against the wearer's skin.
Here are a few variations of the garment design:
The garment can be a robe style and can be secured with a waist belt or sash.
The length of the garment can be a short garment, above knee, knee, or ankle.
The hood can be detachable from the garment.
The air bladders, tubes, and valve manifolds can be disconnected and replaced.
There could be multiple air manifolds installed on one garment to allow more selections for the wearer.
Each air bladder holder can be further divided into smaller ones to allow more customization.
The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments, and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all the elements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use of the structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed.
