Patent Application
20200253296
The present invention relates to a hood having a rainproof function of preventing the head and eye area from rain, hooded outerwear, and glasses holder for the hood used in the hood and the outerwear with the hood.
Hooded outerwear currently on the market, especially rainwear, has various improvements in the designs, materials and functionality thereof. However, when it comes to the hood portion, the styles of hooded outerwear are limited to the one that simply has a hood at the neck part and the one with a string where the hood can be fixed around the face by pulling the string so that the hood is not removed.
In addition, there exist rainwear designed for cyclists who ride bicycles in rain, in which, as shown in
There also exist, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, rainwear in which the hood can be fixed while wearing a brimmed hat such as a baseball cap, and a sun-rain hat that is made water repellent and can be fixed by pulling the accompanying string thereof around the neck to prevent the hat from being blown away by a wind. There also exists a fixing tool used for attaching the handle of an umbrella to a handle portion of a bicycle, to enable two-handed steering of the bicycle while having the umbrella up, and the fixing tool has been used mainly by housewives who ride bicycles for shopping.
Furthermore, for the purpose of preventing the face from getting wet in the rain, there exists a rain visor that is mounted on a forehead portion of the face to cover the entire face, as shown in
Aside from old products that focus on functionality, the demand for hooded outerwear, especially for “rainwear,” has recently been increasing, thereby expanding the sales floors year after year, as “outdoor activities” such as cycling, jogging, trekking, mountain climbing, snowboarding, skiing, fishing, and outdoor concerts/festivals turn into a fashion style among young people, marketing rainwear focusing on visual designs and styles, so as to chase “rain boots (boots)” which have become popular prior and been a staple on rainy days among women.
Moreover, proactive bicycle policies have been made in various countries in order to reduce fatal car accidents and CO2 and prevent lifestyle-related diseases, and consequently the demand for “rainwear” optimal for riding bicycles in rain has been increasing.
In addition, the road traffic law revision enforced in June 2015 in Japan prohibits riding a bicycle while holding up an umbrella. In response to this, the guidelines established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department warns of fixing tools for umbrellas, recommending wearing “rainwear” with excellent safety, which encourages the demand.
However, many of those actual cyclists complain about wearing the rainwear saying “unstylish,” “embarrassing,” and “cumbersome,” avoid wearing the rainwear, and consequently use other means of transportation such as walking. Some of these individuals often use umbrella as usual or continue to ride a bicycle while holding up an umbrella which is prohibited by law due to the danger thereof.
On the other hand, in spite of the safe and convenient characteristics of rainwear that enable two-handed steering of the bicycle, one of the other reasons of avoiding wearing such rainwear is that “the hood slips off” while cycling. Furthermore, it is conceivable that such complaints of some cyclists as “unstylish,” “embarrassing,” and “cumbersome” are attributed to the conventional rainproof functions and rainproof tools, and such issues are described hereinbelow.
As described above, the functions of the hood portion of the conventional hooded outerwear such as rainwear are divided into two categories. As to the rainwear that simply has a hood at the neck part, the hood slips off easily while cycling in rain and consequently the head gets wet; the rainwear does not serve the real purpose of the hood. Moreover, the hood constantly slips off and needs to be put back on repeatedly or needs to be held with one hand to prevent the hood from slipping off again, which is not only extremely inconvenient but also worsens the visibility due to the rain or snow spattering directly on the eye area. Riding a bicycle with one hand on a slippery ground is extremely dangerous.
In addition, for a contact lens user, the wind, rain, or snow coming from front can lift up a contact lens, and the contact lens becomes misaligned or removed, which is extremely inconvenient. Moreover, getting the eye area wet can remove eye makeup, causing dark smudges around the eyes due to mascara or the like.
The types of hoods that causes such issues are the hoods of the rainwear focusing on designs and styles that have been popular. For this reason, although consumers purchase the rainwear with the designs and styles thereof in mind, the consumers eventually need to use rainproof tools that ruin the style, such as the one shown in
On the other hand, as to the functionally-oriented rainwear in which the hood is fixed around the face by pulling the string so that the hood does not slips off due to wind, although the head is prevented from getting wet, the face is exposed as in the case of the aforementioned hood, and consequently the rain directly spatters on the eye area, which is the same issue as the aforementioned hood. Furthermore, such a hood has an aesthetic issue in that the style where the face is exposed from the space of the hood after pulling the string is extremely ugly.
Next, an aesthetic issue is also present in the rainwear shown in
Next, as to the brimmed hat such as a baseball cap described in Patent Document 1, the hat needs to be put on securely so as not to be blown away by the wind, which results in untidy hair when the hat is taken off, flat bang, inconvenience of carrying a brimmed hat, and other issues. The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 is designed such that the hood is fixed by covering up to the front end of the brim to prevent the hat from getting wet, blocking the view on the right and left sides, which is extremely dangerous. In addition to the foregoing problems, the water repellent sun-rain hat brings about the inconvenience of carrying the wet hat after use.
Also, as to the fixing tools for umbrellas, fixing the fixing tools with the umbrella open exceeds the allowable size of a load on a bicycle already required by law. Having the fixing tool with the umbrella open not only poses a danger of having the umbrella come into contact with a pedestrian, a car, a telephone pole or the like while riding, but also causes the umbrella to impair the visibility and to be blown by the wind; thus, the use of the fixing tools with an umbrella open while riding is prohibited in some prefectures. In addition, since the fixing tool is mounted, with the umbrella slightly tilted forward, the back of the head or the back gets wet, and an approximately 30-centimeter rod-like protruding object needs to be attached to the handle portion at all times.
Next, the rain visor shown in
In addition, goggles used for the eye area when riding a motorcycle has a large frame portion in order to block rain and snow and protect the eyes from the impact of a fall and the like, and has a thick, sturdy cushion portion provided on the inside. Therefore, the goggles are ideal for use along with a motorcycle helmet or when skiing or snowboarding, but is visually too thick for bike riding and not suitable for carrying due to its bulkiness.
As described above, the existing measures for protecting the head and the eye area from rain usually adopt a structure for blocking rain above the head, except for a visor that covers the entire face. However, especially when riding a bicycle, measures for protecting the eye area with the impact of rain and snow blown from the front due to a wind or a traveling speed need to be taken. Therefore, the rainproof tools described above are not sufficient in view of the issues about the portability of the rainproof tools due to the shapes thereof and the fact that the visual styles when the rainproof tools are in use are not taken into consideration.
Currently, as the rainproof function of the “hood portion” of rainwear, the designs, styles, and portability required in various fields have not yet been able to satisfy the needs of the users and remain as problems of the entire rainwear.
The present invention was contrived in order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and an object of the present invention is to achieve an improvement of hooded outerwear that not only fulfills the rainproof function inherent to a hood of rainwear or the like, but also “at the same time” secures visibility by blocking the eye area from rain and takes into consideration the appearance and portability thereof when worn.
In order to achieve the object described above, the present invention provides a hood that includes a hood main body having an opening portion for exposing a face to a front surface, and a glasses holder for holding glasses worn on an eye area, inside an upper portion of the opening portion of the hood main body so as to allow the glasses to be detachable.
Here, the term “hood” is a part that is placed on a head portion to cover the head portion and has the opening portion where the face is exposed. The hood is used mainly on a collar portion of a jacket or a garment and may be configured to be detachable from the collar portion. The term “glasses” indicate typical glasses but may be any structures configured mainly by lenses, bridges, arms and the like. The lenses may or may not have strengths, or may be colored. Some glasses include ones called “goggles.”
The term “upper portion” of the opening portion of the hood main body indicates a section from the forehead of the face to the temples when the hood main body is placed on the head. The term “inside” of the opening portion of the hood main body indicates a part facing the forehead side of the upper portion of the hood described above.
A position where the hood holder holds the glasses, which is described in claim 2 as “at least one section where the visibility is not obstructed,” indicates any of one section, which is a bridge of the glasses, two sections, which are both arms, and three sections, which are the bridge and the arms.
The term “front surface” is used for the glasses holder, described in claim 3, because the glasses holder has two different functions on the front and back thereof. Thus, one side is indicated as “front surface,” which represents an attachment surface between the hood main body and the glasses holder, and the term “attach” here means that the glasses holder is fixed completely to the inside of the upper portion of the opening portion of the hood main body by, mainly, sewing, adhesion, or the like.
The term “detachable” means that the glasses holder is fixed to the hood portion in such a manner that the glasses holder is removable with respect to the inside of the upper surface of the opening portion of the hood main body by a detachable locking portion such as Velcro (a hook-and-loop fastener).
The term “rear surface” of the holder described in claim 4 is provided with the locking portion where the position for fixing the one end portion and the other end portion in an adjustable manner and the glasses can be held in a detachable manner, whereas the “front surface” described above indicates the attachment surface between the hood main body and the glasses holder. In this case, Velcro is best suited as the “rear surface.”
The term “hooded outerwear” described in claim 5 means a garment with a hood. The hooded outerwear is mainly a rainproof jacket, a windproof jacket, a cold-proof jacket, or a sun protective jacket, in which the hood portion may be detachable.
In addition, claim 6 represents a glasses holder single body for the hood in which one end portion of a front surface thereof is provided with an attachment portion that can be attached to the upper portion of the opening portion of the hood, and this glasses holder single body is attached to a hood of outerwear or the like that does not have the glasses holder.
The term “first holding portion” described in claim 9 holds the upper portion of the opening portion of the hood main body by means of a clip. The holding position in this case is one or more sections that do not block the visibility, such as the section from the forehead to the temples in the upper portion of the opening portion of the hood main body. Furthermore, the term “second holding portion” holds the glasses by means of a clip, as with the first holding portion. The holding position in this case is one or more sections out of the bridge and arms of the glasses, an upper portion between each of the arms and the bridge, the bridge, and the arms.
As described above, the “hood” of the outerwear of present invention, such as rainwear, is capable of holding “glasses” by means of the “glasses holder” attached inside the upper portion of the hood, the glasses being worn on the eye area and securely fixed to the nose bridge and both ears. Holding the “glasses” on the inside of the hood not only prevents the hood from slipping off, but also stores upper portions of the lenses of the glasses inside a tip portion of the hood so that the eye area can be protected completely from the rain, the glasses being attached most securely to the eye area so as not to meet with wind resistance. Therefore, unlike the visor portion of the prior art, the present invention not only prevents the rain from entering the eye area due to the direction of the wind or the force of the rain, but also eliminates the need to ride a bicycle with eyes half-closed.
Moreover, with the hard lenses attached tightly to the eye area, it becomes easy to look ahead through the water attached to the lenses, resulting in ensuring better visibility than the visibility obtained by the clear vinyl or plastic visor portion of the prior art provided away from the eye area. Further, since the rainproof tool for the eye area is the glasses, water-repellent lenses can be used or a commercially available water-repellent spray, antifog spray or the like for glasses can be used, to further enhance water repellent effect on the lenses.
According to the configuration described above, without using, on the hood or the handles of a bicycle, a clear visor, a brimmed hat or visor, a fixing tool, or any other excess product that ruins the aesthetic or is too bulky to carry, the present invention can secure good visibility, simplify a rainproof device, and achieve a pleasant look when worn.
Also, since the holder holds the glasses in a detachable manner, the glasses can be removed when the hood of the present invention is not in use. In so doing, the arms of the glasses can be folded and the glasses can be stored in a pocket of the rainwear or the like. Thus, unlike conventional rain visors, rain hats and the like, the hood of the present invention is the most excellent in terms of portability thereof, so the users can carry the hood in a pocket of the rainwear or the like at all times, preventing the users from forgetting or losing the hood.
The glasses used in the glasses holder of the present invention do not need to be in a specific shape and therefore can be used on any shapes of typical glasses, allowing the users to use commercially available glasses as cheap as 100 yen or own glasses. The users, therefore, can select any glasses such as glasses of various designs and colors, glasses with lens correction functions, fake glasses, and sunglasses according to user-friendliness or users' preferences.
As described above, with the glasses holder capable of fixing the glasses to the hood of rainwear or the like according to the present invention, effects different from the functions inherent to glasses, such as these two functions, “the weight for fixing the hood” and “the rainproof tool for protecting the eye area in rain,” can be achieved simultaneously with “a pair of glasses alone.” In addition, the holder itself is fixed to the inside of the hood and therefore does not get wet easily from the rain. The holder becomes unnoticeable if the material and color thereof are the same as those of the hood main body. As a result, as with the clear visor portions provided in the conventional hoods, the rainproof effect can be achieved without ruining the appearance of the hood.
Specifically, the hood of the present invention can achieve a simple, neat appearance of the hood itself or the rainwear with the hood in rain, without an unpleasant feeling. When a user wears the rainwear of the present invention, the user merely looks like he/she has the hood and glasses on. In actuality, however, the glasses holder for fixing the hood and the glasses is provided inside the hood, preventing the hood from slipping off and the rain or snow from entering the eye area. Therefore, without impairing the visual design, the present invention can achieve an improvement in the conventional rainproof functions and bring about a “new style of rainwear” for a bike ride in rain.
Next, according to claim 2, by taking advantage of the shape of the glasses, the hood and the glasses can be held without having the bridge and arms of the glasses block the user's view between the eyes and both ends of the eye area. Furthermore, since the bridge and the arms are configured above the center with respect to the lenses of the glasses, the hood is held above the position of the eye level. Accordingly, a good visibility can be secured without having the hood covering the eye level.
Moreover, due to the configuration in which the hood is held at the bridge and the arms by the holder, the hood can be fixed in the “eye area” instead of the “face.” Therefore, when the user looks both ways or behind, the hood works in a connected manner with the movement of the eyes, preventing the conventional situation where the view is blocked by the side surfaces of the hood. Note that the position for attaching the holder in this case can be pushed above the tip of the hood, and thereby a visor portion can be formed on the tip of the hood with respect to the forehead. Additionally, since the holder holds the bridge of the glasses, a depressed gap on the bridge can be filled with the holder, bringing about the effect of enhancing the rainproof effect for the eye area.
According to claim 3, tightly fixing the hood can achieve secure fixation, and configuring the hood to be detachable enables replacement thereof when the holder becomes deteriorated.
According to claim 4, since the hood is provided with the locking portion such as Velcro that is capable of freely adjusting the position for fixing the holder and enables detachment/attachment of the holder, the hood can be pulled forward and fixed so as to cover the upper portions of the lenses parallel to the bridge and arms of the glasses, regardless of the shapes of the hood and the glasses. Thus, the glasses can be fixed inside the tip of the hood in such a manner as to overlap therewith, and the hood can be held without creating a gap between the hood and the glasses. As a result, the rain or snow can be blocked by the lenses preventing the section from the head to the lower portions of the lenses in the eye area from getting wet. For individuals who wear makeup, since it is important that the section from the head to the eye area is protected from the rain, these individuals do not have to be concerned about their eye makeup being ruined when commuting or when dropping off or picking up their children, enabling an extremely comfortable bike ride in rain.
since the holder is securely fixed by the locking portion such as Velcro, the hood is prevented from dropping below the fixed position thereof, thereby stably ensuring the visibility. The locking portion can also allow the holder to be attached tightly to the inside of the hood and stored therein when not used, preventing the appearance of the hood from being impaired and the holder from becoming cumbersome. Also, since the method for fixing the holder is configured extremely simply by the locking portion such as Velcro, the holder can be attached easily by children or elderly, regardless of the ages of the users.
According to claim 5, for the manufacturer of the hooded outerwear, the glasses holder of the present invention has a simple structure and can be manufactured using mill ends or members used for manufacturing rainwear, hooded outerwear and the like, and the rainproof functions of the hood and the hooded outerwear can be improved at very low cost by simply attaching the glasses holder to the hood main body, without changing the design of the wear main body.
Also, according to the hood glasses holder of the present invention described in claims 6 to 8, the user him/herself can implement the effects of the present invention on the rainwear of the prior art that does not have rainproof functions on the hood thereof.
Furthermore, with a simple configuration, members that are mass-produced and commonly distributed can be used as the members of the holder main body and the locking portion. Thus, the holder main body and the locking portion can be produced and shipped in large quantity at low cost since the holder main body and the locking portion are small in shape, light, and do not require large space for shipping and storing. These elements are of great advantage to sellers as well.
The holder described in claims 6 and 9 does not need to be fixed to the hood main body and therefore can be attached immediately on site, and when not in used, the hood main body and the holder can be separated and carried.
Claims 2 to 9 of the present invention described above can solve the problems pertaining to wearing and carrying the conventional hooded outerwear, or rainwear in particular. The present invention can also be applied to various embodiments by the users. Therefore, in selecting and purchasing hooded outwear such as rainwear, the users can be offered a larger number of choices and make selection according to the designs, functions, and the users' preferences without being concerned about the rainproof effects on the section between the head and the eye area.
Embodiments 1 to 4 of the present invention are now described hereinafter with reference to
A user holds the glasses 7 on the holder 2 fastened to the opening upper portion 1A of the hood main body 1, so that the hood does not slip off in the wind while traveling by a bicycle in rain and at the same time the glasses 7 worn on the eye area of the user can protect the eye area from the rain.
Here, the outerwear main body 5 is mainly rainwear such as a raincoat, a rain poncho, a two-piece rain suit with an upper portion and a lower portion, and a one-piece rain suit. The outerwear main body 5 may also be any garment with “hood,” such as a windbreaker, a jacket, a blouson, a coat, and a parka.
Further, for example, cotton, hemp, acryl, rayon, and other materials used in garments other than rainwear, such as a coat and a parka, can be used. Use of such materials is suitable for not only protection against the sun but also when wearing sunglasses and a parka or the like at a beach to prevent from getting sun burnt.
In addition, the pocket portion 6 provided on a front body of the rainwear 5 can be made openable and closable by using Velcro, a snap button, a button, a zipper or the like, so that eyewear 7 used in the present invention can be carried at all times without becoming lost or forgotten. By using, for example, a material having water-absorbing quick-drying properties for the inside of the pocket, the water of the wet eyewear 7 can be absorbed and consequently the eyewear 7 can comfortably be used again.
Next, the glasses 7 may be glasses with or without strengths, colored glasses such as sunglasses, or the like and are constituted mainly by lens portions 9, a bridge portion 8, and arm portions 10. The “glasses” to be mounted on the eye area are configured by a frame that is typically shaped so as to be attached most tightly to the eye area, wherein a pad portion of the bridge portion 8 of the glasses 7 is supported by the nose bridge and the arm portions 10 are supported by the temples. Therefore, the glasses 7 are securely fixed at the center and both sides of the face. As a result, the hood 1 held by the glasses 7 can securely be fixed, preventing the hood from slipping off.
Causing the hood holder 2 of the present invention to fix the glasses, which not only have the universal shape but also are used for a long time and have recently become established as items improving fashionability, and the hood to each other, can bring about a natural look of the hood when worn, compact portability, water resistance, convenience, and fashionability to a wide range of people across the world, young and old alike. Moreover, since glasses are mass-produced and can be purchased at prices as low as 100 yen, glasses can be purchased easily together with a vinyl umbrella as a rainproof tool, resulting in lower cost compared to a conventional rainproof tool.
In addition, the characteristics of the glasses 7 include washability with water and being able to make the lenses 9 water-repellant and antifog, improving and sustaining the rainproof effect. Furthermore, another innovative feature of the glasses is to provide a wide range of applications and design selections and to improve fashionability.
Moreover, because the glasses are so shaped to be attached most tightly to the eye area, the glasses are prevented from being blown away by the wind, unlike a hat and a visor. Further, the glasses configured in such a manner that the nose is not covered, unlike a visor that covers the entire face, enabling smooth breathing with no sense of tightness. The glasses are also extremely compact, providing excellent portability. The shape and size of the hood, the width of the bridge portion 8 of the glasses 7, and the distance between a bottom portion of the bridge portion 8 and upper portions of the lenses are approximately equal to universal sizes; the effect of the holder of the present invention can be implemented in various hooded outerwear across the world.
In addition, stability of visibility and safety of wearing the glasses in rain are guaranteed because wearing glasses is accepted in public races such as Tour de France (competing in a time trial by riding bicycles on mainly paved roads) where most athletes wear helmets and glasses such as sunglasses even in races in the rain.
Also, loops of a Velcro are fastened to a rear surface one end portion 2B of the holder 2 and hooks of the Velcro are fastened to a rear surface other end portion 2C, by sewing or adhesion, wherein the position where these parts are fixed to each other can be made adjustable and detachable in accordance with the shape of the frame portion of the glasses. When the holder 2 is not in use, the locking portion can tightly be attached to the hood inner side 1C and stored therein, preventing the holder from becoming an obstacle. The locking portion does not have to be a Velcro but be a snap button, a hook, a magnet, a clip, a button, a belt, or the like.
When attaching the holder 2 of the present invention to existing rainwear, the user fastens the holder 2 of the present invention that holds the bridge portion 8 of the glasses to central inner sides 1F at the upper portion of the opening portion of the hood main body 1, as in
In so doing, the front surface one end portion 2A of the holder 2 needs to be a fastening portion that enables easy attachment to the main body. The fastening portion may be, for example, an adhesive such as a glue or a superglue, a strong double-sided adhesive tape, a material using heat such as an electric iron, or Velcro that enables removal. Note that the locking portion such as Velcro is fastened to the rear surface 2B by sewing or adhesion beforehand, as shown in
In so doing, by holding the holder 2 at the bridge portion 8 of the glasses 7, upper portions 9A of the lens portions 9 of the glasses 7 are accommodated slightly on the inner side 1C of the hood upper portion 1A. Therefore, the rain is blocked by the hood 1 and the lens portions 9 of the glasses, preventing the section between the head and lower portions 9B of the lenses from getting wet in the rain. The larger the lens portions, the wider the range in which the eye area is protected from rain.
Furthermore, holding the holder 2 at the bridge portion 8 located between the eyes not only prevents the view from being blocked, but also, when fixing the hood and the glasses to each other, allows the bridge portion to be positioned at the upper portions of the eye area where the eyes are not blocked due to the configuration of the glasses, and securely fixes the bridge portion by the Velcro or the like, reliably achieving the rainproof effect by placing the upper portions of the lenses inside the hood and preventing the hood from dropping into the sight. Accordingly, good visibility can be ensured. Another advantage is that, since the bridge portion is sandwiched between the both lens portions, the bridge portion can securely be fixed without being moved side to side.
Also, since the holder 2 fixes the hood opening upper portion 1A and a hood opening lower portion 1B is fixed at a neck portion 3, the holder 2 performs an auxiliary function of reducing the wind resistance to the opening portion of the hood main body 1, further enhancing the effect of preventing the hood from slipping off.
In
According to the foregoing configurations, the effects of the present invention can be implemented on the conventional rainwear that do not have rainproof functions in the hoods thereof, by various embodiments shown in the examples of the holder 2 according to the present invention, and the users can be offered a larger number of choices and make selection according to the designs, functions, and the users' preferences.
For the manufacturer, the glasses holder for hood and the outerwear having a hood provided with the holder according to the present invention not only have a simple structure of the holder but also allows easy attachment thereof and can be manufactured using mill ends or members used for manufacturing outerwear; thus, the manufacturers' own products can be improved at very low cost. In addition, since the holder alone is in an extremely small shape and light in weight, the holder can be mass-produced and is excellent in terms of shipping and storage. In view of these advantages and the high global demand for rainwear, the present invention solves the conventional inconvenience and builds the “new style of hood.”
Since the present invention can prevent the hood of rainwear or the like from slipping off and thereby prevent the eye area from getting wet in the rain, the present invention is beneficial in the fields of raingear and the like.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-092136 | May 2017 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/011177 | 3/20/2018 | WO | 00 |
