Patent Application
20230413934
Hooded garments, generally in the form of sweatshirts or jackets, have been popularly worn as functional garments for sports and fitness activities for many years. However, when the hood is not being worn, the loose fabric comprising the hood is prone to move or flail around during active movements which often becomes a distraction or disturbance for the wearer.
This undesirable effect is especially prominent during activities such as jumping, stretching, swinging a club or bat. This effect results in hooded garments becoming a less desirable option to wear while performing activities that require physical movement.
A garment includes a torso portion having a neck opening and is configured to be supported by shoulders of a wearer. A hood is coupled to a back of the torso portion about the neck opening and is configured to fit on a head of the wearer in a hood up position. A first fastener is supported by a back of the hood and is spaced a first distance from the neck opening. A second fastener is supported by a back of the torso portion and is spaced a second distance from the neck opening to releasably secure the hood via engagement with the first fastener in a hood down position.
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following description of example embodiments is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.
A fastening mechanism secures a hood of a hooded garment in place when the hood is down or not being worn. The fastening mechanism operates to prevent or significantly limit the possibility of the hood moving about in a distracting or disturbing manner during activities such as jumping, stretching, swinging a club or bat.
A hood fastening mechanism (first fastener) 130 may be integrated a portion of the back of the hood 115. In one example, the hood fastening mechanism 130 may be a magnet positioned near a middle (identified by an intersection of a vertical line 135 and horizontal line 140) of the back portion of the hood 115 a first distance from the neckline seam 120. The vertical line may be thought of as a vertical center axis of the back of the garment 100. Horizontal line 140 may correspond to a point that is near a lowest point that the hood 115 will hang in a down position. The vertical and horizontal lines may also correspond to seams in the hood 115. The magnet of hood fastening mechanism 130 may be fixed to an outer surface, inner surface, integrated between an outer and inner surface or otherwise supported by the hood 115.
In one example, a securing mechanism (second fastener) 145 may be positioned on the torso portion 125 a similar distance, a second distance, from the neckline seam 120 to retentatively couple with the hood fastening hood fastening mechanism 130 in response to the hood being allowed to hang down form the neckline seam 120. In various examples, the hood fastening mechanism 130 and securing mechanism 145 may be magnets, each having a north and a south pole, arranged such that the corresponding magnets attract each other in response to the hold being allowed to hang down from the neckline seam 120. The relative positions of the hood fastening mechanism 130 and securing mechanism 145 allow natural attachment in response to the hood being allowed to hang from the neckline seam 120 along the vertical central axis. The first and second distances may be the same or adjusted if the hood does not hinge or fold directly on the neckline seam 120 to ensure easy or natural attachment. The second distance may be modified to require wearer action to attach in further example.
When coupled, the hood fastening mechanism 130 and securing mechanism 145 keep the hood 115 from moving about in a distracting or disturbing manner during activity or windy conditions. The use of magnets allows ease of securing the hood 115 in an attached position, as the magnets act to attract and retentively engage each other when the hood is simply left in a hanging from the neckline seam 120 position.
Rare earth magnets may be used in one example to provide significant retentive force. At least one of the rare earth magnets should have a non-magnetic material positioned to be between the engaged magnets to allow easier separation for use of the hood in a head covering position.
Other hood fastening mechanism 130 and securing mechanism 145 pairs may be used in further examples, such as having one be a magnet and the other being a magnetic material such as a magnetic fabric. A magnetic fabric may be a fabric woven or knit or otherwise formed with magnetic strands or thread. the pairs may include Velcro® fasteners, standard buttons, snap buttons, hook and loop, male-female fasteners, or any other type of connector that could be used to temporarily secure the hood to the torso of the garment, or other means of releasably securing the hood 115 in a hanging or down position.
The combination of the hood fastening mechanism 130 and securing mechanism 145 operate to temporarily secure the hood to the torso of the garment, preventing the hood from moving or flailing during activity. Such securing may be activated when the hood is down or not being worn over the wearer's head. This mechanism is comprised with a pair of fasteners; one fastener attached to the hood (furthermore referred to as fastener ‘A’), the other fastener (furthermore referred to as fastener ‘B’) attached to the upper portion of the back Torso panel of the garment.
The hood fastening mechanism 130 and securing mechanism 145 (fasteners) may be attached directly to the fabric of the garment 100 on the hood 115 and back torso portion 125 panels. Fasteners may also be attached indirectly, such as to a secondary panel 150 or strap which is then attached to the garment 100 fabric. The secondary panel 150 or strap may be comprised of a different textile or material than the body and hood of the garment. Fasteners may be attached to either the interior or exterior facing side of the garment, using either the directly or indirectly.
The hooded garment 100 may be in the form of a sweatshirt, jacket, short sleeve shirt, or long sleeve shirt; all of which incorporate a hood attached to the neckline seam of the garment's torso. The garment may be a pull-over type of garment. Alternatively, the front torso panel of the garment may be split lengthwise and provided with a lengthwise extending zipper for closure. This alternative style is commonly known as a ‘full-zip jacket’ or lull-zip sweatshirt.
The hooded garment 100 may be comprised of knit fabrics, woven fabrics, a combination of both knit and woven fabrics. Fabrics may be comprised of natural yarns (e.g. cotton or other natural fiber), synthetic yarns (e.g. polyester, nylon and the like) as well as blends of natural and synthetic yarns (e.g. blends of cotton and polyester). Alternatively, or additionally, the material forming the garment may be a non-fabric material such as leather. In this manner, the visual appearance of the garment will be that of a garment torso with a hood joined to the torso at the neckline seam.
1. A hooded garment with magnets or fasteners integrated to the back portion of the hood and the back portion of the torso of the garment.
2. The hooded garment is comprised of a torso portion and a hood portion integrally joined at the neckline seam of the torso.
3. The magnets as in example 1 are comprised of magnetic objects with north and south poles that attract each other.
4. The north or south pole magnet is integrated into the back of the hood portion, and the opposite magnet is integrated into the back of the torso.
5. The magnets as in example 2 are attached directly to garment fabric.
6. The fasteners as in example 1 are comprised of Velcro®, standard buttons, snap buttons, hook and loop or another type of fastener with male and female counterparts that can temporarily connect together.
7. The male or female fastener is integrated into the back of the hood portion, and the opposite fastener is integrated into the back of the torso.
8. A method for temporarily fastening the hood of the garment (‘Hood’) to the body of the garment (‘Body’), for the purpose of limiting or preventing the hood from moving during activity.
9. Whereas, one fastener may be attached to the Hood of the garment, and the other fastener may be attached to the Body of the garment (back side).
10. Fasteners may be in the form of a pair of magnets, Velcro®, standard buttons, snap buttons, magnetic buttons, hook and loop or any other type of connector that could be used to temporarily attach the hood to the torso of the garment.
11. Fasteners may be attached to the garment Hood and Body with a sewn or bonded panel; or directly attached to the fabric using the aforementioned methods or another type of adhesive.
12. Fasteners may also be attached to or encapsulated by a secondary structure (e.g., textiles, polymer sheets, foam layers, leather, synthetic material, rubber, etc.). Of which the secondary structure is then attached to the garment.
13. Fasteners may be attached to either the interior or exterior facing side of the garment.
14. A garment including a torso portion having a neck opening and configured to be supported by shoulders of a wearer, a hood coupled to a back of the torso portion about the neck opening and configured fit on a head of the wearer in a hood up position, a first fastener supported by a back of the hood and spaced a first distance from the neck opening, and a second fastener supported by a back of the torso portion and spaced a second distance from the neck opening to releasable secure the hood via engagement with the first fastener in a hood down position.
15. The garment of example 14 wherein the first and second fasteners include magnets.
16. The garment of example 15 wherein the first and second distances are configured to facilitate automatic retentive contact of the magnets in response to the hood being in the hood down position.
17. The garment of any of examples 15-16 wherein the magnets include rare earth magnets.
18. The garment of example 17 and further including a non-magnetic separator positioned between the magnets in retentive contact of the magnets.
19. The garment of example 14 wherein one of the first and second fasteners comprises a magnet.
20. The garment of any of examples 14-19 wherein the first and second fasteners are both laterally centered on a center back vertical axis of the garment.
21. The garment of any of examples 14-20 and further including a third fastener supported by the back of the hood laterally spaced from the first fastener and a fourth fastener supported by the back of the torso portion laterally spaced from the second fastener to releasable secure the hood via the third fastener in a hood down position.
22. The garment of example 21 wherein the first, second, third, and fourth fasteners are laterally spaced from a center back vertical axis of the garment.
23. The garment of any of examples 14-22 and further including third and fourth fasteners supported by the back of the hood laterally spaced from the first fastener and fifth and sixth fasteners supported by the back of the torso portion laterally spaced from the second to releasable secure the hood via the third and fourth fastener in a hood down position.
24. A garment includes a torso portion having a neck opening, a hood coupled to a back of the torso portion about the neck opening, a first fastener supported by a back of the hood and spaced a first distance from the neck opening, and a second fastener supported by a back of the torso portion and spaced a second distance from the neck opening to mate with the first fastener in a hood down position.
25. The garment of example 24 wherein the first and second fasteners comprise magnets.
26. The garment of example 25 wherein the first and second distances are configured to facilitate automatic retentively contact of the magnets in response to the hood being in the hood down position.
27. The garment of any of examples 25-26 wherein the magnets include rare earth magnets.
28. The garment of example 27 and further including a non-magnetic separator positioned between the magnets in retentive contact of the magnets.
29. The garment of any of examples 14-28 wherein one of the first and second fasteners includes a magnet.
30. The garment of any of examples 24-29 wherein the first and second fasteners are both laterally centered on a center back vertical axis of the garment.
31. The garment of any of examples 24-30 and further including a third fastener supported by the back of the hood laterally spaced from the first fastener and a fourth fastener supported by the back of the torso portion laterally spaced from the second fastener to releasable secure the hood via the third fastener in a hood down position.
32. The garment of example 31 wherein the first, second, third, and fourth fasteners are laterally spaced from a center back vertical axis of the garment.
33. The garment of any of examples 24-32 and further including third and fourth fasteners supported by the back of the hood laterally spaced from the first fastener and fifth and sixth fasteners supported by the back of the torso portion laterally spaced from the second to releasable secure the hood via the third and fourth fastener in a hood down position.
Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/355,951 (entitled Hooded Garment with Fastening Mechanism, filed Jun. 27, 2022) which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63355951 | Jun 2022 | US |
