Patent Grant
11786000
This invention relates to an interchangeable headwear system for waterproof garments designed for sailing or other marine activities in variable weather conditions.
Waterproof garments used for sailing and other marine activities are commonly known in the art. These garments provide critical weather protection to sailors in rough seas and/or weather conditions.
The garments are commonly made from waterproof laminated or coated composite textiles joined by stitching and/or gluing. The seams are commonly made watertight by the application of a hot-melt adhesive tape.
An example of such a waterproof garment is a waterproof sailing suit known as a dry suit. The sailor is able to wear thermal garments underneath the suit for warmth and comfort, and the suit features water-tight seals at the neck, wrist and other openings to prevent the ingress of water. Full body dry suits generally have a large waterproof zipper to allow for donning and doffing of the garment. Other waterproof garments commonly used in marine sports include smocks and jackets that may also feature water-tight seals at the neck and/or wrist to prevent the ingress of water.
Most garments designed for offshore sailing feature a large collar that protrudes from the neck line of the garment to above the user's ears. The collars generally also feature a hood that can be deployed to provide additional protection. Whilst these collars and hood provide necessary protection in foul weather conditions, these large collar inhibit visibility and audibility of the sailor's surroundings, and also restrict movement when moving under sails, ropes, rails and other obstacles on the boat. For at least these reasons, many sailors prefer to wear garments without any collar or hood for conditions when the collar and hood are not critical for weather protection. This means that sailors are forced to carry two (2) or more different garments on the boat, which adds weight to the sailing vessel and also fills valuable storage space on board. In addition, sailors are also faced with difficulty donning and doffing the garments during sailing and an increased the risk of water entering and saturating their undergarments during this process. Alternately, a sailor may decide to not carry a garment with collar and hood protection, leaving them at risk in harsh conditions.
Removable hoods are known in the art whereby hoods are often attached to a garment collar by means of a zipper or other fastener. Whilst these removable hoods do allow for the bulkiness of the collar to be reduced, they do not allow for the adjustment of collar size or configuration. In addition, existing removable hood designs do not provide adequate waterproof protection on a sail boat as waves can often hit the back of the wearer and pass through the zipper and over the collar into the garment.
It is desirable to provide a system that enables protective headwear configurations including collars, hoods and masks to be interchanged on a sailing garment whilst maintaining the waterproofness of the garment.
The present invention discloses an interchangeable headwear system for waterproof garments intended for sailing or other marine activities. The system allows the attachment of different protective headwear configurations to provide suitable protection to the sailor depending on sailing conditions. The system also allows the removal and re-attachment of various headwear articles without doffing the garment and without negating the waterproofness of the body of the garment.
The interchangeable headwear system is provided on a waterproof garment such as smock or dry suit that is constructed from a waterproof textile and preferably seam sealed by means of a hot-melt waterproof seam tape or other means known in the art.
The system includes a neck seal fixed to the garment that provides a water tight seal around the wearer's neck to prevent the ingress of water into the garment.
Suitable watertight seals for the neck seal are known in the art and are generally in the form of a conical tube with a first narrower opening to seal around the neck and a second larger opening joined to the garment. The seals are generally comprised of an elastomeric rubber material that provides adequate elongation so that the first opening can be stretched over the head when donning and doffing the garment and fit securely around the neck to provide a substantially water-tight seal. The second opening is attached to the waterproof textile body of the garment at a seam that is sealed by means of a hot-melt waterproof seam tape or other means known in the art. The circumference of the second opening is provided to be larger than that of the users head to allow body fabric with no-stretch to be used and still allow the users head to be passed through the neck seal.
Other suitable neck seals known in the art include adjustable cuffs comprised of a waterproof rubber, PVC, neoprene or Polyurethane coated textile or other material with a hook and loop adjustable fastener that allows the seal to be opened for donning and doffing and then sealed tight around the neck during use.
An attachment method of the headwear system is provided by a zipper that begins and finishes in the chest area of the garment and encircles around the neck of the garment.
The zipper attachment is an open-ended type zipper known in the art that features two (2) elements each comprising a tape and zipper teeth that zip together using a single slider. The elements can be completely separated from one another and reattached by means of the slider.
The first element of the zipper is fixed to the garment along its length that begins and finishes in the chest area of the garment and encircles around the neck of the garment. The first zipper element is preferably stitched or bonded to the waterproof body textile of the garment on the outer side of the neck seam where the neck seal is attached.
The first zipper element is positioned and fixed to the garment to provide small openings at the front and rear of the garment to allow water that enters to collar to drain out instead of building between the garment body and collar.
The second zipper element is fixed to the each removable headwear article. Each headwear article features its own second zipper element that can be attached to the first zipper element of the garment.
An additional fastening means is also optionally provided in the chest area of the garment to allow ease of positioning and alignment of the collar when engaging the 2 elements of the zipper.
A securing strap can also be optionally provided to secure the zipper slider in the closed position to prevent the collar unintentionally unfastening during use.
Headwear articles are provided in different configurations to allow the wearer to interchange during use of the garment to suit different weather conditions, type of activity or user preference.
In one configuration suitable for mild weather conditions or during activities where the sailor requires high visibility and maximum maneuverability, the user can wear the garment without any headwear article attached thereby providing maximum freedom of vision and movement.
In other configurations, headwear articles featuring a collar can be provided. Collars of various height and shape can be provided to suit specific conditions and user requirements. For conditions where a moderate degree of protection is required and/or good visibility and maneuverability is required, a headwear article comprising a lower height collar can be provided that affords some wind and water protection to the neck and lower face. For conditions where a higher degree of protection is required, a headwear article featuring a high collar can be provided that affords increased wind and water protection.
The headwear articles featuring a collar are preferably provided with a seam at the base of the collar that joins to a shoulder panel that spans between the base of the collar and the zipper. The shoulder panel allows a closer fit of the collar by allowing a small circumference of the base of the collar compared to the circumference of the attachment zipper.
The collars preferably feature an opening at the front of the collar to allow the user to open the collar for increased ventilation and/or visibility. The opening is preferably provided with hook and loop fasteners positioned on a first placket and a second placket to allow the collar to be secured closed. The plackets may extend down to form part of the shoulder panel to allow a larger opening of the collar.
The headwear articles may feature an additional face shield providing increased protection. The articles may also include a hood constructed of a waterproof textile that is fixed and optionally configured to be stowed in a pouch or position to sit behind the wearers head when not in use.
In another configuration, a form fitting hooded mask comprising a stretchable waterproof textile is provided. The hooded mask includes at least one opening for vision in the eye area and optional breathing holes or area of highly air permeable material near the mouth. The hooded mask features a flared pattern at the base of the neck confirming to the shoulders of the wearer that extends to the zipper attachment.
Examples of garments commonly used for sailing as well as many other marine sports and activities that are compatible with the present interchangeable headwear system are shown in
The garments 1 are generally made from a waterproof textile joined at seams by a means of a waterproof hot-melt adhesive seam tape or other method known in the art.
The present interchangeable headwear system includes a neck seal 10 fixed to a garment 1 that provides a water tight seal around the wearers neck to prevent the ingress of water into the garment. The neck seal 10 is joined to garment 1 at a neck seam 11.
Suitable watertight seals for the neck seal are known in the art and are generally in the form of a conical tube with a first narrower opening 12 to seal around the neck and a second larger opening joined the garment at neck seam 11. The seals are generally comprised of an elastomeric rubber material that provides adequate elongation so that the first opening can be stretched over the head when donning and doffing the garment and fit securely around the neck to provide a substantially water-tight seal.
Other suitable neck seals known in the art include adjustable cuffs comprised of a waterproof rubber, PVC, neoprene or Polyurethane coated textile or other material with a hook and loop adjustable fastener that allows the seal to be opened for donning and doffing and then sealed tight around the neck during use.
An attachment method of the headwear system is provided by a zipper 30 that begins and finishes in the chest area of the garment 1 and encircles around the neck of the garment.
The zipper 30 is an open-ended type zipper known in the art that features a first and second element each comprising a tape and teeth that zip together using a single slider. The elements can be completely separated from one another and reattached by means of the slider.
The first element 31 of the zipper is fixed to the garment 1, the start and finishing ends of the zipper positioned in the chest area of the garment with the length of the zipper encircling around the neck of the garment.
In a preferred embodiment, an additional fastening means is also provided in the chest area of the garment to allow ease of positioning and alignment of the headwear items when engaging the zipper elements. The fastening means is preferably in the form of a hook and loop fastener commonly known in the art.
The process in which an article of headwear 2 is attached to the garment 1 is shown in
The article of headwear 2 features a second zipper element 32 configured to attach to the first zipper element 31 of the garment. A zipper slider 35 is provided and is preferably permanently attached to the headwear zipper element 32, with each headwear element having its own zipper slider. This reduces bulk of the garment 1 and prevents the risk of the zipper slider breaking or sliding around the first zipper element 31 when an article of headwear is not attached. In an alternative embodiment, slider 35 may be attached to the first zipper element 31 attached to the garment 1.
To attach an article of headwear 2 to the garment 1, the article of headwear is first positioned over the users head so that the first and second zipper elements roughly align. An insert pin provided on the first zipper element 31 is inserted into the zipper slider 35 and a retaining box of the second zipper element 32 to connect the starting end of the zipper as shown in
The first element 31 of the zipper 30 is positioned and fixed to the garment 1 on the outer side of the neck seam 11 where the neck seal 10 is attached. The first zipper element 31 is positioned on the garment 1 to allow for the user to zip or unzip the zipper using a single hand and motion. The start and finish of the zipper element 31 is preferably positioned in the chest area of the garment between 50 mm and 300 mm vertically down from the front neck seam so that the user can look down and easily see the zipper start and end to allow for easy alignment and insertion of the insertion pin of the first zipper element 31 into the zipper slider and retaining box of the second zipper element 32. The first zipper element 31 encircles the neck of the garment 1 and is positioned as close to the center rear neck seam as possible so that slider 35 can be reached by the user whilst zipping or unzipping the zipper around the rear of the neck.
An optional puller 36 can also be fixed to the zipper slider 35 to allow for easier reach to the zipper slider by the user whilst zipping up and down the zipper around the back of the neck.
The first zipper element 31 is preferably stitched or bonded to the waterproof body textile at least 20 mm away from the neck seam 11 to allow for easy application of a hot-melt seam tape around the neck seam and/or stitching of the zipper, to reduce bulk at the neck seam and also to allow for the ability for the neck seal to be more easily replaced if it is damaged during use.
In a preferred embodiment as shown in
In a preferred embodiment also shown in
In a preferred embodiment also shown in
In one configuration suitable for mild weather conditions or during activities where the sailor requires high visibility and maximum maneuverability, the user can wear the garment without any headwear attachment thereby providing maximum freedom of vision and movement.
Articles of headwear comprising a collar are shown in
The headwear articles comprising a collar are preferably provided with a seam 51 at the base of the collar 50 that joins to a shoulder panel 52 that spans between the base of the collar and the second zipper element 32. The shoulder panel allows a closer fit of the collar by allowing a small circumference of the base of the collar compared to the circumference of the zipper 30.
The collars preferably feature an opening at the front of the collar 53 to allow the user to open the collar for increased ventilation and/or visibility as shown in
For conditions where a moderate degree of protection is required and/or good visibility, audibility and maneuverability is required, a headwear attachment comprising with a lower height collar can be provided as shown in
For conditions where a higher degree of protection is required, a headwear article featuring a high collar as shown in
In a preferred embodiment shown in
In another preferred embodiment shown in
In another configuration, an article of headwear 2 is provided in the form of a form fitting hooded mask as shown in
While several embodiments have been disclosed, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that aspects of the present invention include many more embodiments and implementations. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention are not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. It will also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations and modifications can be made without departing from the true scope of the present disclosure. For example, in some instances, one or more features disclosed in connection with one embodiment can be used alone or in combination with one or more features of one or more other embodiments.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017901036 | Mar 2017 | AU | national |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20180271196 A1 | Sep 2018 | US |
