Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Athletic competition and training often requires an individual to engage in strenuous activity outdoors during inclement weather. With the desire to stay active year round, there is a need for insulating garments for use during physical activity in the cold weather months. In particular, many athletes (for example, football players) have a need to keep their elbow, shoulder, shoulder blade and pectoral muscles, joints and tendons warm and ready for action when they are on the sidelines waiting to enter the field of play. Traditional cold weather garments for football players are bulky, uncomfortable, and difficult to remove when it is time to take the field. Therefore, an improved cold weather garment may be desirable.
Thus, in one aspect, a garment is provided, comprising: (a) a back panel, (b) a front panel including an openable seam, wherein the back panel and the front panel are coupled together and define a neck opening, a first arm opening, a second arm opening and a torso opening, (c) a first sleeve having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first sleeve coupled to the first arm opening, the first end of the first sleeve having a first plurality of elastic panels each covered by a scallop-shaped panel, and (d) a second sleeve having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second sleeve coupled to the second arm opening, the first end of the second sleeve having a second plurality of elastic panels each covered by a scallop-shaped panel.
These as well as other aspects, advantages, and alternatives, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description, with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings.
Example methods and systems are described herein. It should be understood that the words “example,” “exemplary,” and “illustrative” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or feature described herein as being an “example,” being “exemplary,” or being “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or features. The example embodiments described herein are not meant to be limiting. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.
Furthermore, the particular arrangements shown in the Figures should not be viewed as limiting. It should be understood that other embodiments may include more or less of each element shown in a given Figure. Further, some of the illustrated elements may be combined or omitted. Yet further, an example embodiment may include elements that are not illustrated in the Figures.
As used herein, with respect to measurements, “about” means +/−5%.
With reference to the Figures,
The garment 100 further includes a first sleeve 116 having a first end 118 and a second end 120. The first end 118 of the first sleeve 116 is coupled to the first arm opening 110. In addition, the first end 118 of the first sleeve 116 has a first plurality of elastic panels 122 each covered by a scallop-shaped panel 124. Similarly, the garment 100 also includes a second sleeve 126 having a first end 128 and a second end 130. The first end 128 of the second sleeve 126 is coupled to the second arm opening 112. In addition, the first end 128 of the second sleeve 126 has a second plurality of elastic panels 132 each covered by a scallop-shaped panel 134. In some examples, the first and second plurality of elastic panels 122, 132 have a conical or frusto-conical profile, as shown in
In one particular example, as shown in
In another example, as shown in
The openable seam 106 may include a seam-fastener operable between an open condition of the openable seam and a closed condition of the openable seam. In one example, the seam-fastener comprises a zipper. The zipper may be oversized to easily enable a user to grab the zipper to remove the garment 100. The zipper may be a two-way zipper, such that the openable seam 106 may be opened from the top of the front panel 104 and/or the bottom of the front panel 104. In another embodiment, the seam-fastener comprises a plurality of loops positioned adjacent to a first edge of the openable seam 106 and a corresponding plurality of hooks positioned adjacent to a second edge of the openable seam 106. In one particular example, the openable seam 106 includes three sections including a plurality of loops adjacent to the first edge of the openable seam 106 and a corresponding three sections including a plurality of hooks adjacent the second edge of the openable seam 106. In another embodiment, the seam-fastener comprises a first plurality of magnets positioned adjacent to a first edge of the openable seam 106 and a corresponding second plurality of magnets positioned adjacent to a second edge of the openable seam 106. In one example, a first edge of the openable seam 106 overlaps a second edge of the openable seam 106 to thereby cover the seam-fastener. In yet another embodiment, the garment 100 includes both a zipper and a plurality of loops positioned adjacent to a first edge of the openable seam 106 and a corresponding plurality of hooks positioned adjacent to a second edge of the openable seam 106. Other embodiments are possible as well.
In one embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment, the garment 100 further includes a waist-band 138 coupled to the torso opening 114. The waist-band may comprise an elastic material configured to stretch based on the waist-size of the particular user. The elastic waist-band 138 may be configured to be tight around the waist of the user to thereby prevent cold air from entering the garment 100 and warm body heat from exiting the garment 100. Similarly, the garment 100 may also include a first wrist-band 140 coupled to the second end 120 of the first sleeve 116, and a second wrist-band 142 coupled to the second end 130 of the second sleeve 126. In one example, the first and second wrist-bands 140, 142 comprise an elastic material. As discussed above, the elastic nature of the first and second wrist-bands 140, 142 may be configured to be tight around the wrist of the user to thereby prevent cold air from entering the garment 100 and warm body heat from exiting the garment 100.
In another embodiment, the second end 120 of the first sleeve 116 and the second end 130 of the second sleeve 126 include an expandable opening. In various examples, the expandable opening comprises a hook and loop fastener, snaps or magnets. Such an embodiment may enable a user to more quickly remove the garment 100 to reenter the field of play, for example.
In another embodiment, as shown in
The exterior of the garment 100 may comprise a first material, and the interior of the garment 100 may comprise a second material that is different than the first material. In one example, the first material is waterproof In particular, the first material may comprise a hard-faced waterproof material. The second material may comprise a fleece material, as an example. In another example, a dual-faced fabric that is hard-faced or waterproof on an exterior surface and fleece-lined on an interior surface, for example. Still further, padding or other insulating materials may be employed between the first material and the second material. Other combinations of fibers, yarns, and/or other materials are possible as well.
The garment 100 may further include a hood coupled to the neck opening 108. In one optional example, the hood is removably coupled to the neck opening 108 via a hook and loop system, a zipper, snaps or magnets. Other examples are possible as well.
The front panel 104 of the garment 100 may include two front exterior pockets 146A, 146B. The exterior pockets are “exterior” in that they are accessible from the exterior of the garment, but may only include an opening on the exterior surface of the front panel 104. In one embodiment, each pocket 146A, 146B is about 9 inches by inches square. The bottom 148A, 148B of each pocket 146A, 146B may be arranged about 3 to 5 inches above the bottom of the front panel 104 or the top of the waist band 138. Openings 150A, 150B are provided for each pocket 146A, 146B that are about 6 inches long and centered between the top and bottom of each pocket 146A, 146B. The openings 150A, 150B may be reinforced with interfacing. The effect of the arrangement of the pockets 146A, 146B is to elevate a user's arms to increase a resting state of the muscles in the user's forearm and upper arm. In addition, such an arrangement of the pockets 146A, 146B may also benefit in muscle recovery since the user's arms are at rest and not in a hanging position. In another embodiment, the back panel 102 includes a rear exterior pocket 152 having a first opening 154A and a second opening 154B arranged along side seams 115A, 115B where the front panel 104 is coupled to the back panel 102. The first opening 154A and the second opening 154B of the rear exterior pocket 152 may be connected such that there is a single pouch (i.e., a “kangaroo” pocket). The rear exterior pocket 152 may be used to maintain warmth in a user's hands, for example a quarterback. In another embodiment, the back panel 102 may include two separate exterior pockets that do not connect.
In another embodiment, the front panel 104 may include an interior pocket including a slit providing access from the interior pocket to an interior of the garment 100. The interior pocket is “interior” in that the only access to the pocket is from the interior surface of the garment. In one example, the interior pocket in the front panel 104 may be positioned adjacent to a hip of a user. Similarly, the back panel 102 may include an interior pocket including a slit providing access from the interior pocket to an interior of the garment. In one example, the interior pocket in the back panel 102 may be positioned just below the neck opening 108. These interior pockets may be used to house a portable music player, and the slits may be used to pass headphones through to the interior pockets to the interior of the garment 100.
In another embodiment, as shown in
It should be understood that arrangements described herein are for purposes of example only. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements and other elements (e.g. machines, interfaces, functions, orders, and groupings of functions, etc.) can be used instead, and some elements may be omitted altogether according to the desired results. Further, many of the elements that are described are functional entities that may be implemented as discrete or distributed components or in conjunction with other components, in any suitable combination and location, or other structural elements described as independent structures may be combined.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope being indicated by the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.
Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described example, it is intended that all matters in the preceding description and shown in the accompanying figures be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Further, it is intended to be understood that the following clauses (and any combination of the clauses) further describe aspects of the present description.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/477,367, filed Mar. 27, 2017, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62477367 | Mar 2017 | US |