Patent Application
20130160180
This application relates to the field of garments and, particularly, to garments having a convertible turtleneck portion.
Performing outdoor activities in cold weather can be uncomfortable. For athletes who participate in outdoor activities in cold weather, it can be a challenge to dress appropriately. To be comfortable, the athlete must maintain a comfortable overall body temperature by staying warm enough in the cold temperatures without getting too warm while body temperatures are elevated due to physical activity.
Maintaining a comfortable body temperature can be especially difficult for runners whose body temperatures often vary significantly during the course of a workout. At the beginning of a run in cold weather, a runner will feel cold and will desire warmer clothing. However, within half an hour of constant physical exertion, the heart rate and metabolism of the runner will increase significantly, thus the runner's body temperature will also increase significantly. Once the runner warms up, he will require less clothing to maintain a comfortable body temperature. If the runner stops running for a substantial period of time during the course of the run to stretch or wait for traffic, the runner's body temperature may cool down again, leading to a repeat of the process described above.
One way that a runner can deal with the range of temperatures encountered on a run is to choose whether to experience more discomfort by being colder for longer or warmer for longer. If the runner wears more clothes, he will not be as cold at the outset of the run and may not get as cold if he stops during the run, but he may be uncomfortably warm during the height of his physical exertion. Alternatively, if the runner chooses to wear fewer clothes, he will be colder at the outset of the run and if he stops during the run, but he may be more comfortable during the height of his physical exertion. Neither of these options is optimal because the runner still has to choose whether he would prefer to be uncomfortably cold or warm during a portion of his run.
An alternative way that the runner may balance the fluctuation in body temperatures during the duration of the workout is to dress in layers. As the runner's body temperature increases and decreases and the runner feels warmer and cooler, he may remove and add layers accordingly. However, this option requires a runner to carry articles of clothing that are not being worn. Additionally, this option requires a runner to change clothing during the workout. It may not be convenient or possible for a runner to carry multiple articles of clothing or have an opportunity to change clothes during the workout.
Another challenge associated with maintaining a comfortable body temperature while exercising in cold weather is managing sweat. If an athlete's body temperature is elevated too much by physical activity and multiple layers of clothing, the athlete's clothing becomes damp with sweat. The dampness makes the athlete feel colder as cold air passes over the wet fabric and transfers body heat away from the skin. One way to address damp clothing is by making the clothing out of materials which will dry quickly to prevent the loss of body heat. However, parts of the athlete's body may not be covered by articles of clothing made out of the drying material.
Another challenge associated with exercising outdoors in cold weather is maintaining comfort while breathing in cold, dry air. Humidity is a measurement of the amount of water vapor dissolved in air, and it varies as a function of both pressure and temperature. At a given pressure, the saturation temperature of water is the temperature at which water reaches an equilibrium between a liquid and a gas. When the temperature of the air is higher, the temperature of the water in the air is closer to the saturation temperature, more of the water is held in the air in vapor form and the air is more humid. When the temperature of the air is lower, the temperature of the water in the air is farther from the saturation temperature, more of the water is in liquid form and cannot be held in the air, so the air is less humid. Breathing in the cold, dry air can be uncomfortable and may result in dry coughing or even nosebleeds as the athlete's airways dry out.
One way to address breathing in cold air is by covering the nose or mouth of the athlete with fabric. As the athlete exhales, he expels heat and moisture from his lungs. The fabric captures a portion of heat and moisture expelled and retains it in the vicinity of the airways of the athlete so that when the athlete inhales, the cold and dry outside air mixes with the heat and moisture before it enters the athlete's airways. While articles of clothing exist which cover the nose or mouth, these may retain too much heat and moisture, becoming uncomfortably hot and humid. Alternatively, these articles may leave some portion of the neck exposed to the cold air, reducing the comfort of the athlete.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved garment that addresses issues associated with participating in athletic activities outdoors in cold weather. In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide an improved garment which allows an athlete to maintain a comfortable body temperature. It would be further advantageous if this garment manages sweat. It would also be advantageous if this garment allows the athlete to maintain comfort while breathing in cold air.
In accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a garment including a torso portion and a turtleneck portion. The turtleneck portion extends from the torso portion. The turtleneck portion includes a first panel made of a first material and a second panel made of a second material. The second material is more permeable than the first material.
In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a garment for being donned by a human. The garment includes a torso portion and a turtleneck portion. The turtleneck portion is coupled to the torso portion. The turtleneck portion includes a head opening configured to pass a head of the human. The turtleneck portion is configured to be selectively arranged on the human in a downward position and in an extended position. In the downward position, the turtleneck covers a neck of the human without covering a mouth of the human. In the extended position, the turtleneck portion covers the mouth of the human without covering eyes of the human. The turtleneck portion includes a span that is arranged and configured to substantially cover the mouth of the human when the turtleneck is in the extended position. The turtleneck portion is mostly made of a first material, however, the first material is not included on the span of the turtleneck portion.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a convertible turtleneck garment including a torso portion and a neck portion. The torso portion includes a neck opening. The turtleneck portion is attached to the neck opening. The turtleneck portion is shaped substantially radially symmetrically about a central axis. The turtleneck portion includes a first panel made of a first material coupled to a second panel made of a second material. The second material is more permeable than the first material and is positioned in a front of the turtleneck portion.
The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. While it would be desirable to provide a garment having a convertible turtleneck that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages.
Features of the garment having a convertible turtleneck are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description with reference to the following drawings.
a depicts a front elevational view of a garment having a convertible turtleneck wherein a turtleneck portion of the garment is in an extended position.
b depicts a front elevational view of the garment of
a and 1b depict front elevational views of a garment 100 having a convertible turtleneck. The garment 100 includes a torso portion 120, two arm portions 140, and a turtleneck portion 160 sewn together. The two arm portions 140 and the turtleneck portion 160 extend from the torso portion 120. The turtleneck portion 160 is capable of being folded down into a downward position (shown in
In at least one embodiment, a majority of the torso portion 120 is made out of a fabric that is an elastic material, such as, for example, a material with elastane fibers. For simplicity, this material is referred to herein as an elastane material 136. The torso portion 120 is made out of the elastane material 136, such that the torso portion 120 stretches and conforms to the torso of the wearer. The elastane material 136 is stretchable such that it fits tightly to the body of the wearer and is flexible such that it moves with the body of the wearer. Additionally, the elastane material 136 is able to wick away moisture from the body of the wearer and dry quickly. Due to these features, the elastane material 136 helps keep a wearer warm and dry while wearing the garment 100 and exercising outdoors in cold weather.
Continuing with
The top portion 166 of the turtleneck portion 160 defines an upper edge 176. The upper edge 176 forms a head opening 184 which is configured to pass the head of the wearer. The top portion 166 defines a top radius 180 extending from the central axis 172 to the upper edge 176. The top radius 180 is sized such that it may pass the head of the wearer when stretched and will fit snugly over the bottom portion of the wearer's face, including the wearer's mouth, when desired (as shown in
With continued reference to
The relative sizes of the top radius 180 and the bottom radius 182 allow the turtleneck portion 160 to fit comfortably over the wearer's head and neck. When the top radius 180 is less than the bottom radius 182, the turtleneck portion tapers slightly when moving from the bottom portion 168 toward the top portion 166 of the turtleneck portion 160. The top radius 180 is sized such that the top portion 166 of the turtleneck portion 160 will fit tightly and remain in place over the bottom portion of the wearer's face, including the wearer's mouth, when desired. Additionally, the top radius 180 is sized such that the top portion 166 of the turtleneck portion 160 will not be uncomfortably tight on the wearer's neck or the bottom portion of the wearer's face. The bottom radius 182 is sized such that the bottom portion 168 of the turtleneck portion 160 will not be constrictive around the bottom of the wearer's neck and the top of the wearer's chest.
The lateral portions 169 of the turtleneck portion 160 are arranged and configured on the lateral sides of the garment 100. The front portion 170 of the turtleneck portion 160 is arranged and configured on the front side 122 of the garment 100 (shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the turtleneck portion 160 may also include a head portion coupled to the back portion 171 of the turtleneck portion 160 which extends over the top of the wearer's head. In this embodiment, when the turtleneck portion 160 is in the extended position, the turtleneck portion 160 does not cover a wearer's eyes, but does cover a portion of the face of the wearer, including the wearer's mouth and also covers the top of the wearer's head.
With continued reference to
With continued reference to
The second panel 164 is made out of a fabric that is an elastic material such as, for example, a material with elastane fibers. For simplicity, this material is referred to herein as a permeable elastane material 138 which defines a second permeability. The permeable elastane material 138 has properties similar to those of the elastane material 136, but the second permeability of the permeable elastane material 138 is greater than the first permeability of the fabric of the first panel 162. As noted above, permeability refers to the ability of fluids, including liquids and gases, to pass through the material. Thus, the permeable elastane material 138 allows more air and water vapor to pass through than the fabric of the first panel 162. The second permeability of the second panel 164 may be, for example, greater than 250 cfm when the test area is 38 cm squared and the test pressure is 125 Pascals. In at least one embodiment, the second permeability of the second panel 164 may be, for example, 330 cfm. Accordingly, in at least one embodiment, the second permeability of the second panel 164 may be two times or three times greater than the permeability of the first panel 162.
Returning to
In alternative embodiments, the span 186 may be narrower such that the second panel 164 covers a smaller portion of the front portion 170 of the turtleneck portion 160, so long as the second panel 164 and the permeable elastane material 138 covers the mouth of the wearer when the turtleneck portion 160 is in the extended position as shown in
To form the garment 100 as shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the garment 100 may be formed by sewing together the torso portion 120, the two arm portions 140 and the turtleneck portion 160 in a different manner. For example, the neck opening 126 may not be located on the torso portion 120 such that the neck opening 126 is adjacent to and adjoining the two arm openings 130. In this alternative embodiment, the two arm portions 140 need not include turtleneck interfaces 148 as the two arm portions 140 and the turtleneck portion 160 will not be sewn to one another. In this embodiment, the garment 100 is formed by sewing the torso interfaces 146 of the two arm portions 140 to the arm openings 130 of the torso portion 120. The lower edge 178 of the turtleneck portion 160 is sewn to the neck opening 126 of the torso portion 120 so that the front portion 170 of the turtleneck portion 160 is aligned with the front side 122 of the torso portion 120.
In operation, a wearer dons the garment 100 by inserting his head and arms through the bottom opening 134 of the torso portion 120. The wearer then inserts his head through the turtleneck portion 160 and the head opening 184 at the upper edge 176 of the turtleneck portion 160 and inserts his arms through the two arm portions 140 such that his shoulders are generally aligned with the shoulder portions 142 and his wrists are generally aligned with the wrist portions 144 of the two arm portions 140. The garment 100 stretches such that it fits tightly to the arms and torso of the wearer and flexes when the wearer moves.
To regulate the temperature of the lower portion of his face, the wearer may adjust the turtleneck portion 160 of the garment 100. To warm the lower portion of his face and increase the heat and humidity of the air he is breathing into his air passages, the wearer may pull the turtleneck portion 160 up over the bottom portion of his face such that the turtleneck portion 160 is in the extended position, as shown in
If the wearer begins to get too warm or the air he is breathing in begins to get too humid, he may remove the lower portion of his face from the turtleneck portion 160. To remove the lower portion of his face from the turtleneck portion 160, the wearer may pull the turtleneck portion 160 down past the bottom portion of his face such that it covers only his neck and the turtleneck portion 160 is in the downward position, as shown in FIG. lb. As desired, the wearer may regulate his body temperature and the humidity of the air that he breathes into his air passages by alternately pulling up the turtleneck portion 160 into the extended position and pulling down the turtleneck portion 160 into the downward position.
In an alternative embodiment, depicted in
The foregoing detailed description of one or more embodiments of the garment having a convertible turtleneck has been presented herein by way of example only and not limitation. It will be recognized that there are advantages to certain individual features and functions described herein that may be obtained without incorporating other features and functions described herein. Moreover, it will be recognized that various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements of the above-disclosed embodiments and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different embodiments, systems or applications. Presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the appended claims. Therefore, the spirit and scope of any appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
