FIELD OF THE INVENTION
At least one embodiment of the present invention pertains to ski pants, and more particularly, to a pair of ski pants having air inflatable knee and hip protection pads.
BACKGROUND
Ski is a fun sport, but also carries the danger of injury, especially to the knees and hips. To protect these body areas during ski, people usually wears knee pads and/or hip guards. Currently available knee pads and hip guards on the market are usually separate items from ski pants, therefore they must be carried separately when not used, making them inconvenient for customers. Wearing knee pads and hip guards under a pair of ski pants is clumsy sometimes, hindering the wearer's flexibility. Furthermore, it is very inconvenient to remove separately worn knee pads or hip guards when they are not needed anymore.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a garment comprising a pair of pants having a lower torso receiving portion, a waistband portion, a left leg portion, and a right leg portion. The garment further comprises a first air inflatable pad attached to the left leg portion, and the first inflatable pad is configured to securely cover the left knee of a human being wearing the garment when the first pad is inflated. In addition, the garment comprises a second air inflatable pad attached to the right leg portion, and the second inflatable pad is configured to securely cover the human being's right knee when the second pad is inflated.
Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying figures and from the detailed description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One or more embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates the front view of a pair of ski pants according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates the back view of the pair of ski pants shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates a pair of ski pants according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 illustrates a pair of ski pants with an air pump attached thereto according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed design of an air inflatable knee pad shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A pair of ski pants having air inflatable protection pads is described. References in this specification to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment”, or the like, mean that the particular feature, structure or characteristic being described is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Occurrences of such phrases in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.
The present invention includes a pair of ski pants having multiple air inflatable protection pads or cushions disposed respectively in the knee and hip areas. When the pair of ski pants is not worn or a wearer chooses not to use the inflatable pads or cushions for protection, the inflatable pads or cushions are kept deflated. When the wearer chooses to use the inflatable pads or cushions for protection, during skiing for example, the wearer may use an air pump to inflate the pads or cushions.
FIG. 1 illustrates the front view of a pair of ski pants according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the pair of ski pants has a waistband portion 101, a lower torso receiving portion 102, a left leg portion 103 and a right leg portion 104. The left leg portion 103 has an air inflatable pad 105 attached to it. The air inflatable pad 105 is disposed and configured to cover the left knee of a human being wearing the ski pants. Similarly, the right leg portion 104 also has an air inflatable pad 106 attached to it, and the pad 106 is disposed and configured to cover the right knee of the human being wearing the ski pants. Each of the air inflatable pad or cushion may have single air cell or multiple air cells. Although various types of materials are available to make such air inflatable pad or cushion, the material needs to be strong enough to hold air with pressure high enough for the protection of human knees and hips. In addition, the material should be able to withstand pressing, shocking, squeezing and rubbing occurring regularly during sports, i.e. skiing. For example, the material used in making air inflatable beds, which are easily available in the market, may be used to make such air inflatable pad or cushion.
FIG. 2 illustrates the back view of the ski pants shown in FIG. 1. As shown, two air inflatable pads 201-202 are attached to the lower torso receiving portion 102. The two pads 201-202 are disposed and configured to cover the left and right hips of a human being wearing the ski pants. Yet in another embodiment, the two pads 201-202 may be combined into one big pad to cover the wearer's whole hip area.
In an embodiment, the air inflatable pads 105-106 and 201-202 are fixed with the ski pants. However, it might be costly to repair a broken or leaking pad. Thus, in another embodiment, each pad may be removed from the portion of the ski pants to which it is attached, and may be replaced by a new one. There are many ways to removably attach a pad to the ski pants. For example, a pocket may be made in the ski pants at the knee or hip area to receive and hold the air inflatable pad.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each one of the pads 105-106 and 201-202 has an air valve (1050, 1060, 2010 and 2020). An air pump 107 may connect to the air valve to inflate the corresponding pad. Each air valve withholds the air inside the corresponding inflatable pad and may be handled by a person, i.e. the wearer, to release the air from the corresponding pad. Because each pad has its own valve, a person may inflate or deflate each pad separately. Such design also allows different air pressure for different pad. In addition, there is no need to have air conducting tube(s) to connect these pads together. Yet in another embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, these air inflatable pads 105-106 and 201-202 share one air valve 302 through the using of air conducting tube(s) 301, thus allowing the air pump to inflate or deflate these pads at the same time. Alternatively, 105 and 201 may share one air valve, and 106 and 202 share another air valve. Since the cloth material used to make a pair of ski pants usually has more than one layer, therefore the air conducting tube(s) 301 may be concealed between the layers of the cloth material of the ski pants. Note that FIG. 3 is the front view of a pair of ski pants, but in order to illustrate the connecting of the air inflatable pads (105-106 and 201-202) by the air conducting tubes 301, the two air inflatable pads 201-202, which are attached to the hip area of the ski pants, are also shown. Same for FIG. 4, which is discussed below.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the air pump 107 is not attached to the ski pants, but is small enough to carry around. Yet in another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the air pump 107 is attached to the waistband portion 101 of the ski pants. The pump 107 may be connected with each of the air inflatable pads 105-106 and 201-202 through the air conducting tube(s) 401. As shown in FIG. 4, these pads share one air valve 402. Alternatively, each pad may have its own separate air valve.
In an embodiment, the air pump 107 may be an inflation bulb with a one-way valve such as one used in a sphygmomanometer (or a blood pressure meter). A person may pump air into each air inflatable pad by squeezing and releasing the bulb. Other types of air pump, such as one powered by battery, may also be used here.
FIG. 5 illustrates a design of an air inflatable knee pad shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown, the inflatable knee pad has an upper portion 501, a middle portion 502 and a lower portion 503. The upper portion 501 and lower portion 503 are narrower but longer than the middle portion 502. When the knee pad is attached to the knee area of a leg portion of a pair of ski pants, the middle portion 502 covers a wearer's knee, the upper portion 501 surrounds the wearer's upper leg just above his/her knee and the lower portion 503 surrounds the wearer's lower leg just below his/her knee. When the air pad is inflated, the air pad becomes larger in volume. As a result, the upper portion 501 may securely grasp the wearer's upper leg and the lower portion 503 may securely grasp the wearer's lower leg, therefore securely maintaining the middle portion 502 right in front of the wearer's knee even during movement. Otherwise, if the knee pad is loose relative to the wearer's knee, the knee may not be properly protected sometimes.
Thus, a pair of ski pants with inflatable protection pads has been described.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.
Patent Application
20070157356
