SUN PROTECTIVE GARMENTS

BACKGROUND
Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to sun protective garments and, more particularly, to sun protective garments that protect the chest area from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Description of the Related Art

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is a leading cause of skin cancer. Protection from harmful UV radiation is important for skin cancer prevention, treatment, and recovery. Many active wear tops have a neckline that has a large opening, such as a scoop neck, V-neck, square neck, plunging neck, sweetheart neck, or keyhole neck that does not provide users with sufficient protection from UV radiation in the chest area. Although users may apply sunscreen to protect from UV exposure, the effectiveness of sunscreen is limited for extended periods due to the sunscreen being rubbed off, washed off, or evaporated from the skin.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a sun protective garment to protect a user's chest from sun exposure and damage during a variety of activities. Such a garment can be worn with various tops (including swim suits), and protects a particularly sensitive area of a user's skin from damage from the sun. The described sun protective garments include a garment front that is an ultraviolet protective (UVP) fabric having a channel, and a cord that extends through the channel of the UVP fabric. The fabric front is arranged over at least a portion of the chest of a user in use, and is secured around the neck of a user by the cord. Such sun protective garments maybe adjusted (for example, to be wider or narrower) by re-arranging the garment front on the user's chest in order to properly fit the user and accommodate a specific outfit of the user. The sun protective garment may be draped over or tucked into a user's top, and may be worn wet or dry during indoor or outdoor activities. By arranging the sun protective garment on a user's chest, it protects against ultraviolet (UV) exposure and damage to the skin of the chest area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 is a view of an embodiment of a sun protective garment on a user with the sun protective garment draped over the user's top.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of a sun protective garment with the cord in an open configuration.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of a sun protective garment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of a sun protective garment with the cord in a closed configuration.

FIG. 5A is a view of an embodiment of a clasp and FIG. 5B is a view of a cord with the clasp shown in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an embodiment of a garment front adjacent to a cord.

FIG. 7 is a front view of an embodiment of a garment front adjacent to a cord.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an embodiment of a garment front adjacent to a cord.

FIG. 9 is view of an embodiment of a sun protective garment arranged on a user and tucked into a top.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure generally relates to a sun protective garment that includes a garment front of an ultraviolet protective (UVP) fabric that is secured by a cord around a user's neck. The garment front has a channel through which the cord extends. In use, the garment front is arranged to cover at least a portion of the user's chest. Such a sun protective garment protects a user against ultraviolet (UV) exposure and damage. Further, sun protective garments of the present disclosure are modular, allowing a variety of garment fronts to be coupled to a variety of cords, such that the size and shape of the garment front, as well as the length of the cord can be adjusted for a particular user's preference or needs. Additionally, described below are methods of manufacturing such sun protective garments.

In order to describe particular embodiments of the sun protective garments of the disclosure, reference is made to the appended figures. This discussion should not be construed as limiting, as the particular details of the embodiments described herein are by way of example and are for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the present disclosure.

A sun protective garment 100 of the present disclosure includes a garment front 110 that is an UVP fabric having a channel 120 and a cord 130 that extends through the channel, as shown in FIG. 1. The sun protective garment 100 is secured around the neck of the user with the cord 130 and the garment front 110 is draped over the chest of the user. The garment front 110 can be any suitable shape, for example, narrowest at the channel 120 and widest at the bottom.

Regardless of the specific shape of the garment front 110, the garment front 110 generally covers substantially the user's entire chest. In other words, the garment front 110 covers at least an area extending between the midpoint of a user's first clavicle to the midpoint of the user's second clavicle, and along a majority of the user's sternum.

The UVP fabric of the garment front 110 has a fluid or moderate drape, such that the UVP fabric could be comfortably worn over or tucked into a top 140 (e.g., a bikini top). As shown in FIG. 1, the sun protective garment 100 is worn over an opening of the top 140. The garment front 110 has a width allowing for the garment front to be tucked into a first and second strap of bra of the user. For example, if the user were wearing both the bra and V-neck shirt, the garment front can be tucked into the V-neck and under straps of the bra.

By arranging the garment front 110 of the sun protective garment 100 on the chest of the user, the garment front 110 protects against UV damage to the user's chest while the user is exposed to the sun (e.g., during outdoor activities). A sun protective garment of the disclosure may be worn while a user takes part in indoor activities or outdoor activities, and can be worn wet or dry. This garment is light weight, transportable, and easy to repeatedly remove, apply, and arrange on the user. A front view of a sun protective garment 200 of the disclosure is shown in FIG. 2. The sun protective garment 200 includes a cord 230, which is shown in an open configuration, and a garment front 210 of a UVP fabric. In this view, the cord 230 having a first end 231 and a second end 232 is arranged through the channel 220.

The garment front 210 has a first side 257, a second side opposite the first side 277, the second side 277 being a length 213 away from the first side 257. The first side 257, the second side 277, or both are substantially straight. Additionally, the garment front 210 has six corners, 254a, 254b, 264a, 264b, 274a, 274b. Any of the corners 254a, 254b, 264a, 264b, 274a, 274b may be pointed or rounded, regardless of the shape of the other corners.

The garment front 210 includes a first portion 250, a second portion 260, and a third portion 270. The first portion 250 extends from a first side 257 toward a hem 290, and includes the channel 220. The channel 220 has a channel width 225 between the first side 257 to the hem 290. A first width 255 is measured at the first side 257.

The second portion 260 of the garment front 210 extends from the hem 290 to a midpoint 267 of the garment front 210. The second portion 260 is narrowest adjacent to the first portion 250, and widens toward the midpoint 267. A second width 265 is measured at the midpoint 267. The second width 265 is greater than the first width 255.

The third portion 270 of the garment front 210 extends from the midpoint 267 to a second side 277 of the garment front 210 that is opposite the first side 257. A third width 275 is measured at the second side 277. The second width 265, which is substantially the same as the third width 275. In other embodiment, the third width 275 is less than the second width 265. In a further embodiment, the third width 275 is greater than the second width 265. Additionally, the third width 275 is wider than the first width 255. In other embodiments, the third width 275 is less than or substantially the same as the first width 255.

Accordingly, the garment front 210 includes a first portion 250, the first portion 250 having a channel 220 and a first width 255; and a second portion 260 having a second width 265, the second width 265 being greater than the first width 255; and a third portion 270 that is separated from the first portion 250 by the second portion 260, the third portion 270 having a third width 275; and a cord 230 that extends through the channel 220 in the first portion 250.

In this embodiment, the width of the garment front 210 increases for a portion of the length from the first side 257 toward the midpoint 267, reaches a maximum width, and then is maintained for the remainder of the length of the garment front 210. In this example, the maximum width is reached in the second portion 260 of the garment front 210. However, in other embodiments, the maximum width may be reached at the midpoint 267 of the garment front 210 or in a third portion 270 of the garment front 210.

As shown in FIG. 2, the garment front 210 is a polygon (e.g., a regular polygon or an irregular polygon) with at least 4 sides. In particular, the garment front 210 is an irregular hexagon. The first portion 250 includes two corners 254a, 254b each having an angle of about 100° to 140° (e.g., about 120°), the second portion 260 includes two corners 264a, 264b each having an angle of about 130° to 170° (e.g., about 150°), and the third portion 270 includes two corners 274a, 274b each having an angle of about 45° to 135° (e.g., about 90°). In embodiments, the third portion 270 has more than two corners (e.g., three corners).

In specific embodiments, the first width 255 is about 8 to 14 inches (e.g., about 11 inches), the second width 265 is about 14.5 to 22 inches (e.g., about 18 inches), the third width 275 is about 14.5 to 22 inches (e.g., about 18 inches), and the channel width 225 is about 0.25 to 1.25 inches (e.g., about 0.75 inches).

As described above, the garment front 210 generally substantially covers a user's entire chest, and is made of a UVP fabric. Any fabric that provides suitable UV protection (e.g., an ultraviolet protective factor (UPF) of at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50) can be used. For example, a nylon fabric, a polyester fabric, a spandex fabric, a treated cotton fabric, or a blend fabric (e.g., a polyester and spandex blend; a cotton and spandex blend; a micro-polyester and spandex blend; a nylon and polyester blend; or a nylon and spandex blend). Particularly suitable UVP fabrics include a polyester and spandex blend, for example a polyester-spandex blend that includes at least 85% polyester (e.g., a polyester-spandex blend that includes about 80% polyester and about 20% spandex). In certain embodiments, the UVP fabric is a microsuede that has an UPF of at least 50.

The UVP fabric may have other properties that render it more suitable for a particular use, for example, it may be a quick dry fabric, a water resistant fabric, a water repellent fabric, or a water proof fabric. In certain embodiments, the UVP fabric is a stretch fabric.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a garment front 310 of sun protective garment 300 similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Similar to the garment of FIG. 2, the garment front 310 includes a first portion 350, a first side 357, a second portion 360, a midpoint 367, a third portion 370, and a second side 377. The first portion 350 extends from a first side 357 to a hem 390. In this view, a first edge 351 can also been seen. The first edge 351 is folded to contact a first surface 352 and secured with the hem 390, thereby defining the channel 320. In other words, the channel 320 is a doubling over of fabric formed when the first edge 351 is folded toward a second side 377 of the garment front and secured onto the first surface 352. In some embodiments, the first edge 351 is secured to the first surface 352 by stitching, glue, fabric tape, hook and loop fasteners, hook and eye closures, buttons, zippers, or clips. In certain embodiments, the first edge 351 is sewn to the first surface 352 with thread. In various embodiments, the first edge 351 has a width that is less than the width of the first side (shown as 255 in FIG. 2). In other embodiments, the first edge 351 has a width that is substantially the same as the width of the first side. As described above, the channel 320 has a channel width 325 extends from a first side 357 to the hem 390.

The garment front 310 has a length 313 between the first side 357 and the second side 377. In some embodiments, the garment distance 313 is about 10 to 15 inches (e.g., about 12.5 inches).

A front view of a sun protective garment 400 of the disclosure is shown in FIG. 4, with a cord 430 shown in a closed configuration. As described above, the sun protective garment 400 includes a cord 430 and a garment front 410 that includes a first portion 450, a second portion 460, and a third portion 470. The cord 430 includes a first end 431, which is coupled to a second end 432 via a clasp 480. Although a clasp 480 is shown in this embodiment, suitable alternatives, such as a knot, could be used. In this view, because the first end 431 of the cord 430 is coupled to the second send 432, the first side 457 of the garment front 410 is gathered. The first width 455 is still measured at the first side 457 and the second width 465 is still measured at a midpoint 467.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second portion 460 is narrowest adjacent to the first portion 450, and widens toward the midpoint 467. In this embodiment, the third width 475 is greater than the second width 465. In other words, the width of the garment front 410 changes from the first side 457 to the second side 477. As shown in FIG. 4, the rate by which the width changes varies along the length 413 of the garment front 410. In other embodiments, the width changes at a substantially constant rate along the length 413 of the garment front 410. In specific embodiments, the first width 255 is about 6 to 12 inches (e.g., about 9 inches), the second width 265 is about 14.5 to 22 inches (e.g., about 16 inches), and the third width 275 is about 14.5 to 22 inches (e.g., about 18 inches).

Accordingly, garment front 410 is an irregular polygon. The first portion 450 includes two corners 454a, 454b that each have an angle of about 100° to 140° (e.g., about 120°). The second portion 460 includes two corners 464a, 464b that each have an angle of about 130° to 170° (e.g., about 170°). The third portion 470 includes two corners 474a, 474b each having an angle of about 45° to 135° (e.g., 60°). In other embodiments, the third portion 470 includes more than two corners 474a, 474b. Although illustrated as pointed, some of all of corners 454a, 454b, 464a, 464b, 474a, 474b could be rounded in any embodiment.

An embodiment of a cord 530 is shown in more detail in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B. In FIG. 5B, the cord 530 includes a first end 531 and a second end 532. The first end 531 may be coupled to the second end 532 by a clasp 580. In some embodiments, the clasp 580 includes an insert closure clasp, a spring right clasp, a fishhook clasp, a lobster clasp, a barrel clasp, a toggle clasp, an S-hook clasp, a slide lock clasp, or a magnetic clasp. An example of an insert closure clasp 580 is shown in FIG. 5A. The clasp 580 has a female part 581 and a male part 582. Returning to FIG. 5B, the cord 530 has a cord width 533 and a cord length. The cord width 533 is less than the channel width of the garment front (e.g., channel width 255 as shown in FIG. 2). The cord length is generally longer than the first width 255 of the garment front 210, as shown in FIG. 2. In other words, when the cord 530 is arranged through the channel (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2), the first end 531 and the second end 532 protrude from the channel (e.g., by at least 1 inch on each end). In some embodiments, the cord length is about 15 to 22 inches (e.g., about 16.5 inches) and the cord width 533 is about 0.05 to 0.10 inches (e.g., 0.07 inches).

The cord 530 may be any suitable material (e.g., silicone, metal, silk, or leather) and may take any suitable form (e.g., a string, a ribbon, a strap, a tie, a line, a rope, a chain, a cable, or a wire). In specific embodiments, the cord 530 is a silicone material. In some embodiments, the cord material stretches (e.g., by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, or at least 50%).

A front view of a different embodiment of a sun protective garment 600 of the disclosure with the cord 630 decoupled from the garment front 610 is shown in FIG. 6. The garment front 610 has a first portion 650 that extends from a first side 657 to a hem 690, and includes the channel 620, a second portion 660 that extends from a hem 690 to a midpoint 667, and a third portion 670 that extends from the midpoint 667 to a second side 677. A first width 655 is measured at the first side 657, a second width 665 is measured at the midpoint 667, and a third width 675 is measured at the second side 677.

In this embodiment, the third portion 670 is widest at the midpoint 667, and narrowest at the second side 677. Accordingly, the second width 656 of the garment front 610 is wider than the first width 655 and the third width 675. In other words, width of the garment front 610 increases from the first edge 657 toward the midpoint 667, reaches a maximum, maintains the maximum at the midpoint 667, and then decreases toward the second edge 677.

In this embodiment, the garment front 710 is an irregular heptagon. The first portion 650 includes two corners 654a, 654b each having an angle of about 100° to 140° (e.g., about 120°), the second portion 660 includes two corners 664a, 664b each having an angle of about 130° to 170° (e.g., about 150°), the third portion 670 includes three corners 674a, 674b, and 674c each having an angle of about 130° to 170° (e.g., about 120°). In other embodiments, one of corners 674a, 674b, 674c has a wider angle than the others (e.g., two of corners 674a, 674c each have an angle of about 110° and one of the third portion corners 674b has an angle of about 140°).

In other words, the second side 677 includes a first edge 671a second edge 671b. The first edge 671a and the second edge 671b form a triangle shape 676 if connected by a horizontal line.

A front view of another embodiment of a sun protective garment 700 of the disclosure with the cord 730 decoupled from the garment front 710 is shown in FIG. 7. The sun protective garment 700 includes a cord 730 and a garment front 710 that has a first portion 750 extending from a first side 757 to a hem 790 and including the channel 720, a second portion 760 extending from the hem 790 to a midpoint 767, and a third portion 770 extending from the midpoint 767 to a second side 777. A first width 755 is measured at the first side 757, a second width 765 is measured at the midpoint 767, and a third width 775 is measured at the second side 777.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second portion 760 is narrowest adjacent to the first portion 750, and widens toward the midpoint 767. The width of the garment front 710 changes for a portion of the length of the garment front 710 from the first side 757 toward the midpoint 767, reaches a maximum width, is maintained for a portion of the length, and then narrows toward the second side 777. In other words, the first width 755 and the third width 775 are less than the second width 765

This embodiment of a sun protective garment 700 includes a garment front 710 that is an irregular octagon. The first portion 750 includes two corners 754a, 754b that each have an angle of about 100° to 140° (e.g., about 120°), the second portion 760 includes two corners 764a, 764b that each have an angle of about 130° to 170° (e.g., about 150°), and the third portion 770 includes four corners 774a-774d that each have an angle of about 110° to 160°. The angle of the corners 774a-774d may be substantially the same (e.g., about 135° each). In other embodiments, two of the corners 774a, 774d have an angle that is substantially the same (e.g., about 125° each) and the other two corners 774b, 774c have an angle that is substantially the same (e.g., about 145° each).

A front view of another embodiment of a sun protective garment 800 of the disclosure with the cord 830 decoupled from the garment front 810 is shown in FIG. 8. The sun protective garment 800 includes a cord 830 and a garment front 810 that has a first portion 850 extending from a first side 857 to a hem 890 and including the channel 820, a second portion 860 extending from the hem 890 to a midpoint 867, and a third portion 870 extending from the midpoint 867 to a second side 877. A first width 855 is measured at the first side 857, a second width 865 is measured at the midpoint 867, and a third width 875 is measured at the second side 877.

Similar to the embodiment show in FIG. 7, the second portion 860 is narrowest adjacent to the first portion 850, and widens toward the midpoint 867. The width of the garment front 810 changes for a portion of the length of the garment front 810 from the first side 857 toward the midpoint 867, reaches a maximum width, is maintained for a portion of the length, and then narrows toward the second side 877. In other words, the first width 855 and the third width 875 are less than the second width 865

This embodiment of a sun protective garment 800 includes a garment front 810 that is an irregular hexagon. The first portion 850 includes two corners 854a, 854b that each have an angle of about 100° to 140° (e.g., about 120°), the second portion 860 includes two corners 864a, 864b that each have an angle of about 130° to 170° (e.g., about 150°), and the third portion 870 includes two corners 874a, 874b that each have an angle of about 45° to 135° (e.g., about 90°). In this embodiment, corners are 854a, 854b are pointed and corners 864a, 864b, 874a, 874b are rounded. However, as is understood, a different subset of corners are pointed or rounded in various other embodiments. An embodiment of a sun protective garment 900 of the present disclosure that is worn by a user is shown in FIG. 9. The sun protective garment 900 is secured around the neck of the user with a cord 930 and the garment front 910 is draped over the chest of the user. The garment front 910 can be any suitable shape that substantially covers the user's chest, as described above.

As shown in FIG. 9, an embodiment of a sun protective garment 900 that is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is arranged on a user. The UVP fabric of the garment front 910 has a fluid or moderate drape, such that the UVP fabric can be tucked into a top 940. Although, in this case the top 940 is a bikini top, it is understood that the sun protective garment 900 could be as easily used with a top 940 that has a scoop neck, a V-neck, a square neck, a plunging neckline, a sweetheart neckline, or a keyhole neckline.

By arranging the garment front 910 on the chest of the user, the garment front 910 protects against UV damage to the user's chest while the user is exposed to the sun (e.g., during outdoor activities). As described above, the sun protective garment of the disclosure may be worn while a user takes part in indoor activities or outdoor activities (e.g., driving, walking, hiking, cycling, site seeing, exercising, traveling, camping, backpacking, rock climbing, mountaineering, abseiling, running, fishing, hunting, gardening, horseback riding, tennis, watching sporting events, playing various sports, sun bathing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, sailing, surfing, or boating), and can be worn wet or dry.

In the preceding description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the disclosed subject matter. However, the disclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details.

The term “about” has the meaning reasonably ascribed to it by a person of ordinary skill in the art when used in conjunction with a stated numerical value or range, i.e., denoting somewhat more or somewhat less than the stated value or range, to within a range of ±20%; ±19%; ±18%; ±17%; ±16%; ±15%; ±14%; ±13%; ±12%; ±11%; ±10%; ±9%; ±8%; ±7%; ±6%; ±5%; ±4%; ±3%; ±2%; or ±1% of the stated value.

The term “substantially” has the meaning reasonably ascribed to it by a person of ordinary skill in the art when used to describe a physical characteristic of an item, i.e., indicating that the item possesses the referenced characteristic to a significant extent, e.g., to within a range of ±20%; ±19%; ±18%; ±17%; ±16%; ±15%; ±14%; ±13%; ±12%; ±11%; ±10%; ±9%; ±8%; ±7%; ±6%; ±5%; ±4%; ±3%; ±2%; or ±1% of the referenced characteristic.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.

SUN PROTECTIVE GARMENTS

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