The present invention relates to body garments, and more specifically to body garments having ventilation openings.
Body garments including jackets, pants, body suits, and the like are often provided with specially configured openings that allow additional amounts of air to flow through the garment. These dedicated openings, generally referred to as vents, are often adjustable between opened and closed positions so that a wearer may control the flow of air through the garment depending on the surrounding conditions. In this regard, garments having vents are distinguished from garments made of perforated fabrics or other highly breathable materials. Known closure devices such as zippers, hook and loop closures, buttons, and the like are often used to selectively close and open the vents.
Garments having vents, hereinafter referred to generally as “ventilated garments”, are particularly appropriate for certain types of activities. Examples of activities where participants commonly utilize ventilated garments include skiing, motorcycling, and other activities that are generally performed outdoors, and in which the wearer may be subjected to widely varying conditions. Although the most common type of ventilated garment is generally a ventilated jacket, ventilated pants and ventilated body suits have also been developed for various activities.
The present invention provides a ventilated garment including a body portion, a vent opening defined by the body portion, and a vent closure coupled to the vent opening. The vent opening has an opened configuration and a closed configuration, and the vent closure is provided to secure the vent opening in the closed configuration. The ventilated garment also includes a pull that is coupled to the vent closure and that extends along the body portion. The pull has an exposed portion that is spaced from the vent closure and that affords remote operation of the vent closure to adjust the vent opening from at least one of the opened and closed configurations to the other of the opened and closed configurations.
The present invention also provides a method for adjusting a vent opening of a ventilated garment between opened and closed configurations. The ventilated garment in question includes a body portion that defines the vent opening, a vent closure coupled to the vent opening for securing the vent opening in the closed configuration, and a pull coupled to the vent closure. The pull has a first portion that extends along the body portion to a first location that is spaced from the vent opening, and a second portion that extends along the body portion to a second location that is spaced from the vent opening. The method includes reaching toward the first location while the vent opening is in the closed configuration and grasping the first portion of the pull. The first portion is pulled to move the vent closure, which thereby adjusts the vent opening from the closed configuration toward the opened configuration.
Other features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.
Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
While the garment illustrated in
The chest vents 34 each include an upper edge 54 and a lower edge 58. Selectively joinable rows of zipper teeth (not shown) are coupled to each edge 54, 58 and a zipper slider 66 can be moved from one end of the chest vent 34 to the other to engage and disengage the rows of zipper teeth, thereby opening and closing the chest vent 34. A swatch of perforated fabric 70 is coupled to each edge 54, 58 and extends across the chest vent 34 when the vent 34 is opened. When the chest vent 34 is opened, air flows through the perforated fabric 70 and circulates through the jacket 10 to cool the wearer.
With reference to the back vent 42, the slider 90 of the zipper assembly includes a coupling portion in the form of a hook 106 that is position inwardly of the outer fabric layer 98. More specifically, the hook 106 is positioned in the intermediate space 103 between the outer and inner fabric layers 98, 102, but is positioned outwardly of the perforated fabric 94. In the illustrated construction, a pull in the form of a cord 110 is coupled to the hook 106 and extends through the intermediate space along the body portion and into the pockets 26 defined in the front of the torso portion 14. The jacket wearer can therefore reach into either jacket pocket 26, grasp an exposed portion 114 of the cord 118, and pull on the exposed portion 114 to move the slider 90. Moving the slider adjusts the vent opening 82 either from the opened configuration to the closed configuration, or from the closed configuration to the opened configuration, depending on which exposed portion 114 is pulled. In the illustrated embodiment, pulling on the exposed portion 114a in the right pocket 26 closes the vent opening 82, and pulling on the exposed portion 114b in the left pocket 26 opens the vent opening 82. In the illustrated embodiment, the exposed portion 114a includes an end clip 116a that is labeled with a “C” and the exposed portion 114b includes an end clip 116b that is labeled with an “O”, the letters being indicative of the purpose of each exposed portion 114. Of course the operating configuration can be reversed, if desired.
More specifically, the cord 110 includes a first portion 110a that extends away from the hook 106 in a first direction, toward the wearer's right band side. The first portion 110a extends through a first guide in the form of a metal grommet 118 that is surrounded by a portion of the outer fabric layer 98 that extends into the intermediate space 103 and is coupled to the perforated fabric 94. The grommet 118 provides an opening that communicates with the vent opening 82 and the intermediate space 103. The first portion 110a therefore extends through the opening defined by the grommet 118, into the intermediate space 103, and toward the right-hand pocket 26. A second grommet 122 is positioned in the pocket liner 104 and provides an opening through which the first portion 110a extends into the pocket 26. The exposed portion 114a may therefore reside inside the pocket 26 until such time as the wearer desires to close the vent opening 82 (see
A second portion of the cord 110b similarly extends away from the hook 106 in a second direction, toward the wearer's left-hand side. The second portion 110b extends through similar grommets 118, 122 positioned in a similar portion of the outer fabric layer 98 and the pocket liner 104, respectively, and into the left-hand pocket 26. The exposed portion 114b may therefore reside inside the pocket 26 until such time as the wearer desires to open the vent opening 82. Pulling on the exposed portion 114b moves the slider 90 in a direction that decouples the rows of zipper teeth 86 from one another and opens the vent opening 82. When the vent opening 82 is fully opened, the exposed portion 114b may be tucked back inside the pocket 26.
In the illustrated embodiment, the cord 110 is a single, continuous strand having a central portion that is tied to the hook 106. It should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that two individual cords that are each tied to or otherwise coupled to the slider 90 could alternatively be provided. The single cord could likewise be coupled to the slider 90 in a variety of ways. Other types of pulling or tensile members could also replace the cord 110. Chains, ribbons, bands, strips, and the like, fabricated from various types of materials and having substantially any type of construction, can all be substituted for the above-described cord 110.
In addition, the jacket construction can vary greatly from the illustrated construction. Although the inner fabric layer 102 of the illustrated jacket 10 extends along the entire interior of the jacket, the inner fabric layer 102 could be partially or completely eliminated, or additional fabric layers could also be provided. For example, a partial inner fabric layer 102 could be stitched to the outer fabric layer only in the vicinity of the cord 110, thereby defining a channel or passageway through which the cord 110 extends. Additional guides in the form of fabric loops or additional grommets through which the cord 110 extends may also be provided, if desired. The perforated fabric 94 could also be eliminated from the jacket construction in which case the cord 110 may only extend through the grommet 122 that is positioned in the pocket liner 104. Various combinations of the above-described constructions are also contemplated, and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
While the positioning of the hook 106 on the inside of the jacket 10 provides certain advantages with respect to jacket construction and aesthetic appeal, the hook 106 could also be positioned on the outside of the jacket 10. Similarly, some portions of the cord 110 could be positioned or extend along the outside of the jacket 10. In this regard, external guides including additional fabric portions or addition grommets can be provided, and may be configured similarly to conventional belt loops, for example.
As mentioned above, the vents 34, 42 can be positioned substantially anywhere on the ventilated garment. For example,
Viewing
Although each vent closure described above has been in the form of a zipper assembly, it should be appreciated that many different types of closure devices are well known in the art, and may be utilized in combination with or in place of the above-described zipper assemblies. For example, hook and loop type closures may be provided to secure the vents in the closed configurations. Cords similar to those discussed above, or other types of pulls, may be coupled to the hook and loop closure portions such that pulling on one cord separates the hook and loop closure portions, and pulling on an alternate cord brings the hook and loop closure portions back into a mating engagement. The use of other closure mechanisms incorporating various combinations of buttons, snaps, and the like are also contemplated.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1695590 | Jensen | Dec 1928 | A |
3448463 | Milone | Jun 1969 | A |
4513451 | Brown | Apr 1985 | A |
4578828 | Smith et al. | Apr 1986 | A |
5263201 | Hood | Nov 1993 | A |
5299323 | Schaefer et al. | Apr 1994 | A |
5417273 | Bamonte | May 1995 | A |
5570473 | Andries | Nov 1996 | A |
5577306 | Gold | Nov 1996 | A |
5642526 | Thompson | Jul 1997 | A |
6070274 | van der Sleesen | Jun 2000 | A |
6125472 | Nakagawa | Oct 2000 | A |
6161223 | Andrews | Dec 2000 | A |
6163883 | Hong | Dec 2000 | A |
6263510 | Bay et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6282717 | Ng | Sep 2001 | B1 |
6308334 | Maas | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6317894 | Blechman | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6339845 | Burns et al. | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6546561 | Duhamell | Apr 2003 | B2 |
6742225 | Marty et al. | Jun 2004 | B2 |
6795976 | van der Sleesen | Sep 2004 | B1 |
6848119 | Crye et al. | Feb 2005 | B2 |
6859944 | Kim | Mar 2005 | B2 |
6868557 | van der Sleesen | Mar 2005 | B1 |
6993792 | Marty et al. | Feb 2006 | B2 |
20030024028 | Sleesen | Feb 2003 | A1 |
20030033656 | Jaeger | Feb 2003 | A1 |
20030140404 | Golde | Jul 2003 | A1 |
20030188371 | Duhammel et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20050172381 | Bush et al. | Aug 2005 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040237168 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |