Patent Application
20140130230
The present disclosure generally relates to water-resistant waders, and more particularly to water-resistant waders incorporating a waist lock system.
Water-resistant protective clothing known as waders may be worn by individuals participating in a variety of water-based activities, such as fishing or hunting, to reduce the likelihood of getting wet while participating in the activity. While waders may be formed of water-resistant material, the construction of the waders may still be such that circumstances may arise when water may still enter the waders and cause portions of the user's body covered by the waders to become wet.
Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a waist lock system for water-resistant waders comprising a band formed of a water-resistant material and having at least one adjustable side strap, and seamtape to attach the band to an upper chest wader portion of the water-resistant waders. The waist lock system also may comprise gripper dots disposed within the interior of the band. The water-resistant material may be selected from the group comprising vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomer, neoprene, polyester, and nylon. The band may include adjustable side straps on both sides of the band. At least one adjustable side strap may be adjusted via a fabric hook-and-loop fastener. The band may further comprise a side seam. The seamtape may be formed of a water-resistant material selected from the group comprising vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomers neoprene, polyester, and nylon.
Other embodiments of the present disclosure may provide water-resistant waders incorporating a waist lock system, the waders comprising an upper chest wader portion, and the waist lock system comprising a water-resistant band affixed to the upper chest wader portion with a water-resistant seamtape. The waist lock system also may comprise at least one adjustable side strap. At least one adjustable side strap may be adjusted via a fabric hook-and-loop fastener. The waist lock system also may comprise gripper dots disposed within the interior of the band. The water-resistant band may be formed of a material selected from the group comprising vulcanized rubber polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomer, neoprene, polyester, and nylon. The waist lock system may further comprise a self-fabric shell side seam. The water-resistant seamtape may be formed of a material selected from the group comprising vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomer, neoprene, polyester, and nylon.
Further embodiments of the present disclosure may include a waist lock system for waders, the waist lock system comprising a ring of water-resistant material firmly positioned around a waist area of the waders forming a flap and seal structure, and seamtape to attach the ring of water-resistant material to the waders. The waist lock system may further comprise gripper dots disposed within the interior portion of the ring of water-resistant material. The ring of water-resistant material may also comprise at least one adjustable side strap. At least one adjustable side strap may be adjusted via a fabric hook-and-loop fastener. The ring of water-resistant material may further comprise a self-fabric shell side seam.
For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide for water-resistant waders incorporating a waist lock system. Inclusion of a waist lock system may reduce the likelihood of water entering the waders below the wearer's waist area while the waders are being worn during water-based activities, such as fishing or hunting. The waist lock system may be formed of a ring of water-resistant material that may be firmly positioned around the waist area of the wearer such that it may create a flap and seal structure. if water reaches the top portion of the waist lock system, the waist lock system generally may prevent or at least minimize the water that may penetrate the waist lock system and enter the waders, particularly below the wearer's waist area, such as the wearer's feet and legs.
A waist lock system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise several components including but not limited to a band, at least one adjustable side strap, and seamtape. The band may be formed of a water-resistant material having a sufficient width so that it fits around a wearer's waist area tightly enough to minimize, and in some cases eliminate, water that may leak into the lower portion of the water-resistant waders below the wearer's waist area The band may include at least one adjustable side strap to allow a wearer to better fit around his/her waist area, thereby improving the flap and seal structure. Seamtape may be formed of a waterproof or water-resistant material and may be used to attach the band of the waist lock system to the upper chest wader portion of the water-resistant waders according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Gripper dots also may be disposed as part of the interior of the band to provide for more secure adhesion of the waist lock system to the wearer according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
Waders, such as water-resistant waders 10 depicted, for example, in
Waist lock system 101 may include band 301. It should be appreciated that a band, such as band 301, generally may fit around a wearer's waist area, but may sit higher or lower on a wearer relative to his/her natural waistline, such as closer to the wearer's chest area, without departing from the present disclosure. Band 301 may be formed using a water-resistant material, such as neoprene, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that band 301 may be formed of other materials that are water-resistant in nature without departing from the present disclosure, including but not limited to, vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomer, polyester, nylon or other breathable waterproof or water-resistant fabrics and combinations thereof. Band 301 should be formed of a sufficient width so that it fits around a wearer's waist area tightly enough to minimize, and in some cases, prevent water from leaking into the lower portion of water-resistant waders 10. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, band 301 may be approximately 3 inches in width. However, the width of band 301 may be increased or decreased without departing from the present disclosure. For example, band 301 may have an increased width when a wearer has a larger waist area. Similarly, band 301 may be less than 3 inches in width for a wearer that may have a more petite waist area.
Band 301 may include one or more adjustable side straps 302a, 302b on either side or on both sides of band 301 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Adjustable side straps 302a, 302b may be employed to adjust band 301 to better fit the waist area of a wearer (i.e., tighten or loosen the fit of and 301 for the wearer). It should be appreciated that side straps 302a, 302b may be fastened and/or adjusted through various mechanisms. In this embodiment of the present disclosure, adjustable side straps 302a, 302b are adjusted by employing a fabric hook-and-loop fastener, such as Velcro®, wherein adjustable side straps 302a, 302b may include fabric strips with tiny hooks and a portion of band 301 may include fabric strips with loops to receive the hooks and fasten/bind together. However, it should be appreciated that other mechanisms for fastening/binding may be employed without departing from the present disclosure.
Seamtape 303 may be disposed between band 301 and upper chest wader portion 102 to attach band 301 to upper chest wader portion 102 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Seamtape 303 may be formed of polyurethane according to embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that seamtape 303 may be formed of other materials that are water-resistant in nature without departing from the present disclosure, including but not limited to, neoprene, vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicone elastomer, polyester, nylon or other breathable waterproof or water-resistant fabrics and combinations thereof. Upper chest wader portion 102 may be formed of a fabric such as 3, 4, or 5-ply polyester, taslon, nylon, polyester or combinations thereof insofar as these types of fabrics may adhere well to seamtape 303. It should be appreciated that seamtape 303 generally may be placed on the outer portion of waist lock system 101. Seamtape 303 generally may not be included in the interior portion of waist lock system 101 insofar the interior portion of system 101 already may include a form of seamtape that may bind other portions of water-resistant waders 10 together according to embodiments of the present disclosure. However, in embodiments where no seamtape is already included as part of the interior of waist lock system 101, an interior seamtape may be incorporated without departing from the present disclosure.
In other embodiments of the present disclosure, band 301 may include gripper dots disposed as part of the interior of band 301 (i.e., the portion of band 301 resting against the wearer's waist area). These gripper dots may provide for more secure adhesion of waist lock system 101 to the wearer, such that it may be even less likely that water may enter the bottom portion of water-resistant waders 10 below the wearer's waist area.
Water-resistant waders incorporating a waist lock system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may allow the portions of the wearer's body below the waist lock system that are covered by the waders to generally remain dry if water spills over the waders during use due to the flap and seal structure of the waist lock system. In addition, given how the band of the waist lock system may be formed, such as by including gripper dots, adjustable side straps and/or a fabric shell side seam, a wearer of the waders incorporating a waist lock system may may feel comfortable and relatively dry during use.
Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/725,272 filed on Nov. 12, 2012, entitled “Water-Resistant Waders Incorporating a Waist Lock System,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61725272 | Nov 2012 | US |
