CLOTHING INCLUDING DIFFERENT COMFORT CONTROL MATERIALS

BACKGROUND

[0001]The present application relates generally to clothing, and more particularly, to clothing including different materials that help affect the comfortability of a wearer's body during different activities.

[0002]Different types of clothing are worn in different environmental climates. For example, short-sleeved shirts and shorts are worn in warmer climates and long-sleeved shirts, long pants and coats are worn in colder climates. Further, colder climates require more thermal insulation to retain body heat than in warmer climates. Insulation is the process of keeping heat, such as body heat, from spreading or dissipating. Thus, clothing having more insulation will help to retain a person's body heat better over time than clothing having less insulation.

[0003]Moisture is also a factor in retaining a person's body heat. Water absorbed by clothing quickly evaporates, taking heat away from a person's body and reducing the body's ability to maintain a normal temperature. Additionally, wet clothing can make the body feel much colder, leading to decreased blood flow and increased risk of hypothermia.

[0004]Different types of textile materials provide different amounts of insulation and water absorption. Thus, the selection of textile materials for clothing significantly affects the body heat of the wearer of the clothing and thereby the comfort of the wearer. Different textile fibers hold individual properties that suit different environments. For example, natural fibers tend to be more breathable and absorb moisture, while synthetic fibers are hydrophobic in that they repel moisture and do not allow air to pass. The insulation properties of textile materials varies depending on the density and thickness of the textile material used to make the clothing.

[0005]It is therefore desirable to provide clothing including different materials having different properties to help control the comfortability of a wearer's body in different environmental conditions and during different activities.

SUMMARY

[0006]The present article of clothing includes different materials that help to control the comfortability of a wearer's body during different activities.

[0007]In an embodiment, an article of clothing is provided and includes a body member having at least one first area including a first material and at least one second area including a second material, where the first material is waterproof and has a breathability level and the second material is less waterproof than the first material and has a breathability level that is greater than the breathability level of the first material.

[0008]In another embodiment, an article of clothing is provided and includes a body member including a central portion, opposing arm members extending from the central portion and a hood attached to a top end of the central portion. An upper area of the central portion, the arm members and the hood include a first material and a lower area of the central portion, the arm members and the hood include a second material. The first material is waterproof and has a breathability level and the second material is less waterproof than the first material and has a breathability level that is greater than the breathability level of the first material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present article of clothing.

[0010]FIG. 2 is a rear view of the article of clothing of FIG. 1.

[0011]FIG. 3 is a right side view of the article of clothing of FIG. 1, where the left side view is a mirror image of this view.

[0012]FIG. 4 is a front view of another embodiment of the article of clothing.

[0013]FIG. 5 is a rear view of the article of clothing of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014]The present article of clothing includes different materials having different properties to help control the comfortability of a wearer's body in different environmental conditions and during different activities.

[0015]Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, an article of clothing generally indicated as 20, includes a body member 22 made with at least two different materials, namely, a first material 24 and a second material 26 where the body member 22 includes a central closure device such as zipper 28, and pockets 30a and 30b with zippers 32a and 32b. The article of clothing 20 in this embodiment is a long-sleeved jacket, but it is contemplated that the article of clothing may be a jacket, a coat, a pullover or any suitable article of clothing. The article of clothing may also be a pullover or shirt or jacket with a closure device such as a zipper that only extends along a portion of the base material but not the entire length of the base material, i.e., a half zip shirt or jacket.

[0016]In this embodiment, the first material 24 and the second material 26 are attached together, such as by sewing or stitching, to form the body member 22, where the body member 22 has a central portion 34, a front side 36 and an opposing rear side 38, and an upper opening 40 and lower opening 42. The central portion 34 of the body member 22 is configured to cover the upper and lower parts of a wearer's body. The body member 22 also includes two arm members 44a and 44b that are attached to the central portion 34 by sewing or stitching or by any suitable attachment method. The arm members 44a and 44b have end openings 46a and 46b, and are configured to receive the arms of a wearer. The body member 22 also includes a hood 48 with a front opening 50 that covers a portion of a wearer's head. In another embodiment, the body member 22 does not have a hood.

[0017]Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the first material 24 is a lightweight, waterproof material with low breathability, i.e., resistant to penetration of air through the material. On the front side 36, the first material 24 covers the upper parts of the wearer's body and arms and is also forms part of the hood 48. In this embodiment, the first material is a composite fabric comprising a non-woven textile scrim material including ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers with one or more facing layers, where each facing layer is a coating or film, such as a polyester coating or film, that is applied to one side or both sides of the non-woven textile scrim material. In another embodiment, the textile scrim material is a woven material or a knit material, and may be a polyurethane material, a material including waterproof yarns, coated materials or any suitable material or combination of materials.

[0018]In an embodiment, the first material 24 includes the non-woven textile scrim material made with polyester having UHMWPE fibers, where the first material has a weight of 18.7 to 22.3 g/m², a tensile strength 60 to 326 lb·in, an elongation at break of 2.6% to 3.1%, a tear strength of 14 lb to 34 lb and a puncture resistance of 1.8 lb to 5.2 lb. In another embodiment, the non-woven textile scrim material includes 73% polyester and 27% polyethylene fibers and the coating is polyester. In a further embodiment, 71% polyester and 29% polyethylene fibers and the coating is polyester. In another embodiment, 81% polyester and 19% polyethylene fibers and the coating is polyester.

[0019]In the illustrated embodiment, the first material 24 has low or no elasticity (stretchability), that helps to keep the wearer's head, the upper parts of their body and arms dry in wet or humid environments while the wearer is performing an activity, such walking or running, or when the wearer is at rest. In addition to the materials described above, the waterproof material may also be polyester and nylon, microfiber, wool, latex, rubber vinyl, Gore-Tex® or any suitable material or combination of materials.

[0020]The second material 26 is provided at the lower rear part of a wearer's head on the hood 48 and extends over the entire rear side 38 of the body member 22. As shown, the second material 26 also extends around the sides of the body member 22 and forms the lower portions of the front side 36 of the body member 22. The second material 26 also covers the lower parts of the arm members (sleeves) 44a and 44b. In this embodiment, the second material 26 has an elasticity (stretchability) and a breathability that is greater than the elasticity and breathability of the first material 24 and is less waterproof than the first material 24. In this way, the second material 26 allows for a wearer's head to be able to readily pivot or turn when wearing the hood and also allows some air penetration and air flow through the body member 22 to help dissipate heat generated by a wearer's body during activities and thereby help control the wearer's body temperature. In the illustrated embodiment, the second material 26 includes three layers that are attached or bonded together, where the first layer is a woven material, such as a feather weight woven material, the second layer is a membrane and the third layer is a lightweight backing material. The weight of the second material 26 is less than 90 g/m², but may be any suitable density. In another embodiment, the second material 26 is a water resistant material.

[0021]In the illustrated embodiment, the first material 24 and the second material 26 are attached together by sewing or stitching, at the seams where the first material 24 and second material 26 are adjacent to each other. In this embodiment, the first material 24 of the body member 22 has a thickness of 0.12 cm and the second material 26 of the body member 22 has a thickness of 0.10 cm. It should be appreciated that the first material 24 and the second material 26 may have any suitable thickness, where the first material 24 and the second material 26 may the same thicknesses or different thicknesses.

[0022]As shown in FIG. 1, the central zipper 28 extends along a portion of the front side of the hood 48 and along the entire front side 36 to the lower opening 42. The central zipper 28 has opposing zipper members 52a and 52b that are closed or joined together by a zipper closure device 54 by moving the zipper closure device 54 from the bottom ends of the zipper members 52a and 52b to the front opening of the hood 48. To open or separate the zipper members 52a and 52b from each other, the zipper closure device 54 is moved from the front opening of the hood 48 downwardly to the lower opening 42. The central zipper 28 may include one zipper closure device 54 or a plurality of zipper closure devices 54. Also, the central zipper 28 is preferably made with a metal or composite material but may be made with any suitable materials or combination of materials. In another embodiment, the closure device on the front side 36 of the body member 22 includes buttons or snaps that connect together to close the front side 36 of the body member 22 and separate from each other to open the front side 36 of the body member 22. It should be appreciated that that the closure device on the front side 36 of the body member 22 may be a zipper, buttons, hook and loop connection or any suitable closure device.

[0023]As shown, the body member 22 also includes side closure devices, such as zippers 32a and 32b, that are used to open and close the openings to the pockets 30a and 30b. In the illustrated embodiment, the side closure devices are zippers 32a and 32b as described above, but may be buttons, snaps or any suitable closure devices. In an embodiment, the pockets 30a and 30b are formed by a breathable material such as the second material 26, so that the pockets 30a and 30b may be partially or fully opened to allow for air flow through the pockets during use. In this way, the airflow through the pockets 30a and 30b helps to regulate the thermal temperature of a wearer's body.

[0024]Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in another embodiment, an article clothing generally referred to as 56, includes a body member 58 made with at least two different materials, namely, a first material 60 and a second material 62 where the body member 58 includes a central closure device such as zipper 64, and pockets 66a and 66b with closure devices such as zippers 68a and 68b. The article of clothing 56 in this embodiment is a long-sleeved jacket, but it is contemplated that the article of clothing 56 may be a jacket, a coat, a pullover or any suitable article of clothing.

[0025]In this embodiment, the first material 60 and the second material 62 are attached together such as by sewing or stitching, to form the body member 58, where the body member 58 has a central portion 70, a front side 72 and an opposing rear side 74, and an upper opening 76 and lower opening 78. The central portion 70 of the body member 58 is configured to cover the upper and lower parts of a wearer's body. The body member 58 also includes two sleeves or arm members 80a and 80b that are attached to the central portion 70 by stitching or any suitable attachment method. The arm members 80a and 80b each have end openings 82a and 82b and are configured to receive the arms of a wearer. The body member 58 also includes a hood 84 with a front opening 86 that covers a portion of a wearer's head. The first material 60 and the second material 62 are made with the materials and have the same properties as the first and second materials 24 and 26 described above.

[0026]In this embodiment, the first material 60 is located in the central portion 70 on the front side 72 of the body member 58 and on the top parts of the arm members 80a and 80b. The first material 60 is also located on the top portion of the hood 84 and on the central portion of the rear side 74 of the body member 58. As shown, the areas of the body member 58 (except for the hood 84), that include the first material 60, are formed with a plurality of generally horizontal rounded portions or baffles 88. The baffles 88 form rounded peaks 90 and are separated by recessed areas or valleys 92. It is contemplated that the baffles 88 may have a generally rounded or semi-circular shape, a triangular shape, a square shape, a trapezoidal shape or any suitable shape or combination of shapes. The baffles 88 are formed by the combination of the first material 60 and an insulation material positioned between an inner liner of the body member 58 and the first material 60. In use, the baffles 88 provide thermal insulation to the front side, the rear side and the upper parts of a wearer's arms to help regulate the body temperature of the wearer. It should be appreciated that the body member 58 may include any suitable number of baffles 88 where the baffles may be oriented horizontally, vertically or in any suitable direction on the body member 58.

[0027]While particular embodiments of the present article of clothing are shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.