Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D31/00—Materials specially adapted for outerwear
  • A41D31/04—Materials specially adapted for outerwear characterised by special function or use
  • A41D31/06—Thermally protective, e.g. insulating
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/002—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with controlled internal environment
  • A41D13/005—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with controlled internal environment with controlled temperature
  • A41D13/0051—Heated garments
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D2400/00—Functions or special features of garments
  • A41D2400/10—Heat retention or warming

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to garments and/or other outdoor equipment, and more particularly to a pattern of warming cells that may be used to improve the heat retention and warming properties of garments and/or other outdoor equipment.
• Both down insulation and synthetic insulation are often used as heat insulators in coats, pants, gloves, comforters, sleeping bags, and the like. Such insulation can affect warmth, weight, water resistance, compressibility, and price of garments and/or sleeping bags.
• Down insulation is made up of the plumage found underneath the exterior feathers on waterfowl such as ducks and geese.
• the down insulation consists of soft, fluffy, wispy filaments, and not feathers, although some products use a blend of down and feathers. Down insulates by trapping air and is desired because it is lightweight, easy to compress, long-lasting, and breathable.
• Synthetic insulation is popular for its strong overall performance and lower price compared to down. Synthetic insulation is typically made of polyester, is quick-drying, and insulates even if it is wet. Furthermore, synthetic insulation is durable and hypoallergenic.
• portions of the quilted sections may be compressed. With the particular sections compressed, whether they are fashioned as square, diamond, or other shapes, or if they are provided as elongated sections, the insulation associated with any particular section is also compressed. Compressed sections of insulation make the layer between a person wearing or using the garment or sleeping bag thinner and thus less insulating in quality. Thinner sections of the garment caused by compression are thus colder than other sections, decreasing the overall performance of the garment or sleeping bag.
• the invention disclosed herein improves upon prior art systems designed to increase the warmth of garments and other outdoor equipment. More particularly, the invention uses a number of warming cells arranged in a pattern to warm and insulate the interior portion of a jacket, sleeping bag, or the like.
• the warming cells are formed as three dimensional cubes having four equal sides.
• the cube-shaped warming cells are preferably independently formed and are spaced apart from one another such that an air channel is formed completely around each cell.
• the warming cells may be provided in a range of heights from about 1 ⁇ 4 inch to 3 inches, and they may be the same height within a single product.
• Each of the warming cells is preferably stuffed with goose or duck down, a featherless material, synthetic material, or a combination thereof.
• the cube-shaped warming cells When pressure is applied by a wearer or user, the cube-shaped warming cells preferably lose less heat than the long baffles of the prior art. They are better able to keep the down in place because the individual warming cells are formed as smaller cells, and as such, even if one cell is compressed, other surrounding cells are not necessarily compressed.
• the cube-shaped warming cells are preferably arranged in a“running bond” brick-like pattern. More particularly, the warming cells are placed end to end in a particular row, with vertical channels formed between the sides of warming cells next to one another within that same row. In any particular row, the vertical channels align with the middle of a warming cell on a row above or below the particular row.
• This“running bond” pattern is a well-known and understood pattern in other industries including the brick and tile laying industries and creates an offset arrangement between adjacent cells positioned and located both above and below a particular cell.
• Horizontal channels are also formed between the sides of cube-shaped warming cells in adjacent rows to one another. While the channels may be a variety of widths, they are preferably between 3/8 and 1 ⁇ 4 inches wide.
• Both the vertical and horizontal channels play an important role in the warming properties of the warming cell pattern.
• an air-filled space or pocket is formed by the channels and the person’s body.
• the air pockets may trap and contain body heat therein to add to the warmth of the garment or outdoor equipment. Because air has strong heat retaining properties, the air pockets improve the heating performance of the interior including the warming cells.
• other cell shapes may be used such as rectangular, triangular, diamond, hexagonal (and other polygons), and the like.
• a combination of differently shaped warming cells may be provided, and the warming cells may be arranged in other patterns, including the warming cells having variable thicknesses.
• the shapes and patterns should produce the channels that form air pockets when the garment is worn or the equipment is used.
• Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a jacket including an interior warmthing cell pattern constructed according to the teachings of the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a first perspective view of the interior warming cell pattern of Fig. 1;
• FIG. 3 is a second perspective view of the interior warming cell pattern of Figs. 1 and 2;
• Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a first alternative warming cell pattern for garments and other outdoor equipment
• FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a second alternative warming cell pattern for garments and other outdoor equipment.
• Fig. 6A is a plan view of a first panel of a garment having an additional embodiment of a warming cell pattern.
• Fig. 6B is a plan view of a second panel of a garment having the warming cell pattern of Fig. 6 A.
• Fig. 6C is a plan view of a third panel of a garment having the warming cell pattern of Figs. 6A and 6B.
• Fig. 7A is a cross-section view taken across line 7A— 7A in Fig. 6A.
• Fig. 7B is a cross-section view taken across line 7B— 7B in Fig. 6B.
• Fig. 7C is a cross-section view taken across line 7C— 7C in Fig. 6C.
• Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the garment illustrated in Figs. 6A— 6C and 7A— 7C assembled and worn by a user.
• Fig. 1 illustrates a jacket 1 having an interior portion 5 and an exterior portion 10.
• the exterior portion 10 of the jacket 1 includes quilted elongated down or synthetic sections 15 like those described in the prior art, though in the case of this particular jacket 1, the down sections 15 do not serve as the principal insulator.
• the exterior portion 10 is preferably made of a synthetic material that is commonly used as a“shell layer.”
• the interior portion 5 of the jacket 1 preferably includes a plurality of warming cells 20 that are arranged relative to one another to form a pattern that preferably increases the heating properties of the interior portion 5 of the jacket 1. While the warming cells 20 are illustrated in Figs. 1-3 on the interior portion 5 of the jacket 1, in other embodiments, the warming cells 20 may be provided on the interior of garments including, but not limited to, pants, gloves, hats, etc., as well as the interior of outdoor equipment including, but not limited to, sleeping bags, camp pillows, comforters, etc. Furthermore, in yet alternative embodiments, each or only one of the interior portion 5 and the exterior portion 10 may include the warming cells 20.
• Figs. 2 and 3 the warming cells 20 and a first embodiment of a pattern formed by the plurality of warming cells 20 of the interior portion 5 of the jacket 1 are illustrated in greater detail.
• most of the warming cells 20 are formed as three dimensional cubes, meaning sides 25 that make up each of the warming cells 20 are equal in length.
• the warming cells 20 have sides 25 that measure approximately 4 inches long, but in alternative embodiments, the sides 25 may be a limitless number of different lengths depending on the application for which the pattern of warming cells 20 is being used.
• the cells 20 may be at a height from about 1 ⁇ 4 inch to 3 inches, and they may be the same height within a single product.
• Each of the warming cells 20 are preferably stuffed with goose or duck down, a featherless material, synthetic material, or any combination thereof.
• the warming cells 20 are preferably constructed of a material that is down- and fiber-proof, meaning neither down nor synthetic fibers is able to leak through the fabric.
• the warming cells 20 preferably keep the down in place when pressure is applied because the individual cells 20 are formed as smaller cells that are near to one other. As such, even if one warming cell 20 is compressed, the dramatic temperature drop generated by a compressed baffle is not present. Moreover, a thermal effect is created when an outer shell or layer made of synthetic material (or a down, or comparable, outer layer) such as is provided for the exterior portion 10 is combined with an inner shell/layer of down such as the interior portion 5 including the pattern of warming cells 20. There is a dead air chamber formed between these two layers that fills with warm air and thereby maintains a warmer temperature.
• the additional warming effect provided by the air chamber formed between the outer synthetic layer and the shell/inner layer of down may be absent. Additional heating properties are created by the presence of the space formed between adjacent warming cells 20. Such properties are described in greater detail herein below.
• the warming cells 20 are illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 as arranged in a“running bond” brick-like pattern. More particularly, the warming cells 20 are placed end to end in a particular row, with vertical channels 30 formed between the sides 25 of adjacent warming cells 20 within that same row. The purpose of the vertical channels 30 and the benefits they provide are described in greater detail below.
• the vertical channels 30 align with the middle of a warming cell 20 on a row above or below the given row.
• the vertical channel 30a formed next to a side 25a of the warming cell 20a aligns with a middle 40 of a warming cell 20b of a row 45 above the row 35 (see Fig. 2). It is recognized and anticipated that the vertical channels 30 can align with any portion of the above or below warming cell.
• horizontal channels 50 are formed between the sides 25 of warming cells 20.
• the horizontal channels 50 may abut one another so that they form one continuous channel between adjacent rows.
• the channels 30, 50 are between 1/4 and 3/8 inches wide, but in alternative embodiments, the channels 30, 50 may be wider or even somewhat narrower, or they may be variable in width.
• the cells 20 are described as being in the“running bond” pattern, in alternative embodiments the warming cells 20 may be arranged in an altogether different pattern.
• the wearer’s body covers the channels 30, 50 such that the channels 30, 50 and the wearer’s body form an air-filled space or pocket (not illustrated) between the cells 20.
• This space preferably traps and contains body heat therein that adds to the warmth of the garment or outdoor equipment, in this case, the jacket 1. Because air is a better insulator than the down itself, the air pockets formed by the channels 30, 50 increase the warming qualities of the pattern of warming cells on the interior portion 5.
• the horizontal channels 50 are formed as continuous rather than the vertical channels 30 because air escaping the horizontal channels 50 is more likely retained in the interior portion 5 than in the vertical channels 30, where air is more likely to escape from the neck or waist openings provided in a jacket such as the jacket 1.
• the pattern shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may be rotated by 90 degrees (not illustrated) so that the vertical channels form a continuous channel rather than the horizontal channels.
• FIG. 1 Other cell shapes may be used such as rectangles, triangles, diamonds, and the like to form warming cells.
• rectangular warming cells 60 are provided above a row of cube-shaped warming cells 20.
• Those rectangular warming cells 60 are arranged above the uppermost row of cube-shaped warming cells 20 in the “running bond” brick-like pattern described above.
• a combination of differently shaped warming cells may be provided.
• only one shape of warming cells may be provided.
• a portion of a warming cell pattern 65 is provided that is made up of a plurality of three dimensional triangle-shaped warming cells 70 each including three sides 75.
• Three rows 80a, 80b, and 80c of warming cells 70 are shown in the portion of the warming cell pattern 65.
• each row 80a, 80b, and 80c includes each of warming cells 70a where the triangle’s vertex is pointing upwardly and warming cells 70b where the triangle’s vertex is pointing downwardly.
• channels that form air-filled spaces or pockets when a garment or other outdoor equipment is worn or used are located between adjacent cells 70. More particularly, angled channels 85 are formed between adjacent triangle-shaped warming cells 70 in the same row and horizontal channels 90 are formed between triangle-shaped warming cells 70 in one row and triangle-shaped warming cells 70 in a row above or below a given row. Channels 85 are offset relative to those in adjacent rows 80a, 80b, and 80c, as illustrated in Fig. 4.
• the wearer covers the channels 85, 90 so as to form an air-filled space or pocket (not illustrated) between the cells 70.
• This space preferably traps and contains body heat in order to increase the warmth of the garment or outdoor equipment, such as the jacket 1.
• a warming cell pattern 95 is provided in Fig. 5 that may be utilized in an interior portion of a garment or outdoor equipment such as the interior portion 5 of the jacket 1.
• the warming cell pattern 95 is composed of a number of hexagon shaped warming cells 100, each of which includes six sides 105.
• the warming cells 100 are preferably spaced in the pattern 95 using a known method to place a column 110 of cells 100 offset relative to an adjacent column 115. This column arrangement may alternate continuously in either direction to form the portion of the pattern 95.
• a number of channels 120 that run in six different directions are formed around and between adjacent sides 105 of adjacent cells 100.
• the channels 120 are blocked by the wearer to form an air-filled space or pocket (not illustrated) between the cells 100.
• This space like the spaces associated with the above described patterns of warming cells, preferably traps and contains body heat to increase the warmth of the garment or outdoor equipment being worn or utilized.
• Figs. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate three garment panels 125A, 125B, and 125C that when attached to one another may form a vest-shaped garment that may be worn alone or integrated into a garment such as a jacket or coat.
• columns 130A, 130B, and 130C may be located near the center of a wearer when the panels 125A, 125B, and 125C are assembled.
• the cells 135A, 135B, 135C that make up the columns 130A, 130B, and 130C, respectively, are nearly rectangular in shape.
• the panels 135A may become somewhat smaller in area.
• the cells 135A, 135B, 135C may be the same size or even increase in size from the upper portions 140A, 140B, 140C toward the lower portions 145 A, 145B, 145C.
• Second columns 150A, 150B, 150C and third columns 155A, 155B, 155C may also be provided within each panel 125A, 125B, 125C, respectively.
• the cells 160A, 160B, 160C and 165A, 165B, 165C that make up the columns 150A, 150B, 150C and 155A, 155B, 155C, respectively, may be substantially quadrilateral.
• the cells 160A, 160B, 160C also decrease in size from the top portions 140 A, 140B, 140C toward the lower portions 145A, 145B, 145C.
• the cells 165A, 165B, 165C may also be quadrilaterals, but in a preferred embodiment, as illustrated in Figs. 7A, 7B, and 7C, are elongated as compared to the other cells that make up the panels 125 A, 125B, 125C.
• the panels 125A, 125B, 125C generally include each of horizontal channels
• the channels 170 and 175 that make up the panels 125A, 125B, and 125C may be less linear than those provided in other embodiments. This is because the cells that make up the panels 125A, 125B, 125C may be asymmetrical quadrilaterals such as those illustrated in Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C. Nevertheless, the channels 170A, 170B, and 175C may function in substantially the same manner as the channels described hereinabove.
• the panels 6A and 6C are substantially mirror images of one another, and the panel 6B is symmetrical about its vertical axis. In alternative embodiments, this may not be the case, and the panels 6A and 6C may differ relative to one another more substantially.
• Figs. 7A, 7B, and 7C example embodiments of warming cells from the panels 125 A, 125B and 125C are illustrated.
• the cells 135, 160, and 165 that make up the panels 125 may vary in thickness.
• the cell 135A is thicker than the cell 160A, which in turn is thicker than the cell 165A.
• the cell 135B is thicker than the cells 160B, which are thicker than the cells 165B.
• the cell 135C is thicker than the cell 160C, which is thicker than the cell 165C in substantially the same manner as Fig. 7A, though in mirror-image form.
• the variable shape and thicknesses of the cells 135, 160, and 165 may be physiologically mapped to the body to conform more easily therewith.
• Fig. 8 illustrates a garment 180 that a wearer 185 has donned.
• the garment
• a vest 180 is embodied as a vest, though it may be just a portion of a larger garment such as a jacket or coat that has integrated the garment 180 into its assembled structure.
• a plurality of warming cells 190 are provided as quadrilaterals having four sides (though alternative geometries are foreseeable and envisioned).
• an upper edge 195 may be at least partially curved.
• more edges such as the edge 195 may be curved, or fewer edges such as the edge 195 may be curved.
• the channels 200, 205 provide substantially the same function as the channels for the above described embodiments. Unlike the previously described channels, however, the channels 200, 205 have variable widths across their lengths. Such variation may act to facilitate flow of air upwards or from side to side, so as to increase the heat retaining properties of the garment 180.
• the warming cells described herein may be attached to the fabric of a garment or other outdoor equipment in a variety of methods. More particularly, the warming cells may be attached to a strip of fabric before they are attached to the garment or other outdoor equipment, or they may be sewn directly onto the garment or other outdoor equipment. The lower portions of the cells may be attached to the garment or other outdoor equipment (directly or indirectly) at a turned edge, using an edge stitch. The comers of the cells are also preferably darted. Notwithstanding the above, other foreseeable sewing methods to attach the warming cells to a garment or other outdoor equipment are contemplated herein.
• the description above identifies the warming cells as being cube, triangle, or hexagon shaped.
• the cells in any particular pattern may take on a number of cross- sectional shapes including diamonds, rectangles, octagons (and other polygons), stars, circles, parallelograms, and many others, as well as any combination of shapes.
• channels are preferably formed between and around any shaped cells that are utilized so that those channels may be covered when a garment or other outdoor equipment is worn or utilized. As such, air-filled spaces or pockets are formed by the channels and a user’s body traps and warms the air in such channels thereby increasing the warmth of the garment being worn or equipment being utilized.
• warming cells may be in the“core” of a jacket or garment. It should be noted that warming cells substantially similar to those described above may also be present in a jacket or garment’s hood, sleeves, or anywhere else on a garment. Moreover, as set forth above, the warming cells may also be utilized in equipment such as sleeping bags, blankets, and the like.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
• Bedding Items (AREA)
• Outer Garments And Coats (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (3)

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• 2019
  • 2019-11-01 JP JP2021523611A patent/JP2022506307A/ja active Pending
  • 2019-11-01 US US17/287,292 patent/US20210392980A1/en active Pending
  • 2019-11-01 WO PCT/US2019/059335 patent/WO2020092873A1/en unknown
  • 2019-11-01 CN CN201990001138.XU patent/CN215649448U/zh active Active
  • 2019-11-01 KR KR1020217016275A patent/KR20210071082A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2019-11-01 CA CA3118443A patent/CA3118443A1/en active Pending
  • 2019-11-01 EP EP19878519.8A patent/EP3873284B1/de active Active

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