Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02233107 1998-03-25
PROTECTIVE APPAREL
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparel to provide protection for the user.
It is well known in sports or other areas to wear apparel that provides
protection to the wearer
against hazards encountered playing sports or performing particular duties.
Typically, such
protective clothing allows a degree of adjustment: for fit and is designed to
provide a typical user
with the required degree of protection. However., because of the variation in
the human body,
such protection is usually a compromise and does not meet all the requirements
of the user.
There is therefore the need for apparel that permits adjustment to be made to
the
protection offered by protective equipment to suit the individual user.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide apparel that
obviates or
mitigates the above disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In general terms, the present invention provides an apparel having a plurality
of pockets
disposed about the surface of the apparel and located in areas in which
protection may be
required. An inflatable bladder is carried in one or more of such pockets and
may be adjusted to
provide the requisite degree of protection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the preferred embodiments of the invention will
become more
apparent in the following detailed description in which reference is made to
the appended
drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a front view of protective clothing;
Figure 2 is a back view of the clothing of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a detailed view of a portion of the clothing shown in Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;
Figure S is a detailed view of another embodiment of the portion shown in
Figure 3; and,
Figure 6 is a view on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring therefore to Figure 1 and 2, a protective garment indicated
generally at 10 is
formed as a one-piece body suit with a front portion 11 and a rear portion 13.
The garment has
arms 12, legs 14 and a torso 16 section. A front opening 18 extends from a
neck opening 20 to
below the waist and is closed by a zipper 22. Thc: opening 18 is dimensioned
to permit easy
access of the wearer to the suit.
The suit 10 is formed from a flexible fabric using conventional tailoring
techniques
suitable for the intended environment.
Pockets, generically denoted 24, are disposed about the outer surface of the
suit 10. The
pockets 24 are located at strategic areas in which additional protection to
that normally offered
by protective clothing may be required. For example, if the suit 10 is
intended as an
undergarment for a hockey player, the pockets 24 are distributed: at the shins
as indicated at 24a;
at the knees as indicated at 24b; at the wrists as indicated at 24c; at the
shoulders as indicated at
24d; at the upper arms as indicated at 24e; at the chest as indicated at 24f;
and across the torso as
indicated at 24g. Similarly, pockets may be provided on the rear portion 13 of
the suit 10 as
indicated in Figure 2 to provide protection for the; calves 24h, the back of
the thighs 24i and the
spine area as indicated at 24j. The shape and size; of the pockets may be
adjusted to suit the
individual use and of course the pockets may be distributed in convenient
locations suitable for
that use.
As shown in Figures 3 and 4, each of the pockets 24, in one embodiment,
includes an
outer flap 26 stitched as indicated at 28 along two sides to the garment 10. A
hooked tape 30 is
sewn to the inner surface of the flap 26 on the other two sides and co-
operates with a looped tape
32 sewn to the body 10. The tapes 30, 32 provide a releasable fastening,
commonly known by
the trade name Velcro, that allow the flap 26 to be secured to the suit 10 and
released to open the
pocket 24.
Another embodiment of the pockets is shown in Figures 5 and 6 wherein like
elements
are numbered the same but with a subscript "a" for clarity. As shown, this
embodiment of the
pockets includes an outer flap 26a stitched at 28a along three sides to the
garment 10. As above,
the pocket is closed by means of a releasable fastener such as Velcro.
Each of the pockets 24 is configured to receive a bladder 34. The bladder 34
is formed
from air-impermeable material and may, in one embodiment as shown in Figure 4,
be inflated by
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the admission of air through the valve 36. The degree of inflation may be
adjusted through valve
36 to provide the requisite degree of resilience and additional protection.
Naturally each of the
bladders 34 is configured to suit an appropriate one of the pockets 24 and the
degree of inflation
of each of the bladders may be adjusted so as to provide a customized degree
of protection to the
user. In a preferred embodiment, the valve 36 is of a quick connect type so as
to allow quick
inflation or deflation of the bladder by means of a cooperating air delivery
device.
In another embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, the bladder 34a may be
permanently sealed
and pre-inflated for insertion into the respective ;pocket.
The bladder 34 may be formed of any suitable air-impermeable material that is
flexible
and sufficiently robust to act as a cushion against external forces.
In use, the user determines which of the areas requires extra protection and
inserts an
appropriately shaped bladder in the appropriate one of the pockets 34. The
bladder 34 is then
retained in the pocket 24 with the flap 26 by overlying tape 30 and 32.
Additional protective
clothing may then be applied as appropriate. When using the inflatable
bladder, if the user finds
that insufficient protection is provided in a particular area, he may further
inflate the bladder
until a satisfactory degree of protection is provided. Alternatively,
additional bladders may be
inserted in other pockets 24 to supplement the protection offered by the
garment. The
adjustability of the inflation allows the user to optimize the degree of
protection without
inhibiting unduly the mobility of the user.
The opening 18 preferably includes a flap 40 underlying the zipper 22 to
protect the
zipper from accidentally being caught on the wearer's skin or other garments.
The suit 10 includes wrist portions 42 which are preferably adapted to fit
snugly around
the wearer's wrists. Such cinching of the wrist portion 42 is achieved by
means of an elastic
and/or Velcro strap.
Although shown as a one-piece suit, the clothing may be formed as two-piece or
part
body suits in a variety of configurations to suit the intended use.
Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific
embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled
in the art without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims
appended hereto.
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