U.S. patent application number 10/259399 was filed with the patent office on 2003-04-03 for garment for controlling body temperature during physical activities.
Invention is credited to Emanuel, Bert.
Application Number | 20030061650 10/259399 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26947279 |
Filed Date | 2003-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030061650 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Emanuel, Bert |
April 3, 2003 |
Garment for controlling body temperature during physical
activities
Abstract
This invention provides a garment for a person to wear that will
more efficiently remove heat from the person's upper body physical
activities. The garment of this invention comprises a shirt member
made of a fabric that can retrieve water from the surface of the
body, the skin, such that the any amount of the heat contained in
the removed water does not flow back into the body. The design of
the garment of this invention has sides that have a curved,
contoured or tapered shape that resembles the normal shape of a
person's upper body. The contoured design enables the water
removing fabric of the shirt to be in constant contact with the
person's body. The invention has vented areas under both arm
locations. These armpit areas retain the most heat and therefore
require additional means to efficiently reduce the body temperature
in those locations.
Inventors: |
Emanuel, Bert; (Missouri
City, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Darcell Walker
Suite 250
9301 Southwest Freeway
Houston
TX
77074
US
|
Family ID: |
26947279 |
Appl. No.: |
10/259399 |
Filed: |
September 27, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60326103 |
Sep 29, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/115 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41B 9/06 20130101; A41D
27/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/115 |
International
Class: |
A41B 001/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A shirt garment to be worn next to the skin by a person during
activities that require physical exertion, said garment capable of
removing heat from the body during these activities, said garment
comprising: a fabric capable of removing water from the surface of
the body; left and right sides of the garment covering the left and
right sides of the person, each said side having a contour shape
that causes the garment to be constant contact with the surface of
the person's body; and vented sections of the garment, one said
vented section being located at each armpit portion of the
garment.
2. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 further comprising
sleeves through which the person would extend their arms.
3. The shirt garment as described in claim 2 further comprising
inserts incorporated into said sleeves, said sleeve inserts
providing additional water removing capabilities.
4. The shirt garment as described in claim 3 further comprising a
hem on each arm sleeve, each said hem being located at an end of
each.
5. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 further comprising a
collar section attached to said garment at the location of the
garment the surrounds the neck of the person.
6. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 wherein said vented
sections comprise two sections joined together.
7. The shirt garment as described in claim 2 wherein each said
vented section comprises a separate piece of said water removing
material, each said vented section piece being attached to said
sleeve and said garment at the arm pit section of said garment.
8. The shirt garment as described in claim 2 wherein said vented
sections comprise two pieces joined together, one said piece of the
vented section being incorporated into the sleeve at the section of
the sleeve that is attached to said garment and the other said
vented section being incorporated at the arm pit portion of the
garment.
9. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 wherein said vented
sections comprise a mesh material.
10. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 wherein said vented
sections comprise slits that allow air to pass there through.
11. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 further comprising a
hem at the bottom of said garment to provide additional fit
support.
12. The shirt garment as described in claim 12 wherein said bottom
hem provides additional water removing capabilities.
13. The shirt garment as described in claim 1 further comprising a
bottom section of said garment in which the front and back portions
of said bottom extend lower than the side portions of said bottom
section of said garment, said bottom section providing maximum
comfort.
14. The shirt garment as described in claim 13 further comprising
sleeves through which the person would extend their arms.
15. The shirt garment as described in claim 14 further comprising
inserts incorporated into said sleeves, said sleeve inserts
providing additional water removing capabilities.
16. The shirt garment as described in claim 14 wherein each said
vented section comprises a separate piece of said water removing
material, each said vented section piece being attached to said
sleeve and said garment at the arm pit section of said garment.
17. The shirt garment as described in claim 14 wherein said vented
sections comprise two pieces joined together, one said piece of the
vented section being incorporated into the sleeve at the section of
the sleeve that is attached to said garment and the other said
vented section being incorporated at the arm pit portion of the
garment.
18. The shirt garment as described in claim 7 wherein said vented
sections comprise a mesh material.
19. The shirt garment as described in claim 7 wherein said vented
sections comprise slits that allow air to pass there through.
20. The shirt garment as described in claim 8 wherein said vented
sections comprise a mesh material.
21. The shirt garment as described in claim 8 wherein said vented
sections comprise slits that allow air to pass there through.
22. A method of modifying a shirt garment worn next to the skin
during physical activities, said garment comprising a material that
is capable of removing heat from the body during the physical
activities and comprising the steps of: tailoring the portion of
the shirt garment that will cover the person's sides such that said
garment is in constant contact with the surface of the person's
body; and providing airflow paths in the shirt garment to allow air
to pass through said shirt garment and provide additional heat
removing capabilities.
23. The method as described in claim 22 further comprising the
steps of: attaching sleeve sections to said garment through which
the person will extend their when wearing said garment, said sleeve
sections being comprised of a water removing material to provide
additional water removing capabilities; and incorporating in each
said sleeve section a water removing material.
24. The method as described in claim 23 further comprising the step
of tailoring a bottom section of said garment such that the front
and back portions of said bottom extend lower than the side
portions of said bottom section of said garment, said bottom
section providing maximum comfort.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to a provisional patent
application No. 60/326,103 filed on Sep. 29, 2001. The contents of
this application are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a garment that can assist in
controlling a person's body temperature during physical activities
and in particular to a garment to be worn next to a person's skin
that can reduce the person's body temperature during physical these
activities.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] During activities that require physical exertion, such as
running, jumping, lifting or throwing, the body generates
additional heat. However, the body must maintain a desirable
temperature in a narrow range. Therefore, in order to maintain a
healthy body temperature, the body dissipates heat through
perspiration. Perspiration contains water and certain dissolved
substances produced by glands in the skins. The human body has
sweat glands distributed over the entire surface of the body. But
in certain areas of the body, there are larger and more
concentrated groups of sweat glands. For example, there are many
larger sweat glands in the armpits, on the palms of the hands, and
soles of the feet. The primary importance of sweat glands is to
produce perspiration when the body needs to lose heat. As the
perspiration (water) passes through pores to the surface of the
body, the water takes heat from the body with it and thereby
reduces the internal body temperature. Sweating itself does not
reduce body heat. But when the sweat evaporates, this evaporation
process has a cooling effect.
[0004] During sports activities, many athletes, especially football
and hockey players wear an under garment (shirt) beneath their
equipment and team jersey. These under garments can usually absorb
some of the perspiration water thereby removing it from the skin.
However, many of these under garments are made of cotton and
therefore hold the water perspiration from the body. Furthermore,
when the under garment becomes saturated with water it provides no
meaningful benefit to the wearer, as the shirt will stick to the
skin having the affect of the water not being removed from the
skin. At this point, the shirt holds the water and keeps the body
temperature at an increased level. The most affective action would
be to remove the garment from the person, wring out the water from
the garment and put back on the garment. This approach is
unreasonable in most cases and is unlikely to occur.
[0005] Technology exists today that has developed materials that
can remove dissipated water from the skin such that the person does
not feel the effect of the water. However, much of the motivation
and many of the applications of this technology are directed
towards products for infants such as many different types of diaper
designs. The other major application for this technology is in the
health care field. In this field, the applications are for things
such as bladder control situations. These water removing and water
holding materials have even proven to be affective for garments and
other apparel used in athletics or other physical activities
garments.
[0006] Although materials exist today that can affectively remove
water from the surface of the skin, another factor that can
contribute to optimum body cooling is the shape and design of the
garment. As previously stated, in this cooling process the under
garment can only absorb the perspiration when the garment is in
contact with the skin. As shown in FIG. 1, under garments usually
have a standard straight design 100 and does not conform to the
body shape 101 of the person wearing the garment. As shown, when a
person wears the garment, there are gaps 102 between the shirt and
the person's body which reduce the level of contact between the
body and the under garment. With a reduced level of contact, there
is a reduced efficiency in the water and heat removing process of
the garment. As previously mentioned, currently, the shirt garment
has constant contact with the body surface when the shirt has
absorbed sufficient perspiration such that the perspiration causes
the shirt to stick to the body. In this situation, the water causes
the shirt to stick. Therefore, the water is still in contact with
the body and is not reducing the body's heat to the skin. Some
athletic apparel worn on the upper body does fit firmly against the
skin, but these types of garments are not designed for the purpose
of removing water or reducing the body temperature. The designs in
these cases are more the result of the types of activity in which a
person will participate, such as track and field events.
[0007] At the present time, some under garments are constructed of
materials that can efficiently remove water from the surface/skin
and isolate the water such that the heat in the water is not
reabsorbed into the body and thereby reduce the heat removing
process. This process of removing the water is known as
"wicking".
[0008] Although these new fabric materials do remove the water as
designed, the pattern and design of the garments remain straight
along the sides which still creates gaps between the garment and
the body, and thereby enables the garment to more efficiently
remove the water from the body. There remains a need for a garment
design that reduces and substantially eliminates the gaps between
the garment and the body surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] It is an objective of this invention to provide a garment
that can be worn by a person during physical activities, which can
enhance the heat removing capabilities of the person's body.
[0010] It is a second objective of this invention to provide a body
temperature garment design that substantially fits and adheres to
the shape of the person's body.
[0011] It a third objective of this invention to provide a garment
fabric, which has the ability to draw water away from the surface
of a person's body.
[0012] It is a fourth objective of this invention to provide a
garment design with minimum excess fabric material.
[0013] It is a fifth objective of this invention a vented area in
the garment to further provide body temperature control.
[0014] This invention provides a garment for a person to wear that
will enable the body to more efficiently remove heat from the
person's upper body during physical activities. This efficient
removal of heat enables the body to maintain a cooler temperature
during these activities. The garment of this invention in one
embodiment comprises a shirt member made of a fabric that can
retrieve water from the surface of the body, the skin, such that
the any amount of the heat contained in the removed water does not
flow back into the body. This process of removing the water from
the skin is known as "wicking". The design of the garment of this
invention has sides that have a curved, contoured or tapered shape
that better resembles the shape of a person's upper body. The
contoured design enables the water removing fabric of the shirt to
be in constant contact with the person's body. This constant
contact prevents sweat from accumulating on the person's skin
before being absorbed by the garment. The invention has vented
areas under both arm locations. The under-arm areas retain the most
heat and therefore require additional means to efficiently reduce
the body temperature in those locations.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a sleeveless view of the standard under garment
design.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a sleeveless view of a water removing garment
embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a side view of a sleeveless embodiment of the
present invention shown in FIG. 2.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a view of a long-sleeve embodiment of the
water-removing garment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a short-sleeve embodiment of the water-removing
garment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 6 is short-body long-sleeve embodiment of a
water-removing garment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] FIG. 2 shows a basic design for the present invention. The
invention has a basic T-shirt design. In this design, a moisture
management material fabric comprises the material of the garment.
Examples of this material include nylon based fabrics such as those
distributed under the Supplex.RTM. mark, which is manufactured by
I.E. Dupont De Nemours. The shoulder portion of the garment has an
angular cut 103 that provides optimum fit. As previously discussed,
the more constant contact the fabric material has with the body
surface, the more optimum and efficient the results from the
moisture management and temperature processes. The sides of garment
have contoured shapes 104 that provide for a maximum fit to the
body surface to improve moisture management control. The contour
shape of the side can begin at the base of the sleeve and continue
along the side to the bottom. The amount of contour can vary from
one design to another. The garment has a collar 105. Below the
sleeve portion of the garment is the vented section of the garment
106. The vented section comprises a section of the moisture
management material fabric with holes/openings throughout the
section of material. The combination of moisture management fabric
and the openings provides enhanced cooling capabilities for the
armpit location of the person. The bottom of the garment has a
tailored cut shirttail 107 for maximum comfort. In the original
design, shown in FIG. 1, the bottom/tail of the shirt is
substantially straight and has excess that has to be tucked in the
lower garment. When a person wears the present invention, the sides
104 of the shirt form fit to the person's sides and are constant
contact with the skin of the wearer.
[0022] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the temperature control garment.
The vented portion 106 of the garment provides additional heat
reducing capability for the armpit section of the person. This
vented section can have a variety of shapes and designs. As shown,
it can also have a generally triangular shape, rectangular,
circular or any other desired design. The material can have holes
as shown in FIG. 3, or slots or other designs that allow for are to
pass thereto. The vented section can also be a different material
such as a mesh material or other porous material. The vented
section can be a two-part piece connected together.
[0023] The design of the present invention differs from the
conventional vented/mesh shirts. In many jerseys, mesh material
comprises the majority of the shirt, except for the shoulders,
armpit and sides. These sections comprise conventional solid
materials. The armpit section, which is vented in the present
invention, is closed in the conventional shirt garments. The design
of the present invention is opposite to the design of the
conventional shirt designs. In addition, sleeveless jerseys also do
not have vented sections under the armpit as in the present
invention.
[0024] FIGS. 4 and 5 show the long sleeve and short sleeve
embodiments of the present invention. As shown, the long sleeve
embodiment has sleeves 108 comprising a "Rachael" nylon Lycra
fabric. The end of the sleeve has a small hem 109 for stability.
This hem will enable the sleeve to fit tightly with the arm and
provide this stability on the sleeve. This hem can be the end of
the sleeve or it can be a separate piece attached to the sleeve. In
these embodiments, the vented section 106 can be a two-piece
section. A larger portion 110 will be in the side portion of the
shirt and the smaller or other portion 111 would be on the
sleeve.
[0025] FIG. 6 shows the application of the present invention in
short body garment. The short body garment shown in FIG. 6 has the
contoured sides 113. The vented portion 114 can be one piece that
fits with the sleeve and side of the garment. The vented portion
can also be two separate pieces. One piece each will attach to the
sleeve and the side. The two-vented pieces will also attached to
each other. This embodiment can also have a wrist insert 112 on the
sleeves. These wrist inserts provide water-removing capabilities
for the garment. This capability further reduces heat during
physical activities. These wrist inserts are also available for
embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5. The sleeves can also have the small
hems 115 for stability. This embodiment also has shortened length
and a stretchable bottom border 116 for increase comfort and
stability. This stretchable bottom section 116 can also have
water-removing capabilities.
[0026] The apparatus and methods of this invention provide
significant advantages over the current art. The invention has been
described in connection with its preferred embodiments. However, it
is not limited thereto. Changes, variations and modifications to
the basic design may be made without departing from the inventive
concepts in this invention. In addition, these changes, variations
and modifications would be obvious to those skilled in the art
having the benefit of the foregoing teachings. All such changes,
variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of
this invention.
* * * * *