U.S. patent number 3,798,676 [Application Number 05/244,784] was granted by the patent office on 1974-03-26 for protective garment.
Invention is credited to Tillman D. O'Brien, Jr., Larry W. Shanks.
United States Patent |
3,798,676 |
Shanks , et al. |
March 26, 1974 |
PROTECTIVE GARMENT
Abstract
An article for protecting a person against harsh weather
conditions including a flexible tubular body having one end open
and one end closed, a drawstring mounted at the open end and a
zipper means extending longitudinally and transversely of the
tubular body for opening the tubular body so that a person can
easily fit the tubular body about the legs and lower torso.
Inventors: |
Shanks; Larry W. (Baytown,
TX), O'Brien, Jr.; Tillman D. (Baytown, TX) |
Family
ID: |
22924096 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/244,784 |
Filed: |
April 17, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/69.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D
13/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A41D
13/00 (20060101); A41d 013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;2/69.5,69,88,84,1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hunter; H. Hampton
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Pravel, Wilson & Matthews
Claims
We claim:
1. An article for protecting a person against adverse weather
conditions, comprising:
a flexible tubular body having one end closed and one end open,
said tubular body being adapted to receive the legs and lower torso
of a person;
a drawstring mounted at said open end of said tubular body for
securing said open end against the lower torso of the person;
a zipper, including a first zipper portion extending along one side
of said tubular body and a second portion extending transverse to
said first zipper portion along said closed end for opening and
closing said tubular body about the legs and lower torso;
a flexible cover adapted to be wrapped about the upper torso and
arms of a person, said flexible cover including a clear portion
adapted for placement over the face of a person;
fastening means for fastening said flexible cover whereby said
cover can be wrapped about the arms and upper torso of the person;
and
a first handle mounted at one end of said tubular body and a second
handle mounted substantially intermediate of said open and closed
ends, said tubular body being foldable to a compact size, said
first and second handles including means permitting said handles to
interlock for ease in carrying said article.
2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:
said tubular body includes a portion that is waterproof and a
portion that is water-resistant.
3. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:
cushioning means mounted inside said tubular member for providing a
cushion for a person in a sitting position.
4. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein said means
permitting said handles to interlock consists of
said second handle being wider than said first handle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of this invention is articles for protecting a person
from harsh weather conditions.
There are many occasions when it is desirable to sit for relatively
long periods out of doors in cold and/or wet weather. For example,
a spectator at a football game in an outdoor football stadium is
exposed to the elements for three or four hours or more. Hunters
may sit in exposed blinds for perhaps even longer periods.
Various spectator protectors have been devised for protecting the
legs and lower torso from harsh weather conditions. For example,
the U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,764, issued to Povey described a protector
generally in the nature of a lower half of a sleeping bag for
providing protection for the lower body torso and legs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A new and improved article is provided for protecting a person such
as a spectator at a sports event from harsh weather conditions and
includes a flexible tubular member having one end closed and one
end open for receiving the legs and lower torso of a person. A
securing means is mounted at the open end of the tubular body for
securing the open end about the person; and, a zipper means extends
longitudinally and transverse to said tubular body whereby a person
can get into and out of the tubular body with ease. The zipper
means also allows the tubular body to be converted into a
blanket.
In another aspect of this invention, a flexible cloak or cover is
attached to the tubular body and is wrapped about the upper torso
of the person to provide further protection against harsh
weather.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiment of this invention will be described
hereinafter, together with other features thereof, and additional
objects will become evident from such description.
The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the
following specification and by reference to the accompanying
drawings forming a part thereof wherein an example of the invention
is shown and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front view of the article of the preferred embodiment
of this invention for protecting the legs and lower torso of a
person;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the flexible cover that is attachable to
the article of FIG. 1 for protecting the upper torso, arms and head
of a person;
FIG. 3 is a side view of a person wearing the protective article of
FIGS. 1 and 2; and
FIG. 4 is a side view of the protective article of FIG. 1 compactly
folded for carrying.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawing, the letter A generally designates an
article for protecting a person P from harsh weather over
relatively long periods of time. The article A of the preferred
embodiment of this invention can be carried easily to a stadium or
other place of use and put on quickly and easily by the person P
such that the person is protected against cold and/or wet weather
for long periods of time. For example, the article A of this
invention is designed to protect a spectator at a sports event such
as a football game or to protect a hunter sitting out of doors
exposed to the elements for long periods of time.
The article A includes a tubular body generally designated as 10
having a closed end 10a and an open end 10b. The tubular body 10 is
made of rather flexible material so that the actual cross-sectional
configuration, whether it be circular, oblong or substantially
rectangular as shown in FIG. 1 depends upon the figure of the
person wearing the article 10. The article 10 includes a front
section 10c which is separated from a rear section 10d by an
L-shaped zipper means designated as 11. The zipper means 11
includes a longitudinal portion 11a which extends longitudinally
along the tubular body and a transverse portion 11b which is
integral with the longitudinal portion and transverse thereto and
to the longitudinal axis of the flexible tubular member 10.
The zipper means 11 includes a first row of teeth attached along
L-shaped seam 10cc of front section 10c and a second row of teeth
attached along the L-shaped seam 10dd of the rear section 10d. A
slider 11c is provided for joining the tubular body section 10c and
10d by joining the teeth together in a conventional manner. Thus
the zipper means 11 provides means for opening the flexible tubular
body 10 so that a person P can easily place the tubular body about
the legs and lower torso, and, as a corollary, the zipper means 11
provides means for closing the flexible tubular body 10 by joining
front section 10c and rear section 10d thereof.
The flexible tubular body 10 is made of any suitable material or
fabric which is both flexible and very resistant to wear. Further,
the material comprising the front portion 10c and rear portion 10ee
is water resistant so that water from rain may be easily repelled.
The remainder 10e of the rear portion 10d and the closed end or
bottom 10a thereof are made of a waterproof material to protect the
person P who may have to sit on wet benches such as B or on wet
ground itself.
A draw string 12 extends through a hem 12a at the open end 10b to
provide means for securing the opening 10b about the lower torso or
waist of the person P.
A cushion means in the form of sponge seat 14 is mounted onto
bottom inside wall 10g of the tubular body 10 in order to provide a
cushion for the person in the sitting position. The cushion means
may be attached to the bottom portion 10e by any suitable means
such as sewing. A hand protector 15 is mounted onto the outside of
the front 10c of the tubular body 10 such that the person P may
protect his hands from the elements also. The hand protector 15 is
a piece of material that is sewn or otherwise attached to the
tubular body at 15a and 15b to form a protective pocket.
Referring to FIG. 4, the tubular body 10 is foldable into three
major sections with the open end 10b being disposed inside.
Interlocking handle means 16 includes a handle 16a mounted on the
rear portion 10e and a handle 16b mounted on the enclosed end 10a.
The handles 16a and 16b are made of any suitable material such as
plastic and may be secured to the tubular body 10 by any suitable
means such as cementing or otherwise. The handle 16b is smaller
than the handle 16a in width W such that, with the tubular body 10
in the folded position of FIG. 4, the handle 16b is inserted
through the handle 16a so that the entire tubular body 10 may be
carried by the handle 16b.
Referring to FIG. 2, a flexible cloak or cover 17 is provided for
being wrapped about the upper torso, arms and head of the person P.
The flexible cover 17 is made of any suitable material such as a
plastic or other material which is water resistant and extremely
flexible; and, the cover 17 includes a clear plastic portion 17a
which is adapted to be positioned in front of the face F of the
person P so that the person may be completely enwrapped in the
cover 17 and yet still observe the game or other event. The
flexible cover 17 is secured to the open end 10b of the tubular
body 10 by a plurality of matched snaps 18 mounted on the cover 17
and body 10. The snaps 18 may be any type that secures the cover 17
at the open end 10b of the tubular body 10. The snaps 18 extend
about approximately one-half of the perimeter of the open end 10b
of the tubular body 10 so that the cover can be wrapped about the
back and arms of the person P. Arm straps 19a and 19b are sewn or
otherwise attached to the cover 17 at spaced positions such that
the person P may insert his arms therethrough and wrap the cover
about him and secure the cover in this wrapped position.
In operation and use of the article A, the article A in its folded
position as illustrated in FIG. 4 is carried by handle 16b to any
desired location such as a football stadium or other outdoor event.
The flexible tubular body 10 is then unfolded and the L-shaped
zipper means 11 is unzipped by sliding slider 11c downwardly
longitudinally along zipper portion 11a and then transversely along
zipper portion 11b. With the tubular body 10 open, the person P may
then step into the tubular body and place his feet upon the closed
end 10a and wrap the front portion 10c about the front of his legs
and lower torso. Then the slider 11c is moved along zipper portions
11b and 11a to the position of FIG. 1 thereby re-joining front
portion 10c and rear portion 10d of the tubular body 10. The person
P may then sit down upon a floor or other surface such as bench B
such that the cushion 14 is in position to provide comfort in the
sitting position. The drawstring 12 is pulled taut and tied in a
knot or fastened in any suitable manner such that the open end 10b
is secured against the waist of the person P. If desired, the
person P may insert his hands into the hand pocket 15 in order to
protect them from the cold and/or wet weather.
If the person P desires, the cover 17 may be used in combination
with the tubular body 10 to provide protection for substantially
the whole body. After the person P has the tubular body 10
unfolded, the flexible member 17 is fastened by snaps 18 to the
tubular body. Then, the person places the tubular body 10 about his
legs and lower torso and closes the zipper means 11 as previously
described and the drawstring 12 is drawn tight. The person then
places his right arm through strap 19a and his left arm through
strap 19b and brings his arms together to a more natural position
such that the cover 17 is wrapped about the arms and upper torso.
The clear plastic portion 17a of the cover 17 may be placed over
the head and in front of the face F of the person P such that
substantially the entire body is protected while visibility if
maintained.
The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are
illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the
size, shape and materials as well as in the details of the
illustrated construction may be made without departing from the
spirit of the invention.
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