Abstract:
The present invention provides a garment with an opening for general access or ventilation. The opening having a closure mechanism for closing the opening. The opening further having a biasing member that tends to open the opening such that when the closure mechanism is not in the closed position, the opening is held open by the biasing member.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application 60/524,998, filed Nov. 24, 2003, titled the same, incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention is related to garment having air ventilation openings and, more particularly, to a garment having air ventilation openings with an opening biased tending to open the air ventilation openings to facilitate increased air circulation.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Outerwear garments typically have openings such as vents, pockets, and access openings that may be opened or closed. A vent, for example, may be opened or closed by a wearer to adjust the ventilation of the garment. In foul or cold weather, for example, the wearer may keep the vent closed to prevent wind and rain from entering the garment. In warmer weather or during strenuous exercise where the wearer&#39;s body temperature is elevated, the wearer may choose to open one or more vents to allow airflow into and out of the garment. The vents also allow moisture to escape from the interior of the garment through the vent.  
         [0004]     The vents are typically constructed as an opening in the garment (such as a slit) that may be selectively opened or closed with a closure mechanism. Common closure mechanisms that are used include zippers, hook and loop closures, buttons, snaps, and the like. The vents also often include a mesh panel spanning the opening forming the vent to allow air and moisture to flow through the vent but block snow, leaves and other items from entering the garment.  
         [0005]     When the wearer opens a vent, however, the opening forming the vent is often only a slit in the garment that is either attached such as by a zipper in a closed configuration or unattached in an open configuration. When the vent is in an open configuration, for example, the opening of the vent may be rather small if the edges of the slit are not separated from each other. The area of the vent is able to vary depending, for example, upon the motion of the wearer.  
         [0006]     In one attempt to solve this problem, for example, a defined vent region is provided over which a cover element such as a flap can be selectively positioned to control the effective vent area of the vent. The flap has a size and shape corresponding to the size and shape of the vent region. Thus the vent may be opened by folding the flap away from the vent region or closed by covering the vent region.  
         [0007]     Thus, it would be desirous to design a ventilation opening for a garment that facilitated airflow.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides a garment such as a jacket, pants, shorts, an anorak, a pullover or the like including an opening. The garment comprises an inner surface, an outer surface and an opening extending from the inner surface to the outer surface along at least a portion of the garment. The garment further comprises a closure mechanism for opening and closing the opening and a bias member attached to the garment for biasing the opening towards an open configuration. The closure mechanism overcomes the biasing of the bias member when the opening is in a closed configuration. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view of a first embodiment of a garment of the present invention having an opening, wherein the opening is in a closed configuration;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  shows a plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , wherein the opening is in an open configuration;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  taken along section line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  taken along section line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  shows a plan view of a second embodiment of a garment of the present invention having an opening, wherein the opening is in a closed configuration;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  shows a plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , wherein the opening is in an open configuration;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  shows a plan view of a third embodiment of a garment of the present invention having an opening, wherein the opening is in a closed configuration; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  shows a plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7 , wherein the opening is in an open configuration;  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  shows a plan view of a fourth embodiment of a garment of the present invention having an opening, wherein the opening is in an open configuration;  
         [0018]      FIG. 10  shows a hook and loop closure device;  
         [0019]      FIG. 11  shows a button closure device; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 12  shows an adhesive closure device. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     A garment of the present invention comprises one or more openings. The openings, for example, may comprise a vent for allowing air to flow between the exterior and the interior of the garment. In another embodiment, the opening may comprise an opening for accessing a pocket of the garment in which a wearer may store items such as keys, wallets, gloves or other items. The opening may also comprise an opening for allowing access to the interior of the garment without removing the garment, such as, for example, a fly or an opening adjacent to pockets in other garments worn underneath the garment.  
         [0022]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show a first embodiment of the invention in which a garment  20  comprises an opening  22 , which may comprise a vent, an airflow opening, a pocket opening, a fly, or the like. The opening  22  is shown in a closed configuration in  FIG. 1  and in an open configuration in  FIG. 2 . The opening  22  comprises an gap  24  formed by a slit in the garment  20  and a closure mechanism such as the zipper  26  shown for selectably opening and closing the vent  22 . Other closure mechanisms known in the art such as hook and loop closures  1000  (shown in  FIG. 10 ), buttons  1100  (shown in  FIG. 11 ), pressure sensitive adhesives  1200  (shown in  FIG. 12 ) and the like may also be used. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , for example, the zipper  26  is used to open or close the opening  22 .  
         [0023]     The opening  22  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  also comprises bias members elastic  28  placed adjacent the gap  24  in the garment  14 . Although  FIGS. 1 and 2  show bias members  28  disposed on both sides  30  and  32  of the gap  24 , the opening  22  may be constructed with an elastic member  28  disposed on only one side of the opening within the scope of the present invention. Also, the bias members  28  could be disposed either external or internal to the garment. The bias members  28  are attached to the garment under tension so that they bias the sides  30  and  32  away from each other. In other words, when zipper  26  is holding the opening  22  in the closed position, the bias members  28  are in tension. When zipper  26  is moved to the open position, as shown in  FIG. 2 , first end  28   f  and second end  28   s  of the bias members tend to remove the tension causing the length of bias members to separate, which causes gap  24  to open.  
         [0024]     The bias member  28 , for example, may comprise one or more elastic members disposed along or generally adjacent to one or both of the sides  30  and  32  of the gap  24 . The bias members  28  may be located on the outer surface of the garment  20 , located on the inner surface of the garment  20  or located between the outer surface and the inner surface of the garment  20 . For example, a garment  20  may comprise an inner liner and an outer liner. In such an embodiment, the bias members  28  may be disposed between the inner and outer liners. The bias members  28  may also be disposed at least partially within a protective layer, such as a sleeve, a channel or the like. The bias member(s)  28  may also assist in inhibiting loose fabric from the garment from fouling the tines of zipper  26 .  
         [0025]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the closure mechanism, such as the zipper  26 , overcomes the tension of the bias members  28 , aligns the two sides  30  and  32  of the gap  24  and thus closes the gap  24  of the opening  22 .  
         [0026]     By biasing the sides  30  and  32  away from each other, the opening  22  is held in an open configuration to prevent the sides from coming together during normal wearing conditions. As shown in  FIG. 3 , when the opening  22  is in an open configuration, the bias members  28  cause the sides  30  and  32  of the opening  22  to separate. When the opening  22  is in a closed configuration as shown in  FIG. 4 , however, the closure mechanism, such as zipper  26 , overcomes the tension of the bias member  28  and closes the opening  24  along a generally flat surface of the garment  20 .  
         [0027]     The opening  22  may also comprise a mesh panel  42  spanning at least a portion of the opening to allow air and moisture to flow through the vent but block snow, leaves and other items from entering the garment. In this case, placing the bias members  28  internal to the zipper  26  but external to mesh panel  42  allows the bias members  28  to assist inhibit the mesh panel  42  from fouling zipper  26 .  
         [0028]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show an alternative embodiment of a vent construction for a garment  120  of the present invention in which bias members  128  extend outward from the opening  124 . Although a plurality of bias members  128  are shown, opening  124  could be sufficiently biased with a single bias member  128 . Although the bias members  128  shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  extend away from the opening  124  generally perpendicular to the zipper  126  of the vent  122  when the vent  122  is in a closed configuration, the bias members  128  may also extend at any other angle from the zipper  126  sufficient to bias the sides  130  and  132  away from each other.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the bias members  128  are attached to the garment  120  away from the vent  122  at first ends  134  and are attached to the garment  122  generally adjacent to or at the sides  130  and  132  of the vent  122  at second ends  136  of the bias members  128 . The bias members  128  preferably comprise elastic members attached to the garment  120  under tension. Thus, the bias members  128  bias the sides  130  and  132  of the vent away from each other. When the vent  122  is in an open configuration such as shown in  FIG. 5 , the sides  130  and  132  vent  122  are held apart from each other by the elastic forces imparted by the bias members  128 . Because the bias members  128  are attached to the garment so that the bias members  128  are under tension when the vent  122  is in a closed configuration, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the bias members still tend to pull the sides  130  and  132  apart when the vent  122  is in a closed configuration, but the closure mechanism, such as zipper  126 , overcomes the tension of the bias members  128 , and aligns the two sides  130  and  132  of the opening  124  and thus closes the opening  124  of the vent  122 .  
         [0030]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show another embodiment of a vent construction  222  of the present invention in which bias members  228  bias the sides  230  and  232  of the vent  222  away from each other when the vent  222  is in an open configuration. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the bias members  228  comprise resilient members attached to the garment  220  generally adjacent to or at the sides  230  and  232  of the opening  224  of the vent  222 . The resilient bias members  228  resist the sides  230  and  232  from being brought together. Thus, unlike the above, bias members  228  are under compression.  
         [0031]     The closure mechanism, such as zipper  226 , overcomes the resilient forces of the bias members  228 , aligns the two sides  230  and  232  of the opening  224  and thus closes the opening  224  of the vent  222 . When the closure mechanism is opened, however, the resilient forces impacted by the bias members  228  push the sides  230  and  232  away from each other and thus bias the sides  230  and  232  of the vent  222  in an open configuration.  
         [0032]     While the bias members  228  of the vent  222  are shown extending generally perpendicular to a centerline  240  of the opening  224  of the vent  222 , the bias members  228  may also be attached to the garment  220  at any other angle from the centerline  240  of the opening  224  sufficient to bias the sides  230  and  232  of the opening  224  away from each other. The resilient members may comprise, for example, springs or other known resilient members known in the art. In one embodiment, for example, a spring may be inserted into a sleeve of material and attached to the garment  220  so that the spring is compressed when the vent is in a closed configuration and will impart a resilient force to bias the sides  230  and  232  of the opening  224  apart from each other.  
         [0033]      FIG. 9  shows yet another embodiment of the biased opening construction of a garment  320  of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 9 , the bias member  328  comprises a cord  338  that extends along at least a portion of the opening  324  of the garment  320 . The cord  338 , for example, may pass through a sleeve  342  generally adjacent to the sides  330  and  332  of the opening  324  as shown in  FIG. 9 . The cord  338  may be positioned along at least a portion of side  330 , side  332  or sides  330  and  332  (as shown in  FIG. 9 ). The cord may comprise an elastic or non-elastic cord. The garment  320  may further comprise a cord lock  340  that may be used by a wearer to adjust the positioning of the cord  338  along the opening  324 .  
         [0034]     In this embodiment, a wearer may adjust the size of the opening  324  by adjusting the position of the cord  338  in the cord lock  340 . By pulling the cord  338  through the cord lock  340 , a wearer may pull the sides  330  and  332  of the opening apart from each other by causing first end  320   f  and second end  320   s  to move towards each other in a pinching type movement. The wearer may also adjust the size of the opening  324  by releasing the cord  338  back through the cord lock  340  and into the sleeve  342 .  
         [0035]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.