Abstract:
A venting arrangement for apparel such as sportswear, casual wear, technical wear, and the like. The venting arrangement of the invention is particularly suitable for venting of outdoor apparel and sporting equipment such as wind breakers and winter sport jackets. The invention also relates to apparel or an item of apparel that includes such a venting arrangement.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a venting arrangement for apparel such as sportswear, casual wear, technical wear, and the like. The invention is particularly suitable for venting of outdoor apparel and sporting equipment such as wind breakers and winter sport jackets. The invention also relates to an apparel or an item of apparel that includes such a venting arrangement. 
     2. Description of Background and Relevant Information 
     People working in different outdoor occupations or involved in sports and/or open air activities normally wear some kind of waterproof or at least windproof garments. 
     An important drawback in the use of waterproof or windproof garments is the poor venting of such garments. 
     Because the material must be waterproof or windproof, it generally also is a barrier to the evaporation of moisture exuded from the body during physical exercise, which further increases the rate of sweating and leads to wetting of clothes worn under the waterproof or windproof garment. 
     The breathing of waterproof and/or windproof garments can be improved in two ways. The garments can be produced from appropriate materials which are permeable to water vapor but not to condensed water. Garments produced from such materials are characterized by extreme lightweight and a relatively good breathability. 
     However, such breathable materials are expensive and very fragile. Moreover their breathability is limited to a given ratio of transmission of water vapor which may not always be sufficient for the wearer, and whereby condensation of exudate can still occur especially during strong physical exercise and sweating particularly in sporting activities. 
     Another way to improve the breathability of garments is to provide them with venting means such as openings, comprising fastening mechanisms to close or open the openings upon need. The problem in such venting means is to keep the opening open enough so as to enable entry of air even when the user is not moving. 
     Such types of venting means are already known, for example by JP 8284009, wherein a cut, or cut-out, is provided in the outer surface of a cloth, the cut being provided with a zip fastener for its opening/closing and a hook and loop fastener being also provided to maintain the opening open. However, in the venting means, manipulations are required to maintain the cut wide open. Furthermore, such manipulations can be particularly difficult to execute when the user wears gloves such as ski or snowboard gloves. Such a system is therefore not very practical. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to achieve an efficient and simple venting arrangement for the improvement of ventilation and breathability of apparel, such venting arrangement being adaptable to various types of clothing and also waterproof, windproof clothing, and also any sporting or work clothing. 
     Therefore, the invention is directed to a venting arrangement for apparel including at least one vent or ventilation opening and means to expand the ventilation opening when increased ventilation is needed, as well as to the item of apparel itself. 
     In a preferred embodiment, such opening expander is an elastic device which is compressed during closing of the vent, so that the elastic means tend to automatically return to its original shape when the opening is opened, thus widening automatically the opening. Consequently, the opening remains widely open whatever the movements of the wearer, and provides the required ventilation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The general nature of the invention has been described above; reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of an illustration, preferred embodiments thereof and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of garment incorporating a venting arrangement in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an opening expander according to a first embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a front view, partially cut-away, of a venting arrangement in a closed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 in an open position of the venting arrangement; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an opening expander according to a second embodiment; and 
     FIG. 6 is a front view of a venting arrangement in an open position; 
     FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the venting arrangement according to the invention as applied to a pair of pants. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows a garment, such as a sport jacket or wind breaker  1 , incorporating on its front side, by way of example, two venting arrangements  2  in accordance with the invention. 
     Each venting arrangement  2  is basically formed by a vent  10  or ventilation opening, which defines two opposite opening edges  11 , which can be closed or opened by a fastening device  20  and to which is associated an opening expander  30  (shown in dotted lines in FIG.  1 ). 
     In the present embodiment each vent  10  is formed by a substantially vertical or diagonal slit provided in the material of the garment. Any shape or disposition of such a slit can be conceived without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     The fastening device  20  is preferably formed by a quick-closing type fastening means such as a zipper or hook-and-loop fasteners. Any other type of quick closing fasteners can be utilized. 
     In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 1, the opening of the vent  10  is lined with a mesh fabric  12  fixed to the edges  11  of the opening. Such a mesh fabric  12  enables air to circulate through the opening of the vent  10 . The mesh fabric is preferably fixed by sewing or gluing to the edges of the vent, although any other affixation method or means can be utilized. 
     As can be seen in the figures, the opening of the vent  10  and the fastening device  20  extend in concurrent orientations, i.e., more or less contained within the general plane or surface of the garment to which the vent is to be incorporated. For example, the edges of the vent  10  and the edges of the fastening device  20  are generally the same or could be said to be generally parallel. Further, the opening of the vent is shown to face away from the garment, i.e., the jacket of FIG. 1; for example, at the front of the jacket, the opening of the vent faces forwardly. It is also noted that the fastening device  20 , such as the zipper in FIGS. 1,  3 , and  4 , has permanently closed ends. In FIG. 4, although the vent is shown in an open position, with the zipper pull at the bottom of the vent opening, the upper end of the zipper remains closed. 
     The opening expander  30  is shown more clearly in FIG.  2 . The opening expander  30  includes an elastic elongate pin having substantially a V shape with two legs  31  which are joined at their apex by a semi-circular connection part  32  and which are spaced apart at rest, i.e., when no stress is applied thereto, by a given distance “d” which increases from their connection  32  to their free end  33 . 
     The opening expander  30  is made of a resilient material and preferably a plastic material, although any other material having such properties can apply. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the positioning of the opening expander  30  within the vent  10  and its functioning. 
     A pocket  13  is provided on the inside of the garment I along the edges  11  of the vent  10 . The pocket  13  can receive the opening expander  30 , each leg  31  of which fits into the pocket along one edge  11  of the vent. The pocket  13  can be completely closed so that the opening expander is fixed in position or can be provided with an opening  14  at its upper end to enable the easy removability of the opening expander  30 . 
     As will be easily understood, when the vent  10  is closed by maneuvering the zipper  20 . The free ends  33  of the opening expander  30  are brought substantially together, reducing their mutual distance d, and thus compressing the expander  30 . 
     As soon as the zipper  20  is opened, the opening expander  30  tends to return elastically to its initial rest position with the legs  31  spaced apart thus automatically forcing the vent  10  to remain in a wide open configuration. 
     In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, the opening expander  130  is formed by a simple wire pin, having two legs  131 , which at rest have a slightly bowed construction and which are joined at their apex by a circular loop  132 . As for the plastic pin  30 , the legs  131  of the wire pin  130  are spaced apart by a given distance “d” at rest. 
     A primary difference between this embodiment and the one of FIGS. 1-4 is that the wire pin  130  is mounted on the zipper  120  itself. 
     The zipper  120  is formed conventionally of two tapes  121 , which are linked together by the teeth of racks  122  mounted on the adjacent edges of both tapes. 
     In the present case, a tunnel  123  is formed on the external edge of each tape  121 , in order to accommodate each leg of the wire pin  130 . As the legs have a small section, the tunnels also have a small transverse section. 
     The functioning is the same as explained above, i.e., the wire pin  130  is compressed during closing of the zipper  120  and pops the opening of the vent  110  wide open as soon as the zipper is opened. 
     Although described in relation with a sport jacket, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment but can be applied to any apparel or item of apparel, wherein the problem of venting has to be solved. It can particularly be applied to any sporting jacket or pants, or any outdoor jacket or pants, including specific working apparel or summer/winter apparel, as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     The venting arrangement will also preferably be located on the item of apparel in a location proximate to an exudate region of the body such as the chest, armpits, etc., for a jacket and such as the front, rear and/or along the legs for pants. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a pair of vents positioned slightly inclined from a vertical orientation on the front of the torso-covering part of a jacket, the orientation and shape of the vent(s) can be varied from that illustrated. 
     The invention is not limited to the particular embodiments shown and described, but can include other equivalent variations encompassed by the claims that follow.