A BREATHABLE GARMENT OR PROTECTIVE DEVICE AND THE USE THEREOF

Abstract: The invention relates to an accessory, such as a flotation device, shin guard, or other accessory absorbing impact, which is formed from a cut cellular plastic sheet (3) and a support fabric (2). The cellular plastic sheet (3) and the support fabric (2) are attached to each other at the opposite edge area of the accessory or a part of it, or are laminated to each other in a stretched state. The accessory is of such a size in its free state that, when it is put onto its object of use, the accessory is always made to stretch, so that the cuts in the cellular plastic open to make the construction breathable.

Description: A breathable garment or protective device and the use thereof The present invention relates to an accessory, such as a flotation device, which may be, for example, a jacket, but which may also be a device with another shape. The accessory according to the invention is also suitable for use, for example, as a piece of sports equipment with impact absorbing properties, or even as only a warming accessory. The accessory according to the invention is suitable for use both beneath outer clothing and as outer clothing. For example, there are several different known variations of accessories used as flotation jackets. All of them, however, have the common feature that they are formed of a jacket component made of cloth, with flotation material place in pockets formed in the jacket component. This construction has the drawback of having a closed form, which makes the jacket sweaty, thus raising the threshold to using it, as the wearer finds it unpleasant. A construction of the above type is used in other applications too. One such example is the impact absorbing construction applied, for instance, in protective devices used in sports, for both people and animals, such as horses. In these cases too, the constructions are generally closed and sweaty. Finnish patent application 972210 discloses a cellular plastic material, which has cuts made in it, so that, when a sheet of the material is spread out, the cuts open to form openings in the material, in order to reduce sweatiness. An improved version of this is disclosed in Finnish patent application 19992145, in which a hole is also added to the cuts. The present invention is intended to exploit the cut material in accessories, so that the breathabiiity of the accessory will improve, making it mQre comfortable to use. It can then be assumed that the accessory will be used more generally than at present. In the following, the invention is examined with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show part of an accessory used as an example, a jacket in the 'resting position' and in the 'wearing position'. Thus: Figure 1 shows one piece of a jacket, for example, a piece on the side of the chest of the user, in the state in which the jacket is stored and a cross-section A - A of it; and Figure 2 in turn shows the said part of the jacket in the 'wearing position', i.e. in the position in which it is when on the wearer. The part 1 of the jacket shown in Figures 1 and 2, which in this case is the left- hand chest piece, is attached to the other parts of the jacket, which are not shown here, to form an entire jacket, which is particularly equipped with suitable fasteners, for example a zip fastener or similar, between the chest pieces, to form a construction that will remain firmly on the wearer. When the jacket is not on its wearer, its extent is clearly smaller than when it is being worn. This is shown in Figure 1 , in which the part of the jacket is formed from a cellular plastic sheet 3, inside a flexible, possibly mesh-like fabric, which is shown in the figures by cross-hatching 2, there being cuts in the sheet, which can be, for example, essentially cuts running in one direction, with the adjacent rows of cuts partly interlocking with each other. The cuts can also be combinations of holes and cuts, or even combinations of several cuts starting from essentially the same point. In Figure 1 , the cuts are only shown schematically by vertical lines. A basic idea of the invention is that the cellular plastic sheet 3 is stitched, or otherwise attached to the fabric 2 close to the edge. In Figure 1 and cross-section A - A, the stitching is shown by the reference numbers 4 and 5. When the wearer puts the jacket on, the parts of the jacket must stretch, so that the jacket will fit onto the wearer. The fact that the sheet 3 of cellular plastic material is attached at its edges to the fabric 2, means that the material 3 must stretch in a lateral direction, in which case the cuts will open essentially over the entire length of the part, making the material breathable. At the same time, when the accessory is formed of more than one piece, an adjustable joint can be arranged between the pieces. It is then possible to use, for example, a joint tied with laces, which can be tightened or loosened by means of the length of the lace. Thus, the basic adjustment of the accessory by laces permits the material sheet 3 to stretch and the opening of the cuts to be adjusted as desired. Because the surface material of the jacket is fabric, which stretches easily, and, being a light and possibly open-weave fabric, does not an obstacle to breathabiiity, the surface material permits the cellular plastic material to be spread freely, in order to open the cuts. This is also made possible because, unlike in known flotation and similar jackets, the cellular plastic in this case is not loosely placed in a pocket formed by the fabric, instead its edges are sewn onto the fabric, thus also creating stretching in the cellular plastic sheet. Thus, putting on the jacket automatically creates a breathable construction. Alternatively, the cellular plastic layer and the supporting fabric can be attached to each other by laminating the supporting layer onto the cellular plastic layer. Lamination is carried out by stretching both the supporting layer and the cellular plastic layer during the laminating stage, so that the cellular plastic is open. When the stretching forces are released after lamination, the construction closes, but can naturally be stretched again when placed in its wearing position. It is obvious that many different fabrics, which permit stretching and, on the other hand, do not themselves create an obstacle to breathabiiity, can be used as the surface material. Various kinds of eyelet fabrics, mesh-like fabrics, and similar are highly suitable for this purpose. There are also quite many flotation, or impact absorbing, or similar cellular plastic materials, and in this case there is no intention to limit these in any way, either in terms of the plastic or plastic compound used, or in relation to the density or other properties of the material. As has already been made apparent, the invention is extremely suitable as a flotation device, for example, as a jacket, so that it can be used as a jacket under, for example, a piece of outer clothing, such as a raincoat. The jacket-like accessory is also highly suitable for use for many purposes, in which impact absorption is important. One such use is impact absorption in sports situations, in accessories like an ice-hockey goalkeeper's body pad. An accessory according to the invention can also be used on animals. Indeed, one purpose is as collision and impact protection, for example, for horses, for which present day regulations require protectors to be used. It is obvious, that the accessory, which is disclosed here, can also be shaped like any other accessory, such as a shin guard or similar, so that the invention will alleviate the problem of sweating in that case too. In all cases, it is essential that, in its basic state, the accessory is 'tight', so that it is forced to spread when used, and that the construction is made in such a way that it allows the accessory to be spread out, while simultaneously spreading a non-sweaty material in place of a sweaty material. Many different variations are possible while nevertheless remaining within the scope of the inventive idea and the accompanying Claims. For example, the support fabric may be only on one side of the cellular plastic layer, in which case the amount of material required will be small compared to known solutions. This one-sided construction is possible, because the fabric and cellular plastic layers are attached to each other.

Claims: Claims 1. An accessory, such as a flotation jacket, shin guard, or other impact absorbing device, or a part of it, which is formed of a cut sheet (3) of cellular plastic material and a flexible support fabric (2), characterized in that the size of the accessory in a free state is such that putting the accessory onto its object of use always causes the accessory to stretch, so that the cuts in the cellular plastic open to make the construction breathable. 2. An accessory according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the cellular plastic sheet (3) and the support fabric (2) are attached to each other at least at the opposite edge areas of the accessory, or the part of it. 3. An accessory according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the cellular plastic sheet (3) and the support fabric (2) are laminated to each other in a stretched state. 4. An accessory according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the support fabric (2) is of a mesh-like type, or is otherwise of an easily stretched material that is easily permeated by air. 5. An accessory according to Claim 1 , characterized in that it is formed from a cellular plastic sheet (3) with a support fabric (3) on one side of it. 6. An accessory according to Claim 1 , characterized in that it is formed from a cellular plastic sheet (3) with a support fabric (3) on both sides of it. 7. An accessory according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that the cellular plastic sheet and the support fabric are sewn onto each other. 8. An accessory according to any of the above Claims, characterized in that the accessory is formed of at least two parts, which are attached to each other in an adjustable manner. 9. The use of an accessory according to any of the above Claims in flotation jackets, shin or other guards, and in other devices for absorbing collisions or impacts on people and animals.

Inventors: LAAKSONEN KARI, LAAKSONEN, KARI
Applicants: FAGERDALA TUOTANTO OY, LAAKSONEN KARI, LAAKSONEN, KARI
Application year: 2001
Main classification: A41D1
IPC codes: A41D13, A41D31, B63C11