Abstract:
An adjustable hood system comprising a single drawstring attached to a plurality of first pull tabs for adjusting a size and/or shape of the hood in a first direction and a plurality of second pull tab for adjusting the size and/or shape of the hood in a second direction generally opposite the first direction is provided. In one embodiment, the adjustable hood system comprises a tightening pull tab for tightening a cord about a periphery of a hood and a loosening pull tab for loosening the cord about a periphery of the hood. The cord, for example, may extend around a face opening, an inner volume or a neck opening formed by the hood.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/524,943, pending, filed Nov. 24, 2003, titled Adjustable Hood System, and incorporated herein as if set out in full. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention is related to an adjustable hood system, more particularly to an adjustable hood system for providing convenient adjustment of a hood.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Hoods for outerwear garments typically have a face opening and a drawstring provided in a passageway around the face opening. The ends of the drawstring extend out of the passageway and are used to adjust the size of the face opening. When the ends of the drawstring are pulled and tightened, the face opening of the hood is made smaller.  
         [0004]     Other conventional hoods include a drawstring disposed around the periphery of the hood. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,418 issued to Rindle, incorporated herein by reference as if set out in full, discloses an adjustable hood system providing simultaneous adjustment of the shape and volume of the hood in directions having longitudinal, lateral, and vertical components. The adjustable hood system of the Rindle patent discloses a front drawstring passageway and a back drawstring passageway with a single drawstring extending through each passageway. However, the Rindle patent as well as the references discussed by the Rindle patent use multiple drawstrings to adjust the hood.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention provides an adjustable hood system comprising a single drawstring attached to a plurality of first pull tabs for adjusting a size and/or shape of the hood in a first direction and a plurality of second pull tab for adjusting the size and/or shape of the hood in a second direction generally opposite the first direction. In one embodiment, the adjustable hood system comprises a tightening pull tab for tightening a cord about a periphery of a hood and a loosening pull tab for loosening the cord about a periphery of the hood. The cord, for example, may extend around a face opening, an inner volume or a neck opening formed by the hood. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of a first embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a cord stringing map of the hood adjustment system shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of a hood having the hood adjustment system shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  shows a side view of a second embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of a third embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of a fourth embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of a fifth embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of a cord stringing map a sixth embodiment of a hood adjustment system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the hood system  10  comprises a hood  20  formed out of a flexible material  22 . Hood  20  has a left side I and a right side r. Left side I and right side r are typically symmetrical about a center plane cpl. The flexible material  22  of the hood defines an inner volume  24  for receiving a wearer&#39;s head and a face opening  26  for exposing a wearer&#39;s face. The hood  20  may be attached, fixedly or removably to an outerwear garment such as a jacket, vest, sweatshirt or the like. The hood, for example, may be attached to an upstanding collar of the outerwear garment. The collar of the outerwear garment may further include a protective flap or pocket into which the hood may be stowed when it is not in use.  
         [0015]     An embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1  in which the hood system comprises a dual adjustment system. The dual adjustment system, for example, may allow for individually or simultaneously adjusting the shape and/or size of the hood in two or more directions. In the particular embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , for example, the hood system  10  comprises a first adjustment cord portion  30  extending around a portion of the hood  20  defining the inner volume  24  of the hood  20  and a second adjustment cord portion  32  extending around a portion of the hood  20  defining the face opening  26 . In this embodiment, the first adjustment cord portion  30  allows a wearer to adjust the volume of the hood  20  around the head of the wearer, and the second adjustment cord portion  32  allows the wearer to adjust the size of the face opening  26  of the hood  20 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  are strung through a first tab  36 , an optional cord lock  38  and a second tab  40  on both sides of the hood  20 .  
         [0016]     Cord lock  38  is optional because eyelets  42 , described below, may be sized to provide sufficient friction to hold the cords  30  and  32  in the adjusted position. The friction, while sufficient to hold the cords in place during normal use, is easily overcome by a user pulling on first tabs  36  and or second tabs  40 , explained further below.  
         [0017]     In one particular embodiment, such as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  for example, the first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32  are arranged and strung through openings  42 , such as eyelets as shown, at either side of hood  20 . The openings  42 , where used, provide the hood adjustment system  10  a fixed location for locating the tabs and cord lock relative to the hood  20  and bringing together the first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32 . The openings  42  also provide leverage, together with the remainder of the hood adjustment system  10  for the first and second tabs to pull the first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32  through the cord lock  38 , when used. Alternatively to openings  42  being eyelets as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , other openings or connectors in the hood  20 , such as channels, loops, slits and the like, may be used. The cord functions as a single loop of cord, but may be considered in three separate parts, a first part about the face opening, a second part about the inner volume and a control part about the tabs and the frictional lock.  
         [0018]     In operation, the first tabs  36  are pulled in direction  44  pulling the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  through openings  32 , such as the eyelets, and the optional cord lock  38  in a first direction  46  (e.g., towards the first tab  36 ). By pulling the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  towards the first tab, the volume of the hood  20  and the size of the face opening  26  defined by the hood  20  are decreased simultaneously.  
         [0019]     The second tab  40  is pulled in direction  48  pulling the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  through the cord lock  38  in a second direction  50  generally opposite the first direction  46  (e.g., towards the second tab  40 ).  
         [0020]     The cord lock  38  or openings  42  provide resistance (e.g., friction) to the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  sliding through the cord lock  38  or the openings  42 . The resistance of the cord lock  38  and/or openings  42  is preferably sufficient to hold the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  in place while the hood is in use on a wearer, but can be overcome by pulling the tabs  36  and  40  to slide the first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32  through the cord lock  38 . In one embodiment, such as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  for example, the cord lock  38  may comprise a barrel cord lock, such as a soft rubber, plastic or other material. Alternatively, any other cord lock known in the art may be used within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0021]     The first and/or second adjustment cord portions may comprise a stretchable material such as an elastic cord or may comprise a non-stretchable material. The first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32  may be formed by a single cord looped around both sections of the hood to be adjusted, may be formed by two or more cords connected together to form the first and second adjustment cord portions or may comprise two or more independent cords. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , for example, the first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32  are formed by a single cord  34 , which doubles back on itself at the first tab  36  and continues to form both the first adjustment portion  30  and the second adjustment portion  32 . The ends of the cord may be connected together at any point in the hood. In one embodiment, such as shown in  FIG. 2  for example, the ends of the cord are connected at the rear  52   r  of the hood so that that the connection point is not located near the eyelets, cord locks or tabs so that the connection point does not impede the operation of the adjustable hood system such as by getting caught in one of the eyelets or cord locks. To facilitate operation of the hood system  10 , it has been discovered that the connection point of the cords, such as, for example, rear  52   r  should be fixed to the hood. If not fixed, the connection point may migrate about the hood system and eventually interfere with openings  42 , cord lock  38 , or the like. Thus, cords  30  and  32  should be fixed to the hood  20 , such as, for example, at connection point rear  52   r . The connection point should be located at a symmetrical location in the hood  20  to facilitate even operation. An alternative fixation point for cords  30  and  32  is at front  52   f.    
         [0022]      FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of a hood  20  including an adjustment system of the present in which the hood includes protective flap  60  for covering components of the adjustment system. The protective flap prevents the components from being accidentally engaged as well as protects the components from the elements. Although  FIG. 3  shows the tabs  36  and  40  being only partially covered by the protective flap  60 , the tabs may be fully covered or not covered at all.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  also shows channels  62  and  64  through which the first adjustment cord portion  30  and the second adjustment cord portion  32  may be strung to allow for the first and second adjustment cord portions  30  and  32  to adjust the size and/or shape of the hood  20  in a desired location. Although channels  62  and  64  are shown in  FIG. 3 , other connectors known in the art such as loops, slits, eyelets and the like may be used to string the cord portions through the hood  20 . Further, where desired, the channel around the face opening  26  of the hood may comprise an elastic material such as lycra to allow the face opening  26  to stretch. When the hood is raised over the head of the wearer or even over a helmet being worn by the wearer, for example, the face opening  26  may stretch to fit over the head or helmet without having to loosen the face opening. While the cord portions  30  and  32  may be slidably coupled in channels  62  and  64 , at least one cord portion should be fixed, such as cord portion  30  fixed at the front  52   f.    
         [0024]     The hood  20  may also comprise a brim  66  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . The brim  66  may comprise a flexible material such as the material used to form the hood  22 . The brim  66  may also be pre-shaped in a curve and reinforced so that the brim  66  bends in a smooth arc as the second adjustment cord portion  64  is tightened.  
         [0025]      FIG. 4  shows an alternative embodiment of the hood adjustment system of  FIGS. 1-3 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , the first adjustment cord portion comprises a band  70  (e.g., an elastic or non-elastic band) that allows for adjusting the volume of the hood  20  more uniformly than a single cord. The cord of the first adjustment cord portion is attached to the band  70  within channel  62  such as through an eyelet  72 . The cord may, for example, pass through the eyelet  72  and be tied off using a retaining member  74 , such as, for example, a floating disk or other retaining member to ensure that the cord does not pull back through the eyelet  72 .  
         [0026]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the hood adjustment system comprises a single adjustment system for adjusting the size and/or shape of the hood. In  FIG. 5 , for example, the hood adjustment system  110  comprises a hood  120  having an adjustment cord  132  for adjusting the size and/or shape of the face opening  126 . The adjustment cord  132  as shown in  FIG. 5  is disposed around a portion of the face opening. As described with reference to  FIG. 3 , the cord  132  may reside within a channel or may be connected to the hood  120  in any other manner known in the art (e.g., loops, slits, eyelets and the like). The cord  132  terminates at tab  136  as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  shows an alternative embodiment of a single adjustment system  210  of the present invention. In  FIG. 6 , adjustment cord  232  extends around a portion of the volume of the hood  220  and terminates, at least on one side, at tab  236 . The adjustment cord  232  may be attached at its other end to any location around the periphery of the hood  220  or may terminate at another tab on the opposite side of the hood from the tab  236 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 7  shows yet another embodiment of a hood adjustment system  310  of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7 , for example, the adjustment cord  332  extends from the second tab  340  around a portion of the face opening  326  of the hood  320 . The remote end  333  of the cord  332  is attached to the hood  320  at one side of brim  366 . In this manner, as the adjustment cord  332  is tightened to decrease the size of the face opening, the sides of the face opening are compressed while the brim  366  is not deformed and maintains its shape.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 1 and 3 - 7  show side views of various embodiments within the scope of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the hood adjustment system of the present invention may comprise a symmetric arrangement of tabs and cord locks so that the size and/or shape of the hood may be adjusted from one and/or both sides of the hood. Alternatively, one or more of the adjustment cord portions may be attached to the hood at any location around the periphery of the hood remote from the second tab  40 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , for example, the adjustment system may comprise a first adjustment cord portion  430  and a second adjustment cord portion  432  that are attached to the hood at remote ends  431  and  433 , respectively.  
         [0030]     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.