Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to outerwear including at least one retractor provided in a retractor receiving area under a utility pocket, and to a method for manufacturing outerwear including at least one retractor provided in a retractor receiving area under a utility pocket. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fishing vests have been used by fishermen for many years. Generally, fishing vests include pockets for storing fishing accessories while fishing. Exemplary pieces of equipment often used by fishermen include, for example, flies, lures, fishing line, insect repellent, matches, nippers, calipers, jackets, gloves, and the like. A fishing vest is a convenient article of clothing which allows fishermen to carry such equipment with them and use it when needed. Several United States Patents that describe fishing vests include U.S. Pat. No. 1,879,341 to Lapham, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,707 to Parker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,359 to Hanson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,391 to Bracken, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,535 to Dobrzenski. Several catalogs showing commercially available fishing vests are available from Simms® Fishing Products, Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., and L. L. Bean® of Freeport, Me. A common feature of the fishing vests described in these publications is that they include several pockets for holding fishing accessones. 
     Fishing jackets are often used by fishermen when conditions merit an article of clothing providing desired warmth and/or rain protection. A fishing jacket generally includes a vest portion and sleeves extending from the vest portion. When the jacket is provided for warmth and/or rain protection, it is generally tailored to enhance warmth retention and/or rain protection. For example, the jacket can include a raised neck portion, a hood or head protection, and a tailored waste area. In general, a fishing jacket can be characterized as including pockets for storing fishing accessories while fishing. 
     Certain types of fishing equipment are used frequently by fishermen, and it is desirable to have such equipment easily accessible when its use is required. Exemplary types of frequently used equipment include a hemostat, a clipper, fly dressing, and the like. Rather than storing this type of equipment in pockets, it has been found to be advantageous to attach it to fishing vests using a retractor. In addition, certain types of equipment are easily dropped. When wading in a river, this may result in loss of the equipment. Accordingly, many fishermen use retractors to attach such equipment to a fishing vest to prevent loss. Many forms of retractors are commercially available. Commercially available retractors can be obtained from Simms® Fishing Products, Inc. These retractors are generally of the type having a spring provided within a rigid housing and with a clip on one end of the spring and which can be pulled out from inside the housing. The housing is attachable to a fishing vest. Fishing equipment can then be attached to the clip. Another style of commercially available retractor is sold under the name Zinger®. 
     A fishing vest having a retractor provided within a retractor pocket is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,060 to Falk et al. that issued on Nov. 3, 1998. The assignee of U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,060 is Simms Fishing Products, Inc., the assignee of the above-identified patent application. The entire disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,060 is incorporated herein by reference. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Outerwear is provided according to the invention. The outerwear includes an outer shell having a neckline, a left armhole, a right armhole, a bottom edge, and is constructed to fit over a human chest. The outerwear includes a plurality of utility pockets attached to the outer shell. The utility pockets are provided for storing accessories. At least one of the utility pockets includes a pocket back side and a pocket front side. The pocket backside and the outer shell form a retractor receiving area having an opening for accessing the retractor receiving area. A retractor is attached to the outerwear, and the retractor is provided within the retractor receiving area. 
     Outerwear in the form of a jacket having left and right sleeves and breathable cuffs at the wrist areas of the sleeves is provided according to the invention. The breathable cuffs include a combination of a stretch material that provides at least about 10% elongation, and a waterproof and breathable material that provides 1,000 mm or more of water resistance in the Suter test and 0 to 60 resistance to evaporative transpiration according to the Hohenstein Institute. The combination of stretch fabric and waterproof and breathable material can be provided as a laminate or as a coating, and the waterproof and breathable material can be provided as a membrane. The stretch material preferably wraps the wearer&#39;s wrist and provides pressure on the wearer&#39;s wrist. The breathable cuff can additionally include a band for tightening the fit of the stretch material against the wearer&#39;s wrist. 
     A method for manufacturing outerwear is provided according to the invention. The method includes a step of attaching a utility pocket to the outer shell of outerwear to provide a retractor receiving area between the outer shell and the utility pocket and having an opening for accessing the retractor receiving area, and attaching a retractor to the outerwear so that the retractor is provided within the retractor receiving area. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The following is a brief description of the drawings showing various features of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of outerwear according to the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the retractor shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the retractor receiving area shown in FIG. 1 wherein the retractor is provided in a relaxed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the retractor receiving area shown in FIG. 1 wherein the retractor is provided in an extended position; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cuff of the outerwear shown in FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cuff of the fishing jacket shown in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, outerwear according to the principles of the present invention is depicted at reference numeral  10 . The outerwear  10  is shown as a fishing jacket  12 . The outerwear  10  includes an outer shell  14  that generally forms the exterior  13  of the jacket, and utility pockets  16 . The utility pockets  16  can be referred to as fishing accessory pockets  17  when they are sized for holding fishing-related accessories such as fly boxes. The outerwear  10  generally fits around the chest of a wearer. That is, part of the outerwear  10  extends over the shoulders and around the neck, and part of the outerwear  10  extends around the back of a wearer and across the chest. The utility pockets  16  are attached to the outer shell  14 . The outerwear  10  can include interior fabrics and/or insulation such as that commonly found on commercially available outerwear. In addition, the outer shell  14  can provide water resistance so that it can be characterized as a rain jacket. In addition, the outerwear  10  can include a wind barrier layer so that it can be characterized as a wind shell, and the outerwear  10  can include insulation so that it can be characterized as an insulating jacket. 
     The outerwear  10  includes a vest portion  20 , a left sleeve  21 , a right sleeve  22 , a neck area  23 , and a hood  24 . The outer shell  14  includes a neckline  26 , a left armhole  28 , a right armhole  30 , and a bottom edge  32 . 
     The outerwear  10  includes utility pockets  16  and retractor receiving areas  36 . The retractor receiving areas  36  are provided between the utility pockets  16  and the outer shell  14 . Preferably, the retractor receiving areas  36  are relatively hidden from view when looking at the outerwear from the front as provided in FIG.  1 . In addition, the outerwear  10 , when provided as a jacket having left sleeve  21  and right sleeve  22 , can include a breathable cuff  38  on each sleeve. The breathable cuff  38  preferably provides resistance to the passage of liquid water into the sleeve when the breathable cuff  38  is tightened around the wearer&#39;s wrist, but allows passage of air and water vapor out of the sleeve. 
     Now referring to FIGS. 2-4, retractors  40  are shown provided within the retractor receiving areas  36 . The retractor  40  is provided in a relaxed position  42  in FIG. 3, and is provided in an extended position  44  in FIG.  4 . 
     The retractor receiving areas  36  are preferably formed between the outer shell  14  and the utility pocket back side  46 . Accordingly, the outer shell  14  and the utility pocket back side  46  can provide a retractor receiving area interior  48  that contains the retractor  40  and generally prevents the retractor  40  from falling away from or extending away from the outerwear  10  as the wearer bends over. That is, the retractor receiving areas  36  keep the retractor  40  and accessories attached to the retractors close to the wearer&#39;s body. 
     The retractor receiving areas  36  are preferably provided with an opening  50  for accessing the retractor receiving areas  36 . The openings are preferably provided so that the retractor can be accessed but that the retractor is provided within an enclosure that keeps the retractor from falling away from the outerwear. The opening can be provided so that it faces or opens downwardly when the outerwear  10  is worn by a person standing in an upright position. By facing or opening downwardly, it is meant that the pocket is provided in a configuration which would cause items placed loosely therein to fall out under the force of gravity when the outer wear is worn by a person standing in an upright position. It should be understood that the retractor receiving areas according to the invention are not required to have only one opening. The retractor receiving areas can have two or more openings. 
     The retractor  40  preferably includes a tab  51  for holding the retractor  40  in place. The tab  51  is preferably attached at the seam  52  provided between the outer shell  14  and the utility pocket backside  46 . Preferably, the seam  52  is provided by stitch line  54 . It should be understood that the retractor  40  could be attached to the outerwear  10  so that it is provided within the retractor receiving area  34  without the use of a tab  51 . The retractor receiving area  36  is preferably formed by seams  56  and  58  provided between the outer shell  14  and the utility pocket back side  46 . The seams  56  and  58  are preferably stitch lines  60  and  62 . 
     The retractor  40  is preferably provided as a spring that moves between a relaxed position  42  and an extended position  44 . The retractor  40  includes a first end  41  that attaches to the tab  51 , and a second end  43  that attaches to a clip  45 . The first end  41  can be attached directly to the outerwear  10  without the use of the tab  51 . The clip  45  is provided for attaching the retractor  40  to various accessories. Preferably, the retractor  40  is formed from a polyurethane material. An additional type of retractor that can be used according to the invention includes a spring loaded spool retractor. In general, this type of retractor includes a spool around which a string is wound, and the spool and string are provided within a housing and a spring biases the retractor in a retracted position. An end of the string outside of the housing can include a clip for attachment to various accessories, and the string can be pulled out of the housing and then retracted into the housing. A retractor of this type is available under the name Zinger®. 
     An advantage of the retractor receiving area  36  according to the invention is that it holds the retractor  40  and the accessory attached to the retractor  40  closer to the chest of the wearer. This is particularly important when the wearer bends over. Prior retractors tend to fall away from the wearer&#39;s chest when the wearer bends over. This dangling of retractor and accessory away from the wearer&#39;s chest creates problems and can cause frustration when it becomes entangled with, for example, a fishing line. The retractor receiving area of the present invention keeps the retractor and accessory held closely to the body in order to avoid this problem. In addition, the placement of the retractor receiving area underneath a utility pocket hides the appearance of the retractor receiving area. A retractor pocket is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,060 to Falk et al. 
     The utility pockets  34  are preferably formed by the utility pocket backside  46  and a utility pocket front side  64 . Sides  66  can be provided extending between the utility pocket back side  46  and the utility pocket front side  64 . Preferably, an elastic band  68  is provided for holding the utility pocket front side  64  close to the utility pocket backside  46  and for closing the opening  70  of the utility pocket  34 . The utility pocket can include a flap  72  for covering the opening  70 . The flap  72  can include a fastener  74  which engages a fastener  76  on the utility pocket  34 . Preferably, the fasteners  74  and  76  are hook and loop fasteners  78  and  80 . 
     Now referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the breathable cuff  38  is shown with the outer shell  14  rolled back to form a cuff  100  at the wrist region  102 . The breathable cuff  38  includes a stretch material  104  that wraps the wearer&#39;s wrist and preferably provides slight pressure on the wearer&#39;s wrist. A band  106  can be provided wrapping the stretch material  104  to provide adjustable tension against the wearer&#39;s wrist. Preferably, the band  106  includes a fastener  108  that is preferably a hook and loop fastener  110  to provide adjustable tension when threaded through the loop  112  and fastened to the backside  114  of the band  106 . Alternative fasteners that can be used are plastic buckle type fasteners that are commercially available from ITW Nexus, TIFCO, NIFCO, and National Molding. In general, these types of fasteners include a male and female side, and have webbing passing therethrough. 
     The stretch material  104  is preferably a material that resists the passage of liquid waters therethrough, but allows air and water vapor to pass therethrough. The stretch material is preferably a stretchable fabric  120  having a waterproof and breathable material  122  provided thereon. The stretchable fabric  120  and the waterproof and breathable material  122  can be laminated together or provided as a coating. The stretch fabric  120  is preferably a material that provides at least 10% stretch as measured as a percentage of elongation. The waterproof and breathable material preferably exhibits sufficient waterproofness that it is capable of withstanding 1,000 mm or more of water resistance in the Suter test. By breathability, it is meant that it is capable of providing from 0 to 60 RET (resistance to evaporative transpiration) as defined by Hohenstein Institute in the “extremely breathable range.” The waterproof and breathable material is preferably a laminate or coating. Exemplary materials that can provide the membrane or coating include expanded PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), polyurethane, foamed polyurethane, and polyester. An exemplary expanded PTFE material is available under the name Gore-tex® from Gore. A preferred stretch material  104  is available as consumer stretch Gore-tex® from Gore. An exemplary polyester material is available under the name Hytrel® from DuPont. Preferably, the waterproof and breathable material  122  is a membrane of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material. 
     When the outerwear  10  is provided as a rain jacket, it is desirable for the outerwear to include an outer material  130  that resists passage of liquid water therethrough but allows air to pass therethrough. Preferred materials can be referred to as stretched PTFE membranes and are available under the name Gore-tex® from Gore. 
     Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, certain variations and modifications may occur to those skilled in the art, and such variations and modifications should be considered within the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: 1