Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to apparel, and particularly to an adjustable air inlet for clothing to duct cooling airflow to critical areas of the body beneath the clothing. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Most conscientious motorcyclists wear relatively heavy protective clothing when riding, and such protective clothing is generally a regulatory requirement in most racing and competition venues. Such protective clothing is generally manufactured of leather, since the durability of natural leather is unsurpassed for protecting the wearer from abrasion and other minor injury in the event of an accident. 
     A major problem with leather is that it is essentially non-porous in its natural state, and serves as a reasonably good thermal insulator as well when provided in thicknesses sufficient to provide good protection in the event of an accident. While such properties are appreciated in cooler temperatures, most motorcyclists are active during the warmer months of the year, either on the road or in racing events. Wearing a full set of “leathers,” including a closed face helmet, gloves, and boots, while riding in very warm or hot temperatures, can rapidly dehydrate the motorcyclist and lead to heat exhaustion or at least greatly reduce the strength and reaction required of a motorcyclist, particularly when undergoing the exertion required in a racing event. Much the same is true of other protective clothing worn in other motorsports competition, e.g., Nomex® fire protective uniforms, etc. 
     As a result, various means of providing cooling to the person wearing such protective clothing have been developed in the past. A number of systems involving externally disposed cooling units, e.g., chilled water from an ice chest or refrigeration unit circulating through tubes installed within the suit, have been developed in the past. While such systems may be practicable for many automotive motorsports involving larger race cars having sufficient internal volume to carry such apparatus, they are clearly impracticable for motorcyclists, either on the street or in racing events. Simpler ventilation has been provided in helmets, jackets, and other garments, but most of these systems are either non-adjustable or require the removal or opening of some part of the garment via zippers, snaps, or other closure or attachment means. Moreover, such snap and zipper closures fail to provide any form of positive airflow inlet to duct fresh air into the garment. 
     Thus, an adjustable air inlet for clothing solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The adjustable air inlet for clothing essentially comprises a forward-facing scoop, i.e., having an opening or mouth oriented in the direction of motion of the wearer, installed over a hole or air passage formed through an area of the clothing. The air inlet includes a lower or inner flange and an upper or outer flange capturing the edges of the hole or air passage of the clothing therebetween. The trailing end of the air scoop has a tab secured between the two flanges. The leading or inlet end of the scoop includes a pair of small forwardly projecting tangs that reside within cooperating channels or slots defined by the forward portions of the outer and inner flanges to secure the inlet end of the scoop to the flange assembly and clothing. This construction allows the forward end of the scoop to spread laterally as it is flattened for closure. A latch tab extends from the forward portion of the outer flange and projects rearward to engage the upper forward edge of the scoop when the scoop is pressed closed, thereby securing the scoop in a closed position. Flexure of the latch tab allows the resilient scoop to spring back to its normally open position when manipulated by the wearer of the garment. 
     The adjustable air inlet includes certain additional features as well. An internal duct may be provided from the trailing end of the inlet to some critical area within the clothing, e.g., from an inlet on the forearm to the armpit, from an inlet on the thigh to the groin, etc. A pre-chilled cooling insert may be removably installed within the scoop so that air is cooled as it passes through passages or channels in the insert for distribution to other areas of the body via the ducts within the clothing. A plurality of inlets may be installed in various areas of the clothing where best oriented into the oncoming airflow, e.g., on the forearm and shoulder of a jacket, on the outer thigh of a pair of pants, on the back of the hand of a glove, on the side of a boot, etc. Internal ducts within the clothing may extend to provide airflow from any of these locations to the area where cooling airflow is most needed. The size and shape of the inlets may be adjusted as desired for various areas of the clothing. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view of a plurality of adjustable air inlets for clothing according to the present invention, the adjustable air inlets being shown on the protective apparel of a motorcyclist on a motorcycle. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary adjustable air inlet for clothing according to the present invention, illustrating various details thereof. 
         FIG. 3  is a left side elevation view in section of an exemplary adjustable air inlet for clothing according to the present invention, illustrating the selective closure latch for the inlet scoop. 
         FIG. 4  is a left side elevation view in section of an exemplary adjustable air inlet for clothing according to the present invention, illustrating the retention system for an air cooling insert removably placed within the scoop. 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom perspective view of the adjustable air inlet for clothing according to the present invention, showing the device installed in an article of clothing, a portion of the clothing being broken away to illustrate an air channel formed within the article of clothing for ducting airflow to other areas within the clothing. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The adjustable air inlet for clothing may be installed in various areas of various articles of clothing, including footwear, to enable the wearer of the clothing to adjust the airflow therethrough as desired. While the adjustable air inlet for clothing may be installed in practically any type of clothing as desired, it is particularly well suited for installation in heavy protective clothing worn when the wearer is exposed to a significant wind or airflow velocity, as in the case of a motorcyclist or the like. 
       FIG. 1  is an illustration of a motorcyclist wearing protective clothing C with a number of adjustable air inlets installed therein. The various adjustable air inlets comprise a shoulder inlet  100 , a forearm inlet  200 , a glove inlet  300 , a thigh inlet  400 , and a foot or boot inlet  500 . Each of the inlets  100  through  500  is formed and constructed in much the same manner, but their relative sizes may be adjusted as desired to suit the location of the installation. Other adjustable air inlets, not shown, may be installed in other areas of the clothing in addition to or in lieu of one or more of those inlets  100  through  500  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 2  provides an exploded perspective view of an exemplary adjustable air inlet  10 . The structure of the air inlet  10  may be used to form any of the air inlets  100  through  500  shown in  FIG. 1  or others similar thereto, the scale being adjusted according to the area of installation on the clothing C. The air inlet  10  comprises an inner flange  12  and an outer flange  14  that secure respectively to the inner and outer surfaces of an article of clothing C. A broken away portion of the clothing is shown in  FIG. 2 . The clothing C (e.g., jacket, pants, glove, boot or shoe, etc.) is modified by forming an air passage A therethrough. The inner and outer flanges  12  and  14  have respective air passages  16  and  18  formed therethrough that are substantially aligned with the air passage A through the article of clothing C to which the flanges  12  and  14  are attached. 
     An air scoop  20  is installed across the air passage A of the clothing C. The scoop  20  is captured between the inner and outer flanges  12  and  14 . The scoop  20  has a tab  22  that is sewn or otherwise secured between the corresponding rearward ends  24  and  26  of the two flanges  12  and  14 , i.e., the ends that are oriented downwind during normal use of the clothing C with its adjustable air inlet(s). The remaining periphery of the scoop  20  is loosely captured between the two flanges  12  and  14  and the periphery of the air passage A through the article of clothing C in order to allow the scoop  20  to flex for opening and closure, as described further below. The scoop  20  is preferably formed of a flexible and resilient, but not flaccid, sheet of material, such as a moderately thin sheet of plastic or the like. The material should have a flexibility on the order of that found in a conventional plastic lid typically provided for the closure of coffee cans and the like, i.e., sufficiently rigid to hold its free shape, but sufficiently flexible as to allow flexure when moderate force is applied thereto to deform and retain the scoop  20  in other than an open position. 
     The inner flange  12  includes a relief  28  formed along each lateral edge thereof to allow for lateral spreading of the scoop  20  when it is closed. The width of the air inlet passage A through the clothing C is formed to allow clearance for the spreading of the scoop  20 . The forward or leading edge or end  30  of the scoop  20  is normally arched or bowed upwardly, generally as shown in  FIG. 2  and as shown in broken lines in  FIG. 3 . The normally upwardly arched leading edge  30  and the forward or leading edge or end portion  32  of the outer flange  14  define an air inlet  34  therebetween, as shown in  FIGS. 3 through 5 . As the forward end or edge  30  of the scoop  20  is pushed downward, i.e., toward the forward portion  32  of the outer flange  14 , the two lateral edges of the scoop  20  spread laterally into the reliefs  28  of the inner flange  12 . The air passage A through the clothing C may be made sufficiently wide as to provide further clearance for the lateral spreading of the scoop  20 , the outer flange  14  retaining the lateral edges of the scoop  20 , whether spread or raised. 
     The scoop  20  further includes laterally opposed forward extensions  36  that reside within forward extensions of the lateral reliefs  28  of the inner flange  12 . These forward extensions of the scoop  20  are free to move laterally in the two forward relief extensions formed in the forward portion  38  of the inner flange  12 . The forward portion  32  of the outer flange  14  is disposed over the forward extensions  36  of the scoop  20  to prevent the forward end or edge  30  of the scoop  20  from escaping its capture between the two flanges  12  and  14 . 
     A latch mechanism is provided to hold the leading edge  30  of the scoop  20  closed as desired. The latch is shown particularly in  FIG. 3 . The latch  40  may comprise a flexible tab attached atop the forward portion  32  of the outer flange  14 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , or may merely comprise a rearward extension formed homogeneously with the forward portion  32  of the flexible (e.g., plastic, etc.) outer flange  14 . In any case, the latch includes a rearward extension  42  that extends slightly over or into the forwardmost portion of the air passage  18  of the outer flange  14 . This extension  42  is configured to interfere with the leading edge  30  of the air scoop  20  when the scoop  20  is flexed past the latch extension  42 , generally as shown in  FIG. 3 . The scoop  20  is normally open and its leading edge  30  is raised, generally as shown in broken lines in  FIG. 3 . The leading edge  30  of the scoop  20  is captured and secured by the latch extension  42  by pushing downward on the leading edge of the scoop, causing it to push past the latch extension  42  to be secured in its closed position as shown in solid lines in  FIG. 3 . The forward portions  32  and  38  of the two flexible flanges  12  and  14 , along with the portion of the clothing C captured therebetween, may be flexed forward and downward to cause the latch extension  42  to flex upward, thereby releasing the forward or leading edge  30  of the scoop  20  to its open position, as shown in broken lines in  FIG. 3 . This latch configuration provides for very rapid and easy opening and closing of the air scoop  20  using only one or two fingers on one hand. This rapid and easy manipulation of the latch and scoop are useful when riding a motorcycle or engaged in many other activities where wearing a suit equipped with the present adjustable air inlets may be required. 
       FIG. 4  provides a side elevation view in section illustrating an additional component that may be used with the adjustable air inlet  10 . A cooling insert  44 , also shown in  FIG. 2 , may be removably installed within the open scoop  20 . The cooling insert  44  comprises a block of material having a shape that closely approximates the interior volume of the open scoop  20  in order to maximize the volume of the insert  44 . The cooling insert  44  is preferably formed of a material having a relatively high specific heat in order that it may be chilled to absorb heat from the air passing therethrough. Alternatively, the cooling insert  44  may be hollow, and may be filled with water (or other freezable material) and frozen prior to use to provide the desired cooling effect. The cooling insert includes several air channels or passages  46  therethrough to allow air to flow through the channels and contact a fair amount of surface area of the insert  44  to cool the air. The cooling insert  44  may be removably retained within the open scoop  20  by an upward lip  48  extending from the forward portion of the insert  44 . The lip  48  engages a cooperating channel  50  formed within the forward or leading edge  30  of the flexible scoop  20 , generally as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary means for channeling the airflow from the adjustable air inlet  10  to other portions of the clothing C.  FIG. 5  illustrates a closed sleeve, leg, etc., of an article of clothing C. A portion of the sleeve is broken away to show the interior of the sleeve. In the example of  FIG. 5 , a pair of elongate resilient members  52 , e.g., foam, soft plastic, etc., is installed along the inner surface of the clothing C from the rearward or trailing end of the air scoop  20  to extend to an area where cooling airflow is most desired, e.g., the underarm, groin, etc. The two elongate members  52  are laterally spaced from one another to define an air duct  54  therebetween. The air duct  54  extends to the location of the distal ends of the two members  52 . Returning to  FIG. 1 , a plurality of such air ducts  54  are shown in broken lines extending from their respective air inlets  100  through  500  to deliver cooling airflow to the underarm (from the inlets  100  and  200 ), palm of the hand (from the glove mounted inlet  300 ), crotch or groin (from the thigh mounted inlet  400 ), and sole of the foot (from the boot mounted inlet  500 ). It will be seen that other means of forming the air duct  54  may be provided in lieu of the two resilient members  52 , e.g., gathering the inner liner material of the clothing C to form elongate ridges, etc. 
     The adjustable air inlet  10  in its various embodiments may be provided as a separate kit of one or more inlets for the owner of the clothing C to install in various locations within the clothing C as desired, or may be installed at the time of manufacture of the clothing C for a consumer to purchase with the inlets already installed, as is done in the case of ventilated helmets and the like. It will be seen that the adjustable air inlets in their various embodiments may be provided with separate articles of clothing, e.g., jackets, pants, gloves, etc., or may be provided with one piece jumpsuit-like articles wherein the upper and lower portions of the clothing are assembled as a complete and inseparable assembly. In either case, the adjustable air inlets will provide a much appreciated means of delivering cooling airflow to various areas of the body for a person clothed in such protective clothing C. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Category: 1