REPLACEABLE/CONFIGURABLE HEATING SYSTEM FOR APPAREL
The present inventive concept relates to electrically-powered, thermally-regulated apparel or heated garments and a controller and related methods of operation thereof. The thermally-regulated apparel item can include one or more heating elements that can be mounted at spaced locations about the body of the apparel item, such as being received in pockets, or by being attached to the body by releasable fasteners. The heating elements also can be connected together is series to form a combined or composite heating element assembly for the apparel item having a user selected or defined configuration and coverage along the body of the apparel item.
The present disclosure generally relates to thermally regulated and/or heated apparel and/or hand held heated devices, and in particular to A system and method for configuring and mounting one or more heating elements at desired locations about an item of apparel or other heated device with the heating elements being linked in a replaceable/reconfigurable arrangement or array adapted to fit desired user or wearer preferences.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHeated clothing, such as jackets, pants, boots, gloves, socks, and other apparel items have been developed in recent years to provide supplemental heating or warmth for provide protection against harsh weather conditions such as extreme cold. In particular, heated clothing having electrically powered heating pads has been developed, such as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0223844. Such heated garments include electrically powered heating elements formed or sewn onto a pad that can be integrated into a garment or inserted into pockets thereof, and which further are connected to an electrical power source such as a battery pack for heating the garment.
One problem that has been found to exist with many conventional heated garments has been that the heating elements in many cases have been integrated or sewn directly into the clothing. Thus, wearers or users of such heated garments generally cannot easily or readily configure their garments according to their particular preferences as to where they want additional warmth to be applied as well as how much additional heat or warmth is to be applied. In addition, manufacturing heated garments to allow for a substantial variety of different size, type and/or arrangements of heating elements to be used also generally requires additional steps or operations that consequently can increase the cost of such garments, as well as potentially limit production rates. Still further, the use of multiple heating elements or pads within the garment also generally requires additional wire connections to connect each heating element to the power source. Such wires, especially to the extent that thicker, heavier wires are needed to conduct higher levels of power to multiple heating elements in the garment, often can be noticeably seen or felt within the garment, and thus can detract from the look and feel of the garment, as well as the comfort to the wearer.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for thermally regulated or heated apparel or other articles, and a system and method of forming such apparel or other articles, which enables replacement and/or reconfiguration of heating elements, and their placement at varying locations, according to user preferences and without adversely affecting the look, fit and/or comfort of the apparel to the wearer, and which addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONBriefly described, the present invention generally is directed to thermally regulated and/or heated apparel items or garments and other heated devices, including a replaceable/configurable heating system, and a method of manufacturing such thermally regulated and/or heated apparel items or garments and other heated devices or articles. The heating system can comprise an array of heating elements or pads removably mounted at varying locations about the body of the heated garment or device in accordance with user or wearer preferences. In one embodiment, the system and method of the present invention enables users to selectively design and configure a heating system for a heated garment or other apparel item, wherein the user can select one or more heating elements or pads of varying sizes, configurations, and/or thermal applications or outputs, to form the heating system for their garment according to their specific user preferences.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the heating elements can be formed as pads, and can be mounted and/or connected or arranged in an array or series at varying selected locations about the body of the garment. Each heating element further generally will be replaceably mounted within/to the garment body to enable removal and reconfiguration of the heating elements as needed in response to changing user/wearer preferences and/or environmental conditions. For example, as a wearer travels to different environments or is exposed to changing temperatures, they can change the configuration of their garment heating system, such as by removing and replacing one or more existing heating elements of the garment with heating elements of other, varying sizes, configurations and/or thermal applications or outputs/intensities. The wearer also can remove and/or add additional heating elements or pads at other locations about the body of the garment to provide greater or lesser coverage throughout the body of the garment as needed or desired.
In one embodiment, the body of the garment can be formed with a series of pockets. The pockets can be formed at various locations about the garment, and in varying sizes as needed. In some embodiments, a series of pockets can be provided in adjacent or closely spaced alignments, to enable a desired spacing and/or positioning of the heating elements with respect to one another. The pockets also can be sized and/or configured to receive heating elements, such as heating pads, of a selected size and/or configuration; or alternatively, can be configured/provided with partitions, connectors, or other features that enable the sectioning of the pockets to form different size enclosures therein, and/or for securing the heating elements in desired orientations or alignments within the pockets.
In additional embodiments, the garment body can be provided with a liner that can be removable or which can be opened, such as via a zipper, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, or other, similar resealable fasteners, to enable the placement of the heating elements between a shell or outer body of the garment and the liner or inner shell thereof, thus further insulating the heating elements from direct contact with the wearer. Still further, in addition to or as an alternative to the use of pockets being, a series of releasable fasteners, such as zippers, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, clips, and/or other, similar releasable fasteners located at a series of spaced locations about the garment body, by which the heating elements, can be releasably mounted about the garment body. Such releasable connectors or fasteners also can be used to connect multiple heating elements together in series, so as to form a composite heating element array or configuration for the heating system of the garment.
Each of the heating elements generally will include a conductive material, such as conductive micro/nano-wire that can be applied and attached to a substrate, via embroidery or other sewing operations. Each heating element also can include a connector or plug, such as a flat wire connector, adapted to engage and interconnect with a power transmission line or conduit connected to a power source for the garment. The power transmission line can include a single wire or cable with a series of corresponding connectors for linking with the heating elements or can include a series of wires or cables, each associated with one of the heating elements to be connected thereto and with the wires being arranged/combined in a bundle.
The power transmission line(s) for the garments of the present invention will be arranged so as to extend along and be incorporated into the seams joining each body section of the garment. During formation of the garment, as the various body sections such as the chest portions are connected to the back or rear section, the power transmission lines can be applied and sewn/integrated into the seams connecting such body sections together. As a result, the power transmission lines can be substantially hidden within and aligned with or otherwise follow the seams of the garment. Additionally, different gauge conductive wires can be used for the power transmission lines, with thinner, lighter micro/nano-wire connections provided for and between the heating elements and the power transmission lines, without substantially adversely affecting the appearance or feel of the garment or the range of movement of the wearer. One or more connectors further can be provided for connecting the power transmission lines to a power source, such as one or more replaceable battery packs.
Various objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate and understand that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that the dimensions of various features and elements of the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention as described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONReferring now to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views,
In one example embodiment, the thermally regulated garment 10 is shown in
Each body section 16-22B generally will be sewn or otherwise attached to adjacent body sections by seams 23. Still further, those with skill in the art also will understand that the chest portions 17A/B of the jacket 15, or other similar garment, can generally be releasably connectable by a closure along the side edges 23A thereof, such as a zipper 24, as shown in
As
The conductive micro/nano-wires, yarns or threads 31 generally will be applied to the carrier, typically being embroidered, stitched or otherwise bonded thereto, in a desired pattern 32, which can include a series of crisscrossing or intersecting wire segments so as to form a resistive heating element as indicated in
As further illustrated in
As a further alternative, for garments having an inner liner 26A (
As further illustrated in
In one embodiment, the pockets 40 in which the heating elements/pads are received generally can be sized and/or configured to substantially match or fit a heating element or pad of a prescribed size and/or configuration (as shown in
As illustrated in
The power transmission lines 45 can include one or more conductive wires or filaments, and can be of a heavier or thicker gauge material sufficient to carry and distribute power to each of the heating elements 12 connected thereto, substantially equally. The wire connections 33, and/or the connecting leads thereof, for each of the heating elements can connect to associated ones of the power transmission lines 45 via clamping, pin or plug-in type connections 47 (
As further illustrated in
By extending the power transmission lines along or adjacent the seams formed between the interconnected body sections of the garment, the power transmission lines can be substantially effectively hidden therein. Thus, the power transmission lines can be located in areas of the garments where they will be far less noticeable both from an appearance or look, as well as being felt by the wearer, and which placement further can help minimize possible restrictions on movement of the wearer due to such power transmission lines being run through the garments. In addition, the heating elements can be formed in smaller or thinner sizes with multiple heating elements being connectable to the power transmission lines such as through the use of splitters or other, similar connections as illustrated in
The foregoing description generally illustrates and describes various embodiments of the present invention. It will, however, be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the above-discussed construction of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed herein, and that it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as being illustrative, and not to be taken in a limiting sense. Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure shall be construed to cover various modifications, combinations, additions, alterations, etc., above and to the above-described embodiments, which shall be considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, various features and characteristics of the present invention as discussed herein may be selectively interchanged and applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiments of the invention, and numerous variations, modifications, and additions further can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A thermally regulated garment comprising:
- a garment body having a series of body sections with seams defined between adjacent connected body sections;
- a series of heating elements removably mounted to the garment body at user selectable locations, the heating elements including electrically conductive materials adapted to provide a predetermined thermal output in response to an electrical current being applied thereto; and
- at least one power transmission line extending along at least one of the seams of the garment body and having a connector attached to a distal end thereof and which is configured to couple the at least one power transmission line to a power source;
- wherein the heating elements are releasably connectable to the at least one power transmission line for receiving electric current therefrom; and
- wherein a user can select a number of heating elements of a desired size, type and/or thermal output, and the locations at which the selected heating elements are to be positioned about the garment body, to configure the thermally regulated garment according to their user preferences.
2. The thermally regulated garment of claim 1, wherein the garment body comprises a series of pockets formed along one or more of the body sections.
3. The thermally regulated garment of claim 2, wherein the pockets are configured to receive a heating element of a corresponding size and/or configuration therein.
4. The thermally regulated garment of claim 3, wherein at least one of the pockets of the series of pockets comprises a releasably engageable closure element or partition located along a portion of the pocket for selectively sectioning the pocket for receiving a heating element of a smaller size than the pocket therein.
5. The thermally regulated garment of claim 1, wherein the garment body further comprises an inner layer and an outer layer, and at least one pocket configured for receiving a heating element therein located between the inner and outer layers.
6. The thermally regulated garment of claim 1, wherein the heating elements each comprise a heating pad including a carrier, a conductive wire material applied to a surface of the carrier in a pattern, and a releasable connector mounted to an end of the conductive wire and configured to releasably couple to the at least one power transmission line; wherein the conductive wire material and/or the pattern by which it is applied to the carrier are selected to provide a predetermined thermal output for the electric current applied thereto.
7. The thermally regulated garment of claim 6, wherein the garment body comprises a series of pockets configured to receive at least one heating pad therein.
8. The thermally regulated garment of claim 6, wherein the heating pads include a series of releasable fasteners mounted to the carrier and adapted to matingly engage corresponding fasteners mounted about the garment body.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 12, 2015
Publication Date: Jul 14, 2016
Inventors: Kayla Stevens (Greensboro, NC), Cupid Roberts (Stoneville, NC)
Application Number: 14/594,427