MODULAR WADING SYSTEM

An embodiment is a wader system having an upper portion including a hood, a torso portion, and two sleeves. The wader system of an embodiment may further include a chest wader portion having a pouch into which the upper portion may be removably packed and/or stowed for convenience.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/117,833 filed Nov. 25, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wading systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to wading pants.

BACKGROUND

Fishing, duck or other waterfowl hunting, clamming, bird watching, camping, water gardening, and other outdoor activities may be best performed in or around shallow rivers and streams, coastal tidal pools, marshlands, submerged fields, and the like. Further, commercial fisherman, crabbers, lobstermen, ferry operators, shipboard laborers, agriculture laborers, and industrial chemical laborers may be exposed to myriad weather patterns including alternating periods of inclemency and calm for which they may wish to alter the degree to which they may protect themselves from the elements. Each outdoor activity participant may benefit from an all-weather clothing system. Each may further benefit from an all-weather clothing system that may be altered and/or modified to suit particular outdoor activities.

A number of devices have provided clothing systems. The following represents a list of known related art:

Date of Reference: Issued to: Issue/Publication: U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,568 Hofmann May 23, 2006 U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,383 Rausch et al. Dec. 30, 2003 U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,815 Majerfeld Aug. 29, 2000 U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,473 Andries Nov. 5, 1996 U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,838 Senser Jan. 7, 1992 U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,243 Tatsuno Aug. 20, 1991 U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,663 Goldberg et al Aug. 19, 1980 U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,407 Morrison June, 1968 U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,416 Mitchell et al. April, 1964 US Des. Pat D566,927 Graham Apr. 22, 2008 JP 2007-327,145 Sawada et al. Dec. 12, 2007 DE 10,154,129 Stein Feb. 27, 2003

The teachings of each of the above-listed citations (which does not itself incorporate essential material by reference) are herein incorporated by reference. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,568 to Hofmann issued May 23, 2006 for a “Two-part protective suit with connecting section” discloses a two-part protective suit, especially for protective purposes and/or for military purposes, such as a NBC protective suit or the like, with a jacket and trousers, the jacket having a peripheral edge which overlaps the trousers and is able to be joined to the trousers. The jacket also has a peripheral connecting section which is joined to the jacket, above the jacket edge, i.e., spaced away from the jacket edge, the connecting section and the trousers having a connecting element so that the connecting section can be joined to the trousers for sealed connection of the jacket to trousers.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,383 to Rausch, et al. issued Dec. 30, 2003 for “Hunting waders and jacket combination” discloses a waders and jacket combination in which the waders and jacket are attached to each other. Because the waders and the jacket are attached to each other, the elements cannot get in between the waders and the jacket, i.e. above the waders and below the jacket. Further, the combination will prevent the separation of the waders and the jacket and the inconvenience which may occur (i.e. by misplacing one) from their separation. The instant invention insures that the waders and the jacket are always together. The attachment will preferably be made by heat sealing the waders and the jacket together. However, it is noted that any manner which accomplishes the attachment of the waders and the jacket is contemplated by this invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,815 to Majerfeld issued Aug. 29, 2000 for a “Jacket with drop down pants” discloses a convertible garment comprises a jacket and optional pants. The pants which are attached at an upper end thereof to a lower end of the jacket include a pair of flexible leg panels each having adapted to be reversibly displaced between open and closed positions, wherein, in the closed position, each leg panel forms a hollow pant leg capable of surrounding a user's leg, whereas, when the leg panels are in the open position, the leg panels can be bundled up adjacent the lower end of the jacket in a storage position of the pants such that the garment only acts as a jacket. A pocket is formed on the inside of the lower end of the jacket to accommodate the pants in their storage position.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,473 to Andries issued Nov. 5, 1996 for a “Caddy having a hanger means and integral to a jacket for selectively supporting companion pants for storage and access” discloses a caddy integral to a jacket or other upper garment is provided for conveniently storing and accessing companion pants or other lower garment. A panel formed of mesh net or other porous fabric or other material is joined to an inner surface of the upper garment to form a compartment for receiving the lower garment, the compartment being sized to evenly distribute the bulk of the lower garment over a substantial portion of the inner surface of the upper garment. A hanger device is provided in the compartment for supporting the lower garment within the compartment while the upper garment is being worn. The compartment is constructed to allow access to the compartment from the inside of the upper garment to permit a wearer to quickly and easily remove the lower garment from the compartment, without removal of the upper garment.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,838 to Senser issued Jan. 7, 1992 for a “Convertible outerwear garment” discloses a convertible, outerwear garment comprising a sleeveless vest with a jacket having sleeves attached to the interior of the vest at a pouch or pocket formed along a lower edge of the jacket. Panels at the sides of the jacket may be joined to the side of the pouch to complete the jacket structure. The jacket may be inserted into a pouch pocket when the vest is worn without the jacket. The jacket may be deployed from the pouch and the jacket sleeves inserted through the side openings in the vest, the jacket mode to provide added protection to the wearer. In this mode, the lower side panels of the jacket are secured at the side of the pouch. Another pocket may be provided in the rear of the vest to receive a rain cape or poncho which may be deployed by the user for additional wet weather protection.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,243 to Tatsuno issued Aug. 20, 1991 for a “Garment with a covering” disclosing a garment comprising a main garment body having a sack or accommodation means on the back side thereof, and a covering normally packaged in the sack and adapted to be taken out of the sack and worn over the sack. The sack accommodating the covering is provided on the back of the main garment body. The opening and closing of the sack can be easily done by the user, so that the user may take the covering out of the sack to put it on or take off the covering and put it back in the sack as required.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,663 to Goldberg, et al. issued Aug. 19, 1980 for a “Vest” disclosing an outerwear garment is provided which comprises a sleeveless vest having a kidney extension flap at its lower back portion. The kidney extension flap has an interior portion which defines a pouch. A jacket having sleeves is connected to the lower portion of the vest adjacent the pouch. The jacket may be inserted into the pouch when the vest is worn in a sleeveless mode without the jacket, or the jacket may be withdrawn from the pouch and the jacket's sleeves may be inserted through side openings defined by the vest.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,407 for “RAIN GARMENTS” to Morrison, issued June 1968 discloses a lightweight, waterproof garment including connected jacket, trousers and head covering parts and including compartments on the jacket part into which the head covering and trousers can be placed for storage.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,416 for “SPORTSMEN'S GARMENT” to Mitchell et al. issued April 1964 discloses new and useful improvements in garments, and in particular the invention concerns itself with an outer garment which is especially adapted 10 to be worn by sportsmen, hunters, hikers, campers and others participating in outdoor sports activities, or the like. The principal object of the invention is to provide a sportsmen's or hunters' garment which is not only structurally arranged to protect the wearer against the effects of various kinds of weather, but which is also adapted to accommodate various types of sporting or hunting equipment together with whatever game may be caught. Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, efficient and dependable use, in its versatility, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

SUMMARY AND ADVANTAGES

An embodiment of the invention is a wader system comprising a chest waders portion including a user-accessible pouch formed in lumbar region of the chest waders and an upper portion including sleeves and a torso portion. The upper portion may couple to the chest waders portion at least in the lumbar region adjacent the user-accessible pouch. In an embodiment, the upper portion may be removably stowed in the user-accessible pouch.

The wading system of an embodiment of the present invention presents numerous advantages, including: (1) conveniently combines waders with a jacket or other upper portion that is often concurrently worn; (2) provides a convenient storage scheme for the jacket or other upper portion within a pouch formed on or in the waders when the jacket or other upper portion is not worn; (3) provides a storage scheme for the jacket or other upper portion within a pouch formed on or in the waders that does not substantially compromise the waterproof characteristics of the waders; and (4) provides a storage scheme for the jacket or other upper portion within a pouch formed on or in the waders that is accessible by the user substantially without assistance.

Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Further benefits and advantages of the embodiments of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the wader system of an embodiment including an upper portion unpacked from an chest wader portion.

FIG. 2 shows the wader system of FIG. 1 with the upper portion packed in the chest wader portion.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of the wader system of an embodiment worn by a user including the upper portion unpacked from the chest wader portion.

FIG. 4 shows a rear view of the wader system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows the wader system of an embodiment including the upper portion partially unpacked from the chest wader portion.

FIG. 6 shows the wader system of an embodiment including the upper portion partially packed in the chest wader portion.

FIG. 7 shows the wader system of an embodiment including the upper portion completely packed in the chest wader portion.

 REFERENCE NUMBERS USED IN DRAWINGS

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the wader system of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures:

    • 10 wader system
    • 20 upper portion
    • 22 hood
    • 24 torso portion
    • 26 sleeve
    • 30 chest wader portion
    • 32 suspenders
    • 34 belt
    • 36 boot
    • 40 pouch portion
    • 42 pouch flap
    • 44 pouch closure

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before beginning a detailed description of the subject invention, mention of the following is in order. When appropriate, like reference materials and characters are used to designate identical, corresponding, or similar components in differing figure drawings. The figure drawings associated with this disclosure typically are not drawn with dimensional accuracy to scale, i.e., such drawings have been drafted with a focus on clarity of viewing and understanding rather than dimensional accuracy.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

An embodiment is an integrated modular wading system comprising chest-high waders including an interconnected pull-out wader jacket storable in a closeable pouch formed in said chest-high waders, the interconnected pull-out wader jacket to be donned while the chest-high waders are in use by slipping one or both hands into said closable pouch, withdrawing said interconnected pull-out wader jacket from said closable pouch, and slipping arms and torso into said interconnected pull-out wader jacket.

Another embodiment is a modular all-weather clothing system comprising an upper portion to cover a head and an upper torso, the upper portion removably attached to a coverall portion and storable in a pouch integral to the coverall portion.

A further embodiment is a wader system including a chest waders portion including a user-accessible pouch formed in lumbar region of the chest waders, said user-accessible pouch comprising an internal pouch accessible through an opening in the chest wader portion, and an upper portion including sleeves and a torso portion, the upper portion to couple to the chest waders portion at least in the lumbar region adjacent the user-accessible pouch, the upper portion to removably stow into the user-accessible pouch.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, a wader system 10 is provided. More specifically, wader system 10 comprises an upper portion 20 including a hood 22, a torso portion 24, and two sleeves 26. Wader system 10 further includes chest wader portion 30 into which the upper portion 20 may be removably packed and/or stowed for convenience.

For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a user wearing the wader system 10 of an embodiment including the upper portion 20 unpacked from the pouch portion 40 formed in and/or defined by the chest wader portion 30. The chest wader portion 30 may further include suspenders 32 and/or belt 34 to substantially secure the chest wader portion 30 to the midsection and/or torso of the user. Boots 36 may attach to, be worn over, and/or be formed in the chest wader portion 30 adjacent to the user's feet. The boots 36 and/or the region of the chest wader portion 30 adjacent to the boots 36 may include reinforced seams and/or surfaces to substantially prevent wear and water and/or debris intrusion.

When the upper portion 20 is unpacked and/or deployed from the chest wader portion 30, the user may don the upper portion 20 including the hood 22, torso portion 24, and sleeves 26 as they would normally don a jacket. The base of the torso portion 24 of an embodiment adjacent to the user's lower back (i.e., the lumbar region of portion 24) may couple to the chest wader portion 30. In an embodiment, the torso portion 24 may attach to the chest wader portion 30 with a stitched seam, an adhesive seam, a radio frequency welded seam, an ultrasonically welded seam, a thermally welded seam, or a combination thereof. The substantially permanent attachment of the torso portion 24 to the chest wader portion 30 may increase the water and/or weather resistance of the wader system 10. The inferior edge of the torso portion 24 of an embodiment may further detachably engage to the chest wader portion 30 with a zipper, hook and loop fastener system, snaps, buttons, or a combination thereof for those areas not substantially permanently attached to the chest wader portion. For example, the torso portion 24 wrapping laterally around the user to the front of the user may detachably engage the chest wader portion 30 at one or more points or locations along the intersection of the torso portion 24 and chest wader portion 30. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate an anterior and posterior view of the wader system 10 of an embodiment including a deployed upper portion 20 including hood 22, torso portion 24, and sleeves 26.

FIG. 2 illustrates the wader system 10 with the upper portion 20 stowed in the chest wader portion 30. More specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates the upper portion 20 packed, stuffed, or otherwise inserted into pouch portion 40. Pouch portion 40 may be formed substantially on the posterior side of the chest wader portion 30 above the waist of the chest wader portion 30 (e.g., above the belt 34).

In particular, as illustrated by FIGS. 5 and 6, the pouch portion 40 may be formed in, formed on, and/or defined by the chest wader portion 30 in the lumbar region of the chest wader portion 30. For example, the pouch portion 40 may be a substantially independent and/or stand-alone pouch attached to the chest wader portion 30. More specifically, the pouch portion 40 may be a two or multiple ply or layer pouch including an interior side that may contact the chest wader portion 30 and a separate exterior side that faces rearward away from the user between which the upper portion 20 may be stowed. Alternatively, the pouch portion 40 may substantially be a single ply or layer pouch for which the chest wader portion 30 may serve as the interior side.

For either embodiment, the pouch portion 40 may attach to the chest wader portion 30 with a stitched seam, an adhesive seam, a radio frequency welded seam, an ultrasonically welded seam, a thermally welded seam, or a combination thereof. The attachment of the pouch portion 40 to the chest wader portion 30 may not substantially alter the water and/or weather proofing or resistance of the chest wader portion 30 material underlying the pouch portion 40.

Alternatively, the pouch portion 40 may be formed with a substantially internal pouch that may be accessed through a slit or other opening formed in the chest wader portion 30. For any embodiment, the opening of the pouch portion 40 through which the upper portion 20 may be deployed and/or stowed may include a pouch closure 44 to substantially prevent the inadvertent deployment of the upper portion 20. The pouch closure 44 of an embodiment may include a zipper, hook and loop fastener system, one or more Velcro fasteners, one or more snaps, one or more buttons, or a combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the opening of the pouch portion 40 may be covered at least in part by a pouch flap 42. The pouch flap 42 may aid in the rain and/or weather resistance of the pouch portion 40 with or without a pouch closure 44.

The chest wader portion 30 and/or the upper portion 20 may be formed at least in part from any variety of substantially waterproof material. In an embodiment, the chest wader portion 30 and/or the upper portion 20 may or may not be formed at least in part from the same substantially waterproof material. For example, the chest wader portion 30 and/or the upper portion 20 may be formed at least in part of vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomer, neoprene, polyester, nylon, or a breathable waterproof fabric. In an embodiment, the breathable waterproof fabric may include GORE-TEX® (registered to W. L. Gore & Associates of Newark, Del.). The substantially waterproof material may be laminated to one or more additional fabric layers. For example, the chest wader portion 30 and/or the upper portion 20 may be formed at least in part from a polyester layer (e.g., 100% polyester with 75D by 75D weave), a micro-porous polyurethane membrane/coating layer, and a nylon layer (e.g., a nylon tricot with 30D weave). Certain areas of the chest wader portion 30 and/or the upper portion 20 (e.g., the seat and knee regions of the chest wader portion 30 and the elbow regions of the upper portion 20) may include abrasion resistant surfaces and/or reinforced or otherwise strengthened seams.

In preferred embodiment, the user may withdraw the upper portion 20 from the pouch portion 40 and stow the upper portion 20 in the pouch portion 40 substantially without removing and/or undressing from the chest wader portion 30. For example, the pouch portion 40 may be formed substantially in or on the lumbar region of the chest wader portion 30. More specifically, the suspenders 32 of an embodiment may not occlude or otherwise obstruct the opening of the pouch portion 40 so that the user may not have to remove the suspenders to access the pouch portion 40.

Starting with the upper portion 20 stowed in the pouch portion 40, a user already wearing the chest wader portion 30 may reach around their lumbar region with one or both hands to operate the pouch closure 44 (if present in an embodiment), grasp the upper portion 20, and withdraw the upper portion 20 from the pouch portion 40. The user may do so substantially without removing and/or undressing from the chest wader portion 30. The user may further withdraw and don the upper portion 20 substantially without dropping the upper portion 20 to allow it to unfold. Accordingly, the user may withdraw and put on the upper portion 20 for example while shallow wading substantially without submerging the upper portion 20. Further, if completely unfolded, the upper portion 20, given its at least partial attachment to the chest wader portion 30 in the lumbar region, may not unfold to the ground so that a non-wading user may nevertheless easily unpack the upper portion 20 substantially without exposing it to the ground soil and/or abrasive ground elements. To stow the upper portion 20, the user may remove and/or undress from the upper portion 20 and stuff or otherwise insert the upper portion 20 into the pouch portion 40. The user may or may not deliberately fold the upper portion before stuffing or otherwise inserting the upper portion 20 in the pouch portion 40.

Though not illustrated, the upper portion 20 may include elements to aid the user to fold the upper portion 20 for substantially compact stowage in the pouch portion 40. For example, the hood 22, torso portion 24, and/or sleeves 26 may include pre-formed creases and/or fabric hinges to aid the user to fold the upper portion 20 for substantially compact storage. More specifically, the pre-formed creases and/or fabric hinges may partially or moderately direct the upper portion 20 to fold into a predetermined shape and/or configuration that may be efficiently accommodated by and/or fit into the pouch portion 40.

Further, the hood 22, torso portion 24, and/or the sleeves 26 may include one or more hook and loop fastener systems, Velcro fasteners, snaps, buttons, or a combination thereof to substantially maintain the compactness of upper portion 20 once folded. More specifically, the hood 22, the torso portion 24, and/or sleeves 26 may include one or more hook and loop fastener systems and/or Velcro fasteners to substantially maintain the compactness of upper portion 20 once folded (e.g., by releasably securing the upper portion 20 in its folded shape and/or configuration) and to release when the user purposefully deploys the upper portion 20.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications and changes may be made to the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. It will, of course, be understood that modifications of the invention, in its various aspects, will be apparent to those skilled in the art, some being apparent only after study, others being matters of routine mechanical, chemical and electronic design. No single feature, function or property of the preferred embodiment is essential. Other embodiments are possible, their specific designs depending upon the particular application. As such, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the particular embodiments herein described but should be defined only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. An integrated modular wading system comprising chest-high waders including an interconnected pull-out wader jacket storable in a closeable pouch formed in said chest-high waders, the interconnected pull-out wader jacket to be donned while the chest-high waders are in use by slipping one or both hands into said closable pouch, withdrawing said interconnected pull-out wader jacket from said closable pouch, and slipping arms and torso into said interconnected pull-out wader jacket.

2. A modular all-weather clothing system comprising an upper portion to cover a head and an upper torso, the upper portion removably attached to a coverall portion and storable in a pouch integral to the coverall portion.

3. A wader system comprising:

a chest waders portion including a user-accessible pouch formed in lumbar region of the chest waders, said user-accessible pouch including an internal pouch accessible through an opening in the chest wader portion; and
an upper portion including sleeves and a torso portion, the upper portion to couple to the chest waders portion at least in the lumbar region adjacent the user-accessible pouch, the upper portion to removably stow into the user-accessible pouch.

4. The wader system of claim 3, the user-accessible pouch further comprising two or more layers including an interior layer coupled to the chest wader portion and an exterior layer, wherein the user-accessible pouch is defined between the interior layer and the exterior layer.

5. The wader system of claim 3, the user-accessible pouch further comprising an exterior layer coupled to the chest wader portion, wherein the user-accessible pouch is defined between the chest wader portion and the exterior layer.

6. The wader system of claim 3, the user-accessible pouch further comprising a pouch closure to substantially secure the upper portion removably stowed in the user-accessible pouch within the user-accessible pouch.

7. The wader system of claim 6, the pouch closure comprising a zipper, a hook and loop fastener system, one or more Velcro fasteners, one or more snaps, one or more buttons, or a combination thereof.

8. The wader system of claim 6, further comprising a pouch flap to substantially cover the pouch closure.

9. The wader system of claim 3, the upper portion to couple at least in part substantially permanently to the chest waders portion with a stitched seam, an adhesive seam, a radio frequency welded seam, an ultrasonically welded seam, a thermally welded seam, or a combination thereof.

10. The wader system of claim 3, the upper portion to couple at least in part substantially removably to the chest waders portion with a zipper, a hook and loop fastener system, one or more snap, one or more buttons, or a combination thereof.

11. The wader system of claim 3, the upper portion further comprising a hood.

12. The wader system of claim 3, the chest waders portion and the upper portion further comprising a substantially waterproof material.

13. The wader system of claim 12, the substantially waterproof material comprising vulcanized rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, silicone elastomer, neoprene, a breathable waterproof fabric, or a combination thereof.

14. The wader system of claim 3, the upper portion further comprising one or more pre-formed fabric creases, fabric hinges, or a combination thereof.

Patent History
Publication number: 20100132089
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 25, 2009
Publication Date: Jun 3, 2010
Inventor: Michael Myers (LaPine, OR)
Application Number: 12/625,583
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Trousers And Overalls (2/79); Water Resistant (2/82); Hooded (2/84); Trousers Or Overalls (2/227); Closing Attachments (2/252); Waterproof (2/87); Coats (2/93)
International Classification: A41D 13/02 (20060101); A41D 13/012 (20060101); A41D 3/08 (20060101); A41D 1/06 (20060101); A41D 27/20 (20060101); A41D 3/04 (20060101); A41D 3/02 (20060101);