ELECTRICALLY HEATED GARMENT
An article of clothing includes a garment body and a heater coupled to the garment body. A battery holder defines a cavity. A rechargeable battery pack is configured for use with at least one of a power tool and a sensing device. The rechargeable battery pack is slidably received within the cavity and detachably coupled to the battery holder by a latching arrangement. A controller selectively provides power from the rechargeable battery pack to the heater. A user input member for selecting a mode of the controller is coupled to the garment body.
This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/258,714, filed Nov. 6, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThe present invention relates to garments, and in particular, to an electrically heated jacket for providing heat to a user wearing the jacket.
BACKGROUNDGarments, especially outwear such as jackets and parkas, may be insulated to protect a user from the cold. Insulated jackets rely on the user's own body heat to keep the user warm. If the insulation is too thin, the user may be cold. If the insulation is too thick, the user may overheat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one embodiment, the invention provides an article of clothing. The article of clothing includes a garment body and a heater coupled to the garment body. A battery holder defines a cavity. A rechargeable battery pack is configured for use with at least one of a power tool and a sensing device. The rechargeable battery pack is slidably received within the cavity and detachably coupled to the battery holder by a latching arrangement. A controller selectively provides power from the rechargeable battery pack to the heater. A user input member for selecting a mode of the controller is coupled to the garment body.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of operating a garment heated by an electric heater, powered by a battery pack received by a battery holder, and controlled by a controller via a control input. The method comprises actuating the control input to cause the electric heater to enter a pre-heat mode and maintaining the electric heater in a pre-heat mode for a first time period. The electric heater is automatically switched to a first thermal setting at the end of the first time period. The electric heater is selectively switched to a second thermal setting by actuating the control input.
In yet another embodiment, the invention provides an article of clothing. The article of clothing includes a garment body and a heater coupled to the garment body. A battery holder defines a cavity. The battery holder is disposed within the garment body and electrically coupled to the heater. A rechargeable battery pack is slidably received within the cavity and detachably coupled to the battery holder by a latching arrangement. A user input member is coupled to the garment body. A controller selectively provides power from the rechargeable battery pack to the heater in response to control signals from the user input member. The controller causes the heater to enter a pre-heat mode in response to a first signal from the user input member and maintains the heater in the pre-heat mode for a first time period. The controller automatically switches the heater to a first thermal setting at the end of the first time period, and selectively switches the heater to a second thermal setting in response to a second signal from the user input member.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONAs illustrated in cutaway portions of
As illustrated in
Referring to
As illustrated in
As shown in
The heated jacket 10 includes control circuitry for the heater array 26 and battery pack 38.
A heater controller 62 receives inputs from the control button 22 and selectively powers the heater array 26 depending upon the selected thermal output. The display portion 24 is selectively illuminated based upon the selected thermal output setting. The heater controller 62 may be configured to monitor a plurality of conditions of the jacket 10 including, but not limited to, an amount of current drawn by the heater array 26. The controllers 58, 62 are, for example, microprocessors, microcontrollers, or the like, and are configured to communicate with one another. In the illustrated embodiment, the battery controller 58 provides information to the heater controller 62 related to a battery pack temperature or voltage level. The heater controller 62 and the battery controller 58 also include low voltage monitors and state-of-charge monitors. The monitors are used to determine whether the battery pack 38 is experiencing a low voltage condition, which may prevent proper operation of the heater array 26, or if the battery pack 38 is in a state-of-charge that makes the battery pack 38 susceptible to being damaged. If such a low voltage condition or state-of-charge exists, the heater array 26 is shut down or the battery pack 38 is otherwise prevented from further discharging current to prevent the battery pack from becoming further depleted.
The heated jacket 10 illustrated in
As mentioned previously, the control button 22 includes an illuminated display portion 24 to indicate a status of the heaters. The display portion may be, for example, one or more LEDs. In the pre-heat mode, the display portion 24 flashes red. At a low thermal output setting, the display portion 24 glows blue. At a medium thermal output setting, the display portion 24 glows white. At a high thermal output setting, the display portion glows red. Other embodiments may use various other colors or light patterns to indicate thermal output settings. Still other embodiments may indicate a state of charge of the battery pack 38.
Various modifications of the control method or sequence are possible. For example, in other embodiments, the user may select a desired temperature rather than a thermal output setting.
The heating module 164 includes a battery pack holder 136 (
With further reference to
With reference to
In other embodiments, the battery holder 136 includes an on/off switch (such as the control button 22 discussed above), a fuel gauge that displays the amount of battery power remaining, and a user interface including heat zone controls to individually control the heating coils if multiple heating coils are employed.
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects of the invention as described.
Claims
1. An article of clothing comprising:
- a garment body;
- a heater coupled to the garment body;
- a battery holder defining a cavity;
- a rechargeable battery pack configured for use with at least one of a power tool and a sensing device, the rechargeable battery pack slidably received within the cavity and detachably coupled to the battery holder by a latching arrangement;
- a controller selectively providing power from the rechargeable battery pack to the heater; and
- a user input member coupled to the garment body, the user input member for selecting a mode of the controller.
2. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the user input member is also configured for selecting a thermal output of the heater.
3. The article of clothing of claim 1, further comprising a display indicating a thermal output setting.
4. The article of clothing of claim 3, wherein the display is illuminated.
5. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the user input member includes a display indicating a thermal output setting.
6. The article of clothing of claim 5, wherein the display comprises a plurality of LED lights.
7. The article of clothing of claim 5, wherein the display further indicates a state of charge of the rechargeable battery pack.
8. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the user input member comprises a button.
9. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the user input member is coupled to an external surface of the garment.
10. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the garment body includes a pocket for receiving the battery holder and rechargeable battery pack.
11. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the rechargeable battery pack comprises a plurality of Li-ion battery cells.
12. The article of clothing of claim 11, wherein the rechargeable battery pack further comprises
- a casing surrounding the plurality of Li-ion battery cells,
- an end cap including a terminal, and
- an outer housing including the latching arrangement.
13. The article of clothing of claim 12, wherein the latching arrangement includes latching tabs for engaging the battery holder.
14. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the controller monitors a state of charge of the rechargeable battery and de-energizes the heater in response to the state of charge.
15. A method of operating a garment heated by an electric heater, powered by a battery pack received by a battery holder, and controlled by a controller via a control input, the method comprising:
- actuating the control input to cause the electric heater to enter a pre-heat mode;
- maintaining the electric heater in a pre-heat mode for a first time period;
- automatically switching the electric heater to a first thermal setting at the end of the first time period;
- selectively switching the electric heater to a second thermal setting by actuating the control input.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising selectively deenergizing the electric heater by actuating the control input.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising monitoring a state of charge of the battery pack and automatically deenergizing the electric heater based upon a state of charge of the battery pack.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the control input includes an illuminated portion, the method further comprising indicating a thermal setting with the illuminated portion.
19. The method of claim 19, wherein the battery pack comprises a plurality of lithium ion battery cells disposed within a housing, the housing including a latching arrangement for selectively coupling the battery pack to the battery holder.
20. An article of clothing comprising:
- a garment body;
- a heater coupled to the garment body;
- a battery holder defining a cavity, the battery holder disposed within the garment body and electrically coupled to the heater;
- a rechargeable battery pack slidably received within the cavity and detachably coupled to the battery holder by a latching arrangement;
- a user input member coupled to the garment body; and
- a controller for selectively providing power from the rechargeable battery pack to the heater in response to control signals from the user input member, the controller causing the heater to enter a pre-heat mode in response to a first signal from the user input member, maintaining the heater in the pre-heat mode for a first time period, automatically switching the heater to a first thermal setting at the end of the first time period, and selectively switching the heater to a second thermal setting in response to a second signal from the user input member.
21. The article of clothing of claim 20, wherein the rechargeable battery pack is configured for use with at least one of a power tool and a sensing device.
22. The article of clothing of claim 20, wherein the rechargeable battery pack comprises a plurality of Li-ion battery cells.
23. The article of clothing of claim 22, wherein the rechargeable battery pack further comprises
- a casing surrounding the plurality of Li-ion battery cells,
- an end cap including a terminal, and
- an outer housing including the latching arrangement.
24. The article of clothing of claim 20, wherein the latching arrangement includes latching tabs for engaging the battery holder.
25. The article of clothing of claim 20, wherein the controller monitors a state of charge of the rechargeable battery and de-energizes the heater in response to the state of charge.
26. The article of clothing of claim 20, further comprising a display indicating a thermal output setting.
27. The article of clothing of claim 20, wherein the user input member includes a display indicating a thermal output setting.
28. The article of clothing of claim 20, wherein the user input member is coupled to an external surface of the garment.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 5, 2010
Publication Date: May 12, 2011
Inventors: Rick Gray (Bothell, WA), Jonathan A. Zick (Waukesha, WI), Paul Fry (Sussex, WI)
Application Number: 12/940,429