Thermoregulatory clothing

• US 6,332,221 B1
• Filed: 10/21/1993
• Issued: 12/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nicholas Dynes Gracey
• Original Assignee: Nicholas Dynes Gracey
• Inventors: Gracey, Nicholas Dynes
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanatta, Amy B.
• Application Number:
  US07/916,072
• Time in Patent Office: 2,987 Days
• Field of Search: 2 6/9, 2 8/1, 211/5, 2DI/G 1, 2 7/9, 245/8, 246/7, 2 9/3, 210/8, 2 8/7, 222/7, 2 7/7
• US Class Current: 2/69
• CPC Class Codes: A41B 9/00 Undergarments corsets A41C1/00; brassières A41C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 13/0531 Spine
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 2400/10 Heat retention or warming
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 27/28 Means for ventilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 2/01 Ventilated garment

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means by which clothing may be made more effective in its role in assisting temperature regulation, by: 1) providing increased heat exchange by means of reduced insulation (herein defined as “lower insulatory capacity”) of temperature sensitive sites (11, 16, 14)—reducing insulation of temperature sensitive areas not protected by “fat pads”; and/or 2) providing for increased vapor exchange by means of specific ventilation of temperature sensitive areas (herein defined as “increased ventilatory capacity”)—allowing flexibility for rapid increases in heat generation owing to facility for improved vapor exchange e.g. the loss of excess heated air or humidity, by, for example, convection and evaporation of sweat from the surface of the skin.

Claims

1. An article of clothing for covering at least a part of a wearer'"'"'s body having temperature sensitive bodily regions of high thermoregulatory capacity, including a spinal cord site, and bodily regions of lower thermoregulatory capacity, the article of clothing including fixed or removable air permeable or impermeable sectors including at least one sector of low heat insulatory capacity (29, 30, 31;

32, 33;

43, 48;

38, 49, 50, 51) and at least one sector of higher heat insulatory capacity (44;

44a;

52) wherein the article of clothing is constructed such that substantially al of the sectors of low heat insulatory capacity at sections of the article which are adapted to be aligned substantially exclusively with a specifically defined bodily region of high thermoregulatory capacity (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28) and such that the or each sector has a continuous perimeter and includes at least a hole, a modified fabric, or a panel of substantially constant low insulatory capacity value of substantially permanent dimensions (31, 33, 40, 48, 50) at a section of the article which is adapted to be aligned substantially exclusively with a region of the spinal cord site (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) overlayed by the article, and said hole, modified fabric, or panel being provided in a substantial majority of said section aligned with the spinal cord site, being substantially exclusively in juxtaposition to the spinal cord site, and being provided in an insulatory surface area central to a back of the article of clothing which forms a minority of an overall insulatory surface area of the back of the article of clothing.

2. An article of clothing according to claim 1 wherein at least one sector of low insulatory capacity is included in the form of a panel of low insulatory capacity material sewn into the article.

3. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least one sector of low insulatory capacity is shaped as an elongate vertical column substantially similarly to an exclusive outline of the region of the spinal cord site.

4. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the or each sector of substantially constant low insulatory capacity value also includes means for providing heat exchange by means of increase ventilatory capacity including perforations constructed in a monolayer of fabric, said perforations exposing the wearers skin directly to the external climate.

5. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the or each sector of substantially constant low insulatory capacity value is waterproof.

6. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the temperature-sensitive site includes an armpit and/or groin site of the wearer'"'"'s body.

7. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the or each temperature-sensitive site includes one or more regions of the wearer'"'"'s body associated with localizations of tissue from the group consisting of nervous tissue, lymph glands, localized blood flow, sweat gland activity, reproductive tissue, spinal cord tissue, and/or animal fat, the article adapted to include at least one relatively V-shaped continuous sector in a minority insulatory surface area section central to the back and/or front of said article of clothing.

8. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the or each sector of higher insulatory capacity has one or more layers functionally adapted for covering and thereby increasing insulatory capacity, by means of increased air trapping, in at least a part of a non-temperature-sensitive area of the body.

9. An article of clothing according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the or each sector of low insulatory capacity comprises a temperature-sensitive material whose temperature-sensitive structure changes, to provide greater heat exchange due to the material'"'"'s response to heat.

10. An article of clothing adapted to cover a wearer'"'"'s body, the article including at least one continuous perimeter sector of low heat insulatory capacity (29, 30, 31;

32, 33;

43, 48;

38, 49, 50, 51), and at least one sector of higher heat insulatory capacity (44;

44a;

52), wherein substantially all of the continuous perimeter sectors of low heat insulating capacity include at least a hole, a modified fabric or a panel arranged to be aligned specifically substantially exclusively with a body region (30, 32, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42) having a high thermoregulatory capacity, wherein the article is structured specifically, by means of improved temperature control, for increasing the whole body'"'"'s resistance to disease, or for stimulating and raising whole body metabolism, or to improve thermoregulatory control of the spinal nerves and/or the wearer'"'"'s whole body, or for reducing local cellular damage and/or DNA damage, or for specifically improving reproductive cell functional activity, wherein the article includes a sector of substantially constant low heat insulating capacity value aligned substantially in juxtaposition to a collar and/or waistband and occupies a central back of the article to a width substantially equal to or less than a width of the collar, and a length of the sector occupies substantially a length of the article in juxtaposition to the spinal cord of the wearer.

11. A clothing ensemble including an article of clothing to cover an upper part of a wearer and an article of clothing to cover a lower part of the body, the articles of clothing either permanently or removably attachable to each other, the upper body clothing including at least one continuous perimeter sector of substantially constant low heat insulator capacity value (29, 30, 31;

43, 48;

49, 50, 51), and at least one sector of higher heat insulatory capacity (44;

44a;

52), wherein substantially all of the continuous perimeter sectors of low heat insulating capacity include at least a hole, a modified fabric or a panel arranged to be aligned specifically substantially exclusively with a body region (15-21 &

26) having a high thermoregulatory capacity and the lower body clothing including at least one continuous perimeter sector of substantially constant low heat insulatory capacity value (32, 33;

38, 49, 50, 51), and at least one sector of higher heat insulatory capacity (52), wherein substantially all of the continuous perimeter sectors of low heat insulating capacity include at least a hole, a modified fabric or a panel arranged to be aligned specifically substantially exclusively with a body region (22-25, 27 &

28) having a high thermoregulatory capacity.

12. A clothing ensemble as claimed in claim 11 further including at least one further outerlayer of upper or lower body clothing including one continuous perimeter sector of low heat insulatory capacity (29, 30, 31;

32, 33;

43,48;

38, 49, 50, 51), and at least one sector of higher heat insulators capacity (44;

44a;

52), wherein substantially all of the continuous perimeter sectors of low heat insulating capacity include at least a hole, a modified fabric or a panel arranged to be aligned specifically substantially exclusively with a body region (17-28 &

30, 32, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42) having a high thermoregulatory capacity.