JP7728003B2 - Air conditioning clothing with expansion control stitching - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Exhibited at the COCOS Shinoka Business Meeting on September 14, 2021.

The present invention relates to air-conditioning clothing in which stitching is applied to the fabric to prevent expansion.

In recent years, air-conditioned clothing, which has a fan attached to the waist and draws outside air into the clothing to cool it down, has become widely used.

As fans become more powerful, air is drawn into the air-conditioned clothing, causing it to expand, restricting the wearer's movement and causing the clothing's contours to expand and deform, which can be problematic as it makes the clothing less fashionable.

Patent Publication No. 2010-18941 Patent Publication No. 2007-291552

The garment in Patent Document 1 is a so-called down coat, and discloses a structure in which feathers (3) are stuffed between an outer layer (1) and a lining (2), and the two are sewn together with stitches. This stitching is intended to prevent the feathers from shifting while the garment is being worn (paragraph [0032]).

In addition, the garment (1) in Patent Document 2 has a feather layer 13 formed between two sheets of nonwoven fabric (12), (14), and similarly, the feathers are stitched with an upper thread (31) and a lower thread (32) to prevent the feather layer 13 from moving. In this case, it is disclosed that the lower thread (32) is a stretch-processed yarn.

However, all stitches applied to the garment are intended to fix the position of the feathers sandwiched between two layers of fabric, and although Reference 2 uses stretchable thread, the purpose is to prevent the capillary fibers from escaping from the surface of the outer fabric or the seams, with the side where this stretchable thread (bobbin thread (32)) is placed being the outer fabric side (see paragraph [0010], etc.). Even if applied to air-conditioning garments made from a single piece of fabric, which do not require the feathers to be confined, the effect would be different.

The object of the present invention is to provide air-conditioned clothing with expansion-regulating stitching that, when air is taken inside, regulates the expansion of the air-conditioned clothing due to the air pressure, thereby maintaining the proper contours of the clothing.

In order to achieve the above object, the air-conditioned clothing of the present invention has a fan that draws in outside air, and the fabric that forms the outer surface of the air-conditioned clothing has multiple parallel stitches at predetermined intervals using elastic thread on either the back side or the front side of the fabric and non-elastic thread on the other side of the front side or the back side, so that when outside air is drawn into the air-conditioned clothing by the fan, the bulge of the fabric is evenly distributed between the stitches, and a stitch-free area where no stitches are formed is formed in the underarm belts or shoulder belts between the front and back body of the air-conditioned clothing .

The air-conditioned clothing with expansion-restricting stitching of the present invention uses elastic and non-elastic threads to stitch the single piece of fabric that makes up the outer surface of the air-conditioned clothing. The elastic threads form wrinkles around the stitches that allow for expansion, while when air is drawn inside the air-conditioned clothing and the clothing expands, the non-elastic threads keep the expansion within a predetermined range, allowing the expansion of the clothing to be evenly distributed between the stitches, without significantly disrupting the contours of the air-conditioned clothing.

1A is a front view of an air-conditioning garment with expansion-restricting stitching according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a back view of the same air-conditioning garment. (a) is a structural diagram showing the state of the elastic threads and non-elastic threads of the air-conditioning clothing before the stitches are stretched, and (b) is a structural diagram showing the state of the elastic threads and non-elastic threads of the air-conditioning clothing after the stitches are stretched. (a) is a side view of the air-conditioned clothing before inflation, and (b) is a side view of the air-conditioned clothing after inflation. FIG. 10 is a front view of an air-conditioning garment with expansion-regulating stitching according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described using Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 explains the overall structure of an embodiment of air-conditioning clothing with expansion-restricting stitching, Figure 2 explains the function of the stretchable and non-stretchable yarns in the air-conditioning clothing, and Figure 3 explains the function and effect of the air-conditioning clothing.

Figure 1(a) is a front view of air-conditioned clothing A, and Figure 1(b) is a back view of air-conditioned clothing A. As shown in these figures, air-conditioned clothing A with expansion-regulating stitching of the present invention has openings on the left and right sides of the waist area on the back of the outer fabric 1 of the clothing, and two fans 2a, 2a, which form the air conditioning unit 2, are attached to these openings, allowing outside air to be drawn into the air-conditioned clothing A. In this embodiment, air-conditioned clothing A is a sleeveless vest.

The air conditioning unit 2 has a battery unit 2b that drives the fan 2a. The battery unit 2b is stored in a pocket of the air-conditioned clothing A (not shown), and power is supplied to the fans 2a, 2a via a cord wired inside the air-conditioned clothing A.

In addition, multiple stitches 3 are applied horizontally to the fabric 1a that constitutes the outer garment fabric 1. The stitches 3 are intended to form fine wrinkles in the fabric 1a of the outer garment fabric 1 using a structure described below. The stitches 3 are applied to the front portions of both the front and back bodies of the air-conditioned garment A at a uniform density per specified area, preventing uneven expansion regulation in the areas where the stitches 3 are formed. The stretch structure will be described later using Figure 2.

Air-conditioning garment A has a collar 4, and the sides 5a under the armpits and shoulders 5b on both sides that connect the front body fabric 1a and the back body fabric 1a form non-stitched areas 5, where no stitches 3 are sewn.

In addition, as shown in the back view of air-conditioned clothing A (Figure 1(b)), a neck channel 6 is formed from the back to the collar 4, which sends the air inside the air-conditioned clothing A to the nape of the neck. To increase airtightness, the front of the air-conditioned clothing A has a front-opening structure with a zipper 8.

For this reason, when outside air is introduced into the air-conditioned clothing A using the fan 2a, no air leaks out because the openings 7 at the neck 7a, shoulders and sleeves 7b, and waist 7c of the air-conditioned clothing A are in close contact with the wearer's body. As a result, the air taken into the air-conditioned clothing A is expelled through the neck flow path 6, effectively cooling the neck area, which is effective in lowering body temperature.

The function of stitch 3 will be explained using Figure 2. Figure 2(a) shows the state before fan 2a is activated, when no air pressure is applied inside air-conditioned clothing A, and Figure 2(b) shows the state after fan 2a is activated, when air pressure is applied inside air-conditioned clothing A.

Stitch 3 is constructed using a non-elastic thread as the upper thread 31 exposed on the front side 1A of fabric 1a of the outer garment fabric 1, and an elastic thread as the lower thread 32 exposed on the back side 1B. The lower thread 32 is stretched and sewn together with the upper thread 31 to form stitch 3.

For this reason, as shown in Figure 2(a), when the fan 2a is not operating and no air pressure is applied inside the air-conditioned clothing A, the lower thread 32, which is an elastic thread, is in a contracted state, the upper thread 31 is pulled by the lower thread 3 and forms a loop, and the distance between the joint 33 between the upper thread 31 and the lower thread 32 is reduced. Then, the fabric 1a gathers, forming fine wrinkles W, and the surface area of the air-conditioned clothing A as a whole is in a contracted state.

On the other hand, when fan 2a is operated and air pressure is applied inside air-conditioned clothing A, the elastic lower thread 32 stretches due to the air pressure. As a result, the gap between the joint 33 between the upper thread 31 and lower thread 32 increases, the wrinkles W0 in fabric 1a widen, and the surface area of the entire air-conditioned clothing A increases, causing it to expand as a whole.

At this time, when the loop of the upper thread 31, which is a non-stretchable thread, fully stretches, it then restricts this expansion, preventing the air-conditioned clothing A from expanding distortedly due to air pressure.

The effect of air-conditioned clothing A will be explained using Figure 3. Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are both side views of air-conditioned clothing A, with Figure 3(a) showing the state of the air-conditioned clothing before inflation and Figure 3(b) showing the state of the air-conditioned clothing after inflation.

As shown in Figure 3(a), before fan 2a is driven, stitches 3 are shrunk and the shape is similar to that of a normal vest, fitting closely to the body. Next, as shown in Figure 3(b), fan 2a is driven to draw air into the inside of air-conditioned clothing A, causing it to expand.

As mentioned above, the stretchable bobbin thread 32 of the stitch 3 allows the outer garment fabric 1 to expand. However, because the stitches 3 are placed at predetermined intervals on the outer garment fabric 1 and are uniformly formed over a predetermined area, there is no bias in restricting the expansion of the air-conditioned garment A, preventing significant damage to the contours of the air-conditioned garment A.

In addition, the underarm straps 5a and shoulder straps 5b that connect the front and back sections of the air-conditioned clothing A are non-stretchable straps 5 that do not have stitches 3 and do not form wrinkles W for stretching. This means that even when the fan 2a is operated to inflate the air-conditioned clothing A, the air-conditioned clothing A is prevented from expanding sideways. As a result, the contours of the air-conditioned clothing A can be adjusted when inflated, resulting in a highly fashionable vest.

Air-conditioning clothing B according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a front view of the air-conditioning clothing B. Components identical to those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

Air-conditioned garment B has multiple stitches 13 that intersect diagonally at predetermined intervals on the fabric 1a of the outer garment fabric 1. As in Figure 2, the stitches 13 are made of a non-stretchable upper thread and a stretchable lower thread, and fine wrinkles are formed along the stitches 13 in the outer garment fabric 1.

Unlike the air-conditioned clothing A of the first embodiment, the air-conditioned clothing B also has stitches 13 formed in the underarm bands 15 on the sides of the air-conditioned clothing B, and this area is also structured as a stitch formation area to allow for expansion.

In air-conditioned clothing B, the stitches 13 form numerous rectangular segments (diamond-shaped segments) surrounded by the stitches 13 uniformly on the surface of the fabric 1a per specified area. Therefore, when the fan 2a is operated to inflate the air-conditioned clothing B, each segment inflates uniformly, and the expansion is restricted after a specified amount of expansion, so the contours of the air-conditioned clothing B are not significantly damaged.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments of air-conditioned clothing A and B, by selectively providing stitch-formed areas on the surface of the air-conditioned clothing that allow stretch and regulate the amount of expansion, and non-stitch-formed areas that do not allow stretch, in appropriate positions on the air-conditioned clothing, it is possible to control the expansion of the air-conditioned clothing and maintain a beautiful outline.

(Other embodiments)
As explained above, in the air-conditioned clothing A and the air-conditioned clothing B, the stitches 3, 13 are formed using non-stretch yarn on the surface 1A side of the fabric 1a of the outer fabric 1 of the clothing and stretch yarn on the back surface 1B side, but the stitch 13 may be formed using a combination of these threads, and it is also possible to use non-stretch yarn on the back surface 1B side and stretch yarn on the surface 1A side.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the stitches 3, 13 are applied to the outer garment fabric 1 alone, but a lining can also be attached to the fabric 1a of the outer garment fabric 1 as long as it allows for stretch and restricts expansion of the fabric 1a. In particular, it is possible to attach a mesh lining that does not impede the flow of air taken in by the fan 2.

Furthermore, while both air-conditioned clothing A and air-conditioned clothing B are described as vests without sleeves, they can of course also be top garments with sleeves, and if the sleeves are long jackets, similar stitching can be applied to the outer fabric of the sleeves to control expansion. Furthermore, clothing that uses this stitching is not limited to top garments, but can also be applied to the outer fabric of trousers.

A, B Air-conditioning clothing 1 Outer fabric 1a Fabric 1A Surface of fabric 1B Back of fabric 2 Air-conditioning device 2a Fan 3 Stitch
31 Upper thread (non-elastic thread)
32 Lower thread (elastic thread)
4 Collar 5 Non-stitched area 5a Underarm belt 5b (between the front body and the back body) Shoulder belt 6 Neck channel
7. Openings

Claims (5)

An air-conditioning garment having a fan that draws outside air inside,
The fabric constituting the outer surface of the air-conditioning clothing has a plurality of parallel stitches at predetermined intervals, using elastic thread on one of the back side or the front side of the fabric and non-elastic thread on the other of the front side or the back side, so that when outside air is taken into the air-conditioning clothing by the fan, the expansion of the fabric is evenly distributed among the stitches , and
The air-conditioning garment is characterized in that the stitch-free areas where no stitches are formed are formed in underarm belts or shoulder belts between the front and back body sections of the air-conditioning garment . Air-conditioning clothing according to claim 1, characterized in that the plurality of stitches are applied horizontally on the clothing. Air-conditioning clothing according to claim 1, characterized in that the stitches are applied so as to cross each other. Air-conditioning clothing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the elastic threads are used on the back side of the fabric and the non-elastic threads are used on the surface. 5. The air-conditioning garment according to claim 1 , wherein a breathable lining is sewn onto the back surface of the fabric on which the stitching is applied.