BREATHABLE GARMENT

Abstract

A breathable garment for heating or cooling independently the body of a wearer. The breathable garment includes an inner electrically heatable substrate intended to be facing the body of the wearer in use; a forced air supply mechanism for supplying forced air into the space between the inner electrically heatable substrate and the body of the wearer; an intermediate perforated substrate; an outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate; and a mechanism for maintaining a gap between the intermediate perforated substrate and the outer substrate, making up an air chamber to allow turbulent airflow across the entire garment.

Claims

1. A breathable garment for heating or cooling independently the body of a wearer, comprising: an inner electrically heatable substrate intended to be facing the body of the wearer in use; forced air supply means for supplying forced air into the space between the inner electrically heatable substrate and the body of the wearer; an intermediate perforated substrate; an outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate; and a means for maintaining a gap between the intermediate perforated substrate and the outer substrate, making up an air chamber to allow turbulent airflow across the entire garment.

2. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the inner electrically heatable substrate is a perforated layer wherein the surface of the perforations is comprised between 40% and 80% of the total surface to allow passage of airflow to the body of the wearer.

3. The breathable garment according to claim 2, wherein the surface of the perforations in the electrically heatable substrate is comprised between 50% and 70% of the total surface.

4. The breathable garment according to claim 2, wherein the diameter of the perforations is comprised between 5 and 20 mm.

5. The breathable garment according to claim 4, wherein the diameter of the perforations is comprised between 8 and 16 mm.

6. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the inner electrically heatable substrate is in a frame-like form.

7. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the electrically heatable substrate is made of a polymer loaded with conductive or semi-conductive particles.

8. The breathable garment according to claim 7, wherein the inner heatable substrate is made of a carbon-loaded silicone polymer, comprising carbon particles held in a silicone polymer matrix.

9. The breathable garment according to claim 8, wherein the resistive heating provided by the inner electrically heatable substrate is comprised between 10 and 50 watts when an electric voltage between 2 and 24 V is applied thereto.

10. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the inner heatable substrate is a textile comprising a semi-conductive yarn component capable of being resistively heated with the application of electrical current.

11. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the inner heatable substrate is a fabric provided with a pattern of electrical conductors laid across, with a perforate or open-mesh configuration so as to allow airflow through the fabric.

12. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate perforated substrate is spaced from the inner electrically heatable substrate.

13. The breathable garment according to claim 12, wherein the intermediate perforated substrate comprises a plurality of raised protrusions on the surface facing the inner electrically heatable substrate, the protrusions having a height in the range of 0.5 to 10 mm.

14. The breathable garment according to claim 13, wherein the height of the protrusions is in the range of 3 to 6 mm.

15. The breathable garment according to claim 13, wherein the protrusions are made of a polymeric material.

16. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate comprises a plurality of raised protrusions on the surface facing the intermediate perforated substrate, the protrusions having a height in the range of 0.5 to 10 mm.

17. The breathable garment according to claim 16, wherein the height of the protrusions of the outer substrate is in the range of 3 to 6 mm.

18. The breathable garment according to claim 16, wherein the protrusions of the outer substrate are made of a polymeric material.

19. The breathable garment according to claim 13, wherein the intermediate perforated substrate comprises a further plurality of raised protrusions on the surface facing the outer waterproof, water-vapor-permeable substrate, said protrusions being configured in the same way as the raised protrusions provided on the surface of the intermediate perforated substrate facing the electrically heatable substrate.

20. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate has a water-vapour-permeability of at least 1,500 g/m.sup.2/24 hrs and lower than 20,000 g/m.sup.2/24 hrs.

21. The breathable garment according to claim 20, wherein the outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate is a 2-layer or 3-layer substrate, wherein one of the layers is a PTFE layer.

22. The breathable garment according to claim 20, wherein the outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate is made of a microporous material comprised in the group consisting of a high molecular weight microporous polyethylene or polypropylene, microporous polyurethanes or polyesters.

23. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the forced air supply means provides an airflow rate comprised between 20 and 100 l/m.sup.2/s.

24. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein a perforated liner is provided between the inner electrically heatable substrate and the body of the wearer in use, said perforated liner intended to be in contact with the wearer in use.

25. The breathable garment according to claim 1, provided with means to be electrically connected to an external electrical supply such as to the battery of a motor cycle.

26. The breathable garment according to claim 1, comprising an electrical power supply which provides electrical power to the forced air supply means.

27. The breathable garment according to claim 26, wherein the electrical power supply is a rechargeable battery.

28. The breathable garment according to claim 1, comprising a user operable control unit for turning the inner electrically heatable substrate on and off and for turning on and off the forced air supply means.

29. The breathable garment according to claim 28, wherein the user operable control unit is provided with means for varying the electrical power fed to the inner electrically heatable substrate and/or the forced air supply means.

30. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the inner electrically heatable substrate is provided with an open structure textile facing the body of the wearer in use.

31. The breathable garment according to claim 1, wherein the outer waterproof, water-vapour-permeable substrate has a water-vapour-permeability of between 5,000 and 10,000 g/m.sup.2/24 hrs.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the breathable garment object of the present invention by way of a non-limiting example.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-section of the breathable garment according to the present invention;

[0031] FIGS. 2 and 3 show the breathable garment of FIG. 1 in a cooling mode and a heating mode, respectively; and

[0032] FIG. 4 shows different steps by which the wearer can operate the garment of FIG. 1 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 shows schematically a cross-section showing the construction of the breathable garment 1 for heating (see FIG. 3) or cooling (see FIG. 2) independently the body 2 of a wearer. As is conventional, a lightweight mesh knit liner 3, may be provided for comfort on the inner surface of the garment construction. The breathable garment 1 comprises an outer waterproof water-vapour-permeable substrate 4, having spacer raised protrusions 6 on an inner surface thereof. An intermediate perforated substrate 8 is spaced inwardly towards the wearer from the outer substrate 4 and includes perforations 10. The intermediate perforated substrate 8 defines a forced air supply cavity, the air chamber 12, into which air under pressure is introduced by means of a fan 20. The air enters the forced air supply cavity and is then distributed towards the body 2 of the wearer through the perforations 10. The inner face of the inner perforated substrate 8 also includes spacer protrusions 14. An electrically heatable perforated substrate 16 is spaced inwardly from the intermediate perforated substrate 8 and is provided with heating means (not shown) connected by wire 18 for supplying electrical power to the heatable perforated substrate 16. The perforations in the electrically heatable substrate 16 allow the air supplied from the forced air supply cavity, the air chamber 12, to impinge in a roughly perpendicular direction onto the skin of the body 2 wearer in a uniform distribution.

[0034] In use, when heating is desired (FIG. 3), electrical power is provided to the electrically heatable perforated substrate 16 which is adjacent the body 2 and provides an immediate sensation of heat. At the same time, a low supply of air may also be provided by the fan 20 in order to sweep moist air away from the body 2 of the wearer. When cooling is desired (FIG. 2), the heating means provided in the heatable substrate 16 is switched off and the fan 20 is operated to provide a substantial airflow into the force air supply cavity 12 and then through the heatable perforated substrate 16 and onto the body 2 of the wearer. This forced air provides an immediate sensation of cooling to the wearer. Both the heating and cooling devices are operated via electrical control means (not shown) from one or more battery power sources carried on the breathable garment 1.

[0035] The breathable garment 1 provides a personal climate comfort management system for motorcycling with a fast response to the personal user's need because it has a thermal hysteresis on switch lower than 1 min and lower than 3 min on switch off. The user's skin temperature can be reduced or increased in more than 3° C. (within 31-33° C.), RH reduction is greater than 25% and the heart rate reduction may reach values greater than 10 bpm. Moreover, the breathable garment 1 is may be used off bike for up to 2 hours and can be worn with protective outer shell garment.

[0036] The way of wearing and using the breathable garment 1 is shown in the scenes represented in FIG. 4. As seen in the first four scenes, the breathable garment 1 is worn with normal standard motorcycle ensembles. The fifth and sixth scenes show that the primary power source can be a motorcycle battery. In the following scenes the wearer of the breathable garment 1, that is to say, the rider, activates the heating/cooling of the breathable garment 1 by a control unit strapped to the thigh of the rider and located within easy reach by the left hand. Last scene shows that the breathable garment 1 can also be used in un-tethered cooling mode, wherein power is supplied for 2 hrs by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.