Adjustable Hood System

[0001] The present invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/524,943, pending, filed Nov. 24, 2003, titled Adjustable Hood System, and incorporated herein as if set out in full.

[0002] The present invention is related to an adjustable hood system, more particularly to an adjustable hood system for providing convenient adjustment of a hood.

[0003] Hoods for outerwear garments typically have a face opening and a drawstring provided in a passageway around the face opening. The ends of the drawstring extend out of the passageway and are used to adjust the size of the face opening. When the ends of the drawstring are pulled and tightened, the face opening of the hood is made smaller.

[0004] Other conventional hoods include a drawstring disposed around the periphery of the hood. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,418 issued to Rindle, incorporated herein by reference as if set out in full, discloses an adjustable hood system providing simultaneous adjustment of the shape and volume of the hood in directions having longitudinal, lateral, and vertical components. The adjustable hood system of the Rindle patent discloses a front drawstring passageway and a back drawstring passageway with a single drawstring extending through each passageway. However, the Rindle patent as well as the references discussed by the Rindle patent use multiple drawstrings to adjust the hood.

[0005] The present invention provides an adjustable hood system comprising a single drawstring attached to a plurality of first pull tabs for adjusting a size and/or shape of the hood in a first direction and a plurality of second pull tab for adjusting the size and/or shape of the hood in a second direction generally opposite the first direction. In one embodiment, the adjustable hood system comprises a tightening pull tab for tightening a cord about a periphery of a hood and a loosening pull tab for loosening the cord about a periphery of the hood. The cord, for example, may extend around a face opening, an inner volume or a neck opening formed by the hood.

[0006] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;

[0007] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a cord stringing map of the hood adjustment system shown in FIG. 1;

[0008] FIG. 3 shows a side view of a hood having the hood adjustment system shown in FIG. 1;

[0009] FIG. 4 shows a side view of a second embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 5 shows a side view of a third embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 6 shows a side view of a fourth embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 7 shows a side view of a fifth embodiment of a hood adjustment system of the present invention; and

[0013] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a cord stringing map a sixth embodiment of a hood adjustment system.

[0014] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hood system 10 comprises a hood 20 formed out of a flexible material 22. Hood 20 has a left side I and a right side r. Left side I and right side r are typically symmetrical about a center plane cpl. The flexible material 22 of the hood defines an inner volume 24 for receiving a wearer's head and a face opening 26 for exposing a wearer's face. The hood 20 may be attached, fixedly or removably to an outerwear garment such as a jacket, vest, sweatshirt or the like. The hood, for example, may be attached to an upstanding collar of the outerwear garment. The collar of the outerwear garment may further include a protective flap or pocket into which the hood may be stowed when it is not in use.

[0015] An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 in which the hood system comprises a dual adjustment system. The dual adjustment system, for example, may allow for individually or simultaneously adjusting the shape and/or size of the hood in two or more directions. In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 1, for example, the hood system 10 comprises a first adjustment cord portion 30 extending around a portion of the hood 20 defining the inner volume 24 of the hood 20 and a second adjustment cord portion 32 extending around a portion of the hood 20 defining the face opening 26. In this embodiment, the first adjustment cord portion 30 allows a wearer to adjust the volume of the hood 20 around the head of the wearer, and the second adjustment cord portion 32 allows the wearer to adjust the size of the face opening 26 of the hood 20. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 are strung through a first tab 36, an optional cord lock 38 and a second tab 40 on both sides of the hood 20.

[0016] Cord lock 38 is optional because eyelets 42, described below, may be sized to provide sufficient friction to hold the cords 30 and 32 in the adjusted position. The friction, while sufficient to hold the cords in place during normal use, is easily overcome by a user pulling on first tabs 36 and or second tabs 40, explained further below.

[0017] In one particular embodiment, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for example, the first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32 are arranged and strung through openings 42, such as eyelets as shown, at either side of hood 20. The openings 42, where used, provide the hood adjustment system 10 a fixed location for locating the tabs and cord lock relative to the hood 20 and bringing together the first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32. The openings 42 also provide leverage, together with the remainder of the hood adjustment system 10 for the first and second tabs to pull the first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32 through the cord lock 38, when used. Alternatively to openings 42 being eyelets as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, other openings or connectors in the hood 20, such as channels, loops, slits and the like, may be used. The cord functions as a single loop of cord, but may be considered in three separate parts, a first part about the face opening, a second part about the inner volume and a control part about the tabs and the frictional lock.

[0018] In operation, the first tabs 36 are pulled in direction 44 pulling the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 through openings 32, such as the eyelets, and the optional cord lock 38 in a first direction 46 (e.g., towards the first tab 36). By pulling the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 towards the first tab, the volume of the hood 20 and the size of the face opening 26 defined by the hood 20 are decreased simultaneously.

[0019] The second tab 40 is pulled in direction 48 pulling the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 through the cord lock 38 in a second direction 50 generally opposite the first direction 46 (e.g., towards the second tab 40).

[0020] The cord lock 38 or openings 42 provide resistance (e.g., friction) to the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 sliding through the cord lock 38 or the openings 42. The resistance of the cord lock 38 and/or openings 42 is preferably sufficient to hold the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 in place while the hood is in use on a wearer, but can be overcome by pulling the tabs 36 and 40 to slide the first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32 through the cord lock 38. In one embodiment, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for example, the cord lock 38 may comprise a barrel cord lock, such as a soft rubber, plastic or other material. Alternatively, any other cord lock known in the art may be used within the scope of the present invention.

[0021] The first and/or second adjustment cord portions may comprise a stretchable material such as an elastic cord or may comprise a non-stretchable material. The first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32 may be formed by a single cord looped around both sections of the hood to be adjusted, may be formed by two or more cords connected together to form the first and second adjustment cord portions or may comprise two or more independent cords. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, for example, the first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32 are formed by a single cord 34, which doubles back on itself at the first tab 36 and continues to form both the first adjustment portion 30 and the second adjustment portion 32. The ends of the cord may be connected together at any point in the hood. In one embodiment, such as shown in FIG. 2 for example, the ends of the cord are connected at the rear 52r of the hood so that that the connection point is not located near the eyelets, cord locks or tabs so that the connection point does not impede the operation of the adjustable hood system such as by getting caught in one of the eyelets or cord locks. To facilitate operation of the hood system 10, it has been discovered that the connection point of the cords, such as, for example, rear 52r should be fixed to the hood. If not fixed, the connection point may migrate about the hood system and eventually interfere with openings 42, cord lock 38, or the like. Thus, cords 30 and 32 should be fixed to the hood 20, such as, for example, at connection point rear 52r. The connection point should be located at a symmetrical location in the hood 20 to facilitate even operation. An alternative fixation point for cords 30 and 32 is at front 52f.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a hood 20 including an adjustment system of the present in which the hood includes protective flap 60 for covering components of the adjustment system. The protective flap prevents the components from being accidentally engaged as well as protects the components from the elements. Although FIG. 3 shows the tabs 36 and 40 being only partially covered by the protective flap 60, the tabs may be fully covered or not covered at all.

[0023] FIG. 3 also shows channels 62 and 64 through which the first adjustment cord portion 30 and the second adjustment cord portion 32 may be strung to allow for the first and second adjustment cord portions 30 and 32 to adjust the size and/or shape of the hood 20 in a desired location. Although channels 62 and 64 are shown in FIG. 3, other connectors known in the art such as loops, slits, eyelets and the like may be used to string the cord portions through the hood 20. Further, where desired, the channel around the face opening 26 of the hood may comprise an elastic material such as lycra to allow the face opening 26 to stretch. When the hood is raised over the head of the wearer or even over a helmet being worn by the wearer, for example, the face opening 26 may stretch to fit over the head or helmet without having to loosen the face opening. While the cord portions 30 and 32 may be slidably coupled in channels 62 and 64, at least one cord portion should be fixed, such as cord portion 30 fixed at the front 52f.

[0024] The hood 20 may also comprise a brim 66 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The brim 66 may comprise a flexible material such as the material used to form the hood 22. The brim 66 may also be pre-shaped in a curve and reinforced so that the brim 66 bends in a smooth arc as the second adjustment cord portion 64 is tightened.

[0025] FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the hood adjustment system of FIGS. 1-3. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the first adjustment cord portion comprises a band 70 (e.g., an elastic or non-elastic band) that allows for adjusting the volume of the hood 20 more uniformly than a single cord. The cord of the first adjustment cord portion is attached to the band 70 within channel 62 such as through an eyelet 72. The cord may, for example, pass through the eyelet 72 and be tied off using a retaining member 74, such as, for example, a floating disk or other retaining member to ensure that the cord does not pull back through the eyelet 72.

[0026] FIGS. 5 and 6 show alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the hood adjustment system comprises a single adjustment system for adjusting the size and/or shape of the hood. In FIG. 5, for example, the hood adjustment system 110 comprises a hood 120 having an adjustment cord 132 for adjusting the size and/or shape of the face opening 126. The adjustment cord 132 as shown in FIG. 5 is disposed around a portion of the face opening. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the cord 132 may reside within a channel or may be connected to the hood 120 in any other manner known in the art (e.g., loops, slits, eyelets and the like). The cord 132 terminates at tab 136 as shown in FIG. 5.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of a single adjustment system 210 of the present invention. In FIG. 6, adjustment cord 232 extends around a portion of the volume of the hood 220 and terminates, at least on one side, at tab 236. The adjustment cord 232 may be attached at its other end to any location around the periphery of the hood 220 or may terminate at another tab on the opposite side of the hood from the tab 236.

[0028] FIG. 7 shows yet another embodiment of a hood adjustment system 310 of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, for example, the adjustment cord 332 extends from the second tab 340 around a portion of the face opening 326 of the hood 320. The remote end 333 of the cord 332 is attached to the hood 320 at one side of brim 366. In this manner, as the adjustment cord 332 is tightened to decrease the size of the face opening, the sides of the face opening are compressed while the brim 366 is not deformed and maintains its shape.

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 3-7 show side views of various embodiments within the scope of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the hood adjustment system of the present invention may comprise a symmetric arrangement of tabs and cord locks so that the size and/or shape of the hood may be adjusted from one and/or both sides of the hood. Alternatively, one or more of the adjustment cord portions may be attached to the hood at any location around the periphery of the hood remote from the second tab 40. As shown in FIG. 8, for example, the adjustment system may comprise a first adjustment cord portion 430 and a second adjustment cord portion 432 that are attached to the hood at remote ends 431 and 433, respectively.

[0030] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.