Title:

Outerwear with nose wipe accessory

United States Patent Application 20020073475

Kind Code:

Abstract:

A nose wipe accessory for outerwear, which allows a user thereof to attend to a runny nose while wearing gloves in an environment in which the person's movement is restricted. The nose wipe accessory includes an outer flap fixed along one edge thereof to the sleeve of an outerwear garment, the remaining edges of the outer flap removably attached to the sleeve of the garment, such that the flap may be readily opened to allow access to a disposable nose wipe insert releasably retained on the sleeve. A lotion insert may be disposed between the nose wipe insert and the sleeve to allow a user to apply a soothing lotion emitted therefrom to the user's nose. Alternatively, the nose wipe accessory may be attached to an armband worn on a sleeve, or may be attached to a sleeve with straps, allowing the user to wear the nose wipe accessory interchangeably with multiple outerwear garments.

Inventors:

Bloom, William S. (Chicago, IL, US)
Soucie, Shaun E. (Indianapolis, IN, US)

Application Number:

09/978327

Publication Date:

06/20/2002

Filing Date:

10/16/2001

Export Citation:

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Primary Class:

2/69

International Classes:

A41B15/00; A41D3/02; (IPC1-7): A41B15/00

View Patent Images:

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Attorney, Agent or Firm:

111 E. WAYNE STREET,BAKER & DANIELS (SUITE 800, FORT WAYNE, IN, 46802)

Claims:

What is claimed is:

1. An article of outerwear, comprising: a sleeve; and a nose wipe accessory attached to said sleeve, said nose wipe accessory comprising: a piece of fabric removably attached to said sleeve; and a flap having an outer periphery, said flap disposed over said piece of fabric and fixedly attached to said sleeve along a first portion of said outer periphery and removably attached to said sleeve along a second portion of said outer periphery, wherein said flap may be opened to expose said piece of fabric.

2. The article of outerwear of claim 1, further comprising: at least one first hook and loop fastener strip fixed to said sleeve; and at least one second hook and loop fastener strip attached to each of said piece of fabric and said flap, said at least one first hook and loop fastener strip releaseably engaging each of said at least one second hook and loop fastener strips.

3. The article of outerwear of claim 1, further comprising a lotion insert disposed intermediate said piece of fabric and said sleeve.

4. A nose wipe accessory, comprising: an armband; a piece of fabric removably attached to said armband; and a flap having an outer periphery, said flap fixedly attached to said armband along a first portion of said periphery and removably attached to said sleeve along a second portion of said outer periphery, wherein said flap may be opened to expose said piece of fabric.

5. The nose wipe accessory of claim 4, further comprising a lotion insert disposed intermediate said piece of fabric and said armband.

6. The nose wipe accessory of claim 4, further comprising: first hook and loop fastener strips fixed respectively around an outer periphery of said piece of fabric and said outer periphery of said flap, and a second hook and loop fastener strip fixed to said armband around an area thereof, said area corresponding to said outer peripheries of each of said piece of fabric and said cover, said second hook and loop fastener strip releaseably engaging each of said first hook and loop fastener strips.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to outerwear such as coats and jackets, for example, of the type which are worn by a person when engaging in outdoor work or recreational activity in a cold environment.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Engaging in outdoor work or recreational activity, such as skiing, in a cold environment often causes people to experience a runny nose. A problem is that when wearing existing outerwear and gloves, it is inconvenient and difficult for a person to attend to a runny nose with the use of a tissue or handkerchief. For example, attending to a runny nose typically requires a person to take off his or her gloves in order to remove a tissue or handkerchief from a pocket, because accessing the pocket and manipulating the tissue or handkerchief cannot be readily performed while wearing gloves. After attending to their runny nose, the person discards the used tissue or handkerchief or places same back into the pocket, and may then may put the gloves back on and continue with the person's activities.

[0005] This process is even more inconvenient when the individual's movement is restricted, such that the person cannot easily perform the aforementioned steps, for example, as when riding on a chair lift up a ski slope or performing certain restrictive outdoor work activity such as construction. Additionally, the need for the person to remove their gloves in the cold environment is in itself undesirable, as such results in the person's hands becoming exposed to the cold.

[0006] What is needed is a device that alleviates the aforementioned difficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides a nose wipe accessory for outerwear, which allows a user thereof to attend to a runny nose while wearing gloves in an environment in which the person's movement is restricted. The nose wipe accessory includes an outer flap fixed along one edge thereof to the sleeve of an outerwear garment, the remaining edges of the outer flap removably attached to the sleeve of the garment, such that the flap may be readily opened to allow access to a disposable nose wipe insert releasably retained on the sleeve.

[0008] The outer flap may easily be grasped and opened by a user while wearing gloves to reveal the nose wipe insert, allowing the user to wipe the user's nose on the insert, and then re-attach the outer flap. The outer flap and the nose wipe insert may each be releasably attached to the sleeve of the garment using hook and loop fasteners. The nose wipe insert may comprise a piece of soft fabric, which may be disposed of after sufficient use.

[0009] Further, the nose wipe accessory, as described above, may be attached to an armband which may be worn on the sleeve of an outerwear garment, allowing the user to wear the nose wipe accessory interchangeably with multiple outerwear garments.

[0010] Additionally, a lotion insert which emits a soothing lotion may be disposed between the nose wipe insert and the sleeve of the garment, such that the user may partially remove the nose wipe insert to reveal the lotion insert, and apply soothing lotion to the person's nose therefrom to avoid nose chaffing.

[0011] In one form thereof, an article of outerwear is provided, including a sleeve, and a nose wipe accessory attached to the sleeve, the nose wipe accessory including a piece of fabric removably attached to the sleeve; and a flap having an outer periphery, the flap disposed over the piece of fabric and fixedly attached to the sleeve along a first portion of the outer periphery and removably attached to the sleeve along a second portion of the outer periphery, wherein the flap may be opened to expose the piece of fabric.

[0012] In another form thereof, a nose wipe accessory is provided, including an armband; a piece of fabric removably attached to the armband; and a flap having an outer periphery, the flap fixedly attached to the armband along a first portion of the periphery and removably attached to the sleeve along a second portion of the outer periphery, wherein the flap may be opened to expose the piece of fabric.

[0013] Advantageously, the nose wipe accessory allows a user to quickly and easily attend to a runny nose while wearing gloves in an environment in which the user's movement is restricted, by the simple operation of opening the outer flap, wiping the user's nose on the nose wipe insert, and closing the outer flap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary outerwear garment having a nose wipe accessory thereon in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the nose wipe accessory of FIG. 1, showing the outer flap opened, and the nose wipe insert partially removed to reveal the lotion insert therebeneath;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the nose wipe accessory of FIGS. 2 and 4, showing the outer flap partially opened; and

[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an armband including a nose wipe accessory in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, showing the outer flap partially opened.

[0019] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, outerwear garment 10 is shown, including sleeves 12. To one sleeve 12 is attached nose wipe accessory 14. Outerwear garment 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as a coat or jacket, however, it should be understood that nose wipe accessory 14 may be attached to any type of outerwear garment.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, nose wipe accessory 14 generally includes outer flap 16, nose wipe insert 18, and lotion insert 20. Outer flap 16 may be made of nylon, for example, and may be made of the same material as sleeve 12 for aesthetic purposes. Outer flap 16 is sewn along first edge 24 thereof to sleeve 12 of garment 10, and hook and loop fastener strips 26a are attached around the periphery of inner surface 28 of outer flap 16. Hook and loop fastener strips 26a-c may be Velcro® strips, for example. (Velcro® is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries BV LLC). Hook and loop fastener strips 26a on inner surface 28 of outer flap 16 releasably engage nose wipe insert 18 and/or cooperating hook and loop fastener strips 26b attached to sleeve 12 of garment 10 around an area thereof which corresponds to the periphery of outer flap 16. Although outer flap 16 may be grasped and opened by a user while wearing gloves, outer flap 16 may also include loop 38 for grasping to ease the opening outer flap 16, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] Nose wipe insert 18 comprises a piece of soft fabric such as cotton or fleece, for example. One suitable fabric for nose wipe insert 18 is Turtle Fur®. (Turtle Fur® is a registered trademark of Brystie, Inc.). Nose wipe insert 18 includes hook and loop fastener strips 26c disposed about the periphery of inner surface 28 thereof. Hook and loop fastener strips 26c on inner surface 30 of nose wipe insert 18 releaseably engage hook and loop fastener strips 26b attached to sleeve 12 to define lotion insert pocket 32 between nose wipe insert 18 and sleeve 12. Disposed within lotion insert pocket 32 intermediate nose wipe insert 18 and sleeve 12 is lotion insert 20. Lotion insert 20 comprises a plastic walled packet containing a soothing lotion therein, the lotion emitted from lotion insert 20 through a plurality of holes 34.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an alternate embodiment of nose wipe accessory 14 is shown, including armband 22 made of a flexible material such as neoprene, having open ends 36a, 36b, allowing armband 22 to be slid over and worn on sleeve 12 of outerwear garment 10. A user may interchangeably wear armband 22 on the sleeve of multiple outerwear garments. Armband 22 includes outer flap 16 sewn thereto along first edge 24 of outer flap 16 and hook and loop fastener strips 26a disposed around the periphery of inner surface 28 of outer flap 16, which releaseably engage nose wipe insert 18 and/or complementary hook and loop fasteners 26b attached to armband 22, as described above. Nose wipe insert 18 may be attached to armband 22 in the same manner as described above for the attachment of nose wipe insert 18 to sleeve 12. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, lotion insert 20 may be disposed in lotion insert pocket 32 intermediate nose wipe insert 18 and armband 22.

[0024] Alternatively, another embodiment of nose wipe accessory 14 may be in the form of a piece of base fabric (not shown) to which hook and loop fasteners 26b, outer flap 16, and nose wipe insert 18 are attached as described above, the piece of base fabric including straps for attachment of nose wipe accessory 14 to sleeve 12 of outerwear garment 10. The straps may be continuous elastic straps, for example, or may be strips of a suitable material including fasteners such as buckles or hook and loop fasteners.

[0025] In use, a user wearing outerwear garment 10 with nose wipe accessory 14, or an outerwear garment 10 having armband 22 with nose wipe accessory 14 thereon, first grasps outer flap 16 and opens outer flap 16 to reveal nose wipe insert 18 therebeneath. Outer flap 16 may easily be grasped by a user while wearing gloves. The user may then wipe the user's nose on nose wipe insert 18, and thereafter cover nose wipe insert 18 by reattaching outer flap 16 to sleeve 12 or armband 22. Similar to the opening of outer flap 16, outer flap 16 may also be easily re-attached to armband 22 or sleeve 12 by the user while wearing gloves. Optionally, the user, after wiping the user's nose on nose wipe insert 18, may grasp nose wipe insert 18 and partially remove same to reveal lotion insert 20 therebeneath. The user may then wipe the user's nose on lotion insert 20 to apply a soothing lotion emitted from nose wipe insert 18 to the user's nose to aid in prevention nose chaffing, followed by reattaching nose wipe insert 18 to a respective one of sleeve 12 or armband 22. Nose wipe insert 18, similar to outer flap 16, may easily be opened and reattached by the user while wearing gloves.

[0026] Nose wipe insert 18, when soiled, may be discarded and replaced with a new nose wipe insert. Alternatively, depending upon the type of fabric of which nose wipe insert 18 is made, nose wipe insert 18 may be cleaned and used repeatedly. Similarly, lotion insert 20, after all of the soothing lotion therein has been used, may be discarded and replaced by a new lotion insert.

[0027] While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.

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