Electrically heated garment

A portable, wearable electrically heated, cold weather garment system comprising:

• relatively light weight, stretchable, form-fitting fabric means for covering at least a portion of the body of a wearer of the garment;
• flexible conductor means, including a plurality of conductors secured to the fabric means, each being associated with an independently controlled heating zone, for generating heat in response to current flowing therethrough, to thereby provide warmth to a wearer of the garment;
• portable, wearable electronic controller means, including a plurality of solid-state power switching devices each of which is associated with a distinct heating zone, for controlling in a pulse width modulated fashion current flowing through the conductor means, thereby controlling the heat generated by the conductor means;
• and
• a plurality of first power level selection means for allowing manual control over the controller means by a wearer of the garment, thereby providing wearer control over current flowing through the conductor means, and thereby providing wearer control over the heat generated by the conductor means.

A portable, wearable electrically heated, cold weather garment system comprising:

• at least an upper body garment portion having at least first and second independent heating zones;
• at least one independent conductor associated with each such independent heating zone of the garment portion, each such conductor being operable to generate heat in response to a current flowing therethrough;
• and
• portable, wearable electronic controller means operating on direct current (D.C.) electrical power for simultaneously and independently controlling in pulse width modulated fashion the current flowing through each such independent conductor, thereby independently and simultaneously controlling the heat generated by each such independent conductor, to thereby provide independent and simultaneous control of the level of heating provided to each independent heating zone of the garment.

An electrically heated, cold weather garment system comprising:

• lightweight, stretchable, form-fitting fabric means for covering at least a portion of a body of a wearer of the garment;
• flexible conductor means arranged in a serpentine pattern for generating heat in response to a current flow therethrough, and for distributing the heat uniformly throughout the fabric means;
• cover stitch means for securing the conductor means to the fabric means and for substantially circumscribing at least a portion of the conductor means;
• portable, wearable, electronic controller means for controlling in pulse width modulated fashion the current flow through the conductor means, the controller means further being secured to a portion of the garment;
• power level selection means for providing manual control over the controller means by a wearer of the garment;
• a flexible wiring harness having first and second ends, the first end being connectable to the controller means;
• and
• electrical connector means securely mounted to a portion of the fabric means for removably connecting the second end of the wiring harness with the conductor means, the electrical connector having at least one wing portion for helping to facilitate mounting of the connector means to the fabric means.

For an electrically heated, cold-weather garment, an electrically heated sock, comprising:

• lightweight, stretchable, form-fitting fabric means for covering a foot of a wearer of the sock, the fabric means further being operable to wick away moisture, thereby helping to keep the foot of the wearer and the fabric means dry;
• flexible conductor means arranged on at least a portion of the fabric means in a serpentine pattern for generating heat in response to a current flow therethrough, and for distributing the heat evenly throughout portions of the fabric means;
• and
• cover stitch means for securing the conductor means to the fabric means and for substantially circumscribing a portion of but not all of the circumference of the conductor means in a manner which allows the conductor to move slightly relative to the fabric means, the cover stitch means including stitching arranged to substantially cover the portion of the conductor not wrapped therearound by the fabric means.

For an electrically heated, cold-weather garment, an electrically heated glove, comprising:

• lightweight, stretchable, form-fitting fabric means for covering at least a portion of a hand of a wearer of the garment, the fabric means further being operable to wick away moisture, thereby helping to keep the hand of the wearer and the fabric means dry;
• flexible conductor means arranged on at least a portion of the fabric means in a serpentine pattern for generating heat in response to a current flow therethrough, and for distributing the heat evenly throughout portions of the fabric means;
• and
• cover stitch means for securing the conductor means to the fabric means and for substantially circumscribing a portion of but not all of the circumference of the conductor means in a manner which allows the conductor to move slightly relative to the fabric means, the cover stitch means including stitching arranged to substantially cover the portion of the conductor not wrapped therearound by the fabric means.