A polo shirt is an extremely common type of shirt that is also known as a golf or tennis shirt. These shirts are essentially T-shaped with a collar; have two or three buttons, and sometimes a pocket. Polo shirts can be made of knitted cloth, cotton, silk, wool or synthetic fibers. Polo shirts are very popular both for their comfort as well as for their fashion.
One particular aspect of a polo shirt is its collar. For some, it is important for the collar of the polo shirt to be curved. However, it is difficult to maintain such curved collars. Typically, when the shirt is washed, worn, or even stored, it is possible for the collar to become folded, creased, or other deformed from the desired curved form. Moreover, restoring the curvature to the collar of the polo shirt is difficult in that known irons and presses have flat surfaces that are not particularly suited for imparting the desired curved shape to the collar of the polo shirt.
While some attempts have been made to facilitate the maintenance of collars of other types of shirts, such attempts have generally employed flat surfaces akin to irons or presses that are only suited for flat surfaces. For example, United States Published Patent Application 2012/0324769 A1 provides a fabric press that can be engaged upon the flat collar of a button down shirt to remove wrinkles and provide a planar collar. However, the press of that application is not suitable for polo shirts where a complex curved collar shape is desired.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a method and apparatus that can quickly, easily, and without much expense impart a desired curved shape to a collar of a shirt, such as a polo shirt.
A method and apparatus for setting a curve in a shirt collar is provided. The apparatus includes a form comprising an under collar portion and an over collar portion. The under collar portion has a curved surface configured to contact an underside of the shirt collar. The over collar portion has a curved surface configured to contact an opposite side of the shirt collar. The under collar portion and the over collar portion are urged together to clamp at least a portion of the shirt collar therebetween.
Under collar portion 16 and over collar portion 18 are joined together and pivot about one another at pivot point 22. A compression spring 24, or other suitable bias member, biases gripping portions 26 and 28 apart from one another in order to close portions 20 of over collar portion 18 and under collar portion 16 together. Accordingly, as a user grasps portions 26 and 28 and urges portions 26 and 28 together, portions 20 of under and over collar portions 16, 18, respectively, are moved apart thereby allowing the collar to be inserted. Thereafter, the user releases portions 26 and 28 and bias member 24, in cooperation with pivot 22, closes portions 20 on the collar. Allowing the collar to remain clamped between portions 20 of over collar portion 18 and under collar portion 16 for a suitable amount of time will impart the desired collar form onto the polo shirt collar.
For some polo shirts, the extreme edge of the collar can sometimes develop an undesirable curl. While the gradual curve imparted by curved portions 20 is desirable, having a curl in the edge of the collar is not. Accordingly, some embodiments of the present invention transition from curved portions 20 to flattened surfaces 23 in order to ensure that the very edge of the collar does not curl.
Under collar portion 16 preferably includes a plurality of apertures 32 which extend therethrough in order to allow air to pass through under collar portion 16 to facilitate drying of the shirt collar. Preferably, apertures 32 are holes that extend through under collar portion 16. More preferably, holes 32 are arranged regularly along flat surface 23 of under collar portion 16. While holes are illustrated in
Under collar portion 16 includes a collar forming curve 20 as well as a shirt conforming curve 30, which curves 20, 30 are sized and shaped to cooperate with corresponding curves of over collar portion 18. Thus, these two components fit closely together in order to generate the desired shape on the collar of the polo shirt.
In order to facilitate low cost manufacture, it is preferred that each of under collar portion 16 and over collar portion 18 include features that facilitate a snap-together assembly. Thus, bias member 24 can be simply placed over post 36 of under collar portion 16 and then over collar portion 18 can be lowered until cooperative features snap into place relative to corresponding features of under collar portion 16. Once snapped together, portions 16 and 18 pivot about pivot point 22 (shown in
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
The present application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/621,072, filed Apr. 6, 2012, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61621072 | Apr 2012 | US |