Patent Application
20190246705
This disclosure relates generally but not exclusively to garments having an integrated stiffening element disposed within cuff portions of the garments.
The present disclosure describes particular embodiments and their detailed construction and operation. The embodiments described herein are set forth by way of illustration only and not limitation. Those skilled in the art will recognize, in light of the teachings herein, that there may be a range of equivalents to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Most notably, other embodiments are possible, variations can be made to the embodiments described herein, and there may be equivalents to the components, parts, or steps that make up the described embodiments. For the sake of clarity and conciseness, certain aspects of components or steps of certain embodiments are presented without undue detail where such detail would be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings herein and/or where such detail would obfuscate an understanding of more pertinent aspects of the embodiments.
The present disclosure describes a garment having an integrated stiffening element disposed within a cuff portion of the garment to define a substantially uniform height of the cuff portion.
Garment 100 includes a torso portion 110, a pair of opposing sleeve portions 120, and a pair of cuff portions 130. Seams 142 and 144 join textile panel 115 to textile panels 111 and 113, respectively, to construct torso portion 110. Each sleeve portion 120 is composed of a textile panel 121. As best seen in
Each of the textile panels (i.e., textile panels 111, 113, 115, 121, and 131) can be composed of a woven fabric, knit fabric, nonwoven fabric, or any combination thereof. Any type of woven construction may be used to implement the woven fabric, such as a plain weave, satin/sateen, twill, basket weave, and the like. Suitable knit fabrics include a weft knit, a double knit, a rib knit, warp knit, and the like. In an embodiment, textile panels may be composed of a laminate of woven and nonwoven fabric, a knit and nonwoven fabric, a woven and knit fabric, and the like. In an embodiment, a textile panel includes one or more functional finishes, coatings, or other treatments that enhance a functionality of the textile panel. For example, the textile panel can include anti-bacterial agents, coatings, flame retardant coatings, and the like.
When textile panels are composed of woven fabric or knit fabric, the woven and/or knit fabric can be formed from any number of yarn types, such as spun yarns or continuous filament yarns. Examples of suitable spun yarns include natural fibers, synthetic fibers, or various blends of natural and synthetic fibers. Suitable natural fibers include cotton, wool, cotton, denim, flannel, hemp, leather, linen, seersucker, silk, terrycloth, velvet, and the like. Suitable synthetic fibers include polyester, polyolefin fibers, polyamide 6 fibers, polyamide 6,6 fibers, polylactic acid (“PLA”) fibers, vicose rayon fibers, acrylic fibers, nylon, polar fleece, rayon, spandex, and the like.
When textile panels are composed of nonwoven fabrics, the nonwoven fabrics may include melt-spun nonwovens, such as spunbond and meltblown materials or similar structures. A melt-spun nonwoven can include a single spunbond layer, multiple spunbond layers, a single meltblown layer, multiple meltblown layers, or multiple layers of spunbond and meltblown materials. Melt-spun nonwovens can be formed with polyester, polyolefin, polyamide 6, polyamide 6,6, PLA polymers, and the like. Alternatively, the nonwoven fabrics can be carded or airlaid materials that are bonded thermally, chemically, and/or mechanically (e.g., via needles or stitch bonding). Suitable fibers for carded or airlaid materials include PET and viscose fibers, and the like.
In an embodiment, one textile panel among the various textile panels (i.e., textile panels 111, 113, 115, 121, and 131) composing garment 100 has at least one characteristic that is distinct from the other textile panels. Such characteristics include aesthetic characteristics and material characteristics. Examples of aesthetic characteristics include color, pattern (e.g., stripes, dots, plaid, etc.), surface contour, ornamental attachments, and the like. Examples of material characteristics include weight, fabric density, fabric structure, fiber size, thickness, stiffness, rigidity, elasticity, weave tightness, knit tightness, thread count, and the like.
Seams 148 (
As best seen in
In defining the substantially uniform height, the stiffening element 175 imparts an extending force on the cuff portion 130 from within the void in the cuff portion 130. The extending force translates into a stretching of textile panel 131 in an axial direction with respect to an axis defined by an arm of the wearer 200. That stretching reduces any rumpling of the cuff portion 130 thereby providing the cuff portion 130 with a taut and crisp outward appearance. In an embodiment, a lateral-to-longitudinal stiffness ratio of the stiffening element 175 imparts the extending force. In an embodiment, the lateral-to-longitudinal stiffness ratio exceeds a predetermined value. The predetermined value may be determined based on any number of factors. For example, the predetermined value may be determined based on the characteristics of textile panel 131, a desired level of reduction in the rumpling of the cuff portion 130, and the like. In an embodiment, the lateral-to-longitudinal stiffness ratio exceeds one.
In an embodiment, a wearer (e.g., person 200) of garment 100 is able to fold the corresponding cuff portion 130 in an upward direction about itself towards the torso portion 110 to position the cuff portion 130 closer to a shoulder of the wearer. In an embodiment, an elasticity of the stiffening element 175 enables the wearer to fold a corresponding cuff portion in an upward direction about itself. The substantially uniform height of the corresponding cuff portion 130 is maintained upon positioning the cuff portion 130 closer to the shoulder due to the lateral-to-longitudinal stiffness ratio of the stiffening element 175.
In block 730, a stiffening element (e.g., stiffening element 175 of
As previously noted, the various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or states may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state. The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.
The terms and descriptions used above are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that those and many other variations, enhancements and modifications of the concepts described herein are possible without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the invention should therefore be determined only by the following claims and their equivalents.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/459,523, “Garment With Integrated Cuff Stiffening Elements,” filed Feb. 15, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
