Patent Application
20130098955
The present disclosure relates to the field of clothing accessories such as bands, scarfs, belts and the like and is more particularly related to armbands and leg bands. Armbands for carrying a cell phone are well known and sold by retailers such as Belkin, New Balance and Griffin. Generally, an armband is a length of fabric material secured in some manner around a bare arm or over a sleeve or other clothing. An armband is also known to be used as a leg band. An armband is often worn for pure ornamentation, to mark the wearer as belonging to a group, having a certain rank or role, or being in a particular state or condition. Spring metal armbands have been used to hike-up long sleeve shirts and to secure a pant leg when riding a bicycle. When used as part of a military uniform it is called a brassard. Armbands have been used as a light reflecting element for safety at night by police and also have been used to exhibit a logo or other insignia in order to obtain public awareness. Armbands and leg bands of various types have been used as tourniquets. Bands with pockets, sleeves, grippers, and tool holders have been in common use and are known to be adapted for securing items such as firearms and other hardware. A problem with elastic armbands is that they hug the arm tightly so as not to slip downward and thereby are subject to catching stitches and fabric seams on jewelry when pulling the armband on or off. Such catching of stitches often results in tearing of seams and ultimately the destruction of the armband. The present disclosure shows how to overcome this problem.
The presently described and illustrated apparatus is an elastic armband or leg band shaped as a truncated cone primarily to fit tightly on the extremity to which it is mounted. In this specification, “armband” shall mean a band that can be worn on either an arm or a leg. It is a fabric assembly of several separate pieces and is sewn in such a manner as to conceal most of the hems, stitches and edges of the fabric pieces. A semi-transparent pocket is mounted on the outside of the armband and is large enough to hold a cell phone, credit cards, driver's license and similar items that one may need to carry when hiking, jogging, engaging in athletics or strength training for instance. The armband is made primarily of a stretchable and resilient elastic material so that it is able to grip and hold tightly when mounted on an arm or leg.
An advantage of the presently disclosed armband is the ability to view the face of a cell phone or other electronic device as viewed through the outside of a mesh pocket which holds the phone on the exterior of the armband.
A related advantage of the armband is the ability to operate a control panel of the electronic device by touch sense through the mesh pocket fabric.
A further advantage of the armband is that its tight-fitting pocket flap, which is secured on both sides of the pocket, is able to prevent items within the pocket from falling out.
Another advantage of the armband is that its tenacious elastic resilience is able to hold the armband at a set arm position without sliding downward.
Another advantage of the armband is that it is constructed with most of its sewn edges concealed so that these edges are not subject to tearing or other damage when the armband is pulled over protruding parts of a wristwatch, wrist or finger jewelry, or other objects.
The details of one or more embodiments of these concepts are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of these concepts will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
When laid flat, the outer pocket portion 10, pocket flap portion 20, inner pocket portion 30, and connector portion 40 may be rectangular in shape but may also be a variant of the rectangle such as an isosceles trapezoid or otherwise depending on the desired conformation of the armband 3. The armband 3 may be shaped as a right circular cylinder or as a right truncated cone (
As shown in
A number of embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
