Patent Application
20170027236
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cloths for cleaning eyeglasses and shirts, and more particularly shirts to be worn while boating, fishing, exercising, surfing, and doing activities while wearing glasses or sunglasses.
Description of the Related Art
Sunglasses are particularly useful for boating and fishing because they can include polarized lenses that increase visibility of the water by reducing glare. Unfortunately, lenses of glasses and sunglasses become dirty when boating. Spray from the water dirties and spots lenses.
The problem is increased by sunscreen. Sunscreen is used when boating and fishing. The sunscreen spreads to the lenses of glasses and sunglasses through contact.
The problem of dirty eyeglass lenses and sunglass lenses is broader than just boating situations. Anyone who wears eyeglasses will acknowledge the problem with dirty lenses. These problems are worsened in situations when the wearer is perspiring or, as mentioned, when wearing sunscreen
For lightly dirty lenses, a wearer who is not boating can try to wipe his or her lenses clean using a shirt. However, using an ordinary shirt while fishing or boating to clean lenses usually makes the dirty lenses worse. First, the fabric itself does not absorb or hold the dirt, salt, and sunscreen. Second, the cloth itself is dirty and covered with sea spray, perspiration, and sunscreen.
One method for cleaning lenses is to wipe the lenses with a microfiber lens cleaning cloth. The lens-cleaning cloth can be kept in a wearer's sunglass case or pocket. When a case is used, the case may be off the wearer's body and difficult to reach when needed, especially if the wearer is spotting or retrieving a fish. When a cloth is placed in the pocket, the wearer must have two free hands to use the cloth: a first hand to hold the cloth and a second hand to hold the glasses.
An object of the invention is to provide a shirt with a lens cloth that overcomes the disadvantages of the devices of this general type and of the prior art. In particular, the shirt has a lens cloth that is protected from dirt, water, sea spray, perspiration, and sunscreen during normal wear and that is available when needed and can be used with only one hand. The lens cloth can be protected by an exterior layer for example an exterior of a shirt or pocket.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an improvement to a shirt. The improvement includes a lens cloth that is connected to the shirt. The lens cloth is hidden by the shirt when the shirt is worn. At the same time, the lens cloth is positioned so that it does not contact a wearer's skin when the shirt is worn.
A shirt can be a customary shirt. The shirt can be any type of shirt, for example, a crewneck shirt, a button-up shirt, a V-neck shirt, a hooded shirt, a long sleeve shirt, tank top, or a short-sleeve shirt. A shirt typically has a torso made from a back portion sewn to a front portion. In the case of a button-up shirt, the front portion can be separated into a left panel and a right panel. The shirt can be made of any suitable material. Cotton, nylon, polyester, and microfiber shirts are examples of materials.
In accordance with the objects of the invention, the shirt can include fabric having an outer surface configured to be worn facing away from skin of a wearer and an inner surface configured to be worn facing toward the skin of the wearer. The fabric can be the fabric of the shirt itself or the fabric that forms a pocket, in particular, a chest pocket. The lens cloth can be disposed on the inner surface of the fabric.
The shirt can include a torso portion. The torso covers the torso of the wearer. A hemline can be added along the bottom of the torso. The hemline prevents the shirt from fraying.
According to the objects of the invention, the lens cloth can be placed on the inside surface of the torso of the shirt with the bottom edge of the lens cloth being placed along the hemline. The hemline additionally can secure the lens cloth to the inside of the torso. The lens cloth can have a top edge. The height of the lens cloth can be set so that the top edge of the lens cloth is below the waistline of the pants of the wearer. Because the waistline of each particular wearer is expected to be different, the waistline can be based on sizing for average anatomy, average anatomy for a given shirt size, or by fitting a certain percentage of expected wearers. By keeping the top edge of the lens cloth below the waistline, the lens cloth does not contact the wearer's belly. Accordingly, the lens cloth does not absorb perspiration or sunscreen from the wearer's skin. In addition, the thickness of the shirt is kept at one layer thick on the wearer's skin by keeping the lens cloth below the waistline. The size and shape of the lens cloth can be set for a particular purpose. The lens cloth can be place along just the front and not the rear of the inside of a shirt above the hemline. The lens cloth can be sized and shaped that sewn or adhered as a patch placed on the inside of the shirt. The patch can be from the bottom of the shirt (i.e. along the hemline) and can reach to a level below the expected waistline of a wearer or reach even higher.
The lens cloth can be made from microfibers. Microfiber is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread. Types of microfibers that could be used include polyesters, polyamides, or a conjugation of polyester, polyamide, and polypropylene. An example of a suitable material for a lens cloth is the lens cloth sold under the trade name REUSABLE LENS CLEANING CLOTH 9021 by 3M.
The lens cloth can be placed on the inside of the tail of the shirt. A vent can be formed in the side of the shirt along the bottom of the shirt. The vent defines a tail in the front and back of the shirt. The lens cloth can be placed on the interior surface of the front tail of the shirt. To use the lens cloth, the tail is folded back to expose the lens cloth. Then, the wearer can use the exposed lens cloth to wipe his or her lenses.
In the case of a button-up shirt, the front of the shirt is divided into a right and left front panel. A lens cloth can be placed on the inside surface of each front panel.
The lens cloth can encircle the inside of the front and back of the shirt. However, only lining the front tail with the lens cloth may be preferred because the front tail is the most accessible portion and the rear section is unnecessary.
In accordance with the objects of the invention, a pocket can be formed with a lens cloth within the pocket. The pocket is a typical shirt pocket that is formed by sewing a flap of fabric onto the shirt. The flap is sewn along its left edge, bottom edge, and right edge. The top is open. A resealable closure can be added to the top of the pocket: for example, a button, a zipper, or hook and loop closure. The lens cloth is connected to an inner surface of the flap of fabric.
The lens cloth can be sewn to the inside top edge of the pocket. The lens cloth can be deployed by unfolding the lens cloth and extending it from the pocket. After using the lens cloth, the lens cloth can be folded into the pocket to protect the lens cloth from sea spray.
The pocket can be formed by attaching the lens cloth to the interior surface of the flap. The lens cloth can be the same size as the flap or larger. Larger lens clothes can be configured to extend above the top edge of the flap when the lens cloth is deployed for wiping liens. The lens cloth can be folded along the top edge so that the lens cloth is stored within the pocket when not in use.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a shirt with a lens cloth, the invention should not be limited to the details shown in those embodiments because various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention while remaining within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention and additional objects and advantages of the invention is best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The lens cloth 20 is preferably made of microfiber. The microfiber is preferably a blend of polyester and nylon.
To clean the lenses wearer's glasses, the wearer folds the tail of shirt front 11 to expose the lens cloth 20. The wearer then wipes his or her lenses on the lens cloth 20. After wiping the lenses, the tail of the shirt front 11 is released to hide the lens cloth 20.
The lens cloth 20 is preferably made of microfiber. The microfiber is preferably a blend of polyester and nylon.
To clean the lenses wearer's glasses, the wearer folds the tail of the left front shirt panel 18 to expose the left panel 22 or the tail of the right front shirt panel 19 to expose the right panel 23. The wearer then wipes his or her lenses on the left panel 22 or the right panel 23. After wiping the lenses, the shirt tail is released to hide the left panel 22 or the right panel 23.
To use the pocket shown in
