Patent Application
20160366948
The embodiments herein relate generally to garments such as tee-shirts, and particularly to the neck collars and wrist portions of these shirts.
Tee-shirts are durable, versatile garments with mass appeal that may be worn as outerwear or underwear. Tee-shirt sleeves may be short or long and sized to fit just about anyone in any size, from infants to seniors. The majority of tee-shirts are made of cotton, polyester, or a cotton/polyester blend. Tee-shirts are usually made of knit fabrics, especially jerseys, rib knits, and interlock rib knits, which consist of two ribbed fabrics that are joined together. Jerseys are most frequently used since they are versatile, comfortable, and relatively inexpensive.
The most common tee-shirts do not open at the front and instead are donned by pulling the shirt over the head and slipping the head and arms through openings provided for the head and arms. Tee-shirts of this variety typically have a neckband to add support to the garment and give the neckline of the T-shirt a more finished look that lays flat against a user's neck. The neckband may be generally round in shape such as a crewneck, or are V-shaped, but other configurations are possible.
Making T-shirts is a fairly simple and largely automated process. Specially designed machines integrate cutting, assembling, and stitching for the most efficient operations. In many applications for crew neck shirts for instance, the neckband is sewn on to a neckline formed by the partially completed shirt to complete the head opening. The neckband may be formed from a ribbon or band of material and affixed to the neckline. A tubular neckband may be formed by affixing a tubular length of material to the neckline or, more commonly, affixing a length of fabric ribbon that has been folded over, creating an inner chamber in the neckband, then the edges are aligned with and sewn to the neckline. Some neckbands are attached as separate lengths of fabric to separate front and back necklines of the shirt, forming two separate inner chambers.
While tee-shirts are used herein by way of example, the present invention is applicable to any type of shirt having a collar or neckband, cuff or hem, forming an inner chamber. The cuff or hem of the shirtsleeves of a shirt may also be formed in this manner, or simply by folding over the edge of the shirt sleeve, creating an inner chamber within the hem.
A problem arises with these type of tubular neckbands and hems. After a few uses and washes, the neckband of the shirt becomes limp and droopy, no longer standing up resiliently against a user's neck. While the rest of the shirt may still look and feel new, with a droopy collar or loose sleeve hems the overall look of the shirt is unappealing, looking old and used.
As such, there is a need in the industry for an economical, simple and effective way to retain the resilience and elasticity of a tubular neckband or hem in a tee-shirt. In the past, some shirt makers have resolved this problem with a band of elastic tape sewn or otherwise applied to the exterior of a neckband. This has been met with some success, but is fairly bulky and stiff in appearance.
A support band apparatus for use in reinforcing neck and wrist portions of a shirt to prevent limpness and droopiness of the neck and wrist portions from normal use of the shirt is provided. The support band apparatus is configured to prevent irregular deformations of the neck and wrist portions and minimize user discomfort. The support band apparatus comprises an elastic band assembly comprising a first elastic band, a second elastic band and a third elastic band, each elastic band comprising a first end coupled to a second end to create a loop, the loops of the first, second and third elastic bands positioned such that each elastic band is intertwined with the other elastic bands, the elastic band assembly configured to be disposed within an inner pocket of a neck collar or wrist hems of the shirt, thereby providing support to the neck or wrist portions of the shirt, and a plurality of fasteners coupled to the elastic band assembly and positioned at predetermined locations throughout the first, second and third elastic bands, each pair of adjacent fasteners separated by a distance sufficiently large to prevent a midpoint region of the first, second and third bands between the adjacent fasteners from unraveling, thereby preventing any irregular deformations of the neck collar or wrist hems and minimizing user discomfort.
The detailed description of some embodiments of the invention will be made below with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein the figures disclose one or more embodiments of the present invention.
As depicted in
The support apparatus comprises wrist elastic band assembly 18 configured to be disposed within the inner pockets of wrists 16 and collar elastic band assembly 20 configured to be disposed within the inner pocket of collar 14.
Fasteners 26 are used to secure the three elastic bands together at predetermined locations throughout wrist elastic band assembly 18. Each fastener 26 preferably comprises a thread that is tied around the elastic bands in wrist elastic band assembly 18. Fasteners 26 may use any type of materials known in the field such as cotton, nylon, polyester, or the like. However, more durable materials may be used instead such as rubber, or the like. It shall be appreciated that alternative components may be used for fasteners 26 instead such as zip tie-like components, straps, or the like.
The dimensions of elastic bands used in wrist elastic band assembly 18 and collar elastic band assembly 20 may vary to accommodate different sized shirts. However, in a preferred embodiment, each elastic band has an approximate thickness of 1/32″. It shall be appreciated that any number of elastic bands and/or fasteners 26 may be used in wrist elastic band assembly 18 and collar elastic band assembly 20. Each pair of adjacent fasteners 26 in the assemblies is separated by a distance sufficiently large to prevent the midpoint region of the intertwined elastic bands between the adjacent fasteners from unraveling. This maintains the elastic bands in elastic band assemblies 18, 20 in a neat configuration and prevents any irregular deformations in collar 14 and wrists 16 in shirt 12. Although the distance between adjacent fasteners 26 on the elastic bands may vary, it has been found that a separation of at least 3 inches between adjacent fasteners 26 in collar elastic band assembly 20 is desirable.
It shall be appreciated that wrist elastic band assemblies 18 and collar elastic band assembly 20 reinforce wrists 16 and collar 14, and provide the necessary support to prevent these regions from becoming limp or droopy. As a result, neck portions 10a and wrist portions 10b of shirt 12 retain their original shape and condition even after repeatedly being worn by a user or washed. This enhances the durability and lifetime of the shirt, which ultimately saves the user time and money. It shall be appreciated that wrist elastic band assemblies 18 and collar elastic band assembly 20 do not significantly protrude out of shirt 12, which minimizes any discomfort felt by the user when wearing shirt 12.
It shall be appreciated that the components of the support apparatus described in several embodiments herein may comprise any alternative known materials in the field and be of any color, size and/or dimensions. It shall be appreciated that the components of the support apparatus described herein may be manufactured and assembled using any known techniques in the field.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above.
