U.S. patent application number 10/137576 was filed with the patent office on 2003-11-06 for swimwear and method of manufacture.
Invention is credited to Vafi, Sassan.
Application Number | 20030204892 10/137576 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29269108 |
Filed Date | 2003-11-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030204892 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Vafi, Sassan |
November 6, 2003 |
Swimwear and method of manufacture
Abstract
A swimsuit garment (10, 42, 58, 74) is constructed of a single
piece of knit material characterized by having high stretchability
so as to fit a wide range of wearer sizes and yet remaining
comfortable. In manufacture, the swimsuit is cut from a material
blank and is seamless with the cut edge remaining free from hemming
or other finishing.
Inventors: |
Vafi, Sassan; (Canoga park,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GEORGE J. NETTER, ESQ.
260 S. LOS ROBLES #216
PASADENA
CA
91101
US
|
Family ID: |
29269108 |
Appl. No.: |
10/137576 |
Filed: |
May 2, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/67 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 7/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/67 |
International
Class: |
A41D 005/00; A41D
007/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A swimsuit garment, comprising: a one-piece seamless extent of a
knit textile material cut from a blank of material into a
predetermined geometry including complementary strips for being
hand-tied together to aid in securing the garment in place when
worn, the cut edge of the garment being a raw edge free of
finishing or hemming.
2. A swimsuit garment as in claim 1, in which the textile material
has sufficient stretchability to enable one constructed size of the
garment to comfortably fit an extended range of women's sizes.
3. A swimsuit garment as in claim 2, in which the textile material
has sufficient stretchability to comfortably fit an individual in
the size range extending from women's size 2 through 14.
4. A swimsuit garment as in claim 2, in which the textile material
is a combination of polyester and spandex (Lycra).
5. A swimsuit garment as in claim 2, in which the textile material
is selected from the group consisting of polyester, spandex, Lycra,
nylon.
6. A swimsuit garment as in claim 1, in which the garment includes
first and second arm members with respective first and second slits
for receiving the arms therethrough.
7. A swimsuit garment as in claim 1, in which the complementary
strips are provided for tying securement in the waist region of a
wearer.
8. A swimsuit having a first upper-half garment and a second
lower-half garment, comprising: each garment being constructed of a
one-piece seamless extent of material cut from a blank of knit
material into a predetermined shape for the respective garment
including complementary strips for being hand-tied together to
secure the said garment in place when worn, the cut edge of the
said garment being a raw edge free of hemming or finishing; said
upper-half garment being of generally band-shaped geometry for
receipt about the upper part of a wearer's body with first and
second complementary pairs of strips integral with respective
opposite end portions for mutual tying engagement and a third pair
of strips for receipt and tying engagement about the neck of a
wearer; and said lower-half garment including first and second
pairs of strips for tying engagement to secure the said lower-half
garment about a wearer.
9. A swimsuit as in claim 8, in which the upper-half garment is
generally rectangular having a long dimension for receipt about the
chest when worn and a lesser width dimension with two spaced apart
strips extending from each respective outer edge.
10. A swimsuit as in claim 8, in which the upper-half garment is
elongated and oval with a long dimension sufficient to extend about
the upper body of a wearer and the oval having a maximum width
located substantially at the center of the front of the wearer's
body, and said oval narrowing down to provide first and second
tying strips at opposite narrow sides of the garment, and further
having third and fourth strips integral with an upper edge of the
garment for tying about the wearer's neck.
11. A one-piece women's swimsuit for accommodating sizes 2-14
without adjustment, comprising: a single unitary extent of a
textile material selected from the group consisting of polyester,
spandex, Lycra, nylon cut from a textile blank into a design
configuration with the cut edge being free of finishing or hemming;
said predetermined design configuration including an upper half
with a central panel for covering the upper torso region, forward
areas of each side of a wearer, and first and second arm members
with first and second respective slits therein; a seamless bottom
half with a stomach panel, rear panel and crotch panel; and when
the swimsuit is extended out forming a flat unstressed plane it has
the following approximate dimensions: 36 inches from a topmost edge
to a lowermost edge; the arm slits are each 6 inches long; and the
crotch panel width is 2.5 inches.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention described herein pertains generally to
swimwear, and, more particularly, to swimwear that can be
manufactured with optimal cost effectiveness enabling disposable
use.
[0003] 2. Description of Field of Application
[0004] A not uncommon situation that has occurred at least once to
most individuals, and more than once to many, has been finding on
arrival at a trip destination that the bathing suit has been left
home. To remedy the situation, typically a suit is bought at a
resort, for example, at an exorbitant price and no doubt of a
design that is at best merely acceptable, but not totally what one
would have desired. Some individuals, when queried, have indicated
that they have a number of swimsuits at home, and yet they still
fail to bring one along, especially if the trip is quickly decided
upon.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is a primary object and aim of the present invention to
provide a swimsuit and method of making the same which accommodates
a large range of body sizes and at optimal cost effectiveness.
[0006] Another object is the provision of a swimsuit brought to
finished usable condition without the necessity of interconnecting
by such means as sewing, finishing edges, or the like.
[0007] Yet another object is the cutting of a swim garment in
one-piece from a stretchable fabric that can accommodate a wide
range of women's sizes.
[0008] Still another object is the cutting of one-piece textile
items from a textile blank, which items can be utilized as clothing
without need of further retention means.
[0009] In accordance with the practice of the present invention an
item of clothing is formed from a single piece or blank of a highly
stretchable material that when maximally stretched is not
uncomfortable to the wearer. The item of clothing includes not only
body covering portions but also straps for being tied together or
coacting with slits or other openings to effect removable
securement of the clothing item about a human body. It is
contemplated that the described clothing item and method of
manufacture can be most advantageously employed to make a female
swimsuit of either the one-piece or two-piece category.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0010] These and other objects and advantages of the invention will
become more readily apparent upon reading the following detailed
description and upon reference to the attached drawings in
which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a one-piece swimsuit of the
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 depicts the swimsuit of FIG. 1 as worn by an
individual;
[0013] FIGS. 3A and 3B are respectively a plan view of the bottom
half of a two-piece swimsuit of the invention and the same shown
folded for wearing;
[0014] FIGS. 4A and 4B respective are a plan view of the top half
of a two-piece swimsuit of the invention and the same as assembled
during wear;
[0015] FIG. 5 depicts the two-piece swimsuit of FIGS. 3 and 4 as
worn by an individual;
[0016] FIGS. 6A and 6B show an alternative embodiment of top half
garment constructed in accordance with the invention; and
[0017] FIG. 7 shows in plan view a design of a swimsuit lower half
of the invention laid out on a textile blank prior to cutting
removal during manufacture.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] With reference now to the drawings and, particularly, FIGS.
1 and 2, there is shown a one-piece women's bathing suit 10 made in
accordance with the present invention. The bathing suit is
constructed from a single blank of homogeneous preferably knit
textile material to be described in detail later having a first
desired characteristic of stretchability. The suit includes a
seamless bottom half unit 12 with a somewhat triangular stomach
panel 14, and a rear panel 16 integrally joined with panel 14 via a
crotch panel 17. First and second connection strips 18 and 20
extend transversely away from respective opposite sides of the
stomach panel 14. Third and fourth connection strips 22 and 24
extend transversely from respectively opposite sides of rear panel
16. Preferably, strips 18 and 20 are located along a straight line
26 generally parallel to line 28 through the approximate center of
the crotch panel 17, lines 26 and 28 intersecting the vertical
centerline 30 of the suit at 90-degrees. Similarly, strips 22 and
24 extend along a straight line generally parallel to lines 28 and
26.
[0019] On wearing assembly, the stomach, crotch and rear panels are
placed against the corresponding parts of the anatomy and strips
18-22 and 20-24 being tied together and located against the upper
hips as shown in FIG. 2. Optionally, strips 18 and 20 may be tied
together as well as the strips 22 and 24.
[0020] With reference still to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper half 32 of
the swimsuit 10 includes a central panel 34 of such extent as to
cover the upper torso region and part of the forward areas of each
side. Also, first and second arm members 36 and 38 extend upwardly
and slightly outwardly from the central panel 34. First and second
slits 40 and 42 are formed in the respective arm members for
receiving the arms therethrough during use.
[0021] Although other materials may be found useful in making the
present invention, best results to date have been obtained by
making the described swimsuit from a knit material constructed of
92% polyester and 8% spandex (additionally, the product sold by the
Dupont Company under the registered trademark Lycra may be used
instead of spandex). Swimsuits made of this material for a women's
size 2 not only are stretchable without splitting or tearing to
accommodate an adult size 14, and can do so without producing such
reactive pressure as to make, say, a size 14 individual
uncomfortable. Although the above-described combination of
materials has been found to be excellent for present purposes,
other suitable knit or woven materials may be found suitable such
as individual or combinations of materials selected from the
group:
[0022] polyester, spandex, Lycra, and nylon.
[0023] To wear the swimsuit garment 10, the arms are inserted
through the slits 40 and 42 and the rear panel 16 is passed between
the legs from the front and pulled up into place. The strips 18,
20, 22 and 24 are then tied together as already described, one
example of which is shown in FIG. 2.
[0024] For a two-piece swimsuit of the invention, reference is now
made to FIGS. 3A and 3B where the lower half 42 of the swimsuit is
seen to be shaped similarly to the lower half 12 of the first
described one-piece suit except separated from the top half. That
is, the lower half 42 has a generally triangular front or stomach
panel 44 integral with the crotch panel 46, which is, in turn,
unitary with a rear panel 48. Transversely extending connection
strips 50 and 52 are integral with the front panel 44 and strips 54
and 56 extend from opposite sides of rear panel 48. Securement of
the lower half 42 to the body during wearing is accomplished by
tying strip 50 to strip 54, and strip 52 to strip 56 FIG. 5, or,
alternatively, tying 50 to 52 and 54 to 56 about the body.
[0025] The entire upper or top half 58 of a first version of a
two-piece swimsuit shown in FIG. 4A includes a unitary generally
rectangular textile body member 60 having a long dimension L and a
transverse shorter dimension D. Along one of the long edges, first
and second strips 62 and 64, preferably of approximately the same
length, are formed by cutting into the body member 60 from each of
the small ends a limited extent parallel to the long dimension L.
These strips are of a length that enable the outer end portions to
be tied together around the neck and the opposite fixed ends of the
strips terminate adjacent each breast of the wearer (FIG. 5). Each
of the small ends of D dimension additionally has a rectangular
portion of textile material removed leaving a pair of spaced apart
strips at each end, namely 66,68 and 70,72. In final wearing
assembly, strips 62 and 64 are tied together about the neck,
whereas strips 66, 68, 70 and 72 are tied together as desired, with
the tied portions being located at the back (FIG. 4B and FIG.
5).
[0026] For an alternative version of and upper half garment 74 of
the invention, reference is now made to FIGS. 6A and 6B. The
overall garment is cut from a single piece of material and includes
a generally oval center portion 76 that tapers from a maximum at
approximately the garment center 77 down to integral tying strips
78 and 80 located at opposite sides and extending generally
horizontally. Further strips 82 and 84 are formed by shallow cut
lines 86 and 88 formed parallel to the top edge and both
terminating short of the garment center 77. By tying strips 78 and
80 together about the body and strips 82 and 84 about the neck, the
garment serves its purpose as the top half of a two-piece bathing
suit. Turning now to FIG. 7 for the description of the method of
manufacture, a given swimsuit part (e.g., lower half 42) is cut out
from a blank 86 of a knit textile material of desired
characteristics along the dotted line and is immediately available
for use without sewing, providing edges or adding such things as
buttons or snaps.
[0027] Accordingly, the swimsuit is optimally inexpensive because
of the vast reduction in labor and materials normally encountered
in other typical garment manufacturing processes. In fact,
swimsuits constructed as described are sufficiently cost effective
as to enable discarding after a single wearing.
[0028] In the practice of the present invention there is provided a
seamless swimsuit, either one-piece or two-piece, each piece or
part of which consists solely of a single unitary textile material
sheet cut to desired shape with the wearing integrity being
provided by integral strips of the textile material being tied
together. Moreover, the textile material possesses excellent
stretchability characteristics so that the described swimsuit can
accommodate a wide range of body sizes, and, at the same time, not
make an individual of a relatively large body size be made
uncomfortable by an excessively tight-fitting feeling.
[0029] Illustrative of swimsuit dimensions in the unstressed or
smallest size (e.g., size 2) and with reference to FIG. 1, the
overall length from topmost point to the bottom edge is 36 inches;
from the strips 18 and 20 to the topmost edge of the arm portions
36 and 38 is 13.5 inches; the arm slits 40 and 42 are 6 inches
long; the crotch panel width is 2.5 inches; and the overall length
across strips 18 and 20 (as well across 22 and 24) is 28 inches.
The dimensions of the lower half of the two-piece swimsuit shown in
FIGS. 3A, 3B the dimensions can be directly taken from those just
given for FIG. 1. For the upper half garment 58 of FIG. 4A, L is 34
inches; D is 8 inches; each strip 62 and 64 14.5 inches long and
0.5 inches wide; and the strips 66-72 are each 1.25 inches
wide.
[0030] Although the present invention has been described in
connection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that
one skilled in the appertaining arts could make modifications that
come within the spirit of the invention described and within the
ambit of the appended claims.
* * * * *