U.S. patent application number 11/924858 was filed with the patent office on 2009-04-30 for article of clothing.
Invention is credited to Shane M. Collins.
Application Number | 20090106872 11/924858 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40580927 |
Filed Date | 2009-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090106872 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Collins; Shane M. |
April 30, 2009 |
ARTICLE OF CLOTHING
Abstract
The present invention comprises an article of clothing that is
easier to put on or remove. In one form of the invention, the
article of clothing is a shirt having arm holes and a neck hole. A
seam along one side of the torso and extending along an arm hole at
that same side is separable to make it easier for the wearer to put
the shirt on or take it off. In other examples of the invention an
additional seam along the shoulder and extending to the end of the
arm hole is also separable so that one entire side of the shirt may
be opened for easier removal. In other forms of the invention, a
similar seam and closure means is provided on other articles of
clothing such as pants, coats, socks, or others.
Inventors: |
Collins; Shane M.;
(Kirkland, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BLACK LOWE & GRAHAM, PLLC
701 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 4800
SEATTLE
WA
98104
US
|
Family ID: |
40580927 |
Appl. No.: |
11/924858 |
Filed: |
October 26, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/69 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 2300/324 20130101;
A41D 13/1236 20130101; A41D 2300/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/69 |
International
Class: |
A41D 1/00 20060101
A41D001/00 |
Claims
1. An article of clothing for covering a portion of a person's
upper body, comprising: a body portion having a front side and a
back side, the body portion defining a neck hole, a first arm hole,
a second arm hole, a torso opening, and a vertical midline
bisecting the body portion from the neck hole to the torso opening
substantially at midpoint between the first arm hole and the second
arm hole; a first side extending below the first arm hole and
joining the front side of the body portion to the back side of the
body portion; a second side extending below the second arm hole and
joining the front side of the body portion to the back side of the
body portion; a releasable seam extending from the torso opening to
the second arm hole, the releasable seam being relatively more
adjacent the second side than the midline of the body portion; and
a fastener provided at the releasable seam for releasably securing
the releasable seam.
2. The article of claim 1, wherein the second side further
comprises a front edge extending along the front side of the body
portion and a back edge extending along the back side of the body
portion, and further wherein the releasable seam joins the front
edge to the back edge.
3. The article of claim 2, further comprising a sleeve adjacent the
second side and wherein the second arm hole is defined as an
opening in the sleeve, the sleeve having an upper portion and a
lower portion, the lower portion having a lower front sleeve edge,
a lower back sleeve edge, and a sleeve fastener for releasably
securing the lower front sleeve edge to the lower back sleeve
edge.
4. The article of claim 3, wherein the seam extends continuously
from the torso opening to the second arm hole.
5. The article of claim 3, wherein the upper portion further
comprises an upper front sleeve edge, an upper back sleeve edge,
and a sleeve fastener for releasably securing the upper front
sleeve edge to the upper back sleeve edge.
6. The article of claim 3, wherein the upper back sleeve edge is
permanently secured to the upper front sleeve edge at a location
adjacent to the neck hole.
7. The article of claim 1, further comprising a shoulder portion
adjacent the neck hole, the front side and the backside being
permanently joined at the shoulder portion.
8. The article of claim 1, further comprising a shoulder portion
adjacent the neck hole, the front side and the backside being
releasably secured at the shoulder portion.
9. The article of claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises mating
hook and loop fasteners.
10. The article of claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises a
plurality of snaps.
11. The article of claim 1, wherein the front side is permanently
secured to the backside along the first side of the body
portion.
12. The article of claim 1, wherein the front side of the body
portion is releasably secured to the backside of the body portion
along the first edge.
13. An article of clothing for covering a portion of a person's
body, comprising: a body portion defining a waistband; a first leg
portion extending below the body portion, the first leg portion
having a first leg opening and a first length extending from the
waistband to the first leg opening, the first leg portion further
having no releasably securable seams over the majority of the first
length of the first leg portion; a second leg portion extending
below the body portion, the second leg portion having a second leg
opening and a second length extending from the waistband to the
second leg opening, the second leg portion further having a front
edge extending along a front side of second leg portion and a back
edge extending along a back side of the second leg portion, the
front edge and back edge being selectively separable or joinable to
form a seam; and a fastener for releasably securing the front edge
to the back edge.
14. The article of claim 13, wherein the seam extends continuously
from the waistband to the second leg opening.
15. The article of claim 13, wherein the seam extends continuously
from the second leg opening to a position adjacent the waistband
but not through the waistband.
16. The article of claim 13, wherein the fastener comprises mating
hook and loop fasteners.
17. The article of claim 13, wherein the fastener comprises a
plurality of snaps.
18. An article of clothing for covering a portion of a person's
body, comprising: a swatch of material configured to encapsulate a
foot, the swatch of material forming a foot portion having a
footbed with a toe portion and a heel portion, and a leg portion
having a leg opening, the leg portion having a forward edge
proximate the toe portion and a rearward edge proximate the heel
portion; and a seam along the rearward edge, the seam having a
fastener for releasably enclosing the leg portion along the
rearward edge.
19. The article of claim 18, wherein the fastener comprises mating
hook and loop fasteners.
20. The article of claim 18, wherein the seam extends from the leg
opening to the footbed.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to articles of clothing,
especially clothing having means for separating a seam of the
article of clothing to make the clothing easier to put on and take
off.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] There are certain instances in which clothing can be
difficult to put on or remove, especially in the case of persons
recovering from medical procedures or injuries. For example, shirts
can be especially difficult to deal with when a person has a broken
arm or other such ailment, because the act of manipulating the
injured arm into the shirt and through the arm-hole can cause
additional pain and perhaps worsen the injury. Even if the shirt
includes buttons down the front, the article of clothing can still
be difficult to work with and may be even more complicated because
the buttons must be manipulated with one hand or with a second hand
that is in an awkward or painful position. Pants and other articles
of clothing face similar challenges, depending on the nature and
extent of a particular injury. The present solution is to simply
wear loose-fitting items such as large T-shirts to make it easier
to put on or remove the clothing item.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention comprises one or more articles of
clothing that are easier to put on or remove. In one form of the
invention, the article of clothing is a shirt having arm holes and
a neck hole. A seam along one side of the torso and extending along
an arm hole at that same side is separable to make it easier for
the wearer to put the shirt on or take it off. In other examples of
the invention an additional seam along the shoulder and extending
to the end of the arm hole is also separable so that one entire
side of the shirt may be opened for easier removal. In other forms
of the invention, a similar seam and closure means is provided on
other articles of clothing such as pants, coats, socks, or
others.
[0004] These and other examples of the invention will be described
in further detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention
are described in detail below with reference to the following
drawings:
[0006] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a shirt in accordance with an
example embodiment of the invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a shirt in accordance with
another example embodiment of the invention;
[0008] FIG. 3 is an illustration of a pair of pants in accordance
with a further example embodiment of the invention; and
[0009] FIG. 4 is an illustration of a sock in accordance with
another example of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0010] FIGS. 1-4 describe several exemplary embodiments of the
present invention. In FIG. 1, the example is in the form of a shirt
10 having a neck 11, a pair of sleeves, and a body for covering the
wearer's torso. A torso opening is formed at the base of the body
portion of the shirt, with the torso opening being provided
generally about the waist of the wearer as the shirt is in use.
Along the neck 11, the shirt may have a banded or hemmed border or
a collar. Likewise, the shirt may be sleeveless or take the form of
a tank top in which there are arm holes adjacent a shoulder
portion, without fabric extending away from the torso region to
form sleeves. Although not shown, the shirt 10 may also include
buttons down the front of the body that are either functional to
join the left and right halves of the shirt body together, or that
are merely decorative to create an aesthetic illusion of a
button-down front (but in which the entire front of the body is not
readily separable).
[0011] The shirt as shown includes a first side 24 that may be a
seam or a continuous run of fabric forming the body of the shirt.
The first side therefore permanently joins the front of the shirt
body 14 to the back of the shirt body 12, although in other
examples of the invention the first side 24 may be separable as
with the second side. A first sleeve adjoining the first side of
the body likewise is permanently formed in a sleeve loop having a
first opening in the example as shown. As used above, "permanently"
means stitched, woven, or similarly joined in a manner that
requires cutting, tearing, or similar deformation or destruction of
the article in order to separate.
[0012] The second side of the shirt body includes a seam formed by
a back shirt edge 16a and a front shirt edge 16b. As illustrated,
the seam continues along the lower portion of the second sleeve to
form a sleeve seam at the mating of the back sleeve edge 16c and
front sleeve edge 16d. Fasteners are provided along the body seam
and the sleeve seam to allow the body and sleeve edges to be
selectively joined or separated. In the illustrated example, a
plurality of hook and loop fasteners 18 are provided at the back
shirt edges 16a, 16c, with mating fasteners 20 provided at the
front shirt edges 16b, 16d. The seam can therefore be selectively
opened or joined by separating or joining the fasteners. In
alternate examples of the invention, different fasteners such as
buttons, snaps, zippers, or string ties are used.
[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the releasable seam is provided
substantially at one side of the torso; that is, directly beneath
the arm or sleeve and where the back side of the shirt meets the
front side of the shirt. In alternate forms of the invention, the
releasable seam is shifted somewhat forward or rearward but remains
relatively more adjacent the side of the torso than either the
front or rear midline of the torso (with the midline being defined
by a line vertically bisecting the front or rear of the shirt, as
it appears in FIG. 1).
[0014] In the example of FIG. 1, an upper shirt edge 22 extending
from one side of the neck and along the shoulder to the second
sleeve opening is formed such that it is not separable, either by
joining the front and back shirt sides together or forming the
upper shirt edge 22 from a continuous run of fabric.
[0015] In order to put on or remove the shirt of FIG. 1, the seam
along the second side of the shirt can be opened along the body,
the arm hole or sleeve, or both. The opening along the shirt side
edges makes it much easier for the shirt to be put on or removed,
especially in the case of recovery from injuries or medical
procedures. After the shirt has been put on, the edges are joined
together with the mating fasteners.
[0016] Another example of a preferred shirt is illustrated in FIG.
2. In this version, the shirt includes similar mating fasteners 18,
20 along edges of the shirt body and a lower portion of a shirt
sleeve at the same side of the shirt body. While the shirt of FIG.
1 included a permanently joined edge along the shoulder and upper
shirt sleeve at that same side of the shirt, the version of FIG. 2
includes an upper seam 22 along the shoulder and upper sleeve that
is selectively separable. The upper seam 22 may be opened and
closed using a similar hook and loop fastener system in the example
as shown, or may use other fasteners as discussed above. In one
version of the example of FIG. 2, a different fastener 32 may be
provided along the edge of the neck to provide a stronger
connection at that location. Alternatively, the front and back
halves of the shirt may be permanently joined at the neck (that is,
permanently joined at about the location of the neck fastener 32)
while the upper and lower sleeve ad one side of the body is
separable. In this form of the invention, the shirt includes a
permanently formed neck hole or neck band and is otherwise
separable along one side of the shirt.
[0017] The example of FIG. 3 illustrates a similar concept of the
invention as applied to a pair of pants 40. As shown, the pants
include a waistband 46, a first leg 42 and a second leg 44. The
fabric forming the first leg 42 is permanently joined to create a
leg covering for a first leg. The fabric forming the second leg 44
includes a seam 49 having a plurality of fasteners 18 and 20 that
allow the user to selectively separate or join the fabric forming
the second leg along the seam 49. An edge 48 of the pants along the
waistband at the upper portion of the seam 49 is similarly
separable with a mating fattener in one version of the invention.
In an alternate version, the edge 48 is permanently joined to
create a waistband that either has no points of separation or is
separable only at a location remote from the seam 49, such as at a
crotch or fly.
[0018] Though the article of clothing depicted in FIG. 3 is
illustrated as a pair of pants, the embodiments as described above
may alternatively be incorporated into a pair of shorts or a pair
of pants having any length.
[0019] FIG. 4 depicts a further embodiment of the invention, in
this instance as applied to a sock. As shown, the sock 60 includes
a footbed 66 and forward edge 68. Preferably the sock 60 is formed
from fabric that is continuously woven or otherwise permanently
joining the fabric at the footbed and forward edge.
[0020] At the back of the sock, the sock is separable along a first
edge 62 and second edge 64, and may be selectively joined or
separated via fasteners such as hook and loop fasteners 18, 20.
Thus, the sock may be separated along a rear seam to make it easier
to put on or remove the sock, which may be especially useful in the
case of injuries or recoveries from foot surgeries. Though the sock
as shown is separable along a rear seam, in alternate forms of the
invention the separable seam may be provided at the forward edge 68
or along either side of the sock.
[0021] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been
illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the
disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention
should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that
follow.
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