Garment with multilayer internal abdominal support panels

Abstract

Making a control top garment includes forming a pocket bag from a first fused composite material and a second material, the first fused fabric composite having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof; and attaching the pocket bag to an garment by (i) attaching a top side of the pocket bag to a waistband of the garment; (ii) attaching a first side of the pocket bag to a side of the garment; and (iii) attaching a second side of the pocket bag adjacent a connector of the garment.

Claims

1. A method for making a garment, the method comprising: (A) forming a pocket bag from a first fused composite material and a second material, the first fused composite material having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof, wherein the second material comprises a second fused composite material having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof; (B) attaching said pocket bag to the garment by (i) attaching a top edge portion of said pocket bag to a waistband of said garment; (ii) attaching a first side edge portion of said pocket bag to a side of said garment; and (iii) attaching a second side edge portion of said pocket bag adjacent a connector of said garment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pocket bag is attached in (B) with a stretch direction of the first fused composite material being substantially parallel to the waistband of the garment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pocket bag is attached in (B) with a stretch direction of the first fused composite material being at an angle of between about 15 and 85 to the waistband of the garment.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the pocket bag is attached in (B) with a stretch direction of the first fused composite material being at an angle of between about 30 and 60 to the waistband of the garment.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in two directions thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in two directions thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the waistband of said garment is a curved waistband.

8. A garment formed according to the method of claim 1.

9. The garment of claim 8 wherein the garment comprises one of: trousers and a skirt.

10. The garment of claim 8 wherein the waistband of said garment is a curved waistband.

11. A method of forming a pocket bag for a garment, the method comprising: forming said pocket bag from a first fused composite material and a second material, the first fused composite material having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof, wherein the second material comprises a second fused composite material having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in two directions thereof.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in two directions thereof.

14. A garment comprising: a pocket bag formed from a first fused composite material and a second material, the first fused composite material having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof, wherein the second material comprises a second fused composite material having stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction thereof, wherein the pocket bag is attached to said garment by (i) attaching a top edge portion of said pocket bag to a waistband of said garment; (ii) attaching a first side edge portion of said pocket bag to a side of said garment; and (iii) attaching a second side edge portion of said pocket bag adjacent a connector of said garment.

15. The garment of claim 14 wherein the pocket bag is attached in (B) with a stretch direction of the first fused composite material being substantially parallel to the waistband of the garment.

16. The garment of claim 14 wherein the pocket bag is attached in (B) with a stretch direction of the first fused composite material being at an angle of between about 15 and 85 to the waistband of the garment.

17. The garment of claim 16 wherein the pocket bag is attached in (B) with a stretch direction of the first fused composite material being at an angle of between about 30 and 60 to the waistband of the garment.

18. The garment of claim 14 wherein the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in two directions thereof.

19. The garment of claim 14 wherein the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in two directions thereof.

20. The garment of claim 14 wherein the waistband of said garment is a curved waistband.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein, on the pocket bag formed in (A), the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a first at least one direction, and the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a second at least one direction, and wherein the first at least one direction is distinct from the second at least one direction.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first at least one direction or the second at least one direction is substantially parallel to the waistband of the garment.

23. The garment of claim 8, wherein, on the pocket bag, the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a first at least one direction, and the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a second at least one direction, and wherein the first at least one direction is distinct from the second at least one direction.

24. The garment of claim 23, wherein the first at least one direction or the second at least one direction is substantially parallel to a waistband of the garment.

25. The method of claim 11, wherein, on the pocket bag, the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a first at least one direction, and the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a second at least one direction, and wherein the first at least one direction is distinct from the second at least one direction.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the first at least one direction or the second at least one direction is substantially parallel to the waistband of the garment.

27. The garment of claim 14, wherein, on the pocket bag, the first fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a first at least one direction, and the second fused composite material has stretch and recovery properties in a second at least one direction, and wherein the first at least one direction is distinct from the second at least one direction.

28. The garment of claim 27, wherein the first at least one direction or the second at least one direction is substantially parallel to a waistband of the garment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

(2) FIGS. 1(A)-1(G) and 1(I)-1(J) are figures from prior art patents of known trousers incorporating some form of abdomen control (the label numbers in these prior art figures are the numbers used in the various prior art applications, and they are not used herein);

(3) FIGS. 1(H) and 1(K) are pictures of existing products incorporating some form of abdomen control;

(4) FIGS. 2(A)-2(B) show an abdomen control pocket according to exemplary embodiments hereof;

(5) FIG. 2(C) shows abdomen control pockets attached to a pair of trousers according to exemplary embodiments hereof; and

(6) FIGS. 3(A)-3(G) show aspects of abdomen control pockets according to exemplary embodiments hereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(7) FIG. 2(A) shows an abdomen control pocket according to exemplary embodiments hereof. The control pocket will be attached to an outer garment such as a pair of trousers, a skirt or the like, as described below. As shown in FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B), a control pocket is formed from a front or outer piece and a back or inner piece. The front piece will, in use, face the outer garment to which the pocket is attached. The back piece will, in use, face the wearer of the garment to which the pocket is attached. The front and back pieces may be sewn or otherwise connected to form a pocket bag. A top edge portion of the pocket bag is connected to a waistband of the outer garment using a known connection technique (e.g., some form of stitching). Once side edge portion of the pocket bag is connected to the a front zipper or front fly portion of the outer garment, also using a known connection technique (e.g., some form of stitching), and the other side edge portion of the pocket bag is connected to the leg or side portion of the outer garment. The lower edge of the pocket bag is preferably not connected to the outer garment and is allowed to hang/move freely. One pocket bag is connected to a left front side of the outer garment and another pocket bag is connected to a right front side of the outer garment.

(8) If the outer garment does not have a front fly or zipper portion (e.g., it has a rear zipper or no zipper or fly) then the left and right pocket bags may be combined into one piece and connected at the top, along the waistband, and at the outside edges. A similar connection may be used when the outer garment is a skirt or is a garment with no crotch portion.

(9) FIG. 2(C) shows two pocket bags connected to a pair of trousers according to exemplary embodiments hereof.

(10) As noted, the pocket bag according to exemplary embodiments hereof is formed of an inner piece and an outer piece. These pieces should be sized such that they form a snug fit against the wearer when in use.

(11) One of both of these pieces comprises a fused fabric composite formed from a fabric having a fusible material attached thereto. The fusible material (or interlining) may be applied to the fabric in any way, although it is preferably applied to the fabric by a technique that imposes or imparts stretch and recovery properties on the composite fused fabric in at least one direction thereof, such that the fused fabric composite will maintain the stretch and recovery properties imparted to the fabric. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that any technique may be used to form the fused fabric composite with the desired stretch and recovery properties. A non-limiting example of such a technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,721, titled, Imparting stretch to fabrics, the entire contents of which are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

(12) In some cases the inner and/or outer portions of the pocket bags may be formed using a fused fabric composite may have stretch and recovery properties imparted on two directions. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that any technique may be used to form the fused fabric composite with these desired stretch and recovery properties in two directions. A non-limiting example of a technique for imparting such stretch and recovery properties in two directions is as follows: first a fabric is provided having stretch characteristics in one direction (e.g., a width direction). Heat and pressure are then applied to the fabric by passing the fabric into a nip between a heated roller and a sleeve. This forces the strands across the width of the fabric closer together thus imparting stretch into the fabric in the length direction.

(13) FIGS. 3(A)-3(G) show aspects of abdomen control pockets according to exemplary embodiments hereof.

(14) When a fused fabric composite having a one-directional stretch and recovery is used, the pocket bag is preferably formed so that when attached to the outer garment the stretch will be substantially in the left-to-right direction across the front of the outer garment, substantially parallel to the waistband of the outer garment (as shown, e.g., in FIG. 3(A)). In some cases the pocket bag may be formed so that when attached to the outer garment the stretch will be at a non-zero angle to the waistband of the outer garment (e.g., at an angle of between about 15 and 85, preferably between about 30 and 60). When the stretch and recovery is not parallel to the waistband, as shown in FIGS. 3(C) and 3(D) the angles of the left and right pockets would preferably be complementary to each other.

(15) When a fused fabric composite having stretch in two directions is used, the pocket bag is preferably formed so that, when attached to the outer garment, at least one of the stretch directions will be substantially parallel to the waistband of the outer garment.

(16) When both the inner and outer portions of the pocket bag are formed using a fused fabric composite material, a direction of the stretch and recovery of both the inner and outer portions may be, but need not be, in the same direction (e.g., left-to-right, parallel to the waistband). For example, as shown in FIG. 3(E)-3(G), the inner and outer portions may be in different directions. It should be appreciated that providing stretch and recovery in the vertical (top to bottom) direction is least desirable.

(17) When only one of the inner and outer parts of the pocket bag is formed using a fused fabric composite material, preferably the fused fabric is used for the outer part. In this manner the fabric of the pocket bag that will contact the wearer's skin (i.e., the inner fabric) will be more comfortable than a fused fabric composite.

(18) Thus, preferably when a fusible is used to form a composite fabric, preferably the pocket bag or lining will be constructed and attached to the outer garment with the fusible facing the fabric of the garment (e.g., pants) and/or into the pocket so that the wearer's skin will only touch cotton that will be cool and dry and absorbent. So, e.g., if one fabric is composite (e.g., fusible and cotton) then preferably the cotton faces the user's skin and the composite fabric faces the garment. If the pocket is formed from two composite fabrics (e.g., both with fusible and cotton) then the pocket is formed so that the fabric (the inner) facing and potentially touching the wearer's skin will be the cotton (i.e., the side of the composite fabric without the fusible). In that case the side with the fusible will face away from the user and towards the outer garment.

(19) The outer garment may be formed of any material, including: denim, cotton, cotton blends, wool, wool blends, polyester, polyester blends, spandex, spandex blend, polyester viscose, linen, and linen blend.

(20) The outer garment may be or comprise trousers (short or long), skirts, or the like.

(21) The fused fabric composite material comprises a fusible and a base fabric. The base fabric may be or comprise any fabric, including cotton, cotton blend, etc. In preferred embodiments hereof the base fabric is one such as cotton that will be comfortable (e.g., cool, dry, and absorbent) when against a wearer's skin.

(22) A fused fabric composite (e.g., with a fusible material or interlining applied to a base fabric) is an example of a multilayer material (one layer comprising the base fabric and the other layer comprising the fusible or interlining material).

(23) The Waistband

(24) Although any kind of waistband may be used on the outer garment, in preferred embodiments hereof the waistband is a curved waistband formed, e.g., from a waistband fabric having outer portions more extensible than the center section thereof. This waistband fabric may be provided to a sewing machine through a folder such that the folder is angled to a sewing zone to force the outer sections of the waistband strip to proceed faster than the central section resulting in a curve being formed during attachment to the garment. A curved waistband may be formed in any manner. One exemplary manner is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,506,597, the entire contents of which are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

(25) A pocket bag is formed form a first fused fabric composite material and a second non-composite fabric. The first fused fabric composite has stretch and recovery properties in one direction. The pocket bag is attached to an outer garment, e.g., as described above.

Example 1.1

(26) The pocket bag of Example 1 is attached to the outer garment with the stretch direction being substantially parallel to the waistband of the outer garment.

Example 1.2

(27) The pocket bag of Example 1 is attached to the outer garment with the stretch direction being at an angle of between about 15 and 85, preferably about 30 and 60, to the waistband of the outer garment.

Example 1.3

(28) Same as example 1.1 or 1.2 with the fused fabric composite being used as the outer piece of the pocket bag and the second non-composite fabric as the inner piece.

Example 1.4

(29) Same as example 1.1 or 1.2 with the fused fabric composite being used as the inner piece of the pocket bag and the second non-composite fabric as the outer piece.

Example 2

(30) A pocket bag is formed form a first fused fabric composite material and a second non-composite fabric. The first fused fabric composite has stretch and recovery properties in two directions. The pocket bag is attached to an outer garment, e.g., as described above.

Example 2.1

(31) The pocket bag of Example 2 is attached to the outer garment with at least one stretch direction being substantially parallel to the waistband of the outer garment.

Example 2.2

(32) The pocket bag of Example 2 is attached to the outer garment with at least one stretch direction being between at an angle of between about 15 and 85, preferably between about 30 and 60, to the waistband of the outer garment.

Example 2.3

(33) Same as example 1.1 or 1.2 with the fused fabric composite being used as the outer piece of the pocket bag and the second non-composite fabric being used as the inner piece of the pocket bag.

Example 2.4

(34) Same as example 1.1 or 1.2 with the fused fabric composite being used as the inner piece of the pocket bag and the second non-composite fabric being used as the outer piece of the pocket bag.

Example 3

(35) A pocket bag is formed form a first fused fabric composite material and a second fused composite fabric. The first fused fabric composite has stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction and the second fused composite has stretch and recovery properties in at least one direction. The pocket bag is attached to an outer garment, e.g., as described above.

Example 3.1

(36) The pocket bag of Example 3 is formed such that a stretch direction of the first fused composite fabric is substantially the same as a stretch direction of the second fused composite fabric.

Example 3.2

(37) The pocket bag of Example 3 is formed such that a stretch direction of the first fused composite fabric is substantially perpendicular to a stretch direction of the second fused composite fabric.

Example 3.3

(38) The pocket bag of Example 3 is formed such that the a stretch direction of the first fused composite fabric is at an angle of between about 15 and 85, preferably about 30 and 60, to a stretch direction of the second fused composite fabric.

Example 3.4

(39) The pocket bag of any one of Examples 3.1 to 3.3 wherein one of the fused composite materials has stretch and recovery in two directions and the other fused composite material has stretch and recover in only one direction.

Example 3.5

(40) The pocket bag of any one of Examples 3.1 to 3.3 wherein both of the fused composite materials have stretch and recovery in two directions.

Example 4

(41) A garment formed with one or more pocket bags according to any of the previous examples (1, 1.1-1.4, 2, 2.1-2.4, 3, 3.1-3.5).

Example 5

(42) A garment formed according to any of the previous examples (1, 1.1-1.4, 2, 2.1-2.4, 3, 3.1-3.5, 4) where the waistband is a curved waistband.

(43) It should be appreciated that these examples are provided to show some, but not all, variations of the combinations that may form the pocket bags. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that pocket bags may be formed with either or both the inner and outer portions being a fused composite material. The inner and outer portions may have stretch and recovery properties in one or two directions. The pocket bags may be formed with the stretch/recovery properties of the inner and outer portions being in the same or different directions with respect to each other and/or the to the waistband of the outer garment.

(44) While some examples describe a single pocket bag, those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that a typical garment will use two preferably substantially symmetric pocket bags (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2(B)).

(45) Thus are described control-top garments and methods of making same.

(46) Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human).

(47) As used in this description, the term portion means some or all. So, for example, A portion of X may include some of X or all of X. In the context of a conversation, the term portion means some or all of the conversation.

(48) As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase at least some means one or more, and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase at least some ABCs means one or more ABCs, and includes the case of only one ABC.

(49) As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase using means using at least, and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase using X means using at least X. Unless specifically stated by use of the word only, the phrase using X does not mean using only X.

(50) In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word only is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase.

(51) As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase distinct means at least partially distinct. Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, X is distinct from Y means that X is at least partially distinct from Y, and does not mean that X is fully distinct from Y. Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase X is distinct from Y means that X differs from Y in at least some way.

(52) It should be appreciated that the words first and second in the description and claims are used to distinguish or identify, and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, the use of letter or numerical labels (such as (a), (b), and the like) are used to help distinguish and/or identify, and not to show any serial or numerical limitation or ordering.

(53) While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.