US20180332906A1

US20180332906A1 - Jersey

Info

Publication number: US20180332906A1
Application number: US15/598,964
Authority: US
Inventors: Chris Lintaman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-05-18
Filing date: 2017-05-18
Publication date: 2018-11-22

Abstract

A jersey is disclosed, which includes a first portion made of a first material, and a second portion bonded to the first portion. The first portion comprises a main fabric, which is adapted to cover at least a chest and a stomach of the user. The second portion is adapted to cover at least a part of a back of the user, and includes a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion. The peripheral sub-portion is provided along a periphery of the second portion bonded to the first portion, and the center sub-portion is surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion. The peripheral sub-portion is made of a second material, which is more flexible and more breathable than the first material. Whereby, the jersey could better fit the body shape of the user.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a garment, and more particularly to a jersey.

2. Description of Related Art

Jerseys need to be snug around an athlete's body for several reasons. In cycling, a snug jersey is more aerodynamic; in gym training, the jersey does not get snagged in the weights and provides compression; in running, a snug jersey provides compression and aerodynamics. Regular jerseys have no specific adaptable function built into them to adapt to a person's different body shape. Therefore, an individual who has a larger stomach and small chest may need a larger jersey size, which will have a snug fit around the stomach but may be too loose around the chest. Likewise, a person who has a broad chest but small stomach may need to buy a jersey that is snug around the chest but loose around the stomach. Conventional jerseys cannot accommodate these varying body shapes. Additionally, a person's weight may fluctuate up and down throughout a year, for it is common for a person to gain weight in winter, and lose weight in summer. A conventional jersey does not adapt to these fluctuations well, and therefore can feel tighter in one season but looser in another. At least for the above reasons, conventional jerseys still have room for improvements.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a jersey, which could fit the user better by adapting to the various parts of the user's torso.
The present invention provides a jersey, which is adapted to be worn by a user. The jersey includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion is made of a first material, and includes a main fabric, which is adapted to cover at least a chest and a stomach of the user. The second portion is adapted to cover at least a part of a back of the user, wherein the first portion and the second portion are bonded to each other. The second portion comprises a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion. The peripheral sub-portion is provided along a periphery of the second portion bonded to the first portion, and the center sub-portion is surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion. The peripheral sub-portion is made of a second material. The second material is more flexible, stretchable and more breathable than the first material.
With the aforementioned design, the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion would be stretchable to further separate each two neighboring fabrics included in the first portion. Therefore, the jersey provided in the present invention would fit the user's body shape better, whereby to provide a better user experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a front view of the jersey of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the jersey of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the jersey of a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the jersey of the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a jersey 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention includes a first portion 10, a second portion 20, and a third portion 30. The first portion 10 is made of a first material, and includes a main fabric 11, two lower back fabrics 12, two upper back fabrics 13, two rear shoulder fabrics 14, two aim fabrics 15, and a neck fabric 16. When the jersey 100 is worn by a user, the aforementioned fabrics 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of the first portion 10 would cover different parts of the torso of the user. More specifically, the main fabric 11 would cover a chest and a stomach; each of the lower back fabrics 12 would cover a lower back on one side; each of the upper back fabrics 13 would cover an upper back on one side; each of the rear shoulder fabrics 14 would cover a rear shoulder on one side; each of the arm fabrics 15 would cover at least a part of an arm on one side; the neck fabric 16 would cover a front side and two lateral sides of a neck. In addition, the main fabric 11 has a narrow segment 11 a, of which a width is less than a width of any other part of the main fabric 11. When the user wears the jersey 100, said narrow segment 11 a would roughly correspond to a junction between the chest and the stomach of the user.
On the other hand, the second portion 20 is adapted to cover at least a part of the back of the user. Furthermore, the first portion 10 and the second portion 20 are bonded to each other. The second portion 20 includes a peripheral sub-portion 22 and a center sub-portion 24. The peripheral sub-portion 22 is provided along a periphery of the second portion 20 bonded to the first portion 10, while the center sub-portion 24 is bonded to and surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion 22. The peripheral sub-portion 22 is made of a second material, which is more flexible and more breathable than the first material, and the center sub-portion 24 is made of the first material, same as the first portion.
In more details, each of the lower back fabrics 12 is bonded to one lateral side of the main fabric 11 with one lateral side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20 with other sides thereof. Also, each of the lower back fabrics 12 is further provided with a pocket 12 a bonded thereon to offer the convenience of carrying items around. Similarly, each of the upper back fabrics 13 is bonded to one lateral side of the main fabric 11 with one lateral side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20 with other sides thereof. Furthermore, a width of each of the upper back fabrics 13 gradually decreases from the lateral side thereof bonded to the main fabric 11 toward another opposite lateral side thereof. In addition, each of the rear shoulder fabrics 14 is bonded to the main fabric 11 with a side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20 with other sides thereof.
As for the neck fabric 16, it is bonded to the rear shoulder fabrics 14, the main fabric 11, and the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20 at the same time. We have mentioned that the front side and two lateral sides of the neck of the user could be covered by the neck fabric 16. To completely surround the neck of the user, a part of the second portion 20 bonded to the neck fabric 16 would cover a rear side of the neck when the user wears the jersey 100. More specifically, said part of the second portion 20 which would cover the rear side of the neck includes a part of the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20 bonded to the neck fabric 16, and a part of the center sub-portion 24 between said part of the peripheral sub-portion 22.
Each of the arm fabrics 15 is bonded to the main fabric 11 and the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20. Since each of the arm fabrics 15 is adapted to only cover a part of the upper arm on one lateral side of the user, as mentioned above, a part of the second portion 20 bonded to each of the arm fabrics 15 is adapted to cover another part of the corresponding upper arm, whereby each of the upper arms of the user could be completely surrounded. More specifically, said part of the second portion 20 which would cover the another part of each of the upper arms includes a part of the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20 bonded to each arm fabric 15, and a part of the center sub-portion 24 between said part of the peripheral sub-portion 22.
The third portion 30 is bonded to a lower edge 11 b of the main fabric 11 of the first portion 10, and includes a peripheral sub-portion 32 and a center sub-portion 34, wherein the peripheral sub-portion 32 is provided along a periphery of the third portion 30 bonded to the first portion 10, while the center sub-portion 34 is bonded to and surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion 32. The peripheral sub-portion 32 of the third portion 30 is made of the second material, same as the peripheral sub-portion 22 of the second portion 20, and the center sub-portion 34 of the third portion 30 is made of the first material, same as the center sub-portion 24 of the second portion 20 and the first portion 10.
The jersey 100 is further provided with a zipper 40, which goes through the neck fabric 16, the main fabric 11, and the peripheral sub-portion 32 and center sub-portion 34 of the third portion 30. With the zipper 40, the user could easily put on the jersey 100.
It is worth mentioning that, in the current embodiment, the first material is cloth, the second material is mesh, and the way of bonding portions made of the first material and the second material is through stitching. However, the selection of the first material and the second material and the means for bonding portions are not limitations of the present invention. In other words, the first material and the second material could be materials other than cloth and mesh in other embodiments, as long as the second material could provide more flexibility and offer more breathability than the first material. In addition, each portion could be bonded to its adjacent portions through means other than stitching in other embodiments as well.
Since the second material is more flexible and more breathable than the first material, the distance between each two neighboring parts made of the first material could be extended to better fit the body shape of the user. For example, if the user has broad shoulders, the parts of the peripheral sub-portion 22 below the rear shoulder fabrics 14 could stretch, whereby the rear shoulder fabrics 14 would slightly “hinge” upward, which would make more room to accommodate the shoulders of the user. To take another example, the parts of the peripheral sub-portion 22 surrounding the upper back fabrics 13 would be also able to stretch to push the upper back fabrics 13 away from each other, providing excellent adaptability even if the user has a wide back. Furthermore, because the center sub-portion 24 of the second portion 20 and the center sub-portion 34 of the third portion 30 is made of the first material, which is less breathable than the second material, such design could keep heat in the jersey 100, whereby to provide warmth for the user.
In summary, the jersey 100 with the aforementioned fabrics 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 included in the first portion 10 could provide fit, shape and support in addition to warmth, and could make the jersey more durable than say making the jersey from all mesh.
A jersey 200 of the second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, which could also provide a comparable effect. Similar to the jersey 100 of the first embodiment, the jersey 200 also includes the zipper 40 and the first portion 10 which includes the main fabric 11, the two lower back fabrics 12, the two upper back fabrics 13, the two rear shoulder fabrics 14, the two arm fabrics 15, and the neck fabric 16. The main difference between these two embodiments is that, a second portion 50 and a third portion 60 of the jersey 200 are solely made of the second material. In other words, a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion of each of the second portion 50 and the third portion 60 are both made of the second material, and are integrally connected to each other to form one single inseparable piece. This kind of design provides a larger breathable area than the first embodiment, and therefore would be more suitable for hot weathers.
It has to be clarified that, the zipper 40 and the third portion 30 (60) could be omitted in other embodiments. Furthermore, except for the main fabric 11, at least some of the fabrics 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of the first portion 10 could be also omitted in practice. For example, based on the same concept taught in the present invention, one could make a jersey having only the main fabric 11 and the upper back fabrics 13 included in the first portion 10, with the lower back fabrics 12, the rear shoulder fabrics 14, the arm fabrics 15, and the neck fabric 16 all replaced by the extended second portion 20 (50). Alternatively, on the very contrary, one could also make a jersey having all the fabrics 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 mentioned in each of the first and the second embodiments, but having no upper back fabrics 13, which are replaced by the extended second portion 20 (50) as well. It should be easily understood that some or all of the fabrics 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 included in the first portion 10, except for the main fabric 11, could be omitted and replaced by the second portion 20 (50). We are not going to list all possible permutations and combinations herein.
In addition, in another embodiment, the jersey could have a second portion with a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion respectively made of the second and the first materials, and a third portion completely made of the second material. In yet another embodiment, the arrangement could be the other way around, i.e., having a second portion completely made of the second material, and a third portion with a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion respectively made of the second and the first materials.
No matter how the components of each portion of a jersey are arranged in an embodiment, the parts made of the second material would be still able to stretch, whereby to separate apart each two neighboring parts made of the first material, or to facilitate the parts made of the first material, especially the fabrics 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 included in the first portion 10 mentioned in the above embodiments, to “hinge” upward or outward. With such design, the jersey could appropriately snug around a user's body.
It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above are only some preferred embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent structures which employ the concepts disclosed in this specification and the appended claims should fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A jersey adapted to be worn by a user, comprising:

a first portion made of a first material, wherein the first portion comprises a main fabric, which is adapted to cover at least a chest and a stomach of the user; and

a second portion adapted to cover at least a part of a back of the user, wherein the first portion and the second portion are bonded to each other; the second portion comprises a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion; the peripheral sub-portion is provided along a periphery of the second portion bonded to the first portion, and the center sub-portion is surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion; the peripheral sub-portion is made of a second material;

wherein the second material is more flexible and more breathable than the first material.

2. The jersey of claim 1, wherein the center sub-portion of the second portion is made of the first material, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion.

3. The jersey of claim 1, wherein the center sub-portion of the second portion is made of the second material, and is integrally connected to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion.

4. The jersey of claim 1, further comprising a third portion, which is bonded to a lower edge of the main fabric of the first portion; the third portion comprises a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion, wherein the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion is provided along a periphery of the third portion bonded to the main fabric, and the center sub-portion of the third portion is surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion; the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion is made of the second material.

5. The jersey of claim 4, wherein the center sub-portion of the third portion is made of the first material, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion.

6. The jersey of claim 4, wherein the center sub-portion of the third portion is made of the second material, and is integrally connected to the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion.

7. The jersey of claim 1, wherein the first portion further comprises two lower back fabrics; each of the lower back fabrics is bonded to one lateral side of the main fabric with one lateral side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion with other sides thereof; each of the lower back fabrics is adapted to cover a lower back on one lateral side of the user.

8. The jersey of claim 1, wherein the first portion further comprises two upper back fabrics; each of the upper back fabrics is bonded to one lateral side of the main fabric with one lateral side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion with other sides thereof; each of the upper back fabrics is adapted to cover an upper back on one lateral side of the user.

9. The jersey of claim 8, wherein a width of each of the upper back fabrics gradually decreases from the lateral side thereof bonded to the main fabric toward another opposite lateral side thereof.

10. The jersey of claim 1, wherein the first portion further comprises two rear shoulder fabrics; each of the rear shoulder fabrics is bonded to the main fabric with a side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion with other sides thereof; each of the rear shoulder fabrics is adapted to cover a rear shoulder on one lateral side of the user.

11. The jersey of claim 10, wherein the first portion further comprises a neck fabric; the neck fabric is bonded to the rear shoulder fabrics, the main fabric, and the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion in a way that the neck fabric is adapted to cover a front side and two lateral sides of a neck of the user; a part of the second portion bonded to the neck fabric is adapted to cover a rear side of the neck of the user.

12. The jersey of claim 1, wherein the first portion further comprises two arm fabrics; each of the arm fabrics is bonded to the main fabric and the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion in a way that each of the arm fabrics is adapted to cover a part of an upper arm on one lateral side of the user; a part of the second portion bonded to each of the arm fabrics is adapted to cover another part of the corresponding upper arm.

13. The jersey of claim 1, further comprising a third portion, which is bonded to a lower edge of the main fabric of the first portion; the third portion comprises a peripheral sub-portion and a center sub-portion, wherein the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion is provided along a periphery of the third portion bonded to the main fabric, and the center sub-portion of the third portion is surrounded by the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion; the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion is made of the second material; the first portion further comprises two lower back fabrics, two upper back fabrics, two rear shoulder fabrics, a neck fabric, and two arm fabrics, wherein each of the lower back fabrics is bonded to one lateral side of the main fabric with one lateral side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion with other sides thereof; each of the lower back fabrics is adapted to cover a lower back on one lateral side of the user; each of the upper back fabrics is bonded to one lateral side of the main fabric with one lateral side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion with other sides thereof; each of the upper back fabrics is adapted to cover an upper back on one lateral side of the user; each of the rear shoulder fabrics is bonded to the main fabric with a side thereof, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion with other sides thereof; each of the rear shoulder fabrics is adapted to cover a rear shoulder on one lateral side of the user; the neck fabric is bonded to the rear shoulder fabrics, the main fabric, and the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion in a way that the neck fabric is adapted to cover a front side and two lateral sides of a neck of the user; a part of the second portion bonded to the neck fabric is adapted to cover a rear side of the neck of the user; each of the arm fabrics is bonded to the main fabric and the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion in a way that each of the arm fabrics is adapted to cover a part of an upper arm on one lateral side of the user; another part of the second portion bonded to each of the arm fabrics is adapted to cover another part of the corresponding upper arm.

14. The jersey of claim 13, wherein the center sub-portion of the second portion is made of the first material, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion.

15. The jersey of claim 13, wherein the center sub-portion of the second portion is made of the second material, and is integrally connected to the peripheral sub-portion of the second portion.

16. The jersey of claim 13, wherein the center sub-portion of the third portion is made of the first material, and is bonded to the peripheral sub-portion of the third portion.

17. The jersey of claim 13, wherein the center sub-portion of the third portion is made of the second material, and is integrally connected to the peripheral sub-portion.

18. The jersey of claim 13, wherein a width of each of the upper back fabrics gradually decreases from the lateral side thereof bonded to the main fabric of the first portion toward another opposite lateral side thereof.

19. The jersey of claim 13, wherein the main fabric of the first portion has a narrow segment, which is adapted to correspond to a junction between the chest and the stomach of the user; a width of the narrow segment is less than a width of any other part of the main fabric.

20. The jersey of claim 13, further comprising a zipper, wherein the zipper vertically goes through the neck fabric, the main fabric, and the third portion.