ARM ACCESSORY DISPLAY SHIRT CUFF

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to shirt cuffs. More specifically, the present invention is a shirt cuff with a slit for accommodating a wristwatch that allows the user to wear and view the wristwatch from the exterior of the shirt cuff.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to shirt cuffs. More specifically, the present invention is a shirt cuff with a slit for accommodating a wristwatch that allows the user to wear and view the wristwatch from the exterior of the shirt cuff.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A cuff is often present at the lower edge of a shirtsleeve in order to protect the edge from fraying over time. Shirt cuffs are generally formed by turning back the material of the shirtsleeve or by sewing or fastening a separate band of material to the edge of the shirtsleeve. A shirt cuff is often divided along one edge with a means for fastening the cuff together. This allows a sufficient amount of room for a wearer's hand and ensures a snug fit around the wrist. Shirt cuffs may be fastened in various manners including through the use of buttons, cufflinks, or silk knots. A common fashion accessory worn with long-sleeved shirts is a wristwatch. A carefully selected wristwatch that complements the pieces of an outfit often serves to provide a touch of flair to the wearer's overall appearance. A wristwatch is often aligned with the shirt cuff when in a normal position. However, due to the often tight fit provided by a shirt cuff, wearing a wristwatch with a long-sleeved shirt can be very uncomfortable, particularly when one wishes to view the wristwatch. In some instances, it may be impossible to pull a shirt cuff over a wristwatch. This is particularly the case with a fitted long-sleeved shirt that is tailored to the specific measurements of the wearer. The problem is exacerbated due to the often large physical size of many wristwatches that are fashionable when worn with long-sleeved shirts.

SUMMARY

In view of the challenges resulting from increased watch size, the present disclosure provides new shirt cuffs configured to receive a watchband through slits in the shirt cuff, wherein the fact of the watch is visible on top of the shirt. The present disclosure provides users of the inventive shirt cuff with a convenient, straightforward, and practical solution to the problems posed by tight shirt cuffs and/or large watches.

The present disclosure is directed to a shirt cuff with a slit for accommodating a wristwatch. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the slit comprises a dog bone shape design with a first strap region, a second strap region, and a connector region. The first strap region and second strap region are arranged perpendicular and adjacent to the edge of the shirt cuff.

The connector region joins the first strap region and second strap region and is arranged parallel to the edge of the shirt cuff. The shirt cuff may be integrated with either sleeve of a long-sleeved shirt. The user may fasten a wristwatch to his or her wrist in a normal manner. The slit allows the user to draw the wristwatch head through the connector region of the slit. The shirt cuff of the present invention allows the first strap of a wristwatch to protrude through the first strap region of the slit. The second strap of the wristwatch protrudes through the second strap region of the slit. This positions the wristwatch face, a portion of the first strap, and a portion of the second strap on the exterior surface of the shirt cuff. The inner surface of the shirt cuff retains the remaining portion of the first strap and the remaining portion of the second strap within the shirt cuff. As a result, the user is able to view the wristwatch face from the exterior of the shirt cuff. Additionally, because the bulky portion of the wristwatch is not contained within the interior of the shirt cuff, the user is able to comfortably wear the wristwatch in conjunction with a long-sleeved shirt. The shirt cuff of the present invention may be used with any shirt and is available in both left and right variants.

It is contemplated that any embodiment of a method or composition described herein can be implemented with respect to any other method or composition described herein.

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.”

The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternative are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.”

Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of the specification embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the shirt cuff.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the shirt cuff.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the shirt cuff with wristwatch.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the shirt cuff with wristwatch.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the shirt cuff with wristwatch.

FIG. 6 is a side internal view of the shirt cuff with wristwatch.

DESCRIPTION

A notable recent fashion trend is the increased size of watches or watch faces. Moreover, it is increasingly common for watch users to own multiple watches of different sizes. As watches have become increasingly fashionable, it is more important for wearers to be able to see and show this accessory. This presents problems for the wearer, as long sleeve shirts are frequently tight around a user's wrist such that it is challenging to conveniently see or show a watch. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides an improved shirt cuff that for the first time allows a watch to be worn on top of the cuff while maintaining the snug fit of the watch using the native watchband.

The present invention is a long-sleeve shirt comprising a shirt cuff that is designed to accommodate a wristwatch in order to allow a user to wear the wristwatch along the exterior of the shirt cuff. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shirt cuff comprises a slit that allows a wristwatch to protrude from the interior of the shirt cuff while the wristwatch is worn normally on the user's wrist. In one embodiment the shirt cuff is separate from the long-sleeve shirt and is attached to the shirt at the time of wearing.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shirt cuff comprises at least one single piece of flexible fabric 100, although French cuffs also find use in the invention and can be configured as shown in the figures. The present invention is not limited with respect to the specific material of the shirt cuff and any fabrics commonly found in shirts may be utilized. When configured as a separate wearable item to be attached to the shirt, e.g. a detachable cuff, the shirt cuff comprises a single rectangular piece of fabric that may be rolled to form a tubular structure 110. The tubular shirt cuff comprises a sleeve edge 120 that is joinable to the sleeve of a shirt as well as a far edge 130 that serves as the periphery of the overall shirtsleeve when the cuff is attached. The shirt cuff is divided along one edge of the shirt cuff in order to form two individual edges and facilitate insertion of the user's hand and wrist through the shirt cuff As shown in FIG. 5, the shirt cuff further comprises a mechanism for joining the two edges of the shirt cuff together 510. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the joining mechanism may comprise a button with corresponding hole or simply two holes for the accommodation of a cufflink, silk knot, or similar fastening object.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shirt cuff further comprises a slit for accommodating a wristwatch 140. As shown in FIG. 2 in one embodiment of the present invention, the slit comprises a dog bone shape design 150. Other shapes and sizes of the slits find use in the invention, however. The slit further comprises a first strap region 160 and a second strap region 170. The second strap region is positioned parallel to and opposite the first strap region. The first strap region and second strap region are joined via an elongated connector region 180. In one embodiment the first strap region and second strap region are arranged perpendicular and adjacent to the distal edge of the shirt cuff. The connector region, which is also a slit in the fabric serves to join the first strap region and the second strap region. The connector region is arranged parallel to the distal edge of the shirt cuff and perpendicular to the first strap region and the second strap region. As such, the first end of the connector region is joined to the first strap region and the second end of the connector region is joined to the second strap region. One advantage of the cuff and shirt described herein is that custom shirts can be prepared taking into account the user and the user's watch. Thus, in some embodiments when a larger watch is worn, the cuff is modified accordingly. Moreover, different types of watches and buckles are easily used with the cuff described herein. For instance, leather or any type of metal strap watches are used with the cuff described herein. In addition, deployment buckles are readily used with the cuff described herein in contrast to other cuffs. In some embodiments, connector region is from 45 mm to 90 mm, with from 55 mm to 75 mm being preferred. The dog bone shape design of the slit allows the head portion and the two straps of a watch to protrude through the slit while the watch is worn normally. Notably, in contrast to other shirts designed to show the watch, in the cuff of the present disclosure, when worn with a watch, the material from the cuff is seen on all sides of the watch face 350 in FIGS. 3 and 4, rather than being visible through a watch-face sized cut-out as shown, for instance, in US 20080229475. Moreover, in contrast to prior shirts and cuffs, the inventive cuff shirt described herein provides stability to the watch as a result of the materials being under all of the watch. This is accomplished without the need of a cumbersome flap of material as described in US 20080229475.

Because wristwatches may feature a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and designs, it is possible that the design of the shirt cuff slit may vary based on the numerous embodiments of the present invention. As a result, the present invention is not limited with respect to the specific design of the shirt cuff slit. In some embodiments, however, the first and second strap regions are at least around 10 mm to 40 mm long with from 18 mm to 26 mm being preferred. In some embodiments, the connector region is not found in the cuff and the cuff therefore contains only the first and second strap region slits. In some embodiments the cuff slits are centered between the proximal and distal edge of the cuff. However, in some embodiments the cuff slits are asymmetric on the cuff and found closer to either the proximal or distal edge of the cuff.

Once prepared, the present disclosure provides a method for wearing a watch positioned on the exterior of the shirt cuff. Referencing FIGS. 3-6, in one embodiment of the present invention, a wristwatch 310 may be worn in conjunction with the shirt cuff by donning the wristwatch in a normal manner. The shirt cuff is unbuttoned or otherwise unfastened in order to separate the two individual edges of the shirt cuff. The shirt cuff is positioned over the wrist and wristwatch of the user. The user may then draw the wristwatch head through the connector region (FIG. 2, 180) of the slit such that the wristwatch head protrudes from within the shirt cuff and is positioned on the exterior 320 of the shirt cuff. The first strap or upper portion of the wristwatch strap is drawn through the first strap region of the slit 330 while the second strap or lower portion of the wristwatch strap is drawn through the second strap region of the slit 340. This allows a user to position the wristwatch head in a manner such that the wristwatch may be viewed from the exterior of the shirt cuff. Additionally, the shirt cuff allows the user to wear the wristwatch in a normal manner on his or her wrist when wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Furthermore, the shirt cuff eliminates any discomfort and inconvenience associated with wearing a potentially bulky wristwatch underneath the shirt cuff.

The shirt cuff of the present invention may be integrated with any long-sleeved shirt with which a wristwatch is commonly worn. The shirt cuff may be utilized in conjunction with wristwatches of all designs such as, but not limited to, wristwatches with deployment buckles and strapped wristwatches. Additionally, the shirt cuff is available in both left and right variants in order to accommodate all users. Finally, as previously discussed, the shirt cuff is available in multiple variants relating to the specific design of the slit in order to accommodate all wristwatches.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides unique ways to exhibit watches or other arm accessories. The disclosure provides a method for watches, bracelets and/or other arm accessories to be displayed on the exterior of a cuff resulting in an attractive yet functional display. According to this embodiment, a display, such as but not limited to a mannequin or mannequin arm is affixed with the respective arm accessory, a cuff as described herein is fastened around the display and the arm accessory is inserted through the slits in the cuff such that arm accessory is exhibited or displayed on the exterior of the cuff. Of course, the cuff need not be a stand-alone element. Rather, in some embodiments it is integrated into a long sleeve shirt that may be worn by the display, e.g. mannequin.

While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. More specifically, it will be apparent that certain agents which are both chemically and physiologically related may be substituted for the agents described herein while the same or similar results would be achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the present invention.

Claims

1. A shirt cuff for allowing an individual to show a watch face on the exterior of the cuff comprising a first and second slot region for accepting first and second bands of a watch and a first connector region connecting said first and second slot regions.

2. A shirt comprising at least one shirt cuff according to claim 1.

3. The shirt cuff according to claim 1, wherein a watch is capable of being pushed through the connector region and the watch bands fit in the first and second slot regions, wherein the watch is capable of being worn on the exterior of said cuff.

4. A shirt comprising at least one shirt cuff according to claim 3.

5. A shirt cuff comprising a band of fabric material comprising first and second cut-outs perpendicular to the terminal edge of the cuff and a third cut-out parallel to said terminal edge of the cuff, wherein said third cur-out connects said first and second cut-outs.

6. A shirt comprising at least one shirt cuff of claim 5.

7. The shirt cuff according to claim 5, wherein said cuff is a French cuff.

8. A shirt comprising at least one shirt cuff according to claim 7.

9. The shirt cuff accordion to claim 5, comprising at least one button for connecting a first end of said cuff with a second end of said cuff.

10. A shirt comprising at least one shirt cuff according to claim 8.

11. A method of displaying a watch comprising:

a. applying a watch to a display;

b. fastening a cuff according to claim 3 to said display;

c. inserting said watch through said connector slit whereby the face of said watch is exhibited on the exterior of said cuff.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said display is a mannequin or mannequin appendage.