Layered thumbhole structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9681689-B2
Application number	US-201615045465-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 17, 2016
Priority date	Feb 19, 2015
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

A sleeve cuff is provided for a sleeve comprising an anterior patch affixed to the sleeve and covering at least a portion of a cutout in the sleeve, a distal strap affixed to the sleeve and spanning over at least a portion of a cutout in the sleeve, and the distal strap overlapping at least a portion of the anterior patch to form an aperture for receiving a thumb therethrough. The sleeve cuff has a plurality of configurations, including at least a closed configuration where the aperture is closed and minimizes the wearer's exposure to wind and air elements therethrough, and an opened configuration where the aperture is opened and minimizes the air penetration around the received thumb.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cuff for receiving a thumb through an aperture, the cuff comprising:
a distal strap having a trailing edge and a leading edge, the trailing edge and the leading edge each extending across a cutout in a distal end of a sleeve, the trailing edge being parallel to the leading edge, the sleeve including a proximal end that is longitudinally opposite from the sleeve's distal end, the distal strap being affixed to the sleeve at the distal end of the sleeve such that the distal strap spans at least a portion of the cutout;
an anterior patch having at least an anterior patch leading edge, the anterior patch spanning at least a portion of the cutout in the sleeve, the anterior patch leading edge being spaced away from the distal end of the sleeve in a direction toward the proximal end of the sleeve; and
an aperture formed by the distal strap trailing edge overlapping at least a portion of the anterior patch leading edge, the aperture having a perimeter and extending through the cuff to the cutout, the perimeter of the aperture comprising at least a portion of the distal strap trailing edge and at least a portion of the anterior patch leading edge.

2. The cuff of claim 1 , wherein the aperture is manipulable to form a plurality of configurations, the plurality of configurations including at least a closed configuration and an open configuration.

3. The cuff of claim 2 , wherein the cutout in the distal end of the sleeve has a first cutout edge and a second cutout edge, and wherein the closed configuration comprises the distal strap trailing edge overlapping the at least a portion of the anterior patch from the first cutout edge to the second cutout edge.

4. The cuff of claim 2 , wherein the cutout in the distal end of the sleeve has a first cutout edge and a second cutout edge, and wherein the open configuration comprises the distal strap trailing edge overlapping the at least a portion of the anterior patch from the first cutout edge to a first point of intersection and from the second cutout edge to a second point of intersection, the first point of intersection and the second point of intersection both being intermediate to the first and second cutout edges, and the distal strap trailing edge not overlapping the anterior patch between the first point of intersection and the second point of intersection.

5. The cuff of claim 4 , wherein a radial distance between a center point of the anterior patch leading edge and a central axis that extends axially down the sleeve from the proximal end to the distal end is greater in the opened configuration than in the closed configuration.

6. The cuff of claim 1 , wherein the anterior patch has at least one trailing edge and wherein the at least one trailing edge is affixed to the sleeve at one or more cutout edges located proximally up the sleeve in a direction away from the anterior patch leading edge and in a direction away from the distal end of the sleeve, such that the anterior patch completely covers a portion of the cutout located proximally up the sleeve from the anterior patch leading edge.

7. The cuff of claim 6 , further comprising:
the at least one trailing edge of the anterior patch having a first side edge, a second side edge, and a rearward edge;
the one or more cutout edges having a first cutout edge, a second cutout edge, and a rear cutout edge; and
wherein the first side edge extends proximally from the anterior patch leading edge and adjacent to the first cutout edge to the rearward edge, the rearward edge extends laterally across the sleeve from the first side edge to the second side edge and adjacent to the rear cutout edge, and the second side edge extends distally from the rearward edge to the anterior patch leading edge and adjacent to the second cutout edge.

8. The cuff of claim 1 , wherein the distal strap further comprises a first side edge and a second side edge, the first and second side edges extending distally down the sleeve from opposing ends of the distal strap trailing edge to respective opposing ends of the distal strap leading edge.

9. The cuff of claim 1 , further comprising the anterior patch leading edge and the distal strap trailing edge each angularly extending across the cutout from a first cutout edge to a second cutout edge.

10. The cuff of claim 1 , further comprising the distal strap extending across the cutout from a first cutout edge to a second cutout edge in a transverse direction to a longitudinal axis of the sleeve.

11. A method of manufacturing a sleeve having a cuff for receiving a thumb through an aperture, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a sleeve, the sleeve having a distal end distally located from a wearer's upper torso when the sleeve is in an as-worn position and the sleeve having a proximal end located proximally to the wearer's upper torso when the sleeve is in the as-worn position, the distal end including a cuff with a hand opening, the sleeve extending from the distal end up the arm of the wearer when the sleeve is in the as-worn position, the sleeve further comprising a cutout through a wall of the sleeve, and the cutout having at least a first cutout edge and a second cutout edge;
providing a distal strap, the distal strap having a trailing edge and a leading edge, the trailing edge being parallel to the leading edge;
affixing the distal strap to the sleeve such that the distal strap spans at least a portion of the cutout;
providing an anterior patch, the anterior patch having a leading edge and at least one trailing edge; and
affixing the anterior patch to the sleeve at the at least one trailing edge such that the anterior patch spans at least a portion of the cutout in the sleeve and such that the distal strap trailing edge overlaps at least a portion of the anterior patch to form an aperture, the aperture having a perimeter and extending through the cuff to the cutout, the perimeter of the aperture comprising at least a portion of the distal strap trailing edge and at least a portion of the anterior patch leading edge.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of affixing the distal strap to the sleeve such that the distal strap spans at least a portion of the cutout further comprises affixing a first side edge of the distal strap and a second side edge of the distal strap to the first cutout edge and the second cutout edge at a first seam and a second seam, respectively.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of providing the sleeve further comprises the step of trimming the cutout from the distal end of the sleeve.

Assignees

• Nike Inc

Inventors

• Horner Stewart D
• Koshkaroff Iustinia
• Nordstrom Matthew D

Classifications

• A41B7/02

  Closures for cuffs · CPC title

• A41B7/00

  Cuffs (A41B1/00, A41B3/00 take precedence; cuff links A44B5/00) · CPC title

• A41D27/10 Primary

  Sleeves; Armholes · CPC title

• A41B1/08 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• A41D13/08

  Arm or hand (protective gloves A41D19/015 {; protectors for the hands of players or sportsmen A63B71/14}) · CPC title