IES87015B2 - Sports shirt framing device and process for manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

A sports shirt framing device comprising a rectangular frame of four elongate elements joined together at the respective corners of the frame, a backing board fixed to one side of the frame, a rectangular piece of shirt fabric including the essential identification elements of a particular sports jersey, the shirt fabric being glued to the backing board and stapled under tension to the side faces of the frame. <Figure 13>

Description

SPORTS SHlRT FRAMING DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURE The present invention relates to a sports shirt framing device and to a process for manufacturing a framed sports shirt.

Background to the invention Sports shorts, such as football jerseys, rugby jerseys, hockey jerseys, gaelic football jerseys, hurling jerseys and the like are very popular with the sports fans for these games and in particular for the teams which they support. People will purchase the current jerseys for the particular team which they support for themselves to wear or as gifts for their children or other people. Often when giving a presentation to a person, there is a requirement to present a person with a framed jersey, ie the particular jersey mounted in a frame. This is usually done by laying the complete jersey on a backing sheet, normally with glue, pins or staples. The jersey is then covered with a sheet of glass or perspex sheeting, with a frame about the sheet of glass or perspex sheeting. The framed jersey is then displayed on a wall or some other supporting surface. The disadvantage of this system is that the complete jersey must be mounted carefully onto the backing sheet to avoid any creases or folds on the fabric of the shirt and the finished framed product is quite large and cumbersome.

The object of the invention is to provide a sports shirt framing device which alleviates the above disadvantages and a manufacturing process which is streamlined and simple to use and operate.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides a sports shirt framing device comprising a rectangular frame of four elongate elements joined together at the respective corners of the frame, a backing board fixed to one side of the frame, a rectangular piece of shirt fabric including the essential identification elements of a particular sports jersey, the shirt fabric being glued to the backing board and stapled under tension to the side faces of the frame.

Preferably the rectangular frame is in the form of a square.

Conveniently a supporting element such as a hook or other hanger device is provided at the rear of the framing device so that it may be mounted on a wall or other supporting surface.

The essential elements of a sports shirt includes one or more of the following: team colours; sponsor’s logo; team crest and/or number worn by a player in a particular playing position.

By exhibiting just the essential identification elements of a sports jersey, it is only necessary to frame a relatively small portion of an actual jersey sufficient to identify the team and game that the recipient supports.

The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a framed sports shirt comprising the following steps: (a) forming four elongate framing elements; (b) assembling the framing elements to form a rectangular frame; (c) attaching a backing board of the same area as the frame to the rectangular frame; (d) providing a rectangular piece of shirt fabric which includes the essential identification elements of a particular sports jersey and attaching the top edge of the fabric to a first side of the rectangular frame; (e) applying adhesive to the front face of the backing board and laying the shirt fabric on the adhesive covered board; (f) attaching the bottom edge of the fabric to a second side of the rectangular frame; (g) folding the shirt fabric at the corners of the frame and attaching the folded fabric to the corners of the rectangular frame so that the folded fabric is flat; and (h) applying all edges of the shirt fabric to all sides of the rectangular frame, thereby providing a tight secure attachment of the shirt fabric to the rectangular frame.

Preferably the method includes the step of applying tape to the rear of the rectangular frame covering the edges of the attached fabric and attaching a hook or other hanging device Brief Description of the drawincis The invention will hereinafter be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example only, one embodiment of a sports shirt framing device and one embodiment of a method of manufacturing a framed sports shirt according to the invention. in the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an elongate length of wood before cutting and four out equal lengths of wood frame elements; Figure 2 is a perspective view of two frame elements being held in a jig on an underpinning machine and Figure 2A is a perspective view of the two frame elements connected together with underpins; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the completed frame and backing board; Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a rectangular piece of shirt fabric being stapled to one side of the frame; Figure 5 is a perspective view showing adhesive being applied to the backing board prior to the application of the shirt fabric to the backing board; Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the shirt fabric being attached to the backing board; Figure 7 is a rear perspective view showing the edges of the shirt fabric being stapled to the second side of the frame; Figure 8 is a perspective view of one corner of the frame with the shirt fabric being folded into the corner; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the rear of the frame showing one corner; Figure 10 is a perspective view of the rear of the frame showing the final stapling of the shirt fabric to the remaining sides; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the rear of the frame; Figure 12 is a perspective view of a detail of the finished frame; and Figure 13 is a perspective view of the completed framed shirt device.

Detailed Description Referring to the drawings, the framing device 100 and the process by which it is manufactured will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 13.

To form the frame, a length of wood 10 is cut into form equal lengths to form four frame elements 12. The ends of each frame element are mitred to form 45° mitred ends 14.

As shown in Figure 2, two mitred ends 14 of two frame elements 12 are placed in a jig J of an underpinning machine UM which attaches a pair of underpins 16 to each of the four corners 18 of the frame 20.

A backing board 22 is secured to the frame by the application of adhesive spots 24 to the four corners 18 of the frame 20.

A rectangular piece of shirt fabric 30 is attached to one side of the frame 20 which is flipped over and adhesive is applied to the backing board 22 from a spray can 40. As shown in Figure 6, the shirt fabric 30 is smoothed over the backing board 22 so as to adhere to the backing board by means of the adhesive applied to it. The frame 20 is then flipped over as shown in Figure 7 and a row of staples 23 is applied to a second side of the frame 20 by a staple gun 42. Particular care has to be taken at the corners 18 to fold the shirt fabric in a tidy tight formation as shown in Figures 8 and 9. The remaining sides of the frame are then stapled as shown in Figure 10 and a layer of tape 35 is applied over the staples at rear of the frame. A saw tooth hanger 50 is attached to the rear of the frame with two screws 52 so that the device can be hung from a wall or other surface.

The finished framed product 60 is shown in Figure 13 and clearly shows the essential identification elements 60, 61, 62 and 63 including the colour of the sports jersey in an attractive framed presentation. The other identification elements are the general sports brand 60, a player number 61, a team crest 62, the team sponsor's logo 63 and the like none of which are meant to be limiting. it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein which are given by way of example only and that various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. A sports shirt framing device comprising a rectangular frame of four elongate elements joined together at the respective corners of the frame, a backing board fixed to one side of the frame, a rectangular piece of shirt fabric including the essential identification elements of a particular sports jersey, the shirt fabric being glued to the backing board and stapled under tension to the side faces of the frame.

2. A sports shirt framing device as claimed in Claim 1 in which the rectangular frame is in the form of a square.

3. A method of manufacturing a framed sports shirt comprising the following steps: forming four elongate framing elements; assembling the framing elements to form a rectangular frame; attaching a backing board of the same area as the frame to the rectangular frame; providing a rectangular piece of shirt fabric which includes the essential identification elements of a particular sports jersey and attaching the top edge of the fabric to a first side of the rectangular frame; applying adhesive to the front face of the backing board and laying the shirt fabric on the adhesive covered board; attaching the bottom edge of the fabric to a second side of the rectangular frame; folding the shirt fabric at the corners of the frame and attaching the folded fabric to the corners of the rectangular frame so that the folded fabric is flat and applying all edges of the shirt fabric to all sides of the rectangular frame, thereby providing a tight secure attachment of the shirt fabric to the rectangular frame. 10

4. A method of manufacturing a framed sports shirt as claimed in Claim 3, including the step of applying tape to the rear of the rectangular frame covering the edges of the attached fabric and attaching a hook or other hanging device.

5. A method of manufacturing a framed sports shirt substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings. MACLACHLAN & DONALDSON Applicants’ Agents 2b Clonskeagh Square Clonskeagh Road Dublin 14