US2674741A - Shirt collar - Google Patents

Description

April 13, 1954 H. c. DONALDSON, JR 2,674,741

SHIRT COLLAR Filed March 21, 1951 FIG. 8 FIG.9

INVENTOR. HARRY c. DONALDSON JR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 13, 1954 SHIRT COLLAR Harry (J. Donaldson, Jr., Brunswick, N.

Y., as-

signor to Cluett, Peabody & 00., Inc., Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 21, 1951, Serial No. 216,789

5 Claims.

This invention relates to shirts, and more particularly to the collars thereof. The points in the ends of collars have a strong tendency, when worn by some men, to curl forwardly and upwardly and present an unsightly appearance, whereas when the same types of collars are worn by other men, there is but little tendency for the points to curl. This is apparently due to the fact that with some men the collar points do not seem to bear on the shirt front with any ap preciable pressure, whereas with other men the collar points bear upon the shirt front and are flexed upwardly by the pressure and take a set. Some soft collars have the points held down by buttons or other fasteners, and others provide removable stays or stiffeners which resist curling of the collar points.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved collar construction with which the collar points, if flexed, will tend, when released, to return to their normal straight or uncurled condition; which will require no parts that must be removed when the collar is to be laundered; which will require no special fastening means, such as buttons, to hold the points down; which may be used in fused or soft types of collars; which will not cause any undue rubbing of the collar points on the shirt front; which will be relatively simple and easy to incorporate in the manufacturing methods now in practice in making collars, and which will be practical and relatively inexpensive.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved collar construction in which the top or folded over portion of a collar will normally present a smooth appearance, and its pointed ends will effectively resist curling; in which, the points, if flexed, will have an elastic snap-back or tendency to return to a straight or unfiexed condition, and which may be incorporated easily in either soft or fused types of collars.

.A. further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of making collars with curlresistant points.

Oher objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of two embodiments of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a two-piece shirt collar constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic section, on a very large scale, through the face'ply or fabric of a multiple-ply webbing fabric, which may be used as a part of this collar, the section being taken approximately along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2, also of a heavy or relatively thick fabric used as a face fabric of the collar of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation through the front and back fabrics of the top part of the collar as first assembled and connected in accordance with one form of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a similar cross-section after the connected face and back fabrics have been turned inside out and inverted, so as to conceal the raw seam;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 4, but after the face and back fabrics of the collar top have been further stitched together and bonded; and

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are sections similar, respectively, to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 except that the film of resinous material is first disposed to abut against the thicker face fabric when first assembled.

In accordance with this invention, and referring first to Figs. 1 to 6, the collar 1 includes the top part 2 and the neck-band part 3, which, when of two pieces, are connected together edge to edge, with the edge of the top part received between the outer and inner plies of the neckband 3, as usual in two piece collars. The top part 2 of the collar is formed of a face fabric 4 and a back or rear fabric 5, which abut face to face and are secured together along their abutting faces by a suitable bonding agent that is interposed between the fabrics, such as a film or a coating of water-insoluble, plastic, resinous material which has the property of recovering, when free, from minor elongations. This resinous material is advantageously applied as a surface coating or film 6 to the inside face of the rear face 5.

The face fabric 4 is substantially thicker than the rear fabric 5, and may be either a multipleply fabric, such as shown in Fig. 2, or the usual single ply fabric, such as shown in Fig. 3. In the multiple-ply fabric, shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2, the weft yarns 1 are interwoven with warp yarns 8 to form one ply, and warp threads 9 are woven with weft threads ID to form the other ply. These two plies lie face to face and are united by a binder warp yarn H, which is interwoven between the weft yarns of the two plies. Such a fabric is considerably thicker than the ordinary single ply shirting fabric, such as is used for the back fabric 5. The regularly woven fabric 4 (Fig. 3) that may be used as the face fabric is woven of warp yarns 4a and weft yarns 41), both of heavier or thicker yarns than the yarns used. in rear fabric 5 and, therefore, the face fabric 4 shown in Fig. 3 is substantially thicker than the ordinary shirting fabric 5 which is used as the rear fabric.

Blanks are cut from sheets of these fabrics 4 and 5 of the desired shapes for the top portion of the collar, and the coating 6 of suitable resinous material that may be bonded by dry or wet fusing to other textile fabrics is applied to one face only of the fabric 5. This coating 6 is a relatively thin coating or film that is continuous over at least the end portions of the top portion of the collar, and preferably over the entire area. of one This coating 6 may face of the rear fabric be a separately formed, thin film of resinous material, which is merely brought face to face with the rear fabric 5 as shown in Fig. 4, or it may be a coating applied to the fabric 5 in any other suitable manner. If desired, the film may be apertured or there may be areas of no coating or film at intervals over the face of the fabric 5 but, in such cases, there should be substantial continuous areas of the coating or film. While it is only essential that the film or coating 6 be applied to substantial end areas of the top portion, including thepoints, the film or coating may advantageously be applied over .the entire top portion of the collar.

The face fabric 4 and rear fabric 5 are brought together, face to face in the manner shown in Fig. 4, with the film or coating 5 on the outside or exposed face of the rear fabric 5. These fabrics and the coating or film 5 are then stitched together by a line of stitching l2, whichv is along the end edges and the free side edge of the top portion of the collar. This top portion of the collar, so formed, is next turned inside out and inverted from the Fig. 4 position so as to assume the relationship and position hownin Fig. 5, where the film or coating 6 now is disposedbetween the front and rear fabrics 4 and 5. The film or coating 5 is preferably extended to the free edge of the fabric 5,-as shown in Fig. 4, so that when the top portion is turned inside out and inverted, as shown in Fig. 5, the film or coating 5 will be doubled or folded back upon itself in the seam so as to have a double thickness along the seam as shown in Fig. 5. The two fabrics 4 and 5 at the seam, when the top portion is turned inside out, form a re-entrant part of the top portion or edge of the collar. The fabrics and film or coating of the top portion 2, assembled in the manner shown in Fig. 5, are then connected by a further line of stitching [3 that is adjacent to,

but spaced from, the stitching l2, as shown in Fig. 6, and pressed.

The coating or film 6 of resinous material, which is now interposed between the front and rear fabrics 4 and 5, is then bonded tothe abutting faces of fabric-t and 5 in any suitable manner, such as either. dry or solventfusing. In.

dry fusing,.thetop portion of the .collar, assembled and prepared as shown in Fig. 6, is placed in a press, and pressed while being heated, with the heat high enough to soften the resinous material until the latter becomes tacky and upon cooling adheres to the inside faces of the front andrear fabrics 4 and 5. If the fabrics 4 and 5 are to be united by solvent fusing, a suitable solvent for the resinous .material is applied to the assembled fabrics, as .shown in. Fig. 6, and

after a short interval of time, duringwhich the. solvent can act. on the, resinous materialand soften it, the fabrics 5 and 5 are pressed together in a press, which evaporates the solvent while the plies are under pressure, and the resinous material is soft and tacky enough to adhere to the fabrics 4 and 5.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 the construction is the same as described in connection with Figs. 4, 5 and 6 except that when the fabrics 4 and 5 are first brought together, the film or coating 6 is disposed against or applied to an outside face of the front fabric 4, instead of the rear fabric 5. The fabrics 4 and 5 and resinous material 6 are stitched together by a line of stitching E2 to form the top portion of the collar, and then the parts, assembled as shown in Fig. '7, are turned inside out and in verted to assume the relationship and position shown in Fig. 8, which creates the re-entrant edge and conceals the raw seam that was formed in 7. The fabrics, assembled as shown in Fig. 8, are then pressed together face to face and a further line of stitching 13 applied to unite them. The fabrics ii and 5, assembled and united as in Fig. 9, are then bonded together through the resinous material, with either wet or dry fusing, and. then the top portion is ready for attachment to the neckband portion.

While any suitable water-insoluble, plastic, flexible, resinous material that has the property of recovering from minor elongations may be employed, the synthetic resins are particularly useful. A. plasticizer may be employed with the resinous material, wherever desirous or necessary in order to give it the desired plasticity or cause the resinous material to bond under any desired heat or pressure, either with or without the presence of the solvent.

By way of example, but without limitations, examples of some suitable coatings for a dry fusing composition are as follows:

Example 1 Parts by weight Methyl methacrylate 2 Tri-cresyl phosphate 1 Ethylene glycol mono-butyl ether l Coating weight on one side only, 1 /2 to 2 /2 ounces persquare yard.

This composition may be applied as a film to the back fabric 5 in any suitable manner, but one practical and inexpensive method is to dissolve this composition of Example 1 in a suitable solvent such as methyl ethyl ketone, until it becomes a jelly, and then this jelly is applied to the fabric as a uniform thickness film in a manner well known in the industry. For example, the coated fabric may be passed under a doctor blade which scrapes off the excess jelly above a desired thickness of film on the fabric. The thickness of film is so gauged that the coated weight of the resinous composition on one side only of thefabric, would be about 1 to 2 ounces per square yard.

Example 2 Parts by weight Cellulose acetate 2 Ethyl phthalyl ethyl glycollate l.

Coating weight on one side only-4V to 2 /2 ounces per'square yard.

This compositionis mixed with a solvent until a jelly is formed, and then it can be applied as a coating to the fabric in the same manner.

Examples suitable for solvent fusing are as follows:

Coating weight on one side only-1 to 2 ounces per square yard.

Example 4 Parts by weight Cellulose acetate 4 Ethyl phthalyl ethyl glycollate l Coating weight-4 to 2 ounces per square yard.

In Examples 3 and 4 the resinous compositions are combined with a solvent to facilitate application to the fabric, and may conveniently be applied as explained above by dissolving the composition in a solvent until a jelly is formed and then applying this jelly to a face of the fabric. The use of jelly instead of a thin solution in forming the coating has an advantage, in that the jelly does not penetrate into the fabric by capillary action, and therefore, would remain as a thin surface layer and would thus not greatly penetrate the back ply to which it is applied, but would remain largely as a surface coating even after fusing it to another ply. Other soluble resins with suitable plasticizers may be also employed and applied in the same or any suitable manner. A preferable type of resin is one which has a minimum of chlorine retention when the collars so made are laundered.

The term resinous material is also intended to include within its scope the various rubber and rubber-like compositions, such as natural rubber and the so-called synthetic rubbers or rubber substitutes, butyl rubber, polyethylene, nylon, vinyl plastics such as vinyl acetate-chloride copolymers, polyvinyl acetals such as polyvinyl formal and polyvinyl butyral.

It will be further noted that the film or coating 6 is largely a surface coating or layer on the relatively thin rear fabric 5, and since the front or face fabric 4 is a heavier and thicker fabric than the rear fabric 5, the bonding layer 6 of resinous material is disposed at one side of the neutral axis plane AA of the composite top portion of the collar, and in a plane nearer the rear or under-face of the collar than the front face. In other words, the film or layer 6 is materially off center from the neutral axis plane AA in the composite collar top that is formed of united fabrics 4 and 5. When such a composite collar is flexed to make the heavier face fabric 4 concave, which happens, for example, when the collar points are flexed forwardly and upwardly or curl outwardly and upwardly, about half of the flexed part of the collar on the concave side of a center line or neutral axis plane A-A about midway between the faces of the collar tab, will be compressed in a direction gen erally along the surface of the collar, and the other half at the convex side or along rear fabric of the flexed part will be tensioned or stretched. Due to the elasticity of the resinous or binding layer 6, such a flexed part of the composite collar will have a yielding tendency to recover its former condition from such minor elongations, or to return to a flat or unflexed condition, and it will do so when released. Hence, when the flexing force on the collar points is removed, the ,points will have a decided tendency to straighten out or uncurl, and resume their former fiat condition.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, where the joined edges of the plies are re-entrant along stitching l2, there will be two thicknesses of the resinous coating 6 abutting the one thickness of the relatively thin rear fabric 5, and there will be one thickness of the rear fabric 5 and two thicknesses of the relatively thick face fabric 4 disposed in front of the resinous coating along the end and outer edges of the top section of the composite collar. The resinous film or layer along the end and outer edges of the collar top will thus be even further 01f center from neutral axis A-A., toward the underface than the balance of the collar top, so as to be tensioned or stretched when the collar points are flexed forwardly and upwardly. The converging edges that form the points of the collar will thus have even greater resistance to forward flexing or upward curling than the main area of the collar top.

It has been found that a collar top portion formed in this manner will not wrinkle or our] at the points, but the points will flex freely and not cause undue wear on the front of the shirt. While the invention has been described and illustrated, for simplicity, as applied to a two piece collar, it will be understood that a similar procedure may be followed in the manufacture of the so-called one piece collars, where the neckband and top portion are formed of fabric blanks that are continuous through both the neckband and top portions.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art, within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 145,768, filed February 23, 1950 now abandoned.

I claim:

1. A shirt collar formed of a neck band portion, and a top portion extending from the neck band portion and having curl-resistant points, said top portion comprising a face member and a rear member disposed in face to face relation, said face member being substantially thicker than the rear member, and the abutting inside faces only of said members, being bonded together by a layer of water-insoluble, plastic, flexible resinous material capable, when released following tension of recovering its form from minor elongations, interposed between said members, said. layer of material being largely on the surfaces of the faces after bonding, approximately continuous over the bonded faces, and at the rear side of the plane midway between the outer faces of said top portion.

2. A shirt collar formed of a neck band portion, and a top portion extending from the neck band portion and having curl-resistant points, said top portion comprising a relatively thick face layer of fabric and a relatively thin rear layer of fabric superposed face to face and connected with a reentrant seam along its ends and free side edge, the inside surfaces of said layers bordering said seam along said ends being bonded together by an interposed layer of water-insoluble pastic, flexible, resinous material capable, when tensioned and released, of recovering its form from minor elongations, said layer of material extending into the said re-entrant seam and after bonding being disposed largely on the surfaces of the faces of the fabric layers to which it is bonded,

and largely to one side of a plane midway between the outside faces of said top portion.

3. The method of making a collar top with curlresistant points, which comprises bringing a rear member and a thicker face member of a collar top together face to face, with the outside faces of the members abutting, disposing a film of water-insoluble, plastic, resinous material, of a type which when tensioned for small elongations and then released will recover its form, on the exposed face of one of the abutting members, approximately continuous over the full width of the top, stitching said members and film together in this face to face relation to form the top, turning the top inside out to bring the film between the members, and then bonding said film to the inside faces of the abutting members, with the film retaining largely its physical form, and remaining largely on the surface of the abutting members which it bonds together.

4. A shirt collar formed of a neckband portion. and a top portion extending from the neckband portion and having curl-resistant points, said top portion comprising a fabric face member and a fabric rear member disposed in face to face relation and united to each other, said face member being substantially thicker than the rear member, and a film-like layer of a water-insoluble, plastic, flexible, resinous material, capable, when tensioned and released, of recovering its form from minor elongations, interposed between said members and extending approximately continuously from the neckband portion to the points of the collar and from each end edge of the collar a substantial distance towards the other end edge of the collar, said layer being bonded over approximately its entire face area to the portions of the faces of the members with which it is in contact, said layer being largely between said members after bonding, and at the rear side of the plane midway between the outer faces of said top portion.

5. A shirt collar formed of a neckband portion, and a top portion extending from the neckband portion and having curl-resistant points, said top portion comprising a relatively thick face layer of fabric and relatively thin rear layer of fabric superposed face to face, the free side and end edges of said face and rear layers being folded back between the layers and the folded back edges being stitched together, and a layer of waterinsoluble, plastic, flexible, resinous material capable, when tensioned and released of recovering its form from minor elongations, disposed between said face and rear fabric layers and between the rear layer and its folded back edge, said layer of resinous material being bonded to the faces of said face and rear layers which it abuts, and after bonding being largely on the surface of said face and rear layers, and at the rear side of a plane midway between the outside faces of the top portion, whereby the layer of resinous material will be tensioned when the collar points are flexed upwardly, so as to exert a substantial snap back force on the collar points.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,968,409 Liebowitz July 31, 1934 1,995,187 Lind et a1 Mar. 19, 1935 2,046,885 Strain July '7, 1936 2,152,094 Rubinstein Mar. 28, 1939 2,286,510 Rubinstein June 16, 1942 2,418,716 Kennedy Apr. 8, 1947 2,467,438 McBurney Apr. 19, 1949 2,536,050 Fluck Jan. 2, 1951

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