US3555568A

US3555568A - Detachable and reversible french cuff

Info

Publication number: US3555568A
Application number: US760153A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles W Humphrey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-09-17
Filing date: 1968-09-17
Publication date: 1971-01-19
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-19

Abstract

A PREFABRICATED SELF-CONTAINED LAUNDERABLE CUFF PREFERABLY BUT NOT NECESSARILY, A REVERSIBLE FRENCH CUFF, IS DETACHABLY CONNECTIBLE AT WILL TO A FABRIC OR EQUIVALENT ADAPTER STRIP. THIS STRIP IS EQUIPPED WITH SNAP-FASTENERS TO WHICH COMPANION SNAP-FASTENERS ON THE CUFF ARE COOPERATIVELY CONNECTIBLE. A PORTION OF THE CUFF PROTRUDES BEYOND THE COAT SLEEVE AND GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT A WEARER OF A SHORT SLEEVE SHIRT IS ACTUALLY WEARING A LONG SLEEVE SHIRT.

Description

Jan. 19, 1971 C. W. HUMPHREY DETACHABLE AND REVERSIBLE FRENCH CUFF Filed Sept. 17, 1968 Figr.l2`

Char/es W. Humphrey IN l/Iz'N'I'OK.

ana/WW Hmm =United States Patent C 3,555,563 DETACHABLE AND REVERSIBLE FRENCH CUFF Charles W. Humphrey, P.0. Box 121, Boca Raton, Fla. 33432 Filed Sept. 17, 1968, Ser. No. 760,153

Int. Cl. A41b 7/04 U-S. Cl. 2-124 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a new and improved makeshift shirt cuff when can be readily attached to a coat sleeve whenever necessary or desired and which is held in place by hidden adapter means provided therefor on the interior of the outer free end portion of the coat sleeve.

Mens short sleeve shirts have `met with widespread adoption and use and are popularly and acceptably worn, particularly during the summer season. However, this practice poses a problem lwhen the wearer, for whatever reason, dons his suit or equivalent coat and encounters the objectionably culess and bare-wrist as well as unkempt appearance. Although others working in this field of endeavor have recognized the problem and have sought to cope with it in one manner or another, it is an object in the instant matter to offer an improved and an advanced adaptation which, it is believed, better solves the desired grooming problem and the purposes for which it has been ideally perfected.

Briefly the concept comprehends two primary components, namely, a relatively narrow elongated fabric or an equivalent strip which when properly applied serves as an adapter, and a readily attachable and detachable prefabricated sleeve adorning cuff. The adapter strip is stitched, adhesively or otherwise attached fiatwise to the lining or interior surface of the coat sleeve and is parallel with and proximal to the free edge of the coat sleeve and is hidden from View. It is provided on an accessible surface with fastening means, for example, suitable female snap fasteners. These snap fasteners serve to accommodate coordinating male snap fasteners which are provided on the insertable and removable cuff. The cuff is preferably but not necessarily a French cuff made of launderable shirt material. The attaching and retaining snap fasteners are positioned in a row midway between the upper free lengthwise edges of the folds of the cuff and the folding crease constituting the lower lengthwise edge of the cuff.

In carrying out the principles of the invention the cuff as above stated is reversible and can therefore be turned inside out and accordingly the required surfaces of the folds are provided with rows of properly arranged snap fasteners so that the latter snap fasteners are in readiness for connection with the snap fasteners on the adapter strip in a manner and for the purposes desired. Then, too, the separable and connectible lengthwise free edges of the folds are joined by an appropriate arrangement of snap fasteners so that the over-all cuff can be handled as a readily insertable and detachable unit.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accomrice panying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. l is a view in side elevation showing the left coat sleeve, the enclosed short sleeve and portions of the arm in phantom lines and illustrating the detachable and reversible French cuff and the manner in which it is attached and used.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged View showing the lower open end of the coat sleeve, the adapter strip in section and the insertable and removable makeshift or temporary cuif and how it is constructed and detachably mounted for use within the confines of the coat sleeve and with a significantly viewable portion projecting beyond the free end of the sleeve.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the aforementioned adapter strip and prefabricated ready-touse cuff with a corner portion of one fold bent down to illustrate how the corner connecting fasteners are arranged for cooperation.

And FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional and elevational view the purpose of `which is to show how certain of the male and female snap fasteners are constructed and arranged for feasible use taken on the plane of the section line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

By way of introduction to the description it is to be pointed out that the invention has to do with a specially constructed cuff (detailed in FIG. 3) and the adapter band or strip and the combination of these two component parts with a coat sleeve in the general manner shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

With reference first to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the numeral 6 designates, generally speaking, a short sleeve shirt one sleeve (say the left sleeve) of which is denoted in phantom lines at 8 and is confined in the upper portion 10 of the sleeve 12 on the coat 14. As suggested, the purpose of FIG. 1 is to illustrate the need for the present invention and how the desired and improved result is attained.

With reference now to FIG. 3 in particular, the prefabricated attachable and detachable cuff is denoted by the numeral 16 and the adapter means by the numeral 18. The adapter means is of utmost simplicity and will be referred to rst. It comprises a. relatively narrow band or strip of fabric, plastic or equivalent material of suitable length that it is capable of being mounted within the confines of the portion 20 (FIG. 2) of the coat sleeve. It should be proportional to the cross-sectional dimension of the sleeve and such in dimension that it can be mounted in approximate parallel relationship with the free open end portion 22 of the sleeve. This adapter strip has an outward surface 24 and an inward surface 26. The outward surface could be coated with adhesive media for ready attachment and retention. On the other hand it can be stitched in place as illustrated at 28 in FIG. 2. The inward or interior surface 26 is provided with a row of snap fasteners. In fact this row of fasteners comprises several female snap yfasteners the median one of which is denoted at 30 and the end ones at 32. They are positioned and so related with respect to the edges and surfaces of the band to accommodate the

several snap fasteners

30A and 32A carried by the outwardly located fold 34 of the cuff 16. Auxiliary snap fasteners, also arranged in a row, are denoted at 36 and come into play when the folds 34 and 3S are turned inside out to achieve the reversible cuff effect. It is preferred that the cuff should be a French cuff as shown to advantage in FIG. 3. The folding crease which adjoins the two

folds

34 and 35 is denoted at 38. The upper lengthwise free edges are denoted at 40 and the corner portions conveniently differentiated by the numerals 42. It is desirable here to provide coacting snap fasteners such as at 44 and 46, these being arranged so that the edges 40 and corner portions 42 can be snapped together to render the over-all cuff intact so that it can be readily inserted and removed as a unit.

The manner in which the adapter strip 18 is applied and utilized is shown in FIG. 2. This figure also shows the manner in which the cuff 16 is inserted and attached so that the projecting or protruding portion thereof extends beyond the edge 22 to achieve the finished effect illustrated in FIG. 1. It will be evident that when the adapter strip 18 is stitched or otherwise applied on the interior of the coat sleeve, that is the surface 20 (FIG. 2) it is so related to the end or edge 22 that it is virtually hidden and yet the snap fasteners or

equivalent fasteners

30 and 32 are accessible to accommodate the companion or

complemental snap fasteners

30A and 32A when the cuff 16 is readied for use. As to the cuff itself it is preferably a French cuff and yet it is within the purview of the invention to utilize a so-called barrel cuff (not shown) if such an approach to the solution of the problem is decided upon.

It is believed that the essence of the primary features or

components

16 and 18 is evident from FIG. 3. Because of the fact that French cuffs are usually made of several laminations or plies of material the enlarged sectional view in FIG. 4 is self explanatory. Manifestly, the male and female snap fasteners can be reversed and used in some other relationship than illustrated. To the ends desired the

folds

34 and 35 should be provided with `accessible snap fasteners whether the cuff is reversed or i not. The arrangement in FIG. 3 is thought to be sufficient to show the essence of the invention and it was deemed not necessary to illustrate the

folds

34 and 35 turned inside out and reversed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use in the free open outward end portion of a coat sleeve, a cuff positioning and mounting adapter comprising an elongated relatively narrow fiexible strip member having an outward side adapted to be superimposed upon and secured flatwise to the usual lining of said coat sleeve and an inward side provided with a rst row of aligned longitudinally spaced snap-fasteners; a Self-contained bodily attachable and detachable French cuff of a size and shape capable of optional use within the confines of the outer terminal end portion of said coat sleeve in a manner that a viewpoint portion of the cuff can be caused to project outwardly beyond said open outward end a significantly noticeable distance, said cuff being made of launderable shirt material and embodying like elongated inner and outer overlapping folds having a pair of like longitudinal edges integrally joined by a cuff-folding crease and also having a pair of free longitudinal edges separably connected by quick-separable fastening means permitting said folds to be reversed and said cuff to be turned inside-out whenever necessary or desired, a second row of longitudinally spaced snapfasteners mounted on a median exterior surface of said outer fold and registered with and separably connected with coacting snap-fasteners in said first row of snap fasteners, and a third row of longitudinally spaced snap fasteners operatively mounted on a median outwardly yfacing side of said inner fold and adapted to be separable but retentively connected with coacting ones of the snap-fasteners of said first row of snap-fasteners at such time as the user desires to reverse said inner and outer folds and thus turn the cuff inside-out.

2. The adapter and cuff defined in and accordingto claim 1 and wherein said quick-separable fastening means comprises oriented and coordinating snap-fasteners `which are cooperatively mounted on both confronting matchable sides of said inner and outer folds and are auxiliary to the several aforementioned rows of snap-fasteners.

3. In combination, a suit coat sleeve having the usual free outward open end, a French cuff positioning and mounting adapter comprising a relatively narrow iiexible strip member having an outward suiface superimposed upon and secured flatwise to the lining of said coat sleeve, and strip member being spaced a pre-determined distance from and assuming a position parallel with the adjacent free edge of said outward open end, said strip member having an inward surface whose median lengthwise portion is provided with a first row of longitudinally spaced cuff attaching snap-fasteners; an optionally usable reversible-type French cuff having a portion fitting within the encompassing confines of said outward open end and a predetermined portion projecting a desired distance outwardly and beyond said outward open end, said cuff being made of launderable shirt material embodying like elongated i-nner and outer overlapping folds having a pair of corresponding longitudinal edges integrally joined by a cuff-folding crease and also having a pair of free longitudinal edges separably connected by quick-separable fastening means permitting said folds to be reversed and said cuff to ybe turned inside-out whenever necessary or desired, a second row of longitudinally spaced snapfasteners mounted on a median exterior surface of said outer fold and registered with and separably connected with coacting snap-fasteners in said first row of snap fasteners, and, a third row of longitudinally spaced snapfasteners operatively mounted on a median outwardly facing side of said inner fold and adapted to be separably but retentively connected with coacting ones of the snapfasteners of said first row of snap-fasteners at such time as the user desires to reverse said inner and outer folds and thus turn the cuff inside-out.

4. The combination defined in and according to claim 3, and wherein said quick-separable fastening means comprises oriented and coordinating snap-fasteners which are cooperatively mounted on both confronting matchable sides of said inner and outer folds and are auxiliary to the several aforementioned rows of snap-fasteners.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,068,464 7/1913 Steinmetz 2--124 2,105,471 l/1938 Brown 2-124 3,419,908 l/l969 Germani 2-123 FOREIGN PATENTS 108,843 10/1939 Great Britain 2-124 RICHARD I. SCANLAN, JR., Primary Examiner