Abstract:
A point-to-point measurement tool performs the measurement of the distance between the outside surfaces of the shoulders across the back of an individual, which is associated with tailoring custom clothing and utilized to determine both the top-of-sleeve points and used to assist in determining the sleeve length measurements in tailoring custom clothing. Various embodiment of the point-to-point measurement tool can be folded, collapsed, or broken down to enable increased portability and ease of storage of the tool.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,421, issued Feb. 5, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/281,509, filed Nov. 19, 2009, contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to tailoring measurement tools, and more particularly to tailoring measurement tools for use in the custom clothing industry used for taking an across-back-shoulder measurement sometimes referred to as the point-to-point measurement. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In the custom clothing industry, the measurement of the distance across the back and between the shoulders of an individual, known as either the shoulder-width measurement or the point-to-point measurement, is one of the defining characteristics in custom tailored menswear. It can be difficult to obtain a correct Point to Point measurement, unless customers have an existing jacket from which to measure, and usually requires the clothier to have extensive training or experience in obtaining the measurement using a tape measure. 
     In the absence of an existing jacket, clothiers have been required to use other measurements obtained on the customer to derive the point-to-point measurement In such an event, the point-to-point measurement is most often derived by using charts and other measurements on the customer. Such a process is more of an estimate, rather than an exact measurement. As a result, the point-to-point measurement may be slightly off, requiring the sleeve length measurement to be adjusted during second or later fittings of the custom tailored clothing. Making adjustments can be a laborious and costly process, the avoidance of which is highly desired, as an accurate fit can he extremely important for custom clothing. 
     Furthermore, the measuring instruments that are available to clothiers in the custom clothing industry tend to be somewhat large and unwieldy, thereby reducing their portability and adding to the burden of a clothier who wishes to use the instruments to conduct measurements at different locations. Clearly, currently available tailoring measurement tools and techniques are less than perfect. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some embodiments of the disclosure provide a tailoring measuring tool that enables a clothier, with minimal training or experience, to obtain the point-to-point measurement and sleeve length measurement with sufficient accuracy and precision as to minimize the need to make tailoring adjustments during second or later fittings of custom tailored clothing. Some such tools are also collapsible, which makes tools according to some embodiments more portable without sacrificing measurement accuracy or precision. 
     In one aspect of the disclosure, a point-to-point measurement tool has a caliper shaft that is made up of at least one rod marked with a measurement scale and can connect with an L-shaped detachable caliper jaw, and a caliper slide that has a caliper tip and a base element with opening to slide along the caliper shaft, such that the caliper shaft, the caliper slide and the detachable caliper jaw work in combination to obtain a point-to-point tailoring measurement representing an across-the-back shoulder-width measurement. The caliper jaw can have a lengthwise portion connected to a caliper tip that extends perpendicular to the lengthwise portion. The caliper tip can be movably connected to the lengthwise portion with a pin, the caliper slide and caliper shaft can mate via a tongue-in-groove connection, and the caliper jaw and rod can mate via a mortis and tenon connection, a hinge, a sliding rail system, or telescopic extension, such that the point-to-point measurement tool can be collapsed or broken down when not in use. 
     in another aspect of the disclosure, a point-to-point measurement tool has a caliper shaft made up of at least two rods each marked with a measurement scale and can connect another rod. In addition, the point-to-point measurement tool has at least two caliper slides that are made up of a base element that has an opening to slidably engage the caliper shaft and a caliper tip. The caliper tips can be movably attached to the base element using a pin, the caliper slides and caliper shaft can connect with a tongue-in-groove connection, and the rods of the caliper shaft can connect using a mortis and tenon connection, a sliding rail system, a hinge, or telescopic extension, such that the point-to-point measurement tool can be collapsed or broken down when not in use. 
     Another aspect of the disclosure features a point-to-point measurement tool that has an interior shaft made up of a rod and a caliper tip and an exterior shaft made up of a caliper tip, a first tube piece that has a first groove, and a second tube piece that has a second groove and a measurement scale. The second tube piece can be connected to the first tube piece via a hinge, and the interior shaft can connect with the exterior shaft via a sliding rail connection, such that the second tube piece can be folded when the tool is not in use. 
     Another aspect of the disclosure features a method of utilizing an embodiment of the point-to-point measurement tool to obtain the point-to-point measurement, determine the top-of-sleeve points, and obtain the sleeve length measurements. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Aspects of this disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a point-to-point measurement tool according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a point-to-point measurement tool according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a point-to-point measurement tool according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a point-to-point measurement tool according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a point-to-point measurement tool according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  depicts the point-to-point measurement tool of  FIG. 5  in a configuration optimized for portability; 
         FIG. 7  depicts various embodiments of a caliper component; 
         FIG. 8  depicts various embodiments of the cross-section of a long component; 
         FIG. 9  depicts various embodiments of the attachment of long components; 
         FIG. 10  depicts application of an embodiment of the point-to-point measurement tool to performing a point-to-point measurement; 
         FIG. 11  depicts a point to-point measurement tool according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 12  depicts a flow chart illustrating the method of utilizing the point-to-point measurement tool and measuring tape to obtain the point-to-point measurement, determine the top-of-sleeve points, and obtain the sleeve length measurements on a person; 
         FIGS. 13 and 14  depict using the point-to-point measurement obtained with the point-to-point measurement tool to determine the top-of-sleeve points; and 
         FIGS. 15-17  depict using the top-of-sleeve point, determined using a point-to-point measurement tool, to determine the sleeve length measurements. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are described in such detail as to clearly communicate to one of ordinary skill how to make and use the claimed invention. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , embodiments of the point-to-point measurement tool are illustrated and discussed. Point-to-point measurement tool  100  includes at least one caliper shaft  109  made up of rod  101 , caliper jaw  107 , and caliper slide  103 . The point-to-point measurement tool  100  can be configured to enable the rod  101  and caliper jaw  107  to be attached at an interface point  106  between one edge of each the rod  101  and the caliper jaw  107 . Attachment can occur through the application of various attachment systems between the edges, and the pieces can be removed from attachment to enable the point-to-point measurement tool  100  to be broken down for transport or storage. 
     Caliper jaw  107 , as illustrated, can be made up of a lengthwise portion  102  that extends along the same first axis as rod  101  and a caliper tip  105  that extends along a second axis perpendicular to rod  101  and caliper jaw  107 . Caliper slide  103  can be made up of caliper tip  108  and base element  110 . Both lengthwise portion  102  and rod  101  can include a measurement scale  104 , which marks out units of length along the first axis of the caliper shaft  109 . The point-to-point measurement tool  100  can also be configured to enable caliper slide  103  to be attached to the caliper shaft  109 . Note that in at least one embodiment, caliper slide  103  is a second caliper jaw configured to slidably engage rod  101  via a tongue in groove connection, a mortise and tenon type connection, or otherwise. The second caliper jaw can be constructed to allow caliper slide  103  to slide along the entire length of both rod  101  and lengthwise portion  102 , although in some embodiments the second caliper jaw or the rod  101  and/or lengthwise portion  102  are configured to permit free movement of caliper slide  103  along rod  101 , lengthwise portion  102 , or particular portions thereof. Attachment can occur through the application of various attachment systems, and the caliper slide  103  can configured to be removed from attachment. 
     In at least one embodiment, caliper jaw  107  includes one of two caliper jaws, and is detachable from rod  101 . As illustrated, caliper jaw  107  is an L-shaped member that includes a lengthwise portion, e.g. lengthwise portion  102 , similar in length to the length of a longitudinal member, such as rod  101 . In other embodiments lengthwise portion  102  may be essentially a stub, or may be omitted altogether. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , another embodiment of the point-to-point measurement tool  100  includes a caliper shaft  109  made up of rod  101 , rod  201 , and caliper jaw  107 . The point-to-point measurement tool  100  can be configured to enable the caliper jaw  107  and rod  201  to be attached at an interface point  202  between one edge of each element; rods  101  and  201  may be attached at an interface point  203  between one edge of each rod. Attachment can occur through the application of various attachment systems between the edges, and the elements can be removed from attachment to enable the point-to-point measurement tool  100  to be broken down for transport or storage. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the point-to-point measurement tool  100  can be configured to include caliper tip  301  of caliper jaw  107  attached to lengthwise portion  102  with a pin  302 . This enables the caliper tip  301  to be folded when the point-to-point measurement tool  100  is not in use, thereby increasing the portability and ease of transportation and storage of the point-to-point measurement tool  100 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , caliper jaw  107  is replaced with rod  401  and caliper slide  402 . Thus, the caliper shaft  109  can be made up of rods  101  and  401 . Rod  401 , like caliper jaw  107 , can be attached to rod  101  at interface  106  by at least one of various attachment systems. Caliper slide  402  can be attached to the caliper shaft  109  through an attachment system, and its position on either rod can be adjusted, manually or by other means. Like caliper slide  103 , caliper slide  402  can be made up of a caliper tip and a base element. In addition, caliper slide  402 , like caliper slide  103 , can be removed from the caliper shaft  109 . In this embodiment, the point-to-point measurement tool  100  can be configured to perform the point-to-point measurement through the adjustment, manually or otherwise, of caliper slides  103  and  402 , alone or in combination, until the distance between the caliper tips of the two caliper slides  103  and  402 , which can be read from the measurement scale  104 , corresponds to the distance between the shoulders of an individual. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an alternative embodiment of the point-to-point measurement tool  500  is illustrated and discussed. Point-to-point measurement tool  500  can be made up of an exterior shaft and an interior shaft. The exterior shaft can be made up of an at least partially hollow first tube piece  501 , to which is attached a caliper tip  502  that extends perpendicularly from the first axis along which the first tube piece  501  extends. The first tube piece  501  also includes a first groove  509  on the same side of the tube from which the caliper tip  502  extends. The first tube piece  501  includes, on at least another side of the first tube piece  501 , a lip structure  507  that attaches to a hinge  506 . The hinge  506  can be attached to another lip structure  507  which is part of the second tube piece  505 . The second tube piece  505  includes a measurement scale  508  and a second groove  510  on the same side of the second tube piece  505  as the first groove  509  is on the first tube piece  501 . The interior shaft can be made up of a rod  503 , to which is attached a caliper tip  504  that extends in a perpendicular direction from the rod  503 . The interior shaft lies within the hollow space bordered by the first tube piece  501 , the lip structures  507 , and the second tube piece  505 . The interior shaft can be adjusted, manually or otherwise, such that the caliper tip  504  is aligned with distance unit marks on the measurement scale  508  in order to obtain the point-to-point measurement. The interior shaft may also be removed from the hollow space. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the point-to-point measurement tool  500  may be configured for transportation or storage by adjusting the interior shaft such that it lies entirely within the first tube piece  501 , and nothing lies within the second tube piece  505 . The hinge  506  can then be used to fold the second tube piece  505 , such that the overall length of the point-to-point measurement tool  500  can be reduced, thereby increasing the portability of the point-to-point measurement tool  500 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the various embodiments of the caliper slides can include a first part of at least one of various attachment systems to interface with a caliper shaft. Here, the illustrated attachment systems are all variations of a sliding rail attachment, which utilizes material constraints to hold the caliper slide&#39;s position in the Y-axis and Z-axis, while utilizing the sliding friction over the surface area of the contact between the components to hold the caliper slide&#39;s position in the X-axis. The illustrated caliper slides may each include a caliper tip  701 . The caliper slides may include a thick base element  702  that will completely enclose a caliper shaft, or a thinner base element  703  that will only partially enclose the caliper shaft. While the thicker base element  702  might enable the caliper slide to be more securely fixed to a specific point on the X-axis, the thinner base element  703  can enable the caliper slide to be more easily adjusted along the X-axis. Various rail attachment systems can include a simple orifice  704 , a rail  705  that protrudes from the caliper slide into a corresponding trough in the caliper shaft, or a partially-enclosed trough  707  that utilizes lip structures  706  to keep the caliper slide from moving in the Y-axis or Z-axis with respect to the caliper shaft. Note that, where caliper slides are present on the same point-to-point measurement tool, the caliper slides may be configured to have different attachment systems. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , a caliper shaft can be configured to accommodate various caliper slide configurations. The caliper shaft can include a solid cross-section  801  for an embodiment of the caliper shaft inserted into an orifice  704  ( FIG. 7 ) on the caliper slides. A trough  802  cross-section can enable the caliper shaft to interface with a protruding-rail attachment system  705  ( FIG. 7 ), which can take different shapes, including trough cross-section  804 . In addition, the caliper shaft cross-section can include a protruding rail system, such as cross-section  803  to receive the lip structures  706  ( FIG. 7 ) of a partially-enclosed trough  707  ( FIG. 7 ). Alternatively, the protruding rail can take various shapes, including cross-section  805 . Note that, where caliper slides are present on the same point-to-point measurement tool, the caliper shaft may be configured to have multiple attachment systems for different interfaces with different caliper slides. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 9 , a male/female attachment system may utilize a male element  901  secured to a female element  902  by friction. Alternatively, a sliding rail system, can include a protruding rail  903  on one piece received into a trough  904  on a corresponding element. Some embodiments include a wider trough  905  on one larger piece  102  that enables the larger to receive the entire cross section of the other smaller piece such that the smaller piece is at least partially enclosed by the larger piece and can be extended out from the larger piece by hand or other means. Yet another embodiment utilizes hinges to provide a hinged attachment that enables the caliper shaft to be folded when the point-to-point measurement tool  100  is not in use. These hinges can include hinges  906 ,  907 , and  908 . Note that the above-discussed attachment systems can be used for interfaces between any elements that make up the caliper shaft or other assemblable elements. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the point-to-point measurement tool  100  can be configured to perform the point-to-point measurement by adjusting caliper slide  103  along the length of the caliper shaft until caliper tips  108  and  105  are touching opposing points of contact on outside shoulder surfaces of the individual  1001  for whom the point-to-point measurement  1002  is being obtained, at which point the distance between the outside surfaces of the two shoulders  1002  can be obtained from the measurement scale  104 , or other means such as an electronic or electromechanical gauge, as the distance from caliper tip  105  to caliper tip  108 . 
     Also, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the point-to-point measurement tool  100  can include a caliper shaft  1102  made up of rod  1103  and caliper tip  1104 . Rod  1103  can include a measurement scale  104 , which marks out units of length along the first axis of the caliper shaft  1102 . The point-to-point measurement tool  100  can also be configured to enable caliper jaw  103  to be attached to the caliper shaft  1102 . Note that in at least one embodiment, caliper jaw  103  is configured to slidably engage rod  1103  via a tongue in groove connection, a mortise and tenon type connection, or otherwise. The caliper jaw can be constructed to allow caliper jaw  103  to slide along the entire length rod  1103 , although in some embodiments the caliper jaw or the rod  1103  are configured to permit free movement of caliper slide  103  along rod  1103  or particular portions thereof. Attachment can occur through the application of various attachment systems, and the caliper jaw  103  can configured to be removed from attachment. The embodiment depicted in  FIG. 11  is not collapsible, which can be useful if there is no need for portability or optimization of storage volume. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 12 , one embodiment of utilizing the point-to-point measurement tool to obtain the point-to-point measurement begins, as shown in block  1200 , with the positioning of the point-to-point measurement tool across the torso  1001  of the person being measured. The point-to-point measurement tool can be aligned such that the first caliper tip rests on the outside of the first arm proximate to the center of the first arm&#39;s deltoid muscle. The position of the second caliper tip on the point-to-point measurement tool can be adjusted, manually or otherwise, until the second caliper tip rests on the outside of the opposite arm proximate to the center of the opposite arms&#39; deltoid muscle. As shown in block  1204 , the point-to-point measurement can be obtained by reading from the measurement scale the distance between the opposing caliper tips at their respective points of contact with the opposing arms. It will be appreciated that when referring to bringing the caliper into contact with an arm, there is no requirement for skin contact. Instead, the measurement can be taken even with the arm covered by clothing. 
     As shown in block  1206 , a length of measuring tape corresponding to the point-to-point measurement distance is centered in an arc across the persons back centered substantially at an apex of the arc and positioned substantially at the base of the person&#39;s neck. As illustrated by block  1210 , if the first sleeve length has not yet been measured, the method proceeds to block  1214 , where the first sleeve length measurement is performed. As further illustrated by block  1210 , if the first sleeve length measurement has been performed, the second sleeve length is measured at block  1218 . 
     Referring next to  FIG. 13 , placement of a measuring tape, based on the point-to-point measurement taken with the point-to-point measurement tool, is illustrated. A length of measuring tape  1302  corresponding to the point-to-point measurement distance is positioned in an arc across the back  1300  of the person being fitted for custom clothing. Thus, for example, if the point-to-point measurement is 49 inches, then a 49 inch length of measuring tape is used. The arc is centered at substantially at an apex of the arc and positioned substantially at the base  1304  of the person&#39;s neck. For example, if the point-to-point measurement determined using the point-to-point measurement tool is 50 inches, the 25 inch mark of the measuring tape, which corresponds to the apex of the arc, is places at the center of the person&#39;s back, near the base of his neck. The zero inch mark on the measuring tape can then be used to indicate the top of one sleeve, while the 50 inch mark can be used to indicate the top of the opposite sleeve. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 14 , the respective ends of the length of measuring tape are placed to rest proximate to the intersection of the subject&#39;s arm and shoulder, such that the resting locations of the ends of the length of measuring tape indicate the first and opposite, or right and left, tops of sleeve points. One end  1400 , of the measuring tape indicates the proper location  1402  top of one sleeve. 
     Once the first and opposite top-of-sleeve points have been determined, the sleeve length can be measured. Referring next to  FIGS. 15-17 , a procedure for using the measuring tape to determine the sleeve length is illustrated.  FIG. 15  illustrates pivoting the measuring tape around a top-of-sleeve point  1402  in preparation for taking a sleeve measurement. As illustrated in  FIG. 16 , the first sleeve length measurement can be determined by measuring the distance  1600  between the first top-of-sleeve point  1602  and the first wrist  1604 . As illustrated in  FIG. 17 , the second sleeve length measurement can be determined from the distance  1700  between the opposite top-of-sleeve point  1702  and the opposite wrist  1704 . 
     it will be understood that the point-to-point measurement tool  100  may include other components, pieces, members, or interfaces without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, although the above embodiments discuss point-to-point measurement tools having a scale marked on a rod, bar, beam, cross-member etc., other embodiments utilizing electronic or electromechanical distance readouts can also be used in place of, or in addition to, the marked scale. Furthermore, although particular embodiments have been discussed above, the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but includes subject matter encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.