Patent Publication Number: US-9408426-B2

Title: Garments with three-dimensional designs

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/958,650 filed Aug. 2, 2013 entitled “Garments with Three-Dimensional Imaging,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to garments generally and more specifically to wearable garments with designs thereon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee. 
       The specification makes reference to the following appended figures, in which use of like reference numerals in different figures is intended to illustrate like or analogous components. 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a colorized side view of a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a kit including a garment with a three-dimensional design according to one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Certain aspects and features of the present disclosure relate to garments, such as socks, that incorporate one or more three-dimensional designs, such as three-dimensional anaglyphs. A design is incorporated into the garment through knitting, sewing, printing, or other suitable methods. The garment can be provided as a kit that includes any suitable eyewear necessary for discerning the design. 
     While disclosed herein with reference to socks, the present disclosure relates to any suitable garments. Non-limiting examples of some suitable garments include shirts, hats, gloves, ties, and pants. The features disclosed herein can be applied to socks, accessories (e.g., socks, hats, scarves, and gloves), and/or clothing (e.g., socks, shirts, and pants). 
     The one or more three-dimensional designs can be incorporated into a garment when the garment is initially formed (e.g., through knitting the three-dimensional design into the garment as the garment is knitted). In other embodiments, a three-dimensional design can be applied to the garment after the garment is initially formed (e.g., through printing and/or embroidery). 
     The one or more three-dimensional designs comprise visual elements that may be incorporated into the garment in various ways. Examples of some suitable ways of incorporating the visual elements into the garment include knitting, sewing and printing. The visual elements can be incorporated into the garment by other methods. A garment with multiple visual elements can include some visual elements incorporated into the garment in a first way (e.g., knitting) and other visual elements incorporated into the garment in a second way (e.g., printing). Any combination of incorporating visual elements into a garment can be used. 
     In some embodiments, the knitting pattern for the particular garment (e.g., a particular design of the garment) is selected so that the resultant visual elements of the design produces a three-dimensional effect. In some embodiments, suitable glasses or other eyewear may be needed to appreciate the three-dimensional nature of the design. Such glasses or eyewear may be included in a kit along with the garment incorporating the three-dimensional designs. In some embodiments, the suitable eyewear is included in the same packaging as the garment. An example of suitable eyewear is a pair of paper three-dimensional glasses. Suitable eyewear includes filters designed to allow a wearer to discern the three-dimensional nature of the three-dimensional design. 
     For example, a three-dimensional design that is an anaglyph may incorporate red and cyan visual elements. Eyewear can utilize red and cyan filters to provide different images to the left and right eyes of a viewer, thus causing the design to appear three-dimensional to a viewer using the eyewear. Other color combinations can be used. Generally, color combinations are used with opposing colors, but any color combination can be used. 
     In some embodiments, the three-dimensional design is configured such that the images provided to the left and right eyes of a viewer using appropriate eyewear represent the images a viewer would see out of the viewer&#39;s left and right eyes, respectively, when viewing a three-dimensional object. In other embodiments, the three-dimensional design is configured such that the images provided to the left and right eyes of a viewer do not represent the images a viewer would see out of the viewer&#39;s left and right eyes, respectively, when viewing a three-dimensional object, but rather are complementary images that provide a pleasing, three-dimensional-like image. 
     In some embodiments, the designs are selected so that when viewed without appropriate eyewear, they are still aesthetically pleasing two-dimensional designs. 
     In some embodiments, the three-dimensional effect is created by the specific combination of colors used. In one embodiment, blue (e.g., cyan blue), red (e.g., red pantone 199C), and yellow (e.g., yellow pantone yellow C), visual elements are used in a design that creates a three-dimensional effect when viewed with a pair of three-dimensional glasses. The garment can be knitted using yarns that are blue (e.g., cyan blue), red (e.g., red pantone 199C), and yellow (e.g., yellow pantone yellow C). Other colors may be used as well. 
     In some embodiments, a black background is used, although the background may be red, blue, yellow, white, or any other suitable color. In some embodiments, yellow is not used at all and the three-dimensional effect is created based on the pattern of red and blue colors alone. 
     The garments may be formed on any suitable machine using any suitable yarn, thread, fibers, or other suitable materials. In one embodiment, the garments are 200-needle count socks made of a cotton polyester blended yarn, although other yarns may be used. 
     These illustrative examples are given to introduce the reader to the general subject matter discussed here and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed concepts. The following sections describe various additional features and examples with reference to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like elements, and directional descriptions are used to describe the illustrative embodiments but, like the illustrative embodiments, should not be used to limit the present disclosure. The elements included in the illustrations herein may be drawn not to scale. 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of a garment  100  with a three-dimensional design  104  according to one embodiment. The garment  100  includes one or more sections of fabric  102  having at least one three-dimensional design  104  incorporated thereon. The design  104  is incorporated on the fabric  102  using any suitable method or combination of methods, including by knitting or by printing. The design  104  comprises a first visual element  106  and a second visual element  108 . Some designs  104  include more than two visual elements. 
     The first visual element  106  is a first color and the second visual element  108  is a second color that is different than the first color. If desired, the colors for the first visual element  106  and second visual element  108  can be selected such that the left and right filters of appropriate eyewear will filter out light reflected off the first visual element  106  and second visual element  108 , respectively, and will allow through light reflected off the second visual element  108  and first visual element  106 , respectively. 
       FIG. 2  is a colorized side view of a garment  200  with multiple three-dimensional designs  204  according to one embodiment. In this embodiment, the three-dimensional designs  204  are musical notes. Each three-dimensional design  204  is made of a first visual element  206  and a second visual element  208 . The first visual element  206  is cyan and the second visual element  208  is red. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional designs  204  are incorporated into a section of fabric  202 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional designs  204  may appear like three-dimensional musical notes. 
       FIG. 3  is a colorized side view of a garment  300  with multiple three-dimensional designs  304  according to one embodiment. The three-dimensional designs  304  are patterns of boxes. Each three-dimensional design  304  is made of a first visual element  306 , a second visual element  308 , and a third visual element  310 . The first visual element  306  is cyan, the second visual element  308  is red, and the third visual element  310  is yellow. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional designs  304  are incorporated into a section of fabric  302 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional designs  304  may appear like pleasing, three-dimensional-like patterns. 
       FIG. 4  is a colorized side view of a garment  400  with multiple three-dimensional designs  404  according to one embodiment. The three-dimensional designs  404  are various shapes, including hearts and stars. Each three-dimensional design  404  is made of a first visual element  406  and a second visual element  408 . The first visual element  406  is cyan and the second visual element  408  is red. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional designs  404  are incorporated into a section of fabric  402 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional designs  404  may appear like three-dimensional shapes, such as hearts and stars. 
       FIG. 5  is a colorized side view of a garment  500  with multiple three-dimensional designs  504  according to one embodiment. The three-dimensional designs  505  are various chevron shapes. Each three-dimensional design  504  is made of a first visual element  506  and a second visual element  508 . The first visual element  506  is cyan and the second visual element  508  is red. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional designs  504  are incorporated into a section of fabric  502 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional designs  504  may appear as pleasing, three-dimensional-like patterns of chevrons or partial chevrons. 
       FIG. 6  is a colorized side view of a garment  600  with multiple three-dimensional designs  604  according to one embodiment. The three-dimensional designs  604  are patterns of boxes. Each three-dimensional design  604  is made of a first visual element  606 , a second visual element  608 , and a third visual element  610 . The first visual element  606  is yellow, the second visual element  608  is red, and the third visual element  610  is cyan. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional designs  604  are incorporated into a section of fabric  602 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional designs  604  may appear as pleasing, three-dimensional-like patterns. 
       FIG. 7  is a colorized side view of a garment  700  with a three-dimensional design  704  according to one embodiment. The three-dimensional design  704  is a skull. The three-dimensional design  704  is made of a first visual element  706  and a second visual element  708 . The first visual element  706  is cyan and the second visual element  708  is red. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional design  704  is incorporated into a section of fabric  702 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional design  704  may appear like a three-dimensional skull. 
       FIG. 8  is a colorized side view of a garment  800  with multiple three-dimensional designs  804  according to one embodiment. The three-dimensional designs  804  are patterns of connected boxes. Each three-dimensional design  804  is made of a first visual element  806 , a second visual element  808 , and a third visual element  810 . The first visual element  806  is yellow, the second visual element  808  is red, and the third visual element  810  is cyan. Other colors may be used. The three-dimensional designs  804  are incorporated into a section of fabric  802 . When viewed through appropriate eyewear, the three-dimensional designs  804  may appear as pleasing, three-dimensional-like patterns. 
       FIG. 9  is a side view of a kit  900  comprising a garment  916  and three-dimensional-viewing eyewear  912  according to one embodiment. The kit  900  can include a garment  916  having one or more three-dimensional designs  922  as described above. Each three-dimensional design  922  can include a first visual element  918  and a second visual element  920 . The kit  900  can further include appropriate eyewear  912  for viewing the three-dimensional designs. The eyewear  912  can be included with packaging, such as a packaging section  904 . The eyewear  912  can be formed of the same piece of material as the packaging section  904 , wherein an end-user can use a blade or scissors to separate the packaging section  904  from the eyewear  912 , although this need not be the case. In some embodiments, a perforation  908  can separate the eyewear  912  and the packaging section  904  to facilitate removal. It may be desirable to have no perforation  908 , to discourage shoppers from detaching the eyewear  912  when the garment  916  is on display in a store or retail location. 
     The packaging section  904  can include a fastener  906  (e.g., a plastic tagging barb) to removably attach the packaging section  904 , and thus the eyewear  912 , to the garment  916 . The packaging section  904  can include a hook  902  that can be used to hang the kit  900  on a display in a store or retail location. In alternate embodiments, instead of or in addition to a hook  902 , a hole or other mechanism can be incorporated into the packaging section  904  to enable the kit  900  to be more easily placed on display at a retail location. 
     The eyewear  912  can include a first filter  910  and a second filter  914 . As described above, the first filter  910  can filter out most, all, or substantially all of the light reflected off of the first visual element  918 , while allowing to pass through most, all, or substantially all of the light reflected off of the second visual element  920 . The second filter  914  can filter out most, all, or substantially all of the light reflected off of the second visual element  920 , while allowing to pass through most, all, or substantially all of the light reflected off of the first visual element  918 . In some embodiments, the eyewear  912  includes foldable arms (e.g., “temples”) designed to fit over a user&#39;s ears to facilitate wearing the eyewear  912 . In other embodiments, such as that shown in  FIG. 9 , the eyewear  912  contains no arms. 
     In other embodiments, the packaging includes a holder, such as a pouch, into which the eyewear may be provided. As used herein, reference to eyewear being removably attached to the garment is inclusive of eyewear that may be freely positioned within a pouch that is removably attached to the garment. 
     In other embodiments, eyewear may be placed within an opening of the garment and removably sealed therein. For example, eyewear may be placed within a garment that is a sock and packaging may be removably attached to the top of the sock to removably seal the eyewear within the sock. As used herein, reference to eyewear being removably attached to the garment is inclusive of eyewear that is removably sealed within the garment. 
     The foregoing description of the embodiments, including illustrated embodiments, has been presented only for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the precise forms disclosed. Numerous modifications, adaptations, and uses thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.