Patent Publication Number: US-8991597-B2

Title: Garment bag

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a garment bag suitable for receiving a collared shirt and to a method of folding a shirt. 
     Collared shirts, particularly for business wear, are prone to creasing particularly when packed for travelling or shipping. Conventionally, such shirts are folded in a particular way which allows for easy transportation and, in the case of merchandising, display. The conventional folding method requires the shirt to be buttoned, the arms to be placed flat along the back of the shirt, both sides folded in a certain amount towards the middle of the back of the shirt and the shirt then folded in half. Particularly for merchandising and professional laundry use, the shirt is supported in this folded form with paper or plastic supports for the back and under the collar to reduce creasing, with the shirt then finally being protected by an outer container which may be in the form of a paper or plastics bag for a laundry establishment or made from stiffer transparent plastics for merchandising use. 
     It is a disadvantage of this folding method that the shirt is required to be folded on front and back on both sides and half way up the front of the shirt which leads to noticeable creases. Furthermore, the supports used in packaging the shirt are not generally reusable and also make the final packaged shirt quite bulky. 
     A packaging case for a folded shirt has been proposed in GB 2291797 which has been sold under the trademark “Stuffed Shirt” and provides support and protection for a shirt folded in a similar manner to that described above, but which can be reused. This proposal, however still has the disadvantage of requiring the shirt to be folded as described, leading to creases and the case needs to be robust and is thus bulky and expensive. 
     It is the object to the invention to provide a container and a folding method for a collared shirt which alleviates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and/or provides the general public with a useful choice. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In general terms, the invention provides a container for a shirt having a relatively rigid portion which receives a shirt collar and a relatively flexible portion for receiving the remainder of the shirt. 
     According to the invention in the first aspect, there is provided a garment bag for a collared shirt, the bag comprising a receptacle arranged to receive a first portion of the shirt including the collar and a cover arranged to receive the remainder of the shirt and be rolled up around the receptacle, the receptacle being of greater rigidity than the cover. 
     Preferably, the receptacle is in the form of a pocket and may have an arcuate surface against which the cover is arranged to be rolled. 
     The cover may have an opening to allow a said shirt to be received therein with the opening being preferably longitudinal and/or having means for closing the opening. 
     The receptacle is preferably crush-resistant. 
     The garment bag may further comprise fastening means connected to opposed faces of the cover and arranged to secure the cover in a rolled-up configuration and/or the receptacle and the cover may be of substantially the same width. 
     Preferably the receptacle acts as a former on which the cover is able to be rolled up. 
     The cover is preferably formed from sheet material with the receptacle being preferably formed from plastics material. The material(s) may also be water resistant. 
     The garment bag may also be formed from paper products. 
     The receptacle is connected to the cover and the receptacle may be releasably connected to the cover, with the receptacle preferably having an opening facing a corresponding opening of the cover. Alternatively, the receptacle may be separate from the cover. 
     The bag may be reusable or intended to be disposed of after a single use. 
     The invention extends to a garment bag of the first aspect of the invention and a shirt contained therein and to a shirt packaged for merchandising or after laundering in such a garment bag. 
     In an exemplary described embodiment not limiting on the scope of the present invention, the receptacle is formed as a crush-proof pocket to receive the collar, with the cover being in the form of an openable sack connected to the receptacle; the described garment bag is both simple and lightweight as well as providing a soft package to facilitate packing in small bags/cases. 
     According to the invention in the second aspect, there is provided a method of folding a shirt having a back portion, two front portions, two sleeves and a collar, comprising the steps of folding the shirt centrally of the back and between each front portion and the back, so that the back lies folded between the front portions, positioning one sleeve along each front portion, protecting the collar and rolling the remainder of the shirt around the protected collar. 
     Preferably the collar is raised and the shirt is folded adjacent the collar before the protecting step and the front portions and back are preferably folded concertina-fashion. 
     The collar is preferably protected by being placed in a receptacle and the remainder of the shirt may be received in a cover and the cover rolled up around the receptacle. 
     A shirt folded in this way has the advantage of requiring only a single visible fold on the body of the shirt (except the arms), centrally of the back of the shirt. The folds between the front and back are where seams joining the back to the front portions are usually provided and are hidden by the arms when the shirt is worn. A shirt folded in this way is thus less prone to visible creasing than the folding method of the prior art which has four longitudinal folds (two on the front, two on the back) and two transverse folds, on front and back, half way up the shirt. 
     Preferably, the folding method of the second aspect of the invention is used with the garment bag of the first aspect of the invention to provide a folded and rolled package. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with referenced to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIGS. 1 to 7  show various stages in folding a shirt for use with an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a three dimensional view of an embodiment of a garment bag according to a second aspect of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 8  showing the garment bag in an open configuration; 
         FIG. 10  is a view similar to  FIG. 8  showing a shirt folded in accordance with the method described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7  being inserted into the garment bag; 
         FIG. 11  shows the garment bag re-closed after receiving the shirt and the first roll made; 
         FIG. 12  shows the garment bag of  FIG. 10  in a rolled-up configuration; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a receptacle being part of the garment bag of  FIGS. 8 to 12 ; and 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional view through  14   1 - 14   1  of  FIG. 13 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7 , a method of folding a collared shirt is shown. The shirt has two front portions  10 ,  12 , buttons  14  and corresponding button holes  15 , sleeves  16 ,  18 , cuffs  20 ,  22 , a back  24  having a shirt tail  25  and a collar  26 . The back  24  is joined to each front portion  10 ,  12  at respective longitudinal seams  28 ,  30 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the buttons  14  of the shirt are first undone and the cuffs  20 ,  22  (if the shirt has double cuffs) extended. The bottom corners of each front portion  10 ,  12  of the shirt, marked A in  FIG. 1  are then grasped between index finger and thumb as shown and opened out so that the opening at the front of the shirt faces away from the person folding the shirt as shown in  FIG. 2 . Then the two corners A are brought together behind the shirt and held in one hand with the mid-point B of the shirt tail  25  being held in the other hand as shown in  FIG. 3 . Since the corners are brought behind the back, the body of the shirt is at this point inside-out. 
     The shirt is then laid flat as shown in  FIG. 4  and the upwardly facing corner A of side portion  12  is folded back on seam  28  to meet point B. The shirt is then turned over and the remaining corner A of side portion  10  is likewise folded back on seam  30  to meet point B as shown in  FIG. 5 , with the back  24  thus being folded between each side portion  10 ,  12  concertina fashion. At this point, the shirt should be inspected to ensure that all the layers  10 ,  24 ,  12  of the body of the shirt are smooth and wrinkle-free. 
     The collar  26  is then raised as shown in  FIG. 6  and the sleeve  16  is positioned to lie alongside the front portion  10 , ensuring that the end  17  of the sleeve  16 , where this joins the front portion  10  and back  24 , is not wrinkled. 
     The shirt is then turned over and the process repeated for the sleeve  18 , again ensuring that all layers are smooth and wrinkle-free as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     A shirt folded in this form is then inserted into a garment bag which will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 8 to 14 . 
     The garment bag is of overall dimensions 85 cm×36 cm and has a cover  40  which provides a protective flexible sleeve to receive the body and arms of a shirt. The cover  40  is preferably formed from a lightweight water resistant sheet plastics material, for example nylon fabric or sheet polyethylene. The cover  40  has front  42 ,  43  and rear  44  portions which are sealed together at end  45  and along both longitudinal sides  46 ,  47 . A longitudinal zip  48  is provided between the front portions  42 ,  43 . The cover  40  has an open end  50  at which the rear portion  44  is connected to a receptacle  52  which provides a crush-proof pocket for a shirt collar and is shown in more detail in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . The receptacle  52  is of substantially the same width as the cover and has sides  54 ,  55 , ends  56 ,  57  and an arcuate back  58 . The front  60  of the receptacle  52  is open so that the receptacle forms a pocket of about 4 cm wide by 16 cm deep. The rear portion  44  of the cover  40  is connected to side  55  of the receptacle  52  by any suitable means, for example adhesive, rivets/connectors or plastics welding. The receptacle  52  is preferably formed by injection moulding from polyethylene having a side thickness of about 2 mm, so as to have structural integrity but yet be slightly pliable. 
     In use, the front portions  42 ,  43  of the cover  40  are unzipped as shown in  FIG. 9 . The folded shirt shown in  FIG. 7  is then placed in the open cover  40  and the collar  26  is lightly folded over where this joins the shirt body to lie over front portion  12  so that the collar  26  lies approximately perpendicular to edge  13  of front portion  12 . The collar is then inserted into the receptacle  52  so that the collar is entirely enclosed (together with a little of the shirt body) within the receptacle  52 . In  FIG. 10 , the collar  26  is in the process of being inserted into the receptacle and is shown part away in. 
     The front portions  42 ,  43  of the cover are then zipped up and the receptacle  52  is rolled over on to the front portions of the cover as shown in  FIG. 11 , then rolled again with the receptacle  52  providing a former for the cover. The arcuate surface  58  of the receptacle  52  provides a smoothly curved region for the cover to follow without sharp edges, to avoid creasing. This is continued until the cover is completely rolled up around the receptacle  52 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . Velcro™ portions  62  are provided at the end  45  of the front portions  42 ,  43  of the cover with complementary Velcro™ portions  64  being provided at a one roll-distance on the rear portion  44  of the cover. Once the Velcro™ portions  62 ,  64  are attached, a “shirt-roll” package  66  is formed which can easily be transported in a suitcase or otherwise. 
     Since the package is rolled up rather than folded, there are no additional folds or crease points in the shirt itself and even though the package is flexible the roll also has some resistance to creasing even if squashed since the rolled layers of the shirt and cover support each other. The collar, protected by the relatively rigid receptacle  52  is in any event protected. 
     The embodiment described is not to be construed as limitative. For example, although the receptacle  52  has been shown and described connected to one end of the cover, the cover may, essentially, be like an ordinary garment bag, sealed along all sides and ends with the receptacle being separate. In such an arrangement, the receptacle may be slipped over the collar of a shirt folded as described and the shirt and the receptacle inserted together into the cover which is then zipped up and rolled up around the receptacle. 
     Furthermore, although a principal application of the embodiment of the invention is in packing of a collared shirt for travel, the folding method and garment bag may equally be used for packaging of shirts for transport and shipping to shops for subsequent display and sale. In one additional preferred feature of such a packaging technique, the garment bag used in the package would be re-usable by the purchaser, for subsequent packing of the shirt for travel. The packaging would thus have a use beyond mere transport and display. 
     Any other suitable materials may be used for forming the garment bag other than those described for any of the applications noted. For example, a disposable version of the container could be formed from paper or lightweight plastics sheet for the cover and cardboard for the receptacle, for example for use by laundries. The garment bag may also be made from natural materials for example the cover may be formed from woven fabric such as cotton and the receptacle may be formed from leather. 
     The garment bag is preferably of sufficient robustness as to be reusable, but may alternatively be formed of less robust materials, with the intention that the garment gap is disposed of after a single use. 
     The receptacle may also be detachably connected, by press studs for example, to the cover, to allow for the cover to be replaced and/or separately laundered depending upon the material. 
     The opening in the front of the cover need not be longitudinal. For example this could be omitted, with the opening  50  used to insert the shirt into the cover, or disposed at the other end  45 . Furthermore, the sealing means need not be a zip, it could, for example, be formed from Velcro fasteners or a press-contact plastics seal similar to that found on freezer bags, or if the opening  50  is used to insert the shirt, omitted completely.