Abstract:
A garment having an outer surface not designed for writing has at least one rewritable area comprising a layer of rewritable material deposited directly onto a selected region of the outer surface. One or more permanent artworks may be deposited onto the garment prior to deposit of the rewritable layer, which may be contiguous or non-contiguous. A stencil is provided for allowing a user to write on rewritable areas while protecting adjacent areas of the garment. In one method for forming the rewritable area, a first portion of a permanent artwork and a second portion of the permanent artwork are successively deposited on the garment, followed by curing the permanent artwork and depositing a rewritable area on the garment.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS INFORMATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to Provisional Patent Application No. 62/236,759, filed on Oct. 2, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if set forth in full. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The various embodiments described herein are related to textile manufacturing and post-manufacturing processes, and more specifically to a garment with rewritable areas. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    Printed garments (e.g., t-shirts, hats, jackets, sweaters, etc.) are ubiquitous. For example, printed t-shirts and baseball caps serve as casual uniforms at many venues, sell as tremendously lucrative souvenir items, and are a perennially popular novelty gift. However, conventional garments are shipped and sold with fixed patterns and designs. Even a garment that was printed or embroiled according to a consumer&#39;s specifications cannot be changed afterwards. Similarly, embellishments rendered using permanent fabric markers are equally resistant to subsequent modifications whereas washable pens deliver dull colors and poorly defined designs. 
         [0006]    What is needed is a garment that can accommodate repeatedly changing designs or patterns. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    A garment with writable or rewritable areas and a method for forming a writable or rewritable area on a garment are provided. 
         [0008]    According to various embodiments, there is provided a garment with one or more rewritable areas which allow indicia to be written on the rewritable areas and later changed by wiping or washing the garment to allow different indicia to be written on the rewritable areas. The garment may also include permanent artwork. In various embodiments, the permanent artwork is integrated with one or more rewritable areas. 
         [0009]    According to various embodiments, there is provided a method for forming a rewritable area on a garment. The method may include: depositing a first portion of a permanent artwork on the garment; depositing a second portion of the permanent artwork on the garment; curing the permanent artwork; and depositing a rewritable area on the garment. 
         [0010]    Other features and advantages of the present inventive concept should be apparent from the following description which illustrates by way of example aspects of the present inventive concept. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The above and other aspects and features of the present inventive concept will be more apparent by describing example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of one embodiment of a garment with a writable area; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of part of the front of the garment illustrating one example of indicia written on the writable area of the garment of  FIG. 1  by a user; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a front elevation view of another embodiment of a garment with a writable area; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of another embodiment of a garment with a writable area; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a process for forming a rewritable area on a garment according to various embodiments; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a stencil providing a guide for writing on a matching rewritable area on a garment according to various embodiments; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of a modified stencil for writing on a modified rewritable area on a garment according to various embodiments. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    While certain embodiments are described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection. The methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the example methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the scope of protection. 
         [0020]    According to various embodiments, a garment such as a T-shirt, tank top, or other type of casual attire includes at least one writable or rewritable area and may include two or more rewritable areas. In some embodiments, the garment can further include one or more permanent artworks, which may be rendered using one or more printing and/or embroiling techniques (e.g., screening, heat press transfer, dye sublimation, Jacquard weaving or knitting the permanent art, hand weaving or knitting the permanent art, or the like). 
         [0021]    In various embodiments, a consumer can personalize the rewritable area by using one or more erasable markers, crayons, pens, colored pencils or the like to create any desired design, pattern, words and/or motif in the rewritable area. The rewritable area may be in any color, shape, and configuration. For example, the rewritable area can be any regular shape (e.g., rectangle) or irregular shape and may be contiguous or non-contiguous. In some embodiments, a consumer can personalize the rewritable area using a stencil corresponding to the shape of the rewritable area, as described in more detail below. Applying the stencil may confine any personalization to within the rewritable area and prevent inadvertent staining of material outside of the rewritable area. 
         [0022]    In one exemplary embodiment, contents (e.g., design, pattern, and/or motif) in the rewritable area are not permanent. Advantageously, the consumer can repeatedly alter the design, pattern and/or motif included in the rewritable area while keeping the same garment. For example, some or all of the design, pattern, and/or motif may be removed by washing the garment and/or wiping the rewritable area (e.g., using a damp cloth). 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  illustrates a garment  10  according to various embodiments. The garment  10  in the illustrated embodiment is a T-shirt, but other types of garment or clothing accessory may be provided with one or more rewritable areas in alternative embodiments, such as collared shirts, dresses, jackets, ties, scarves, shorts, and the like. Rewritable areas may be provided on the front or back of a garment, or on the front and back, as well as other parts of the garment. Referring to  FIG. 1 , in various embodiments, the garment  10  includes a rewritable area  14 . In various embodiments, the rewritable area  14  can be any shape, color, and configuration. For example, the rewritable area  14  can be any regular or irregular shape. The rewritable area can further include any visual features including, for example, but not limited to, halftone edges  16 , which simulates a gradient using varying densities of a single solid color. 
         [0024]    The garment  10  may further include at least one permanent artwork including, for example, but not limited to, a permanent artwork  12 . In some embodiments, the permanent artwork  12  may be separate from the rewritable area  14 . According to one exemplary embodiment, the permanent artwork  12  may be incorporated in a rewritable area, as discussed in more detail below with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . For example, the permanent artwork  12  may coordinate with the rewritable area  14  aesthetically and/or thematically. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  can be non-contiguous, as illustrated by way of example in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  may be separated by one or more gaps  18 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the rewritable area  14  comprises a series of writable horizontal rectangles or bars  17  separated by gaps  18 , located on unprinted portions of the garment. The rewritable area is shown on the front of the garment in  FIG. 1 , but may be located on the back of the garment in other embodiments, or rewritable areas may be located on both the front and rear of the garment and in other areas (e.g. sleeves). In various embodiments, the one or more gaps  18  may include printed (e.g., at least a portion of the permanent artwork  12 ) and/or unprinted portions of the garment  10 . Advantageously, the inclusion of the one or more gaps  18  can be an aesthetic feature. Moreover, the one or more gaps  18  may provide breathability. The shape, size, and color of the rewritable area may be varied in different embodiments. 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  can be formed by depositing a layer of vinyl or polyurethane (PU) directly on the material of garment  10  using a heat press, silk-screening, or the like. In some embodiments, the deposited layer is a thin layer having a thickness of 100 micron or less. The garment  10  may be constructed from any suitable material or fabric including, for example, but not limited to, cotton (e.g., 100% cotton), cotton blends (e.g., 60% cotton), other natural fabrics such as wool, cashmere, silk, linen and the like, semi-natural fabrics such as rayon or the like, and composite fabrics such as tri-blend. These fabrics are absorbing. The garment may also be constructed from non-absorbing fabrics such as SPANDEX® or elastane fiber, or other natural fibers treated to repel water. Such fabrics typically have a surface texture as a result of the fabric manufacturing method, typically knitting, weaving or sewing. When a thin layer of vinyl is deposited on a garment surface, it naturally adopts the texture of the underlying material of garment  10 . If the thickness of the writable layer or the nature of the underlying material texture is such that the layer does not naturally adopt the desired texture, texturing can be applied to the surface of layer immediately after it is deposited in any suitable manner. The micro-texture that is created on the surface of the PU layer affords sufficient friction for the ink from erasable markers or the like both to adhere to the layer and to deliver vibrant colors. 
         [0027]    Alternatively, in some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  can be fashioned by depositing a thick polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PU) layer on the garment  10 , i.e. a layer having a thickness of more than 100 microns, for example 110 microns or more. A thick layer can yield a slick surface that may be compatible with washable crayons and can be cleaned with off-the-shelf dry erasers. 
         [0028]    In some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  can be formed by depositing ink (e.g., silk screening) on a finely weaved and non-absorbent material including, for example, but not limited to, polyester and polyester blends. The ink layer can maintain markings made by erasable markers in a similar fashion to a PU or a PVC layer. In some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  may be sewn or glued to the garment. 
         [0029]    In some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  may be formed by depositing a layer of suitable rewritable material such as polyvinyl chloride or polyurethane using a heat press. 
         [0030]      FIG. 2  illustrates the rewritable area  14  of  FIG. 1  on a larger scale, with one example of words  20  and other symbols, drawings, or indicia  22  which may be hand-written or marked in the horizontal writing block areas  17  which simulate lines in a document. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of the garment  10  with permanent artwork  12  located within a larger rewritable area  24 . This allows a user to draw objects, write words, or the like in the large rewritable area under artwork  12 . For example, the user may draw the remainder of a face below the eyes such as a mouth and nose. It will be understood that the permanent artwork  12  in the form of stylized eyes is just one example and any other permanent artwork may be placed at any location inside or outside one or more writable areas on a garment in other embodiments, or the garment may include only one or more writable areas and no permanent artwork. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , in some embodiments, the garment  10  can include multiple areas overlaid with imprinted or deposited permanent artwork  23  (or any other permanent artwork designs provided in any suitable manner) and multiple rewritable areas  25 . One or more gaps or spaces  26  not covered with the rewritable layer material are provided in the multiple rewritable areas as visual features and/or to provide breathability, similar to gaps  18  in  FIGS. 1 and 2  where the underlying material of the garment is exposed. As shown in  FIG. 4 , in some embodiments, at least some of the multiple rewritable areas and portions thereof may be an overlay atop at least a portion of the permanent artwork  23 , forming a part of the artwork itself. This allows the user to color selected regions of the artwork  23  as desired, or to place other indicia or markings within the artwork. 
         [0033]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a process  300  for forming a rewritable area on a garment according to various embodiments, such as the rewritable areas of  FIGS. 1 to 4  or rewritable areas of other peripheral shapes and designs in alternative embodiments. 
         [0034]    A first portion of the permanent artwork  12  is deposited on the garment  10  ( 302 ). For example, in some embodiments, a primary portion (e.g., outline) of the artwork  12 ,  23  may be printed on the garment  10  using a specially formulated ink. 
         [0035]    A second portion of the permanent artwork  12 ,  23  is deposited on the garment  10  ( 304 ). For example, in some embodiments, a secondary portion (e.g., details) of the permanent artwork  12  may be printed using a plastisol ink. 
         [0036]    The permanent artwork  12 ,  23  is then cured ( 306 ) and one or more rewritable areas are deposited on the garment  10  ( 308 ) in one of the manners described above. In some embodiments, the rewritable area may be deposited on an unprinted portion of the garment completely separate from the permanent artwork  12 ,  23 . Alternately, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the rewritable area may be an overlay atop at least a portion of the permanent artwork  12 ,  23 . 
         [0037]    In some embodiments, the rewritable area may be formed a proprietary vinyl paper that is applied to the garment  10  using a heat press. The heat press may be properly aligned based on at least one of the first portion and second portion of the permanent artwork  12 . Alternately, in some embodiments, the rewritable area  14  can be a thin or thick PVC or polyurethane layer or ink that is deposited on the garment  10 . 
         [0038]    A person having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that one or more operations of the process  300  may be repeated, omitted, and/or performed in a different order without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0039]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate embodiments of a stencil  30 ,  40  which may be used in conjunction with a rewritable area on a garment, such as area  14  of  FIG. 1  or other rewritable area designs, according to various embodiments. The stencil has openings which correspond to the shape of the rewritable area with which it is to be used. Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 , the stencil  30  has openings which correspond to the shape of the rewritable areas described with respect to  FIG. 1 and 2 . 
         [0040]    As shown in the  FIG. 4 , the stencil  30  includes a sheet or panel  34  of solid material (e.g., plastic or silicone) which substantially forms a reverse or negative of the shape of the non-contiguous rewritable areas in region  14  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The stencil  20  has rectangular openings  32  for alignment with the rewritable, strip-like areas  17  in  FIG. 2 , with solid, narrow linear strips  35  of panel  34  extending between adjacent openings  32 . Half-tone holes  38  are provided in the panel around the ends of openings  32  to allow ink (e.g., from erasable markers) to be transferred to the half-tone dots or circles  16  of rewritable area  14 . The linear strips  35  cover the gaps  18  when the stencil is placed over the rewritable area  14  of  FIG. 1 , and have substantially the same dimensions as the gaps  18  in the rewritable area  14 . The half-tone holes  38  allow ink (e.g., from erasable markers) to reach only the half tone dots  16 . When stencil  30  is positioned over re-writable area  14  on shirt  10 , the user may write or draw on strips  35  with markers, pens, crayons or the like with little or no risk of ink staining adjacent areas of the garment. It will be understood that similar stencils may be provided with different opening designs to match various designs of re-writable areas on garments. 
         [0041]      FIG. 7  illustrates another stencil  40  according to various embodiments. Stencil is similar to the stencil  30  of  FIG. 6 , but in this embodiment the half-tone holes  38  are eliminated, and openings  42  correspond to re-writable areas or boxes similar to boxes  17  of  FIG. 2  but for use with a different rewritable area which has only strips or boxes  17  with no half-tone dots at the ends of boxes  17 . 
         [0042]    As in  FIG. 6 , stencil  40  includes solid material  44 , which can be opaque or transparent. The solid material  44  reduces the risk of ink (e.g., from erasable markers) from reaching and potentially staining the garment  10 . The stencil  20  further include box-like or rectangular openings  42  that allow ink (e.g., from erasable markers) to transfer to at least a portion of the rewritable area  14 . In this embodiment, the lines  26  that cover the gaps  18  are thicker than gaps  18  in order to accommodate fabric stretching during and after the printing process. Advantageously, the stencil  40  reduces the rewritable area  14  to further reduce the risk of staining the fabric of the garment  10  when a user writes in areas  17 . 
         [0043]    In one embodiment, garments with one or more rewritable areas as described in connection with the above embodiments may be provided in kits or assemblies including the garment, one or more stencils with openings matching the rewritable area or areas on the garment, and marking devices in different colors suitable for writing on the rewritable area, such as erasable markers, crayons, pens, or colored pencils or the like. 
         [0044]    The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the protection. The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular. 
         [0045]    Although the present disclosure provides certain example embodiments and applications, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments which do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to be defined only by reference to the appended claims.