Apparel – Nether garments – Stockings
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-21
2002-07-16
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Nether garments
Stockings
C002S016000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06418563
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to articles of clothing and specifically to a purpose organizer and protector.
The uninterrupted fingerless article of clothing is a novel multi-purpose organizer and protector product that solves numerous problems. First, in the past everybody, both civilians, as well as military personnel, both desk as well as field personnel involved in work, sports, and leisure activities, had very little to choose from when it came to protecting their palms from both cold weather and sun-heated surfaces.
Gloves, mittens and mitts are usually worn in very cold temperatures, are too cumbersome, bulky, ugly, and inconvenient. Furthermore, certain palm, hand and foot coverings and protectors originally invented to allow freedom of the fingers and toes, add further problems. They restrict the fingers and toes with tight finger and toe slots, and require a lot of fuss, time, and attention to get them on and off. Furthermore still, they do not cover the entire surface of a palm of a hand, do not cover the back of a hand, and the sides of a palm of the hand, do not cover the ball of a thumb, all of the above, or a combination thereof.
Also, past multi-purpose fingerless palm and hand protectors and other multi-purpose palm and hand coverings and protectors share some of all the above listed disadvantages. Most people are too embarrassed to wear them for these obvious reasons, and so suffer the cold temperatures the best way they can. These chilly-hand sufferers consistently and vigorously rub their hands together for warmth, almost as if in tune to a dance.
Second, handling hot objects such as a sun-exposed steering wheel, continues to be a problem that results in scorched palms of the hands, and balls of the thumb, and yet most people feel they have to tolerate such discomfort, and wear existing inventions which have some of the above-mentioned disadvantages.
Third, there is no known novel protection for the inconveniences beach goers' face that they care to wear. During the hot summers, and very hot weather, most of them have nothing to protect the ball of a foot from the hot sands of a beach. These individuals go to the beach to have fun, to relax, and to experience a little freedom from everyday demanding schedules. Therefore beach goers do not want to wear bulky, cumbersome and restrictive shoes and slippers. They love to walk barefoot because it feels good to experience the sand under their feet. However, this tendency comes with a price, when the sand is hot: it often results in redness and tenderness of the ball of a foot. These tender-soles victims attempt to hop around, and make an embarrassing and cartoon-like mad dash on ball of foot; towards any available form of relief
Fourth, an increasing number of people are struggling to stay healthy and do take pride in their health. Yet, they are finding it hard to maintain hygiene of their palms and back of their hands in a public environment. There is no known novel invention that prevents the skin of the entire palm, and the back of a hand from touching a dirty public bathroom door, in order to open the door to get in and out. The: inconvenience is greater when the public bathroom door has a knob. These knobs are usually disgustingly wet from people in a rush to get out of the bathroom.
Similarly, after a couple of rides in an amusement park, it is amazing how dirt and grime gets on the palms and back of the hands. When it is time to eat, the long walk to the crowded bathrooms to wash hands seems like a feat, so most people just dust off their palms and hands, hope they will not get sick, and commence eating. In addition, another problem originates from fatigue when a seat is not always readily available: tired people sit on any available structure, and some of them lean against a wall. Often, these actions involve the use of the palms of the hands. These problems challenge hygiene of the palms and back of the hands in a public environment.
Fifth, certain items of apparel are so important that they can cause some embarrassment, if they are not organized and maintained. These are haberdasheries such as socks, hosiery, and underwear. Many of us have seen people who rush in to work with mismatched socks and stockings. Also, one sock and one stocking usually gets missing, and the other one would have to be thrown away. Underwear is usually in a pile, in an organized mess. All these items are legendary in their ability to look disorganized even after they have been neatly folded. This is because these items are usually loosely organized.
The most devastating to women is pantyhose and stockings with runs in them. Ask any woman, and she will tell you that a run in her hosiery can ruin her day. The feeling is similar to breaking a fingernail. This is because for years, wearing hosiery has been made to be a status symbol for women. Women wear hosiery to show off their lovely legs, and also to look professional at work. However, some pantyhose and stockings can run within the hour! Women continue to buy more expensive hosiery, with the hope that those will not run too.
Nevertheless, those expensive stockings continue to fail women every time. Women continue to spend fortunes replacing their pantyhose and stockings for these reasons. It is a known fact that some women have resigned themselves to the fate of constantly replenishing their supply of hosiery. Also, that both men and women constantly replenish their supply of socks. They believe that the best way they can handle these problems is to avoid contributing to the problem. What they do not have, is a product that will help maintain organization, and that does not itself contribute to snagging and runs.
No product or prior art has been found which addresses all the above concerns of consumers. Only a novel invention can consider a solution to all of the above concerns. Such a product would gain popularity and loyalty from the consumer public.
Petroski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,025 shows a hand protector which is reversible and starts from the interstices or web of the fingers to the top of the ball of a thumb. Although this hand protector provides protection to the upper portion of the palm and back of a hand, it exposes the entire ball of a thumb as well as a substantial portion of the lower half of the palm of the hand. Furthermore, it covers neither the tops nor the ball of a foot. Additionally, the hand protector was not designed for wear on both the hands and feet. Therefore the structure and design of the hand protector is not suitable.
Van Bergen et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,427 shows a fingerless mitten with a flap to release the fingers so that the mitten can be worn at the wrist. This structure provides an opportunity to release the fingers, but is cumbersome, bulky, ugly, and requires a lot of fuss, time, or attention to manipulate. Unfortunately, once the fingers are released, no coverage for the hand exists at all. Neither the palm, nor the back of the hand is protected. If worn over the toes, the flap might cause the wearer to trip on it.
Furthermore, the gathered material resulting from releasing the flap would cause the wearer to walk off-balance, and cause great discomfort across the area of the big toe. Additionally, the fingerless mitten was not designed for wear on both the hands and feet. Therefore, the structure and design of the fingerless mitten is not suitable.
Mosley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,478 shows a sun glove which only covers the back of a hand. It is specifically designed to expose the palm of a hand to the elements. Also, the sun glove requires a lot of fuss, time, and attention to get each of the five loops positioned around each finger. It is obvious that this sun glove does not cover the palm of the hand at all, and will give no protection to the toes of the foot, if worn. Additionally, the sun glove was not designed for wear on both the hands and feet. Therefore, the structure and design of the sun glove is- not suitable.
Goebel et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,407 shows a hitting mitt with a flexible pad
Calvert John J.
Hoey Alissa L.
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