Reinforcement for garments

Abstract

A flexible reinforcement for garments includes a filament that is made of a spring material shaped to have a plurality of turns so as to form an elongated helical spring coil, caps located over the ends of the spring coil; and a cloth channel which receives the elongated coil. The channel is adapted to be sewn into a garment at a location to reinforce its shape. The spring coil may have a diameter of from about 1/32 to 3/16th inches. The caps may be made of plastics, Teflon, metal or similar material and shaped to be round and smooth so as to act to prevent the ends of the spring from penetrating the garment or poking the wearer.

1 . A flexible reinforcement for garments comprising: 
 a filament that is made of a spring material shaped to have a plurality of turns so as to form an elongated helical coil; and    a cloth channel which receives the elongated coil, said channel being adapted to be attached to a garment at a location to reinforce its shape.    
   
   
       2 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 1 , wherein the elongated coil is formed such that the individual turns are in contact with adjacent turns.  
   
   
       3 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 1 , wherein the elongated coil is formed such that there is a space between at least some of the individual turns.  
   
   
       4 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 1  wherein the elongated coil is formed such that the spacing between individual turns varies over the length of the coil.  
   
   
       5 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 1 , wherein the filament is made from spring steel.  
   
   
       6 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 5  wherein the diameter of the elongated coil is in the range of from about 1/32 to 3/16th inches.  
   
   
       7 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 1 , wherein the filament is made from memory wire.  
   
   
       8 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement further includes caps located on at least one of the ends of the elongated coil to prevent the end of the elongated coil from penetrating the garment or contacting and poking a person wearing the garment.  
   
   
       9 . The flexible reinforcement of  claim 8 , wherein the caps are formed into a smooth, rounded shape and are made of at least one of plastics, rubber, Teflon, or metal.  
   
   
       10 . A method for incorporating a flexible reinforcement into a garment comprising: 
 creating a channel from a piece of cloth material;    inserting a flexible coil spring into the channel, wherein said coil spring is made from a filament of spring material that is formed into a helical coil; and    sewing the cloth channel containing the flexible coil spring into a garment.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the reinforcement is shaped into one of an arch, oval or circle, and is sewn about the arm hole of a garment.