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  Bicycle riding apparelUSPTO Application #: 20060085889Title: Bicycle riding apparel Abstract: A bicycle jersey is described that includes a pair of front panels, a back panel and a pair of left and right sleeve panels. Each of the sleeve panel includes a sleeve edge and a neck edge. In each of the sleeve panels, a first line is defined that extends perpendicular to the sleeve edge and is a virtual perpendicular bisector of the sleeve edge. In each of the sleeve panels, a second line is defined that extends from neck edge and a neckline of the bicycle jersey along a peak line corresponding to the top of a shoulder of a cyclist wearing the bicycle jersey. A first angle is defined by an intersection between the first line and the second line that is between 30 and 90 degrees. (end of abstract) Agent: Shinjyu GlobalIPCounselors, LLP - Washington, DC, US Inventor: Shinpei Okajima USPTO Applicaton #: 20060085889 - Class: 002077000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Apparel, Body Garments, Bag Type, Separable, Men's Outer Shirts The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060085889. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-312527. The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-312527 is hereby incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention generally relates to a bicycle riding apparel. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cycling jersey with raglan sleeves that a cyclist wears when riding a bicycle. [0004] 2. Background Information [0005] Cycling is becoming an increasingly more popular form of recreation as well as a means of transportation. Moreover, bicycling has become a very popular competitive sport for both amateurs and professionals. Whether the bicycle is used for recreation, transportation or competition, the bicycle industry is constantly improving the various components of the bicycle as well as the apparel worn by casual cyclists and serious cycling enthusiasts alike. [0006] Cycling apparel, such jerseys are well known. Cycling jerseys are typically worn by cyclists when riding in both amateur and professional competitions, such as a road race or an off-road mountain trail course race. Many conventional cycling jerseys are produced with designs that include raglan sleeves. Such jerseys include a sleeve panel that extends from the neck of the cyclist towards the wrist covering at least a portion of the top of the shoulder of the cyclist. Such a jersey is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,877. [0007] The conventional jersey is constructed with a front panel and a back panel that extend upward to just below the shoulders of the cyclist. The front and back panels are configured with smooth curved lines that join with a pair of left and right sleeve panels that are positioned to cover the top of the shoulders on both sides of the torso of the cyclist. Each of the sleeve panels is formed with a sleeve edge, a neck portion, a pair of sleeve forming portions and a pair of suture portions. The neck portion and the sleeve edge are formed at opposite ends of the sleeve panel. The pair of sleeve forming portions extend at least part way from the sleeve edge and toward the neck portion. The pair of suture portions extend from respective ones of the pair of the sleeves forming portions to the neck portion and are sutured proximate the neck portion to predetermined sections of the front panel and the back panel. In the pair of sleeve panels, an angle is formed by the intersection between a first line that is a virtual perpendicular bisector extending from the sleeve edge and a second line that extends from the neck to the shoulder along the peak of the shoulder of the cyclist. This angle is between 0 and 15 degrees. Further, in the conventional jersey, the sleeve edge of the sleeve panel faces downward to the side in what appears to be an unstretched state. [0008] In the conventional bicycle jersey, the sleeve edge of the sleeve panel is contoured to extend downward to the lower portion of the cyclist's torso. More specifically, in the absence of gravity, the sleeve edge of a conventional bicycle jersey is cut and oriented to extend along the cyclist's side towards the waist by virtue of the suturing and the shape of the sleeve panels. The problem is that when a cyclist is riding, the cyclist assumes a riding posture where the cyclist leans forward and holds the arms out to engage the handlebar of the bicycle. In particular, drop handlebars on a road racer or a straight handlebar in a mountain bicycle require the cyclist's upper arms to extend outward about perpendicular to the cyclist's torso and forearms extend forward toward the handlebar. Hence, when the cyclist assumes the riding posture, the sleeve edge of each the sleeve panels faces the front of the bicycle. The conventional jersey must stretch in the upper arm and shoulder areas to accommodate the riding posture of the cyclist. [0009] Therefore, in the riding posture where the cyclist holds the handlebar of the bicycle, rucks (i.e., wrinkles or folds) appear on the front and side of the sleeve panel proximate the shoulder areas of the cyclist. These rucks have an adverse effect on air resistance. Further, a backside of the shoulder section of the sleeve panel is being stretched and is narrowed with the cyclist in the riding posture, thus making the cyclist uncomfortable. [0010] In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved bicycle jersey that eliminates the formation of tucks in order to improve wind resistance characteristics of the jersey. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] One object of the present invention is to provide bicycle apparel with improved wind resistance characteristics. [0012] Another object of the present invention is to improve the comfort level of a cyclist wearing bicycle apparel with the cyclist in a riding posture holding the handlebar of a bicycle. [0013] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, bicycle jersey includes raglan sleeves that a cyclist wears when riding a bicycle, and is formed with a pair of left and right front panels, a back panel and a pair of left and right sleeve panels. Each of the front panel is formed with first sleeve mounting portions and first front-rear mounting portions. The first sleeve mounting portions are formed with sloping curved contours that are dimensioned such that the shoulders of the rider are exposed (not covered) at the top by the front panels. The first front-rear mounting portions are extend from the first sleeve mounting portions. The back panel is formed with left and right second sleeve mounting portions and left and right second front-rear mounting portions. The second sleeve mounting portions are formed with sloping curved contours that are dimensioned such that the shoulders of the cyclist are exposed (not covered by the back panel). The second front-rear mounting portions extend from the second sleeve mounting parts and are coupled to the first front-rear mounting portions. The sleeve panels are formed with a sleeve edge, first and second sleeve forming portions, a first suture portion, a second suture portion and a neck portion. The first and second sleeve forming portions have curved concave contours that are coupled to each other to form a sleeve of the bicycle jersey. The first suture portion is a V-shaped cutout that is cut from the first sleeve forming portion and is sutured to the first sleeve mounting portion of a respective front panel. The second suture portion extends from the second sleeve forming portion and is sutured to the second sleeve mounting portion of the back panel. The neck portion bridges the first and second suture portions. The neck portion extends up over the shoulder of the cyclist bridging a gap between the front and back panels. The sleeve panels define first and second lines that intersect to form a first angle. The first line extends perpendicularly from a center of the sleeve edge portion of the sleeve panels and is a virtual bisector of the sleeve edge portion. The second line extends from the neck portion of the sleeve panels along a peak of the shoulder such that the first angle is between 30 and 90 degrees. [0014] The bicycle jersey of the present invention provides a greater level of comfort to the cyclist and reduced wind resistance because of the configuration and dimensions of the sleeve panel. The first angle formed between the first line and the second line in each of the sleeve panels is preferably between 30 and 90 degrees. The angle is possible in part due to the V-shaped cutout established on a first suture portion and is a suture point with the front of the sleeve panel. The first angle is located at the intersection of the first and the second lines. Specifically the first angle that is between 30 and 90 degrees and is formed where a sleeve line (the first line) and a shoulder line (the second line) intersect. The first angle is wider than in conventional jerseys. As a result, the entire sleeve of the assembled bicycle jersey extends forward and upward with respect to the vertical orientation of the jersey. More specifically, the sleeve is angled toward the front of the bicycle jersey by the size of the first angle. Additionally, by setting a V-shaped cut part and suturing it to the front panel, the sleeve edge portion faces forward and extends in front beyond a vertical plane coinciding with the front most areas of the front panel. As a consequence, since the sleeve edge portion faces forward, the bicycle jersey of the present invention conforms to the torso and arm orientation of a cyclist in a riding posture riding a bicycle and gripping the handlebar with both hands. The cyclist is able to maintain the riding posture with the bicycle jersey conforming to his riding posture since the sleeves and torso sections of the bicycle jersey have an overall shape that mimics the cyclists riding posture. The cyclist's arms and shoulders are fitted more comfortably within the bicycle jersey. Rucks, wrinkles and folds are less likely to form in the front and side of areas around the cyclist's shoulders. Therefore, the comfort level of the cyclist is improved, and air resistance is reduced. [0015] In another aspect of the present invention, the V-shaped cut portion is formed with a small curving portion and two large curving portions that extend from the small curving portion. The small curving portion has a curvature radius that is between 3 mm and 20 mm, and the two large curving portions diverge extending away from the small curving portion. At least one of the large curving portions has convex contour with a curvature radius of greater than 200 mm but less than 600 mm. [0016] In another aspect of the invention, a second angle is defined between the two large curving portions of the V-shaped cut portion of the sleeve panels having a range of between 20 degrees to 80 degrees. Since the second angle is formed where both the large curving portions, it becomes easy for the front area of the sleeve portion to face the front bicycle jersey. The smaller the second angle is, the more the sleeve portion faces the front of the cloth. The second angle is preferably smaller for the apparel used by a cyclist riding a bicycle in the riding posture. [0017] In another aspect of the invention, a pair of left and right side members are sutured in place between respective first front-rear mounting portions of the front panels and the second front-rear mounting portion of the rear panel. By including a pair of left and right side members, the bicycle jersey more comfortably fits the a human body, in particular a cyclist in the riding posture. Air resistance is reduced by elimination of rucks, folds and wrinkles and the comfort level of the cyclist in the riding posture is improved. [0018] In yet another aspect of the present invention, a pair of left and right bottom sleeve panels are sutured between the first and second sleeve forming portions of respective sleeve panels. Inclusion of the pair of the left and right bottom sleeve members makes it easier to conform the sleeve panel of the bicycle jersey to the upper arm of a cyclist in the riding posture. Air resistance is reduced by elimination of rucks, folds and wrinkles and the comfort level of the cyclist in the riding posture is improved. [0019] According to the present invention, by adjusting the first angle at the intersection of the first and second lines, specifically between 30 and 90 degrees where the shoulder and the sleeve intersect, the angle is larger than the corresponding angle in conventional jerseys. As a result, the entire sleeve part extends forward from a front vertical plane defined by the front of the torso area of the bicycle jersey. In addition, by adjusting the V-shaped cutout and suturing it with the front panel, the sleeve portion faces outward and of a torso section of the bicycle jersey. As a consequence, the sleeve portion extends forward of the front of the bicycle jersey, in particular when a cyclist rides a bicycle and holds the handlebar with both hands. The cyclist's arms extend toward the front of the bicycle jersey and since the bicycle jersey conforms to the cyclists shape, the back panel and areas around the cyclist's shoulder are snug but not tight. Rucks, folds and wrinkles are less likely to appear in the sleeve panel at the front and side areas around the cyclist's shoulder. Therefore, air resistance is reduced by elimination of rucks, folds and wrinkles and the comfort level of the cyclist in the riding posture is improved. [0020] These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Continue reading... Full patent description for Bicycle riding apparel Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Bicycle riding apparel patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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