EMS GARMENT
A garment for medical emergency services (EMS) workers is provided with one or more features useful to emergency personnel. The garment may include an eyewear pocket at or near the neck of the garment and/or a pocket on the front panel of the shirt that is sized or configured to hold a card, such as an insurance card, while allowing a portion of the card to remain visible. Additional features which may be present alone or in combination with the other disclosed features include a fastener that is off-set from the shoulder seem of the garment and/or a sleeve pocket that is sized to accommodate medical gloves. The various pockets may include a material coating or lining that may increase or decrease the frictional forces between the interior of the pocket and the item retained there in order to assist in the retention of the item or assist in the removal of the item as desired.
This application claims the benefit of provisional application entitled EMS GARMENT, filed Jun. 23, 2014, U.S. Ser. No. 62/015,645, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to a garment for use by emergency medical services (“EMS”) personnel.
Responders to emergency medical situations often need various tools and accessories while attending to a patient. However, responders do not need to use all the tools at the same time and, therefore, need to be able to store them when not in use, but also have quick access to them when they are needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, a garment is provided with one or more features useful to emergency personnel in the performance of their duties.
In one embodiment, a garment includes a front panel having a neck opening and an inner panel joined to the front panel, which forms a pocket between the front panel and a wearer. The pocket has a pocket opening located at (or proximate to) a portion of the neck opening the neck opening, with the pocket is sized to accommodate eyewear.
In one aspect, the garment further includes the pocket opening formed between the front panel and inner panel.
In another aspect, the pocket dimensions include a length of between about 5 and 6 inches and a width of between about 2 and 3 inches.
In a further aspect, the inner panel forming the pocket with the front panel is a rigid material.
In yet another aspect, the pocket opening further includes a closure, for example, a duckbill closure.
In any of the above, the pocket may include an interior lined with a high friction material to facilitate retention of the eyewear in the pocket. Optionally, the lined interior includes directional elements to provide resistance to removal of the eyewear when placed in the pocket.
Further, in any of the above, the pocket may be detachable from the garment.
Another embodiment includes a garment with a front panel and a pocket on the front panel, with the pocket being sized to accommodate a card, such as a credit card or an identification card, for example, a driver's license.
In one aspect, the pocket is sized so that when the card is fully inserted into the pocket a portion of the card is still visible.
In any of the above card-sized pockets, the interior surface of the pocket may include a high friction material, so that when the card is placed in the pocket, the card is held in the pocket by the high friction material.
In another aspect, the garment may include an elastic loop so that the card may be held in the pocket by securing the loop over the card.
In yet another aspect, the pocket has a length of about 3 inches and a width of about 2.5 inches.
Accordingly to yet another aspect, the garment may include a second pocket in a stacked or staggered relationship to the first pocket. For example, the second pocket may be attached to the garment between the front panel and the first pocket. Alternately, the first pocket may be attached to the garment between the front panel and the second pocket.
According to another embodiment, a garment includes a front panel and a rear panel attached to the front panel, with a seam between the front panel and the rear panel. A fastener is offset from the seam and located at a shoulder of the garment. For example, the fastener may be adapted to receive a microphone.
In yet another embodiment, a garment for use by emergency medical services personnel includes a front panel having a neck opening and an inner panel joined to the front panel forming a first pocket between the front panel and a wearer. The first pocket is sized to accommodate eyewear with an opening of the first pocket located at (or proximate) the neck opening. The front panel includes a second pocket, which is sized to accommodate a card.
In any of the above, the garments may include a rear panel attached to a front panel, with a seam between the front panel and the rear panel, and a fastener offset from the seam and located at a shoulder area of the garment.
In any of the above garments, the garment may include at least one sleeve and a third pocket on the sleeve, wherein the third pocket optionally has a high slip interior(e.g. with a low friction surface). For example, the third pocket is sized to accommodate a glove.
In any of the above garments, the garment may include breathable panels and/or reflective strips. Further, the garment may include a sweat absorbing collar.
Accordingly, the garments provide a variety of different storage options that can assist EMS personal in organizing and/or handling their various tools and/or accessories.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the description of the current embodiment and the drawings.
Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention may be implemented in various other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the description of various embodiments. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the invention to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the invention any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.
Referring to
As best seen on
As best seen in
In an alternate embodiment, garment 10 may include an eyewear pocket 180 constructed from at least two inner panels 160, 162. Referring to
In both embodiments, eyewear pocket 18, 180 may be placed at or near a neck opening 14 of the garment to allow easy placement of the eyewear 19 into the pocket 18, 180. The ease with which the eyewear 19 may be placed in the pocket may be enhanced for wearers 50, accustomed to hanging an arm of their eyewear over their shirt front. Specific dimensions for the pocket may vary. Generally, a length of the pocket 18, 180 may be about 5 to 6 inches and a width of about 2-3 inches may easily allow eyewear 19 to be carried in the pocket 18, 180. While the pocket 18, 180 is sized to accommodate eyewear 19 the pocket is also suitable for holding or carrying other smaller or similarly sized items such as, but not limited to, a smartphone, gloves, a writing utensil, paper, a radio, a headset, and keys, etc.
In order to gain access to each eyewear pocket 18, 180, a pocket opening 65, 165 may be provided. The pocket opening 65, 165 may be flexible if the panel 16, 160 is of pliable material, or may be a more set or fixed shape if the panel 16 or inner panels 160, 162 are made of rigid material.
In an alternate embodiment, illustrated in
Each pocket 18, 180, 280 may include an interior surface 70, 170, 270 that is lined or coated with material that can increase the friction between the eyewear 19 and the interior surfaces 70, 170, 270 to aid in the retention of the eyewear 19 or other item placed in the pocket 18, 180, 280. The lined or coated surface may include for example, but are not limited to, a material with directional fibers oriented to retain objects in the pocket, or may be a tacky or static, or semi-tacky or static coating that aid in securing items in the pocket 18, 180, 280. The lining or coating, if present, may provide additional frictional forces that are readily overcome by manually grasping the eyewear 19 or other item contained in the pocket 18, 180, 280 and moving the eyewear 19 or item through the pocket opening 65, 165, 265.
Further, each pocket 18, 180, 280 may be detectable from the garment. For example, the pocket 18, 180, 280 may be removably fixed to the front panel by coupling pocket fasteners 91, 191, 291 to front panel fasteners 92, 192 (none shown for pocket 280). The pocket fasteners and the front panel fasteners may be any type of fastener suitable for this purpose. Suitable fasteners may include, but are not limited to, snaps, Velcro, pins and the like.
During emergency medical situations it is frequently necessary for emergency medical personnel to obtain evidence of identification, proof of insurance, and/or blood type, etc. for a person requiring attention. The attending medical professional may, for a short time, need or desire to retain the card until the person requiring attention is transferred to the care of another attendee or caregiver. In these often fast-pasted transactions, the emergency medical personnel who has retained the card may overlook the card and retain it while the person being treated moves to another location. By providing a pocket on the garment of EMS personnel that is configured to allow at least a portion of the card or cards to remain visible, the likelihood of separating a person from their identifying information may be decreased.
Referring now to
For example, card pocket 418 as shown in
Alternatively, the card may be secured in the pocket by a loop. As shown in
In the pocket arrangements shown in
Another stacked or staggered relationship is shown in
Any of the card pockets 318, 418, 518, 618, 718 described herein may include an interior surface material. The surface material may have a construction and/or coating that increases the frictional forces between the card 330, 430, 530, 630, 730 and the pocket so that, when the card is placed in the pocket 318, 418, 518, 618, 718 the interior surface material aids in retaining the card in the pocket. The increased frictional forces created if the interior surface material is present may be readily overcome by manually grasping the card 330, 430, 530, 630, 730 in the pocket 318, 418, 518, 618, 718.
It may be useful for EMS personnel to be provided a garment with a fastener. The fastener may enable items that are needed or desired during the performance of their duties to be kept ready for use while allowing hands to remain free. Referring to
The fastener 830, as shown in
Any of the features of the garment described herein may be included alone or in combination with other of the features in an EMS garment. For example, the eyewear pocket shown in
Additional other features of the garment may include a sleeve pocket 42 as shown in
Referring again to
The above description is that of current embodiments of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments of the invention or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described invention may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Further, the disclosed embodiments include a plurality of features that are described in concert and that might cooperatively provide a collection of benefits. The present invention is not limited to only those embodiments that include all of these features or that provide all of the stated benefits, except to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the issued claims. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.
Directional terms, such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “inwardly,” “outer” and “outwardly,” are used to assist in describing the invention based on the orientation of the embodiments shown in the illustrations. The use of directional terms should not be interpreted to limit the invention to any specific orientation(s).
Claims
1. A garment comprising:
- a front panel having a neck opening;
- an inner panel joined to said front panel forming a pocket between said front panel and a wearer; and
- said pocket having a pocket opening located at or proximate a portion of said neck opening, and said pocket is sized to accommodate eyewear.
2. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pocket opening is formed between said front panel and said inner panel.
3. The garment of claim 2 wherein said pocket comprises a length of between about 5 and 6 inches and a width of between about 2 and 3 inches.
4. The garment of claim 1 wherein said inner panel is a rigid material.
5. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pocket opening comprises a closure.
6. The garment of claim 5 wherein said closure is a duckbill closure.
7. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pocket includes an interior, said interior being lined with a high friction material to facilitate retention of the eyewear in said pocket.
8. The garment of claim 7 wherein said lined interior includes directional elements to provide resistance to removal of the eyewear when placed in said pocket.
9. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pocket is detachable from said garment.
10. A garment comprising:
- a front panel;
- a pocket on said front panel, said pocket being sized to accommodate a card, said pocket further being sized so that when the card is fully inserted into the pocket, a portion of the card is visible; and
- said pocket includes an interior with a surface material, said surface material being a high friction material, and wherein when the card is placed in said pocket, the card is held in said pocket by said high friction material.
11. The garment of claim 10 wherein said surface material is an elastic loop, and wherein the card is held in said pocket by securing said loop around the card.
12. The garment of claim 10 wherein said pocket has a length of about 3 inches and a width of about 2.5 inches.
13. The garment of claim 10 wherein said pocket comprises a first pocket, said garment further comprising a second pocket, and wherein said second pocket is in a staggered relationship to said first pocket.
14. The garment of claim 13 wherein said second pocket is attached to said garment between said front panel and said first pocket.
15. The garment of claim 13 wherein said first pocket is attached to said garment between said front panel and said second pocket.
16. A garment for use by emergency medical services personnel, said garment comprising:
- a front panel having a neck opening;
- an inner panel joined to said front panel forming a first pocket between said front panel and a wearer, said first pocket sized to accommodate eyewear;
- said first pocket having an opening located at or proximate said neck opening; and
- said second pocket on said front panel, and said second pocket being sized to accommodate a card.
17. The garment of claim 16 further comprising:
- a rear panel attached to said front panel;
- a seam between said front panel and said rear panel; and
- said garment having a shoulder and a fastener offset from said seam and located on said shoulder.
18. The garment of claim 17 further comprising:
- at least one sleeve; and
- a third pocket on said sleeve, and said third pocket having a high slip interior.
19. The garment of claim 18 wherein said third pocket is sized to accommodate a glove.
20. The garment of claim 19 wherein said high slip interior aids in the removal of the glove from said third pocket when the glove is in said third pocket.
21. The garment of claim 18 further comprising breathable panels and reflective strips.
22. The garment of claim 18 further comprising a sweat absorbing collar.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 17, 2015
Publication Date: Dec 24, 2015
Inventors: Jason James Wroblewski (Kalamazoo, MI), Donald Michael Mekkes (Byron Center, MI), Clifford Edwin Lambarth (Portage, MI)
Application Number: 14/741,727