ATTACHABLE POCKET FOR A GARMENT

Abstract

An attachable pocket is configured to be attached to a garment at any desired location along a surface of the garment. The attachable pocket includes a sheet that forms a chamber that is used to store objects such that the attachable pocket protects the objects from elements or debris. An opening into the chamber is closed with a closure to block access into the chamber and to seal the attachable pocket with the object in the chamber.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/690,667, filed Jun. 27, 2018, the contents of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a protective garment, more particularly, garments worn by users to avoid contact with paint, dust, or other unwanted materials.

BACKGROUND

Workers may wear a protective garment, such as a coverall, suits, pants, and shirts, on top of their clothing while working (e.g., painting or cleaning) to avoid spills or splatters of unwanted materials on their clothing or skin. As such, it may be inconvenient for workers to access pockets of their clothing. Additionally, even if the workers take out personal objects (e.g., mobile devices) from their pockets, the objects may collect debris from worksite or from workers' hands.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a garment system is disclosed. The garment system includes a garment configured to be worn by a user and an attachable pocket, which is configured to be selectively attached to the garment. The attachable pocket includes an opening to receive an object to be carried inside the attachable pocket and a closure that is configured to seal the opening.

In some embodiments, the attachable pocket further includes an adhesive layer that is adapted to adhere to a surface of the garment to mount the attachable pocket to any and all locations on the surface of the garment.

In some embodiments, the attachable pocket is defined by a top side, a bottom side, and a pair of longitudinal sides and has a front surface facing away from the garment and a rear surface opposite the front surface. The adhesive layer coupled to the rear surface such that the rear surface is configured to be selectively attached to the garment with the adhesive layer.

In some embodiments, the adhesive layer is applied only along a perimeter of the rear surface of the attachable pocket.

In some embodiments, the adhesive layer is applied across the entire rear surface of the attachable pocket.

In some embodiments, the adhesive layer is applied only to the bottom side and both longitudinal sides of the attachable pocket.

In some embodiments, the attachable pocket further includes an outer barrier and an inner barrier that are sealed to create a dual protection against any debris from entering into the chamber.

In some embodiments, the outer barrier and the inner barrier are sealed with adhesive material.

In some embodiments, the attachable pocket includes a monolayer sheet having an adhesive layer around a perimeter of one side of the sheet such that, when the sheet is attached to the garment, the chamber is formed directly between the sheet and the garment.

In some embodiments, the adhesive layer is applied to a bottom side of the sheet, a first longitudinal side of the sheet and a second longitudinal side of the sheet, and a top side of the sheet is free from the adhesive layer so that the opening is created directly between the top side and the garment.

In some embodiments, the closure includes an interlocking groove and ridge that form a tight seal and a tab that is movable horizontally along the top side from one end to the other end of the closure to press the interlocking groove and ridge together to seal the opening.

In some embodiments, the attachable pocket is made from a transparent material so that the object can be viewed and interacted with through the material while the object is still in the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the following figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a customizable garment system including a garment and an attachable pocket;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the attachable pocket of FIG. 1 having an adhesive layer;

FIG. 2A is a detailed elevation view of the adhesive layer of the attachable pocket of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an opening of the attachable pocket of FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the attachable pocket of FIGS. 1-3 with a mobile device placed in the attachable pocket of FIG. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a garment system 10 includes a protective garment 12 and an attachable pocket 14 configured to be selectively attached to the garment 12 after the garment 12 has been manufactured to retrofit the garment 12 with the attachable pocket 14. In the illustrative embodiment, the attachable pocket 14 includes an adhesive material on one side of the attachable pocket 14, which is designed to adhere to any surface of the protective garment 12. In the illustrative embodiment, the protective garment 12 is embodied as a water-resistant coverall worn by a user to protect clothing and/or skin of the user by preventing unwanted material from transferring to their clothing or skin. In some embodiments, the protective garment 12 may be embodied as suits, pants, and/or shirts.

Some coveralls worn by workers do not have pockets and the worker may desire to cut a hole in the coverall to access a pocket on a garment worn beneath the coverall. This compromises the coveralls ability to effectively block unwanted particles from moving past the coverall and onto the worker beneath the coverall. In accordance with the present disclosure, the user or worker may place the attachable pocket 14 on any desired area of the protective garment 12 to remove the desire to cut holes in the coverall. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the attachable pocket 14 may be placed on one side of the waistline of the protective garment 12. The attachable pocket 14 is configured to carry an object placed inside the attachable pocket 14 for convenience of the user. The attachable pocket 14 is further designed to prevent the object from collecting unwanted materials, including debris such as dirt or paint. For example, the user may place a mobile device inside the attachable pocket 14, as described in greater detail below in FIG. 4. It should be appreciated that the attachable pocket 14 may be sized to store any small portable object, such as, for example, a calculator, a measuring tape, a camera, or a video camera.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the attachable pocket 14 is defined by four sides (i.e., a top side 18, a bottom side 24, two longitudinal sides 26) and has a front surface 38 and a rear surface 16. In the illustrative embodiment, the attachable pocket 14 further includes an outer barrier 34 (or sheet 34) and an inner barrier 36 (or sheet 36), as shown in detail in FIG. 2A. The outer barrier 34 and the inner barrier 36 are sealed (i.e., the front surface 38 and the rear surface 16 are adhered together to define the outer barrier 34 and the inner barrier 36) to create a dual protection against any debris from flowing into the chamber 28. The outer barrier 34 blocks unwanted debris from entering the attachable pocket from the front surface 38 while the inner barrier 36 blocks unwanted debris from entering the attachable pocket 14 from the rear surface 16 (i.e. through the garment 12 when the attachable pocket is installed).

An adhesive layer 32 adapted to adhere to the surface of the protective garment 12 is positioned on the rear surface 16 of the attachable pocket 14. In the illustrative embodiment, the adhesive layer 32 covers the perimeters of the rear surface 16 of the attachable pocket 14 around the two sides 26 and the bottom side 24. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments the adhesive layer 32 may cover a portion or an entire surface of the rear surface 16. In the illustrative embodiment, the adhesive layer may include a solvent based, pressure-sensitive adhesive or another suitable type of adhesive material. In the illustrative embodiment, a strip may be attached to the adhesive layer 32 prior to the attachable pocket 14 being applied to the garment 12. The strip may be coated with a release layer such that the strip can be removed from the adhesive layer 32 to expose the adhesive layer 32 for attachment to the garment 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, the attachable pocket 14 further includes an opening 22 defined on the top side 18 of the attachable pocket 14, and a chamber 28 that extends inwardly from the opening 22 toward the bottom side 24 between the front surface 38 and the rear surface 16. In the illustrative embodiment, the chamber 28 is defined by the inner barrier 36 of the attachable pocket 14. The opening 22 is configured to receive an object to be carried in the chamber 28. In one embodiment, the outer barrier 34 and the inner barrier 36 define the chamber 28 therebetween.

The attachable pocket 14 further includes a closure 20 near the opening 22 of the attachable pocket 14 to seal the opening 22 to prevent debris from entering into the chamber 28 via the opening 22. In the illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the closure 20 is embodied as an interlocking groove and ridge that form a tight seal when pressed together. It should be appreciated that in other embodiments the closure 20 may be an adhesive flap that extends from the opening 22 and is adapted to be folded onto the front surface 38 of the attachable pocket 14 to seal the opening 22 of the attachable pocket 14. In some embodiments, the closure 20 may include a tab 21 that is movable horizontally from one end to the other end of the closure 20 to press the interlocking groove and ridge to seal the opening 22.

In the illustrative embodiment, the attachable pocket 14 is made of a transparent and water-resistant material to allow the user to view an object in the chamber 28. In some embodiments, the attachable pocket 14 may be waterproof, dirtproof, and/or dustproof. However, it should be appreciated that the attachable pocket 14 may be made of any material to hold an object inside the attachable pocket 14.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the attachable pocket 14 is shown with a mobile device 30 placed inside the attachable pocket 14. In the illustrative embodiment, the front surface 38 of the attachable pocket 14 is adapted to allow the user to access a touch screen of the mobile device 30 without removing the mobile device 30 from the attachable pocket 14.

While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such an illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected.

For example, in some embodiments, the attachable pocket 14 may be embodied as a monolayer sheet having an adhesive layer around the perimeter of the sheet that is configured to be attached to the garment 12. When such a sheet is attached to the garment 12, a chamber is created between the sheet and the garment 12, and an opening is created on the side that does not have the adhesive layer. In such embodiments, the sheet further includes an adhesive strap at the opening, which is adapted to be adhered to the garment 12 after placing an object inside the chamber to seal the opening 22 of the sheet.

There exist a plurality of advantages of the present disclosure arising from the various features of the method, apparatus, and system described herein. It will be noted that alternative embodiments of the method, apparatus, and system of the present disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the advantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations of the method, apparatus, and system that incorporate one or more of the features of the present invention and fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A garment system comprising:

a garment configured to be worn by a user; and

an attachable pocket configured to be selectively attached to the garment to retrofit the garment with the attachable pocket, the attachable pocket defining a chamber and having an opening to receive an object to be carried inside the chamber of the attachable pocket and a closure that is configured to seal the opening.

2. The garment system of claim 1, wherein the attachable pocket further includes an adhesive layer that is adapted to adhere to a surface of the garment to mount the attachable pocket to any and all locations on the surface of the garment.

3. The garment system of claim 2, wherein the attachable pocket is defined by a top side, a bottom side, and a pair of longitudinal sides and has a front surface facing away from the garment and a rear surface opposite the front surface, the adhesive layer coupled to the rear surface such that the rear surface is configured to be selectively attached to the garment with the adhesive layer.

4. The garment system of claim 3, wherein the adhesive layer is applied only along a perimeter of the rear surface of the attachable pocket.

5. The garment system of claim 3, wherein the adhesive layer is applied across the entire rear surface of the attachable pocket.

6. The garment system of claim 4, wherein the adhesive layer is applied only to the bottom side and both longitudinal sides of the attachable pocket.

7. The garment system of claim 1, wherein the attachable pocket further includes an outer barrier and an inner barrier that are sealed to create a dual protection against any debris from entering into the chamber.

8. The garment system of claim 6, wherein the outer barrier and the inner barrier are sealed with adhesive material.

9. The garment system of claim 1, wherein the attachable pocket includes a monolayer sheet having an adhesive layer around a perimeter of one side of the sheet such that, when the sheet is attached to the garment, the chamber is formed directly between the sheet and the garment.

10. The garment system of claim 9, wherein the adhesive layer is applied to a bottom side of the sheet, a first longitudinal side of the sheet and a second longitudinal side of the sheet, and a top side of the sheet is free from the adhesive layer so that the opening is created directly between the top side and the garment.

11. The garment system of claim 1, wherein the closure includes an interlocking groove and ridge that form a tight seal and a tab that is movable horizontally along the top side from one end to the other end of the closure to press the interlocking groove and ridge together to seal the opening.

12. The garment system of claim 1, wherein the attachable pocket is made from a transparent material so that the object can be viewed and interacted with through the material while the object is still in the chamber.

13. An attachable pocket comprising

a sheet with a top side, a bottom side, and a pair of longitudinal sides, the sheet having a front surface facing and a rear surface opposite the front surface, and

an adhesive layer coupled to the rear surface such that the rear surface is configured to be selectively attached to a garment with the adhesive layer to retrofit the garment with the attachable pocket at any and all locations along a surface of the garment.

14. The attachable pocket of claim 13, wherein the adhesive layer is applied only along a perimeter of the rear surface of the attachable pocket.

15. The attachable pocket of claim 14, wherein the adhesive layer is applied across the entire rear surface of the attachable pocket.

16. The attachable pocket of claim 15, wherein the adhesive layer is applied only to the bottom side and both longitudinal sides of the attachable pocket.

17. The attachable pocket of claim 13, wherein the attachable pocket is made from a transparent material so that the object can be viewed and interacted with through the material while the object is still in the chamber.

18. The attachable pocket of claim 13, wherein the attachable pocket includes a first sheet and a second sheet coupled to the first sheet along a perimeter of the first and second sheets to define a chamber between the first and second sheets with an opening into the chamber at the top side.

19. The attachable pocket of claim 18, wherein the front surface is on the first sheet and the rear surface is on the second sheet and the adhesive layer is coupled to rear surface to locate the second sheet between the adhesive layer and the first sheet.

20. The attachable pocket of claim 18, further comprising a closure at the top side to couple the first sheet and the second sheet together and close the opening to block access to the chamber and the closure includes an interlocking groove and ridge that form a tight seal when pressed together.