UNIVERSALLY-DIRECTED, CLOSURE-SUPPORTED, GRAVITY-CATCH, SELF-ENERGIZING, DIAGONAL POCKET APPARATUS AND METHOD

Abstract

A pocket may be applied to an article of clothing, particularly upper body clothing such as a shirt, blouse, jacket, coat, scrubs, t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie, or the like. The pocket is oriented at an angle with respect to horizontal (nominal) or vertical (upright) to improve retention of a contained object such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant. A return is formed by stitching a partial closure along one side of the pocket, positioned at the lowest “upper” corner of the pocket (upper meaning opening end), closest to the center line of the article of clothing, on either the right or left. Knit fabrics work particularly well for retaining a weighted object such as a mobile phone despite various user movements leaning to one side or the other, forward, and even bent double whereby rendering the article of clothing in an upside down orientation.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/439,480, filed on Dec. 11, 2012, entitled SHIRT WITH DIAGONAL POCKET, which is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/426,255, filed on Jul. 2, 2012, entitled SHIRT WITH DIAGONAL POCKET, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/399,313, filed on Aug. 11, 2011, entitled SHIRT WITH DIAGONAL POCKET, now U.S. Pat. No. D662,688. All the foregoing references are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to clothing and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for designing, locating, and creating pockets for shirts and blouses.

2. Background Art

Clothing designs have developed over centuries, even millennia. Clothing in western civilization today relies on shirts and blouses for the upper body, along with trousers or skirts for the lower body, in various designs. Suits and dresses are also ubiquitous. A fixture in many articles of clothing for the upper body, such as jackets, shirts, blouses, and so forth is the breast pocket.

Meanwhile, ubiquitous hand-held electronic devices continue to search for a home. Teenagers carry cell phones in trouser front pockets and back pockets, shirt pockets, jacket pockets, cases, on lanyards, and in various other ways. A certain demographic relies on holsters attached to waist bands or belts.

A wide spread problem for pockets on upper body clothing articles is leaning. It is not uncommon, in fact highly common, for an individual who leans over or bends over for any reason to clutch at the breast pocket of the shirt in order to prevent pens, cards, cell phones, or other articles in the pocket from falling out onto the ground.

As any weight of an article within a pocket tends to pull the pocket outward and away from the body or torso of the clothing article (e.g., shirt, blouse, etc.), any excess fabric surrounding the torso of the wearer becomes slack, falls forward, following the weight in the pocket, and thus provides an even greater reduction of any gripping or retaining capacity of the pocket. To solve this problem, much active wear includes a button and button hole, a button and flap, a hook-and-loop fastener combination on a pocket flap, or the like. For items that are not to be frequently retrieved from and replaced in a pocket, such mechanisms serve well. Mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and the like do not fit well in that category.

What is needed is a pocket suitable for retaining a personal electronic device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, or the like without additional closing mechanisms or seals. It would be a further advance in the art if such a system were readily accessible, operated automatically, was resistant to substantially all motions or all directions of motion. By resistant is not meant that a system should resist the motion of the user, but that such a system should resist the loss of contents of a pocket during motions such as bending over to lift an object or to pick up an article, leaning sideways in a work situation, or the like.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a method and apparatus are disclosed in one embodiment of the present invention as including a shirt, blouse, or other article of upper body clothing that includes a body or torso portion, and may be provided with sleeves. Typically, a collar opening will accommodate the neck of a user, and a lower opening will accommodate the torso. Such a shirt, blouse, or other article will typically have a lower hem or lower edge that may represent a shirt tail, but may be cut at a straight angle across in order to be worn outside of the waistband of trousers, skirt, or the like.

In some embodiments, such articles of clothing may have an opening down the front, which may be closed with buttons. It may extend a short distance of several inches (centimeters) down from the collar opening, or may extend all the way to the lower hem, such as a fully buttoned-down shirt. Nevertheless, some shirts have only a short buttoned region (e.g., golf shirt) and others have no button opening (e.g., t-shirts, pullovers, etc.).

In one embodiment of an apparatus and method in accordance with the invention, a pocket may be spaced selected distances from the collar and the shoulder line or shoulder seam corresponding to the shoulder of a clothing article. Meanwhile, the pocket may also be spaced a specified distance from an outer edge, such as the beginning of a sleeve. In certain presently contemplated embodiments, the pocket is angled away from the vertical at an angle of from about 34 to 56 degrees. An angle of about 45 degrees proves to be a suitable target angle. The pocket may be slightly more vertical or less vertical, as desired. Nevertheless, an angle of about 45 degrees has been found suitable. Nevertheless, it has been found also properly functional to vary that angle up to about 11 degrees in either direction.

A functional feature of a pocket in accordance with the invention is a return, which is formed by a seam extending across the opening of the pocket near the lower edge thereof. Typically, the fabric of a t-shirt, golf shirt, or the like may be formed of a knit fabric, having a certain ability to stretch. Moreover, as such material is stretched in one dimension, it will typically shrink in an orthogonal direction.

In one embodiment, a pocket may be tilted at 45 degrees from vertical, with the opening dropping down from the original, conventional uppermost position to turn inward toward the neck of a user and downward. Typically, the return will be formed by a seam at the lower edge of the pocket, and close a portion of the pocket from about ¼ inch to about ¾ of an inch. A return of about ½ inch has been found suitable.

Meanwhile, the length of the pocket may be larger or smaller than conventional pockets. In one embodiment, the length of the pocket or the height is about the same as a conventional shirt pocket. However, it has been found suitable to narrow the width of the pockets slightly. Thus, the pocket will tend to be more snug about any carried object, such as a mobile phone.

It has been found effective to position the pocket within a matter of inches of the shoulder line of a clothing article. For example, the lower corner on the upper opening of a pocket is typically about 6 inches from the shoulder seam in an adult article of clothing.

Meanwhile, the opposite upper corner is typically about 3 inches from the shoulder seam. It has been found effective to place the pocket over the top of the pectoral muscle, and toward the upper portion thereof. There is a natural swale or hollow formed between the shoulder and the pectoral muscles that provides a convenient location for a pocket in accordance with the invention.

Such a pocket may be sewn onto t-shirts, jogging clothing, athletic wear, sweat shirts, hoodies, jump suits, medical scrubs, dress shirts, sports shirts, golf shirts, jackets, and the like. Typically, regardless of the position taken by a user, the return (area enclosed on two sides near an upper inside corner of a pocket) tends to retain any contained object by a naturally occurring stress or restraint existing between that corner of the pocket and the edge of the opposite side, including a corner diagonally opposite the pocket.

By placement above the pectoral muscle and closer to the neck, shoulder, and sleeve of an article of clothing, the article provides much better support for the weight of the object (e.g., mobile phone, personal digital assistant, personal digital device, tool, instrument, etc.) than other shirt designs.

For example, by capturing the upper portion of the pocket in the region bounded by the neck, collar, or the like, on the inside, with the sleeves seam opposite on the outside, and the shoulder seam thereabove, great stability is provided to the pocket, without sagging. This is in contradistinction to conventional shirts where weight in a breast pocket tends to shift the fabric and create an undesirable sagging appearance. In fact, some manufacturers of dress shirts provide no breast pocket in order to avoid that uneven, sagging appearance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus and method, embodied as an article of clothing in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevation view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view thereof, inverted (upside down orientation);

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a pocket in accordance with the invention embodied in a shirt, with the pocket on the left side, and the shirt leaning to the right as a user would move;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view thereof, with the shirt tilted to the right to be fully horizontally oriented;

FIG. 8 is a left side elevation view of this embodiment, with the shirt tilted fully forward to a horizontal orientation;

FIG. 9 is a left side elevation view of a pocket on an article of clothing in accordance with the invention with the clothing and user bent almost double orienting the pocket upside down;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of a left side pocket of an article of clothing wherein a user is leaning to the right at about half a right angle;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of a pocket on an article of clothing in accordance with the invention wherein a user has a pocket on the right side of the article of clothing

FIG. 11 is a front elevation view thereof, wherein a right pocket is positioned on an article of clothing by a user where the user is bent completely double, orienting the article of clothing and the pocket completely upside down;

FIG. 12 is a detail of the pocket of FIG. 6, the pocket on the left side (from wearer's point of view) of the shirt, with the return seam on the right side of the pocket, and the shirt is tilted far to the right (e.g., horizontal) as when a user is leaning to the right;

FIG. 13 is a front elevation view of a pocket sewn onto the right side (from wearer's point of view) of a shirt, thus with the return seam on the left of the pocket, and the shirt oriented as if a user were tilted far sideways ( horizontal) toward the wearer's left side;

FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of the pocket and shirt of FIG. 12, with the pocket and shirt tilted fully upside down from the upright wearer configuration;

FIG. 15 is a front elevation view of the pocket and shirt of FIG. 13, with the pocket and shirt tilted fully upside down from the upright wearer configuration;

FIG. 16 is an front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an article of clothing having a pocket installed therein;

FIG. 17 is a left elevation view thereof;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an article of clothing, hospital scrubs, having a pocket installed therein in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 19 is a left side elevation view thereof;

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an article of clothing having a pocket in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 21 is a left side elevation view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the drawings herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, as represented in the drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of various embodiments of the invention. The illustrated embodiments of the invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout.

Referring to FIG. 1, while referring generally to FIGS. 1 through 18, an article 10 may be embodied as an article of clothing 10 such as a shirt 10, blouse 10, jacket 10, or the like. Typically, the article of clothing 10 will have a body 12 that is effectively the portion 12 that surrounds the torso of an individual.

Typically, at the upper extremity of the body portion 12 on the article 10 is a neck opening 13a. Opposite, at the lower end of the article 10 and specifically the body 12, is a lower edge 13b or lower opening 13b that forms the tail 13b or bottom 13b of the article of clothing 10. Typically, the tail 13b may be cut as a conventional shirt tail, or may be cut at a horizontal angle and seamed or hemmed in order to be suitable for wearing outside of a lower article of clothing, such as trousers or a skirt.

Sleeves 14 are indicated here by sleeves 14a, 14b. In every instance, a trailing letter simply indicates a specific instance of an item identified by the reference numeral. Therefore, herein it is proper to speak of any item by its reference numeral alone, and in any specific instance by its reference numeral and trailing letter.

Although it may vary in position, a sleeve seam 15 will exist in most fabricated articles 10 of clothing. Similarly, a shoulder seam 17 will typically exist to connect a front portion of the main body 12 to a rear portion thereof. Similarly, along the edges 34a, 34b will typically be a side seam. The side seams 34a, 34b or edges 34b are typically opened up in order to accommodate the arm opening created by a sleeve 14a, 14b, respectively, thereby securing each sleeve 14a, 14b to the body 12 along a respective seam 15.

A collar 16 may surround the neck opening 13a and may be any of several types. For example, a T-shirt will typically have a knit collar that is completely closed. A golf shirt 10 or sporting shirt 10 may include an opening 18 or strip 18 that may be opened or closed by means of buttons 19.

A pocket 20 may be positioned in any suitable location on the article 10. Nevertheless, a particular concern has been the inability of a breast pocket on an article 10 of clothing to retain objects, and particularly heavier objects such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants or other instruments, when a user is leaning forward, or to one side or the other. Accordingly, a pocket 20 in accordance with the invention is tilted or canted off the typical vertical orientation. In the illustrated embodiment, a pocket 20 in accordance with the invention may be tilted at a suitable angle and positioned with distances 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d defining its location and support.

For example, the distance 21a may be thought of as the distance from the pocket 20 to a sleeve seam 34a or a left edge 34a of the clothing article 10. The distance 21b may be thought of as the distance that the pocket 20 is translated from the lower edge of the sleeve attachment or the armpit of the article 10 of clothing.

The distance 21c may be thought of as the uppermost extremity of the pocket 20 spaced away from the sleeve seam or the left side 34a of the article 10. Likewise, the distance 21d may be thought of as the distance of the uppermost extremity of the pocket 20 away from a shoulder seam or the uppermost reach of the shoulder of the article 10 of clothing. These distances may be measured instead from the center line of a neck opening 36, collar 16, or the like. However, these distances are selected in order to position the pocket 20 above the pectoral muscle, and toward the upper reaches thereof in order to keep it well supported by the neck, sleeve, and shoulder of the clothing article 10. A return seam 22 is sewn into the pocket 20.

In the illustrated embodiment, the upper corner 23d is typically positioned sufficiently close to the side seam 34, neck 36, and the shoulder seam 17 to provide excellent support and stability for the pocket 20 and whatever electronic instrument or other article 40 may be contained therein. Similarly, the return corner 23a and the diagonally opposite corner 23c are typically positioned sufficiently close to the vertical center line and the neck 36 of the clothing article 10 and the sleeve seam 15 of the clothing article 10 to maintain tension in most circumstances and sufficient support by the respective shoulder seam 17 thereabove.

For example, the pocket 20 is tilted at an angle 24 with respect to horizontal. This angle has a value typically of from about 34 to about 56 degrees. A target position may be about 45 degrees within a degree or two. Thus, a 45 degree target angle or a 46 degree target angle has been found suitable. Nevertheless, the system operates well within the range of from about 34 degrees to about 56 degrees.

In certain embodiments, a width 26 of the pocket 20 may be selected to correspond better with the size and shape of an article 40 such as a mobile phone, personal digital assistant, electronic instrument, notebook, or the like that will typically be carried in a pocket 20.

For instance, it has been found that a narrowing of the width 26 compared to the conventional width of a shirt breast pocket serves better to retain a carried article inside the pocket 20 below the return seam 22. Likewise, by having a width 26 narrower than is customary in conventional design, the corners 23c, 23d urge the contained article 40 toward the opposite corners 23a, 23b, thus rendering the return seam 22 much more effective in maintaining a corner or edge of the contained article 40 inside the pocket 20.

The length 28 or depth 28 of the pocket 20 may be adjusted to meet typical sizes of articles that may be carried. For example, smartphones have largely settled out on a few standardized sizes. The length of the return seam 22 may be selected to actually close somewhat the opening 30 of the pocket 20. When knit fabrics are the material of choice in a clothing article 10, with its associated pocket 20, then the opening 30 may actually be smaller than the circumference of the contained article 40.

Thus, gripping the article with fingers and drawing it out of the opening 30 of the pocket 20 will tend to stretch the knit fabric around the circumference of the opening 30, thus releasing the contained object. Nevertheless, inadvertent dropping of such an article from the pocket 20 through the opening 30 will be rendered very rare, and nearly impossible in certain embodiments.

For example, if the amount of force required to stretch the opening 30 sufficiently to release the contained object 40 from the pocket 20, has a value greater than the weight of that object, then the return seam 23a will retain the object in substantially all orientations, absent some jolt or excessive force.

In certain embodiments, a user may also push on the pocket 20 near the corner 23b, in order to urge an article out through the opening 30. Thus, just as gripping a smartphone, for example, between thumb and forefinger at the opening 30, an appropriate force of pushing at the corner 23b may likewise move a portion of the contained article 40 out of the opening 30 for retrieval and use.

The bottom 32 of the pocket 20 will typically restrain and contain an article 40. Similarly, the seam in securing the pocket 20 between the corners 23a, 23b will likewise support a major portion of the weight of the contained article 40. Nevertheless, the seam of the pocket 20 extending between the corners 23c and 23d will likewise provide support, as will the underlying fabric in the body 12 of the clothing article 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, the fit of the clothing article 10 about the torso of a user will tend to maintain tension within the body 12 of the clothing article 10, as well as in the pocket 20 itself. Tension in the pocket 20 will tend to flatten it against the body 12 of the clothing article 10, thus making the return seam 22 even more effective at maintaining the opening 30 as a closed slit 30.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, one may see that the pocket 20 in accordance with the invention is well supported closer to the sleeves 15 and the shoulder seams 17 than conventional pockets Likewise, the corners 23a, 23b, 23c form a stable geometry for holding a contained article 40. For example, a conventional pocket that would have a comparative width 26 wider than the pocket 20 illustrated (larger width-to-length aspect ratio) would not fit a contained article 40 as snuggly. It thus would tend to distort more easily, open more readily, and provide less restraint for the contained article 40. Here, not only the overall dimensions 26, 28, but also the orientation of the corner 23b as the lowest portion of the pocket 20, all promote stable retention of the contained article 40.

Referring to FIGS. 5 through 8, while continuing to refer generally to FIGS. 1 through 18, a clothing article 10 is shown in various orientations. These are orientations in which a clothing article 10 may be placed during the movements of an individual. For example, a worker or a person involved in physical activities, recreation, labor, or the like, may move to various positions. Illustrated are exampled of positions that the torso of a user, and thus the clothing article 10 may take.

Referring to FIG. 5, a pocket 20 positioned on the left side of a clothing article 10 may be exposed to leaning toward the right. In the illustrated example, the return seam 22 is best positioned closest to the vertical center line of the body of a user or the vertical center line of the clothing article 10. Accordingly, with the clothing article 10 in the illustrated position, there is no effective tendency of the contained article 40 to leave the pocket 20.

In fact, the contained article 40 is captured between the corners 23b, 23c and the corner 23a where the return seam 22 forms a containment barrier 22. Of course, the pocket 20 may be positioned in a minor image position (about the vertical center line) on the right side of the clothing article 10. Accordingly, an individual may lean to the right or the left. In the illustrated embodiment, the user is leaning at approximately a 45 degree angle with respect to the vertical (e.g., standing, vertical).

Referring to FIG. 6, a clothing article 10 is shown, this time with the pocket 20 on the right side, although it could be a minor image on the left side. In this embodiment, a user orientation is leaning such that the pocket 20 has been rotated to approximately a right angle from its normal vertical orientation of the clothing article 10. In this embodiment, the opening 30 of the pocket 20 is rotated effectively 90 degrees.

Instead of being angled upward and toward the inside, it is angled downward at about the same angle that it was upward. In this instance, the return seam 22 is responsible to resist exit of the contained article 40. Here, the corner 23a forms the vertex of a containment pocket 20 created by the seam of the pocket 20 between the corners 23a and 23b, and the return seam 22.

Moreover, in this example, the opposite corner 23c tends to act with the weight of the contained article 40 to push the contained article 40 toward the corner 23a, thus, the article would require being lifted toward the opening 30 before it could exit of its own weight. Again, with the proper selection of the width 26 of the pocket 20, the seam running between the corners 23c and 23d would also tend to urge the contained article 40 against the opposite side of the pocket 20 and into the cavity created at the corner 23a by the return seam 22.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is extremely common for users to bend forward. In the illustrated example, the pocket 20 is positioned approximately in a horizontal plane. As a practical matter, the shape of the human body is such that the opening 30 will actually be positioned in a downward orientation toward the center line of the person and clothing article 10 and downward as to the opening 30 of the pocket 20. In this embodiment, just as in the foregoing Figures, the return seam 22 forms a vertex at the corner 23a to contain a corner of the contained article 40. Thus, the urging of gravity tends to bring the contained article 40 more forcefully into that corner 23a, where it may be retained. Again, the urging of the diagonally opposite corner 23c as well as that of the seam extending between the corner 23c and the corner 23d also tend to maintain the contained article 40 within the confinement of the corner 23a.

Referring to FIG. 8, a user may actually bend over almost double or fully double. Typically, when one reaches for a dropped writing instrument, such as a pencil or pen, a dropped paper, or the like, one may bend at an angle such that the pocket 20 approaches an orientation of upside down. Again, in this instance, the majority of the load of the contained article 40 will rest directly against the corner 23a, and specifically be restrained by the return seam 22. This is a situation where the value of a comparatively narrower width 26 (and thus W/L aspect ratio) for the pocket 20 may assure that the contained article 40 cannot exit out the opening 30.

In certain weaves of fabric, where there is little or no resilience or stretching of the fabric. This fabric with the pocket in an upside down position would yield the most extreme likelihood for releasing the contained article 40. However, even this situation is helped by a proper selection of the width 26, the geometry of a pocket 20. Two flat panels (body 12 and pocket 20) sewn together will tend to be expanded by the contained article 40. By providing little clearance they urge the contained article 40 to rest in the corner 23a against the edge seam and the return seam 22.

Referring to FIGS. 9 through 12, various orientations of pockets 20 are illustrated. These represent pockets 20 positioned on both right and left sides of a clothing article 10, and tilted in various directions.

Referring to FIG. 9, a left side pocket 20 on a clothing article 10, and specifically secured to the body 12 thereof is leaning to the right at about a 45 degree angle. Accordingly, one may see that the return seam 22 provides the corner 23a with an effective containment of the contained article 40. Meanwhile, tension 38 along the axial direction or the length 28 of the pocket 20 tends to keep the article against the return seam 22.

Meanwhile, tension 39 across the width 26 of the pocket 20 tends to urge the contained article 40 against the opposite seam extending between the corners 23a, 23b. Effectively, a net tension 42 exists in a diagonal direction from the corner 23a to the corner 23c. Tension tends to urge the pocket 20 and the body 12 of the clothing article 10 to flatten the overall cavity created therebetween, thus urging the contained article 40 to stay positioned inside.

Likewise, the length of the return seam 22 may be selected in order to require stretching of the opening 30 in order to permit the contained article 40 to be extracted. In other embodiments, the length of the return seam 22 may simply be selected in order to create a sufficiently large pocket area (cavity) at the corner 23a to receive easily and resist exit by, the contained article 40.

Referring to FIG. 10, a right pocket 20 leaning at about a right angle toward the left has the same difficulties, exacerbated compared to those of the foregoing illustration. Here, the restraint of the return seam 22 again restrains the contained article 40 against exiting.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the worst condition and most likely to release the contained article 40 from the pocket 20 is illustrated. In these embodiments, a left pocket 20 and a right pocket 20, respectively, are illustrated in a fully upside down orientation. That is, with a user wearing a clothing article 10 and standing upright, the corner 23d is the highest corner 23 of the pocket 20. In these illustrated embodiments, or orientations, the corner 23d is the lowest. Thus, the return seam 23 is operating at its least effective orientation.

For example, the contained article 40 may move downward and sideways along the direction of the return seam 22, thereby moving a larger proportion thereof toward the opening 30 of the pocket 20. If the width 26 of the pocket 20, and specifically the dimension of the opening 30 is sufficiently open, a contained article 40 could slide out. However, the return seam 22 is engaged to turn the article 40 and catch a corner of it.

In many embodiments, particularly where knit fabrics are involved, the opening 30 is sized by the return seam 22 to be slightly less than the width dimension of the contained article 40. In this way, the contained article 40 can be restrained against exiting the pocket 20 absent sufficient force in a proper direction to extract the contained article 40.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, an alternative embodiment of a clothing article 10 may have no sleeve at all. Likewise, with lower U-shaped necks 13a, the pocket 20 may need to be positioned at a suitable location. Nevertheless, it has been found effective to place the pocket 20 sufficiently close to the shoulder of a user to provide maximum support, and the necessary tensions 38, 39, 42 in order to retain the contained article 40 within the pocket 20.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, hospital scrubs 10 typically have a location of the neck opening 13a and its associated collar 16 to bound pocket locations. It has been found effective to position the corner 23d as with other embodiments in a range of from about 4 to about 7 inches, and preferably a target of about 6 inches from a shoulder seam 17 or the shoulder edge 17 of a clothing article 10. Meanwhile, most scrubs 10 are formed of fabrics that are not knit, but tend to drape easily, and are typically oversized for the torso of a user.

Care should be taken in sizing a pocket 20 for such fabrics in order to provide access, but restraint. Typically, in such embodiments, the opening 30 may be sized closer to the circumference of the contained article 40. Meanwhile, the return seam 22 may be somewhat longer, thus providing a larger, V-shaped corner 23a in which to contain the contained article 40.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, a T-shirt or other knit outerwear may include a knit rib collar 16, which may be worn in a U-shaped configuration or a V-shaped configuration. This may affect the suitable location for the pocket 20. Typically, however, the neck portion 13a or collar 16 as well as the shoulder edge 17 and the sleeve seam 15 are all in close proximity. All tend to maintain the tension 38, 39, 42 and retain the contained article 40. Again, with knit fabrics, more liberty is available for making the opening 30 smaller than the contained article 40 when the tensions 38, 39, 42 are at their minimum. Thus, absent urging of force by a user, the contained article 40 will not exit.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its purposes, functions, structures, or operational characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims

1. An apparatus, configured as a shirt, defining a vertical direction, having a nominal orientation corresponding to the shirt in use on a standing wearer, having an arm opening, and comprising:

a torso portion extending from a bottom boundary upward;

a collar portion surrounding a neck opening positioned above the torso portion;

a shoulder portion above the torso portion, proximate an upper extremity thereof;

the shoulder portion, extending upward to a top boundary of the shirt and laterally between the collar portion and the arm opening; and

a pocket, mounted to the shoulder portion and having an opening proximate an upper end thereof and positioned between the collar portion and the arm opening.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pocket has a base seam, and side seams extending between the opening and the base seam, the pocket being tilted off-axis, with respect to the vertical direction, to position the opening higher than the base seam but not directly thereabove in the vertical direction.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the pocket is oriented to have the opening closer to the collar portion and the base seam closer to the arm opening.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 35 to about 55 degrees with respect to the vertical direction.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 40 to about 50 degrees.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of about 45 degrees.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the pocket further comprises a return seam partially closing the opening.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the return seam is parallel to the base seam.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the return seam extends from a first of the side seams, closest to the collar portion, toward a second side seam, opposite the first side seam, a distance selected to resist falling of an object from the pocket when the shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the return seam extends a distance of from about one quarter inch to about one inch from the first side seam.

11. An apparatus, configured as a shirt, defining a vertical direction, having a nominal orientation corresponding to the shirt in use on a standing wearer, having an arm opening, and comprising:

a torso portion extending from a bottom boundary upward;

a collar portion surrounding a neck opening positioned above the torso portion;

a shoulder portion above the torso portion, proximate an upper extremity thereof;

the shoulder portion, extending upward to a top boundary of the shirt and laterally between the collar portion and the arm opening;

a pocket, mounted to the shoulder portion and having an opening at an upper extremity thereof between the collar portion and the arm opening; and

the pocket, secured by a base seam and first and second side seams extending between the opening and the base seam, the pocket being opposite the base seam.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is canted with respect to the vertical direction to offset the opening away from being directly above the base seam in the vertical direction.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is oriented to have the opening closer to the collar portion and the base seam closer to the arm opening.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 35 to about 55 degrees with respect to the vertical direction.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 40 to about 50 degrees.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of about 45 degrees.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pocket further comprises a return seam partially closing the opening.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the return seam is parallel to the base seam.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the return seam extends from the first side seam, closest to the collar portion, toward the second side seam, opposite the first side seam, a distance selected to resist falling of an object from the pocket when the shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation.

20. A method comprising:

forming a shirt having a collar portion, arm opening, shoulder portion between the collar portion and arm opening, and torso portion extending from the shoulder portion to a lower boundary of the shirt;

the forming the shirt, wherein the shirt defines a nominal orientation thereof when draped on a user in a standing position;

forming a pocket for the shirt, the pocket having an opening portion, a base edge opposite thereto, and first and second side edges extending therebetween;

positioning the pocket on the shoulder portion;

orienting the pocket to be canted to position the opening comparatively closer to the collar and the base edge comparatively further from the collar portion; and

securing the pocket to the shirt with a base seam securing the base edge, first and second side seams corresponding to the first and second side edges, and a return seam partially closing the opening a distance selected to resist falling out through the opening by an object in the pocket when the shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation.