HAND WEAR STORAGE POCKET

Abstract

An article of clothing for at least partly covering a human torso, the article including a hand wear storage pocket extending from a front opening disposed along a front edge to a rear edge, the hand wear storage pocket including a top edge and a bottom edge, a rear portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in a side area of the jacket below an armhole and above a waist band, the front opening and a height between the top and bottom edges adapted for insertion of a wearer's hand into the side area wherein the hand and an arm crosses the wearer's front torso, the hand being covered in a hand wear item, and wherein the side area is adapted to be compressed by an opposing arm of the wearer.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/491,110 filed Apr. 19, 2017 which claimed priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/324,518 filed Apr. 19, 2016.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a novel method for hand wear removal and storage. The invention provides a hand wear storage pocket, for storing gloves, mittens and the like in the torso portion of a garment such as a jacket or coveralls. The hand wear storage pocket has a portion under the upper arm between the elbow and armpit. A gloved hand inserted into the pocket can be compressed with the inside surface of the upper arm or elbow, the hand can be removed and the glove is retained within the glove storage pocket. Hand wear storage ideally retains gloves, mitts etc. laying flat and as thin as possible. Such storage is achieved by clenching or pinching the finger section of the hand wear and removing the hand whilst the hand wear remains in place within the hand wear storage pocket.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Hand wear such as gloves and mittens are used in cold weather for warmth and for protecting the hands during sports and workplace activities. Apart from tight fitting surgical or rubber gloves, many types of gloves and mittens diminish feeling, precision, dexterity and ability to grip compared to a bare human hand.

Removal of gloves or mittens is often necessary or desirable during work or sports, while driving or to access items in a pocket or purse. To remove gloves or mittens, the wearer must grip the glove or mitten of one hand with the opposite hand or with teeth to pull the hand from within the glove. Use of teeth is unsanitary but effective when one hand is occupied holding a tool, ladder or steering wheel. In the interests of preserving the glove material and to avoid contact between the mouth and unsanitary gloves, wearers must have two hands free to grip and remove gloves.

After gloves or mittens are removed, the wearer can use their bare hands to perform the required task. The gloves may be misplaced, forgotten and lost. Removed gloves may be placed on oily or dirty surfaces and become contaminated. Young children are especially prone to lose gloves or mittens when playing or otherwise distracted, but dropping, losing or damaging of gloves or mittens is a frustration experienced by all ages.

Various products are on the market with the intention of helping people to prevent loss of gloves or mittens. Existing solutions sometimes create safety issues, or are troublesome, unreliable, annoying and cumbersome. For example, children's mittens or gloves are often tied to a string that passes through the sleeves of their coats. Strings can get caught on playground equipment or doors and trip the child. Attaching gloves to the end of a sleeve with straps and fasteners may prevent loss but creates a safety hazard when driving or working with tools. Loose clothing and loose hair are usually prohibited by workplace safety regulations.

Ski jackets often have large flexible mesh pockets on the inside front that can be used to store ski gloves when not skiing. The front of the jacket must be opened and ski gloves are stored inside when the jacket is open and the wearer is indoors or not skiing. Most coats and jackets have small pockets that are not large enough for gloves or mittens which leads to one or both gloves or mittens falling out of the pocket. When a wearer goes indoors or a worker stops work, gloves or mittens are removed. The wearer must find a place to store the gloves so that they are easily found when needed.

Features that distinguish the present invention from the background art will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention presented below.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an article of clothing for at least partly covering a human torso, the article including a hand wear storage pocket extending from a front opening disposed along a front edge to a rear edge, the hand wear storage pocket including a top edge and a bottom edge, a rear portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in a side area of the jacket below an armhole and above a waist band, the front opening and a height between the top and bottom edges adapted for insertion of a wearer's hand into the side area wherein the hand and an arm crosses the wearer's front torso, the hand being covered in a hand wear item, and wherein the side area is adapted to be compressed by an opposing arm of the wearer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be readily understood, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front-left view of jacket with left and right hand wear storage pockets extending rearwardly from a front edge opening with an optional top and/or rear edge zipper fastener that allows the front cover flap of the pocket to be rotated downward about the bottom edge for cleaning and repairing of the pocket interior surfaces as seen in FIG. 5.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the jacket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the jacket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the jacket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the jacket of FIGS. 1-4 with the right arm raised to expose the optional feature of a front cover flap of the pocket rotated downward about the bottom edge of the pocket for access to the pocket interior surfaces.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the jacket where the user, with a right hand raised, has inserted a left hand wearing a glove into the right side pocket opening.

FIG. 7 is front view of the jacket where, with a right elbow clamping the fingers of the left hand and glove, the user slides the left hand from within the glove while the glove is stowed in the right side pocket.

FIG. 8 is a female version showing front-left view of women's jacket with left and right hand wear storage pockets similar to the jacket of FIG. 1 but with the pockets located lower on the torso.

FIG. 9 is a left side view jacket of FIG. 8.

Further details of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description included below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 8 show a jacket as an example of an article of clothing which can include a hand wear storage pocket 1, for removing and holding a glove or mitten. It will be understood that any article of clothing that at least partly covers a human torso can be adapted to include the hand wear storage pocket 1, such as a coat, overalls, a shirt, or a vest.

The hand wear storage pocket 1 includes a front opening 2 along a front edge of the pocket 1 that in the examples illustrated is closed with a zipper fastener 3. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 9, the pocket 1 is defined between the front edge 4, the rear edge 5, a top edge 6, and a bottom edge 7 and an. Other shapes of pockets 1 can include an arcuate or crescent shape, or include a rounded top edge 6 as shown in FIG. 3.

A rear portion 6 of the hand wear storage pocket 1 is disposed in a side area of the jacket below the armhole or sleeve 8 and above the waist band 9. The side area is adjacent the inner arm and elbow. The front opening 2 and a height of the pocket between the top and bottom edges 6, 7 are relatively large compared to a traditional pocket and are selected to allow insertion of a gloved or mittened hand.

The use of the hand wear storage pocket 1 is as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. To remove and store a glove in the pocket 1, the wearer inserts one hand (as shown the left hand) while wearing a glove into the opening 2 (of the right pocket 1). The wearer slides the gloved hand until at least the fingers of the gloved hand are within the rear portion in the side area between the armhole or sleeve 8 and the waist band 9 as shown in FIG. 6. The wearer then moves the right arm and elbow towards the torso to squeeze the hand, glove and pocket 1 as shown in FIG. 7 with the opposing right arm. While the glove is squeezed, the wearer withdraws the left hand from the glove and pocket 1. The glove remains within the pocket 1 in the side area. The opposite process is carried out for the right hand and left pocket 1.

Advantageously, the wearer can remove the gloves without using both hands. The right hand can remain gripped to a tool or ladder for example while the left hand glove is removed.

The hand wear storage pocket 1 can include a high friction grip material on an interior surface to aid in gripping and removal of the glove. FIG. 5 shows the pocket opened with high friction grip material 10. The hand wear storage pocket 1 may have a remaining portion with a low friction material on an inside surface to aid in inserting and removing the glove from the front portion of the pocket 1. Alternatively, the entire interior surface of the hand wear storage pocket can be covered with a high friction grip material or surface layer or coating. For use in wet sporting activities or wet/oily working environments, the hand wear storage pocket 1 can have a water resistant inside surface or a removable waterproof liner.

The high friction grip material aids in gripping the fingers of the glove as the side portion of the pocket 1 is squeezed between the arm, elbow and the torso when the hand is removed from the glove and also when the glove is squeezed during re-insertion of the hand. The high friction grip material also assists in retaining the removed glove within the pocket 1. Vigorous movement during sporting, climbing or working activities could dislodge a glove from the pocket 1 if the inside lining and/glove were smooth or slippery. The combination of a high friction grip material on the inside surface of the pocket 1 and a rearward downward orientation of the pocket 1 is preferred to retain the glove in the pocket 1 using friction and gravity.

Since the pocket 1 may be easily soiled when used in farming, sporting or mechanic environments the pocket 1 can optionally include a top and/or rear edge fastener 11 along the top edge 6, and the rear edge 5 such as a zip fastener, a hook-and-loop fastener, or other releasable fastening means. As shown in FIG. 5, the optional top and/or rear edge fastener 11 disposed along the top edge 6 and the rear edge 5 defines a flexible front cover flap 12 that can be rotated downward about the bottom edge 7, when the top and/or rear edge fastener 11 is opened, to expose an internal surface of the hand wear storage pocket 1. The flap 12 in the open position of FIG. 5 permits easy cleaning in a washing machine for example and access for repairs when necessary. A removable or disposable pocket liner can be provided to easily deal with the accumulation of dirt or grease.

As described above, some benefits of the hand wear storage pocket 1 are as follows:

the pocket 1 is dedicated to the storage of gloves together with the jacket, coat or other clothing so that gloves are readily available and not misplaced or forgotten;

the pocket 1 is ergonomically aligned with a natural movement of the hand and arm to and from the side underarm area such that a wearer can remain attentive to a task occupying the opposite hand;

the pocket 1 is unobtrusive and the storage of bulky hand wear under the arm does not interfere substantially with body movements; and

the underarm location of the pocket 1 adjacent the torso ensures that the gloves and particularly the finger areas remain warm.

Although the above description relates to a specific preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by the inventor, it will be understood that the invention in its broad aspect includes mechanical and functional equivalents of the elements described herein.

Claims

1. An article of clothing for at least partly covering a human torso, the article including a hand wear storage pocket extending from a front opening disposed along a front edge to a rear edge, the hand wear storage pocket including a top edge and a bottom edge, a rear portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in a side area of the jacket below an armhole and above a waist band, the front opening and a height between the top and bottom edges adapted for insertion of a wearer's hand into the side area wherein the hand and an arm crosses the wearer's front torso, the hand being covered in a hand wear item, and wherein the side area is adapted to be compressed by an opposing arm of the wearer.

2. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes a high friction grip material on an internal surface of the rear portion.

3. The article according to claim 2 wherein a remaining portion of the hand wear storage pocket has a low friction material on an internal surface.

4. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket has a water resistant internal surface.

5. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes a removable liner.

6. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes a top and/or rear edge fastener disposed along the top edge and the rear edge defining a flexible front cover flap adapted to be rotated downward about the bottom edge, when the top and/or rear edge fastener is in an open position, to expose an internal surface of the hand wear storage pocket.

7. The article according to claim 6 wherein the top and/or rear edge fastener comprises one of: a zip fastener; and a hook-and-loop fastener.