NZ732240A - Item of clothing having an integrated pocket - Google Patents

Abstract

An item of clothing having a pocket (12) that is integrally formed with part of an outer side of the garment. The pocket comprises: a first zip fastener (14) having an associated first slider (16), a first end (18) and a second end (20); and a second zip fastener (22) having an associated second slider (24), a first end (26) and a second end (28). The first ends (18, 26) of the zip fasteners are adjacent and the second ends (20, 28) are non-adjacent. The first zip fastener extends vertically and the second zip fastener is arranged at an angle of more than 90° to the first zip fastener. The pocket can be opened and closed by means of the zip fasteners and, in a closed state, the first slider (16) is at the first end (18) of the the first zip fastener (14), and the second slider (24) is at the first end (26) of the second zip fastener (22), such that the sliders (16, 24) are adjacent. The pocket (12) has a uniform opening region over the entire length of the zip fasteners (14, 22). The invention provides a clothing pocket with a simple design and ease of manufacturing that is convenient to handle and provides a large access area.

Description

ITEM OF CLOTHING HAVING AN INTEGRATED POCKET The invention relates to a garment including at integrated pocket.

It is customary to provide garments with pockets. Particularly jackets and trousers are almost always provided with pockets, a wide range of embodiments being known. For example, pockets may be sewn onto a garment or integrated in a garment. The open side of the pocket through which the pocket can be accessed can be exposed, covered by a flap or closable by means of a button or a zipper.

Here, pockets closable by means of a zipper are of concern. Such an embodiment is advantageous in that a loss of objects contained in the pocket is safely prevented when the zipper is closed and that a zipper can be easily opened and closed. Therefore, a particularly convenient embodiment of a closable pocket in a garment is addressed. However, the access area to the pocket is limited by the length of the zipper. Since particularly the slider of the zipper would usually be disposed in the inherently freely accessible access area of the pocket in the open state of the pocket, were it without a zipper, the presence of a zipper factually reduces the pocket opening in size. This may be undesirable since sometimes only a few millimetres are missing when objects are to be put into a pocket of a garment. Particularly in work and outdoor clothing such detriments in comfort are highly undesirable. Objects should be prevented from getting caught or stuck when extracted or slid in.

The invention is based on the object of providing a garment comprising at integrated pocket which is particularly convenient in handling and provides for a particularly large access area, wherein the pocket per se should be simple in design and uncomplicated in manufacturing.

Further, it is desirable to be able to use standardised zippers for the garments according to the invention.

AH26(27225776_1):BJM The invention relates to a garment including at integrated pocket, wherein the pocket comprises: - a first zipper comprising an associated first slider, a first end of the first zipper and a second end of the first zipper and - a second zipper comprising an associated second slider, a first end of the second zipper and a second end of the second zipper, - wherein the zippers are not arranged in parallel in such a manner that the first ends of the zippers are adjacent to each other and that the second ends of the zippers are not adjacent to each other, - wherein the pocket can be opened and closed by means of the zippers and - wherein, in a fully closed state of the pocket, the first slider is disposed at the first end of the first zipper and the second slider is disposed at the first end of the second zipper so that the sliders are adjacent to each other in the fully closed state of the pocket, and - wherein the pocket has a coherent opening area over the entire length of the zip- pers.

Owing to the presence of two zippers there is a plurality of variants of how to open the pocket. First, only the first zipper may be opened. It is also possible to open only the sec- ond zipper. Finally, both zippers may be opened. In the first two variants, i.e. the opening of a single zipper, the access alternatives to the pocket scarcely differ from conventional pockets. However, users can decide how to access the pocket. If, for example, one of the zippers is longer than the other, they will probably tend to open the short zipper in case of smaller objects while in case of large objects not fitting through the short zipper the long zipper will be opened in any case. In the third variant, namely the opening of both zippers, a particularly large pocket opening can be made available because the sliders of the zip- pers are moved in different directions when the zippers are opened so that the pocket has an opening area along the entire length of the abutting zippers.

In this sense it is contemplated that, in a partially opened state of the pocket, the first slider and/or the second slider is/are not disposed at the first end of the associated zipper.

Further, it is useful that, in a fully opened state of the pocket, the first slider is disposed at the second end of the first zipper, and that the second slider is disposed at the second end of the second zipper.

The garment is, advantageously, further developed in that the first zipper extends substan- tially vertically when the garment is worn by a standing person. Using the first zipper, therefore, the pocket can be opened so that a lateral access is available.

Further, it may be contemplated that the second zipper extends substantially vertically when the garment is worn by a standing person. Using the second zipper, therefore, the pocket is opened as familiar from most conventional garments. The pocket is accessed from above. A loss of objects is improbable even in the open state of the second zipper.

In particular, it may be contemplated that the second zipper extends linearly and defines an angle of more than 90 degrees with the first zipper. The zippers thus do not have to extend in an angle of strictly 90° relative to each other. Rather, an obtuse angle may be enclosed between the zippers, whereby the inside of the pocket may be larger than in case of zippers disposed orthogonally relative to each other.

The invention is usefully further developed by providing a cover for at least one of the zip- pers.

Specifically, it may be contemplated that a cover is provided for the second zipper. If the second zipper is a zipper extending vertically or approximately vertically the cover will pre- vent moisture from entering the zipper from above. With regard to the first zipper, it is more unlikely that larger amounts of liquid will enter it if it is disposed vertically since sub- stantially less of the moisture running down the garment from above will contact the verti- cally extending zipper.

In this connection it is particularly advantageous that the cover of the second zipper also covers an intermediate space between the first zipper and the second zipper and also par- tially covers the first zipper. In the area in which the sliders abut or are adjacent when the zippers are closed there is, naturally, a small gap left in case of conventional zippers in the vicinity of which the pocket is not fully closed. This gap is particularly critical when the en- try of foreign substances into the pocket is concerned. Consequently, it is useful that the cover also covers this gap.

Furthermore, it is advantageous that the cover is elastic. In this way, the cover can be conveniently folded away from the zipper so that opening and closing the zipper covered by the cover is possible without any obstruction.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention it is contemplated that both sliders are respectively provided with a slider handle and that both slider handles or exten- sions of the slider handles may have an access position in the fully closed state of the pocket in which they are not fully covered by the cover. Therefore, even for opening a covered zipper, the hands do not need to be moved under the cover first, but the slider handle or an extension of the slider handle can be easily accessed without thinking of the cover, and the pocket can be opened. This is particularly important when gloves are worn which naturally impede the handling of a zipper anyway.

In this connection it is particularly useful that the access positions of the slider handles or the extensions of the slider handles are taken when the garment is worn by a standing person and the slider handles or the extensions of the slider handles are oriented vertically downwards.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention it is contemplated that an outer side of the pocket is integrally formed with at least part of an outer side of the garment. In this way, no more than the two zippers and possibly the cover can be seen of the pocket.

Likewise, seams by means of which the pocket would be sewn onto the garment are not required. The pocket is thereby tight and robust.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment it is contemplated that the outer side of the pocket can be substantially folded away from the garment along a conceived axis con- necting the second end of the first zipper with the second end of the second zipper when the pocket is in a fully opened state. The outer side of the pocket is flexible so that it can be folded away. In this way, particularly large and bulky objects can be stowed into the pocket as measured against the pocket’s internal volume.

The invention is based on the finding that a garment can be provided with a pocket which is practical and operable with a plurality of variants by providing said pocket with two zip- pers. The zippers are arranged so that, in the fully closed state of the pocket, the two slid- ers of the zippers are adjacent to each other. When the pocket is fully opened the sliders are slid away from the position in which the pocket is closed, and a particularly large pock- et opening will be obtained. Incidentally, the pocket can be used like a conventional pocket when an individual zipper is operated.

The invention will now be described by way of example with the aid of a particularly pre- ferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a garment according to the invention having two integrated pockets; Figure 2 shows a zipper arrangement for a garment according to the invention in a partially opened state; and Figure 3 shows a zipper arrangement for a garment according to the invention in a fully opened state.

In the following description of the drawings the same numerals designate identical or com- parable components.

Figure 1 shows a garment 10 according to the invention comprising two integrated pock- ets. The garment 10, here a jacket, comprises two pockets in the breast area. The pockets are mirror-symmetric relative to each other, therefore it is sufficient to describe one of the two pockets. The pocket 12 has an outer side 42 which is integrally formed with the outer side 44 of the garment 10. The pocket 12 is provided with two zippers 14, 22, with only the first zipper 14 being identifiable in the illustration of Figure 1 while the second zipper 22 is covered by a cover 30. Both zippers 14, 22 have a slider with none of the sliders being visible here. Rather, both sliders are covered by the cover 30. The only thing discernible are elements directly or indirectly connected to the sliders. For example, a slider handle 34 is only partially covered by the cover 30. An extension 38 is attached to this slider handle 34. With regard to the second zipper 22, only an extension 40 is visible. The slider and the slider handle are covered by the cover 30. Both zippers 14, 22 are closed in the state shown in Figure 1. Therefore, the pocket 12 is fully closed. This state is obtained when both sliders are disposed adjacent to each other. That this is the case can be seen from the adjacent arrangement of the extensions 38, 40 which are respectively attached to the slider handles of the zippers 14, 22.

Figure 2 shows a zipper arrangement for a garment 10 according to the invention in a par- tially opened state. In this illustration, both zippers 14, 22 can be seen. While the second zipper 22 is in the same state as in Figure 1, namely in the closed state, the first zipper 14 is open in contrast to the state according to Figure 1. In the opened state of the first zipper 14, the slider 16 of the first zipper 14 is disposed at the second end 20 of the first zipper 14. While the first end 18 of the second zipper 14 is disposed adjacent to the first end 26 of the second zipper 22, this doesn’t apply to the second end 20 of the first zipper 14.

Therefore the sliders 16, 24 of the two zippers 14, 22 are not positioned adjacent to each other either. The second zipper 22 is exposed since the cover 30 is slightly lifted. It also exposes an intermediate space 32 between the first zipper 14 and the second zipper 22 adjacent to the second zipper 22 in this state. Apart from the sliders 16, 24 of the first zip- per 14 and of the second zipper 22, the slider handles 34, 36 and the extensions 38, 40 attached thereto are also visible. All in all, a partially opened state of the pocket 12 is given with the first zipper 14 opened and the zipper 22 closed. Of course, a quasi-infinite number of partially opened states may be realised in which the zippers 14, 22 are disposed in ran- dom intermediate states. The zippers 14, 22 are conventionally sewn into the garment via a seam 48.

Figure 3 shows a zipper arrangement for a garment 10 according to the invention in a fully opened state. Here, the pocket 12 can be seen in a fully opened state. Both sliders 16, 24 are located at the non-adjacent second ends 20, 28 of the first zipper 14 and of the second zipper 22, respectively. An upper side of the pocket 12 is folded away along a connecting line or conceived axis 46 between the second ends 20, 28 of the two zippers 14, 22 so that the per se associated components of the zippers 14, 22 are no longer adjacent to each other in most areas. The components positioned away from each other are identified by being additionally described by a small letter a or b in the drawing. So, the zipper 14 is composed of the components 14a, 14b, the zipper 22 is composed of the components 22a, 22b, the first ends of the zippers 14, 22 are composed of the components 18a, 18b or 26a, 26b, and the intermediate space between the zippers 14, 22 is designated by the numerals 32a, 32b. In the above illustration according to Figure 3, therefore, not the outer side of the pocket 12 but the inner side 50 of the pocket 12 in the area on the right side of the conceived axis 46 is shown.

The pocket described in detail in this way in connection with Figures 1 to 3 is easy to han- dle. In particular, extensions 38, 40 directly or indirectly connected to the sliders of the zippers 14, 22 can be conveniently reached, particularly without folding away the cover 30 which fully covers the second zipper 22 and the intermediate space 32 between the zip- pers 14, 22, and partially covers the first zipper 14. Water flowing down the jacket from the shoulder region is kept away from the second zipper 22 by the cover 30. The covers 30 of the zippers may, in addition, be practically used for imprints, namely particularly imprints of an individual nature such as company names, brands, proper names, telephone numbers, etc.

The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, in the drawings as well as in the claims may be essential for realising the invention both individually and in any com- bination.

List of numerals 10 garment 12 pocket 14 first zipper 16 slider 18 first end 20 second end 22 second zipper 24 slider 26 first end 28 second end 30 cover 32 intermediate space 34 slider handle 36 slider handle 38 extension 40 extension 42 outer side 44 outer side 46 conceived axis 48 seam 50 inner side I/

Claims (10)

WE CLAIM :

1. A garment (10) including an integrated pocket (12), wherein the pocket (12) comprises: - a first zipper (14) comprising an associated first slider (16), a first end (18) of the first zipper (14) and a second end (20) of the first zipper (14), and - a second zipper (22) comprising an associated second slider (24), a first end (26) of the second zipper (22) and a second end (28) of the second zipper (22), - wherein the zippers (14, 22) are not arranged in parallel in such a manner that the first ends (18, 26) of the zippers (14, 22) are adjacent to each other and that the second ends (20, 28) of the zippers (14, 22) are not adjacent to each other, - wherein the pocket (12) can be opened and closed by means of the zippers (14, 22), and - wherein, in a fully closed state of the pocket, the first slider (16) is disposed at the first end (18) of the first zipper (14) and the second slider (24) is disposed at the first end (26) of the second zipper (22) in a fully closed state of the pocket (12) so that the sliders (16, 24) are adjacent to each other in the fully closed state of the pocket (12), - wherein the pocket (12) has a coherent opening area over the entire length of the zippers (14, 22), - wherein an outer side (42) of the pocket (12) is integrally formed with at least part of an outer side (44) of the garment (10), -wherein the first zipper (14) extends substantially vertically when the garment (10) is worn by a standing person, - wherein the second zipper (22) extends substantially horizontally when the garment (10) is worn by a standing person, or extends linearly and defines an angle of more than 90 degrees with the first zipper (14), and - wherein the second zipper (22) extends above the first zipper (14) when the garment (10) is worn by a standing person.

2. The garment (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that the first slider (16) and/or the second slider (24) is/are not disposed at the first end (18, 26) of the associated zipper (14, 22) in a partially opened state of the pocket (12).

3. The garment (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the first slider (16) is disposed at the second end (20) of the first zipper (14) and the second slider (24) is disposed at the second end (28) of the second zipper (22) in a fully opened state of the pocket (12). AH26(27225776_1):BJM

4. The garment (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a cover (30) is provided for at least one of the zippers (14, 22).

5. The garment (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a cover (30) is provided for the second zipper (22).

6. The garment (10) according to claim 5, characterised in that the cover (30) for the second zipper (22) also covers an intermediate space (32) between the first zipper (14) and the second zipper (22), and also partially covers the first zipper (14).

7. The garment (10) according to one of the claims 4 to 6, characterised in that the cover (30) is elastic.

8. The garment (10) according to one of the claims 4 to 7, characterised in that both sliders (16, 24) respectively comprise a slider handle (34, 36) and in that both slider handles (34, 36) or extensions (38, 40) of the slider handles (34, 36) may have an access position in which they are not fully covered by the cover (30) in the fully closed state of the pocket (12).

9. The garment (10) according to claim 8, characterised in that the access positions of the slider handles (34, 36) or of the extensions (38, 40) of the slider handles (34, 36) are taken when the garment (10) is worn by a standing person and the slider handles (34, 36) or the extensions (38, 40) of the slider handles (34, 36) are directed vertically downwards.

10. The garment (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that the outer side (42) of the pocket (12) can substantially be folded away from the garment (10) along a conceived axis (46) connecting the second end (20) of the first zipper (14) with the second end (28) of the second zipper (22) when the pocket (12) is in a fully opened state. Pfanner Schutzbekleidung GmbH By the Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON & FERGUSON Per: AH26(27225776_1):BJM