Abstract:
A system for utility garments, the garment shells for these garments, and the pockets moutable upon these garments, which provide the wearer the option of removing pockets and discarding the garment for disposal or cleaning while not having to remove the contents of the pockets. The pockets may have one or more compartments to place items needed by the wearer during use.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to items of clothing more particularly, to removable pockets that may be found on clothing, more particularly, this invention relates to removable pockets for utility garments, and a system utilizing such utility garments.  
         [0003]     2. State of the Art  
         [0004]     A variety of pursuits can require the wearer of a garment associated with that pursuit to place items in the pockets of the garment he or she wears during such pursuits. Usually an outer garment of some sort, for example, blazers, vests, lab coats and the like may be worn by such wearers. During use, the garments may become soiled or unsuitable for further wear and the wearer of the garment may desire to place the contents of the pockets to different garments. Indeed the pockets may be transferred on the whim of the user, who decides to wear a different outfit for whimsical or fashion reasons. Then the contents of all the pockets must be removed and placed into a new garment that may also become unsuitable for further use quickly.  
         [0005]     In one example, workers in various kinds of laboratories, for example, chemical or biological laboratories, may desire to carry various items for testing and transporting items to be tested. In such cases, the items may be of generally unwholesome nature, and if outer garment becomes soiled, the wearer of the garment may desire a change in clothing before continuing on with the days work.  
         [0006]     These same workers have to carry a variety of objects and tools with them as the work. These include pens, meters, testing apparatus, cell phones, pagers, and the like, and these objects are usually carried by the worker in their pockets. If they have to change their clothes during the day, they also have to empty their pockets and transfer the contents to the new garment.  
         [0007]     Similarly, those who work with known uncleanliness, for example, workers who deal with machinery and the like with oil and grease on them, or those who deal with unwholesome products such as chemicals or biological fluids, may have the need to replace their garments that may become soiled with dirt, water, oil, and the like, and could benefit from easily replaceable pockets.  
         [0008]     It would be of great advantage to these workers if they had a protective garment that shielded them from the unsavory materials they may be exposed to, and allowed easy and facile transfer of the objects in their pockets to a new outer protective garment.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     This invention provides a system for utility garments provides the wearer of a variety of garments including overalls, blazers, lab coats, and vests with the option of removing pockets and discarding the garment for disposal or cleaning, while not having to remove the contents of the pockets. The pockets may have one or more compartments to place items needed by the wearer during use. In one embodiment the pockets or the garment or both may be disposable.  
         [0010]     In one embodiment this invention provides a pocket for use in an outer utility garment shell for use in environments susceptible to soiling and other contamination comprising a front, a back attached to the front around the edge, said attachment providing at least one opening, and at least one removable attachment point disposed on the back of the pocket such that the pocket is mountable on a garment shell providing a pocket having an opening exposed to the wearer of the garment for easy access during wearing of the garment shell.  
         [0011]     In another embodiment, this invention provides an utility garment comprising: an outer garment shell having a front portion with at least one removable attachment for a pocket disposed thereon; and a pocket removably placed upon each of the at least one removable attachment point such that the pocket is exposed to the wearer of the garment for easy access during wearing.  
         [0012]     In yet another embodiment, this invention provides a system for allowing facile changing of conformation of utility clothing for use in environments susceptible to soiling of the garment shell and otherwise contaminating it comprising: at least one outer garment shell for wearing about the torso and supported by the shoulders of a wearer having a front portion with at least one removable attachment for a pocket disposed thereon, said attachment at a point on the garment shell that is easily accessible to a wearer of the garment shell; a plurality of pockets, not permanently affixed to the garment shell, each designed for at least one specific task, and each affixable to the garment shell, thereby allowing at least one removably placeable pocket to have a removable mounting on said garment shell; mounting at least one removable attachment point of said outer garment shell such that the pocket is exposed to the wearer of the garment for easy access during wearing such that the wearer can remove the garment shell from the wearers body and remove the pockets from the garment shell to allow changing of the garment shell and the pockets in the event of the garment shell or the pockets becoming unacceptably soiled.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a front view of a utility vest having removable pockets disposed thereon, with several of the pockets shown removed therefrom.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a frontal plan view another embodiment of this invention placed on the garment shell.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a frontal view of a garment shell with a [portion of the front flap moved to show an inner pocket of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     Referring now to the Fig. an outer utility vest  10 , or garment shell, has a plurality of pockets disposed thereon. Although a vest is described herein, the exact same principle can be used on overalls, blazers, lab coats, overcoats, shirts, and the like, made out of many different kinds of materials, including, cotton, wool, synthetic materials including nylon, rayon, dacron, urethane, and combination fabrics that may contain two or more of the previously listed fabrics. The fabric may be tightly woven, loosely woven, knit, woven as a mesh and the like. The fabric may also be non-woven. The material may be of any color, or in a print of various colors and the pockets may be of the same color or a different color than the garment shell. The garment shell is worn over the shoulders of a wearer and has a front, generally facing in the same direction as the wearers face. The front of the garment shell is a place one would normally expect to find at least one pocket for use by the wearer of the garment.  
         [0017]     A utility vest  10  of the present invention includes a vest shell  12  that has a front portion shown in the figure, having arm holes for the wearer  14 , a neck hole for the wearer  16 , and a front closure  18 . The front closure may be secured by zippers, buttons, snaps, tie fasteners, and the like.  
         [0018]     Four pockets ( 18 ,  22 ,  24 , and  26 ) are shown in the Fig. The number of pockets may vary from use to use. At least one pocket will be removable, and preferably, a plurality of pockets will be used. Each pocket is attached to a removable attachment point on the front of the vest. It is not beyond the scope of this invention to have pockets placed on the sides or back of the garment shell, and pockets may also be attached to the lower seam of the garment shell to facilitate some uses, such as the carrying of unusually heavy objects.  
         [0019]     In use the vest will have at least one pocket (for example,  18 ,  22 ,  24 , and  26 ) removably placable upon at least one of the removable attachment points (for example,  32 ,  36 , and  42 ) such that the pocket is exposed to the wearer of the vest for easy access during wearing. While the garment shell may have a plurality of attachment points; it is, of course, possible that during use by some personnel who will wear the vest, that they will attach only one pocket, although there may be many more attachment points on the vest shell. It should be clear that the number of pockets actually used is up to the discretion of the wearer who will select the number of pockets based on the needs of the use of the garment and the needs of the wearer at that moment. It should, of course, be noted that the pockets on the garment shell need be removable. In many environments at least one permanent pocket may be useful, or even mandatory.  
         [0020]     In one preferred embodiment, the vest shell  10  have four removable attachment points thereon. It is also preferred that pockets are placed upon each of the four removable attachment points. The four preferred locations for pockets include the right upper chest area  20  (from the wearer&#39;s point of view), on the left upper chest area  26 , on right waist area  22 , and on left waist area  24 . It is preferred, although not required, that the pockets be reusable, since the purpose of the pockets is to allow the loading of pockets and the use on more than one garment. It will be noted that the pockets are all shown attached by different means in the accompanying Fig. The variety of attachment means is for illustration purposes only. In actual use it would be greatly preferred to use only one type of attachment means on a particular garment shell. Moreover, all the pockets on the illustrative garment are shown to be removable. In any real garment of this invention, there may be one or more pockets permanently affixed to the garment.  
         [0021]     One preferred method of attaching pockets is by use of hook and loop material (for example Velcro®). A pocket may have hook and loop material disposed on its back (not shown in the Fig.) for attachment to hook and loop material  24  disposed on the vest shell. In the Fig. the hook and loop material is shown as strips sewn or otherwise secured to the vest shell. When the vest shell becomes soiled, the wearer unfastens the hook and loop material, discards that vest shell, for cleaning or disposal, and reattaches the pocket to another clean vest shell.  
         [0022]     Another method of attachment of a pocket  26  is by pressure sensitive snaps  42 . At least one pressure sensitive snap disposed on the back of the pocket  26  may mate with another disposed on the front of the vest shell  12 . When the vest shell becomes soiled, the wearer unfastens the snaps, discards that vest shell, for cleaning or disposal, and reattaches the pocket to another clean vest shell.  
         [0023]     Yet another method of attachment of a pocket  24  is by buckle assembly  38  and  36 . The buckle assembly may be of any size and type that allows the use of the front of the vest by the user. Although two buckle assembles used to secure the pocket to the vest shell are shown in the Fig. only one need be used to secure the pocket to the vest shell  12 .  
         [0024]     Each of the pockets ( 20 ,  22 ,  24 , and  26 ) may have more than one compartment disposed therein (as shown in the Fig. for  20 ,  22 , and  26 ). For example, a pocket  26  may have a single compartment  44  suitable for use by a pen or other writing instrument. Alternatively a pocket  22  may have a plurality of compartments  34 . Otherwise, a pocket  20  may have two or more compartments  28  and  30  for convenience, or even for the fashionable look such a divided pocket may provide.  
         [0025]     As shown, the plurality of compartments  34  in the pocket  22  may be used for transport of blood or other biological samples. In modern medical practice, contact with blood is scrupulously avoided by medical personnel; therefore, it is preferred to use pockets fabricated from disposable material for these pockets. Alternatively any of the items used by medical personnel may be stowed in specially designed compartments. For example, this invention contemplates the use of compartments specially made for specific testing meters, pens and other writing utensils, pagers and cell phones, thermometers, probes, examination lights and other sources of illumination, and the like.  
         [0026]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the pocket  40  of this invention may be attached by hook and loop material to form a double pocket. The hook material  44  may be attached to the garment shell  42 , as indicated in the Fig, and the hook material  46  may be attached to the removable pocket  48 . The outer, attached portion  50  of the double pocket may be used to carry items, such as cell phones or testing equipment that might be advantageously removed and carried to another garment, while the inner pocket  52 , formed by the void between the perimeter of the hook and loop material may be used to carry items that the user might want to dispose of or are easily replaceable, such as pens or pencils.  
         [0027]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , pockets  82  may be placed on the inner side of the garment shell  80  for protection during use. Wallets, or identification, and the like may be carried here, while the pocket may be easily removed as deemed necessary by the wearer of the garment. Other attachable pockets  84  may be worn at the same time.  
         [0028]     As noted above, pockets intended to be devoted to uses involving the transfer of unwholesome materials are probably best disposed after use. However, it in one preferred embodiment of this invention, all pockets are made to be disposed. It is contemplated that the outer vest shell of the utility vest be washable, and reusable after use. However, it may be that the most efficient way to use the vest of the present invention is to dispose of the entire vest shell after each use.  
         [0029]     This invention also contemplates a pocket for use in an outer utility garment. Such a pocket will have a front, a back attached to the front, with at least one opening: and at least one removable attachment point disposed on the back of the pocket such that the opening of the pocket is exposed to the wearer of the garment for easy access during wearing. The pocket may be designed with a particular use in mind and may be substantially different looking in size, shape and material it may be fabricated from, that the other pockets that may be used on the garment shell. The pocket may be disposable or reusable or both. It may include more than one compartment defined within it, and it may have a closure flap  46  or similar privacy device attached thereto. Here the flap is closed by a button  48 , although snaps, hook and loop material, and like methods may be used for pocket closure. If it has multiple compartments defined there within these compartments may be specially made to carry pagers and cell phones, thermometers, probes, examination lights and other sources of illumination, and the like  
         [0030]     The garment and the pockets may be made from the same material or from different materials. These materials may be woven or non-woven fabrics, and may be made from, cotton, linen, wool, rayon, nylon, polyester, or combinations of the various fabrics. These materials may be fabricated from wood derived non-woven materials as a means of controlling costs for disposable garments. Other materials are possible, for example, polyurethane, polyethylene both formed as a sheet and woven from thread made from the material, and the like, but of course, some concession to the comfort of the wearer must be made in the choice of fabric or fabrication material. Obviously if the garment is to be reusable, it needs to be made of more robust material that will tolerate the various cleaning processes that may be used to cleanse the garment.  
         [0031]     The garment may include adjustment means on the sides so the garment may be purchased in a small number of sizes to accommodate various sized users of the garment. Other fitting means may also be used to allow the snug fitting of garments intended for wear by many persons.  
         [0032]     It should be noted that the system contemplated as one aspect of this invention, includes a plurality of garments, including blazers, lab coats, vests and the like and a plurality of pockets that may be transferred from one garment to another, and, indeed, from one type of garment to another. The needs of the user may well vary from day to day, or even during any particular day, while the user may still want the contents of the pockets for easy and convenient access.  
         [0033]     This invention has been described with reference to specific examples and embodiments. A variety of modifications, alterations, and changes will suggest themselves to one of ordinary skill in the art. The appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications, alterations, and changes.