POCKET CUFF

Abstract

The present invention provides a garment having a pocket with an opening and an internal area. A first end of a mini-sleeve may be attached to the opening of the pocket. A second opening of the mini-sleeve may be attached to a first opening of a cuff. The pocket, the mini-sleeve and the cuff may define a continuous passageway from outside the garment to inside the internal area of the pocket. In some embodiments, the mini-sleeve may be tapered from the end attached to the cuff to the end attached to the pocket. In some embodiments, the cuff may be elastic. In some embodiments, a zipper may be used to close the pocket (with the mini-sleeve and cuff inside the pocket). The garment may be a coat, jacket, vest, backpack, shirt or pants. In some embodiments, a single garment may have two or more of the pockets herein described.

Claims

1. A garment, comprising: a pocket with an opening and an internal area; a mini-sleeve comprising a first end with a first opening and a second end with a second opening, wherein the first end of the mini-sleeve is attached to the opening of the pocket; and a cuff comprising a first end with a first opening and a second end with a second opening, wherein the second opening of the mini-sleeve is attached to the first opening of the cuff.

2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the pocket, the mini-sleeve and the cuff define a continuous passageway from outside the garment to inside the internal area of the pocket.

3. The garment of claim 1, wherein the opening of the pocket is a same size and shape as the first opening of the mini-sleeve.

4. The garment of claim 1, further comprising: a zipper configured to close the pocket with the mini-sleeve and the cuff inside the internal area of the pocket.

5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the mini-sleeve is between 0.5 inches and four inches in length.

6. The garment of claim 1, wherein the mini-sleeve is greater than two inches in length.

7. A garment, comprising: a pocket with an opening and an internal area; a mini-sleeve comprising a first end with a first opening and a second end with a second opening, wherein the first end of the mini-sleeve is attached to the opening of the pocket; and a cuff comprising a first end with a first opening and a second end with a second opening, wherein the second opening of the mini-sleeve is attached to the first opening of the cuff, wherein the mini-sleeve is tapered from the second end of the mini-sleeve, attached to the first end of the cuff, to the first end of the mini-sleeve, attached to the pocket.

8. The garment of claim 7, wherein the pocket, the mini-sleeve and the cuff define a continuous passageway from outside the garment to inside the internal area of the pocket.

9. The garment of claim 7, wherein the opening of the pocket is a same size and shape as the first opening of the mini-sleeve.

10. The garment of claim 7, further comprising: a zipper configured to close the pocket with the mini-sleeve and the cuff inside the internal area of the pocket.

11. The garment of claim 7, wherein the mini-sleeve is between 0.5 inches and four inches in length.

12. The garment of claim 7, wherein the mini-sleeve is greater than two inches in length.

13. A garment, comprising: a pocket with an opening and an internal area; and a cuff, comprising a first end with a first opening and a second end with a second opening, wherein the opening of the pocket is attached to the first opening of the cuff and wherein the cuff is elastic.

14. The garment of claim 13, wherein the pocket and the cuff define a continuous passageway from outside the garment to inside the internal area of the pocket.

15. The garment of claim 13, wherein the opening of the pocket is a same size and shape as the first opening of the cuff.

16. The garment of claim 13, further comprising: a zipper configured to close the pocket with the cuff inside the internal area of the pocket.

17. The garment of claim 13, wherein the cuff is between 0.5 inches and four inches in length.

18. The garment of claim 13, wherein the cuff is greater than two inches in length.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0014] In the drawings:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a garment with a pocket, mini-sleeve and cuff.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the garment in FIG. 1, that includes a zipper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The following detailed description describes a pocket cuff, method of using and making the same and is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed subject matter in the context of one or more particular implementations. Various modifications, alterations, and permutations of the disclosed implementations can be made and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined may be applied to other implementations and applications, without departing from scope of the disclosure. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the described or illustrated implementations, but to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the described principles and features.

[0018] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing(s), and specific language will be used to describe the same.

[0019] Appearances of the phrases an embodiment, an example, or similar language in this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment, to different embodiments, or to one or more of the figures. The features, functions, and the like described herein are considered to be able to be combined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or art may direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly.

[0020] As used herein, comprising, including, containing, is, are, characterized by, and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional unrecited elements or method steps unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to an embodiment of the present invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is able to provide greater warmth to the hands of the wearer as well as provide greater security for objects stored in an internal area of, or defined by, the pocket 140. These improvements are achieved by attaching, such as by sewing or any other desired attachment means, a mini-sleeve 110 with a cuff 120 around the opening of the pocket 140 on a garment 100 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0023] The mini-sleeve 110 may have any desired shape. As non-limiting examples, the mini-sleeve 110 may have a shape of the opening of the pocket 140 of the garment 100, be a hollow cylinder or a hollow tube in shape, be a tapered hollow cylinder or the mini-sleeve 110 may change shapes over the length of the mini-sleeve 110. A mini-sleeve 110 having a tapered shape towards the opening in the pocket 140 allows for a bigger opening of the pocket 140 (allowing for a bigger and more useful pocket 140), while allowing the cuff 120 to be narrower to both keep the interior of the pocket 140 warmer, i.e., fewer air gaps, and prevent items from falling out of the interior of the pocket 140.

[0024] The mini-sleeve 110 may have a first opening on a first end for attachment to the pocket 140 and a second opening on a second end for attachment to a cuff 120. In a preferred embodiment, the first opening on the first end of the mini-sleeve 110 is the same shape and size as the opening in the pocket 140. The mini-sleeve 110 may be any desired length. As non-limiting examples, the mini-sleeve 110 is preferably between 0.5 inches to 4 inches in length.

[0025] A mini-sleeve 110 may be made out of any desired material or combinations of material and have one or more layers. As non-limiting examples, the mini-sleeve 110 may be made of various combination or layers of wool, faux fur, nylon, fleece, hemp, flannel, Gore-Tex, mohair, cotton, corduroy, silk and/or Cashmere.

[0026] The cuff 120 may have any desired shape. As non-limiting examples, the cuff 120 may have a shape of the second opening on the second end of the mini-sleeve 110, be a hollow cylinder or a hollow tube in shape, be a band or be a tapered hollow cylinder.

[0027] The cuff 120 may have a first opening on a first end for attachment to the second end of the mini-sleeve 110 and the cuff 120 may also have a second opening on a second end. In a preferred embodiment, the first opening on the first end of the cuff 120 is the same shape and size as the second opening on the second end of the mini-sleeve 110. In preferred embodiments, the second opening of the cuff 120 is smaller than the opening in the pocket 140 and the cuff 120. The cuff 120 may be any desired length. As non-liming examples, the cuff 120 may be 0.5 inches to 2 inches in length.

[0028] A cuff 120 may be made out of any desired material or combination of materials and have one or more layers. As non-limiting examples, the mini-sleeve 110 may be made of various combination or layers of wool, faux fur, nylon, fleece, hemp, flannel, Gore-Tex, mohair, cotton, corduroy, silk and/or Cashmere. The cuff 120 may be inelastic or elastic. An elastic cuff 120 is hereby defined to mean that the second opening of the cuff 120 may be stretched to increase the diameter of its opening by 25% without visual damage to the cuff 120 and the cuff 120 is able to spontaneously resume its normal size after being stretched as described above.

[0029] The opening of the pocket 140 may be attached, such as by sewing, to the first opening on the first end of the mini-sleeve 110. If the mini-sleeve 110 is tapered, the larger opening of the mini-sleeve 110 may be attached to the opening in the pocket 140.

[0030] The second opening on the second end of the mini-sleeve 110 may be attached, such as by sewing, to the first opening on the first end of the cuff 120. If the cuff 120 is tapered, the larger opening of the cuff 120 may be attached to the second opening on the second end of the mini-sleeve 110.

[0031] The opening of the pocket 140 with the first opening of the mini-sleeve 110 and the second opening of the mini-sleeve 110 with the first opening of the cuff 120 are preferably connected so as to provide a single continuous passageway, without holes or gaps, from outside the garment 100 to inside the pocket 140.

[0032] While the pocket 140 does not have to have a zipper 130, in some embodiments a zipper 130 may be added to the outside of the pocket 140 to further increase the security of the pocket 140. In embodiments with a zipper 130, the zipper 130 may be used to close the opening in the pocket 140 (with the mini-sleeve 110 and cuff 120 totally inside the pocket 140).

[0033] In another embodiment, the mini-sleeve 110 is not used. The first opening on the first end of the cuff 120 is attached, such as by sewing, to the opening of the pocket 140. This surrounds the opening of the pocket 140 with the cuff 120.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 2, when the user inserts their hand into the pocket 140, the mini-sleeve 110 and the cuff 120 are inverted inside-out and the cuff 120 wraps around the wrist of the wearer, thereby reducing or eliminating the gap between the wearer's wrist and the opening in the pocket 140. In addition, the mini-sleeve 110 and cuff 120 reduce the size of the opening of the pocket 140, which also helps to prevent objects in the pocket 140 from falling out of the pocket 140.

[0035] The inventions and methods described herein can be viewed as a whole, or as a number of separate inventions, that can be used independently or mixed and matched as desired. All inventions, steps, processed, devices, and methods described herein can be mixed and matched as desired. All previously described features, functions, or inventions described herein or by reference may be mixed and matched as desired.

[0036] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variation can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.