Patent Application
20090031468
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to clothing and more particularly, to reversible sweatshirts having secure pocket slots and secure interior pocket pouches, and that optionally present distinct embroidery in each exposed configuration.
2. The Prior Art
Sweatshirts are well known for their ease of manufacture and are commonly used in team athletics and booster clubs as a means to identify team allegiance. Often players and other team supporters require multiple sweatshirts as they either participate in or provide support to multiple sports, require the acquisition of multiple sweatshirts. This can present a particular problem, both in terms of the expense to acquire multiple sweatshirts and in the maintenance required of multiple sweatshirts. Additionally, the pouch pockets on sweatshirts do not provide for containing items securely, resulting in items falling from the pouch pockets and becoming lost.
One method which has been employed in an attempt to overcome the above disadvantages is the production of reversible team apparel (in particular sweatshirts) made from two overlapping pieces of fabric such that one piece of fabric form the inside layer of the item and the other piece of fabric forms the outside apparel layer. While this construction enables the ready switching by the wearer from one color of shirt to another as her or her team affiliation changes, the garments are generally labor intensive to embroider, requiring the disassembly and subsequent reassembly of the garment, and therefore it is generally expensive to produce garments with different embroidery on each apparel layer.
Thus it would be desirable to economically provide a garment that could be selectively reversed (that is turned inside out) by the wearer to display different embroidery in each configuration, so that they can be readily and easily identified with multiple teams, and to have pockets which hold items securely.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a common approach and method for producing a reversible sweatshirt having secure pocket slots and secure interior pocket pouches with embroidery on the exterior bodice surface of each configuration. Each configuration includes a full bodice, hood and full sleeves for deployment on the inside or the outside of the sweatshirt, at the option of the wearer. The two configurations are free to shift with respect to each other, because they are stitched together only at restricted locations, such as at the hood, collar, cuffs and lower hem. Additionally, either configuration may include a pocket portion attached to the exposed bodice and forming symmetric left and right exterior pocket pouches. This pocket portion may also have a pocket slot formed neat the center of the top of the pocket portion and including an attached interior pocket pouch which lies between the interior surfaces of each configuration. The opening of the pocket slot, neat the attachment of the interior pocket pouch has a fastener such that this opening may be secured in the open or closed configuration. The bottom of the interior pocket pouch also has an opening which has a fastener such that this Opening may be secured in the open or closed configuration. Items may be safely stored in the interior pocket pouch when these fasteners are secured in the closed position. The opening of the pocket slot, the interior pocket pouch and the opening at the bottom of the interior pocket pouch are of a size sufficient to allow the easy passage of the inner portion of an interlocking embroidering frame. By inserting the inner portion of an interlocking embroidering frame through the pocket slot and interior pocket pouch to between the inner surfaces of each configuration, a configuration may be secured between the inner surface frame and the outer surface frame when the inner surface frame and outer surface frame are interlocked. Interlocking a configuration in this way secures the configuration such that each configuration may be readily customizable by the application of embroidery on the bodice of each exposed configuration by using an embroidery machine.
The features of the invention are believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. For a fuller understanding of the nature and object of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
The Embodiment of
The embodiment of
Referring to
Referring to
As will be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art, the ability to embroider different designs on each configuration is made possible by the ability to secure each configuration separately from the other within interlocking embroidering frame. Such use of an interlocking frame is greatly simplified by the ability to easily place the inner surface frame between the inner surface of each configuration, as facilitated by the pocket slot and the opening of the interior pocket pouch. By utilizing such openings, the expense of disassembly and subsequent reassembly of the reversible sweatshirt is avoided. Further, the fasteners on the pocket slot and interior pocket pouch allow items to be safely stored in the interior pocket pouch when these fasteners are secured in the closed position.
