Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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GARDENING APRON
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to functional garments. More particularly, and
in its preferred intended use, the present invention relates to a utility
garment.
Background of the invention
Utility garments such as aprons, smocks and the like are known in the art.
Utility garments can be worn for safety and/or hygiene reasons, as well as for
simply protecting the wearer's clothes from wear and tear.
In particular, a conventional apron typically consists of a front panel
extending at least partially over a wearer's front side, an upper strap for
extending
around the wearer's neck, and a rear strap for extending around the wearer's
waist. In this configuration, the upper strap provides vertical support for
the apron
such that it hangs off the wearer's neck, while the rear strap provides a
transverse
support so that it stays close to the wearer's body.
Variations of this construction can include aprons which also cover portions
of the wearer's back and/or arms. In addition, it is known to provide a pair
of upper
straps which extend over a wearer's shoulders rather than a single strap which
extends around the wearer's neck. An apron may also be provided which covers
only the area below the wearer's waist.
By way of example, a utility garment such as an apron can be worn during
gardening in order to protect the wearer's clothes from dirt. Furthermore,
conventional aprons, for home or garden use, are known to provide one or more
front pockets for holding tools and/or other useful articles. However, while a
variety
of items may be held within the same pocket, it has been found that retrieving
different types of items within a single one-size-fits-all pocket can be
difficult,
especially when, for example, the item to be retrieved is much smaller and/or
more
delicate than the other items in the pocket. Moreover, there types of items
which,
for practical reasons, the wearer might not wish to, or be able to, hold
within such
conventional pockets. In addition, there are types of items which, for
practical
reasons, the wearer might wish to be more conveniently accessible.
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Hence, in light of the afore-mentioned, there remains a need for an
improved utility garment which, by virtue of its design and components,
satisfies
some of the needs which are known in the art and is thus an improvement over
other related known devices. Specifically, it would be advantageous to provide
a
utility garment which is able to conveniently hold a variety of different
types of
items
Summary of the invention:
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided a utility garment including a utility bag, a reinforcement strip, a
front
panel, an upper strap for supporting the front panel, a rear strap for
restraining the
front panel, and a plurality of item retaining features.
The item retaining features are selected from the group including:
- three pockets of different sizes;
- a band for retaining a pair of glove;
- a magnet pocket;
The invention and its advantages will be better understood by reading the
following non-restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof, made
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Brief description of the drawings:
The invention will be better understood upon reading the following non-
restrictive description of the preferred embodiment thereof, made with
reference to
the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a front view of a utility garment in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 2 illustrates a front view of a utility garment,
Figure 3 illustrates is a cross sectional view taken along line III-111 of
Fig. 1,
Page 3 / 4, FIG.4 is a front view photography of the utility garment,
Page 4 / 4, FIG.5 is a front view photography of the utility garment.
Detailed description of preferred embodiment of the invention:
In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar
elements. The embodiment shown in the figures is preferred, for
exemplification
purposes only.
In addition, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention as
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illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprise various components... and
although the preferred embodiment of the cover and corresponding parts of the
present invention as shown consist of certain geometrical configurations as
explained and illustrated herein, not all of these components and geometries
are
essential to the invention and thus should not be taken in their restrictive
sense,
i.e. should not be taken as to limit the scope of the present invention. It is
to be
understood, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art, that other
suitable
components and cooperations there between, as well as other suitable
geometrical configurations may be used for a garment according to the present
invention, as will be briefly explained herein and as can be easily inferred
herefrom by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of
the
invention.
With reference to FIG. 1, a utility garment 10 is illustrated. The garment 10,
embodied herein as an apron, comprises the front panel 12 for covering the
front
of a wearer (not show), the upper strap 14 and the rear strap 16. The front
panel
12 is substantially rectangular in shape, although it will be appreciated that
various
other shapes may similarly be used. The front panel 12 sized so as to cover a
majority of the wearer's front. As illustrated, the front panel 12 is sized to
cover
from a wearer's collar bone to their knees.
The front panel 12 is being an apron is made of printed cotton having a
length of 53.5 cm and a width of 33 cm.
The upper strap 14 extends from an upper side of the front panel 12 and
forms a loop. A buckle 18 or other adjustment mechanism is provided along the
upper strap 14 for adjusting the length thereof in accordance with the
dimensions
of the wearer, wherein the upper strap 14 adapt for placement around the neck
of
the user has a length of 72.5 cm.
The rear strap 16 is formed by two portions 20 which extend from opposite
lateral sides of the front panel 12. The portions 20 can be tied together
behind the
wearer's back, the rear strap 16 is positioned at the wearer's waist. The rear
strap
portions are attached to sides of the front panel, wherein the rear strap
portions
have a length of 73.7 cm and a section of the rear strap portions comprises a
reinforcement strip having a length of 15.2 cm to attach the apron.
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For general housework, it is preferable to form the front panel 12 and the
upper and rear straps 14 and 16 from a strong but pliable material. It will be
appreciated, however, that various other materials may be desirable in
accordance
with different situations and usages.
With additional reference to FIG. 2, the front panel 12 is provided with a
plurality item retaining features.
Three pockets 22 are provided along a lower portion of the front panel 24,
wherein three pockets of different sizes which include a left pocket having a
width
of 12.7 cm a central pocket having a width of 7 cm and a right pocket having a
width of 9 cm, wherein all three pockets have a depth of 16.5 cm.
A band 26 is provided for retaining a pair of gloves 28 when they are not in
use. The band 30 which can be opened and closed so as to ease removal of the
gloves 28 and placing of the gloves 28 therein. In the illustrated embodiment,
the
band 30 is fixed to the panel 12, comprise a band therein which has a length
of
13.5 cm, the glove retaining feature is located at a center of the apron.
Altematively, the fastener may be, but should in no way be considered
limited to, a button, a snap or a clasp. The feature 26 may also be embodied
by a
resilient clip which is flexible enough to permit placement of the gloves 28
therein and then hold the gloves 28 tightly enough to retain them. The feature
26
may furthermore be embodied by an elastic band or the like which can expand in
order to receive the gloves 28 and subsequently retract in order to retain
them.
It will be appreciated that the glove retaining feature 26 advantageously
provides a more convenient storage of the gloves 28. It will also be
appreciated
that the glove retaining feature 26 could similarly be used to retain pliable
item.
Also provided is a magnet pocket 32 for retaining ferromagnetic items 34.
As illustrated, the magnet pocket 32 comprises a permanent magnet 36 which is
held within a pocket 38. The pocket 38 is made of a mesh material, as
illustrated,
in order to allow the magnet 36 to attract ferromagnetic items.
In the illustrated embodiment, the pocket 38 is formed by fixing a layer of
mesh material to the outside of the front panel 12, specifically the outside
of the
central pocket 22. Altemafively, the pocket 38 could be provided along the
inside of the central pocket 22, as long as the magnet 36 is strong enough to
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permit the magnetic field produced by the magnet 36 to exert a sufficient
retaining
force onto the nails 36.
The pocket 38 is open or openable so that the magnet 36 may be removed
when not needed. In the embodiment illustrated, the pocket 38 is attached to
the
5 front of the central pocket 22 by a hook-and-loop type fastener. The
magnet 36 is
a one inch diameter magnet and the pocket 38, is a square pocket of black
netting
having a width of 7 cm and a length of 7 cm with a <Velcro TM > fastening
feature,
for holding a magnet having a diameter of 2.5 cm to hold metallic items having
magnetic properties.
It will be appreciated that rather than holding small metallic items at the
bottom of a pocket where they are likely to become lost amongst other, larger
items, the magnet pocket 32 advantageously provides a more convenient means
of holding nails 36.
A utility bag 40 provides an additional receptacle for holding or storing
materials which would not otherwise conveniently go in the previously-
discussed
item retaining features. The utility bag 40 is attached to the rear strap 16
such that
it hangs by the wearers side during use. The bag 40 is removably attached by a
resilient clip 46 so that it may be removed when not needed.
The utility bag 40 is open along its upper edge 42. The utility bag 40 is
made of a resistant nylon.
Because the bag 40 may have a tendency to lie flat against the wearers
body, a stiffening strip 44 is provided around the upper edge 42 so as to keep
the
utility bag 40 open during use. The stiffening strip 44 is made of a resilient
material. Such a stiffening strip 44 may enable an opening to be maintained.
The
utility bag is made of a resistant nylon having a width of 40 cm, a height of
34.2 cm
with an opening having a diameter of 16.5 cm, and wherein the utility bag is
coupled to the section of the rear strap portions comprise a reinforcement
strip
having a length of 15.2 cm to attach the apron.
It will be appreciated that the utility bag 40 advantageously provides a
receptacle for items or material which the wearer does not want to place in
the
pockets 22. For example, in usages such as gardening, the utility bag 40
advantageously provides a receptacle for plant trimmings and other waste
material. Once the gardening has been completed, the utility bag 40 may be
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unclipped from the rear strap 16 and emptied into the trash. In addition, the
utility
bag 40 can be made from a less rugged but more easily cleaned material than
the
rest of the apron 10.
In addition to the utility bag 40, it may also be desirable to fasten various
items to the rear strap 16, such as cellular or portable phones which are
often
provided with rear strap clips. However, while it may be generally desirable
for the
front panel 12 and rear straps 14 and 16 to be made of a pliable material,
such
flexibility is not as well suited for attaching items via resilient clips. It
will be
appreciated that resilient clips such as belt clips are easier to attach
around a rigid
material that keeps its shape, such as a stiff leather belt, as the clip is
forced
around it.
With reference now to FIG. 3, a cross-sectional view of the rear strap 16 is
illustrated. The rear strap 16 is preferably formed by an outer fabric portion
48,
which may be the same material as the front panel 12. An additional
reinforcement strip 50 is provided within outer fabric portion 48.
The reinforcement strip 50, like the stiffening strip 44 mentioned above, is
relatively stiffer than the material 48 which surrounds it and therefore
provides an
additional reinforcement strip to the structure. The reinforcement strip 50 is
15.2
cm in length so that it does not reach around the wearer's back, and is
located
adjacent the front panel 12. It will be appreciated that a reinforcement strip
50 may
be provided in either one or both of the portions 20.
The reinforcement strip 50 may be provided with a light curvature in order to
more closely fit the wearer's side when in use. Altematively, the
reinforcement
strip 50 may simply be flexible enough to conform to the wearers side when the
rear strap 16 is tied behind the wearer's back.
It will be appreciated that the stiffened portion of the rear strap 16 created
by the reinforcement strip 50 advantageously eases the attachment of resilient
clips. Specifically, the reinforcement strip 50 will ease attachment of the
utility bag
40 or a portable or cellular phone. This is especially advantageous when the
wearer is carrying items 24 such as the shears illustrated above which might
damage a telephone handset. Moreover, as telephones become increasingly
smaller, they become more difficult to find at the bottom of one of the
pockets 22.
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It will be appreciated that a similar construction could be used along the
upper strap 14 in order to similarly reinforce a portion thereof.
As being now better appreciated, the present invention is an improvement
and presents several advantages over other related devices and/or methods
known in the prior art.
Of course, numerous modifications could be made to the above-described
embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention, as apparent to a
person skilled in the art.
