TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to pockets for garments, in particular bellows pockets, and to garments (especially jackets) incorporating the pockets. Embodiments of the invention are especially suited to be used as cartridge pockets in shooting jackets.

BACKGROUND

Shooting jackets are a well-known form of outdoor jacket specifically designed for shooting, including for example hunting, clay shooting and other shooting sports. They tend to be made from durable (and sometimes waterproof) materials, including traditional wool fabrics such as tweed, waxed cottons and man-made materials such as nylons, polyesters, etc, or fabrics comprising blends of such materials. The jackets may be lined and insulated.

Shooting jackets differ from standard outdoor jackets in a number of ways, most notably by the presence of large front pockets for storing cartridges. These cartridge pockets generally have a flap closure and are typically deep, to reduce the risk of cartridges inadvertently falling out. They also have wide openings for easy access with a gloved hand, when the flap is open, to reach in a take out a cartridge.

Cartridge pockets on shooting jackets often have a bellows construction; a pocket with an expansion pleat on one or both sides that allows the wall of the pocket to expand away from the jacket to provide a larger pocket cavity and a larger pocket opening. This type of pocket is referred to as a pleated or bellows pocket.

However, even with a large, deep, bellows pocket, it can be awkward for a user to reach in to the pocket to access its contents (e.g. cartridges) when the pocket opening collapses in on itself against the outer shell of the jacket.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are generally aimed at providing a pocket that has an opening with a propensity to gape open to make it easier to reach in with a hand to access the contents of the pocket but that can still be collapsed back towards a garment the pocket is on and closed (e.g. with a flap closure) when not being accessed.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a pocket for a garment (e.g. a shooting jacket), the pocket comprising:

a front wall, a left-side wall and a right-side wall, a pocket opening being defined by upper edges of the front wall and two side walls; and

at least one of:

a) a front wall stiffening element extending across the front wall of the pocket; and

b) a first side wall stiffening element extending across one of the side walls of the pocket.

The pocket may comprise both the front wall stiffening element extending across the front wall of the pocket and the first side wall stiffening element extending across one of the side walls of the pocket.

The pocket may further comprise a second side wall stiffening element extending across the other of the side walls of the pocket.

Stiffening one or more walls of the pocket in the manner proposed herein helps to stop the top of the pocket folding in when the pocket is in its open state as the user’s hand moves in and out of the pocket, enabling a more unrestricted access to the pocket contents. In some cases, for example where the pocket is used to hold cartridges, the weight of the pocket contents may help to hold the pocket open. In such cases, less stiffening may be required of, for example, it may be sufficient to stiffen only the front wall of the pocket to help prevent the front wall folding in as the user pushes their hand into the pocket.

The front wall and side wall stiffening elements are separate from one another - that is, they are separate elements that are not physically connected to one another other than by the pocket fabric. The stiffening elements may be retained within or against the pocket walls, for example by seams stitched in the fabric walls.

In some embodiments the front wall stiffening element is a wire, for example a flat wire.

The term“wire” used herein includes metal wires (whether sheathed or not) and also includes wires formed from other materials, for example plastics and fabric composites. Other shapes of wire are also possible (for the front wall stiffening element and the side wall stiffening elements), for example round, oval, square and triangular, in addition to flat wires.

In some embodiments the front wall stiffening element (e.g. wire) extends across substantially the full width of the front wall. The front wall stiffening element may extend along the top edge of the front wall. Alternatively, the front wall stiffening element may extend across the front wall displaced below the top edge of the front wall. In some embodiments the stiffening element is between about 1cm and 8cm below the top edge of the front wall, for example about 5cm below the top edge.

Where the stiffening element is below the top edge of the front wall of the pocket, in some embodiment an additional stiffening structure in the form of a stiffening web (e.g. a wire mesh) is included in the front wall extending from the top edge of the front wall down towards the front wall stiffening element. This stiffening web may extend down to or beyond the front wall stiffening element.

In another embodiment, the front wall stiffening element may itself be a stiffening web extending from the top edge of the front wall down towards the bottom of the front wall.

Whether used alone or in combination with a front wall stiffening element (e.g. wire), the stiffening web, in some embodiments, extends at least 5cm down the front wall of the pocket. It may also extend across substantially the full width of the front wall. The stiffening web may, for example, be a wire mesh. The stiffening web may be formed from any suitable material, including metal, plastics and composite fabrics for example. In some embodiments, for example, the stiffening web may be a thicker region (e.g. formed from multiple layers) of the same fabric from which the front wall of the pocket is formed.

Similarly to the front wall stiffening element, the side wall stiffening elements may be wires. In the case of the side wall stiffening elements, round wires, flat wires or wires of other cross-sectional shapes may be used. Some embodiments may use stiffening webs in the side walls as the stiffening elements or to supplement wire stiffening elements. The side wall stiffening elements, in some embodiments, extend along the top edge of the side walls.

In some embodiments the side wall stiffening elements extend across only a front portion of the respective side wall (i.e. a portion of the side wall closest to the front wall). In other embodiments, the side wall stiffening elements extend across only a rear portion of the respective side wall (i.e. a portion of the side wall closest to a back edge of the pocket). In yet further embodiments, each of the side walls (or only one of the side walls) includes two, separate stiffening elements, one in the front portion of the wall and the other in the rear portion of the wall.

In some embodiments, one or both of the side walls has a bellows construction with a fold that extends from a top edge of the side wall towards the bottom of the side wall to form an expansion bellows. In this case, the stiffening element in the at least one side wall may extend across only a front portion of the side wall between the fold and the front wall. This helps to ensure that the stiffening element does not unduly hinder the bellows action of the pocket. Alternatively, the at least one side wall may include two separate stiffening elements: one that extends across only a front portion of the side wall between the fold and the front wall and another that extends across only a rear portion of the side wall between the fold and the rear edge of the pocket.

As with known cartridge pockets, pocket of some embodiments of the present invention include a flap closure. The flap closure may be secured with appropriate fasteners, for example, with one or more press stud fasteners. In some embodiments, press stud fasteners (or other suitable types of fastener) may also be provided to hold the bellows side wall in a closed (contracted) configuration.

In another aspect, the invention provides a garment comprising at least one pocket as set forth in the first aspect above. Pockets in accordance with the first aspect are particularly suited for jackets, especially as cartridge pockets on shooting jackets. There may for example be two such pockets, with one pocket on a front left side of the jacket towards the bottom of the jacket and one pocket on a front right side of the jacket, also towards the bottom of the jacket.

Pockets in accordance with the present invention and jackets (or other garments) incorporating such pockets can be manufactured using conventional techniques and can employ conventional materials typically used for shooting jackets for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGURE 1 shows a front perspective view of a pocket in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a side perspective view of the pocket of fig. 1 ; FIGURE 3 shows a front perspective view of a pocket in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 shows a side perspective view of the pocket of fig. 3

FIGURE 5 shows a front perspective view of a pocket in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGURE 6 shows a side perspective view of the pocket of fig. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments are described below by way of example with reference to the

accompanying drawings.

Whilst pockets in accordance with the invention can be used with various different forms of garment, embodiments of the invention are particularly suited for use as pockets for jackets, for example as cartridge pockets on shooting jackets. The term“jacket” used herein includes sleeveless jackets (often referred to as“vests”) as well as jackets with sleeves.

It should be understood that terms such as“front”,“back”,“left”,“right”,“top”, “bottom”,“vertical”, etc used herein define relative positions / orientations of parts of the pockets and garments they are incorporated in, and do not necessarily define absolute positions / orientations.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a first example of a pocket in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The pocket 100 includes a front wall 102 and two side walls 104. Top edges (102a, 104a) of the side walls 104 and front wall 102 define the pocket opening 106 to provide access to the interior of the pocket to access the pocket contents. The bottom of the pocket is closed either by a bottom end of the front wall or, in some example, by a bottom wall that is joined to the bottoms of the front and side walls.

Back edges 104b of the side walls, along with the bottom edge of the front wall (or back edge of a bottom wall when present) are fixed to the outer shell of a jacket (not shown), for example by stitching. A flap closure 108 is also attached to the outer shell of the jacket, e.g. by stitching, just above the top of the pocket 100. This flap closure can be folded down over the pocket opening 106 to close the pocket. The flap is secured closed with two press stud fasteners 112, one towards either side of the pocket.

The side walls have a bellows construction, each side wall having a front portion 104c and a rear portion 104d either side of a vertical fold 110. The front and rear portions 104c, 104d of each side wall 104 can collapse towards one another about the fold line 110 to allow the pocket to contact back against the outer shell of the jacket and to allow the flap closure 108 to be more easily folded down over the pocket opening 106. The two portions of each bellows side wall 104 can be held in their contracted configuration with a press stud fastener 114.

Once the flap closure 108 is opened and the press stud fasteners on the bellows side walls 104 released, the pocket opening 106 can be expanded to allow easy access for a hand into the interior of the pocket. The flap closure 108 can be tucked into internal pocket 116, within the jacket’s outer shell, to keep it out of the way when the pocket is being accessed.

The pocket in this example has three distinct stiffening wires around the pocket opening. A first stiffening wire 120 is retained in a seam along the top edge 102a of the front wall 102 and extends the full width of the front wall 102 of the pocket. The second and third stiffening wires 122 are retained in seams in the top edges 104a of the front portions 104c of respective side walls 104 (only one stiffening wire is seen in the figures - see fig. 2 - the other side wall stiffening wire is in a corresponding location on the other side wall). Each of these side wall stiffening wires 122 extends from adjacent the front end of the side wall 104 (where it joins the front wall 102) to adjacent the fold 110.

The side wall stiffening wires 122 are not joined to the front wall stiffening wire 120 (other than by the pocket fabric). This, in combination with the side wall stiffening wires 122 not extending beyond the fold 110, minimizes the amount of bending of the wires as the pocket bellows are expanded and contracted, which might otherwise lead to fatigue failures in the wires.

By stiffening the top edges of the pocket in this way, the pocket tends to gape open, as seen in the figures, once the flap closure is opened and the side wall press stud fasteners released. This helps enable easy and repeatable access to the contents of the pocket, for example cartridges. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a second example of a pocket according to an embodiment of the invention.

The pocket of figs. 3 and 4 is of similar general construction to the pocket of figs. 1 and 2 and the same reference numerals are used for corresponding parts.

The pocket 200 of this second example differs in the configuration of the stiffening elements. The stiffening elements in the side walls generally correspond to those in the first example, being round wires 122 that extend in a seam along the top edge 104a of a front portion 104c of the side wall 104. In this example, the ends of the wire 122 preferably have protective cover ends to prevent the wire piercing the pocket fabric. Bar tacks 202 are also used to strengthen the ends of the seam in which the wire 122 is secured.

The biggest difference in the pocket 200 of this second example is in the form of the stiffening applied to the front wall 102 of the pocket. In this example, a stiffening wire 204 extends across the full width of the front wall 102 of the pocket, as in the first example, but in this case the wire is located about 5cm below the top edge 102a of the pocket. The wire 204 in this example is a flat wire (as opposed to the round wire of the first example). As in the first example, the wire is secured within a seam 206.

Additionally, a wire mesh 208 is fixed within a top portion 102b of the front wall 102. This wire mesh 208 extends to the full width of the front wall 202 of the pocket and from the top edge 102a of the pocket down to the seam 206 on the front wall of the pocket, adjacent the flat wire stiffener 204.

The combination of the flat wire stiffener 204 and wire mesh 208 have been found to be particularly effective in retaining the pocket 200 open to allow good access to the pocket interior.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a third example of a pocket according to an embodiment of the invention.

The pocket of figs. 5 and 6 is of similar general construction to the pocket of figs. 3 and 4 (and the pocket of figs. 1 and 2) and the same reference numerals are used for corresponding parts.

In this example the pocket 300 differs from the other examples in the configuration of both the front-wall and side-wall stiffening elements. Looking first at the front-wall stiffening elements, in this third example a flat wire 302 extends the full width of the pocket front wall 102 at the top edge 102a of the wall. As in the second example, the wire stiffener is supplemented with a wire mesh 304, although in this example the mesh is not as deep, extending only about 1 to 1 ½ cm (e.g. 1.2cm) down the front wall 102 of the pocket 300.

In the third example the side wall stiffening elements also comprise a combination of wires 306, 308 (in this case flat wires) and wire mesh elements 310, 312. More specifically, in each side wall 104 includes a first flat wire 306 in the front portion 104c of the wall and a second flat wire 308 in the rear portion 104d of the wall. Both of these wires 306, 308 are at a top edge 104a of the side wall 104.

Each of the side wall wires 306, 308 is supplemented with a wire mesh, specifically as first side-wall wire mesh 310 in the front portion 102c of the wall and a second side-wall wire mesh 312 in the rear portion 102d of the wall. In this example the side-wall wire meshes 310,

312 are the same depth as the wire mesh 304 in the front wall 102.

The meshes 304, 310 and 312 may be fixed to the pocket walls (e.g. the inside of the pocket walls) using stitched seams for example. Conveniently, the wire stiffeners 302, 306, 308 may be trapped between the pocket wall and the meshes to secure them in place.

In this example, both ends of each of the wire stiffeners 302, 306, 308 have end covers applied, to help avoid otherwise sharp wire ends from piercing the fabric of the pocket. Bar tacks 314 are also sewn into the pockets at the fold 110 in each side wall 104. As an alternative to bar tacks (or in addition to them), a line of stitches may be formed along the fold from the top edge 104a of the side wall 104 to the bottom of the meshes 310, 312.

The stiffening wires and meshes in the examples described above (and in other embodiments) may be formed from a variety of suitable materials and be of a variety of suitable forms to provide the desired stiffening to hold the pocket open and resist folding over of the front wall of the pocket as a user pushes their hand in, whilst still providing some flexibility. Suitable materials include metals, plastics and fabric composites. For example, flat (or other shape) wires formed from a polyolefin (e.g. polypropylene) may be used. As another example, stiffening meshes may be formed from a polyester such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), e.g. from a polyester (PET) monofilament yam.. The mesh will typically have a lattice form, e.g. a regular square or diamond lattice for instance. The skilled person will understand that various modifications and additions can be made to the examples described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For example, in some cases the inherent stiffness of the fabric chosen for the pocket walls may mean that separate side-wall stiffening elements are not required, the front-wall stiffening element alone being adequate to provide the desired non-collapse of the pocket when it is open. In other cases it may be sufficient to include only side-wall stiffening elements. In other cases, a mesh stiffening element may be used in the front wall without also having a wire stiffening element in that wall. Alternative wire shapes to those specifically described may also be used; for instance, flat wires may replace the round wires in the first example. Various other modifications are possible.