Universally-directed, closure-supported, gravity-catch, self-energizing, diagonal pocket apparatus and method

Abstract

A pocket may be applied to an article of clothing, particularly upper body clothing such as a shirt, blouse, jacket, coat, scrubs, t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie, or the like. The pocket is oriented at an angle with respect to horizontal (nominal) or vertical (upright) to improve retention of a contained object such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant. A return is formed by stitching a partial closure along one side of the pocket, positioned at the lowest “upper” corner of the pocket (upper meaning opening end), closest to the center line of the article of clothing, on either the right or left. Knit fabrics work particularly well for retaining a weighted object such as a mobile phone despite various user movements leaning to one side or the other, forward, and even bent double whereby rendering the article of clothing in an upside down orientation.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus, configured as a shirt, defining a vertical direction, having a nominal orientation corresponding to the shirt in use on a standing wearer, having an arm opening, and comprising:
 a torso portion extending from a bottom boundary upward;   a collar portion surrounding a neck opening positioned above the torso portion;   a shoulder portion above the torso portion, proximate an upper extremity thereof;   the shoulder portion, extending upward to a top boundary of the shirt and laterally between the collar portion and the arm opening; and   a pocket, mounted to the shoulder portion and having an opening proximate an upper end thereof and positioned between the collar portion and the arm opening.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the pocket has a base seam, and side seams extending between the opening and the base seam, the pocket being tilted off-axis, with respect to the vertical direction, to position the opening higher than the base seam but not directly thereabove in the vertical direction. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the pocket is oriented to have the opening closer to the collar portion and the base seam closer to the arm opening. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 35 to about 55 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 40 to about 50 degrees. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of about 45 degrees. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the pocket further comprises a return seam partially closing the opening. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the return seam is parallel to the base seam. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the return seam extends from a first of the side seams, closest to the collar portion, toward a second side seam, opposite the first side seam, a distance selected to resist falling of an object from the pocket when the shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the return seam extends a distance of from about one quarter inch to about one inch from the first side seam. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus, configured as a shirt, defining a vertical direction, having a nominal orientation corresponding to the shirt in use on a standing wearer, having an arm opening, and comprising:
 a torso portion extending from a bottom boundary upward;   a collar portion surrounding a neck opening positioned above the torso portion;   a shoulder portion above the torso portion, proximate an upper extremity thereof;   the shoulder portion, extending upward to a top boundary of the shirt and laterally between the collar portion and the arm opening;   a pocket, mounted to the shoulder portion and having an opening at an upper extremity thereof between the collar portion and the arm opening; and   the pocket, secured by a base seam and first and second side seams extending between the opening and the base seam, the pocket being opposite the base seam.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket is canted with respect to the vertical direction to offset the opening away from being directly above the base seam in the vertical direction. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket is oriented to have the opening closer to the collar portion and the base seam closer to the arm opening. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 35 to about 55 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of from about 40 to about 50 degrees. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket is canted at an angle of about 45 degrees. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the pocket further comprises a return seam partially closing the opening. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the return seam is parallel to the base seam. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the return seam extends from the first side seam, closest to the collar portion, toward the second side seam, opposite the first side seam, a distance selected to resist falling of an object from the pocket when the shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation. 
     
     
         20 . A method comprising:
 forming a shirt having a collar portion, arm opening, shoulder portion between the collar portion and arm opening, and torso portion extending from the shoulder portion to a lower boundary of the shirt;   the forming the shirt, wherein the shirt defines a nominal orientation thereof when draped on a user in a standing position;   forming a pocket for the shirt, the pocket having an opening portion, a base edge opposite thereto, and first and second side edges extending therebetween;   positioning the pocket on the shoulder portion;   orienting the pocket to be canted to position the opening comparatively closer to the collar and the base edge comparatively further from the collar portion; and   securing the pocket to the shirt with a base seam securing the base edge, first and second side seams corresponding to the first and second side edges, and a return seam partially closing the opening a distance selected to resist falling out through the opening by an object in the pocket when the shirt is oriented away from the nominal orientation.