CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/715,583, filed Oct. 18, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to protective clothing and, in particular, to clothing featuring shielding to protect the wearer against radio frequency energy.

BACKGROUND

Users of cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants and the like typically carr the electronic devices in clothing pockets. While there is no evidence that radiation from such devices cause an adverse health effects, many individuals believe that less radiation exposure is better. The prior art lacks clothing augmented with one or more shields to reduce radio frequency (RE) energy incident on the user.

The prior art discloses use of shielding for hoods worn around large electrical equipment and discusses the effect of slots in shielded enclosures. In addition, full chainmail suits are used by high voltage electrical workers to prevent a voltage differential from developing across the workers' bodies in proximity to the live line. Purses, wallets and credit card sleeves are also on the market to prevent undesired scanning of credit cards or passports using NFC.

In addition, smart phone eases that are both decorative and protective are known. Such cases are not made with shields to reduce RF energy on the user, however, and instead are typically constructed from a plastic or rubber material. Some cases require the user to open or remove the electronic device prior to use, which is often inconvenient or awkward.

A need exists, however, for clothing that provides protection for the wearer against RF energy when the wearer stores cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants and other electronic devices in his or her pockets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a shirt provided with an embodiment of the clothing shield of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front partial sectional view of the clothing shield of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial front perspective view of a jacket provided with an embodiment of the clothing shield of the invention;

FIG. 4A and 4B are partial side elevational views of a pair of pants provided with an embodiment of the clothing shield of the present invention, where the pants are turned inside out and where the front and rear pocket outer panels are omitted in FIG. 4B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a shield layer is applied to the pocket of an article of clothing. As an example, with reference to FIG. 1, a shirt, indicated in general at 10, features a chest panel 12 that is provided with a pocket, indicated in general at 14. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pocket 14 includes an outer panel 16 that is attached to the chest panel 12 along the side and bottom edges. An inner panel of the pocket is formed by the chest panel 12 of the shirt and is provided with shield material 18 described below. The pocket 14 is sized so that a cell phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant or other mobile device 19 may be placed and carried therein.

With reference to FIG. 3, a jacket, indicated in general at 20, is shown with the interior of the left front flap of the jacket exposed (i.e. the left front flap of the jacket is flipped open in the direction of arrow 23) so as to reveal an interior panel 22 provided with a pocket 24. The pocket 24 is lined with shield material 26 (described below) and may be sized so that a cell phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant or other mobile device 28 may be placed and carried therein. file inner panel of the inner pocket 24 is lined with the shield material so that the shield material 26 is sandwiched between the electronic device and the wearer's shirt when the jacket is closed or worn.

With reference to FIG. 4A and 4B, a pair of jeans, indicated in general at 30 and illustrated inside out, features a front panel 31 provided with a front pocket indicated in general at 32, and a rear panel 33 provided with a rear pocket, indicated in general at 34. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the front pocket features a front pocket outer panel 42, and the rear pocket features a rear pocket outer panel 44. As illustrated in FIG. 4B. where the front and rear pocket outer panels arc omitted, the front pocket features a front pocket inner panel 46 sewed across the top 43 to the waist 45 of the jeans and around the sides and bottom peripheries to the front pocket outer panel 42 (so that the top is left open for access). As also shown in FIG. 4B, the front pocket inner panel 46 is lined with shield material 38. The rear pocket uses the rear panel 33 as the rear pocket inner panel, and it is similarly lined with shield material 36. The shield material is described below. Thus, when a mobile phone or other device is placed within the pocket of a worn garment, the shield material will be between the user and the device.

In one embodiment an additional layer of material may be added so that the shield material is sandwiched between two layers of material such as the material used for the pocket panel 42. The result would be a pocket where a person wearing or holding the garment would be unable to touch at least some of the shield material. This allows the manufacturer of the garment to control the texture of the garment and still include the shield, material in the construction.

Other pocket constructions used for clothing known in the art may be incorporated into the present invention, as long as the panels of the pockets lined with the shield material are chosen so that, the shield material is sandwiched between the electronic, device and the wearer's skin, underwear or inner layers of additional clothing when worn.

The shield, layer or material of the embodiments of FIGS. 1-4B, and other embodiments, may be a conductive textile, a semi-conductive textile, or a coating to the existing fabric such as HONTEX, available from Econyx Corporation of Pinole, Calif. The shield may also be a mesh made of conductive material, or coated with conductive material including, but not limited to, a metallic material.

The pocket itself may be constructed of textile material that is conductive, a layer of conductive material may be added to an existing pocket, a layer of conductive glue or paint may be applied to the material, a layer may be attached with an adhesive or sewn to the pocket material. The shield material could also be riveted in place so as to be situated between a user and a pocket,

In addition to the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1-4B, the pocket may be a skirt pocket, vest pocket, overcoat pocket, ski bib pocket, backpack pocket, pocket in shoes (which may receive an electronic, device such as a pedometer). The pocket may be part of an arm band designed to hold a music player during a work out. The pocket may be in gloves (such as the back of a glove designed to receive a heating pad or an electronic sensor). The pocket may be in a chest strap designed to receive a health monitor.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is implemented by shielding one panel of the pocket, to allow a mobile device to receive and send signals, and to reduce the amount of radiation incident on the user. However, some pockets may be shielded on both the inner and outer panels, for purposes of reducing the ability of nefarious reading of NFC enabled credit cards, passports, tickets, badges, and other documents.

As indicated by the prior art, slots, in shields can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the shield. This is because the slot can act as an antenna and re-radiate energy that impinges on the shield material, This effect may occur on the edges of the pocket shield material. To mitigate this effect. an embodiment of the invention would fray the edges, as illustrated at 48 in FIG. 4B, or add a resistive layer to the shield, or fold or wrap the material partially around the edge of the pocket opening (as illustrated at 50 in FIG. 3), Fraying the edges prevents the edge of the shield material from forming a clean edge which can efficiently radiate. The edge may also be formed or cut irregularly. Folding the material partially around the pocket moves the edge away from the user.

Adding a resistive layer which has lower conductivity than the shield but is not an insulator can also disrupt RF fields and result in higher effective shielding. The lower conductivity layer is preferably added between the shield layer and the wearer of the garment, as illustrated at 52 in FIG. 2. Examples of the material suitable for the resistive layer include Staticot Shielding Fabric, available from Less EMF Inc. of Latham, N.Y. In some embodiments, the shielding layer may he implemented with a layer of resistive material.

If the conductive shield material is applied to the textile, the material maybe applied at a first density in the central area of the pocket, such as the area indicated in phantom at 54 in FIG. 4B, where the device is expected to be maintained. The edges of the shield area, i.e. the area of the shield outside of area 54 of FIG. 4B, may have the conductive material applied at a lower density (which will result in less conductivity) thus creating a higher conductivity area in the center of the shield, and a lower conductivity area on the border of the shield. Another method is to fold the edges of the shield partially around the pocket, moving the edges away from the user (as illustrated in FIG. 3).

Adding conductive materials to an article of clothing provides opportunities for farther uses. For example, an antenna structure may be added to clothing. The antenna structure preferably uses a radiated element to connect it to the mobile device in the pocket. An antenna is preferably constructed to ha near a multiple of Â¼ of the wavelength of the intended frequency of operation. The antenna may be constructed out of conductive thread, or may be applied as a conductive coating. The antenna structure could run down the pants leg of a pair of pants, as in the case of the antenna illustrated at 56 in FIG. 4A and connect to the electronic device via connector 58.

The antenna may be connected to a conductive patch applied to the pocket on the side distal to the uses. The connection may be established using conductive material in the form of a transmission line such as suspended stripline. The connection may also be established with microcoaxial cable connected to the antenna and to the conductive patch. The patch re-radiates the small collected signal directly over the device. As the mobile device sits in the pocket, the distributed antenna in the garment can collect the weak signal from the base station, and re-radiate it to the mobile device, facilitating reception in marginal coverage areas.

The pocket may be designed to hold a mobile device and properly positioning the device to maximize coupling between the patch and the antenna in the mobile device.

In summary, for the dress shirt pocket (FIGS. 1 and 2), the shield may go inside the pocket and attach to the panel closest to the wearer. Optionally, the shield would wrap around the inside of the pocket a little bit to keep most of the shield edges away from the user. For the jacket pocket (or overcoat pocket), as illustrated in FIG. 3, the shield could go in the pocket, secured to the pocket wall closest to the user, or it could be inside the jacket attached to the pocket. Jackets have multiple layers within which the shield layer may he hidden. FIG. 3 illustrates the shield inside breast pocket, but it is equally applicable to the outside breast pocket, or the side pockets (inside or outside).

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.