Article of clothing with bottle cap gripping patch

Abstract

An article of clothing having a protective patch positioned to allow a user to grasp the patch over a bottle cap without removing the article of clothing, to facilitate the removal of a twist-off cap from a bottle. In the preferred embodiment the protective patch comprises a flexible patch or medallion affixed to the article of clothing at a position accessible to the user's hand, for example adjacent to the waist of the garment, which covers the cap and provides a protective layer between the cap and the user's hand. The patch may support text indicia or design indicia, or both, which may correspond to advertising indicia supported elsewhere on the article of clothing.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An article of clothing to be worn by a user having a protective patch for removing a twist-off cap from a bottle, comprising 
 a body portion composed of a flexible fabric, and    at least one patch composed of a tear-resistant and stretch-resistant material, affixed to article of clothing at a position accessible to a hand of the user,    wherein the user can grasp the patch without removing the article of clothing, cover the cap with the patch and twist the cap to remove the cap from the bottle without substantially deforming or tearing the patch.    
     
     
         2 . The article of clothing of  claim 1  in which the body portion comprises a front portion for covering a front of the user having a waist portion for covering a waist of the user, wherein the patch is affixed to article of clothing at or near the waist portion.  
     
     
         3 . The article of clothing of  claim 1  in which the patch is disposed to one side of a vertical center of the front portion.  
     
     
         4 . The article of clothing of  claim 1  in which the patch supports text indicia or design indicia, or both.  
     
     
         5 . The article of clothing of  claim 4  in which the patch supports advertising indicia or is configured in a shape of advertising indicia.  
     
     
         6 . The article of clothing of  claim 5  in which the advertising indicia corresponds to advertising indicia supported by a portion of the front portion remote from the patch.  
     
     
         7 . The article of clothing of  claim 1  in which the patch is composed of a flexible resin-based compound.  
     
     
         8 . The article of clothing of  claim 1  in which the patch is irregularly shaped.  
     
     
         9 . In combination, 
 an article of clothing to be worn by a user, comprising a body portion composed of a flexible fabric, and    at least one protective patch for removing a twist-off cap from a bottle, composed of a tear-resistant and stretch-resistant material and affixed to the article of clothing at a position accessible to a hand of the user,    wherein the user can grasp the patch without removing the article of clothing, cover the cap with the patch and twist the cap to remove the cap from the bottle without substantially stretching or tearing the patch.    
     
     
         10 . The combination of  claim 8  in which the body portion comprises a front portion for covering a front of the user having a waist portion for covering a waist of the user, wherein the patch is affixed to article of clothing at or near the waist portion.  
     
     
         11 . The combination of  claim 9  in which the patch is disposed to one side of a vertical center of the front portion.  
     
     
         12 . The combination of  claim 9  in which the patch supports text indicia or design indicia, or both.  
     
     
         13 . The combination of  claim 12  in which the patch supports advertising indicia or is configured in a shape of advertising indicia.  
     
     
         14 . The combination of  claim 13  in which the advertising indicia corresponds to advertising indicia supported by a portion of the front portion remote from the patch.  
     
     
         15 . The combination of  claim 9  in which the patch is composed of a flexible resin-based compound.  
     
     
         16 . The combination of  claim 9  in which the patch is irregularly shaped.  
     
     
         17 . For affixing to an article of clothing to be worn by a user comprising a body portion composed of a flexible fabric, 
 a protective patch for removing a twist-off cap from a bottle, the protective patch comprising a medallion of a tear-resistant and stretch-resistant material,    wherein when the protective patch is affixed to the article of clothing, the user can grasp the patch without removing the article of clothing, cover the cap with the patch and twist the cap to remove the cap from the bottle without substantially deforming or tearing the patch.    
     
     
         18 . The protective patch of  claim 17  in which the body portion comprises a front portion for covering a front of the user having a waist portion for covering a waist of the user, wherein the patch is affixed to article of clothing at or near the waist portion.  
     
     
         19 . The protective patch of  claim 17  in which the patch is disposed to one side of a vertical center of the front portion.  
     
     
         20 . The protective patch of  claim 17  in which the patch supports text indicia or design indicia, or both.  
     
     
         21 . The protective patch of  claim 20  in which the patch supports advertising indicia or is configured in a shape of advertising indicia.  
     
     
         22 . The protective patch of  claim 21  in which the advertising indicia corresponds to advertising indicia supported by a portion of the front portion remote from the patch.  
     
     
         23 . The protective patch of  claim 17  in which the patch is composed of a flexible resin-based compound.  
     
     
         24 . The protective patch of  claim 17  in which the patch is irregularly shaped.