Article Of Clothing Having At Least One Magnetic Fastening Assembly

Abstract

An article of clothing, such as a dress shirt, blouse, coat, jacket, or medical gown includes a sheet of material forming a body portion. First and second plackets are formed along respective first and second end portions of the sheet of material. First and second magnetic elements are secured inside first and second pockets of the plackets, respectively, such that positions of the one or more second magnetic elements correspond to positions of the one or more first magnetic elements.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An article of clothing comprising:
 a sheet of material, the sheet of material having first and second end portions;   first and second plackets being formed along the first and second end portions, respectively, the first placket being formed by folding the sheet along the first end portion and securing the sheet to itself so as to form a first pocket, and the second placket being formed by folding the sheet along the second end portion and securing the sheet to itself so as to form a second pocket; and   at least one magnetic fastening assembly including a first magnetic element secured inside the first pocket and a second magnetic element secured inside the second pocket, such that a position of the second magnetic element corresponds to a position of the first magnetic element.   
     
     
         2 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the first placket comprises two layers of material with the first pocket between the two layers. 
     
     
         3 . The article of  claim 2 , wherein the two layers of the first placket are sewn together so as to create a line of stitching outside at least a portion of a perimeter of the first magnetic element. 
     
     
         4 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the second placket comprises two layers of material with the second pocket between the two layers. 
     
     
         5 . The article of  claim 4 , wherein the two layers of the second placket are sewn together so as to create a line of stitching outside at least a portion of a perimeter of the second magnetic element. 
     
     
         6 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second magnetic elements are solid pieces. 
     
     
         7 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second magnetic elements is a magnet having a maximum energy product greater than or equal to 49.5 MGOe. 
     
     
         8 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second magnetic elements is a neodymium magnet. 
     
     
         9 . The article of  claim 8 , wherein the neodymium magnet is coated with nickel. 
     
     
         10 . The article of  claim 8 , wherein the neodymium magnet is coated with plastic. 
     
     
         11 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one magnetic fastening assembly is configured to secure the first and second end portions to one another at a backside of a person. 
     
     
         12 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one magnetic fastening assembly is configured to interchangeably close the article between first and second closed positions, the first placket being positioned on top of the second placket in the first closed position, and the second placket being positioned on top of the first placket in the second closed position. 
     
     
         13 . The article of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of spaced magnetic fastening assemblies including a plurality of first magnetic elements secured inside the first pocket and a plurality of second magnetic elements secured inside the second pocket, such that positions of the plurality of second magnetic elements correspond to positions of the plurality of first magnetic elements,
 wherein when an uppermost first magnetic element is magnetically coupled to an uppermost second magnetic element, first and second magnetic elements of the magnetic assemblies positioned below the uppermost first and second magnetic elements are configured to self-align and couple together.   
     
     
         14 . A method of fastening an article of clothing including a sheet of material having first and second end portions, first and second plackets formed along the first and second end portions, respectively, and at least one magnetic fastening assembly, the at least one magnetic fastening assembly including a first magnetic element located at a position between layers of material of the first placket and a second magnetic element located at a position between layers of material of the second placket, such that the position of the second magnetic element corresponds to the position of the first magnetic element, the method comprising:
 aligning the first magnetic element with the second magnetic element; and   bringing the first and second magnetic elements in close proximity so that the first and second magnetic elements magnetically couple together.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein each of the first and second magnetic elements are sewn between the respective layers of the first and second plackets by a rectangular seam. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second magnetic elements are solid pieces. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein each of the first and second plackets comprises two layers of material with a pocket between the two layers, such that the first and second magnetic elements are positioned in the respective pockets of the first and second plackets. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one magnetic fastening assembly is configured to secure the first and second end portions to one another at a backside of a person. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one magnetic fastening assembly is configured to interchangeably close the article between first and second closed positions, the first placket being positioned on top of the second placket in the first closed position, and the second placket being positioned on top of the first placket in the second closed position. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the article of clothing includes a plurality of spaced magnetic fastening assemblies including a plurality of first magnetic elements located at predetermined positions between the layers of material of the first placket and a plurality of second magnetic elements located at predetermined positions between the layers of material of the second placket, such that positions of the plurality of second magnetic elements correspond to positions of the plurality of first magnetic elements,
 wherein when an uppermost first magnetic element is magnetically coupled to an uppermost second magnetic element, first and second magnetic elements of the magnetic assemblies positioned below the uppermost first and second magnetic elements are configured to self-align and couple together.