Removable placard and pocket for a wearable garment

Abstract

A wearable garment has a garment panel with pocket having a hook-and-loop closure formed by first and second parts of a hook-and-loop fastener. A removable placard includes a placard body panel and a placard flap extending from an edge of the placard body panel. Opposing sides of the placard flap include first and second parts of a hook-and-loop fastener so that both sides of the placard flap are selectively securable in the opening to the pocket. With the placard flap secured in the pocket, the placard body panel may be folded over so that it is selectively secured to a font side of the pocket with first and second parts of a hook-and-loop fastener.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a wearable garment having a garment panel that covers an area of a person's body;   a pocket secured to an outward-facing side of the garment panel, wherein the pocket is formed by a first pocket panel and a second pocket panel, wherein the second pocket panel has a perimeter edge that is permanently attached to the first pocket panel to form a storage space and an operative edge that is selectively securable to the first pocket panel to close the storage space, wherein the second pocket panel includes an inward-facing area of a first part of a hook-and-loop fastener along the operative edge and an outward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener, and wherein the first pocket panel includes an outward-facing area of a second part of the hook-and-loop fastener that is aligned with the inward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener along the operative edge of the second pocket panel; and   a removable placard having a placard body panel and a placard flap extending from an edge of the placard body panel, wherein the placard body panel and the placard flap have a first side and a second side, wherein the first side of the placard body panel and a first side of the placard flap each include an area of the second part of a hook-and-loop fastener, and wherein the second side of the placard flap includes an area of the first part of a hook-and-loop fastener;   wherein the placard flap is positionable inside the pocket between the operative edge of the second pocket panel and the first pocket panel such that the area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the second side of the placard flap is selectively securable to the area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first pocket panel, the area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first side of the placard flap is selectively securable to the inward-facing area of the first part of the hook-an-loop fastener along the operative edge of the second pocket panel, and the area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first side of the placard body panel is selectively securable to the outward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the second pocket panel.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the outward-facing area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first pocket panel includes a pair of first snap fastener parts, and wherein the area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the second side of the placard flap includes a pair of second snap fastener parts, wherein the placard flap is positionable to align and fasten the pair of second snap fastener parts on the second side of the placard flap with the pair of first snap fastener parts on the first pocket panel. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the pair of first snap fastener parts are positioned within the outward-facing area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first pocket panel and the pair of second snap fastener parts are positioned within the area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the second side of the placard flap such that aligning and fastening the pair of second snap fastener parts on the second side of the placard flap with the pair of first snap fastener parts on the first pocket panel causes alignment of the placard body panel with the pocket. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the inward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener along the operative edge of the second pocket panel is selectively securable to the outward-facing area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first pocket panel when the placard flap of the removable placard is not positioned inside the pocket between the operative edge of the second pocket panel and the first pocket panel. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , the wearable garment further including a pair of waist straps, each waist strap having a distal inward-facing area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener that is selectively securable to the outward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the second pocket panel and a distal outward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener that is selectively securable to the area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first side of the placard body panel. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the inward-facing area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener along the operative edge of the second pocket panel extends substantially across a width of the pocket, and wherein the outward-facing area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first pocket panel extends substantially across the width of the pocket. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the area of the first part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the second side of the placard flap extends substantially across a width of the placard flap, and wherein the area of the second part of the hook-and-loop fastener on the first side of the placard flap extends substantially across the width of the placard flap. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the placard body panel includes a flexible card that gives shape to the placard body panel. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the placard body panel is substantially rectangular. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the placard flap has a width that is less than a width of the placard body panel and less than a width of the pocket. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the placard flap has a width that tapers with distance away from the placard body panel. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the pocket is formed by a first pocket panel and a second pocket panel having a perimeter edge that is permanently connected to the first pocket panel and a fourth edge that is selectively securable to the first pocket panel to enclose a storage space within the pocket. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the second side of the placard body panel includes Molle straps. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the second side of the placard body panel secures a pouch. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the pocket is oriented on the protective garment so that the operative edge of the second pocket panel is directed upward when the garment is worn by a person. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the garment panel is a front panel of the wearable garment, and wherein the pocket is positioned over the person's abdomen when the garment is being worn by the person. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first part of a hook-and-loop fastener is a patch of loops, and wherein the second part of a hook-and-loop fastener is a patch of hooks. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wearable garment has a front panel, a back panel, shoulder straps connecting the front and back panels, and side straps connecting the front and back panels. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the wearable garment is a vest. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the garment panel includes soft armor.