Patent Application
20250017297
The present invention relates articles of clothing, specifically a pair of trousers for children, which is provided with fastening means to adjust and extend the length of each leg of the trousers. The length of the trousers can be extended by utilizing and additional section which can be removably attached to the trousers.
As children grow, new articles of clothing are required to accommodate their growth. This can be expensive, especially for a family with several children. Typically, children grow taller, with longer legs but their waist size remains the same. Sometimes, the clothes are discarded, donated to charity, or passed onto to other children. In other instances, rather than buying new clothes, a new cuff is sewn to the bottom of each trouser leg to extend the length of the trousers. Sewing new cuffs not only is time-consuming and requires the purchase of additional material, but stitching can come undone, leaving one or both legs without the extending cuff. A not insignificant problem is when the child has grown in height but not in the waist such that the trousers are too short but the child cannot wear the next larger size which has a better length because the waist of the next larger size is too wide which results in ill-fitting trousers.
The prior art is replete with articles of clothing that are adjustable in some manner, such as extending the length at the end of the pant leg, such as an extendable cuff. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,938 to LeTourneau relates to an adjustable pant leg system having a row of hook and loop fastening material affixed to an inner surface at the bottom edged of a trouser leg and a plurality of hook and loop fastening means disposed on the inside of trouser leg along the bottom portion such that the trouser leg bottom edge can be folded inwardly and upwardly to form a trouser leg of desired length. In U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0205495 A1 to Miktuk, an adjustable length trouser is disclosed having hemmed inserts adapted to shorten or lengthen the trouser leg cuff. U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,073 to McCormick also provides a trouser having multiple stitching rows along the lower trouser leg portion which can be cut to fray the trouser legs and thereby shorten the length thereof. EP Patent 1,686,867B1 shows a pair of pants having adjustable pant leg lengths by a hook-and-loop fastening means at the cuff.
The prior art also discloses trousers having at least one zippered portion within the length of the leg. In U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0021417 A1 to Kroecher, a pair of convertible pants is provided to convert a pair of trousers into a pair of shorts with a zipper system. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0170316 A1 to Barki discloses a unitary garment having pant legs which are pleated or folded at different predetermined positions along the length of the pant legs forming multiple pleated or folded sections which are attached to each other by fastening means, the adjacent sections forming internal pockets in which additional folded garment fabric is stored. The additional garment material is integrally attached to, and extends from, adjacent upper and lower sections of the pants legs. When adjacent sections are unfastened, the additional fabric is released from the internal pocket and the length of the pants legs is increased. A major disadvantage to Barki is the complicated use of internal pockets and multiple sections which makes the garment cumbersome.
Despite the teachings of the prior art, a need still exists for a simple means to extend the length of a pair of pant legs quickly and easily. Such a means should also enable the user to reduce the length in the same manner.
The invention of the present subject matter relates to a pair of trousers, particularly a pair of trousers for children, which is provided with an additional section of fabric and fastening means to removably attach the additional section to each trouser leg thereby extending the length of each trouser leg. More particularly, the present invention relates to extending the length of each trouser leg in a manner that is easy to make and simple to use and returning the trouser leg to its original length.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present subject matter to provide a pair of trousers having means both for extending of the length of the trouser legs and for returning the trouser legs to the original length.
It is another object of the present subject matter to provide children's trousers which will enable the continued use of the trousers when the child has grown in height such that the legs of the trousers need to be extended in length but the child's waist has not increased sufficiently to enable the child to wear the next larger up size.
It is a yet another object of the present subject matter to provide children's trousers which can be extended in length by providing an additional section of fabric provided with fastening means to be removably attached to each trouser leg.
It is still another object of the present subject matter to provide children's trousers which can be extended in length by providing a plurality of additional sections of fabric material, each provided with a fastening means to be removably secured to each other and to each trouser leg to further extend the length of each trouser leg.
It is a further object of the present subject matter to provide children's trousers which are extendable in length by providing an additional section of fabric having zipper fastening means.
It is yet a further object of the present subject matter to provide children's trousers which are extendable in length by providing an additional section of fabric having hook and loop fastening means.
It is a further object of the present subject matter to provide a means to extend the length of a pair of trouser legs that is easy to make and simple to use.
It is an additional object of the present subject matter to provide a means to return a pair of length-extended trouser legs to the original length in manner that is simple and quick for the user.
These and other objects of the present subject matter are accomplished by providing trousers for children having a pair of trouser legs, each trouser leg comprising an upper section having fastening means, a lower section having fastening means and at least one additional section of fabric having fastening means. When the upper and lower sections are removably attached to one another by the fastening means, a pair of trousers is formed having a predetermined original length. When the additional section is removably attached to the upper section and to the lower section by the fastening means, the original length of the trousers has been extended.
In the following description, like reference numbers are used to identify like elements. Furthermore, the drawings are intended to illustrate major features of exemplary embodiments in a diagrammatic manner. The drawings are not intended to depict every feature of every implementation nor relative dimensions of the depicted elements and are not drawn to scale. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to clearly describe various specific embodiments disclosed herein. One skilled in the art, however, will understand that the presently claimed invention may be practiced without all the specific details discussed below. In other instances, well known features have not been described so as not to obscure the invention.
As described herein, the term “removably coupled”, “removably attached”, “removably secured” and derivatives thereof shall be used to describe a situation wherein two or more objects are joined together in a non-permanent manner as to allow the same objects to be repeatedly joined and separated.
Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items
The present subject matter relates to an article of clothing in the form of trousers having a pair of trouser legs, each of the trouser legs comprising an upper section having a lower edge provided with a fastening means integrated therein, a lower section having an upper edge provided with a fastening means integrated therein, and at least one additional section having an upper edge provided with a fastening means integrated therein and a lower edge provided with a fastening means integrated therein. When it is desired to increase the length of each trouser leg, the at least one additional section is removably attached to the upper section and to the lower section of each of the pair of trouser legs. When it is desired to return the pair of trousers to its original length, the additional section is detached from the upper section and from the lower section of each of the pair of trouser legs. The fastening means can be any fastening means which can be easily opened and closed, suitable examples of which include, but are not limited to, a zipper, a hook and loop fastener such as Velcro™, snaps, and buttons.
As shown if the Figures, a pair of trousers 100 of the present subject matter is shown having a pair of trouser legs, each trouser leg comprising an upper section 110, a lower section 120 and an additional section 130. Each of the sections is provided with a fastening means integrated along its edges such that the sections can be removably attached. When the upper section 110 is removably attached to the lower section 120, a pair of trousers is created having a predetermined length. When it is desired to extend the length of the pair of trousers, the additional section 130 is removably attached to the upper section 110 by the fastening means and is removably attached to the lower section 120, the additional section being disposed between the upper and lower sections. Of course, the user can wear the upper section 110 as a pair of shorts when the upper section is not removably secured to the other sections. The length of the shorts also can be extended by removably securing the upper section 110 to the additional section 130.
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While several illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, numerous variations and alternative embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Such variations and alternative embodiments are contemplated and can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 63/525,774, filed Jul. 10, 2023.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63525774 | Jul 2023 | US |
