CLOTHING ARTICLE WITH ONE OR MORE FASTENERS OR CONNECTORS

Abstract

An article of clothing having a fastener or connector thereon that may allow the article to be fastened to an associated article of clothing to prevent accidental or unwanted removal thereof. The article of clothing may be further adapted to prevent a child from removing the clothing without first separating the fastener/connector thus preventing the child from removing the article of clothing by slipping a portion of their body out of the article of clothing without a parent's intervention.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of clothing and apparel. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to articles of clothing for infants and toddlers. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to articles of clothing for infants and toddlers having connectors attached to the ends thereof for operable connection between clothing pieces.

BACKGROUND

Background Information

Young children, particularly infants and toddlers, are known to remove articles of clothing freely without regard to the location or the ambient temperature of their environment. Most commonly, these young children tend to remove smaller articles such as socks and/or mittens and may further discard these articles once removed. Further, if such articles are easily and quickly removable, the young child may even remove and discard it in a place such as a supermarket, park, or in another public area, thus discarding the article where it may be lost and/or not able to be retrieved. Other times, the child may remove the article and place it in their mouth, creating an unsanitary situation and/or a choking hazard. Therefore, it is advantageous for parents to be able prevent the removal of such clothing articles, both for the risk of loss, as well as for the safety and/or wellbeing of the child.

While it is desirable and advantageous to frustrate a child's efforts in removing such articles of clothing, it is likewise advantageous to have these particular clothing articles be easily removable by parents to quickly and easily dress or undress the child and/or to access the child for reasons of changing clothes, bathing, diaper changes, and the like.

Previous efforts to address these issues have involved creating articles of clothing that are permanently secured together, such as one-piece style bottoms wherein a sock or footie forms a part of the pant leg. This style of clothing may frustrate parents as the entire article typically needs to be removed for diaper changes and the like. Other efforts to address this issue have included connectors that allow articles of clothing to be attached, but that are easily overcome by an adult. Many of these devices fall short, however, in that children are only temporarily frustrated and may still overcome such devices. For example, one such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,183 to Haas-Laursen (“the '183 patent”), which involves providing a sock or bootie having snaps thereon for connection to a pair of pants. The sock in the '183 patent may be attached to the bottom of a pant leg using a snap, a loop closure, or a button. This particular device, and others like it, typically place fasteners only on the sides of the leg, near the lateral sides of a child's ankle, which may allow these devices to be overcome by a child with only slightly more than minimal effort. As children grow and become stronger, they are quickly and easily able to overcome such devices, thus, frustrating or otherwise rendering these attachments ineffective.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure addresses this and other issues by providing articles of clothing with fasteners thereon for attaching to other related articles of clothing wherein the fasteners may be located on the back portion of the garment.

In one aspect, the present disclosure may provide an apparatus comprising: a first article of clothing having a first connector affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; and a second article of clothing having a second connector affixed to the rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing and aligned with the first connector when the first and second articles of clothing are worn, the second connector operable to engage the first connector to attach the first article of clothing to the second article of clothing.

In another aspect, the present disclosure may provide a method of connecting two articles of clothing comprising: affixing a first connector to a rear portion of a first article of clothing within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; affixing a second connector to a rear portion of a second article of clothing within 45° to the same side of an anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing as the first connector; placing the first and second articles of clothing on a wearer; engaging the first connector with the second connector.

In yet another aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may provide an article of clothing comprising: fabric material defining a body; an upper portion opposite a lower portion; a front end opposite a rear end defining an anterior-posterior (i.e., front-to-rear) midline therebetween; wherein the body defines an opening near the rear end and near the upper portion; an anterior-posterior midline extending centrally through the opening; and a first fastener affixed to a rear portion of the body adjacent the opening within 45° of either side of the anterior-posterior midline; wherein the first fastener on the article of clothing is adapted to releasably couple with a complementary fastener on a second article of clothing. This exemplary embodiment may further provide wherein the first article of clothing is a sock and wherein the sock comprises: a heel of the sock; a cuff defining the opening to the sock located above the heel; wherein the anterior-posterior midline divides, equally and centrally, the opening into left and right halves; a lateral midline that divides the opening into front and rear portions; wherein the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline perpendicularly intersect each other to divide the opening into four quadrants, wherein the four quadrants include a rear left first quadrant, a rear-right second quadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and a front-left fourth quadrant; a first diagonal axis extending through the first quadrant and the third quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; a second diagonal axis extending through the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; wherein the first fastener is disposed between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. More particularly, this embodiment may provide wherein the first fastener is adjacent the cuff between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. There may also be an edge of the first fastener, wherein the edge of the first fastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline. In one embodiment the edge has a circular configuration, and wherein the first fastener is a snap-type fastener.

This exemplary embodiment may further provide a second fastener affixed to one side of the body of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. Additionally, there may be a third fastener affixed to another side of the body of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. In one example, the second fastener is diametrically opposite the third fastener. Particularly, the second fastener may be diametrically opposite the third fastener along the lateral midline. In this example, there may also be a circular configuration of an edge of the second fastener, and wherein the second fastener is a snap-type fastener and a circular configuration of an edge of the third fastener, and wherein the third fastener is a snap-type fastener.

In yet another aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a system comprising: a first article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; and a second article of clothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing and aligned with the first fastener when the first and second articles of clothing are worn, and the second connector operable to engage the first fastener to releasably attach the first article of clothing to the second article of clothing. In this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplary embodiment, the first article of clothing is a sock and the second article of clothing includes a pant leg, and wherein the sock comprises: a cuff defining an opening to the sock; wherein the anterior-posterior midline divides, equally and centrally, the opening into left and right halves; a lateral midline that divides the opening into front and rear portions; wherein the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline perpendicularly intersect each other to divide the opening into four quadrants, wherein the four quadrants include a rear left first quadrant, a rear-right second quadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and a front-left fourth quadrant; a first diagonal axis extending through the first quadrant and the third quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; a second diagonal axis extending through the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; wherein the first fastener is disposed between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. In this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplary embodiment, the first fastener can be adjacent the cuff between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis. In this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplary embodiment, there may be an edge of the first fastener, wherein the edge of the first fastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline. Further, this edge may have a circular configuration, and wherein the first fastener is a snap-type fastener. Additionally, this exemplary embodiment, or another exemplary embodiment, may further provide two additional fasteners affixed to respective sides of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

In yet another aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a method of connecting two articles of clothing comprising: donning a first article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; donning a second article of clothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing; aligning the first fastener with the second fastener when the first and second articles of clothing are donned; and coupling the first fastener to the second fastener, wherein the coupling of the first and second fasteners within 45° of the anterior-posterior midline is adapted to frustrate the ability to remove the first article of clothing. This exemplary method or another exemplary method may further provide aligning the first fastener along the anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; and coupling the first fastener to the second fastener along the anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing. In one particular embodiment the first article of clothing is a sock and the second article of clothing includes a pant leg, further comprising: de-coupling the first fastener from the second fastener; selectively coupling the sock to another sock having a third fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the another sock, thereby defining a mated pair of socks. Then, the method can provide washing the mated pair of socks; and drying the mated pair of socks, wherein the selectively coupled first and third fasteners remain coupled while washing and drying the mated pair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A sample embodiment of the disclosure is set forth in the following description, is shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are fully incorporated herein and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various examples, methods, and other example embodiments of various aspects of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that in some examples one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. In some examples, an element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is an overhead plan view of a general clothing article worn on the foot.

FIG. 2 is an overhead plan view of a PRIOR ART clothing article.

FIG. 3 is an overhead plan view of a clothing article according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a clothing article according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5A is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of a paired clothing article according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of the paired clothing article of FIG. 5A according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of a clothing article according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an overhead plan view of an embodiment of a clothing article according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, a general article of clothing is shown as a sock indicated at 10. Although described and discussed herein as a sock 10, this general article of clothing may be any article of clothing worn on or about the lower extremities, including casual socks, dress socks, trouser socks, tights, slippers, booties, boots, shoes, or the like.

Sock 10 may be any known sock, including a prior art sock, and may further have an upper portion 12 and a lower portion 14, an opening 16, a cuff 18, and a heel (not shown in FIG. 1). The upper portion 12 of sock 10 may be generally defined as the portion extending upwards from the wearer's foot while the lower portion 14 may be defined as the portion of sock 10 that covers the foot and toes of the wearer. Opening 16 of sock 10 may be surrounded by cuff 18, and may define the portal into the interior of the sock by which a wearer inserts his or her foot. Cuff 18 may include an elastic band or similar material.

FIG. 1 depicts a generic sock 10 for purposes of defining directions and locations of various elements thereof. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and replicated throughout other figures herein, lines A-A, B-B, C-C, and D-D represent axes that may divide sock 10, the opening 16, and the cuff 18 thereof into sections and may further provide positional information for other components and features of the present disclosure, as discussed below. It will be therefore understood that lines A-A. B-B, C-C, and D-D are included as reference lines to assist in the description and orientation of components of the present disclosure. For example, Lines C-C and D-D represent secondary diagonal axes that are 45° from the primary axes represented by Lines A-A and B-B.

Line A-A may extend across sock 10 along an anterior-posterior axis (i.e., front-to-back or forward-to-rear direction) and may bisect or divide opening 16 of sock 10 into equal left and right halves. The left half of opening 16 may be the left side when viewed from the front. Thus, the left half would be the outer portion of a sock 10 worn on the right foot, and the inner portion of a sock 10 worn on the left foot. Similarly, the right half may be the right side when viewed from the front and may be the inner portion of a sock worn on the right foot and the outer portion of a sock 10 worn on the left foot.

Line B-B may extend across a side-to-side (i.e., lateral) axis and may bisect or divide opening 16 of sock 10 into front and back halves. The front half may be defined as the portion towards the front of the wearer's foot (i.e. towards the toes) and the back half may be the portion towards the wearer's heel.

Lines A-A and B-B are be perpendicular to one another thereby sectioning opening 16 of sock 10 into four quadrants (labeled as quadrants 1-4 in FIG. 1, starting with the rear-left quadrant (quadrant 1—the first quadrant) depicted therein and proceeding clockwise around opening 16 of sock 10), as well as the rear-right quadrant (quadrant 2—the second quadrant), the front-right quadrant (quadrant 3—the third quadrant), and the front-left quadrant (quadrant 4—the fourth quadrant). The quadrants 1, 2, 3, and 4 are only shown and indicated in FIG. 1 and are omitted from the remaining figures for clarity; however, it will be understood that references to quadrants herein may apply to embodiments shown and discussed as if these quadrants were fully reproduced throughout the figures

Line C-C may be a diagonal line or first diagonal secondary axis oriented 45° between lines A-A and B-B and extending from first quadrant 1 through third quadrant 3. Line D-D may also be a diagonal line or second diagonal secondary axis oriented 45° to lines A-A and B-B; however, line D-D may extend from second quadrant 2 to fourth quadrant 4. As shown in the figures, axes or lines C-C and D-D may be oriented at 45° relative to lines A-A and B-B, thus it will be recognized and understood that lines C-C and D-D may be oriented perpendicularly relative to each other. Accordingly, in each quadrant, the angles between lines will either be 45°, when comparing one of lines A-A or B-B to one of lines C-C or D-D, or 90° when comparing line A-A to B-B or lines C-C to D-D.

For further clarity, and with regards to how these lines relate to a human leg and foot, line A-A would extend from the heel of the foot to the front of the foot and/or toe region with the heel representing the rear and the foot and toes representing the front. Line B-B may extend along the left to right axis (i.e., lateral axis) through the lower leg and foot. According to one aspect, line B-B may extend left to right through the ankle of the wearer. Lines A-A and B-B may intersect at a point between the ankle bones, above the heel of the wearer. Lines C-C and D-D may then further intersect at the same point above the heel and between the ankle bones of the wearer, but with the 45° diagonal orientation to lines A-A and B-B, as discussed above.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a prior art sock 10 having fasteners 22 attached thereto is shown. Prior art sock 10 may be substantially identical to the generic sock 10 shown in FIG. 1, but for the presence of fasteners 22. As discussed in the background above, prior art sock 10 may have one or more fasteners 22 on the left and/or right sides of sock 10 generally along line B-B, thus, placing fasteners 22 at or near the lateral sides of the ankles of the wearer.

While prior art sock 10 may have been effective to keep sock 10 mated to a pant leg or the like, the specific configuration of fasteners 22 along the left and/or right sides along line B-B fails to prevent the removal of sock 10 from a wearer's foot because a child can still pull or “slip” their heel out of sock 10. Instead, the prior art sock 10 is permitted to be removed while remaining attached or otherwise fastened to the wearer's pant leg or similar article of clothing.

With reference now to FIG. 3, a sock of the present disclosure is generally shown as sock 110. Sock 110 is typically formed from a material such as cotton or polyester that substantially define a body of the sock 110. The body of sock 110 includes an upper portion 112, a lower portion 114, an opening 116, a cuff 118, and a heel 120. The front end of the sock 110 is generally defined by a region of the body of the sock 110 that is sized to accept toes of the wearer and is longitudinally spaced (i.e., along the anterior-posterior direction; front-to-rear) from a rear end of the sock that is generally defined by the heel 120. The cuff 118 is located towards the rear of the sock 110 above the heel 120. Sock 110 may also be any article of clothing worn on or about the lower extremities, including casual socks, dress socks, trouser socks, tights, slippers, booties, boots, shoes, or the like.

As with sock 10, upper portion 112 of sock 110 may be generally defined as the portion of sock 110 that extends above the foot and contacts the leg of the wearer. Upper portion 112 may be best illustrated in FIG. 4. Similarly, lower portion 114 of sock 110 may be the portion extending forward and covering the foot and toes of the wearer.

Opening 116 of sock 110 may be generally circular and may be defined as the uppermost area of sock 110 where the wearer's foot may be inserted into the interior of sock 110.

Cuff 118 of sock 110 may surround and define opening 116 and may form a reinforced hem or other similar surface. Cuff 118 may further be a folded over double layer of material that is stitched or otherwise fixed to itself creating a thicker band. Cuff 118 may include an elastic band or material therein to help cuff 118 conform to the contours of the wearer's leg thereby further helping to secure sock 110 in place while being worn.

Heel 120 of sock 110 may be the portion between the upper portion 112 and lower portion 114 that rests on or about the wearer's heel. Heel 120 may be reinforced with a double layer of material or may be reinforced by a thicker material placed thereon. Heel 120 is best illustrated in FIG. 4.

With continued reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a sock 110 of the current disclosure may include a connector or fastener 122. Fastener 122 may be any suitable fastener, including but not limited to a snap, button, a hook and loop fastener or other fasteners suitable for releasably securing sock 110 to a pant leg 124 as discussed further herein. According to another aspect, fastener 122 may be constructed out of any material, including but not limited to metal, plastic or other suitable materials. Similarly, fastener 122 may be affixed to sock 110 by any suitable method, including but not limited to stitching, fabric welding, adhesives or the like.

Unlike prior art fasteners 22, fastener 122 may be placed on or near (such as slightly below) the cuff 118 of sock 110 at or near the rear portion thereof. According to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, fastener 122 may be placed on the anterior/posterior midline or axis indicated by line A-A on the rear portion (posterior side) of opening 116, thus aligning fastener 122 with the heel of the wearer's foot and the back or the posterior of wearer's leg. More particularly, when fastener 122 is embodied as a snap-type connector, the snap-type connector includes a perimeter edge that is typically circular. The circular edge or perimeter edge of the fastener directly intersects the anterior-posterior midline, shown as line A-A, that equally divides opening 116 into left and right halves. In one particular embodiment, this specific placement is critical to the functionality of the present disclosure and specifically distinguishes this configuration from the prior art. Namely, by aligning the fastener 122 along the anterior-posterior midline, the sock 110 is able to prevent a child from pulling or “slipping” their heel out of sock 110, and is in direct contradistinction to the prior art which only had connectors on the sides of the socks (as shown in FIG. 2) and would allow for a child to slip their heel out of the prior art sock 10.

Although the aforementioned configuration disposes the fastener 122 along the anterior-posterior midline or axis (line A-A), according to another embodiment, fastener 122 may be placed on the rear portion of sock 110 within 45° to either side of line A-A. According to this embodiment, placement of fastener 122 may then occupy any position within 90° along cuff 118 of sock 110 as indicated as angle X in FIG. 3 that is defined between line C-C and line D-D. The placement of fastener 122 within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline (line A-A), the fastener 122 is still able to perform its desired function of connecting the sock (i.e., a first article of clothing) to a pant leg (i.e., a second article of clothing) and prevent the wearer from slipping their heel out of the sock with the first fastener 122 is connected to a complementary fastener on the pant leg.

With reference to FIG. 4, fastener 122 may define a first half 122A affixed to sock 110 and a second half 1228 affixed to a pant leg 124 or other similar article of clothing. As discussed further herein, this may allow the operational mating connection between the sock 110 and the rear of pant leg 124. According to one non-limiting example, fastener 122A may be a male portion of a snap affixed to cuff 118 of sock 110 while fastener 122B may be a female portion of a snap affixed to the hem or lower portion of pant leg 124 such that operational connection therebetween may be made as discussed further herein.

With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, according to another embodiment, a pair of socks 110 may each have a fastener 122 affixed to the rear portion thereof. According to this embodiment, one of the socks 110 may have a male fastener 122A while the other sock may have a female fastener 122B. When worn, each pant leg 124 may have the corresponding complementary fastener 122A/B to allow operable connection thereto; however, when socks 110 are not being worn and are instead being stored, such as in a drawer, or laundered, the inclusion of a male fastener 122A and female fastener 122B on separate socks 110 may allow the socks to be mated, as shown in FIG. 5B. This may further prevent pairs from being separated during laundering or when otherwise not being worn.

With reference now to FIG. 6, according to another embodiment, sock 110 may have more than one fastener 122 affixed thereto. According to this embodiment, sock 110 may have three fasteners 122 affixed at each of the left and right sides along line B-B as well as on the posterior portion of sock 110 along line A-A, or within 45° to either side thereof. According to this embodiment, each of fasteners 122 may have corresponding fasteners with associated pant leg 124 or similar article of clothing. In yet another embodiment having more than one fastener 122, there can be two or more fasteners 122 located with 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline (i.e., line A-A).

With reference to FIG. 7, an alternative embodiment is shown wherein the article of clothing may be a glove or a mitten, indicated as 210. Although discussed herein as a mitten 210, it will be understood that mitten 210 may be any clothing article worn on or about the upper extremities, including gloves, mittens, muffs, scratch mittens, or any other article of clothing.

According to this embodiment, mitten 210 may have an upper portion 212, a lower portion 214, an opening 216 and a cuff 218 corresponding to similar structures on sock 110. Further according to this embodiment, the upper portion 212 of mitten 210 may be defined as the portion covering the back of the hand and the wrist while the lower portion 214 may be the portion covering the knuckles and fingers.

Opening 216 may be the opening wherein a wearer may insert his or her hand into the interior of mitten 210. Cuff 218 may be the uppermost portion covering the wrist and may include a wrist roll or tightening device, such as a wrist strap thereon.

As with socks 10 and 110, this embodiment may likewise be intersected into similar proportions by the series of axis lines A-A, B-B, C-C, and D-D. Specifically, line A-A may run in an anterior-posterior direction and may separate opening 216 into a left half and a right half with the left and right halves being defined when viewing the mitten 210 from the back of the hand. Line A-A of mitten 210 may run through the wrist from the palm side of the hand to the back side of the hand while line B-B may run through the wrist from side to side in the direction between the pinkie and the thumb of the hand. Lines A-A and B-B may intersect at a point near the midpoint within the wrist. As with lines C-C and D-D of sock 110, lines C-C and D-D of mitten 210 may be oriented 45° from lines A-A and B-B and 90° relative to each other. Mitten 210 may therefore have the same four quadrants 1-4 with lines C-C and D-D extending therethrough, as depicted and discussed with reference to FIG. 1.

Mitten 210 may further have a fastener 222 affixed on the cuff 218 thereof along line A-A on the posterior portion of mitten 210. Further according to this embodiment, fastener 222 may be placed on cuff 218 of mitten 210 at any position within the 90° angle indicated as angle X between lines C-C and D-D. As with sock 110 and fastener 122, fastener 222 of mitten 210 may be any fastener type as chosen for the particular implementation thereof.

Fasteners 222 may be male or female, as chosen for the particular implementation. According to one aspect, as with the embodiment of sock 110 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, mitten 210 may have a male fastener 222A on one hand and a female fastener 222B on the other for easy mating when not being worn.

Fasteners 22 may connect with a similar and corresponding fastener 22 affixed to a sleeve (not shown) of an associated article of clothing, such as a coat.

Having thus described the elements and features of the present clothing article and connectors, the operation and use thereof will be further discussed.

In operation and as best illustrated with reference to FIGS. 3-5B, the article of clothing with connectors of the present disclosure described herein as sock 110 and/or mitten 210 may be used according to the following method.

Sock 110 may be paired with an article of clothing such as pants including pant leg 124 having a similar fastener 122 affixed to an interior 126 rear portion thereof. Pants and socks may be placed on the legs and feet, respectively, of a wearer while cuff 118 of sock 110 may be inserted into the interior 126 of pant leg 124 wherein a fastener portion 122A/B on sock 110 may be aligned with an opposite fastener portion 122A/B on pant leg 124.

According to embodiments where in fasteners 122 are snaps, pressure may be applied thus affixing snaps together and connecting sock 110 to pant leg 124. Removal thereof simply involves reversing the process and separating fasteners 122A and 1228 thereby allowing removal of the sock 110 and/or pant leg 124 from the wearer.

The process may be identical for mitten 210, with the exception of the cuff 218 of mitten 210 being inserted into a sleeve of an associated garment, rather than into pant leg 124.

When engaged, fastener 122 is contemplated and will be understood to secure the sock 110 to the associated pant leg 124 such that a wearer cannot easily remove the sock 110 without first disconnecting fastener 122. As described and discussed herein, sock 110 is anticipated for use with small children, such as infants and toddlers who are known to grasp the toe region or lower portion 114 of sock 110 to pull the sock 110 off of their foot. Similarly, the child may pull or bite on the lower portion 214 of mitten 210. This behavior is common across all young children as they grow and develop and become aware of their feet and toes. As this behavior may cause lost articles of clothing, including socks and booties, it may also expose the child's extremities to unfavorable temperatures which may be the case in colder climates or colder seasons. Additionally, when a child can quickly and easily remove an article, such as sock 110, they often may throw the sock 110 or may alternatively place the sock 110 in their mouth. These actions may increase the risk that the article is lost or alternatively increase the risk of germ transfer and/or choking when the article is placed into the child's mouth.

In prior art versions where fasteners were displaced only to the left and/or right sides of sock 10, children were quickly and easily able to remove the sock 10 from their foot because the sock could stretch and pull off of the child's heel. Although the sock may remain attached to the pants or other similar articles, the child's foot may still be exposed to unsanitary or adverse conditions, such as cold ambient temperatures. Sock 110 having a fastener 122 disposed on the posterior side of cuff 118 along the anterior-posterior midline (or within 45 degrees thereof) alleviates this issue by preventing and/or completely frustrating a child's ability to remove the sock 110 from by slipping their heel out of sock 110 foot without first disconnecting fasteners 122.

In operation and with continued reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a method of connecting two articles of clothing may comprise: donning a first article of clothing (i.e., sock 110) having the first fastener 122A affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline (line A-A) of the first article of clothing. Then, the method may provide donning a second article of clothing (i.e., pants having pant leg 124) having the second fastener 122B affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing. This method then provides for aligning the first fastener 122A with the second fastener 122B when the first and second articles of clothing (sock 110 and pant leg 124, respective) are donned. Then, the method provides for coupling the first fastener 122A to the second fastener 122B, wherein the coupling of the first and second fasteners within 45° of the anterior-posterior midline is adapted to frustrate the ability to remove the first article of clothing.

This exemplary method may further provide for aligning the first fastener 122A along the anterior-posterior midline (line A-A) of the first article of clothing or sock 110. Then, selectively and releasably coupling the first fastener 122A to the second fastener 122B along the anterior-posterior midline (line A-A) of the first article of clothing.

In furtherance to this example in which the first article of clothing is sock 110 and the second article of clothing includes pant leg 124, additional steps and features are shown with respect to FIG. 5B. This exemplary method may continue to provide de-coupling the first fastener 122A from the second fastener 122B on pant leg 124 (FIG. 4). Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the method provides selectively coupling the sock 110 to another sock (shown also as sock 110 in FIG. 5B) having a third fastener (shown as 122B in FIG. 5B) affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the another sock, thereby defining a mated pair of socks, as clearly seen in FIG. 5B. Thereafter, the method provides for washing the mated pair of socks, and drying the mated pair of socks, wherein the selectively coupled first and third fasteners remain coupled while washing and drying the mated pair which is adapted to prevent the mated pair of socks from being lost or otherwise separated in the washing and drying cycle or steps.

With reference to FIG. 6, with regards to the embodiment wherein mitten 210 is adorned with one or more fasteners 222, a similar issue is solved by placement of the snap on the posterior side of cuff 218 in that a child pulling on the lower portion 214 of mitten 210 will be frustrated and unable to remove their hand from their mitten without first disconnecting fastener 222.

As further discussed herein, embodiments of the present disclosure have been discussed having one fastener 122 in place or alternatively having three fasteners 122 in place; however, it will be recognized and further understood that any number greater than one fastener 122 may be employed in multiple positions provided at least one fastener 122 is placed in the posterior positions as discussed herein.

Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

The articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.” The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims (if at all), should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc. As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

When a feature or element is herein referred to as being “on” another feature or element, it can be directly on the other feature or element or intervening features and/or elements may also be present. In contrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly on” another feature or element, there are no intervening features or elements present. It will also be understood that, when a feature or element is referred to as being “connected”, “attached” or “coupled” to another feature or element, it can be directly connected, attached or coupled to the other feature or element or intervening features or elements may be present. In contrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly connected”, “directly attached” or “directly coupled” to another feature or element, there are no intervening features or elements present. Although described or shown with respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so described or shown can apply to other embodiments. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper”, “above”, “behind”, “in front of”, and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if a device in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the terms “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “lateral”, “transverse”, “longitudinal”, and the like are used herein for the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicated otherwise.

Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describe various features/elements, these features/elements should not be limited by these terms, unless the context indicates otherwise. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature/element from another feature/element. Thus, a first feature/element discussed herein could be termed a second feature/element, and similarly, a second feature/element discussed herein could be termed a first feature/element without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

An embodiment is an implementation or example of the present disclosure. Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” or “other embodiments,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the invention. The various appearances “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” or “other embodiments,” or the like, are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments.

If this specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in the examples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may be read as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if the term does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately” may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate that the value and/or position described is within a reasonable expected range of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may have a value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10% of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein.

Additionally, any method of performing the present disclosure may occur in a sequence different than those described herein. Accordingly, no sequence of the method should be read as a limitation unless explicitly stated. It is recognizable that performing some of the steps of the method in a different order could achieve a similar result.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of various embodiments of the disclosure are examples and the disclosure is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Claims

1. An article of clothing comprising: fabric material defining a body;an upper portion opposite a lower portion;a front end opposite a rear end defining an anterior-posterior midline therebetween;wherein the body defines an opening near the rear end and near the upper portion;an anterior-posterior midline extending centrally through the opening;a first fastener affixed to a rear portion of the body adjacent the opening within 45° of either side of the anterior-posterior midline; andwherein the first fastener on the article of clothing is adapted to releasably couple with a complementary fastener on a second article of clothing.

2. The article of clothing of claim 1, wherein the first article of clothing is a sock and wherein the sock comprises: a heel of the sock;a cuff defining the opening to the sock located above the heel;wherein the anterior-posterior midline divides, equally and centrally, the opening into left and right halves;a lateral midline that divides the opening into front and rear portions;wherein the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline perpendicularly intersect to divide the opening into four quadrants, wherein the four quadrants include a rear left first quadrant, a rear-right second quadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and a front-left fourth quadrant;a first diagonal axis extending through the first quadrant and the third quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline;a second diagonal axis extending through the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; andwherein the first fastener is disposed between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

3. The article of clothing of claim 2, wherein the first fastener is adjacent the cuff between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

4. The article of clothing of claim 2, further comprising: an edge of the first fastener, wherein the edge of the first fastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline.

5. The article of clothing of claim 4, further comprising: a circular configuration of the edge of the first fastener, and wherein the first fastener is a snap-type fastener.

6. The article of clothing of claim 2, further comprising: a second fastener affixed to one side of the body of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

7. The article of clothing of claim 6, further comprising: a third fastener affixed to another side of the body of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

8. The article of clothing of claim 7, wherein the second fastener is diametrically opposite the third fastener.

9. The article of clothing of claim 8, wherein the second fastener is diametrically opposite the third fastener along the lateral midline.

10. The article of clothing of claim 7, further comprising: a circular configuration of an edge of the second fastener, and wherein the second fastener is a snap-type fastener; anda circular configuration of an edge of the third fastener, and wherein the third fastener is a snap-type fastener.

11. An system comprising: a first article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; anda second article of clothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing and aligned with the first fastener when the first and second articles of clothing are worn, and the second fastener operable to engage the first fastener to releasably attach the first article of clothing to the second article of clothing.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first article of clothing is a sock and the second article of clothing includes a pant leg, and wherein the sock comprises: a cuff defining an opening to the sock;wherein the anterior-posterior midline divides, equally and centrally, the opening into left and right halves;a lateral midline that divides the opening into front and rear portions;wherein the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline perpendicularly intersect to divide the opening into four quadrants, wherein the four quadrants include a rear left first quadrant, a rear-right second quadrant, a front-right third quadrant, and a front-left fourth quadrant;a first diagonal axis extending through the first quadrant and the third quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline;a second diagonal axis extending through the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant at a 45° angle from the anterior-posterior midline and the lateral midline; andwherein the first fastener is disposed between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising: wherein the first fastener is adjacent the cuff between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising: an edge of the first fastener, wherein the edge of the first fastener intersects the anterior-posterior midline.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising: a circular configuration of the edge of the first fastener, and wherein the first fastener is a snap-type fastener.

16. The system of claim 12, further comprising: two additional fasteners affixed to respective sides of the sock adjacent the cuff and the opening within 45° of either side of the lateral midline between the first diagonal axis and the second diagonal axis.

17. A method of connecting two articles of clothing comprising: donning a first article of clothing having a first fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing;donning a second article of clothing having a second fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of the anterior-posterior midline of the second article of clothing;aligning the first fastener with the second fastener when the first and second articles of clothing are donned; andcoupling the first fastener to the second fastener, wherein the coupling of the first and second fasteners within 45° of the anterior-posterior midline is adapted to frustrate the ability to remove the first article of clothing.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: aligning the first fastener along the anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing; andcoupling the first fastener to the second fastener along the anterior-posterior midline of the first article of clothing.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first article of clothing is a sock and the second article of clothing includes a pant leg, further comprising: de-coupling the first fastener from the second fastener; andselectively coupling the sock to another sock having a third fastener affixed to a rear portion thereof within 45° to either side of an anterior-posterior midline of the another sock, thereby defining a mated pair of socks.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: washing the mated pair of socks; anddrying the mated pair of socks, wherein the selectively coupled first and third fasteners remain coupled while washing and drying the mated pair of socks.