Patent Application
20120292351
The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to a method and apparatus to expand pant fabric. More particularly, the subject matter relates to an inflatable object for insertion into the waist section of pants.
People wear a variety of different types of pants for a variety of different occasions, such as jeans, khakis, capris, flood pants, overalls, or the like. It may be necessary to replace a pair of pants for various reasons. For example, the pants may be worn out with frays or even holes. Pants may also be outgrown, particularly in the case of a child getting older and bigger. The fabric in pants may also shrink due to machine washing and drying. Adults may also need to replace a pair of pants if they no longer fit because a wearer has gained weight since the time the pants were originally purchased. However, purchasing a new pair of pants, or an entire wardrobe of new pants, may be an expensive and time consuming endeavor. For this reason, a person may choose to wear pants that are uncomfortably tight. Additionally, a person may have a particular favorite pair of pants that they are particularly attached to despite a tight fit. Alternately, the purchase of new pants may be unnecessary if a person intends to lose any weight gained in the near future.
Thus, an apparatus and method for expanding pant fabric at the waist and thighs would be well received in the art.
According to one aspect of the invention, an inflatable object comprises a main body; a first bulge extending from the main body; and a second bulge extending from the main body; wherein the inflatable object is receivable within a pair of pants such that the first and second bulges are each configured to expand within a thigh portion of the pair of pants and the main body is configured to expand within a hip portion of the pair of pants; and wherein the inflatable object is made of an impermeable, elastic material that is capable of enduring a pressure that will stretch the pair of pants such that the pair of pants retains its stretched dimensions after deflation of the inflatable object.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method for expanding pants comprises inserting an inflatable object within a garment; inflating the inflatable object; retaining the inflatable object within the garment; and stretching the garment with the inflatable object such that the garment retains its stretched dimensions after deflation of the inflatable object.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
A detailed description of the hereinafter described embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
Referring firstly to
The inflatable object 10 includes two bulges 14, 16, each extending from the main body 12. It should be understood that the bulges 14, 16 may also be referred to as protrusions, extensions, projections, leg portions or the like. The first bulge 14 and the second bulge 16 may be similarly shaped, and may each be configured to expand within a corresponding thigh portion 20 of the pair of pants 18. The length by which the bulges 14, 16 are shown to protrude form the main body 12 may vary. In the embodiment shown in the Figures, the bulges 14, 16 protrude to just above a knee portion of the intended pair of pants 18 to be stretched. In another embodiment, the bulges 14, 16 may extend beyond the knees, if it is intended to stretch the knee portion and a calf portion 24 of the pants 18. It should be understood that the two bulges 14, 16 may stretch each thigh evenly, rather than having only one thigh stretched, as may occur in the case that the inflatable object 10 is spherical and without the bulges 14, 16.
The inflatable object 10 is further shown having an inlet 26 through which air is introduced to inflate the main body 12 and bulges 14, 16. It should be understood that the inlet 26 may also be a nozzle, valve, plug, spigot, tap or the like. The inlet 26 may be receptive on an inflating device (not shown) that may supply air pressure to the inflatable object. The inlet 26 may be receptive of any type of inflating device. For example, the inlet 26 may be receptive of a nozzle or tube element of an inflating device. It should be understood that the inflating device may be a manual air supplying device, such as a manual pump or bellow. Alternately, an automatic air supplying device may be utilized. In the case of an automatic air supplying device, the device may be battery powered or may alternately be plugged into an outlet. It should be understood that the inlet 26 may be receptive of both manual and automatic inflating devices. The inlet may be additionally configured to allow for reception of air directly from a person's mouth.
The inlet 26 may be located antipodal to the bulges 14, 16 on the main body 12, as shown in the Figures. Antipodal herein refers to an antipode, or opposing location on a generally spherical object. However, the inlet 26 is not limited to this location. Any location that is accessible when the inflatable object 10 may be preferable. For example, the inlet 26 may be located at a tip of one of the bulges 14, 16. Furthermore, multiple inlets 26 may be included to provide different options for attaching an inflating device, depending on the garment being stretched.
The inflatable object 10 may also include at least one belt loop attachment mechanism 36. The inflatable object 10 is shown having two belt loop attachment mechanisms 36. However, any number of belt loop attachment mechanisms 36 is contemplated. The belt loop attachment mechanisms 36 may be configured to attach to a belt loop 38 on the pants 18 (shown in
The main body 12, in combination with the bulges 14, 16, may be particularly shaped depending on the particular style of pants that are intended to be expanded. For example, if the style of pants intended to be expanded is a straight cut pair of jeans, the main bulges 14, 16 may be straight. However, if the pair of jeans is flared, the bulges 14, 16 may also be flared if the bulges 14, 16 extend beyond the knees. A main body and extending bulges are contemplated for any particular style of pant and size. Furthermore, the inflatable object 10 may be configured to expand any type of pants. For example, the inflatable object 10 may be configured to stretch jeans, khakis, capris, flood pants, overalls, or even shorts.
Referring now to
The flaps 28 may be attached at the attachment locations 32 by the attachment mechanisms 30 prior to inflation of the inflatable object 10. In this embodiment, a user may push the bulges 14, 16 into the main body 12 of the inflatable object prior to inflation. After the flaps 28 have thereafter been attached, the inflatable object 10 may be inflated.
It should also be understood that the inflatable object 10 may not include the bulges 14, 16 in one embodiment. For example, the inflatable object 10 may simply have a spherical or substantially spherical shape. Alternate shapes are also contemplated. For example, the inflatable object may include an oblong cross section to fit within the waist of the pants and extending only to a crotch portion of pants, where the legs meet. In this embodiment, the inflatable object may not include any bulges, or may alternately include very small bulges that do not extend very far down the thigh portion.
Furthermore, the material of the inflatable object 10 may be made from an impermeable, resilient, elastic PVC material. PVC may be particularly ideal because of the Young's modulus of PVC is between 2900-3300 MPa and tensile strength is between 50-80 MPa. However, other materials are contemplated. For example, a rubber, polyethylene, Teflon, polypropylene, or the like. Furthermore, any material having a Young's modulus between 2600-3500 Mpa and a tensile strength between 40-100 MPa may be particularly advantageous. Whatever the material, it should be able to withstand enough pressure to permanently stretch a pair of pants without rupturing, as described hereinabove.
A further embodiment of the disclosure includes a method for expanding a garment, such as the pants 18. The method for expanding pants includes inserting an inflatable object, such as the inflatable object 10, within the garment and inflating the inflatable object. The method further includes retaining the inflatable object within the garment until the pants are stretched such that the pants retain their stretched dimensions after deflation of the inflatable object. This may take a predetermined period of time. The predetermined period may be seconds, minutes or hours. The required duration may depend on the amount of pressure applied and the material of the fabric to be stretched. The method may further include deflating the expandable object and withdrawing the expandable object from the pair of pants. Additionally, the method may include attaching one or more straps, such as the straps 28, having attachment mechanisms, such as the attachment mechanisms 30, to attachment locations, such as the attachment locations 32. Still further, the method may include performing exercises with the inflatable object.
Elements of the embodiments have been introduced with either the articles “a” or “an.” The articles are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “including” and “having” and their derivatives are intended to be inclusive such that there may be additional elements other than the elements listed. The conjunction “or” when used with a list of at least two terms is intended to mean any term or combination of terms. The terms “first” and “second” are used to distinguish elements and are not used to denote a particular order.
While the disclosure has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the disclosure is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the disclosure can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Additionally, while various embodiments of the disclosure have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the disclosure may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
