Patent Application
20140304893
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pants and, more specifically, to a pants garment having a closable exterior slit extending from the pant leg bottom to a terminus with a removably attachable inset fastened to the periphery of the slit. The inset, or gusset, is removably attached by means such as snaps, zippers, buttons or Velcro™.
Additionally, the gusset has a pleated and/or gathered portion causing the fabric material to ripple while walking. Additionally the gusset of the present invention is removable to allow for increased comfort while the slit is closed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other pants with interchangeable inserts designed for a similar purpose. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,435 issued to Miele on Aug. 5, 1980.
Another patent was issued to Charron on Jan. 27, 1987 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,699. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,223 was issued to Andrews on Dec. 19, 2000 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 23, 2001 to Chou as U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,027.
Another patent was issued to Blake on Nov. 12, 2002 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,716. Another U.S. Pat. No. 7,231,671 was issued to Allen on Jun. 19, 2007 and yet another issued to Girod on Apr. 1, 2008 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,350,242. An International patent application was published on Aug. 2, 2007 to Mullen as publication no. WO2007/087532.
Convertible trousers including a body portion configured to be placed on the lower half of a human torso in a conventional manner, a pair of leg portions for accommodating therein a pair of human legs, the leg portions each comprising a plurality of flexible interchangeable tubular elements, and means for selectively removeably securing the flexible interchangeable tubular elements coextensively together. The tubular elements may be joined to the body portion in various configurations to produce a garment of a variable length which may be altered to present several different visual appearances.
Protective trousers for wearing over the lower portion of a dry or wet diving suit include a pair of panels joined at the crotch area and defining leg, hip and waist encircling elements. Clips and straps are provided for connecting the open side edges of the trousers, and for securing the bottom ends of the trousers to the feet of a user.
The firefighter's turnout pants according to the invention are designed so that each pant leg comprises a front panel and a back panel above the knee region, the panels being joined by an outseam and an inseam, and cylindrical panels below the knee region, the cylindrical panels being each joined by only an outseam and connected via a circumferential seam at the knee to the two-panels above the knee. The absence of an inseam below the knee of the firefighter's pants eliminates a chronic problem of abrasion of the threads used in that portion of the inseam and subsequent failure of the inseam. The absence below the knee of an inseam with the potential for failure reduces the maintenance and repair of the firefighter pants, reduces the risk of burn injury resulting from a breach in the protective envelope of the firefighter's pants, and reduces the incidence of reflective trim becoming coincidentally detached from the pants.
A pair of pants that is easily separable at the crotch into right and left leg portions. Each leg portion is selected from a set of various styles to flexibly create a custom mixed or matched style for a given wearing of the pants. A closure system is provided for quick and convenient separation and re-combination of the leg portions while also providing secure use of the pants.
Pants with a spiral seam with a zipper provided from a torso part of pants extending downward to lower ends of the pants legs spirally around the respective pants leg and away from a front side of the knee.
Uniform pants are disclosed. The pants are particularly well suited for persons in law enforcement, the military, security, construction and the like as well as medical patients and senior citizens who desire easier access, convenience and safety when attending to their restroom needs. The pants comprise: a) a waistband; (b) two leg members extending from the waistband; a continuous fastener member positioned along the inseam of the leg members, wherein the fastener member begins at a point above the bottom edge of one leg member and extends upwardly and through the crotch area and then downwardly along the second leg member and ends at a point above the bottom edge of the second leg member; and wherein the positioning of the fastener member creates an opening between the bottom edge of the inseam and the fastener member on each leg member; and (d) a separate protective shield positioned beneath the full length of the fastener member. Fastener members include zippers, snaps, buttons, hooks, and hook and loop type fasteners. The zipper is of the regular, visible or invisible type when positioned inside the pants. Additionally, the inclusion of a continuous outer flap on top of the fastener member functions to conceal the fastener member from view. This outer flap is unnecessary when an invisible type zipper is used as the fastener member.
Variable leg width trousers, offering the wearer the ability to change the diameter of the lower leg sections of the trousers near the foot end while keeping the diameter of the upper leg sections constant. Each lower leg section is formed to have a width adjustment slot. The trousers may include a width adjusting insert, releasably attached to the lower leg sections by at least one joining device for each width adjustment slot, with which to vary the size of the width adjusting inserts. This allows the user to select the contraction or expansion of each lower leg section for functionality or appearance. The inserts may be constructed of the same material as the trousers or may be constructed of contrasting materials and/or colors. The width adjusting inserts may incorporate decorative indicia or expressive indicia, or may bear certain functional features, such as reflectors or pockets.
Garments having an inside-out appearance are disclosed and are designed to be inside-out and fashionable. Unique fasteners, belt carriers and modifications of pockets make possible wearing a garment having an inside-out appearance. When a conventional garment is turned inside out many features such as belt carriers, zippers, and pockets become difficult or impossible to use when the garment is worn. Garments disclosed herein permit full use of features such as belt carriers, buttons, zippers, and pockets.
A garment constructed so that parts of the garment are detachable and interchangeable. For a pair of pants, the top portion of the garment is made of a pair of shorts, Capri pants, gauchos, or pants. A fastener is attached to each pants leg, either at the hem or some inches above the hem. The fastener can be exposed or covered by fabric. Extenders, which may be made of any kind of fabric and in a variety of shapes (i.e., bell bottoms, flares or straight), attach to the fastener of the garment, changing the appearance and style of the garment by adding length, various trims such as fur or leather, or various colors, textures and/or patterns to the existing fabrics. For example, a pair of shorts could be converted into Capri or full length pants or simply be given a trim.
While these pants may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide pants having a closable exterior slit extending from the pant leg bottom to a terminus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide pants having an inset, or gusset, which is removably attachable to the periphery of the slit.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide pants having a gusset which is removably attachable to the periphery of the slit by means selected from the group of snaps, zippers, buttons and Velcro.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide pants with a removable gusset having a pleated and/or gathered portion at its apex causing the fabric material to ripple while walking.
Another object of the present invention is to provide pants having gussets that are interchangeable.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide pants having gussets with different colors and/or designs.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing pants having a closable exterior slit extending from the pant leg bottom to a terminus with a removably attachable gusset fastened to the periphery of the slit. The gusset is removably attached by means taken from the group of snaps, zippers, buttons and Velcro. The gusset has a pleat at its apex causing the fabric material to ripple while walking.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.
The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the pants having removable gussets of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures.
The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention (and several variations of that embodiment). This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims.
Illustrated is an embodiment of the invention wherein the fabric material making up the gusset 16 flares out from the terminus 26 to the hem 20 and further includes a plurality of vertical pleats 38. The pants garment 10 of the present invention can have one or both legs having removable gussets 16. The slit 22 can be situated at any vertical line along the pant leg 14; shown is an embodiment wherein the slit 22 runs vertically up an outside portion 40 of the pant leg 14 and is generally co-linear to a seam 42 in the pant leg 14.
In use a user 12 attaches a gusset 16 to the pant leg 14, then manipulates the zipper 28 to a desired position, such as an open 44, closed or partially open 46 position. Shown is the zipper 28 in an open position 44 and a partially open position 46. Optionally, the zipper 28 is adapted to remain in the selected position.
The present invention can be used with many different fabric types and designs. In particular, a fatigue (military) fabric can be used for an army pants style that is popular with teenagers, a brightly colored bandana style can be used for a “square dance” look, a leather shaggy look fabric with dangling strips or fringes can be used for a western look, satin can be used for wedding parties, and many other fabric types and designs can be incorporated into the present invention. Combinations of the above can also be used. In particular, the front and back of the insert can use different materials to allow quick changeability of style, or even to have a different look on each leg. All of the components of the present invention are interchangeable and can be combined in any way. Any style, look, material or pattern is within the scope of the present invention. The present invention can be used for all women's pants of any type.
The insert can be sewn double to form a bag with a second layer of similar (or even different) material 62 sewn behind the outer layer. One or more drawstrings 63 can be used to close the bag. A hook 64 can be attached to the top of the insert 59 so that when the invention is turned inside-out, the hook 64 becomes exposed and allows hanging of the bag. While a reversible bag allows a hidden hook and other features, it should be understood that it is not essential to the invention that the insert or flare be reversed (or reversible). As can clearly be seen from
While the insert of
As previously stated, the present invention, if at least partially made from water-resistant (or waterproof) material can act as a pool-pillow when inflated. Of course, it should not be used as a safety float or other safety device, but rather as a fun water toy. Using water-resistant material, the device can also be used as a wet towel or wet top, or as stated, to carry wet items. The internal hook 64, when present, can allow hanging of the wet device to a locker, bike, car door or other location to dry.
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/313,144 filed Dec. 7, 2011 which was a continuation-in part of application Ser. No. 12/349,398 filed Jan. 6, 2009. Application Ser. Nos. 13/313,144 and 12/349,398 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13313144 | Dec 2011 | US |
| Child | 14174373 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12349398 | Jan 2009 | US |
| Child | 13313144 | US |
