CA1123552A - Knee pad receiving pocket for work pants or the like - Google Patents
Knee pad receiving pocket for work pants or the likeInfo
- Publication number
- CA1123552A CA1123552A CA381,220A CA381220A CA1123552A CA 1123552 A CA1123552 A CA 1123552A CA 381220 A CA381220 A CA 381220A CA 1123552 A CA1123552 A CA 1123552A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- panel
- leg
- knee
- generally
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D1/00—Garments
- A41D1/06—Trousers
- A41D1/067—Trousers with reinforcement patches
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
- A41D13/05—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches protecting only a particular body part
- A41D13/055—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body
- A41D13/0581—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body with permanent fastening means
- A41D13/0593—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body with permanent fastening means in a sealed pocket
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
- A41D13/05—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches protecting only a particular body part
- A41D13/06—Knee or foot
- A41D13/065—Knee protectors
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A41—WEARING APPAREL
- A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
- A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
- A41D13/05—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches protecting only a particular body part
- A41D13/055—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body
- A41D13/0556—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body with releasable fastening means
- A41D13/0575—Protector fastening, e.g. on the human body with releasable fastening means in an openable pocket
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A knee protector for insertion in a pocket in the legs of work pants or the like is of a V-shaped cross-sectional configuration to improve appearance of the pants with the pad in place, to reduce inconvenience of wearing the protector and to provide a self centering effect reducing inadvertent side-wise shift of the padded part of the leg away from its operative position in front of the wearer's knee. A pocket for use with the pad is of a width sufficient for stitching the pocket to the pant leg along a stitch line coincident with the inseam and the outseam of the leg to enable further improvement in the appearance by concealing the stitch line and placing the pocket inside the respective leg. Both the pad and the pocket can also be used with a different pocket or pad, respectively.
A knee protector for insertion in a pocket in the legs of work pants or the like is of a V-shaped cross-sectional configuration to improve appearance of the pants with the pad in place, to reduce inconvenience of wearing the protector and to provide a self centering effect reducing inadvertent side-wise shift of the padded part of the leg away from its operative position in front of the wearer's knee. A pocket for use with the pad is of a width sufficient for stitching the pocket to the pant leg along a stitch line coincident with the inseam and the outseam of the leg to enable further improvement in the appearance by concealing the stitch line and placing the pocket inside the respective leg. Both the pad and the pocket can also be used with a different pocket or pad, respectively.
Description
~3SS~
A KNEE PROTECTOR FOR WORK PANTS OP~ THE LIKE ~ :
The present invention relates to knee protectors for use in conjunction with work pants and in particular to a knee pro tectors of the type having a removable cushion like material inserted within a pocket arranged on the knee of legs of a pair of trousers, working pants or the like. The present invention relates, by the same token, to the structural features of a pocket for use with such knee prctector. Also, the pres-ent invention relates to the protecting cushion itself.
In a great number of diferent occupations, it is des-irable to protect one or both knees of the worker. Carpenters, electricians, floor tilers, roofers and airline employees load-ing the luggage and freight into the bellies of the planes are but a few of such occupations. These tradesmen often have to kneel or an extended period of time, and it is important that a suitable padding be provided for t:he personls knee not onl~
to increase the comfort while workiny but also to avoid the development of damages to the knee clue to it's exposure to relatively high pressures while kneeling.
Two basic kinds of knee protectors are known in the art.
The first kind is represented by a knitted type knee pad which is pulled directly over the leg. The disadvantage of the pull-on typa knee pad is that it restricts at the back of the leg when the knee is~bent and also is ver~ warm and thus uncomfort-able to wear.
The second group of known knee protectors is secured to the work pants. Basicall~, the legs of the pants are provided with a rectangular pocket in the knee portion and inserted within the pocket is a generally flat panel o~ a foam rubber-like material which can be removed when it is desired to wash . . , . , ~ ~.'. ,. ' ' ' : : :
- . . ~ .
- ~ :
. ,, .... ' : : -~3~i2 the pants and reinserted into the pocket afterwards. One of typical features of the known knee protectors of the type of inserts in work pants i5 that they attempt to simulate as closely as possible the rounded shape of the knee~ This gives rise to a certain discomfort as in certain positions there is not enough air ventilation between the pant leg with the cusion inserted and the knee, thus only partly eliminating one of the problems mentioned in connection with the pull-on type knee pad. Another problem associated with the known work pants of the above type i5 in that the pocket receiving the cushion distorts to a substantial degree the appearance of the pants while worn. This disadvantage is particularly considerable in work pants or uniforms wherein the appearance of the garment is of virtually the same significance as the effectiveness of the knee protector.
Uniforms for tradesmen servicing applicances and uniforms for cargo handling personnel of airlines are typical examples of a field wherein the appearance of the pants is of signicance.
Prior art referred to above is exemplified by the embodiments disclosed in Canadian patent 971,703 issued July 29, 1975 to James Atack et al., U.S. Patent 727,243 issued May 5, 1903 to Samuel ~ilkinson and in U.S. Patent 3,168,746 issued February 9, 1965 to R.D. Smith. The above Canadian patent describes athletic trousers including a reinforcing and protecting knee patch provided at the knee of each leg and attached by stitching. In addition, auxilliary pockets may be provided at the knees for the in-sertion of padding if desired. The knee pads are flat, oval pieces as best seen by schematic representations in Fig-ures 1 and 2 of the reference . U.S. Patent 727,243 is an indication that it has long been known to provide pockets at the exterior of the knee portion of the legs of a pair of pants for inserting therein a rectangular pad which can be removed while washing the garment. A flap closing the pocket is also disclosed. Basically the same structure is shown in the aforesaid U.S. Patent to R.D. Smith, number 3,168,746.
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~ 35S2 It is an object of the invention to urther advance the art of knee protectors of the second group as referred to before.
In particular, the object of the invention is to provide a knee protecting device of the above type which would secure sufficient ventilation between the knee and the inside of the trouser leg to which the protec~or is secured while, at the same time~ improving the appearance of the trousers by avoiding the substantial dis-tortion of the shape of the front crease of the trousers in the knee portion due to the inserted padding.
There are several aspects of the present lnvention which contxibute to the advance in the art. In one aspect, a knee protector is provided which comprises a padding element adapted to be removably secured to the knee portion of a trouser leg, and comprised of a pocket to be stitched to said leg and of a removable padding element complementary with the pocket for removable insertion into same, wherein said pocket includes a main panel having a normallv top edge portion, a normally bottom edge portion and two side edge portions, the spacing of said side edge portions from each other generally corresponding to the front width of the respective leg at the knee region thereof as measured from the respective inseam, over the respective ront crease portionl to the respective outseam, whereby the pocket can be stitched to the respective leg along two lines generally coincident with the inseam and with the outseam of the leg, respectively.
In another aspect of the present invention a pliable pocket is provided for use ~s a holder for removablv securing a knee padding element to a trouser leg, said pocket including a main pane-l of a size sufficient to allow the stitching thereof to a trouser leg along lines generally coincident with ~he inseam and with the outseam of the respective leg, while keeping the surface of the main panel generally coextensive with the surface of the leg at the knee region thereof.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides, for use with at least one of a pair of trouser legs, a knee protector pocket means adapted to be stitched to a respect-ive leg, to provide a pocket for removably inserting therein a knee protective padding element, said pocket means includ-,-. .
- ~
.
-4~ 35~
ing a pliable main panel having two mutually opposite side edge portions defining the width oE the panel, said width generally corresponding to the frontal width of the knee region of the respective leg as measured ky the sum of cross-sectional distance from the inseam to the front crease~ and from the front crease ~o the outseam of the leg, whereby said pocket means can be stitched to the respective leg along the inseam and the outseam thereof with one face of said panel being generally coincident with the surface of a portion of the leg at the knee thereof.
The present invention can also be defined as providing pliable pocket means adapted to be stitched to a knee of a trouser leg, said pocket including a pliable main panel whose width generally corresponds to the front width of the respect-ive leg at the knee portion thereof, as measured from:theinseam, over the front crease portion, to the outseam of the leg.
In a still further aspect, the present invention pro-vides a knee pad made of a cushioning material for placement into a pocket formed in the knee portion of a trouser leg, said knee pad comprising two generall~ flat padding panels gen-erally integral with each other and disposed at an angle relative to each other to define a generally straight ridge portion, whereby said pad can be secured to a trouser leg at the knee portion thereof with said ridge generally coexten-sive with the front crease region Oe the knee portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present in-vention, a padding member or element is provided for use as a padding insert in a leg of a pair of trousers, said padding member compxising two generally planar panel-like sections disposed such that the padding member is of a generally V~
shaped cross-sectional configuration.
The present invention also provides a knee padding as-sembly comprised of a pliable pocket member adapted for stitching to a leg of a paix of trousers, and a resilient padding element compl~mentary with the pocket member for removable insertion into same, w~erein said pocket member includes a panel whose width generally coresponds to the front width of a respective trouser leg as measured ~rom the inseam,over the front crease, to the outseam of the leg, ~' 35;5~
whereby the width of said panel is sufficient for stitching of the panel to a respective leg of trousers by stitches generally coincident with the inseam and with the outseam of the leg, respectively.
The knee padding assembly of the present invention can also be defined, in another aspect, as being comprised of a -pliable pocket member adapted for stitching to a leg of a pair of trousers at the knee section thereof, and of a r~silient padding element complementary with the pocket member, wherein said padding element is comprised of two cushioning panel-like sections combining to form a V-shaped cross-sectional configuration having a ridge extending from a normally upper end of the padding element to a normally lower end thereof, whereby the padding element can be placed lS into said pocket member when the latter is stitched to the respective leg, such that said ridge is generally parallel with the front crease of the respective leg at the knee portion thereof.
The invention can also be defined as providing work pants of the type having leg portions, at least one, prefexably each leg portion having a pliable pocket for receiving a cushioned member at the knee portion of the leg, said pocket being generally coextensive with a part of the leg at said knee portion, said pocket including a panel having two mutually opposite side portions stitched to the inseam region and to the out-seam region, respectively, of the leg, to conceal the stitch-ing of the side portions.
The present invention can be also referred to, in general terms, as providing, in combination with work pants of the type having leg portions, each leg portion having a pliable pocket stitched to the ~nee part of the respectiv~
leg; a padding element complementary with the respective pocket for insertion therein, each padding element being made of a resiliently deformable material and comprising two panel-shaped sections adjoining each other at an angle to form aridge extending from a normally upper end of the element to a normally lower end thereof, whereby the padding element is of a generally V-shaped.cross-sectional configur~tion.
~L~23S52 - 5a -According to a broad aspect of the invention a pair of trousers is provided including a pocket secured to at least one of the legs of the trousers interiorly of a front knee portion thereof, for receiving a padding element to protect the knee of a user, wherein said pocket is stiched to the respective leg solely by stitches disposed on sides of the pocket and generally parallel with the side seams and with the crease of the respective leg.
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The invention will now be described by way of two al-ternative preferred embodiments of work pants utilizing two embodiments of the pocket member and one embodiment of the padding element, it being un~erstood that modifications to the shown embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. The preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanving drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of working pants with a diagra~matic indication of the location and shape of the knee protectors, Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified embodimen~ of the work pants utilizing only one aspect of the invention;
Fig. 3 is section III-III of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is section IV-IV of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is section V-V of ~ig. l;
Fig. 6 is section VI-VI of Fig. 2;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing only the padding el-ement insertable into a pocket;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a preferred em-bodiment of the pocket; and Fig. 9 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 8 but showing another embodiment of the pocket.
For the sake of simplicity, the individual elements of the embodiments of Figs. 1 and 2 are shown as being identical to each other and will therefore be referred to with the same reference numerals.
Reference ~umeral 11 designates a pair of work pants 30 having two legs 1~, 13, each leg having an inseam 14, and an outseam 15 transversely opposite to the inseam 14. Reference numeral 16 designates front crease of leg 12 and reference numeral 17 designates similar crease of the leg 13.
As is well known, when the pant legs are flattened such that the creases 16, 17 form the respective edges of the fl~ttend configuration, the inseams 14 and outseams 15 are generally coincident and are slightly closer to the fron~
creases 15 than to the rear creases of the legs. Thus, when .
3~iS~
when the legs are stretched such as to flatten the respective crease 16 or 17 while rendering the inseam and outseam of the respective leg to form the "edge" of the transversley strech-ed leg, the distance between the two seams as measured across the front crease 16 or 17 is slightlv less than the corresponding distance as measured over the rear crease of the respective leg, which is shown by the fahric at the back being loose. This peripheral distance is also reerred to as a "ront" or "frontal"
width of the respective leg. The front width of the respective leg is signiicant with resnect to terminology used hereinafter with respect to some aspects of the present invention. Briefly, the front width is the sum of distance between inseam 1~ to crease 17 plus the distance between the crease 16 to the outseam 15, it being understood that reference to the respective portions at both legs is being made strictlv for the sake o.f convenience as the measurements are identical for both legs of the pants.
The first measurement is referred to with reference numeral 18, the second with reference numeral 19.
In Fig. 1, a rectangular ~ocket 20 is shown as being stitched interiorlv of each of the leg 12, 13 and receiving a particularly shaped cushion insert 21 as will be descrihed in greater detail later on. Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 show that the pocket 20 is stitched to each respective leg 12, 13 solelv along the respective inseam 14 an~ outseam 15, there being no stitches (Fig. 5) securing the pocket to the respective leg in addition to the two vertical stitch linesn ~ flap covering the pocket receiving ~he cus~ion 21 can also be ~rovided if desired but it was found out that it can be omitted if the cusion is ma~e of a material having suffi~ient frictional resistance at its surface.
The embodiment of ~ig. 2 is diferent in that the nocket 20 is stitched at the exterior of the respective legs 12, 13.
The stitching in this case is not identical with the stitching of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in that the vertical stitch lines of the pocket 20 are spaced from the respective inseam and outseam.
The pocket itself, therefore, is of the known type (of the above U.S.
patent to R.D. Smith). It is visible, however, even with the pants of Fig. 2, that the particular shape o the cushion 21 .' .: ~ ,, ~L~235iS2 as will be referred to hereinafter, still con~ributes to an im-proved appearance of the pants. It will be noted that in Fig. 2, the pocket 20 is additionally stitched to the respective leg along a bottom transverse line, at stitch 22. ~Tertical stitches 23, 24 which, in the embodiment of Fig. 1, are generally identical with the respective inseam 14 and outseam 15, hold the sides of the respective pocket 20 to the respective leg.
Thus, in summarv, the difference between the two embodiments is that Fig. 1 does not have the transverse stitch 22 and in that the vertical stitches 23, 24 in ~ig. 1 are coincident with the inseam and with the outseam of the respective leg. It is par-ticularly the embodiment of Fig. 1 that enhances the eye appealing neatness of the pair of legs bY concealing the pad inside the respective leg while enhancing, on top of the leg, the contin-UitY of the front crease. However, even with the embodiment of ~ig. 2, the appearance of the pants is enhanced by at least gen-erally maintaining the shape of the legs at the crease region of the knee section thereof.
~eference may now be had to the prefered emhodiment of the padding element shown in Fig.7 . The padding element or cushion 21 is an integral piece made of neoprene foam. The material is preferred because it is light, resistant to oil or the like, provides sufficiently high friction at the surface relative to the cloth of the pocket and of the pclnts which is of advantage from the standpoint of kee~ing the cushion 21 within the ~ocket 20 bv avoiding its undesired "travel'l out of the Pocket while the person wearing the pants is walking or the like.
The cushion is of a generally rectangular configuration in plan and consists of two rectangular panel-like sections 25, 26, each section 25, 26 bein~ generally planar and ~eing disposed at an angle of slightlY less than 90, to produce a ridge 27 extending from the normally upper end 28 to the normally lower end 29 of the cushion 21. The width of sections 25 and 26 is preferably the same. The overall width from one side _ to the other side 31 across the ridge 27 is such as to allow for convenient inserting of the cushion 21 into the pocket 20. It was found out that, for instance, with the embodiment of Fig. 1, the width of the 3~5~:
, ~ g cushion 21 can be considerablv less than that of the pocket.
In one embodiment, for instance, the width of the pocket is about 24 c~ while the overall width of the cushion amounted to only about 18 cm.
Those skilled in the art will readily a~preciate that a cushion memher such as the cushion 21 can be readily used even in conjunction with known types of pockets or pants, for instance, as disclosed in the above Smith U.S. Patent, 3,168,746.
Reference will now be made to Fig. 9 which shows what 0 is believed to be the simplest embodiment of the pocket 20 for use in a combination as shown in ~ig. 1.
The pocket lS made of a pliable textile material. It con-tains a main panel 32 having a normally upper edge 33 and a normally lower edge 34. The lower edge 34 is formed b~ a turned-over extension of the fabric, to provide a second panel 35 whose width is generally the same as that of the main panel 32 but the height of the second panel is smaller.
The two panels are stitched to each other along sides 36, 37.
In accordance with one inventive aspect of the present in-vention, the spacing between the side 36, 37 is such asto correspond to the distance (18 + 19) of the leg of work pants with which the pocket is to be used. This allows for stitching of the pocket 20 to the xespective leg such that the stitch securing the pocket 20 to the leg 12 or 13 is concealed by making same coincident with the inseam and out-seam of the leg.
It will be appreciated on comparing Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 that the second panel is disposed between the main panel 32 and the inside surface of the respective pant ley 1~ or 13 The turned-o~er lower edge 34 of the pocket thus forms the bottom of the pocket when the same is stitched to the pants and holds the cushion 21 securely without the need of a transverse stitch such as stich 22 of Fig. 2.
Fig. 9 is a pexspective view of another embodiment of the pocket 20 which is intended to merely show that the embodiment of Fig. 8 can be modified to a more or less sub-stantial degree without deParting rom the scope of the present invention. In the embodiment of Fig. 9, the pocket ~, ..
~3~i~Z
20 has a main panel having a plurality of stitches along its sides 36, 37 to designate cut lines along which the main panel 32 can be cut to match the respective frontal width of the pant leg with which the pocket is to be used. By the same token, the second panel 35 is shown to be of a width less than that of the main panel, the second panel 35 being stitched to the main panel along side seams 38, 39, spaced apart a distance sufficient for defining a pouch capable of receiving the padding element. Of course, the distance between the side seams 38, 39 is selected such as to allow convenient inserting and removal of a cushion ~l.
Thus, the present invention provides several vendible products. For instance, the cushion element 21 can be sold separately for use with known work pants having pockets already secured to the knee portion of the legs. The cushion 21 can also be sold as a part of a kit, with a pocket such as the pocket 20 shown in Fig. 8 or 9 adapted to be secured to the inseam and outseam sections o the legs of the work pants. It is not preferred but is conceivable to use the pockets 20 with a different type of cushion, for instance, with the cushion such as described in the above Smith patent 3,1~8,746. Accord-ingly, the pocket can also be sold separately. It is preferred, however, to combine the pocket with the V-shaped cushion as described above, particularly if the appearance of the crease section of the legs is important.
The V-shaped configuration of ~he padding,apart from im-proving the overall appearance of the work pants, also provides the feature o~ "self-centering" of the pant leg on the knee, whereb~ side-wise displacement from a position of the pad directly in front o the knee is moxe readilv pre-vented or rectified than with genexally flat pads of prior art. This feature is significant in certain applications of the invention, e.g. in baggage handling and loading by airline personnel.
Furthermore, the making and selling of work pants having the pocket of Fig. 8 or 9 secured ~ut not necessarily con-taining the cushion element as described above is also - - ' ' ' : ~ . ' .. , ,, ' .:
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readily conceivable. It is shown by Figs. 2 and ~ that the inventive cushion can also be used without utilizing the inventive feature allowing for securement of the pocket in the inseam and outseam regions of the legs, without departing from one aspect of the present invention.
The above are but few examples of different modifications of the preferred embodiments as referred to above, which do not depart from the scope of this invention as recited in the accompanying claims.
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' ~ ' . . , ' , .: , - . :
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~ :'. : ': .
,
A KNEE PROTECTOR FOR WORK PANTS OP~ THE LIKE ~ :
The present invention relates to knee protectors for use in conjunction with work pants and in particular to a knee pro tectors of the type having a removable cushion like material inserted within a pocket arranged on the knee of legs of a pair of trousers, working pants or the like. The present invention relates, by the same token, to the structural features of a pocket for use with such knee prctector. Also, the pres-ent invention relates to the protecting cushion itself.
In a great number of diferent occupations, it is des-irable to protect one or both knees of the worker. Carpenters, electricians, floor tilers, roofers and airline employees load-ing the luggage and freight into the bellies of the planes are but a few of such occupations. These tradesmen often have to kneel or an extended period of time, and it is important that a suitable padding be provided for t:he personls knee not onl~
to increase the comfort while workiny but also to avoid the development of damages to the knee clue to it's exposure to relatively high pressures while kneeling.
Two basic kinds of knee protectors are known in the art.
The first kind is represented by a knitted type knee pad which is pulled directly over the leg. The disadvantage of the pull-on typa knee pad is that it restricts at the back of the leg when the knee is~bent and also is ver~ warm and thus uncomfort-able to wear.
The second group of known knee protectors is secured to the work pants. Basicall~, the legs of the pants are provided with a rectangular pocket in the knee portion and inserted within the pocket is a generally flat panel o~ a foam rubber-like material which can be removed when it is desired to wash . . , . , ~ ~.'. ,. ' ' ' : : :
- . . ~ .
- ~ :
. ,, .... ' : : -~3~i2 the pants and reinserted into the pocket afterwards. One of typical features of the known knee protectors of the type of inserts in work pants i5 that they attempt to simulate as closely as possible the rounded shape of the knee~ This gives rise to a certain discomfort as in certain positions there is not enough air ventilation between the pant leg with the cusion inserted and the knee, thus only partly eliminating one of the problems mentioned in connection with the pull-on type knee pad. Another problem associated with the known work pants of the above type i5 in that the pocket receiving the cushion distorts to a substantial degree the appearance of the pants while worn. This disadvantage is particularly considerable in work pants or uniforms wherein the appearance of the garment is of virtually the same significance as the effectiveness of the knee protector.
Uniforms for tradesmen servicing applicances and uniforms for cargo handling personnel of airlines are typical examples of a field wherein the appearance of the pants is of signicance.
Prior art referred to above is exemplified by the embodiments disclosed in Canadian patent 971,703 issued July 29, 1975 to James Atack et al., U.S. Patent 727,243 issued May 5, 1903 to Samuel ~ilkinson and in U.S. Patent 3,168,746 issued February 9, 1965 to R.D. Smith. The above Canadian patent describes athletic trousers including a reinforcing and protecting knee patch provided at the knee of each leg and attached by stitching. In addition, auxilliary pockets may be provided at the knees for the in-sertion of padding if desired. The knee pads are flat, oval pieces as best seen by schematic representations in Fig-ures 1 and 2 of the reference . U.S. Patent 727,243 is an indication that it has long been known to provide pockets at the exterior of the knee portion of the legs of a pair of pants for inserting therein a rectangular pad which can be removed while washing the garment. A flap closing the pocket is also disclosed. Basically the same structure is shown in the aforesaid U.S. Patent to R.D. Smith, number 3,168,746.
.
~ 35S2 It is an object of the invention to urther advance the art of knee protectors of the second group as referred to before.
In particular, the object of the invention is to provide a knee protecting device of the above type which would secure sufficient ventilation between the knee and the inside of the trouser leg to which the protec~or is secured while, at the same time~ improving the appearance of the trousers by avoiding the substantial dis-tortion of the shape of the front crease of the trousers in the knee portion due to the inserted padding.
There are several aspects of the present lnvention which contxibute to the advance in the art. In one aspect, a knee protector is provided which comprises a padding element adapted to be removably secured to the knee portion of a trouser leg, and comprised of a pocket to be stitched to said leg and of a removable padding element complementary with the pocket for removable insertion into same, wherein said pocket includes a main panel having a normallv top edge portion, a normally bottom edge portion and two side edge portions, the spacing of said side edge portions from each other generally corresponding to the front width of the respective leg at the knee region thereof as measured from the respective inseam, over the respective ront crease portionl to the respective outseam, whereby the pocket can be stitched to the respective leg along two lines generally coincident with the inseam and with the outseam of the leg, respectively.
In another aspect of the present invention a pliable pocket is provided for use ~s a holder for removablv securing a knee padding element to a trouser leg, said pocket including a main pane-l of a size sufficient to allow the stitching thereof to a trouser leg along lines generally coincident with ~he inseam and with the outseam of the respective leg, while keeping the surface of the main panel generally coextensive with the surface of the leg at the knee region thereof.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides, for use with at least one of a pair of trouser legs, a knee protector pocket means adapted to be stitched to a respect-ive leg, to provide a pocket for removably inserting therein a knee protective padding element, said pocket means includ-,-. .
- ~
.
-4~ 35~
ing a pliable main panel having two mutually opposite side edge portions defining the width oE the panel, said width generally corresponding to the frontal width of the knee region of the respective leg as measured ky the sum of cross-sectional distance from the inseam to the front crease~ and from the front crease ~o the outseam of the leg, whereby said pocket means can be stitched to the respective leg along the inseam and the outseam thereof with one face of said panel being generally coincident with the surface of a portion of the leg at the knee thereof.
The present invention can also be defined as providing pliable pocket means adapted to be stitched to a knee of a trouser leg, said pocket including a pliable main panel whose width generally corresponds to the front width of the respect-ive leg at the knee portion thereof, as measured from:theinseam, over the front crease portion, to the outseam of the leg.
In a still further aspect, the present invention pro-vides a knee pad made of a cushioning material for placement into a pocket formed in the knee portion of a trouser leg, said knee pad comprising two generall~ flat padding panels gen-erally integral with each other and disposed at an angle relative to each other to define a generally straight ridge portion, whereby said pad can be secured to a trouser leg at the knee portion thereof with said ridge generally coexten-sive with the front crease region Oe the knee portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present in-vention, a padding member or element is provided for use as a padding insert in a leg of a pair of trousers, said padding member compxising two generally planar panel-like sections disposed such that the padding member is of a generally V~
shaped cross-sectional configuration.
The present invention also provides a knee padding as-sembly comprised of a pliable pocket member adapted for stitching to a leg of a paix of trousers, and a resilient padding element compl~mentary with the pocket member for removable insertion into same, w~erein said pocket member includes a panel whose width generally coresponds to the front width of a respective trouser leg as measured ~rom the inseam,over the front crease, to the outseam of the leg, ~' 35;5~
whereby the width of said panel is sufficient for stitching of the panel to a respective leg of trousers by stitches generally coincident with the inseam and with the outseam of the leg, respectively.
The knee padding assembly of the present invention can also be defined, in another aspect, as being comprised of a -pliable pocket member adapted for stitching to a leg of a pair of trousers at the knee section thereof, and of a r~silient padding element complementary with the pocket member, wherein said padding element is comprised of two cushioning panel-like sections combining to form a V-shaped cross-sectional configuration having a ridge extending from a normally upper end of the padding element to a normally lower end thereof, whereby the padding element can be placed lS into said pocket member when the latter is stitched to the respective leg, such that said ridge is generally parallel with the front crease of the respective leg at the knee portion thereof.
The invention can also be defined as providing work pants of the type having leg portions, at least one, prefexably each leg portion having a pliable pocket for receiving a cushioned member at the knee portion of the leg, said pocket being generally coextensive with a part of the leg at said knee portion, said pocket including a panel having two mutually opposite side portions stitched to the inseam region and to the out-seam region, respectively, of the leg, to conceal the stitch-ing of the side portions.
The present invention can be also referred to, in general terms, as providing, in combination with work pants of the type having leg portions, each leg portion having a pliable pocket stitched to the ~nee part of the respectiv~
leg; a padding element complementary with the respective pocket for insertion therein, each padding element being made of a resiliently deformable material and comprising two panel-shaped sections adjoining each other at an angle to form aridge extending from a normally upper end of the element to a normally lower end thereof, whereby the padding element is of a generally V-shaped.cross-sectional configur~tion.
~L~23S52 - 5a -According to a broad aspect of the invention a pair of trousers is provided including a pocket secured to at least one of the legs of the trousers interiorly of a front knee portion thereof, for receiving a padding element to protect the knee of a user, wherein said pocket is stiched to the respective leg solely by stitches disposed on sides of the pocket and generally parallel with the side seams and with the crease of the respective leg.
, 355~
,, . ~ .
The invention will now be described by way of two al-ternative preferred embodiments of work pants utilizing two embodiments of the pocket member and one embodiment of the padding element, it being un~erstood that modifications to the shown embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. The preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanving drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of working pants with a diagra~matic indication of the location and shape of the knee protectors, Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified embodimen~ of the work pants utilizing only one aspect of the invention;
Fig. 3 is section III-III of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is section IV-IV of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is section V-V of ~ig. l;
Fig. 6 is section VI-VI of Fig. 2;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing only the padding el-ement insertable into a pocket;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a preferred em-bodiment of the pocket; and Fig. 9 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 8 but showing another embodiment of the pocket.
For the sake of simplicity, the individual elements of the embodiments of Figs. 1 and 2 are shown as being identical to each other and will therefore be referred to with the same reference numerals.
Reference ~umeral 11 designates a pair of work pants 30 having two legs 1~, 13, each leg having an inseam 14, and an outseam 15 transversely opposite to the inseam 14. Reference numeral 16 designates front crease of leg 12 and reference numeral 17 designates similar crease of the leg 13.
As is well known, when the pant legs are flattened such that the creases 16, 17 form the respective edges of the fl~ttend configuration, the inseams 14 and outseams 15 are generally coincident and are slightly closer to the fron~
creases 15 than to the rear creases of the legs. Thus, when .
3~iS~
when the legs are stretched such as to flatten the respective crease 16 or 17 while rendering the inseam and outseam of the respective leg to form the "edge" of the transversley strech-ed leg, the distance between the two seams as measured across the front crease 16 or 17 is slightlv less than the corresponding distance as measured over the rear crease of the respective leg, which is shown by the fahric at the back being loose. This peripheral distance is also reerred to as a "ront" or "frontal"
width of the respective leg. The front width of the respective leg is signiicant with resnect to terminology used hereinafter with respect to some aspects of the present invention. Briefly, the front width is the sum of distance between inseam 1~ to crease 17 plus the distance between the crease 16 to the outseam 15, it being understood that reference to the respective portions at both legs is being made strictlv for the sake o.f convenience as the measurements are identical for both legs of the pants.
The first measurement is referred to with reference numeral 18, the second with reference numeral 19.
In Fig. 1, a rectangular ~ocket 20 is shown as being stitched interiorlv of each of the leg 12, 13 and receiving a particularly shaped cushion insert 21 as will be descrihed in greater detail later on. Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 show that the pocket 20 is stitched to each respective leg 12, 13 solelv along the respective inseam 14 an~ outseam 15, there being no stitches (Fig. 5) securing the pocket to the respective leg in addition to the two vertical stitch linesn ~ flap covering the pocket receiving ~he cus~ion 21 can also be ~rovided if desired but it was found out that it can be omitted if the cusion is ma~e of a material having suffi~ient frictional resistance at its surface.
The embodiment of ~ig. 2 is diferent in that the nocket 20 is stitched at the exterior of the respective legs 12, 13.
The stitching in this case is not identical with the stitching of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in that the vertical stitch lines of the pocket 20 are spaced from the respective inseam and outseam.
The pocket itself, therefore, is of the known type (of the above U.S.
patent to R.D. Smith). It is visible, however, even with the pants of Fig. 2, that the particular shape o the cushion 21 .' .: ~ ,, ~L~235iS2 as will be referred to hereinafter, still con~ributes to an im-proved appearance of the pants. It will be noted that in Fig. 2, the pocket 20 is additionally stitched to the respective leg along a bottom transverse line, at stitch 22. ~Tertical stitches 23, 24 which, in the embodiment of Fig. 1, are generally identical with the respective inseam 14 and outseam 15, hold the sides of the respective pocket 20 to the respective leg.
Thus, in summarv, the difference between the two embodiments is that Fig. 1 does not have the transverse stitch 22 and in that the vertical stitches 23, 24 in ~ig. 1 are coincident with the inseam and with the outseam of the respective leg. It is par-ticularly the embodiment of Fig. 1 that enhances the eye appealing neatness of the pair of legs bY concealing the pad inside the respective leg while enhancing, on top of the leg, the contin-UitY of the front crease. However, even with the embodiment of ~ig. 2, the appearance of the pants is enhanced by at least gen-erally maintaining the shape of the legs at the crease region of the knee section thereof.
~eference may now be had to the prefered emhodiment of the padding element shown in Fig.7 . The padding element or cushion 21 is an integral piece made of neoprene foam. The material is preferred because it is light, resistant to oil or the like, provides sufficiently high friction at the surface relative to the cloth of the pocket and of the pclnts which is of advantage from the standpoint of kee~ing the cushion 21 within the ~ocket 20 bv avoiding its undesired "travel'l out of the Pocket while the person wearing the pants is walking or the like.
The cushion is of a generally rectangular configuration in plan and consists of two rectangular panel-like sections 25, 26, each section 25, 26 bein~ generally planar and ~eing disposed at an angle of slightlY less than 90, to produce a ridge 27 extending from the normally upper end 28 to the normally lower end 29 of the cushion 21. The width of sections 25 and 26 is preferably the same. The overall width from one side _ to the other side 31 across the ridge 27 is such as to allow for convenient inserting of the cushion 21 into the pocket 20. It was found out that, for instance, with the embodiment of Fig. 1, the width of the 3~5~:
, ~ g cushion 21 can be considerablv less than that of the pocket.
In one embodiment, for instance, the width of the pocket is about 24 c~ while the overall width of the cushion amounted to only about 18 cm.
Those skilled in the art will readily a~preciate that a cushion memher such as the cushion 21 can be readily used even in conjunction with known types of pockets or pants, for instance, as disclosed in the above Smith U.S. Patent, 3,168,746.
Reference will now be made to Fig. 9 which shows what 0 is believed to be the simplest embodiment of the pocket 20 for use in a combination as shown in ~ig. 1.
The pocket lS made of a pliable textile material. It con-tains a main panel 32 having a normally upper edge 33 and a normally lower edge 34. The lower edge 34 is formed b~ a turned-over extension of the fabric, to provide a second panel 35 whose width is generally the same as that of the main panel 32 but the height of the second panel is smaller.
The two panels are stitched to each other along sides 36, 37.
In accordance with one inventive aspect of the present in-vention, the spacing between the side 36, 37 is such asto correspond to the distance (18 + 19) of the leg of work pants with which the pocket is to be used. This allows for stitching of the pocket 20 to the xespective leg such that the stitch securing the pocket 20 to the leg 12 or 13 is concealed by making same coincident with the inseam and out-seam of the leg.
It will be appreciated on comparing Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 that the second panel is disposed between the main panel 32 and the inside surface of the respective pant ley 1~ or 13 The turned-o~er lower edge 34 of the pocket thus forms the bottom of the pocket when the same is stitched to the pants and holds the cushion 21 securely without the need of a transverse stitch such as stich 22 of Fig. 2.
Fig. 9 is a pexspective view of another embodiment of the pocket 20 which is intended to merely show that the embodiment of Fig. 8 can be modified to a more or less sub-stantial degree without deParting rom the scope of the present invention. In the embodiment of Fig. 9, the pocket ~, ..
~3~i~Z
20 has a main panel having a plurality of stitches along its sides 36, 37 to designate cut lines along which the main panel 32 can be cut to match the respective frontal width of the pant leg with which the pocket is to be used. By the same token, the second panel 35 is shown to be of a width less than that of the main panel, the second panel 35 being stitched to the main panel along side seams 38, 39, spaced apart a distance sufficient for defining a pouch capable of receiving the padding element. Of course, the distance between the side seams 38, 39 is selected such as to allow convenient inserting and removal of a cushion ~l.
Thus, the present invention provides several vendible products. For instance, the cushion element 21 can be sold separately for use with known work pants having pockets already secured to the knee portion of the legs. The cushion 21 can also be sold as a part of a kit, with a pocket such as the pocket 20 shown in Fig. 8 or 9 adapted to be secured to the inseam and outseam sections o the legs of the work pants. It is not preferred but is conceivable to use the pockets 20 with a different type of cushion, for instance, with the cushion such as described in the above Smith patent 3,1~8,746. Accord-ingly, the pocket can also be sold separately. It is preferred, however, to combine the pocket with the V-shaped cushion as described above, particularly if the appearance of the crease section of the legs is important.
The V-shaped configuration of ~he padding,apart from im-proving the overall appearance of the work pants, also provides the feature o~ "self-centering" of the pant leg on the knee, whereb~ side-wise displacement from a position of the pad directly in front o the knee is moxe readilv pre-vented or rectified than with genexally flat pads of prior art. This feature is significant in certain applications of the invention, e.g. in baggage handling and loading by airline personnel.
Furthermore, the making and selling of work pants having the pocket of Fig. 8 or 9 secured ~ut not necessarily con-taining the cushion element as described above is also - - ' ' ' : ~ . ' .. , ,, ' .:
'' ' :
, . ' ~L~Z35S~
readily conceivable. It is shown by Figs. 2 and ~ that the inventive cushion can also be used without utilizing the inventive feature allowing for securement of the pocket in the inseam and outseam regions of the legs, without departing from one aspect of the present invention.
The above are but few examples of different modifications of the preferred embodiments as referred to above, which do not depart from the scope of this invention as recited in the accompanying claims.
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.- . . . ..
' ~ ' . . , ' , .: , - . :
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,
Claims (6)
1. A pair of trousers including a pocket secured to at least one of the legs of the trousers interiorly of a front knee portion thereof, for receiving a padding element to protect the knee of a user, wherein said pocket is stitched to the respective leg solely by stitches disposed on sides of the pocket and generally parallel with the side seams and with the crease of the respective leg.
2. A pair of trousers as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stitches are generally coincident with the inseam and with the outseam, respectively, of the respective leg, to conceal the stitches securing the pockets to the respective leg.
3. A pair of trousers as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pocket is formed by a first panel generally co-extensive with the knee portion of the respective leg, and by a second panel secured by side and bottom margins thereof to said first panel.
4. A pair of trousers as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pocket is formed by a first panel generally co-extensive with the knee portion of the respective leg, and by a second panel secured by side and bottom margins thereof to said first panel, the securement between the second panel and the first panel being effected by stitching generally coincident with the stiches securing the pocket to the respect-ive leg.
5. A pair of trousers as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pocket is formed by a first panel generally co-extensive with the knee portion of the respective leg, and by a second panel secured by side and bottom margins thereof to said first panel, said first panel being of a width greater than that of said second panel.
6. A pair of trousers as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the pocket is formed by a first panel generally co-extensive with the knee portion of the respective leg, and by a second panel secured by side and bottom margins thereof to said first panel, said second panel being a turned-over extension of said first panel.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA381,220A CA1123552A (en) | 1981-07-06 | 1981-07-06 | Knee pad receiving pocket for work pants or the like |
| US06/344,676 US4561124A (en) | 1981-02-20 | 1982-02-01 | Knee padding for work pants |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA381,220A CA1123552A (en) | 1981-07-06 | 1981-07-06 | Knee pad receiving pocket for work pants or the like |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1123552A true CA1123552A (en) | 1982-05-18 |
Family
ID=4120375
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA381,220A Expired CA1123552A (en) | 1981-02-20 | 1981-07-06 | Knee pad receiving pocket for work pants or the like |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1123552A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5105473A (en) * | 1990-09-10 | 1992-04-21 | Rukka Luhta Oy | Sports outfit having elastic fabric pockets for insertable resilient padding |
| US5201078A (en) * | 1991-06-10 | 1993-04-13 | Melton Ardella R | Shoulder pad and brassiere strap pad apparatus |
-
1981
- 1981-07-06 CA CA381,220A patent/CA1123552A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5105473A (en) * | 1990-09-10 | 1992-04-21 | Rukka Luhta Oy | Sports outfit having elastic fabric pockets for insertable resilient padding |
| US5201078A (en) * | 1991-06-10 | 1993-04-13 | Melton Ardella R | Shoulder pad and brassiere strap pad apparatus |
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