US3538512A

US3538512A - Trousers associated ground engaging improved support for seat engagement by wearer

Info

Publication number: US3538512A
Application number: US834124A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert N Dolan
Original assignee: ROBERT N DOLAN
Current assignee: ROBERT N DOLAN
Priority date: 1969-06-17
Filing date: 1969-06-17
Publication date: 1970-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 1987-11-10

Description

Nov. 10, 1970 R. N. DOLAN TROUSERS ASSOCIATED GROUND ENGAGING IMPROVED SUPPORT FOR SEAT ENGAGEMENT BY WEARER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1969 nvvhvfm ROBERT MDOLA/V TORNEYS R. N. DOLAN GROUN Nov. 10, 1970 3,538,512

' TROUSERS ASSOCIATED D ENGAGING IMPROVED SUPPORT FOR SEAT ENGAGEMENT BY WEARER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1969 FIG] uvvs/vroz? ROBERT M DOLA/V [HEM M United States Patent US. Cl. 2-227 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of trousers has a tubular length of cloth sewn to the inside thereof along the outside seam and extending from cufi to waist band. A strap harness having a support seat strap for the seat of the wearer is joined at each of its ends by a loop through which is inserted the respective leg of the wearer. An elongated support member jointed at the knee is inserted in each of the tubes of cloth sewn to the trousers legs and it has a flexible strap at its top that is detachably connected to a fastener on the waist portion of the trousers. To the top of each elongated support member a clip on the end of the seat support strap of the harness is detachably attached to suspend the seat support. The elongated support member has a tubular guide member at its top and to which the flexible strap and the clip are attached. This tubular guide member has an upper tube slidably extending downwardly therefrom and a lower tube pivotally abutting the upper tube at the knee joint. The upper tube has adjacent its top end a control pin extending transversely therefrom and out through an elongated slot in the guide member. Thus, the control pin which is accessible in a vertical slot adjacent the outside seam in the trousers leg can be used to push the upper tube down and up in its guide member and means operated by the upper tube upon downward movement of the same to position a locking pin inside said tubes in the knee joint to provide a rigid support.

This is a continuation-in-part application of my copending application Ser. No. 711,576, filed Mar. 8, 1968, U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,064, June 24, 1969.

An object of the invention is to provide a pair of trousers with a telescopic and pivotal intermediate its length elongated support for an elongated pocket in each leg and which suspends at its upper end a seat harness Within the trousers so that the telescopic elongated support may be moved to a position wherein its pivot joint becomes a rigid joint to support the weight of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support rod assembly for each leg of the trousers that has a lower tube and an upper tube kept pivoted end to end by an internal cable that connects with a spring positioned pin within the lower tube that can be so relatively moved against its spring as to make a rigid joint between the tubes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a support in the leg of a trousers that is pivotal at the knee when not in use and which is concealed fully within the trousers leg when not in supporting use.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is had to the drawings, the description and claims which follow.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the support harness and its attachment to the elongated support member;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of a pair of trousers as worn 3,538,512 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 ice by a wearer with the support arrangement of FIG. 1 therein as in walking;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2 with the elongated supports activated and the wearer placing his weight on the supports which are now ground engaging;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of one of the elongated support members as it pivots intermediate its length;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view along line 55 of FIG. 4 of the support member on an enlarged scale in position for pivot;

FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 5 with the upper tube moved down to activate the rigid joint between the upper and lower tube members; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the harness attachment clip at the top of an elongated seat support strap and having a fragment of a suspension strap extending up wardly therefrom.

Throughout the description, like reference numbers refer to similar parts.

A pair of trousers with the harness and support members associated therewith is shown at 10 in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The pair of trousers 11 has a waist portion 11a and a customary belt 11b and a side pocket 15. Each trousers leg has a vertically extending tubular pocket 12 made of cloth sewn or otherwise secured to the inside along the outer side seam. A slot 13 that extends vertically in the side adjacent the top of the tubular pocket 12 provides access thereto for insertion of an elongated support 20 to be described. An opening 14 fitted with a zipper closure extends vertically and spaced slightly below the waist portion 11a to provide access to the adjacent inside of the waist portion for a purpose as will be described. Each trousers leg has a knee portion 16 and a cult 17.

Slidably received through the vertically extending opening 13 and slid downwardly into the tubular pocket 12 in each trousers leg is an elongated support generally indicated at 20. This elongated support has an upper tube sleeve guide 21 that has a vertically extending slot 21a therein and a horizontally extending joining lock slot 2112 at its lower end. A cap 22 having an open lower end is received over the upper end of sleeve guide 21 and has an upwardly projecting loop 22a thereon to which is attached a flexible suspension strap 24 having a fastener 25 at its top end portion. Extending transversely through the upper end of cap 22 and the sleeve guide 21 is a pivotally mounted harness support pin 23. This pin has a spool-like head 23a at one end that has a radially extending lock bar 23b.

A harness generally indicated at 40 has a flexible seat support 4-1 on which the wearer will sit as will be explained. A right leg loop 42 and a left leg loop 43 are attached to adjacent the ends of seat support 41. The ends of seat support 41 are secured to a slot 44a in a harness clip 44. This clip has a key role slot 44b therein with the larger end downward. This clip 44 has its key hole slot received over the spool-like head 23a of the harness support pin 23 so that the harness 40 is suspended from the tops of the elongated supports 20. To lock the clip 44 on the head 23a of pin 23, the lock bar 23b and pin are rotated so that the lock bar 231) extends vertically downward as shown in FIG. 7.

An upper tube 26 has its upper end slidably received in the upper tube sleeve guide 21 so that it extends down to where its lower end terminates adjacent the knee portion 16 of the trousers leg and the knee of the wearer when in its uppermost slid position. In the lower end of the upper tube 26 is an upper tube internal guide cylinder for a slidable knee lock cylinder pin 29 is to be dsecribed. Extend transversely adjacent the upper end of upper tube 26 and rotatably mounted therein is a control pin 27 that projects out through the vertical slot 21a in sleeve guide 21.

Abutting the lower end of upper tube 26 is the upper end of a lower tube 28 also having a guide cylinder 28a therein for the knee lock cylinder pin 29 slidable therein. Below the knee lock cylinder pin 29 is a tension spring 30 also within lower tube 28 and it is attached to a rubber tip 31 in the lower end of the tube 28 by an attachment 30a. A flexible cable 32 is attached at its upper end 32a to the harness support pin 23. The cable extends down through the upper tube 26 and through the lower tube 28, through an axial aperture 29a in knee lock cylinder pin 29 to where it attaches to the upper end of tension spring 30 by a loop 32b. A lock or stop 33 attached to cable 32 at the upper end of knee lock pin 29 and a lock or stop 34 attached to cable 32 at the lower end of knee lock pin 29 holds the pin 29 in a position on cable 32. The upper end of spring 30 can be directly attached to the lower end of knee lock pin 29 and the upper end of pin 29 can be attached to cable 32.

In operation, first the harness 40 is slipped on by the wearer and then the trousers 11. The elongated support 20 is slid through the opening 13 on into the top of tubular pocket 12 in the trousers leg. The access opening 14 when unzipped permits the fingers of the wearer to feed the suspension strap 24 upwardly so that its upper end fastener 25 may be attached to a fastener 110 on the inside of the waist portion 11a on the trousers. This suspends the elongated support 20 in the tubular pocket 12 in the trousers leg.

When it is desired by the wearer to sit on the supports, the wearer moves each of the control pins 27 downward in its slot 21a thus moving the upper tube 26 downward and it abuts and pushes down lower tube 28. The control pin 27 is locked in the slot 21b by the upper tube 26 to which the pin 27 is made fast. The cable 32 is not moved and holds the knee locking pin 29 in its same position, see FIGS. and 6, while the spring 30 is stretched, see FIG. 6, as the lower tube 28 to which it is attached moves down. The knee joint lock pin 29 is now part way in each of the

abutting tubes

26 and 28 and makes a rigid joint. The weight of the wearer as he bends his knees and sits on seat support 41 is transferred through the harness to the tops of the elongated supports 20 which engage the ground. To resume a walking attitude, the wearer stands on his feet and removes the load on the elongated supports 20 and by manipulating each control pin 27 from its locking slot 21b, the biasing spring 10 takes over and causes the

tubes

28 and 26 to move up to their original position. Now the two

tubes

28 and 26 may pivot with respect to each other at their abutting ends as the knee lock pin is no longer making a rigid joint.

There is through this arrangement of harness, trousers and the elongated supports provided a highly desirable and useful support for an individual to temporarily transfer his weight to the ground by a device carried along and concealed.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination a garment including trousers for a wearer having a pair of legs joining with waist and seat portions therein, each of the legs having means therealong for receiving an elongated rod means extending from adjacent the bottom of the leg to adjacent the waist portion, a flexible means detachably suspending the rod means from the waist portion; a harness including a seat support for the seat of the wearer having means at each end detachably suspending it from the rod means at its upper end portion, said elongated rod means including an elongated upper tubular guide member having an elongated slot extending from a position spaced from its upper end to a position spaced from the lower end of the tubular guide, a locking means connected with the lower end of the slot, an upper tube having its upper end portion slidably received within and extending downwardly from said upper tubular guide member and having its lower end adjacent the knee portion of said trousers when in its uppermost postion, a control pin attached to the upper end portion of said upper tube and extending outwardly through and beyond said slot for sliding said upper tube in its tubular guide member, a lower tube extending from the bottom of the upper tube in its upper position to where its lower end is adjacent the cuff portion of the trousers, an elongated knee lock pin slidable in the upper end of the lower tube, biasing means in said lower tube holding said knee lock pin retracted in the lower tube and a flexible cable connected with said knee lock pin and passing up through said upper tube and the upper tubular guide member where it is attached to the guide member upper end portion thereby suspending the knee lock member at the upper end of the lower tube against the action of said biasing means, whereby said upper and lower tubes pivot at their abutting ends as said flexible cable therewithin holds them together in a pivoting position, said upper tube being moved downward when said control pin is slid downward in said slot and positioned in said locking means whereupon said lower tube is pushed down causing said biasing means to yield and the lower tube exposing the upper portion of the knee lock pin and the lower end of the upper tube to move over the upper end of the knee lock pin making a rigid joint at a position below the knee portion of the trousers and the wearer and the weight of the wearer is transmitted from the seat support to the tops of each elongated rod means and through the rod means to the ground.

2. A garment combination according to claim 1 wherein said harness includes loops for each leg of the wearer to be received therethrough suspended from the upper end portions of the seat support.

in said biasing means in the lower tube is a tension spring attached at its lower end to the lower end of said lower tube and at its upper end to the lower end of said knee lock member.

4. A garment combination according to claim 3 wherein said elongated knee lock has an aperture extending throughout its length and receives said cable therein, said cable being attached at its lower end to said tension spring, said cable having stop means thereon at each end of said elongated knee lock pin to hold it positioned on said flexible cable.

5. A garment combination according to claim 1 where in the lower end of the upper tube and the upper end of the lower tube each have guide cylinders therein for receiving said elongated knee lock pin.

6. A garment combination according to claim 1 wherein said upper end rod means suspending the seat support ends of the harness is transverse pin attached to the upper end of said upper tubular guide member and having a spool-like head at one end, said attachment means at each end of the support seat of the harness is a plate having means at its lower end attaching the end of the seat support and a key-hole slot thereabove with the larger opening at the downward end and receivable over said spool-like head on the transverse pin which slides upward into the upper end of the key-hole slot.

7. A garment combination according to claim 6 wherein said transverse pin in the upper end of said upper tubular guide member is pivotally mounted therein and the spool-like head has a radially extending elongated lock member which in its vertically rotated position is received in said key-hole slot with said spoollike head and then rotated to a downwardly extending position to lock said spool-like head in the key-slot.

8. A garment combination according to claim 1 wherein said flexible means detachably suspending the rod means from the waist portion of the trousers is a strap having detachable fastener means towards its upper end and said waist portion of the trousers has a cooperating fastener means on the inside thereof at each side for receiving said fastener means on the strap.

9. A garment combination according to claim 8 wherein said means along the trousers legs for receiving the elongated rod means is a vertically extending tubular flexible member attached to the inside of the trousers leg at each side, said trousers have an elongated slot in each leg thereof communicating with the upper portion of said tubular flexible member for insertion of the elongated rod means therethrough and said trousers legs have a closable hand access opening adjacent and below the waist portion and the fastener means for the strap on the waist band for access to the strap to attach and detach the same.

10. An elongated support rod for insertion in a trousers leg for attachment at its upper end to a seat support harness means of a wearer of the trousers comprising an elongated upper tubular guide member having an elongated slot extending from a position spaced from its upper end to a position spaced from the lower end of the tubular guide, a locking means connected with the lower end of the slot, an upper tube having its upper end portion slidably received within and extending downwardly from said upper tubular guide member and having its lower end adapted to be adjacent the knee portion of the trousers when in its uppermost position, a control pin attached to the upper end portion of said upper tube and extending outwardly through and beyond said slot for sliding said upper tube in its tubular guide member, a lower tube extending from the bottom of the upper tube in its upper position to where its lower end is adjacent the cuff portion of the trousers, an elongated knee lock pin slidable in the upper end of the lower tube, a biasing means in said lower tube holding said knee lock pin retracted in the lower tube and a flexible cable connected with said knee lock pin and passing up through said upper tube and the upper tubular guide member where it is attached to the guide member upper end portion thereby suspending the knee lock member at the upper end of the lower tube against the action of said biasing means, whereby said upper and lower tubes pivot at their abutting ends as said flexible cable therewithin holds them together in a pivoting position, said upper tube being moved downwardly when said control pin is slid downward in said slot and positioned in said locking means whereupon said lower tube is pushed down causing said biasing means to yield and the lower tube exposing the upper portion of the knee lock pin and the lower end of the upper tube to move over the upper end of the knee lock pin making a rigid joint.

11. An elongated support rod according to claim 10 wherein said biasing means in the lower tube is a tension spring attached at its lower end to the lower end of said lower tube and at its upper end to the lower end of said knee lock member.

12. An elongated support rod according to claim 11 wherein said elongated knee lock has an aperture extending throughout its length and receives said 6311316 therein; said cable being attached at its lower end to said tension spring, said cable having stop means thereon at each end of said elongated knee lock pin to hold it positioned on said flexible cable.

13. An elongated support rod according to claim 10 wherein the lower end of the upper tube and the upper end of the lower tube each have guide cylinders therein for receiving said elongated knee lock pin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 671,638 4/ 1901 Slagle 297-4 768,479 8/1904 Nash 297-4 1,574,529 2/ 1926 Abraham 2974 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 3,989 3/1892 Great Britain.

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 297-4