WO1991004681A1

WO1991004681A1 - Garment closure

Info

Publication number: WO1991004681A1
Application number: PCT/US1990/005533
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jackson M. Harby
Original assignee: Harby Jackson M
Priority date: 1989-09-28
Filing date: 1990-09-28
Publication date: 1991-04-18
Also published as: AU6530290A

Abstract

The invention relates to adjustable waist enclosures for pants, maternity dresses, sportswear, etc. that can readily accommodate changes in the wearer's waist for instance, during pregnancy. These closures provide the wearer with an easy to use, adjustable waistband closure that is stretchable and closable around the fly and can be secured quickly and without bulges from underclothes, etc.

Description

Garment 'Closure

Background of the Invention

The invention is directed toward the field of garment closures and specifically those that close the placket and can be adjusted to accomodate changes in the wearer's waist.

A placket is a slit in a garment, eg. a skirt, that often forms a closure.

Garment closures that have both an edge closure and a top edge closure have been known in the art. A few provide for changes in the wearer's waist, but, of these, most require more than one step to complete the joining of the surfaces of the fabrics and they tend to leave folds or seams where the pieces are joined. Other inventions use buttons on the fly which adds to the inconvenience of having to work each button on the fly. This adds excessive time to the completion of the closing operation. Moreover for those who suffer from arthritis of the joints, the chore of closing a waistband can become nearly impossible if it involve extensive manipulations of the fingers. One patent, to Foster US 3,500,478, must be secured in two places because of its wrap-around nature.

Other patents on clothing provide for adjustments separate and apart from the fly. These must then be secured in addition to the fly and thus have the inconvenience of additional work to close the fly.

Summary of the Invention The closure device consists of a waist-accommodating piece along one edge of the fly. This has the convenience of being able to accommodate variations in the wearer's waist, while, at the same time, providing a closure that can be secured in one step. The accommodating piece may be in the form of a triangular-shaped piece of hook and filament loop material (velcro) . It does not matter which type of material goes on the zippered part of the fly, only that the two different types of materials be used. These, of course, are joined by the pressing together of the pieces of material. Alternately, the closure can be in the form of a zipper with a stretchable fabric on one side of the fly.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide an adjustable closure on a placket. Thus providing a waist accommodating and fly closure in the same piece.

Another object of the invention is to provide a waistband closure along the fly that has a neat, snug fit; can accommodate variations in waistlines; and be secured in one motion.

Another object is to provide a waistband closure that can accommodate the underlying garments and not reveal baggy folds when in use.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a waistband and fly closure that can be fitted with one motion of the hand and does not require excessive manipulations of the fingers to use it.

Still another objective is to cut down of the number of sizes that a retail clothing store would be able to stock. Another objective is to provide expecting mothers with an adjustable waist closure.

Still another is to provide those with impaired hands the ability to close the fly as painlessly as possible.

Description of the Figures

Figure 1 shows the "velcro" fly. Figure 2 shows the zippered fly.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

In the hook and loop version.of the invention the adjustable fly portion of adjustable piece is a triangular hook and loop piece 1 on one side of the fly and its corresponding mating surface 2 on the other edge of the fly. Thus, the fly is essentially a "velcro" fly with the large width of the triangular piece providing a number of places for the corresponding mating surface to attach to. Thus, the fly is capable of adjusting to different variations in the wearer's waist, brought on for any number of reasons, such as pregnancy, obesity, old age, etc. Further additions include a top edge closure 3 which is also made of velcro and is meant to secure opposite portions of the waistband to prevent it from coming apart. The closure clip 4 has a similar function and is simply pushed down over the waistband when the closure is secured and lifted up when it is desired to unloosen the garment. This is the velcro-velcro closure in figure 1.

Alternatively, the invention can employ a conventional zipper as the fastening agent, see figure 2. In this configurati.on, the fly has a .stretchable fabric portion 5 that adjusts for different variations in waistlines. A hook and rung configuration at the top of the waistband 6 again . provide for ensuring that the zipper does not come loose during its wearing. By "hook and rung" it is meant those closures that have a loop made of metal or some other sturdy material and a hook made of similar material that fits into the loop. A clip 7 can be further used to secure the closure. This is the zipper-hook and rung configuration in figure 2.

When in use, the velcro closure can be fitted in one movement of the hands with mating flaps simply being pushed together. Another movement of the hand can bring down the clip to secure the top. The zippered configuration works like any conventional zipper.

Alternately, the elements described above can be interchanged to make other closures. For instance, the hook and rung closure can be used with the velcro fly to provide a velcro-hook and rung configuration. Also, the zippered fly can be used with a velcro waistband closure to make a zipper velcro configuration. The closure clip can be used with any one of these.

Claims

I claim:

1. An adjustable fly closure for lower body garments for accomodating changes in the wearer's waist comprising: a) a positioning flap comprising a triangular shaped piece of hook and loop material the apex of said triangular piece located near the user's crotch and a base of said triangular piece located near the user's waist, b) closure flap comprising a relatively narrow strip of hook and loop material located on that side of said fly that is opposite said positioning flap so that said closure flap may be attached to said positioning flap to secure the lower body garment around said wearer's waist.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 where said garment has a waist band having left and right ends said waistband located above said fly closure, closure clip attached to one of said ends so that said clip is capable of securing said ends of said waistband and capable of covering said adjustable fly closure.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said closure clip comprises hook and loop material attached to each of said waistband ends so that said waistband may be joined by said hook and loop material.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said closure clip comprises a hook attached to one of said ends and corresponding loops attached to the other of said ends so that said waistband may be joined by the attachment of said hook to one of said loops.

5. An adjustable zippered fly closure for lower body garments capable of accomodating changes in the size of the wearer's waist comprising: a) triangular shaped piece made of stretchable fabric having apex located near the crotch of the user and the base of said triangular shaped piece that is opposite said apex located near the waist of said user, and having one side intergral with one piece of a zipper closure and having the other side integral with the lower body garment.

6. The apparatus of- claim 5 where said garment has a waist band having left and right ends and said waist band located above said fly closure, a closure clip attached to one of said ends so that said clip is capable of securing said ends of said waistband and capable of covering said adjustable fly closure.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said closure clip comprises hook and loop material attached to each of said waistband ends so that said waistband may be joined by said hook and loop material.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said closure clip comprises a hook attached to one of said ends and corresponding loops attached to the other of said ends so that said waistband may be joined by the attachment of said hook to one of said loops.