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Convertible closure for garments and garment utilizing the sameRelated Patent Categories: Apparel, Head Coverings, Partially Encircling Limb Or Torso TypeConvertible closure for garments and garment utilizing the same description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060230503, Convertible closure for garments and garment utilizing the same. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to garments such as pants, skirts, dresses, shorts, and pajamas, having a convertible closure. More particularly, the embodiments of the present invention provide a convertible closure whereby the size, fit, and/or appearance of a garment may be adjusted using the convertible closure. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] There exist numerous types of closures for garments, such as trousers, skirts, dresses, and others, many of which provide for an adjustable sizing and/or fit about the waist of the wearer of the garment. For instance, conventional garments having adjustable waist sizes often include elastic materials disposed within a waist band or other component of the garment in order to provide adjustable sizing that may conform to the waist or abdominal region of a wearer of the garment. [0003] For instance, conventional adjustable garments sometimes include an adjustable fastening portion including a circumferential band having an elastic portion that is capable of stretching about the waist of a wearer. Other conventional adjustable-waist garments, such as conventional maternity pants, include a waist band containing reinforcing elastic and a succession of button holes that may cooperate with buttons disposed on a front flap of the pants. In addition, some conventional garments are designed to provide support to the abdomen of a wearer using either elastic components disposed about the wearer's abdomen or a brace provided about the wearer's waist which acts to flatten the waistline of the wearer when the garment is closed and secured. [0004] Other conventional garments provide a front drop flap that allows for some adjustment via the fastening of one or more buttons at one or more points about a waist band without providing a wide range of sizes. Furthermore, other conventional adjustable garments require that excess material or material overlaps (exposed, for instance when the garment is taken in to a smaller waist size) be folded, overlapped, and/or gathered behind a front flap and/or within the pockets of the garment. Some additional conventional adjustable garments provide an adjustable waist by defining a slit or v-shaped opening in the waist band of the garment that may be opened and/or closed (and, in some cases, overlapped) in order to adjust the waist or overall size of the garment. [0005] While such garments provide some degree of adjustability to the waist size of the garment, many such adjustable garments require the use of elastic, which may result in shirring and/or bunching of fabric about the areas containing reinforcing elastic material. In addition, many conventional garments require that excess material (disposed, for instance, in flaps, overlaps, and/or gussets) be folded, bunched, and/or taken up about the waist of the wearer of the garment when the garment is adjusted to a smaller size. Finally, while some conventional adjustable garments provide for adjustability using buttons and/or notches defined in or around a waist band, such garments do not include provisions for the use of resilient fabric panels (such as, for instance, woven and/or knit materials blended with Lycra) to line the garment and provide extra support to a wearer without the use of elastic waist band components. [0006] Therefore, there exists a need for a convertible garment and/or convertible garment closure for providing an adjustable fit and/or size wherein the garment exhibits a clean and flat look regardless of the size adjustment made to the garment. More particularly, there exists a need for a convertible garment closure that does not require the use of elastic material and that does not require the folding or excessive overlap of material about the waist or other body part of the wearer of the garment. In addition, there exists a need for a convertible garment that is fully adjustable and supportive to the wearer. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The above and other needs are met by the present invention which, in various embodiments, provides a convertible closure for garments which is configured to be capable of accommodating the expansion and/or contraction of the waist and/or abdominal region of the wearer which may occur for a number of reasons including, for example, pregnancy, weight loss/gain, illness, and developmental growth. In addition, the convertible garment closure provided according to the various embodiments of the present invention is also configured to be capable of accommodating such expansion and/or contraction without restriction of the waist or hip region of the wearer. According to one embodiment a convertible closure is provided that is adapted to be capable of adjusting the size of a garment and supporting a wearer of the garment. The convertible closure comprises a first waist band portion operably engaged with the garment and including a first plurality of fasteners and a flap operably engaged with a front portion of the garment. The flap comprises a second waist band portion including a second plurality of fasteners configured to be capable of operably engaging at least one of the first plurality of fasteners such that the second waist band portion is capable of operably engaging the first waist band portion to form a continuous adjustable waist band about the garment. [0008] According to other embodiments, the convertible closure further comprises a front panel operably engaged with the front portion of the garment between a first front facing and a second front facing of the garment. In such embodiments, the front panel may be disposed behind the flap when the second waist band portion is operably engaged with the first waist band portion to form the continuous waist band. Thus, the front panel is configured to be capable of supporting an abdominal region of the wearer of the garment as well as resiliently taking in excess material in the garment such that the garment maintains a clean and/or flat look regardless of the degree to which the waist of the garment is adjusted. According to various other embodiments of the convertible closure and garment of the present invention, the first and second plurality of fasteners may comprise fasteners including, but not limited to, buttons, Velcro fasteners, hooks, eyes, snaps, ties, grommets, zippers, button holes, and combinations thereof. [0009] Thus the various embodiments of the convertible closure and garment of the present invention provide many advantages that may include, but are not limited to: providing a garment which is capable of accommodating the expansion and/or contraction of the waist and/or abdominal region of a wearer without restriction of the waist or hips of the wearer; providing a convertible closure for garments which does not require the use of elastic material to accommodate expansion and/or contraction of the waist and/or abdominal region of a wearer; providing a convertible closure for garments such providing a clean and/or flat appearance; providing a convertible closure for garments such that the garment is comfortable for the wearer; and providing a convertible closure for garments which is easy to use and requires no special fasteners or complicated procedures for fastening. [0010] These advantages and others that will be evident to those skilled in the art are provided in the convertible closure and garment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: [0012] FIG. 1 shows a front and rear view of a convertible closure disposed in a pair of pants according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention; and [0013] FIG. 2 shows a front view perspective of a convertible closure as disposed in a pair of pants, showing a droppable flap of the convertible closure in a dropped position according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0014] The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. [0015] While the convertible closure and garment 10 embodiments of the present invention are described below in the context of a pair of pants 10, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention may also be utilized to provide a comfortable, adjustable, and convertible closure for a variety of different garment types such that the garment may be adjusted to accommodate the expansion and/or contraction of the abdominal region and/or waist of the wearer of the garment. For instance, the front and rear portions 20, 30, flap 35, and first and second waist band portions 60, 70 may be configured to provide a convertible closure for a variety of different garment types, including, but not limited to, skirts, shorts, shirts, coveralls, overalls, dresses, pajamas, undergarments, and other garments. In addition, embodiments of the present invention may also be applied to garments for a variety of different purposes, including casual wear, formal wear, athletic apparel, and/or other activity-specific clothing types. [0016] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a convertible closure for garments according to one embodiment of the present invention wherein the garment comprises a pair of pants 10. According to the embodiment shown, the pants 10 are of a construction known generally to one skilled in the art in that they comprise a rear portion 20 (or seat, for instance), a front portion 30, and two leg portions 40, 50 which may be formed and joined using techniques that will also be appreciated by one skilled in the art. According to the various embodiments of the convertible closure and/or garment of the present invention, the material of the garment may include, but is not limited to, woven material (such as, for example, 100% cotton twill, denim, canvas, poplin materials, rip stop nylon blends), novelty fabrics, stretch fabrics comprising woven material and spandex blends (such as, for example, 97% cotton 3% spandex blends), blended woven fabrics (such as, for example, rayon/nylon/spandex blends, cotton/nylon/spandex blends, and/or polyester/nylon blends), and other materials suitable for forming the desired garment. Thus, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the convertible closure (including the flap 35, first and second waist band portions 60, 70 and first and second plurality of fasteners 80, 90) may be configured to be capable of operably engaging a variety of garment types composed of one or more materials including blends of one or more of the fabrics listed above. [0017] As shown in the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 1, the pants 10 comprise a convertible closure comprising a first waist band portion 60 operably engaged with the garment 10, the first waist band portion comprising a first plurality of fasteners 80. As shown generally in FIG. 1, the first waist band portion 60 may extend from the back portion 20 of the pants 10 around the waistline and partially around the front portion 30 of the waistline (see generally, FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, the ends 63, 67 of the first waist band portion 60 may be configured to terminate short of each other such that the ends 63, 67 are spaced apart to define a front aperture in the front portion 30 of the garment 10. The convertible closure of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 further comprises a flap 35 operably engaged with a front portion 30 of the garment 10 wherein the flap comprises a second waist band portion 70 comprising a second plurality of fasteners 90 configured to be capable of operably engaging at least one of the first plurality of fasteners 80 such that the second waist band portion 70 is configured to be capable of operably engaging the first waist band portion 60 to form a continuous adjustable waist band about the garment 10 (as shown generally in FIG. 1). [0018] In the non-limiting embodiment shown generally in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pants 10 further include legs 60, 70 that extend downward from the flap 35, front and rear portions 30, 20 and other convertible closure components of the garment 10. The first and second waist portions 60, 70 may comprise typical waist band construction details for pants (including, in some instances, belt loops, suspender fasteners, or other details) that will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. In some embodiments, however, the waist band portions 60, 70 of the convertible closure may comprise other types and/or styles of waist band construction including, but not limited to, a waist facing (such as a "Hollywood waist"), variable-width bindings forming the tope edge of the waistline of the garment 10, and/or other waistline types suitable for the style and function of the garment 10 with which the convertible closure may be operably engaged according to the various embodiments of the present invention. [0019] As shown generally in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first and second waist band portions 60, 70 also comprise a corresponding first and second plurality of fasteners 80, 90 that may be operably engaged with one another to join the first and second waist band portions 60, 70 into a continuous adjustable waist band extending about the garment 10 such that the waist size (or circumference of the resulting continuous adjustable waist band) may be altered by selectively operably engaging one or more of the first plurality of fasteners 80 (disposed, for instance on the first waist band portion 60) with one or more of the second plurality of fasteners 90 (disposed, for instance, on the second waist band portion 70). For example, the first waist band portion 60 may comprise a plurality of button holes configured to be capable of connecting with one or more of a plurality of buttons disposed on the second waist band portion 70 formed on an upper edge of the flap 35. 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