US3312982A - Weather-resistant wearing apparel - Google Patents

Description

BfD. PITMAN WEATHER'RESISTANT WEARING APPAREL April 11, 1967 Filed Jan. 29, 1965 INVENTOR. BQqMO DD. 9m

Uied States Patent 3,312,982 WEATHER-RESISTANT WEA :'-1 fl G APPAREL Bradford Dean Pitrnan, 6 Tanager Road, Attleboro, Mass. 02703 Filed Jan. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 429,035 6 Claims. (Cl. 2-232) This invention relates to sportsmans apparel, and more particularly a combination boot and pant adapted for use as outdoor wear.

The subject matter of this invention is particularly adapted to skiing apparel, for it provides a weather-tight closure of ski boot and ski pant which is both easy to put on, comfortable to wear and convenient to store.

The standard or common ski pant is a garment having a leg portion with a strap running underneath the wearers foot connecting opposite sides of the pant hem. By this means the pant is held down so as to prevent the pant from rising in use; it also keeps a slight tension in stretchtype fibers. Necessarily the boot is fitted over the bottom of the pant leg; conversely speaking, it results in the pant leg being stuffed inside the boot. As a consequence, there is often discomfiture associated with the presence of the pant and strap inside the boot. The local restrictions by the inserted pant leg and attendant strap have been known to promote cutting down or limiting of essential blood circulation in the foot, thus dulling the senses and encouraging the likelihood of exposure or frostbite. This is not only true of ski apparel, but of many outdoor wear wherein it is common to tuck the pant leg into the footwear.

It is also known that in the case of the popular stretch pant, the under-foot st-rap keeps the entire garment under tension. This results in the weakening of the fabric and a shortening of its useful life. This tension in the pant can also cause discomfort when the wearer is in a sitting position.

This standard practice (wherein the pant is tucked in the boot) also has the recognized drawback that the arrangement permits the entrance of snow or Water into the boot. It is a common occurrence to skiers that the outerboot, no matter how tightly secured, cannot prevent snow or water from penetrating into the boot at the interface between the lip of the boot and the adjacent pant leg. This, of course, results in severe discomfort, and, in most cases, requires the cessation of outdoor activity until the apparel is either changed or dried out.

It is the purpose of this invention to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks associated with common ski pants and boots.

It is an object of this invention to provide a combination boot and pant for outdoor wear which is both comfortable, safe and attractive, and which substantially reduces the likelihood of inclement elements, such as snow or rain, from entering the boot.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a boot and pant arrangement such that the boot is secured to the pant in a weather-tight manner during use, but which may be readily detached from the pant leg When not in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide the advantages associated with the storage, transporting and cleaning of separate boots and pants, but to provide, when in use, the advantages of a unitary pant and boot.

It is the further object of this invention to provide zipper means on standard boots and complementary zipper means on a pant leg having lateral stretch, so that boot and pant may be detachably secured together and so that the pant leg overlaps and protects the lip of the boot against the elements.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in the secured or use position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, but showing the elements in the detached condition;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the cooperation of the boot and the pant;

FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing details of the inside-front of the pant leg according to one embodiment of the invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the invention wherein one-h-alf of a full-release zipper 1 is attached, as by sewing stitches 2, to a boot 3 at or near its lip 4. The zipper 1 has a pull 5 and cooperating slide 6 adapted to engage the teeth 7 to a like half-zipper as hereinafter described.

The zipper 1 is attached to the boot 3 such that the middle of the zipper 1 is adjacent the back-center of the boot 3. This results in the ends 8 and 9 of the zipper 1 being approximately equidistant from the front-center of the boot 3. By attaching the zipper 1 in this manner, standard length zippers can be used conveniently. It is not necessary that zipper 1 circumscribe the whole perimeter of boot lip 4, nor is it therefore necessary to make the ends 8, 9 of the zipper 1 meet. Gaps between zipper ends of an inch or even more can be tolerated without any noticeable deleterious effect on the performance of the product.

The product, as shown in FIG. 4, has a corresponding pant leg portion 10, to which is attached a half-zipper 11 which is adapted to engage with the half-zipper 1 attached to the boot lip 4-. This second half-zipper 11 is sewn, or otherwise secured, to the pant leg 10 on the inside thereof such that a substantial portion of the pant leg 10 extends over and, in effect, hides the teeth 12 of the zipper 11. The distance between the teeth 12 and the pant edge 13, hereinafter referred to as the overlap, is designated as item 17. It is important that the zipper 12 is placed such that the center of the zipper is adjacent the back-center or crease 14 of the pant.

The overlap 17 is also important, for, as shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3, it permits the pant leg to fully cover the zipper, thus protecting it against icing and other deleterious effects of exposure. It also presents a neat and tailored appearance, there being none or very little of the bulging associated with tuck-in pants. The overlap 17 should be sufiicient in length to cover both lip 4 of the boot and the whole zipper 18.

It has been found that a one inch length is generally sufiicicnt, but this may obviously vary depending on the design of the boot and the specific placement of the zipper on the boot relative to its lip.

Ski pants generally have a tapered leg, and this design is recommended for the pant made according to this invention. Obviously, however, perimeters of pant leg openings will vary from pant to pant, as will the corresponding perimeters of the mouth of the boot.

According to the invention it is desirable to have the perimeter of the leg opening roughly the same, or slightly larger than the mouth of the boot. However, to compensate for differences that inevitably arise, it is preferred that the pant leg 10 be laterally stretchable in the vicinity of the overlap area 17. This permits more lattitude in the matching of the pant opening with the mouth of the boot and assures that the pant leg overlap '17 can be readily pulled over the boot lip 4 so as to obtain the desired overlapping cooperation as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, without causing undesirable distortion of the fibers.

As shown in FIGS. 14, the necessary lateral stretch in the pant may be provided by sewing a piece of common stretch material 15 (for instance, either crimped or elasticized fibers) in the front-center of the pant 10. This piece 15 replaces the ordinary non-stretch or verticalstretch material and, particularly in the vicinity of the pant edge 13, gives an amount of lateral play that will permit the pant to accommodate itself readily to the wearers boot 3. As shown in FIG. 4, with the hem turned it has a generally triangular shape with the base along the pant edge 13.

The same effect is obtained, of course, if the pant is manufactured in the first instance to have at least lateral stretch in the vicinity. of the overlap 17. The area that is laterally stretchable, however, should, like piece 15 shown, be preferably located in the very front of the pant and, if convenient, in the gap between the ends 27, 28 of zipper 11. In this position it does not interfere with the zipper and the wearer may, if need be, readily stretch the material with his hands so as to permit the pant leg overlap 17 to go over the boot lip 4. Thereafter the front portion of overlap 17 is secured in this position by means, for instance, of a hook 16 (FIGS. 1, 4) which is secured at one end to the inside front-center of the pant, and which is adapted to engage a thong or lace 29 of the boot when in use. In this manner it is assured that overlap 17 covers and protects the zipper and that the front gap, if any, between zipper ends is likewise protected from the elements.

FIG. shows an additional and/or alternative means for securing the overlap 17 in position during use. In this case stays 19, 21) are sewn into the garment on a bias such that the lower ends 21, 22 located at or near the bottom 25 of pant leg point outwardly, and the upper ends 23, 24 located at or near the joint 26 where the zipper 11 is attached to pant leg 10, are pointed inwardly. The stays 19, 20 which are preferably made of tough semi-stiff celluloid, plastic or whalebone, impart rigidity and hence resist any tendency for the overlap 17 to curl or raise during use. The same purpose may be served by stays having spring means (not 'shwon) for holding the fabric down. This feature may be used either with or without the hook member 16.

FIG. 4 shows another stay means which has been found useful in retaining the shape of the front of the pant. There is shown a centrally oriented and elongated pocket 31 located along the bottom pant edge 13 in which has been disposed a semi-rigid material 30 such as those heretofore mentioned with regard to the stays 19, 20 of FIG. 5. Since the pant hem ordinarily provides a double thickness of material at the bottom, the semi-rigid material is readily inserted in the bottom fold of the fabric and the pocket 31 is thereafter created by sewing the two layers of fabric togther colse to the upper edge of the semi-rigid material 30 and around the sides to the pant edge 13. The hook 16 may be attached directly to the semi-rigid material 30 through the fabric or through an eyelet (not shown) in the fabric. The eyelet is not negessary but it saves wear on the fibers of the pant and, if it is of appropriate size, it can permit the semi-rigid material to be removed therethrough whenever desired. This stay feature as depicted in FIG. 4 will not interfere with the lateral stretch of the pant, and, in fact, will tend to keep the semi-rigid material 30 centered on the front of the pant even when the pant fabric is stretched.

The pocket for retaining the stay is disposed laterally, whether it be positioned horizontally as depicted in FIG; 4 or follow an oblique stay as depicted in FIG. 5.

The position of the boot 3 and pant 10 on the wearer prior to the engagement of the zipper halves 1, 11 is shown in FIG. 2. The cuff of the pant has been turned up to show the inside of the pant leg 10 in the overlap area 17.

The zipper used according to this invention can be any of the zippers which have in the past been commonly used for outdoor wear. This would include, for instance, not

only the common zippers have engaging or interlocking metal teeth, but the more recent polymeric zippers such as those composed of nylon, including those sold under the trademark Velcro by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. Also useful are those zippers whose principle of operation is tongue in groove rather than interlocking teeth. Regardless of the zipper chosen, it must be one which separates completely into two complementary halves. Preferably the slide is of the type which locks in position, even when partially engaged.

When using zippers with engaging slides, such as indicated at 6 on FIG. 4, the slide of the zipper for one leg .is preferably placed on the boot (as shown), whereas the slide for the zipper for the other leg is placed on the pant (not shown). preferably zips in the opposite direction than that for the other leg. In other words, if the zipper slide for the left leg engages the teeth :by zipping counterclockwise, the zipper slide for the right leg should be located such that it engages by zipping clockwise. In this manner, it is possible to have the half-zippers located on opposite pant legs engageable with each other. This permits easy and convenient hanging and carrying of the pants by means of a standard steel hanger interposed between the pant legs which have been zipped together. It also permits the boots themselves to be engaged to each other so that inadvertent looses of one boot or the other, when not in use, are minimized.

The pant-boot combination made according to this invention has been found to be neat, comfortable and weatherproof. It eliminates the bulging and folding of pant material within the boot; it reduces tension on fibers of the fabric; and it prevents snow, ice and water from getting into the boot. Furthermore, it presents a tailored, attractive appearance. Although the invention is of particular advantage in skiing apparel, its advantages are obviously applicable in many instances to general outdoor activities.

It is apparent that various modifications may be made in the construction of the invention as depicted herein without departing from the principles of the exemplified embodiments shown, or the fair scope of the invention as herein described.

What is claimed is:

1. A detachably engaged ski boot and ski pant combination comprising first zipper means circumferentially attached at or near the upper edge of said boot such that the midpoint of said first zipper means is generally aligned with the center of the back of said boot, second complementary zipper means circumferentially attached inside the leg of said pant such that the midpoint of said second zipper means is generally in alignment with the backcenter of said leg of said pant and is spaced apart from and above the lower edge thereof, said first and second zipper means being detachably engaged to each other, said pant leg having material with lateral stretch in the vicinity of the front-center portion of the lower edge thereo f said upper edge of said boot and said first zipper means being overlapped by said lower edge of said pant and wherein said pant leg has, in addition, an elongated pocket portion laterally disposed near the bottom front edge of said pant, said pocket portion having disposed therein an elongated semi-rigid material adapted to impart shape and rigidity to the bottom of said pant leg.

2. .The combination according to claim 1 which includes, in addition, hook means attached to the insidefront area of said pant leg below said second zipper means, said hook means being disposed downwardly and adapted to engage with a member secured to said boot and to thereby keep the adjacent lower edge of said pant lapped over said first zipper means.

3. Sportswear apparel consisting of a detachably engaged boot and pant combination comprising a boot having first zipper means circumferentially attached thereto around the periphery of said boot near the upper edge In addition, the zipper slide for one leg' thereof, a pant leg having second zipper means adapted to complement and detachably engage with said first zipper means, said second zipper means being circumferentially attached around the inside of the pant leg and spaced apart from and above the lower edge thereof, at least a portion of the pant leg material extending below said second zipper means being laterally stretchable, said boot having hook receiving means thereon, and said pant leg having hook means secured to the front inside thereof adapted to engage with said hook-receiving means on said boot, whereby said lower edge of said pant leg covers said first zipper means and said upper edge of said boot, and said hook means retains said lower edge of said pant leg against upward movement.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said pant leg has, in addition, an elongated pocket portion laterally disposed near the bottom front edge of said pant, said pocket portion having disposed therein an elongated semi-rigid material adapted to impart shape and rigidity to said pant leg, and said hook means being secured to the front-inside of said pant leg by attachment to the semirigid material in the vicinity of its longitudinal center.

5. Sportswear apparel consisting of a detachably engageable boot and pant combination comprising a boot having laces :and a first zipper means circumferentially attached at or near the outside upper-edge thereof such that the midpoint of said first zipper means is aligned with the center of the back of said boot, and a pant leg having a second zipper means circumferentially attached to the inside bottom of said pant leg, said second zipper means being disposed such that it is spaced apart from and above the lower edge of said pant leg and such that the midpoint of said second zipper means is generally in alignment with the back-center of said pant leg, said second zipper means said first zipper means, a front-center portion of said pant leg below said second zipper means being composed of laterally stretchable material, the bottom of said pant leg being adapted to extend over and cover the first zipper means and the upper-edge of said boot, and a hook attached to the inside of said front-center portion of said pant leg and adapted to detachably engage with a lace on said boot.

6. A pair of detach'ably engaged boot and pant combinations according to claim 1 hereof wherein the zipper slide for engaging the first and second zipper means of one of said pair of combinations is permanently attached to said first zipper means and the zipper slide for engaging the first and second zipper means of the other of said pair of combinations is permanently attached to said second zipper means, and the circumferential directions of movement for engagement of the slide of said zipper means being clockwise for one of said means and counter-clockwise for the other of said means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 771,021 9/1904 Lux -1 2232 2,283,362 5/ 1942 Hamilton 2227 2,679,647 6/1954 Gossner 282 2,746,114 5/ 1956 Williams.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,053,635 9/1953 France. 1,196,734 5/1959 France.

178,799 4/ 1906 Germany.

557,329 11/1943 Great Britain.

970,698 9/ 1964 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. being complementary to and disengageably attachable to 35 A. R. GUEST, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A DETACHABLY ENGAGED SKI BOOT AND SKI PANT COMBINATION COMPRISING FIRST ZIPPER MEANS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ATTACHED AT OR NEAR THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID BOOT SUCH THAT THE MIDPOINT OF SAID FIRST ZIPPER MEANS IS GENERALLY ALIGNED WITH THE CENTER OF THE BACK OF SAID BOOT, SECOND COMPLEMENTARY ZIPPER MEANS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ATTACHED INSIDE THE LEG OF SAID PANT SUCH THAT THE MIDPOINT OF SAID SECOND ZIPPER MEANS IS GENERALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE BACKCENTER OF SAID LEG OF SAID PANT AND IS SPACED APART FROM AND ABOVE THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF, SAID FIRST AND SECOND ZIPPER MEANS BEING DETACHABLY ENGAGED TO EACH OTHER, SAID PANT LEG HAVING MATERIAL WITH LATERAL STRETCH IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT-CENTER PORTION OF THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF, SAID UPPER EDGE OF SAID BOOT AND SAID FIRST ZIPPER MEANS BEING OVERLAPPED BY SAID LOWER EDGE OF SAID PANT AND WHEREIN SAID PANT LEG HAS, IN ADDITION, AN ELONGATED POCKET PORTION LATERALLY DISPOSED NEAR THE BOTTOM FRONT EDGE OF SAID PANT, SAID POCKET PORTION HAVING DISPOSED THEREIN AN ELONGATED SEMI-RIGID MATERIAL ADAPTED TO IMPART SHAPE AND RIGIDITY TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID PANT LEG.

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