Clothing With Concealed Crotch Opening

Abstract

A garment having an opening in the crotch area, which can be along the crotch inseam, to allow for convenient access to the restroom without having to undress if wearing a one-piece garment or remove belts and untuck other clothing if wearing pants. The opening has a concealed closure device to open and close an opening in the crotch area. When open, the opening will allow the wearer to use the restroom with ease. When the opening is closed, the opening is inconspicuous.

Description

PRIORITY

This application is related to and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/894,365 filed on Mar. 12, 2007 entitled “Clothing With Concealed Crotch Opening” by Ruth Oates the complete content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The current disclosure relates to one-piece garments, jumpsuits, ski pants, bibs, coveralls, overalls, and pants in general.

2. Background

The conventional jumpsuit and other one-piece garments have been well-received by women but have always posed a problem of being very restrictive to take care of personal needs. For example, a female wearer needs to almost completely remove a one-piece garment or jumpsuit to use the bathroom. This can be inconvenient and time-consuming. Further, a garment with a concealed crotch opening would be particularly useful for use with patients in assisted living facilities where adaptive garments are useful or necessary in dressing patients or attending to their elimination needs.

Ski pants or full-body ski wear, foul-weather gear, or motorcycle gear can have many bulky straps to hold it in place during the activity, which creates a hassle when the wearer needs to use the restroom. In addition, the wearer may not be in a convenient location to even partially remove the garment, as is common in some outdoor activities.

Infant's clothing can have fasteners on the inside seams of pant legs to allow easy access for changing a diaper. However, this is not practical for older wearers because they probably don't want a visible opening on the crotch seam of their pants. In addition, a concealed opening may need to be robust enough to withstand the conditions against which the garment is meant to protect. For example, ski wear would need a concealed opening that still effectively keeps snow out of the wearer's clothes.

What is desired, therefore, is an outer garment that can facilitate easy and hygienic access to tend to personal needs, while keeping such access inconspicuous while the garment is worn normally.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a front view of a one-piece garment according to one embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a detail view of the crotch area of a one-piece garment, showing one embodiment using a concealed zipper that opens and closes an access opening.

FIG. 3 depicts a detail view of the exterior crotch area of a one-piece garment, showing another embodiment using a concealed hook-and-loop closure and an additional exterior concealing flap member over a closure.

FIG. 4 depicts a detail view of the interior crotch area of a one-piece garment, showing another embodiment using an additional interior member hidden behind an access opening.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts an article of clothing 102 that can have an opening 104 along a seam of the crotch area, which can allow for convenient access to the restroom without having to undress. Although depicted in FIG. 1 as a one-piece jumpsuit, an article of clothing 102 can be coveralls, bibs, overalls, pants, or any other known and/or convenient garment.

FIG. 2 depicts a detail view of the crotch area of an article of clothing 102. In some embodiments, an opening 104 can be located directly on a seam of the crotch area. As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 104 can be located directly on the inseam of a crotch area, but in other embodiments, can be located on the center seam. An opening 104 can extend along the inseam across the crotch area or along the inseam on one side of the crotch area. In other embodiments, an opening 104 can be positioned in any other known and/or convenient location in the crotch area.

As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 104 can have a closure device 202 to open and close an opening 104. As shown in FIG. 2, a closure device 202 can be a zipper, but in other embodiments, a hook-loop fastener, buttons, snaps, hooks or any other known and/or convenient closure device can be employed to securely close the opening.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, an opening 104 can have at least one additional exterior member 302 to further conceal an opening 104 and can be a crotch access panel. In some embodiments, a shown in FIG. 3, an exterior member 302 can be affixed to the exterior of an article of clothing 102 on one side of an opening 104, cover an opening 104, and attach with a hook-and-loop fastener, snaps, buttons, hooks, or any other known and/or convenient attachment device to the opposite side of an opening 104. In other embodiments, an exterior member 302 can also rest over and cover the exterior of an opening 104 without an additional attachment device.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, an interior member 402 can shield a wearer from discomfort caused by contact with a closure device 202, as well as assist in covering an opening 104 from the inside of an article of clothing 102. An interior member 402 can be affixed to the interior of an article of clothing 102 on one side of an opening 104, cover an opening 104 on the inside of an opening 104, and attach with a hook-and-loop fastener, snaps, buttons, hooks, or any other known and/or convenient attachment device to the opposite side of an opening 104. In other embodiments, an interior member 402 can also rest over and cover the interior of an opening 104 without an additional attachment device. An interior member 402 can be made of waterproof and easy-to clean-material, in case an interior member 402 became accidentally soiled when the wearer is using the restroom. An interior member 402 can be made of plastic, nylon, polypropylene, or any other known and/or convenient material.

In use, a wearer can open an opening 104, allowing a wearer to attend to personal needs with ease. When finished, an opening 104 is closed and can be inconspicuous. In embodiments having an additional exterior member 302, a wearer can further cover an opening 104. An opening 104 can give freedom to the wearer from having to dress and undress when using the restroom or tending to other personal needs. It can allows the wearer to enjoy the athletic or protective advantages associated with a one-piece garment, bibs, or pants while not having the inconvenience of having to practically undress to use the restroom.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the apparatus as described and hereinafter claimed is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A garment comprising:

a. an opening in the crotch area that can be opened and closed with a closure device;

b. said opening being inconspicuous when closed and the garment is worn in a normal manner.

2. The garment of claim 1, wherein said closure device is selected from the group consisting of: zipper, hook-and-loop, snap, button, hook.

3. The garment of claim 1, wherein said opening is located substantially along a seam in the crotch area of said garment.

4. The garment of claim 3, wherein said seam is an inseam.

5. The garment of claim 4, wherein said closure device is selected from the group consisting of: zipper, hook-and-loop, snap, button, hook.

6. The garment of claim 2, further comprising an interior member affixed to at least one point to the interior of said garment.

7. The garment of claim 5, wherein said interior member is made of a waterproof and easy-to-clean material.

8. The garment of claim 2, further comprising an exterior member affixed to at least one point to the exterior of said garment.

9. The garment of claim 4, further comprising an interior member affixed to at least one point to the interior of said garment.

10. The garment of claim 8, wherein said interior member is made of a waterproof and easy-to-clean material.

11. The garment of claim 4, further comprising an exterior member affixed to at least one point to the exterior of said garment.