Maternity Pants with an Adjustable/Expandable Waist

Abstract

A pair of pants with an adjustable waist including an elastic band extending lengthwise around the interior of the waistband. The elastic band includes notches positioned along its length, and an engaging means (for example, a button), which is attached to the waistband near each end of the elastic band. The engaging means affixes to the elastic band through different notches to adjust the size of the waist in the pants. The pants also have a unique cut, including a shortened transverse distance from the button to the crotch in the front of the pants, and an elongated transverse distance from the crotch to the waistband in the back of the pants.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/941,176, filed May 31, 2007.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document includes material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of clothing. More specifically, the present invention relates to pants to be worn by a pregnant woman.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The typical problem a pregnant woman faces relates to issues with her belly, which becomes protruded during pregnancy. It is well understood that a problem with maternity clothing is the evolution and wearability of the clothing as the woman gets deeper into the term of the pregnancy. It is undesirable to purchase clothing that is wearable for only a few weeks or a few months. Therefore, a common goal of maternity clothing is to be adjustable with the pregnancy. Another common goal is for the clothing to be comfortable for the pregnant woman. The adjustability and comfortability of existing maternity clothing causes the stylishness to suffer.

There exist various known clothing options for pregnant women. For example, one approach is to wear stretchable garments, such as Lycra or yoga-style pants. These non-fashionable options offer stretch-ability of the item based on the material itself. However, this solution limits a woman's choice in wardrobe selection based on the limited amount of clothing available in stretchable material. A woman may feel out of place wearing yoga-style pants or “sweatpants” in public, such as to work, meeting friends for lunch, or shopping. Therefore, these existing clothing options provide limited appeal and solutions for the limited scenarios where dressed-down attire is either suitable or acceptable, such as in the comfort of one's home or at the gym.

Another common option available to pregnant women includes very unflattering pants or jeans styles that are made of about seven/eighths normal pants and a stretchable piece of material in place of the waistband. These prevalent maternity pants/jeans require the woman to encase the bottom half of her belly in this stretchable material and then purchase suitable maternity tops that not only cover the top portion of the belly, but also the stretchable material on her pants.

Existing maternity clothing options provide little or no alternatives for a woman looking to purchase stylish pants or jeans made of standard clothing material such as denim, silk or cotton instead of synthetic fibers such as lycra. As such, it would be desirable to provide pregnant women with jeans or pants made of more fashionable, natural clothing materials wearable for the duration of the pregnancy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention improves over the above-described shortcomings of the prior art by providing stylish maternity pants having an adjustable length waistband. The adjustable waistband includes a hidden elastic band disposed within an interior seam of the waistband. The distal ends of the elastic material include notches for attaching engaging means, which are connected to the waistband. The notches can be any means for connecting the engaging means to the elastic band. The waist may include elastic material sewn directly into the waist in conjunction with the elastic band.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the maternity pants provide an adjustable waistband through the inclusion of the elastic band disposed within the interior of the seam, but also through the adjustability of the band itself. At various stages in the pregnancy, the wearer may adjust the positioning on the band by choosing to engage different notches with the engaging means. For example, to give more waistline circumference, a wearer may move one or both ends of the band to connect to wider-spaced notches in the band. The maternity pants also include additional features as described in more detail below.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the maternity pants provide for comfortable and stylish pants through the cut of the pant itself in conjunction with the above-described adjustable waistline. Whereas previous maternity clothes included synthetic fabrics for stretching over a pregnant woman's belly, these pants do not impede the protrusion of the belly itself. Rather, the jeans, in the cut and design, provide for displacement underneath a woman's belly.

Through the utility features described below, the present invention provides for stylish adjustable maternity pants that allow a pregnant woman to wear the pants during the term of the pregnancy and allow the pants to thereby expand in conjunction with the woman's expanding belly throughout pregnancy.

Other and further features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following descriptions of the various embodiments. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the following embodiments are provided for illustrative and exemplary purposes only, and that numerous combinations of the elements of the various embodiments of the present invention are possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, in which like references are intended to refer to like or corresponding parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a back portion of a waistband of a pair of maternity pants in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a left side portion of the waistband of a pair of maternity pants in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a right side portion of the waistband of a pair of maternity pants in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a front side portion of a pair of maternity pants in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a back side portion of a pair of maternity pants in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

More specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a back interior portion 100 of a waistband 102 of a pair of pants 140 that extends around a pair of maternity pants in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The waistband 102 includes an elastic band 104 that extends lengthwise across the back portion 100, where the band 104 is interiorly disposed within an inner seam portion (not visible). The band 104 extends out of slits 106 in the waistband 102.

The elastic band 104 is made of any suitable resilient material such as elastic, cotton, or spandex as recognized by one having ordinary skill in the art. The band 104 includes notches 108 disposed at various positions. In FIG. 1, two of the notches are not visible because of the engaging means, which in this embodiment is a button 110 sown directly into the waistband 102. It is also recognized that additional notches are not visible as these may be disposed on the portion of the band 104 disposed within the interior of the waistband 102.

As shown herein, the engaging means 110 are buttons that connect through the notches 108 disposed in the band 104, but it is recognized that any suitable engaging means such as snaps, hooks or velcro may be used.

The waistband 102 may be made of the same material as the pants 140. In one embodiment of the invention, for example, in the event of maternity jeans, the waistband itself 102 is made of the same denim or other jean material.

FIG. 1 also illustrates creases 112 in the back portion 100. As the band 104 contracts in the waistband 102, this causes the original material to crease up, just slightly. As illustrated, the band 104 provides an even distribution of cinching force across the back portion 100 such that the creasing 112 is done in a uniform manner, thus maintaining the wearability and fashionability of the pants 140 instead of creating one or more large visible creases to tuck in or cinch the excess material. Also illustrated, the back portion 102 may include a label 114 for designer information or other information.

In utilizing the maternity pants 140 having the waistband 102, the user may adjust the dimensions of the waistband 102 by changing the position of the notches 108 relative to the engaging means 110. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, this may include unbuttoning the button 110 from the selected notch and then selecting another notch 108. For example, if the wearer needs to take in the pants 140, they can select a notch 108 closer the middle of the band 104 and if the wearer needs to let out the waist, they can select a notch 108 further away from the center of the band 104. Thereby, this hidden band 104 discretely provides for adjusting or cinching the waistline of the maternity pants 140 in a uniform fashion across the back portion 100. The inner seam allows the band 104 to be mostly hidden, as well as allowing for the waistband 102 to be made of the same material as the rest of the pants 140. Furthermore, the construction of the inner seam relative to the band 104 provides for relatively uniformed pleating or cinching 112 of the waistband 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a left portion 120 of the waistband 102 of a pair of pants 140 extending from the engaging means 110 and the band 104 with notches 108 emerging from the seam 106. The left portion 120 extends around and concludes with a backside of a button 122. As visible in FIG. 2, the backside of the button 122 is illustrated in FIG. 2 indicates the interior portion of the waistband 102, therefore the large end of the button 124 extends outward. When a person puts on the pants 140, this portion 120 wraps around the right-hand side of the wearer's waist and the button 124 sticks out at the midpoint of the persons waist for fastening the pants 140.

Also visible, the left portion 120 includes the pleats 112, which in one embodiment may be made by an interiorly-embedded elastic material (not visible) that is entirely sown into the waistband approximately between the button 122 and the fastening means 110. It is recognized that the length of this interior elastic material may be adjusted to provide varying levels of a front-end elasticity. But similar to the back portion 100 of FIG. 1, the elastic material remains hidden and provides a relatively uniform pleating or cinching action on the waistband 102.

Similar to the left portion 120 of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 illustrates a right portion 130 of the waistband 102 of a pair of pants 140. The right portion culminates in a buttonhole 132 that can engage the button 122 of FIG. 2 when the pants 140 are secured about the wearer's waist, as the right portion wraps around the left-side of the wearer's waist. Similarly, the right portion includes an interiorly-disposed elastic material (not visible) that is entirely sown into the waistband approximately between the buttonhole 132 and the fastening means 110. It is recognized that the length of this interior elastic material may be adjusted to provide varying levels of a front-end elasticity. But similar to the back portion 100 of FIG. 1, the elastic material remains hidden and provides a relatively uniform pleating or cinching action on the waistband 102.

It is further noted that the present invention is directed primarily, but not exclusively, to maternity pants and by that extension, includes additional features beyond the waistband 102 of FIGS. 1-3. The maternity pants of the present invention further includes features relating to the cut of the pants 140 as may further facilitate comfort for the wearer during pregnancy.

FIG. 4 illustrates the front portion of one embodiment of a pair of maternity pants 140, in this embodiment, maternity jeans. The figure illustrates one embodiment of cut of the material through the crotch 150 and in the front portion. FIG. 4 illustrates the front side of the right and left portion engaged, with a shortened distance 142 between the button 144 and the bottom of the crotch 150. This entails reducing the length of the fly 142 on the pants, whether it is a zipper, button-fly or other type. Whereas existing maternity pants include a much-elongated front portion to encapsulate the bottom portion of a pregnant belly, the present invention is cut to be disposed below the belly 148. This obviates the need and hence the lack of comfort and style, of a pair of maternity pants having to extend out around the apex of a pregnant belly. As visible, the waistband includes the creases 112 from the interior elastic matter, where the creases are relatively uniform.

FIG. 5 illustrates the rear perspective of one embodiment of a pair of maternity pants 140. As visible, the waistband includes the creases from the interior elastic matter, where the creases are relatively uniform. It is also recognized that when a person wears the jeans, many of the creases shall disappear.

As visible in FIGS. 4 and 5, the maternity cut of the pants 140 includes a short front portion 142 (FIG. 4) with a longer backside portion 160 (FIG. 5). Through the front portion, the wearer's belly may extend out and possibly over the waistband. Through the back portion, the pants provide the proper support for the front portion and provide the stylish and comfortable fit not found in existing styles of maternity pants.

As noted previously, the figures and examples described herein are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment. Other embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements. Moreover, where certain elements of the present invention can be partially or fully implemented using known components. While the invention has been described and illustrated in connection with various embodiments, many variations and modifications as to be evident to those of skill in the relevant art(s) may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and the invention is thus not to be limited to the precise details set forth above, as such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and have been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A pair of pants comprising:

a waistband with a resilient member that extends around the waistband lengthwise;

the resilient member including notches disposed at various positions and engaging means attached to the waistband.

2. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, the engaging means engage with the resilient member to provide a wearer proper fit.

3. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, the resilient member is interiorly disposed within the waistband and extends out of the waistband.

4. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, the waistband is made of the same material as the pants.

5. The pants according to claim 4 wherein, fixing the engaging means with the resilient member creates even distribution of cinching force across the waistband.

6. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, dimensions of the waistband can be adjusted by fixing the engaging means with the resilient member through the notches.

7. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, the front transverse portion of the pants between a button and a crotch area is a shortened distance.

8. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, the back transverse portion of the pants between the waistband and the crotch area is a lengthened distance.

9. The pants according to claim 1 wherein, the front longitudinal portion of the pants between two side portions of the pants is cut lower to be disposed below a wearer's belly.

10. A waistband for a pair of pants comprising:

an elastic band that extends around the waistband lengthwise;

the elastic band including holes disposed at the distal ends;

attaching means connected to the waistband for attaching to the elastic band through the holes.

11. The waistband according to claim 10 wherein, the elastic band is interiorly disposed within the waistband and extends out of openings in an interior portion of the waistband.

12. The waistband according to claim 10 wherein, the waistband is made of the same material as the pants.

13. The waistband according to claim 10 wherein, the length of the waistband can be adjusted by connecting the attaching means to the elastic band through the holes.

14. The waistband according to claim 10 wherein, fixing the attaching means with the elastic band through the holes creates even distribution of cinching force across the waistband.

15. A pair of pants comprising:

a front transverse portion of the pants between a button and a crotch area with a shortened distance; and

a back transverse portion of the pants between a waistband and the crotch area with a lengthened distance.

16. The pants according to claim 15 wherein, the front longitudinal portion of the pants between two side portions of the pants is cut lower to be disposed below the wearer's belly.