Ankle garter with foot stirrup

An article to hold the bottom of trouser or pants legs in place to allow for ease of insertion in a sock, boot or the like. The article includes an open ended garter band including a longitudinally stretchable portion, a generally U-shaped longitudinally stretchable stirrup depending from the garter band and mating fuzz and hook members of the VELCRO fastener type on opposite faces of the free end portions of the garter band. The stirrup is looped around the arch of the foot and the garter band is wrapped around the pants leg above its bottom edge and adjacent the ankle where the free end portions are pressed together to close the ankle garter band whereby the fuzz and hook members engage. The garter can be opened by pulling the overlapped ends apart.

This invention relates to an ankle garter with a foot stirrup to narrow and 
hold the bottom of pants in place so that a sock or boot will fit over it 
with ease. 
The primary object of the invention is to provide an ankle garter with foot 
stirrup which is attractive, inexpensive to fabricate and easy to hook 
over the arch portion of the foot and around the gathered pants at the 
ankle. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an ankle garter with foot 
stirrup in which the stirrup is an elastic band and the ankle garter is an 
open band which is adjustable to fit around legs and pants of varying 
girth because it includes an elastic portion and free end portions which 
can be overlapped and closed by finger pressure and can be opened also by 
finger pressure, the same being accomplished by interengaging VELCRO-type 
fasteners at the overlapped end portions. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an ankle garter and foot 
stirrup of the character described which require no modification of the 
pants legs and which can be fabricated of varying colors and textures to 
complement the colors and textures of the pants legs to which it is 
attached. 
Applicant is aware of a number of patents disclosing trouser leg 
containment or hold-down devices. Such a device is shown in the Haberfeld 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,455,479 which includes a heel piece, a stirrup strap and a 
front instep flap, all affixed to the lower edge of the pants cuff so that 
the pants require alteration since the hold-down device is not a separate 
adjustable unit. 
The Schultz U.S. Pat. No. 2,670,474 is designed to hold down a pajama 
trouser leg which is not adjustable as it uses a non-elastic loop to 
embrace the foot, a non-elastic ankle strap attached thereto at a 
particular location by snap fasteners and a vertically extending elastic 
strap with a buckle at its end to grasp the bottom of the trouser leg. 
This device does not act to gather the trouser leg and hold it so gathered 
for insertion in a sock or boot. 
The Jaffee U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,615 discloses a cuff piece insertable inside 
stretch ski pants and attached thereto by Velcro-type fasteners. This 
insertable cuff cannot function as the instant article to gather pants 
legs of varying sizes and hold them so gathered in place so that a sock or 
boot can be easily pulled thereover. Aside from this, the Velcro fasteners 
used in this patent require alteration of the trouser leg as one unit, 
fuzz or hook, must be sewn to the outer portion of the trouser leg while 
the other cooperative Velcro unit is sewn to the inner portion of the 
cuff. 
The Swiss Pat. No. 204,511 discloses a device to hold down a ski trouser 
leg over a shoe, not one to gather and hold the trouser leg so gathered so 
that it can be easily inserted in a sock or boot. While it employs an 
ankle band and shoe-engaging stirrup, the band is held around the pants 
leg by a buckle which is more difficult to manipulate than the present 
Velcro fasteners, which is necessarily bulkier and less attractive. 
The objects of the invention are attained by providing an open ended ankle 
band and a substantially U-shaped arch enveloping stirrup in the form of a 
band depending therefrom, the portion of the ankle band between the 
attachment of the stirrup thereto being elastic. The stirrup band is 
attached to the ankle band at two locations inwardly of its free ends and 
one face of the ankle band between its free end and one attachment 
location of the stirrup has secured thereto one component, such as the 
fuzz, of a VELCRO fastener while the opposite face of the ankle band 
between its other free end and the other attachment location of the 
stirrup has secured thereto the complementary VELCRO component. Thus, when 
the stirrup is made to embrace the arch of the leg and the band is wrapped 
around the bottom of the pants at or above the ankle, the free end 
portions can be adjustably secured by overlapping them and pressing the 
complementary VELCRO components together with the fingers. Removal is 
easily effected by pulling the VELCRO components apart also with the 
fingers.

Specific reference will now be made to the drawings in which similar 
reference characters are used for corresponding elements throughout. 
The manner of use is shown in FIG. 1; the ankle garter and foot stirrup per 
se is shown in FIGS. 2-4, to which reference is first made. The article 
generally indicated at 10 comprises an ankle garter 12, a depending 
stirrup 14 and a finger-pressure means to attach and detach the free end 
portions of the ankle garter. 
The ankle garter includes an elongated band of any desired color, texture 
or size but preferably about 10" long in its extended open position and 
about 3/4" wide. The stirrup is also in the form of a band and preferably 
of the same color, texture and width as the ankle garter band. 
The stirrup is a generally U-shaped continuous elastic member, which may 
vary in size depending upon the foot size, and having leg portions 16 and 
18 joined by a web portion 20. At predetermined locations as at 22 and 24, 
the upper free end portions of the stirrup legs are affixed to the ankle 
garter band 12 by appropriate means, such as sewing, adhesion or the like. 
The stirrup legs are preferably affixed to the garter ankle band 12 at the 
inner face 26 thereof although it is understood that the same can be 
affixed to the front or outer face 28 thereof. 
Between one free end 30 of the garter ankle band 12 and the connection of 
the adjacent stirrup leg 16 to it as at 22, the band 12 has affixed to its 
inner face 26, as by sewing, adhesion or the like, a non-elastic tape or 
band 32 containing the fuzz portion 34, one component of commercially 
available VELCRO fasteners. While the fuzz component 34 may extend the 
entire length of that portion of the ankle garter band 12 which extends 
from its one free end 30 and the point of connection of the adjacent 
stirrup leg 16, for ease of fabrication, a shorter length of fuzz 
component 32, 34 can be used. 
Between the other or opposite free end 36 of the ankle garter band 12 and 
the connection 24 of the other stirrup leg 18 to it, the outer face 28 of 
the ankle garter has affixed to it, as by sewing, adhesion or the like, a 
non-elastic tape or band 38 having thereon the hook portion 40 which is 
the component of VELCRO fastener that mates with the fuzz portion 34. 
Finger pressure between these components as illustrated in FIG. 4 causes 
the hooks of the hook component 40 to lockingly engage the fuzz of the 
mating fuzz component when they overlap and confront each other. The 
disengagement of these components is readily effected by pulling them 
apart, again merely by the use of the fingers. Here again, while the hook 
component 40 may extend the entire length of that portion of the ankle 
garter band 12 between its free end 36 and the connection point 22 of the 
stirrup leg 12 to the ankle garter band, for ease of fabrication, it can 
occupy a lesser length and should be as long as the fuzz mating component 
34. 
For ease of fabrication, the entire ankle garter band 12 may be elastic, 
but the affixing of the non-elastic fuzz and hook components 34 and 40 to 
the end portions of the ankle garter band 12 leaves a length 42 of said 
ankle garter band between the points of connection of the stirrup legs 
which remains elastic. It should be noted here that the reference to 
elasticity herein means that the stirrup and ankle garter are stretchable 
only lengthwise. 
In use, the stirrup is made to embrace the arch portion of the foot and the 
ankle garter is wrapped around the pants leg above its bottom edge and 
closed by applying finger pressure to the overlapped ends of the ankle 
garter band whereby the fuzz component 34 at the end 30 engages the hook 
component 40 at the end 36 of the ankle garter band, as shown on FIG. 1. 
The stretchability of the portion 42 of the ankle garter band and stirrup 
allows the article to accommodate to different size feet and girth of 
pants legs and hold the article securely in place while a stocking or boot 
is pulled over the foot. To locate the edge 30 of the ankle garter band 
where pressure is applied to effect closure or a pulling action is applied 
to effect separation, an indicator 44 in the form of a suitable ornament 
is affixed to the outer face 28 adjacent the edge 30. 
Thus, it will be seen that an inexpensive, easily fabricated, easily 
positioned ankle garter with stirrup is provided to hold the lower end of 
pants or trouser legs in place to permit ease of pulling a sock or boot 
over the foot. While a preferred embodiment has here been shown and 
described, variations may be made by skilled artisans without departing 
from the spirit of the invention.