Leisure trousers with attachable protector elements

Leisure trousers of fashionable design that in a most variable manner can be provided with pockets, applique works or similar, are provided. Fastening elements to which different protective elements can be fixed for protection of body parts exposed to potential injury in different kinds of sports are provided for within the leisure trousers. Herein protection of the areas of knee and hips in particular, and also other body regions, is of major interest. Preferably the protective elements are fastened to inner trousers suspended on the inner waistband of the leisure trousers, wherein the protective elements can be detachably fastened on the inner trousers by bur-type closing members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention pertains to leisure trousers and particularly to 
leisure trousers adapted to be fashionable and usable for participating in 
various sport activities. 
Among other reasons, due to the leisure time available in increasing 
amounts in the past years, sports such as snow boarding, roller skating, 
inline skating and similar have developed and encountered overwhelming 
acceptance, with young people in particular. 
The major part of these types of sports, the above-cited in particular, 
however, presupposes great body charging that in case of a fall may result 
in injury to different parts of the body, for example to the knees, elbows 
and other body parts. Therefore, there is of course a great need for 
protection of these body parts with respect thereto, which need up to now 
was satisfied for the knees and elbows by knee pads and elbow pads that 
are directly fastened to the body parts over existing clothing and held in 
place with the aid of elastic belts. Fixation of the pads or protective 
devices in the above-mentioned way, however, is decidedly uncomfortable 
and in terns of aesthetical consideration is very disadvantageous, and 
possibly may result in the protectors not being worn at all so that the 
total risk of injuries increases. As far as the protection of the hip bone 
and the base of the spine are concerned, protection of these regions using 
traditional pads is possible only in a very limited manner since it is 
very difficult to fasten pads to the desired regions of the hips and the 
end of the spine by using elastic belts. 
For this reason there is a need for leisure trousers that technically are 
designed such that the protective upholster pads in correspondence with 
the kind of sport to be executed can be selectively positioned within the 
leisure trousers efficiently, without the pads being visible from the 
outside so that the fashionable appearance of the leisure trousers is 
maintained. It is also possible to wear the trousers without the pads. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is, therefore, the main object of the present invention to provide 
trousers having a fashionable design that permit efficient protection of 
body regions respectively exposed in dependence on the type of sports 
carried out, without the fashionable outward appearance of the trousers 
being impaired, wherein it is possible that the protection can simply be 
concentrated to specific selected regions of the body depending on the 
kind of sports executed. 
In accordance with the present invention, leisure trousers with fashionable 
design are provided that in most different kinds and manners may be 
furnished with pockets, applique works or the like. Inside the trousers, 
fastening members are provided for, to which protector elements of 
different types can be fixed for protection of the body parts exposed in 
the different kinds of sports. If the trousers in accordance with the 
present invention are worn during inline skating, protection of the region 
of the knees and hips in particular is of interest. Other kinds of sports, 
snow boarding and the like, may require protection of different parts of 
the body. 
In the preferred embodiment the protective elements are fastened to inner 
trousers that are suspended from the inner waistband of the leisure 
trousers. The inner trousers hold the protective elements in an 
advantageous manner in the desired positions without the external 
fashionable appearance of the leisure trousers being impaired. To permit 
the leisure trousers with the protective elements attached to the inside 
to be utilizable for the most different kinds of sports, it is conceivable 
to attach the protective elements detachably to the inner trousers using 
bur-type closures or to provide different inner trousers having rigidly 
fixed protective elements that are suspended in the leisure trousers 
depending on the kind of sports being played. Instead of the inner 
trousers bearing protective elements, it is, on the other hand, also 
conceivable that the protective elements themselves are provided with 
respective fixation elements and are suspended on the trousers or from the 
trouser waistband, respectively, thereby contributing to an advantageous 
flexibility in arranging the protective elements. 
The protective elements used may be upholstering elements as well as 
high-resistance foam elements that are particularly suited to absorb 
impact so as to minimize occurrence of bruises in case of falls onto 
edges, stairsteps, banisters and the like by distributing the pressure to 
larger areas. 
Preferably the upholstering elements or high-resistance foam elements 
therein are attached to the inner trousers or comparable suspension 
elements by using bur-type closures, so that they can be arranged in a 
suitable manner for the respective kind of use and for the respective 
person. 
For fixation of the inner trousers bearing the protective elements to the 
inner waistband of the leisure trousers, fixation by using zippers, snap 
fasteners, hooks or other fixation members is foreseeable. Preferably the 
inner waistband of the leisure trousers is folded to the inside and fixed 
in such a way that downwardly opening pockets bearing on the inner 
waistband, are formed that preferably extend around the entire inner 
waistband of the leisure trousers. In this case, corresponding flaps or 
flags are formed on the waistband of the inner trousers bearing the 
protective elements, which flaps or flags are pushed into the downwardly 
opening pockets of the inner waistband of the leisure trousers for 
fixation of the inner trousers to the inner waistband. For fixation of the 
flaps or flags in the downwardly opening pockets of the inner waistband of 
the leisure trousers buttons or other fixation members can be provided on 
the waistband of the inner trousers. In advantageous manner, however, 
bur-type closing members are provided for on the inside of the downwardly 
opening pockets on the inner waistband of the leisure trousers, the 
closing members engaging with corresponding bur-type closing members on 
both sides of the flaps or flags on the waistband of the inner trousers, 
when those are inserted into the downwardly opening pockets on the inner 
waistband of the leisure trousers. In advantageous manner, the bur-type 
closures extend over the entire inner sides of the above-described pockets 
on the inner waistband of the leisure trousers in accordance with the 
present invention. By providing such bur-type closures, the inner trousers 
bearing the protective elements can be detached and fixed at any time and 
in a surprisingly simple and advantageous manner so that there is no 
hindrance to a frequent exchange of the inner trousers. 
As has already been described, the reception pockets open downwardly on the 
inner waistband of the leisure trousers as well as the flaps and flags, 
respectively, on the waistband of the inner trousers can be provided 
around the waistband of the respective trousers in a circumferential 
manner. Thus, a decidedly stable connection results, that can also cope 
with severe stress occurring during sportive activities such as inline 
skating or the like. Alternatively, it also is conceivable that the inner 
trousers can be connected to the leisure trousers in certain positions 
only, with the advantage of a quick exchangeability. 
Due to exchangeability of the inner trousers and/or the protective 
elements, respectively, within the trousers, the latter can also be worn 
without problems without the protective upholstering elements and/or 
without the inner trousers, respectively, bearing the pads, so that the 
trousers are also useable for social activities. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become 
apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken 
in conjunction with the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of leisure trousers 1 having a fashionable 
design; in the illustrated embodiment corresponding to the wide cut 
presently preferred for leisure time. The leisure trousers, however, can 
also be cut in any other style and manner. As is shown schematically, 
protective elements 2 are disposed within the leisure trousers 1 for 
protection of specific body regions, wherein the arrangement of the 
protective elements 2 can vary depending on the sports participated in. In 
the illustrated embodiment the protective elements 2 are fixed to inner 
trousers 5 (not shown in FIG. 1) that, again, are detachably connected to 
the inner waistband 3 of the leisure trousers using flaps or flags 4 on 
the waistband of the inner trousers. The protective elements are connected 
to the respectively suspended inner trousers either detachably, using 
bur-type closing elements or, alternatively, rigidly so that the use of 
the leisure trousers for different types of sports will be possible either 
by exchanging the protective elements on the inner trousers or by 
exchanging the entire inner trousers with other corresponding ones. 
Instead of the inner trousers, it also is conceivable to fix the 
protective elements directly to the inner waistband 3 of the leisure 
trousers using respective flaps or flags on the protective elements 
themselves. 
In FIG. 2 attachment of the inner trousers 5 to the waistband 3 of leisure 
trousers is shown in cross-sectional view, the waistband 3 of the leisure 
trousers being folded to the inside and forming a pocket open downwardly 
and being provided with bur-type closing members 6 on its inner faces. 
Such pockets can be provided circumferentially running around the entire 
waistband 3; they can, however, also be restricted to given areas of the 
waistband 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the flaps or flags 4 provided 
with bur-type closing members 7 on both sides are fixed to the inner 
trousers 5 bearing the protective elements 2, as shown, on the waistband. 
For fixation of the inner trousers 5 to the waistband 3 of the leisure 
trousers 1, the flaps or flags 4 on the waistband of the inner trousers 
are inserted into the downwardly opening pockets that are formed by the 
folded waistband 3, fixation being guaranteed by engagement of the 
bur-type closing members 6 on the inner faces of the downwardly opening 
pockets on the leisure trousers 1 and of the bur-type closing members 7 on 
the flaps or flags of the inner trousers 5. It is also possible to provide 
for other suitable fixation members, such as press buttons or the like, 
instead of the bur-type closing members 6 and 7. 
The fixation of the inner trousers in this manner permits quick and easy 
arrangement of the protective elements in the desired positions excluding 
incorrect positioning if the respective flaps 4 are inserted into and 
fixed to the corresponding pockets formed by the waistband 3. At the same 
time, the external fashionable appearance of the leisure trousers is not 
impaired by the protective elements, this being of basic importance in 
view of acceptance by the market sectors targeted. 
FIG. 3 illustrates the advantageous arrangement of protective elements on 
the inner trousers 5 from the rear, the upholster-like protective elements 
2 already described, as well as high-resistance foam cup protective 
elements 8 elevated in explosion-like manner. The high-resistance foam cup 
protector elements 8 are fixed to the inner trousers using bur-type 
closing elements 9, wherein the bur-type closing elements, as shown in 
FIG. 3, can be provided on the upholster-like elements and also in any 
other position deemed suitable and in any suitable form. In addition, an 
advantageous adaptation of the protective elements 2 and/or 8, 
respectively, to the anatomic realities of the human body, particularly 
achieved by the surface structure shown in dashed manner, of the 
protective elements 2 and their contour, permits a high degree of 
moveability. 
Finally, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the inner trousers as shown in FIG. 3 
are shown in position of use together with the corresponding leisure 
trousers 1. In addition to the elements already known, the connection of 
the inner trousers 5 with the leisure trousers 1 using the waistband 3 is 
particularly clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. 
While the invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment 
with reference to several alternative embodiments, it should be apparent 
to one skilled in the art that variants and substitutes to the elements of 
the above-described invention can be adopted without departing from the 
present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is to 
be limited only by the following claims.