Patent Publication Number: US-9844236-B2

Title: Convertible garment

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/916,372 filed on Dec. 16, 2013 titled Convertible Garment and is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to apparel and, more particularly, to a garment that is convertible between pants known as “scrubs” and more formal slacks. 
     Scrubs are the simple trousers and shirts worn by nurses, surgeons, midwives, and other medical personnel when preparing for or performing medical procedures, surgery, or the like. Scrubs are most frequently worn in a hospital environment but are also seen in other “clean” environments such as laboratories, physical therapy, and doctor&#39;s offices in general. 
     Scrubs are typically worn as a replacement to normal clothing in that “street” clothing is assumed to be contaminated. In addition, scrubs are lightweight and without bulky or ornamental components that may interfere with a medical procedure. When a person wearing scrubs is finished with a medical procedure or completes a work shift altogether, he may desire to change into clothing that is more formal and attractive. Similarly, a person wearing scrubs may simply desire a more formal appearance when going to lunch, supper, or to another event, especially when there is little or no time to completely change attire. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to have a convertible garment that is adjustable between substantially traditional scrub trousers and more formal slacks. Further, it would be desirable to have a convertible garment having upper and lower auxiliary portions that are selectively foldable out of the way or deployed to a more fashionable configuration 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A convertible garment according to the present invention includes a waist portion having a continuous upper edge and a pair of leg portions extending downwardly from the waist portion. Each leg portion includes a lower end. The convertible garment includes an upper auxiliary portion having a continuous lower edge coupled to the upper edge of the waistband and an opposed free upper edge. The upper auxiliary portion is movable between a folded configuration in which a front surface of the upper auxiliary portion is adjacent to or bears against the waist portion and an extended configuration extending away from the waist portion or being vertically co-planar therewith. The convertible garment includes a pair of lower auxiliary portions each having an upper edge coupled to respective lower ends of respective leg portions and an opposed free edge, respective lower auxiliary portions being movable between a folded configuration in which a front face is adjacent respective leg portions and an extended configuration extending away from respective lower ends of respective leg portions. 
     Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a convertible garment that enables a person in a medical occupation to have a functional “scrubs” garment that converts to an aesthetically pleasing active wear garment. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a convertible garment, as aforesaid, having an upper auxiliary portion that can be folded over a waistband for functional use as scrubs or extended upwardly for the appearance of formal slacks. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a convertible garment, as aforesaid, having a lower auxiliary portion attached to the lower end of each leg portion, each lower auxiliary portion being foldable upwardly and secured while the garment is used as “scrubs” or lengthened when worn as slacks. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a convertible garment, as aforesaid, that is easy to convert between scrubs and slacks. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a convertible garment according to one embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a lower and an upper auxiliary portion in extended configurations; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of the convertible garment as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the convertible garment as in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the convertible garment illustrated with an upper auxiliary portion in a folded configuration; 
         FIG. 5  is another front perspective view of the convertible garment illustrated with a lower auxiliary portion in a folded configuration; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a shirt member of the convertible garment as in  FIG. 1 , illustrated with a long sleeve portion in an extended configuration; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the shirt member as in  FIG. 6 , illustrated with the sleeve portion in a retracted configuration. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A convertible garment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7  of the accompanying drawings. 
     The convertible garment  10  includes a waist portion  20  and a pair of leg portions  40  extending downwardly from the waist portion  20  in a substantially traditional manner. More particularly, the waist portion  20  may include a continuous upper edge  22  and may include an elastic or other resilient material in its construction. In other words, the waist band of the convertible garment does not separate in front in the manner of traditional jeans or slacks. The upper edge  22  of the waist portion  20 , however, is not the uppermost end of the garment as will be explained more fully below. 
     The convertible garment  10  includes an upper auxiliary portion  30  having a continuous lower edge  32  coupled to the upper edge  22  of the waist portion  20 . This connection may be by sewing or as an integrated or unitary construction of material. In one embodiment, the line of connection may include a seam such that the upper auxiliary portion  30  may be folded over upper edge  22  or extended upwardly therefrom depending on the preference or current need of a wearer of the garment. Specifically, the upper auxiliary portion  30  is movable between a folded configuration in which a front surface thereof is adjacent to or rests against a front surface of the waist portion  20  ( FIG. 4 ) and an extended configuration in which the front surface thereof is extended or displaced away from the front surface of the waist portion  20  ( FIG. 1 ). Preferably, the upper auxiliary portion  30  is positioned above and in the same vertical plane as the waist portion  20 . Upper edge  22  defines a continuous longitudinal axis about which the upper auxiliary portion  30  is selectively folded. At the extended configuration, the convertible garment  10  may have the appearance of a more formal garment such as casual or even dress slacks. 
     Each of the leg portions  40  includes a lower end  42  although not the lowermost extent of each leg portion  40 . Specifically, the convertible garment  10  also includes a pair of lower auxiliary portions  50 , each lower auxiliary portion  50  having a continuous upper edge  52  connected to a respective lower end  42  of a respective leg portion  40  and having opposed free edges  54 . Respective free edges  54  are opposed to the upper edges  52 . Again, the lower end  42  of a respective leg portion  40  may be connected to respective lower auxiliary portions  50  with a seam or simply have an integrated or unitary structure. 
     Each lower auxiliary portion  50  is movable between a folded configuration in which a front face thereof is adjacent to or resting against a front face of a respective leg portion  40  and an extended configuration in which the front face of the respective leg portion extends away from a respective leg portion  40 . The lower auxiliary portion  50  is generally parallel to a respective leg portion  40  at the folded configuration and is generally coplanar with a respective leg portion  40  at the extended configuration. In the folded configuration ( FIG. 5 ), the garment  10  is functional for use as traditional scrubs whereas in the extended configuration, the leg portions  40  are lengthened to appear more formal ( FIG. 1 ). 
     The convertible garment  10  includes straps and fasteners that cooperate to hold the lower auxiliary portions  50  in either the folded configurations ( FIG. 5 ) or to release them to the extended configurations ( FIG. 1 ). More particularly, at least one first fastener  56  is situated adjacent a respective lower end  42  of respective leg portions  40  ( FIG. 4 ). Preferably, a plurality of first fasteners  56  are spaced apart adjacent the lower ends  42 . Each first fastener  56  may be a snap fastener although other fasteners such as latches, clasps, hook and loop fasteners, hooks, magnets, or the like may also be included. It is understood that while the first fasteners  56  are illustrated as being positioned on an upper extent of the lower auxiliary portions  50 , they may, in one embodiment, be positioned on respective leg portions  40  themselves. 
     In addition, at least one strap  58  is coupled at one end to respective lower auxiliary portions  50  adjacent respective free edges  54  thereof. Each strap  58  includes a second fastener  57  at its distal/free end having a configuration that is complementary to a configuration of each first fastener  56 . For instance, fasteners  56  and  57  may be mating snaps, hook and loop elements, magnets or the like. Accordingly, respective first and second fasteners may be selectively coupled together so as to hold respective lower auxiliary portions  50  in the folded configurations as described above ( FIG. 5 ). Conversely, an uncoupling of respective first and second fasteners causes respective lower auxiliary portions  50  to extend downwardly to the extended or lengthened configurations ( FIG. 1 ). 
     In one embodiment, each lower auxiliary portion  50  includes an inner surface  59  having reflective elements or being constructed of a reflective material. In this regard, a user wearing the convertible garment  10  may position respective lower auxiliary portions  50  at the folded configuration ( FIG. 5 ) when walking on a dimly lit street or other environment in which drawing attention to the light of automobiles would be desirable for safety. 
     In an embodiment, the convertible garment  10  may also include a pair of auxiliary cuff members  70 , each being connected at an upper end to respective lower auxiliary portions  50  so as to extend downwardly therefrom ( FIG. 5 ). Preferably, each auxiliary cuff member  70  may include an elastic or resilient material that may be gathered at a lower end so as to fit relatively tightly around the ankle of a person wearing the convertible garment  10 . It should be observed that respective auxiliary cuff members  70  are hidden behind respective auxiliary members  50  when the lower auxiliary portions  50  are at the extended configuration ( FIG. 1 ) but are visible when respective lower auxiliary portions  50  are at the folded configuration ( FIG. 5 ). In one embodiment, each auxiliary cuff member  70  may include a reflective element or material instead of or in addition to the inner surface of the auxiliary portions  50  described above. 
     Still further, the waist portion  20  may include a pair of opposed pocket members  24  each of which define an interior area capable of holding articles such as car keys, medical equipment, or other articles. Each pocket member  24  defines an opening  26  through which access to respective interior areas may be obtained ( FIG. 1 ). It is understood that respective pocket openings  26  are partially covered by the upper auxiliary portion  30  when positioned at the folded configuration ( FIG. 4 ). Now with more specific reference to the structures shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , each pocket member  24  includes a lower portion  24   a  defining the interior area configured to receive articles as described above and an upper portion  FIG. 24 b    extending upwardly from a respective inside edge of the lower portion  24   a , the upper portion extending across or atop the upper auxiliary portion  30  ( FIG. 1 ). Together, the upper portion  24   b  and lower portion  24   a  of respective pocket members define upper and lower openings, respectively (shown but not numbered individually). When the upper auxiliary portion  30  is at the folded configuration as shown in  FIG. 4 , the upper auxiliary portion  30  of the convertible garment  10  blocks access to the upper opening defined by the upper portion  24   b  of the pocket member  24  and allows access to the lower opening defined by the lower portion  24   a  of the pocket member  24  so that articles are removable from the interior area of the pocket member  24 . 
     In use, the upper auxiliary portion  30  and lower auxiliary portion  50  may be positioned at respective folded configurations as described above such that the garment  10  may be used functionally as scrubs. Then, if the scrubs need to be converted to more formal pants, the upper auxiliary portion  30  and lower auxiliary portion  50  are moved to the extended configurations. Alternatively, the garment  10  may be considered “formal” with the lower auxiliary portions  50  folded so as to display respective auxiliary cuff members  70  which are in the form of more formal pants that hug the ankles. 
     The convertible garment  10  may include other variations of the concept described above. For instance, the convertible garment  10  may include a shirt or jacket  60  that is convertible between a short sleeve garment ( FIG. 7 ) and a long sleeved garment ( FIG. 6 ). More particularly, the shirt  60  includes a pair of sleeve portions. Each sleeve portion is movable between a short sleeve configuration in which only short sleeve sections  62  are seen ( FIG. 7 ) and a long sleeve configuration in which long sleeve sections  64  are also seen ( FIG. 6 ). In the short sleeve configuration, the long sleeve sections  64  are folded beneath the short sleeve sections  62  in a manner substantially similar to that described previously and may be held by fasteners (not shown). 
     In use, the long sleeve sections  64  may be extended down to a person&#39;s wrists to have a more formal look or rolled up (or folded up) under the short sleeve sections  62  when working. Further, the shirt  60  may include a zippered front that enables the shirt  60  to be put on or taken off by releasing the zipper  66 . The zipper  66  also makes the shirt look like a more formal garment such as a jacket. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.