Improvements in Leggings.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1895-Accepted, 25th Jan., 1896
Improvements in Leggings.
1, CHARLES FISHER, of No. 22 Sutter Street, in the City and County of San
Francisco, State of California, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention has for its object to produce a protection for the trousers from
the knee downward, in the nature of a legging without fastenings of any kind on
the outside to interfere with the free movements of the leg and without catches or
fastenings of any kind on the inside to engage and disfigure or injure the leg of the
trousers.
To such end and objects my invention consists in the described construction of
legging and means whereby the same is kept in place and in shape on the leg of
the wearer; the said construction being fully explained and set forth in the
following description, in which reference is had to the accompanying drawing
forming part of this Specification:
In the accompanying drawing:-
-
Figure 1 is a view of the legging partly opened and spread out to show the
inside;
Figure 2 is a view representing the legging secured in place on the leg of a
trousers, the legging and the trousers being broken away at the bottom to show the
relative position of the parts when in use;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the legging in closed position, with the bottom
part turned up;
The body A of the legging is made of some soft flexible cloth of good water-
proof quality, such as mackintosh, or rubber-cloth; but cloth of suitable thickness
without special water-proof qualities can be used for ordinary wear in pleasant.
weather. A strip of some such material of proper length to extend from the knee
to the ankle and of suitable width to surround the leg and lap at the ends is cut of
the shape represented in Figure 3, somewhat wider at the top than at the bottom
to form this body.
The raw edges of this piece are finished by turning in and hemming, or by
binding, as may be desired, and the material may be lined for the whole length or
for any part thereof to give additional stiffness to the body. To the inner side of
this part A is attached a flap B by the upper edge 6× alone, so that it is loose and
detached at the bottom from the outer body part.
Such flap extends down to the bottom edge of the part A or to within a short
distance of that edge and is secured to the body around its upper edge at a greater
or less distance above the bottom, the same depending on the length given to the
flap it being understood that such flap can be made as deep as the body itself, in
which case it serves to add stiffness to the body, or it can be formed of a narrow
strip as shown in Figure 1.
;
On the inner side of the body A are secured longitudinal stiffening ribs C D of
metal or whalebone properly covered to hold them in place and prevent them from
rubbing the trousers; these stiffeners being placed one along one edge of the body
and the other at such distance from the other edge that when the legging is in
position for use they extend down the sides of the leg, one on the inner side and the
other on the outer side of the leg.

page_text: The rib or spring D in addition to its function as a stiffener on the side of the
legging forms part of the means that fastens together the overlapping edges of the
body. The ends d* of such spring are detached from the material of the body and
are exposed or uncovered for a short distance beyond the ends at the top and
bottom on the inside of the legging at one perpendicular edge, and the loop or
pocket E is formed on the outside of the legging at the top and the pocket Fat the
bottom on the flap B of the opposite perpendicular edge at such points that such
free ends of the springs D are readily insertible into the loops or pockets when the
two edges of the body are brought together and lapped on each other, by bending
or bowing outwardly the spring D sufficiently to slip its ends into the loops.
When the two edges are thus lapped and joined the outside of the legging
presents a smooth surface all around without projections of any kind, and the inside
is not directly attached to the material of the trousers at any point.
The function or office of the loose flap B on the inside of the body is to keep the
legging from dropping or working down on the leg, for which purpose it is used or
placed in the following manner--When the legging is about to be placed in position
the wearer proceeds to turn up his trousers at the bottom all around as indicated
at X, Figure 2, after which the legging is brought around into place with the
opening or overlap on the outer side of the leg and the lower edge of the
flap B is set into the recess or pocket p formed by such turned-up bottom of
the trousers and finally the legging is closed around the leg by bringing together
the overlapping edges and inserting the ends a* of the spring D into the
pockets E F.
In this operation the legging is bent around the leg of the wearer and the
bottom edge of the body is turned up all around, to leave the canvas flap B
exposed as partly shown in Figure 3. The bottom of the trouser's leg being
set to extend below the edge of this flap, the same is then turned up over the
canvas flap to the outside, after which the outer part of the legging is turned
down all around to cover the trouser's bottom as represented in Figure 2. By this
means the turned up edge of the trouser's leg is confined between the flap Band
the material of the body A on the inside, so that it cannot get out of its turned up
position; while the bottom edge of the flap being confined and retained in turn
within the fold of the trouser's leg holds the legging in place and prevents it from
working down on the trousers.
Thus the covering is held in place without being directly attached to the material
of the trousers by fastenings and without being strapped or tightly drawn around
the leg.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A legging of flexible material open at the side, provided on the inner side
with a flap which is attached at the upper edge to the body of the legging, and
detached therefrom at the bottom, and having on one perpendicular edge of the
opening a stiffening spring the ends of which at the top and at the bottom of the
legging are detached from the body, and provided on the opposite perpendicular
edge of the opening with loops or pockets adapted to receive the said detached ends
of the spring.
2. In a legging, the combination with a body of flexible material open at one side,
of an inner flap attached at the top edge to the legging body on the inner side all
around, and extending from such line of attachment downward to the bottom edge
of the legging and detached at all points around the bottom from the legging body,
and means for fastening the edges of the opening together.
3. The hereindescribed legging comprising a body of flexible material open at
one side, an inner flap attached to the body only at the top edge and adapted for
insertion at the bottom edge into the fold of the turned up bottom of the trouser's
leg whereby the turned up edge of the trousers is confined between such flap and the

page_text: surrounding body of the legging all around the bottom, and the longitudinal
stiffening springs secured in position to the material of the body, one of said springs
being arranged along the perpendicular edge at one side of the opening and having
its ends at top and bottom detached from the body, and the loops or pockets on
the opposite side of the opening adapted to receive said ends of the spring and the
other spring being placed on the opposite side of the leg.
Dated 15th day of October 1805
CHARLES FISHER.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.