Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to specialized clothing or costumes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a costume having a customizable front panel and a related support structure. 
     Traditionally, costumes allow a wearer to transform or alter their appearance and/or personality. Costumes may include various components intended to disguise the appearance of the wearer, alter the physical stature of the wearer, or achieve some other similar deception. Some costumes are elaborately designed, including multiple components and pieces required to be worn to complete the effect the costume is aiming to achieve. 
     Additionally, many costume wearers would prefer for their faces to remain unaltered. This increases the ease with which a wearer can talk, laugh, eat, drink, or perform any other activity that requires freedom of movement and easy access to the face or head. Some costumes include a body suit with various designs applied, and the wearer&#39;s head is incorporated likewise into the costume. One example would be a bodysuit painted to look like a skeleton, where the head of the person wearing the costume would become the skeleton&#39;s head. This type of costume may also be elaborate, or require a bit of effort to put on or assemble. Additionally, the body suit may not provide any type of disguise or adequate cover for a wearer&#39;s body. 
     What is needed is a costume designed such that a wearer can quickly put on and take off the costume, the costume providing an opening for the wearer&#39;s head as well as a support structure for concealing the wearer&#39;s body. 
     SUMMARY 
     Before the present methods are described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular systems, methodologies or protocols described, as these may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure which will be limited only by the appended claims. 
     It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a “costume” is a reference to one or more costumes and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” 
     In one general respect, the embodiments disclose a customizable costume to be worn by a wearer. The costume includes a panel having a hole cut therethrough, a plurality of attachment points and at least one channel disposed on at least one edge of the panel, at least one flexible strap passing through the plurality of attachment points configured to affix the costume to the wearer, and an internal frame affixed to the panel in the at least one channel, the frame configured to provide rigid support for the panel. 
     In another general respect, the embodiments disclose a customizable costume to be worn by a wearer. The costume includes a panel having a hole cut there through positioned to accommodate the wearer&#39;s head, a plurality of attachment points and at least one channel disposed on at least one edge of the panel, at least one flexible strap passing through the plurality of attachment points configured to adjustably affix the costume to the wearer, and an internal frame affixed to the panel in the at least one channel, the frame configured to provide rigid support for the panel such that the panel is held tightly while the wearer is wearing the costume. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Aspects, features, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a front view of a person wearing a costume according to an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIGS. 2A ,  2 B, and  2 C illustrate front, side, and back views respectively, of a person wearing a decorated costume according to an exemplary embodiment; and 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a blown-up view of the back of a costume and the associated support structure according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It is to be understood that at least some of the figures and descriptions of the invention have been simplified to focus on elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements that those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate may also comprise a portion of the invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not necessarily facilitate a better understanding of the invention, a description of such elements is not provided herein. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a front view of a costume  100  according to an exemplary embodiment. The costume  100  may be designed such that a panel  102  is worn by a costume wearer such that the panel is held tightly against the front of the wearer&#39;s body. The panel  102  may be constructed from a variety of lightweight materials such as fabric, paper, cardboard, foam or any other suitable lightweight material. 
     The panel  102  may include a hole  104  for accommodating the wearer&#39;s head. Depending on the material used to construct panel  102 , the hole  104  may be a sized to accommodate a majority of people&#39;s head sizes. If the panel  102  is constructed from an elastic material such as most fabrics, the hole  104  may be sized to be stretchable around the wearer&#39;s head. It should be noted that in costume  100 , the panel  102  is shown with a single hole for the wearer&#39;s head. It should be recognized that multiple holes may be included to accommodate the wearer&#39;s arms or hands as well, or even the head and/or limbs of another. 
       FIG. 2A  illustrates a costume  200  according to an exemplary embodiment. In costume  200 , a panel  202  has been customized to include a design. In this example, the panel  202  has been customized to include a magazine cover. Various designs may be utilized such as magazine covers, movie posters, music album covers, video game covers, book covers, screen shots, or any other drawing or image chosen by the wearer or the costume&#39;s manufacturer. Additionally, the drawings or images may represent a fictitious publication (such as the “SUCCE$$” magazine cover shown in  FIG. 2A ), or a copyrighted image and/or trademark may be used (e.g., an actual magazine cover or movie poster). 
     Similar to panel  102 , panel  202  includes a hole  204  through which the wearer may place their head. In this example, the hole  204  may be positioned on panel  202  such that the wearer&#39;s head comes through the panel at an appropriate place in relation to the design on the panel. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the hole  204  is positioned where the head would be on the image of the person appearing on the cover of SUCCE$$ magazine. Thus, by putting on costume  200 , the wearer&#39;s head becomes the head of the cover model of SUCCE$$ magazine. Similarly, the design of panel  202  may be positioned such that the body or legs of the person depicted in the design aligns with the body or legs of the costume wearer. 
     It should be noted that while a magazine cover depicting a person is shown in costume  200 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the design is not limited to examples where only a person&#39;s body is included in the design. 
       FIG. 2B  illustrates a side view of costume  200 . In this example, the design on panel  202  is limited to the side facing away from the wearer&#39;s body. The back side of panel  202  is left blank in this example. However, there may be an alternative embodiment where both sides of panel  202  are printed with a design such that the costume  200  is reversible, thereby providing the wearer with two distinct costumes. 
     Costume  200  further includes a series of straps  206 . Straps  206  may be detachably or permanently attached to panel  202  and positioned such that they assist in holding the panel against the wearer&#39;s body. Straps  206  may be constructed from a similar material as the material used to make panel  202 . However, in the event a non-pliable or weaker material is used to construct the panel  202 , such as paper or cardboard, an alternative material may be used for the straps  206  such that thy are of sufficient strength and durability, and may be repeatedly secured and unsecured. 
       FIG. 2C  illustrates a back view of costume  200 . In this view, a cross pattern of straps  206  is shown as the straps are used to adjustably attach panel  202  to the wearer. The cross pattern also allows some of the weight of the costume  200  to be transferred to the wearer&#39;s shoulders such that the weight of the costume is not supported entirely by the wearer&#39;s neck at hole  204 . Multiple attachment points  208  may be included such that straps  206  attach at multiple locations to the panel  202 . Attachment points  208  may include loops constructed from a similar material as the panel  202 , or other attachment devices such as metal rings, plastic rings, or any other suitable attachment device. 
     Additionally, one or more channels  210  may be integrated into the panel. These channels may provide an attachment point for an internal frame used to provide rigid support for the panel  202 . The internal frame is discussed below in the discussion of  FIG. 3 . Multiple channels  210  may be included, one on each edge of panel  202  such that individual components of the internal frame may be slid into the channels and provide rigid support for the panel. The corners of channels  210  may be left open to provide access to the internal frame as well as to provide an area where individual components of the internal frame may be attached to one another. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2A-2C , panel  202  is generally a rectangular shape. It should be noted that this is shown by way of example only. Panel  202  may be any geometric shape, for example a triangle, a square, a pentagon, etc. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exploded view of costume  300 , shown without a wearer. Panel  302  is shown from the back, without a design. A single hole  304  is included for a potential wearer&#39;s head. Two flexible straps  306  are shown in a similar cross pattern as discussed above in reference to  FIG. 2C . Similarly, multiple attachment points  308  are shown for attaching straps  206  to the panel  202 . Multiple channels  310  are also shown for accommodating internal frame  312 . 
     In exemplary costume  300 , internal frame  312  has been removed from the channels  310  and exploded into its various components. As shown, the long sides of internal frame  312  are constructed from multiple pieces, while the top and bottom of the frame are a single, shorter piece. Ninety degree bends are used to attach the pieces of the internal frame  312  at the corners. By making the internal frame  312  removable from panel  302 , costume  300  quickly collapses for easy transport and/or storage. Panel  302  may further include a pocket or pouch for storing the individual components of internal frame  312  such that the entire costume  300  can be stored as a single unit, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing the chances of losing any individual components of the frame. 
     Internal frame  312  may be constructed from a lightweight but sturdy material such as small diameter plastic tubing or pipe (e.g., ¼ or ½ inch poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) pipe). It should be noted that while only four sides of internal frame  312  are shown in  FIG. 3 , if the shape of panel  302  is altered, the internal frame may be adjusted to accommodated any changes. For example, if panel  302  is designed as a triangle, three sides of internal frame  312  may be used along with different corner pieces corresponding to the angles used for the triangle. If panel  302  is shaped such that it is an equilateral triangle, three equal length sides may be used for internal frame  312 , along with sixty degree corner pieces. 
     It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

Technology Category: 1