1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of garments and garment accessories. More specifically the present invention relates to an upright reinforcing structure with fastening means for attachment to the lower end rearward portion of a pant leg to prevent the lower end rearward portion from bending forwardly and becoming caught between the heel of the wearer foot and the sole of a corresponding open back shoe, and to a shoe and pant leg system combining the reinforcing structure with a pant leg and an open back shoe. The system establishes the height relationships between the reinforcing structure and the shoe heel, namely that the height of the reinforcing structure has at least twice the height of the shoe heel so that the lower end rearward portion cannot bend sufficiently to become caught between the wearer shoe and foot. To define the height independently of a given shoe heel, the height of the reinforcing structure is at least three inches and preferably four inches.
The reinforcing structure preferably takes the form of an elongate reinforcing panel and the panel fastening means preferably takes the form of an adhesive on a panel first face. The panel first face is initially covered by a removable cover sheet, so that the cover sheet can be pealed off the panel and the panel first face placed and affixed upright against the lower end rearward portion inner surface. The reinforcing panel preferably is inexpensive and readily removable from the pant leg to be disposable, so that the pants can be laundered without the panel. The preferred reinforcing panel material is cardstock or cardboard, although a resilient or rigid plastic is also contemplated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been structures for attachment to a pant leg lower end or cuff for either maintaining the cuff in a laterally full and rounded configuration, or for shielding the pant leg lower end from abrasion. What has been absent in the art is a pant leg lower end reinforcing structure for preventing the lower end rearward portion from bending sufficiently to become caught between the wearer foot and the heel of an open back shoe.
Prior art pant leg supplemental structures for shaping the pant leg or cuff include those of Cameron, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 1,381,965, issued on Jun. 21, 1921 for a shape retainer for the bottom of trousers legs; Wilkens, U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,724, issued on Dec. 6, 1960 for a plastic ring for blousing of trouser legs; and Hess, U.S. Pat. No. 3,097,364, issued on Jul. 16, 1963 for a device for forming cuffs on trousers which forms a band around the pant leg lower end; Isaacs, U.S. Pat. No. 3,139,625, issued on Jul. 7, 1964 for a cuff for garments; and Henry, U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,741, issued on Jun. 14, 1977 for a plastic blousing block in the form of a tubular structure fitting around a leg lower end.
Prior art pant leg supplemental structures for shielding the pant leg from abrasion damage and soiling from the shoe heel include those of C. S. Knapp, U.S. Pat. No. 1,651,775, issued on Dec. 6, 1927 for a trouser shield for securing about a pant leg rear segment lower edge; F. F. Hartlage, U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,594, issued on Nov. 22, 1949 for a protector for the bottom edges of trousers which fasten with protruding spikes to a pant leg lower end; H. Snider, U.S. Pat. No. 2,574,669, issued on Nov. 13, 1951 for a removable trouser leg bottom guard; and Wayworth, U.S. Pat. No. 2,483,952, issued on Oct. 4, 1949 for a protecting strip for trouser cuffs which is laterally elongated to extend along a partial circumferential path around the pant leg lower end.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a pant leg lower end reinforcing structure which fastens to a pant leg lower end rearward portion and extends a sufficient distance along the pant leg longitudinal axis to prevent lower leg rearward portion from bending forwardly sufficiently to become caught between the wearer heel and the heel upper surface of an open backed shoe.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a reinforcing structure which readily and easily removed from a pant leg after installation without damaging the pant leg.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a reinforcing structure which can be trimmed by the purchaser to any desired dimensions if different from provided dimensions.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a reinforcing structure which is easy and inexpensive to produce to such an extent to be disposable prior to each pant laundering.