RAIN GEAR

Abstract

To provide a rain gear that is wearable with shoes on, that does not have a risk of tearing during walking, and that is easy to walk in.

Provided is a rain gear at least including a waterproof lower wear part including a hip part and a pair of leg parts, and a pair of waterproof slipper parts each including a lower bottom member and an instep member, in which each of edge parts of the leg parts and an associated one of the slipper parts are joined in a waterproof manner and with no space therebetween, and lower openings of the leg parts are sealed from outside the rain gear by the slipper parts.

Claims

1. A rain gear comprising: a waterproof lower wear part including a hip part and a pair of leg parts; and a pair of waterproof slipper parts each including a lower bottom member and an instep member, wherein each of edge parts of the leg parts of the lower wear part and an associated one of the waterproof slipper parts are joined in a waterproof manner and with no space therebetween, and lower openings of the leg parts are sealed from outside the rain gear by the slipper parts.

2. The rain gear according to claim 1, further comprising: an upper wear part continuous upward from the hip part of the lower wear part; and a hood part continuous upward from the upper wear part (30).

3. The rain gear according to claim 1, wherein the instep member of each of the waterproof slipper parts has a domical shape with a toe side closed, and each of the edge parts of the leg parts is joined to an edge part of an associated one of the instep members and a side surface of an associated one of the lower bottom members.

4. The rain gear according to claim 1, wherein the instep member of each of the waterproof slipper parts has a domical shape with a toe side closed, and each of the edge parts of the leg parts is joined to a side surface of an associated one of the lower bottom members.

5. The rain gear according to claim 1, wherein the instep member of each of the waterproof slipper parts has a band shape with a toe side open, and each of the edge parts of the leg parts is joined to an associated one of the instep members and a side surface of an associated one of the lower bottom members.

6. The rain gear according to claim 1, wherein the instep member of each of the waterproof slipper parts has a band shape with a toe side open, and each of the edge parts of the leg parts is joined to a side surface of an associated one of the lower bottom members.

7. The rain gear according to claim 2, comprising a length adjuster for fixing a state where a gather in an upper-lower direction or a right-left direction is formed on the lower wear part or the upper wear part.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating one example of a first embodiment of a rain gear according to the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the rain gear illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0031] FIG. 3(a) is a schematic front view illustrating one example of a second embodiment of the rain gear according to the present invention. FIG. 3(b) is a schematic side view illustrating the rain gear illustrated in FIG. 3(a).

[0032] FIG. 4(a) to 4(d) are schematic perspective views illustrating examples of modifications of slipper parts.

[0033] FIG. 5(a) to 5(d) are schematic perspective views illustrating examples of modifications of a joint part between each of the slipper parts and the lower wear part.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a schematic transparent view of the vicinity of the slipper parts when the rain gear of the present invention is worn with shoes on.

[0035] FIG. 7(a) to 7(e) are diagrams illustrating one example of a way of folding up the rain gear according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Embodiments of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings as an exemplification. In the respective embodiments, the same or similar constituent elements are denoted by like reference signs.

[0037] A rain gear according to the present invention is assumed to be wearable with shoes on. However, the rain gear can, of course, be worn with no shoes on. Shoes in the present specification are not necessarily limited to those called shoes and are used in a broad sense including general footwear to be worn at the time of walking outside.

[0038] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating one example of a first embodiment of a rain gear according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the rain gear illustrated in FIG. 1. A rain gear 1 includes a lower wear part 20 to be worn on a lower half of a body and an upper wear part 30 to be worn on an upper half of the body and has a so-called coveralls shape where these parts are integrally continuous. The rain gear 1 further has a hood part 40 continuous with the upper wear part 30 on the upper side thereof, and slipper parts 10 joined to lower ends of the lower wear part 20. The lower wear does not mean underwear and is used in the sense of clothing to be worn on the lower half of the body.

[0039] The lower wear part 20 includes a hip part 21, and a pair of leg parts 22 extending from a crotch part to lower openings. Each of the leg parts 22 has such a length that the lowermost end nearly reaches a heel of a wearer. The upper wear part 30 includes a body part 31 continuous upward from the hip part 21 of the lower wear part 20, and a pair of arm parts 32. While a stretchable member 35 that is made of an elastic body such as a rubber string is provided at a position substantially corresponding to a boundary between the lower wear part 20 and the upper wear part 30 in the example illustrated in the drawings, this is not essential. A fastener 33 extending in an upper-lower direction from an upper end of the body part 31 to an intermediate position of the hip part 21 is provided at a central position of the front. The fastener 33 is opened and closed when a wearer takes on and off the rain gear 1. It is preferable that a stretchable member 34 is provided also at the edge of an opening at the distal end of each of the arm parts 32.

[0040] The hood part 40 continuous upward from the body part 31 of the upper wear part 30 has a face opening 42 on the front to expose the face. While a stretchable member 43 is provided around the face opening 42, this is not essential.

[0041] The lower wear part 20, the upper wear part 30, and the hood part 40 are made of a thin sheet of a waterproof material. For example, a nylon sheet that is widely used for general rain gears is preferable. The waterproof material is not limited to a particular one as long as it is adequate for rain gears. While the lower wear part 20, the upper wear part 30, and the hood part 40 are integrated with each other, this does not mean that the entirety is a completely seamless sheet. In manufacturing, as required, the rain gear 1 may be formed by joining a plurality of part sheets to each other while ensuring the waterproof property. The same applies to each of the lower wear part 20, the upper wear part 30, and the hood part 40. For joining including the waterproof property, a waterproof adhesive, welding, sewing, or a waterproof tape is used, for example.

[0042] Each of the slipper parts 10 is joined to the lower opening of the corresponding leg part 22 of the lower wear part 20. Each of the slipper parts 10 has a lower bottom member 11 and an instep member 12. This is the same structure as that of general slippers. Since the slipper parts 10 do not have portions covering heels, a wearer can more easily insert the feet with shoes on.

[0043] The whole slipper parts 10 of the present invention are made of a waterproof material. There is no hole or slit on each of the lower bottom members 11 and the instep members 12 and connection portions between these members are impervious to water. Therefore, water does not flow in and out through the bodies of the slipper parts 10. Such a waterproof material is, for example, polyvinyl chloride or ethylene-vinyl acetate. While each of the lower bottom members 11 and the associated instep member 12 are illustrated as separate members in FIG. 1, these members may be an integrally shaped object. While it is preferable that the slipper parts 10 are lightweight and flexible, the slipper parts 10 also need to have sufficient strength to withstand walking outside in bad weather. Particularly, the lower bottom members 11 has a material quality and a thickness that can provide substantially the same level of strength as that of general shoe soles. Preferably, anti-slip bumps and dents are formed on the bottom surface of each of the lower bottom members 11.

[0044] Referring to the schematic side view of FIG. 2, an edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 at the lowermost position of the lower wear part 20 is caused to overlap and is joined to a heel side of a side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 of the associated slipper part 10 to form a joint part 51. The edge part 22a of the leg part 22 is caused to overlap and is joined to an edge part 12a of the associated instep member 12 to form a joint part 52. It is preferable that each of the joint parts 51 and 52 is formed entirely on the overlapping portion of two members to be joined. The joint parts 51 and 52 are continuous. In this way, the edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 and the associated slipper part 10 are joined seamlessly while the waterproof property is ensured. The joint parts 51 and 52 can be formed, for example, by bonding or welding. A waterproof tape or the like may be used. In the case of bonding, a waterproof adhesive is used, for example. In the case of welding, for example, each of the leg parts 22 made of nylon and the associated slipper part 10 made of polyvinyl chloride are joined to each other through welding by a high-frequency welder, for example.

[0045] When the lower wear part 20 and the slipper parts 10 are joined seamlessly, the lower opening of each of the leg parts 22 is brought to a state of being sealed by the associated slipper part 10 from outside of the rain gear 1. That is, the slipper parts 10 function as sealing lids that close the lower openings of the leg parts 22. Therefore, by wearing the rain gear 1 with shoes on, it is possible to prevent the shoes or the bottoms of the pants from being wet even when the wearer walks on roads flooded or covered in snow. It is preferable that the width of each of the leg parts 22 of the lower wear part 20 that are tubular at the time of being worn is set to a sufficiently large dimension for a wearer to easily put the legs therein with shoes on. It is preferable that the slipper parts 10 are also set to have a dimension larger than that of general slippers assuming that the feet are inserted therein with shoes on.

[0046] In the rain gear 1, the edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 is joined to the instep member 12 of the associated slipper part 10 and the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 and is not joined to the upper surface of the lower bottom member 11. Therefore, reaction force or shear force received by the bottom surfaces of the lower bottom members 11 during walking is not directly transmitted to the sheet material constituting the leg parts 22. Accordingly, tearing of the sheet material of the leg parts 22 due to force received by the slipper parts 10 during walking can be avoided. This prevents penetration of water due to damages of the leg parts 22.

[0047] In contrast thereto, the reinforcing material of the rain pants of Patent Literature 3 described above is joined to the outer surfaces of the foot sole parts of the sheet material constituting the rain pants. Therefore, the foot sole parts of the rain pants are likely to tear due to force received by the reinforcing material during walking and a crack may be formed on the foot sole parts or peripheral parts thereof to cause water to penetrate therein.

[0048] In the rain gear 1 of the present invention, the slipper parts 10 have the instep members 12, so that the moving range in the upward and lateral directions of the shoes or feet of a wearer inserted into the instep parts 12 is limited and the positions of the shoes or feet are stabilized, which makes it easier to walk. That is, with the slipper parts 10, the walking performance on roads flooded or covered in snow, or the like is improved.

[0049] In contrast thereto, in the rain pants of Patent Literature 3 described above, only the planar or dotted reinforcing material is formed on the outer surfaces of the foot sole parts of the sheet material. Therefore, the shoes of a wearer and the reinforcing material are likely to separate from each other, so that it is hard to walk in.

[0050] In the example illustrated in the drawings, a plurality of length adjusters for adjusting the rain gear 1 to fit the physique of a wearer are attached to the front of the body part 31. In the example illustrated in the drawings, a pair of upper-lower length adjusters 36a and 36b is arranged on each of both sides across the center of the front. For example, in the case of a hook-and-loop fastener, the adjuster 36a is a catching component and the adjuster 36b is a caught component having a predetermined length. For example, when the length in the upper-lower direction is to be shortened, the underside surface of the adjuster 36a is caused to overlap and catch the front surface of the adjuster 36b to fix the adjusters to each other in a state where a gather (a fold or a tuck) is formed so as to shorten the length of the body part 31 in the upper-lower direction. Similarly, as for right-left length adjusters 37a and 37b, the adjuster 37a is a catch component of a hook-and-loop fastener and the adjuster 37b is a caught component having a predetermined length. When the length in the right-left direction is to be shortened, the underside surface of the adjuster 37a is caused to overlap and catch the front surface of the adjuster 37b to fix the adjusters to each other in a state where a gather is formed so as to shorten the length of the body part 31 in the right-left direction. The adjustment ranges can be determined by the lengths of the caught components 36b and 37b.

[0051] Length adjusters 26a and 26b substantially the same as those described above are provided also on the front of each of the leg parts 22. This enables adjustment of the length in the upper-lower direction of the lower wear part 20.

[0052] One example of a method of wearing the rain gear 1 is as follows. First, a wearer opens the fastener 33 of the rain gear 1, puts the right and left legs in the leg parts 22 of the lower wear part 20 with shoes on, and inserts front half portions of the shoes into the instep members 12 of the slipper parts 10. Next, the wearer puts the right and left arms in the arm parts 32, puts on the hood part 40, and closes the fastener 33. As required, the lengths of the rain gear 1 in the upper-lower direction and the right-left direction are adjusted. Of course, the rain gear 1 may be worn without any shoes on.

[0053] FIG. 3(a) is a schematic front view illustrating one example of a second embodiment of the rain gear according to the present invention. FIG. 3(b) is a schematic side view illustrating the rain gear illustrated in FIG. 3(a). A rain gear 2 is composed only of the lower wear part 20 and the slipper parts 10 of the first embodiment described above. Configurations of these parts are common to those in the first embodiment described above and descriptions thereof are omitted. The rain gear 2 can be worn by simply putting on the rain gear in the same manner as that of general pants. Similarly to the first embodiment, the rain gear 2 can be worn with shoes on or with no shoes on. The stretchable member 35 is provided at a circumferential edge of the upper opening of the hip part 21.

[0054] FIG. 4(a) to 4(d) are schematic perspective views illustrating examples of modifications of the slipper parts 10. The slipper part 10 illustrated in FIG. 4(a) has the lower bottom member 11 and the instep member 12 and the instep member 12 has a domical shape with the toe side closed. The instep member 12 entirely covers above a half portion of the upper surface 11a of the lower bottom member 11 on the toe side. While the basic shape of the slipper parts 10 of the present invention is the same as that of general slippers, a domical space formed by the instep member 12 is designed to be relatively larger than that of general slippers to enable the feet to be inserted therein with shoes on. Similarly, the width and length of the lower bottom member 11 are designed to be relatively large.

[0055] The slipper part 10 illustrated in FIG. 4(b) is obtained by providing a heel band 13 on the slipper part 10 illustrated in FIG. 4(a). Accordingly, the position of shoes or feet inserted by a wearer can be more stabilized.

[0056] The slipper part 10 illustrated in FIG. 4(c) includes a band-shaped instep member 12 with the toe side open. Since the instep member 1 has a band shape and the toe side is open, shoes are easily inserted therein and the restrictions on the size of applicable shoes are eased.

[0057] The band-shaped instep member 12 also can function to limit the moving range of shoes of the wearer. The size of the opening on the toe side can be freely selected. The slipper part 10 illustrated in FIG. 4(d) includes the heel band 13 on the slipper part 10 illustrated in FIG. 4(c).

[0058] FIG. 5(a) to 5(d) are schematic perspective views illustrating examples of modifications of the joint part between each of the slipper parts 10 and the lower wear part 20. FIG. 5(a) is an example of the slipper parts 10 including the domical instep members 12, in which the edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 is joined to the heel side of the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 of the associated slipper part 10 with the joint part 51 and is joined to the edge part 12a of the instep member 12 with the joint part 52. In this case, each of the edge parts 22a of the leg parts 22 needs to be formed into a shape extending along the edge part 12a of the instep member 12 and the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11. The inside diameter of each of the leg parts 22 needs to be of a sufficient size so that a wearer can easily put a leg therein with a shoe on.

[0059] It is preferable that the joint part 51 with the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 is formed upward away from the bottom surface of the lower bottom member 11 by a distance d. The distance d is, for example, about 1 to 2 millimeters. This is to prevent the edge of the joint part 51 from being in contact with roads or the like and being turned up or damaged during walking.

[0060] In FIG. 5(b), while the shape of the slipper parts 10 is the same as that in FIG. 5(a), the edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 is joined to the whole circumference of the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 of the associated slipper part 10 with the joint part 51. In this case, it suffices that the edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 has a simple circumferential shape and the edge parts 22a are easily manufactured. Furthermore, since the inside diameter of the lower wear part 20 is larger, a wearer can more easily put the legs therein and can wear the rain gear more easily.

[0061] FIG. 5(c) illustrates an example of the slipper parts 10 each including the band-shaped instep member 12. The edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 is joined to the whole circumference of the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 of the associated slipper part 10 with the joint part 51 and is joined to the instep member 12 with the joint part 52. The joint part 52 is formed at the entire band width of the instep member 12 or a part of the band width, as required. In this case, the openings of the instep members 12 on the toe side are closed by the sheet material of the leg parts 22.

[0062] In FIG. 5(d), while the shape of the slipper parts 10 is the same as that in FIG. 5(c), the edge part 22a of each of the leg parts 22 has the same shape as that in FIG. 5(b) and is joined to the whole circumference of the side surface 11b of the lower bottom member 11 of the associated slipper part 10 with the joint part 51.

[0063] In any case, the lower openings of the leg parts 22 of the lower wear part 20 are sealed from outside of the rain gear by the slipper parts 10. This ensures the waterproof property.

[0064] FIG. 6 is a schematic transparent view of the vicinity of the slipper parts 10 when the rain gear of the present invention is worn with shoes S on.

[0065] FIG. 7(a) to 7(e) are diagrams illustrating one example of a way of folding up the rain gear 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. Since the rain gear of the present invention is composed of the hood part 40, the upper wear part 30, and the lower wear part 20 that are manufactured of a lightweight thin sheet, and the slipper parts 10 manufactured of a lightweight and flexible resin, the rain gear can be folded compactly and carried. By always carrying the rain gear, it is possible to promptly cope with sudden heavy rain.

[0066] In the example of FIG. 7, first, (a) fold the arm parts 32 and the hood part 40 to overlap the body part 31, and next (b) fold the slipper parts 10 upward to the front side to overlap the body part 31. Further, (c) fold a lower half upward to the back side. Subsequently, (d) fold the resultant in half to cause the bottom surfaces of the two slipper parts 10 to face each other. Further, (e) fold the resultant in half to the back side to reduce the size to half. It is thus preferable that the slipper parts 10 are made of a material flexible enough to be folded in half. The rain gear 1 can be folded up in this way and be carried in a suitable bag.

[0067] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments and various modifications can be considered.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0068] 1, 2 rain gear [0069] 10 slipper part [0070] 11a upper surface of lower bottom member [0071] 11b side surface of lower bottom member [0072] 12 instep member [0073] 12a edge part of instep member [0074] 13 heel band [0075] 20 lower wear part [0076] 21 hip part [0077] 22 leg part [0078] 22a edge part of leg part [0079] 26a, 26b upper-lower length adjuster [0080] 30 upper wear part [0081] 31 body part [0082] 32 arm part [0083] 33 fastener [0084] 34, 35 stretchable member [0085] 36a, 36b upper-lower length adjuster [0086] 37a, 37b right-left length adjuster [0087] 40 hood part [0088] 41 hood [0089] 42 face opening [0090] 43 stretchable member [0091] 51, 52 joint part