Water-Proof Garment Horizontally Foldable

The present invention relates to water-proof garments which can be folded into a belt-like member to be worn around the waist when not in use.

Already-invented foldable water-proof garments have their folding lines vertically disposed with respect to the garment. They are not easy to manufacture; their aesthetic appeal has much to be desired and they cannot be easily folded.

It is therefore the general object of the present invention to provide a foldable water-proof garment which is easy to manufacture; is simple to use and has improved aesthetic appeal.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a foldable water-proof garment of the character described, which, when folded, is thinner than garments with vertical folding lines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment of the character described, which, when made of a fabric covered on one face with a water-proof layer, can be folded in such a way that the fabric side will be at the exterior of the belt-like member, thus obviating the inconvenience of the condensation of perspiration and enabling to wear it around one's waist immediately after its use, even when the garment is still wet.

The foldable water-proof garment of the present invention comprises a front part and a back part, which are foldable together and characterized by the fact that both parts provided with registering permanently-set folding lines, which are horizontally disposed and are equally spaced from each other to define intervening, horizontal pleats with respect to the garment, the pleats foldable in accordeon-like fashion over the entire garment surface. Fastener means are provided to maintain the garment in folded position and means are provided to maintain the folded garment around the user's waist.

In the annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the garment in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the folded garment ready to be worn as a belt around the user's waist;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of a third embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of a fourth embodiment;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are front and back elevations, respectively, of the second embodiment showing the two different manners of initially folding the hood;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of a sixth embodiment;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are front and back elevations, respectively, of a seventh embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11, folded in a belt-like member ready for wearing around the waist;

FIG. 13 is a front elevation of an eighth embodiment vertically folded in half;

FIG. 14 is a front elevation of a ninth embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a front elevation of the fully-folded garment of FIG. 14;

FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 are front elevations of a tenth, eleventh, and twelfth embodiment, respectively;

FIG. 19 is a front elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 18, shown folded vertically in half;

FIGS. 20, 21, and 22 show the final folding sequence of any of the embodiments of FIGS. 16, 17, and 18;

FIG. 22 being a perspective view of the final belt-like structure;

FIGS. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 are front elevation of a thirteenth embodiment showing various stages of its folding;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the final belt-like structure obtained by the folding of the thirteenth embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a front elevation of a fourteenth embodiment;

FIGS. 33 and 34 are back and front elevation, respectively, of a belt with a compartment for receiving a modification of the various embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 35 is a front view of the half-folded garment showing a variation of folding the hood.

The garment of FIG. 1 is preferably made of fabric coated on one side with a water-proof layer, such as plastic or rubber. This garment is composed of a front and of a back part stitched, or welded together, along their contour and provided with registering permanent, horizontal fold-lines with respect to the garment. These horizontal fold-lines are indicated at 1; they are equally spaced and define intervening horizontal pleats, in order to permit folding of the garment in accordeon-like fashion from top to bottom and unfolding in the reverse direction. The bottom of the garment is provided with a flap 2, preferably depending from the back part of the garment. The flap 2 serves to envelope the hood 14 and the body 3 of the folded garment, except the arm sleeves 4 which protrude from each end of the folded body part, as shown in FIG. 2. Cooperating fastening means 5 and 6, such as male and female snap fasteners, are secured to flap 2, preferably on the fabric side, and serve to maintain the garment in folded condition when the latter is worn folded around one's waist. One of the arm sleeves 4 is provided with a tab 7, having a fastening means 8 which cooperates with a fastening means 9 secured to the other arm sleeve 4 to maintain the two arms sleeves attached along one's waist. In order to prevent the condensation of perspiration under the form of liquid drops on the one hand, and in order for the wearer to protect himself from the wet garment after its use when worn around the waist, the marginal portion 2 is folded with its plastic coating at the interior, in order to maintain the fabric side at the exterior. The folded garment is attached around one's waist by inserting the end of the arm sleeve 4, provided with fastener 9, over the other arm sleeve 4 and under the tab 7. When the garment is worn, the tab 7 is fixed against the arm sleeve to which it is attached by fastener means 8 and 10, the latter fixed to the arm sleeve under the tab 7. If tab 7 is not desired, the two arm sleeves can be attached together by fastener means, such as 11 in FIG. 3, which maintains the arm sleeves in folded condition. Other cooperating fasteners 12 and 13, secured to the respective arm sleeves, serve to attach the two arm sleeves one over the other around one's waist.

The garment in accordance with FIG. 1 has no front opening and is passed over one's head.

This garment has a hood 14 with a face aperture 15 and the arm sleeves 4 are at right angles to the garment body 3. However, the embodiment of FIG. 3 shows that the garment of the present invention can open at the front, having an opening 16 along the middle of the front part, the latter being preferably wider than the back part of the garment, in order for the two half-portions of the front part to overlap each other and to be secured together by means of fastener means at 17 and 18. In the garment shown in FIG. 4, the aperture 19 is located along a side of the garment, again to obviate the inconvenience of an apertureless garment when slipping the garment on, or when removing the same.

FIG. 5 shows that the arm sleeves can be downwardly inclined with respect to the garment body, while always using the horizontal foldlines 1.

Prior to garment folding, the hood 14 can be bodily folded against the front of the garment, as shown in FIG. 6, or against the back of the garment, as shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows that the garment can be ankle-length.

FIG. 9 shows that the garment can be made of three separate parts, namely: a body-encircling jacket 20 with its arm sleeves; a bottom part 21, and a hood 22. The bottom garment part 21, which serves to protect the legs and the thighs, can be open at the middle, the front and the back, in order to encircle the legs and the thighs in the manner of a pair of pants by using the fastener means 23, 24, 25, and 26. The bottom garment 21 can be directly fixed to the edge portion of the jacket 20 by fastener means 27 and 28 secured to the top edge of part 21 and to the lower edge of jacket 20, respectively. Hood 22 is attached to the collar of the jacket by means of cooperable fasteners 29 and 30, respectively.

For folding of the garment, the bottom part 21 and the hood 22 are separately folded along their respective fold-lines 1 and inserted in the interior of a marginal portion 31 directly depending from the back part of the jacket 20.

FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 show another embodiment wherein each of the front and the back parts of the garment are provided with a marginal portion. The front part has marginal portion 32 and the back part has marginal portion 33. Each marginal portion 32 and 33 is slightly wider than the pleats delimited by two adjacent fold-lines 1. These two marginal portions 32 and 33 are slit along their sides, as shown at 34 and 35; in this manner, when garment is folded, it can be enclosed by folding the two marginal portions 32 and 33 on each side of the folded garment, the plastic coating at the inside, and to attach the two marginal portions 32 and 33 together by fastener means 36 and 37, as shown in FIG. 12.

For aesthetic reasons, one might prefer that only the side of the folded garment adapted to be against the wearer's waist be of fabric with the exterior side being the plastic coating. In order to achieve this, it is sufficient to stitch or to weld a plastic-coated fabric band to the inside of one of the marginal portions 32 or 33, fabric against fabric.

If it is desired to avoid having to wear around the waist a folded garment having rounded contours, because it is preferred to have sharp corner edges, one will then use a marginal portion having double flaps. This is shown in FIG. 13, wherein the marginal portion 38, depending from one of the body parts, preferably the back part, and which is slightly wider than the folded garment, carries at its lower edge two flaps 39 and 40 on each side, respectively, of the marginal portion 38, these flaps being stitched or welded to said portion 38.

The two flaps 39 and 40, being wider than the folded garment, will be connected together by means of the fastener means 41 and 42 secured to the free edges of said flaps and the folded garment will be inserted within the resulting pocket and held in sandwich. When the garment is used against rain, the flaps 39 and 40 will be maintained against the garment by their fastener means 41 and 42, secured to the fastener means 43 and 44, which are fixed on either side of the portion of the garment provided with the marginal portion 38. When the garment is worn around one's waist, marginal portion 38 does not make a complete turn around the waist; there remains body contact with a part of one of the arm sleeves on the plastic coating side.

In order to obviate this disadvantage, the embodiment of FIG. 14 is used wherein an additional marginal portion 45 is welded, or stitched, along a side edge 46 on a lateral end 47 of the marginal portion 48, fabric side against fabric side. When the garment is used against rain, the additional marginal portion 45 will be maintained attached against the marginal portion 48 by fastener means 49, fixed to its free edge, and which will cooperate with fastener means 50, fixed to the marginal portion 48. When the garment is folded, as shown in FIG. 15, this additional marginal portion 45 will not be used to maintain the garment folded in a band, but only to protect one's waist from the plastic coating of the arm sleeve. Therefore, additional marginal portion 45 will have the same width as the arm sleeve and will be located just underneath the arm sleeve to which it will be attached by fastener means 51, fixed thereto and cooperating with fastener means 52, fixed to the sleeve.

The garment in accordance with the foregoing embodiments, when in folded condition to form a band, is often too long with respect to the wearer's waist perimeter, and this results in a non-aesthetic overlapping when attached around the wearer's waist.

The following embodiments obviate this disadvantage.

In the embodiment of FIG. 16, which is otherwise made in accordance with the previously-described embodiments, there is, in addition, a central permanent vertical fold-line 61, which extends from the top of the hood 63 all the way to the lower edge of the garment. Also, the depending marginal portion 62 is half the width of the garment body portion. The embodiment of FIG. 16 is open at the front and the vertical fold-line 61 extends on the front part of the garment to therefore define a vertical margin 64, which overlaps the other front half-part of the garment when the garment is used against rain. When the garment is folded, this margin 64 can be folded towards the exterior of towards the interior, depending whether the folding line 61 is reentrant or is protruding. Margin 64 is provided with horizontal fold-lines 1, as the remaining part of the garment.

As shown in FIG. 17, the embodiment of FIG. 16 can be modified by having the vertical fold-line 61 only extending through the hood 63 and the back part of the body portion of the garment; the free edges 65 and 66 of the two front half-parts of the body portion terminate short of the vertical fold-line 61.

FIG. 18 shows a garment which is not open at the front but which still is provided with the vertical fold-line 61. As shown in FIG. 19, any of the embodiments of FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 can be folded in half about the vertical fold-line 61, the horizontal fold-lines 1 being in register. Thereafter, the garment is folded in accordeon-like fashion, as shown in FIG. 20, using the horizontal fold-lines 1. Then the assembly of the pleats of the garment body is enclosed by the closing marginal portion 62, as shown in FIG. 21. The fully-folded garment is then ready to be worn around the wearer's waist, being attached by suitable fastener means, as shown in FIG. 22.

FIG. 23 shows still another embodiment wherein two tabs 67 and 68, each of rectangular shape and of a width substantially equal to the width of the pleats, are attached at one end to the side edges of the closing marginal portion 62. These tabs 67 and 68 may be of various lengths. These tabs 67 and 68 are secured to marginal portion 62, either by stitching, by welding or, preferably, by means of rivets which will permit these tabs to pivot. However, these tabs can be made an integral part of marginal portion 62. When the garment is used against the rain, tabs 67 and 68 are folded one against the other over the marginal portion 62, as shown in FIG. 24, and are maintained in this folded position by suitable fastener means. Then, as shown in FIG. 25, the marginal portion 62 is itself folded back against the inside of the garment and is maintained in said position by suitable fastener means. When the garment is intended to be worn around one's waist, the two halves of the garment are folded one against the other along the vertical fold-line 61, as shown in FIG. 26, then folded about the horizontal fold-lines 1 in accordeon-like manner, as shown in FIG. 27. Before closing the marginal portion 62, the assembly of the folded arm sleeves is folded back on one side of the garment body, as shown in FIG. 28. Then the protruding part of the folded arm sleeves is folded back in the reverse direction over the other side of the garment body, as shown in FIG. 29. If necessary, suitable fastener means maintain the garment in this folded position. Thereafter, tabs 67 and 68 are extended and the marginal portion 62 is folded around the fully-folded garment and now has the condition shown in FIG. 30. The garment can then be attached around the wearer's waist by the outer ends of the tabs 67 and 68, which have cooperating fastener means, and is now in the position shown in FIG. 31.

As seen, the garment forms a rectangular packet which can be easily positioned in the hollow formed by the lombar region.

With respect to the two embodiments shown in FIGS. 16 to 22 and 23 to 31, additional details are furnished. In both embodiments, the marginal portion 62 is stitched or welded to the lower edge of the garment, with marginal portion 62 flat against the inside of the garment. The lowest pleat of the garment will also be slightly wider than the other pleats, in order that, when the garment has been inserted in folded condition within the marginal portion 62, the joint formed by the edges of the marginal portion and of the lowest pleat will form a well-defined edge.

The marginal portion 62, and also the tabs 67 and 68, may not be made of water-proof material, since they are located within the garment when the latter is worn against rain. This has the additional advantage of preventing condensation from perspiration when the garment is worn around one's waist.

There are two manners of enclosing the folded garment within the marginal portion 62: the first manner is by using a short marginal portion 62 which will be attached by its fastener means to fastener means secured to the last pleat of the garment. The second manner uses a longer marginal portion which will completely surround the folded garment and whereby the marginal portion will be attached to itself by fastener means secured to itself in the region of its junction with the last pleat.

There exist two manners of wearing the folded garment about one's waist: the first manner is to position the flat side against the wearer's back with the prominent side at the exterior; the second manner consists of placing the prominent side against the back while leaving the flat side at the exterior.

In order to hide from view the folds of the garment on each side of the prominence, a small tab can be fixed to each side of the marginal portion. These additional tabs will be fixed by fastener means to cooperable fastener means fixed to each tab 67, 68.

In order to ensure the water-proofness of the garment, especially when the front and back parts are assembled by stitching, it is advisable to overlap the stitching joint with tapes to form a water-proof joint.

In order that the marginal portion 62 has a well-defined shape when enclosing the folded garment, it is necessary that this marginal portion be provided with permanent horizontal fold-lines, as indicated in FIG. 32, at 69, 70, and 71.

For certain applications, the marginal portion 62, together with the tabs 67 and 68, can be dispensed with and replaced by a case-forming belt, as shown in FIG. 33. This belt is provided with a double-wall construction forming a case, as shown at 72, which is preferably provided in the center portion of the belt, so as to be positioned at the back of the wearer in the hollow formed by the lombar region. This case-forming belt can be made of any non-water-proof fabric in order to absorb humidity from perspiration. However, the inside of the case can be made water-proof in order to protect the wearer when a wet folded garment is inserted into the case. This belt can have additional small compartments, as shown at 73 and 74 in FIG. 34, adapted to receive various items, such as coins, keys, identification cards and the like.

FIG. 35 shows a modification of the manner of folding the garment. The hood 75 is first bodily folded about a neck horizontal fold-line 1, whereby after folding the garment itself about its vertical fold-line 61, the hood is astride the garment body portion with its central edge 76 registering with the central edge 77 of the body portion. The garment is then folded in accordeon-like manner, as in the previous embodiments. The hood could be folded in this manner over the front part of the garment with the edge formed by the central vertical fold-line of the hood entering within the hollow formed by the vertical fold-line of the garment body portion. The hood would thus be sandwiched between the two parts ot the garment.