One-Piece Garment

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a one-piece garment for use as working wear, coveralls, a jump suit or skiwear, etc.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A conventional one-piece garment of the type which has a back part whose upper and lower halves are sewn together is very inconvenient in that the wearer has to take it off whenever nature calls. In order that the wearer may ease nature with the garment still on, it has been proposed to cut the back thereof at the waist into upper and lower halves and separately fasten them together. In regular use, the two halves are non-elastically joined together by buttons or the like. If the wearer stoops or crouches, therefore, his back, and hence the back of the garment, stretch, making his movements uneven and cramped, especially when the garment is used for working or sports. As attempts to circumvent these difficulties, one-piece garments whose back is separated into upper and lower halves, with the upper end of the lower half being extended so as to overlap the lower end of the upper half and be fastened to it with a belt or the like, have been taught in the specifications of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Nos. 176315/1980 and 56707/1982. However, the upward extension of the lower half over the lower end of the upper half allows dirt from the outside into the overlap. To eliminate this drawback, the reversal of this overlap, so that the upper half of the back extends downward over the lower half, has been advocated in the specification of Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 15256/1980. In this case the upper end of the lower half does not elastically expand sideways, preventing the unconstricted movement of the wearer. Moreover, because the lower end of the upper half is not secured to any other part of the garment, there is the danger of the extension being caught in something else, or being turned inside out to mar the appearance, while the wearer is at work or otherwise in motion.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a one-piece garment which overcomes these problems and is best suited for practical use.

The objective of the invention is realized by a one-piece garment characterized in that its back is divided at the waist into upper and lower halves, and is also slit so that it is separated from the front 3 along both sides, a seat flap 2a extends upward from the lower half 2 of the back to the waist, a hanging flap 1a extends downward from the upper half 1 of the back so that its lower end overlaps the outer surface of the seat flap 2a, both sides of the seat flap 2a are separably attached to the front 3, an elastic waist band 5 which can expand sideways is provided in an upper portion of the seat flap 2a, female fastener members 6, 6' are attached to both sides of the hanging flap 1a, and male fastener members 7, 7' which can engage with the female ones are attached to both sides of the front 3, the hanging flap 1a and the seat flap 2a being not attached to each other.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a one-piece garment embodying the invention, with a hanging flap and a seat flap partly turned inside out;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the embodiment in use;

FIG. 4 is a side view of another embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of yet another embodiment provided with an ornamental strap.

Referring to the drawings, the back of the garment is divided at the waist into two halves, an upper half 1 and a lower half 2. The back is partly separated at both sides from the front 3 by slits extending vertically from the upper left and right corners of the lower half 2 down to points corresponding to the lower end of the wearer's seat. The slits are each provided with a zip fastener 4 to provide an openable seat flap 2a between them. The zip fasteners 4 may be replaced by buttons or other separable fasteners. The upper end of the seat flap 2a is provided with an elastic waist band 5 or the like to allow elastic sidewise expansion. The lower end portion of the upper half 1 is separated at both sides from the front 3 to form an openable hanging flap 1a. This flap 1a overlaps the seat flap 2a by a sufficient downward extension to ensure that the upper end of the seat flap 2a is not exposed by the lower end of the flap 1a, even when the wearer stoops or crouches. The hanging flap 1a has a strip of lining 1b along the entire length of its lower end to provide protection against creasing during washing, and so that the flap 1a gives a coat-like appearance to the upper half of the garment. Separation points 1c at both upper corners of the hanging flap 1c, where the flap separates from the front 3, are located a short distance above the upper end of the seat flap 2a to facilitate the up-and-down movement of the slides of the zip fasteners 4. The flap 1a has a female fastener member 6 affixed to each of its lower corners, and the front 3 has a corresponding male fastener member 7 affixed to each side of the waist. A plurality of such male fastener members 7 can be provided on each side, spaced along the waistline to permit the wearer to choose an appropriate fastening position depending on his waist measurement. Instead of adjusting the position at which the hanging flap 1a is fastened in this manner, it is possible, as indicated in FIG. 4, to affix only one male fastener member 7 on each side of the waist of the front 3 and attach a short length of elastic waistband 8 to provide elastic contraction around the waistline. The female and male fastener members 6, 7 can be the socket and ball members of snap fasteners, hooks and eyes, mating lengths of Velcro tape, holes or loops and buttons, or other similar combinations, FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which an ornamental strap 9 is attached to the front. Each end of the strap 9 has on one side a member adapted to engage with the female fastener member 6 of the hanging flap 1a, and on the other side a member adapted to engage with the male fastener member 7 on the corresponding side of the waist of the front 3.

When nature calls, the wearer pulls the corners of the hanging flap 1a with its female fastener members 6 out of engagement with the male members 7 to open the flap, and then unzips the two fasteners 4, 4' to fold down the seat flap 2a to enable urination or defecation. Afterwards, the wearer zips up both zip fasteners 4, 4' so that the hanging flap 1a overlaps the outer surface of the seat flap 2a, and then snaps or otherwise fastens the female fastener members 6, 6' on both corners of the hanging flap 2a to the male members 7, 7' on the front 3.

Because both lower corners of the hanging flap 1a are thus fastened in place, there is no danger of the flap 1a turning up to expose the inside, or being caught by something while the wearer is at work or in motion. When the user bends forward, the upper half of the back of the garment is pulled upward, and the lower half downward. With the garment of the invention, however, the separated upper and lower half parts 1, 2 follow these pulls individually, causing no tension on the back of the wearer and allowing him to work or move easily. When the stooping or crouching werarr straightens his back, the upper middle portion of the seat flap 2a returns from its downwardly stretched position to its original relaxed position. This is readily achieved because, for one thing, the upper middle portion of the seat flap 2a is pulled up by the contraction of the elastic waistband 5 while both sides of the flap are secured to the front by the zip fasteners 4 and, for another, the hanging flap 1a does not press against the upper end of the seat flap 2a.

The garment of the present invention, as described above, enables the wearer to answer nature's calls with ease by simply unfastening the seat flap 2a.

Both the hanging flap 1a and the seat flap 2a are connected to the front and are not connected to each other. The hanging flap 1a merely laps the seat flap 2a to cover the outer surface of the latter. Therefore, the wearer can bend forwards without any feel of tension on his back because the opening formed by the hanging flap and the seat flap serve to absorbs the tension. The hanging flap 1a of the upper half, overlapping the upper end of the seat flap 2a of the lower half, keeps dirt out of the space between the two flaps 1a, 2a. The elastic waistband 5 provided in the upper portion of the seat flap 2a permits easy, light waist motion. When the stooping or crouching wearer stands upright again, the seat flap 2a readily returns from its downward to its original position because it is connected at both side edges to the front of the garment, has the elastic waistband 5 in its upper portion, and the lower end of the hanging flap 1a is fastened to both sides of the front 3 without pressing against the outside of the flap 2a. Thus, when the wearer straightens his back, there is no possibility of the seat flap 2a bulging outward to impair the appearance of the garment. Further, at the side of the opening near the small of the back adjacent to the upper half of the back, a hanging flap 1a is formed to have a point 1c of separation from the front positioned above the upper edge of the seat flap 2a, the lower end of the hanging flap being enlarged beyond both side edges of the seat to lap the seat flap 2a, the enlarged lower portion of the hanging flap being provided with a fastener 6 for fastening to the front 3. Therefore, the fastening can be made easily and, in addition, there is no possibility of the hanging flap being turned up or being caught by any foreign object to mar the appearance, while the wearer is at work or in motion. Thus, the garment of the invention offers practical advantages as a one-piece garment.