U.S. patent application number 10/858390 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-13 for wetsuit.
Invention is credited to Yokoyama, Yuichi.
Application Number | 20050005337 10/858390 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33566719 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050005337 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yokoyama, Yuichi |
January 13, 2005 |
Wetsuit
Abstract
A wetsuit includes a wetsuit jacket having a hem, wetsuit pants
having an upper sack body, a strap portion of waterproof material
provided on an inside circumference of the hem of the wetsuit
jacket, a fixed portion at which an upper end of the strap portion
is watertightly fixed to the inside circumference of the hem of the
wetsuit jacket and press-on and split-off fastener tapes provided
at portions of mutual contact in a state where the upper sack body
is sandwiched between the hem and the strap portion for preventing
deviation of the mutual contact portions.
Inventors: |
Yokoyama, Yuichi;
(Ishikawa-ken, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROTHWELL, FIGG, ERNST & MANBECK, P.C.
1425 K STREET, N.W.
SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Family ID: |
33566719 |
Appl. No.: |
10/858390 |
Filed: |
June 2, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/2.15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63C 2011/046 20130101;
B63C 11/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/002.15 |
International
Class: |
B63C 011/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 3, 2003 |
JP |
2003-157576 |
Dec 20, 2003 |
JP |
2003-391347 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A wetsuit, comprising: a wetsuit jacket having a hem; wetsuit
pants having an upper sack body; a strap portion of waterproof
material provided on an inside circumference of the hem of the
wetsuit jacket; a fixed portion at which an upper end of the strap
portion is watertightly fixed to the inside circumference of the
hem of the wetsuit jacket; and press-on and split-off fastener
tapes provided at portions of mutual contact in a state where the
upper sack body is sandwiched between the hem and the strap portion
for preventing deviation of the mutual contact portions.
2. A wetsuit, comprising: a wetsuit jacket having a hem; wetsuit
pants having an upper sack body; a first strap portion of
waterproof material provided on an inside circumference of the
upper sack body of the wetsuit pants; a second strap portion of
waterproof material provided on an inside circumference of the hem
of the water suite jacket; and press-on and split-off fastener
tapes provided at portions of mutual contact among the first strap
portion, the second strap portion, the upper sack body of the
wetsuit pants and the hem of the wetsuit jacket in a quadruple
sandwich fashion for preventing deviation of the mutual contact
portions.
3. The wetsuit according to claim 1, wherein the press-on and
split-off fastener tapes have a longitudinal length compensating
for a variation of elongation of a wearer.
4. The wetsuit according to claim 2, wherein the press-on and
split-off fastener tapes have a longitudinal length compensating
for a variation of elongation of a wearer.
5. The wetsuit according to claim 1, wherein the wetsuit jacket is
formed of material that is polychloroprene or other flexible
material exhibiting same levels of a waterproof property and a
heat-retention property as the polychloroprene, the strap portion
of waterproof material is formed of material identical with the
material of which the wetsuit jacket is formed, and the wetsuit
jacket and wetsuit pants each have a vertical dimension set so that
the mutual contact portions are positioned at a lumbar section of a
wearer.
6. The wetsuit according to claim 2, wherein the wetsuit jacket is
formed of material that is polychloroprene or other flexible
material exhibiting same levels of a waterproof property and a
heat-retention property as the polychloroprene, the first and
second strap portions of waterproof material are formed of material
identical with the material of which the wetsuit jacket is formed,
and the wetsuit jacket and wetsuit pants each have a vertical
dimension set so that the mutual contact portions are positioned at
a lumbar section of a wearer.
7. The wetsuit according to claim 1, further comprising an
auxiliary belt that is provided on the press-on and split-off
fastener tapes provided on the mutual contact portions and that is
furnished with other press-on and split-off fastener tapes to
fasten the upper sack body in cooperation with the press-on and
split-off fastener tapes.
8. The wetsuit according to claim 2, further comprising an
auxiliary belt that is provided on the press-on and split-off
fastener tapes provided on the mutual contact portions and that is
furnished with other press-on and split-off fastener tapes to
fasten the upper sack body in cooperation with the press-on and
split-off fastener tapes.
9. The wetsuit according to claim 8, further comprising press-on
and split-off fastener tapes provided at the hem of the jacket on a
back of a wearer and press-on and split-off fastener tapes provided
at opposite ends of the auxiliary belt for cooperating with the
press-on and split-off fastener tapes to attain fixation.
10. The wetsuit according to claim 8, further comprising press-on
and split-off fastener tapes provided at the second strap portion
or the hem of the jacket on a back of a wearer and press-on and
split-off fastener tapes provided at opposite ends of the auxiliary
belt for cooperating with the press-on and split-off fastener tapes
to attain fixation.
11. A wetsuit, comprising: separate portions into which hand parts
or foot parts of the wetsuit are separated; a strap portion of
waterproof material having an upper end, provided on an inside
circumference of one of the separate portions; and a fixed portion
at which the upper end of the strap portion is watertightly fixed
to the inside circumference, whereby said wetsuit manifests a
waterproof function in a state of the other of the separate
portions sandwiched between the one separate portion and the strap
portion.
12. A wetsuit, comprising: separate portions into which hand parts
or foot parts of the wetsuit are separated; a first strap portion
of waterproof material disposed on an inside circumference of one
of the separate portions; a second strap portion of waterproof
material disposed on an inside circumference of the other of the
separate portions; and press-on and split-off fastener tapes
provided at portions of mutual contact among the first strap
portion, second strap portion, one separate portion and other
separate portion superposed in that order from a side close to a
body of a wearer in a quadruple sandwich fashion for preventing
deviation of the mutual contact portions.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119
to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-157576 filed on Jun. 3,
2003 and 2003-391347 filed on Dec. 20, 2003, the entire disclosure
of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a wetsuit, and more
particularly to a separate type wetsuit including a wetsuit jacket
potion and a wetsuit pants portion.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Conventional wetsuits are generally formed in a one piece,
and a zipper provided on the back thereof is utilized when putting
on or taking off a wetsuit. Since the zipper has no flexibility
unlike the wetsuit material, it is liable to break during the
forward bending motion of the wearer and causes a low back pain
(LBP). To solve these problems, Japanese Utility Model Registration
No. 3,007,334 discloses a two-piece wetsuit having a structure as
shown in FIGS. 11(A)-(C). As shown in these figures, the hem of a
wetsuit jacket 31 and the upper sack body of pants 33 are each
provided with a folding allowance L (FIG. 11(A)). First, the
folding allowances are overlapped (FIG. 11(B1)), and then folded
back twice downward to be joined together in the so-called flat
lock joint (FIG. 11(B2) and FIG. 11(B3)).
[0006] However, since the flat lock joint operation is cumbersome
and requires a technical skill, the wearer has encountered a
difficulty in performing the operation by oneself. Furthermore,
since the portion of the flat lock joint comprises quintuple
wetsuit materials, the wearer feels the portion rough and, during
the wearer's activity, feels uncomfortable. Moreover, there is a
possibility of the quintuple wetsuit material portion being
unfolded during the wearer's activity.
[0007] The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of
various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in
other publications is in no way intended to limit the present
invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable
of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or
all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed
therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been
developed in view of the above-mentioned and/or other problems in
the related art. The preferred embodiments of the present invention
can significantly improve upon existing methods and/or
apparatuses.
[0009] Among other potential advantages, some embodiments can
provide a wetsuit capable of easily joining a wetsuit jacket and
wetsuit pants without performing the flat lock joint operation
making that portion quintuple and maintaining the highly watertight
joint portion.
[0010] According to a first aspect of a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a wetsuit includes a wetsuit jacket having a
hem, wetsuit pants having an upper sack body, a strap portion of
waterproof material provided on an inside circumference of the hem
of the wetsuit jacket, a fixed portion at which an upper end of the
strap portion is watertightly fixed to the inside circumference of
the hem of the wetsuit jacket, and press-on and split-off fastener
tapes provided at portions of mutual contact in a state where the
upper sack body is sandwiched between the hem and the strap portion
for preventing deviation of the mutual contact portions.
[0011] According to a second aspect of a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, a wetsuit includes a wetsuit jacket having a
hem, wetsuit pants having an upper sack body, a first strap portion
of waterproof material provided on an inside circumference of the
upper sack body of the wetsuit pants, a second strap portion of
waterproof material provided on an inside circumference of the hem
of the water suit jacket and press-on and split-off fastener tapes
provided at portions of mutual contact among the first strap
portion, the second strap portion, the upper sack body of the
wetsuit pants and the hem of the wetsuit jacket in a quadruple
sandwich fashion for preventing deviation of the mutual contact
portions.
[0012] In the first or second aspect, the press-on and split-off
fastener tapes have a longitudinal length compensating for a
variation of elongation of a wearer. It is noted that the
longitudinal length of the press-on and split-off fastener tapes
falls within the range of the longitudinal length of the separate
portion.
[0013] In the first or second aspect, the wetsuit jacket is formed
of polychloroprene or other flexible material exhibiting same
levels of a waterproof property and a heat-retention property as
the polychloroprene. The strap portion or the first and second
strap portions of waterproof material is or are formed of a
material identical with the material of the wetsuit jacket, and the
wetsuit jacket and wetsuit pants each have a vertical dimension set
so that the mutual contact portions are positioned at a lumbar
section of a wearer.
[0014] The first or second aspect further comprises an auxiliary
belt to be provided on the press-on and split-off fastener tapes
provided on the mutual contact portions and that is furnished with
other press-on and split-off fastener tapes to fasten the upper
sack body in cooperation with the press-on and split-off fastener
tapes.
[0015] The wetsuit further comprises press-on and split-off
fastener tapes provided at the hem of the jacket on a back of a
wearer in the first aspect, or at the second strap portion or the
hem of the jacket on a back of a wearer in the second aspect, and
press-on and split-off fastener tapes provided at opposite ends of
the auxiliary belt for cooperating with the press-on and split-off
fastener tapes to attain fixation.
[0016] According to a third aspect of a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a wetsuit includes separate portions into which
hand parts or foot parts of the wetsuit are separated, a strap
portion of waterproof material having an upper end, provided on an
inside circumference of one of the separate portions and a fixed
portion at which the upper end of the strap portion is watertightly
fixed to the inside circumference, the wetsuit manifesting a
waterproof function in a state of the other of the separate
portions sandwiched between the one separate portion and the strap
portion.
[0017] According to a fourth aspect of a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, a wetsuit includes separate portions into
which hand parts or foot parts of the wetsuit are separated, a
first strap portion of waterproof material disposed on an inside
circumference of one of the separate portions, a second strap
portion of waterproof material disposed on an inside circumference
of the other of the separate portions and press-on and split-off
fastener tapes provided at portions of mutual contact among the
first strap portion, second strap portion, one separate portion and
other separate portion superposed in that order from a side dose to
a body of a wearer in a quadruple sandwich fashion for preventing
deviation of the mutual contact portions.
[0018] According to the present invention, there can be provided a
wetsuit capable of easily joining a wetsuit jacket and wetsuit
pants without performing the conventional flat lock joint operation
making that portion quintuple and maintaining the joint portion
highly watertight
[0019] At the separate portion between the jacket and the pants, a
variation in elongation of the wearer can be compensated for. In
addition, the sandwiched portion is positioned at the lumbar
section of the wearer to enhance the heat-retention effect at the
lumbar section of the wearer. Furthermore, the effect of fastening
the lumbar section of the wearer by the auxiliary belt can expect
the prevention of an LBP. Moreover, the auxiliary belt for
fastening the upper sack portion of the pants can enhance the
watertightness in conjunction with the press-on and split-off
fastener tapes and, at the same time, enhance the effect of
preventing deviation between the jacket and the pants to prevent
the auxiliary belt and the wetsuit from being deviated
[0020] The above and/or other aspects, features and/or advantages
of various embodiments will be further appreciated in view of the
following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
Various embodiments can include and/or exclude different aspects,
features and/or advantages where applicable. In addition, various
embodiments can combine one or more aspect or feature of other
embodiments where applicable. The descriptions of aspects, features
and/or advantages of particular embodiments should not be construed
as limiting other embodiments or the claims.
[0021] The above and other objects, characteristic features and
advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those
skilled in the art from the description to be give herein below
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown
by way of example, and not limitation, in the accompanying figures,
in which:
[0023] FIG. 1(A) is an entire schematic view showing a wetsuit
according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1(B)
is an enlarged longitudinal cross-section showing a portion B in
FIG. 1(A);
[0024] FIG. 2 is an explanatory view illustrating the former part
of how to put on the wetsuit shown in FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 3(A) is an explanatory view illustrating the latter
part of how to put on the wetsuit shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3(B) is
a perspective view showing an auxiliary belt used in FIG. 3(A);
[0026] FIG. 4(A) is an entire schematic view showing a wetsuit
according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
4(B) is an enlarged longitudinal cross-section showing a portion B
in FIG. 4(A);
[0027] FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating the initial part
of how to put on the wetsuit shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5(A) being a
front view thereof and FIG. 5(B) being a longitudinally sectioned
side view thereof;
[0028] FIG. 6 is an explanatory view illustrating the intermediate
part of how to put on the wetsuit shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6(A) being
a front view thereof and FIG. 6(B) being a longitudinally sectioned
side view thereof;
[0029] FIG. 7 is an explanatory view illustrating the final part of
how to put on the wetsuit shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 7(A) being a front
view thereof and FIG. 7(B) being a longitudinally sectioned side
view thereof;
[0030] FIG. 8 is an explanatory view illustrating how to take off a
wetsuit jacket shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 4, FIG. 8(A) being a front
view thereof and FIG. 8(B) being a longitudinally sectioned side
view thereof;
[0031] FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a wetsuit having
separated wrist regions and separated ankle regions according to
still another embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 10(A1), FIG. 10(A2) and FIG. 10(A3) are schematic views
showing different examples of the wetsuit jacket according to the
present invention, and FIG. 10(B1) and FIG. 10(B2) are schematic
views showing different examples of the wetsuit pants according to
the present invention; and
[0033] FIG. 11(A) is an entire schematic view showing a
conventional two-piece wetsuit, FIG. 11(B1), FIG. 11(B2) and FIG.
11(B3) are explanatory views sequentially showing how to put on the
wetsuit shown in FIG. 11(A), and FIG. 11(C) is an enlarged
cross-section showing part of FIG. 11(B3).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] In the following paragraphs, some preferred embodiments of
the invention will be described by way of example and not
limitation. It should be understood based on this disclosure that
various other modifications can be made by those in the art based
on these illustrated embodiments.
[0035] The first embodiment of the wetsuit according to the present
invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. In
this embodiment, the portion to which the present invention is
applied is, as shown in FIG. 1(A), a separate portion B between a
wetsuit jacket 3 and wetsuit pants 5 constituting a two-piece
wetsuit 1A of waterproof material.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 1(B), in the separate portion B, the hem of
the wetsuit jacket 3 is provided on the inside circumference
thereof with a strap portion 7 of waterproof material that has a
vertical length in the range of about 20 to about 25 cm. The upper
edge of the strap portion 7 is fixed by adhesion, fusion or other
such means watertightly to the inside circumference of the wetsuit
jacket 3 to form a fixed portion 9 over the entire upper edge
circumference of the strap portion 7.
[0037] When putting on the wetsuit, the upper sack body 11 of the
wetsuit pants 5 is sandwiched between the hem of the wetsuit jacket
3 and the strap portion 7 (FIG. 1(B)). Belcro.RTM. tapes 13a and
13b are provided respectively at portions of contact between the
inside of the hem of the wetsuit jacket 3 and the outside of the
upper sack body 11 of the wetsuit pants 5. Incidentally, the sizes
of the hem of the wetsuit jacket 3 and upper sack body 11 of the
pants 5 are preferably made narrower and tighter by about 5 to
about 7 cm than those of a conventional wetsuit to attain the
enhancement of waterproofness and the elimination of an LBP
cause.
[0038] A Belcro.RTM. fastener 13 is one of the press-on and
split-off type fasteners and comprises a piled cloth tape (female
tape) and a rigid cloth tape (male tape) with projecting thread
wire clasps. The two cloth tapes are pressed on by hand against
each other to attain fixation and are called magic tapes. The
waterproof material for the strap portion 7 is the same as the
material for the wetsuit jacket 3 that is polychloroprene. The
vertical dimensions of the wetsuit jacket 3 and pants 5 are set so
that the portion sandwiched between the cloth tapes can be
positioned at the lumbar section of the wearer.
[0039] The Belcro.RTM. fastener 13 is provided at five places or so
in the circumferential direction and has a width of around 5 cm and
a vertical length of around 12 cm. While these sizes are optionally
determined, they are desirably sizes capable of compensating for a
variation of the elongation of the wearer.
[0040] An auxiliary belt 15 for tightening the upper sack portion
11 of the pants 5 is disposed substantially at the center of the
Belcro.RTM. fastener 13 in the vertical direction thereof. The
auxiliary belt 15 is provided, on the outside thereof, with another
Belcro.RTM. tape 13c to be in contact with the Belcro.RTM. tape 13a
on the inside of the hem of the wetsuit jacket 3 to attain fixation
and on the inside thereof with another Belcro.RTM. tape 13d to be
in contact with the Belcro.RTM. tape 13b on the outside of the
upper sack body 11 of the wetsuit pants 5. Thus, the Belcro.RTM.
tapes 13c and 13d also function to fix the opposite sides of the
auxiliary belt 15 per se. The auxiliary belt 15 has elasticity
large enough not to afford uncomfortable feeling to the wearer
during the wearer's activity.
[0041] Now, how to put on the two-piece wetsuit will be described.
The wearer first puts on the pants 5 and then the jacket 3.
Subsequently, the wearer rolls up the jacket 3 as shown in FIG. 2
to expose the strap portion 7, and then the strap portion 7 is
deeply covered by the upper sack body 11 of the pants 5 (FIG.
3(A)). At this time, the opposite sides of the auxiliary belt 5 are
fixed by means of the Belcro.RTM. tapes 13c and 13d, and the
Belcro.RTM. tape 13d on the inside of the auxiliary belt 15 is in
contact with the Belcro.RTM. tape 13b on the upper sack body 11 of
the pants 5 to fix the auxiliary belt and the upper sack body 11 to
each other.
[0042] In that state, the jacket 3 is rolled down. As a result, the
Belcro.RTM. tape 13c on the outside of the auxiliary belt 15 and
the upper and lower portions of the Belcro.RTM. tape 13b on the
upper sack body 11 of the pants 5 not in contact with the
Belcro.RTM. tape 13d are in contact with the Belcro.RTM. tape 13a
on the inside of the hem of the jacket 3 to fix the jacket,
auxiliary belt and pants altogether.
[0043] In this way, the jacket 3 and the pants 5 are easily joined
together without performing the flat lock joint operation, thereby
eliminating the formation of a material quintuple portion. In the
quintuple portion of the material subjected to the flat lock joint
operation (FIG. 11(C)), since the center doubled inside portion of
the pants does not form any water invasion route, the route
ultimately assumes the letter S describing 1.5 reciprocations of
the vertical length of the flat lock joint. On the other hand, the
water invasion route of the present invention assumes the letter V
describing a reciprocation of the vertical length of the sandwiched
portion, thereby trapping water in the water invasion route in the
same manner as in the case of the S-shaped route to expect
substantially the same watertightness as in the case of the
S-shaped route.
[0044] In the present invention, further watertightness can be
secured in the presence of the auxiliary belt 15. The auxiliary
belt 15 can highly prevent, in cooperation with the Belcro.RTM.
fastener 13, the jacket 3 and the pants 5 from being deviated to
prevent deviation between the auxiliary belt 15 and the wetsuit 1A.
With this, no deviation will arise even during the strenuous
activity by the wearer. In addition, the vertical length of the
Belcro.RTM. fastener 13 is set to be a sufficient length of 12 cm,
for example, to compensate for the variation in elongation of the
wearer. Furthermore, the sandwiched portion of polychloroprene is
positioned at the lumbar section of the wearer to heighten the
heat-retention effect and enables an LBP from which a wearer will
suffer to be prevented.
[0045] While the number of the Belcro.RTM. fasteners 13 provided in
the circumferential direction is four or five in the present
embodiment, it can be three or less, or six or more. While in the
present embodiment the Belcro.RTM. fasteners 13 provided on the
sandwiched portion are specifically placed on the inside of the hem
of the jacket 3 and on the outside of the upper sack body of the
pants 5, these can be placed on the inside of the upper sack body
11 of the pants 5 and on the outside of the strap portion 7, or on
the four sides.
[0046] While the jacket 3 in the present embodiment has the long
sleeves, it can have short sleeves (FIG. 10(A2)) or no sleeve like
a vest (FIG. 10(A3)) besides a jacket with long sleeves (FIG.
10(A1)). The pants 5 can be short-pants (FIG. 10(B2)) besides long
pants (FIG. 10(B1)). Any combination of the jackets 3 and pants 5
shown in FIG. 10 can optionally be adopted.
[0047] While the auxiliary belt 15 is used in the present
embodiment, it is not necessarily required.
[0048] The second embodiment of the wetsuit according to the
present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4 to
FIG. 8. In a separate portion B between a wetsuit jacket 3 and
wetsuit pants 5 constituting a wetsuit 1B of the second embodiment,
the lower edge of a first strap portion B1 and the upper edge of a
second strap portion B2 each of waterproof material are fixed by
adhesion, fusion or other such means watertightly, respectively, to
the inside circumference of an upper sack body 11 of the pants 5
and to the insider circumference of a hem S11 of the jacket 3 to
form fixed portions 9 over the entire circumferences of the first
and second strap portions. Each of the first and second strap
portions has a vertical length in the range of about 20 to about 25
cm. However, the strap portions may be formed integrally with the
pants 5 or jacket 3.
[0049] The first strap portion B1, the second strap portion B2, the
upper sack body 11 of the pants 5 and the hem S11 of the jacket 3
are superposed in the order mentioned from the side close to the
body of a wearer, like a quadruple sandwich. Velcro.RTM. tapes B15
are provided as press-on and split-off fastener tapes between the
adjacent portions. To be specific, the Velcro.RTM. tapes are
provided on the outside of the first strap portion B1, on the
outside and inside of the upper sack body 11 of the pants 5, on the
outside and inside of the second strap portion B2 and on the inside
of the hem S11 of the jacket 3 for the purpose of preventing mutual
deviation so that these are in contact with one another.
Incidentally, the sizes of the hem of the wetsuit jacket 3 and
upper sack body 11 of the pants 5 are preferably made narrower and
tighter by about 5 to about 7 cm than those of a conventional
wetsuit.
[0050] The waterproof material for the strap portions is the same
as the material for the jacket 3 that is polychloroprene or other
such flexible material exhibiting the same levels of a waterproof
property and a heat-retention property as the polychloroprene. The
vertical dimensions of the jacket 3 and pants 5 are set so that the
sandwiched portion of polychloroprene or other such flexible
material can be positioned at the lumbar section of the wearer.
[0051] The Belcro.RTM. tape B15 is provided at four places or so in
the circumferential direction including the back side of the wearer
and has a width of around 5 cm and a vertical length of around 12
cm. While these sizes are optionally determined, they are desirably
sizes capable of compensating for a variation of the elongation of
the wearer.
[0052] Auxiliary belts 19 for tightening the upper sack portion 11
of the pants 5 are disposed substantially at the center of the
Belcro.RTM. tape B15 in the vertical direction thereof. Each of the
auxiliary belts 19 is provided on the outside thereof with another
Belcro.RTM. tape B15 to be in contact with the Belcro.RTM. tape B15
on the inside of the hem S11 of the wetsuit jacket 3 to attain
fixation and on the inside thereof with another Belcro.RTM. tape
B15 to be in contact with the Belcro.RTM. tape B15 on the outside
of the upper sack body 11 of the wetsuit pants 5 to attain
fixation. Thus, the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 provided on the outside
and inside of each auxiliary belt 19 also function to fix the
opposite sides of each auxiliary belt 19 per se. The auxiliary
belts 19 have elasticity large enough not to afford uncomfortable
feeling to the wearer during the wearer's activity.
[0053] Each of the auxiliary belts 19 is also provided, at one end
thereof, with a continuous Belcro.RTM. tape B15 that is in contact
with and is fixed to the Belcro.RTM. tape B15 on the hem S11 of the
jacket 3 or on the second strap portion B2 at the side of the back
of the wearer. The wearer can easily take off the jacket 3 by
oneself by grasping the respective other ends of the auxiliary
belts 19 in hand and pulling the other ends upward over the
wearer's shoulder.
[0054] It will be described how the two-piece wetsuit 1B is put on.
The wearer first puts on the pants 5 and then the jacket 3.
Subsequently, the wearer rolls down the upper sack body 11 of the
pants 5 as shown in FIG. 5 to expose the outside of the first strap
portion B1 provided on the inside of the upper sack body. Then, as
shown in FIG. 6, the wearer rolls up the hem S11 of the jacket 3 to
expose the outside of the second strap portion B2 and, at the same
time, covers the first strap portion B1 by the second strap portion
B2. The second strap portion B2 is then deeply covered by the upper
sack body 11 of the pants 5 (FIG. 7). At the upper and lower ends
of the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 in the vertical direction thereof the
auxiliary belts 19 are fastened from above (FIG. 7). At this time,
the opposite sides of the auxiliary belts 19 are fixed by means of
the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 on the inside and outside of the
auxiliary belts 19. In addition, the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 on the
inside of the auxiliary belts 19 is in contact with the Belcro.RTM.
tape B15 on the upper sack body 11 of the pants 5 to firmly fix the
auxiliary belt and upper sack body to each other.
[0055] The hem S11 of the jacket 3 is rolled down, with the
aforementioned state maintained (FIG. 4 and FIG. 7), with the
result that the Belcro.RTM. tape B15 on the inside of the hem S11
of the jacket 3 is brought into contact and fixed to the
Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 on the outside of the auxiliary belts 19 and
to portions of the Belcro.RTM. tape B15 on the upper sack body 11
of the pants 5 not in contact with the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 on the
inside of the auxiliary belts 19. In this way, the jacket 3 and
pants 5 are joined together like a quadruple sandwich.
[0056] Generally, the wetsuit jacket 3 that has adhered to the back
of the wearer due to the invasion of water is difficult to take
off. Therefore, anyone will have to assist the wearer off with the
wearer's jacket 3. However, the wearer can take off the jacket 3 of
the wetsuit 1B with ease in the second embodiment This will be
described herein below.
[0057] The Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 at respective one ends of the
auxiliary belts 19 are fixed in contact with and as sandwiched
between the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 of the hem S11 of the jacket 3
and second strap portion B2 at the side of the back of the wearer.
The wearer grasps the respective other ends of the auxiliary belts
19 in hand and pulls upward over the wearer's shoulder. As a
result, the jacket 3 on the side of the back of the wearer can
easily be rolled up. The jacket 3 on the side of the front of the
wearer is rolled up with both hands by the wearer. Thus, the wearer
can take off the jacket 3 by oneself.
[0058] In this way, the jacket 3 and the pants 5 are easily joined
together without performing the flat lock joint operation, thereby
eliminating the formation of a material quintuple portion.
[0059] In the quintuple portion of the material subjected to the
flat lock joint operation (FIG. 11(C)) in Japanese Utility Model
Registration No. 3007334, since the center doubled inside portion
of the pants does not form any water invasion route, the route
ultimately assumes the letter S describing 1.5 reciprocations of
the vertical length of the flat lock joint In the first embodiment,
the water invasion route assumes the letter V describing a
reciprocation of the vertical length of the sandwiched portion. On
the other hand, in the second embodiment, the water invasion rout
assumes the letter N describing a reciprocation of the vertical
length of the sandwiched portion (FIG. 4(B)), thereby trapping
water in the water invasion route in the same manner as in the
first embodiment to expect a higher level of watertightness than in
the first embodiment.
[0060] In the second embodiment, further watertightness can be
secured in the presence of the auxiliary belts 19. The auxiliary
belt 19 can highly prevent, in cooperation with, the Belcro.RTM.
tapes B15 the jacket 3 and the pants 5 from being deviated to
prevent deviation between the auxiliary belts 19 and the wetsuit
1B. With this, no deviation will arise even during the strenuous
activity by the wearer.
[0061] In addition, the vertical length of the Belcro.RTM. tapes
B15 is set to be a sufficient length of 12 cm, for example, to
compensate for the variation in elongation of the wearer.
Furthermore, the sandwiched portion of polychloroprene or other
such flexible material exhibiting the same levels of a waterproof
property and a heat-retention property as the polychloroprene is
positioned at the lumbar section of the wearer to enhance the
heat-retention effect and enables an LBP from which a wearer will
suffer to be prevented by the effect of fastening the lumbar
section with the auxiliary belts.
[0062] While the number of the Belcro.RTM. tapes B15 provided in
the circumferential direction is four in the second embodiment, it
can be three, or five or more.
[0063] While in the second embodiment the six Belcro.RTM. tapes B15
are provided on the sandwiched quadruple portion, specifically on
outside of the first strap portion B1, on the inside and outside of
the second strap portion B2, on the outside and inside of the upper
sack body 11 of the pants 5 and on the inside of the hem S11 of the
jacket 3, these can be placed on five places or less, e.g., on the
outside of the first strap portion B1, on the inside of the second
strap portion B2, on the outside of the upper sack body 11 of the
pants 5 and on the inside of the hem S11 of the jacket 3.
[0064] While the jacket 3 in the second embodiment has the long
sleeves, it can have short sleeves (FIG. 10(A2)) or no sleeve like
a vest (FIG. 10(A3)) besides a jacket with long sleeves (FIG.
10(A1)). The pants 5 can be short-pants (FIG. 10(B2)) besides long
pants (FIG. 10(B1)). Any combination of the jackets 3 and pants 5
shown in FIG. 10 can optionally be adopted.
[0065] While the auxiliary belts 19 are used in the second
embodiment, it is not necessarily required.
[0066] The third embodiment of the wetsuit according to the present
invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9. The wetsuit
21 comprises a main body part 22, foot parts 23 and hand parts 24.
It has separate portions B3 between itself and the foot parts and
separate portions B4 between itself and the hand parts. Each of the
foot parts 23 is integral with a boot, and each of the hand parts
24 is integral with a glove. While the wetsuit 21 is a one-piece
one, it may be formed in a two-piece in the same manner as in the
first and second embodiments. Onto each of the inside
circumferences of ankle cuffs 27 of the main body part 22 is
watertightly fixed the upper edge of a strap portion 25, and the
upper edge of a strap portion 28 is also watertightly fixed onto
each of the inside circumferences of wrist cuffs 30 of the main
body part 22. A Belcro.RTM. tape is provided on the outsides of the
strap portions 25 and 28, on the outsides and insides of the ankle
parts 26 of the foot parts 23, on the outsides and insides of the
wrist parts 29 of the hand parts and on the insides of the ankle
cuffs 27 and wrist cuffs 30 of the main body part 22 to fasten
mutually overlapped surfaces therewith. Incidentally, the strap
portions 25 and 28 may be fixed respectively onto the inside
circumferences of the ankle parts 26 of the foot parts 23 and onto
the inside circumferences of the wrist parts 29 of the hand parts
24.
[0067] The wearer puts on the main body part 22 and then the foot
parts 23 and hand parts 24. Subsequently, the ankle cuffs 27 and
wrist cuffs 30 of the main body part 22 of the wetsuit 21 are
rolled up, and the ankle parts 26 of the foot parts 23 and wrist
parts 29 of the hand parts 24 are deeply covered by the strap
portions 25 and 28 rolled downs respectively. At this time, the
Belcro.RTM. tapes disposed on the triply overlapped portions fasten
therewith each surface of the triply overlapped portions, the foot
parts 23 and hand parts 24 are joined to the main body part 22 to
thereby enable diving gloves and boots to be attached to and
detached from the main body part 22 with ease.
[0068] While the third embodiment is directed to the case where the
foot parts 23 are integral with the boots at the parts lower than
the ankle parts 26 and the hand parts 24 are integral with the
gloves at the parts lower than the wrist parts 29, the hand parts
can be integral with the gloves at the parts lower than the elbows
or upper arms, and the foot parts can be integral with the boots at
the parts lower than the knees or thighs. In addition, it will be
all right that the hand and foot parts are not integrated with the
gloves and boots, respectively. The strap portions can be provided
not only on the main body part 23, but also on the ankle parts 26
of the foot parts and on the wrist parts 29 of the hand parts to
thereby form quadruple overlapped joint portions. The surfaces on
which Belcro.RTM. tapes are provided can be optionally adopted.
[0069] While the present invention may be embodied in many
different forms, a number of illustrative embodiments are described
herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be
considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention
and such examples are not intended to limit the invention to
preferred embodiments described herein and/or illustrated
herein.
[0070] While illustrative embodiments of the invention have been
described herein, the present invention is not limited to the
various preferred embodiments described herein, but includes any
and all embodiments having equivalent elements, modifications,
omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various
embodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be
appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure.
The limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based
on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples
described in the present specification or during the prosecution of
the application, which examples are to be construed as
non-exclusive. For example, in the present disclosure, the term
"preferably" is non-exclusive and means "preferably, but not
limited to." In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this
application, means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations
will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of
the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) "means
for" or "step for" is expressly recited; b) a corresponding
function is expressly recited; and c) structure, material or acts
that support that structure are not recited. In this disclosure and
during the prosecution of this application, the terminology
"present invention" or "invention" may be used as a reference to
one or more aspect within the present disclosure. The language
present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted
as an identification of criticality, should not be improperly
interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments (i.e., it
should be understood that the present invention has a number of
aspects and embodiments), and should not be improperly interpreted
as limiting the scope of the application or claims. In this
disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the
terminology "embodiment" can be used to describe any aspect,
feature, process or step, any combination thereof, and/or any
portion thereof, etc. In some examples, various embodiments may
include overlapping features. In this disclosure and during the
prosecution of this case, the following abbreviated terminology may
be employed: "e.g." which means "for example;" and "NB" which means
"note well."
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