ARRANGEMENT

Technical field of the invention

The present invention relates to activity garments and suspenders for activity garments.

Background of the invention

Many garments and especially in functional garments such as work trousers, ski trousers, sailing trousers, wetsuits, etc., are mainly designed for male users. For this reason, females using these clothing experiences difficulties removing the functional garment during use to urinate. This is a particular problem when using high waistline garments such as long john wetsuits, high waistline wetsuits, skiing bibs, high waistline skiing trousers, work overalls, work bib trousers, etc.

One way to facilitate the removal of the garment to urinate for females is to use functional trousers having a low waistline, making them easy to pull down on the backside. However, such trousers are prone to slip down when the user is involved in physical activities. For instance, if the wearer of the trousers is sailing and is hiking there is a great risk that the trousers will slip down, which, besides being inconvenient will lessen the warming effect of a pair of wetsuit trousers as they are being misplaced from an effective position. Low waistline trouser may slip down during skiing, when working, e.g. if the wearer is crawling or sliding. In order to prevent the slipping down of the trousers the trousers may be used together with suspenders. However, then the wearer will experience problems again when removing the trousers for urinating, e.g. the suspenders being too rigid to enable pulling down the trousers or the suspenders, if simply slid down from the shoulders, being in the way and possibly getting hit by unwanted fluids. These problems are even more evident and difficult to avoid when high waistline trousers as indicated above is used. When it comes to using wetsuits, the problem of getting the trousers out of the way, particularly in high waistline ones such as a long john model before urinating becomes even worse as the material and the shape of the wetsuit material. It is well known in the art of wetsuit design and wetsuit manufacturing that wetsuits are used to provide thermal insulation during water activities such as sailing, sailboarding, surfing, paddling, diving, etc. Wetsuits are traditionally made from closed-cell foam neoprene, which is a synthetic rubber that contains small bubbles of, for example, nitrogen gas.

The neoprene is often combined with a nylon or lycra backing allowing the neoprene to stretch while decreasing the risk of the wetsuits being teared apart when removed or applied to the body of the user. The wetsuit should have a tight fit to work efficiently. The tight fit makes the wetsuit difficult to remove and especially because tight fit at the openings for feet, arms, neck, torso, etc. is particularly important the removal of the suit becomes cumbersome. For instance, a longjohn model covering a large portion or all of the torso of a user is provided with shoulder straps for removal of the wetsuit. In order to urinate the user will have to release the shoulder straps and pull the entire torso portion down over the back.

Summary of the invention

One object of the present invention is to provide an activity garment or suspenders that makes it easier for a user of an activity garment to remove the garment sufficiently before urinating.

The object is achieved by means of an activity garment according to claim 1 and by means of suspenders according to claim 10. Further embodiments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims.

More specifically, according to embodiments of the invention, an activity garment comprises leg portions and a waist portion, the garment further comprising two shoulder straps, the shoulder straps being connected to a front side of the garment and being connected to a backside of the garment, and a connecting arrangement which is fixedly attached to the two shoulder straps and to the back side of the garment for connecting the two shoulder straps to the back side of the garment. The connecting arrangement including a locking member and a loop, the locking member including a first fastening member, which is arranged at an engaging end of the locking member, and a second fastening member, which is arranged at a distance from the first fastening member and the engaging end of the locking member, the first and second fastening members being arranged to lockingly engage with each other, the loop being arranged to engage with the locking member by allowing the engaging end of the first fastening member to pass through the loop and then being detachably fastened to the second fastening member. One advantage of arranging a connecting arrangement as above is that the shoulder straps keeping the wetsuit in place is easily released. Another advantage is to have a connecting arrangement that is possible to release at the end of the shoulder straps is that when released and a seat portion of the activity garment is pulled down, the shoulder straps is either still hanging high on the back of the user or they are sliding upwards towards the neck and out of an area where there is a risk that the shoulder straps get in the way and get hit by the urine released by the user.

In some embodiments the locking member is fixedly attached to the two shoulder straps and wherein the loop is fixedly attached to the back side of the garment. One advantage of fixing the loop to the backside of the garment is that the insertion of the locking member through the loop will be facilitated and the connecting of the two fastening members will also be facilitated.

In further embodiments each one of the first and the second fastening members is strips of connecting material arranged to attach to each other and release from each other, the material of the fastening members is at least of one of the types in the group of hook and loop material and materials having an array of coupling heads arranged to engage with another array of coupling heads. The advantage of using this type of fastening members is that they are easily released and attached to each other and therefore facilitating the release of the shoulder straps from the activity garment.

In yet further embodiments the loop is formed to receive the engaging end of the locking member which then is being secured to the locking member itself after the first fastening member has been pulled through the loop and has been lockingly engaged with the second fastening member before the second fastening member has passed through the loop.

In some embodiments the loop is forming a loop opening that have a width that is at least 20 percent of the width of the waist portion. An advantage of having a wide loop and loop opening is that the loop will be easier for the user to reach behind his/hers back. Further, the attaching of the shoulder straps using the connecting arrangement will enabled to be performed faster than with a small loop opening.

In further embodiments the loop is formed as an elongated shape defining an elongated opening.

In yet further embodiments the loop is formed from a rigid material allowing the loop to substantially retain its shape when subject to tension from the shoulder straps. One advantage of this is that the shape of the waist portion of the activity garment is less likely to bunch up in the middle of the back as a less rigid loop will collapse.

In further embodiments the activity garment is a wetsuit and the leg portions, the seat portion and waist portion are made from a thermal insulation material.

In yet further embodiments the end of the shoulder straps connecting to the front side of the garment is fixedly attached to an end of a chest portion extending over the shoulders to the back side of the garment.

According to another aspect of the invention suspenders comprises two shoulder straps, front connectors for each of the shoulder straps, the front connectors being arranged to connect to a garment, a back connector being arranged to connect to a garment, and a connecting arrangement arranged for connecting the two shoulder straps to the back connector. The connecting arrangement includes a locking member and a loop, the locking member includes a first fastening member arranged at an engaging end of the locking member, and a second fastening member arranged at a distance from the first fastening member and the engaging end of the locking member, the first and second fastening members being arranged to lockingly engage with each other, the loop being arranged to engage with the locking member by allowing the engaging end of the first fastening member to pass through the loop and then being detachably fastened to the second fastening member. The advantages presented above in connection with the activity garment will apply to the suspenders as well.

In some embodiments the first and second fastening members being strips of connecting material arranged to attach to each other and release from each other, the material of the fastening members is at least of one of the types in the group of hook and loop material and materials having an array of coupling heads arranged to engage with another array of coupling heads.

In further embodiments the loop is forming a loop opening that have a width that is at least 10 cm.

In yet further embodiments the loop is formed as an elongated shape defining an elongated opening.

In some embodiments the loop is formed from a rigid material.

In further embodiments the locking member has an insertion direction, being the direction of the locking member that coincide with the direction the locking member is inserted through the loop opening, wherein the width of the locking member is the size of the locking member in the direction transversal to the insertion direction, and wherein the width of the locking member is of essentially the same size as the loop opening.

A further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given below. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given byway of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. Hence, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular component parts of the device described or steps of the methods described as such device and method may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claim, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a sensor" or "the sensor" may include several sensors, and the like. Furthermore, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps.

Brief description of the drawings

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 a is a schematic view of a back side of a wetsuit according to some embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 b is a schematic view of a front side of the wetsuit of Fig. 1 a,

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a connecting arrangement in an unfastened state according to some embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the connecting arrangement of Fig. 2 in a fastened state,

Fig. 4a is a schematic view from a back side of suspenders, according to some embodiments of the invention, being attached to a pair of wetsuit trousers,

Fig. 4b is a schematic view from a front side of the suspenders of Fig.

4a, Fig. 5a is a schematic view from a back side of suspenders, according to some embodiments of the invention, being attached to a pair of skiing trousers or sailing trousers,

Fig. 5b is a schematic view from a front side of the suspenders of Fig. 4a.

Fig. 6a is a schematic view of a back side of a wetsuit according to some embodiments of the invention, and

Fig. 6b is a schematic view of a front side of the wetsuit of Fig. 6a,

Further, in the figures like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures.

Detailed description of embodiments

The present invention relates to an activity garment designed to facilitate removal for instance when the user needs to urinate. The present invention also relates to suspenders for use with trousers, the suspenders being designed to facilitate removal for urinating. The designs are particularly helpful for female users.

The activity garment may in some embodiments be a wetsuit 10 as depicted in Figs 1 a and 1 b. The wetsuit may be made from closed-cell foam neoprene, which is a synthetic rubber that contains small bubbles of, for example, nitrogen gas. The neoprene is often combined with a nylon or lycra backing allowing the neoprene to stretch while decreasing the risk of the wetsuits being teared apart when removed or applied to the body of the user.

The front of the wetsuit 10 is showed in Fig 1 b and the back of the wetsuit is showed in Fig 1a. The wetsuit 10 comprises leg portions 12, a seat portion 14 and a waist portion 16, a connecting arrangement 18, and a chest portion 20. Further, the wetsuit 10 comprises two shoulder straps 22 connecting a front side 24 of the wetsuit 10 to a backside 26 of the wetsuit 10. The two shoulder straps 22 are connected to the chest portion 20 on the front side 24 at two separately spaced locations allowing for a user’s neck to pass in between the two shoulder straps 22 when the wetsuit is in use. On the back side 26 the shoulder straps 22 are connected to the waist portion 16 via the connecting arrangement 18. The shoulder straps 22 connects to the connecting arrangement 18 at a shoulder strap end 28 of the connecting arrangement 18. The two shoulder straps converge to this connecting position on the connecting arrangement 18 and is fixedly attached to the shoulder strap end 28 of the connecting arrangement 18. In some embodiments the material of the shoulder straps 22 is a rigid woven material of some natural or synthetic textile that is less elastic than the wetsuit material in order to prevent the waistline 16 of the wetsuit from easily sliding down when the user of the wetsuit is active. In some embodiments this may be achieved by a less rigid material as well, e.g. making the shoulder straps 22 from the same material as the wetsuit 10.

The connecting arrangement 18 is further fixedly attached to the waist portion 16 of the backside 26 of the wetsuit and is arranged to easily enable releasing the shoulder straps 22 from the waist portion 16 of the backside for facilitating sliding down of the seat portion 14 of the wetsuit 10 in preparation for urinating. The connection arrangement 18 is also arranged to make the shoulder straps 22 easy to reconnect to the waist portion 16 when the wetsuit is to be put back in place for continued activity.

In Fig. 2 an embodiment of the connecting arrangement 18 is schematically depicted. The connecting arrangement 18 includes a locking member 30 and a loop 32. The locking member 30 includes the shoulder strap end 28 connecting the locking member 30 and thereby the connecting arrangement 18 to the shoulder straps 22 and an engagement end 34 arranged to engage with the loop 32. The engagement end 34 is formed to be easily inserted and pulled through the loop 32. This may be achieved by making the engagement end 34 slightly less wide than the opening of the loop 32. The shoulder straps 22 may be sewn or glued to the shoulder strap end 28 of the locking member 30. The shoulder straps 22 may be attached on top of each other and onto the shoulder strap end 28, which then do not have to be wider than a shoulder strap 22, see for example Fig. 1 a. In other embodiments the width of the shoulder strap end 28 is the same width as the engagement end 34 of the locking member 30 and then each shoulder strap 22 may be fastened as far apart as possible on the shoulder strap end 28.

At the engagement end 34 a first fastening member 36 is fixedly attached and at a distance from the first fastening member 36 and the engagement end 34 a second fastening member 38 is fixedly attached. The first fastening member 36 and the second fastening member 38 are strips of connecting material having the characteristic to removably attach to each other and keep the fastening members 36, 38, attached to each other through the use of the wetsuit 10 and allowing the fastening members 36, 38, to release from each other at will by the user of the wetsuit 10. One example of fastening members 36, 38, are fastening members of hook and loop material, for instance the type provided by Velcro , where the hook material is provided as one of the fastening members 36 or 38 and the loop material is provided as the other fastening member 38 or 36. Another example of fastening members 36, 38, are having arrays of coupling heads arranged on stems and designed to engage with the coupling heads of the other fastening member and thereby achieving a strong connection that the user are able to break or release when the user find it appropriate. These later types of fastening members 36, 38, are sometimes referred to as mushroom fasteners. A further example of fastening members 36, 38, are buttons and buttonholes, which probably will be somewhat more cumbersome to have engaging and then releasing, however, the solution may in some applications work good enough.

The loop 32 is formed as a ring of rigid material and is defining an opening. The material forming the loop 32 is, according to some embodiments, a material that makes the loop rigid enough to substantially keep its shape when subject to the forces of normal use of the wetsuit 10. These forces are essentially the forces subjected to the waist 16 portion making the wetsuit slide down over the seat and the opposite forces from the shoulder straps striving to keep the waist portion and the seat portion 14 in position. The shape of the loop 32 may be a rectangular shape as showed in Figs. 2 and 3. However, the shape may be an oval, an ellipse, or any other elongated shape. The loop 32 thus has a length that is greater than the width of the loop 32 and the same is true about the opening defined by the loop, i.e. the length L of the opening is greater than the width W of the opening. The loop may be made from plastic, rubber, metal, or any other material suitable to form a rigid loop.

The operation of the connecting arrangement is illustrated if Figs 2 and 3. Fig. 2 shows the engaging end 34 of the locking member 30 being brought to the opening defined by the loop 32. In Fig.2 the engaging end 34 has been passed through the opening defined in the loop 32 and the engaging end 34 of the locking member 30 and the first fastening member 36 has been brought back towards the second fastening member 38, where the first and second fastening members 36, 38, interacts and attaches to each other forming a loop of the locking member 30 through the loop 32 and thereby secures the locking member 30 to the loop 32. When released, the two fastening members are release from each other and then the engaging end 34 of the locking member 30 is retracted through the loop 32 disengaging the locking member 30 from the loop 32.

The two fastening members 36, 38, should be arranged at such distance from each other that the first fastening member 36 easily may be brought into contact with the second fastening member 38 after it has been pulled through the loop 32 and been bent back towards the second fastening member 38. In order to facilitate bringing the engagement end 34 through the loop and bringing the first fastening member 36 towards the second fastening member 38 the material of the locking member 30 is pliable. The material may be the same material as used for the shoulder straps 22, it may be wetsuit material, e.g. neoprene, it may be a plastic woven fabric, it may be of any fabric that is pliant enough and is able to withstand the forces the locking member 30 is subjected to, wherein the most pronounced force should be the forces stretching the material when the locking member 30 is in engaged position connecting the shoulder straps 22 to the waist portion 16 of the wetsuit 10.

In order to facilitate the performing of the actions required to have the locking member 30 engage with the loop 32, the length of the loop, more specifically the length L of the opening defined by the loop, should be quite large. In some embodiments the opening in the loop is designed to have a length L of at least 20 percent of the width of the waist portion 16 of the wetsuit 10, in other embodiments the opening in the loop 32 is designed to have a length L of at least 25 percent of the width of the waist portion 16, in yet other embodiments the opening in the loop 32 is designed to have a length L of at least 30 percent, and in yet other embodiments the opening in the loop 32 is designed to have a length L of at least 40 percent. In some embodiments the opening in the loop 32 is designed to be at least 10 cm in length L and in others the opening in the loop 32 is designed to be at least 15 cm in length L. The greater the length L of the opening in the loop 32 is the easier it becomes for the user to pass the locking member 30 through the opening of the loop 32. However, if the length L of the opening in the loop 32 is too great there is a risk of the loop 32 will start to be experienced as bulky and to disturb the user in the activity in which the wetsuit 10 is used. For the calculations above, the width of the waist portion 16 is a measurement taken across the waist portion 16 on a garment when it is laying essentially flat and without any applied tension. The width W of the loop 32 will also contribute in facilitating the performance of actions required to have the locking member 30 engage with the loop 32. In some embodiments the width W therefore is at least 1 ,5 cm and in other embodiments the width W is at least 2 cm. Once again, the greater the width W is the easier it is to fit the locking member 30 through the opening of the loop 32. However, if the width W of the opening in the loop 32 is made too big there is a risk of the loop starting to be experienced as bulky and disturbing the user in the activity in which the wetsuit is used.

The loop 32 is arranged close to the waist portion in order to facilitate the locking and the releasing of the locking member. In some embodiments the loop 32 is fixedly attached to the waist portion16 of the wetsuit 10 either directly by having a fold at the waist portion engaging with the loop 32 through the opening in the loop 32 or, as depicted in Figs. 1a, 1b, 2 and 3, arranging a piece of fabric fastened in the waist portion looping in through the loop 32 and then the other end of the fabric fastened in the waist portion 16. The material may be the same material as used for the shoulder straps 22, it may be wetsuit material, e.g. neoprene, it may be a plastic woven fabric, it may be of any fabric that is pliant enough and is able to withstand the forces the arrangement is subjected to, wherein the most pronounced should be the forces stretching the material when arrangement is in engaged position connecting the shoulder straps 22 to the waist portion 16 of the wetsuit 10.

Alternatively, the loop 32 may be integrated in the waist portion, e.g. as an opening in the fabric of the waist portion 16 reinforced at the edges by stitches or edge bands sewn around the circumference of the opening. Yet another alternative is to have the loop 32 described above fastened or sewn to the edges of the opening in the waist portion 16.

In the embodiments described referring to Figs. 1a and 1b the shoulder straps 22 are connected to the locking member 30 of the connecting arrangement 18 and the loop 32 is connected to the waist portion 16. In alternative embodiments, not shown, the connecting arrangement 18 is altered to have the locking member 30 attached to the waist portion 16 and the loop 32 connected to the shoulder straps 22.

In Figs 4a and 4b, the activity garment is a pair of wetsuit trousers 400 that is kept from sliding down by means of suspenders 402 according to alternative embodiments of the invention. The suspenders 402 may be completely removeable from the wetsuit trousers 400 and includes a pair of shoulder straps 22 that includes front connectors 404 arranged to connect the shoulder straps 22 to the waist portion 16 of the front side 24 of the pair of wetsuit trousers 400. The suspenders 402 further includes a connecting arrangement 18 according to any previously described embodiments with the difference that the connecting arrangement 18 is designed to be temporarily fastened to the backside 26 of the waist portion 16 by back connectors 406. The shoulder straps 22 are attached to the connecting arrangement 18. The front connectors 404 may be buttons arranged to be inserted into a buttonhole, the button may be arranged on the shoulder strap or on the front side 24 waist portion 16 or vice versa. One advantage of having the buttonholes in the wetsuit trousers 400 is that the user of the trousers does not have to have buttons in the trousers when used without suspenders 402. Alternatively the front connectors are clips arranged at the end of the shoulder straps 22, hook and loop material on arranged on the end of the shoulder straps 22 to be passed through an opening arranged at the waist portion 16 and fastened to itself, or any other arrangement known to the person skilled in the art. The back connectors 406 may also be of the types described in connection with the front connectors 404.

In alternative embodiments the suspenders 402 described in connection with Figs 4a and 4b are fixedly attached to the wetsuit trousers instead of removably arranged.

In Figs 5a and 5b the suspenders 402 described in connection with Figs 4a and 4b are used for a pair of ski trousers or sailing trousers 500. The suspenders may also be fixedly attached to a pair of ski trousers or sailing trousers 500. Moreover, the shoulder straps and the connecting arrangement described in connection with Figs 1a, 1b, 2, and 3 may be used for ski bibs, i.e. ski trousers with a higher front, or sailing trousers having a higher front. In such embodiments the shoulder straps may be fixedly attached to a higher front portion of the trousers.

Now referring to Figs 6a and 6b, a full cover wetsuit 600 is depicted. The wetsuit 600 includes all the features of the wetsuit described in connection with Figs 1a and 1b. Some differences between the wetsuit 10 of Figs 1 a and 1 b and the full cover wetsuit 600 of Figs 6a and 6b are that the full cover wetsuit 600 in addition includes a back portion 602 and arm portions 604. There is an opening 606 between the waist portion 16 and the back portion 602 allowing for the waist portion 16 and the seat portion 14 to be pulled down over the seat of the user when the connecting arrangement 18 has been released. In some embodiments the back portion 602 extends below a waistline and in behind the waist portion 16, the extension is indicated by the dotted line 608 in the figure. This extension makes it less likely that the skin of the user will be directly subject to cold water and that the wetsuit will keep the user warm even at the location of the opening 606. The end of the shoulder straps 22, that are not connected to the connecting arrangement 18, may be attached to the wetsuit 600 a distance down on the back portion 602, at the top of the shoulder, as depicted in Fig. 6a, or a distance down on the chest portion 20. In this way the advantages of a full cover wetsuit will be combined with the advantages of the arrangement facilitating pulling down the waist portion 16 and the seat portion 14 and thereby facilitating urination.

According to other embodiments a wetsuit as the one described in connection with Figs 6a and 6b may be formed with short arms or as a long john model.