Technical Field

The present invention relates to a piece of clothing, especially intended to be worn during intense physical activity.

Background Art

The feeling of discomfort is known when wearing a sweat-soaked T-shirt.

This situation occurs especially during intense physical activity, such as sports, but also during a work activity which, in summer, forces to stay long in very hot places.

Sometimes, those who find themselves in this situation cannot just take off the shirt and remain bare-chested, either in consideration of the particular environment they are, either because of the embarrassment that might ensue, think in particular of female subjects and particular climatic conditions (e.g., extreme cold).

In addition, during certain types of physical activity, it would be rather uncomfortable to take off one's sweat-soaked shirt, think of cycling or skiing. Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to provide a piece of clothing which, when sweat-soaked, can be taken off easily and very quickly.

Within this aim, one object of the invention is to provide a piece of clothing which can be worn under a T-shirt (or other similar garment), which can be taken off without having to take said T-shirt off.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a piece of clothing which allows to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in the ambit of a simple, rational, easy and effective to use as well as low cost solution.

The above mentioned objects are achieved by the present piece of clothing made in accordance with claim 1.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of a piece of clothing, illustrated by way of an indicative, but not limitative example in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic axonometric view of the piece of clothing according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the piece of clothing according to the invention; and

Figure 3 is a schematic side view of a detail of the piece of clothing according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

With reference to these figures, generally indicated by reference number 1 is the piece of clothing of the invention.

The proposed piece of clothing 1 first of all comprises a T-shirt 2, preferably a tank top, like the one shown in the illustrations, or a T-shirt with or without sleeves or the like.

The T-shirt 2 can be made of any suitable material, such as cotton, polyester, elastane, etc. ..

The invention has two continuous and opposite openings formed in the T-shirt 2 between a respective passage 3 for an upper limb and the bottom 4, so as to define two opposite pairs of side edges 5, 6.

In detail, if the T-shirt 2 is e.g., a T-shirt with or without sleeves, the openings start from the hem of the end of the sleeve, while if the T-shirt 2 is a tank top, then they start from the hem of passage 3, e.g. formed at the armholes, since tank tops do not have sleeves.

In practice, what is here called "passage for the upper limb" 3, in the case of T- shirt or the like, is the hem of the end of the sleeve while, in the case of tank tops, it is the opening usually formed at the armholes; in general, it will be any opening specially designed for the passage of the upper limb.

With "bottom" 4 of the T-shirt 2 is clearly meant the lower hem of the same, which normally surrounds the hips of the person who wears it.

Therefore, in practice, the piece of clothing 1 comprises a kind of shaped drape that, in an open configuration wherein it is laid out on a flat surface, has a central passage 7 which constitutes the neckline of the T-shirt 2, preferably very large, which passage 7 is arranged substantially at half the length of the drape, to define two portions 8, 9 of the T-shirt 2. In practice, once worn, the piece of clothing 1 of the invention has a front portion 8 of the T-shirt 2 covering the chest and belly and a rear portion 9 covering the back, where these portions 8 and 9 are joined by straps 13, 14 on the sides of the neck and separated by the mentioned neckline 7.

The above mentioned openings (initially closed, as will be explained later) are arranged at opposite sides of the torso of the person wearing the T-shirt 2, and extend at least starting from the armpits to the hips.

The invention advantageously provides closing means 10 for joining and mutual separating the edges 5, 6 of each pair by pulling them off.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the closing means comprise a plurality of pressure studs 10 distributed along pairs of edges 5, 6.

Alternatively, or in addition, the closing means may comprise one or more Velcro fastenings, arranged at the pairs of edges 5, 6, as in the example of the enclosed illustrations.

Preferably, the invention comprises pulling means 11 which can be seized and associated by means of a mechanical tension with the edges 5, 6, so as to allow the manual pulling of the same.

The pulling means 11 of the invention may comprise at least one linear tension element 11, e.g. a cord.

In this case, the proposed piece of clothing 1 may have at least two main through holes 15, 16, formed in respective axial halves of the T-shirt 2, in which the same tension element 11 is inserted, so as to define a grippable outer central portion 17, with the ends of the tension element 11 that are fixed at respective edges 5, 6 (e.g. by stitching).

In practice, considering the longitudinal extension of the T-shirt 2, it can ideally be divided into a right half 18, 20 and into a left half 19; in detail, both the front portion 8 and the rear portion 9 of the T-shirt can be divided into a right half 18, 20 and a left half 19, respectively.

In the front portion 8 are present at least a main hole 15 in the right half 18 and a main hole 16 in the left half 19, from which protrudes the stretch of the tension element 11 defined above as a "central portion" 17, which is arranged astride of the two halves 18, 19 and may be gripped like a knob or a handle. These holes 15, 16, and therefore the central portion 17 of the tension element 11, are arranged in the proximity of the neckline 7, in order to make them easily accessible by the user's hands, with the purpose of slip-off of the invention. Preferably, also the rear portion 9 comprises respective main holes 21 and a respective linear tension element 22, configured as those described in the preceding paragraphs in relation to the front portion 8 (this aspect will be discussed later).

Below, the operation of the invention is explained.

The user wears the T-shirt 2 of the proposed piece of clothing 1 on the torso, directly on the skin, and on top of it another garment 12 covering the torso and intended to remain visible.

This other garment can be, e.g. a T-shirt 12 or a polo shirt or a shirt.

Afterwards, for convenience of explanation, the case in which this garment is a T-shirt 12 will be referred to as "further T-shirt" or "external T-shirt" to distinguish it from that of the invention.

As mentioned above, especially in the case of the T-shirt 2 of the invention being a tank top, it remains hidden from view because it is covered by the other T-shirt 12.

Initially, the two pairs of edges 5, 6 are joined together by the closing means 10 and therefore, the aforesaid openings are in "closed" configuration.

When the T-shirt 2 of the proposed piece of clothing 1 is sweat-soaked, the user reaches the grippable pulling means 11, passing through the neckline of the second T-shirt 12 and pulls them with an impulsive movement, i.e. "pulling them off.

Consequently, the pulling means 11 tighten the edges 5, 6 on both hips, producing the opening of the above mentioned closing means 10, to separate the edges 5, 6 from one another.

In this way, the piece of clothing 1 can be taken off through the neckline of the external T-shirt 12, by making the head pass through the neckline 7 of the T- shirt 2 of the invention, with the same above mentioned "pull off movement. In detail, in the case in which the pulling means comprise the aforementioned tension element 11, considering that the ends of the tension element 11 are fixed to the edges 5, then by pulling said central portion 17 with an impulsive gesture, the opening of the closing means 10 is obtained and, therefore, the taking off of the piece of clothing 1.

In fact, once the closing means 10 are opened, the piece of clothing 1 of the invention offers no obstacles to the taking off upwards and on the other hand the two front and rear portions 8, 9 are joined at least by the straps 13, 14 (and also by the top of the sleeves, opened at the bottom, in the case of the T-shirt 2 being a T-shirt with or without sleeves), so that they can be taken off together. In practice, the piece of clothing 1 of the invention can be taken off very quickly, even with a single gesture, without having first to take the external T- shirt 12 off.

As a result, the user takes off the sweaty piece of clothing 1 but continues to wear a clean one, without this having caused to remain bare-chested or make long and complex slip-off maneuvers, which would be inadvisable during certain activities, such as e.g. cycling.

The piece of clothing 1 is washable and the closing means 10 and reclosable and reopenable ad libitum, so that the invention is reusable for an indefinite number of times.

As mentioned above, also the rear portion 9 may comprise respective main holes 21 and a respective linear tension element 22.

In this case, in practice, the front edges 5 of each pair are fixed to respective opposite ends of the front linear tension element 11, while the rear edges 6 are fixed at the ends of the already mentioned rear tension element 22.

Therefore, the user, for the purpose of slip-off of the piece of clothing 1, may decide to pull both the central portion 17 of the front tension element 11 and the central portion 23 of the rear element 22.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, shown in the attached drawings, the piece of clothing 1 comprises, in each front and rear portions 8, 9, at least two pairs of said holes 15, 16, 21, 25, each pair comprising a hole closer to the axis of the T-shirt 2 (or rather to a median axial plane), which is one of the main holes from which protrudes said central portion 17, 23 of the respective tension element 11, 22. The other hole 24, 25 of each pair is arranged closer to a respective edge 5, 6. The proposed piece of clothing 1 can then comprise a coulisse for each pair of holes 15, 16, 21, 25, as defined in the two preceding paragraphs, the ends of which are arranged at the holes of the respective pair.

The coulisse are preferably arranged inside the T-shirt 2, i.e. stitched or otherwise joined to its inner surface.

Both the coulisse and the mentioned holes 15, 16, 21, 25 define in practice sliding guides for the tension element or elements 11, 22 of the invention.

Optionally, the beneficial device as described below may be provided, relating to the union of the tension elements 11, 22 and the edges 5, 6.

The ends of the tension element 11 associated with the front portion 8 of the T- shirt 2 are fixed to the respective edges 5 at an outer attachment point 26, i.e. arranged on the surface of the T-shirt 2 intended to remain on the outside after it has been worn.

On the contrary, the ends of the tension element 22 associated with the rear portion 9 of the T-shirt 2, are fixed to the respective edges 6 at inner points, i.e. points arranged on the surface of the T-shirt 2 that, in use, is in contact with the skin.

With this purpose on the rear portion 9 can be formed further guide holes 27 allowing the rear element to reach the inner surface of the respective edge 6, and which cooperate with the other holes of the rear portion 9 to define the above mentioned sliding guides.

The invention may however comprise guide means also different from the sliding guides defined above, applied to the T-shirt 2 and suitable for guiding the pulling means.

It has been found in practice how the described invention achieves the intended objects and in particular the fact is underlined that the invention provides a piece of clothing 1 which covers the torso of a user, intended to receive the sweat, and is adapted to be slipped off through the neckline of another garment worn on top of that of the invention.