Pants-type wearing article

Abstract

A pants-type wearing article including a connecting member by the intermediary of which respective lateral regions of front and rear waist regions are connected together. In a pants-type wearing article, a lateral region of a front waist region and a lateral region of a rear waist region are connected to each other by the intermediary of a sheet-like connecting member. The connecting member is folded to form mountain folds and valley folds arranged alternately and collapsed in a circumferential direction. These mountain folds and valley folds are expanded from the folded state in the circumferential direction as these folds are pulled in the circumferential direction.

1 . A pants-type wearing article having a circumferential direction, a front-back direction and a vertical direction orthogonal to the front-back direction, the pants-type wearing article comprising a front waist region and a rear waist region opposed to each other in the front-back direction and respectively having lateral regions opposed to each other in the circumferential direction along which the front waist region and the rear waist region are connected together, wherein:
 the lateral region of the front waist region and the lateral region of the rear waist region are connected to each other by the intermediary of a sheet-like connecting member along at least one of both sides in the circumferential direction;   the connecting member having its outer surface facing outward of the wearing article and is folded to form mountain folds convexly pointing outward of the wearing article and extending in the vertical direction and valley folds convexly pointing inward of the wearing article and extending in the vertical direction so that the mountain folds and the valley folds may alternate in the circumferential direction and may be expanded in the circumferential direction from the folded state as the connecting member is pulled in the circumferential direction; and   the outer surface of the connecting member is attached to the inner surface of the front and rear waist regions.   
     
     
         2 . The wearing article defined by  claim 1 , wherein the connecting member includes at least two mountain folds. 
     
     
         3 . The wearing article defined by  claim 1 , wherein the connecting member is attached to at least one of the front and rear waist regions in a separable and re-connectable fashion. 
     
     
         4 . The wearing article defined by  claim 1 , wherein the connecting member is elastically stretchable in the circumferential direction. 
     
     
         5 . The wearing article defined by  claim 1 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         6 . The wearing article defined by  claim 1 , wherein the mountain folds of the connecting member in a folded state lie inner than respective edges of the lateral regions of the respective front and rear waist regions extending in the vertical direction. 
     
     
         7 . The wearing article defined by  claim 1 , wherein two or more types of the connecting member having different dimensions in the state expanded in the circumferential direction are used to connect the front and rear waist regions to obtain two or more types of the wearing article having different circumferential dimensions and thereby to obtain a group including the two or more types of the wearing article. 
     
     
         8 . The wearing article defined by  claim 2 , wherein the connecting member is attached to at least one of the front and rear waist regions in a separable and re-connectable fashion. 
     
     
         9 . The wearing article defined by  claim 2 , wherein the connecting member is elastically stretchable in the circumferential direction. 
     
     
         10 . The wearing article defined by  claim 3 , wherein the connecting member is elastically stretchable in the circumferential direction. 
     
     
         11 . The wearing article defined by  claim 8 , wherein the connecting member is elastically stretchable in the circumferential direction. 
     
     
         12 . The wearing article defined by  claim 2 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         13 . The wearing article defined by  claim 3 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         14 . The wearing article defined by  claim 4 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         15 . The wearing article defined by  claim 8 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         16 . The wearing article defined by  claim 9 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         17 . The wearing article defined by  claim 10 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         18 . The wearing article defined by  claim 11 , wherein the connecting member in the folded state is temporarily fastened in such folded state in a separable fashion. 
     
     
         19 . The wearing article defined by  claim 2  wherein the mountain folds of the connecting member in a folded state lie inner than respective edges of the lateral regions of the respective front and rear waist regions extending in the vertical direction. 
     
     
         20 . The wearing article defined by  claim 3  wherein the mountain folds of the connecting member in a folded state lie inner than respective edges of the lateral regions of the respective front and rear waist regions extending in the vertical direction.