Patent Application
20230014236
This invention relates to hygienic garments for comfort, convenience and health for patients who are incontinent.
Adults who suffer from incontinence often suffer from maladies associated with urine and feces which are retained near the skin of an adult hygiene garment such as a disposable diaper. It is often not feasible to change the garment as soon as the wearer soils it due to immobility of the wearer, delays in getting health care assistant attention, or inconvenience of the situation or location. During the time between soiling and changing the garment, unpleasant odors may develop as may detrimental microbes such as bacteria, yeast and fungi. The latter may lead to irritation of the wearer's skin, and potentially to infections within the wearer.
An adult hygiene garment is disclosed which has multiple flexible layers shaped to form a front panel and a rear panel joined by a perineum panel, in which the perineum panel is bounded on a left edge and on a right edge by two curved leg edges, and in which at least one of the layers comprises an anti-microbial anti-odor insert below an inner liner layer.
The figures presented herein, when considered in light of this description, form a complete disclosure of one or more embodiments of the invention, wherein like reference numbers in the figures represent similar or same elements or steps.
Soiled adult hygiene garments are a known source of odor, irritation and infection, and yet, available products remain unimproved to inhibit and prevent these undesirable consequences of wearing such products. The present inventor, through her work as a nurse and healthcare services professional, has developed an improved adult hygiene garment which addresses these unmet needs in the art, and is particularly well suited for production as a disposable garment with low production costs.
Turning to
These components of the example garment resemble an ordinary adult hygiene garment, albeit in at least one embodiment, the dimensions are increased to accommodate wearing by persons having a large waist size (example dimensions will be discussed in the following paragraphs).
According to one or more improvements in this embodiment, one or more hygienic inserts are added to the groin area 121, perineum area 122, or buttocks area 123 in the front panel 111, perineum panel 112, or rear panel 113, respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the groin hygienic insert 121 and the buttocks hygienic insert 123 are provided with a trapezoid shape, as illustrated, wherein the groin hygienic insert 121 is especially applicable for male wearers and the other inserts 122 and 123 are applicable to both male and female wearer. Although the insert shapes are shown with sharp corners, other embodiments may include rounded corners, ovals and oblong shapes.
Referring now to
The improvement includes one, two or three inserts 121, 122, and 123 made of material which is anti-odor and anti-microbial, and which may overlap each other in some embodiments, or which may be combined into just one or two inserts in other embodiments. While the embodiment example of
Other such materials suitable for fabricating the inserts are various plastic fibers and films available with SILVERSHIELD™ or zinc-based ZPTECH (zinc), both available from Microban USA of Huntersville, N.C., such as treated Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Polyethylene (PE/LDPE), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Polycarbonate (PC). Additional odor control can be obtained by optionally including in the material of the inserts activated carbon.
Improved adult dimensions according to at least one embodiment include front and rear edges which are between 12 and 24 inches each in a stretched (ungathered) state allowing for a fit around a waist of 24 to 48 inches, with 8 inch tall front and rear panels, and a 12 inch perineum portion extending between the front and rear panels. The leg edges are preferably a smooth curve which indents about 3 inches (ungathered) from the right and left edges of the front and rear panels.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, unless specifically stated otherwise.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The foregoing example embodiments do not define the extent or scope of the present invention, but instead are provided as illustrations of how to make and use at least one embodiment of the invention.
