Aid Device for Elastic Support Stockings

Abstract

An aid device suitable for assisting a person to put on tight elastic support stockings is made of flexible low-friction sheet material, and includes a central body portion including a distal edge and a proximal edge; a first side edge and a second side edge; a first engagement area arranged along the first side edge; and a second engagement area arranged along the second side edge. An elongate pulling handle for removing the device from the user's foot by exerting a pulling force is attached to an engagement area and/or to a side edge of the central body portion, and has a longitudinal extent that makes an angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the side edge.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to an aid device for assisting a person to put on tight elastic leg-covering apparel. The present invention relates particularly to an aid device for assisting a person to put on tight elastic support stockings, although a user can also apply the aid device when putting on other type of apparel, as desired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Normally, when apparel such as trousers are put on, the user pulls at the upper end of the trousers end pulls them up along his leg. The trouser leg slides along the user's leg, wherein the trouser leg experiences friction which the user has to overcome by exerting pulling force. High friction is encountered when passing the heel. The amount of friction is higher as the trousers are more tight, and as the user's leg is more damp.

The same applies, yet to a larger extent, to elastic support stockings, which due to the nature of their function have to be very tight and narrow. Putting them on does require high pulling force, especially for pulling the stocking past the heel, because the stocking will be narrower than the leg's “diameter” at the position of the heel, up to the point where the risk exists that the stockings are torn apart; in any case, the high pulling force causes wear and tear of the stockings.

Furthermore, elastic support stockings are typically applied as a medical aid, and users who need to use such aids also tend to have less strength in their arms and hands, to the extent that they often need to be helped by other persons, which makes that they are less independent.

Thus, there is a desire to provide an aid device to reduce the problems mentioned. This desire is well-recognized, and aid devices have already been proposed and are actually commercially available. A particular type of aid device, to which the present invention relates, is made from a sheet of thin, flexible, smooth material having a particularly low friction coefficient. A typical example is a cloth of plastic provided with a low-friction coating. Such material is known per se, and the known material can be applied in implementing the present invention, therefore a more detailed description of this material may be omitted here.

In general, the use of such aid device can be described as follows. First, the sheet is brought to an operation condition by folding or rolling it to take a tubular shape, and is arranged around the leg and foot of the user. Then, the elastic support stockings are put on over the sheet-covered foot and leg of the user. Thanks to the low-friction surface of the sheet, the elastic support stockings slide over the sheet quite easily. Finally, the aid device is removed from between the leg and the stockings.

When the stockings have open toes, it could be possible to remove the aid device at the toe side, but this requires pulling in a direction away from the user, which is not very easy for a user to do by himself. Further, the aid device should also be applicable in the case of stockings with closed toes. Therefore, aid devices are designed to be removed from the upper end of the stockings, using an upwards pulling force, which is relatively easily done by the user himself.

For exerting such removal pulling force, the aid device is provided with a pulling handle at the proximal end (upper end) of the aid device. An important aspect of the design of the aid device is that the pulling handle does not pull at the proximal end but at a more remote end of the aid device. This causes the aid device to be folded back over itself, wherein the folded-back portion is between the stockings and the non-folded-back portion of the aid device, so that the folded-back portion slides easily over the non-folded-back portion with virtually no friction, and over the stockings at just low friction; during removal, the aid device is not required to slide over skin.

A further important aspect of the design of the aid device is that engagement means are present for maintaining the operational condition of the sheet. When the aid device is being removed, this action should disengage the engagement means.

It is a general objective of the present invention to provide an improved aid device. Particularly, the present invention aims to provide an aid device with improved user convenience.

An aid device of the type described above is disclosed in EP-2478800. In this device, the pulling handle is attached to the distal end of the aid device, near the toes, at a central upper position, and the pulling handle extends longitudinally parallel to the foot and leg. On the other hand, the engagement means are located below the foot. As a consequence, the user may in practice experience difficulties in disengaging the engagement means. Further, with a single pulling handle at a central location, the actual removal of the aid device is not very convenient since the material of the aid device tends to rumple and screw up rather than be neatly folded. Further, EP-2478800 discloses that the aid device is preferably provided with a toe piece attached to the distal end of the aid device and intended to be folded back over the toes. With the single pulling handle at the central location as disclosed in EP-2478800, in practice, said toe piece tends to be pulled in between the user's toes and/or to bend the toes backwards, which is uncomfortable and/or painful, increases friction, and may cause damage to the material of the toe piece, while even the aid device may tear up.

Further, with the single pulling handle at the central location as disclosed in EP-2478800, a relatively high pulling force is required.

It is a specific objective of the present invention to provide an aid device in which these drawbacks are eliminated or in any case reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a pulling handle is attached to a side edge of the device, extending substantially perpendicular to that side edge. Preferably, two such pulling handles are arranged at respective opposite side edges. With such arrangement, pulling the aid device from between a stocking and the user's leg is much more easy and convenient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained by the following description of one or more preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which same reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of an aid device according to prior art;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the aid device of FIG. 1 in folded condition;

FIG. 3A is a plan view comparable to FIG. 1 of an aid device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross section along the line A-A in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A schematically shows the aid device of FIG. 3A in folded condition;

FIG. 4B is a schematic cross section of the aid device of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross section of the aid device in disengaged condition;

FIG. 6 is a plan view comparable to FIG. 3A of another embodiment of an aid device according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of an aid device, to explain terminology and to explain the prior art.

An aid device made of flexible low-friction sheet material comprises a central body portion 100 with a general quadrangular shape. It is noted that in practice corners may be rounded and edges do not necessarily have to be straight.

Reference numeral 101 indicates a central line, vertical in the figure. This line will in use be parallel to the user's leg, and its direction will also be indicated as longitudinal direction. The central body portion will usually be symmetrical with respect to central line 101, as will in fact be the aid device, but this is not essential.

When applied to the user's leg, as will be explained in more detail later, the lower end of the central line 101 will point towards the user's upper body and the upper end of the central line 101 will point towards the user's toes. These directions will be indicated as Proximal Longitudinal Direction PLD and Distal Longitudinal Direction DLD, respectively.

While it is possible that the central body portion 100 is rectangular or even square, it preferably is wider (and hence larger in circumference) at the proximal end than at the distal end. Therefore, FIG. 1 shows the central body portion 100 as a trapezium shape having a distal edge 102 extending in substantial transverse direction and having a proximal edge 103 extending in substantial transverse direction and being longer than the distal end 102. First and second side edges 104 and 105 extend from the distal edge 102 to the proximal edge 103, tapering towards each other in the Distal Longitudinal Direction DLD. Each side edge makes an angle with the central line 101 in the range from zero to 45°, typically in the range from 5° to 15°.

The central body portion 100 is intended to be folded to a tube or funnel shape, around a central axis substantially parallel to the central line 101. This means that the distal edge 102 takes the form of a closed loop, and the same applies to the proximal edge 103. The side edges 104 and 105 remain substantially straight, and are arranged parallel to each other. This condition is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is noted that in practice in this condition the central body portion 100 will not be a stiff tube, as maybe suggested by the figure, but behaves more like a plastic bag with two open ends.

For keeping the side edges 104 and 105 close to each other, the central body portion 100 is provided with a first engagement area 114 arranged along the first side edge 104 and a second engagement area 115 arranged along the first side edge 105. The first engagement area 114 is provided with first engagement members 124 and the second engagement area 115 is provided with second engagement members 125 The first and second engagement members 124, 125 are designed to engage each other in releasable manner. EP-2478800 teaches the use of magnetic engagement members.

For removing the aid device from between a leg and stockings, the aid device comprises a pulling handle 130 having a relatively wide distal end 132 and a narrower free end 133. This pulling handle 130 is also made of the low-friction sheet material. In prior art, the pulling handle 130 has its distal end 132 attached to the distal edge 102 of the central body portion 100, and will in use be made to extend over the central body portion 100 in the Proximal Longitudinal Direction PLD so that its free end 133 extends beyond the proximal edge 103, as shown. It can be seen that the longitudinal direction of the pulling handle 130 is substantially parallel to the central line 101 and that the pulling force will substantially be exerted in the Proximal Longitudinal Direction PLD.

It will be understood that in this prior art aid device the pulling handle 130 will exert its pulling force on the distal edge 102 of the central body portion 100, in a direction perpendicular to this distal edge 102, and at a position diametrically opposite the engaged side edges 104 and 105, which will normally be positioned below the user's foot. This is not an optimal solution.

With this prior art aid device, because of the pulling handle 130 being of flexible material, it is further inconvenient that, while the user is pulling at the support stocking to put it on, the portion of the pulling handle 130 of the aid device extending above the upper edge of the support stocking is dangling down, so that, when the user wishes to get hold of the pulling handle 130 in order to use it, he must pull up that portion of the pulling handle 130.

FIG. 3A is a view comparable to FIG. 1, on a smaller scale and partly broken away, to illustrate the solution of an aid device 1 proposed by the present invention. FIG. 3B shows a schematic cross section along line A-A in FIG. 3A. The sheet of material is shown exaggeratedly thick, at reference numeral 10. An upper surface of the material is indicated at 11, while a lower surface is indicated at 12. Engagement members 124, 125 are schematically shown at the side of the lower surface 12, having their engagement sides directed towards each other.

Instead of a pulling handle 120 attached to the distal edge 102 of the central body portion 100, the present invention proposes to have at least one pulling handle attached to one of the side edges 104, 105 and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to this one side edge. Although the invention is already effective if only one pulling handle is used, it is preferred to have two pulling handles 204 and 205, as shown in the figures, attached to the respective engagement areas 114, 115 at the side opposite the central body portion 100.

Each pulling handle 204, 205 is longitudinal in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side edges 104, 105. In order to be able to fit in the drawing, part of the pulling handle is shown cut away.

Each pulling handle 204, 205 is preferably made from a low friction material, more preferably the same material as the body 100.

It is noted that an engagement area 114, 115 may be implemented as part of the central body portion 100, as part of a corresponding pulling handle 204, 205, or as a separate part between the central body portion 100 and the corresponding pulling handle.

It is further noted that an engagement area 114, 115 may extend over the entire length of a side edge 104, 105, or only over a part of that length, as shown.

It is further noted that, instead of an engagement area 114, 115 located in between the corresponding pulling handle 204, 205 and the central body portion 100, it is also possible that the pulling handles 204, 205 are attached directly to the central body portion 100 and that the engagement areas 114, 115 extend to the underside, having an upper edge attached to the pulling handles 204, 205 and/or the central body portion 100 and having a free lower edge.

In use, the central body portion 100 is again folded to its operative funnel shape, similar to the illustration in FIG. 2, and the engagement members 124, 125 are brought into engagement. FIG. 4A is a perspective view comparable to FIG. 2 illustrating this folded condition, with parts of the pulling handles 204, 205 shown cut away for sake of simplicity.

It is noted that the side edge 104, 105 make an angle with the central line 101 in the range from zero to 46°, typically in the range from 5° to 15°. However, in the folded condition, with the engagement members 124, 125 engaged, the side edge 104, 105 extend parallel to each other and will be directed in the longitudinal direction of the user's foot, at the lower side of that foot.

The user, who will typically be sitting down, puts his foot into the interior of said funnel shape, at the side of the proximal edge 103, and shifts his foot towards the distal edge 102. Depending on size and dimension, his toes will project beyond the distal edge 102 or not. The engaged side edges 104 and 105 are located under his foot. The aid device 1 is now in a condition of being wrapped around the foot. FIG. 4B is a schematic cross section comparable to FIG. 3B of the aid device 1 in the folded and wrapped condition, also showing a cross section of a foot F. It can be seen that the aid device 1 now in fact has a general Ω-shape: the central body 100 forms a loop over the foot F, with the lower surface 12 of the central body 100 being always directed towards the foot F. The two pulling handles 204 and 205 will extend sideways from under the user's foot F, having their upper surfaces 11 directed towards the upper surfaces 11 of the central body 100, and meeting the central body 100 at the position of the engagement members 124, 125.

The user takes these two handles 204, 205, pulls them up and together to make these handles cross above his foot and in front of his lower leg. It is now desired that the handles be maintained in this position. To that end, the free ends of the two handles 204, 205 can be tied together and the joint can be placed on the knee or on the upper leg above the knee. To facilitate this, the free ends of the two handles 204, 205 are preferably provided with coupling means, for instance velcro or snap connectors, but this is not shown for sake of simplicity. Alternatively, it is possible that the two handles 204, 205 actually form a continuous piece of material, or have their free ends connected by a piece of elastic band.

It is noted that, in the case of only one pulling handle, it is also possible that the free end thereof is provided with means for keeping the end of the pulling handle in place above the user's knee, for instance in the form of a loop. This as such also applies to prior art devices.

The user now puts on the stockings.

After having put on the stockings, the aid device can be removed by pulling the two handles 204, 205. It is an advantage of the invention that these two handles can easily be grabbed by the fact that they are held in place above the user's knee. The portion actually grabbed by the user will be indicated as engagement part.

Via the two handles 204, 205, the pulling force is exerted directly onto the engaged side edges 104 and 105, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the side edges 104 and 105, thus directly pulling the engagement members 124, 125 apart to disengage, and then pulling the side edges 104 and 105 apart. Consequently, disconnecting the engagement members 124, 125 is easier.

It is noted that, instead of fumbling the central body portion 100 by pulling the distal edge 102 in the proximal longitudinal direction PLD, wherein one more or less cylindrical sheet portion is folded back over itself, the two side edges 104 and 105 are pulled away in a linear manner in a direction which (at least initially) is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and in each case a substantial planar sheet portion is neatly folded back over itself. FIG. 5 is a cross section comparable to FIG. 4B, showing the side edges 104 and 105 in the drawn apart condition. It can be seen that the sheet material of the body portion 100 is folded back over itself, but the engagement members 124, 125 do not need to be folded over.

It is further noted that, as compared to the prior art where the single pulling force is directed in longitudinal direction and must make an acute bend around the user's toes, the two pulling forces according to the invention are directed in circumferential direction around the foot, which involves a more even bending and not interfering with the toes. Further, the user pulls with two hands at opposite sides of the engagement members, and if the two handles are crossed over the foot/in front of the leg, indeed, the pulling force is directed along the user's skin in a more logical direction.

Thus, removing the aid device is easier.

It is noted that, with two pulling forces being exerted at opposite sides of the engagement members 124, 125, and in opposite directions, it is preferred that these two pulling forces are aligned with each other, i.e. make an angle of 180° with each other. Thus, in one embodiment, the general longitudinal extent of the two handles 204, 205 is perpendicular to the side edges 104 and 105, or in any case substantially perpendicular. However, since the pulling forces also need to shift the aid along the foot up the user's leg, and since the two handles 204, 205 need to follow the user's leg within the stocking, in another embodiment, the general longitudinal extent of the two handles 204, 205 makes an angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the longitudinal of the side edges 104 and 105, towards the proximal edge 103.

FIG. 6 is a more detailed planar view of an aid device 1 according to the present invention in unfolded condition. A central body portion is again indicated at reference numeral 100.

Although not essential for good operation of the aid device 1, a preferred toe portion 250 is shown extending beyond the distal edge 102 in distal longitudinal direction DLD. The toe portion 250 has a width corresponding to an assumed width of a user's (human) foot, in the order of 7-10 cm, but the exact width is not essential. Likewise, the longitudinal extent may be in the order of 10-15 cm, but this is not essential too.

The toe portion 250 may be integral with the central body portion 100, made from the same sheet as an extension of the central body portion 100, but may also be made from a different sheet of low-friction material attached to the central body portion 100.

The central body portion 100 may be provided with stitched seams X1 and X2, making a small angle with each other, to provide a little bit of stiffness in longitudinal direction to assist the user when folding the aid device to put it on his foot.

Although it is possible to provide the aid device 1 in a range of sizes, to take into account the fact that people have smaller or bigger feet and thinner or thicker legs, this would increase the costs of the aid device. For performing its function, the actual size is not of great importance, and it may actually be possible to manufacture the aid devices for adults on a one-size-fits-all basis.

It is further possible to have the aid device 1 have, in its operative condition, the shape of a “straight” funnel, wherein its diameter varies in linear proportion to the longitudinal position.

However, the present invention also aims to provide the aid device in a shape better adapted to the particular shape of a human foot-ankle-lower leg body portion.

To this end, the aid device 1 according to the present invention preferably comprises an insert piece 260 of the same or similar low-friction sheet material. The central body portion 100 has a recess 150 cut away from the proximal edge 103, the recess having a linear bottom edge at a distance from the distal edge 102 of for instance about 10 cm and having linear side edges that may be substantially parallel. The insert piece 260 has a general trapezium shape, with a distal bottom edge 262 having a width equal to the linear bottom edge of the recess 150 and attached to the recess bottom edge, side edges attached to the recess side edges, and a proximal top edge 263 wider than the width of the recess. In an example, the insert piece ranges from a width of 4 cm at its bottom edge to a width of 11 cm at its top edge. As a result, the central body portion 100 has a better fit to the shape of a human foot.

A further preferred feature of the present invention relates to the engagement members 114, 115. In the prior art, magnetic members are used, arranged in pockets sewn into the aid device.

Magnetic engagement members have certain disadvantages. Their shape will resemble a coin, having two parallel main surfaces with a certain surface area and a certain thickness. The thickness can not be selected arbitrarily low, because then the magnets become vulnerable as they can break. The magnets will exert their attractive forces in a direction perpendicular to their main surfaces, which means that for engagement they should be arranged in overlapping arrangement, adding to the overall thickness at that location. As described above, when removing the aid device, remote parts are pulled and are made to fold back over more proximal parts such as to slide in between those proximal parts and the stocking; however, due to their surface extent (diameter), the magnets will resist such folding of the material in which they are arranged.

These disadvantages are avoided in the aid device as proposed by the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, the engagement members 124, 125 are implemented as small plastic buckles, provided with a thin plastic web portion that can be sewn directly to the low-friction sheet material of the aid device. Thus, integrating the engagement members 124, 125 in the aid device is easier.

It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above, but that several variations and modifications are possible within the protective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims. Even if certain features are recited in different dependent claims, the present invention also relates to an embodiment comprising these features in common. Even if certain features have been described in combination with each other, the present invention also relates to an embodiment in which one or more of these features are omitted. Features which have not been explicitly described as being essential may also be omitted. Any reference signs in a claim should not be construed as limiting the scope of that claim.

Claims

1. An aid device made of flexible low-friction sheet material having an upper surface and a lower surface comprising: a central body portion adapted to be wrapped around a user's foot and lower leg, with the upper surface directed outwards and the lower surface directed inwards to the user's foot and lower leg, wherein the central body portion comprises: a distal edge;a proximal edge generally opposite the distal edge;a first side edge extending between the distal edge and the proximal edge;a second side edge extending between the distal edge and the proximal edge, generally opposite the first side edge;a first engagement area arranged along the first side edge; anda second engagement area arranged along the second side edge;wherein the first engagement area is provided with one or more first engagement members;wherein the second engagement area is provided with one or more second engagement members; andwherein the first and second engagement members are adapted to engage each other for keeping the central body portion in a wrapped condition; anda first elongate pulling handle for removing the device from the user's foot by exerting a pulling force at an engagement part of the first elongate pulling handle;wherein the first elongate pulling handle is attached to the central body portion and has a longitudinal extent that makes a first angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the first side edge.

2. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the first angle is substantially equal to 90°.

3. The aid device according to claim 1, further comprising a second elongate pulling handle for removing the device from the user's foot by exerting a pulling force at an engagement part of the second elongate pulling handle, the second elongate pulling handle attached to the central body portion and having a longitudinal extent that makes a second angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the second side edge.

4. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the second angle is substantially equal to 90°.

5. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the first engagement area is arranged in between the first elongate pulling handle and the central body portion.

6. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the first engagement area is arranged in between the first elongate pulling handle and the central body portion; and wherein the second engagement area is arranged in between the second elongate pulling handle and the central body portion.

7. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the first and second elongate pulling handles are made from the same or similar low friction sheet material as the central body portion.

8. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the first side edge and the second side edge are substantially parallel in the planar condition of the device.

9. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the distal edge is shorter than the proximal edge.

10. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the first elongate pulling handle tapers from a relatively broad end at the side of the central body portion to a relatively narrow engagement part.

11. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the first elongate pulling handle at its engagement part is provided with means for keeping that engagement part located at the user's knee.

12. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the engagement parts are free ends provided with coupling means for being releasably coupled together.

13. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the engagement parts are free ends connected together by an elastic band.

14. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the engagement parts are fixed together.

15. The aid device according to claim 1 further comprising a toe portion extending in distal direction from the distal edge.

16. The aid device according to claim 1 further comprising an insert piece; wherein the central body portion has a recess cut away from the proximal edge;wherein the insert piece is attached in the recess; andwherein the insert piece has a proximal edge wider than the width of the recess.

17. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement members are implemented as buckles.

18. The aid device according to claim 17, wherein each buckle comprises a thin plastic web sewn to the sheet material.

19. An aid device suitable for assisting a person to put on tight elastic support stockings, made of flexible low-friction sheet material and comprising: a central body portion comprising: a distal edge and a proximal edge;a first side edge and a second side edge;a first engagement area arranged along the first side edge; anda second engagement area arranged along the second side edge; andat least one elongate pulling handle for removing the device from the user's foot by exerting a pulling force at an engagement part of the at least one elongate pulling handle;wherein the at least one elongate pulling handle is attached to the central body portion, and has a longitudinal extent that makes an angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the side edge of the central body to which the at least one elongate pulling handle is attached.

20. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the first elongate pulling handle and the second elongate pulling handle are integrally made as a one-piece product.