Patent Application
20240188646
The present invention relates to the field of undergarments for covering a portion of the pelvic region and/or lower torso of a wearer.
Undergarments (also sometimes conventionally referred to as underpants, underwear, panties, boxer shorts, and the like) are commonly known and are usually worn directly adjacent to a wearer's skin. At a most general level, conventional undergarments are provided with respective leg openings through which the wearer's legs are inserted (feet first) and a waist opening having a periphery that encircles the wearer's hips (i.e., around an upper region of the wearer's pelvis) or waist (i.e., a region generally axially between the wearer's pelvis and a lower part of the wearer's ribcage), once the undergarment is manually drawn up over the legs to the pelvic region as desired.
The process of donning and doffing an undergarment of this type is relatively simple for many, but some people suffer from injury (e.g., from traumatic accident) or medical conditions that cause varying degrees of loss of manual dexterity and strength (e.g., in the hands, particularly a pinching grip between the fingertips and the thumb) or motor control of the limbs (e.g., of the arms) that can make it extremely difficult to grasp a specific desired part of the thin fabric edge of an undergarment waist opening and/or to maintain one's grip on the fabric and/or to draw the undergarment up the legs around the body (or down, when removing the undergarment). Stroke or cerebral hemorrhage, or diseases with neurological effects like Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis are common causes of relevant loss of dexterity or motor control.
One conventional approach to facilitate putting on and taking off an undergarment is to, most generally, simply eliminate the action of drawing the undergarment up or down over the legs, to or away from the pelvic region where it is positioned when worn. One such conventional approach is to provide a clam-shell or diaper-like structure which is passed between the legs of the wearer to thereby position a front portion of the undergarment in front of the wearer and a back portion of the undergarment behind the wearer. The front and back portions are then brought upward towards the wearer and respective opposing edges of the front and back portions are detachably fixed to one another at the sides of the wearer. For example, a commercially-available undergarment from a company called “Slick Chicks” located in New York City uses eye-and-hook fasteners (similar to those used in certain bras) to fix the front and back portions together. Another commercially-available undergarment from a company called “EasyUndies” in Springfield, New Jersey uses opposing hook-and-loop fastener strips on the respective opposing edges of the front and back portions to detachably fix the front and back portions together. Chinese Utility Model No. 204861189U discloses an undergarment also having a diaper-like structure that uses hook-and-loop fastener strips (similar to the EasyUndies undergarment) to fix its front and back portions together. While the diaper-like structure of these undergarments do facilitate their use in certain aspects, they may have certain negative associations for wearers—in particular, adults may be embarrassed by having to use a garment that indeed resembles a diaper.
In addition, the physical structure of this type of undergarment still does not fully address the difficulties for dexterity-limited wearers trying to use a conventional unitary undergarment (i.e., that is drawn up and down over the legs when worn and taken off). That is, they still require a significant level of relatively precise hand and arm activity in order to use.
Accordingly, there is a need for an undergarment adapted to address the physical limitations of people with dexterity and motor control issues that permits ease of use, and preferably additionally encompasses a stylish or otherwise visually attractive appearance in a manner so as to not look like drab specialized medical gear, thereby contributing to a wearer's positive self-image.
The present invention will be even better understood with reference to the drawings appended hereto, taken in combination with the written description hereinbelow, in which:
Most generally, the present invention relates to undergarments worn around and generally covering the pelvic region of a wearer. Such garments may be variously referred to as underwear, underpants, panties, briefs, or boxers among other terms, and the application of the present invention is meant to be expansively inclusive with respect to such terminology. Such garments are normally worn next to the skin in a well-known and understood manner, underneath other exterior clothing (such as, without limitation, pants, trousers, short pants, sweatpants, suit pants, and the like).
Also, at the outset, reference will be sometimes made herein to a “front,” “rear,” and “side” or “sides” of an undergarment according to the present invention. For the sake of clarity, the following standards will be used herein with reference to standard anatomical planes, taken with respect to an undergarment as worn by a wearer in customary use. The “front” and “rear” of the undergarment are taken as generally defined on opposite sides of the coronal anatomic plane, corresponding to anterior and posterior sides of the wearer, respectively. A “side” or “sides” of the undergarment are taken as regions of the undergarment intersecting or at least substantially adjacent to the lateral regions of the undergarment intersecting the coronal plane. A seam fixedly joining and located between respective fabric panels constituting the undergarment may possibly be present in the undergarment depending on its construction.
In general, the present invention relates to undergarments provided with additional physical structures that aid a wearer with dexterity and/or motor skill difficulties in putting on (or raising, generally) and taking off (or lowering, generally) the undergarment as desired, preferably independently (i.e., without requiring assistance from another person). The undergarment of the present invention falls within the field of “adaptive clothing” as is known in the field of clothing.
The appended figures collectively illustrate five examples of the present invention by way of illustration. Certain features described herein (for example and without limitation, potential fabrics of manufacture of the respective undergarment examples) are common to the respective examples and should be so understood even without express mention. The features (e.g., mentioned dimensions) of the respective examples as described herein are intended to be interchangeable among all examples to the maximum extent possible, again even in the absence of any express linking language.
Main garment portion 100a can be made from any conventional material/fabric common in the field of undergarment manufacture, including, without limitation, cotton, nylon, silk, or other known natural or synthetic materials (optionally resiliently stretchable) chosen for any desired combination of personal comfort and/or aesthetic appearance. The main garment portion 100a may be made, for example, from one or more respective segments or panels of fabric material, preferably fixed together at one or more respective seams (for example, via stitching) to form a one-piece (i.e., unitary) garment, in contrast to the split-side (i.e., diaper-like) structure of the prior art garments described above.
At a location at or near the waist opening 102, one or more laterally extending lengths of elongate material, such as an elongate strip of material, are fixedly attached to the main garment portion 100a at laterally spaced apart intervals to define a plurality of horizontally extending primary finger pulls 106. In one example of the present invention, a single strip of material (that may optionally be elastic) 108 (e.g., about ½ inch wide) is attached (for example, via conventional stitching using a thread suitable to the respective materials; sometimes referred to in the art as “tacking”) to the main garment portion 100a at laterally spaced apart attachment locations 112 (for example at about 3-4 inch intervals, although the spacing does not need to be identical or consistent).
In one example, the single strip of material 108 is tacked to the main garment portion 100a at respective left and right sides of the undergarment 100, in addition to the other spaced apart points of attachment, and respective ends of the strip of material 108 are tacked adjacent to one another at approximately the front center of the main garment portion 100a. As a result, in one example according to the present invention, the undergarment 100 is provided with, for example, two horizontally extending primary finger pulls 106 between the front center of the main garment portion 100a and the right side and the left side of the main garment portion 100a, respectively, for a total of four, on the front side of the undergarment 100. See, for example,
It is a broad objective to provide the wearer with a number of horizontally extending primary finger pulls 106 distributed about (i.e., on a combination of the sides and front and/or rear of the undergarment 100) the waist opening 102 that can be more easily grasped (despite any dexterity or motor control problems the wearer may have) so that the undergarment 100 can be pulled up evenly and the waist opening 102 positioned evenly. Accordingly the number of points (i.e., attachment locations) at which strip of material 108 is attached may vary in a number of ways, subject to a desired number of primary finger pulls 106 with a desired positional distribution about the undergarment 100.
Alternatively, more than one strip of material 108 can be used, instead of a single strip completely encircling the undergarment 100 as just described. In an alternative example, not illustrated here, a first strip could be attached between the center front and a first respective side, a second strip could be attached between the center front and the second respective side, a third strip attached between first respective side and the center rear, and a fourth strip attached between the second respective side and the center rear. Additionally, each of the first, second, third, and fourth strips could be attached to the main garment portion 100a at additional intermediate tacking locations (i.e., between their ends) to define further primary finger pulls 106. In other words, the first, second, third, and fourth strips could be essentially further subdivided by additional tacking between the respective ends of the strips.
Most generally, the primary finger pulls 106 provide handle-like structures that are comparatively easier to grasp than an edge of the undergarment 100 at or adjacent to waist opening 102, thereby facilitating putting on and taking off (including raising and lowering) the undergarment 100.
In some examples of the present invention, it can be useful to structurally define a slight space between the strip of material 108 and the fabric of the main garment portion 100a to further facilitate engagement by the wearer's finger(s). That is, a space is “built” into the garment between the strip of material 108 and the fabric of main garment portion 100a, for example, as a function of the manner in which strip of material 108 is sized and attached to the main garment portion 100a. See below, relative to
Such a “slight space” is further explained with reference to
Generally, to provide a spacing between the strip of material 604 and the undergarment fabric 600 thereunder in the manner referred to hereinabove, the length X of the strip of material 604 is made greater than the distance Y along the undergarment fabric 600, such that the difference between X and Y physically creates a non-zero spacing Z between the strip of material 604 and the underlying undergarment fabric 600 in a known and expected manner. It will be additionally understandable that X and Y can be highly variable within the scope of the present invention as contemplated (e.g., depending on garment size and design requirements/preferences), and that Z can therefore be considered a quantification of the relative relation between X and Y. Finally, for the sake of clarity, the present invention most generally contemplates X being equal to or greater than Y.
According to the present invention, providing a spacing Z in this manner is comparatively more important when the strip of material 604 is inelastic or otherwise minimally elastic. If the strip of material 604 is comparatively inelastic and substantially no spacing Z is provided (that is, X is made equal to or very close to Y), then when the undergarment is worn by a wearer the fabric 600 will tend to be pulled relatively taut across the surface of the wearer's body, as will the strip of material 604 (because X is equal to or very close to Y). This will make it comparatively difficult to separate the inelastic strip of material 604 from the underlying fabric 600 to order to grasp the strip of material as intended according to the present invention, particularly for a wearer with dexterity challenges as contemplated.
Conversely, if the strip of material 604 is relatively elastic, its elasticity contributes to facilitating a wearer's experience in trying to manually engage the finger pull in use, including a situation in which X is equal to or very close to Y (i.e., where the strip of material 604 is essentially lying flush along the fabric 600), because the elasticity of the strip of material 604 permits the wearer to more easily push finger tips under the strip of material 604 and pull it away from the underlying fabric 600 compared with an inelastic strip, as explained above. Accordingly, Z in this case could be relatively small or even approach substantially zero (strip flush along fabric). Whether a very small or zero Z dimension is acceptably useful may depend on a particular wearer's situation, and in some cases even the use of elastic material to form strips of material 604 may still require a more substantive (non-zero) Z dimension to address a particular wearer's needs.
With the foregoing as context, a desirable example range for Z for generally inelastic strips of material is for example between about 0.25 inches to about 1.5 inches, and preferably between about 0.5 inches and about 1.0 inches. As mentioned, for a relatively elastic strip of material, the Z dimension can be between about zero to about 1.5 inches, and preferably between about zero and about 1.0 inches. As a general matter, it is desirable according to the present invention to provide the smallest Z dimension possible while still being useful to the wearer in order to balance functionality as described with aesthetic considerations (e.g., avoiding an overly sagging appearance of the finger pulls). Optionally but desirably, the elongate strip 108 of material may be a color the same as, or a color considered aesthetically complimentary to, the color of the undergarment 100, including commonly known decorative trims and the like having an elongate strip structure generally in accordance with the present invention. The locations at which the free ends of the strip of material 108 are stitched down may additionally be hidden with an aesthetically pleasing decorative element, such as a decorative fabric flower element 110 or other similarly decorative element (which can additionally have a functional protective role in protecting the ends of the strip 108 from fraying or otherwise wearing and/or protect the stitching 112 fixing the ends of the strip of material 108). The use of such decorative features additionally helps make the undergarment more aesthetically “mainstream” instead of looking like specialized medical clothing used for, for example, the sick and invalid.
A feature of the present invention is the location of the primary finger pulls 106 about the periphery of the undergarment 100. According to the present invention, at least one primary finger pull 106 is provided to assist the wearer in putting on and taking off the undergarment 100. Although one primary finger pull 106 according to the present invention is helpful and functional in this sense, the provision of more than one finger pull 106 is even more preferable, and the provision of at least three finger pulls 106 (spaced about the periphery of the waist opening 102 of the undergarment) is even more useful—particularly for better permitting the undergarment to be evenly pulled up to the body by wearer.
Most of the same structural features and considerations raised above relative to the first example apply correspondingly here. However, in this second example of the present invention, the undergarment 200 includes a plurality of generally vertically extending finger pulls 206, in contrast to the horizontally extending figure pulls 106 of the first example. In this example, six finger pulls 206 are provided: two finger pulls 206 generally at the opposing sides of the undergarment 200, two finger pulls 206 on the front of the undergarment 200, and two finger pulls 206 on the rear side of the undergarment 200. (See also the rear perspective view of
Finger pulls 206 may be made out of respective strips or other elongate lengths of material for example, about 2 inches to about 3 inches long, that extend between respective spaced apart locations at or adjacent to waist opening 202, generally vertically downward (i.e., generally perpendicular to waist opening 202), so as to be stitched (or otherwise attached) to the underlying undergarment 200 at respective ends thereof. Preferably, the length of each strip is sufficient, relative to the distance between locations at which its ends are tacked to the undergarment 200, to leave a slight slack space between each strip and the underlying undergarment 200 to facilitate slipping one or more fingers F of the wearer therebetween. (See, for example,
As seen in
For example, the two finger pulls 206 provided on each of the front and rear of the undergarment 200 may be located at respective locations between the front center and rear center of the undergarment 200, and the respective sides of the undergarment, as seen in
The use of laterally extending finger pulls 106 versus vertically extending finger pulls 206 address different issues that a wearer may have regarding motor control of the limbs and dexterity issues of the hands and fingers, requiring differing directions of accessing the finger pulls. For example, different people may have different manifestations of dexterity challenges. For example, the difficulties of a wearer suffering from partial paralysis may be relatively fixed and consistent, but the physical challenges for someone suffering from Parkinson's disease (for example), may vary over time, including having different tremor behaviors at different times. In essence, it may sometimes be easier for a wearer to reach laterally through a vertically extending finger pull 206, and other times easier to reach vertically through a laterally extending finger pull 106.
Accordingly,
Broadly, this third example of the undergarment 300 according to the present invention provides both horizontally extending finger pulls (as in the first example, relative to
In this third example, as seen in
In addition, a plurality (e.g., four) of horizontally extending primary finger pulls 306a are provided: two each on the front and rear of the undergarment 300, respectively, located adjacent the sides of the undergarment 300. In one example, a center of a respective strip of material constituting the primary finger pulls 306a is tacked at 315 to the undergarment 300 generally at a lateral side of the undergarment 300 (see
Optionally two additional vertically extending secondary finger pulls 306 (not shown) may be provided on the sides of the undergarment 300 in a location corresponding to, and hiding, the center location 315 (in
The wearer can therefore engage the vertically extending secondary finger pulls 306 in a manner similar to that already illustrated in
In the fourth example,
Most of the same structural features and considerations raised above relative to the first, second, and third examples (as well as the disclosure relative to
The finger pulls 406 may be provided in a continuous series about the periphery of undergarment 400, as seen in
Here,
While the present invention is described hereinabove by way of certain examples, it should be clearly understood that the invention as contemplated can be modified while remaining within the ambit of the broad concept of the invention. For example, the mention of “strips” (as such) of material herein relative to the disclosed finger pulls is by way of example only. Again, all features described herein can be used with other features described to the fullest extent possible, even in the absence of specific linking language to that effect.
This application is related to prior application Ser. No. 17/002,708 filed on Aug. 25, 2020, the contents of which (including figures) are incorporated herein by reference in totality.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17002708 | Aug 2020 | US |
| Child | 18395729 | US |
