GB2534570A

GB2534570A - Garments

Info

Publication number: GB2534570A
Application number: GB1501303.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joy Campbell Cheryl
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-01-26
Filing date: 2015-01-26
Publication date: 2016-08-03
Also published as: GB201501303D0

Abstract

A garment having a front section 3 and a back section 1 and means 4 for releasable attachment of both sections. The garment is arranged such that with the attachment means 4 released, the front section 3 can be located to allow a wearer to be positioned adjacent the back section 1, and further arranged such that the front section 3 can be placed adjacent the front of the wearer 2 when the wearer is so positioned adjacent the back portion 1, and attached to the back section 1 by the attachment means 4. The front 3 and back 1 sections can serve to define a garment fitting around at least one or more of the torso, waist and limbs of a wearer 2 such that the wearer is "dressed" by having the front and back sections attached while enclosing at least a portion of the wearer's body.

Description

GARMENTS

Description

The population of Britain is ageing. The number of elderly people is set to increase, and so care of the elderly, already a problem, is likely to worsen considerably without relevant new inventions.

This invention is a system which makes it easier for the elderly and infirm to dress themselves, or be dressed by a nurse or carer.

It consists of dividing garments into sections, in the first instance front and back sections, which have at least one lengthwise opening. Preferably there will be separate back and front sections, to make dressing as easy as possible.

The person is able to be dressed in either the orone or sitting position, that is, on a bed or on a chair/wheelchair.

The back section is laid in position on the bed or chair, the person is then placed in position on this back section and the front section is laid in position over the person, with the appropriate edges of the back and front sections aligned. The two sections of material are then attached to each other.

The sleeves of the upper garment form part of the front section, as it is then easier to place the arms in the sleeves. The sleeves may simply be tucked into the arm-holes of the back section, and attachments made between back and front sections at the shoulders and preferably down the sides under the sleeves. Preferably the sleeves are attached to the arm-hole area of the back section, either from inside the arm-hole, or on the outside of the arm-hole.

Figure 1 shows an example of upper and lower garments, joined down the sides with attachments (4). The person 2 has their head, hands and feet visible in the figure. The back sections 1 is shown attached to the front sections 3. The attachments in this figure have been exaggerated for clarity. 2/5

Attachments may consist of velcro type material, buttons, hook and eye, press studs, magnets or similar.

Creative attachments may also be used; they may be the same colour and material as the garment, or contrasting material(s) and colour(s). Such attachments could be made of ribbons, leather, braid and/or the like. Trim may be added to hide the join between back and front sections of the garment and the attachments.

Figure 2 shows upper and lower garments from an approximate 45 degree angle from the side, to show the inner and outer attachments of the legs of the trousers.

Figure 3 shows the back of the upper garment, with arm -holes, but no sleeves.

Figure 4 shows the the front of the upper garment, which incorporates the sleeves, so that the person can slip their arms easily into the sleeves.

The back and front sections are then attached by various means, such as hook and latch, hook and eye, press studs, buttons, magnets or other known means of attachment(s). The attachment(s) may also be a decorative feature.

Figure 5 shows the back of the lower garment with attachments, 4. Figure 6 shows the front of the upper garment with attachments, 4.

Trim(s) may also be used as part of and/or in addition to the above attachments.

Figure 7 shows the back section of a lower garment, which, as described above, is placed in an appropriate position on the bed or chair (chair here and hereinafter also includes wheelchairs).

Figure 8 shows the front section of a lower garment, which is positioned appropriately over the person, who sits or lies on the back section of the garment. Attachments (4) are shown in possible positions. Number and spacing of attachments may vary as discussed below.

The back and front sections are then attached, as described above. The width of either or both of the back or front section must be wide enough to comfortably cover the sides of the legs. Attachments are made either down the entire length of the sides, or at intervals which are determined by the amount of tension expected in the attachment(s), the activities expected of the wearer, and/or decorative considerations.

The crotch area may form part of the back or the front section of the garment, or be completely separate, in which case it will then be attached to both front and back sections. In adults it would normally be easier for the crotch to be part of the back section, and then be attached to the front section. In babies and young children, the crotch may form part of the front section, in 3/5 which case, the adult dressing them would lift the lower half of their body to attach the crotch to the back section, also a possibility in adults.

The lower garment described above may also be applied to underpants, briefs and the like.

Figure 9 shows the crotch, with attachments, 4. In this case it is a detachable crotch, thus it has to be attached both front and back.

Figure 10 shows the back of the lower garment, in this case shorts, briefs or the like.

Figure 11 shows the front of the lower garment in figure 10, with detachments as discussed above. The crotch is incorporated into this front section.

Figure 12 shows the back of the lower garment incorporating the crotch, as an alternative to incorporating it in the front section. Areas for attachments, 4 are shown.

Figure 13 shows this lower garment as one piece, with the crotch included in the back section. An alternative is for the crotch to be incorporated into the front section instead.

Figure 14 shows the back section of a skirt. The front section may form part of the back section, so the material would be one piece, with an opening down one side: If two separate sections are used, the procedure is as above, where the back section is placed on the bed or chair, the person placed on it, then the front section placed over them and attached as already described. If the skirt consists of only one piece, the back is placed on the bed or chair, the rest of the skirt is placed to one side, the person sits on the chosen back section, and the rest of the skirt is wrapped over them and the attachment(s).

Figure 15 shows the front section with attachments, 4.

A dress or nightdress consists of a back section, which is positioned appropriately on a bed or chair. The person lies or sits on the bed or chair, and the front section, which includes the sleeves, is positioned over the person and attached as described above.

This invention also makes it possible for any-one to dress themselves without getting out of bed. This would be advantageous on cold mornings, particularly. The garments could be postioned on the bed beside the person the night before, or on an extension of the bed, which is slid from under the main bed when required. The person would then roll over onto the back section of garments, the front sections are then positioned over them, and attached, as described above.

This invention also has leisure and fun applications, where it is easy for the person to change a section of their clothing if they spill something on it, or fall down, thus soiling the back section(s) of their clothing. Only the soiled section would then need to be cleaned, thus saving 4/5 time, water and cleaning materials.

It would also be possible to wear a front section of clothing of a formal type, with more leisure or adventurous types of back sections.

If the attachments are made of elastic, or the trim has elastic attachments on it, as in figure 17, the size of the clothing would not matter, within sensible limits. Thus an elderly person that either puts on weight, or loses weight, would be able to wear the same clothes, thus saving them money, as well as saving material(s).

Figure 16 shows a trim with elastic attachments sewn onto the back of the trim, thus allowing for expansion of the garment. Preferably the elastic attachment would be sewn at right angles to the direction of the length of trim. The trim itself may be made of elastic. In this figure the attachments are shown, but would preferably be placed under the join of the back and front sections.

Two lengths of trim may also be used, preferably the top piece having the elastic sewn onto its lower side, while the bottom piece has the elastic sewn onto its upper side. The top piece of trim sliding across the bottom piece of trim, to further hide the attachment. Minor adjustments, namely smoothing the trims' edges against each other may be necessary to achieve the neatest effect.

Figure 17 shows two lengths of trim with elastic between them. The attachment to the join in the back and front sections of the garment would be placed in the centre of the elastic connections. Areas for attachments are shown, 4.

Preferably two lengths of trim should be used, where one end of the elastic is sewn over one length of trim, the other end of the elastic under the other length of trim, so that this second length of trim will be pulled by the elastic over the other length of trim, thus giving a neater appearance.

The above described system would also make ordinary clothes shopping easier, as a wider range of sizes could be incorporated as part of the same garment, thus saving material(s), and giving the buyer a wider range of choice, as they would be less restricted by what is available in their exact size.

Figure 18, 19 and 20 show the process of dressing from the prone position. Figure 18 shows the back sections of the upper and lower garmerts laid on the bed. Figure 19 shows the person placed in position on the bed, over the back sections of the garments. Figure 20 shows the front sections being placed over the person. The attachments are then made as described above. 5/5

Figures 21, 22 and 23 show the process of dressing using a chair. Figure 21 shows the back sections of the garments put into position on the chair. Figure 22 shows the person placed on the garments. Figure 23 shows the front sections placed into position over the person seated.

Preferably the garments, particularly the lower garment in Figure 21 should be held in position by a velcro type of attachment, or similar, so that the garment is held in position while the person sits down on it. This attachment can then be used to attach this back section to the front section at the waist level or similar.

Lower garments may consist of trousers, underwear, shorts, skirts and the like. Upper garments may consist of shirts, t-shirts, jumpers, blouses and the like. Other garments such as dresses and nightwear have been described above. (3) O

Claims

CO OCLAIMS1. A garment having a front section nd a back section and means for releasable attachment of regions of the front section to regions of the back section, the garment arranged such that with the attachment means released, the front section can be located to allow a wearer to be positioned adjacent the back section, and further arranged such that the front section can be placed adjacent the front of the wearer when the wearer is so positioned adjacent the back section, and the said regions of the front and back sections can be attached by the attachment means.
2. A garment comprising front and back sections each i nutuaily releasabiy engageable attachment means, for releasable attachment of regions of the front section to regions of the back section, and further arranged such that the front and back sections can be brought into attachment by way of the said regions; and onto the respective front and back of a wearer.
3. A garment as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, and arranged such that the front and back sections serve to define a garment fitting around at least one or more of the torso, waist and limbs of a wearer.
4, A garment as claimed in Cairn id arranged such that the front section can be located to allow a wearer to be positioned on the back section.
5. A gar.ment as claimed in Claim 4, and arranged such that the wearer can be positioned on the back section when in a prone position
6. A garment as claimed in Claim 4, and arranged such.a the wearer can de positioned on the back section when in a seated position
7. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, and having discrete t and back sections.
8. A garment as claimed in any one or rmo preceding claims and ding t. le n permanent connection between the front and hack sections.A garment as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the at least one permanent connection is resiliently deformable..10. A garment as claimed in Claim 9, and wherein he at least one permanent connection comprises an elasticated connection. (3)CO 11. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment O means is located at an edge region of one or both of the front and back sections.12. A garment as claimed n one or more of the preceding claims,wherein the attachment means are provided at intervals along the garment.13. A garment claimed in any one or more of Claims 1 to 11, where the attachment means extend in a continuous manner along at least part of the garment.14. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims and including concealing means for concealing the attachment means.15. A garment as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the concealing means comprises a trim.16. A garment as claimed n Claim 7.5, when the concealing means comprises an elasticated concealing means.17. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, wherein one of the front and back sections includes holes for insertion of a wearer's limb 18. A garment as claimed in Claim 17, wherein the front or back sec including the said hole includes a garment arm or leg portion, 19. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, wherein one of the front and back sections includes a crutch region of the garment. a)20. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, and compr s ng an upper CO body garment.O21. A garment as c aimed n any one or more of the preceding claims and comprising a e body garment.22. A garment as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims and comprising any one or more of a patient garment, leisure garment, fashion garment or sports garment.23, A garment a d in any one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment means comprises any one or more of buttons, press studs, hook and eye means, magnets, ties, tapes, laces, ribbons, and hook and loop fastener elements, hook and latch fastener elements, zips or any combination thereof.24. A method of dressing the human form comprising the steps of arranging a garment hat. n front section and a back section, and means for releasable attachment of regions of the front section to regions of the back section, so as to be located to allow a human form to be positioned adjacent the back section, positioning the human form adjacent the back section, and subsequently placing the front section adjacent the front of the wearer when the wearer is so positioned adjacent the back section, and attaching the said regions of the back section to the said regions of the front section by way of the attachment means.25. A method as claimed in Claim 24 and arranging the front and back sections to define a garment fitting around at least one or more of the torso, waist and limbs of a wearer.26. A method c -ned in Claim 24 or 25, and including locating the front section relative t.the back section so that human form is positioned on the back section.27. A method as claimed in Claim 24, 25 or 26, and cluding positioning the human form on the back section when in a prone positionCD28. A method as claimed in Claim 24, 25, 26 or 27, and including positioning the human form on CO the back section when in a seated positionCD29. A method as claimed in any one or more of Claims 24-28, and comprising a method of dressing an elderly or infirm individual, or a patient, or for dressing for leisure, social or sports purposes.30. A garment substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and lad in, Figs 1 and 2; Figs 3, 4, 5 and 6; Figs 7 and 8; Figs 9, 10 and 11; Figs 12 and 13; Figs 14 and 15; Figs 16 and 17; Figs 18 ---20 and Figs 21 ---23 of the accompanying drawings.31. A method of dressing the human form substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figs 1 and 2; Figs 3, 4, 5 and 6; Figs 7 and 8; Figs 9, 10 and 11; Figs 12 and 13; Figs 14 and 15; Figs 16 and 17; Figs 18 ---20 and Figs 21 -23 of the accompanying drawings