AU2003262504A1 - Clothing protector - Google Patents

Description

54112 HKS:ZS P/00/009 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INVENTION ENTITLED Invention Title: CLOTHING PROTECTOR Name of Applicant: NICOLE FRANCOISE JUREIDINI Address for Service: COLLISON CO. 117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 The invention is described in the following statement This invention relates to a clothing protector and, in particular, to a method of protecting clothing when being put on or taken off by a person, apparatus suitable for this application, and a method of supply of such apparatus.

The problem to which this invention is directed is that when persons are trying on clothing, if the clothing is required to be pulled over the head and face.

There is inevitably contact between the clothes being tried on and the face of the person trying on the clothes. If the person trying on the clothing item is wearing facial makeup then contact between the item of clothing and the face can result in the makeup being smeared onto the clothing item creating an unsightly mark.

The item of clothing is then spoiled for further sale and the item will need to be cleaned before sale or its sale price will have to be reduced in order to sell the item. Either way, this will be at an additional expense to the owner of the item, for example a clothes store retailer.

Furthermore, the makeup on the user will also have become smudged or disturbed such that makeup may have to be reapplied.

In the past, one approach to attempt to address this has been to provide a hood-type garment having a zipper located on the backside to facilitate putting the garment on as well as an elasticised neck. Such an arrangement is not easy to produce having a number of additional sections and fastening means that are required to be assembled to give the finished item.

There are several other examples of such protective garments, all of which require relatively complex assembly procedures in order to obtain the final finished protective garment.

It is known to provide a scarf, which a person will place over their head prior to either pulling an item of clothing on over her head or, of course, subsequently taking this off.

The problem with using a standard scarf, however, is that there is a concern regarding the possibility of potential cross infection that increases with each time a scarf is used by another user. Such a scarf is not appropriate for continued reuse unless it is laundered each time.

Current Health and Safety Regulations also now limit the extent to which such a scarf can be reused and the problem, even so, also applies to the clothing that is going to be used by a number of persons as a trial.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a solution to this problem which is, at the same time economic and which is also acceptable to potential customers in relation to the process of choosing an item of clothing where they will take the trouble to protect the clothing. At the least, an object is to provide the public with useful alternatives.

In one form of the invention although this need not necessarily be the only or indeed the broadest form of this, there is proposed a sheet of pliable material with at least two extended side portions, the sheet being of substantially triangular shape and consists of only one piece.

In another form of this invention, although this need not necessarily be the only or indeed the broadest form of this, there is proposed a sheet of pliable material which is of a consistent thickness throughout the sheet and which is either of a material such that it can be seen through or it has an aperture or apertures in a generally central location such that when applied to a face, a person can see through the material or through the apertures, and where at least two parts of the sheet are shaped and of a size such that they can be used to tie the sheet in position over the face of a user where the tie will be behind the head of the user.

In preference, such a shape is most conventionally of triangular shape.

In preference, the material is a tissue like material.

In preference, the material is a non-woven material.

In preference, the material is a non-woven polypropylene.

In preference, the stock weight of non-woven polypropylene is 20 grams per sheet.

In another form of the invention, such tissue like material is comprised of cellulose fibres, which form, however, a sheet with sufficient apertures for a person both to look through and to breathe through.

One of the problems is the cost associated with the provision of such material.

Sheets of the type of material discussed come in metre wide rolls and I have discovered that if one cuts in succession, a diagonal at, at least, approximately degrees to the sides of the sheet comprising the roll and then transverse across the roll, there then become a plurality of triangular sheets which are economically recovered from the material of the roll and which can then be collected together to form a stack.

A very simple way of being able to then manufacture and, indeed, transport such a stack is to hold the stack of such triangular sheets at a corner by appropriate means to form a bundle.

Such appropriate means can include simply a staple.

Due to the low cost of manufacture it can therefore become economically viable to produce the protective garments in large quantities. As such, the use of the protective garment can be considered as single use, or disposable as the cost to the provider is very low. This is especially so when compared to the costs associated with the cleaning of garments.

In preference, there can be an aperture passing fully through the sheets forming the stack in an adjacent vicinity to the corner where these are held together so that individual sheets can be grasped and torn from the corner hold.

This then allows for individual sheets in the particular shape to be torn from the collective bundle or pad.

In a further embodiment, the bundle of sheets may be in an interleaved arrangement in a box or other container, such that when a first sheet is removed this will then result in a portion of the next sheet being also being removed from the box. This portion then allows a user to readily remove the sheet from the box. This is similar to a box of conventional tissues.

In preference, the method of use include using such a single sheet where there are two extended corners so that a person intending to put on an item of clothing by pulling it over their head will first tie the now disposable sheet of see-through material around their head with the tie at the back of their neck and then appropriately shift the clothing either off or on.

In preference, there is advantage where a number of specific holes of perhaps 3 to 4 mm diameter can be inserted in approximately the central part of the triangular shape so that there is even more ability to see through the sheet in this area while still keeping an interface generally between makeup on the face and the outside of the sheet.

The advantage of the sheet is that it is a single sheet of otherwise uncomplicated shape and by having this triangular shape cut, it provides for a maximum amount of material from an economically providable roll and this can be handled in such a way that there is great efficiency in being able to provide a stack of these.

In preference, the dimensions of the sheet of material are approximately 1000 mm along the base and approximately 700 mm along the two sides. This then means that is possible to divide a single square meter of material into four separate sheets to eliminate wastage.

This size of material, as detailed above, is also advantageous in that it provides sufficient coverage of the head of a wearer with the sides of the sheet being tied behind the head, and again no material is wasted by having extended sides that reach around to the front of a user.

In the particular application, this particular proposal then solves a number of problems for both shop owners who are attempting to provide a service to customers to try on clothing without being subjected to potential for cross infection or, at least, reduce cross infection possibilities and, at the same time, not involve high costs.

Further, it is of assistance to any persons that might suffer from claustrophobia where a conventional opaque scarf would not be acceptable.

For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with relation to the preferred embodiment wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet of material appropriate for this application; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stack of these sheets held together at one corner to form a bundle; FIG. 2a is a perspective view of a sheet including a plurality of smaller holes in spaced apart arrangement; FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the way in which a sheet will be used over the head of a person and tied at its back during the locating of an item of clothing over the head, whether dressing or undressing.

Referring then to the embodiments in detail, the sheet 1 is of triangular shape having a longer side 2 and two shorter sides 3 and 4 which are at right angles to each other.

This particular shape facilitates being cut from a single roll so that in the roll there will be successive cuts where one is at right angles to the side of the roll and the other is at 45 degrees to this.

This then leaves two long ends 5 and 6 and the right angle corner at 7.

The sheets 1 are then laid one on top of the other until there is a stack of an appropriate size, perhaps 20 in a stack and these are then joined together, in this case, by a staple to form a bundle.

In a further embodiment, there is a hole shown in this case at 8, which passes collectively through all of the sheets 1 and this can be used to locate the pack on a peg in a dressing room.

In a further embodiment shown at 10, the sheet includes the plurality of smaller holes in spaced apart arrangement across a middle area of the sheet, these holes being shown at 11 and being spread over an area that would be expected for the face or at least the eyes and nose of a user to be located.

In either case, the material to be used is relatively thin, and able to be generally seen through but strong enough not to tear even when pierced with a number of smaller holes when being used in the application.

In one embodiment the material to be used in construction is a non-woven polypropylene, with a weight of 20 grams. This material has sufficient tear strength that enables it to withstand the forces applied to it during the process of removal and application of garments over the head of the wearer.

It is possible that a cellulose-based material may be used as the material that would also have the same qualities in relation to strength and visibility.

The application itself is, of course, for a person to take one of the sheets such as at 1 or 10 and locate this as is shown in FIG. 3 so that the two longer ends and 6 are held in tied together at the back of the head of the user The item of clothing is pulled on and the disposable sheet is then simply untied so that the user can review themselves in the mirror with the clothing on.

When the clothing is to be removed, the same procedure, which is to say, that the person would be expected to take a further sheet or even, in some cases, the old sheet and retie this whereupon the clothing is then lifted over the head that is saved from contamination of makeup, or other such spoilage, on its way.

This then shows how the invention can be put into practice and provide a very economic answer to a problem that currently is of great consequence to clothing suppliers and, to some extent, those who are customers where they are concerned about cross infection and having to try on clothes that have been previously spoilt by capturing makeup of other users.

Throughout this specification the purpose has been to illustrate this invention and not to limit this.