GB2065451A - Perspiration shield for clothing - Google Patents

Abstract

An armpit shield for use with clothing, said shield comprising a layer of absorbing material 1 positioned between at least one filtering element 2 and an impermeable base element 3, said shield being shaped as a V-shaped saddle for application astride the armpit portion of an article of clothing, said impermeable element being positioned on the surface of said saddle which is to come in contact with the clothing and which has at least one adhesive area 5 for the removable attachment of said shield, the vertex of said saddle having a concave configuration corresponding to that of the armpit portion of the clothing. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Perspiration shield for clothing Perspiration secretions occurring in the armpits of a person often cause problems, hereinbefore not satisfactorily resolved, related to personal hygene as well as to the protection and preservation of the clothing subjected to such secretions.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an armpit absorbing shield removably applicable to clothing, and in any event shaped so as to be interchangeable, and comprised of a material or combination of materials that will absorb the perspiration secreted from the armpit of the wearer and prevent the clothing from being subjected to perspiration stains to thereby eliminate the problems hereinabove mentioned.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an armpit shield which may be easily and rapidly shaped and prepared by starting from a simple basic element which is previously prepared and eventually traced on a flat surface by the designer. In this manner it is possible to considerably limit production costs and to make the shield in a single piece without resorting to stitched lines which always create rigid thicknesses that create annoying situations to the user.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an armpit shield which may be readily applied to an article of clothing by means of adhesion to the inner surface ofthe armpit portion of the clothing so as to assure a stable assembly during the employment thereof, the shield having one of its surfaces provided with one or more adhesive areas which may also be used for the conformation and preparation of the shield itself.

For this purpose, the armpit shield of the present invention substantially comprises a layer of absorbing material disposed between at least one filtering element and an impermeable element and is shaped like a pair of integral half moons that are bent or folded as a V, one with respect to the other, so that the bent armpit shield might be positioned across the armpit portion of the clothing. The impermeable element is provided on the surface which is to come in contact with the clothing and includes at least one adhesive area thereon for the removable attachment of the armpit shield to the clothing.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative and not limitative of the invention and in which: Figure 1 is perspective view of a typical armpit shield ready for use; Figure 2 is a transverse, sectional view of the armpit shield as applied to an article of clothing; Figure 3 is a transverse, sectional view, similar to Fig. 2 of an alternative application of the armpit shield to an article of clothing; Figure 4 is a plan view illustrating the flat single piece starting element used in the preparation ofthe final armpit shield; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of an intermediate phase of formation and preparation of the armpit shield, starting from the element of Figure 4.

As indicated hereinabove the armpit shield of the present invention comprises a layer of absorbing material positioned between at least one filtering element 2 and an impermeable base element 3. It is to be understood that the structure of the shield may be such as to have the absorbing material 1, positioned between two filtering elements 2 attached to each other and the impermeable element 3 suitably attached to one of the filtering elements.

In any event, the absorbing material 1 of the armpit shield in each instance is shaped so as to have two portions in the form of a half moon and positioned with respect to each other so as to be interconnected as a V (Figure 1) in which the impermeable element 3 is on the confronting surfaces defined by the V formation, while the connecting line 4 between the two half moon portions coincides with the vertex of the V and has a concave shape sufficient for the application of the armpit shield to the article of clothing.

On the outer surface of the impermeable element 3 there is provided at least one area 5 which has a material or a substance of adhesive character and which serves the purpose of attaching the armpit shield to the clothing 6.

In use, the armpit shield is positioned astride the armpit portion 6' of the clothing 6 and is fixed thereon by means of the adhesive area 5 as shown in Figure 2. In this manner, the absorbing layer 1 can absorb the perspiration secretions of the armpit through the filtering element 2 while the impermeable element 3 prevents the passage of the perspiration toward the clothing 6, thus safeguarding the latterfrom damage.

The attachment of the armpit shield to the armpit portion of the clothing may be obtained by means of adhesion of the adhesive area 5 or it may be secured directly to the material which forms the clothing itself or on a portion of textile 7 previously attached as shown in Figure 3 for protective purposes and to prevent a direct contact of the adhesive 5 with the material 6 forming the clothing.

This protective portion 7 may also be provided at its opposed extremities with two pocket seats 8 for receiving and holding the terminals of the armpit shield when it is positioned astride the armpit portion 6' ofthe clothing 6 as shown in Figure 3.

In this case, the armpit shield is easily and rapidly applicable to the clothing so as to remain securely affixed thereto during the normal movements of the person without forming an obstacle to such movements or causing annoyance. The armpit shield may also be readily removable by pulling or snapping to exchange the shield with a new one.

In a practical application, the armpit shield may be formed of two distinct half moon portions prepared separately and then fixed to each other by means of sewing or through an attachment along the connecting line 4. Such a construction, even if easily done, nevertheless presents the disadvantage derived from the junction that results from sewing or snapping which always give rise to a rigid thickening of the area and which may cause annoyance and irrita tion to the user.

Therefore, according to a special feature of the present invention, and in order to fully achieve all of the purposes mentioned hereinabove, it is prefer able to construct the armpit shield by starting from a single element 10 shaped as a flat heart-shaped area as represented in Figure 4, so as to avoid a formation of sewing connections and discontinuities.

This flat element 10 is provided with an adhesive material or substance which is applied on a preestablished central area 11 on the external surface of the impermeable element 3. On this portion or area there is provided, for reference purposes, a fold line 12 which corresponds, for example, to the center line of the flat element 10, a plurality of cut lines 13 which are transversely oriented with respect to the fold line 12 and spaced from one another along the length of the fold line 12 and another pair of fold lines 14 which connect the end of the cut lines 13.

The shield thus prepared may be soid in a flat form, in a developed shape as represented by Figure 4, in a form folded along the center line 12 or connected to a line with other armpit shields so as to be then rolled.

The purchaserthen, when ready to use the armpit shield, after having removed the protective film of the adhesive material, shapes the armpit shield by severing it first of all, along the lines 13, then folding the wings 15 which are defined by the lines 13 alternatively one on one side and one on the other (Figure 5) and in such a way as to have the wings 15 adhere to the surface of the impermeable element 3.

The wings 15 remain attached by virtue ofthe presence of the adhesive, and assume the two portions shaped as half moons that result from the reversing along the fold line 14 which are coincident to each other.

The armpit shield is thus ready for use and may be applied either directly or indirectly to the clothing in one of the manners hereinabefore described using the adhesive which is placed at least on the external surfaces of the wings 15.

Preferably, for the purpose of avoiding the formation of an armpit shield of a thickness which is cumbersome, the wings 15 which are to be folded could be constituted only of the filtering element 2 and of the impermeable element 3 thus eliminating the layer of absorbing material 1.

It will be evident that with a proper application of the adhesive, one may have an adhesive substance not only on the surfaces of the wings 15 but also on the surfaces of the impermeable element 3, which surfaces are positioned between the two wings 15 when these have been folded and adhered to impermeable element 3 as described above.

It is in any event to be understood that the armpit shield may be formed in other ways without depart ing from the spirit of the present invention and based essentially on the particular structure and con formation of the armpit shield so as to be attachable astride the armpit portions and to be removably attached thereto via adhesion.

Claims (7)

1. An armpit shield for use with clothing, said shield comprising a layer of absorbing material positioned between at least one filtering element and an impermeable base element, said shield being shaped as a V-shaped saddle for application astride the armpit portion of an article of clothing, said impermeabte element being positioned on the surface of said saddle which is to come in contact with the clothing and which has at least one adhesive area for the rernovable attachment of said shield, the vertex of said saddle having a concave configuration corresponding to that ofthe armpit portion of the clothing.

2. The shield according to claim 1 characterized in that said layer of absorbing material, said filtering element and said impermeable base element are secured to each other to form a single element.

3. The shield accordingto claim 1 characterized in that at least said impermeable base element originally has a planar shape having a first fold line in the center, a pair of oppositely arcuate fold lines, said arcuate lines being one on one side and one on the other side of said centerfold line, and a plurality of wings defined by cuts which extend between said second fold lines and which are transversely oriented with respect to said center fold line, said wings being folded in correspondence to said center fold line and being alternatively reversed on one side and on the otherforfolding on said second fold lines, said wings furthermore being provided with adhesive substance so as to adhere on one hand to the surface of the impermeable element and on the other hand to the clothing during the use of said shield.

4. The shield according to claim 3 characterized in that it is constituted by two half moon portions which are interconnected to each other so as to form, in combination, a V-shaped saddle, the vertex of which corresponds to the curvature of said second fold lines of said wings.

5. The shield according to claim 1 characterized in that it is constituted by two half moon shaped elements secured to each other so as to constitute said V-shaped saddle, the attachment between said two elements being in the vertex of said saddle.

6. The shield according to claim 1 further characterized by a textile element having two pockets for receiving and holding the ends of said shield, said textile element being adapted to be attached to the armpit portion of the clothing.

7. An armpit shield for clothing substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.