GB2150835A - Pantie girdle for female incontinents - Google Patents

Abstract

A pantie-girdle includes a sling having a central aperture and which is located just above the crutch position. The sling is suspended from the material of the girdle by one or more resiliently extensible support strips. The sling is preferably shaped so that it fits and supports the female incontinence device disclosed in co- pending U.K. Patent Application No. 82- 31719. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Pantie-girdle for female incontinents This invention relates to a pantie-girdle for female incontinents.

There have been many attempts to design a garment which can be worn by active females who suffer from incontinence.

Examples of prior proposals are the following: Vincent in British Patent No.910 837 suggests a device which is attached to the wearer by belts or straps, and U.S. Patent Number's 3 194 238, 3528 423 and 3 116734 also employ strap harnesses; a different kind of harness arrangement is shown in British Patent 1144 483 of N.R.D.C. Silvanor, in British Patent 1 522 391, suggests an elasticated cotton garment with a device extending into the vagina and having means for collecting faeces and urine; Weston in U.S. Patent No.3 043 307 shows a garment where portions are air-inflated in order to hold a fluid collection bag in its correct position; Patterson in U.S.Patent 3 056 091 and N.A.S.A. in published European Application No. 18749 show garments including waste disposal facilities; Warner in British Patent No. 965 835 shows pants or knickers having an apertured front member of rubber or foam which is to be held by straps, e.g. of elastic, in position over the urethral orifice.

To the best of the present Applicants' knowledge and belief, and despite numerous prior attempts, there is no garment which approaches being satisfactory from the points of view of comfort, neatness, proper location of an incontinence appliance (sometimes also called a urine collector), ease of putting on and taking off, and reasonable security against leakage or displacement.

According to the present invention, there is provided a pantie-girdle which includes a sling having a central aperture and which is located just above the crutch position, the sling being suspended from the material of the girdle by one or more resiliently extensible support strips.

The strips may be of elastic tape such as is commonly employed in garment manufacture and in dressmaking. There are preferably three such strips but four or more may be employed.

The sling is preferably shaped so that it fits and supports the female incontinence device disclosed in co-pending U.K. Patent Application No.

82-31719.

The sling is preferably of textile fabric, for example the same fabric from which the garment is made.

Manufacture of such a pantie girdle is easily carried out because very few modifications to the conventional methods of making pantie girdles are required. The pantie girdle is preferably elasticated, as is conventional, and this assists in the correct location of the sling and hence of the incontinence device carried and positioned thereby. The incontinence device can readily be removed merely by lifting out, when it is desired to clean it.

The invention will be better understood from the following non-limiting description of an example thereof given with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:~ Figure 1 is a perspective view of one example of pantie-girdle according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a vertical central cross-section through the garment illustrated in Figure 1 and showing an incontinence device properly placed therein.

The pantie girdle illustrated in Figure 1 is conventional in that it is made of elasticated material and has a waist portion 10, legs 12, a crutch portion 14, and a vertical central front zip fastener 16.

In Figure 1,so as to clearly illustrate a sling 18, part of the garment is cut away as seen at 20.

The sling 18 is substantially annular in shape and is of textile material, it may be seamed at its inner and outer annular edges. At the rear of the garment, the sling is supported by a strip 22 which is stitched at one end to the sling 18 and at its other end to a central rear seam of the garment. The strip 22 is stitched to the garment over the length indicated by the numeral 24. The strip 22 is preferably of elastic or other resiliently extensible material.

The sling 18 is also supported by two other strips 24, 26. These strips 24 and 26 each have one end secured to the sling 18 and their other end stitched to the garment in a similar way as indicated in connection with the strip 22. These strips 24 and 26 each extend upwardly at an angle to the vertical central plane of the garment, one convenient construction being such that the distance indicated 28 in the drawing is from 80-120, preferably about 100 m.m. A like dimension would be appropriate for the positioning of the other strip 24. The strips 24 and 26 are preferably of elastic or other resiliently extensible material, and a length of approximately 30-50, preferably about 40 mm extends between the outer edge of the sling 18 and the point at which the strip 24 or 26 as the case may be is stitched to the material of the garment.

Of course the dimensions will differ according to the size of garment, but the above dimensions will be found to be generally appropriate for a typical medium size garment.

Referring now to Figure 2, in this Figure like parts are indicated by like reference numerals. Afemale incontinence device 32, in accordance with the disclosure of our co-pending U.K. Patent Application Number 82-31719, is shown supported by the sling 18 which is in turn supported by the strips 22, 26 and 24 (not shown in Figure 2). The device 32 has an outlet pipe 34 for urine, which leads to a suitable urine leg bag of conventional design.

It will be seen that the sling 18 is resiliently urged upwardly in response to any downward pressure placed thereon, by the elastic strips 22, 24 and 26, and the presence, positioning and stitching of the strips is such as to accurately and securely locate the female incontinence device 32 appropriately in relation to the wearer. Moreover, the pantie girdle illustrated, being largely of conventional construction, is readily manufactured without any expensive special measures.

Claims (7)

1. A pantie-girdle garment which includes a sling having a central aperture and which is located just above the crutch position, the sling being suspended from the material of the girdle by one or more resiliently extensible support strips.

2. A garment according to claim 1 in which the strips are of an elastic tape such as is commonly employed in garment manufacture and in dressmaking.

3. A garment according to Claim 1 or 2 in which three such strips are employed.

4. A garment according to Claim 1,2 or 3 in which the sling is shaped so that it fits and supports the female incontinence device disclosed in co-pending U.K. Patent Application No.82-31719.

5. A garment according to any preceding claim in which the sling is of the same textile fabric from which the rest of the garment is made.

6. A garment substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

7. Any novel combination or sub-combination disclosed and/or illustrated herein.