GB2263224A - Absorbent garment - Google Patents

Abstract

The garment is essentially "T"-shaped when laid out flat and can be folded to encompass the lower trunk of the body in order to contain body wastes. The components of the garment are fastened by any easy release fastenings, it can be made from any suitable material, although cotton towelling is preferred. The leg of the T is wider than the arms 19, 20 of the T. The release fastenings may comprise hook and pile strips 16. A one-way liner 22 may be provided. <IMAGE>

Description

This invention relates to absorbent garmellts ior containing body wasle material be it liquid of solid.

The garment will be used by a wide range of wearers. primarily they will be used as washable, re-usable nappies for babies and small children (either sex). However the garment is used in larger sizes for any age and size of wearer. The garlllellt is particularly suitable for tile elderly and disabled and any person who has incontinence or bowel complaints, or has no control over tile release of body waste.

Traditional cloth nappies are made up of rectangular or square shape fabric and has to be folded into the desired shape, then held in place by safety pins. These are somewhat difticult to tit and not properly shaped, there fore ill-fitting Disposable nappies are niade from wood pulp and are shaped to fit the wearer. They have releasable fastening and come in varying sizes, so as the baby grows, largel sizes are needed. These nappies are relatively expensive in comparison with re-usable nappies.

The airn of this invention is to overcome the above disadvantages of nappies/absorbent garments. This iiivention is easy to fit, secure and remove. It can be easily fitted by the wearer themselves or by tile calel. The garment is sewn inside Olit, leaving one seam free, then turned the right way out and the remaining seano sewn together. This ensures that there is a smooth finish, therefore minimising the risk of irritation to the wearers skin.

The built in one way liner renioves the need tor seloarate liners to be placed inside the garment, ensuring quick and easy application. The absorbent garment is easily cleaned.

All materials are filly washable, thus saving motley and ensuring less pollution in the environment. The garment is relatively inexpensive in comparison with traditional cloth and disposable nappies.

The garment is largely a "T"-shape when laid out flat, and when folded takes the shape of a loinclotil. When folded the absorbent gannent will be held in place by releasable fastenings, allowing easy fitting and renioval.

In use the garment will be so that, the arms of the T encircle the lower trunk of the wearer. When fixed the arms will either meet in the noddle, or one overlap the other depending on the size of the wearer.

The "T"-leg passes under the crotch and up between the body of the wearer and the encircling T -arms. It is able to be folded back upon itself, over tile "T"-arms, when the size of the wearer pennits. The releasable fastenings are located ill the noid-region of the garment where the arlnss and leg of tile T shape overlap each other.

The releasable fastening are two part press on/iip off means (i.e. "velcro") or studs with male and female components which press in/pull oft or any other suitable releasable fastenings.

When "velcro" strips or studs are used, these are fixed horizontally widthways on the inside of both ends of tile "T"-arnos. On the "T-leg the strips are fitted horizontally widthways in the mid-section. These strips are located one beneath the other. The amount ofstdps on the "T"-leg can be as noany as the size oftlle garlllellt allows.

Where "velcro" or press studs are used, the "T"-arms are fitted with the "hook" component or "female" component on the inside of the garment. Strips of the "fir" or "male" component are present on the outside of one of citloer of tile "T"-an'os. On the "T"-leg the "fir" or "male" component are fitted to the mid-section. The absorbent garment is designed as a re-usable, non-disposable garment and may have a plastic or waterproof material fixed to the outer side of the garment. Howevel-, tile garment may be of disposable type and this may be made of any suitable material.

The absorbent garment is ideally made fi-om unbleached cotton towelling, though any other cotton, or any other suitable material or fabric can be used. Any suitable material is required to have sufficiellt absorbency to cope with the tasks of the garment. Additional layers of material can be used for this reason and specific areas can have extra padding to ensure more absorbency where it is needed.Il is recommended that ally extra layers of material are sewn between the two "T"-sloapecl layers, allowing a smoother finish and reducing the risk of the stitching rubbing the wearer 5 skin. These extra layers can be any shape.

The design of the absorbent garment already contains one layer of a rectangular piece of material situated between the two layers of material cut to the "T"-shape. Any extra padding is additional to this.

Elastic tape or band is present within the peripheral regions of the garment. This is fixed between the two layers of the "T"-sloape, on either side of the leg. Elastic tape or band is used, or any other suitable material. The elastic is situated between the layers, keeping it away from the wearer 5 skin and reducing the risk of an allergic reaction. It is present to provide a snug fit for the wearer and to reduce the risk of leakage. A one way liner is fixed at the intersection of the "T"-arms and "T"-leg. This is preferably of rectangular shape, though any other suitable shape can be used. Tlle liner is fixed only at this end.

The liner allows liquid to pass through but not come back to the wearer's skin, and is fixed at only one end to allow only the liner to be placed down the toilet when flushing off any solid waste material. This prevents the whole garment from becoming soaked. The one way liner is preferably made fiom cotton, though any other suitable material/fitbric can be used. The garment can be used with the absence of the liner.

The garment has a preferred outline of "T"-shape which comprises a relatively narrow band which encircles the trunk of the wearer in an over lapping manner, (the narrow band being the "T"-arms) and a wider, longer band ("T"-leg) which passes under the crotch.

The intersection of the two bands is suitably sized as to encompass the entire rear, lower trunk of the wearer. The "T"-leg is of substantially uniform width, though may be contoured into any suitable shape.

A preferred embodiment of the iuventioii will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1. is a plan view of the inside (the side which lies against the wearer's skin) according to the present invention when laid out flat.

Fig. 2. is a plan view of the outside of the absorbent garment depicted in fig. I Fig. 3. is a plan view of tulle paitially folded absorbent garment depicted in figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4. is a plan view of the next step in folding the absorbent garment as depicted in fig. 3.

Fig. 5. is a side-on perspective of tile filly fitted and folded absorbent garment depicted in the preceding drawings.

Fig. 6. is a plan view of lile absorbent gari0ent giving tile direction of the folding of tile "T"-arms.

Fig. 7. is a plan view of the absorbent garment folded onto the larger size as depicted in figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Refèl-ling to the drawings, the absorbent garment comprises a double "T"-shaped layer of cotton material, with an extra layer between these. This has been sewn around the perimeter 12 and turned inside out so that the seams are on the intenor thereof, thereby producing a neat finish and a smooth edge wllich will not result in any undue discomfort to the wearer.

The two dotted lines show where the absorbent garment is folded in an overlapping manner to encircle the lower trunk of the wearer (see fig. 1.). The extra layer(s) of material is situated between these dotted lines, sewn into the interior of the garment.

When the garment is in use, this extra layer(s) extends fiom the lower trunk portion of the wearer, under the crotch and up the lower front trunk portion. This is the region shown in the drawings extending fiom the edge 14 to the told line 15 of tulle garment shown in fig. 5.

The hooked "velcro" strips are located on tlse inside of tlse garment "T"-arms.

Complimentary fir strips 17 are located at appropriate positions on tile outside of the "T"leg, and on the outside of the "T"-arms (see fig. 2). The 11velcro" strips may be fitted in position by sewing or any other suitable method of adhesion. The "velcro" strips are of such a length as to enable a large range of difibrent sized persons to use the absorbent garments having the same overall dimensions.

The above absorbent garment is configured in the shape of a "T" with the arms 19 and 20 of the "T" extending to sufficient length to girdle the body of the wearer and to overlap each other when fitted (see fig. 7).

The junction of 2 1 is of a size to encompass the lower trunk of the wearer.

A one way liner 22 is fixed at one end to the inside of the absorbent garment at the intersection of the "T"-arms and "T"-leg, thus allowing liquid to pass through the liner but not back, ensuring that the wearer's skin is kept dry (see fig. I). Elastic tape is sewn in the interior edge portions 23 and 24 to ensure that a snug fitting is produced around the wearer's limbs, and to ensure containment of body waste.

The "T"-leg 25 is of unifonn width (see fig. 2).

To fit the absorbent garment, steps are taken to produce the folds as depicted in fig. 3-5.

Firstly the garment is opened out as shown in fig. I and placed against the rear lower section of the wearer's think with the "T"-arms extending at right angles thereto, and the "T"-leg extending in the direction of the wearer's legs. The end of the "T"-leg is then folded up under the crotch of the wearer in the direction indicated by the arrows in fig. 1 to the position depicted in fig. 3. The "T"-arms 19 and 20 are then folded towards the "T"-leg until the hooked "velcro" strips 16 align with the chosen fir strips 17 on the reverse side of the "T"-leg. If desired the "T"-anl1 20 is fixed onto aligning "velcro" strips 17, then the "T"-arm 19 is folded towards the "T"-leg and fixed to the aligning fir "velcro" strips 1 7 on the outside of the "T"-arm 20.

The final step in the fitting process comprises folding the end 25 of the "T"-leg back down over the "T"-arms, thus producing the arrangement shown in fig. 5. By fixing several different strips of "velcro" it is possible to have a garment which is adaptable in size to a wide range of wearers.

The absorbent garment has been so designed so that it is easily fitted by the wearer or carer by means of easy press on/rip oft' releasable fastenings.

The relatively small amount of material/fabric employed means that it is not unduly uncomfbitable or bulky and relatively inexpensive.

Claims (1)

1. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

   An An absorbent gannent/article based on a "T"-shape with a narrow width "T"-arms and wider "T"-leg. This shape apparent when the said article is laid out flat. When folded the garment takes the sllape of a loincloth, held in place by releasable fastenings, enabling the garment to be held in place on the wearer, and removed.

   2 An absorbent garment as stated in claim I. whereby the releasable fastenings are two part press on/rip off means, or press on/pull off studs made from plastic of any other suitable material, or any other suitable releasable fastenings, 3. An absorbent garment as in claim I. wherein the releasable fastenings are fitted to the ends of the "T"-arms and the middle section of tile "T"-leg. The releasable fastenings are fitted widthways across the "T"-leg in a series of strips, one below tile other. The nuniber of strips is variable according to the size of the garment.

   4.The fir components of the fastenings are fitted to the outside of the garment as claimed in claim 1. on the "T"-leg. The hooked components of the releasable fiistenings are fitted to the inside of the "T"-arnis. Two further strips of fir releasable fastenings are fixed to the outside of tile end of one of tile "T"-arms.

   5. Where studs are used as releasable fiistenings the male side of the studs are fixed to the outside of the absorbent ganflein in horizontal rows, widthways across the "T"-leg.

   Tloe female side of the studs are fitted in rows on the outside ends of the "T"-arms, and on the inside of one of tlie "T"-arms.

   The releasable fastenings are situated so tliat alien fixed, the garment as claimed in claim I. takes the shape ofa loincloth.

   7. An absorbent garment as claimed in claiiii I. wherein the "T"-a,ii is a relatively slimmer band for encircling the lower trunk of the wearer, and tile "T"-leg is wider and longer so it can pass under the crotch of the wearer and loop over the said narrower arms if need be.

   x. An absorbent garment as claimed in claim l. wherein the intersection of the "T"-leg and the "T"-arms is wide enough to encompass the rear of tile lower portion of the trunk of the wearer.

   9. An absorbent garment as claimed ill claim 8. wherein tile perpheral edge area of the "T"-leg contains elastic tape or band, fixed inside the garment between the two "T" shaped layers. Therefore keeping the elastic away from the wearer's skin.

   . An absorbent garment as claimed in claim 1. which comprises two "T"-shaped layers of cotton towelling, and one layer of rectangular shaped cotton towelling. The rectangle layer is fixed between the two "T"-shaped layers.

   I. An absorbent garment as claimed in claim I. made from cotton towelling or any other suitable material.

   12. An absorbent garment as claimed in claim 1. whereby a one way liner is fixed at one end. The end being fixed in the region where the "T"-arms meet the "T"-leg. The one way liner is made of cotton or any other suitable material.

   13. An absorbent garment substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

   Whilst the above has been given by way of an illustrative example of the invention, many modifications and variations may be made thereto without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set fiortI'.