GB2439400A

GB2439400A - A dressing aid

Info

Publication number: GB2439400A
Application number: GB0612617A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Geoffery Thomas Hoskins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-06-26
Filing date: 2006-06-26
Publication date: 2007-12-27
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-26
Also published as: GB2439400B; GB0612617D0

Abstract

A dressing aid to assist the donning of socks and shoes, the aid has at least two gripping jaws which when brought together clamp the open end of a sock 8, and holds the sock open enough for a foot to be inserted into the sock. Preferably the jaws 1, 2 consist of two curved surfaces, with one of the jaws nestling inside the other when they are clamped together. The jaws may be pivoted at one or more points 3a, 3b along their length. Each jaw may have a handle that extends from each of the jaws, when the handles are brought together closing pressure is applied the jaws. Preferably each jaw has two handles 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b. The handles may be long to allow the use to use the device without bending. Each of the jaws may have a tongue 7 extending downwards, perpendicular to the plane of the curved jaws, which may be used to grip the back of a shoe for example, to aid the donning of footwear.

Description

I

A DRESSING AID

The present invention is a device for gripping an article of clothing such as a sock or a shoe so that in use a person who because of a lack of agility or physical flexibility, has difficulty in putting on their own shoes or socks, is able, by using this device to dress themselves without assistance.

There are many people who, for a variety of different reasons which may include back injuries, obesity, or simply those feeling the effects of old age, cannot easily bend or move their backs without extreme difficulty. These persons have difficulty performing many of the normal daily functions which most people take for granted particularly when they are dressing themselves.

They have difficulty in donning any garment below the waist and often cannot readily reach their lower limbs.

Perhaps one of the most common of these difficulties is found when a person lacking normal agility is presented with the task of putting on socks or shoes.

Donning socks or shoes requires bending the back and pulling with the arms, both of which require a degree of agility and back strength which persons with back problems or other orthopaedic problems often lack.

For these people the required movements of the body in pulling on and taking off such garments often cannot be performed without an assisting device or the services of a second individual.

Various devices for aiding a person in placing a stocking or other garment on or over their foot are known in the art.

Typically they range from a series of fixed wire frame devices which are shaped to have a sock stretched over them through to metal U frames equipped with flanges for retaining a sock or device with long arms with various means for gripping a sock. Then there are various devices which are much more complex and incorporate levers and or pulleys which grip or feed the sock.

Many of these devices often employ a handle with an elongated shaft and an end with grippers or clamping means.

Most of the devices in the art however are typically very cumbersome because of their size and shape, they are also difficult to travel with and require a degree of training before they can be used. They can also be uncomfortable to use some having projections which snag the feet and the garment itself. In addition to this many of the current devices Which are shown in the art, because of the way in which they are designed are unsatisfactory in use and often result in many torn or wined garments due to the way in Which their clamping action acts upon the garment to be donned.

It is the object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties presented by the devices already know in the art and provide a dressing aid which is easily transportable, simple to operate when in use, requires no learning period and does not cause any damage at all to the sock which is being donned.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dual puropose device which in addition to assisting in the donning of socks can also be used to make it much easier to put on shoes.

According to the invention there is provided a pair of gripping jaws which in use are brought together to clamp the open end of a sock whilst the said open end of the sock is held open to allow a foot to be placed into the sock.

In a second feature of the invention the said gripping jaws are equipped with long handles so that is use the need for the user to bend is avoided.

In a third feature of the invention the said gripping jaws include an upper and a lower gripping jaw which are pivoted at one or more points along their length.

In a fourth feature of the invention the said gripping jaws are equipped with handles of any length but preferable of sufficient length to enable a user to fit a sock without excessive bending.

A fifth feature of the invention is that the said handles will be four in number In a sixth feature of the invention the said handles will be shaped so as to allow pressure to be applied to the clamping jaws when those jaws are closed at the end of their normal travel.

In a seventh feature of the invention the gripping jaws are equipped with tongues which when in use can grip the back of shoe allowing the device to be used to pull the shoe on to a foot.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which: -Figure 1 Is a view of the dressing aid showing a side view of the gripping jaws which are open, the pivot points and the tongues for gripping a shoe.

Figure 2 Is a view of the device which would be underside when in use and with the clamping jaws closed Figure 3 Shows the device in use with a sock stretched over the inner clamping jaw and the said sock being held in place by the outer clamping jaw.

Referring now to the drawings, the device consists of two jaws, 1 and 2 pivoted at points 3a and 3b. The inner jaw I is the former over which the sock is stretched and the outer jaw 2 is the clamp which when in use brings pressure to bear on the sock to keep it in piace.

The pivot points 3a and 3b in the example are two in number but the device can be designed with only one pivot point.

Handles 4a and 4b extend from the inner jaw I and handles 5a and 5b extend from the outer jaw 2.

When in use a sock is placed over the inner jaw I and the handles 4 and 5 are brought together bringing the outer jaw 2 into contact with the sock and thus holding it in place. In this example the handles 5a and 5b are slightly bent so as to enable retaining pressure to be maintained when the jaws are fully closed.

In use when the sock 8, is in place as illustrated in figure 3. the device is held by its handles 4 and 5 which are kept closed to grip the sock and the foot is placed into the sock. As there is no obstruction the area 9 of the sock it is free to expand with the foot during entry, allowing easy application of the sock and avoiding damage to the sock.

The inner jaw I has a tongue 6 extending from it and there is a corresponding tongue 7, on the outer jaw. These tongues come together when the jaws are closed and a shoe back can be gripped to allow the shoe to be donned or removed.

The tongues 6 and 7 can also be used to grip the top a sock which is being worn and remove the sock from the foot.

The scope of this invention is intended to extend to any device which has a clamping action with inner and outer jaws. There are many possible shapes and styles which could be adopted, the gripping jaws could be shaped differentty and the handles could be an entirely different shape with or without gripping surfaces added. The jaws could also be pivoted in one place instead of two and the handles could be flexible instead of rigid with alternate locking means for the jaws, releasable by other means including a flexible handle.

This specification therefore is only one example of many different embodiments which are possible for this invention.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A dressing aid intended primarily but not exclusively for gripping socks which has at least two gripping jaws which jaws in use are brought together to clamp the open end of a sock whilst the said open end of the sock is held open by the said jaws sufficiently to allow a foot to be inserted into the sock.

2. A dressing aid as claimed in claim I in which the said gripping jaws consist of two arcuate surfaces which in use are brought together one on top of the other to form a clamp.

3. A dressing aid as claimed in claim I or 2 in which the said gripping jaws include in use an upper and a lower gripping jaw which are pivoted together at one or more points.

4. A dressing aid as claimed in claim I or 2 or 3 in which the said S...

gripping jaws are equipped with handles extending longitudinally form the said jaws. S..

*::::* 5. A dressing aid as claimed in any previous claim in which the said I. S. : * . gripping jaws are equipped with handles of sufficient length so that in use the need for a user to bend is avoided.

6. A dressing aid as claimed in any previous claim in which the said upper and lower jaws which are pivoted at one or more points are each equipped with two handles.

7. A dressing aid as claimed in claim 6 in which one handle from the upper jaw and one handle from the lower jaw form a pair which in use operate together to close or open the jaws.

8. A dressing aid as claimed in claim 7 in which each of the handles forming a pair has a different longitudinal profile so that in use when brought together closing pressure may be applied to the jaws.

9. A dressing aid as claimed in any previous claim where the said gripping jaws are each equipped with tongues which in use can be use to grip the back of a shoe or the like. * * * ** ** . S.. S

S * *..s * . S... S. ** * S *

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