Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SEPARABLE UNDERGARMENT
UNDERGARMENT
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to undergarments. More particularly, the present
invention
relates to undergarments readily positioned for wearing and selectively
detachable for utilization
by physically and mentally challenged persons.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various undergarments which are absorbent, have refastenable side members, to
snap-
like attachments or a combination thereof and may be used by individuals who
are invalid or
incontinent are provided in prior art.
However, what is needed is an undergarment which allows a user to dress
himself or to
use a bathroom more easily and quickly without assistance. It is to such that
the present
invention is directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets the need in the art by providing a wrap-around
type
undergarment with snap fasteners positioned on both sides, in which the
undergarment comprises
a front panel and a rear panel. The front panel has a reinforced right side, a
reinforced left side, a
top edge, and a bottom edge. A plurality of first fastener members each having
a first character
are disposed in spaced- apart relation along a length of each of the right
side and left side of the
front panel. The rear panel comprises a left panel having an interior edge and
a reinforced
exterior edge, a right panel having an inside edge and a reinforced outside
edge, and an elongated
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narrow center panel having a left lateral edge and an opposing right lateral
edge and a
leading edge. The leading edge centrally affixes to the front panel bottom
edge. The
left lateral edge attaches to the interior edge of the left panel and the
right lateral edge
attaches to the interior edge of the right panel. The central panel extends
continuously
from the front panel bottom edge to a top edge aligned with a respective top
edge of
the left panel and the right panel, and the central panel defines a bridge
between the
front panel and the rear panel. A plurality of second fastener members, each
having a
second character for mating engagement with a respective one of the first
fastener
members, are disposed in spaced-apart relation along a length of the
reinforced
exterior edge of the left and right panels, with each second fastener member
positioned
for alignment with a respective one of the first fastener members. The front
panel and
the rear panel selectively detachably connect by mating engagement of the
aligned first
fastener members and second fastener members.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides an undergarment has a
parallelogram-shaped front panel, a parallelogram- shaped rear panel having a
left
panel and a right panel on each side of a portion of a center panel, and an
elongated
narrow center panel, a portion of which connects to a bottom edge of the front
panel.
The front panel has center openable fly, an elasticized waistband, and a
plurality of
spaced-apart female snap receivers along the entire length of each side of the
front
.. panel. The rear panel has an elasticized waistband, an interior side and an
exterior
side, the exterior side having male snap adaptors along the entire length of
the left and
right panels which are adapted removably connect to the female snap receivers.
The present undergarment allows a user to quickly and easily position or
remove the undergarment without the necessity of assistance by simply pressing
the
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fasteners together or pulling them apart, respectively. The present
undergarment
fulfills the need to allow a bed-ridden individual, wheelchair-bound
individuals,
elderly persons, or people who are physically or mentally challenged to be
able
to dress or use a bathroom more easily and quickly due to the inclusion of
snap
fasteners along the entire length of both sides of the undergarment. The
present
undergarment is time saving and is provided at a reasonable cost. The
undergarment provides a wearer with independence and a sense of self-
confidence due to the wearer's ability to dress himself or herself or to use a
bathroom
without assistance. Thus, the undergarment provides a wearer with a feeling of
to normalcy while eliminating the embarrassment associated with exposure of
intimate
body parts.
The undergarment is provided in a wide variety of sizes. colors, and designs
to
accommodate the needs of a wide range of patients or other persons, depending
upon
age, sex, and personal taste in design and color.
As such, the general purpose of the improved undergarment which has all of the
advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that
result
in an improved undergarment which is not anticipated, rendered obvious,
suggested,
or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in combination thereof.
An object of the present undergarment is to allow a wearer to remove an
undergarment for urination more easily and quickly.
Another object of the present undergarment is to permit a wearer to put on an
undergarment more quickly and easily.
Yet another object of the present undergarment is to assist physically
and mentally challenged individuals in dressing themselves without assistance.
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Still another object of the present apparatus is to assist physically and
mentally
challenged individuals in urinating without the need of assistance.
Still yet another object of the present undergarment is to eliminate
the embarrassment associated with requiring assistance in removing or putting
on an
undergarment.
Thus has been broadly outlined the more important features of the improved
undergarment so that the detailed description thereof that follows may be
better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may
be better appreciated.
These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the
improved undergarment will he readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in
the art
upon reading the following detailed description of presently preferred, but
nonetheless
illustrative, embodiments of the improved undergarment when taken in
conjunction
with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current
embodiments of the improved undergarment in detail, it is to be understood
that
the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction
and
arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or
illustration.
The invention is capable of other examples and of being practiced and carried
out in
various ways. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology
employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as
limiting.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure
may
be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods,
and
kits for carrying out the several purposes of the improved undergarment. It is
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therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent
constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the
present
invention.
Objects of the improved undergarment, along with various novel features that
characterize the invention are particularly pointed out in the claims forming
a part of
this disclosure. For better understanding of the improved undergarment, its
operating
advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, refer to the
accompanying
drawings and description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of an undergarment according to the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the undergarment shown in Fig. I.
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the undergarment shown in Fig. 1 in a
closed
position.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the undergarment shown in Fig. I in an open
position.
FIG. 5 is a left side elevation, in-use view of the undergarment shown in
Fig. 1 illustrated in a partially open position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference now to the drawings in which like parts have like reference
numerals, and in particular FIGS. I through 5 thereof, examples of the
employing the
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principles and concepts of the present undergarment, generally designated by
the reference
number 10, will be described.
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, the present undergarment 10 has an exterior
side 14 and
an interior side 17. The present undergarment comprises a parallelogram-
shaped front panel 20
and a parallelogram-shaped rear panel 30. The front panel 20 has a right side
25, a left side 26, a
top edge 27, and a bottom edge 28. The rear panel 30 has an upper edge 32 and
a lower edge 34,
and comprises a left panel 35, a right panel 40, and an elongated narrow
center panel 50. The
left panel 35 and right panel 40 have an interior edge 37 and an inside edge
41, respectively, The
left panel 35 and right panel 40 also have an exterior edge 38 and an outside
edge 42,
respectively.
The center panel 50, affixed at one end to the center of the front panel 20
bottom edge 28,
extends continuously from the bottom edge 28 of the front panel 20 to the
upper edge 32 of rear
panel 30, thereby creating a bridge 52 between the front panel 20 and the rear
panel 30. 'Side
portions of the center panel 50 affix to the interior edge 37 of the left
panel 35 and the inside
edge 41 of the right panel 40.
The front panel 20 comprises a center openable fly 21, an elasticized
waistband 22 in
portion adjacent the top edge 27, and a plurality of spaced- apart first
fastener members 24
having a first mating character. The first fastener members 24 are positioned
in space-apart
relation along a length of the right side 25 and the left side 26, and thus
disposed from the top
edge 27 to the bottom edge 38 of the front panel. In the illustrated
embodiment, the first fastener
members 24 are female snap receivers. A first one of the first fastener
members 24 is placed
proximate the top edge 27 and another one of the first fastener members is
placed proximate the
bottom edge
=
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38, with other of the first fastener members spaced-apart along the respective
right side
25 and left side 26.
The rear panel 30 has an elasticized waistband 36 that extends across portions
of the left panel 35, the center panel 50, and the right panel 40 adjacent the
upper edge
32. The rear panel 30 has a plurality of spaced- apart second fastener members
45
having a second mating characteristic for matingly joining or connecting to
the first
fastener members 24. The second fastener members 45 are positioned in spaced-
apart
relation along a length of the left and right panels 35, 40, thus from the
upper edge 32
to the lower edge 34 of the rear panel 30. The second fastener members 45 are
positioned to align with and adapted to removably detachably connect to the
first
fastener members 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the second fastener
members
45 are male snap adaptors for engaging the illustrated female snap receivers
24.
The right side 25 and left side 26 of the front panel 20, the exterior edge 38
of the left panel 35, and the outside edge 42 of the right panel 40 are
reinforced. The
reinforcement is provided by overlapping a side portion and tacking such as by
sewing or by attaching an elongated webbed band or twill tape to the side
portion or
within an overlapping of the side portion. The reinforcement is important to
the
functionality of the present undergarment 10 in that the reinforcement
provides
sufficient strength to the right side 25, left side 26, exterior edge 38, and
outside
edge 42 to allow a user, such as a physically or mentally challenged
individual, to
easily pull the snap receivers 24 and snap adaptors 45 apart for removal of
the
undergarment 10 or to easily hold onto the right side 25, left side 26,
exterior edge 38
and outside edge 42 to easily connect the female snap receivers 24 and male
snap
adaptors 45 together.
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USE:
To put on the present garment 10, the undergarment 10 is placed in open
position as shown in Figure 4, with the front panel 20 separated from the rear
panel
30. Then, a user 80 places the center panel 50 bridge 52 longitudinally
between the
user's legs with undergarment 10 exterior side 14 facing outwardly, away from
the
user 80, and further with the front panel 20 placed on the user's front side
81 and the
rear panel 30 placed on the user's rear side 82. Next, the user 80 inwardly
folds the
exterior side 14 of the undergarment 10 along the right panel 40 outside edge
42 over
the interior side 17 and further aligns the female snap receivers 24 on the
front panel
to 20 right side 25 with the male snap adaptors 45 on the right panel
outside edge 42 and
presses the female snap receivers 24 and the male snap adaptors 45 to connect
the
female snap receivers 24 and the male snap adaptors 45 together. The user 80
also
inwardly folds the exterior side 14 of the undergarment 10 along the left
panel 35
exterior edge 38 over the interior side 17 and further aligns the female snap
receivers
on the front panel 20 left side 26 and the male snap adaptors 45 on the left
panel 35
exterior edge 38 and presses the female snap receives 24 and the male snap
adaptors
45 to connect the female snap receivers 24 and the male snap adaptors 45
together.
When desiring to remove the present undergarment 10, a user 80 pulls apart
the connection of the female snap receivers 24 on the front panel 20 right
side 25 and
the male snap adaptors 45 on the right panel outside edge 42 and the female
snap
receivers 24 on the on the front panel 20 left side 26 and the male snap
adaptors 45 on
the left panel exterior edge 38, thereby releasing the undergarment 10 for
removal.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the
optimum
dimensional relationships for the parts of the undergarment, to include
variations in
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size, materials, shape, form, function and the manner of operation, assembly
and use,
are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all
equivalent
relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the
specification are
intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Directional terms such as "front", "back", "in", "out", "downward", "upper",
"lower", and the like may have been used in the description. These terms are
applicable to the examples shown and described in conjunction with the
drawings.
These terms are merely used for the purpose of description in connection with
the
drawings and do not necessarily apply to the position in which the present
invention
may be used.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles
of
the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily
occur to
those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the
exact construction
and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable
modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of
the
invention.
